Author's note: Holy freakin' crap! I figured about four people would be disappointed, and I'd just email it to them; no biggie. Apparently, a lot more people than that are reading this thing. I posted the "withdrawal notice" at midnight, and woke up this morning to sixteen freakin' emails!!! This unexpected development has changed my mind about withdrawing it; if you folks really want to see this thing to it's conclusion, then what the heezie. I'm game! A big "thank you" to all of you; my confidence is restored. HUZZAH!

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"St-stay away from me!" Meg shouted, striking up a defensive stance.

"H-hey! Chill out, Meg!" Ranma stammered. "It's me, Ranma! Look!" He grabbed his pigtail with one hand and pointed at his clothes with the other.

Meg narrowed her eyes at the boy sitting in front of her as she looked him over. Who was HE trying to kid? Ranma was a girl! Still, how had this guy gotten in, and where had Ranma gone? Also, the resemblance between the two was eerie... This new fellow had greyish-blue eyes, was fairly good-looking , and was a little bit taller than the average height, but that wasn't what was bothering Meg. He had black hair braided into a single pigtail, was wearing the exact same suit of Chinese clothing that Ranma had been, and his eyes...those eyes...

"RANMA?!" Meg asked, wild-eyed.

"Yeah, Meg, it's me!" he said, very relieved. Then, he looked a little embarassed. Bowing, he said "Sorry 'bout this. I should have explained earlier, but--"

"MEG! ARE YOU OKAY?!" a voice bellowed from outside Meg's door.

"Dad!" Meg gulped. She turned toward Ranma with a panicked look in her eyes. "Look, explain later! My dad is a bit, um, 'overprotective', and unless you'd like a pool cue through the ears, I suggest that you hide!"

"YIPE!" Ranma squeaked. He ran into her bathroom and shut the door.

"MEG! OPEN THIS DOOR THIS INSTANT!" Meg's dad boomed as his furious knocking threatened to break the door down.

"Coming, Dad!" Meg called as she bolted up the stair and opened the door.

"Where is he?! Where's the little pervert hiding?!" he demanded, looking left and right.

As her dad bounded down the stairs and started inspecting every nook and cranny, Meg tried to play innocent. "What are you talking about, Dad? The only people here are me and that poor girl that got attacked!"

"Yeah, well where is she, anyway?" he asked, still searching.

"I...uh..." Meg was at a loss for words.

"Doesn't matter," Mr. Amatsuka blurted. "I heard a MAN'S voice in here."

Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes. "It's alright, Meg! I know you would never willingly let a guy into your room unsupervised. As soon as I find and kill him, I'll find the best hypnotist that money can buy to erase the brain-washing he gave you!"

"Dad! Now you're just being stupid!" Meg angrily protested.

FFFFFSSSSHHHHHH!

The sound of a running faucet came from the bathroom, causing both Meg and her father to stop in their tracks.

"That IDIOT!" Meg thought as she winced.

"AHA!" Meg's father yelled as he flung open the door.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!" a soprano-pitched voice screamed.

Meg's father stared open-mouthed at the half-dressed (pigtailed) girl standing in the middle of the bathroom.

"I-I'm SO, SO sorry! I--" he stammered, his nose bleeding profusely.

"Now that you've introduced yourself to my guest, Dad..." Megumi growled, the vein on her forehead throbbing, "why don't you...GET LOST!!!"

She picked up her father by the pants (he was too weak from blood loss to resist), and booted him out the door.

"Whew..." she sighed as she locked the door. However, as she walked down the stairs toward the bathroom, her relief quickly turned into anger. When Meg got to the door, the redheaded girl was finishing buttoning up her blouse.

Ranma smiled apologetically. "Look, I'm really sorry about freaking your dad like that, but I sorta hope to live to a ripe old age. Besides, you've got to admit that that look on his face was pretty priceless! Hahahahaha-" She noticed that Meg wasn't laughing. "-ha. Ahem."

Meg was tapping her foot on the ground and obviously trying to contain her anger. "Alright, buddy," Meg said. "You've got some 'splaining to do."

Ranma hung her head. "Look, I'm sorry for not being completely honest before. My name is Ranma Saotome, and I am from Nerima. What I didn't tell you is that... I'm really a guy. It's a long story, so you might want to pull up a chair..."

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"Let me get this straight," Meg said, wide-eyed. "You and your father were finishing up a 10-year training journey, when you went to a cursed training ground in China. Neither you nor your dad knew any Chinese, so you didn't know about the 'cursed' part. Then, you fell into springs that changed you into the last things that drowned there: a panda and a big-breasted girl?! That's WEIRD!!!"

Ranma blushed. "Uh, actually it was just plain 'girl'. As far as I know, that other part is something that my chromosomes cooked up... Anyway, yeah, that's pretty much what happened. The only other part to tell is that hot water lets me return to my guy form, but cold water changes me right back into a girl. That's how I was able to pull a fast one on your old man. (looks left and right) Speaking of, do you think he'll be back? I'd just as soon be a guy, if you don't mind."

"Sure, go ahead!" Meg said. "After that little incident, I doubt that he'll have the guts to come sneaking around here for a few days, much less tonight! Ha ha ha!"

"Thanks!" Ranma smiled as she got up and walked into the bathroom. Meg heard the faucet turn on again, and a few seconds later male Ranma walked out and sat down on the bed facing Meg.

"You know," Ranma remarked. "I'm really surprised that you aren't a little more, well, shocked about this! I try to keep my curse a secret, partly because it's embarassing, but also because people tend to freak out about it. You, on the other hand, seem kinda calm."

Ever since Ranma had told her about his misfortune, Meg had been agonizing over whether to share her's...

"Would he even believe me if I told him?" she wondered. "I mean, it's not like I can use a sink to prove it like he can... Even Yasuda, Ichiro, and Genzo wouldn't believe me. Why would a complete and total stranger? Then again, if anyone in the world ought to believe in curses, it's this guy. Hmm... I guess I've got nothing to lose..."

Megumi took a deep breath, and then stood up.

"What's her deal?" Ranma wondered.

"You're right, Ranma; I should be more freaked. However, I'm not, and for a very unusual reason. As it turns out, you're not the only one holding back secrets, Mr. Saotome. Allow me to reintroduce myself," she said nervously, holding out her hand.

"Megumi Amatsuka, guy."

END OF CHAPTER 3

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Again, sorry about the short installments. I'll try to post them a bit more frequently. Please read and review; again, thanks!