Here's a revised version of part 3 that I'm posting to the RAAC, since 
they seem to have lost the original cut.  Explanations as to why I did so 
will be given at the end.  In the meantime, enjoy the new version.

	Stoner 3:17 Presents

	Double or Nothing

	A "Ranma 1/2" Fanfiction Series

	Written by Jeremy Mullin (stoner317@hotmail.com)

	"Ranma 1/2" characters and situations created by Rumiko 
Takahashi.  All rights reserved, used without permission.  Please don't 
sue, I have no money.

	Part 3: Welcome Home! (I Think...)

     "Awright, twerp, you know the drill!  Hand over all yer money or 
we pound ya!"
     Hikaru Gosunkugi figured that he had to be cursed by the gods.  
Otherwise he wouldn't be in such an all-too-familiar situation again: 
backed into an alley by a bunch of thugs who wanted his money.  And 
it was his 'favorite' bunch, too, the ones in the animal masks.  And he 
without his voodoo hammer and nail, since that was the only way he 
could be allowed back into the library.
     "C'mon, Ghost-boy!" the apparent leader in the cat mask sneered. 
"Fork it over, or else!"
     "Or else what?" a new voice replied from the opening at the alley.  
Gosunkugi and his assailants all turned to see someone standing there, 
leaning against the wall in a rather relaxed pose.  He was mostly hidden 
by the shadows, almost totally obscuring his features, but they could 
tell that he was fairly lean and muscular.
     Maybe it was the guy's voice, but for some reason, Gosunkugi 
thought he seemed... familiar.
     "I don't mean to butt in," the guy continued, "but five jerks in masks 
picking on one little guy?  That just doesn't seem fair, you know?"   
     "Hey, pal!" the leader in the dog mask yelled in annoyance.  "This 
here's a private matter!  So take a hike!"
     The newcomer seemed amused.  He was probably even smirking.  
"And if I say no?"
     "Then we'll make ya sorry!" the horse-masked one replied.  "We're 
the toughest gang around in this neighborhood!  Nobody messes with 
us!"
     "A bunch of idiots wearing stupid masks and picking on skinny little 
guys who have little-to-no chance of defending themselves..."  The 
newcomer shook his head and snickered.  "Oh, yeah.  You guys are real 
tough."
     "That's it!" the leader snarled.  Fed up, he turned to his dog-faced 
companion.  "Get rid of this guy, will ya?  He's gettin' on my nerves!"
     "You got it!" the other replied, and went charging to the entrance of 
the alley, his arm pulled back to throw a punch...
     Only to be sent flying back to his friends by a well-placed kick.  He     
crashed into a bunch of garbage cans and stopped moving.  The rest of 
the gang was shocked by what happened, turning their gazes back and 
forth between their fallen comrade and the guy who took him down.
     "Did you see that?!"
     "He can't do that to us!"
     "This guy's askin' for it!"
     "C'mon, let's get 'im!"
     Gosunkugi watched as the remaining punks went charging to the 
head of the alley.  Fifteen seconds later, they all laid strewn about the 
alley, groaning in various states of pain.  Their would-be 'victim' was 
dusting himself off, not even having broken a sweat.  Martial artists 
were usually like that.
     "Seesh, that was pointless," he snorted.  He then turned to 
Gosunkugi, stepping forward out of the shadows.  "Hey, buddy, you 
okay?"
     The zombie-palored boy shook out of his surprised state to nod in 
reply.  "Y-yeah, I'm alri--"  His eyes suddenly widened with shock as 
he finally saw his rescuer.  "YOU?!"
     The other young man was startled by the outburst.  "Me?  Do I know 
you?"  Before Gosunkugi could reply, his rescuer just shook his head 
and waved his hand.  "Ah, never mind.  I gotta get going.  There's some 
place I gotta be.  See you around, okay?"
     With that, he dashed out of the alley, not even stopping as he 
grabbed the bag he had left lying at the entrance.  He then turned a 
corner and vanished from sight.
     Gosunkugi continued to stand where he was in shock, not even 
hearing the moans from his would-be attackers.  He couldn't believe it.  
It couldn't, no, it *shouldn't* have been him.  It was impossible.  He 
was gone, run off without a word, finally driven out of Nerima, never 
to return.  Yet, a face, a voice like that was never easily forgotten.  
Different kind of clothes, hair worn differently, yet the *person* was 
still the same.
     There was no denying it.  After three months, *he* was back.
     And that meant one thing...
     "I have to warn Akane!" Gosunkugi cried, and ran out of the alley to 
go find a phone.

