The rain was beginning to taper off. She didn't particularly mind the rain; she had more important concerns to worry about. Besides, she had been through worse. Still, she decided she must look a dreadful sight... Every part of her quite drenched, from the curls in her aging black hair to the sandals on her feet and the worn kimono in between. As for whatever it was she kept wrapped securely in a towel, propped against her shoulder as though it were a bayonet or something else along those lines, only a few people knew. There was no reason to show the item off to everyone - she didn't want to alarm anyone. Yes, she could use it in self-defense, if it came to that. Thankfully, that rarely happened. She needed more practice, at any rate. Using a katana wasn't a skill most people picked up overnight. All those people passing by in cars or what-not or watching her through their windows were probably saying that it served her right for trudging through the rain like this. Maybe it did. Chalk up another lesson she had learned from her 'husband...' stubbornness to the point of foolishness. She wasn't poor - but she was on a special quest and had long since decided to travel light. That was her base reason for traveling without any luggage, just a kimono, and whatever money she could carry for the occasional expense. If Genma and Ranma could survive traveling like this, then so could she! It was the best way she could think of to... find them. Saotome Nodoka stopped, closed her eyes and sighed. Her son. *Ranma*. And that pact Genma had arranged so long ago. Nodoka could forgive the pact, for Ranma's sake. Genma had all but forced Ranma to agree to the pact, even though little Ranma certainly hadn't known better at the time, so that Genma's martial-artist code of macho pride would be satisfied. And so Genma took Ranma away, to train him, make him a complete man, teach him to behave *just like his father*... The thought made her angry. No. There still had to be a chance. All she had to do was find Ranma, let him know his mother cared for him... that he didn't have to abide by Genma's pact if he didn't want to, as he had no idea of what he was doing when he 'agreed' to the pact. How could an infant be expected to make such a life-altering decision? Call it a bond between mother and son, perhaps. She knew the quest wouldn't be easy from the start. But even if Genma was *hiding* him from her...... she would find him eventually. Sooner or later, he would have to stop at the Tendo dojo and, with luck, she'd be there waiting for him. Tendo Soun... Genma's long-time friend and father of three lovely young daughters. *Daughters*. Nodoka paused. What, say, would have happened if instead of a son, she had given birth to a daughter? Would that have spared her all this pain over the years, not knowing her own son? She was in the process of putting the thought away for later when a voice interrupted her train of thought. "Good afternoon, miss." Nodoka blinked. "Excuse me?" A traveling salesman stood on the sidewalk before her, holding a tray full of oddly dry artifacts that were slightly mystic in appearance. Nodoka made sure to study his features... unassuming and gentle. Certainly not what she expected a traveling salesman to look like. "You look as though you might have need of my services." The line set off alarm bells in the back of Nodoka's mind. She narrowed her eyes. "What kind of services might those be?" "Change," the man answered. "The past, present and future, as one wishes." But wasn't such procedure risky and quite dangerous? "These special artifacts allow you to make a single wish to change the Past. Whatever you wish for will come true - with a catch." "A catch?" echoed Nodoka. "Yes. Although you can alter the past, you *cannot* alter Destiny. If an event is destined to happen, it will, somehow. If two souls are destined to meet, they will - no matter how much circumstances must be altered to allow it." Nodoka thought. "And how much are you charging for these... artifacts?" "Not much," the salesman answered. "Only 350 yen." He was right. That wasn't as expensive as she thought it might be. "When you have fallen upon hard times, why should I presume to add to it by charging a large sum of money?" "But I'm not poor. I'm--" "Having a hard time does not necessarily mean you are poor. There *is* something troubling you. Something that money cannot fix. I can see it in your eyes." "I'll buy one," Nodoka said after a moment of thought. What did she have to lose? Even if the artifact didn't work as advertised she wasn't wasting much money in purchasing one. The salesman took Nodoka's change and picked out an artifact specifically for her. "Good luck, miss. And be careful," he added as he turned to leave. Nodoka glanced down at the artifact in her hand, a strange feeling coming over her, then back up at the salesman's retreating back. "Wait! If these are as powerful as you say, then why don't you..." "Use one to change my own past?" the man turned around long enough to show a hint of a smile. "Who is to say that I haven't done that already?" With that, he was gone. The artifact remained behind. A mystical artifact reportedly able to change the Past yet not Destiny. How was she to know what was destined or wasn't? Better to concern herself with what it was she would change. What, then? Ranma, of course, Ranma should know who his mother was. she argued with that decision. Yes. A good place to start. But the only way she could think of to keep Genma from taking Ranma away was......... She had her wish. Destiny's Wish Part One: The New Beginning written by Mike Koos ---------------------- Ranma cried. In the next room, Nodoka looked up from her work. "Dear? Would you check on Ranma for me? I think she may need to be changed." She could hear Genma's grumbling from where she sat tending to the laundry. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn it was getting louder day by day. "Now, I know you don't like changing diapers, but you promised you would help take care of her." Genma continued to grumble, although this time he hid it from his wife's ears. He walked into the nursery, coming to a halt beside his daughter's crib - a stern glare to his face as he looked down at her. Ranma immediately recognized him. She gave him a bright smile before going back to crying again. "Be quiet," he hissed. Why couldn't he have had a son? Someone to carry on the Saotome name with honor and pride, to keep the Saotome class of martial arts alive... A daughter. What good would she be as a martial artist? Even if he could teach her some techniques, he was willing to bet that the martial arts and fighting wouldn't mean as much to her as they would to a male. Genma doubted they could try to have another child, to try for a son. Nodoka already knew he was grousing over having had a daughter, and besides, she wouldn't go for the idea. Not as long as they continued to live near the poverty level... The latest word from Soun indicated that he and his wife had been blessed with three boys. Genma always thought he had a similar sense of luck - what if his next two children were also girls? Or worse, twins? Triplets? Yet there were ways to recoup his losses. Before either of them became married, Soun and Genma had toyed with the idea of arranging a marriage between their children, uniting the Saotome and Tendo classes of martial arts once and for all and ensuring that their collective legacies lived on. The more Genma thought about it, the better it sounded. He would discuss it with Soun in the next letter, to be sent immediately. Nodoka might not like the plan at first - especially since Ranma was her precious daughter - but she would come to appreciate it. That left only one detail to take care of. Ranma's training. "No! Absolutely not! I won't let you risk our daughter on your foolish ventures!" Genma exhaled; he had seen this coming. It had been a month since Nodoka gave in to the idea he and Soun had already agreed on - the plan to marry Ranma off to one of the Tendo boys once she became of age. Nodoka still wasn't one hundred percent sure whether arranging her daughter's marriage this early in her life was a good idea. In contrast this argument would be an uphill battle. "'Foolish venture?'" he repeated. "What is wrong with wanting our daughter to be strong?" "I have no problem with that. But what is wrong with letting her remain here, where I can teach her what she needs to know as well?" Genma's face seemed to have that smug self-assured quality that meant she would need to work hard to convince him otherwise. "What you want her to learn is girl's work, dear." "What is your point? She *is* a girl, isn't she!?" "She is," he admitted. "But what you propose will erode any edge she develops, slowly but surely." Nodoka, for all her gentle demeanor, was close to a breaking point. "Don't you preach your martial-arts code to me! Ranma is a *girl*. I only want to make sure she knows what every young woman should learn." Genma's expression hadn't changed. "I can teach her." "You may think so, but when the time comes, you won't be able to deal with it." "Your faith in my ability to teach is inspiring. However, I sincerely believe I am up to the challenge." "No," Nodoka had made her final decision. "I won't let you take our daughter away on a voyage of training." Another issue nagged at her thoughts. "How can I be sure I will ever see both of you again? I'm not about to take that risk." "You will see us again," Genma suddenly became completely serious. "I have written up a contract. A pact, if you wish to view it as such. If, at the end of our journey, Ranma is not a girl inside and out as well as a fighter, we... we will commit seppuku." "...Seppuku............?" The word numbed Nodoka. She recovered in time. "Absolutely not! If your plans don't work out, you will force her to take her life alongside you?" "It is the honorable thing to do." "It is the *stupid* thing to do." Time for the final blow. Genma reached inside his gi to pull out a folded piece of paper he had been keeping close to his heart. "I'm afraid you have no choice but to let us go," he said, handing the piece of paper to his wife. "Ranma and