A Side of Wild Magic

Ranma 1/2, Slayers, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respective creators/publishers/whatever

Current Tenchi Muyo timeline: A few weeks after Dr. Clay incident.

Thanks to CyberSkaarj and people of Fukufics for pre-reading.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 2

Hearing a small muffled thump, Sasami halted in her kitchen work and turned around. The blue-haired child noted that the sound had come from the newest and youngest -- that could be disputed with Ryo-Ohki, though -- resident of the house: Ranma. The two-year-old redheaded cat-girl -- who had previously been a teenage male martial artist before death and rebirth -- had her head pressed against the table with an open book directly in front of her. Under her head was what looked like a small packet of papers, and in her tiny hand was a pencil that she was using to write answers down.

“What’s wrong, Ranma-chan?” Sasami asked with a hint of worry. She had already guessed, however, that the younger child’s exhaustion had come from the almost non-stop reading and learning that she had been undergoing under Washu’s tutoring. From time to time, Sasami had found herself forgetting that Ranma had the mind of a teenager and would often feel that everything was too advanced for the two-year-old. This was due in part to the moments of childishness that Ranma would usually fall into at random moments.

Washu had actually explained that the childish impulses were due to a slight imbalance in the redhead’s brain. While Ranma had the mental knowledge and experience of a teenager, she had the body and brain chemistry of that of a young child. Because of that, Ranma would often have moments and feelings akin to what a normal child of her age would naturally have. Even though -- in her mind -- she may know how she should react to certain moments, her body and feelings would react in a completely different manner.

An example of this would be a strong desire to stick close to someone she felt she could trust the most. Ranma had -- in fact -- found herself hanging around Sasami most of the time when Washu wasn’t teaching her.

Another example was that she’d experience feelings of fear, joy, excitement, anger, and other child-like moments such as tantrums and crying just as a child of her age would. Washu surmised that the cat-girl would have to put up with these childish impulses for a while, and it was likely that she’d continue to experience them until she began to mentally balance out at around the age of 10 or so. Ranma honestly did not like the sound of having to wait almost eight or so years before she could get back to normal in terms of mentally.

“It’s just too much!” Ranma pouted as she raised her head. “I have to read through this book and fill out a 10 page worksheet that has to be done in three days!” The two-year-old crossed her arms. “I don’t wanna do this stuff. I’d rather be outside training so I can work on regaining my abilities. I don’t want to be stuck inside and be forced to bust my brains on a bunch of stupid assignments given to me by an insane woman! I want to go out there and find a way to return to male, and I hate being part cat! These ears and tail make me look like some kind of freak!” The cat-girl finished as she unknowingly caused her ears to droop.

With a small frown, Sasami set herself down across from Ranma. “But they look so adorable on you, Ranma-chan.”

“Oh, that really fills me with comfort.” The younger girl deadpanned. “I’m an adorable little cat-girl, alone in a world of damn perverts. Don’t try and deny it; I’ve seen the doujinshi!!” Back when ‘he’ was attending middle school, some of the other boys had somehow gotten hold of a few doujinshi featuring animal-girls and such. Then there were also Hiroshi and Daisuke, who had asked him if he’d like to borrow a few. “And could ya imagine how it would be if I actually tried passing by an anime convention? Those fanatics would try and put me on some kind of display!” It was one of the reasons she had to get back to her former skills. She needed it to keep the psychos at bay.

Sasami honestly wasn’t sure what Ranma was talking about. She didn’t know what having some animal ears and a tail had to do with a bunch of perverts, but she decided to push it out of her mind. “Ranma-chan, what’s so bad about your cat features anyway? There are several races that either have the appearance of animals, or have some of the features. Besides, aren’t your senses better than they were before?”

“Well,” Ranma began, “They are better and more useful than before, but they also throw me off too much. My movement is more fluid and flexible, but my balance is screwed. If I don’t use my tail properly, I tend to fall on my face.” A frown soon appeared on her lips. “My tail can also get in the way a lot as well. I’ve sat and got it caught under something a few times, and it hurts when that happens!” There were just too many cons involved, and she doubted that she would ever like being part cat.

