Dark Ranma

Part 1

The apprentice.

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

It was a cold day; wind blew across the
mountain valley deep within the wilderness of
Japan. Genma Saotome and his young son, Ranma,
trudged along through the autumn gusts.

The boy was still a child, a tiny boy with
scratches still healing on his face and body. The
marks of a recently attempted training blunder. He
followed his father, clutching his cloak against
his body to ward off the harsh elements.

"Don't worry boy, those fools won't catch us,"
said Genma as he looked back and noticed his son's
downtrodden look.

"Huh? Sure Pop," muttered the boy
halfheartedly.

Genma was referring to the local populace of
the area they had just left. After his son had
snapped, they'd discovered the training that he
had done in order to better his son. Naturally
they didn't understand the importance of suffering
for the art. Now he was on the run, and forced to
avoid any populated areas for a time.

"Pop, the wind is blowin real hard," said the
boy as he looked up at the sky for a moment.

Genma frowned at this, but the boy's tone told
him it wasn't really a complaint. The boy was
making an observation, if he had been whining,
he'd have continued on. The boy would do well to
face the elements. However, he shook his head and
looked forward again. It was uncomfortably cold.

The man's face broke into a grin as he noticed
a cave nearby. It was nestled inside a wall of
rock that rose about ten meters into the air off
to their right. "Come on boy, we should rest for a
little."

"Okay Pop," said the boy as he followed after
the man. As they neared the cavern, Genma noticed
the boy hesitate from the darkness. The recent
events in his life had made him wary of cramped,
dark places. Genma snorted and kicked his son
inside.

"Don't be such a wuss son!"

Ranma managed to stay standing and staggered
inside. After a moment, the pair had a small fire
going between them.

"Boy..." Genma paused in the middle of
ordering his son to sleep. His eyes went wide as
he stared at the wall behind his son and gasped.
Etched into the stone, were unusual markings that
almost looked like writing.

"Impossible!" muttered Genma as he stood up
and stared at it in awe.

"What's up Pop?" asked the boy in confusion.

"This cave! It cannot be! I've heard legends,
of a cavern that hides a technique, an invincible
technique! Can it be?" The man stood up and walked
towards the wall, touching the markings. They were
smooth to the touch almost melted into place, and
carved with expert skill. "Boy, grab a torch from
the fire."

Ranma's eyes went wide with fear. "Another
technique?" his mind cried in horror.

"If this is what I think it is, the Saotome
School of Anything Goes Martial Arts will become
the strongest art of all," said the man as he
started walking into the cave.

Ranma hesitated, and then followed his father
inside, fearing loneliness more than anything
else.

+++++++++++

Genma stepped back, awe and joy on his face as
he stared at what he had found in the back of the
cave. It was a stone table, resting on it was a
small metal object, it looked like an electronic
device, a cylinder of some kind.

"Who has entered?" said a voice from within
his mind.

"I am Genma Saotome! I have come seeking the
invincible technique that is said to be hidden
away in this cave!" boomed the man.

His son looked at him oddly. "Who ya talkin
to, Pop?"

The voice paused and said nothing for a long
moment. "Would that you found me sooner, I would
have been glad to take you. You have all the
necessary qualities. You are too old for the
training, it is beyond your grasp."

"What?" muttered Genma dumbly.

The feeling of a cold presence filled the
cavern; neither Genma nor his son could see who it
was, or what it was. "Your feelings have awakened
me from my slumber. Go so that I might return to
my rest and await..." The voice stopped suddenly.
"It was not you...this boy..."

"This is my son, Ranma," said Genma as he
stood in front of the child.

"He is the one, the one I have waited for,"
said the voice. Inside the boy, he found a turmoil
of emotions, love for his father, but overshadowed
by feelings of betrayal, fear, and anger. "Send
your son forward to the altar, and this technique
you speak of shall be his."

Genma looked at Ranma for a moment and
frowned. "Go on boy."

Ranma blinked. "Go on where?"

"Didn't you hear him?" snapped Genma angrily.

Ranma shook his head from side to side.

"Go up to the altar, and listen to what the
voice tells you. Then the technique will be ours.
Don't worry son, that's all you have to do this
time."

Ranma shrugged his shoulders and started
forward. His steps slowed as he felt the air
become chilly again. Had he been older, and wiser,
he would have turned back immediately. It was the
presence of darkness, a cold evil force.

