*** Earth  0.000,0.000

Ayaka Kisaragi set down the tray she was holding, upon which rested a 
warmed container of sake and a single small cup, onto the table next to 
her couch.  She paused and adjusted her kimono, scratching idly at an 
itch on her side as she picked up her notebook and flipped through it to 
the proper page.  Holding the open notebook in front of her, she flopped 
down on the couch, the thick cushions embracing her softly.  She picked 
up the receiver on her telephone with her free hand and punched in a 
quick series of numbers.  It was answered on the other end before the 
conclusion of the second ring.

"Report."

Ayaka Kisaragi frowned slightly at Director Kasuga's perfunctory tone of 
voice coming over the telephone as she began to speak.  "Only two 
notable things have occurred so far this week, sir.  First, Ranma 
Saotome, one of the individuals you instructed me to keep tabs on, was 
involved in several altercations, including some sort of grudge match 
with one of the older female cadets here at the Academy.  Coincidentally 
enough, his opponent was Nabiki Tendo."

That statement was followed by a brief grunt of acknowledgement heard 
over the phone.

"It was a very close fight," continued Ayaka, "both of them showing 
extraordinarily high levels of skill, but Ranma won in the end.  I am in 
the process of obtaining a copy of a video shot during the match, one 
that I feel you might find most interesting."

"Possibly," said Director Kasuga on the other end.  "Please continue."

Ayaka flipped to another page of her notebook.  "Ranma has also recently 
lost his access to a private lab space given to him by the Dean.  I have 
no knowledge of the project he was working on.  Shall I break in and 
investigate?"

"Negative," said Director Kasuga.  "The Science Ministry examined the 
proposal he originally submitted for his project and found his notions 
for a method for contacting parallel Earths interesting but unlikely to 
ever be made workable.  They politely informed me that they had only 
allowed it out of respect for his father's reputation and since the 
costs were relatively small.  Now that even his father has withdrawn his 
support, that ends young Saotome's foolishness, so his little science 
project could have no bearing on determining the identity of the crux 
individual we seek.  We are continuing to update our readings on the 
emanations from that region of the city, but powerful forces are now 
converging within the Pattern, hindering our efforts.  I want you to 
continue to concentrate your investigations on our list of suspects, and 
those they come into regular contact with."

"I understand," said Ayaka neutrally.

"Carry on," said Director Kasuga gruffly.  "I have the utmost faith in 
your abilities to investigate this matter."

"Sir?" Ayaka said quickly.

"Yes?  What is it, Kisaragi?"

"I want you to know that I appreciate your faith in me, in giving me 
this assignment," said Ayaka sincerely.  "I know my actions in the past 
have been less than exemplary-"

"Such as your predilection for getting drunk and laid every few days, 
you mean, Kisaragi?" Director Kasuga interrupted dryly.  "Why else do 
you think we removed you from your position here at the Institute as 
advisor to the Miko Task Force?  Despite your impressive spiritual 
powers, and your unmatched record as a Ghost Sweeper, your personal life 
was a rather poor example to those impressionable young girls.  All of 
them look up to you, after all. Still, if you do well in this assignment 
and keep yourself under control, I'll see what can be done about 
reinstating you."

"Thank you, sir."

"Personally, Kisaragi, my advice to you would be to get a steady 
boyfriend that you can keep for longer than a month.  After all, you're 
not getting any younger."

Ayaka felt like someone had just stabbed her.

"I understand that all of your former squadmates from your own training 
group have gotten married by now."

The assassin brought a friend.

"Yes, sir," said Ayaka numbly.  I need a drink, she thought.

"Carry on, Kisaragi."

Ayaka heard the phone being hung up on the other end, and then she did 
the same while she ran a hand back through her red hair.  A few moments 
later, the stereo in her small apartment flicked on at a touch of her 
finger upon its remote.  Half listening to the driving beat of the music 
playing, she picked up the bottle of warmed sake and poured herself a 
cup.

Before Ayaka could drink it down, the doorbell rang.  She walked over to 
the door and opened it up.  Three female figures stood outside in the 
hallway.  One of the women gave a wry look at the redhead.

"Drinking alone is a sure sign of alcoholism," said Yui Ikari teasingly 
with a smile, before swiftly pushing past Ayaka to lead the other two 
young women with her into the apartment.  She was dressed in a snug 
black minidress and matching pumps.  "If you're going to drink, you're 
coming out with us and doing it right."

"But I don't want to go out tonight," protested Ayaka, even as she was 
already appearing to weaken at the thought.

"We'll do karaoke," said Yui with a broader grin, seeing her friend's 
resistance crumbling.  She knew quite well that Ayaka could not resist 
doing karaoke.

The two off-duty Peaceforcers with Yui, Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki 
Kobayakawa, each took hold of one of Ayaka's arms and half-carried the 
weakly protesting woman into the bedroom to help her get ready for a 
night on the town.  Instead of their usual uniforms of black cloth and 
leather with gray piping, the two women wore stylish outfits that were 
not quite as daring as what Yui was wearing, but not far too behind it 
either.

While waiting for the Institute operative to change into something more 
appropriate for bar-hopping, Yui picked up the cup of sake that had been 
left on the table.  "Here's to getting you to have some serious fun 
tonight, Ayaka," she murmured with a smile, before swallowing the drink.  
Since Keiichi was unavailable tonight, Yui planned to enjoy herself with 
a serious girl's night out on the town with her best friends.  As the 
music played on in the background, she waited for the fourth member of 
their little posse to get ready for some serious fun.  Ayaka was quite 
obviously still stressing over her brand new assignment, so it was up to 
the three of them to get the leggy redhead's mind off things.

After all, thought Yui with a grin, they had to keep living up to their 
reputation as the 'Fearsome Foursome' of the Security Directorate.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quantum Destinies
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
By Jurai Knight (sthesken@earthlink.net)

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.  This story 
is inspired by her works and the stories from some of my fellow fanfic 
authors.  Among these are D.B. Sommer's "Shampoo 1/2", Jim Bader's "A 
Very Scary Thought -aka- Nabiki 1/2", and John Biles' Elseworlds series.  
All C&C is welcome.

Other chapters of this story may be found at this website, or you can 
email the author for them:

The Quantum Destinies Homepage
http://home.earthlink.net/~sthesken/fanfics/qd.html


The list of worlds reoccurring in this chapter:
Earth  0.000,0.000 - The world of Scholar Ranma (Baseline cluster)
Earth  +1.612,+1.509 - The world of Shampoo 1/2 (Shampoo 1/2 cluster)


What has gone before in this story (or at least what will help you 
understand what is going on):


On a parallel Earth that diverged from the standard Ranma timeline over 
five hundred years ago, the Empire of Japan rules almost half the world 
and has done so for almost a century.  A young scientist named Ranma 
Saotome, through a device of his invention, is now possessed of the 
skills and memories of a martial artist version of himself.  That same 
device has also given the Nabiki of this timeline an accidental copy of 
the skills and memories from an alternate version of herself, one who 
went on the ten-year training journey with Genma instead of Ranma.  
Nabiki, irritated at her recent loss to Ranma, has begun scheming for 
her rematch against him.  Professor Saotome has also begun adjusting to 
what may be a long stay in the alternate timeline he is trapped in while 
his counterpart continues to trouble Ranma's personal life.  Kodachi 
reveals the truth about herself to an astonished Ranma and an annoyed 
Nabiki.  Finally, Ukyo meets up with her aunt and has a date with Ranma.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 12 - Fiancée Follies

         After God created the world, He made man and woman.
         Then, to keep the whole thing from collapsing, He
         invented humor.

                                  -Mack McGinnis

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
   

The clash of steel was loud in Kuno's ears as he engaged the nameless 
samurai warrior before him.  He felt the jolt in his arms as his weapon 
struck solidly against lacquered armor plate, instead of between them to 
bite into the flesh of his opponent.  He ducked under his opponent's 
counterstrike, lashing out at the same moment with a rising stroke to 
the lower ribcage region, only to be denied his goal once again as the 
warrior deflected his blade.

My timing is off, else I would already be victorious, Kuno thought 
grimly as his foe forced him back a step at a time with a sequence of 
lightning-fast strikes.  He fended off the armored figure, weaving a net 
of steel before himself as he tried to figure out how to emerge 
victorious.  Anger at being forced back step by step filled him, and he 
cried out, "But I shall not fall!"

In silence, Lord Daisho Kuno closely watched his son's motions as he 
engaged his phantom opponent.  The muscular, older nobleman was dressed 
in a fine silk kimono and hakama-style pants, a worn bokken held in one 
hand.  He absently tapped it against his knee as he watched his son's 
pathetic efforts.  He gave the impression of having just stepped out of 
an elder age, when men of honor fought and died with steel in their 
hands and fire in their eyes.  His face was grim and unforgiving.

In contrast, Kuno was dressed in a suit of silvery material overlaid by 
a bluish metal that acted as force-feedback simulators, his head covered 
by a light helmet of plastics and silicates.  Once the suit was 
activated, it fed to Kuno the sensation of being in a life or death 
battle from the Middle Ages, thus gauging his combat effectiveness.  All 
that was missing was the smells of this illusionary field of battle to 
make it complete.  Even so, it was easy for him to forget himself in the 
splendor and realism of the sights and sounds.

Lord Kuno was less than pleased at his heir's performance.  In fact, he 
was almost furious to see his own son losing to a computer program so 
badly.

That boy must be slacking off on his training, Lord Kuno angrily 
concluded as he ceased tapping his wooden weapon against his leg.  He 
gripped the handle tightly, briefly remembering his own days of youth.  
He's slower than he can be, and far too flashy in his attacks.  When I 
was fifteen, two years younger than he is now, I could've beaten someone 
of his skill level.  Damn it!  It looks like my uncle has failed me.  He 
probably spends more time spinning stories for the boy and guzzling 
sake, rather than forging my son into the great warrior he could be.  
The boy even sounds like that foolish old man.  As he studied Kuno's 
moves closely, his mouth twisted deeper into a frown.

Kuno dodged backwards, barely avoiding the blow that would have opened 
his ribcage if it had been real.  His blade slashed down at his foe's 
arm, exposed for a fraction of a second by the strike, and he was 
rewarded to see his own blade shear through the cloth and armor to sever 
the limb at the elbow.  Simulated blood and gore surged from the wound 
as his opponent staggered back, and Kuno finished it off with a reverse 
stroke that cleanly removed the illusory sparring dummy's head at the 
neck.  The body stumbled back a pace and then fell over, the head 
vanishing off to one side.  The young nobleman stared impassively at the 
bleeding corpse in the seconds before it vanished.

"Simulation completed at level twelve," said a computer-generated female 
voice in Kuno's ears as the scene around him faded away.  "Time taken 
for completion: four minutes, fifty-two seconds.  Best time for 
completion: one minute, twelve seconds."

Kuno removed the simsuit's helmet from his head, blinking at the 
unexpected sight of his father seated to one side of the training mat.  
This does not bode well, he thought.

"Father," greeted Kuno respectfully.  He set the helmet upon the rack 
along with his weapon, quickly running a hand back through his sweat-
dampened hair.  He received not a single acknowledging word from his 
sire for his greeting, only a cool-eyed gaze.  Grimacing, Kuno prepared 
himself for what was surely to come.

"You play at being a warrior, my son," said Lord Kuno quietly.  

Kuno growled inwardly, but held his peace.

"Years of training come to this, you nearly losing a fight to an 
opponent made of electronic smoke and mirrors," Lord Kuno continued, 
apparently unaware of his son's fists tightening at his sides.  "Your 
sensei has failed to awaken the Kuno warrior spirit within you.  If he 
had, you would be all but unbeatable."  He shook his head, a little 
sadly.  "Young Ranma Saotome defeated you with his bare hands, several 
times, over the past few days, I am told."

Kuno somehow held his temper before his father, but he seethed inside 
with a fresh surge of desire to seek out and avenge the indignity of his 
defeats.  Seeing his father looking so disappointed with him was 
agonizing.  Ranma Saotome, the young nobleman thought grimly, how I have 
come to loathe the mention of thy name.  I will overcome you, for the 
sake of my reputation, for the honor of my beloved sister, and for my 
own desires to see you groveling at my feet.  Oh, how you will beg for 
mercy when I am finished with you, Saotome.  My eventual victory will 
taste all the sweeter when you do.

"I will be taking over your training from now on," said Lord Kuno, a 
touch more kindly than his previous words had been.  "The Kuno School of 
Long Blade Fighting deserves far better than what you show of its skills 
so far.  I fear I have let matters of politics and my other duties 
distract me from taking a more personal hand in your training before 
now, but I wonder if it might not be too late."

"Father?" said Kuno, his face puzzled.

Lord Kuno stood up, lifting his bokken to rest it upon his right 
shoulder.  He stared severely at his son and said, "For centuries, the 
Kuno Family has produced champion duelists, feared for our skill with 
the sword.  Your former sensei has failed to take you as far in your 
training as he should have."  He paused, lowering his voice in a 
menacing manner.  "However, I am certain that I can find new ways to 
motivate you."

Seeing the fierce look in his father's eyes, Kuno felt a brief moment of 
hesitation before his usual bluster returned.  Bah!  Let this old fool 
do his worst.  I am the quintessential and most noble example of the 
perfect warrior, feared and respected by my fellow men, loved by all 
women.

"I see doubt as to the status of my skills in your eyes, my son," said 
Lord Kuno with a wolfish smile.  "Would you care to test them?"

"Aye, Father, I do indeed," said Kuno boldly.  He grabbed his bokken 
from the rack, never taking his eyes off his father.  He would show his 
father to doubt his inestimable skills.

"Excellent," said Lord Kuno mildly.  "I could use a light workout.  
Though, I really doubt you'll give me one."  He took hold of his own 
weapon with both hands and charged across the floor with cold purpose in 
his eyes.

Within seconds, it was over.  Kuno stood stunned, his bokken lying on 
the floor several meters from where he stood.  The wooden blade held in 
his father's hands rested, poised at his throat.  The cold look in his 
father's eyes had shifted to one of disappointment.

"I see that I have a great deal of work ahead of me," said Lord Kuno 
calmly.  "Pick up your weapon, and we shall try it again."

Such speed and skill he has, Kuno marveled as he moved aside and bent to 
pick up his bokken.  He rushed his father and lasted ten seconds longer 
before he was disarmed once more.

"Better," said Lord Kuno.  "But not good enough yet, not by a long shot.  
However, I think there is a faint glimmering of hope for you.  With my 
aid, I know you'll be a far better fighter than you ever dared dream."

