Dinner had been a larger project than the young woman had realized, 
because she had to do a lot of shopping to expand the menu. It 
seemed that Ranma and Nabiki had subsisted on packaged ramen and 
vegetables. Though lacking in variety, the food was certainly 
nutritious. Kasumi knew she could do better for less money, because 
she had the time to shop for fresh food.

Little sister and Ranma didn't.

Kasumi welcomed the team spirit the other two had shown earlier. It 
would be a lot easier to get things done with three pairs of hands 
instead of one. She smiled for a moment as she pondered what a 
little free time might mean to her own life. Just maybe... she 
could be something more than a housekeeper.

As the arrival time for the two students approached, Kasumi had 
dinner under control. Several pots bubbled merrily in the 
background, making this strange kitchenette into a kitchen and this 
tiny apartment a home. Dinner was soon finished, but the children 
still hadn't made it back from school.

Placing the food in serving bowls served to distract the young 
homemaker from worry, but in only a few minutes the food was ready 
to serve... With no one yet to eat it.

Kasumi frowned as she put the serving bowls into the small oven to 
keep them warm. Rising after putting the last bowl in, she walked 
to the table again. No matter how hard she stared, she could find 
no fault with the place settings.

So she just watched the clock. Minutes crawled by as she went 
through all the dire things that might have happened. After thirty 
minutes had come and gone, she couldn't even bring herself to watch 
the slow progress of the minute hand around the dial. Akane had 
been late many times from school, Kasumi just knew things were all 
right. She was worrying over nothing. And Akane... she was far from 
Kyoto.

But still... the arrival of Akane had always been an event. As she 
slammed the door open, the whole house would shake as the youngest 
Tendou shouted her arrival. Reality intruded on Kasumi's 
recollections as the tinkle of keys and a squeaky front door 
announced Ranma and Nabiki's return home.

No voice greeted the home, only quiet footsteps and the near 
silence of Ranma's wheelchair announced their presence.

Kasumi rose to greet the other members of her family. Both demeanor 
and voice were on autopilot as she rose and issued a cheerful 
greeting, "I'm glad the two of you made it home." As she opened 
eyes closed by her smile, additional pleasantries froze in her 
throat. After blinking to clear her vision, she realized it already 
was clear. There was only one thing to say, "Oh, My."

Ranma led the way, with a dark expression and a tear streaked face. 
Behind her, Nabiki tightly clutched her forearm. Her face was a 
frozen mask combining determination and pain, accented by tears of 
her own. A small amount of dark, dried blood showed between her 
fingers.

"Nabiki-san. What happened to you?"

"Ranma's life happened... again." Nabiki forced out, shaking her 
head slowly, negatively, as she continued. "Some crazy old friend 
of his decided she wanted to chop him up with a spatula or 
something." Despite the pain, she put a smile on as she looked at 
Ranma, "You sure know how to pick 'em Sao... Ranma."

"Uh... yeah." Ranma said from behind her concerned face. Seeing 
Nabiki smile had lifted her spirits, as she tried on a small smile 
of her own. "Thanks, Nabiki. Thanks for being there."

Nabiki looked down at Ranma and saw much more than the words the 
small girl had spoken. "No problem. I..." Pain pushed its way into 
her awareness again, as Nabiki sucked in a breath. She closed her 
eyes, and gritted her teeth.

"Excuse me." Kasumi said as she began to rummage through cabinets 
in the kitchen.

"That kind of stuff's in the bathroom, Kasumi-san." Ranma stated as 
she deduced the objective of the older girl's quest.

Kasumi smiled sweetly, glancing first at Nabiki, then Ranma. "Thank 
you, Ranma-kun."

Nabiki felt the pain diminish as she shook her head. After all 
those years, even though Nabiki was grown up... Kasumi could still 
make things better with a smile.

***

A story from the Bet: Crippled: Body and Souls

By Kevin D. Hammel

From a story idea by Gregg Sharp.

Episode 7: Atonement

Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. Publishing rights are 
held by Viz in the US and Shogakukan in Japan. My purpose is to 
honor the creator and her works. No infringement intended.

***

Dinner was well underway before Ranma broke the silence. "Your 
cooking's still great, Kasumi. Thanks for fixin' dinner tonight." 
He nodded additional thanks then returned to shoveling food into 
his mouth.

"Thank you, Ranma-kun. Now, if I may ask, what happened to you 
tonight?" Delight at the compliment turned to concerned puzzlement 
on her face as her speech made the same transition.

