Possibilities

a Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Brian

Chapter 1: Shadow Games

*-*-*-*

	Ranma awoke to the sound of combat outside the dojo.
The unusual aspect of that being that he wasn't fighting anyone
at the moment.  The night's events had taken their toll on
everyone involved and even Cologne seemed to be at least superficially
exhausted.
	Senchi's tale had taken a long time to tell, and Ranma
wasn't certain how much of it he believed.  Truth be told he kind
of started tuning it out around the second soliloquy about 
noble and victimized Kodachi overcoming tremendous odds to be united
with her noble and victimized Ranma.
	The Black Rose enrolling at Furinkan to get closer to him,
now that was entirely believable.  With any luck, last night
had been a dream, but the persistent noise outside seemed to
conflict with that ideal.
	Opening the sliding door to the dojo, Ranma saw two of
his children sparring and was, in his own way, impressed.  Both
Senchi and Ranko demonstrated a perfection of form that could have 
possibly matched his own.  They weren't quite at his level, but they
seemed to be near it.
	Senchi was composed of liquid speed, if he was judging her
correctly.  Her entire body seemed to be made of quick, and as she
weaved inside Ranko's defense while laughing at the redhead, Ranma
couldn't help but note the similarities.  He'd done the exact same 
thing to Ryoga countless times.  If she put her mind to it, Kodachi's 
daughter could probably dodge every drop of water in the pond and 
emerge bone dry.  Senchi was smoke.  Immaterial, untouchable, and hazardous.
	Ranko, on the other hand, was a wrecking ball.
	When Akane's daughter hit something, whether the wall around 
the Tendos, another person, or a rock, it did one of two things.  
Either it stopped moving, or it ceased to exist entirely.  Casual
movements from Ranko decimated the surrounding area, and she showed
no signs of stopping before her opponent did.
	Moving to the porch, Ranma sat next to his father, who
watched the match with interest.
	"You trained them well, son.  Not as well as I would have,
but not half bad."
	The backhanded praise was not lost on the younger Saotome.
A brief glance into the living room revealed his remaining offspring with
a couple exceptions.  Noriko, Nabiki's daughter, was reclining on
the couch reading a book, while Belldandy dusted the area around her.
Ukyo and Shampoo had taken their respective daughters home last night.
Which left the mysterious Miyabi, who claimed to be Hinako's daughter,
probably still asleep upstairs.
	The thought of marrying his teacher still caused shivers to
run down Ranma's spine.  She was either twice his age or half his age,
depending, and he could honestly not imagine either of those forms
working well in a relationship.
	"Aren't you going to join them, Noriko?"  Belldandy had
paused in her cleaning to admire the battle outside.
	Idly, Nabiki's daughter turned a page in her book.
	"I prefer fights where I won before it started."
	Chaotic sounds entered Ranma's senses, and a troubled
squawk from his mother in the kitchen alerted him to a greater evil on
the horizon.
	"Pop, is Akane cooking?"
	Genma nodded somberly.  "She thought Ranko would enjoy
a homecooked breakfast for her first morning in the past. We all
tried to stop her.  As my son and her fiancee, of course, it will 
be your duty to eat my share of her food."
	With only one word, Akane cast a pall over the exuberant
atmosphere of the Tendo Dojo.
	"Breakfast!"
	Ranko froze in horror, and overextended a punch.  Senchi
found the opening, and exploited it, producing several small needles
and sinking them into enough vital points to completely halt the 
pig-tailed girl's ability to move.  She had been forced to instill
her ki into the items to make certain they passed through Ranko's
Bakusai Tenketsu training.
	"Yield?"  Kodachi's daughter asked.
	"Yield," Ranko said.
	Senchi removed the acupuncture needles, restoring feeling
to the muscles in the smaller girl's body.
	Rubbing the soreness away, Ranko began to walk toward the 
dining room.  "You ain't bad, you staying for breakfast?"
	A haughty laugh was Senchi's response.  "I have heard the 
legends of Akane Tendo's cooking.  I shall return to my own home
and have something edible prepared for me.  Farewell, sister."
	Ranko nodded as the dark-haired girl disappeared.  Noriko
and Belldandy approached her as she re-entered the house.  The rest
of the household was already sitting down to eat.
	"Aunt Akane's cooking."  Belldandy looked concerned.
	Ranko made a show of sniffing the air.  "Mom is definitely cooking."
	"House rules, then?  2000 yen from the loser?"
	"Hour in the dojo, where I come from," Ranko said.
	"At our home they tidy up the kitchen."
	Ranko and Noriko shuddered at the thought, and took seats around the
large dining area in the Tendo living room.  As Akane served up something
that vaguely resembled miso soup, tension filled the air.  When the daughters
asked for larger than normal helpings, and insisted that Ranma recieve the same,
they all got incredulous looks from one parent or another. Akane beamed
at her daughter and neices as she ladled out the servings.
	Ranko, sitting next to her father, leaned over to him and whispered
a phrase so brilliant he wished he'd thought it up himself.
	"Parlay du foie gras, Dad.  Loser take all."
	Ranko and Noriko spun their chopsticks, matching eyes across
the tableau.  Belldandy and Ranma did the same.
	Then the battle began.