“I bet you’ll get used to it soon.” Sasami supplied with a cheerful smile. Her pink eyes then proceeded to scan the area. Noticing something was amiss, she turned back to the younger girl. “Ranma-chan, where’s the egg Washu-chan gave you?” Sasami was, of course, referring to the egg Washu had created and given to Ranma so that the young cat-girl could have a link-partner, similar to how Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki were.

“It’s resting in a basket up in my room.” Ranma answered with a lack of interest. Washu had stated something about basing the design of her link-partner on Ryo-Ohki, and so her partner would -- in effect -- be a cabbit as well. “It’s strange; I think I can actually feel the egg in my mind. I also keep getting an image of it, and I hear some kind of constant, slow beat sound.”

Sasami’s eyes widened. “Ranma-chan, I think you might be hearing a heartbeat! You really should carry the egg with you. Washu did state that you’d practically be its mother.” Everyone was present when the diminutive genius had stated that she had created Ranma’s soon-to-be cabbit-partner by taking some cells from the cat-girl’s body. Washu had then cloned the cells, used Ryo-Ohki’s design, and combined it all with minerals. The exact procedure and steps couldn’t be understood by those present, though.

“I ain’t anybody’s mother!” Ranma responded with a growl. There was no way that she’d allow herself to be something like that.

“Still, what if it hatches when nobody is near it? It’d be lonely hatching and finding out nobody was around to be there for you.” The younger princess of Jurai added with a sad look in her eyes.

Averting her eyes, the cat-girl proceeded to cross her arms. She really did hate that kind of look; especially on a kid’s face. “Alright, I’ll go up and get the egg in a few minutes. I still won’t be the thing’s mother, got it?”

Sasami gave off a giggle in response as she stood up from her chair and gave Ranma a small pat on the head. She then turned around and made her way over to the sink; leaving Ranma to get back to the dreadful assignment that Washu had given her.

‘I understand that ya want me to learn this crap, but c’mon! Does it have to be as aggravating as this, ya crab-haired psycho?’ The cat-girl asked as she stared at question number 8 on the worksheet. ‘Simplify k to the 2nd plus 9k plus 20 over k to the 2nd plus 14k plus 45 times k to the 2nd plus 9k over k to the 2nd…’ Ranma halted in her thoughts as she stared down at the paper. A moment of intense silence -- broken only by the sound of Sasami moving pans and running water -- passed before Ranma grabbed the side of her head. Couldn’t Washu have had her work on something simpler than elementary algebra?

With a sigh, the cat-girl rested her hand on the table with her palm facing upward. Resting her head in her other hand, Ranma watched as a small flame sprung to life and began to dance elegantly. ‘It’s kind of cool, I guess.’ She admitted as she continued to watch; increasing and decreasing the size of the flame every few seconds. About two minutes in, the fire winked out of existence due to lack of magic output. It was obvious that she couldn’t keep up a spell for too long, and it seemed that she burned through her mana stores rather quickly. Ranma wasn’t exactly interested in the idea of messing around with this magic, but she would be a fool to ignore something that could possibly end up as an advantage when she was in a pinch.

Closing her hand and making a fist, Ranma then watched as a red-tinged beam of energy formed into a small knife shape. The shape was rather unstable, and she knew that it was because her Masu powers were still new. At the very moment, she could only fly for a short amount of time. Her phasing through objects was somewhat limited in how much she could keep it up. With teleportation, she could only teleport at a max distance of 20 meters, and she could only perform up to seven before needing to rest. Her use of energy blasts was limited to 16 small spheres, or two large spheres. After that, she would need to rest. Her energy blade was about the size of a small knife, and it was incredibly unstable and incapable of cutting through much. She was also incapable of doing any other abilities that she had seen Ryoko do. Washu had stated that her Masu powers would grow mostly with age. Training could be used to help get the hang of the powers, but it would take time for her to develop other abilities and have them grow stronger.

