The Ryouzanpaku Family

Akane stopped and tried to control her breathing as she came up to the door of her home. Now that the excitement of all that happened at Ryouzanpaku had worn off, she was realizing that she had no idea what to say to her family and Mr. Saotome when she came in with no Ranma. She gulped. She had to think of something fast.

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and walked into the dojo. As soon as she did, she was surrounded by her dad and Genma.

"Well Akane, how did it go!? Where's Ranma!?" Soun asked.

"Is he outside!?" Genma asked, shooting past her and looking out the door. Sadly for him, no Ranma.

"Hey, where is he!?" Genma said, turning towards Akane. Even Nabiki, who was watching TV, was surprised.

"Wait, he didn't come back with Akane?" She asked. This was NOT how things were supposed to happen. Kasumi tilted her head.

"Oh dear, and I even set a palce for Ranma at the table."

"Akane, where is Ranma? Didn't you go to Ryouzanpaku and get him?" Soun asked. Akane took a deep breath.

"Ranma's not coming back," Akane said. "He's chosen to stay at that other dojo."

"WHAT!?" Cried Soun, Genma and even Nabiki.

"I knew it." Happosai said. "I just knew it. I told you this would happen." He said as he held out a hand to Nabiki.

"Now pay up, cheap skate." Happosai said holding out his hand with a smirk. And reluctantly, she paid up the money she lost.

"Wait, YOU WERE BETINIG AGAINST ME!?" Akane exclaimed. Happosai pocketed his money and turned to the young girl.

"I'm sorry Akane, but I knew and tried to warn you that you wouldn't be able to handle someone of that caliber." He said in a civil tone.

"And besides, now you've learned that no matter how good you think you are, there's always someone better than you."

"Forget that!" Genma shouted as he grabbed Akane by the shoulders.

"Akane! How could you NOT get Ranma back!? Without him we can't unite the schools! And if he stays there, he may never come home!"

Akane just gave the old man a look that suggested that he was nuts.

'Yeah right.' She thought to herself. 'The only thing you and my dad care about is forcing us together and living off of us like a couple of parasites.'

"Look, Saotome-san, dad," Akane started to say. "I, uh, did come up with a plan to get closer to Ranma so that he might think about coming back."

It was a dumb lie, anyone with half a brain would see through it. All she could do was hope and pray that these two dumbbells had less than that between the two of them to buy it.

"Oh, is that so?" Soun said. Akane had to make this next part good, otherwise she was sunk.

"Well, you see, I figured if I decided to come to that dojo and train alongside Ranma every day, it might give us a chance to get closer and I might make him homesick."

'Please buy it.' She begged to God, hoping he was listening.

"It could work." Soun said, stroking his chin. Genma started to ponder too.

"And it wouldn't be so bad if both of our children managed to take some of the tricks form that dojo and make them our own." He said. "But still, I don't like it. What if Ranma falls for that granddaughter of Hayatos?"

"Uh, he wont!" Akane blurted out. "Because, she's gay. She was all over me while I was there. Kind of creepy." She said. That seemed to make the fathers relax.

"That's good, at least." Soun said in relief.

"Yes. Akane, my dear daughter-in-law, you must do your best to convince Ranma to come back once he's learned all he can form there so he can marry you and I can live off...I mean so I can retire and leave our style in your hands."

Akane fought the urge to face palm. These two numbskulls really had a one track mind between the two of them. No wonder Ranma didn't want to live here anymore.

"Well, uh, I'm tired and I've got school tomorrow so I'm going to head to my room." She said. But as she headed for her room, Nabiki met her at the door.

"Ok, what really happened? And don't think I'll buy that bull that those two idiots did." She demanded more than asked. Akane glared at her sister.

"What happened? I'll tell you what happened. I fought a girl my age that was ten leagues ahead of me and the other girls in this town in terms of skill. I got beaten and nearly killed by her, and by some of the masters that live in that dojo because Ranma told them about what a bitch I was to him. And I got some much-needed help form those very same masters." She took a breath before she continued.

"And to top it off, Ranma and I...are NOT ENGAGED ANYMORE!"

Nabiki just grinned. She had heard this before.

"Oh, so you're just going to let Shampoo or Ukyo take him?" She asked. But strangely, Akane didn't get mad like she usually did. In fact, she looked just angry and stern.

"They can try, but they wont get him. If those two masters hated me, they'll REALLY hate those two. And Ranma doesn't need this hell hole of a dojo or town anymore. Because let me tell you this, sis, he finally has something at that dojo that he never had with that bastard that calls himself a father or here at this dojo."

Nabiki was not used to anyone, ANYONE, talking to her like this. Especially her little sister. But she stood her ground and stared her sister in the eyes.

"Yeah, and just what the hell is that?" She asked. Akane got right ingot her face.

"A family." She then did something completely unexpected. She SLAPPED Nabiki hard in the face.

"Bitch." She said as she went to her room. Nabiki was in shock. What happened to Akane at that dojo?

"Ow." She said.

"Didn't go as you planned, did it?" Came the voice of Happosai.

"I don't know what happened at that dojo, but mark my words, things WILL go back to normal. You'll see." She said as she marched off. Happosai just shook his head.

"Oh Soun, how could you let one of your daughters turn out like this?" He said as he sneeked into Akane's room.

