[Ranma/Tenchi][FanFic] Tales of Ranma and Achika Chapter 06

[Darwin Cruz]

Pug Productions
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Author: Pug
cr...@alum.rpi.edu
AIM: BattlePug
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Insert standard disclaimer here: A fan fiction
based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series, Ranma 1/2.
The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the property of
Takahashi Rumiko and her licensees. All characters
portrayed in this story are owned by their
respective creators and companies. I don't own any
of them. Please don't sue me.

Ver: 1.00 Draft
Ver: 1.50 Draft
Ver: 1.60 Final 3/28/2003

Special thanks to my proofreaders for making this story readable.
PVU "Paul" Thanks for you helpful corrections and amusing
comments.
Brian Palmer I bow to your superior skill in grammar and
punctuation.
James Merritt Much thanks for your insightful corrections.

Tales of Ranma and Achika

Father of the Prince

Chapter 3

Achika gave a content sigh as she felt the sheets next to her rustle
over as the warm body beside her got out of bed. She brushed the
sleep from her eyes and smiled seeing the blue-eyed man watching
over.

"Morning dear," her husband said with that boyish grin of his.

"Morning, Ranma," she said, admiring the way the sunlight
highlighted his bare chest. "You're starting the day late," she said
noticing that it was well past dawn, the usual time her husband
started his routine.

"I figured Tenchi and I could use a rest from practice this morning.
I think he earned it from last night," he said with a goofy smile as
he looked out the window where the still smoking wrecks of two
interstellar starships lay sticking out of the lake next to their house.
"What do you want for breakfast dear?" he asked her as he dressed
in a Chinese style shirt.

"Surprise me," she said playfully. She felt his lips on her cheek as
he kissed her.

"I love you, " Ranma whispered in her ear and then he was out the
door.

Achika felt her face flush. 'I'm like a school girl again,' she chided
herself. 'What would I have ever done without him?' she wondered
but the very thought scared her. Banishing her worries, she curled
up on his side of the bed, enjoying the still warm slept in sheets.

(=========================)
The Past
(=========================)

It was morning.

Ranma fumbled with his history book as he navigated his way
through the crowded school hall and studied for a pop quiz at the
same time. Unfortunately for him, the Anything Goes school of
study cramming wasn't as renown as its martial arts counter part.
As he paused from his speed-reading and tried to remember the
important events that had shaped the Edo Era of Medieval Japan,
he was stopped short as he overheard a group of girls talking over
by the water fountain, recognizing one of them immediately as one
of Achika's friends, Tanaka.

"Did you hear what happened yesterday?" Tanaka said excitedly to
the half dozen girls around her. She had a smirk on her face to
compliment her know-it-all expression as she divulged the latest
bit of gossip. She paused dramatically waiting till she had the rapt
attention of her female audience. Then when it seemed the teenage
girls couldn't take the suspense any longer, she spoke. "Achika
and Ukyou fought each other for Ranma-kun during detention after
school yesterday!"

"What? No way! Who won? I hope no one got hurt. Ranma-kun
is such a dream!" came the replies from the enthused group.

"Well, I'm not really sure about the details but I heard it from a
reliable source that they saw Ukyou running out of the building
crying," Tanaka nodded her head with a conspiring look. The
group of hens gobbled up Tanaka's little kernels of truth letting
their imaginations run uninhibited as the all started speaking at the
same time with their own theories as to what really happened
unaware of the pigtail boy watching them from around the corner.

'Ukyou was crying?' Ranma felt an uneasiness filling him. He
never wanted anyone he cared for to be hurt. But what else could
have he done? Ukyou was his friend and he loved her only as that.
When Ukyou and Achika confronted each other the day before, he
stepped in to keep the fight from getting any worse. He wouldn't
let his life become the chaos that it once was in Nerima, and the
one that he wanted to share his life with was Achika. He turned
back to the ongoing conversation before him.

"Achika beat Ukyou, no way! Ukyou is just so mature and cool,"
an admirer stated.

"But I though Ukyou was a martial artist or something."

"Well, Achika does study kendo with her father."

"I bet Achika clobbered her good," Tanaka stated confidently. "If
you ask me, that no good tramp Ukyou deserves it. I mean she was
trying to steal Ranma from her after all. If some hussy ever tried
to do that to me I'd-"

"You'd what?" a new voice asked sharply.

"Ukyou," Ranma looked up seeing the okonomiyaki chef appear
behind the group of gossips. Though Ukyou had given up
constantly wearing her chef's outfit, she still carried her battle
spatula on her back. The awkward weapon and the icy stare that
she was giving made her a truly imposing presence.

Tanaka had gone deathly pale and any words she was about to
speak were quickly muted as she found that her mouth had
suddenly gone dry. She felt a sickening churning in her stomach
as she realized that one again her mouth might have written a
check she couldn't cash.

"You were saying, shuga?" The grim look on Ukyou's face caused
the cluster of girls around Tanaka to dissolve like fog in the face of
a winter's gale.

"I... I..." Tanaka unconsciously took a step back as she found
herself quite alone.

Ranma finally took pity on the girl, and stepped out from around
the corner as if he had just come walking through, "Hey, Ukyou!"
he said waving to the brown haired girl, coming to Tanaka's
rescue. He just couldn't stand to see a girl in trouble.

"Ranma..." Ukyou said her eyes softened as she watch him
approach with a relaxed stride and that cocky look he had on which
always seemed to make her want to smile.

Tanaka let out an audible breath as he came up to them. "Hey,
Tanaka you'll be late for homeroom if you don't hurry. You better
get going," Ranma said giving her a meaningful look.

Tanaka nodded, some color returning to her cheeks though her
knees were still rattling. "Oh, yes! Uhh... look at the time...
Excuse, Ranma-kun," she quickly mumbled as she fled down the
hall practically sprinting as she did so.

"A damsel in distress and Ranma's there to the rescue. I guess
even witches need some rescuing now and again," Ukyou said
wryly.

Ranma embarrassedly scratched his head. "Don't mind Tanaka.
She's just a gossip and no match for you."

"She's probably running off to Achika to tell her that I'm within
ten feet of you," Ukyou growled.

"I think I'm safe. I'm not in any danger of being malleted. At
least I hope not."

"She better not!" Ukyou's face darkened slightly.

"Achika's not like Aka... other people," he finished awkwardly as
he tried to banish the image of a shorthaired, mallet-wielding
tomboy from his mind. He paused, taking a breath to gather his
thoughts. "Ukyou, if I hurt you yesterday, I'm sorry. You're my
friend... no, that's not right," shaking his head. "You're my best
friend and I don't want to lose you again like when my idiot father
left you behind. I want you to know that I'll always be there for
you no matter what."

The beautiful girl beside him tried to blink away the wet sheen
building up on her eyes. She did so with little success finally
giving in with an annoyed sniffle as she dabbed the corners of her
soft cheeks with the cuffs of her sleeves. After a quick breath, she
shook her head and cleared her throat. "You know Ranma, before
I met Achika, I always knew that I still had a chance of getting
you." A longing expression was on her face. "But you've
changed, I see it. Before a crowbar couldn't pry the feelings out of
you. But then... when I saw you looking at her..." She shook her
head. "Why couldn't have you been a complete jackass when I
found you so I could have pounded you into the ground and moved
on with my life!" she said glaring at him, unconsciously her hand
moved to the grip of her battle spatula.

"Um... sorry?" He swallowed, nervously eyeing the Teflon coated
weapon.

Ukyou looked at his helpless expression and couldn't help but let
out a laugh. "Baka."

"Hey!" he said indignantly but before he could say another word
he found himself in a soft embrace. "Ukyou..."

"I'll be there for you too, Ranchan, always..." she said pressing
herself against his chest, feeling the quickening rhythm of his
heart. The young woman would have given all she had and more
to remain in that secure warmth, but she knew she couldn't and
with all the strength she and some that she didn't know she had,
Ukyou pushed herself away. "...I'll see you around Ranma," she
said walking off.

Wordlessly he watched her go, a parting numbness touching him
as he was cast adrift in her wake. The morning bell rang and as if
being awoken from a restful dream, Ranma felt himself enlivened
with the fact that Achika was waiting for him, and with a sure
stride, he ran down the hall for class.

(=========================)
The Present
(=========================)

Tenchi woke up slamming his hand down on the clock buzzer. He
had been having the most wonderful dream. Life was normal.
There were no ancient demons trying to kill him, no princesses
trying to capture him, and no starships dropping out of the sky with
lasers blazing threatening to incinerate him. It was just a plain old
dull day at the shrine. If only that were the case.

Pulling off the covers, Tenchi got ready for a new day. Before he
could get out of bed and put his slippers on, the air above him
blurred as a cyan-haired girl materialized from thin air. Wearing a
blue striped gown, her golden eyes blinked at him happily.
"Morning Tenchi," she cooed from overhead as she floated down
from above, waffling to and fro like a falling leaf finally coming to
rest on his chest.

"Ryoko! What are you dong here?" he exclaimed gawking. His
mind still groggy from waking up tumbled over itself as the cute
girl curled up next to him. She purred quietly rubbing up close as
he vainly struggled to stop up a nosebleed.

"Hmm? I just wanted to help get you ready for breakfast. I hear
that it's the most important meal of the day and you look good
enough to eat," she said huskily, rolling up onto a sitting position
top of him suddenly pinning his arms to his side.

Tenchi's eyes widened realizing the predicament he was in.
"Ryoko, please let me up," he pleaded, squirming oblivious to the
fact that the demoness grew more restless watching him struggle.
He tried to get up but found himself held down by her superhuman
strength. His eyes bulged as their faces closed together and he felt
her breath on his lips.

"Don't worry Tenchi, I won't bite you... yet." Licking her lips the
space pirated slowly moved in to take her booty. Just as their lips
were about to meet the air around them crackled with energy and
wooden pegs shimmered into existence surrounding the two.

"What?" Ryoko look up, quite annoyed at the disturbance.
Turning, she found a fuming purple-headed girl standing at the
doorway. The blazing look in her eyes could have melted steel.

"Ryoko, what are you doing to Tenchi-sama!" Ayeka demanded.

"Isn't it obvious? Tenchi and I are proving our love for each other.
Isn't that right Tenchi?" said looking down at him. Any protest the
poor boy could muster was muffled as her hand cupped over his
mouth. Her other appendage was busy exploring the lower regions
of her helpless captive and lad fainted due to blood loss from a
burst coronary.

"You will unhand Tenchi-sama this instant!" Ayeka said in
shocked horror in what was happening.

"Or what?" Ryoko challenged.

Not bothering with a reply, Ayeka just hardened her look. Through
the force of her will, the floating pegs sparked to life discharging
their power. Expecting this, Ryoko merely teleported from the
affected area reappearing a few feet away. Unfortunately for
Tenchi who lacked her ability, he was left stranded taking the full
brunt of the shock therapy.

"Aaaaarrrrggggg!!!" The pillows exploded around him and the
poor boy was lit up like a Christmas light. He felt back onto the
bed with his hair smoking. "Why me?" Tenchi said weakly.

"Tenchi-sama!" the princess gasped in horror at the mistake.
Quickly, she pulled back the mini-guardians from the dazed boy.

The two girls looked down at Tenchi as a whiff of smoke drifted
up from his hair. They turned toward each other.

"Nice one, Ayeka," Ryoko said smugly.

"This is your fault!" Ayeka accused her.

"My fault?!?! You're the one who deep-fried him!"

"How dare you blame this on me! If you hadn't been forcing
yourself on him from the beginning, none of this would have
happened!" she said through her teeth.

"Why should you care? Oh, I get it! You're just jealous that he
likes me better than you!"

"Him, pick a criminal like you? I think not. Tenchi-sama has
more honor than that!"

"Oh yeah? Well, why don't we ask him then," Ryoko challenged.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Tenchi," Ryoko began.

"Tenchi-sama," Ayaka said turning. And the two were met with
an empty, smoldering bed.

"Where did he go?" The two blinked.

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

Sasami shyly made her way through the alien house. Being in a
new place was a little scary for the tiny princess. For as long as
she could remember it had only been her and Ayeka growing up
together. Their royal status kept them apart from other children
their age, and wherever they were, they had always been taught to
maintain the cold, ridged formality expected of royalty. The one
person that the two sisters could draw warmth from was their
mother, the Empress Misaki, who constantly broke all forms of
propriety as she outrageously fussed over her two daughters
practically reverting to the carefree nature of child herself.

Though Sasami shared her mother's bubbling nature, and Ayeka
grew into the more stoic figure of their stone-faced father, the two
sisters had always shared an intimate closeness with one another, a
bond that strengthened as they traversed the stars in search for their
lost brother, Yosho.

But Ayeka's personality became more severe through the years as
she hid behind her unyielding royal façade, protecting herself from
the growing emptiness in her heart. Sasami worried for her sister
seeing how she kept her feelings bottled up. She helped as best she
could by a simple hug or an elaborate practical joke, anything to
make Ayeka forget even for an instant that she was a princess, and
instead a girl who was allowed to laugh, cry or get angry.

It had been one such practical joke that she had sent Tenchi on to
sneak into Ayeka's room and steal her headdress from her. The
following chaos induced the lively reaction from Ayeka that she
expected and in short caused Sasami to have one of the most
exciting adventures of her life, but her little escapade came with a
price and now they were stranded here on earth. Guiltily, Sasami's
eyes saddened knowing that it was partially her fault.

