From jjlee1@home.com Sun Mar 19 16:19:25 2000 Received: with LISTAR (v0.128a; list ffml); Sun, 19 Mar 2000 16:19:26 -0500 (EST) Return-Path: Delivered-To: ffml@fanfic.com Received: from mail.rdc1.nj.home.com (ha1.rdc1.nj.home.com [24.3.128.66]) by ffml.fanfic.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 409311EE13 for ; Sun, 19 Mar 2000 16:19:19 -0500 (EST) Received: from sparphogon ([24.10.116.15]) by mail.rdc1.nj.home.com (InterMail v4.01.01.00 201-229-111) with SMTP id <20000319211909.WYOQ20681.mail.rdc1.nj.home.com@sparphogon> for ; Sun, 19 Mar 2000 13:19:09 -0800 From: "Jeffrey Lee" To: Subject: [FFML] [Ranma][Altverse]Legends Part 1&2 [Repost] Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2000 17:15:17 -0500 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Importance: Normal X-archive-position: 8071 X-listar-version: Listar v0.128a Sender: ffml-bounce@fanfic.com Errors-to: ffml-bounce@fanfic.com X-original-sender: jjlee1@home.com Precedence: bulk X-list: ffml Legends by Belphera The patriarch of the Tendo family sat in seiza as he stared at the note in his hand. On one side was a picture of panda eating some bamboo, on the other side was some illegible writing. Almost illegible, except for the few words that popped out at him. "Bringing Ranma to you. -Saotome." Tears streamed down his eyes, it would be good to see Saotome again. They were brothers of the art, and now they would be brothers from marriage. He had to inform his daughters. Picking up the phone, he dialed their home. In a house in America, the phone rang at 3 am in the morning. Groggily Nabiki Tendo hit the speaker phone and greeted whoever was on the phone. "Nabiki? It's me, father!" In an instant she was up, picking up the phone she began to talk excitedly. "Daddy? What's wrong?" "Nothing is wrong! In fact things couldn't be better. The dojo is prospering here. How about over in America?" "Akane is setting up the 25th dojo soon. But we are still hard up for some eligible instructors." "Do you want me to send one of my better students over to teach?" "No, that's okay. We need someone who can speak English better. No offense daddy, but Masao was a good instructer but lousy at English, no one understood what he said when he taught. That caused a lot of students to leave." "Okay, well, do you think you can get your sisters for me?" "All right, daddy. Hold on a sec." Reaching over to the intercom, she pressed a few buttons. Within moments, she heard a sleepy voice over the intercom. "What is it? I've got an 8'oclock and interviews tomorrow." "Akane, daddy wants to talk to all of us now." "Is there anything wrong?" "He says 'no', but something is up. Meet me in the kitchen. I need some coffee." "Alright, I'll be right over." Hanging up, Nabiki then called her other sister on the intercom. "Kasumi?" A delicate and sweet voice came over the speaker. "Yes Nabiki?" "Daddy wants to have a little family meeting now." "I'll be right down. Just give me a second to- ouch!" "Kasumi? Are you okay?" "It's okay, I just fell on my arm." "Well, take your time, don't hurt yourself anymore than you have to. We're meeting in the kitchen." "I'm fine Nabiki, I'll be right down." Within five minutes, the Tendo sisters were assembled in the kitchen. "Okay daddy, we're all here." Nabiki said. " Good, Now girls, I understand that this will not sit well with you three, but I want you to first give it a try and a chance." "I don't like the sound of where this is going. Daddy, did you get Hinako-okasan pregnant again?" Akane said in an annoyed tone. "Don't you think three more sisters are enough?" "Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed "That's not it is it father?" "No! A good friend of mine is returning from a very long training trip. He is the grandmaster of the brother school of the Tendo-ryu." "And...?" Nabiki said questioningly. "And he has a son ..." Soun said, waiting for the explosion to happen anytime. "No way! We will not be set up with a boy!" Akane shouted. "Please calm down Akane." Soun pleaded. "Akane sit, let's hear daddy out first." Nabiki reasoned. "Yes, it would be disrespectful to father should we judge too soon." Kasumi pointed out. "Thank you, as I was saying ... My friend Genma Saotome, grandmaster of the school of Saotome Ryu, will be arrive here soon, and his son will then leave to America and meet the three of you. From there, we will join the two schools in marriage." There was then silence. Until... "WHAT???" Akane and Nabiki nearly screamed. "Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Yes, Genma and I have planned this for a long time. Nodoka-san will be arriving at your house tomorrow." "Damn it daddy! Nodoka is coming? I need to get all the stats and charts ready!" Nabiki cried. "She isn't going there for business, she will want to meet her son." "Well at least there is something good coming out from this. I can't wait to show Nodoka-okasan how much my cooking's improved!" Akane said happily. "It will be good to have her here. I hope she can bring one of the kimonos she designed here." Kasumi smiled. "Hmph ... I don't believe you guys, Nodoka-san is the richest woman in the world, and the second richest person in the world!" "Still, she's like a mother to us Nabiki-chan." Kasumi stated a bit unhappily. Clearing his throat, Soun attracted the attentions of his daughters. "Anyway...Saotome is coming back from China." "Really? How long was he there for?" A now fully awake Nabiki asked with a Cappochino in her hand. "I believe he has been there for the past five years." "Hmmmm... Maybe he was part of the reconstruction of China. I mean he is a high ranking Martial Artist right?" "Of course, the Saotome-ryu is the brother school of our own Tendo-ryu. I suppose he may have had some part in the martial revolution in China. But regardless, I want you girls to give this agreement a shot." "Wait! I can't believe you're making us go through this!" Akane protested. "This is important to unite the two schools of the Anything-Goes. Saotome and I have planned this for the past 26 years! It is a matter of honor. How would our family look if we had outright dishonored our clan? Our school would be ruined!" "But marriage? It's too sudden!" A sleep-deprived Akane argued. "Oh Father, please don't force us to go through with this." Kasumi said gently. Sighing in defeat, Soun Tendo, grandmaster of the Tendo-ryu, back down. He could never refuse anything from his eldest daughter. He owed her too much. "Very well, I will speak to Saotome about it. But you three must at least try to see if there could be a relationship, I have waited a very long time for this day. Promise me that the three of you will try your hardest, if there is nothing, I will cut the deal off." "I can live with that." Nabiki said in an almost meditative tone. "I suppose I agree as well." Akane answered still rolling the idea of a boy in the house. "But if that guy tries anything funny with any of us, I'm going to send him packing!" "Thank you Father, I know how hard it is for you to compromise." Kasumi said gratefully. "It is the least I can do for my three angels... well you girls had better get some sleep. We will talk more at a later date." Hanging up the phone, Nabiki looked to her two sisters. "I don't know about you two, but there is no way I am getting tied down now." "Neither am I. Hopefully this guy is at least decent at the art. I can use a sparring partner." Akane said in a grumpy tone "Well I'm going back to bed, I've got an 8 o'clock class tomorrow." "Ah... the joys of college." Nabiki said mischeviously. "Nabiki stop teasing your sister, I am going back to bed as well." Kasumi said as he left the room silently. "What do you think is wrong with her?" Akane asked Nabiki worriedly. "I don't know she's been like this for the past what... 3 or 4 months." Nabiki told her sister. "Well as soon as finals are over, I'm going to find out." Akane said with a yawn. "Good night Nabiki." "Nite Akane." Looking down at her cup of cappuchino, Nabiki mulled over the current situation in her head. Shaking her head she looked at the time, it was 4 in the morning, if she caught another hour or two of sleep, she might be conscious for her meeting with another Chinese company tomorrow. But as she continued drinking from her cup, she reminesced about the past few years years. It had been 9 years since she left Japan. She had come to America for college and opportunities. She managed to finish college in three years and then get hired by a computer company for management. In a short period, she had risen extraordinarily quickly, and by last June, she had made it to an executive position of the NGR Corporation. It wasn't until two months ago that she found out why she had succeeded so quickly. Her aunt, Nodoka had interceded and allowed her to take the elevator of the corporate ladder. A bit hurt that her aunt still treated her as a kid, but she set herself out to prove herself to everyone else that she wasn't just a favored kid of the head of the corporation. In doing so, she had smoothed out many of the age barriers that existed at the executive level. Akane and Kasumi had come over about a year after she had come over. Their father had finally gotten remarried and Kasumi decided that she needed to leave the house, and Akane decided that America would be an exciting place to go to college in. Together they had suffered hardships. Kasumi studied in medical school now, and Akane was continuing their father's martial arts school in America. Akane's school exploded, as hordes of people seemed to want to be taught the art. This was probably due to the fact that China's coup and emergence, which revealed many of China's secrets like the mystical aspect of asian martial arts. Not just fighting like what Bruce lee brought to America. But the mystical arts of the China and Japan; magic, energy projection, shape-shifting, legends of the dragons and phoenixes, you name it, it flowed out from China. Suddenly millions of people wanted to learn martial arts and be able to do what the Chinese could do. The Tendo-ryu was one of the few arts that were practiced that the official board of Martial Arts acknowledged as an art. Akane also competed in dozens of tournaments and won many ranks. However, due to the business and her training, she put college on hold for two years. She just recently returned to college and was in the middle of her sophomore year. The schools were being handled by the NRG corp. and by herself personally. Akane still taught but only in one school. Many of the instructors who taught the other schools came from the Tendo dojo back in Japan. China now was a new market for many corporations. After the revitalization of the Chinese culture and spirit, the people began to work with a more motivated attitude. What sparked this emergence in China? It all began in the year 2000 when a group of religious fanatics / terrorists, called Efficit Pacit: The Bringer