Kuno looked up, his eyes shining with renewed energy as his fist locked 
around the haft of his weapon as he said, "Now I know that the gods 
smile upon me.  That most lowly and wretched of curs, Ranma Saotome, 
shall fall to me and my blade, and then the lovely Akane Tendo's heart 
shall yield to me.  She shall see that I am the ultimate warrior, the 
only man worthy of her."  He broke into a gale of maniacal laughter 
following his rant, one that was abruptly stopped short by the 
application of his father's weapon to his skull, quite hard.

"That hurt, you know," grumbled Kuno, rubbing the lump growing on the 
top of his head.  A moment later, a second lump had joined the first.  
The young nobleman growled.

"Enough of this foolishness, my son," said Lord Kuno calmly.  Even 
though he had raised his son to show a certain independence of thought, 
a necessity for a future Lord of a Noble House, there were still limits 
to his tolerance.  "I have no time to waste on you if you continue on in 
such a fashion.  Now, recite for me the philosophy of our School."

Caught off-guard by the question, Kuno almost earned a third lump on his 
head before he quickly spoke.  "The sword and the body must be as one."

"Continue," said Lord Kuno.

Feeling new confidence at the glimmer in his father's gaze, the young 
nobleman cleared his throat once and said, "Wielding a sword should be 
as natural as being alive, to embrace the sword that lives within every 
true warrior.  The stances are its walk, the rhythm of the swing its 
speech, and honor is the breath and blood of the sword."

"Very good, my son," said Lord Kuno with a touch more warmth in his 
voice than was present before.  "There is hope for you yet.  I see that 
my uncle may have taught you something after all."  He swung the blade 
of his bokken around a few times, before smiling and asking, "Do you 
wish to see one of the special techniques I plan to teach you, once you 
have mastered the basics to my satisfaction?"

Kuno nodded, still looking a bit out of sorts.

"Behold," intoned Lord Kuno solemnly, "a technique handed down from our 
forefathers, the Blade of a Hundred Strikes."  He turned to face the 
wall nearest to him as his hands blurred into motion, his weapon swiftly 
thrusting forward again and again, dozens of times in only seconds.

The wall began to buckle from the air pressure alone generated by the 
strikes, the wood and stone reacting as if caught by the focused force 
of a hurricane.  With a last shattering wrench, a two meter wide hole 
was ripped through the wall, scattering chunks of stone and shards of 
wood out across the grass outside.

Kuno was impressed, to say the least.  He quickly covered it by coughing 
into his fist once.  "Impressive, Father.  Most impressive, indeed."

"I want your promise to obey me without question in exchange for my 
teaching you, my son," said Lord Kuno, a gleam in his eyes.  I have such 
plans for your future, my son, the older man thought.  Not to mention 
what your mother has in mind for you.  The latter thought brought a very 
faint feeling of sympathy for his son.  The girl his mother had picked 
for the boy had a rather formidable reputation.

"I swear I shall obey you, Father," said Kuno sincerely, still thinking 
about how this new technique would let him finally strike down Ranma 
Saotome.  He could feel victory hovering near to his grasp.

"Excellent," said Lord Kuno jovially.  "Tomorrow evening young Ranma and 
his family will dine with us in the main hall.  You will be on your best 
behavior while they are here.  Genma Saotome is an old friend of mine 
from my youth, and I am pleased to see that he raised his son to be such 
a fine warrior.  When we last saw one another, I did not expect him to 
ever do so, but I see that the fire of his own warrior heritage could 
not be denied forever."

Kuno blinked.  This was surprising and unwelcome news to him, but his 
honor required him to bear his discomfort stoically.  "You have my word, 
Father," said Kuno, bowing low for several moments before straightening.  
"I will act in the proper manner."  His thoughts went otherwise.  But 
once you have taught me this technique, then the foul wretch Saotome 
shall be brought low at last!

"See that you do, my son.  See that you do.  For now, continue on with 
your practice."  He dryly added, "you need it."

The elder Kuno left, leaving an angry young man behind.

"Father was a little bit harsh with you, I think," observed Kodachi as 
she gracefully stepped into the training hall, having witnessed the 
entire exchange that had just taken place from a position half-hidden in 
one of the room's many entryways.  She was presently dressed in one of 
her casual kimonos, this one in green silk with a phoenix across the 
back in golden thread.  Her feet were shod in a pair of house slippers 
in black.

"What brings thee into my presence, my dear sister?" Kuno asked a little 
curtly.  "Hast thou come to rub my face in tomorrow night's farce, 
perchance?"

Kodachi grimaced, but then she remembered her purpose in coming to speak 
with her brother privately.  "I wished to speak with you about your new 
dalliance, Nabiki Tendo.  The two of you were quite close, I saw."

Kuno blinked, then snorted, "Nabiki Tendo, a dalliance?  I think not.  
What interest would I have in a woman of such mercenary morals?  My 
interest is solely in her younger sister, the most fair and high-
spirited Akane."

Kodachi grimaced inwardly at the mention of the younger Tendo girl, but 
her face remained pleasant.  "Oh, really?  I would think that you might 
enjoy the challenge of breaking through that mercenary shell that Nabiki 
Tendo projects.  She was obviously showing some interest in you."

"But of course," said Kuno grandly.  "Am I not the heir to the Kuno 
name?  Am I not the undefeated Academy-level kendo champion throughout 
the Empire?  Women throw themselves at my feet daily.  What matter is 
it, if an ill-mannered gentlewoman with delusions of grandeur finds me 
attractive?  Of course she is attracted to me as any moth is to the 
flame.  However, she has no respect for those who are her superiors and 
speaks and acts out of turn.  I have no interest in such a dalliance."

"How little you know of women, brother dearest," said Kodachi with false 
charm.

"What?  Enlighten me," said Kuno, sounding curious.

"It is obvious that her seeking money from you is simply a ploy to bask 
in your noble presence," said Kodachi, striving hard to keep up a 
straight face.  "Not to mention that winning Nabiki Tendo's heart would 
make things easier to win the heart of her sister."

As the memory of both Nabiki's beauty and her strange, yet beguiling, 
presence resurfaced, he found himself intrigued by the prospect of 
bedding sisters.  One whose quick wit and tongue paralleled his own, 
while the other's sheer physicality was in and of itself sexual.  He 
knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he must have them both for his 
mistresses.  He realized it would be beneath his station to marry 
either, yet having them at hand at his whim excited him.

Kuno rushed over to his sister's side in the blink of an eye.  He leaned 
in and said, "Thou hast my undivided attention, dear sister."

Deal with this, Nabiki Tendo, thought the young noblewoman with a smile.  
And with you distracted from the field of play, there will be no further 
impediments on my path to winning the heart of Ranma Saotome.

                   ******************************

"I'm home!"

Ukyo pushed the front door to the restaurant closed behind her with a 
happy little sigh.  A soundless motion in the air was her only alert to 
the attack that suddenly came, surprising and swift.  Parrying the first 
strike quickly with a bare hand, Ukyo quickly made out the face of her 
assailant, her Aunt Yumi.  The older woman began striking quickly with 
her battle spatula, but this wasn't anything out of the ordinary 
compared to how Ukyo's life had been spent with her grandfather.  What 
followed was a ten-minute long duel of flashing battle spatulas, fist 
strikes, and kicks, ending when her aunt managed to disarm her with a 
blow to her wrists.  Seconds later, Ukyo was knocked senseless by a 
combination of punches and nerve strikes.  Then, after being woken up 
with a bucket of cold water in the face, Yumi had handed her a towel and 
a fresh cup of hot tea and then settled herself into one of the chairs 
to talk.  Her manner was more like that of a big sister than a woman who 
was her mother's age.

Yumi listened with interest as Ukyo described her time spent with Ranma, 
and occasionally a wistful smile would cross the older woman's face.  
When asked about it, Yumi took the time to relate some tales taken from 
her own youth, much of that having been spent on the road from the time 
she was fourteen or so.  Ranma apparently reminded her of one or two of 
the young men that she had met during that time of her life, although he 
did not seem to be nearly as brash and egotistical.

"He struck me as being a pretty nice boy, Niece," Yumi said in between 
sips of her tea.  "I think you could do a lot worse than trying to 
capture that Saotome lad's heart."

"Do you really think so, Aunt Yumi?" Ukyo asked, her face feeling quite 
warm.

"Take it from a more experienced woman," said Yumi.  "That kid's got a 
lot of potential, if he settles down with the right woman."

"Well, we've just had one date," Ukyo said with an even deeper blush, 
beginning to twiddle her fingers nervously underneath the table.  
Although it had been her first real date, especially since she never 
considered the dates with other girls that her grandfather had tricked 
her or forced her to go on 'to make a man out of you, boy' to have 
counted.  Despite dressing and acting like a boy for most of her life, 
Ukyo did not ever consider herself to be 'that way' in her likes.  She 
still wasn't sure about the idea of marriage in general, but Ranma was 
pretty easy to get along with.  And she did feel quite attracted to him.

"Just take things one day at a time, Ukyo," Yumi said, smiling.  "I'm 
sure that everything will work out just fine for you."

"I'll try, Auntie."  She then studied the tea remnants in the bottom of 
her cup, feeling her embarrassment level soar.

"Your father dropped by while you were gone," said Yumi suddenly.  "He 
was on his way back to his hotel, and he just wanted to see how you were 
getting along with me.  I told him you were out on a date with Ranma.  
His reaction was, well, interesting.  I think it was because he had been 
drinking."

"What happened?" Ukyo asked, wondering if her father was all right.

"I don't really know how to say this except straight out," said Yumi, 
looking Ukyo squarely in the eyes.  "Ukyo dear, it seems that you're 
_already_ engaged to marry Ranma Saotome, and neither of you were to be 
told about it until later."

Ukyo couldn't remember much of anything that took place over the next 
several minutes.  After a time, she looked up from the table and asked, 
in a stunned voice, "Wh-why didn't they tell us?"

"It seems your father and Saotome-san made a solemn, albeit most likely 
drunken, vow to keep you both in the dark," said Yumi, her facial 
expression speaking volumes on what she thought of keeping such a thing 
a secret from her niece.  "It was only by luck that your father blurted 
the rest of the story out to me, after I persuaded him a bit."

"Oh," said Ukyo, not sure what to say at that point.

"Ranma was apparently more skittish about the idea of an arranged 
marriage than you were, Niece," Yumi said, a gentle smile on her broad 
face.  "I'm only telling you what I learned because I think it's an 
asinine thing to keep hidden from you, and him.  That being said, I want 
you to promise me that you won't tell Ranma about the engagement until 
you feel it's the right thing to do.  If I read him right, then he seems 
the type to be resistant to the idea of being forced into anything."

"Stupid old man," Ukyo suddenly grumbled.  "My father has got to be the 
biggest jerk on the face of the planet.  How could he make a deal like 
this behind my back?"

"Just don't take it out on Ranma," Yumi said.  "You did like how things 
went on your date with him, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah.  He's a great guy to hang around with."

"Then let yourself be friends with him," said Yumi, kicking her legs up 
to rest on a nearby chair as she slouched comfortably where she sat.  "I 
can tell that you like Ranma a lot, so just relax and enjoy being around 
him.  Let the whole marriage thing take a back seat while you two get to 
know each other."

"Won't he be mad when he finally learns the truth?"

"Maybe," admitted Yumi.  "But I think even a few days being kept in the 
dark will give him a chance to get used to having you around."  She 
grinned, her voice having dropped into a teasing tone.

Ukyo blushed again at being reminded of her engagement.

Yumi's grin faded into a more serious, yet supportive look.  "Don't 
worry, kid.  You and Ranma are going to have a lot of years ahead of you 
together.  Be glad.  Since a good-looking boy like Ranma didn't seem to 
have any girls hanging around him, or mention any to you, then it's a 
reasonable bet that you won't need to worry about any rivals for his 
affections.  Believe me, I know what that's like."

"Okay, Auntie."

"Now get to bed," Yumi suddenly snarled insincerely.  "You thought your 
time in the mountains with that wily old man was tough?  Starting 
tomorrow, I'm going to be twice as tough!"

After retreating to her room with a laugh, Ukyo found that she could not 
sleep, so she contented herself by resting in her bed and studying the 
disparate shadows.  They flowed across the ceiling as the wind moved the 
branches of a tree that was partially blocking the light from the 
streetlamp outside.  Her hands supported her head as she watched the 
irregular movements of the patches of darkness, and her eyes tracked the 
motions, instinctively watching them for anything out of the ordinary.  
It was a necessary survival instinct to have in a ninja clan, after all.  
She closed her eyes, trusting in her keenly trained senses to alert her, 
even from sleep, if anyone entered her room by stealth.  Years spent 
with her grandfather had trained Ukyo to go from a sound sleep to fully 
alert and combat ready in less than two seconds.

At least my training won't be in any danger of slacking off, Ukyo 
thought, letting each muscle in her body relax.  And Ranma's certainly 
easier to get along with than I thought he would be.  She slipped her 
hands free from behind her head and began doing one of her kuji-kiri 
exercises, the gestures helping her concentrate.  Ukyo had always done 
her best thinking when it was quiet and dark, and right now she felt the 
need to do some serious thinking about what she planned to do about her 
new situation, especially in light of what her aunt had learned from her 
father.

Ranma Saotome.  Ukyo tasted the feel of his name in her mind like a 
perfectly-done okonomiyaki.  There was something undeniably attractive 
about him.  Ukyo didn't consider herself to be the type of girl to get 
all giddy about a guy, but Ranma was quickly finding himself a special 
spot in her thoughts.

The young ninja smiled as she recalled her date with Ranma a few hours 
earlier.  In her memories, a rosy glow coated each event from the 
evening, and a sense of happiness filled her thoughts.  She was already 
looking forward to spending more time with him.

Ukyo Saotome, she thought, finding the feel of it to be good.

Ranma Kuonji.  That thought felt pretty good as well.

Then, the import of what she was doing hit Ukyo all of a sudden, and she 
sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide open.  "What the hell am I 
doing?" she whispered to the room.

The shadows on the walls and ceiling did not offer any response to her 
question; they simply continued in their random motion.

After a time, Ukyo relaxed, bopping herself in the forehead with a fist.  
Idiot, she thought with a sudden smile.  One date and you fall for the 
guy?  What's gotten into your head, Ukyo?  She flopped back down onto 
the bed, staring at the ceiling once again, her brow drooping in thought 
as she contemplated that question.  However, the slight smile on her 
face had not gone away, and she eventually drifted off to sleep thinking 
fondly about a certain pigtailed young man.

