Ranma 1/2 Twenty Years Later - "Arrive Ranma-chan!" Part 1 [Fanfic]

[FREDERICK DEAN HERRIOT]

Ranma 1/2 Twenty Years Later: "Arrive, Ranma-chan! Saotome
Family Reunite!!" Part 1 of 3
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
fh9...@badger.ac.BrockU.CA
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Created by Fred Herriot and Mike Smith
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Edited by E.B. Kushnir
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Based on "Ranma 1/2," created by Rumiko Takahashi.
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SERIES INTRODUCTION:

Welcome to "Ranma 1/2 Twenty Years Later," a fan fiction
sequel series to Takahashi-sensei's most popular anime series!
We, the same team who brought you "Classic Urusei Yatsura" to the
Net, welcome you.

"Ranma 20YL," as we're short-forming the title, is not
designed as a continuation of the "classic" stories surrounding
Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendou, but a new series designed around
a new host of characters. While such a series would deserve a
prequel, Mike and I decided that since we had so few possible
story ideas to put into a "Final Ranma 1/2" series, we would skip
such a project and plunge right away into this series.

This series is written in the light of the rumours
circulating around the rec.arts.anime newsgroup mentioning that
"Ranma 1/2" has finally come to an end with Ranma and Akane
settling their differences and officially launching their
engagement. To that end, we're launching this series with a
narrative flashback to the third year of their relationship,
which could take place about a year after the end of the manga to
make people feel more comfortable about continuity problems.

As a sequel series, "Ranma 20YL" will take a different trek
than the classic series. This is of course the point of a
sequel; we're not here to re-hash the loony antics of the
original. Yes, there are cursed shapechangers in this series.
Yes, there is martial arts galore, including some more
interesting variations of day-to-day activities. However, with a
new series begins a new cast with new situations. If you will,
consider this the "Next Generation" of "Ranma 1/2." If you like
this approach to fan fiction, then stick around; we aim to please
and surprise you. If this type of fiction is not right for you,
stick around anyway; we might get you hooked.

Those of you who are readers of "Classic UY" will notice
that this series has the same title approach as our first
"Yatsura" sequel series, "UY Twenty Years Later." "Ranma 20YL"
was inspired in a sense by "UY20YL" and yes, there will be
crossovers between the two series (in our sense of the Takahashi
multiverse, Tomobiki and Furinkan are neighbouring districts).
"Ranma 20YL" is set in the year 2002, which brings an interesting
high-tech edge to the series as future stories will demonstrate.
Since we do not plan to release "UY20YL" until the majority of
the "Classic UY" stories are in the hands of the otaku public,
we'll make note of those "UY20YL" characters making cameos in
"Ranma 20YL." (And no, there will be no "Maison Ikkoku 20YL," so
don't ask!)

This series will also provide an interesting solution to the
problems plaguing Ranma Saotome and those others cursed by
Jusenkyou in the classic series: how the power of the cursed
springs can be countered. Again, this is our idea, so don't
accept this as fact. As of the time of this writing, there was
no mention of Ranma finally finding a way to cure himself of
Nyanniichuan. You might agree that the solution Mike and I
present is...unusual at best.

Anyhow, that is enough for now, so relax and scroll on
ahead!

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To that end...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!

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Seventeen years ago.

In the third year of the relationship between wandering
kempoist Ranma Saotome and his fiancee, Akane Tendou, the
differences between them which had plagued their relationship for
so long had finally been put to rest. To the joy of their
relatives and the anguish of those who disapproved of their
union, their engagement became official in spirit as well as
name. At this time, Ranma felt that he could not be a perfect
husband for his future bride. The curse of Jusenkyou which had
become an interesting problem for those such as Ryouga Hibiki,
Shampoo, Mousse and Ranma's father Genma made Ranma feel like
Atlas shouldering the world!

To that end, Ranma proceeded to the valley of the cursed
springs to obtain that which he had quested on and off over the
years: Naniichuan, the man-drown spring, in whose waters he
hoped his manhood would be forever restored. However, Ranma
discovered to his horror that immersing himself in that pond...or
any pond in Jusenkyou for that matter...would not work for those
already cursed. As informed by the guide, one could not be
cursed more than once, which was in effect what Ranma was doing
to himself.

However, his visit to Jusenkyou was not without positive
results. The guardians of the cursed ponds did inform Ranma of a
legendary tale which could provide an end to his sufferings. The
tale revolved around a prophecy:

"From Life unto Death,
From Death unto New Life,
So the Circle shall be,
From Now unto Eternity."

In essence, to free himself of the curse of the drowned
girl, Ranma had to bring new life into this world. Simply put,
he had to have children. And with Akane patiently waiting (a
shocking first for the tomboy!) in Japan, Ranma had the partner
ready to tango. It was later said that Ranma beat the fastest
running records on Earth getting back to Furinkan!

However, as Ranma also learned on his quest, the children
born of those cursed of Jusenkyou would not fully escape the
region's magical reach. For him, it was easy. Any person who
fell into the pond of a drowned person, like Ranma, would give
birth to a child who would grow up to be an exact double of the
parent's cursed state. Since Ranma fell into Nyanniichuan, his
future child would be (to the sheer delight of Genma and Akane's
father Souun) a stunning bosomy redhead custom-made to drive the
boys wild!

For the others...Ryouga, Mousse and Shampoo...the promise
was even better. Their children would be of the same sex and
physical looks of their parents. Further, they would inherit the
best quality of the animal their parents once transformed in.
Shampoo's daughter could potentially become a master gymnast
thanks to a feline-like sense of balance. Mousse's son could be
a champion swimmer. And Ryouga's son would be a cleanliness
buff, since the pig is the cleanest species in the animal
kingdom.

In the wake of Ranma's and Akane's marriage and the latter's
pregnancy, everyone else finally settled down. Akane's eldest
sister Kasumi married the long suffering district chiropractor,
Ono Toofuu. With Ranma no longer able to transform into the
"pig-tailed goddess," kendo master Tatewaki Kunou found himself
slipping into the waiting arms of the middle Tendou daughter
Nabiki. After a long struggle, Mousse finally won Shampoo's
heart. Finally, the wandering Ryouga fell in love with and
eventually married fellow rhythmic martial arts gymnast, Kunou's
sister Kodachi.

* * *

However, unbeknownst to the happy Saotomes, there were
others who coveted Jusenkyou's power. As Ranma also learned on
his odyssey, those born of people cursed by the ponds gain an
extra birthright: the ability to inherit the power of all one
hundred of the cursed ponds. At first disbelieving such a
promise, Ranma soon learned that there were those who did
believe...and were willing to do anything to obtain that power.

The most dangerous was named Yung Shan...the Old Man of the
Mountain. A Chinese warlord rumoured to be several thousand
years old, Yung Shan was said to have been a personal advisor to
the first Emperor. His power had become so great that neither
the Nationalists or the Communists dared challenge it. It was
said that the Old Man of the Mountain once had a wife, one who
drowned in the Jusenkyou springs...the very spring later to be
called Nyanniichuan.

It was therefore a double reward to the Old Man of the
Mountain when he first learned of Ranma Saotome and his quest to
free himself of the curse of Nyanniichuan. The Old Man first
took advantage of it by kidnapping Ranma and Akane (this was
prior to their marriage), then taking them to a private hall
where they were left alone. It did not stop there, for the Old
Man had a powerful aphrodisiac pumped into the room, driving the
young lovers' passions through the roof. Before long, the two
were returned to Japan where Akane soon discovered she now bore
Ranma's children.

Almost nine months later, the Old Man of the Mountain struck
again. Akane was soon to deliver twin sisters, one of which
would inherit the aftereffects of Ranma's curse. That was when
the Old Man's troops attacked, kidnapping Ranma and returning him
to China. There, the Old Man made a demand: turn over the
Heiress of Jusenkyou (Ranma's soon-to-be-born daughter) or die.
By that time, a rescue force from Japan aided by Kirin and the
Lords of Luck arrived. In the climatic battle, Ranma was nearly
killed but succeeded in sending Yung Shan plummeting to his
death. At this time, the spirit of Nyanniichuan fled Ranma for
the final time.

In Japan just as Ranma and the Old Man of the Mountain had
their fateful confrontation, Akane went into labour. The first
child, the one unaffected by Jusenkyou, was delivered without
complications. A beautiful brunette, she was named Akari
Saotome. The second child underwent considerable complications
as the magic bond between daughter and father was nearly
compromised when Ranma took blow after blow from the more
experienced Yung Shan. However, shortly after the spirit of
Nyanniichuan fled Ranma, the second child was delivered. She was
a stunning redhead, looking like Ranma in his cursed state.
Delirious, believing her husband having fallen to save his
daughter, Akane named the child Ranma Saotome II. Later, on
returning to Japan, Ranma and Akane were tearfully reunited. He
was of course taken aback by the fact that his daughter had his
name. Accepting the matter, Ranma gave his child a nickname:
Nikkou. However, to tell the two apart, the child adopted the
more familiar term "Ranma-chan."

However, while the first six years of the Saotome's marriage
and raising their family were peaceful, peace was shattered when
it was revealed that the Old Man of the Mountain may still be
alive...and more determined than ever to claim Ranma-chan as his
own. With that threat, life in the Saotome family became
hazardous at the best of times...

...and that is where our story truly begins.

* * *

Furinkan...a rainy day.

People hurry to and fro as they duck the sudden downpour
which surprised the Tokyo area that morning. As befitting the
start of the new millennium, fashions have changed, technology
has advanced, culture has transformed as Japan plunges into the
growing global society. However, the district appears
traditional in many ways; the houses, the dojos, the schools, the
ramen kiosks, the appearance of traditional clothing.
Unfortunately, there are some parts of the district which have
fallen on hard times; run-down buildings, cluttered streets,
motorcycle and street gangs.

