Time Enough For Love

Chapter 1

A Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Tenchi crossover

by Drake

disclaimer: Ranma 1/2, Tenchi, and Sailor Moon characters aren't mine.
Pity, isn't it?


Part A: Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...


        :Nerima. Let's just call it the present.:


        Ranma Saotome sat upon the roof of the Tendo Dojo, perched like
some strange sort of bird. In the house nearby, the Tendo family slept
peacefully, and Ranma could hear his father's snores even from here. At
this time of night, even Kodachi was usually asleep. She was a different
person at night in any case. Finally he could have some peace. He had
fun some of the time with people chasing and fighting him, but most of
the time it was annoying.

        'Especially when the girls are involved. Then Akane beats on me.
She used to accuse me of being a pervert. Now she says that I'm not only
a pervert, I'm also cheating on her.' Ranma thought to himself,
bitterly.

        Today had been another bad one. Still, in all likelihood he
could spend an hour or two alone with the stars. He could tell them his
problems, and they would listen.

        'Not like anyone else ever does,' the pigtailed youth thought to
himself, sneering a bit. 'It's been fun having people around the past
year or so, but nobody listens to me. Ukyou  will sit and hear what I
have to say, but she doesn't really care how I feel...'

        He remembered the time he got hit with that moxibustion weakness
point. He'd lost the most important thing in his life, and all Ukyou
could think about was how it made it easier for her to marry him. Just
like the bombed-out wedding recently. He hadn't really felt ready to get
married, but the way Ukyou tried to blow up everyone at the wedding was
insane.

        'Nobody ever talks to anyone around here, and nobody ever
listens. Especially when it comes to me.' Ranma told himself.




        "Mind if I join you? You look like you could use some company."
A wry, feminine voice spoke from behind him.

        Ranma scrambled a bit, almost losing his balance for a moment.
Setsuna smiled.

        "Who are you?" the pigtailed boy asked of her, a bit angrily.
She'd expected him to be a bit upset at her interrupting his private
time. He probably wasn't used to being surprised either. He shifted into
a defensive stance, full of grace and power. She had to admit, in his
own way the boy with raven-black hair and crystal blue eyes was
beautiful.

        The green-haired senshi shrugged, looking up at the stars.
"Nobody in particular. I'm not here to fight you or try to get you to
marry me, if that's what you're thinking." Setsuna added, smiling
faintly. "I've heard of the famous Ranma Saotome, of course, but I never
expected to see you gazing up at the stars. They're beautiful tonight,
aren't they?"

        Ranma shrugged, looking up, a hint of sadness creeping into his
expression. "They're not bad. You can't really see them too well near
the city like this, though... The smoke and lights blot everything out.
Nothing like the mountains, there you can see... Say, how did you get up
on the roof of the dojo like this?"

        Setsuna frowned. "Really? I don't get out in the country much,
to be honest. Maybe it'd be worth the trip." She blushed, and bowed. "As
to how I got here, I jumped from roof to roof like I see you doing
sometimes. I've some experience at that sort of thing, although I'm
nowhere near as skilled a martial artist as yourself."

        Ramma smirked. "Who is?" He started assessing her.

        Sailor Pluto knew how she looked. She was wearing a black hakama
and a tight black vest. Attractive, but not too overtly feminine. Her
green hair and red eyes were a tad more exotic, however. She'd
considered concealing them, but decided that would start things off on
the wrong note.

        The pigtailed youth finally noticed her hair and eyes. He
started to look a bit edgy, almost as if he were considering running
away. "Say, you aren't by any chance a Chinese Amazon, are you?"

        The green-haired senshi smirked. "No, I'm not an amazon. You've
got some kinda problem with amazons?"

        The Saotome heir winced. "Oh yeah. I've got plenty of problems,
amazons among them."

        Sailor Pluto shrugged, and sat down on the roof of the dojo.
"Well, I'm got nothing better to do. Tell me about your problems, and
then tell me about how the stars look in the mountains."