		*		*		*

     "*Ah... a*choo!*"  The sudden sneeze brought Akane to a halt as 
she was beginning to perform an offensive combo.
     "Hey, Akane, you all right?" Ranko asked with some concern.  The 
two girls were in the backyard sparring, Akane in her usual yellow gi 
and Ranko in her new usual outfit, one of her old Chinese-style shirts 
tied at the waist with a white sash (the closest she'd ever get to wearing 
an actual dress(1)), worn with black leggings, leg warmers the same 
blue as her shirt, and her old black arm bracers.  "Cause if you're 
catching a cold, I don't want it," she added with a grin, backing away a 
little.
     Akane turned to glare at the red-haired girl.  "I'm fine, Ranko!" she 
snapped.  "I just sneezed, okay?!  We *are* outside, you know?!"
     "Okay!  Okay!" Ranko grinned as she held up her hands in a gesture 
of peace.  "Chill out, Akane, I was just messing with you!  Sheesh!"
     Akane just snorted in response, adjusting her gi top.  In truth, she 
didn't know why she had sneezed, as it wasn't that windy outside to 
pick up dust or flower pollen.  She wondered if someone had been 
thinking about her.  There was definitely a long list of suspects for that 
position, though one face in particular come to mind...
     And he looked a lot like the girl who nearly took her head off with a 
sudden roundhouse kick that Akane just barely ducked in time.
     "Hey!  I wasn't ready!" she cried out in protest, glaring at her 
partner.
     Ranko just shrugged, brushing the waist-length braid that she had 
grown her pig-tail into back over her shoulder.  Inside the house, the 
phone had begun to ring.  "Well, you should know by now that an 
enemy like Shampoo or Kodachi isn't going to wait for you to be ready.  
Being distracted like that'll cost you.  Big time."
     Akane just fumed as she glared at the red-head.  What made 
Ranko's point worse was that she was right.  Before she could reply or 
make an attempt for some kind of payback, Kasumi appeared on the 
verandah.  "Akane!  You have a phone call!"
     "Take a message!  I'm busy!" the younger Tendo called back as she 
and Ranko got ready to resume sparring.
     Kasumi, however, replied, "It's that Gosunkugi boy, Akane.  He said 
he has to talk to you right away.  He sounds very worried, Akane." 
There was a slight hint in the older girl's voice that said that Akane 
would take the call, no argument.
     Akane let out a sigh of despair at the news, obviously not very 
happy.  "I'll be right back," she said to Ranko, then turned and walked 
into the house.  A moment later, she could be heard yelling out, 
"*QUIT CALLING ME, YOU LITTLE CREEP!!!*"  The sound of the 
phone being slammed back down on its cradle followed, causing Ranko 
to smirk and wince.
     "Akane!  That wasn't very nice!" Kasumi cried scoldingly as she 
followed her little sister back into the house.  Inside, they began to have 
a little 'discussion' about Akane's phone etiquette.
     Ranko chuckled as she stood in the yard, beginning a kata while 
waiting for Akane to return so they could continue their sparring 
session, the latest of many that they had had over the summer.  After 
Ranma had left, Akane began training harder to try and learn some self-
control, and wound up becoming Ranko's regular sparring partner, and 
was able to improve her own abilities while helping Ranko regain her's.  
It took awhile for Ranko to actually spar with Akane, as she had still 
been in her old attitude about not fighting with girls, but time and a few 
smacks on the head caused the red-head to change her attitude.
     Surprisingly, it didn't really take long for Ranko to relearn the 
basics, since they were kind of still there but with only a year's worth of 
experience behind them.  Plus, Ranko was a fast learner, when it came 
to martial arts, anyway.  The only real problem they'd had, aside from 
Kuno bothering them constantly, was Nodoka.  She had been totally 
against the idea of her daughter having any martial arts ability and 
interfered whenever she could.  She wanted Ranko to act like the 
daughter that she had always envisioned, a demure and polite young 
lady who didn't have her father's influence to "corrupt her" and no 
martial arts training at all.  This led to several heated discussions 
between Nodoka and Ranko, who wanted to live her own life and not 
forget who she was in case she managed to regain her manhood.
     Eventually, Nodoka relented, convinced that it was Ranko's life and 
not even she could raise a daughter to be a perfect lady, especially not 
one named Ranko(2), and had to settle with having a daughter who was 
something of a tomboy.  She allowed Ranko to continue training, but 
only if she'd be allowed to give some training of her own to teach her 
daughter how to at least act *somewhat* feminine so that it would look 
like she was raised by her mother.  They even went as far as to go back 
to the Saotomes' old neighborhood, where they stayed with a friend of 
Nodoka's who happened to be a martial artist and helped train Ranko in 
regaining her fighting abilities, which made sense since she would have 
learned a different style.  The only real difference was that the training 
was rather light compared to what she used to do, as Ranko probably 
wouldn't have trained as hard as Ranma had due to Nodoka's influence.  
Still, she was able to do enough so that she was on equal footing with 
some of the others.  They came back after about about a month when 
Ranko was able to act and look feminine enough for Nodoka's 
satisfaction.  She was basically almost the same, but was now a girl 
who fit the story that they had come up with.
     All that was left to do now was to successfully pull the whole thing 
off and fool certain parties.  Easier said than done, as far as Ranko was 
concerned.
     Ranko continued to go through her kata while Akane was still 
'talking' with Kasumi inside when her danger sense suddenly flared up.  
Someone was sneaking around the dojo, a strong someone with a 
strong aura and possibly some not-so-good intentions, as well.  As she 
fell into a battle-ready stance, she tried to figure out who it could be.  It 
couldn't be Cologne; she had gone with Shampoo when the Amazon 
left to go look for Ranma, and Mousse, naturally, tagged along with 
them.  Ryoga was probably lost, as usual, though she'd heard he had 
come by the dojo looking for Ranma while she was gone and then took 
off in a hurry without even bothering to see Akane when he learned his 
rival wasn't around.  And Happosai was supposed to be following some 
foreign singing group around on their tour through Japan(3).  While it 
wasn't impossible that they had suddenly come back, Ranko doubted it 
was any of them, but still couldn't figure out who it might be.
     She didn't get much chance to think on it further as she had to 
suddenly back away from a rapid-moving figure coming down at her 
from out of nowhere in a dive kick.  He impacted with the ground, and 
then immediately continued into his attack, furiously throwing out a 
barrage of punches and kicks that Ranko had trouble defending against.  
While her skills were pretty good after only a few months training, and 
she was pretty much on-level with Ukyo and Shampoo, her opponent 
was better.  He just kept moving so fast that she had trouble keeping 
up.  Plus, she had trouble getting a good look at him due to the 
continuous attacks and movements.
     *So he likes speed, huh?  Well... let's see him try this...* she 
thought, and completed that thought with the aloud cry of "*KACHU 
TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!*"  With the cry, she began throwing out 
the rapid-fast punches, several dozen a second, out at her attacker.  The 
technique, one of her more simpler ones, had been easy to regain, as it 
was mainly a physical attack, as opposed to her ki-based attacks which 
she was still having trouble with.  Still, she had managed to get by with 
just it alone when she first learned it, and she could do so again.  
Besides, it alone was usually enough to take out an opponent if she 
managed to get them by surprise.
     But not this fellow, who managed to block the attack with what 
appeared to be the same one.  It wasn't as fast as Ranko's, but still fast 
enough to keep her punches from connecting with him.  This both 
surprised and annoyed Ranko, who barely managed to regain her 
senses as the fight continued, both combatants trading blows with 
seemingly no end in sight.
     Finally, she got a break by feigning a jump to the air, and when her 
attacker shifted to continue his assault, she ducked down and shot a 
kick to his mid-section.  When he doubled over from literally having 
the wind kicked out of him, she grabbed him by the head and threw him 
over her shoulder in a grappling-style suplex.  He didn't stay down for 
long, though, and after a brief moment's hesitation on Ranko's part, he 
managed to roll away from her as she tried to bring her foot down on 
him in a vicious stomp.  She began to stalk her way over to him as he 
was trying to get himself back on his feet, but stopped when she saw 
that he was shaking slightly and... laughing?
     "Not bad, sis," he gasped between both his laughter and the catching 
of his breath.  "Nice to see you've been training while I've been gone, 
but your reaction time could use some work."
     Normally, Ranko would have taken serious offense to such a 
remark, but she had been thrown off by the laughter and being called 
"sis."  Only one person might call her that, but he wasn't...  She found 
her thoughts cut off as her attacker turned around and stood up, and she 
and the other members of the house, who had gathered on the verandah 
by the sounds of combat, gasped when they saw who it was.  "You!"   
     "Boy, I seem to be getting that reaction a lot, lately," the young man 
before her said with a smirk.  He was Ranko's age, and was an almost-
exact mirror image of her save for his gender and his black hair that 
was tied back into a ponytail.  His clothing were more of a Japanese 
style, a red vest-like gi-top worn over a white muscle T-shirt and a pair 
of dark blue pants that were tied off at the lower shins with black 
wrappings.  A black sash was tied around his waist, and he wore ninja-
style gloves and split-toe shoes.  Despite the new look, however, he 
was still easily recognizable.
     "Ranma!?!" was the collective cry, both surprised and joyous.
     "Hey, guys," he said with a grin.  "Miss me?"  He didn't get a chance 
to say much else as he was suddenly mobbed over the two families.