"Boy. What do you want?" said the voice in a
patronizing tone.

"I dunno, Pop told me to come here and do what
ya said," replied the boy.

"You are angry with him?" asked the voice.

"No! He's my Pop!" replied the boy.

"I can feel your anger boy, I know it's true.
He hurt you, betrayed you..."

Ranma hung his head and said nothing. "I..."

"You are a...Martial Artist?" asked the voice
as soothingly as it could.

"Yeah, Pop says I'm gonna be the best one
day!" said the boy proudly.

"Such pride in one so young, another admirable
quality. Boy, I can make you stronger than even
your father can," said the voice coldly. "I can
make you stronger than any Martial artist can hope
to be, but it will not be easy, and it will not be
fast."

"R...really?"

"Oh yes. I can, and I will if you let me. Your
anger..."

"I gotta stop that, people always tell me that
anger is bad. Those monks and stuff," replied the
boy with a heavy sigh.

"No, you will embrace it, feed off of your own
anger. You will suppress it, allow it to grow into
hatred, and with that, you will become
invincible."

Ranma stared up at the stone table dumbly.
"Huh?"

"Boy, take what is on the table, keep it with
you always, but hide it from the eyes of others.
This is how I will teach you." The voice sounded
powerful, strong beyond belief.

"What is it?" asked the boy.

"It is the weapon of a Sith, a light saber. In
time, I will tell you all. For it holds my spirit.
I have waited for so long to find someone who I
could pass it on too. Someone just like you. My
time on this world grows short, but I shall have
enough to show you the way. I will visit you in
your dreams, and there, I will show you the
secrets to the ultimate power."

Ranma took the slim metal object into his hand
and looked at it for a moment. "Okay."

"Now go, go back to your father, I will show
you the way."

Ranma turned and walked up to his father's
side. The chill in the air did not fade, but grew
stronger as the boy approached.

"Well boy?" said the man firmly.

"Huh?"

"Show your father the technique," said Genma.

"I don't know it yet Pop," replied the boy.

"What? What were you talking about? Don't tell
me you failed boy, you'll go back until you learn
it!" snapped Genma.

"That weird voice says he'll teach it to me in
my sleep," replied the young boy.

"What?" replied Genma.

"I dunno," said Ranma with a shrug.

"Come on boy, this is a waste of time,"
snorted Genma. He turned and narrowed his eyes at
the cavern for a moment. "Useless, all that for a
hoax."

Of course, he never realized that the line of
thought wasn't his idea, or the fact that he now
thought of the small object in Ranma's hand was
little more than a worthless souvenir he'd picked
up. Nothing for him to worry about anyway.

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

"Where am I?" asked Ranma dumbly as he looked
around.

A tall figure appeared before him, he was
dressed in black and wore a long cape. He appeared
to be human, but his eyes were a dark red color.
He had short cut black hair and had a permanent
scowl on his face. "This is where I will train
you."

Ranma stepped back in horror, moving away from
the man.

"You cannot run, I am within your mind boy,"
said the figure as he appeared in front of the
boy.

"What? Who?" stammered the boy.

"I am Darth Okkota, your master," said the man
calmly. "Welcome my young apprentice."

"You're the guy from the cave?" said the boy
as he suddenly seemed to understand.

"Indeed," replied the dark figure calmly.
"Within the confines of this place, I will open up
the secrets to the ultimate power in the
Universe." He waved his hand and the pair was
suddenly standing within a sea of stars. "I have
the power to make these dreams as real as I like,
or as unreal. You will remember everything I have
to teach you."

Ranma looked on in fascination at the sea of
sparkling lights around him.

The suddenly vanished, and the pair were
standing on a small deserted island in the middle
of an ocean. Water reached out in every direction,
as far as the eye could see.

"But..."

"Silence, I have much to say," said the man
firmly.

Ranma did as he was told.

"Good," said the man coldly. "Now, there are a
few rules you must follow. I am the Master, you
will always refer to me that way. You must speak
nothing of what you learn here to anyone, and
refrain from using your power outside of these
confines until I say you are ready. You will have
many enemies because of what I am about to teach
you. You will be strong, infinitely so, but not
even you can destroy them all at once. You must
remain hidden until the time is right."

Ranma nodded silently, unsure of what to say.

