No Need for Further Complications

In the depths of the lab of the greatest scientific genius in the universe, there was never a stop to the activity. At any given moment, some piece of exotic or esoteric machinery was whirring, humming, beeping or making some other such noise that is a given with properly functioning equipment, unlike the more peaceful and quiet nature of the upper levels. However, the lab’s mistress was completely oblivious to the background noise. In point of fact, she was oblivious to most of what was going on at the moment, save for the status of her two patients, her erstwhile daughter, Ryoko, and Yosho’s recently revealed grandson, one Ranma Saotome. Washu looked at the prone form on the lab table, and felt an inward chill once again. Every time I look, she thought, I can’t believe my eyes. How is this possible? She put a hand to her chest and sighed. Feeling something amiss, she looked down, and noted she was much more…developed than she had been earlier in the day.

Huh? When did I shift to my adult age? It was a measure of exactly how flustered the being with the highest IQ on the planet was that it took her a moment to remember that she had been asked by Tenchi to be an adult when his cousin woke up. He had said something about humans not generally receiving medical care from twelve year olds, but to be thoroughly honest, she hadn’t been listening. She had been overcome by a wave of memories that had been triggered by her first close look at the new addition to their happy home. Kami-sama, Washu thought dazedly, All that missing is the hair. He looks so much like… The thought was left incomplete, interrupted by the stirring of her new patient. She shook off her reverie, glad to be doing something. She moved to the bedside as Ranma’s eyes cracked open and he groaned softly, and tried to summon her customary mad scientist air, but she just couldn’t. Not right now. Smiling gently instead, she leaned toward him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly. He didn’t answer, and Washu frowned. She spared a glance at a monitor by Ranma’s head, and noted his brainwaves were still erratic. He needed a few more hours rest, she judged, and began the prepare a sub-epidermal sedative. Ranma groaned again, taking her attention away from her task for a moment, and his eyes focused on her, with what seemed to be a great force of will.

"Kawaii…," he breathed drunkenly, and lapsed once again into unconsciousness, leaving Washu speechless, her face nearly the same color red as her hair.

Oh…oh boy…

It could not be said that Genma Saotome was easily intimidated. Not because he was brave, oh no. Not much made him nervous, because he prided himself on always having an out, an escape plan. Not necessarily a moral or particularly intelligent escape plan, but he’d never had to face negative consequences that he hadn’t chose to. Which really wasn’t very often. So he wasn’t afraid of much. In fact, there were precisely three things on the planet that made him nervous. Scratch that, TERRIFIED.

Two of them were sitting in front of him right now.

Trying desperately not to act like a cornered animal, Genma addressed his wife and her katana.

"Why have you called this meeting, No-chan? Where is Nabiki and our son?" he asked Nodoka as calmly as he could. Ranma and Nabiki had been missing for five days, and then Nodoka formally asked for a meeting with the head of the Tendo clan. He had thought at first it was mere coincidence, but upon further reflection, he dismissed the idea. Something was up, and all the signs pointed to his wife. Ignoring her husband’s question, Nodoka simply shot him a look that could freeze flame in an instant. He tried not to wince, failing miserably, and fell silent. There was no talking to her when she was like this. He just had to ride it out and hope that he emerged with his head still attached to his shoulders. He shook his head slightly, as he spied Soun Tendo, seated beside him, open his mouth to speak. Soun, while being less bold than his friend, was certainly a good deal smarter. Which still wasn’t saying much. Nonetheless, he too was silent, as the two men sat across from Nodoka in the Tendo family dining room, trying hard to look anywhere but at the blazing eyes of the woman across the table. After what seemed like an eternity, The silence was interrupted by a loud slam of the front door.

"I’m home!" came the slightly exasperated voice of the youngest Tendo. Tearing her furious gaze from the two men in front of her, Nodoka called out to her.

"Could you join us in the dining room, Akane-chan?" After a moment, Akane answered.

