Insertion

Part 63

Dark Secrets

++++++++++++++++

Ranma Saotome sat on the roof of the Tendo Dojo. He had just returned from his 
adventure with Herb and was looking at the sky contemplating his situation. It 
was starting to get dark, and he'd been home less than an hour. It probably 
would have surprised anyone in the home, but he was thinking.

It wasn't about anything in particular really, just his life in general over the 
past few months. He sighed and stretched out.

"This sucks." It was a revelation to him really. He watched a cloud pass over 
his head, not bothering to look at the sunset in the distance. "I mean, it was 
fun at first and all. This whole girls, fights, and rivalry thing is starting to 
get really old." His mind wandered a bit more, back to Herb and his two lackeys. 
He frowned and sat up. "Is there anything I can do about this?" 

Finally, he jumped up and down onto the ground. No one knew he had returned yet, 
he'd just come directly to where he was when he'd returned. He looked around and 
scowled. Finally, he jumped over the wall and into the street. "The road they 
took. I think they were going to Niigata..."

+++++++++++

Nabiki Tendo was lying on her bed, tears barely being held back as she clutched 
her pillow. She had a deep sense of dread about her as she simply lay there, 
waiting. 

"Waiting for what?" she muttered to herself. She sighed and rolled over onto her 
back. "Some lawyer to show up with a summons, that's what," she grumbled. It was 
coming and she knew it. She stared at the ceiling for a long moment, simply 
looking up at it. "What can I do about it?"

She thought about it for a long time, and then jumped out of her bed, moving 
over to her closet. "Maybe I can do something?" She opened the door and began to 
thumb through the clothes there for a moment. "Maybe. I'll go tomorrow..."

++++++++++++

Several hours later, at a dock in Niigata.

Herb stood with Lime and Mint, looking at the boat that would return them to 
China. It was his, a large sailboat; it looked like something out of a Viking 
movie almost. It had a dragon's head on an old wooden hull, with a large sail 
towering over the ship. He turned to look back at the country again, watching 
the people move about the dock as it started to close down for the night.

"So, we're returning home?" asked Mint as he bowed before his master with Lime 
at his side.

"Yes. There's no reason to stay," said Herb calmly.

"I was hoping to have tea with a girl," grumbled Lime halfheartedly.

"You'll get the chance someday," said Herb as he turned towards the boarding 
ramp.

"Hey, you wanna get married?" said a familiar voice from off to the side.

The group turned to see Ranma Saotome in his female form sitting on top of a few 
wooden boxes.

Herb looked at her for a moment and blinked. "Huh?"

"You heard me," she replied as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Herb pulled the Closed Water Ladle out from his robes and flung a splash of 
water at the girl.

She jumped away and kicked him in the face, landing in front of him and avoiding 
the water. "Hey! What are you doing? Ya jerk!"

Herb looked at her for a moment. "But...you said..."

"I didn't mean like that!" she screamed.

The prince narrowed his eyes at her. "I am a man."

"So am I," replied Ranma sourly.

"What do you mean?" said Herb as he backed away from her.

"Look, I ain't turnin into no girl for you got it?" snapped the redhead angrily. 
"Maybe we can work something else out."

Herb arched his eyebrows and looked at Lime and Mint for a moment. He turned 
back towards her and smirked. "I'm listening."

"Look. I know you don't want to marry some guy, but..."

The prince frowned a little. "I see. A trade, like at the springs?"

"Yeah. You touch mine, if I can touch yours," said the pigtailed girl as she 
smirked at him.

"I will need an heir," said Herb flatly.

"So will I," replied Ranma with her arms crossed over her chest.

Herb stepped back again, glaring at the ground. "It has not been done in ages."

Ranma blinked. "This sort of thing's been done before?"

Herb nodded at her and smirked. "Never in the Royal house."

"Weird," muttered Ranma under her breath.

"Why do you ask this of me?" asked Herb as he turned away from her.

"I dunno. I just got sick of it here. I mean, I get attacked and stuff all the 
time, I get hit by girls all the time. Shampoo throws herself at me, Ucchan just 
pushes me. I mean, you're the first person who tried anything and well...you 
were nice about it. You..." Ranma struggled for the words. "You wanted too, but 
when I said no, you just said 'Okay' and stuff."