Today, however, peace reigns in the district as someone runs
through the street. People observe as a lithe female form
charges barefoot down the street. Most see a backpack, a
perfectly shaped body and short-cut hair tied in a roguish pig-
tail. Up close, detail becomes more obvious; indian-red hair, a
white no-sleeve Chinese-style shirt altered to a V-neck barely
covering an ample bust, baggy trousers. The backpack is large,
bearing a sleeping bag, camping utensils and, strangely enough
given the weather, a folded bamboo umbrella. Finally, covering
the skin below the nape and above the breasts is a circular
tattoo affixed with the tao symbol, intertwined dragon-and-tiger,
and one hundred scrolls each with the name of an animal or person
in kanji. Those who see the stranger run react differently.
Men, even married ones, drool unabashedly at such loveliness.
Women stare with a mix of jealousy and admiration. Children
wonder where the stranger's parents are to allow her to run
around without a raincoat.

Spinning a corner, the stranger is about to take off down
the street when a police whistle stops her. "Hold it!" a
policewoman walks over.

She stops, then walks over. "Um...hi, there!" she waves,
smiling. "Is there something wrong, Officer?"

The policewoman looks shocked. "Miss, it's pouring rain and
you're stampeding down the street without a raincoat or shoes!
Put something on before you catch cold!"

"Cold?!" the stranger looks surprised, then laughs. "Rain?!
Let it rain!" she twirls like a ballerina. "I love rain!!"

Sweat pours down the policewoman's head. "Oh, by the
way..." the stranger looks over. "I'm looking for Furinkan High
School. Is this the right place?"

"Furinkan High?" the policewoman nods. "Yes, it's that
way!" she nods to her right. "Follow the girls with the green
dresses."

"Thank you!" the stranger waves, then runs off.

The officer remains in place. "Energetic girl, isn't
she...?"

* * *

Akari's eyes open.

With a yawn, she rises, stretching herself. Looking over,
she smiles at a picture of an older Akane Saotome, taken two
years ago. "Good morning, Mother!" she kisses the portrait, then
stands up.

Most normal parents would be horrified to see her wearing a
see-through teddy and panties in lieu of pyjamas. Akari looks at
herself in the mirror, proud that at seventeen, she was so
beautiful...especially in the eyes of the man who was just
promised to her a week before. "Looking good!" she winks, then
proceeds to bathe and get dressed.

A half-hour later, Akari steps downstairs to the kitchen,
dressed in her school uniform. The smell of breakfast permeates
her senses as she smiles. "Good morning, Grandpa, Grandma."

"Good morning, Akari-chan," Nodoka Saotome smiles from the
grill. Still quite youthful given her years, Akari's paternal
grandmother has stayed in shape. Having moved in to help Akane
raise Akari, Nodoka remained when Akane disappeared, becoming a
surrogate mother for the practically orphaned child.

"Grandma, you should've let me cook today," Akari sits down
and begins to eat.

"Now, now, Akari-chan," Souun Tendou looks up from his
paper. "That's no way for a growing girl to behave, especially
after coming home late last night." The patriarch of the house
is now totally grey but still wry and muscular, imposing as a
legendary daimyo in his court.

Akari giggles, blushing. "Well, I almost got Hookoo-kun,"
she eats her soup.

Last night had been wonderful. Akari almost got her fiance
to go all the way with her in the park. Hookoo loved her as much
as she loved him, both anxiously looking forward to the day they
would marry and inherit the Tendou dojo. Some would say too
anxious, for both were becoming quite sexually active. It
surprised Akari that her grandparents allowed this to happen.
Souun had explained that when her parents courted, they were
sometimes cold and indifferent to the other, mostly driven by her
father's curse and her mother's stubbornness. Sometimes, Souun,
Genma and Nodoka wondered how Ranma and Akane ever married given
their differences. Akari had no complaints.

"A healthy relationship is good for a lasting relationship,"
Nodoka smiles as she sits, then calls out. "Genma!!!
Breakfast!!"

"Don't mind if I do!" an aged voice responds.

Akari looks right to see Happousai nibbling on some bread,
one of her bras wrapped around his head. "'Morning, Sensei," she
smiles.

The old trickster was not getting younger. Totally bald, he
still dressed in his panty-thief uniform. However, his booty was
slight this day; the bag was only half-full and it was already
seven-thirty. Akari always felt sorry for Happousai, as did many
others from her school. While the parents and grandparents
yelled and complained, chasing the old lech around whenever he
went on his panty raids, the younger generation allowed Happousai
his way...to a point; after all, teenagers had their pride, too.
The old teacher knew now not to push matters, although he
certainly appreciated the attention. "You sweet girl," Happousai
leans into Akari. "Going to all that trouble with Hookoo and not
succeeding in your quest! I wouldn't've let you off that easy
were I a young man!"

Akari sighs, feeling his hand caressing her bust. "Don't
squeeze, Sensei. I want them unmarked."

"You were saying?" he smiles, holding the lace brassiere she
had put on that morning.

Annoyed, Akari felt herself smiling. He had to teach her
that trick one day. "Enjoy," she sighs. "Going after my
crotchless panties, too?"

"C-c-crotchless p-p-panties...?!" the old martial artist
lustfully gags...

...then gets nailed with a sign! Akari shudders as a
ticklish feeling touches her heart, then smiles. "'Morning,
Grandma Saotome!"

Towering over everyone is a tall panda holding a sign: YOU
WEREN'T INVITED! A second later, Happousai flies into orbit.
"Help me...!!!" the old master screams as he flies away!

Genma sits beside his wife. "Crotchless panties?!" Nodoka
looks pale. "Akari-chan, honestly!"

"Well, I want to ensure that Hookoo can...come in without
too much trouble," Akari slyly smiles.

"Such an energetic lass!" Happousai appears beside her,
smiling. "Such a change from your sweet mother, Akari. It's a
wonder that Ranma never married Akane in the first place!"

Genma and Nodoka panic, trying to shush the old lech...just
as a shower of tears deluges them! "Oh...oh...oh...oh, Akane!!!"
Souun wails, gripping his hair and screaming to the heavens.

* * *

As the rain lets up, the stranger charges down the street
towards her goal. She wondered how she could have gone on after
the tragedies she had endured over the last year. However, the
rain always revitalized her. It was like being pumped up with
amphetamines; she felt as if she could conquer the world. Given
her abilities, she potentially could. The Masters had advised
her father to actually expose her to the drugs so she could
psychologically prepare to embrace Jusenkyou's awesome power. It
had been quite an experience even though most doctors would have
screamed "drug abuse."

Turning a corner, her eyes focus on the flat structure of
Furinkan High School in the distant mist. Smiling, she lunges
forward...then stops on hearing a harsh voice. "Hey, frosh!!!
What're you doing on our street?!!"

The stranger stops, looking into a cul-de-sac...to see two
freshman students trapped by a half-dozen older teens, dressed in
the clothes of other schools or ragged civilians. The older
teens are monstrous, the shortest still clearing a head taller
than she. Their leader could tower over Hiromi Yamazaki.
"Listen up, frosh!!" he snarls, spitting hashish-filled bile on
the ground. "This is **our** street! Ya wanna come through
here, ya gotta pay a toll!! Where's the toll?!!"

The stranger looks at the size comparison. The two freshmen
are about her height, without little in the way of exercise. The
male is quite cute, with wavy brown hair properly cut. The
female has side pigtails and freckles, just blooming into
womanhood. Seeing the mass and drug-induced rage in the eyes of
the seniors...yes, the stranger had experimented with drugs in
her training to study its effects on people...she concluded the
match would be quite one-sided. "Hey!!" she snaps. "Does that
mean me, too?!"

The seniors spin around, shocked at the challenge. The
shock turns to surprise and delight on seeing the stranger.
"Well, well, well!" the leader cackles. "Lookit here, guys!
Check out the babe!!"

The others cackle in delight, mentally undressing the
stranger. She seems neutral. "Care to take a toll from me?" she
hums.

"Our pleasure, babe!" a man advances on her.

The freshmen look scared...then wince as the sounds of
broken bones and flying bodies are heard! They look away until
the last body falls...then jolt in surprise on hearing the
stranger's voice. "You two okay?"

They look...to see the seniors crushed under a stone fence,
bruises all over their bodies. The stranger is unscathed.
"Um...ah...wow!" the man sighs, dropping to his knees.

"She's awesome!!" admiration appears in the girl's eyes.

The stranger smiles, then walks up. "You two attend
Furinkan High?"

"Um...yeah!" the man stands. "We're just starting this
year. I'm Futari Gosunkugi," he bows. "Class 1-2."

"I'm Hiroko Gosunkugi," the girl bows. "I'm also in Class
1-2."

"I'm Ranma Saotome the Second," the stranger returns the
greeting. "I'm looking for someone. I was told I could find him
at the school."

"Oh, we'll take you there!" Hiroko beams. "We've got to get
going!"

"Y-yeah..." Futari stammers. "Follow us!"

The freshmen run down the street. Ranma-chan leaps onto the
fence and races after them. "Wait for me!"

* * *

Akari arrives at Furinkan High School with a sigh. The
school, despite being a centre of martial arts excellence in the
Tokyo region, has not escaped the advancements of the last twenty
years. A new building housing an expanding computer department
sits beside the physical education centre. Already there are
many of the student body, including several Akari immediately
recognizes. "Spray!! Gel!!" she waves. "Good morning!"

Two teens wave back. Spray and Gel are near doubles of
their parents Shampoo and Mousse, except for the former having
black hair and glasses and the latter with mauve hair and clear-
eyed. "Good morning, Akari!" the former waves.

"How are you two today?" Akari walks up.

"We're fine!" Gel smiles.

Suddenly, a man's breath falls on Akari's waist-length hair.
"Hiya, gorgeous!" arms gently embrace her from behind. "What's a
fox like you doing in a dump like this?!"

Spray and Gel make themselves scarce as Akari leans back
into Hookoo Hibiki. "Waiting for you, handsome, what else?!" she
purrs as they kiss. "Where've you been?!"

