These are the words of Hung Nguyen. I just have permission to post them and make it easier to read. Just want to give his stuff the recognition it deserves.

So many disclaimers, so little time

italics: Thoughts

(""): Chinese language

Chapter 5

Operation Get the Groom!

"There he is, Saotome!" Soun whispered as he prepared to pounce on the unsuspecting Ranma and his companion.

Genma nodded as he too readied himself. "Right. You distract that Amazon while I get my boy. Pay no attention to what he says. Those Amazons have brainwashed him into thinking that he's one of them."

"Don't worry, Saotome! Once we get your son away from those people, we'll set him straight and he can then fulfill the pledge to unite the schools of the Anything Goes Martial Arts!"

"All right. We have to get closer, though." Genma then paused, then asked his friend. "By the way, Tendo. Which one of your daughters will he be engaged to?"

Soun thought for a moment and then said. "Akane! Yes! He'll marry Akane! He's a martial artist! She's a martial artist! It's a match made with heaven's blessings!"

Somewhere in reality, the personification of Common Sense groaned in frustration and went off to sulk.

"All right then. It's Genma's..."

"And Soun's..."

Both men said the last part in unison. "Operation Get the Groom!"

Meanwhile, Ranma and Pepper were quietly engaged in a friendly discussion as they walked down the street. Each of them carried a takeout box and was in good spirits when Ranma suddenly stopped and tensed up.

Pepper noted Ranma's sudden agitation and then, she too got the feeling that they were being followed.

("Ranma, are you sensing something?")

Ranma nodded. ("Two men, one of them is more out of shape than the other. They're traveling over the rooftops behind us and are trying to ambush us from both sides. They're about fifty feet away and...") The blind martial artist paused as his sixth and seventh sense gave him a bit of unwelcome information. ("He's here.")

("Who?")

("Pepper, my father is here and he's going to try to take me away. I sense that he wants me for something. Probably so he could sell me off again.")

Pepper frowned and then placed the takeout box gently to the ground. She then readied herself for the imminent battle. She knew about Genma from the letters that Jasmine had wrote to her and she did not like the idea of him getting a hold of Ranma one bit. ("He's not going to have you.")

It was then that all hell broke loose.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Ranma jumped to the side, placing the takeout box on top of a nearby mailbox. He deftly avoided Genma's charge and retaliated with a spin kick to the head. Genma went sprawling and the Unseen Light martial artist used this opportunity to leap back and bring out his battle staff.

Vreet!

The metal rod extended itself to its five-foot length and Ranma assumed a ready stance with his weapon held out. As he sensed Genma getting back to his feet, his expression became one of anger and disgust as he faced off against the man with whom he had not encountered for over eight years: his father.

"Ranma! Son! We're here to save you!"

"Save me?" Ranma said with contempt. "Save me from what?"

"Don't worry, son!" Soun said as he faced off against Pepper. "We'll rescue you from these evil Amazons! We know that they've brainwashed you into thinking that you're one of them!"

"Brainwash? Evil Amazons?" Ranma turned to his father and said in a low and deadly tone. "Just what kind of lies have you told him?"

His battle aura and ki energy began to flare as his anger increased. He knew that Genma was not an honest person and right now, this sounded like another one of his father's idiotic schemes. After being engaged to a dozen different girls for food, any respect Ranma had for his father had long since disintegrated.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Ranma! I'm only trying to do what's best for you!" Genma began to sweat a little as he looked for an opening. He had hoped to catch his son off-guard, but it was apparent that he had greatly underestimated the boy's skill level. The way he was radiating his ki energy at the moment was daunting. Still, after a lifetime of dodging responsibility for his actions, Genmawas not about to let this opportunity slip away. After eight long years, he had finally gotten into a position in which Ranma was separated from those Amazons. There was only that one woman to deal with and with Soun's help, bringing Ranma to the dojo would be a snap, right?

"Doing what's best for me, huh? More like you're just doing what's best for yourself! I don't know what you got planned and I don't really care! I'm not going anywhere with you after what you did to me!"

"I'm sorry son, but I'm afraid that I'm going to make you see the error of your ways. For the sake of the Saotome School of the Anything Goes Martial Arts! This is going to hurt me more than it does you!" Genma got into a fighting stance.

You got that right! Ranma thought as he waited for Genma to attack. And I severely doubt that you could make me 'see' the error of my ways.

Meanwhile, Soun was facing off against the owner of Pepper's Place.

"Madam, though I bear no malice against you, I must demand that you relinquish your hold on my future son-in-law!"

"Son-in-law?" Pepper said in surprise then sarcastically replied. "Don't tell me that his father had engaged him to your daughter, has he?" She knew about the numerous girls whom Genma had sold Ranma off for food. Jasmine's letters had been very detailed.