Herb blinked at this and looked at her. She was hanging her head and blushing 
deeply. "You realize that you will have to be my wife."

"I ain't nobody's wife," snorted Ranma.

"Well, I mean in the ceremony. I am a prince," said Herb calmly.

"And I'm a manly martial artist type," retorted Ranma as she arched her eyebrow 
at the man.

Herb turned away from her again and thought about it. "Very well. If you wish 
it."

Ranma looked up, she actually had a surprised look on her face. "Oh. Okay. We're 
gonna have to talk about this though. I mean, I ain't bein no girl for nobody!"

"We'll work something out, I have no desire to change my title to princess 
myself," he replied as he walked up the ramp without looking back at the girl. 
Lime and Mint followed, looking back nervously.

"Right," said Ranma as she stood there.

"Are you coming?" said Herb as he looked back at her.

The pigtailed girl blinked and looked up, nodding quietly to herself as she 
followed.

+++++++++++++

Yohiko Hibiki sat upright as a bucket of water splashed her in the middle of the 
night. She gasped and stared at her sheets dumbly. "What the?"

Standing in front of her was a familiar figure, holding a bucket calmly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" screamed the woman angrily as she 
grabbed Xellos by his collar and shook him.

"Waking you up," replied the Mazoku calmly.

"I oughta..." growled the woman as she cocked her arm back.

"You'll wake up your daughter," said Xellos flatly.

That calmed the woman down, the four men were still quite upset. Xellos found 
himself beaten into the ground within a few seconds time.

After the beating, Yohiko tied the belt on the robe she was wearing and sat down 
on the edge of the bed. "Why are you here?"

"I came to tell you, you've just screwed up royally," replied the Mazoku calmly.

"Screwed up?" said the woman flatly.

"Yes. Ranma Saotome, just eloped with the Musk Prince," said Xellos as he sat up 
and smirked at her.

Yohiko fell silent. "What?"

"Ranma Saotome, just eloped with..."

"I heard you!" snapped Yohiko dumbly. "You've got to be joking!"

"I wouldn't have come all the way back here just to joke around with you," said 
Xellos flatly as he looked at her. The look on her face told him she didn't 
believe a word of it. He sighed and pulled out a crystal ball from his robes. 
After a moment, the scene from the docks played for them.

"Oh boy," muttered Yohiko. "So, what now?"

"Well, for starters, you can't do anything about it. L-sama is enjoying this 
little drama quite a bit," said the priest calmly.

"Yeah. That sick bastard!" snapped the woman as she shook her fist at the 
ceiling.

"Don't forget who you're talking about," said Xellos with an amused chuckle.

"Right," muttered Yohiko as she hung her head. "I hate us more every day."

"In any case, things will change drastically now. You could have just sat back 
and enjoyed the ride. Enjoying the chaos as little more than background, now 
however..."

"Yeah. Now we have no idea," grumbled Yohiko as she hung her head. 

"You're going to have to take a more direct approach," said Xellos cheerfully.

"The hell!" snapped Yohiko angrily.

A voice broke their conversation as someone staggered into the hall. "Mom? Are 
you all right? You sound like you're having an argument..." Usagi's voice 
trailed off as she saw a man sitting with Yohiko in her room. She blushed and 
staggered out of the room. As she moved away, tears filled her eyes. "At last!"

"Hey! You little pervert! Get back here!" snapped the woman as she jumped up and 
rushed out to pull her daughter back into the room.

"Hello," said Xellos cheerfully.

"Mooom! I'm going to bed now, you can get back to what you were doing!" said the 
girl with a huge blush on her face.

"We weren't doing anything. This is..." Yohiko looked at the man for a moment.

Xellos arched his eyebrow a little at her and frowned.

"This is your uncle. His name is Xellos," said the woman cheerfully. "He's my 
long lost brother! Yeah!"

Usagi blinked and flipped on the light, causing everyone to wince as the room 
was flooded with light. After they adjusted, she looked at him for a moment. "I 
guess I can see it, he looks just like you."