of All Peace, threatened the whole world with nuclear weapons positioned all over the world. They had somehow gotten the codes to many nuclear launch sites. The World was at a standstill, no one could do much. And the demands of terrorist group? Just to die. They believed that they would wipe the world clean and the human race would start all over again. People were in panic, governments were in panic, no one thought that they would do it. But they were wrong. Six months later, it all started, Hell on Earth began. Nukes were fired everywhere. Europe was hit hardest with most countries having only 10% of the population surviving... The US lost several cities on all sides. Chicago was hit especially hard nothing survived because they were hit with five nukes. The Middle East was decimated, the US had just recently began to help them rebuild cities. Originally the radiation was too risky to do that kind of a thing. China was hit with their own weapons, half their popuation died, the government was no more. China was in a chaotic state, with its head cut off, the rest of the country had to run blindly. No more than two or three weeks later, they attacked again nukes to finish everyone off. That was when it happened. Some observers from around the world looked to the sky and saw a huge dome of multiple colors surrounded most of Asia. The missiles exploded harmlessly against this shield. Everyone was baffled, had China had an unknown technology that was never revealed? Regardless, when the attack was over, and the nukes ran out, the shield came down. Then it was revealed to the world the mysticism that surrounded China. It seemed that many kinglets wrestled for the position of the control of China, however one young prince succeeded. With his no nonsense manner, he forcibly united China in a bloody slaughter. In doing so, he united the masters of the arts in China. However the shield was not generated by them alone, instead, Kami had sent down a goddess to aid a member of the masters that was united. When the nukes had hit, the goddess helped the masters in their shield of life energy. Right after the shield had went down, the world was silent when a huge beam of light had emerged from China. The beam that was seen around the world. Historians said that it was the Beam of Hope. It was like a massive signal to all the masters of the arts around the world to unite. All petty differences were set aside. For why fight one another, when they were all going to die? The bio-warfare had erupted due to the fact that other religious groups joined with the Efficit Pacit. Millions more died, by now, the world had reached the point that less than a billion people were still alive, and that number was decreasing because of the viruses. Though the advanced martial artists and the masters were not affected by these diseases, but normal citizens were dying left and right. It was at that point when hell truly began. All the diseases caused by the weapons suddenly dissapeared. The goddess who had come to earth sacrificed her soul and immortality to save the person. Some said it was out of love, some had said it was out of duty, and others say that she became scapegoat of the people's follies and had paid the ultimate price. To say that the masters in China were in sorrow would be an understatement. The entire community of martial artists grieved. At that moment, the united group of Efficit Pacit struck the core of the masters. An attempt upon the center of where all the masters converged was hit at their weakest moment. No one truly knew what happened at that point, but all that was known was that mother nature began to wreak havoc upon the earth. The Earth re-oriented itself, islands sunk, land masses broke apart, the ocean swallowed some parts of the world. Some say that the only reason Japan still stands is that its lady goddess Ameratsu had watched over her people. When it all settled, a group of elite members of the masters, literally similar to gods on earth, launched a full out attack on the Effecit Pacit. Within this elite group the person that the goddess had been sent to protect lead, his name to the rest of the earth was the Dragon. The emperor of China as well as some of the leaders of the different arts made up the rest of the team. Together they destroyed the Effecit Pacit. Africa now had a gaping hold in its center of the continent, Australia had been destroyed in a huge blast by the Dragon. Ten against millions of trained terrorists, these odds astounded the world. When the battle was over, these ten were regarded as the saviors of the world and revered almost as gods. During this time, The United States and Asia emerged as the two world powers. Aunt Nodoka took advantage of the chaos of the world economy and constructed the largest corporation the world had ever seen. From Transporation to agriculture, technology to electronics, and much more. The conglomerate Nodoka-Genma-Ranma monopolized much of the world. Auntie probably could rule the world if she really wanted to, but she left the running of the conglomerate to her executives. Nabiki was one of them among the hundreds that kept everything running. During this time, Auntie has spent her times looking for her son and husband. but it seemed that she could not find any leads on them. After another year, with the help of NGR, civillization seemed to continue and rebuild itself. Four grueling years of non stop terror, and it was finally over. But that was now in the past, The past four years the world has been recovering from their ordeal. The human population was still very low, as 3/4 of the population of the world was wiped out in the period of four years. Cities were beginning to populate again, overall things were starting to look up. Glancing at the time again Nabiki swore to herself, it was now five in morning, it was too late to go back to sleep. Stretching herself, she headed off to the baths, all the while wondering what the boy that her father was sending over tomorrow was really like. ____________________________________________________________________________ Off the coast of Japan, five figures emerged from the waters. They slowly walked to the shore and looked around. Walking into the light, the five figures were five people. Three men, each extremely powerfully built, one beautiful woman, and another short elderly woman. "Alright Pop, we're here, let's go see this old friend of yours. Then we will go and see mother." A man in a pigtail said. "Very well, boy. However, you must agree to at least try to see if you can work out this marriage that I arranged." The older man in a white gi replied. "Ranma is my husband you fool!" The beautiful woman said angrily. "True, however, I don't see why Ranma can't take more than one wife? I mean Ryouga and I have both taken more than one." The older man asked. "Ranma should only belong to me! But... should Ranma agree to this, I will cope with it." The beautiful woman said sadly. "Do not fret child, the second branch of the Happousei should be just as strong as the Saotome-ryu, so perhaps we can bring in new blood into our village." The elder woman reasoned. "I wish Ukyou and Ranko would get here sooner." The heavier built man said with a sigh. "They are bringing Chi over right?" Ranma asked. "Yeah." Ryouga answered. "Okay, now lets go over to this Tendo Dojo." Ranma said as he levitated into the air. "Ranma! I thought you said you didn't want to attract attention! Streaking through the sky will raise more than just a few eyebrows!" The young woman said as she yanked on the foot of Ranma. "Heh I suppose so, ah well walking it is." Ranma replied as he followed his father in the direction of the Tendo Dojo. ____________________________________________________________________________ Nodoka Saotome sat in her personal jet waiting for it to land in San Francisco. She would be reunited with her husband and son soon, and she was giddy because of it. For a while she had thought that they had died, but last year Genma had finally written to her. He was still training Ranma in the Art, no doubt her son was part of the martial arts movement in China. Since then she had patiently waited for Genma to return, and now after 18 years she would finally see the both of them. Not only that, but Genma had said that he had a few surprises for her as well, and would meet her in America with the Tendo sisters. Though she thought it was strange, she did not argue because her family was going to be complete again. Looking down at her firm stomach, she grinned mischeviously and wondered if Genma would consider expanding the family a bit more. ____________________________________________________________________________ Soun Tendo watched over his advanced students with pride, these fine young youths were tobe the next generation of mighty martial artists. Glancing over at his wife, who was caring for their three smaller daughters. A faint pang of regret occured when he wondered why he neve had sons. Though he loved his daughters very much, he felt that he was destined to just have daughters and never a son to teach. Lost in his reminiscence he failed to note the presence of his best friend. "Hey Tendo!" Snapping out of his deep thought, he looked around. That voice, it sounded just like Saotomes's, but where was he? Just then, five figures leapt from the roof and landed in front of the dojo. Startled, Soun took a step back. "Saotome! Did you just get into town?" "Yes, Tendo, I'd like you to meet someone." Gesturing at the man behind him, "This is Ranma." Soun looked at the young man he was wearing a red tunic and black kung-fu pants. Around his waist was a black sash, and a katana was strapped to his side. Looking at the young man, Soun was in awe. Ranma seemed to built as a superb martial artist. He would have to test him sometime in the future. Inclining his head towards Ranma, Soun said in a deep voice, "Welcome my boy, I have known your father for quite a while. I am glad to see his son turned out so well. Your mother was just here a few hours ago." "I see, it is nice to see you Tendo-san. I would like to stay, however, I am quite anxious to see my mother again." "Understandable, however could you perhaps introduce me to your companions?" "Of course. This is Ryouga, my brother." He pointed towards the young man behind him. This man was also built powerfully, he seemed to be a mountain where he stood, a powerful base. He was extremely muscularly built and was wearing a yellow tunic and a pair of black pants tied off at the ankles. Upon his head he wore a yellow and black spotted bandanna. He carried a heavy broad sword in one hand, and looked extremely dangerous. "Brother?" Soun said. "Well, I sort of got married again." Genma said sheepishly. "But what about Nodoka?" Soun demanded. Saotome would never do something like this! "I am still married to her, however in China most of the people of my rank had two wives. And well, we were