Weaved Fates

Knit One: Stitches of Ranma

By F22wannabe

Disclaimer: There once was a disclaimer from Nantucket... this isn't it. Ranma, Wheel of Time, and any other 'borrowed' material/characters belong to really wealthy people, and not to a poor student such as myself.

Warning: AU Ranma/WoT hybrid, with personal embellishments. Old Tongue will not adhere to published version with regularity. I will do my best to keep characters in character. Minor changes to rules of One Power are also in effect.

Synopsis: Ch1: Family Tendo meets Family Saotome.

- ROUGH DRAFT AHEAD - ONE SHOT STYLE -

Ch. 1 - Omnipresent Pain in the Head

She hated her room. She hated her home. She hated her school. She hated her neighborhood. She hated Nerima. She hated Tokyo. All of it. She hated the cars, wretched smoking hunks of warped steel and electric sparked explosions. Squealing tires and flashing lights made her want to wretch. She hated the buildings, tall concrete slabs hiding steel pipes and copper cables. She could barely stop wincing every time she saw the fragile shelters people called home. She hated the noise. That was probably the worse. No, that was a distant second - very distant. The buzz of millions of countless conversations, the pounding of millions of wasted footsteps, the hum of everything electric that grew louder everyday, consuming all other noises around it. She had found a few quiet places here and there in the city, in token parks. They were never as quiet as her summers in the mountains.

What she hated most of all were the people.

The masses of humanity responsible for the cursed cars with flashing lights and spark fed pollution power plants. The ones who built and occupied the myriad homes and businesses in worthless concrete and stucco and metal. The same who prattled on and on about who did what and dreams of fancy; who walked a million steps forward just to go back, day in, day out. The ones who strung rubber coated metal and buried it in the ground to power their washers and driers, heaters and air conditioners - electric lives for binary people. Yet she forgave them, occasionally, for all of this. She wanted a life of luxury as well.

That did not mean she forgave them for being living, breathing, walking, talking cesspools of wasted flesh. She could not forgive them for the images she gathered from their wanton words, their virulent motions, or leering looks. For acting upon their self-serving, self-important desires, she deemed them guilty and sentenced them to awaiting Hell. She condemned them for allowing her to see their thoughts. She cursed their mothers and fathers for allowing sons and daughters to be born - and the grandfathers and grandmothers too! - who let her delve the collective minds and find humanity was a collection of useless garbage. They never saw other people as actually being - no matter how they touched or prodded or questioned. Only things to dominate or be dominated by, to use or abuse, profit and gain pleasure from. She hated the homo sapiens because that was all she ever saw. She never saw hope and purity, even in the self-proclaimed holies or quiet ones, always appearing understanding.

She hated that she was tainted by them to never have hope or be pure herself.

She longed for the mountains a week gone, and the quiet trees she read under while the sun stood high in the sky, warming the legs she stuck out from the shade. The trees talked, quietly and on the wind. Their voices were soft and low and slow. They caressed the flowers and shrubs, carrying some ancient wisdom she couldn't divine and passing it on to their little siblings.

She often sat still for so long the woodland creatures thought she was a strange root newly emerged from the earth, or a multicolored limb new-sprung and flowering in colors never seen in the aged woods and young fields. Squirrels would chitter almost in her ear, sniffing and grooming, then hopping like a brown furred wave a half meter closer, to chitter and repeat the process again. She always reached out with a gentle hand and gentle thoughts. They never accepted, not that they would a tainted woman like her, but neither did they leave altogether. They spent their afternoons in comfortable companionship at a comfortable distance.

The squirrels of the city were more audacious and less trusting. Their forest kin not only were nicer, they looked cleaner and healthier too. The same goes for the birds. Pigeons were stupid. The song birds of her woods, her's by simple fact only she was there, sang and chirped as they passaged swiftly from branch to branch, pecking for seeds or bugs, calling out cries of alarm from sudden movements or whatever else excited them. They always squawked and hopped and flitted when she approached, eyes peering and heads twisting to watch her every movement until she settled down to her books. They returned to their songs of challenge and territory, calls of mating and celebration, when satisfied she had settled down and was not after a tender morsel hidden under flashing plumage.

