Hana was prepping dinner with Naoki and Katsumi when a soft, polite "Ahem," interrupted their flow. All 6 eyes turned and stared at the man standing in the kitchen doorway. He was only wearing a gi, a white bandana covering his head, and a pair of glasses.

  "Sorry about this, I'm Genma Saotome," he said with a bow.

  Was he damp? Katsumi thought. It had rained hours ago at this point.

  Hana was composed enough not to express her irritation at his impropriety. He hadn't even knocked! "Oh, Mr. Saotome. Your daughter told us you'd show up eventually. Please, let me take you to the living room, she's sparring with my youngest son at the moment. I don't know where your, uh…panda got off to."

  She gestured at her boys to keep going, which elicited groans of protest but no disagreement. Before she followed Mr. Saotome she grabbed a bottle of good wine and a couple of glasses, thought a moment, and then a second bottle.

  Genma politely sat down and waited for Hana to take her place, eyeing the wine nervously. The lady of the house made sure to keep her voice even as she laid into him. "Mr. Saotome! I understand you and your daughter have been traveling alone together for quite some time but to leave a young woman alone on the city streets like that? I hope you have the decency to be ashamed of yourself."

  That caught him off guard, but he nodded slowly. "You're right. I will apologize to hi…the next time I see Ranma. And thank you for being so kind when h…to my child." He looked out at the tree in the yard, listened to the wind chimes, smelled the breeze. Hana could see turmoil in his eyes. "I had hoped Soun would be here, especially on a Sunday." He couldn't bear to look at her face, but he could sense that it softened as soon as he began speaking. "A-a-a-and…I apologize for being direct, but can you confirm my suspicion?" Eyes reddening, he looked at her again, noting the sorrow on her face as well. "Is Mr. Tendo…is Soun going to be here tonight?"

  Hana's crestfallen face told him everything he needed to know. Tears began to flow from his eyes, somehow without sobbing. "I…am sorry," he began as she started opening the first bottle. "Despite my rudeness, and if it's not too much could you tell me when? And how?"

  She sighed as she poured them both a glass and raised hers. "To Soun, the only man I've ever loved," she toasted.

  "To Soun, my b--best friend," Mr. Saotome managed to say.

  An illness had taken him over ten years ago, when Akio and Naoki were still young. Genma was shocked and admonished himself for not knowing that his friend had been suffering and never came to visit. Hana explained that he only ever spoke fondly of Genma. "Though sometimes what you were both doing didn't sound very proper," she teased, which got him to chuckle.

  In exchange he shared a few of his favorite memories of Soun, mostly about the ways they worked together to strike back against their sensei. She listened intently, sad that she'd never gotten a chance to hear these stories from her husband but happy she was getting to learn new things about him after all these years.

  "Your master sounds like a demon!" she exclaimed at some point. "Is he still around? Will we have to worry about him?" Genma looked a little embarrassed, though that could have just been the third glass of wine.

  "Well, despite our many attempts to rid ourselves of his particular brand of evil, we never succeeded. One day he just didn't come back to camp. We checked the local village the next day and it turned out he'd drank himself into a stupor, fallen into the creek, and drowned. Completely by happenstance."

  Hana was aghast. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said reflexively.

  Genma guffawed to Hana's confusion. "While we were arranging his funeral, we shared the story to the attendant. She also said she was sorry. It was Soun who…to quote Soun himself: 'Well someone has to be.'"

  A sob wracked the middle of his chuckle and Hana found herself cackling. Oh, oh my I should cut back on the wine. Haven't had this much since Katsumi graduated.

  That sounded like her Soun. His sense of humor was surprising. He could project an air of stoic composure and keep a perfectly straight face even while delivering the most untoward and off-color jokes she'd ever heard. Now she understood a little bit better how he got that way.

  The two sat and stared out at the koi pond before Hana broke the silence again. "Mr. Saotome, I'm so sorry I had to break this news to you. I understand you'll want time to process things but I have to ask: why are you here?"

  Ranma stared at his stuff in the guest room. He wondered how it got there before realizing his dad probably did it. Well, this was his chance to squirrel away before—

  "Hey, girl!" sang Naoki's cheery voice. Ranma anxiously spun and saw him drying his hair with a towel. "Bath's ready for you. No offense but I can smell you from here."

