The disclaimer, practically every character here is NOT mine. They all belong to their respective company. I am using a lot of them, so I can't list them all. Beside, I am gonna add more series to the story later on. Don't sue me. You won't get a penny out of me. Trust me, you won't. For others, there are SOME characters I made up, but who cares? I don't. Ranma Crossover fanfic first fanfic alert!!! draft alert!!! and... Ah heck, read at your own risk. STALLION Chapter 10. < Visiting the relatives are always fun... I guess... > "Urgh......" "Oh look, look! He's waking up!" "Really, Ryoko-san! Keep it down. He is a patient!" "Wow! Look, Kiyone! he really looks like Tenchi-san!" "Really? I don't see much resemblance." "Please, Washu! Don't do any more experiments on him, please?" "But Sasami-chan! It's my duty as a scientist! Give me just a week, no a day, no an hour! That's all I ask! You understand me, don't you Tendo-san?" "Um... just Akane will be fine... well... Eh? What is this animal?" "Myah myah!" Ranma shook his head slightly, trying to clear his head. He was still too groggy to think. 'Argh. What happened? The last thing I remember is a girl putting me through some kind of torture(1). I don't hear Tenchi's voice here. I am sure because all the voices I heard so far were all girl's. I don't recognize the first four though. Then there was Sasami, that weird psycho girl with pink hair, another psycho girl who happened to be my fiance, and the myahing... wait, myah? What is that? Oh, there is a cat. How nice. Tenchi has a cat... A CAT?!?!?!?!' "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" In a blink of an eye, Ranma jumped up and was clinging to the ceiling. His eyes were watering and frantic as he desparately searched for the cat that he had just heard. Much to his surprise and relief, all he could find was seven girls plugging their ears in pain, and an animal that looked like... a rabbit? 'No, that's not a rabbit. Me and pop used to hunt some rabbits for dinner so I know. That ain't a rabbit. It looks somewhat similar to some other animal... Almost like a...' "Myah?" "Aaaaaaahh!!! A cat!!! A cat!! Get it away!! Get it away!!" "What cat? We don't have a freaking cat here!!" "Please, Saotome-san! Keep it down. You are a patient!" "Aaaack!! Kiyone!! My ears hurt!!" "So are mine, and you are hurting it even more!!!" "Ranma-niichan! What's wrong?" "Is anything wrong with you? Do you want me to examine you? My lab is only steps away!" "Cut it out, Washu-san! Ranma, calm down! There is no cat here!" The ruckus was so loud since both Ranma and the girls yelled their lungs out. Confused Ryo-ohki tried to calm everyone down. "Myah myah!" Of course, that added more fear on poor Ranma, who screamed louder in terrorized voice. In turn, the girls yelled out louder and so did Ryo-ohki. The cycle went on and on, making the already chaotic living room even more chaotic. At that moment, Tenchi who had just woken up from upstair by all the noise, came down with a confused look on his face. "What is going on?" His voice wasn't all that loud, but it surprisingly got everyone's attention. The silence lasted in the room for about a second, in which nobody made any move. Then it ended as the small spaceship animal ran to its favorite boy. "Myah myah!" Excited Ryo-ohki ran to the boy, and jumped into his arms. "Aaaaaaaack!! I was right!! It's a cat!!" Ranma cringed and screamed again when he heard Ryo-ohki. The ceiling was beginning to show some cracks around his fingers which was tightening even more. "Eh?" Tenchi blinked in confusion at first, but soon realized his cousin's phobia of cats. "Oh I see! You think Ryo-ohki's a cat. Don't worry, Ranma. She is NOT a cat. You have nothing to worry about." But Ranma didn't seem all that convinced as he refused to come down. "Then, then what is it?! Why is it crying like a cat!?" "I am telling you, she is NOT a cat! She is..." "She is what?!" "She is... um... she is..." "Well!?!" "......" "Well, what is she?!?" Tenchi stood frozen for a while, then turned to Ryoko for help. "Um, Ryoko. What is Ryo-ohki, exactly?" "Huh? Ryo-ohki? What are you talking about? Ryo-ohki is Ryo-ohki, of course." "Um, I didn't mean that... Eh, Washu-chan? What is Ryo-ohki?" "Ryo-ohki? She is a multi-shape, hyperspace trans..." "No, no. I mean what kind of animals is she?" "Oh that! Well she is a genetically engineered mass-based life form composed of combined DNA of both..." "*sigh* Forget it." Then Sasami stood on his side as she took Ryo-ohki in her own arms. "Ryo-ohki is our friend. Right, Ryo-chan?" "Myah!" "Um, yes, Ranma. She is our friend. I guess that's the best I can put." Tenchi scratched his head with sheepish grin. But his cousin didn't look so relieved. Ranma kept eyeing Ryo-ohki with some skeptism and fear. Akane rubbed her forehead. She should have guessed that things like this would happen if that cat-voiced animal was here. She should have taken it away from Ranma while he was out cold. 'But still! It still doesn't mean he can act so rudely in front of all these strangers!' "Ranma, get down right now and..." Akane blinked when Ranma calmly landed down on the floor before she could finish her words. He was still acting cautious though, as he slowly approached his cousin with his eyes set dead on the animal that looked like a cat and a rabit combined. Ranma finally reached his cousin's side, but he quickly hid behind Tenchi, still watching Ryo-ohki carefully. "You sure that's not a cat?" "Yes, Ranma. I am absolutely positive." Tenchi spoke as a big sweatdrop appeared on the back of his head. 'Last time I checked a cat wouldn't transform into a big spaceship.' "Oooooookay." Then Ranma slowy took a step towards Sasami, who still held the animal in question in her arms. Then he took an another slow step, cautiously eyeing Ryo-ohki. But before he could take another step, Sasami took her hands out, presenting Ryo-ohki close to Ranma. He jumped a startled step back, but stopped when Sasami spoke. "Don't be afraid, Ranma-niichan. She won't hurt you." Tenchi added in, hoping to ease Ranma's fear. "Yes, Ranma. She is harmless. Trust me." "Um... Didn't Ryo-ohki use to be wanted for the destruction of several hundreds of planets?" Bonk! "Quiet, you fool!" "Ouch! Sorry, Kiyone!" Thankfully Ranma didn't hear the small chat between the two GP ladies since all his attention was now fully focused on Ryo-ohki. Swallowing a gulp audibly, he took a hand out. 'I ain't a coward. Uh-uh. No way. It ain't a cat, so there is no reason to be afraid. I ain't a chicken! If it's not a cat, I ain't scared!' He froze in terror again though, when Ryo-ohki jumped out of Sasami's hands and landed right on his arm. "Wha, wha, wha..." While Ranma mumbled in fear, Ryo-ohki ran along his arm and stood on his shoulder. Then she rubbed her head on Ranma's cheek, softly meowing. A shiver ran down his spine as his entire body was paralyzed. "Eh, eh, eh..." "Look! she likes you, Ranma-niichan!" "She sure does. Aren't you glad, Ranma?" "Yes, Ranma. Aren't you glad?" Akane smirked, fully knowing that right now Ranma was on the verge of fainting away. With her complex to Ranma's superior martial arts skill, it was somewhat fun to see him fumble like this. Ryoko smirked also, seeing Tenchi's cousin so scared and afraid. "Heh. A grown-up boy scared of some cats. What a chump." Even Ayeka nodded with disapproving look on her face. "Really. A member of Juraian Royal Family showing a foolish weakness like that. That's really shameful." The girls looked at each other, somewhat shocked to see themselves agree on something so quick. Then they both broke out in laughters. "Yeah, what an idiot! Scared of mere cats! Bwahahahahahah!!" "You are right! Ohohohohohoh!!" "Oh Misaki-dono! What a surprise to see you here. Another secret visit?" SWISH!! KABOOM!! Everyone in the room blinked when they felt a gush of wind pass by them. They were even more dumbfounded when they saw two big holes on the wall now, one Ryoko-shaped and one Ayeka-shaped. Sasami blinked some more before she turned to Washu. "Um, Washu. What are you talking about? My mom isn't here." "Oh really? My mistake, eheheh." Washu grinned as she answered. After some moments, Ranma and Akane finally sat down on the living room sofa, surrounded by the residents of the Masaki Mansion. Tenchi sighed with a defeated look on his face. 