Jusenkyou...
The guide sighs, gently puffing his pipe. It had been a STRANGE couple of days to say the least of it! First, two foreign tourists had come to train here. Idiots! Didn't they understand the idea that "Cursed Springs" meant "CURSED SPRINGS?!!" The elder of the two wound up being punched into Shonmaoniichuan, then, not noticing that the springs' magic had turned him into a panda, he had sent his poor son into the Nyanniichuan. The younger visitor emerged, took note that he was now a she...
...and then IT happened.
The guide slowly exhales, looking at the three large, hollowed rocks sitting near the pools. The shock of the transformation had caused the poor boy...Ranma Saotome, that was his name...to lose control of himself. S/he would've drowned, had in fact taken a lung full of water...then...!
The guide shudders. He thought he had seen it all working here...but nothing in his many years had prepared him for seeing an unmoving body, clearly devoid of the vibrant life inside, being LEVITATED out of Nyanniichuan. Then...the spring itself suddenly EVAPORATED as three large, hollow rocks settled down nearby, having come from out of NOWHERE.
Both the guide and the elder Saotome, Genma, had cautiously approached the rocks, gazing inside...then they scrambled back on seeing the alien THINGS inside the large pool of salt water each rock contained. The guide had been tempted to run to the nearby Nyuchezuu village to summon aid...then he felt SOMETHING touch his mind. A voice, female, telling him it was alright. The souls of Ranma, Ranma's disembodied sister (what did THAT mean?!) and the poor girl who had drowned in Nyanniichuan 1500 years ago were all safe...and would emerge soon. All they had to do was wait a day.
"Anything?"
The guide looks as Genma walks up. The older martial artist had been restored to his normal form after his child died...WAS Ranma dead?...but had stayed to find out what the aliens had done with his poor boy's very soul. "No, Honoured Customer," the guide shakes his head. "Nothing yet. But...hear voice saying soon..."
How does 'now' sound?!
Both jolt...as the sound of something surging from water turns their attention to the strange hollowed rocks. A geyser of salt water bursts from one, framing a lithe form as she backflips to land neatly on the ground behind Genma. The two men spin around as the new arrival rises, stretching herself.
"R-r-ranma...?" Genma stammers, unsure of WHAT to believe now.
The woman sighs, then noticing the boiling kettle nearby, reaches out. Her sapphire eyes glow a dark reddish-purple shade as the kettle LEVITATES from the fire, sailing neatly into her hand. Her eyes continue to glow as water bursts from the kettle to splash over her, allowing her to wipe the reddish jello-like fluid off her body. Once she is clean, she places the kettle back, then seeing a towel, dries herself. "Whoo...that was weird!" she muses, then stares at a slack-jawed Genma. "Relax, Oyaji. It's me."
Genma blinks, then blinks again. The Ranma that had emerged from Nyanniichuan was petite, large-breasted with hair a shade of red you'd only see painted on a fire engine. This Ranma, if it WAS Ranma, was the height of his old self, more well-proportioned, her hair a natural chestnut shade. "S-s-son...?"
Ranma stares at him, then sighs. "I know. It's weird to me and I'M the one it happened to. Where're my clothes?"
"Pack over there, Honoured Customer," the guide points.
Ranma looks, then grins. "Thanks," she walks over, opening her pack and drawing out boxer shorts, T-shirts, three red tunics and three pairs of pants. "Better get some for the others..."
"'Others'...?!" Genma blinks...
...then both jolt as the sound that heralded Ranma's return to this world echoes from behind them. They spin around as two OTHER women, virtual twins to Ranma's new form, emerge from their rocks, landing by the kettle. "You two okay?" Ranma asks.
One of the newcomers...to the guide's surprise, she had light green eyes...reaches for the kettle. "Yeah, we're fine," she smiles, splashing herself with water, then she hands the kettle to the third...that one had dark brown eyes...as they wash. "It's so nice to be out of your head finally, Nee-chan. To believe I never knew I was a separate person all this time."
"The Unity works in strange ways, Onee-san," the third smiles as they proceed to dress. "For you, it was an imprisonment of sixteen years, since your old body died in Okaa-san's womb. For me, it's been fifteen centuries!"
"Relax, Kikuko," Ranma smiles. "You're free now."
"Hai," the third beams.
Once dressed, they gaze on the other...then share a warm group hug. Genma and the guide are silent as the triplets share their moment of intimacy, then turn to face them. "You two clearly want an explanation for this," the green-eyed woman hums.
"It...w-would help..." Genma stammers. "B-but...can you...?"
"No, we can't," Ranma sighs. "Which means, Oyaji, that little seppuku pledge to Mom might become a problem," she icily smiles.
Genma gags. "How did...?!"
"Not to mention ALL the engagements you trapped Nee-chan into," the green-eyed girl adds. "Like Ukyou Kuonji?"
Genma's shock turns to disbelief. "B-but...!"
"What do you think Tendou-ojisan will say when we get back to Japan, Otou-san?" the brown-eyed girl fumes, glad all three of them mind-scanned their father to fully ascertain the situation as their new bodies were gestating. "It's going to be hard enough to make him accept Onee-san as a girl, but breaking such a promise because you were so lazy as to not barter for food? Honestly, Otou-san!"
Genma shakes, his brain crashing from the overload...which really wouldn't be too far for someone like him...then the urge to flee hits. Before he could take three steps, SOMETHING grabs him, pulls him into the air, then he slams head-first into a rock! "Uh-uh, Oyaji!" Ranma snarls. "You ain't runnin' away THIS time!"
Genma moans. "What...is...going on?" the guide then probes.
The triplets stare at him, then smile. "Honoured Guide of Jusenkyou, we cannot thank you enough for your patience...and cannot apologize enough for forcing you to endure this," Ranma switches to well-accented Mandarin. "Permit us to introduce ourselves. I am Ranma Saotome, formerly son, now daughter, of Genma and Nodoka Saotome from Japan."
"And I am Ranko Saotome, who would've been the daughter of Genma and Nodoka had my body not been stillborn in Mother's womb, thus forcing my soul to reside in my sister's subconscious mind until I was just freed by the magic of the Nyanniichuan and the intervention of my Wanderer-half," the green-eyed girl smiles.
"And I am Kikuko Saotome, the reborn spirit of the woman who drowned in Nyanniichuan fifteen centuries ago, frozen in place by the magic of Jusenkyou until my Wanderer-half helped me be free," the brown-eyed girl finishes. "Our story is a very strange one as you can no doubt suspect, Honoured Guide. Will you hear it?"
The guide blinks, then smiles, puffing his pipe. "It will be a story I will tell my grandchildren with great fondness, ladies! I wait with baited breath to hear more!!"
* * *
"Three Sisters"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
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Edited by E.B. Kushnir kush1@iaw.on.ca
With C&C by Kevin D. Hammel khammel@pacbell.net and Robert Geiger robertgeiger@prodigy.net
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Based on "Ranma 1/2" created by Rumiko Takahashi
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WRITER'S NOTES:
1) There've been many alternate Ranma stories appearing on the Net in the last while. Enjoying many of them (a nod to all you alt-fic writers out there), I decided to try my hand at writing my own alternate history. Atop that, I felt I had it inside me to write another "Ranma becomes a Nendo-kata" fic.
2) This story begins at the very start of the series, diverging right from the point Ranma fell into the Nyanniichuan.
3) Inspiration for various elements of this story include the series of "Ranma's Secret," "Ranma's Fiancees" and "A Matter of Romantic Chemistry" by the beautiful team of Jack Staik and Lady Tesser; "Confession" by the always-prolific Lord Archive; "Girl Days" by the ever-so-funny Robert Haynie; and the crossover "Honour and Love" by my favourite continuation/alt-fic writer, Kevin D. Hammel...not to mention the insanity Gregg Sharp called "The Bet!" A nod to them and all the other Ranma fic writers out there (too many to list here!) who've driven me to write this story.
4) I realize that there are those of you out there who, due to my particular writing style (I always stay in present tense except when doing flashbacks) plus other bugbears which tend to crawl under people's skins (my concentrating on girl-girl relationships; hey, the Nendo-kata are an all-female race, remember?!), might find some offense reading parts of this story. Then again, as I just discovered concerning my BGC series "Illusions," no one has any SET opinions when it comes to ANY anime...especially something as multi-faceted, as diverse, as "Ranma 1/2." For those who would be bothered by what I do write, I only ask to give me a chance...and if you do find the material here bothersome, I can only apologize.
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PART ONE - HERE'S RANMA...RANKO...KIKUKO!
Nerima, two months later...
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?!
"Oyaji, it was the agreement, remember?!" Ranma sighs, then takes a deep breath as the light shower pours down on the district. "This is the thing you trained me ten years for! I'm annoyed as all hell about you making all those OTHER agreements along the way...not to mention you ripping me away from U-chan...but this one has precedence and since Tendou-san's got three daughters, we'll follow it through and see what happens! Okay?!"
"IF he'll still allow it once we inform him of the other problems," Kikuko objects.
TENDOU WON'T UNDERSTAND! the panda furiously signs. IF YOU THINK YOUR MOTHER WILL UNDERSTAND...?
"They'll BOTH be made to understand, Tou-san!" Ranko sighs. "Will you PLEASE stop being so negative about this?!"
Genma-panda exhales, following his daughters down the street toward the Tendou dojo. The last eight weeks hadn't been good for his blood pressure, much less his sanity! Ranma and the Wanderers who now saw themselves as Ranma's sisters had hijacked EVERY decision-making process influencing the training trip's outcome. While it assuaged his pride that Ranko and Kikuko were as versed in the Art as Ranma, not to mention well-motivated to learn more...and the fact that Ranma was FINALLY over his ailurophobia...the OTHER daunting problems Ranma's becoming a Nendo-kata would raise didn't do wonders for his confidence. Yes, his daughters could only mate with other women now, but would the chance come to explain it all properly to Souun, show the agreement really wasn't threatened?!
Oh, he KNEW this was going to be a disaster!
He just KNEW it!!
Committing seppuku actually seemed NICE right now...
"Otou-san, please try to relax," Kikuko smiles, reaching over to grasp the panda's paw. "You and Tendou-ojisan endured quite a lot with your former sensei. I'm sure your friendship, while it will suffer because of other matters, will see the day through."
I WISH I HAD YOUR CONFIDENCE, KIKUKO.
"Relax, Tou-san," Ranko sighs, then nudges Ranma with an elbow. "Ne, wouldn't it be neat if all three of them were of our...well, shall we say, persuasion?"
"Yeah, it would be," Ranma nods. "But...jeez, Ko-chan, the chances of THAT happening are so slim...and it just ain't right to force them into it even if we fall in love with them, you know!"
"True...hey, there it is!"
The four stop, gazing on the traditional nobleman's home before them. "'Tendou Dojo...Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu.' This must be the place," Kikuko reads the dojo sign, then knocks.
A moment later, the gate door opens to reveal a tall, brown-haired woman dressed demurely, an apron wrapped around her. Odd, the Saotome triplets muse. She didn't seem old enough to be Souun Tendou's wife Kimiko...yet why did she seem to be the mistress of the home? "Yes, can I help you?" she smiles on seeing the three young women with backpacks before her, then her eyes fall curiously on the large panda with backpack behind them.
"Ah, gomen nasai, Tendou-hime," Kikuko beams. "Watakushi wa Saotome Kikuko desu (I am Kikuko Saotome). My sisters and our father are here to see Tendou-dono concerning a matter binding our two clans together. May we come in?"