training in the Amazon village ..." "Amazon village? The place of the legendary martial artists? Amazing!" "Actually, the other two ladies are from the Amazon village." Soun looked over to the short elderly lady and the beautiful young woman, who was getting stares from the men in his class. The elderly woman was wearing green robes and seemed ancient. Almost as ancient as his old master. The young woman was wearing a Chinese dress with a slit running all the way up to her hips. "Ah, Welcome, honored ones. It is a pleasure to meet such martial artists such as yourselves." Soun greeted them with a deep bow indicating his respect for their stature. "Thank you Tendo-san. I am Cologne and this is my great-granddaughter Xian Pu." Cologne replied, as Shampoo looked bored. "Well then, why don't we wait until I finish up class, then I can bring you to your mother Ranma." "Did she move?" Ranma asked quizzically. "No, she is visiting my daughters in America. She asked that you meet her there." "I see, very well, we will wait." "Good, In the mean time, Why don't you get to know my new wife?" Soun said pointing towards the dojo office. Gemna nodded and headed over to the office. He was eager to see the woman who stole Soun's heart even when he was still mourning for his first wife. Ranma stayed with Shampoo to watch Soun teach his students. It had been a while since he taught someone. The first time he taught someone martial arts was when he was 14 and before that Day. The last time he taught was two years ago, he was teaching an old friend of his, Mu Tsu, however, Mu Tsu died in the attack upon their village, shielding his love, Xian Fu. It was after that, he had become close to his wife. She was suffering from Mu Tsu's death, and Ranma was there to comfort her. He too had undergone a serious death of a loved one as well. Together they helped each other relocate their wa. In a few months, he had fallen in love with her and one night when they were drunk, they were married. "Your father's friend is a good teacher." Xian commented. "Yes he is, very patient, compassionate and effective at the same time." Ranma replied. Then he felt Xian wrap her arms around his waist, as he draped his arm around her shoulder holding her in close. "Ranma? Are you really going to go through with this?" "Yes, mother want me to then I will. But if you do not like your co-wife, I will explain this to mom and I'm sure she will understand. But Xian, please give the girls a chance. If mother likes them as her own, they can't be that bad." "I know Ranma, but still, I hate the thought of having to share you with any woman. I knew this day was coming, but still ... You know, Herb wanted you to take on at least three wives." "I know, but I simply will not take more than two. You are enough of a workout." Ranma said with a grin. Xian smiled a sultry smile and whispered into Ranma's ear. "How about we do some sparring tonight?" "Xian..." "What?" "Not while you are with child." "You don't have to treat me like a porcelain doll! I am an Amazon! I can take care of myself." "I know that, but I still worry. It's only natural for me." "*sigh* I understand." Leaning towards Xian, Ranma smiled and caressed his wife's firm ass. "But I think we can do some light sparring tonight." Xian looked up and flashed her husband a smile. Soun finally finished class and allowed some students to continue sparring. One of the head students was curious about the group that arrived, and decided to challenge one of them. They seemed like martial artists, and besides sensei said they just came from China. He wanted to see what his skills were like against a martial artist from China. "Excuse me? Ranma?" Looking up from his wife, he saw a man in his late twenties talking to him. He had fire in his eyes and a fiery spirit. "I overheard you speaking with Sensei and I was wondering if you would spar against me?" "No." Ranma replied. "What? How come?" "I do not wish to." "Why not, you're a martial artist right?" "Yes." "You would refuse an honorable challenge to test my skills?" "Yes. Now please help your sensei clean the dojo, think of it as training." "What? Who do you think you are high an mighty? Come on Fight me!" "Back down boy, you do not wish this upon yourself." Ranma barked at the young man. "If you won't attack me then- urk" Suddenly the student felt a chinese mace buried on his head. Bonelessly, he collapsed to the ground as Shampoo removed her bonbori from his head. "Stupid boy, too stupid to understand Ranma. When say no mean no." ________________________________________________ Nabiki stood on the landing strip, where Nodoka was landing. She hadn't seen her aunt in a year and was very nervous about it. Not only was she her boss, but also Nabiki tended to look towards her as a mother and hoped for her approval in many things. Over the horizon, she saw the NRG private jet land. Smiling, she stood dignified, waiting for aunt Nodoka. When the plane finally landed , the stairs was brought to the door of the plane and her aunt Nodoka stepped out. She looked the same as usual, always wearing some kind of a kimono and carrying the wrapped bundle. "Nabiki-chan!" "Aunt Nodoka!" the two women embraced each other heartily. "It's been so long! How have you been doing?" "Just moved into that house Akane and I bought a couple months ago." "Excellent! I hope you three are all doing well. Did you recieve my letters last year? I'm sorry I couldn't make it here on christmas, but Genma had finally contacted me and I was trying to track him down." "Oh don't worry about it Auntie, we all know how important finding Uncle Genma and Ranma are to you. We're fine, but we should head home, because daddy just called and said that Ranma and his father just left Japan and were on their way here." "Good, will Akane and Kasumi still be at school?" "Akane won't, she should be back by now he econ class ended at 10, but I think Kasumi had to do something at the hospital." Nabiki said as she led her aunt to the limo she had that drove her around. When the two of them were finally in the limo and settled, Nabiki offered Nodoka some tea from the wet bar. "So how is Akane's school doing?" "Great, in fact she just opened her 25th school, we just need to find an instructor." "Why not use Ranma?" "Well, Akane doesn't know how good Ranma is, and she likes to interview her sensei candidates first." "Well, I'll ask Ranma to see if he wants to teach." "And Kasumi?" "Kasumi is on her last year of med school." "Good, she will make a fine doctor. What kind of doctor does she achieve to be?" "Pediatrician." "That is a proper field for her. She is so good with children and with her sweet temperment, she will do fine." "Yes, I agree." "And you? Have you found anyone yet?" "No... All the men are either intimidated by me, trying to get money from me or married. It's just not fair." Nabiki complained to Nodoka. Taking the younger girl in her embrace, Nodoka assured Nabiki. "Don't worry Nabiki-chan you are still young, and there is a man out there w ho isn't just looking for money and will be able to match your sharp wits." "I don't know, I mean Masao was such a great guy but he was so stupid, I couldn't stand him! I swear, I tried explaining some of the things I did at work, and he couldn't understand it. All he was interested in was fighting." "Well perhaps my son will be able to sweep you off your feet. Genma's assured me that he is indeed a man among men." Nabiki looked cautiously at Nodoka before continuing. "About that, Akane, Kasumi and I have discussed it with Daddy, and he said that if we really didn't want to marry him, we wouldn't have to. I how you won't be offended with that if neither of us choose to marry him. It's just too much of a decision to make in such a short time!" "Worry not Nabiki, if neither of your like Ranma, we will not force you to marry him. Though I would really like for the three of you to be officially my daughters." Nodoka said sincerely. Nabiki looked upon the older woman with love in her eyes as she hugged Nodoka. "Oh Auntie, we will always be your daughters, no matter what. You have raised us through our teenage years and in our adulthood, how would we think of you otherwise?" Tears shimmering in her eyes as Nodoka smile at the words. "Thank you Nabiki, the three of you have filled the void of my son's absence. And I love you all for that." Wiping away some tears, the Founder and CEO of NGR felt overjoyed. "So how are Akane and Kasumi's love lives faring?" "Kasumi is already taken." "Really?" "Yeah, some guy in the hospital she's interning at. I don't like him much, but Kasumi seems devoted to him." "Please ask Kasumi to invite this young man over I would like to meet him. How about Akane?" "There are just so many men who lust after her, and she simply turns them all down! I mean, dozens and dozens seem to be so attracted to her." "Akane is just a wandering spirit, she can't be contained by any man unless the man is as wild as she is." "Okay we're here." Nabiki said, as the driver rounded up the driveway of their luxurious new age home. The house was very large, but not quite a mansion. A beautiful solid marble archway adorned the front door giving the house an antiquated feel, but the satillite dish and electronic doorway implied the house was very technologically based. To the right side of the house an entire corner was composed of delicate glass. There were three stories of the house and a few dome shapes protruded on the roof. Unlocking the front door, Nabiki pressed a security code to enter. Pressing another few buttons, Nabiki stepped into the house. "Auntie there is a bath being prepared upstairs in the bathroom in your room. I figured you may want to freshen up before Ranma and Uncle get here." Leading Nodoka up the spirled stairs, Nabiki took every opportunity to show of her new house to her surogate mother. She was very proud of this house, it used to be a courthouse before the war. She and Akane both decided to spend some money and renovate it. This was a trophy of sorts for her. It showed just how much she had risen in the world. Continuing down the hallway on the second level the walls were adorned with a few priceless relics. When She finally reached a door, Nabiki swung it open in a grand flourishing gesture. "This is your room Auntie." The room was decorated in a distinct asian style. Golden Dragons and Phoenixes adorned the room, several priceless Chinese wooden furniture scattered throughout the room. In the center of the room a priceless golden bed with drapes surrounding it. there were some a few asian sliding doors towards the back of the room lead to the bathroom and a closet. There was a small wine collection to the right side of the wall, a tea set formal calligraphy utensils sat next to the wine self. An empty sword stand was placed next to the night stand next to the bed. several huge bay windows made up the most the the final wall. A small balcony was