"Hai," After a moment, the somewhat subdued countenance of Akane Tendo came into view. Glancing curiously at her father and Genma, she joined the two men at the table. Nodoka nodded decisively.

"Now we can begin. Kasumi-chan? Come in now, please," from around the corner, the eldest daughter of Tendo family stepped into the room, gently assisting her sister, Nabiki. On seeing Nabiki, Akane let out a strangled gasp. The middle Tendo sister was a mess. Her normally immaculate short brown hair was disheveled and dirty, marred by a clean white bandage wrapped around her head. Her face was a mass of bruises, and her shirt was torn just below her breasts, revealing another stark white bandage protecting her abused ribcage. Completing the picture was a third bandage on her thigh that a close inspection would reveal faint rust-colored stains beginning to seep through. Kasumi helped her sister, who was hampered by a pronounced limp, to the foot of the table, whereupon Nabiki gingerly sat down. Wincing slightly, she looked up and gave her older sister a grateful smile.

"Thanks, sis," she said weakly. Kasumi smiled warmly back and nodded. The smile faded abruptly as her gaze fell upon the two men across from Nodoka. Even Genma shivered as his internal list of things he was afraid of grew to four. Kasumi went around the table and seated herself at its head. As she did, Akane finally swung her horrified gaze around to the woman who had called the meeting.

"Auntie, what, who…," she gibbered, until a strange light came into her eyes. "Ranma!" she breathed, looking around, and noting the absence of the pig-tailed martial artist. Jumping to her usual conclusion, she roared. "That…That PERVERT!!! That’s why he isn’t here, isn’t it?! He’s finally gone too far!!!!" Inspired by his youngest daughter’s sudden burst of fury, Soun Tendo leapt up from his seated position, and unleashed the full fury of his Demon’s Head attack at Nodoka.

"What has Ranma done to MY LITTLE GIRL??!!" He became so lost in his sudden fury at the perceived wrong that he didn’t notice Nodoka reach for her katana. Without even batting an eye at the frightening display, in one smooth motion, Nodoka drew her katana, sliced off the striking tongue of Soun’s attack with a single stroke. The large head looked at the severed appendage with an almost comical expression of cross-eyed dismay, and vanished with a loud ‘pop’.

"Please be silent, Tendo-san," Nodoka said mildly as she replaced the sword in it’s sheath. Soun gazed at her in wide-eyed astonishment, and no small amount of fear. "Now, Ranma…," she began, when she was interrupted again by Akane.

"Where is he?!" she growled. "I’ll kill him!" Kasumi opened her mouth to respond to that, but was stopped by a gesture from Nabiki.

"Hold it, Sis," Nabiki told her older sister. "I’ll field this one," Kasumi nodded and remained silent. The kitchen was still for a moment when the silence was broken by the resounding crack of flesh meeting flesh.

Akane held her hand to her already reddening cheek, staring at her injured sister in shocked amazement as Nabiki let her arm drop.

"Grow up, Little sister," Nabiki snarled, though the effect was somewhat muted by her haggard appearance. "Not everything is Ranma’s fault. If you’re looking to blame someone for what happened to me, you can start with yourself!" Akane protested at that.

"How could I have done…" she began, but Nabiki cut her off with a slashing gesture.

"No. You didn’t attack me, but If you hadn’t been making life so hard for poor Ranma, he wouldn’t have needed me to help him disappear so often. Do you remember the last five conversations you’ve had with Ranma?"

"Of course!" Akane cried indignantly. Nabiki nodded.

"Fine. Now how many of them didn’t end with you pulling your damned mallet on him?" she asked reasonably. Akane looked uncomfortable.

"Um…None, But…"

"Exactly!…" Nabiki retorted. She was about to continue when Soun interjected,

"Nabiki, perhaps…"

"Quiet, Daddy," Nabiki snapped. Soun looked startled, but did as he was told. Without missing a beat, she continued relentlessly. "Now, I’ll admit Ranma does say the wrong thing sometimes, but how many times out of the last five did he deserve what you did to him?"

