Ranma Restart: Bid for Freedom

by MM007

When Ranma finds his consciousness back in his six-year-old self, he leaps from the Neko-ken training pit a changed boy and elects to free himself from the life his father intends for him. What happens when the Wild Horse bolts the stable and goes off-plan? (Uses the Ranma Restart Premise, may eventually be RanmaXHarem but more organic/slow burn)

24. A Day of Learning

Author's Note: I would like to apologize for the delay. This chapter, or rather the "Ranma experiences normal life" concept I tried in it, gave me no shortage of trouble. I had to ultimately accept that such a thing doesn't really exist for him, at least not without something happening in the background. There has also been a huge Ranma-themed writer's block that I'm trying to power through, though I worry about the quality of the chapter. I'm bumping Ukyo from second-year mathematics to third-year mathematics and am retconning the previous mention of such. This is a result of my having a better idea of the mathematics milestones children are expected to understand. Nabiki will also be in third-year math in spite of being in her second year. Both are able to calculate sums of money, which is above the abilities of most second-graders.

I am doing my best to make sure the details of Japanese school life are accurate but am relying on sometimes inconsistent information. There were serious changes to the Japanese curriculum in the late 1980s, making it more difficult to confirm information for the period before that time. I am certain there will be errors, and I apologize for them in advance. Thankfully, some of the inconsistencies and plot holes can be explained by Principal Shiratori being a man guided in part by western ideas in education if I paint myself into a corner that a simple correction can't fix.

Ariadne Venegas: Under normal circumstances, I would agree that most schools in the 1970s wouldn't care about the well-being of a child pushed into another grade. In fact, it was doubly so because Japanese culture pushes for homogeneity. Kids who stand out are hammered back down to fit the mold. In this story, however, the government is scared of doing that with Ranma. He has so much power that if they ignore his emotional needs or otherwise make mistakes in his development to cause mental issues like his father has, he may become a danger like his father or Happosai. That is the purpose of this 'prototype class' that Pierre Shiratori mentioned. The Japanese government wants to see if there is a better way of tending to Martial Artists of this caliber, since ignoring them has backfired in the past. Paying extra attention to their needs in school is a solution they've been forced to take a look at, especially in a high-profile case like Ranma's.

---

Chapter 24: A Day of Learning

April 5, 1977

Ranma and the girls were in Lumiere Elementary's Classroom 1-C for homeroom, the boy wondering how things would unfold. This new day would be their first full day of normal classes, though Ranma had a warped concept of normal. An all-boys middle school where kids fought like animals and Furinkan High School where a nut like Principal Kuno was in charge were by no means sound barometers for a healthy education. Still abnormal was that Ranma was staying for a 50% longer day than his elementary school peers. His extra education to fill the holes in his knowledge and shorten his years of schooling had to fit into the day somewhere. At least his school day would be no longer than it was when he was in high school.

Speaking of things that weren't normal...

"So cute! Come here, Rosalie!" Azusa's voice rang out through the room.

"Stay away from Mister Green Turtle!" Kodachi warned as she took her seat. Ranma watched the show with a mixture of boredom and wariness due to such common strangeness inevitably becoming his problem. He wasn't sure which was stranger, the fact that Kodachi had brought her hatchling crocodile to school on her shoulder or that the red-eyed beast somehow looked 'cute' to Azusa. Perhaps it was the tiny custom diaper with the tail-hole or the decorative bow around his neck? Regardless of the reason, it triggered the skater girl's kleptomania. The result reminded him of the older Azusa's actions toward P-chan. The trio of boys on the opposite side of the room, who seated themselves as far from the group of girls and Ranma as possible, looked on in confusion as the crocodile was being fought over by the girls.

The ghostly Headmistress of Sainokawahara Dorm, now their class' homeroom teacher, chose then to intervene. "Azusa, keep your hands to yourself! Kodachi, what did the Principal say to you about bringing your pet to school?" As the teacher did her job, Ranma found himself glad that there was someone present to shoot down the madness when it reared its ugly head.

Azusa crossed her arms in a huff while Kodachi elected to respond. "He stated that I should not, Sensei. Not that I could not. It was not a rule. Mister Green Turtle is a fresh hatchling in need of his mother."

The headmistress-turned-teacher was actually somewhat impressed. That level of nuance was not what she expected from a six-year-old. She must have had advanced teachers or a governess during kindergarten. "Well, now I will formally state that you cannot bring pets to school. We will contact your family ninja to come and retrieve him."

"A student in Class 5-A is allowed to bring his dog! This is unjust!" Kodachi pressed, horrified at the idea of being separated from her beloved pet. Now she was beginning to sound more like a child.

"Nnnnn! Nnnnn!" The baby crocodile vocalized as it nodded its head, almost seeming to comprehend the conversation and agree with its owner. Given how intelligent animals like Akari's pig or Ryoga's dog could be, such a thing in and of itself did not strike Ranma as unusual. Ranma knew that animals were smarter than most people gave them credit for. The true surprise was its apparent level of understanding after less than a day of life.

The headmistress responded calmly, not allowing the situation to escalate. "That student is blind. His guide dog is trained to aid him in navigating and avoiding danger. Because he needs the dog to move around safely and the dog is trained specifically to behave well, the school makes an exception."

"The school makes an exception for such things? I see..." Kodachi's face assumed a contemplative expression. Ranma knew that this problem was only postponed. He couldn't even guess at the form Kodachi's eventual response would take, but he was aware that it would be a headache. Thankfully, Sasuke had been hiding in the ceiling to watch over his Mistress' first full day of school and dropped down from above when it became necessary for someone to take the creature home. Mister Green Turtle promptly bit his fingers for the trespass and elicited a cry of pain from the man.

With that dose of crazy concluded for the time being, Ranma walked to his desk only to be alerted by the glimmer of something in the seat of his chair. He quickly took note of the thumbtacks placed there to stab him in the rear. Badly contained laughter from the trio of boys on the far side of the room nearly made Ranma roll his eyes. Really? They were trying to bully him with this? This was amateur at best when compared to an angry Akane, amorous fiancées, Miss Hinako, Principal Kuno, or a ticked-off Nabiki and her proxies. Ranma was glad that everything that would otherwise be in his shoe locker or desk, including his randoseru, was stored in ki-space where they couldn't tamper with it. He moved to remove the tacks from his seat but paused before doing so, suddenly struck by an idea.

"Is something wrong, Ran-chan?" Ukyo asked when she saw that Ranma had yet to sit down. The girl was still reliant on and fiercely protective of him. Ranma saw no need to bother her with the bullying unless it escalated, so he went ahead and had taken his place at his desk without revealing the hostile intentions of the others.

"Nah, everythin's fine. Just thinkin'." The snickers from the other side of the room stopped and were replaced by confused chatter. Ranma appeared to be sitting on the tacks without any negative consequences. In actuality, however, Ranma was not sitting down. By placing his feet under the seat and putting his weight on the tips of his toes, Ranma was able to squat over the seat of the chair rather than letting it or the thumbtacks support his weight. He'd sometimes seen Chinese soldiers practice standing at attention with needles in the collars of their uniforms to poke them if they faltered in their posture, and this was the same sort of idea. It would help keep him from falling asleep in class and give his legs a workout.

Ranma silently thanked his grandfather for reminding him of the Saotome mantra the day before. If ways to improve himself weren't going to burst through the wall and confront him anymore, he would just have to take creative advantage of the mundane.

Everything is training, after all.

---

The Saotome family, minus the children, waited at Nodoka's home. The group did not want to induct their coming guest into Ranma's secret any more than necessary, but they had few other options. This was the soonest they could hold a discussion without Ranma having any chance of suspecting something.

Sachiko sipped from a cup of tea, glancing to her daughter as she did the same. "I'm not fully on board on this, Nodoka. We already agreed not to tell Soun. Why inform Happosai of any of this?"

"I understand and share your misgivings," Nodoka spoke in an effort not to dismiss her mother's feelings, "but a key reason we haven't told Soun is because he is so stressed with Kimiko's health that the full knowledge could break him at this point. Happosai, for all of his failings in terms of morality, still deserves advance warning of what is coming for him. If we can also convince him to accept a measure of responsibility for escalating the situation and to defend the children when the consequences of his actions come, all the better."

"It sounds like you're blaming me for something, Nodoka." Glancing over in surprise, they looked to see an amused Happosai already at the guest's place at the table with a sack full of his silky darlings at his side. Even Tenma, with all of his training, stared wide-eyed as Happosai began to chuckle. "A useful technique, this Umisenken, if it can even evade the master of the Saotome School of Kenjutsu. Though Ranma still would have noticed me. But that's why we're doing this without him here, isn't it? To keep him in the dark about something." Happosai's expression turned serious.

