Tenchi and Ranma, Together forever!?
Ch1 Beginnings.


     Genma Saotome looked at the faded and tattered postcard in his
hand.

     Coming soon.
     Bringing Ranma.

     
     A tear slid down his cheek. He had written it the day before he
and Ranma had arrived at Jusenkyo. That had been meant to be the
last stop on their training trip, after that Genma had planned to take
them back to Japan, and to the fiancee that was waiting there for
Ranma. 
The fiancee that Ranma now would never know about.

     He'd had such plans. Ranma would marry one of Soun's
daughters, and Genma would retire to his well earned rest. All gone
now, all his plans dust, because his son had lost his temper and
forgotten the true way of the martial artist. 

     His mind drifted back to that day when all his hopes and
dreams had come crashing down.
It had been foggy, he remembered that well, so foggy that he had
almost walked into one of the Jusenkyo springs before he had seen it.

FLASHBACK:
     We see the Jusenkyo valley, or rather we don't see it.  The
entire valley is shrouded in a dank fog that cuts visibility to a mere
few feet.  Three figures emerge from the fog.  Genma, Ranma and
the guide.
     "And this Sirs, is famous training ground of cursed springs,
very tragic and famous place."
          "Not bad Pop, this place looks like it might actually be
          challenging, this fog is great."
           "O no sirs, fog is not part of training ground.  Please, you
come to hut now, have nice cup tea, wait for fog clear, then I show
you O so tragic springs, yes?"
           "Are you kidding?  The fog's the only thing that makes this a
challenge." Ranma slipped the backpack he was wearing off, and
lightly leaped up to one of the barely visible bamboo poles.           
     Genma looked uncertain, he could barely see the poles.  "I don't
know boy, maybe we should take the guides advice.  A nice hot cup
of tea would go nice about now."
     "Sure pop, you go right ahead, go rest your creaky old bones.  It
must be a bugger to get all old and slow.  I'll just practice by myself."
Ranma smirked down at Genma, who was rapidly turning red.
     "Old!?  Slow!?  You asked for it boy.  Prepare yourself, I'm
going to show you that these old bones can still kick your ass."
Genma slipped out of his own pack and leaped up to the pole
opposite Ranma." he felt a twinge of relief as the pole came into
clear view as soon as he got close. He turned and leaped at Ranma
the instant he touched down.
     The guide was frantic and yelled up at the barely visible martial
artists.  "O sirs, what you do?  You not want to do that, better you
come down now.  Yes?"
     Ranma ignored the guide's frantic cries, and leaped to meet
Genma.  They exchanged a flurry of blows before Ranma snuck in a
clever feint, followed by a kick, that sent Genma plunging into the
mist.  Ranma smirked as he heard the tremendous splash Genma
made as he landed in the spring below his pole.
     The guide heard as well, and barely backed off in time to
escape being splashed by the wave of water that washed over his
former position.  The first splash was followed by a second as
Genma leaped back toward Ranma position.
     Ranma was peering into the fog, trying to spot his father. 
"What's the matter pop?  Giving up already?  Ahhh, what the hell is
that?" The last was screamed out as a massive black and white
creature came flying out of the fog straight toward him.  Taken by
surprise, he reacted slowly and was knocked from his pole and sent
flying backwards out of sight by a powerful kick. 
     Having revenged his dunking, and shown the boy once again
who was boss, thoughts of hot tea crossed Genma's mind.  He leaped
lightly to the ground beside the Guide who
stared at him in shock.  
     Genma tried to say, About that tea, but all that came out was
"Growf" Genma lifted a hand to his mouth in shock, but before it
could reach its destination, he froze in shock, staring at the black,
heavily clawed hand that had replaced his own meaty hand. 
     "O too bad, Mr customer fall in spring of drowned Panda, very
tragic tale of Panda that drown there two thousand year ago, very
tragic tale.  Now whoever fall in spring take on form of Panda. 
     Genma could only look at the guide in shock.  The guide was
used to this reaction, and was about to lead Genma to his hut for a
kettle of hot water, when an explosion of voices yelling in some
strange dialect came through the fog. 
     The Guide turned pale, and grabbing Genma by a paw, dragged
the stunned and unresisting panda along behind himself as he made
haste away.  As he was dragged along Genma became aware of the
voices behind them.  He also could hear the sound of someone
running towards them, the sound of hurrying footsteps was
intermixed every few seconds by a splash, only to resume  seconds
later. The footsteps kept getting closer and closer, until finally a
small naked red headed girl, her wet hair hanging practically to her
knees, burst from the fog, and immediately launched a flying kick
that caught the stupefied Genma under the chin and sent him sailing
backwards into the fog, and unconsciousness. 