        Ranma looked a bit reluctant at first, but soon he sat down
beside her and started to talk. She'd known he would. In the end, the
only person he could hope would listen to him was a complete stranger...




        "... But worst of all is that no one listens to me. Not even
Akane, and especially not my parents or hers." Ranma finished.

        Setsuna leaned back, staring up at the sky. "Ranma, what is it
you want most out of life right now? Not what do your parents want you
to do, or what promise your father saddled with you do you want to get
rid of, but what do YOU want to do? What would you wish for, if you
could wish for anything?"

        The pigtailed aquatransexual grimaced. "Well, I told you about
my curse..."

        "So why are you stuck here, doing what your parents want you to
do, when you could be out looking for a cure?" the green-haired senshi
asked.

        The Saotome heir frowned. "It's not that easy. I just found my
mom, and I can't just run out on Akane and the Tendos. I still have to
square things away with Ukyou too, and get Shampoo off my back... I
don't want to be like my father and run away from my obligations."

        'Now's the time. The horrors I remember will never be, and I'll
shape a brighter
future.', the Keeper of the Gate of Time vowed.

        Setsuna turned to gaze over at Ranma, her deep blood-red eyes
catching his stormy blue-grey for a moment before he flinched and turned
away. "What you really want is freedom, though, isn't it? I mean, do you
really feel ready to get married? From what you've told me, everyone
just keeps pushing at you. Don't you sometimes wish everyone would just
give you some time to decide what you really want to do with your life?"

        Silence.

        His voice was pained, almost raw. "Yeah. I guess that is what I
really want."

        The pain in his voice hurt her... 'What will I do to this young
man in the name of the greater good? I'll help him to throw away his old
life, but will he enjoy the new one I'll help create?'

        The senshi smiled. "Well, good luck. I'll see you around, Ranma
Saotome." She hopped onto the roof of the Tendo's neighbors, then turned
to wave goodbye.

        Ranma blinked. "Hey..." he began.

        Setsunsa smirked. "Cheer up. Things may take a turn for the
better soon. In any case, we'll meet again soon enough." Then she was
gone...




        Ranma looked out over the dark landscape of Nerima. The girl was
gone.

        'Well, that was wierd. It would have been nice to at least know
her name.' he thought to himself.

        The pigtailed youth shrugged, and returned to watching the
stars.




Part B: Shaping a new future

        || Panda signs


        Ranma was a little late coming into the Tendo Household the next
day. Staying up watching the stars most of the night had led to him
sleeping in class, and sleeping in class had led to him being ki-drained
and kept after school for detention. Akane had actually managed to avoid
sharing his detention for once, and had went off with her friends Sayuri
and Yuka.

        It was only a few minutes after he arrived that he realized his
father and Soun Tendo were missing. That was on the surface a good
thing, but it could be very bad, if they were planning something.

        "Kasumi?" He called out cautiously. The eldest Tendo daughter
was unlikely to leave the house unattended if her father was out.

        "Yes Ranma?" came the swift reply from almost directly behind
him.

        Ranma jumped, and turned around swiftly. 'Damn. Too many people
sneaking up on me lately. Though Kasumi always seemed to have a knack...
She just doesn't register as a threat, I guess.'

        "Umm... where did Oyaji and Mr. Tendo go to?" the pigtailed
youth asked.

        "Apparently Mr. Saotome won some sort of contest. He and father
went to celebrate..." Kasumi stated, with a faint hint of something that
might have been disapproval in her voice. "They probably won't be back
until late tonight or tomorrow morning."

        "Oh. That's nice... I guess." The Saotome Heir muttered, heading
for the dojo.

        'Oyaji, if you get me another fiance or convince Mr. Tendo to
try for another wedding, it'll be panda fur rug time.'




        Genma Saotome, currently  in panda form, staggered up to the bar
one more time. His friend Soun sat at the table, staring out into the
space, muttering about his wife Kimiko... Soun had an excellent
tolerance for alcohol, but they'd been drinking most of the day, and it
was nearing midnight. Genma had kept in better shape over the years, so
he was still mobile.