revealed as they stepped into the room. All in all, the scene was quite impressive. "Well Nabiki, I must say I am impressed. I see you also have our new line of Intelli-home systems set up as well eh?" Nodoka said with a curious glance toward the panel to the right of her. "Yes it works great! The intercom system is great, I can talk to Akane in the Dojo if I wanted. Not only that, but security is great, I hire some burglars to try and break into our place and they each met with quite a bit of resistance. It also has a great speaker set up, not only can you play music in the entire house, but each room can choose a different type of music. I also had a Laptop port setup for you on the table next to the calligraphy table." Nabiki said proudly. This had been the first time Nodoka had been in the house and she wanted to make a good first impression. "Thank you very much Nabiki, it seems I will have a very relaxed stay here." Nodoka said with a slight twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Well I'll let you take your bath Auntie, I'll inform you when Ranma and uncle get here." Nabiki said as she left the room. ______________________________________________ Ranma sat impatiently in a comfortable jet as they flew over the Pacific towards California. It was taking too long, he had waited so long to see his mother. The final moments were like an torturous drip from a sink. He glanced over to Shampoo his wife and smiled, she was so beautiful. Her violet locks of hair were full and healthy, it was one thing that Shampoo had constantly prided in taking care of, her hair. It cascaded down her delicate back to her small waist. Yet no matter how delicate she seemed, he knew what she was capable off. She was capable of shattering boulders with her bare fists, head-butt a full armored knight into a concussion, and destroy acres of land at a time. When he had first met her, she was an arrogant girl of the age 16. Then again they were both arrogant, they constantly made fun of each other and insulted each others skills. The only thing from the two of them actually hurting each other too badly was Mousse. He was such a good friend, and his last student. However when the war hit, Shampoo and himself didn't have the time to be harsh to each other, it was to grow up or die. In that situation, they grew up quickly. Thinking back to the war, tears threatened to pour from his eyes. God only knows how many tars he's shed over the casualties of the war. He remembered HER. His first real true love. Even saying his name hurt him more than he would care to admit. He death all but killed him. She was so peaceful, calm and at times she could still see her. But if only he had trained harder, and been able to perfect the chi transfer technique, she would have lived. But those cowards had attacked them with unhonorable tactics. They knew about HER and purposely destroyed her domain a bit at a time. He avenged her death, but somehow he still felt empty at times. Shampoo was there to catch him when he started falling down that abyss of depression. Had it not been for Ryouga, Ucchan and Shampoo, he would have destroyed all life around him with his rage. He thought back to the time when Mouse was killed in the assault on the village. He was still in pain, and Shampoo, Ryouga, and Ucchan were trying their best to restrain him. Mousse held back as many of those bastards as he could when one of them had tried shooting Shampoo. Ranma shuddered at the memory. The moments following his death was not something he liked to discuss, he had dishonored himself as well as the the notion of being a martial artist. Then he panned forward to the time when he and Shampoo had recovered from their individual loss of their first loves. There had been much sake and hard liquor involved in their recovery, and of course there was the night when they had truly expressed their true love for each other. Ranma chukled at the memory, they had consummated their marriage as an earthquake had been occuring, but they were too into their lovemaking to notice. Shampoo had commented at how the earth had moved for them. Moving deftly to Shampoo he hugged her from behind and kissed her on the back of her neck. he could hear her purr in pleasure. Bending his head down he whispered into his ear. "You know what I want to do right now?" "Shampoo know, but not in front of everyone!" "I know I can't wait till tonight's 'sparring' session." Ranma said as he cupped his wife's firm breasts with his hands. Suddenly he heard a laugh from behind them. Looking behind him, Ranma saw Cologne. The old ghoul was like a grandmother to him, always treating him as a child, yet acting in his best interest. "Well well Ranma, I see marriage life agrees with you. I can forsee quite a few children for you and Shampoo." With that she cackled and hopped towards the wet bar on her staff. Looking back to his wife, he saw that she was very red. "Till tonight, my beloved." Ranma said as he turned Shampoo around and cupped the side of her face. "Till tonight..." and with that, he gave her a passionate kiss. _______________________________________________________________________ Akane sighed deeply as she headed into the house. The morning was tiring due to her early class, and the interviews she had held on campus for the new sensei position. She hated it when everyone of her applicants were MAC, Males with an Attitude Complex. They seemed to believe themselves to be extraorninarily good because the had a "black belt" or held a certain number of "dans" She decided that she was just going to have an open sparring session on campus to see who was a good fighter and more closely resembled the style of Tendo-ryu. Looking up at the grandfather clock by the coat closet, she saw it was around noon and Javier would be there by now. Javier was their cook since Kasumi started to go to medical school. She smiled at the memory when Nabiki discovered she had gained seven pounds because she kept on living off of pizza. Javier came in almost the very next day, he was a cooking student at a culinary school in San Francisco and with the amount of money they paid him, he now managed to open up a five star restaurant. But he still comes by to cook for them even though he doesn't need the money. Akane secretly believed he liked Nabiki, but never said anything. Besides why should she argue? Javier was a great guy and nice to have around the house, his carefree attitude was always a welcome addition to the Tnedo household. Walking towards the kitchen, she heard Javier laugh loudly and a woman's voice laughing along with him. Nabiki was heard berating Javier about something. Stepping into the kitchen, Akane saw Javier bent over still laughing and Nabiki flushed red. Looking to Javier's right, she saw a beautiful woman dressed in a Yukatu laughing heartily with Javier. She had her hair tied in a bun and her eyes full of mirth. "Nodoka-Okassan!" Akane said as she did a flying leap into Nodoka, who gracefully accepted Akane's bear hug. "Hello Akane-chan. How have you been. Nabiki tells me you've been busy." Nodoka said as she fussed with Akane's hair. Why she insisted on keeping it that short was beyond her. Akane stepped back and released the older woman. "Yes, the Tendo-ryu seems to be in demand everywhere I go, we have got most of the West Coast in a monopoly." "Well well, it seems you've been doing will with yourself as well. I am proud of you Akane-chan." Akane looked at Nodoka with tears in her eyes, her okassan approved of her actions. For a while she didn't know if she would approve of her running a school that she felt was more for a man to do. But now, all her worries were assuaged as she heard her okassan's words. "Thank you." Akane said with a bow only to be stopped by Nodoka. "Now now, Akane-chan, my daughter doesn't really have to bow to me." Nodoka said conveying her meaning to Akane. She had finally officially called Akane her Daughter, though they may not be related by blood, Akane felt such a strong bond to Nodoka, as did her sisters. Akane never really knew if Nodoka thought of her as a daughter or just as a friend of the family, but now she knew and she felt like she had a mother again. "Oh mom, I'm so happy." Giving her another hug, Nodoka laughed and held the smaller girl in her arms. "Well... my ladies, I shall prepare a great feast in honor of thine reunion! For I am master Chef Javier! The Ginzu of San Francisco Bay area!" With that Javier struck a ridiculous pose that resembled something a sentai pose. "Masterful performance Master Chef Javier." Nodoka commented. "We will be in the dining room and leave you to your arts. What wine would you recommend?" "Ah I see Madame Nodoka is a woman of tastes. Fear not! Javier shall choose a wine that is what you say... c'est magnifique!" Javier said in a French accent. With a broad smile he turned to the kitchen and prepared the ingredients for a meal. "Wonderful young man Nabiki, you surely do know how to hire employees out of the office as well I see. I may just have to steal him from you." Nodoka said with a grin. _______________________________ At the a local hospital in San Francisco, a young girl was escorted outside by Kasumi. Bearing a gentle smile, Kasumi waved goodbye to the little girl as she went to her mother's car. They were such darlings. The little girl had had a slight concussion due to a soccer game. Her paranoid mother had rushed her to the emergency room and was demanding service even though she didn't have any insurance. When Kasumi happened to overhear the situation as the mother started hyperventilating. Quickly, Kasumi lead the worried mother to a room and sat the little girl down. Still disoriented from her fall, the girl cried a lot, but Kasumi had calmed her down and soothingly sang to her as she laid her down to sleep. Once asleep, she treated the wounds and checked to see if there was anything wrong with the girl. After taking her blood samples, and calming the mother down. She told them that she just had a slight concussion and that she would have a large bump on her head. There had been a small laceration on the forhead, but nothing that required stiches. The relieved mother thanked Kasumi and the little girl gave Kasumi a hug. Hopefully, one day she would have a beautiful child like that. But until then she would settle for caring for other children. Sighing, she walked to the head nurse's desk and gave her some charts. "Well The Angel Kasumi Tendo works her magic again." The nurse said with a smile. They had given her that name because she was always level headed, gentle and had miraculously saved some lives with her knowledge of shiatsu. "Oh it was nothing, I love working with children. That's all." Kasumi replied modestly. "Honey you skipped lunch to help her, you are already a skinny thing, you need to get some meat on you!" another nurse said humorously. "Oh my." Kasumi said as she blushed. "Are you going to be paying for her too?" the head nurse asked. "Yes, I don't want to burden them with a bill. Just charge it to me." Kasumi said with a nod. "Okay Kasumi. You know you really are an angel, you help the weak when they can't and bring love and hope to them." The plump nurse said warmly. "Thank you." Kasumi said gently. "Kasumi dear?" A deep voice came from behind her. Already know who it was, Kasumi smiled sweetly and turned around. "Yes Dr. Phadron-kun?" The man behind her was a tall well built doctor with long brown hair. "Can I speak to you privately?" he said sweetly. "Of course." Kasumi agreed. 