"Yes, Grandmaster Happosai..." Nodoka said, addressing the man by his rank to indicate both the seriousness of the matter and the start of formal discussion. "I should start by telling you that we have a blood relative among the Joketsuzoku tribe. She covertly sends correspondence from time to time and has recently conveyed some disturbing information." Happosai wasn't expecting this, but raised his eyebrow and bade Nodoka to continue.

"When you described the Joketsuzoku tribe and village on international television after Ranma defeated Genma, the Communists began searching for it. Their goal is to either claim their techniques for the Chinese government or eliminate the Joketsuzoku as a threat. Certain...contingencies had been prepared by the village after the Cultural Revolution to confuse and confound the Communists in case this happened, and those contingencies have been put into full wartime effect." Nodoka looked to Happosai sternly.

"Wait, you're not saying that the madness happening over there is..." Happosai trailed off in surprise.

Tenma interjected to confirm. "-the result of a number of Joketsuzoku selectively planted in barber shops and restaurants across the nation using their mind control and memory alteration techniques on military and government personnel. The goal is to sow so much chaos and bloodshed that the hunt for the Joketsuzoku village is both a lowered priority and impossible to sustain. The bickering officials, the generals foolishly sending men to their deaths in ill-fated wars of conquest against India and Pakistan, the scandals that have come to light and resulted in wide-spread executions and infighting within the Chinese Communist Party itself...it's all a reaction to Ranma using the Joketsuzoku technique and your exposing their existence in the aftermath. While we don't want to tell Ranma and have him feel guilt for the millions of lives that will be lost by the time this is all over, we still must deal with the fact that the Joketsuzoku are sending people here to deal with you. It is possible that they will try to abduct Ranma as well."

Happosai felt uncharacteristically old as the burden of the loss of life came to rest upon his shoulders. The Saotomes were right not to tell Ranma about this. It was Happosai who knowingly revealed where those techniques had come from, otherwise the Chinese government wouldn't have known to look for the Joketsuzoku even with Ranma using the techniques. The aged grandmaster was just lucky that he was being told about this assassination squad in advance. Still, something didn't seem right here. Happosai's instincts were saying that this wasn't everything that was relevant. "There's far more to this story regarding Ranma, isn't there? I've known ever since I saw his ki reflected in that mirror that something was up." The ancient martial artist dangled a bit of information in front of the group to see if it would open more doors. Sachiko did not immediately understand, but realization crossed the faces of Tenma and Nodoka.

"Mirror? You mean the one he bought from that vendor in Takato?" Sachiko inquired.

"Yes, the one revealing that he has the ki of a grown man. I asked myself at first if Ranma drowned in a Jusenkyo spring and had been replaced by an adult cursed with Ranma's form, but his use of Anything Goes during his fight with Genma couldn't be faked. That and I've never seen him transformed by hot or cold water." There were also the facts that Happosai liked the boy and also had his suspicions on just what the mirror that had bonded itself to Ranma was. This line of thought abruptly halted when Happosai noticed how the words 'grown man' and 'Jusenkyo' had made Nodoka visibly uncomfortable. "Ah...but Jusenkyo is relevant, isn't it?"

They had little choice in the matter now. If they wanted Happosai's assistance, they had to come clean. Refusing to have Nodoka bear the burden of violating Ranma's trust, Tenma made the decision as the head of the Saotome Clan to inform Happosai of the truth. "Ku Long will come eventually and reveal the truth, or at least what amount she can twist to her advantage. We might as well tell him now. Grandmaster Happosai, have you even heard of the Joketsuzoku's forbidden Wind Tunnel technique?"

The subsequent discussion lasted for several hours...

---

Kurumi pouted angrily at the fence separating Aokawa Kindergarten from Lumiere Elementary. Though Kurumi and Natsume's school day was over, Natsume was training with Ranma and the others during his recess before he had to go back inside to learn more. The teacher on duty wouldn't let the kindergartner through the gate onto the elementary school grounds to join them. For Kurumi, who had scarcely known separation from her big sister before today, this was too much to bear.

"Kurumi? Why're you just standing there like that? It's time to go home, " One of Kurumi's new classmates asked her in confusion. Kurumi took a moment to place the name of the girl with short, light-brown hair.

"Hikaru, my new brother's keeping my sister to himself and I can't go see them! The grown-ups won't let me go over there! Aaaaahhh! I want Natsume! I want okonomiyaki!" Her anger and hunger respectively reaching their boiling points, the latter in spite of having just had lunch, Kurumi started to jump and hop repeatedly in an effort to clear the fence. She was trying to jump high like she'd seen Ranma and Ukyo do before, but she simply didn't have the means yet. What she did accomplish was to draw Ranma and the group over with her actions.

"Kurumi? What's with all the noise?" Ranma asked, biting back a comment over her apparent method of training. On seeing Kurumi's angered face, he realized that this was likely a good decision.

"You took my sister! She's all 'Master' this and 'Ranma' that, and she's not playing with me!" Kurumi was angry, and Ranma pondered how to resolve the situation. Talk and risk the famous Saotome foot-in-mouth disease that his mother was trying to break him of, or think for a minute and find another way?

Ranma surprised his peers by gracefully pulling an okonomiyaki out of nowhere and spinning the pancake-like food on his finger. He strengthened it with a bit of ki to keep it from flying apart, but no more than needed. Kurumi's anger faded quickly on seeing the meal. "She and the girls're just trainin' a bit before leavin' with you. You want trainin' to jump higher and make it over here? I think I can help with that..."

Kurumi's stomach growled as she watched that okonomiyaki spin on Ranma's finger, and then she watched in horror as he threw the food in her general direction like a Frisbee. Kurumi ran and leapt to catch it, narrowly managing to do so. Even while rapidly stuffing her face with the meal, Kurumi turned to look at Ranma and shouted with childish fury. "Why'dya rishk goof food like dat?"

"Because it made you jump higher. Didn't you notice? You'll be hoppin' over that fence in no time!" Ranma grinned widely as realization crossed Kurumi's face. Ranma's father may have invented this technique to train Ranma's mobility and jumping ability, but the boy wouldn't need to starve Kurumi to make the technique work. Her normal, hungry self would let this training work just fine. This was made evident as Kurumi's expression grew determined and she prepared herself for the next round. Ranma rose to the silent challenge by pulling another okonomiyaki out of nowhere. He was getting better at observing where people were looking at on his person and fluidly pulling things from the shadows or just outside of view.

The next few minutes consisted of Ranma throwing the foodstuffs like Frisbees for Kurumi to catch and consume, making sure to push her to her best while staying within the bounds of what Kurumi could achieve. In the instance that she failed to catch the okonomiyaki and let it fall to the ground, she briefly teared up before Ranma reminded her that he was about to throw another. Sadness became determination, and the cycle resumed.

"Haha! She's catching those things like a dog!"

"Yeah, is she his pet or something?"

"Run, puppy! Run!"

The trio of boys from Ranma's class eventually jeered in amusement and started to laugh. Kurumi stumbled at the insults and missed an okonomiyaki, looking sad at her loss before glaring at the boys...just in time to see the insulting brats each take an okonomiyaki to the side of the head with three loud slaps. The foodstuffs wound up as shredded pieces littering the boys' heads and shoulders, drawing laughter from kindergartner and elementary students alike.

One of the taller boys shook off what okonomiyaki he could from his person before stomping over towards Ranma in an effort to intimidate. "E-eh? Y-you think you're funny or somethin'?" The boy copied a phrase he'd heard his brother use effectively to scare other kids, stammering in both anger and unfamiliarity as he tried to avoid crying from the reversal.

Ranma stood there without apparent concern. "Nah, I think you're funny. Actin' like you're better than Kurumi when you can't even catch one without makin' a mess." As socially inept as Ranma had been, he was still raised to trash talk as part of his Martial Art. The laughter grew louder and the bully's lip quivered before he ran off to avoid being seen crying.

"That...was mean, Ranma." Kasumi couldn't help but feel bad for the boy.

Ranma gave a shrug. "Nah, Kasumi. Thumbtacks on my chair were mean. Callin' Kurumi a dog was mean. Bullies like that need humblin' right away before they get worse or pick on somebody who can't protect themselves. Make sure you're not wrong about 'em first, but once you know they're at fault...don't put up with it." Any of Kurumi's remaining anger towards Ranma had evaporated at his defending her. Ukyo's eyes, meanwhile, widened at the mention of thumbtacks and the comprehension of what Ranma must have been distracted by in homeroom.