I have already signed the contract." "What!?" Incredulously, Nodoka unfolded the contract. The wording was as Genma had said. The lower half of the paper held Ranma and Genma's 'signatures' next to their names. Genma's signature was a mere thumbprint next to his printed name. Ranma's, on the other hand... "You fool! She didn't decide anything! You just covered her hand in ink and let her play around this paper, didn't you? This can't be legal!" Indeed, Ranma's handprint was plastered all over the paper, running off the sides in places - although Genma had made sure not to let her stamp over any of the words at the top of the paper. "On the contrary, dear. A handprint is completely acceptable and legal for use in a contract." "How could you do this?" Tears welled up in Nodoka's eyes. "How could you do this to our daughter and I?" "It is for her own good." Genma's voice faltered; he had never been an expert when it came to confronting anyone with words. "We are both packed and ready to go." ** ** ** Soun sat at his appointed spot at the family room table, nursing a bowl of weak ramen and a cup of tea. *Family room*. The room wasn't the same without the presence of his wife. The boys could feel the void as well. He knew they missed their mother... perhaps not as much as him, although it was a comfort to know he didn't have to face the pain alone. "Tendo-san! Mail!" He forced himself to stand, his body resisting it more than it used to. One's body - even those of a martial artist - degraded over time. If only he'd kept up with his training and exercises... in retrospect, they might have been ideal to take his mind away from his sorrow for a little while. Exactly what he hoped going out to pick up the mail would accomplish. Giving the postman a cheerful thank-you, he carried the mail back inside. A couple of catalogs for supplies for the dojo, the usual odd assortment of junk mail. The one piece of mail that made Soun almost drop everything else was the postcard from his old friend, Saotome Genma. Had he not been grateful to hear from Genma for the first time in a long while, he might have noticed the writing wasn't Genma's typical scrawl. The writing looked as though whoever wrote it had done so while drunk, or perhaps in pain - which, knowing Genma, wasn't improbable. 'Ranma and I will be there soon.' Oh, yes... the engagement! After around thirteen to fifteen years of training - Soun had lost track of the years - young Ranma, as well as his own sons, were all of marrying age. The Tendo and Saotome families had agreed to the idea of pairing Ranma with one of the Tendo boys shortly after Ranma and Ayumi were born. A union that would combine the strength of both families and keep the Tendo-Saotome classes of martial arts alive... not just in their students, but in generations to come. Now *this* was good news! "Kasuga... Naka... Ayumi!" He repeated the names. "Come here! I have something to tell you!" None of the boys answered. Fine; that meant he'd have to bring the news to them. First came Kasuga. The eldest son of the family, Kasuga had always been unsure about becoming a martial artist in the wake of his father's pride and honor. He took the lessons until his mother's passing, then decided to put his training aside to take care of the rest of the family. As such, Soun figured Kasuga would be in the kitchen. Kasuga had endured the jokes, of course. He took care of much of the cooking and cleaning and enjoyed doing it, something not very many boys admitted. Since he didn't mind, Soun didn't, either. Without his sons to help, Soun knew he might not have known what to do. Kasuga was where Soun expected him to be. "Kasuga." Kasuga was tall, slender and pale from spending most of his time indoors, with a casual-cropped shell of brown hair. He turned toward the door. "Yes, father?" Next up, Naka. As the middle son Naka also had little interest in the martial arts. From an early age, he had instead shown interest in business and finance. It was his planning that kept the dojo on its feet monetarily. However, he also seemed to his father to be a little disconnected from the rest of the family, more so since losing his mother. "Naka......" The boy was in his room, reading a new manga book. "Yeah?" Last in line was the youngest Tendo son, Ayumi. Of the three brothers Ayumi was the hardest hit by the unfortunate loss of their mother. Fate had taken her away when Ayumi was but six years old. He had always tried his hardest to please his mother and his father... and was still trying, by dedicating himself to the martial arts. Soun opened the door to Ayumi's room, but the martial artist was nowhere to be found. Ayumi hadn't mastered any disappearing techniques, had he? "Does anyone know where Ayumi is?" "I'll find him," shrugged Naka. There were only a few places Ayumi might be around the yard, Naka knew; chief among those locations was the dojo. Ayumi liked to lose himself in his exercises and training. That way he didn't need to talk to anyone for a while - for who would want to interrupt a martial artist tearing apart the air around him with forced