AN1: Well, first off, a big thank you to all the good folks at The Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku for their help in and on my sadly and ultimately fruitless search for a large, space faring and politically powerful empire that were not the Juraians. I actually will have to use them, for they had easily met all my criteria and I do know them well, but, thanks to all of those that had tried to help me out anyways!
AN2: Please forgive me if a make a mistake in Japanese law. I am not all that familiar with it.
AN3: I am still sick, and to top it off, my new doctor can't get my old records for some of the tests that he wants to put me through and that I've already gone through so he can do a comparison between the two results from my old doctors. Thus stalling all my tests and pissing me and him off. I just want to get better damn it!
AN4: As I had noticed a major story related error in chapter two and a minor time line related error in both of chapters three and four, there were some minor corrections made throughout the entire story.
AN5: Slightly revised yet again. God, what is with me and revisions, seriously huh?
AN6: Slightly revised yet again, this time in the utterly vain hopes of fixing some of my formatting issues, IE the god damn bold problem.
CHAOTIC TIME
CHAPTER TWO
DEPARTURES
Nerima, Japan: The Tendo house: Nabiki Tendo's room: at about seven at night
Nabiki had just gotten done with watching a tape made by one of her underlings, and now she was currently cursing up a storm.
"Ok, so who is this woman, why did Ranma call her his mother, where did they go, and how in the world did they get there anyways?" Nabiki harshly whispered out.
As Nabiki set out to do some research to discover the facts that she was looking for, she heard Kasumi call out "Akane, Nabiki, Father, Mister Saotome, Ranma's home and he says he has something to say! Oh and some woman whom he swears is not a new fiancée is here with him!"
Nabiki then got a predatory smirk on her face, happy that the answers were coming to her this time, and then a worried frown appeared on her face, with the sinking feeling in her gut that all was not going to be well after this meeting.
Nabiki then hurried out of her room and downstairs as fast as she could do so without seeming to do so.
The Gates of Time: subjectively about a little over an hour earlier
Ranma slowly awoke with a splitting headache about a half an hour after he collapsed in pain on a nice four poster bed that was inside a very posh room.
"Huh, where am I?" Ranma asked in confusion while looking around. Then remembering the events that had led up to this point in time, and then also having his past life's memories suddenly thrust some knowledge into the forefront of his mind, he remembered, and then he exclaimed in his surprise at the fact that "Wow. Mom kept up my old room at the Time Gates."
Setsuna then stepped into the room and told him "It was something to remember you by, even if it was painful to keep it."
"I'm sorry mom." Ranma told her while looking down.
"It's not your fault." Setsuna told her son.
"I know that. It's just that I feel that I should have been more careful, ya know." Ranma admitted while he was still looking down.
"I saw the battle later on in the Time Gates if that's what you're talking about. It was a battle and you were worried about your father. It wasn't your fault. It was Horishi's." Setsuna said with a lot of anger extremely evident in her voice.
"Who, who was Horishi?" Ranma asked in a very puzzled voice.
"He was your father's cousin. He was the one that ambushed you." Setsuna hotly exclaimed.
"Huh?" Ranma asked confused.
"Never mind that, I'll explain it all to you later, I promise. Right now we have something more important to talk about. Well a few things actually." Setsuna said in a very serious tone of voice.
Ranma just then suddenly remembered that when his mother took this tone of voice with him, he better do as she says, so he said "Well all right, if you say so mom. But you gotta promise to explain that to me later."
"I will Ranma." Setsuna promised Ranma. Then she continued on with "Well first to start off with, the Moon Kingdom obviously fell. I'll explain that to you a little later as well, but what I will say right now is that the Queen had sent her daughter and her Senshi into the future with the last of her strength, and now they are the Senshi of this time. We are based in Juban, and I have been, mentoring, them as best I could for a while."
Ranma then interrupted with "And knowing you mom, you've been playing the wise and mysterious woman, and your duties to the Time Gates have really put a cramp on what you truly want to do."