'He must want to talk about tonight! I knew he would remember our one year anniversary!' As the reached an office, Kasumi stepped in first. "What was it P-" Her response was quickly cut off as Phadron grabbed Kasumi by her shoulders and slammed her into the wall. Kasumi cried out weakly as all the air was knocked out of her. "You stupid bitch! What have I told you about leaving my side?" The doctor raged at her. "That I shouldn't" Kasumi said in a small voice. "That's right! And what do you do right after I told you to stay by my side? You run over to help a snot nosed little kid with a god damn bitchy mother!" He yelled into her face. "I know she was just worried about-" a slap cut her off. Kasumi felt her cheek burning up as Phadron struck her. "Listen you little bitch, if it wasn't for me, these other doctors would have eaten you alive with you stupid attitude. You are my bitch you understand? You owe everything to me! Everything! You will obey my every command! If I ask you to strip and bend over you do it! You are mine!" The doctor was shaking Kasumi with every statement and as a result her head banged on the wall. Her head hurt as if someone had just cracked her skull open. She started crying. "Are you crying? You'd better because if I ever catch you disobeying me again, I will terminate your internship and destroy your record!" "No!" Kasumi cried. "Yes! Remember you are mine. Now get out of my sight." As Kasumi weakly lurched towards the door. Phadron slammed her back into the wall and kissed her savagely. "I told you to not leave my side! You disobeyed me again. Tonight I want you to come by my place. I want some ... entertainment." "Yes Dr. Phadron-ku-" Phadron slapped her again. "Dr. Phadron-sama! I am your lord!" he said. "Yes Dr. Phadron-sama." "Good, now I give you my permission to leave, go home. I want you rested for tonight." As Kasumin opened the door, Phadron tossed a jacket with a hood at Kasumi. "Put that on so no one can see your ugly face." He hissed. Nodding, Kasumi put the jacket on. As soon as she stepped out of the office she immediately ran to her car. There in her car, she cried endlessly to herself. "He's just trying his best. It's not his fault." The mantra recycled itself in her mind. _________________________________ End of Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Ranma stretched the kinks of his arm out as he awoke in the plane. Standing up he looked out the window. The sun was just the sun hit the ocean causing a diffraction upon the layers of water. The effect of the colors of the spectrum was beautiful. Gently he shifted out of the revised bed, he laid his wife's head back down on the bed. Smiling, he thought to his mother. He knew what she looked like from some of the old photos that his father had carried with him. She looked beautiful, sort of like Ranko, but taller and more refined. What he didn't know about his mother was her personality. His father seemed to glorify her as a goddess of sorts. Before the war, his father was a scoundrel, but whenever Ranma mentioned his mother, Genma always tried to act better the next day. He knew his father loved her just as much if not more than Jade. When he told him that he was coming back to see his mother, the joy in his father's eyes was more than he had seen in a while. The night before the plunged into the sea of Japan, he had woken up and bumped into his father who stood outside looking to the stars. Flashback Ranma slowly approached his father, wondering what his fathe was doing. Stopping a few feet away from him, his father made no sign of acknowledgement of Ranma. "Uh... Pop?" Ranma called out hesitantly. Genma started a bit and looked towards his son. What shocked Ranma was the fact that his father had tears in his eyes. Which was odd because his father never cried. The only time his father cried was when SHE died, but that was not odd because no one remained without tears, SHE was loved by all. "Son." His father's voice was not the stern, unbending voice he had been so used to. "Tomorrow we are to meet your mother. But before we meet her, I want to know what you remember of her." "Well..." Ranma said as he scratched his head. " I remember her voice sort of, well actually I don't remember too much, mostly what I felt when I was around her. Her warmth, her voice and how beautiful it was, and the way she smelled... that's about it. Oh and her eyes, they seemed comforting." "Yes her eyes. You know I consider that her best feature, she had such beautiful eyes. They could see right through you or love you. Good Ranma I am glad that my follies have not left you without any recollection of your mother." Looking back to the sky, Genma took a deep breath in. "I could never forgive myself if you forgot your mother. I would not be able to face her nor you. Return to bed Ranma, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." End Flashback Ranma never respected his father more than on that day. His Father after all this time still loved his mother very deeply. Seperated for a little over two decades and his love for her still burned brightly within him. Suddenly the something began to ring. Looking around, he looked down into his father's bag. He quickly pulled out the celluar phone they carried with them in case Herb needed them. Curiously he flipped the phone open and talked into it. "Hello?" A femald voice cut clearly across the phone. "Hello? Ranma? Is that you?" Looking into the phone in surprise, Ranma smiled and responded. "Sis? That you?" "Of course it is, where are you? Ucchan and me have just arrived in the San Francisco airport. We thought you would be here by now." the girl said irritatedly. "Patience is a virtue of every martial artist." Ranma cited calmly, knowing the exact effect on his sister. "Patience? I'll give you patience you big lug! If you don't get your sorry butt here pronto, I'm going to knock you into next week. Ucchan and I had to skip our plans in New york cause the jeweler was out of town. Do you know what it feels like to have to wait another week for your wedding ring? And where is that dolt of a husband of mine?" After the earlashing, Ranma returned the phone to his ear. "He's sleeping, we've been on a plane since we left Japan. But we had fallen behind schedule because Pop was spending some time with his old friend. I'll wake him up." Ranma explained. "No! Don't do that." On the other end the girl seemed to be thinking. "All right Ucchan and I will check into a hotel called the Hilton. It is in the airport. Okay? You can find us there." "Okay, Hilton got it. Is Kaze there?" Ranma checked with his sister. "She's right here sleeping. She's had a rough few days." The voice sounded gentler now. "Thanks sis, so we're finally going to meet mom." Ranma said. "Yeah, but you know she's not going to understand me or at least not at first." "Don't worry, you are of her blood just as much as I am. She will accept you." "I hope so, the only memories I have of her are yours and those are pretty vivid." "I know, I know, but I am very excited about seeing her. Give my love to Ucchan and Kaze." Ranma said in a cheery voice. "We'll meet you at the Hilton." "Hey don't I get any of your love?" The girl pouted. Laughing deeply, Ranma looked at the phone. "Of course, Wild Child!" ________________________________________________ With that, Ranko Hibiki turned her phone off. Looking at the child next to her curled up on the chair, she smiled gently. ' She looked so much like her mother that everytime I see her I think that SHE is there.' Ranko thought. Looking at her surroundings, she quickly smoothed her chinese dress out. Ranko wore a similar dress to that of Shampoo, except it was yellow and she wore a red sash. Suddenly she noticed her companion coming towards her. "So Ucchan? Did we get a room?" The other girl was a tall and elegant woman, her long brown hair was pulled up and held in place with a hair piece. She wore a simple purple version of Ranko's dress. In her arms she carried a small bundle, and slung across her back was a long staff. "Yes we did Ranko, come on, we still have to go to customs to pick up your sword." Ukyou said as she handed the small bundle to Ranko. Pulling on a small baby bag, she fished out a cell phone. Speed dialing a number quickly, Ukyou waited patiently for the person on the other line to pick up. "Hello? Yes this is Ukyou. Good. We are currently at the baggage claim area for Continental. I want you to come and help us with the bags. Bring the limo around the bend. Yes. Five minutes? Okay." Hanging up the phone. Ranko handed the bundle back to Ukyou. "We should wake Kaze now." Ranko suggested. Gently shaking the young girl next to her, the child opened her wide eyes. She was definately was not fully Japanese or Chinese, but a mixture between an American and a Japanese. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a small robe, and a small white wrapped around her waist. She was about five years old, and a beautiful child. Gracefully she sat up and smiled brightly. "Okay Auntie. When is daddy getting here?" "Soon, his plane is arriving soon. we are meeting him in a hotel." Ranko told her. "Okay, then are we going to meet Grandma?" "Yes little one. Just as soon as your father gets here." Just then a young man walked over to them and bowed respectfully to the two women. "My ladies? Shall we go? I will take care of the bags, the limo is parked right outside the doors." _________________________________ Nodoka smiled at the meal before them, Javier was most definately a good cook. Nabiki chose her employees well. Javier even carved little flowers out of raddish and carrots and decorated the plates with them. Just then the chef emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvingnon. "Your wine choice madame. A delicate dark wine for your dining pleasure." Then looking to Akane and Nabiki, he grinned and sauntered over the them and then took up a gruff voice. "ID Please." Nabiki looked back at Javier in shock. "What? I own that bottle of wine, why should I show my ID for it?" "Miss please I'm just doing my job. ID Please. I could be out of a job if I served this to minors." "Minors?" Nabiki's voice went up an octave or two. "Well now that you mention it miss, you do seem kind of old, it must be th bags under the eyes. Very well miss, since you are well into your thirties, I suppose I need not your ID." Javier said with a grin. "Javier." Nabiki said dangerously. "Ah 'tis a compliment milady, for a woman as refined and mature as you must be recognized for thine wisdom. I beg milady's forgivness for any insult upon tine personage." And with that Javier sank t his knees still grinning. Tiredly, Nabiki looked to Javier, she knew he liked playing this sort of game. He was always teasing her, but in the end it was all for fun. "Of course my humble servant, return to thine humble abode. Until my anger is appeased." Nabiki said playing along now. "of course milady, Javier said with a bow and walked to the kitchen. "Uh, Javier? the wine?" Nabiki called. "Ah yes the wine." javier smiled sheepishly and poured the wine into each of the glasses. _________________________________ Kasumi reached her house and silently parked her car. Dabbing some make up on her face she hid her tears and the bruises. She couldn't let Nodoka-okassan see her like this. After a few minutes she decided that she looked prsentable and walked into the house. Looking up at the time, she noted the fact that it was already 3pm. Looking around, she heard voices coming from solarium. Quickly she walked in that direction. When she got there, she saw Nodoka-okassan, the same as she remembered her. She was so regal and elegant, moreso than Kasumi could ever be. Seeing her again, she just wanted to let everything spill out and let her okassan hold her in her arms. But with iron resolve, she quickly stepped into the room. "Nodoka okassan!" Kasumi called. Nodoka looked up at Kasumi and gasped. Kasumi was half afraid that the makeup didn't cover her bruises. But Nodoka just walked up to Kasumi and hugged her. "Oh Kasumi you've become so beautiful." Smiling Kasumi returned the hug. It felt good to be back in her okassan's arms again. "Welcome Nodoka okassan." "Kasumi please you would honor me if you would call me mother. You are very much my daughter, as are your sisters." "Of course ... mother." Kasumi was glowing with happiness, Nodoka had finally given them the permission to call her mother. Before Nodoka had thought that if she had let them call her Mother then she would be accepting that Ranma was gone. But now that Ranma was found, she had no qualms about it. "So Nabiki tells me that you are seeing a young doctor now?" Kasumi trembled slightly at that remark. "Yes. Dr. Phadron-s, Phadron-kun." Kasumi managed to get out from her trembling body. "What's wrong sweetie?" Nodoka asked worriedly. "You are shaking all over." "Oh it is nothing, I just need a hot bath, the hospital air conditioner was on at full blast." Kasumi lied. "Oh of course, we'll have plenty of time to talk tonight when Ranma gets here." Nodoka assured. "Tonight..." Kasumi was torn between being in the prescence of her boyfriend or staying here with her now surrogate mother. "Yes tonight... you will join us right? Unless you have other plans." Nodoka asked. Nodoka had a bad feeling about this, something about Kasumi was not right, it seemed like she was scared of something. "Yes I will." Kasumi said hesitantly. She wanted to be with her mother more now. She just hoped that Phadron-sama would not be too angry. Perhaps she could run over there quickly and explain things. He would be more understanding. "Excellent, tonight will be the happiest night of my life, my husband and son are finally returning and my daughters will join me for dinner and share my happiness." Nodoka said elatedly. ______________________________________ In a large house in San Francisco, Phadron sat on his couch as he waited for his 'girlfriend' to come by. She was such an idiot, she meant nothing to him, yet he seemed to mean so much to him. It probably had to do with the face he wore. But no matter, after tonight, he would inject his seed into her and make the bitch his slave for as long as he pleased. He was sick and tired of her disobeying him. It was time for him to finally pluck the flower that she had been coveting behind her folds of clothing. Once she was his, the other two sisters would be no problem to dispose of, and he would finally get what he wanted. Briefly he fantasized about the other two sisters of Kasumi. Nabiki was such a busty broad, he would take her next. She would pose no threat because of her lack of any power. However it was the last sister that had him somewhat worried. His old master, he spat. Akane Tendo, oh how he would roar in triumph when he finally took her. She would be the ultimate prize, the daughter of the Tendo-ryu would fall and be humiliated. He would see to that. Just then a black cloud permeate through his front door. Resolving into an indistiguishable form yet it conveyed an aura of fear and madness around it. "You have done well my servant. Soon the time of the True Gods will be upon this world. And the ones of this world will be banished to the depths of the earth and held captive in the Heart of the World." The voice was not of human tongue, because it had problems pronouncing some of its words. Phadron looked upon the figure and kneeled before it. "Of course master, you have given me the blessing of the gods and the skills to defeat the Tendo-Ryu. I will do anthing that is required of me. But may I request one thing though, that all three Tendo sisters remain with me as my bitches." The figured barked a sort of cackle. "Of course consider them your incentive. They are quite beautiful aren't they? They'll be fun to break, but I'll leave that all up to you." "Thank you my master." Phadron said as he eyes glowed deep red for a few moments. ________________________ Ranma stood on the runway where their plane had just landed. Taking in his surroundings, he took a deep breath of air. The air smelled sweet and fresh, the wind caressed his face and whipped his hair behind him. Just a little bit more and he would finally be reunited with his mother. Glancing down at his watch, he noted that it was about 5pm here in San Francisco. Looking back to the shipping plane, he saw the others getting their luggage which they had shipped to the airport rather than carry them. "Hey Ranma! You want to give us a hand here?" Ryouga yelled to his brother. "Maybe you should think of this as training. You could use a bit more muscle on you." Ranma poked at Ryouga. "Hey! Who's stronger than who here?" Ryouga retorted back. "Well why don't we just have a little match to see then?" Ranma said as he got into a loose stance. "Yes lets's..." Ryouga said as he in turn stepped into his personal stance. "Ranma! Ryouga! No fighting! I don't want to introduce you to your mother as a bunch of ruffians who brawl all the time!" Genma shouted to them. "Now get over here and take all the boxes out. Most of this stuff is your wife's things Ranma!" "I guess... Where is Shampoo anyways?" Ranma asked as he helped the other two men begin to unload all the luggage. "She and Cologne went to the Hilton to get Ranko and Ukyou." Ryouga said as he lifted a granite statue over his head effortlessly. "Okay then, Pop, you have mother's address? I'll call for the limo to come around to pick us up. We probably need a truck to ship all this stuff to the house Herb set us up with. I swear I don't remember owning half this stuff in the village." Ranma commented as he continued unloading various electronic and fitness devices. "Blame that computer thing that Ranko is always using. She seems to like buying these stuff on that Internet thing." Ryouga said as he pushed a piano out of the plane. "Ranma, Ryouga you two have been slacking off in your training. So to make up for lost time, I want you two to carry everything to the house." Genma said evilly. "What? I thought we wanted to avoid attention!" Ranma said in an indignant tone. "If we start carrying all this stuff halfway across town, you think people'll think we're just the average joe?" Grudgingly Genma relented, "Very well, but you two will make up for the lack of training another time." Genma promised. "Yeah, yeah Pop, now we have to hurry, I want to meet mother soon, we are meeting her for dinner right?" Ranma asked as he brought the last of the boxes out onto the runway. "Yes son, now I'll see about getting us a transport to bring all these boxes to our house. You find Shampoo and the ladies, and Ryouga you call for the limo." Openning the cell phone, Genma proceeded to call the Chinese embassy to request a transport. As Ranma and Ryouga headed towards the airport. ________________________________ At the front desk of the Hilton, a young woman sat reading her e-mail. giggling slightly at her boyfriend's note. They didn't get to many people at the hotel because it was a very expensive hotel and also not many people travelled by air anymore. Slouching back in her chair, she glanced at the clock as it slowly neared her time to leave. Closing her eyes slightly, she briefly imagined what it would be like to be as rich as some of the guests in the hotel, rich and powerful. Her boyfriend was a pretty good martial artist and he would be recognized as soon as he begin to win some of the tournaments. Then she would just go along with his climb of fame. Suddenly a polite cough caused her eyes to snap open. A beautiful woman with violet locks of hair and an wizened old woman stood at the counter. "Yes may I help you?" She asked the woman. feeling a bit self-conscious due to this woman's figure and beautiful face. "Yes I looking for Ranko Hibiki and Ukyou Hibiki? They say they be here." The woman said with a heavy accent. "Hibiki..." The woman said as she looked through the computer screen before her. "Ah yes, she is in room 215, second level, the elevators are right in the lobby area. Would you like me to call up and notify them that you are coming up?" "No not need. Shampoo go up. Thank you." Turning around she headed towards the elevators as every male who saw here had to roll their tongue back into their mouth. The wizened old woman looked at the young woman behind the counter and chuckled. "Don't worry yourself dear, you look just fine, my great-granddaughter just has the benefit of very good genes and lots of physical training." The young woman blushed and looked down at herself elliciting laughter from the old woman as she hopped off her cane and walked to the elevator. ______________________________________ In room 215 Ranko Hibiki stepped out of the shower and smiled as she saw Kaze watching some cartoon. Ukyou sat on the edge of the bed breast feeding her child. Motherhood certainly suited Ukyou well, Ukyou has been glowing ever since she discovered she was pregnant. Sighing, she wondered if she would ever bear children, it wasn't that Ryouga and herself hadn't tried but it was just that due to all the physical activities an training that she underwent her cycles were very random. Cologne had begun to give her some fertility herbs that would help her, but so far there had been no effect. She loved children and wanted one of her own, she had raised