Still, it was better progress than she was making in returning to her former abilities. Her body was weak -- slightly stronger than a normal two-year-old thanks to her Masu physiology, -- but still insanely weak. She only had limited access to her ki -- one Mouko Takabisha could be fired before feeling weakened, -- and all her skills were merely a pipe-dream at the moment. It was almost like when she was under the weakness moxibustion, except she was currently better off. She needed to train, but she also needed to work on these assignments. If she didn’t turn in every assignment and do well on the end of the week tests, then all of her abilities would become locked for the next week, and she’d be walking around as a completely normal and helpless two-year-old girl. It was something she absolutely HATED. Washu really knew how to push someone’s buttons.

With a small yawn, Ranma hopped out of the chair and made her way over to the door. She reached out to grab hold and slide it open, but her hand ended up phasing through the wood. An annoyed growl sounded in Ranma’s throat as she decided to just walk on through; only to have her left foot get caught as she exited the other side. It took a moment, but she managed to get her foot free and continue on her way towards the upstairs room that she was staying in.

As she opened the door, Ranma noted that Ryo-Ohki was sitting near the basket and watching the egg. The small cabbit’s head turned towards the cat-girl’s direction when she heard the door opened. Once she caught sight of Ranma, Ryo-Ohki smiled brightly. “Myah!”

Making her way over, Ranma sat down before reaching over and petting the cabbit on her head. “I guess that you’re curious as to when it’s going to hatch, right?” Within the last couple or so weeks, the two-year-old had actually found herself taking a liking to the small creature. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the childish mentality that she sometimes found herself falling into, or due to the creature’s rather friendly demeanor. In fact, if the thing wasn’t spending time with Sasami, then it could often be found hanging around the cat-girl.

“Myah!” Ryo-Ohki shouted with a nod. She really was excited about the idea of another cabbit being around the place. Maybe she could even share some carrots with it.

Halting in her petting of the creature’s head, Ranma reached into the basket and pulled the egg from its resting place. One of the things she had noticed was that the egg was rather warm, and that warmth seemed to wash over her as she held it in her hands. For a moment, she thought she heard a faint ‘myah’ sound within her mind. “Ya know, Ryo-Ohki,” Ranma began, “I kind of wish it would hurry up and hatch as well.”

“Myah!” Ryo-Ohki shouted happily.

Ranma’s lips twitched before turning into an amused smirk. Ever so carefully, she sat the cabbit egg on her head. “All I need now are some kendo robes and a bokken.” She commented before falling into laughter. When she noticed Ryo-Ohki’s questioning look, Ranma waved a hand. “Nothing, just something I remember from my previous life that involved a fool, his head, and a phoenix egg.” The two-year-old then plucked the egg off and shook her head. “Never place a phoenix egg on your head.”

Finding the advice to be rather odd, the small cabbit also found herself curious as to what might have happened to the fool. She was also wondering what kind of creature a phoenix was. Maybe she would go ask Washu or Ryoko about it later on.

Both inhabitants of the room’s ears twitched to the sound of some kind of commotion downstairs; followed by a rather loud crashing sound. “Jeez, are Ayeka and that Ryoko woman fighting again or something?” Ranma asked as she placed her hands over her ears to keep them from moving. It was weird just how much those two women butted heads.

“Myah,” Ryo-Ohki responded with a shake of her head signaling that it wasn’t a fight between the two rivals for Tenchi.

‘That’s right, Ryo-Ohki and Ryoko have some kind of mental like or something between them.’ Ranma thought as she remembered that slight detail. When the commotion continued, the cat-girl’s curiosity began to pique. “Ya wanna go down and see what’s going on?” She asked the cabbit as she placed the egg safely back into the basket and stood up.

Ryo-Ohki gave off an agreeable nod as she jumped up and onto Ranma’s head where she positioned herself comfortably. The cat-girl then proceeded to make her way out of the room and down the stairs. The first thing that both she and Ryo-Ohki noticed was that Ayeka and Sasami were there. Ryoko was there as well, but some woman with long blue hair and strange clothing was holding the ex-space pirate in a close embrace. The former of the two didn’t seem to be all that happy.

