"I still don't understand. Why us? Why my family?" queried Kenji Tsukino, a question echoed by his wife Ikuko.
A paper was slid across the table in response. Kenji lifted it so that he and his wife could both read it. After a moment, they returned their attention to the well-dressed young lawyer sitting across the table. "But we aren't the Tsukino's mentioned here. I never signed this!"
"We are aware of that. Nonetheless, you are members of the same family as the individual who signed this. By coming to live with you and fulfilling the intent of this document, Ranma will be demonstrating that he is not responsible for the changing of his name and that he continues to uphold the honor and duty of his family and clan."
"At the same time, he will be introduced to a more normal family environment. As I explained earlier, he has had an extremely difficult time dealing with the young ladies in his life, due to his father's influence."
"And you think Usagi is an improvement?" questioned Ikuko uncertainly. Though she loved her daughter dearly, she was well aware of her excitable nature. "Surely someone quieter... someone a bit more... hmm..."
"Calm?" interjected Kenji, to which Ikuko nodded.
"Yes, more calm, would be a more suitable choice? I'm afraid my daughter is likely to make quite... quite an impression on this young man."
Kenji sat a bit straighter at that. "You had better not be having any ideas about this Ranma and my daughter!"
Hitomura Ishida shook his head, dislodging a few dark strands of his otherwise perfect hair. "No, I assure you, we intend nothing of the sort. Ranma is not ready for that, as the problems that plagued him in the Tendo home made clear. However, we do feel that your daughter and son will be the perfect antidote and anodyne to his recent experiences. His fiancees' were, while affectionate, at least in most cases, indeed, often over-affectionate, also demanding, untrusting, and manipulative. The worst manipulating your daughter is likely to do is to wheedle him into buying her ice cream."
That won a laugh.
"More to the point, she is very open, very quick to trust, according to her school counselors, befriending people quite easily. She is also enthusiastic, and unwilling to allow someone to ignore her."
"The local high school's best academic student is a quiet individual, as you have suggested. But while Ranma's academic performance is of some concern to us, she would still be a poor choice. Unlike your daughter, she would not seek out interaction with Ranma. Given his ineptitude and generally poor experiences with girls, he would be likely to see this as an ideal state of affairs, and would not make the least attempt to draw her out."
"No, your daughter is exactly what is needed in that respect. Having him take the position of an older brother, combined with his own reticence, should be sufficient shield against the possibility of her taking a romantic interest in him. She is also protective of her friends, and we would hope to engage that protectiveness on Ranma's behalf, to defend him emotionally from the more forceful of the young ladies who might seek his attention. Since she is not a fighter, and given that he is going to be tasked with her well-being, he will finally be forced to deal directly with his suitors."
Kenji stood abruptly, sending his chair clattering to the floor, his face purpling. "Now wait just a minute here! You didn't say anything about putting my daughter in harm's way!"
"No! Of course not! There would be no danger. Even if Ranma failed to respond, your daughter would be safe, though the likelihood of his allowing anything adverse to befall her is extremely minute. He will not be the only one watching out for her. Now that we have found him again, Ranma is one of our top priorities. They will be monitored continuously. Their safety will be far more strongly guaranteed than anyone else in this rather . . . incident-prone area."
Ikuko cast a worried gaze at her husband, and placed her hand on his arm. "You can't say you haven't worried, Kenji. I know I've been worried sick with all these . . . these incidents, and her coming home alone from meeting with those friends of hers. You know how she gets during a storm, what would it be like for her to be near something like one of those . . ."
"Well, yes, I suppose," Kenji gave way grudgingly. "But . . . Well, I'd, no, we'd want to meet him first. Not that we don't trust you, but . . ."
"I quite understand, Tsukino-san. You have as yet no reason to trust me, though I hope I given you no reason to distrust me. I feel confident that when you meet Ranma you'll see things our way."
"Then, too, there is the matter of compensation." Hitomura slid another paper across the table to the uncertain couple. "As this document states, we are willing to fund both Usagi and Shingo's college education if you allow Ranma to live with you as a member of the family until he chooses to leave, or Usagi leaves for college, whichever comes first."
