"Cold," Ranma-chan chattered, as she washed the soap off of her body. Looking over at the invitingly warm water of the furo, she wondered why she was hesitant to get in.

‘Well, I’m just glad you’re a girl.’ Akane’s words drifted again through her head.

"The kami must hate me," she pronounced out loud. Soon her father would wake up and explain everything to them.

Standing up, she determinedly moved to the furo. ‘They’re going to find out eventually anyway.’

‘It’s just… I’d really hate to lose to a boy!’ Again, her new friend’s words blared in her head. Again she hesitated just before stepping into the furo. Sure, while they were in China, she had been a girl for longer than this, but didn’t she want to spend as little time as she could in her cursed form?

She sighed sadly. She hated being a girl. Most of the time, it felt so wrong. But the part that really scared her, was when she forgot which form she was in.

Suddenly the door slid open revealing a very nude Akane, holding a towel that might have thought about covering enough for decency. Akane smiled at her. That image etched itself in Ranma’s memory.

"Mind if I join?" She walked over to one of the stools and sat down.

Ranma abruptly turned away. Her eyes locked on the wall. A sheen of sweat formed across her brow. ‘I am sooo dead.’

"Go ahead and get in. I’ll be over in a moment," Akane suggested hoping to help her feel at home. Akane became a little concerned as she saw how tense Ranma was all of a sudden.

"NO!" Ranma suddenly yelled. "I-I’m donenowthankyouanyway!" and with that, she ran out of the room.

"I wonder what’s wrong," Akane softly thought aloud.

=====

Dinner time at the Tendou’s and Ranma was very nervous. All though diner she had felt like a lab rat. Both Soun and Nabiki seemed to be studying her intensely. She would have blurted out the truth several times if it had not been for the calm smiles from Kasumi or the friendly and supporting looks from Akane. It was hard not to let herself stare into Akane’s soft brown eyes. ‘No!’ she ordered to herself. ‘We’re just friends. She thinks you’re a girl!’

"So, Ranma. What are your plans for the future?" Soun began, once it looked as if everyone was finished. Ranma blinked. For some reason, that tone of voice made her think of the conversation she and her father had had on the way here.

"Y-you don’t have a s-son do you?" She really didn’t want to know the answer to that. But if he had a son she either had to put all her cards on the table or run for it. No way was she going to be engaged to some guy. Absently, she wondered when her pop planed to make his appearance.

"Ha ha ha," Soun laughed. "No, why do you ask?" A sparkle in his eye.

"Um, well, its just that pops once said something about me being engaged and…"

"What! Your father engaged you to some boy? Have you even met the him yet?" Akane jumped in.

"I’m sure whoever it is, he is a very nice boy." Kasumi smiled. Ranma began to turn a little green.

"Father, do you know anything about this?" Nabiki turned to their father. For some reason, she felt like there was something going on here that she didn’t know.

"At least our father wouldn’t do something like that, right dad?" Akane turned to find her father laughing nervously.

‘None of them knew about it.’ Ranma shook her head. ‘At least pops let me know a few blocks back.’

"Ah, I was just going to ask if you would stay here with us?" All three Tendou girls were surprised by this. "Your father and I trained together for several years. We were like brothers. If you had been –er, if you have no were else to go, I would consider it a privilege to have you stay with us."

"Uh," Ranma was completely taken back. His father was a complete idiot who was not capable of living somewhere without angering mobs of people. This man claimed to have known his father for years and they still got along? "Genma Saotome?"

"Yes, as the daughter of my best friend, I feel it my duty to try to take care of you."

"Sure. Thanks Tendou-san." She had been thinking of waiting for a few weeks to let that Chinese psychopath calm down before heading back to look for the cure, here it was handing to her. She almost felt bad about lying to them now. Ranma looked over at her new friend while thinking back to the reactions they had received whenever someone saw them change on the way here. She almost felt bad.