"And if they maintain the bullying? Will you do them harm?" Tatewaki inquired, doubtful that it would stop.

"Nah, I'll just get creative. This'll be good practice for the non-violent stuff Gramps wants me to try." Ranma recalled how attending an all-boys middle school had taught him how to deal with bullies that were too weak to fight the normal way. That was its own kind of fun.

As the school bell rang to indicate the end of recess, Ranma re-entered the school with the older students for additional classes. The rest of Ranma's group, aside from Kasumi, made their way to the Kunos' limousine that had arrived to pick them up. They and the rest of the younger students left for the day. The area was soon empty and silent, though the thoughtful eyes of a specific Martial Artist still studied the grounds that had recently been full of playing children.

Happosai, practicing more with the Umisenken, had observed the whole of recess from the rooftop of the nearby Sainokawahara Dorm with no one aware of his presence. Well, with the exception of Ranma. The boy's eyes had been drawn briefly to the rooftop in response to the ki void that the technique created. Clever child...but could he really be considered a mere child?

The old man pondered over the tale told to him by the Saotomes. The story of a boy who was taken from his family, raised to be ignorant of the world, warped and cursed by his idiot father's actions, pushed into multiple bad situations with mutually exclusive resolutions, and eventually murdered as a young man by a dishonorable fool. A young man against whom honor was continuously used as a weapon. He didn't blame Ranma for keeping quiet about it if it was true, nor did he blame his family for trying to conceal it to protect him. Nodoka was probably still being watched by the government for signs of mental instability regardless of what the courts said. Ranma could lose his family all over again if the Saotomes were careless with this story.

Still, what to do about it? Should he trust the Saotomes at their word just because of the boy's abilities and a bunch of pictures? No, such blind faith wasn't necessary. He knew how to find proof.

The Nanban Mirror that Happosai now pulled from his ki-space was an ancient treasure of Ku Long's family, stolen by Happosai along with many of the Joketsuzoku village's ancient relics when he and Ku Long were but eighteen years old. Happosai had never bothered to learn how to use most of the trinkets, but the Saotome Family had insisted that Ranma tell them everything he could about the coming Joketsuzoku threat...and now Happosai was also privy to that information. This data revealed the mirror's true nature as a magical time machine that Happosai had been letting gather dust for roughly ninety years. The mirror in the future had reportedly been shattered in one of Ranma's misadventures, but the one Happosai currently carried in 1977 was very much intact. It was the hope of the Saotomes that Happosai would keep it ready as a means of retreat for himself and the children if things went badly when the Joketsuzoku came.

Making a decision to test what he could of the story, Happosai dropped the Umisenken while taking an onion from his ki-space. He tossed the onion in the air one-handed, expertly bisected it in mid-air with a vacuum blade, and caught the two halves as they fell back down. Happosai then used the onion to force himself to shed tears. "Take me to to the world Ranma left behind, shortly before he was sent here!" A few small tears fell onto the ancient mirror that would cause so much trouble over a decade later and a flash of white light emerged from the Nanban Mirror to briefly illuminate a lone point on the Nerima skyline.

It was only natural that Happosai would help the children as the Saotome family had asked, but what he had heard went well beyond simply a need to protect the children from the Joketsuzoku. No, he would verify the truth of this outlandish claim on his own...and act accordingly if true.

---

Lumiere Elementary catered to unusual students with special skills. However, sometimes those students had obtained said skills at the cost of injury or developmental disability. One musician in Class 5-A was blind and thus could not read the standardized textbooks. Another in Class 3-B was an autistic savant who was brilliant at painting but suffered in other critical areas. The Japanese school system of the late 1970s may not have been the best at recognizing or meeting such needs, but that did not stop Principal Shiratori from doing what he could. One of the first things he had done on becoming Principal was to take the classroom closest to the infirmary and remodel it into a cluster of four small, soundproofed rooms. Though they could sometimes be used for study groups or group projects if available, these rooms were prioritized for specialized one-on-one education.

Ranma Saotome may not have been the sort of student these rooms were initially intended for, but he still had a warped education riddled with holes that required one-on-one attention simply to make sense of. That fact, combined with the priority placed on him by the Japanese government, was why he had spent most of the day after homeroom in Special Education Room 2 rather than in Classroom 1-C with his peers. He had been let out for lunch and recess but now made his return to the room that was dedicated entirely to his education.

The Headmistress of the Sainokawahara Dorm, who happened to be the room's sole occupant, stopped going through papers when Ranma entered. "Good, Ranma. You're back. We can now continue your lessons." It was fortunate to find a teacher that had no need to sleep, mainly because Ranma needed a fully customized lesson plan that could change as new gaps or distortions in his knowledge were revealed. Not that Ranma really understood the weight of this ghost's contribution at the moment.

Ranma hadn't disliked his classes as much as he thought he would. In his home time, Miss Hinako had simply talked at him in class rather than talking to him. He also didn't have the prerequisite knowledge needed to fully understand what she was talking about anyway. It was easy for him to lose interest or nod off. Here, however, he was actually engaged by the teacher in the lessons and made into an active participant. Ranma could ask for and receive clarification if he didn't understand something. In fact, the Headmistress-turned-teacher was very careful to make sure Ranma understood the material fully rather than risk letting him use some convoluted workaround. Using the Squatting over a Seat of Thumbtacks technique he'd thought up this morning also helped to keep him awake and alert while working some of his muscle groups, not that he could fall asleep without being immediately noticed.

After another period of study passed and the remaining students in the school started to clean up their classrooms and prepare to go home, Kasumi quietly entered the room. "Ranma, how are your classes going? Is anything confusing you?" The eldest Tendo took a seat next to him at a shared table, clearly not scared of the ghost at all.

Ranma smiled back. "I'm fine right now, Kasumi. It's strange, but interestin'. Didn't think they'd like shortcuts for multiplication and division, but here I was meant to be doin' it that way all along! Feels almost like cheatin' compared to how I was doin' it before." The work he had done so far was rather simple stuff that made sense, but multiplication tables were a bit strange. Rote memorization of shortcuts as a tool to do math? Weird, but he couldn't argue with the results.

"It isn't that we like or dislike 'shortcuts', Ranma," The Headmistress interjected, "Mathematics is full of processes that have been developed and improved over the millennia for the sake of efficiency and elegance. If we learn a better way of doing things, and we make absolutely sure it works without detriment and move on to that. The point is that you understand what you're doing and can do it as efficiently as possible. People stopped multiplying and dividing the way you do a very long time ago." Ranma understood that well enough. Why keep using an old way when a newer way turned out better? So long as no one forgot why it all worked in the first place.

A gentle knock on the door to the room was heard, briefly drawing the Headmistress' attention. Instead of answering right away, however, she addressed the pair of students before her and made the visitor wait. "As you may both be aware, a new class has been set up for the Martial Arts and Sports students of Class 1-C and a few students in Class 2-B. Their lessons were deemed a bit too...simple for the two of you. As such, on the first full school day of every week, your last period of the day has been changed to consist of a more advanced version of the class. During the rest of the week, your last period of the day will be homework and tutoring as previously defined. I apologize for the change, but the government was...adamant that the two of you benefit as soon as possible." Thankfully, Ranma was well aware of this particular class. His mother had told him that the Japanese government had taken notice, by observing Genma's and Happosai's examples, of what could happen if a Martial Artist of notable power lacked the social development and mental health to function in society. Letting people like Ranma or Kasumi fall through the cracks and become dangerous due to simple neglect was not something they wanted to allow.

The Headmistress then opened the door and allowed entry to the teacher of the new class. Ranma was more than a bit surprised as his mother's psychologist walked to the front of the classroom and took over from the Headmistress. This changing of the teachers and Riho writing Social and Mental Development Class with Gekkogahara-sensei on the board signaled the transition from fifth to sixth period. "Good afternoon! My name is Riho Gekkogahara, and I'm a Doctor of Psychology! That's a kind of doctor who makes sure the mind stays healthy. I am also your teacher for Social and Mental Development Class." The blue-haired woman smiled at the pair of students warmly, having grabbed their attention.

"Now, you might be wondering why a doctor is teaching a class! Well, it's because Martial Artists and Sportsmen can train the body but sometimes ignore the mind. Both have to be kept healthy for everything to work properly. Many of the tools you can use to navigate life use the mind to solve problems before they get bad enough to cause a fight! I'm here to both help keep your minds healthy and teach you about those tools. There's a time and place for your Art, but these skills are for you to use the rest of the time." The doctor paused to make sure the two students were still with her and comprehending. Seeing that she retained their attention, Riho kept speaking.

