> Family Trees - Chapter 1

> A Pebble Tossed

> 
> 
> 
> Warning: taking this fic

> too seriously could be
> dangerous to your mental health...

> it is going to be
> intentionally unlikely and rather silly and bizarre...

> 
> this fic is coming out of my Silly Product of Sleep
> Deprivation,

> with ideas pulled from the barracks scene

> of Hot Shots, Tales of Ranma and Ranko, Amaya's
> Changes, slayers fics, and various comments on that

> first fic (originally intended as a one shot).

> 
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Kasumi filled their guest's tea cup 

> and continued
> on serenely 

> to fill Akane's, Mr. Saotome's and
> Ranma's.
> "Will there be anything else?" Kasumi asked calmly.

> "No that will be all, thank you Kasumi," Nadoka
> turned with her nearly ever-present smile to face the
> other three individuals at the table.

> "If this is family business, 

> what's Akane doing
> here?" Ranma asked, 

> trying to hide his worry under a
> veneer of impoliteness. His mom calling them 

> for
> family business was NOT what he considered good news,
> he was keeping an eye on her wrapped katana.

> "As if I have any interest at all in the Saotome
> family affairs." Akane was also watching the katana,
> and she'd be damned if she was going to let Ranma know

> she was worried about him.

> "Wait a moment, I just remembered an important
> previous engagement." 

>Genma started to stand and
> leave.

> "Sit," the command was a small chorus from all
> three of the others. 

> Ranma and Akane didn't know what
> was coming, 

> but they were damn certain it was his
> fault somehow.

> "Now as I was saying, there is something I need to
> tell Ranma." 

> Ranma and Akane both narrowed their eyes
> at Genma, who sweatdropped.
> ~I'm making sure you go ahead of me, old man, and
> what did you do to get Akane roped into this?~

> ~There is no way I'm letting you get away with
> this...uh...not that I care.~
> "Genma is not your natural father."

> "You don't have to do it..." Akane shouted. "Wait
> a minute."

> "What did you say?!?!"

> "I said Genma is not your natural father." Akane
> and Ranma facefaulted, as did someone standing outside
> the door.

> "Nabiki!" Kasumi's muffled yet scandalized voice

> declared from the hallway. "It is not polite to

> easedrop." The Saotomes and youngest Tendo
> sweatdropped.

> "He's NOT my natural father," Ranma repeated after

> righting himself. He and Akane turned to glare at him
> again.
> "And I thought he was low before," Akane noted. 

> Genma swallowed and looked for somewhere to disappear
> to.

> "No, I met Genma while I was pregnant with you,"
> Nadoka calmly sipped her tea. "Your father and I had
> parted ways before I learned that you'd be coming,

> and
> I couldn't find him again after that."

> "And you married HIM?" Akane said, shocked.

> "Oh yes, I wanted my son to be a master martial
> artist like his father was, but I couldn't teach him
> all he'd need to know. And I was certainly not going

> to show myself before my father and sister in that
> circumstances." 

> "And then along comes Genma and he promised to make
> my son a 'man among men' 

>and give him a lifelong
> training in martial arts."
> "And you believed HIM?" Ranma asked
> "Slight error in judgment," Nadoka said.

> "Gee, you think?" Akane put in snidely.

> "You can discuss it with him later."
> "Oh, I will." Ranma cracked his knuckles.

> "I did raise you to be a master martial artist
> after all," Genma suggested nervously.
> "You neglected to place much emphasis on the

> sword,"

> Nadoka noted. "And that has been my family's
> art for generations."
> "Not to mention the cat fist," Akane noted.
> "And Jusenkyo, and the fiancees."

> "I need a place, date and time!"

> "Nabiki, what did I just tell you?" 

>Akane and the
> Saotomes sweatdropped again.

> "So who is Ranma's father?" Akane asked. Nadoka
> retrieved an old photograph from inside her kimono and
> displayed it formally. The man in the picture wore a

> white gi with torn sleeves and a red headband, and he
> was obviously a masterful martial artist.

> "Looks familiar," Akane admitted.

> "At any rate," Nadoka returned the photo to its
> hiding place without giving a name. "Genma adopted
> you and took you on that regretful training trip,

> knowing what I do now I would have taken you to meet
> my family much earlier."

> "Meet your family," Akane repeated. ~A chance to
> meet more of Ranma's family?~
> "I still don't see why Akane has to be here," Ranma
> complained.

> "Shut up Ranma."

> "Well, I'd like you and Akane to take a trip with

> me to meet your grandfather and cousin. I myself
> haven't seen them since before my sister graduated
> school, and none of us have seen or heard from our
> brother after his last letter from China," 

> she sighed
> wistfully for a moment. "I should have at least gone

> for my sister's funeral, but I couldn't see them yet."

> ~Ranma's relatives,~ that thought was followed by
> an almost audible kching sound as Nabiki considered
> the profit opportunities. 

> "Hey I'll go!" She stepped
> into the room, unconcerned about appearances suddenly.

> "What?" Ranma blinked. "I don't want to..."
> "Nabiki, they didn't invite you," Akane protested. 
> ~Wait a minute, did I just confirm I want to go...damn
> it!~
> "Actually that is a good idea," Nadoka decided. 

> "This way there is a chaperone from both families."
> "See sis," Nabiki smirked. Ranma looked around and
> tried to judge as to whether he had any say in this
> happening. 

> "Besides it will give you and Ranma some
> time to decide what to do with him."

> "I'll go pack."

> *******************************************************
> Nabiki felt a familiar sensation as she entered her
> room.

> She had been about to start packing, but it

> wouldn't be a good idea to give him too much of an
> idea of her plans. She smirked without turning to
> face the materializing cloaked-man.

> "Long time no see," she said in a bored manner. 
> Then she turned to face him, leaning against her
> dresser. "So what brings you to this neck of the
> cosmos?"

> "Ah, nothing important," he said cheerfully through
> closed eyes. 

>"I just came to visit a talented girl of
> my acquaintance."

> "Really, Xellos" 

> Nabiki drawled, arching an eyebrow

> and crossing her arms. 

> "Is it too much to ask that I'd like visit my
> children?"

> "You expect me to believe that, Xellos?"
> "Not especially," her visitor answered smiling. 

> Nabiki waited. "You know, you really should get out a
> little more, go on a vacation or something." 
> "And for what reason do you want me out of town?"

> "Actually I was hoping you'd take your sister with
> you as well."
> "You don't want someone to see us?"

> "Well," Xellos smirked. "That...is a secret."
> "And the favor...has a price," she riposted. 

> Xellos smirked in pride.
> "Which..."
> "Depends on the reason why you want me to do it,"
> Nabiki noted.
> "Well the gate that brought your mother here is
> going to stablize enough for human use again," 

> he
> explained. "Some of our old companions are going to
> come and try to visit her."

> "Well I don't see...oh...SHE's coming isn't she,"
> Nabiki smirked.
> "That is a..."

> "Doesn't she know about me and..." Nabiki
> interrupted. She gave a predatorial smirk. "She
> doesn't know about Akane, does she."

> "It shouldn't be too long," Xellos said. "We plan
> on visiting our daughter later."
> "Well, I suppose I can find a way to get me and
> Akane out of town for a while." Being empathic,
> Xellos DID hear the kching sound, or at least in
> detected the emotions connected with it, and smiled.

> "And what is the price?"
> "Can you teach me that teleport thing?"
> *******************************************************
> "Hmmm, interesting," the old man turned the
> postcard over in his hand and investigated.

> "You wanted to talk to me grandpa?" 

> he turned to
> the polite young boy, who seemed almost relieved to be
> pulled out of the chaos of his normal life.
> "We'll be having visitors soon," the old man said. 

> "Family."
> "I didn't think any of father's relatives wanted to
> come back after that incident with..."

> "This is your mother's family, my other daughter
> and her son," the old man interrupted.
> "Mom had a sister?" the young man blinked.

> "And a brother, I've been on Earth for many human
> life times" the old man explained. For a moment the

> young boy seemed to be considering possibilities. 
> "Don't hope to much for a relief from the girls, it
> seems your cousin's fiancee is coming along as well."

> "It wouldn't have been fair anyway," he said
> reluctantly. "So what's my cousin like?"
> "He apparently is a martial artist of some skill
> and power, perhaps you can learn something from him." 

> The boy shrugged humbly, as if that was no surprise. 
> His grandfather smiled, knowing he was much better
> than he pretended to be. "Now perhaps you should

> return to the fields, before Sasami starts looking for
> materials for tonight's dinner.

> ******************************************************
> "Get back here before I call a spirit to wrap that
> thing around your head!" 
> The woman shouting seemed almost like a young girl,

> standing just barely five feet tall with short brown
> hair tied with a ribbon. Her long pointy ears
> twitched angrily as she shouted. She was wearing 

> a
> red leather jerkin that looked like it was something
> out of a dungeons and dragons convention.

> Hooked at
> her back was a short, three foot stave with spear
> points at either end. Her eyes showed a deal more age
> than her body, however.

> "I was just going to find something to drink."

> "Man you're a jerk!" the girl shouted again. "I
> swear, you are such a moron.

> I miss the gate home and

> what do you do, send her into the world as a child on
> a vendetta!"

> "Well I thought you were dead, and the family honor
> needed to be...."
> "BAKA!! Do you realize that she has like three

> months before she has to choose mortality or
> immortality? AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW IT!!!!" (its a
> Tolkien thing)

> "Well I didn't see the need to, with you dead..."

> "You didn't even SHOW her the books of magic I left
> for her to study! ARGGG!!!"

> "Well..."

> "Shut up, shut up...let's just find her and then I
> can give her a crash course of being born with elf blood."

> Family Trees - Chapter 2

> A Splash in the Pond

> 
> 
> Last Episode: Ranma learned that Genma isn't his
> father,

> and he and Akane are off to meet his mother's
> family. Nabiki was visited by Xellos who wants her

> and Akane out of the city while certain people are
> coming to visit. A elfin girl(??) berates a man about

> sending a girl off on a vendetta.

> -------------------------------------------------------

> 
> "Hmm, there's a lot more to this place than it
> looks like there is," Ranma noted.

> "Yeah, it feels,"

> she thought about it. "Well it
> feels like Nerima actually."
> "Really, Akane,"

> Nabiki huffed,

> trying to keep up
> with the other three was becoming rather tiring. 

> Nabiki had new respect for Nadoka after all this
> climbing. "Do you think there is anywhere that
> attracts as much trouble as our little hometown?"

> "Yeah, Akane, that's silly," Ranma agreed. 
> "Nothing could be as bad as Nerima." A series of

> explosions rocked the top of the hill they were
> climbing.

> "I can't stand it ANY longer!" the shouting voice
> drifted in from the end of one explosion. There was a
> distinct note of haughtiness to it, similar to
> Kodachi's but MUCH softer.

> "I'll teach you to chase after MY Tenchi!!"

> "Oh why would Tenchi want a stuck up girl like
> you?" Several more explosions sounded and faded into
> the distance. The Nerimans sweatdropped.

> "You were saying," Akane put in, as they continued
> up the stairs. They found themselves

> at the top of
> the hill standing before a large, comfortable looking
> house.
> "Now I suppose we should call at the shrine first,"

> Nadoka said, turning away from the house. Akane and
> Ranma turned

> to find more steps and shrugged. Nabiki
> facefaulted.
> *******************************************************

> Six figures found themselves

> standing on the edge
> of a town just in front of what seemed to be a
> circular rip in the fabric of time and space.

> "How long will that remain open?" one of them
> asked, a short man with what seemed to be blue skin. 

> The red-head in front of him was

> much shorter than he
> was. She hmphed irritably at the question.

> "For us or for them," the red-head jabbed her thumb
> at the tall blonde woman

> standing next to the short
> blue-skinned man. Then she jabbed a finger at the
> purple-haired man

> standing next to a tall slim,
> black-haired woman with a generous figure and a look
> of righteousness on her face.

> ~Not fair, why can't I
> get tall and big like that? Well at least she doesn't
> look hideous like her sister did.~

> "For all of us, of course," the blue skinned man
> answered irritably.

> "I think it will be about a month before the gate
> turns unstable again," she answered. "Are you certain
> she lives around here?"
> "Well," the purple haired man started.

> "Oh, Xellos's certain all right," the black haired
> woman next to them, confirmed. Xellos sweatdropped.

> "Well let's go find her then," the sixth person

> piped up suddenly, he was a tall, blonde haired 

> man standing protectively next to the red-headed woman. 
> The black haired woman began concentrating and
> gathering power.