                   ******************************

Mikado Sanzenin relaxed in his bed, idly running a hand along the 
exposed flank of the girl sleeping next to him as she sighed in her 
sleep.  Her Blackhall uniform was casually scattered across the floor, 
even as his own was folded neatly over his desk chair.  She was an 
attractive conquest for him, a first-year cadet at Whitehall's sister 
Academy, with long, chestnut-colored hair and a very sensual frame.  But 
now that he had taken his pleasure from her, he was already bored with 
her.  He sighed softly.  It was always that way for him.  The thrill was 
in the chase, not in the inevitable conquest.  But then, no girl he had 
ever set his sights on was ever able to resist him for long.  Except for 
the ones that slapped him or kneed him in the groin.  But they were all 
lesbians anyway, so they didn't count, he reassured himself.

At least that abominable plot to wed me to that simpering Shiratori girl 
is over and done with, Mikado thought gratefully.  While it was true 
that she was attractive enough for his tastes, her personality left much 
to be desired.  Personally, Mikado suspected that she had been dropped 
on her head a few times when she was a baby, but nobody had ever asked 
his opinion of the matter before his parents had tried to ram an 
engagement to the girl down his throat.

It had all been a result of politics, in the end.  The Shiratori Family 
had money to burn, being the nineteenth richest family in the entire 
Empire, but they lacked political status.  Mikado's father had seen that 
as an opportunity to infuse the Sanzenin's coffers with needed yen, 
apparently to try and take advantage of some production contracts for 
the Imperial Army that the Emperor was shopping around to the various 
Families.  However, when the Emperor awarded the contracts to the 
Daitokuji Family, that had combined with Mikado's own reticence to end 
the matter.  So now he was still a free man, at least for another year 
or two.

A vision of the woman he truly desired floated across his mind's eye, a 
pristine virgin whom he was certain pined for the touch of a man.

Kodachi Kuno, the sister of his best friend, the secret passion that had 
haunted his nights since he first met her.  Even when he was in the 
midst of copulation with one of his conquests, she was still on his 
mind, the only woman he felt would truly complete him.  He knew they 
were destined for each other.

Even as Kodachi's face filled his mind's eye, he continued casually 
stroking the soft skin of the girl still sleeping next to him.  He heard 
her breathing becoming soft moans as his fingers idly played along her 
body.

Long ago, Mikado had set a goal for himself, to bed one hundred young 
ladies of the nobility before he was seventeen.  The polite social games 
of those of such high station represented far more of a challenge than 
becoming intimate with a girl of merely common lineage did.  However, he 
had also enjoyed sampling the charms of a fair share of attractive 
commoner girls so far in his life.  Smiling, he recalled his last 
meeting with Kodachi with fondness.  He would enjoy breaking down her 
timidly innocent resistance, until she finally cried aloud his name in 
rapture when he took his pleasure from her in bed.

It is only a matter of time, dear Kodachi, thought Mikado.  I almost 
cannot wait to be able to grant you my special favor and taste of your 
lips, as well as your other charms.  He was hoping to save her for the 
last.  After all, he was drawing near to his goal, to bed one hundred 
girls before he reached his seventeenth birthday.  Each one so far had 
been more lovely than the last, many of them untouched virgins before 
receiving his attentions.

Despite her obvious reluctance at our initial meeting, thought Mikado, 
flexing the hand her touch had briefly impaired, Nabiki Tendo would make 
a very fine addition to the ranks of my conquests.  She was a little 
older than he was, but she also had an attractive worldliness in her 
manner that he knew he could use to break her resistance to his charms 
if need be.  His sources informed him that she was infatuated with 
money, so if necessary he was willing to buy her favors.  After all, the 
method of seducing a woman did not matter to him, and money was an 
easily-obtained commodity for one of his high-born status.  Still, if 
she continued to refuse him, then he would assume she was a lesbian and 
move on.  Nabiki was lovely, but he was also running out of time to 
reach his goals.  He only needed a few more.

Then, after fulfilling his dreams of manly conquest, Mikado would turn 
his attentions to she who he saw as being his finest and sweetest coup, 
the innocent and pristine Kodachi Kuno.  Ah, fair, unspoiled Kodachi, he 
thought, a mixture of fondness and lust coloring his thoughts.  You will 
be my greatest victory when I finally take you to my bed.  Taking my 
pleasure from your womanhood will complete me.  And nothing will keep me 
from that goal.  Anyone that tries, I will simply eliminate from my 
path.

Feeling his lusts stirred by thoughts of his goal finally coming within 
reach, he changed the motions of his hands upon the girl sleeping next 
to him.  Feeling her body responding to his touch as he brought her back 
to wakefulness for another round of activity, Mikado pretended that it 
was the one, true love of his life, Kodachi Kuno, who was in bed with 
him.  Rolling atop the unnamed girl, he proceeded to do that which he so 
fiercely desired to do to the object of his passions, even as the girl 
gasped out his name in carnal pleasure.

                   ******************************

The redheaded girl leaped over her opponent's kick with a graceful 
movement, the cloth of her light yellow gi rustling, as her head and 
feet briefly reversed their orientation in midair.  Her fists snapped 
out twice with quick punches, but both blows were skillfully blocked by 
the boy she was dueling with.  Completing the side leap a moment later, 
she agilely landed, balanced on the balls of her feet, her arm whipping 
into position to deflect the roundhouse kick aimed at her face.  She 
grinned, her catlike ears poised in the direction of her opponent as he 
unleashed several more rapid-fire punches and kicks, each one dodged or 
blocked by the catgirl with great skill.

Kinnosuke Kashuoh broke off his furious assault for a moment to reassess 
his opponent, giving Tiger a chance to counter-attack.  His eyes glowed 
with excitement as he parried and dodged each of her quick strikes, 
enjoying the use of the level of skill that he steadfastly kept hidden 
at the Imperial Academy.  A weapon known can be planned for and dealt 
with, but a surprise could be lethal if saved for just the right moment; 
one of his family's mottoes.  The Kashuoh School of Martial Arts was 
just such a weapon, its abilities hidden from outsiders' sight and 
knowledge unless absolutely needed.  It was for this reason why he 
preferred to let the three catgirls enforce his desires, such as when 
they forcibly enlisted the aid of his former subordinates, the Wolf 
Pack.

As the two combatants traded the initiative back and forth, the other 
two catgirls watched from the sidelines.  Lynx rubbed a towel across the 
back of her neck and across the half-open front of her gi, smiling at 
having been picked first to spar with her beloved.  Now she was looking 
forward to a long, hot bath to relax and unwind in.  She giggled a bit 
at the sight of how Panther looked.

"What's so funny?" growled Panther.

"Oh, nothing," giggled Lynx, enjoying the annoyed look that passed 
across Panther's face.  The sight of the proud and mighty Panther, the 
largest and most muscular of the three catgirls, sitting there with a 
black eye and a split lip from sparring with Kinnosuke was very amusing 
to her.

"You didn't do much better," said Panther, poking Lynx in a spot on her 
side where a deep bruise lay.  She was rewarded with a muffled yelp from 
the other catgirl.  "Serves you right."

The two glared at each other for a moment, before each harrumphed and 
pointedly ignored the other.  Both of them went back to watching the 
current match going on.

Ordinarily, it would be true that Tiger, let alone either of the other 
two catgirls, would have been unable to even raise a hand to harm 
Kinnosuke.  Their standard-issue personality programming quite strongly 
prohibited them from even contemplating violence against their owner, a 
necessary safety feature given their formidable strength and skill.  
However, a short time after the trio had entered into his service, 
Kinnosuke had taken the liberty of disabling those particular overrides, 
finding a certain thrill in having a level of wildness left in his 
living toys.  All it had taken was him speaking a certain sequence of 
command words that would not normally ever be spoken together in a 
sentence, and their absolute prohibition against harming him had been 
nullified.  Should he ever choose to do so, he could reactivate it in a 
single moment, with a single word.  But as they were now, it allowed any 
of the three catgirls to spar with him like this.  Fortunately for 
Kinnosuke, none of them could ever bring themselves to seriously harm 
him, a result of more deeply ingrained personality programming.

For his part, Kinnosuke greatly enjoyed using the trio as sparring 
partners.  It was a thrill he indulged himself in on a fairly regular 
basis, one that would have made his father totally apoplectic had he 
known.  There was something enticing to him about proving his manhood 
this way, putting his strength and skills to the test like this.  Now 
knowing that Nabiki Tendo was as formidable a fighter as he had 
suspected from seeing her sister in action, only hiding it like he had 
hidden his own skills, he was looking forward to being the one to 
utterly dominate her.  Conversely, he was also still a little puzzled as 
to how Ranma Saotome had managed to hide such fighting skills as he had 
recently demonstrated, such as in the schoolyard fight with Nabiki.  Yet 
it was a puzzle that intrigued him.

Tiger began a series of retreating backflips away from Kinnosuke when he 
renewed his assault, the blows from his fists and feet striking even 
faster than before.  Before reaching the edge of the mat, her body came 
down into a crouching position, and she speedily swept his leg out from 
under him.  She sprang over him as he fell, and one foot lashed out 
while she was still in midair to deal him a bruising blow to his ribs.  
She landed close to the center of the mat, her green eyes watching him 
closely.

"Nice move, Tiger," said Kinnosuke quietly, standing up with a tight 
smile on his face.  Sweat dripped down his face, and he knew that he was 
nearing the end of his physical reserves.  He held an arm across his 
injured ribs, even as he began raising his chi within himself.  When the 
redheaded catgirl came at him, they engaged in a furious assault upon 
each other as control of the match passed back and forth between them.  
New strength flooded his limbs as his adrenal glands answered the call 
of his chi, temporarily increasing his speed and power.  He was gambling 
it all on one last sequence of attacks.

Tiger felt Kinnosuke's fist slip past her defenses despite her best 
efforts, and she barely managed to roll with it when it struck her in 
the stomach.  An elbow strike cracked across her face, taking advantage 
of the brief hesitation in her movements.  Her defenses buckled as his 
kicks and punches seemed to be everywhere at once, before they finally 
crumbled away under his relentless assault.  She started to fall to her 
knees, and she took one last uppercut into her face, knocking her 
sprawling backwards.  Stars filled her vision for several moments.

"I yield, Kinnosuke-sama," said Tiger with a tired smile, rubbing her 
sore jaw.  She was as amazed as she always was that he was able to fight 
all three of them in sequence, after brief rest breaks, and still emerge 
victorious each time.  But feeling his strength overwhelming hers always 
made Tiger feel weak in the knees.  She held out a hand and smiled with 
delight when he helped her up.

"A good workout, girls," said Kinnosuke with a smile, taking the clean 
towel held out for him by Lynx.  He wiped his face, feeling the trio of 
warm bodies near him.  When he pulled the towel free, he saw all three 
catgirls smiling at him.

"Kinnosuke-sama was in excellent form today," said Lynx in a very 
appreciative tone, her eyes shining with love.  She ignored the angry 
looks that Tiger was giving her from behind their mutual beloved.

"Our master is a man among men," said Panther, casually shoving her way 
past Tiger to be the one standing closest to him.  "He deserves to have 
his cares soothed away with a good massage."  Of the three of them, 
Panther was the most skilled at shiatsu-style massage.

"Why would he want to spend time with an overmuscled ape when he can 
have more fun with me?" asked Tiger, moving Panther out of the way with 
a subtle jiu-jitsu move.

Kinnosuke chuckled as Lynx got into what quickly became a three-way 
shoving and wrestling match for the honor of receiving his attentions.  
He smiled and enjoyed the sight.

                   ******************************

Ranma woke up gradually, from a deep sleep, through a light doze, and 
finally to full wakefulness.  Blinking, he rubbed his nose between his 
thumb and forefinger and listened to the wind blowing outside.  The 
house was quiet, and he glanced over at his clock to see what time it 
was.  The digital readout changed to 4:46 AM as he watched it.  He now 
felt wide awake, even though there was still over an hour before he had 
to get up.

"Terrific," he whispered with a sigh.  Rolling onto his side, his eyes 
fell upon his computer system.  Since he was awake, he might as well try 
to take care of some of his work that he had been neglecting.  It was 
piling up on him again, like it often did when he became totally 
immersed in one or two projects like his current life had led him to.

Slipping on a warm robe and house slippers against the pre-dawn chill, 
Ranma sat down at his computer system.  His hand flipped on the main 
power switch, and he waited while it booted up.  As he watched the 
system run through its startup routine and bring up the main graphic 
interface, he thought about some of the newer systems already on the 
market.  The eight gigahertz processor chips were now out from several 
of the Empire's competing computer manufacturers, so perhaps it was time 
for him to start thinking about an upgrade again.  After all, it had 
been over six months since he had purchased this one, and it wouldn't do 
to let it get too far behind the technology curve.

Ranma clicked on a particular icon on the main workspace, starting up 
his word processing software.  The screen quickly lit up with a new 
workspace window, and he then opened up the specific file he needed, 
after entering the decryption key.  From his years working with some of 
the computer and system security experts he had known, his own personal 
security had become quite important to him.  So in his spare time he had 
written up an encryption algorithm for his personal datafiles, protected 
by a nonsense phrase that he had picked out at random.  With the fake 
Genma walking around in his world, he was grateful for his foresight.  
One of these encrypted files of his was now open, one that he had been 
neglecting of late, his private journal.

                   ******************************

FROM THE PERSONAL JOURNAL OF RANMA SAOTOME:

It has been almost two weeks since my initial full immersion experiment 
was run, and I still sometimes wonder how deeply it might have affected 
me.  I have already recorded more completely my initial impressions of 
the results from that first day of experimentation, with the full 
capabilities of the quantum neural resonator having been unleashed upon 
my cerebral cortex, so I won't repeat myself here.

Something changed in me that day, I admit, but I feel it was more like I 
was added upon rather than having something taken away from me.  I used 
to indulge myself in so many interests of the mind, but few of them have 
lately held much interest for me.  The work on my project has taken on a 
new level of focus, especially since rescuing my real father (not to 
mention getting rid of that other Genma Saotome, the parasite, before he 
can do any real damage to my life) has now taken on paramount 
importance.  I miss having my father to talk with.

Among the many accomplishments in my life, I have looked upon the heart 
of the atom through an electron microscope, studied the birth and death 
of stars and galaxies, beaten world-ranked Grandmasters of Chess and Go, 
spent years learning at the feet of a multitude of learned men, and made 
my own contributions to the halls of academia.  I once learned how to 
play the piano to concert-level quality.  I spent a single summer 
memorizing all of Shakespeare's plays, as well as many other famous 
works of Western culture, just to see if I could.  Now, other than my 
current project and my newfound interest in martial arts, nothing else 
really seems to matter.  Life is funny sometimes, isn't it?

I can honestly say that I do not regret what I have gained from these 
recent experiences, especially in the new fighting skills I now have.  
Using them and finally being able to put Akane Tendo in her place was a 
great relief for me.  Admittedly, it was an exercise in naked animal 
aggression being given free reign on my part, but it was, well, fun too.  
But she's gone from my life now, and since she's left for another 
school, I am sure she will find fresh targets for her aggressive 
tendencies.  I am finally free of them.  I am sure that Furinkan will 
suit her far better than the Imperial Academy ever did.

