ShadowSoft Inc.
                          Presents:
                              
                     A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
                         side-story
                              
                      "Careful Destiny"
                              
                          Part Four
                    "Under Construction"
                              
                             by:
                          Todd Hill
                     AKA Shadow Stalker
                              
                          Based on:
              `Be Careful What You Wish For...'
                         written by:
                      Richard Beaubien
                              
         Inspired by the "Ranma 1/2" Manga and Anime
                     by Rumiko Takahashi

     Ranma blinked his eyes to try to clear his foggy
vision;  only to discover that the milky haze which
surrounded him completely was uniformly thick.  Looking up
only afforded him with a view of a solid rockface that rose
out of sight.  A wave of vertigo hit him as he craned his
neck to look downward and saw no solid surface beneath him.
     Realizing that he had no option but to climb, he
reached his hand up to start his ascent, his fingers
searching for a handhold in the craggy surface.  "Ow, shit!"
Ranma hissed as his arms protested their agony.  The slight
upward movement sent sharp pains through them, almost
causing him to lose purchase and fall into the unknown
depths beneath him.  Clinging desperately to the rock,
despite the pain the stress was causing him, Ranma
stabilized himself.  `I must've been climbing this thing for
a while, now,' he thought wearily.  `Where the hell am I,
anyway?'
     "Mmmmmm..."
     Ranma whipped his head around as the sound reached his
ears.  The suddenness of the distant noise distracted him
from his thoughts and almost caused him to fall from his
perch.  `What the hell was that?' he asked himself, his eyes
scanning the fog-veiled vista surrounding him.  `Sounded
like a ... a girl,' he thought.  His eyes widened suddenly
in comprehension.  `Could it be?!'  He looked up, hoping to
confirm his suspicions, but growled in frustration when his
eyes refused to penetrate the cloaking mist.
     "Akane!" he shouted, hoping that her voice was the one
that he had heard.  He hoisted himself up, his hands finding
unusually easy purchase in the rock.  He frowned.  For the
first time, he paid attention to what it was he was
clinging.  What should've been a cold, unyielding surface
was actually soft to the touch.  He pressed himself against
the rock-face as best as he could, and felt an inviting
warmth emanating from it.  `This stuff feels more like ...
skin!' he thought incredulously, his hand making long
strokes against the surface.  He dismissed the idea as
insane, however, and resumed his climb.
     "Mmmmmm... Yesss..."
     The distant voice came to him again.  It was clearer
this time, and had an entreating tone to it.  It was
definitely feminine, but try as he might, he couldn't
identify the person speaking or figure out where it was
coming from.
     "Akane?!" he shouted to the mist.  "Akane, is that
you?!"  He began scaling the cliff faster, hoping to reach
the zenith before his arms completely gave out.  He climbed
for a few minutes when his hand happened upon a flat surface
just above his head.  He brought both of his hands to the
edge, and was about to pull himself up, when a voice stopped
him cold in his tracks.
     "Ran-chan..."
     Ranma's heart stopped for a moment.  "UKYOU?!" his
shocked voice cried out in the diminishing fog.  Hurriedly
he scrabbled to the top, standing up once he had gotten both
feet on a flat surface.
     "Unnn..."
     `She sounds really weak,' he thought in concern as he
began trekking towards the source of the voice.  He shook
suddenly as a strong wind buffeted him.  He pushed one of
his legs behind him to brace against the sudden gust, and
closed his eyes, which were starting to get dry.  Then, as
suddenly as it had started, the breeze died.  Ranma
tentatively opened one of his eyes, and gasped at what he
saw.
     The mist had cleared away to reveal a naked girl
sitting on the ground with her back to him.  She was
obviously crying, her whole body trembling visibly.
"Ukyou?" he repeated, more softly this time.
     She did not respond to him, except to give the
occasional sniffle or sob.  He watched her in silence as she
rubbed her eyes.  He knelt down behind her, not knowing what
to do.  `Dammit, I'm not any good at this sort of thing,' he
fumed as she wept.  Gradually, he brought a shaking hand to
her back, stopping just short of actually touching her.
     "I ... um," he began, halting when words failed him.
He socked himself in the face, trying to knock loose the
words trapped inside his mind.  "Ucchan ...  What happened?"
     She did not respond to him, except to cry harder.  Her
body started shaking from the weight of the sobs.
     `Shit!' he swore, mentally flogging himself for
whatever it was that he did to her.  `C'mon Ranma!  You've
gotta figure this out.  She's one of your best friends!'  He
steeled himself, and started again.
     "Ucchan, please," he said in a voice tinged with
discomfort.  "Tell me what's happened to you."
     "You don't love me ..." she said simply, the words
trailing off into tears.
     Ranma suddenly felt very old.  It was that same damn
argument that had been dogging him for far too long.  Ever
since that fateful day, when he'd told Ukyou how cute she
was, he'd gotten himself saddled with another fiancee.  The
difference with her was that, unlike the other two girls,
this one had been a very good friend from his childhood.
That only complicated matters further.
     Before he'd made the wish that so drastically altered
his life, he'd known that he'd eventually have to make a
final decision as to who he wanted to be with, and had
regretted the coming of that day.  The problem with having
to make a choice, however, was that it wasn't really a
choice.  He didn't feel for Ukyou the way that she did for
him.  He never did, really.  If he was to make a decision
now, he knew that Ucchan would not be the one he'd pick.
     Every time, in the past, when Ranma was about to admit
how he felt about Ukyou, he'd stopped himself.  He'd
shuddered at the thought of her reaction to the news, and
kept silent out of respect for his good friend.  Not to
mention self-preservation.  Getting spatulated to death
wasn't his idea of an honorable and glorious demise.  On the
other hand, the constant running and indecisiveness was
getting ridiculous, and embarrassing.  Ranma knew that
something had to be done about this, and figured that he
might as well begin now.
     "Ucchan, I..." he began, then stopped as a vision of
Akane's cute, smiling face cut through his confusion.  He
sighed, hesitantly placing his hand on Ukyou's bare back.
Uncomfortable minutes of silence passed before he could
speak again.
     "Ucchan, you're my best friend.  But, I... I want to be
with Akane."  He lowered his head and stared at the misty
surface on which he was kneeling.  "I'm sorry..." he let his
voice trail off, realizing that his words were having no
effect on her.  He let his hand roam across her back, hoping
that the gentle caress would work where his words hadn't.
     As he reached her shoulder, Ranma found his hand being
covered by one of hers, which stopped him cold.  "But, I
love you Ran-chan..." she countered in a feeble voice,
disappointment weighing her words heavily.
     Ranma sighed.  "I know you do, Ucchan."  He pulled his
hand away and sat down behind her, staring at her bare back.
"I swear to you, if things had been different...  That is,
if I'd never met Akane...  I..."  He looked at the ground
again, his expression sullen.  `Dammit!  Why does this
always have to be so difficult?  I can tear guys apart with
my bare hands, but...'  He looked at the trembling, bare
back of his best friend;  her despondency underscoring his
inability to cope with emotional women.  `... but I can't
just seem to... talk to people-'
     "Akane..." she mumbled suddenly, her body now shaking
as if cold.  He cringed at the sound of near-despair in her
voice as she said the name of his one, true fiancee.  Guilt
seemed to be beating him within an inch of his life, and he
found himself torn between wanting to comfort his friend's
aching heart, and running away as fast as he could.
     "Hold me, Ran-chan.  Please," she entreated, her
shivering increasing to underscore her request.
     Ranma's eyes bulged.  "Ucchan!  I... " he said in
shock.  He wanted to protest, but something inside told him
to stop before he said anything he'd regret.  She was alone,
naked, and upset;  although only God knew why.  This was
just too weird to be true.  However he also knew that he
couldn't just *abandon* her like this.  His mind warred
silently between responsibility and latent fear.
     "Please..." she begged, her voice verging on defeat and
surrender, and cutting through his indecision.
     `Forgive me Akane,' he thought sadly as he moved
forward and encircled Ukyou's waist with his arms.  She
leaned towards him, pressing her back against his chest, but
her face never turning to meet his.  Ranma frowned again as
his hands slid across her stomach.  It felt like a young
woman's skin ought to, but her stomach seemed to be
awfully... round for someone as in-shape as she was.
     He leaned his head forward, and could hear her crying
begin to subside.  Her long hair obscured his view of her
face, so he couldn't tell if she liked what he was doing, or
not.  He assumed he was doing it right, and pulled her a
little closer to him, his hands linked across her stomach.
     "Mmmmm..." she moaned as he tightened his hug.  The
sound seemed to be a mixture of pleasure and discomfort.
Ranma wanted to say something to Ukyou to help her feel
better, but the only thing that he could think of was Akane,
and how much he cared for her instead.  `That wouldn't help
Ucchan any,' he thought dryly.  He stopped abruptly as
something in his mind finally clicked.
     Frantically rubbing his hands across Ukyou's swollen
abdomen, his mind verged on panic.  She was pregnant!
"Ucchan!" he shouted in surprise, recoiling slightly.
     Another breeze suddenly hit him, and he couldn't help
but note how drafty it felt.  Looking down, Ranma stifled a
shout of alarm as he realized that he wasn't wearing clothes
any longer.  His heart pounded wildly, their bodies touching
far too close for comfort.  He desperately looked about for
an avenue of escape, but stopped when she spoke again.
     "It's yours, Ran-chan," she said softly, her hand
resting calmly against both of his.
     He wanted to scream.  He also wanted to run, hide ...
*anything* to get away from this!  He looked about for a way
to leave, but the returning mist seemed to be blocking his
attempts, which made him all the more desperate.  However,
even with all of the panic and confusion floating through
his mind, a last shred of calm managed to point out a simple
fact.
     Her voice didn't sound right.
     Turning her around in his arms, he calmed his racing
heart, which was inspired by both fear, and the beautiful
visage of his naked best-friend.  Forcing down his
embarrassment and curiosity, Ranma ripped his gaze from her
swollen belly and breasts and took her chin in his hand to
look her in her face, which was still being obscured by her
long hair.
     "Ucchan!  Tell me how this happened!" he fairly
demanded, tilting her face up.  He jumped back an instant
later as the model-gorgeous face of Kinuko Amagi stared back
at him.  He was instantly on his feet, backpedaling.
     "Don't you remember, Ran-chan?" she asked with an
impish grin on her face.  "You were there, weren't you?"
     Ranma's continued to move away as he tried to deny what
he was hearing and seeing.  "No!  I never met you!  I never
did ..." he pointed at her swollen belly, "... *that* to
you!"
     Kinuko moved with surprising swiftness for a pregnant
woman as she came to her feet and glomped onto Ranma with
all of her might.  His mind screamed for him to get away
from her, but his body refused to cooperate.  He grimaced as
their close body contact produced results he didn't want.
`You're a big help,' he deadpanned as he felt his member
stir.
     "See?!  You *do* remember, Ran-chan!" she shouted as
she espied his growing erection, elation plain on her face.
     "NO!" he shouted, almost screamed, as he tore himself
from her grasp.  He turned around to run away, only to see
Akane standing there.  Her arms were crossed in front of
her, and she had a brittle smile on her face.  "I see you've
finally made your choice, Ranma," she said solemnly, gazing
down at the `obvious evidence.'  Tears streamed slowly down
her face, and her lower lip trembled.
     He covered himself instinctively, blushing wildly at
his unintended exposure.  Meanwhile, his mind had heard what
she'd said.  "Akane, NO!" he shouted desperately.  "I've not
made a choice...  That is, I haven't made *that* choice...
I..."  He looked over his shoulder.  "Oh, hell!" he swore in
disgust as Kinuko walked over to him and glomped onto him
again, pressing her body against his.
     "Yes, Akane.  My Ran-chan's back, and we're gonna be
one *happy* family.  Right honey?" she asked as she landed a
loud kiss on Ranma's cheek.  Too dumbfounded to move, he
could only watch helplessly as the scene played out before
him.
     "Very well, then.  Good-bye, Ranma," Akane cried as she
turned and ran away.
     In that moment, something in his mind snapped.  Fear
and confusion were swept away, to be replaced by a white-hot
rage.  "NO!  AKANE!  DON'T GO!" he bellowed as he scrambled
to get free of Kinuko's grasp.  Despite his efforts, Ranma
couldn't move.  It felt as if a weight were pressing against
his chest, keeping him where he was despite his struggling.
He watched as Akane's departing form dwindled into the
distance until she had completely vanished from sight.
     "There's no sense in struggling, Ran-chan," Kinuko said
soothingly.  She patted Ranma's bare chest with her hand and
pulled herself even closer to him, cuddling him lovingly.
"She's gone now, and I have you all to myself," she gloated.
Kinuko smiled widely at him and angled her head to kiss him
on the lips.
     With uncharacteristic desperation, Ranma moved his
hands to Kinuko's shoulders.  As their lips brushed, he
closed his eyes tightly and shoved with all of his might.

                            ****

     "NOOOOOO!!!!" Ranma yelled as he pushed forward.  He
gasped loudly for air as his racing heart slowly calmed
down.  A muffled *thump* came from nearby.
     "Ow, SHIT!" he heard from beneath him.
     Ranma sat bolt-upright, his hands touching his body.
"What the hell?!" he muttered as he opened his eyes, his
fingers dancing across his body.  He sighed in relief when
he felt clothing on his chest and, more importantly, between
his legs.  Darkness was the only thing that greeted him as
his eyes scanned the room.  He was trying to get his
bearings when reality suddenly struck him like a
thunderbolt, blowing away the last remnants of his
nightmare.  He understood that he'd acted out his dream, but
that thump he'd heard had *not* been a part of it.  Then a
sickening realization hit.  "Oh, geez!  Ranko!" he shouted
as he scrambled to get off of her bed.
     As his feet moved to touch the floor, he felt something
warm, soft, and cushiony beneath them.
     "Ranma, you're stepping on my butt!" Ranko growled.  He
instantly brought his feet back on the bed.  Reaching over,
he found the lamp that sat next to her bed, and switched it
on.  He squinted as a dull glare bathed the room.
     He peered over the edge of the bed to check on his
sister, and was greeted with a light punch to the face.  He
covered his throbbing cheek with a hand, never moving his
position.
     "I'd hit you harder, but I'm too tired right now," she
grumbled as she brought herself around.  She got to her
knees, despite the feeling of soreness coming from her
injured ankle, and looked at her clock.  "Three-twenty-seven
in the morning?!" she groaned.  "Ranma, couldn't you have
picked a better time to throw me out of bed?"
     He snorted, despite himself.  Ranko seemed to have a
natural way of lightening tension whenever things got too
strange or serious.  That was one of the main reasons he
liked her so much.  "Hold on, Sis," he told her as he got up
and stepped around her.  Reaching down, he scooped her into
his arms, and held her close to him.  He looked at her
critically, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.  "You look like
hell, you know that?" he asked jokingly, pulling his head
back just enough to avoid the irritated slap she launched at
his face.
     "Just put me down, okay asshole?" she growled, although
she couldn't hide her growing smile.
     He smirked as he sat her down on the bed and knelt on
the floor beside her.  "How's the foot?' he asked, placing
his hand on her shoulder.
     "Well, I don't think I damaged it any worse," she
guessed.  "I heard you when you shouted, so I was awake
enough to land on my hands and knees instead of my foot
after you threw me in the air."  She rotated her foot, and
winced at the resultant twinges of pain.  "The ankle's still
sore, but it does feel a little better."  She sat up a bit
and crossed her arms in front of her.  "But forget about me.
What made you toss me out of bed in the first place, Ranma?
I was having this really realistic dream about me and
Hikaru.  We were..." she broke off before she let those
details slip out, blushing furiously.
     Ranma avoided her gaze, not really paying attention to
her.  "I'd rather not talk about it right now," he said
absently as bits and pieces of the dream floated back into
his mind, causing his stomach to churn uncomfortably.
"Besides, it's not all that important right now," he evaded.
He stood away from her, avoiding the temptation to kiss her
on the cheek after what had happened earlier that evening.
"Sorry I kicked you out of bed, Ranko.  I'll let you get
back to sleep now," he said as he hurried towards the door.
     "Ranma, wait!" Ranko hissed, stopping him in his
tracks.  He turned to say something along the lines of `it's
none of your business' when the door to her room slid open,
and a very irritated Nodoka stomped through.
     "What's going on, you two?"  She pointed at the clock
and barely managed to stifle a yawn.  "It's three-thirty in
the morning, and you're both out of bed!"
     Ranma cast a sidelong glance at his sister, and saw her
nod slightly.  "Ranko fell out of bed, Mom.  I heard her
fall, and came to help.  That's all."  He shrugged casually,
and turned to look at Ranko for confirmation.
     Her son's presence in his sister's room forgotten,
Nodoka immediately stood by Ranko's bed.  "Are you all
right, dear?"
     "Yeah, Mom.  It was just a bad dream, is all..."  She
let her words trail off as she saw Ranma head for the door.
     "Well, since you're all right, I'm going back to bed,"
he said, waving to both women as he eagerly stepped through
the door.
     "Oh..." Ranko replied with a hint of disappointment.
"G'night Ranma" she added as she watched him leave the room.
     Nodoka looked up at the door and smiled.  "Yes, thank
you for looking out for her, Ranma-dear.  Good night."  She
turned to look at her daughter once the door was closed, her
hand gliding gently across Ranko's forehead.  "Did you want
to talk about it?"
     "About what?" she replied distractedly.
     "The dream, silly," she said with a smile, pinching
Ranko's nose playfully.
     She giggled at the ticklish sensation, and pulled her
mother's hand from her nose.  "It's really nothing.  In
fact, I'm honestly surprised it happened at all."  She put
her hand on her mother's to keep her from asking questions.
"Don't worry, Mom.  I think I can keep myself from tumbling
out of bed again.  Just go back to sleep, and everything
will be all right."
     Nodoka sighed like the beleaguered parent she
occasionally was.  She wasn't fully satisfied that Ranko was
telling her everything, or that Ranma had told her
everything either.  But given the time of day and the fact
that no-one was angry or bleeding, she let it drop.
Besides, she knew that her children were very stubborn;
pressing either of them for more details would be more
difficult than splitting the atom with her sword, so she
wasn't about to try.  What mattered the most to her was that
they were getting along much better than they ever had
before. "Okay, dear," she said as she bent down and kissed
Ranko on the forehead.  "I love you, little girl.  Now get
some sleep.  We've got a big day tomorrow."
     "G'night Mom," she said, waving before turning over in
her bed.  Nodoka turned off the desk lamp and walked out of
the room, silently closing the door behind her.
     `You got away pretty easy this time, Ranma,' Ranko
grumbled to herself.  `I can't wait to hear why you kicked
me out of bed like that...'  She looked at the clock, and
noted how much time she had left before morning.  Deciding
that sleep was more important, she got herself comfortable
in the bed.  `I'll talk with him tomorrow,' she resolved
before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.

                            ****

     Ranma walked swiftly down the hall to his room.  "Man,
that was close!" he hissed to himself, as he closed the door
to his room.  Wearily, he flipped his light on and shuffled
over to his dresser.  Fishing out a pair of shorts and a
shirt, he shucked off all of his day clothes and dressed for
bed.  Tossing the dirty clothes on the floor, he turned off
the light and sat on his bed.
     `What the hell am I going to do about Kinuko?' he asked
himself, hunching over and burying his face in his hands.
`Ranko said that the pregnancy might be fake, but I just
don't know...  Kinuko seems crazy enough to say such a
thing, but she may have been telling the truth...  I guess
I'm just gonna have to find out for sure, somehow.'  His
stomach knotted up painfully, and a cold wave of fear ran
through his guts.  `If she is- pregnant...'
     He felt something akin to panic.  In some ways, that
bothered him more than being a prospective father did.  He
has no idea that this wish would've given him this much
trouble.  Ranma laid down on his bed and hugged his pillow
tightly.  His mind raced chaotically, and it didn't want to
slow down.  `This crap could kill any chance of me ever
being with Akane, regardless of whether Kinuko is pregnant
or not.'  `*Ever*' his mind repeated loudly.
     `If Kinuko's really pregnant, I can't just leave her
alone.'  Ranma sighed heavily, the weight of the world
bearing down on his young shoulders.  `I may not have been
the one to enjoy making the child, but it *is* going to be a
Saotome,' he thought glumly.
     An ironic smile creased his face, despite the
seriousness of the situation.  He'd never really considered
being a father before, and found some sort of odd
satisfaction from the possibility of being one.  `This is
all assuming that Kinuko had told the truth before,
though...' he added a moment later.  His frown returned.
`She may have been lying to the other Ranma.  Although I
have no idea why she'd do such an evil thing.'
     He sat up and rubbed his temples to try and ward off
the headache that was threatening to build.  The more he
thought about his predicament, the less certain he was that
he could solve any part of it.  `This whole mess has got me
so damned confused...  What the hell am I going to do now?!'
he asked to the world at large.  No answers were
forthcoming, though.
     He yawned widely, and stretched his arms outward.  The
dream had completely exhausted him, and he was too tired to
keep his eyes open.  `Dammit!  I've got too much to do
tomorrow.  I'll have to figure this all out later.  Just
need to get to... sleep...' he thought as his tired mind
shut down suddenly.

                            ****

THE NEXT MORNING...

