Chapter 8: Family Reunion

Ranma kept her eyes focused on the ground in front of her as she walked down the sidewalk alongside Konatsu, following the Tendo girl's mother, the woman she knew basically nothing about and apparently was also very important to. She really had no idea what to even say to that. Fortunately, Mrs. Tendo didn't seem to be interested in conversation at the moment, instead continuing to march along in silence, a look on her face that reminded Ranma far too much of Akane during the…less than pleasant moments of her past life. Idly, she wondered if the herself from this life ever did anything to make Akane that angry. Something about that thought caused a slight itch in the back of her mind.

Before she could dwell on what that might be, she found herself having to suddenly stop in her tracks to avoid bumping into the older woman. Looking around, she discovered they were now at the bus stop. Mrs. Tendo didn't bother with sitting at the bench, instead standing on the sidewalk staring straight ahead at the spot where the bus would eventually arrive, the expression on her face never faltering for a moment. Ranma glanced over to Konatsu, hoping she might be able to break a bit of the tension. Unfortunately, her sister seemed to be even more unsure about what to say. In fact, she was becoming increasingly nervous.

Ranma could understand why. While she didn't know exactly what happened (even though she really should by this point), if it was enough to make Mrs. Tendo this angry, even years later, it meant nothing good for her mother. And after everything she went through to try and give her mother happiness, there was no way she was going to let anything, even this woman, screw it up. Yeah, she could definitely fix this. After all, she was an expert at getting herself in bad misunderstandings, so getting someone else out of one should be a fencewalk by comparison.

Okay, step one: figure out why Mrs. Tendo is so mad. Easy enough, since she wasn't actually mad at her and she probably wasn't going to charge for the information like her middle daughter would.

Looking up at Mrs. Tendo, Ranma put an innocent and concerned expression on her face. "Hey, um…" Her mouth quickly snapped shut as a minor flaw in her brilliant plan made itself known. Oh, what am I supposed to actually call her by? 'Mrs. Tendo' really didn't make sense, especially with the way she reacted when seeing her. 'Auntie Kimiko' would fit better, but…that didn't seem right either. When Ranma thought about calling her that, it reminded her of her past life and how she had to refer to her own mother that way. How much it ate her up inside.

Mrs…Auntie…Akane's mother turned to her and very quickly shifted into a gentle smile. "Do you need something, Kiddo?"

The look on the woman's face combined with that term of endearment immediately short circuited Ranma's interrogation plans. "Uh, it's…nevermind."

Akane's mom continued her smile as their bus pulled in. "It's okay, Kiddo. I really do want to hear all about your trip and talk with your sister, I promise. I just need to take care of something important first." As she looked back up and headed to the bus, the expression on her face melded back into what it was before.

Ranma gave a glance back to Konatsu, who was doing an admittedly good job of hiding her trembling. She grabbed her sister's hand and gave a reassuring squeeze as she led them both into the bus.

Taking a seat next to her sister, she barely noticed as the bus lurched into movement, instead focusing as hard as she could to gain some recollection, some glimpse that would help her figure out what happened between the woman sitting on the other side of her and her own mother. There surely must have been something there, but no matter how much she tried, she wasn't able to conjure even a sliver of memory. Dammit, it was frustrating enough when she wasn't able to recall something in her past life and it came back to bite her. Here and now, more than ever, needing to do what she could to help her mother, why was it so hard to remember-


X


"How much more do we gotta pack up, Momma?"

"As much as we can, dear. We'll be away for a while and the place we're going to is meant to be very secluded, so I don't know how much we can get once we are there."

"Can Little Kitty come along too?"

"Oh well…yes. Yes of course he can, dear."

"Yay! You hear that, Little Kitty? You're going on a training trip with me!"

"So, it really is true, isn't it?"

"Michan…I-"

"Yup, I'm gonna go and train with ninjas! I'll learn a buncha cool stuff and be real strong and tough and the bestest martial artist ever!"

"That's great, Kiddo. Hey, can you go downstairs for a bit? I need to talk with your mom about something."

"But I gotta make sure I don't forget anything."

"Don't worry, dear, I can take care of this. Why don't you go to the dojo and see if there's anything in there you need to bring along."

"Okay, Momma. Hey, don't forget about Little Kitty. He'll be real mad if we don't take him along."

"Don't worry, I won't forget about him, dear. Run along now, and please close the door behind you."

"I will. Bye, Mommas."

"...dammit, Dochan."