'I might as well get it over with...' "Well Ranma. Let me introduce my friends. The ones sitting right in front of you are Mihoshi-san and Kiyone-san..." "Hi!" Mihoshi enthusiastically greeted the guests, while Kiyone calmly did so. "Hello." "...they are... um... Galaxy Police Officers..." Tenchi sweatdropped when both Ranma and Akane's eyebrows twitched slightly. 'I am not sure I am doing the right thing here...' "...and the one beside them is, as you met earlier, Washu." "Nice to meet you! And please, call me Washu-chan!" "She is... the greatest scientist in the universe..." 'Not to mention 20,000 years old, but I am not telling you that. She might put me through another one of her "experiments" for that.' Ranma fearfully eyed Washu, while Akane greeted her politely. But the youngest Tendo was also feeling a bit afraid of the pink haired girl. 'She gives me creep... There is something in her eyes that scares me... something almost like... Nabiki...' Akane shuddered at the thought. Tenchi continued. "And the one sitting beside Washu is..." But before he could finish it, Ranma interrupted. "I know, I know. Minagi-san, right? We already met yesterday." BAM! Akane fumed at Ranma, not noticing facefaulted Ryoko on the ground. "Ranma! Don't be so rude! Tenchi-san is only trying to be more formal." "Um... Ranma? Akane-san? She is not Minagi." "Eh?" That caught both Ranma and Akane's attention, They both blinked in confusion. "She is Ryoko, Minagi's... sister." "Eh?" Ryoko got up as she held her still painful nose. "Geez. Nice to meet you too, idiots." Ignoring Ryoko's snide comment, Tenchi went on. "And she is... ex-space pirate..." "Eh?" "...and she is... Washu-chan's... daughter..." "EH?!?!" "That's right! She is my precious, precious child. Come here, Ryoko-chan! Come to mama!" Washu suddenly jumped on Ryoko, trying to hug her. Ryoko did her best trying to keep her away, much to no avail. "Get away from me, Washu!! You are giving me goosebumps!!" "Nothing to be embarassed about, Ryoko-chan! Let your mommy give you a smooch-gooch~." "What the hell are you talking about?!? Get that ugly face away from me!!" All through this, Ranma and Akane just stared at the struggling duo with their jaws hanging in the air. Ranma lifted his hand and pointed at Washu. "She is her mo, mo, mo..." Akane dumbly followed her fiance, pointing at Ryoko. "That means she is her dau, dau, dau..." Tenchi sighed. "Basically." 'They are taking this better than I thought. Well, they didn't act so surprised when they heard about Minagi, but I guess even they have problem understanding Washu and Ryoko.' Seeing that the two guests from Nerima were still in disbelief, Tenchi decided to go on with the introduction. "The one sitting next to you is, well, you know Sasami." "Hello again!" "And the one beside her is Ayeka-san, Sasami's sister." "Nice to meet you, Saotome-san, Tendo-san. My, I was really looking forward to this. I am so glad to see another grandchild of dear Yosho-oniisan." Somehow that shook Ranma out of his trance, as he asked dumbly. "Yosho... oniisan?" Tenchi quickly filled in his cousin. "Oh she means our grandpa. It seems that Yosho was his real name. When he was young..." "Wa, wa, wait a minute! BACK IT UP FOR A SEC! So this "Yosho" is our grandpa?" "Um, yes." "And she," Ranma pointed at Ayeka, "and Sasami-chan here," and at Sasami, "are his sisters?!" "Um, since he is their brother... I guess so." Tenchi felt like he was approaching a dangerous subject for some reason but went on explaining anyway. "Now I heard enough! What in the world are you pulling here, Ten-chan?" "Huh? What do you I am "pulling?" What are you talking about, Ranma-chan?" "I am asking you about what kind of joke you are pulling here!!" "Joke? What joke?" Tenchi blinked. "Them! I am talking about them!" Ranma pointed towards the Masaki family members. Tenchi sweatdropped. "What about them?" Ranma began to talk, almost screaming at his confused cousin. "I can understand Minagi-san being an alien. I can also understand TWO police officers from... wherever they came from." Kiyone twitched her eyebrow at this, although Mihoshi just blinked. "I can even believe that 12 years-old innocent-looking girl over there is really a sadistic psycho scientist!" Washu batted her eyebrows as if saying "who, me?" while Tenchi frantically waved his arms trying to stop his cousin from offending the dangerous scientist. "I can even accept the fact that the old punky lady over there is really that pshycho's daughter!" Ryoko nodded smirking at Washu before realizing what Ranma had just said. "Hey!!" Not paying attention to her, Ranma went on. "But I REFUSE to believe these two gals are sisters of my grandpa or something. That simply can't be true!!" "Eh?" Sasami blinked when Ranma pointed his finger towards them. "Um, what could he mean by that, Ayeka-neesan?" "How should I know?" Ayeka answered with a deep frown. "How rude of him to just ignore our position in the family, not to mention pointing fingers." Tenchi was also confused. "Um, what's so wrong with that?" "What's so wrong?!? What's so wrong?!? I'll tell you what's so wrong!! That means they are our great-aunts, that's what's wrong!!" "Whah?" Tenchi tried to reply, but nothing came up in his head. Somehow something that he had put deep behind his mind was coming back to haunt him. His eyebrows began to twitch and so did his mouth. "Wha, what are you..." Ranma frowned as he explained again. "They are this "Yosho" guy's sisters, right?" "Yes... but what does that have to do with..." "And this "Yosho" is our grandpa, right?" "Yes..." "Then THAT means they are our great-aunts! Ain't that right?" "Eh..." Before Tenchi could gather his mind, Washu spoke up with a sly grin. "Actually, I myself have been wondering about that for quite some time. You treat Sasami like your younger sister or something, but isn't she your elder in the family, technically speaking?" Ryoko scratched her chin. "Now that you mention it, I guess this jerk is right. Sasami IS Yosho's sister, after all." "Eh? Really?" Sasami blinked her eyes. She had never thought of it that way. Ayeka nodded with understanding. "Hmm... I guess that SHOULD be right... I mean, we DID put ourselves in cold sleep, so we LOOK younger than we actually are. But in essence, we are Tenchi-sama's elders in our family tree." "Wow, that means Tenchi-san is NOT the head of this family any more. How cool!" Mihoshi chimed in. "Hey, how about Nobuyuki-san? I thought he was the head?" Kiyone added with a still curious look on her face. "She is her dau, dau, dau..." Akane was WAY behind the conversation. Right now Tenchi's brain was trying to sort out the information that it had just received. 