"Beating up the dorks who're trying to take over the
streets!" Hookoo sighs, straightening his tiger-striped bandanna,
looking exactly like his father. "Brother, they're getting worse
by the day!"

"At least they won't get in our way," she purrs. "Hike up
my skirt."

They lean against a tree as Hookoo's hand work her skirt.
Soon enough, his hand falls on bare skin. "Eeek!" he gulps.
"Are you wearing...?"

"What do you think?" she purrs.

Hookoo pales...but before anything else can happen, the
incensed voice of another man is heard. "What, do my two eyes
deceive me?"

The couple sigh, then watch as someone in casual robes
approaches, bokan stick in hand. "Gouman, what do you want?"
Akari snaps.

"Fair cousin, it infuriates me that this lout would take
advantage of your innocence in this matter," the new arrival
takes a ready stance. "Stand you aside and I'll teach him
manners!"

"He's my fiance, Gouman...and he's your cousin, too!" Akari
counters.

The man passes a hand through his straight brown hair,
looking very much like his father Tatewaki Kunou. "Enough!"
Gouman snaps. "Hookoo, defend yourself!!"

The bokan stick lunges. Hookoo shoves Akari away, then
counters with an umbrella like his father's. "There are days I
really tire of you, cousin!" he growls.

"We shall see!" Gouman hisses.

The two duel just as a storm of other boys charges at Akari.
"Oh, no!" she panics.

"AKARI SAOTOME, WE LOVE YOU!!!!" the boys scream as one.

Taking a ready stance, Akari begins a systematic assault on
the stampede of hormonally-charged students, dressed in various
sports uniforms. Watching this from the vice-principal's office
is Nabiki Kunou. She absently shoves back her bust-length brown
sidebangs, then looks over. "Kunou-kun, come here, please."

"What ails you, my love?" Tatewaki Kunou appears. Unlike
Nabiki, who dresses in a power suit, looking very much the would-
be executive, the former kendo captain wears his traditional blue
robes, bokan stick in hand. The Kunous are surprisingly youthful
given their present positions as chief administrators of Furinkan
High School.

"Why did you goad Gouman into doing that to Akari?" Nabiki
points to the free-for-all outside.

Kunou looks. "It wounds me dearly to believe that your wise
father would permit Akane's beloved Akari to marry the child of
that pig who deflowered my beloved sister," he sniffs, still
incensed after all this time that Kodachi would fall in love
with, much less marry and have two children with, Ryouga Hibiki.
"I've taken it unto myself to locate a more pleasant man for
sweet Akari to marry."

"Um...yeah," Nabiki sighs, turning to watch the fun outside.
"Wish I could make some money off this."

Outside, the storm of boys continues as Ranma-chan, Futari
and Hiroko arrive at the front gate. "Oh, man!" the male
Gosunkugi gasps. "These guys are at it again!"

"What's with the slugfest?!" Ranma-chan looks back.

"Oh, they're trying to win the right to date Saotome-
sempai," Hiroko sighs...then realizes something. "Hey!! Your
name's Saotome, too!"

"Saotome?!" Ranma-chan gasps. "As in...Akari Saotome?!!"

The Gosunkugi children nod. "This is even better!!" Ranma-
chan cheers, then moves up to a staggering sumotori. "Excuse me,
but where's Akari Saotome?"

"Akari-san...I love you...!" he moans, then passes out!

Ranma-chan tries several more times to get the attention of
the lustful combatants. Every time, she fails...and every
failure pressures her temper into overdrive. "Oooh...I'll settle
this!!!" she growls.

Futari catches her backpack. "Hold this!!" Ranma-chan
orders.

The Gosunkugis, Nabiki and Kunou watch as a red-haired storm
blasts her way into the crowd trying to defeat Akari. Three
seconds later, all save Gouman stand, pounded into silly putty or
sliced down by the umbrella!! "That's enough!!!" Ranma-chan
snaps.

Not seeing her rescuer, Akari quickly leaps to Hookoo's
side. "Let's get out of here!" she hisses.

"Right!" Hookoo nods.

The couple retreats as Gouman takes a ready stance. "Hold,
interloper!" the kendoist growls. "How dare you interrupt this
sacred duel between the men of Furinkan High School and my sweet
cousin Akari?! I, Gouman Kunou, the new Blue Thunder of Furinkan
High, shall not stand for this!"

"Are you still spouting poetry, Gou-chan?" Ranma-chan turns
around, shouldering the umbrella.

For once, Gouman is at a loss of words. "What?!" he finally
gasps. "No one save sweet Akari and...oh, gods! Do my own two
mortal eyes deceive me?!"

Ranma-chan smiles. "It's been a while."

"'A while?!'" the kendoist walks up. "Dear cousin Ranma,
your gift for understatement has not disappeared in the eleven
years you've been gone!"

They laugh as they embrace. "We're seeing a family unite,
Futari!" Hiroko sniffs back tears.

"Y-yeah!" Futari gulps. "W-wish I had my camera..."

"Hey, why'd the fun stop?!" Nabiki walks onto the front
lawn. "Gouman, who is that girl?!"

"Look for yourself, dear Mother!" Gouman pulls away.

Nabiki stops on seeing her niece standing there. "Hi, Aunt
Nabiki," Ranma-chan giggles.

"N-n-Nikkou...?!" the vice-principal gasps. "I...is it
really you...?!"

Ranma-chan feels herself. "I think I'm me!" she hums.

Suddenly, a lustful cry is heard. "PIG-TAILED GIRL!!!!!!"

The missing Saotome daughter is then trapped by a wailing
Kunou. "Oh, how I've waited for your return!!!" the principal
wails. "My pig-tailed goddess, you have haunted me for so
long!!! Now, now, we are united once again!!!"

"***GET OFF ME!!!!***" Ranma-chan yells.

Kunou is back-flipped face-first into a tree! "Pig-tailed
girl..." he moans, sliding to the ground.

"Oh, brother, he never got it," Nabiki sighs, slapping her
forehead.

"Good thing Dad warned me about him!!" Ranma-chan snorts.
"Hey, Gouman, what's with these dum-dums?!"

"Ah, forgive me!" the kendo student smiles. "My father
charged me with the mission to ensure that your dear sister would
find a more suitable mate than that wretch Hookoo Hibiki!!"

"My sister and Hookoo dating?!" Ranma-chan looks surprised,
then left and right. "Um...where are they, anyway?!"

"They were here just a second ago," Nabiki looks around.

Hookoo and Akari are now in a bush beside the computer lab.
"Now, we can be alone!" she purrs, hiking her skirt up. "C'mon,
lover...let's dance!"

"Er...y-yeah...!" he stammers.

"Hey, Akari!" a voice speaks from above.

Akari and Hookoo freeze on seeing Ranma-chan hanging upside-
down from a tree, her position giving her a full view of her
sister's exposed buttocks! "You know, if you and Hookoo are
gonna have sex, at least wear protection," Ranma-chan crosses her
arms.

"What?!!" Gouman smashes a bush aside, staring in rage at
Hookoo. "You slime, how dare you try to seduce my poor cousin
Akari on school grounds?!!"

"Hey, you got it the wrong way!!" Hookoo waves the angry
kendoist back.

Akari looks at Ranma-chan in disbelief, then with an angry
cry, grabs her cousin's bokan stick. "You...you...you...YOU
PERVERT!!!!"

Before the wooden blade could land on her sister, Ranma-chan
flips herself away, landing on the ground several feet away.
"Hey, hold on a second here...!" she waves her sister back.

"I'll teach you to butt into my business!!" Akari howls.

Ranma-chan begins a strange dance as she dodges her sister's
thrusts and cuts. Everyone gasps in awe at the sisters fight.
"She's just as good as Akari-san is!!" a naginata welder points.

"She's better!!" a Zen archer nods.

"Now...will you...cut it...out?!!" Ranma-chan demands. "I'm
not...here to...fight you...Akari!!"

"You...you...you...you!!!" Akari snarls, jabbing again and
again at her sister.

"Cousin, control yourself!!" Gouman demands. "That's your
sister you attack!!"

"Cool off, Akari!" Nabiki adds.

The sisters lock eyes. Ranma-chan stops dodging. Akari
makes one final lunge...then halts it before it could strike
flesh. "You...you..." tears spring in her eyes as she staggers
towards her long-missing sister, "...why?! Why did you leave
us?! Why did you and Dad leave us?! Why...?!"

Ranma-chan falls to her knees to catch the crying Akari,
tightly embracing her. "I had to, Akari..." tears appear in her
eyes. "For your sake, for Mom's sake, for all our sakes...I had
to go..."

The two cry, tightly embracing each other for the first time
in eleven years. Everyone else remains respectfully silent...

* * *

To be continued...

(End of Part #1)

Ranma 1/2 Twenty Years Later: "Arrive, Ranma-chan! Saotome
Family Reunite!!" Part 2 of 3
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
fh9...@badger.ac.BrockU.CA
**** **** ****
Created by Fred Herriot and Mike Smith
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Based on "Ranma 1/2," created by Rumiko Takahashi.
**** **** ****

IN THE FIRST PART OF "ARRIVE RANMA-CHAN! SAOTOME FAMILY
REUNITE!!" the happy marriage between Ranma and Akane was broken
apart eleven years ago when the threat of the Old Man of the
Mountain loomed over them and their children Ranma-chan and
Akari. Today, Akari is a beautiful seventeen-year old girl,
cared for by her grandparents (Souun Tendou and Genma and Nodoka
Saotome), now engaged to marry her cousin-by-marriage Hookoo
Hibiki. Akane went missing sometime ago. The engagement between
Akari and Hookoo is something Tatewaki Kunou does not approve of,
hence he charged his son Gouman to organize the men of Furinkan
High to challenge and defeat Akari in battle for the right to
date her. This day, that challenge is halted by the returning
Ranma-chan, who has a tearful but not quite pleasant reunion with
her sister...