> "What are you doing, Amelia-san?" the blonde woman
> asked, curiously. Amelia glanced at Xellos and arched
> an eyebrow.

> "I'm trying to find MY daughter, of course," she
> explained. Xellos sweatdropped again.

> "Man, she's angry," the blonde man said.
> "Gourry, if I found out that YOU had children
> across half the cosmos, I'd be mad too."

> "How can you have children across a comma, Lina?"

> *SMASH*

>
******************************************************

> "Excues me, can you tell me

> the way to the Tendo
> dojo?" Ryouga embarrassedly scratched the back of his head

> as the pair turned to face him.

> The girl was
> kind of cute, though those pointy ears were weird. 

> Then again, he had fangs so who was he to talk. 

> There
> was something familiar about the man's weapon, 

> it looked like a giant fly swatter, though something was
> telling him he should recognize it as something else.

> "Sorry, never heard of the place," the girl waved
> her hand dismissively.

> "But maybe you could help us?"
> "Uh...." Ryouga swallowed. "I'm not certain about
> that, what do you need."

> "We're looking for a Ranma Saotome."

> The girl
> blinked as Ryouga took on a sudden change.

> "Ranma...Saotome!" he growled. "Let me guess, 

> your
> father here..." The girl lifted one red leather boot

> and slammed it into his foot before he could finish.

> He looked down, and then said in a resigned voice,
> "What did you do that for?"
> The girl blinked as she tried to figure out why
> that hadn't hurt him. She'd smashed toes through
> steel plated boots before.
> "This baka isn't my father," she snapped irritably.
> "He's my husband."
> "Leaf,

> why don't we just go on, he doesn't seem
> trustworthy to me." Leaf glared at him out of the
> corner of her eyes. Then held her hands out in front
> of her and concentrated.
> "I call upon the power of the gnomes," she mumured,

> as a light grew between her hands and tentacles
> erupted from the ground to grab the man.

> He grabbed
> the weapon off his back and started swatting the
> things ineffectually. "You're not one to talk about
> trustworthy."
> "Okay so why are you looking for Ranma Saotome?"
> "Because my baka husband here sent our daughter
> after him and his father ten years ago while I
> was....stuck somewhere."

> Ryouga glanced again at the weapon the man was
> using to smack the tentacles around his feet.
> "Excues me, is that a spatula?"
>
*******************************************************

> *bleep**bleep*

> A slim hand reached from underneath the blankets
> and cast about for the source of the sound. After
> about ten more seconds of incessant bleeping 

> the hand found the necessary button.
> "Hello?" a muffled voice spoke from under the
> blankets.

> "Detective Kiyone?" There was a stifled growl from
> under the blanket. The bed's occupant reminded
> herself that THIS was why she bothered with keeping up
> the rent on their apartment. Headquarters couldn't
> contact them there unless it was an emergency. If it
> was an emergency her earring would have been blaring.

> "Speaking, make it quick, its really early."
> "There have been some inquiries into your
> whereabouts."

> ~Great, just what I need,~ Kiyone thought. ~I
> wonder what that's all about.~ "Do you have a name?"

> "Let me see here a moment," there was a shuffling
> of papers and then the man read a name. The blankets
> were silent for a long moment. "Detective?"
> "I'm not certain I heard that correctly," Kiyone
> said, head coming out from under the blankets 

> as she
> turned to face the communicator. It was a blank
> screen, she generally left it set to audio only while
> she was asleep.

> "Could you repeat that name?"

> "Certainly," the other officer said. Kiyone was
> certain she'd heard it correctly this time. She
> leaped out of bed and looked about her room. The area
> was quite clean compared to Mihoshi's quarters, but
> there was certainly room for improvement.

> "STALL HER!!! I NEED MORE TIME!!!" Kiyone rushed
> about in a cleaning frenzy.
> "Detective," the voice on the communication screen
> asked. "Is this some criminal coming for you?"

> "No! That's my mother!"
> *******************************************************
> "What? Ranchan is gone?" Ukyou shouted. 

> "Is true?" Shampoo demanded. Kasumi nodded,
> smiling happily.

> "Yes, he and my sisters went to visit his mother's
> family."
> "Oooo, she's a sneaky one that Nabiki," Ukyou
> snarled.

> "Pardon?"
> "Well, Akane is too rash for this kind of plot,"
> Ukyou explained. "But Nabiki on the other hand, get
> Akane and my Ranchan off alone together with Ranma's
> family. Let her start to feel like part of the family
> and then...bang."

> "Akane fall in love with Ranma and stupid Airen
> marry violent girl," Shampoo growled.
> "We have to put a stop to this plot!" a new voice
> declared. They turned to see a leotard clad girl
> standing on a light post just outside the doorway. "I
> will show the pitiful Akane Tendo and her devious
> sister that Kodachi, the Black Rose, and the Black

> Rose alone, is the one for my beloved Ranma. And
> where, pray tell did Ranma leave to?"
> "I believe it is a shrine in the country," Kasumi
> said. "Wait a moment, I think I have the address." 
> Kasumi disappeared into the house.

> "You two hussies can leave now," Kodachi informed
> them arrogantly. "There is no need of you."
> "Crazy girl think she only one get address?"
> Shampoo growled. "Shampoo learn address and then she
> free airen from violent-girl."
> "Are you two out of your gourds," Ukyou laughed 

> "I've got the best chance of us all,

> he doesn't even
> like you two!" Weapons were brandished.
> "Hello girls," Soun called out as he walked past
> the door.
> "Hello Mr. Tendo," all three said cheerfully.
> "Now, where were we?" 

> Ukyou said. "Oh yeah that's
> right." The dust cloud erupted at that point.
> "Ah here's that address," the paper was immediately
> snatched out of Kasumi's hand by a ribbon.

> "OHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

> Too slow girls!" 

> Kodachi bounced off, Shampoo and Ukyou in pursuit."
> "Oh my, I wonder if we should send them a warning."
> Kasumi considered it and shrugged, Ranma would be
> expecting it.

> Family Trees - Chapter 3
> Ripples in the Water

> Standard Warning and Disclaimer:

> None of this stuff
> belongs to me,

> and be careful in reading seriously
> lest it twist your mind into new and interesting
> shapes.

> *This time I hope the comp doesn't long me
> off when I get half-way through*

> Last Episode: Ranma, Akane, Nabiki and Nodoka arrived
> at the Masaki shrine and climbed lots of stairs, at

> least that's Nabiki's opinion. Ryouga encountered the
> elfin "girl" her name is leaf,

> and her husband
> apparently weilds a big spatula.

> Kiyone learns that
> her mother is looking for her and freaks out, the
> slayers crew arrives in Nerima, and the fiancees leave
> in pursuit of Ranma.

*******************************************************
> "MARRIAGE!?! Do YOU want to know what I think about
> MARRIAGE!?!

> It is foolishness! I was married once,

> in my younger days when I didn't no any better. I am

> certainly not get married again just because someone
> older than me says I have to! A married person is a
> fool. And someone who WANTS..."

> "Hey, Wu Fei, wouldn't that make you a fool then?"
> the ranter turned to face the speaker,

> a lounging boy,
> smirk across his face, dressed in something that
> belonged on a catholic priest.

> "SILENCE DUO! I need no commentary from the likes
> of an air-headed OVER-dramatic blow hard like you!" 

> This comment dragged several, "do you listen to
> yourself" stares

> towards the ranter. "Now..where was
> I?"
> "Ohhhkaaaay," Sally crossed her arms

> and arched an
> eyebrow as she entered what was supposed to be a

> tactical planning session.

> "Who mentioned marriage."

> "SILENCE WOMAN!

> I'm trying to expound my point
> here!"

> "No one mentioned marriage,"

> Heero informed her
> quietly, in his
> "let-me-do-my-mission-or-I'll-kill-you-several-times-very-painfully"
> voice. "Quatre was drawing a

> parrallel of our
> situation to greek mythos and upon saying the word

> amazon, he started talking." Wu Fei turned to, really
> open up on the other pilot, and paused, trying to
> figure out

> where Heero's gun was. 

> "You DO NOT know what I had to put up with,"

> he
> snapped, gruffly, though not nearly so loudly as with
> the others. "Thank the GODS for inter-dimensional
> worm holes!" Everybody stared blankly at him for a
> moment, Duo turned toward Heero.

> "Heero, you no longer hold the position of the

> least sane Gundam pilot," Duo regarded the barrel of
> the gun in his face, ~where DOES he keep that?~ "Just
> kidding buddy."

> "Just kidding buddy."
*******************************************************
> Nabiki smirked as she materialized just over the
> rise outside of her companions line of sight. Useful
> trick that, should make it a little easier to earn a
> few yen here and there.

> "Hmm, interesting," Nabiki whirled to see an old
> man sweeping the tiles of the shrine. He hadn't been
> there a moment ago,

> she could have sworn it. "Are you
> perhaps the fiancee my daughter's postcard mentioned?"

> "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm just her sister,"

> Nabiki answered, resisting the urge to ask where he'd
> come from.

> "Hey where'd Nabiki go?" Akane asked as the
> Nerimites began to appear coming up the stairs.

> "Over here sis," Nabiki smirked, the other three
> Nerimites looked at her confused. "Perhaps you three
> should do some more speed training, if a poor little
> untrained girl like me can beat you all the way up

> those stairs without you seeing me." She resisted the
> urge to look at the old man, but she could almost tell
> he was amused.

> They all ignored the explosions taking place along
> the hillside, the old man noticed this with interest. 

> Most people that visited here found Ayeka and Ryoko's
> fights unnerving to say the least.

> "How'd she do that?" Ranma asked pointing at Nabiki
> and looking at the other two martial artists.
> "Ah Nodoka, its good to see you after all these
> years," the old man declared with a serene
> cheerfulness. Akane and Ranma watched him move and
> were impressed.

> ~He's good.~ Akane thought.
> ~Wow, haven't seen chi control like that outside
> Cologne and Happosai.~

> "I am sorry that did return earlier," Nodoka said

> quietly. "Especially when Achika

> died." Yosho nodded grim-faced.
> "I think I understand your reasons," he said
> softly, clapping her on the shoulders gently. "And
> this must be your son."

> "Ranma Saotome...or whatever," Ranma shrugged. "So

> you're my mom's pop?"
> "Ranma!" Akane was aghast. "At least try to be
> polite."

> "What did I say?!?"
> "Don't you have ANY social graces?"
> "Oh like a tomboy like you would know anything
> about that," Ranma waved it off. Everybody watched as
> Akane's aura flared, and she reached up into the
> dimensional pocket that she kept her mallet.
> 
> *crunch*

> "You'll have to excuse Ranma and my sister," Nabiki
> said dryly. "They have a unique form of interaction."

> "I'm not so old as to not remember the passions of
> youth," Yosho said, amused.

> "What? No...there's nothing like that!" Akane
> waved her hands in desperate denial.
> "Hell no, I'd never do that before we're married."
> "Right!" Akane and Ranma blinked. "errr...as if
> I'm actually going to marry YOU."
> "Ahh, who'd want you anyway!" they hmphed and
> turned their backs on each other. The thought ~close
> call~ floating through their heads.

> "I was merely commenting on how emotional the young
> get,"

> Yosho smiled slightly. "I never meant to imply
> anything specific."

> "Uh...oh," Ranma and Akane said, blushing.
> ~I like this guy,~ Nabiki thought to herself. 
> ~I'll bet he could give daddy-demon a run for his
> money.~

> "Hey Grandpa," a young man's voice called out. 
> They turned to see someone just about Ranma and
> Akane's age appear at the top of the stairs.

> He was
> slim and wiry with dark hair. "Sasami says lunch is

> almost ready and Washu keeps complaining about
> dimensional anomalies. Oh hello..."

> Nabiki saw a few similarities between him and

> Ranma, mostly body type and the martial artist walk,

> but Ranma was marginally bulkiet. Perhaps that came

> from his father, the picture that Nabiki had finally
> gotten a look at certainly showed a very muscular
> individual.
> "Let me guess," Akane said. "You're Tenchi right?"
> "How'd you guess?"

> he asked seriously. On cue the
> fighting girls suddenly appeared nearby. One of them
> had spiky silver hair,

> she just materialized out of
> nowhere, the other had long purple hair and sort of
> stalked out of the woods dressed in a ripped gown that
> HAD been very ornate and elegant.

> "Miss RYOKO," Ayeka shouted in a scandalized voice.
> "How DARE you, this is a very expensive piece of
> clothing!"
> "You should have thought of that before you tried
> to take me princess!"