Soun nodded. "It is a matter of honor that he wed one of my daughters and carry on the School of the Anything Goes Martial Arts! He was promised to me before any of our children were born! Genma and I had made a solemn vow and the boy will follow through!"

Pepper gave Soun a glare as she replied, "Well you can't have him. Ranma has had enough of his father's idiotic promises in which he had no say in the matter. In any case, I have grown rather fond of the boy and I will not let him be taken away from his family. If you want him, then you'll have to get by me first!"

Soun charged at Pepper, hoping for a quick knockout.

Genma tried to rush at his son, thinking that he would not be able to block his attack. He couldn't do it when he was eight and he certainly couldn't see the attack. However, this was not to be as Ranma's sixth sense warned him of the approaching danger and his seventh sense was already forming the image of his father as he aimed a high punch sweep combo. Ranma easily dodged the strikes and delivered several quick jabs with one end of his staff. Genma's breath was driven out of him as the staff struck him in the abdomen. He was driven back as his son delivered a solid strike to his temple, then followed through with a snap kick to his face. He then used a fast nine-hit combo with kicks and staff strikes that his father was simply not able to avoid even he hadn't been dazed from the first attacks.

Genma staggered back as he resumed another stance. Ow! Ow! Ow! The boy can't be that good! He can't have that kind of skill level, especially when he's blind! What's going on? It was then that Genma's eyes widened as Ranma took a different stance. It was a stance that Genma remembered well as only one other person ever used it. It was during the time in which Ranma was thirteen and Genma had been trying to retrieve his son. However, a certain blind master of the Unseen Light had prevented him from getting close to Ranma and had given the fat martial artist a painful thrashing each time they faced off. Despite any special technique that Genma used, Koga would always pound the living daylights out of him.

Ranma smiled as he sensed the fear and shock in his father. Koga had told him about his encounters with Genma and taking his master's old battle stance was having the desired effect. He could sense Genma's heart racing and his sweating had become a bit more intense. His body language was also betraying him as trembled slightly. He then decided to taunt his father to further undermine his confidence.

"Surprised, Genma?" Ranma refused to call him Pop as he felt that Genma had long since lost the right to be referred as such. "Master Koga had taught me a lot of things in the last eight years!"

Genma was not about to let Ranma get away with that kind of insolence. "Ranma! You shame our family name and bring dishonor to the School of the Anything Goes Martial Arts!" He tried a triple-strike with his fist, followed by a high kick. "As the heir to our family's fighting style, it is your duty to fulfill the pledge to marry a Tendo!"

Ranma was caught off guard from this bit of information and was nearly hit by Genma's attacks. He quickly recovered and continued to evade his father's punches and kicks. "What?! You engaged me again?! What was it for this time?!"

Soun paused in his fight with Pepper when he heard this. He turned to Genma. "Saotome what did he just say?"

Uh oh! Looks like he found out about them! "Errr Tendo! Don't listen to him! He's been brainwashed by those wicked and barbaric Amazons and-"

WHAM!

Genma was cut off as Ranma slammed him in the head with his battle staff. The fat man staggered back as Ranma addressed his father.

"Listen here, you sorry excuse for a human being! Nobody badmouths my tribe and gets away with it! And for the record, I'm thinking quite clearly!"

Genma could see that the situation was getting rapidly out of hand. "Son, you don't know what you're saying! I'm only here to save you from-"

"From what?! The only person I need to be saved from is you! After all the things you've done to me, I would have to be totally insane to go along with any stupid arrangement that you made!"

"It's not stupid! It's a matter of honor-"

"Don't make me laugh! Tell me, Genma! Does the name Daijkoku ring a bell? How about Li Zang or Shinada or the other families whose daughters you engaged me to feed your fat stomach? Do those names sound familiar?"

"Errr... should they?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Genma! They all came by the village to collect on those debts you owe them! They actually believed that I would go through with those stupid engagements! Now you actually want to uphold one of your stupid promises? WELL LEAVE ME OUT OF IT!"

Genma began to sweat even more and before he knew it, Ranma had closed the gap between them.

Soun was also having problems as his fight with Pepper was going badly. The Amazon proved to be more formidable that he thought and he was not in the best of shape. Every kick or punch would be countered and it wasn't long before Soun's body began to slow down from the constant exertion and the bruises it received. So far, it had been normal hand to hand fighting. Pepper's speed and agility allowed her to dance around Soun's relatively slow and clumsy offense. He had not been training as hard as Genma had after they had gotten away from their perverted master Happosai. It was at that time that Pepper began demonstrating the fighting style that she specialized in.

"Behold!" Pepper exclaimed as she took a new stance. One of her arms was raised and with a casual flick of her wrist, she made a pair of chopsticks appear. "The techniques of 3,000 years of Chinese Amazon Cooking Combat!" Her battle aura glowed with a fierce green aura.