“What’s with all the noise?” Ranma asked; with Ryo-Ohki giving a questioning ‘myah’ of her own. When the woman turned around, the first thing that the two-year-old had noticed was that the woman looked like an older Sasami. What caused Ranma to sweat was the look she received from said woman. “Um-- Perhaps I should leave so--”

“HOW ADORABLE!” Almost instantly -- after pushing Ryoko into the wall, -- the blue-haired woman was on her knees right in front of Ranma and Ryo-Ohki. Her eyes shimmered as she first reached for the cabbit and brought it close to rub softly against her cheek. “You’re so cute and soft.” She commented with an almost catty grin. After a moment, she put Ryo-Ohki down before staring right into Ranma’s eyes.

Ranma didn’t know why, but she found that she was almost incapable of moving as the woman stared right at her with big, shimmering red eyes and a wide catty grin. “Uh-- Hi, I’m Ranma.” The cat-girl greeted as she attempted to give the woman a smile. If anything, that only enticed the woman even more.

“YOU’RE SO CUTE!! Let Misaki give you a hug!” The woman -- now named Misaki -- proceeded to grab Ranma in an embrace and affectionately rub her cheek against the cat-girl’s cheek. “Your hair and ears are so soft!” Misaki added as she ran her hand through Ranma’s hair and ear fur. She then stopped at the base of the ear and began to scratch. “You are SO adorable!”

“Hey, what are you doing?!” Ranma asked as she started to feel weird from having the base of her ear scratched. Her eyelids lazily fell, and her entire body relaxed. Finally -- to the confusion of everyone else currently in the room, -- she started to softly purr.

Misaki could only blink in confusion for a moment before a wide and barely contained smile appeared. The low purring coming from the redhead almost seemed to have a soothing effect on everyone. “I absolutely adore this child.” Misaki stated with a content sigh. Reluctantly, she removed her hand from the cat-girl’s ear.

It had taken a moment for Ranma to snap out of it, but once she did, she instantly placed her hands over her ears and glared at the -- in her eyes -- crazy woman. “What did you do to me, lady?!” She hadn’t thought it was possible, but she had found something that made her hate her cat side even more than she thought she had. Ranma also wouldn’t admit it, but she found herself to be slightly scared about what had just happened. Internally, she was telling herself to not give into a childish moment that was attempting to surface.

When Misaki caught the wide-eyed and unnerved look in the two-year-old’s eyes, her expression softened. “Ooohhh, I scared you, didn’t I?” She asked as she reached out and gently pulled the cat-girl into a motherly embrace. “I’m sorry. I just tend to get carried away; especially around those who are so adorable like you.”

“I ain’t scared.” Ranma responded in a muffled and nervous voice. “And I ain’t adorable! Now let me go!” She shouted as she attempted to wiggle out of the embrace. Sadly, she found herself incapable of pushing herself out of the rather strong and comforting embrace. “L-- Let me go, lady!” All at once, Ranma’s panic managed to somehow convince her body to phase out of the arms of the woman. As soon as that happened, she turned around, ran, and dove behind Sasami before proceeding to poke her head around the older girl’s legs. “Who is she?”

Sasami managed to stifle a giggle. “She’s my and Ayeka’s mother!”

“Oh, your mother.” That didn’t help the young cat-girl any, and so she decided to stay behind Sasami. She wasn’t scared. She was just… staying out of the woman’s way. “Wait,” Ranma stated with wide eyes as she glanced between Sasami and Ayeka, “That means she’s a queen, right?” She couldn’t believe that such a crazy and spastic woman could actually be a queen.

“Yes, that’s right.” Ayeka answered with a nod. “Ranma-chan, please meet our mother; Queen Misaki Masaki Jurai. She’s the second wife of the king of Jurai; Azusa Masaki Jurai.”

‘Second wife?’ Ranma asked herself with a raised eyebrow. She was going to ask, but decided that it’d probably be better off to not know. “Nice to meet ya, I guess.” The cat-girl greeted with a small and casual wave. “Um-- You’re not going to all crazy again and grab me like some kind of plush toy, are ya?”

At the question, a rather large sweat-drop appeared on Sasami’s head. Ryoko placed a hand over her mouth and attempted to stifle a laugh. There was no way she was going to let herself possibly get on the woman’s bad side again and face more pain. Being slammed into the wall after the woman saw Sasami, and then again with Ranma and Ryo-Ohki, was enough. Misaki, meanwhile, blinked for a moment at the question.