'Wait a minute here... Ayeka-san and Sasami-chan came to Earth looking for their brother... who is Yosho in the legend... who is really my grandfather... so I am Yosho's grandson... and Ayeka-san and Sasami-chan's great nephew... that means they are my great aunts... like the one who has that hot spring place we destroyed before... the one who's all old and wrinkled up, sorry great auntie...' The conclusion? It had decided that Ranma was indeed right in saying that the two Juraian princesses were his great aunts, despite the fact that Tenchi had always thought of and treated them like their sisters. But the truth was always so mighty and powerful, as it caused his brain to freeze due to the shock. For the second time today, Tenchi's brain decided to do its best option at such a situation. It shut down, again. Thud! "Aaack! Tenchi-sama!" "Tenchi-niichan!" "Tenchi!" "Boy, he is out cold. Tenchi-dono is really troublesome." "Oh my. Tenchi-san!" "Tenchi-san!" "Yo, Ten-chan? You all right?" "She is her dau, dau, dau..." Bam! At that precise moment, the door of the Masaki house slammed open, revealing the old priest in his workout outfit, fully equipped with a bokken on his side. Right behind him nervous Minagi followed. "Tenchi!! I heard that you came home today! Then why didn't you show up for the practice? You still haven't..." Katsuhito paused when he saw his forementioned grandson lying on the floor, surrounded by the girls who now stared at him. "You are sleeping? In this time of the day? It seems that you still need more discipline. Get up boy! We got work to..." "Who's this noisy old man?" "?" Katsuhito looked around and saw a pig-tailed boy staring at him. 'Who's this... wait, isn't that Ranma?' "Why, if it isn't Ranma-chan. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" The old priest greeted his other grandson with a kind smile. After all, he had always missed his grandson whom he rarely got to see. Deep in his conscious he was feeling rather guilty of enstranging Nodoka, and the guilt was expressed as his deep kindness toward her son. His grandfatherly love overflowed for the young Saotome. "Huh? You know me? Who the hell are you, anyway?" But the boy bluntly blocked off that flow of love... Katsuhito almost fell down as he fumbled a bit. He soon got his balance back, and blinked his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean "who the hell" am I? Don't you remember me? I am your grandpa!" Ranma's skeptism didn't disappear so easily though. "Really?" "Yes, really. I am your grandfather. Masaki Katsuhito." "Wha, wha, wha. You ain't my grandpa! They just told me that my grandpa's name is Yosho." "Eh? Well, that IS my real name..." "I bet it is, you fraud! What kind of an idiot do you take me for? You ain't him!" "What? But I am!" "Uh-uh. I don't know what you are pulling here, Mister, but I ain't falling for it." By now Akane had gotten her sense back and ran to Ranma's side. "Ranma! Why are you being so harsh on him? He must be your grandpa. Beside, why would he lie about it?" But Ranma's suspicion didn't die away. "I don't know, but somehow he looks fishy." "Fi, fishy?" A vein popped on the forehead of the old priest. His grandson or not, the boy was now testing his patience. Heedless of now stern face of the priest, Ranma went on, pointing at Katsuhito's bokken. "Not only that, I ain't trusting any bokken-yielding idiot."(2) "I, idiot??" A vein just turned into TWO veins. "And the most of all, he don't look so tough. He can't be my grandpa, looking so fragile and all." "F, fragile???" The veins now became uncountable, as Katsuhito finally took out his bokken. "It seems that you need some harsh lesson of grandfatherly love, my boy. En garde!" Ranma smirked as he saw his opponent ready and eager. "Anytime, old man!" "Ranma? What are you... eeeeeeek!!" Akane quickly jumped back as the bokken slashed at the place where Ranma stood a moment ago. Ranma landed right beside Katsuhito and tried to side-kick the priest, who casually rolled away from the boy. Katsuhito readied his bokken again as he began to smirk. "I see that your father had taught you... adequately so far. I may have to try A LITTLE harder." 'Not bad. I always gave Genma some credit for his skill, but it seems Ranma has already surpassed his father.' Ranma also smirked, carefully eyeing the bokken in the priest's hands. "You are gonna need more than A LITTLE." 'He's good. He might be my grandpa after all. I can see why pop's so afraid of him.' "Come!" "Hyaaahhhh!!" CRASH! CRACK! KABOOM! WAM! BAM! SLAM! "Aaaaaaaaaaahhh!! Stop it Ranma!" "Yosho-niisan, get a hold of yourself!" Akane and Ayeka tried to calm down the two combatants with no avail. On the side Ryoko and Mihoshi were cheering for... no one particular. They just loved watching the fight. All the while Washu was busy trying to record the entire brawl and get some datas on the two people of the Juraian royal family. Kiyone quietly rubbed her head as she tended to the Sleeping Prince with Sasami, who also took a worried side glance at Katsuhito and Ranma. Then the young girl felt a tap on her shoulder. Sasami turned to see the confused face of Minagi. "What happened to Tenchi-san?" "Um... it's a long story..." "Okay..." Near the Masaki house, a car was running on the mountain pass. Inside were Nobuyuki and a young girl who was no older than ten. The girl was no one other than Mayuka herself, the genetically engineered daughter of Masaki Tenchi. After her gem was retrieved, Mayuka had been artificially aged by Washu, since all of them really missed the cheerful young girl.(3) So she was technically Nobuyuki's granddaughter. Although her birth was a little complicated mess, Nobuyuki paid no heed at the fact as he cared for the child very dearly. In his eyes, she was simply his granddaughter whom he was lucky enough to see so early in his life. "So, how was seeing Taro? Wasn't he cute?" Nobuyuki asked the excited girl. "Uh-huh! He was really really cute! He looks like papa, so I like him!" "Well it's good to hear. It's true he looks like Tenchi." "Yeah, he really looks like him! Wait. Do you think papa will be home? I really missed him!" "Um... I think so... he DID say he was coming back early in the afternoon..." "Yay! Papa! Papa!" "Now now. Don't jump around in the car. You might get hurt or something." "OOPSIE. Sorry, grandpa." "No problem, Mayuka-chan." 