"I..." the older woman feels her cheeks flush. NO ONE had ever been THAT respectful to her, even Toofuu Ono!! Then the woman's family name comes back. "Oh, yes! Otou-san just informed us of the marriage arrangement," she smiles. "Atashi wa Tendou Kasumi desu, Saotome-san. Doozo (Come in)."
One of her daughters, then. "Kikuko to iimasu kudasai (Call me Kikuko, please)," Kikuko smiles.
"Hai. Kasumi to iimasu. Doozo," Kasumi nods.
Mentally undressing her already, eh, Kiku-chan? Ranko psi-flashes her sister as they head in.
ONEE-SAN!!!! Kikuko turns bright cherry, flashing her an "I'll get you for that later!" look.
They step in, dropping off their packs and slipping off their shoes before heading into the sitting room. "A very beautiful home you have here, Kasumi-san," Kikuko smiles, looking around.
"Arigatou, Kikuko-san," Kasumi beams. What a nice girl! "Otou-san, Nabiki, Akane, the Saotomes are here!"
"Saotome, old friend!!" a hearty male voice echoes as a spry man in a green gi rises from the coffee table, racing over...then his eyes widen in shock on seeing the beast behind the Saotome sisters. "WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!" he points shakily at Genma-panda.
Ranma, Ranko and Kikuko jerk, then exhale. Well, better now than later. "Gomen nasai, Tendou-dono," Kikuko bows. "There is an explanation for this, I assure you. Kasumi-san, may we trouble you with a glass of hot water? Not scalding, please?"
Kasumi blinks, then smiles. "Certainly. Make yourselves at home, please," she waves them to the table.
"Arigatou," Kikuko nods, then gently taking the stammering Souun's hand, escorts him into the sitting room. "Gomen nasai, minna-san," she gazes on the two young women already there. Hmm, both seemed quite nice, but if her empathic senses weren't lying to her, they clearly were not the type of person she would like being close friends with. "Please forgive us humble travellers for bringing disharmony on this honoured household."
Nabiki and Akane are speechless. Three people, TRIPLETS save for the eyes...yet...something seemed ODD about them all...and that wasn't just because of the panda behind them. "Ah, it's...n-no problem at all, minna-san," Nabiki stammers. For the first time in a long while, she was unsure as to WHERE she could begin to make sense of a situation before her. "Make yourselves at home."
The Saotomes relax, then brighten as Kasumi returns from the kitchen, a glass of steaming water in hand. "Here you are, Kikuko-san," she hands it to Kikuko.
"Arigatou, Kasumi-san," Kikuko smiles, then gazes on the others, hopefully smiling. "Before I bring our father forth, may I ask you all if you believe in magic?"
Souun, Nabiki and Akane blink. Kasumi remains calm. "Um, not really," Akane muses, confused as to why Kikuko was asking this.
"Well, then I must apologize...because whatever worldview you may have had before now...is about to be badly shaken up," Kikuko sighs, then pours the water on the panda.
"YYEEEK!!!!" Genma gasps as his voice returns. "That's a little too hot there, Kikuko!!"
"Relax, Tou-san!" Ranko scolds. "You're tougher than that!"
Souun's eyes bug out, then he beams. "Saotome-kun, there you are!!!" he laughs, embracing Genma. "Oh, it's been so long!! But...how on earth...what happened to the panda...?!"
"Tou-san WAS...or if you wish to look at this metaphorically, IS...the panda you just saw," Ranko warns. "He is under a water temperature-slaved curse he acquired during our travels in China."
Souun blinks, then sits back, staring at Genma. "'Curse?!' Old friend, what on Earth's happened to you?!"
"It was a training accident, I'm afraid," Genma sighs, then stares forlornly at Ranma. "And with...great regret, Tendou-kun, I must now tell you...that Ranma...suffered a similar accident. But...due to a very profound complication...my son, now my daughter...was reborn into her present state...as a woman."
Silence.
"Y-you're Ranma...?" Souun turns on Ranma.
"Hai," Ranma nods. "And yes, it's true. I was born a boy and would've been the one honour would have demanded who'd marry one of your children. But...in the incident that saw my father cursed, I too...was transformed into a woman..."
"Something happened...along the way that...well, in essence locked her in female form...and effected a profound psychological change within Nee-san," Ranko adds. "Mentally AND physically, Nee-san is a woman...and will remain so until the day she dies."
"That's...awful!" Akane gasps. She had no real reason to like boys whatsoever given recent events at school, but to have your very GENDER, one of the cornerstones of one's sense of identity, ripped away...?! The idea sends chills down the younger Tendou's back. The anger she had felt on hearing of the engagement not an hour before fades quickly as her mothering instincts take over, her sympathy for Ranma's plight erasing what resentment she might have had on encountering a BOY who was also a practitioner of the Art.
"Ranma, I..."
"Please. There's no need to apologize for something that wasn't your fault, miss..." Ranma smiles at her.
"Oh, I'm Akane!"
"Yoroshiku (Pleased to meet you)," Ranma nods.
"Which means you must be Nabiki," Ranko gazes on Nabiki.
"I am...and you have me at a disadvantage," Nabiki smiles.
"Oh, sumimasen," Ranma flusters. "Permit us to introduce ourselves. Atashi wa Saotome Ranma desu," she points to herself, then indicates the members of her family. "My father, Genma, the current master of the Saotome School of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu. My sisters, Ranko and Kikuko. Yoroshiku."
"Yoroshiku," the Tendou sisters reply.
"Saotome, you never said you had daughters," Souun gazes on Genma. "Or are they like...?"
"No, sir, they, unlike me, were born girls," Ranma cuts in.
"Forgive us," Ranko adds. "Our story, put simply, is so wild, it...it's hard for us to explain it and hope for you to accept it. That's the reason we moved to show you Tou-san's curse right away. It hopefully will prepare you for what else we must now tell you."
"It may be too much all at once, Ranko," Genma warns.
"Tou-san, if we keep hiding things from them, they will have no reason whatsoever to trust us...rightfully so!" Ranko glares back. "How in the name of the Fates do you honestly expect we can reach a satisfactory agreement to unite the Saotome-ryuu and Tendou-ryuu unless they understand the whole story?"
Silence, then Nabiki clears her throat. "I'd like to hear this," she muses. "Heck, after seeing what happened to you, Ji-san, I'd believe it if they told me they were born as aliens."
The Saotome sisters gaze on her. "It is ironic that you just said that, Nabiki-san," Kikuko sighs. "For you see...one-half of our beings...are not native to this world."
Pause. "What...?" Akane gasps.
"It's true, Akane-san," Ranko nods. "All three of us are spiritual symbiotics. Two beings merged together to our deaths as one. Our human halves were born on Earth. Our alien halves were born on a planet fifteen billion light-years (don't ask me to put that into kilometres, PLEASE) away from here. Further...because our alien halves were all female...and given the nature of Nee-chan's curse...that is what froze Nee-chan as a woman."
"Is this...reversible?" Souun stammers.
"I'm afraid not, sir," Ranma shakes her head. "You see, my human half...was dying at the moment the parts of my soul merged as one. When I was cursed, I was so shocked by what happened to me, I slipped and sunk into the pool. I..." she shudders, then blinks as Akane places a hand on her shoulder. "Arigatou," she reaches up to squeeze Akane's hand in return. "Anyhow, I'd taken a lung-full of water and...was drowning. That's when it happened."
"The alien race...whose members merged with my children...are motivated this way," Genma adds. "In essence, Tendou-kun, they're the ultimate Good Samaritans. When they sensed Ranma dying, they moved to save him. It was then...that they discovered the third little interesting part to our tale."
"Meaning us," Ranko sighs, pointing to herself, then Kikuko. "You see, if you looked up the birth records, there is only one child to Genma and Nodoka Saotome: Ranma. However, if she had not been stillborn, Ranma would've had a twin sister. Me. Near as we could discover, my living spirit merged with Nee-chan's soul and remained with her until that day in Jusenkyou."
"Ah, Jusenkyou!" Souun nods. "The Training Ground of the Cursed Springs. That explains things. Please, go on, Ranko-san."
"Anyhow, if things had gone well that day, the soul of that lost twin sister...me, in other words...would've had the chance to express herself using Ranma's female form," Ranko smiles. "A sort of split personality, you might say. When my alien half sensed me inside Ranma's mind, she felt it wrong that I was bound that way to Ranma...thus freed me, gestating a new body to call my own."
"Wow!" Nabiki whistles.
"Then where do you come from, Kikuko-san?" Kasumi wonders.
"As for myself, I am the spirit of the woman who drowned in the 'Nyanniichuan'...spring of drowned young woman...at Jusenkyou. My first life ended 1500 years ago...but because of the magic of the place, my spirit was trapped within the spring. Because I was in a disembodied state for so long, it came to the point where I forgot who I was, where I came from. My alien half thought, as did Ranko-neesan's, that it was wrong for me to be suspended between life and death, thus freed me...and atop my being allowed to live the rest of my life, I now have quite a family to call my own. As for how I'm able to fit into my family, I thank both my sisters; they allowed me to copy knowledge and experience (not to mention the ability to speak Japanese) during our transformation."
Silence. "That is an...extraordinary story you just told us," Souun gasps, then stares at Genma. "This IS true, I hope?"
"It is, old friend. I watched the whole thing happen," Genma shudders. "I don't know, anymore. Given what happened, I'm not sure as to what'll happen concerning our agreement...but Ranma, Ranko and Kikuko insisted we come here to help settle this in a manner by which we could all be satisfied. I..." he shrugs.
Souun blinks surprisedly. "Genma-kun, old friend, this has changed you as much as it's changed your child! The Genma Saotome I knew of would've fled if something like this would've happened!"
The Saotome daughters groan. "Yeah, we know," Ranma's eyes roll. "Running away was Oyaji's best trait for a VERY long time."
"We are moving to cure him of it, though," Ranko smirks.
"Excuse me, but I have a question," Nabiki cuts in. "Would you mind if I asked you WHAT race do your alien haves come from?"
"You mean aliens've come to Earth?" Ranko blinks surprisedly.
"If you heard of some events in Tomobiki some years ago, yeah, they have," Nabiki nods. "And there've been reports of some other aliens coming to different parts of Japan. I do recall reading from one website about a race that can alter shape..."
"We're not metamorphs, Nabiki-san," Kikuko warns. "The Crossing Over is a once-in-a-lifetime power we can use."
Nabiki blinks, her eyes widening. "I've heard that phrase before, too. Are you three...Nendo-kata by any chance?"
Blink, blink. "You...know of us?!" Ranko gasps.
"Yes, the reputation of your Great School has preceded you," Souun smiles, then pats Genma's shoulder. "My friend, you should be honoured! To have your daughters become Nendo-kata! Why, with their powers, they'll be the best martial artists of all time!!"
"I...I..." Genma stammers.
"Are there other of our sisters on Earth now?" Kikuko probes.
"I don't know, but I think one of your extended families lives in Japan, just north of here," Nabiki muses, shrugging. "They're mentioned in the news from time to time; the school leader's the older sister of Ataru Moroboshi."
"He's the guy who wound up marrying that Oni girl and became the king of another planet!" Akane nods understandingly. "Some girls at school have friends at Tomobiki High who mention him from time to time. Rumour has it some of the teachers are hoping he'd come teach there. A lot of aliens go there these days."
