**Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2. That masterpiece is the property of Rumiko Takahashi.**
Ranma, Akane, and Genma entered the front door of the Tendo residence. "We're home!" Ranma called out.
Nodoka ran out of the kitchen and to the front door to greet everyone. She immediately embraced Ranma, Akane, then Genma. "You're back! You're okay! How did it go? Tell me!" Nodoka was excited to see her family safely returned from their trip.
"We are full men again, mom! It worked!" Ranma beamed.
Genma smirked at his wife. "Let's go to the beach!" he exclaimed.
Akane looked at Genma. "Listen, if you want to go to the beach that's fine, but I'm tired and I'm going to bed." Akane walked away and up the stairs.
"Is she okay?" Nodoka asked.
"She's fine. It was a long trip with not a lot of chances for rest. It was eventful, to say the least. Pops, let's go to the beach later when we can bring everyone." Ranma suggested.
"Fine." Genma scooped his wife up. "For now, I need to celebrate being a full man again." he said with a smirk. Nodoka giggled.
"Gross." Ranma made a disgusted face at his parents.
"Ranma! Genma! You're back! Where's Akane?" Soun entered the room.
"Yes, we are back. Akane went to rest. She's really tired. I am, too. Pops can tell you all about everything. I need to go have a nap." Ranma bowed slightly to the elders and walked himself to his room.
"Saotome! What news? How did everything go?" Soun asked.
"We did it, Tendo! We are cured!" Genma announced, beaming.
"That's wonderful news!" Sound laughed with joy for his friend.
Six weeks passed. Nothing usual happened. No celestial visits. No demons or beasts there to attack. Everything was peaceful, which made Ranma very nervous.
Knock, knock, knock.
Ranma answered the door. "Kaze!" Ranma exclaimed. He looked around to see if Miyuki was with him.
"Hello, Ranma. She's not with me." Kaze explained with a smirk.
Ranma slumped in his stance a little. "Of course not." he sighed. "What's up man? It's been a while."
Kaze nodded. "Yes. Sorry about that. I was right in what my fortune would be, so I was making preparations and will be moving into Miyuki's house. Luckily, I will be able to visit the heavens from time to time, but I can not live there full time while being considered half human. This was one of the risks that Miyuki was going to take when she developed this plan to jump into the spring. Somehow, it's me who ended up as half human."
"I'm sorry about that, man." Ranma said.
"Not your fault. I wanted to come check on everyone. It's my understanding that Miyuki will be back soon, just so you know. She is helping with getting me set up as a human living in her home. I'll be taking on the family name she came up with, for appearance's sake." Kaze continued to explain.
"Great. I can't wait to see her." Ranma smiled, although Kaze could see the hurt behind his eyes.
"Can't wait to see you, either, handsome." Miyuki appeared behind Kaze.
"Miyuki!" Ranma ran over and scooped her up into a tight embrace. "You're back! I missed you so much!"
Miyuki giggled. "I'm happy to see you, too, Ranma babe."
Kaze looked at his sister. "I thought you were coming later."
"I changed my mind," Miyuki smirked at him.
Akane walked outside. "What in the.. Kaze!" she exclaimed.
"Hello, Akane." Kaze shot her a winning smile.
"Hello" She bowed. "Are you staying down here for a while or is this just a visit?" she asked expectantly.
"Actually, I'm making preparations to stay on Earth permanently. Seems I was right about how my curse would be portrayed in the heavens. I will be staying at Miyuki's home in Nerima." Kaze explained as Akane's face lit up.
"Earth will be lucky to have you, Kaze." Akane told him.
Ranma looked at Miyuki. "What about you? Will you be staying long?" he asked, hopeful.
"I will stay for as long as I sense there is no danger, but not too long as to press my luck." She explained. "Would you two like to come with us to the house? We do have to get over there to set things up." Miyuki explained.
Ranma and Akane nodded. "I'll just go let our parents know." Akane said as she ran back inside.
"I'm so happy to see you again. It's like my world isn't complete when you're away. I wish you would install a phone up there." Ranma said.
Miyuki giggled. "We've never had the need for something like that before. I'll bring it up to my parents." Miyuki continued to giggle, knowing full well the technology to call between the heavens and Earth was not something that yet existed.
Akane returned. "Okay, we can go now."
As the group approached Miyuki's house, Akane couldn't help but notice Ranma holding Miyuki's hand. His grip looked very tight, like if he loosened it he would lose her again. Akane sighed. She really did feel bad for the situation Ranma found himself in, but also couldn't help but still feel bitter about the life she thought she was going to have with him being torn away so drastically.