		*		*		*

     "Aw, c'mon, Pop," Ranma said with a smirk as he watched Genma 
try to pick himself up off the floor.  "You can do better than that, can't 
you?  I thought that you wanted to see if I'd been slacking off instead of 
training?"
     The two stood in the dojo, where Genma had practically dragged his 
son into almost immediately following Ranma's sudden return, 
interrupting the happy reunion.  He hadn't been so sure that Ranma had 
stuck to his training while he was away, and wanted to see if that was 
the case.  So far, he was being proven wrong and then some.
     Sitting over along one side of the dojo were Soun, Nabiki, and 
Ranko, who decided to tag along and watch, not really having anything 
else better to do.  Kasumi and Nodoka had shooed them out, and were 
busy in the house preparing a 'Welcome Home' dinner for Ranma.  A 
big one, apparently, from the sounds that could be heard coming from 
the kitchen.  Surprisingly, Akane wasn't among the group of spectators, 
and no one knew where she was.  As long as they figured she wasn't in 
the kitchen, they didn't worry too much.
     The three observers watched as Genma finally got back up to his 
feet, a growl escaping his lips as he growled at Ranma.  "I'm not done, 
yet, boy," he replied back.  "I've haven't spent the last few months just 
sitting around doing nothing, you know."
     "He's right," Ranko quipped.  "He's been sitting around playing 
shogi, watching TV, and stuffing his face when Mom wasn't looking."
     "Sounds just like Pop," Ranma chuckled while Nabiki and Soun 
giggled and snickered, respectively, next to a grinning Ranko.
     "Why you little ingrate!" Genma roared as he finally got to his feet.  
"I'll teach you to show some respect to your father!"  He positioned 
himself in an attack-stance, getting ready to charge at his son.
     Ranma fell into his own stance, smirking as he did so.  "Any time 
you're ready, Pop."
     Genma waited a short moment, then charged at Ranma with a flurry 
of punches and kicks.  Ranma, however, easily dodged or blocked them 
all with little effort, occasionally throwing an attack of his own that 
sent his father to floor.  This cycle went on repeatedly for several 
minutes, with Genma becoming more and more frustrated while Ranma 
was able to keep his cool.
     Ranko, Soun, and Nabiki watched on in fascination, impressed by 
Ranma's skill.  They couldn't help but notice, though, that there seemed 
to be something different about him.  He still seemed to have the same 
cocky attitude everyone was familiar with, but it appeared toned down 
a bit, even for a pre-Jusenkyo Ranma.  He seemed somewhat more 
level-headed, focusing more on the match and less on any need to show 
off.
     In any case, though, it was obvious that Ranma had kept up on his 
training while he had been away, and was probably almost back up to 
speed before his memory loss.  Maybe even better...
     "Had enough, yet, Pop?" Ranma asked after a bit, smirking again as 
he watched Genma try to pick himself off the floor again after being 
sent there via a judo toss over his son's shoulder while trying to punch 
him.
     Genma's only response was to growl as he got ready to attack again, 
but was stopped by Soun's hand on his shoulder.  "All right, Saotome," 
he said almost humorously.  "I think that Ranma's proven that he's been 
busy and keeping up with his training."
     "Unlike some people," Ranko snickered, Nabiki giggling beside her 
again.
     Genma let out a deep sigh crossed with a growl of frustration.  "Oh, 
why am I cursed with such ungrateful children?!" he cried, mainly to 
himself it seemed.
     "I'm sure they often ask that about you," Nabiki answered with a 
grin.
     "Nabiki..." her father said in a warning, stern tone as Genma turned 
to glare at her.  Nabiki just grinned back in that unconcerned way of 
hers.  Turning back to his friend as he heard Kasumi call from the 
house, he continued, "Besides, it's time for dinner, anyway.  Time to 
clean up, eh?"  He gave Genma a towel to wipe himself off, and after 
Ranma finished doing the same, the group walked back to the house.
     The sight that greeted them when they entered into the family room 
totally surprised them.  The entire place was totally decorated for a 
party.  Balloons and streamers of various bright colors hung on the 
walls and from the ceiling, as well as along the huge banner posted 
across the doorframe that said in large, brightly-colored kanji, 
"WELCOME HOME, RANMA!"  Kasumi and Nodoka stood about the 
table, big smiles across their faces and dressed in decorative kimonos.  
On the table itself lay a feast with a huge variety of foods.
     "Whoa!  You guys went all out!" Ranko said in astonishment.  She 
then took a moment to look around the room, wondering where Akane 
was.  The youngest Tendo was, for some reason, still absent.
     "You guys knew about this?" Ranma asked with a chuckle.
     "Why do you think your father was so anxious to drag you away to 
the dojo?" Nodoka replied.  "We needed some way to get ready and 
still somewhat surprise you.  Though I'm sure he had his own 
reasons..."  A sly grin spread across her face as she looked at her 
sheepish-looking husband.
     "We even managed to convince Kasumi to not invite all of Nerima 
here like she always does for these things," Nabiki added with her own 
smirk directed towards her sister, who blushed slightly.
     "At least we managed to get invited," Dr. Tofu said as he entered the 
room, his usual friendly grin on his face.
     "Hiya, Doc," Ranma said with a wave of his hand.  "Nice to see you 
again."
     "Likewise, Ranma," the doctor replied back absently as he bowed in 
greeting, mainly to Kasumi, who blushed slightly as she did so.  And 
even though she tried to hide it, everyone managed to catch her taking 
hold of Tofu's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
     "The doc finally asked Kasumi out awhile back," Ranko whispered 
to Ranma, answering the obvious question.  "They've become quite a 
popular item over the last few weeks."  Ranma simply nodded in 
response, grinning at the pair at the other side of the room.
     "So, Doctor...  Planning on proposing to my daughter any time 
soon?" Soun suddenly asked in that non-calant way of his.
     "Father!  We've only gone out a few times!" Kasumi protested in 
embarrassment, while Dr. Tofu began to laugh nervously.  Everyone 
