Disclaimer; This fanfiction uses existing ideas, characters and or worlds, but is an independent work of art. I own nothing, hence the reason for publishing my writings here instead of in real books where I could make some money.
The days following Ranma's student selection were hectic.
Nabiki had scheduled several viewings of plots of land for the future Wild Horse inc. headquarters, which Ranma had to come along to see, given that he was the owner, and had likely a better idea of how much space they needed. The realtor was not unlike how Nabiki might have turned out if she hadn't gotten such a stead, high-paying job and Ranma hadn't shown up in her life … well, maybe she was worse than Nabiki would have been … the more expensive the property, the more desperate the woman was to sell it.
This held true both for the search for Headquarters and for plots of land where their fast-food chains were to set up.
Ranma suspected the woman had an orgasm when he announced his intent to buy as many as six plots, scattered across the Tokyo area, the headquarter plot being the closest to Ranma's current residence. At least, she shivered and moaned happily when he signed the papers.
To make matters worse, Rei had a mild case of the sniffles, which on any other baby would likely be the equivalent of the flu. Still, it was enough to have the whole house worrying over her, tending to her every need, and wringing their hands as they hoped she'd get better soon.
Ranma's time of the month came, lasted a few days and went away with no more bother than a dull ache in the abdominal region and a series of explanations to the Talons.
Mrs Talon and her son were still staying, as Nodoka was not yet done reminiscing about the good old days, and as punishment for his attempts at procuring a DNA sample from any of the inhabitants of the house, Erwin had to sit through it without the distraction of any form of media, and he had to participate in the conversation when they thought there was something he could add.
Let's just say that a few days of having to listen and talk about rashes, dirty nappies, stretch marks, feminine issues, and pop idols or anime he'd never even heard of was enough of a deterrent from trying again for a while.
Still, he was constantly kept under supervision, either by those who lived there, or Brianna's Peebos, who kept yelling out things like "Bad boy, go Boom on you if you disobey!" or "Make my day!" at him.
Ranma's security had to be set up in the dojo - Then similar security had to be made for the other Rings, and after a few tests, a policeman showed up at the gate to inform him that some of the neighbours had complained about the noise, and to keep it down in the future. This was something Ranma couldn't readily promise – but it gave him ideas for making a sound-muffling field around the property … and given how loud Martial Arts training could get, that was probably not a bad idea … he would take the idea up with Gina.
The security was composed of a user recognition system in the controls of the Rings, and a sensor for the same just in front of the vortex. Unregistered users would not be able to make it work, or follow through the vortex. On the off chance that either of those failed to prevent someone from travelling between the Rings, the departure Ring would alert the Ring on the other side, and activate a series of cannons with Peebo AI that would hold the unwelcome traveller in place with threats or warning shots until Ranma or someone in his stead came to handle the situation.
The Agricultural Research group presented the results of their excursions to the farmlands, and expressed their satisfaction with the selected plots for the fast-food chain's starting locations.
At the same time, Ranma had to inform the joint teams about the change in plans to colonize the Moon. Everyone present expressed their sadness at this loss, but brightened when Ranma suggested they could make it into a penal colony where prisoners were allowed only the simplest tools to farm and build shelter, and no other advanced technology existed on its surface – several armed satellites could orbit it to make sure no one thought of creating more advanced technology, though. Not much of a problem, given the level of technology Ranma had at his disposal, and the friends and allies he had gained …
Ukyo and Mousse departed in a huff when Ranma lost his temper with them for another of Mousse's attacks, this one strafing a tiny, nearly unnoticeable cut on Rei's arm.
If it hadn't been for Rei's accelerated healing repairing the damage almost instantly, and her lack of distress, Ranma would most likely have been serving Peking Duck to Ukyo and the Amazons, without killing the duck before making it. A slow roast should give Mousse time to think of his foul deeds before meeting his maker.
As it was, Mousse could see no wrong in his faulty aim, and Ukyo was not claiming responsibility for the actions of the Amazon male. So Ranma kicked them out, and refused to let them back in until such time that they admitted to their faulty judgement and apologised.
For some reason, Kasumi shivered in excitement at seeing Ranma so strict and protective.