"Um…" Akane’s flustered hedging seemed to further infuriate the middle Tendo girl.

"I’ll TELL you! None! The first time, he said ‘hey! These cookies are pretty good!’, and asked if you made them. Without warning, the entire neighborhood was treated to a long, ranting speech about how you aren’t a bad cook, and how Ranma is such a JERK!" Nabiki’s voice rose dramatically in pitch on the last word, a credible imitation of Akane’s usual screech.

"I didn’t make them," Akane whispered. "Kasumi did,"

"And that makes it alright?" Nabiki asked incredulously. "Kami-sama! He was looking for a reason to compliment you! Lord knows you make it difficult sometimes! And how about how he happened to mention how those coats in the department store would look good on Ukyo? A loud screaming fit about how he should go marry his CUTE fiancée, and you belted him through the skylight of the mall! Do I need to go on? Is it any wonder he needed to get away so often?" Akane hung her head, staring at the table, and shook it slightly. Nodoka watched with appalled dismay. Ranma had told her how bad the situation had become, and yet it appeared he had been understating the case. If what Nabiki was saying was accurate, Ranma had glossed over the worst of the troubles with his reluctant fiancée. She knew Ranma had had strong feelings for the girl in front of her at one time, and in fact, still cared for her, but there appeared to be too much bad blood between the two of them to be able to expect a happy marriage to come from it. She cleared her throat quietly, interrupting the argument.

"As I was saying," she began pointedly, glancing at the sisters and idly noting the embarrassed flush on both their cheeks, "Ranma is what I’ve come here to discuss. It would seem, that save for Nabiki-chan, no one has looked out for the welfare of my son during the two years he has resided in this home," At this, Nabiki shook her head, the anger in her eyes dissolving into a uneasy guilt.

"No," she said quietly. Nodoka blinked.

"Pardon me?"

"You’re giving me too much credit, Auntie. I’ve taken advantage of Ranma since day one. I helped him out some, but I’ve done far more harm than good," she said miserably. Genma and Soun stared at the conversation happening all around them in mystified fascination. It was obvious that something _Very Big_ was happening, but since they possessed the combined sensitivity of lint ball, they could not, for the life of them, grasp what it was. Nodoka smiled warmly at Nabiki.

"I presume you’re referring to your business activities that centered around my son?" she asked kindly. Nabiki nodded morosely. "Ranma knows, Nabiki, and he doesn’t mind. After all, when a father," she paused a moment to glare across the table at Soun, eliciting a slight whimper. "leaves the task of providing for the family financially up to his daughters, the blame can hardly be lain at the feet of a young girl who has done an adult’s task so well," Nabiki looked up at Nodoka, with a kind of dawning wonder in her eyes.

"He-he knows?" she asked hesitantly. "And he doesn’t hate me?" Nodoka’s smile only grew wider.

"Hai," she said simply. "And he asked me to tell you, as I saw him off last night, that he’s grateful you were on his side this past year. He talked quite a bit about how you risked yourself to help him. You were a good friend to him, Nabiki-chan," Nodoka looked at the girl, warmly amused at the open gratitude on her face. The calculating, cold-hearted girl had changed quite a bit in the time she had begun visiting the Tendo home.

"Thank you," Nabiki whispered. Kasumi smiled at the two from her seat at the head of the table. I’m glad that Nabiki-chan can sleep without guilt from now on, she thought to herself. I hope I can manage a family half as well as Auntie Saotome when the time comes. With that thought, her smile turned slightly wistful as she continued to observe the proceedings. Oh, Tofu-chan… She thought wistfully as the moment between Ranma’s mother and Nabiki was broken. Nodoka nodded gently to Nabiki, and turned back to the two fathers.

"Now, I am here on my son’s behalf to negotiate a satisfactory dissolution to the marriage agreement between the Tendo and Saotome families," she said firmly. The two men, silent until now, could not have reacted more strongly if the slight woman had tossed a live grenade onto the table.

