DISCLAIMER: The copyrights to Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki is owned by AIC Inc. and Pioneer LDC respectively. The copyrights to Ranma 1/2 are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Pioneer LDC respectively. This work of fiction is not created for commercial purposes and is done for fan entertainment only without profit.
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F A M I L Y R E U N I O N
PART 2: Tenchi Meets Ranma
By Michael "TheZorch" Haney
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Summer vacation was only a few days away and the last of the contractors left the Masaki home. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka walked through the newly completed addition. Two new bedrooms were added to house on the upper level, Aeka and Sasami's room was expanded as well as Tenchi's, and a whole new dinning room was added with a huge picture window giving a breath taking view of the lake and mountains.
"Now this is nice." Ryoko said.
"Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome will have their own bedrooms, the girls will bunk with Aeka and Sasami, Ranma will bunk with me, and Dad even made a bedroom for you Ryoko so I don't want to see you sleeping on that beam anymore." Said Tenchi, putting his arm around Ryoko's shoulder when they got to her room.
"Its right next to yours too." She purred.
"Ryoko, remember Ranma will be sleeping in Tenchi's room also." Aeka warned her. "What's the matter princess, jealous that I get to sleep so close to Tenchi." Ryoko said with a smirk.
"No, on the contrary, I don't want you frightening the poor boy half to death." Aeka said returning the smirk.
"Girls, what have we talked about," Tenchi scolded them, then an arm around both of their waists. "No more fighting."
"We weren't fighting Tenchi." Ryoko said. "We were exchanging creative bantering." Aeka continued. Tenchi harrumphed giving them a knowing smirk. "I know you two of you too well, you'll find a way to fight without it looking like your fighting." He said. Ryoko make a mock expression of surprise, putting a hand on her chest. "Who us?" she said feigning innocence.
"Listen, they'll be here at the end of the week so lets all get along, alright." He said letting his eyes plead to them.
"I can attempt to be civil if Miss Ryoko will." Said Aeka. Ryoko turned away from the princess and stuck her nose in the air. "And, I can like not piss her off and stuff if she doesn't act all snooty and everything." She said. Aeka turned with clenched fists about to say something about that comment but thought better of it. "Very well, I guess we have an agreement." Aeka said.
Tenchi defused the situation considerably by giving each a light kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, both of you." He said. "If this keeps up I might end of marrying both of you." The two women turned on him with expressions that were half joy and half unadulterated shock. Tenchi scratched the back of his head reflexively. "But, seriously, I really care about both of you and I don't like it when you fight." He said.
"Tenchi." Both women purred at once as they hugged him.
More than a hundred miles away in another part of Japan, actually on a completely different island, a family prepared to leave on a long trip. Akane Tendo had her suitcases out, she neatly folded the clothes she was going to take with her. An assortment of odds and ends, hairspray, a makeup case, shampoo and conditioner, and various other feminine articles were spread out over the bed. In the midst of all this sat a little black, pot bellied pig with a yellow and black bandana around its neck. The tiny creature followed Akane's every move as best it could with its limited vision.
"How's the packing going?" Nabiki asked from the open door.
"Oh, ok, say how is the climate in Ohkayama?" Akane asked as she folded one of her favorite skirts.
"Pretty much like Nerima from what I understand, why?" asked Nabiki.
"Well, since they have a lake I thought I'd take my bathing suit along." Akane answered putting more clothes in the suitcase. Neither girl noticed the wistful expression on the little animal's face, or at least as best a expression it could physically manage.
"Sounds nice, I'm bringing mine along." Nabiki leaned on the doorway. "That one you got last week, the one that nearly gave dad a heart attack and put Happosai into overdrive." Akane chuckled. Nabiki was well aware that she was gifted in the area of beauty and knew how to use it. Her latest weapon in her arsenal was that bikini, an assortment of tiny patches of fabric connected by thin cords that looked thinner than a cobweb. She tried it on for the first time and showed her sisters in the living room. Their father happened to enter the room at the same time and promptly passed out. There was one other factor Nabiki did however fail to add into the equation...Happosai. It took the combined effort of Ranma, Akane, and Genma to stop the ravenous pervert from chasing a frightened Nabiki all over the house.
"One in the same." Nabiki laughed.
"Got your eye set on that Tenchi guy, huh?" Akane said coyly.
"He's cute, but you can tell from the posture of two girls standing next to him in that photo that they have feelings for him that go beyond just family ties." Nabiki replied.
"Don't be silly, there couldn't possibly be another guy out there who is in Ranma's 'situation'." Akane reasoned.
"You never know." Waved Nabiki before heading to her room to finish her packing.
Ranma groaned, how much luggage do girls need anyway? In both hands he carried several cases all filled with outfits. Most of them were Kasumi's and Nabiki's since Akane wasn't done packing yet. The van Mr. Tendo rented for the trip was already half full with luggage, and that meant the seating was going to be close quarters. Could he survive sitting next to Akane for eight hours?
"Get a move on boy, we leave tomorrow morning!" Genma growled when he noticed his son's hesitation.
"Sorry, pop, was just thinking." Apologized Ranma.
"We got our own luggage, Tendo's, and Akane's to stow today before we're ready to leave." The balding elder Saotome grumbled.
"I thought Happy was going too, where is his stuff?" Ranma asked. He was almost afraid to ask until he heard a sound from inside the van. Genma heard it too and went to investigate. Something was moving around in the luggage, the two Saotomes readied to fight whatever it might be. A small form moved too swiftly for Ranma to react and he was slammed backwards when it hit him in the face. Before hitting the ground he caught of glimpse of a tiny, diminutive old man holding a lacy white bra in his hands.
"Wahoo!" the old pervert cried. "I never knew Kasumi wore a C cup!"
"This is going to be one long vacation." Ranma muttered with a mouth full of dirt.
Ryoko flew up to the living room ceiling, her former sleeping area, and tried off the string holding a large banner. On it written in elegant Kanji characters by Tenchi's own hand was the message "Welcome Home!" Washu was busy in another part of the room inspecting a set of string lights. It was Sasami's idea to introduce the new family members to their Juraian heritage by way of a Summer Startica celebration. Ryoko had to admit, sometimes Sasami's ideas were pretty neat. She always loved it around Startica time and Christmas. Christmas was very special for her, because it was the day Tenchi admitted he did have feelings for her and Aeka too that were a bit more than just friendship. It wasn't the start of the kind of relationship would have preferred, but in the light of what they faced that year just having him alive was more than enough for her for now.
"That's good right there, Ryoko." Tenchi said when he was sure the banner was level.
In a corner of the living room Aeka and Mihoshi were setting up the Christmas tree, or Startica tree actually. The First Princess of Jurai smiled contently as she wove a long strand of silver tinsel around the tree. She winced at the sound of something made of thin glass breaking. "Opps." She heard Mihoshi say. Aeka could only sigh, that was the third glass ornament the girl broke in the last ten minutes.
"Please be more careful, Mihoshi, those ornaments came all the way from Jurai for this occasion." Aeka told her.
"I'm sorry." The blonde GP detective said. "Well, we do have five more boxes, my mother wanted to be sure we had enough." Aeka went on. Enough to cover over four dozen trees the size of Fonaho-oh actually. Mother is completely hopeless, thought Aeka. Fonaho and Misaki were both overjoyed at learning they had another great grandson, but when she learned who they weren't told about him one their visit Fonaho had a few choice words for Yosho. The former First Prince of Jurai was fearless in the face of the most notorious and vile villains in the universe, but when faced with an angry mother he turned to Jell-O within seconds.
Sasami came skipping out of the kitchen with Ryo-Ohki behind her in child form. The young princess was holding a long wooden spoon. "Tenchi, try this." She piped. Tenchi gave what she had a taste and his eyebrows went up. "That's really good, but everything you make is good." he said. "What is it?" he went on to ask. "It's a sauce for something that's pretty popular in the America I've been wanting to try." She told him. "The Americans call it Chili, but I don't see why because it's not cold." She shrugged her little shoulders.
"It's called Tex-Mex, a hybrid recipe adapted by the Americans from Mexico." Tenchi explained. "We studied about it in World History class."
"I hope you like spicy food though, the recipe calls for paprika, chili powder, and other spices." Said Sasami.
"I've had something like it before, and if you think that is going to be hot you should try Taiwanese food." Tenchi smiled.
"Actually, Andorian Chili is the hottest." Said Ryoko. "They have this little blue pepper that grows on their planet and it's the hottest thing you have ever tasted, it's so hot you only need to use a tiny sliver of it to heat up a gallon of chili." Tenchi and Sasami both looked at her in surprise.
"It's called a Blue Demon Pepper, and its juices are so hot they can cause third degree burns to unprotected flesh if its not properly prepared." Washu added her own informative twist on the conversation.
"How the heck do they eat it?" Tenchi asked grimacing.
"Andorians stand about fifteen to twenty feet tall and have two inch thick skin as well as a stomach lining that would make battleship armor jealous." Washu laughed.
"I'm also making teriyaki chicken, honey roasted turkey, I made the honey coating, and few pies." Smiled Sasami. "Where do you find the time?" Tenchi asked. "I got started early this morning, I'll be done before dinner tonight." She told him as she skipped back to the kitchen.