*-*-*-*

	Nabiki and Kasumi, as they were relatively untrained, could not 
distinguish anything from the blur in front of them.  Akane, since she 
was not on the same level as the rest, could only see the same battle that
Ranma so often raged with his father.
	Genma fought desperately against the onslaught of food coming toward
him, doing something that was absolutely anathema to his character.
Ranma and his children were fighting a war to make the others eat first,
and Genma Saotome would be damned if he was going to eat Akane's fried rice.
Next to him, he saw Soun's face turn a horrifying shade of green, the eldest
Tendo now the first casualty of the battle.
	Noriko smirked at the large portion of her meal that was now missing, 
while fending off assaults from both Ranko and her father.  Grandpa had just
been wide open, trying to placidly get away with eating only Kasumi's cooking.
A second set of chopsticks appeared in her hands, and Noriko began working both
offense and defense with practiced ease.  Genma was the next to fall.
	"Extra chopsticks, pretty sneaky."  Ranko's eyes narrowed as she 
looked at Nabiki's daughter.  Noriko came back with a wink and a smirk.
	"I prefer to think of it as planning ahead."  One pair of chopsticks
captured Ranko's wrist while the other flung the last of Noriko's rice into
the redhead's mouth.  With a grimace, Ranko swallowed the atrocity in one
gulp and continued to fight.  Noriko's jaw dropped so far that Ranma had no
difficulty flinging a some of his own portion inside.
	"I grew up on this stuff, sis, but by the rules I guess I lose 
this round." Ranko performed a gesture of mock surrender as Noriko changed 
color.  To her left, Ranma collapsed to the floor.
	Belldandy smiled gloriously.
	"I win."

*-*-*-*

	Miyabi emerged from the room she now shared with her grandmother,
her long auburn hair having taken on several interesting shapes while she
slept.  As she stumbled past the breakfast table, which Soun was graciously
cleaning after the rules had been explained to him, she noted that her
father and strange cross-probable sisters were nowhere to be found.
	For some reason, when Mr. Tendo saw her he stopped what he was
doing and went rigid.
	Entering the kitchen, it seemed to her that Kasumi was about to 
comment when Miyabi held up a hand to stop her.  "I'm in the past, I don't
have to go to school."
	"Of course not, Miyabi-chan, but I should think that you would want
to put on clothes."
	"Right, clothes, I'll get on that."  Grabbing a few leftovers from the
breakfast melee, Miyabi took her time ascending back to her current quarters.

*-*-*-*

	Cologne rested on her staff, eyeing the purple-haired girl standing 
across from her.  "Now then, child, let's see how well your mother and father 
have taught you."
	Spice smiled, showing a tiny bit of fang and for a moment looking for 
feline than human.  Against her great-grandmother, she wouldn't have to hold back.

*-*-*-*

	"You all seem to be taking this rather well, Mom."
	"Yeah, well, weird stuff happens around Ranchan. You kind of get used
to it after a while."  Spotting the young man in question, Ukyo increased her
pace, placing herself between Ranma and Akane and hugging him fiercely.
	Hopping down from the fence, Ranko nodded at Mariko, Ukyo's daughter, 
who mutely returned the gesture.
	"It's weird seeing Auntie Ucchan hug pop like that."
	"It's weird seeing Miss Akane try and hit my father."
	Ranko stepped forward, tripping her mother with her forward foot,
catching her as she fell.  The move seemed to shock Akane out of the punch
she hadn't finished throwing.
	"You okay, Mom?"
	Akane struggled from her daughter's grasp and, settling back onto
her own two feet.  "I'm fine Ranma.  I mean, Ranko.  Daughter.  Sorry."  
She blushed as she realized her mistake, but seeing that Ukyo had managed 
to walk some distance away with Ranma, the short-haired girl gave chase.
	"Wow, she got you confused with Dad."
	Ranko shrugged.  "Happens all the time.  Grandpa and Grandpa call
it proof of fate or some such shit."
	Mariko arched an eyebrow at her half-sister.  "All the time?"
	"Yes.  All the time.  So, Mariko, right?"
	She nodded.
	"You any good?"
	The two walked at a slow pace, enjoying the scenery of old Nerima,
with the occasional shouts from the friendly argument of their parents
drifting back toward them.  "I cook better than I fight.  Don't get me 
wrong, I can hold my own, but it's Aunt Shampoo's son who does most of 
the adventuring and monster fighting."
	"Shame, a fight would've been fun."
	"Try that Senchi bitch, I'm sure she'd be up for it."
	Ranko paused to regard Mariko carefully, and Ukyo's daughter
slowed to meet her gaze.  Wordlessly, the redhead pointed a finger
over the brunette's shoulder.
	The sound of someone clearing her throat broke the stunned
silence.  Producing her spatula too quickly for the untrained eye to
follow, Mariko rounded on the noise, finding a pair of violet eyes
staring at her.
	"That Senchi bitch, I assume you mean myself, is not amused." 
The laugh that followed showed that her looks weren't the only thing 
inherited from her mother.  Mariko shuddered, Ranko seemed unaffected.
	"At any rate, Mother is reacquainting herself with Father at
this time, and I presumed to challenge Ranko to a rematch.  This 
morning's battle did not end as decisively as such things usually do.
'Twould be an affront to Anything Goes if I did not issue another
challenge."
	"Five o'clock at Furinkan," Ranko said without looking.
	"Agreed."  Senchi handed a red rose to Mariko and leapt
away in the direction of her wayward parents.  Ukyo's daughter held
the bloom to her nose and inhaled deeply, smiling as she brought it
away.
	Ranko gave her a sidelong glance.  "You know it's probably 
spiked with paralysis gas?"
	"I recognize it, but I'm not sure from where.  I've been 
immune to most poisons and drugs since I was about ten.  It's hell
during allergy season."
	"You know who Kodachi Kuno is?"  Ranko took a small sniff
from the crimson flower.
	"The girl in the leotard from last night, but other than
that, never heard of her."