"Well, there was this little boy I used to play with when I was 
little, Okonomiyaki Ucchan. He has a restaurant on the way to 
school. This afternoon, I smelled Okonomiyaki and..." He looked 
down, not able to look either sister in the eye as he continued. "I 
begged Nabiki to go in." A hand over his drew Ranma's eyes to 
Nabiki's.

"It's not your fault Ranma. That girl's just another wacko after 
your head, I guess. Besides, it's SO hard to resist your 'cute' 
act."

Ranma turned red at Nabiki's last remark. Soon, the tiny crimson 
spots that showed through the gauze on Nabiki's arm arrested his 
gaze. "B... but when we were kids, Ucchan was my best friend. We 
use to fight each day at his pop's okonomiyaki cart. My dad'd swipe 
some okonomiyaki when I won and I ALWAYS won." Ranma said with a 
little pride.

"So why does she want to kill you, Ranma?" Nabiki asked. "But she'd 
better take a number," she concluded with a pained smile.

"I dunno. All I remember is how it all ended. One day when Pop put 
me on Ucchan's dad's food cart and ran really fast with me and the 
cart. Ucchan tried to keep up, but couldn't." His gaze grew to 
encompass Kasumi as he continued. "And that's the last I saw of 'im 
'til today."

Kasumi and Nabiki exchanged baffled looks.

Kasumi decided there was more to the story as she helped clean up 
after dinner. It was up to her to discover what. As she handed off 
the last dish for Ranma to dry and Nabiki to stack, she turned to 
your younger sister. "I wonder what Ranma's friend Ucchan would do 
if I dropped in tomorrow?"

Nabiki dropped the plate, which Ranma caught with a dive as he 
pushed his wheelchair away. He ended up sprawled on the floor, 
holding up the plate.

"Thanks, Ranma," Nabiki said as she plucked the dish from her 
friend's hands and placed it atop the stack.

Ranma looked up at Nabiki. "Kasumi-san... don't go there. Me and 
heck, even Nabiki, are martial artists."

"Thanks for the... uh... compliment." Nabiki chided as she knelt to 
help Ranma back in his wheelchair.

"No problem. You'll never be as good as I was but... I won't be 
either." The crippled boy closed his eyes as once again the 
enormity of the changes in his life assaulted him.

Kasumi finally broke the silence. "Ranma... Nabiki... I still want 
to go tomorrow."

"But that girl's a monster!" Nabiki protested.

"Girl?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, GIRL. She sure wasn't dressed like a guy. And when the front 
of her shirt ripped open, she sure didn't LOOK like one either." 
Nabiki concluded, with renewed anger over the incident.

"Oh dear, Ranma-kun. Do you have girlfriend problems again?" Kasumi 
gently asked.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ranma shouted in reflexive denial.

"Good." Nabiki added, then knelt to Ranma's level. "Since she 
isn't, do you have anyone else in mind?"

Ranma turned red. "Heck no, Nabiki. I've only really kissed one 
girl in my whole life. And I think you know who she is..."

It was Nabiki's turn to flush.

Kasumi smiled at the scene. Tomorrow she would look into the Ucchan 
problem.

***

A slight frown crossed Kasumi's face as she studied the address 
written on the paper. This was the street she was looking for. A 
few more steps and she was at the small shop. The small mapbook of 
Kyoto Little Sister had given her had made the trip to the door 
easy.

Now came the hard part. Going inside.

On the other side of the door, a young woman shook her head slowly, 
still struggling to grasp what had happened yesterday. She had 
acted not as a childhood friend, but as a dam that had burst under 
the weight of years of suffering. There was no thought, no 
direction, no conscience... only the torrent of actions her rage 
forced upon her. That release of pent up suffering and emotion had 
hurt a young woman she didn't even know. The same stranger's 
intervention had prevented her from injuring the object of her 
wrath, and losing even more.

She hadn't the heart to keep her shop open after that. It wasn't 
the few drops of blood on the floor that had necessitated the 
closure. She just couldn't make herself go through the motions 
after the disaster. But today was a new day, and she would try to 
make it through.

The door opened, revealing her first customer. At least it wasn't a 
regular, if she still had any after the abrupt closure the day 
before. The young woman was a bit taller than her, dressed in a 
conservative white blouse and long, pleated, navy skirt.