> "Oh, you met Ryoko and Ayeka," Tenchi said simply.
> "TENNCHIII!!!" suddenly both girls were glomped
> onto the boy. Then they glared at each other and the
> fight erupted again around the boy.
> "Wow, this is creepy," Ranma said.

> "I wonder if its genetic," Akane growled.

> Nabiki
> watched them closely for several moments, tapping her
> chin, before smirking and laughing low and evilly.

*******************************************************

> Xellos stopped and looked around nervously.

> "Anything wrong, Xellos?" Amelia asked, keeping as
> much of her concern out of her voice.

> She was still
> mad at him.

> "I just felt like somebody walked over my grave,"
> he said.

> *******************************************************
> Tenchi managed to find his way out of the battle
> "So how many fiancees do you got?" Ranma asked,
> casually, as if it was a common question for him.

> "Actually I don't have any fian..." Tenchi paused
> and blinked. The fighting girls even stopped at the
> question.

> "Excuse me, I don't believe I heard you properly,"
> the purple haired girl said. "Did you say fiancees?"

> "Plural?" Ryoko blinked. Nabiki checked her watch.
> "Two hours."
> "What does she mean by that?" Tenchi asked.
> "To tell you the truth we don't really understand

> Nabiki," Akane said. "We just sort of watch for her
> out of the corners of our eyes."

> Nabiki smirked.
> "Okay, you were about to explain this multiple
> fiancee thing," Ryoko interjected.

> "Ranma's step father had an interesting idea on how
> to make money," Nodoka explained.

> "And everything else," Akane noted grimmly.

> "Yeah, we're going to have a talk about that pretty
> soon," Ranma cracked his knuckles.

> "Uh...right.." Tenchi said. "Sounds like you'll
> fit in around here.

> What were your names again?"
> "This is Ranma Saotome, and his fiancee, Akane
> Tendo."
> "ITS NOT OUR CHOICE!!!" they both shouted at once.

> "Wait, we already established that," Akane said.

> "Oops," Ranma said, and everybody else
> sweatdropped.
> *******************************************************

> "Hello?" The girl answering the phone had long
> brown hair tied in odango like hoops.

> "Yohko?" The cold voice at the other end of the
> phone surprised her.

> "Iako?! Why are you calling here?" Yohko
> sweatdropped. ~What if she wants to challenge me
> again?~

> "I just wanted to tell you that apparently there is
> another soul-weapon

> and another branch of Manos," her

> cousin said calmly. "At least they used to be Manos,
> I think the name has changed since then."

> "Oh that's good, makes it easier on the rest of us
> then," Yohko could almost feel the irritation from the

> other end. Iako still believed in only one true
> demon-hunter apparently.
> "Actually, apparently this branch has a history of
> insanity and comingling with demon races," Iako said. 

> "And I don't mean the ally races either."
> "Okay, that's not good," Yohko agreed. "So why are
> you calling me about it?"

> "Because I just dragged the story out of the old
> fart," Iako growled. "It seems their weapon was
> recently stolen by a group of girls in gymnast suits. 

> So when she mentioned it I suspected another 'greatest
> nemesis of the Mano clan.'"
> "Oh wonderful."

> Family Trees - Chapter 4
> Ripples in the Water

> Same Warning and Disclaimer: I don't own any of this
> stuff...

> and don't take this fic too seriously.

> Last Episode: Wu Fei is set off on a rant about
> marriage by the mention of the word "amazon." The

> Nerimites meet Tenchi, his grandfather, Ryoko and
> Ayeka. Nabiki notices something. 

> Xellos feels someone walk over his grave.

> The Masaki crew are
> given the short version of fiancee situation. The
> Mano cousins discuss a traitor branch of the family.

> *******************************************************
> 
> "Yes, its a spatula why do you ask?"

> Leaf said, her
> husband still busy trying to extricate himself from
> her spell. A blue aura began to grow around the boy,
> and she stepped back ready to repell a spell. She was

> surprised when the boy took his umbrealla off his pack
> and stuffed the point in her husband's face.
> "Then you're Ukyou's parents?" Ryouga asked,
> seemingly calm, looking down at the tentacles wrapping
> around the man's feet.

> "You know Ukyou?" Leaf shouted eagerly, ignoring
> the obviously threatening position the boy was
> directing her husband. After all he was a kid,
> whatever he could do was nothing more than what Jiro
> deserved.

> "Where can we find her?"
> "So he's the one made her pretend to be a boy and
> chase after Ranma?

> You're the reason I'm constantly

> getting clobbered over the head with a giant spatula?"

> "Excuse me," Leaf paused and glared at her now very
> nervous husband. "Jiro, you made her pretend to be a
> boy?"
> "I had a reason," he swallowed.

> *******************************************************
> "Hmm, excuse me a moment, father, Mr. Saotome,"
> Kasumi said

> as she breathed through the house to

> answer the door. She found a small crowd on the other
> side. "Oh my, I help you?"

> "Is Sylphiel here?" Kasumi looked down toward the
> red-head who was standing in front of the group. She
> looked to be about twenty-five years old or so. 
> Though she had that same look in her eyes of greater
> age that Cologne and Happosai had. Almost all of them

> had that same look however,

> the blonde woman and
> purple haired man more than the others. The lone
> exception was the fortyish looking blonde man that was

> obviously with the red head.

> "You are here to see Sylphiel Tendo?" Kasumi said
> quietly.

> "Sylphiel TENDO?"

> the odd blue-skinned man toward
> the back repeated. "Yes, well I suppose her name
> would change if she got married."

> "Well where is she?" the red-head demanded again.
> "I'm sorry, but my mother has been dead for many
> years now."

> "Your mother? She's dead?" The black haired woman
> had been holding herself aloof up to that point, and
> now she suddenly looked very guilty.

> "I'm afraid so, would you like to come in?" Kasumi

> moved herself to the side and gestured for them to
> come in.
> "Certainly, thank you miss-?"

> "Kasumi," she answered the tall blonde woman. "If
> you'll excuse me

> I was just making dinner..." There
> was a blur as the red-head and the blonde man zipped
> past.

> "Lina-san," the black haired woman gasped in
> embarrassment.
> "Uh...Kasumi," her father called from the dining
> room. "Who are these people over here?"

> "Friends of mother's, father," Kasumi answered as
> she let them in. 
> "OH My Late wife," Soun sniffed. "HOW I MISS YOU!
> WAAAAHH!!!!"

> As the black-haired woman and the purple-haired man
> past she reached out to stop him, politely and
> unaggressively, but still firm. "Excuse me, are you

> a
> relative of my mother's?"
> "No, why do you ask?" he said, turning closed eyes
> toward her.

> "You bare a slight resemblance to my sisters,"
> Kasumi answered.

> "Surprise, sur..."

> the black haired woman paused
> and looked at the man. "SISTERS? Plural? Something
> I should know about, Xellos?"

> "Now, now, Ame-chan, now's not the time," he
> pointed at Kasumi.

> "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be discussing our
> personal matters in front of you like this," the woman
> bowed formally.
> "It is perfectly all right," Kasumi answered.

> "I
> thought I recognized him as mother's...friend anyway. 

> I should apologize to you from questioning him here in
> front of you."

> "Perhaps I should talk to you later, Kasumi-san,"
> Amelia said as Xellos fake cringed past them. Amelia
> knew he was enjoying the meal, and it irritated her a
> little more.

> Though of course he had never seriously
> hurt her, well never intended to.

> *******************************************************

> "Who won?" Akane asked as Ranma and Tenchi came
> into the house for dinner. She blinked as she saw a
> sopping wet Ranko walk in behind her fiancee's shell
> shocked cousin.

> "Does anybody have any hot water?" Ranma-chan
> asked.
> "Certainly," Sasami said, surprised but non-pulsed.

> She sure they'd explain where Akane-san's fiancee
> went in moment.

> She stepped up and drifted off to the
> kitchen happily.

> "Who is that girl and what's she doing with Lord
> Tenchi?"

> "Oh, Ranma, just why were you fighting near the
> lake?" Nodoka shook her head sadly.
> "Smooth move, Saotome," Nabiki noted.
> "I wasn't!" he snapped. "There was a mop bucket!"
> "Come on, girl," Ryoko stood up growling. "Who are

> you and what are you doing with Tenchi?"
> "Oh it'll be obvious in moment," Ranma started. 

> Ryoko launched out with a fist, which Ranma blocked
> almost absently. 

> "What the...?" Ryoko found she couldn't press her
> fist forward even an inch, and the red-head didn't
> seem to be having trouble at all.

> "Sorry, I don't fight girls," Ranma-chan said
> simply.

> Tenchi was still trying to process

> the recent
> event. He'd seen some strange things, but this had to
> top them. Washu leaned back and arched an eyebrow
> with curiosity and amusement.

> "Here's your hot water miss..." Ranma-chan took the
> kettle and upended over her head.

> "HOT!!!HOT!!!HOT!!!!" Ranma, now a he, danced

> around trying to cool off. All the Masaki crew aside
> from Tenchi, Washu and Yosho face faulted.

> "How the heck did she...he...uh you do that?"

> "Its a curse," Akane explained as Ranma blew his
> hands cool. "He fell into the Jusenkyo pool of
> drowned girl, so when he gets what he becomes a girl."

> "This is...strange," Tenchi said finally. Yosho
> laughed, amused. He'd heard of the springs before,

> but he'd never thought that he'd see a victim, or that
> it would be his own grandson.

> "Uh, why is she looking at me like that?" Ranma
> asked pointing at Washu. The Masaki crew
> sweatdropped.

> "Hmm, THAT will make an interesting wedding night,"

> Nobuyuki sniped. Ranma and Akane resisted the urge to
> smash him into the ground. After all, they were the
> guests.
> "You get used to it," Nabiki said. "Lots of the
> gang back home is cursed, including one of the
> fiancees." Nabiki checked her watch. "Speaking of
> which."

> "Speaking of which what?" Ayeka snapped. "Speak

> plainly if you can!"
> "Patience, sister," Nabiki snickered. 

> "Remember I when said two hours?"
> "Yes and why do you insist on calling me sister? 
> And what does this have to do with anything?"
> "Consider it a display of female solidarity,"

> Nabiki said. "And as for the comment two hours, I
> believe I said that...abouut...two hours ago...NOW!"
> 
> *THUD*

> "What was that?" Tenchi asked.

> Ranma and Akane
> looked sick.

> *THUD*
> *THUD*
> *THUD*
> *CRASH*

> The wall collapsed in a shower of dust.

> "Nihao!!"
> "Get away from my Ranma-darling you Gaijin hussy!!"

> "Hey Ranchan, I'm here to save you from that
> heartless Nabiki!" Nabiki arched an eyebrow.

> "Sorry about this," Ranma moaned.

*******************************************************
> "You know what?"

> Leaf tapped her feet angrily. 

> "This bridge looks awfully familiar."

> "I'm doing the best I can ALRIGHT!!" Ryouga

> shouted.
> "This is the fifth time we've been here," Kuonji

> noted, then whistling innocently when they both glared
> at him.
> "Just let me find someone to ask directions,"
> Ryouga complained looking around for a sign of
> anything familiar. It was a futile gesture, Ryouga
> wouldn't recommend a structure unless it was on top of
> him.

> Suddenly Leaf's eyes widened in sudden fear.

> "Eveyrbody hide!" they scattered to various
> positions as what seemed to be a cute blonde girl

> skated by, humming happily to herself. ~All that evil
> and darkness can't be coming from that girl, can it?~

> Suddenly the blonde girl stopped and stared at stop
> sign.

> "OH!! What a CUTE stop sign! Lisa-Maria come home
> with Azusa?" The cute girl ripped the sign out of the
> ground and happily skated back the way she came.

> Leaf sweatdropped.
> "Is she gone?" Leaf looked over to see Ryouga
> shaking in fear high in a leafy tree.
> ~If I hadn't felt her I'd be calling him a wuss,~

> she said. ~Wow, I wonder what she is.~

> "What's the big deal about that girl?" her husband,
> Jiro, asked.
> "She wants to take me home and put me in her
> collection of cute things," Ryouga whispered. "Is she
> gone?"
> "I don't see her anywhere," Leaf said. "Now can we
> PLEASE get to this place and find my daughter?"
> "Just a moment," Ryouga said. "I see somewhere we
> can ask directions."
> "Hello," Ryouga said as the door opened. "Can you
> direct us to..."

> "Oh...hello Ryouga," Kasumi said sweetly. "Ranma's
> not here, he went with Akane, Nabiki and his mother to
> visit his family."
> "Well I'm not here to...WHAT...Akane AND Nabiki? 