     Springtime announced itself to the residents of Nerima.
The sun rose high in the morning sky.  Birds chirped and
sang as they sailed through delicate breezes laden with the
scent of cherry blossoms and other assorted flora.  Trees
glowed with brilliant greens as new leaves, just sprouting
from long-dormant branches, expanded and grew.  The overall
effect was pleasing and quite tranquil.  It was an
intoxicating sight that drew a lot of people out of their
homes on the sunny weekend morning, and encouraged them to
enjoy the day.
     Through all of this, Ranma slept.  His exhaustion made
him immune to the call of the natural beauty occurring out
of his open window.
     The clock on his dresser read eight-fifteen.
     His bedroom door slid open, and the cheerful face of
his mother peeked through.  "Ranma, you awake yet?" she
called softly in his direction.
     Ranma groaned slightly, scratched himself in a...
private area, and rolled over in the bed, sound asleep.
     `He'd probably sleep forever if he was allowed to,' she
thought with slight distaste.  Nodoka opened the door fully
and walked to Ranma's bed.  She bent over and placed one of
her hands on his shoulder.
     She sprung back in shock as Ranma rose up, his hands
automatically assuming a defensive stance.
     "Ranma!" Nodoka yelled, more out of surprise than
anger.  She pulled her hands off of his shoulder, but kept
them close.
     He blinked stupidly for a second as he awoke fully.
When he realized who was next to him, Ranma calmed himself
and let his breath out in a long `whoosh.'
     "What's all that about, Ranma-dear?" Nodoka asked
concernedly as she ran her fingers through his hair.
     "Awww, it's nothin', Mom.  I just wasn't expecting
anyone to come in here, is all."  Ranma sat up in his bed,
propping his back against the wall.  Taking that as an
invitation to join him, Nodoka sat down on his bed.  She
frowned as she noted the muted tension in his eyes.  She
reached out to comfort him.  As she gripped his arms, she
could feel the tension working through his muscles.
     "My goodness!  You're strung tighter than piano wire!"
she declared, looking at him closely.  "What's the matter
with you, Ranma-chan?" she asked in concern.
     Ranma crossed his arms in front of himself defensively,
and put some distance between he and his mother.  "I told
you it was nothin', Mom!" he shouted with a little more
intensity than he meant to.
     Nodoka's concerned gaze became an angry glare.  "Don't
presume to take that attitude with me, young man!" she
retorted.  Her gaze bored into him, as her entire demeanor
changed.  Nodoka's posture became *very* intimidating, and
Ranma found himself wanting to slink away from her, quickly.
Martial artist or not, woman or not,  she was still his
mother, and a definite force to be reckoned with.  "You've
*never* spoken to me like that before in your *life*," she
continued.  "What's going on, son?"
     Ranma pressed himself as far into the wall as his back
would allow him to go, in an attempt to escape the intensity
of her withering glare.  He eventually surrendered, and
brought his knees up under his chin, his eyes locked on his
bed sheets.  "I just had a bad dream..." he began in a low
voice, but was cut off before he could complete his excuse.
     "Ohhh no!  I'm not buying it this time!  First Ranko
says she has a bad dream, and now you?  Surely you can come
up with a better line than that."  She glared at him even
more intently.  "As tense as you are, it has to have been
something more than a simple dream!"  Her gaze never
wavered, and Ranma could swear the he could *hear* her
patience crumbling.
     "Okay, okay!" he shot back, holding his arms up in a
gesture of appeasement.  "I've got a pro... that is... I'm
under a lot of pressure today."  `No shit, Mr. Master-of-
understatement!' he added to himself, barely withholding a
derisive snort.  "There's a lot riding on what happens at
the Tendo dojo today.  I'm very worried..."
     An understanding look slowly erased the frown marring
Nodoka's face.  "Well, that's perfectly normal, dear.  After
all, it's not every day we get the chance to make up with
friends we haven't seen in years."  She sighed as she pulled
her son to her in a comforting hug.
     Ranma responded hesitantly, not speaking as he held
himself close to his mother.  "Your father and I owe you a
lot for that," she continued.  "Believe me, all of us are
going to do what we have to in order to see that this
reunion happens as it should.  We're all looking for the
same thing, son."  She pulled him away from her, and looked
into his eyes, her face very serious.  "But, even with this
reunion, you *don't* have to go through with all of it."
     "What do you mean, `go through with all of it?'  I
don't understand what you're saying, mom," he replied.
     "I'm talking about this silly engagement business of
yours.  I may not be too up on what kids your age do these
days, but I'm pretty sure that getting married at the age of
sixteen while still in school is not on top of any person's
list."  She crossed her arms in front of her.  "Besides,
there's not too many reasons why someone at your age would
want to get mar..." she broke off, blanching as an obvious
answer came to her.
     "My God, Ranma!  You and she haven't..."  She stopped
herself, stricken.  Her breathing grew shallow, and she
looked as if she was about to faint.
     Ranma's eyes grew enormous as he understood what his
mother was thinking.  "NONononono!" he shouted, quick to
allay her fears.  `Geez, now she thinks that I may have
fathered a child.  Having mom think that me and Akane had
sex and I got her pregnant is... gross!'  He waved his hands
and shook his head frantically, trying to make sure she
understood the word `no.'  "I've never done anything like
*that* with Akane!" he hissed, blushing furiously.
     Nodoka's heart soon restarted afterwards.  She placed a
hand to her chest, the faint feeling that had come over her
still with her.  "Thank goodness!  I don't know what I would
do if you got someone pregnant before you were married!"
     Ranma's intestines tied themselves in square knots.  He
forced himself to laugh, hoping he didn't look or sound as
nervous as he felt.  "I ... I don't think that'll be a
problem, Mom."
     His eyes almost fell out of their sockets when she
spoke again.  "You sound like you really like that girl,
son.  Just promise me that if you and Akane decide to
become... intimate, you'll be sure to use protection, okay?"
She stood from the bed, a small laugh escaping her as she
saw his mouth gape in disbelief.
     Nervousness gave way to a slight irritation as their
generation gap started to widen.  "Oh, come on, Ranma!" she
snapped.  "I'm not so old that I don't know what a sixteen-
year-old thinks about!"  Her features softened a bit.  "I
know I can't stop either you or Ranko from having sex with
whomever you want.  I don't mind, as long as you act
responsibly when either of you do it."
     She started laughing again, more intensely this time,
as Ranma's incredulous look got worse.  It seemed like he
wouldn't be able to keep himself upright without help.  "I
mean, really!  What would I do to you if you had sex with
someone?  Make you commit seppuku for soiling a girl's
honor?!"  She scoffed at the preposterousness of the idea.
"Come on, Ranma.  Be realistic!  I may be traditional, but
even *I* wouldn't deign to kill my own son for that!  Now,
abandoning the mother of your child, on the other hand..."
     Nodoka stopped talking when she realized that he wasn't
moving anymore, and mistook his lack of movement for
boredom.  She sighed and turned around to leave his room.
"If you ever want to talk more about this just ask me.
Okay, Ranma?"  His head twitched involuntarily, which she
took as an affirmative nod.  She walked out of his room,
confident that they'd grown closer as a result of their
chat.
     "You'd better get ready, son," she yelled from the
hallway.  The sound of her voice grew lighter as she
descended the stairs.  "I have to give your sister a bath
soon, so I'm in a bit of a rush.  I've started cooking
already, so breakfast should be waiting for you when you're
ready."
     Ranma twitched occasionally, so that he couldn't move
with any semblance of coordination.  The fact that she had
spoken so openly about... *sex* flew in the face of the
demure woman he'd known for many months as his `Auntie
Saotome.'  `I've always thought that Mom would act like she
did those times I'd seen her at the Tendo dojo,' he told
himself.  "This is too weird!" he swore under his breath.
     Finally getting his heartbeat under control, he slid
out of bed.  Legs wobbling only slightly, he got his workout
clothes from the top dresser drawer and dressed quickly.
`What I need right now is a good workout,' he told himself.
Cinching the belt tight on the gi that Ranko had given him,
headed downstairs.

                            ****

     Genma Saotome patted his rumbling belly, trying to
silence the marauding beast within.  The enticing smell of
his wife's wonderful cooking wasn't helping matters at all.
He found his attention torn between the culinary delights
being prepared in the next room, and the morning news
droning from the TV in front of him.
     He turned up the volume as CNN-Nihon returned from
commercial, hoping that the distraction would quell his
hunger momentarily.  "Police officials in Osaka were stunned
last night after they responded to an alarm at the Osaka-
Hanes factory.  Osaka-Hanes is an American-owned company
that specializes in men's and women's undergarments.
According to lead detectives at the scene, Hanes' *entire*
inventory of women's panties and bras disappeared during the
thirty-minute window of the plant's shift change."
     "Officials aren't speculating as to the method used by
the criminals to take the seventy-eight thousand pairs of
looted lingerie, but suspect that it is the work of a team
of professionals..."
     Genma shook his head in disgust, and changed the
channel to a local station.  "Damn college kids," he
muttered absently as he settled the remote back on the
table.  A greasy-haired young man appeared on the screen,
gesturing to a map of eastern Japan.
     "Well, the Americans say that April showers bring May
flowers.  Too bad I have a brown thumb."  Stale laughter
from the anchors greeted the poor joke.  The weatherman
chuckled nervously and continued his forecast.  "Anyway, we
seem to be following that trend this weekend.  Saturday will
see an increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms during
the evening hours, continuing on into Sunday.  Highs in the
mid-twenties, with humidity levels near one-hundred
percent."
     Genma's attention was caught by his son as he descended
the stairs.  "Morning, Ranma," he said with a warm smile on
his face.  "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going
to get up."
     Ranma stood next to his seated father and smirked.
"Rough night," he replied dismissively.  "Pop, you up for a
workout?  I'm a little tense."
     His father smirked mischievously.  "Sure, why not?
Since your sister is laid up with her ankle problem, I
wouldn't mind you helping me with my workouts in the
meantime."  He jumped up and stood next to his son, pounding
him on the back.  "Let's go!" he said with a big grin on his
face.  "Honey, Ranma and I are going outside for a little
workout before breakfast!" Genma shouted over his shoulder.
He didn't even wait for a response as they walked out the
door and headed for the training hall.

                            ****

     "What am I gonna do?" Akane asked to no-one, her mind
drowning in confusion.  As per her routine, she was getting
ready for her usual weekend events with Kuno when she
suddenly remembered what had happened the day before.  So
much had changed in one day;  so much, in fact that it
seemed too much like a dream.  Without even meaning to,
Akane picked up her diary and began to leaf idly through
parts of her past.
     As Akane flipped through the pages, she wound up
reliving a lot of things she'd rather not have.  Re-reading
the first few pages, she gasped painfully.  `I never
realized just how out-of-control my life had been,' she
groaned, shaking her head sadly.  "From the start of our
engagement, it was as if Kuno had put me on a leash."  Her
petite hands balled themselves into lethal fists, as a growl
worked its way free.  `He made me his own personal .
PLAYTOY!' she spat.  Allowing one bitter tear to fall, she
forced herself to calm before continuing to read.
     A little later, a red-eyed Akane, with as much control
as she could muster, laid the book down on her bed.  It was
turned to the end of the Thursday entry, with a blank page
awaiting her touch.  With a prolonged sigh, she cleared her
mind and recorded the previous day's events, daring to add a
touch of hope to her words as she wrote.
     Once finished, she laid her pen down, closed her diary,
and placed it back in her desk.  She yawned and stretched,
the bed inviting her to return.  She stopped herself from
indulging, however.  `You're very comfortable, bed,' she
acknowledged with a slight smirk.  `but sleeping the whole
day away isn't very healthy.'  As she began gathering her
clothes for her morning bath, her stomach rumbled loudly.
She blushed deeply, embarrassed despite the fact that she
was alone in her room.
     `Goodness, I forgot to eat last night!  I hope I didn't
worry Kasumi and Nabiki too much by not coming down for
dinner,' she thought, her eyes turning towards her door.  It
was closed, but not locked.  `I'm sure they came in at some
point;  they've worried about me so much recently.  But I'm
glad that they decided to leave me alone.'  She smiled to
herself.  `They're so good to me,' she thought gratefully.
Her stomach grumbled again, causing her to grimace.  She
patted her abdomen delicately, trying to shush her pangs of
hunger.
     Akane pulled out some clothes and a towel, then left
her room and walked down to the bath.  Not seeing a sign on
the door, she entered the change room and stripped.
Balancing a washcloth on her head, she stepped into the
bathroom and sat on a stool.  She scrubbed herself
languidly, luxuriating in the feel of the soft brush on her
skin as she cleansed herself.  Her breath left her lungs in
a rush as she dumped a bucket of water on her head, rinsing
off the soap and dropping her body temperature.
     Shivering, she grasped her washcloth tightly as she
submerged herself in the bath.  "Ahhhhhh!" she sighed, her
body loosening up as it soaked in the hot water.  "That
feels soooo gooood," Akane moaned as she flexed her toes,
stretching her legs to the full length of the tub.
     `I can't remember when I've felt this good,' she
thought with a grin.  `It's been so long since I've enjoyed
myself that I'd forgotten what it was like.'  It was a bit
of an exaggeration, she knew, but she couldn't deny the
effect Kuno's choke-hold affections had on her.
     At that, she felt herself begin to slip towards
depression again.  Vivid memories catapulted her mind into
the past.  Scenes of her as an apprehensive girl morphed
into that of a young woman torn between feelings of love and
despair.  `How could I have let myself get so far gone in
eight months?' she asked herself.  Alas, no-one answered.
     `Who knows what would've happened if Ranma hadn't come
along when he did?' Akane wondered.  She shuddered at the
thought of enduring more time under Kuno's control, and what
she would've done for him, or more to the point, would've
been told to do.  `Easy girl,' she cautioned herself.  `It's
over now.  If nothing else, Kuno's a man of his word.  If he
promised, in public, to give me up, then that's what he's
going to do.  No need to worry about things that aren't
going to happen.  It's over and done with!'
     She closed her eyes, and submerged herself deeper into
the water, bringing it to her chin.  `Ranma Saotome,' she
mused.  Akane'd recalled him vaguely from before;  having
seen him hanging around with his Anime-club friends at the
far corner of the school lot during lunch.  Aside from that,
she couldn't recall anything about him.  `I didn't even know
that we were in the same classroom until three weeks ago.'
She shrugged dismissively.  During that time, she'd been so
involved in handling her tumultuous life that she hadn't
even noticed anyone else in the class but her closest
friends.
     `I guess I was wrong about him,' she thought.  `When he
challenged Kuno that day, I hoped Ranma would win.'  A sigh
escaped her lips.  `But after seeing how easily Kuno had
beaten him, I assumed that the whole thing had been staged
to keep me in line.  I didn't trust Ranma after that.'  She
shook her head.  `I should've realized that he was for real.
The way he was looking at me in class after that fight was a
dead giveaway.'
     `I ignored what was right in front of me, instead of
putting it all together that day.  In fact, I think he's
been after me for a while,'  Akane concluded.  "Well, he's
certainly proven that now, hasn't he?" she asked herself
aloud.
     `But why did he do all of this for me?  He challenged
Kuno, twice, on my behalf.'  A vision of Ranma during the
fight came to her, with his toned, muscular body putting out
more damage than he seemed capable of producing.  That scene
was then replaced with one of his confident, smiling face.
His blue eyes gazed right into the very depths of her soul,
and she quickly forgot her unanswered questions.
     A little fantasy began teasing her along the edges of
her mind.  She and Ranma, together.  A small, involuntary
shiver coursed through her at the mere thought of that.
Akane urged the fantasy to begin, eager to see how it played
out.  She met with frustration, however, when her daydream
ground to a halt before it could get anywhere.
     The reason why was soon evident.
     Regardless of how much Akane liked Ranma, of how
attracted she felt towards him, she was still too shaken by
the months of engagement to Kuno to appreciate and pursue
her feelings of longing.  That both angered and saddened her
at the same time.  Also, that little tart Kinuko Amagi had
decided to add to Akane's sorrow by clinging to Ranma like
she owned him.
     She grit her teeth, frustrated by her enemies and her
tangled emotions.  Not paying attention to what she was
doing, Akane pulled her washcloth in half.  The fabric tore
in two ragged pieces with a very loud ripping sound.
     Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up quickly in the
bath.  Akane groaned in disbelief as she looked down into
the water and saw the damaged washcloth that was still
clenched tightly in her hands.  Her head whipped up a moment
later as a taunting voice broke the tense silence.
     "Hey, Akane.  If you wanted to be left alone, you
should've put the sign out on the door," Nabiki quipped from
her seat.  "You don't have to get angry about it."
     Akane flushed and avoided her sister's gaze,
embarrassed that she had not heard her older sister walk in.
`I must be out of practice if I could be caught off guard so
easily.'  She could see, though, that Nabiki had just gotten
in and was only now starting to bathe.
     "Sorry, Nabiki.  I was just thinking, is all.  That
wasn't directed at you..." Akane began.
     Nabiki smiled to her younger sister and held up her
hand.  "Hey, it's okay, Sis.  After what you went through
yesterday, you're allowed a little insanity."  She smirked,
then gasped as she dumped a bucket of cold water over
herself, rinsing off the soap suds.  Nabiki stood and walked
to the bath, her whole body trembling with the cold.  Akane
noticed this and got up, stepping out just as her sister got
to her.
     "Hey, Akane.  You don't have to leave," Nabiki fairly
shouted, a concerned pleading leaking into her voice despite
her best effort at neutrality.  "That is, if you don't want
to," she added, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder.
     Akane stood motionless for a moment, not fooled by her
sister's outer calm.  `She's obviously concerned with me.
I've never seen her so... attentive before,' she thought,
looking into her sister's eyes.  "Thanks anyway, Nabiki.
I'll be okay," Akane said as she pulled her sister to her,
wrapping her arms tightly around her.
     A very flustered Nabiki found herself speechless at
Akane's open affection.  Very hesitantly, she reciprocated,
wrapping her arms around her sister.  "We're all worried
about you, Akane," Nabiki said with uncharacteristic
emotion.  Her hold on her younger sister tightened.  "You
sure you'll be okay?"  she looked into Akane's brown-eyes
with her own, and could see how much torment lurked within.
     Akane kissed her sister on the cheek and stepped out of
the embrace.  "Yes, Nabiki.  I'll be just fine.  But I'm
glad you're worried about me;  you and Kasumi have been the
main reasons that I've not gone insane, and I appreciate
what both of you have done for me."  She walked towards the
door of the changing room.  "You'd better get in the bath
before it gets too warm for you," Akane warned, winking to
her sister before she closed the door behind her.
     Nabiki took Akane's words under advisement and stepped
into the bath, wincing slightly as the overly hot water
scorched her legs and bare bottom.  She eased herself into
the water, only gasping again when the hot water hit her
breasts.  Left alone in the bathroom, Nabiki became
motionless in the bath, remaining that way until the water
became comfortable.
     As she held her place in the tub, Nabiki's face was
devoid of expression.  Her body and mind, however, were in
complete turmoil.  `What's gotten into me?  I've never acted
like that before!' she demanded of her self with a fair
amount of alarm.  `I'll admit that I've worried about Sis
for awhile, but I've never felt such a deep level of concern
for her as I did just then.'  Nabiki scowled when she
couldn't figure it out.  `Also, I've not been that close to
Akane before.  not that I *didn't* want to be that close,'
she hastily amended.  `It's just . I don't know what to make
of what Akane did just then.'
     `I admit that I love her.  the kind of love that only
one sister could give to another,' she quickly amended.  But
Nabiki had felt something else during their exchange.
Something that stirred an undercurrent of worry within her.
`Akane's hug had been a little *too* friendly,' Nabiki
thought.  She brought a hand to her cheek, remembering the
kiss her sister had planted there.  A shocking realization
set in as she put it all together, her cheeks flushing
horribly.  `Oh no!  Akane's flipped!  She has to have!  Why
else would she have been so affectionate towards *me* just
then?'  Too stunned to say it, she forced herself to think
her next question.  `Could it be that she's losing interest
in boys?'
     Nabiki was too stunned to conceal her reaction.  She'd
always figured that Akane's sexual preferences had been
undecided in the past.  `Perhaps Kuno's bad influence has
turned Akane towards... girls?!'  She shivered, despite the
warmth of her bath, and hoped that she was wrong about her
sister.  Horribly wrong.
     Also, long-seated questions and doubts about herself
began percolating in her mind.  Nabiki found herself hoping
that her own reaction to Akane's intimate contact wasn't
what she thought it was.  `That would likewise be wrong,'
she thought to herself adamantly, as if trying to convince
herself.  `Yes!  Horribly wrong.'

                            ****

     Akane closed the door to the change room behind her, a
smile on her face.  `That was very sweet of Nabiki to be so
worried about me,' she thought, her faith in her sisters'
concern being confirmed once more.
     Akane dried herself off in the change room, then
dropped the towel in the clothes hamper.  She caught a
glimpse of herself in the mirror as she reached for her
panties.  She dropped her arms to her sides and eyed herself
critically.  "Not bad," she admitted aloud, posing with her
hands on her hips, her eyes traveling up and down her nude
reflection.  Close to eight months without training had
allowed Akane's body to soften a bit.
     She wasn't fat by any stretch of the imagination, but
she had definitely grown some feminine curves during that
time.  Akane's body was less angular than when she was in
training.  It was more sinuous, more curvaceous;  sexier.
     Case in point:  Her hip bones, which used to poke out
rather severely, had almost completely disappeared beneath a
soft cushion of fat.  She frowned as she pinched the skin
covering her hips and raised a slight bit of the fat in-
between her fingers.
     `While having a body like this *is* rather attractive.'
she began, thrusting her hip out towards the mirror
slightly.  She held her pose for a moment, staring hard at
herself.  Then she blew her breath out in exasperation.
`Who am I kidding?  I'm horribly out of shape,' she scolded
herself, returning her arm to her side and straightening her
posture again.
     Akane didn't deny the benefits of her outward
appearance, though.  Due to the lack of exercise, her
breasts had been allowed to grow along with her hips.  She
was the same cup-size as Nabiki, and quite proud of it.  She
smirked evilly as she pushed her shoulders in, accentuating
her cleavage.  `That little hussy Kinuko isn't the only one
with a great body!  I have just as much to offer Ranma-'
She flushed at that, then quickly amended, `-or any other
guy, as she does!'
     The thought of getting back in shape made her pause.
`I'd sure hate to lose these,' she thought with a slight
pout, cupping her breasts loosely with her hands, feeling
the heft of them as they rested in her palms.  Then she
laughed at the idea, doubting that she could exercise them
completely away, even if she was inclined to try.  She was
willing to lose a cup size (if that much) as long as it
meant regaining her prowess as a martial artist.
     That was a goal that she had etched firmly in her mind.
Kuno's stern interference had forced her to abandon her
pursuit of knowledge in Kenpo.  Now that she was free of
him, she intended to resume training.  She wasn't sure how
to go about that, though.  She hadn't told her father about
the breakup yet, and wasn't sure how he'd take it.  Besides
that, she and he weren't exactly on the best of terms at the
moment.  `After all, it was his fault that the engagement
not only occurred, but that it was allowed to drag on for as
long as it did,' she seethed.
     Akane was quite sure that she'd have to go elsewhere,
for the moment at least, to train in Kenpo.  `Where can I
go?" she asked herself, although she knew that she didn't
have the slightest clue.  She couldn't think of anyone at
the moment who would be able to help out, so she let the
question drop for now.  `I can at least do some basic stuff
by myself in the dojo until I find someone to train me,'
Akane thought finally as she slipped her shirt and panties
on and walked out of the change room.
     `Maybe I should work out sometime today.  That might
make me feel better,' she admitted.  `Besides, I haven't
been inside the dojo since... since that *stupid* engagement
ceremony that daddy put me through in there.'  Akane scowled
at the memory, realizing that if she was to ever exorcise
the demons of her past, she would have to start with the
place where it all began.  With that in mind, she rushed to
her room and changed into her gi.

                            ****

     Ranma brushed a damp strand of hair out of his eyes.
His breathing was ragged, and his arms were extremely sore.
Despite the two weeks of highly intensive training he'd done
with his sister, he was still out of shape.  There was no-
one on the planet better suited to illustrate this point to
him than his father.  Genma faced him, his gi sagging
against his sweaty body and his stance wavering slightly.
Both men were fairly close to collapse.
     "Not too bad, for a beginner, boy!" he taunted between
gulps of air, smirking all the while.
     "Just be glad there isn't a koi pond nearby, old man.
Otherwise I might've been forced to give you a bath.  You
stink!" came the retort.  Ranma grinned also, making an
exaggerated motion of pinching his nose.
     "You want to clean me up, eh?  Well stop talking and
start moving!  Come here and get some!" he shouted,
motioning towards his torso with both hands.  Genma
tightened his posture up, drawing on his reserves as he
awaited Ranma's move.
     Ranma smiled as an evil idea came to him.  Spotting a
pail of water and a mop sitting just outside the door to the
training hall, he positioned himself for his next attack.
"Don't get too cocky, old man," Ranma added as he
surreptitiously began untying his belt and wadding it up in
his hand.  Then, with his hands by his sides, he leaped
towards his father.  "Watch out!" he shouted quickly at his
father.
     Genma charged as his son yelled, and extended his arms
outward to try to grab Ranma before he could bring his legs
to bear against him.  He looked positively stunned the next
moment when his son landed right in front of him, scant
inches from his face.  Then Ranma threw something to the
floor and vaulted to his right just before his father could
reach him.
     Genma tracked the object Ranma had thrown, and once he
realized that it was the belt from Ranma's gi, he knew he
was being tricked.  He quickly turned in the direction his
son had jumped, but he was nowhere to be seen.  Genma yelled
out in shock a moment later as stinging-cold rainwater
splashed down from overhead.
     Ranma landed away from his father, nearly doubled over
in laughter, the empty pail rattling as it clanged to the
floor behind him.  "You should ... you.... you should see...
HAHAHAHAHAHA!"  He had to bend over to catch his breath, his
lungs threatening to burst from the heavy breaths he was
taking.  "Oh geez!  It looks like I cleaned more than your
clock, old man!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
     Genma kept a smile from crawling onto his face, merely
wiping the water from his face and forehead instead.  He
didn't want to concede the fight quite so quickly, although
he was impressed that his son had progressed so far in so
little time.  `Perhaps that little hentai was good for
something, after all.  Look at what he's done for Ranma,'
Genma mused, feeling a somewhat-misplaced bit of gratitude
for Happosai's intervention.  He let the laughter go on for
a little while longer before he finally allowed himself to
smile, nastily, as he saw an opening in Ranma's defense big
enough to fly a stealth bomber through.
     Ranma's breath left him in a sudden `WHOOSH!' as his
father nailed him from the side with a flying tackle that
looked more like it was from American pro-wrestling.  Too
winded from his laughing bouts, Ranma was in no condition to
pry his father's dense bulk off of him.  He slapped the mats
with his palms, conceding his defeat.  Genma stood up, and
held his hand out to his son.  Ranma warily accepted the
offered hand, not sure that his father was finished.
     "That was a good stunt you pulled, son," Nodoka said
from the doorway, surprising both men and quelling any
further activity.  "But you shouldn't have let your guard
down like that," she teased mildly.  She walked over to her
husband, mindful of the puddles spread about on the mats.
"Looks like you're all wet, dear," she chided, patting
Genma's wet chest with her hand.  He chuckled good-naturedly
as he wrapped his damp arms around his loving wife.
     Ranma groaned, and rushed out to get a mop.  He wasn't
too comfortable with seeing his parents being so publicly
affectionate, much less being together on a permanent basis.
Months of terrifying conditioning can be tough to overcome.
He politely waited out of view until they finished their
kiss before he walked back into the training hall with mop
in hand.
     "Thank you, dear," Nodoka said cheerfully as she took
the mop from his hands.  "You two need to get inside.
Breakfast is ready and Ranko's already at the table-"  She
broke off suddenly as she was buffeted by a strong wind that
indicated Ranma and Genma's hasty departure.  She shook her
head slowly in disbelief, watching the eating dynamos as
they fought to see who would get through the door of the
house first.  She dried up the mats of the training hall and
put the mop away, taking her time before getting back into
the house.  `If they'd waited five more seconds, then they
would've known that I hadn't *served* breakfast yet.'
     She giggled to herself, knowing the dour looks she'd be
getting from both of them once she finally got inside.

                            ****

     Akane's long hair, now secured by a sequence of yellow
bows, was swept behind her as she marched up to the door of
the dojo.  It was still fairly early in the morning, and
everyone else was still either asleep or getting ready for
the day.  So she had a little time to herself, and intended
to put it to good use.  `Perfect,' she thought with gusto,
relishing a warm-up.  She rubbed her hands together in
anticipation of her workout, and reached for the door
handle.
     As her fingers touched the smooth wood of the door
frame, intense flashbacks overwhelmed her.  She froze in
place, her hand outstretched and still barely touching the
door handle.  Ghosts of the past taunted her, making her
shrink away from the building's doorway.  Akane couldn't
control her reaction, despite her best efforts.  `Why can't
I?!' she fumed bitterly.
     Tears coursed down her cheeks, betraying the tangle of
emotions burdening her mind.  `If I can't do this, I won't
be able to do anything anymore!' she despaired.  `I *have*
to do this!' she vowed, steeling herself.
     Gripping the handle firmly, she yanked to the side and
slid the door open.  Her eyes widened in shock when the
handle of the door snapped off in her hand.  She hissed as
she heard the door travel off of its runners and continue to
slide across the dojo until it impacted with the adjacent
wall on the far end of the building.
     Akane bigsweated when the door slapped against the
floor mats of the dojo.  She reluctantly poked her head
through the doorway and looked to where she heard the door
fall.  To her shock, she saw it lying in the corner of the
dojo in three jagged pieces.  `Daddy's not going to like
this,' she thought in agitation.  Akane was *quite* sure
that she didn't want to be the one to tell him about this,
but decided that worrying about that could wait until she'd
completed her workout.
     `Well, at least I'm inside, now.  Might as well...
practice?'  Akane stopped her thoughts in their tracks.
Swinging herself around in a slow arc, she took in the whole
interior of the dojo.  She could only stare, slack-jawed, at
the devastation set out before her.  "Dear God!  What
happened in here?!" she whispered to herself.
     Roof joists were cracked, or in some cases, missing
altogether.  There were fist-sized holes in the floor.
Also, shoe prints were all over the walls.  "Looks like a
brawl took place in here," she said to herself in awe.
     Akane eyed the devastation closely, and could tell that
it had happened recently.  The breaks in the wood were
fresh, and rain had not been able to damage anything
further.  "Must've been within the last couple of days," she
surmised.
     There was no sign of dust or debris, which lead Akane
to believe that her father had cleaned up some of the mess
right after the fight.  `I don't know who could have caused
such damage to this place, but she, or he, was good.  It
even seems that she, or he, was able to hold their own
against my daddy,' she concluded.  `I'd really like to meet
this person,' she added with a smirk.
     She shrugged her shoulders, and walked back to the
dojo's doorway.  `It's too dangerous to practice in here for
now.  I guess my return to training will have to wait until
this place is safe to work out in.  That, or until I find
another place to go for my workouts.'  With that, she turned
her back on the dojo.  `At least daddy won't mind the door
being in pieces,' she thought with a laugh.  `With
everything else that's broken in there, it's probably the
least of his concerns.'
     The floorboards creaked ominously under her feet as she
made her way out.  `I wonder when he's going to fix up the
place,' she asked herself as she returned to the safety of
the house.  Untying the belt to her gi, Akane slowly made
her way upstairs.  Once in her room, she stripped and donned
her shorts and shirt again.  She hung her gi on her door
hook as a reminder that training was postponed, not
abandoned.  She vowed that she would return to that dojo
soon.
     Feeling a little better about herself for conquering
the `Dark Spirit of the dojo,' she tied an apron on and
dashed into the hallway.  `I think I'll cook breakfast for
the family.  Kasumi deserves a break after what she did for
me yesterday.'  Akane skipped across the hallway and down
the stairs to the kitchen, a mischievous glint in her eye.

                            ****

     True to form, Ranma and Genma were both fit to be tied
by the time Nodoka made it through the back door of the
house.  Neither she nor Ranko could contain their laughter,
which threatened to escalate as both men glared at them in
return.
     "Honey, we're hungry.  And we're also on a tight
schedule, *remember?*" Genma warned.
     Nodoka looked at the nearby wall clock and tsk tsked at
her husband.  "Darling, we have over an hour before we have
to be there!  Goodness, you are so impatient sometimes!" she
chided softly.
     "That may be so, but did you have to take so long to
get back into the house, *dear?*" he pressed.  Nodoka
giggled as she walked past them and into the kitchen.  "And
was it *really* necessary to stop by the flower bed and
smell *every* flower, Nodoka?" he yelled at her departing
form.  Full-blown laughter erupted from the kitchen,
accompanied by the sounds of dishes clattering.
     A few moments later she reappeared.  "Now now, Genma.
You can calm down.  Here's the food," she said, two small
trays of food balanced precariously on her arms.  She jumped
out of harm's way the moment one of them had been set on the
table as Ranma and Genma leaped onto it, inhaling the food
before Ranko could get her share.
     `Fortunately,' Nodoka thought to herself, hiding a
knowing smirk, `I kept enough food away for both myself and
Ranko.'  Two minutes later both men came up for air with
rather messy faces.
     "Ahhh, that was good!" Genma declared as he patted his
stomach.  He pulled Soun's list out of his pocket, and stood
up.
     "Genma, we just sat down to breakfast.  Where do you
think you're going?" Nodoka asked sternly.
     "Honey, you've forgotten that I have to pick up some
parts and come back here *before* we leave for Soun's."
Nodoka's eyes widened slightly.  She had indeed forgotten
about that.  "Ranma, you'd better get a bath before I get
back.  I'll have to take one before we leave.  Best that we
not be late, right?"
     Ranma stood from the table, agreeing with his father.
"Right, Pop.  I'd better get on it, then," he said as he
sprinted for his room.
     Genma bent down and brought his arm around his wife's
slim waist, brushing her ear with his lips.  "I love you,"
he whispered, meeting her lips with his as she turned to
kiss him.
     "I love you too, panda-bear," Nodoka replied
affectionately, clasping his hand with hers.  They
reluctantly withdrew as she glanced at the clock again.
"You'd better hurry, honey.  You're going to have rush if
you're going to take a bath as well," she said, adding a
wink at the end of her statement.
     "I'll be back soon," he said enthusiastically, mussing
Ranko's hair as he walked to the front door and left the
house.
     As the door closed, Ranko turned to her mother.  "I
hope I'll find someone that I can have fun with, Mom.  You
know, like the way you and Pop get along.  I like that."
     Nodoka clasped her hand to her heart, with a satisfied
smile on her face.

                            ****

     Kasumi walked towards the kitchen, her pace growing
urgent as she could make out faint sounds of dishes
clattering together.  She stifled a yawn as she rounded the
corner and stepped into the kitchen.  She plastered a smile
on her face as she saw Akane hammering away at something on
the cutting board.  She buried her growing dread as she made
eye-contact with her youngest sister.  "Well, good-morning,
bright-eyes!" she said as she walked over to stand beside
Akane.
     A smile radiated from Akane's face.  "Ah!  I see you're
awake now, Kasumi.  Wanna help?" she asked, indicating the
rows of bowls, cooking implements, and ingredients on the
counter.
     Kasumi shuddered at the idea of her sister once again
trashing her kitchen and wasting food.  Her smile weakened
slightly as she looked down at Akane.  "Well, to answer your
first part, I was up before both you and Nabiki were.  I
just decided to stay in my room after I dressed and read a
bit.  You feel like that sometimes, Akane?"
     Akane turned to face the cutting board before Kasumi
could see her pained reaction.  "Yeah, on occasion," she
evaded, saying nothing about what she went through earlier
this morning.  "Anyway, I was trying out a new style of
cooking and was wondering if you'd like to join in."
     Saying that, Akane recovered some of her bounce, eager
to get Kasumi involved.  This time, she was sure that she'd
win over her family with her cooking, and wanted to impress
her oldest sister first with her skills.  Kasumi's opinion
meant the most to her.
     Acquiescing to the inevitable, Kasumi donned her apron
and stared hard at what her sister had put together.  It
looked like some sort of dough- or egg-based dish.  She
couldn't tell for sure.  Akane had fried up a bit of it in
the wok and placed it on a small plate for her inspection.
     "Try it, Sis!" Akane enthused, holding the plate and a
pair of chopsticks out to her older sister.
     Taking chopsticks in hand, Kasumi scooped up some of
the mixture as best as she could, and brought them to her
lips.  She quickly opened her mouth and popped in the
morsel.  Her eyes bulged as she tasted Akane's latest work.
"MY GOODNESS!" she shouted, after forcing the concoction
down.
     Then she fainted.

                            ****

     "Hey, Ranma!  You decent?" Ranko's voice chirped from
the hallway
     He smirked at the sound of Ranko's voice, and avoided
the obvious answer.  "Yes," he responded instead.
     "Can I come in?"
     "Sure, the door's open," he said before sitting on the
edge of his bed.
     The door to his room slid open, and Ranko hobbled in.
She was clad in her usual Chinese outfit, although she had
her hair out of its braid.  Her raven locks cascaded down
her back and shoulders, framing her face strikingly and
making her look a *lot* more mature than her actual age.
Ranma shoved down his astonishment at how beautiful she was
with her hair down, and patted the bed with his hand,
inviting her to sit down beside him.  He could just hear her
swearing under her breath as she walked towards him.
     "Everything okay, Sis?" he asked her concernedly.
     "Yeah, kinda," she groused as she plopped down to his
right on the bed.  "I'm just fed up with this ankle crap, is
all."  She looked at him, and he could see tears of
frustration shimmering in her baby blues.  "I've always had
a problem with getting injured, Ranma.  I don't like the
fact that I'm gonna have to keep away from training for
almost two weeks."
     "Two weeks?"  Ranma whistled in mild surprise.
     "Yeah.  Dr. Tofu had that written down on the list, and
Mom's doing everything she can to make sure that I live up
to it."  She punched his mattress in frustration with her
left fist, and barely missed striking Ranma's thigh.  She
grinned nervously when she realized how close she'd come to
hitting him.  "Oops!  Sorry `bout that."
     He smirked back at her, and placed his arm around her
shoulders.  She gratefully accepted his affection, and
leaned into him.  "It's no big deal, Ranko," he said
comfortingly.  "I guess I'd feel the same way if I wasn't
allowed to do what I wanted for two weeks."  He squeezed her
shoulder tenderly.  "But think about it this way.  Now you
have Mom, Pop, and me to wait on you hand and foot."  He
looked down at her injured ankle.  "No pun intended."
     Ranko smiled nastily at her brother, and poked him
gently in the ribs.  "A slave all to myself, eh?  Lemme see.
What can I do with you?" she asked rhetorically, enjoying
the look of mild worry that was etching itself across his
face.  She held up her index finger.  "First, you'll have to
carry me in your arms everywhere you go."  Another finger
went up.  "Secondly, you'll have to buy me ice cream sundaes
whenever I want them.  With your money of course," she
amended greedily.
     Ranma started to sweat as Ranko rattled of a growing
list of demands and expectations for him and his parents.
He turned green when she mentioned number fifty-seven;  him
having to hand wash her undies.  "And, you have to ..." she
broke off into giggles.  "Ranma, I'm just *kidding!*  She
playfully socked him in the arm.
     Ranma's rather loud exhalation let her know that he'd
believed her, for the most part at least.  "Thank goodness,"
he mumbled under his breath.  The idea of handling her dirty
underwear had brought to mind images of that little sex-
starved lecher, Happosai.  He didn't like thinking of
himself in that light.
     His discomfort didn't go unnoticed by his younger
sister.  "What's wrong, big brother?" she asked him
cheekily.  "Are you uncomfortable around girl's underwear?"
Ranko winked at him and seductively pulled one of her
sleeves down, baring both her shoulder and her ivory bra
strap.  Pulling a little more caused the top two buttons of
her shirt to give way, revealing a hint of her cleavage and
the top of her left breast down to the cup.
     Ranma recoiled slightly, both startled and angered by
Ranko's sudden, and dangerously effective seduction.  "Now
cut that out!" he protested weakly, sweat forming on his
brow.
     Ranko flopped back on his bed, howling with laughter.
"Geez, you're such an easy target!" she crowed.  She crossed
her arms across her chest in a fit of giggles, pressing her
breasts together and unintentionally accentuating her bust-
line.  Ranma could feel his temperature rise as he got a
long eyeful of his sister's barely-covered breasts.  He
fought like mad to keep himself from looking too
uncomfortable, but failed miserably.
     "You're definitely gonna have to loosen up!" she mock-
chided, unaware of his internal struggle.  "You, the other
you that is, had never gotten this uptight over seeing a
little skin.  Especially mine!"  She wagged her finger at
him.  "Other guys your age would've taken a free peek
without any hesitation."  Ranko frowned.  "There's nothing
*wrong* with them, is there?"
     Ranma snapped his gaze back to her at that.  "No!  Not
at all!  It's just that ... that I get really uncomfortable
when you do that," he admitted.
     Ranko turned on her side, shirt still partly
unbuttoned, and gave him a wicked smirk.  "Do what?" she
asked in a low voice, winking slyly and dipping her
shoulders forward for maximum effect.
     "THAT!" he shouted in frustration, again ripping his
gaze from her partially-covered chest before things got out
of hand.  Or rather, `in hand.'  Ranma stood up from his bed
and walked to a neutral corner.  He flushed angrily as Ranko
laughed behind his back.  "Are you finished yet?" he
growled.
     Ranko's good humor vanished instantly.  "Yeah," she
replied in a small voice, sitting up and straightening out
her shirt.  "You can turn around now," she told him as she
fastened the top button.
     Ranma rotated on the balls of his feet to face her
again, and lost some of his bottled-up tension.  He looked
at her sternly when he could finally speak.  "Please don't
do that again," he commanded.
     "Why?" she asked in all earnestness.  "I was only
having fun!  It was nothing serious, Ranma."  She showed him
a hurt look.  "Like I said, I used to do this with you ... I
mean, my brother all the time.  I just figured you wouldn't
mind."  She let her disappointment show as she gazed
sidelong out of Ranma's bedroom window.
     `I can be such a sucker sometimes!' he told himself as
he walked back to his bed.  He knelt down in front of his
sister and took her hands in his.  "I'm sorry I'm not the
same brother you remember.  But after everything I've told
you, you should know that there are things about me that're
different from him."
     Ranko forced herself to acknowledge that.  Teasing her
older brother had been one of her favorite things to do.
There weren't many other pleasures in her life that were
quite so satisfying.  With Ranma's current reaction to her
busty behavior, she was beginning to feel a sense of loss.
Although she'd swallow poison before admitting it, she had
actually found herself missing her `original' older brother.
Not much, but just a little bit.
     Ranma looked into his sister's deep blue eyes, and saw
how troubled she'd become.  "Don't go gettin' all upset with
me, Ranko.  I know all of this stuff concerning me is still
a little crazy and all, but ... "   He shrugged his
shoulders.  "I don't know what to do.  We've been over some
of this already.  I told you that I loved finally having a
sister.  It's been real fun, you know?"
     Ranko smiled as Ranma continued to stumble through his
apology.  `In some ways, they're not so different, after
all.'  She giggled when she looked down and saw his sheepish
face.  "You can stop now, Ranma," she remarked dryly.
     He stopped himself in mid-sentence, but never looked
away from her eyes.  "You okay, Sis?"
     She stood from the bed on her good leg, and tugged
Ranma to his feet.  Once he was up, she held herself tightly
to him.  "Yeah, I'm fine," she said with a sigh.
     Recalling the dream from last night, and the kiss
they'd shared before that;  Ranma felt himself want to push
away from her a bit.  Ranko could feel his reluctance as she
held onto him, but never relinquished her hold on him.
"What is it now?" she asked.
     "Well, Ranko.  It's a little bit ... different for me
than it is for you, understand?"
     "No.  What's different?"
     "Well, you `n me."
     "Of course we're different, Ranma.  I think I just
finished illustrating that point with my shirt," she
quipped.
     "Not that!" he spat.  "I'm talkin' about ... us.  I
mean-"  He paused to consider how he wanted to say it.  `How
do I tell her how I feel?' he asked himself, mulling over
the possibilities.  "I don't think of you the way you do
about me," was what he finally said.
     Ranko broke her hold on him and looked up at his eyes,
trying to read his expression.  "I don't quite follow-"
     "What I'm trying to say is that when you flashed me
just then, I ... I thought you were..."
     "What?" she pushed, eager for him to reach a
conclusion.  "Thought I was what, Ranma?"
     "I thought-  I thought you were sexy, okay?!" he
shouted, somewhat defensively.
     Ranko sat, numbed, on the edge of Ranma's bed.  `He
called me sexy!  No-one's ever said that to me before in my
life!'  Despite the awkwardness of the situation, she
couldn't help but feel some sense of pride.  "Thank you,"
she replied softly.
     "Ranko, I don't think that `Thank you' was the response
I was expecting," Ranma deadpanned.  "I was expecting
something more along the lines of `Ewww, Hentai!' or `Shut
up, Ranma!' or `Who are you calling, *sexy?*'"
     "Geez, big brother, you've got a really funny way of
dealing with girls," Ranko retorted.  "Why would I turn away
a perfectly good compliment like that for?  Girls like that
sort of stuff, although probably not phrased quite the way
you said it."
     Flustered, Ranma pushed on.  "I mean, we're related!  I
shouldn't be thinking stuff like that about you."
     "Why not?" she interrupted.  "I think you're pretty
good looking yourself, for a brother."  She winked playfully
at him, completely scandalizing Ranma.
     "Ranko!" he hissed.  "Stop that!  This is part of what
I'm talking about.  When you do that, I don't think of you
as my sister."  Ranko's eyes narrowed slightly.  Ranma saw
her reaction, and pressed on.  "That's right.  Whenever you
show yourself or tease me, I get..."  He trailed off into
silence, not wanting to say it.
     "Get what, Ranma?"  `Geez, this is as frustrating as
trying to get a response out of a mute!' she thought in
frustration.  "Angry?  Upset?  WHAT?!" she pried.
     "Excited," he mumbled shamefacedly.  "I - I think about
doing... doing it with you, sometimes, when you show off
like that."
     Her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as
comprehension finally dawned.  Here it was, staring her
right in the face.  Her brother was having some of the same
feelings about her that she'd recently had about him.  In
some ways, it bothered her to hear it.  In other ways,
however, it comforted her, especially in the sense that she
now knew that she wasn't suffering from this sort of desire
alone.
     He continued.  "I've never really felt this way about
girls before.  I mean, I've always thought that girls were
pretty and stuff, but whenever I'd start to think about
girls *that* way, I'd wind up getting clobbered by Akane,
Shampoo, or someone else.  So I never really thought much
about girls and sex.  Most of the time, it was simply
because I wanted to avoid getting beaten up."  Ranma walked
back to his bed and sat down next to his sister.  "On the
other hand , I'd get hit even when I wasn't thinking about
sex."
     Ranko laughed at that and put her hand on his shoulder.
It went unacknowledged.
     "Anyway, I'm getting away from the subject.  What this
boils down to is this.  I'm afraid that if you keep doing
that, I'm gonna... that is, we're gonna... you know..."
Flummoxed, Ranma quit talking and just sat there, squirming.
     Ranko stared down at her hands, which she was wringing
rather tightly to help control her emotions.  She wasn't
sure of how to respond to what he'd just said.
     "The strangest part of all of this," Ranma continued,
"is that you're the first girl I've ever said `I love you'
to.  Don't get me wrong, Ranko.  I meant it when I said it
then, and I still feel the same way about you now.  But it's
not the same as if I'd said it to Akane or some other girl."
     "I realize that, Ranma.  It sounds like you're having a
hard time accepting it, though."  She played her hand across
his back sympathetically, unaware of the effect the caress
was having on him.  "You're my brother, for the most part.
I don't see us going out and getting married and having kids
and stuff like that, but that doesn't mean that we can't be
close, does it?"
     Ranma shrugged his shoulders uncertainly.  "I don't
know, Ranko.  Sometimes it seems like we're too close.  Like
that kiss last night."  She flushed under a full-powered
hormonal kick as thoughts of that lingering kiss blazed in
her mind.  Ranma continued in his haunted tone.  "We should
have kissed like family.  Instead, we kissed like lovers
kiss... and I enjoyed it."
     "So did I," Ranko chimed in, her fingertips absently
grazing her lower lip.
     "But that's just it," he railed, "we *shouldn't* have
enjoyed it that much!  And I'm not sure what would've
happened if it had gone on any longer than it had," he
proclaimed unsurely.  `Yes I do,' he added to himself, his
lustful drive urging him to admit it to her.  "I just think
that we need to tone it down a little, before things get out
of control.  Understand?"
     "Yeah," Ranko responded.  She agreed with what he was
saying, after some consideration.  Although a small part of
her was still curious about making love with him;  her mind
sifting through the `what if' section of her imagination.
She understood the importance of not letting things get
beyond their bounds, though.  As a result, her hand ceased
its gentle searching of Ranma's back and dropped to her
side.
     In all honesty, she didn't see the teasing and light
affection as anything more than normal.  Sisters tease their
brothers all the time.  With the exception of the kiss
they'd shared last night, she'd never done anything
deliberately to lead him on.  `And anyway, I wasn't really
in a sane frame of mind when I kissed him.  Odd what effect
drugs can have on the mind sometimes,' she thought to
herself.  Ranko was willing, however, to put a stop to some
of her antics if it would help matters any.
     "I'm sorry I flashed my tits at you, Ranma," she said
with a little disappointment.  `I'm gonna miss doing that to
him.  The look on his face was priceless!'  She laughed, but
only to herself.  "I won't do it again.  I promise."  She
crossed her breast with a finger.
     "Thank you, Ranko," he said earnestly.  His spirits
improved at that, and a smile creased his face.  "Now I
don't have to worry about having a nervous breakdown."
     They both laughed gently at that.  She then slid next
to him and put her hand to his face.  Turning his head to
face hers, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, then
embraced him warmly.  "That doesn't mean that I won't stop
showing you every now and again that I still care about you,
big brother," she mock-chided in a whisper.
     This time, knowing it was safe, Ranma held onto her
tightly.  "Same goes for me... pip-squeak."
     Ranko growled somewhat and pulled away from him.
"Watch it, mister!" she warned, although he knew there was
no seriousness in her tone.  "I don't let too many people
call me that and live."
     Ranma made a show of acting scared.  "Oh, Mistress!
Please don't hurt me!" he pleaded, almost failing twice in
containing his laughter.
     "That's better," she acknowledged.  "Now that we've
reached an understanding there, I want to get back to the
reason I came in here."
     "Oh yeah?  And what's that?" Ranma asked.
     "What the hell happened to you last night?  You kicked
me out of bed for no real reason, then clammed up about it.
Also, you looked REALLY scared when you left my room."
     Ranma's face fell, and his good humor evaporated
completely.  "Yeah, well, that was just a nightmare," he
evaded.
     "Was it about Kinuko?" she chanced.  Ranma winced,
answering her question.  A mixture of guilt and sadness
crept into her heart.  "I know I should've told you sooner,
and I apologize again for that-"
     Ranma waved her apology off with a sharp swipe of his
arm.  "It has nothing to do with you, Ranko.  You don't need
to apologize for anything you did.  You had your reasons,
and I happen to agree with them.  None of that has anything
to do with how I deal with what I'm up against, though."  He
hung his head.  "If she's really preg-"  His eyes quickly
darted to his bedroom door, which remained closed and silent
for the moment.  Then he resumed in a lower voice.  "If
she's really pregnant, then I've got a bunch of crap to deal
with.  My life's gonna be wrecked!"
     Ranko could feel him begin to get worked up, and hugged
herself to him again to try and allay some of his fears.
"Ranma, stop worrying about it, okay?"  She looked him in
the eye and spoke earnestly.  "If there's a problem, then
we," she poked herself and him in the chest, "you and I,
will deal with it then.  We haven't even found out whether
or not all of this stuff about her is true."
     Ranma nodded his head in agreement, although his brow
was still feverish with worry.  "But-" he began.
     "No `buts!'  Stop worrying about it!  You have a much
bigger thing to think about today," she reminded him
smoothly.
     "The dojo," he answered simply.  A short pause ensued,
punctuated only by Ranma's measured breathing.
     She could feel him calming a bit, although Ranko
thought he still seemed a little panicky.  She continued
speaking, her tone getting softer as she went.  "That's
right, we're going to make everything right with the Tendos
today.  You'll get a chance to talk to Akane, and I'll
finally meet her family in person."  Her own mood lightened
a bit.  "Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind seeing Akane
again, myself.  She seemed kinda neat."  Ranko smiled to
herself, thinking that she might have found a new friend in
the young Tendo girl.
     Ranma liked the idea of his sister and Akane getting
along.  Then that thought reminded him of what happened to
Akane just before he'd left for home, and his good humor
fled once more.  "Yeah, but there's the small problem of
what Kinuko did to Akane out in front of everybody after
school yesterday.  Remember?"
     Ranko snapped her fingers in irritation.  She'd almost
forgotten what that little fool had done in the school-yard
yesterday.  "Yeesh!  That does present a problem.  And as I
recall, I tried to ask you last night how you were going to
handle this with Akane.  You never answered the question."
     "That's because I have no answer for it!" Ranma snapped
defensively.  "This Akane is a complete mystery.  I don't
know how she'll react when I tell her that I don't give a
damn about Kinuko.  The other Akane would've called me a
pervert and a liar.  Now..." he held his hands up in a
gesture of helplessness as he shook his head.
     "Now you're going to tell her what you just told me,"
Ranko offered.  "If she cares enough about you, she might
decide to trust you, Ranma.  After all, she seems like the
kind of person who'd listen."
     Ranma wavered slightly.  "I don't know-"  He broke off
at the sound of his mother's voice from the hallway.
     "Ranma!  Is Ranko up there with you?" Nodoka shouted
from downstairs.
     "Yes!" both chimed at the same time.
     "Good!  Both of you need to come down now.  Your
father's back from the store, and he's ready to leave."
     "Well, this is it," Ranko added as she stood, hobbling,
from the bed.
     Ranma nodded to her and stood by her side.  He felt his
stomach tighten in nervous anticipation as he guided Ranko
out of the room.  The time for waiting was over.

                            ****

     Akane was out of her mind with grief.  She'd just
killed her oldest sister with one of her newest attempts at
cooking.  She looked at the stilled body of what used to be
Kasumi as it lay at her feet.  Akane was mired in absolute
misery.
     `At least she didn't seem suffer long,' she thought
with a touch of pity.  She reached out tentatively, her
hands shaking uncontrollably as she went to touch her
sister's body.  Akane frowned as her fingers slid down the
corpse's arm.  `Kasumi collapsed and died almost ten minutes
ago,' she thought.  `But her body still feels warm.  I
thought that-'   She suddenly shrieked and jumped back when
Kasumi's body sat up and pressed a dainty hand to its
forehead.
     "Owww..." Kasumi groaned, having trouble sitting
upright on the floor.  She looked at the trembling form of
her terrified sister in confusion.  "Akane, what's wrong?"
     " `What's wrong?!'  I thought you were dead!" Akane
shouted hysterically.  "You ate some of my omelet, *yelled*
at me, then collapsed!"
     Kasumi blink-blinked for a second as hazy snippets of
the last fifteen minutes slowly came to her.  "Oh, I did
yell at you, didn't I?" she asked weakly, thoroughly shocked
at herself for the impolite breach in protocol.
     Akane nodded rapidly.  "When you yelled at me, I
thought I'd done something terrible to you.  You've never
yelled at me before, so I assumed that... that...  OH
KASUUUUMIIIII!!!"  Akane fell to her knees and hugged her
sister tightly.  "I'm sorry!  I didn't mean to almost kill
you!  I won't ever try to cook again!  I swear!"  The
emotional load of the situation became unmanageable as she
buried her head in Kasumi's chest and cried like a lost
soul.
     Kasumi patiently sat there and stroked Akane's hair,
willing to give her sister the time she needed to cry
herself back to normal.  While Akane blubbered, Kasumi
pondered.  `Why did I drop like that?' she mused.  `I've
usually had a fairly good constitution when it comes to
eating Akane's cooking.'  She looked up to the countertop,
the surface of which was just visible from her current
position on the floor.  Straining slightly, Kasumi craned
her neck until she espied the plate that Akane had in-hand
earlier.  It still had some of the `food' on it that she'd
tasted before collapsing.
     `What did Akane say it was supposed to be?' she
wondered.  A lingering flavor of it was still on her tongue.
`Hmmm...  Eggs, mushrooms, whole milk, pork, and... cheese?'
she thought, mulling over what she could discern from the
taste in her mouth.  Kasumi started as the combination of
ingredients coalesced in her mind.  `That's right!  Akane
said that she was trying to cook an omelet!'  She looked
critically at the plate again.  `It *looks* like an omelet.
Could it be?!'
     "MY GOODNESS!" Kasumi shouted involuntarily, realizing
something incredible had just happened.  Beyond all human
reasoning, Akane had finally managed to get it right.  `I
must have fainted due to shock!' she thought, nodding to
herself in understanding.
     Akane's head snapped up from her sister's tear-drenched
cleavage at the shocking noise.  "What now?!  I didn't do
anything else to you, did I!?" she yelled hysterically.
     Kasumi regained her composure and kissed her sister
gently on the forehead.  The surprising nature of the
gesture caught Akane off-guard, silencing her yelling, and
her tears.  "Shhh, Akane-chan," Kasumi comforted.  "You
shouldn't be upset with yourself."
     "But I-" Akane protested, but was cut off.
     "No!" Kasumi said softly, but firmly.  "You didn't do
anything wrong.  In fact, you should be proud of yourself.
You got it right," she enthused, running her fingers through
Akane's long hair soothingly.
     "Huh?" Akane asked in a tiny voice.  She dared not
believe what her oldest sister was telling her.  "Kasumi, I
think you're still suffering from the aftereffects of the
food I gave you-"
     "Akane, hush!" she admonished lightly, stopping her
sister's rant in mid-build-up.  "I'm not suffering from
anything other than total shock."  Kasumi grimaced as she
realized what a backhanded-compliment she'd just given her
sister.
     Akane's face showed just how confused she was.  "I
don't understand, Kasumi.  You fainted dead away. but you
sound like you actually *enjoyed* it."  She frowned.
"You're just trying to make me feel better, that's it," she
concluded stubbornly.
     Kasumi sighed and brought herself to her feet, a task
more burdensome than usual because her sister was still
clinging to her shoulders.  Once standing, she carefully
walked Akane back to the part of the counter where the bowl
of mixed ingredients sat.  Fairly sure that Akane was going
to be okay, she wriggled herself free of her sister's grasp
and faced the wok, which was still warmed and awaiting the
application of ingredients.  "Only one way to find out for
sure, Akane-chan," she declared as she poured some of the
ham, milk, mushroom, and egg mixture into the wok.
     Akane instantly snapped out of her trance and moved
herself closer to her sister.  Kasumi pulled her chan out,
and prepared to move the cooking egg mixture about in the
wok when Akane grabbed her hand.
     "No!  Not yet.  You've got to wait a little longer
before pushing the edges in and flipping it.  It'll be
undercooked, otherwise," Akane advised, almost as if it had
been by rote.
     Kasumi cocked an eyebrow at her sister's advice.  "Why,
you're right Akane!  I almost folded it too soon," she
admitted, acquiescing to her younger sister's sudden wisdom.
She waited another ten seconds, then pushed the edges in,
cooking the remaining bits of egg that had pooled in the
center of the omelet and gone untouched by the heat of the
wok.  Cheese in hand, Akane waited until the right moment,
then dropped some on top of the it.
     Kasumi folded half of the omelet on top of itself,
pressing lightly on the top with the back-edge of the chan.
Less than half-a-minute later, she hefted the finished
product out of the wok and onto a plate.
     "Done," the oldest Tendo daughter declared.  "Now for
the moment of truth."  Reaching for a clean set of
chopsticks, Kasumi picked up the plate and held it close to
her face.  An enticing aroma wafted from the steaming plate,
calling to her to eat.  She gingerly dug the two sticks into
the egg/dairy/pork combination and came away with a fair-
sized chunk.  `Oh well, here goes everything,' she thought
to herself as the whole thing passed her lips.
     Her eyes bulged as her mouth was assailed anew by the
wonderfully rich taste of the omelet.  Spices and herbs that
had gone unnoticed before filled her senses, adding volume
to the flavor of the dish.  Kasumi felt herself starting to
teeter in shock once more, and forced herself to become
stable, lest Akane panic again.
     "It's wonderful!" Kasumi avowed after swallowing it.
     Akane's eyes shimmered gloriously in the bright
lighting of the kitchen.  "Do you mean it, Sis?" she asked
in hushed tones.
     Kasumi nodded, her cheeks bulging slightly, yet cutely,
with another mouthful of the omelet.
     Akane cried again, although this time it was with tears
of joy.  "Ohh, Kasumi!  You don't know how much it means for
me to hear you say that."  She clasped her hands together in
front of her face, her joy boundless.
     "It'f quide goot, Agane," Kasumi acclaimed as she
chewed.
     Akane quit crying when she realized that her sister was
still cramming pieces of the omelet into her mouth.  Joy
became surprise;  she'd never seen Kasumi so ravenous
before.  "You must've been hungry, Sis," Akane said with a
grin.
     Kasumi blushed, and quickly swallowed the remainder of
the omelet.  She placed the empty plate on the countertop,
and patted her belly.  "I apologize, Akane.  I don't know
what came over me, just then.  I don't normally eat that
much, but... I just couldn't resist.  I guess it's the shock
of the moment," she finished with a shrug.
     Akane's giggles grew more and more boisterous, until
she had to prop herself up against the countertop.  "I can't
believe it!" she declared between short gasps.  "I actually
cooked something that someone in my family ate without
complaint!  This is too much!"
     Kasumi smiled lovingly at her younger sister.  "You
have a lot to be proud of, Akane.  You've finally conquered
your cooking problems."  She winked conspiratorially.  "Care
to share your secret, little sister?"
     Akane was the one to blush this time.  "There's no
secret to it, Kasumi," she hedged, avoiding her sister's
suddenly critical gaze.
     "Now Akane, I know it's been months since you last
tried to cook for us, but even *I* have a hard time
believing that you became a master chef on your own in such
a *short* period of time," Kasumi said critically.  "Now
fess up!"
     Akane blew her breath out loudly.  "Okay, okay."  She
reached her hands back and vaulted up, plopping her behind
on the countertop.  "You remember how Kuno-ch... Kuno had me
over to his house on the weekends?"  Kasumi nodded.
     "Well," Akane continued, "it happened early in our
relationship.  After trying to cook a meal for him one day,
and failing miserably, he ordered me to attend cooking
lessons at the Kuno mansion."
     "Akane!" Kasumi said in a shocked voice.
     "Yes.  I was forced to learn how to cook under his own
personal chef."  She paused, killing any tears before they
could surface.  Akane looked into Kasumi's eyes, which
seemed a bit sad to her, and continued her story before she
succumbed to her sister's dolor.  "I've actually known how
to cook for about three months;  I've just never felt like
doing it after I learned how.  Well, in reality, I didn't
cook afterwards because I didn't want that jerk, Kuno, to
have the satisfaction of knowing that I'd benefited because
of him."  Akane flushed with embarrassment.  "Also, I wasn't
sure that I could cook well unless I had a chef hovering
over me."
     Akane pointed to the bowl of omelet mix.  "Thierry, the
Kuno family chef, taught me how to cook European meals
because he was French.  But I also managed to learn a few
traditional Japanese dishes along the way."  Akane smiled to
her sister.  "I didn't push him too hard to teach me those,
though, since I didn't want to learn them from him."
     She hopped off of the counter and slipped her arm
around Kasumi's waist.  "That's because I wanted to learn
all of that from you.  That is, if you'd teach them to me,
Kasumi."
     Kasumi's cheeks reddened considerably, and there was
suddenly moisture shimmering in her eyes.  "Oh, my baby
sister!  I'd *love* to," she declared in a tear-choked
voice.  Try as she might, she couldn't withhold the
upwelling of emotion kindled by Akane's story and her
plaintive request.  "I love you, Akane-chan, and I'm very,
*very* proud of you."
     Akane didn't resist as she felt herself be pulled into
a hug by her oldest sister.  The two sisters held onto each
other gently.  "Thanks, Kasumi.  I promise to work hard!"
Akane vowed.
     Kasumi withdrew from the hug and caressed Akane's tear-
streaked face.  "I know you will, little sister."  She
sniffled, and regained her composure.  Cinching her apron
strings tight, Kasumi cracked her knuckles.  "First thing's
first;  let's get breakfast cooked for everyone.  If *I*
could enjoy your omelets so much, I'm sure that Daddy and
Nabiki will just love them."
     Akane beamed as she followed Kasumi's lead and started
portioning out more ingredients to mix together in the bowl.
She bent to her task obediently, careful not to slip up as
she followed her mental cookbook closely.  She couldn't wait
to see the looks on her father's and Nabiki's faces when
they had a sample of her work.

                            ****

     Genma brought his massive hand up to his brow, and
mopped off the sweat that had already formed there.  `Damn!
Not ten minutes out of the bath, and I'm already sweating as
if I'd been in the training hall for hours.'  He looked over
to his son, who was eerily quiet.  That wasn't what had
Genma frowning, though.  Ranma was carrying his sister on
his back, and he hadn't even broken a sweat yet.
     "How long have we got until we get there, slave?" Ranko
asked her brother amidst a giggle.
     Ranma snorted at his sister's playful banter.  He was
about to respond with something equally witty when his
father spoke.
     "I can't believe how hot it already is!  It's nowhere
near summer, but I'm still frying like squid on a hibachi."
Genma groaned and moved his house-building cargo from one
shoulder to another.  "I also thought it was damned
convenient that Nodoka had something to take care of *right*
as we left.  It wouldn't have hurt her to carry some of this
stuff, instead of forcing me to lug it around in this heat."
     Ranma shook his head while his father continued to
drone on about the unfairness of life.  Meanwhile, he
carried the soft yet weighty burden of his sister on his
back without complaint.
     Ranko seemed to be thinking along the same lines her
brother was, but she didn't keep her mouth shut.  "Pop,
wouldja quit whining?  The walk isn't that long.  Besides,
we're going to get messy anyway by doin' all that work on
Mr. Tendo's dojo, right?"
     "Don't *you* talk to *me* like that, young lady!" Genma
began, but recoiled as Ranko employed her lung power.
     "Don't treat me like a whiny little girl!   Why, if my
ankle wasn't messed up, I'd kick your lard ass from here to
Hong Kong!"  She tensed her thighs in anger, unknowingly
squeezing Ranma in the ribs and causing him to lose his
wind.  Ranko felt him start to slow down, and immediately
loosened her grip when she realized what she was doing.
     "Oops!  Sorry, Ranma!" she apologized.
     "That's my girl!" Genma said loudly.  "A true man among
women if I ever saw one!"
     Ranma fought hard to keep from stumbling, or otherwise
succumbing to a severe bout of laughter.  Ranko, meanwhile,
had to put her arms around his neck to keep from falling
off.  "Watch what you call me, old fart!  Just because I can
whip someone's ass doesn't mean that I'm not feminine!"  She
flexed her arm muscles slightly, but caught herself before
she choked Ranma into unconsciousness.
     Once Ranma had resumed normal breathing, he craned his
neck up to look at his sister.  "You know, you're becoming
too dangerous to carry around!  Just how much do you enjoy
choking the life out of me?"  He hunched himself forward to
better distribute their weight, the effect of which put
Ranko's head above his.
     Ranko blushed and shrugged her shoulders.  "I said I
was sorry."
     Before he could respond, his father chimed in.  "Stop
complaining, boy!  You're acting like a whining old lady.
That's not the path..."
     "...of a true martial artist," Ranma completed in a
perfect deadpan.  "Yadda yadda yadda.  Spare me the spiel,
pop.  It ain't nothin' I haven't heard before."
     "Hey, Pop," Ranko countered, "what do you call what you
were just doing then... old lady?"  She and Ranma both
laughed at that, which sent the two of them stumbling about.
     Genma snorted indignantly.  "I was only pointing out
the weather conditions for the day," he harrumphed.
     Ranma looked up to his sister's flushed face, and
winked conspiratorially.  "Yeah, right," he whispered to
her.
     Ranko giggled lightly, then flashed to panic.  "Ranma,
look out for that..."  It was too late, however, as he
walked, sister-first, into a telephone pole with a metallic-
and-bone sounding *CLANG*.  He wound up flat on his butt
with his sister clinging tightly to his upright back.
"Geez, why dont'cha watch where you're going?" she snapped
irritably.
     Ranma flushed at that.  "Quit being a shoulder-back
driver, Ranko!"
     Both quit their bickering session mid-stride as Genma's
howling laughter caught their attention.  "Martial
artists... colliding with a... telephone pole in b... broad
daylight!  HAHAHAHAHA!!"  The siblings of pain seethed in
silence as their father doubled over in laughter.  The scene
carried on, unchallenged, for a few minutes until he'd run
out of breath.
     "Ohh, I needed that," a calmed Genma declared as he
picked up his dropped burden of construction tools and parts
and walked to his felled children.
     "Ranma, could you put me down now?" Ranko suggested.
"I think we'll do better if you'll let me walk by myself,
okay?"  She underscored her intent by loosening the grip she
had around his neck.
     Knowing that she would hit the ground hard if she let
go first, Ranma unhooked his arms from around Ranko's legs,
and forced himself up to a standing position.  Something in
his back disagreed with him, however, as he stood up.
Stifling a groan of pain, he managed to keep it from
showing.  `Damn!  Hurt my back.  Hope it doesn't stop me
from working on the dojo,' he hoped urgently.
     Ranko hauled herself to her feet, and gingerly tested
her sore ankle.  She winced slightly at the pain, but
acknowledged that it was nowhere near as bad as it had been
the day before.  Emboldened by her fast healing, she put all
of her weight down on it, and whimpered in pain.
     "Ranko, you'd better climb back on," Ranma stated
flatly, seeing the pain on her face.  "You're still not up
to walking on your own."
     She stared at him defiantly and crossed her arms in
front of her chest.  "No!" she shouted, shaking her head.
"I'll walk on my own, thank you very much."
     Ranma groaned in frustration, and advanced toward her.
Ranko hobbled away as he approached.  "Stop it!  I'll damn
well go on my own, and you'll like it!" she spat.
     "You stubborn tomboy!  I..." Ranma yelled angrily, then
shouted in surprise as he ducked a flying kick aimed at his
head.  "What'd ya do that for?!" he exclaimed.
     Pivoting on her good foot, Ranko moderated her
breathing, and managed to keep her balance.  "Watch your
mouth, big brother.  I don't like being called that!  I'm
*not* a guy!"
     Ranma rolled his eyes and shook his head, dismissing it
before the argument grew.  "Whatever...  You still can't
walk on that foot!" he shot back, pointing at her bandaged
ankle.
     "Fine!" she said hotly.  "Then you can hand me that old
broom over there."  She pointed to something nestled between
a group of garbage cans.  Ranma reluctantly agreed and
pulled the item from the garbage and went back to her.
     Taking it in hand, Ranko tossed it in the air and
jumped up with her good foot.  With a loud shout, she
chopped the end off of the broom with her hand, and took
hold of the modified stick.  She used it to stabilize
herself as she landed.  Without even looking behind her, she
knew that the rest of the broom had landed in one of the
nearby trash cans.  "Perfect!  Nothing but can!" she
gloated, bowing.
     Ranma and Genma both kept their expressions neutral as
they watched her land.  They were impressed by what she'd
just done, but that was tempered by her caustic attitude.
Ranko scowled at the lack of adulation from her audience and
walked between them.  "Jealous?" she chided, mocking both of
them with her tone.
     "Showoff," Ranma said, not-unkindly.
     Ranko stuck her tongue out at him playfully, and
avoided his half-hearted swipe.
     "Come on, you two.  Let's get back on the road before
we're late," Genma urged.  Ranma nodded and followed his
father's lead towards the Tendo dojo once more, his eyes
glued protectively to Ranko as they walked side-by-side.

                            ****

     Nodoka smiled to herself as she placed one last item in
a basket sitting on the counter.  `There!' she thought with
satisfaction as she glanced at the large selection of food
that she'd prepared and placed within the basket.  `That
should do it.  Now if only I could keep Ranma and Genma away
once I get there, then Soun and his children should be able
to enjoy it.'
     She laughed at the notion of herself having to defend
the basket from her husband and son.  `I'd probably have to
use my sword to ward them off.'  She shook her head
dismissively, and checked over the basket's contents again.
`Got to make sure...'
     A knock at the door interrupted her inventory of the
basket.  Folding the tops of the cloth liner over the
contents, Nodoka left the basket in the kitchen and walked
to the front door.
     "Just a minute, please," she said as she approached.
Sliding the door open, she smiled as she saw Sato and Hikaru
standing at the doorway.
     "Sato!  Hikaru!  Good morning!" she said, greeting them
warmly.
     "Good morning Mrs. Saotome," Hikaru replied in an Eddie
Haskellish tone.  "Sato and I are here to see Ranma."
     "I'm sorry, boys.  You just missed him.  He and his
father have gone to a ... friend's place on the other side
of Nerima."
     Hikaru Gosunkugi barely hid a look of frustration.  But
before he could ask where Ranma had gone, Sato spoke up.
"Mrs. Saotome, is Ranko at home?"
     She smiled knowingly at Sato, and didn't miss the angry
glare that Hikaru shot his companion.  Nodoka shook her head
slowly.  "No, Sato.  She went with Ranma and her father.  In
fact, you both caught me just as I was getting ready to head
there myself."
     Hikaru's eyes brightened, and he immediately jumped
upon the opportunity.  "Is it alright if we go with you,
Mrs. Saotome?"
     Nodoka frowned inwardly.  Things were tenuous enough
between her husband and Soun.  Bringing uninvited guests
might make things more complicated.  `On the other hand,
extra workers might be appreciated...' she considered, as a
plan took form in her mind.  "Do you two strapping young men
know how to handle construction tools?" she asked in a very
pleasant voice.
     Both boys were jarred slightly by her question.  "Umm..
Uh, yeah" Hikaru stammered, while Sato merely nodded.
     "Good," she concluded, smirking to herself.  "You both
can join me, then.  Wait here while I get my things and then
we'll be off."
     They nodded to her, and remained at the doorway while
she disappeared into the kitchen.  Once she was out of
earshot, Hikaru elbowed Sato hard in the ribs.
     "Oww, shit!  What'd you do that for?" Sato hissed,
rubbing his violated midsection.
     "What's the big idea about asking for Ranko, huh?  I
already told you that she's mine!" Hikaru whispered back
angrily.
     Sato, who stood slightly taller than his friend, rose
to his full height of five feet, eight inches in the doorway
and looked down at his aggressor.  "I wasn't going to ask
her out, jerkweed!" he whispered with equal venom.  "I
figured that since Ranma was gone, we might be able to get
the answers we needed from his sister."
     "Oh."  Hikaru calmed down considerably at that point,
and apologized.  "Sorry for hitting you like that, Sato.  I
just get really paranoid when someone else talks about my
Ranko-chan.  She's started to show some interest in me,
and..."  He broke off his whispered conversation with his
companion as Nodoka reappeared, carrying a rather large
basket in one arm, and a long, wrapped bundle in the other.
     "You two ready to go?" she asked cheerfully once she
stood before them.
     "Yes ma'am," they chorused as they stepped back from
the door, giving her room to exit.
     Ever the gentleman, Sato tapped Nodoka on the arm.
"Would you like me to carry that for you, Mrs. Saotome?"
     "Why, yes!  Thank you, Sato-kun.  That would be very
nice," she said as she unlimbered the basket and one-handed
it to him.
     Sato smiled as he took hold of the handle.  The smile
turned to immense strain, however, when Nodoka pulled her
hand away and the full weight of its contents came to bear.
Teetering on the edge of collapse, Sato strained to right
himself and keep hold of the extremely heavy basket.
`Geez!' he thought in anguish.  `What's she got in here?  A
car?'  Sweat beads formed on his head as he hefted the
object up to elbow-level and cradled it to his chest.
"Ready when you are, Mrs. Saotome," he grunted.
     Through a supreme effort of will, she managed to
contain her laughter.  With only a casual smile gracing her
face, she nodded her approval and stepped ahead of Sato.
"Let's be on our way, then, boys," she urged, as she began
walking.
     Hikaru shot Sato a sour look and trotted up beside
Nodoka.  "Mrs. Saotome, I can carry the other package for
you, if you wish," he offered brightly.  He held his hands
out to her, anticipating that she'd say yes.
     She reflexively pulled the item to her chest, and away
from his reaching hands.  "I'm afraid not, Hikaru.  This is
an heirloom that I hold very dear.  I really don't ever let
anyone else touch it."
     "Oh, okay, Mrs. Saotome."  Crestfallen, Hikaru fell
back in behind her and walked beside his struggling friend.
     The intent behind the gesture was not lost on Nodoka,
though.  `Nice try, son,' she thought to herself wryly.
`Trying to curry favor with me to get to my daughter is one
of the oldest tricks in the book.'  A gleam appeared in her
eyes.  `But, I'd rather not let you date her,' she told
herself.  `You're nothing but trouble for my daughter,
Hikaru Gosunkugi.'
     She clenched the bundle tightly once more as her mind
shifted gears.  Nodoka found herself wondering what had
prompted her to bring it along.  `Maybe I'm just being
paranoid,' she told herself.  `But I can't help but think
that there's going to be some sort of trouble at the Tendo
dojo today.  I can *feel* it.  I just hope that I don't have
to use this,' she prayed, her fingers sliding up and down
the wrapped length of her ancient sword.   Her pace
quickened as a sudden sense of urgency spurred her to walk
faster.  `Oh dear!  I just realized that Genma and Soun will
be meeting without me there!  I just hope that everything
begins on a good note!'

                            ****

     A bleary-eyed Nabiki shambled into the dining area,
clad in her usual tank-top and clingy short-shorts.  Her
father was already seated at the table with paper in hand,
and a steaming mug of tea at his side.  "Good morning,
daddy," Nabiki yawned, unable to conceal her lethargy.  Her
morning bath had not only served to clean her off, but wound
up making her drowsy as well.
     "Ahh, good morning, Nabiki!  I'm glad to see that
you're finally out of the bath," he said from behind his
paper.
     She sniffed, and caught the aroma of something
delicious wafting from the kitchen.  "Mmmm.  Smells good.
What's Kasumi cooking for breakfast?"
     Soun shrugged his paper.  "I have no idea.  I vaguely
remember smelling something like it before, but it escapes
me for the moment.  Regardless, it *seems* delicious."  He
peeked his head around from the paper and scanned the table.
"Where's Akane?  I thought she might've been  with you."
     Nabiki shook her head tiredly.  "I don't think she's
out of her room yet."
     Soun nodded and returned to his reading.  Less than two
minutes later, a vibrant Kasumi walked out of the kitchen
bearing the fruits of her morning labor.  "Breakfast is
ready," she announced as she laid various items down on the
table.
     Nabiki drew her face close to her plate, which had a
folded yellow thing on it.  She sniffed at it tentatively,
and heard her stomach growl its approval.  "Kasumi, what is
this?" she asked in her uniquely droll, yet inquisitive
voice while stabbing a finger at the dish.
     "Oh, it's an omelet," she replied brightly.  Completing
the table settings, Kasumi stood up and clasped her hands in
front of her.  "W...  I decided to try a western recipe for
breakfast this morning."
     Soun immediately folded his paper, and looked at his
plate with longing.  "Oh, Kasumi!  You're such a dear!  I
haven't had an omelet in *years.*"  He rubbed his hands
together, relishing his upcoming feast.  "It smells
fantastic!"
     Latent worry crossed Nabiki's face.  Akane wasn't at
the table, and Kasumi was suddenly getting inventive with
the meals.  "Sis, where's Akane?" she asked sweetly, which
was in contrast to the sharp, inquisitive look on her face.
     Kasumi blinked innocently and walked towards the
kitchen.  "I'll go get her in a minute, Nabiki.  Why don't
you start eating without her?" she suggested as she
disappeared from view.
     As if on cue, Akane bounded in from the hall with a
smile on her face.  "Good morning, Daddy.  Nabiki," she
enthused as she took her place at the table.  "Mmmm.  Smells
wonderful!" she said as she took her chopsticks in hand.
     Satisfied that she wasn't about to get Ptomaine
poisoning, Nabiki began eating.  "Not bad for Western food,"
she admitted grudgingly as she wolfed down progressively
larger pieces.
     "Good morning, Akane.  I trust you slept well?" Soun
replied.
     Akane tried to come up with a quick evasion when Kasumi
re-entered the room.  "Ahh, good!  Everyone's here!" her
older sister announced.
     Soun took that as a sign to begin eating.  With fast
movements, he sectioned off a bit of the steaming omelet and
popped it in his mouth.  "Oh, Kasumi!  It's wonderful!" he
said earnestly before he started shoveling the remaining
pieces into his mouth.
     "Really?!" Kasumi and Akane chorused.
     Coincidentally, a loud thunderclap caused by the
approaching storm sounded just outside the house.
     Soun and Nabiki stopped in mid-chew as a spine-numbing
chill worked its way from their stomachs and crawled up
their backs.  Placing her chopsticks down, Nabiki turned to
her younger sister and stared her right in the eye.  "Akane,
why should *you* be so interested in how this meal turned
out?"
     "Oh, that's because she cooked breakfast this morning!"
Kasumi piped up before Akane could answer.
     Panic-stricken, Nabiki looked like she was about to
bolt from the room.  Soun, meanwhile, had gone stiff as a
statue and snapped his chopsticks between his fingers.
Neither spoke.
     "There!  You see Akane?  I told you they'd love it!"
Kasumi said positively as she walked back into the kitchen.

                            ****

     "Ahh, there it is!" Ranma exclaimed excitedly as the
gates of the Tendo property wall loomed before them.  He
quickened his pace to a trot, his earlier nervousness
replaced by a welcome enthusiasm.
     "So it is, son," Genma shouted to Ranma's departing
form.
     `Waitaminute!' Ranko thought in sudden alarm.  `I
recognize this place!  This is where Ranma got his ass
stomped almost three weeks ago.'  Her eyes glanced across
the far reaching wall bordering the one visible side of the
Tendo's place, looking for hidden dangers among the tall
trees growing within the bounds of the Tendo complex.
Growling at herself, Ranko forced herself to calm down.
`Ranma should be okay.  After all, this is the place where
he's been living for awhile.  Well, close enough.'  Still,
she quickened her pace to catch up with him.
     She hobbled next to her brother just as he began
pushing against the tall wooden gates marking the entrance
to the Tendo gardens and house.  Ranko placed her hand
against his arm, stopping him momentarily.  "Hey, Ranma.
You'll be okay, honest!  I'm gonna be at your side whenever
you need me, understand?" she whispered.
     Seeing his father fast approaching their position, he
refrained from hugging her, and merely covered her hand with
his while mouthing `thanks' and winking.
     "Well, they're probably waiting on us, Son," Genma
said, a smile plastered on his face.  His false humor was
easy to see through for the two young Saotomes, however.
They were all too aware of their father's anxiousness, and
the very good reasons for it;  reasons that had the two
alert, but not nervous.
     Steadying his hand, Genma reached out and pushed
against the unlocked gate.

                            ****

     A much chastened Nabiki and Soun looked up sheepishly
at Akane from their seats at the table as she stood over
them, smirking victoriously.
     "Sis..."
     "Akane..."
     The two nervous eaters looked at each other, then fell
silent for a moment.  Soun spoke again before Nabiki could
get the nerve to do so.  "Akane, please accept your father's
humblest apologies.  I was reacting out of habit."  He took
her hand gingerly in his.  "I truly enjoyed it.  In fact,"
he looked down hungrily to his empty plate, "I'd like
another one."
     "Me too!" Nabiki piped up quickly, holding her empty
plate up over her head.
     With the beginnings of grateful tears forming in her
eyes, Akane smiled proudly.  "Thanks.  I'd be glad to cook
another one for each of you!"  She enthusiastically took the
plates from both of them and walked back to the kitchen.
Some clattering of utensils soon followed.  "Now where did I
put the bleach?" she was heard to ask in the distance.
     Soun and Nabiki paled slightly, and made a move to
stand from the table when Akane poked her head back into the
room.  "Gotcha!" she said brightly, pulling her head back
into the kitchen just in time to avoid getting smacked by a
small pillow that had just been used to comfort Nabiki's
shapely posterior.
     "Suckers!" Akane added from around the safety of the
kitchen wall.
     "Well, at least she's in a good mood, today," Nabiki
quipped as she stole her sister's pillow, to replace the one
she'd launched at Akane, and tucked it under her behind.
     "Yes," her father agreed.  "Akane seems to be a bit
happier than I've seen her in quite awhile."  He smiled to
himself.  `Perhaps this day's going to go better than I
expected,' Soun thought light-heartedly.
     It wasn't long before the smell of freshly cooking
omelets filled the room again, entrancing both occupants of
the table.  "I can hardly believe it," Nabiki admitted.  "My
youngest sister can actually cook.  Hmmmph!  I wonder what
could top news like *that* today?"
     Soun was about to respond to that question when Kasumi
walked in.  "Father, the outer gate is opening.  Our guests
have arrived," she announced quickly and quietly.  Then she
placed two steaming plates of omelets on the table, along
with another tray of them and some extra plates and
chopsticks.
     "Akane felt that we should cook the remaining omelets
instead of letting them go to waste," Kasumi said,
indicating the extras sitting on a larger plate.  "I also
brought out two extra plates in case our guests might want
some of them."  She smiled to them sweetly.  "Now eat up
before they get cold," she cautioned lightly as she
disappeared into the kitchen.
     Nabiki's curiosity hit a peak at the mention of the
mystery guests and she was up on her feet.  But before she
could sprint from the room and out of the house, her father
seized her hand.  "Nabiki, don't be rude.  You and I have
omelets to finish."  He looked her in the eye.  "Remember?"
     Sulking slightly, Nabiki sank back down on the cushion
and draped her arms across her chest.  "Whatever, daddy."
She picked up her chopsticks, but didn't have the heart to
touch the omelet.  She just wasn't hungry anymore.
     Soun, however, dug into his furiously, finishing the
large egg morsel in record time.  Then he stood up and
walked to the doorway separating them from the outside.  He
watched intently through slats in the door as the wall gate
swung open, his face unreadable.

                            ****

     Genma was the first one into the gate.  Standing inside
it, he brought his head around in a slow sweep and was taken
aback by the sight of the grounds in spring-time.  "Why,
it's just as I remember it," he said softly, his glasses
growing a little misty.
     Ranko was not far behind her father as he cleared the
gate and began walking down the path leading towards the
house.  "Whoa!" she whispered in awe, taking in the sights.
"This is a *nice* place."  Ranko was mindful of her steps as
she walked on the uneven surface, inching her way closer to
the house.
     Genma kept a slow, steady pace forward so he could
absorb as much of the tranquil grounds as possible.  He was
only halfway to the house when an angry shout stopped him
dead in his tracks.
     "What kind of man do you think you are?!" a deep voice
bellowed from inside.
     Genma grinned to himself nastily and threw his burden
of supplies down on the ground at his side.  "The kind of
man who knows how to fight!" he yelled back with equal
fervor, adopting a fighting stance.
     The door to the house slid open, revealing a red-faced
Soun.  He glared at Genma for a second from the porch in
silence, his arms crossed against his chest.  He didn't stay
there for long, however, as he leapt into the air, charging
right at Genma.  "And how will you fight?" he challenged as
he drew closer.
     The current Sensei of the Saotome School of Anything
Goes flexed his arms brutishly.  "I'll fight as I was
taught!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.  Following
Soun's airborne track, Genma jumped up to meet him.
     "Pop!" Ranko shrieked in alarm as she watched a battle
between two old friends boil up in front of her.

                            ****

     "You don't have to clean all of this by yourself, Sis,"
Kasumi admonished as she re-entered the kitchen.  "After all
the work you did to cook breakfast for us, you could at
least let me help."
     Akane, humming happily to herself, made a small step to
the right to make space for her sister at the sink.  "Be my
guest, Kasumi-chan," she replied sweetly.  "I don't mind
cleaning up, though.  One of the other things chef Thierry
taught me was that I had to be responsible for the messes I
made in the kitchen.  He told me that `Cooking should be
pursued with abandon if it is to be done properly.  But a
good cook shouldn't abandon the kitchen in the aftermath.'"
She laughed at that.  "Thierry always did have a way of
making me understand."
     Kasumi smiled to herself.  Her sister had changed more
than she'd thought.  "Well, he's right about not abandoning
the kitchen after cooking.  I'd debate the first part of
that statement, though," she said as she picked up a plate
and began to wash.
     "Akane, did daddy tell you about what we're doing in
the dojo today?"
     She grew slightly nervous at her sister's mention of
the dojo.  "Umm, no Kasumi.  What's up?" she asked as
innocuously as possible.  `I hope this isn't about the
door,' she added to herself.
     "Well, daddy told us last night that he was having some
friends over this morning to help with fixing up the dojo,"
Kasumi said quickly.
     Akane breathed a sigh of relief.  "Ahh, that's good.
It looks like a bomb had gone off in there," she said
offhandedly, then something else Kasumi mentioned caught up
with her.  "Waitaminute!  Did you say that they were coming
here *today?*"
     Kasumi nodded, as she energized her cleaning.  "Yes.
In fact, they're here now."
     "NOW?" Akane asked incredulously
     "Yes," Kasumi replied placidly.
     "WHO?"
     They're good friends of."  Kasumi's voice trailed off
at the sound of her father yelling.
     "Oh no!  Was that a battle-cry?" Akane asked
incredulously as she dropped her dish-washing burden back in
the sink.
     Kasumi's stomach sank as she heard more yelling.
Whatever it was had her father absolutely *furious.*  He
hadn't sounded that angry since the day of that ugly phone
call.  "No." she whispered vacantly, although it almost came
out as a whimper.  She and Akane tore from the kitchen at
full speed and dashed into the dining room.
     Scrambling across the room, they got there just in time
to see their father leaping off of the porch and head
towards some bigger man dressed in an off-white gi.  The two
men snarled at each other as they charged.  Kasumi chanced a
glance at where she last saw Nabiki, and couldn't find her
anywhere.  More commotion from outside forced her to ignore
the question of her sister's whereabouts and turn back to
the fight.
     "Kasumi, what's going on?!" Akane shrieked helplessly
from her sister's side as she watched her father and a
stranger battle in front of her ancestral home.

                            ****

     "What the hell?!" Ranma shouted at the top of his lungs
as he blasted through the open gates and raced into the
compound, almost plowing over a motionless Ranko in the
process.  His guts turned ice cold as he watched his father
and Soun speeding towards each other, a murderous look on
both of their faces.
     He caught a slight glimpse of Akane and Kasumi standing
on the porch on the other side of the brawl.  Then Nabiki
joined the two, camera in hand.  All of girls appeared
horrified, which was a painful thing for Ranma to see,
especially on Akane's face.  Despite the twinges of pain
rushing through his back, he prepared himself to intervene
in the fight, no matter the cost.
     Soun and Genma met in the air, their arms closing
tightly around each other in a death embrace.  "We fight
with the honor of a true martial artist!" they chorused as
they landed on their feet, face-to-face on the walkway.
     Stunned, Ranma checked his attempt to leap at them, and
awaited their next move.
     The two grown men broke out into body-shaking laughter,
and hugged each other again, warmly this time.
     "Soun, you old rascal!" Genma declared, standing away
from Soun and clapping him on the back.  "I'd almost
forgotten that old training chant!"
     Wiping tears of laughter from his eyes, Soun returned
the pounding.  "Ahh, Genma my friend!  I couldn't resist.
So how have you been?" he asked as they disengaged and
walked towards the house, their conversation lowering in
volume and becoming ebullient and friendly.
     Ranma, along with everyone else, facefaulted.
Recovering quickly, he didn't attempt to hide his anger.
"You could've warned us that you were going to do that, old
man!"
     "Yeah!" Ranko added hotly.
     Genma glanced back over his shoulder and laughed at his
irritated children.  "Quit complaining, you two.  Now come
on inside.  We have a lot of work to do!"  With that he
disappeared inside, walking right past a stunned trio of
young ladies.
     "Damn!  Could've given me a heart attack!" Ranma swore
under his breath.
     "No shit," Ranko chimed in as she hobbled over next to
him.  "Who would've thought that they'd play around with our
minds like that?" she demanded sourly.  They stewed together
in silence for a minute or two as they allowed their hearts
to calm down.
     "Well, let's go inside, Sis," Ranma said as he guided
his sister towards the house and the motionless Tendo
sisters.

                            ****

     As pandemonium boiled up at the front steps of the
Tendo estate, Nabiki did the only practical thing she could
think of at the time;  she got her camera.  `They won't get
away with damaging the house, whoever they are,' she'd
thought as she sprinted from her room and headed back to
join her sisters.  Her jaw dropped in shock as she emerged
on the porch beside Akane.
     The shock wasn't caused by the battle being waged by
her father and the overweight stranger, however.  Instead,
Nabiki felt herself unable to believe her luck at having the
object of her current task standing on the other side of the
lot.
     `Ranko Saotome!  What's she doing here?!' Nabiki
thought with a mix of panic and excitement.  Then a
collision between her father and the other man and
distracted her.  After the two men met in the air, they
embraced, shouted some corny chant, and started laughing
like schoolboys.  Realizing that the two men weren't intent
on killing each other, or damaging the grounds, she calmed
herself and allowed a sigh of relief.  She kept herself from
gaping in transparent awe like her sisters and the Saotomes
on the other side were doing.
     Quickly refocusing her attention on Ranko, she aimed
her camera at the young girl.  `She's been hurt since I last
saw her.  I guess that fight took more out of her than I
thought,' she mused as she trained her camera lens on the
unsuspecting girl and took two pictures.  As her father and
the man her father referred to as "Genma" walked past, she
took one shot of them as well to cover herself in case
anyone spotted her taking pictures of Ranko.
     Her sisters were still standing stock-still as she
snapped another couple of photos of the approaching Saotome
siblings.  `Ranma!' she thought urgently, as he drew nearer.
`When daddy said that we were going to have people over for
the dojo repair, I never expected Ranma or his family;
especially after what Kasumi told me yesterday!'  She took a
long glance at Ranma as he guided his sister towards the
house.  `I'm NOT complaining, though!' she added with a
dreamy sigh.  Her desirous thoughts were short-lived,
however, as a flood of unanswered questions popped into her
mind.  She quickly prioritized, and decided to put the
camera away for a now.  "Umm, I'll be right back," Nabiki
said quickly, excusing herself as she dashed up to her room.
`I have a feeling that I'll have plenty of time for pictures
later on.'

                            ****

     A vacant-eyed Akane turned to look at her oldest sister
as her father and some stranger disappeared behind them on
their way into the house.  "Umm, Kasumi.  What just
happened?"
     Kasumi shook her head slightly, her usually pleasant
expression replaced by worry and confusion.  "I have no
idea, Sis.  I don't even know who that man is.  What did
Daddy say."  Her question was cut short as a familiar young
man approached them.  Resuming her role as hostess, she
bowed slightly and regarded him with a warm smile.  "Hello
again."
     Ranma nodded and gave a faint smile, his humor still
strained by his father's unannounced stunt with Soun.
"Hello again, Kasumi," he returned politely.
     "Welcome to our home ." Kasumi began, before being
interrupted.
     "RANMA!" Akane shouted in pure astonishment, having
just become aware of who was standing in front of her.
     "Umm." Ranma began uncomfortably.  "Hi again, Akane.
I. that is. we're here to help with the dojo repairs today."
     Kasumi managed to keep her composure at her sister's
outburst.  `Ranma?  Surely no!  Not Ranma Saotome!?  That
would mean.'  She glanced over her shoulder at where her
father and that stranger had been, and her stomach went
cold.  `That would mean that I just watched Genma Saotome
walk past me.'  It was everything she could do to keep
herself from going slack-jawed in disbelief and shock.
     A cheerful voice broke the awkward silence.  "Hi.  I'm
Ranko Saotome," the younger Saotome announced, bowing to
Kasumi politely and smiling for her once she resumed her
stance.
     A shiver worked its way up Kasumi's spine at the sound
of `Saotome,' and she was again forced to keep her composure
from breaking;  it was as if the young girl had spoken a
curse.  Somehow remaining cheerful, she chanced on the
distraction of breakfast to give her some time to work
things out.  "Well, hello Ranko.  Welcome to our home."  She
turned to her sister.  "Akane, would you show them to the
table?  I have plates and food already set out for them."
     Numbly, Akane nodded and pointed them towards the
table.  Ranma looked over to Kasumi and smiled, more warmly
this time.  "Thanks Kasumi."
     "Yeah, thanks!" Ranko chimed in cheerily as the three
walked away from Kasumi and headed for the table.
     Kasumi preparing herself to join them when a muted hiss
caught her attention.  She turned to look over her shoulder,
and saw a concealed Nabiki waving at her from the staircase.
Seeing that Akane had things well in hand, and that her
father and Mr. Saotome were already seated, she slipped away
and headed upstairs to find out what Nabiki wanted.

                            ****

     "Genma, it has been a while," Soun proclaimed.  "I can
hardly believe the amount of time that's passed."  His look
became slightly haunted as remnants of yesterday's epiphany
re-entered his mind.  He could see from the look on his old-
friend's face that the regret was mutual, and took great
comfort from that.  After a loud sniffle and a quick swipe
of the eyes with his arm, he smiled again.  "Let's put the
past behind us, and begin again."
     Genma nodded and extended his hand.  "I agree, Tendo.
I've been waiting for this day for a long time, old friend"
     Soun clasped the proffered hand firmly.  "Welcome
back."
     The two men sat silently for a moment, until Akane
approached with Ranma and Ranko behind her.  "Daddy, I ."
     Soun looked up to her and released Genma's hand.
"Akane, I want you to meet my old friend Genma Saotome."  He
looked to his friend.  "Genma, this is my youngest daughter,
Akane."
     Genma stood up and bowed slightly to her.  "My
goodness, Tendo.  She's a grown woman!" he proclaimed with a
smile.  "Why, the last time I saw you Akane, you were very
young lady.  I must say you've turned out well."
     Akane blushed furiously at the outburst.  "Umm, yes
sir," she demurred.  She turned to Ranma and Ranko and
pointed to two adjacent spots at the table,  "You may sit
here.  Kasumi served breakfast just a few moments ago.  Help
yourselves to whatever you like."
     Genma smiled and gestured to his children.  "Soun, you
already know Ranma."  Soun nodded and smiled warmly.  "And
this is my daughter, Ranko."
     Ranko managed a bow as her father resumed his seat next
to Soun.  "Good to meet you, Mr. Tendo."
     "Same here, Ranko."  He eyed her makeshift crutch and
her stance as he talked to her.  "How are your injuries
healing?  Your brother told me that you had taken a bit of a
beating while protecting my daughter yesterday."
     "I'm doing okay, Mr. Tendo.  Dr. Tofu says that I
should be back in fighting form in about two weeks."  Ranko
fidgeted in her place, the strain of staying upright with
the crutch starting to show.
     Her straining wasn't lost on Soun either.  "Oh!  Where
are my manners?" he scolded himself.  "Please, join us," he
urged, gesturing at the empty positions opposite him.
     Ranma, who had been cautious and worried ever since
Akane blurted out his name, quietly took his `customary'
place at the table after helping Ranko to sit.  "Thanks
Akane, and Mr. Tendo," he said quickly before surveying the
table with his eyes and nose.  `Man, this is strange!  Pop
and Mr. Tendo are getting along better than I'd hoped.  But
Akane's not said anything to me about yesterday.  What the
hell's going on?  Have I missed something?'
     "Yeah, sure," Akane replied quickly, her face
unreadable as she turned and dashed into the kitchen.
     "I've never seen anything like this," Ranko said out of
the corner of her mouth, giving her still-warm omelet a
cautious poke with her chopsticks.  Bringing the plate up to
her nose, she took a sniff, and hummed appreciatively at the
wonderful scent of the food.  "But whatever it is, it smells
fantastic!"
     "It's an omelet," Soun volunteered.  "A Western dish."
     "Soun, you didn't have to go to all of this trouble for
us," Genma said as he happily scooped an omelet onto one of
the plates and brought it to his face.  "But I'm not
complaining, old friend.  This does smell wonderful."
     Ranma held back from mentioning that they'd eaten
before they left home.  He really wanted to tease his father
about over-eating, but couldn't resist the siren-song that
the food was singing to his own stomach.  Without wasting
time, he scooped the remaining omelet onto the last plate,
and with chopsticks at the ready, popped some of it into his
mouth.
     "Yes, my friend.  Akane did a wonderful job cooking
breakfast this morning," Soun said proudly as he watched his
guests eat.
     Ranma felt that old, familiar fear of death crawl
around in his guts as Soun's words reached his ears.  He
immediately went stiff as a statue, and beads of sweat
formed across his head.  A loud CRACK! sounded as he bunched
his fingers into a fist and crushed his chopsticks into
powder.
     Soun and Genma missed the reaction, having returned to
talking between themselves.  Ranko, on the other hand,
nudged her brother in the ribs with her elbow.  "Hey, Ranma.
What's the matter?"
     Gulping down the remaining particles of food he had in
his mouth, Ranma gently placed his plate back on the table,
and brushed the dust from his other hand.  Panic took over
as he saw Ranko begin to shovel another chunk into her
mouth.  Forgetting that he may have poisoned himself, he
hurried to stop his sister from making a fatal mistake.
"Ranko, stop!" he whispered urgently.
     Placing her chopsticks down on her plate, she looked up
at him askance.  "What are you *doing* Ranma?" she hissed,
trying not to glare.  "You're being rude!"
     "I am not!" he retorted.  "I'm saving your life!"
     "What the hell are you."
     "Didn't you hear what he just said?" Ranma whispered
urgently.  "*Akane* cooked this.  We should all be getting
violently ill right now."
     As best as she could manage, Ranko kicked Ranma hard in
the shin, causing him to jump involuntarily and grunt in
pain.  Genma caught the move and looked sternly at his two
children.  "Are you two fighting again?"
     Ranko smiled sweetly at her father and answered before
Ranma could speak.  "No daddy.  It was an accident, that's
all."  She looked up at her brother and batted her eyelashes
slightly.  "I'm sorry I kicked out like that, Ranma.  My leg
spasmed."
     Accepting the explanation, Genma dismissed the incident
and started to turn back to Soun when he noticed Ranma's
plate sitting on the table.  "Boy, don't tell me that you
haven't finished yours yet!"
     Ranma shuddered inwardly, but managed to keep his
reaction to eating Akane's cooking concealed from everyone
else.  "I ate plenty at home, pop.  Guess I wasn't as hungry
as I thought," he hedged.  Genma beamed and reached across
the table to take the lonesome plate into his possession,
when Ranma reflexively lunged out and stopped his father's
hand.  "I didn't say that I was done, though," he added for
spite
     "Well, you need to make up your mind, son.  We're going
to have to get to work on the dojo soon if we're going to
finish before that storm arrives," Genma scolded.
     Seeing that his sister, Soun, and his father weren't
dead after eating the omelets, he decided to take a chance.
Lifting his plate up to his face, and grabbing another pair
of chopsticks, he started to eat.  `Wow!' he thought in
total-shock.  `It *does* taste good,' he allowed as he
started taking down larger pieces of it.  `I don't
understand this, though.  How could Akane's cooking have
been affected by the wish?  I thought that was something
that was so terrible that it could never change.'
     With a satisfied sigh, Ranma put his empty plate down
on the table and crossed his chopsticks on top of it.  `That
was definitely a shock!  I wonder what else will happen
today?'  His paranoid mind forced the question away before
the bad luck could build.  "That was good, Mr. Tendo," he
said instead.  "Please tell Akane that she did a good job."
     Soun smiled to Ranma and stood from the table.  "I'm
sure you'll get a chance to tell her yourself, Ranma.  Your
father was right, though.  We need to get to work on the
dojo quickly if we're going to get it done in time.  Why
don't you three head over there now while I get my
daughters.  I'll meet you there in a few moments," he
offered.
     Genma nodded and pointed to the door.  "Come on kids,
we've got some work to do," he enthused as he led the way
out of the door.
     Ranma bent down to help his sister to her feet.  As
they came up, Ranko whispered in his ear.  "What was that
about , anyway?  I've not seen you act like that before."
     Putting his arm around Ranko and handing her the
makeshift crutch, he answered her as softly as possible.
"I'll have to explain it to you later.  All I can say for
now is that this has been the strangest beginning to a day
I've ever had at the Tendo home."
     Ranko could only nod blankly as she followed her
brother's lead and headed to the dojo.

                            ****

     As soon as Kasumi was up the stairs, Nabiki dragged her
into her room and slid the door closed as quietly as she
could.  "Kasumi, did you have any idea that Ranma and his
family were the ones that were going to be helping us with
the dojo today?"
     Kasumi shook her head mutely, but said nothing.  She
looked as if she were recovering from something devastating.
     "Neither did I," Nabiki confessed, missing Kasumi's
haunted expression completely.  "After what you told me
yesterday, I would've figured that Ranma's family would've
been killed the moment they stepped through the gates."  She
shook her head, not believing what happened outside just
moments ago.  "Has daddy made up with the Saotome family?"
she mused aloud.
     Kasumi flinched visibly at the sound of the name.
"Why?"
     "What Sis?" Nabiki asked, puzzled at the tone of her
sister's voice.
     "Why did daddy have to make up with them?"
     "I don't know, Kasumi.  Maybe he was tired of being
alone.  After all, he hasn't seen anyone outside of us, or
the occasional student," Nabiki offered.  Then her look grew
stunned as her sister's words hit home.  "Waitaminute!  You
sound like you *don't* want daddy to get along with the
Saotomes.  Why?"
     "Because they're the reason that there has been so much
pain in our family over the years.  Daddy."  Kasumi halted
abruptly as Nabiki responded hotly.
     "Kasumi, I can't believe that you honestly think that
the Saotomes are responsible for all of our family
problems!"
     Kasumi nodded defiantly, and kept her gaze with Nabiki
unflinchingly.  "If Mr. Saotome hadn't made daddy so angry
that day, none of us would've had to go through all of the
pain that we did.  Especially poor little Akane."
     "Kasumi, I won't accept that.  You know as well as I
how hot-headed daddy is.  If he."  Nabiki cut herself off at
the sound of her father's voice from the bottom of the
stairs.
     "Girls, it's time!  We should go to the dojo!"
     "Coming daddy!" Kasumi and Nabiki chorused as they both
headed to the door.
     Kasumi put her hand on the handle, but found it covered
by Nabiki's before she could open the door.  "Sis, we'll
talk some more about this," Nabiki told her softly.  "I
grant you that this whole situation is strange, and more
than a little suspicious.  But I also think that you're
wrong about the Saotomes.  After all, Ranma saved her from
Kuno, and fought for her again the same day at lunch period.
You already know about all of this.  So I don't think that
he's going to do anything bad to us.  It just doesn't add
up.  You just need to give yourself some time to cool down,
okay?"
     Kasumi smiled weakly to Nabiki and nodded, placing her
other hand over Nabiki's.  "There's one more thing, Nabiki.
I think that Ranma was one of the people responsible for the
damage to the dojo."
     "What?!" Nabiki asked incredulously.
     "I didn't know who he was at the time, but Ranma had
visited us the night that the dojo was wrecked."
     "Sis, are you saying that Ranma and daddy got into a
fight?"
     Kasumi nodded.  "Remember I came up to your room and
asked you if you'd heard any noise?"  Nabiki indicated she
did.  "Well, it could have been caused by the two of them
fighting," Kasumi offered.
     "Fighting over what, though?" Nabiki pressed.
     "I don't know, Sis.  I'm just guessing."
     "Well, that gives us all the more reason to get down
there, Kasumi.  They may fight if they're not watched."  `If
they were fighting at all,' Nabiki added to herself.  She
didn't know much about what was going on, and felt rather
put off by the fact that she was one of the last ones to
know.  `Looks like I have a lot of listening to do today,'
she told herself as her sister slid the door open.
     "Okay, Sis.  You're right, we'll worry about this
later.  Right now, let's get downstairs before daddy comes
looking for us."
     Nabiki nodded her agreement, and followed her older
sister's lead as they descended the stairs.

                            ****

     Akane blinked as soap bubbles popped in front of her
eyes, causing her to pause her dish-washing for the moment.
From the moment Ranma arrived, she'd been a bundle of raw
nerves.  `Frankly, I'm surprised that I'm steady enough to
hold dishes without breaking them,' she admitted to herself.
     `I had no idea that Ranma's father and daddy knew each
other.  Mr. Saotome even acted like he knew me!'  She looked
out the doorway, and could just barely make out Ranma's
family as they began to eat her cooking.  `This is all so
odd.  Just yesterday Ranma fought *twice* for me, after no
contact at all for years before.  And now he's going to help
my family with the dojo repairs.  It just doesn't make
sense.'
     The sound of Ranko's voice acclaiming to the smell of
her meal made Akane smile, despite her tangled emotions.  `I
hope they like it.'  She listened to them talk, and started
to feel a touch of heat build up in her cheeks when Ranma
hesitated to eat.  `Why am I getting angry at Ranma?  It's
not like he knows about my past with cooking,' she counseled
herself, forcing calm as she continued to listen.
     Then a broad smile crossed her face, and her heart
leapt for joy when she faintly heard Ranma praise her
cooking.  For some reason she couldn't pin down, his opinion
meant more to her than the others.  Despite her confused
state, she couldn't help but feel good.  She dismissed her
confusion, and instead decided to let the events of the day
carry through.  Akane took another dish in hand, and was
about to resume washing when she heard her father call them
into the next room.
     "Girls, it's time!  We should go to the dojo!"
     Akane placed the dirty dish back on the counter and
headed into the next room.  Her sisters appeared in the room
at the same time.  "Ready girls?" Soun asked
enthusiastically.
     "As soon as I finish my washing..." Akane began, only
to be cut off quickly by Kasumi.
     "Sis, you can go on if you like.  I'll take care of the
dishes for you," Kasumi offered.
     Akane smiled to her sister.  "Really?  Thanks, Sis!"
she enthused, planting a quick kiss on Kasumi's cheek.
"I'll be out there as soon as I put on some work clothes,"
she announced, already halfway up the stairs.
     "Daddy, I'll wait here for her," Nabiki said.  "We'll
join you out there in a moment."
     Soun nodded.  "We'll be starting as soon as you arrive,
so make sure you two hurry," he advised as he trotted out
the door.
     "We will daddy," Nabiki responded to her departing
father.  Once he was gone, she turned to Kasumi.  "Sis, are
you sure that you want to put Akane out there in the middle
of all of that?"
     Kasumi's cheerful face fell, revealing the misgivings
that she felt over her suggestion.  "I know what you're
saying, Nabiki.  But remember that Akane doesn't know about
the other arranged marriage with the Saotomes, and she isn't
supposed to find out from us.  Also, I'm going to take your
word that nothing will happen between Daddy and Mr.
Saotome."  Her sister gulped slightly and nodded.  "But,"
Kasumi continued, "this may be the perfect opportunity to
talk to Ranma and find out what his motivations are."
     Nabiki grinned conspiratorially at her sister.  "We
were thinking the same thing, Sis," she said with a wink.
"First chance we can get with him alone, we grab him!"
     Kasumi looked at her younger sister with a bit of
suspicion.  "Don't be too obvious about it, Nabiki," she
scolded.
     Nabiki gave her patented `What, me?' look.  "Moi?  I'm
very careful about such things, Kasumi.  Just leave it up to
me."
     Kasumi barely had time for a nod and an exasperated
sigh before Akane bounded down the stairs in her gi.  "I'm
ready!" she piped up eagerly.  Grabbing Nabiki by the arm,
she dragged her sister out of the house before she could
complain.
     Kasumi watched her sisters barrel down the walkway
leading to the dojo, and couldn't help but smile.  `Maybe
Nabiki's right.  If Akane's this happy, then I probably
don't have anything to worry about.  I'll keep my eyes open,
though.  If Ranma, or anyone else in his family hurts my
little sister at all, I'll.'  She broke off her threat,
unused to thinking of such violent things.
     "Well, I can't do anything right now except hope for
the best.  I should at least get the dishes finished," she
said aloud, as she cinched her apron tight and headed into
the kitchen.

                            ****

     "Here they come now," Soun announced to the group.  He
held up a red wax pencil and started pacing up and down the
floor, occasionally making marks.  "The rest of you need to
get your supplies in order while I mark the floorboards that
will need to be replaced."  As soon as a winded Nabiki and
smiling Akane entered the building, he continued.  "The men
will work on the roof and rafters.  The women will start on
the floor.  The walls will be a joint effort."  He turned to
Ranko.  "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to,
Ranko."
     "Thanks for the concern, Mr. Tendo, but I'll be just
fine," she assured him.
     "Sis, you don't have to!  You could get hurt," Ranma
challenged.
     "Ranko," Akane added.  "You went through a lot for me
yesterday.  Surely that's thanks enough.  You don't have to
force yourself to help out if you're hurting."
     "I promise, I won't break, Akane," Ranko said with a
grin, then turned to her brother.  "I'll be okay Ranma!"
She got on her hands and knees, forcing herself to keep from
wincing, and started to study the flooring.  "Now, where's
the first floorboard that we have to take out?  I have to
get to work now."
     "No you don't, Ranko," Genma countered.  "You still may
be able to do flying kicks, but this is going to be hard
work.  I don't think your injured body is ready for the
stress of yanking out floorboards and putting in new ones."
     "Hey!  I know better than anyone what shape my body is
in.  Don't treat me like a child!  I'm capable of doing
work!" she yelled, emphasizing the point by slamming her
fist against the floor.
     Soun's eyebrow arched in respect for the dynamic girl's
power.  He also tried to suppress a grin as he knelt down by
her.  "Well, I definitely believe you, Ranko," he declared
as gently lifted her fist from the floor and put a red `X'
over the formerly good board that she'd crushed.  "You can
start by replacing this board," he said with a wink.
     Ranko turned beet-red.  "Sorry Mr. Tendo.  Sometimes I
don't know my own strength."
     Genma chuckled, giving up the argument to his
headstrong daughter.  "Very well, Ranko.  You can work with
them.  But at the first sign of problems, I want you to
rest.  You understand me?"
     "Yeah pop, I gotcha," she enthused as she stood up and
hobbled next to Akane.
     "That's quite a little girl you've got there, Saotome,"
Soun confessed.  "You must be proud of her."
     Genma beamed and watched as Akane, Nabiki, and his
daughter got to work on the flooring.  "Yes I am, Tendo;
very proud.  She's a good girl."

                            ****

     Half an hour later, after the teams had been assembled,
the work had begun in earnest.  Working a row at a time,
Ranko and Akane took turns punching out bad floorboards with
their hands, leaving Nabiki to pull the nails out of the
joists with a hammer, then placing down and nailing in new
boards.  After a while, a decisive gap had grown between her
and the other girls.  "You two try not to enjoy yourselves
too much, okay?" Nabiki said, her grumbling voice cascading
out in waves of sarcasm.
     Ranko looked down at the other end of the dojo, and saw
how far behind Nabiki had fallen.  "Just a second," she
replied, scrabbling across the floor, avoiding the holes she
and Akane had made, until she was beside Nabiki.  "Let me
help," Ranko volunteered as she pulled a hammer out of her
work-belt and started pulling out nails ahead of Nabiki.
     "Thanks, Ranko.  I was really lagging there," Nabiki
admitted shamefacedly.
     "Not a problem, Nabiki.  Your job is the more difficult
of the two, so I don't mind helping."  Ranko confided.
"Besides, I *am* starting to get tired of punching boards.
Akane's got a better knack for it than I do."  Both girls
giggled slightly at that.
     "You're right, Ranko.  Back before she and Kuno got
together, she used to go through a stack of wood and bricks
every week.  In fact, there were times where I was worried
that she'd bankrupt us."  Nabiki chuckled again.  "It's to
be expected, I guess.  She'd been in training with daddy for
most of her life.  How about you?"
     "Huh?" Ranko asked, caught off guard by the change in
direction of the conversation.  "Me?  Well, pop's been
training me since I was too young to remember.  I guess you
can say that I've been doing it for most of my life, too."
     "Has your father been your only instructor?" Nabiki
continued, as her quest for information began.
     "Yes. I don't think that anyone else could have taught
me the way he has.  Well, I take that back.  From what I've
been able to learn recently, the only other people that
could have taught me the style of martial arts that I know
are your father, and some old guy named."  Ranko bent really
close to Nabiki's ear and whispered.  ". Happosai."
     "Who's Happosai?" Nabiki whispered as her brow furrowed
in concentration.
     "I don't know who he is, but I know that my father's
scared of him.  Every time I mentioned his name, he'd tell
me to be quiet.  It was as if just mentioning the guy's name
was enough to draw him here.  It's really strange," Ranko
admitted.
     "No kidding," Nabiki agreed.  "I guess I won't mention
his name near your father."
     "Thanks, Nabiki.  No telling how he'll react if he
hears someone say it while he's swinging a hammer," Ranko
deadpanned.
     Nabiki laughed through her nose, then proceeded to her
next question.  "So, Ranko.  Are you dating anyone at
Furinkan?"
     Ranko was about to answer the question when the
cheerful voice of a mature woman hailed over the hammering
noises.  "Genma, Ranma, Ranko?  I'm here!"
     "Mom's here!" Ranko enthused.  She started to get up
and run out to her, but checked herself when she saw how far
she and Nabiki still had to go to get their work done.  Not
wanting to leave her alone with the bulk of the work, Ranko
decided to continue yanking nails for Nabiki.  "I'll
introduce you to her when we get done, okay?" she offered.
     "Sure," Nabiki answered with a smile.  `Damn!  I was
starting to roll with her, too.  I probably could've had
half of Ranko's life memorized before we finished the floor.
Good thing she likes to talk.'  She sighed internally as she
placed another board down on the exposed joists and began to
hammer it into place.  `I'll try again in a little while,'
she consoled herself.  `Ranko's a nice enough girl.  I can
see her becoming close friends with Akane.  It should be
easy for me to get what I need.'

                            ****

     "I'm up here honey!" Genma yelled as he unlashed his
tool belt and wrapped it around a recently-replaced rafter.
He waved to her through a hole in the roof, then stood up
and smiled down to her.
     Soun's head joined his at the hole.  "Hello Nodoka!
It's been a long time."
     Nodoka appeared in front of the dojo, and looked up at
the two men as they stared down at her.  "Hello Soun.  It's
been too long.  I've brought some things for you."
     "We'll be right down, dear," Genma announced.  He
turned to Ranma.  "Don't stop working.  Soun and I will be
back.
     "Yeah, no problem," Ranma grumbled as he continued to
shore up a split rafter.  "After all, I've been doing all of
the work, anyway," he added under his breath.
     "I heard that, boy!" Genma snapped.
     "Better hurry up, Pop.  Mom's waiting on you," Ranma
warned, not wanting to get into a fight over it.  Besides,
he knew he was right.
     Genma shook his head at Ranma's insolent behavior,
stood up through the hole in the roof, and vaulted down to
the ground, only grunting slightly as his feet made contact
with the soft grass.  "I was beginning to wonder if you
would show up, dear," he said as he walked up to her.
     "I had some guests come by while I was getting
everything packed.  In fact, here they come now," she said,
indicating the profusely sweating form of Sato who was still
struggling with the basket, and the glowering face of
Hikaru, who kept yelling at him to hurry up.  "Anyway, I
figured you wouldn't mind the extra bodies to help with the
construction.  They said that they'd be willing to help."
     Genma eyed his son's friends critically.  "You sure
they're capable of lifting, let alone swinging a hammer?"
     Nodoka chuckled under her breath.  "Don't be mean,
honey.  They'll try."
     At that moment, Soun appeared out of the dojo and ran
over to Genma and Nodoka.  "Why Nodoka, dear!  You haven't
aged a day!" he declared.
     Nodoka blushed and chuckled warmly at the praise.
"Soun, you old charmer.  You've not lost your touch with
women," she answered as she handed her elongated bundle to a
stunned Genma and hugged Soun tightly.
     `Damn!  She must've really been worried about today if
she was prompted to bring *this* with her,' Genma thought
with mild shock.  "Now now, you two.  You wouldn't be trying
to steal my woman away, would you Tendo?" he asked in mock-
reproachment.
     Both men chuckled good-naturedly as Nodoka placed a
chaste kiss on Soun's cheek.  "You're looking well, Soun.
Seems as if you've done a good job with yourself and the
place," she offered.  As Hikaru and Sato arrived, she
introduced them.  "Soun, these boys are friends of Ranma.
This is Sato and Hikaru.  Boys, this is Soun Tendo, owner
and Sensei of the Tendo school of Anything Goes Martial
Arts."
     Both boys' eyes widened slightly at the title, but
Hikaru was quick to recover.  Sato, on the other hand, was
having too much trouble with the basket to care.  Nodoka
noted the difficulty he was having, and took the basket from
him.  "Thank you for carrying this for me, dear," she added,
smiling to the winded youth.
     Hikaru barely contained his jealousy as his friend
graciously accepted the praise and thanks from Ranko's
mother.  He could feel his ire growing, and fought hard to
keep from slapping the smirk off of Sato's face.  "Pleased
to meet you, Tendo-Sensei," he said instead, bowing
slightly.
     Sato followed suit, bowing and adding, "Same here,
Sensei."
     Soun grunted his approval and pointed to the dojo.
"Boys, there are still some rafters that need work.  Tool
belts are up there waiting on you, if you're up to it," he
challenged.
     "Ranma's already up there, guys.  I'm sure he'll be
glad to see you," Genma added.
     Not seeing any need to hang around, Hikaru grabbed hold
of Sato's arm and walked in the direction indicated by Soun.
"Thanks Mr. Saotome.  We'll know what to do when we get up
there.  Come on, Sato!"
     "I'll join you boys in a moment," Genma said as they
walked away.
     "They're good kids, for the most part," Nodoka offered.
"Anyway, this is for you and the girls, Soun.  I figured
that the best I could do is make lunch since I'm not good
with tools."
     Soun took the heavy basket in hand and smiled to her.
"You're too kind, Nodoka.  Why don't you follow me inside
and we'll drop this off in the kitchen, ok?  Kasumi hasn't
seen you in years."
     "Very well, Soun.  I hope she remembers me.  It's been
a long time since I've seen her," Nodoka admitted.
     "I've got to get back to work on the roof, dear.  I
need to see how Ranma's doing," Genma announced.
     "I'll rejoin you in a moment, Saotome," Soun said as he
guided Nodoka into the house.

                            ****

     Hikaru and Sato trotted into the dojo, then whistled as
they caught sight of all of the damaged areas that were
marked for repair.  "Geez, we'll be here for a *week*!" Sato
grumbled
     "You're not kidding, Sato," Hikaru groused.  He was
about to change his mind when his spirits picked up
substantially.  His gaze caught sight of Ranko kneeling on
the other end of the hall, talking to a girl that had to be
one of Tendo-Sensei's daughters.  That girl Akane that Ranma
had been hanging out with after school yesterday was also in
the hall, punching sizable holes in the floor and ripping
the wood out with her bare hands.  Hikaru made a mental note
to never cross her.  Instead, he made his way over to Ranko,
who apparently hadn't noticed his entrance yet.
     Sato saw her also, and couldn't suppress the goofy grin
that he reserved for the girls that he had crushes on.  He
followed on the heels of Hikaru, but with his gaze so intent
on Ranko that he didn't see a hole in the floor.  With a
bone-rattling crash, he landed face-first on the wooden
surface, groaning in pain as his nose bled.
     "Hey, you okay?" Nabiki and Ranma unintentionally
chorused as they noticed him plant his face in the floor.
Nabiki dropped her hammer and scrambled over to the semi-
conscious Sato, while Ranma untied his belt and vaulted to
the floor with ease.
     Ranko, who was about to greet Hikaru, saw Sato go down
and hobbled towards him.  "Hi sweetie.  Gimme a lift?" Ranko
asked as she stood by Hikaru.
     Hikaru blushed like the schoolboy that he was, and
wrapped her arm around his neck, while putting one of his
own around her waist.  "Sure thing, gorgeous," he replied
with a smile.
     `Oh, shit!  Ranma doesn't know who Sato is!' Ranko
realized suddenly.  Not trying to be obvious, she tried to
give her brother a quick assist as she and Hikaru walked
towards him.  "Hey, Sato!" she yelled, "you okay man?  I
swear, if you weren't one of Ranma's best friends, I
wouldn't know what we'd do with you," she teased.
     Ranma nodded his understanding and thanks to Ranko,
making it look like he was agreeing with something that he
was thinking.  He reached his hand down and helped Sato to
his feet.
     "Oh, yuck!  Your nose is bleeding!" Nabiki shouted as
soon as she saw his face.  "Hold on while I go get something
for it."  With that, she shrugged herself out of her work
belt, and ran towards the house to get a rag and some water.
     "Thanks, Ranma," Sato said, clasping his hand firmly.
"I guess I wasn't looking where I was going."  He smiled at
Ranko as best he could, given his bloody-faced condition.
"Hi again, Ranko.  Sorry I'm such a klutz."
     Ranma released Sato's hand and watched to see if he was
going to topple.  When he felt comfortable that his "friend"
wasn't going to fall over, Ranma turned to his sister, and
realized who it was that she was clinging to.  "Gos.  umm.
Hikaru!  What are you. two doing here?" he asked while
trying to hide his discomfort at seeing Ranko being anywhere
close to affectionate with one of his enemies.  `Former
enemy,' he tried to convince himself.  It wasn't working.
     "What happened?" a voice interrupted from behind Ranma
before Hikaru or Sato could answer.  He looked over his
shoulder, and saw Akane standing behind him.  He immediately
lifted his arm and allowed her to squeeze in between himself
and Ranko, then without thinking, he draped it over her
shoulder while she looked in shock at Sato's condition.
     "Are you okay?" she asked in alarm.
     Sato nodded and smiled sheepishly.  "It looks a lot
worse than it feels."
     "Oh, good," Akane said, her voice trailing off as she
realized where she was standing, and what was resting on her
shoulder.  She fought off the temptation to lean into him,
but also checked herself before brushing off his arm.  She
looked around, hoping for a distraction, when she noticed
something missing.  "Where's Nabiki?"
     "She went inside to get some rags and water for Sato,"
Ranko volunteered.  "She said she'd be right back."  She
turned to look at Akane, and noticed her brother's arm
resting on Akane's shoulders.  She couldn't resist aiming a
smile and a wink at her older brother.  She felt
disappointment, though, as she watched him stiffen under her
scrutiny, then casually drop his arm from Akane's shoulder
and bring it behind his own back.
     She wasn't the only one who was disappointed.  Akane
felt his arm leave her shoulders, and was mildly surprised
at her reaction.  `Well, at least it shows that he does like
me,' she told herself, making her feel a little more
confident about what she'd dreamed in the bath.  `I need to
find out if that bitch Kinuko was lying to me about them
dating.'
     At that moment, Genma walked in.  Hikaru and Ranko
instantly separated, putting a slight distance between each
other before his gaze landed on them.  He then saw Sato's
bloody face, and grew irritated at the possibility of
violence marring the so-far successful reunion of the
Saotome and Tendo families.  "What happened here?  Ranma,
did you hit him?" he asked with a trace of suspicion.
     "Of course not, pop!" Ranma countered angrily.  "He
tripped and fell over.  See the blood on the floor?"  He
pointed to the small crimson puddle adjacent to the hole in
the floor which had claimed Sato's balance.  "Geez!  Like
I'd have a reason to punch *him*!" he added without
thinking.
     "Thanks, I think, Ranma," Sato countered sarcastically.
     Genma stepped in front of Sato and pinched his nose
gently.  "Does this hurt at all?"
     "Do is doesn'd, Misder Saodome," Sato managed to get
out.
     "Good!  It doesn't feel like a break.  It's more likely
that you burst a couple of blood vessels, Sato."  He
released the nose, which had stopped bleeding now.  "We need
to get you cleaned up, though."
     "Pop, Nabiki's gone to take care of that.  She should
be back."
     A blur of brown hair, and her customary tank-top and
too-tight shorts indicated Nabiki's hurried arrival.
     ".now," Ranko completed.
     "Okay, I'll take care of it.  Come here, Sato," Nabiki
said softly.
     Akane and Ranma looked at Nabiki strangely as they
stepped back to give her some room to work.  "What's gotten
into her?" she muttered under her breath without realizing
it.
     "I don't know," Ranma answered, mimicking her low-tone
voice.
     "You know, Sato.  The idea is to get injured while
you're working, not before you start," Genma teased from the
side while Nabiki took care of his face.
     "Heh.  Very funny, Mr. Saotome.  I guess you could say
that I was getting my quota of injuries out of the way."
Everyone chuckled lightly at that, including Nabiki.  Sato
glimpsed the smile on her face, and was transfixed.  `Wow!
How come I never noticed her before?  This girl Nabiki is
kinda cute.'  He watched her with a dreamlike state as she
wiped his face clean.  In a few minutes, she was done.
Uncharacteristically, he clasped her hand with his before
she could withdraw it.  "Ummm.  Thanks Nabiki.  I. I
appreciate it." he stammered.
     Nabiki blushed and freed her hand from his grasp.
"Don't need you getting the floor any messier.  Also, I
wanted to make sure that you weren't capable of suing my
family for damages," she said as she bent down and wiped up
the blood from the spot he'd made on the floor.
     `Yup, she's Nabiki alright!' Ranma thought with a trace
of disgust.
     "I'll dispose of this and be right back, everyone,"
Nabiki said with a wink, taking the bowl, and dirty rags up
in her arms.
     "Hey, I'd never do ." Sato began, trailing off as she
sauntered out of the dojo.
     "Don't worry about it, Sato," Akane comforted.  "She's
always been like that.  You haven't done anything wrong."
     Genma cleared his throat.  "Well, now that we've got
that out of the way, what say we get back to work ladies and
gentlemen.  And Ranma," he added with a wink.
     Ranma stewed while the rest chuckled lightly.  Intent
on avoiding a fight, Genma vaulted back up to his position
in the rafters and donned his work belt again.  "The storm
will be here in a little over three hours if the weather
keeps its current pattern.  We're going to have to give
priority to the roof, so I'll need both of you boys to come
up here and help me shore up these rafters."
     "Yes Mr. Saotome," Hikaru said politely.  "Although I
can't jump up there like you did," he added with a nervous
chuckle.
     "That's okay, Hikaru.  Here's a ladder," Sato said
helpfully, pointing to a ladder folded and propped up
against one of the walls.
     "Ranko, you and Akane need to get back to work on the
floor," Genma added.  "Sato has just shown how badly we need
to get that finished.  Take care of covering the holes
before yanking out more of the bad boards."
     "Yes, Mr. Saotome," Akane said as she bent to her task.
     "You feeling okay, Ranko?" Genma thought to ask.
     "Yeah, Pop.  That rest was just what I needed.  I
should be able to go on for another couple of hours."
     "*Thanks* Sato," Hikaru hissed with a touch of strain
as he joined his friend at the ladder.  "Thanks a lot!  I
wanted to work on the floor with Ranko, dweeb!"
     "You know Mr. Saotome won't allow that, dipshit!  He's
very protective of Ranko, and I'm sure he suspects that you
and she like each other," Sato countered.  "Let's just get
up there and get this done.  We committed to help Mrs.
Saotome, and we shouldn't walk away from that."
     "You're too damned polite sometimes, Sato," Hikaru
snapped impatiently.  Then he deflated when he saw that Sato
wasn't going to flinch.  "Okay, okay.  Let's get up there."
Sighing in resignation, he brought the ladder up to the
rafter that Genma had indicated, and opened it up.  Once
secured, Sato ascended, followed by a grumbling Hikaru.

                            ****

     "Soun, it hasn't changed all that much," Nodoka said in
silent awe as she walked about the rooms of the house.  "It
still has touches of Kimiko everywhere."
     Soun smiled slightly, his pride outweighing his never-
ending grief.  "Yes.  Kasumi has been the glue that has held
this family together.  She has a lot of her mother in her.
So the touches you see are Kasumi's, not Kimiko's."
     The two walked in silence as Nodoka continued her tour
of the house, until they came upon the kitchen.  Kasumi was
busily wiping down the countertops when Soun sat the basket
down.  The noise caught Kasumi's attention, making her head
snap up in surprise.  "Oh, hello daddy," she greeted warmly.
Her eyes fell upon the woman standing next to her father,
and she found herself raking through her mind to identify
the visitor.  "Pardon me.  I know you, don't I?" Kasumi
asked after a minute of thinking, puzzled and dazed.
     Nodoka smiled graciously and walked up to her.  "Yes
you do, Kasumi-chan.  It's been a long time."
     Kasumi gasped as she heard *the voice*.  The voice of
her mother's best friend.  The voice of the woman who used
to be one of her best friends.  A living link to her mother,
and her past.  The one who used to be as close to her as her
mother had been.  "My God!  Nanna?!  Is it really you?"
Kasumi asked in a tiny voice.
     Nodoka's eyes teared up as she nodded and opened her
arms to Kasumi.  "Yes, it's me, and I've missed you so much,
Kasumi-chan," she said, choking back a sob.
     The two women collapsed into each other's arms, crying
loudly and holding each other tightly.  Soun recognized a
good time to leave when he saw it.  Without saying anything,
he left the two crying women alone and returned to the dojo.

                            ****

     "Watch where you swing that wood when you're placing
it!" Genma yelled at Ranma after barely avoiding having his
head taken off.  "You could've hit me!"
     "Sorry Pop.  My back went out on me for a second.  I
couldn't help it.  I guess I got hurt worse that I thought
when I hit the ground this morning."
     "Well, if your back is giving you trouble, why don't
you trade places with me Ranma?" Soun called from the floor
of the dojo, having just returned.
     Ranma nodded, then vaulted down and handed his tool-
belt to Soun.  "There you go, Mr. Tendo.  We're done with
the rafters.  The roof hole needs to be taken care of next."
     "Thanks, Ranma.  We'll get it taken care of," Soun said
as he strapped the belt on and vaulted up to the rafters.
     "Geez, I'd really like to know how they're doing that,"
Sato said enviously to Hikaru as he watched Soun jump
effortlessly from the floor into the rafters.  His friend,
however, was too engrossed in staring down at Ranko's body
to respond.  Seeing that Hikaru was otherwise occupied, Sato
gave up and shuffled over to Genma to assist him.
     Soon the crew was acting as a well-oiled machine.
Sweat, grit, and hard-core effort were all having their
effects on the condition of the building.  Time passed
quickly as they all worked at their tasks.  The dojo quickly
shaped up, as the scars of time, neglect, and the effects of
the recent battle between Soun and Ranma were all erased.  A
large sense of accomplishment was felt by all, and smiles
were seen all around as Genma and Soun called for a quick
rest.
     "This is just a breather.  Mrs. Saotome made a big meal
for all of us, and we will be breaking for a late lunch in a
little while," Soun cautioned.  "While we're resting, I need
one of you to bring in more wood."
     Sato raised his hand.  "I'll go get some more.  But,
where is it?"
     "Outside the dojo, stacked against the boundary wall,"
Soun directed.  "Don't try to jump down, son.  Experience is
needed before you can try something like that."
     Sato blushed, not used to having his mind read so
easily.  "Yes Sensei," he said politely as he slid across
the refurbished rafter and scrabbled down the ladder."
     Nabiki, who had grown tired of pulling and hammering
nails an hour ago, stood up and brushed her knees off.  "I'm
going to get some more wood, too.  My knees are so sore that
I couldn't keep this position for much longer," she told
Ranko.
     "Okay, Akane and I will use what little we have here
while you're gone," Ranko replied cheerily.
     Nabiki nodded and followed Sato out of the building.
`I hope we get finished soon.  We may be saving money by
doing this, but I'm really getting worn out,' she lamented
as she walked.  `I just hope nothing else happens today.
I'll be too exhausted to deal with it.'

                            ****

     A mysterious figure dressed in a gaudy white leisure
suit watched the rebuilding of the dojo from an altitude of
almost 750 feet.  He was awash with a sense of self-
satisfaction.  He'd only had to interfere a little bit today
to guide his subject, Ranma Saotome, to his desired goal.
Fortunately, the weather was an easy thing to control.  "It
would've been a shame to see this event rained out," he said
to himself.  "Ranma's been doing a fine job in adjusting to
things in this existence."  The man in white stretched his
arms luxuriantly, and smiled at the scene playing out
beneath him.  "It feels good when a plan comes together like
this.  Just the right amount of struggle to make the outcome
worthwhile," he mumbled to himself.
     "Talking to yourself again, Roarke?" a distant voice
chided mockingly.
     The figure in white turned rapidly, and almost lost his
`footing,' as if that were possible while he was floating in
the air.  A slight flicker of irritation on his face was
quickly replaced by a warm, welcoming smile.  "Why, Barlow!
It's been a long time ," Roarke said as he straightened his
posture.
     A man dressed in a dark pinstripe suit taken from the
fashion era of the early fifties emerged from a nearby cloud-
bank.  He smiled in return and tipped his charcoal-black
fedora to his greeter as he floated down to Roarke's
position.  "It has indeed been a long time," he replied as
he glided to a halt.
     Barlow looked somewhat older than Roarke, placing him
in his late fifties, were he human.  A pencil-thin mustache
formed perfect, waxed tapers at the edges of his upper lip,
adding to the false sense of aristocracy that he tried to
affect.  Roarke found the affectation a bit off-putting, and
had a hard time concealing his distaste at the other's
behavior.
     Barlow continued.  "It has, in fact, been so long that
you slipped and smiled at me."  He shook his head and
laughed derisively.  "It's been a while since I've seen you
do that.  I guess that means that you've forgiven..."
     Roarke's diplomatic courtesy vanished under a wave of
red-hot anger.  Fists clenched, he managed to check his
anger before he lost control.  "I didn't forgive you,
Barlow.  That was a stupid thing for me to do.  I don't have
the capacity to forgive you, especially in light of what you
did."
     Barlow reached up and took off his hat, and played with
it as if he was dusting it off.  "Whatever," he sniffed.
"But if you didn't like me before, you're sure to hate me
now."
     Roarke's eyes narrowed dangerously.  He didn't like the
snide tone in Barlow's voice.  "What are you talking about?"
he demanded.
     "I mean that The Conclave has decided that you've
gotten too involved in this boy's life.  Just a few moments
ago, they cast a vote to re-negotiate the terms of your
agreement with the boy.  The Conclave ruled that the
covenant was to be terminated, immediately."  Barlow was
clearly gloating, as he aimed a sneer at Roarke.
     Roarke hid his surprise well, and merely clasped his
hands behind his back, as was his habit whenever he was
agitated.  "I could say that you were ordered here to tell
me this, but I'd be wrong, wouldn't I, Barlow?" he asked
mildly.
     The black attired figure laughed through his nose and
wagged his finger at Roarke.  "Yes, and no, my good man.
You see, I wasn't ordered to tell you, I volunteered to do
it.  But that's not the only reason I am here."  Roarke's
eyebrows shot up in surprise.  Barlow took that as his cue
and continued.  "I see that you're understanding.  Indeed,
The Conclave harbored such deep trust in my abilities that
they unanimously voted for me to be the breaker."  Barlow
sighed to himself tiredly.  "Oh, how I hate that word!  I so
prefer the term `covenant intervention specialist' myself.
But anyway, you get the point, don't you, Roarke?"
     Roarke, who'd been doing a fairly good job of keeping a
straight face throughout Barlow's speech, suddenly became
vividly angry.  "How DARE you presume to interfere in one of
my operations?" he spat angrily.  "Unlike you, I have
respect for my clients, and a genuine will to see that they
benefit from their wishes."
     Barlow snorted again.  "MUST you be so melodramatic?
Only our clients refer to them as wishes.  They're called
covenant-"
     "I know what they're called!" Roarke interrupted hotly.
"Whatever their label, these covenants are very powerful,
and as such, there are specific rules governing how they're
to be applied and monitored.  That being the case, I don't
understand why The Conclave decided to break it.  Surely
they understand the severity of such an action, do they not?
Many different things could go wrong if -"
     The figure in black yawned disinterestedly and looked
at his pocket watch with something akin to sheer boredom.
Then he pocketed the device in his vest and pointed at Ranma
in the distance.  "I don't need a lecture on probability
ethics from you, Roarke," Barlow interrupted.  "It's this
simple;  The Conclave agreed with my suggestion that you
were too personally involved in this case, and -"
     "Your suggestion!?" Roarke thundered, the feeling of a
dagger sinking into his back seeming more real than virtual.
     Unruffled, Barlow continued.  "Yes.  Ahem.  Anyway, as
per Conclavian decree, I intend to undo what you've undone
and send this child back to the life from whence he came."
     "No!" Roarke shot back angrily.  "Ranma's come too far
to cast him back now!  I can't abide by that decision..."
     Barlow whipped out a folded piece of paper from his
coat pocket.  "Oh, I'm afraid you'll have to, old boy.  You
know that The Conclave's decisions are binding, and their
will is resolute, especially in this case. You've taken too
much of an interest in this boy, and The Conclave wants it
stopped before you screw up and jeopardize our entire
organization."
     Roarke shook in absolute fury.  "I'll stop you."
     Barlow's face turned cold.  "No you won't.  Pursuant to
any covenant nullification decree, the monitor, *you*, are
forbidden to interfere in the course of the breaker's, *my*,
duty."  He eyed Roarke critically, then grinned like a
predator savoring its kill.  "You know, technically
speaking, I could have you taken in for violating this
agreement already."
     "What!?" Roarke cried out in shock.
     Barlow laughed, his tone mocking.  "Surely you've
realized that *I* was the one who conjured up the storm that
you delayed.  Had you left it alone and let it take its
course, the repair party would've already been suspended,
and the Tendos and Saotomes would not have had their chance
to reconcile."  He replaced his hat atop his head, and
looked down critically at the street.  "But since I didn't
have time to give you notice about the nullification, I
guess I'll let it slide . this time.  Fortunately, I had a
contingency planned just in case you decided to interfere."
     Roarke's face went ashen.  "Barlow, what have you
done?"
     Barlow's laugh grew from light amusement to evil gales,
and he bent under the weight of them.  When he righted
himself again, his eyes glowed an eerie red, and his voice
was menacing.  "I've done what was necessary, Roarke,
nothing more," he spat.
     An explosion tore Roarke's attention from the form of
his nemesis.  His heart sank as he saw a dust cloud erupt
from what had been the west wing of the Tendo property
boundary wall.  He quickly turned back to plead with Barlow
to stop his intervention, but the breaker was already gone.
Another, smaller crash was heard, followed by people
yelling.  Despite his need to wring Barlow's neck, the
sounds forced him to look back at the scene playing out
beneath him.  "Oh no," was all he could say as he watched
from his perch high in the sunny sky.

                            ****

     "Where was that wood again, Nabiki?" Sato queried as he
walked beside her, gazing at her instead of their
destination.
     "Right in front of us, Sato," Nabiki deadpanned, his
staring having been obvious the whole time.  `Geez!  You'd
think he would've seen a girl by now!' she groused, even
though she had to admit it made her feel good to know that
she was attractive, despite the fact that he was an
underclassman.
     Sato blushed and redirected his eyes forward to the
small pile of wood stacked close to the boundary wall of the
property.  "Ah, so it is." he returned, hoping the blush
would be confused for sunburn.
     Nabiki took the opportunity to gaze at him while his
eyes were off of her.  `Not bad, for a younger guy.  Funny,
I've never really noticed him before.'  She broke off her
thoughts as a loud yawn claimed her, making her pause in her
tracks and stretch.  Noting that Sato's eyes were traversing
her again, she looked over her shoulder and winked at him.
"Sorry, I'm just not used to working hard on something like
this."  She examined her hands, which were a bit dry and red
from swinging a hammer for a couple of hours.  "I usually
direct projects," Nabiki explained as she bent down to pick
up some more wood for the flooring.
     Sato's heart was beating like a jackhammer.  `What am I
doing?' he asked himself as he watched Nabiki bend down at
the waist to pick up some wood, which caused her short-
shorts to slide up and forward, exposing skin that normally
wasn't seen.  `I'm dying and going to heaven, is what!' Sato
declared silently as his brain clouded over at the glimpse
of Nabiki's perky ass, reducing his reasoning ability to
zero.
     "Ummmm.." a semi-stern Nabiki grumbled from her bent
position, not bothering to look back at him.  "When you're
through looking, I could use some help."
     Embarrassed beyond belief, Sato swallowed loudly and
excused himself.  "I'm sorry, Nabiki.  I ... I don't know
what came over me."
     "Yeah, I'm sure," she replied sarcastically.
     "Here let me help you ." he said as he ran to the other
side of the woodpile and bent down to pick up the medium
length boards.  Just as he was about to lift his end of the
burden, a sonic boom rattled him to his very bones.  The
force of the blast sent Nabiki flying into him, knocking him
on his butt and her into his lap.  Both screamed as another
heavy blast struck their ears, followed by a cloud of dust,
small stones, and bits of mortar compound.  They wrapped
their arms around each other, with Nabiki burying her head
in his chest, but both were too shaken to enjoy the embrace.
     A cloaked form emerged from the hole made in the
retaining wall, utterly silent and featureless as it moved
through the cloud of debris.  With a determined stride, it
started to walk towards the two dazed teens.
     Forgetting the wood, and the fact that weight and
endurance were problems for a person of his size;  Sato
stood and scooped Nabiki up in his arms.  Then with all of
the terror and will he could muster  Sato ran like an
Olympian sprinter for the dojo, spurred on by the fact that
Nabiki was clinging to him for dear life, and that the
*thing* that caused that hole in the wall was following him.

                            ****

     *BOOOOOM!*
     "What the hell was *that*?" Soun bellowed over the
various gasps and screams that had immediately followed the
noise.  He looked at Genma suspiciously, but dismissed that
thought when he saw his once-again friend's face.  Everyone
was stunned and wary, but obviously clueless as to what
caused the noise.  "I'll be right ." he began, before the
ground shook again.
     *BOOOOOM!*
     "Dear GOD!" Genma shouted involuntarily as everyone in
the roof of the Dojo grabbed for purchase.  Soun seemed
steady, but Hikaru, who had been caught off-guard by his
terror from the earlier blast, felt his feet slip out from
under him suddenly.
     "Shiiiiit!" he yelled as he began his trip downward.
     Swinging his arm quickly, Genma felt a reassuring slap
of skin-on-skin as he took firm hold of Hikaru's arm.  "You
okay, boy?" he asked, not even waiting to haul him back up
to the roof.
     Adrenaline rushed through Hikaru's veins, making his
whole body quiver uncontrollably.  "uhhh yeah-  Yes Mr.
Saotome," he stammered.  Swallowing and finding his voice,
he added, "Thanks."
     Genma nodded and pulled Hikaru up to the same rafter he
was on.  "Is everyone else okay?" he asked, surveying the
floor, particularly Akane, Ranma and Ranko.  His children
looked more wary than scared, which filled him with a sense
of pride.  Akane seemed to be almost as stolid as Ranma and
Ranko, as the three started to take up defensive positions
below near the doors.
     "Saotome, what about Nodoka and Kasumi?" Soun asked in
a sudden panic.
     Genma felt his face go pale as he imagined the worse
along with Soun.  But before he could vault down and look in
on them, Sato rushed in carrying Nabiki in his arms.  They
looked like hell.
     "We're .  We . we're  . under-," Sato stammered, his
labored breathing making speaking difficult.  Before he
could resume talking, he looked over his shoulder.
Mortified, he tapped something deep inside him, something
that he didn't even know he had, and jumped.
     Genma, Ranma and Hikaru watched with wide eyes as Sato
executed his desperate jump and crash-landed on one of the
adjacent rafters with Nabiki still in his arms, dazed but
unhurt.
     "What do you want?!" Ranma shouted challengingly to a
figure wearing a dark cloak coated in white dust as it
walked into the dojo.
     Soun craned his neck to get a look at whatever Ranma
was yelling about.  "Ow, DAMN!" he swore as his head whapped
solidly against one of the supporting beams of the building.
As dizziness swept through him, he barely managed to keep
himself from falling as he grappled wildly for a hand-hold
on one of the rafters.  He sighed gratefully as he firmed
his grip and kept his position.  However, in his struggle to
remain in the rafters, his tool belt had come loose, slipped
from his waist and struck the cloaked figure square on the
head.  The whole room grew quiet as the figure stopped dead
in its tracks, made a small noise of pain, then collapsed on
the floor.
     Ranma approached the figure cautiously.  He watched as
Ranko and Akane moved slightly closer as well, flanking it
should an attack happen.  Very slowly and carefully he knelt
down next to the head of the figure, ready for anything.
After waiting a moment, he reached out and laid his hand on
the cloak.  Whoever it was, it was definitely human.  The
heat emanating from the figure, along with the feel of the
musculature from the person's shoulder left him with no
doubt.  Ranma squeezed its shoulder again and the figure
moaned slightly, but didn't move.
     "It's okay," Ranma announced a moment later.  "He's
unconscious."
     The building's occupants heaved a collective sigh of
relief.  Ranko and Akane moved to either side of Ranma,
staring while keeping their guard up.
     "I'm going to check on Nodoka," Genma announced as soon
as he was sure everyone else in the Dojo was okay.  Not
waiting for any response, he vaulted to the floor and dashed
out of the building.
     "Who do you think it is, bro?" Ranko asked after
watching her father leave.  "It's gotta be someone pretty
awful to cause noises like that."  Akane silently nodded her
agreement.
     For some reason, Ranko's analysis made his stomach
tighten a little.  He fought down his agitation and forced
calm as he knelt closer to the person.  "Only one way to
find out, sis," he replied as he reached down and pulled
away the dusty cloak hood.  He cupped the chin of their
marauding intruder and tilted upward to look at it.  His
hands turned ice cold, and he verged on collapse as he
glimpsed the person's face.  "No!" he groaned in defeat as
he fell backwards, stunned by the one thing that he had
never expected to see in this life.
     It was Shampoo.

                            ****

Author's notes:

     Well, here I go again.  ^_^  (those of you who've read
"The Prince and the Lecher" will understand that remark...)
I was simply minding my own business, and reading the first
two sections of the story "Be Careful What you Wish For" by
Richard Beaubien.  After completing that, I re-read part
one, and said to myself "What if *this* happened instead of
*that.*"  Well I shouldn't have done that, because here I am
clattering away at my IBM keyboard like a man possessed.
     Some people may wonder about the content (boy *that*
was obtuse!).  Well, as of this writing:

(9/24/96):

     Released the first alpha of part four for editor input.

(5/13/97):

     Began including parts of the story that had been
lingering in my mind for over half a year.  Writer's block
is a damnable thing.  I hope that I've started to get past
it.  I've missed my writing dearly.  I will say that
upgrading my machine from a 486-33 w/ 20M to a Pentium-120
w/ 32 M and 2.5 G worth of storage was a great incentive to
write again.  This new machine rocks!  NT runs like a well-
tuned instrument, and I love it.  POWER!!! <I immediately
slap myself down to more sane levels before the readers are
tempted to do the same>

     Things that I included since this date are:
          A major re-write to the scene where Akane first
wakes up.  I felt that the omnipotent-narrator way of
telling that scene was too artificial, so I restructured it
to make it more palatable, with Akane's mind doing all of
the talking instead of mine,
          The arrival scene of Genma, Ranma, and Ranko was
completed,
          The reaction scene of Akane, Kasumi, and Nabiki
was unusually hard to plot.  I'm not comfortable with it
yet, and expect to re-draft it a couple of times before
initial editor release,
          Same goes for the Nodoka arrival scene.  It seems
pretty straightforward, although I don't exactly know where
I'm gonna place it in the story  (somewhere before the
Roarke, Barlow scene, I'm sure. ^_- ),
          I've decided to end this part of the story at the
bottom of the Roarke scene.  If I start to go into
explanation in part four, it could conceivably cause the
part to extend beyond 70 pages in Word for Windows.  Looks
like I've already got fodder for part five.  Heheheheh.


(5/18/97):

     Finished the content, but shuffled some of the parts to
the beginning of part five, after the arrival of <censored>.
I felt that the redistribution was necessary to help keep
the part within the 38-45 page limit (Word for Windows page
count) range that I have set.
     Also, the editors have started doing their magic work
on the part, now that the content is (for the most part)
done.  Some polishing is expected to be done on the dojo
repair scenes.  I still feel that some of them are a little
flat, including the scene between Kasumi and Nodoka.  I want
that part of the story to be left unexplored for now, but I
don't like the way the scene that I've written presents
itself.
     Part five has just begun, but I'm not releasing it yet.
A lot is left to do here, and I want to make part four
presentable.  Please hold requests for part five until after
you see part four appear on RAAC.  Thanks.


(7/12/97):

     After wrestling with content decisions for a month, I
had the nagging feeling that if I'd left the story off at
the Barlow-Roarke ending, I would've been faced with an anti-
climax halfway through the beginning of part 5.  So I took
the safer route and severely pared down the story that
introduced Shampoo, and tacked it onto the existing end of
part 4.
     I do promise that this is the end of the content for
part 4, excepting corrections and streamlining of all of the
scenes, as I usually do.  I feel that ending with Shampoo is
better than ending it with Roarke wondering what the hell
Barlow had done.  Anyway, I have a feeling that parts of the
final dojo scene will be rewritten to better accommodate the
martial-artist's mood.  But I think that what I've gotten
down so far is a good start.


Acknowledgments:

     I'd like to thank Richard Beaubien first and foremost
for granting me the permission to write this side-story
based on his.  Prior to writing this thing, he's never even
heard of me.  I understand that he's continuing the mother-
story from which this one is based.  All I have to say is,
"Go for it man!"  ^_^  It's been a real treat writing this
thing and playing around in his dimension (so to speak).  It
wouldn't have been possible without his work as the base.
So to him, I say Domo Arigato Gozaimashita!  <author bows
deeply, *CLUNK*  hits head on keyboard>

     Bert Van Vliet.  You're the one who gave me the writing
bug <bzzzzz...  *smack*>.  Prior to picking up my first
BubbleGum Zone printout, I was clueless as to the ways of
writing fanfic.  What a difference a year makes.  You're a
good friend, and I thank you for the support.  Hail
SkyKnight!  ^_^

     Thank You <yes you, the one staring at the monitor> for
tolerating my unusual style of writing.  I'll get better, I
promise  ^_^

     My music library, for inspiring me in times of need:

     *  Robotech 10th Anniversary Perfect Soundtrack Album
     *  Char's Counterattack Soundtrack
     *  Gundam 0083 Soundtrack
     *  Gundam Singles History Soundtrack
     *  Entire BubbleGum Crisis Soundtrack set
     *  The Macross Complete Soundtrack
     *  Macross II Soundtrack
     *  Macross Plus Soundtrack
     *  Vampire Princess Miyu Soundtrack
     *  Ranma 1/2 Calendar CD `94
     *  Project A-ko #1 Soundtrack
     *  Megazone Two-Three part 2 Soundtrack
     *  Babylon 5 Soundtrack
     *  Mortal Kombat Soundtrack
     *  The Collected works of John Tesh and Bob James

And now for my .sig!

Later,
Shadow Stalker
(Protoculture Addict)
(Moderator: The Robotech Echo)

sysop@newberry.edu

-and check for the latest versions of this and other stories
I've done at:
<A HREF="http://www.newberry.edu/sstalker/fanfics.htm">  ^_-