*-*-*-*

	Kodachi crackled with laughter as she bounced along the
top of the fence above Ranma.  "I have spoken to my father in
regards to attending your rather dismal academy, Ranma-sama.
He demanded I cut my hair but I convinced him that such a course
of action would result in a hospital stay.  I should be sharing
your classroom within the week, and within the month..."
	The Black Rose leered at the pigtailed boy suggestively.
"...who knows what could happen?"
	Akane imposed herself between Ranma and the dark-haired
gymnast.  "Kodachi, just go home or something, we have class."
	Ukyo brandished her large spatula threateningly.  Daring
the Black Rose with her eyes.
	"Watch yourself.  My daughter has already bested yours,
Akane Tendo, and other than the Amazon's child I doubt any of the
others could presume to be a threat."
	"Ranko didn't lose!"
	Senchi appeared on the fence beside her mother, mirroring 
her posture like a fellow bird of prey.  "I'm afraid she did, Miss 
Tendo.  Do not fear, however, for we shall battle again this afternoon."
	Ranma watched the exchange impassively.  As long as they
weren't trying to kill each other, they could argue all they wanted.
However, he saw both Kodachi and Ukyo tensing, and was forced to
intervene, placing his hand lightly on Akane's shoulder.
	Every nearby set of eyes saw the movement and narrowed slightly
in response.  Senchi arched an eyebrow and met the youngest Tendo's eyes, 
what passed between them at that moment Akane couldn't be sure, but she 
didn't like it one bit.
	At Ranma's quiet insistence, and Senchi's subtle prodding, Kodachi
fled toward her own school, promising that she would return before the
day was out.

*-*-*-*

	Genma eyed his supposed granddaughter as she lounged in the
family room watching television.  So far, all of Ranma's children had
demonstrated exceptional combat abilities, even that strange Belldandy
child and Nabiki's daughter Noriko had shown some promise during breakfast.
The former had gone shopping with Kasumi and Nodoka, while the latter had 
vanished outright, claiming to be planning for a future investment.  Miyabi 
Saotome, however, was a different story entirely.
	Hinako's daughter was currently cramming junk food into her face,
and only getting a portion of it past her lips, as she absorbed some
sappy love story.
	So, like any decent grandfather, Genma threw her in the pond.

*-*-*-*

	Cologne bounced merrily into the Nekohanten, her standard
green dress sporting a couple small tears and her wrinkled face a
shiny black eye.  "Shampoo, be a dear and fetch your daughter from
the alley out back."  She cackled merrily as she fetched a poultice
from a nearby cupboard, she hadn't had this much fun in years.	
	Peeking out into the darkened area between buildings, Shampoo
spotted her daughter lying unconscious in the dust and grime, still 
finding it difficult to believe the girl's origins. A toothy
grin split Spice's lithe form, despite the swelling that had already 
formed on one split lip.
	Shampoo felt happiness bubble up inside her as she examined
the injuries that her great-grandmother had inflicted, noting that some
of the cuts and scrapes were beginning to heal.  Judging from the 
condition of Cologne, and the light to moderate collateral damage, 
Spice had given the Amazon Matriarch one hell of a fight.
	Ranma and Shampoo had raised a warrior, that much was certain, 
and the beautiful Amazon couldn't have been happier at how well they'd 
done.  Hauling Spice inside, Shampoo began the arduous task of nursing her
daughter back to health.
	There was a muffled explosion off in the distance, but the early
afternoon patrons of the small ramen shop ignored it.

*-*-*-*

	"So, Bell-chan, you never explained the story behind your name.
I remember you mentioning something to Tendo-san about it."  Nodoka walked
with her peaceful granddaughter and Kasumi toward the market.  The eldest
Tendo daughter was quickly evolving into excellent daughter-in-law material
in the eyes of the Saotome matriarch, largely due to the accidental efforts
of Belldandy herself.
	"Well, I don't know.  Mother, is it acceptable if I tell it?"
	Kasumi seemed bewildered at the question.  "I'm not sure, Belldandy-chan,
I don't know the story."
	A thoughtful look appeared on the quiet girl's face.  "Well, I shall
tell the short version then, Mother."  Belldandy took a deep breath, to focus 
herself, before she began speaking.  Grandmother, there were, shall we say, 
unforeseen complications with mother's pregnancy, and she and father went to 
visit a nearby shrine, hoping for some sort of assistance.  I am named after 
one of the maidens of that same shrine."
	Nodoka digested this, unconsciously drawing her arm around Kasumi
as she did so.  The eldest Tendo daughter herself was not overjoyed at her
daughter's grim forecast.  "But wouldn't we have gone to visit Doctor Tofu if 
something went wrong?"
	Belldandy looked lost.  "Who?"
	In the background, a large pillar of ki coalesced and exploded outward, 
sending a panda-shaped figure flying into the air.

*-*-*-*

	Mariko and Ranko turned toward the beacon of light that had briefly
appeared in the distance as, standing above them on the fence, Senchi did the
same.  "I would assume that to be Miyabi's work?"
	Ranko nodded, appreciating the spirit required for a blast of that size.
"Judging by the flying Genma, I'd say yeah. I could tell she was packing some 
serious power, I mean she's Hinako's kid, but damn," she whistled in quiet awe.
"That's something else."
	Ukyo's daughter just pointed and laughed, nearly doubling over with
the force of her giggling.  When the panda sailed overhead and landed just
inside the wall of Furinkan high school, wringing a yelp of pain from Tatewaki
Kuno, all three of Ranma's children who witnessed it burst into hysterics.
	Leaping from the fence to the concrete barrier, still cackling
uncontrollably, Senchi risked a glance at her uncle's unconscious form. The
panda had rolled off Kuno's body shortly after landing, leaving him buried
in a shallow depression that matched his own sprawled shape like a chalk
outline.  Nabiki Tendo stood over him, gloating, when she noticed Senchi
perched on the barrier wall.
	"Hey, you're Senchi right?  Kodachi's kid?"
	The raven-haired girl nodded, a curious question on her face as
she gazed at the middle Tendo.
	"Want to help me lug your uncle here to the nurse?"
	Leaping down into the courtyard, she lifted Tatewaki from his impact
crater and followed Nabiki to their destination.
	Ranko appeared on the barrier wall a few seconds later, turning back
to Mariko and gesturing onward.  "I'm going to follow along, it might be fun.
You gonna come?"
	Ukyo's daughter shook her head.  "I'm going to see about some things,
visit some people, maybe wander around.  I'll catch up to you later though."
	Ranko chuckled at the comfortable ease she felt around the other girl.
"Sure thing, sis."