> Does he know no shame? RANMA SAOTOME PREPARE TO..."

> "Jiro, spatula." 

> Leaf pointed at Ryouga who was
> preparing to leave.
> "Yes, maam."
> *clang*

> "HEY!"
> "I'd be glad to let you run off it get lost, that
> is AFTER you help me find my daughter."
> "Ukyou hits harder than him," Ryouga noted
> critically. 

>Leaf blinked and started laughing
> hysterically.
> "That's not funny," Jiro Kuonji whined.
> "Excuse me, would you like to come in," Kasumi
> asked, as the "girl" started to calm down. "I was
> just serving dinner, and we would welcome more
> company."

> "That sounds..." Jiro was cut off by a look from
> his suddenly serious wife.

> "Sorry, but we have to go find our daughter..."
> "Do you mean Ukyou?" Kasumi asked. Leaf and Jiro
> blinked. "Well she does take after you, and that man
> is wielding a giant spatula."

> "So do you know where she is?"

> "She went with the other fiancees to go after
> Ranma," Kasumi said sweetly. "It shouldn't take you
> long to get there, perhaps you'd want some rest and
> food first?"

> "Hey Kasumi, what's with inviting people to
> dinner?" Ryouga asked, confused.

> "Well, okay just for a little bit," Leaf said
> finally.

> "Well it is moderately boring without Ranma
> around," Kasumi said quietly. "So I was hoping to
> make do. Mother's friends are certainly interesting,
> but I certainly wouldn't want to turn out such a good
> friend of the family as Ryouga or Ukyou's parents."
> "Is there enough food?" Jiro asked.

> "Oh, I'm used to cooking for Ranma and his father,
> well, step-father as it turns out," Kasumi said. 

> "Genma is here, and two of mother's friends certainly
> have healthy appetites, but I think I can make do." 

> She smiled sweetly.
> "Yeah, yeah," LEaf sighed as she accepted the 

> offer
> and walked into the house. "Garrick always said

> a
> mercenary should be ready to eat whenever they can. 
> That was ONE thing he was right about at least."

> "Hey look, Lina, its an elf!"
> "I'm only half-elf you dolt!" Leaf snapped.
> "We've become a dungeons and dragons convention
> Saotome," Soun noted wearily. Jiro stepped in, saw
> Genma and growled.

> "Ah...Kuonji," Genma swallowed. "Long time no
> see."
> "SAOTOME PREPARE TO DIE!!!" Jiro charged forward
> spatula upraised.
> "Hey you spilled my food! FIREBALL!"

> Kasumi smiled as the chaos continued.

> Now it
> seemed more like home again, she walked to the
> telephone to contact the contractors.

*******************************************************
> "There, finished," Kiyone said wearily, looking
> about the last bit of the ships quarters.

> It had
> taken long enough to do the job, but now she was done.

> Everything looked perfect.
> "Hey, Kiyone," Mihoshi called to the swiftly
> calming detective. 
> "What is it Mihoshi?"

> "What if she tries to show up at the apartment?" 
> Kiyone blinked. "I mean we haven't paid the rent in
> two months, and last time we were there the place was
> a wreck from the fight when everybody visited last
> time."
> "ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

> "Hey why don't we have headquarters give her
> Tenchi's address and meet her there?" Kiyone fought
> to get a grip on herself. When MIHOSHI was thinking
> clearer than she was, it was a BAD sign.

> "That's a good idea Mihoshi, let's do that," she
> noticed a frame sitting on the control center. There
> were several individual pictures inside the glass. 
> Mihoshi must have pulled it out while they were
> cleaning. She glanced at the picture of a younger
> Mihoshi, and her mother. 
> Kiyone had met the woman once or twice, and

> remembered she had a tendency to talk about future
> events as if they were history. She guessed it had
> something to do with being FROM the future. Still Bra

> was almost as big a ditz as Mihoshi. Still there were
> some people there she didn't recognize.
> "Hey Mihoshi who are these other people here in
> these pictures?"
> "Well, that's my younger brother," she pointed to
> an angry looking boy in a black, sleeveless t-shirt. 

> "And our younger sister." The girl she pointed to was
> a red-head wearing metal bracers about four years old.

> There was a crushed piece of pipe in her hands, and

> she embarrassed. Kiyone noted that Mihoshi would have
> been about eighteen when this picture was taken so
> that was maybe seven years ago.
> "And in this picture?" It was a young couple. One
> was an opportunistic looking woman with blue hair
> wearing a tee-shirt that said "capsule" across the
> front. The other had an angry expression similar to
> Mihoshi's brother, and wild, spiky black hair.
> "Oh those are my grandparents that aren't born
> yet," she said as if it was no big-deal.

> "And this
> guy over here is my dad." Kiyone had thought that the
> individual in question wasn't supposed to be there
> actually, since his back was turned to the camera. He
> seemed to be scratching his head in confusion though,
> and knowing Mihoshi it fit.

> "I can't wait to meet your family!" Mihoshi jumped
> up and down in delight.

> "Yeah, well let's make those calls, then," Kiyone
> sat down and turned to the communications controls.

> supposed to be there
> actually, since his back was turned to the camera. He
> seemed to be scratching his head in confusion though,
> and knowing Mihoshi it fit.

> "I can't wait to meet your family!" Mihoshi jumped
> up and down in delight.
> "Yeah, well let's make those calls, then," Kiyone
> sat down and turned to the communications controls.

> Family Trees - Chapter 5
> A Shift in the Stream

> Same Warning and Disclaimer: I don't own any of this
> stuff...and don't take this fic too seriously.

> Last Episode: Leaf and Ryouga get annoyed with Jiro
> Hibiki. The Slayers crew shows up at the Tendo
> household looking for

> Sylphiel. Ranma's curse is
> revealed to the Tenchi crew. The fiancees arrive. 

> Leaf, Jiro and Ryouga arrive at the Tendo houshold.
> Kasumi and Amelia discuss Xellos.

> Jiro tries to kill
> Genma.

> Kiyone plans to direct her mother to the
> shrine and discusses Mihoshi's family.
> *******************************************************
> 
> Most people would approach a war zone with the
> utmost of caution. In fact, most people would not
> even bother to approach.

> They would turn around and
> run at the first sight of an impact crater Partially
> destroyed structures and still smoking energy blast
> burns tended to have that effect on people. 

> Kiyone and Mihoshi barely noticed the damage at all.

> "Hmm, Ryoko and Ayeka REALLY got into it didn't
> they, Kiyone?"

> Mihoshi asked. Kiyone paused to pull
> something out of a tree.
> "A spatula?" Kiyone blinked, and looked around. 

>A brown haired girl stepped out of the trees then and
> snatched it from her. Kiyone noted the huge spatula
> strapped to her back.

> "Thanks, I was looking for those," the girl said,
> unconcerned about Kiyone's presence. "Seen any more
> of these? I'm missing like three still."

> "Excuse me," Kiyone said calmly. "Who are you?"

> "Oh, I'm Ukyou Kuonji," the girl said cheerfully. 

> "Who are you two, more of that Tenchi's girlfriends?"
> "What?!" Kiyone sputtered. "Whatever gave you that
> idea?"

> "Tenchi's girlfriend," Mihoshi laughed. "What
> a...oh hello Ryoko and Ayeka." Mihoshi waved
> cheerfully to the angry girls.
> ~Oh no.~ Kiyone sighed and turned to face a fuming
> Ayeka.

> "Detective Kiyone," she said tightly. "What is she
> talking about?"

> "And what do you think about Tenchi?" Ryoko growled
> at Mihoshi. Mihoshi, being Mihoshi, took the question
> on face value.

> "Well, let's see, he's cute, nice, polite, calm..."
> She looked up and the subject left her head. "Ooo,
> look at how pretty the stars are tonight!!"
> "Grrr! You two know I don't feel anything for
> Tenchi," Kiyone growled. "Now, why are you here?"

> "I'm here to save my Ranchan from that witch
> Nabiki," Ukyou said cheerfully. Her next movement was
> a swift dodge to the side, without changing her basic
> stance or expression. Where she had been standing a
> gymnast's club smashed into a tree.

> "Why you peasant!" The speaker was a pale-skinned

> gymnast. "How dare you

> presume to chase my
> Ranma-darling!

> There is no way that he would even
> consider such a commoner as yourself. Not when he has
> Kodachi Kuno, the Black Rose of St. Hebereke, ready to
> give herself to him. OHHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Everybody
> excepting Ayeka cringed.
> "Is there something wrong with that laugh," she
> asked curiously.

> Kiyone face faulted as somebody tried to smash the
> dark-haired, pale girl with a bon bori.

> The gymnast
> leaped out of the way and 

> "Neither of you marry Airen," the blue haired girl
> declared. "Amazon law say,

> he Shampoo groom, so Shampoo marry!"
> "Nobody invited you three," a fourth voice nearly
> growled as another girl walked out of the trees. She
> tossed Ukyou the missing three spatulas.

> "There's
> your spatulas Ukyou."
> "Hey, thanks Akane," Ukyou said cheerfully.
> "Why you play nice-nice with pathetic violent-girl
> when she try steal Airen!"

> "Why would I want that baka freak!?" Akane shouted.

> "By the way, Auntie Saotome was sharpening her sword,
> something about truce-breakers."

> "Shampoo behave."
> ~Just wait until I figure out the manner in which
> this little beauty operates,~ Kodachi smirked as she

> fiddled with a bracelet. "Excuse me, I have to find
> the rest of my clubs."

> "Shampoo go set up tent."

> Both girls vanished into
> the trees again.
> "Okay this is weird," Kiyone growled. "What's
> going on?"

> "Oh, sorry," Akane said politely. "That Baka idiot
> my dad has me engaged to is Katsuhito's grandson,

> we're visiting for a little while, these three
> followed us."
> ~More descendants of the Jurai? Hmm, maybe I
> shouldn't ask Mom to come here just now.~

> Kiyone
> looked hard at Akane. "There's something familiar
> about you."

> "You know, I was thinking the same thing about
> you," Akane said curiously.
> "Hey, everybody!" Mihoshi shouted. "Kiyone's
> parents are coming to visit too!"
> ~Great, so much for not asking mom to come here."
> "Is that so?" Ayeka arched an eyebrow. "Who are
> your parents Detective Makibi? And why can they not
> find their own lodgings?"

> "Yeah, we don't need more freeloaders," Ryoko
> agreed.
> "Be, careful about accusing people of freeloading,
> Ryoko!"

> "If freeloading is all my father gets up to it'll
> be a miracle," Kiyone muttered.
> "Is it just me," Akane asked. "Or is this getting
> weird?"

> "Weird? around us?" Ukyou said dryly. "You've got
> to be kidding suger."

*******************************************************
> In the Nerima, 

> in a similar scene of battle scars and smoking ruin,

> another group of people were quietly
> have tea. Aside from the panda and spatula weilding
> martial artist lying unconscious in pile outside.
> "We should apologize for the state of your house,
> Kasumi-san,"

> Amelia said politely. "Lina can get
> quite active at times."

> "Oh, its no problem at all," Kasumi said as she
> filled her pot of tea. "Ranma's fiancees and rivals
> destroy the house on a regular basis.

> Isn't that
> right father?" The man nodded from behind is paper.
> ~Just pretend nothing's happening,~ he thought as
> he scanned the paper, not noticing it was upside down.

> "Will you be staying for the night?" Kasumi asked.
> "In this mess?" Gourry asked surprised.
> "Jellyfish-brains!"

> Lina whacked him upside the
> head. "We made the mess, so don't go complaining
> about it!"
> "Oh this will be fixed in little while," Kasumi
> said.
> "How is that...?" Zelgadis was interrupted by what
> seemed to be a flash of red light that whipped 

> through
> the damaged portions of the house. Somebody seemed to
> step out of the flashing light for a moment, a slim
> man in a red jumpsuit with lightning bolts on it. He

> seemed to flicker off and on while the red blur
> continued zipping about the house.
> "What happened here?" he asked Kasumi. "I don't
> see any of the normal sources of damage, oh wait,
> there's Ryouga." The bandanna wearing boy absently
> waved from where he was comparing methods of
> depression with Zelgadis.

> "Some friends of my mother's are visiting," Kasumi
> said sweetly. "And there was an argument over some
> spilt food.

> Thank you for coming, I wasn't certain
> you'd come out this hour."

> The man in the red suit
> nodded momentarily, flickering again, as if saying, oh
> I see.