Xellos blinked at this and frowned. "What do you mean?" He turned around and 
looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't look any different, and neither did 
Yohiko. "I don't see it."

"Why is he in your room?" asked Usagi as she turned to look up at her mother.

"Well...he is a Hibiki," said the woman as she smiled at the girl.

"Oh," said the girl dumbly as she looked at her 'Uncle' and blinked. "He gets 
lost too?"

"Well, no... He just doesn't like the rest of the family to feel bad," said the 
woman cheerfully.

"Oh," said Usagi as she tried her best not to think about that. "I'm goin to 
bed."

"You do that dear," said Yohiko as she pat her daughter on the head and smiled 
at her.

Xellos frowned at this and sat down on the dresser. "In any case, it's been 
decided that you aren't going to be able to just hang around anymore."

"Great," muttered Yohiko flatly. 

"At least they decided to send me to tell you," he replied with a shrug.

"Yeah. Thanks heaps," said the woman lamely.

"At any rate, I'm leaving now," Xellos turned and walked over to the door, only 
to hit his head against it as he tired to walk through it. He fell flat on his 
back and lay there for a moment. "This is odd."

He stood up and tried it again, with the same result. 

"What's wrong?" asked Yohiko as she peered down at him.

"A flash of light appeared on the ground, and a language familiar to both of 
them was etched into the carpet.

"Due to an amusing plot twist, Uncle Xellos will remain on the secondary world 
until further notice," said the message.

"What?" cried the man as he stared at it. "Oh dear."

Yohiko smacked her forehead and fell onto her mattress.

+++++++++

Usagi sat at the table eating her breakfast with a scowl on her face. She was 
dirty, tired, and in an all around bad mood. So, things were pretty normal. 
Well, save for the new face at the table.

"So. Uncle Xellos was it?" said Usagi as she looked at him.

The man was sipping on a cup of coffee with a few slices of toast in front of 
him. "Yes. That's right."

"I've never heard of you," said the girl flatly.

"I'm a bit of a black sheep in the family," he replied calmly.

"Why don't you ever visit?" asked the girl as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Because," he replied as he sipped at his coffee again and picked up the 
newspaper that was sitting on the table.

"You don't like us do you?" said the girl bitterly.

"I wouldn't be here now if I didn't," he replied calmly.

"Mom never talks about you," said the girl.

"Yes. I know," he replied.

"Does that mean she doesn't like you?"

"I tend to get on her nerves a little, but that's what brothers do," he said 
with a small shrug.

"Grandma and Grandpa never said anything about you," continued the girl.

"They died some time ago," replied the man as he looked at her. "Is there a 
reason you're asking me all of this?"

"She's hoping you're a new boyfriend," said Yohiko as she stepped out of the 
kitchen while wiping her hands off with a towel.

"Oh I see. So, she doesn't know then," said the man as he sipped at his coffee.

"Doesn't know what?" said the girl as she looked at her mother.

"It's nothing dear," said the woman as she glared at him.

He seemed quite pleased with himself and was enjoying the situation now.

"Mother," said Usagi crossly.

"How long has it been?" asked Yohiko. 

"About twelve years," replied the man casually.

"So, my little brother comes to visit me. Staying a while?" she asked him.

"At least a month or two, until I can get my own place. You did say that I 
could," he replied as he looked at her calmly.

"So I did," she said as she smirked at him. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Traveling. Europe mostly, I was in America recently though," he said as he 
shifted the paper in his grasp a bit and continued to read. It really wasn't a 
lie.

Usagi frowned. She hadn't realized that the pair was getting their story 
straight. She cut off her mother. "Age?"

"Twenty seven."

"Job?"

"None currently. I was into politics for a few years though."

"Kids?" 

"No."

"Wife?"

"Nope. Not looking either," he said as he smirked at her.

"Aren't you a little old to be single?"

"Aren't you a little young to be asking me about my sex life?" he replied 
calmly.

Usagi growled at this, but backed off.

Xellos smiled at Yohiko and spoke up. "So, you've got that parent teacher thing 
after school today?"

"Yes, that Saotome boy," said the woman as she nodded. "I'll be a little late."

"Oh. That's nice," he said as he grinned at her.