Sometimes, a more adventurous bird, fresh from the nest or long experienced, came closer for a better inspection of the strange visitor to their home, and she reached out to them, with a friendly thought and crumbs of bread. They always jumped away no matter how gentle her first throw, instincts saying she deceived them. She returned to her books and tried not to spy on the bird until it was pleasantly gobbling her proffered morsels down. The second throw usually only drew quirked heads and momentary suspicion, followed by more pecking and craned neck swallowing. Other birds of every size, seeing the abundant food and nonthreatening provider finally joined. She gave more with each turn of a page.

The setting of the sun signaled the time for her to leave the woods, and her avian friends returned to their posts, making last calls before settling down for the evening. They were a week gone now, and she missed them more every time she had to return to Nerima.

"I would have had a week more, this week," she confided to the rain outside her window, "If Kasumi wasn't marrying this Tofu guy this weekend." She swore the rain came down harder in commiserating answer. "I never suspected there would be so much last minute planning. Of course, she only announced it a month ago. Only took her a year and a half of college in the United States to find a husband too. And a doctor at that," she gossiped. "From her letters I gather he's a good man: strong, athletic, intelligent. I'll verify that for myself when I meet him.

"They flew in this morning; Dad went to meet them. Assuming an hour delay for customs and baggage, and another hour for the train... They should be here in half an hour. I'll have this list of wedding necessities and suppliers done by then." She marked her place in the phone book with her pencil. "First, I need more tea." She drained the little left in her ceramic cup in a single gulp.

She sauntered down the stairs, to the awaiting pot in the kitchen. She had brewed it this morning and left the burner on high enough to keep it hot. "Should be suitably strong by now too," she cajoled herself. She disliked weak tea. What's the point in flavoring water if it isn't completely flavored? Besides, a strong woman should like strong things, especially when it comes to food. And Nabiki Tendo is a strong woman. She nodded in mock agreement with herself, a wry smile of half hearted amusement brightening her face. In as deep a voice she could muster, she narrated: "And she strode strongly into - the kitchen!" The last word was of a high, incredulous note.

The kitchen was a mess, with bowls and spoons and pans scattered everywhere, flour and other ingredients on everything, and an anxious Akane bouncing on her toes, watching something bake in the oven through a glass portal. "What are you doing, Akane?" She had nearly said 'what have you done, Akane?!' That would have lead to an explosion she nearly feared more than the one she was expecting from the baking apparatus. She edged slightly back towards her entrance, so the blast would knock her out of the room before any shrapnel hit.

She felt Akane's surprise even as the other girl instinctively whirled around, flushed red like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Her frenzied thoughts made the metaphor ironically appropriate. "I'm baking cookies for Kasumi!" she cheered. It was a distracted enthusiasm as she was trying to figure out why she was so embarrassed by the fact.

Nabiki affectedly studied the room. "So I take the war against the egg, sugar, and flower alliance ended successfully? How'd the campaign against the chocolate chips fare?"

Akane looked about the kitchen, as if seeing the mess for the first time. "I suppose I did make a bit of a mess," she conceded. "But I'm sure they'll turn out really good!" She straightened her back, in the manner of a person preparing to impart some pearl of wisdom. "Besides, the best cooks are messy cooks!"

"Who told you that?" Nabiki asked, bemused. "They forget to tell you that the messy cook has the most cleaning to do?" She sniffed the air. "I think your cookies are burning."

"AHH!" The long tressed girl ripped open the oven door and quickly transferred the burnt morsels to a cooling tray, attempting to blow the smoke away all the while. "I think'll they'll be okay," Akane said, in a tone imploring Nabiki to agree - as if her agreement would make it so.

"I'm sure Kasumi will appreciate them," Nabiki defused, allaying Akane's fears and feeding her ego. The things I do to maintain the balance of this house! "I'd clean this kitchen up quick though." She poured herself a cup of nearly black tea from her blessedly undisturbed kettle. "Kasumi's liable to explode if she sees her kitchen like this." Nabiki excused herself as Akane grudgingly set about cleaning up her mess. "It will always be Kasumi's kitchen," Nabiki admitted softly, padding up the stairs.

She stared at the rain outside her window for a some time before returning to her work. No concrete thoughts entered her mind, only fleeting emotions on who she was, on how her family came to be what it was, and on how dismal the weather outside was. Did Dad take some umbrellas? They'll probably hop a cab, she reasoned. A vague something bothered her, like the storm outside was hiding something.

