Tenchi and Ranma, Together forever!?

Ch1 Beginnings.

    Genma Saotome looked at the faded and tattered postcard in his hand.

    Coming soon.
    Bringing Ranma.

    
    A tear slid down his cheek. He had written it the day before he and Ranma had arrived at Jusenkyo. That had been meant to be the last stop on their training trip, after that Genma had planned to take them back to Japan, and to the fiancee that was waiting there for Ranma. The fiancee that Ranma now would never know about.

    He'd had such plans. Ranma would marry one of Soun's daughters, and Genma would retire to his well earned rest. All gone now, all his plans dust, because his son had lost his temper and forgotten the true way of the martial artist.

    His mind drifted back to that day when all his hopes and dreams had come crashing down. It had been foggy, he remembered that well, so foggy that he had almost walked into one of the Jusenkyo springs before he had seen it.

FLASHBACK:

    We see the Jusenkyo valley, or rather we don't see it. The entire valley is shrouded in a dank fog that cuts visibility to a mere few feet. Three figures emerge from the fog. Genma, Ranma and the guide.
    "And this Sirs, is famous training ground of cursed springs, very tragic and famous place."
    "Not bad Pop, this place looks like it might actually be
    challenging, this fog is great."
    "O no sirs, fog is not part of training ground. Please, you come to hut now, have nice cup tea, wait for fog clear, then I show you O so tragic springs, yes?"
    "Are you kidding? The fog's the only thing that makes this a challenge." Ranma slipped the backpack he was wearing off, and lightly leaped up to one of the barely visible bamboo poles.
    Genma looked uncertain, he could barely see the poles. "I don't know boy, maybe we should take the guides advice. A nice hot cup of tea would go nice about now."
    "Sure pop, you go right ahead, go rest your creaky old bones. It must be a bugger to get all old and slow. I'll just practice by myself." Ranma smirked down at Genma, who was rapidly turning red.
    "Old!? Slow!? You asked for it boy. Prepare yourself, I'm going to show you that these old bones can still kick your ass." Genma slipped out of his own pack and leaped up to the pole opposite Ranma." he felt a twinge of relief as the pole came into clear view as soon as he got close. He turned and leaped at Ranma the instant he touched down.
    The guide was frantic and yelled up at the barely visible martial artists. "O sirs, what you do? You not want to do that, better you come down now. Yes?"
    Ranma ignored the guide's frantic cries, and leaped to meet Genma. They exchanged a flurry of blows before Ranma snuck in a clever feint, followed by a kick, that sent Genma plunging into the mist. Ranma smirked as he heard the tremendous splash Genma made as he landed in the spring below his pole.
    The guide heard as well, and barely backed off in time to escape being splashed by the wave of water that washed over his former position. The first splash was followed by a second as Genma leaped back toward Ranma position.
    Ranma was peering into the fog, trying to spot his father. "What's the matter pop? Giving up already? Ahhh, what the hell is that?" The last was screamed out as a massive black and white creature came flying out of the fog straight toward him. Taken by surprise, he reacted slowly and was knocked from his pole and sent flying backwards out of sight by a powerful kick.
    Having revenged his dunking, and shown the boy once again who was boss, thoughts of hot tea crossed Genma's mind. He leaped lightly to the ground beside the Guide who stared at him in shock.
    Genma tried to say, About that tea, but all that came out was "Growf" Genma lifted a hand to his mouth in shock, but before it could reach its destination, he froze in shock, staring at the black, heavily clawed hand that had replaced his own meaty hand.
    "O too bad, Mr customer fall in spring of drowned Panda, very tragic tale of Panda that drown there two thousand year ago, very tragic tale. Now whoever fall in spring take on form of Panda.
    Genma could only look at the guide in shock. The guide was used to this reaction, and was about to lead Genma to his hut for a kettle of hot water, when an explosion of voices yelling in some strange dialect came through the fog.
    The Guide turned pale, and grabbing Genma by a paw, dragged the stunned and unresisting panda along behind himself as he made haste away. As he was dragged along Genma became aware of the voices behind them. He also could hear the sound of someone running towards them, the sound of hurrying footsteps was intermixed every few seconds by a splash, only to resume seconds later. The footsteps kept getting closer and closer, until finally a small naked red headed girl, her wet hair hanging practically to her knees, burst from the fog, and immediately launched a flying kick that caught the stupefied Genma under the chin and sent him sailing backwards into the fog, and unconsciousness.