**** **** ****

And now...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!

**** **** ****

"Well, she doesn~t seem plagued with diseases or anything,"
Ono Toofuu hums as he finishes his examination. "It's nice to
see you back, Nikkou."

"Thanks, Uncle Toofuu," Ranma-chan smiles as the
chiropractor stands and departs the nursing station at Furinkan
High.

Nabiki walks up. "Well, now that we know you're okay,
Nikkou, mind telling us where your parents are?!"

"Yes!" Akari looks anxious. "Where's Mom?! Where's Dad?!"

Ranma-chan looks sad. Part of her dreaded her reunion with
Akari; she did not understand the awesome game that Ranma-chan
had been born to participate in. It was wrong to ruin Akari's
innocence, yet there was really no choice. "They were
captured...a year ago. I don't know what's happened to them
since."

"A year ago...?!" Akari pales. "Mom left a year-and-a-half
ago! Who captured them?! What's happened?! Where are they?!
Are they okay?!"

"I...don't...know!!!" Ranma-chan grits her teeth.

"Cousin, enough!" Gouman pleads. "Your sister has just
returned to us this day! Permit her a chance to catch her breath
before you plague her with questions!!"

"I...!" Akari looks defensive.

"He's right, Akari," Nabiki sighs. "Give Nikkou a time to
relax, then you can bug her about what happened to your parents.
Why don't you take her to the bathhouse to relax."

"Um...okay," Akari stands. "C'mon, Ranma...this way."

"Right," her sister follows Akari out of the nursing
station.

"What now?" Hookoo looks anxious.

"We'll have to wait a while," Nabiki sighs. "Meantime, I'll
call home and tell Daddy the good news...I hope."

* * *

"Here you go," Akari waves Ranma-chan into the bathhouse,
located beside the school swimming pool. "We just installed this
two years ago to allow the swim team a place to relax after
workouts."

"Nice," Ranma-chan sighs, then quickly strips out of her
shirt and trousers, revealing a well-toned body.

And no underwear as Akari quickly notices. "Sis, where's
your bra and panties?!"

"Huh?!" Ranma-chan looks confused.

"These things!" she pulls her skirt up to reveal her
panties.

Ranma-chan takes a closer look. "Are you hurt? I don't see
any bandages."

Akari looks mortified. "Do you mind?!!" she drops her
skirt, then bashes her sister in the forehead!

"Why'd you do that for?"

"I don't like people staring at me unless it's a doctor or
Hookoo!!"

Ranma-chan looks undisturbed. "Geez...what a prude!"

She walks into the steaming bath, slipping into the water
like she was born to it. "Ahh...what a relief!" she sighs.

Akari watches as her sister unwinds, obviously exhausted
from the journey from someplace she does not know...then her eyes
focus on Ranma-chan's nape. Was it her imagination...or was the
tattoo disappearing? "Huh?!"

"What is it?" Ranma-chan looks over.

What was going on here? "Um...nothing!" Akari shakes her
head. "I'll leave you alone!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Akari slips out of the bathhouse, more confused than ever.
"A disappearing tattoo?" she hums. "Why does this sound so
familiar?!"

* * *

The school day ends with students departing for home.
Ranma-chan and Akari walk home together. "The place sure has
changed since we were kids," the former looks around. "Dad won't
recognize it when he comes back."

"You mean you might know where he and Mom are?" the latter
looks anxious.

"Yeah," Ranma-chan nods. "The last time I saw them was near
the Ruquka Gie La near the Tibet-Szechwan border. But that was
over a year ago. Lord Kirin and the Lords of Luck are looking
for them now."

"You've got them looking for our parents?!" Akari gasps.
"Why haven't they found them by now?!"

"Because we're dealing with two million square kilometres of
territory that has to be searched!"

"Two million?!" Akari looks surprised.

"Hey, the Old Man could be anywhere!" Ranma-chan sighs.

Old Man?! Old Man of the Mountain?! Akari felt her blood
freeze. Was that the reason her father and Ranma-chan had to
leave? She had always been told that just as they were born, her
father had fought a terrible battle against the warlord Yung Shan
near the Chabubrun La in Tsinghai. While her grandparents and
her friends' parents did not mention the warlord often, there was
the hint that he could have survived his battle with Ranma
Saotome. Akari looks at her sister. Obviously, Ranma-chan
suspected what everyone else did. Perhaps she had seen Yung
Shan, fought against him. Questions. Too many questions. Wait
until she got home and Ranma-chan was united with her
grandparents. Then there would be time for answers.

Turning the corner, Ranma-chan does not react as an elderly
woman dumps water over her. Akari looks over...then her eyes
widen as the strange tattoo reappeared below her sister's nape.
"Umm..." she looks close.

"What is it?" Ranma-chan looks over.

Akari immediately looks embarrassed. "Er...ah...n-
nothing!!"

Her sister shrugs. Suddenly, Ranma-chan freezes. Akari
felt the curious tingle in her heart. She sees her sister
bracing herself, as if she was in a nest of thieves and she had
the keys to Fort Knox. Turning around, Akari smiles. "Hi,
Grandpa!"

Ranma-chan jolts, then spins around to see Genma standing
behind them in his panda-body. "'Grandpa...?'" she gasps, eyes
wide.

HOW WAS YOUR DAY? the panda raises a sign.

"It was okay!" Akari pulls Ranma-chan over. "Look who I
found."

The panda stares at his once-missing granddaughter in
surprise, then another sign rises. N-N-N-NIKKOU...?!!

"Hi, Grandpa," Ranma-chan smiles.

Tears suddenly jet from Genma's eyes as he bear-hugs Ranma-
chan, wailing with joy, grief and relief. Meanwhile, in the
Tendou dojo, Souun and Nodoka play go. Hearing the wailing
panda, both bolt up in surprise. "That's Genma!" Nodoka gasps.

"I've never heard Saotome sound like that before!!" Souun
bolts to his feet. "I wonder what's wrong! Saotome!!"

The two run to the front door as it slides open and Akari
steps in. "Hi, Grandpa, Grandma," she smiles.

"Akari, where's your grandfather?!" Souun runs up.

"Look," she nods left.

Souun and Nodoka watch as Akari's sister steps inside with a
crying Genma behind her. LOOK WHO'S BACK!!! Genma's sign
appears.

Nodoka pales while tears appear in Souun's eyes. "N-n-
nikkou...?!" he stammers, pointing at her. "Is it...is it...is
it really you...?!"

"Hi, Grandpa," Ranma-chan smiles. "I'm home."

Instantly, she is seized by Souun, who deluges her with
tears worthy of Niagara Falls! "Where's your parents?! Where's
your father?! Where's your mother?!!" Souun demands, then
shudders in pained grief as he runs away. "Oh, Akane!! Akane!!
Akane!! My little crimson dragon, where are you?!!"

"Grandpa Tendou's very...emotional, isn't he?" Ranma-chan
giggles, looking at Genma.

HE'S TAME TODAY, the panda visually responds.

* * *

"EH?!?! THE OLD MAN'S ALIVE?!?!?!"

Souun, Nodoka and a now-human Genma stare in disbelief at
Ranma-chan. She had just told them the story of how her parents
were captured in the mountains of eastern Tibet. "That's what I
believe," she sighs. "I didn't see Yung Shan although Dad showed
me enough pictures of the creep that I'd recognize him on sight.
But, the men who captured Dad and Mom said they were working for
the Old Man of the Mountain...and they hinted that he was still
alive. Supposedly, from what I gathered as I escaped, he's based
somewhere in either Tibet, Tsinghai or Sinkiang-uigur."

"When you escaped, you should've come straight here to tell
us!" Genma snaps. "Where've you been for the past year?!"

"No, Dad said **not** to do that!" Ranma-chan raises her
hand in objection.

"What?!!" Souun gasps.

"Dad drilled it into me every day of my training," Ranma-
chan sighs...

* * *

Images of Ranma training his daughter appear. "Nikkou,
always remember that if I'm captured, you're to head straight to
Jusenkyou!" Ranma repeats time and time again. "Remember, your
destiny is more important than me, more important that your
family, more important than anything else in the world!!"

"Y-yes, Dad..." Ranma-chan panted time and time again...

* * *

In the Tendou dojo, everyone stares disbelievingly at Ranma-
chan. "Dad made you promise **that**?!!" Akari gasps.

"Uh-huh," Ranma-chan nods. "Mom agreed to it, too!"

"A-akane, too...?!!" Souun wails. "Oh, Akane, Akane!!!" he
grabs his hair and yanks, running around the room like a
possessed madman.

"Why, that ungrateful...!!" Genma howls. "How dare he imply
that we could not protect our granddaughter?!! I get my hands on
him and...!!"

He is then buried under the living room table! "Dad was
trying to protect you, you idiot!!!" Ranma-chan snaps.

"Protect us?!" Akari gasps. "From who?!!"

"The Old Man of the Mountain, who else?!!" Ranma-chan points
to herself. "It's me he's after, remember?!"

"I didn't know!" Akari retorts.

"Enough!!!" Nodoka barks.

Everyone falls silent. "I'm sure Ranma and Akane had our
best interests in mind!" the Saotome matriarch declares. "We
have no right to do anything save respect their decision!!"

"But, still...!!" Genma growls...

...then gets judo-flipped into the pool! "But, nothing!!!"
Nodoka snaps as Genma re-emerges as a panda. "I don't want to
hear anything more!!"

YES, DEAR, Genma sighs.

"There's really nothing to worry about," Ranma-chan relaxes.
"Kirin and the Lords of Luck are looking for Dad and Mom now.
All we have to do is wait until they come pick us up, then we go
rescue them!"

"Well, that seems fair," Nodoka smiles.

Genma still looks upset. BUT...!

"Oh, hush, Genma!" Nodoka snaps.

The sign spins around. YES, DEAR.

* * *

"All moved in...wow!" Akari gasps.