Something she would not like.

Watch those hands. Timing is crucial here. The iron bar below her rolled away, ceding to the raining clouds. Gotta curl those toes more for traction! Twist, damn you! Her hands came back down, grasping the rounded metal as she cartwheeled again. Extend your leg! Swing around... Tighter! She rotated in place like a gymnast on her hands, then threw herself into another cartwheel. Bring those legs in. She turned her movement into a roll, the bar passing cleanly down her centerline. Guess breasts can be helpful, she joked, twisting to land feet first as the fence ran out.

"Your routines are getting pretty dull, old man! I could 'av avioded that in my sleep!" She settled into a forward stance, ever ready to defend herself.

Her 'old man' grumpfed as he jumped down from the fence. His massive frame towered over the petite girl. His face betrayed no emotion. He stalked heavy footed towards her. Thick arms tested her defense.

"Stupid bastard! What's the idea with choosing my fiancé any way? I think that's the kind of decision," she caught one of the hairy limbs with two hands, resetting her feet for leverage, "that I should make!" Impossibly, she lifted the gargantuan frame attached to the limb into a high hip throw, planting the black and white mass literally in to the pavement. "Idiot Panda! I'm going back to China to find a cure," she announced, suiting words to action.

The rain, heavy as it was, failed to cover the sound of the Panda extricating itself from the road. She sensed the animal pull something from the ground, yet she did not turn to face it. No, she would get in the true surprise attack. She kept her steps deliberately slow, in that angry and confident walk she had finished the fight in. He quickly got close, vainly trying to keep silent in doing so. His swinging for my head!

She ducked.

But not far enough.

The stop sign the surprisingly intelligent animal used as a weapon was hopelessly deformed, but it had served its purpose. Lifting the girl onto one shoulder, and two soaked traveling packs onto the other, the Panda bear lumbered down the street.

The rain let up enough that Nabiki could see the gate open to admit her luggage toting and soaked father, another man - she assumed it Tofu - carrying more luggage, and her sister, who had the umbrella. The two men scurried through the rain to the house, Kasumi following at a more leisurely pace. Nabiki neatly folded her completed list, placing it in a jean short pocket, and went down to greet her sister.

Her father was beckoning her sister in when Nabiki reached the entryway. Tofu was in the process of removing his dripping wet coat and shoes, the hard case luggage he brought set to the side. She noted he was a tall man, around the height of her father if a touch more, making him about a head and a half taller than herself. His chestnut hair was matted to his forehead, overlapping his oversize glasses, half fogged by the sudden temperature change. He certainly is wide enough at the shoulders, she noted. The jeans he wore stuck to his skin, adding to the evidence he exercised rigorously.

It took a bit of concentration, but she finally picked up his thoughts. She was slightly surprised at the work it took; only highly concentrated minds ever required her to exert herself. Once in, she easily gleaned his surficial thoughts. He's amused by Dad, making them walk all the way from the station to interrogate him - Tofu - then trying to whisk Kasumi out of the rain once they reach home. However... he is concerned Kasumi gets inside before she catches ill, although... he wouldn't mind 'doctoring' her -

Nabiki cut her feed off there. She knew this was the man marrying her sister, but she didn't need details of their wedding night.

Kasumi entered, shaking moisture off the umbrella outside, then placing it in a drying rack. She was perfectly dry, save her shoes and the hem of her dress. Her mahogany hair hung in the ponytail Nabiki remembered since childhood to the small of her back, tied in a yellow ribbon. Tofu assisted her out of her beige trench coat, revealing a soft yellow dress of a conservative cut. Kasumi balanced against him as she removed her shoes.

"Welcome home, Kasumi." Nabiki tightly embraced her older sister. "I approve of your fiancé...so far," she cautioned lightly.

"You've certainly grown, Nabiki," Kasumi replied, returning the embrace. She moved her sister to arms length and glanced over her. "I'm sure the boys are all over you."

Nabiki tried not to wince. She had hoped her sister would shy away from that issue. "How's college been? Other than finding marriage material?"

"College? It's been well," Kasumi replied slowly. A little too slowly for Nabiki. She'd have to look into this later. "Why don't we go sit down? My legs are exhausted." Nabiki and Tofu followed her to the dining room, leaving the Tendo patriarch to thumb through the mail.