"Excuse me," She quietly said from behind a polite bow. "I am new 
to the area, and am looking for Kuonji Ukyou's restaurant." She 
looked up for confirmation of what the address on the paper told 
her.

"Yeah, that's me!" the chef forced out in a voice not nearly as 
friendly as she would have liked. She noticed that the young woman 
frowned slightly at her response, almost as if she had found the 
wrong address. Ukyou couldn't keep her puzzlement private as she 
studied the other woman.

"My name is Tendou Kasumi. You met my sister Nabiki and our friend 
Ranma yesterday." She stopped for a few moments, attempting to 
gauge Ukyou's response.

"Yeah, I remember." After yesterday's catharsis, Ukyou found only a 
simple exhale was need to restore her calm.  She looked down as she 
continued, "I'm... I dunno. It had been ten years. My life was 
ruined because of that girl. I..." She closed her eyes tightly, not 
wanting to reveal the strong emotions she felt. She didn't want to 
be remorseful, but found she couldn't help it. Ranma deserved to 
suffer... didn't she? But did she deserve to suffer more than she 
already had? Did she even know about the sham engagement?

"Kounji-san, I'm sorry for interrupting. Please forgive me." Kasumi 
replied with a bow as she prepared to leave the restaurant. Remorse 
wasn't what she had expected to see, but it was certainly better 
than the rage Nabiki and Ranma had experienced. Perhaps she hadn't 
come in vain, but it would be better to come back later. She began 
to back out of the room.

"No... Please." Ukyou offered in response. Steeling herself, she 
looked the retreating girl in the eyes. She felt a few tears 
tickling her face, and resisted the urge to admit their presence.

Kasumi paused, her eyes still glued on the other young woman's.

"Come on, sit down over here next to the grill." Ukyou said as she 
wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Thank you, Kounji-san," Kasumi replied with a smile.

Ukyou found it easy to smile back, like Kasumi was an old friend. 
She shook her head slightly, as she responded, "No, thank YOU 
Tendou-san. I felt really lousy after yesterday and you've helped 
me feel a little better." She pulled in her smile a bit as she 
continued. "Please... tell me about Ranma. What happened to her 
anyway?"

"Well it all started a few months ago when the Saotomes showed up 
at our house. It was raining, you see, so Ranma wasn't a boy when 
he came to visit..."

Ukyou rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Look, honey, I've played 
this game for ten years, and... Uh... 'he' is STILL a girl."

"Sometimes..." Kasumi cryptically answered.

Just a few meters away, two high school students shared a 
conversation. "Let's stop by, Nabiki. I really think we should." 
Ranma said as he turned onto the street where Ucchan's was located.

Nabiki looked at her bandaged forearm, "Why?" She asked as her 
expression darkened.

Ranma suddenly turned in a quick half-circle to face his 
schoolmate. "'Cause Kasumi's not a fighter. But if Ucchan hurts 
her..."

Nabiki jumped back in surprise at Ranma's sudden move. "Yeah, I 
guess you're right. We need to look out for her. And if she does 
hurt Kasumi..."

Ranma shook his head once. "Yeah, Nabiki-san. A family's gotta look 
for each other."

"So, is that what you think of me? Am I your big sister?"

"Well.... Uh... Kasumi's kinda like a big sister or mom. Just like 
she is for you." He stopped suddenly, closing his eyes and rubbing 
his brow in thought. "But you, Nabiki," He said as he turned to 
look up into her eyes. "I don't think I want t' think of you as my 
sister. 'Cause." He couldn't finish his sentence, hoping that 
looking up into the standing girl's eyes would be enough. His 
growing flush was answered by hers.

Voices from inside the cafe filtered out to the street to be heard 
by Ranma and Nabiki as they approached the entrance. Not the sound 
of an enraged woman attacking defenseless Kasumi, but the gentle 
sound of normal conversation. As they drew closer, individual 
voices could be made out, one of which both recognized.

"Yes, you are right, Ukyou-san. Nabiki and I decided to come here. 
But little sister..." She stopped as Ranma and Nabiki stopped to 
cast a shadow on the open doorway. The speaker turned to see a 
concerned Nabiki looking worriedly at her. "So you two did come. 
How nice."

Ukyou turned in concert with the other young woman. Her lips slowly 
parted as she saw the young man appear from behind Nabiki. He 
looked a lot like to the girl she had seen, save thirty centimeters 
or so of height... and his gender. A well-muscled upper body 
contrasted sharply with the legs that sat uselessly.