  Ranma politely smiled and tried to deflect, "Oh, no, I'm fine, you don't have to—"

  "No, no, I'm really afraid I must insist. If you're going to be a guest at mama's table, you're gonna have to get clean. You do have something else to wear, right?" Ranma looked at his ratty bag and then back to the Tendo boy. "Ugh, okay, if you come to my room after your bath I'll let you pick through the things my girl friends have left over. None of them were quite as blessed as you in the chest department but we can squeeze you in to something." He disappeared before noticing the blood completely drain out of Ranma's face.

  Well, obviously that's not gonna happen , the pigtailed boy thought, while simultaneously picturing himself in a cute set of overalls over a t-shirt. But a bath does sound really nice right now.

  Akio was stretching in his room, thinking back over the fight. That wasn't quite right, he was just thinking about Ranma. About the way his opponent moved, with all those muscles gracefully dancing under her smooth skin. He was good and humbled, that was for sure, but in the aftermath of their match he was hungry to do it again. And again. Yeah he'd disappointed himself, and probably her too, but that was okay: he'd just keep getting better until he could at least challenge her!

  As he touched his elbows to the ground, feeling the stretch through his hamstrings and quads, his recollection turned to fantasy. There they were, facing each other again for the hundredth time. She finally respected him enough to take a proper stance, and his was lighter, bouncier than he'd learned. He threw the first punch: a tradition they began in this very dojo. She swatted it away, grinning. He followed up with a kick, which she fluidly ducked under.

  She would get inside of his range with her incredible speed and tag him with rabbit punches, knee strikes, and elbows but he'd be used to this, of course. It was a dance by then. At one point he'd try a front kick just to create some space, but she'd use his own leg as a springboard to launch herself into the air. Instead of trying to take advantage of her being in the air with a followup strike, he would hold his arms out and she'd twist to land in them, purposefully. They would laugh, he'd spin them around as she hooked her arms around his neck, they locked eyes and leaned in to—

  Katsumi shattered his reverie. "Hey 'kio, it's gonna be dinner soon and you stink after that fight with your new girlfriend." He grinned. Akio had never had that kind of chemistry with anyone, not even the other martial artist girls at school. Or boys for that matter, and he'd received plenty of love letters from both. Even better, Katsumi had taken a moment to observe his brother staring into space with a dumb grin on his face and rapidly reddening cheeks. Once he saw drool at the edges of his mouth he couldn't stand it anymore.

  Akio started and turned red, then his leg started cramping up. "Girlf-no! We're just sparring partners! I mean not like partners, I'm more like her punching bag, I mean she's waybetterthanmeand—"

  Katsumi held up his hands to punctuate his words. "Whoa! Sorry man, my mistake. You still need a bath. Just make sure to knock before you go in this time, remember that there's a lady visiting," he chided over his shoulder.

  His brother grumbled in agreement and headed to the bath with a slight limp.

  By the time he got there he was already back on Cloud 9, and absent-mindedly got undressed. I bet she knows how to pick out really authentic Chinese restaurants. I should see if she wants to check one out sometime. Just friends chilling out. She'll need someone to show her the neighborhood anyway. Especially if she's staying. I hope her dad is cool and they end up staying nearby. Maybe I'll get to go to school with her? She looked the right age.

  At the same time not 6 feet away, Ranma Saotome, once again in his dark-haired base form, sat brooding, stewing, and fuming in the furo. They're gonna figure out sooner or later anyway, right? Plus I'm sure dad's found some hot water by now, I heard a tea kettle go off earlier.

  He sighed and sunk lower, sprawling out under the surface of the water. Baths didn't have the same appeal they used to. It was nice to calm his muscles after a fight but it just didn't feel right to soak anymore. He used to take really long, hot baths. Maybe that was just part of getting older? Well, I can't stay in here all day, might as well just get this over with, he thought and stood up, right as Akio slid the door open. Their eyes caught each other first, but Akio glanced down, then back up, before wordlessly sliding the door closed again.

  Oh! Ranma thought while turning redder than his silk shirt. I guess that didn't go as bad as I thought—

  "Kiaaaaiiiii!" came a horrifying shout as Akio slid open the door again and dove through, wearing just his gi jacket.

  "Kiaaaaiiiii!" echoed through the whole house, as did the subsequent sounds of a fight: raised voices, things getting knocked over, splashing. Everyone sprinted to the bathroom to see Ranma, naked, coiled around Akio's back while the Tendo boy crushed him into the corner of the room. Ranma had an arm wrapped around Akio's neck but the larger boy was keeping him from squeezing. Nobody could tell who was winning per-se. The Tendos all looked at Ranma with murder in their eyes. "Who are you?" "Who is that?" "Akio are you okay?" they asked, looking for an opening.

