Chapter 03: Bound by Honor

Ranma strained as he moved, each step feeling like he wore weighted clothing. Since using the Umisenken to conceal himself while awkwardly pulling a cart too large for him through Kyoto simply made people stare and run away from the 'haunted yattai', he'd elected to try something else. His father's ki-space, Mousse' Hidden Weapons Style, and the Umisenken's Goshin Dai Ryƫsei Fu (Mega Cloth of Falling Stars) techniques seemed to operate by the same basic mechanism with different applications. Because of that, he was now straining to contain the Okonomiyaki cart and all his claimed items in ki-space, alongside that which he'd already had before. Mousse could carry massive numbers of weapons and chains that were heavy and made of metal! Ranma knew he could manage this. He just had to get used to it! Every step of this was training. It also helped that he could use the Umisenken to hide from undesirables like the police. He didn't want to drag them into this.

He didn't know where to find Ukyo initially, but a telephone booth with a phone book provided him an address for her father. Ranma hadn't remembered his name, but it was on the marriage agreement. A map of Kyoto taken from his father filled in the blanks and Ranma was soon standing in front of a slightly run down-looking two-story building that was crammed between two newer and larger ones. It seemed to have a small kitchen and a sliding panel for customers to walk up to, but it was by no means as nice as Okonomiyaki Uuchan's in Nerima had been...or would be. Ranma was still coming to terms with the apparent time travel and the warped tenses it employed.

Approaching, he groaned slightly and let the yattai out behind him with a distinct thud. With a sigh of relief, and glad that he managed to keep hold of everything else when letting the cart go, he then approached the door and knocked.

A muscular man started to open the door. "Sorry, we ain't open yet-Ranma!?" Ukyo's father said in surprise. There was the sound of scurrying behind the man as Ukyo also appeared at her father's side. Ranma took note as her features shifted through surprise, happiness, and anger.

"Ranma! Why'dya leave me behind and steal our yattai, jackass!" Ukyo shouted out in irritation. The boy responded in a way which was difficult for him and his pride, but he'd steeled himself to do. He bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry, Ucchan! Pop was up to his ol' tricks again! I didn't know what was goin' on until later! I brought the cart back..." Ranma said, gesturing behind him. "Pop likes to engage me to girls and steal their dowries. I didn't get what happened this time cuz' I thought you were a boy-" -SMACK-

Ranma had thought being honest right from the start might fix things, but the smack across his face proved otherwise. Ukyo scowled at Ranma.

"...Guess...this is a bad time to tell you I ruined that sauce, ain't it?" -SMACK- Ukyo hit his other cheek with a growl of added fury. Ranma, not sure what else to do, just stood there and took the abuse like he did with Akane. He felt hands around his neck before Ukyo's father stepped in and pulled them apart.

"Break it up, Ukyo. You don't attack people who aren't fighting back just because you're ticked off." Ukyo pulled away and crossed her arms with a grumble as her father looked back to Ranma. "Come on in, Ranma. We should probably talk about this some more." Ranma was permitted entry and ushered to a seat at the table. After this was accomplished, the bearded man fired up the griddle. With an expertise which reminded him of Ukyo's older self, the man got to work cooking while Ukyo stared at Ranma in anger from across the table. It was a tense silence only held at bay only by the fact her father was in the room. Thankfully, the man elected to speak as he cooked the meal.

"So, you say your father does this a lot? Tricks people into marrying you off and giving up dowries?" Ranma was almost relieved when Ukyo's father asked the question.

"Yeah. When he was starvin' once when I was a baby, he traded me for rice and two pickles. And that ain't even the first time. I was engaged to his friend's kid before I was even born. The fat old man plans for me to get their dojo as dowry, then retire in his 40s and mooch off me and my wife the rest of his life." Ranma looked to Ukyo's father's back, as he cooked. "That's the only engagement he's gonna honor."

The man paused for a moment at this statement, before he resumed cooking. "I see. Well, it shows the meaning of my friendship with your father that he wasn't the one to recommend this engagement, and even tried to tell me you were spoken for. Until I mentioned the cart as dowry, of course. I'm not happy about it, but I did push him to cast aside his family's honor. Perhaps this was the price for that."

Ranma was stunned. His father hadn't been the one to propose the engagement this time? He hadn't expected that. He glanced to Ukyo, whose anger had been replaced with surprise and confusion. "Well...appealin' to Pop's greed can work, but it can backfire pretty bad, too. But to try and push this even knowin' I was spoken for? It don't reflect well on you, either." Ranma said, somewhat bluntly.