> "Hey, this is good exercise," the man said before
> vanishing into the blur again. "I'll have this
> finished in a moment." The last sentence seemed to
> come from everywhere, then suddenly the blur just
> vanished

> and the house was in perfect condition again.

> "What was that?"

> "The contractor," Kasumi said simply. "Will you be
> staying the night then?"

> "Not me," Leaf said standing up, after blinking
> away the surprise from the rapid fix up job. "I don't

> have the time to be sitting around here much longer. 
> As soon as my husband wakes up we're out of here." 
> She blinked in surprise. "Oh by the Gods, I sound
> like SPARK!"

> "And I'm going with you!" Ryouga shouted. "Its my
> only chance to get to Ranma before he does something
> terrible to Akane!"

> "Whatever," Leaf waved the comment aside. They had
> all been variously breifed on the fiancee/rival
> situation. Leaf would have felt sorry for the poor
> boy if it weren't the fact that

> one of the fiancees
> was her daughter. "Wait a minute, that gives me an
> idea."

> "Huh?" Ryouga looked nervous as the half-elf
> smirked, recognizing Ukyou's "I've got a plan" smile.
> *******************************************************
> "See who's at the gate, Sasuke," Kuno ordered. "I
> must prepare for my trek to face the evil sorcerer
> Ranma."

> "Yes, master," the ninja strolled to the front of
> the estate and out to the gate. Outside he saw a pair
> of nearly identical girls. 

> Both wearing long, double
> pony tails coming out of a braided loop. One was
> dressed in tight, dark-colored clothes and had a
> rather venomous look on her face.

> The other was fidgeting and appeared rather
> irritated and anger. The tight discipline in other
> seemed to not at all be present in the second girl. 
> This one was wearing sweats and a t-shirt that showed
> more skin but revealed less than the other girl's
> apparel.

> "Is this the Kuno estate?" the fidgety one asked
> irritably.
> "Yes it is," Sasuke said. "How may I help.."
> "Who is it Sasuke?" Kuno stepped out into the
> estate's yard.
> ~Oh...what a BABE!~ Yohko thought practically
> drooling, and ignoring Iako's palpable irritation.

> ~What a ditz,~ Iako thought shaking her head. 

> ~When is she going to learn to apply discipline
> outside of combat?~

> "Two young women, I think they're sisters," Sasuke
> said. The the solemn girl arched an eyebrow at that. 
> Yohko's latest crush didn't survive Kuno opening his
> mouth again.

> "Ah, doubtless they have come to seek the
> incomparable grace and majesty of Tatewaki Kuno, the

> Blue Thunder of Furinkan High. Alas but my heart
> already belongs to the pig-tailed goddes and the
> virtuous Akane Tendo.

> Still such persistance should
> be rewarded," Sasuke stepped back from the open
> entrance as the two girls looked at each other for a
> moment. "Very well I shall....ACCK!!! ARGGH!! EEEK!
> AEIIII! OW!! OW!! OW!!"

> "It seems the rumors of insanity were correct,"
> Iako said cooly.

> "Hey, where do you think you're going, toad?!"

> Yohko shouted, a small blast of magical armor passed
> in front of the ninja. "We have some questions to
> ask." Iako's whip flashed out and caught the ninja,
> bringing him back towards them.
> "We are looking for one Kodachi Kuno," Iako said.
> "What a coincidence," a new voice said.

> They turned around to see a woman in

> her late twenties with
> long red hair and sparkling red eyes.

> She was dressed

> in a manner similar to Iako, but with much brighter
> colors. "So am I."

> "And who are you?" the woman handed her a card. 
> "You-gen-kai-sya? Ayaka Kisaragi?"

> "Oh I've heard of you," Iako sneered, holding the
> ninja out at arm's length. "Mystical investigations,
> you work for money."

> "Family talents for swordsmanship and magic," 

> she
> shrugged. "Might as well use it to make a living. 

> And you two I guess are Manos,

> lack of battle dress notwithstanding."

> "Yeah, so what are you doing here?" Yohko asked.
> "The musuem hired me to recover a supposedly
> mystical item," she shrugged. "Thanks for going
> through the gymnast's ahead of me, made it easy to get
> information."
> "Speaking of information," Iako said levelly. All
> three looked to a nervous Sasuke.
> *******************************************************
> "This is starting to turn into a family reunion
> weekend," Nabiki said cooly. Behind her Akane 

> and Nodoka were going through family photo albums. Ranma
> was supposedly doing the same, but it looked more like

> he was sleeping. "How long has it been anyway?"
> "You remember the hell brat?" 

>Kiyone asked.
> "Yep," Nabiki nodded. "That's right, didn't see
> the whole thing though."*

> "Think we should warn him?" Kiyone asked, glaring
> at the younger girl. Both thought about it for a
> moment.
> "Nah."
> *******************************************************
> Xellos glanced about nervously,

> that sense of
> impending doom had just deepened.
> "Xellos, what is it this time?" Amelia demanded
> irritably. He had been on the verge of "convincing"
> her not to be mad anymore when suddenly he's looking

> for threats again. ~Hmm, wonder if we need a new
> game.~

> "Must be my imagination, Ame-chan," he smiled
> cheerfully.

*******************************************************
> "Ooo, Shampoo get see Airen's family!" Shampoo
> plopped down on the table,

> oddly enough it fell rather
> round under her feet, and snatched up the book.

> "Hey, what do you think your doing?" Akane
> demanded.
> "That certainly wasn't polite," Nodoka agreed.
> "Grrr."

> "What that noise?" Shampoo asked then shrugging.
> "Excuse miss...Shampoo," Sasami said quietly,
> pointing down.

> "Oh, Shampoo land on Airen head," she giggled. 

> "Sorry." She flipped off, driving Ranma's head back
> into the table again, and landed on a couch with the
> book. She flipped through several places and stopped.

> "Shampoo, we were looking at that," Akane yelled. 
> "Now give it back and go off and cook up some Ramen or
> something."

> "Who's that?" Shampoo asked turning the book
> towards Nodoka with a pale expression. She was
> pointing to a slim angry looking young man standing
> between a younger Nodoka and some other girl.
> "Oh him?" Nodoka said. "That's my brother Wu Fei,

> we haven't heard from him since he went to China
> several years ago."
> "Airen's uncle name Wu Fei?" Shampoo asked quietly
> looking at Ranma.
> "Why you asking me?" he responded. "I just found
> out about all this stuff." The amazon looked at the
> picture and turned a lovely shade of green.

> "Excuse me, Shampoo go be very sick now," and with
> that the amazon vanished through the hole in the wall.

> Well, Washu, HAD just fixed it, but Shampoo solved

> that problem easily enough.
> "ARG!!! Ryoko and Ayeka are bad enough!" the pink
> scientist shouted. "I haven't seen this much damage
> since my ex was learning black magic. Grrr, a blind
> man practicing attack spells indeed." 

> Family Trees - Chapter 6
> 
> 
> 
> A River Redirected

> Warning and Disclaimer: I don't own any of the
> characters aside from Jiro Kuonji, but he's more of

> a punching bag than a character. 

> Oh yeah, before I
> get any comments, in Ruin Explorers,

> Wiccan is a race of
> cat people 

>(assuming Fam is typical member) NOT a
> religion.

> [I'm going to finish here for the moment though this
> part is kind of short...I]

> 
> Last Episode: Kiyone arrived at the shrine in time
> to meet the fiancees looking for lost weapons in the
> woods. The Tendo contractor flashes by 

> to repair
> the after battle mess back at the Dojo. Leaf comes up
> with plan that doesn't involve waiting for her
> husband to wake up.

> The Manos maul Tatewaki

> Kuno and meet Ayaka Kisaragi. Nabiki and Kiyone
> discuss family, and Shampoo makes a sickening (for her)
> discovery.

> 
> *******************************************************
> 
> "There is NO way I'm going to cast the spell,"
> the woman shouted at her youthful seeming friend. 

> Youthful seeming, and still annoyingly youthful
> acting at times.
> "But Ihrie...

> I'll just mess up!" The "girl's"
> tail twitched nervously.
> "Why couldn't I pair up with an elf," Ihrie
> wondered to herself, she was approaching her

> mid-thirties with an old scar on her cheek. Her
> long purple hair stuck out at odd angles, as if she had

> never even heard of a brush before. "They may stay
> young longer even than you wiccans, but at least
> they don't ACT like kids."
> "Oh come on Ihrie," Fam whined. "We have plenty
> of your pills. 

> And you're a much better magician than
> I am and this involves

> time AND dimension travel and I
> don't think I can do it right." 
> Ihrie growled,

> of course Fam was only half right.
> Raw power and theoretical superiority didn't help
> much when

> you only got one spell in each battle. Plus
> Fam knew all her spells and a several more besides that

> Ihrie's curse had made impossible for her to 

> learn properly.
> "Fam, you once cast a spell in a place normal
> spellcasting should have been impossible," Ihrie
> said rubbing her temples irritably. "Even if it was just
> a simple illusion, you can handle THIS,

> besides she's
> your kid, not mine." ~And to think I rejoiced when
> you finally stopped whining about Lyle. 

> Last time we
> visited your daughter we ended up getting chased
> around by some psycho with blue hair.~

> "Well...okay, if you say so Ihrie."
> "Just cast the spell."
> 
> *******************************************************
> "Back so soon, Shampoo?" Cologne said as Shampoo
> sort of shuffled into the Nekohanten.

> "Is something
> the matter, great-grandaughter?"
> "Yes," Shampoo snatched a bowl of ramen and sat

> down heavily, sort of poking at the noodles before
> eating experimentally.
> "Is the son-in-law..." Cologne ceased speaking,
> as Shampoo pushed away the bowl of ramen.

> The color
> drained out of her face

> and then returned in shades
> of green. "What is it Shampoo?"

> "Ranma is family," Shampoo said, standing up
> calmly, and then making a mad dash for the public
> restroom.

> "This complicates matters," Cologne said to
> herself.

> *******************************************************
> "Decisions, decisions," Nabiki said to herself,
> watching Ryoko and Ayeka fight off into the hills. 

> Tenchi was in the fields doing chores,

> this early
> in the morning, Ranma was still asleep. Nabiki had
> seen Akane in the dining area in the process of
> waking up. She must have had a long night, 

> Akane wasn't
> usually that tired in the morning. Still, her

> asking how Kasumi had gotten so short was quite amusing.

> Ryoko had no money that she could determine, so
> it
> was useless selling the little information she had
> gleaned to the pirate. She doubted Ayeka would be
> willing to believe it, so blackmailing her was out
> of the question.

> "Now, Xellos on the other hand," Nabiki pondered
> that. How much farther could she push him before he

> called her bluff.

> "So you noticed her too?" Nabiki turned to
> Kiyone,
> who was suddenly just there. Nabiki wasn't
> surprised, she hadn't felt a teleport, but that was probably
> because Kiyone hadn't teleported. 

> "Of course YOU never thought of getting a little
> advantage from that," Nabiki said, dryly.
> "Knowing you, you've already found excuses to
> avoid the schemes that would really hurt her," Kiyone
> said. "And have gone on to, 'let's get daddy.'"

> "Its hard to make any money with you around,"
> Nabiki said. "Its too much like actually having a
> conscience."
> "By the way," Nabiki turned to face her. "How
> did you get him to teach you the teleport thing?"

> "What do you care, you've always been happy
> without
> magic," Nabiki commented.

> "Hell, even I only drag
> the stuff out of him for a little oneupmanship."
> "Curiosity, and I could have used the "

> "Payment for getting me and Akane out of town."
> "From the sounds of it you were already coming

> here," Kiyone said. Then she smiled. "I can't 

>wait
> to see his reaction to that."

> "KIYONE!!" the teal-haired woman face-faulted as
> Mihoshi called out in search of her. "Where are you
> Kiyone!?!?? Oh there you are! I've been looking
> everywhere for you."
> "Incoming!" Nabiki shouted pointing up into the
> sky at the descending body. Kiyone saw it, judged the
> trajectory and smirked a little.

> Tenchi returning
> from some morning chores looked up and sighed.

> "What now?"
> "Oh sorry, Mihoshi, didn't mean to be avoiding
> you
> or anything," Kiyone said nervously. The falling
> person approached with rapid speed.

> "Well you should be more considerate...ooo look
> at the cool rock!" 

> Mihoshi bent down to pick up said
> rock
> as the falling person zoomed past her towards a
> wide-eyed Kiyone. "Hey, Kiyone, what happened to
> you?"

> "Is that a giant spatula?" Nabiki asked pointing
> at
> the unconscious pair.