  Ranma remembered this. He remembered this exact thing happening once, years ago. He was in the showers at school, cleaning up after recess. His best friend was there. They were talking and…all the other students…No. He would not let that memory take hold: he was in a fight,

  Akio grunted, "Don't worry, he can't hold his breath forever!" and pushed back even harder to emphasize his point. Ranma had his arms and legs locked around Akio but the Tendo boy was right: he was at a disadvantage and wouldn't be able to maintain this hold much longer. There wasn't as much room to maneuver in the bathroom, and Akio had gone for grabs instead.

  "Ranma, are you okay?" Mr. Saotome exclaimed, which confused the Tendos. All movement stopped and all eyes were on him.

  "Oh yeah…peachy!" he managed to sass. Akio stopped putting his power into crushing the bathroom pervert but didn't move, keeping him pinned. Ranma gasped for air while he had the chance.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "What the hell is going on here, Saotome?" Hana asked, furious. "This is not the little girl that came here earlier who said she was Ranma."

  Genma was capable of spinning a yarn and commiting to a bit, he'd had to do it enough times on the road to garner sympathy. But he lacked Ranma's quick wit and improvisational skills, so he opted to go with a straightforward demonstration. "Okay. This is Ranma. We got caught in the rain earlier and because of a curse we both picked up in China, he turned into a girl. I was that 'pet' panda. And I'll prove it," he said while walking into the cramped room and up to the shower.

  Katsumi was about to say something about delusional hucksters and how they should throw the Saotomes out on the street as Genma turned on the cold water. Suddenly the already-crowded bathroom was full of a giant panda, who slowly turned to the assembled Tendos and shrugged, his glasses hanging off one side of his face.

  Akio fully lost focus as a faceful of panda fur distracted him, and Ranma used the opportunity to slip out and dive for the other corner of the room where he snatched up a towel and wrapped it around his hips. "H-h-he…hah…c-c-can't talk as…hah…p-panda."

  Their stares hadn't stopped and now that he could breathe he was right back in middle school. He could feel the shame and embarrassment in his face. But Mrs. Tendo nodded, "Okay, you've got five minutes. Do not leave the building." Even as a panda, Genma's look of contritition was evident. He nodded and the Tendos filed out around him. Only Akio glanced at Ranma as they exited. Adrenaline and shock were still coursing through his system but he could see her in the dark-haired boy now. Before he stepped out he swore he saw tears in his eyes. He fought the urge to run over and comfort their guest and felt a simultaneous pang of guilt for abandoning him.

  Once the door was closed, Genma wrapped his child up in a hug. Ranma was too shocked to refuse at first, and he gripped his father's sides to return it. He didn't realize what was happening until a single sob burst out of his lips. For a brief second, his facade cracked. Genma heard it and squeezed tighter. That slight touch, meant to comfort, snapped Ranma back to reality: his reality. Real men don't cry, and he didn't want to cry anyway, because nothing had happened that made him need to cry. Summoning rage from his shame he lashed out at his father. "Get offa me you…you bear!" he shouted and pushed hard enough that the bear slammed against the wall, rattling the shower.

  Ranma refused to reveal his feelings right now. He'd almost slipped: sometimes it was hard to remember that the panda was a person, and his father at that. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

  Genma shakily stepped into the furo, still warm from Ranma's bath earlier, and quickly shrank back to his human form. "Sorry son. Take the time you need, I'll make sure to take responsibility for this."

  Fighting back tears, Ranma spat "I don't need time , I was just at a disadvantage. I kicked his ass earlier in the dojo as a girl, so I'm not scared or anything. The only one who should be embarrassed here is you because this is all your fault!"

  His father swallowed his pride and nodded. "I'm sorry Ranma. You're right." He couldn't afford to push his son away now. It didn't happen as often as it used to, but the boy had a tendency to run if things started getting tough. That was Genma's failure as a father though, the inevitable result of how he used to treat him.

  "You're damn right I'm right," Ranma muttered. "Now these people think w-we're, h-home invaders and p-perverts or something."

  With sigh and a nod, Genma exited the furo and started wringing out his gi. "Perhaps. We'll go apologize— I'll go apologize and we'll go find somewhere to stay, okay? I just want you to come with me so that they don't think I've sent you to steal their jewelry or something."