He turned a beaten postcard over in his hands.

At the sound of multiple bodies entering the dining room, Akane brought out her plate of singed cookies and fresh tea. She had surreptitiously dumped Nabiki's down the drain. And Nabiki had the gall to say her cooking was bad! "Welcome home, Kasumi! I made cookies and tea."

"Oh, thank you," Kasumi smiled weakly. She turned her head ever so slightly, raised an eyebrow at Nabiki enough to be perceived, getting a sliver of a nod. "I'll bet you've improved a lot since I last was here."

"Sure have!" Akane enthused.

Nabiki decided to bite the bullet and poured herself some tea and grabbed a cookie. She squeezed it as she brought it towards her mouth, noting it didn't give when she did so. A subtle change in motion and she set it down on the table, deciding to try the tea first. Smells pleasant enough. "Hey, this is good tea, Akane. Nice and strong. You're finally getting the hang of it."

Akane positively beamed.

Tofu decided to try some tea, having easily picked up the signals between the two eldest Tendo sisters regarding the cookies. He promptly spat the harsh flavor out, killing Akane's mood and gaining her ire. "This is very strong." Kasumi defused the situation by embracing her sister and engaging her in talk of all their respective lives away from each other.

Nabiki added to the banter, but her interspersions grew more infrequent as time passed. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to concentrate her way through it. Will alone was not making the throbbing above and behind her eyes go away. She drank more of the tea, downing two aspirins with it. She closed her eyes and regulated her breathing, a trick becoming increasingly common practice for her. Kasumi inquired on Nabiki's health; she waved it off, saying she had been getting migraines lately. She sensed Kasumi only half accepted that answer.

The dull throb was spreading now, the pulsing of her own heart seeming to expand her brain against her skull. She opened her eyes so she could stand up and walk over to the couch to lie down. She faltered as she stood, a wave of dizziness coming over her. Tofu was there in a flash, assisting her to the couch. "This is the worst one yet," she admitted in a whisper. Kasumi sat beside her, trying to soothe the pain away.

A tremendous flash followed instantly by a boom that shook the windows, and Nabiki collapsed. Long, slender, delicate fingers strained white against her scalp, trying to push away the wildfire of hurt inside. Eyes wide in shock clenched shut so tight tears barely bled through. Another fork of lightning struck, and her muscles locked in agony. Kasumi held her now, one hand cradling Nabiki's head to her chest, the other pulling the rest into a tight embrace. She was yelling something to Tofu. Again, the sky raged. Nabiki heard herself scream this time, her head pounding more because of it. She was twisted in Kasumi's arms, barely of enough mind to register fingers prodding her back. The world went blurry.

"It ssstill hurtses," she slurred. Lightning streaked across the sky and she sloppily tried to worm tighter into Kasumi. "It hurtses in my head!" she declared, tears beginning to soak the yellow fabric of Kasumi's dress. Nabiki couldn't understand the words being exchanged by those around her, but they hurt almost as much as the sky-light-bolts. She pressed her forefinger against Kasumi's lips. "Ssssshhhh!" she commanded.

She was prodded again, and fell asleep.

"You should have used those pressure points in the first place," Kasumi scolded Tofu while running her hand through Nabiki's shoulder length hair. She turned her attention to her father. "When did her headaches start getting this bad? I knew she had occasional migraines before I left, but they were never this bad. And why didn't this information get sent through in your letters?" she inquired of Akane.

Both persons turned away in chagrin. Akane answered. "They kept getting worse after you left. The doctor gave her a prescription for when they get really bad, only, the stuff is like Valium. She's completely out of it when she takes it, so she never does. As for why we didn't tell you... She didn't want you to know. She said she wanted you to concentrate on your college, so you can get a good job and all that. She didn't want you worrying over something that can't be fixed."

"The doctors can't do anything? Has Nabiki been through a CAT scan?"

Akane nodded. "Dad brought some money out of savings to do it; Nabiki was pissed for a week. She's been putting that money away for emergencies. The doctors didn't see anything wrong."

Kasumi studied the sleeping form of her sister. She still twitched with every lightning strike. "Is that everything?"

"Well, she doesn't have as many when she's out at the Masaki shrine. Every time we have a vacation she goes out there. My understanding is she met the owner at some multi-school function or something along those lines. She never says much about her time there, just that she spends the days reading in the woods and stuff like that."

