Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction ❯ Payback ❯ Visit To The Neighbors, Part Three: Dinner and Conversations ( Chapter 9 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Payback - Chapter 09 - Visit to the Neighbors, Part Three

Dinner and Conversations

Started: May 10, 2005
Finished: June 01, 2005
Current Revision: June 03, 2005

A Story By Warpwizard

A Neon Genesis Evangelion/Tenchi Muyo/Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction

Don't Sue Me Warning! I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion/Tenchi Muyo/Ranma 1/2 and their associated characters and trademarks. Obviously.

Non-Lemon Chapter Warning! Contrary to my usual output, this chapter contains no lemony action whatsoever! Complaints about this will be heartily ignored.

* * *

[PAYBACK - DAY 44 - SUNDAY, LATE AFTERNOON]

* * *

Tenchi's house was really, really big. Of course, it was modest next to Ranma's house, but that was something else entirely, a matter for neighborhood gossips to mull over. Though...did they even have neighborhood gossips? Shinji frowned in thought. Come to think of it, the area around their three houses was pretty much just...theirs. The three of them *were* the neighborhood.

It had never really occurred to Shinji before, but his two friends had to be colossally wealthy (not to mention influential) to afford the amount of land that surrounded their residences. Even here in "New Nerima", where land was relatively cheap, Japanese soil was bought at a price higher than blood. The minimal space available on the small islands that composed the nation made it a fact of life.

They'd all moved to Tokyo-3 at roughly the same time, collectively taking control of two entire city blocks. On one side of the street, taking up two-thirds of it, was Ranma's enormous house and the land surrounding it. The Ikari's house and land took the rest. On the other side of the street was Tenchi's house and a large lot of empty, grassy land, which was also owned by the Masaki family.

Ranma had made use of his land to start construction of a moderately large dojo, a traditional wooden-construction martial training hall. The Ikaris and the Masakis had had many good times getting to know their neighbors at impromptu dojo-raising parties, helping Ranma and his family construct the building with their bare hands. That had been the start of the strong friendship which all three families shared to this day, barely a year later.

'It's certainly been an eventful year...'

Ranma also believed in open-air training, and the grassy expanse between the dojo and the house was used for sparring, calisthenics, and often as a place to eat a picnic lunch. He'd roped Shinji into training with him - somehow - and that area had become familiar to him as his own back yard. Shinji smiled to himself, musing that he just wasn't good at resisting when his friends and family wanted something from him; even if it was for his own good.

Shinji's eyes traced the air to the upper right, as people do when they're remembering. The house he and Asuka (and now Kasumi and Mihoshi) lived in wasn't as big as that of his two friends, but it was still plenty big for a working pair of Japanese nationals, more like the size of the house an upper-middle class couple from a more spacious land like North America could afford. They had a nice back yard too, something most Japanese never possessed.

They'd gotten the house, the land, and a number of other benefits (like free complete-coverage medical care for life and absolute zero taxation) for being "Paramount National Heroes", one of the few positive fallouts of the Angel War. Shinji thought it was embarrassing, but Asuka reveled in it. Sometimes Shinji had a hard time paying for things, the store manager refusing to take his money, which always made him very uncomfortable. Still, it made the burden on the household much lighter, given Asuka's shopping habits.

The benefits were even transferable to their heirs in perpetuity, which made Shinji wonder how it had gotten approved by the Diet. That little clause could make for quite the future Zaibatsu, if their family grew much in the future anyway. Both Shinji and Asuka had mixed feelings about becoming parents.

Shinji's eyes watered and he moved to shade his eyes as a bright spear of sunlight was released from the shifting clouds outside. It entered through the high windows on the wall of the first floor main hall where they were sitting, the first of two rows of windows in that room.

The Masaki's home was a mix of modern and traditional elements. Shinji liked it for its emphasis on spaciousness and natural light. There were lots of windows in every room, showing the green spaces outside and letting in plenty of sunlight. The room they were in was mostly for sitting and chatting, and it was an exceedingly nice place to do so, having easy access to the large kitchen and a very long black leather couch which was shaped like an "L" which provided seats for up to a dozen people.

"Shinji."

Shinji gave a little start as Asuka called his name. "Sorry, I was woolgathering."

He looked over and smiled at his lovely red-haired wife, seeing that she and the other women were done with their usual "what have you been doing lately" chat. Kasumi had been introduced and seemed to get along famously with everyone. He had noticed her and Sasami getting engrossed in "chef chat" before introspection had overtaken him. The family pet, that cute little "cabbit" creature, rested on top of Sasami's head like an exotic hat, letting out the occasionally cry of "Miyaah!".

He noticed Tenchi smiling understandingly at him out of the corner of his eye, which made him smile a wry smile of his own. Just the two of their "harems" together was six women. Six! If Ranma had been here as well the estrogen levels would have gone through the roof.

His attention was drawn to Tenchi's elegant purple-haired wife, Ayeka, as she made a little throat-clearing noise. "Ahem. Asuka-chan tells me that you have an announcement to make?"

Shinji nodded respectfully. "Yes, Ayeka-san. Umm..." Now that the moment was upon him, he felt a little self-conscious. Shinji blushed a bit and wrung his hands together for a moment, unaware of the rather amused and knowing gazes of his friends.

Washu grinned and opened her mouth to say "I bet I know-" but before she could get the first word out, Ryoko had clamped her hand firmly over her "Mom's" mouth. Ayeka raised her hand to cover her mouth as she tittered silently, exchanging a smile with her cyan-haired rival and friend. Sasami (or Tsunami, depending on who you asked) smiled mischievously, looking supernaturally lovely in a gorgeous kimono of pale blue silk embroidered with pink flowers, matching her hair and eyes.

Mihoshi and Kasumi would have joined in the subtle merriment, but they were too busy being starry-eyed as they daydreamed about the implications of Shinji's announcement. As for Asuka, she crossed her arms and leaned back, smiling lovingly (and a bit amusedly) at her husband as he prepared to drop his bomb.

Shinji seemed to reach some internal state of readiness and raised his head, straightening his spine and assuming a very serious, determined expression, albeit one with a glowing smile hidden behind it. He looked across to the long axis of the couch where the assembled Masaki family was sitting and said, "I-...I've asked Mihoshi-chan and Kasumi-chan to become my wives, and they've accepted."

Tenchi smiled warmly at his best friend (of two). "Congratulations, Shinji." He turned to the two glowing women sitting next to his serious friend and smiled again. "Congratulations, Mihoshi-san, Kasumi-san. You couldn't have picked a better man."

Kasumi smiled back at her soon-to-be husband's close friend, her normally beautiful face radiant with happiness. Mihoshi smiled as well, but though her eyes were luminous with joy, her smile had a hint of uncertainty to it. Her name had picked up a "-san" honorific from his usual address of just "Mihoshi". She couldn't be happier to be marrying Shinji, but the thought of losing her closeness to Tenchi and the rest of his family made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Congratulations, Shinji!" Ryoko leaned over and gave him a smack on the shoulder, grinning and exposing her unusually sharp canine teeth, her golden eyes flashing in the afternoon sunlight. Shinji winced ('Damn she's strong!'), but managed to smile back. He liked Tenchi's boisterous, wild-haired wife. It always amused him when he couldn't help but think of her as female version of Ranma. Not that they were identical, Ranma had no liking for sake, but the comparison certainly wasn't too far off base. "Treat Mihoshi right or I'll tear ya a new one."

Shinji chuckled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Ryoko."

Ryoko looked over to Kasumi and Mihoshi. "And congratulations you two. He may not be as hunky as my Tenchi (she paused to rub against Tenchi like an amorous cat, making Tenchi roll his eyes and smile while Ayeka growled), but he's a good guy." Ryoko smiled warmly at Kasumi, who smiled back with equal warmth, but the exchange of emotions got more complicated when she turned to Mihoshi. Shinji wasn't sure what passed between them, but it wasn't easy to figure out. 'Maybe doing this over here was a mistake...'

Ryoko leaned back, placing her arms on top of the sofa edge and watched with interest as Ayeka (wearing a lovely dark purple kimono of fine silk) stepped up to the plate.

"Please allow me to congratulate you on your engagement, Shinji-san, Kasumi-san, Mihoshi. I'm sure that your union will be happy and fruitful." Ryoko cackled at the idea of "fruitfulness", causing Ayeka to whip around and glare, while everyone else present giggled or chuckled as their respective gender decreed.

Finished with her glare, Ayeka slowly turned back to Shinji with her eyes demurely downcast, placing her hand to her mouth and letting out a small, dignified cough. "Ahem. As I was saying (before being so rudely interrupted by a certain monster woman) congratulations and best wishes." She looked up and smiled a bright, sincere smile at the three of them. "If you require any help with wedding preparations, be sure to let us know, we'd be happy to help."

Shinji gave Ayeka a respectful bow. "Thank you very much, Ayeka-san. I suspect we will probably be darkening your doorstep in the near future for that very reason."

Next, Tenchi's gorgeous, buxom, blue-haired wife, Sasami, stood and bowed. Her deep pink eyes twinkled with happiness for all three of them as she said a sincere "Congratulations." Ryo-ohki, who had been transferred to her hands, let out a happy cry, as if congratulating them in her own way.

After smiling and bowing to Shinji, and accepting his smile and bow in return, she turned to Kasumi and Mihoshi. Her smile for Kasumi was warm and welcoming, but to Shinji it seemed that her smile for Mihoshi was strangely...reassuring? Whatever it was, Shinji's heart eased as he noticed a certain subtle tension depart from his gorgeous blonde fiancée under the impact of Sasami's smile. "I would be pleased to offer my cooking abilities to you both, for your receptions and the wedding itself."

Mihoshi squealed and clapped her hands in delight. "That would be great, Sasami-chan!" She turned to Kasumi and burbled, "Sasami makes the best cakes-ooh, and her cookies are so great too-and her dim sum are just deliiiicious-"

Sasami giggled and sat down, clearing the floor for Tenchi's mysterious long-term houseguest, the currently tall and voluptuous Washu Hakubi. Shinji and Asuka had encountered two versions of her in the past, the current womanly form and a teenage girl that looked remarkably alike. They were a bit confused as to how that worked, but having experienced enough unusual phenomena in their lives, they managed to accept it with a minimum of questions.

Washu's smile was heartfelt and mischievous as she congratulated them, but Shinji thought he saw a trace of melancholy in her sparkling green eyes. He suspected there were issues between her and Tenchi, but since it was none of his business, he wasn't going to pry. Besides, getting involved in anything between a man and his three wives regarding what he suspected was a potential fourth was little better than suicide. He owed it to his two fiancées to stay alive at least until after the wedding.

"So, why didn't you bring Kasumi-chan over sooner? I'm sure she and Sasami-chan would have liked to swap recipes."

Shinji gave her an apologetic look. "We tried, but when we called for the past few weeks there hasn't been any answer."

Washu twisted around and locked eyes with Tenchi. Some particle of information was passed between them and then she turned back to Shinji. "Ah, I see. I'm usually in my lab, and my communication system is different from the main house phone. I'm sure Tenchi has told you that he sometimes has out of town business that involves his wives as well."

Shinji nodded his understanding. 'Ranma has a lot of 'out of town business' too. I suppose it makes sense, what with his martial arts businesses and everything. But I don't understand why all his wives go at the same time too...hm, same thing with Tenchi. Just coincidence I guess.'