Though Ayeka moaned the loss of her ship, Sasami knew the true
reason for her sister's sadness. Yosho, their brother was dead.
While they had spent ageless slumber in cold sleep, their brother
had lived his life and passed on, leaving his legacy behind in the
form of the blue-eyed pigtail boy, Tenchi. At some unannounced
point, Ayeka had appointed herself Tenchi's defender from
Ryoko's advances. Ayeka explained that she couldn't allow
Yosho's line to be corrupted by the demoness, at least that was the
excuse she used. Sasami knew better though even if her sister
wasn't ready to accept it herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted, as a pigtailed man made his way
down the stairs suppressing a morning yawn as he did so. "Hey,
you're up early," commented Ranma as he rolled his neck to get
rid of the morning stiffness. He noticed the somber expression on
the girl's face. "Is something wrong Sasami-chan?"

"N-No, nothing," she answered shaking her head a bit too hastily
to be sincere.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He sat down on the couch and
motioned for her to do the same. She tentatively did so though no
words cam from her mouth. Ranma bit his lip nervously wondering
if he had gotten himself in over his head. "You know I've never
met an alien before," Ranma began. "I never thought they'd look
as cute as you."

Sasimi couldn't help but blush at the complement. She saw the
kind smile on his face and couldn't help but giggle.

"What's you're planet like?" Ranma asked, hoping to draw more
out of the girl. "You call it Jurai, right?"

Sasami nodded. "It's very beautiful," she said happy to be on
familiar ground. She described the vast stretches of open green,
the spiraling towers within the capitol that seemed to touch the sky,
and the awing splendor of the royal palace it self. "My governess
always go so angry at me because I always ran away and hid from
her," she responded mischievously.

Ranma smiled, letting her talk.

"I knew all the best hiding places too! Once Ayeka got so scared
when she couldn't find me that she ordered the palace guards to
find me or else!" Sasami giggled. "I got in a lot of troubled when
mother finally found me in the nursery hiding in one of the trees...
mother was so angry..." Sasami's head drooped down, the energy
seeming to have been drained from the girl.

"You miss your mother, don't you, Sasami-chan," Ranma stated,
fondly touching the homesick girl's chin.

She nodded. "What if I never see her again?" There was a touch
of fear in her voice.

"She found you once, didn't she? I think there's a pretty good
chance that she'll find you again." She began to perk up with his
words of encouragement. Ranma smiled as he continued, "Until
then would it be alright if Achika and I looked after you and
Ayeka?" he said gently. "I'm sure Tenchi wouldn't mind having a
little sister to tease."

"R-Really?" A smile began to dawn on her cherub like face and
soon strong arms cradled her in a gentle embrace. Sasami could
barely remember what it felt like to be part of a real family again.
She had forgotten how good it felt.

"Come on, would you like to help me make breakfast?" He stood
up making his way to the kitchen. Sasami's face brightened up as
Ranma motioned for her to come over. He was already pulling
out the various pots and pans from the cupboard along with
ingredients that they would need from the fridge and the pantry.

"But I gotta warn ya though, I'm sort of an odd cook." And to
punctuate his sentence he took one of the large bowls and flipped it
into the air and caught it on his finger spinning.

"Ah..." Sasami's eyes widened and clapped her hands in applause.

"It's a bit more interesting this way don't you think?" Ranma
winked as he began a complicated juggling routine with pots, pans,
knives and anything else that was handy.

"Um hum!" She nodded, her eyes warming up as she so.

"Hm, what should we start on first? I was thinking of making
omelets." Ranma began. He was glad to see her perked up. "Let's
make some omelets then. We'll need some eggs and vegetables.
Achika likes mushrooms too."

"I can wash them," Sasami said darting into the refrigerator and
picking out what they needed.

Ranma nodded, then selecting a ripe tomato and a large mushroom.
Pulling out a knife, Ranma said, "Better stand back Sasami-chan."

She nodded and scurried over to the end of the counter her curious
eyes watching intently over the table's edge. With the toss of his
wrist and a few quick slashes the sliced produce fell into a waiting
bowl in evenly cut squares. "Wow how did you do that?"

Ranma laughed, "Anything Goes School of martial arts cooking,"
deftly twirling the knife in between his fingers.

"Can I learn something like that?" she asked her eyes were wide.

He shrugged. "Hm, don't see why not. It might be difficult
though, are you sure that you'd be up for it?"

"Um-hm," Sasami said nodding her head emphatically.

"Let's get started then," Ranma said.

Sasami blushed seeing the smile on his face.

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

The slightly cooked boy scrambled down the stairs gasping for
breath. "What did I do to deserve this?" The irony of it was that
before he had wished to have a little more excitement in his dull
life. The waking of an ancient demon, the visitation of two alien
princess, and a pair of spaceships crashing into his back yard was
definitively more than he bargained for.

Tenchi shook his head trying to think. His life had gotten so
complicated. He wondered if he would even make it through the
day. "I'm just-over reacting. Everything will look better after a
good breakfast," he told himself.

He made his way to the kitchen opening the door. Looking
forward to a mundane bowl of cereal, he was instead greeted by
the sight of a butcher's knife flying straight towards his head. His
years of training saved his life as he barely ducked down in time as
the blade lodged itself into the door with a thwack, its handle
vibrating with a low hum. Tenchi sank down to the floor clutching
his chest, shaking from his impromptu haircut.

"Oops! My hand slipped," Sasami exclaimed.

"You'll have to be more careful next time, Sasami-chan," Ranma
said patiently as he walked over to the door and pulled out the
knife, twirling it in his fingers. "Well Tenchi, what do ya want for
breakfast?" he asked with a smile.

Tenchi face-faulted. 'Why me?'

Delicious smells from the kitchen slowly made their way through
the rest of the house. At an unannounced signal, everyone started
gathering into the dining room for the morning meal.

Omelets, steamed rice and bowls of miso were there for the taking
and Sasami proudly served everyone with a smile. Tenchi ate
hardily, though careful to mind his manners. Katsuhito read his
paper and sipped his tea. Ranma wolfed down his food in gulps
with Achika slightly frowning. Even after twenty years of
marriage she still hadn't been able to break all of her husband's
bad habits. With a resigned sigh she started her meal, enjoying it
nonetheless. Even Ayeka, still miffed from the morning's events,
found herself feeling better after a spoonful of the rich miso broth.

It was Achika who noticed that someone was missing at table.
"Has anyone seen Ryoko?"

"Not since this morning," Tenchi replied. Everyone else shook
their heads except for Sasami.

"I saw her come down when I was setting the table," the little girl
said. "Ryoko said that she needed some fresh air and then went
outside. I hope she comes back soon before all the food is gone."

"Humph! Serves her right to miss this meal," Ayeka said jabbing
her rice with her chopsticks.

As if on cue Ryoko came into the room. The mischievous look on
her face was quickly replaced with a sickly expression and she
held her hands over her stomach. She sat down at the table but
didn't touch anything.

"Ryoko is anything wrong, dear?" Achika asked, eyeing the girl
expectantly as she dabbed her lips with the corner of her napkin.
Catching the brief smug look on the girl's face, Achika knew she
was up to something. She was quickly learning about the 'demon'
that had been imprisoned within the cave those many years ago.

The space pirate nodded. "I haven't been feeling well all morning.
My ankles feel swollen, and I feel light headed. The very sight of
food makes me sick." She finished speaking just as her cheeks
puffed out and she made a mad dash for the bathroom. Gagging
noises were heard within.

"Oh, I hope Ryoko starts feeling better soon," Sasami said.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Tenchi asked.

"I don't think it's too serious," Achika said. "I think we have
some medicine in the cupboard though."

Katsuhito nodded his head in agreement. "The nausea should pass.
In fact I remember Achika coming down with the same symptoms
when she became pregnant. Morning sickness I believe they call
it."

"Ah! Ryoko's going to have a baby?" Sasami said excitedly. The
room instantly went silent. Even Ranma was halted in mid chew.
All eyes turned toward the bath where grunting noises were heard
followed by some groans and murmurs.

'No... it can't be..." Ayeka thought as her mind went into
overdrive as to the consequences if turned out to be true.

All eyes focused on the cyan-haired girl as Ryoko came out of the
bathroom. A much-relieved expression was on her face and in her
arms was a bundle wrapped in a towel.

"Ryoko, is it true?" Sasami asked elated. "Are you going to have a
baby?"

The space pirate nodded, cooing gently to the bundle in her arms
talking in undecipherable babble. With a dramatic flourish, she
exposed the contents within. "Ta-da!" She said presenting a black
shiny orb to the group.

"Wow!" Sasami said jumping up to examine the bundle. Ryoko
unwrapped it carefully and revealed a black shiny egg the size of a
small melon.

"Be careful holding it." Ryoko gently handed off her bundle of joy
to the smaller girl who accepted it eagerly with "Ooss and Ahhs".

"Who's the daddy?" Sasami asked, seeing her elongated reflection
on the glossy surface of the egg. She held it up to her ear, trying to
listen inside.

"Why, Tenchi of course," Ryoko said giving the boy a sultry look.

There was a sudden lull before the storm, and then came the
thunder.

"Tenchi's the daddy?!?" Sasami exclaimed.

"Tenchi-sama, how could you!" Ayeka said turning her hurt eyes
to the boy next to her then to Ryoko. The veins in her neck started
to bulge and her whole body was surrounded by a blue aura as she
focused on the space pirate. Her anger flared as thoughts raced
through her mind. 'First you took my brother Yosho away from
me and now you dare take my Tenchi! Wait... my Tenchi?'
Conflicting emotions held her rash actions in check as the accused
young man tried to defend himself.

"B-but I didn't! We never... Ryoko and I ... I swear!" Tenchi
floundered with the words having inherited his father's gift of
eloquence.

"Tenchi, you'll have to be more responsible now. You have a wife
and child to support," his grandfather said solemnly. Next to him
Ranma was turning blue choking on his food.

Achika shook her head sadly. "I was hoping you would at least
finished college, Tenchi. But father's right, you have your own
family to support now you'll need a job to do that." She hid her
smile behind her napkin, though she chided herself for teasing her
son so. At least this experience would make him more cautious in
the future. Keeping an eye on Ryoko would definitely be a
handful.

"But it's not mine! You've got to believe me! I-I don't even know
how it's possible! We never... well you know..." Tenchi said
desperately, completely missing the amused expression on his
mother's face.

"She is an alien, Tenchi. Her anatomy probably functions
differently compared to humans," his grandfather rationalized.

"What are you going to name your baby, Ryoko?" asked Sasami.
"How about Tenko? Tenchi and Ryoko put together?"

"Tenchi, don't you want to hold our baby?" Ryoko asked
affectionately taking the bundle from Sasami and offering it to him
in a motherly gesture.

"Tenchi-sama, how could you?!?" Ayeka's jaw was set and she
struggled to maintain a hold on the emotions raging inside her. It
was a battle that she was losing.

"I'm telling you, it's not mine!"

"You mean you don't want to hold our baby?" Immediately her
eyes glossed over with a liquid sheen and her lower lip trembled as
a hurt expression came onto the cyan haired girls face.

"W-what? T-that's not what I meant," Tenchi babbled, taken
aback from the golden doe like eyes which looked up at him
pleadingly. He felt his resolve crumble as the crocodile tears
touched the girl's cheeks. He barely put up a struggle as Ryoko
pushed the egg into his hands and he sat there in defeat cradling
the bundle of joy with a bewildered look on his face. He just
couldn't stand to see any girl hurt much to the delight of the space
pirate.

"Tenchi, you mustn't ignore your responsibilities," Katsuhito
grinned approvingly. He turned and gave his choking son-in-law a
swift slap on the back. Ranma fell forward on the table finally
managing a dry swallow.

"I guess that means that you'll have to get married now," Ranma
said scratching his head. "Kids grow up so fast nowadays. You
can do the ceremony, right, old man?" He said turning to his
father-in-law."

The Shinto priest nodded. "We'll have a nice quiet one like, yours
and Achika's."

"You know Achika, this means you're a grandmother now,"
Ranma said grinning at his wife.

Achika said nothing simply shooting her husband a dark look.

Ranma shivered, and quickly went back to shoveling food into his
mouth.

"No! I won't believe it!" Ayeka said shaking her head violently,
her eyes shut tight as if trying to blank out the entire event from
her mind.

"Why should you care what Tenchi does in his free time?" Ryoko
said smirking. "A prim and proper princess like yourself would
never be bothered with a lowly commoner anyhow. I was right
wasn't I? You're jealous!" Ryoko said with a vicious grin.

"Give me that egg!" the Jurai princess yelled as a floodgate of
irrational anger burst open. "I'll prove that this isn't Tenchi-
sama's baby!" She grabbed onto the egg, taking it before a
surprised Tenchi could react.

"Ayeka-san!" Tenchi exclaimed, only to be pushed back from the
princess blinded by the consequences of her actions with
unchecked rage.

"W-Wait! You'll break it!" Ryoko shouted immediately clamoring
for the ebony orb. She flew up trying to take back her egg from
Ayeka. The two fought for contention, manhandling the fragile
sphere in their fumbling hands as the rest of the table could only
watch with nail biting anxiety at the recklessness the two young
women displayed.

"No, you're playing too rough with, Tenko!" Sasami clutched her
hands to her mouth, nervously watching the struggle unfold.

"Let go!" Ayeka snarled.

"No! You let go!" Ryoko countered. The two each gave one more
furious tug and the egg bobbled out of their hands heading straight
to the floor."

"Tenko!" Sasami screamed.

"My great-grand-child!" Katsuhito seconded.

The egg hit the floor surprisingly remaining unbroken as it
proceeded to roll under the table finally coming to a stop at
Ranma's feet. It wobbled for a moment and then fractured as a
crack ran along the smooth black surface. The pigtailed man
blinked.

"You broke it..." Sasami moaned in a distressed voice as her
hands cupped her watering eyes not wanting to see the shattered
pieces on the ground.