else had a good laugh at their expense.
     "Well, it's still nice to see you again, Doc," Ranma said again as the 
laughter died down.  Dr. Tofu simply smiled and nodded in response.
     "Does that go for me, too?" a new voice asked, and everyone looked 
to see Ukyo enter the room, carrying, of course, a box of okonomiyaki.
     Naturally, Ranma began to panic slightly.  He hadn't forgotten the 
last time they had met, and was sure Ukyo hadn't, either.  "Uh, Ukyo...  
It's, uh...  I mean, what're--"
     "I invited her," Ranko said bitterly, interrupting her brother's 
stammering.  "I figured it'd be a good idea for you two to try and patch 
things up.  Especially since she's my boss."
     Ranma looked at Ranko in surprise as his mother answered, "It was 
my idea.  I figured that since Mr. Tendo was kind enough to let us stay 
here, it would be best if we did something to contribute.  I even got 
your father back his old job with Dr. Tofu, and your sister works part-
time with Ukyo at her restaurant."  With a slight frown, she added, 
"Though I'm not too fond about her choice of employment, I suppose it 
is better than working with that Shampoo girl."
     "Um, thanks, Mrs. Saotome.  I think..." Ukyo said a bit uneasily.
     "Guess that means I'll have to get a job, too," Ranma muttered.  
Turning back to Ukyo, he continued, "Uh, listen, Ukyo...  About what 
happened--"
     However, the okonomiyaki chef held up a hand to interrupt him.  
"Hang on, Ranma.  What happened was mostly my fault.  I acted like 
Shampoo and tried to take advantage of a situation without realizing all 
the facts.  So I can't really blame you for reacting like you did.  Maybe 
we can't be the same friends we used to be, but we can at least try and 
start over.  What do you say?"
     For the first time since three months ago, Ranma began to relax 
around Ukyo.  With a nod, he replied, "Sure.  No problem... Ucchan."
     Ukyo shook her head.  "Just Ukyo, okay, Ranma?  We're starting 
over, remember?"  She smiled as Ranma nodded again in response.
     "Oh, how wonderful.  You're all friends again," Kasumi said 
cheerfully as she gave a small clap with her hands.  Everyone sweat-
dropped as they stared at her.
     "Man, is she always like that?" Ranma muttered his sister as they 
began to sit down.
     Ranko shook her head.  "Nah.  Usually, she's a bit more perky."  She 
then turned her attention to the table, or rather, the food on it.  "Now 
let's eat!"
     "Spoken like a true Saotome!" Genma agreed heartily, and he and 
Ranko immediately began to make for the food, ready to begin the 
ritual fight for it.  Two quick slaps to their hands, however, just as 
immediately halted them.
     "Now, now," Nodoka said sternly.  "Mind your manners, you two.  
This is Ranma's party.  He gets to begin the meal.  And besides, we 
still have to wait for Akane."
     "Right here, Auntie!  I just finished freshening up!" Akane's voice 
came from the doorway.  Everyone turned to see Akane enter the room, 
dressed in a kimono just like Nodoka and Kasumi, as well as flowers in 
her hair.  She even wore a little make-up, enhancing her already pretty 
features.  A few pairs of eyes widened as they saw the covered dish that 
she carried with her in her hands as she walked over and sat down in 
between Ranma and Ranko.  She gave a beaming smile to Ranma, 
which made him rather uneasy and caused Ranko to frown.
     "Um, hi... Akane..." Ranma began stammering again.  This time, 
however, he seemed really worried.  And for good reason, as everyone 
remembered.  "Um, how are you--?"
     Akane just continued to smile at him.  "I'm doing great, Ranma.  
And... I'm happy that you're home."
     *She IS?!* Ranko thought bitterly.  She couldn't help but wonder 
just why Akane was being so nice to Ranma all of a sudden, getting all 
dressed up and such for him when she never used to do so before.  An 
old, familiar feeling was running through her, one that usually reared its 
ugly head at times like this.
     "Here, Ranma," Akane continued as she placed the dish she had 
brought in with her before Ranma.  "I made a little something for you 
to welcome you home."
     Those words immediately caused Ranko, Genma, Soun, and Ukyo 
to panic, knowing full-well what that usually meant.  Kasumi and 
Nodoka just smiled at each other knowingly, while Dr. Tofu raised a 
curious eyebrow and Nabiki just looked on with an interested smile on 
her face.  "Are you nuts?!" Ranko shouted.  "My brother just got home 
for crying out loud!  He doesn't need to be sick in bed before he has a 
chance to relax!"  She tried to make a grab for the dish, but was stopped 
by a wooden spoon banging her on the head.
     "Hey!  I have been practicing, you know!" Akane retorted angrily, 
returning the spoon to the table as the red-head rubbed her sore noggin.
     "So you claim," Genma said while Soun cried about his daughter 
"poisoning her fiancee, again."  "But I won't have you feeding this stuff 
to my son!  As his father, it's my duty to--"
     "Genma..." Nodoka said in 'the Tone'(4).  It was all that was needed 
to make him immediately become silent.
     Ranma, meanwhile, looked at all of them with a bit of skepticism.  
"What's with you guys?  You're all acting like she's gonna poison me or 
something."  He then took a moment to remove the cover from the 
dish, revealing a steaming helping of what appeared to be some kind of 
stir-fry.  He shrugged his shoulders a bit.  "Doesn't look so bad to me."
     "Looks can be deceiving, bro," Ranko said as if in warning.  Which 
she was.  "Trust me, you've never had her cooking.  Or, at least you 
don't remember having it.  In either case, though, you're still better off 
not taking any chances with your health."  She failed to notice the 
others save Ranma slowly inch away from the table as Akane glared at 
her.
     Ranma, however, refused to be convinced.  "Oh, come on.  It can't 
be that bad."  With that, he grabbed his chopsticks and took a decent 
helping that he placed in his mouth before anyone could stop him.
     For a long while, there was silence as everyone looked on as Ranma 
slowly chewed the food.  No one was sure if he was pacing himself, or 
if he was savoring it as it had obviously been awhile since he'd had 
home cooking.  For her part, Akane stared at him with concern and 