"Now see here…!" Soun began as Genma also looked ready to object. Nodoka silenced the two of them with a gesture.

"Now, as it has become obvious…" Nodoka trailed off as a white faced Akane stood up. She stared at the table for a few moments as a single tear tracked down her cheek. Without a word, she left the room. Kasumi stood up as Nodoka watched the youngest Tendo leave.

"I’ll go talk to her, Auntie," said Kasumi calmly, and followed her little sister from the room. Nodoka nodded. Once Genma and Soun’s gaze returned to her, she picked up right where she left off, though more softly, in deference to the feelings of the crushed girl who had just left.

"It has become obvious, that due to your bungling interference and indifference to their feelings, little opportunity remains to salvage a relationship between Ranma and Akane," she paused for a moment, glaring at the two of them, as if daring them to disagree. When no such disagreement was forthcoming, she continued. "Therefore for the sake of my son’s happiness, and the honor of the Saotome clan, I have come to resolve the situation," After a moment’s thought, Soun whispered to Genma,

"Can she do that?" Genma sighed heavily.

"Unfortunately Tendo, yes, she can. She’s been the Saotome clan head ever since I took Ranma away to train," he told his friend. Soun looked worried.

"Saotome, This cannot stand. Our clans MUST be united. Otherwise…," Soun left the thought unfinished, as though it went without saying. Genma nodded gravely. They turned back to Nodoka, wide smiles plastered onto both their faces.

Nodoka Saotome sweatdropped.

Later…

Nodoka and Nabiki sat together on one side of the table, facing Genma and Soun on the other. Nabiki slammed her fist onto the table, wincing slightly at the pain the shock produced.

"Why won’t you give up on this? Ranma and Akane are never getting married!" she asked, exasperated.

"Unacceptable," Soun said flatly. "The agreement is a matter of honor. It must be maintained," Nabiki stifled an ever increasing urge to point out that they were in no position to lecture anyone about honor. Beside her, Nodoka’s eyes narrowed.

"You leave me no choice then," she grated. "I had hoped to salvage my clan’s honor, but I will not put it above my son’s happiness. The agreement is broken," she said flatly. Nabiki watched their reactions carefully. Genma gasped, horrified, and her father…his eyes darted right and left, then…

"Wait!" he called desperately as Nodoka made to leave. Nabiki frowned. He’s desperate. She thought. Why? Oblivious to his daughter’s intense scrutiny, Soun bigsweated as Nodoka turned back to the two men.

"Perhaps…a compromise can be reached?" he offered. Nodoka’s gaze was unreadable.

"Very well. I will listen," she said, neutrally.

Later still…

"You want me to what??!!"

"Nabiki-chan, please! For your family’s honor, I implore you!"

"You’re nuts, Daddy! After what we put Ranma through he’d be crazy to want anything to do with us, much less me!" Nabiki glanced at Nodoka for help, but the exhausted woman merely shrugged. They had been arguing with her father and Mr. Saotome for the better part of the day, and when she’d got up once to go to the bathroom, a ridiculously difficult and lengthy task when one was hampered by injuries, and she’d returned to this. Apparently, they had conceded that there seemed little hope of Ranma and Akane getting married, so, with typical irrational logic, they had decided that she would accept Akane’s place in the arrangement. Nodoka looked weary and confused. She didn’t understand the doggedness with which the two men pursued the matter either. She sighed and gave Nabiki a look that seemed to say, ‘your call’. Nabiki opened her mouth, getting ready to argue, but decided it wouldn’t do any good. If there was one thing she knew, it was when to cut her losses. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t build an escape plan into the agreement. For Ranma’s sake, if nothing else. Sighing deeply, she turned to the two men.

"Fine. On one condition," she said sharply. Her father looked exultant.

"Anything! Name your price!" Nabiki winced at the reminder of how most of the world viewed her.

"That this is all dependent on Ranma. If he decides that it’s over, you can’t force us together, and the contract is dissolved," she said tightly. Her father looked dubious, but Genma agreed instantly.