"There are a lot of complicated things in life that can lead to a fight or make you look bad. Making promises hastily, saying mean or boastful things, forgetting other people's feelings when you speak or act...we're going to provide you with the knowledge and tools that will let you recognize mistakes that might cause problems so that you will try to avoid them. We're also going to teach you various ways to try solving problems that pop up through life in hopes that fighting won't need to be your first response for most things. Lastly, and most importantly, we're going to help teach and reaffirm the values you need to grow up to be good people and make these problems less likely in the first place. You won't be able to prevent every problem that comes your way, but you can at least control yourselves so you're not the cause." Doctor Gekkogahara gave a paper with a list of definitions and examples to Ranma and Kasumi. Ranma began to read its contents.

Social and Mental Development Class

Week 1 - Definitions and Examples

Understanding – The ability to know the thoughts and viewpoint of someone else.

Example: Realizing that your classmate is thinking about a sick family member.

Empathy – The ability to know and share the feelings of someone else.

Example: Realizing that your classmate is sad and knowing how they feel based on your own past experiences.

Respect – Being mindful of other peoples' thoughts and feelings when speaking or acting. Requires Understanding and Empathy.

Example: Choosing to comfort your friend while they are sad instead of making fun of them.

Ethics – A person's own belief of what is right and wrong, including obligations owed and claimed. Requires Understanding and Empathy.

Example: Knowing from your own experience that you should cheer up a sad person.

Morals – Society's agreed-upon belief of what is right and wrong, including obligations owed and claimed. Requires Understanding.

Example: Knowing that your parents would want you to cheer up a sad person instead of teasing them.

Obligations – A thing or action owed to or claimed by someone. Can be established as a promise by someone directly, made by people in authority (family head, parents, school, government, or society) over that someone, or defined by what is right and wrong (Ethics and Morals).

Example 1: You make a promise to meet a friend at a certain place and are now expected to be there.

Example 2: Your friend is expected by his parents to be obedient and clean his room.

Example 3: You see someone who is injured and know it would be wrong to leave them by themselves.

Example 4: Your parents are expected to take care of you and raise you properly.

Honor – Being mindful of what is right and wrong, alongside any obligations, when speaking or acting. Requires Ethics and Morals, closely tied to Respect.

Example 1: You make sure to be at the right time and place to meet a friend after agreeing to do so.

Example 2: Your friend cleans his room because his parents expect it of him.

Example 3: You see someone who is injured and you call for help.

Example 4: Your parents act in your best interest, send you to school, and teach you how to live life.

The definitions of obligations and honor made Ranma tense. The concepts were both intrinsic to the being that was Ranma Saotome and a plague that he only managed to escape through death. Even now, he feared what would happen if he were ensnared by too many again. The last examples for each, however, stood out greatly.

Your parents are expected to take care of you and raise you properly.

Your parents act in your best interest, send you to school, and teach you how to live life.

He never had that in his previous life. He knew his father was dishonorable and lacked respect for anyone, but the revelation that his parents had obligations to him that they were honor-bound to abide by simply for choosing to have him had never entered his mind until his grandfather had tried to explain it during the past week. This class, as it went on, helped to better define and solidify what Tenma had been saying. The older generation did not owe as many obligations to the younger generation as the reverse, but the obligations the older generation did owe were among the most broad and important of duties because they defined what sort of people the younger generation would become. The adults in '80s Nerima treated obligation and honor as a one-way street, often neglecting their own duties and foisting everything onto their children. Compared to how his life was now, which he understood was more normal, the Martial Artist could see just how horrible and unnatural his old life actually was.

As they spoke, Riho seemed to use examples tailor-fit to Ranma's own life. One such example that she gave was; "a parent is obligated to protect their young child from permanent harm, especially from dangers that the child cannot yet understand. Laws have been made so that even a written contract isn't more important than this responsibility." That sounded suspiciously like she was referring to the seppuku contract, the obtainment of which required that Ranma be tricked by his father and abandoned by his mother. The contract also placed him in mortal peril while he was too young to understand concepts like suicide or death. His parents were supposed to protect their two-year-old son from such things, not agree to enforce them. As such, that contract had been obtained dishonorably because it defaulted on his parents' existing obligations to him. Demanding Ranma honor it would be similarly dishonorable and even illegal.

Ranma had forgiven his mother, though. She had been honestly deceived by his father into thinking the agreement was honorable, realized her mistake, and was doing everything in her power to take responsibility for it and act honorably in all other matters. This sane version of his mother kept pleasantly surprising him and made him pity the older and less stable version of her from his memory. His sociopathic father, meanwhile, was incapable of the same level of empathy and was thus unable to truly develop a sense of ethics. He could still be blamed for knowingly going against morals and the law though, and that was at the heart of why he found himself in jail now.

As the doctor continued to explore the nuances of that which had been abused to leash and ensnare him, Ranma paid extremely close attention. He had no interest in being taken advantage of again.

---

January 23, 1989

Happosai appeared in a flash of light and suddenly heard an ominous creaking sound from beneath his feet. The damaged roof gave way and he found himself falling into the top floor of the old Sainokawahara Dorms. The wrinkled man managed to evade injury and stick the landing in spite of his surprise thanks only to many years of practice honing his reflexes. He dusted himself off and took a moment to recover. It was a blessing that the Nanban Mirror had sustained no damage. Otherwise, he would be trapped here.

"R-right...need to be careful about that sort of thing next time." Putting the Nanban Mirror and onion safely back into his ki-space and using the Umisenken again, the old Martial Artist began to track the feeling of Ranma's ki and follow it via roof hopping. It wasn't long until he found a vacant lot emitting the sounds of battle and watched from a nearby rooftop. Happosai quickly noted an older Neko-ken Ranma battling it out with a giant ghost cat. This Neko-ken was clearly uncontrolled and different from the one that Ranma and Kasumi had power over. It was one mark in favor of the Saotomes' story being true. Not long after, Mousse emerged from behind a wall at the edge of the vacant lot. He planted his feet and extended an arm...

"Wind Tunnel!"

Happosai's eyes narrowed when he saw the dark vortex inside Mousse's sleeve suck in everything that wasn't tied down...including Ranma, who was in no mental condition to evade the attack thanks to the Neko-ken. Exactly as Mousse planned, no doubt. Once it was over, Mousse stumbled to a single knee and began to enjoy his victory as Happosai drew nearer.

"At last...victory..." He heard Mousse say.

"Hey...nyou weren't trying to suck me in too, were nya?" The entity that was the ghost cat spoke, suspecting the assailant. Happosai also believed that to have been Mousse's intent.

"O-of course not! We had an alliance! It's just hard to stop once it's started. Besides, there will be plenty of time to resolve our own issues. Today was about defeating Ranma...and agreeing to our silence on the matter." Mousse responded nervously.

"...Nyoookay...just makin' sure." The ghost cat accepted it too easily. Happosai suspected that the creature would fall to the assassin soon enough. The murderous pair parted ways and the aged Grandmaster stealthily followed Mousse.

They eventually arrived at the Cat Cafe, also known as the Nekohonten. Mousse, unable to contain his happiness over his ill-gotten victory, barged in and started to hug Cologne. "Xian Pu! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes-eh? How did you get so small and wrinkled?"

"Sight of Xian Pu not for Mu Tsu's broken eyes!" A purple-haired girl shouted as she smashed a colorful, spherical mace on a pole against Mousse's head. The chui didn't shatter his skull, but it did force him to let go of the Elder. Cologne didn't even have time to berate the boy with her staff.

Happosai was so stunned by the ancient and wrinkled appearance of the once-beautiful Cologne that the Umisenken shattered like glass in his distress. Seeing that time had turned the blue-haired beauty of his youth into this old mummy had brought forth sudden lament. Cologne immediately looked in his direction with suspicion when the Umisenken failed. "Happi...you were using that sealed technique?"

The ancient Martial Artist gave a somewhat troubled smirk. "What's wrong with that, Cologne-chan? My student was the one to invent it. I get to decide whether it stays sealed or not. To make a technique that makes me even better at finding my silky darlings...if it weren't for his other trespasses, I might actually give Genma a small amount of praise. It doesn't take much to evade your boy's senses, though. Not even a challenge..." Happosai's eyes shifted to Mousse and the man assumed a mildly unimpressed expression, though it also carried something else within it. Contemplation. As if pondering the fate of an irritating insect.