        He slapped down some of the last of his winnings, and held up a
sign written in sloppy kanji. |MORE SAKE.|

        Fortunately, few people on Earth were as well equipped to deal
with strange creatures or events as the bartenders of Nerima. The
bartender passed the panda another bottle of sake, and peered at his
furry patron suspiciously. "Look, buddy, your friend isn't looking too
great. Maybe you'd better take one for the road and head for home."

        Genma pondered. He didn't really feel like turning in at the
moment, but... wasn't there something that had happened the last time he
and Tendo went out and got drunk? If only he could remember... 'Oh.
Ended up at the zoo. That was bad. It was a couple of days before the
boy got me out, too... Actually, it wasn't that bad. Lots of food. But
this time Nodoka might be mad.'

        The panda winced.

        Holding the sake bottle in one hand, and slinging Soun Tendo
over the other, the panda staggered out the bar door, and started
heading for home, with only one real thought on his alleged mind...

        'I'm hungry. And I could use more sake.'




        Genma tottered his way home, a bit unsteadily.

        'Actually, Tendo's home.' He corrected himself. It made him more
than a little angry the way his home had been destroyed. A large part of
the blame fell on the Master, of course.

        'Next time I see that little freak...'

        "Excuse me." Came a voice from the shadows.

        |AAAARRRGGGHHHH! THE MASTER!|, read the sign the panda held up,
peering around at the shadows frantically. He dropped Soun Tendo to the
ground, senseless.

        "I don't know who 'The Master' is, but I'm probably not him.",
said a girl with green hair, stepping out of one of the nearby
alleyways.

        'Oh. Didn't sound like the Master, come to think of it.', Genma
thought.

        |What do you want, little girl?|, the panda asked. It peered at
her with blood-shot eyes. |You're not an amazon, are you?|

        The girl narrowed her eyes a bit. Genma sweated. For some reason
this girl reminded him of Nabiki... "No, I'm not an amazon, Mr.
Saotome," she answered.

        The panda turned his sign around. |Are you engaged to Ranma? If
so, you should take that up with the boy...|

        The green-haired girl stared at him. "How do you do that with
the signs, anyway? Never mind. No, I'm not engaged to your son right
now, but that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about..."

        In a rare moment of lucid thought, Genma marveled at his son's
knack for attracting strange women. 'We Saotomes are manly, that's true,
but this is getting ridiculous.'

        |He's already engaged.| The panda's sign read.

        The girl smiled. "True, but I think I can deal with that problem
myself. I come from a very wealthy family, Mr. Saotome. I believe your
son will make an excellent husband, and I'm willing to show just how
much I think he's worth."

        The panda hesistated momentarily. Then it glanced down at Soun
Tendo, and winced. |My son is not for sale.|

        The girl looked at him for a moment. Then she smiled. It was not
a reassuring smile. Actually, Genma decided it reminded him of both
Kodachi Kuno and Nabiki Tendo. "I'm very good at getting what I want,
Mr. Saotome. I WILL be engaged to Ranma. The only difference your
agreement will make in the long run is whether you end up with one
hundred million yen or not."

        Genma almost choked. 'One hundred million yen. That's
ridiculous. Why, with one hundred million yen I could rebuild our house
easily. I could build a mansion!'

        He looked down at Soun warily. 'Soun will be be angry, and the
boy's not likely to be happy. Nodoka will be upset, but I think
rebuilding the house will cheer her up a bit. It's not as if the girl
doesn't come from a good family. I'm not sure I want to get on her bad
side anyways... and as she said, she'd probably find a way to get
engaged to him even if I didn't do this. The difference is whether we
get one hundred million yen or not. In the end, it's for the betterment
of the Saotome Clan!'

        |Sold! Where's my money?|

        The girl shrugged. "I'll give it you just as soon as you sign
this contract..." she said, producing a small stack of papers from
somewhere. "Come on, I think there's a bar nearby. You can go over this
stuff there."