worry, praying that she had done right with the meal.  She had worked 
hard to make something for Ranma.  If she screwed up now...
     Finally, Ranma stopped chewing and swallowed with a rather 
audible gulp.  Which immediately followed with him quickly grabbing 
his water and taking a long sip.
     "I knew it!" Ranko cried as Akane looked dejected.  "I told you you 
shouldn't've eaten that, Ranma!  I told you that Akane couldn't cook 
worth a damn!"
     "Ranko, you're not helping," Nodoka said, noticing that Akane was 
about to cry.  "And watch your language."
     "Hey, I'm fine!" Ranma gasped as he finished his drink and set the 
now-nearly-empty glass back down.  "It's just a little spicy, that's all!  
Other than that, though, it's pretty good."
     Everyone save for Nodoka, Kasumi, Dr. Tofu, and Akane all face-
faulted in shock.  The two women smiled at each other knowingly, as if 
giving silent congratulations to each other, and Dr. Tofu grinned with 
surprise while Akane beamed with joy.  "You... you mean it?!  You 
really like it?!" she gasped.
     Ranma nodded.  "Yeah.  It's really very good.  Thanks, Akane," he 
replied as he took another bite.  He gave a satisfied smile to Akane, 
who continued to smile back at him with tears of joy welling up at her 
eyes.
     "No way!  It can't be!" Ranko cried in shock as she picked herself 
up.  "Akane actually made something good besides curry?!"  With her 
own chopsticks, she took a helping of her own from the plate and ate it, 
much to the protest of Akane.  After a moment, she opened her eyes in 
surprise.
     "Hey.  It is good," she said in astonishment.  "And you're right.  It is 
a little spicy..."
     "Let me try..." Genma offered, greedily eyeing his son's food as he 
reached for it with his chopsticks, his body slightly tense as if preparing 
for combat.  What stopped him, though, was his wife slapping his hand 
again and setting a rather good-sized salad before him.
     "I thought we had gotten you out of that nasty habit of stealing your 
children's food, Genma Saotome," Nodoka said in 'the Tone'.  "And 
don't even think you can use this party as an excuse to cheat on your 
diet."
     "Aw, but Nodoka..." Genma whined, staring at what his dinner was, 
the same as it had been for the last several weeks.
     "Mom got the old man on a diet," Ranko whispered to a confused 
Ranma.  "Said something about how a martial artist should be in better 
shape.  About time, if you ask me."
     Ranma nodded in quick agreement as he watched his mother relent 
and let Genma have a little treat with his dinner, since it was a special 
occasion.  "Just this once..." she said as she dished up a small plate of 
curried beef.
     "I still can't believe it," Nabiki said in astonishment.  "My little 
sister actually managed to cook a decent meal?"
     Kasumi nodded in agreement as she passed a dish of food to Dr. 
Tofu.  "She came to me and Auntie for help, saying that she would 
really pay attention this time.  We decided to keep it secret so there 
wouldn't be any interruptions or distractions for her."
     "And it seemed to have worked," Nodoka added.  "Akane can now 
fix a few decent dishes that are quite satisfactory.  She's still having a 
little bit of trouble putting in too much of something or add-libbing to a 
meal, but we're working on it."
     "Way to go, Akane," Ukyo congratulated with a grin that made the 
other girl blush slightly.
     "Yeah.  Good job," Ranko added in a rather sub-dued tone.  She 
kept wondering why Akane chose *now* to seriously try and improve 
her cooking skills when she had so many opportunities to do so before.  
She looked over at Akane and Ranma, sitting together closely but not 
really saying anything.  Ranma still seemed rather uncomfortable and a 
bit nervous around Akane, while she seem actually glad to be around 
him and kept trying to make him feel welcome.
     Ranko's eyes narrowed in further suspicion.  It couldn't be...  Could 
it?
     For awhile, dinner continued, everyone just chatting idly with each 
other and getting reacquainted with Ranma as they ate.  Eventually, it 
was Nabiki who broke the ice with the question that was just waiting to 
be asked.
     "So, Ranma.  Where have you been and what have you been doing 
over the summer after you ran off?"  She put a bit of emphasis on the 
last few words, sounding a little bitter as she did so.
     No one really noticed, though, as yet another long moment of 
silence fell across the room after the words left Nabiki's mouth.  Ranma 
seemed to have forgotten how to speak as he considered how to 
answer.
     "Well?" Akane prompted in her old annoyed tone.
     That startled Ranma back into reality.  "Huh?  Oh.  Sorry."  He 
coughed a bit to clear his throat before beginning.
     "Well, you all know what... happened before I left, right?"  After 
everyone nodded, he continued with a sigh, "Well, you can probably 
guess how I was feeling at the time.  I didn't know what had happened 
to me or what was happening in general.  All I knew was that I nearly 
took someone's head off, and that someone was my fiancee!"
     The guilt and anger he felt towards himself was thick enough to 
require a diamond-edged blade to cut it.  It was all the others could do 
to keep from edging themselves away from him in fear.
     After taking a moment to take a deep breath and collect himself, 
Ranma went on.  "Anyway, I obviously had to get control of myself 
before someone did get hurt, so I left to go train on my own.  No way 
was I gonna stick around here, not with everything going on like it was 
and I wasn't going to wait for any other surprises to drop in on me.  
And I had to go about it alone, 'cause I didn't want to go through Pop's 
crazy training ideas."
     "Good idea.  Half the time that's usually what got us in trouble in the 
first place," Ranko said in agreement.  The twins ignored the glare that 
Genma gave them.
     "So you just went and trained on your own, Ranma?" Kasumi 
asked.
     Ranma nodded in response.  "At first, yeah.  But it was mostly 
physical stuff, since I was stronger and faster than I last remembered.  
It was my ki that was my main problem, since I didn't know how to 
control it and every time I tried to learn on my own, I just kept blowing 
up more stuff.  Luckily for me, this guy I ran into told me about this 
monk who seemed to specialize in this sort of thing..."