Cologne perceived something off about Happosai, especially when taking stock of Mousse's terrified-looking face. Just what had transpired between Mousse and Happosai? "Is there a reason you're here, Happi?" The time-worn Joketsuzoku Elder warily inquired of the ancient pervert.

"Yeah, I was wondering what happened to the Nanban Mirror. You gathered up the pieces of it, right?" Happosai asked, going by what little he knew Ranma had told his family of his escapades. Cologne looked puzzled, blinking in confusion for a moment before she took on a serious expression.

"Happi, we had to destroy the rest of the mirror. It was simply too dangerous to keep the fragments of. Even if that weren't the case, you would be a fool to think I would return it to you. Tampering with time is unwise, and that mirror was mine to begin with." Cologne spoke with the expectation that Happosai would be displeased or even petulant, but the old man's smile surprised her.

"Hnn...a shame. I guess we won't be using it to play the stock market. Well, I'll see you around! Silky darlings are out there calling my name!" Cologne sputtered as Happosai gave such a flippant excuse to abuse the mirror's power and bounded off onto the rooftops of Nerima as if he were pleased with his aspirations being confounded. She had no idea that the complete destruction of this era's mirror was exactly what Happosai had hoped to confirm. It meant that the best chance these people had of interfering with Ranma's new life was gone. He was in a good mood, so he decided not to out the assassin. Mousse had ultimately done Ranma a favor anyway. Happosai would let the situation implode in its own good time rather than speed things along.

As he traversed the rooftops towards the Tendo residence, the old gnome realized that maybe he should look into that stock market idea while he's here in the future. He already had to see someone who could help with that anyway. At least, she could if the third-hand account of her personality he had heard was accurate.

The impish man landed on the roof of the building and briefly took stock of the wrecked Tendo Dojo from his new perch. After a moment, he remembered his goal and hung over the side of the Tendo home's roof to peek into the window of what he remembered to be Nabiki's room. It was surprising to see Soun's middle daughter as a young woman and really messed with his sensibilities. Did he define her as a child, or as a woman? Shaking the thought from his mind because he expected never to see her again, the man knocked on her window.

Nabiki glanced over from her computer spreadsheet program to see the ancient pervert looking into her window. What threw her for a loop was that she saw seriousness where she expected perversion. The Ice Queen of Furinkan normally would have considered him too unruly and chaotic to interact with beyond the bare minimum, but for some reason...she heard opportunity when he knocked. With instincts overriding her better judgment, she went over and opened the window. "I hope this is good. I'm working on the bills. It's not easy with all the freeloaders in the house. Auntie Nodoka is the only one who tries to pull her weight with chores."

"Really? Maybe I can help with that a little. If you do something for me." Happosai's words piqued Nabiki's interest further. She stepped back to allow him space to enter the room. On entry, he glanced around and looked upon Nabiki's MSX2 computer and connected printer with a measure of confusion. "What...is that thing, Nabiki-chan?"

Nabiki simply accepted this question as coming from an technology-illiterate old man rather than a Happosai from the past. Nerima didn't exactly have a pulse on modern conveniences to begin with. "It's a computer. It's a few years old, but it still does wonders for the bookkeeping." Indeed, there was a spreadsheet program on the connected television screen that she was using as a monitor.

"Hnn. Maybe I should get one...anyway! I need to take a long, hard look at Ranma's accomplishments and failures to make a certain decision, so I need a timeline of his life to look through. A girl as on top of things as you should either have something like that already or can put it together in short order."

"What sort of decision?" Nabiki asked in curiosity as she fished for information. Happosai raised a wary eyebrow.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, Nabiki-chan. It's the only way to avoid another wedding incident." Happosai's words made Nabiki's eye twitch ever-so-slightly. He had been told that Ranma had been ambushed with a failed wedding to Akane shortly before this timeframe. Nabiki had ruined it by inviting all of the fiancées and rivals...for a price. The Dojo's current condition was due to the resulting battle. Happosai may not have known much more than that from the third-hand account he received, but he knew enough.

"...Akane wasn't ready for marriage. Neither of them were." Nabiki said coolly to justify her actions.

"Don't you think I know that? Ranma isn't ready for a life with any woman right now. I'm only upset with how you did it, not that you did it." Happosai's acknowledgment surprised Nabiki. "At least the profits you made from ruining the wedding should be enough to cover any debts he has with you."

Nabiki had to stop herself from speaking out in irritation. She wanted to point out Happosai's own trespasses and accuse him of hypocrisy, but that would just ruin whatever opportunity...this was.

"Jobs. Plural?" Nabiki asked so as to change the subject.

Happosai responded with a sage nod. "Yes. I also want to learn how to play the stock market. Maybe find out what the stocks used to be like over the years, see what patterns can happen, things like that. Are there magazines or books I can get from you?" Happosai's inquiry puzzled Nabiki, but she shrugged and went to her closet. The mercenary Tendo pulled out some worn, third-hand college textbooks about investment; the lessons taught by them having long since been committed to her memory. She then pulled out several stacks of Tokyo Stock Exchange Weekly back issues that she had stored away once she was done with them. Finally, she grabbed a red binder containing information and pictures of Ranma and put it on top of the pile. She had plenty of copies tucked away, so it was replaceable.

"Is that everything?" Nabiki asked. "If so, you can have all of this for just 100,000 yen. Ranma's fiancees and enemies would love to get their hands on this binder, and the rest are fine investment resources. The red book also has some nice pictures of his girl side." Nabiki put out a high number with the expectation that Happosai had come into some large amount of money if he was even thinking about investing. The presence of female Ranma pictures was expected to sweeten the deal.

Happosai took a moment to blink before he gave the girl a smirk. "Oh, Soun should have trained you. You'd have been a tricky fighter, Nabiki-chan." Happosai picked up the red binder and flipped through it, verifying what it was, then doing the same for the investment books. He was soon satisfied and closed the final tome firmly with a gesture of finality. Nabiki raised a questioning eyebrow, having expected him to react more to the female Ranma pictures in the red binder. This was more serious than she'd thought...

"I'll pay that and give you a warning, Nabiki-chan," Happosai said before pulling a 12.4 kilogram (400 ounce) gold bar out of his ki-space. The girl's eyes went wide as he handed her something worth over twenty million yen in 1989. After studying the item for several seconds, Nabiki's eyes moved back to Happosai's face in search of an explanation for the life-changing amount of money. "Things are about to change, Nabiki-chan. Consider the extra as a gift. You'll need it to weather what's coming."

"H-how?" Nabiki asked in surprise.

"This bar? A week of Umisenken practice. Don't worry, it can't be traced. Not that I'll ever speak of this matter again. Even if you bring it up, I'll just pretend that this never happened." Happosai was very confident that the bar wouldn't be tracked down...after all, it had technically been stolen in a different timeline. From a Yakuza safe house, to a Kyoto Police Headquarters evidence room, to Genma's ki-space, to a Tokyo Police Headquarters evidence room, to Happosai's ki-space, and finally to an alternate future. Yes, this gold bar and its brethren had been places.

Before Nabiki could ask about anything else, Happosai sensed something and suddenly moved like he was being chased. He hurriedly filled his green panty raid sack with the purchased reference materials and leapt out of her open window.

A confused Nabiki then heard the sounds of hurried footsteps in the hallway outside her bedroom and quickly knelt down to hide the gold bar under her bed. She had scarcely accomplished this task before the door was flung open. On the other side was...Happosai. His eyes scanned the room to see a stunned and wide-eyed Nabiki trying to make sense of the sudden arrival of a second Happosai, an open closet that had been rooted through, and the open window...all guiding him to an erroneous conclusion.

"Soun! Some pervert with a foul ki attacked Nabiki in her room and looted her underwear! Tend to her! I'll teach that upstart to poach in my territory!" Those words were the final blow to Nabiki's sense of reason, the mercenary girl fading into blissful unconsciousness as the second Happosai leapt out of her window after the first.

---

Cologne had followed Happosai to the Tendo home and was more than a bit puzzled to feel two Happosai ki signatures present. She had briefly wondered if the mimicry Martial Artist, Copycat Ken, had returned but decided this couldn't be the case. Even when taking on another's appearance and abilities, Ken could not perfectly duplicate a user's life force energy. She entered pursuit when the younger Happosai launched himself from the Tendo window...only to feel the other foul ki following. Glancing back, she did a double-take to find that Happosai was also behind her.

She was surprised enough for the second Happosai to catch up and fall in step with her. "Cologne-chan! Are you here to help chase down that pervert?"

Reality suddenly didn't make sense anymore.