"It's almost time to go dear, go get dressed," said the woman as she smiled at 
her daughter.

"All right," said the girl as she staggered towards her room.

"Lovely child," said Xellos as he continued to drink his coffee.

"Better than her last incarnation," said Yohiko with a small shrug.

"Can't fault you there," he replied with a nod.

"You going to hang around today?" she said as she looked at him.

"Yes. Like you, I've got to go over my personal history. I think you'll find I'm 
in any old family pictures now," he said with a short nod.

"Don't torture the tenants too much," she said as she stood up and shifted her 
clothing into her work clothes with a mere thought.

"Mighty convenient," he replied as he looked her up and down.

"Isn't it though?" she said cheerfully.

+++++++++++++

Nabiki Tendo walked out of a large office in downtown Tokyo. She'd spoken with 
the lawyers handling the case. As a result, she'd missed the entire school day. 
That didn't bother her much, but she now felt sure that she could keep a lid on 
her problem as far as her family was concerned. 

The prosecution had assured her that she would be contacted by her cell phone 
number. It also gave its word not to send any legal notices to her home. She 
would cooperate, in exchange for their silence. A good deal for her.

"Hello, Miss Tendo," said someone behind her.

"Who?" she muttered as she turned around.

A strange man was looking at her with a smirk on his face. "I understand that 
you're testifying against my client."

"I don't have a choice," she replied calmly as she looked at the smarmy man. He 
was in his forties, with slicked back hair and a thick pair of glasses.

"Really. It'd be a shame if your family was told about your child."

She turned to look at him, anger flashing on her face as she saw the vicious 
looking smirk on his face. She clenched her fists and stepped back. "So that's 
how it is?"

He nodded, a frown on his face as he looked away. "You understand. I can't have 
my client's life ruined by some petty..."

"Even if she ruined mine?" snapped the girl hatefully. "If they don't find out 
from you, they'll find out from the prosecutor's office. Go ahead and tell them. 
I'm stuck either way, and I'd rather see her rot in prison for what she did than 
let her get away with it. Either way, my life is over."

"Taking her down with you?" said the man with his frown coming back.

"Fuck you," she said as she turned away from him.

The man frowned. He had hoped that he could get some of the girls to back off. 
It wasn't working, most of them were kept under control by petty blackmail, 
little more than cheating boyfriends. This girl was different though, she was 
the big fish, and her secret was the worst one. He sighed and turned away. She 
was the one he had to get rid of somehow. If he did, the other witnesses would 
either fall apart, or most of the big charges wouldn't stick. She'd end up with 
a small slap on the wrist, if not for Nabiki Tendo. That girl was the one who 
connected her operations to the Yakuza, she was the one who knew all about the 
major dealings. 

He snorted in disgust. The Yakuza would be of little use in this one. His client 
wasn't a member of any family, and her operations were small time enough that 
they'd ignore her problem. She was little more than a small inflow of cash for 
them, something that could be easily replaced.

"I've got to do something about her," he said coldly to himself as he turned 
away. 

+++++++++++++++

Xellos blinked as he looked down at the figure standing in front of him. It was 
a small round woman in her forties. She took a drag off of her cigarette and 
looked him up and down for a moment. "Can I help you?"

"Who're you?" she asked calmly.

"Xellos," he said as he matched her appraising glare.

"I ain't seen you around before," continued the woman.

"Well, I've never been around here before," he replied.

"How do you know Yohiko?" she prodded.

"Why do you want to know?" he countered.

"I'm her friend. I think I should know, she's never mentioned you before," said 
the woman as she blew out a puff of smoke.

"She's obviously got her reasons then," he said calmly.

"Yeah. I wonder what they are?" said the woman as she tried to think about it.

"Hmmm...well it could be..." said Xellos as he looked thoughtful as well.

Itchinose leaned forward with an interested look on her face. "Yeah? What?"

"...a secret," said Xellos as he nodded to himself. 

"You're as bad as Youtsuya," said the woman as she frowned at him.

"Thank you, I think," he replied cheerfully.

"I heard my name," said a tall snaky looking man who walked up to them. He had a 
hat on, and a briefcase in his grasp. "Oh. Hello. Who might you be?"