Ranma-chan has settled into Nabiki's old room. She has
cleared out the drapes, fixed the furniture to her tastes and
packed her clothes away. Pictures now adorn the wall and her
nightstand. Everyone quickly recognizes photos of Ranma and
Akane, but not the others. "Who's the guy?" Akari indicates a
photo of a handsome eighteen-year old aikidoist.

"Oh, that's Koomori Kankookyaku," Ranma-chan sighs. "Dad
wants me to marry him."

"I've never heard of them," Souun hums.

"I have," Nodoka holds up a finger. "The Kankookyakus are
wandering aikido masters. Once in their lives, they have to
spend a year abroad training with masters of other styles before
returning to be acknowledged as teachers. It's said to build
character."

Genma laughs. "Ah, that's my son!" he beams. "He always
knew how to pick them! It'll be a wonderful marriage!!"

"Um...I don't want to talk about marriage now, Grandpa,"
Ranma-chan sighs.

"But..."

"Now, now, Genma," Nodoka interrupts. "Nikkou's exhausted.
She doesn't want to think about nice things like that just yet!"

"Oh, okay!" Genma nods.

"Wow!!" Akari sees a picture of Ranma-chan with a famous
mustached American martial arts master. "You trained with him?!"
she points.

"Uh-huh," Ranma-chan shows her passport. "I've been
everywhere. The States, China, Taiwan, North and South Korea,
the Philippines, France, Vietnam, Thailand, India, even Russia
and parts of Africa."

The passport confirms her statement. "I wish I~d been with
you," Akari sighs, awed by the extent of her sister's travels.

"Who's this?" Nodoka points to a painting of an ethereal-
looking woman shown dressed in a opaque gown on the seashore.

Ranma-chan looks sad. "I...don't want to talk about it."

Everyone notices her depressed look. "Hey, I got an idea,"
Akari moves over. "Let's go to the dojo and spar a bit. I could
use a good partner."

"Um...sure!" Ranma-chan nods.

Moments later, the two step into the Tendou dojo hall. It
has not changed save for pictures of Ranma and Akane having been
added to the shrine in the head of the room. The two slip off
their shoes, bow, then step inside. "I called some friends
over," Akari lights candles in front of her parents' pictures.
"Since you'll be staying here, you might as well get to meet the
gang. They may be idiots on occasion, but they're okay."

"Sure," Ranma-chan nods.

"I'm here!" Hookoo's voice calls out.

"Hookoo-kun!!" Akari walks over to embrace her fiance as he
steps in, carrying one of his father's umbrellas.

"Hi, sweetie!" he purrs as they kiss.

Ranma-chan sighs, but smiles as Hookoo introduces himself.
Next to arrive is Gouman. "I have come at your request, dear
cousin!" he declares as he steps inside, in robes with bokan
stick.

"Hi, Gouman," Akari smiles.

Spray and Gel come next, both bearing samples of their
parents' vast arsenal. "We're here!" the latter smiles.
"Where's Ranma?"

"She's right here!" Akari does the introductions.

Ranma-chan smiles as she greets the twins in near-perfect
Mandarin. Both are quite surprised. "We never really get the
chance to speak our own language since we were born and lived
here all our lives," Spray blushes, her glasses sitting on her
forehead. "You really sound native, Ranma."

"That's the armour you're talking to," Gel interrupts.

Spray puts on her glasses, realizing that she was not
talking to Ranma-chan. "Don't mind my sister," Gel smiles. "She
could never learn to wear those glasses straight!"

"Um...it's okay!" Ranma-chan giggles.

"We're here!!" a woman's voice announces.

"Come on in, Nishiko," Akari smiles.

Entering the room is a beautiful seventeen year old girl
with long red-brown hair in a ponytail distantly resembling Ukyou
Kuonji. She is dressed in a rhythmic martial arts gymnastics
uniform with all the necessary weapons. "Hi, Ranma-chan," she
smiles. "I'm Nishiko Peyton. Remember me?"

"Oh, that's right!" Ranma-chan giggles. "Dad's pen-pal did
marry Aunt Ukyou, didn't he?!"

"Yeah," Nishiko smiles...then her whip lashes out to snare
Gouman! "Going somewhere, Gou-chan?!"

"Hey!!" Gouman gasps. "Let me go, Nishiko! Let me go!!"

A tanuki statue crashes into Gouman's head, tossed by a
handsome red-haired man in a kempoist's gi. "So!!" he snarls.
"Trying to seduce my sister, eh, Kunou?!!"

"Wait, wait!!" Gouman waves his incensed assailant away.
"You got it the wrong way around!! You don't understand!! You
don't understand...eh?!"

"Hello, Spray," the man coos, having leapt over to lovingly
hold the Chinese warrior-maiden in his arms. "I've missed you."

"Kitakaze, cut it out!!" Spray tries half-heartedly to free
herself. "You know you can't marry me until you defeat me in
battle!"

Kitakaze looks incensed. "I, assault the woman I love?!!
Never!! Dad would hang me on the spot if I did that!"

Spray seems not to mind his attention to her despite what
she said. "That's my brother," Nishiko explains to Ranma-chan.
"Kitakaze's been trying to land Spray for a long time."

"Um...yeah!" Ranma-chan giggles. "Dad did say that Mousse
had a hell of a time trying to marry Shampoo."

"Okay, everyone!" Akari claps her hands to get their
attention. "I asked you here to help me see how good my sister
is! She's been everywhere you can imagine, so I hope you're
ready!!"

Everyone nods. Meanwhile, back in the Tendou home, Souun
entertains a host of old friends and relatives. "Finally, we'll
have Ranma-kun and Akane back where they belong!" Ukyou Peyton,
still stunning in her thirties and after two children and
maintaining the standards of the Ucchan, serves some of her
okonomiyaki to everyone else.

"It must be balanced however with young Ranma's information
about Master Shan's possible return," Cologne sips tea, seated
beside Happousai. The aged matriarch of the Nyu-che-zuu has not
changed in seventeen years.

"Agreed," Ryouga Hibiki grunts, gobbling down some of
Shampoo's chow mein. While his hair is flecked with grey, he is
still wryly muscular and insanely strong. "I had a suspicion we
weren't finished with the old geezer seventeen years ago even
after what Ranma did to him!"

"He's survived everything the Emperors, the Nationalists and
the Maoists threw at him," Mousse rubs his eyes, his glasses on
his forehead. "Don't worry, Ryouga. His accursed luck has to
run out sooner or later."

"That Kasumi you speak to, husband!" Shampoo snaps.

Mousse adjusts his glasses to see Kasumi Toofuu looking at
him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Kasumi. I didn't see you there."

"You should've obtained contacts long ago, Mousse," Kasumi
passes some sukiyaki to Kodachi Hibiki. She, while still quite
attractive, is starting to lose her features to the ages. "It
would make your life easier."

"I need an awfully strong prescription," Mousse chuckles.

"You should get combat glasses like George say!" Shampoo
sighs.

Ukyou's husband, a handsome red-haired kempoist in his late
thirties born and raised in Vancouver, had trained in a Tendou-
style school when he was a teenager before moving to Tokyo. A
pen-pal of Ranma's since both were children, he visited Furinkan
one day to meet his friend...and wound up enthralled with the
stunning okonomiyaki shop proprietor along the way. "Well, he's
been working at trying to get Spray's eyes corrected first,
Shampoo," George smiles. "It's all the better for her to keep
Kitakaze enthralled with those beautiful eyes of hers."

"What about *my* beautiful eyes?!" Ukyou playfully growls,
punching her husband in the side.

George mock-yelps in pain. "It no right to have maiden
marry man who not beat her in battle!" Shampoo shudders, sitting
down. Despite twins and the hassles of running the Nekohanten,
she has also maintained the physical beauty which made her a
favourite among local men when she was a teenager.

"Now, now, dear," her great-grandmother sighs. "We have to
adjust to accept other people's ways. Pay it no mind."

"Yes, Great-grandma," Shampoo nods.

"Where are the kids anyway?!" Happousai looks around.

"They're training with Akari to see how good her sister is
after all of Ranma-kun's training," Kodachi sips tea. Like the
other female cast of the classic series, she is still stunning,
having shorn her ponytail to make her a curious reflection of her
husband, complete with bandanna.

"Oh, they'll do fine...!" Souun laughs...

...just as a giant explosion is heard!! Everyone is blasted
down by the shockwave of air as smoke filters in from the
direction of the dojo. "What the heck was that?!!" Ryouga gasps.

Everyone runs out...to see the dojo now a pile of shattered
wood and buried bodies! The only one still on her feet is Ranma-
chan, who looks quite embarrassed. "I'm sorry!!" she wails. "I
always forget my own strength!"

"M-m-m-my d-d-d-dojo...!!" Souun collapses to his knees,
tears flowing down his cheeks. "My p-p-poor dojo...!"

"Are you sure she's not a Dojo Destroyer?!" Nabiki gulps.

"What did Ranma do with that girl?!!" George shakes his
head. "Teach her a new way of doing the bakusai tenketsu?!"

"Or the hiryuu shootenha!" Genma hums.

Cologne's eyes focus on Ranma-chan's tattoo. "Oh, so *that*
explains it," the matriarch quietly muses...

* * *

"I said I was sorry!!" Ranma-chan whines.

"Sorry?!!" Akari snaps as they walk into the bathroom.
"What were you trying to do?!! Kill us?!!"

"I got excited and I freaked out!!" Ranma-chan strips out of
her clothes, then walks into the bath. "Sue me!"

"You're lucky Grandpa Tendou was impressed!" Akari strips
and follows her sister into the bath. "Or you'd be paying for it
for the rest of your life!! I inherit this place when I marry
Hookoo, remember?!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ranma-chan slides into the warm water.

Akari watches as the tattoo fades from view. "What
the...?!!" she gasps.

"What's wrong?!" her sister looks up.

Akari points. "That's the third time I've seen that tattoo
appear and disappear every time you get splashed with water!!"