    Genma sighed, Ranma in her eagerness to get back at him after getting out of the Nyanniichuan, had in her rage, and blinded by the fog, stumbled into a spring. When she had not changed any further then she already had, she had thrown caution to the wind, and made a bee line straight back towards where she thought Genma was, falling in a dozen or so springs as she did so. Somehow the contact with all that magic had frozen her in her cursed form.
    The guide had no idea as to how it had happened, the springs were not suppose to do that, they could not mix. At least not without the body having years to adapt to one curse. Genma could go back in ten years, and jump in the Nanniichuan, and might free himself of his curse, but only might, it was no guarantee.
    The guide had no idea if that would work on Ranma. He was very evasive when asked. Genma suspected he was one of those people who hated to admit they did not know the answer. He hated people like that, they should be forthright and honest, and admit their short comings.

    Genma turned his attention back to his open back pack. He had been looking for food when he had found the tattered postcard in the bottom. It had been crushed up against a bundle of waxed paper jammed in the bottom of his back. Now Genma's eyes were draw back to that packet, and with a hand that visible trembled he reached in and picked it out.
    Unwrapping the outer layers he carefully unfolded the contents. Various documents and letters, and most importantly, a document with his signature, and Ranma's baby hand print. A copy of the agreement with his wife to turn Ranma into a man among men, or commit Sepuku. Genma winced, there would be no going home for him, not ever. With a sigh he started to fold the documents back up. He was interrupted in his task when a small scrap of paper separated from the main bundle and fell to the ground.

    Curious, Genma bent down and picked it up. looking at it he saw that it was a napkin from a bar he, Soun and several of their friends had frequented back in the old days. What was it doing here among his papers?
    Turning it over he read the writing on the other side. His eyes widened in shock at the words there, and memory flooded back.

    It had been the night he and Soun had agreed to merge there families. Nodoka was expecting any day, and Kimiko would be due not long after. Then an old friend who was seated with them brought up the question.
    "What if they both have girls?" He had said, after all, Soun already had two, and the odds were fifty, fifty that Genma would have one. So how would they merge their families then.
    For a while the party turned depressed, but fueled by alcohol, Genma came up with a solution. "You have a son. We'll marry our children to him if we both have daughters." He said
    Soun had objected, "We can't both marry are daughters to him. Not legal I don't think." Soun was a little drunk by then, as compared to the other two, who were very drunk.
    It had been decided to flip a coin to decide who's daughter would get married. Genma had won, and they had created an agreement on the spot. Genma and his friend had written in the gist of the arrangement on a napkin, and Soun had signed as a witness. Then they had preceded to get even drunker in celebration, and forgotten all about it. Till now.

    
    Genma looked at the stained ripped document that was now worth more than anything else he possessed. Because it meant a happy retirement for him in his old age. He hugged the precious document to his chest, and tears ran down his face and dripped off his chin.
    Controlling his overflowing emotions, Genma turned and yelled at the red headed girl soaking in the hot spring. "Ranma, come on hurry up. we have an old friend to visit."
    "You mean Mr. Tendo? About time, you said we were going to see him months ago."
    "Not Tendo, no. This is another friend. You'll like him, he has a son a little older then you. I think you'll get along splendidly with him. And if he's anything like his Father, Tenchi Masaki will be very glad to see you.
Two days later:
    
    ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR [Expletive deleted] MIND!!!!" Ranma screamed at her father in disbelief. No freaking way am I marrying some guy. You can forget that idea right now. I'm going back to china, there has to be something we missed, and Shampoo must have gotten tired of chasing us by now, I mean its been three months, how long does it take someone to forget a grudge."
    "Girl, you're not going anywhere, you have a duty to your family, as the last Saotome of our family it is up to you to see that our proud line continues."
    "Proud line, yea right, were so proud we'll marry our sons off to other guys just to fill our fat stomach. Well if you're so determined to carry on the line, the zoo just got a female Panda in. I'm sure they'd be happy to marry the pair of you. As for me, I'm leaving, and you'd better not try and stop me old man." Ranma turned her back on Genma and walked away, her hair fairly bristling with outrage, how dare he, how dare he, how dare he. She was a guy, damit. How dare he even suggest such a thing, the, the, the, PEVERT!!!