Akane tried to calm down after the altercation with her sister. She was glad she did that, she only wondered why she hadn't done it sooner? As she collapsed on her bed, she closed her eyes to try and process everything that happened today.

"Well, how did things really go at Ryouzanpaku?" She heard a voice. She lept to her feet and came face to face with Happosai.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!" She screamed. Happosai didn't even look scared as he sat on her bed and adopted a serious demeanor that Akane had rarely seen in the midget master.

"Come, sit with me for a moment." He said, in a grandfatherly type voice. Akane gave him skeptical look. She knew better than to trust what the old man ever said, but she sat down with him, not letting her guard down.

"So, what really happened at that dojo?" He asked her. Akane took a deep breath and sighed.

"Well, for one thing, I found out that those masters are just as strong and crazy as you said they were. Second of all, I found out that apparently, I was suffering from emotional ki addiction. From my anger no less. And third..." She trailed off.

"About that family thing you said Ranma had found." Happosai interrupted her. Akane was shocked at the words he used. He smirked at her.

"You really shouldn't be surprised that I sneak around and overhear things."

Akane shook her head. She really shouldn't be surprised that he was listening to her and Nabiki. After all, he was the one that tried to warn her not to go to Ryouzanpaku.

"Well, to be fair, those masters, that girl Miu and their student and Kenichi, act more like a family towards Ranma than we ever did. They actually tried to help him out when they found out I came to take him away, and they even helped me to get rid of my emotional ki addiction. They're really nice, you know, when you don't get on their bad sides, like I did." She said with a laugh.

"So, emotional ki addiction huh?" Happosai said. "Well, I always thought that you were just an angry tsundere. Well, just goes to show how blind I've been." He said. Akane frowned at the old man.

"Yeah, blinded by your panty obsession." She said. Happosai laughed but then went back to being serious.

"And the whole thing about you going to the dojo?" He asked. "Is it really for Ranma?" Akane shook her head.

"No. It's so I can train with Sakaki-sensei. He actually wants to train me. Says he's mad that my dad left me to fend for myself and never corrected my form." Happosai nodded.

"I see. Understandable. I suppose it's for the best, the Tendo school of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu is all but dead. As the sole surviving practitioner of your father's style, it'll be up to you to basically rebuild it from the ground up." He said. Akane was shocked once again. Her? Rebuild the her family's version of the Anything Goes? Well, in the end, her father basically, for all his talk of joining the schools, hadn't done much to show her OR Ranma anything that could be learned from their side of it.

'I guess it really IS up to me.' She thought to herself.

"So, what happened when you and Ranma finally got a chance to talk?" He asked. Akane looked down, a tint of sadness in her eyes.

"We officially ended the arranged marriage. This time for good. We...we're just going to stay friends." She said. Happosai actually looked a little sad and sympathetic.

"Hmm, too bad. But maybe it's for the best." He said. Akane nodded.

"Maybe, if you're really sad about it, I can give ya a big ol' hug!" He said as he jumped up to her breasts...only to get uppercutted to through ceiling.

"I KNEW IT!" She said. She expected this, but she didn't feel as mad. Her stockpile of anger was truly gone!

"Huh? I guess all that talk of getting rid of my pent up ki really was true." She said to herslef. She smiled.

"I can't wait to go back to that dojo." She said.

The next day, Kenichi was watering the plants with Izumi at the gardening club. Izumi looked at her secret crush with a smile.

"Hey, I'm getting tired. Want to call it a day?" She asked. Kenichi turned to her and smiled.

"Yeah, sounds good to me." He said. Izumi started pressing her fingers together as she prepared to try and ask Kenichi out on a date.

"So, uh, Kenichi, I was wondering.."

"Hey! Kenichi!" Came the voice of Miu.

"Yo! Kenichi!" Came Ranma's voice. "You ready to head for home!?"

Kenichi looked up and saw Ranma and Miu sitting on a tree branch above their heads.

"Hey guys!" He said as his two friends jumped down to the ground.

"Yeah, just give me a sec." Kenichi answered Ranma's earlier question. Izumi fumed as Miu and the new guy Ranma interrupted her chance with Kenichi. She smiled and walked over to the busty Miu who was still in her gymnastics unitard.

"So, uh, Miu, I can't help but notice that you, Kenichi and Ranma all seem to walk home together everyday?" She said in a questioning tone. Miu just smiled at the glasses wearing girl.

"Uh huh. That's right. Kenichi, Ranma and I all live together."

That made the poor girl go wide eyed and look like she was having a stroke! Ranma shook his head at Miu and Kenichi just panicked.

"MIU! Don't say it like that!" He said as he turned to face Izumi. "Izumi, don't listen to Miu. I'm not ACTUALLY living with her and Ranma. She's helping practice my moves!"

Ranma shook his head at the guy who might be one of his only male friends his age.

"Kenichi, you're the one making it sound like something it's not." He said as he led his two friends away, leaving poor Izumi looking like a statue.

But unknown to our three heroes, Miu's self-proclaimed gymnastics rival, Takashima Chihiro, was watching them from behind a tree. She laughed as a devious thought came to her mind.

"Heh heh heh! Those three are LIVING TOGETHER!? Ha ha ha! Finally, some dirt on that blonde show off. Someone's going to get expelled!" She said as she went skipping past a few of the other members of the gymnastics club.

