Mrs. Tendo tapped her foot on the tile floor outside the principle's office door. She hated being here. She had disliked high school and no amount of time was going to change her dislike of the building. In fact, if it wasn't for the ridiculous and dangerous happenings of the school she would have never stepped foot on the grounds again. But she was here for her daughter, her baby girl, Akane. The fights were getting out of hand, and becoming more and more frequent. It wasn't Akane's fault by any means, if she didn't fight she would face horrible consequences on both her personal honor but the ideas the boys would get if they thought they had "won". Kameko sighed, her other daughters never had this much trouble in school. She was startled when the door to the principle's office flew open and a meek old woman came out. It was the secretary, the same one who had worked in the office when she herself was a girl. The woman was barely any help then, she couldn't see how she could be of any help now.
"I am very sorry Mrs. Tendo. But the principle is out you must come back another time." The woman stated plainly staring blankly into Kameko's eyes.
"He has been "out" for at least three weeks. Who am I supposed to talk to about getting these attacks on my daughter stopped? It is interfering with her school work and becoming dangerous."
"Now, now Mrs. Tendo. I have seen Miss Tendo and she can take care of herself." The woman started towards her desk, dismissing the matter entirely.
"It's not my daughter I am worried about." Kameko stared at the woman who simply ignored her statement. Sighing in defeat, she turned to leave. "I guess I'll just have to go to the school board and make a report on the behavior that is allowed to continue in this school." She smiled when she heard the ancient woman gasp and start to make phone calls.
"So you talked to the principal?" Akane's eyes were wide with hope and excitement as she drilled her mother as she walked along side her on the way back to the house.
"Not exactly…" Akane's smile faded with dread, "but it was arranged that you cannot be attacked during school hours on in the building itself."
Akane processed that information for a second. "But mom…that means they can still attack me before and after school"
"Well, its better than always getting attacked during lunch or in class. I don't think you've actually eaten lunch in a few weeks. If I could have found something to hang over the Kuno's to end this behavior I would have used it. But that family is so crazy they don't care what is said about them."
Akane just sighed and walked beside her mother. "I guess I could try to catch them all in the morning…"
Soun was hiding. He had received a postcard from his dear friend Genma, who was bringing his son, Ranma with him back from China. This normally wouldn't cause problems except one detail, the arranged engagement between Ranma and one of his daughters. An arrangement that his wife was neither aware of nor approving of. Kameko was teaching in the Dojo, the beginner's class would be ending any minute and she would come looking for him. She had seen the postcard and had immediately become suspicious when he refused to let her see it. Her suspicion had turn to anger when he had ordered their daughters home for the next few days, keeping their oldest daughter from her classes. He thought that she would be glad to have all her daughters home for awhile. Unfortunately for him, his daughters were also suspicious of the reasoning behind the sudden call to be home and had been looking for him while their mother was in class.
"Daddy. I don't think that hiding under the bed is going to save you from Mom, let alone the rest of us." Kasumi's face peered under the bed skirt at her father.
"I can't believe he's really under the bed. It's really sad, Dad." Nabiki rolled her eyes, disgusted with her father, "Akane, we found him, Kasumi was right he's hiding under the bed."
"I am not coming out. I don't have to answer to you three. I am the head of this house and I answer to no one." Soun had mustered the most dignified tone of voice one could when hiding from your wife under the bed.
"No one? Are you sure about that, dear husband?" Kameko came in through the door followed by Akane. "Come out from under that bed before you make more of a fool of yourself in front of your daughters."
Shuffling noises came from under the bed as Kasumi got out of the way to let her father out from underneath. Soun was covered with dust and there were dust bunnies clinging to his hair and mustache. Akane covered her mouth to restrain from laughing out right at her father, as the other women in the room tried hard not to giggle at him. Soun sat on top of the bed in defeat, and looked down at his hands, waiting.
"Well?" Kameko raised her eyebrows. Soun tried to look innocent, but Kameko didn't buy it for a minute. "What did that idiot of a friend of yours say this time and what does it have to do with our daughters?"
Soun explained the plan to join the two school and for Genma's son to inherit the dojo by marrying one of his daughters. He honestly thought that the explanation would take longer than the whole minute it actually took to tell the women of his household. The look of shock and anger on their faces were not promising to his physical health, especially from his wife and youngest daughter who had inherited her mother's temper and flare for violent reactions. He looked at his other daughters and knew that his emotional and financial health was also in deep despair. Kasumi and Nabiki rarely inflicted violence but could guilt, and embezzle with the best of them.
Kameko blinked, "You did what with my daughters and dojo." Soun winced at that because the house and dojo had been a wedding present from her parents. Five seconds, later Soun was running out of the house with Kameko fast behind him with mallet in hand.
And so there they sat, Soun on one side of the table and Kameko, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane on the other. The family honor forbid refusing the engagement outright, but if they could get to another agreement then the honor of the family wouldn't suffer. They were waiting for Genma and his son to arrive. Soun was nursing a dislocated shoulder and sporting a black eye but had come out better than he thought he would have. Luckily, Kameko had mellowed out as she had gotten older.
Author's note: Mrs. Tendo's first name is not mentioned in either the manga nor the anime so I found my own. Kameko means symbol of eternal or long life. I thought that was fitting considering the circumstances.