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This is a continuation fan fiction in that it continues after the events of manga. It is also going to be a divergence from what one would expect; in fact it will enough of a divergence to actually be an alternate; probably a crossover as well. (There! That should screw up anybody's attempts to pigeonhole this story.)

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"I HATE you!" Akane screamed. "You are just as worthless as your father. I wish I had never met you!"

Ranma blanched at her words and silently watched as she stumbled into a run back into the house, the tatters of the ruined wedding dress almost tripping her.

"I'm disappointed," sternly stated Nodoka. "Her wedding was ruined; the most important day of a young girl's life ruined by your past flames. While it is manly to have so many girls after you, there are limits on what a manly man would allow them to do."

"Was she the only one getting married today?" absently queried Ranma.

Nodoka paused in confusion; not understanding the question at first after all it was pretty obvious that Akane was the only bride. She frowned as she realized the implied rebuke and angrily responded, "Don't take that attitude with me young man! Yes it was also your wedding too but it's your fault that your 'friends' destroyed it as well." She paused and then grumbled, "You are getting as bad as your father in trying to shift the blame instead of just admitting your fault like a man would."

Ranma stiffened and then softly asked, "Let me see if I understand," he started. "I'm to blame because pops stole Ukyou's dowry?" Nodoka glared, but Ranma continued, "And it's also somehow my fault that his stupidity resulted in the Amazons being here?"

Nodoka cut Ranma off before he could continue, "YES, now cease arguing with me!" She glared at him and added, "Those that interfered were all your friends thus this catastrophe is all your fault. Accept it like a man and do not blame others for your failure; show yourself to be manly."

"They were also Akane's friends as well," hissed Ranma in response. "Not to mention Nabiki's too," he added as his mother turned back toward him her face red with rage. "Their friends, their fault too," he began only to be cut off.

"NO! Now stop this at once!" shrieked his mother. "You are the man. It is your fault. Don't be like your father and try to blame others for your failures. This conversation is over!"

Ranma clenched his jaws as he suppressed an angry retort. He knew it wasn't his fault but asserting that just now would merely seem to validate what his mother had said. Nonetheless, he had to admit there was a grain of truth in what had been said. Not much, but the assertion that he was like his father bothered him as did the fact that 'everyone' blamed him. He felt alone.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

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The words said after the wedding attempt had haunted Ranma for weeks. Then today after school Nabiki had conned him out of one of the two birthday gifts he'd received the day before. She had smirked "Just like his father," softly to herself as she'd walked away not caring that Ranma had heard her.

Ranma sat in the bath that evening, shivering despite the warmth of the water. "It's just so unfair," he muttered to himself. "I'm not like my pop, no matter what Akane and Nabiki say. Am I?"

Ranma nervously rubbed his forearms with his hands and resumed his monologue, "I mean he's fat and bald and will do anything to get what he wants despite his claims of honor. I'm not like that. I have hair and I'm not fat and I'm honorable . . . I guess, I mean Ryouga, Mousse and Kuno don't know what they're talking about . . . do they?" Ranma paused and smiled a bit before continuing, "They're just jealous, it's not like anybody important agrees with them." His smile faded as he added somberly, "Other than pops, Mr. Tendou, mom and Akane; nobody important, nope."

Ranma's face twisted in pain and he hugged his knees to his chest as he whispered, "Oh, yeah, let's not forget Nabiki taunts me with that and Ukyou once vowed to kill me 'cause of it." Ranma shivered again but plastered a macho smile on his face and told himself, "No way am I like my old man. So what if we eat alike and train alike and both even say the same kind of stupid things and do what we have to do win or get what we want in his case, no . . . way." Ranma paused in thought several long minutes before concluding, "Anything goes, right? It doesn't make me dishonorable to do what I have to do to win, right?"

Finished with his bath and dressed in what passed for his pj's, namely a pair of boxers and the top half of a tee shirt, Ranma laid on his threadbare futon and studied the ceiling of the darkened room. His father's snoring not quite as comforting as it might have once been. In the past, it assured Ranma that he still had family, now it reminded him of a new fear.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ranma cowered in the bottom of the dark covered pit, scratched, hurting and afraid. "Pop! Let me out, I don't wanna do this no more," he screamed. As the top of the pit was opened, Ranma looked up into the sudden brightness.