"Ryoko..." Tenchi said seeing the cyan haired girl just stood there
with mouth agape in shock.

Ayeka held her head down in shame what ever was left of her
anger quickly drained transforming itself to a deep-seated guilt.
She looked at her hands wondering how she could have acted so.
She didn't feel much like a princess at that moment.

"Ryoko-chan, I'm sorry," Achika said going over to comfort the
girl.

It was then that Ranma noticed the egg twitching. "Hey, it
moved!" He leaned down getting a closer look at the broken shell.
"Hey little fella, are you ok in there?" he asked. He was answered
with a audible pop as a pair of paws punched their way out
followed by a set of floppy ears and a whiskered face! "Cat!" he
exclaimed leaping back in terror.

"Miya!" Ryo-ohki exclaimed.

"Tenchi, she looks just like you!" Sasami said excitedly!

"Sasami-chan..." Tenchi said pleadingly.

"Ryo-ohki!" Ryoko cooed as she picked up the cabbit and held it
tenderly in her arms. The cabbit wiggled its paws in the air as
Ryoko rubbed her little belly much to the purring delight of Ryo-
ohki.

"Wait a moment!" Aykea said biting off each word. "Ryo-ohki is
the same name of your starship!" she declared, vehemently
pointing at the accused cabbit. "That... That thing can't possibly
be Tenchi-sama's child, especially by you!"

Ryoko simply shrugged knowing the jig was up. "Well, I'm found
out. Ryo-ohki just needed a little time to regenerate herself."

"So I'm not a father? Thank Kami-sama!" Tenchi said collapsing
to the floor a nervous wreck.

"You could if you wanted to be, Tenchi!" Ryoko appeared,
materializing in his lap much to the disgust of Ayeka, who was
being restrained by Sasami having had clamped her arms around
her big sister's waist struggling to hold back Ayeka and her
homicidal urges.

"I'm not quite ready for fatherhood yet," Tenchi stammered
realizing he was looking directly at the perfect mounds of Ryoko's
chest. She casually set Ryo-ohki on the ground and wrapped her
flowing arms around his neck, snuggling in close. "R-R-Ryoko,
w-what are you doing?!?!" Tenchi's eyes bulged, helpless against
Ryoko's advances.

Meanwhile Ranma shared a similar expression as he stared at the
cabbit in horror. "C-c-c-cat! S-stay back... N-nice kitty..."
Ranma said edging away from the cute interstellar battle cruiser.

"Miya!" the cabbit cheered, playfully stalking toward him.

Achika looked back and forth between the father and son
wondering which one was in the greater danger.

(=========================)
The Past
(=========================)

'Where was he?' Achika frowned staring at her untouched bento
of rice, fish and pickled vegetables. A similar box was next to hers
unopened, as its intended consumer was currently absent from the
cafeteria.

She glanced at her watch noticing that the period was almost over
and still Ranma hadn't shown up. She waited trying to keep
herself from fidgeting too much as she tried to think up of some
rational explanation for his absence. Tanaka had told her of her
encounter with Ukyou earlier that morning and it set her teeth on
edge hearing how the okonomiyaki chef had bullied her friend.
She was glad that Ranma had been there to head off anything from
happening. Her thoughts took a dark rout as she wondered if
Ukyou had anything to do with his disappearance now. "She better
not." Unconsciously, her fist had clenched, the knuckles turning
white on her hand.

The cafeteria doors opened and she looked up expecting to see a
pigtail but instead the one who walked through cause her to lose
her appetite even more. 'Ukyou...' Achika frowned.

To her surprise the okonomiyaki chef walked quickly toward her.
"Achika, you need to come with me now!" Her usually neatly kept
locks were slightly disheveled and spoke slightly out of breath.

"What do _you_ want, Ukyou?" The air temperature suddenly
bottomed out as icicles started forming from Achika's frosty glare.

"I'll explain on the way. But you have to come now!" Ukyou said
ignoring the cold reception, grabbing Achika's arm.

Achika pulled herself away with a glare. "I'm not as easily pushed
around like other people, Ukyou. I'm not scared of you."

Ukyou blinked taken aback, and then her eyes narrowed as
suspicion creped into her mind. "What did that muckraker of a
friend of yours say to you this morning?"

"Tanaka-chan told me enough. Only bullies pick on the weak."

Ukyou's eye burned with indignation "She said that I... After what
she I heard her say? That... that..." she growled through clenched
teeth.

Achika unconsciously tensed up, her body preparing itself for the
impending fight. She hade hoped that their fragile ceasefire could
have lasted longer, but Achika wouldn't let herself or her friends
be intimidated by anyone. She waited for the brown haired girl to
make the first move and Ukyou did as she took a deep breath and
let it out very slowly. She looked at Achika in the eye, measuring
her words carefully as she spoke, "We can discuss the
inconsistencies of Tanaka's gossip column later, Achika. But right
now I need you to come with me. Ranma needs your help.
Please." Ukyou had spoken the last word through clenched teeth
and with apparent difficulty.

It took Achika to realize that a fight wasn't going to happen, the
fact of it left her slightly unbalanced, as she wasn't sure how to
react. The one thing that jumpstarted her mind though was that
Ranma was in trouble. "What's happened?" Achika asked quickly
tabling the matter of Tanaka.

Ukyou turned to leave, "Are you coming or not?" then left running
out the door. Achika hesitated but for a moment and was soon
following after.

The two girls soon found themselves in the back of the school
where the dumpsters were lined up for trash collection. "Ukyou,
why are we here? What's wrong with Ranma?" Achika said
gasping for breath from the sprint there.

Her question was answered with a, "Meow?"

Achika blinked as a pigtailed head popped out from one of the
dumpsters. "Ranma?"

"Don't make any sudden movements," Ukyou warned.

Cautiously, Ranma climbed out of the trash. Then seeing that
there was no danger gave a slight "Meow" and out from their
niches and box covers came about a dozen stray felines.

"Ukyou, what's going on?" Achika asked wide-eyed as she
watched her boyfriend play tag with a bunch of cats.

"The Neko-ken," Ukyou explained.

"Neko what?"

"The Cat-fist," Ukyou sighed. "Martial arts training that went
wrong. It made Ranma terrified of cats. If he gets close to one he
freaks out and begins acting like one. I came by earlier to help out
Ranma with trash duty. It was sort of my fault that he was lat for
class in the first place. I found him like this when I got here."

"Is he alright like this? I mean can he hurt himself?" Achika
asked.

"Actually, he's pretty darn invulnerable when he's in the cat fist.
The problem is that he can be really dangerous when he's like
this," Ukyou warned. "He won't let any strangers near him and if
they come too close he could lash out like an animal. We're lucky
that he was by himself at the time."

"How do we get him back to normal?" Achika looked at Ranma
worriedly. 'Though he does look kind of cute grooming himself.
What on earth am I thinking???'

"Call him over to you like a kitty cat," Ukyou said simply.

"What? You can't be serious!"

"He... he won't let anyone else near him when he's like this...
even me," Ukyou said quietly.

Achika nodded then got down on a knee. "Ranma, here kitty,
kitty, kitty," she said in her most gentle voice. To her amazement
Ranma stopped looked up and cautiously approached her. Then
with a single sniff of her hand he cuddled up to her and Achika
awkwardly fell back on the ground with Ranma's head resting on
her lap. A soothing purr came from him as the pigtailed boy dozed
off for a catnap.

"He'll come out of it after a few minutes. Just let him sleep it off."
Ukyou said.

"How could something like this happen to, Ranma? What kind of
life did he go through? He never liked talking about his past
much..."

"That's a long story, but mostly you can blame his idiot father for
pretty much all of it."

"I'm not going anywhere," Achika said softly looking down at the
sleeping boy resting on her lap. She couldn't help but envy the
history that Ranma and Ukyou shared. Somehow she wanted to be
a part of it even if she could only be a bystander to the events that
had shaped Ranma's life.

Ukyou look unsure of herself for a moment, hesitating with
trepidation on her face but finally she sat down on the ground
pulling her knees up close and wrapping her arms around them.
She fought against the jealousy of seeing Achika brush her fingers
through Ranma's hair. She knew that Ranma was no longer hers,
if he had ever been, but she also knew that she wanted to be there
too, as a friend. "Well," Ukyou began. "The first time I met this
no good jackass was when we were kids and he stole an
okonomiyaki from me..."

And so they talked and listened to each other, finding out
something new about their formal rival. Ukyou talk about the
engagement and her travels seeking out vengeance for being left
behind. Achika found herself empathizing with the Ukyou's
lonely search, wondering if she would have had the conviction to
spend ten years of her life chasing after the man she loved.

Ukyou then listened when Achika talked about her home and the
Masaki shrine and the first time that Ranma, or rather his female
persona, Ranko had come to the shrine. She also talked about she
had finally found out about the curse and soon after laughter could
be heard between the two. And somewhere along the line, two
new friends were fondly enjoying each other's company, but all of
it was missed by a sleeping martial artist who was too busy purring
in his sleep.

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

Ranma looked at the girl sitting next to him on the bus. Achika
had been unusually quiet through out the day. The last thing that
he remembered after finding a dozen or so cats rummaging though
the trash was tripping over a garbage can lid and finding him self
swarmed over by felines attempting to lick the spilled leftovers off
him.

When he came to he found Achika's face looking fondly down at
him as his head rested on her lap. He was nervous at first always
fearing the worst of what could have happened while he was in the
neko-ken. But Achika shook her head telling him that everything
was all right.

"Achika, its our stop," he said. She nodded and together they got
off the bus.

As they climbed up the steps to the Masaki temple, the one image
that kept repeating itself in Achika's mind was the look on
Ukyou's face after she helped him calm Ranma down from the cat
fist. Ukyou, the one person Achika feared the most. She feared
her for the simple fact that she could have lost Ranma to her.

But today when Achika saw Ukyou's face, she knew that could
never happen now. For today she saw a saddened look of
acknowledgment in her rival's face when she cradled Ranma in her
arms. Though she knew that she should be happy with the
prospect, she wasn't. If she had been in Ukyou's shoes, how
would she have felt? What would she have done if Ukyou had
taken Ranma away from her? Such thoughts scared her and the
pain of it frightened her to no end.

Achika was still deep in though when they made it to the house.
Her father was there waiting for them. The ever present smile on
his face.

"Well Ranma, do you feel up to a good work out today?" the
Shinto priest asked pleasantly.

"Always!" Ranma said confidently.

"I'll be waiting for you outside then," he said. "Welcome home
Achika-chan." He fondly kissed his daughter on the forehead.
And then he was out the door.

"Hey Achika, are ya all right? You seemed kinda quiet today,"
Ranma said tentatively.

She looked up glad that he noticed and cared enough to ask. But
she wanted to sort through her thoughts on her own. "I'm fine,
Ranma. Really. You better hurry up. Father might go harder on
you if you're late," she said with a slight smile.

He nodded. He hesitated for a moment, and then to her surprise he
kissed her on a cheek. It was only a small peck but his face had
gone terribly red and moments later he was out the door.

The surprised look on Achika's turned to one of fondness as she
brought her hand up to her cheek and smiled.

She headed up the stairs, eyeing the pile of Ranma's schoolbooks.
She sighed. "He always forgets to put his things away." She
brought it up with her and walked into his sparsely decorated
room. Though it wasn't a mess, it wasn't too neat either.

As she was walking out to leave, her foot caught on something and
she stumbled falling awkwardly to the ground. "Oh!" she
exclaimed managing to throw her arms out to break the fall. A
little shaken, Achika composed herself. Sitting up on the floor she
looked for what caught her foot.

She quickly found the culprit, it being a lose strap protruding from
under the bed. "What's this?" Reaching down under the bed she
pulled it toward her, practically having to drag the massive thing
out. The object emerged taking the form of a large cumbersome
backpack, the very one that Ranma had first brought with him
when he came to the shrine.

Some of the straps had become frayed but in all it held up
considerably well through the years. The cover was opened and
some of the contents had spilled out as she had pulled it from
beneath the bed. Looking at the backpack Achika hesitated for a
bit but eventually curiosity won over as she realized that a door to
Ranma's past had creaked open for her. 'I'm just organizing things
for him. Besides it's his fault for leaving thing out where people
can trip over them.' That was the excuse she was going to use and
she'd stick to it like glue.

Reaching in she started to pull out the contents one by one. There
were all sorts of odds and ends. Inside were more of the Chinese
style clothes, some maps of both Japan and China. A bar of odd
soap had also fallen out as she dug in deeper followed by a bag of
chestnuts. A small dumbbell, a broken mirror whose pieces had
been taped together, as well as some swimsuits both a boy's trunks
and a girl's single piece.
Lastly all the way at the bottom of the bag she found a small
bundle wrapped in heavy paper and plastic. "I wonder what all this
stuff is."

Unwrapping the bundle Achika found the contents to be
photographs. Snapshots from the beach, a Christmas party, a
birthday. All of them filled with people she had never seen before.
She saw Ranma's smiling face with them and inside she envied for
having been a part of his past. "They all look so happy," she
commented seeing one group picture taken at the beach. She
paged through the pile and came to the last one, an old black and
white one of two kids sitting under a tree. It was a pigtailed boy
munching away at an okonomiyaki while the girl next to him
smiled on happily. "Ucchan and Ranchan friends forever!" was
scribbled on the back in childish scrawl. And Achika sat there
staring at the faded photo as a mixture of emotions played through
her heart.