The Saotome sisters exchange looks. "That must have been the Outland school that came here," Ranma hums.
"Probably. We should contact them and tell them we're here," Ranko slowly breathes out.
"Not to mention find some way to be better accepted by the authorities," Kikuko adds.
"Hai, that's true," Ranko nods. "We'll worry about that in a bit, 'Kuko. First priority is getting in contact with Kaa-san."
Genma jerks. "Do you WANT to do that?!"
"Well, it's not our fault that you signed that stupid pledge in the first place, Oyaji!" Ranma snarls.
"What pledge?" Akane blinks.
"Tou-san has an overdeveloped sense of the dramatic, I'm afraid, Akane-san," Ranko sighs. "When he took Nee-san on the training trip ten years ago, he signed a pledge to Kaa-san that Nee-san'd come back a 'man above men'...or else..."
"Both Oyaji and I'd have to commit seppuku," Ranma finishes.
Silence. The Tendous are shocked speechless. "Saotome-san, how could you do such a thing?!!" Kasumi gapes.
"Yeah, it's bad enough that you took your own son to this Jusenkyou place and nearly killed him!!!" Nabiki adds.
"This is crazy!!!" Akane groans.
"Minna, minna, please!" Ranma whistles.
The Tendous gaze on her. "Look, this matter with Mom doesn't really involve you people at all," Ranma sighs. "I'm sure that if Mom's approached the right way, she'll accept what happened and we'll go on from there. There's no need to panic over it."
"Ranma, for heaven's sake, this is your LIFE we're talking about here!" Akane snaps.
Ranma stares at her. "Akane, it's alright. If Mom pushes the issue, I'll renounce my family. There's no problem at all. My Wanderer half was, save for Kikuko's Wanderer half, totally alone for five hundred years. I'm used to it!"
"No!!!" Akane insists, then rises. "C'mon, let's go to the dojo and talk this over! Please?!"
"I..." Ranma blinks, staring at her, then nods. "Sure."
They leave. "Kasumi, is it me or did you get the feeling that someone swapped our sister with a total stranger?" Nabiki hums.
"I'm sure Akane-chan and Ranma-chan will help resolve this in a peaceful manner, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi smiles...
* * *
"It's beautiful...though I can tell it's been hardly used."
"Hai, it is," Akane sighs, looking around the dojo. "Ever since Kaa-san died, I'm the only person Tou-san has trained here. He...lost a lot of his passion for the Art when she left us."
"I grieve for you," Ranma smiles, then bowing to the shrine at the head of the dojo, sits herself down. Akane relaxes in front of her. "I barely remember my mother. When we left Jusenkyou, all I wanted to do was see her again, tell her I was alright. That's when I found out about the seppuku pledge."
Akane shudders. "I can't believe your mother would actually force you to go through with that."
"I don't know, to be honest with you. Oyaji believes it, though. From what I've sensed of him, Mom's got a pretty strict viewpoint of what's 'manly.'" Ranma exhales slowly. "As does Oyaji, too. Deep down, I can sense part of him wanting to forget I ever existed. That's not just because of Mom. He..." A pause. "He's a very old-fashioned male chauvinist, Akane. Oyaji always pressed into me the virtues (if you can call them that) of being 'manly.' Now that I reflect on it...and that I've undergone the Crossing Over...I realize how wrong in certain places he was."
"What do you mean?" Akane hums.
"Well...say I came here as I might've been. A boy, cursed to become a girl. That ALONE would've been a hard blow to my pride. Believe me, Akane, pride's one of my biggest problems. Then you tack on the whole engagement idea to that. Your father told you just this morning, right? My dad likes pulling 'surprises' like that on me, too. Chances are, all I would've cared for was to find a way to ditch the curse...and he would've insisted that the whole arrangement with your family be settled FIRST, then worry about the curse. How would you've liked that?"
Akane shudders. "Not a lot. I...don't really care too much for boys my age these days, Ranma. It's got a lot to do with what goes on at my school...but I suppose..."
"Pride's something you gotta deal with, too?"
"Hai," Akane nods, feeling her cheeks redden.
"How long've you trained in the Art?"
"Seriously? About four years. You?"
"Since I was old enough to walk," Ranma sighs. "And given how emotional I sense your father is, your idea of 'seriously' may be different from mine. Simply, EVERYTHING in my life up to Jusenkyou was martial arts. I don't KNOW anything else, though I'm moving to correct that. It's hard, even after the Crossing Over. I..." A pause, then she smiles. "I need help. Ko-chan and Kiku-chan are better off than I am. Ko-chan, since she was linked to me through my subconscious, absorbed the lessons of life I had beaten out of my conscious mind by Oyaji. Kiku-chan still remembers a lot of her first life. I'm way behind them on that point...and I know Oyaji loves the Art enough that he'll insist I concentrate on that more."
Akane hums. She wasn't angry at the boy-turned-part-alien girl before her. Ranma's situation was...unique to say the least of it. She didn't know anything about the Nendo-kata and their ways, but clearly, an honest approach to others was holy writ among Ranma's people. Atop that, Ranma didn't seek to overwhelm Akane, not like other boys. An image of Tatewaki Kunou flashes in her mind, sending an icy shiver down her spine. Ugh, she didn't need a SECOND version of Kunou, which Ranma clearly was becoming before that fateful day, barge into her life. No thank you!!
"How can I help?" she smiles.
"Domo, Akane," Ranma nods. "First of all, there's a primary attribute about the Great School you HAVE to know. Oyaji knows this, so I suspect it won't be long before your dad finds out. I can sense from them both that they WANT the schools...and by extension, our families...to be joined."
"What?"
"Promise you won't get angry?"
"I..." Akane falters, then sighs. "I'll try."
"Okay," Ranma nods. "Akane, all Nendo-kata, be they in their birth form or Crossed Over...can only mate...with other females. We cannot, under ANY circumstances, mate with males."
Silence. Akane stares at Ranma, blinking surprisedly. She had a good idea about sex and how it ended with children. That in a way contributed to her profound distaste for the Horde o'Hentais she dealt with every morning. But to believe that even as a human being, Ranma was trapped into mating only with girls...?
"I...if I can ask...how is it...?"
"We mate?" Ranma smirks. "Believe me, it freaked my human half out when he found out about this before we merged. Akane, the Great School has been an all-female race for the last hundred thousand years. We have babies through parthenogenesis aided by our telekinetic powers. Because we've done it for so long, even when we Cross Over, that...unique factor in our DNA remains with us and we pass it on to our offspring. And yes, it psychologically affects us...although since we're a mono-gender race, we see no reason to put titles on it or discriminate others who don't feel as we do. By your terms, Ranko, Kikuko and I are lesbians."
"I see..." Akane hums, then sighs. "Yeah, you're right. If Tou-san finds out about this, the engagement's on no matter what. My father can be pretty pig-headed about some things, too."
"Sumimasen..."
Akane smirks. "As you say, don't apologize for something you can't change," she holds up a finger, then breathes out. "We have quite a problem on our hands. I...I must admit that I like you a lot, Ranma. You're...different than ANYONE I've ever met. I also value your honesty. I can guess this is really hard for you."
"It's becoming easier as time passes, admittedly," Ranma hums. "Fortunately, after Jusenkyou, we bumped into a village of Chinese Amazons...the Nyu-che-zuu as they call themselves...who, when we earned their trust, helped us, especially me. It..." she sighs.
"Did something happen?"
"No, but I sense that our parting wasn't on the best of terms with some of their leaders. The Nyu-che-zuu hold no allegiances to the People's Republic whatsoever; because of that and some local problems, they're constantly on guard when it comes to outsiders. Our...powers so impressed their leaders that they would've done ANYTHING to get us inducted into their tribe. But because they're not as unified as we'd've liked, my sisters and I feared that our continued presence there would've caused a civil war. That, Akane, is something we'd NEVER see happen. Once we convinced one of the more respected elders to our viewpoint...and she was able to convince their Matriarch of what we believed...we left."
"Soo ka. This seems to be a theme amongst you people. Doing your best to maintain peace wherever you go."
"That is our life, Akane," Ranma sighs, then repeats a lament all the Great School took to heart. "I am a Nendo-kata, born of the Mother Ocean, sworn defender of the Unity. Because I am now a Wanderer, orphaned from the school of my birth, I'll do all within my power to help those I adopt as my family better understand the idea of Unity WITHOUT forcing them into my ways. To do that is so repulsive to me, it makes me physically ill. I'll kill in Unity's name, Akane...my Wanderer-half HAS killed, by the way...but I will not, in any way, instigate a massacre."
"You're a warrior nun, in other words?" Akane hums.
"Well, not a nun. I can mate when I find the right person," Ranma wistfully smiles. "And...I must admit...that I think I may have found that right person."
Akane blinks, then her face flames. "M-m-m-ME?!?!"
"Hai."
"I...ah...ha-ha...oh, gods, this can't be happening...!" Akane flusters...then stops on seeing panic in Ranma's eyes. She takes a breath, coughing to calm herself. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I...you're trying to be honest...but I have to admit, you're also a little..."
"You feel overwhelmed, don't you?" Ranma hums.
"Hai."
"For that, I'M sorry, Akane," Ranma smiles. "I believe in the truth. You would've found my human half blatantly honest about everything he encountered. He...since he was isolated for so long, with just Oyaji as company, he never developed the social skills other people take for granted. As that...affects me, it means that when I'm thinking of my Nendo-kata past, I depend on the skills I learned as a Nendo-kata...some of which, unfortunately, are alien to someone like you. As I develop my social skills here, better adjust to life in civilization, that situation'll improve."
"He never was with people?" Akane shudders.
"Hai. There were two people I could've called friends. One of them is a girl name Ukyou Kuonji. U-chan. There...will be a lot of problems now if I met U-chan again, but I...and Oyaji, who was the author of those problems...will do everything to resolve them without causing anyone else any grief. The other is a guy by the name of Ryouga Hibiki. He and I went to junior high school together. He...he's been a Wanderer all his life, Akane, due to a very bad problem with directions. Atop that, from what I recall of him, he tends to take EVERYTHING too seriously. We were rivals of sorts and we...didn't really part on the best of terms."
"Soo ka," Akane sighs. "I admit, I've got some friends...but that's become less and less due to...one of my problems. The same one that has increased my distaste for boys my age, admittedly. I can see how...starved for friendship you must be."
"Hai, I am."
The youngest Tendou hums, then holds out her hand. "Hi, I'm Akane. Do you want to be friends?"
Ranma smiles, then warmly grips her hand. "Definitely. I'm Ranma. Pleased to meetcha, Akane."
* * *
Two minutes later, Ranma and Akane step back into the sitting room. "Akane, you're not going to believe this!" a happily weeping Souun proclaims. "The engagement...!"
"Will, for now, be between Ranma and myself!" Akane declares.
Everyone save Ranko and Kikuko facefault! "Nani?!" Nabiki exclaims, eyes widening.
"Ranma and I've discussed this matter," Akane sighs as they sit down. "I'm aware of how the Nendo-kata reproduce and how that affects Ranma and her sisters. FOR THE TIME BEING, we will, to preserve our families' honour, hold the engagement between us."
Souun and Genma blink, then suddenly grin as it dawns on them that their dreams were now within a hair's breadth of coming true. "Ranma, you've done your family proud!!" the latter laughs, thumping the table. "Tendou-kun, we've done it!"
"My little baby's getting married!!" Souun wails.