Above the waist, she saw the man of her dreams. And below... a 
nightmare. A chorus of tears made their way slowly down Ukyou's 
face. They spoke of many things as they traced glistening paths 
down her cheeks. Happiness at seeing her childhood friend again. 
Remorse over her anger and what she had done in its thrall. And, 
finally, mourning for the man promised to her as a child. Unable to 
look at Ranma any more, her eyes closed and she bowed her head. One 
hand shielded her eyes while the other dropped uselessly to her 
side.

"I... I'm sorry," She choked out, addressing the palm of her hand.

A slight noise and a cool breeze announced another nearby. Ukyou 
felt her unused hand caressed by a pair of other hands. Strong and 
slightly callused from years of hard living outdoors. She opened 
her eyes to see the face of her childhood friend. He didn't notice 
tears of his own as Ranma looked up into the big brown eyes of... 
"Ucchan, I I I... Thanks."

After a half-hour with Kasumi, a lot of the fight had left her. 
Truth had transformed anger into wistful sadness. She could not 
redeem her honor by attacking Ranma, it just wasn't right. Equally 
impossible was marriage to him. The lifepath her father had set her 
on required a strong and able partner to help her day to day. A man 
who could pull the food cart when needed and help set it up. Not 
a... not Ranma.

"What do I do?" Ukyou whispered to herself. "What..." She glanced 
over at the girl who had accompanied Ranma the day before. Nabiki. 
The girl who had willingly thrown her old life away for Ranma. The 
middle Tendou daughter regarded her attacker of the day before with 
a cold, steely gaze. Ukyou studied her for a moment. A scar across 
her cheek telling of the battle with the insane Chinese girl. 
Nabiki's bandaged arm spoke of yesterday's fight.

"Ranma wanted to see you." Nabiki said in an almost emotionless 
voice colored with a touch of anger... or hatred. "If it were me, 
I'd be happy if I never saw you again." She turned to Kasumi. "I'll 
get supper on, Kasumi-san. Hope you can choke down some packaged 
ramen tonight. Bring Ranma when you..." Her glare focussed on Ukyou 
like a torch as she continued, "You guys are done with your little 
meeting... Okay?" Not waiting for a response, she pivoted and 
strode down the street.

"Wait... Didn't cha hear me? I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm..." 
Ukyou's voice degenerated into quiet sobs.

Ranma was torn. Nabiki's abrupt departure brought back in full all 
the horror of the attack. His arms tensed as he prepared to follow 
his friend down the street. A gentle voice stayed his arms just as 
he prepared to turn in anger.

"Here, sit down Ukyou... chan. Let me see if I can find a glass of 
water and a towel to get you cleaned up." Kasumi said as she sat 
Ukyou down at a table near the grill.

Ukyou sightlessly folded her hands on the table before her, staring 
at them through closed eyelids.

Ranma rolled over to Ukyou, again resting a hand atop Ukyou's 
folded pair. "Ucchan..." Was all he could whisper.

Kasumi set a glass of water on the table next to Ukyou. The chef 
pulled her hands from under Ranma's to grasp the glass as Kasumi 
daubed at her tears with a towel. When she finished, the eldest 
Tendou daughter turned to Ranma. "Listen to Ukyou's story, Ranma-
kun. She has suffered greatly these past ten years."

"Okay." Was all Ranma could think of in response.

***

An acrid smell assailed Nabiki's nose. "Damn! The water!" She 
shouted as she ran into the kitchen. Gray smoke poured from the 
aluminum pan that had already lost most of the liquid placed there 
to boil. Grabbing the pan with a pot holder, she tossed it into the 
sink. The unopened plastic package of instant Ramen sat mocking her 
attempts at dinner preparations. A shout of frustration built 
within her just as the smell of fresh okonomiyaki tickled her nose 
and Kasumi's gentle laughter her ears.

"Nabiki-san, we brought supper!" Kasumi called out at last.

"Uh... good. I sorta blew it here." Nabiki replied as she stared at 
the floor.

Another prefecture, another dinner.

"Akane-chan, I only left you alone for a few minutes. What did you 
do to our meal?" A middle-aged woman asked a high school-age girl.

Anger flashed as the girl rushed to defend her cooking. "No, it's 
fine, you'll see."

"Akane! Temper! Let's see what you managed to make of dinner."

A fair amount of scraping was required to knock the blackened mass 
into serving bowls. The older woman parceled the food into two 
bowls and a bento. The girl's father took meals in his room, from 
which he rarely ventured.