"Whenever I see how much that girl does in one day it really makes me feel my age." Washu commented with a smile.
"She does do a lot, if only we had enough left over from the money dad used to build the addition we could have had all the food catered this year so she could have a break." Tenchi said.
Aeka smiled and laughed, "They'd never get anything done, she would be going behind their backs making sure everything passed her inspection first before anything would be served."
"Sasami take a break, remember that day she got a really bad cold and she had to stay in bed the whole day." Ryoko chuckled. "It drove her crazy that she couldn't get up to do housework or cook dinner, she was miserable."
"My mom is like that, she's happiest when she's cleaning." Mihoshi piped in. "Speaking of your mom, how are Seina and the girls doing, have you heard from them?" asked Tenchi.
"Last I heard Amane was six months pregnant." Mihoshi replied.
"So, she finally got him in bed," Washu giggled. "Its gotta be tough when your married to a guy who has eight other wives who all want to have his attention at the same time." The girls all looked at Tenchi at that moment and the young first prince just smiled and blushed furiously. Tenchi was well aware that Seina's fate was likely going to be his own someday.
"Tenchi," Katsuhito called from the patio door. "I'm excusing you from today's practice, there is just too much to do before tomorrow." Noboyuki popped his head in from behind. "We're going into town to pick up a few things, so don't go off and do anything I wouldn't do Tenchi." He grinned widely.
Tenchi blushed even more furiously. "Uh, yeah, sure dad." He replied.
When the pair were gone Ryoko spoke up saying, "Too bad Tenchi couldn't be a little more like his father." Aeka gave her a suddenly horrified expression. "Miss Ryoko, how could you suggest such a thing?" she asked in shock. Ryoko laughed before saying, "Easy, one cute but ettchi guy, four horny women, you do the math, Princess." Tenchi's eye went wide a trickle of blood ran out of his nose. Aeka looked like she was ready to pass out, but there was also a certain gleam in her eye at the same time. Mihoshi just looked at everyone wide eyed, and Washu had a somewhat disconcerting smirk on her face.
Tenchi sighed. "Is that how all of your feel about me, I mean I'm nothing really special so what have I done to make all of you feel like this." He said as a statement rather than a question.
"Lets see, you freed Ryoko from seven hundred years of imprisonment by your grandfather, took her into your home even after she attacked you at the high school, you took Aeka and Sasami into your home even after everything that happened to you on her ship, you fought and killed that jerk Kagato to save us, and you even did your best to try and save Ryoko from old Octopus Head." Washu pointed out.
"But-" he tried to counter but Ryoko teleported next to him and put a finger to his lips. "But most of all, you care about us, you make self-sacrifices to make us happy, and its because of that we love you." She told him.
"You're a rare find among men in the universe," Washu added. "Most others are chauvinistic and bossy, but you're kind, gentle, and caring." "But you can be forceful when you need to be without being overbearing." Aeka said adding her own viewpoint. "You're the first guy I ever met who hasn't tried to get into my pants one way or another." Said Mihoshi.
"I don't know what to say, I knew all of you had a crush on me and stuff, but I never realized it ran that deeply." Tenchi admitted. Tenchi remembered the faithful day he realized the girls had strong feelings for him. Lady Tokimi had him down, the girls were prepared to throw themselves at her knowing full well it would probably have been suicide, but it would have distracted her long enough for him to get free and strike a lethal blow with the Light Hawk Sword. Tenchi couldn't let that happen and he tapped into his vast powers, overcame Tokimi's force and struck her down forever. Somehow in the back of his mind he knew all along this was how they all really felt about him.
"I'll tell you what, after my relatives get here and we finish with all of the pleasantries we can all go somewhere private and discuss this, ok?" He suggested to them. The girls all had hopeful expressions on their faces as they nodded in agreement.
Unseen, Sasami looked out of the kitchen doorway into the living room. She had heard the entire exchange. She smiled happily. The translucent image of Tsunami, visible only to Sasami and Ryo-Ohki, kneeled down beside her and smiled happily. "It is about time, Tenchi." Tsunami whispered, Sasami nodded and Ryo-Ohki meowed in agreement.
Ranma wasn't very comfortable. The van was so packed with luggage that there wasn't enough room for everybody in the back seat, with him in it. There was a workaround though, but Ranma wasn't very happy with the idea. The wind from the open window whipped Ranma's pigtail around as 'she' looked out at the passing landscape. With him in girl-form there was enough room for Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane to sit in the back behind the front seats.
"Where is this place at, out in the boonies?" asked Ranma.
"This area is pretty rural, a lot of farmland out this way." Akane said.
"We must have passed at least a dozen rice patties in the past ten minutes." Nabiki commented.
"I think it beautiful country." Smiled Kasumi.
"Hey, driver, are we there yet!?" Ranma shouted up front.
Genma turned around in his seat. "Another fifteen more minutes." He said.
"Remember your promise, Akane." Ranma grumbled folding her arms.
Akane reached under her seat and pulled out a thermos. "Got the hot water right here, I'll give you a splash right before we arrive." She reassured him, or was it her.
"We don't want to freak out our new relatives too soon, so no cold water for a while, ok Ranma." Genma said.
"I hear ya, pop." Ranma groaned.
"Yeah, we don't want Tenchi to think his cousin is a weirdo or anything." Akane giggled girlishly. Nabiki laughed along with her. "He'd probably figure that out on his own, anyway." Akane went on, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Hey!" exclaimed Ranma.
"Saotome, have you seen our Master?" Soun asked from the driver's seat.
"Right here!" the little lecher cheered popping out from under the back seat, affording him a clear view under Akane's skirt. She caught onto his expression instantly and with disgusted slammed him in the head with her foot.
"Don't you dare look under my skirt you little pervert!" she cried.
"Beside, there isn't much to look at." Ranma said coyly, then had the air knocked out of her by Akane's elbow to the stomach.
The van finished its circuit up an unpaved dirt road that wound its way through the trees. Ranma noticed a large field to one side. Curiously it appeared to be made up of all carrots. Eventually they reached their destination, the familiar house from the photograph. Boy-type Ranma climbed out of the van after Akane and her sisters. A group of people poured from the house to meet them. The tall gray haired priest, Katsuhito Masaki, approached Genma Saotome. A silence fell over the place as the two faced one another for the first time in nearly twenty years. The tense moment lasted for what seemed almost an eternity until Katsuhito bowed politely.
"Welcome to our home, son in law." Said Katsuhito. The emotion on Genma's face was very evident. The two men exchanged an embrace, the kind of hug men give one another as a sign of kinship. With the tension gone both families converged on one another and exchanged hugs and greetings.
"Tenchi, I want you to meet your cousin, Ranma." Genma introduced his son to Tenchi.
"Hi, I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you." Tenchi said in greeting, extending his hand.
"Your grandfather's letters said a lot about you, too." Replied Ranma, accepting the handshake.
"Nothing bad I hope." Tenchi joked.
"Nah, only that you really need to learn to focus better." Ranma laughed, scratching the back of his head. Aeka and Ryoko caught onto the movement and both went, "Hmmm." "That's grandpa alright." Tenchi replied trying to hide his grimace.
"Hello, my name is Aeka, you must be Akane, Ranma's intended." Aeka smiled at the young girl. "Hi, nice to meet you, are you one of Tenchi cousins?" asked Akane. Aeka giggled a little girlishly. "Oh, no, I am his betrothed." She said with a happy smile.
In a sudden flash one of the most beautiful women Akane had ever seen, the girl with the cyan hair, was up in Aeka's face. "Since when are you his betrothed!" she screamed. "Tenchi's was mine before you even showed up!"
Nabiki held out her hand towards Akane. "Pay up, I win the bet." She smiled. Akane sighed and slapped a thousand yen into her hand. So, Ranma isn't the only guy to be cursed with having multiple girls chasing after him. Must run in the family, she thought.
"Oh, please stop fighting." Pleaded a very pretty young blonde with dark tanned skin.
Ranma and Tenchi both watched the exchange and sweatdropped at the same time. "Yep, we're related alright." Ranma sighed.
The new dining room was just large enough for everyone to sit at the new table. Kasumi volunteered to help Sasami bring out some snacks for everyone, two platters of fresh baked cupcakes and pitcher of iced tea. Noboyuki brought out a large bottle of saki and passed out glasses to Tendo and Saotome and Katsuhito. Aeka poured herself a large glass of saki and downed it in one gulp.
"Take it easy there, Aeka." Noboyuki laughed.
"After what happened outside, I needed that." She replied.
"These are really good, almost as good a yours Kasumi." Ranma cheered after trying to cupcake.
"I made them fresh this morning." Smiled Sasami.
"You should see the feast she prepared for dinner tonight, and you all though I was a good cook." Kasumi laughed.
Akane looked around the room and thought it strange that they should have a fully lighted and decorated Christmas tree up in the summer time. "Ah, Mr. Masaki, may I ask, why do you have a Christmas tree out?" she asked the elder Masaki.
"It not a Christmas tree, it's a Summer Startica tree." Sasami piped in.
"Startica, what's that?" asked a confused Ranma.
Katsuhito cleared his throat and everyone looked his way. "Today is a special occasion, I made a terrible mistake many years ago and the price I paid was to never see my darling eldest daughter ever again." He said. "Now, we have come full circle and are back together again, but the circle is not yet complete." The old priest stood up and walked towards the patio door. "Ranma, Tenchi come with me." He told them.