"Oh...?" Ranma-chan looks down, then realizes what Akari is
speaking of. "Oh! Oh, that!! Um...it's a long story."

"A long story?!" Akari looks confused.

* * *

"A disappearing tattoo?!" Souun looks surprised.

Akari has informed her grandparents about Ranma-chan's
mysterious tattoo. "Are you saying this thing disappears every
time she gets splashed with water?!" Genma looks concerned. "Hot
or cold?!"

"Hot water," Akari nods. "When it's cold, the tattoo
appears."

The three elderly kempoists hum at that revelation. "You
realize what this means, don~t you?" Nodoka crosses her arms.

"Undoubtedly," Genma nods.

"Nikkou...has been to Jusenkyou," Souun concludes. "And
she's fallen into one of the ponds!"

"But, she doesn't change like Grandpa Saotome does," Akari
notes.

"True," Genma adjusts his glasses. "Nikkou!!!"

"What's up, Grandpa?" Ranma-chan joins them, brushing her
teeth.

"Sit down, child," Souun sighs.

Ranma-chan sits. "Nikkou..." Nodoka breathes in, then look
anxious. "In your training, did you ever go to...Jusenkyou?"

"Uh-huh," she nods.

The three elders look very anxious. "Did you...did you see
the Training Ground of Accursed Springs itself?" Genma leans up.

"Oh, yes," Ranma-chan nods.

Everyone pauses, then Souun places a hand on her shoulder.
"Did you actually fall into one of the springs, Nikkou? Be
honest, now!"

"Nope," Ranma-chan smiles.

Everyone breathes in relief. "I dived into **all** of
them," she adds.

An H-bomb blast occurs!!!! "***ALL OF THEM?!?!?!***"
everyone screams.

"Sure," Ranma-chan nods. "Dad was cursed by the springs,
remember! Because I'm a child of one cursed by Jusenkyou, I'm
not affected, remember?!"

"Then, explain this!!" Akari douses her with cold water.

The tattoo appears. "Explain what?" Ranma-chan looks
confused.

"That tattoo!" Akari points.

"Oh, this," Ranma-chan looks down, then sighs. There was no
escape from this now. "I better show you, instead."

She stands, then walks onto the front porch. "Show us
what?!" Akari follows her.

Ranma-chan smiles as if she is about to reveal the
universe's greatest secret as she firmly takes both of Akari's
hands. "Come fly with me, Akari!"

"F-f-fly...?!" Akari stammers...

...then screams as gravity seemingly disappears around her,
the earth and the Tendou home dropping away from her feet at
dizzying speeds!! A moment later, Akari is propelled further
into the evening sky as Ranma-chan, unsupported by any visible
artificial means of levitation, drops away from her. Akari
shrieks in mortal fear as gravity seizes her again, pulling her
in a fatal dive towards becoming street pizza!

Before she could fall a hundred metres, Akari gently lands
in Ranma-chan's outstretched arms. The sisters look at each
other, the former frazzled by what she went through and the
latter laughing. "Relax, Akari! I've got you!!"

"Y-y-you got m-m-me...?!" Akari stammers, then looks down to
see Furinkan a half-kilometre below! "WHO'S GOT YOU?!?!?!"

* * *

To be concluded...

(End of Part #2)

Ranma 1/2 Twenty Years Later: "Arrive, Ranma-chan! Saotome
Family Reunite!!" Part 3 of 3
by Fred Herriot
450 Clare Avenue South, Welland, Ontario L3C 3B3 Canada
fh9...@badger.ac.BrockU.CA
**** **** ****
Created by Fred Herriot and Mike Smith
**** **** ****
Edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Based on "Ranma 1/2," created by Rumiko Takahashi.
**** **** ****

IN THE SECOND PART OF "ARRIVE RANMA-CHAN! SAOTOME FAMILY
REUNITE!!," Ranma-chan is found to be quite healthy after her
journey, then reveals that her parents have been captured by Yung
Shan, the Old Man of the Mountain. Akari also notices that
whenever Ranma-chan is splashed with cold water, her mysterious
tattoo appears, then disappears when splashed with hot water.
Ranma-chan soon demonstrates why when she reveals that she had
trained in Jusenkyou, falling into ALL ONE HUNDRED of the cursed
ponds. The effect becomes very apparent when Ranma-chan
demonstrates that she can fly without outside artificial means!

**** **** ****

Thus...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!

**** **** ****

"Sh-sh-sh-SHE CAN FLY!!!!!!" Souun howls as he, Genma and
Nodoka watch from the front porch of the Tendou home.

"What is she?!" Nodoka gasps. "A Superman?!!"

Suddenly seeing Akari fall, Genma runs forward. "I have
you, Akari-chan!!" he wails...then falls into the pool, emerging
as a panda!

A half-kilometre up, Akari is caught by Ranma-chan, who
takes her on a lazy course around Furinkan. "Well, what do you
think?!" the latter smiles.

"How...how...how...how...?!" Akari stammers, still frazzled
by the fact that her sister can fly.

"There were a half-dozen birds who drowned in Jusenkyou over
the last three thousand years," her sister explains as they
descend towards the Tendou home. "I can fly as fast as a duck
hawk, soar as long as an albatross and hover like a hummingbird!"

Landing, Ranma-chan places the shaking Akari on the ground,
then walks over to the large cherry tree. "Watch this!!" she
smiles...as one hand rips out the tree with unbelievable ease!

Everyone gapes as Ranma-chan throws the tree into the air,
then soars after it. Catching the tree, she lands, then places
it back in its hole. "She must be as strong as a bull elephant!"
Nodoka gasps.

Ranma-chan then dives into the pool, sinking to the bottom.
Everyone watches as the air bubbles leave her lungs...then
without change of skin colour, she takes in a deep lungfull.
"What is she doing?!!" Souun panics.

Ranma-chan stands, then exhales the water into Genma's face.
"Breathing underwater...like a fish!" Akari shudders.

"Those were just some of the tricks I can do now," Ranma-
chan breathes in after the water has cleared her lungs. "Step
inside and I'll show you something else."

Everyone moves into the living room. Ranma-chan closes the
door behind them, remaining outside. The four sit in the living
room as silence descends on them. Moments tick past. "What's
she doing?!" Akari tightly hugs her legs.

"This gets stranger by the minute," Souun shudders.

A feeble knock is heard. "Come in!" Nodoka responds.

The door slides open and a tall, aged woman shuffles inside,
dressed in homespun rags and a bonnet covering her head, a cane
in hand. "Can I help you, ma'am?" Nodoka stands.

"H-have y-you s-seen my gr-grandchild h-here?" the elderly
woman intones in a cracking voice.

"Um...no!" Nodoka smiles. "Did you see a red-haired girl
with a pig-tail outside?"

"Wh-why...she's right here," the old woman smiles.

Everyone freaks as the "old" woman yanks off her bonnet,
revealing Ranma-chan! "Surprise!!"

An explosion occurs!! HOW?!! Genma's sign appears.

"Simple," Ranma-chan slips out of the rags, then sits.
"Animals weren't the only people who drowned in Jusenkyou,
remember."

"Incredible!!" Souun gasps. "She acted so well, I was
fooled!"

"As was I!!" Nodoka confirms.

"Wait a moment, here!" Akari slams her hand on the table.
"How is it you received all these weirdo powers!!"

"She is the Heiress of Jusenkyou, Akari," someone speaks.

Everyone sees Cologne and Happousai standing at the doorway.
"Sensei!" Souun looks surprised. "What are you two doing here?!"

"We can explain everything," the Chinese matriarch smiles.
"Ranma here is the first Heiress of Jusenkyou to emerge in a
millennium."

"'Heiress of Jusenkyou?!'" Akari looks confused.

The two sit beside Ranma-chan. "Oh, yes," Happousai smiles.
"You see, the children of those cursed by Jusenkyou are granted
an extra boon if they desire to take it. It is said that once a
generation, one can return to the cursed springs and claim the
powers and abilities of all one hundred victims of Jusenkyou.
What you just saw tonight was a sample of how such power could be
put to use."

"Wait a moment," Nodoka holds up a finger in objection.
"You mean to say this power of Nikkou's...could have actually
been granted to anyone?!"

"Yes, but only *one* person in a generation of children born
of those cursed by Jusenkyou," Happousai nods. "In our case,
Ranma, Ryouga, Shampoo and Mousse. One of their children could
become the Heir or Heiress."

"Why...it could've been me!" Akari points to herself.

"Yes," Cologne nods. "Or Hookoo, Miwakuteki, Spray or Gel.
However, as we have long known, young Ranma here bears a distinct
resemblance to Master Shan's long-deceased wife. That made her a
far more tempting target than yourself or the others, Akari."

"That doesn't still excuse what Ranma did eleven years ago,
taking Nikkou away and leaving Akane and Akari behind!!" Souun
snaps.

"How would you like it if the power of Jusenkyou fell into
the hands of the Old Man of the Mountain?!" Ranma-chan counters.

The three aged kempoists pale. "I didn't think so," the
Heiress leans back. "And this isn't like the time Sensei took
you to China to fight the Lords of Luck, pretending this was a
possible move for world domination. With Jusenkyou's power
backing him up, Yung Shan could do anything!"

Silence falls over the room as the implications of what
could have happened finally sink in. "I see..." Souun looks
down. "An awesome power matched to excellent training and teamed
with one of the greatest evils ever known! Horrifying!!"

"Agreed," Nodoka nods.

Suddenly, Genma stands and walks out of the room.
"Saotome," Souun looks surprised. "What's wrong?"

The panda does not answer. "I'll go see what's wrong with
him," Akari stands and steps out of the room.

"Now, I understand why Ranma ordered you to proceed to
Jusenkyou after he and Akane were captured," Nodoka sighs. "If
you had fallen into the hands of the Old Man of the Mountain, who
knows what could've happened."