Meanwhile, Mihoshi was giving Tenchi a pleading look. When Tenchi shrugged his lack of understanding, Mihoshi mouthed a single word, silently. 'What...'Alien'.' Tenchi's eyes sprang wide. 'Oh my goodness. We made Mihoshi promise not to spill the beans about us, and now she's getting *married*. Crap.'

After a moment of furious thought, Tenchi stood. "Pardon me, Shinji, Kasumi-san, Mihoshi-san, Asuka-san. We'll be back in a few minutes." He gestured to the low table of enameled blond wood that bracketed the couch. "Please have some of the cookies that Sasami-chan brought out."

"Tenchi..."

"Yes, Mihoshi-s-"

Mihoshi clapped her hands together in a pleading posture. "Pleeeeease don't call me that! Can't I still be Mihoshi to you? Aren't we still friends?"

Tenchi blushed slightly. "Um, it's just that it seemed improper, what with you being engaged and all..."

Mihoshi turned to Shinji, her golden hair bouncing with the speed of her movement and her blue eyes threatening tears. "Shin-chan, do you mind if Tenchi calls me Mihoshi?" Mutely, Shinji shook his head. She turned back to Tenchi with equal speed and babbled, "See? Shin-chan doesn't mind. So can you pleasepleaseplease-"

Tenchi chuckled and put his hand behind his head to scratch at his pigtail. "Heh, ah, sure. Mihoshi. We'll always be good friends, Kami-sama willing." There was a moment where the entire Masaki family seemed to exchange subtle signals with Mihoshi with their eyes. Warm smiles abounded. At the end of it, Shinji's bouncy blonde fiancée seemed greatly reassured and relieved.

Tenchi turned to his wives. "Okay girls. Family conference in the kitchen."

With raised eyebrows and curious mutters, Tenchi's family obediently filed after him into the open kitchen door. The final member of the lineup was Sasami. She smiled warmly at the mystified Shinji and company, then gave them a knowing wink and shut the door.

Asuka spoke for the first time in a while, grabbing a tasty-looking cookie from the bone china plate and chewing thoughtfully. "What was all that about?"

Shinji grabbed some sort of raisin-stuffed cookie, took a bite and mumbled around his mouthful, "No idea."

Kasumi shook her head and picked up a cookie of her own to nibble on.

"I have no idea either!" blurted Mihoshi. When the others turned to look at her, attracted by the pathetically obvious lie in her voice, she crammed her mouth full of cookies and put on her best innocent look. "Vaght?"

* * *

In the kitchen, Tenchi faced his assembled wives (and Washu). Ryoko leaned on one of Sasami's immaculate counters and said, "So what's the story, Tenchi? Something to do with our visitors, I assume."

Ayeka did one of her false princess-laughs, knowing that they annoyed the hell out of Ryoko. "Oh-ho-ho! So there is some of Washu's intelligence under that pile of hair."

Turn. Glare. "Why you-"

"Girls. This is not the time for that."

Both Princess and Pirate immediately stopped and turned obediently towards their husband. "Yes Tenchi," they chorused, followed by a quick "I'll get you later" glare at each other.

Washu smirked to herself. 'Wow. There's a sight I never thought I'd see.' Tenchi wasn't exactly an authoritative husband. He only stepped in when the situation absolutely screamed for it, and even then he had a light hand. It helped that all he really had to deal with was the usual fighting between Ryoko and Ayeka, and even that was mostly a show nowadays. The two of them just liked fighting, but Ryoko in particular had no sense of when it was time to stop.

It was interesting how things had changed. He'd let the girls stew for several years, refusing to make an overt romantic move on anyone. Only recently did the spiky-haired supergenius see his plan: let everyone get used to each other, until the bonds of affection and familiarity had become nigh-unbreakable. *Then* deal with the hassles of becoming officially connected.

Sasami was the latest to get married, using every ounce of her persuasive power to get Tenchi to agree on an immediate ceremony when she was sixteen, well, physically sixteen. Washu estimated that she was now the biological equivalent of eighteen Earth years old, though the merger with Tsunami had added maturity to her face. Her young self still peeked though when she giggled and played pranks, and the rest of them were glad of it.

"This is about Mihoshi."

Washu watched attentively as Tenchi explained the reason for the emergency conference. 'The one that got away...' Mihoshi hadn't been forced out of their group so much as she'd drifted away. She and Tenchi had a strong bond of affection and friendship, but the low-key blonde had been unable to compete with the vigorous courtship of both Ayeka and Ryoko. Or rather, she'd decided that Tenchi had enough on his plate to deal with and had counted herself out. Washu suspected she'd rather regretted that decision, at least up until meeting her current beau.

"Mihoshi is getting married. Guess what her husband-to-be doesn't know about her background?"

Eyes went wide as a rather obvious fact was realized.

Ayeka put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my goodness! That didn't even occur to me."

Ryoko snorted. "Ha! I'm so used to playing the normal it didn't occur to me either. I guess it shows how much things have changed."

Tenchi nodded, smiling wryly at Ryoko to indicate his agreement. It was funny, but he hadn't realized how used to acting "normal" Ryoko had become, either. Early on after moving into the city, he'd laid down the law about her using her powers when outside in public and she'd taken it very well. Part of him thought that maybe she liked to revel in the illusion of being an ordinary Japanese housewife. She'd certainly calmed down a lot from those early days, days where getting the entire house replaced was as common as cleaning out the drains and probably happened more frequently.

'It probably helps that I show her my real feelings nowadays.' He didn't regret his actions in the past regarding his female visitors from space. It had taken more discipline then they would probably ever know to keep his feelings in check for so long. He later realized that his plan was helped by the fact that Galactics, members of Galactic society, counted time on a different scale than he was used to. The way Washu had explained it, waiting four years for him to marry them was more like waiting four months. 'It sure felt like four years to *me*. More like forty years.'

"I think we should tell Shinji and his family the truth."

The group's attention turned to Sasami. Tenchi said, "Really, Sasami-chan?"

Sasami smiled serenely and very warmly at her beloved husband. "Yes, Ten-chan. Shinji is your best friend, well, him and Ranma." Ryo-ohki mewed her agreement. Sasami touched her cheek and frowned a little. "We really should tell the Saotomes too. We've known them for a whole year and they're absolutely trustworthy. I don't think Ranma knows how to tell a lie."

"At least not a good lie, " said Ryoko with a grin.

Tenchi laughed. "Very true. Good points, Sasami-chan, Ryoko-chan."

Washu stepped forward. "And then there's Shinji and Asuka's background, Tenchi-dono. They've told us a bit about it, and I found and told you about some more. They're both national heroes and former members of a top-secret organization. They're both trustworthy and they know how to keep a secret. Telling them that we're from off-planet won't be beyond their ability to accept and deal with."

Tenchi nodded appreciatively. "Excellent points, Washu-chan."

Ayeka stepped forward. "I agree as well, husband. Shinji-san and Asuka-san, as well as Ranma-san and his wives have all shown themselves to be exemplary friends and neighbors. Ranma-san holds his honor to be his most prized possession and Shinji-san and his wife are literally saviors of this planet, from what Washu-chan has told us. Informing them about our situation is the right thing to do, especially now that Mihoshi is getting married to Shinji-san. Kasumi-san seems to be very nice as well, and I'm sure that anyone that can win the love of Shinji-san and the trust of his wife is trustworthy. "

Tenchi nodded to his lovely Juraian wife. "Thank you for your thoughts, Ayeka-chan. I happen to agree. In fact, I'm kind of ashamed that I hadn't thought of it earlier."

He gave the faces of his assembled wives (and Washu) a quick scan. "So we're agreed? We tell the Ikaris now and the Saotomes as soon as possible." Everyone nodded and smiled (or, in Ryo-ohki's case, miyahed) and Tenchi smiled back, feeling a heretofore unnoticed weight lift from his shoulders.

'Man, it'll be nice to be able to talk to the guys about all that Jurai politics crap. That and Mihoshi getting married...this year just got better. Poor Ryo-ohki won't have to hide in cabbit form when they're over either. Maybe it's time to bring the whole thing out in the open...we'll have to discuss it with the royals next chance we get. Oooh, we'll have to throw Shinji a bachelor party...though he's not really a bachelor. Kasumi seems awfully nice. Shinji seems happier lately...not that he seemed really unhappy, but he's less...self-contained lately.'

"Shall we go?" Ayeka hooked her arm through his and urged him towards the sitting room door. "It's impolite to keep guests waiting, Ten-chan."

Tenchi smiled at her and then at Ryoko, who took his other arm. He heard Sasami's giggle close behind him, and Washu's hum of agreement. He pushed open the door and stepped though, thinking, 'Now how are we going to put this...'

* * *

The Ikari family waited patiently as the Masakis filed into the room and sat down.

Tenchi looked at Shinji.

Shinji looked at Tenchi.

"So..."

"So..."

"You had something to tell us?"

"Yes..."

Tenchi's mind was blank. 'How do I break it to my best friend that I'm the crown prince of an alien empire and all my wives are from space too? Think, Tenchi, think!'

There was a long, not uncomfortable, but rather puzzled silence.

Shinji scratched his neck. "Um..."

"Oh for crying out loud! We're a bunch of aliens. Geez Tenchi, get over it already."

"Ryoko!"

"Ah stuff it Ayeka. It'd be shocking no matter what way you said it."

Shinji was looking at his friend with a wrinkled brow. "Aliens? Um..."

Ryoko leaned back, pleased with the chaos she was causing, even if it was only mental. "Yep. Oh, and so is Mihoshi."

Seeing that Tenchi wasn't denying it, and was instead looking at him with a slightly pained expression, Shinji turned to Mihoshi. She was clutching both curled up hands to her chin as if to hide behind them and staring at him fearfully with shimmering eyes.

"Mihoshi?"

Shinji let out a whoosh of breath as his gorgeous chocolate-skinned fiancée thudded into his chest and cried, "It'strue I'm from Seniwa don't hate me please please please-"

Shinji exchanged blank looks with Asuka and Kasumi. "I always thought Seniwa was some place in Okinawa."

They both nodded slowly.

"Me too, honey."

"I thought it was in Hokkaido."

Tenchi checked to see that Ayeka wasn't watching and gave Ryoko a quick grateful look for breaking the ice. "Ahem. Yes. Seniwa is the planet that Mihoshi comes from."

"It's got great beaches!" interjected Washu.

Tenchi gave Washu an annoyed look. "Er...right. Anyway, pretty much all of our family and friends are from off-planet or have off-planet relatives. We normally keep it quiet, so naturally we asked Mihoshi to keep it a secret from you. But with the wedding coming up..."

Ayeka chimed in. "...we, of course, realized that you needed to know about it." She bowed deeply. "Our apologies for keeping it from you for so long."

Shinji, Asuka and Kasumi just looked at her blankly for a moment, until Shinji asked Tenchi, "...what planet are you from?" He almost broke out laughing from the absurdity of the question.

A sniffle caught his attention and he paused to reassure Mihoshi, who was still cuddling against his chest, his need to protect her overriding his confusion. "I wouldn't hate you no matter where you came from Miho-chan. There there..."

Tenchi seemed to catch Shinji's state of mind from the sickly grin on his friend's face, almost laughing himself and flushing a bit. "Er, ah, heh, I'm not from another planet, Shinji. Ah, jeez that sounds dumb. I'm from Japan, same as you. My grandpa was born on the planet Jurai though."