        To say Ranma was worried would be an understatement. Oyaji had
somehow come up with a LOT of money very quickly about a week ago. He
claimed to have won a lottery, but his name wasn't on any newspaper's
list of winners. Nabiki was suspicious, to say the least. She kept
trying to corner Genma, but he just ran off every time he saw her
outside of the dinner table.

        He wasn't at the Tendos a lot anyways, being so involved in
rebuilding the Saotome home. Although he was trying to keep it a secret
from the Tendos, he did hint around a bit with Ranma that they'd
probably be building a dojo as well. Nabiki had somehow found that out,
and told Akane.

        "Violent tomboy", Ranma muttered, rubbing his head.

        He was currently perched on the roof of the Tendo Dojo, since
Akane had reacted badly to the news. She was convinced Ranma had gotten
a new fiancee, and he had to admit that it appeared very likely. He'd
tried to beat some answers out of Oyaji, but the panda wasn't talking.

        'He tells me if I marry Akane, I won't have to worry about any
engagements. I don't think he really cares anymore if I marry her,
though. He's too excited about the new Dojo. He doesn't give a damn what
it does to me.' Ranma reflected, fuming.

        "Baka Oyaji", Ranma said, scowling. "If he engaged my female
side again, it's panda steaks for dinner. Seriously."




        Setsuna smiled, surveying her handiwork.

        To Whom It May Concern:

        Please meet me at the Tendo Dojo on Saturday at noon to discuss
a matter of extreme importance, concerning my engagement to Ranma
Saotome.

        Sincerely,

        Setsuna Meiou

        "Let's see... The Tendos, Mr. Saotome, Mrs. Saotome, Ranma... Do
I really want to invite anyone else?" Setsuna asked herself.

        Setsuna smirked. "Let them find out for themselves."




Part C: Sound and Fury




        Ranma Saotome sat stolidly in the dining room of the Tendo
household. His mother was there, one hand resting lightly near the
family honor blade. That was probably the only reason Pops was still
around, since if looks could kill, Mr. Tendo would have committed murder
several times over. Kasumi was making up a small snack in case anyone
got hungry, and Nabiki lounged on a comfortable chair in the corner of
the room. Her face was composed, but her eyes were noticeably cold, and
they kept straying towards Oyaji. Akane...

        Akane was sitting in a chair across the table from him, glaring.
She probably was waiting for him to do something wrong, and was
definitely pissed off. It was probably only his mother's presence that
had kept her from malleting him already.

        'Yeah, that's gonna last,' Ranma thought to himself cynically.
Somehow he didn't see himself getting out of this mess uninjured.

        The doorbell rang. Ranma started to get up, but stopped when
Akane's glare intensified. Mr. Tendo and his mother didn't stir. They
were watching Genma, no doubt to make sure he didn't get away while
someone was distracted. Nabiki didn't move.

        Kasumi strode past the group, humming a little tune.

        "Hello. Welcome to the Tendo Dojo. Are you Setsuna Meiou?"
Kasumi's asked. She sounded calm and pleasant. Obviously.

        "Yes. May I come in?" A girl's voice. Ranma sighed in relief.

        "Certainly. Everyone's waiting for you in the dining room."
Kasumi answered. It may have just been his imagination, but Ranma
thought he could detect a faint hint of satisfaction in Kasumi's voice.
Most of his fiancees were anything but polite.

        The girl strode into the room, and Ranma's jaw dropped, and he
stared. It was the girl he'd talked to that night, about a week ago.
He'd suspected it might be her, but...

        There was a loud crackling sound. Ranma swallowed hard, and he
looked across the table. Akane's hands were clenched on the edge of the
table, creating deep indentations in the wood.

        Ranma nervously averted his gaze from both Akane and the
prospective fiance.

        'Can't blame her being jealous, though...' Ranma thought to
himself nervously. There was no question as to whether Setsuna was cute.
She was far more than cute, she was beautiful. Seeing her in the light
of day only enhanced her beauty. She was wearing a light purple jacket
and skirt, and the skirt was molded to her hips like a glove. Despite
that, the ensemble looked like a businesswoman's, perhaps because of the
briefcase she carried.