"Boy, she seems pretty chipper for someone who's second best." One of them said.

"Who knows? Maybe it's comfortable being in Miu's shadow?" The other said as they both shared a laugh. Chihiro growled.

"Furinji Miu! You're going to regret ever being born!" She said as she clenched her fist and headed for their homeroom teacher's office.

Later that day, Ranma and Kenichi were training with Kensei as Miu answered a phone call. Kensei was just about to show the boys a new technique when they all heard Miu scream. They rushed to the girls side, Ranma and Kenichi looking ready for a fight.

"Miu! What's wrong!?" Kenichi asked. Miu turned to them with a wide-eyed sad look on her face.

"This doesn't make any sense. I just got a call from our homeroom teacher saying he's going to conduct a mandatory home visit today." She said. Ranma and the others relaxed, knowing that there was no trouble.

"Is that all?" Ranma said, a little annoyed. Kenichi sighed, sharing Miu's confusion.

"I don't get it either. You're a straight A student, why would they want to do a check up on you?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. Miu started to panic.

"I don't know but we have a bigger problem! If they come over, they'll want to meet my parents!" She screamed. Ranma tilted his head.

"Say, now that I think about it, I've never met your parents Miu, where are they? Overseas or something?" He asked. Miu started to tear up.

"I don't have any! They both died when I was really young!" She said as she started to cry a little. Now Ranma felt like a stupid jerk.

"Oh, sorry." He said. "So, just tell them that. Actually, where's shisho at? Shouldn't we tell him about this?" He asked. Miu shook her head.

"Grandpa left seeking social reforms or something. And when I signed my transfer papers for school I told them I had both of my parents! Now they'll know I lied! I might get kicked out of school!"

Ranma and Kenichi both grimaced at that bit of information. Their friend was really in a tight spot. And they soon realized that that was NOT the only problem to face as they turned around and noticed the chaos of the Ryouzanpaku household.

"Give me back my snack Appachai!" Sakaki shouted as the tanned giant kept running from the angry Karate master.

"So Shigure, are you going to shave your legs or do you want me to do it for you?" Asked the perverted Kensei who left the boys to harass the ninja girl, who was drawing her sword with a murderous gleam in her eye.

"Would YOU like a SHAVE!?" She said in a threatening tone.

"Will you all keep it down! If it gets any noisier my statue will go death!" Said Akisame. Ranma and Kenichi sweat dropped. If they were in Nerima, the teachers would be used to insanity like this, but since they weren't...

"You know, maybe it would be a good idea to tell them NOT to come over today." Ranma said.

"Yeah, maybe tell them the house is being fumigated or something." Kenichi chimed in. They both went wide eyed as they heard Miu chuckle evily, a dark pink aura forming around her body.

"Alright! Everyone line up! Face forward! SILENCE!" She cried out. Ranma and Kenichi both stood straight up at attention and the masters all stopped what they were doing and stood in line with the boys.

Miu marched in front in front of them and glared at Kensei, who was still trying to look up Shigure's kimono and she in turn, was pointing a kunai at his head. Miu swiped the knife away from the ninja and used the butt of the knife to smack Kensei on the head.

"OW! That's smarts!" He cried clutching his head.

"SILENCE!" She shouted and everyone snapped to attention.

"Alright everyone, listen up! This is not a drill! Effective immediately, emergency plan K is in effect! You'll do as you're told and wont do anything else, is that understood!?"

"YES MA'AM!" Ranma and Kenichi both said as they stood even straighter. They had never seen Miu act like this before, and to be honest, it was starting to scare them a little bit.

"Relax Miu, it's just a couple of bookworms. What, you think we can't handle a couple of teachers?" Sakaki asked. Appachai started punching the air.

"I'll teach the teachers what teaching is! Apapapapa!" He started to say until Miu cut him off. Violently.

"NOOOOOOOO!" She screamed causing all the masters to suddenly stand straight at attention. "Don't even THINK of talking like that! Even if you are joking! In fact, no more jokes! The way you guys act you could get me kicked out of school."

"Um, Miu? Can I just say something?" Kenichi asked.

"About me getting kicked out of school? What?" She asked, with Ranma thinking she wasn't really paying attention to anything except that.

"Maybe it'd be ae good idea for me and Ranma not to be here when they arrive. I mean..." Kenichi started to get a slightly perverted grin.

"They might think we're living together..." Ranma just shook his head at his friend.

"Don't worry, nobody would think that." Miu said in a nonchalant way that made Kenichi's heart break a little.

"Sheesh Miu, tear the guy's heart out why don't cha?" Ranma said under his breath. Miu carried on, not really hearing what the pigtailed boy said.

"However, I will need you and Ranma behind the scenes." She said. This made Ranma tilt his head.

"Behind the scenes? Of what?" He asked. Miu gave him a glare that made him lean back a bit.

"Look! If I'm going to avoid getting kicked out of school, we need to create the image of a healthy, happy, NORMAL family. And I certainly can't count on these guys to pull THAT off!" She said, waving her hand at the masters.

"HEY!" They all, except Shigure, said at once.

"SILENCE!" Miu screamed causing them all to snap back to attention.

"Now back to the plan. Congratulations Akisame, you'll be playing my father!" She said.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I can't do it, I'm unavoidably busy!" He said with a smile. Miu broke down crying on the floor.