He stared at the pigtailed figure above him as it shouted, "Foolish boy, how can you grow to be a martial artist just like me if you whine like that?"

"NNOOOOO!" screamed Ranma as he woke himself up only to be battered unconscious again by one of Genma's signs.

Ranma woke up again an hour later. He shivered with the memory of the nightmare and his anger at his father increased as he read the remains of the sign on his pillow.

'Shuu, Panda Sleeping'.

Ranma was about to kick the panda out the window when it occurred to him that that was pretty similar to how his father had reacted.

Ranma shivered at the thought and snarled to himself, "No way am I like him. It was all a stupid dream, no way was it me that acted like my pop and threw me down into that pit. No way. It wasn't me." But in his heart he wasn't sure, but that sure had looked like an older version of himself despite the Genma type glasses.

Unable to get back to sleep, Ranma crept out of the house and onto the dojo roof. There he meditated until dawn, listing those things that he had in common with his pop that he resolved to change.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ranma tried to be subtle in the changes he was making. He had a long way to go to achieve even the start of that let alone the actual changes themselves.

He no longer sat next to his father at meals thereby ending the food fights and he made an effort at manners as well. Genma scowled at him and Nabiki glared as Ranma had taken Nabiki's place at the table. Both Nodoka and Kasumi smiled at his attempts at better manners though, which inhibited the others from really making a successful objection to his seating change.

He made his bed in the attic on a thin bedroll. The narrow stairs prevented his father from ambushing him in the early morning and allowed him to get a full night's sleep on a heretofore unattainable regular basis. The locked door kept Akane from waking him with her customary pail of cold water. While this resulted in less of a water mess for Kasumi to clean every morning, it aggravated Akane's temper but left her without an outlet as Ranma usually quickly left whenever it seemed that Mt. Akane was going to blow.

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It was another Ranma confrontation in the Tendou dojo. All of his friends . . . no, there weren't any of those . . . just his parents, the Tendou's, his fiancée's and rivals.

Nodoka looked at the damaged dojo and scuffed up combatants who were glaring at each other but mostly at Ranma (except for the unconscious male rivals). Her face flushed with impatient anger and she firmly stated, "This! This has got to end. Ranma, it's time you quit stringing these other girls on and married Akane."

"NO!" Rang out from nearly all the youngsters simultaneously. But Nodoka focused on only one response. Ranma had snarled his refusal.

Nodoka cocked her head and gently asked, "Ranma, do you think any of these others would make a better wife for you?" Before he could respond, she continued, "Well it makes no difference; none of them have valid claims anyway."

"Oh really, then where is my dowry if my claim is invalid?" asked Ukyou.

Ranma sighed and that act brought all attention to him. Seeing this, he sighed again and said, "Ukyou, you don't have a valid claim. When we were six, you lost your dowry to the Gambling King."

"NO, no I didn't!" she protested. "I was only six, any contracts I made weren't valid and anyway he cheated me."

"Ukyou, I was only six too, that means that our engagement wasn't valid either."

"But Ranma, our fathers agreed. That makes my claim valid." Ukyou concluded.

Ranma sighed, "You are missing the point; my father had already either sold me off or engaged me to a half dozen other girls by that time. None of them were valid after the first time he did that. You and your father were victims of my father's greed and dishonor. Only the agreements that I've made are valid anymore, and I've made none."

Cologne bounced forward, "I disagree son-in-law. By the laws of my people, you are married to Shampoo."

Ranma smiled and replied, "Yes, I suppose that would be true if the kiss of marriage had been given in the village." Before the stunned audience could erupt, he continued, "Shame that it was given here and that we aren't in your village or that I'm not one of your people so that your laws would apply to me, but that's how it goes. Like I said earlier, I consider myself bound only by commitments that I personally have made and I am not bound to Shampoo."

"OUR LAWS apply!" hissed the elder. "Do you understand? Amazon laws supersede any others and apply everywhere an Amazon says."

Ranma cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Are you willing to so state in court?"

Cologne hesitated as the question was completely unexpected.

Ranma continued, "Since you assert the superiority of your laws, how about if we allow the international courts to decide beginning here in Japan. I suppose we should invite the Chinese ambassador as an affected party. How about it? Want to find out if your village is invulnerable to a Chinese tactical nuclear weapon?"

Cologne snarled but before she could attack, Ranma flared his aura and asked, "Old bat; is your memory so short? Have you forgotten Mt. Phoenix so quickly that you would risk my personal vendetta against your people?"