blows? Only another martial artist or fighter. And there weren't many of those around town... business had been rather slow lately. How Naka kept the books together without a lot of paying students, Ayumi didn't know. Maybe he supplemented it with all that money he managed to somehow get from others, like his classmates. Especially the biggest moron at Fuurinkan High and possibly Nerima, too... Ayumi noticed his punches were more forceful than necessary and toned it down. Just in time, too. "Thought I'd find you here, little brother." Ayumi turned around to find Naka reclining against a corner of the house. Unlike his brothers, Ayumi had inherited a head of black hair, which made him appear even more intimidating when he became serious or upset. "Can I help you?" "Don't take that tone of voice with me, young man," Naka said, mimicking their father's voice. Then he straightened. "How long you been at this?" Ayumi glanced at the broken boards and cement bricks scattered around him. "About an hour, I guess." "Well, come on. Dad says he's got something to tell us and he won't do it unless we're all there." "Okay." The younger sibling wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Phew! Put that arm down!" Naka quickly pinched his nose shut. "I think you've been out here LONGER than an hour!" Ayumi frowned. "Shut up!" "Ha! You're so easy to intimidate!" his brother laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a girl!" Pressed for time, he left out the potshots at Ayumi's name. "I am not! Take that back!" Ayumi raised a fist. Naka shook his head. "You don't want to do that. You'll regret it." Ayumi relented. Naka may not have taken up fighting... but he could still make a person's life very miserable by plenty of other less-traceable means. "And what about *you*? You act more like a girl than I do!" "My dear brother, you have a lot to learn about the opposite sex." "Hmph." "*What*!?" "I said--" "I heard what you said! I'm just trying to let it sink in," Naka interrupted, barely aware of the rain beginning to fall outside. "Don't take that tone of voice with me, young man..." "Yeah, whatever. So while we were all little you went ahead and prearranged a marriage for one of us?" "Yes," Soun missed the distaste in his son's voice. "To the daughter of my old friend, Saotome Genma. That way, one of you can help carry on the Tendo and Saotome traditions here at the dojo." "Sounds awfully convenient if you ask me," Ayumi broke in. "You or this Saotome guy just arranged this so you can kick back and have us take care of you, right? How could you make a decision like this for us? Count me out!" His elder brothers seemed to ignore the outburst. "Have you met this girl, Father?" Kasuga asked. "Not really. She's been on the road with her father most of her life." "Hmm..." A thoughtful look came over Kasuga's face. Elsewhere in Nerima, a strange scene was - to put it lightly - taking place. The rain was still in the process of picking up, not yet enough to force those in the shopping district to close shop for the day. A great deal of people were still around to see what happened next. A young man ran barefoot through the puddles taking shape in the middle of the street. That alone wouldn't have attracted much attention for long if it weren't for the giant panda chasing him with a vengeance. "I told you," the boy strained, tending toward the version of Japanese usually used by girls, "to leave me alone, you big *jerk*!" He came to a halt long enough to swing a foot back around into the panda's face - a roundhouse kick worthy of a seasoned street-fighter. It sent the panda skidding back across the wet pavement. The boy snorted a laugh. He apparently didn't care if the slide scraped the fur from the panda's back. "Isn't that a panda?" some of the bystanders were whispering among themselves. "What's a panda doing here, in the shopping district?" Pulling itself to its feet, the panda took up a fighter's stance. Unfortunately, this happened to make the panda look rather silly and most of the people gathered couldn't help but snicker. The panda ignored them all and concentrated instead on the boy. "C'mon, let's get this over with," the boy also readied himself. "I've got other things to do." He proceeded to deftly avoid a set of panda swipes. "I already told you--" Dodge. "--I'm not going through with this!" Dodge, dodge. "If I'm going to marry anyone--" Dodge, grab... "I'LL decide who I'll marry! NOT YOU!!" he yelled, effortlessly flinging the panda over his shoulder. It landed square in the middle of a convenient traffic sign. "I'm going back to China." He flipped his pigtail of black hair over his shoulder so that it rested once more at his back. "If you wanna come, fine. If not - I could care less." He proceeded on his way after stopping to pick up his backpack and shoes. But before he could get too far, the panda whirled about - holding the sign it had landed on - and broadsided him with it. The boy slumped unconscious into the panda's waiting arms. What audacity! the crowd was already whispering. How could a panda DO something so