Katsuhito lead the pair through the woods until they reached a small clearly at the edge of the lake. The old priest motioned towards a tree, a massive one at that, standing in a pool of crystal clear water. The old man stopped just at the edge of the pool and turned towards them.
"We brought you out here Ranma because there is a secret about your true heritage you much learn." The old priest explained. "Tenchi, did you bring what I asked?" he went on to ask.
"Yeah," Tenchi replied and pulled something out of his shirt. Ranma looked at it curiously, it was a wooden sword hilt that didn't have a blade. On one end there were three curious red stones that almost seemed to be 'glowing'.
"What is that?" Ranma asked.
"It is the Tenchi-Ken, the Master Key, a symbol of your true heritage." Katsuhito explained. "Reach out and take it into your hand."
Tenchi held out the end with the three gems towards Ranma. Hesitant at first Ranma reach out with his hand, then snatched it back as the hilt suddenly began to spew forth sparks. "Have no fear in your heart, reach out and take the Master Key into your hand!" the old priest said in a commanding tone.
Ranma reached out again and the sparks flew again. He clenched his eyes and steeled himself for the expected pain as his hand wrapped around the hilt. Nothing. Ranma opened his eyes, Tenchi released his end of the hilt, so now he was the only one holding it. Tenchi looked at his grandfather expectantly. "So, its true." The young man said.
"Yes, Tenchi, there are now 'two' Crown Princes of Jurai." Katsuhito announced.
"I, I don't understand any of this." A confused Ranma scratched his head.
The old priest stepped out onto stepping stones that linked the edge of the pool with the tree and waved for Ranma to follow. "Come, and all will finally be fully revealed to you." He said. Ranma, followed by Tenchi, walked across the stones to where the old priest stood.
"Focus your thoughts, will the secrets of your heritage to be revealed and tap the Master Key to the tree three times." Katsuhito commanded. Ranma did as he was told, focused his thoughts on the task at hand and tapped the metal barbed end of the sword hilt against the tree three times. The hilt sparked once, then a cascade of light came down like a shower out of the tree branches. Ranma looked up, the light beams were coming out of the very 'leaves'!
"What's going on!" Ranma shouted as his vision was blinded by a white light. When he could see again Ranma was no longer beside the tree but standing on a hill surrounded by vast a plains of swaying grass. In the far distance he could see a beautiful tree, but its size was monstrous compared to the buildings underneath it. He looked up into the blue sky and gasped at what he saw. In the sky above was the edge of what looked like a ring system like what Saturn has, and in the distance beyond the faint outline of two moons.
"Oh my god." Was all he could manage.
"Beautiful isn't it." Came the voice of the old man from one side. Ranma glanced his way quickly, the old man was walked up the hill towards him with Tenchi not far behind.
"Where, where are we?" Ranma asked after finding his voice.
"We are still where we were when you tapped the Master Key against the tree, this place is being projected into your mind by the tree, Fonaho-Oh." The old priest explained.
"This place, it isn't Earth, is it?" said Ranma as a statement rather than a question.
"No it is not," replied Katsuhito. "What you see is the place of your heritage, Jurai."
"What are you?" Ranma asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"I am the former First Prince of Jurai, a member of the royal family, my rank has passed on to Tenchi." Katsuhito explained. "And you too are a member of the Royal Family of Planet Jurai."
"You mean, my mother was, was, an alien!" Ranma shouted with a shocked expression.
"Actually only part alien, since I am half human and my mother is an Earthling," Katsuhito told him calmly. "Neither of my two daughters knew the truth of their Juraian heritage."
Ranma plopped down onto the ground in a lotus position and looked out over the plain towards the massive tree. "That is the Royal Palace, the seat of power for the most powerful empire in the known universe." The old priest explained.
Tenchi sat down beside him. "I know how you feel," he said. "I was pretty shocked when I learned the truth too."
"If we're like Royalty of some alien empire, why are you living on Earth?" Ranma asked. "That is a legitimate question requiring a legitimate answer." Katsuhito smiled.
Tenchi had the Master Key in hand as his grandfather lead the way from the tree Fonaho-Oh along a trail that lead part way up the mountainside. They soon arrived at the rocky entrance of a large cave. Ranma looked into the darkness and could make out the silhouette of a bared door standing ajar just inside the cave entrance.
"Seven hundred years ago, a powerful criminal name Kagato sent his minion to Jurai to steal something that would give him insights into the power possessed by the Royal Family of Jurai." Katsuhito said, recounting the story. "His minion caused terrible death and destruction across Jurai until I forced her to flee, and chased her here to this place. We fought down there, where the lake is now today, and after I defeated her I locked her up in this cave. Kagato's minion was being controlled, she wasn't allowed individual will, so when I defeated her his control over her ceased. I had to hide her to protect her from becoming his slave again. That woman was Ryoko, the cyan haired woman you met today."
"Both our spaceships, my Fonaho-Oh, and her Ryo-Ohki were destroyed, so I had no way of returning to Jurai." Katsuhito went on. "I worked my way into the trust of a shrine keeper who lived near here and I married his daughter. With the dowry he gave us I built the Masaki shrine here so I could keep watch over Ryoko's cave. In my lifetime I've seen emperors rise and fall, I witnessed the savagery and senselessness of countless wars, and all the while I kept her secret and safe. In the early half of the 1960's I married Isuki, your grandmother, and we had two daughters. Our eldest was your mother Ranma, and my youngest was Tenchi's mother. Not a soul since my arrival here on Earth knew of my secret origins."
"Then, about three years ago Tenchi freed Ryoko from her cave and she came to live with us." Katsuhito sat down on a rock to continue the story, Ranma was hanging on every word wanting to know everything. "Soon after Aeka and Sasami, both my half-sisters since we have the same father but different mothers, and they were looking for me. You see, Aeka and I were betrothed, but there was a terrible prejudice against myself and my mother for our non-Juraian heritage. I did not reveal my true identity to Aeka until Kagato finally arrived to reclaim Ryoko. This was also the same time that Tenchi learned of his true heritage."
"There is just so much to take in, it's like some surreal dream." Said Ranma.
"You get used to it." Tenchi reassured him and patted his cousin's shoulder.
"What happened next?" Ranma asked, curious to hear the rest of the tale.
"I fought Kagato but he managed to escape with Ryoko, so Tenchi and the other others went after him." The old man continued.
"You haven't met Ryo-Ohki yet, but she is Ryoko's spaceship, a living space ship." Tenchi continued the tale. "She carried a portion of Aeka's starship which crashed to Earth and contained her tree Ryuohl. We attacked Kagato's spaceship and Aeka instructed me in how to used a defensive feature of her ship called the Light Hawk Wings, but they can also be used to attack. The process of attacking with the wings leaves you defenseless for a while afterwards, and it was just long enough for Kagato to blow up the portion of the ship I was in."
"How did you get out alive?" Ranma asked, the initial shock of all of this was starting to wear off but more questions were lingering.
"I'm not sure how I did." Tenchi sighed. "I remember waking up inside another spaceship called the Tsunami, a ship owned by Sasami, and the tree appeared to me in human form and told me that the others were fighting Kagato inside his ship. Tsunami helped me get onto his ship, and when I got there I confronted him."
"You defeated him I assume then." Stated Ranma.
"Tsunami told me to trust in my own power, and when things looked darkest the most amazing thing happened." Tenchi explained. "I was able to generate and use Light Hawk Wings, actually generate then from within my body, and I used them to kill Kagato."
Ranma leaned forward holding his head in his hands. "I was expecting to get a lecture about family history, but I never imagined it would sound like the plot from 'Star Wars'." Moaned Ranma.
"We're sorry we had to spring this on you like this, but it was the only way we could figure out how to tell you and have you believe us." Tenchi apologized.
"I need some time to sort this all out." Ranma told them.
"You will have all the time you need, since you'll be staying most of the summer." Katsuhito said.
"How am I going to explain this to Dad, to Akane." Ranma groaned. Tenchi patted him on the back. "Oh, don't worry, that part is being taken care of already." He smiled.
Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi were slapping their thighs in laughter at the antics of a little furred creature. Kasumi had spotted Ryo-Ohki first and thought her absolutely adorable. Ryo-Ohki was now in her adolescent form doing the little 'Meow Meow' dance she performed for the King of Jurai. Tendo and Saotome both had several empty saki bottles in front of them. It had been one hell of a day for them, but the girls were taking everything in stride and were actually enjoying themselves.
"I'm amazed at how well you're taking all of this." Aeka said to Akane.
"Well, Princess Aeka, I always suspected Ranma was a little spacey." Akane giggled. Tendo and Saotome both groaned at the pun and took a long drag from their eighth bottle of saki.
It all started shortly after Katsuhito left with Tenchi and Ranma. Akane was enjoying one of the pastries Sasami baked while her father and Saotome talked with Noboyuki. She suddenly felt something furry pass between her legs and she jumped.
"AH! Something brushed past my leg!" she cried.
"A mouse!" Nabiki screamed seeing a flash of movement under the table.