Shaking off this unpleasant feeling and compartmentalizing Happosai's statement for later inquiry, Cologne admirably recovered. "...Fine. I wish to speak with both of you, anyway. Why are there two of you? Were you cursed by water from the Spring of Drowned Twins? Did you gaze upon the Cursed Mirror of the Mirror Mansion?" Cologne's words made Happosai take on an expression of confusion even as they chased the ki signature down. They really had too many options to explain away weirdness like this.

"Wait, another me? You think that evil-feeling ki is mine?" Happosai asked in irritation.

"The two of you feel the same, Happi." Cologne gave a small smirk when Happosai sputtered at her response. Even through this banter, the pair pursued their target across the Nerima skyline.

The younger Happosai didn't dare to use the Umisenken in this situation. If he could see through it in 1977 with enough exposure, his older counterpart could surely pick it up here in 1989. Dropping out of it in front of Cologne was bad enough, but at least she hadn't been paying attention while he was using it. No, Happosai had to maintain his lead for as long as possible the old-fashioned way. The merry chase went on for a while, the gap growing little by little as they left Furinkan behind due to one old man being ever-so-slightly more youthful than the others. Once he finally had enough of a lead, the younger Happosai stopped in an alleyway between two buildings and pulled the onion and mirror from his ki-space once more. His two pursuers broke off and each went to cover an end of the alley to box him in, just as he had intended. This gave him a precious few added seconds to call forth tears from his eyes.

"Take me back home to my Nerima!" As a tear fell onto the mirror, and a flash of blue-white light filled the alley, both Cologne's and the indigenous Happosai's eyes widened.

"T-this power! The Nanban Mirror!" Cologne called out in realization. When the light faded, the younger Happosai was gone and the local Happosai and Cologne were left to puzzle over what had just happened. Cologne glared at Happosai and pondered the situation. "Happi...did you ever use the Nanban Mirror to visit the future?"

"Huh? Nah, I've never done anything like that." Happosai responded. On observing Cologne's deepening suspicion, he felt a bit defensive. "Come on, Cologne-chan! I knew it was magic, but I didn't know it could travel through time until you told me! Then the mirror broke and you took away the pieces! I'm not saying I wouldn't have gone to the future, I'm saying I never had the chance!"

Cologne couldn't refute this, especially since the Happosai she knew would freely admit jumping around the timeline for fun...under normal circumstances. The other Happosai kept it a secret and acted strangely. Was something larger going on than a joyride through time? "We need to speak with Mousse and the middle Tendo. Maybe they will be able to shed some light on this matter..."

---

April 5, 1977

After finishing sixth period and cleaning the small classroom, Ranma and Kasumi left the school and went onto the streets. Rather than Ranma using the Hitensha to speed to their destination, the young Martial Arts Master and neophyte casually walked down the street to familiarize the boy with the route. Ranma was supposed to be new to town, so to simply rush to the Tendo Dojo where the families had agreed to meet today would be suspicious.

Ranma's mind was still reeling from the revelations that had been taught in SMD Class. Ultimately, it revealed to him that almost everyone in his old life had acted dishonorably toward him in some way and that they would never have stopped. He had to resist the urge to shudder on realizing that his 'death' was the only way out of the situation that preserved his honor.

The pair of children were passing near an ice cream parlor when Ranma heard some shouts and a telltale scuffle in a nearby alley, distracting him from that dark thought. "Hold up, Kasumi. I need to go check on somethin'. Go hide someplace safe, alright?" Kasumi hesitated to let Ranma go alone as he made his way toward the alley, but fate didn't give her a chance to respond.

"Happo No-Yen Coin Return!"

The scream was all the warning Ranma needed to dodge the yellow-green blast that launched several boys past him and out of the alleyway. It also let him know exactly who was fighting. A glance down the alley informed him that there were roughly a half-dozen high school boys that had collapsed from being drained of ki and as many again who had been knocked out by the blast. However, that didn't mean the fight was over.

"Gotcha, brat! You think you can mess with us, huh?" Indeed, the alleyway had two entrances. While the boys who were in front of their target were knocked out successfully, the ones that had come up behind were able to grab their pint-sized assailant by the arms and lift her off the ground. A coin was smacked out of her hand as well.

"Let me go, you delinquent!" A very young Hinako Ninomiya called out angrily, restrained by a bulky student who wore a karate uniform. She had the appearance of a child that was roughly eight years old, her too-large high school uniform clinging to her only because of elastic bands sewn into critical areas. She lashed out with weak and amateur kicks that failed to do much damage. The karate student seemed to be wearing a cup to further protect himself from her awkward efforts to slam her heel into his groin. Anyone else would see this as a little girl being terrorized by far older students, but Ranma knew there had to be more to the story. Sadly, when Hinako cried out in pain from the grip the student had on her, he realized that Hinako's own level of responsibility for this mess had become a moot point.

With a speed that none of the remaining assailants could track, Ranma rushed out and kicked the older karate club member in the face. The karateka's grip on Hinako promptly went slack. Ranma grabbed Hinako and used the boy's head as a springboard to leap back from the assembled group. By the time the teen had hit the ground, Ranma was back at the mouth of the alleyway holding his former-future teacher in a bridal carry.

"You alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?" Ranma asked the girl, who blinked away the confusion of how she got free before shaking her head in response.

"What the heck was that?"
"The brat knocked Ryuuzawa out cold!"

"He's probably hiding his real age like her! Get him!"

Setting Hinako down onto her own two feet with a sigh of reservation, Ranma used ki-strengthening on his clothes and leapt back into the fray. He had felt the strain on his school uniform when he made his initial kick and knew that the clothes wouldn't last if he didn't take better care to constrain his movements. What followed was what appeared to others as a display of profound skill and finesse. Ranma picked apart young men between nine and eleven years his senior, dodging attacks by mere centimeters before knocking each opponent out with one strike. Ranma's focus, however, was more on not destroying the clothes he wore than on his opponents. It was excellent training in his grandfather's Formal Wear Fighting Technique for minimizing wasted movement and energy.

Soon, the only ones still standing were the ones in the back of the group who hesitated to attack after seeing Ranma effortlessly dismiss their peers. Ranma yelled at them to snap them out of their gawking state. "Hey! Whose bright idea was it to pick on a little girl, anyway? Pick up your buddies and get out of here before you join 'em on the ground!" Snapping out of their gawking and picking up their fallen, the boys ran away. Hinako stuck out her tongue after them as they fled, but froze when she saw Ranma glancing at her.

"I could have handled them," Hinako said childishly while blushing at being caught so off-guard. Shaking that thought from her mind, she looked at Ranma suspiciously. "Are you a delinquent like them? You act like one." The girl prepared to reach into her pocket for a coin to use her ki draining technique if she had to.

"...Nah, I'm tryin' to be better than that. I'm a Martial Artist," Ranma said, well aware of her movements and prepared to move out of the way or disarm her if she attacked.

"Hmph. What's the difference?" Hinako asked childishly. "You both beat up people, right?"

That irritated Ranma. He wasn't always perfect, but he was better than those punks. Hinako was always quick to judge like everyone else in his life, and that hadn't changed here. "I used my strength to help somebody in trouble. They used their strength to bully people. That's a huge difference. Or are you admittin' to bein' a delinquent because of the guys you hit with your beam?"

Hinako flinched at the accusation and was about to argue back, but a gentle hand went to both of their shoulders. Kasumi had been watching from afar and chose now to step in. "Now, now. You two need a break. Let's give her a chance to relax, maybe get some ice cream, then we can clear up any misunderstandings. Okay?"

Ranma hesitated for a moment on realizing how immature he was acting. True, Hinako was probably acting ten years younger than she really was, but that wasn't an excuse for him to do the same. Hinako, meanwhile, had outright forgotten about their argument in favor of the promise of ice cream. The look in Hinako's eyes was much like that of Kurumi when promised a meal...

"Yay, ice cream! You're nice! I'm Hinako Ninomiya! Who're you?" Hinako asked happily.

Kasumi happily introduced herself and Ranma. "I'm Kasumi Tendo, and this is Ranma Saotome! We were heading home from school when Ranma heard you were in trouble and stopped to help. He does that a lot. It's how I met him!"

Hinako's eyes shifted to Ranma and scrutinized him a bit with this new information. "Ranma Saotome...Ah! I remember! You beat up your delinquent daddy and went home to your mommy because you didn't want to become like he was! I'm supposed to help tutor you when you get to fourth-year stuff!" That information cleared up a great deal. A 'student who wanted to go into education' had been one of his prospective tutors and now Ranma knew who that was. "I guess you just don't know any better yet...don't worry, I'll teach you how to behave soon! But now...ice cream!" Hinako bounced on her heels as she made her way toward the nearby ice cream parlor.