"Excellent," replied the man coldly. "Here, I
will train your mind. Outside, your father will
take care of training your body. You will continue
under his tutelage until the time is right. Speak
nothing of this to him."

The boy nodded again, not wanting to speak out
of fear this time.

"Your anger of him slowly becomes hatred,"
said the man coldly as he stared down at the boy
with an unpleasant looking smile. "Excellent. You
have already started down the path. In time, it is
you who will rule your destiny, once I have gone,
you will be the ultimate force in the universe."

Ranma glanced around and found himself staring
at the stars again. "Here, I can expose you to the
knowledge of Planets long forgotten in time. So
the first lesson begins." He turned and grinned
down at the boy with an evil gleam in his eyes. "A
long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."

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

A few years later...

Ranma stared at his father's back, or rather
her father's back. Anger burned heatedly as he
stared the man down. "I want to kill him." His
thoughts were complimented by another rush of
hatred. Memories he had tucked away within the
recesses of his mind.

"No," said the voice of his master. It was
little more than a memory now. The Sith had
vanished six months before, his link to this plane
of existence finally drained as he finished the
boy's training. "There is still much you can learn
from him. After you have surpassed him, and he has
nothing more to teach, then you may destroy him at
your leisure."

Her clothes were a jet-black dogi that barely
covered her new breasts. His control was slipping
with each time the fabric rubbed against the
sensitive new additions to his chest.

The guide was backing slowly away from her as
she stared the man down. She turned and glared at
the pools, breathing in deep heavy breaths. She
wanted to kill her father, but she still needed
him alive.

Reaching out with her senses, she smirked as
she felt someone a short distance away from him. A
figure standing on the edge of a cliff, he could
see it with his mind's eye. Ryoga Hibiki, the boy
was peering out over the horizon in search of him.
A cold smirk formed on his face as he pulled some
of the earth out from underneath the boy's feet,
sending him falling onto the valley below.

"Pity, he may have made a good apprentice,"
thought the boy with a small twinge of regret. The
newly female Ranma turned to look at his father.
"We should go."

Genma gave a pathetic sounding growl.

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

The Village of Amazon's, a short time later...

"Mr. Customer! You is getting kiss of death!"
cried the guide in panic.

Ranma looked at the girl in front of her and
frowned. "What?"

"Kiss of death is promise, to hunt to ends of
Earth and kill!"

Ranma smirked at the violet haired girl who
stood before her. The guide was pulling against
her arm, unable to move her.

Slowly, Ranma reached out with her feelings.

The girl standing before her paused suddenly,
in the middle of pulling out her weapons. Her eyes
went wide with horror as her throat closed up
suddenly by some unseen force.

Ranma stepped forward. "Are you all right?"
she asked with a fake concern on her face.

Shampoo simply stared at her and the Guide
froze.

Ranma's head whipped around, and she cursed as
she turned and ran. The guide gasped as he found
himself standing alone. Genma followed after his
son, but the boy hadn't attempted to help him.

Shampoo was on the ground gasping for breath.

The guide blinked as he found himself
surrounded. "Oh dear."

A wizened old troll hopped out of the crowd
and frowned as she stared down at Shampoo. "What
has happened? Why did you stop?"

"I just stopped breathing?" replied the girl
with confusion on her face. "It was like someone
was holding onto my throat and choking me."

Cologne frowned as she looked down at her. The
girl's face was enough to make her believe it.

"Strange, I felt no magic, no chi," said the
old woman as she looked down at her Great
Granddaughter for a moment.

"I don't know what happened," said the girl as
she finally stood up.

"Go see the healer," said the old woman
firmly. "Then you will resume the hunt for this
girl. Take Mousse with you."

"What?! I don't need that weakling's help!"
snapped the girl.

"He isn't going to help you, he's going to
observe," replied Cologne. "Something about this
makes me uncomfortable, but you have given the
kiss, and now you must fulfill it."

Shampoo bowed, a displeased look on her face
as she followed the old woman's orders.

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

Mousse bowed before Cologne and frowned.
"What?"

"You have your orders Mousse. Go with Shampoo,
follow her, observe. Report back here even if she
is killed. Do not attempt to attack this girl,"
said Cologne coldly.

"But..."

"Do as you are ordered boy," said Cologne
angrily. "If she dies, and my suspicions are true.
You will die as well if you face her."

"Suspicions?" asked Mousse.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," replied
the old woman calmly. "A legend from long ago,
ancient even when I was a child."