Kasumi looked under the table then smiled. "Oh, it's a cute rabbit, you two should be ashamed of yourselves." She scolded them and reached down. What she came up with didn't look like any rabbit any of them had ever seen. In fact, it looked like some kind of hybrid between a rabbit and a cat.
"That's Ryo-Ohki, she's like a member of the family." Smiled Sasami.
"Ryo-Ohki, oh, she's adorable!" Kasumi gushed hugging the little creature.
"Miya!" the cabbit cheered happily.
"WAH! Did that rabbit just meow!" Akane said wide eyed.
"Ryo-Ohki isn't a rabbit, she's a Cabbit." Sasami corrected her.
"What, what is a Cabbit?" Nabiki asked.
Aeka and Ryoko both let out an "Uh oh!" as the room suddenly fell dark. A single bright spotlight suddenly appeared silhouetting Washu in her Galactic Academy robes. "That is a good question, Miss. Tendo." She said. A video screen descended out of the invisible ceiling and a picture of Ryo-Ohki appeared. "This is a Cabbit." Washu pointed to the picture with her pointer.
"A Cabbit is a hybrid inorganic life form created by melding the best attributes of a Masu with a species of mineral life from the planet Theta." Washu explained as representations of the other two creatures appeared on the video display. She snapped her fingers and the room returned to normal. Everyone, save for Aeka and Ryoko, looked at her with dumbfounded expressions.
"Washu, you baka we weren't supposed to tell them that way!" Ryoko shouted at her.
"That is no way to talk to your mother, Little Ryoko." Washu replied calmly.
"Mother my butt, and stop calling me Little Ryoko!" Ryoko screamed without noticing that in her anger she was now hovering off the ground.
Tendo and Saotome both looked like they were about to pass out but came to when Noboyuki handed each a bottle of saki. "The initial shock will wear off in a day or so, but you get used to the rest." He said calmly.
"Please don't be afraid, we were going to tell you eventually since you are family, but not quite like this." Aeka explained to the three girls who all looked terrified.
"Who are you, really?" Akane asked with a shaken voice.
"I am Princess Aeka of planet Jurai, my half-brother is the elderly man you know as Katsuhito, and thus Ranma and Tenchi are both Crown Princes of Jurai Royal Family." Aeka explained.
Nabiki came out of her fear almost immediately. "Did you say Ranma is a prince, a real prince as in rolling in riches, living in the lap of royal luxury?" she asked excitedly.
Aeka nodded smiling. "Akane, you know you and Ranma don't really get along that well, so why don't I take over the duties of fiancé for you." Nabiki said to her sister smiling and fluttering her eyelashes.
"NABIKI!" Akane shouted in wide eyed shock.
"So this means you're all aliens?" Kasumi asked.
"Most of us are, but in the case of Ranma and Tenchi they are only part alien, and their grandfather is half-human." Washu explained.
"I need another drink." Saotome said, a fresh bottle handed to him. He immediately took a long swigged off of it.
"But, I don't get it, if you're all royalty why live here?" Akane asked.
"That is one long story, sister." Ryoko slurred then took a deep chug off the big saki bottle.
"I think I'm going to need one of those too." Sighed Akane.
Katsuhito sat with his two grandsons on the steps of the Masaki shrine sipping tea. The view from here was breath taking with the sun setting behind the mountain and casting crimson light over the lake far below. Along the way to the shrine Katsuhito explained that every member of the Jurai Royal Family possessed what was called the Power of Jurai, but Tenchi's was unique among the royals. Ranma began to wonder how much of his own abilities were manifestations of his inherited powers.
"Using and controlling the power of Jurai is a great responsibility, thus I would like you to train with me and Tenchi so you may learn how to control your abilities and harness them better." Katsuhito suggested.
"Sure, I would be honored, grandfather." Ranma smiled.
"Have you ever fought with a sword?" Tenchi asked.
"Only a few times, I'm not that great with it." Ranma admitted.
"Grandpa is the best swordsman around, on all of the Earth actually." Tenchi smiled.
Ranma laughed, "I know someone who would walk a thousand miles to challenge that claim if he ever heard what you just said." Tenchi laughed with him, "We have enough trouble with the aliens wanting to do that without attracting such problems down here."
The three were returning to the house now and just reached the bottom of the stairs. Tenchi had suspected there would have been chaos at the house by now, but the laughter of the girls that drifted on the wind to his ears could only be a good sign that things went well. Ranma took a detour and headed for the lake. He gasped in surprise and looked up into the air at an incredible sight. A huge piece of the Earth with a translucent bubble surrounding it hovered motionless above the lake. Streams of water jetted out of the bottom of the object into the lake.
"What is that?" Ranma asked in awe.
"That's the onsen, or bath house so to speak." Smiled Tenchi.
"That is an onsen, its huge." Ranma gasped.
Tenchi laughed, "Wait until you decide to take a bath, it is even more impressive from the inside."
Tenchi and Katsuhito started for the house expecting Ranma to follow, but they stopped when they noticed Ranma hadn't moved. The young man looked out over the lake then turned to them. A resolute look covered his face. "Tenchi, grandfather, you revealed an important secret to me today, so now it is my turn to reveal one to you." He said. The two walked back to where Ranma was standing, then with immense curiosity they watched as the young man walked out into the water of the lake. He stopped a short distance out, turned around, grabbed his nose and ducked under the surface. When Ranma came back up she tried not to laugh at the curiously hilarious expressions on their faces.
Ranma walked out of the water wringing her clothes out, then tied up her tunic like a halter top. With that done she turned around to make sure the two men of the Masaki family got a very good look. Katsuhito recovered from the initial shock fairly quickly and now had a bemused smiled on his lips. Tenchi was still wide eyed a bit, but his expression hides the fury of the emotional storm within him. It took nearly every ounce of his concentration to keep from nose bleeding. Ranma had somehow gone from being a handsome, dark hair young teenage boy to a curvaceous, very well endowed young red headed 'teenage girl'.
"This is very interesting." The old priest said pushing back his spectacles.
"H-h-how?" Tenchi stuttered.
"Have you ever heard of a place in China called Josenkyo?" asked Ranma.
Katsuhito let out a low, "Hmmm". "That would indeed explain this." He said in a matter of fact like manner. "What is it, grandpa?" Tenchi asked, his curiosity peeked. "When you've lived as long as I have you hear about a great many myths and legends, and the legend of the cursed springs of Josenkyo are just one of them." Katsuhito replied. Ranma laughed, it came out more like a girlish giggle, "Well, its more than just a myth, I'm living proof of that."
"How do you, well, uh, change back to normal?" asked Tenchi, he was now trying to avoid direct eye contact with his now very beautiful 'female' cousin.
"Getting splashed with cold water changes me but hot water changes me back." Ranma explained. "How long have you been like this?" asked Tenchi. Ranma pursed her lips and looked into the air as if thinking. "Oh, about four or five years if I can remember." She said. Tenchi turned to 'her' in shock saying, "Four or five years, how have you been able to live with this?"
"Well, it was pretty bothersome in the beginning," Ranma explained. "But over time I got used to it, and in truth it's actually helped me out at different times." Katsuhito nods his head and adds, "Yes, things like this many times occur for a reason or purpose, perhaps it was meant for this to happen to you grandson, or should I say 'granddaughter'." The old man gave her an amused smirk when he said 'granddaughter', and Ranma just looked at him acidly then laughed in spite of herself.
"I suppose we deserved this after giving you such a shock today." The old man went on to say. The three of them shared a good laugh together as they walked towards the house.
The three found the atmosphere inside the Masaki home to be happy and gleeful. The three Tendo sisters were laughing and giggling as Ryo-Ohki did her little dance, transformed into a large floating crystal, and then back into her small Cabbit form.
"She's so adorable!" Kasumi cried.
"Say, what's going on?" Ranma asked.
"Everyone in the room turned at the sound of the female voice. The Tendo girls were familiar with Ranma's problem but Aeka and Ryoko were still clueless, and when they saw a very beautiful red headed girl standing too close to Tenchi they reacted in a manner Tenchi himself hoped they would not.
"Tenchi, who is this girl?" Aeka demanded.
"Yeah, who are you, and what are you doing with my Tenchi?" Ryoko growled.
"Uh, girls, this is Ranma." Tenchi explained pointing at the girl.
"Impossible!" gasped Aeka.
"Sasami, would you please go to the kitchen and get us some hot water." Tenchi said to the little girl. "Sure, Tenchi." The child smiled and skipped away.
"I can see you have all had a good time since we left." Katsuhito said looking at the huge collection of saki bottles on the table. Sasami returned with a steaming water kettle. Ranma leaned down towards her, Sasami remarked to herself that the girl really was very pretty. "Ok, pour it on me." The girl told her.
"Pour the hot water, on you?" asked Sasami curiously.
"Go ahead." Tenchi told her. Sasami lifted the kettle and poured the water on the girl. Instantly her hair changed from red to black, her feminine features vanished, and the young 'man' who was Ranma now stood in her place.
"Oh my goodness!" gasped Mihoshi.
"How could this be?" Aeka gasped.
"It's a long story." Ranma, now a guy, said.
Ryoko flashed him a humorously crooked smile and said, "Oh I've got to hear this one."
__________
CONTINUED IN PART 3...
FAMILY REUNION - PART 3: Uninvited Guests
Ranma recovers from the initial shock of learning his true heritage, he has even begun to come to grips with his feelings towards Akane, but two uninvited guests don't like the situation at all. If fact, they intend to get rid of him, for good.