(=========================)
The Present
(=========================)

Ayeka, the first princess of Jurai, stomped her way out of the
house. Still fuming from being duped by Ryoko. She needed as
much space between her and cyan haired pirate as possible. She
sighed as she traced her way around the edge of the large pond
beside the red-tiled house. The calm waters lapped up gently on
the shore and just breaking the surface were the charred remains of
her once beautiful starship Ryo-Oh. She had chosen the tree-ship
when it was still a sapling, remembering how tiny it was when she
had picked it up with her hands.

Ryu-Oh was more to her than just a simple object. In truth it was
her dear companion and friend that had grown up with her. But
more than that, it had been her only hope of ever following the
ancient trail that her brother Yosho had taken so many years
before.

Knowing that her brother had crash-landed on Earth only disturbed
her more now. Her search had come to an abrupt end with her
finding only remnants of what her beloved had left behind.
Though she fought against it with all her might, Ayeka knew that
she had to face the inevitable fact that her brother had died
centuries ago, unable to fulfill the promise of wedding her. That
simple admission caused the tears to begin welling up in her eyes.
She fought against such a show of emotion trying to comfort
herself as her brother's handsome face came to her mind. His kind
eyes, a gentle smile. The cute pigtail he tied his hair in... Ayeka
caught herself short, knowing full well that Yosho had never
dawned his locks in a pigtail. She shook her head, Tenchi only
reminded her of her brother. That was all, really. Lost in her
thoughts, the Jurian princess wandered aimlessly caring not where
her legs took her.

"Careful, Ayeka-chan. You almost squished one of my squashes,"
a motherly voice chided.

"Achika-sama," Ayeka said looking up and realizing where she
was. Neat rows of flowers and vegetables lined the way of the
garden. In front of her the middle-aged woman knelled on the
earth carefully dug out the weeds with a small hand spade.

Achika put down her tools, taking off her work gloves. She
adjusted the wide rimed hat on her head looking up to the princess
next to her. A slight movement caught her eye. "Looks like you
brought a friend with you," Achika said smiling.

"A friend?" Ayeka asked confused.

A furry head popped out from behind a large cabbage. "Miya!"
said the energetic cabbit said.

"You!" Ayeka fumed! "Tenchi-sama's baby indeed! Get away
from me you vial creature!" the princess said angrily.

"Miya..." the little cabbit backed off with a hurt expression.

"Don't be too harsh Ayeka-chan. Ryo-ohki didn't have anything
to do with Ryoko's prank."

Immediately, Ayeka regretted her sharp tone knowing the older
woman was right. Once again she had let her emotions overwhelm
her. "I'm sorry," Ayeka said subdued. She knelt down on her
knees motioning Ryo-ohki to come out.

Achika smiled. "Here, why don't you give her this," she suggested
as she pulled out a carrot from the patch and handed it to the
princess.

"Miya! Miya, miya!" The cabbit bounded up to Ayeka's hand
hungrily biting into the orange tuber.

"I think she likes it," Ayeka laughed.

Achika nodded and ran a loving hand through Ryo-ohki 's ears.
"One day you'll grow up to be a great big starship," she said
scratching her behind the ears, thought the image of such a cute
little creature becoming a vessel capable of shattering worlds was
almost incomprehensible.

"Miya!" Ryo-ohki said in agreement, gobbling up the last of the
carrot.

"She's so innocent. Ryoko had no right to use Ryo-ohki as a
warship!" Ayeka's face-hardened. "I can't understand why Ten...
people can't see Ryoko for what she is!"

"And what do you see?"

"A monster! A cold heartless scheming witch! What ever else
she's trying to be, it's only an act to fool everyone. You
especially, Achika-sama!"

Achika waited for the princess's temper to cool. "The person you
see as a monster, I see a young woman who's been alone most her
life. Stranded on an alien world with no friends and loved ones
who care for her. I don't know all the crimes that Ryoko's
committed, but imprisonment for the last five hundred years should
count for something in paying back those wrongs. You're a bit
like each other, I think. I'm sure that if you gave it some time
you'd find that you have things in common."

"Me and that criminal? Impossible, we could never have anything
in common!"

"Really? You both seem to care very much for the same person."

"It... it's impossible! I am a royal princess of Jurai and Tenchi is
only a... a... commoner. Even if... he is an ancestor of Yosho it
just wouldn't work." Ayeka said sadly shaking her head.

"I don't see how that would prevent you from getting to know him
a little better. He's usually out with his father and grandfather
training now. They might be finishing up soon," Achika said
encouragingly. If anything, she saw that the princess could use a
friend now.

"I shouldn't intrude. You have a very lovely garden, Achika-
sama," she said politely. She bowed slowly walking off.

Achika just watched her walk off. A knowing look came to her
face and she turned to the cabbit beside her.

"Want to help me dig up the rest of the carrots Ryo-ohki?"

"Miya! Miya!"

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

The boy hit the ground hard and the wooden boken skittered across
the dirt with a clatter. He gasped aloud as he felt the wind knocked
out of him and his noggin rang like a church bell. He brought his
hand up shaking his pig-tailed head.

"Tenchi, are you all right?" his father asked lowering his own
weapon.

Shaking his head, Tenchi winced feeling the slight bump. "Yeah
pop... I wasn't ready for that one."

Ranma squatted down next to him and handed him the dropped
wooden sword. "You'll get the technique down eventually, Tenchi.
I had trouble with it the first time I was learning it too. You should
be fine. I know your head's as hard as mine."

Tenchi looked at his father dubiously. Picturing his father having
difficulty in anything related to martial arts was like chickens
flying south for the winter, it just wasn't possible.

"What you're father says is true Tenchi," a voice from the sidelines
called out. Standing under the cool shade of a tree Katsuhito
looked on.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Your head is probably as hard as his," Katsuhito
replied with a smile.

Tenchi just rolled his eyes. Wincing slightly he picked himself off
the ground and took a breath.

"Alright, Tenchi. From the top again," Ranma instructed, bringing
his wooden sword up.

From atop their positions on the wooden pegs, father and son faced
off. "Begin!" Katsuhito commanded and with a clap of the old
man's hands the sparring session began anew. The 'thwack' of
wood against wood echoed in the air as the day's lesson continued
anew. From the onset Tenchi struggled to keep up barely holding
his own. Help came in that aid of suggestions and instructions
from his grandfather but even with that he felt himself dwarfed by
the man he faced.

Growing up, Tenchi learned the art under the watchful eye of his
father. Though he was never a boastful or arrogant person, Tenchi
had always been confident and proud in his skill in the art. He was
good, that he knew, but he remembered his first encounter with
Ryoko and how easily she had battled him. 'She was just playing
with me,' he realized afterwards.

Later when he and his father were abducted aboard Ayeka's ship,
he saw just how truly strong his father was. Ranma had become
blur of motion taking out the two Jurai guardians, Asaka and
Kamadaki when they had been sent out to blast him. 'I have so
much farther to go...'

As the match wore on, Tenchi felt his doubts eat away at him. 'It's
no use... I can't do it...' with his will weakened, the body faltered.
Over extending himself with a thrust, Tenchi left himself open and
Ranma stepped into his guard with lightning speed. Tenchi closed
his eyes for the impact. He felt the wind from the blow on his face
but to his surprise the hit never came. Opening his eyes Tenchi
found himself staring at a sword blade barely an inch from his
face.

Pulling the sword back, Ranma relaxed his stance. "You have to
keep focused, Tenchi." Ranma said, a slight frown on his lips. His
son was better than this. Something was bothering the boy.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. "I know... I just..." As he
struggled with his words, a high pitch cry rang out and from
behind one of the bushes surrounding the open training area. A
purple-headed girl tumbled out.

"Ayeka!" Tenchi exclaimed running to the fallen princess. "What
happened? Are you hurt?" he asked as Ranma and his grandfather
came up to them.

Ayeka's face flushed with embarrassment as she tried to explain
herself. "I'm sorry for intruding. I didn't mean to spy, but when I
say you sparring I..." she turned to Ranma, "Please, could you tell
me where you learned-" as she tried to get up her feet gave way
when she placed her weight on her ankle. "Aie!!!" she exclaimed
clutching on to Tenchi for support.

The pigtailed boy's reflexes kicked in and he held her gently in his
arms. 'She feels so light... and her hair smells nice,' Tenchi
realized as he held on to her. Part of him felt she would break if he
held on too tight. He felt his face suddenly grow very warm.

"It looks sprained," Katsuhito stated looking at Ayeka's ankle.
Taking a towel, he began wrapping it carefully.

"Wait," Aykea protested. "That form that you were using. It was
Juraian-"

"Tenchi!" Katsuhito spoke up interrupting. "This young girl is no
condition to walk on her own. It would be best if you carried her
back to the house. Stay off your feet for a while, Ayeka-chan and
you should be as good as new in a day or two."

"H-hai," the princess said weakly and the thought of being held in
Tenchi's strong arms cause all other thoughts to fade away.

"Y-Yes, grandfather," he nodded. He swallowed nervously as he
gently picked her up.

"You don't have to..." Ayeka said weakly protesting. Her blush
quickly matched his.

"Get going," his grandfather said slapping him on the back. And
with that the two were off. "Watch out for bumps in the road."

"Way to squirm out of that one, old man," Ranma said dryly
watching the two down the trail. "Or should I say, Yosho? She's
gong to find out about you eventually, you know."

The old man let out a slow breath. "When I left Jurai those many
years ago, Ayeka was still a child. In many ways she still is. Here,
in this place, she has the opportunity to grow up, to find herself.
Tenchi can help her with that, and even Ryoko will also play a
part."

Ranma nodded in agreement to the old priest's words. "So much
for practice then," he said sighing

"Don't be too sure. You have another challenger that awaits,"
Katsuhito said grimly, his eyes narrowing through his rectangular
spectacles.

Ranma dropped into his stance with a wolfish grin. "Any time
you're ready old man."

"Prepare yourself!" the priest declared. Then he stepped off to the
side and with a flourish of his hand he pointed to Ranma and said,
"Sic' him!"

"What?" Ranma said blinking.

Out from behind Katsuhito an exuberant Ryo-ohki came running
up toward the pig-tailed martial artist. "Miya! Miya!
Miiiyaaaaa!!!"

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhrrrrrrggggggg!!!" he yelled as the cabbit went in
for the kill.

"Victory!" Katsuhito declared in favor of the cabbit for the
knockout.

"Miya! Miya!" replied happily bouncing up and down on the
fainted pigtailed man's chest.

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

It began to rain again. On the porch sitting out alone on one of the
steps, Tenchi watched the drops fall. His shoulders were hunched
over as if some great weight had been placed on him. In his hands
he fumbled around with sword hilt that was once the sword of the
legendary warrior Yosho. A somber expression was on his face as
he struggled with the thoughts in his mind.

"You're soaked through, Tenchi," Achika stated, seeing her son
through the mesh of the screen door.

"Hi, mom," he said turning as she came out to the porch to and sat
down next to him.

"I heard you brought Ayeka home when she hurt her leg. That was
very kind of you, Tenchi," she said proudly.

He nodded his head. "We got caught in the rain."

"I noticed," she said with a little smile.

"Don't worry though, we were able to make it to the old wood
shack before it got really bad."

"Oh? And how do you explain yourself being so waterlogged?"

"Well, I stood outside while she dried her clothes," he said
blushing. He decided to leave out the part of him accidentally
walking in on the princess while she was changing. "She gave me
back the sword," he said quietly, showing off the artifact. "She
said that she wanted me to have it to protect her and Sasami while
they were here."

"It sounds like you've made an impression on her. Why the long
face then?"

"I don't know if I should have accepted it. She placed her trust in
me. What if I'm not strong enough to use it? I don't even know
how it really works." To demonstrate he tried to make the light
blade appear, shaking it, holding it in different directions. After
some intense concentration he finally managed to create a
flickering blade that disappeared after merely a few seconds. His
shoulders sunk down even lower. "She should have given it to
pop or grand-father. Every time I see them use the art I realize
how far I still have to go."

Achika looked at her son quietly, pleased that he took his
responsibilities so seriously and worried of the pressure that he put
on himself. "Tenchi, you'll never know of what you're capable of
if you don't try. Ayeka wouldn't have given you the sword back if
she didn't believe in you. And your father wouldn't push you as
hard as he does if he didn't believe you could keep up. They
believe in you, Tenchi. You should believe in them."

He looked up at her his brows knit digesting her words over.
"Thanks Mom. I think I understand."

She smiled nodding. "So many things have happened lately.
Maybe we could all use some time to relax for a bit. What do you
think of a short vacation, Tenchi?"

"Really?" he replied finally perking up. "That sounds great!"

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

The van pulled up the front of the building.

Sliding open the door, the first person to hop out was a bright-eyed
girl. Perched on top of her head, Ryo-okhi looked around
curiously. The cabbit had been strictly told to stay away from
Ranma for a while, much to her disappointment. "We're here!
Come on Ayeka!" Sasami said reaching into the van and grabbing
her sister's arm.

"Don't pull so hard, Sasami. And don't talk so loud. That's
impolite." Ayeka chided her younger sister.

Stepping out, the young princess of Jurai faced the elegant building
in front of her. The traditional Japanese style radiated a presence
of form and order as well as beauty and structure.

"What is this place?" Sasami asked. "It looks so cool!"

"Miya!"

"It's a popular hot springs resort," Achika said exiting the van.
"The woman who runs it is an old friends of fathers. We come
here every year for a short vacation," she said explaining. There
was a fond look on her face glad to see that little had changed
through the years. Everything was the way she remembered it
when she found our about Ranma's curse the first time. Even now
she could recall the shock of seeing her friend, Ranko, a vibrant,
bright-eyed, tomboy of a redhead, transform into a handsome,
dark-haired boy she had fallen in love with those many years ago.
She walked down the cobblestone pathway basking in old
memories. This place would always hold a special place in her
heart.