Ikuko turned and caught Kenji's eye. He offered a nearly imperceptible nod and she smiled, turning back to the young lawyer. "So, when do we get to meet Ranma?"
A broad, relieved smile widened Hitomura's mouth. "How does this morning sound?"
---
Ranma valiantly resisted the urge to fiddle with the tie on the uncomfortable western suit he had been dressed in. He knew and understood the importance of this first impression; or at least, he knew and understood its importance to Nokomura-san, and while he was still not entirely certain he understood why they were doing this for him, he had no difficulty recognizing that it felt good to have someone care what became of him, whatever their reason might be.
He also understood that the Tsukino family that Nokomura had chosen was a more modern branch of the family that had made the arrangement with his father, which was why he was not dressed up in a formal kimono. Of course, he mused, I'd likely be just as uncomfortable in one of them. It's not like I've had much experience with kimono either.
As he exited the salon to which the men had taken him, he noticed that the rather utilitarian vehicle they had arrived in was no longer in front of the building. Instead, a sleek black car idled there, a sharply-dressed man standing beside it holding the door open.
Ranma leaned forward slightly, and smiled in greeting when he recognized the car's current occupant, Ishida Nokomura. "Ishida-san," he acknowledged, stopping before the door to bow to the older man. Nokomura waved him in and Ranma slid into the seat. The well-dressed man who had held the door now shut it, and took the driver's seat.
Nokomura looked Ranma over and nodded. "They've done you well, Ranma. You look very smart."
Ranma frowned slightly, remembering how embarrassing it had felt to have several women his mother's age and older fussing over him and commenting on how handsome and strong he was. "I guess so," he equivocated, "but it still feels wrong. It feels . . . like I'm lying to them."
"Ah, but you aren't, Ranma. You are simply making a good first impression. Everything will be explained to them, I assure you."
"Even the curse?" Ranma's stomach clenched and he drew in a deep breath, waiting nervously.
"It would come out eventually. By bringing it up first, which, by the way, has already been done by now," Nokomura glanced at his watch, "we alleviate any concerns about deception. If they cannot handle it, we will find someone who can. And even if the worst happens, you will not need to remain camped out in the park. Though not ideal from my perspective, at least as far as being an appropriate environment for your reintroduction to normality, there will always be a place for you with the Ishida."
Ranma bowed again, as best he could in the car's more limited confines. It was not a limousine, or at least, not a stretch one, in spite of having a driver, and there was not a great deal of space. "Thank you."
He hid his concern as best he could, though he felt certain that the family, if they had been fully informed about his curse, would think him perverted. He had little enough in the way of good experiences with people learning of his curse, since as Nokomura had said, it seemed to be triggered at the most inopportune times, especially when he was around people that did not know about it. In such cases, even when he successfully hid the facts of the curse, the situations it put him in almost invariably contributed to a warped view of him.
Still, he could not see how any normal family would be able to accept his curse, or even believe in it sight unseen. Which meant he could look forward to another dismal session as the family's newest water-toy, until the truth of it finally sank in and they rejected him. He glanced at Nokomura, sitting calmly beside him, and silently wished that the older man had taken him in instead of pawning him off on a normal family.
Nokomura had already known the truth about it and seemed to have accepted it long ago. Furthermore, he came from a family that obviously understood the art, and honor, in a way that seemed to escape so many of the people he had been surrounded by in Nerima. None of his putative friends at school had understood why he had to accept all of his challengers, and the martial artists of the area, while they at least understood that, could never seem to see that he was not the cause of the fighting, much less the author of their personal misfortunes.
Ranma's throat tightened as the car drew to a halt. The house they had stopped at looked perfectly normal to his eyes, much more so than the Tendo home had, at any rate. It seemed no different than the houses that surrounded it, unlike the Tendo home, which was set off by the wall that enclosed its grounds, and the dojo that stood behind it, not to mention the dojo sign out front.
