Ami could not help but feel a little miffed at being outplayed by Genma. Granted, he had used her ignorance of his son's condition to his advantage. But the result was that Ami had still ended up agreeing to go along with this arranged marriage nevertheless. It kind of irked her pride as a genius and a tactician. Not that she would ever show it.
"You can't be serious!" Akane protested, "I'm not going to marry some guy I've never met!"
"I'm not happy about it either, couldn't you have asked if you wanted to try setting me up with a wife?" Ranma added in his distaste. Well that made this easier, if Ranma himself wasn't excited about it.
"Now now, don't worry." Ami said, "I'm not going to force any of my children to get married to someone they don't like."
Genma laughed, "Well don't worry about that, my son's a fine catch!"
Ranma elbowed his father, "Don't advertise me like I'm some kind of special!"
"I'm sure we all think that about our children." Ami said, "But the issue is that I don't think a lasting marriage can be formed by just shoving two people together." Ami thought back to the examples of lasting relationships in her life, Mamoru and Usagi, Haruka and Michiru. Both of them had a long period of struggle to get together and understand each other. Even her and Makoto understood each other, and she and Soun had been wonderful partners… well before he died.
(Of course, the fact that half of the major relationships she was close friends with involved people getting together at least partly because they were lovers in their past life threw a wrench in things, but hey, nobody said that was necessary.)
"Yeah basically this just means we'll let Ranma go on some dates with the girls." Makoto said, "And once they're adults we'll set up an omiai and let them decide."
Genma glanced sideways at Makoto. "Err, who are you?" The way she spoke about the Tendo Daughters dating implied she had some say in it.
Oh right. Ami, not being the most sociable person, had not had any long term interaction with someone who didn't already know about her relationship with Makoto. This would require some explanation. Ami cleared her throat, "Mr. Saotome, this is Makoto Kino." She gestured to her, "She is my… partner."
"Partner?" Ranma asked, "What do you mean? She run the dojo or something."
There was this brief, awkward silence. Genma slowly turned back to his child. "Son, how old are you?"
"Sixteen." Ranma answered, "I thought you'd know my age Pops."
"Right maybe all boys schools weren't the best idea." Genma muttered.
"She's my mom!" Akane jumped into the conversation again., "You got a problem with that?"
"Wait how can you have two moms?" Ranma asked.
Genma groaned, "Oh good lord. Son. They're lovers." Yes. The all boys school had been a terrible idea. "Mrs. Tendo is apparently bisexual." He explained, and thankfully Ranma seemed to grasp that. "After Tendo's death, well, did the closest thing to remarriage she could with Ms. Kino."
"Makoto's been my friend since High School. We began this relationship a few years ago." Ami said, and she felt guilty for feeling this way, but some part of her had been hoping that Genma wouldn't take her relationship with Makoto well. That he'd reject them in a fit of homophobia. As irritating as that normally was to deal with it would free her from her late husband's obligations. But instead he seemed more embarrassed about his son's ignorance on the topic.
Then again Soun had also been fairly open minded despite his old fashioned tendencies, so it made sense his friend and training partner would have similar attitudes.
"Anyways, nice to meet you Ms. Kino." Genma said, "And yes, I guess that's the way things can go. I would have liked a more solid arrangement, but I'm sure that in a few years with him around your girls will be falling over to marry Ranma!" He laughed.
"...err wait." Makoto said, "Few years with him? What? You planning on moving in?"
Wait, what? Ami looked over at Makoto.
Genma froze, "Well, um, Tendo did promise me we'd be able to stay here to help push along the engagement…"
"You want a boy living here!?" Akane shouted.
Ami groaned, "So you thought Soun would just have a room for you ready?" They did have two guest rooms, but with the amount of times her fellow Senshi stayed the night they were both needed fairly often.
"I would have gladly done the same to him!" Genma said.
Ranma snorted, "So that's why you let the lease on our apartment run out when you went to China, you were ready to freeload at this nice place."