"Oh, everything's so beautiful here," Sasami said aloud, marveling
at the traditional setting framed in green by the surrounding trees.
As the rest of the group exited the van, the front doors of the
building opened. From it, came an old woman. There was a
friendly smile on her face.

"Achika-chan," the old woman said as the dark haired woman
came out from the passenger seat.

"Obasan!" Achika said coming up and hugging her tightly. "It's so
good to see you like always, Sachiko-san."

She looked out over the group and both Ayeka and Sasami bowed
greeting her. "These must be Tenchi's friends that you told me
about. How polite you are," she inclined her head in a friendly
manner. Behind them Tenchi and Ranma came up carrying a large
trunk. "You're growing up fast, Tenchi." She said smiling and to
Ranma she turned, eyes narrowing.

"Uh... nice to see you again, Obasan," he said bowing swallowing
nervously, remembering the first time that he had come to the
resort. During that time, Achika only knew him through his cursed
form of Ranko. He had been too scared to reveal his curse to
Achika the first time they met, fearing what her reactions would
have been. When Ranma visited the Masaki shrine, he never
expected to stay as long as he did, but through circumstance, his
stay there became longer than intended. Through Achika he found
a true friend as he continued to hide his curse and play the part of
Ranko. Slowly, with time he found those feelings of friendship
groping into something more, but he feared pursuing such thoughts
not wanting to risk losing a friend.

It was here at this place that his secret was inadvertently revealed.
Achika wanted to surprise him with the outing, leaving him struck
dumb with terror when he realized that he had been taken to a hot
springs resort of all places. He had fought with tooth, nail and
claw to keep from being dragged into the warm water by a playful
Achika who only wanted her friend Ranko to enjoy the place. The
two girls inevitably fell in together and the secret was left out in
the open, along with various other parts of his body. It was
Sachiko-san who had walked in on Achika and him in that
awkward moment, forever branding him a peeping tom and a
pervert in the old woman's eyes. Ranma dreaded coming up each
year because of that, but he'd never tell his wife. All he had to do
was look at her face to see how much she loved it here.

"Everyone, this is Sachiko-san. She's the owner of this place, the
Hinata Sou," Achika said in introduction.

Sitting on top of it was Ryoko. "Yo!" the space pirate said waving.

"You could be helping out you know," Aykea said commenting.

"I don't see you doing anything useful," Ryoko answered back.

"Humph!"

"Please, don't fight you two," Tenchi interceded. "The lady here is
very nice to us."

"Why don't you all get the rest of your things while I get your
rooms ready the older woman suggested. When you're finished,
Achika-chan can show you the way." She excused herself with a
warm smile and with that, she went to get thing ready for the
guests.

This place seems very special to your mother, Tenchi," Ayeka
commented quietly noting the nostalgic look on Achika's face. A
bit of envy touched her heart as she saw Achika discretely held
Ranma's hand with hers in an intimate clasp. The princess
wondered how Tenchi's hand would feel like.

"I guess. It is a really nice place," Tenchi said dumbly, kicking
himself for not noticing before. To him the annual trip up to the
springs was an excuse to take a break from training and
schoolwork. He never thought of it as having any other
importance than that.

"Actually, this is where your mother met your father for the first
time, Tenchi." His grandfather brought up the last of the bags, a
smile was on his face as he saw Achika blush deeply while Ranma
took on an expression of wanting to be anywhere else but there.

"I never heard that before."

"Is it true that you first met here?" Sasami turned, asking the older
couple. "That's so romantic! How did it happen?"

"It was such a long time ago," Ranma said lamely. He grew a
sweat drop.

Beside him Achika covered her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Neither of us expected to meet here. But I'm glad we did,"
Achika said truthfully.

"So how did it happen?" Sasami chirped.

"Was it love at first sight?" Ayeka stole a fleeting glance in
Tenchi's direction, which was noticed by the boy. Their eyes met
and dual blushes grew on their faces. This immediately caught
Ryoko's attention and the space pirate moved to break it up.

"Just like the time we first met, eh Tenchi?" She materialized next
to him, snaking her arms around, intertwining them with his.

"You tried to kill me the first time we met!" he exclaimed trying to
pull away from the space pirate as she pressed her assets against
his chest meaningfully.

"I was only playing hard to get," Ryoko said batting her eyes at
him.

"Can't you see that you're annoying Tenchi-sama!"

"I hear that bathing in the hot springs can help clear up the
complexion. You're definitely in dire need of that, Ayeka," Ryoko
said smirking.

"W-what?!?! I don't have to take that from you!" sputtered the
purple-headed princess.

"Oh? Well what are you going to do about it?" Ryoko challenged
as the energy began crackling in her fists.

Before she could act Katsuhito spoke out over the group.
"Actually, your father got caught peeping in on your mother,
Tenchi."

"WHAT!!!" everyone exclaimed all at once.

"B-but--" Ranma paled.

"Yes, Tenchi," his grandfather said nodding in complete
seriousness. "Your mother first saw your father when she was
bathing here. Imagine her shock finding a boy there with her. She
was probably terrified. Luckily, Sachiko caught him before he
could take advantage of my innocent daughter."

"B-but... but... T-that's not true!" Ranma protested seeing the
accusation on everyone's faces. "Achika, you tell them," he
pleaded to his wife.

"It really was a shock for me when I first saw you, Ranam." She
said smiling. A playful look was on her face.

"Really?" Tenchi stood there unbelieving.

"How could you?" Sasami said looking up at Ranma.

"Miya!" Ryo-ohki exclaimed with a hurt expression.

"It is quite improper," Achika agreed.

Ranma glared at his wife. "Oh yeah! As I recall, you were the one
who dragged me into the water with you in the first place!"

"H-How forward," Ayeka blinked.

Ryoko just tapped her chin thoughtfully.

Achika's face turned a bright crimson realizing what could be
implied. "I... I... Ranma you baka!" She grabbed her surprised
husband by the pigtail and dragged him off into the building.

(=========================)
The Past
(=========================)

"So where are you taking us again, Achika?" and the got off the
bus that had taken them into town.

"Well remember that new friend I made? It turns out that she
needs help moving into a new place so I thought that since you
don't usually do anything on the weekends, you wouldn't mind
helping." Achika explained. "Now where was that place again?"
she said looking down and the directions she had written down
then to the street sign on the corner. "Oh, it's only a few blocks
this way."

"B-But you said that we were going out to lunch!" he groused.
Ranma followed her, not too excited about being drafted as a
moving man. But his complaints fell on deaf ears and they
continued on.

"Well I knew that food would be the only way to get you down
here," she said with a smile. For the life of him, Ranma couldn't
get angry when she looked at him like that. "I guess this is it,"
Achika said after they had walked for a few minutes.

"This place?" Ranma blinked. "But this place is a dump!" he
exclaimed looking at the rundown one story building. It looked to
be an old shop fallen to neglect. The windows that weren't broken
were boarded up, and scribbles of graffiti decorated the beat up
door and outer walls.

"That's what is says on the address." Wish a shrug she knocked on
the door, worrying that if she knocked too hard it would fall over.
"Hello? Anyone there?" The door wasn't locked and swung open
easily. The view inside wasn't much better than the one outside.

A thick layer of dust covered the floor and the wallpaper was
unrecognizable behind the grime. Some chairs and table's lay
cluttered about here and there. Upon closer inspection, one could
tell that the place use to be an eatery of some sort. Their eyes
finally came to the counter style grill, which unlike the rest of the
place was impeccably clean and looked recently used.

"I'll the there in a second!" a voice yelled out from the back.

Ranma froze like a deer in headlights as he immediately
recognized the voice. "U-Ukyou?!?" The familiar brown haired
girl came out of the pantry carrying bags full of supplies.

"Hey, Ranchan! I'm glad that you were willing to come down and
help me get the place shaped up. I hope it's not too much trouble,"
the okonomiyaki chef said sharing a conspiratorially look with
Achika.

"Oh it was no trouble at all, Ukyou. What are good friends for?"
she said with a sincere smile. Ukyou had been a part of Ranma's
life long before he ever met her. She couldn't feel but intimidated
of the things that the two friends shared of which she could never
be a part. But Achika realized that above everything else that it
would have been unfair of her to take that friendship away from
either of them.

Ranma looked at the two girls with his mouth agape. He turned
from one to the other looking at each of them as if they had grown
a second head. His mind just couldn't seem to comprehend the
situation and as normal functions broke down he blurted out the
first thing that came to his head. "Ukyou, you didn't drug, Achika
did you?"

He was answered with a spatula that slammed him into the wall.
"Jackass! How could you even think of such a thing?" Ukyou
growled.

As Ranma slid down the wall, Achika grew a sweat drop.

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

The food sizzled nosily on the griddle as its aroma wafted into the
air. "Well how is it?" Ukyou asked intently watching the two eat
the meal.

Achika chewed her food quietly. The okonomiyaki was one the
best she had ever eaten. "It's really good," she replied.

"Great as usual," Ranma said with his mouth full, fully recovered
from the impact. He constantly kept glancing as the two girls half
expecting them to start an all out brawl. But it didn't happen. For
the life of him he couldn't understand how the two rivals could
suddenly become thick as thieves.

As she cooked, Ukyou was telling stories about Nerima and the
extremes with which she went to get Ranma out on a date as well
as other more embarrassing anecdotes that Ranma had gotten
himself into while he was in Nerima. "And would you believe that
once Ranma though he really was a girl when he fell on his head?"
Ukyou began.

"Really?" Achika asked.

"Yeah, he turned out to be more feminine than me! You should
have seen the dress he was wearing!"

"You're kidding?!?"

"Even went out to buy some women's underwear for himself!"
Ukyou giggled, as Achika broke down in tears laughing.

"Ha... Ha..." Ranma deadpanned. 'Maybe it was better when they
didn't like each other.' But he knew that wasn't true. Ukyou was
his best friend and Achika was the love of his life, losing one or
the other would have been painful.

The laughter died down and Ukyou slowly looked around the
room. "I know the place doesn't look like much," she said. "But I
got it cheap and with a little work it will be a great place to eat. It
might take a while to fix the place up but I know that I can make it
even better than my last shop. Ever since my family's Yattai was
stolen I always dreamed of own my own place," she said sighing
wistfully. "I've work so long and hard to make it come true. I
know that my father would be proud if he were here to see this all
fixed up. He was so depressed when we were swindled out of our
okonomiyaki cart," she said shaking her head tragically.

"That's terrible. Who would do such a mean thing?" Achika asked
appalled thought she had already heard the story the day before.

"A jackass! A real jackass, that's who," Ukyou replied. "But with
this place, then I can finally put the past behind me." The two girls
hid their amusement at Ranma's discomfort as he buried his head
under his hands.

"Is something wrong, Ranma?" Achika asked innocently, noticing
the sickly expression on his face.

"I think I just lost my appetite," he said pushing his plate back with
the half eaten okonommiyaki on it. "Hey, Ukyou, I was
wondering... you know since I wasn't doing anything important or
nothing..." he sat there fiddling with his fingers with a guilty
expression on his face.

"Ya, Shuga?"

He smiled weakly. "Well, would you like some help fixing the
place up?"

The two girls beamed. "Sure, Ranma I accept your gracious
offer!" replied Ukyou.

Ranma sighed, knowing he never really had a choice in the matter.
He owed Ukyou too much to begin. Plus, with Achika seemingly
on her side, refusing to help would have been suicidal. He was
saved from further discomfort when everyone's attention shifted to
the front door, as it swung open. Through it came a young man
with his arms holding mops, brooms, a toolbox and all other handy
things for cleaning up the rundown building. "I brought most of
the stuff we need Ukyou," he said. A moment later he sneezed
violently, the glasses on his face almost falling off.

"Nobuyui-kun?" Achika said surprised to see her childhood friend
there.

"Hi Achika," he said unloading the things from his arms. "Ukyou
told me that you were going to help us get her place all fixed up.
And you brought Ranma too! This is great! We'll have this place
shaped up in no time!"

" I didn't know you and Ukyou knew each other," Ranma said.

"We just sort of bumped into each other one day," Ukyou replied.
"Pull up a seat, Nobuyuki and I'll fix you up something. At this
the boy brightened up with a hungry almost dreamlike smile.

"I brought some new sketches over for you to look over, Ukyou. I
put some more detail into the design now that I have a better idea
of what you want the place to look like." He pulled out folded
sheets of paper from his pocket, placing them on the counter in
front of the sizzling food. On the paper were drawings for the
interior and exterior of the building. It was a simple elegant design
turning the rundown shop into a homey eatery with a modern style.

"Wow, that looks like a lot of work," Achika said.

Nobuyuki nodded. "That wall over there will have to come
down," he said pointing. "It will open up the entire room".

"Hey, I can take care of that! I'm starting to like this already,"
Ranma said with a grin.

"Why am I not surprised?" Achika said dryly.

"Hm... I'm still not sure if I want to move the counter flush
against the back wall though," Ukyou said as she flipped the fresh
okonomiyaki onto a clean dish and set it in front of Nobuyuki.
"What if we change the layout of the tables here and move the
main service area back there instead?"

Nobuyuki frowned, "That means that the back wall have to come
down also to make space. We can't do it, I checked the blue prints
and that's a load-bearing member. It could collapse the whole
building if we did that. What if we did this instead?" he took out a
pencil from his pocket and started scribbling on the sketches. All
the while Ranma and Achika looked on, seemingly forgotten as the
two haggled on about each minute detail, compromising here and
there to make Ucchan's Okonomiyaki a reality.

Ranma noticed a growing smile on Achika's face as she watched
the pair and he wondered why. Seeing his questioning look,
Achika leaned in whispering into his ear, "Don't you think they
make a cute couple?"