        Mr. Tendou cleared his throat loudly. "Miss Meiou? Won't you
please have a seat?"

        Setsuna smiled at Ranma as she took her seat, and there was a
faint popping sound as Akane's hands clenched tighter. "Thank you, Mr.
Tendo. I'm sure you're very curious as to the circumstances of my
engagement to Ranma. I believe that I've brought copies of the
engagement contract for everyone to have a look at it..." Setsuna opened
the briefcase and began passing out copies of the contract to the
Saotomes and Tendos.

        'Contract?' Ranma thought, eyeing the papers warily. This was
definitely a new thing. The other fiances had sometimes had contracts,
but they looked a lot less official.

        Akane looked over at Setsuna coldly, noteing her hair and eye
color. "You wouldn't be an amazon by any chance, would you? Did this
baka defeat you in battle or something?" she asked, glaring at Ranma.

        Setsuna sighed, and ran her fingers through a bit of her long,
undeniably green hair. "I am not an amazon, no."

        Nodoka stirred in her chair. "Ms. Meiou, there is something you
should know about my son before we discuss this any further..."

        The green-haired senshi nodded. "If you're about to tell me
about Ranma's curse, I'm already aware of it. Although I'd hope Ranma
will be cured eventually, it doesn't bother me too much. Ranma is still
a man even when in a woman's body."

        Akane's jaw dropped.

        Nodoka blinked. "I see."

        At this point Nabiki broke in with a loud shriek. "ONE HUNDRED
MILLION YEN?"

        Everyone turned to look at her, Setsuna included.

        Nabiki looked up from the contract she'd been reading and stared
at Setsuna with an incredulous expression. "You paid Genma one hundred
million yen to be engaged to Ranma?"

        'Woah.' Ranma blinked. That was a lot of money. It was actually
kind of flattering in a way, although he still was going to beat the
crap out of Oyaji for getting him into this...

        Setsuna smiled, with an imperturbable expression that was eerily
similar to Kasumi's. "Yes, that's correct. The dowry has to be returned
if he marries someone else, of course, along with a significant punitive
payment. The money belongs to the entire Saotome clan, and the debt
would apply to the entire clan as well. It's all spelled out clearly in
the contract."

        Nodoka stared at Setsuna. "Let me understand this. You paid my
husband one hundred million yen to be engaged to my son? And now if my
son is to marry someone else, he must return not only what you paid
Genma, but more money as well?"

        Setsuna nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's essentially correct.
The payment for breach of contract in the event of his marrying someone
else is double the dowry payment, so that would total three hundred
million yen."

        'How the hell am I going to get out of this one?' Ranma thought,
wearily. This was definitely starting to look like an even bigger
problem than the other engagements. He'd thought the girl was so nice,
too...

        Akane stood up, glaring at Setsuna angrily. "Fine! I challenge
you! If I win, you'll
give up on the engagement!"

        Ranma winced. 'That's definitely not the way to go. Akane's not
too bad, but I can tell this girl can beat her easily.'

        Setsuna looked over at Akane and smirked. "My engagement to
Ranma is too valuable to involve in some stupid martial arts contest."

        Akane snarled and leapt for Setsuna, and Setsuna quickly flipped
her into the wall with a judo throw. Akane growled and started to stand
up, rather painfully...

        "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY LITTLE GIRL!" Soun went into his demon
head.

        Setsuna glared at Soun with her blood-red eyes, and his demon
head started to wilt around the edges. "Your 'little girl' is going to
be charged with assault if she attacks me again. I neither issued her a
challenge nor accepted one. I can guarantee you if she assaults me in
such a dishonorable fashion again, I will see her in jail. In any event,
I was told if you have a problem with the engagement contract, my uncle
Jiro will discuss it with you."

        Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Your uncle Jiro?"

        Setsuna nodded. "Jiro Kanzaki."