		*		*		*

     "So... you wish to train with me, eh?"  The monk sat and stared at 
the dirty and ragged-looking Ranma with a bit of amused interest.  He 
looked like an average, run-of-the-mill Zen monk, right down to the 
bald head with mustache and pointy beard to go with his blue and white 
robes.  He also probably knew more ways to kick the younger boy's 
butt with little effort.
     Ranma nodded before replying, "Um, yeah.  I heard you were an 
expert in controlling ki, and I've been having trouble controlling mine 
since I lost my memory."  He had told the monk an edited version of 
what had happened to him, leaving out the part about Jusenkyo and the 
split.  He did include his out-of-control ki-generating skills, and how 
he'd almost hurt Akane.
     The monk stared at Ranma, seeming to study him for a moment 
before nodding once.  "Yes, I can sense that your ki is very powerful, 
indeed.  And for one so young, too.  And despite your ego--which we'll 
also take care of--I can also sense that you have a good heart.  I shall 
indeed train you."
     Ranma was ecstatic.  "Awright!  Thanks!"
     "However," the monk continued, a sly grin spreading across his 
face, "I'll only be handling the spiritual part of your training.  There 
will also be some physical work involved.  That will be handled by my 
assistant and groundskeeper."
     "Groundskeeper...?" Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow.  He didn't 
show it, but he was starting to get worried.
     The still-grinning monk nodded.  "That's right.  Meet Kuma."  He 
gestured behind Ranma, who turned and looked up...  And up, to see a 
huge bear of a man, heavily muscled and staring down at Ranma with a 
wicked-looking smirk on his face and his massive arms folded across 
his chest.
     Ranma gulped.  *Now* he was worried.

		*		*		*

     "Ouch.  Sounds like it got kinda rough sometimes, huh bro?" Ranko 
smirked as Ranma took a break in his story to eat some more of his 
dinner.
     "You're not kidding," he replied.  "Those two ran me ragged.  When 
I wasn't eating or sleeping, I was either training with Kuma or doing all 
sorts of meditation stuff with the monk, learning to get my ki under 
control.  Or I was doing chores around the temple.  That was to help me 
learn humility, they said."
     "It seems to have worked.  You seem less arrogant and prideful than 
you used to be, and more mature," Nodoka said with observance.  She 
then got a thoughtful look and added, "I wonder if that would work 
with your father...?"
     "Feh.  Doubt it," Ranma smirked, and everybody snickered at a 
scowling Genma's expense.  "Anyway, all that training paid off.  I got 
all my skills under control, and the monk taught me how to control and 
focus my ki.  Mostly, though, I was just training myself or learning 
about what I'd been doing for the last year."
     "How were you able to do that if you weren't here?" Akane asked.
     In response, Ranma reached into his gi-top, pulling out and holding 
up what appeared to be a small notebook, slightly worn and ragged 
around the edges.
     "Hey!  That's my journal!" Ranko cried out with wide eyes.  She 
glared at her brother.  "You jerk!  You stole it!"
     "You keep a diary?" Nabiki asked curiously.  There was a smirk on 
her face as she tried not to laugh.
     "Journal.  Girls keep diaries, guys keep journals," Ranko corrected, 
still glaring at her brother.  Before anyone could point out that she 
*was* a girl, she continued, "And yeah, I kept one.  I like to write 
down what I do and what I learn in terms of my martial arts."
     Soun nodded with satisfaction and admiration.  "Good idea.  And a 
rather interesting way of putting together an instruction scroll for future 
generations of martial artists, I might add."
     Ranko took a moment to grin with pride.  "Hey, thanks, Mr. Tendo."  
She then turned back to Ranma to glare at him again.  "Or at least I did 
before someone went and stole my journal!"
     "Hope you wrote down nice things about me, Ran-chan," Ukyo said 
with a grin.  Ranko just looked away sheepishly, trying to figure out 
how to reply.
     "Well, anyway, technically, this is *my* journal, so I didn't steal it," 
Ranma retorted.  "Besides, I needed something to tell me about my life 
for the past year, and who better to tell me than... well, me?"
     "Good idea, especially considering who we know and how *they* 
would tell that story," Akane said with a nod.  She threw a knowing 
grin at Ukyo, who sheepishly smiled back.  Everyone else nodded in 
agreement.
     "So you pretty much know about everything and everyone, 
Ranma?" Dr. Tofu asked.
     Ranma nodded.  "Yeah, it's all pretty much down here in my 
journal.  Events, people, fighting techniques, the works.  And the way 
the monk had me training, I was able to learn pretty much all my old 
moves pretty quickly.  As well as learn about what to expect from 
certain people I'll wind up meeting."
     "But all you know is what you wrote, right?  Not because of any 
real, on-hand experience?" Nabiki asked curiously.
     Ranma looked at her with a confused frown on his face.  "Yeah...  
Why?"
     Nabiki shrugged and returned to eating.  "No reason.  Just asking."  
With that, she let the discussion drop, but not without receiving a few 
suspicious looks from the rest of the group.
     "Uh, exactly how much did you learn from my-- I mean, *your* 
journal?" Ranko suddenly asked to change the subject, correcting 
herself at a look from her mother.  There seemed to be a nervous hint in 
her voice.
     "Enough to get by.  Especially with the people," Ranma answered, 
giving his sister a look.  There seemed to be a hint of tension between 
the two, though no one could figure out about what.
     It was Soun who broke the moment of heavy silence with, "Well, 
now that Ranma's back, we can concentrate on more important things.  
Like Ranma and Akane's marriage and the joining of our schools!"
     "That's right, Tendo!  And the sooner, the better!" Genma agreed 
boastfully.
     "Dad!  Cut it out!" Akane griped, mostly out of habit.  She quickly 
got herself out of control, looking at Ranma with worry out of the 
corner of her eye.
     "Yeah, gimme a break!  I just got back!" he added.  "I mean, I'm all 
for it, whether I have to or not, but can't we worry about it some other 
time?!"
     Everyone looked at him like he had grown an extra head at his 
declaration.  Especially Akane, who looked at him with surprise and a 
bit of adoration.  "Ranma..."
     "Excuse me, but wasn't the plan to first take care of certain problems 
before we worry about weddings?" Nodoka asked, deciding to step in 
before things got worse like usual.  "Let's worry about them and certain 
other things like school first, shall we?"
     Reluctantly, Soun and Genma nodded.  The celebration then 
continued, with normal conversation going on and just generally 
welcoming Ranma back home.