"You know, this stuffed animal of hers still disturbs me a little. Do you think she'll mind if I accidentally leave it behind?"

"You idiot. What the hell are you thinking?"

"You're right, she'd definitely notice if it was missing."

"No, I mean this. This whole thing. Were you even going to tell me? I had to hear about it from Akane."

"Michan, I wasn't keeping this secret from you. It's just that this is really complicated and I didn't know how to word things correctly."

"Oh really. Because it seems really simple from my end. You're leaving us. You're leaving us and taking Ranma away with you."

"No, it's…look please understand that this is for Ranma's sake. I have to do this."

"Why? Why do you have to do this? She's doing just fine with our dojo here."

"It's not enough though. She needs more than what we can teach her. I found out about this hidden ninja village. I'm sure someone there will be able to provide the extra training she needs to truly become a great martial artist. Then I can finally prove that my love didn't make her weak."

"So that's what this is really about. Dochan, he's gone. You don't have to try to prove yourself to him."

"I know that! This has nothing to do with him! This is about Ranma! I just…I have to know I did the right thing for her."

"By acting just like him?"

"Don't you dare! I am nothing like that man!"

"Oh really? And how, exactly, is this any different?"

"Because I am not taking my child away from her mother!"

"...I see."

"I…I didn't…"

"No, you're right. I'm not her mother. It's not up to me where she goes and who she trains with."

"Michan-"

"Don't. Do. Not."

"I'm sorry. I…"

"She's your child. If you think this is what she needs, I can't stop you. Go ahead, leave. Just leave and never come back for all I…Ranma?"

"Uh…"

"Kiddo, were you…did you hear all that?"

"I…I…"

"Wait, Ranma! Please, come back! Please-"


X


"-stop, Little Sister."

Ranma shot up in her seat, trying to calm her breathing and her rapidly beating heart. She looked over to the worried face of Konatsu. "What was that?"

"I said that this is our stop, Little Sister," Konatsu repeated. "We need to leave the bus now."

"Yes, Kiddo, we need to get moving."

Ranma turned to look up at the face of the older woman next to her and could only give a silent nod as she allowed herself to be led by the hand off the bus. She kept her head down and didn't let go of the woman's hand as her older sister provided the directions to their house. It took only a few minutes for them to reach their destination, Ranma staying silent the whole way. However, before they could get to the front door, she halted, holding onto her grip which caused the woman to also stop in her tracks.

"Kiddo?"

Ranma still did not lift her gaze. "Promise me that you won't hurt Mom."

"Ranma, I…"

"I get why you're mad at Mom, I really do. If I did something like that, I'd totally deserve to even have a table smashed over my head. But…Mom has been through so much crap already and I…I made a wish for her. I need to make sure that wish comes true. So please…"

She finally looked up, right into the eyes of the woman. Into the eyes of…

"...Promise me…Mother."

"Ranma…" Her other mother, Mama Kimiko, tried to match the stare, but soon looked away. However, her determination did not appear to falter in the slightest. "Can you tell me why, even after all those opportunities, she never came back to visit me?"

Ranma froze, wishing so much that she really did have those answers. Unfortunately…

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Konatsu?"

Ranma glanced over to her sister, who looked just as lost. "I'm sorry, Miss Tendo. Mother never mentioned anything like that to me."

Mama Kimiko nodded at that and turned back to the door. "Then there's only one person that can give me that answer. I'm sorry, Kiddo. I can't make that promise, but I will at least try to listen and respect whatever she tells me." Despite the determination in her voice, she stood unmoving, continuing to stare at the door before lowering her gaze towards the ground and taking a deep breath. "Right, I'll march in there and… Of course I'm going to… I… You girls can go ahead. I just need a moment to…I just need a moment, alright?"

"Okay, Mother." Ranma quickly grabbed Konatsu's hand and led them both into the house. She needed to find her mom quickly to tell her…well, she'd figure out what to say then. Her first priority was navigating through a home she was still quite unfamiliar with to locate her. Fortunately, her search did not take too long as she found her mom (should she say Mama Nodoka?) in the family room lounging on the couch and reading some magazine. She really should have been expecting it, but after all the shocks she'd experienced so far, the sight of her mother sitting casually and wearing a business suit (complete with pants) still managed to cause Ranma's brain to derail and whatever she was about to say to completely evaporate into the aether. "Uh…"

Mama Nodoka looked up and smiled at the two of them. "Good evening girls. Did you have a good first day at school?"