Washu stepped forward. "Why don't we save the long, detailed explanations for when Ranma and his wives get back? That way we don't have to go through the whole thing twice."

Tenchi smiled gratefully at her. "Good idea, Washu-chan."

"In the mean time..." said Sasami, "Why don't you say hello to Ryo-ohki?" Shinji and his girls watched curiously as Sasami took the furry creature from atop her head and placed her on the ground. Mihoshi uncurled from her defensive posture and stood next to Shinji, smiling at the cute cabbit with still-teary eyes. "Go ahead, Ryo-ohki, let's show the Ikaris the other you."

"Miyaaa!"

Shinji, Asuka and Kasumi gasped as the housecat-sized cabbit grew into a five-foot-tall fuzzy humanoid. A female humanoid, noted Shinji, and quite fetching if one disregarded the fur. She was wearing a simple blue dress. Where it came from was anyone's question.

He could almost see the cartoon hearts appear in Kasumi's eyes. "Kawaii!"

"Konichiwa," said Ryo-ohki in flawless Japanese.

"Hello," replied Shinji, Asuka and Kasumi.

"Believe me now?" said Tenchi with an uncharacteristic smirk. Dumbly, Shinji nodded, then turned back to Asuka and Kasumi getting to know the cabbit-girl. "Got any more surprises in store like that?"

Tenchi grinned. "Plenty."

Shinji smiled weakly. "Swell."

* * *

Tenchi's house was big. Ranma's house was *colossal*.

It made sense, Shinji supposed. After all, Ranma had...seven? Yes, seven wives. Probably. Often, fewer than that number were in attendance, and Ranma's wives made frequent jokes about his ability to "find trouble and attract women", some of which gave Shinji the distinct impression that they almost *expected* that more wives would be added to the roster in the future. Not that it would be welcomed, but it was more of an unpleasant fact of life that had to be taken into account.

Then add some rooms to accommodate visiting family and friends, some more to provide space for the possibility of children...yes, it was perfectly appropriate that the Saotomes had a sizeable place to live.

Shinji had yet to memorize the layout, but it included many, many bedrooms, a kitchen big enough to serve an army division adjoining a dining room that was the size of a Viking feasthall and a truly huge entertainment area. There were a number of "dens", smaller rooms comfortably furnished for sitting and reading, or chatting, or watching TV. There were many other rooms as well, including a computer room and a bathing room that contained the equivalent of a man-made hot spring.

The entertainment area was a feature of particular note, being multiple room sized areas set in sequence from low to high, almost like a set of oversized steps. One accessed the "steps" from the side, the aisle that went from the bottom of the room all the way to the top. The lowest area was the biggest, and held a monstrous entertainment system, so that the Saotomes and their guests could watch TV or movies or listen to music as if they were in a theatre. The entertainment system was designed that the entire setup could be easily broken down and removed, in case the Saotomes wanted to watch a play on the bare platform instead.

After an emotional reunion with Kasumi, Ranma led his guests to the main lounge, a large, comfortably furnished circular room at the top of the entertainment area. It was the room that they used most often when their friends came over, big enough for everyone but small enough to feel cozy. It had floor to ceiling windows along the outside wall and a dome-shaped skylight. The abundant natural light and the open design, one side being the curved, many-windowed outer wall and the other opening out onto the "steps", made it a very pleasant place to sit and chat. Large, leafy green plants in the corners added a touch of nature to the polished wood floor and Japanese-style wall hangings. Everyone moved towards their accustomed seats on the two long overstuffed couches and the four loveseats. Makoto, Ranma's exceptionally tall and buxom brown-haired wife, poured tea, and Minako, his sleek blonde wife, set out some rice cakes and dim sum on the low table in the middle.

Setsuna placed an expensive-looking coffee carafe on the table and plopped into the loveseat next to Ranma. She was a tall, stunning woman with long green hair who radiated a powerful presence which could be very intimidating, an aura of experience and total unflappability. "There's juice in the pitcher if you don't feel like caffeine."

"Can you get me some juice?" asked Hotaru from her seat in Ranma's lap. She was Ranma's youngest-looking spouse, vying with Lillith for that title. She was very small and slim, a lovely young girl with black hair and violet eyes.

He gave her an amused look. "It'd be easier if you got out of my lap, Hotaru-chan."

"Unh-uh."

Hotaru clung to him as he got up and poured her a glass. "The things I put up with."

Setsuna slapped him on the butt, almost making him spill the juice. "You know you love it."

"Hey now. That's sexual harassment." He carefully sat down and handed Hotaru her drink. Ranma's wives rolled their eyes at their husband's "wit". Ami, an intellectual looking woman with short blue-black hair, smiled fondly and sat on his other side.

Morrigan and her little sister Lillith took seats on the couch facing the windows, next to Makoto and Minako. Morrigan was a tall, green-haired, heartbreakingly gorgeous woman who radiated a presence as powerful as Setsuna's, only hers was of a more sensual nature. Having her eyes rest on you for any length of time made you feel like she wanted to eat you alive and that you would enjoy every bite.

Lillith didn't have anywhere near as striking an aura, but she was an extremely lovely young woman, almost disturbingly so given her seeming youth. She was the essence of lolicon, given to wearing outfits that were as girlishly cute as they were outrageously daring. Shinji thought she was very cute, but he felt like a dirty old man for even allowing himself that much mental latitude. Ranma had married her, so she had to be old enough for-Shinji tried to think of a clinical enough term-carnal relations, but still...

Ranma was wearing an unbuttoned men's shirt, allowing sight of much of his lean, powerful torso. He could be the posterboy for "visible six-pack". On his feet were Chinese fighting slippers and he wore loose pants made of raw silk, black in color. Around his neck was a chain of thin metal links supporting a fired clay amulet shaped like a stylized cat's face. It looked foreign to Shinji, perhaps Egyptian, definitely something from that part of the world. Knowing his friend's tendency to think of everything in martial terms, he'd once asked Ranma is he wasn't concerned about being choked when some adversary grabbed the chain. Ranma had grinned and told him that that wasn't possible. Not wanting to pry, Shinji had left it at that.

Certainly he wasn't worried about someone getting close enough to Ranma to do so. His friend was a phenomenal fighter, with insanely fast reflexes and tremendous physical strength. It was hard to believe how strong he was, given that he wasn't really all that large, being a lean Japanese man of ordinary height. As for his reflexes and agility, Shinji had more than once watched disbelievingly as Ranma performed what he called "refresher training", things like tossing a cup of uncooked rice into the air and attempting to grab every single grain with a pair of chopsticks before it hit the floor. Even crazier than watching someone trying such a thing was watching them *succeed*. Ranma claimed that anyone could do it with enough training, but Shinji had his doubts.

Shinji took his favorite spot at the left end of the couch at the back of the room. Mihoshi snuggled into his side as he sat down. He shot Asuka an apologetic glance, but she seemed to understand that Mihoshi needed some reassurance after finally dispensing with her secret. Asuka sat next to the snuggling blonde and Kasumi sat next to her. Ranma, Hotaru, Setsuna and Ami sat in the left-upper loveseat, and Minako, Makoto, Morrigan and Lillith sat on the couch opposite Shinji and his girls. Tenchi and his girls (including the furry humanoid form of Ryo-ohki) took the ends of the two couches and the two right-hand loveseats.

Shinji gave them all a quick glance, wondering how they would take to his and Tenchi's news, mostly Tenchi's. As far as he knew, the Saotomes were a relatively normal family, aside from the man of the house being a martial artist of exceptional skill and some fame.

Shinji smiled to himself as he realized that he was forgetting the "married to seven women" aspect of Ranma's family. 'Heh, when did I start thinking of that as normal? Sheesh.'

The Saotome women did a variety of things with their time. Modeling seemed to be a common element across all three groups, understandable given that every single female was drop-dead gorgeous. Minako did modeling jobs the most frequently of the Saotomes. Makoto had done a little lingerie modeling, but mostly spent her time around the house laboring to keep the bottomless pit she had married fed. Ami was a scientist, doing research on high-energy physics, stuff that was completely beyond Shinji's understanding.

Setsuna had some sort of hush-hush government job that required her to be away a lot. Shinji could count the times he had seen her around the house on one hand. Morrigan ran an arms and armor antiques business. It was open irregularly, basically whenever she felt like it, but apparently her level of knowledge and connections made that irrelevant. She either had or could get what buyers wanted, so she had as much business as she felt like handling, or so Shinji had gathered from inter-house gossip.

Lillith, Morrigan's younger sister, didn't seem to do anything much other than hang around with Hotaru and the others when she felt like it. Hotaru had recently graduated from Todai with a degree in history and literature and was not quite sure yet what she was going to do with her life.

"So, Shin-man, Tenchster...I hear you have something to say?"

Setsuna smirked. She kept her husband informed on all sorts of things she had no rational way of knowing, Shinji had no idea how. He'd heard stories about how they used to not get along at all, but it was hard to see now.

Tenchi cleared his throat. "Um, yeah...you want to go first, Shinji?" Shinji smiled and nodded, pleased at the implied consideration of his friend not wanting to overshadow news of his engagements.

It was much easier to say this time. "I've asked Kasumi-chan and Mihoshi-chan to marry me, and they've accepted."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Whoa! That's great news! Congratulations."

There was congratulations both demure (Ami) and not (Morrigan) until finally Ranma got in the last word. He gave his friend a poke in the shoulder, grinned and said loudly, "Heh, welcome to the Harem Club, buddy."

This produced the expected glares from some of the assembled wives, but Ranma just grinned. He enjoyed "stirring up shit", as he put it, and his wives teased him at least as much as he did them. Some of the girls seemed amused by the comment, such as Morrigan, and some of them seemed to have it fly right over their heads (Mihoshi).

She leaned over and asked Asuka, "Is that the word for a multiple-partner marriage on Earth?"

Asuka took a break from glaring at her husband's irritating friend. "Sort of. One of them. It has certain implications that Ranma finds amusing. Grrrr..."

"Okay!" Mihoshi chirped, then returned to assaulting the dim sum tray.

Ranma settled back into the loveseat and propped his feet up on the table. Hotaru settled back into her Ranma-chair as well, at least until she was forced to give way to Lillith demanding her share of snuggle-time. "Well, that was certainly good news. I hope yours is as entertaining, Tenchi."

Tenchi scratched at the back of his pigtail and shuffled his feet. He'd gotten a lot more polished at public speaking due to his political commitments, but when hanging out with his two friends he didn't have the luxury of assuming the rigid formality which he'd learned to use as a crutch. "Yeah...well, it's interesting, that's for sure."

"Cool. So, spill."

"Um, well..."

Ryoko cleared her throat threateningly.

Tenchi's voice abruptly speeded up. "Ah well you see we've been keeping something about our family background secret, even from you guys, and-"

"Oh right, the alien thing."

Tenchi ground to a halt. "Gwahh?"

Ranma replied while accepting a rice cake from Ami, his attention seemingly mostly on the rice cake. "Cloaked ships visiting your back yard like that on a regular basis...we figured. Not to mention all your auras are like, crazy strong. It had to be something like that. Where you from, Jurai?"

There was an odd sound caused by Tenchi's pigtail sticking straight out backwards.

"Y-yeah..."

"Cool." *munch munch munch* "Good rice cake. Damn good."