As he and Kasumi followed the girl inside, Ranma couldn't help but feel like fate still planned to mess with him after all.

"Hello, Mister Kodai!" The owner of the Sweeto Ice Cream Parlour looked over the counter at the prompting of a little girl's voice to see a group of three children. He knew the speaker as Hinako Ninomiya, the other girl as Kasumi Tendo, and the third from television rather than local interaction. Ranma Saotome's television appearances hadn't stopped with the Rhythmic Gymnastics Match and the 'Battle of Takato', the latter of which Kasumi had also appeared in. Video footage of his more subtle fight with Kozuchi Daikoku had also been leaked, along with snippets of his explaining the nature of ki to the Japanese Rhythmic Gymnastics Team and an impromptu interview with Sachiko Hinata of NHK. Suffice to say, the boy was easily recognizable across the country. "I'd like a strawberry sundae, a banana split, a chocolate parfait-" Hinako started to rattle off a far larger order than usual.

Ranma decided to interject. "Hey, we need to take care of those arms of yours first before they bruise up more. Then we can order some ice cream." Ranma's words drew the owner's attention to the forming bruises on Hinako's arms...bruises that were looking oddly like the grip of a much larger person. By the time Mister Kodai had looked toward Ranma again, the boy had pulled a towel and some ointment out of nowhere. "You got any ice I could use, Mister?"

---

They now approached the front gate of the Tendo Dojo where Ranma's mother, his grandparents, and Ukyo were waiting. Kasumi had remembered to call ahead and let their families know they'd been delayed but that everything was okay. On seeing his mother's relieved expression now, the boy kicked himself for not being the one to think of making the phone call. He was too accustomed to people not caring when he got home or being too angry about some random thing to be concerned for him.

"You got in a fight, didn't you Ranma?" Nodoka asked, kneeling down and checking on her child for injuries. Ukyo was similarly concerned but stayed quiet for the moment to let Nodoka talk.

"Eh, I couldn't really call it much of a fight, Mom. I was more worried about protectin' Hinako and not messin' up my clothes than anythin' else. Ki-strengthenin' and Gramps' advice about fightin' in suits helped a lot." It would be boastful from anyone else, but it was the simple truth in Ranma's case...and perhaps a small amount of boasting. Nodoka picked out the name 'Hinako' and carefully studied her son's expression for a confirmation of her suspicions. With a subtle nod on Ranma's part, the message was conveyed. This was the teacher from Ranma's future.

"It's true, Auntie Nodoka. A group of high schoolers grabbed Hinako-chan by the arms in an alley and made her cry. Ranma knocked some out and scared the rest into running." Kasumi said to Nodoka and Ukyo, clarifying matters.

"Oh, dear. Are you okay?" Nodoka asked Hinako. The girl nodded, though she was clearly nursing the ice packs on her arms. Nodoka saw this and her eyes took on a focused expression. The mother was now fully convinced that her son was right to intervene in this matter. "I see...my name is Nodoka Saotome. I am Ranma's mother. These are my parents and his grandparents, Tenma and Sachiko Saotome. This girl is Ranma's friend, Ukyo Kuonji. It is nice to meet you, Hinako, even if the circumstances are regrettable."

With that, the children were ushered through the Tendo Dojo's front gate. Ukyo quickly wrapped her arms around Ranma's right arm, clinging after having been separated from him for longer than she was comfortable with. Sachiko gave a relieved sigh as she and her husband followed the group.

"See, dear? He was fine." Tenma said in an effort to calm his wife.

"Hmm? I seem to remember you being the first one out here waiting for him when you heard there was trouble~" Sachiko coyly stated in response. Tenma did not dignify this with a reply, simply adjusting his glasses and following his grandson's entourage.

As Ranma and his group were guided to the Tendo home proper; the Kunos, Kimiko, and the children were seated on the open walkway in front of the koi pond. Unexpectedly, Azusa was present as well. Hinako focused on the beauty of the place and began to speak its praises. "Wow! I didn't think there was a place like this in the city! It's like I just walked back in time! Wait...is that an alligator?" Indeed, Azusa and Kodachi were both competing for Mister Green Turtle's attention as he swam around the koi pond. Thankfully, he was a bit small to be a threat to the pond's other occupants at this time.

"Crocodile," Ranma corrected. "I'm more confused as to why Azusa's here."

Ukyo looked irritated by the reminder of the girl's presence. "Azusa saw the limousine and decided she wanted to come with us to see Mister Green Tur-"

"Rosalie's name is Rosalie!" Azusa interrupted from the direction of the koi pond.

Ukyo paid her little mind and kept talking. "She hid in the trunk after the ninjas kept her out of the limo the first time. It's all the ninjas can do to keep her from grabbing Mister Green Turtle or Kasumi's kitten. Lots of kicked shins. We're stuck with her until her daddy comes to pick her up." Ranma felt a headache coming on when he heard Ukyo's account of the story.

Unaware of Ranma and Ukyo's conversation as he stepped out of the Dojo, Soun responded to the louder outburst that Hinako had made praising his home. "Haha! It is wonderful, isn't it? Welcome to the Tendo Dojo. I'm Soun Tendo, Master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I heard what happened, and I am sorry that those older kids attacked you. If you know who they are or where they go to school, I can ask the police to help with the matter."

"Anything Goes...Martial Arts?" The girl asked, tilting her head. For some reason, that made the gears turn in her mind. It seemed familiar to her for some reason. Then she saw someone else emerge from the Dojo behind Soun and her eyes widened. "Uncle Happy!" The girl launched herself forward and hugged the wrinkled dwarf, much to everyone's surprise but Ranma and his blood relatives who had been informed of the situation.

Happosai had finished reading the red binder of Ranma's life obtained during his secret trip to 1989. What he saw was a complete and utter mess analyzed through the clinical eye of Nabiki Tendo, an account that completely supported what the Saotome family had told him before. He had also covertly visited several events to verify additional details for himself. It was so strange to see things from a different perspective, to see his future self's actions in a completely different light. It had left him reeling, but the appearance of the child in front of him raised his spirits significantly. "Oh! Hinako-chan? How have you been doing? It's been what...ten years now?" The man was happy to see her, but his words made those present more than a bit confused at her apparent age.

"Master, how can that possibly be true? She looks to be no older than eight." Soun asked.

"Hey! I'm sixteen! I just need to borrow some ki to look like it!" Hinako proclaimed, making many of those present widen their eyes in horror. Had the resident ki vampire passed on his craft? Ranma, deciding it would be a better idea to talk to the 'older' Hinako who had a more solid mind, focused a measured amount of ki into an orb in his hand and held it out for Hinako to take. She stared for a moment, having never seen ki given shape in such a way.

"Oooh...pretty...thank you for the meal!" Hinako smiled and took out a five-yen coin. She held the coin up, moved it in a circle in front of her, and held the coin to the yellow orb of energy. "Happo Five-Yen Satsu!" The move, clearly carrying part of its creator's name, efficiently drained the energy Ranma provided. His strict control over his ki prevented her from draining any more than he offered. She'd need the fifty-yen version of the technique to draw more by force. The girl promptly grew taller and her formerly baggy school uniform filled out with respectable curves. A teenage Hinako Ninomiya was left behind, the childishness of the girl strongly reduced as her apparent age doubled in an instant.

"What...sorcery is this?" Tatewaki asked, his eyes wide.

"My name is Hinako Ninomiya, and I am a second-year student at St. Hebereke's School for Girls. Thank you for your help and hospitality." She gave a bow, one that caused a not-insignificant amount of bounce to her chest. Ukyo instinctively felt an unexplainable urge to keep this person away from Ranma at all costs. Happosai, who would normally respond in a perverted manner, gawked as if his brain was short-circuiting.

"She's a child...but she's...oww, my head..." Happosai struggled for a time and Ranma could tell what the issue was. Perverted as Happosai was, he was kind to children and would not cross certain lines. It took several moments for the impish man to reconcile just how to classify Hinako in his mind after watching her transform before his eyes. With a sigh, the aged deviant elected to sort her into the 'child' category and did not respond with any form of lechery. "Well...at least you're an otherwise healthy girl now, Hinako-chan."

"I thought she might be a student of Anythin' Goes somehow. She used a ki blast with part of your name in it." Ranma said to Happosai once he'd fully recovered from the mind blow.

Nodoka chose to interject. "Might we all go inside to hear this story? I could work on making some snacks if I may borrow your kitchen." There was no complaint about this. Everyone was soon seated either in the living room or on the open walkway next to it.