Ranko and Kikuko are taken aback by the waterworks. "You don't think there could be a little of the Great School in Akane-san's family, Onee-san?" the latter hums.
"Seems like it," the former smiles.
"Hold everything, Oyaji!" Ranma shrills with her fingers to get their attention. "We said 'for the time being.'"
Silence, the fathers staring wide-eyed at them. "Which sadly means you aren't off the hook," Akane stares at Nabiki and Kasumi.
"Nor are either of you," Ranma repeats with Ranko and Kikuko.
"We don't mind," Kikuko smiles.
"Hey, WE do!!" Nabiki snaps.
"Nabiki, let them explain," Kasumi moderates. "I'm sure Ranma and Akane-chan have discussed this, so let's hear their proposal."
Nabiki shudders. Shit, wasn't she going to make ANY sense of this before it blew up in their faces?!
"Arigatou, Nee-chan," Akane sighs, then gazes on her father. "You both should realize that having just met, it's leaping far to hope that we'd fall in love and marry without complications setting in. From what I know of her at this time, Ranma is a very likable person despite what's happened to her. I want her to be my friend before I think of her as my fiancee...though I...could see myself being her life-mate and seeing the agreement through."
"But given that complications are GUARANTEED to set in given our situation...right, Oyaji?" Ranma glares at her father. "We want time to BE friends before we progress into a relationship. However, to satisfy family honour, for the time being, Akane and I will be 'engaged'...on the proviso that if it can't work out, other arrangements can be made. Does this satisfy both of you?"
Souun and Genma blink, exchange looks, then the former clears his throat. "Before...we answer that, Ranma...may I ask what your feelings for Akane at this time are?"
Ranma hums, then gazes on Akane. "She's physically very beautiful...perhaps the most beautiful woman I've ever met..."
"Ranma!!!" Akane's cheeks flame.
"...skilled in the Art given her restricted training (which I will endeavour to augment)...and...from what I've sensed of her empathically, has the soul of a real Defender."
"'Defender?'" Kasumi hums.
"Hai," Kikuko nods. "The defender of a family's home in your terms, Kasumi-san. Akane-san, from what I sense, is someone who'll always help those who can't help themselves. Her heart is that of one of the Great School, Kasumi-san. Your sister hasn't trained as long and as intently as Ranma-neesan, but given a chance, training and encouragement, she'll go very far in the Art."
"I...a-arigatou, Kikuko," Akane flusters.
"May I propose something?" Ranko muses.
"What is it, Ranko?" Genma prompts.
"Seeing as there are now three Saotome daughters and three Tendou daughters, I propose we partner up," Ranko gazes on Nabiki. "We have to agree now that Ranma and Akane have formed a rapport. I can sense that Kasumi and Kikuko are starting to form their own rapport. And personally, I must admit that from what I sense of you, Nabiki, I can certainly be friends with you if you'll let me. This way, if something doesn't turn out, other paths are available to allow us to resolve this to everyone's benefit."
Nabiki smiles. "I'd like being friends with you, too, Ranko."
"If it isn't too personal, may I ask how the money is made in this family?" Kikuko muses. "Otou-san and Ranma-neesan have had to practically scavenge, even steal, to survive on the road...and the idea of freeloading doesn't sit well with me."
"You're our guests...!" Souun protests.
"Tendou-dono, with all due respect, we're speaking of bringing four people into this house for an unspecified period of time," Kikuko gazes on him. "That automatically implies additional food, clothing and other expenses. We've no idea what the state of our family finances are...and given the matter with Okaa-san, we're not sure what could happen. The chances are there, if Okaa-san decides not to accept ANYTHING of what happened at Jusenkyou, that we may NEVER be able to turn to our own family again. It...isn't fair to any of you," she turns to the Tendou sisters, "...to have us come in here, impose ourselves on you like this, without doing something to ease the burden on you. Please, we insist on this."
Nabiki blinks, then sighs. "Okay, look. There are things we can do to make this easier for all of us."
"Nabiki..."
"Dad, they're doing this to help us...and besides, we haven't had a paying student since Mom died!" Nabiki silences Souun with a glare, then stares at Ranko. "You want to help me on this?"
"Definitely!" Ranko nods.
"I can help Kasumi-san in the kitchen," Kikuko smiles.
"That's kind of you, Kikuko-chan," Kasumi beams.
"Don't leave us out of this," Ranma warns.
"But what can we do?" Akane stares at her. "After all, you have no experience outside the martial arts and...honestly, I'm not too much better. Atop that, the school forbids us from having jobs during the term; we can only do that during the breaks."
"We'll come up with something," Ranma assures her. "Look at this as a battle, Akane. The secret to a victory, no matter what type, in any battle is confidence. We have to BELIEVE we can make this a good situation for all. Can we do that?"
Akane stares at her, then smiles. She definitely might like having Ranma as her new sensei. "Hai!"
"Are we agreed, then?" Ranko hums.
"Definitely!" Nabiki nods.
Hands form a pile for luck. The Tendou sisters feel the empathic burst of warmth, friendship and unflagging support the Saotome sisters transmit, then smile. Breaking apart, the six women gaze on their fathers. "Does this satisfy both of you?"
Souun and Genma look lost, then robotically nod. "I guess they're still thinking it over deep down," Ranko winks at Nabiki.
Laughter fills the room...
* * *
Joketsuzoku...
"What bothers you, child?"
Shampoo blinks, then gazes on her great-grandmother. Cologne balances herself on her walking cane, gazing on the starry night over their home valley. "I'm just thinking of Ranko, Great-grandmother," a fond sigh escapes her.
"You know why they had to leave," the elder warns.
"Yes, I know...and that makes me love Ranko all the more for it," Shampoo smiles, then hums. "Hers is a heart as big as all the mountains in China combined. Why do I feel this longing for Ranko, Great-grandmother? I don't want to insult her because of how sympathetic I was at how she came into being..."
"Love, Xian-pu, is an strange emotion to understand even at the best of times," Cologne hums. "Ranko's kind are driven by this urge to better the Universe around them...but not do so in a way that will cause more harm than good. It's a tightrope they walk, child...but one that they never shirk from. It...was a shock to all of us when we met them, learned of the Great School. To believe our Japanese friends of the Tiger-Spirit have kept their Nendo-kata relatives so secret from us."
"It's a wise decision they made," Shampoo agrees. "I could see the drool on some of the elders' faces when Ranko and her sisters fought off those Musk raiders with just their minds. If we had that power within us, we'd have the commissars at our feet."
"And by the basic tenets of Ranko's belief system, that is an unpardonable crime," Cologne finishes. "Thank the Goddess that Mi-su and the others agreed to it. I shudder to think if some of you young ones went after them to try to bring them back."
"Scary. It's a pity some other arrangement couldn't be made to at least make them part of the tribe in spirit..."
"You just want to see Ranko again, don't you?" Cologne laughs, gazing knowingly at Shampoo.
"Great-grandmother, when you were my age, if you confronted someone THAT beautiful in heart and body, what would YOU do?!"
More laughter. "Point taken," Cologne smirks, then blinks as she senses someone approach. "Ah, there you are..."
"Eh?!" Shampoo turns as a black shape appears beside the elder. "Who...?" she tenses.
"Apologies, clan sisters," the newly arrived woman bows her head. "Elder Kun-lon, my mistress passes her greetings to you."
"How is Nagai-chan these days?"
"My mistress is well, Elder," the Kuromoroboshi (Black Meteor Shower) ninja, servant of the leader of the Moroboshi-Hana "Tiger-Spirit" Clan, smiles. "She hopes you and the others here are well, too...and expresses her surprise and delight on hearing that more of the Great School have come to live amongst us."
"Can those of the Great School among your clan help the three new Wanderers settle in more?" Cologne muses. "They did us a great favour with those idiot Musk and my...great-grandchild here..." she turns to Shampoo, "...has taken a fancy to one of them."
"She has?" the ninja smiles. "Congratulations, Xian-pu. My mistress did anticipate something like that happening given the Nendo-kata's inherent empathy. Arrangements can be made to allow her to come stay with us for the time being, if you so desire."
"Hibaa-chan...!" Shampoo gasps, grateful to Ranko that she could now speak fluent Japanese, though her mind now whirled at the idea of being so close to Ranko Saotome again.
Cologne stares at her. "Do you love her?"
Shampoo nods. "Yes!"
"Then go get her. Don't worry too much about bringing her back here. Maybe in a generation or two, when some of the more dangerous Nendo-kata attributes are bred out, your descendants can come back here. Besides, given that the Saotome sisters could, if necessary, be adopted by Nagai-chan's clan, this could forge the blood-tie we've long sought with the Tora-seishin."
Shampoo shudders, then sighs. If Ranko's Wanderer-half could live alone, wandering through the depths of space, for over three hundred years, Shampoo certainly could stand being separated from her family for a short while. AND this would give her a chance to better see the outside world, a chance Shampoo always dreamt of.
"How soon do I have to be ready?" Shampoo smiles.
"At your convenience, clan sister," the Kuromoroboshi nods.
"Arigatou," Shampoo leans close to Cologne. "Please keep Mu-tzu here, Great-grandmother. If Ranko ever saw him again..."
"I'll do my best," Cologne nods...
* * *
South-west of Tokyo...
"Beautiful night, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," the dark-haired woman hums, lying beside the rugged man in the orange tunic and dark pants. Their tents were set up nearby, a cooking fire's embers still glowing. "You sure you want to keep going on with this, Ryouga?"
"I have to, Ukyou-san," he sighs. "Honour demands it. I know how much you care for Ranma...despite what his father did to you. I don't want to hurt you through him...but..." A deep breath. "After following him to that damned place..."
"I hear you," she nods. "You've got questions and you need answers. I've got them and I definitely need answers if my future as 'Ukyou Kuonji' is to be kept safe. But...when I think of what Genma Saotome is like, given what my investigations've revealed, I can't help wondering how much Ran-chan really realizes how much damage he's going to answer for when it catches up to him. I..."
Ryouga gazes sympathetically on Ukyou. "I envy you. You can find it within you now to forgive what happened years ago."
"Yeah, that's true," Ukyou rises, taking a couple steps as she turns her eyes to the Moon. "I can't believe how much anger and hate drove me all these years, Ryouga. How much it consumed me just to find them, then destroy them. It..." she shudders, then relaxes as his hands gently squeeze her shoulders. "It could've been a disaster, Ryouga...and I care too much for Ran-chan to have that happen to him no matter what happened before."
"But still..."
"Yeah, I know," she closes her eyes. "I like you, Ryouga. I can almost say I love you. You're a pretty down-to-the-soil type. I respect people like you. Always have...in both my lives. But if anything ever did...become intense between us...know that nothing would come out of it." She places her hands on his. "You know, part of me is tempted to find two Wanderers and have you and Ran-chan Cross Over. Selfish of me to think that...but as I am now, I can never bear a child from you...nor Ran-chan."
"You accept your nature...and you're helping me better accept my curse," Ryouga sighs. "I appreciate that, Ukyou-san."
"Your curse..." Ukyou hums, then sighs. "I'm born of the water itself, Ryouga. It's the core of everything I believe in as a Nendo-kata. Looking on you and your curse...it's not a curse to me, Ryouga. To me, it's a great trial the Mother Ocean has given to you...and I think, deep down, you're strong enough to endure."
"If someone doesn't eat me first," he wryly hums.
"Avoiding that, friend, is part of the trial," she winks.
Both laugh...
* * *
To be continued...