Makoto smiled happily.

Ranma finished his delicious light snack and gave his full attention to his disoriented friend. He sat up straight, smiled and said, "So...fill us in, Masaki. I'm kinda hurt it took you a year to decide to spill the beans, but-"

He held up his hand when Tenchi rushed to explain. "I understand man, I'm just jerking your chain. I have a few things to tell you too, once you're done filling us in."

His face became serious. "I appreciate your trust in telling me about something that's obviously an important family secret."

Ranma looked over at Shinji. "You guys are my best buddies, probably the best friends I've ever had, really. I'm really glad that we're at the point were we're going to share family secrets."

He looked back to Tenchi. "So? What's the story with you being from Jurai? That was a big fat guess by the way, I just figured it was the most likely, what with this being a former colony world and all."

Tenchi coughed nervously. "Ahem. Actually, I'm not from Jurai, but my Grandpa..."

* * *

For the next hour, Tenchi filled his friends in his family history, the story of freeing the Demon Ryoko from the cave, and all the adventures that followed.

"...so you see, they consider me to be Crown Prince, and well, Ayeka wants me to get more political experience, and then there's Misaki and Funaho and their "suggestions" and Seto-san keeps bugging me too, politely mind you, but it's still bugging-"

Ranma ate another rice cake. "Man...lots o' bullshit that goes with being Crown Prince. I'm sure glad *I'm* not royalty." Another chunk of rice and seasoning met its doom. "Mind you, my life ain't no picnic, but that's more in the way of dodging attempted disembowelments and the risk of having my soul eaten than dying of boredom while listening to some old fart with more titles than brains."

Ami gave him a withering look. "You *like it* when people try to kill you."

Ranma had the grace to at least look sheepish. "Ah heh-heh...well, it keeps me sharp y'know? If all I did was spar with these two, I'd go soft inside a year. Heck, inside a month." He held up his hands to ward off (non-existent) protest from Tenchi and Shinji. "Not that you guys are all that bad, especially you Tenchi, heck, you'd have ol' Kuno laid out in two moves, but I need more variety."

Ranma face suddenly scrunched into a scowl as he glared at Tenchi. "You've been holding back on me, haven't you?" He waved his finger threateningly. "Don't think I can't tell. Your aura is up in that range where it's damn near impossible to tell how strong a person is, just that you really, really don't want to get them mad. And when we spar, it doesn't even flicker!" He crossed his arms and scowled some more. "Are you not taking me seriously? Cause that really makes me mad, when somebody doesn't take me seriously."

There was an amused pause until Ryoko said dryly, "Ranma, if Tenchi didn't hold back the way he does, Makoto would have to scrape you up with one of her spatulas, and I'd hate for her to ruin a good spatula."

Ranma cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Washu nodded. "Just for an example, Tenchi-dono once reversed the gravitational constant of a black hole."

"Henh?"

Washu rolled her eyes. "Something that's about as hard as, oh, slicing the entire planet Earth in half. Actually, that would be a lot easier...what Tenchi did was effectively impossible, but he somehow accomplished it anyway."

Ranma's eyes bugged out a bit. "Urgle. Oh-kaaaay..."

Tenchi looked a little uncomfortable. He didn't really like talking about his abilities. Thinking about that area of his life made him feel...distant...from his family and friends, and he *really* didn't like that.

Moved, perhaps by his friend's discomfort, or maybe by the atmosphere of secrets being shared, Shinji broke in with, "I might be able to give you more of a challenge now, Ranma."

Ranma's face reassembled itself. "Oh? Why's that, Shinji?"

"Er..." Shinji rather regretted speaking up now that he thought about it.

"If I may, Shinji-dono?"

Shinji nodded gratefully to Washu, who attracted everyone's attention by producing one of her sourceless holographic displays. "As you can see here," she tapped a glowing circle on the stomach-area of the depicted mini-holo-Shinji, a model that was a bit too anatomically correct for his liking, "Shinji's appendix has been replaced by what my research shows to be called an "S2 organ", a source of nearly limitless energy. As for why this has happened, research is still ongoing."

*munch munch* "So what has this got to do with sparring?"

Washu rolled her eyes at Ranma's "dumb jock martial artist" act. "The third energy center has a rather profound effect on the ability to produce and circulate Ki, does it not, Ranma-dono?"

Ranma nodded, staring with unfocused eyes at Shinji's midsection. "Of course. It's the body's switchboard, the main physical channel. Do the warm-up exercise, Shin-man. I want to see if your Ki is any different."

The "warm-up exercise" was a basic Ki-stimulating and general centering exercise that Ranma insisted they do before each spar. Shinji was sure it had a more elaborate name, but that's what his sensei called it.

The group watched with interest as Shinji stood and began the exercise, taking a stance, breathing in a certain rhythm and moving his arms in a certain way.

Ranma continued to peer at Shinji's stomach. "Take off your shirt, Shinji."

Shinji did so without thinking, assuming that it was interfering in some way, and continued with the extremely familiar routine. The assembled females ogled the lean physique thus revealed, watching as Shinji's toned muscles shifted below his skin.

Washu leaned over and whispered into Ranma's ear. "Was his shirt really interfering with your examination?"

"Nah. I just figured I'd give the girls a free show."

Washu did her best to cackle quietly.

Figuring that he'd done the usual thing for long enough, Shinji exerted his slight, but growing, control over his new organ. He found the state of mind induced by warm-up exercise helped considerably. 'I guess this is what Ranma-sensei means when he talks about "finding your center".'

Shinji had made great progress in martial arts over the last year, but he knew his skills were nothing compared to his two friends. Ranma was one of the best unarmed fighters in the world (Ranma had told him so himself), Tenchi...well, Tenchi didn't brag, and didn't hold any official rank that Shinji knew of, but he suspected that his modest friend was the equivalent of Ranma among weapon users.

Ranma had yet to gain a victory over Tenchi when they fought armed and the reverse was true when they sparred bare-handed. Tenchi was no slouch in unarmed fighting, but his focus was armed combat and that gave Ranma an edge. Shinji was routinely dominated on the battlefield by both of them, but he had to admit he'd almost gotten to the point where he didn't feel like a sickly child foolishly attempting to fight two burly adults.

The analogy was even more apt than it seemed, due to the "free for all"-style sparring they sometimes practiced. This theoretically should have meant all three of them attacking each other in chaotic melee, but in practice in consisted of Ranma and Tenchi ignoring him to attack each other, occasionally using him as a springboard, shield or human projectile as he futilely tried to slip a blow through their defenses.

Ranma was very forthcoming with praise and insisted that Shinji was subconsciously holding back, though he suspected that this was just an excuse for his sensei to relentlessly push him, but he didn't really mind either way. It was kind of fun, he liked spending time with his friends doing something they liked and he certainly couldn't complain about the results to his health, strength and endurance.

A smile flickered across Shinji's face as thoughts of why he needed that martial-arts-increased endurance went through his mind. He pushed aside thoughts of his girls and focused on the exercise.

'First gear...'

He attempted to awaken his S2, to make its energy fill his "hara" and rise upwards. That odd sensation occurred in accordance with his will, synchronized with his breathing, making him feel like he was physically swelling, inflating, with energy. He could no longer call it a tingle, now that he was more familiar with it, it was...what it was.

'Breathe in...breathe out...hahhhh...'

* * *

Morrigan sat up very straight on the couch, breathing a little fast. She looked intently at her manly neighbor.

Lillith uncurled in Ranma's lap, staring at Shinji like he was a man-sized ice-cream cone.

* * *

"Whoa."

Washu leaned over again and said, "What is it, Ranma-dono?" She could get plenty of information off of Shinji with her equipment, but she had great respect for Ranma's abilities and knowledge concerning human bio-energy.

"His Ki level just doubled. His third center is glowing like a star."

Shinji found the sensation of increased vitality very pleasant, now that he had some control over it. 'Let's try second gear...'

"Jeez-us. It just doubled again. I don't mean increased by 100% of the original, I mean it's doubled twice. And it's still moving."

* * *

A little saliva spilled from the corner of Morrigan's slack mouth. A sinuous tongue crept forth and moistened full, luscious lips.

Her little sister looked like she was going to need a bib any minute now.

* * *

'Third gear...'

* * *

"Doubled, doubled again- I can't keep track of it, it's getting stronger like crazy. SHINJI!"

* * *

Several things happened at once.

Shinji felt the invigorating rush of power surging from his center "sizzle" and boil over. His eyes snapped open as a not-unpleasant shock went through him like being hit in the face with icy water, soothing what had become a profound level of internal heat.

Huge black wings burst from Morrigan's back as she bolted upright, startling the living crap out of the people sitting on either side of her. The bat-like wings flapped twice and then folded around her shoulders like a cloak, shivering with internal tension. Tiny copies of the wings could be seen protruding from beneath the hair above her ears, flapping slowly.

Identical blood-red wings sprouted out of Lillith's back and buzzed furiously as the pint-sized succubus shot from Ranma's lap like a bullet from a gun, crossing the space separating her from the humongous new energy source in an instant and slamming into Shinji's chest. She plastered herself to his front like a coat of suntan lotion and began nibbling on his pectorals. All Shinji's appalled wife and fiancées could see was a cocoon of ecstatically shivering leathery red wings that would occasionally flap, revealing Lillith molesting their love interest.

Ranma waved his arm at where his wife was glomping his best friend. "I guess you can see one of the things I was going to tell you. Morrigan and Lillith are succubae."

"Heh heh heh...and I guess Shinji-plus looks extra tasty."

* * *

The rest of the group watched amusedly as Asuka tried to pry Lillith from Shinji's newly-enhanced bod. When they got over their chuckles, Makoto and Setsuna went to help her. Morrigan was usually the one that kept her sibling in check, but right now the elder succubus was busy fighting off the urge to ravish her neighbor's husband. Repeatedly, publicly and until she drained off a sizeable amount of the huge energy charge she could feel radiating from him.

Washu watched Ranma, who was still gazing intently at his friend with unfocused eyes.

"Holy crap. I've seen power levels like that, but not very often." Ranma let out a carefree guffaw. "Ha! The Shin-man is ready to rumble!"

"Can you describe what you saw, Ranma-dono?"

"Sure. Right at the end there, his Ki spiked and then kinda settled back down. That's when he, ah, transformed I guess you could say." Ranma rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'd betcha a bunch of money that his new body is built to handle the increased Ki level. Ki is vitality, at least that's one way to look at it, but too much at once can be harmful, the same way as excitement is good for getting you going, but too much can burn ya out. If you get what I mean."

Washu smiled, typing rapidly. "I do indeed, Ranma-dono."

"Guy like me, my bod's been increasing it's ability to handle Ki all the while I've been training. It's just natural. What with Shinji's S2-thingee, I figure this is his body's way of keeping him from hurting himself. If something pushed him even further, he'd probably transform again."

"Fascinating."

Ranma nodded, his eyes finally coming back into focus. He grinned as Lillith was finally hauled off of Shinji by main force, protesting all the while. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. I'd like to see how he performs in combat when he's like that. I'm willing to bet he's stronger, faster, and tougher, probably by a considerable amount." He nodded assessingly. "Given that Shinji is pretty damn dangerous already, it would be a fun spar."

"If you...pushed him further...do you think he might display novel capabilities, Ranma-dono?"