  Ranma grumbled but knew that was the smart thing to do. Last thing either of them wanted was to get the cops called on 'em.

  Hana was furious. Mostly at herself, for having that third glass of wine. She knew she wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. She felt betrayed, made a fool of, cheated, entrapped…and several other words. It was important that she direct that anger at the elder Saotome though. And even then, she recognized that just explaining their strange condition would have been difficult no matter the circumstance.

  But the reason it was important wasn't because Mr. Saotome particularly deserved grace, but because his daught…son was clearly hurting. She'd raised three boys by herself since the youngest was 5, and she'd seen that hurt before. When Katsumi thought he wasn't smart enough, when Naoki thought there was something wrong with him and Akio, sweet Akio, whenever he broke something, they had That Look.

  It wasn't that the alcohol made her more likely to forgive or forget. It made her mad, it made her proud, it made her cruel. That's why she was so mad at herself. Fortunately, she knew how it affected her. Most importantly, she knew what to do when she was in this state. She needed to outsource.

  "Okay boys," she began at the tatami in the living room. "I need a gut check. What are your thoughts?"

  Katsumi was burning up. The boy wanted to be a doctor, had since he was 9. The logical, analytical, rational part of his brain screamed that this whole situation was impossible. But that just made it all the more tantalizing . Now that the perceived threat to his family had passed he saw an opportunity to study something that he'd never heard of before.

  "Nothing about this makes sense and I don't like it," he began. "But so long as they behave themselves I see no reason to kick them out, at least not tonight." A thoughtful expression came to his face before he continued. "Plus if it's just the two of them we don't have to worry about the legal or logistical issues of keeping a panda around."

  Hana nodded, rolled her eyes at what she assumed was his attempt at a joke, and looked to her middle child.

  Naoki was uncharacteristically quiet as he drummed his fingers against his lips, though not because he was conflicted about letting them stay. He was certain they should, in the brief moment he'd seen Ranma's boy form he saw the same sense of desperate fear he'd seen on dozens of kids' faces, that he was sure he'd had on his own at least once. Fear, shame, disgust, oh yes, Naoki knew what that looked like, and his heart ached for the cute boy.

  Sighing, he thought about three of his friends who would kill to be able to do what Ranma could do, in either direction. He didn't know if he should introduce them or not. That's when he realized his mother was looking right at him. "I'm sorry mama, what?" he asked with a blush.

  "I asked what your thoughts were on the situation. I'm considering what to do about our guests." She was pretty sure she knew what Naoki was gonna say. And she was pretty sure why exactly he was lost in thought. He'd brought over enough "strays" the past few years that she figured his instincts were telling him to adopt Ranma as well.

  "Oh. I mean they haven't actually done anything wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if they were gonna tell us anyway. Hard to keep something like that a secret. I'm betting someone just walked in on somebody else mid-bath without knocking then flew off the handle," he chided Akio. "Don't think I didn't recognize that ' kiai ' of yours earlier."

  His youngest brother groaned and hung his head. Especially since Katsumi had called out his bad habit minutes before it happened. Like his brothers he didn't want to send their guests away. But something was bothering him. He didn't know if he should be feeling betrayed like he was. When he first met Ranma, he thought he was meeting the cutest girl he'd ever seen and everything since that first moment just made her… him more and more attractive to him. And he recognized that look on Ranma's face too. He'd seen it on Naoki's face once, when Akio had walked in on him in the bathroom with another boy. There was a fight then, too, when he thought the stranger had been attacking his brother.

  Ranma couldn't have meant for that to happen though, right? Her… his dad said something about cold water? And it had been raining right before they showed up. Sh…Ranma couldn't control how Akio would respond to him as a girl any more than the girls he'd grown up with, right? It's not like he'd been wearing girls' clothes.

  He still felt like an idiot, but he reminded himself that martial arts was about protecting others when they needed it. He thought about what his dad would do in this situation, and took a deep breath.

  "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. You're right, I just walked in without thinking. But Naoki's right: they haven't actually done anything wrong," he couldn't help but turn a little pink as he said it. "The dad's here now, let's let him explain things and they can leave tomorrow or something."

  Hana was so proud of her sons. They were wary but still ready to reach out with a willing hand. With wetness in her eyes she stood up and beckoned them to her for a hug. With more than a little embarassment, and Naoki's ineffectual protest of "Moooooom…", the Tendos embraced as a family.