Ayeka, on the other hand, was a little more vocal.

“You can’t speak to the queen of Jurai like that, Ranma!” The purple-haired princess shouted in both embarrassment and panic as she reached down and pulled Ranma up via her tail. “Apologize to her right now!”

The next thing everyone knew was that their ears were assaulted by a noise that sounded like a cat yowling in excruciating pain. They then watched as the small cat-girl flailed her arms wildly like an animal attempting to scratch the living daylights out of an object. Ayeka -- completely freaked out by the sudden change in the girl’s demeanor -- accidentally let go of Ranma and winced as the child fell right onto her head. “I-- I’m so sorry, Ranma-chan!”

“That hurt!” The cat-girl shouted as tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you and make you cry.”

“I-- I’m not crying!” Ranma shouted as a tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks. “I-- I just have something i-- in my eyes.” She added with a sniff as she wiped her eyes. The two-year-old honestly couldn’t believe that she had degraded into something so cat-like when her tail was pulled like that. It was also extremely apparent just how helpless and weak she was in her current state. ‘I need to train, damn it! Washu’s assignments and tests can wait.’ Her thoughts soon turned to a certain goddess named Skuld. ‘If I ever see her again, I’m going to kick her ass!’

“Ayeka,” Misaki began with a rather serious glare.

When she saw it, Ayeka flinched a little. “Uh-- I didn’t mean to hurt her.” Turning her head to look at Sasami for some help, she found herself at an even greater loss at the sight of the younger girl glaring at her with a look that almost mimicked their mothers. Even Ryo-Ohki was glaring intensely. Turning to actually seek Ryoko for help, Ayeka clearly saw that the Masu was having an incredible amount of fun at watching her squirm. “I-- I didn’t know that it would hurt her if I did that. I was just so shocked at how casually she spoke to you, mother. I just wasn’t thinking properly.” Turning to Ranma -- who was still in pain, -- Ayeka gave a deep bow. “I’m so sorry for pulling your tail and dropping you on your head, Ranma-chan. I hope you could forgive me.”

“I certainly hope that this was an accident, and not a sign of what you have become since leaving home all those years ago.” Misaki stated before walking over and squatting down in front of the small cat-girl. “Ooohhh, there’s no need to cry. Let Misaki protect you from the big bad Ayeka.” The blue-haired queen proceeded to gently gather Ranma into her arms.

“Why does everyone think I’m crying?” Ranma asked with a bit of annoyance as she gave her eyes one last wipe. She had to admit, though, that she felt rather comfy and content at the moment now that the woman wasn’t acting like some cute-obsessed maniac.

A giggle escaped Misaki’s lips. “It’s adorable how you try to act so mature and tough.” The woman soon began to pout. “But you’re going to grow up too fast if you keep acting like that, and you only have one chance at a childhood.”

‘That’s not exactly as true as you think, lady.’ Ranma thought dryly as she considered her current predicament. For a moment, she actually considered the idea of just enjoying her second chance -- well, third if you count that temporary time as a child due to the age mushrooms, and fourth if you honestly counted Lina Inverse, -- but then she remembered that she was part cat and a girl. ‘How do you expect me to enjoy a second childhood with those problems staring at me in the face?’

Misaki, finding that the small redhead was calmed down enough from her earlier fall, reluctantly placed her onto the sofa before sitting down as well. “Funaho and I came here to check up and see how you’ve been.” Misaki stated before putting a finger to her chin and obtaining a perplexed look. “From reports, we knew of everyone who was living here--”

“Wait a minute!” Ryoko -- from a rather safe distance away -- interrupted, “If you knew about everyone living here, why did you pretend to think I was Sasami!”

“I actually thought you were.” Misaki responded with a laugh. She then gave off a relieved sigh. “I instantly reacted because I had Sasami on my mind at the time. It hadn’t entered it that you weren’t Sasami.” Everyone present had to sweat-drop at the rather ditzy admission. “But it’s so nice to know that my daughter is still the same cute and adorable little girl, and not a scary and mean woman.”

“Hey,” the ex-space pirate shouted in indignation as Ayeka stifled a giggle.