    Genma watched as Ranma turned a corner and disappeared from his sight. His gaze shifted to the pack laying in the middle of the road where it had fallen after Ranma had flung it at him when he had broached the idea of marriage. Ranma would be back, if only for her supplies. Genma had better be ready when she did so. He looked around, and spied a heavy roadside hedge, a field on the other side would make a good campsite, and would give Genma some privacy for what he needed to do.


    Ranma cautiously peaked around the corner, ready to snatch her head back if Genma was out in the open looking in her direction. She felt a proper fool, stalking off like that and forgetting all her supplies. She'd never hear the end of it. She would just sneak into camp, snag the back pack when pop fell asleep, and get the hell out of here. If she gave pop a week or so she was sure he would forget this whole crazy idea, but until then she needed the supplies in that pack.
    Not seeing anyone, Ranma came fully around the corner and carefully made her way to the hedge behind which she could see a small stream of smoke coming from the fire Genma would have made to heat his evening meal. So far so good, she thought. Creeping silently along she made it to the hedge, and brushing a few branches out of the way peered through it at the campsite Genma had set up.
    The sight she saw brought her crashing through the hedge and into the clearing on the other side.
    "Are you crazy?!? What the heck are you doing pop?!?"
    
    Genma looked up from where he knelt in front of a clean white cloth. A ceremonial knife griped in his hand. "I am restoring our family honor in the only way I can, because of my mistake, are clan will be no more. I must atone for my error." Pressing the tip of the knife against his bare stomach, her gritted his teeth and pressed, the blade sank an inch or two into his hard muscled belly and he hastily placed a hand bearing a clean cloth against the wound to prevent the blood that welled out from fouling his pants.
    "No!!" Ranma screamed. Diving forward she grasped Genma's hand and tried to pull the knife free. Genma resisted and the knife sank another inch or so into his belly, drawing a pained gasp from the stocky martial artist. Horrified, Ranma snatched her hands free of Genma's before she caused him to finish the stroke that would end his life.
    "Please, don't do this." She begged. "You don't have to do this."
    "I must, I have no choice, there is no other option, you made me see that, it is the only way." Genma said. Gritting his teeth, he prepared to make the final thrust that would end his life and restore his honor.
    "I'll marry him!!" Ranma cried out. "If it means that much to you, I'll marry him" She repeated in a faint whisper. "Only please, don't do this pop."
    "Do you promise? Will you restore your clan's prospects?"
    "Hai," Ranma said, eyes lowered. "If it's that important to you, I'll keep your end of the bargain with Mr. Masaki."

    Genma agreed to forgo his suicide, but he refused to go to a doctor. He pulled the knife free of the wound it had made, and without removing the white cloth he had used to staunch the flow of blood, bound it in place.
    "A true martial artist must be able to ignore little scratches like this Ranma. Why I've done worse shaving." Genma laughed and then bit back a curse as he clutched his stomach in pain. He waved Ranma off when she would have come to his aid. "I'm fine, you just carry both our packs for the next few days and I'll be right as rain."

    Genma looked up the road to where Ranma labored under the twin burdens of both her's and Genma's packs. Making sure Ranma was not looking Genma surreptitiously tossed the prop knife he had used to fool her into a nearby ditch. It had been well worth the thousand and fifty yen he had paid for it. The fake blood in the rubber handle, the retractable blade, all had worked perfectly. Thanks to it, he had passed the biggest obstacle to his happy retirement.

    Ranma gritted her teeth. Stupid old man, why'd he have to do such a stupid thing? Was he crazy? Well Ranma may have promised to follow through on pop's promise, but she was only one side of the bargain. This Tenchi guy still had to agree to marry her, and by the time Ranma was through displaying her feminine charms, she would be the last girl on earth he would ever want to share a room with, little lone marry. Yep, she gave it a week at the most, then she'd be free to start looking for a cure.

End Chapter 1