*-*-*-*

	Sitting in class, Ranma found concentration an impossibility.  With Ukyo
sitting on one side of him, and Akane on the other, his thoughts were consumed
by the knowledge that right now, somewhere out in Nerima, he had kids by the both
of them.  At the front of the class sat Hinako Ninomiya, currently in her adult
form thanks to her fighting fish, and yet the only thoughts she inspired in Ranma
were of the mysterious Miyabi he'd last seen at the Tendo home.
	  He made a mental note to ask Miyabi that.  He
had a feeling something really weird had to happen before his teacher would give
up on Soun and turn to him, and the sheer enormity of what it would take to have
him think of her in a romantic fashion boggled his mind.  He didn't realize that
he was doing exactly that already, nor did he realize how hard he was staring
at the shape-shifting instructor.
	  Thoughts of the other children
that had appeared, all apparently his, flooded his mind.  His path had been so
certain a few nights ago and now it seemed like anything could happen, that he could
wind up with anybody, even girls he barely liked at present.
	His teacher's throaty voice brought Ranma out of his reverie.  "Mr. Saotome, 
what are you thinking about that is so much more fascinating than my lecture?"
	"Havin' kids," he responded without thinking.
	Everyone stared.
	Everyone.
	Everyone except Ukyo and Akane, who were blushing too hard, and Miss Hinako, 
who had no idea how to respond, but found herself reddening under Ranma's intense 
gaze.

*-*-*-*-*

	Carefully settling her uncle onto one of the cots that populated the clinic,
Senchi took a step back to examine him.  He looked so different to her eyes, more 
resembling his son than the older man she'd trained with as a child.
	"You were out front fighting with Ranko this morning, right?"
	Senchi nodded.  "I hope we did not disturb your rest, Miss Tendo, but
your niece was most insistent.  She seems to enjoy the heat of battle more than
most, even more than myself at times."
	The mercenary girl shook her head in disbelief.  "You kids and your
fighting, I was actually having some fun dreams too."
	Reaching into her ponytail, Kodachi's daughter produced two small foam
objects which she dropped into Nabiki's hand.  "I always carry several pair of 
earplugs with me, you may keep those if you wish.  I find they ensure a night's rest 
better than even strong medication."
	At the other girl's arched eyebrow, Senchi blushed a delicate pink.
"Mother and Father can be... loud."  Reaching down, she cautiously adjusted
the damp washcloth on her uncle's forehead.
	Nabiki stood behind her, trying not to laugh at the distracting revelation 
of Ranma and Kodachi's married life, observing the mysterious girl's behavior with a
sharp eye.  "So what's he like in the future?"
	"Uncle Tachi?"
	Nabiki nodded.
	Senchi laughed lightly as memories began to cloud her eyes.  "Well, he will
never be considered a genius, but he has always been there when I needed him, you
know?"  Reaching down, she patted him on the forehead, sweeping some of the hair
from his face.  "He and Father once faced down a demon for me, and while Father
and myself might have dealt the final blow to the creature, it would not have
been possible without the assistance of Mother, Uncle and the rest."
	Nabiki replaced the small damp washcloth that rested on the young man's
hairline, mentally adjusting his fee accordingly. "He's not the sharpest katana 
ever forged, but he does have his moments, I guess."
	The soft chuckle from Kodachi's daughter grew into a fullscale cackle.
"I remember once, it was at a Christmas party I think, he was so drunk he started
hitting on Father."  She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, still giggling 
madly.  "How much sake must one imbibe to forget that your brother-in-law 
transforms into a woman?"
	"He was probably just reminiscing about the old days."
	A struggling groan from the bed drew the two young women's eyes in that
direction.  With a fluttering, wakefulness came to Tatewaki Kuno, and his first
vision was a lovely raven-haired young woman, whose eyes and hairstyle reminded
him vaguely of his sister, but whose youthful appearance brought to mind the
pig-tailed goddess of his dreams.
	Kuno enveloped the strange young woman in a bone-crushing hug. "Ebon-haired 
Wonder, I will allow you to date me."  Behind him, with a great roar of laughter,
Nabiki fell off her chair.

*-*-*-*

	Miyabi napped on the couch as the television blared away with one afternoon
soap saga after another.  Blasting the Panda had taken more energy than she'd planned,
and the sugar was helping her recover.  As she turned over to a more comfortable position, 
crumbs and wrappers fell to the floor of the living room.
	"Double amnesia," an actor's voice droned.  "And cancer."
	Genma, still a panda, stumbled back from his flight over the city.  His fur
was singed, but he was certain he would survive.  The blast had been powerful,
and it had taken all Genma's willpower to keep from grinning uncontrollably as he
wandered back to the dojo.  The sight of a grinning panda had scared more than one
person in his existence as a Jusenkyo victim.
	Spying Miyabi's napping form, Genma knew now beyond a shadow of a doubt that
the brunette was a Saotome, bizarre parentage be damned.  Stepping on the remote 
control, Genma shut down the television and gathered his granddaughter into his
massive ursine arms, walking quietly upstairs to deposit her in her temporary
quarters.  Tucking her into the bedrool that had been laid out for her, he left 
the room as silently as he'd entered, nearly slipping into the Umisenken by 
accident.
	As he sat down to consume what Miyabi had not, something tickled at the back
of his mind.  Something about the girl's appearance had been odd, but perhaps he'd
just been hit harder than he thought.  Dismissing the nagging thought, Genma began
to eat.