Xellos smirked at him. "I am Xellos."

"I am Youtsuya," said the man as he gave a short bow.

"Nice to meet you," said Xellos cheerfully.

"Same to you good sir," agreed Yotsuya as he smiled at him.

Yotsuya walked off, both men watched one another until they were out of each 
other's sight.

"Boy. That was weird," said Itchinose as she took another drag from her 
cigarette.

"Yes. Most interesting," agreed Xellos.

"Well, I'm not going to find anything out here," said the woman as she started 
to walk away.

"Good day then," said the man as he closed the door and went back to whatever it 
was he was doing.

++++++++++++

Later that day...

"What?" Yusaku Godai clutched Itchinose by her collar and shook her for a 
moment.

"Some weird guy is at Yohiko's house," repeated the woman as she looked at him. 
"I think he's staying with her."

"That's weird," said Akemi as she took a few gulps of beer.

"Yeah. She's still not home either," said Itchinose with a thoughtful frown. 
"Usagi is back from school already too."

"I wonder who he is? A relative maybe?" asked Yotsuya as he slid through the 
hole in Yusaku's wall.

"Maybe a lover. That would explain why she's changed so much. Found herself a 
wild man," said Akemi as she pointed at Yusaku.

"What?" cried the boy in panic.

"Hmm, could be," said Itchinose.

"Or...he could have killed her and hid the body," ventured Akemi. "I haven't 
seen Usagi since she came home either. Maybe he's a mass murderer?"

Yusaku thought about that for a moment, the only image his mind came up with was 
Yohiko standing on top of a beaten man while flexing her arm in triumph. "Nah. 
She could take him."

Everyone blinked at this and stared at him.

"You haven't been taking those lessons every day like I have," he said with a 
shrug. 

"Well, come on then," said Akemi as she stood up and stretched her arms.

"Where are we going?" asked Yusaku as she grabbed him and pulled him towards the 
door.

"To check this guy out, he might be cute," said the girl as she grinned at him.

"God I hope not," said the boy pathetically.

+++++++++++++

Usagi blinked as she opened the door and Akemi burst into the home pulling 
Yusaku behind her. "Hey. You're mom home?"

"Um, no. She had a parent teacher thing..." started Usagi.

"Where's this guy I've heard about?" said Akemi as she shoved Yusaku into a seat 
and looked around for a moment. 

"Hello," said Xellos as he looked her up and down as he walked out of the 
kitchen.

"Not bad," said Akemi as she looked him up and down for a moment. "So, you're 
Yohiko's new boyfriend?"

Usagi looked at her dumbly, but Xellos managed to catch her eye. She sat down 
next to Yusaku and kept silent.

"Well, I never said that," he replied cheerfully.

"Oh. Who are you then?" said the woman as she sat down and crossed her legs. 

Xellos merely shrugged and sat down across from her. Ignoring the revealing 
negligee she was wearing. "I am Xellos."

"So it seems," replied the woman as she nodded at him. "How do you know Yohiko. 
I never heard her mention you before."

"Really? How odd," said the man as he looked thoughtful.

Yusaku was merely sulking and looking at him angrily.

"I do remember having this conversation earlier today," said the man as he 
smiled at the woman again. "I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Akemi, one of Yohiko's friends," said the woman as she smirked at him.

"Ah, and this?"

"This pathetic worm is Yusaku Godai," said the woman as she waved her arm at 
him.

"Hey!" cried the boy.

"Ah yes. You must be that other student she mentioned," said Xellos cheerfully.

The boy blinked at him and nodded numbly.

"So, do you practice those...um...martial arts?" said Akemi.

"No. I prefer a more subtle approach," he said with a light shrug. 

"So, you visiting Yohiko or somethin? Where you from?"

"I'm staying with her," he said cheerfully as he nodded.

Akemi nodded at this. "You sure are good at avoiding questions you don't want to 
answer."

"Well, I'd hate for dear Yohiko to become angry with me for saying something she 
doesn't want you to know about," said the man cheerfully.

Yusaku twitched at the familiar address he used, but remained silent.

"Well, I guess we'll be going now," said Akemi as she smiled at him and turned 
towards the door. She picked up Yusaku and pulled him along behind her.