So Genma had just assumed he'd be able to stay here? To the point where they didn't even have a place to stay?
Ami cleared her throat, "Well, Mr. Saotome, I'm afraid that-"
The sound of the door opening. "I'm home! And I brought company!" Nabiki's voice came out. More company? Well hopefully just a random school friend. Hopefully not that Kuno boy again they still hadn't finished patching the hole in the wall Akane had punted him through when he tried to hit on her. Someone calmer, nicer, that wouldn't make this issue more compli-
"Hi Auntie Ami! Long time no see!" A teenage girl with her long pink hair styled up in two long twintails topped with odango style buns waved to her. She wore a Furinkan school uniform with a tiny pendant shaped like a cat head on a necklace around her neck. A large suitcase held at her side.
"It's Chibi-Usa!" Nabiki said grinning. "She's transferring over to Furinkan Akane, and Auntie Usagi said she was staying here."
Ami and Makoto's eyes twitched.
"Nabiki! I told you to just call me Usagi! I'm not twelve any more!" Chibi-Usa whined. Talking to her like an old friend even though Nabiki had never met Chibi-Usa before in her life.
In a flash Chibi-Usa was sitting next to Akane, "Hey there."
"Uhhh…" Akane stared blankly at her, "Mothe-" The cat pendant's eyes gleamed, "Oh this sounds wonderful!" Akane hugged Chibi-Usa, "It'll be great to go to school with you. Maybe you can help me fight off those boys better."
"Excuse us for a moment Mr. Saotome." Ami stood up, and Makoto grabbed Chibi-Usa's arm. "We'll be showing our new guest her room."
"DID YOU JUST HYPNOTIZE MY CHILDREN!?" Ami had made sure to cast a soundproofing spell over her room.
"Err, kind of had to?" Chibi-Usa laughed sheepishly. "You guys haven't told them about the whole Sailor Senshi thing. Sooo I gotta be Mom's niece now."
"Niece? Makoto said, "Not sister?"
"Would I pass as her sister now?" She rolled her eyes, "No, so I'm her niece. And no, I didn't hypnotise Uncle Shingo. Mom told him about being Sailor Moon a decade ago. Hint Hint. He'll play along with my cover if asked."
Ami groaned, "So why do you expect-" a letter was pressed in Ami's face. "Oh I see." She opened the envelope. To see, of course, Usagi's usual bad handwriting.
Hiiiiiiiiiiii Ami Hi Makoto!
I know this is sudden but as part of Usagi's Sailor Moon training we decided she should learn some martial arts, and what better style than Indiscriminate Grappling? And who better to learn from than the sources! The masters are a tiny bit busy up here in Crystal Tokyo, but back in the 2000s they're totally free! If kind of learning themselves. Soooo please, pretty please let Usagi stay with you and learn with Akane and Ranma!
I'll pay you back, ask Usagi and she'll give you a cash card to pay for like, all your bills for the next five years.
Love, Neo Queen Serenity.
P.S Mamoru says hi! So do your future selves!
P.P.S. KEEP MY DAUGHTER AWAY FROM HAPPOSAI.
Ami lowered the letter and passed it to Makoto. Makoto read it and groaned, "Well, I think that answers the question of if Ranma and Mr. Saotome are staying."
"Yes I suppose so." Ami sighed, if for whatever reason Neo Queen Serenity wanted Chibi-Usa to learn Anything Goes, well, they needed to keep Genma close and in their good graces for her to learn the style. "So that's all you're coming for? Some martial arts training?"
"Yes." Chibi-Usa said.
"So there isn't some horrible threat that we're going to have to kill ourselves fighting, again?" Ami asked. It had been so long since there had been anything truly dangerous. With the way threats tended to escalate something worse than Galaxia was the lastt thing Ami wanted.
"Not that I know of." Chibi-Usa shrugged. "Of course, Setsuna often says that when time travel gets involved and the butterfly effect…"
"Please don't start with cause and effect, I've forgotten more about it than you'll ever know." Ami said.