"Oh, oh yeah!" Ranma quickly responded as her brain started rebooting. "It was really fun. I got to make a new friend and even took care of this real jerk that was bullying her."

Mama Nodoka's smile quickly dropped. "Ranma! You got into a fight? You know what I said about using your martial arts for such things!"

"Oh no, it wasn't like that at all, Mom. You see, this bully girl, Reina. She was being super mean and stuck up in gym class so I challenged her to a volleyball match."

"I see. Just between the two of you or did you have a full team?"

"She had a full team. On my side it was me and my new friend, Sayuri."

"Ah." Mama Nodoka put her finger up to her chin as if in thought. "So, exactly how much of a handicap did you give to this Reina girl's team?"

Ranma suddenly got a feeling like she shouldn't have been quite so proud of her actions. "Uh…well…just ten points."

"And how many points did you play up to?"

"...Eleven…"

"Of course. And naturally, you were the peak of professionalism and did not do any type of taunting or showboating whatsoever."

"Come on, Mom, I was trying to cheer up Sayuri! I even let her get the winning point!"

Mama Nodoka's smile returned, although Ranma could swear it almost seemed to be somewhat more of a smirk. "I understand, dear. That was a very nice thing you did for her. So I take it you had a fun time with this Sayuri girl?"

"Oh yeah, I had a blast!" It was surprisingly true. Once she was able to get the girl out of her weird funk, she really enjoyed even just chatting with her. She silently wondered what could have happened if she decided to actually go and hang out with Akane and her friends during her previous life.

"What is this girl like? Do you think she's cute?"

Ranma blinked in surprise at the question. "Oh, well, yeah she's pretty cute I guess…" Her mind instantly flashed back to the image of Sayuri's smiling face at the end of the volleyball match. She could feel her face getting flushed and a slight tightening in her chest before she quickly dismissed the image. No, I'm a girl now, so I shouldn't be thinking like that. Plus, if Akane knew she'd…wait, she's my sister now, so I guess she'd actually…huh…what would she do?

"Sorry, dear. I shouldn't be teasing you like that. So, was that everything that happened in school today? You didn't happen to run into anyone else?"

"Oh, yes I did. Akane, she…it was…" Ranma trailed off, unsure of how exactly to discuss this. Fortunately, her mother didn't seem like she was going to pry.

"I'm sure it was, dear. Did you also have an enjoyable first day at school, Konatsu?"

"Oh Mother, it was so amazing," Konatsu gushed, sparkles starting to form in her eyes. "I was just a little nervous at first how everyone was going to treat me. Miss Ranma was able to give me reassurance, though. And then in my class I met one of Ranma's other sisters, Miss Nabiki. She is so nice and cool and wonderful! She immediately accepted me for who I truly am, then made sure everyone else in my class did the same. We talked about a great many things, she assisted me in Mathematics class, I was able to assist her in History class, and we both ended up assisting each other in Gym class. I never dreamed that school could be so wonderful! Then, after school was done, we met up with Miss Ranma. She reunited with her sister, Miss Akane, and they hugged and it was really sweet. We went to Miss Akane and Miss Nabiki's home and I got to spar with Miss Nabiki in their dojo, which is a really lovely place. Then, I met Miss Kasumi and we all played a game of basketball. It turned out to be a lot of fun and I even had a chance to practice my split form technique a bit. After that…um…there was a little misunderstanding…but it was cleared up right away! Miss Akane and Miss Kasumi are my sisters now too. Miss Nabiki also said she was my sister, but I have a suspicion that she wishes to be something other than that. I haven't been able to confirm it though. So then I was able to tell them all about myself, although my story was interrupted when Miss Ranma's other mother came home. I am still figuring out if she is my third mother yet or not."

"Well then, you both had quite the exciting day I see." Mama Nodoka turned away, a thoughtful smile on her face, although it almost seemed to Ranma that there was a slight hint of pain in her mother's eyes. "Don't worry, I'm sure that Kimiko would be happy to fill that role for you. That's just how she is. So, you had a chance to talk with her then? I…I take it she's doing well?"

"You know, if you were that concerned, you could have just asked me directly."

Ranko quickly spun around to see Mama Kimiko standing in the entrance of the family room with her arms crossed and an annoyed glare on her face.

"K-Kimiko?!" Mama Nodoka instantly got to her feet. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just bringing Ranma and her sister home," Mama Kimiko responded with a somewhat nonchalant tone, casually gesturing to the two girls before crossing her arms again. "Why, imagine my surprise seeing my little baby girl literally appear out of thin air right in front of me. And then imagine my even greater surprise learning how long you've been back in Tokyo."