"What legend?" asked Mousse.

"I shall tell you if you still wish to know
when you return," said Cologne.

"Very well," said the boy as he bowed to her
again.

Cologne could see the lie in his eyes.

After he left, she sighed. "Where is Li-Xian?"

"She has already been ordered to follow them,
and report back when he fails," replied one of the
old women that sat nearby to Cologne.

"If he fails. We have nothing more than
suspicion, a freak accident, and a stranger."

"No accident," said another old woman on her
other side. "Shampoo is in perfect health.
Something was done to her."

"I pray we are mistaken," said Cologne.

"You think she may be a sorceress?" asked one
of the women.

"No, I sensed no magic, no chi being
manipulated. If I am right, and I pray I am not
for all our sakes...she may be another Shithu."

"Shithu? That horrible monster from fairy
tales?" snorted one of the women in disgust. "You
disappoint me Cologne."

"Time will tell," replied the elder calmly.

+++++++++++

Several days later, in a remote region of
China...

Ranma stood alone in the middle of a field,
her eyes glaring coldly at the girl before her.
"You again?"

"Girl! I kill!" snarled Shampoo as she put her
blade in front of her defensively. It was a curved
sword, it had little ornamentation on it save for
the leather hilt and tassel that hung from the
base.

Ranma smirked. "You? Kill me? I think not
girl."

"Shampoo show Amazon strength," replied the
girl hatefully as she slowly stalked forward.

"Strength? You don't know what strength is,"
said Ranma coolly. She glanced at the tree line
and frowned. Her father had run away, fearing his
own life. He didn't even notice his son wasn't
behind him, at least, not yet.

Ranma chuckled as she looked at Shampoo again.
"What do you plan to do girl?"

"Shampoo kill you now!" snapped the girl as
she charged forward.

Ranma snorted in disgust. "Come on then."

Shampoo's eyes went wide as she felt the
familiar clutching at her throat again. She fell
to her knees, grasping desperately at her throat.
"How...is doing...?" she gasped as the force
slowly increased.

"Not fair? I guess I can grant you that," said
the girl as she stopped the attack. "You seem
strong enough. Let's see how you do."

Shampoo stood upright, staring at the redhead
in horror. "Is witch!"

"Don't be so vulgar," snorted Ranma
distastefully.

"What is name?" asked Shampoo cautiously.
"Shampoo want know who kill."

Ranma smirked at this; it was a cold cruel
act. The girl wanted her name? She would tell
Shampoo, not the name her father had given her,
but the name she had earned. The one his master
had given him years ago, his true name. "I am
Darth Ken'o."

The Amazon nodded as she stepped back into a
little. She slowly moved forward, the blade held
in defense of her body and face.

"Come girl, stop wasting my time. I don't want
that old man to realize I'm not behind him yet."

"Girl brave, stupid, but brave," said the girl
as she rushed forward. The blade moved at amazing
speed as she slashed down at her opponent.

Ranma chuckled, stepping aside casually.
"Fool."

Shampoo gasped as she stopped moving behind
the girl. She was still extended in her strike,
and a soft humming noise seemed to fill her
senses. "What?" she muttered as her sword fell in
two pieces, cut off at the hilt.

Ranma turned to look at her slowly. A cold
smile on her lips. "You're good, but not a match
for me."

Shampoo spun around and jumped back high into
the air, trying to put some distance between
herself and the girl.

Ranma raised her hand as the girl sailed away
from her. The force flowing through her and then
away from her like the waves in the ocean.

Shampoo screamed as she felt something slam
into her body and send her flying back even
further. She slammed into a tree and felt the wind
being forced from her lungs. "Damn!" she muttered
in Mandarin in pain. The ground rushed up to meet
her and she landed face first on the ground.

Ranma walked up to her calmly, a smile still
on her face. "You've seen too much for me to allow
you to live. It's not time for anyone to know
about me yet."

The young Chinese girl looked up at her.
Shampoo's teeth were grit in pain as she felt the
icy grip of death itself close around her throat
again. "Shampoo...not die so easy..."

"It is a shame," agreed Ranma as she increased
the pressure. She pointed her lightsaber at the
fallen girl.

Shampoo's eyes went wide at the sight of the
blade, she had not yet noticed it there. "Sword of
light?" she muttered in a strained voice through
her choking.