It is just as well.  The last thing I need right now is more women in my 
life.  I have my hands full enough right now with Ukyo Kuonji, Nabiki 
Tendo, and Kodachi Kuno.  Three women who have become involved in my 
life in some weird parody of events from those other worlds, but in this 
life, the meetings were engineered by my own mother, in her eager 
attempt to arrange a marriage for me.

It's strange how the same people keep popping up in the lives of myself 
and my analogs, as time and again they gather together one way or 
another.  Can there be such a thing as fate or destiny?  My father, that 
is, my real father, once taught me that a man makes his own fate in his 
life, but I am starting to wonder about that now.  Hopefully, I can use 
the experiences of my counterparts as guideposts, so that I can try to 
avoid the traps and pitfalls of their lives.

My analogs.  During the early course of my experiments, I've walked in 
the shoes of three counterparts from that strange region of parallel 
worlds where they defined themselves exclusively as martial artists in 
their lives.  One was taken on a training journey from Hell with another 
version of the fat bastard currently living in my house and managed to 
get himself romantically entangled with Akane, Ukyo, Kodachi, and also 
Shampoo.  He somehow manages to keep them all at arm's length while he 
figures out what to do, even though deep in his heart I'm sure he's 
fallen in love with Akane.  I wonder how long he can keep the girls 
juggled before he's forced to make a decision, or it all explodes in his 
face?  Ah well, I have enough problems of my own to worry about without 
having to worry about his too.

But then there's the second version of me.  He's in the world where my 
father is now trapped, while I get to deal with his shifty martial 
artist version of Genma Saotome, an idiot without a single shred of 
honor or any common sense as far as I can tell.  The sooner I can return 
him to that other world and forget I ever saw it, the better it's going 
to be for me.  That analog of mine now only has one girl to contend with 
at present, Shampoo, all thanks to the efforts of me and my father.  He 
might be the luckiest one of the three, but time will tell.

I hope my father is all right.

The third one disturbs me on some deep level, for some reason.  He 
stayed at home while Nabiki Tendo, of all people, went on the training 
journey from Hell instead, but that one I see as having his own major 
troubles.  He's been all but emasculated when it comes to how he deals 
with the women in his life, at least in my eyes, and I'm sure my other 
quantum brothers would agree.  He defers to his version of Nabiki, since 
she seems to have taken the starring role in the events of that world.  
The fact that she's cursed to turn into a boy makes me wonder if there 
is some factor going on in the timelines that I should be more aware of, 
but what that might be, I could not say, not precisely.  It is also odd 
how  the same people keep dealing with the same people, like variations 
on some weird sort of theme.

But getting back to that other Ranma, with that Nabiki's curse, and the 
way the relationships have formed up, he's practically irrelevant to 
things.  Nabiki's male form has impregnated the Shampoo analog of that 
world, so why could it not do the same thing for Ukyo if necessary?  
That Nabiki can't bear that Ranma's children, not with the curse active 
within her, so unless they do surrogate parenthood, I don't see how the 
Saotome and Tendo bloodlines could ever truly be joined.

I feel sorry for him, in a way.  Looking at that life from the outside, 
I just find it to be, for lack of a better term, a very scary thought to 
think of one of my own counterparts having ended up like that, nothing 
more than a lowly sidekick to a girl.

Despite what my own timeline's version of Nabiki might think, that is 
most certainly not going to happen to _me_.  I don't know what's going 
on in her head, but if my Nabiki Tendo wants that sort of relationship 
from me, then she can simply forget it.  My father may have raised me to 
view men and women as equals, which is why I can fight a girl with my 
full strength as I could another guy, unlike most of my counterparts, 
but I am likewise never going to accept a submissive role in any 
relationship with a girl.  Not that I plan on ever having a 
relationship, besides a purely professional one, with Nabiki Tendo.  I'm 
attracted to her, as I am to the other girls, but I can't let myself 
fall in love with any of them.  I don't want to trigger the traps that 
lie there, though it may already be too late.

I still find myself occasionally slipping into the poor grammar skills 
of my benighted counterparts in my speech, a result obviously from their 
vastly poorer levels of education having been written into my brain, but 
that annoying tendency has been fading slowly as time goes on.

Luckily, my new motor skills show no signs of fading away.  The 
ingrained agility and martial arts skills borrowed from my counterparts 
continue to grow within me, and each day I seem to get a little bit 
better.  Where they devoted their entire lives to learning these skills, 
I spent the same time developing my mind and expanding my knowledge.  So 
now, in addition to my own abilities, I can fight.  I wish the fact that 
I enjoy it so much would worry me more, but it doesn't really.

After this week is finally over, hopefully having managed to dodge all 
of my prospective arranged marriages, I can devote myself to solving the 
matter of restoring my father to his proper body, and sending that 
twisted parody of the man I have come to love and respect back where he 
belongs.  Once I can do that, then the worst of my problems will be 
behind me.

After all, I'm not cursed, and it's not as if I have a bunch of people 
looking to fight with me all the time.  Well, Nabiki may prove to be a 
handful at times, but Kuno and Mikado aren't any trouble.  And it's not 
as if I have Ryoga Hibiki coming to town looking to fight me.  If he 
even exists in this timeline, he won't have any reason to want to take a 
swing at me.  Kind of a shame really, though.  Maybe in this world, we 
could be friends.

                   ******************************

Ranma saved the journal entry, encrypted it, and then closed down the 
word processor.

"Let's see what's going on in the world," he muttered.  Ranma opened up 
his connection to the datanet and logged into his main electronic mail 
account.  He waited while his system checked for new mail.  It had been 
a few days since he last checked it, but he hoped that it wasn't too 
full.

"You have new mail," came a female voice from the speakers.  Ranma had 
the volume turned down, so he could just barely hear it.  He watched as 
his system began to download his email.  He sighed at the number of 
messages displayed on the screen when that procedure was completed.  He 
knew it had been a mistake to let it go for more than a day or two at 
the most, especially since he was on several mailing lists from the 
various universities and academic groups around the globe.

*263 NEW MESSAGES AVAILABLE.  READ NOW?

"I might as well," Ranma muttered with a slight amount of dismay at the 
sheer volume of message traffic he would now have to slog through.  He 
began scrolling through the entries, finding most of them to be junk, or 
juvenile arguments about things that he had no real interest in.

Eventually, Ranma finished off his email and looked at the clock on his 
desk.  It read 5:31 AM now.  He decided to leave the datafiles on 
Jusenkyo he had liberated several days ago remain where they were for 
now.  He had more immediate concerns to deal with, such as beginning his 
research into discovering how he could get his father back safely.  The 
first step is to begin by gathering data on that other world, he thought 
as he pulled out the datadisk from his bookbag, the one containing all 
of the coordinate and other data from each of his uses of the resonator.  
He slipped the disk into the drive bay and started up his home system's 
copy of the analysis software.

"Now to see where the divergence point took place," Ranma muttered.  
"That might give me something to start with."

*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000008 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

*PLEASE STAND BY...

*MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000008.  DETAILS?

Ranma typed out "YES" for a response, and the screen began to print out 
more information on the file.

*FILE #0000013 - QUANTUM DIVERGENCE POINT OCCURRED:
    3,852 YEARS
        8 MONTHS
       18 DAYS
       14 HOURS
       12 MINUTES
       47 SECONDS AGO.

The time counter kept ticking upwards as Ranma sat and stared at the 
numbers in puzzlement.  That world was virtually identical to the first 
one I visited in that region, he thought as he looked out his window at 
the stars fading with dawn's imminent arrival.  So the change wasn't 
simply in the near-term alteration of events that surrounded Shampoo's 
presence in that Ranma's life.  Something else happened a long time ago, 
and yet the present-day world remained relatively identical.

Ranma shook his head, a chuckle bubbling up from deep within him.

"Ranma Saotome, you are an egomaniacal fool," he thought out loud.  "I 
can't believe I believed that the changes somehow centered on me, on my 
life in that cluster of timelines.  Five hundred years or even five 
thousand years ago, either way it doesn't bring me one step closer to 
getting my father home."  He knew he should have known better, but he 
had assumed that all the worlds in a cluster diverged from each other 
relatively recently.  Of course, in the cosmological scheme of things, 
even four thousand years was a drop in the bucket when compared against 
the immensity of the history of the universe.  Ranma sighed at his own 
stupidity.  "Maybe the idiocy inherent in a depressing number of my 
analogs has affected me more than I thought," he muttered.

Stretching out a kink in his neck by rolling it from side to side, Ranma 
was discouraged at this turn of events.  Figuring that some early 
morning exercise must be what he needed to clear his thoughts, he 
quickly got dressed and eased the window to his room open.

Leaping from his open window, he landed on the wall encircling the 
grounds of his house, near the tree that sat at one end of the small koi 
pond.  He eyed the cold water as the wind rustled the water's surface.  
The half-full setting moon was low in the sky, already beginning to show 
a hint of dawn.  Even so, Ranma could just barely make out a few small 
lights on the darkened surface of the moon, scattered signs of mankind's 
presence on its sister orb in the form of mining colonies.  Several were 
French, but there were others that represented the other powers of the 
world, including a few by Japan.  Maybe someday I'll go into space like 
that other analog of mine did, he thought with a brief grin, before 
dropping his eyes from the heavens.

With a quick sprint to build up speed, Ranma took to the neighbor's 
rooftop in a single bounding leap.  He ran across the roof without 
making much sound, feeling the muscles in his legs already beginning to 
loosen up as he catapulted his body into the air once again, sailing 
across the gap between this building and the next.  He disappeared into 
the distance, as if trying to outrun all of his troubles.

                   ******************************

"Excuse me, can you tell me where Tokyo is?" Ryoga asked, shifting the 
weight of his pack on his back.  He smiled in a friendly manner, but his 
smile was starting to look a little travelworn around the edges after 
several days on the road.  His fiery need for vengeance was stoked a 
little brighter and hotter with each mile that passed beneath his feet.  
The sooner he found Ukyo Kuonji and savagely crushed him once and for 
all for awakening such strong feelings of attraction for another boy, 
the better.  This was all that damn Ukyo's fault!

"Tokyo?" asked the old farmer in surprise.  "But this here is Settsu 
Province, just outside Kobe.  You're nowhere near Tokyo, boy!  Can't you 
read a map?"

Ryoga grimaced, and his hatred for Ukyo Kuonji grew another degree 
hotter.  Just you wait, Ukyo, he thought with a growl.  You'll pay for 
making me have to suffer so, tracking you down for my vengeance!

"Why don't you take one of the trains?" asked the old farmer.  "I'm sure 
you could find one going to Tokyo from Kobe.  The station's just down 
that road."  The old man pointed off to the west.  "All you have to do 
is turn left at the fork over there."

"Thank you," said Ryoga, bowing slightly in gratitude.  He headed off 
down the road following the direction the farmer was pointing and 
promptly turned right at the fork.

"There's something not right about that boy," the old man muttered as he 
scratched his head.  "Oh well, we're on an island.  He'll reach Tokyo 
one way or the other, sooner or later."

                   ******************************

Lord Daisho Kuno removed his sunglasses as he stepped inside the dimly 
lit establishment.  It was an abnormally warm day for spring, so the 
sudden coolness of the small tavern was a welcome refreshment.  He 
shifted the paired swords riding at his waist casually as he placed his 
dark glasses in an inner pocket, his garb reflecting the traditional one 
of centuries past for a samurai nobleman.  It was an affectation of his 
that lulled his more modern-dressed peers at court to think that he was 
hopelessly mired in the past, and few of them even carried the weapons 
allowed for their station.  He inhaled briefly through his nose.  The 
scent of sake was pungent upon the air, bringing back memories of his 
youthful days long past.  The sounds of quiet conversation and clinking 
ceramic cups filling the air, and soft shamisen music emanated from 
several hidden speakers.

The tavern's owner greeted him at the door, a painted woman seeking to 
retain her long past youth.  Her breath was redolent with the odors of 
tobacco and alcohol.  "Welcome, noble lord," she said with a bow, her 
eyes taking in the richly appointed clothes and fine weapons at his 
waist.  She became even more obsequious at the thought of such a one 
joining her humble clientele, if even for a single afternoon.  "To what 
might I owe the honor of this visit?"

"I am meeting a friend here, good madam," said Lord Kuno quietly.  "Do 
you know the name of Genma Saotome?"

The woman's eyes glinted as she smiled.  That name belonged to one of 
her new, favorite customers.  She bowed and summoned an attractive young 
woman to her side, dressed in a slinky cheongsam-style dress slit high 
up one thigh.  The outspoken Akemi Roppongi was her most popular 
hostess, but nothing was too good for customers who looked able to spend 
a lot of money.

"Akemi here will take you to Saotome-san's private area, Milord," said 
the woman, bowing low once more.  She turned to the young woman, 
catching her eyeing Lord Kuno with a subtly calculating look on her 
face.  "See that this noble lord and his companion receive only our 
finest at their table."

"Yes, Ma'am," said Akemi, bowing deeply before leading Lord Kuno to the 
back portion of the tavern.  She knelt, sliding back a partition made of 
light wood and heavy paper, what was once a pure white now a pale yellow 
with age and old varnish.

Genma looked up when he heard the partition open, and he smiled at the 
sight of Lord Kuno standing there.  This will be all too easy, he 
thought with a smile, setting down his cup of sake.  He patted the 
pocket containing the engagement agreement, pleased that he was able to 
find such documentation readily available at a local office supply 
house.  He had even taken the liberty of writing down the names of the 
soon to be engaged, happy couple.

"Greetings, Kuno-sama," said Genma with a slight smile, turning aside 
from the table and bowing.  "It was good of you to meet me on such short 
notice."

"It is good to see you again, Saotome-san," said Lord Kuno as he stepped 
past the partition, taking one last sidelong look at the young hostess.  
He settled himself at the opposite end of the small table, removing his 
swords and setting them near at hand on his left side.  "I do confess to 
being puzzled at your sudden invitation though.  Still, it is good to 
see you again, old friend."

"I feel the same," said Genma.  "You are looking well."

"A little older and slower than when last we met, but I am still in 
adequate shape," said the nobleman with a sudden chuckle.  He flipped 
over and held up the empty sake cup, and Genma was quick to pour him a 
drink.

They exchanged pleasantries as the number of empty sake bottles grew 
larger in number.  Genma was grateful that he had been training for the 
past several days to raise his capacity for consumption.  Even so, he 
was hard-pressed at first to ensure that the other man drank more than 
he did.  Although things became much easier as the amount of sake 
consumed by the nobleman began far exceeding his own.