The guide sighs, gently puffing his pipe. It had been a STRANGE couple of days to say the least of it! First, two foreign tourists had come to train here. Idiots! Didn't they understand the idea that "Cursed Springs" meant "CURSED SPRINGS?!!" The elder of the two wound up being punched into Shonmaoniichuan, then, not noticing that the springs' magic had turned him into a panda, he had sent his poor son into the Nyanniichuan. The younger visitor emerged, took note that he was now a she...
...and then IT happened.
The guide slowly exhales, looking at the three large, hollowed rocks sitting near the pools. The shock of the transformation had caused the poor boy...Ranma Saotome, that was his name...to lose control of himself. S/he would've drowned, had in fact taken a lung full of water...then...!
The guide shudders. He thought he had seen it all working here...but nothing in his many years had prepared him for seeing an unmoving body, clearly devoid of the vibrant life inside, being LEVITATED out of Nyanniichuan. Then...the spring itself suddenly EVAPORATED as three large, hollow rocks settled down nearby, having come from out of NOWHERE.
Both the guide and the elder Saotome, Genma, had cautiously approached the rocks, gazing inside...then they scrambled back on seeing the alien THINGS inside the large pool of salt water each rock contained. The guide had been tempted to run to the nearby Nyuchezuu village to summon aid...then he felt SOMETHING touch his mind. A voice, female, telling him it was alright. The souls of Ranma, Ranma's disembodied sister (what did THAT mean?!) and the poor girl who had drowned in Nyanniichuan 1500 years ago were all safe...and would emerge soon. All they had to do was wait a day.
"Anything?"
The guide looks as Genma walks up. The older martial artist had been restored to his normal form after his child died...WAS Ranma dead?...but had stayed to find out what the aliens had done with his poor boy's very soul. "No, Honoured Customer," the guide shakes his head. "Nothing yet. But...hear voice saying soon..."
How does 'now' sound?!
Both jolt...as the sound of something surging from water turns their attention to the strange hollowed rocks. A geyser of salt water bursts from one, framing a lithe form as she backflips to land neatly on the ground behind Genma. The two men spin around as the new arrival rises, stretching herself.
"R-r-ranma...?" Genma stammers, unsure of WHAT to believe now.
The woman sighs, then noticing the boiling kettle nearby, reaches out. Her sapphire eyes glow a dark reddish-purple shade as the kettle LEVITATES from the fire, sailing neatly into her hand. Her eyes continue to glow as water bursts from the kettle to splash over her, allowing her to wipe the reddish jello-like fluid off her body. Once she is clean, she places the kettle back, then seeing a towel, dries herself. "Whoo...that was weird!" she muses, then stares at a slack-jawed Genma. "Relax, Oyaji. It's me."
Genma blinks, then blinks again. The Ranma that had emerged from Nyanniichuan was petite, large-breasted with hair a shade of red you'd only see painted on a fire engine. This Ranma, if it WAS Ranma, was the height of his old self, more well-proportioned, her hair a natural chestnut shade. "S-s-son...?"
Ranma stares at him, then sighs. "I know. It's weird to me and I'M the one it happened to. Where're my clothes?"
"Pack over there, Honoured Customer," the guide points.
Ranma looks, then grins. "Thanks," she walks over, opening her pack and drawing out boxer shorts, T-shirts, three red tunics and three pairs of pants. "Better get some for the others..."
"'Others'...?!" Genma blinks...
...then both jolt as the sound that heralded Ranma's return to this world echoes from behind them. They spin around as two OTHER women, virtual twins to Ranma's new form, emerge from their rocks, landing by the kettle. "You two okay?" Ranma asks.
One of the newcomers...to the guide's surprise, she had light green eyes...reaches for the kettle. "Yeah, we're fine," she smiles, splashing herself with water, then she hands the kettle to the third...that one had dark brown eyes...as they wash. "It's so nice to be out of your head finally, Nee-chan. To believe I never knew I was a separate person all this time."
"The Unity works in strange ways, Onee-san," the third smiles as they proceed to dress. "For you, it was an imprisonment of sixteen years, since your old body died in Okaa-san's womb. For me, it's been fifteen centuries!"
"Relax, Kikuko," Ranma smiles. "You're free now."
"Hai," the third beams.
Once dressed, they gaze on the other...then share a warm group hug. Genma and the guide are silent as the triplets share their moment of intimacy, then turn to face them. "You two clearly want an explanation for this," the green-eyed woman hums.
"It...w-would help..." Genma stammers. "B-but...can you...?"
"No, we can't," Ranma sighs. "Which means, Oyaji, that little seppuku pledge to Mom might become a problem," she icily smiles.
Genma gags. "How did...?!"
"Not to mention ALL the engagements you trapped Nee-chan into," the green-eyed girl adds. "Like Ukyou Kuonji?"
Genma's shock turns to disbelief. "B-but...!"
"What do you think Tendou-ojisan will say when we get back to Japan, Otou-san?" the brown-eyed girl fumes, glad all three of them mind-scanned their father to fully ascertain the situation as their new bodies were gestating. "It's going to be hard enough to make him accept Onee-san as a girl, but breaking such a promise because you were so lazy as to not barter for food? Honestly, Otou-san!"
Genma shakes, his brain crashing from the overload...which really wouldn't be too far for someone like him...then the urge to flee hits. Before he could take three steps, SOMETHING grabs him, pulls him into the air, then he slams head-first into a rock! "Uh-uh, Oyaji!" Ranma snarls. "You ain't runnin' away THIS time!"
Genma moans. "What...is...going on?" the guide then probes.
The triplets stare at him, then smile. "Honoured Guide of Jusenkyou, we cannot thank you enough for your patience...and cannot apologize enough for forcing you to endure this," Ranma switches to well-accented Mandarin. "Permit us to introduce ourselves. I am Ranma Saotome, formerly son, now daughter, of Genma and Nodoka Saotome from Japan."
"And I am Ranko Saotome, who would've been the daughter of Genma and Nodoka had my body not been stillborn in Mother's womb, thus forcing my soul to reside in my sister's subconscious mind until I was just freed by the magic of the Nyanniichuan and the intervention of my Wanderer-half," the green-eyed girl smiles.
"And I am Kikuko Saotome, the reborn spirit of the woman who drowned in Nyanniichuan fifteen centuries ago, frozen in place by the magic of Jusenkyou until my Wanderer-half helped me be free," the brown-eyed girl finishes. "Our story is a very strange one as you can no doubt suspect, Honoured Guide. Will you hear it?"
The guide blinks, then smiles, puffing his pipe. "It will be a story I will tell my grandchildren with great fondness, ladies! I wait with baited breath to hear more!!"
* * *
"Three Sisters"
by Fred Herriot
fherriot@yahoo.com
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir kush1@iaw.on.ca
With C&C by Kevin D. Hammel khammel@pacbell.net and Robert Geiger robertgeiger@prodigy.net
**** **** ****
Based on "Ranma 1/2" created by Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****
WRITER'S NOTES:
1) There've been many alternate Ranma stories appearing on the Net in the last while. Enjoying many of them (a nod to all you alt-fic writers out there), I decided to try my hand at writing my own alternate history. Atop that, I felt I had it inside me to write another "Ranma becomes a Nendo-kata" fic.
2) This story begins at the very start of the series, diverging right from the point Ranma fell into the Nyanniichuan.
3) Inspiration for various elements of this story include the series of "Ranma's Secret," "Ranma's Fiancees" and "A Matter of Romantic Chemistry" by the beautiful team of Jack Staik and Lady Tesser; "Confession" by the always-prolific Lord Archive; "Girl Days" by the ever-so-funny Robert Haynie; and the crossover "Honour and Love" by my favourite continuation/alt-fic writer, Kevin D. Hammel...not to mention the insanity Gregg Sharp called "The Bet!" A nod to them and all the other Ranma fic writers out there (too many to list here!) who've driven me to write this story.
4) I realize that there are those of you out there who, due to my particular writing style (I always stay in present tense except when doing flashbacks) plus other bugbears which tend to crawl under people's skins (my concentrating on girl-girl relationships; hey, the Nendo-kata are an all-female race, remember?!), might find some offense reading parts of this story. Then again, as I just discovered concerning my BGC series "Illusions," no one has any SET opinions when it comes to ANY anime...especially something as multi-faceted, as diverse, as "Ranma 1/2." For those who would be bothered by what I do write, I only ask to give me a chance...and if you do find the material here bothersome, I can only apologize.
**** **** ****
PART ONE - HERE'S RANMA...RANKO...KIKUKO!
Nerima, two months later...
ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THIS?!
"Oyaji, it was the agreement, remember?!" Ranma sighs, then takes a deep breath as the light shower pours down on the district. "This is the thing you trained me ten years for! I'm annoyed as all hell about you making all those OTHER agreements along the way...not to mention you ripping me away from U-chan...but this one has precedence and since Tendou-san's got three daughters, we'll follow it through and see what happens! Okay?!"
"IF he'll still allow it once we inform him of the other problems," Kikuko objects.
TENDOU WON'T UNDERSTAND! the panda furiously signs. IF YOU THINK YOUR MOTHER WILL UNDERSTAND...?
"They'll BOTH be made to understand, Tou-san!" Ranko sighs. "Will you PLEASE stop being so negative about this?!"
Genma-panda exhales, following his daughters down the street toward the Tendou dojo. The last eight weeks hadn't been good for his blood pressure, much less his sanity! Ranma and the Wanderers who now saw themselves as Ranma's sisters had hijacked EVERY decision-making process influencing the training trip's outcome. While it assuaged his pride that Ranko and Kikuko were as versed in the Art as Ranma, not to mention well-motivated to learn more...and the fact that Ranma was FINALLY over his ailurophobia...the OTHER daunting problems Ranma's becoming a Nendo-kata would raise didn't do wonders for his confidence. Yes, his daughters could only mate with other women now, but would the chance come to explain it all properly to Souun, show the agreement really wasn't threatened?!
Oh, he KNEW this was going to be a disaster!
He just KNEW it!!
Committing seppuku actually seemed NICE right now...
"Otou-san, please try to relax," Kikuko smiles, reaching over to grasp the panda's paw. "You and Tendou-ojisan endured quite a lot with your former sensei. I'm sure your friendship, while it will suffer because of other matters, will see the day through."
I WISH I HAD YOUR CONFIDENCE, KIKUKO.
"Relax, Tou-san," Ranko sighs, then nudges Ranma with an elbow. "Ne, wouldn't it be neat if all three of them were of our...well, shall we say, persuasion?"
"Yeah, it would be," Ranma nods. "But...jeez, Ko-chan, the chances of THAT happening are so slim...and it just ain't right to force them into it even if we fall in love with them, you know!"
"True...hey, there it is!"
The four stop, gazing on the traditional nobleman's home before them. "'Tendou Dojo...Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu.' This must be the place," Kikuko reads the dojo sign, then knocks.
A moment later, the gate door opens to reveal a tall, brown-haired woman dressed demurely, an apron wrapped around her. Odd, the Saotome triplets muse. She didn't seem old enough to be Souun Tendou's wife Kimiko...yet why did she seem to be the mistress of the home? "Yes, can I help you?" she smiles on seeing the three young women with backpacks before her, then her eyes fall curiously on the large panda with backpack behind them.
"Ah, gomen nasai, Tendou-hime," Kikuko beams. "Watakushi wa Saotome Kikuko desu (I am Kikuko Saotome). My sisters and our father are here to see Tendou-dono concerning a matter binding our two clans together. May we come in?"