"Then something in the city is causing these severe attacks," Kasumi concluded.

"Her," Soun Tendo paused to clear his throat, "your mother had the same problem, although, never this severe. We moved around a lot when we first got together, and she always liked it best when we were in the middle of nowhere. I had a terrible time convincing her to settle down here at my family's ancestral home."

"This is inherited?" Kasumi and Akane asked.

Soun nodded heavily. "Yes. Your mother had hopes it would not be passed on to our children. I've thought of sending her to a special school I've read about, in the United States." He cast a meaningful glance at Kasumi.

"If the doctors say they can't find the cause, I don't know if sending her any where will help," Tofu replied. "We have friends who might have the time to give her a look after the wedding."

"That would be a rude thing to do," Kasumi stated. "Besides, the most knowledgeable man is back at... college, and he won't make it to the wedding."

"Speaking of weddings," Akane interjected in the silence following Kasumi's statement, "Nabiki's been working on a list of things we'll need to get. She's leaving the final decision of what exactly to get for you to make, of course. She's even found some specialty stores where we can get a discount if we buy in bulk! She was expecting around a hundred guests from what you wrote in your letter."

"Only a hundred?" Kasumi asked, a warm smile plastering her face as she fussed up Nabiki's hair.

"I don't think I can afford to pay for any more than that," Soun Tendo confided. "Even then, that is stretching it. If we held a smaller ceremony, we could do it here, in the dojo, and much better."

"Who said you had to pay for it?" Her eyes locked with her father's. "It is so rare for two people from our 'college' to marry that they will be throwing the ceremony for us." She turned back to the slumbering Nabiki. "I was going to surprise all of you." She laughed humorlessly. "Seems we all had surprises for each other."

"The storm is gone," Tofu said blandly. "I can undo the sleeping point, but the effects of the other will last an hour or so longer." Kasumi nodded in approval. Nabiki slowly came to awareness in Nabiki's arms.

"I feel dizzzissy," Nabiki stated. She rolled around so she was facing Kasumi. "Big sisster! Yur back. Did we go out drinkin?" She frowned at Kasumi's firm negative. She leaned in next to Kasumi's ear conspiratorially, then asked too loudly, "then why do I feel drunk?"

Kasumi represented one of the three shocked people in the room. "Have you gone out drinking before?"

Nabiki glanced quickly about the room, too quick to see anything but a blur. She seemed satisfied that there were no eavesdroppers. She nodded in a pleased stupor to Kasumi. "It'ssa ssecret though. Don't tell Daddy!" She placed her forefinger on her lips in the international 'shush' symbol.

Tofu was the only one in the room trying to stifle a laugh.

"And when have you gone out drinking?" Kasumi inquired.

Nabiki ticked off her fingers. "On my birfday, Daddy's birfday, Akane's birfday, and yer birfday; buh-fore taxes..." She paused, having run out of fingers. She pondered the situation, face pinched in concentration. A relieved expression crossed her face as she lifted one of Kasumi's, extending the fingers. "During taxesss, after taxess; and when da phone, e-leck-tick, and wah-tur billss arrive onta sam day!" The seemingly intoxicated Nabiki appeared happy with herself for making it through her list.

Kasumi couldn't think of anything to say except: "that seems like a lot of drin-"

"I amost forgot!" Nabiki cut in. "The mostest im-per-tant one!" She waved a single finger in front of her sister's face in a manner usually considered vulgar. "Mommy's burial day! She's si-ix feet under, you know?" Obviously satisfied, Nabiki settled back into Kasumi, head on her sister's chest, sighing out a blissful, "soft."

Kasumi resumed her petting of Nabiki's silky hair, though it was an unconscious gesture. I hadn't realized things were so tough for her. I thought we still had more than enough money from Mother's trust fund to cover the dojo's expenses. She twisted to face her father and youngest sister. "I take it neither of you knew about any of this?" It less a question than a statement. Their honest answers of ignorance weighted her heart terribly.

"Oh, Nabiki," she whispered forlornly. You always were the protector. I may have mothered you both, but it was always you who made sure the next day's morning was something to look forward to.