"I have actually heard of one Heiress succumbing to Master
Shan's power," Cologne puffs her pipe. "When the Guardians later
learned of her betrayal of the oaths an Heiress once takes on
acquiring her powers, the punishment they dealt her was...quite
severe."

Everyone shivers as a cold wind blows...

* * *

"Grandpa?" Akari leans into Genma's bedroom.

Restored to human form, the aged patriarch of the Saotome
family sits cross-legged on his bed, tears of shame flowing down
his face. "My fault..." he hisses to himself, not hearing his
daughter. "How could I've been so arrogant...?"

Akari steps inside, then sits beside her grandfather.
"Grandpa...?"

"I was so dedicated to teaching Ranma..." he ignores her,
"...dedicated to ensuring he understood the true meaning of the
martial spirit! How could I've blinded myself to the danger?
Why didn't I foresee what could happen? How...?!"

He falls silent as Akari reaches over to gently hug her
grandfather. "It's okay, Grandpa...no one blames you..."

* * *

The next morning, everyone save Ranma-chan is at the
breakfast table enjoying a quiet meal in the wake of the previous
night's revelations. Akari looks around as she serves food.
"Where's Ranma?"

"Nikkou's still washing, I believe," Nodoka sips her miso
soup.

"'Morning!" Ranma-chan walks into the living room brushing
her teeth...dressed only in her trousers!

Souun gags, nearly choking on his toast. Genma pays it no
mind as he reads the paper. Nodoka and Akari are understandably
shocked. "Ranma!!" the latter snaps. "Put a shirt on...eep!"

"Good morning!" the door slides open and Hookoo looks
inside...then freezes on seeing her cousin's well-endowed chest.

"Oh, hi, Hookoo," Ranma-chan brushes her teeth, acting as if
being topless was natural.

Hookoo faints, blood exploding from his nose! "Oh, ick!!"
Ranma-chan winces on feeling the hemorrhaging on her skin. "Stop
bleeding over me!"

"If you'd wear a shirt, he wouldn't've bled on you!" Akari
snaps.

"On a warm day like this?!" her sister looks surprised.
"I'd be more comfortable nude!"

Akari faints! Souun remains frozen in place, his state
being quickly noticed by the Saotomes. "It was simpler twenty
years ago when Ranma paraded around topless as a girl," Genma
sighs. "Just add hot water."

"How enjoyable," Nodoka sighs. "Souun, aren't you going to
eat the rest of that toast?"

The patriarch of the Tendou family remains frozen in place.
"Didn't Dad know how to raise that girl **as** a girl?!!" Akari
growls as she drags the half-conscious Hookoo into the living
room.

"Well, your mother was quite tomboyish when she was your
age," Genma chuckles. "Although not as exhibitionist as your
sister is now."

"Akane...Akane...!" Souun moans, tears flowing down his
face.

Everyone ignores him. "There, satisfied!" Ranma-chan
returns after washing herself and slipping on a tank-top.

"That's better!" Akari sighs. "Breakfast is on! I'm
heading out."

"Where to?" Ranma-chan sits down and begins nibbling on some
sushi.

"You'll see!" Akari drags Hookoo to his feet. "I'll be
back!"

The two leave. "I wonder what she has in mind," Genma hums.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Akari?" Yaiba Sokuryoku twigs one
of his moustache handlebars, looking at a picture. "This is
quite a change. It took you so long to grow your hair to the
length it is now."

Sokuryoku was the district's most popular barber. A
martial-arts master with several decades experience, he diverged
from his kendo studies to better utilize his skills in practicing
his passion, hairstyling. He was not just fast, he was fast and
efficient. Further, he could talk your ears off on any topic, a
trait that made him popular with the gossip-hungry high school
students who composed the majority of his customers. Akari looks
over. "I'm going to be heading out soon to rescue my parents,
Sensei. I might as well look the part."

"Oh, alright," the barber places the picture down, then
picks up a highly balanced pair of scissors and a comb. "I'll do
my best. One must look good when one is seeing one's parents for
the first time in years. By the way, did you hear about what the
St. Bacchus girl's gymnastics team did this time when they went
up against the Taian School in Tomobiki?"

"No, tell me," Akari nods, closing her eyes as the blades
lash out...

* * *

"I'm back!!" Akari calls out as she steps inside.

"Oh, I didn't know you went out, Nikkou," Nodoka walks
past...then stops. "What the...?! Akari?!!"

Akari smiles. "Like it?!"

Nodoka stares at her granddaughter for a moment.
"It's...um...it's quite radical," the matriarch giggles, then
looks upstairs. "Souun!! Genma!! Come down and see Akari!"

"What is it, Nodoka...oh, hi, Nikkou!" Souun nods as he and
Genma (as panda) step downstairs.

Both halt as they suddenly realize their mistake. AKARI?!
Genma raises his sign, eyes wide at the sight.

"Hey, I'm the brunette in this family!" Akari huffs with
mock anger, then smiles. "Ranma's the redhead!"

"Um...oh, my!" Souun giggles. "You two really are twin
sisters, aren't you?!"

"Did someone call my name?!" Ranma-chan steps downstairs,
then sees Akari. "Oh, you got your hair cut!"

"Like it?!" Akari smiles.

Silence for a moment, then her sister nods. "You really
look a lot like Dad, you know," Ranma-chan sighs. "He'll be
happy to see you."

Save for the hair colour and clothing preferences, the
sisters are now identical, right down to the number of knots in
Akari's new pig-tail. "Well, I want to look my part when we go
get Dad and Mom," she giggles. "By the way, when are we going to
look for our parents, anyway...?!"

Akari is answered by a clap of thunder, followed by the
drone of an engine. The sky darkens as a boat-shaped shadow
falls over the Tendou home. "Ask and ye shall receive," Ranma-
chan steps outside. "Kirin!!"

The balloon-ship of the Lords of Luck descends from the
heavens. At the prow stands their ruler, Kirin, accompanied by
his wife Lychee. "Ho, Heiress of Jusenkyou!!" the martial-arts
prince laughs, raising his trademark chopsticks in salutation.
"Success has finally smiled on us! Come...it is time to face the
ageless monster Yung Shan in his den!!"

Ranma-chan splashes herself, then takes Akari in hand and
soars aboard the balloon-ship. "Thank you for coming so soon,"
the Heiress bows to Kirin.

"As your father and I agreed years ago," Kirin nods, then
notices Akari. "Eh?! And who might this brave warrior be?!"

Ranma-chan does the introductions as a boarding ramp is
lowered by Ebiten to allow Souun, Genma and Nodoka aboard. The
prince of the Lords of Luck smiles as he gives Akari an
appraising look. "You are the spitting image of both your
parents, Akari," Kirin smiles. "Do not be angry at your father
for his decision to take your sister away. If you understood the
true power of the Old Man of the Mountain as I and the other
Lords of Luck do to our cost, the reasoning becomes as clear as
crystal!"

"Lychee!!!" Happousai screams as he bounds out of nowhere,
lecherously grinning as he gropes for her long skirt. "It's been
so long, my sweet! Come to my arms!!"

"No touch!!" she smashes him with a megaphone. "You never
learn, Happousai! Jasmine, sit on him!!"

The aged master is soon crushed under the weight of Lychee's
elephant Jasmine. Kirin's diminutive aide walks up. "Master
Kirin, Ranma's other friends have arrived," Ebiten bows.

"You guys came!" Akari runs over to take Hookoo in her arms,
having boarded with his father.

"We wouldn't miss this for the world," Hookoo laughs. "Mom
and Miwakuteki couldn't make it. Both're busy because of that
flap with Taian."

"If that shameless sister of yours didn't get lost along the
way," Akari kisses him. "Honestly, she's worse than that Seiteki
Ozuno from Tomobiki!"

"Could anything be worse than that?!" Gouman sighs as he
boards with his father, along with Mousse, Shampoo, Gel and
Spray.

"You're not going to walk out on me like that, are you, Gou-
chan?!" Nishiko suddenly appears, wrapping the young kendoist
with her ribbon!

"N-nishiko...!" Gouman gasps as his would-be girlfriend
embraces him from behind.

Out of nowhere comes her brother. "Touching my sister,
Kunou?!" Kitakaze growls, cracking his knuckles.

"Hey, hey, time out, people!!" Gel waves them down. "C'mon!
We~ve work to do and people to rescue! Relax!!"

Everyone calms down. "Kitakaze may be cute, but he's as
bull-headed as that Lan's idiot sons," Spray sighs.

"At least he doesn't transform into red-furred tiger-bulls
like those two twits do," Akari crosses her arms.

Kirin walks up. "Are we all here?!" he looks around.

"Ukyou and George couldn't make it," Ryouga sighs. "They
still have the Ucchan to run."

"Great-grandma stay, too," Shampoo adds. "We all here."

"Very well, then," the prince looks to his aide. "Ebiten!
Raise the sail! We're off to China!!"

"As you wish, Master," the diminutive spear-fighter runs off
to man the controls.

Everyone cheers as the balloon-ship turns into the sunset...

* * *

Days later, the balloon-ship arcs its way across the
plateaus of Shensi and Kansu toward the mountains of the Bayan
Kara Shan in Tsinghai and Szechwan. Its final destination is a
remote mountain near the village of Lantsien near the Tsinghai-
Tibet border almost two hundred kilometres from the location of
Ranma and Akane's kidnapping by Yung Shan's troops a year before.
The Lords of Luck take alternating watches in the crow's nest for
any possible traps awaiting them. A depressed Akari watches the
ground pass several thousand metres below. Just below the ship,
Ranma-chan soars alongside several hawks who have come to
investigate the nature of the curious aerial intruders. "Lucky
girl," she sighs. "I'm stuck to the ground and she can just fly
away from it all without hesitation."

"It is not always good luck," Kirin walks over.

Akari jolts in surprise. "What do you mean?"

The martial-arts prince watches the Heiress of Jusenkyou
play. "Your sister has not led an easy life. Your father
understood quite well the sacrifices she would have to make
before she could embrace the power of Jusenkyou and assume her
place as one of the world's great martial artists."