"Shampoo! Noooo!" screamed a male voice from
behind Ranma.

The Sith got a surprised look on her face and
spun around. A boy dressed in robes was charging
her from across the field. He had various weapons
in his grasp and an enraged look in his eyes. It
was easy to see them because of the thick glasses
he wore on his face.

Ranma growled, she turned to see the girl
staggering to her feet again. Her concentration
was lost from her shock. "No you don't!" she
snarled as she hacked down at Shampoo with the
blade.

The Amazon jumped away, but wasn't fast
enough. She screamed in pain as she fell, her left
leg cut off halfway at the shin.

Mousse jumped into the air, readying his
weapons as he dove towards his beloved's attacker.
"Shampooooo!"

Ranma snarled, she pulled the lightsaber
upright and closed her eyes.

Mousse never made it to him. The boy's glasses
shattered by an unseen force and the fragments
jabbed into his eyes. He screamed in pain as he
tumbled out of his attack.

"If you'd stayed out of this, I might not have
noticed you," said the redhead coldly.

Shampoo gasped as she rolled onto her back,
the pain in her leg forgotten for a mere moment as
she saw Mousse land at the feet of the girl. He
was curled up in a ball in agony.

Ranma raised the lightsaber over her head and
calmly drove it down into his body, spearing him
through the center of his chest.

"Mousse!" screamed the girl in horror. She
felt a sudden rushing as someone grabbed her and
pulled her along. She found herself rushing along
in someone's arms, the trees going by at an
amazing rate of speed.

Ranma growled as she felt the presence of
another. "Damned rats!" She turned in the
direction of her former prey and saw that she was
gone. She raised her hand up and frowned.

+++++++++++

Li-Xian rushed through the forest with her
injured comrade in her arms. "The elders will need
to hear of this," she said out loud.

Shampoo was in shock as they moved from branch
to branch in the treetops of the forest that
surrounded the field.

Suddenly, there was a visible shift in the
air. Li-Xian screamed as she was toppled from her
jump and rolled before she hit the ground. Her
eyes went wide as she saw what was below her.
"No!"

Shampoo was barely aware of what was going on
around her. She hit the ground roughly as her
former ride dropped her. Li-Xian gasped as she
looked down at Shampoo. Her eyes wide as she hung,
suspended from where she was impaled against a
protruding branch on a long dead and fallen tree.

"No!" muttered Shampoo.

"Go!" snapped Li-Xian through the pain. "Go
back, tell the elders what you saw!"

Shampoo staggered to her good leg, her eyes
wide with horror as she hopped back and fell onto
her rear.

"Go! She comes!" snapped the dying warrior
through the blood that was seeping out of her
mouth.

Shampoo nodded and started to hop away, she
kept her balance by latching onto the sides of
trees as she moved away as fast as she could.

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

Inside the field Ranma stood alone still. The
lightsaber held at her side casually as she
watched the tree line and searched through it with
her mind's eye. A smirk formed on her lips as she
felt the life force of one end suddenly. She shut
the blade down and frowned as she realized that
there was another moving away, it was just fast
enough, and far enough away that she had no hope
of catching up to it in time. At least, not
without the risk of broadcasting his power to any
force sensitive people nearby. It was bad enough
that she'd used them enough already. She couldn't
risk boosting her speed and charging through the
wilderness.

Her master had told her that there may be
others like her on the planet. It was a doubtful
prospect, but she couldn't be sure about that
though. Even if it was not one of those cursed
Jedi her master had told her about. There may
still be someone who had the power to contact
them. She knew the dark side was difficult to see,
but also that it was far from impossible. If she
used her power sparingly and only when she really
needed it.

The planet would hide her from those in the
galaxy easily enough. Its upper atmosphere had a
sort of dampening effect for the force. It was why
her master had hidden here. He was waiting for the
right time to strike, but died before the time
came. He had lived for almost three thousand years
before that time had come though.

Ranma snorted, there wasn't much a backwater
tribe like the Amazon's could do to her where she
was going. She frowned deeply again and cursed
herself for being so careless and reckless. There
wasn't anything she could do about it now. She put
the lightsaber back into her robes and started
walking again. She didn't particularly care if she
ran into her father or not.

++++++++++

"Are you certain child?" asked Cologne as she
peered down at her Great Granddaughter.