"Your son defeated my son," said Lord Kuno softly, staring a bit glassy-
eyed at his current cup of sake.  "Despite the many faults my son has, 
Ranma is a fine warrior to have done so.  He would be most welcome to 
wed my little Kodachi, old friend."  A single burp escaped his lips.  "I 
have worried about her so, that she would find a good husband.  So many 
of these 'proud sons of the nobility' are really nothing more than 
dishonorable savages in fine clothes.  She needs someone to protect her, 
my innocent little Kodachi."

"I understand completely, old friend," said Genma, feeling the world 
taking on a rosy glow.  He nodded, but then it felt like his head might 
fall off, so he stopped.  He pulled out the contract with a broad smile.  
Soun Tendo had the right idea, he thought pleasantly.  Why bother the 
boy or Nodoka with the details?  This should be an agreement between 
fathers.

"An engagement contract?" said Lord Kuno, eyeing the paper with 
interest.  A smile broke out across his face, and he wiped away a single 
tear.  "I am relieved that you remember the promise from our youth, old 
friend.  More relieved than you know."  The Sanzenin family had suddenly 
begun pushing for him to engage Kodachi to their son, something to do 
with the recent collapse of the agreement between their family and the 
Shiratori family.  Personally, he thought the boy Mikado was a little 
pustule on the backside of the Empire, and the rest of the boy's family 
wasn't much better.  So formally engaging Kodachi to Ranma so easily 
would come as a gift from the kami, and Daisho Kuno was never one to 
question good fortune.  Before Genma could say a thing, the contract was 
signed and stamped with Lord Kuno's mark.

Genma was a little overwhelmed, made doubly so due to the amount of 
alcohol he had been consuming, but he shrugged, signed, and stamped the 
document as well.  Now I just have to keep things a secret for a few 
more days, he mused.  If things here act anything like they do back 
home, this will all blow up in the boy's face at the worst possible 
time.  After that, I'm sure that the little punk will be kept busy 
trying to handle things, and it will keep him occupied while I prepare 
myself to train him as he should be.  A month or two, and I'm sure that 
I'll have this body up to a level that can deal with him.

Genma folded the contract and put it away before picking up his cup of 
sake.  He knew it would not be difficult to persuade Lord Kuno to hide 
the truth of this engagement from the couple.  When it finally did 
explode in Ranma's face as Genma hoped, then he knew there would be some 
excellent training opportunities, especially in dealing with three angry 
young women.  Those three girls will keep him off balance for me, he 
thought with a smile.

"Here's to a new beginning, old friend," said Genma cheerily.  "To the 
joining together of our two families."  And to getting his hands on the 
fat dowry that a nobleman's daughter surely had.

                   ******************************

Kyoko sighed softly, and she could tell that she was developing a 
headache as she continued listening to her mother on the telephone.  If 
there was one subject that Ritsuko Chigasi never grew tired of, it was 
lecturing her only daughter.

"I don't know where you got this stubborn streak from, Kyuko," her 
mother grumbled.  "It's been almost two years since Soichiro finally 
passed away, and I think it's time you moved on.  Isn't it about time 
you stopped mourning?  You're still a young woman."

Kyoko felt sorrow wash through her at her mother's careless words, 
remembering her last few years with her beloved husband.  Soichiro had 
gotten sick only two years after they were married, spending time in and 
out of hospitals while the best care that medical science had to offer 
barely kept him alive.  She had been forced to watch him fade away from 
her, slowly eaten away by cancers that the doctors could only hold at 
bay for a time.

Sometimes Kyoko wondered if it might have been better if he had passed 
away sooner, especially since his treatments had eaten away their money 
until there had been nothing left.  But she felt guilty for even 
wondering that.  Would she have been more open to remarrying by now if 
he had passed away while she was twenty and he first became ill?  She 
was quickly coming up on being twenty-seven, still a young woman, but 
what man would want to marry a widow her age?  Her mother's constant 
harping on it for the last year had finally driven her from home, unable 
to take being forced into doing something before she was ready.

"What about your new employer, Kyoko?" her mother asked, having finally 
had enough of Kyoko's silence.  "I hear that he's a widower himself, and 
not too much older than Soichiro was."

"I don't want to have this conversation today, Mother," said Kyoko 
softly.  "I'm still settling into my life here.  Please, give me a 
little more time."

"Perhaps a younger man might be better?" ventured Ritsuko as a last 
attempt before leaving the field of battle.  "I can contact a matchmaker 
and see-"

"Not yet, Mother," Kyoko blurted out.  "I have to go now.  I'm falling 
behind on my chores."

"All right, Dear," said Ritsuko.  "I'll check up on you next week.  Take 
care of yourself."

"Goodbye, Mother."

Kyoko stared at the telephone in her hands after she hung up.  A 
matchmaker?, she thought.  Maybe I'll see how things settle down here 
before I make any plans.  She still had a lot to do to get ready for the 
upcoming omiai, or marriage meeting, between Nabiki and Ranma.

"Bowf?" came a questioning bark from Soichiro in the backyard, the large 
white dog lifting his head to watch the girl who was walking past his 
doghouse.  He cocked his head to one side when she did not respond to 
him, and then he settled back down to watch what she did, his head 
resting on his paws.

Kyoko watched out through the kitchen window as Nabiki carried her small 
bundle of supplies to one spot in the backyard.  She began wiping off a 
dish from the sink and set it into the drying rack.  Whatever is that 
girl up to?  Some sort of special training, like they do in those kung 
fu movies Soichiro used to like?

The middle Tendo daughter set down several little bags of sweet 
chestnuts with a solemn look on her face as she went about building a 
small fire.  She fashioned a tower of twigs, sticks, and larger pieces 
of wood on a flat piece of bare ground, far enough away from any of the 
buildings so that there wasn't any risk of the fire spreading.  In a few 
minutes, it was done.  Nabiki knelt down next to it and smiled.  She was 
confident that it would only take her only a few tries at most to get 
the technique down.  After all, her other self had already done it, so 
it was undoubtedly already written into her motor skills.  All she had 
to do was call it forth.

Pulling out a small box of matches, Nabiki removed one from within.  
Here we go, she thought, quickly striking the match along the light 
sandpaper running down one side of the box.  The match flared to life 
with a small, bright flame and Nabiki tossed it into the center of the 
small tower of twigs and wood that she had constructed.  Flames began to 
lick outwards as the material caught fire.  She fed a few more pieces of 
wood to the blaze, stoking it up to a higher level of flame.  It had to 
be the right size and temperature for the training.

When the flames were casting a yellowish glow across her face, Nabiki 
picked up the small bag of sweet chestnuts and swiftly cast the contents 
into the flame.  A few seconds passed as they heated and cooked within 
the flames, and Nabiki readied herself.  Time slowed as she felt the 
glow of her chi rise around her.  She knew she would be able to do it on 
the first try.  She just knew it.

"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" she cried, her hands darting into the flames 
in an attempt to gather up the sweet chestnuts as fast as she could.  I 
can do this!  I know I can!  Then I'll show Ranma who the better martial 
artist is!

Seconds later, Nabiki sat blowing on her hands, seeing them both 
beginning to redden from the heat, grateful that she had thought ahead 
to wear one of her sleeveless tunics.  "Ow!  Ow!  Ow!" she cried out in 
pain, glaring at the small fire.  She scooted over to the koi pond and 
dunked her hands into the water, feeling blessed relief wash over them.  
She had not managed to rescue a single chestnut from the flames, hearing 
them crack and pop within it.

"Okay, fine, so I didn't get it right on the first try," Nabiki 
grumbled, grabbing another bag of chestnuts and moving back over to the 
small fire to try it again.  "Just you wait, Ranma.  We'll see who the 
better martial artist is.  Just you wait."

Kyoko shut the open window, shaking her head in wonder at what the 
middle Tendo daughter thought she was trying to accomplish.  A stream of 
unladylike cursing drifted in through the window a moment before it was 
closed, and she saw Nabiki rush to the small koi pond to cool her hands 
off once again.

Leaning outwards slightly on the sill of her bedroom window, Akane 
watched what Nabiki was doing with extreme fascination.  She loved to 
watch any sort of thing that had to do with martial arts, her single 
greatest passion in life.  It looks like some sort of speed training, 
she thought with a smile, taking note of everything that Nabiki was 
doing.

                   ******************************

Nodoka gazed in wide-eyed wonder at the enormous mansion finally coming 
into view through the taxi's windows, thrilled at the opportunity to 
visit the home of one of the upper nobility like this.  I'm certain that 
things will go well tonight, she thought, turning to look at her son and 
her husband.  Ranma looks so handsome in his new clothes.

Here we go again, Ranma thought to himself, seeing the happy look on his 
mother's face when she leaned back from looking out the window.  It had 
been a bit of a long day for him, and he felt too keyed up to enjoy 
dinner tonight.  He glanced at Genma, wondering what the man had in 
mind.  Ranma wouldn't put anything past him.

"Aren’t you excited, Ranma?" Nodoka asked pleasantly.

"Thrilled," Ranma replied with false enthusiasm, forcing a smile onto 
his face.  He just hoped that he could get through this evening without 
getting into a fight with Kuno, who he was sure would not welcome him 
with open arms, or getting Kodachi upset by openly refusing to marry her 
if things progressed that quickly tonight.  He did not wish to get 
married to anyone at this point in his life, and the thought of what 
could begin if he got engaged to any of the girls now orbiting his life 
was enough to give him a headache.

Genma dozed in his seat.  He had taken some alcohol neutralizer tablets 
before leaving the bar, but they had worn off, leaving him feeling a 
little sleepy as the day rolled into evening.  He had used the car ride 
as an opportunity to nap a little.

The taxi pulled up outside the front door of Kuno Manor, and Nodoka got 
out first when one of the servants opened the car door.  It was an 
impressive sight for her, and she wondered in the back of her mind how 
difficult it must be to keep clean.  She took a deep breath, smelling 
the sweet scent of cherry blossoms in the air.  She simply knew that 
tonight was going to be a night that she would never forget.

Inside the house, Kenseiko was giving a last-minute pep talk to a 
nervous Kodachi.  She wanted tonight to go well for her daughter, and it 
was quite obvious that Kodachi was quite taken with the young man in 
question.  She fussed with Kodachi's obi and yukata, adjusting the fit 
around her daughter's torso, checking that the wooden pins holding her 
hair up were just right.  Presentation was everything.

"Remember to be somewhat submissive when meeting your prospective 
groom's mother," said Kenseiko.  "She is the one that you should strive 
to impress the most.  Be aware of her impression of you."

"Yes, Mother."

"And sit with your back straight.  A lady always has good posture.  Not 
to mention it accentuates your femininity.  So sit up tall, but remember 
to be demure."  She struck Kodachi lightly across the small of her back 
with a hairbrush.

"Yes, Mother."

"And don't forget to smile, but not too insipidly mind you.  You don't 
want to give the impression of being frivolous.  Smile with a hint of 
seriousness on your face."

"Yes, Mother."

Kodachi half-heartedly listened to her mother spouting off more words of 
advice on how to be properly ladylike tonight.  There was currently a 
fountain of butterflies in her belly, and she kept feeling that she 
might faint from nervousness at any moment.  But then she realized that 
Ranma must be surely feeling as nervous as she was, and that helped her 
keep herself under control.

"They're here," said Kenseiko, looking down from the window of the 
dressing room at the rented taxicab.  Her gaze narrowed as she studied 
the woman who had emerged from the car first.  There was something oddly 
familiar about her, but Kenseiko simply shook her head a moment later.  
Whatever it was, it could not have been that important.  She hustled 
Kodachi to the door, eager to be there to play the part of the gracious 
hostess that she was when the Saotomes entered her home.

Meanwhile, outside....

"Stand up straight, Ranma," commanded Nodoka, her voice in full mother-
mode.  "I want to make a good impression tonight.  You have an excellent 
chance to marry a young lady from a noble family, and I don't want you 
to do anything to spoil it."

"Yes, Mother."  Ranma let her straighten his kimono with a resigned 
expression on his face.  I wish something, _anything_ would happen to 
get her to stop fussing over me tonight, he mused.

Genma swayed very slightly as he stood at the place Nodoka wanted him to 
stand at the doorway, but said nothing.

At that moment, the door swung open, and they were allowed into the main 
entry hall.  Nodoka ushered Ranma into leading the way, even as she 
towed Genma in behind her.  Somehow she managed to make everything look 
graceful and organized.  She caught sight of the Kunos standing there 
waiting for them, and her eyes paused on the woman standing next to what 
must have been Lord Kuno.  There was something familiar about her face, 
but Nodoka was sure it would come to her in a moment.

Standing in the main hallway, dressed in one of her finest yukata and 
obi, Kenseiko Kuno stood proudly behind her daughter, her husband and 
son standing at her side.  Tonight was going to be perfect, she just 
knew it.  Nothing could spoil how proud she felt at this moment.  She 
just wished that she could recall why the woman coming into her home 
looked so familiar.

"Remember, son," stage-whispered Lord Kuno to Tatewaki.  "I want you to 
remain on your best behavior tonight."

"Of course, Father," Kuno replied in low tones, his face a mask without 
any emotional content.  Inside, he was still contemplating his sister's 
words, his mind slowly deciding what to do about Nabiki Tendo.

Kodachi and Ranma caught sight of the other and each managed a shy 
smile.  Kodachi lowered her eyes demurely, feeling a blush suffuse her 
cheeks at the sight of Ranma dressed so finely.  He looked every inch 
the part of a young lord of the Empire.  Ranma felt his nervousness 
crank up a few notches at the sight of the beautiful girl standing 
before him, and for a moment it was as if they were the only two people 
in the world.

Nodoka narrowed her eyes.  It couldn't be, she thought.

Kenseiko blinked and hardened her gaze.  It's impossible, she thought.

"Milord Daisho Kuno.  Milady Kenseiko Kuno," intoned the servant.  "May 
I present Genma and Nodoka Saotome, and their son, Ranma."

Kodachi and Ranma were both startled by an unexpected reaction to the 
announcement of the names.

"You!" exclaimed Nodoka, pointing at Kenseiko with a look of extreme 
shock on her face.  After all these years, she did not believe what she 
was seeing.

"You!" exclaimed Kenseiko, her eyes wide as she stared at her old arch-
rival.  She had all but forgotten how much she hated Nodoka.

"Mother, do you two know each other?" asked Kodachi tentatively.

That timid question shocked Kenseiko out of her brief reverie, out of 
remembering the many indignities done to her by her nemesis, all of the 
victories stolen from her grasp when Nodoka had proven to be just a 
little luckier (NEVER more skilled) in combat.  She blinked and restored 
the pleasant look that had previously been upon her face with the 
consummate skills of a politician's wife.