"But, it could've been any of us," Akari sighs. "Besides,
what about the fact that my sister looks like the Old Man's wife.
Giving her the power of Jusenkyou would just make her more
tempting for that old creep to come after."

"You were born the day your father faced Yung Shan in the
mountains to protect your sister's life," Kirin sighs. "Yes, it
is true that you could have become the Heiress, undergo the same
rigorous training that your sister has gone, travelled the world
and sought out the knowledge of all the great masters of a dozen
and more disciplines. However, it was your sister who directly
inherited the curse of Jusenkyou from your father. Had your
father fallen in battle before the spirit of Nyanniichuan fled
him, you would've been an only child and your mother a widow."

"That still doesn't explain why everyone went to so much
trouble," Akari sighs. "Why break my family apart?"

"It is hard to make you understand," Kirin looks down. "You
have never had to contend with Yung Shan. The man is a monster,
more blood-thirsty than Stalin and more evil than Hitler. Had
your sister perished, the Old Man would've soon discovered your
existence, not to mention the children of your father's friends
Hibiki, Shampoo and Mousse. Any one of them would've been
suitable to obtain Jusenkyou's power, that is true. In the
meantime, he would have rampaged over half a continent, made
miserable the lives of billions as he vented his anger on not
obtaining the **proper** child to become his pet slave...or
worse, his wife reborn."

Akari shudders. "By making himself and your sister
disappear, your father ensured that Yung Shan would've dedicated
his resources away from imposing his will on millions of
innocents in the mountains of China. That is not to mention
stretching his power as far away as India, Afghanistan, Russia,
Mongolia and Vietnam. Had he obtained either you or the others,
he could have become a new Genghis Khan, forging an empire of
misery, slavery, death and destruction which could've conquered
all of Eurasia and places beyond, plunging Earth into a new Dark
Age. That would've not done well given the growing galactic and
intergalactic contacts we presently possess."

"So by leaving Japan...?" Akari hums.

"Your father and sister diverted Yung Shan's attention away
from building his empire," Kirin concludes. "That gave the
Chinese government time to build its resources, gather its
strength. The time will come when the Maoists will arise and
move to strike down the Old Man of the Mountain. At the same
time, the remainder of Earth advanced steadily ahead, growing in
technology, culture and spirit so that the evil of those such as
Yung Shan could not return to threaten humanity with widespread
destruction on the scale of World War Two ever again." The
prince looks at her. "What is one family's happiness compared to
the destiny of a world?"

Nodding, Kirin heads below. Akari looks over the rail to
see Ranma-chan still playing with the hawks. Until her sister's
return, all she ever dreamed of was for her parents and sister to
return and they live a normal life as a united family. Kirin's
words added a frightening dimension to Akari's new world.
Somewhere in the vast mountains ahead was a man capable of
unspeakable crimes, ageless by normal mortal understanding,
thirsty for the ultimate power, a power Akari Saotome could
herself have inherited had events seventeen years ago not have
gone so well for her family.

Looking down, Akari watches her sister. Cologne had
mentioned a previous Heiress having fallen in disgrace when the
Old Man of the Mountain reached out with his dark talons and
snared her. The lesson was not lost on her. With great power
comes greater responsibility. Ranma-chan had been blessed with
opportunities to push herself, extend herself, reach out and take
in all the various martial art disciplines had to offer before
she went to Jusenkyou to claim her birthright. What would have
happened if it was Akari and if she had fallen into Yung Shan's
grasp? The answer did not please her.

"To there, but for the grace of God, go I..." Akari
whispers, a tear flowing down her cheek. No matter what, it
still hurt...

* * *

"There!!!" Lychee points, having assumed the watch in the
crow's nest with Shampoo. "I see the hill!!"

Everyone runs to the prow, seeing a slender, tall mountain
rise from the fog. It had taken them another day to get to
Lantsien and a half-day more to crawl towards the source waters
of the Mekong River and their target. The mountain's crooked
features present the feeling of a skeletal finger stabbing
accusingly to the heavens. "Yeah, this looks like a place where
that bastard would hang out!" Ryouga growls.

"I don't see any guards anywhere," Mousse adjusts his
glasses. "I've got a funny feeling about this place!"

"Could they've abandoned this place after you found it?"
Nodoka looks at Kirin.

"Possible," the prince grimly nods. "Yung Shan has hundreds
of bases scattered over six provinces that we know of. Heaven
only knows what he has that's still a secret."

"I'm going down to take a look," Ranma-chan mounts the
guardrail, then leaps into the foggy abyss.

"Nikkou, be careful!!" Nodoka calls.

"I'll be fine!" her granddaughter answers before
disappearing.

"Slow us down, Ebiten!!" Kirin barks.

"Yes, Master," the diminutive warrior adjusts the controls.

Silence falls over the scene as the balloon-ship shifts to
hover. A minute, two passes. "I don't hear anything," Mousse
looks around. "Then again, this fog's like pea soup!"

"Akane!!!" Souun cries into the fog. "Ranma!!! Are you
here?!!"

His voice echoes off a dozen mountains. Suddenly, another
voice echoes back. "Hey! Down here! Come on down!"

"What the...?!" Genma gasps. "That's Ranma!!"

"Ranma!!!" Nodoka cries. "Where are you?!!"

Suddenly, the fog parts, revealing a stable plateau a couple
of hundred metres below the ship's keel. Everyone sees a small
tent composed of fragmented building parts and canvas. Standing
in front of the tent's door is what appears to be a man waving.
"There he is!!!" Souun points.

"Hang on, son!!!" Genma grabs a boarding rope and leaps into
the abyss, rapelling down to the ground.

The balloon-ship descends as everyone braces themselves.
Genma lands in a deep pond some distance from the makeshift camp.
Emerging, the giant panda marches steadily towards the waiting
figure. "Hey, Pop!" the man smiles. "What're you staring at?!
It's me!"

Genma's eyes narrow as he looks left and right, then back at
the man. Ranma is still whipcord lean, with greying hairs in his
temples and his face weathered by years on the road. R-RANMA?!
the panda raises a sign.

"Yeah, relax!" his son laughs. "The Old Man's troops
vamoosed three months ago! There's no one here but Akane and the
kids!"

"Akane?!!" Souun appears in front of Ranma, grabbing his
son-in-law by his shirt collar. "Where?!! Where's my Akane?!!
Akane!!! Akane!!!"

"I'm right here, Dad!" Akane Saotome emerges, followed by
Ranma-chan. With her silver-streaked hair now past her shoulder
blades, Souun's youngest daughter has become more feminine.
Further, she has two bundles in hand.

"A-a-Akane...?!" Souun gasps, then wails. "Oh,
Akane...Akane...Akane!!"

Everyone sighs as the Tendou patriarch runs around, grabbing
his hair and screaming like a lunatic. "I see Dad hasn't changed
that much," Akane sighs, joining her husband and father-in-law.

"Yeah!" Ranma laughs. "I kinda missed the old guy!"

"Ranma!!" Ryouga runs up with everyone else. "Where's Yung
Shan's people?! We thought you were captured!!"

"Tripped outta here," Ranma thumbs west towards the Tanglha
Shan forming the Tibet-Tsinghai border. "Akane chases them out
three months ago."

"How?!" Nodoka gasps.

"Well, what do you think these are?" Akane smiles, showing
the bundles to everyone else.

Everyone gasps on seeing two sleeping babies. "Mom, you
mean...?!" Akari gasps.

"Yep," Akane nods. "You and Nikkou have two little
brothers!"

Genma shudders, then wails, showering everyone else with his
tears. "Boy, this is pretty disappointing, isn't it?!" Hookoo
ducks.

"Yeah!" Kitakaze nods.

The panda continues to wail as Ranma notices the daughter he
has not seen in twelve years. "Akari..."

Akari braces herself as her father walks up. "Hi, Dad," she
smiles, then crying, leaps into his arms. "Oh, Daddy, I missed
you!!"

Ranma sighs as he gently embraces her, feeling Ranma-chan
embrace him from behind. "I missed you, too, Akari. We all
did."

Laughter echoes from everyone else as they rejoice in their
reunion...

* * *

...not conceiving of the fact that they are being watched
through high-powered binoculars from a distant mountaintop to the
south. Cruel eyes narrow as a woman lets out a huff on seeing
her master's captives now on the road to freedom. An aide walks
up. "Mistress Fukushu," he bows. "Should we not go down and
capture the Heiress for the Master?"

"No," she hands the binoculars to him. "Master Shan does
not desire the Saotome brat anytime soon. We'll just have to
wait for another day!" Turning, she sighs. "Back to Jing Zheng
Shan!"

"Yes, m'lady," he bows as they leave...

*** The Beginning ***

**** **** ****

WRITER'S NOTES:

The third part of this story contains two references to
"Urusei Yatsura Twenty Years Later."

1) Seiteki Ozuno is the daughter of Sakura and Tsubame. By
2001, the former Shinto shrine maiden is now Principal of
Tomobiki High School. Her Western-occult trained husband now
teaches at Tokyo University. Seiteki is a wild, highly energetic
girl possessing an unsatiable libido. Her fondest wish is to
pillow her teacher...Ataru Moroboshi (who's married to Lum and
has four children by this time)! It is said that she has vowed
to pillow every boy in school before she graduates. Seiteki is
very well-endowed and is quick to strip out of her clothes when
she attempts to gain the attention of a boy.

2) By 2001, Lan has married Rei. They have three children to
date attending Tomobiki High School. Her two oldest are Lin and
Len, twin brothers who are in Seiteki's class. Both have their
father's polymorphing abilities. Their sister, Lon, is a
freshman at Tomobiki High. Lan dotes over Lon, ensuring that she
remains unfettered by all the weird goings-on native to that
school. To ensure that her innocence is not lost, Lan instructed
Lin and Len to beat up on any boy who so much as **touches** Lon.

**** **** ****