"I'm sure. The girl killed Mousse, and then
Li-Xian." Shampoo was sitting in the middle of the
council of elders, a bandage over her cauterized
stump. The blade the girl had used had burned the
wound shut when it had cut her.

"So Mousse did not follow orders, it was wise
to send Li-Xian after her," said one of the old
women. "She wielded a blade of light against us.
It, hummed..." The girl looked slightly dazed at
the memory.

"Perhaps," said Cologne. "The village
sorceress detected no magic, and I felt no chi
when she used these powers here. We have another
Shithu."

"What is this 'Shithu'?" asked Shampoo as she
staggered upright with a frown on her face.

"An old legend, once thought to be a fairy
tale. Long ago, there was a creature that called
itself Shithu. It appeared as a man, and killed
mercilessly. It used no magic or chi, and
destroyed countless Chinese. This creature created
an alliance between ourselves and the Musk, one
that would most likely survive to this very day
had that tribe not been destroyed when I was
young. In the end, we defeated it, and drove it
from China."

"This girl called herself Darth Ken'o," said
Shampoo with her head hung down.

There were mutters of surprise through the
council.

"So, it is true," said Cologne with a heavy
sigh.

"What is it?" asked Shampoo.

"Shithu was a mere title child. The creature
of the legend...its name was Darth Okkota."

"So, this girl...she was really a monster?"
said the girl as she sat back down again.

"A most horrible monster indeed," agreed
Cologne.

"I will kill it," said the girl as she looked
up at her Great Grandmother firmly.

Cologne frowned. "You are not ready for such a
task. There is much to do first."

Shampoo nodded with a scowl of determination
on her face.

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

Ranma Saotome stood next to his father and
frowned deeply. "What?"

"We're going to see an old friend of mine,
you're going to marry one of his daughters."

Ranma scowled, rage burning in his eyes as he
stared at his father's back. "That's it! He's
dead! I've had enough!" he thought to himself.

"Come on boy! Quit lagging!" snapped Genma as
he turned around.

A rain began to fall all around them, Ranma
felt his form shift, filling out the black silk
clothes he wore in different ways than before. Her
aura became visible for a moment, but she pushed
it back. It was far too crowded to use her power
here. She growled under her breath and stepped
after her father.

"I'm going to have to kill him the old
fashioned way." Her hand clenched the lightsaber
hidden inside her sleeve and she stalked forward,
waiting for an opportunity to present itself.
There were far to many people walking around for
her to just cut the man in half where he stood.
Her anger was locked away, to fester into a deeper
hatred of the man. Ranma found that idea strangely
soothing.

++++++++++

They stood in front of the Tendo Dojo. Ranma
smiled as she realized that this was the perfect
opportunity. There was no one around, only a dog
barking in the distance. She smiled and slowly
pulled her weapon out of her sleeve. "Goodbye
old..."

She froze and looked up at the gates of the
dojo. His father was pushing her, grunting like
the animal he now was. The girl didn't fight as
she glanced around and found herself inside the
compound, looking around in a sort of wonder.
"This place...so much anger? I feel sadness,
despair...it's everywhere!"

In her mind, she could see the dark cloud that
hung over the building. Her anger faded slightly,
the lightsaber vanished into her sleeve again.
"Interesting." Ranma strolled forward in front of
her father as the panda pushed her into the
building.

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

Akane Tendo gasped at the girl who stood in
front of them. She was eyeing them all coldly,
without a hint of amusement or embarrassment in
her eyes. "I am Ranma."

"Yes, we'd figured that out," said Nabiki with
a smirk on her face.

Akane frowned, she blushed at her sister's
rudeness. Her father was lying on the ground, out
cold. The girl was currently sizing up her family,
she could see it in her eyes.

Nabiki was first. Ranma frowned, there was a
deep pain hidden away inside her. Something locked
up and kept at bay. It was weak though, all of
those in the home had that inside them.

The eldest fell under his gaze next. The girl
repulsed her, she wasn't the strange force, nor
was the man who had greeted them, that left one
more. Her face turned into a smile as she eyed the
shy looking girl who watched silently. She looked
embarrassed, somewhat shy. "This one. Yes, she
could be perfect."

"Huh?" said Akane as she looked at the girl.

"It's nothing," replied Ranma as she turned to
look at her father.

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

Soun was awake, lying on his back and crying.
"Well I assumed my friend Saotome's son was a
boy!"

