The Things We Wish For...
Chapter 3



"But my dear departed wife is no longer departed! I've missed her so much,
and now we're reunited. It's like a dream come true. It's not fair that
she's here and doesn't remember our lives together."

*I'm not sure if even Soun is this stupid. Impulsive and high strung yes,
but not a complete moron. Considering Kachi probably looks about as much
like "herself" as Akane does. I think the message would have gotten through
his thick skull by now.

Kasumi gave a small clap to her hands. "I know. All you have to do is act
like you're meeting her for the first time again. Behave the same way you
did back then, and after a while, nature will take its course and you two
will eventually fall in love and get back together. Before you know it,
she'll be your wife, as well as our mother. And it'll be especially easy for
you to win her heart since you already did it once before. It'll be history
repeating itself."

*ignoring all of that fuss about marrying a minor. For the purposes of this
story are the gang assuming that Kachi is trapped here in the present.
Because otherwise your going to have some very entertaining paradoxes. *

Four sets of eyes looked one another over.

"Maybe she'll figure it out on her own and we should comfort her then?" Soun
suggested.

The three girls agreed.

*Soun's grasping at straws here. Perhaps you'd get better effect if the
girls shut him up with a cold stare.


"I didn't ask you that," Ranma said.

Kachiko considered that. She then grabbed Soun by the shoulders, turned him
around, and began pushing him towards the door, shouting, "Out! Out! Out!"

*Manipulative little minx isn't she?*


"Done." Kachiko released her hold on Soun. "Now for the rest of the rules
concerning my house. I'm taking my room back, so that means Akane has to
sleep somewhere else, except Ranma's room, which is off limits to everyone
but Ranma and his father. And that goes for the old perv too, since he might
try to hit on Ranma's cursed form."

*I dread to see how she responds when the REALLY old perv shows up*



"Comments like that are how you end up with a foot driven up your flabby
backside," Kachiko said in a flat voice to her oldest 'daughter'.

#Boy she really has Soun flustered if she's not getting the Demon Head after
a threat like that.#


"Now go to your room."

"What?"

Kachiko pointed upstairs. "You heard me, Daughter. Go up to your room right
now for being mouthy to your mother."

*Oh NOW she accepts her predicament.*

Rather than press the point with the girl, Kachiko turned to the man next to
her. Her eyes were full of tears as she sniffled and said, "Soun-chan, our
daughter's being defiant. I go away for a couple of years, and this is how
you let our children's behavior deteriorate, showing no respect for the
people that brought them forth into this world. I'm so ashamed." She cupped
her hands to her face, hiding it from view as the sounds of crying filled
the room.

*Nice she handles gullible fathers with the best of them.*


Somberly, Soun said, "Yes, you're definitely Kachi-chan, all right. No one
had a sense of humor like you. Thankfully."

"I don't remember it being that bad," Kasumi said.

"You probably blocked out the memories. That happens with traumatic
experiences, especially when you're young," Soun explained to her.


*Great running gag.*





Ranma shook his head. "I know there's a story behind what you just said, but
I think I'm better off not knowing it." He shrugged his shoulders and got
back to the matter at hand. "Don't worry about anything. I'll go easy on
you."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. I bruise easily."

*Cute bit, but none of the usual macho chauvenism from Ranma? No need to
suddenly make him polite due to company*

Kachiko gave a disapproving noise as she looked at the prone figure before
her. "Geez, you're gullible. What sort of idiot calls out an attack before
she makes it? It's like saying, 'I'm going to punch you in the face. See if
you can block it in time'. And I thought you were a tough martial artist."
She pulled up her pants yet again. "And I really got to get this problem
taken care of." She departed, leaving Ranma lying unconscious on the floor.

*Other than making fun of "ultimate techniques" I don't see how Ranma would
fall for a feint like that*



Nabiki's features softened, and she rose to embrace Kachiko. The two gave a
quick hug, patting each other on the back before breaking apart.

*Nabiki softened? Is she feeling all right.*

"I understand Akane's bottoms are too big and you came here hoping I'd loan
you some of my clothes."

Kachiko made a strangled noise. "I'm that transparent?"

*Nice bit*


Akane's information on Nabiki had seemed accurate. Kachiko had certainly
known people like Nabiki in her time, and subsequently knew how to deal with
them. Of course, Kachiko's 'middle child' would probably try something else
and act like the top girl around here, which would mean Kachiko would have
to keep on her toes. But then, she was used to friends and family keeping
her alert and ready for anything at all times. Kachiko wouldn't have had it
any other way. An interesting life was far better than a dull one.

*At the moment it seems to be a draw after all Kachi paid nothing for some
thing that was not Nabiki's*


"Ranma, how do you think I'd look in a fig leaf?"

"Fine."

*Heh*



Kachiko was about to ask him if he'd like another shot to the nuts, and if
he said, 'fine' she'd do it too, when the sound of a loud explosion came
from the street.