     Genma sighed, Ranma in her eagerness to get back at him after
getting out of the Nyanniichuan, had in her rage, and blinded by the
fog,  stumbled into a spring.  When she had not changed any further
then she already had, she had thrown caution to the wind, and made
a bee line straight back towards where she thought Genma was,
falling in a dozen or so springs as she did so.  Somehow the contact
with all that magic had frozen her in her cursed form.
     The guide had no idea as to how it had happened, the springs
were not suppose to do that, they could not mix.  At least not without
the body having years to adapt to one curse.  Genma could go back
in ten years, and jump in the Nanniichuan, and might free himself of
his curse, but only might, it was no guarantee. 
     The guide had no idea if that would work on Ranma.  He was
very evasive when asked.  Genma suspected he was one of those
people who hated to admit they did not know the answer.  He hated
people like that, they should be forthright and honest, and admit
their short comings.  

     Genma turned his attention back to his open back pack. He had
been looking for food when he had found the tattered postcard in the
bottom. It had been crushed up against a bundle of waxed paper
jammed in the bottom of his back. Now Genma's eyes were draw
back to that packet, and with a hand that visible trembled he reached
in and picked it out.
     Unwrapping the outer layers he carefully unfolded the contents.
Various documents and letters, and most importantly, a document
with his signature, and Ranma's baby hand print.  A copy of the
agreement with his wife to turn Ranma into a man among men, or
commit
Sepuku. Genma winced, there would be no going home for him, not
ever. With a sigh he started to fold the documents back up.  He was
interrupted in his task when a small scrap of paper separated from
the main bundle and fell to the ground.

     Curious, Genma bent down and picked it up. looking at it he
saw that it was a napkin from a bar he, Soun and several of their
friends had frequented back in the old days. What was it doing here
among his papers?
     Turning it over he read the writing on the other side. His eyes
widened in shock at the words there, and memory flooded back.

     It had been the night he and Soun had agreed to merge there
families. Nodoka was expecting any day, and Kimiko would be due
not long after. Then an old friend who was seated with them brought
up the question.  
     "What if they both have girls?" He had said, after all, Soun
already had two, and the odds were fifty, fifty that Genma would
have one. So how would they merge their families then. 
     For a while the party turned depressed, but fueled by alcohol,
Genma came up with a solution.  "You have a son. We'll marry our
children to him if we both have daughters." He said
     Soun had objected, "We can't both marry are daughters to him.
Not legal I don't think." Soun was a little drunk by then, as
compared to the other two, who were very drunk.
     It had been decided to flip a coin to decide who's daughter
would get married. Genma had won, and they had created an
agreement on the spot. Genma and his friend had written in the gist
of the arrangement on a napkin, and Soun had signed as a witness.
Then they had preceded to get even drunker in celebration, and
forgotten all about it. Till now.

     
     Genma looked at the stained ripped document that was now
worth more than anything else he possessed.  Because it meant a
happy retirement for him in his old age.  He hugged the precious
document to his chest, and tears ran down his face and dripped off
his chin.
     Controlling his overflowing emotions, Genma turned and
yelled at the red headed girl soaking in the hot spring. "Ranma,
come on hurry up. we have an old friend to visit."
     "You mean Mr. Tendo? About time, you said we were going to
see him months ago."
     "Not Tendo, no. This is another friend. You'll like him, he has
a son a little older then you. I think you'll get along splendidly with
him. And if he's anything like his Father, Tenchi Masaki will be
very glad to see you.

Two days later:
     
     ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR [Expletive deleted] MIND!!!!"
Ranma screamed at her father in disbelief.  No freaking way am I
marrying some guy.  You can forget that idea right now.  I'm going
back to china, there has to be something we missed, and Shampoo
must have gotten tired of chasing us by now, I mean its been three
months, how long does it take someone to forget a grudge."
     "Girl, you're not going anywhere, you have a duty to your
family, as the last Saotome of our family it is up to you to see that
our proud line continues."
     "Proud line, yea right, were so proud we'll marry our sons off to
other guys just to fill our fat stomach.  Well if you're so determined
to carry on the line, the zoo just got a female Panda in. I'm sure
they'd be happy to marry the pair of you.  As for me, I'm leaving, and
you'd better not try and stop me old man." Ranma turned her back on
Genma and walked away, her hair fairly bristling
with outrage, how dare he, how dare he, how dare he.  She was a
guy, damit.  How dare he even suggest such a thing, the, the, the,
PEVERT!!!