"It was nice meeting you," said the man as he waved at them.

"That was weird," said Usagi as the door closed behind them.

Xellos put his finger up to his lips and winked at her. He then looked up at the 
ceiling. "I hope dear Yohiko gets home soon. She must be so tired after a long 
day at work. I know she'd just love a cup of tea and to just relax together in 
front of the television!"

There was a muffled sound from the other side of the door. 

"I don't know why she wouldn't. She'll probably leave her clothes on though, 
seeing as you're around," said Usagi as she seemed to catch on.

"Why. I've seen her naked before," replied Xellos a little loudly.

A pained cry sounded from the hallway. Usagi and Xellos sat around the table 
chuckling to themselves.

"That was fun," said the girl as she looked at him with a grin on her face.

"Wasn't it though? Let's see how long we can leave them hanging?" he said as he 
grinned at her.

"Well, I've kinda been trying to set up that guy and my mom for a while now," 
said the girl as she looked uncertain.

"Oh? Well don't worry about that. He'll just try harder if he isn't sure. That's 
the fun in this, they don't know who I am, or what I want." He winked at her and 
grinned again.

"Oh. So this could work to my advantage?" she said as she smiled at him.

"Yeah. I could help you out with this guy too," said Xellos as he grinned 
mischievously.

"Really?" said the girl excitedly.

"Who better to help, than her own brother?" said Xellos as he gave her another 
wink.

"That's great! Thanks!" said the girl.

Xellos sat back and put his arms behind his head. If he was lucky, Yohiko would 
be kept busy in Nerima for hours. Giving him lots of time to corrupt her 
daughter in all sorts of fun ways.

+++++++++++

Yohiko sighed as she stood in front of the gates of the Tendo Dojo. She hung her 
head and walked in. "Best to get this over with." She shifted back into her male 
self and opened the front door.

Kasumi stood with her hands over her mouth as she saw him. "Ranma! You're back!"

The boy sighed and shook his head. "No. I'm not Ranma."

The girl looked at him for a moment and realized who he was. "You're that 
other..."

"Yes. I'm afraid I've come with news about Ranma," said the boy as he gave her a 
slightly sad smile.

He strolled by her and looked around the room. Soun and Genma were both looking 
at him. 

"Where have you been boy!?" cried Genma.

"You'd better have an explanation for this son!" agreed Soun.

He sighed and hung his head, shaking it from side to side for a moment. "I'm not 
Ranma."

The pair looked at one another and then back at him. 

"I'm the one from the future, remember?" he said as he smirked at them. "I've 
brought some news about your son."

"RANMA!" cried a familiar voice from the top of the stairwell. Akane rushed down 
and stopped just in front of him. "You're all right? A man again?"

"I'm not your fiancee Akane," said the boy as he shook his head.

"You jerk!" she screamed as she attacked him.

He responded by casually grabbing her wrist from the air and flipping her onto 
the ground while twisting her arm and holding her neck down with his foot. 
"Remember who I am how?" he said with an almost playful chuckle.

"What?" she gasped in shock. "You're that other..."

"That's right. I've come with news about your...friend...Ranma." The boy looked 
up at them chose his words carefully. "It's not good news. Well, not for you 
anyway."

"He...didn't get it?" said Akane as she looked up at the boy in horror.

"No. Ranma managed to cure himself, he's no longer stuck as a girl," said the 
boy cheerfully. After he let that sink in, he looked away from them and tried to 
stifle a chuckle. "He's also not coming back."

"Huh?" said Genma. He was the first one to react.

"He went off and married Herb," said the boy with a shrug.

"Herb?" said Soun as tears started to fall down his face.

"Yes, that Dragon-girl Akane met," said the pigtailed boy cheerfully. "He's 
halfway to China by now."

Genma jumped towards the boy and grabbed him. "What?!!"

"He's a prince...err...princess. Something like that. He's royalty now. I'm 
afraid you'll find he's quite out of your reach, Saotome."

"Royalty?" muttered Genma.

"Yeah. Well, considering her...er...his husband, or wife, is half dragon. I 
don't think it would be a good idea to bother him."

"Dragon?" lamented Soun.

