The next morning, Ranma had some time before they let her father go, so she took a look at the book Cologne had given her. She only recognized about one character in five, so there was not much she could glean from it currently. She knew that written Chinese was similar to kanji, which was one of the ways that Japanese was written, but she had a lower than normal kanji vocabulary thanks to her pop and his attitude on schooling, so Chinese was out of her reach for now.

She decided to run through a kata. Her balance was off and her instincts seemed to fight her somewhat. She also felt painfully slow and her movements lacked power, but the familiarity of it calmed her. After half an hour she was starting to feel a little winded. She stopped since she figured her pop would make them travel all day to get some distance from the source of his embarrassment. Normally she could do this for hours. The change once again left her bitter.

"That was very good for someone who has just experienced Jusenkyou, child," came the voice of Cologne, "but it lacked something."

"Speed and power," Ranma said. "I could probably still do decently in a 'soft' art like Aikido, but it doesn't really suit my temperament. I prefer to be in control of a fight, rather than depending on what my opponent is doing."

"Control is an illusion, child," the Elder said. "A person who can react well to anything placed in front of them is more in control than a person who initiates actions without thought."

"I understand what you're saying, Elder," Ranma said, "but I've never the patience to control a fight that way."

The old woman fixed Ranma with a firm gaze. "When I was younger, I left the village and wandered the world. For the most part, I was disgusted by the way that the Outside World treated women, but I saw some women that seized control of their lives. These women all had three attributes for gaining control in a Man's World: patience, cunning, and the ability to swallow their pride. Now that Jusenkyo has made you half a woman, you would do well to learn these skills if you are to survive in the Outside World, especially since your normal tools are so much less effective."

Ranma thought about what the Amazon Elder had said. She could use patience; she just did not like to depend on it. She had cunning, but knew that it was very limited to a fighting environment. She knew she was very prideful, with some reason. She could out-fight most martial-arts masters she trained with—when she was male. Thinking about it she realized that pride was the primary lever that her father used to control her. With a few insults, her father could get her to do whatever he wanted.

"Thank you for the advice, Elder," she said. "I will try to implement it."

"Some of my younger colleagues have told me that the Outside World has changed its attitudes in the last few decades, but they have also said that it is mostly a thin veneer, at least in Asia. Underneath it, not much has changed.

"My last bit of advice is to figure out your dreams and goals. Make sure that they are your dreams and not your fathers or anyone else's."

After breakfast, Ranma was taken to the village square where her father was changed back to a man and then beaten with 40 lashes. They were led to the front gate of the village and her pop was told to leave and never return.

They walked in silence for an hour with her father having to carry his pack in his hands. He tried to pawn the pack off on her, but the pace she could travel with two packs annoyed him enough that he took it back. They stopped and made camp early.

"Why didn't you intervene on my behalf, Boy!" her father demanded when they stopped.

"I did," she replied. "Why do you think you were only beaten?"

"What have I done to deserve such a weak little girl as my only son?" her father moaned.

"Do you want a list, Pop?" she said. "This is all your fault!"

The next weeks were hell for Ranma. They spent a month traversing China to get to the coast. Ranma spent most of it in his cursed form. His father seemed to take delight in using it to punish him under the excuse of trying to "toughen up his weak-girl son" so that he did not have such an exploitable weakness. Her father learned that the outbursts of power that happened if he got her mad enough would not hurt him, which removed the only barrier she had for keeping him in line.

The grueling training had little effect other than leaving her exhausted, bruised, hungry, and injured. Luckily, most of the injuries healed quickly when he was able to access hot water. He usually ended up as a girl at meal time, which meant that she was not fast enough to defend her plate well and did not get enough to eat. There was one odd internal injury that persisted in his girl form that had her bleeding from her private parts and cramping internally for almost a week. He knew better than to complain to his father, who would tell him to get over it and stop complaining like a "weak girl."

When they arrived at the coast and his father realized that they would not be able to swim across to Japan due to the lack of strength and endurance that Ranma's cursed form had, he was furious. This resulted in more "training." In the end, they snuck aboard a freighter and stowed away to Japan.

It was raining as they walked through the Tokyo Special Ward of Nerima to their destination. Ranma once again contemplated running away. She knew that no good would come of whatever her father had planned. The problem was that she had nowhere to go. She would end up having to steal in order to live, which did not sit well with her. She knew that her father stole for them, but at least it was not her own actions doing it.

They arrived at a gated home. It was large for Tokyo, but Nerima was far enough from downtown that it was not too unusual. The front gate read, "Tendou Dojo. School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." She sullenly followed her panda father up to the door. A girl about her age with a bobbed haircut answered the door.

"Dad," she called over her shoulder, "there's a panda at the front door."

A mustached man appeared behind the girl.

"Excuse me," the man said when he noticed her, "but why did you bring a panda to my home?"

Ranma shrugged. "I didn't. He brought me."

The man frowned. "Uh, miss?"

"Saotome Ranma," she said.

"Ranma?" the man said joyfully and latched on to her in a firm hug. The man looked down and noticed her breasts smushed against his chest and fainted. This suited Ranma fine, as she did not like to be touched, especially when she was a girl. Her lack of ki and strength made her feel vulnerable.

The girl had been joined by two others. The first girl started to poke Ranma in the chest. Ranma swatted her hand away.

"Stop that," she said.

"Daddy," the girl whined. "Our fiancé is a girl."

Her father had roused himself and said, "I assumed that Saotome's son was a boy."

The youngest looking of the girl's said, "Hi, I'm Akane, want to be friends?"

Ranma nodded in relief. At least one of these people was friendly.

"Come on," Akane said. "I'll show you the dojo."

Ranma followed her around to the back of the house.