Then, not three days after having evicted his former best friend, Ranma was visited by various diplomats and military representatives from rich countries. They wanted to know if he would, or they could, research into making his ki-tech and chi-tech into a mass destruction weapon, though they did their best to use big words and complicated phrases and sentences to disguise it.
In an effort to preserve some sense of civility, Ranma politely declined, and asked them to leave before he lost his temper. Didn't anyone listen to him when he explained the global, if not solar system-wide implications such a weapon could cause? A warhead detonation with incorporated chi-technology would be enough to potentially cause the planet's core to collapse in on itself, destroying all life on the planet and possibly causing a so far theoretical phenomenon known as a black hole! And that was only if there was some modicum of control over the explosion – and ki-tech warheads would only be effective as a suicide weapon, as it would require the one who armed it to stay in close proximity to it to be effective – even if they did find a way to detonate such a warhead, it would have to be detonated within such a short time that no amount of running or flight could escape the blast radius, or the energy stored would bleed out.
Ki-grenades could be possible, but that would require so much ki from the user that a normal person would only be able to throw a single one before collapsing from exhaustion – because the explosive properties needed couldn't suffice with merely superfluous bio-energy they would get from the short periods they would be worn before use. Of course, this made little sense considering the apparent massive energy requirements the Stuff-Space generators would have required under normal circumstances – but Ranma was not interested in searching for a way to make this idea work like he had the Stuff-Space generators.
The final reason he sent the ambassadors and representatives packing was that Ranma would not condone the destruction of a planet that housed billions of lives – even if he and his friends and family had the option to move to a different realm or planet if they so desired.
Come to think of it, perhaps he should look into building homes on Jade and Aebra so he had somewhere to retire or go on vacation when the pressure of his work became too much … his daughter and future children would benefit from learning of the different places and cultures as they grew up …
And speaking of other cultures, Hanza while still in America with Penny, had gotten in contact with Nabiki over the days, and they spoke frequently. The former male ninja had started adapting to modern technology, and knew the basic functions of a telephone, which Penny grudgingly accepted the charges for.
Sheila was adapting very well to modern appliances as well, having successfully popped a bag of popcorn for the evening when they all sat down to watch a movie. And she didn't want to share, much like a predator not wanting to share its first kill …
At the end of the week, a courier arrived at the door with a nomination for the International Scientist of the Year Award for his Stuff-Space Generator, complete with three tickets to the ceremony. The real problem was deciding on whom to take without offending anyone. In the end, Nodoka and Gina would come – his mother to allow the press to photograph the proud mother of the prominent young scientist, should he win. Gina was there to show that even if she, as a fellow scientist, was not nominated or won, she was still a good sport about it – of course, she had made Ranma promise some alone-time with her in return.
There was still a few weeks left until that event, though.
"Finally," Ranma sighed as he and his family, including his girlfriends and Nabiki, stood in the dojo and watched the Ring flare to life. Rei was there as well, but due to her condition of changing shapes at random times, she was currently a pink griffin with diapers, resting on her mother's arm.
With the security completed, it was time for Ranma to welcome his students for their first lesson … and for his first lesson as an instructor.
Mind you, he was not acknowledged by the government as an instructor, but that did not matter to those he would be teaching. He was named a Master on Jade, and that was good enough for his new students.
While he did his best not to show it, Ranma was nervous.
He had never taught anyone before, and given how his father taught him, he was anxious about the possibility that he wouldn't be able to teach others what he knew – or that he would have to resort to such painfully dangerous methods as Genma used.
Julia had given him an idea for one way to train his students … they would help him construct the buildings he was to erect in the near future, without the aid of machines. The most advanced machine would be a pulley system to transport heavy material higher than ground level, or safely to lower levels. And that was a kinder training than Julia, who had her students build their dojo, and her daughter build a pyramid. Though in all fairness, the pyramid only came into the picture as punishment for Britanny's shopping spree.
Stepping through the Ring was Pikat, the female, red-furred werewolf that was the first one chosen to be his student, and the Ring deactivated behind her. She was dressed in a white Martial Arts Gi, which Ranma had provided when he visited the village to install the security system for the Ring. The last thing he needed was to have a half-nude woman parading about his dojo – especially with his girlfriends living with him in the house across the garden.