> "You IDIOT!!! Now we'll have to find out where
> he
> landed!" This was followed by a sleeping Ranma
> landing in the courtyard by Akane express.

> "Ever alert martial artist," she hmphed.
> "GET BACK HERE RYOKO!"

> "COME AND GET ME SLOW POKE!!!" Ryoko shouted
> back. 
> ~Hmm...she's getting better at this.~ Everybody
> watched them pass and sweatdropped. Ranma snored.

> "Hey, what's with all the noise?" Ukyou walked up
> to the rest of the crowd stretching out the kinks

> from
> sleeping on the ground. She looked back to where
> Kiyone was coming around underneath the the human
> bullet.

> "Dad?"
> Shampoo, who had disappeared sometime last night,
> and Ukyou had refused to impose on anybody as
> uninvited guests and set up camps. Nobody knew
> where
> Kodachi had ended up. 

> "I'm sorry, but he irritated me!" 

> The Nerimites
> looked at each other and groaned. Akane noted a
> bucket of water and started in that direction.
> "Grrr...Mihoshi!" Kiyone staggered to her feet 

> in time to see Akane splash Ranma awake. 

> "What did you do that for?" Ranma-chan shouted.

> "What the...huh? Wow, interesting wedding
> night."

> "Dady's little girl," Nabiki smirked, ignoring
> Kiyone's growl.

> "Hey, who's the new girl?" the non nerimites
> facefaulted as they tried to figure out how Mihoshi
> had seen it happen and still didn't figure it out. 
> "She's cute." This, on the other hand, surprised
> them.

> "Ah Ha!" Nobuyuki shouted. "I knew it!"
> "Quick! Turn me back to a guy!"
> "Mihoshi! You're giving us a reputation!"

> "Ah ha!! There he is! RANMA SAOTOME PREPARE TO
> DIE!!!"
> "Hmm? Ryouga great to see you man!"
> "Shut up, Ranma, I'm here to punish you for your
> mistreatment of women!" This resulted in two

> roving
> fights.
> "Do those two ever give it a rest?" Ukyou asked
> watching the pair of martial artists take their
> explosive match into the hills.

> "No." Tenchi and Akane said at once, then looked
> at each other and blinked.

> "Great now I lost them both, hold it," Leaf
> scratched the tip of her ear. "If that was Ranma
> Saotome, that means we're here."

> "MOM!" Ukyou shouted in surprise. ~Wow she looks
> just like she did when she left, how does she do
> it?~ 

> "Ucchan!" the elfin girl, about Ukyou's height,
> but a little slimmer. "I found you!" The two hugged
> and jumped up and down amid numerous sweatdrops.

> "Dad said you were dead!"
> "Yeah, well, he's an idiot," Leaf said. "Umm,
> what happened to your ears?"

> "Oh, yeah," she blushed and shifted her hair to
> let the pointed ears show.
> "Ukyou!?" Akane shouted in surprise.
> "Ukyou's an elf?" Nabiki blinked in surprise.

> "Dad said they'd attract too much attention,"
> Ukyou said shyly. Leaf glared at the unconscious Jiro. 

> "What happened to him anyway?"
> "He accused that Ryouga boy of taking advantage
> of you," Leaf said.

> "How'd he know I tried to...uh...oops." 

> Leaf
> leveled a look at her making Ukyou realize she had
> just given too much away. "Accident with a love
> potion?"
> "Grrr..." Leaf fumed. "I'll talk to him, AFTER I
> talk to you about some things."

> "Like what?"
> "Like immortality for on thing," all the Nerimans
> present, with the notable exception of Nabiki, face
> faulted.

> *******************************************************
> "No, we are not sisters," Iako said crisply. 

> "Why do people keep asking us that?"
> "Hey, you too look so identical that HAS to be
> the next thing on most people's minds."

> "Well, we AREN'T sisters," Yohko insisted, though
> she really wouldn't mind it very much.

> "My point exactly," Ayaka said.
> "We should be getting on with travelling to look
> for the Kuno," 

> Iako said puzling over her comrades'
> abilities to waste time. "But since you insist on
> pestering us." Iako pulled a photograph from a
> pocket that seemed to be in her clothes some
> where though nobody could figure out where. 

> "Hey, Iako what are you doing with a picture of
> my father?" Iako blinked. 

> "Grrrr."

> "Ha!" Ayaka declared. "I knew you were sisters.
> "Oh my Iako, isn't this great?" Yohko smiled at 
> who was turning out to be her half-sister.
> ~By the first devil-hunter!~ Iako thought. 
> ~She's going to hug me...she's GOING TO hug me!" 

> Family Trees - Chapter 7

> A Change in the Tide

> ****************************************************
> Last Episode: Ihrie and Fam discuss casting a gate

> opening spell to visit Fam's child. Kiyone and Nabiki
> discuss another person.

> Leaf finally finds Ukyou. 

> Iako comes as close to panicking as she's ever been on
> discovering that Yohko is her half-sister.
> 

> *******************************************************
> 
> In the hills about the Masaki shrine two battles
> were raging

>. Two girls and two boys, one of whom was
> a girl at the moment, were fighting as if to kill each

> other, of course if they had REALLY been trying to
> kill each other there would have been a lot more
> devastation.

> One of these battles was no where near close, Ryoko
> was easily Ayeka's superior. Though Ryoko had to note 

> that she was getting much better at taking care of
> herself than she had been when they first starting
> living at the shrine. 

> Ranma and Ryouga, on the other hand, were at the

> point that it took an interruption to actually finish
> their fights. Either that or the unlikely event of
> Ryouga deciding he didn't really want to kill Ranma. 

> The case in this point was an interruption.
> "RANMA!! GET BACK HERE AND DIE!!"/"STAND AND FIGHT
> RYOKO!!"
> "Yeah right you can take me."

> /"Come and get me, Princess!"

> "LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!" Who exactly shouted was
> lost in the following collision. Resulting in a huge
> explosion and a pile of four stunned combatants.

> *******************************************************
> Everybody turned away from the mother and daughter
> reunion to see the geyser of earth and power erupt

> into the sky in the hills. Well except for Ukyou, who
> was trying to process the comment about immortality,

> and her father, who was still unconscious. Then there

> was quiet.
> "Wow, that was big," Nobuyuki commented
> intelligently.

> "Oh! I hope nobody was hurt!" Sasami gasped.

> "Those bakas," Akane hmphed. "Well I guess
> somebody has to go check on them."

> She started
> stalking off into the hills.

> "Anybody else coming along?" Tenchi asked, turning
> to follow her.
> "You're kidding right?" Leaf said, pointing at
> Ukyou and blinking.

> "Listen I have about three
> months, less now, to cram sixteen years of knowledge
> down her head before she has to make her choice, and

> you want me to leave?"

> "I'll go!" Mihoshi shouted, cheerfully. Kiyone
> imagined Mihoshi applying first aid to anybody and
> facefaulted.

> "Umm, Mihoshi, I'm not certain that's a good idea."
> "But I thought I recognized that guy that attacked
> that cu.." Kiyone slapped a hand over Mihoshi's mouth.
> "What did I tell you about making comments like
> that around other people?" Kiyone whispered, 

> almost
> growling.

> Then she laughed nervously at the people
> staring at them.

> "I'm not asking," Akane declared before heading
> back towards the site of the explosion.
> "I've never bothered to either," Tenchi agreed,
> continuing as well.

> "Tenchi, wait up!" Sasami called out. "Azaka,
> Kamidake, we got to go help." The three of them and
> the logs faded away into the woods.

> "What's this about immortality?" Ukyou asked,
> confused. "And a choice?" Ukyou watched her mother
> laugh nervously.

> "Okay, no time for dawdling about," Leaf said,

> getting a hold of herself. A dimensional pocket
> appeared in front of her.

> "Looking for some privacy?" Nabiki asked levely,
> with a smirk. 

>Ukyou face faulted as she worked
> through the implications of Nabiki with such powers. 

> Then stood up narrowing her eyes.
> "What's the catch?" Leaf demanded, narrowly.
> "Yeah, Nabiki you never do anything without a

> profit margin in mind," Ukyou added, Nabiki smirked.
> "I'll just put it on your tab Ukyou," Nabiki said.
> "Tab?" Leaf blinked. "You owe her money?"
> "Everybody owes her money," Ukyou said irritably.

> "I'm an honest business woman," Nabiki insisted.

> "Like I said I'll put the entrance fee on your tab."
> "And how will you know when we want out?"
> "Just call out, I'll hear you," Nabiki said. ~At
> least sticking annoying alarm clocks in there doesn't
> help my ears much.~

> "If this is a trick I'm going to skewer you girl,"
> Leaf promised Nabiki.

> "I'll do everything I promised to do," Nabiki said
> eyes closed and head pointed to the ground as she
> leaned against a tree. "I swear."

> As Ukyou and her mother cautiously stepped into the
> dimensional pocket and it closed behind them, Kiyone
> slipped up next to Nabiki.

> "So what is the trick?"
> "I forgot to mention that I put the exit fee on her
> tab as well," Nabiki said, smirking. "By the way,
> shall I start a tab for you as well?"
> "What are you talking about?" Kiyone asked
> nervously.
> "About a week stuck in our parents' homeworld, and
> the noises after hours. EVERY night," Nabiki smirked
> as Kiyone blushed. 

>~I told you I'd get you back for
> having to sleep in that stable.~
> *******************************************************
> "Well, here we are Fam," Ihrie said. "Which way
> now?" She'd heard Fam cast the spell, and she had
> done it properly, well she had done it half-properly. 
> They should at least be in the proper vicinity of
> Fam's daughter. Which time of the girl's life, on the
> other hand, Ihrie had no idea.
> "Well, I don't know," Fam said, looking about at
> all the trees. At that point the explosion erupted a
> mile or so below them.

> "Think that's them?" Ihrie asked drly.
> "She did turn out to be rather violent didn't she,"
> Fam said sadly.
> "Your fault for trusting a prince like THAT one,"
> Ihrie said.

> "He seemed nice enough," Fam said embarrassed.
> "So does my father by all reports."
> *******************************************************
> "Well here we are, the Masaki shrine," Iako said
> glancing at the steps irritably.

> Ayaka and Yohko
> looked toward the top and swallowed. ~Yohko's my
> sister, damn, at least I'm not half-demon or
> something.~

> ~I hope this means we don't have to fight anymore,~
> Yohko thought. ~But then it didn't seem to help our
> grandmothers.~
> "That's a lot of steps," Yohko stated simply upon
> seeing the stairs.

> "I knew a shouldn't have gotten out of bed today,"

> Ayaka whined. Iako growled, knowing they were both
> easily capable of making the climb in flash. "All
> this climbing and sweating is going to ruin my
> youthful complexion!" Both Manos blinked and looked
> at the woman after that remark.
> "I wouldn't worry about that," Yohko said politely.

> *******************************************************
> "Thank you for your hospitality, Kasumi-san,"
> Amelia bowed to her as they left the building. "You
> certainly seem to have inherited some of the best
> traits of your mother."

> Kasumi bowed slightly, still
> smiling.
> "Yes, well I am sorry she can't still be here to
> see you," Kasumi said, politely. "She was certainly a
> very loving woman." If Nabiki had been here she would
> have translated the exchange into the following.

> "At least you're not a man-stealing tramp like your
> mother."

> "Well, at least she was more than woman enough to
> hold a man or two."

> Of course, Xellos, Filia and Zelgadis understood
> the exchange, sweatdropping. Lina, Gourry and Soun
> were completely clueless.

> "Hey, we've got a month before we have to leave,"
> Lina said loudly. "And I'll bet we can come back to
> visit later."

> "Yes, certainly," Amelia said, smiling. "And
> perhaps I'll be better company." Roughly translated. 
> "Okay, I deserved that." 

>The slayers individually

> thanked the Tendos for their hospitality and turned
> down the street.

> "Well, come on where is this place we're going to?"
> Lina demanded.
> "Its a shrine outside the city," Amelia said as
> they walked away. "Its supposed to have a demon
> sealed away inside it."

> "Shouldn't take too long to get there," Zelgadis
> said. And in the next moment six bodies were flying
> through the town. This was only moderately surprising
> to the citizens of Nerima. 

> *******************************************************
> "Hey, you okay?" Ayeka blinked awake to see

> someone standing over her. As her vision cleared she
> saw that was some strange boy about Lord Tenchi's age
> wearing a bandanna and looking at her with concerned
> look on his face. Only pieces of this filtered
> through her punch-drunk thinking.