*-*-*-*

	Ukyo's daughter waited, patiently, as one of Furinkan's rivals emptied itself
of its student population.  She was waiting for someone, and at the laughter echoing
across the courtyard, and the sight of pleated skirts and permed hair, she knew she'd
found her target.  
	She was spotted, or perhaps detected, and the blonde Seisyun student she was 
eyeballing turned to face her, questioning and unsure.
	"Like, who are you?"
	"Nobody," the young Saotome responded, "I just wanted to meet you."
	Twirling a baton menacingly, the cheerleader looked skeptical, but thought
nothing of it as the mysterious girl with the spatula wandered off.  She'd looked
familiar somehow, reminding her of the redhead from so long ago.

*-*-*-*

	The minotaur's large fist came crashing down, and Ranko weaved easily out of
the way, a thick chuckle emanating from her throat.  She'd gotten sidetracked by the 
giant beast's appearance shortly after entering the grounds and, while she'd heard 
legends of the great and powerful Pantyhose, she was not yet impressed.
	As for the boy with the unfortunate name, he found himself decidedly 
unhappy with the rotten luck he'd been having the last couple of days.  Not only had
Happosai escaped his grasp, again, but now he was being laughed at by someone he was
fairly certain was Ranma Saotome.  Bellowing, he unleashed a torrent of ink onto the
ground surrounding Furinkan High, aimed primarily at the area surrounding Ranko's
elusive form.
	Her footing lost, Akane's daughter slid along the ground on her back, 
coming to a stop near the barrier wall.  Tarou, sensing victory, aimed a crushing
blow at the pig-tailed girl, putting as much of his monstrous weight behind the 
strike as he could.
	Ranko caught the fist, holding the colossal attack at bay with both hands
and grabbing hold of the fur that covered the mighty paw.  Pantyhose, dumbstruck,
brought his arm around in front of his face to examine the redhead.  When he 
managed an intent and detailed look at the girl, who had suffered some slight
damage during their scuffle, he made a grunting noise as if to ask her question.
	Dangling from his palm, and spitting in the general direction of his snout, 
Ranko laughed at the beastly visage confronting her.  Pumping her legs, she swung 
out toward the minotaur's face, hanging in the air in front of him for a moment.
	"No, I'm not Ranma," she announced to him.
	Then she punched the yeti squarely in the jaw.

*-*-*-*

	Noriko patrolled the Nerima market, eyes taking in as much as possible,
seeking anything of value.  In her arms she held several small items, mostly
worthless to the average person, but in twenty years they would be priceless
collectibles worth hundreds of thousands of yen.
	True, it was not the most brilliant plan, barely worthy of her mother's
blood, but it was straightforward profit and nearly foolproof.  All she needed 
was a strongbox that would withstand the amount of destruction that was 
commonplace around the district.
	She'd briefly encountered her grandmother and Kasumi, out shopping with
the bizarrely named Belldandy that afternoon, but had lost them in the shuffle
of bodies.  It was just as well, she supposed, as she'd been hard pressed to
supply a reason for the multitude of memorobilia she was carrying at the moment.
	The thought of one of her strange half-sisters again puzzled Noriko.
She'd been unable to cope with certain aspects of the last day, and despite all
the potential income she'd managed to accrue since her strange arrival in the 
past, she did not feel any better or more sure of herself.  She knew that somehow 
her final goal should be something else entirely.
	Profit, and a little wagering, maybe even a good fight, would help her
think more clearly.  If she was going to exist long enough to make use of her 
purchases, Nabiki's daughter needed a plan.

*-*-*-*

	Ranma walked through the halls, still deep in thought after his
ill-conceived comment in the classroom.  Alongside him Ukyo and Akane walked
in a peaceable silence, with only the occasional glare to distract from their
otherwise peaceful exteriors.  Once in a while the two would recall Ranma's
remark from the classroom and find themselves turning scarlet, a fact to 
which the numerous bumps on Ranma's head would attest.
	A wordless howl from behind them drew Ukyo and Akane's attentions, and 
the statement that immediately followed awoke Ranma's.
	"Saotome, how dare you sire a child by my sister!"  Tatewaki Kuno
slashed at the pig-tailed boy, his bokken burying itself in the floor of the
school building.  Ranma vaulted backward, springboarding off Kuno's head for
extra distance and landing at the far end of the hall.  Senchi, who'd been
chasing her uncle at a high rate of speed, nearly collided with Ranma as he
landeded softly in a defensive stance.  By reflex, her arms wrapped around
her father's waist and halted her forward momentum.
	Kuno turned around to face his enemy, face a rictus of rage and
indignity.  At the sight of his temporally displaced niece and his greatest
foe his anger increased, if such a thing were possible.
	"Uncle Tachi stop!"
	Ranma dashed to the side, gathering his daughter into his arms
as he leapt away, Kuno destroying the wall behind him.  "I don't think
he's going to listen to you, Senchi.  He's so pissed right now he might
bring the building down without realizing it, or at least this floor."
	Ukyo's voice drifted from down the hall near the school's entrance. 
"Ranchan, we'll be outside waiting for you, okay?  Don't take too long!"
	"Okay, Ucchan!"  Ranma turned and fled, with Kuno at his heels, and
Kodachi's daughter in his arms.
	"Where are you going, Father?"
	"The roof."
	