  She squeezed, told her boys how proud she was of them, and the hug was over. Wiping a few errant tears from her eyes she sat back down. "Okay. Katsumi, will you get me a glass of water? The whole pitcher actually, mama's got a headache."

  After everyone had a chance to settle back down in the living room Ranma and Genma sat opposite the Tendo sons, silhouetted by the night sky. Ranma frowned when he confirmed they were still all taller than him, even as a boy. Katsumi looked the angriest, a glare on his glasses concealing the fury in his eyes. Naoki kept scratching his chin as he looked Ranma up and down. Akio though…Akio looked okay, all things considered. He was staring at Ranma without any kind of malice, just…confusion. Ranma also thought he saw disappointment. Which was fair, he felt kinda disappointed in himself right now too.

  Hana was seated on the side of the table between the groups, rubbing her temples.

  Genma had a stoic air about him, despite being cold and damp. Ranma fidgeted a little, hoping someone would say something. Hana did, after a moment. "Ranma?" The question felt less like a question and more like a demand.

  "Obviously I saw your father turn into a panda. I feel like my eyes are still playing tricks on me. Do you feel comfortable demonstrating that you are also cursed? I just feel like I can't believe it until I see that too."

  Ranma thought about it. If nothing else, it'd give him the advantage in compactness in a small space like the living room, in case Akio attacked him again. Even in his boy form, he didn't know if he could do much against all that power that the other boy had, so he should prioritize—

  No, no. Akio wasn't going to attack him. The situation had been defused.

  Still, he felt like he was ready to crawl out of his own skin. He wondered if they'd feel more or less betrayed if he assumed the form they'd first met him in. Or would they just assume he was an impostor from now on?

  Ultimately he decided that staying on Mrs. Tendo's good side took priority. If she'd asked him to, he'd jump off the roof. Then something taller if she didn't think that was enough high enough.

  "I can do that," he replied. "Do…do you want me to do it right here or can I like, go to the bathroom?"

  She considered his question and asked, "How much do you need? Will a glass of water be enough?" Indicating the glasses and pitcher on the table.

  He hadn't really experimented with how much water triggered the change, but considering that someone had spilled a cup of tea on him was enough to trigger the change at one point a glass would probably be fine. "Yes ma'am," he practically saluted and grabbed a glass, filled it up, and walked out into the garden so that the floor wouldn't get wet. After a quick splash he'd been replaced by his red-or-maybe-pink-haired doppelganger.

  Ranma kept his eyes on the Tendo sons' reactions, hoping they'd soften and stop staring at him like an intruder. It might have worked? Katsumi's scowl marginally lightened, Naoki kept running his eyes over Ranma's body like he was trying to mentally dissect him, and Akio…

  The pigtailed boy swore Akio's face brightened just before the youngest Tendo blushed and averted his gaze. Ranma felt his heart beat a little faster in response, justifying it as relief. He'd been preparing for disappointment if Akio…if any of the Tendos had looked at him like some sort of, of…predator. The moment in the dojo earlier when he'd sparred with Akio had felt like such a good first impression, he didn't want that feeling to stop.

  Genma, however, was watching Hana's reaction, and noticed that she wasn't even looking at Ranma: she was also looking at her sons, and had a thoughtful expression on her face.

  "Thank you Ranma, if you want to use the facilities to change back now I'll understand," Hana said without any obvious change in her mood. "I want to say this is impossible but Soun had enough stories about magic and the supernatural that it would be foolish of me not to believe you at this point."

  "Oh, uh, thank you Mrs. Tendo," Ranma bowed politely. Both Akio and Katsumi blushed a little.

  That was…frustratingly adorable, thought the eldest Tendo son. While still processing the shock from earlier he was running through all the ways this violated so many natural laws. Conservation of mass, conservation of energy, biology, genetics, no to mention the metaphysical questions raised by the existence of curses. He wondered how this affected Ranma's hormones, muscle mass, weight. She had to be lighter than him , right?

  Curses…he thought of the many books in Dr. Tofu's office just a few blocks away where he worked as a nur…physician's assistant. The good doctor was well educated but an insistence on a traditional, hollistic approach — which Katsumi had previously looked down on as quaint at best — meant that there were a number of treatises on strange maladies and afflictions scattered throughout the bookshelves. With only a little irritation he knew he'd have to take a look at those.

