DISCLAIMER: Takahashi-san made Ranma up, I'm not getting a
penny off of this ... wait a second ... if I'm not making
any money, how come I'm wasting my time with this @$$##$%^?

--------------------
Ranma 1/2: Another Solution
An Alternate Universe Story
By Jack Staik: Bookkeeper-At-Arms
--------------------

The wedding was beautiful; the decorations were lovely; the
reception was flawless. And, oddly enough, no violence had
been perpetrated.

The Clans of Tendo and Saotome were united at long last, and
the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts was whole.

However, things had not gone as expected to reach this day.
Many people were still stunned at what had happened.

Four persons were sitting together in a corner of the dojo,
where the reception was being held - or rather, three girls
and a panda.

"You could at least be in human form!" Akane hissed.

[I'm too ashamed!] the panda-sign read. It flipped over,
[This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me!]

"It's not easy on us, either!" Nabiki snapped. "Bad enough
Daddy getting married again, but to - to - I can't even say
it!"

"Oh my," Kasumi said.

Nabiki glared at her older sister. "Kasumi, you've been
saying that for two weeks now! Can't you think of anything
else to say?!?"

"Oh shit."

The other three looked at Kasumi with surprise. [She *knows*
words like that?] a sign read.

The sound of a door sliding open behind them made the
foursome turn. It was Doctor Foo, the physician that took
over after Dr Tofu was arrested for being an illegal alien.

[Doctor, is something wrong?] a concerned-looking sign read.

The old doctor shook his head. "No, Saotome-san, she is
well. Nodoka-san is a strong woman, and a large dose of
sedatives was necessary to keep her under control. But she
seems to be suffering no adverse reactions."

[Damn that contract!] the panda-sign read. It flipped over;
[Damn that woman's obsession with honor!]

"You can't hold her responsible for this." Kasumi said, an
edge of (anger? hysteria?) in her voice. "The agreement was
for the two clans to be joined through marriage. The exact
identities of the marrying parties was never specified. She
wasn't even consulted."

Akane looked shocked. "Kasumi! You aren't *agreeing* to this
- travesty, are you?!"

"NO!! Never!" Kasumi barked out quickly. "I have no desire
for a stepmother, especially for one that is sometimes male!
But the only two people to blame are out there on the dance
floor." She gazed at her father, so tall and noble-looking
in his wedding garb, and his pretty teenage bride ... but
she knew the truth. The Curse of Jusenkyo. Who and *what*
her father had married.

She felt ill.

[My life is hell.] the panda-sign read.

Akane put her arm around the panda and hugged him close.

"It could be worse, Ranma-kun. Suppose *you* had fallen in
the Spring of Drowned Girl? That could be *you* over there."

Ranma-panda looked over at the teenaged girl he called Oyaji
and Akane's father. The thought of it being *him* over there
made him want to be sick.

Oblivious to all this negative attention, Soun and Genma
Tendo danced their wedding dance.

-FIN-