Soun rushed at her, throwing a high punch. Amazingly though, Pepper simply sidestepped the blow and used her chopsticks to snag the sleeve of Soun's gi. With almost no effort whatsoever, Pepper twisted her wrist slightly and Soun found himself flying straight up into the air. He then crashed down on the pavement with an audible splat. Pepper was far from finished as she threw her hand forward and launched the pair of chopsticks at him.

"CHOPSTICK BARRAGE!"

The two wooden sticks suddenly glowed with a yellow light, then exploded into a hundred chopsticks each. Soun eyes widened as they came at him like darts. He was just barely able to dodge as the projectiles imbedded themselves into wooden structures, concrete and even metal streetlights and signs.

Ranma also had Genma on the ropes. No matter what technique Genma used, Ranma's enhanced senses would give him more than enough warning to counter and evade each attack. Ranma ducked another high punch, then jabbed forward with a finger, just as his father attempted a flying kick. The blind boy's digit struck a nerve on Genma's leg and the martial artist felt his leg begin to lock up. With a sickening feeling of deja vu, Genma was slammed to the ground face-first as the Unseen Light fighter used his staff as a lever. Several more pressure points on Genma's back rendered him unconscious.

Pepper landed another blow to Soun's midsection, then followed through with a sidekick. Soun's breath whooshed out and he staggered back. Pepper's then threw out her hands and released a fine mist from her fingertips.

"PEPPER SPICE STORM!"

A cloud of spices exploded forward and Soun caught a good portion of it in his face. The effect of the mixture of hot spices was like tear gas. His eyes burned and became watery as he began coughing. As he raised his hands to wipe his eyes, Pepper pressed home her advantage and launched her final attack.

"SOY SAUCE SENDOFF!"

As she threw her cupped hands forward, a huge stream of brown liquid spewed forth from her palms like water coming from a high-pressure hose. Soun was immediately drenched in the cooking liquid and was pushed back into a wall. He slammed into the concrete and was knocked out. His body slumped down to the pavement in a messy and smelly puddle.

Ranma smiled as he walked up to Pepper, who happened to be wiping her hands with a handkerchief. His enhanced senses had already detected the ki energies that she used in her attacks. Although some Amazon techniques were unorthodox, he had to admit that Pepper's fighting style was effective. Bizarre yes, but effective.

"That was neat, Pepper!"

"Thank you, Ranma. It is my family's fighting style. It was created for some Amazon housewives who got into arguments with their husbands over what to have for supper."

Ranma paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, I guess that makes sense."

Pepper smiled as she picked up the takeout boxes and started walking. "We'll talk more about it later. For now, we have some deliveries to make."

Ranma nodded as he picked up his own takeout box. Before following Pepper down the street, he turned back to where Genma was still sprawled on the ground. His brows furrowed in disgust. He had been willing to talk things out with his father when he arrived in Japan, but this ambush had destroyed all hope of ever coming to a peaceful solution. His father had once again engaged him to someone without his agreement and this time, he was bound and determined to make Ranma take responsibility for his greedy acts. He was actually expecting him to marry a Tendo. After meeting Akane, Ranma shuddered at the thought of being engaged to a violent maniac. The lies and slander that he told his friend about the Amazons only made the blind martial artist detest his father even more. It was at this time that Ranma came to a fateful decision. He would no longer consider anything of Genma's to be of any value. The Amazons had been his only family and he would not forsake them. They had helped him deal with his blindness. They had taught him honor and loyalty. They had given him a home and made him what he was. Though he did wish to meet his real mother, he now committed himself to following the ways of the Joketsuzoku.

With these thoughts, Ranma spat on his father's insensate form and then followed Pepper down the street.

Later that night, after Pepper had closed down her restaurant, the two of them sat with Cologne and the others to discuss their encounter with Genma and Soun. The three girls became very concerned when they learned that Ranma had been promised to one of the Tendo girls. They especially didn't like the idea that he may get engaged to Akane Tendo. The self-centered girl had already become hostile toward them as they had been getting all the attention during their first day at school. They didn't like her attitude toward Ranma either. Calling him a pervert for no good reason other than the fact that he was boy. Ridiculous!

"Stupid Panda-man make trouble for Ranma again!" Lilac said in an irritated voice. Like everyone else in the village, she was quite aware of the numerous fiancees Genma had arranged for Ranma to feed his fat stomach.

"Yes, child." Cologne agreed. "However, this is not China and he may have a bit more leverage here than back at the village."

"What do you mean great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked. "We can just beat him up if he gets too close to Ranma, can't we?"

"What she means, Shampoo..." Pepper continued for Cologne. "Is that we don't have the help of our sister Amazons. This little defeat was only a minor setback and I'm certain that he won't give up that easily. I also saw that his friend had an obsessive look about him and was just as determined to make Ranma marry one of his daughters. We'll have to be on our guard from now on. We also must remember that we are in Japan. We must be very careful not to get involved with their laws."