"Are you threatening my people?"

"No elder, just reminding you of what you risk should you truly pose a threat to me or anyone else also capable of destroying you," quietly replied Ranma.

"Arien!" snapped Shampoo, "is talk too too much. Do as say and no be punished."

Ranma silently considered her for a moment and then softly asked, "Do you know what 'rape' is?"

"Rape," she hissed, "means dead mans."

"Rape," explained Ranma "is forced sex." He paused and softly added, "I consider what you and your elder are attempting to do to me to be a form of rape in that it is forced."

Cologne gritted her teeth in frustrated anger, hesitated uncertainly and then left. Shampoo glared at Ranma, splashed the still unconscious Mousse with water and carried the duck out the door as she left.

As the rest of them stormed out, Ranma silently walked over to one of the closets in the dojo. Opening it, he began to take out the tools and materials necessary to repair the dojo.

The others just sighed and returned to the house, leaving the remaining rivals to make their own way out as soon as they were able.

Ranma grimaced as he looked over the scope of the last hole to need repair. It was on the back side of the dojo, close to the back fence wall. A bit later, just as he started to clean up after finishing the job he noticed a small mushroom hidden in the deep shade behind the dojo. It looked familiar; crouching down he studied it. Seeing the remains of a planter, he suddenly recalled where he'd seen this before. Ryouga had destroyed the planter that contained the aging mushrooms. If it had not been for Akane having a backup for him, he'd still be six years old. Apparently this was where the debris of the planter had been tossed. Ranma estimated the size of the mushroom and chuckled. He thought to himself, 'Don't think I wanta be three years old again either'.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

The fact that Ranma was going out of his way to not fight with Akane during the passing months gave their parents the mistaken belief that they were getting along better. Not so. One Saturday morning it was announced that there would be a wedding that evening, Akane had no chance to protest as Ranma was vehemently vocal in his objections. "What! No way in HELL am I going to marry her!"

"You will obey me and marry Akane or you will fulfill honor Ranma!" coldly stated Nodoka as she laid the Saotome family tanto on the table before him.

Ranma glared at his parents and then asked, "Would a 'manly' man blindly obey others or do 'manly' men make their own decisions."

Nodoka heard the emphasis in his question clearly with the implication of hypocrisy on her part. She stiffly stated, "A manly man obeys his elders, especially his parents."

"Hummm, so that means," stated Ranma with a tight grin, "I should obey elder Cologne since she is the eldest of all of us and I should also prance around in skimpy underwear for Happosai since he is not only as old but the grandmaster of the school. So that is what your kind of 'manly' man would do? Let others make his decisions just because they are older."

"Do NOT take that tone with me, young man!" his mother almost shrieked. "You will do as I say; you will do the honorable thing. Do you hear me? Or do you have no honor at all?"

Ranma stared back at his mother, and then the disbelief in his eyes turned to fury as he snarled. "Honor! What the hell do any of you know about honor?" Ranma's head snapped to the side as his father backhanded him. His mother drew her ever-present katana and hissed, "How dare you take that attitude with me after all I've given up for you."

Ranma licked the blood that dribbled from the side of his mouth and replied, "The only thing you've ever given up for me is me. You threw family honor and my life away when you let this idiot take me away. For that I owe you nothing; certainly not blind obedience." He finished with, "My life is my own. It's not yours or pop's to command."

Genma snarled, "NO! Your mother gave you to me, boy. I own you and you WILL do as I tell you to." As his father attempted to backhand him again, Ranma ducked, spun out of the way and then spin kicked his father out of the house to impact the front gate. The rest of the household gathered at the shattered front door just in time to see Ranma attack again but with chi enhanced speed and fists as he brutally pounded his father insensate. The others backed off in shock as they heard Genma's ribs break and saw the bloody froth bubble from his mouth with each breath as he lay unconscious on the ground.

Soun glared at Ranma. He looked at his friend lying on the ground gasping for breath. He turned to Ranma and then with his demon-head technique in full display, he yelled; "How dare you! Out, out of my house now you honorless bastard."

Ranma snickered as he observed, "So says the man who abandoned his daughters and lives off them like a pimp. You know nothing of honor yourself." He actually smiled at Soun's shocked look as he turned back into the house to get his belongings. He was met by a wall of scowling females. Nabiki spoke for them all, "There is nothing of yours here, be gone."

