A Ranma ½ fanfict by Tangent

DISCLAIMER: ‘Ranma ½’ and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz Video. This fanfict has been produced for my own enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga, anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic books!).

A WORD FROM TANGENT: I thought I’d try my hand at a sort of ‘Ranma – the Next Generation’ type of story. I’ve seen a few now, some good, some bad (and I’m not saying which is which). I do hope that you enjoy my contribution to the genre, in which we discover that Ranma and Akane have produced three children, but only one of them inherits the curse…

About sixteen years prior to the story…

Ranma was holding his one-year-old daughter, Miku, as he walked into the recovery room where his wife, Akane, was waiting. Any moment now, Akane would wake up, and the doctors would bring their newborn son in to them. He wished that he could have been there for his son’s birth, but he had been visiting his mother, Nodoka, at Juban General Hospital when Akane went into labor. As it was, he got to Nerima General Hospital too late for the delivery of his son and just in time to receive a call from his father informing him that he was now a brother to a beautiful baby girl.

"Here, let me hold Miku," said Ryoga, coming up behind Ranma. "You’ll want your hands free when they bring in your son."

"Thanks, Ryoga," Ranma said as he carefully handed over his precious little girl. "So…how’s Nabiki doing? I thought she’d be here, since she’s the one who called me."

"She’s in another room nursing our son." Ryoga informed his brother-in-law. "She wanted some privacy. She’ll be in when Makoto’s had his fill."

"I would’ve thought Nabiki would insist on using a bottle myself," Ranma mused. "Still, you never can tell. How old is he now? Two, three months?"

"Eleven weeks, so almost three months," Ryoga chuckled. "Nabiki tells me that Akane has you wet-nursing when she needs a break."

"Please," Ranma groaned. "Don’t remind me," he sighed. "You’re lucky that you turn into a pig, Ryoga. Cologne and Dr. Tofu are still wondering how my cursed form ‘knew’ I was a parent. Fathers aren’t supposed to get hormonal shifts!"

"Maybe Nabiki and I could get you to baby-sit for us," Ryoga joked.

"Not funny!" snapped Ranma, wincing at the idea. It was bad enough that he was going to be a second mother to his own kids. He didn’t particularly feel like breast-feeding anyone else’s children.

"R-Ranma…" Akane spoke aloud, having woken up to find her husband waiting by her bed. Ryoga moved to the side, to allow his brother-in-law some room.

"Yes, Akane?" Ranma responded gently.

"You missed the birth of our son," she chided. "Ranma no baka…" Akane made a weak attempt at playfully hitting him in the arm.

"I also missed the birth of my baby sister, Ranko, while I was on my way from Juban General to here. Mom was in labor when I got the call from Nabiki." Ranma felt honored when his father told him the name that they had chosen for his baby sister. It made him feel glad that his mother had such fond memories of ‘Ranko Tendo’, the role he had at first been forced to assume before Nodoka knew of his curse. He would have to go back to Juban tomorrow in order to visit with his parents and see Ranko Saotome. For a moment, he wished that Akane and his mother could have ended up in the same hospital for these blessed events.

"Things just never seem to go just right in our lives," Akane sighed wistfully.

"Nonsense, my love," Ranma chuckled. "We have two beautiful, healthy children. What could be better?"

"Speaking of which," said a nurse, as she came in with their baby boy. She handed the small bundle to Akane, then backed away as Ranma approached the bed. She was slightly worried about what the husband’s reaction to his son’s appearance might be, so she didn’t leave the room.

"This is your father, Kayin," Akane told the baby as she unwrapped some of the blanket that he was bundled in. Then she, Ranma, and Ryoga stared in mute shock at what they saw. Kayin had been born with wisps of bright red hair…

Ryoga and Nabiki Tendo (Nabiki insisted that he take her family name when they had married) waited at the airport with their two children. They were there in order to pick up Ranma and Akane, who had gone on an extended family training journey with their own three children shortly after Ranma had won the title of Grand-master of the Anything Goes School from Happosai. That had been six years ago, and they were finally coming home.