This was clearly not the home of a samurai clan or a dojo of the art, but merely a family dwelling. There was no sign of patching on its walls, nor new grass filling divots in the short lawn, nor even lighter shades of concrete where the walk might have been repaired after a hard landing cracked it. How would they react when his enemies or worse, his fiancees, found him? How could they fail to throw him out after the first time Ryouga or Shampoo made a door in their wall?
---
Ikuko and Kenji Tsukino were standing by the window when the black sedan pulled up. Ikuko reached out and nervously grabbed her husband's hand as the driver's door opened.
The man that exited the vehicle stepped to the back of the car and opened the door. Kenji glanced at his wife as her hand tightened against his. She drew in a sharp breath then released it in a sigh as Kenji glanced back at the car. The man standing up with the aid of the driver was clearly too old to be their new son.
A movement in the door raised both their heartrates. Kenji suppressed a groan as Ikuko crushed his hand and squealed happily. "He's so cute!" she gushed and Kenji nodded.
"You knew he was," he answered her, remembering her earlier reactions.
"Oh, I know," she said, stepping back away from the window as the men approached the front door. "But pictures and video never do anyone real justice. You know that."
An understated knock sounded on the door and Kenji opened the door. "Come in," he said, bowing.
Believing what they had seen was beyond them in spite of everything that had been going on in their area for the past year or more, but the mere idea of it had touched Ikuko's heart as she considered what it would do to a proud young man to be so suddenly turned into a woman.
The stories they had been told of his upbringing under his father only made his plight more poignant. Seeing him for the first time, seeing the nervousness, the almost wistful hope, barely present in his eyes, Ikuko could not help herself. He had barely made it through the door when she had engulfed him in a warm, motherly hug.
Needless to say, this was something of a new experience for Ranma. He had still not yet, even with the training he had been doing, managed to change his reaction to an unexpected hug from a girl. He locked up, at first. As the gentle nature of the warm arms around him sank in he slowly loosened up.
When she finally released him, Ranma could not believe that he had yet to feel the touch of cold water. No-one had accused him of being perverted. Tsukino-san had not attacked him for touching his wife. There was no cry of "freak!" echoing in his ears.
He looked from one person to another, still in a state of disbelief. He finally shook it off when Nokomura stepped forward and introduced him to his new parents, and they to him. They were both smiling at him and confusingly, they both looked like they were proud of him. Proud? Why? They hardly even knew of him, much less knew him.
Nokomura bowed to him and took his leave, then Ikuko took his hand and led him on a tour of the house, telling him about his new little brother and sister. That sent a strange thrill through him. Ever since he had met the Tendos, he had wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. Even so he was bewildered. He had been under the impression that he was coming to meet his prospective family, to see if they would still be willing to consider taking him in after seeing him, and witnessing his freakishness firsthand.
He was both glad that he had not yet been changed, that he had not had to undergone the usual period of toying with his curse, before the pervertedness of it all settled in, and frightened that it was still to come, and that what was being offered would be just as quickly withdrawn when they realized that his curse was real and unavoidable.
He was doubly shocked when Kenji opened the door to what he was told would be his room, and not only were there already posters on the walls--of his own battles, no less--there were clothes in the closet, Chinese silks in his own preferred style. There was no futon; instead, he had a full bed, with a thick quilt patterned with fat pandas fleeing from Chinese dragons, and in the corner was what could only be a punching bag, but in the shape of a fat panda with a small black pig on its head. Ranma could not help it. He collapsed to the floor, laughing uncontrollably.
"Heh. It is rather funny imagery, isn't it?" commented Kenji.
Ikuko nodded, "It really amazed me how fast Ishida-san's men did their work. We only signed the papers just this morning at breakfast."
Ranma stifled his laughter and pulled himself to his feet, looking to his new parents. Kenji grinned back at him. "They left your pack by the door. Why don't you get it and settle in?"
"Lunch will be on the table in about an hour, dear," added Ikuko with a beaming smile.
Ranma nodded and darted down the stairs. He hefted his pack and walked more slowly back up the stairs, bowing slightly to Ikuko and Kenji as they walked down past him. They both had, in his opinion, rather silly grins on their faces, but he could not blame them. He suspected his own grin was a bit silly, but how could he help it? His own room, with a bed, and new clothes, and they had not even asked to see his curse! Could things possibly go any better?