Ranma glanced up at Washu's inquiring expression. "Novel? You mean like Ki-blasts and stuff? Yeah, probably." He returned to watching his friend as he adjusted to his new Ki level. "Shinji always holds back on some level, but if I could get him over that, who knows what might happen." He chuckled. "If he's anything like Tenchi, I'm probably biting off more than I can chew if I get him really mad. Just my luck that my two peace-loving buddies would be ten times stronger than me."

He held up a hand to ward off protest. "Though I've still got them both beat on skill. I am the best after all."

Washu couldn't resist a little verbal jab. "Even when Tenchi-dono has his hands on a bokken?"

Ranma grimaced. "Hey, I'm not saying he isn't well trained, I'm just saying...ah, you know what I mean Washu."

Washu laughed. "I do indeed, Ranma-dono." She had seen Ranma being pressed by Tenchi's trained-practically-from-birth Juraian swordsmanship enough times to know the score. Tenchi was deceptively strong and fast for someone with such a peaceful and unassuming appearance, both as result of his Juraian heritage and his day-to-day activities.

And though he'd always felt overmatched against his grandfather, Washu still remembered Tenchi's shock when Yosho had finally allowed his grandson to spar privately against some very high-ranking Kendoists. The old swordmaster had warned his pupil beforehand to hold back a little at first. Tenchi had just nodded, assuming that his grandfather didn't want him to rush in and get cocky.

It still made Washu smile to remember his reaction once the spars began. "I thought they were all *toying* with me. Either that or they were getting over being really sick. They were so *slow*. And weak " Tenchi had quickly added, not wanting to insult his former adversaries, "Not that I mean they were bad or anything, it's just that...well it's not exaggerating to say that my grandpa hits harder on his worst day. I kinda got mad there at the end, when I figured they weren't taking me seriously. I mean, I may not be the greatest swordsman in the world, but I *try*. And I practice a fair bit, so I figured they could at least do me the courtesy of fighting full out."

Washu chuckled to herself. She didn't think Tenchi to this day understood how grossly he overmatched ordinary fighters. He probably assumed that Ranma and Shinji were more like the typical level of ordinarily talented fighters. Sure, he knew that Ranma had been in movies, but everyone knew that movie martial arts were exaggerated, right? And Shinji had only been seriously practicing for a year and he was pretty good, he could almost hold his own against him and Ranma. It amused Washu greatly that they had just happened to move next to a pair of martial artists of sufficient skill and talent respectively, to fulfill Tenchi's expectations of "normality".

Washu was certain that the modestly brought up Crown Prince of Jurai had scared the living crap out of his sparring partners when he had "gotten a little mad". So she had asked about how the spars ended. Tenchi had turned a little pink and scratched at the base of his pigtail. "Ah heh heh...I just gave them a little tap to the side of the head, the way grandpa does to me. I didn't mean to give them concussions, I swear!"

The spiky-haired genius was brought back to her surroundings by Ranma's voice.

"I considered trying to get Shinji past his mental block, the holding back thing I mean, by doing some directed visualization, but what with this S2 thingee situation, I'm reconsidering."

Washu raised her eyebrows inquiringly. "Oh? What scenarios were you considering, Ranma-dono?"

Ranma glanced up at her. "Well, I thought it over and figured the only thing that could make a guy like Shinji really fight all out would be a threat to someone he really cares about."

Washu nodded. "I would agree with that assessment of Shinji-dono. He doesn't care much for himself, only for others."

Ranma nodded back. "Right. He's really, I mean *really* in love with Asuka, not that the bi- *cough* I mean, not that she really seemed to care or notice until recently. So I figured that I'd get him in the right mood for no-holds-barred sparring by imagining a scenario where she's being threatened. Maybe even hurt or killed."

Washu's stomach turned over. "Something tells me that would be a very bad idea."

Ranma nodded gravely. "Yeah, my gut says the same thing. I get a really bad feeling about what would happen if he really flipped out with that S2 thingee providing 'unlimited energy'."

Washu nodded in fervent agreement. "Very wise, Ranma-dono. I would not recommend stressing Shinji-dono heavily until he gains considerable control over his new organ."

"Yeah. We'll stick to the current sparring program for now. At least until I can think of something better."

* * *

A bit later, everyone was back in their seats. Morrigan and Lillith were still giving Shinji hot-eyed looks, but seemed to have themselves under control.

"Why don't you hold that form for a while, Shinji. Try to keep your Ki level where it is, don't increase it, but don't let it drop. Call it an exercise in control."

"Okay sensei."

Shinji focused on keeping the energy flowing smoothly from his S2 and didn't find it difficult. His new body didn't feel that different from his usual one. 'Maybe because I wasn't, er, aroused this time.' He poked his bare chest. 'Muscles are maybe a little more dense. That's about it.'

He looked up and noticed the female eyes fondling him. "Erk!" He scrambled to pull on his shirt.

'Awww....'

Ranma was once again reclining in his seat and chewing away. "Well, that was sure interesting. Anything else you want to tell us, Shin-man?"

Shinji locked eyes with Asuka. After a moment of silent communication, she nodded.

Shinji sighed. Maybe it was time to unburden himself completely. "This is all highly classified, but that doesn't really matter any more."

"I'll start from the beginning. I was summoned by my father and arrived in Tokyo-3. I tried to call directory assistance, but the city was under a state of emergency. I looked up and there was this blue-haired girl looking at me....until she disappeared. Then I saw this monster-"

* * *

For the next few hours, Shinji told them of the Angel War. Asuka added her perspective where relevant. To her surprise, Shinji talked about things she'd never heard from him before, like that he was in control of the 3rd impact and that it was his will that the world be set back to normal.

Tenchi looked dumbfounded. "We were off-planet at the time. Sasami had one of her dreams..."

Ranma was equally shaken. "I thought it was just a crazy dream...though what was extra-freaky was that everyone I knew had it that night too."

Shinji sighed, keeping his eyes lowered and focused on nothing in particular. "Yeah...it was like a crazy dream for me too...but at the same time I knew what was going on. Rei helped me a lot..."

Washu spoke, her voice gently questioning. "Shinji-dono, do you think that your experience is what created the S2 organ?"

Shinji raised his head and looked at her earnestly. "What else could it be? I don't remember deciding to give myself one when I was...the center of the Impact, if that's what you're asking."

Washu nodded, her mind working at high speed behind her look of simulated calm. 'He was a Kami, *the* Kami of this planet for a brief period. Such a thing cannot be entirely undone...' She looked over at Sasami and a look of hidden significance passed between them. 'This explains a lot of things.'

Asuka sat with her head down, her hair a curtain of red-gold concealing her face. Her hands were clasped in her lap, and if you looked closely you could see the white knuckles. She had a strong feeling that her husband had glossed over the parts of his recounting that concerned Rei. 'He was with her the entire time...who knows what passed between them?'

Everyone else just looked fascinated by the story of the war with the building-sized Angels and it's psychedelic-dream aftermath.

"My!" said Kasumi finally. "Everyone has such interesting life stories. I feel so boring in comparison!" There was a general smile and chuckle as Kasumi's remark broke the tension. She seized the initiative once everyone calmed back down and looked over at Ranma. "Ranma-kun, it's been such a long while since you left Nerima. Would you tell us what you've been up to since then?"

Ranma smiled at his old friend. "Sure, Kasumi. I guess it's my turn anyway." His eyes turned apologetic. "I'm sorry about not keeping in contact with you, I was...busy...for quite a while and when I finally got around to visiting, the house was sold and the whole Tendo family was gone. What happened to you guys?"

Kasumi's face became a bit pinched. She looked down at her folded hands. "I...I suppose I can air a little Tendo dirty laundry, considering what Shinji-chan and Tenchi-san have already shared." Ranma, Tenchi and Shinji opened their mouths to tell her she needn't speak if she didn't want to, but Kasumi wasn't listening.

"After you left...things were hectic for a while. Shampoo-san and her grandmother eventually left, after they couldn't find a trace of you for six months." She looked up from her hands and said, "Cologne-san left me a map and a note for you to read. She said that she had a suspicion where you'd gone and that you were welcome to visit the village any time after you'd returned. I begged her to tell me where she thought you'd gone and all she would say was 'The Place of Legends'."

"Hm. Looks like that dream Bast sent her got through."

"Bast?"

Ranma smiled cryptically. "I'll tell you when it's my turn to spill my guts."

Kasumi nodded. "Where was I...oh, Ukyo-san left after a year, she didn't tell anyone she was going, I passed by her restaurant one day and it had an "out of business" sign on the door. Ryoga-san settled down nicely with a girl he met, Akari, the one with the giant pig for a companion. I haven't seen him since I left Nerima, so perhaps his wandering problem has been solved."

Ranma grimaced. "Not quite, but I think it's less severe than before."

"I've met up with him a few times while on business," he added when Kasumi gave him an inquiring look. "I'll explain the 'business' when I explain everything else."

Kasumi nodded and then sighed, looking down at her hands. "Now we come to the embarrassing part."

"You don't have to say anything you're not comfortable with saying, Kasumi-san."

Kasumi gave Tenchi a warmly appreciative look. "Thank you Tenchi-san, but I don't mind. You don't even know me very well, but you've included me on your important family secrets. After all you've shared it would be terribly rude of me to not do the same. And my family secrets are so much smaller and less important than yours."

Tenchi was helpless in the face of such proper Japanese manners and nodded his acquiescence.

Kasumi took a deep breath and resumed. "Soon after your departure, Akane had a little talk with me. It turns out she likes...girls." Kasumi made a face and amplified when she realized she was getting blank looks. "In *that* way."

Kasumi looked closely at Ranma. "You don't look surprised."

"Yeah. Well, you see...Akane and I had a long talk. This was about a year after I fought Saffron. Pretty close to when I left, actually. Turns out she was always more into my girl-form than either of us realized. We talked it out, the way we should have a long time ago I guess, and agreed that it wouldn't work. Us, I mean, us together wouldn't work. By that point I had a handle on the girl-thing, but I'm a *guy*. Always have been, always will be."

Shinji spoke for the group. "Girl-form?"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Long story. I'll get into it in a bit. So what happened with Akane after your talk?"

"She had a duel with Kodachi Kuno, over you, I think, and that somehow turned into a friendship. A few months later, she and her brother left with Akane." Kasumi took another deep breath. "We later regained contact and she informed me that she and Kodachi were working as...*mumble*."

Morrigan grinned. "What was that Kasumi-chan?"

Kasumi had a major blush going on. "...lesbian dominatrixes."

"Ah," said Setsuna delicately.

"I believe Tatewaki-san fits into their work somehow. ...I didn't ask for details."

Washu nodded, keeping an admirably straight face. "Understandable."

"What about Nabiki?"

Kasumi settled back into the comfortable couch. She smiled at Asuka when the redhead put a supportive arm around her shoulders, then turned back to face Ranma. "Nabiki was doing so well...I thought she'd be one to finally make Father proud. She graduated from Todai with a first-class business degree and was immediately offered a position at Mitsui, a Fortune 500 financial Keiretsu. Father was so happy..."

Sasami spoke up, her tone comforting. "And then?"

Kasumi stared off at nothing, her eyes distant. "Two years later she was implicated in an insider trading scandal. She got only two years, and she says she was innocent, she was sacrificed by her superiors, but with a criminal record, her career..." Kasumi's eyes shimmered. "Father died soon afterwards, of a broken heart."

