Disclaimer : I don't own Ranma or anyone from the comics or Anime. Some Characters will be of my own creation but I think they own themselves...

Chapter 4 Getting started in earnest

At the abandoned lot

Chi looked around at his camp and sighed. He couldn't believe he had finally started. There is something to be said for making a plan, it's actually carrying it out that could be the problem. For now he was at a stand still. He had to bide his time and wait. He had set the events in motion now and all he could really do now is react as things happened.

"Kami, please, no surprises... I can't risk failing them..."

OOOOO

Elsewhere...

The old man mumbled to himself, berating himself for not seeing his students actions sooner. At first he had been shocked and didn't understand, but now he did. He cursed himself a fool for not expecting it, or even considering it himself. He was the Founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts and he had refused to accept girls and women as pupils for as long as he taught the art. He even passed that practice to his students, or so he thought. Soun had taught Akane the basics at an early age and her potential was amazing.

Happosai sighed to himself. He had always claimed that women were too weak to fight but that wasn't the truth, far from it actually. For anything else that could be said about him, he was an amazing martial arts master and demanded a high level of discipline from his students. They always eventually went off on their own training trips. He encouraged it actually. He also knew that more than a few over the centuries found their way into a certain village in china.

Women students of the art would not be received well, and it was just easier with his methods to train men and boys. Women were actually not weak in his opinion, they had their own strength that he truly respected.

And he was about to help in what might become a true war of martial artists against an entire village of them with only a handful of, albeit truly gifted, KIDS. The main warrior in this fight was someone without anything to lose and was actually taking steps to effectively destroy himself. Happosai narrowed his eyes. He NEVER betrayed a student and would do anything to help any of them with something, if it was truly beyond them.

Chi was Happosai's student and effectively a grandchild of Happosai's in spirit. He was family, and he was in pain being here. Happosai had seen it on that day long ago when Chi had released Happosai from that cave. Chi was clutching at straws with a plan that effectively removed him from the world. There wouldn't be a place for him and he was expecting to sacrifice himself for family, for Ranma and Akane.

Happosai's family did not suffer if he could prevent it. He had failed before, and the ghosts of fallen loved ones still haunt is dreams. The last time he had failed had been about ten years ago when he couldn't get to Soun's wife and try to help her before she passed on. Happosai had learned many 'tricks' during his travels. If he had only gotten there sooner...

Happosai shook his head to clear his thoughts. It didn't help him or his students to dwell on the past. He reached into his pocket and looked at the disk he had. Chi didn't even know it existed and Chi had given it to him. Happosai had read the part of his letter that told him how to pull out the disk folded inside the letter secretly. No matter the year or the Happosai, family didn't suffer alone.

Happosai, both of them past and future, had been asked by another to deliver the disk by any means necessary when Chi arrived.

It was now time to finish his share of surprises. Happosai knew that Chi had added a couple of things to the plan, Happosai had added a few things himself. He just hoped it worked out for the best.

Happosai looked up at the door he had arrived at. He had left the dojo claiming to be looking for Chi, but in all honesty he had more important things to do. He knocked on the door that had recently been rebuilt a couple of days ago.

A beautiful woman in a floral silk kimono opened the door and looked for her guest. Not finding anyone she looked down at a light cough and saw the master that had trained her husband.

"Hello grandfather Happosai. Would you like to come in?" Nodoka looked at the man with her ever present smile.

Happosai returned the smile and held up the disk to her.

"No, dear child, and I am not your grandfather, I'm not that lucky. I'm only here to deliver something I promised a long time ago."

Nodoka took the disk and looked at it curiously. It appeared to be a homemade DVD. Well, she had recently gotten a player and thought that this could help her learn how to use it. When she looked out the front of her door, she saw that Happosai was gone. It was as if he was giving her a little time alone to view the DVD.

She shrugged and walked back inside and placed the DVD into her player and sat down to enjoy whatever this was. A menu was on the screen listing a few options: Pictures, Movies, Documents, and something labeled: WATCH THIS FIRST!

Nodoka was surprised to see an image of the Saotome family crest in the background of the screen. She was slightly impressed that someone went to this much trouble for some kind of gift. She selected the last option and waited for it to load.

The movie started and Nodoka paled as she saw the woman on the screen.

"Hello Nodoka. Yes, I am you. If you are watching this then Chi has arrived. I will not allow anyone in our family to suffer anymore than they already have and I know that you feel the same way. I have much to tell you..."