__________
F A M I L Y R E U N I O N
PART 2: Tenchi Meets Ranma
By Michael "TheZorch" Haney
__________
Summer vacation was only a few days away and the last of the contractors left the Masaki home. Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka walked through the newly completed addition. Two new bedrooms were added to house on the upper level, Aeka and Sasami's room was expanded as well as Tenchi's, and a whole new dinning room was added with a huge picture window giving a breath taking view of the lake and mountains.
"Now this is nice." Ryoko said.
"Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome will have their own bedrooms, the girls will bunk with Aeka and Sasami, Ranma will bunk with me, and Dad even made a bedroom for you Ryoko so I don't want to see you sleeping on that beam anymore." Said Tenchi, putting his arm around Ryoko's shoulder when they got to her room.
"Its right next to yours too." She purred.
"Ryoko, remember Ranma will be sleeping in Tenchi's room also." Aeka warned her. "What's the matter princess, jealous that I get to sleep so close to Tenchi." Ryoko said with a smirk.
"No, on the contrary, I don't want you frightening the poor boy half to death." Aeka said returning the smirk.
"Girls, what have we talked about," Tenchi scolded them, then an arm around both of their waists. "No more fighting."
"We weren't fighting Tenchi." Ryoko said. "We were exchanging creative bantering." Aeka continued. Tenchi harrumphed giving them a knowing smirk. "I know you two of you too well, you'll find a way to fight without it looking like your fighting." He said. Ryoko make a mock expression of surprise, putting a hand on her chest. "Who us?" she said feigning innocence.
"Listen, they'll be here at the end of the week so lets all get along, alright." He said letting his eyes plead to them.
"I can attempt to be civil if Miss Ryoko will." Said Aeka. Ryoko turned away from the princess and stuck her nose in the air. "And, I can like not piss her off and stuff if she doesn't act all snooty and everything." She said. Aeka turned with clenched fists about to say something about that comment but thought better of it. "Very well, I guess we have an agreement." Aeka said.
Tenchi defused the situation considerably by giving each a light kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, both of you." He said. "If this keeps up I might end of marrying both of you." The two women turned on him with expressions that were half joy and half unadulterated shock. Tenchi scratched the back of his head reflexively. "But, seriously, I really care about both of you and I don't like it when you fight." He said.
"Tenchi." Both women purred at once as they hugged him.
More than a hundred miles away in another part of Japan, actually on a completely different island, a family prepared to leave on a long trip. Akane Tendo had her suitcases out, she neatly folded the clothes she was going to take with her. An assortment of odds and ends, hairspray, a makeup case, shampoo and conditioner, and various other feminine articles were spread out over the bed. In the midst of all this sat a little black, pot bellied pig with a yellow and black bandana around its neck. The tiny creature followed Akane's every move as best it could with its limited vision.
"How's the packing going?" Nabiki asked from the open door.
"Oh, ok, say how is the climate in Ohkayama?" Akane asked as she folded one of her favorite skirts.
"Pretty much like Nerima from what I understand, why?" asked Nabiki.
"Well, since they have a lake I thought I'd take my bathing suit along." Akane answered putting more clothes in the suitcase. Neither girl noticed the wistful expression on the little animal's face, or at least as best a expression it could physically manage.
"Sounds nice, I'm bringing mine along." Nabiki leaned on the doorway. "That one you got last week, the one that nearly gave dad a heart attack and put Happosai into overdrive." Akane chuckled. Nabiki was well aware that she was gifted in the area of beauty and knew how to use it. Her latest weapon in her arsenal was that bikini, an assortment of tiny patches of fabric connected by thin cords that looked thinner than a cobweb. She tried it on for the first time and showed her sisters in the living room. Their father happened to enter the room at the same time and promptly passed out. There was one other factor Nabiki did however fail to add into the equation...Happosai. It took the combined effort of Ranma, Akane, and Genma to stop the ravenous pervert from chasing a frightened Nabiki all over the house.
"One in the same." Nabiki laughed.
"Got your eye set on that Tenchi guy, huh?" Akane said coyly.
"He's cute, but you can tell from the posture of two girls standing next to him in that photo that they have feelings for him that go beyond just family ties." Nabiki replied.
"Don't be silly, there couldn't possibly be another guy out there who is in Ranma's 'situation'." Akane reasoned.
"You never know." Waved Nabiki before heading to her room to finish her packing.
Ranma groaned, how much luggage do girls need anyway? In both hands he carried several cases all filled with outfits. Most of them were Kasumi's and Nabiki's since Akane wasn't done packing yet. The van Mr. Tendo rented for the trip was already half full with luggage, and that meant the seating was going to be close quarters. Could he survive sitting next to Akane for eight hours?
"Get a move on boy, we leave tomorrow morning!" Genma growled when he noticed his son's hesitation.
"Sorry, pop, was just thinking." Apologized Ranma.
"We got our own luggage, Tendo's, and Akane's to stow today before we're ready to leave." The balding elder Saotome grumbled.
"I thought Happy was going too, where is his stuff?" Ranma asked. He was almost afraid to ask until he heard a sound from inside the van. Genma heard it too and went to investigate. Something was moving around in the luggage, the two Saotomes readied to fight whatever it might be. A small form moved too swiftly for Ranma to react and he was slammed backwards when it hit him in the face. Before hitting the ground he caught of glimpse of a tiny, diminutive old man holding a lacy white bra in his hands.
"Wahoo!" the old pervert cried. "I never knew Kasumi wore a C cup!"
"This is going to be one long vacation." Ranma muttered with a mouth full of dirt.
Ryoko flew up to the living room ceiling, her former sleeping area, and tried off the string holding a large banner. On it written in elegant Kanji characters by Tenchi's own hand was the message "Welcome Home!" Washu was busy in another part of the room inspecting a set of string lights. It was Sasami's idea to introduce the new family members to their Juraian heritage by way of a Summer Startica celebration. Ryoko had to admit, sometimes Sasami's ideas were pretty neat. She always loved it around Startica time and Christmas. Christmas was very special for her, because it was the day Tenchi admitted he did have feelings for her and Aeka too that were a bit more than just friendship. It wasn't the start of the kind of relationship would have preferred, but in the light of what they faced that year just having him alive was more than enough for her for now.
"That's good right there, Ryoko." Tenchi said when he was sure the banner was level.
In a corner of the living room Aeka and Mihoshi were setting up the Christmas tree, or Startica tree actually. The First Princess of Jurai smiled contently as she wove a long strand of silver tinsel around the tree. She winced at the sound of something made of thin glass breaking. "Opps." She heard Mihoshi say. Aeka could only sigh, that was the third glass ornament the girl broke in the last ten minutes.
"Please be more careful, Mihoshi, those ornaments came all the way from Jurai for this occasion." Aeka told her.
"I'm sorry." The blonde GP detective said. "Well, we do have five more boxes, my mother wanted to be sure we had enough." Aeka went on. Enough to cover over four dozen trees the size of Fonaho-oh actually. Mother is completely hopeless, thought Aeka. Fonaho and Misaki were both overjoyed at learning they had another great grandson, but when she learned who they weren't told about him one their visit Fonaho had a few choice words for Yosho. The former First Prince of Jurai was fearless in the face of the most notorious and vile villains in the universe, but when faced with an angry mother he turned to Jell-O within seconds.
Sasami came skipping out of the kitchen with Ryo-Ohki behind her in child form. The young princess was holding a long wooden spoon. "Tenchi, try this." She piped. Tenchi gave what she had a taste and his eyebrows went up. "That's really good, but everything you make is good." he said. "What is it?" he went on to ask. "It's a sauce for something that's pretty popular in the America I've been wanting to try." She told him. "The Americans call it Chili, but I don't see why because it's not cold." She shrugged her little shoulders.
"It's called Tex-Mex, a hybrid recipe adapted by the Americans from Mexico." Tenchi explained. "We studied about it in World History class."
"I hope you like spicy food though, the recipe calls for paprika, chili powder, and other spices." Said Sasami.
"I've had something like it before, and if you think that is going to be hot you should try Taiwanese food." Tenchi smiled.
"Actually, Andorian Chili is the hottest." Said Ryoko. "They have this little blue pepper that grows on their planet and it's the hottest thing you have ever tasted, it's so hot you only need to use a tiny sliver of it to heat up a gallon of chili." Tenchi and Sasami both looked at her in surprise.
"It's called a Blue Demon Pepper, and its juices are so hot they can cause third degree burns to unprotected flesh if its not properly prepared." Washu added her own informative twist on the conversation.
"How the heck do they eat it?" Tenchi asked grimacing.
"Andorians stand about fifteen to twenty feet tall and have two inch thick skin as well as a stomach lining that would make battleship armor jealous." Washu laughed.
"I'm also making teriyaki chicken, honey roasted turkey, I made the honey coating, and few pies." Smiled Sasami. "Where do you find the time?" Tenchi asked. "I got started early this morning, I'll be done before dinner tonight." She told him as she skipped back to the kitchen.
"Whenever I see how much that girl does in one day it really makes me feel my age." Washu commented with a smile.
"She does do a lot, if only we had enough left over from the money dad used to build the addition we could have had all the food catered this year so she could have a break." Tenchi said.