Setting his pack on his bed, he pulled it open and stopped in surprise. Reaching in, he drew out a pair of his pants, neatly folded and sharply pressed. When had they had time to clean the clothes in his pack?
Shaking his head, he continued pulling out his clothes, then halfway through, he stopped, looking at the open door to the closet, where near-carbon copies of his usual clothing hung. He stepped up to the dresser and pulled open the drawers. Sure enough, they were filled with clothes as well, socks, and boxers, and additional shirts.
He put the clothes he had pulled out back in his pack. Chances were good that, as well as things had gone, something would nevertheless go wrong and he would be back out on the street within a few days at the most. Best to leave his bags packed, then. He could wear what Ishida-san had apparently provided, and keep his backpack ready to leave.
He set the pack in the closet, and walked over to the punching bag. His eyes widened as he realized that this was not just some well-chosen piece that happened to share a theme with his life. This was a model of his father and P-chan. There was no mistaking the bandanna around P-chan's neck.
Ranma slid to the floor, staring at the bag in disbelief. There was no way that could have been made so quickly. It must have been around for a while. Indeed, looking closer he could see signs of wear on it. Someone had made this to use themselves. Someone who apparently cared enough about him to feel anger at what these two did to him.
He stood up a bit unsteadily, and sat on the bed, running his fingers over the stitching of the fleeing panda. He grinned, remembering someone's--Nabiki's, maybe--nickname for his mother: the Dragon Lady. She certainly seemed angry enough to breathe fire sometimes. He pictured his father running from his mother as she blew flames at him, and laughed softly against a hitch in his throat.
---
"Lunch is ready!" Ikuko called up the stairs. Ranma looked at his clenched hands as he resisted the urge to race down the stairs.
"Don't blow it now, man. Eat slow, mind your manners, avoid water." Prepared now, he left his room and with outward calm walked down the stairs. In his mind a litany was running. "Genma's not here. No-one is going to steal your food. Genma's not here."
Stepping into the dining room, he looked over the table, noting with some surprise that which he had been before too distracted to take in, that this was not a traditional Japanese table. This was a western table, with chairs around it, rather than cushions on which to kneel.
He noticed that there were only three place settings, and felt momentarily grateful. At least he would not have to face more introductions so soon. He knew they were not far off, though. A daughter and a son, Nokomura had said. The girl was younger than him by around two years, another thing Ranma was not sure about.
None of the various friends, enemies, and fiancees back in Nerima had been substantially younger than himself, aside from Hinako's child form, though even she was in fact older. Her youthful appearance had little relation to her true age.
On the whole, in fact, the thought of a younger girl was comforting, for the only younger girl he really knew at all was Hotaru. He felt a sudden pang of loneliness. Though he knew it had been but a short while, it felt like years since he had seen her last. Everything was happening so fast!
What were the chances that this girl would be as friendly as Hotaru? Not to mention, how friendly would Hotaru herself be when she learned what a freak he was? He felt his stomach clench at the thought as he took his seat, but any unrest his stomach might be feeling was washed away by the smell of the food as Ikuko brought it out.
There was little conversation over the meal, but when they set down their chopsticks, Ranma found his new parents' gaze squarely on him. His nervousness was somewhat eased by the smiles on their faces, particularly the rather affectionate smile that Ikuko was beaming at him, reminding him of Kasumi at her best, but without her obliviousness.
---
Setsuna's hands clenched as she considered the worried look on Ranma's face as he watched the Nekohanten. She saw the way his face cleared when he saw Shampoo and she sighed. "I guess I'm going to have to make sure that all of your former friends, enemies, and fiancees are taken care of, if I want you to be happy. Little that I care for them, it is obvious you would be deeply hurt if they were to be harmed."
Setsuna cursed mildly as she paced before the Gates of Time. So many plans and ideas for how to take revenge for what had been done to her Ranma had now to be given up.