Ranma blinked, then slowly a small grin creped onto his face. He
felt Achika's hand make it way into his. It felt delicately soft and
warm. And with knowing looks they watched as events unfold,
enjoying the closeness that they shared.

(=========================)
The Present
(=========================)

In one of the smaller private pools of the Hinato Sou, Ranma sat up
to his neck in the steaming water with a brooding look on his face.
A bamboo fence surrounded the enclosure and a narrow stone path
led from the pool to the sliding wood and paper door of the
building. A woman emerged from the changing room with a towel
wrapped around her.

"You're not still angry with me teasing you, are you, Ranma?"
Achika asked as she entered the steaming pool. Her dark hair was
undone falling freely down her shoulders and her lips gave a
pouting expression.

"Humph," Ranma muttered. Trying his best to ignore the shapely
body that was stretching the white bath towel to its limits, failing
completely.

She waded over to him taking his arms and wrapping it around her.
She leaned back resting her head against his chest. Time went by
as the two quietly enjoyed each other's company.

Finally Ranma spoke. "You didn't think I was some sort of pervert
then did you?" he asked worriedly. She turned looking at him and
immediately he knew that he had asked a silly question. Even after
so many years, his old shape-changing curse had left its mark on
him.

Achika touched his face fondly running her hand through his hair.
A few gray strands stood out from the mess of black. "You're
starting to look as old as father. What is it with men always
wanting to look older, while women will do anything short of
bathing in the blood of virgins to keep looking young?"

Ranma laughed, "A little gray hair makes men look more
dignified. At least I always thought so." Moments later the air
around him blurred. The few wrinkles on his face faded as the
patches of gray on his hair reverted to their black sheen. "How's
that?" the young man asked her.

She could feel the soft pulse of the Jurai power within him. She
knew the blessings that the legacy of her family bestowed but still
she felt the unease every time he used it.

'You're worrying about it again. I thought we came here to relax.'
His voice spoke in her mind.

'It's just that every time you do that... I remember...'

'You won't lose me, no matter what, I'll be with you.'

Her fears faded as she felt his strong arms around her. She held on
to him reassuringly looking into his eyes. Little needed to be said
between them anymore. As they kissed, the rest of the world faded
away leaving only the two of them with each other.

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

It was heaven. Tenchi edged himself deeper into the steaming
spring sighing contently feeling his body relax. The large pool was
split in two by a bamboo wall dividing it in half for the men's and
women's section. There was a natural look to it as green ferns
ringed the water's edge and large stones pool's rim providing
places to sit and rest.

He sat back thinking about his life and the strange course it
suddenly seemed to be headed in. As heir to the school of
Anything Goes Martial arts and Masaki style Kendo he felt the
pressure of living up to his family's expectations. His father and
mother never forced him to walk that path. The desire to learn the
Art was his. He had never backed down from any challenge no
matter how difficult. In truth his only fear was seeing a look of
disappointment on his parents faces.

"Heir to the family..." Tenchi whispered quietly watching the
steam rise. "It's like I'm a prince or something," he laughed at the
silly notion. Leaning back against a large boulder and sighed
letting the warm waters wash his troubles away.

"Oh, Tenchi...." A voice echoed from behind him. A pair of arms
pushed through the rock embracing him from behind as a head
appeared, snuggling a nose to the back of his neck.

"Ryoko?!?" he barely had time to blurt out as he was pulled back
through the rock with her. He came out moments later hitting the
water with a splash. "What do you think you're doing?!? Ryoko
you..." His train of though suddenly derailed as he realized that
the space pirate standing in front of him had no clothes on.

"I got tired of waiting for you to peep in on me, Tenchi," she said
huskily explaining. Leaning in, as she did so giving him a better
view of her assets.

"Urk!" he exclaimed turning around and grabbing his nose to
prevent any more blood loss. "B-b-but I can't do that," he
stuttered.

"What's a matter am I not good enough for you to look at me?"

"N-no, it's not that."

"Oh? You've been acting weird ever since you helped Ayeka
when she hurt her ankle. Do you think she's better than me?" She
faded and rematerialized holding him pressing her chest against his
back. "Well Tenchi?" she said whispering in his ear and blowing
on it.

"I... I... I..." Tenchi said helplessly as the blood flow to his brain
was diverted to other places.

"Look Ayeka! Tenchi's here!" a voice chirped coming out of the
women's changing room. The little girl trotted out with a towel
wrapped around her and pulling her sister along. "Whatcha' doing
Tenchi?" she asked.

"Tenchi-sama!" Ayeka gasped. Holding on to the towel around
her.

"Hi Sasami," Ryoko waved letting go of the boy.

"Hey Tenchi your face is really red," Sasami observed. "So what
are you doing here? Are you going to peep at Ayeka?"

"What?!?! No, you got it all wrong!" he said waving his hands in
front of him.

"Ryoko, leave him alone!"

"Why so angry, Ayeka? Sore that I got to him first?" Ryoko said
leering.

"I'm not a show off like you."

"Don't you mean that you have nothing to show off," she sneered.

"Why you!" A resounding 'SMACK!' was heard as Ayeka
slapped the space pirate across the face.

Ryoko returned the favor twice over. 'SMACK!', 'SMACK!'
Their eyes met and sparks began to fly.

Tenchi and Sasami backed away very quickly.

"You're wrong if you think I am harmless," Aykea said
straightening up and assuming a commanding pose fit for a
princess.

"Oh?" Ryoko's eyebrows rose up. "What can a lady like you do?"

Ayeka bristled in rage. "Let's see how long you can keep talking
like that," she answered and around her and Ryoko, wooden pegs
appeared from thin air. Jurai power pulsed around them as Ayeka
unleashed her attack sending the mini guardians to surround and
capture the space pirate.

The pegs swarmed over Ryoko, but before they could contain her,
she launched herself into the air twisting and flipping over the
startled princess. As she arched over Ayeka, she lashed out with a
punch landing a quick hit on the princess's face.

"Waaaaaa!" Ayeka said clutching at her nose. She turned towards
Ryoko fuming.

"This time it's my turn to show you something. You'll know why
I'm called Ryoko, the spirit caller," she said her golden eyes
glowing. She extended her left hand and the single jewel on her
wrist lit up. Around them the spirit energy within the ground rose
up to her command. The energy drew together coalesced into an
ethereal form a floating monster. Ryoko laughed evilly as she
unleashed her beast.

(=========================)
The Past
(=========================)

'I'm in trouble.' Achika felt the danger she was in. She struggled
with her guard bringing her boken up to defend. The strike came
and she blocked, the two weapons meeting with a thwack.

Her opponent eyed her appraisingly. Dressed in her battle gear,
she wielded her spatula with deadly grace. She looked fresh
standing poised and ready. "Get set, Achika, I'm not going to go
easy on you," Ukyou said leveling her spatula at her.

Achika nodded conserving her breath knowing she would need it.
Ukyou was a martial artist who had honed her craft in the
battlefields of Neirma while Achika could only consider herself an
amateur at best. From the moment the fight began, Achika knew
that she was in trouble, but she would never give up, ever.

The two met with Achika going high and Ukyou coming from
below. Achika brought her boken forward bringing it down to
strike. And the battle ended as the boken hurtled through the air
and landing tip first into the ground.

"Match point, Ukyou!" Katsuhito exclaimed from the sidelines.
Standing up from the tree stump he was sitting on, he signaled to
the okonomiyaki chef's corner.

Achika looked down at the spatula blade at her throat and sighed in
defeat. "Good match Ukyou."

The chestnut haired girl smiled hefting back the weapon. "Good
match Achika." The two bowed to each other then bowed to
Katsuhito.

"Your fighting style is very formidable, Ukyou-chan.
Unconventional but solid nonetheless," Achika's father
commented. "I'm glad that that you're helping Achika-chan with
her sparring. Practicing with different opponents keeps one alert
and open to new ways of fighting."

"Thanks Masaki sensei," Ukyou said bowing. "Learning from you
has been really helpful for me too."

The pigtailed boy watching by the sidelines, caught the
disappointed look on Achika's face, "Don't feel too bad, Achika.
Ukyou's had years of practice in fighting and you should have seen
some of the nutcases we've had to deal with. You're getting better
though, and that's what's important."

"Thanks, Ranma," she said happily.

"So how is your place coming along, Ukyou-chan?" Katsuhito
inquired.

"It still needs a lot of work but it's starting to take shape. A few
more weeks and Ucchan's Okonomiyaki is open for business!" she
said confidently. "It would have been done sooner if Ranma
hadn't of messed up," she said frowning.

"Well Ranma did knock the right wall down. Too bad he knocked
down the other wall behind it too," Achika said wryly.

"I remembered the look on poor Nobuyuki's face. I though he was
going to have a heart attack," Ukyou commented.

"It was an accident. How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"
Ranma said defensively, though inwardly wincing remembering
the fiasco of trying to blow the wall down with a Mouko Taka
Bisha.

"Feel like taking on a more challenging opponent, Ranma? Or are
defeating walls the limit of your ability?" Katsuhito asked with a
smirk.

"What? Why you! Any time, old man!" Ranma said, his blood
rising.

"Here we go again," Achika aid rolling her eyes.

"Your father really likes to pick on Ranma, huh Achika?" Ukyou
said watching the steam come out the pigtailed boy's ears.

"Father calls it, 'building character'" Achika explained laughing.
The two girls barely cleared the sparring area before the battle
started.

"Masaki-sensei," Ranma said inclining his head with a curt nod.

"Ranma," Katsuhito responded with the dignity of a true master of
the art. The two bowed and with that they threw all formality out
the window.

"I'll get you this time, old man!" Ranma said, speaking the words
he always spoke when they dueled. It had become a mantra now.
A reminder that even through the countless defeats he had been
handed by his sensei, Ranma hadn't given up yet. And with that
he charged forward barely giving his opponent a chance to drop
into a ready stance.

Katsuhito took up the challenge, his face seeming as if he hadn't a
care in the world. "Show me then," he said casually dodging the
first combinations of punches and kicks that Ranma let loose. He
weaved in and out, blocking when he needed to, avoiding the rest
all the while giving out some helpful comments and suggestions
that Ranma immediately responded to.

Adaptability was Ranma's greatest strength. No form or technique
was written in stone in the school of Anything Goes. Instead the
Art was ever evolving, ever changing, and as free flowing as water
itself. The two combatants fought in earnest. The sound of
rustling leaves filled the air as a shallow breeze gave meager
comfort to the fighters, as their dancing feet stirred up small dust
clouds from the dry packed ground.

Ranma brought his arms up just in time to bock a vicious sidekick
from the older man. His side went num with the impact while his
own counter strike met nothing but air. He pressed on though
continuing to fight for all he was worth, he couldn't afford to be
pushed to the defensive. A loss of initiative would lead to
inevitable defeat against the better skilled, Shinto priest. A sheen
of perspiration glistened across his brow and his breathing was
heavy and strained.

He tried a series of snap kicks leading up to a double fisted attack
to Katsuhito's center, but the priest had been prepared and
interrupted the combination with a well timed palm strike
deflecting the first of the sequence of kicks.

With the opening, Ranma came under attack. He ducked under the
roundhouse kick that was then followed up by a backhand to his
head. He blocked high meeting force with force but even then he
was slid back, his feet racking across the dirt. And so the match
continued into the late afternoon with Ranma taking the worse of
the two. He came close to being knocked out as a knife hand strike
slipped through his defenses glancing against his temple. His head
rolled with blow minimizing the damage and he lashed out with a
kick of his own. It was a wild kick, hitting nothing but it forced
Katsunito back, buying Ranma a few desperate seconds to recover,
then stabilized, adapted his strategy to compensate.

"Wow, Ranma's really gotten better," Ukyou observed.

"He really pushes himself hard," Achika said who was likewise in
quiet awe watching the men fight. No matter how many times she
had watch their practices, the level of skill they showed never
ceased to amaze her. Even when he was training her, Achika never
realized the extent of her father's abilities.

Just as they though that it couldn't get anymore exciting, the pace
of the fight quickened with the furious attrition taking on a life of
its own. On the ground or in midair, no quarter was given as each
tried to pound the other into submission. It was Ranma though
who was beginning to be worn down by the exchange as he began
to favor the use of one leg over the other. The few time that he had
managed to break through the priest's impressive defence has cost
him dearly. A glint of sunlight caught Katsuhito's glasses and he
pressed on, his movements increased in their speed and ferocity.

"Do they fight like this all the time?" Ukyou asked, her face
slightly pale. "They honestly look like they're trying to kill each
other."

Achika gasped, seeing Ranma falter then scramble back into a
defensive position. She had never seen her father use such force
before. When he trained her, he had always been a firm yet gentle
teacher. It scared her a little to see such a tender and loving man
use such devastating techniques.

'He's just too good,' Ranma gasped still trying to shore up his
defenses for the next attack.

Across from him his opponent backed off momentarily. "Do you
want to rest for a bit, Ranma?" Katsuhito asked straight-faced.

Ranma grit his teeth in frustration. His body felt so ragged and yet
the Shinto priest still looked barely warmed up. Gripping his fists
tightly he answered back. "No way old man! I'm not done yet!"

Inwardly Katsuhito smiled at Ranma's stubborn refusal to give up.
It amazed him how even when so close to exhaustion the young
man continued on driven by nothing else but the sheer will. The
blows came at a blistering rate. 'He's giving it his all,' Katsuhito
acknowledge and to his surprise the attacks were stronger and
more focused than when they had begun. Slowly he gave up
ground grudgingly, making the young man pay for each step. The
potential the boy had seemed almost limitless.