After a heavy silence, Ranma said, "Geez, Kasumi...that really sucks. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. I always figured that Nabiki would go into business someday, real business, but I figured she was smart enough keep her hands clean."

A second later he realized how that sounded and starting waving his hands frantically. "Not that I meant she was guilty or anything! Nonono!"

Kasumi smiled in nostalgia as Ranma's usual foot-in-mouth disease surfaced at last. He'd been doing quite well up that point. She frowned as a thought occurred to her. "But Ranma-kun...you've been in this neighborhood for a year...wouldn't your parents have told you about all this?"

Ranma's face was stone. "I haven't seen them."

Kasumi gasped. "Ranma!"

Ranma sighed. "After Akane and I had our talk, I went and told Pop it wasn't going to work out." He hefted a fist. "*Really* told him. After he, ah, recovered, he started in on how I should marry Nabiki!" He gave Kasumi a "can you believe it" look. "When I wouldn't roll over to that, he started hinting I should marry *you*. Can you believe it? I couldn't do that to you!" He seemed oblivious to the murmurs and almost inaudible snickering occurring around him as a rather unusual mixture of expressions flickered across Kasumi's face.

"You okay Kasumi?" Ranma looked at the snack arrangement suspiciously. "You didn't get a bad dim sum, did ya? Minako, you try to cook again?"

Minako balled up her small fist and punched Ranma hard on the shoulder. "Hey! Shut up you ungrateful brute!"

Kasumi managed to regain control of her face and smiled. "No, I'm fine, Ranma. I guess I was too old for you."

There was a very brief, very pregnant pause.

Even Ranma wasn't that thick. "NO! Nonononoooo...that wasn't it at all! I just-" He stopped and peered at Kasumi's innocent expression. "You mean...you weren't- you would- you...would have been okay with that?"

Kasumi sighed. "I might have been...at the time." She turned and exchanged smiles with Shinji. Ranma stared, momentarily dumbfounded. After a second, he blinked, smiled at Kasumi and grinned at Shinji. "I guess you snooze, you lose. Take good care of her, buddy. She's one in a million, and that's if you're lucky."

Shinji smiled back at his friend, glad that there were no hard feelings. Kasumi smiled as well, blinking back a few tears. Ranma was such a rare person...she felt a final twinge of regret in her heart and then she was fine. The past was the past, and that was okay.

She let out a little cough and restarted the conversation. "So...you had a conflict with your father, and then...?"

"Yeah...I pounded Pop, got harassed about bein' married to a Tendo, and by then I'd had enough. I tried talking to Mom, but she just kept on being'...oblivious I guess you could say. When I started trying to get through to her, I mean without pussyfooting around, she starting fingering her sword and talking about honor."

Ranma scowled fiercely and crossed his arms. "Tell ya the truth, by that point in my life I was sick of hearing about "honor". I was also sick of having absolutely no one to talk to and having exactly zero people on my side who didn't have an ulterior motive."

Kasumi listened intently, fascinated by this side of her old friend. She thought it was particularly interesting how his vocabulary seemed to increase or decrease depending on how agitated he was.

"I was fed up. I decided to not shake the boat for a while and go do some research on "honor"." He paused to look at Kasumi with a smirk of self-mockery on his face. "Research, not something you'd expect from me, eh Kasumi?"

She smiled back at him warmly. "I never assumed you were stupid, Ranma."

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, you were probably the only one, then. Heh, anyway, I hadn't really thought about it before, but after reading up on it, the long and short of it is that I decided the only form of "honor" I gave a crap about was my word. My own personal word. I say I'll do something, I'll damn well do it, come hell or high water. The rest of it is garbage."

"What about family honor?" said Kasumi quietly.

Ranma barked a laugh. "After the stuff Pop pulled over the years? There's not a shred of it left for the Saotome family." He paused. "Of which I'm no longer a member, by the way."

Kasumi gasped. "What? But-"

"Oh, my family name is Saotome, but it's not the *same* family. I got a new register opened."

Kasumi's eyes went even bigger. Getting an new family name created in the national registry took *major* clout. Ranma grinned. "I've got friends. Very influential friends. Saving the Emperor's butt that one time didn't hurt any, either."

"Oh my..." she said weakly.

In the background, watching quietly, Setsuna smirked. She hadn't told her husband, but she heartily approved of his move. Approved so much that she used her abilities to temporally back-date the new Saotome family so that as far as history and public record was concerned, it had existed as long as any of the other noble families. Ranma would be shocked to know how close he was to the official line of succession.

"Back on the subject of honor..." Ranma paused. "Which I've got a bit of a burr in my ass about, as you may have noticed. Most "honor" should more accurately be called "reputation", which is a worthwhile thing to defend, but not something worth ruining people's lives over. The "honor" of Japan, the "honor" of a particular martial arts style...whatever." He looked at Kasumi and shrugged. "I guess you could say I've become a bit of an individualist. Very gaijin of me, I know."

Kasumi smiled wanly, her rather traditional mindset taking a battering. "I don't think less of you for it, Ranma-kun. I...I can see how you'd come to think that way."

Ranma barked another laugh. "Yeah, spending my formative years being beat over the head with a club named "honor" by a man who had none, in any sense of the word. That would sure do it."

He crossed his arms again. "Anyway, let me do one final bit of ranting about it and we can get back to swapping stories."

"Most "honor" is what the Chinese call "face", which is a great name for it, since it's all about reputation. I've decided that what I care about is *integrity*." Ranma ticked off points on his fingers. "Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't blame. Keep your word." Ranma shrugged, seemingly a bit embarrassed by his intensity. "That sort of thing."

He looked into Kasumi's eyes. "I guess it comes down to that I'd rather focus on being a good person than one who people think is good."

Kasumi was deeply impressed. "I understand." When she had children, she hoped that they could be instilled with as good a grasp of what honor meant as Ranma had gained. She smiled as she realized that an excellent teacher would be readily available.

"So...to jump back to what we were talking about before, after I figured out what honor meant to me, I decided that with the situation with Akane resolved, none of the rest of it meant half a moldy okonimiyaki to me. With nothing keeping me in Nerima I decided to skip town, maybe go on a world tour by myself, get my head together. Then...something happened."

Ranma smiled at Kasumi's inquiring expression. "I'll tell you about it shortly. I just want to hear about a few more people." Kasumi nodded.

"What ever happened to ol' Doc Tofu?"

Kasumi blushed and twisted her hands together. "Poor Dr. Tofu...something caused his mind to snap and he had to be committed."

Ranma looked understandably surprised. "Wow. I knew he was a bit eccentric, what with the way he'd freak out when you came around, but...wow. That's too bad, he was a nice guy, taught me a bunch of useful things."

Kasumi nodded quickly, blushing badly and avoiding Ranma's eyes.

"What about *you*, Kasumi? You've told me about everyone else, but what happened to you after everyone left...and after your Dad died?"

Kasumi sighed. "After Father passed on, there was no one left to take care of. I weighed my options and decided that I wanted to have a career in either cooking or medicine. For...various reasons, I decided to become a chef." She looked up and smiled much more cheerfully. "I attended cooking school in Paris and received my Cordon Bleu certification in culinary arts, as well as a degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management." She looked down and sighed again. "I think father would have been proud of me...I hope so."

"He would have been Kasumi. I know it!"

Kasumi smiled gratefully at her old friend. "Thank you Ranma. Where was I...with my credentials and savings, I put everything I had into creating my own small family restaurant, right here in Tokyo-3. I named it the "Home Away From Home", in recognition of the one thing I felt confident I knew how to do, make people feel comfortable and at home. That was my life for five years." Kasumi paused and smiled at Asuka. "Then, just recently, Asuka-chan and I became friends, and then..." She smiled at Shinji, Asuka and Mihoshi, then turned back to Ranma and shrugged, indicating that it was too complicated to discuss right now.

"You ended up with the Shin-man. I won't press you for details on that, though I'm sure it's interesting." Ranma waggled his eyebrows suggestively, making Kasumi blush like a stoplight and Asuka glare. Shinji chuckled uncomfortably and Mihoshi just smiled.

Ranma folded his arms and thought for a minute. "Hm...I guess that's everybody I wanted to ask about. I met up with Happosai a few years back, so I don't need to ask about him."

"You met Grandfather Happosai?"

Ranma grinned. "Yep. Beat the hell out of him too. I respect him as a fighter, but the past ten years made me more than good enough to whip him. I challenged him to a match. The stakes were that if he won I'd become his true disciple, and if I won he'd acknowledge me as a full Master of his style and formally release me from any interference in developing my own style."

Kasumi paled. The thought of Ranma becoming a "true disciple" of Grandfather Happosai was deeply disturbing to anyone bearing two X chromosomes. Little did the world know how close it had come to having another unstoppable panty thief loosed on its female population. "Thank goodness you won!"

She blushed. "Ah, I meant good for you, Ranma-kun."

Ranma grinned his rogue's grin, seemingly a little less clueless than in his earlier years. "Heh, I know what yer thinking, Kasumi-chan. Don't worry, after the kind of training and fighting I'd been though, Happosai was a light workout."

"So did you create your own style?"

Ranma rocked his hand back and worth in a "so-so" gesture. "Not exactly. I mostly fight the way I was taught by Pop, plus the new stuff I've learned and made up in the past few years. I wanna wait until I've really developed my own thing before I start teachin' it or writing anything down." He smiled happily. "I came up with a name for it, though."

Kasumi smiled, amused by the way he obviously wanted her to ask the name. "What did you come up with, Ranma-kun?"

"I call my current style, and what will be my future ultimate style, the "Tekigou-ken", or "adaptable fist"." His face grew serious. "It's my way of acknowledging the effectiveness of Happosai's style while ridding it of the dishonorable connotations of the Anything Goes ryu."

Kasumi nodded approvingly, appreciating the appropriateness of the name, both for how Ranma fought and for the way it paid respect to how he was taught. "It's a good name, Ranma-kun."

"Thanks, Kasumi. I hope to make my contribution to the world of martial arts with it someday. But enough of that. Time for my story."

Makoto stuck her head in from the kitchen. "It'll have to wait, Ran-chan. Dinner first, then you can reminisce."

Ranma's stomach growled loudly, as if in agreement. "Whoa! Can't believe I almost forgot about dinner."

Ranma's wives rolled their eyes as they got to their feet. Ami said dryly, "I can't believe it either."

"Hey now...I may be a guy, but I've got feelings too." Ranma put on a very unconvincing hurt look as he shot to his feet and headed towards the kitchen door.

"Maybe..." said Setsuna, "...but most of those feelings have to do with food."

Ranma turned and smiled at her as he disappeared through the door on his search for stomach-filler. "I think about sex too, Suna-chan."

The tall, elegant green-haired woman had a small blush on her cheeks as she followed her husband into the kitchen. "Baka yaru..."

* * *

The next hour was spent eating Makoto's fine food in the main dining room. The assembled group sat at a very large circular table and chatted as they ate. The acoustics of the room were excellent, so no one had to shout and people on opposite sides of the table could converse without difficulty if desired. Someone set the inconspicuous stereo unit in the corner to a talk-free international classical station, adding a nice atmosphere to the meal.

Shinji reflected that it was almost like eating in a four-star restaurant except for the lack of wait staff. Ami had suggested that people sit in alternating positions depending on whose family they were with in order to liven things up. This worked well, and Shinji had fun chatting with Sasami on one side of him and Minako on the other. Minako told him about some of the exotic places she'd visited while modeling and Sasami answered his questions about Jurai.