Mama Nodoka stepped forward slightly, making warding motions with her hands in front of her. "Kimiko, I know how much you wanted to be reunited with…with your daughter. I even made sure to get her enrolled in the same school as Akane and Nabiki."

"Of course that's what you would do. So…" Mama Kimiko took a moment to glance around the room. "This is a pretty nice place you got yourself."

Mama Nodoka paused at the apparent non-sequitur, then gave a cautious smile. "Oh, y-yes. It ended up being a bit of a fixer upper and it took a few days for us to get it into shape, but I was quite fortunate to find something so affordable."

"Right, a separate place of your very own." Mama Kimiko said with a light snort. "Far enough away from me it seems."

"Kimiko, I'm not…" Mama Nodoka gave a sigh and lowered her head. Look, Ranma can stay with you and your girls as much as she wants. I'm sure Konatsu will want to visit often as well. So there's not really any issue-"

"I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about you, Nodoka!"

"Me?!" Mama Nodoka looked back up, nervously. "W-what are you…"

"Look, I may accept your desire about getting Ranma special training, and I understand that phone calls were probably not available in a hidden ninja village, and you ending up adopting a ninja girl is…well it's so you. However…"

"However?"

Ranma could almost start to see a reddish aura start to appear around Mama Kimiko as she put her hands on her hips. "Just how many times exactly did you come here, getting a job, buying a house, getting your kids ready for their new school, adopting a child, and not once, not one single time did you even try to contact me, even just to say you would be returning soon! Did you even stop for one moment and think of how long, just how much I've been waiting for you?"

"You were…" The expression on Mama Nodoka's face switched from nervousness to confusion. "But…but I thought…"

"What, Nodoka? What exactly was it that you thought?"

Tears began to form in Mama Nodoka's eyes. "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"You…you…" Mama Kimiko lowered her head and brought her arms down to her sides, and it almost looked like darkness fully covered her eyes. "Nodoka…you…IDIOT!"

Ranma found herself too shocked to move as her mother charged forward and tackled her other mother, causing them both to land into the couch. The end result was Mama Nodoka laying in shock, looking over at Mama Kimiko who had her arms held tightly around the other woman and her head buried in her shoulder, repeatedly sobbing the same words. "Dummy. Dummy. You big dummy."


Seeing that her mothers probably needed some time to themselves, Ranma quickly employed a strategic ninja retreat up to her room. It was a doubly beneficial move since, as she sat on her bed with her mind racing, it was very clear that she needed some time alone to try and process everything.

"So, your other mother does appear to be quite an interesting person."

Unfortunately, it was also very clear that she could not turn down her older sister when she didn't want to be alone.

Ranma turned and tried to give at least something of a smile. "Yeah, she really is."

"You must have some really entertaining stories about your time with her and your other sisters," Konatsu continued, a look of utter glee in her eyes.

"Oh, well…" Ranma's smile faded as she looked down towards the floor. She probably did have enough fun stories to fill several manga volumes, if only she could actually remember more of them.

"It's alright, Little Sister. While it was an unfortunate misunderstanding, I do understand why you did not wish to talk about them before. But now you are free to tell all of your stories! Please, I want to hear them!"

"Yeah…s-sure!" Ranma tried her best to focus her eyes on the ground and keep the nervousness out of her voice.

"Little Sister, is there something bothering you?" Konatsu asked, concern saturating her voice. "You do not seem to be acting like yourself."

Ranma's breath caught in her throat and she could swear her heart stopped for a second. Quickly trying to recover, she forced a large smile on her face. "Oh of course not, Big Sis," she cheerfully said, her voice only cracking just slightly. "Why would you-"

As she turned to her sister, a gleam of metal caught her eye and she froze in place at the edge of a blade stopping mere centimeters away from her face. Time seemed to stand still for just under an eternity until, with a loud pop, Ranma found herself on the other side of the room, clutching her chest and breathing heavily, a muted ringing in her ears for just a moment.

Konatsu stood on the bed unmoving in a combat pose, her Ninjatō still held in front of her, a grim look of determination in her eyes. "Please do not lie to me, dear sister."

"Konatsu, I…" The ringing briefly continued again as Ranma tried to calm herself. "I'm fine."