"Makoto, get back here!" Nabiki scolded her eldest child. "An airport is no place to get lost in!" This was a very serious concern, as Makoto seemed to have inherited the full brunt of his father’s former sense of misdirection. Why their other child, Yoiko, had not demonstrated this Hibiki family trait and how Ryoga had come to be cured of it when Makoto was born was beyond them. Given the circumstances, Nabiki had insisted that both of their children carry small global positioning units on their persons, just in case. Ryoga had a master unit that could track them, and there was another at home for Nabiki to use.

"He’s just impatient to be reunited with his friend, Kayin, Dear," Ryoga pointed out.

"I know," Nabiki conceded. "But do we really want to spring for airfare to get him back from wherever he would end up if he got lost here? The last time was bad enough, and he had somehow managed to get to Tasmania," she concluded dryly.

"Aww, Mom!" Makoto complained. "That wasn’t my fault! I don’t know how I got there! I swear I didn’t get on a plane!"

"Please don’t get lost again oneechan!" Yoiko wailed. "I’ll get lonely if you’re gone!"

"Don’t worry, imoutu-chan," Makoto comforted his sister. "I’ll stay put."

"Not to interrupt a touching moment," inserted Nabiki, who had just caught the moment with her digital video recorder. The device was the other reason that they were on this side of the airport gates, but Nabiki had been unwilling to give up on the opportunity to record the arrival of her little sister’s family. "But I do believe we know these people…" She considered it to be a good thing that there was plenty of battery power left.

"I’m hurt, Nabiki!" Ranma chided as he walked up, arm and arm with his wife, Akane. Their younger daughter, Hitomi, laughed from where she sat on his other shoulder. Miku and Kayin brought up the rear and were carrying all the luggage good naturedly (mostly because the family traveled light, with oh…maybe three hundred pounds of luggage at any one time. Any excess got shipped home or discarded). "I’d like to think that such a beautiful woman would remember me!" This earned him a playful thump on his arm from Akane.

"Be careful, stranger," Nabiki chided back. "My husband is quite strong, and he’s a jealous man!"

"I get the feeling that we’re being teased again, Akane," Ryoga chuckled.

"Hmm…You think?" Akane laughed.

"Hey! Makoto!" Kayin called out in greeting "Good to see you cousin!"

"Same here!" Makoto greeted in return. "We’ll have to spar later!"

"Not today though," Ranma put in. "Kayin and Miku will be demonstrating their skills to their grandparents tonight."

"Ugh!" the two in question groaned.

"I thought that you two were looking forward to this?" Akane prompted, curious about what seemed to be a change in their attitude.

"We are!" Kayin responded.

"It’s just…well…" Miku hemmed.

"Grandmother Nodoka’s all right…," Kayin added.

"And we’re really looking forward to being tested by elder Cologne when she comes to visit next month…" Miku continued.

"Yeah! Maybe she’ll agree to permit us to be trained in amazon techniques this time!" Kayin put in, becoming sidetracked. In the last letter exchange, they had been informed that Cologne had declared Makoto fit enough to be trained by his father in the Bakusai Tenketsu (Breaking Point) Technique. Kayin and Miku had thought that that would mean that they were ready to learn the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken Technique. Unfortunately, all their father had told them was that he would consider it if they could get a locket away from him long enough to correctly find out what was inside (no luck for either of them so far).

"Ahem!" Miku coughed politely to interrupt her brother. "But Grandfather Genma is…"

"A hardcase!" Kayin complained.

"Sexist!" Miku added.

"And an idiot," Ranma concluded before they could go on. "I know kids. He trained me at first, remember? He is a Master of the Anything Goes School however, and you will show him the respect he deserves."

"Okay!" the two chimed cheerfully, with mischievous expressions.

"Maybe you should rephrase that, Dear," Akane pointed out.

"Naw," Ranma said in negation. "The old man needs to be taken down a peg."

"Yeah, Mom!" Kayin put in. "He refused to train Ranko in the art!"

"And she wanted to train so badly too!" Miku added.

"She was crying when we left!" Kayin snarled. Miku stopped at this, as her brother usually didn’t loose his temper this badly. The anger was quite evident on his normally cheerful features, and such anger in him was generally taken as a bad sign by the family (as opposed to the same amount of anger demonstrated by Miku, who was more like her mother when Akane was about the same age). Few things could set off Kayin more than making his sisters cry, and he had always considered Ranko more as another sister than one of his aunts. Everyone gave him a moment to calm down.