"Yeah. You can't do anything. He said to hell with all of you, and went off to 
marry someone else," said the boy with another shrug.

"He can't do that!" cried Genma. "Wait! Is he rich?"

"I don't think so. The Musk are almost extinct, they may have a bit of money 
though. As it's a royal treasure, you won't be able to touch it, even though 
you're his father."

"What?" said Genma dumbly.

"You can't take his inheritance away, because it's his. There are no laws that 
are going to allow you to take it from him. He's a prince...err...princess and 
you're not even royalty."

"No! That ungrateful boy!" cried Genma.

"What about the schools!?" snapped Soun.

"Nothing you can do about it, he's already married," replied the pigtailed boy 
with a shrug. 

"Saotome!"

"Tendo!"

"This can't be!" the two men cried as they hugged one another.

"Sorry old guys, if you don't mind, I got a few more stops to make," said the 
boy as he turned away.

"Wait! What about him!" cried Soun as he looked at the boy.

"That's right! He's a Saotome too!" cried Genma. "He even looks like the boy! 
One is just as good as another!"

Ranma looked at them for a moment and frowned. "What?"

Akane was standing beside him, hanging her head. She was still in shock from the 
news, and had yet to move.

"It's the perfect plan Tendo!" cried Genma.

"Our schools are saved!" cried Soun.

"The hell they are! I'm not your son!" said Ranma as he pointed at Genma and 
frowned. "I've got no obligation to this engagement, and I won't do it! You two 
are too weak to make me, so don't even think it!"

The two men glared at him angrily. "Do your duty to your family boy!" cried 
Genma.

"Quite so!" agreed Soun.

"Hell no! I am not marrying Akane!" said Ranma as he snorted at them.

"You'll do it and like it boy! Have you no sense of honor!" lamented Genma.

"Not to your family!" snapped Ranma angrily.

Akane twitched and looked up at her fiancee angrily. "So! I'm not good enough am 
I? Is that it?"

"I've got a daughter who's almost your age Akane!" snapped the boy as he turned 
and stared at her. "I am not a replacement for Ranma Saotome!"

That shut everyone in the room up at once.

"How dare you cheat on your fiancee that way!" cried Genma.

"I ain't engaged to her!" snarled Ranma.

"You pervert!" screamed Akane.

He slapped her and sent her to the floor. "I was married you ditz! I'm 
thirty-six!"

Akane sat up and looked at him again. "Married?"

The boy crossed his arms over his chest and looked around the room. "That's 
right."

"Daughter?" muttered Genma.

"Yup," said the boy as he looked at the man.

"So...what does this mean?" muttered Soun.

"It means I'm too old to play this stupid game of yours," said the boy as he 
snorted at them. "I'm not marrying Akane, I have no obligation to your family or 
your school, and I won't stand for being treated as a replacement for Ranma 
Saotome. Got it?"

Everyone looked at him for a moment. 

"I should also add that Usagi is my daughter, she isn't related to any of you," 
he turned and smirked at them almost evilly. "And I'm not her father, I'm her 
mother."

Akane passed out.

"Oh my!" said Kasumi as she almost dropped the tea she had brought in for 
everyone.

"Boy! What are you saying?!" cried Genma.

"Leave me alone Genma, or I'll tell your wife that your son ran away to be with 
a man," said Ranma as he narrowed his eyes at the man. "Don't think for a minute 
that I don't know where she lives, or what she looks like. It won't take me more 
than an hour or so to find her. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got other places 
to go."

"You wouldn't!" cried Genma in horror.

"Why not?" asked Ranma as he changed into Yohiko again. "I'm not your son. It 
won't be me under that knife, and Ranma is free of that obligation. 
Meaning...it'll just be you." She smirked at him and turned away.

"Oh my!" muttered Kasumi.

"Oh, hello dear. It's nice to see you again!" said the woman as she bowed to her 
politely.

Kasumi smiled and nodded her head. She would have bowed, but the tea wouldn't 
have allowed that. "Oh. It's nice to see you as well."

With that, Yohiko Hibiki walked out of the home and into the street.

++++++++++++++++

"What?!" cried Ukyo as she stared at the boy across from her in shock. 