'Ah she called me grandpa! Oh dear Achika! You must be watching this from up in heaven! Our son has nurtured such a cute girl as our grandchild. You must be proud!' "Grandpa?" "Huh? What's wrong, Mayuka-chan?" "Our house is weird." "Eh?" For a second, he didn't see what she meant by that. He quickly understood when he saw his house in the view. He understood even more clearly when the sofa in the living room burst out of the wall after a loud explosion. "What the?!" Nobuyuki parked the car and quickly got off, followed by Mayuka who hummed as she jumped off the car. Nobuyuki panicked as he watched more furnitures and their pieces flying out of either the holes on the wall or the broken windows. "What is going on here?!?" Just at that moment, a vase flew out of a hole and landed squarely on his head. Naturally the vase was shattered. Nobuyuki's head was fine, but his mind wasn't. Not being able to handle the shock, it just decided to take a break and go to its vacation home in the Land of Unconscious. Seeing her grandfather knocked out cold, Mayuka blinked. She lightly slapped his face a couple of times but he refused to open his eyes. Not being able to wake him up, she tried to drag him into the house. But the sleeping man was too heavy for her to handle alone. Mayuka shrugged her shoulders and walked toward the door. Maybe her papa might be able to bring him inside. "Not bad, Ranma-chan. I do admit you are good. But not good enough!" "We will see about that, old man!" "Ranma, stop! Look what you did to the house!" "Yosho-niisan! This is not the time nor the place! Compose yourself!" "Shut up, princess! I haven't had fun like this for quite some time! Let them fight it out!" "Wow, you are so good, Saotome-san! Don't you think so, Washu-chan?" "Grrrr. Mihoshi, can't you see I am busy? Trying to set up a recording device in this short notice is not that easy even for a genius like me." "Tenchi-san? Get a hold of yourself, Tenchi-san!" "Tenchi-niichan, wake up! Tenchi-niichan!" "Tenchi-san? Tenchi-san? Can you hear me?" Kreek! "I am home! Eh? Sasami-neechan? What's wrong?" "Eck! Mayuka-chan?" It was then when Mayuka saw her dear daddy lying on the floor. "Aaaaah!! Papa!! What happened?!" Her voice wasn't all that loud, but amazingly it caught everyone's attention, inculding the two combatants. All of their eyes were now focused on the crying girl who was desparately shaking the unconscious Tenchi. Sasami tried to calm her down. "Mayuka-chan, you mustn't shake him that much..." "Papa! Wake up, papa!" The silence lasted in the room, aside the occasional crying of the ten-years old. It didn't last long though, as the shocked scream of Ranma and Akane rang throughout the house. "PA, PAPA?!?!?!?!?!!!!" "Rei-chan! Rei-chan! Where are you?" "Coming already! You don't have to yell, you know! I can hear you fine!" Rei grumbled as she walked to the front yard where her grandfather was yelling his lungs out. She was so into her thoughts that she didn't notice Yuuichirou greeting her. "Good morning, Rei... Rei?" But Rei didn't answer back. The young priestess was still too tired from chasing a pervert last night and was even more agitated due to the fact that she still didn't get to punish that old lech up to her satisfaction. In fact, neither she nor her friends had even managed to land a hit on him. 'Well he won't get away next time! I will Flame Sniper his ass down to hell itself!' "Um... Rei-chan?" "WHAT?!?" "Eh... are you done strangling Yuuichirou? I am not a doctor, but I am sure purple is not the natural skin color for humans." "Huh? What are you talking about... OOPS!" Rei hurriedly let go of her hand which somehow made its way up to Yuuichirou's neck. Making a very unhealthy sound from his throat, Yuuichirou slowly slumped down on the ground before passing out. Seeing this, Rei's grandfather just shook his head in disapproval. "Really, Rei. What were you thinking?" "Aaack! Yuuichirou, you alright?" "I don't think he is alright, especially with the way you are shaking him. If you don't stop right now he'll be a goner pretty soon." "Shut up and help me out here, grandpa!" About 10 minutes later, the three residents of the Hikawa Shrine were now in a room. One of them was still unconscious though. Yuuichirou was now lying on a futon, with a wet towl on his forehead. Rei, who had a shameful expression on her face, sat next to the futon, casting nervous glance at the currently unconscious member of the house. The priest shook his head, disapprovingly. "You did a good job on him, Rei. Another minute and he would be bowing to his ancestors right about now." "Aw shut up! It wasn't intentional." "Whatever your intention lied, it doesn't change the fact that you incapacitated him. And here I was about to ask him to run an errand for me. Oh well, at least I got you." "Huh? What do you mean?" "Didn't you hear what I just said? Yuuichirou was supposed to run an errand for me today. Now SOMEBODY knocked him out cold, so SOMEONE else has to do it. And it WON'T be me." "Hey, what's the big idea? I may be your granddaughter, but that doesn't mean I am your servant! I don't have to do anything if I don't want to. Why the hell should I?" "You are in the shrine, Rei. Watch your language." "Okay then. What kind of insane reason inside that senile mind of yours do you have for me to do your stuff?" "Ever so sincere, I see. I can always expect love and respect from you." "No problem." "I was being sarcastic." "And you thought I wasn't?" Soon a staring match began between the old priest and his granddaughter. Actually it was more like a glaring match. Still locked eyes-to-eyes with Rei, the priest spoke. "This is an official affair of Hikawa Shrine, Rei. It's only right that you do this personally." "No way. I was supposed to meet my friends today. I am NOT throwing away my entire day just because you told me to." "It's not just because I told you to. It's because you earned this yourself." "Huh? What do you mean?" "You knocked him out, remember?" The priest pointed towards the Sleeping-Beast-on-the-futon. "But, but..." "I know you didn't mean to, but he is out cold either way, isn't he?" "But, but..." "I mean, he meant no harm to you. He wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Rei. You knew that, didn't you?" "Butbutbut..." "All he was doing was trying to get your attention so he can say a "good morning," and BAM! You choked the daylight out of him!" "Bubububut..." "So it's only right that you do his chore for him, at least for today. Am I wrong?" "But!" "No but! You know, if it was the other way around, Yuuichirou would've gladly done all your chores. In fact, he would BEG me to do any work so you would be able to rest peacefully. Isn't that right?" "......" "Isn't that right, Rei?" "......fine." "What? I can't hear you. I must be going "senile" like you said. What did you just say?" "I said fine! Just tell me what I have to do so I can get it over with already!" With a full grown victory smile on his face, the priest started to explain. "Well, the thing is..." "So... let me get this straight. My grandpa..." Ranma gestured toward Katsuhito. "...is some kinda prince of some big empire out in the galaxy or something, who came to Earth 700 years ago to hunt down this bad-ass space pirate... WHO happens to be Ryoko over there." Ryoko grinned. "That's right." Ranma rubbed his head and continued. "And these two are," he pointed towards Ayeka and Sasami, "are actually his half-sisters and the princesses of this empire who left their home in order to find their brother." "Uh-huh!" Sasami nodded. "That is correct." Ayeka also agreed. "Then one day, out of the sky dropped Mihoshi-san, and later came Kiyone-san, who are the galaxy policemen." "Policewomen." Kiyone added with a mild twitch. "Okay okay, policewomen. Later you guys bumped into this so-called greatest scientist in the world..." Washu interrupted briefly. "In the universe, actually. And it's not "so-called." It's the fact." "Whatever. And Minagi-san, you are sorta like daughter to Washu-...chan(4) because her ex-assistant stole her... egg to create you?" "Uh-huh." Minagi happily nodded her head. "And that girl over there is..." Ranma turned back to Tenchi, carefully eyeing Mayuka who happily hummed as she clung to her papa's arm. "...your daughter who was born from some kind of experiment by this weird alien using your B&A..." "That's