"Then it's over. I'm going to get expelled." She said on the verge of tears. Ranma and Kenichi each put a consoling hand on her shoulders.

"Hey, hey. Now cut that out. We ain't down for the count yet." Ranma said, trying to cheer her up.

"Boy, that old man really picks bad times to go away." Appachai said.

"Hey, he didn't know Appachai." Kenichi said.

"Yeah, this was just bad timing, that's all." Ranma chimed in.

"Still he should have known." Appachai said as he grew a face of stern determination.

"But don't you worry, Appachai will take care of it!" This made the three teens turn to him in confusion.

"APPACHAI WILL FATHER MIU FOR HER TEACHERS AND I WILL BE THE BEST FATHER EVER!" He said with pride and conviction...only for Miu to cut him down.

"Thanks, but we're clearly from two different countries, they'd never buy it." Miu said.

"Apa?" Appachai said with a sad tone.

"Then I'll happily play the role of your father!" Kensei said, striking a pose.

"YOU!?" Ranma and Kenichi both asked.

"Of course!" Kensei replied. "After all, I have a daughter myself, so they're bound to recognize my paternal instincts."

"Whoa whoa whoa, back up! YOU, have a daughter!?" Ranma asked in total shock.

"Does that mean you're MARRIED!?" Kenichi asked, equally shocked. Kensei looked at both his disciples in honest hurt.

"What!? Is it really THAT hard to believe that I have a wife and child of my own!?" He asked. Ranma and Kenichi both looked at eachother before looking back at their Kung Fu mentor before Ranma spoke up.

"In a word..." He started to say, then he and Kenichi finished at the same time.

"YES."

Kensei looked away, with tears in his eyes at the hurtful words of the two boys.

"Ouch. That really hurt guys. Seriously, what, do you think I'm really nothing more than a pathetic old geezer who's only saving grace is his skills as a doctor and martial arts master?" He asked.

"Yeah." Kenichi said.

"Pretty much." Ranma added. Miu shook her head and got things back on track.

"It wouldn't work anyway! Again, we're CLEARLY from DIFFERENT COUNTRIES!" She was starting to glow her dark pink aura again as Ranma and Kenichi attempted to calm her down.

"Why don't you just tell them the truth?" Kenichi asked. Ranma nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm sure if you just explain everything to them, they'll understand."

"But it's my dream to have a real family! Why can't I have that for just one day and be NORMAL!" Miu exclaimed, befor eputting her hands together and grinning evilly. "Plus I already but my parents names on my transcript for school, so it's too late to back out now."

Kenichi and Ranma couldn't help but shiver at how devious their friend could be.

"Yeah...I'm pretty sure that's forgery, Miu." Kenichi said. Ranma nodded.

"Beleive me, it is." He said as he crossed his arms and started to think.

"Well," Ranma started to say. "I guess we really only have one option left."

And with that, they all turned to Sakaki. Said Karate master looked between the kids, scratched the back of his head and smiled nervously.

"Well, if you're going to twist my arm about it."

"What's wrong with your face Sakaki? It looks like your smiling." Appachai said.

"Are you kidding me! He doesn't even know how to where a freaking shirt!" Kensei cried, waving his hands in the air.

"Well, I guess I really don't have any other choice. But I wish I did." Miu said harshly. Sakaki actually paled and curled into a bal.

"Ouch, that was a little harsh, don't you think Miu?" He said. The three teens all sighed.

"Ok, that just leaves the role of your mother." Kenichi said.

"Don't look at me!" Ranma said, crossing his arms. "I may want to help, but they'd never believe ME even as a female, of being a mom."

"Well, then that just leaves..." Kenichi trailed off. They all looked to the only other female in the house...who was sliching straw dummies.

"...Not. IT." Shigure said. But Miu had her ways of making her comply.

"DO IT! Or I'll cook EVERYTHING you hate! FOR A YEAR!" Miu shouted at the ninja girl. Shigure glared, but ultimately, she relented.

The next day found Sakaki and Shigure dressed as a seemingly normal mom and pop couple, going over the scripts that Miu had prepared for them. Shigure was just saying 'I'm a professional fashion designer' over and over again with a bored and uninterest face that almost made Ranma laugh.

"Now, once more!" Miu, dressed as she normally was for school with her hair in a braid, exclaimed like a drill Sargent.

"My name is Furinji Saiga, age 38, I work as a commercial airline pilot." Sakaki said.

"Fuinji Shizuha, age 36. I'm a professional fashion designer, and not an expert in martial arts weaponry." Shigure said.

"You know, there's something about seeing these two together that just doesn't seem believable." Kenichi said. Ranma shrugged.

"They remind me of a martial arts version of that American spy movie 'Mr. And Mrs. Smith'." Ranma said with a laugh. But Miu wasn't laughing.

"It's working fine! They're just not putting their all into it!" She said in a hell fire voice.

"You do realize that I don't know the first thing about airplanes, right?" Sakaki said.

"Come on! Why can't we say that I'm more something more exciting like a pro wrestler or something? Hey, or better yet, maybe we could say I'm a spy or an assassin?" He said, making a gun motion with his finger that made Ranma and Kenichi to snicker at their Karate masters' antics. But Miu was not amused.