It was fortunate that Ranma had been considering his options against various scenarios as he actually had an idea of what to do at this point. He jumped to the neighbor's roof and vanished out of sight, apparently leaving. In fact he had rapidly doubled back onto the Tendou roof and quietly entered Nabiki's room via the window. He had previously used the umi sen ken to learn most of the secret hiding places and passwords that Nabiki used. Ranma quickly raided her cash stores, retrieved his 'confiscated' belongings and destroyed her Ranma/Ranko photo archives including negatives and computer discs. He quickly made his way to the attic and retrieved his backpack and the rest of his few belongings just managing to exit out the small window as he heard the small attic door opening.

Ranma chuckled to himself as he heard Nabiki's shriek of disbelief. He set his backpack out of sight on a neighbor's roof and silently dropped over the wall at the back of the Tendou dojo. He squatted there in thought before carefully reaching out and picking largest mushroom.

As he rose and turned to leave, he had only taken a step before Nabiki was in his face. She instantly identified the mushroom and gleefully slapped it out of his hand, destroying it. "Not today Saotome!" she snarled. She grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and snarled, "Where is my money? You owe me for the photos as well. I WILL make your life hell. You hear me?"

Ranma was shocked for only a moment, however, the sight of Akane storming toward them, chi mallet raised, galvanized him into unexpected action. He tossed Nabiki into the path of the mallet causing Akane to stumble as she desperately tried to pull the mallet back. She was only partially successful. He winced as Nabiki groaned as her nose broke when the mallet flattened her face. He then reached down and picked the remaining mushroom and vanished, first into the umi sen ken and then over the wall and out of Nerima.

Nabiki summarized it for them all that evening, "He's just like his ole man; a worthless thief." Even Nodoka had to nod in agreement.

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Ryouga did manage to find him that first evening. It was not pretty and had long reaching consequences for them both.

Ranma was still reeling from the emotional trauma of the recent events. Ryouga was seething with (self) righteous anger on behalf of the Tendous. Ranma was caught unaware as Ryouga's strike preceded his yell.

"Die Ranma! For your honor-less thieving ways; die!" Ryouga yelled as his umbrella smacked upside Ranma's head before he even realized that Ryouga was there. Concussed, Ranma could do little to defend himself as Ryouga batted him around like a cat with a ball of yarn. Ranma ended up rolling through a small puddle of water with his final blow.

She lay there helpless, head spinning and trying feebly to resist as Ryouga grinned maniacally in the midst of battle fever as he realized that he had finally defeated his foe.

Ryouga glared at his helpless enemy. 'It was too quick, it wasn't enough!' he thought. A sudden idea came to him and he impulsively acted on it without thinking. He ripped Ranma's pants off and clumsily raped her as she wept, trying to resist.

As he rose from above Ranma, his battle fever spent, Ryouga realized the enormity of what he had just done. He quickly grabbed his pack and then picked up his umbrella and resolutely turned back to Ranma, determined to kill her to hide his crime. He did not find her as his next step was onto desert.

The search for Ranma ranged over all of Japan but he had seemingly disappeared. The Tendous and others even went so far as to look for his cursed form in case he was hiding that way, but no luck. Ranma was gone.

The chaos he left behind remained; it just fell on other shoulders instead of his.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

The stewardess stretched as she casually made her way forward to the first-class seats. Half filled night flights like this were easy to work as most of the passengers were asleep soon after the airplane was in the air. She paused and studied the young woman in the rumpled red silk shirt asleep in one of the first class aisle seats. She didn't recall seeing her before but then paused and shrugged; it wasn't as if someone could sneak on board or just appear out of thin air so she must have been here all along, but she just didn't see her earlier. She thought about checking the passenger seating chart but then dismissed the idea knowing that last minute additions would not show. Besides she looked so cute with the drool on her chin like that.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ranma looked over her shoulder at the mountains in the distance. Her life was in tatters, the final nail of sorts placed there by her visit to doctor at a 'free' clinic that had solved the problem of why she was locked in her cursed form. Who would have thought she'd find Tofu Ono in a small town near Olympic National Park in the USA. The only reason she'd come here was a vaguely recalled mention that Tofu had made about the town before he had disappeared almost a year ago.