Miyuki unlocked the door to let everyone in. Inside, on the table, set a folder. Miyuki picked it up and handed it to Kaze. "These are the documents?" Kaze asked.
"What documents?" Akane asked.
"My new human ID and records." Kaze explained.
"Oh," Akane responded. Duh. Obviously.
"I guess it's time to accept and face my new reality." Kaze said as he walked into the kitchen to get a glass of cold water. He came back. His hair was less shiny, his skin was less clear, the colour in his lips faded slightly, his eyes dulled.. He looked like a regular, yet still good looking, human man.
Akane smiled at him. "You look great as a human, Kaze. Don't worry. You'll fit in just fine."
"It will be weird to not have all the girls falling all over me from now on," Kaze laughed.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Akane teased. Akane could physically feel the pull to Kaze slowing drastically, but he was still incredibly good looking and that was hard to ignore. Plus, she had grown to appreciate his personality and kindness. It wasn't just because he was a tennin, but because of who he was inside. That thought made her smile.
"Hey, Miyuki?" Ranma asked.
Miyuki looked over to Ranma. "Hmm?" she answered.
"Are you okay?" Ranma looked at her with concern.
"I don't know. Suddenly I don't feel right." Miyuki said.
"What? You're tennyo, why would you not feel right?" Kaze said as he went quickly over to inspect his sister. "The colour in your face is gone. What's going on?"
Miyuki gagged. She looked at Kaze in disbelief. "Excuse me." Miyuki rushed off to the bathroom.
Ranma quickly followed as he heard Miyuki begin to vomit. "Miyuki!" He rushed in and pulled her hair back from her face. He started to rub her back.
Kaze's face fell. "This can't happen. How is she sick?" he asked.
Miyuki looked sweaty, eyes watered and face sunken. "Don't look at me, Ranma. I don't want you to see me like this," she said to him.
"You're always beautiful, Miyuki." Ranma told her as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.
Kaze came in with a glass of water and handed it to Ranma, who presented it to Miyuki.
"Thanks, guys." Miyuki thanked, but then turned to vomit again.
"I'm sorry to cut this visit short, guys. I think I need to get Miyuki back up to the heavens and find out what's going on." he told them.
Akane and Ranma nodded. "As much as I don't want to see you go already, we need to know what's going on. I need you to be okay." Ranma told Miyuki. Miyuki nodded.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. I will come back as soon as I can," she told him.
"I'll just go heat some water. Turns out, I can stay tennin a little longer than I thought." Kaze said as he left for the kitchen. Akane followed.
Ranma kept rubbing Miyuki's back gently. "Ugh." Miyuki spat. "Is this how you humans feel when you get sick?" she asked.
Ranma chuckled a little. "Sometimes."
"Gross. To think I wanted to do this full time." Miyuki realized what she said and looked at Ranma. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just don't like this feeling."
"It's okay. I understand." he told her.
Kaze returned as a tennin. He handed Ranma the keys to the house. "Here, take this for me. Lock up when you leave," he instructed Ranma. Ranma took the keys and turned back to Miyuki. He gave her a hug, looked in her eyes, and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You go figure this out and feel better. We will be down here waiting," he told her.
Miyuki nodded.
Ranma stepped back and Kaze scooped up his sister. "We will be back after we get some answers." he told him.
"Keep her safe." Ranma said.
Kaze smiled at Ranma. "I'm her older brother. That's my job." He turned and he vanished along with Miyuki.
"That was really strange." Ranma said.
Akane nodded. "If they can't get sick, what's happening? Do you think it had something to do with her falling in the spring?"
"That would make some sort of sense, but it's been weeks," Ranma said, his voice filled with concern.
Several months went by without hearing from any celestial beings. Ranma often checked Miyuki's house, but there had been no sign of anyone having been there. He was getting frustrated, but with no one to properly vent to about it he decided to put all the energy into his martial arts training. The dojo was certainly feeling the effects. He had never been so grateful for therapy, but even that wasn't enough right now. The lack of contact was driving him mad.
As he was finishing up a complicated kata, he heard a knock at the door. He walked into the Tendo residence, with every intention of answering the door but then he heard Akane's voice. "Kaze! You're back! What happened? It's been such a long time!" he heard her say.
"Akane! Is Ranma here?" Kaze sounded frantic.
"Yeah, man, I'm right here. Where the hell have you been? She gets sick and we don't hear from you for months?!" Ranma said angrily as he walked up behind Akane.