The man gave a laugh at the comment as he finished cooking the Okonomiyaki and set some down in front of the kids. The man would then seat himself. Ranma practically inhaled his double-helping, the man knowing full-well of Ranma's appetite. "Well, you were strong and I decided you'd make a good husband for Ukyo. The fact you came back here just shows you're honest and will take care of her properly."

Ranma started to choke on his meal in surprise, pounding his fist on his chest before he was forced to grab some water and chug it down. Only after this was accomplished, and a few moments of heavy breathing, could he respond. "You're still tryin' to go through with it? Pop is a master, but he's also a no-good thief! How can you trust Ucchan with him?"

"He seems to have done well enough to raise you. Even if you'll be a good man in spite of him, you'll still be a good man." The father said, eating his own meal and seemingly resolute in his logic.

"Daddy...I don't like this..." She said, fearful. The man put a hand on Ukyo's shoulder and began to comfort his daughter.

"Ukyo, listen. You're going with him today. It's for the best of the family and our Martial Arts Okonomiyaki style." Ranma didn't like where this was going. He expected Ukyo's father to be enraged and to curse the name of Genma Saotome like so many others.

"But why, Daddy? What's the family style got to do with this? I don't get it! I don't wanna go if it's with a bad man! We should keep Ranma here with us!" Ranma wasn't sure what was happening, but it certainly wasn't good. Ukyo's earlier anger was forgotten and replaced with worry.

"I'm afraid that won't work, Ukyo. It's for the best." As the man spoke, Ranma felt a well-honed sense kicking in. The subtle but distinct sensation of a father trying to pull a fast one. But what did this man have to gain by trusting his own child to a thief like Genma? Even after his nature was exposed?

"What about the good of your kid? You really trust Pop? After all this stuff? He steals! He cheats! He just trapped me in a pit of starvin' cats with meat from the yattai on it as trainin' to try and make me go psychotic to learn a new trick! An' then did it to himself! You want that for Ucchan?" There was hesitation, but the man was firm.

"Ukyo is going with you." Mr. Kuonji said, resolutely. Ranma didn't know what else to say. This wasn't what he expected, but there was a ray of hope. He had the contract. If Mr. Kuonji didn't have a copy himself...maybe that's how his own father planned to get out of it?

"Do you have the contract?" Ranma asked. This distracted Mr. Kuonji, and Ranma spoke further. "If you don't have the contract, then it won't hold up. Pop won't honor this if you don't, right? He's got no reason to. You don't have proof, you've got nothin'."

The man pondered the matter for a moment and rose. "Follow me. I'll show it to you. You can't touch it though. I don't want you tearing it up in misunderstanding..." They walked to the man's bedroom, Ukyo seemingly unused to being in her father's room. "I appreciate you looking out for Ukyo, I really do. Even at your age, it shows you'll be a fine choice for her. There are just things you don't comprehend yet."

He opened his closet to expose an old-style iron floor safe and blocked the view with his body as he put the combination into the dial and unlocked it. Ukyo looked on, amazed and unaware that the safe was even there until now. There were scrolls related to the Kuonji family style of Martial Arts Okonomiyaki and other ancient things inside...and the agreement. Ranma's heart sank as Mr. Kuonji pulled it out and displayed it. Ukyo's father had gone and written it up to be iron-clad, which made sense in hindsight given that he knew there to be at least one competing claim at the time.

Ranma's posture showed the man that his point had been made, and he put the agreement back into the safe. "Don't worry, Ranma. Ukyo will make a fine wife and you'll eventually look back on this fondly. Treat her well."

"...Part of that's lettin' her choose what makes her happy, ain't it?" Ranma grumbled, but the man closed the heavy safe and ignored the comment as he ushered the kids out of the room.

"Come on, Ukyo. Let's pack up your things. Maybe restock the meat while we're at it if Genma's used it up already. Ranma, wait downstairs and finish the extra Okonomiyaki before they get cold, alright?"

Ukyo looked sad and confused as she was led into her own room for the last time. Ranma stood there as the door shut behind them, pondering what to do. He couldn't hear the words through the door, muffled as they were, but he did hear the crying. Ukyo was crying because she was going to lose everything. Again. Just in a different way. That document had ruined her life this time around too. The eighteen-year-old mind in a six-year-old's body struggled to find a solution.

A few minutes later, Ukyo and her father came downstairs to find Ranma where he was supposed to be, an empty plate in front of him. He was pensive but didn't argue any further. He was silent as the man bid his red-eyed daughter goodbye with a hug and a kiss on the forehead before he ushered them out of the house and closed the door in her face. She sniffled the whole time as Ranma went to the Okonomiyaki cart. Ukyo stared at her home, but Ranma called out to her.