"You're a pilot and that's final! I wrote pilot on my transfer papers for school and it's too late to change that now!" Miu said in a tone that left no room for arguments.

"Ok! Ok! I'm a pilot! Sheesh." Sakaki said.

"Ok, we're as ready as we'll ever be for this one." Kensei said as he walked into the room.

"Did you take care of Appachai?" Miu asked. Kensei nodded.

"Yes, I told him to hide somewhere until the smoke clears."

Meanwhile, on the road towards the dojo, the teachers they were waiting for, were walking up towards the main complex.

"Are you ready, Ono-san?" The bald-headed teacher, Yasunaga, said. His words were addressed to a young, pretty woman with shoulder length brown hair and wearing glasses.

"Yes sir!" She said in a happy tone. Mr. Yasunaga didn't smile one bit as he glared at the massive gates of Ryouzanpaku.

"Got to say, that's one massive front door." He said in a mildly impressed tone. Ms. Ono gaped at it before turning back to her superior.

"By the way, why are we doing a home check up on Furinji Miu of all people? She's a straight A student and doesn't cause any trouble as far as I know."

Mr. Yasunaga became even more stern, if that's even possible.

"Looks can always be deceiving, Ono-san. While Miu may be a good student, she seems very closed off and distant and doesn't seem to have many friends, and I could swear one time a few weeks ago I saw her fighting against a couple of other students on the roof."

Ono was surprised to hear that last part, but Yasunaga wasn't finished yet.

"And, I have it on good authority that Miu seems to be living with TWO male students!" He exclaimed. But as for Ms. Ono...

"Male students!? Is she dating one of them!? Oh young love how romantic!" She cried out happily.

"ONO!" Yasunga called out to bring her back down to Earth.

"Uh, sorry."

"Don't you see how doing something this reckless could ruin her future!? Pulse TWO male students!? What is she thinking!? We must see if these rumors are true and if they are, we must put a stop to it before she goes down a path of degeneracy!"

As they went up to the door, it suddenly opened on its own! As Yasunaga looked around for who or what opened it, Ono looked up and saw Appachai hanging from the top of the gates.

"Apa..." He said in fear a being discovered. And Ono...screamed.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Appachai fled as fast as he could as Miu came out to welcome the two teachers in. But as she lead them in, she sent a glare at Appachai. The poor Thai giant was hiding behind a tree as he lamented over nearly getting caught.

"Appachai was only trying to help. The door is too heavy for those teachers to open on their own."

Miu introduced the teachers to Sakaki and Shigure, but Yasunaga wasn't all that convinced that they were really her parents. Ranma came up behind Kenichi and Kensei to see how things were going after helping Appachai find a new hiding place.

"How's it going?" He asked.

"Not good." Kensei said. And he was right, Sakaki was not doing a good job of pretending to be a pilot. He really didn't know a thing about planes in general! And when he started to screw up on what airline he worked for, Ranma just facepalmed.

"I think Miu's plan is starting to blow up in our faces." He said.

"Maybe we should just burn the house down." Kenichi said. Kensei was almost inclined to agree with the brown-haired boy.

"I think it's time to call the house line and get Sakaki out of there and hope Shigure can pick up the pieces." Said the Kung Fu master as Kenichi pulled out his phone to make the call.

As Miu called Sakaki to take the call, they saw Shigure pull a knife out of her bosom to slice a bee that was flying in front of Mr. Yasunaga clean in half!

"What the!?" Ranma gasped. "I thought you frisked her for weapons!?" He exclaimed to the Kung Fu master.

"I did! I patted her down thoroughly!" Kensei exclaimed in a hushed town.

"Evidently not well enough!" Kenichi said to him. Mr. Yasunaga, after recovering from his shock, decided to ask a few more questions to test this woman who was obviously way too young to be the mother of a 16 year old girl.

"So, Mrs. Furinji..." He started to say.

"What Baldy?" Shigure said, cutting him off.

Ms. Ono, Ranma, Kenichi and Kensei all fought hard to keep from laughing out loud at what Shigure called the old bald man. Mr. Yasunaga shook off his shock at being called Baldy and asked a whole bunch of random questions about Miu's past. Random report card grades, what hospital she was born in, and lots of other stuff. Ranma and the others started to panic until Shigure started answering all the questions perfectly, reciting a bunch of information that Miu had given her previously.

Ms. Ono asked to be excused to use the bathroom, as Miu showed her the way, she went over her mission that Yasunaga gave her. She was determined to find something incriminating, but when she opened the door after Miu left, she was surprised to find the same giant she saw before trying to hide in the bathroom.

"Uhhhhhhhh, Appachai is not here! This room is empty! Please go away now." He said, only for Ono to scream once again. Thankfully, Yasunaga just thought the girl was seeing things again and didn't pay her any mind. Miu, Ranma, Kenichi and Kensei all started to breathe a sigh of relief, until Mr. Yasunaga called her out on the deception.

"I'll admit, you almost had me fooled. But let's end this charade shall we? I've met plenty of parents to know for a fact that you're not Miu's mother. Originally, we only here to investigate a rumor that Miu was living with two male students. But the fact that you'd go and pull this hox makes me wonder about a lot of other things."

Shigure took a deep beath and tried her best to defend Miu's actions, but to little avail. When Yasunga brought up something about Miu being punished, Shigure decided that she was out of options.