DNA." Washu corrected Ranma again. "...whatever. Wow, that's the weirdest thing I have heard in my life! And I've heard and seen a lot, too! You wouldn't believe what I went through, man!" With a skeptism so clear in his voice, Tenchi muttered. "Don't bet on it, Ranma-chan." Ranma scratched his chin, thinking of something. "Still, it's so hard to believe, Ten-chan, that you already have a daughter, technically, although you had never... um... you know... um..." He blushed as he struggled to finish the sentence. Tenchi blinked, confused. "What?" Washu grinned and spoke teasingly. "He's asking if you had any experience in "the mating ritual."" Tenchi blushed badly as he yelled. "Washu! Not in front of Mayuka!" Mayuka asked, confusion and curiosity clear on her face. "What's that?" Ryoko grinned as she leaned on Tenchi. "What she's saying is about a single night of passion and lust, just like the one me and your papa had last night..." Tenchi staggered, blushing. "Wha, what are you talking about, Ryoko?! I wasn't even at home last night!!" Ayeka also chimed in. "Leave him alone, you sick monster! Tenchi-sama would never do anything of that sort with you!!" "Papa? What's she talking about, papa? Is it delicious?(5) Hmm? Hmm?" Mayuka asked her papa as she hugged him from behind. Tenchi sweatdropped as he tried to come up with an answer. "Eh... I'll tell you when you get older..." In front of him, another deathmatch of the day was about to happen. "You want to get it on, you stuck-up princess?!" "Ohohohoh! I guess so. After all, that's all you can think of, isn't it? What a brutal and savage psycho you are." "What did you say?!" Some sparks appeared around Ryoko as her eyes shoot daggers at Ayeka. "Hah! You don't scare me, you disgusting monster!" Ayeka's logs materialized around her as she glared right back at the ex-space pirate. "Not again..." Tenchi sighed in defeat. If things had escalated this much already there was no way they would stop now. All he could do, without being hospitalized that was, was just to watch the fight and hope for the best, or in this case, the minimum damage to the house. Then he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see his cousin's face already within whispering distance. "Hey, Ten-chan. Are they..." Ranma eyed both sides to make sure that everyone was paying attention to the about-to-be fight instead of them, then spoke to Tenchi in barely audible voice. "...your... you know, fiancees?" "Wha, what?!" Tenchi staggered. "What are you talking about?" "I am asking if they are your fiancees, or girlfriends at least." "Well, um, that is, eh..." Tenchi was barely able to get the words out of his throat, but somehow they didn't make any good sentence. 'What should I tell him? Or how should I put it in front of THEM? I don't want to get myself in trouble like before... Who knows how Ryoko and Ayeka-san would react... whether I agree or not...' While Tenchi failed to come up with an explanation, Ranma did what the most Saotomes did in such a situation. He came up with one himself. After that, he did the most typical behaviour of Saotome species. In other words, he put his foot in his mouth. "Man, it must run in blood or something. I understand your predicament, buddy." "You, you do?" "Oh yeah. I got a bunch of fiancees myself. Can't count them all, you know." "Eh?" Tenchi blinked. What was Ranma talking about? Of course, that was the precise moment when the ladies in the room stopped what they were doing and started to listen what the young Saotome had to say. Needless to say they weren't so happy about it. 'He has MORE than one fiancee?!?' Akane smacked her forehead. 'That idiot! Can't he keep his mouth shut for a sec? I thought he changed a bit, but not enough! I gotta do something or he will get himself in trouble! AGAIN.' Ranma, of course, didn't feel the glares of the women that were directed solely on him. "Boy, you wouldn't believe the mess I am in. The worst of all, I am living with the most UNcute one of them all!" With a vein popping on her forehead, Akane instantly changed her mind. 'Nah. Let him be. He's gonna get what he deserves.' Heedless to his surrounding, which was now more than deadly serious, Ranma kept on going. "Well, I guess I can't complain. I am living with only ONE uncute fiancees. You are living with whole bunch of them! Wahahahah!! Oh man, I crack me up." 'And THEY are gonna make sure you STAY cracked up, Ranma my boy.' Katsuhito sadly shook his head as he edged away from his now laughing grandson. Nobuyuki took the hint long before and was now running for the upstair. Tenchi would have followed his father if he wasn't so frozen up by the fear. His eyes were buldged up as he helplessly watched the group of scorned ladies slowly advancing towards him and his clueless cousin. "Ra, Ranma... surely you don't mean it, do you?" "Hell yeah! I'm telling you, all girls are nothing but trouble... hey, Ten-chan? What's wrong? You look so pale, man! Are you okay?" But Tenchi couldn't make a reply as his eyes widened even further at the approaching Ladies of Doom. 'I am okay, Ranma, but you won't be when they get over with you...' "Hey, Ten-chan? Ten-chan? Yo, you listening to me..." Ranma trailed off in mid-sentence when he finaly noticed the dark shadow coming over him from behind. He didn't have to look back to what was standing there. Ranma was quick with his mouth so often that he could easily deduce what was going to happen to him now. It might have been better if he couldn't though, since nothing he would say at this point could help his situation in any way... He still tried to, however, as he nervoulsy scratched his head. "He, hey... How are you doing, guys? You, you guys don't look happy much..." "Oh, don't worry, Ranma-dono..." Washu grinned menacingly as Ryoko cracked her knuckles. "...we'll be happy again soon. VERY soon..." The rest of girls agreed with an emphatetic nod, gritting their teeth. Ranma cringed as he slowly backed away. Unfortunately his back was blocked by Tenchi, who was still frozen by the terror. Both boys now had their backs on the wall, as they fearfully watched the slow, but sure advance of the scorned girls. "Just, just a sec! I, I have to... have to... go to the carrot field! That's it! I must get some carrots for Ryo-ohki! Sorry, Ranma-chan, but I gotta go!" The Juraian prince desparately tried to make a late escape, but he was, well, late. Not only that, Ranma suddenly grabbed onto Tenchi. "No, you can't, Ten-chan! Don't leave me here with them! You gotta get me outta here!" "Let go of me, Ranma-chan! I have nothing to do with this!" "Hey, man! Come on, couz! Help me out here!" Akane shook her head sadly. 'That idiot is really gonna get it this time. Oh well, I might as well get Sasami and Mayuka out of here. I don't know what they are gonna do to him, but it sure can't be good for these kids' mental health.' "Now now, Sasami-chan, Mayuka-chan. Let's go out and play." "Huh? What's the hurry, Akane-neesan?" "Play, play! Hurray! Let's go, Sasami-neechan! Play, play!" "I'll explain when you get older. Now, hurry up." "Um, okay." "Play, play!" "Myah, myah!" Ryo-ohki didn't know what was going on, but she happily followed the three. Akane led the two girls out of the house. Seeing Ryo-ohki hop outside, she closed the door. Just as she turned around, the house was shaken by a terrified scream of her fiance that chilled her down to her bone. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!" Crash! Bam! Kaboom! Crack! Wam! Boom! After the scream, the house was filled with battle noises and cracking sounds, occasionally followed by Tenchi's desparate pleas. "Ryoko, watch that sword! You almost sliced me! Eck! Be careful, Ayeka-san! It's me, Tenchi! Washu-chan, calm down! Put that cannon down! Gah! Kiyone-san, not the gun, not the gun! Eh? No! Mihoshi-san! Not there! It's my..." Wham! "......it's...my......urgh......"(6) Two young girls blinked for a while as they stood there listening to the now wimpering voice of Tenchi, but shrugged their shoulders. "Must be fighting again. Don't they ever get tired of it?" Sasami sighed. "I wanna see the fight... it sounds fun..." Mayuka pondered whether she should go in and watch or not. Before the surprised Akane could stop the girl, Sasami shook her head disapprovingly. "No, Mayuka-chan. Let's leave them alone." "Yes, Mayuka-chan. Sasami's right!" Akane quickly nodded as she tried to divert Mayuka's attention. "Let's play with Akane-neechan. I know! How about we go to the carrot field ourselves?" Sasami asked Mayuka. "Carrot field?" Mayuka blinked. Why the carrot field? "Myah, myah!" Needlessly to say, Ryo-ohki was ecstatic. "Ye, yes! Carrot field, that's it! Let's go, huh?" Akane eagerly agreed. 'If I don't get them out of here, they might get inside and see... Brrrrr...' Sasami continued. "Yeah, carrot field. Tenchi-niichan said he had to go get some carrots, didn't he? Let's do that instead today. After all, we can see them fighting all the time, right?" Bam! Not noticing the hard crash of Akane's face on the ground, Mayuka cheerfully nodded her head. "Okay! Let's go! Carrot, carrot!" "Myah, myah!" "Eh? Mayuka-chan! Slow down!" But the youngest Masaki, well, technically youngest, didn't listen to the mild protest of Sasami. She just kept dragging the blue-haired girl away, leaving Akane still down on the dirt. "Myan, myah!" "Carrot, carrot!" "Mayuka-chan!" "......" By the time the three girls came back from the field the fight, or more accurately, the lynching of Ranma had ended. Surprisingly Ranma didn't seem so badly hurt, other than a few scrapes and a handprint on his face. Akane suspected it might be due to Ranma's fast healing, or because Ranma was darn too quick to hit. 'Either way, it doesn't look like he got his share of punishment.' Akane made a mental note to herself to mallet him HARD when they get back home. Tenchi, on the other hand, was literally wasted, to say the least. It was apparent that somehow he had received the end of the scorned ladies' attacks instead of his cousin. Of couse that wasn't his intention. The young prince groaned while lying on the family couch. "Why did you guys hit me for? I didn't do or say anything." "Oh I am sorry, Ten~~~~~chi. I didn't mean to hurt you, I swear!" "Um, fine, Ryoko... Just let go of me, would you?" Tenchi sweatdropped, blushing between the arms of the demon-girl, or rather her bosoms. Naturally this did not sit well with a certain alien princess. "You sick monster! How dare you embarass Tenchi-sama like that?! When he is bed-ridden, too!!" "Eh, Ayeka-san?" "Yes, Tenchi-sama? Don't worry, I will get rid of this pesky witch so you can rest peacefully." Ayeka made her point clear as she tried to pry Ryoko off Tenchi, but the pirate girl refused to budge. "Aargh!! Move, already!!! You are bothering him!!!" "A, Ayeka-san, it's okay. Just... don't yell that loud, okay? I already have headache..." The princess blushed when she heard Tenchi's mild complain. Ryoko grinned at this and made a side-comment. "Now who's bothering who, eh?" "Why you!!" "What, wanna get it on?" Everyone quickly took a step back as the living room began to fill with the Juraian barrier logs and electrical sparks. This did not look good, as they were facing a catastrophe that could match a full-scale war in size. Tenchi closed his eyes in defeat, praying silently to heaven to let him live through this one. Bonk! Bonk! "Ouch!" "Owww!" But the crisis was quickly solved when the two fighting beauties were taken apart by the greatest and the most dangerous scientist in the universe. "What do you think you guys are doing? Tenchi-dono is injured, thanks to your lunacy, and you girls still want to fight? I can't believe it!" Ryoko frowned slightly at her 12 years-old looking mother. "You were a part of that 'lunacy,' remember?" BONK! "OWWW!!" "Be quiet. Oh, Akane-dono, Sasami, and Mayuka-chan! Just in time for tea-time, eh? Where did you guys go? Oh, I see. You look awfully happy on that pile of carrots there, Ryo-ohki-chan." Ayeka rolled her eyes as she muttered. "Geez, she's so good at dodging the subject." BONK! "OUCH!!" "I heard that. Now let's have some tea, guys. Kiyone-dono! Mihoshi-dono! Bring in the munchies!" Washu yelled at the kitchen, from where the two GP police officers came out. Kiyone carried the tea pot and cups while Mihoshi hugged a bundle of potato chip bags. "Yes yes! Well well, look at all these munchies... oopsie!" Mihoshi somehow managed to trip and fall on the smooth floor that had absolutely nothing on it... Crash! "Owww..." Mihosh rubbed her sore nose. Thankfully, and as expectedly, the bags weren't damaged because they were, well, bags. "Geez. I knew it would happen but she still amazes me." Washu shook her head as she muttered. Kiyone ignored her now almost crying partner and hissed at Washu. "Anyway, WHY do I have to do this? I do enough of carrying other people's beverage in my part-time jobs, you know, not to mention back at the GP headquarter!" Washu didn't even flinch as she replied. "Because it's almost tea-time." "But it's only two o'clock!" "I'd like my tea in early afternoon." "But..." "Got a problem?" Kiyone shut her mouth tightly when she saw Washu slightly glaring at her. Soon her shoulders slumped down. "No......" Hearing the sound of surrender, Washu quickly went back to her cheering mode. "Good! Now let's have some tea!" Everyone in the living room had been dumbly staring at the scientist girl. In a few minutes she not only diffused a disastrous situation but also managed to brighten the mood by readying some snacks and tea. In an almost chaotic crisis, she had taken a firm control of the surrounding and made it normal.(7) Tenchi muttered to himself. "I guess twenty thousand years don't go to waste......" After a round of tea and snacks, eveyone became cheerful again. Well... at least Ranma did, as he busily shoved the munchies into his mouth. Tenchi was still too sore to even smile, and Ryoko and Ayeka fumed mildy at Washu. Kiyone was busy preventing another accident by Mihoshi, while Nobuyuki and Katsuhito quietly sipped their tea, trying their best not to be noticed. So was Minagi, who was rather enjoying the peace and quiet. Akane wasn't feeling comfortable enough to talk. The only ones cheerful and energetic were Sasami and Mayuka, who were playing with Ryo-ohki on the side. The atmosphere soon got better though, as they began to speak one by one. The cousins continued their talk in hope of catching up with each other's life, and the others occasionally jumped in to either comment or suppliment on their conversation. A few minutes later, the living room was filled with happy voices and laughter. In the midst of their conversation, the subject reached the inevitable point as Ranma asked Tenchi. "So, what's with all the girls here? Why are they all living in your house?" "Eh? Well, that is... ehehehe..." Tenchi nervously scratched his head. 