"Do you see a boy here? Do you Daddy?" cried
Nabiki as she attempted to grab the girl's chest.
Her hand was jerked aside painfully as the girl
narrowed her eyes at her.

"Don't touch me again," said Ranma coldly.

Nabiki blinked at this and moved away
slightly.

Akane stood up, unsure of what to do. Ranma
felt another flash of anger in her mind, directed
at her this time.

"This is very interesting, but shouldn't we be
getting to this 'engagement' thing?" said the
redhead.

"Well, it's obviously off," said Nabiki
irritably as she glared at the girl.

"Heh. You sound almost hopeful," said Ranma
calmly.

"It wasn't that bad a deal until you showed
up," snorted the girl in retort.

"Whatever," said the pigtailed girl as she
turned her head towards Akane and smiled at her.
"This is the only one who interests me here."

Everyone fell silent at this announcement.
Akane shifted back, discomfort clear in her
features.

"Oh my!" gasped Kasumi.

"Look, I don't know what kind of pervert you
are..." started Nabiki.

Ranma narrowed her eyes at the girl slightly.
She waved her hand in front of her face and the
girl fell silent. "Don't you have something to do
right now?"

"I've got homework to do, you guy's can sort
this out on your own!" snapped Nabiki without
missing a beat.

Ranma turned to look at Akane again. "This
girl has a lot of potential Mr. Tendo."

"Yes," said the man uncomfortably. "She is
very skilled in the art." He was hoping that was
what she meant.

"I can see that," said Ranma as she smiled at
him.

Akane visibly relaxed and berated herself for
having such perverted thoughts. Surely that was
what the girl had meant all along. She stood up
and smiled at her. "I'm Akane, you want to be
friends?"

Ranma smiled back at her. "No."

That caught everyone off guard again and they
sat in an uncomfortable silence for a long moment.

Finally, a whistle sounded from the kitchen.
"Oh! The tea is ready!" said the Kasumi as she
stood up. The panda passed in front of her and
walked into the kitchen, only to return with the
kettle in its claws.

"Growf," he said as he poured it over the
redhead.

Soun fainted, Kasumi gasped, and Akane almost
fainted, she managed to keep herself awake and
nearly broke her nose against the table in the
process.

"I'm Ranma Saotome," said the boy calmly.

Soun slowly opened his eyes again and sat up.
"You..."

Genma was walking out of the kitchen by this
point, and was wearing his dogi again. "It's a
long story Tendo."

"Please explain!" said Soun with a desperate
fear for his own sanity in his eyes.

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

"Well, your problem isn't so bad after all!
These are my daughters, Akane, and Kasumi. You've
met Nabiki already." He nodded towards the girl's
room as he said the last part. "Choose any one you
like, and she'll be your new fiancee."

"Akane, I choose you," said Ranma before Soun
had finished. The look in his eyes was almost
hungry, but not in a sexual way.

"What?!" cried the girl in a rage of anger.

"Perfect, it's so easy," said the pigtailed
boy to himself quietly.

"I won't do it!" screamed the girl as she
stood up. "I won't marry this pervert!" She glared
at him. "What are you looking at?"

"You," he replied simply as his smile faded a
little.

Akane screamed and charged away, rushing up to
her room. "I won't do it!"

Soun looked at Ranma for a moment
sympathetically. "Don't worry son, she'll warm up
to you."

"I hope not," muttered Ranma to himself.
"She's just what I need her to be right now."

"Well, you've done well son! I knew you'd make
your father proud!" laughed Genma.

Ranma paused and gave him a cold look. The man
didn't notice and continued to cry and hug Soun
joyfully. "She lacks focus, I can fix that soon
enough. I've got all the time in the galaxy."

Kasumi was looking at him silently. He smirked
at her as he walked out of the room. She gasped
and put her hand up to her mouth fearfully. "Oh
my."

"Indeed," said Ranma as he walked towards the
dojo and looked around the yard as he wandered.
"Oh my."

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

Okay. I may do more if I'm motivated later.
That's enough for now though. I'm handing this out
to anyone who wants to continue it. Sorta like
that 'Uncles' thing. They can start here, or start
after whatever else I write. Doesn't matter.

Just let me know so I can see it. E-mail me a
copy or something. Don't bother asking me
permission or anything. Just give me credit for
the whatever parts are used and I'll be happy.
It's not even really my idea.