"Don’t be too upset, Kayin," Nabiki commented dryly after a moment. "After you all left six years ago, Daddy and Ryoga took up her training with Nodoka’s approval. Genma tried to protest, claiming that being the heir to the School of the Righteous Blade ought to be enough, but Aunt Nodoka forced the point."

"All right!" Kayin cheered. "That’s the spirit!"

"Just one School isn’t enough for a Saotome!" Miku added enthusiastically.

"Can I learn the Blade?" Hitomi asked, bringing the conversation to its second abrupt halt. Ranma and Akane looked at eachother. While Hitomi was indeed a student of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, just like her older siblings, she had been showing signs of growing disinterested in training seriously. While she had fun training with Miku and Kayin, she had little desire to become a shadow to her older siblings. Besides, being trained in the Righteous Blade meant spending more time with their grandmother Nodoka and aunt Ranko than Miku or Kayin would be able to.

"You will have to ask your grandmother, Hitomi," Ranma stated gently. "But I think she will be honored if you asked." With that, they left the airport, taking Ryoga’s van to the Saotome/Tendo estate.

SCENE CHANGE: The Tendo/Saotome home in Nerima.

Makoto looked on as his cousin, Kayin, reclaimed his territory of old: the kitchen. He was amazed at the flurry of activity as his friend rearranged things to his liking and then set about cleaning every conceivable surface, utility, and utensil until they shone. Hitomi and Yoiko giggled and laughed as they helped, but it was obvious who the true master of this domain was. Kayin, like his aunt Kasumi, took great joy in the kitchen, having learned how to cook first from his father, then from Kasumi herself. He was just a heck of a lot more energetic about it though. Makoto shook his head, bemused.

"Something wrong Makoto?" Kayin asked as he casually tossed knives into a wooden holding block across the room. Each one slid into its own slot with an ease that demonstrated much practice.

"You’ve improved while you were away…in the kitchen, I mean," Makoto started. "I thought that you would be cooking camp-style during your training journey…"

"Martial arts weren’t the only thing I studied, you know," Kayin informed his friend. "And while I did do plenty of camp cooking, we also stayed in apartments and hotels at various places. I preferred the apartments of course…they usually came with kitchens or kitchenettes." This earned a chuckle from Makoto.

"So…did Miku ever learn anything?" Makoto asked.

"Not for lack of trying," Kayin sighed. His older sister had apparently taken after her mother as far as cooking was concerned. While Akane had improved slightly over the years, and just tended to make a huge mess whenever she tried to cook (which was seldom…Kayin kept chasing her out of the kitchen unless she was really determined), Miku’s cooking was as completely inedible as her mother’s used to be. "Her…unique talent…in the kitchen saved her from an engagement to this really weird French family though. I’ll have to tell you about it sometime."

"Still bad, eh?" Makoto chuckled lightly.

"Bad isn’t the word I would use right now." Kayin pointed out.

"Oh? Why not?" Makoto wondered curiously.

"I DON’T BELIEVE YOU TWO! NOT ONE DAY BACK AND YOU’RE BOTH ALREADY TEASING ME!" Miku screamed from where she had come upon them. She then promptly began to vent her frustrations on the closer of the two, which happened to be Makoto. After a cathartic thrashing and pummeling which left Makoto with a few dislocated joints and a feeling of having been hit by a truck, Miku stormed off.

"To answer your earlier question, my friend," Kayin started once he was sure that Miku was out of earshot. "She was standing right behind you."

"I…ah…see…" Makoto replied, a bit dazed by the pain that had been inflicted on his person. "As sweet tempered…as always I take it? Ite! She…sure hasn’t lost her touch!"

"I thought you were learning the Bakusai Tenketsu?" Kayin asked.

"It helps…with blunt trauma," Makoto informed him between gasps of pain. "Not…joint manipulation."

"How about I take you to Dr. Tofu’s so either he or Aunt Kasumi can straighten you out?" Kayin offered. "Then you can help me get some ingredients for tonight’s dinner."

"Deal," Makoto agreed.