Kaze with Ranma and always wished she was her child, and in a way she was, but not fully. "Kaze? You need to take a bath now." Ranko said firmly. "Okay Auntie! Will you come with me?" the child said in a overjoyed voice. "Of course, but you know you are getting to be a big girl you will need to start washing yourself soon." Ranko said warmly. "Okay!" Kaze smiled brightly and rummaged through her bag quickly before she pulled out a pair of Dragonball Z characters. Rushing into the bathroom, she made 'wooshing' sounds. Smiling faintly, Ranko enter the bathroom with Kaze. Ukyou looked down at her lovely child, Chi was such a darling, she never cried, never fussed and always looked to her mother with such adoring eyes. It felt wonderful that after all the death that surrounded her friends and herself that she was still capable of bearing life. Think back to Ryouga, she yearned for his return. She loved him so much, during all the times that they were in China, Ryouga made her feel so feminine. Growing up in an Amazon village wasn't bad, but it tended to make you act like a tomboy most of the time. Her best Friend Shampoo seemed to be able to withstand those effects and still manage to become Village Champion. But When Ryouga had stumbled into their village that fateful day looking for Ranma, he was not scared of her as most of the village boys were, and he was such a strong man. Falling back on her day dreaming, she remembered the first time she and Ryouga trained together after his defeat by Ranma. He was so cute when he refused to hit her. Of course at the time, she thought it was an insult and beat him to a little pulp. Their courtship was one of classic romances, everyday her beloved would train with her, and teach her the arts as well. When he finally decided to marry her, he challenged her to her hand in marriage. Their fight had lasted a good hour before she was distracted by his bulging muscles that was revealed when his shirt had been ripped off. Suddenly she was shaken out of her reviere as a knock on their door signaled that they had guests. Covering herself up, Ukyou opened the door to their room and saw Shampoo and Cologne. "Shampoo! You finally got here! Uh where is Ryouga?" Ukyou said happily as she looked around. "Ucchan you get your new ring?" "No, unfortunately the jeweler had left town for a bit and the assistant told us to stop by next week to pick up the rings." Ukyou said sadly. "But anyways, come in, come in, where are the others?" "They are unloading everything that you, Ranko and Shampoo shipped to your new house." Cologne told her in an amused tone as Ukyou winced. "Why don't I hold Chi and you two can chat for a bit." "Of course Elder." Ukyou said as she handed her child to Cologne. Then leading Shampoo to the table by the wall, she began to tell Shampoo about her trip to the Nekonron. From the bathroom Ranko emerged with a still wet Kaze, who seemed to be full of energy. Bounding over to Shampoo Kaze leapt into the Amazon Princess's arms. "Mama!" Kaze cried before settling into Shampoo's arms. "Kaze, my have you grown in the past few days? You seem so much taller now." Shampoo said as she held the younger girl there in her arms. "Mama, Nekonron was so cool! And Lychee and Monlon was so nice to me! They showed me so many pretty clothing too!" Kaze rambled on. "Now now, you mama, is talking to your Auntie Ukyou, why don't you draw some pictures of what you saw and tell me about your adventures later? Besides, you want to be dry and dressed when your daddy gets here right?" "Yes mama." Kaze said as she climbed down from Shampoo's lap and went back into the bathroom. Ranko smiled and walked over to the pair of women. "Hey Shampoo." Ranko said with a smile. "Hello sis." Shampoo returned "You enjoy your time in nekonron? I'm so mad I missed it!" __________________________________ Ranma walked through the sliding doors of the Hitlon with Ryouga the pair looked around for the front desk. The young woman behind it seemed to be muttering and examining herself. Ryouga looked to Ranma with a confused look, Ranma mouthed the words 'horny girl' to Ryouga. Nodding comprehension, Ryouga raise his voice a bit. "I think this is the front desk Ranma." Catching the attention of the girl who was now completely red, Ranma flashed smile to the girl. "Uh... welcome to the Hilton how may I help you?" The girl said looking at the two gorgeous guys in front of her. "I am looking for room for Ukyou and Ranko Hibiki." Ryouga stated politely. The girl behind the desk gave him an insinuating look and winked at the both of them. "She's in room 215, are you related to her? A Chinese woman just came by looking for her." The girl said hoping that they were only related and nothing else. "No, I'm their husband." Ryouga said. "And I am her brother." Ranma said with his devastating grin. He knew what the girl was thinking and thought it was quite funny. "The Chinese woman was my wife." The look on the girl's face was priceless. Both of them! They were both taken! Life just wasn't fair. The girl ranted on and on in her mind. "Right. Shall I call for them?" "If it is not too much trouble." Ranma said as he walked towards the lobby. Ryouga followed him as he sat down down on the comforatble couch in the hotel. "So what you thinking man?" Ryouga asked Ranma. "I dunno, lot of things I guess." "Would one of these thing be the arranged marriage between you and one of the Tendos?" "Yeah, I don't know, I love Shampoo, and I don't want to take another wife, I mean you were lucky, both your wives were chosen. But me I mean I've got to choose a wife I don't even know. And I would hate to let my mother down if I don't choose one." Ranma said in a tired voice. he had been thinking about this issue for quite a while. Even though Herb had decreed that he is allowed to retain more than one wife, he always felt that if he took more than one wife, then one of them would feel neglected. He simply couldn't do that, so far he has refused every suitor that Herb has thrown at him. Ranma shuddered at Monlon of Nekonron. her approach to marry him was very direct, but he had avoided her when Ranko saved him. Now he had to choose. True he wouldn't be forced to, afterall there is no force on this world could force him, maybe kami, but it was his mother. He knew from her letters that his mother loved these Tendo girls very much. If he were to refuse them she would be heart broken. Be it that he doesn't know his mother very well, the one thing he remembered was her gentle and loving spirit. He could not shatter her heart. "You worry too much. From all that father and you have told me about my second mother seems to be very understanding. I mean afterall she let father take you on a training trip when you were three." Ryouga said trying to comfort his best friend and step-brother. "I know, I know, that's what I've been telling myself. But She maybe understanding, but her heart is still her heart, if I reject one of these girls, I know a part of her will feel hurt, and that is not an impression I want to imprint on my mother. She's suffered enough with me and Pop not being here during the war." "And you blame yourself for that? What you did saved us all! How could you have any regrets?" Ryouga asked incredulously. "I don't have regrets." Ranma said hastily. "I just wish she knew what I was doing. I just want her to be happy and proud of me." "You know you can't tell her what you are right? Herb has asked that every member of the elite be kept a secret and that means you." "I know, that's what makes this hard. Mother had to go through the war without any family near her, only those Tendo girls. At least we had each other and the village, and now we are like one large family. But Mother only had these girls to help her get through the war. If I reject these girls that she has so much love for, it would be like if she rejected Shampoo or either or you." "Well, you have to do what is right for you. I'm not saying that you should break your mother's heart, but in the end, the only person you have to answer to is yourself, that's one of the most important thing that SHE taught us." "Yes... HER." "I'm sorry for bringiner her up again. But it is true, as long as your answer to your decision is truthful then you have nothing to worry about." "Yeah nothing." Ranma said noncomittaly. He would have brooded about it some more if it was not for the two childish arms that wrapped itself around his neck. "Daddy!" Kaze said as she hugged Ranma tightly. "Kaze, did you have fun with your two aunties?" Ranma said as he sat his daughter in his lap. "Yeah! Auntie Ucchan took me to eat so many good food! And Auntie Ranko showed me so many stores with weapons, and she took me to the temples with the funny little men who look like great-grandpa and great-grandma." By the end of her small speech, she was breathless. "That sound great. Are you ready to meet your grandma?" Ranma asked his daughter and wondering if he was as hyper as she was when he was a child. She must have gotten her hyperness from someone, and since her mother was relatively peaceful and calm all the time. "Yeah! What is grandma like?" Kaze asked curiously. "Well I don't remember too much about your grandma because I had to go train a lot when I was a kid like you. But she is very nice and I'm sure you'll like her." Ranma assured her. "Yeah! Mama said that we were going to go shopping tomorrow!" "Really?" "Yes really." Shampoo said as she came her arms around Ranma from behind him. "Well I guess, but I was hoping that you would spend more time with mother." "I think she would want to spend more time with her son don't you think?" "I suppose." Ranma said in defeat. "Well then let's get a move on, the limos already here and Pop's in one of them already." Ranko said as she joined the group. "Ranchan!" Ukyou exclaimed as she rushed over to hug her childhood friend. "Aren't you excited? All those times when we were kids and wondered what our mothers were like! And you can finally meet yours." "Yeah Ucchan, it's going to be great. We're supposed to meet her in some restaurant." "Well, then let's move it!" Ryouga said gently hugged Ukyou who had disengaged with Ranma. The assembled group shuffled into two streached limos as they headed for the restaurant Chez Javier. _________________________________________ Within the Tendo home, Nodoka bustled in preparations to meet her son. Javier had assured her that he had a special table reserved for her and her guests. Dressing in her best blue kimono, she spent an hour making sure her hair was done perfectly. She had carted all the Tendo sisters and herself to a salon. Making sure everything was perfect was essential. This was her son and husband returning to her. Supposedly they were bringing a few guests and surpises. She was somewhat curious as to who they were, but her son and husband were more important. After 23 long years, they would finally be united. Tears came