Pikat also brought with her a sword, very similar in make to a Zweihänder, but with a blade nearly four times as wide, and with runic letters engraved along the middle. It practically glowed with power, and Ranma was curious of its enchantments – but he wasn't going to let his students start with weapons just yet, so it would have to wait before it would be used.
"Welcome, student," Ranma greeted, recalling that to be his current sensei's favoured way of addressing him. He guessed it was to remind him of his status and to keep him from getting too cocky. "I trust your trip wasn't uncomfortable?"
"No more uncomfortable than a Portal Spell, Weapons-Master Ranma," Pikat answered and bowed respectfully to him.
"Leave your weapon against the wall and have a seat on the ground - we are waiting for your fellow students to arrive."
"Yes, Master," nodded the werewolf and did as instructed, sparing a glance at the others in the room, and showing only a slight hesitation in relinquishing her sword.
The werewolf had barely knelt on the ground when the Ring flared to life again, and two identical Kryn men stepped through, similar fur markings to the werewolf, but possessing no tail and being more feline in appearance than canine. They too wore the Gi Ranma had brought with him to Aebra when setting up its security, and brought with them a pair of short swords, and something that looked like a firearm of some kind.
"Welcome, students," Ranma repeated, adding a plural form to the address. "Please relieve yourselves of your weapons and have a seat next to Pikat."
The twins shrugged and did as told, taking up places on either side of the curious werewolf.
"Before we begin, I would like to introduce you to my family, they may stop by during training at some point," Ranma started.
The introductions of his family was short, indicating only which name belonged to who, and what their relation was to him.
"Family, I would like you to meet my students," Ranma continued. "The middle one is Pikat, and the twins are Spade and Blade … I haven't asked which is which yet, but I'll figure it out.
"Now, I would like all who are not supposed to participate in the lesson to vacate the dojo … I might accidentally bore you to death with my lecture on the tenets of Martial Arts before we start warming up."
A firm knock was heard all over the Koki home, originating from the gate.
Shortly after Ranma's dismissal, the majority of the female occupants had decided to go out for a while, spending a little of Ranma's money on an article of clothing he might appreciate, or some sweets.
Nodoka, Erin and Erwin occupied the artificial hot springs out back, and would not be able to hear the knocking over the bubbles, Erwin's pained groaning and the women's conversation.
This left only Kasumi available to answer while Rei was taking a short nap.
"Yes, what may I-" Kasumi's polite and cheerful greeting ended abruptly as she stared in shock at the visitor. "Father?"
Several hours later, Ranma dismissed his students for the day, watching them stumble through the Ring to their respective homes, so tired they didn't notice they had forgotten their weapons.
He wasn't very satisfied with their progress.
Five hours of learning the basics and they still hadn't gotten it right.
By this time, he would normally be ready for advanced lessons in whatever fighting style he was learning – provided it wasn't special techniques … he needed a little longer for each of those if they were completely new to him or he didn't have someone demonstrate it for him.
To add to it, Pikat and Spade seemed to be on the verge of more than friendship after only a few hours! Such a romance would only hinder their training by distracting them! If they explored the romance and it turned sour, it would show in their interaction with one another in training, which would not be a good thing.
Ranma closed his eyes for a moment. He would either have to nip this in the bud, or tell them not to start any kind of romance until after they were finished learning from him.
As he slid open the doors to the dojo, both to air out the sweaty smell and to exit, Ranma had to remind himself that not everyone had the adaptability needed to learn a new style fast.
At least they were getting along and didn't complain about how much of a slave-driver he was. It would only mean he had to be tougher on them if they said something … discipline was important, after all, and sometimes you had to work with people you don't like, so it was important not to yell out the smallest opinion of that someone … Or even whisper that opinion, as some have better hearing than others.
The house sounded empty when he first entered, but the sudden laughter of his infant daughter caught his ear and he followed it to the living room to see a sight he had never imagined he'd see.
Kneeling on the ground in front of Rei's blanket was Tendo Soun, making faces at the currently human Rei that caused her to giggle, laugh, and wave her arms in excitement.
Kasumi was watching carefully from the sofa, and didn't look like she knew if she should be happy to see her father act so playful towards an infant, if she should have denied him entry or if she should be cross with him for forcing her and Nabiki to abandon their childhood home for fear of outrageous demands forced on them.