"Well, yes," Setsuna admitted with a small nod "But I haven't been as playful with the wise and mysterious woman bit ever since you and your father died." She told a Ranma who looked down at that statement. "Now I already told you that it wasn't your fault! Now where was I? Ah yes, the Senshi's troubles just keep coming, although at this moment we are just on clean up duty after the our latest opponent, so I can introduce you to them much easier than if there was a crisis going on at the moment."
"And do I even want to know when the next crisis is going to be?" Ranma asked with a small and lopsided smirk.
"Not really." Setsuna said in a very serious tone and with a small frown upon her face.
"That soon huh?" Ranma asked in a much more subdued tone of voice.
"Yes." Setsuna replied. She then continued on with "But before I introduce you to the girls, I want to know something Ranma. I, I…" Setsuna seemed to stumble and choke on the words for a bit and then she just blurted out "Ever since I found out that you were alive, I have watched your life in the Time Gates." She then took a few breaths to steady herself and suddenly she hotly exclaimed "And the way most of the people in your life treat you makes me furious! And, I, I…" She then verbally stumbled a bit to get herself under control again and then she said "And I've taken steps to take care of that. I have some documents that, if you sign them, will let me adopt you in this lifetime." She then took a breath and said "You do not have to sign them of course, or you could sign them at a later point in time if you wish, but I have all the necessary documentation to legally make you my child and take you off the Saotome register and put you on the Meiou one."
"Can I think about this for a minute, mom?" Ranma asked. Setsuna just silently nodded in response.
Ranma then spent a little over fifteen minutes in silent contemplation. After those agonizingly silent fifteen minutes, Ranma then said "Well, it sorta feels like running away to me, but my life's so screwed up by being a Saotome right now that that might be the best and the only way to clean it all up. And besides, I know that you'd be a better parent the either of my current ones." Ranma told Setsuna with a lopped sided grin.
Setsuna let out the breath that she'd been holding when Ranma had started to speak and then she smiled and said "Well I'll have you sign it in a moment, and then we can visit your old family and we can inform them. I know that it's probably not the wisest way to do it, but that is the way it should be done."
"Yeah it is." Ranma said in response. "But I'm not cutting my ties to them just yet mom." He then forcefully told her.
"What do you mean Ranma?" Setsuna asked in a very worried tone of voice.
"What I mean is I don't want to cut them out of my life if I don't have to. I do have some good memories of most of them and all the times we've had together, so I want to keep some of them in my life if at all possible. I love you mom, but I care for them too. It's really kind of confusing to me. I mean a part of me feels like I don't even know you, and the rest of me really loves you. But I do know that I care for most of the people currently in my life, and I don't want to just up and leave them all if I don't have too. I'm taking you up on your offer of adoption mom, because, well I know that you're a better parent then either of my current ones, and while I really could care less about pop, I think I could still have something with my other mother. And I do care for the Tendo's and most of my friends." Ranma was silent for a moment and then he said "I'm just rambling here, ain't I? Well, I just don't want to cut everyone I know out of my life unless I have too, ok mom?" Ranma finished up with.
Setsuna sighed and then said "Well, while I will admit I would prefer it if you did that, it is your life. All I'll say is they had better behave themselves much better than I have seen them do around me, or I'll Dead Scream them all." Ranma then chuckled and Setsuna exclaimed "I mean it Ranma!"
"I know you do, and that's what's so funny mom!" Ranma then told his mother.
"And why is that humorous?" Setsuna then asked while being very puzzled by that statement.
"Because mom, one, I ain't never had anyone, let alone a parent, stick up for me like that, well, at least in this life time that is, but two and probably funnier is, well I really don't think that that attack will sit well with most of them at all. They're all so used to Ki based attacks and the like, that if and when they finally do get hit by a magical attack, and a pretty powerful one at that, well, I just got this image of Ryoga coming out of a building's ruins while coughing up a breath of smoke and asking 'What hit me?'." Ranma said while he was laughing all the while.
Setsuna then started chuckling as well at the scenario which Ranma had just concocted as well and then she suddenly went quiet. After looking at Ranma silently for a moment or two, Ranma then asked her "Um, is there something else mom?"
"Yes there is, but I don't exactly know how to ask you it. In your past life it was your greatest wish, and now in this lifetime it is possible for you, but I don't know how you'll react to my suggesting it…" Setsuna then just seemed to trail off at that point.