Kaze looked at Ranma. "Is everything okay?" Ranma asked Kaze, noticing that Kaze was clearly distraught.
Kaze's eyes were bloodshot, like he had been crying. "She's gone, Ranma. Miyuki died." Kaze told Ranma.
Ranma's whole world fell to pieces around him within seconds. Every emotion imaginable flooded his body. "You're lying." Ranma accused Kaze.
Kaze shook his head. "No, Ranma. I'm not. Tennin don't lie." he answered. "I'm so sorry."
Ranma fell to his knees and looked at his hands. "I.. what? .. I don't believe this.. How could she be gone? We had barely any time together. What happened, Kaze?" he asked, tears starting to fall, his voice cracking.
Kaze took a deep breath. "Turns out, the Spring of Drowned Man did work, Ranma."
Ranma looked up at Kaze. "What? She didn't change, though."
"No, she didn't. She didn't change because.. she was pregnant." Kaze explained.
Ranma's eyes widened. "What?! That doesn't make any sense!" He said as he shot back up to his feet.
"When we left here, it turned out she was having morning sickness. We didn't know how to deal with it, especially since she was having some complications, so we stayed where we had divine energy to keep her safe and help her through it. The baby was born earlier today." Kaze sniffed and tried to find the courage to continue. "When the baby was born, I'm not sure exactly how but that's when the curse decided to make itself known. The baby was still barely born as her body turned into a human man. The changes, the trauma to her body and the fact that she was a living human in the heavens.. She immediately fell apart. She died right there."
Ranma let out a long breath. "I.. don't believe it.." he said.
Kaze took another breath. "When a tennyo dies, that's it. We don't have an afterlife. I will never see my sister again." Kaze continued.
Ranma started breathing heavily.
"There's more, Ranma." Kaze said.
"What more could there possibly be?" Ranma shot at him.
"The baby is yours and because the baby is yours, that means that the baby is half human. The baby can't stay in the heavens as a half human child." Kaze explained.
Ranma's jaw almost crashed through the floor. "I'm only 18. I can't be a father!" he exclaimed.
Kaze smiled. "Yet, you are. You are the father to a beautiful and angelic baby girl." Kaze moved to the side to reveal something behind him with a blanket on top. He removed the blanket to find a baby seat with a newborn baby girl inside with blonde hair, like her mothers, although just a patch on the top of her head. When the baby felt the light on her face, she opened her green eyes.
Ranma stood in complete shock. Akane looked at him, then moved to look at the baby. "She looks just like Miyuki." she said.
Kaze nodded. "Our celestial genes are rather strong, as you've seen with all our siblings. Ranma, you are this child's father. You need to take care of her. She can not stay in the heavens." He noticed Ranma's heavy breathing, as he was clearly fighting back a lot of emotions. "Don't worry. My parents allowed me to stay home to help while Miyuki battled this, but I will be staying down on Earth as originally planned. Her Uncle Kaze will be here to help in any way I can. My parents would love to help, as well, but they aren't sure how just yet."
Akane looked at Ranma. "Don't you want to see your daughter, Ranma?" she asked, crouching down to look at the baby closer.
Ranma still didn't move or speak. My daughter... The baby let out a small cry. Ranma shook his head, trying to come back to reality. Akane smiled at the baby. "Can I pick her up?" she asked Kaze. Kaze smiled. "I think you should ask her father." Kaze said, motioning to Ranma. Akane looked at Ranma, "Well? Can I hold her?"
Ranma looked at Akane, still completely stunned. "Yeah, I think so." he finally said, still unable to process a complete thought.
Akane turned to smile at the baby. "She's so beautiful, Ranma." Akane said, basking in the new life before her.
Ranma finally moved to take a look at the baby. "She's so small." he said, not taking his eyes off the baby in Akane's arms. Akane smiled and tried to put the baby in Ranma's arms.
"Uhh.. I don't know how to hold a baby. I've never been around babies." he said, pulling back with a terrified look on his face.
"Put your arm out like this, to support her head, and along like this to support her body." Akane instructed. Ranma did as he was told and Akane put the baby in his arms. Ranma remained looking at the baby. "What's her name?" he asked.
"Before she gave birth, the name Miyuki picked out for a girl was Megami." Kaze told him. "She's your daughter. She can have whatever name you pick."
"Megami." Ranma repeated looking down at the tiny newborn baby in his hand.