  Akio was dealing with an entirely different set of internal discussions. He didn't care so much about how the curse worked, he cared more about it was affecting him. So she's actually a boy. Why do I feel disappointed about this? I mean that's normal, isn't it? She's a.. he's a knockout as a girl. Wait, no, he's not a knockout, that doesn't make sense, guys can't be knockouts, he's just kind of cute for a guy.

  It took a second for his last thought to properly process. I mean guys aren't cute! They're cool! We're cool! I mean some girls say we're cute, and Naoki definitely thinks some guys are cute, but I've never felt that way about a guy before. Or a girl, I guess.

  His thoughts were flitting through his skull so quickly he wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but did key into Ranma's response to his mother. "I'll take care of that later, I know y'all still have questions." Akio stared as the pigtailed martial artist girl… boy sat back down at the tatami. They caught each other's gaze for a moment and Akio's heart leapt as she gave him a relieved smile.

  Genma and Hana were both watching their children's reactions closely while Naoki watched theirs. The middle Tendo son could tell the parents were thinking something. He knew his mother, she could be a lot when she wanted to be. He locked eyes at one point with Mr. Saotome and the two sized each other up. Naoki would have to act first before he could take control of the situation.

  "So, Mr. Saotome, now that all the misunderstandings have been cleared up, this morning we were all very curious about why you two decided to show up now. Does it have something to do with the, uh…curse?" He realized that he felt self-conscious using that word, curse . It felt strange to discuss something otherworldly so casually.

  Ranma took the opportunity to glare at his dad. "Oh that would make sense, wouldn't it? Except we got cursed in China barely two weeks ago and he decides now was the best time to come try to marry me off," he spat accusatorily, not expecting or prepared for the reaction that would cause.

  "What!?" every Tendo shouted in unison, directed at Genma. The old man nervously waved his hands in front of him, as if that'd protect him from the combined fury of the Tendo household. "What the fuck is sh-…he talking about, Mr. Saotome?" Hana demanded, the swear not even registering with her sons. "What were you hoping your old friend only had daughters so that you could swoop in and steal his dojo from him through some sort of arranged betrothal?" She was visibly shaking at this point, a mixture of betrayal and wrath pouring out of her aura.

  "No! No I swear it was nothing like that!" Genma sputtered, giving Ranma murderous side-eye after being thrown under the bus. "Soun and I made a promise after our master died that we'd go our separate ways, get established separately, and then come back together in a few decades to unite our houses, to reunite the Schools of Anything-Goes Martial Arts under one banner. That was before either of us had met our wives or had children."

  The explanation…didn't do much to placate anyone. Ranma thought that they all knew already, otherwise he probably wouldn't have put his dad in the hot seat like that. "We wanted to give the style time to…recover after our master's frequent indiscretions, develop new techniques as we built our own lives, and bring them back together to create a legacy worth being remembered," Genma continued. Hana did lighten up at that.

  "But I promise you, that dream died with Soun. I have no intention of interfering with your lives because of a verbal agreement we made to each other over twenty years ago," he concluded with a deep bow. "We appreciate you letting us into your fine home, Mrs. Tendo," he continued. Ranma sighed, realizing that they were about to have to leave. "We'll grab our things and get going while it's still early, find a hostel or somewhere out-of-town to set up camp." Couldn't they at least stay through dinner? He'd been invited .

  Ranma hung his head. It's not like he hadn't expected this. Even if his dad's friend were here he didn't think they'd just be able to waltz in and crash like they owned the place. All of the Tendo boys, however, practically jumped out of their seats. "Wait just a minute!" "Not so fast!" "No!" they shouted in unison.

  Hana gave them a look to sit back down and addressed Genma. "Mr. Saotome, thank you for putting our worries at ease. However, it is already dark, we've already made dinner, and you are friends of the family. Please at least stay the night." It was not a request, and Genma appreciated that she didn't ask about the alternative plans that he didn't have.

  So he nodded and thanked the Tendo matriarch, who sent her sons to gather food for the table. Then she dismissed Ranma by asking him to "change into his nice clothes" before dinner. When it was just the parents left in the room, she turned to Genma with fiery determination in her eyes. He immediately saw why Soun had chosen this woman and retroactively congratulated his best friend's taste.

  "I have a proposition I'd like you to consider, Mr. Saotome. What if we honored the promise you made with Soun?"

  Well. He didn't expect that .