Here’s Ranma!

It was early afternoon as the guide led the three figures toward Jusenkyou.

Suddenly, he began looking around nervously. Soun Tendou caught the disturbance as well and moved to position himself between his two oldest daughters and whatever was up ahead.

After a moment, three women broke through the forest ahead of them. Each looking as if they were ready for war. They began a cautious approach.

The guide and the led warrior exchanged a few quick words, which none of the Tendous understood. After which the guide carefully watched the three head back into the forest before returning to his latest customers.

"Quick sirs, must we to be leaving. Training grounds no place to be now!" The guide began as soon as the girls where out of sight.

"What’s going on here? You said you could lead us to the legendary training grounds. And what did those girls want?" Soun asked impatiently.

"It no safe here. Other two customers are as dead now." The guide pleaded.

"WHAT!" All three Tendous shouted.

"They touch of Tiger. Is very bad. Now warriors of Joketsozuku hunt." Soun just stared at the man.

----------

He hadn’t wanted to leave without finding his wife and daughter, but there had been no sign of them. With each encounter of the Amazons, their guide had become increasingly nervous. Finally, with a promise to send word once he heard anything, they allowed him to lead them away from the valley.

Soun Tendou forced the painful memories away as he again read the postcard. ‘Bringing Ranma from China – Saotome.’ Oh, how one piece of paper could evoke so many emotions.

"Kasumi! Nabiki!" Tendou-san stood up and began to look for his daughters to tell them the news. If he let himself start thinking back to those dreadful days he would become as useless as he had during the first few years after their return.

----------

"Okay, that’s it for today," Kasumi called out, ending the women’s self-defense course for the day. She beamed a cheerful smile at her students as they gathered their belongings.

She didn’t have a lot of students and most of them were her age or younger. But it was still her class. She had started about the time she had started high school. Their father had completely shutdown mentally after China. After their trip, they were in a real pinch for money.

At first, it had been mostly some of her friends. That had expanded to some of the women’s sports teams and others from her school. It wasn’t until after her graduation that her classes had included any non-Furinkin High students. Now, she balanced her collage courses and these evening classes together with the occasional lessons that that wonderful Dr. Tofu would give her on pressure points.

Her mind wondering to Dr. Tofu, she didn’t notice Nabiki come in until she cleared her throat, which nearly made her jump out of her skin.

"Ahh!"

"Tisk-tisk, Kasumi. Now what were you thinking that let me sneak up on you, again?" Nabiki smirked.

"Uh, nothing to terribly important." Kasumi tried not to blush.

"Then I guess this wouldn’t interest you," Nabiki replied coyly.

----------

"Father, how could you!" Kasumi almost cried out.

"Yea, daddy. We’ve never even met this Ranma Saotome," Nabiki added.

"That’s easily fixed," Soun added cheerfully.

The two women in the room looked at each other.

----------

Two teenagers could be seen walking down some side streets following a large panda.

"Growl!" The panda complained.

"Cut it out. I told ya she’s stayin’ with us till we can help find any of her family," the smaller of the two teens replied.

"Mirror want not make trouble," Mirror added softly to the growing argument. They had been fighting over this ever since they left the ship.

"No! I promised I’d help, an’ I mean it," Ranma-chan huffed. Mirror let out another sigh. "What’s so hot about this place you’re draggin’ us to anyway, old man."

The panda, still trying to come up with a way to explain the girl’s presence to his friend, answered his question without thought. "I’m taking you to meet your iinazuke," the sign read.

"W-what!" Ranma-chan yelled. Stopping right where he was in the street.

----------

"Recently, it seems, they crossed into China," Soun expanded upon what he knew of his friends travels. The two dark glares answering reminded him that that may not have been the best topic to bring up with his two girls. He would have to talk to his friend about that before things started off on the wrong foot.

"At least tell us what kind of guy this Ranma is," Kasumi relented.

Their father gave a nervous laugh before replying, "No idea."

"You have no idea?" Nabiki leaned forward to confirm what he had said.

"I’ve never met him," he answered quite honestly.

"We have visitors," Kasumi said before Nabiki could retort. Nabiki didn’t know how she did it. Her hearing was good, but Kasumi seemed to have no problem hearing people move around the house. Nabiki smirked at that. She always seemed to know where everyone was, unless she was distracted.

"Saotome, my friend. We have been waiting.!" Soun cried out as he ran for the front door. The two Tendou daughters got up to follow their father.

‘Might as well get this over with,’ they both thought.

----------

Both Nabiki and Kasumi looked over the two strangers and their panda.

Both of the strangers where dressed in Chinese styled clothing. Probably from their trip to China.