Happosai had a seat, thinking carefully on what he wanted to say before beginning to proceed. "The beginning...it all started in 1967, when I met a six-year-old girl in a hospital I was visiting in my travels. She was very sickly due to a weak metabolism and unable to even get out of bed. Her prognosis wasn't good. Out of the kindness of my heart and using my own knowledge of pressure points and ki absorption, I was able to adjust her metabolism so that she could absorb the ki of others to boost her own health. Since she underwent the process at such a young age and had a unique metabolism to start with, it was far more effective than it was with me. She can absorb any ki, rather than just feminine ki like me, and at a far higher rate. Oh, the training we had and the games we played with the nurses...good times..." Hinako nodded in agreement with Happosai's account, both of them viewing the past fondly through their respective biases. Though Happosai made it sound innocent enough, those who knew about Happosai's nature quickly pieced together the truth if they were not already informed. Happosai had made it so that Hinako could drain ki. Then Happosai would anger the nurses at the hospital by stealing their undergarments only for Hinako to unwittingly assist in his escape by draining the poor nurses of energy, innocently thinking it to be a game.

"It seems that the process had a side effect of causing Hinako-chan to age very slowly, perhaps one year's worth for every five she lives. She will likely have a very long life, reaching her prime around...oh...the middle of next century? Her ability to transform temporarily into her more mature form will be a massive boon to her until then. It may even continue being a boon past that time, rejuvenating her into her prime again with every use! Ah, I must admit to some envy. To become a blonde pretty boy again. I wish ki absorption worked like that for me..." This was another lie that had entered the realm of self-delusion. Happosai wasn't a blonde pretty boy when he was younger. He was a small, brown-haired imp.

Hinako was surprised at the thought. She never really considered how long she might yet live. Being a child for 25 years and a teenager for another 25 years beyond that had its downsides, but wouldn't that be followed by about a century of youth until she hit middle age? Her mind considered the possibilities.

"To think that the Founding School would have such secrets..." Soun realized, wondering if Happosai's knowledge held anything that might heal his wife. He would have to privately ask the Master later. It wouldn't do to ask in front of the children.

"But why were you fightin' those boys? It seemed like there was some history there." Ranma asked, drawing Hinako's attention.

"It's because they come to my school before classes every day to harass the girls for dates. Most of them are from the Kokuryu High School for Boys. I've spent the last year draining their ki every day. My classmates are safe and I have enough energy to stay older through the first part of my day, so it has worked out well enough." When Hinako mentioned this, Ranma was hit by a wave of deja vu. This was Akane versus the male Furinkan High School population all over again...except instead of 'pervert' becoming the latched-upon enemy, it was 'delinquent'. There was one key difference that worried him, though.

"What moves do you know besides absorbin' ki and that return ki blast?" Ranma asked, surprising Hinako slightly at how much he'd managed to ascertain from the fight.

"That's everything I've ever needed to know." Hinako's response confirmed Ranma's fears.

The young Martial Artist spoke carefully, trying to help Hinako understand the danger. "Listen. Those boys know your moves and planned around 'em. They lured you into an alley, sacrificed some guys in front of you to your drainin' move, grabbed your arms from behind, and knocked the coin out of your hand. I could tell you didn't know how to break out of the hold. They beat you, and those bruises on your arms tell me they wouldn't have given your kid form any mercy if I didn't stop 'em. Now that they know how to beat you, they'll keep plannin' stuff like that until they pull it off again. You need to either back off 'em or learn how to fight proper."

"Trying to recruit another student, Ranma?" Nodoka asked, wondering if this was a good idea. Hinako had been a source of trouble for him in his other life and taking her as a responsibility could go badly.

Happosai would normally smile when noting how readily the boy attracted girls to him without even trying, but at the moment he was watching carefully...analyzing the boy who he now knew to be far more than a mere child.

"She's already a student of Anythin' Goes. I don't know why Happosai stopped teachin' her, but...we went over obligations and honor in class today. Leavin' her alone after givin' her a little power instead of trainin' her fully caused this mess. Aren't Masters obligated to do somethin' at times like this?" The adults realized that Ranma's thinking was quite sound. Hinako was in this situation because she got a powerful pair of techniques and had received no guidance on how to use them judiciously or improve herself in other ways. As such, she had become over-reliant on those two moves and gotten herself in trouble. The master that taught her was ultimately the one responsible for allowing a student to go out into the world so ill-equipped. The adults then looked to a nervous Happosai, clearly wanting him to speak in his own defense.

Happosai was quicker of wit than Genma or Soun, however. It only took him a few moments to think up a response before he crossed his arms and attempted to appear sage-like. "I stopped because Hinako's sickly body simply couldn't handle more training back then. But now...she's far healthier and may be able to continue pursuing the Art if she desired. I could continue her training. You would benefit from it too, Ranma, even if you can't use energy in the same way she can. Maybe I should teach you how to use Battle Aura."

As Happosai pondered things, Hinako decided to speak up. "Don't decide my future for me! You still haven't explained what makes Martial Artists different from delinquents! It's just about beating up people, right?" She was somewhat blunt about it to the point of borderline rudeness. The one who chose to respond, however, would be Soun. He coughed into his fist and delivered his response like the Martial Arts Master that he was supposed to be.

"Miss Ninomiya, it is true that Martial Arts techniques can be used to harm others. However, they can also be used for good purposes like the healing ability in your own technique. Practicing Martial Arts without fighting anyone is commonly used simply for keeping one's self healthy. Martial Arts Acting employs deception to gain an advantage in combat or to entertain others. Ukyo's Art includes the ability to cook for others whether they are friends, allies moving on the battlefield, or enemies in need of poisoning. The techniques we use are tools that can be used in positive or negative ways and are not in and of themselves good or bad. The mindset and determination with which one lives and uses the Art...the discipline attained through pursuing it as a lifestyle and refining one's skills...finding something worthwhile to dedicate that effort toward...it is that which separates a true Martial Artist from a mere delinquent. For a Martial Artist to use their skills to bully others is heavily frowned upon." Soun was starting to win Hinako over as she began to realize that there was more to this than simple violence.

"Fighting, Healing, Cooking, Acting...is there anything that can't be used as a Martial Art?" The girl asked, half-jokingly.

"No," Soun said in all seriousness, to the girl's surprise. "The truth of the matter is that any skill set can be pursued in such a way provided the user is creative enough, and thus anything can be a Martial Art. The recognition of that fact and the willingness to adapt anything useful into our arsenal is the essence of Anything Goes Martial Arts." Soun's eyes were closed as he delivered the sage advice, meaning that he did not see Ranma gawking. Knowing the man Soun would be in the future, it seemed so hypocritical to Ranma that he would answer in that manner. Still, those words rang so very true...

"So if I wanted to learn business at school to beat up and take money from bad guys or something?" Nabiki asked from her seat at the table, curious as to if that counted.

Soun gave a moment of thought before responding. "That sounds similar to Martial Arts Accounting or Martial Arts Repossession. I have heard of far stranger applications of the Art." This led to discussions of the various odd Martial Arts that littered Nerima, many of which Ranma had encountered before. Soun also mentioned how he assisted the police sometimes and how most police officers trained in some basic Martial Arts so as to better protect people and stay fit, further revealing to Hinako that things were more nuanced than she had originally thought. As tales of such things were told to Hinako and the other children, Ranma's mind constantly came back to a single sentence over and over.

Anything can be a Martial Art.

Ranma Saotome, contrary to what others in his life may have thought, was brilliant. The problem was that his father had hammered into him that only Martial Arts and honor mattered in life and that all else was meaningless. School? Not important unless people were watching. Girls? A distraction unless it was an arranged marriage he approved of. Manners? Trash talking was more effective in a fight. This was a method of control that Genma had imposed on the boy to guarantee that he would become both the best Martial Artist of his generation and easily manipulated. Ranma had since become aware of this problem and knew, at least in theory, that other things in life which he had discarded because of this conditioning held value after all.

His grandfather comparing accumulated knowledge and skills in school to Martial Arts katas had been helpful, but Soun's words applied it to everything. Telling a boy who was raised to be a savant in Martial Arts that anything could be a Martial Art? That was the same as telling him that nothing in this world was out of his reach. Among those present, only Tenma and Happosai suspected the epiphany behind Ranma's now-widening smile.

As Ranma's blinders finally came off, Happosai saw the unrestrained hunger for growth in his eyes. Any doubts were washed away from the ancient Master's mind as he gave a knowing smirk.

The heir to Anything Goes Martial Arts had been chosen.