*-*-*-*

	Nodoka and Kasumi entered the Tendo home, depositing their purchases
in the kitchen.  The Saotome matriarch gave a reproving glance to the panda
on the couch as he consumed all that remained of the Tendo's supply of 
junk food and sweets.
	Genma shrugged his shoulders in an innocent way and produced a sign.
"Fujiwara-sensei has amnesia," it read.  "And cancer," it said on the other
side.  He flipped the sign around again.  "And an evil twin."
	"What on Earth am I going to do with you," she playfully bopped
him on the head.  "Is Miyabi-chan up and about yet?"  A kettle appeared in
her hands and doused the large beast, turning him human once again.
	"We sparred a little, and I think I wore her out, so she's in bed."
	"Very well dear, I'll leave you to your soap operas."
	Genma nodded, but said nothing.
	Creeping up the stairs, Nodoka's kimono made a light swishing sound
as it dragged on the carpet.  Peering into the room she shared with Genma and,
as of last night, the mysterious Miyabi, she was startled to find it empty.
	  Dismissing
her distrustful thoughts, Nodoka returned to the kitchen where Kasumi was
beginning her dinner preparations.  A little earlier than normal, perhaps,
but they had a much larger household to feed tonight.

*-*-*-*
	
	Entering the schoolyard, Ukyo and Akane stared, mouths agape, at the 
spectacle that awaited them.  There sat Ranko, peacefully resting atop Tarou's 
fallen cursed form, munching calmly on a box of crackers.  The other students
at Furinkan filed past without looking more than once or twice, simply accepting
the weirdness as they always did.
	The okonomiyaki chef was flabbergasted, her voice a mousey squeak. "How?"
	Ranko grinned, reminding the two young women of her father in an almost
disconcerting way.  "When I hit something, it stays hit."
	Akane turned to Ukyo with a proud smile, sticking her tongue out in the
direction of her rival and sometimes friend.

*-*-*-*

	The roof was empty and expansive, a blank canvas for the artists of war that
populated the small prefecture of Nerima.  The stairwell door crashed open, the padlock 
shattering with the force of Ranma's kick as he leapt through the frame.
	He laughed as he heard the Kendoist barreling up the stairs behind him.
"Heh, Kuno's actually kind of fun to fight when he's this pissed."  Setting Senchi
down, the pigtailed boy assumed a ready stance and stared down the doorway.  A few
seconds later, Tatewaki Kuno appeared, face purple with rage as he rushed toward
Ranma.
	Dodging nimbly between strikes, Ranma baited the kenodist.  "So what'd I do
now, Kuno?  Your Musashi alarm clock not working or something?"
	"My bedside timepiece was custom crafted to include the pig-tailed girl, Akane 
Tendo, and myself, it never fails!"  He reared up to his full height, leveling his bokken
at Ranma in a theatrically threatening fashion As to the cause of my anger, villain, you have 
dishonored my sister, and by association myself, by forcing her to bear your child 
outside the bonds of marriage."  The young wouldbe samurai lunged toward his opponent,
his blade aimed to rend the pig-tailed boy at the neck.
	Ranma leapt on Kuno's head, bounding behind him to the other side of the roof.
"You idiot, Senchi is probably Kodachi's age, maybe older, do the math!  Or do I need to 
draw you a diagram?"
	Rounding on him, Kuno charged again.  "Just because I do not know how you did
it does not mean that it was not done!  To regain your honor you will marry my sister,
even if I must destroy you to make it so!"
	Ranma grimaced as he evaded more of Kuno's wild, rage-powered strike.  How could
such a barely concievable event as marrying Kodachi cause this much trouble?  The gymnast
was more of an occasional suitor than an actual fiancee, no matter what Senchi might
say, and he was starting to get pissed at all these people telling him what he was or 
wasn't destined to do.  Ranma Saotome would do whatever he damn well pleased, and if they
didn't like it they'd have to deal with him.  Bringing his foot up and around, he caught 
Kuno on  the cheek, using his momentum to bury the kendoist face first into the roof.
	"Now listen up, Kuno," he barked as he ground the rich boy's face into the school.
"I ain't marrying Kodachi on your sayso or anybody else's.  Hell, if I had my way she'd just
leave me alone and I'd never have to deal with her again."
	A balloon filled with water crashed into the pig-tailed boy, causing him to
develop more womanly features.  With a frustrated grunt she turned about to face her attacker,
and was confronted by Kodachi, wearing and angry and hurt expression that matched the darkness 
of her leotard.  Senchi stood farther away, mirroring her mother's tears as she did her eyes.
	"Even after Senchi explained your curse, Ranma-sama, I did not entirely believe,
but now the truth of many matters has made itself known.  You, all of you, your friends
and enemies, my rivals and even my brother, have been laughing at me.  As I made a fool
of myself seeking your attentions, hoping you would return my love, while battling
you however sporadically I should encounter your female self."
	"Kodachi, it ain't like that."  The pig-tailed girl reached out, grasping the 
gymnast by the shoulder.
	The redhead's hand was batted away as the raven-haired girl step back. "Do not 
touch me."  Kodachi's voice was a harsh whisper, more hurt than angry.  "I had thought,
with a daughter here as she is, that you would be different toward me Ranma, that you
would perhaps consider a different fate than the one I believed your parents had
chosen for you."  She loosed a laughing sob as she turned away.
	"Kodachi, damnit, it ain't that way at all!"  Ranma followed the dark-haired 
girl, matching her pace and reaching out for her a second time.  Senchi slapped her
father across the face, halting the redhead's progress.
	"You are not my father," she said simply.  "My father is a kind and decent man,
even when he is a woman, and would never hurt another human being with his words the way
you have."  She stared into Ranma's soul, the tears making her eyes shine that much
brighter.
	Ranma relented, confronting her child.  "Look, Senchi, I know you want me to
marry Kodachi, bu-"
	She shrieked then, interrupting. "I want to live!"  A haymaker made Ranma
double over.  "Don't make me harm you, Father.  I love you, but am nearing the end of my
forgiveness." The power behind her fist was not terrible, but it was swift and fierce, 
and the precision of the strike took his breath away.
	Senchi knelt in front of her then, staring into the blue eyes from which she'd
inherited half her life.  "If you do not marry Mother, then I will never be, and with
what you have just done, I fear that will be the way of things."  Behind her, she heard
Kodachi leap off the roof in tears, and turned to follow.  As Senchi's own ribbon lashed 
out and she prepared to give chase to her mother's fleeing form, she turned back with a 
dark laugh.
	"You are not worthy of my mother, Ranma Saotome."
	Then she fell from the roof, her anchored ribbon and her weight carrying her
along the same path Kodachi had taken.