"You did not make a single attempt to parry my strike. You did not even try to draw your own blade!" Konatsu slowly lowered her short sword, a now pleading look in her eyes. "Miss Ranma, I am not just your comrade anymore. I am your big sister! It is my responsibility to guide you and ease you when you are troubled. Let me help you, Little Sister."

Ranma stayed frozen, still unsure what to do. Should she tell Konatsu the truth? Would she understand? Could she understand? It took a lecture from a goddess on top of actually being the one sent here for her to accept any of this. What would she even say? 'Sorry, Konatsu, I'm actually a Ranma from a different dimension and I made a wish that brought me here but don't worry, once I regain all my memories then you'll have your sister fully back'? And why did that cause the itching in the back of her mind to return? Dammit, maybe I could actually think if I didn't have that stupid muffled ringing in my-

Wait.

"Is that the telephone downstairs?" Ranma asked, looking down.

"Yes, it would seem the case," Konatsu answered, still maintaining her pose. "Do not worry, I believe-"

"I'll get it!" Ranma called out while quickly rushing out of her room, ignoring her sister's cry of surprise. She headed down and past the family room, briefly noting that her mothers were still in the same spot on the couch, unmoving.

"Just leave it, dear," Mama Nodoka said in a slightly weary voice. "I'm sure they'll give up soon.

Ranma ignored that and ran up to the very welcome distraction on the hallway table, quickly picking up the receiver. "Hello, um…Saotome residence."

A very aged and very familiar cackle came over the receiver. "Is that you, Little One? Oh, you sound so much more grown up!"

"Old Ghoul?! What are you…Ow!" Ranma winced and held the top of her head.

"Hmm, it seems you still have a lot of maturing to do though."

"How did you do that over the phone?" Ranma asked, still rubbing her head.

"Now now, Little One. You are still one hundred years too young for that trick. Now, is your mother still up? I'm not sure how late it is where you are. I could never get a hang of these time zones."

"Um…" Ranma hesitated, not wanting to disturb either of her mothers at the moment. "I'm not sure-" She turned around to find Mama Nodoka walking up to her.

"Ranma, dear, is that Ku Lon?"

"Oh, um, yeah it is," Ranma replied, holding the phone out, which Mama Nodoka quickly took.

"Hello, Elder?" Mama Nodoka said into the phone. "Oh no, I was awake. It's just that I had a long day and didn't feel like answering…Ow!"

Ranma quickly went back into the family room finding Mama Kimiko had pulled herself up to a seated position on the couch. Not really knowing what else to do, she went over and sat next to her. An awkward silence hung in the air between them for several seconds before Mama Kimiko spoke up.

"So…it's really been one heck of a day. Hasn't it, Kiddo?"

"Yeah," Ranma mechanically nodded in agreement. "Probably the longest day of my life." That may have actually been accurate. The only day she thought could possibly compare from her past life was the day she fought Herb on Horai Mountain for the Kaisuifuu that would unlock her curse. She gave an audible snort at the memory. She almost died in that battle, fighting so hard for that stupid teapot, and now here she was, fully a girl, a twelve year old girl no less, and perfectly fine with it.

Her reminiscing was interrupted as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked up to see Mama Kimiko warmly smiling at her. "Did it end up being a good day, though?" she asked in a gentle voice.

Ranma couldn't help but give a smile back and a much more enthusiastic nod. "Yeah, I guess it did."

"Are you talking to your other mother about the problem you are having?"

The two turned to see Konatsu entering the room. "What problem?" Mama Kimiko asked.

"It's nothing!" Ranma quickly asserted. "Look, with everything that happened at school, then being reunited with my other sisters and mom, it's just been a really tiring day, alright?"

Konatsu shook her head, maintaining her concerned expression. "It is more than that, Little Sister. Something else is troubling you. I can tell."

"Kiddo?" Mama Kimiko turned to Ranma and mirrored Konatsu's worried look. "Is there something going on that you need to talk about?"

"Mother, I…" Ranma turned her gaze to the floor again, feeling the redness in her face. She really didn't want to talk about this right now, but what excuse could she give to get out of it? "Sorry, it's just something that's…personal and…private, okay?"

"Oh. Oh my!" Ranma looked back to find her mother wide eyed with her hands covering her mouth. "You mean…oh, my little baby girl is growing up!" she exclaimed, enveloping Ranma in a big hug.

"Huh?" Ranma asked, deeply confused.

"Don't worry, Kiddo," Mama Kimiko reassured. "This is nothing to be nervous or ashamed of."

"It's not?" Ranma asked, still just as confused.