Misaki glanced at Ryoko with large and shiny eyes. “Ooohhh, I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings. You may be scary and mean, but I still think you’re adorable in your own way.” The statement earned a few small sighs. “Anyway,” the blue-haired queen began, “The report never mentioned anything about a small cat-girl who’s even cuter and more adorable.” Misaki then proceeded to give the young girl next to her another affectionate hug.

“It could be due to Ranma only arriving here two or so weeks ago.” Ayeka answered with relief over the fact that her mother and Sasami seemed to have forgiven her for that slight accident with the cat-girl earlier.

“Which planet is she from?” Misaki asked as she tilted her head. “Kair? Ailour? Mochar? Perhaps she’s from--”

“She’s not from another planet, mother.” Sasami interrupted with a shake of her head. Ranma -- meanwhile -- found that she was slightly curious as to just how many planets there were with cat-people. “Ranma-chan was a normal Earthling when she came here. She almost killed herself with some powerful magic that she wasn’t supposed to use, and as Washu was healing her, she turned into a cat-girl.”

Misaki’s eyes began to tear up. “She almost died?!” The second wife of Azusa shouted as she embraced Ranma again. “You are SOOOO lucky to be alive! If you died, I wouldn’t have been able to see your adorable little self!”

Ranma could only sweat-drop in annoyance as she stared ahead and attempted to ignore the rather spastic woman. “Psst, Ranma-chan,” a low voice that only her ears could pick up called. Turning her head, the cat-girl caught sight of a hiding Washu. The diminutive genius performed a motion that said she wanted the cat-girl to come with her.

‘Great, but how do you expect me to get away from this woman?’ Ranma thought to herself. A light bulb turned on within her mind as an idea came to her. “Queen Misaki,” she began in a cute voice as she stared at the woman with large and cute eyes. “I like being around you, but I want to go and play?” For an added effect, she twitched her ears and swished her tail. “Please?”

If looks were any indication, Misaki seemed like she would almost explode due to an overload of cuteness. Miraculously, she managed to refrain from pulling the cat-girl any closer and was able to release her. “Okay, I won’t keep you any longer.” The blue-haired woman answered.

Jumping to her feet, Ranma gave the woman a wide smile and a bow. “Thanks, Queen Misaki. Bye-bye!” She shouted as she turned around and disappeared.

As soon as she had left, Misaki turned and grabbed hold of Ayeka in a bone-crushing hug. “I LOVE HER!! SHE’S SO ADORABLE!!”

‘That was an incredibly sneaky and effective move.’ Ryoko, Ayeka, and Sasami all thought at once. If the cat-girl had ever actually taken the time to perfect it, she could end up becoming very dangerous.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Thanks for the save, Washu-sensei.” Ranma stated as she followed the older redhead towards the steps leading up to the Masaki shrine. She was incredibly glad to get away from that cute-obsessed woman. “But did I have to bring the egg with me?” The cat-girl glanced down at the egg in her hands.

“You need to spend more time with it than you’ve been doing, Ranma-chan.” Washu provided. “Even if it’s not hatched, it can still sense when you are and are not around. It’s not just a simple egg; it can feel lonely if nobody is around to care for it. The creature inside is a sentient organic computer that’ll act almost exactly like a newborn child.” The genius placed a hand over the top of the egg. “Just like a child, it won’t grow or function properly if you don’t provide the care and love it needs. Take care of it as if it was your own child.”

‘Think of it as my own child?’ The cat-girl thought as she glanced down at the egg in her arms. Within her mind, she could have sworn she heard another faint ‘myah’ sound as some warmth pulsed from the egg. Out of impulse, Ranma pulled the object closer to her chest; like a child who didn’t want anyone else to touch. “Washu-sensei, about the assignments you give me.”

“You want some more? My, my, what a studious young student I have.” Washu responded with a laugh as she gave the two-year-old a pat on the head. “If you really want some more work--”

Coming to a stop, Ranma paled and violently shook her head. “I don’t want more work, damn it. I’m telling ya that I don’t wanna do anymore stupid assignments and tests for a little while! It’s all cutting away at the time I need for training. Can’t this crap wait until I’ve gained some of my old skills back?” Her large eyes stared up into the genius’s emerald eyes.