"Done!" shouted the rotund martial artist. "On one further condition. You and Ranma must both give it a fair chance. After one year together, if you so choose, Ranma may end the agreement," Nabiki sighed. She had sunk all of her savings into repairing the dojo, so due to her lack of finances, she would be ronin for a year anyway, so she couldn’t disagree. She glanced over at Nodoka who merely said,

"It seems to be the best we can do," she murmured. "Are you sure, Nabiki?" Nabiki shrugged.

"I guess so…" she said absently. Sorry, Ranma-kun, but this does give you an out. I can’t really say no, not after all I’ve done to you…Nodoka nodded.

"Very well. Done," she told the two celebrating men. Nabiki wondered what she was getting into, and yawned deeply as Nodoka sealed the new agreement with the two men. Both Nodoka and Nabiki were thinking the same thing at that moment, namely…

How am I going to break this to Ranma?

Ryoko opened her eyes a crack and immediately winced at the stabbing pain the illumination produced. She heard a rustling to the side, and Washu came into view. Staring at the woman who claimed to be her mother with her amber eyes narrowed, Ryoko noted with mild surprise that Washu was currently ‘adult’. She hates looking like that, Ryoko mused to herself. I wonder what the occasion is? Washu looked down and noted Ryoko was awake, and an impish grin lit her features.

"How’s my little Ryoko feeling?" she cooed, pinching Ryoko’s cheek, jut a tad too hard. The stabbing pain mutated into a full blown headache.

"Dammit, Washu, cut it out!" she snarled, beginning to sit up. Halfway through, she thought better of it as the room began to spin wildly. She lay back down, covering her mouth with one hand. "Urk," she managed, and closed her eyes for a moment. As the spinning sensation and accompanying nausea began to recede, She opened her eyes again, mentally warning her surroundings to behave themselves. "Did anyone get the number of the Galaxy Police cruiser that hit me?" she asked weakly. Washu blinked.

"Eh?"

"Why else would I ache so much?" Ryoko went on sourly. "It certainly feels like some one hit me with a spaceship. Maybe a few of ‘em," she amended, feeling a particularly tender spot on her leg. Washu looked at her sharply, interested.

"Tell me, Ryoko, what do you remember?" she asked intently. Ryoko looked surprised. She closed her eyes in thought, running a hand through her spiky cyan hair.

"It’s pretty fuzzy, actually," she admitted. "I drank way, way more of the sake bottle than I meant to…"

"All of it, in fact," Washu put in, smirking. Ryoko blinked.

"I did? Hmm. Anyway, I remember swearing at the bottle ‘cause I was hoping to trick Tenchi into drinking some…" Washu cackled at that, and Ryoko smirked a little, but grimaced as the headache reasserted itself. And then, I remember…a fight?" she frowned. Washu nodded.

"Yep. You scared the daylights out of Ryo-Ohki when she felt it through your link," The red-haired scientist commented, chuckling. Ryoko frowned. She remember that she didn’t recognize her opponent, and if she’d fought a human drunk…

"I didn’t kill anybody, did I?" Washu looked Ryoko sideways for a moment, then burst into full blown laughter. Ryoko sat up, (slowly this time), and glared at her.

"What?" she snapped. When Washu’s giggling fit died out, she grinned at Ryoko, shaking her head. Ryoko was slightly disconcerted. Dealing with Washu ordinarily was no problem, as her less intimidating child form allowed Ryoko at least the illusion that she was in nominal control of her dealings with the genius scientist. But the easy confidence of the fully adult Washu even in the face of Ryoko’s most intimidating stares, (And they WERE intimidating. Ask anyone on Jurai) left her off balance.

"To think that a child of mine could have such an ego," Washu stated, smiling as she spoke. Ryoko growled.

"What’s so surprising about that, Miss Greatest Genius Scientist in the Universe? If you are my mother, I come by it honestly," she muttered sourly. Washu’s teasing smile grew even wider.