OOOOO

At the abandoned lot.

Chi was finishing up his dinner when Happosai appeared.

"Hello Master. You're a little late for dinner."

Chi was not looking forward to this. Not attacking women was one of Happosai's founding ideals and he had broken it immediately after arriving at the dojo. He watched Happosai and waited for him to act. This would be painful for him. Chi tensed as Happosai...

" sigh "

Sighed.

"Huh? Master?" Chi was confused. He was expecting anger, righteous fury, near-deadly attacks. Not his master sitting down and lighting his pipe.

"Chi, I want you to tell me why you did that. Honestly."

Happosai looked at his student as Chi relaxed, slightly. He waited for Chi to begin.

"Um... I Kinda realized that if Akane actually started training properly she could probably fight Shampoo herself. We can't really avoid a fight with the Amazons, but if we could just keep it to the ones already here it would help a lot."

"Boy, do you realize why I didn't wanna train girls?"

"You thought they were weak?"

"I traveled to China and even dated Cologne in my youth. Do you really think that I BELIEVE girls are weaker than guys?"

Chi was slightly confused by this. It didn't make sense. Happosai trained the best he could find at times he looked for students. While his training methods were strange and severe, they created some of the greatest martial artists besides... the... amazons...

Happosai smirked as he knew that Chi had figured it out. "Well boy?"

"You were trying to avoid the kiss of death being given to your students. But why not just tell them about the amazons and their laws and just avoid it altogether?"

"Why would I want to warn my students about the amazon laws? I only train men."

"Yeah, and if a guy you trained encountered the village... You set them up?" Chi was confused. What was going on here?

"I loved her in my youth. Her village was strong, but dieing slowly."

"You did all that for Cologne? You found guys, trained them and then encouraged them to train on their own, hoping that they wandered into the village and then beat an amazon and giving them an amazon wife? That's..."

"Brilliant. Within a century the village was once again growing."

"Does she know?"

"I think she suspects sometimes, but it would dishonor all amazons to admit that a man saved them. You forgot part of my plan."

"What part was that?"

"WOW! HER SHIRT RIPPED OFF! WHERE'S HER BRA?"

Chi blushed horribly and tried not to look. He knew the nosebleed of something like that could possibly knock him out. He lost the fight and turned around slightly and saw..

"Nothing's there?"

Happosai smiled large enough to show all of his teeth.

"Master, what was the point of that?"

"Anyone I train becomes shy and near immobile at the sight of even the slightest cleavage. If I was training men good enough to beat amazons, how could they control them or even keep them in the village. Just a little flash of skin and an amazon has a husband for life that's loyal and obedient."

Chi was impressed, then annoyed when he realized that HE fell into the category of being trained by him. So that was why he always acted like that when Mina started flirting with him...

Happosai noticed a familiar aura emanating from the boy. Chi was depressed about something and Happosai figured that it was probably a girl Chi left behind. Chi believed himself to be alone here. Happosai had stalled Chi enough. He just hoped that Nodoka had watched it immediately.

"You know, I just delivered a package to Nodoka that you might be interested in. It was from your mother..." Chi snapped his head up at Happosai and stared at him wide eyed.

"What? How? Where did you get it from?"

"Hidden weapons, letter from you, bide time..." Happosai let himself trail off, grinning as Chi took off at top speed for Nodoka's house. He turned his head at a slight bit of motion from the edge of the lot. Someone had been here and he had missed it. That was not good.

OOOOO

At the Saotome home

Chi landed in front of the door and hesitated as he was about to knock. What was he going to say. What was he going to do? What could it have been that Happosai had given Nodoka? Chi was nearly bowled over as the door was thrown open and Nodoka stood there looking as if she was bout to start running somewhere important. She stopped as she saw the young man standing on her doorstep about to knock.

Amazons have many glomps that they use when trying to entice a man to be her husband. They can be very crippling and crushing. They were nothing compared to the glomp that Chi found himself in as he looked down at the woman holding him as if he was a dream come true. The return of a long lost family member. She had tears in her eyes.

"My son. My son is home..."

Chi had been training on his own for four years now away from home. He had come here two years ago. He had consoled himself to the fact that he was now a stranger to the people he knew a long time ago. He was ready to be alone.

Tell that to any son who finds the woman who raised him crying and holding him. Chi broke down and started crying himself.

"Momma..."

OOOOO

Author's notes
Sorry I took some time before this one. Are you enjoying it so far?
R&R