'Now that I think about it, WHY are they all here?' But the prince didn't get to answer as Ryoko and Ayeka hissed angrily at Ranma. "Hey, what's that got to do with you? You got a problem with us living here?" "Yes, Saotome-san! Why are you being so concerned about it? You think we shouldn't be welcome in this house?" Ranma quickly retreated to the back of the couch. "No, no! Nothing like that, I swear!" "Really?" Washu asked with skeptical eyes, but she was giggling inside. She wasn't going to interrogate the pigtailed boy. It was just that he seemed to be a person who was so fun to tease. Minagi sweatdropped, knowing Washu well. 'She is having fun, I see.' Not knowing the girl's true intention, Ranma hurriedly defended himself. "Yeah, really! I think that you guys all living here is... well... great for Tenchi!! Yeah, that's it! In fact, my mom would be really proud of him when she hears about this." "Eh?" Tenchi blinked. "What in the world are you talking about, Ranma? What's so great about the girls living with me that Auntie Nodoka would be proud of me?" He quickly added on to his sentence, seeing the mild irritation on the girls' faces. "Not that there is anything wrong with that. Really." "Um, um... Because... because... I think..." Ranma staggered, trying to come up with an explanation. But his brain wasn't equipped well with this kind of things. He mumbled incoherently trying to make up an excuse, much to no avail. Seeing her fiance in trouble with his mouth, again, Akane rolled her eyes and finished the sentence for him. "Because she'd think it's so manly of you to be able to make this many girls infaturated with you." "Huh?" Now Tenchi was even more confused, and so were the others. "Why would she think that?" "Because..." Ranma sighed and went on to explain on Nodoka's idea of being 'manly,' Akane occasionally adding on his words. At first everyone looked slightly surprised to hear about some of the ideas. Soon they were shocked. Then they were mortified as the story got worse. By the time the pigtailed boy finished the story their jaws were all touching the ground. "That... is the weirdest thing I have heard." Kiyone muttered, her face still frozen. "Wow... That means I have arrested so many manly people back at the headquarter..." Mihoshi was now almost in tears. 'Oh my. What have I done? This means they were innocent! They were just being manly!' Ryoko recovered quickly and scratched her head. "Wow, I never thought there was anyone who believes that kinda stuff." "........." Ayeka didn't recover enough to speak. "Ewwwwww. She really thinks of that as manly? That's dirty." Sasami shuddered mildly. "Eh, what are you guys talking about? Hmm? Hmm?" Mayuka apparently didn't understand a word Ranma was saying, to which everyone thought 'thank goodness!!' "Odd. She looked perfectly normal when I met her..." Minagi tilted her head. "I guess you can't really tell about a person by the appearance alone." "...my daughter......she's my daughter......" Katsuhito was on the verge of collapsing at hearing such a shocking story about his own child. He was very distraught to say the least. "Wow, that means I am the most manly guy in this house! That's great!" Nobuyuki thanked heaven triumphantly. "Finally, someone who understands my passion and ideals!" "Geez, pop......" Tenchi spoke, while holding on to his nose. His nose was currently bleeding...... After some silence, Washu shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess there are all sorts of people in the universe. Still, it must have been really hard on you, Ranma-dono and Akane-dono. Trying to live up to that kind of ideal is... definitely hard." Ranma and Akane solemnly nodded their heads. They felt better now that they had shared some moments of their pain and suffering. After some time, Ayeka took her composure enough to ask the question in everyone's minds. "But where did she get the idea of such perverse actions being so manly?" Katsuhito flinched ever so briefly when he heard the question of his half-sister. It was only for a moment, but Tenchi was able to pick up on it. With suspicious eyes the prince regarded his grandfather. "Grandpa... You know something, don't you?" Now Katsuhito was sweating like a pig, with a very nervous smile on his face. Everyone in the room focused their attention solely on the old priest. But when he refused to talk, Washu smirked and decided to give some INCENSITIVE for him to talk. After all, as a scientist she could never let go of something curious. "Well, Katsuhito-dono. If you can't talk for some reason, I got a machine in my lab that can fix that right..." "IT happened when Nodoka was five." It worked as it always had been, as Katsuhito quickly began to explain what happened with a large bead of sweat on his head. "We were in the near town, shopping..." Nodoka was very happy. She rarely got a chance to go out with her father. Especially now that her mother had a new baby, most of her parents' time revolved around the new member of the family. Nodoka didn't complain though. The baby was her sister after all. Even Nodoka herself spent the most of her time watching her little sister. She was so cute! The young Masaki looked up to his father. As cute as the baby was, her father was so much fun to be around. Holding hands, they went to the market to buy some baby's clothes. He even promised Nodoka that she could pick which one to buy! She really wanted to choose what her sister would wear. They could buy something really really cute! Then he would buy her some munchies, too! Her day was getting better and better. "Sweeto!! What a haul, what a haul!" "Get back here you pervert!!" "Give me back my underwear!!" "Somebody grab that theif!!!" "Kill him while you are at it!!!!" Suddenly a breeze passed by the father and the daughter. After the dust had setted, Nodoka could see that it was a tiny man carrying a big bag on his back. She saw some panties dangling out of the bag. Nodoka blinked with confusion, and blinked even more when her father picked her up in his arms and quietly stepped aside. It was then when a horde of angry women waving some sticks and brooms in their hands stomped through the spot where she and her father had been standing. They seemed to have come out of a bathhouse in hurry, as most of them barely had anything on. In fact many of them only had a towel around their bodies. They were screaming and yelling at the old man, some even swore. Nodoka covered her ears not to hear those bad words, just like her father taught her. She looked at her father who was smiling proudly at seeing this. She smiled, too. When the women were gone, she finally let her hands down. But she became curious. Why did that man have a bag full of panties? Why did those women chase the old man around? Nodoka really couldn't understand, so she asked her father, who still held her in his arms. "Daddy? Why did that old Mister have that bag with panties?" "Eh? Um, well, Nodoka. It's because......" 'Damn that Happousai. Didn't I warn him not to do that around my house? I am going to TEACH him a lesson or two later...' A painful one, Katsuhito added, as he saw the expectant eyes of his young daugher waiting for an explanation. He couldn't teach her about what 'a pervert' meant. She was just too young. He needed something not so damaging and easy to understand. 