Aeka smiled and laughed, "They'd never get anything done, she would be going behind their backs making sure everything passed her inspection first before anything would be served."
"Sasami take a break, remember that day she got a really bad cold and she had to stay in bed the whole day." Ryoko chuckled. "It drove her crazy that she couldn't get up to do housework or cook dinner, she was miserable."
"My mom is like that, she's happiest when she's cleaning." Mihoshi piped in. "Speaking of your mom, how are Seina and the girls doing, have you heard from them?" asked Tenchi.
"Last I heard Amane was six months pregnant." Mihoshi replied.
"So, she finally got him in bed," Washu giggled. "Its gotta be tough when your married to a guy who has eight other wives who all want to have his attention at the same time." The girls all looked at Tenchi at that moment and the young first prince just smiled and blushed furiously. Tenchi was well aware that Seina's fate was likely going to be his own someday.
"Tenchi," Katsuhito called from the patio door. "I'm excusing you from today's practice, there is just too much to do before tomorrow." Noboyuki popped his head in from behind. "We're going into town to pick up a few things, so don't go off and do anything I wouldn't do Tenchi." He grinned widely.
Tenchi blushed even more furiously. "Uh, yeah, sure dad." He replied.
When the pair were gone Ryoko spoke up saying, "Too bad Tenchi couldn't be a little more like his father." Aeka gave her a suddenly horrified expression. "Miss Ryoko, how could you suggest such a thing?" she asked in shock. Ryoko laughed before saying, "Easy, one cute but ettchi guy, four horny women, you do the math, Princess." Tenchi's eye went wide a trickle of blood ran out of his nose. Aeka looked like she was ready to pass out, but there was also a certain gleam in her eye at the same time. Mihoshi just looked at everyone wide eyed, and Washu had a somewhat disconcerting smirk on her face.
Tenchi sighed. "Is that how all of your feel about me, I mean I'm nothing really special so what have I done to make all of you feel like this." He said as a statement rather than a question.
"Lets see, you freed Ryoko from seven hundred years of imprisonment by your grandfather, took her into your home even after she attacked you at the high school, you took Aeka and Sasami into your home even after everything that happened to you on her ship, you fought and killed that jerk Kagato to save us, and you even did your best to try and save Ryoko from old Octopus Head." Washu pointed out.
"But-" he tried to counter but Ryoko teleported next to him and put a finger to his lips. "But most of all, you care about us, you make self-sacrifices to make us happy, and its because of that we love you." She told him.
"You're a rare find among men in the universe," Washu added. "Most others are chauvinistic and bossy, but you're kind, gentle, and caring." "But you can be forceful when you need to be without being overbearing." Aeka said adding her own viewpoint. "You're the first guy I ever met who hasn't tried to get into my pants one way or another." Said Mihoshi.
"I don't know what to say, I knew all of you had a crush on me and stuff, but I never realized it ran that deeply." Tenchi admitted. Tenchi remembered the faithful day he realized the girls had strong feelings for him. Lady Tokimi had him down, the girls were prepared to throw themselves at her knowing full well it would probably have been suicide, but it would have distracted her long enough for him to get free and strike a lethal blow with the Light Hawk Sword. Tenchi couldn't let that happen and he tapped into his vast powers, overcame Tokimi's force and struck her down forever. Somehow in the back of his mind he knew all along this was how they all really felt about him.
"I'll tell you what, after my relatives get here and we finish with all of the pleasantries we can all go somewhere private and discuss this, ok?" He suggested to them. The girls all had hopeful expressions on their faces as they nodded in agreement.
Unseen, Sasami looked out of the kitchen doorway into the living room. She had heard the entire exchange. She smiled happily. The translucent image of Tsunami, visible only to Sasami and Ryo-Ohki, kneeled down beside her and smiled happily. "It is about time, Tenchi." Tsunami whispered, Sasami nodded and Ryo-Ohki meowed in agreement.
Ranma wasn't very comfortable. The van was so packed with luggage that there wasn't enough room for everybody in the back seat, with him in it. There was a workaround though, but Ranma wasn't very happy with the idea. The wind from the open window whipped Ranma's pigtail around as 'she' looked out at the passing landscape. With him in girl-form there was enough room for Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane to sit in the back behind the front seats.
"Where is this place at, out in the boonies?" asked Ranma.
"This area is pretty rural, a lot of farmland out this way." Akane said.
"We must have passed at least a dozen rice patties in the past ten minutes." Nabiki commented.
"I think it beautiful country." Smiled Kasumi.
"Hey, driver, are we there yet!?" Ranma shouted up front.
Genma turned around in his seat. "Another fifteen more minutes." He said.
"Remember your promise, Akane." Ranma grumbled folding her arms.
Akane reached under her seat and pulled out a thermos. "Got the hot water right here, I'll give you a splash right before we arrive." She reassured him, or was it her.
"We don't want to freak out our new relatives too soon, so no cold water for a while, ok Ranma." Genma said.
"I hear ya, pop." Ranma groaned.
"Yeah, we don't want Tenchi to think his cousin is a weirdo or anything." Akane giggled girlishly. Nabiki laughed along with her. "He'd probably figure that out on his own, anyway." Akane went on, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Hey!" exclaimed Ranma.
"Saotome, have you seen our Master?" Soun asked from the driver's seat.
"Right here!" the little lecher cheered popping out from under the back seat, affording him a clear view under Akane's skirt. She caught onto his expression instantly and with disgusted slammed him in the head with her foot.
"Don't you dare look under my skirt you little pervert!" she cried.
"Beside, there isn't much to look at." Ranma said coyly, then had the air knocked out of her by Akane's elbow to the stomach.
The van finished its circuit up an unpaved dirt road that wound its way through the trees. Ranma noticed a large field to one side. Curiously it appeared to be made up of all carrots. Eventually they reached their destination, the familiar house from the photograph. Boy-type Ranma climbed out of the van after Akane and her sisters. A group of people poured from the house to meet them. The tall gray haired priest, Katsuhito Masaki, approached Genma Saotome. A silence fell over the place as the two faced one another for the first time in nearly twenty years. The tense moment lasted for what seemed almost an eternity until Katsuhito bowed politely.
"Welcome to our home, son in law." Said Katsuhito. The emotion on Genma's face was very evident. The two men exchanged an embrace, the kind of hug men give one another as a sign of kinship. With the tension gone both families converged on one another and exchanged hugs and greetings.
"Tenchi, I want you to meet your cousin, Ranma." Genma introduced his son to Tenchi.
"Hi, I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you." Tenchi said in greeting, extending his hand.
"Your grandfather's letters said a lot about you, too." Replied Ranma, accepting the handshake.
"Nothing bad I hope." Tenchi joked.
"Nah, only that you really need to learn to focus better." Ranma laughed, scratching the back of his head. Aeka and Ryoko caught onto the movement and both went, "Hmmm." "That's grandpa alright." Tenchi replied trying to hide his grimace.
"Hello, my name is Aeka, you must be Akane, Ranma's intended." Aeka smiled at the young girl. "Hi, nice to meet you, are you one of Tenchi cousins?" asked Akane. Aeka giggled a little girlishly. "Oh, no, I am his betrothed." She said with a happy smile.
In a sudden flash one of the most beautiful women Akane had ever seen, the girl with the cyan hair, was up in Aeka's face. "Since when are you his betrothed!" she screamed. "Tenchi's was mine before you even showed up!"
Nabiki held out her hand towards Akane. "Pay up, I win the bet." She smiled. Akane sighed and slapped a thousand yen into her hand. So, Ranma isn't the only guy to be cursed with having multiple girls chasing after him. Must run in the family, she thought.
"Oh, please stop fighting." Pleaded a very pretty young blonde with dark tanned skin.
Ranma and Tenchi both watched the exchange and sweatdropped at the same time. "Yep, we're related alright." Ranma sighed.
The new dining room was just large enough for everyone to sit at the new table. Kasumi volunteered to help Sasami bring out some snacks for everyone, two platters of fresh baked cupcakes and pitcher of iced tea. Noboyuki brought out a large bottle of saki and passed out glasses to Tendo and Saotome and Katsuhito. Aeka poured herself a large glass of saki and downed it in one gulp.
"Take it easy there, Aeka." Noboyuki laughed.
"After what happened outside, I needed that." She replied.
"These are really good, almost as good a yours Kasumi." Ranma cheered after trying to cupcake.
"I made them fresh this morning." Smiled Sasami.
"You should see the feast she prepared for dinner tonight, and you all though I was a good cook." Kasumi laughed.
Akane looked around the room and thought it strange that they should have a fully lighted and decorated Christmas tree up in the summer time. "Ah, Mr. Masaki, may I ask, why do you have a Christmas tree out?" she asked the elder Masaki.
"It not a Christmas tree, it's a Summer Startica tree." Sasami piped in.
"Startica, what's that?" asked a confused Ranma.
Katsuhito cleared his throat and everyone looked his way. "Today is a special occasion, I made a terrible mistake many years ago and the price I paid was to never see my darling eldest daughter ever again." He said. "Now, we have come full circle and are back together again, but the circle is not yet complete." The old priest stood up and walked towards the patio door. "Ranma, Tenchi come with me." He told them.