        Nabiki nodded, a grim smile on her face. "Jiro Kanzaki, the
local District Attorney? I can see you've taken steps to insure this
engagement won't be dismissed easily. You've gotten people to sign as
witnesses to the contract too, haven't you? You've no intention of
letting this engagement be fought in anyplace but a court, and it's
clear if it does go to a court, you'll end up owning the Saotome Clan
and anyone unfortunate enough to marry into it. What exactly do you
want, Meiou? Ranma may be an attractive guy, but he's not worth one
hundred million yen."

        Ranma winced. 'Well, I guess I should expect that from
Nabiki...'

        Setsuna shrugged. "He may not be a perfect husband, but I think
he's a good man. Given a few years, he might make a good husband and
father as well. If you're willing to listen, I've an alternative to
fighting me in court to offer."

        Nabiki glanced around the room, and Ranma followed her gaze with
his own... Akane was visibly restraining herself from attacking Setsuna,
and succeeding largely because Kasumi had one hand placed on her
shoulder. Soun Tendo was weeping incoherently about the joining of the
schools, and would probably attack Genma soon... Pops was cowering in
his seat, no doubt anticipating the ass-kicking he so richly deserved.
Mom was gazing intently at Setsuna, and he'd prefer not to guess what
she was thinking. Setsuna was waiting patiently. Kasumi was Kasumi. And
he...

        Ranma looked away as Nabiki turned to him with weighing eyes.
'Why am I so calm about this? It's another engagement. I don't really
think she's going to be any different than the others, do I? Kami-sama,
she's talking about me becoming the father of her children!'



        Sailor Pluto smiled as the middle Tendo sister turned back to
her. Things were turning out about as well as she'd expected, although
Ranma's unusual silence was odd.

        "So what's the deal, Meiou?" Nabiki asked, bluntly.

        "As I said, I'm not sure Ranma is ready to be a husband and
father yet. I'd also like it if he married me of his own free will. If
he travels with me for the next three years, I won't contest Ranma's
marriage to another woman, if that's what he wants. The Saotome clan
won't have to repay my dowry. If he does decide to marry me, however,
I'll expect the Tendos to abide by his decision." Setsuna added, her
face calm and expressionless.

        Akane glared at Ranma coldly. She'd been restraining herself,
but it was clear to Setsuna she was angry and wanted to take it out
on someone. "Well, Ranma? Don't you have anything to say? I bet you
WANT to go away with this bimbo, don't you? You've been staring at
her ever since she walked into the room!"

        Ranma looked stunned. The senshi had to admit she hadn't left
him a lot of choice in putting off his marriage... "Akane, I... It ain't
like anybody asked me if I wanted this."

        "FINE! Go marry that rich bitch for all I care!" Akane screamed,
storming out of the room and up the stairs.

        Setsuna winced. 'Ranma does not look happy. Still, he would have
been even less happy when she divorced him.'

        Nodoka stood, her face a mask. "It's clear that you've left us
little choice in the matter, Miss Meiou. I'm sorry, Soun, but we're just
going to have to trust that Ranma and Akane's love for each other will
endure three years apart. It would do little good to have them married,
only to incur a debt that would take every piece of property they owned,
the dojo included."

        Soun Tendo stared at her, then turned to Setsuna. His expression
was that of a broken man, but as he gazed at the green-haired girl, it
changed to a murderous glare worthy of any ancient samurai. "You will
regret this, girl, I promise you. The Tendo family will not allow such a
blot on its honor to go unavenged. And you..." He turned to Genma
Saotome.

        "Until your son marries my daughter, you are no longer welcome
in my household. My old friend is dead."

        Genma opened his mouth to speak, but Nodoka rested her hand on
his shoulder, silencing him. "Come with me, husband. We have much to
speak of." She turned to Ranma. "Our new home isn't completely finished,
but it's no longer appropriate that we live at the Tendos'. I'll expect
you there tonight. Miss Meiou, if you would meet with us tomorrow, I'm
sure we've a lot to speak about."

        "Certainly." Setsuna answered. The Saotome parents left. "Ranma,
I'm sure there are some things you want to talk to me about. Let's go
for a walk."