"Thank god!" Ranma was out of his seat and through the front door in the
blink of an eye.

*Only in Nerima*



"What movie?" Kachiko asked. "That really happened. Although it was trying
to kill Icky at the time instead of me. And it was a Germinator, since the
machines were based on plants material rather metal. It was some made of
some sort of funky bio-technology."

*makes all want to hear more stories about the first generation.*


Refusing to back down, Ranma began grabbing a variety of items from a cart
labeled 'Odds and Ends,' that had been abandoned by its owner when the
Destroyer appeared, and threw them in the hopes that would could pierce the
shield.

A bokken was shredded into splinters.

A cinderblock reduced to cinders.

A barrel of Nannichuan shattered against the vortex.

"Nannichuan?! AHHHH! What did I just do?!" Ranma ripped at his hair in
frustration.

*Oops, Trying to make sure we're still paying attention I see ^-^*


"Indeed, this time we shall rule the world. Nothing can stop us now.
Nothing."

A hand fell on each of their shoulders.

"Except that."

*Cute*

Kachiko laughed. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite pair of aliens
from Space Hunter Nebula X: Dipshit and Asswipe."

*My oh my. I bet she got invited to all of Lum's parties to*


Kachiko made a dramatic show of cracking her knuckles. "All right, now that
I know what I'm dealing with, it'll be easy to take your Mecha Dojo
Destroyer apart, just like I did your Mecha Fire Breathing Dinosaur
thingee."

"Actually, you did not defeat it," As-Wype said.

*Oh so we're keeping score are we*


As-Wype said, "After the destruction of Designate: Mecha Moth, our budget
for world domination had run out."

*Isn't that always the case? very nice bit*

"Actually, you only stopped one of our schemes."

That earned Dippe-Shick a punch to the face. Kachiko cleared her throat, "As
I was saying, I've stopped your evil schemes before, and I'll do so right
now."

*Oh you have got to write more flashbacks*


And then the weapons went off as one. Lasers, Missiles, Explosive Shells,
Plasma, and a host of other weapons screamed as they flew forth through the
air, hurled from the robot. Their combined power was sufficient to destroy a
fleet of battleships.

And all of it impacted on the inside of the impenetrable forcefield.

*Nice*

Dippe-Shick sighed. "It appears we will have to work our eight o' clock
shift after all. And here I was hoping to call off due to our conquering the
world."

*Alien Invaders with a day job... cute*



"I didn't do anything with her!" Ranma insisted. "All we did was stop some
aliens from taking over the Earth. Just because we worked well together that
does not constitute bonding."

*One of the only households on the planet where that excuse works ^-^*

"I never agreed to a date!" Ranma shouted.

*Well he did agree to a favor. . . the poor boy should really read the small
print.*


End Notes: A word of concern was given to me of Kachiko being too much an
ANC, and it probably best I respond now. Yes, she is very annoying at times.
She's has to be, given the direction which the story will take.

#That I was about to say but I don't think designing a character to be a bit
of a jerk is quite the same as an ANC. The parts that made me worry about
her fitting that catagory was where she started taking control of every
situation even getting the better of Ranma and Nabiki came close to that
though you threw in just enough flaws in her character and causing plenty of
problems which help miss the true mark of ANC. (Besides Nabiki probably
realized her pocket had been picked a whole five minutes later and the only
reason Kachi thinks she got away with it is because Nabs doesn't get mad she
gets even ^-^) So far I like what I see. I'd like to see a little bit more
culture shock in Kachiko's part but since this story is more humor than
drama I wouldn't worry about it too much. Going back to the ANC concerns you
might want to tone her down a little bit though currently she looks like she
could take on Herb and Tarou. Other than that I like the flaws that you've
given her. Obnoxious, Lousy sense of humor and a marvelous selective
blindness in various areas.*


 It was necessary to set things up for
later, and this is the way the chapter came to me. Don't count on her having
an easy time of it in the future. That's not to say she'll start losing left
and right, just that it won't go all her way.


 Tentative plans for next chapter are for Kachiko to finally end
up in school and meeting more of the fun loving cast at last as the others
start to adjust to her presence, and start to react to it. Should be
concentrating more on her presence in the present than what happened in the
past for a while now.

So far it looks pretty good. I would recomend that the cast tones down the
whole Mother thing outside of the house. Have them pass her off as a cousin
or something which gives you some interesting possiblilities if Nabiki adds
some really embarrasing details into Kachiko's cover story as a way of
getting back at her. You also have some good questions to ask to provide
more groundwork. For example, why are all of the records of Kachi from
before her wedding missing. And is whatever going to happen in this story
line responsible for a personality change to make her the Mrs. Tendo the
family remembers. Just a thought.

Keep up the good work.

                               Bill Morse


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