=====

=====

On the way to school the next day, Ranma had started to jump up and walk along the fence, until it was pointed out to her that someone could see up her skirt. ‘Her Skirt!’ Just the thought of that sent shivers down her spine.

"So, explain it to us, Ranma," Nabiki replied exhaustedly to their guest. They were now almost to Furinkan High and she had been complaining the whole time.

Nabiki was ready to just let the girl go back home and sulk, but Akane was determined. She had told Nabiki about Ranma’s odd behavior in the furo and thought there was something more to this. Nabiki did have to admit there was a lot more to this girl than she let on. And if anything, Nabiki loved solving mysteries.

"It’s just," Ranma huffed. ‘How am I going to explain this!’ There was no way she could prove she was Ranma Saotome. After all, Ranma Saotome is guy and she some how doubted that the school would miss a little detail like - Ranma glanced down at her chest – that.

Suddenly, Akane stopped and blinked at the nearly empty courtyard.

"Maybe you should start coming early more often," Nabiki suggested with a smirk.

"It couldn’t be that easy," Akane replied. ‘Could it?’ she thought to herself. They had left much earlier than normal to try to get Ranma enrolled before classes started. It wasn’t until they actually made it to school that Akane remembered her ‘little’ problem.

"Did I miss something?" Ranma asked.

"Don’t worry, you’ll find out later, let’s get you enrolled." Nabiki dragged the two of them onward. She was familiar with just about all of the teachers and staff and planed to try to help grease her paperwork through. Actually, she could have called in to get them set up and picked up the paper work after school; however, she was anxious to get started on her newest mystery.

=====

After the girls had left for school, a certain panda rolled around in the shade outside. With a sigh, he lumbered over toward the house to look in.

It wasn’t that he was bored. In fact, he had particularly enjoyed sleeping in late and the great breakfast that nice Kasumi brought out for him. No, it wasn’t boredom but a strange sense that there was something he should be doing.

He had awoken the other day to find himself surrounded by strange people he didn’t know. After trying to get their attention it occurred to him, that the reason they couldn’t understand him was because he was a panda. While for some reason that hadn’t felt right, he couldn’t deny his own paws before his face.

So, he was a panda, and there was something he was supposed to be doing. Something important, but he couldn’t remember what panda’s did that could be important.

While he sat there in thought, he noticed the man bringing out a shoji board and looking at it sadly.

"Well, old friend. I guess we played our last game," he said softly.

Something about that board and the man struck a memory in the panda. ‘Perhaps that was the important thing,’ the panda thought as he moved over to the board and began setting up his side.

Soun Tendou had brought out the old shoji board for old times sake. He had always hoped to one day play against his old friend again.

So many dreams had ended the previous day, with the arrival of Genma’s daughter. He had thought…. He had been so sure that Genma had said he had a boy. At first he had wanted to deny it. Deny her. She could not be his friend’s child. His friend could not be dead.

Then he saw the dejected look in her eyes as she tried to explain. He watched how she pulled herself out of whatever horrible things she saw when Akane, his youngest, offered her friendship. How could he turn away someone who was in such obvious need.

Normally, he knew he would be in tears. After his wife had left him, there wasn’t much he could do without thinking of her. His pride, as well as wanting to protect his children from the gossip about his behavior, had caused him to all but give up life outside the Tendou walls. Only on the days he felt strongest and only with all his girls, did he venture off. The occasional trip to the beach or festival. He could not let his weakness deny his girls those things.

Something had changed within him, he knew, as he asked Ranma to stay. She was a brave girl to make her way all the way from China with only a panda. He knew he needed to do something to help his girls. Especially now that he had a sudden new addition to the house. Just what that was, he wasn’t sure.

‘Oh, Genma. If you’re watching, give me a sign,’ he thought to himself.

When the panda came up and began setting up the board, he nearly fainted. When the panda made one of Genma’s trade-mark opening moves, he smiled and silently thanked his old friend. With his first move, the game was underway.