Katsuhito lead the pair through the woods until they reached a small clearly at the edge of the lake. The old priest motioned towards a tree, a massive one at that, standing in a pool of crystal clear water. The old man stopped just at the edge of the pool and turned towards them.
"We brought you out here Ranma because there is a secret about your true heritage you much learn." The old priest explained. "Tenchi, did you bring what I asked?" he went on to ask.
"Yeah," Tenchi replied and pulled something out of his shirt. Ranma looked at it curiously, it was a wooden sword hilt that didn't have a blade. On one end there were three curious red stones that almost seemed to be 'glowing'.
"What is that?" Ranma asked.
"It is the Tenchi-Ken, the Master Key, a symbol of your true heritage." Katsuhito explained. "Reach out and take it into your hand."
Tenchi held out the end with the three gems towards Ranma. Hesitant at first Ranma reach out with his hand, then snatched it back as the hilt suddenly began to spew forth sparks. "Have no fear in your heart, reach out and take the Master Key into your hand!" the old priest said in a commanding tone.
Ranma reached out again and the sparks flew again. He clenched his eyes and steeled himself for the expected pain as his hand wrapped around the hilt. Nothing. Ranma opened his eyes, Tenchi released his end of the hilt, so now he was the only one holding it. Tenchi looked at his grandfather expectantly. "So, its true." The young man said.
"Yes, Tenchi, there are now 'two' Crown Princes of Jurai." Katsuhito announced.
"I, I don't understand any of this." A confused Ranma scratched his head.
The old priest stepped out onto stepping stones that linked the edge of the pool with the tree and waved for Ranma to follow. "Come, and all will finally be fully revealed to you." He said. Ranma, followed by Tenchi, walked across the stones to where the old priest stood.
"Focus your thoughts, will the secrets of your heritage to be revealed and tap the Master Key to the tree three times." Katsuhito commanded. Ranma did as he was told, focused his thoughts on the task at hand and tapped the metal barbed end of the sword hilt against the tree three times. The hilt sparked once, then a cascade of light came down like a shower out of the tree branches. Ranma looked up, the light beams were coming out of the very 'leaves'!
"What's going on!" Ranma shouted as his vision was blinded by a white light. When he could see again Ranma was no longer beside the tree but standing on a hill surrounded by vast a plains of swaying grass. In the far distance he could see a beautiful tree, but its size was monstrous compared to the buildings underneath it. He looked up into the blue sky and gasped at what he saw. In the sky above was the edge of what looked like a ring system like what Saturn has, and in the distance beyond the faint outline of two moons.
"Oh my god." Was all he could manage.
"Beautiful isn't it." Came the voice of the old man from one side. Ranma glanced his way quickly, the old man was walked up the hill towards him with Tenchi not far behind.
"Where, where are we?" Ranma asked after finding his voice.
"We are still where we were when you tapped the Master Key against the tree, this place is being projected into your mind by the tree, Fonaho-Oh." The old priest explained.
"This place, it isn't Earth, is it?" said Ranma as a statement rather than a question.
"No it is not," replied Katsuhito. "What you see is the place of your heritage, Jurai."
"What are you?" Ranma asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"I am the former First Prince of Jurai, a member of the royal family, my rank has passed on to Tenchi." Katsuhito explained. "And you too are a member of the Royal Family of Planet Jurai."
"You mean, my mother was, was, an alien!" Ranma shouted with a shocked expression.
"Actually only part alien, since I am half human and my mother is an Earthling," Katsuhito told him calmly. "Neither of my two daughters knew the truth of their Juraian heritage."
Ranma plopped down onto the ground in a lotus position and looked out over the plain towards the massive tree. "That is the Royal Palace, the seat of power for the most powerful empire in the known universe." The old priest explained.
Tenchi sat down beside him. "I know how you feel," he said. "I was pretty shocked when I learned the truth too."
"If we're like Royalty of some alien empire, why are you living on Earth?" Ranma asked. "That is a legitimate question requiring a legitimate answer." Katsuhito smiled.
Tenchi had the Master Key in hand as his grandfather lead the way from the tree Fonaho-Oh along a trail that lead part way up the mountainside. They soon arrived at the rocky entrance of a large cave. Ranma looked into the darkness and could make out the silhouette of a bared door standing ajar just inside the cave entrance.
"Seven hundred years ago, a powerful criminal name Kagato sent his minion to Jurai to steal something that would give him insights into the power possessed by the Royal Family of Jurai." Katsuhito said, recounting the story. "His minion caused terrible death and destruction across Jurai until I forced her to flee, and chased her here to this place. We fought down there, where the lake is now today, and after I defeated her I locked her up in this cave. Kagato's minion was being controlled, she wasn't allowed individual will, so when I defeated her his control over her ceased. I had to hide her to protect her from becoming his slave again. That woman was Ryoko, the cyan haired woman you met today."
"Both our spaceships, my Fonaho-Oh, and her Ryo-Ohki were destroyed, so I had no way of returning to Jurai." Katsuhito went on. "I worked my way into the trust of a shrine keeper who lived near here and I married his daughter. With the dowry he gave us I built the Masaki shrine here so I could keep watch over Ryoko's cave. In my lifetime I've seen emperors rise and fall, I witnessed the savagery and senselessness of countless wars, and all the while I kept her secret and safe. In the early half of the 1960's I married Isuki, your grandmother, and we had two daughters. Our eldest was your mother Ranma, and my youngest was Tenchi's mother. Not a soul since my arrival here on Earth knew of my secret origins."
"Then, about three years ago Tenchi freed Ryoko from her cave and she came to live with us." Katsuhito sat down on a rock to continue the story, Ranma was hanging on every word wanting to know everything. "Soon after Aeka and Sasami, both my half-sisters since we have the same father but different mothers, and they were looking for me. You see, Aeka and I were betrothed, but there was a terrible prejudice against myself and my mother for our non-Juraian heritage. I did not reveal my true identity to Aeka until Kagato finally arrived to reclaim Ryoko. This was also the same time that Tenchi learned of his true heritage."
"There is just so much to take in, it's like some surreal dream." Said Ranma.
"You get used to it." Tenchi reassured him and patted his cousin's shoulder.
"What happened next?" Ranma asked, curious to hear the rest of the tale.
"I fought Kagato but he managed to escape with Ryoko, so Tenchi and the other others went after him." The old man continued.
"You haven't met Ryo-Ohki yet, but she is Ryoko's spaceship, a living space ship." Tenchi continued the tale. "She carried a portion of Aeka's starship which crashed to Earth and contained her tree Ryuohl. We attacked Kagato's spaceship and Aeka instructed me in how to used a defensive feature of her ship called the Light Hawk Wings, but they can also be used to attack. The process of attacking with the wings leaves you defenseless for a while afterwards, and it was just long enough for Kagato to blow up the portion of the ship I was in."
"How did you get out alive?" Ranma asked, the initial shock of all of this was starting to wear off but more questions were lingering.
"I'm not sure how I did." Tenchi sighed. "I remember waking up inside another spaceship called the Tsunami, a ship owned by Sasami, and the tree appeared to me in human form and told me that the others were fighting Kagato inside his ship. Tsunami helped me get onto his ship, and when I got there I confronted him."
"You defeated him I assume then." Stated Ranma.
"Tsunami told me to trust in my own power, and when things looked darkest the most amazing thing happened." Tenchi explained. "I was able to generate and use Light Hawk Wings, actually generate then from within my body, and I used them to kill Kagato."
Ranma leaned forward holding his head in his hands. "I was expecting to get a lecture about family history, but I never imagined it would sound like the plot from 'Star Wars'." Moaned Ranma.
"We're sorry we had to spring this on you like this, but it was the only way we could figure out how to tell you and have you believe us." Tenchi apologized.
"I need some time to sort this all out." Ranma told them.
"You will have all the time you need, since you'll be staying most of the summer." Katsuhito said.
"How am I going to explain this to Dad, to Akane." Ranma groaned. Tenchi patted him on the back. "Oh, don't worry, that part is being taken care of already." He smiled.
Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi were slapping their thighs in laughter at the antics of a little furred creature. Kasumi had spotted Ryo-Ohki first and thought her absolutely adorable. Ryo-Ohki was now in her adolescent form doing the little 'Meow Meow' dance she performed for the King of Jurai. Tendo and Saotome both had several empty saki bottles in front of them. It had been one hell of a day for them, but the girls were taking everything in stride and were actually enjoying themselves.
"I'm amazed at how well you're taking all of this." Aeka said to Akane.
"Well, Princess Aeka, I always suspected Ranma was a little spacey." Akane giggled. Tendo and Saotome both groaned at the pun and took a long drag from their eighth bottle of saki.
It all started shortly after Katsuhito left with Tenchi and Ranma. Akane was enjoying one of the pastries Sasami baked while her father and Saotome talked with Noboyuki. She suddenly felt something furry pass between her legs and she jumped.
"AH! Something brushed past my leg!" she cried.
"A mouse!" Nabiki screamed seeing a flash of movement under the table.
Kasumi looked under the table then smiled. "Oh, it's a cute rabbit, you two should be ashamed of yourselves." She scolded them and reached down. What she came up with didn't look like any rabbit any of them had ever seen. In fact, it looked like some kind of hybrid between a rabbit and a cat.