"I..." the older woman feels her cheeks flush. NO ONE had ever been THAT respectful to her, even Toofuu Ono!! Then the woman's family name comes back. "Oh, yes! Otou-san just informed us of the marriage arrangement," she smiles. "Atashi wa Tendou Kasumi desu, Saotome-san. Doozo (Come in)."
One of her daughters, then. "Kikuko to iimasu kudasai (Call me Kikuko, please)," Kikuko smiles.
"Hai. Kasumi to iimasu. Doozo," Kasumi nods.
Mentally undressing her already, eh, Kiku-chan? Ranko psi-flashes her sister as they head in.
ONEE-SAN!!!! Kikuko turns bright cherry, flashing her an "I'll get you for that later!" look.
They step in, dropping off their packs and slipping off their shoes before heading into the sitting room. "A very beautiful home you have here, Kasumi-san," Kikuko smiles, looking around.
"Arigatou, Kikuko-san," Kasumi beams. What a nice girl! "Otou-san, Nabiki, Akane, the Saotomes are here!"
"Saotome, old friend!!" a hearty male voice echoes as a spry man in a green gi rises from the coffee table, racing over...then his eyes widen in shock on seeing the beast behind the Saotome sisters. "WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!" he points shakily at Genma-panda.
Ranma, Ranko and Kikuko jerk, then exhale. Well, better now than later. "Gomen nasai, Tendou-dono," Kikuko bows. "There is an explanation for this, I assure you. Kasumi-san, may we trouble you with a glass of hot water? Not scalding, please?"
Kasumi blinks, then smiles. "Certainly. Make yourselves at home, please," she waves them to the table.
"Arigatou," Kikuko nods, then gently taking the stammering Souun's hand, escorts him into the sitting room. "Gomen nasai, minna-san," she gazes on the two young women already there. Hmm, both seemed quite nice, but if her empathic senses weren't lying to her, they clearly were not the type of person she would like being close friends with. "Please forgive us humble travellers for bringing disharmony on this honoured household."
Nabiki and Akane are speechless. Three people, TRIPLETS save for the eyes...yet...something seemed ODD about them all...and that wasn't just because of the panda behind them. "Ah, it's...n-no problem at all, minna-san," Nabiki stammers. For the first time in a long while, she was unsure as to WHERE she could begin to make sense of a situation before her. "Make yourselves at home."
The Saotomes relax, then brighten as Kasumi returns from the kitchen, a glass of steaming water in hand. "Here you are, Kikuko-san," she hands it to Kikuko.
"Arigatou, Kasumi-san," Kikuko smiles, then gazes on the others, hopefully smiling. "Before I bring our father forth, may I ask you all if you believe in magic?"
Souun, Nabiki and Akane blink. Kasumi remains calm. "Um, not really," Akane muses, confused as to why Kikuko was asking this.
"Well, then I must apologize...because whatever worldview you may have had before now...is about to be badly shaken up," Kikuko sighs, then pours the water on the panda.
"YYEEEK!!!!" Genma gasps as his voice returns. "That's a little too hot there, Kikuko!!"
"Relax, Tou-san!" Ranko scolds. "You're tougher than that!"
Souun's eyes bug out, then he beams. "Saotome-kun, there you are!!!" he laughs, embracing Genma. "Oh, it's been so long!! But...how on earth...what happened to the panda...?!"
"Tou-san WAS...or if you wish to look at this metaphorically, IS...the panda you just saw," Ranko warns. "He is under a water temperature-slaved curse he acquired during our travels in China."
Souun blinks, then sits back, staring at Genma. "'Curse?!' Old friend, what on Earth's happened to you?!"
"It was a training accident, I'm afraid," Genma sighs, then stares forlornly at Ranma. "And with...great regret, Tendou-kun, I must now tell you...that Ranma...suffered a similar accident. But...due to a very profound complication...my son, now my daughter...was reborn into her present state...as a woman."
Silence.
"Y-you're Ranma...?" Souun turns on Ranma.
"Hai," Ranma nods. "And yes, it's true. I was born a boy and would've been the one honour would have demanded who'd marry one of your children. But...in the incident that saw my father cursed, I too...was transformed into a woman..."
"Something happened...along the way that...well, in essence locked her in female form...and effected a profound psychological change within Nee-san," Ranko adds. "Mentally AND physically, Nee-san is a woman...and will remain so until the day she dies."
"That's...awful!" Akane gasps. She had no real reason to like boys whatsoever given recent events at school, but to have your very GENDER, one of the cornerstones of one's sense of identity, ripped away...?! The idea sends chills down the younger Tendou's back. The anger she had felt on hearing of the engagement not an hour before fades quickly as her mothering instincts take over, her sympathy for Ranma's plight erasing what resentment she might have had on encountering a BOY who was also a practitioner of the Art.
"Ranma, I..."
"Please. There's no need to apologize for something that wasn't your fault, miss..." Ranma smiles at her.
"Oh, I'm Akane!"
"Yoroshiku (Pleased to meet you)," Ranma nods.
"Which means you must be Nabiki," Ranko gazes on Nabiki.
"I am...and you have me at a disadvantage," Nabiki smiles.
"Oh, sumimasen," Ranma flusters. "Permit us to introduce ourselves. Atashi wa Saotome Ranma desu," she points to herself, then indicates the members of her family. "My father, Genma, the current master of the Saotome School of Musabetsu Kakutou-ryuu. My sisters, Ranko and Kikuko. Yoroshiku."
"Yoroshiku," the Tendou sisters reply.
"Saotome, you never said you had daughters," Souun gazes on Genma. "Or are they like...?"
"No, sir, they, unlike me, were born girls," Ranma cuts in.
"Forgive us," Ranko adds. "Our story, put simply, is so wild, it...it's hard for us to explain it and hope for you to accept it. That's the reason we moved to show you Tou-san's curse right away. It hopefully will prepare you for what else we must now tell you."
"It may be too much all at once, Ranko," Genma warns.
"Tou-san, if we keep hiding things from them, they will have no reason whatsoever to trust us...rightfully so!" Ranko glares back. "How in the name of the Fates do you honestly expect we can reach a satisfactory agreement to unite the Saotome-ryuu and Tendou-ryuu unless they understand the whole story?"
Silence, then Nabiki clears her throat. "I'd like to hear this," she muses. "Heck, after seeing what happened to you, Ji-san, I'd believe it if they told me they were born as aliens."
The Saotome sisters gaze on her. "It is ironic that you just said that, Nabiki-san," Kikuko sighs. "For you see...one-half of our beings...are not native to this world."
Pause. "What...?" Akane gasps.
"It's true, Akane-san," Ranko nods. "All three of us are spiritual symbiotics. Two beings merged together to our deaths as one. Our human halves were born on Earth. Our alien halves were born on a planet fifteen billion light-years (don't ask me to put that into kilometres, PLEASE) away from here. Further...because our alien halves were all female...and given the nature of Nee-chan's curse...that is what froze Nee-chan as a woman."
"Is this...reversible?" Souun stammers.
"I'm afraid not, sir," Ranma shakes her head. "You see, my human half...was dying at the moment the parts of my soul merged as one. When I was cursed, I was so shocked by what happened to me, I slipped and sunk into the pool. I..." she shudders, then blinks as Akane places a hand on her shoulder. "Arigatou," she reaches up to squeeze Akane's hand in return. "Anyhow, I'd taken a lung-full of water and...was drowning. That's when it happened."
"The alien race...whose members merged with my children...are motivated this way," Genma adds. "In essence, Tendou-kun, they're the ultimate Good Samaritans. When they sensed Ranma dying, they moved to save him. It was then...that they discovered the third little interesting part to our tale."
"Meaning us," Ranko sighs, pointing to herself, then Kikuko. "You see, if you looked up the birth records, there is only one child to Genma and Nodoka Saotome: Ranma. However, if she had not been stillborn, Ranma would've had a twin sister. Me. Near as we could discover, my living spirit merged with Nee-chan's soul and remained with her until that day in Jusenkyou."
"Ah, Jusenkyou!" Souun nods. "The Training Ground of the Cursed Springs. That explains things. Please, go on, Ranko-san."
"Anyhow, if things had gone well that day, the soul of that lost twin sister...me, in other words...would've had the chance to express herself using Ranma's female form," Ranko smiles. "A sort of split personality, you might say. When my alien half sensed me inside Ranma's mind, she felt it wrong that I was bound that way to Ranma...thus freed me, gestating a new body to call my own."
"Wow!" Nabiki whistles.
"Then where do you come from, Kikuko-san?" Kasumi wonders.
"As for myself, I am the spirit of the woman who drowned in the 'Nyanniichuan'...spring of drowned young woman...at Jusenkyou. My first life ended 1500 years ago...but because of the magic of the place, my spirit was trapped within the spring. Because I was in a disembodied state for so long, it came to the point where I forgot who I was, where I came from. My alien half thought, as did Ranko-neesan's, that it was wrong for me to be suspended between life and death, thus freed me...and atop my being allowed to live the rest of my life, I now have quite a family to call my own. As for how I'm able to fit into my family, I thank both my sisters; they allowed me to copy knowledge and experience (not to mention the ability to speak Japanese) during our transformation."
Silence. "That is an...extraordinary story you just told us," Souun gasps, then stares at Genma. "This IS true, I hope?"
"It is, old friend. I watched the whole thing happen," Genma shudders. "I don't know, anymore. Given what happened, I'm not sure as to what'll happen concerning our agreement...but Ranma, Ranko and Kikuko insisted we come here to help settle this in a manner by which we could all be satisfied. I..." he shrugs.
Souun blinks surprisedly. "Genma-kun, old friend, this has changed you as much as it's changed your child! The Genma Saotome I knew of would've fled if something like this would've happened!"
The Saotome daughters groan. "Yeah, we know," Ranma's eyes roll. "Running away was Oyaji's best trait for a VERY long time."
"We are moving to cure him of it, though," Ranko smirks.
"Excuse me, but I have a question," Nabiki cuts in. "Would you mind if I asked you WHAT race do your alien haves come from?"
"You mean aliens've come to Earth?" Ranko blinks surprisedly.
"If you heard of some events in Tomobiki some years ago, yeah, they have," Nabiki nods. "And there've been reports of some other aliens coming to different parts of Japan. I do recall reading from one website about a race that can alter shape..."
"We're not metamorphs, Nabiki-san," Kikuko warns. "The Crossing Over is a once-in-a-lifetime power we can use."
Nabiki blinks, her eyes widening. "I've heard that phrase before, too. Are you three...Nendo-kata by any chance?"
Blink, blink. "You...know of us?!" Ranko gasps.
"Yes, the reputation of your Great School has preceded you," Souun smiles, then pats Genma's shoulder. "My friend, you should be honoured! To have your daughters become Nendo-kata! Why, with their powers, they'll be the best martial artists of all time!!"
"I...I..." Genma stammers.
"Are there other of our sisters on Earth now?" Kikuko probes.
"I don't know, but I think one of your extended families lives in Japan, just north of here," Nabiki muses, shrugging. "They're mentioned in the news from time to time; the school leader's the older sister of Ataru Moroboshi."
"He's the guy who wound up marrying that Oni girl and became the king of another planet!" Akane nods understandingly. "Some girls at school have friends at Tomobiki High who mention him from time to time. Rumour has it some of the teachers are hoping he'd come teach there. A lot of aliens go there these days."