Later, Miku and Kayin sparred as their gathered family watched on. Makoto sat with his sister and parents over by Tofu and Kasumi Ono and their children. Somewhat forward of them and to the left sat Ranma and Akane with their youngest child, Hitomi. Also somewhat forward, but to the right, sat Genma and Nodoka with Ranma’s sister, Ranko. Soun Tendo, too excited to stay put for long; sat near whichever party he ended up next to after the occasional bout of cheering (his second wife, Hinako, just looked on in amusement as she held their five-year-old son). The match itself was ostensibly being held over the koi pond in the back yard, but Kayin and Miku fought wherever their whim and the flow of the battle took them.

For the past hour they had fought over, in, and around the koi pond as well as on the dojo, in the tree, or in the midst of their audience. During the fight, they used every strike, block, and evasion that their parents had taught them to this date, demonstrating how well they had learned the techniques of the Anything Goes School, as well as the techniques of a dozen or so other fighting styles. Kayin glanced into his sister’s eyes during another exchange of blows, and nodded his head imperceptibly towards grandfather Genma and winked. Not knowing what he had in mind, but aware that it would annoy Genma, Miku smirked and winked back. They broke and took positions facing eachother across the koi pond.

"And now…" Kayin began dramatically. "Behold a technique so terrible, so secret…that I just made it up on the way home from the airport!" He took something from his shirt and unfurled it with flourish. "SAOTOME SECRET TECHNIQUE: SUPER SILLY RIBBON TICKLE ATTACK!" With that and a flick of his wrist, the rhythmic gymnastics ribbon whipped out again and again towards his stunned sister, tickling her mercilessly. Giggling uncontrollably, Miku began to run away.

Genma, who had been impressed with the match up to this point, was a bit upset about this turn of events. To make matters worse, the rest of the gathered audience had started to laugh in amusement over Kayin and Miku’s antics. After a moment, he had had enough. "Kayin! Stop this! You are fighting like a girl!"

Kayin stopped, took a bow, and said, "Why thank you, grandpa panda! Some of the best fighters I know are girls!" Standing up again he continued. "Right Mom? Miku?" Everyone (but Genma) roared in laughter at this point.

"Why you…" Genma started as he began to get up, only to be snagged by Kayin’s ribbon. Kayin fluidly followed the flick of his wrist with a double-arm yank and full body twist that launched Genma into the koi pond. Hitomi squealed in delight, and caught up in the spirit of the moment, threw her father in after her now pandafied grandfather. A quick glance at his own daughter prevented Ryoga from following suit, but Yoiko giggled anyway at the thought.

"Ya gotta admit, Pop," Ranma-onna told the grumpy panda as she got out of the pond. "My boy got you pretty good."

END

NOTES: At this point, Lord Talon has requested a genealogy be included to provide a sort of ‘who’s who’ for the story.

Ranma and Akane have married and have three children: Miku, age seventeen, female; Kayin, age fifteen (turning sixteen in about a month), male; and Hitomi, age ten, female. Kayin is the only child to have inherited the red hair of his father’s cursed form, and is in for a bit of a surprise on his sixteenth birthday (when he will find out that he inherited more of his father’s curse than just the red hair).

Ryoga and Nabiki have married and have two children: Makoto, age sixteen (he’s almost three months older than Kayin), male; and Yoiko, age ten (whether or not she’s older or younger than Hitomi has yet to be determined), female. Makoto hasn’t so much inherited his father’s former sense of misdirection as he has literally taken it directly from Ryoga when he was born. This is because it was a Hibiki family curse, and Ryoga became the ‘last Hibiki’, so to speak, when he accepted the Tendo family name. For this reason, Makoto is the last in the line to receive that particular curse (I just thought that I’d explain that here, as it isn’t likely to come up in the story).

Neither Makoto nor Yoiko have shown any sign of inheriting the other curse from their father.

Genma and Nodoka reconciled their differences long enough to have produced a daughter that they named Ranko. She has the exact same birthday as Kayin and looks almost exactly like her brother’s cursed form (except that her hair is black, not red). This is just some sort of cosmic coincidence, really (riiiight).

Hinako has finally gotten her hands on Soun Tendo and married him (don’t worry, she’s been cured of her condition). They have a five-year-old son to whom I have yet to assign a name.

Dr. Tofu has finally married Kasumi, and they have an as yet unspecified number of children.