     Genma watched as Ranma turned a corner and disappeared
from his sight.  His gaze shifted to the pack laying in the middle of
the road where it had fallen after Ranma had flung it at him when he
had broached the idea of marriage.  Ranma would be back, if only
for her supplies.  Genma had better be ready when she did so.  He
looked around, and spied a heavy roadside hedge, a field on the other
side would make a good campsite, and would give Genma some
privacy for what he needed to do.


     Ranma cautiously peaked around the corner, ready to snatch
her head back if Genma was out in the open looking in her direction. 
She felt a proper fool, stalking off like that and forgetting all her
supplies. She'd never hear the end of it.  She would just sneak into
camp, snag the back pack when pop fell asleep, and get the hell  out
of here.  If she gave pop a week or so she was sure he would forget
this whole crazy idea, but until then she needed the supplies in that
pack.  
     Not seeing anyone, Ranma came fully around the corner and
carefully made her way to the hedge behind which she could see a
small stream of smoke coming from the fire Genma would have
made to heat his evening meal.  So far so good, she thought. 
Creeping silently along she made it to the hedge, and brushing a few
branches out of the way peered through it at the campsite Genma
had set up.
     The sight she saw brought her crashing through the hedge and
into the clearing on the other side.
     "Are you crazy?!? What the heck are you doing pop?!?"
     
     Genma looked up from where he knelt in front of a clean white
cloth.  A ceremonial knife griped in his hand.  "I am restoring our
family honor in the only way I can, because of my mistake, are clan
will be no more.  I must atone for my error." Pressing the tip of the
knife against his bare stomach, her gritted his teeth and pressed, the
blade sank an inch or two into his hard muscled belly and he hastily
placed a hand bearing a clean cloth against the wound to prevent the
blood that welled out from fouling his pants. 
     "No!!" Ranma screamed.  Diving forward she grasped Genma's
hand and tried to pull the knife free.  Genma resisted and the knife
sank another inch or so into his belly, drawing a pained gasp from
the stocky martial artist.  Horrified, Ranma snatched her hands free
of Genma's before she caused him to finish the stroke that would end
his life.
     "Please, don't do this." She begged.  "You don't have to do
this."
     "I must, I have no choice, there is no other option, you made
me see that, it is the only way." Genma said.  Gritting his teeth, he
prepared to make the final thrust that would end his life and restore
his honor.
     "I'll marry him!!" Ranma cried out.  "If it means that much to
you, I'll marry him" She repeated in a faint whisper.  "Only please,
don't do this pop."
     "Do you promise?  Will you restore your clan's prospects?"
     "Hai," Ranma said, eyes lowered.  "If it's that important to you,
I'll keep your end of the bargain with Mr. Masaki."

     Genma agreed to forgo his suicide, but he refused to go to a
doctor.  He pulled the knife free of the wound it had made, and
without removing the white cloth he had used to staunch the flow of
blood, bound it in place.
     "A true martial artist must be able to ignore little scratches like
this Ranma.  Why I've done worse shaving." Genma laughed and
then bit back a curse as he clutched his stomach in pain.  He waved
Ranma off when she would have come to his aid.  "I'm fine, you just
carry both our packs for the next few days and I'll be right as rain."

     Genma looked up the road to where Ranma labored under the
twin burdens of both her's and Genma's packs.  Making sure Ranma
was not looking Genma surreptitiously tossed the prop knife he had
used to fool her into a nearby ditch.  It had been well worth the
thousand and fifty yen he had paid for it.  The fake blood in the
rubber handle, the retractable blade, all had worked perfectly. 
Thanks to it, he had passed the biggest obstacle to his happy
retirement.

     Ranma gritted her teeth.  Stupid old man, why'd he have to do
such a stupid thing?  Was he crazy?  Well Ranma may have
promised to follow through on pop's promise, but she was only one
side of the bargain.  This Tenchi guy still had to agree to marry her,
and by the time Ranma was through displaying her feminine charms,
she would be the last girl on earth he would ever want to share a
room with, little lone marry.  Yep, she gave it a week at the most,
then she'd be free to start looking for a cure.