"I can take care of myself, Pepper. You don't have to do this for me. It is my problem and I don't want any of you to get into trouble because of me."

"No trouble, Ranma!" Shampoo insisted.

"Amazons take care of each other!" Perfume said.

"Amazons no let stupid Panda-man take Ranma!" Lilac agreed.

"The girls speak for all of us." Cologne said. "You are a part of the tribe, Ranma, and we're not about to lose you to some idiotic promise that worthless slime had made in your name."

Pepper nodded enthusiastically. "Besides, I promised your mother that you would be safe and she would have my head if anything were to happen to you."

Ranma was overwhelmed at the way that his sister Amazons were ready to defend him. "Thank you."

At around eleven o'clock, the three girls and Ranma went to their rooms to sleep and prepare for school. As the building was closing down for the night, Pepper and Cologne were sitting in the kitchen sipping on some tea.

("You realize that Genma might get the law on his side and demand that Ranma be returned to him.") Pepper said after a long silence. ("He is still Ranma's natural father and therefore has full custody rights.")

Cologne considered this for a moment then shook her head. ("I severely doubt that. If it were as simple as that, then he would have done so long ago. According to what Koga and Ranma had told me, Genma is a person of little or no conscience. He steals things, lies, and cheats whenever he has the opportunity. He even got Ranma involved before Jasmine found him.") Just like Happosai. The elder's eyes narrowed a bit at the thought of the pervert. ("He has built up quite a list of petty crimes and there are many businesses that want to get a hold of him. Also, keep in mind of all those engagements that he had arranged. Most importantly, he was the one that had caused Ranma to be blind in the first place by putting him through the Neko Ken training.")

Pepper blanched when she heard this. ("The dreaded Cat Fist?") She then paused and slowly asked. ("Does that mean that Ranma is...?")

The ancient matriarch held up a hand and replied. ("No. He does not know the Cat Fist. In a way, his accident was sort of a mixed blessing. He may have lost his sight, but he does not have the accompanying madness of Cat Fu. And even if he did learn it, the trigger to the madness is to 'see' a cat. Hearing a cat isn't enough. He can't see it, therefore no regression into a feral state.")

("Thank goodness.")

Cologne nodded before taking another sip of her tea. ("In any case, after all that Genma had done to the boy and the crimes that he committed, I doubt that any court would see him fit to raise a child. That's probably the reason why he didn't try any legal action against us and ambushed you and Ranma during the delivery.")

The restaurant owner nodded in comprehension. For now, Ranma would remain with them.

At the Tendo complex, two battered and beaten figures limped and staggered into the house. A gentle-looking girl in her late teens greeted them at the front hall.

"Hello, father. Welcome home." She then got a good look at Soun and his friend and gasped. "Oh my! What happened to you?"

Soun looked up at Kasumi. He was a sorry sight to behold. His body was littered with bruises and he absolutely reeked of soy sauce. His gi was stained dark brown and his hair was slick and still dripping. His eyes were a bit glazed and he looked as if he was about to collapse at any moment. One moment later, he did just that. His friend Genma followed suit as the pressure points that his son used against him made his legs give out.

Kasumi rushed toward the two of them and began tending to their wounds. She also called out to her sisters who were currently upstairs.

Somewhere in the mountainous areas near Kyoto, a lone figure was wandering around, looking for any sign that would lead him to Tokyo. In his mind was just one thought.

Ranma Saotome! I swear that I'll make you pay for my suffering! I will have my revenge!

With this in mind, Ryoga Hibiki headed off in a direction opposite to Tokyo. He then took a wrong step and tumbled down a hillside. After making a painful landing in a patch of nettles, he screamed out to the heavens.

"RANMA SAOTOME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

To be continued...

Author's Notes

Well, Ranma has confronted his father after eight years and he certainly did not approve of the pledge to unite the Schools of the Anything Goes Martial Arts. I would say that he would especially be against hooking up with Akane, considering her attitude toward him and the Amazons. You can understand why Genma has not tried to get Ranma back by legal methods. Given his past and the treatment that he had subjected his son to, taking the Amazons to court would have been a bad idea. Also remember that his wife Nodoka still holds that threat of seppuku over his head. Imagine what would happen if she were to find out that her son was blind, not to mention the dozen or so other engagements. We will be seeing some of these other fiancees, as they will learn that Ranma is no longer in the village.

I couldn't resist adding that little bit at the beginning. It was a scene taken from Featherbrite's Tale, A Private Bet #10 and from the Desperately Seeking Shampoo OAV. I hope that Gregg Sharpe and Shade will appreciate it.

Chapter 6 will deal with some more hijinks at Furinkan High as well as a confrontation between Ranma and Akane. Oh, and a certain lost boy shows up as well.

Please read and review!