She was lost in thought but since her last battle with Ryouga, she always kept some sort of awareness about her so she was only slightly surprised when Ryouga attacked her yet again. Their battle was fierce, both wanting to kill the other. In the end, Mother Nature resolved the issue with a sudden rain storm.

Ranma clutched her aching stomach as she glared at the piglet that she had just pounded unconscious. As the cramps intensified, they brought on a sudden flow of blood from her nether regions. She suspected what had happened and had to admit to mixed feelings; sadness that she had lost the child she had just learned she carried; relief that she might be no longer be pregnant with Ryouga's bastard.

Ranma then had an idea, she thought about it for a few moments, considering it in detail before deciding that it was deserved. After she had made herself presentable, she picked up the comatose piglet and carried him to a nearby veterinary office. It would take more money than she wanted to spend, but it would be worth it she decided.

That afternoon she retrieved the drugged and neutered piglet and carried him into the nearby woods where she had stored Ryouga's backpack. She left a note on a rock near the kettle she left sitting on hot coals.

Ryouga stretched his small piggy form as he woke. He immediately noticed the kettle on the nearly dead coals and quickly overturned it restoring his birth form. He hunched over in pain when he transformed as the stitches pulled out. His groping hands discovered his personal disaster. Stunned he sat on the cold ground for awhile barely aware that he was naked the whole time. He was dressed before he finally noticed the note. It was both direct and blunt, shattering his world.

Ryouga's scream of fury echoed in the lonely valley. It would be repeated when Akane learned what happened to Ryouga (not that he told the whole story). Unfortunately, Ryouga had no idea where he had encountered Ranma as all he remembered were the mountains. He thought that it might have been near Mt. Fuji.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

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Ranma studied the small mushroom in her hand. It was four, maybe four and a half centimeters she estimated. She knew that if she was going to use it then she would have to do so very soon or else it would go bad and this chance would be lost. With only a brief second thought, she ate it and then awkwardly garbed herself in the child's clothing she'd left out for herself. Dressed, the small girl knocked on the back door of the house where she'd chosen to live.

Tofu stretched as he prepared for bed. He sat on the bed and gently ran his hand over the soft curls of his sleeping wife. She was an American physician that he had met at a medical conference and after a whirlwind romance, they had married and he had joined her in her practice. She was six months pregnant and he thought she looked beautiful. That she had dark auburn hair and was with child reminded him of Ranma's situation. Ranma had stopped by briefly to have her injuries tended and he had confirmed the loss of the child yesterday. He was not surprised that she was more relieved than anything else; but he knew she would have to deal with some grief related to the loss of the child no matter how unwanted it had been.

He sighed as he heard the knocking. With a reluctant groan, he rose to see who was calling this late at night. He froze at the sight of the very small redheaded Japanese girl timidly waving to him on the back porch.

Ranma giggled nervously and asked, "Will you be my daddy?"

Tofu sighed before leaning down and picking up the small child who stiffened in his arms momentarily before clutching him and breaking down into tears that quickly became heart wrenching sobs. She had been so afraid he'd refuse.

Tofu gently rubbed her back as he carried her into the house and murmured, "It will be alright Ranma, it will be ok; not to worry, you'll be fine."

The next morning Tofu gently pulled back the covers a bit and showed Elizabeth the delicate features of the small redheaded girl sleeping on the couch. He then led his wife into the kitchen and began explaining all he knew about her. Fortunately his wife had spent a day in his Nerima clinic before they had married so she was quickly convinced of the reality the magic currently affecting Ranma. Tofu had asked a few questions of Ranma before she'd fallen into a restless sleep late last night so he more or less knew the whole story.

"Oh my!" was about all she could say after digesting the misery that was Ranma's life.

A little bit later, Elizabeth smiled at the little redhead as she ate yet another serving of breakfast. "Tofu," she softly began, "this little one looks as if she could be our daughter, doesn't she?"

Tofu considered the question before nodding, "Yes, her red hair and blue eyes could come from you and the Asian features from me. Do you think we might be able to adopt her?"

"Actually," she replied thoughtfully, "I think it might be time to 'discover' a lost or perhaps misplaced birth certificate." She grinned and asked, "Do you perhaps recall having a brief fling with me about five years ago?"

He looked puzzled for a few moments before grinning and leering back at her, "Oh, yeah, now I do." He chuckled and then asked Ranma, "Ranma, Beth and I think we may be able to create a birth record for you. Do you have any preferences for a name?"