*-*-*-*

	It had taken only a kettle of hot water to undo the monstrosity of Tarou's
cursed form, and now many students stared with admiration at Ranko's fallen foe.
Some of the female students stared with more admiration than others.
	Above them, Ranko and Akane saw Kodachi leap off the roof of Furinkan
and flee in the general direction of her home, with Senchi following scant seconds
later.  It was somewhat of a surprise to see a female Ranma leap off and land amongst
them, narrowly missing Tarou's unconscious form.
	The redhead shrieked at Akane and Ukyo. "Which way'd they go?"
	Numbly, the chef pointed in the appropriate direction, seeing only a cloud of 
dust as Ranma bolted after Senchi and her mother.  Fortunately, Akane still maintained
some presence of mind.
	"Ranko, could you follow him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
	Laughing, Akane's daughter nodded, picking up speed at a startling rate and 
calling backward before she left the schoolyard. "Easier said than done, Mom, but I'll try."

*-*-*-*

	Senchi tracked her mother's fleeing form, surprised at the speed and grace
her movements as she latched onto anything and everything in an attempt to escape
from Ranma.  The centripetal forces of her swinging motions and kicking legs kept
her aloft as she flew through Nerima.
	Beneath Senchi, Ranma's eyes tracked the soaring form of her daughter.
The original assumption that the two would head for the Kuno mansion had already
proven false and now she found herself blindly tailing them, three or more stories
below.  A quick leap brought her up to rooftop level, costing her a few seconds but
putting her on even footing with the two as they hurtled over the shopping district.
	Worry streaking her eyes, Senchi's pace increased as Kodachi picked up speed.
They were over the marketplace now, then the Nekohanten, then the clinic, still moving 
faster and faster over the city.  The lake, and the park surrounding it, reared up ahead 
of them on the left, treetops looming like enemy soldiers on the horizon.
	If they reached the water, Kodachi would vanish into the haze of trees and 
Senchi might never catch her.  As she watched the gymnast soaring in a beeline for 
the woodland property, she realized that was her mother's plan.
	Ranma saw Kodachi disappear into the park and leapt back down to street level,
bouncing off Ryoga's head as she did so.  The roar of outrage from the lost boy was
ignored, her focus limited only to finding Kodachi and Senchi and setting things right
with them.  No, she didn't want to marry Kodachi, but that didn't mean she hated the
Black Rose, and maybe she could explain about the curse too, it wasn't a big deal.
They'd just never gotten around to explaining it to the Kunos, so what?
	It wasn't a big deal.
	Behind her, Ryoga followed in a fit of anger.

*-*-*-*

	Senchi landed on the grassy field of the park, rolling to absorb the
speed of the hard fall.  She cast a fearful glance around the surrounding area,
her mother should've landed here.  Her eyes came to rest on a crumpled form
lying face down beneath a tree, and the dark leotard it was wearing.
	"Mommy?"
	Ranma crashed through the stone wall that made up part of the park's
entrance, Ryoga having landed a lucky shot to the pig-tailed girl's back.
As she flipped to her feet, the redhead tossed a dark glance at the lost
boy and assumed a stance.  She couldn't square things with Kodachi and Senchi
unless she got Ryoga off her back first.
	Kneeling next to her mother, barely noticing the movement that
had brought her there, Senchi turned over the unconscious form.  Small ripped
holes peppered Kodachi's leotard around her stomach, and her breathing was erratic, 
with tinny hiccuping noises issuing every few seconds.  Reaching a hand to her
mother's throat, Senchi felt for a pulse, but pulled back at the last second,
intently examining the fingers of her left hand.
	They were transparent.
	She could see the trees behind the fingers on her hand, and the effect was 
slowly crawling up her arm toward the rest of her. She was disappearing, like an 
old photograph that had been left in the sun too long. Spying Ranma and Ryoga engaging 
in an impromptu battle nearby, she unleashed a shrill cry that could only be 
described as bloodcurdling.
	"Daddy help me Please!"
	Her father was the only one she knew who could make it all better.  Because 
when it mattered, when the chips were down, when people were counting on him, Ranma 
Saotome didn't lose.
	Ranma and Ryoga froze in mid-strike at the sound of the cry, both looking
at Senchi's tortured appearance before they overcame their shock and dashed to her aid.
Ranko, appeared a few seconds later, and took in the scene as quickly as her eyes would allow.
	Gathering Senchi into her arms, Ranma turned to the lost boy and Akane's daughter,
her face a stone mask. "Ryoga, take Kodachi, follow me to Tofu's, and I swear to God if you get 
lost I will kill you like the pig you are."
	The boy in the bandanna nodded, ignoring the insult and focusing on his task.
	"Ranko, get Cologne, tell her where we're going, we might need her help."
	Akane's daughter nodded, looking at Senchi's ghostly form with a grim
expression.
	A voice emerged from the shadow in Ranma's arms.  "I do not believe we will 
have our rematch today, Sister."
	The redhead smiled and reached out to her half-sister, squeezing an immaterial 
hand. "We've still got a fight, Senchi, and you're gonna be there," Ranko said before leaping 
away.  Ranma and Ryoga took to the rooftops, heading for the clinic in as straight a line 
as they could manage.