"That’s just the facts, Ryoko-chan, just the facts," she said merrily, tossing her long mane of bright red hair. "In any case, you’re right, there was a fight. You lost," Ryoko blinked, stunned at the unexpected news.

"I-I lost?" she asked incredulously. Washu nodded.

"To him," she said, offhandedly, pointing to another prone form on a bed a little further down. Ryoko looked, and on the bed was a boy, about eighteen with a shock of unruly black hair tied back in a pigtail, sleeping soundly.

"Who is he?" she asked, carefully getting off the bed and walking over to the boy. She heard an oddly careful tone in her ‘mother’s’ voice as Washu replied,

"His name’s Ranma Saotome, and apparently, he’s also Yosho’s grandson," Ryoko surprised at that bit of news, looked over at Washu, who was also examining the boy. Ryoko noted an odd look in her emerald eyes, one she’d never seen Washu use before when she looked at him. She reached out mentally for the link she and Washu shared to find Washu’s mental shields solidly blocking her every probe.

"So… If he’s part Juraian, He must have beat me with Light Hawk wings or something, right?" Washu grinned.

"Nope. Just plain old human fighting skills…plus an extremely strange attack. He created a hurricane, using only a bio-electric energy field if some sort, and caught you up in it," Ryoko pondered that. That would explain the way she felt right now, that’s for sure. The thoughts of the two women were interrupted by a soft rapping sound.

Washu turned and saw Yosho standing in the doorway.

"Come in," she invited cheerily. "He should be waking up any minute," Ryoko stepped back as Yosho quietly entered the room and stood by the table. Washu glanced at the monitors and counted under her breath. "Three, two one, Now!" she whispered. At that exact moment, the monitors began to beep and Ranma groaned, then sat bolt upright.

"KAWAIIKUNE!!!" he shouted, startling the three people standing at his bedside. Slowly, he seemed to focus on his surroundings. "Wha-? Where am I?" he said dazedly. Yosho smiled.

"You’re in our home, Ranma," he answered gently. Ranma blinked.

"Who’re you?" he asked curiously. Yosho inclined his head.

"I am your grandfather, Katsuhito Masaki," he said. "And this is Washu Habuki, a guest here. She’s been looking after you while you were unconscious," this last was said, gesturing at the red-haired woman beside him. Ranma looked at her, and was stunned. The girl his grandfather was pointing to seemed to be about Kasumi’s age, and was, frankly, stunning. She had the greenest eyes he had ever seen….He realized he was staring when her cheeks reddened. He tore his gaze away, scratching the base of his pigtail chuckling sheepishly, as Yosho and Ryoko both noted Washu’s odd reaction. When did she get shy? Ryoko wondered.

"Heh. I guess that explains the shrine outfit, ne? Pleased ta meet’cha both. Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t find the place, and on the trail, this crazy chick jumped me…" Ranma said, uncomfortably.

"Hey!" Ryoko protested. Ranma stiffened as he caught sight of the cyan haired girl, standing slightly behind Yosho and Washu.

"Ah…You ain’t gonna try an’ kill me no more?" Ryoko fumed for a moment, then opened her mouth to berate the newcomer, when Yosho spoke first.

"He will be living in the house Ryoko, so perhaps you two should start over," The priest commented mildly. Ranma watched the interplay between the old man and the girl with interest. Well, if there’s one thing I learned from dealin’ with Akane, It’s that it never hurts to apologize. Even if it ain’t my fault, I really don’t wanna get off on the wrong foot here, if I can help it, he thought. He slid off the bed and faced Ryoko.

"I-ah…Gomen," he stuttered, wincing. Ah, man! I’m not good at this…. Fortunately, Ryoko’s anger was derailed by the unexpected apology.

"Listen you! I- What?" she asked, confused. Ranma looked at the ground.