After delivering the food upstairs, the older woman sat down to 
dinner. With a crunch, she bit into what might have once been rice. 
"You are improving, Akane-chan. The rice is only badly burned 
tonight. If you continue to improve, I shall unlock the spice 
cabinet..." She turned to glare at the girl, "WHEN you are ready."

Akane swallowed, "Uh... okay. That'll be nice."

***

And across Honshu, then the Sea of Japan... Nestled in mountains on 
the Earth's greatest landmass, a tiny village of stone structures 
huddled amidst nature's vastness. Inside one of the dwellings an 
elderly, seemingly frail, woman stared at a few papers and pieces 
of cardboard. Her eyes closed as she considered events both in her 
own village and across the sea. Any worry her face might show was 
lost amidst the wrinkles of a century of life. But, though 
unbetrayed by her visage, worry had found a home where it had 
previously been a stranger. It now lodged in her heart.

Her Great Granddaughter, the warrior Shan Pu, had left months ago 
on a mission of vengeance. The young woman had kept her Great 
Grandmother informed of her quest to solve her 'problem', its name 
in missives that were seen by many eyes before her own. She was 
about to deal with it, and return to her People in glory when... 
all contact stopped.

One of their number set out to find answers, the love-struck 
Mousse, who fancied himself Shan Pu's mate. An incredibly skilled 
warrior, he was blind to the contempt Shan Pu held him in. But he 
was a fine soldier and quite resourceful, for a male.

Then, even stranger, Outsiders who placed themselves before the 
Elders of the Joketsuzoku began to take an interest in their 
village and its workings. They met in seclusion, in an abandoned 
hovel on the edge of the village. The two men and one woman would 
not say why they were there, but one did once let slip the word 
Kyoto. What role did Japan's ancient capital have in Shan Pu's 
disappearance? Why had these people come?

Tomorrow, she would know. She had contacted a young woman who had 
traded the way of the warrior for a University education and the 
life amidst the bureaucracy of the capital far away. Soon tickets 
and visas arrived, bringing with them the chance for Cologne to 
find her own answers.

***

Back in Kyoto, the fragility of hopes and dreams warred with the 
harshness of reality. Their finances had been on a razor's edge 
with only two people, but Nabiki realized three was beyond what her 
savings, investments, and new gleanings could pay for.

The sad part was that things might work out for all three of them, 
if they could pay the bills. She smiled for a moment as she looked 
up from the paper to glance at the future they might build 
together. Fantasy had never been a thing she had indulged herself 
in... before Ranma had been dragged - kicking, screaming, soaking 
wet, and female - into their lives. But with Ranma's curse and all 
the bizarre people who were after him, or her, or both... even 
Nabiki's feet had been uprooted from the solid ground of what was 
easy and attainable to the fantastic heights of what might be.

But, damn it, dreams cost money. Money they didn't have.

The tiny squeak of a rusty hinge announced her new roommate, 
Kasumi. "Excuse me, Little Sister. Am I disturbing you?" Kasumi 
asked with a tiny frown.

"Nah... Actually I guess you are, not that there's anything I can 
do about it." The younger sister said as she shut the ledger, then 
turned to face Kasumi with two raised hands and a quizzical 
expression on her face.

Glancing at the closed book, Kasumi responded. "It's money, isn't 
it Nabiki?" the taller girl said as she looked down at her seated 
sister, "I'm sorry, but I feel that this is where home is right 
now. That my family is..." She covered her eyes as she silently 
sobbed.

Nabiki was suddenly thrown back ten years, when she had to help a 
girl only two years her senior fill an adult's shoes. Words came to 
her like they had then. "Kasumi... It'll be okay, honest. We'll 
find some way to make it turn out okay." Nabiki said as she stood 
and lightly embraced her sister in a reversal of their later 
roles... back when Nabiki cared about such things. "C'mon, Big 
Sister."

It had been years since Kasumi had experienced real feeling from 
Nabiki. Somehow, she would... find a way... to... "Nabiki, I have 
it! Maybe I can work at Ukyou-chan's restaurant." She could almost 
feel ice drive out the warmth as Nabiki reverted to form.

"Not her..." Was all the younger woman could offer in response. She 
retracted her arms and mechanically plopped back into the chair.