"Ucchan...I'm sorry about everythin'. We ain't got much time though..." The girl looked back to Ranma, a very different Ranma than the one she remembered. With a tearful nod, she walked beside him as he pulled the cart. However, once they were out of view, Ukyo was shocked as the cart vanished and Ranma looked pained and ready to topple over.

"R-Ran-chan? The cart-...w-what happened? Are you alright?" Ukyo inquired as her hand went to his shoulder, the child confused. However, Ranma simply turned and gave her a cocky grin in spite of his struggles.

"Just bit off a bit more than I can chew...I'll deal though. We need to move fast to the nearest train. Don't know how much time we've got..." Thinking he meant that they needed to go to the hospital or a doctor, Ukyo complied without question, unaware of the young boy's true intentions. Her confusion was hindered by her worry as she led him to the nearest station.

"Two adu-...err...child tickets to Kyoto Station." Ranma said to a ticket operator as he offered the fare in exchange. The operator complied and took the money, not paying the kids much mind. After Ranma bought some stamps and postcards from a vending machine first, the two were soon on a train bound for the center of Kyoto. This was the easy part. The hard part was coming up later.

Ranma worked to write on the postcards as they traveled, Ukyo blinking as she saw Ranma use kanji she had no idea how to read or employ. She then saw him sign them with names she knew weren't his.

"Ran-chan, what are those for?" Ukyo inquired. Ranma responded with a smirk.

"Part of the plan to get free from all this stuff our fathers dumped on us, Ucchan. We're makin' a break for it. Since you're comin' along though...I need you to listen to me, okay? I have to make room for you in the plan."


The rookie police officer looked on in shock as he watched the blatant case of animal abuse and self-harm happening in that pit. Parents and children had reported the man mistreating cats, but he hadn't expected this. His older partner put a hand on the shoulder of the younger officer as a heavier-than-air sleeping gas was employed to incapacitate the lot in the pit.

"Martial artists. Don't try to reason it out too hard." The veteran officer looked at the note they'd found on the ground. "Some of 'em get kind of crazy, past a certain point. This one's got a record of petty crimes a kilometer long, using his young son for almost half of 'em. Looks like it's finally caught up with him. Check those chains he's wrapped up in and use them in addition to our own restraints if they're sound and don't have any tricks to 'em. We need everything we've got to keep this one from escaping."

Genma Saotome, in his haste to achieve what his son had, found himself distracted and in a position of easy pickings for the police. Only as the man began to pass out, chained and unable to muster the strength to escape, did he realize his error and curse his own hubris.


Cologne pondered things as she and the redhead worked their way back toward the Joketsuzoku village. Though she seemed strained and even occasionally unsteady at first, the girl needed no direction nor guidance in her movements toward the village. She knew exactly where it was. What worried her was the information that had been conveyed...and in Shampoo's case, the lack thereof. Whenever Shampoo or the reason for Mousse and Ranma's disagreement came up, the girl would evade the question or simply not speak beyond the phrase 'it not matter, not happen this time'. There was something there what the girl simply did not want to convey. Of course, what she did reveal was concerning enough.

Happosai was involved and was the grandmaster of Ranma's school of martial arts. Thankfully, the boy seemed unwilling to accept Happosai's rather perverse worldview. In addition, this girl knew where Happosai kept some of his stashes in the future and also roughly where and when the man would be sealed and by who. One of the people in question also happened to be unknowingly in the possession of at least some of the treasure that had been stolen from the Joketsuzoku village in Cologne's youth.

It was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up. Surely the council would agree. If they rescued a skilled child with such potential from the taint of Happosai's influence in the process, even better.

'Child, how did Ranma defeat Saffron, anyway?' Cologne asked, curious. That fact wasn't exactly something to ignore either.

The girl responded without hesitation since Kiema wasn't around. 'Hiryu Hyo Toppa. Special version of Hiryu Shoten Ha. Used Saffron's fire magic with Gekkajan's ice magic. Froze Saffron's lower half and kill. Too-too powerful.'

Cologne couldn't help but chuckle at that one. 'That makes sense, child. For a human to defeat a kami would require cunning by default. I would be more suspicious if he hadn't employed such means. Ranma must care for this Akane.'

It was a leading question, she knew, but the girl still responded. 'He care, she might not. Never figure out. She confusing and violent maniac. Mother die when young. Father spineless after wife died and not teach Art to Akane even while call her heir. Akane not improve. Then forced into engagement with Ranma as stranger. Ranma and others come and surpass. Make Akane frustrated and angry.' Cologne could imagine. Such an arrangement wouldn't have been tolerated in her village. It was such a backwards world that the outsiders had built. Before she could comment further though, they'd arrived at the gates of the Joketsuzoku village.