"Alright then. I guess...I have no other choice." She said as she started to unsheathe the tanto knife hidden in her shirt.

"N-Now hold on a minute! I'm sure there's another option than murder!" He cried at waving his hands. NOW, was the time to panic. And boy did they ever.

"NO!" Kensei screamed as he fired a chain that wrapped around Shigure, stopping her attack.

"What the!? What is this place, a Yakuza hideout!?" Yasunaga exclaimed as the two masters faced each other down.

"What are you doing Shigure!? We're not supposed to kill him!" Kensei said.

"I wasn't going to kill him. Just...Scare him." She said as she actually cut the chain with her knife.

"Still! You tend to take things too far!" Kensei said as he tried to stop the ninja woman as the teacher was freaking out. Miu was about to try and stop the madness...until Appachai came crashing through the wall with Ms. Ono on his back.

"I CAUGHT HIM NAGA-SAN! I TOLD YOU THE GIANT WAS REAL! I'M NOT CRAZY!" She cried as all Hell basically broke loose.

"YO! RUN FOR IT!" Ranma said as he tried to pull Yasunaga away from the chaos.

"Saotome Ranma!? What are you...!?" He started to say until Kenichi butted in.

"This way! Hurry!"

"Shirahama Kenichi!? You're here too!? Don't tell me that you two are the ones living together with Furinji-san!?" Yasunaga cried. Kenichi started to panic.

"NO! It's not like that! Yes, me and Ranma are living with Miu but nither one of us is LIVING with her!"

"You idiot! What do you think 'living together' means!?" Said the teacher as Ranma looked behind him and saw Appachai charging at them with Sakaki right behind him, trying to calm him down and failing horribly.

"Hey, they're heading this way! Quit talking and SCRAM!" He said as he ushered the other two away from the bull in a China shop known as Appachai.

As they ran from the crazed masters, who soon turned the dojo into a battle field, ran past Miu, who looked like her brain had stopped working all together. Her body was standing up, but she was lip and her eye started twitching. Her life, it would seem to her, was over. Her hopes for a normal life were crumbling around her as Kenichi slowed down long enough to address the poor brain-dead girl.

"MIU! I think it's time for a strategic withdrawal!" He said as he picked up his speed and started running again.

"I'm with Kenichi on this one Miu! It's time to beat it!" Ranma agreed as he started to dash away at top speed. As for Miu...she just fell dead on the spot.

"This way!" Ranma said as he led the other two away from the chaos. They made it outside and got a much needed moment to breathe. As they caught their breathes, Yasunaga took the moment to look at the two boys who had just saved him from the chaos of Ryozanpaku.

"Alright, someone start explaining! Just what is wrong with these people!? Are they all insane!?" He asked.

"No!" Kenichi said, waving his hands. "I know they may seem a bit extreme, but they're all really nice people, they just don't have very good social skills." As he said this Ranma looked behind them and paled.

"Hey, they're heading this way! Make a run for it!"

And with that, they took off running once again as Appachai came running after them, Ms. Ono still clutching onto the giant. As they ran, Kenichi pointed out a door and they all ran into it to avoid the other masters. As they caught their breathes again, Kenichi and Ranma paled as they saw what room they ducked into.

"AW CRAP! Of all places, why'd we end up in this room!?" Kenichi said to no one in particular.

"Don't look at me, I was following you!" Ranma said as he saw that they ended up in Akisame's art room. But as they panicked, Yasunaga was gushing at all the beautiful statues, art works, and all the other things in the room.

"Unbelievable! Are all these stolen!?" He said as he examined them more closely.

"Such detail in these carvings! They almost look alive!" He said before moving on to the scrolls of literature and calligraphy.

"And these scrolls! The calligraphy...It's so sharp! So precise! There's only one man alive who could have done something like this! Could this mean that..."

But before he could finish, that was when Appachai came crashing in. Ranma and Kenichi managed to avoid him, but the gentle giant's rampage caused the statues around the room to come crashing down all around.

"Kenichi-chan, Ranma-chan, are you guys ok?" He asked. But before they could answer, they saw that the falling statues where about to fall right on top of Mr. Yasunaga!

"Look out!" Kenichi said.

"HEADS UP!" Ranma cried out. But it looked too late as one statue came right down ontop of the screaming teacher.

"Whelp, he's a goner." Kensei said.

"NO!" Miu cried.

But their fears were for not, for at that very moment, a blonde haired blur blasted right by them and caught the statue with one hand with a calm smile on his face.

"Sorry for being so late. Are you ok sir." Came the voice of none other than Furinji Hayato.

"Shisho!/Grandpa!" Ranma, Kenichi and Miu all cried out at once. Mr. Yasunaga looked up in surprise at the giant blonde man that had just saved his life from coming to a tragic end.

"Sorry for the wait. It's nice to meet you sir. My name is Furinji Hayato, I'm Miu's grandfather and actual relative." He said as he moved the statue he caught to the side.

"Well, looks like we made it in just the nick of time, huh?" Came a familiar voice. The kids and Appachai looked behind them and saw Akisame smiling at them.

"Sensei!" Ranma and Kenichi cried out.

"Hey, I thought you said you had something important to do?" Kenichi said to the smiling man.