After a round of ice-cream, everyone's bellies were finally filled to capacity. Ranma devoured an enormous bowl with noticeable relish.

Shinji slowly finished off his small helping of Butter Pecan Crunch. "Boy...Ranma sure likes ice-cream."

Minako laughed. "He does. I think it's because he only used to let himself eat it in his girl-form."

Shinji turned to look at the sexy blonde. "That's the second time I've heard about that." He turned to look at Ranma. "I have a hard time imagining Ranma as a woman."

Minako nodded understandingly. "He doesn't look a thing like he does now."

Shinji shook his head, finished his bowl and laid down his spoon. "This I have to see."

Around the table people were finishing their desserts and doing the same. Ranma finished his sundae and noticed the expectant gazes. He laid aside his spoon and sat back, comfortably full at last. "Okay. Story time. First off I'm going to fill you in on my early history. Since you've all shared your stories with me, it's only fair that I do the same."

He paused to collect his thoughts. "Hm. I guess the place to start would be when I was six. Pop wanted to take me on a training trip..."

* * *

Ranma spent the next thirty minutes telling them about some of the more memorable events of his journey with his father.

Shinji was both appalled and a little jealous. 'At least he got to do things together with his father. Even if Genma sounds at least as crazy as my dad.' He glanced at Tenchi. 'Tenchi's soooo lucky. His father's just a pervert.'

* * *

The next hour was about Ranma's adventures in Nerima, when he was staying with the Tendo family. Kasumi added her observations where appropriate, sometimes to Ranma's embarrassment and the audience's corresponding amusement.

Tenchi gawped. "So you used to turn into a *girl*?!"

Ranma nodded. "All the damn time. Actually, I can still do it."

"Do it? You mean...?"

"Yep." Ranma sighed. "Aright. I suppose you lot won't be satisfied until you see it at least once."

"Damn right," said Ryoko with a smirk.

Ranma gave her a flat look, which Ryoko just grinned at. Ranma grinned back, then without a flashy transformation sequence, his form *changed*.

The Masakis and Ikaris (and soon to be Ikaris) gasped. Ranma's wives smiled at their friends reactions to the familiar sight of their husband in female form.

Ranma gave Ryoko the old "pull down the lower eyelid and stick out the tongue" routine. "Bi-dahhh!" Ryoko's mouth closed with a snap.

"Heh, you looked like a fish."

Mihoshi blurted out what a lot of the guests were thinking. "Ranma, you're *gorgeous*!"

He (She? Many of the those present had a brief struggle with pronouns) certainly was. Ranma's female form was a drop-dead sexy redhead. Shorter than his male form, but not by much, Ranma's girl side was a stacked-to-the-limit bundle of sex appeal. Sparkling blue eyes, high cheekbones, luscious lips, major boobage. Kasumi ogled the cleavage exposed by Ranma's open dress shirt. 'Yum...'

Ranma-chan stood up...and blushed as her pants nearly fell off her narrower waist. Shinji, Tenchi and quite a few of the female guests grabbed for a tissue to stem nosebleeds as curvy hips and a flash of red pubic hair were briefly revealed.

Ranma-chan smiled. "Yep. I grew up nice, didn't I Kasumi?" She frowned and pulled open her shirt, revealing big, perky breasts and causing more blood to flow, unnoticed, among her friends. She twirled around, twisting to look at her rear. "Though this outfit doesn't let me show off my legs..." She stopped and knuckled her head. "Aarrgh! Darn girl hormones messing with my brain!" With a beyond-cute scowl on her face, Ranma-chan sat down and became Ranma-kun.

"That's enough of that. I don't exactly start to act like that time I hit my head (you remember that, eh, Kasumi-chan?) but my brain is definitely wired differently when I'm a girl. It didn't affect me that much when I was in Nerima, but that's 'cause I was screwed up in a different way back then."

Everyone looked at him with questioning faces, even his wives. "I had a bit of brain damage. From Pop's training." His wives faces turned murderous. "Now now, it's long past and all fixed now."

Makoto smacked her fist into her palm. "That's not the point, Ran-chan. If I ever see that panda-man, I'll..."

Minako growled, "You'll have to get in line, Mako-chan."

Ranma waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, you guys say that every time I talk about the past."

Morrigan grinned, exposing sharp canines. "And some of us at least will follow through on it, lover."

Ranma looked her in the eyes with an assessing gaze, then settled back, seemingly satisfied. "Hunh. I guess Pop can take care of himself. Not that I'll mind that much if you maim him."

"Aaaanyway...if my wives can resist the urge to fantasize about beating on Pop, I'll get to the interesting part of the story."

"So, there I was, about to leave Nerima for good as far as I knew. I packed up my stuff, the few things I cared about, which wasn't much, into my old pack and used the Silent Thief to get to the city limits. I figured it made sense to skip public transportation, 'cause Nabs was pretty good at tracing that kind of thing."

Ranma paused to eat a dim sum from the after-dinner arrangement Makoto had brought out, seemingly enjoying his audience's attention. "Great shrimp buns, Mako-chan."

"Thanks Ran-chan."

"Get on with it, Saotome!" said Asuka and Ryoko in chorus. They stopped, startled, then grinned at each other.

Ranma showed no sign that he noticed. "I was at the edge of the little bit of woods they left wild around the city when I felt a presence. Someone was there, they'd somehow gotten close to me without setting me off. I stopped and told it to show itself."

He ate another shrimp bun. "That's when things got weird."

"The presence moved off, deeper into the woods, and I had the impulse to follow it. It didn't feel hostile, and I trusted that feeling. My sense for that sort of thing is very reliable. The presence led me to a small clearing and revealed itself."

Pause. Shrimp bun.

"To my great surprise, a woman with the head of a cat appeared. Even more surprisingly, I didn't immediately get the hell out there. Something about her soothed me. To make a long story short, she was a Kami. Namely, Bast or Bastet by name, an Egyptian Kami."

Lots of big eyes in the audience, though not as many as one would think. "A Kami?! A Kami appeared to you?" That was Kasumi.

Ranma nodded. "Yep. Turns out the Kami are alive and well, they just don't show up on Earth much these days. Bast needed someone to do something for her, and I was the one she wanted."

* * *

For the next hour Ranma told the tale of his off-plane adventures in Bast's service. He grinned as he told them how some of the other Kami got jealous that Bast had, as he put it, "such a cool Champion," and offered him tasks to accomplish for them, with commensurate rewards. Bast was apparently okay with this as long as she had priority.

"I picked up a lot of new tricks from those little jobs, and a few interesting trinkets too."

"And almost got killed a hundred times over!" huffed Ami, putting a hand on his shoulder as if to reassure herself he was still alive. Ranma just shrugged. They'd argued about this point before.

"Bast cured my neko-phobia and healed my brain damage, and she's always been square with me, so she's got my loyalty." He fingered the cat's head amulet around his neck. "She gave me this amulet as a sign of our connection. It allows me to communicate with her, among other things. She also taught me to control my shapechanging."

"So *that's* where you disappear to all the time," said Shinji, with the satisfied air of a person who has solved a long-standing mystery.

He knew that Ranma did some work training a very select clientele in advanced martial arts, mostly bodyguards for high-ranking Japanese officials, but that couldn't explain all the time he spent abroad. Then there was his martial arts supply line and movie work, but that still wouldn't cover it all, not to mention that Ranma usually mentioned when he was going to be out for those reasons. It was the times he disappeared without giving any, or very little, warning that he'd never been able to account for. After another moment of thought, he frowned as he spotted a flaw in his logic.

"But...no, that can't be it, because your wives usually leave at the same time." He looked at Morrigan and the rest. "Unless they leave because they know you're not going to be here for a while...."

"Nah, that ain't it. One more big secret to cover, I'll get to it momentarily."

"So, after about a year of kicking around a bunch of stranger than strange places, I finally returned to Earth. Lots of stuff happened after that, seems like it always does in my life. I did a couple movies, you know the ones, just to get myself some cash and get set up. Bast would have provided me with money, but I wanted to get back in the loop of relatively normal life."

Everyone nodded when Ranma mentioned his movies. They did indeed know about those. He'd only done two, but that was enough for the media to label him, "The Second Coming of Bruce Lee!" as one newspaper put it. His combination of looks, charisma and dazzling martial arts moves had made the movies an enormous crossover success.

To this day scripts arrived in the mail from both the Hong Kong and Hollywood movie machines, begging him to star in another. When his friends asked him about it, Ranma had replied that the movies were a means to an end, he had no interest in doing another. They had certainly served their purpose, netting him several hundred million yen and allowing him to create a line of "Ranma Saotome brand" martial arts supplies for an ongoing cash supply. Shinji suspected he'd sunk a fair bit of that wealth into this house, but given that Ranma's main interests were martial arts and food as opposed to the usual movie star interests of sports cars and cocaine, the remaining money was probably enough to set him for life.

"The movies were kind of fun, and the fame was entertaining for a while, but it got annoying pretty fast. I roamed around the world a bit, visited some temples, kicked a few asses...had fun. Then the next big post-Nerima event of my life occurred." He gestured at his wives. "I met them." They smiled fondly at him.

Tenchi said, "Them? You mean they were all together?" He looked at Minako and the others, noting their apparent ages. "School chums?"

"Good guess. They *were* friends at school, minus Morrigan and Lillith."

"Still, that doesn't explain how you ended up married to the lot of them. Not to mention two succubae," said Washu.

Ranma smiled ruefully. "Heh, that story would take too long to get into right now." He gestured at the windows and there was a collective instant of surprise that it was so late. It was pitch black outside, it being a new moon.

"I think everyone's going to want to go home and start their evening routine soon, so let's just show them, girls, then I'll explain what we spend our 'secret time' doing." Minako, Makoto, Setsuna, Hotaru and Ami all nodded and pushed back their chairs. "You've already seen Morrigan and Lillith's secret. Well...here's the other one." He smiled at his wives. "Might as well make this dramatic."

Minako, Makoto, Setsuna, Hotaru and Ami smiled, stood, pulled out small pen-like objects, held them up and said all together-

"Venus Planet Power-"

"Jupiter Planet Power-"

"Pluto Planet Power-"

"Saturn Planet Power-"

"Mercury Planet Power-"

"Pretty Chibi Succubus Power-

"MAKE UP!"

The Masaki and Ikari families gasped as Ranma's wives (and Lillith, who had decided to join the fun) disappeared in a very showy display of shimmering glows and sparkles, reappearing clad in stylized sailor fuku. Lillith had used her abilities to create a very lolicon little outfit of her own, complete with a cute and vaguely phallic pink wand.

"We are...the Sailor Senshi! Well, most of them."

"And mascot," said Morrigan dryly.

Lillith preened.

* * *

In what was to be the final major disclosure of the night, Ranma told of how he and the Senshi battled the infrequent other-dimensional incursions into Japan's territories.

Ayeka asked, "All the way over to the other islands? How do you-"

Ami smiled. "Sailor Teleport."

"Very convenient," said Sasami with an answering smile.

"It sure is," said Ranma. "When something comes through, which doesn't happen all that often, and it's usually nothing major, it can show up pretty much anywhere, though some parts of Japan are hot spots."