Ranma sat back and thought about it. She finally replied in surprisingly good English, "Americans have three names don't they?" Seeing Elizabeth nod, Ranma continued, "I think that I would like to keep Ranma as my middle name and perhaps as a sort of family nickname, but I think my mother should be the one to choose my first name since I will have your last name."

Elizabeth chuckled, "Well, since I know that I'm carrying a son; that means you are the one to get the traditional family daughter name." Seeing Ranma's confusion, she explained, "Not only is my name Elizabeth but it is also my mother's and both my grandmother's as well. How does 'Elizabeth Ranma Ono' sound?"

Ranma happily nodded, this was acceptance on a level she had not expected.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Back in Nerima, Kasumi had finally had enough. She waited until she was alone in the house and then had contacted her mother's brother, the current head of the Hashimoto clan; she had been forbidden by her father to talk with these relatives since her mother had died. In less than a week's time, she had quietly moved out and embarked on a new life. Her goodbye note was sighed 'Kasumi Hashimoto'.

Akane had gleefully undertaken to do the cooking; at least until she realized that she would have to eat her own cooking as well. That first meal was nearly the last for the entire family.

Nabiki was feverishly making plans to move out; not sure she'd be able to survive until she graduated from high school in a month. She had already made arrangements for a business internship in Tokyo after graduation which would require her leaving home providing she was still alive by then. Afterwards would be university and she had no plans to visit home as long as Akane was cooking.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

The years passed, Kasumi quickly finished university and then entered medical school. Nabiki was half way through her third year of university when she was arrested for racketeering and sentenced to four years in prison. Akane had little use for Ryouga anymore and ended up married to Kuno when the city started foreclosure proceedings on the Tendou home and dojo about the time Nabiki was sentenced.

Happosai was so angry about losing Ranma that the near loss of the Tendou home spurred him to take the two fathers on an extended training trip in retaliation for their blatant stupidity in the whole scenario. Who would have thought that the Amazon giantess, Dowell, had a younger sister who could have been mistaken for her twin?

While Happosai was annoying the elders, Soun and Genma ran afoul of Dowell and Peg; they beat both gals using underhanded tricks and were then hauled off to the elders and married immediately to their new Amazon brides. Cologne gleefully rearranged some of their memories while Happosai left with a bag of unmentionables completely disregarding the fate of the other two.

Ukyou and Shampoo both reluctantly married their most persistent of suitors, Konatsu and Mousse. They then returned to their clan homes and made the most of their present lives.

Nodoka sat at home and watched Samurai movies and dreamed of manly men.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

"Beth-Ranma!" called her mother. No answer. A few hushed giggles led her to a back corner of the yard where her seven year old daughter was playing house with a neighbor girl and they were using Beth-Ranma's little two year old brother as the baby. She watched for a few minutes, a gentle smile on her lips. Finally she called again, "Beth-Ranma, time to eat. Bring your brother in and both of you get washed up, alright?"

"'K, mom."

Elizabeth watched from the kitchen window as Beth-Ranma took care of her brother. "Honey," she said as she turned to Tofu, "Isn't it odd how very feminine Beth-Ranma is? It's hard to believe that her mind is actually that of a twenty year old man."

Tofu came up behind his wife as she watched the children head to the washroom. He hugged her and explained, "While she does have the memories of who she used to be, they have become somewhat dim the longer she's stayed this age, mostly I think due to the brain being forced to remain in an immature developmental state. I've noticed that her mental and emotional age has regressed over the past couple of years so that it now matches her apparent physical age." He sighed and summarized, "She really is a seven year old girl both physically, mentally and emotionally. She may be able to recall all her martial arts moves but that is only because she had written them down and continued to practice most of them even if some are difficult for her to do because of her new age; but all the past memories of an abusive childhood and as a betrayed young man; those are fading and healing as a side result of using the magical aging mushrooms."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding, recalling past psychology course-work, "I think I see, that may explain why she is so fiercely feminine. It is almost impossible to get her to wear pants."

He nodded in agreement, "Yes, she may not remember it very clearly anymore, but I don't think she wants much to do with her old life other than the martial arts which she does seem to enjoy." He paused then added reflectively, "But even then, that has changed as well. She is competitive but no longer minds losing; she actually enjoys the art for itself, winning is no longer so important to her in the things she does, including the art."

