This story is a Ranma fic, a sequel of sorts to Descents and 
Inversions.  That story touched on the possible futures of the 
Ranmaverse; this story deals with one of those potential worlds...

	Tachi Kuno stared blankly at the television, idly switching her 
sonic penknife on and off.  "Computer, change channels."  She leaned back 
into her chair, wallowing in boredom.  "Random selection.  Repeat every 
thirty seconds."
	"This I can not do, my lady," the computer replied in a deep, even, 
inhuman voice.  "The Will of Heaven has prohibited 'Channel Surfing' lest 
the screen suck away the spirit of creativity as a spider drains the very 
essence of life from her captives."
	"Father!" Tachi shouted.  "What did you do to the entertainment 
system?"
	Satsuke, alerted by Tachi's cries, poked his head into the family 
room.  "Master Kuno had the voice recognition system reconfigured today 
while you were at school, Mistress Tachi."
	The short-haired girl frowned.  She wriggled around in the 
overstuffed chair until her chin rested on its back.  "Why did he do that?"
	"He mentioned something about a midterm, Mistress Tachi."
	"Thank you, Satsuke."  The family ninja recognized a dismissal 
when he heard one.  With a final bow to Tachi, he vanished.
	"Computer, shut yourself off."  The screen obediently went dark.
	Tachi sat there, her arms and legs draped across the chair at 
awkward angles.  The blade of her small knife hummed in and out of existence.
	"This chums."
	The mercenary girl rolled onto the floor, landing on her feet 
like a trained gymnast.  She padded through the mansion to her room, 
flopped onto her bed, and grabbed her data reader.  Mathematical 
equations filled the screen, and her face glowed from their pale, faerie 
light.
	"Bah," Tachi sighed, dropping the 'reader to the floor.  "I know 
all that already."  She rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling.
	That didn't last long, either.  Ever since discovering that she 
had Aunt Kodachi's old room, the short-haired girl never felt comfortable 
there for long.  She didn't have nightmares, not anymore, but there was 
still a sense of unease that filled her soul whenever she brooded on the 
room's former inhabitant.
	"Computer, connect me to Ranko Saotome.  Voice only."
	"This I can not do, my lady," the computer droned.  "The Will of 
Heaven has prohibited-"
	"I get the picture!" Tachi interrupted.
	"Incoming communication.  The very Heart of Heaven wishes to converse 
with her daughter, that she may impart wisdom and understanding."
	Tachi sat upright.  Nabiki didn't often call home in the middle 
of the working day.  "Patch the connection through to my desk screen!"
	Nabiki's face appeared on the wall opposite the window.  There 
was an old-style pencil tucked behind her ear, giving Tachi the 
impression that this was to be an informal call.  "Yes, Mother?"
	"You're studying hard, I see."  There was sarcasm in Nabiki's 
voice, but it was lighthearted, meant to tease, not to tear down.
	"I'm not that predictable, am I?"  The teenage girl flopped into 
her chair and leaned on her desk, propping her chin up with her hands.  
"It's just that what we're studying is so booring.  I can't find any 
real-world applications."
	"No, you're not predictable," Nabiki assured her.  "And certainly 
not since your trip to the past.  Up until then, I had a little bit of 
inside information on how events would turn out, after all."
	Tachi pulled her sonic knife out of her pocket.  "I guess they 
weren't kidding when they said it had a lifetime guarantee."
	Nabiki smiled.  "They never specified whose lifetime.  And I 
liked the design so much I bought the company."
	"Only after knowing what the finished product looked like, years in 
advance."
	Nabiki pointed to herself with feigned innocence.  "Do you think _I_ 
would turn down information from such a trusted source?"
	"Never."  Tachi smiled at her mother.  "So why did you really call?"
	"When your father had the voice interaction system reprogrammed, 
I added in a few surprises of my own.  I had the home computer page me 
the second time you tried to do something besides study."
	"I thought you said I wasn't predictable."
	"Not compared to other people, no."
	Tachi sat back and crossed her arms.  "You're not comparing me to 
Ranko, are you?"
	Nabiki laughed in spite of herself.  "Heavens, no.  I would never 
compare you to your cousin.  The two of you are like apples and 
oranges."  Nabiki fiddled with something off-screen.  "It's just that I've 
noticed you've been... 'preoccupied' since your trip to the past.  Your 
father and I talked about this.  We decided that you need a vacation, a 
chance to get away and spend some time thinking."
	"I just had a vacation, Mother.  To another time."
	"I was there, remember.  I know you didn't have much of an opportunity 
to reflect.  It was one big fight after another, with enough angst and 
confusion thrown in to make you think you were an X-Man."
	The teenager nodded.  Her mother was right; she'd spent a good 
portion of that trip tied up in the Nekohanten, worried that her universe 
was about to come to an abrupt end.  "So where am I going?"
	Nabiki sat up straight; her voice took on the qualities of a game 
show announcer.  "You, and one other lucky contestant, are going to 
lovely, scenic... China!"
	"China?  One other?  You're not sending _Ranko_ to China with me, 
are you?"
	"Bzzz!  Wrong answer.  That was your father's idea, but I vetoed it."
	Tachi nodded again.  Ranko Saotome was her cousin, and her best 
friend, but sending her to China, with all of her father's history in 
that country, would be like sending a tiger to play in a room full of 
disgruntled postal workers.  "So who is going with me?"
	"Ah, that is the question."  Nabiki's eyes sparkled.  "If you 
guess the proper name, you go.  Otherwise, it's back to the books for you."
	"That's not fair," Tachi wailed.  "You already said I could go."
	"That's because I have faith that you'll make the right 
decision."  Then, before Tachi could say another word, her mother cut the 
connection.
	Tachi stared at the blank screen.  "So... who would be the best 
person to take to China...
 ______
{B-{=__
rmckenzi@euclid.ucsd.edu : The White-Robed Mathematician