        The pigtailed boy stood up, gazing around the room. His mouth
opened, but he couldn't find any words for the situation. Kasumi had
returned to the kitchen, and was putting most of the snacks she'd made
away, to be eaten later. Nabiki was eyeing Setsuna like a cat that was
sizing up a new feline in it's territory. Soun Tendo was slumped in his
chair, gazing down at the floor, like a puppet with cut strings. Akane
was upstairs.

        Ranma sighed. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"




Part D:  How's It Gonna Be?




        Genma swallowed nervously. 'This is bad. Nodoka hasn't said
anything since the meeting with that girl. Tendo hates me. My wife may
be about to ask me to disembowel myself.'

        Nodoka strode along, unhurriedly. They'd taken the subway to
Juuban, and were approaching the near-complete Saotome home. The heat,
water, and electricity weren't installed yet, but at least the plumbing
worked.

        "Umm... Nodoka?" Genma asked nervously, ready to run at the
slightest sign of her drawing the katana. "I was drunk at the time I
signed the contract. It isn't really my fault."

        "We'll talk about it once we get home, husband." Nodoka said,
approaching the door to the Saotome household.

        Genma winced. 'Not a good sign.'



        "Why did you do this?" Ranma asked the green-haired girl,
angrily. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone? I thought you
understood!"

        'Understood what?' Ranma thought to himself, a little surprised.
'What was I expecting from her? Friendship? Understanding? All she ever
did was listen to me...'

        Setsuna turned to look at him, her blood-red eyes catching
his... "Why did I do what? Give you your freeedom? Give your family a
hundred million dollars? Stop your parents from pressuring you into a
marriage you weren't ready for?"

        "You want me to follow after you for the next three years like
some sort of pet!" Ranma growled, angrily.

        "You're tired of people making your decisions for you, Ranma?
Good. Because for the next three years, you'll have to decide where you
want to go and what you want to do. I'll be following you, not the other
way around. We can go to the mountains and look at the stars at night,
or stay here in Nerima and deal with your other fiancees and enemies.
I'll tell you a secret Ranma: I don't even think I want to marry a
selfish, childish boy like you. I thought we could be friends, and
that's all I really wanted." The green-haired girl snapped her gaze
away, and turned to stalk forward.

        Ranma blinked. "Hey! Wait up!"



        Genma sighed as they stepped into the Saotome home. Nodoka
turned to him.

        "Now, husband, we can speak of this new engagement you've
arranged."

        Genma winced, and closed his eyes. 'Oh well... It's been a good
life. Well, not really, but... Ack! I don't wanna die!
Don'twannadon'twannadon'twannadon'twannadon't...' Genma's legs tensed,
preparing for a quick dodge and escape...

        He sputtered as he felt soft lips pressed against his, and felt
his wife start pawing at him lustily... "Huh?"

        "Genma, darling, you're a genius!" Nodoka exclaimed happily.

        "I am?" Genma asked.

        "Yes, that Setsuna girl is perfect! I didn't blame you for the
others, it was hardly your fault they couldn't deal with our son. After
all, he is a man among men. Akane was the best at winning his
attentions, but to be honest I don't think she was really ready for
marriage and children..." Nodoka frowned sternly.

        "She wasn't?" Genma asked. 'I'm going to live!'

        "No, but this Setsuna Meiou! You were so clever to find her.
She's clearly mature enough to deal with marriage, but only a year or
two older than Ranma. She's already thinking about children." Nodoka
gloated, clearly seeing grandchildren in her mind's eye. "It was so
clever the way she gained the engagement, too. She must want Ranma
terribly, and she's already found a way to keep the other girls away
from him. Genma, finding that girl was pure genius!"

        "Umm.." Genma blinked. "Yes, I have to admit the other girls
were a little unsuitable."

        Nodoka smiled. "Well, shall we go up to bed?"

        Genma grinned. "Definitely."

        As he climbed the stairs after his wife, Genma thought smugly to
himself... 'I really am a genius.'