Nodoka took half a moment longer to restore her composure, and to rebury 
the unexpected feelings unearthed at the sight of the other woman now 
standing once again before her.  She put a smile on her face, for her 
son's sake.  The settling of old grievances could take place at another 
time, but it _would_ happen.  She had a lot of repressed anger to work 
out against the other woman, but today she was here for her son.

"Nodoka," said Kenseiko pleasantly.  "Why, it's been simply ages."  She 
walked forward and held her arms open wide, a mere glimmering of her 
true feelings showing in her eyes.

"Kenseiko," said Nodoka with false charm in her voice.  "I simply had no 
idea you were so close all these years.  If I had, then I surely would 
have visited a long time ago to pay my respects."  She stepped forward 
and embraced Kenseiko, both of them acting like the oldest of best 
friends.

"Tonight we will pretend to be friends, you sword-swinging she-devil," 
whispered Kenseiko without removing the smile from her face.  "But after 
tonight, you had best hope that your combat skills are sharp.  Agreed?"

"I couldn't agree more, you blue-blooded bitch," whispered Nodoka 
pleasantly.  "It will be good to see if you're still as hopeless in a 
fight as you used to be."

The two mothers stepped apart, still smiling at each other.  Each of 
them was lost in a pleasant fantasy involving beating the other into a 
bloody pulp.  Each of them saw a chance to finally redress a great many 
old grievances, but that would wait for another day.

"I had no idea that you knew Ranma's mother, my dear wife," chortled 
Lord Kuno.  That would make things all the easier when he and Genma made 
their little announcement.

"Oh, I haven't seen Nodoka since we were both teenagers, dear," said 
Kenseiko with a smile.  "Of course, I'd be happy to rip the heart out of 
that little-  I mean, I'd love to have Nodoka-san as a fellow in-law.  
She's aged surprisingly well for her years, I must say.  Perhaps later, 
she and I will sit and catch up on old times.  It is so very good to see 
her, I must say."  Her thoughts wandered for a few moments.  I wonder if 
I can still fit into any of my old fighting outfits?  She made a mental 
note to have them pulled out of mothballs and tailored to fit, grateful 
that she had kept to her rigorous training for all these years.  Still, 
bearing two children had caused changes that no amount of exercise could 
restore.

The two families followed the servants into the dining room, where a 
long table rested, laden with the finest silverware, as well as fragile 
cups and bowls of porcelain.  There was even a little name card at each 
place, so that each person would know their proper seating arrangement.

Dinner began quickly after a brief speech by Lord Kuno, welcoming the 
Saotome family to his home.  He exchanged a brief grin with Genma that 
went unnoticed by the others.  The two mothers kept their eyes on each 
other, Kuno glared at Ranma, and Kodachi watched Ranma with loving eyes.

Ranma was almost too distracted by the looks that the two Kuno siblings 
were giving him that he almost missed seeing the exchange between Genma 
and Lord Kuno.  They're up to something, I can just feel it, he thought.

I can taste my victory over thee, Ranma Saotome, Kuno thought as he 
sipped at his soup.  When my father finally shows me how to perform that 
technique, then thou shalt surely fall.  No mortal man could possess the 
speed or skill to defy me then.  A brief image of both Akane and Nabiki 
crossed his mind's eye.  Then I shall enjoy the fruits of my victory.

Ranma looks so nervous, thought Kodachi with a smile as she began 
eating.  Perhaps after the formalities are over, he might like to go for 
a moonlit stroll with me in the gardens.

I feel naked without a weapon, thought Nodoka as she ate, glaring at 
Kenseiko while trying not to look like she was glaring.  I just knew 
there was something familiar about that Kodachi girl from the picture I 
saw, but I certainly wasn't expecting this.  Still, she seems a darling 
child, well-mannered and quite properly demure, much like I was as a 
young girl.  She also appears to have escaped having her mother's worst 
aspects, and I can see that she cares for Ranma a great deal.  Still, 
the thought of having the woman she was currently engaged in a glaring 
contest with as an in-law was rather unsettling to her.

The boy must take after his father, thought Kenseiko as she ate, even as 
she tried to bore a hole through Nodoka with her gaze alone, without 
looking like she was trying to do so.  It was a skill mastered at many 
court functions, where the art of verbal repartee and the subtle glance 
was as important as combat skill on the battlefield.  She found it very 
hard to believe that such a well-mannered and polite boy could be 
Nodoka's child.  Still, taking him away from that she-devil and making 
him a Kuno would be a delightsome revenge, she mused.

Ah, children grow up so fast, thought Lord Kuno as he slowly ate, 
sparing his only daughter fond glances.  Dachi-chan seems so taken with 
Genma's son.  I'm glad.  Not only will I be gaining control of another 
one of the Project's Newtypes, but I'm also giving my daughter the man 
she obviously desires.  And the next generation of Kunos will be gifted 
warriors without a doubt.

Genma contented himself with eating.  Deep thought was not required for 
that.

Eventually, the meal finally ended and Lord Kuno cleared his throat in 
order to gain everyone's attention.  Nodoka gently elbowed Genma in the 
ribs to get him to look up from devouring a fine pastry.

"I want to thank the Saotomes for coming to Kuno Manor this eve, for the 
announcement of a momentous agreement between our two families," said 
Lord Kuno grandly.  "Years ago, Genma Saotome and I were comrades in 
arms together."

Ranma glanced at Genma and felt himself go pale.  They didn't, he 
quailed.

"It was a time of foolish and glorious youth, but it was also a time 
when a friendship was forged," continued Lord Kuno.  "Earlier today, 
Genma and I met to discuss between ourselves the possibility of seeing 
the culmination of that friendship, by the joining together of our two 
children, my beloved Kodachi and Genma's son, Ranma.  Towards that end, 
we agreed that it would be imprudent to push forward an engagement so 
quickly, so instead we have agreed to give our children six months to 
decide if they would wish this of their own free will."

The lie flowed easily from Lord Kuno's lips, the result of years spent 
dealing with his fellow nobles at court.  What went unspoken was the 
fact that both fathers would begin pushing for the engagement to be 
'freely' chosen by the two children, calling upon their sense of family 
honor and duty.  At least that was how Lord Kuno was looking at things 
as he went on to extol the virtues of marriage, and his sincere hopes 
that Ranma would make his little girl happy.

Reactions were mixed.

Kodachi felt her heart skip a beat.  She had been expecting tonight to 
be only the first of several meetings before an engagement might have 
been formalized.  Now, she did not know what to think.  She knew she had 
no real claim on Ranma as of yet, but she also knew that she would have 
to begin subtly encouraging him to choose her over the others, all far 
less worthy girls, that were trying to work their way into his life.  
Kodachi felt herself to be more than capable of handling the challenge.

I'm doomed, Ranma thought.  He suspected that there was more going on 
than met the eye, but he did not see anything to avoid the trap now laid 
out for him.  Even so, he made a mental note to beat up Genma in the 
very near future.

Kuno came near to yelling out a denial for such a thing to occur, but 
one glance from his father stilled that notion.  His sense of honor 
finished what that glance began.  You will never become a Kuno, Ranma 
Saotome, he vowed in silence.  NEVER!

"This is truly a proud day for my family," said Genma, lurching to his 
feet.  He held up a cup of sake.  "Let us drink to the young couple's 
future happiness, old friend."

The two fathers toasted each other and drank innumerable cups of sake.  
The two mothers went back to glaring at each other.  Ranma was invited 
by Kodachi for a walk in the gardens, but his thoughts were distracted 
by the recent revelation, and also by the plan that Nabiki had finally 
come up with to get what he needed to retrieve out of his lab.  A solemn 
Kuno followed the couple openly, appearing like a grim angel of death 
whenever he managed to catch Ranma's eye.  Needless to say, nothing much 
happened between the couple, to Kodachi's mild disappointment.

                   ******************************

*** Earth  +1.612,+1.509

I am in Hell.

Professor Saotome stared at the pretty girl standing before him as that 
thought went through his head.

"Genma Saotome," the girl intoned, her hands dropping to rest on a small 
satchel she wore resting against her right thigh.  "Years ago you 
promised your son in marriage to me, in a most sacred agreement with my 
father.  And now you are denying my claim?  How dare you break your word 
on such a thing?!"

"Now see here, young lady," he began again, his voice rapidly losing the 
reasonable tone he had started the conversation with.  He glanced over 
at an annoyed-looking Ranma and Shampoo, both currently in their normal 
forms, before returning his gaze to the girl.  The two teenagers had 
brought this new annoyance to see him when she had arrived at the 
Saotome household and demanded to meet her promised future husband.  He 
still wasn't sure how she had found them so quickly after their recent 
move from the Tendo household.  "I am simply trying to explain-"

Genma found himself suddenly staring at a wickedly sharp-looking katana 
made up entirely of folded paper.  He blinked at the unexpected sight.

"As the heir to the Okami School of Origami Martial Arts," she growled 
slowly, "I demand that you honor your pledge to my beloved father to wed 
me to your son.  Now, will you or won't you?"

As tempting as it might have been to point the girl at Ranma to get her 
to stop waving her paper weapon at him, Genma did not.  It was only 
paper, after all.  How dangerous could that be?

"You are not going to marry my son, young lady," said Genma firmly.  "I 
am sure you have traveled a long way, but Tokyo is full of eligible 
young men- urk!"  He swallowed involuntarily as the girl quite casually 
and quickly chopped a nearby stone statue into quartered chunks with her 
paper weapon, before she brought it back into position.  He saw the cold 
gleam in her eyes and felt an odd urge to 'run for the hills and let the 
boy deal with this' fill him.  He was extremely grateful that Nodoka was 
not home right now.  Explaining this would not be easy.

Ranma, Genma thought desperately.  What the hell is keeping you?

                   ******************************

*** Earth  0.000,0.000

"This is going to be bad if we're caught."

"Relax, Ranma.  I've done this at least a hundred times with my eyes 
closed.  Trust me, I have very talented hands."

"Nothing much seems to be happening.  I feel kind of exposed like this.  
Have I told you recently that I don't want to get caught doing this?"

"Another thirty seconds and you'll be thanking me.  We're almost there.  
This baby is just a little more difficult to work with than most of 
those I've practiced on.  I'm actually impressed that it's taking me 
this long.  Besides, you don't see Kuno-sama getting down on her knees 
like this for you, do you?"

"I'll leave such tasks to one more suited for it, Tendo-san."

"I thought you might say that, Kuno-sama.  Get ready.  We're almost 
there."

There was a sharp clicking sound, and the padlock on Ranma's lab snapped 
open.

Nabiki folded her lockpicks away with a satisfied smirk upon her face, 
and said, "I told you I could get it open, oh ye of little faith.  Now, 
we have a little over forty-five minutes left for lunch, so we need to 
be out of your lab and ready for training class in that amount of time 
to keep anybody from getting suspicious.  The janitor comes down this 
hallway in the next fifteen minutes, so I need to get this locked up 
before he does. Kuno-sama will wait out here with me-"

"I think it would be better to have Kodachi wait in the lab with me, 
Nabiki," Ranma interrupted.  "She knows something about how my other 
self's equipment worked, so I'd feel better having her watch over me 
while I'm away.  You're the only one who can let us back out, so you 
can't come into the lab with me."

Nabiki glanced at Kodachi, just managing to catch the victorious look 
that flashed brightly across the noblewoman's face.  Shrugging her 
shoulders, she let that pass this time.  It's a logical idea, but I hate 
the thought of her alone in there with him.

"Fine," said Nabiki in a neutral tone of agreement.  She stood aside and 
let Ranma open up the door to his lab.  Her face then fell into a frown 
when the two of them had closed the door behind them.  She hastily 
clicked the padlock shut and concealed herself nearby, just in case the 
pair in the lab needed her for something.

Inside the room that Ranma could no longer officially claim as his lab, 
the pigtailed scholar turned on the lights.  The fluorescent tubes 
illuminated quickly, scattering light across the room for what Ranma was 
certain would be the last time that he ever saw it like this.  Even for 
as short a time as he had used it, he knew he would miss it.

"Let's get started," said Ranma, removing the dustcovers from off of his 
equipment.  He flipped on the main power bar and let the various devices 
begin to warm up.  While it did so, he began rooting around in the trash 
bin.

Kodachi settled herself on the couch, watching Ranma search through the 
trash.  After several moments, she saw him grab hold of something in the 
waste bin and hold it up with a grin of triumph.  She knew what it was 
instantly, a quantum flux coil, obviously one of Ranma's previous 
attempts at finding the proper mixture of rare earths for it to function 
properly.

"I'm glad I didn't throw this away," said Ranma, cradling the small 
object in his hands like it was the most precious of gemstones.  "After 
we get through, I just substitute this for the working flux coil, as 
well as replacing the software with this modified version."  He patted a 
pocket containing a datadisk with the important pieces of control code 
removed.  "Then we can get out of here."

The quantum flux coil was the only piece of the equipment that Ranma 
knew would have given him the most trouble to replicate, only due to the 
time involved in formulating the alloy it was made from and forming it 
into the proper shape.  Removing it from his old machine would save 
weeks of effort to create a new resonator, especially with Kodachi's 
help in obtaining the remainder of the components that he would need.

There was a soft beep, indicating that the system was ready.  Ranma 
handed the defective flux coil to Kodachi and sat down on the couch.  He 
picked up the keyboard and scanned the information on the screen.  When 
he built his next resonator, he made a mental note to improve the coding 
and ease of use for the software interface.  It would help if the girls 
should feel a need to use it if he wasn't available.  His fingers flew 
across the keyboard, quickly setting everything up.

*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #0000008 LOADING INTO ACTIVE MATRIX...

*PLEASE STAND BY...

*MATRIX LOADED: FILE #0000008.  DETAILS?  NO

*SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE:  YES

*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:  30.00 MINUTES

*WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET

"Be careful, Saotome-kun," said Kodachi with concern evident in her 
voice.

"I'll be fine," Ranma replied, grinning.  "I just need to find my 
father, appraise him of what's going on, and ask him for any advice.  
It'll be all right."

"I wish I could go instead of you," said Kodachi.  She blushed and 
looked down at the floor.  "I’d feel safe knowing that you were watching 
over me."

"It's just as well that you don't, Kodachi," said Ranma sincerely.  "I 
don't think you'd like your counterpart very much.  She's not my friend 
on that timeline, not like you are here."  He smiled at her a moment, 
before clearing his throat suddenly.  "Anyway, uh, I should get going.  
We don't have much time."

Kodachi helped Ranma fit the neural headset on his skull.  He laid back 
and closed his eyes, not seeing the look of concern that deepened on 
Kodachi's face.

Be safe, my love, thought Kodachi as she stood quietly at his side, 
alternating between watching him and the computer monitor.

