Spring Of Drowned Girl
M A Davis (Miko)

Characters, concepts copyright Takahashi Rumiko

    Rain pounded down on the koi pond in the back yard.  Just
inside, Soun Tendo sat at the family table with his three daughters,
Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi.  He held a postcard in his hand, and his
daughters were regarding him with shocked expressions.
    "FIANC�E!?!" they all yelled in unison.
    "Yes," Soun replied, "the son of a very good friend of mine.
The son's name is Ranma Saotome."
    As the three girls listened in stunned silence, with Akane's
rage growing by the minute, their father elaborated.  "If one of you
three girls were to marry him, and carry on this dojo, then the Tendo
family legacy would be secure."
    "Wait a minute!" Akane growled.  "Don't WE have some say
in who we're going to marry?"
    "Akane's right, Daddy," Kasumi said.  "We've never even met
this Ranma."
    "That's easily fixed," Soun replied, "since he�ll be here soon.
Ranma and his father have recently been on a training mission, even
traveling to China."
    "Wow!" Nabiki exclaimed.  "China!"
    "Big deal!" Akane said.  "What's so great about China?"
    "Is he cute?" Nabiki asked.
    "How old is he?" Kasumi asked.  "Younger men bore me."
    "What kind of guy is this Ranma anyway?" they both asked at
once.
    Soun Tendo laughed.  Turning to look into the back yard,
where the rain was still thundering down, he said, "I have no idea."
    "WHAT?!?" all three girls yelled at once.
    "I've never met him," Soun added, as if that explained
everything.
    Just then there was a commotion from the front of the house.
"Oh, we have visitors!" Kasumi said, jumping up.
    "Oooh!  It must be Ranma!" Nabiki exclaimed.  "I hope he's
cute!"
    "I hope he's older," Kasumi said.
    "Saotome, my friend!  We've been waiting!" Soun called out.
He ran down the hallway, tears of joy soaking his cheeks.
    Akane followed the rest of her family a little ways behind.
"How depressing," she muttered to herself.  "Boys!"
    The whole procession came to an abrupt halt.  Around the
corner came a young, red-haired person, leading a giant panda by the
hand.
    "Daddy?" Kasumi asked in a worried voice, "is this your
friend?"
    Soun shook his head furiously.
    "Oh!" Nabiki shouted, "people with pandas drop by all the
time!  Is that it?"
    Soun frowned.  He took a good look at the redheaded youth
before him.
    "You wouldn't by chance be..."
    The panda held up a sign that read, "No, she isn't."
    As it slowly dawned on the father and his three daughters
that the person in front of them was actually female, she sighed and
adjusted her glasses.
    "I'm Genma Saotome," she said.  "Sorry about this..."

FINI

    My apologies!  I've seen so many twists on the basic Ranma
1/2 premise, and this seems like one of the most logical, and I wasn't
sure anyone had ever done it.  (Have they?)  My first instinct was to just
post this
as a question, as in, "has anyone ever tried to write...", but that's
spam, and I detest spam.  So I had no choice but to write it out.
    I realize that, technically, I should probably have Ranma as
an adolescent panda, and perhaps Genma as a middle-aged woman,
but that would spoil the surprise.  ^_^;
    No, I'm not going to write any more on this!  If you want to,
be my guest!  Yes, I'm working on Monkey Head Butting part 5 and I
Can See Clearly Now chapter 2!  Well, obviously not at this
moment, but whatever... enjoy!

Miko!

"When you really need them the most," he said, "million-to-once chances
always crop up.  Well-known fact."  --Seargent Colon, "Guards, Guards!"
Terry Pratchett

Nausicaa@sprynet.com   Belldandy@angelic.com
Anime rpg at http://come.to/akane/
Fan Fiction at http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/pratchett/199/