After a brief moment of silence in which Setsuna was gathering up all her courage to ask her question, Ranma then had a brain fart that lead him to an idea of what she wanted to ask him.
"You want to ask me if I want to learn your type of magic and be the heir to the powers of Pluto in my girl form, am I right mom?" Ranma slowly asked of his mother.
"Yes. I'm sorry Ranma, but now you can do it. In your old life you would have jumped at the chance, but with how I've seen you react to your curse in this life, I didn't know how you'd react." Setsuna guiltily admitted.
"Well, most of why I dislike my curse is everyone's reactions to it in all honesty. I'll admit that at first I really and truly did hate it, but I keep finding out good things about it. But what really sucks is the way I'm treated for having it. So, to answer your question, yes mom, I'll do it." Ranma told a Setsuna who looked like she had just won the lottery. That made Ranma feel really good as well, seeing her react like that. 'I always knew she wished I could do this. And it won't be so bad, I guess. And now the curse is truly useful for something other than scamming free food and eating chocolate and ice-cream. MMMM, free chocolate ice-cream.' He then thought.
"Ok, we can take care of that right before we leave. It is a ridiculously simple process to bind someone to a planet and then empower them with the planet's power. And becoming a Senshi is even easier, I am sad to admit. It's just learning how to go beyond the first initial bestowing of power that is truly hard." Setsuna told Ranma.
"Uh, um, so, what?" Ranma asked, trailing off while being slightly confused.
"You'll see when we do it." Was all Setsuna would say to him on the matter.
Then, one cold water change, planetary binding and silly, embarrassing and henti magical transformation later, and Ranma knew exactly what her mother had meant.
Then one much more sane magical detransformation and hot water change later, and also with one document signed by all the correct parties, and they were then off to the Tendo's to tell his old family the news and ask 'And we can still be friends, right?'
Oh the joy.
Nerima, Japan: the Tendo house: in the living room: a few moments later
"WHAT IS THIS BOY!?!" Genma Saotome yelled at Ranma while clutching a document in his hands.
"What's it look like you idiotic panda? Those are adoption papers! She's just adopted me, all nice and legal!" Ranma yelled at his now ex-father.
Nabiki then tore the document away from the Saotome Patriarch's hand and then went chalk white.
"What's it say, sis?" Akane asked in a very worried tone of voice.
"It, it says that the courts have ruled both Genma and Nodoka Saotome to be unfit as parents and that one Setsuna Meiou, whom I would guess to be this lady here, has been granted adoption rights to Ranma." Nabiki said in a slow and shocked tone of voice.
Akane then looked at Ranma a little fearfully and asked "Will…., Will we ever see you again?"
Setsuna then spoke up and said, "He can if he still wishes to do so. The only ones he must avoid do to this document are Genma and Nodoka Saotome, but Ranma has requested that he be allowed, supervised, visits, with Nodoka. The courts are debating that request right now." As Setsuna said that Ranma looked down, for he was slightly pissed about that part, but it wasn't his or his mother's fault, it was the courts. Well, in his mind at least it was. "As for you Tendos, he does wish to be able to see you and some of his other friends from around the ward again, and I will allow it for so long as you can behave yourselves. If I decide you've worn out your welcome with the childish and immature behavior that I hear is the staple way on how to behave in this ward, you will no longer be welcomed anywhere near my son. Oh, and Genma, I suggest you find yourself a lawyer, if any will let you hire them that is. The government is really going to nail you to the wall for your abuse of Ranma here." Setsuna then coldly said.
"Huh?" Genma dumbly asked.
Setsuna then sighed and told Genma "The reason you lost custody of Ranma here is your true and utter criminal abuse of him in the name of your 'TRAINING'. Not to mention using him as a commodity, using him in crimes, framing him for your own crimes, and animal abuse."
"Huh? When did I abuse any animals?" Genma then asked, again, dumbly.
"Hmm, let me think here, how's about the friken NEKO-KEN!?!" Ranma then yelled at his father.