The computer suddenly spoke, "Initiating upload cycle."

                   ******************************

*** Earth  +1.612,+1.509

Ranma felt the brief nonexistence of self wash across his awareness as 
the resonator took hold, what he had decided to call the "null zone."  
His eyes cleared a moment or two later, just in time for him to receive 
a fist impacting hard into his face.  He fell down and took several long 
moments to regather his thoughts.  The unexpected blow seemed to have 
scattered his analog's most recent memories, since they weren't flooding 
across his awareness.

Genma winced at the boy's plight, even as he put a bandage on yet 
another one of the multitude of thin cuts on his body.  None of them had 
been very deep, but he was grateful that Shampoo had finally stepped in 
to deal with the irate young girl.  He told himself that he had just 
needed a moment to gather himself, then that paper-wielding maniac would 
have been sorry for attacking him.  He had just been resting his eyes 
for a moment to prepare for his counter-assault.

"Ranma leave self wide open," teased Shampoo.  "Not good idea when 
facing Amazon warrior, even when just sparring."

"Uh, yeah," said Ranma, standing up and dusting himself off.  He blinked 
at the sight of Genma, swathed in bandages.  What the hell happened to 
him? the boy scientist wondered, annoyed that new memories still weren't 
seeping into his awareness.  "Give me a sec, would ya, Shampoo?  I need 
to talk to my Pop."

"Okay, but not take too long," said Shampoo, smiling at him.  She began 
working through a kata as Ranma trudged the short distance to Genma.

"Something I can do for you, Ranma?" asked Genma, setting aside his 
first aid work for the moment.

"<Hello, Father,>" said Ranma in Russian.  "<I'm sorry it took me so 
long to get back.>"

"Ranma," said Genma, his voice hoarse with sudden emotion, happy to have 
his real son back with him.  He quickly restrained himself from leaping 
up and embracing his son.  It would cause unwanted questions, and he 
also did not wish to risk reopening his cuts.  "<I'm glad that you're 
back, my son.>"

"<I don't have much time, I'm afraid,>" said Ranma, sitting down beside 
his father.  "<The resonator is only set for thirty minutes.>"

"<Then just tell me what's been happening back home, Ranma,>" said Genma 
gently.  "<How are you progressing at finding a way to get me back into 
my proper timeline?>"

Ranma began telling his father everything that had happened, leaving 
nothing out.  He told of the other Genma's treachery, at his success in 
preventing the use of the lab, save for this last desperate ploy.  The 
fight with Nabiki was briefly glossed over, but he spoke in more detail 
about the alliance with the two girls.  And lastly, he told his father 
about how the engagement meetings had gone so far.

When Ranma finished bringing him up to date, Genma sighed once and 
adjusted his glasses.  He turned to look at the sky, watching a flock of 
birds wending their way eastward.  Concern was written on his face.  He 
wanted to give some great words of advice, but they would not appear for 
him.  For a moment, he wondered if this was to be his fate, to live out 
his life in the body of a martial artist master with a reputation for 
gluttony and stupidity.  It was not a pleasant thought.

"<You haven't mentioned much about your mother to me,>" said Genma 
quietly.  "<How is she?  Has she noticed that I'm not the same?>"

"<Mom's fine,>" said Ranma hesitantly.  "<As far as I can tell, she 
doesn't seem to have noticed anything, but Mom can be remarkably 
unobservant sometimes.>"

Genma wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cry at that.  The woman he 
loved with all of his heart and soul did not seem to notice that he 
wasn't the same man.  He closed his eyes and sighed once again.

"<I haven't given up, Father,>" said Ranma, trying to encourage the 
older man.  "<I will get you home, one way or another.>"

"<I know you'll get me home, boy,>" said Genma seriously, looking Ranma 
in the eyes.  "<Every problem has a solution, and I don't want you to 
ever lose sight of that fact.  Believe me when I say I have faith in 
you, Ranma.  I taught you everything I could, and you were the best 
student that a father could ever wish for.>"

Guys don't cry, thought Ranma, feeling a hint of moisture in his eyes.  
It ain't manly.  He blinked and smiled at that echo of macho blustering 
coming up from the mind of his analog, but it was good advice in this 
case.  He had to be strong now, if only for his father's sake.

"<Just hang in there, Father,>" said Ranma solemnly.  "<I'll get you 
home if it's the last thing I ever do.>"  He glanced at the clock on the 
wall nearby, seeing his time was nearly up.  He stood back up and bowed 
to his father, unable to tell him how much he missed him.  But when he 
looked his father in the eyes, he could tell that he knew.

Without another word being exchanged between the two Saotome men, Ranma 
walked back over to Shampoo.  He saw her looking at him with a question 
in her eyes.  "Promise me you won't ever mention what just happened 
between me and my father to me again, okay Shampoo?"

The Amazon still looked puzzled, but nodded.  "Shampoo promise."

"Then let's spar," said Ranma with a grin, seeing the Amazon return the 
look.  The last thing he experienced was the gray nothingness of recall 
bringing him back to his own world.

                   ******************************

*** Earth  0.000,0.000

Kodachi glanced at Ranma's comatose form lying on the worn couch and 
sighed, her new addition to her outfit idly dropping down her sleeve and 
into her hand.  It was a white yo-yo with the symbol of the Kuno Family 
on either side.  She gripped it tightly for a moment, feeling the warmed 
ceramic-composite alloy against her palm.  The rugged material of its 
construction, like the long polymer line that connected it to the small 
metal ring on her middle finger, was said to be unbreakable.  It had 
rested in a drawer until very recently, an impulse purchase she had made 
shortly after arriving in this world.  With the list of her enemies and 
rivals growing longer, Kodachi had felt it prudent to add a ranged 
attack to her repertoire, so she had started carrying it up one sleeve.

And so is reborn the Black Rose, the young noblewoman thought with a 
smile, feeling a little silly about taking up the nom de guerre of her 
combative counterpart.  She had tested her abilities with it late one 
night, and she was pleased to know that a strike from the yo-yo could 
almost remove the head from a training dummy with a single flick of her 
wrist.  It made her feel a little better to have the hidden weapon on 
her person.  Distracted by her thoughts, she jumped a little when she 
suddenly heard a voice.

"Initiating retrieval cycle," spoke the computer.  A few moments went 
by.  "Retrieval cycle complete."

Kodachi quickly replaced the yo-yo back up her sleeve and rushed to 
Ranma's side.  She knelt down next to him and slipped the neural headset 
from off of his skull.  Her hand lingered for a moment on his cheek as 
she set the headset down on the worktable, before she snatched it away 
guiltily, hoping Ranma hadn't noticed how forward she had been with him.  
After all, they had not even had a first date yet.

"Well, that's it," Ranma said quietly, looking a little depressed.  "I 
told my father everything that's happened."  He got up off the couch and 
powered down the resonator.  He glanced over at Kodachi and smiled.  
"Thanks for staying with me."

"I was glad to help, even if I did very little," admitted Kodachi 
modestly.  She was trying to keep her thoughts in line and away from 
glancing at the soft couch, feeling risqué at being alone with a boy 
like this.  Soft tingles ran across her skin as her mind wandered away 
into a brief fantasy of her and Ranma doing this and that together on 
that same couch.  A light blush appeared on her cheeks, and she was 
grateful that all of Ranma's attention was being devoted to pulling the 
flux coil from his system.

"That's that," said Ranma after several minutes, startling Kodachi out 
of her fantasy.  He turned to her and asked, "Are you all right?  You 
look a little flushed or something."

"I'm fine," Kodachi said in a slightly unsteady tone of voice.  She had 
never felt like this around any other boy before, but she covered it 
with a shy smile.  "I'm just feeling nervous."

"I don't think we're in any danger of getting caught now," said Ranma.  
"It looks like Nabiki's plan is going to work out fine."  In truth, 
Ranma was a little irked with himself at not thinking up a similar sort 
of plan himself.  He knew that he was smarter than Nabiki was, after 
all.

They heard the sounds of the door being unlocked.  Ranma took the 
opportunity to recover his now useless equipment and turned off the 
light, just in case it wasn't Nabiki.  However, the light from the 
hallway revealed the middle Tendo daughter's face, causing both Ranma 
and Kodachi to relax.

"Time to go," said Nabiki, glancing at Kodachi.  She didn't like the 
look of the other girl's face and wondered if the noblewoman had dared 
to try something with Ranma.  Perhaps I should remind her again who the 
top fighter is between you and me, Kodachi, she thought, briefly 
standing aside as the pair in the lab filed out.  She quickly locked the 
door back up.  Just like it's going to be Ranma's turn, soon enough.

                   ******************************

"You mean it?  It's really for me?"

Nabiki smiled as she held out the ticket to tonight's fights at the 
Imperial Arena.  Getting Akane out of the house while Ranma and his 
family came over for the engagement meeting only required the middle 
Tendo daughter to take advantage of Akane's passion for fighting.  She 
handed her sister the ticket, front row center, and one that had cost 
Nabiki only a few favors from one of her many contacts.

"Just a little thank you gift for all the help you've given me at the 
Academy for the past couple of months," said Nabiki dismissively.  "I 
know how much you enjoy it, so I thought I'd treat you to something 
special."

"Thanks, Nabiki," said Akane brightly, almost glowing now with her 
happiness.  "Please tell Father that I won't be home for dinner tonight, 
all right?  I'm going to have to go straight downtown after classes in 
order to catch all the preliminary bouts."  She hurried off to get ready 
for school, eager to see if any of the Combat Club would be waiting with 
a challenge for her this morning.  She wanted so badly to join, eager to 
test her martial arts skill against other strong opponents.

And that takes care of that worry, thought Nabiki with a smirk.  She 
cared for Akane as only sisters could for each other, but it was still a 
relief to have her sometimes overly-violent sibling absent when Ranma 
and his parents dropped by.  Nabiki knew she would have to think of some 
way that she could break the news to Akane about her and Ranma in the 
very near future, without Akane wanting to try and cave her skull in.  
But right now she knew she should focus on her morning training.

A little while later, Soun Tendo paused in the entryway to the training 
hall behind the family home, watching his middle daughter training.  
Akane had already left for Furinkan, desiring to get there a little 
while before classes began.  Why that was, she had chosen not to inform 
him of.  He was grateful that she was apparently settling easily into 
her new school.  Her early departure gave him an opportunity to speak 
with Nabiki about Ranma.  Yet he now stood and watched his daughter do 
battle with phantom opponents, her attention directed as much inward as 
outward.

Within the training hall, Nabiki let her body swiftly flow through the 
movements of her kata, one arising from out of a multitude of forms.  
This was perhaps the true strength of the Anything-Goes School, a style 
of martial arts that embraced all others into itself, adding to and 
building upon what was already there, constantly striving to forge the 
body, mind, and soul into an ever more perfect weapon.  She grunted when 
her flow of motion was disrupted for a brief moment when her leg refused 
to rise to the proper height, stopping short by two full centimeters.  
Nabiki quickly continued on, but the limitations still present in her 
body irritated her.  She knew she lacked the full measure of the power 
and flexibility of her other self, but her body was getting closer and 
closer each day.  Her failure to master the Chestnut Fist over the past 
few nights was an added disappointment, but she knew it would come to 
her eventually.  Without Cologne to guide her, remastering her special 
techniques would be more difficult it seemed.

Nabiki continued on in her freestyle fighting kata, a form of meditation 
done to the movements of battle, but the peace she sought escaped her.  
She felt certain that it would be like this until she finally defeated 
Ranma Saotome and proved herself worthy of being the true Heir of the 
Anything-Goes School in this timeline.  She was better than he was.  She 
knew it.

Soun stood and marveled at what he saw, the graceful and powerful 
movements of his middle daughter.  Yet it was in a style that he was 
completely unfamiliar with, even after all the martial arts tournaments 
he had attended over the years with Kimiko during their marriage.  The 
thought of his wife struck him with how much Nabiki reminded him of 
Kimiko at that moment.  Each of his daughters had something of his wife 
in them: Kasumi had her height, build, and strength; Akane had her hair 
and eyes, but also her temperament; and Nabiki wore Kimiko's face, as 
well as possessing the same natural insight and innate skill.

For a moment, despite the differences in physical appearance and 
fighting style between mother and daughter, it was Kimiko before him.  
Soun came near to weeping at the sight of his wife as he preferred 
remembering her, lost within the never-ending quest for perfection of 
her beloved martial arts skills.  They were the lover that he had never 
begrudged her having, and he saw them reflected in Nabiki now.  Still, 
despite the iron control he maintained over his emotions, a single tear 
glistened at the edge of his eye.

"Good morning, Daddy," said Nabiki cheerfully when she noticed her 
father standing there.  "What can I do for you today?"

Recovering his composure with a speed born from years of practice, Soun 
gazed at Nabiki and said, "I trust that you are looking forward to the 
engagement meeting with the Saotomes tonight?"

"Yes, Daddy."  Nabiki smiled as the memory of her brief meeting with 
Nodoka flashed through her mind.  Ranma's mother already approves of me, 
I can tell, she thought.  And the version of Genma Saotome that was 
running through Ranma's father's head right now was probably dead set on 
his son marrying a Tendo.  Tonight would see Ranma become hers for sure.  
She could almost feel fate pulling them together once again in this 
timeline, and this time she knew that there wouldn't be any other girls 
engaged to Ranma, complicating matters.  The only difficulty would be in 
explaining things to Akane without it erupting into a fight.  She just 
needed to get her interested in someone else.  It was a shame that there 
did not seem to be any chance of running across Ryoga in this timeline.  
He would have been simply perfect for Akane if he was anything like his 
other self.

"That is good," said Soun pleasantly.  After many years of waiting, his 
beloved daughter would finally have the husband that Soun had spent a 
large amount of his resources and time in secret to find, another child 
of the Project, and the future for his family was looking much brighter.  
It was a mild irritant to him that the father of the boy was Genma 
Saotome, but the troubles that man had caused him so many years ago were 
perhaps better left forgotten.

"Was there anything else, Daddy?" Nabiki asked, looking at the clock and 
seeing that she would only have time for a quick wash before heading off 
to classes.

"No, I just wanted you to know that I feel so very proud of you, 
Nabiki," said Soun with the barest hint of a smile.  "I'm certain that 
Ranma's engagement to you will go off without a single difficulty.  I 
know that his parents will feel you to be the best match for their son, 
when you are formally and properly introduced to them tonight."  He 
hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I just wish your mother was 
still with us to see this."

"Thank you, Daddy," Nabiki said sincerely.  "I miss her, too."  It was 
odd to see her father like this, through the memories of her other self.  
However, that other Soun was a tragically warped reflection of her own 
beloved father, almost a shell of a man who was broken somehow inside by 
his experiences.  Her own father could be a little distant at times, but 
he was always a tower of strength for his family.