violent? Pandas were supposed to be all cuddly and cute and *non-violent* like all those cute little pandas they'd seen in the zoos... and this one had beaned a kid over the head with a street sign! Granted, the boy sounded as though he needed a little discipline, though not of *this* nature... As the panda passed with the boy draped over its right shoulder it heard the whisperings start up behind it. No, this wouldn't do at all. Too bad he couldn't talk. Oh, well, a growl would have to do. Yes, that did the trick. The crowd fell silent. He could continue on to his destination without any further hassles and a panda smile. "Ranma has been on the road with her father, training to become a martial artist in the Saotome class of martial arts. As I understand it, they are returning from a trip to China." That caught Naka's curiosity. "Really? China?" He'd developed an interest in China, enough to learn a little of the Mandarin dialect. "She'd better be strong. I don't pull my punches for no one." Ayumi turned away. "Is she cute?" asked Naka. "I hope she's not older than me," Kasuga stated. Kasuga and Naka spoke in unison. "What kind of girl is she, anyway?" Soun's expression solidified. "I really don't know." "What do you mean, you don't know? You prearrange a marriage for one of us with a girl you know nothing about!?" Fortunately for Soun, it was someone else's turn to interrupt. "Wouldja let me go, you IDIOT?" an unrecognizable voice yelled. Sounds of a scuffle came from the direction of the front gate. Heads turned. "Huh?" Naka wondered who might be paying a visit in the middle of a rainfall. "Someone's here?" Kasuga stood - the unofficial greeter for the Tendo family. "Oh, goody," Naka tried his best to sound indifferent, though this time, Ayumi could see through the pretense. "I'll bet it's Ranma." Soun's spirits lifted. Genma was never known for his punctuality, either. Soun followed Naka into the foyer... ...only to be turned back by an imposing wall of giant panda carrying a struggling person draped over his shoulder. First time any of the Tendo family had ever heard of a panda making a house call... "Hey!" the panda's cargo growled. "Some first impression YOU make! You're scarin' the you-know-what out of them!" The Tendo boys reflexively drew back. "Umm... this wouldn't happen to be your *friend*, would it, Father?" Kasuga kept his eyes fixed on the panda. Soun shook his head. Naka, too, was understandably upset. "Don't you think it's a little STRANGE to have a panda for a friend!?" A wild animal... a large one, too, which meant that Mr. Panda likely broke a lot of property on his way in. Just great; Naka dreaded having to divert more funds to property repair. Keeping Ayumi knee-deep in breakable martial-artist equipment was costly enough. The panda set his 'passenger' down in front of Soun. Awfully tame for a giant wild panda, wasn't he? thought Naka. Soun and the new kid stared nervously at each other for nearly half a minute. Finally, Soun gathered the nerve to make the first move. "You... who are you?" "Saotome Ranma," the kid answered. "I'm reeealy sorry about all this........." Soun's eyes widened. "It's true! You have finally come!" "Hey, Ayumi," Naka whispered. "Doesn't she look a little... strange to you?" "What d'you mean?" Ayumi had to admit he hadn't truly been paying attention. Soun's embrace of Ranma obscured the kid from Ayumi's view, anyway. "You've finally come..." the old man was repeating, tears streaming like twin waterfalls from his eyes... Wait. Something was wrong. It took a few seconds for the realization to fully settle into Soun's mind. He pushed Ranma away. "Your chest..." Ranma blinked, eyes narrowing. "What about it?" No one else said a word, until Naka dared to approach Ranma. "Just what I thought." He jabbed a finger into Ranma's chest. "Don't you get it? The build, the voice... this is a *guy*, NOT a girl!" Ranma, eyes closed, said nothing. Soun's mind figured it was time for an unscheduled shut-down. Not too long after that, Soun awoke to find himself in an impromptu bed on the floor where he'd fallen. Kasuga, Ayumi and Naka all knew the drill - had practiced it for weeks, in fact - to be prepared for any fainting their father might do. Soun craned his head. Kasuga was close to his forehead, in the process of changing the damp washcloth there. Ranma the boy sat at Soun's side, flanked on all sides by Ayumi, Naka and the as-yet unintroduced giant panda looming in the background. They were arguing... over Ranma, he guessed. He so disliked joining conversations in this manner. "Well, of COURSE I'm upset!" Naka spat. "Dad tries to get us all excited over this prearranged marriage thing and then the girl we're all supposed to meet turns out to be a guy! So why aren't *you* upset?" Kasuga shrugged. "I think you're taking this too personally, Naka." "Darn right I am! I--" "Knock it off!" the youngest Tendo boy cut Naka's raving short. "Just because Dad didn't get all his facts straight, that's no reason to take it out on him or Ranma!" Undaunted, Naka refused to let the issue drop. "Ranma's at least our