"Do you know kenpo or karate?" the other girl asked.

"Some," Ranma answered. "I'm not very good right now due to a training accident."

"You look fine to me," Akane said.

Ranma shrugged.

"You fancy a match?" Akane asked. "I'll go easy on you."

Ranma looked at the girl. She could tell that Akane had some training, but she lacked the grace and easy movement that an accomplished martial artist naturally exuded. Ranma was curious how she fared against a "normal" martial artist.

"Sure," she said.

They walked to the center of the dojo and bowed to each other. Both girls entered ready stances. Ranma decided not to use her normal ready stance which was designed to not look like a stance because she did not have the speed to pull it off.

"Ready?" Akane asked.

Ranma nodded.

Akane charged and attacked. Ranma easily blocked her strikes, but they were punishing. The other girl was much stronger than Ranma's cursed form. Ranma could feel bruises form on her arms. This was the other girl going easy on her? Ranma decided she could not afford to follow her old I-don't-hit-girls routine and struck back. Akane's defense was lacking and Ranma got a few good hits in on her. Akane was in better physical condition than Ranma, but Ranma's greater skill allowed her to keep up and make strikes on the other girl. However, she paid the price in bruises. Finally, Ranma's lack of endurance caught up with her, and she missed a block and the hit sent her flying.

"You're better than you made yourself sound," Akane said as she helped Ranma up. "You won if we were going by points. If you were a little stronger, you would have dominated me."

Ranma shrugged. "I've developed a. . ." she paused, "disorder that limits how much I can improve my speed and strength. I used to be much better."

Akane looked doubtful, but she said, "I'm glad there's another girl martial artist around. Martial arts are big in this district, but most of them are boys and perverts." She snarled the last word.

Ranma felt there was a story there, but was feeling too sore to be polite and ask about it.

"We have a nice furo," Akane said. "Would you like a soak?"

"That would be nice," Ranma said. Warm water would take away his aches.

Akane led her inside and directed her to the furo room. "We have a yukata hanging up inside that you can borrow."

Ranma went inside and scrubbed and rinsed with cold water. She then sank into the furo to soak. The hot water changed her to him and he felt his ki start to work on his bruises. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

He was brought out of his relaxation by a scream. He opened his eyes and saw a furious, screaming Akane clutching a towel to herself. She fled the room.

Ranma sighed. It would have happened sooner or later if they stayed. Judging by the talk of fiancés, it was likely that his pop wanted to. He wondered what type of scam his pop was working. Steeling himself, he got dressed and walked downstairs.

He could hear Akane talking loudly about a pervert. When he arrived downstairs, he saw his father in his human form standing next to Akane's father.

"This is my good friend Saotome Genma," the mustached man said. "And his son. . ."

"Saotome Ranma," Ranma finished.

"But Ranma was a girl," the oldest girl said.

"Oh, the trials I must go through to have my only son cursed to turn into a weak girl," moaned his father dramatically.

"You expect us to believe that this is the same girl we met earlier?" the middle girl asked.

"It happened at a horrible place called Jusenkyo," his father began.

"The pools of sorrow?" Akane's father murmured.

"If you fall into a pool, you are cursed to take the form of whatever drowned there," his father continued.

The girls all looked doubtful.

"Allow me to demonstrate," his father said.

Ranma was a hair too slow to stop his father from throwing him through the door. He landed in the fish pond outside. Air rushed from his lungs as he became a she. She dragged herself out of the pond wheezing for breath. She lurched back into the house.

"See the tribulations I must go through?" her father moaned.

"You talk too much, Pop," she said. She grabbed a vase of fresh flowers from the table and splashed him with the water from it, after removing the flowers. She put the flowers back in the dry vase.

"Pop took me there without knowing what he was doing. He led us out over the pools without listening to the guide trying to stop us and after he got himself cursed, he deliberately knocked me into a pool."

She was guessing or exaggerating on the last bit. She was not sure whether or not her pop realized he was cursed until after she was knocked in, but she could use a bit of extra sympathy.

"So cold water activates the curse. . ." the presumed Mr. Tendou said.

"And hot water deactivates it," Ranma finished.

The oldest daughter entered the room with a tea kettle. She poured it on Ranma's pop.

"It needn't be that hot!" her father shouted, hopping around.

The girl went back into the kitchen and returned with a water pitcher and a cup. She mixed a little bit of cold water with a lot of hot water and then handed the cup to Ranma.

"Thanks," Ranma said with a smile.

She poured the water over herself and turned back to normal.

The girls' father said, "Ah, your problem is not too bad. My daughters: Kasumi, age 19; Nabiki, age 17; and Akane, age 16. Pick the one you want and she'll be your fiancée."

Ranma opened his mouth to decline when the oldest, Kasumi, said, "Oh, he wants Akane."

"What?" Akane shouted.

"I agree," said the second, Nabiki. "She hates boys and he's half girl."

"I'm not marrying that pervert!" Akane shouted.

Ranma snorted. Some friend she was. Their friendship did not even last an hour. "How am I the pervert when you walked in on me?"

"You saw me nearly naked!" she exclaimed.

"That was your fault!" he said, "and you saw just as much as me."

"It's different when a boy sees a girl," Akane protested.

Ranma snorted again. "As your sister clearly said, I'm a girl too."

"Fine!" she said and snatched the pitcher from Kasumi and threw it at him. "Be a girl then!"

Ranma's fury spiked as he felt the change. She could not do much physically to her, so she decided to hit the liar where it really hurt.

She looked down at herself. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, since I'm prettier than you anyway."

She smirked as she could tell she had scored on the other girl. Akane practically turned red as she snatched up the table and swung it at Ranma. She tried to dodge, but was not fast enough.

Pain was followed by darkness.