'Honorable Elder! Welcome back home!' One of the guards at the gate greeted. The green-haired and blue-eyed girl noted the redhead and clenched her jian (double-edged sword) firmly just in case, but did not make threatening moves. 'What happened with the light in the sky, and who is this?'

Cologne glanced to her traveling partner, unsure of how much to convey at this point. 'It is alright, Bura Shu. This young one is involved with the light, but brings knowledge rather than calamity. I need to call a meeting of the Council. She has volunteered information which they will need to hear. In the meantime, she is my guest. No Kisses of Death or lethal strikes are permitted. She may appreciate a good spar at some point once her body steadies itself, though.' The Elder wasn't obligated to explain her reason for calling her peers together but did so to ease the redheaded guest that this wasn't about Ranma's future. At least, that's what Cologne wanted to convey. The girl claiming to be the drowned spring's embodiment showed no signs of disapproval, as she had hoped. Her opinion of Happosai wasn't a positive one and she even seemed to relax slightly at the comment that there would be no Kiss of Death. The success of Cologne's subtle placation was barely achieved before a crash was heard from inside the gates.

'Mu Tsu! I don't want you! Go home!' A young but familiar voice called out from within, getting the redhead's attention.

'Never, Xian Pu! I'll beat you one day and marry you!' The guard couldn't help but smirk while the redhead sighed at the confirmation of her suspicions.

'At least your descendant is getting a regular workout. If she keeps having to do this every day, she'll be stronger than the rest of her generation before we know it.' The guard was amused, but Cologne seemed a bit tired of the situation.

'How many of those useless pairs of glasses have Xian Pu broken so far? How many walls have they damaged? His tenacity is admirable, perhaps even amusing and heartwarming in small doses, but Xian Pu is not pleased.' Cologne liked the child well enough and was fairly close to his family, but he was likely to grow up to be one of the pushy men that the Joketsuzoku women tended to have disdain for.

'It no get better over years. Xian Pu no want more than friend, but he no see. Mu Tsu chase too-too much. Drag others in fight, blame when fail. Skilled in Hidden Weapons Style, but throw away honor when Xian Pu is goal.' The redhead interjected in cool anger, making the guard wonder what was meant by this strange commentary. Cologne contemplated the input more seriously. If this girl's interpretation of things was true, the Elder might have to change Mousse's path significantly and quickly. The pair were allowed to pass the guard named Brush and entered the village, where they were greeted with the sight of a mussed-up Mousse with broken glasses trying to tackle and fight a bag of flour and proclaiming his love for Shampoo. The true object of his affections looked on while holding a small staff and appeared irritated. This mood improved quickly when she saw Cologne.

'Grandmother!' The precocious six-year-old purplette beamed, rushing to the Amazon Elder and chattering in Mandarin at a pace that the redheaded newcomer found hard to follow. She seemed to be asking if anything interesting was happening and voicing her frustration in disciplining Mousse again.

'Yes, Mu Tsu's greatest skill is his stamina.' This wasn't praise as much as a bit of cleverly parsed lament on Cologne's part. 'Ah, this traveler is my guest. She will be staying with us for a time while I try to plan something with the Council. I expect you to behave for her while I tend to that, Xian Pu.'

Shampoo looked to the redhead for a moment, finding her odd. She was an outsider, but also with subtle differences to her face. The child had never seen a Japanese person before. 'I don't understand why I have to behave for an outsider, but if she is your guest...okay, Grandmother.' The girl smiled and earned a smile from her ancestor in exchange. Shampoo then looked to the redhead, walking around her and studying her for one complete revolution before finally speaking. 'I am Xian Pu. Who are you, Outsider?'

The newcomer blinked, unsure what to respond with, but shrugged and gave the truth. 'Nyannichuan. Am spirit of Nyannichuan made human. Have memories of Joketsuzoku warriors but jumbled. Born from magic. Body look like last person with curse.' Shampoo didn't understand a lot of that, but she did understand 'born from magic' and that she had memories of her sister Joketsuzoku.

'You are Joketsuzoku, but have an Outsider's body? Strange... Well, you're Grandmother's guest! I'll give you a tour while Grandmother meets the Council! Quickly, before Mu Tsu notices!' Shampoo grabbed the far taller redhead's hand before any protest could be made and rushed off, waving to her Grandmother before going out of sight. Of course, this was before Mousse could realize what was going on. The half-blind boy kept struggling with the sack of flour, which fell over and pinned him temporarily as Cologne looked on.

'...This will not do.' The Elder sighed as she left the awkward scene to call a council meeting, resolving to make a better future than that which was presented to her.