It was little wonder to him now as to why Tsunami had singled
him out. Ranma, without a doubt, was one of the finest martial
artists of his generation. But with Tsunami's intervention and his
guidance, Katsuhito could see him becoming something more. Of
that he was sure.

'How does he keep blocking my punches?' Ranma felt the
frustration within him. His body moved like lead while the older
man practically danced around him. Every punch he threw, and
every trick he pulled, was met with a counter or suitable defense.
In some cases Katsuhito wasn't even there at all. 'He's so fast...'

As he continued to fight he felt the last of his reserves fading. He
felt the frantic beating of his heart as he tried to push on. 'Just a
little faster... got to push faster,' he though gritting his teeth. He
felt a sudden pulse within him and a rush of wind filled his ears.
From somewhere he felt a surge a strength fill him and with that he
gave all that he had left.

"Heeeeeyaaaaaaaa!!!" Ranma yelled lashing out. His arms blurred
as he executed the complex barrage of punches and kicks. A
sudden pulse touched his chest, like a second heartbeat filling him
from within. 'I don't want to lose! I won't lose!!!' A tingling
sensation started from his center making it's way through his arms
and down his legs and the pain in his battered body began to
subside.

The sound of rushing wind built in his ears and deep within him at
his very core the resonating pulse grew stronger with each beat.
He felt the energy pushed through his body. His muscles
responded to him with renewed strength. Around him the world
slowed up shifted to distorted still images of his surroundings and
the noise in his ears became a deafening roar.

It was ecstasy of which no rush of adrenalin could compare. He
felt himself being taken by the overwhelming flow of power and
whatever resistance he could muster to fight against it was battered
down with the force of a tidal wave. There was only one thing the
drove him now, the excitement of the fight, the thrill of the battle.
Nothing else mattered anymore. Nothing.

Katsuhito barely had time to defend as Ranma came at him with a
force and fury that was unimaginable. He fell back desperately
using every measure of his skill to protect himself. The ferocity of
it staggered him, not even Ryoko had been this single minded
when he had fought her. And then the old man felt it, finally
realizing what he was now up against. 'The Jurai...'

The blows came so fast that it all melded into an indistinguishable
blur, leaving even a Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken, or Chestnut Fist
to pale in comparison. There was no escape and the finale came
with a finishing blow with Ranma unleashing pure force. The
ground shook with the impact as a miniature sonic boom erupted
with a deafening roar. Even the two girls were thrown down by
the shockwave, as the trees swayed with the wave of power.

"Father!!!" Achika's scream was left muffled in the after affects
as her father was blasted back from the blow, his body plowing
against the ground, leaving a trail of scarred earth of splintered
trees in its wake. The dust settled leaving Ranma standing alone
with his fist extended. His shirt was torn open revealing his chest.
There, where his heart was a blue seed within him glowed in tune
with his heartbeat. The distant look on his face melted away as his
senses cam back to him. "W-What happened to me? What have I
done?" He staggered to the ground, his body finally giving into
the exhaustion.

An anguished sob escaped from Achika's lips as sagged on her
knees to afraid to look in the direction that her father had fallen.

"Achika, look..." Ukyou said touching her shoulder, a look of awe
was on her face.

"No, I can't. I don't want to see!" she said clenching her eyes
tight.

"It's alright Achika-chan. I'm still here," came a warm flowing
voice.

"F-father?" Achika's eyes widened seeing the handsome young
man rise up from against the tree. His long flowing hair, dark as
midnight was tied in back in a simple ponytail. The wire frame
glasses he wore were broken and his simple clothes were frayed
and torn in some places but other than that he looked no worse off
for the ware. In front of him glowed a translucent shield of
shimmering colors, a Light Hawk Wing that had absorbed the
attack. Yosho, first prince of Jurai met the confused stares of the
group.

"Sensei?" Ranma looked the man slowly approaching them.

"We'll have to work on you on controlling that thing in the future,"
Yosho said looking meaningfully at the fading glow within the
young man chest.

"H-Hai," Ranma replied with a confused response, thrown off by
the prince's easygoing manner. He looked down at his chest
seeing the seed for the first time. "What that..."

"I didn't expect you to be able to tap into the Jurai seed so soon,"
he said with a smile. "I guess I should have know better. Though
it is nice to still be surprised once in a while after all these years."

Ranma's eyes widened as something 'clicked' in his mind. The
stories of the Masaki shrine came back to him, the description of
the legendary warrior, an explanation for his sensei's inhuman
skill. But they were just stories, right? "It can't be..."

"Hm, Ranma?"

"Yosho... you're Yosho, aren't you," Ranma said in realization.

"W-what?" Achika stuttered in confusion. "You're not my father,
you can't be! Who are you and what have you done with him?"

"The stories, they're all true, Achika-chan. Do you remember
when you were a little girl, I would tell you of the story of the
Masaki shrine and how it came to be? They are more than bedtime
stories, Achika-chan. They are you history, your legacy," Yosho
said gently.

"I only know parts of the story," Ukyou said, surprised as the rest.
"But if you're really Yosho, then you're over seven hundred years
old! That's what the legends say!"

Yosho shook his head. "Let legends remain legends, for I prefer
the quiet life of a simple priest," and with his words he aged before
their eyes. The dark hair graying and worn wrinkles appearing on
his face and the regal figure was gone replaced with the humble
man they all knew well. "Now do you believe me, Achika-chan?"

"I... I... I..." she stuttered at him in an almost catatonic like daze.
All her life she had believed that there was some truth to the stories
of the shrine, but for everything to be true. Not even in her wildest
dreams would she have thought it possible.

"Achika, I am your father," Katsuhito said gravely.

She blinked hearing the tone of his voice. She looked up seeing
the familiar fond smile on his face and she knew the truth.
"Father, it really is you..." Achika cried catching him in a tight
embrace. "Why haven't you ever told me this before..." she asked
with a slight sob as the mixture of emotions began to overwhelm
her.

"I was hopping to find the right time. But I guess now is as good
as any."

"Well, you got my attention," Ranma said wryly.

"Same here, Ranma honey," Ukyou seconded.

"Well, father?" Achika asked.

Katsuhito cleared his throat and began. "A long, long time ago, in
a galaxy far, far away..."

And the three face-faulted.

(=========================)
The Present
(=========================)

Two girls raced down the halls of the hot springs resort. Behind
them in close pursuit was an ethereal monster engulfing the entire
hallway with its girth. It raced after them clawing its way around
tearing up the planks of the walkway and smashing anything else
that got in its way.

"Can't you do something?" Ayeka screamed at the space pirate
beside her. She ran for dear life barely holding on to the towel
around her.

"Silly me. I forgot that I could only control those things with a
jewel on my right wrist. Go figure," Ryoko replied. She felt the
wind as a claw almost came close enough to reach her. "Run
faster!"

Ayeka panted in agreement. Turning down the corridor the two
ducked into the first door they came too hoping to lose the
creature. They slammed the bamboo shutters close throwing their
bodies against it.

"G-Girls?" a surprised voice exclaimed. There were startled looks
as Achika gasped, hastily wrapping her towel back around her
while Ranma dove down into the water scrambling to tie a towel
around his waste.

"We weren't doing nothing!" Ranma said in embarrassment, but
the blushing cheeks of his wife begged to differ.

"A-Achika-sama!" Ayeka blurted.

"Oh, don't mind us," Ryoko said waving cheerfully pleasantly
eyeing barely clothed pigtail man. And then the wall busted
inward sending the two girls flying. Ayeka hit the water with a
splash, surfacing briefly, only to be submerged again as Ryoko
came crashing down on top of her.

"Get off of me!" Ayeka gasped sputtering flailing her arms
managing to get a few hits in against the offending girl. "This is
all your fault, Ryoko!"

"Well if it weren't for you, Tenchi and I would be doing quite right
now. But you just had to keep butting in!" Ryoko replied, giving
as good as she got.

Achika gasped as the poltergeist clawed its way through the
opening that it had made. It ripped through the wall as if it were
cardboard, the eyes glowing with a crimson blaze. "What is that
thing?"

"It's all her fault!" Ayeka's and Ryoko's reply echoed as they
directed accusations at one another.

"My, fault?!? How dare you! You're the one who summoned that
thing!"

"Just, shut up, Ayeka, I've got more important things to worry
about than listening to your constant screeching!"

"Screeching?!? Screeching!?!" Ayeka, for lack of a better word,
screeched. Each time an octave higher that the last with the full
force of it directed at Ryoko.

"Settle this later!" Ranma said finally having enough. The group
backed up warily as the monster drifted its way towards them.
"Everyone stay behind me."

"Don't be foolish! You're no match for that thing," Ryoko said.

"Where are Tenchi and Sasami?" Achika asked worriedly.

"Don't worry Achika-sama. Tenchi will be here soon with the
Light Hawk sword. He and my sister were able to escape when
Ryoko and I distracted the beast. He'll soon be here to fight that
monster."

"He's going to do what!?!" Achika asked sharply.

"Mother!" Tenchi yelled as he cam running in with Sasami
following close behind. In his hand was the ancient sword of Jurai.
He ran up to the monster holding out the hilt in front of him willing
the blue energy blade to life.

"Tenchi, be careful," Sasami called out after him.

"Ranma, do something!" Achika said.

"Well do you think your father would be up for an exorcism?"
Ranma asked wryly.

"I'm being serious!"

"Tenchi can handle himself."

"He's just a boy!" A tremor touched her heart as she watched her
son face off against the creature that loomed over him like an
impending storm.

'Everyone's counting on me! I can't let them down! I won't
lose!' Gritting his teeth, Tenchi held the sword in front of him and
willed the blue energy blade to come to life. The monster turned
facing him feeling a new threat. 'It's now or never I guess,' he
swallowed then charged forward.

The demon flew to meet him, rearing up in all its gooey goodness,
bringing its ethereal incisors to bear. Tenchi met the claws and
fanged mouth head on parrying each strike, harmlessly deflecting it
away from him. His form flowed easily, each movement merging
seamlessly with the last forming a perfect defense around him.
Another fist came, and Tench turned it with his blade letting the
brunt of the force wash over him instead of being overwhelmed by
it. He bided his time, patiently waiting for the opening he needed,
and when it came he didn't hesitate. Slashing out with the glowing
blade, the monster's right arm fell landing onto the ground in a
gooey blob.

"Tenchi's doing it!" Sasami excitedly jumped up and down.

"Tenchi-sama!" Ayeka looked on with swimming eyes.

But Ryoko wasn't celebrating. Instead a look of panic appeared on
her face, as she was the only one who knew what he was really up
against. "Tenchi, look out!" she screamed.

Tenchi's eyes widened. To his shock, the ectoplasmic monster
merely regrew its severed appendage, just as Ryoko had done
before when he had fought her. Caught off guard, the new claw
raked across his chest catching his arm, knocking the light sword
aside as he was thrown back. He rolled with the blow, using the
force to catapult himself into the air, flipping backward and finally
landing in the steaming water not far from the rest of the group.

"Oh, no the sword!" Tenchi gasped, seeing the fallen blade wink
out of existence lying right at the monster's feet. Be barely had
time to react as the phantom charged towards him seeing him
weaponless.

"I'll save you, Tenchi!" Ryoko charged in, skimming the water's
edge in her flight. Leveling her left arm forward, she let loose two
cannon blast like energy shots. Taken completely by surprise with
her attack, the shade took the brunt of both rounds, its body
swallowing it up with an inaudible burp. It glowed from within for
a moment, and then grew twice its size. Ryoko halted in mid flight
seeing the result, then looked to the jewel on her left wrist, the
same one she had used to summon the thing in the first place.
"Wrong jewel again," she said sheepishly.

Everyone face faulted.

Ryoko then screamed as the shade turned its attention towards her,
or at least the jewel on her wrist. "Help! Get that thing away from
me!" She fled, with the wrath in hot pursuit tearing and destroying
anything in its path to get at her. The once grand look resort was
soon taking on the image of a block of Swiss cheese.

"What's a matter, Ryoko? Bit off more that you can chew?"
Ayeka taunted, laughing at her rival's predicament.

"Shut up, Ayeka!" Ryoko dove down in her flight and with
inhuman strength uprooted one of the boulders by the water's
edge. She spun around once and hefted it at the monster, who
simply turned intangible, it was a ghost after all, and let the
boulder pass through it. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending
on who you were, the lump of rock ended up heading right towards
the snide princess. "Oops!" said Ryoko innocently and flew off
again diving into an open window of the building with the monster
still in pursuit.

"Eeep!!!" Like a deer caught in headlights, Ayeka stood frozen at
the oncoming boulder. The water slowed her movements and there
was nowhere to run.

"Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Special Attack!" Ranma
said reacting instantly to the girl's danger.

"Special Attack?" Tenchi blinked. Before he could utter a word in
protest, his father suddenly turned grabbing him by the shirt.

"Shooting Star Son Attack!" Ranma yelled as he propelled Tenchi
forward, throwing him towards the paralyzed princess.

"Eh?" Achika jaw dropped as a hair on her head ' twanged' out of
place.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!" Tenchi screamed flailing in the
air. He collided with the startled princess pushing her out of harms
way just moments before the boulder did. The two were pressed
together by the mini tidal wave the rock caused in its plunge, and
when the waters receded the couple found themselves washed up
on shore with Tenchi on top of a very naked Ayeka whose towel
had been swept away.

"A-Ayeka-san," he said, his eyes widening.

"Tenchi-sama," she replied in gasping breaths.

"Yes!" Ranma said clenching his fist as Tenchi 'saved' the Jurian
princess.

"That was a special technique!?!?" Achika asked incredulously..

"Well, it worked didn't it?"

"We ARE going to have a long talk after this is over, Ranma,"

"Y-yes dear, " he replied swallowing.