"May I ask what you are doing in my home, Tendo-san?" Ranma asked as politely as possible. There were only a handful of reasons he could think up that would bring the Tendo Patriarch to seeking him out in this manner, and none of them were all that appealing to be forced into.
The sole male Tendo looked up just in time to get hit on the side of his face by a flying rattle Rei had been waving. Momentarily distracted, Soun picked up the toy and smilingly handed it back to the infant. He was about to respond to Ranma's question when the hit repeated itself, much to Rei's amusement.
It looked like Rei had discovered the joys of playing "fetch" with a willing victim.
After a few unsuccessful tries, Kasumi took mercy on her father and started playing with Rei.
"I came to see my daughters," Soun chuckled, still amused from his game with Rei. A bruise was already forming on his left cheek, where the rattle had struck unerringly each time.
"How did you know where to find them?" Ranma questioned suspiciously. It wasn't exactly like their names were listed in the phone book – at least, the Tendo women weren't listed by address, as by some stroke of luck, the last phone book was updated while they lived with Nodoka.
"I have friends in the city council," Soun explained. "They couldn't find an address for Kasumi or Nabiki, but they had yours, and according to several magazines and newspapers Nabiki works for you, so I came to see if you knew of their whereabouts.
"I know you have no reason to trust me, but unlike what you may think, I'm not here to force you to marry one of my daughters, even if it would make me happy," Soun continued. "I've changed … or rather, got some sense knocked into me. After Genma was arrested and Master Happosai was publicly revealed to have lived with me, I was ousted from my position on the City Council – then Akane disappeared, leaving me with nothing but my grief and a massive debt that seemed to have piled up over the years but now had no one fighting it on my behalf.
"I tried to kill myself-" Kasumi gasped in shock at this revelation, and Ranma's cool exterior wavered for a bit. "-but lucky for me, the water was too shallow, and I was found by Hinako-chan.
"She convinced me to turn myself around, reopen the dojo for one or two students to make enough money to start paying off my debts and rebuild the damaged property. I'm not out of the woods, but I'm getting there slowly, and though it pains me to admit it, Hinako has partly filled the hole left by my wife …"
"Father, that's wonderful!" Kasumi cooed, making it seem to Rei like she was addressing her. "Mother would have wanted you to move on with your life - It's good that you've discovered that." She finished by blowing a raspberry on Rei's stomach, eliciting a high-pitched squeal of delight from the infant.
"So you've given up on trying to join the Schools," Ranma guessed. A brief flicker of Kasumi's eyes told him that she wanted to tell her father about her relationship with Ranma, but a miniscule shake of Ranma's head told her not to – they could wait a while before telling. He tried to convey as much with his eyes, but he wasn't sure how much got through.
"It was a wonderful dream," Soun sighed. "But for there to have been a school to join with the Saotome School, I would have been required to train Akane a great deal more than I had … I'm ashamed to admit that I let up on her training when- oh, let's just admit that I was a failure as a father. By all rights, the social services should have taken my girls away the moment my wife died, given how much of a wreck I was …
"But, let's not dwell on that subject, or the baby might pick up on the underlying mood."
"True," Ranma agreed. "Babies have a gift for picking up on such things."
"Whose is it, by the way?" Soun asked, looking closer on the giggling child. "Is it an Amazon? Pink isn't exactly a common hair colour …"
"No, I can guarantee that Rei is not an Amazon," Ranma assured. "She's half Harpy and half Werecat … I think some red pigments from my side of the family carried over with the blonde of her mother's, mixing the two."
At that precise moment, Rei sneezed and changed shapes into her winged feline form. Rolling onto her stomach, she proceeded to crawl away from Kasumi while making cute chirpy mewing noises. The eldest Tendo daughter scooped up the cub and proceeded with tickling her behind her ears.
"She's yours?" Soun asked, shocked to the core. "But that would mean she was conceived-"
"A few of weeks ago, a little over a week after I disappeared," Ranma interrupted. "Her mother's a Harpy, and as such she lays eggs when reproducing, which will cut down on the gestation period. She wanted a baby, and I wasn't in any state to refuse, and a little under a month later, I'm a father. Makes my dislike for my own father grow when I think of how I'd feel if Rei went through even a fraction of what Genma did to me over the years."