A not so distant memory came to her, of a time when a nine year old Kasumi returned from school in tears. She had barreled past her sisters and into her room, only emerging to cook some frozen entrees for her family. She hadn't eaten any herself. She left the following morning with red rimmed eyes, resigned to another day of hell.

Kasumi figured later that her sister had tailed her, skipping out on her own schooling. She must have watched and listened to the hideous things that wretched Yojiro boy had said. And rather than going home to tell Father, or getting some teacher, my precocious little sister, seven year old Nabiki, made her way to the Furinkan high school and talked three of the biggest basketball players into coming to my school. That poor brat nearly pissed himself when they shook him around by the ankles! Kasumi laughed deep in her chest, years of live adding humor to the experience. And Nabiki stood by the gate, that dangerous smirk of satisfaction on her face the whole time!

Yes Nabiki, you always looked out for your family. But why did you take it so far?

Soun Tendo held to the ancient proverb that troubles occurred in threes. He lost count of the many revelations aired out in his house this cloudy afternoon; he knew he was well past three, and more likely on a multiple thereof. He decided to bite the bullet and let the cat out of the bag on an issue he should have informed his daughters on long ago.

"I received a post card in the mail today," he said, gaining the two awake daughters attention. "It's from a man I was - am," he corrected, "of great friendship with. He will be visiting us, and should be here some time this week." He fidgeted with his fingers, thinking of a possible ways to present the issue in its best light. "This only applies to Akane and Nabiki now, but... his son is coming with him, and before any of you were born, we promised to unite our families in marriage."

Akane immediately voiced her disapproval. She jerked to her feet, grandly gesturing as she ranted on the less than admirable qualities of the youth of the male gender. Soun Tendo sat through it all, a lump of rock withstanding the crash of a winter sea storm. He knew his daughter's endurance would flag. He would counter her arguments then.

He noted Nabiki had returned to sentience during her sister's tirade. She clumsily lifted herself off Kasumi and onto her feet. She balanced with her arms out until she gained a modicum of stability. Swerving steps brought her to the low table he sat at, a sudden bending at the waist placing her drunkenly relaxed face in his. He easily imagined the smell of sake brushing his mustache as she spoke.

"You know Akane don't like boysss. She'z sooo-Oh silly! Since I'm the only other eli- ely...er, ah-vail'bell one - " She stopped mid-sentence. She looked at the far wall, eyes unfocused as if she could see through it, then turned a happy smile to her father. "They're here," she said in a low, somber tone. "I'll let 'em in!" She straightened, then swerved back and forth down the hallway.

Soun raced to beat her to the door. It would hardly do for his visitors to see his daughter in such a condition!

Soun reached the door well ahead of his daughter, opening it wide and stopping in mid-greeting at the sight before him. He must have stood stunned for a long time, considering Nabiki wormed her way around him and locked eyes with the enormous animal standing before them. His first instinct was to pull her away, to shield her from the dangerous animal, but the two were engaged in a strange staring contest. His arm was on her shoulder to do just that when she reached out to touch the protruding belly of the beast. Her fingers pushed the dense fur down, a motion she repeated several times. His daughter tilted her head nonchalantly to him, proclaiming, "this man needs a shave!"

The panda, he now recognized, set a squirming burden down not a foot from his daughter. The scarlet haired person was of a height slightly less than his inebriated offspring, who presently blocked his view. Nabiki was craning her neck, inspecting the soaked being.

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about all this."

Soun's first thought was that his friend's son was awfully short. His exuberance pushed it aside. "Son! It's so good of you to come!" He maneuvered to embrace the boy, but was unable to get past his daughter. Why is she staring at his shirt? Granted it's a nice red, probably cotton if I know Genma, but it's not that interesting.

Nabiki's arms moved forward, pushing up the boy's chest. Her arms moved up and down, confirming the sensation. "He's got very nice breasts, doesn't he Daddy?"

Kasumi, placing a fresh cold compress on her father's forehead, was as baffled by the panda in their mists as the rest. She also did not understand why Nabiki was still draped all over that girl who came in with the panda. The girl seemed split to whether she enjoyed Nabiki's intentions, or trying to shrink away from the entire situation. At least Nabiki wasn't poking her in the breast anymore.

"I still don't understand how Dad could engage us to a girl," Akane reiterated.