The first, obviously a girl, was taller than her companion. She was almost dressed in a very short dress that redefined the term mini. It would have been tight and clingy enough that they could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra even if it hadn’t been still damp from the earlier rain. Her long hair was tied back in twin ponytails that reached her waist. Nabiki shook her head at the obvious dye job used, like blue was a natural color.

The second figure was dressed in a baggy short-sleeved red shirt with gold ties across the chest, a white tie belt, and some form of dark pants that cinched around the ankles. Almost natural looking long red hair was tied into a pig-tail in the back. While Nabiki had seen a number of Japanese with natural red highlights, if not dyed it was at least teased out much more than would be normal.

Now the panda was the real question. They were rare enough in a zoo, to be traveling with one as a pet was unheard of. But there it was, standing well trained behind the two.

It was about this point both daughters noticed their father wasn’t about to say anything.

"Daddy… this is your friend?" Kasumi spoke out. Their father quickly shook his head back and forth.

"Oh, so this panda just decided to visit. Happens all the time!" Nabiki replied with a grin.

"Good, then I guess pops won’t get too lonely," the red-head replied. The panda gave the red-head a knock on the head. Nabiki couldn’t tell if she was serious or not.

After the blue-hair girl elbowed her companion, the red-head spoke up again.

"Oh, yea. Uh, Since pops can’t talk right now, I guess I have to do the um, introductions."

Gesturing to the girl he announced, "This is Mirror. Since she decided not to kill us, we’re hoping to help her locate some people." Said girl glared at her friend.

Now Gesturing to the panda, "This is Pops. He’s harmless enough." For some reason the red-head gave a strange smirk at that comment. For it’s part the panda took a swipe like it understood what the redhead had said.

"And I am Ranma Saotome."

"Ranma! At last you’ve come!" Sound announced, suddenly alive again. He jumped quickly across the space between them and grabbed Ranma into a hug.

----------

"Wow, dad. I knew you were progressive, but to arrange for one of us to marry woman," Nabiki smirked.

"Oh, poor daddy. He’s so disappointed," Kasumi sighed while re-wetting a towel to place on their father’s head.

"He- he said he had a son," Soun replied quietly to his own defense.

"Do you see a son here?" Nabiki chided while grabbing one of Ranma’s breasts. "Hmm? Do you?" She called, having too much fun to think about how she was fondling another woman’s breast.

"Um… I really wish you’d stop that," Ranma-chan tried, ignoring the snickering coming from the unhelpful amazon.

"Could hot water we have?" Mirror asked politely, seeing as Ranma-chan was now blushing too furiously to think for herself.

Nabiki looked over at the strange girl who was smirking at her. She had thought she was Japanese, but she spoke with a horrible accent. Noticing the smirk she was still receiving, she looked over at Ranma. The girl was several shades of red past tomato. Then she caught what she was doing and yanked her hand back.

"Oh, I should have brought out the tea! Excuse me," Kasumi left quickly for the kitchen.

"You could have said something!" Nabiki snapped.

"I did," Ranma-chan replied. "Thanks for the help," she said toward Mirror who shrugged it off.

"Look like found wife," she replied hiding her smirk.

"There is no way I am marrying a girl! It’s not even legal!" Nabiki almost kept her mask. But the momentary rage did hide the embarrassment.

"Now Nabiki, if you really wanted to, I bet you could find a way," Kasumi called as she returned with the tea set. She had returned just in time to catch Nabiki’s last statement. Thinking that they might actually want to try something, after all hadn’t Nabiki been feeling up the young girl, she had to think of something to say quick. Nabiki, for her part, decided not to respond to the bait. After all, she didn’t really have anything to worry about.

Kasumi set the tray down and began to pour for the guests then her family.

"Oh boy," Ranma mumbled, now realizing now just how his father left the explaining up to him. "Where should I begin."

"I know, how about the beginning," Nabiki supplied almost helpfully.

As she finished, the panda moved quickly to grab Ranma’s cup of tea and dump it over her head.

"Oww! What ja do that for!" A slightly taller and decidedly more masculine Ranma jumped up and yelled at the panda.

"Now … she’s … a boy," Kasumi supplied helpfully. Nabiki only blinked.

‘My own son,’ said a sign the panda suddenly pulled out. ‘So humiliating,’ the reverse read.

"And who are you to talk!?" Ranma said jumping to an open side of the table. "My old man’s a panda!" Ranma yelled while kicking the tea kettle at the panda.

Suddenly a large man in a gi, who had hot tea spilled all over him jumped up. "How dare you speak to your father that way!" The man cried out.

"Genma?" Soun said incredulously.

"Daddy? Why are you friends with them?" Kasumi inquired. The school may have been known for some unorthodox things, but this was too much.