"That's Ryo-Ohki, she's like a member of the family." Smiled Sasami.
"Ryo-Ohki, oh, she's adorable!" Kasumi gushed hugging the little creature.
"Miya!" the cabbit cheered happily.
"WAH! Did that rabbit just meow!" Akane said wide eyed.
"Ryo-Ohki isn't a rabbit, she's a Cabbit." Sasami corrected her.
"What, what is a Cabbit?" Nabiki asked.
Aeka and Ryoko both let out an "Uh oh!" as the room suddenly fell dark. A single bright spotlight suddenly appeared silhouetting Washu in her Galactic Academy robes. "That is a good question, Miss. Tendo." She said. A video screen descended out of the invisible ceiling and a picture of Ryo-Ohki appeared. "This is a Cabbit." Washu pointed to the picture with her pointer.
"A Cabbit is a hybrid inorganic life form created by melding the best attributes of a Masu with a species of mineral life from the planet Theta." Washu explained as representations of the other two creatures appeared on the video display. She snapped her fingers and the room returned to normal. Everyone, save for Aeka and Ryoko, looked at her with dumbfounded expressions.
"Washu, you baka we weren't supposed to tell them that way!" Ryoko shouted at her.
"That is no way to talk to your mother, Little Ryoko." Washu replied calmly.
"Mother my butt, and stop calling me Little Ryoko!" Ryoko screamed without noticing that in her anger she was now hovering off the ground.
Tendo and Saotome both looked like they were about to pass out but came to when Noboyuki handed each a bottle of saki. "The initial shock will wear off in a day or so, but you get used to the rest." He said calmly.
"Please don't be afraid, we were going to tell you eventually since you are family, but not quite like this." Aeka explained to the three girls who all looked terrified.
"Who are you, really?" Akane asked with a shaken voice.
"I am Princess Aeka of planet Jurai, my half-brother is the elderly man you know as Katsuhito, and thus Ranma and Tenchi are both Crown Princes of Jurai Royal Family." Aeka explained.
Nabiki came out of her fear almost immediately. "Did you say Ranma is a prince, a real prince as in rolling in riches, living in the lap of royal luxury?" she asked excitedly.
Aeka nodded smiling. "Akane, you know you and Ranma don't really get along that well, so why don't I take over the duties of fiancé for you." Nabiki said to her sister smiling and fluttering her eyelashes.
"NABIKI!" Akane shouted in wide eyed shock.
"So this means you're all aliens?" Kasumi asked.
"Most of us are, but in the case of Ranma and Tenchi they are only part alien, and their grandfather is half-human." Washu explained.
"I need another drink." Saotome said, a fresh bottle handed to him. He immediately took a long swigged off of it.
"But, I don't get it, if you're all royalty why live here?" Akane asked.
"That is one long story, sister." Ryoko slurred then took a deep chug off the big saki bottle.
"I think I'm going to need one of those too." Sighed Akane.
Katsuhito sat with his two grandsons on the steps of the Masaki shrine sipping tea. The view from here was breath taking with the sun setting behind the mountain and casting crimson light over the lake far below. Along the way to the shrine Katsuhito explained that every member of the Jurai Royal Family possessed what was called the Power of Jurai, but Tenchi's was unique among the royals. Ranma began to wonder how much of his own abilities were manifestations of his inherited powers.
"Using and controlling the power of Jurai is a great responsibility, thus I would like you to train with me and Tenchi so you may learn how to control your abilities and harness them better." Katsuhito suggested.
"Sure, I would be honored, grandfather." Ranma smiled.
"Have you ever fought with a sword?" Tenchi asked.
"Only a few times, I'm not that great with it." Ranma admitted.
"Grandpa is the best swordsman around, on all of the Earth actually." Tenchi smiled.
Ranma laughed, "I know someone who would walk a thousand miles to challenge that claim if he ever heard what you just said." Tenchi laughed with him, "We have enough trouble with the aliens wanting to do that without attracting such problems down here."
The three were returning to the house now and just reached the bottom of the stairs. Tenchi had suspected there would have been chaos at the house by now, but the laughter of the girls that drifted on the wind to his ears could only be a good sign that things went well. Ranma took a detour and headed for the lake. He gasped in surprise and looked up into the air at an incredible sight. A huge piece of the Earth with a translucent bubble surrounding it hovered motionless above the lake. Streams of water jetted out of the bottom of the object into the lake.
"What is that?" Ranma asked in awe.
"That's the onsen, or bath house so to speak." Smiled Tenchi.
"That is an onsen, its huge." Ranma gasped.
Tenchi laughed, "Wait until you decide to take a bath, it is even more impressive from the inside."
Tenchi and Katsuhito started for the house expecting Ranma to follow, but they stopped when they noticed Ranma hadn't moved. The young man looked out over the lake then turned to them. A resolute look covered his face. "Tenchi, grandfather, you revealed an important secret to me today, so now it is my turn to reveal one to you." He said. The two walked back to where Ranma was standing, then with immense curiosity they watched as the young man walked out into the water of the lake. He stopped a short distance out, turned around, grabbed his nose and ducked under the surface. When Ranma came back up she tried not to laugh at the curiously hilarious expressions on their faces.
Ranma walked out of the water wringing her clothes out, then tied up her tunic like a halter top. With that done she turned around to make sure the two men of the Masaki family got a very good look. Katsuhito recovered from the initial shock fairly quickly and now had a bemused smiled on his lips. Tenchi was still wide eyed a bit, but his expression hides the fury of the emotional storm within him. It took nearly every ounce of his concentration to keep from nose bleeding. Ranma had somehow gone from being a handsome, dark hair young teenage boy to a curvaceous, very well endowed young red headed 'teenage girl'.
"This is very interesting." The old priest said pushing back his spectacles.
"H-h-how?" Tenchi stuttered.
"Have you ever heard of a place in China called Josenkyo?" asked Ranma.
Katsuhito let out a low, "Hmmm". "That would indeed explain this." He said in a matter of fact like manner. "What is it, grandpa?" Tenchi asked, his curiosity peeked. "When you've lived as long as I have you hear about a great many myths and legends, and the legend of the cursed springs of Josenkyo are just one of them." Katsuhito replied. Ranma laughed, it came out more like a girlish giggle, "Well, its more than just a myth, I'm living proof of that."
"How do you, well, uh, change back to normal?" asked Tenchi, he was now trying to avoid direct eye contact with his now very beautiful 'female' cousin.
"Getting splashed with cold water changes me but hot water changes me back." Ranma explained. "How long have you been like this?" asked Tenchi. Ranma pursed her lips and looked into the air as if thinking. "Oh, about four or five years if I can remember." She said. Tenchi turned to 'her' in shock saying, "Four or five years, how have you been able to live with this?"
"Well, it was pretty bothersome in the beginning," Ranma explained. "But over time I got used to it, and in truth it's actually helped me out at different times." Katsuhito nods his head and adds, "Yes, things like this many times occur for a reason or purpose, perhaps it was meant for this to happen to you grandson, or should I say 'granddaughter'." The old man gave her an amused smirk when he said 'granddaughter', and Ranma just looked at him acidly then laughed in spite of herself.
"I suppose we deserved this after giving you such a shock today." The old man went on to say. The three of them shared a good laugh together as they walked towards the house.
The three found the atmosphere inside the Masaki home to be happy and gleeful. The three Tendo sisters were laughing and giggling as Ryo-Ohki did her little dance, transformed into a large floating crystal, and then back into her small Cabbit form.
"She's so adorable!" Kasumi cried.
"Say, what's going on?" Ranma asked.
"Everyone in the room turned at the sound of the female voice. The Tendo girls were familiar with Ranma's problem but Aeka and Ryoko were still clueless, and when they saw a very beautiful red headed girl standing too close to Tenchi they reacted in a manner Tenchi himself hoped they would not.
"Tenchi, who is this girl?" Aeka demanded.
"Yeah, who are you, and what are you doing with my Tenchi?" Ryoko growled.
"Uh, girls, this is Ranma." Tenchi explained pointing at the girl.
"Impossible!" gasped Aeka.
"Sasami, would you please go to the kitchen and get us some hot water." Tenchi said to the little girl. "Sure, Tenchi." The child smiled and skipped away.
"I can see you have all had a good time since we left." Katsuhito said looking at the huge collection of saki bottles on the table. Sasami returned with a steaming water kettle. Ranma leaned down towards her, Sasami remarked to herself that the girl really was very pretty. "Ok, pour it on me." The girl told her.
"Pour the hot water, on you?" asked Sasami curiously.
"Go ahead." Tenchi told her. Sasami lifted the kettle and poured the water on the girl. Instantly her hair changed from red to black, her feminine features vanished, and the young 'man' who was Ranma now stood in her place.
"Oh my goodness!" gasped Mihoshi.
"How could this be?" Aeka gasped.
"It's a long story." Ranma, now a guy, said.
Ryoko flashed him a humorously crooked smile and said, "Oh I've got to hear this one."
__________
CONTINUED IN PART 3...
FAMILY REUNION - PART 3: Uninvited Guests
Ranma recovers from the initial shock of learning his true heritage, he has even begun to come to grips with his feelings towards Akane, but two uninvited guests don't like the situation at all. If fact, they intend to get rid of him, for good.