"Ran off, Herb, married now, China," said the boy as he sipped at his tea.

"Get out!" snarled Ukyo.

"What are you mad at me for? I'm not Ranma Saotome," he replied calmly. "I never 
did any of this to you. Don't get mad at me just cause I happen to look like 
him."

The girl turned away from him and shook with anger. "He...left me?"

"Never had any intention of marrying you from what I gather. Same with Shampoo," 
said the boy calmly.

Ukyo screamed in rage and stormed out of the room.

Ranma blinked and looked at the customers in the room and sighed. He stood up 
and walked behind the counter. "Who had the special?"

++++++++++++

After a short time, Ukyo came back down the stairs slowly. Her head hanging as 
she moved sluggishly down the stairs.

"Hey. Feeling any better?" asked the boy at the grill.

"No," was the reply.

Ranma shrugged and flipped another order onto a plate. "Well, you'll get over it 
eventually. Ranma wasn't the center of the universe."

"What?" said the girl dumbly.

"I was him a long time ago," replied the boy casually. "I left that behind 
twenty years ago."

"So, now what am I going to do?" she said as she leaned against the wall, not 
caring about the people watching them from the counter.

"Get over it, go out with someone else," he replied.

"And let that bastard get away with this?" she snarled.

"Well, you saw how well that went the last time. He wasn't trying to hurt you, 
and he still beat you. It's best not to fight battles you know you can't win. 
Honor be damned."

"Easy for you to say," she replied hatefully.

"More so than you might think," he replied as he grinned at her. "In any case, 
his problems don't apply to me. I've got my own life to lead, and you do too."

The girl turned her head away from him and looked at the wall for a long moment.

Ranma smirked at her again. "Why live for revenge, when you've got all this?" 

"This? You call this something?" she snapped.

"Better than a handful of revenge," replied the boy with a shrug. "You can buy 
more with it."

Ukyo snorted and pulled her bakers peel off the wall. "Well, you can have it. I 
want my revenge, I've earned it." She stormed out of the place and into the 
street.

Ranma sighed and shook his head. "Well. I tried." He walked over to the window 
and put up the closed sign. After that, he waited for all the customers to leave 
and closed the place up behind himself.

++++++++++++++++

Cologne sat with Ranma in front of her and smiled. "You say you have news of 
Ranma?"

"Yeah. I suppose it won't matter much to you, but it could be important for your 
Great Granddaughter. Fun's over old woman."

"Pardon?" said the crone as she leaned forward.

"Ranma ran off and eloped with Herb," said the boy with a shrug.

Cologne actually sprayed her tea across the room. "WHAT?"

"They're getting married," said Ranma. "If they aren't already."

Cologne simply stared at him for a moment and coughed. "That's...most unusual."

"Yeah. I thought so too," said the boy with a shrug. "To each his own."

"Indeed," agreed Cologne.

"So, what ya gonna do now?" asked Ranma as he looked at her.

"Well. I think we'll stay for a bit before returning to China," said the old 
woman with a pleasant smile.

"Oh?" asked Ranma.

"Yes. My Shampoo has much to learn about the outside world, and she still has a 
Ranma to lust after here to forget the old one."

"In other words, you don't want her going off after Herb's new wife, husband, 
whatever he is."

"Yes," said Cologne with her head hung a little. "That could be dangerous."

"I get it, but keep her away from me. I ain't as nice as that boy was. I don't 
take to people grabbing me very well, and I can be just as dangerous."

Cologne frowned at this. "You don't understand boy. I need your help, without 
you to keep her attention, I may not be able to stop her from going after him. 
Please."

Ranma blinked at this and sighed. "My patience isn't near as thick as that 
idiots. Don't forget that, I'll overlook a little to keep her safe, but not too 
much. Keep her away from my friends, and my family. If they get hurt, I'll take 
it out on her, and any other Amazon I can get my hands on."

Cologne narrowed her eyes at the threat, but nodded. "That is reasonable."

"That's the most you can hope for," he replied as he stood up. "Now if you'll 
excuse me, I've got to get home." With that, he left her alone.

++++++++++++++++

TBC...

Next Time: Uncharted Waters