"Like Old Tokyo," said Washu, a knowing look in her green eyes.

"Yep. That place is a like a hot spring for nasties."

Tenchi mused, "So your friend Usagi is Princess of the Moon? That's...interesting."

"Yep. Eventually to be Queen of the Earth, though Set-chan says that that isn't a sure thing anymore."

Setsuna smiled enigmatically.

Ranma told them about the other Senshi, swearing them all to secrecy about the whole thing almost as an afterthought. The others being Usagi and Rei and their husband Mamoru and Hotaru's adoptive parents Michiru and Haruka.

Mihoshi clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Wow, Ranma, you married all the Senshi except for Usagi, Rei and the lesbian couple! That's amazing!" She gave Ranma's wives a speculative look. "Are they into group sex or something? Or are they-"

Shinji shut his babbling fiancée up the only way he could think of, by kissing her. "Mmmmmph....mmm...."

Setsuna and the rest of the Senshi exchanged mortified looks, which quickly changed into amusement. Minako gave a little shrug and then turned a smoky look on her fellow wives as if to say, "Well, we *do*..." Ami licked her lips seductively and then gave her own little shrug and head shake as if to say, "Later." The others smirked or nodded before regaining their calm expressions.

Ranma rolled his eyes at all the byplay. "Alright, well I guess that's it for now. It's getting pretty late." He smiled at his assembled friends. "It's been really nice getting to know everyone better. I'm really glad that fate brought us together in this part of Tokyo-3."

Everyone smiled and nodded, murmuring their agreement. There was a strong sense of collective relief at getting things out in the open. Keeping things from such close friends had been an unpleasant duty, something that had galled all of their souls to a greater or lesser degree.

Kasumi smiled her warm, gently radiant smile and bowed. "I look forward to the next time we can all gather."

Sasami bowed back with a glorious smile of her own. "I look forward to it very much, Kasumi-chan."

Setsuna bowed and said, "It will be a pleasure. I offer our house as a meeting place, since we have the most space."

There was another round of bows and smiles. "That would seem wise, Setsuna-san," said Kasumi.

"Our sitting room would have enough space if I create another couch," said Washu. "I'll do that immediately." Tenchi smiled his thanks for Washu's help. Washu smiled back, happy that she was making points with Tenchi. She frequently helped all three families with things like fabrication of special items and advice about purchases of a technical nature.

She didn't mind making things for people, especially these people. It was easy, fun, and cost was no object for someone whose lab consisted of five entire planets. She especially liked requests like Asuka's "Red Room", relishing anything that allowed her to exercise her creativity and formidable design skills.

Sasami, Kasumi and Setsuna bowed to Washu, who gracefully bowed back. Setsuna said, "An alternate meeting place would be excellent, Washu-san. On behalf of the Saotome family, I would like to thanks you for all the things you've helped us with over the last year." Washu blushed a little, not used to such sincere and formal gratitude. "You're very welcome Setsuna-san, it was no trouble at all."

Asuka bowed to her as well. "Yes, thank you Washu, very much. I still owe you big time."

Washu laughed and flickered a glance at Shinji, so fast it was almost unnoticeable. "No problem Asuka." It would be rude to mention the possible of repayment at the moment, but that didn't mean she couldn't fantasize about it.

Tenchi smiled and placed a hand on Washu's shoulder. "There isn't enough time in a day to mention all the things Washu-chan has done for us over the years. Needless to say she is a very important and appreciated member of the Masaki family."

Now Washu was really blushing. Ryoko frowned slightly, Ayeka likewise, though she quickly replaced her frown with a polite smile. Sasami smiled very happily and warmly, enjoying the sight of her sister getting the appreciation she deserved from the man she knew her sister loved, however much Washu seemed to avoid that issue.

She had noticed Washu's glances at the men (and women) of the Saotome and Ikari families, but that had to do with the fact that her sister was (Tsunami could admit this in the privacy of her own mind) a massive pervert. That notwithstanding, she knew that Tenchi Masaki was the man Washu really loved. 'Now if we can only get her to commit openly.'

As everyone got up to file down the stairs to the front door, Asuka remembered something. "Oh! Wait a minute, everybody." Everyone stopped and looked inquiringly at her. "We forgot to discuss the plans for the engagement party!"

Shinji gave her an enquiring look. "Party?"

Asuka gave her husband a saucy grin. "Of course. We have to have a bachelorette party." Her eyes went wide. "Oh, and your birthday is coming up too!"

Shinji nodded. "And then there's our anniversary." He smiled. "Don't think I forgot."

Asuka gave him a tender look. "You never do."

Mihoshi bounced. "Oh! Oh, I *love* parties! Why don't we have one *big* party, a really *really* big party?"

Ranma chuckled at Mihoshi's enthusiasm. "Sounds great. We'll have a birthday party, a bachelor party and an anniversary celebration all in one. We can have it here, it's the only place with enough room."

"Maybe," said Washu. "There might be one other place with enough room." She looked significantly at Asuka.

"Hmm...that's a definite possibility," replied the redhead with a look of contemplation on her face. "We'll have to get together and discuss."

The women of the three families exchanged glances and murmurs. The three men rolled their eyes and shared a knowing look. "Eh, party planning ain't my strong suit anyway," muttered Ranma. Tenchi smiled, knowing that they weren't going to be responsible for much, other than maybe some manual labor. Shinji rocked on his heels, thinking about what to get Asuka for an anniversary present.

Amidst friendly chatter, everyone poured down the stairs and out the front door, exchanging good-byes with the Saotome family and promises to get together again soon.

And so ended the first great Three Families Get-Together. The first, but definitely not the last.

* * *

End - Payback Chapter 09 - Dinner and Conversations

* * *

Next chapter: The Party! Food, entertainment, and lots of things to make Kasumi-chan say, "Oh my!"

* * *

Author's note 01: Again, complaints about the citrus-free nature of this chapter will be ignored. It was necessary to settle things in my mind and allow me to streamline future chapters, which now *don't* have to contain mini-histories of what everyone has been doing for the past 10 years.

Author's note 02: Some of Kasumi's story doesn't jive with what she said in chapter 3. I'm aware of that. I'll probably ending up revising that chapter once I finish the timeline.

* * *

Omake 01

* * *

"...and Ryo-ohki's out being spayed."

*gasp*

"Oh my!"

Ryoko: "Grrrr...she got too aggressive around my Tenchi!"

Ayeka: "On that one thing we can agree, monster woman."

Sasami: *sob*

Washu: 'I think the author just forgot about her...'

Author: 'Damn Ryo-ohki...gotta revise the whole thing to include her..."Miyaa!" my ass.'

* * *

Omake 02

* * *

"Why an *Egyptian* Kami, though? Why not a Japanese Kami?"

"Er...damn good point. I have no idea."

Author: 'Damn Metroanime fanon, making me think of Bast before anything else!'

* * *

Omake 03

* * *

Asuka, to Tenchi and Ranma (mostly Ranma): "I know Bachelor parties traditionally have strippers. Well that's *not* going to happen at this party."

Tenchi: 'I wouldn't have even thought of it...'

Ranma: "Ok..."

Asuka, brightly: "Because *we'll* be the strippers!"

Tenchi: O_O

Ranma: 'Lap-daaance...' *channeling Neil Patrick Harris from H&KGTWC*

* * *

Omake 04

* * *

Washu's stomach turned over. "Something tells me that would be a very bad idea."

Ranma nodded gravely. "Yeah, my gut says the same thing. I get a really bad feeling about what would happen if he really flipped out with that S2 thingee providing 'unlimited energy'."

Washu nodded fervently. "Very wise, Ranma-dono. I would not recommend stressing Shinji-dono heavily until he gains considerable control over his new organ."

Author: "Can you say 'six energy wings that reach all the way into orbit'? Can you say 'Sea of Dirac'? Can you say 'N2 mines have absolutely no effect'? Can you say, 'Tree of Life'? Can you say 'reverse AT-field which turns everyone into Tang?' Ooooh yeah, bad idea baby, real real bad."

* * *

Omake 05

* * *

Readers: "But what about Gendo? And Misato? And Rei? And-"

Author: "For Crissake this thing is *seventeen-thousand* frickin' words long! I have to stop writing it sometime!!!"

* * *

Omake 06 - contributed by John Keane, edited slightly by me for a closer match to the original

* * *

Akane: "Bring out the gimp."

Kodachi: "Gimp's sleeping."

Akane: "Well I guess you're gonna have to go wake him up then."

* * *

Bonus 01 - Payback Timeline

* * *

Payback Timeline [currently very fragmentary]


1997 - Tenchi is born.

1998 - Ranma is born.

1999 - Shinji's parents meet.

2000 - Second impact.

2001 - Shinji is born. Asuka is born.

2014 - Tenchi is 17 and frees Ryoko from the cave. Wackiness ensues. Ranma comes to Nerima. He is 16. Wackiness ensues. Luna the Moon-cat finds Usagi Tsukino, the Princess of the Moon. Usagi, Rei, Ami, Minako, Makoto are all 14. Haruka and Michiru are 16. Setsuna is thousands of years old, but looks about 20. Hotaru is 12.

2015 - Angel War, including 3rd impact, which is controlled by Shinji, who resets to just before the Angel War. Essentially he makes it so that the impact of the 3rd impact is nil. Tenchi and co. are off-planet at the time, warned by one of Sasami's prophetic dreams. Ranma and the NWC experience it, as do all the people on the planet, but most think it was just an odd dream or minor paranormal experience. Only a few mystics and scholars know the truth. Senshi fight most of their opponents.

2016 - Ranma fights Saffron. The Sailor Senshi finish off the last of their major menaces.

2017 - Ranma leaves Nerima, becoming the Champion of Bast. Akane, Kodachi and Tatewaki leave, forming a lesbian dominatrix duo plus gimp. Kasumi drives Dr. Tofu around the bend and then leaves to go to cooking school. Nabiki goes to business school.

2018 - Tenchi marries Ryoko and Ayeka. Ranma returns to Earth after a year of off-plane adventures. He makes a couple of chopsocky movies and makes some serious money. The two movies and the pre and post production consume most of 2018.

2019 - Shinji and Asuka get married. Kasumi receives her Cordon Bleu certification. Soon afterwards, she moves to Tokyo-3 and opens "A Home Away From Home". It is an immediate hit. "Dr. Tofu's Funhouse" has its short run on late night cable. Annoyed by fame, Ranma roams the world for a year.

2020 - Ranma meets the Sailor Senshi. In an interesting incident, he, they and Morrigan and Lillith end up together.

2021 - Nabiki graduates with a first-class business degree, minoring in accounting, and joins a Fortune 500 financial Zaibatsu.

2022 - Tenchi marries Sasami. Nabiki is implicated in an insider training scandal and goes to jail. Soun Tendo dies of terminal depression soon after her sentencing.

2023 - Shinji and Asuka move to the "New Nerima" prefecture of New Toyko-3 and meet the Saotomes and Masakis who have also recently moved to the neighborhood. Over the course of the next year they all become great friends.

2024 - Payback begins. Shinji is 23. Ranma is 26. Tenchi is 27. Hotaru graduates with a degree in history and literature. Nabiki will be released sometime during this year.

* * *

Bonus 02 - Payback Character Profiles

[not included due to them being unfinished and possible spoilers. I might include them in the future though.]

* * *

PAYBACK 09 - REAL FINAL END