"You don't understand, Nabiki. Ukyou was actually promised as a 
wife to Ranma. Genma and Ranma took her dowry, but left her 
behind." Kasumi said as she looked down into her sister's closed 
eyes. As the younger girl opened her eyes, her older sister 
continued, "She waited for ten years to get her revenge. She had to 
live as a boy because her life as a girl had been given to Ranma. 
She just got angrier and angrier until you two visited her."

As always, since that rainy first day with Ranma, things were not 
as they seemed. Nabiki peeled her eyes open to look at the bandage 
on her arm. She would have scars from her battle with Ukyou. Just 
like she had from her run-in with Akane.

"Nabiki?" Kasumi asked in a polite whisper.

"Okay... Kasumi. We... we'll talk to her tomorrow." Nabiki 
haltingly offered. She almost gasped as she again found herself 
surrounded by the embrace she had missed all the years she had 
closed herself off from her family.

Through all the torrents of emotions, Ranma slept soundly next 
door.

***

Only two weeks later, Nabiki looked at the books again. With a real 
income from Kasumi, things were looking great for the three of 
them. The letter Ranma had gotten was just icing... An opening door 
pulled her attention from her bedroom. Her sister was still dressed 
for work; her purple okonomiyaki seller's uniform over black tights 
peeked out from behind her long overcoat. Nabiki turned to greet 
her elder sibling, "So, how as work?"

"Great, but tiring." Kasumi said with a yawn. "Bed... would be 
nice." She sleepily continued, then looked at Nabiki as cheer drove 
away some of her tiredness. "How was your day, Little Sister?"

"Fine. Ranma has something to show you." She raised her voice, 
"Hey, Ranma! Kasumi's home."

The sound of Ranma's wheelchair responded to the shout as he glided 
into the girls' bedroom. It was hard to tell if he was frightened 
or happy by looking at the fragile smile on his face.

"What happened Ranma-kun?" Kasumi had to ask.

"Well, uh..." Ranma reluctantly responded.

"Go on, tell her." Nabiki prodded.

"Mister Tanaka sent me a letter asking again if I would be... 
saying they would... uh... adopt me. If I thought it was a good 
time." Ranma said.

"Well, Ranma, what do you think about it?" Kasumi asked.

"I think I'm ready..." Concern pushed his smile away as he 
continued, "But I don't want to leave here. I like having a family, 
here. With you guys."

"Ranma, we already went over this. For now, the Tanaka clan wants 
to offer you a name again, since you aren't a Saotome anymore. They 
want the best for you, Ranma." Nabiki knelt down to Ranma's level 
as she continued. "And so do I."

"But what about us?" Ranma said as his arms waved to encompass his 
surrogate family of two Tendous.

"What about us? I don't see anything changing, except you getting a 
family name." Nabiki said as she turned to Kasumi.

"I'm twenty now and, I think I want to stay here. I have a job I 
love, and time to start school again, thanks to the two of you." 
She turned to Ranma as she continued, "I think you should agree, 
Ranma. We can still be together, until your school is out at 
least."

A thoughtful Nabiki turned to her sister, "Ranma's right. What 
about you, Kasumi? We do take up a lot of the slack as far as 
housework and all that."

Kasumi dropped her handbag then shrugged off her over coat. She 
proudly pointed to the 'Kasumi' nametag on her uniform. "Maybe the 
way I used to be, but not now. I have a job, Nabiki. I'm going to 
go to school again. I'm not a nine-year-old who got stuck as a 
mother anymore. I finally grew up." Her face was softened with a 
smile, "Because of you two." Her manner became a bit more serious 
as she continued. "Besides, an apartment is a lot easier to keep 
clean than a big house."

Not much later, a phone rang in Tokyo. "Hello, Tanaka residence." 
Isao answered. A smile brightened his face as he turned to Hiro, 
his father. "It's Ranma."

The jubilation of thee teenagers, especially two over-active girls 
was easy for all three people to hear back in Kyoto.

***

(END)

This was written with the assistance of no less than 3 crews of 
FFIRC "One Hour Challenge" participants who saw with this project 
one scene at a time.

Thanks to June 'Kara Ohki' Geraci for C and C. Finally, thanks to 
Bryan Neef, Andrew Norris, and Kara Ohki for their commentary on 
individual scenes sent via ICQ.

I hope you enjoyed the story.
Please let me know what you think!



Kevin D. Hammel

December 28, 2000

========================================
khammel@mail.anime.sobhrach.com
kevinsff@pacbell.net
http://www.fanfic.net/~khammel/
========================================