Chibi-Usa rolled her eyes. Great, teenage snarkiness. Ami had never understood that even as a teen. "Whatever. Anyways, before I give you the cash card, I got a condition of my own."
"Oh? What is that?" Makoto said.
"Well… I'm going to want to spend time with…" She let out a happy sigh, "Helios, and I'm not going to want Mom looking over my shoulder like she does all the time in Neo Crystal Tokyo sooo... "
"Sure." Makoto said.
"All right!" Chibi-Usa slapped the card into Makoto's hands, "I knew you'd be reasonable and-"
"Ami could you set up some dream catchers? Maybe a few spells to let us be able to see her dreams?" Makoto asked, "Oh and of course we gotta talk to him if he manifests in the real world."
Ami saw Chibi-Usa's hopes die in real time. It was a sight she had gotten used to as a parent dealing with teenagers. "What!? But you said-"
"Makoto said that we won't have Usagi watch over you, instead we will." Ami said. "You're may still be a child Usagi. But we're adults, and we know how children are.."
"You were honestly always an adult Ami." Makoto said.
Ami smiled, "Thank you."
Meanwhile, Ranma found himself in the worst possible situation. Namely being stuck between two girls and his old man.
"Oh hell no." Nabiki said, "I'm not marrying some shmuck just because Daddy thought it'd be fun." She looked him over in a fashion similar to a butcher looking over a cow, "I mean he's not bad looking but marriage material? How much are you looking to bring down a year?"
"Err… I dunno?" Ranma said, "Err Pops how much do martial artists earn once they're adults."
"Material possessions are meaningless for the advancement of the Art." Genma intoned.
"So, not much." Nabiki said dryly. "I pass! Congratulations little sis, you make a cute couple."
"W-what!? Look I'm not interested in a boy!"
"Well he turns into a girl, if that helps." Genma said.
Ranma glared at Genma, "The hell old man?"
"Well I'm just saying, got to keep an open mind about this." Genma said.
"That doesn't help!" Akane shouted, blushing a little.
"Oh, someone protests too much. You always did have a problem with - he turns into a girl? I gotta see this." Nabiki said, "How does that happen?"
Genma picked up a glass of water and upended it over Ranma. "Behold! The tragic curse of Jusenkyo!"
Ranma kicked Genma in the face, he sailed through the air, and landed straight into the koi pond. "Behold! The curse of my idiotic old man!" Ranma said.
Nabiki looked over the cute girl that had taken Ranma's place. "Congratulations sis, you make a really cute couple!"
Akane's face reddened, "I'm not… damn it!"
That's when the damp panda ran back from the yard and tried to drop kick Ranma. Because the situation clearly wasn't nearly absurd enough already.
"Wait a panda?" Nabiki asked. "Where did the endangered animal come from, and why is it uncharacteristically active and violent?"
"Don't ask me." Akane said.
It was at this point that the mature adults and Chibi-Usa came back into the room. Seeing girl and panda brawl in their backyard.
"I knew coming here was a good idea." Chibi-Usa said, stars in her eyes.
"So both of you share a similar curse, where cold water changes you and hot water changes you back to your natural forms?" Ami asked, once the fight had ended.
"Indeed." Genma said, "A martial artist's life is fraught with peril."
"Why the hell did you think going to a place like that was a good idea?" Makoto asked.
"Well I picked up a pamphlet detailing training grounds in China…" Genma threw it down onto the table.
Ami picked up the pamphlet, and then pulled out a pair of reading glasses. Now, she didn't actually need any form of corrective lenses. The glasses were, in fact, a more subtle way to access the Mercury Computer's Visor systems. So before glancing over the pamphlet she looked over Ranma and Genma.