> "AHH!! Pervert!!" The next thing Ryouga knew 

> there
> were a bunch of little logs surrounding him. 
> "What the...?" Then the electricity started. As a
> result when everybody else arrived Ayeka was the only
> one still

> awake.

> "Wow, somebody actually woke up before Ranma and
> Ryouga?" Akane blinked.
> "Is that THIS pervert's name?"
> "Damn did I get in the way of battleship?"

> "When did Cologne stop by?" Ranma-chan groaned. 
> Then she looked to see Ryouga "still" unconscious. 
> "Hey Ryouga, wake up, you're giving us a bad name
> man."

> "Errggg," Ryouga groaned intelligently.

> "Ryo-chan!" Ryoko blinked.

> "I must really have been hit hard," the space
> pirate

> said after a moment. "I could have sworn that
> I just heard...."
> "Fam, wait up! I'm not a kid anymore you damn
> wiccan!"

> "Oh great," Ryoko whined, then waved cheerfully. 
> "Hi mom." 

> Everybody looked at the cat girl 

> in the white
> outfit running down through the trees

> ahead of a woman
> in her early thirties or late twenties, with untamed
> purple hair. Then they looked back at Ryoko, who
> seemed both older and much taller.
> "That's your mother?" Tenchi asked, surprised.
> "She seems so..." Ayeka started.
> "Naive?" Ryoko asked.
> "Ryo-chan!" Fam glomped onto her daughter. "Its
> been so long!"
> "Is that bounty hunter anywhere around?" Ihrie
> asked, out of breath as she finally reached everybody
> else.
> "Does she mean Nagi?" Tenchi asked.

> "Mommm...I..caan't breathe," Ryoko gasped.
> "Is it just me or have there been a lot of
> coincidences recently?" Ranma asked.

> "Why do you seem familiar?" Ihrie asked Ayeka,
> confused.

> "Actually, I was about to ask you the same thing,"
> the princess said. "But when would a disreputable
> creature like you ever be able to encounter a princess
> of Jurai."

> "You'd be amazed who hires mercenaries," Ihrie
> said, glancing at Fam and Ryoko. "Besides it wasn't a
> princess that we had problems with, just the Crown
> Prince."

> "What do you mean by that?" Ayeka asked.
> "Yeah, what DO you mean by that?" Ryoko repeated.
> "Ihrie!" Fam snapped surprised, releasing Ryoko.
> "Oh shit...and I always thought Fam ran off her
> mouth," Ihrie laughed once. "Ignore I just said
> anything."
> "Do you guys sense an incredible coincidence
> happening," Tenchi asked.

> Akane and Ranma nodded,
> Ryouga sat up, blinking.
> "Well you, see," Fam said nervously. "Your father
> is the Crown Prince of Jurai."

> "Was, Fam," Ihrie reminded her. "By now he'd be
> the king. Time travel is annoying."

> "WHAT!!!" Ayeka and Ryoko face faulted.
> *******************************************************
> "And now at last I can have the power to win my
> Ranma-darling's heart! OHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" 

> Kodachi yelled. "And the purpose of my ancestors will
> finally be complete to throw in the bargain!!"

> ~Its interesting that after all those bunglers that
> tried to call my power,~ a demon lord pondered as it
> waited to be released. ~That it would take marrying
> into a family of demon hunters to finally fulfill my
> release. 

>I'll have to thank the Manos before I kill them.~

> Family Trees - Chapter 8
> A Current Moved

> 
> Warning and Disclaimer before: any guess as to when
> the characters are going to find a way into the real
> world to rip me to pieces...

> Last Episode: The roving disaster areas collided,
> Nabiki gave Ukyou and Leaf some private space to talk,

> she then decides to blackmail Kiyone a little. Fam
> and Ihrie tell Ryoko about her father. And virtually
> everybody else is about to hit the Shrine.

> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> "This is driving me CRAZY!!"

> Akane shouted. Then
> she turned back to look between Ihrie and Ayeka. 

> "Every since I got here I've had this feeling

> I should

> know you and that green haired lady back there, and
> now YOU show up."
> "Well, she does sort of act like Kodachi,"
> Ranma-chan noted.
> "Like that...that..arrogant...lunatic?" Ayeka
> sputtered in rage.

> "Certainly seems to fit you, Sis," Ryoko smirked.
> "You be quiet!"
> "We REALLY shouldn't have said anything, Ihrie,"

> Fam noted. ~Wow, for once I'M the responsible one.~

> "I know, I know," Ihrie practically growled.
> "Even if that's how SHE'S familiar, how about
> Makibi-san, or her? I mean until now I only got this
> feeling from Nabiki!"

> "Don't ask me," Ihrie said. "Last time I felt
> anything like it was with an old love interest."

> "That Ashram person right?" Ryoko froze letting
> people pass her for a moment.
> "Is something wrong, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked.
> "Yeah, Oneechan," Sasami noted. "You just turned
> white as a sheet."

> "Sasami! She is NOT our sister!!"

> "Umm...that cat-girl," now Ranma stopped and took a
> good look at Fam, before taking off

> at a run down the hill.

> Ryouga laughed nervously as Akane glared at
> him. "Heh, imagine that, and I thought he'd already
> noticed."

> "I'm sure," Akane left to chase after Ranma. "Get
> back here you baka!! She's NOT a cat!"

> Everybody looked at Ryouga for a moment.
> "Ranma's afraid of cats," he snickered viciously.
> "Ohhhhh kay," and they turned back to staring at
> Ryoko.
> "Do you know Ashram, Ryo-chan?" Fam asked.
> "Tall, serious, dark-hair?"

> "Yeah," Ihrie said, nervously. "Why?"
> "Do you know where he is now."
> "Well, he just sort of left one day, don't know
> where to. He took the news that my father was some
> kind of demon pretty hard," Ryoko took a look at her
> hair for a moment.

*******************************************************
> One his way to the shrine, Xellos suddenly felt
> VERY nervous.

> *******************************************************
> "I don't have that much money," Kiyone protested.
> "Oh, please I just wanted to see you squirm,"

> Nabiki snickered. "Still a little information here
> and there would be useful."
> "Like what?"

> "Like the name of anybody that's every crossed
> paths with Genma Saotome, or at least any recorded
> encounter."
> "Deal," Kiyone agreed, with the Yagami's computers

> that would be easy to find. She imagined her mother's

> reaction to finding out that her daughter had
> inherited "Dad's" roaming eye.

> "Ugh, what hit me?" Nabiki and Kiyone turned to
> Jiro Kuonji pulling himself up from his enforced nap.
> "According to reports you pissed off the walking
> earthquake and then took a swan dive into Kiyone
> here," Nabiki said simply.
> "Uhh," he tried to consider this. "Did you see a
> brown haired girl with pointy ears..."
> "Your wife and daughter are in a dimensional pocket
> discussing matters," Kiyone explained hostilely, after
> all this guy had missed Mihoshi and bowled into her. 

> ~Not bad looking for an older guy though, hmmm.~

> "Oh that guy is awake!!!" Mihoshi yelled loudly. 

> She bounced over and stuck her face into Jiro's. 
> "Hey, do you know what the name of the guy that thew
> you was?"
> "Uh...Ryouga.." he said.
> "YATTA!!" Mihoshi yelled happily, jumping up down
> happily. "Hey Kiyone!! You can meet my brother!!
> Ooo

> I wonder if A-Ko is here too!!" Kiyone sweatdropped.
> ~Mihoshi's family??~ Kiyone wondered what she had
> down in her

> previous life to deserve this.
> "Ah HA!!" Nabiki turned to the diminuitive pink
> haired scientist that had seemingly appeared out of
> nowhere. "I found that anomaly." A surprised
> half-elf, quarter-elf fell out of thin air as Washu
> typed on her console.
> "Hey! They paid me for that!" Nabiki said as the
> elf-bloods disappeared again.
> "That pocket is messing up my calculations!" 
> Mother and daughter popped into existence.

> "People expect to get what they pay for!" Leaf and

> Ukyou popped out again.
> "You compare money to scientific discovery?!?"
> "I made a deal, and I'm HOLDING that deal!" 

> Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Jiro watched as Ukyou and Leaf
> kept appearing and disappearing with hardly a time to
> get a word in.
> "QUIT IT!!!" Leaf and Ukyou shouted at once over
> several pops.

> "You two are pathetic." Most people didn't notice

> the phrase, but Kiyone and Nabiki, feeling a now VERY
> familiar sensation, both turned in the direction and
> groaned. Nabiki's distraction resulted in a fuming
> pair of girls about reading to tear into Washu and
> Nabiki.

> *******************************************************
> Xellos suddenly felt irrationally paranoid, almost
> as if some cosmic force were out to get him.

*******************************************************
> "Umm, Ihrie, you didn't sleep with him or anything
> did you?" Tenchi 

> "Ryoko that's a rather rude question."

> "Oh please Lord Tenchi, as if she knows ANYTHING
> about social graces."
> "What's going on?" Ryouga scratched his head, but

> decided not to go off anywhere since he'd probably
> just get lost.
> "NO, I did not sleep with him, not that it is any

> of your business," Ihrie said.
> "Your father wouldn't happen to be Xellos
> Metallium," Ryoko asked, ignoring the looks she was
> getting. "Would he." Ihrie suddenly felt a little
> scared.
> "Yes," Ihrie said nervously. "Why?"

> "Metallium-sama?" Ayeka blinked. "He was a friend
> of my mother's." Ihrie and Ryoko took a moment to
> look at Ayeka, and then nodded.

> "Suddenly the hair makes sense," Ryoko mumbled. 
> Then she blushed and turned back to Ihrie. "Well
> isn't it funny what travelling over time and
> dimensions can cause."

> "No its not," Tenchi put in, remembering his own
> experiences with alternate universes.
> "What is it Ryoko," Ihrie asked angrily.
> "You shouldn't be mean to Ryo-chan, Ihrie!" Fam
> retorted innocently.
> "Well, you see, Ashram is my son," Ryoko started,
> pointing her fingers together.

> "IHRIE!!" Fam's voice reached painful tones. "That
> was my GRANDSON you were flirting with?"

> "Ah HA!!" Ayeka pointed. "You see what kind of
> woman she is Tenchi, she's just not fit for you! 
> There is NO way this demon woman is blood of Jurai."
> "Ayeka," Tenchi said wearily. "Not right now."
> "Ah Akane, I was almost back to house anyway!"
> Ranma-chan's voice whined.
> "You are going to stay here and be polite to your
> cousin's girlfriend's mother!" The surprising thing
> was that Akane didn't find that an awkward statement. 

> "Ranma no Baka!!"
> "But she's a c-c-c-c-c..."
> *THWACK*
> "Oww!"
> "I'm sorry, did we miss anything?" Akane asked
> sweetly as the Tenchi crew, Fam and Ihrie all blinked
> at her.
> "The scarred girl was dating the silver-haired
> girl's son."
> "Oh, so?"
> "It gets worse," Ryoko said, nervously. Everybody
> looked at her. "Ashram's father is Xellos Metallium."
> Ihrie turned green and really silent for a moment.

> *******************************************************
> "MY FATHER IS A DEAD DEMON!!!!!!!!"
> Xellos was not certain he had actually heard that,
> but it made him nervous anyway.
> *******************************************************
> "Anybody you know?" Nabiki asked, as everybody
> turned to the shout. They had been talking to the
> three exorcists about one Kodachi Kuno when the shout
> rang out.

> "Nope, that's a new voice," Kiyone said. "I wonder
> what the purple-haired breeding program left behind
> this time." 

> The green-haired woman had her shoulder grabbed and

> she was twisted about to look at a snap shot. The
> angry twin was holding it and looking down with barely
> restrained anger. Kiyone sweatdropped while Nabiki
> shrugged.
> "Oh, we recognized what you two were when hit the
> top of the stairs," Nabiki said.

> "I'm Yohko's sister AND I'm half demon," Iako

> muttered. Then she did something she had never, in
> her life of martial and supernatural discipline, ever
> done.

> She fainted.

> Ayaka Kisaragi snatched the
> picture as it drifted down and looked at it again.
> "You know I thought he looked familiar," she said. 

> "My parents know him and his oath-bound, well wife I
> guess."
> "Hey, he's one of the top people on my ex's home
> dimension!" Washu declared looking at the pic.
> "I think its time to have a little family
> discussion," Kiyone said to Nabiki.
> "Unfortunately so," the younger girl sighed. "I
> was hoping not to let Akane find out about this."

> *******************************************************
> "So if you felt this familiar tug towards your
> half-brother," Ranma's mouth was working him towards a
> grave.