A year later, Beth-Ranma began moaning in her sleep one evening; "Neko, NO neko, no . . ." it wasn't very loud but it was enough to wake Tofu. Recognizing the re-emergence of a brutal memory, he gently lifted up onto his shoulder the now eight year old girl he called daughter and began to soothe her, trying to banish the memory of the cat-fist training. Between himself and Beth, the pair of parents managed to smooth over Beth-Ranma's abusive memories as they reemerged, gradually reducing them to vague memories of nightmares.

Yet the memories were not all bad; Beth-Ranma's skills in the martial arts gradually rose again as she matured and remembered as well.

.o0o. .o0o. .o0o. .o0o.

Ryouga continued to wander, endlessly seeking Ranma-chan. His eyes forever filled with a lonely sadness as he watched the next generation of the Nerima wrecking crew be born over the next several decades. While he deeply hated Ranma-chan, he strangely enough no longer blamed her for anything.

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Beth-Ranma squared her shoulders and gracefully guided forward to accept her commission into the newly formed Starfleet. Almost nine years ago Beth-Ranma had completed medical school a month shy of her twentieth birthday; her husband of eight months had been there with her. She would have only needed a month to make the move but before she could join her husband, Commander Roy Fokker, Macross Island had been destroyed as SDF-1 left earth. The subsequent fight with the gigantic aliens had shattered the governments on earth. The Federation and Starfleet had emerged from the rubble. SDF-1 was meant to be the flagship of the new government but it had been moved to another star system to draw most of the alien attention with it. It was now being used as a seed ship to plant new colonies made up of Terrans and aliens reduced to human size. These new colonies were to become the future core of the emergent Federation and Starfleet.

Because of her medical training and combat martial arts skills, she was commissioned as a flight surgeon aboard one of the new carriers. These were the space born equivalent of an old style naval aircraft carrier except that the Valkyrie fighter craft that each vessel carried were space capable. With the rank of Commander despite being only twenty-eight, nearly twenty-nine, she would be one of the more senior officers on board the spacecraft when they were ready for space.

Beth-Ranma entered her quarters at the training base; she quickly knelt and embraced the eight year old twin dynamos that were her twin children, Rebecca Elizabeth and Roy Tofu Fokker. She still missed her husband of almost two years, dead these past seven years without ever knowing he had children. She wondered if he thought she had died in the destruction of Macross city. He might not have known that her incoming flight had been delayed that day.

She remembered her surprise in the bath when she had once again transformed into a guy three months after giving birth. She wondered how Roy would have taken it.

Ranma had shown the curse to the medical staff at Starfleet prior to her commissioning but then the Senior Starfleet staff had merely shrugged it off as yet another oddity of the 'new frontiers' that they were exploring. It wasn't as if they could do anything with the knowledge since Jusenkyo had been destroyed during the conflict with the aliens. They did permit her to establish a second identity for the male persona under the name Ranma Tofu Ono. It was up to Ranma to give that identity a life.

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Ranma rolled his eyes as the leader of Skull squadron smirked at him. So the idiot didn't know that his female persona had spent hundreds of hours in the simulator and some in the craft as well, that was no reason to doubt his skills. Was it?

Ranma grinned and challenged, "Hey, gimme a chance and I'll prove it. Tell ya what, how about a bet on it. We both go up in Valkyries loaded with training weapons and see who comes out on top. I win and I get an instant commission equal to my skill but if you win; then you will help me join the academy if I do well enough, and in return, I'll set you up with minimum of eight dates with my sister."

Lt-Commander Rick Hunter nervously licked his lips. 'This kid isn't playing fair,' was his main thought. He dithered, "How do I know she'll go along with it and not just beat my brains out instead?"

Ranma grinned, "Sis is the one who wants me to try for this. She said she'd support me anyway I needed so she'll do this." He added, "This may not be what she meant, but she will honor her word. That means an honest date."

"Or eight?" questioned Hunter.

"Yep," confirmed Ranma, hoping he wouldn't lose but willing to keep his word if needed. Besides, twenty-five years of being female allowed the honest assessment that Rick was sort of cute. Ranma had finally come to the conclusion that he was not half anything, Ranma was a guy and Beth-Ranma was a girl and that was fine with him/her/them.

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It took two days to get the combat test set up. Needless to say, there were a lot of spectators on both the bridge and around the flight deck with many active view plates set for watching the duel since nobody tried to keep it secret.