"I- I’m sorry that I fought ya. I guess it was kinda rude. For what it’s worth though, Y’ fight pretty good…" he trailed off as realized he had been about to say, Y’know, for a girl. Ryoko blinked, assimilating the new experience of being apologized to. Especially for something that was, technically, her fault. She chuckled nervously.

"Ah, Thanks," she told him hesitantly. Geez, Ryoko chided herself, You’d think no one had ever been nice to me before…Oh wait. No one has. Except maybe Tenchi or Sasami. "I guess I should say sorry too. I get kind of wild when I drink too much," she explained. Ranma smiled when he saw she’d let him off the hook.

"Hey, It’s no problem. My Pop was kinda like that too. I’m big enough to defend myself now, so I don’t mind," He said dismissively. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the expression of his recently met grandfather hardening. Washu was frowning as well.

"Your father beat you?" she asked tightly. Ranma smiled wanly.

"Not ‘zactly," he explained uneasily, "He never hauled off and smacked me, like some dad’s do, but when we trained while he was drunk, he hit harder and stuff. I don’t think he meant to, or nothing," he continued hastily, seeing his grandfather’s expression continue to darken, "It was just he couldn’t pull his punches properly. Toughened me up some, though," he commented.

"He did that…to a child? His child??!" Washu’s own anger was dissipated somewhat by this heated exclamation from Yosho. She was further surprised by Ranma’s next statement.

"Trust me. I’da been a lot better off if that’s all he’d done," Ranma said bitterly. Yosho blinked at that. What else could Genma possibly have done to his grandson? As it was, Yosho, normally an extremely controlled person, was contemplating various painful methods of death for him. He was about to ask when Ranma shook his head. "Never mind. I’ll tell all of ya a bit later anyway. You’ll probl’y need to know," he said wearily. Yosho took the hint. Forcing a smile onto his face, he was about to change the subject when Ranma’s stomach made it’s presence known rather loudly, evaporating much of the tension in the room. Yosho blinked and smiled slightly.

"You’ve been unconscious for quite some time," he observed wryly. Ranma looked interested on hearing that.

"Oh yeah? How long?"

"About fourteen hours, ten minutes and thirty-two seconds" Washu answered cheerily. Ranma sweatdropped.

"About?" he intoned, faintly sarcastically. Washu grinned.

"I could give you the milliseconds, if you’d like," she offered. Ranma blinked, but he couldn’t help grinning back.

"Ah, that’s OK," he assured her. "I guess that’s why I’m so hungry," Hearing this, Ryoko spoke up tentatively.

"I know what that’s like," she chuckled. "C’mon. Sasami usually keeps leftovers in the fridge, and she’s a great cook," Ranma perked up considerably at that.

"Great! Let’s go," he responded eagerly. Ryoko and Ranma left the room, talking, the foundations of a tentative friendship formed. Yosho glanced at Washu as they left, and they began to follow the two teenagers.

"Washu, are you…?" Washu smiled faintly.

"I should have known I couldn’t hide it from you. Please…don’t ask right now, OK? I’m not ready to deal with it yet," she said without looking at the man beside her. Yosho nodded.

"Later then," he said in a tone that indicated he didn’t expect to be refused. Washu shot him an irritated look, but nodded.

"Maybe," was all she said.

Ranma looked over the people who had gathered in what had turned out to be his uncle’s living room with mild trepidation. He was well fed now, but it was time to face the people in whose home he would be staying for the foreseeable future. Despite having no indication that these were anything other than warm, friendly people, his stomach was still tied up in knots. Ok, Saotome, you can do this, he encouraged himself nervously. Even though I’ve got a lousy track record with introductions, there must have been one that hasn’t ended with someone wanting ta either kill or marry me. He thought hard for a moment, and came up empty. Nope, I’m gonna die.

Yosho looked around from where he was standing beside Ranma and surveyed the room. Every one seemed to be here, but… He turned to Ayeka at her customary seat on Tenchi’s left, and asked the purple haired girl,

"Ayeka, where is Sasami?" Ayeka smiled a little.

"She thought that Lord Ranma might benefit from a little refreshment while he was being introduced. Ranma started out of his fatalistic predictions when his name was mentioned. He glanced at the regal looking girl with purple hair for a moment, briefly wondering if she had Amazon origins.

"Um…You don’t gotta call me that, Lady. Just Ranma is fine," he told her uneasily. Ayeka looked surprised for a moment, then shrugged and smiled for Ranma’s benefit.

"As you wish, Lord Ranma," she said calmly, with a small grin. He was about to correct her, when Ryoko, sitting on the other side of the young man who had introduced himself as Tenchi caught his eye. She shook her head slowly then gestured to Ayeka and pointed to her head, turning the finger in a slow circle. He blinked, and resigned himself to the Ayeka’s quirk when the little blue haired girl he had rescued from his Hiryu Shouten Ha emerged from the kitchen, carrying what looked to be a very heavy tray, loaded with a pitcher of cold lemonade and glasses. As she slowly made her way into the living room, A blonde woman Ranma hadn’t been introduced to yet stood up and began walking toward the cute little blue haired girl.

"Wait Sasami-chan, let me help you with that," she said cheerfully. Sasami smiled brightly at her, looking a little strained.

"It’s ok, Mihoshi," she responded. "I’m almost- eek!" Sasami squeaked as Mihoshi’s toe caught the edge of a floorboard. Ranma felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up at the blonde woman fell flat on her face behind him. His danger sense began to blare as Tenchi sat bolt upright and yelled,

"Sasami! Look out!" With remarkable clarity, Ranma knew just what had happened. Oh man!!! He thought, panicked. True to the abysmal luck of those with Jusenkyo curses, Sasami tripped over Mihoshi’s outstretched arm, flinging the lemonade and glasses forward, into the room, and more significantly…toward the group of people Ranma was standing near. As the pitcher of yellow fluid arced toward him in mid-air, Ranma whipped around, seeing his own personal Murphy’s law go into effect. He knew he had no time left to dodge, so he simple threw his arms up to protect his face, silently cursing his luck.

As the lemonade struck him, triggering the by now hated change, time seemed to stretch into slow motion at he shrank several inches, his hair lightened and his chest and hips grew considerably…curvier. Time snapped back to normal speed as Ranma sighed and ran a hand through her wet hair, brushing it out of her eyes, and turned to face the shocked gaze of the entire Masaki household. The moment stretched as if everyone were afraid to shatter the surrealness of the situation. Then with agonizing slowness, a single drop of blood trickled from Tenchi’s nose, as he stared at the buxom redhead who had abruptly replaced his cousin. That seemed to spur everyone into motion. Ayeka leapt up, her mini-logs deploying in a protective force field over Tenchi and herself with a blazing crackle of electricity. Ryoko too jumped up, activating her energy sword as Mihoshi cringed and moved to stand behind Yosho. The only one who didn’t seem alarmed was Washu, who had been standing off to the side of the whole situation. She simply frowned and activated her subspace computer, and began working busily at it, scratching her head every once in awhile. Ryoko and Ranma stared at each other for a moment, then Ryoko broke the silence.

"Who the hell are you, lady!" Ranma winced at being called that and sighed deeply.

"You ain’t gonna believe it, but…My name’s Ranma Saotome…"

Next Time: Ranma explains the fact of his curse, and the Masakis are amazed to meet someone easily as strange as they are. Also, the villains of the piece reveal themselves, as Washu’s interest in Ranma has not gone unnoticed. Please look forward to it!

AN: This is just a slight update, as I’m very nearly finished Chapter 3. I expected it to be finished a great deal earlier, but trying to explain everything adequately, without overdoing the information is extremely difficult. Also, some say Nabiki might be out of character here, but really she isn't admitting she's always loved him, she's just giving in to the pressure from her father. (Although that might change. Should it?)As to why the father's are so insistent? Believe it or not, Genma and Soun have a good reason for pushing ANY wedding between the Saotomes. But, I’ll get to that later. ^_-