> "Why'd all three of you feel it towards each
> other?" He looked around and realized he had just
> said something stupid.

> Akane, Ayeka and Ihrie regarded each other
> curiously. Ihrie had it pretty much figured out by
> now, but the other two took a little longer.
> "This has to be some cruel joke," Ayeka said.
> "Well I can think of someone who can probably
> answer some questions."
> "Oh?" Ihrie asked.
> "I as well," Ayeka noted. "Since I am thinking of
> someone else that I've felt that same 'tug' as you
> call it with before."
> "NABIKI!!!""KIYONE!!!" And they as a crowd rushed
> towards the shrine.

> Family Trees - Chapter 9
> Wind and Sea Mix

> Warning and Disclaimer: don't take this too seriously and don't really own 
> any of these characters.

> Last Episode: Ayeka, Ihrie and Akane begin to figure out why they all
> feel sort of familiar to each other. Ihrie finds out that her old
> boyfriend was 

> Fam's grandson and her half-brother. The Manos discover that

> they're 
> half-demon. Ryouga is revealed as Mihoshi's brother. And Nabiki and Washu 

> have an argument over dimensional pockets.

> *******************************************************
> "What's the matter Skuld?" Urd asked her rather frantic sister. The 
> younger goddess looked up from her scanner.
> "LOOK AT THIS!! There are multiple time-distortions all in one place!! 

> How did this happen?" Urd took a moment to look and then put her own
> powers 

> to the test.

> "Oh, that explains it," Urd said finally. Skuld looked at her sister 
> questionably. "Sis's great-grandaughters."

> "Oh please," Skuld sniffed. "Her grandaughter wasn't even born on this 
> world, besides aside from this Keiichi person you want to hook her up
> with she hasn't had a boyfriend in millennia. If her relatives really
> really were here there'd be..." Skuld looked at her scanner and slumped.
> "Multiple time-distortions all in one place?" Urd smirked.

> "Okay, Okay, but THESE three have been here all their lives," Skuld 
> pointed out. "And they haven't set off any of my scanners....well two of 
> them are half-mazoku, but that's a different story...

> and what about them and that half-elf!?!"

> She looked at her scanners a little longer. "HOW MANY 
> HALF MAZOKU ARE ON THIS PLANET!??!? SAIYAN?!? They haven't even evolved 
> yet!!! ARRGGG!!!"

> Urd was unsuccessfully trying to hold in her laughter. This whole set up 
> was well worth

> the look on her youngest sister's face.
> "Oh my," Urd stopped laughing and turned to face her sister. "Perhaps we 
> should pay them a visit."

> *******************************************************
> While Nabiki and that green-haired woman were talking to the three 
> exorcists, 

>Ukyou and her mother had their own discussion. Jiro sat off to 
> the side looking rather nervous and annoyed.
> "You mean I could stay young FOREVER?"

> Ukyou asked, her eyes began take on the appearance of stars.

> "Hey, this is not as great as it might seem!" Leaf snapped.
> "What could be bad about living forever?" Ukyou asked, confused. Leaf 
> sighed expressively.

> "Well there is the tendency to outlive many of the people you care
about," 

> both turned to look at Nodoka and blinked.
> "Err, how would you know what that's like?" Leaf asked, confused.

> "Oh, I'm about three hundred years old," Nodoka said serenly. Ukyou face 
> faulted, while Leaf tried to figure out what she was. "I'm Father's
> oldest child you see, at least as far as I know."

> "How!?" both demanded at once.

> "The power of Jurai," 

> a new voice said. Leaf irritably turned to face the 
> older man. "It keeps our people young for a long time,

> I myself have been 
> around for several thousand years, and been on Earth for a little over
> eight hundred years."

> "Okay, I'm glad to meet another few long-lived people, but this is a 
> family thing so SHEW!!" Leaf waved the intelopers away doing her best to 

> ignore the amused looks on their faces. She turned back to see her
> daughter smirking conspiratorily.

> "That means all I have to do is outlive Akane! If that's Ranchan's mother 
> and grandfather he could live practically forever too!"

> ~Great, I wonder if she'll by able to hear the other consequences now.~ 
> Leaf sighed expressively, this was going to take longer than she thought. 
> Privacy would be nice but she was not about to trust that greedy girl
> again. 

> Even supposing her intentions were good.

> *******************************************************
> After being shewed away by the irritated half-elf, Nodoka walked over and 
> stared at Jiro Kuonji.

> Having been on the recieving end of a lot of abuse 
> lately this made him very nervous.

> "You are Ukyou's father then?" she asked.

> "Uh yes," he shifted nervously, aware that this was how a lot of bad 

> things had started recently.
> "So I assume you met my husband through the children."
> "Well, actually no," he said, sweatdropping. "We both were taking this 

> class on parenting and ethics, I guess Ukyou and Ranma started their 

> friendship while waiting around for us."
> "Parenting and ethics?" Nodoka blinked. "He took a class and still turned 
> out as hideous a parent as that?"

> "Considering my wife's reactions I'm beginning to think I didn't quite 
> soak all the information either."

> "What was the name of this class?"
> "Parenting and Ethics, like I said," Jiro hmphed in frustration at the 
> obtuseness of women. "The instructor's life has even been made into an 
> American sitcom."
> "Oh really, and what is this instructor's name?" Nodoka asked, curious.
> "Al Bundy, I think," the elder Kuonji shrugged.

> "By the way," Nodoka arranged her kimono momentarily. "You are aware that 
> Genma is Ranma's stepfather, are you not?"
> "No," he said slowly, looking at her nervously. "Why do you bring that 
> up?"

> "Well, you see the only engagements Ranma really has an obligation to 
> uphold are those that I agreed to," she noted. "And I believe that the
> only one I was aware of until recently was the Tendo agreement. You see
> I left my 

> son's martial arts training up to my husband, but I kept control
> otherwise." 
> Jiro blinked for a moment.
> "SAOTOME MUST DIE!!!!"

>*******************************************************
> "Nabiki!!" the named person turned to see her sister stalking out of the 

> woods. Following her were the princess, and a third girl, who, surprise, 
> surprise, felt familiar.

> Behind them came virtually everybody else, aside from Ranma, Sasami
> and Ryouga.

> However, the occaisional, "Ryouga-san you're 
> going the wrong way," or "THAT WAY STUPID!!" could be heard.
> "Detective Kiyone! You know something about all this I know you do!!"

> "Yohko Mano," Nabiki said dryly to the demon-hunter that was still
> trying 
> to wake up her sister.

> "Meet more of your sisters."
> "Huh?" Yohko blinked letting Iako's head fall back to the ground.

> The 
> more serious demon hunter woke up and snatched Yohko down to face her.

> "Let's find the Kuno and get out of here," she growled.
> "In case you're interested," Kiyone said as the crowd began to approach 

> them. "Our father is supposed to be here with my mother to visit in a
> little while."
> "In that case we can probably stay a little while longer," Iako said with 
> a vicious smile that drew sweatdrops from Yohko and Kiyone.

> "Okay, ONE of you two has got to know what's going on here," Akane 
> snapped. "You've been getting along well since we got here!"

> "Yes, Detective Kiyone, almost like you know each other from somewhere," 
> Ayeka put in. Nabiki and Kiyone glanced at each other. Kiyone sighed 
> expressively and hesitantly handed Nabiki a wad of cash.
> "Well, Akane, you see Mother....had an affair," Nabiki said quietly. 
> "We're not Daddy's children, not genetically at least."
> "WHAT!!?" Akane blinked.

> "Finally got here," Ranma muttered as he and Sasami guided Ryouga into
> the courtyard. Upon hearing Akane's shout he and Ryouga leaped over.

> "What's going..."

> "RYOUGA-CHAN!!" Ryouga barely had time to register the voice before he
> was glomped. "I'm so HAPPY to see you again!!"
> "AGGG!! Mihoshi??" Ryouga sputtered, trying to breathe. "You're crushing 
> me, could you calm down please?" Everybody paused a moment to watch,

> Ranma 
> and Akane's jaw dropped. Somebody was squeezing Ryouga hard enough to
> cause pain.
> "But I like my hair blonde," Mihoshi whined.

> "Hurts, hurts, calm..."
> "Well, okay, if you really want me to," Mihoshi released a breath

> almost 
> like a spoiled child who is reluctantly doing what she is told. She let 
> Ryouga go, and calmed down. All the Tenchi group jumped as Mihoshi's
> blonde hair darkened to black. The Nerimans just looked to where Ryouga
> was trying to get his breath back.

> "Damn, she's strong," Ranma muttered.
> "I like blonde hair," Mihoshi whined holding her hair in front of her
> face.
> "What just happened?" Kiyone asked, everybody was distracted from the 
> former discussion. Washu did some quick calculations.
> "Hey, its gone!"

> "What's gone," Tenchi asked, blinking.
> "That energy field around Mihoshi," Washu explained. "The one that I 
> always attributed some of her clumsiness to."

> "Oh please, like everything that idiot does can be explained by some 
> energy field," Kiyone noted.
> "I did say SOME, not all, or even MOST," Washu noted. "This is 
> interesting."
> "Its not fair, me and A-Ko are the fighters," Ryouga grumbled. "And that 
> ditz figures it out first?!"

> "Come on girls," Nabiki noted. "Shows over and we have our own problems 

> to attend to." She waved over the various girls. "You come too, Ranma,
> this has to do with you."

> "I think Ryoko and Fam should come as well," Ihrie noted.
> "Umm why?" Kiyone asked suddenly nervous.
> "Because Fam is Ryoko's mother," Ihrie explained. "And Ryoko had a kid 
> with on Xellos Metallium." Kiyone turned a slight shade of green, Nabiki 
> noticed.
> "Problem, sis?"
> "Great, of all the things I didn't want to share with Dad," Kiyone 
> muttered. 

> "KIYONE!!" Ryoko shouted as everybody looked at her wide-eyed. Nabiki 
> and Ayeka smirked.
> "Oops, uh, sorry Ryoko," Kiyone laughed, embarrassed.
> "It was one time!" Ryoko protested. "I was drunk around Jupiter and she 
> pulled me over. Next thing I know I wake up next to her."

> "You forgot about karaoke night with me and Mihoshi," Kiyone noted, 
> enjoying the teasing now that she could do a little. ~Well if one story
> is out its all coming out.~ 
> "Ryo-Chan!" Fam gasped.

> "You, and Kiyone?" Tenchi blinked.
> "Oh come on, Tenchi," Kiyone said. "You know I can pretty persuasive, 
> something a picked up from dad."
> "LORD TENCHI!!?"

> "Incidentally, that duplication trick of hers is great." Ryoko blushed 
> with the renewed attention. "Though Washu has some...interesting skills
> as well."

> "What about Ayeka," Ryoko asked, noticing that the princess hadn't been 
> mentioned yet.
> "What are you implying Ryoko!?" Ayeka snapped.

> "Hey, I'm a blood relation of Ayeka's," Kiyone said. Everybody blinked at 
> her. "Well, I think so anyway."
> "No you are not!!" Ayeka snapped.
> "So who haven't you slept with?" Tenchi asked, trying to recover from the 
> relevations.
> "Sasami and Ayeka," Kiyone admitted. Everybody turned to look at Yosho 
> and Nobuyuki who were standing a ways back. "Sasami's way to young."

> "I could give you a longer list," Nabiki added dryly, remembering nights 
> in a stable trying to escape the noise.

> "Wait a minute," Tenchi said, sort of green. "Why are you so disgusted by
> sleeping with the same person as your father, and then go around with MY 
> family?"

> "I won't be imagining you three as my mother when I go to sleep tonight,"
> Kiyone noted. Ryoko thought about that a moment and turned green.
> "As you can see," Nabiki coughed. "Our sister Kiyone has inherited some 
> of Daddy's....habits."

> "If Yohko had more courage," Iako noted snidely. "She'd have a fairly 
> long list as well."
> "I refuse to believe that I can be related to such a...a...hussy!" Ayeka 
> snapped.
> "You are," Washu said, revealing a few scans. "The seven of you are all 

> at least half-sister to each other."
> "Wait a minute," Ranma said. "If you're not really Soun's daughter, then 

> the Tendo promise doesn't apply to you!"
> "You're HAPPY about that baka!?" Akane shouted.
> "Don't you see," Ranma said. "We can get married now because we want 
> to...not because of some STUPID agreement." Akane blinked.
> "You're right!" Nabiki looked on in mild shock as Akane and Ranma jumped 
> up and down happily. "It's OUR decision now!!" This she hadn't expected.

Stinger: