Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own that. I don't own that. I sure as HELL don't own Happosai or Genma! Himeko and Shi are mine though, so there.

Course if you wanna use them, go for it. I'd like to read it.

Ranma-Papa, Shampoo-Mama

Chapter 14

Happosai settled in, his pipe in his hand as he considered the group around him. Ranma, the formerly fiancee and now wife brigade, Cologne, and the children they'd somehow adopted. The finest young Martial artists in the world along with in his own biased opinion, two of the greatest Grand Masters in the world.

Along with Soun and Genma, the biggest under achievers on earth. Also his opinion.

He ignored their questioning glares for a few minutes, then he spoke. "I'll start my story, and Elizabeth's story, at the beginning. Hold off on the questions until I'm done." He glared at the gathered Wrecking Crew until they all nodded.

"I had traveled to Paris, where I had hoped to... study some of the... Musketeers journals to add their martial knowledge to the Anything Goes school. I've always felt that the East and West had much to offer each other."

"And the Paris Lingerie and Swimwear expo had nothing to do with it, I'm sure." Nabiki muttered with a wry grin.

"Of course it did! How long have you known me?" The old man yelled., then calmed down. "Anyway, the stupid show had a performance by some guys before getting started with the good part of the show, and since they had armed security around the back stage doors I decided to visit the Eiffel Tower." Happosai grinned. "Remember our visit, back when the fair was still on Cologne-chan?"

The Amazon Matriarch whacked the Anything Goes master with her staff, blushing. "Watch it, Happy."

Happosai chuckled, in spite of the pain (And ignored the disgusted looks on everyone else's face.). Well, as I climbed up, I heard a girl crying. Being a softhearted old man, shut up Ranma, I investigated." His smile vanished. "I found little Elizabeth here bound and hanging from a railing."

"Her... Father..." The seething, enraged tone in the old mans voice caused Soun and Genma to back away. "Was trying to teach her the so-called "VonDruchtner Armor Skin" technique. A technique with a goal similar to the Amazon's own Blasting Point."

Cologne looked at the girl, who looked to be Himeko's age. "But we rarely teach that to anyone younger then Eighteen! Ryoga was a boarder line on if I was pushing it or not."

"Indeed, the same is true for this technique." Happosai tossed a thick, leather bound tome onto the table. "That's the written version of the VonDruchtner sword style. It proscribes men under eighteen learning the Armor Skin technique, and women should never learn it. Granted, that's from sixteenth century Europe, without Amazon's, but still..."

"He was risking a lot. What happened then?" Ranma asked, less horrified then the others in the room, thanks to his own father.

"Papa and Grandpapa fought." The German girl spoke for the fist time. "Papa lost." There was loss in her pale blue eyes, which she quickly hid under blond bangs, as though she thought someone would punish her for speaking. Happosai merely patted her on the back in a comforting gesture.

"How badly did he loose?" Cologne asked, considering Happosai.

"He was... Very good."

"Was?" Ranma blinked, then yelled "You didn't!"

"I had to! He cut her rope in the fight, and was between me and her. Which would you have chosen? Kill him or risk her life?" Ranma opened his mouth, but Happosai interrupted. "And I know you know the right answer. Saffron forced you to ask this question once before."

Ranma froze. "You bastard!"

"No Ranma." Cologne reprimanded. "He, and you, made the right choices. Your mother's mentioned your nightmares to me son-in-law, and I've had the same kind of nightmares. I've had them for years. Saffron and VonDruchtner... and other's like them... sometimes don't give you a choice.

"There should be!"

"But sometimes we can't see it in time!" Happosai spoke again. "I killed VonDruchtner, you killed Saffron. With our lives, our natures, we'll likely both have to make that choice again!" He paused. "We're both bastards, damned by our fates. All we can do is try to avoid it and, if it must be done, that we do it for the right reasons!"

The two most powerful members of the Anything Goes school stared at each other for a full minute, then Happosai spoke in a far calmer voice. "And this reason's pretty big. It seems that Elizabeth, Himeko, and maybe other children are all caught up in some sort of plot... And I don't know what that plot is."

"And I have a feeling we should find out."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

He ran, his breathing ragged, through the rain soaked streets of LA. His black uniform, the classic ninja's outfit, was glued to his skin by the icy cold rain but he didn't notice the chill. He was to terrified for that.

He and his partner had tried to retrieve the girl, not wanting to tell their Lords that they had lost a third child to interference. Maria Rodriguez's new foster family, it seemed, was more prepared then they had thought, and the woman who'd stormed in on the girl's screams had been like a specter of death come for their souls. His partner had fallen already, back in the house, and now his only thoughts were of escape.

He ducked into an alley, and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. He'd been running for thirty minutes so he was sure he'd outrun his pursuer. "I should have stayed on the Nerima project. Damn that girl. Both of them!"

"We aren't the one's who're damned, jerk!" The insult was his only warning, and he looked up in time for a knee to meet his face.

The dark skinned woman who'd hit him landed next to his body, and used a foot to roll his nose and mouth out of a puddle. She then leaned down and dug through his outfit's pockets, finding a wallet with no ID's, but a name on a piece of paper."

"Ranma Saotome, Nerima ward Tokyo." Stephanie Miller muttered. "Seems like I might need to brush up on my Kanji."

AN: As usual, I'm sorry for the wait, and the short chapters. Busy busy busy.