		*		*		*

     Akane laid in bed, staring at the ceiling and unable to sleep.  She 
kept thinking about what had happened earlier that evening, Ranma's 
coming home and the party.  Part of her was glad that he was back, that 
he enjoyed her cooking and was much nicer to her than before.  Of 
course, she knew that that was only really because he had no memory 
of their relationship.  Technically, that was a good thing, because they 
could start over fresh without all those problems, and without the 
macho pride Ranma had following his curse.
     But then she remembered Ranko.  She was Ranma in another body, 
the Ranma she had known for the past year, macho pride and all. 
Despite the bad points, there were still some good ones that Akane 
remembered fondly.  She remembered all the times Ranma had come to 
rescue her whenever she had been kidnapped, even though it was 
usually Ranma who had caused the trouble that got her kidnapped in 
the first place.  And then there was Mount Phoenix, an event that she 
would for sure never forget.
     Simply put, Ranko was the Ranma she had fallen in love with, but 
now trapped in a girl's body.  Akane had always told herself that the 
curse didn't matter to her, that she could love the jerk despite it and 
whatver body he was in.  Not that she would ever get *too* intimate 
with his girl-half.  She didn't feel *that* way about Ranma-chan, but 
that never changed how she felt.  But ever since the split, her feelings 
seemed to alter somewhat, leaning more towards friendship or even a 
sisterly love for Ranko.  It didn't help that Ranko had begun acting 
more and more like the jerk she had first met a year ago, as if in some 
bizarre attempt to hold on to her manhood.  At first Akane tried to tell 
herself that it was all just coping on the part of Ranma's 'sister', but 
after a while, it started to get on her nerves.
     Letting out a frustrated sigh, Akane turned her head to look over at 
her roommate, sleeping peacefully all spread out over her bed with the 
covers kicked off, snoring softly.  It had been decided that the two girls 
share a room, and after a bit of arguing they somehow managed to pull 
it off.  They still tended to argue whenever it came time to get dressed, 
old arguments about boys and girls dressing in front of each other, 
which usually ended with Akane bashing Ranko for making some old 
quip.  Along with that, the fact that they were sharing a room in a 
platonic manner further enhanced Akane's changing feelings towards 
the boy-now-girl.
     Turning back to the ceiling, Akane sighed again.  She didn't know 
what she was going to do.
     A dim flash of light from outside suddenly caught Akane's attention, 
as she quickly but quietly sat up in bed and looked out the window.  
The lights were on in the dojo, and from the shadow cast onto the 
ground, there was someone in it, going through some quick and 
seemingly intense movements.  She briefly wondered who it could be, 
but then realized that there might only be one person who would be up 
in the dojo.
     Carefully and quietly, Akane got out of bed and walked out of the 
room, tip-toeing so as not to wake Ranko or anyone else up.  Going as 
quietly as possible, Akane managed to get outside and over to the dojo 
without trouble.  Looking inside, she smiled as she saw Ranma, bare to 
the waist and wearing a pair of shorts that were his 'pajamas'.  He was 
performing a kata, sweat dripping from his body as he moved.  He had 
obviously been at it for awhile.
     Unable to stay silent and just watch him forever (much as she 
would've liked to), she made her presence known and asked with a 
smile, "Couldn't sleep?"
     A startled Ranma abruptly stopped his kata, turning to look at the 
smiling girl watching him.  He smiled back with a chuckle, surprised 
and glad to see her.  "Not really," he replied.  "After a few months of 
sleeping on the ground in a temple, it's kinda hard to sleep in a house in 
an actual bed, y'know?"
     Akane nodded, recalling how Nodoka had gone out to remodel her 
son's room, making it into an actual permanent one rather than 
something that looked like he was a guest.  Not only was there a bed, 
but also a desk, a dresser with mirror, and a cabinet for his clothes and 
other belongings.  "This is his home, now." Nodoka had said.  "His 
room should look like it."
     "How about you?" Ranma suddenly asked, bringing Akane out of 
her reverie.  She simply shook her head in reply.
     However, it seemed as though Ranma still had something on his 
mind, as his face was twisted in deep thought.
     "Ranma?" Akane asked curiously.  "What is it?"
     He was quiet for a long moment before he asked, "Are... are you... 
really okay, Akane?  I mean... after..."
     Akane smiled.  She had a feeling that he was still worried about 
what had happened several months ago, as it had been so obvious at 
dinner.  "It's okay, Ranma," she said assuringly.  "I'm okay.  I was just 
a little surprised, that's all.  Really.  I'm fine."
     "Yeah... but..."  He took a deep breath as a determined look fell on 
his face.  "I still shouldn't have done it.  If I'd've hit you--"
     "But you didn't, Ranma," Akane said, interrupting him.  She walked 
over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.  "You at least had some 
common sense enough to miss, though I'm putting my money on 
inexperience.  And besides, I didn't exactly help any by fighting with 
you when we should have tried to talk it out like mature adults."  *Not 
that THAT would've worked,* she added to herself in thought.
     "Yeah, maybe.  But it still shouldn't have happened like that," 
Ranma said with probably a little too much force than he intended.  He 
took a moment to take a deep breath to calm himself, then continued.
     "Akane, I wanna start over.  From scratch, as friends.  None of this 
'arranged marriage' stuff.  Maybe if we'd tried doing that from the very 
beginning, we wouldn't have so many problems."
     Akane looked at him with surprise at his sudden maturity.  Nodoka 
was right; being away from home, away from his father and everyone 
else, *had* do him some good.  Finally, a smile crossed her face and 
she nodded.  "I'd like that, Ranma."
     Ranma smiled back, looking a little better about himself.  However, 
he seemed to still have one more thing on his mind.
     "Akane, about these other fiancees..." he began, pausing as he 
noticed her scowl at the mention of them.  "I know things are square 
between me and Ukyo, but from what I figure, the other two are the 
real problem."
     Akane nodded with a frown, knowing indeed how true it was.
     Ranma continued, "So, anyway, I was wondering...  Do you think 
you could help me get them off my back?  This crap can't go on 
forever, and I can't be engaged to so many girls at once."
     Surprised again for a moment, Akane eventually nodded with a look 
of determination.  "Okay, Ranma.  I'll help, and we can get Ranko and 
Ukyo to help us, as well.  Knowing Kodachi and Shampoo, there's 
going to be a fight since they won't just give up so easily.  Fortunately, 
I've been training, so they're in for a surprise."  A rather wicked grin 
crossed her face, and she had to fight back the urge to let out an evil 
laugh.
     "Well, let's just hope it doesn't come to that, okay?" Ranma said 
with a chuckle.  "At any rate, thanks, Akane."
     Akane nodded with a smile, a normal one this time, and then 
surprised Ranma, and herself, by grabbing him in a hug.  She didn't 
know why she did it, but for some reason, it seemed like the right thing 
to do.  And it made her feel good, too.  After a moment, he returned it, 
and the two just stood in the dojo, enjoying an actual peaceful time 
alone.

