Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and all it’s characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video.

It had been very close.

Ranma heard the guide’s sigh of relief mirroring his own as he held tightly to the bamboo pole, which had been his salvation. Though the catastrophe had been diverted, Ranma could hear he was not out of danger yet. His father was still going at it, mad at how easily Ranma had knocked him into one of the pools. If not for his quick reflexes, the growling panda might have gotten him turned into some other creature.

Feeling anger rising for his father’s irresponsible behavior, Ranma gritted his teeth and watched his father continue lumbering along the poles in his panda form. Ranma placed a foot against the pole and made sure of his grip.

The panda growled again and lunged in his direction, a perfect sidekick position, which looked odd on a panda.

"Oh no you don’t!" Ranma growled back, kicking his leg forward for enough momentum to carry him around the pole, crashing his knee against his father’s furry panda head. "You deserve whatever you get, old man!" Ranma spat, swinging himself to safety a good ten feet from the edge of the cursed springs.

The Chinese guide walked carefully over to his side and patted him on the back. "This one so happy Mr. Customer no fall into springs. Was scared when other Mr. Customer fall into Spring of Drowned Panda. Very tragic tale of panda who fall into spring six hundred years ago."

Ranma nodded and looked back to the spring his father had just fallen into. "Which one is that?" He asked, pointing to the bubbles that were slowly rising from its depths.

"Ahh, very sorry Mr. Customer." The guide sighed heavily as someone rose from the surface of the water. "That Spring of Drowned Woman. Very tragic story of young woman who fall in one thousand three hundred years ago."

A cute middle-aged redhead sputtered back to the surface, her large gi hanging off her shoulders like a robe. She blinked at Ranma and the guide then down at her body. With a shriek she closed her top and looked angrily at her son, who had fallen to the ground, laughing so hard he cried.

By Michael Fetter

"Oh, China!" Nabiki exclaimed while listening to her father’s announcement. Her sisters, Akane and Kasumi, were listening more quietly, frowning mainly.

"Big deal." Akane muttered. "Doesn’t mean he’s any good."

"I do hope he’s older than me." Kasumi added. "Younger men are so . . . boring."

Nabiki rolled her eyes, but her sister did have a point. "So what’s this Ranma like, daddy? Is he cute?"

Puffing out his chest, Soun stared proudly at his daughters. "I don’t know."

"You don’t know?" Nabiki deadpanned, suddenly things looked bleak.

"Nope." Soun confirmed.

"This is unbelievable!" Akane exclaimed. "You’re going to marry one of us off to some boy you don’t even know! He could be some sort of hentai or something!"

"Yes, father." Kasumi nodded in agreement with Akane. "You should not have done this it was in very bad taste."

Soun was ready to cry at the harsh treatment his daughters were giving him. The waterworks would always calm them down and make his daughters see reason. He was just about to wail when there came a loud commotion from the front door. Smiling, Soun stood up and rushed for the door. "That must be them now!"

Nabiki quickly followed.

Akane and Kasumi remained in their seats each with their own look of disapproval on their faces.

A moment later they came back into the room with somewhat shocked looks. A young pig-tailed man was carrying an older woman over his shoulder, who screamed and complained, beating her fists against his back. He smirked at everyone there and dropped the woman onto her feet in front of them. She held her gi closed and looked sheepishly at the Tendou’s.

"You wouldn’t be . . ." Soun pointed at Ranma.

"Saotome Ranma." The boy bowed respectfully with a smirk.

"Oh my boy! You’re here!" Soun cried happily, picking Ranma up in a hearty embrace.

"Oh, he’s cute." Nabiki smiled over her father’s shoulder.

" . . . " Kasumi and Akane were still working over the woman who wanted to shrink back into the shadows for some reason. They saw her cringe when Soun asked Ranma where his father was.

"Tendou-san." Genma spoke lowly.

"Hmm?" Soun peered over his shoulder at the woman he was just now realizing was there. "Oh! I’m sorry. You must be Ranma’s mother, a pleasure." He bowed, taking Genma-chan’s hand for a kiss.

She pulled her hand away quickly, laughing nervously. "Yes, well. Let’s not forget why Ranma is here, Tendou."

Soun cocked an eyebrow at her but shrugged, grabbing Ranma about the shoulders happily. "Quite right!"

"Wait a minute." Ranma interjected. "What do ya mean? I thought you just wanted to visit the Tendous?"

"Well, yes, Ranma, and to introduce you to-"

"My daughters." Soun finished, sweeping a hand in the three girls’ direction. "Kasumi, nineteen. Nabiki, seventeen. And Akane, sixteen. Pick the one you like and she will be your wife!"

"Pops." Ranma growled at Genma-chan. "What did you do now?"

"Ran-" Kasumi was cut off as she was about to go into her motherly scolding mode.

Genma-chan rushed forward and grabbed Ranma by the gi, beginning a quick exchange of blows. Genma-chan was obviously faster, but Ranma was certainly no slouch. "You must go through with it, boy. It’s a matter of honor!"

"Since when have you been worried about," Ranma took a punch to the stomach to get his father to hold still. "honor, old man!"

The Tendou’s remained where they were, uncertain for whether or not they should interfere. It would be one thing if Ranma insulted his mother, but to gain such a ferocious retaliation, and the almost routine manner in which it was held further confused them.

The redhead popped out of the pond, looking cross, but seemingly no longer interested in the fight. "This matters, boy. Tendou and I made a pact before you were born that we would see our schools joined. So you must follow through with this or you would have no honor."

Furrowing his brows in anger, Ranma clutched his hands into fists. "What’s with you, oyagi? Ever since China you’ve been getting on my case about honor. You’ve been teachin me to be a thief most of my life. Where'’ the honor in that?"

"Silence boy! Show respect for your father!" Genma-chan growled and tightened her gi.

Pulling down one eyelid and sticking out his tongue. "So who’s a father, papa-chan?"