"He's not a girl," Nabiki countered fiercely from the redhead's shoulder. She used her left hand, the one not draped over the girl's other shoulder, to rotate Ranma's face so their noses were almost touching. "I think he's a very cute boy." Ranma blushed, down turning her eyes to escape Nabiki's not so innocent, if drunken, gaze.

Kasumi would have reprimanded Nabiki's behavior, if she knew how to reprimand a drunk Nabiki. She settled for an imploring glance at Akane, who managed to tear Ranma away from the possessive Nabiki. Kasumi could see the debate on following the two play across her sister's face, sighing in quiet relief when Nabiki stayed put.

"He told me he had a son," Soun claimed on waking from his faint.

"That is most assuredly a girl, Father." Kasumi removed the cold compress and assisted her father in rising to a sitting position. "I think Akane has taken Ranma to the dojo. I'm going to go make some coffee for Nabiki. She's more susceptible to Shiatsu than I realized. Not that her drinking has helped." She failed to keep her anger out of her voice.

"I didn't know. She never said anything, so I always assumed things were okay." He watched his middle daughter playfully scrutinize the panda bear. "I should go talk to Ranma, see where her father is." He pushed himself to his feet.

"Dad?" Nabiki called. "I think the panda wants hot water. Can I take him to the bath with me?"

Ranma solemnly followed the giggling Akane Tendo back into the house. The day was going south more quickly and deeper than she ever imagined it could. 'Glad you're not a boy,' she said. 'I'd hate to lose to a boy,' she said. Yet another relationship doomed from the start. Par for the course, she reminded herself. "Huh? What did you say?"

"You want to take a bath?" Akane asked again.

"Ah, no. No, I'll wait, if that's okay? I'll go check on my Po-ah...panda. Don't want him starting any trouble now, do we?" She scratched the back of her neck, laughing nervously.

Akane laughed, taking Ranma's nervousness as just being shy. "That's fine. I'll be with you in a few minutes."

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief as the other girl bounded up the stairs. She rejoined the others, making sure this time to sit across the table from Nabiki.

"Ranma," said girl dragged the word out in a sing-song fashion, "why does your panda want some hot water? He's practically been shouting it. Not that these three are listening to him." She glared accusingly at her father, Kasumi, and Tofu.

Ranma jerked straight at the mention of hot water. Her wide eyes locked on to Nabiki's, delving deep into the chocolate brown irises. Does she know? How could she?

Nabiki somehow sensed Ranma's wild thoughts. "You want some hot water too?" Ranma didn't nod; her frantic thoughts were enough. "Here ya go!" She flung the fresh mug of coffee Kasumi recently gave her at the redhead.

Ranma felt the incoming action, sensed the muscles called upon as if they were her own and she was doing it herself. Years of martial arts training developed the instincts telling her to dodge, yet she remained frozen. Mabe she had given up the fight before it started. The scalding fluid impacted with her face.

The world changed perspective. Her clothes changed the way they lay on her skin. Her wet hair, hanging in front of her eyes, was now black.

Ranma awaited the cries of shock and disgust with closed eyes, tensing muscles in a physical effort to steel his mind.

"He's cuter the other way," Nabiki commented. She leaped over the table, knocking dishes to shattering demises, tackling the now male Ranma to the floor. "But I'll take him!"

End Chapter One

Author's notes:

This is the first in a series of unknown length, combining the Ranma universe with the Wheel of Time, with some other bits thrown in. The story will revolve around Ranma and that cast, and not branch off on every main character like the Wheel does. I haven't yet decided where Ryoga comes in, but I do know where Shampoo will appear.

Ranma and Nabiki have psychic abilities, to be furthered explained and developed in subsequent chapters. No, they are not the same abilities. Yes, male and female Ranma have different abilities.

I don't have much more of this written at present, so this is a teaser until I have more time to write. I'm also putting time into writing other fics I've started, which have gone neglected for over a year. It's hard to be in the mood to write and at a computer simultaneously.

Yes, Nabiki is acting childishly. She's that kind of drunk in this story.

I'm not too happy with the second half of this fic, but that is the way it will stay for now. It gets the job done, and I don't get paid enough to bother making it (better at the moment).

Subsequent chapters most likely won't be out for a long time. I have more pressing obligations at the moment. (Only reason I got this far was I used a chunk of my Spring Break. Geez, I sound like a dork putting it that way!)

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