After sorting through the mail, between stacks of bills and magazines, there is a discovery: a crudely scrawled postcard with markings from across the sea. It read, simply, "Hi. Bringing Ranma from China. Saotome."

On the veranda, in the full sweltering heat of summer, a mustachioed man sheds a single tear over the card. The sky will pour torrential rains soon, but the man focuses solely on the tattered paper in his hands. The panda on the front of the postcard appears supernaturally tranquil in front of the man's stern control of his emotions. Hesitantly, almost daring not to believe, the man raises the card with steady hands and reads it out loud, "Ranma? Coming here?" If it not for the man's iron stoicism, his joyous tears would flow more freely, "Oh how I've waited for this day."

*********

Bill presents:

Ranma ½, A Man's Woman

Part One: Here's the Tendos

*********

Within the Tendo's Martial Arts School of Indiscriminate Grappling, a voice sounded out, "Hey! Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!" Oddly, there was no response.

"Kasumi!!" The voice demanded again.

"Yes Daddy?" A lovely looking girl asked as she deftly split a series of watermelons in the family kitchen.

"Nabiki!!" The voice called, in search of its wayward charges.

Blithely, the sought after girl paused from her ice pop and martial arts magazine for a moment to inquire, "Mm?"

"Akane!!" The voice did not pause for even a moment. It was close now, but still seeking. "Where IS that girl?"

The girl in question, Akane Tendo, was at the apex of a gravity-defying leap as the voice of her father called out her name for the second time. Oblivious to this, though, thoughts of school and friends filtered past a newly acquired martial technique in her mind, but her footing was strong and sure as she landed lightly upon the top of chain link fence. Sighting her home, Akane's long legs stretched out into their full sprinter's glory and she broke into a dead run along the fence top.

"Hi, I'm ho-o-o-ome!" Akane called as she sailed through the sturdy oak front door of the Tendo household. Hearing no immediate answer, she proceeded directly to the dojo and began to set up. School clothing flew off at lightning speed, only to be replaced by a heavily worn karate gi. The elbows and knees had been patched and repatched after years of use. Cinching the outfit was an ancient blackbelt that, upon closer inspection, appeared to carry the name of the girl's grandfather.

Bending down, the teenage girl secured 17 of 18 heavy concrete blocks into spring-loaded catapults. The last block she strapped to her left knee, placing her body in a precarious stalemate with gravity as she balanced on her unencumbered right. Her right arm was bent at an odd angle behind her back, tucked snugly under her belt. For just a moment she paused to focus her will on the surroundings, taking in the warm brown colors of the worn dojo floor and the coolness of the breeze across her skin as it blew through the open door. Then, almost causally, she pulled a cord overhead. Instantly the tension on the springs was released and all 17 blocks raced directly towards the spot that the girl had occupied seconds before. Akane, though, had already launched herself into the air off of her right leg. A mere fraction of a second later, the room exploded in a riot of concrete dust. The martial artist landed lightly and, with the back of her left hand, wiped the grainy sweat off of her brow.

"Ahhh." She sighed. "That was nice."

A familiar voice interrupted the all-to-temporary peace the youngest daughter had sought, "There you go again, Akane." Nabiki Tendo, the speaker, stood a few yards away from her sister. "No wonder all the boys think you're so weird."

Irritated, Akane cast a glance back over her shoulder, "So why should I care? Not everyone thinks the world revolves around boys."

"No?" Nabiki asked in a slightly mocking tone as she laced her fingers behind her head. "Then I guess this wouldn't interest you."

*********

"Fiancé!?"

"Yes. The son of a very good friend of ours."

"The son's name is Ranma Saotome. If one of you three girls were to marry him and carry on this training center then the Tendo family legacy would be secure."

"Wait a minute, husband." Kimiko Tendo said, stepping out from the kitchen. She was wiping her hands on her apron, despite the fact that they were plainly clean. To anyone else it might have seemed a small gesture, but the entire family knew it indicated her extreme annoyance. Fixing her husband with a mild scowl, she continued.

"Don't my daughters have any say in who they marry? Why, they've never even met Ranma."