Ranma was allowed five minutes to get accustomed to the controls of the space craft he was using since Hunter was already familiar with his own craft.

The feverish betting on Hunter slackened noticeably as Ranma began a mid-space kata to test his synaptic meshing with the Valkyrie in guardian form.

Three hours later two wildly colored Valkyries landed. Lt-Commander Rick Hunter frowned as he considered Ranma Ono as he disembarked from the other spacecraft. Former ship's Captain, now Vice Admiral Henry Gloval glanced between the two men momentarily. He then looked over the paint markings from the simulated weapons hits before walking over to the table where the combat results were tabulated from the data from the onboard computers obtained from each war-craft were being merged and reduced with the data from the carrier vessel instruments as well.

"It's very close," he said to both pilots. "Lt-Commander Hunter's extensive combat experience was ably demonstrated." As Hunter began to grin, he concluded, "It is amazing that it could be beaten, even if it was just barely, by someone with primarily only two decades of martial arts experience and with only a dozen actual space hours." He paused and added musingly, "Perhaps we should explore filling our pilot shortage by recruiting martial artists?"

Gloval knew of Ranma's unusual circumstances and understood that Ranma was trying to establish a separate life for his male identity despite being only one person. Nonetheless, he did have to consider that Ranma also had all the knowledge and experience that earned Beth-Ranma her rank as Commander. He nodded to himself, 'yes, Ranma will be an extraordinary flight surgeon with this added depth to his/her experience.'

"Ranma Tofu Ono!" Vice Admiral Gloval bellowed, "Attention to orders."

Ranma reflexively snapped to, "Sir!"

"Ranma Tofu Ono, you are herewith commissioned as a Lieutenant (0-3); however your flight status is restricted until three criteria are met. One: you will complete advanced flight school with Lt-Commander Hunter as your primary instructor until you know the working of these spacecraft inside and out. Two: As an exercise in leadership, you and your sister Commander Elizabeth Fokker will be detailed earth side to explore the idea of recruiting martial artists to fill the extreme shortage of qualified Valkyrie pilots. Three: your sister is also responsible for providing the necessary training for you to function in the role of an officer." He paused and added, "When these conditions are met, your flight status will be reviewed as part of a promotion board. The board is not expected to actually promote you but will provide guidance concerning your career path at that point with respect to future promotions. Dismissed."

"Sir . . . yes sir . . .?" Ranma hesitantly replied.

Later that evening in his private quarters, Henry Gloval gently kissed his wife of almost twenty years. Kasumi Hashimoto Gloval cocked a serene eyebrow at her husband before relaxing into his arms, "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on?" she asked.

"I've missed you," he said in partial reply, "A naval career seems to mean long separations between spouses at times."

She sighed as she hugged him close before releasing him. "It hasn't been bad most of the time except for those long years when SDF-1 was all you could think of." She gave a tired smile and said without malice, "At least I had my medical practice and the kids to keep me company during that time."

"I'm sorry," he started before she put a finger over his lips.

"I went into this marriage knowing what could happen," Kasumi reminded him. She smiled lovingly at him and confirmed, "You did what was necessary, you did your duty and held your honor close; for that you have nothing to ever be sorry for."

He smiled and responded, "Well, I have to admit it has been an interesting life at times." He gave a quiet chuckle and added, "Especially today!" Seeing the questions in her eyes he said, "Let me tell you about Ranma," he said.

"Ranma!" whispered Kasumi with hopeful disbelief.

"You would never believe this . . ." he began. She did. They talked long into the night. He was the one whose belief was challenged in the end but Kasumi had an old photograph album to back up her side of the story.

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The next generation of the Nerima wrecking crew gathered together at the Kuno estate and martial arts dojo. Nabiki sighed as she deftly made the arrangements for all the guests. Despite being the de facto CEO of the Kuno business conglomerate, she was also Kuno's personal executive assistant nonetheless. It was the price she paid for Kuno getting her out of prison three years early and then hiring her.

She had married Ryu Kumon and they had two sons, ages sixteen and thirteen. Her sister Akane had twin girls, age fourteen and a nineteen year old son. This week was the twenty-fifth anniversary of Ranma's disappearance so all the old crew was getting together for a reunion.

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Author's note: Additional Ranma fan-fiction can be found on my Web Page.

C & C to cloud_dreamer2000@yahoo.com

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