The Saotome sisters exchange looks. "That must have been the Outland school that came here," Ranma hums.
"Probably. We should contact them and tell them we're here," Ranko slowly breathes out.
"Not to mention find some way to be better accepted by the authorities," Kikuko adds.
"Hai, that's true," Ranko nods. "We'll worry about that in a bit, 'Kuko. First priority is getting in contact with Kaa-san."
Genma jerks. "Do you WANT to do that?!"
"Well, it's not our fault that you signed that stupid pledge in the first place, Oyaji!" Ranma snarls.
"What pledge?" Akane blinks.
"Tou-san has an overdeveloped sense of the dramatic, I'm afraid, Akane-san," Ranko sighs. "When he took Nee-san on the training trip ten years ago, he signed a pledge to Kaa-san that Nee-san'd come back a 'man above men'...or else..."
"Both Oyaji and I'd have to commit seppuku," Ranma finishes.
Silence. The Tendous are shocked speechless. "Saotome-san, how could you do such a thing?!!" Kasumi gapes.
"Yeah, it's bad enough that you took your own son to this Jusenkyou place and nearly killed him!!!" Nabiki adds.
"This is crazy!!!" Akane groans.
"Minna, minna, please!" Ranma whistles.
The Tendous gaze on her. "Look, this matter with Mom doesn't really involve you people at all," Ranma sighs. "I'm sure that if Mom's approached the right way, she'll accept what happened and we'll go on from there. There's no need to panic over it."
"Ranma, for heaven's sake, this is your LIFE we're talking about here!" Akane snaps.
Ranma stares at her. "Akane, it's alright. If Mom pushes the issue, I'll renounce my family. There's no problem at all. My Wanderer half was, save for Kikuko's Wanderer half, totally alone for five hundred years. I'm used to it!"
"No!!!" Akane insists, then rises. "C'mon, let's go to the dojo and talk this over! Please?!"
"I..." Ranma blinks, staring at her, then nods. "Sure."
They leave. "Kasumi, is it me or did you get the feeling that someone swapped our sister with a total stranger?" Nabiki hums.
"I'm sure Akane-chan and Ranma-chan will help resolve this in a peaceful manner, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi smiles...
* * *
"It's beautiful...though I can tell it's been hardly used."
"Hai, it is," Akane sighs, looking around the dojo. "Ever since Kaa-san died, I'm the only person Tou-san has trained here. He...lost a lot of his passion for the Art when she left us."
"I grieve for you," Ranma smiles, then bowing to the shrine at the head of the dojo, sits herself down. Akane relaxes in front of her. "I barely remember my mother. When we left Jusenkyou, all I wanted to do was see her again, tell her I was alright. That's when I found out about the seppuku pledge."
Akane shudders. "I can't believe your mother would actually force you to go through with that."
"I don't know, to be honest with you. Oyaji believes it, though. From what I've sensed of him, Mom's got a pretty strict viewpoint of what's 'manly.'" Ranma exhales slowly. "As does Oyaji, too. Deep down, I can sense part of him wanting to forget I ever existed. That's not just because of Mom. He..." A pause. "He's a very old-fashioned male chauvinist, Akane. Oyaji always pressed into me the virtues (if you can call them that) of being 'manly.' Now that I reflect on it...and that I've undergone the Crossing Over...I realize how wrong in certain places he was."
"What do you mean?" Akane hums.
"Well...say I came here as I might've been. A boy, cursed to become a girl. That ALONE would've been a hard blow to my pride. Believe me, Akane, pride's one of my biggest problems. Then you tack on the whole engagement idea to that. Your father told you just this morning, right? My dad likes pulling 'surprises' like that on me, too. Chances are, all I would've cared for was to find a way to ditch the curse...and he would've insisted that the whole arrangement with your family be settled FIRST, then worry about the curse. How would you've liked that?"
Akane shudders. "Not a lot. I...don't really care too much for boys my age these days, Ranma. It's got a lot to do with what goes on at my school...but I suppose..."
"Pride's something you gotta deal with, too?"
"Hai," Akane nods, feeling her cheeks redden.
"How long've you trained in the Art?"
"Seriously? About four years. You?"
"Since I was old enough to walk," Ranma sighs. "And given how emotional I sense your father is, your idea of 'seriously' may be different from mine. Simply, EVERYTHING in my life up to Jusenkyou was martial arts. I don't KNOW anything else, though I'm moving to correct that. It's hard, even after the Crossing Over. I..." A pause, then she smiles. "I need help. Ko-chan and Kiku-chan are better off than I am. Ko-chan, since she was linked to me through my subconscious, absorbed the lessons of life I had beaten out of my conscious mind by Oyaji. Kiku-chan still remembers a lot of her first life. I'm way behind them on that point...and I know Oyaji loves the Art enough that he'll insist I concentrate on that more."
Akane hums. She wasn't angry at the boy-turned-part-alien girl before her. Ranma's situation was...unique to say the least of it. She didn't know anything about the Nendo-kata and their ways, but clearly, an honest approach to others was holy writ among Ranma's people. Atop that, Ranma didn't seek to overwhelm Akane, not like other boys. An image of Tatewaki Kunou flashes in her mind, sending an icy shiver down her spine. Ugh, she didn't need a SECOND version of Kunou, which Ranma clearly was becoming before that fateful day, barge into her life. No thank you!!
"How can I help?" she smiles.
"Domo, Akane," Ranma nods. "First of all, there's a primary attribute about the Great School you HAVE to know. Oyaji knows this, so I suspect it won't be long before your dad finds out. I can sense from them both that they WANT the schools...and by extension, our families...to be joined."
"What?"
"Promise you won't get angry?"
"I..." Akane falters, then sighs. "I'll try."
"Okay," Ranma nods. "Akane, all Nendo-kata, be they in their birth form or Crossed Over...can only mate...with other females. We cannot, under ANY circumstances, mate with males."
Silence. Akane stares at Ranma, blinking surprisedly. She had a good idea about sex and how it ended with children. That in a way contributed to her profound distaste for the Horde o'Hentais she dealt with every morning. But to believe that even as a human being, Ranma was trapped into mating only with girls...?
"I...if I can ask...how is it...?"
"We mate?" Ranma smirks. "Believe me, it freaked my human half out when he found out about this before we merged. Akane, the Great School has been an all-female race for the last hundred thousand years. We have babies through parthenogenesis aided by our telekinetic powers. Because we've done it for so long, even when we Cross Over, that...unique factor in our DNA remains with us and we pass it on to our offspring. And yes, it psychologically affects us...although since we're a mono-gender race, we see no reason to put titles on it or discriminate others who don't feel as we do. By your terms, Ranko, Kikuko and I are lesbians."
"I see..." Akane hums, then sighs. "Yeah, you're right. If Tou-san finds out about this, the engagement's on no matter what. My father can be pretty pig-headed about some things, too."
"Sumimasen..."
Akane smirks. "As you say, don't apologize for something you can't change," she holds up a finger, then breathes out. "We have quite a problem on our hands. I...I must admit that I like you a lot, Ranma. You're...different than ANYONE I've ever met. I also value your honesty. I can guess this is really hard for you."
"It's becoming easier as time passes, admittedly," Ranma hums. "Fortunately, after Jusenkyou, we bumped into a village of Chinese Amazons...the Nyu-che-zuu as they call themselves...who, when we earned their trust, helped us, especially me. It..." she sighs.
"Did something happen?"
"No, but I sense that our parting wasn't on the best of terms with some of their leaders. The Nyu-che-zuu hold no allegiances to the People's Republic whatsoever; because of that and some local problems, they're constantly on guard when it comes to outsiders. Our...powers so impressed their leaders that they would've done ANYTHING to get us inducted into their tribe. But because they're not as unified as we'd've liked, my sisters and I feared that our continued presence there would've caused a civil war. That, Akane, is something we'd NEVER see happen. Once we convinced one of the more respected elders to our viewpoint...and she was able to convince their Matriarch of what we believed...we left."
"Soo ka. This seems to be a theme amongst you people. Doing your best to maintain peace wherever you go."
"That is our life, Akane," Ranma sighs, then repeats a lament all the Great School took to heart. "I am a Nendo-kata, born of the Mother Ocean, sworn defender of the Unity. Because I am now a Wanderer, orphaned from the school of my birth, I'll do all within my power to help those I adopt as my family better understand the idea of Unity WITHOUT forcing them into my ways. To do that is so repulsive to me, it makes me physically ill. I'll kill in Unity's name, Akane...my Wanderer-half HAS killed, by the way...but I will not, in any way, instigate a massacre."
"You're a warrior nun, in other words?" Akane hums.
"Well, not a nun. I can mate when I find the right person," Ranma wistfully smiles. "And...I must admit...that I think I may have found that right person."
Akane blinks, then her face flames. "M-m-m-ME?!?!"
"Hai."
"I...ah...ha-ha...oh, gods, this can't be happening...!" Akane flusters...then stops on seeing panic in Ranma's eyes. She takes a breath, coughing to calm herself. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I...you're trying to be honest...but I have to admit, you're also a little..."
"You feel overwhelmed, don't you?" Ranma hums.
"Hai."
"For that, I'M sorry, Akane," Ranma smiles. "I believe in the truth. You would've found my human half blatantly honest about everything he encountered. He...since he was isolated for so long, with just Oyaji as company, he never developed the social skills other people take for granted. As that...affects me, it means that when I'm thinking of my Nendo-kata past, I depend on the skills I learned as a Nendo-kata...some of which, unfortunately, are alien to someone like you. As I develop my social skills here, better adjust to life in civilization, that situation'll improve."
"He never was with people?" Akane shudders.
"Hai. There were two people I could've called friends. One of them is a girl name Ukyou Kuonji. U-chan. There...will be a lot of problems now if I met U-chan again, but I...and Oyaji, who was the author of those problems...will do everything to resolve them without causing anyone else any grief. The other is a guy by the name of Ryouga Hibiki. He and I went to junior high school together. He...he's been a Wanderer all his life, Akane, due to a very bad problem with directions. Atop that, from what I recall of him, he tends to take EVERYTHING too seriously. We were rivals of sorts and we...didn't really part on the best of terms."
"Soo ka," Akane sighs. "I admit, I've got some friends...but that's become less and less due to...one of my problems. The same one that has increased my distaste for boys my age, admittedly. I can see how...starved for friendship you must be."
"Hai, I am."
The youngest Tendou hums, then holds out her hand. "Hi, I'm Akane. Do you want to be friends?"
Ranma smiles, then warmly grips her hand. "Definitely. I'm Ranma. Pleased to meetcha, Akane."
* * *
Two minutes later, Ranma and Akane step back into the sitting room. "Akane, you're not going to believe this!" a happily weeping Souun proclaims. "The engagement...!"
"Will, for now, be between Ranma and myself!" Akane declares.
Everyone save Ranko and Kikuko facefault! "Nani?!" Nabiki exclaims, eyes widening.
"Ranma and I've discussed this matter," Akane sighs as they sit down. "I'm aware of how the Nendo-kata reproduce and how that affects Ranma and her sisters. FOR THE TIME BEING, we will, to preserve our families' honour, hold the engagement between us."
Souun and Genma blink, then suddenly grin as it dawns on them that their dreams were now within a hair's breadth of coming true. "Ranma, you've done your family proud!!" the latter laughs, thumping the table. "Tendou-kun, we've done it!"
"My little baby's getting married!!" Souun wails.