"Yes, that." Setsuna said while Genma paled. "That little bit of stupidity in training has all sorts of animal rights activists after you right now. In fact, I've heard that they're even coming from overseas for this one. Oh, and don't get me started on some of the child activist groups from all around the world that want your head right about now." Setsuna stated with a smirk while Genma paled even more. Then there was then a sudden knock at the door and Kasumi got up to answer it, letting in two police officers in the process.
"Well, there's our cue to leave." Setsuna said while standing up. "If you wish for us to do so, we will call you in a few days so that we may set up a meeting between us. Please inform the others of this, if you would." And with that she left, with Ranma following close behind her, while taking one last look back.
The Gates of Time: moments later
"So, um, why did the cops show up?" Ranma asked of his mother as he followed her into the living area of the Time Gates.
"They were early. I would guess that they feared that Genma would run or something." Setsuna told Ranma "They were there to take your father down to the court house and to then formally charge him and give him the restraining order." She told a Ranma who then replied with a brilliant
"Oh." As his sole reply to that statement.
"Okay, now to call all of the girls and to then get them to meet us at the shrine." Setsuna said with a happy expression. "Oh I can't wait to introduce you to all of them!"
"Um, ok. So, what are they like?" Ranma then asked. He then noticed a bleak expression suddenly appear on his mother's face from nowhere. "Um, what's wrong?" Ranma asked of his mother in sudden worry.
"I think I should do the introductions to the inners tomorrow. I think I'll just take you home tonight and introduce you to my fellow outers." Setsuna then said with a truly dark expression adorning her face.
"Um, why? What's wrong with the inners?" Ranma asked in confusion.
"Oh, nothing, other than the fact that about half of them are boy crazy and all of them, other than one, do not have a boy friend." Setsuna said with that dark expression still adorning not only her face, but it was leaching into her voice as well. Ranma in response just blanched at that statement. He didn't exactly know exactly why, but girls were always after him. It sounded like he would need to be on his guard near these 'Inners'.
"Um, so what about the 'Outers'?" Ranma then asked in a worried and cautious tone of voice.
"Well, one of them is about thirteen, so I don't think you'll need to worry about her, well yet anyways, and the other two, well they're together." Setsuna then told Ranma.
Ranma just looked puzzled for a moment and then his eyes widened in understanding as he said "Oh." In a very calm tone of voice.
"I hope you have no problem with that?" Setsuna then asked of her son.
"No, not really. I mean if they both really care for each other, then that's a good thing right? I don't get why people get so worked up about things like that. They just better leave me as a girl alone though, and I'll have no trouble with them." Ranma calmly told his mother.
"Um, that might be asking bit too much of Haruka. She's a bit of a, well, pervert, and she is very proud of that fact." Seeing Ranma stiffen, Setsuna quickly told him "But Michiru should be able to keep her in line. She always does."
"Ah, ok." Ranma nervously replied.
"Well then, let's go home Ranma. I'm sure you will be a welcome surprise to my house mates." Setsuna then cheerfully told her son.
"Um, sure thing mom." Ranma replied while he was privately thinking that this could go either way.
Nerima, Japan: the Tendo house: Nabiki Tendo's room: later that night
"Well my gut was right." Nabiki Tendo said aloud as she lay on her bed. Akane was crying in her room, her father was in the living room dinking sake while crying, and Kasumi was cleaning the already spotless house some more.
"After the police lead away a stunned Genma Saotome, and his state of shock was probably only reason why he went with them I'd be willing to bet," Nabiki continued muse aloud, "father started on his inane whining yet again and Akane stormed up to her room where she's been ever since in tears. And Kasumi just sat there in shock with me while the truth finally set in. I then went up to my room and good ol' Kasumi dealt with things as she does best, by cleaning."
Nabiki then sighed as she turned over on her side and then she said "I never thought I'd miss the big lug like this. I'll be sure to go and see him when we get the call. Well tomorrow I guess I get to make one last profit on Ranma Saotome." Nabiki then sighed heavily and admitted to herself if no one else "I never thought I'd not be looking forward to making some easy yen. Hell, I never thought I'd miss Ranma and not the yen when he left." Nabiki then snorted and decided to finally get ready for bed.