unbidden to her eyes as she wondered what her son looked like. Would Genma still love an old woman such as herself? The last time she saw them Ranma was just started running around. Now he would be a grown man of age 26. "Mom? Are you okay?" Akane asked as she walked into Nodoka's room. "Yes honey, I am just so happy I am finally meeting Ranma and your uncle again." "Oh okay, the limo is here, so we can leave now." Akane reported to the older woman. "Okay Akane-chan, why don't you get your sisters we'll head to Javier's restaurant now." Walking over to the small panel on the wall, Akane pressed a red button. "Find Nabiki and Kasumi." A few beeps later a mechanical voice reported that they were both in their rooms. "Nabiki? Mom said to meet downstairs, the limo is already here." Akane said as she pressed the button for Nabiki's room. "Sure thing, I'll be down in a few minutes,I'm just trying to get used to this dress. It's a little drafty around my back." "Well you were the one who picked it out." "Of course, I didn't say I didn't like it, I just said it would take a little getting used to." Sighing, Akane pressed the button for Kasumi's room. "Oneechan? Mom wants us to meet downstairs now the limo is here to pick us up." "Okay Akane-chan." Kasumi's voice sounded almost sad. "Oneechan? Is there something wrong?" Akane asked worriedly. "Y- No, Akane-chan, I'm afraid though I have to leave dinner a bit earlier, Dr. Phadron needs me to help him with something." "Can't it wait till morning?" Akane asked wondering why Kasumi sounded as if she was about to cry. "No I'm afraid not Akane-chan." "Okay then but you have to meet Ranma." "Of course." Akane turned back to Nodoka with a worried look on her face. "Anything the matter Akane-chan?" Nodoka asked Akane. "No nothing, shall we go?" Akane said forcing herself to not worry. _____________________________________ In Kasumi's room, Kasumi nearly broke down crying. Her beloved had betrayed her. Many times, with other women. Just an hour ago, her best friend from medical school had called her. her friend confessed something to Kasumi about Dr. Phadron and his hidden life. He used his positon to rape her friend. Dr. Phadron had threatened her friend and several other interns with a bad review to gain sexual favors from them. Kasumi was the only one he hadn't touched yet. Her friend was afraid that Kasumi was next. At first she didn't believe her, infact she had called her friend a liar on the phone. But the pictures that many of Phadron's victims had sent to her devastated her. Turning off her computer, she couldn't believe it. He beloved was a monster. 'What did you expect? Anybody good for you?' She asked herself. 'But he loves me I know it!' 'Really, he must have loved you a lot when he screwed those women.' 'It's me, I am driving him away from me. If I was better to him, he would have never gone to those women.' 'That is a lie and you know it! He treats you like dirt He doesn't love you!. But the question is why do you love him?' 'He is a good man.' 'Yeah one that rapes women.' 'He is talented.' 'So are you and there are many more talented than him.' 'He...' 'He what?' 'He looks ...' 'Who does he look like?' 'He looks like... Dr. Tofu...' Finally all the memories came back. Her beloved Tofu, he had died saving her life. The pain of her loss. The agony knowing that her beloved died because of her. Kasumi sobbed into her pillow. Flashback Kasumi hummed happily as she looked at the charts on a young boy. Kenji was recovering quite well from his burns. Soon all that will be left were a few minor scars. Smiling sweetly to Kenji, who was playing with a pair of action figures, Kasumi took a few of her home baked cookies and handed them to Kenji. "Now Kenji, one at a time each day okay? These cookies have some of the vitamins you need to recover, but if you eat too many of them you may get even worse." "Okay Miss Kasumi!" he replied brightly as he munched on the cookie. Smiling, Kasumi continued down the roster to check on another patient. Kasumi had come back to Japan during this time to help her beloved Dr. Tofu in his practice. She was still waiting for the medical schools in America to reply to her, but with the war going on, it was doubtful that her application would be process. But she was doing what she loved best now in Japan, so they could take all time they needed. As she hummed and continued down the hall of the hospital. Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her, Kasumi closed her eyes and allowed the man behind her to smell her hair. "Kasumi-chan it is lunch time, what do you say if we to the park for a pinic." Turning around Kasumi smiled and nodded to Dr. Tofu. "Good, let's just drop these charts to the front and be on our way?" Tofu suggested as Kasumi hooked her arm around the crook of his arm. "I have the most perfect picnic planned, we will go by the lake, I have already ordered food from that sushi shop you love so much. I even have a nice rowboat for us to sit in. Doesn't that sound perfect Kasumi-chan?" Tofu said as he turned to her. He fidgeted with the small box in his pocket. He had spend the last month looking for the perfect ring for his beloved and he just bought it yesterday. Today was going to be perfect. "Oh Tofu-chan, you are such a romantic. That's what I love about you." As they approached the front reception, they handed the charts to the head nurse who smiled at the couple. "Well where are you two lovebirds headed off too?" The plump woman asked. "To the park to enjoy nature for a bit." Tofu said "Ah how romantic... I remember my dear old husband, god rest his soul, he used to always bring me to the park for a romp or two once in a while." The woman winked at Kasumi and Tofu. Kasumi blushed deep red. "We will be on our way now." Tofu said with a laugh. However just as they turned around a horrible deformed man stood in the doorway. his body and face full of pus from radiation poisoning. But what everyone was shocked about was the gun in his hand. "Everyone stay still!" The man gargled. "I want all the painkillers you have in the hospital!" "But-" One of the orderlies had interject. But the man had shot him already. "Do it! Now!" Several orderlies scattered to gather the supplies. The disfigured man then saw Kasumi and slowly pulled himself to her direction. At this point Kasumi was trembling horribly. She had heard of looting and hold ups being done all over Japan due to the damages from the war, but she had never been in one situation. Now this thing was coming towards her! "Well you pretty little thing, I think I'll take you as well to ease my pain and suffering." The man said with a decaying toothed smile. Deviously Tofu stepped in front of Kasumi to sheild the man from her. "Please, perhaps we can help you..." "Help me? I think not doc. You see I was a doctor too! And my symptoms of radiation poisoning is not recoverable." The man retorted. "But-" "Tofu shut up. Yes I know you, I am surprised you don't know me. But then again the radiation has probably eaten away my face hasn't it?" The man said cooly. "Who are you?" Tofu said as he peered at the man. "It is me Kaji. Remember medical school?" "Kaji? Oh my god." "You do remember, I suppose that woman behind you is yours? Maybe I should take her like you took Naru from me!" The man raged. "Naru left you because you were abusive! She came to me for help." Tofu explained. "I loved her! But you and that damnable little girl Akane took her away from me! Do you understand how embarrassing it is to have a ten year old child defeat 20 year old? I lost all form of respect! This is all your fault." Grabbing Tofu by the collar he decaying man flung Tofu into the wall. Turning his attentions to Kasumi, he smiled as he ripped her uniform in half to expose her. "No!!!!" Tofu screamed as he leapt at Kaji and wrestled for control of the gun. That was when it went off and right through her. Kasumi looked down at her chest. Blood was now leaking from her chest. Collapsing to the ground, she faintly heard Tofu scream for help. Kaji ran out of the hospital with bottles of painkillers. Dimly she felt her life drift away. Tofu was sobbing into her bare chest. Then she began to loose consciousness, until she felt a warm touch on her wound. Consciousness began to flow back to her. She looked up at her beloved. He was glowing. She slowly began to feel her life return to her. Tofu was attempting a chi transfer! He had told her about this technique. Where one would use one's own chi to heal another. But her wound was too much, Tofu could die! "Stop Tofu!" Kasumi whispered "You don't have enough." "I do! Don't leave this world Kasumi-chan! You have too much to live for!" Tofu cried as the light around him began to dim, Kasumi felt her body restored. Her wound was almost gone, only a scar left. Finally the wound closed, and the light around Tofu disappeared. He collapsed bonelessly to the ground. Kasumi quickly sat up, ignoring the dizziness, she held Tofu's head in her lap. "Tofu? Please you can't leave me here! I love you too much!" Kasumi sobbed. "Oh Kasumi, I had hoped that you would marry me." Tofu said as he began to fade away. "Yes! I will marry you Tofu! Just stay with me, focus on me!" Kasumi cried. This wasn't happening, her beloved was dying. Good men aren't supposed to die! Tofu slowly drew a small box from his pocket and weakly handed it to Kasumi. "I even got this ring for you." He said as he opened the ring box. Inside was a delicate ring made of gold with a great sapphire set in the center small diamonds surrounded the sapphire. The ring band looked like waves of water. Crying Kasumi reached out to take the box. "I love you always, never forget that my love." With that Tofu's head lolled back and his arm fell heavily to the ground. "No!" Kasumi whispered as the ring box clattered to the floor. Tofu, her beloved was dead. He died protectin her. "No Tofu! Stay! Focus on me! We were supposed to be happy together! It's not fair!" Sobbing over her fallen beloved, the war had claimed yet another gentle soul. The hand of death is unfair at times, for everyone is humbled when in its prescence. That day part of Kasumi Tendo died with her beloved. End Flashback Kasumi sobbed as she replayed the memory in her mind. She had been blinded, and now the man she thought to be her beloved was a monster. He was not Tofu. She fell in love with Tofu's soul, not his face. Stopping her weeping, she decided it was time to face Dr. Phadron. It was time to reject him for her sake. Tonight, she would goto him, but not to please him, but to finally tell him the truth. _________________________________________________ End Chapter 2 -- .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List---. | Administrators - ffml-admins@fanfic.com | | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@fanfic.com | | Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject | `---http://www.fanfic.com/FFML-FAQ.txt ---'