"Heh heh, yeah, I tracked down Hayato and brought him back. Seemed pretty important, don't ya think?" He said. Ranma chuckled at the Jiu-jitsu master.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you Akisame-sensei?" At hearing those words, Yasunaga shot up, a look of pure shock and admiration on his face.

"Wait! Are you the one reponcible for all the pieces of art in this room!? Are you the man who mastered every art craft known to mankind!? Are you really THE Kouetsuji Akisame!?"

Akisame just smiled bashfully in sheer modesty as Kenichi just looked at his and Ranma's Jiu-jitsu teacher.

"COME ON! Is there ANYTHING this guy CAN'T DO!?" Kenichi said.

A while later, after everything had calm down, Hayato and Akisame, who it turned out Yasunaga was a big fan of, sat down to talk. The two martial arts masters told a modified version of the truth and it seemed to pacify the situation.

"Ha ha ha! I see, so Ranma and Kenichi are indeed living here, but only as live-in students! I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I had no idea that this place was also a dojo. Let alone the dojo of the grandmaster Kouetsuji Akisame!" Yasunaga said with a laugh.

'Grandmaster? Sheesh, I thought all that art stuff was just a hobby of his. Jeeze, Akisame-sensei is as big an enigma as soke Hayato.' Ranma thought to himself.

"Please, forgive our other disciples, they were only looking out for Miu. They mean well, they just sometimes get a little carried away." Akisame said. Sakaki was growling though, he hated being thought of as Akisame's student, but Kensei managed to calm him down.

"Kenichi. I have to say, I've been noticing for a while now that you've seen more confident in yourself, but I couldn't figure out why. But now I understand! You and your friend Ranma have been studying to become great artists here at Kouetsuji's dojo!"

Ranma and Kenichi chuckled to themselves. Technically speaking, he wasn't' too far off. Technically, a martial artist was a form of artist, but they didn't seem to think it was necessary to point out just what kind of artists they were training to become to their teacher.

After a while of talking and smoothing things over, Ranma and Kenichi where helping to clean up Akisame's room.

"My God, it's like a bomb went off in here!" Akisame said as he went through the scattered things around his room. "It's going to take forever to clean all of this up."

"I hope not." Ranma said as he placed a few things on a nearby shelf. Kenichi looked like he was having trouble with some of the things he was carrying so he ran over to give him a hand. Akisame looked over at his two disciples and couldn't help but smile. But then he noticed that Miu wasn't around.

"Say, where's Miu?" He asked. Kenichi was the one to answer.

"Oh, well, she's restin. She got kind of tired out from all the stuff that happened today."

"Oh, I see. Well, I guess she deserves a break after a day like this one." Akisame said. As he looked back to the mess in front of him, he noticed something that surprised him.

"Oh my!" He said as he picked up a wooden carving of a small animal curled into a ball. Ranma and Kenichi looked over to their master and saw what he was holding. They were shocked at the sculpture in his hand and saw how life like it was.

"Wow." Was all Ranma could say.

"Hey, is that one of yours Master Akisame?" Kenichi asked. "One of your earlier works? You know, back when you were younger?" Akisame laughed.

"Actually," He started to say. "This was a gift made by a dear friend of mine. Miu's father. THE Furinji Saiga."

"HUH!?" Both boys said in shock. This thing was made by Miu's FATHER!? Ranma took another look at the carving. From what he could guess about Miu's dad, he assumed he was a master martial artist. But now he was learning that the man was also a sculptor like Akisame? That's when he noticed the look on Akisame's face. He was smiling, but his smile looked kind of sad. Like he was remembering a long dead relative with fond memories.

"So...uh, I guess you and Miu's dad were pretty tight huh?" Ranma asked. Akisame nodded his head.

"Yes. In all honesty, he was my best friend. I hadn't seen this thing in years. Reminds me of simpler times."

Later that night, Miu was still sleeping after the rough day so Ranma and Kenichi, after helping Akisame, started helping out with serving food and sake to the other masters. Ranma though, was starting to get really annoyed.

"Jeeze! Haven't these guys had enough yet!?" Ranma asked.

"You would think!" Kenichi replied. As they passed by the room Miu was sleeping in, they stopped as they heard her talking.

"Yo shisho, is Miu awake?" Ranma asked quietly. Hayato shook his head.

"No, but it looks like all the commotion outside is making her talk in her sleep." He said. And sure enough, that's what she was doing.

"Sakaki, you don't need more than three beers. Shigure, stop throwing shuriken in the house. Appachai, quit running around so much, you'll bring the whole place down. Kensei, I said I don't want to train with you anymore, go away ya old pervert."

"Sheesh, she can't even get away from those guys in her sleep." Kenichi said. Ranma just shook his head.

"Poor thing. It's like she's an overworked mother and those guys are the rowdy kids." Chimed in the pigtailed boy. Hayato just chuckled softly.

"I suppose it may seem that way, but I'm afraid that's the price you pay for family." That made the two boys think for a second.

"Family?" Ranma asked. But Kenichi spoke the words that made the other young boy understand.

"Oh, I get it. Sure they may not be like a regular family but these guys are the closest thing Miu's ever had to a real family." With that, Kenichi grew a determined look on his face as he charged back into the mess of masters.

"Alright! Who wants some more sake!?" He asked as he went in. Ranma however, just stood their, his mind thinking.