Sitting once more, she pushed the view forward. She did not have an unlimited amount of time to do this viewing in, since she had appointments scheduled after lunch.
Her Time Key, the Garnet Orb glinting malevolently at its head, appeared in her hands when she saw Mousse attack Ranma from behind, not even announcing his attack until after knife blades had already left his hands.
Her anger quickly faded as she watched Ranma defend himself adroitly, making it look like a walk in the park. Recognizing the warmth growing in her, she turned the key to the gate and skipped forward, past the fight. She did not have time to release her tension before her next appointment, and she needed to see how Ranma's day had gone.
She recognized the school when he came upon it and realized why he was there. She slid the view forward a bit again, catching Ranma exiting as a female only to dart back in, and then exiting again with papers. "Excellent," she murmured. "Though I would have been glad to get them for you, it might help you to know that you've made at least some of the decisions along the way on your own."
She had only a little longer to check, so skipped forward, skimming the events rapidly. She felt an unseen burden lighten on her shoulders as Ranma was swamped in Ikuko's hug. She had held some confidence in Nokomura to prepare the Tsukino's, to prime them to accept him, but she knew all too well how quickly events could move out of control around Ranma, and she knew as well that a rejection here would have had grave consequences for Ranma's self-confidence.
With a sigh of relief and happiness, she vanished from the vicinity of the Gates of Time, and reappeared in a locked room in her clinic, her attention already turning to her next appointment.
---
Ranma was waiting for one or the other of his new parents to offer him a glass of cold water. He was sure they must be curious about his curse, and he had steeled himself to the necessity of undergoing another episode of 'playtime' as his new relatives amused themselves with his change. He was therefore entirely unprepared for the subject of the discussion that actually arose.
"Ranma, we've been informed of a certain difficulty you have," Kenji began, and Ranma tensed slightly, knowing what was coming. "Usagi does in fact have a cat. We'll leave it up to you as to whether you are willing to try to simply avoid Luna . . . that's Usagi's cat's name, by the way . . . or if it is necessary, we have agreed to require Usagi to ask one of her friends to take care of Luna while you are here. Either way, you should be aware of Luna, because even if we have her taken in by one of Usagi's friends, she will likely be with her often."
"And I think one of her friends--Minako-chan I believe--also has a cat," Ikuko added.
Ranma shivered when the word was first mentioned, but the emotional control he had prepared for the discussion of his curse helped him maintain his composure when he learned there was a cat in the household. The word itself was no great source of fear, and it actually took a fair bit of exposure, and generally to more than one cat, before he went feral himself, but the thought that he might have been walking within scant feet of a cat without realizing it was taxing on his nerves.
Nonetheless, it was but one cat, two at the most. As long as they kept their distance, he should be okay, and it would give him the chance to monitor his progress once Setsuna began assisting him in resolving his fear. Besides, he did not really want to give his new sister a reason to dislike him right from the start. He had far too much experience with bad first impressions as it was.
"Luna can stay," he said. "As long as Usagi and her friends understand it is serious." He remembered the Tendo girls' reaction when they first learned of it. That experience was one of the few times that he really felt that Kasumi let him down badly, when even after hearing about the training, she had still found it amusing to attach more cats to him.
Ikuko nodded, with a sad smile. "Yes, Ranma, Ishida-san told us about the Tendo's reaction to learning of your . . . difficulty. We will make certain Usagi knows not to try anything of the sort."
Ranma grinned back at her. "I expect he didn't worry too much about the cat being here because he wants me to work on my problem. One or two is not usually a problem, especially if I can get away. The last few times it took a scared or angry cat, digging her claws into me. The time before those was a tiger. As long as Luna doesn't attack me, I'll be okay." He was relieved at having a name to call the little beast. That way he could refer to her without really thinking too closely about what she was.
"Now, about this curse," Kenji spoke up, and Ranma tensed. He felt in that moment all the more keenly what a pleasant experience it had been being in a house with normal people who didn't hate him, or have impossible expectations of him. And now he would find out if he got to keep it, or if this would be just one more good thing in his life destroyed by his father and his curse.