*-*-*-*

	The doors to the Nekohanten burst open, and Ranko glanced about for her target,
finding Cologne behind the stove.  The aged Amazon looked up in surprise at the intrusion.
	Ranko wasted no words.  "Granny, get to Tofu's place, Kodachi's dying."
	With a nod, Cologne was out the door.

*-*-*-*

	Entering the clinic, Ranma screamed for Doctor Tofu as Ryoga placed Kodachi on one 
of the examination beds.  Moving to deposit Senchi on a second bed, Ranma found herself
stopped by the soft voice of Kodachi's daughter.
	"Please, Daddy, don't let me go.  He couldn't help me anyway."
	Ranma nodded, tightening his grip on the vanishing girl in his arms as Tofu
entered the room.  Ryoga pinned the Black Rose to the bed as the raven-haired girl began
to spasm in pain.  Ranma turned to face the chiropractor.
	"We don't know what happened, Doc, just help Kodachi." he unconciously squeezed 
Senchi's huddled form.  "Please."
	Tofu nodded, gesturing Ranma to a seat nearby and taking up a position on one side
of Kodachi's bed.  Pressing small nerve clusters and sensitive spots on her body.
	"Daddy, no matter what happens, don't forget me, please."
	Ranma looked upset at the very idea.  "Nothing's gonna happen to you, and I
don't forget anybody.  Ever."
	"When I was six, you called me your little Bishoujo Senchi.  You don't say that
anymore.  I think you forgot."
	The pig-tailed girl glanced back and forth between her daughter and Kodachi's quaking
form.  
	The Black Rose's arm lashed out uncontrollably, shattering a pitcher of water and
rendering Ryoga useless.  The tiny black ball oinked on the floor and ran around helplessly.
	Sweeping into the clinic with a hurricane of calm, and landing on Kodachi's bed, Cologne 
took command of the scene.  A few hand motions from the gnarled old crone and the seizures halted, 
though the girl on the bed screamed loud that a window shattered, and arched her back so far that 
Ranma was fearful she might break it.
	"Daddy," came a quiet voice from her lap.  "Sing me the song.  The one you always sang
when I was small."  She smiled then, a mere whisper of the strong creature she'd been only a
half an hour ago.  "You know the one."
	And she did know, though she was at a loss to explain how she knew.
	"The other day," she began, pausing to wait for the echo, and surprised to hear
it come from Kodachi's still form as the Amazon and the Doctor worked at stablizing her.
	"The other day."
	"I met a bear," Ranma continued, again hearing Kodachi reply with the same words.
	"Up in the woods." A pause again, and another echo. "Away up there."  Repeat.
	"The other day I met a bear.  Up in the woods away up there." Unison.
	Seeing Cologne and Tofu work intently, Ranma could do nothing but continue the song,
as Senchi's eyes lost their focus and timelost girl faded from view.
	"I looked at him... He looked at me..."

*-*-*-*

	Cologne sat back on her heels, examining the shaken girl in front of her as she
began to explain what had happened.  "Kodachi, can you hear me?"
	Kodachi nodded, tears streaking her face.  The old Amazon sighed, thankful
that the girl was lucid.  When the gymnast had begun to sing that strange tune while she
and the doctor were working, Cologne had begun to worry, but the pain would pass in time.
	"Do you remember who attacked you?"
	Kodachi shook her head.  She recalled only landing in the park and a strong
blow to the stomach from a shadowy figure.
	"Whoever they were, their intention was not your death by any means.  The assailant
attacked a series of shiatsu points on your abdomen."  With a gesture of her wrinkled fist, 
the matriarch swept aside the blanket revealing the bruises on the Black Rose's stomach.  
They'd been forced to cut away part of the leotard to more fully ascertain the damage done.  
"The points attacked, and the order in which they were struck, caused a cascade of muscle 
spasms within your body."
	The flow of tears increased in strength as Kodachi nodded, understanding.
	"The end result of which, eventually, forced your womb to collapse in on itself."
	A wail bubbled up from the dark-haired girl, forcing its way past her lips.
	"There is no known method of healing an injury such as this and, I'm sorry child, 
but because of it, you can never have children."
	Uncontrolled sobs wracked the wealthy girl's form, and Cologne knew that she could
do nothing to ease the girl's suffering.
	"Where is Senchi," she managed to stutter between sobs.
	The bewildered look on Cologne's face said more to Kodachi than she wanted to know.
	"Who is Senchi, child?"

*-*-*-*

	Ranko frowned as she delivered the orders of ramen that Shampoo flung in her 
direction, having been demoted after a brief stint behind the stove.  As Shampoo
had discovered in a rather unfortunate incident, Ranko's cooking skills came from
her mother.
	"Why long face?"
	"Just worrying, that's all, hoping Senchi's there for the fight."  Ranko added mentally.
	"Who Senchi?
	Akane's daughter directed an odd look at the purple-haired Amazon.  "Senchi
Saotome, Kodachi's kid from the future, or whatever."	
	Shampoo assumed a thoughtful pose as the lull in customers continued.
"Shampoo no remember Rose Girl child at meeting.  Six only, no more."
	Ranko accepted the information, doing her best not to reveal her own
thoughts on the matter, or how her memories differed from Shampoo's.

*-*-*-*

	Ranma stared in shock at the empty air within his arms.
	"Daddy, please don't hate Mommy," she had said. "She loves you."
	And then she'd vanished from the world as Ranma knew it.
	Senchi Kurobara Kuno-Saotome was gone.

	She wasn't even a possibility anymore.

*-*-*-*
*-*-*-*

End Chapter 1.

Author's note:  The song is an old campfire tune for children called, oddly 
enough, "The Other Day I met a Bear." Kuno and Kodachi sing a Japanese version of 
this song on one of the anime soundtracks.

    Source: geocities.com/brian_kun