     However, they were not alone.  Ranko stood hidden in the shadows 
by the door, wearing the small T-shirt and simple panties she wore to 
bed.  It had taken some convincing to get her to wear them, since it 
wouldn't do for her to wear boxers or other men's undergarments, as 
her mother had so 'delicately' put it.  Of course, she had refused at first, 
but eventually wound up giving in, but only on the condition that she 
wear nothing frilly or fancy.  As for a bra, which Nodoka had *very* 
much insisted that she wear, she opted for a simple sports bra on 
Ukyo's suggestion.  She soon found that she actually rather liked them, 
since they were kind of like the tank tops she used to wear as a guy.  
She even got used to the panties after awhile.  They gave her more 
room to kick her legs out in a fight than the boxers did.
     She shook that thought out of her head, trying to remember that it 
was only temporary until she was a guy again.  And after what she had 
just saw and heard, she had good reason to try and hurry up on 
fulfilling that resolution.
     Having woken up suddenly for no reason, Ranko had noticed Akane 
was missing and gone searching for her, only to find her in the dojo 
with her brother, talking.  Listening in on their conversation, she 
became a little upset as she didn't like what she was hearing.  It seemed 
as though Ranma and Akane were on the verge of starting some kind of 
a relationship, and even planning to deal with Kodachi and Shampoo.  
The latter she didn't mind; she figured it was something that she would 
have had to do eventually, anyway.  The former, however, was another 
story.
     Akane was *her* fiancee.  *She* was the one who had risked her 
neck time and time again rescuing her when she was in trouble, not this 
upstart who hardly even knew her.  She had even told Akane she loved 
her, even though she did deny it later.  But over the last few months, it 
seemed as though Akane had been treating her more like a friend or 
sister and think more about Ranma.  And then Ranma came home, and 
now this.
     "No way," she whispered quietly to herself.  "Akane was mine, first.  
I was engaged to her, I'm the one she knows.  Not you, bro.  Just you 
wait.  I'll get my manhood back, and when I do, I'll get Akane back as 
well.  One way, or another."
     With that, she snuck away back to her room, already beginning to 
make plans.

	End of Part Three...

     Glossary of terms:
     (1) Take a look at any picture of Ranma-chan wearing one of her 
short-sleeved shirts and you'll see what I mean.  It does look like a 
dress, when you think about it.
     (2) Ranko's name translates into English as 'wild child'.  So 
naturally, if Ranma really did have a sister and this was her name, she 
might be as rebellious as he is, even without Genma around to 'corrupt 
her', since anime characters usually have names that reflect certain 
aspects of them.
     (3) Bonus points if you can guess what group Happosai could be 
following.  Though I don't think that they were touring Japan at the 
time of this writing, let's ignore that and just enjoy the story.  ^_^
     (4) "The Tone" is something I've made up (I think, if anyone else 
knows where its used or who named it, let me know).  Simply put, its 
used by anime wives to get their husbands back in line.  Characters like 
Nodoka might be masters of this technique.  This could also be used by 
unmarried girls on their boyfriends.

     A bunch of you are probably wondering why I went to the trouble of 
revising this.  As I mentioned earlier, the RAAC seems to have lost the 
original version I first posted to them, and I figured I'd have to repost it 
to them.  I figured since I had to, anyway, I may as well do a few 
revisions on it.  Aside from correcting some sentences and/or adding 
to/altering them a bit, I also changed a few scenes, like how Ranma 
learned to get his ki under control.  Originally, I had him using the 
"Soul of Ice" from the Hiryu Shoten Ha as a focus, but then I began to 
think and realized that it probably wouldn't work for some of his other 
techniques.  And if Ranma was fighting an angry opponent, he'd 
pulling off a whole bunch of Hiryu Shoten Has when he didn't want to.  
I also added a little introspection on Akane's part towards the end 
focusing on her feelings towards Ranma and Ranko (a thanks to one of 
my pre-readers, Darren Demaine, who pointed me in this direction).  In 
addition, I shortened Ranko's recollection scene, changed her and 
Ranma's original looks, and lengthened their fight scene a bit.  If 
anyone wants to read the original version to see what else is different, 
e-mail me and I'll send you a copy.
     For you new readers, you'll notice there's a whole bunch of stuff 
happening.  Ranma's back and planning to take charge and make 
changes to his life (A little "Thy Inward Love" happening here), and 
Akane's making some improvements to herself to improve her 
relationship with Ranma.  And what about Ranko?  You didn't really 
think that she was just going to step aside and let Ranma have Akane, 
did you?  Remember, she is the Ranma from the original series (though 
her speech is a bit altered due to her mother's influence), so she's not 
going to give up without a fight.  And whenever someone comes 
between him and Akane, Ranma always tends to make an ass of 
himself.
     Much of Ranma's new character and dialogue comes from Terry 
Bogard in the "Fatal Fury" anime series.  Terry's a lot like Ranma, in 
that he also tends to be rather cocky and arrogant at times, but to a 
lesser degree.  So I based Ranma's character in this chapter (and for the 
rest of the series) on Terry, with a few twists of my own.  As for 
Ranko, her personality's pretty much the same as the Ranma from the 
original series, only a little different to reflect the changes in her life.
     To close things off, I'd like to thank my pre-readers, Mr. Demaine, 
Andy Wennersten, and Lord Archive for the original C&C on this part.  
I'd also like to thank (and welcome) Alain Gravel, author of the way 
cool "Evangelion" fanfic series, "The One I Love Is...", to my gang of 
pre-readers, who has also put up my fanfic in its individual parts on his 
homepage (www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Teahouse/2236/).  I'd also like 
to thank the great Rumiko Takahashi, as usual, for creating the original 
great manga that inspired this fanfic.  Last, but not least, I'd like to 
thank the fans for putting up with me while waiting for part 4 to come 
out.  It will be out soon; its done and in the revising stage.  Keep an eye 
out for it, when Ranma and Ranko are forced to face their next 
challenge: their "first day" at Furinkan High School!  'Nuff said there, I 
think.
     Until next time...