'Boy, things like this are her mother's expertise. Why am I stuck with this?' "Daddy?" Katsuhito shook his head to clear his head. Right now he had a curious five year-old who was waiting for an answer. If he didn't answer that question she will nag him about it for DAYS. As much as he loved Nodoka, her nagging wasn't something he would like to suffer. Suddenly an idea came to his head. The father smiled confidently, so sure of himself to think of such a great story. "Well, Nodoka. That's because he was being so manly." "Huh?" Nodoka was confused, to say the least. What was her father talking about? "The old man was so brave that he peeked inside the woman's bathhouse, despite knowing all those women would chase him. I am not telling you should let a man peek at you, but a real man shouldn't stop his determination for something so trival." Now, if a woman heard what he was talking about, she would KILL him for sure. If his wife heard, she would KILL him over and over. But that was the best he could come up with at the time. It was half-joke. He would just avoid the subject with this, and then he would fully explain to her when she was old enough. What Katsuhito didn't know was Nodoka TRUSTED her father, maybe tad too much. While it didn't make much sense to her, she was sure it was the truth since her father told her. "Um, so if you peek at naked ladies, you are manly?" "Eh? Um......" By now it was Katsuhito who was confused. Where did THAT come from?(8) "And if you have lots of ladies chasing you around, you are manly?" "Um, I, I guess......" While this one made sense better than the last one, the father was confused nonetheless. All he wanted to do was to avoid an awkward situation but his daughter somehow came up with such a weird idea. Then Nodoka scowled and spoke. "Then I don't wanna be manly." Katsuhito sighed with relief. So that was what she was going for. He gladly nodded to his daughter and spoke his agreement with her. "Of course not. You are a girl. You are MY cute little girl." He accented the word "MY" with tickling his daughter who giggled uncontrollably. "Heheheh. *giggle* Stop that daddy! It tickles!" "It sure does! Goochie goochie goo~." "*giggle giggle* Daddy!" The father and the daughter spent the rest of the day in their regular routine. After they bought the little clothes for the baby, Nodoka also got a blue dress for herself. Katsuhito decided on the spot that his daugher might need a new dress, much to her delight. Then the two of them went to the candy shop for some small snack. On the way home, Nodoka was smiling happily, sucking on her candy. Katsuhito gave the girl a little smile. She looked like she enjoyed their shopping today. The priest himself was rather relieved since it seemed that his daughter had forgotten about the incident with Happousai. He slowly walked alongside of his daughter who then began to sing a little tune. Nodoka was really happy today. She and her father went shopping together. They bought little clothes for the baby, and she even got a new dress for herself! He even bought her a candy! She also learned something new today. Nodoka herself was a girl so being manly had nothing to do with her. But she would grow up soon, then she will be a mommy just like her own mother. If the baby happened to be a boy, she would know how to teach the baby to be manly...(9) "So that's it?!? That's the story!?! That's why I had to hide from my mom for a year?! Because of YOU?!?!" With enraged Ranma doing a full Soun-type demon-head in front of him, even Katsuhito had to cringe a little. "Well, I didn't think she would take it so seriously... How was I supposed to know? The incident was very brief. I WAS going to explain when she got older, I swear! But I forgot. It happened when she was really young! Beside she left home early, and we hadn't talked for a long time, so I didn't get a chance to, and......" "Well, EXCUSE MEEEEE!!! You got any idea what I went through? My old man had taught me for TEN freaking years to satisfy her idea of MANLINESS that YOU taught her!! TEN YEARS!!! I've been in a hell and out, just to go back again!! Half of the screwed-up things in my life is ALL YOUR FAULT!!" The others would have agreed with Ranma at this point, but they couldn't since they were too busy rolling on the ground, and holding their stomachs from laughing out too much...... "OKAYAMA!?!" Rei cringed a bit when her friends simultaneously yelled out loud. "Yes, Okayama. I have to deliver this letter to one of his friends. A fellow priest, he said."(10) "Letter? Why doesn't he just call his friend or something? I mean, even a shrine got a phone nowadays, doesn't it?" Makoto asked with a shock still clear on her face. Today was supposed to be a Senshi meeting, but their usual place for the meeting, in other words Rei's shrine, just became unavailable. True, they could still have their meeting even if Rei wasn't there, but it wouldn't feel so comfortable. Besides, if Rei was to miss the meeting, who would keep a watch on Usagi?! Minako nodded, agreeing with her friend. "Yeah, she's right. Or he could just mail it to him. Why all the fuss?" Rei sighed with defeated look. "It seems that he had forgotten his phone number. Also, he wants this to be delivered in person, so it could feel more "personal."" Ami frowned. "Um, isn't that what a mailman is supposed to do?" "That's what I told him, but he wouldn't listen. So I absolutely have to go to Okayama." "What a bummer. Then we can't have our meeting today!" Usagi pouted a bit. She was looking forward to Makoto's cooking... um, the meeting with her friends today. A shame that she would have to leave here with an empty-stomach... um, without seeing all of her fellow Senshis. But before Usagi could turn away, Rei grabbed her arm. "What are you talking about? We can still have our meeting." "Eh? How? We can't use your house, right? And you won't be there either. How can we have a Senshi meeting like that?" "Simple. ALL of you guys are coming with me!" "HUH?" Chapter 10 ends. (1) Not all of Washu's experiments were torturous. Just 99 out of 100 cases... (2) Ranma already had his share of the stupid bokken-yielders in Kuno. (3) Actually this was just an excuse. Other than Washu and Sasami, everyone in the house was sick and tired of taking care of a baby, not to mention their clumsiness with the baby. Taro's occasional visit to the house was already driving the girls nut. (4) Ranma was always a quick learner. He was especially motivated by a giantic gun Washu gently caressed on her side. He didn't know what it was but it didn't take much intelligence to see that it was very, VERY dangerous. (5) Mayuka is thinking about food, not THAT! Don't even ask me about it, you sickos!! (6) Don't ask me what Mihoshi had just hit. If you are a guy, you will KNOW. If you are a girl, well, ask your boyfriend or something. (7) As normal as the Masaki Mansion could be...... (8) It came from you, idiot. You just said so, remember? -.-;; (9) Ah, kids. They will believe anything. Makes you think, doesn't it? ^ ^ (10) Ah the twist of fates... You all know who this is, right? ^ ^ Boy, my life is being sucked dry by the school work and such... I can't write that many so fast any more... Still, I can't believe I have written 10 chapters so far! Although I must apologize for the slow plot development... It's just that there are so many to write! Especially involving this many series in one! You understand me, don't you? ^^ For the previous chapters, go to Phu's Anime Page! At http://members.nbci.com/phu_lam/