Soun Tendo smiled kindly at his wife's concern for her children. Inwardly, though, her cursed mildly. It had become clear that in such a battle, it was best to stall one's opponents until such time as a suitable plan could be found. Momentarily, Soun Tendo was lost in the memory of the development of the Saotome Secrete Technique. Ah well, for now it was best to placate all four women at once. His wife might appear mild mannered, but he had married a woman who had enough iron in her spine to match his own.

"That's easily fixed." Soun said, grinning broadly.

*********

At the same time, only a few blocks away, a strange scene played itself out. A small redheaded girl, who's Chinese style clothing were soaked through and through, dashed at top speed away from a curious pursuer. Behind the cherub-like prey followed an equally speedy, albeit gigantic, panda. For most of the pedestrians on that rain soaked day, the unlikely pair raced by too fast for any reliable sighting, but a few managed to catch the final showdown.

The girl, displaying phenomenal agility and strength, leapt into the air and out of the grasping [pun] bear hug of the Panda. "Yo! Cut that-" She bellowed, flinging her rucksack a safe distance. "Out!" Red finished, punctuating her order with a crushing sidekick. The panda, despite his enormous bulk, slid all the way across the rain soaked street.

Standing, the beast wiped it jowls with the back of its paw. It spat out the drop of blood the kick had drawn. This fight was going to be serious and here was one large land mammal that fully intended to see it through to its conclusion.

"Say -- is that a panda?" The owner of a local noodle cart called out.

"That is a panda, isn't it?" Another man asked his friend.

The girl, sensing the same-self panda's deep determination, stood her ground. "Your move."

Responding to the taunt, the animal blurred forward. Its lighting paws flashed in and out, seeking an opening. The girl, though, was untouchable. She bobbed and weaved around the darting claws of her furry opponent.

"Well I still say this whole thing sucks." The girl shouted as she dodged another blow. And there it was. The Panda had over extended itself. Turning sharply, Red capitalized on the minute mistake and grabbed hold of the thick forepaw. "Picking my fiancée for me." As she shifted her weight, the bamboo eater was hoisted off his feet and sent crashing into a street sign. ".Without even asking!!"

The girl stood panting for a moment. It would be all to easy to beat the furry fluff out of her downed opponent, but she had more important business to attend to.

"I'm going back to China." Red said, flipping her single braid. "Suck on that old man!"

The rain had ceased and it was time to be on her way. The girl collected her bag and shoes from the place they had been discarded during the fight. The whole while she studiously ignored the oversize mound of flab and fur she had just defeated. There would be time enough to deal with him fully when she returned.

*klong*

The panda's plan had worked perfectly. To be more specific, the plan he had come up with after having his fuzzy behind handed to him had worked perfectly. Hefting his small charge, he congratulated himself that all that remained was to take the rebellious youngster and finish the last leg of their journey. That, and to scare off the all too curious onlookers.

"Grrr" "Owrr"

*********

Back at the Tendo School of Martial Arts School of Indiscriminant Grappling a very informative conversation was taking place.

"Ranma and his father have been on a voyage of training. Recently, it seems, they crossed into China."

"Wow! China!" The middle daughter said, leaning her elbows onto the table.

"Did he swim, like we did Daddy?" Akane asked. Perhaps this fiancée thing wouldn't be a total loss if the guy knew his way around a dojo. And he kept his hands to himself, she amended.

"Is he cute?" Nabiki asked. It was perhaps the most important question. This was surely the act of a misogynistic patriarchy, Nabiki thought sourly, but still, she knew where her priorities lay. Well traveled or not, boyfriends needed to be cute. Even better if they were hot.

"You know I'm fairly serious about Kenshiro, Mother. I can't give up my boyfriend just because daddy says I have a fiancée."

Turning from her eldest daughter's complaint, Kimiko spoke. "What sort of man is this Ranma?" She asked her husband, cutting right to the topic.

Soun was brought up short. Direct and incisive: This was exactly the sort of question he should have expected from his wife. It was no wonder that his daughters were all excellent martial strategists. Soun cleared his throat as a plan came to mind. As his wife had just shown, there were times when frankness was an asset. Soun prayed that this was one of those times.

"No idea."

Nabiki slammed her hands on the table in an act of open outrage. "No idea?"

"I've never met him."

"Leggo ya old fool!" A high-pitched voice called out, interrupting a potentially volatile situation. The cry was immediately followed by sounds of a struggle at the front gate. Soun, sensing an opportunity to remove himself from the site of any forthcoming verbal abuse, went to see about the visitors. Nabiki, not dissuaded by her father's retreat, followed along. She wondered out loud if this could perhaps be the fabled Ranma she had heard so little about.

The three remaining women stayed seated at the table. There was little to say for the first few moments. It was clear that the husband of one and the father of two had gone completely off his gourd. Saying so, however, did something to alleviate the tension and Kimiko commended her eldest daughter on the astute observation.

"I don't know, Momma. If Ranma's father is anything like daddy, then I bet he's just as freaked out as we are." Akane said.

"I'm sure he is daughter." Kimiko sighed and sipped some tea she prepared. "Do you both remember Mrs. Saotome? You met her at the Spring Festival last year? Well, she and I are old friends and we have tea together occasionally. Her husband, who used to train with you father, had taken their son on a ten-year training trip. I'm sure Ranma is a fine young man, but I can't imagine what his father has done to him. We'll just have to sit down and sort this out."

Akane sat stunned, her own tea forgotten. Ten years? It was almost incomprehensible for her that this boy could have been away from his home for so long. Her father had taken all his girls on training trips since before she could remember, but never more than a few months and then only when school was out. It must have been horrible for Ranma to be without his mother for so long. Not to mention all the time he must have spent moving from town to town, never staying in any one place long enough to get to know anyone. The life of a martial artist was fraught with perils, her father had told her. On the other hand, her mother had said that the greatest strength came from one's family. Seated at the table, Akane steeled her resolve. Boy or not, Ranma was going to need a friend when he arrived.

The hurried return of her father and sister broke Akane out of her determined reverie. Both Tendo's were running at top speed to escape what appeared to be a giant panda. Upon closer examination, it was revealed to be a giant panda with a small body flung over its shoulder. The person in question sat up and yelled at, of all things, the panda.

"Hey! Yo! You're scarring 'em spitless!"

"Daddy, is that your friend?" Kasumi asked warily.

Soun violently shook his head. This day was not going anything like what he had planned. There must be a way to salvage it from this intrusion. He just needed a moment to focus.

"Oh. So this panda just decides to visit! Happens all the time!" Nabiki quipped.

"Girls just calm down. We don't want to scare this animal any more than it already is." Kimiko said in a soothing voice, while placing herself between her girls and the bear. She hoped her words placated the panda bear as much as her own daughters.

The same-self panda choose that moment to set the girl down directly in front of Soun. For a moment, the two stood stock-still and simply stared at one another. Neither one knew the other, but in that instant they both recognized the same look of resigned confusions on the other's face. Then, simultaneously, both came to the same conclusion: It was going to be a long day.

Identification of the panda-borne person came almost immediately to Kimiko Tendo. The girl, for that was plainly what gender she was, who stood in front of them, was nearly the spitting image of Nodoka Saotome in her school days. Stepping in front of her weary looking husband, Kimiko bowed.

"I am very pleased to meet you, Saotome-san."

Soun's jaw worked up and down a few times before he regained the power of speech. " aren't.?"

The girl looked away, eyes down cast. "Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this."

At that moment, Soun Tendo became deeply embarrassed by his lack of etiquette. Despite the previous troubles of the day and the fact that Ranma Saotome was so obviously not a boy, not to mention the continued presence of a giant panda, he had not acted in a manner befitting a true martial artist. Well, girl or no girl, the child of his best friend deserved more of a reception than she had received. Before his daughters could begin the interrogation they so plainly wanted to conduct, Soun bowed low as his wife had just done.

"I am extraordinarily glad to meet you Saotome-san. Please come in. Kimiko, would you fix some more tea for our visitor? Girls, please show this young lady to the dojo." Soun said, hoping to have a chance to speak with his wife in private. This was a situation that would require the utmost care. "Please remember that she is our guest." He added warningly.

Nabiki and Kasumi hung back, torn between their father's admonition and their desire to find out exactly how such an error in communication had occurred. They both knew that their Daddy would not tolerate any rudeness, especially to a guest, so curiosity was temporarily forgotten. Akane, feeling none of the hesitation that her sisters did, decided to make good on her earlier promise to herself. Stepping up, she tapped the other girl lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey, join me in the practice hall?"

Ranma found himself staring up into perhaps the nicest smile he had seen in some years. Though still unsure of how to act in this situation, it spoke volumes to him that the Tendos had accepted his incorrect gender with no problem. Perhaps, he thought, this place wouldn't be so bad after all. Tearing himself away from the youngest daughter for a moment, he noted the expressions of her sisters. Well, perhaps there would be some small problems. Still, the girl called Akane appeared to be making a genuine effort to be nice.

"I'm Akane. You want to be friends?" Akane asked. Her entire face lit up on the last word.

The breath caught in Ranma's throat. He could only manage the slightest of smiles in response.

*********

As Ranma entered the dojo, he noted the rough, well-used appearance of the place. The floor, walls and ceiling had all been patched and re- patched so that the room became a collage of fading brown and tan. Pausing at the door, he reached his hand out and felt one of the main support beams. It was a thick piece, made of fire-treated oak. It was the kind of wood that could stand up to the most brutal punishment: as hard as stone, but with a give that would last a hundred years. It wasn't a pretty place, Ranma admitted, but at its core, this was a dojo built for fighting and training. He would enjoy being here.

"You do Kempo, right?" Akane asked as she walked into the dojo. She paused to cinch up her belt.

"A little." Ranma answered.

"Then lets have a little match, Ok?" Akane said as she motioned her sisters into the dojo. Kasumi and Nabiki had changed into gi's like Akane's. Both bowed as the entered and kneeled down near the side wall. Akane took up a basic stance, one hand held chambered by her side, while the other floated in front, ready to block incoming attacks.

"Huh?" Ranma asked intelligently, seeing the two sisters pick up referee flags, one red to match his own shirt and the other white for Akane's uniform. Apparently the youngest daughter didn't mean for this to be a friendly 'little match.'

Seeing the other girl eye her sisters uncomfortably, Akane realized that perhaps a fully judged bout was too much pressure to put on her new friend right now. It would be best for their guest if they both just loosened up. Turning towards Kasumi and Nabiki, she motioned them to put down the flags and mouthed the words, "Just for fun."

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Akane added out loud, hoping to calm Ranma down.

"If you say so." Ranma said, eyeing her opponent critically.

Akane's eyes widened slightly. The other girl seemed not to have moved at all, but suddenly her entire body was loose. Akane realized that her guest no longer considered this match little at all. Though the red headed girl had her feet together and her hands clasped behind her back, her unreadyness was a deception. Akane knew that Ranma held her body in such a way as to appear totally calm, but at any moment she might explode. This was going to be so much fun!

Knowing that her opponent stood ready galvanized Akane into action. She charged forward, throwing out a basic feint. As her fist curved widely around, she expected the other girl to block or at least duck. Instead, Ranma simply leaned back, allowing the punch to sail by. Without warning, Akane's foot lashed out in a low sweep. The redhead's back arched as she fell and she executed a quick handspring over the trip. Before her opponent righted herself, Akane's sent her other foot curving towards her challenger's head. Ranma executed a forearm block, but only just barely. Akane noted with some satisfaction that the impact of her kick managed to jar her opponent's entire body. Rather than step back, as many fighters might do after such a blow, Ranma skipped forward and began to weave her hands in and out of Akane's guard in an impressive display of in-fighting. Suddenly, the redhead's blows were coming fast and furious. The tide of the fight, however, remained decisively in Akane's favor. An elbow was blocked, a short punch was slapped down and abruptly, Akane saw her opening. She pulled one of Ranma's forearms towards her while sliding her other hand along the smaller girl's wrist and twisting it over. Her plan worked and Ranma's hands became momentarily entangled. That split second was more that the heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts needed to launch a lighting-quick barrage of blows into her opponent's stomach. Then, bending her knees fractionally, Akane exploded into a jumping uppercut, sending the redhead flying backwards.