"You should get ready for classes," said Soun gruffly after looking at 
her for several moments.  Ah Kimiko, if you could have only been here 
tonight to see this, he thought.  He nodded once to his middle daughter 
and headed back towards the house to make sure that all would be in 
readiness for tonight.

Left behind, Nabiki smiled at the retreating back of her father.

                   ******************************

Later that day, Ranma stood with his family outside the gates to the 
Tendo demesne, feeling very odd at the thought of a formal marriage 
meeting to take place within its walls.  He glanced at the idiot now 
posing as his father, not liking the vague hint of a smile that hovered 
on the man's lips.  He's probably lost in some stupid dream of teaching 
Nabiki about the Anything-Goes School if an engagement agreement does 
take place, the pigtailed boy thought with a mental chuckle.  Won't he 
be surprised if he ever learns the truth?  Although if he does, I can 
just hear the words "the two Schools will be joined now" coming out of 
his mouth.  Whatever.  At least tonight is the last of these things, and 
if I can get through this one without a formal agreement taking place, 
then I can finally relax.  No fiancées this time around means less 
stress for the handsome boy genius.  He smiled wryly.

Ranma looks less nervous tonight, observed Nodoka with a smile.  He must 
be looking forward to tonight's meeting with that nice girl, Nabiki.  I 
never would have thought his tastes might run towards older women 
though.

Nabiki Tendo, Genma thought with a smile, looking around the walls of 
the compound before him.  It stood on the very same lot that it did in 
that other world, and it looked very much the same.  The training hall 
was a little small for teaching the students that would surely come, 
once he got this body into proper shape and Ranma firmly under control.  
I wonder if it isn't too late to consider Akane though?  Now _there_ was 
a girl full of spirit, Genma mused happily.  She would have kept this 
disrespectful whelp in line with a few good whacks upside his head.  He 
remembered fondly the 'training' in pain resistance that his son had 
received at the youngest Tendo's hands.

At that moment, the gate to the compound opened, revealing Kyoko 
standing there in formal yukata and obi.  She bowed to Ranma and his 
family, saying, "Welcome to this humble household.  The master and his 
daughter await you within."  She stepped aside and let the trio enter.

Genma walked in first, Nodoka following quickly behind, and Ranma came 
in last.  The pigtailed boy glanced around the compound, seeing it for 
the first time with his own eyes, amazed at the strong similarity to the 
ones in those other worlds.  The only difference that seemed most 
obvious was that the training hall was smaller, designed only for the 
use of the family it seemed.

Lurking at the wall of the Tendo household compound, a lone figure 
crouched, hidden from view, taking advantage of the natural cover being 
provided by one of the trees.  The position offered the intruder a clear 
view of the events now taking place, as Ranma and his family were made 
welcome at the Tendo home.  Dressed in the dark garb favored by ninja, 
her head covered by cloth save for two holes through which protruded her 
cat-like ears, Tiger watched the home of her enemy and frowned.  Her 
ears swiveled forward, but she was still too far away to hear what was 
going on.  She gathered herself to move to a new position, curious as to 
what all the activity and formal clothing signified.

Soon, Nabiki Tendo, thought Tiger grimly, even as she studied the 
distance she would have to leap.  Soon I shall be given permission to 
engage you in combat.  Soon I shall have the pleasure of breaking you 
before you are to be brought before my beloved Kinnosuke-sama.  She 
waited until the four were inside the house before making her move, 
watching coldly with slit-pupilled green eyes.  Soon.

With a blur of motion and a surge of strength from her long legs, 
Tiger's trim body swiftly covered the distance from the wall to the roof 
of the house.  She landed noiselessly and began making her way to a 
better position to hear things going on below her more clearly.  Her 
stealthy movements went unheard by all within the house.

Almost directly beneath Tiger's initial landing spot, Nabiki finished 
her preparations for the engagement meeting and smiled at the results.  
Dressed in a brand new yukata and obi of the finest materials, her body 
freshly bathed with scented oils, her hair brushed to a glossy shine, 
the middle Tendo daughter was certain that Ranma's heart would be caught 
by her tonight.  Nabiki Tendo, you are one beautiful girl, she thought 
as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror.

Standing in for their mother, Kasumi sat on Nabiki's bed and watched her 
younger sister admiring herself with an amused smile.  She was looking 
forward to the events tonight, and a chance to see the boy that had 
apparently caught the jaded-seeming attentions of her sister.  She 
coughed delicately into one fist to get Nabiki's attention.

"Mother would be so proud of you tonight," said Kasumi, when Nabiki 
turned to face her.  "I'm proud of you too, little sister."

"Thanks, Kasumi," said Nabiki, getting up from her dressing table and 
padding over to the door in her tabi-style socks.  "I'm glad that you 
could come tonight.  It means a lot to me, really."

"It's no problem," said Kasumi, moving up behind Nabiki as the sounds of 
people arriving was heard from below.  "My husband had to work late 
again tonight, so I far prefer spending my time here with my family than 
being alone right now."  Distracted by her own sudden nervousness, 
Nabiki did not notice that her sister sounded less than perfectly happy.

Down below, after removing her shoes, Nodoka paused in the entryway as 
she noticed the family shrine and decided to pay her respects to the 
kami and the ancestors of this household with a brief prayer for some 
good fortune tonight.  Her son had not been formally engaged to be 
married so far, but she was hopeful that the third time would be the 
charm signaling success.  As Ranma and her husband removed their shoes 
and came in behind her, she padded over to the small shrine and put her 
hands together solemnly, saying a brief prayer in her mind.  When she 
was done, she noticed the small photograph that rested in a place of 
honor within the shrine.

Kimiko? thought Nodoka with startled shock, feeling odd to see the face 
of another old rival staring back at her.  She felt faint for a moment, 
but managed to shrug it off quickly before anyone else noticed.  She 
studied the small photograph of her former rival and felt an odd sense 
of loss, remembering the many battles she had once fought with the other 
woman, battles that she recalled with pride.  Although they had never 
spoken of it as such, and both would have violently denied that it had 
been true, towards the end of their youthful days the two of them had 
become friends of sorts.  It was a relationship born out of a fierce 
rivalry, but Nodoka could now recall times when the two of them had 
stood shoulder to shoulder as allies.

I will miss you, old friend, thought Nodoka wistfully.

"What is it, Mother?" Ranma asked, coming up next to her to briefly pay 
his respects at the house shrine.  The interior decorations were very 
different from his memories of this place.

"Nothing," said Nodoka with a smile, turning to look at him.  "I was 
just reminded of something that I hadn't thought about for a long time."

"Ranma, come and meet Soun Tendo," said Genma gruffly, dragging him away 
from Nodoka quickly.

"Hello, Ranma," said Soun pleasantly when the boy had been brought 
before him by Genma.  "It's good to see you in my home.  I feel like we 
have known each other for a long time already, what with studying your 
file from the matchmaker."

"Uh, yes," said Ranma, uncertain what to say.  He bowed politely to the 
man, taking in Soun's bearing and stoic demeanor.  The sense of déjà vu 
filling him was intense, even though the man before him was not what he 
would ever have expected from someone named Soun Tendo.  How so very 
different he is from his analogs, he observed absently.

After making small talk for a while, the group made their way to the 
dining area, now arranged with the traditional settings for a formal 
marriage meeting.  Ranma and his family were directed to spots to sit, 
and then he spent a few moments waiting for Nabiki and her sister to 
arrive.

When Nabiki demurely walked in, trailed closely by her older sister, 
Ranma was astonished at the sight of her.  Dressed as she was in 
traditional garb, her hair brushed to a glossy perfection, her face made 
up with a light hint of cosmetics and bearing a look of serenity at 
seeing him, the pigtailed scholar felt his mouth go dry.  He watched 
her, mesmerized, as she padded over to her designated place and knelt 
down gracefully.

"My middle daughter, Nabiki," said Soun formally, indicating the demure 
figure of the girl next to him.  The three members of the Tendo family 
bowed to the Saotomes, a bow that was quickly returned, Ranma being only 
a little slow due to his recovering from shock.  "I welcome you into our 
home for this meeting to discuss an engagement between my daughter and 
your son."

Hidden in the rafters outside nearby, Tiger cocked one ear slightly to 
listen more closely, her hearing picking up everything quite clearly.  
Engagement meeting with the Saotomes?  What's going on? she wondered.

Ranma was still trying to balance the image of the beautiful and quiet 
girl kneeling across from him with the memory of the same girl trying to 
beat him up only a few days before.  The equation refused to compute, so 
he remained in a mild fugue state.  Most of what was going on passed by 
him without his notice, as Nodoka and Kasumi discussed the pros and cons 
of a marriage, and the two fathers remained silent.

He keeps staring at me, Nabiki thought, feeling a light blush work its 
way across her face as she glanced at Ranma now and then.  She was 
working hard to project the proper image for Nodoka's sake, having been 
advised by Kasumi on this subject.  Even though it made her feel oddly 
nervous, a feeling she clamped down on hard, she also enjoyed it that he 
seemed to like looking at her.  She smiled slightly at him.

After a time, Kasumi nodded to her father that she was satisfied with 
the answers that Nodoka had given.  Across from her, Nodoka gave a 
similar look towards Genma.  There was a brief moment of hesitation as 
the four adults turned to look at the two youngest people in the room.

Genma spoke first, having worked out his little speech well in advance.  
"I wish to begin by thanking you, Tendo-san, for having my family over 
to your home for such an auspicious evening.  I can see that my son and 
your daughter will make a fine couple, and their engagement has my 
blessing."

Soun nodded, pleased at how well things were working out.

"However, I do not feel it would be wise to rush our children into 
something," continued Genma without missing a beat.  "So I propose a 
period that they can get to know each other, one not longer than six 
months, before a more formal engagement will be had between my son and 
your lovely daughter."

"I agree," said Soun, nodding solemnly.  He had spoken with Genma for a 
few moments before the other man had brought his son before him.  Ranma 
was apparently quite leery and resistant to being forced into an 
engagement by his parents, so Genma proposed this bit of subterfuge to 
give the boy time to get used to Nabiki in a more casual agreement.  The 
two fathers knew otherwise, and Soun had confidence that Nabiki would be 
able to bring Ranma under control soon enough.

Tiger blinked.  This was startling news, and she was uncertain how 
Kinnosuke would take it.  Still, she entertained hopes that her love 
would lose interest in Nabiki Tendo, now that she appeared to be soon 
claimed by another man.

Satisfied that she had observed something that would need to be 
reported, Tiger flipped back up to the roof of the house and then leaped 
across the space to the wall.  Before anyone realized she had ever been 
there eavesdropping, the catgirl was several rooftops away and running 
hard for her home.

Nabiki found herself feeling a little disappointed.  She had been 
hopeful that a formal engagement would take place, but she would settle 
for this for now.  At least it gives me more of a claim to Ranma than 
that little floozy Kodachi has, she thought with a mental grin.  She 
would have Ranma for her own, and no other girl was going to take him 
away from her.

Ranma blinked and felt nervous at the looks that Nabiki was giving him, 
but he felt relieved that he had apparently managed to dodge the threat 
of an arranged marriage.  Although the present setup meant his mother 
would be pushing him to decide on one of the girls before too much 
longer.

Still, at least I'm not engaged to them all, Ranma thought with relief.

                   ******************************

A short time later, Tiger stood at attention in her snug-fitting black 
garb, only the cloth that had covered her head removed.  Her ears 
swiveled forward to listen closely to every word that her beloved 
Kinnosuke-sama uttered.  Every now and then, her eyes would flicker to 
glare at Lynx, who was casually primping and looking quite smug with 
herself as she sat at the edge of their master's bed.  The smell of an 
apparently lengthy session of sexual activity permeated the room, a 
cloying scent of musk and sweat.  It set Tiger's teeth on edge to see 
another woman, even one of the other two catgirls, with him.  She 
sniffed softly in disdain at the leggy, dark-haired Lynx.

Apparently I must teach Lynx her proper place in this household once 
again, thought Tiger, a savage grin briefly appearing.  She was looking 
entirely too self-satisfied.  That little bitch could never be as good 
as I am with Kinnosuke-sama.  I was his first, and I will always be 
first in his heart out of all of us for that reason.

Lynx smiled lazily at Tiger as she ran her hands back through her hair 
to straighten it a bit, enjoying the irritated look that appeared on her 
sister catgirl's face.  Ah, Tiger, Lynx thought with amusement.  A few 
more sessions like his last one with me, and Kinnosuke-sama will surely 
choose to take me as his preferred bedmate over you.  Her facial 
expression was smug as she turned to gaze at Tiger, idly licking her 
lips.  She coolly locked eyes with an annoyed Tiger.

"So the Tendos and the Saotomes are looking likely to be setting an 
engagement between the two families you say, Tiger?" said Kinnosuke 
softly, currently watching a videotape of the fight between Ranma and 
Nabiki with the sound turned low.  The boom mike on the camera had 
managed to catch almost every grunt and cry of pain given off by the 
couple, providing a soft background noise to the room of the sounds of 
fierce combat.  "You are absolutely certain of this?"

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama."

"Leave me, both of you," said Kinnosuke brusquely.  "I need to be alone 
now, to think."

"Yes, Kinnosuke-sama," said the two catgirls, both of them walking out 
together.  Their rivalry over their master's bed was forgotten for the 
moment.

When the door closed behind them, the sounds of shattering glass and 
other items breaking began to be heard.

"What will we do, Tiger?" asked Lynx, looking at the other catgirl.

"What we always do," said Tiger grimly.  "We wait for his orders, then 
we act."

"This news of Nabiki Tendo and Ranma Saotome has hurt him deeply," said 
Lynx, her ears folded flat against her head.  It was obvious how she 
felt about anyone who would cause her beloved hurt.  Although what she 
was about to say pained all of the catgirls deeply, Lynx felt it was 
necessary to say, "He wanted her for himself.  This agreement between 
the Saotomes and the Tendos would likely frustrate that.  Both Ranma and 
Nabiki should pay for that."

"Yes," growled Tiger softly.  She looked at Lynx solemnly.  "Both of 
them will pay dearly for Kinnosuke-sama's pain.  Come, Lynx, I wish to 
include Panther in our plans.  I think she'll like what I have in mind 
to do."  An evil smile appeared on Tiger's face.

"What's that?"

"We make them suffer," said Tiger coldly.  "And then we make them suffer 
some more."

"Yes, Tiger," said Lynx softly, her eyes glittering.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Thanks to my pre-readers for all of their help and advice:

Michael Allen
Jim Bader
Donny Cheng
Fabian
Jed Hagen
Kevin McHorney
D.B. Sommer
Stephen Sparrow
Stardragon
Doug Whiddon