"His training methods were extremely distasteful and terrible," Soun agreed. "And I'm not saying anyone else should repeat them – but they were effective in you. I'm not defending his actions, but he made you the warrior you are today. The best warriors mature through adversity, and I can honestly say that I don't know anyone who has had more hurdles in their path than you – but it's your experiences that turned you into what you are.
"Just make sure you don't get blinded by the prospect of glory through your child, like Genma did – learn from his mistakes, don't repeat them," the moustached man finished.
"Wise words," Ranma conceded. Not knowing how to proceed in this awkward situation, he opted to find an out – and a deep breath reminded him of what he was supposed to do when he came inside. "My apologies, but I just finished teaching a class and would like to take a shower before I play with my daughter or the others return."
"That's quite all right," Soun assured him. "I'll only stay to apologise to Nabiki for my behaviour, and then I'm off. Please don't hesitate to call or visit if you have the time."
When Ranma finished his shower, he returned to the living room to find Kasumi and the others there, chatting about their excursion and Soun's visit.
Rei was being played with, and passed along down the line to resume play with the others.
The TV was on, and so was the news, which at that moment displayed the Wild Horse logo in a corner while the Anchorman shuffled his notes.
In other news, the stiff man read. A mysterious branch of the American government made an arrest of a man named simply Gothwrain. the image of an ancient, bald, rat-like man being dragged from an office building to an armoured vehicle replaced the anchorman. A spokesman for "Agency Zero" said that they were acting on evidence that Gothwrain was planning, among many illegal things, to spread rumours about Wild Horse Inc. in order to drive it into the ground and take it over.
The combined evidence collected in Gothwrain's office and home would amount to the equivalent of three life sentences.
The spokesman for Agency Zero assured us, upon inquiring about rumours concerning the possibility of escape, that they had special precautions put in place to prevent the chances of escape, the camera filming Gothwrain being guided into the car shook, and Ranma spotted a ninja crouching on a roof in the distance. It almost looked like a gargoyle, but the cloth moved in the wind.
"That's the wererat leader!" Lydia exclaimed, pointing a shaking hand at the screen where Gothwrain's face was barely visible through the bars in the car window.
"And there was at least one ninja observing the arrest in the distance," Ranma agreed.
"A coup?" Gina suggested. "Perhaps he was trying to push for some rules his servants didn't like, and they used Wild Horse Inc. as a tool to get their way …"
"Maybe …" Lydia agreed pensively. "But he knows magic! He's a mage! Almost as good as Dr Dig-"
"They did say they were taking special precautions," Brianna interrupted, cutting Lydia off from saying the name. "The ninja must have told this "Agency Zero" th- wait a minute … Stryyp was approached by someone from Agency Zero … they are a group of what used to be Superheroes, but due to villains popping up and exterminating them, they got government funding and started looking as normal as possible while working from the shadows! Of course! And they must have special facilities to hold people like Gothwrain!"
"But why would wererats put in an effort to help a werecat?" Sheila asked. "From what I remember of the myth, they've done their best to destroy any werecat species on Earth."
"We may never know," Ranma concluded. "But I hope they won't change their minds again …"
Author's Notes: As stated in last chapter, my muse is on strike for the moment – has been since around New Year, actually, just didn't give notice about it until June. As such, the posting of chapters in this story will diminish in speed – but despair not, I will finish, and will not abandon it until that time to take up other projects though several are in the planning stages.
The more perceptive of you might have noticed that I've been tying up quite a few loose ends lately – well, it has to do with my determination to end the story before I resort to drastic measures to revive it again, for example: Alternate dimensions, Time Travel, extra crossovers or a combination of the everything. This would not be a good thing, as I am losing the drive to write this thing, so the chapters would take much longer to come out, would be shorter, and plain crappy … I'm giving the story up while there's still some life left in it, but I will end it within the next couple of chapters … it will not live to see its second birthday.
Also, I would like to apologise for not including the Small Writing Tips for who knows how many chapters … I have loads of them ready, but didn't feel like adding them as they don't seem to make more of a difference than me informing authors of their mistakes (which is no difference in well over ninety percent of my efforts) – Still, thanks to those that sent in their suggestions.