Executing an amazing twist in the air, Ranma landed in a three point crouch, her other hand cocked back for a potential strike. Seeing that Akane had not pressed her advantage, though, Ranma stood and began to weave back and forth across the dojo. Obviously, he had underestimated his opponent, he thought as he danced from one foot to the other. Akane was fast, strong and skilled. He was definitely going to have to pull it together if he was going to have any chance of winning this fight. Ranma's grin was almost feral as a plan crystallized in his mind; for the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, there was a single guaranteed way to trounce one's opponents. Action decided, Ranma blurred forward much faster than before. Akane, though, was not caught unaware and raced to meet her opponent. She only paused momentarily as she caught sight of a look of pure confidence on her opponent's face. Drawing near to one another, both fighters leapt into the air. Akane coiled her body around into a devastating reverse side kick. As Ranma saw this, the full spectrum of attacks at his disposal collapsed into the perfect counter-strike. He caught his opponent's ankle in the crook of his knee and used the girl's leg to spin himself around, catching Akane across the jaw with his heel. Momentarily stunned, the youngest Tendo received two more vicious punches to her torso. Ranma then released his stunned opponent and sent her crashing into the wood floor with a brutal stomp. With the last blow, the Saotome heir had managed to propel himself to the far end of the dojo where he landed lightly and turned to survey the damage he had wrought.

Seated at the sidelines, Kasumi and Nabiki had seen things start off much as they had expected it; Akane had taken it easy on the new girl. The fight, though, had quickly escalated into an impressive display of martial excellence. Ranma had surprised them with a stunning combination of blocks and punches. Akane, true to form, had riposted with a subtle, albeit punishing, display of the Thief's Handshake form. But then, when the fight seemed decidedly in their sister's favor, Ranma's aerial assault had definitively swung things back in the challenger's favor. The Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts prided itself on being effective at any combat range, but both sisters had come to the conclusion that they were obviously outclassed by the Saotomes in that particular arena. Even now, they could see that Akane had reached the same deduction, as she was obviously wary of any further airborne engagement. Rising from her landing spot on the dojo floor, Akane quickly bridged the distance between herself and her opponent, eliminating her Ranma's advantage. The red-head wisely stayed out of the range of Akane's more compact attacks, but both had begun to fight in earnest once more. Strikes were exchanged with greater and greater swiftness, but neither managed to land so much as a slap on the other. Together, the two fighters danced back and forth across the dojo floor, twisting sinuously to a rhythm that was determined in the space between one moment and the next. To the sisters sitting beside the epic battle, it became more and more apparent that no one in the family had been pushing Akane for quite some time. The expertise, speed and power she was displaying in her fight against this newcomer reminded them both how far and how fast Akane had risen in the Art. The challenger, Ranma, seemed to be equally hard pressed, but it appeared that neither would give any quarter on the dojo floor.

Then unexpectedly, the finale came. Akane lunged forward, the weight of her entire body behind a powerful straight right punch. Sensing that, as his father had done earlier that day, the Tendo girl had overextended herself, Ranma struck. He flipped over Akane's outstretched fist. As he landed behind, the redhead shot out his hand to tap a pressure point at the nape of Akane's neck. The subtle force would incapacitate the girl and end the fight. A split-second before his strike could land, Ranma felt a subtle shift in the air current: He had been tricked! The Tendo's foot exploded through Ranma's midsection, flinging him away towards the dojo entrace. Unfortunately, Ranma's graceful flight was interrupted as he smashed into one of the solid main support beams. Ranma managed a slight smile just before he lapsed into unconsciousness. His opponent, he noted with grudging respect, had time to turn and watch the result of her attack before she collapsed abruptly into a boneless heap on the rough floor.

*********

Author's Notes: So I got to thinking, "What would it be like if Akane were just as good as Ranma?" All in all, it appeared to me that there would be more friction, not less. But then I considered the root causes. What would make Akane better? If Soun had trained Akane hard. As hard as Ranma had been trained. Well, why doesn't he do that originally? Too emotionally fragile, right?. What made him so? The death of his wife. Bing! If Kimiko, as I am calling her, had continued living, things would be a lot different for the entire family. I'm hoping this story will turn into a R+A love thing, but right now I'm just playing around, so something else might come up.

Always remember to take it easy!

Oh, and C+C always welcome. The more the better, I always say!