"Of course not. Dochan, your sisters and I all went through the same thing at your age."

"You…you did?" Now Ranma was more confused than ever. Her mothers and the Tendo girls also got wishes from a weird goddess? Was that why everything in this universe seemed so strange?

Mama Kimiko released her hug and gave a reassuring smile. "Well, Kiddo, since we haven't had a chance to eat yet, how about we celebrate your journey into womanhood with some red beans and rice?"

"Red beans and…" Ranma froze up, it finally clicking for her. "Uhhhhhhh…"

"What are we celebrating now?" Mama Nodoka asked, walking back into the family room.

"Dochan," Mama Kimiko playfully chastised, "why didn't you tell me my little baby girl was having her first monthly visitor?"

"Oh no," Mama Nodoka quickly corrected. "That already happened about four months ago. Are you doing okay, Ranma dear? Do you need to…" she took a quick glance at the cushion under Ranma. "...get cleaned up?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Ranma reassured her mother, before taking a moment to look down at herself. "I'm pretty sure anyway."

"Well, if you are feeling anything, you should make sure to put a pad on before bed, just to be safe."

"Okay, Mom," Ranma sighed out. Terrific. Even with all the times she was temporarily locked as a girl in her past life, she somehow managed to avoid this very thing back then. Small miracles and all. But now, it looked like there was no way she was going to avoid dealing with this.

"Oh, Konatsu, dear, I have some wonderful news," Mama Nodoka said. "I just got off the phone with Elder Ku Lon. Our request has been approved!"

Ranma had to shield her eyes from the glow of Konatsu's ecstatic face. "You mean…" she said, her voice slightly hesitant.

"That's right," Mama Nodoka continued with a big smile. "As soon as that Jusenkyo water arrives, no one will be able to deny who you really are."

"Wait, you mean…the Nyannichuan?" Ranma asked.

"That's right."

"Wait, I don't understand," Mama Kimiko said with a confused look. "Why does Konatsu want the drowned girl water when…" Her eyes widened briefly before her expression relaxed into a small smirk. "I see. Well, with Dochan as your mother, I guess I shouldn't really be that shocked."

"Are…are you alright with that, Miss Tendo?" Konatsu nervously asked.

"Of course, dear," Mama Kimiko responded. "If I can accept one daughter for who she really is inside, I can certainly accept another."

"Another…does this mean that you really are also my mother?" Konatsu asked with sparkles once more in her eyes.

"It would certainly seem so," Mama Kimiko confirmed with a smile. "Wouldn't you say so, Dochan?"

"Far be it from me to disagree, Michan," Mama Nodoka said with a matching smile. "Now, as I was saying, Elder Ku Lon will be personally delivering the cask of Nyannichuan here and should arrive in about two weeks."

Mama Kimiko's smile instantly dropped. "Just her?"

"Um, well…" Mama Nodoka gave a nervous laugh. "She did maybe mention something about bringing her family along."

"Dochan…"

"Hey, I'm sure that woman will probably be way too busy sightseeing."

"Dochan…"

"Look, we can handle it. Besides, this is for the sake of my daughter."

"Don't worry, Mothers," Konatsu said. "I'm sure everything will work out perfectly." She then went into an overdramatic pose, holding a microphone that she got from somewhere. "Oh, I cannot wait for the day when those blessed waters touch my skin and grant me the body I have always dreamed of." She then stopped and looked down. "I will miss hot baths though."

"Sorry, dear, that's unfortunately the way it goes," Mama Kimiko said. "That ladle thing is kind of out of our reach. We got lucky raiding a Musk castle the one time, and that was for a much more important purpose." She gave a quick glance to Ranma. "I don't think we'll be able to do it again."

"Actually, there may be a way," Nodoka responded. "According to Ku Lon, the Musk are suddenly very interested in finding the lost half of their sacred treasures."

Ranma's eyes widened. "The Kaisuifuu?"

Mama Nodoka looked over with a somewhat apologetic expression, before nodding. "That's right, dear. If the Joketsuzoku are able to locate it first, they can offer to give it back to the Musk in exchange for a one time borrowing of the Chiisuiton. Ku Lon said that she has octupled her efforts in hunting for any information. Unfortunately, there's still hasn't been any-"

"I know where it is!"

Three pairs of eyes turned towards Ranma's sudden outburst. "What did you say, dear?"

Ranma hesitated a moment before taking a deep breath and looking back with determination. "The Kaisuifuu. I know where it is."