"They weren’t like this before," was all Soun could think to reply. At least he never remembered his old friend changing into a panda before.

"…What’s the idea draggin’ me to a place like that, anyway?" Ranma shouted having gotten a good hold on his father’s gi. The fight had already moved out to the back yard. Mirror only shook her head.

"You sound like a woman! Were you not prepared to give your life for the sake of your training?" Genma retorted to his son as he improvised a throw, landing Ranma in the koi pond.

"My life yes!" Ranma said while jumping out of the water. The rest of Ranma’s reply was lost as Genma made a splash of his own.

"Women better than sound of whinny man!" Mirror shouted, recovering from her kick to Genma’s back. Ranma smirked as Genma growled but otherwise sulked in the pond. He was no longer in the mood to try to take both of them on.

----------

Ranma sighed as he leaned back against the roof and looked out upon the starry night.

{It’s a clear night, good for star watching,} came Mirror’s musical voice from behind him.

{yes,} Ranma replied simply. During their year in China, Genma and Ranma had stayed away from the larger cities and most towns thus had little chance to practice Mandarin. During the trip from China around to Tokyo Harbor, he had practiced a lot with Mirror. Not that his Mandarin was half as good as her Japanese, it was still fun to practice. Especially as it bugged his father. ‘Perhaps if they had bothered to learn before Jusenkyou…’ Ranma let that thought trail off. ‘What if’s’ weren’t really his thing.

{I don’t think they like me.}

{What make you idea?} Ranma turned to look at his friend.

{The older girl kept giving me funny looks all through dinner. The younger girl yelled at me when I was looking around.} Mirror sighed as she plopped down next to Ranma.

Dinner had been a strangely quiet affair. After explaining the curses and how it happened to the Tendous, both girls seemed to be extremely upset with their father. Ranma imagined it was probably with being engaged to a sex-changing freak. He had only begun to feel a little better after talking about it with Mirror. If it hadn’t been for Mirror’s need to get and stay away from that area he would probably be heading back that way right now, especially after learning of his engagement. However, when she had told him she had planned to escape through Jusenkyou, even not fully understanding what would happen, well, he couldn’t allow that to happen. Even to a tomboy like her.

{No worry. Father no stay long time one place.} Ranma returned his gaze upward.

As they both sat there, they both started thinking about a similar night not to long ago.

A little over a week ago, aboard a ship bound for Tokyo.

Ranma smirked to himself as he looked out across the dark waters and star filled sky. Being able to see the stars like this always made his troubles seem like they were far away and insignificant. He took in a deep breath, tasting the open sea-air. ‘Kami-sama is in his home, all is right with the world.’

"Is clear night." A soft, almost musical voice started him out of his revelry.

"Yea…" He started, turning around. He suddenly found his heart halfway up his throat, as the girl that was trying to kill him stood between him and the rest of the boat.

"You go Japan to?" She smiled at him. Suddenly, it hit him. She had never met his boy side before.

"Uh, yeah." He replied, able to breathe again. She smiled at him, glowing under the soft pale light of the full moon. He found his breath once again taken away, although for an entirely different reason.

"S-so, what are you going to Japan for?" Ranma didn’t want to ask the question. But he had to know what she would say. "I mean, don’t you miss your home?" Hadn’t she said she was going to give up, once he left China?

"Of course, that why I go Japan." She said after a long pause.

"Huh?" Ranma asked with confusion written all over his face.

"Was home long ago." She turned to look out over the water. "Once, family came to China. But Amazons kill all but me. Then make me slave." Ranma didn’t know what to think. "After time, I prove myself and allowed to become warrior. But still no chance to leave. Was very hard times before, but promise mom before she die that I get home." Mir Or lifted a heavily tarnished chain whish held what might have been a locket.

"So that’s why you chased me- er that girl." Mir Or nodded.

"Is law, if warrior defeated by an outsider and they are female, must give kiss of death. Promise to chase to ends of earth to kill."

"Oh."

"I no care about law," she suddenly said into the silence that had fallen between them. "It was chance to leave village without Elders stopping." She looked to be on the verge of crying; however, warriors don’t cry. "No want to scare her, but only way."

"Hey, I’m not scared of anything" Ranma shouted defensively.

"I no mean you, silly boy." Mir Or said, casting her eyes toward the water, hiding her slight blush and the smile she couldn’t keep from her lips. ‘If he had been one of the boys in village,’ she killed that thought quickly. After all, he was just boy like any other boy.

"I mean…" Ranma floundered trying to come up with a save.

"I hope we meet and she forgive me," she whispered quietly into the ocean depths.

‘She already has.’ Ranma thought to himself.