Nodoka noticed the commotion outside the door and went to inspect. "Ranma, where'd that baby come from? Kaze? Hello Kaze! Did you have a child?" Nodoka was confused, although did like how her son looked with a little baby in his arms.
"No, ma'am. I will let Ranma explain this to you. I have to be going." Kaze turned to Ranma. "If you need anything, you know where I will be. This is a loss we both have to grieve." he told him. "I will see you all again soon." he said to the two women.
Ranma looked at his mother, unsure what to say.
Akane decided to help. "Auntie, we should probably go inside and sit down." she told them.
Ranma sat across from his mother, the baby still in his arms. Akane sat at the end of the table, in between them.
"So, son. You had relations with this tennyo woman when you were betrothed to someone else and then she had a child without you knowing about it and now she's gone and you're an instant single father?" Nodoka was trying to get her story straight.
Ranma nodded. "It appears that way." Ranma couldn't believe it himself, so how could he expect his mother to.
Nodoka moved to get a better look at the baby in Ranma's arms. "Oh my. She's so beautiful. I.. I'm a grandmother." Nodoka sat in disbelief. That thought took a moment to catch up to her.
Ranma, although in shock, did appear to look rather sad.
"Oh son. I'm so sorry about Miyuki. I'm so sorry this little girl will grow up not knowing her mother. You will have your mother's help, but I expect you to be a man and take care of your responsibilities." Nodoka said sternly.
Ranma half smiled at his mother. "Thanks, mom. I have no idea what I'm doing." he admitted.
Nodoka nodded. "First thing is first. We need to make arrangements to move. You had a child with another woman while living with your fiancé. We can not continue to impose on the Tendo family at this point in time. Our home is not ready, so I will make some calls and see what we can do to sort this out. In the meantime, the baby will have needs. Baby formula, bottles, diapers, clothes.. all this costs money. You'll need to find a job. I will give you some money to get started, but you need to figure this out on your own." Nodoka put her foot down. "We also need to tell the others."
Later in the evening, the Tendo family and Genma were summoned to a family dinner/meeting. Nodoka explained everything to the clan, who stood in complete shock.
"I didn't know you had it in you, Ranma," Nabiki half chuckled.
"She's so precious, Ranma. I am certain we have old baby clothes in the attic. We can see what we have that are worth saving." Kasumi offered.
"Thank you, Kasumi. We all really appreciate it, right Ranma?" Nodoka said.
Ranma nodded. "Thanks, everyone."
"I'm a grandfather!" Genma didn't know whether to be thrilled or tormented over the news, so he chose to be thrilled. "Tendo, we should discuss out arrangement." Genma said to his friend.
"Later, Saotome. Over sake." Soun told him.
Nodoka looked at the men. "I'm sorry, Soun. We will be moving for the moment. I'm sorry that my son did this to your daughter and we will get out of your way while we figure this all out." She told them.
Soun nodded. "I understand. Don't go too far."
Nodoka smiled. Soun had always been Genma's best friend, but she didn't expect such calm from him with this new information. This was a big, permanent change to their plans.
Kasumi looked over at the baby in Ranma's arms. "Can I hold her, Ranma?" Kasumi asked. Ranma nodded and handed the baby to Kasumi.
"Oh my. She's so sweet. What's her name, Ranma?" Kasumi asked.
"Miyuki wanted to name her Megami, so her name is Megami. Megami.." Ranma paused for a moment. "Saotome. Megami Saotome." he finished, feeling really uneasy as it was starting to set in that this was his child.
Kasumi smiled and cooed at the baby. "She's beautiful, Ranma. Please make sure you bring her by to visit as often as possible. I would love to watch her sometimes." Kasumi immediately fell in love with the baby, as many do with tiny infants. Kasumi would take any opportunity to care for a baby and was going to make a great mother one day.
"I appreciate everything, Kasumi." Ranma smiled at her. "I may have to take you up on that after this all sinks in."
Kasumi smiled. Nabiki walked over to take a look at the baby. "Wow, she is cute, Ranma. You make cute babies. I'll have to keep that in mind." Nabiki said.
"What is that supposed to mean, Nabiki?" Akane asked.
"Nothing." Nabiki laughed to herself. Akane rolled her eyes at her sister.
Nodoka stood up. Son, we will need to go shopping right away. This baby has immediate needs that can not wait for your first paycheck at whatever job you find. Starting tomorrow, I will begin a hunt for accommodations for us. Thank you for everything, Soun." Nodoka stated. Ranma nodded and went to retrieve the baby from Kasumi, who reluctantly gave her up.