Sure enough, a spell had been woven over them. The Mercury Compute analysed and summarized the magic. The first thing notable about it was its age. The spell dated from Silver Millennium times! Next, Ami saw that it was in fact, not a curse at all. There was not a single malignant effect in the magic. It was, like implied from being on a "training ground" for training. Spiritual and physical training, to expand one's horizons and understanding of the world. It contained a karmic element with the form selected being the one that would best improve the trainee as person. And, perhaps most impressively, was how it weaved itself into the target's soul. As far as Ami knew Usagi would be the only person capable of removing this magic without killing them. Even then, why risk it?
Also Ranma had a spell on him that would make men's hair grow wildly. But it was currently in standby. Why did he have that? Asking would lead to questions on how she knew that, so since it didn't seem to be a problem it could be ignored.
Once the scan of the spell was 100% complete, and Ami sent a command to save the reading for more close examination later, she browsed the pamphlet. She noticed a feature of it quickly."Um, Mr. Saotome. This describes in tremendous, nigh excruciating detail the dangers of the springs and their effects."
"It does?" Genma asked.
Ami suddenly felt a headache coming on. She didn't want to ask it. She knew it had to be, but to do so…
"Err, can you read Chinese?" Makoto asked, saving her the pain like she did so often.
"You've got it!" Genma said, sounding almost proud. "That was the insidious trap they lay!"
This seemed to be the breaking point for Ranma, as he threw punch at Genma. "You dumbass!"
Makoto groaned, "Stop fighting! What's done is done you two!"
"Right I don't think I'd want such violent people engaged to my daughter's." Ami said, and in a flash Genma was obediently sitting at the table, which actually caused Ranma to overextend on a kick and land flat on his face. She didn't like holding his dreams for the future over his head, but the Dojo needed enough repairs from Makoto and Akane alone. She didn't need a second pair of rambunctious martial artists.
"Wow you guys are so cool!" Chibi-Usa popped up, "Can I learn from you guys?"
Genma seemingly noticed the third guest for the first time. He let out a dismissive snort. "Girl, this is a family art. I'll help teach Akane and Tendos' other daughters out of respect to his memory, but I'm not going to waste my time with a newbie."
Ranma pulled himself up, "Yeah Anything Goes isn't something learned casually."
"Oh come on! I'm really strong already, I just never got training!" Chibi-Usa pouted.
Genma took a good look at the small, slender teenage girl. He laughed. "What? You lift weights or something?"
"Come on, just let me show you. Try and hit me." Chibi-Usa said.
"I'm not going to hit an untrained girl." Genma said.
"Yeah that's like, Martial Artists don't pick on the weak." Ranma said.
Even Akane frowned, "Yeah, I mean… Look, maybe you could watch us and I could show you some katas but…"
"I can take it! Just, you know, push me! I promise I won't get mad? Surely a Master like you can shove a girl without hurting her?"
Genma scowled.
"Look, if she wants to learn show her how far she's gotta go." Makoto said, "Just give her a shove."
"Right if Usagi wants it we won't get upset." Ami said.
Genma sighed, "Fine. If you can take it I'll teach you." Genma stood up and, quite lazily, threw out a palm thrust.
And Chibi-Usa caught it.
"Wait wha-" Genma was flung through the air with a flick of the wrist, landing with a splash back into the pond.
Ranma and Akane's jaw's dropped.
Ami, who still had her glasses on, picked up on the… trick. She had cheated!
Chibi-Usa was, in fact, transformed into Sailor Moon, She had then used the Luna Disguise pen to make it look like she was wearing a Furinkan uniform. Ami slid over to her, "That is a flagrant abuse of your power young lady." She whispered.
"Dad wants me to learn how to stop accidentally breaking things." She said, sounding perfectly innocent, completely ignoring Ami's scolding. .
"Which you learn by learning 'responsibility'." Ami sternly said. "Perhaps you have heard of the word?"
Thankfully she seemed to get the hint. Chibi-Usa laughed, a bit nervously. "Of course!" She bowed to the panda in the pond. "I look forward to our lessons Sensei!"