Staring back at the first student that she has had in thousands of years, Washu contemplated what the two-year-old had just explained to her. “And how long do you think that will be, Ranma-chan?”

“Huh? How long what will be?”

“Gaining some of your old skills back. How long do you think that will take? At most, it’ll probably take a few years since you probably have a clue as to how to go about it.” A smile appeared on Washu’s lips. “Besides, you have the great Washu! I have various training equipment that could help you train more efficiently than if you tried alone, and that also includes a holographic training chamber of sorts! You also have several very capable people living at the house.” At the excited look on Ranma’s face, she continued. “But how can we be sure that even when you gain some skill, you’ll want to cut back and return to working on my lessons?”

“Well-- Uh--”

“Exactly, you don’t know the answer.” Washu interrupted as she placed a hand back on the child’s head. “You are two-years-old right now. I doubt that you can easily gain much of the skill and body training that you previously had with your current age. Your body -- even with the added durability of your Masu physiology -- won’t be able to take an extreme amount of rigorous training. You can train, but only for a limited amount of time. In the long run, you’ll see more benefit from limited and scheduled training than you would from training till you drop.”

“I know training till I drop is a bad idea.” Ranma responded with a pout. “But I just feel so weak and helpless. If I needed to protect myself, I’d have to depend on these unreliable Masu powers and limited magical ability that ain’t even worth anything right now!”

After tapping her chin, Washu proceeded to smile cutely before grabbing her student by the nose. “But Ranma-chan, you have something even greater at your disposal. In fact, you’ve been using it all along!”

“What? What is it?” Ranma asked in childish excitement.

“Being a two-year-old cat-girl, of course!”

Ranma could only stare in silence at the older redhead before gaining a perplexed look upon her face. “What are ya talking about?”

“Tsk, tsk, Ranma-chan.” Washu answered with an amused shake of her head. “How ever do you expect to become a proper student if you can’t even figure something out that’s right in front of your nose?” At the younger redhead’s less-than-amused glare, Washu decided to continue. “What you have at your disposal are the ultimate natural distraction tools. You’re cute and adorable; anybody could see that. Many people would probably even think you were just an innocent little two-year-old child. That’s something that you can play upon to manipulate and distract people.”

“Sounds similar to how I used my female form in my previous life to con extra sweets and other things I wanted.”

“Ah-ha, so you know where I’m getting at!” Washu chirped happily. “Basically, think of this as an extension of that. Everything is at your disposal. Fake crying or tearing up, pretend shyness, playfulness, pouting; they can all be used to manipulate a person and trick them. Your ears and tail are an extension of this. Learn how to use those properly, and you can enhance your distracting and manipulating capabilities.” Grabbing one of Ranma’s hands -- making sure the egg would be safe, -- Washu gave the child’s hand a few pokes. “Also at your disposal are incredibly sharp claws. They can do a good job at shredding objects to ribbons. By distracting your opponent, you’ll leave them wide open. At which time, you can proceed with a few well-executed claw swipes. I recommend going for the eyes or -- if male -- the crotch. That’d give you enough time to escape and -- hopefully -- use a phasing or teleporting ability to give them the slip. You could probably also attack with a well-placed energy sphere as well.”

Ranma gave a momentary wince at the idea of slicing the latter target. Still, what her teacher proposed did make a lot of sense. She could probably even make a new semi-style out of it in the process. After-all, the school of Anything Goes did make an emphasis in relying on whatever you can use to defeat an opponent. Maybe she’d try and work on doing just that with her current form.

“And just think,” Washu added with a small nudge, “Because of your current mental imbalances causing you to regress into a child’s mentality at random moments, even everyone at the house will fall for this with almost no problem!” After a small moment, she laughed. “I doubt I’ll be affected by any of it though.”

“Really, Washu-sensei?” Ranma asked as she cast a big, shiny, teary-eyed look at the older redhead. She even proceeded to droop her ears and have her bottom lip tremble. “Can ya really see right through my act and ignore me?”