age, right? Dad's had all this time to get his facts straight and I guess he didn't bother!" "Saotome *told* me he had a daughter!" Soun insisted from the floor. Naka poked Ranma's chest again. "Tell me, does *this* look like a girl to you? He doesn't look like a girl to me!" "Please don't do that," Ranma said politely. Ayumi watched with surprise. Ranma had gone on a - what, fourteen or fifteen year, maybe sixteen? - round trip to China and back just to get here, and everyone welcomed him by screaming and poking him? Some welcome. Ayumi felt sorry for the kid. "Leave him alone, Naka! He's our guest!" That momentarily shook Naka. "Eh?" Ayumi bent down to talk to the seated Ranma. "C'mon. We'd better get out of here for a while. Wanna go over to the dojo?" Ranma seemed reluctant. "Well... I guess so." The two boys left the room in a hurry. "My name's Ayumi," Ayumi introduced himself. "You're not a girl, but that's okay. Wanna be friends?" "Sure," agreed Ranma. Was Ayumi disappointed that their guest wasn't a girl? Ayumi slid open the doors to the dojo. "Here we are. What do you think?" "It's beautiful." Ayumi laughed, screwing up his face. "*Beautiful*? You trying to talk like a girl or something?" "......No." "Okay." The Tendo boy walked toward the far end of the dojo. "Dad said you've been training to be a martial artist. How good are you?" "...So-so," Ranma replied in a modest voice. "Are you trying to fool me? You've been out with your dad training for an awful long time, or so our Dad says. You've gotta have *some* experience! Don't worry, we'll start out slow anyway and go from there." "Uh... okay." Ayumi took his stance. Ranma didn't take his, which Ayumi saw as a lapse in training. Either that, or Ranma's father - wherever he was - hadn't trained Ranma in the accustomed way. Charging, Ayumi threw a weak punch and a kick. Both of which Ranma loosely dodged in succession, then two more after that. "Don't just evade! Fight back!" Ayumi grit his teeth. Ranma's style may have been sloppy, but it was enough to avoid all of Ayumi's strikes. He tried a few more times with the same results. "Okay! Let's go!" Clenching his fists, Ayumi closed the gap between them, intending to throw a punch straight at Ranma's midsection. His fist found the dojo wall instead. Ranma leapt up and over him, gently landing toe-first on the wood floor behind Ayumi. He waited patiently for Ayumi to pull his hand out of the wall, then began laughing. Ayumi uneasily shared the laugh. "You're better than you think. I'm glad you're not a girl after all." "Why?" "Well, I wouldn't feel right fighting you if you were a girl." Ranma wasn't sure how to respond. By the time the sun descended into the distant scenery the rain had moved on, leaving behind a measure of humidity. Kasuga had brought two electric fans into the family room for the comfort of Soun and his mysterious new guest. Naka couldn't recognize the man dressed in the white gi and headcloth from where he stood at the door, but he could see that they were both crying. Maybe Kasuga knew who this guy was. Yes... better to try getting information the indirect way before the direct way. Naka meandered over to the kitchen where Kasuga had busied himself preparing some food and drink for the two men. Kasuga, the true head of the household, Naka smiled. "Hey... who's that guy with Dad?" Kasuga kept his eyes on his work. "Well..." "Ranma..." "Ranma?" "There you are." Kasuga offered a towel to Ranma. "I thought maybe you'd want to take a bath. You can use the bathroom if you want. Nobody's in there right now." "Er... maybe later." "I insist! It's best to get it out of the way. Besides, you've been on a long trip and gone through a workout in the dojo. Surely you'd want to clean up after all that." Ranma gave in. "Okay..." As Kasuga had said, better to get it out of the way... In the bathroom, Ranma prepared for the bath. He turned on the tap. Cold water. No, that was only delaying the inevitable. Soon, the bath was filled with hot water. Ranma drew his breath and stepped in. Naka opened the door to Ayumi's room. "Ayumi? Isn't it time for your turn in the bathroom?" "Oh, yeah. Thanks. I almost forgot." Meanwhile, a girl's voice echoed off the bathroom walls. She sighed. "What now?" Ayumi whistled, going through his regular procedure for a bath - ultimately changing from the gi he'd worn all afternoon to nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. As he raised a hand to the bathroom's doorknob he heard splashing come from inside the bath. Odd - but everyone else in the family had already taken their turns in the bath. That meant only Ranma or the panda were in there. The noises he heard weren't the splashings of a giant panda, so he assumed it must be Ranma. Well, Ranma wouldn't mind if he at least came into the room to wait his turn. In Japan, it was a custom for groups of people from the same gender to share a private or public bath. True, Ranma *did* seem overly modest, but he probably wouldn't mind. He opened the door. The girl sighed one more time for good measure. Ayumi reached for the door to the main bath.