'Famliy?' He thought to himself. Now that he thought about it, these guys were nothing like the Tendo family. Then again, the Tendos weren't exactly an ideal example of a good family. One drunk dad, a good for nothing loafer (His father), an angry tomboy daughter, a greedy sell out daughter, and one mature nice daughter who might as well be a prisoner their because she did all the work around the house and took care of everyone.

The more Ranma thought about that, he couldn't help but think that Miu was in the same boat as Kasumi was. But then again, unlike Kasumi's family plus his dad, everyone here at Ryouzanpaku actually did something! And, and this one made him really feel...strange, they all seemed happy. They seemed to actually like each other.

Even Miu, dispite being worked to death, really liked her house mates. And they all cared about her. They cared enough to...

'To actually be a famliy for her.' He thought as a tear threatened to form at the corner of his eye. Hayato noticed the look on Ranma's face and asked his disciple what was going on.

"What's wrong son?" He asked. Ranma shook his head and looked towards the old master.

"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing shisho." He said as he walked away.

'These guys are more of a family to that girl than the Tendos ever were to me.'

Later that night, Ranma was fast asleep, that is, until Hayato woke him up.

"Come on Ranma. I want to see how you're progressing with your pure ki training." Said the old master with a smile. Ranma glared at the old master through tired eyes.

"Can't that wait till tomorrow?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"It's after 12, it is tomorrow." Hayato replied. Ranma glared at the old man but got up.

Once they were outside, Ranma concentrated on channeling his ki. Only this time, he did his best to keep his emotions and his ki separated. It proved to be challenging at first, but now that he had had some guidance and practice, his ki was starting to flow more naturally.

"So Ranma," Hayato asked his young disciple. "You've been here at Ryouzanpaku for a while now, how do you like it?"

"Well," He said, not losing his concentration. "It's nice. I'll admit, it's chaotic, but it sure as heck is exciting around here."

Hayato smiled. Now for the question that had been on his mind since the little after party.

"So, Ranma, how do you like the other masters? And Miu and Kenichi? Do they feel like family to you?"

Ranma stopped channeling his ki at the sound of the question. He was so shocked that he fell over himself.

"Huh!? What brought that up!?" He asked. Hayato chuckled.

"I've noticed you acting strange ever since I mentioned the other masters were like family to me and Miu. After thinking about your life in Nerima, I was wondering if you had started to see us as family. After all, you've already started seeing this place as your home."

Ranma thought about what the blonde master said. He was right about one thing, he did see this place as more of a home than the Tendo dojo. But a family? The only family he had ever known was his father. And to be fair, that old fart was NO family man. But still, to be honest, Ranma had never really seen anyone as family. No one had ever really tried to act like a family to him except for Kasumi. That made him think hard.

"Well," He started to say. "To be honest, I haven't really thought about it in that way. But...I guess..."

Hayato got up and walked over to Ranma and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know it must be hard to open up to others with the life you've had, but you can't keep your walls p forever. Take it from me, I've tried, and so has Sakaki and Shigure. Eventually you'll have to find someone you can trust."

"I know." Ranma said with his head bowed. "But...to be fair...I guess I just never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Like, no matter where I go, no one really cares enough to really make me see them as just another face passing through in my life. I'm sorry, does that make me sound like a jerk?" Hayato laughed.

"Not at all my! Believe it or not, I used to feel the same way. But then, I started meeting people that I actually like hanging around with. Eventually, I found the woman who became my wife, she gave me a son and when he found a girl to call his wife, they blessed me with a grandchild! And as she and I traveled the world, we met other people who we actually liked. And after a few misadventures, they all started living with us. And now it feels like if they left, it would feel very lonely around the dojo. I feel as if they were MY family! And Miu feels the same way. And to be fair my boy, and don't tell anyone I said this, but I think everyone has taken a real liking to you and Kenichi. Why, I'd be willing to bet that they see you two boys as part of our little family."

Ranma was so taken aback that he started blushing out of embarrassment.

"Huh!?" He cried out. Hayato laughed again.

"Whether you see yourself as a part of our family or not, just know that we consider you family. Ok?"

Ranma chuckled sheepishly but nodded his head.

"Well, if you say so shisho." He said.

Later, Ranma was heading back to bed, thinking over what Hayato had said to him. Him? Part of a family? And THIS FAMILY!? But, then again, was it really so bad to be considered part of a family, even if that family was at crazy as this?

Ranma laid in his bed and thought about it as he started drifting off to sleep. In a way, these guys all seemed to have a role in as part of this family. Akisame was the father figure, a good one at that, Sakaki was the cool and badass uncle, Appachai was, despite being an adult, was like a kid brother or cousin, Kensei was like that one uncle who had his moments but could also make you want to bop him over the head, Shigure was like the cool older sister, and Hayato was like the wise and loveable grandfather.

Kenichi? To be honest, Ranma liked him, he was like the closest thing to a best friend Ranma had. Heck, he'd go so far as to consider the guy a brother. And Miu? Well, he wasn't sure what to think about her. A sister? Kind of. Sometimes she seemed like a mother in the dynamic of the household. Kind of like Kasumi. Ranma smiled.

'Part of a family huh?' He thought as he finally returned to sleep. 'To be fair...I like the sound of that.'