Ranko and Kikuko are taken aback by the waterworks. "You don't think there could be a little of the Great School in Akane-san's family, Onee-san?" the latter hums.
"Seems like it," the former smiles.
"Hold everything, Oyaji!" Ranma shrills with her fingers to get their attention. "We said 'for the time being.'"
Silence, the fathers staring wide-eyed at them. "Which sadly means you aren't off the hook," Akane stares at Nabiki and Kasumi.
"Nor are either of you," Ranma repeats with Ranko and Kikuko.
"We don't mind," Kikuko smiles.
"Hey, WE do!!" Nabiki snaps.
"Nabiki, let them explain," Kasumi moderates. "I'm sure Ranma and Akane-chan have discussed this, so let's hear their proposal."
Nabiki shudders. Shit, wasn't she going to make ANY sense of this before it blew up in their faces?!
"Arigatou, Nee-chan," Akane sighs, then gazes on her father. "You both should realize that having just met, it's leaping far to hope that we'd fall in love and marry without complications setting in. From what I know of her at this time, Ranma is a very likable person despite what's happened to her. I want her to be my friend before I think of her as my fiancee...though I...could see myself being her life-mate and seeing the agreement through."
"But given that complications are GUARANTEED to set in given our situation...right, Oyaji?" Ranma glares at her father. "We want time to BE friends before we progress into a relationship. However, to satisfy family honour, for the time being, Akane and I will be 'engaged'...on the proviso that if it can't work out, other arrangements can be made. Does this satisfy both of you?"
Souun and Genma blink, exchange looks, then the former clears his throat. "Before...we answer that, Ranma...may I ask what your feelings for Akane at this time are?"
Ranma hums, then gazes on Akane. "She's physically very beautiful...perhaps the most beautiful woman I've ever met..."
"Ranma!!!" Akane's cheeks flame.
"...skilled in the Art given her restricted training (which I will endeavour to augment)...and...from what I've sensed of her empathically, has the soul of a real Defender."
"'Defender?'" Kasumi hums.
"Hai," Kikuko nods. "The defender of a family's home in your terms, Kasumi-san. Akane-san, from what I sense, is someone who'll always help those who can't help themselves. Her heart is that of one of the Great School, Kasumi-san. Your sister hasn't trained as long and as intently as Ranma-neesan, but given a chance, training and encouragement, she'll go very far in the Art."
"I...a-arigatou, Kikuko," Akane flusters.
"May I propose something?" Ranko muses.
"What is it, Ranko?" Genma prompts.
"Seeing as there are now three Saotome daughters and three Tendou daughters, I propose we partner up," Ranko gazes on Nabiki. "We have to agree now that Ranma and Akane have formed a rapport. I can sense that Kasumi and Kikuko are starting to form their own rapport. And personally, I must admit that from what I sense of you, Nabiki, I can certainly be friends with you if you'll let me. This way, if something doesn't turn out, other paths are available to allow us to resolve this to everyone's benefit."
Nabiki smiles. "I'd like being friends with you, too, Ranko."
"If it isn't too personal, may I ask how the money is made in this family?" Kikuko muses. "Otou-san and Ranma-neesan have had to practically scavenge, even steal, to survive on the road...and the idea of freeloading doesn't sit well with me."
"You're our guests...!" Souun protests.
"Tendou-dono, with all due respect, we're speaking of bringing four people into this house for an unspecified period of time," Kikuko gazes on him. "That automatically implies additional food, clothing and other expenses. We've no idea what the state of our family finances are...and given the matter with Okaa-san, we're not sure what could happen. The chances are there, if Okaa-san decides not to accept ANYTHING of what happened at Jusenkyou, that we may NEVER be able to turn to our own family again. It...isn't fair to any of you," she turns to the Tendou sisters, "...to have us come in here, impose ourselves on you like this, without doing something to ease the burden on you. Please, we insist on this."
Nabiki blinks, then sighs. "Okay, look. There are things we can do to make this easier for all of us."
"Nabiki..."
"Dad, they're doing this to help us...and besides, we haven't had a paying student since Mom died!" Nabiki silences Souun with a glare, then stares at Ranko. "You want to help me on this?"
"Definitely!" Ranko nods.
"I can help Kasumi-san in the kitchen," Kikuko smiles.
"That's kind of you, Kikuko-chan," Kasumi beams.
"Don't leave us out of this," Ranma warns.
"But what can we do?" Akane stares at her. "After all, you have no experience outside the martial arts and...honestly, I'm not too much better. Atop that, the school forbids us from having jobs during the term; we can only do that during the breaks."
"We'll come up with something," Ranma assures her. "Look at this as a battle, Akane. The secret to a victory, no matter what type, in any battle is confidence. We have to BELIEVE we can make this a good situation for all. Can we do that?"
Akane stares at her, then smiles. She definitely might like having Ranma as her new sensei. "Hai!"
"Are we agreed, then?" Ranko hums.
"Definitely!" Nabiki nods.
Hands form a pile for luck. The Tendou sisters feel the empathic burst of warmth, friendship and unflagging support the Saotome sisters transmit, then smile. Breaking apart, the six women gaze on their fathers. "Does this satisfy both of you?"
Souun and Genma look lost, then robotically nod. "I guess they're still thinking it over deep down," Ranko winks at Nabiki.
Laughter fills the room...
* * *
Joketsuzoku...
"What bothers you, child?"
Shampoo blinks, then gazes on her great-grandmother. Cologne balances herself on her walking cane, gazing on the starry night over their home valley. "I'm just thinking of Ranko, Great-grandmother," a fond sigh escapes her.
"You know why they had to leave," the elder warns.
"Yes, I know...and that makes me love Ranko all the more for it," Shampoo smiles, then hums. "Hers is a heart as big as all the mountains in China combined. Why do I feel this longing for Ranko, Great-grandmother? I don't want to insult her because of how sympathetic I was at how she came into being..."
"Love, Xian-pu, is an strange emotion to understand even at the best of times," Cologne hums. "Ranko's kind are driven by this urge to better the Universe around them...but not do so in a way that will cause more harm than good. It's a tightrope they walk, child...but one that they never shirk from. It...was a shock to all of us when we met them, learned of the Great School. To believe our Japanese friends of the Tiger-Spirit have kept their Nendo-kata relatives so secret from us."
"It's a wise decision they made," Shampoo agrees. "I could see the drool on some of the elders' faces when Ranko and her sisters fought off those Musk raiders with just their minds. If we had that power within us, we'd have the commissars at our feet."
"And by the basic tenets of Ranko's belief system, that is an unpardonable crime," Cologne finishes. "Thank the Goddess that Mi-su and the others agreed to it. I shudder to think if some of you young ones went after them to try to bring them back."
"Scary. It's a pity some other arrangement couldn't be made to at least make them part of the tribe in spirit..."
"You just want to see Ranko again, don't you?" Cologne laughs, gazing knowingly at Shampoo.
"Great-grandmother, when you were my age, if you confronted someone THAT beautiful in heart and body, what would YOU do?!"
More laughter. "Point taken," Cologne smirks, then blinks as she senses someone approach. "Ah, there you are..."
"Eh?!" Shampoo turns as a black shape appears beside the elder. "Who...?" she tenses.
"Apologies, clan sisters," the newly arrived woman bows her head. "Elder Kun-lon, my mistress passes her greetings to you."
"How is Nagai-chan these days?"
"My mistress is well, Elder," the Kuromoroboshi (Black Meteor Shower) ninja, servant of the leader of the Moroboshi-Hana "Tiger-Spirit" Clan, smiles. "She hopes you and the others here are well, too...and expresses her surprise and delight on hearing that more of the Great School have come to live amongst us."
"Can those of the Great School among your clan help the three new Wanderers settle in more?" Cologne muses. "They did us a great favour with those idiot Musk and my...great-grandchild here..." she turns to Shampoo, "...has taken a fancy to one of them."
"She has?" the ninja smiles. "Congratulations, Xian-pu. My mistress did anticipate something like that happening given the Nendo-kata's inherent empathy. Arrangements can be made to allow her to come stay with us for the time being, if you so desire."
"Hibaa-chan...!" Shampoo gasps, grateful to Ranko that she could now speak fluent Japanese, though her mind now whirled at the idea of being so close to Ranko Saotome again.
Cologne stares at her. "Do you love her?"
Shampoo nods. "Yes!"
"Then go get her. Don't worry too much about bringing her back here. Maybe in a generation or two, when some of the more dangerous Nendo-kata attributes are bred out, your descendants can come back here. Besides, given that the Saotome sisters could, if necessary, be adopted by Nagai-chan's clan, this could forge the blood-tie we've long sought with the Tora-seishin."
Shampoo shudders, then sighs. If Ranko's Wanderer-half could live alone, wandering through the depths of space, for over three hundred years, Shampoo certainly could stand being separated from her family for a short while. AND this would give her a chance to better see the outside world, a chance Shampoo always dreamt of.
"How soon do I have to be ready?" Shampoo smiles.
"At your convenience, clan sister," the Kuromoroboshi nods.
"Arigatou," Shampoo leans close to Cologne. "Please keep Mu-tzu here, Great-grandmother. If Ranko ever saw him again..."
"I'll do my best," Cologne nods...
* * *
South-west of Tokyo...
"Beautiful night, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," the dark-haired woman hums, lying beside the rugged man in the orange tunic and dark pants. Their tents were set up nearby, a cooking fire's embers still glowing. "You sure you want to keep going on with this, Ryouga?"
"I have to, Ukyou-san," he sighs. "Honour demands it. I know how much you care for Ranma...despite what his father did to you. I don't want to hurt you through him...but..." A deep breath. "After following him to that damned place..."
"I hear you," she nods. "You've got questions and you need answers. I've got them and I definitely need answers if my future as 'Ukyou Kuonji' is to be kept safe. But...when I think of what Genma Saotome is like, given what my investigations've revealed, I can't help wondering how much Ran-chan really realizes how much damage he's going to answer for when it catches up to him. I..."
Ryouga gazes sympathetically on Ukyou. "I envy you. You can find it within you now to forgive what happened years ago."
"Yeah, that's true," Ukyou rises, taking a couple steps as she turns her eyes to the Moon. "I can't believe how much anger and hate drove me all these years, Ryouga. How much it consumed me just to find them, then destroy them. It..." she shudders, then relaxes as his hands gently squeeze her shoulders. "It could've been a disaster, Ryouga...and I care too much for Ran-chan to have that happen to him no matter what happened before."
"But still..."
"Yeah, I know," she closes her eyes. "I like you, Ryouga. I can almost say I love you. You're a pretty down-to-the-soil type. I respect people like you. Always have...in both my lives. But if anything ever did...become intense between us...know that nothing would come out of it." She places her hands on his. "You know, part of me is tempted to find two Wanderers and have you and Ran-chan Cross Over. Selfish of me to think that...but as I am now, I can never bear a child from you...nor Ran-chan."
"You accept your nature...and you're helping me better accept my curse," Ryouga sighs. "I appreciate that, Ukyou-san."
"Your curse..." Ukyou hums, then sighs. "I'm born of the water itself, Ryouga. It's the core of everything I believe in as a Nendo-kata. Looking on you and your curse...it's not a curse to me, Ryouga. To me, it's a great trial the Mother Ocean has given to you...and I think, deep down, you're strong enough to endure."
"If someone doesn't eat me first," he wryly hums.
"Avoiding that, friend, is part of the trial," she winks.
Both laugh...
* * *
To be continued...