Ayeka felt her whole body blush as she felt the weight of the boy
on top of her. "Tenchi-sama..." His strong arms held her close,
gentle with measured strength. He had saved her like the prince in
her lonely dreams would have done. The visage of, Yosho blurred
in her mind, fading away, replaced with Tenchi's concerned look.

"Ayeka-san, it's not my fault... I didn't mean too..." He was at a
loss for words as his eyes took in the nubile view. Droplets of
water clung delicately to the shapely curves and her chest rose and
fell slightly with each breath. "Ayeak... I..." He felt himself
getting lost looking at her shimmering eyes. Suddenly he felt
something long and hard pressed against his hand. He blinked
seeing the Light Hawk Sword back in his possession.

"Here you go, Tenchi! I got the sword back for you!" Sasami was
there, appearing next to the young pair, happily pressing the
artifact towards him. "Now you can go beat the monster!"

"Thanks, Sasami-chan, I'll try," Tenchi replied hefting the weapon
feeling the accustomed grip in his hands.

"We believe in you, Tenchi-sama," Ayeka said, covering herself as
best she could with her arms. "Tenchi, I must tell you something
before you face that beast again. Tenchi-sama... I... I... I lov--"

She was interrupted with a shower of plaster and splintered wood
as Ryoko came barreling out of the building again through a new
opening created by her fist. "Tenchi, help me!" she called, literally
flying into his arms and in the process of doing so, knocking
Ayeka back into the water with a splash. The wall that she had
come through fell inward moments later revealing the monster, it,
looking to have grown even larger that before.

"I'll protect you, Ryoko! I swear!" Renewed confidence was on
his face. Without hesitation, Tenchi leaped in, not giving the
wraith to chance to reach. The light blade rekindled in his hand,
and Tenchi struck out with everything that he had. "KACHUU
TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN REVISED!" The air buzzed with the
sound of the energy blade as it diced the creature, striking it a
countless number of times in a span of a few seconds. Moments
later, the battle ended, Tenchi panting tiredly as the wraith had
been reduced to a puddle of puree on the ground.

"I... I did it!" he said looking at the goo left by the creature. His
face broke out in a grin.

"Oh, Tenchi! You saved me!" Ryoko swooned. She moved to
rush into his arms but a pair of hands appeared behind her and
yanked her hair back dragging her down into the water where
Ayeka proceeded to strangle her. "Ack!"

Achika stood in the warm waters beside herself. The springs were
in shambles. Bits of bamboo floated in the water. Of the walls
that were still standing, most had monster shaped holes in them.
Uprooted boulders littered the grounds and the covered walkway
stretching through out the complex had been turned to splintered
chunks of wood and mortise. "I-It's ruined... Everything's
ruined..." she said in a pathetically small voice. She looked about
half ready to keel over.

Ranma was there by her, giving his shoulder to his distraught wife.
"Achika, it isn't that bad. With a little work it'll be as good as
new, just like before." Ranma paused as tearing creaking sound
emanated from the abused building. Then before everyone's eyes,
a wing of the Hinato Sou collapsed, falling in on itself in a
shudder. Ranma winced as Achika could only gape in wide-eyed
shock.

"Ayeka, Ryoko, please stop fighting," Tenchi pleaded with the two
as they still battered against each other in the steaming pool. Quite
suddenly, he was pulled in by the two, with each girl claiming one
side of him with a vice like grip. The sword slipped out of his
grasp clattering on the floor as he careened head first into the
water.

"Tenchi, tell Ayeka once and for all to leave the two of us alone!
Maybe then she'll get it into that thick head of hers that you want
nothing to do with her!" Ryoko said furiously tugging the helpless
boy.

"Ha! If anything, Tenchi-sama is about to tell you off! Someone
of his honor and character would never consort with one such as
you!" Ayeka snarled pulling his other half towards her.

"Um, Ayeka... Ryoko?" Sasami said over her shoulder as she
watched the puddle of slime slowly flow back together congealing
into the familiar shape of the demon. "Tenchi- Oniichan?" But
unfortunately the girls were too distracted and Tenchi, caught in
the middle of the two jiggling bodies was in to condition respond.

"Leave, Tenchi alone, Ryoko!"

"No, you leave him alone!"

Their little argument was brought to a sudden halt as the wraith
roared back into existence charging towards them with hellish
vengeance. "EEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!"

"ENOUGH!!!" A voice commanded punctuated by a burst of blue
light.

Time froze for an instant as all eyes turned to Achika who stood in
the center of blue energy radiating from her as the water around
her rippled outwards in concentric waves. The towel around her
fell away replaced by flowing pastel robes and her dark hair
changed, taking on a silver gray sheen.

Standing beside her, Ranma was faced with terrifying fact that his
wife was pissed off. He knew he had to do something. 'Anything
Goes Schools final attack... run away.' He executed it with the
skill born of a true master, taking a step back then slowly sinking
down into the water disappearing from view. Monsters were one
thing; an angry Achika was an entirely different matter.

"Don't you dare touch my son!" Achika said menacingly, her voice
echoing around. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she turned
toward the monster. She eyed the fallen sword on the ground and
with a flick of her wrist the Tenchi-Ken flew to her hand. The blue
blade came to life growing to double its size extended out in an
elongated katana. She was there in an instant, meeting the razor
claws, which were halted with a wall of rainbow light.

"A wing of the Light Hawk..." Ayeka gasped. Her eyes widened
seeing how much the amount of power displayed dwarfed her own.
Only the members of the Jurai royal family could use such power,
and of those only the strongest have ever been able to call up the
Wings of the Light Hawk like that.

"Haaaaaaaaaa!" With a single slash, Achika split the monster in
half, then with a negligible tilt of her head her shield few outward
becoming a bolt of pure energy. A flash of light filled the air and
all that remained was a smoking crater in the ground. More
accurately, a new hot springs pool was formed that day.

Ayeka stood with her mouth agape, as incoherent babble dribbled
from her lips. She had been trained since berth to respect and up
hold the natural order, the royal chain of command. Now, here
stood a woman who both out ranked her in both power and noble
stature. There was no longer any doubt of Tenchi's linage as his
mother stood there in all the splendor of the Royal family of Jurai.
It was terrifying to behold. Even Ryoko stood cowed by the
imposing display. This woman no longer resembled the quiet
spoken schoolteacher she had first me. Use only to Ayeka's feeble
abilities, the power she saw here now instinctively demanded
respect.

"Sugoi!!!" Sasami clapped.

"M-mom?" A look of fearful awe was on his face.

"Tenchi, please take, Sasami-chan and see that's she's cleaned up.
Ayeka, Ryoko and I are going to have a little... chat," she
measured out each word with visible restraint.

There were very few times in his life that Tenchi had see his mom
this mad. Thankfully he has survived through all of them. He
certainly didn't want to start pushing his luck now. Whatever
questions he had could wait. "Come on, Sasami-chan!" he said,
literally dragging the cheering girl away.

Ayeka and Ryoko grew massive sweat drops, finding themselves
alone with the older woman. The hot springs were feeling quite
chilly at the moment.

"Well now," Achika began "I know that you two have had trouble
getting along with each other but I think that it's about time that we
began trying to work out some of your differences. Don't you
agree girls?" she asked patiently though her voice carried with it a
dangerous undertone.

Ayeka and Ryoko nodded their heads emphatically still quite
aware of the five-foot long glowing blade in the woman's hands.

(=========================)
The Past
(=========================)

"JUST LOOK AT THIS PLACE!!! IT'S PERFECT!!!" Ukyou
exclaimed as she flicked on the neon sign in the window officially
opening Ucchan's Okonomiyaki for business. The countertop
gleamed. The griddle was spotless. New paneling lined the walls
and fresh coats of paint gave the outside a new look. Removing
one of the walls opened up the interior giving a bright lively
atmosphere to any customer coming in to dine. "It's just like I
always hoped it would be," she said dabbing a corner of her eye
the edge of a tablecloth.

"And we're your first customers!" Achika said grinning with
Ranma and Nobuyuki as they say down at the counter. Their tired
faces were covered with smears of dried paint, spackle and
sawdust from the last minute polish work to get everything just
right.

"No, way! Not for my friends! Three specials, on the house!"
She turned up the heat and got the cooking surface ready. "I
couldn't have done this on my own. Thank you all so much for the
help. In fact to make up for it, you guys can eat here anytime for
free!"

"Woohoo!" Ranma cheered.

"If you did that, this place will lose more money than it makes
from Ranma's bottomless pit which he calls a stomach," Achika
laughed.

"I'm not that bad." To his ire, his stomach added its two cents
with a hungry growl and Achika just roller her eyes as the group
laughed. "This place really is something though." The nodding
heads agreed. The accomplishment they had managed to pull of
might not have been a martial arts duel to the death, but the
satisfactions filled them all with pride of the same caliber.

As Nobuyuki was finishing off the last of the okonomiyaki on his
plate, he felt a slight nudge at his ribs as Achika elbowed him and
Ranma gave him a meaningful look. He cleared his throat
nervously. "Um, ah... Ukyou I was wondering... there's a-a new
movie coming out this weekend and ahhh... I was hoping that
um... maybe you'd want to go see it with me."

Ukyou missed an okonomiyaki in mid flip and it hit the griddle
with a splatter. "You're asking me out, Nobuyuki?"

"Um... yeah. If you're interested that is."

"I... I can't..."

"Oh..." he said drooping down slightly.

"Business I usually pretty busy on the weekends. But if you want
we could go out Friday night," she said smiling.

"R-Really? That would be great!" His glasses fogged up seeing
her face light up. "Oh! I almost forgot," Nobuyuki said slapping
his head with the palm of his hand. Curious faces watched as he
dug down into his satchel. Rummaging around for a bit he finally
pulled out an instant camera. "I wanted to get a picture of the
grand opening," he said with grin.

"Ranma and his stomach, Nobuyuki and his cameras. Should have
figured," Achika said dryly.

"Hey!" the two boys said at once.

Ukyou laughed. "Well I think that a great idea, Nobuyuki-kun!
How about we get one with all of us together! Right by the sign, "
she said pointing to the blue neon glowing in the window. They all
piled out and Nobuyuki set up the flimsy tripod and set the timer.

"Say okonomiyaki!" Achika smiled.

"Okonomiyaki!!!" everyone said.

And with a flash a memory was preserved for all time.

(=========================)
The Present
(=========================)

Two glum men and a cheerful little girl said outside on the curb of
the street in front of the Hinata Sou. Intent expressions were on
their face as they looked at the fanned cards in their hands. "Do
you have and twos, Sasami-chan?" Tenchi-asked.

"Nope, go fish," replied the little girl holding out her hand. Biting
his lip, Tenchi drew one and peaked at it with a half closed eye.
He sighed. It wasn't the card he was looking for.

"You're turn, Sasami-chan," Ranma urged

"Do you have any sevens?" Sasami-asked him. Ranma handed the
card over with a frown. The little girl chirped as she had won
again, defeating the Masaki men for the tenth straight time. It
seemed that Tenchi had inherited his father's lack luster card
playing skills.

"What are all you doing outside?" Katsuhito asked, as the dignified
Shinto priest came shuffling up to the group.

"Playing cards! Would you like to play too?" Sasami asked.

"No, I think a good soak would be nice for this old body after a
long stroll," he in passing as he headed inside the building.

"Just to let you know, Achika's in there and she's... upset.
Really, really upset." Ranma said over his shoulder.

"Deal me in, Sasami-chan!" Katsuhito exclaimed turning right
around and taking a seat on the curb with rest of them. "So what
did you do this time?" he asked turning to his son-in-law.

"Why do you ask that every time this happens?" Ranma asked
annoyed.

"Force of habit." Katsuhito shrugged.

"Well it wasn't me. It's Tenchi and his girl problems."

"Like father, like son then."

Tenchi blinked. "Really, Pop? Was your life ever this
complicated?"

"Son, you got it easy," Ranma deadpanned.

"You're kidding right, pop? Don't tell me you had to deal with
two girls like Ayeka and Ryoko?"

"Actually, it was more around four or five." Double that if Ranma
added up all the psycho guys that were after him in his girl form.

"So how did you get out it?" Tenchi asked, desperately looking for
a way to clear up the situation.

"I got married," Ranma said with a grin. "Do you have any
threes?"

Tenchi face faulted.

"Never a dull moment, excitement around each corner, cute young
girls chasing you in adoration. Ah, to be young again," Katsuhito
mused with a nostalgic smile.

"Well, you can have it," Ranma said. "Thank Kami I don't have to
deal with that anymore."

"What's that?" Sasami asked pointing up overhead at what
appeared to be a spot in the sky. The black dot suddenly grew
larger and a swirling vortex hovered over the group. The high
winds blew the cards from their hands funneling them up into the
spiral. Everyone stared as an object fell out from the rupture and
before anyone could react a young dark haired woman fell literally
into Ranma's lap.

As the portal closed, Ranma looked at the uniformed woman with
his mouth agape. She groggily shook her head, seemingly
exhausted from her impromptu entrance. "Detective... Kiyone,
Galaxy Police... you... you're under... arrest..." she said passing
out but before doing so, handcuffing their wrists together.

Ranma's face took on a pale sickly color. He felt his stomach
bottoming out from within him.

"My, she's quite cute," Katsuhito commented. Beside him, Sasami
nodded her head in agreement.

"Pop?" Tenchi asked looking at the bewildered expression on his
father's face.

Ranma simply shook his head in disbelief. "Why me?"

The End (for now)

Thanks for sticking around and reading this little pet project of
mine. There is more to come, be sure of that!

**************************
Author: Pug
cr...@alum.rpi.edu
AIM: BattlePug
**************************