Washu’s eye twitched violently as her student looked at her with such sadness. She knew that it wasn’t real, but she was having extreme trouble resisting. Finally, the diminutive genius waved a defeated hand. “Alright, I give up!” The kid was a complete natural. “Anyway, until you can build up the pool capacity of your magic, reliably use your Masu abilities, and reach a certain point in physical ability, relying on deception, manipulation, and sneakiness would be a proper way to go about things. Besides, I doubt you’ll be in any real danger for a few years.”

“I guess you’re right.” Ranma admitted grudgingly as she called forth a small bit of fire into her hand. “It’d be nice if I could actually use this crap instead of tiring out after one fireball.” The flame winked out of existence. “I think I can only use one fireball and a levitation spell safely.” Not counting the Dragon Slave -- which would be impossible to cast without bringing her to the brink of death again, -- those were the only two spells she actually knew.

“Yeah, it’d probably be best not to cast any magic unless you really have to.” Washu answered with a nod. She then proceeded to clap her hands together. “Well, C’mon, let’s get to climbing these steps!” An amused side-long glance was spared towards the cat-girl. “Unless you think your body is too weak to climb these stairs.”

“I can climb these stairs with no problem!” Ranma answered back with a glare. “But-- Uh-- Why are we going to the shrine?”

“Must I have a reason to enjoy a walk on such a lovely day as today; accompanied by my favorite and only student?” Washu asked innocently with a finger to her cheek

“Yes,” Ranma replied without hesitation.

Her teacher gave her a pout. “Oh, you’re no fun at all.” With a sigh, she continued. “I’m going to meet up with queen Funaho. I believe that she went up to the shrine to meet with her son, Yosho. If I’m correct, there are a few things that she and I need to talk about.”

Ranma found the statement to make some sense. ‘Huh, so the old man’s mother is up there? Damn, she must be small and wrinkly or something.’ She thought to herself as an image of Cologne popped into her head. Oddly, she thought she felt a slight shudder coming from the egg she was holding close. ‘Must have been my imagination.’

The two redheads continued to travel up the stairs in silence. Ranma may have started to feel it in her legs, but she refrained from saying anything. After a moment, the cat-girl caught sight of two people coming down the steps. She was able to identify one of them as Tenchi, but the other was someone she didn’t know. It was obviously a woman with long black hair and one dot on her forehead; unlike Misaki who had two. She seemed rather elegant, and she was also wearing some odd and very formal-looking clothes similar in style to what Misaki wore.

On impulse, Ranma moved closer and a little behind Washu so the mysterious woman wouldn’t get too much of a good look at her.

During the greetings that followed, Ranma’s eyes nearly bugged out when she found out that the young-looking woman was actually the old man’s mother. ‘How the hell does that work out?’ She asked herself as she stared up at the woman. When the woman stared back at her with a rather calm gaze, Ranma moved closer to Washu and held onto the genius’s sleeve. She knew she shouldn’t be scared, but her own body and brain reacted anyway.

“And who’s this adorable little child?” Funaho asked calmly with a gentle smile. The detailed report that Mihoshi had made never mentioned anything about a young cat-girl.

“I’m Ranma.” Said cat-girl responded timidly as she clutched her egg closer for comfort. Internally, she cursed herself for acting as such and couldn’t wait for the day she wouldn’t have to worry about these damn imbalances.

“I took her on as a student.” Washu began as Tenchi left. “She arrived two or three weeks ago. When she arrived, though, she was a mostly normal Earthling. She managed to cast a spell that horribly backfired and almost killed her. I managed to stabilize her, but she ended up becoming a cat-girl. I then decided to take her on as my very own student. I have a feeling that she could become great.”

Funaho blinked. It wasn’t often when one randomly changed species, and she figured that she could probably obtain more information as she continued talking to Washu. “Ranma-chan,” Funaho began with a smile aimed at the two-year-old. “Do you like learning under your teacher?”

“She gives too much work.” Ranma answered bluntly. “She can also be a little crazy at times,” a vein appeared on Washu’s head, “and I’d rather work on martial arts than put up with going through assignments and tests. I’m not gonna give up, though.” She stated with a smirk. Next to her, Washu actually found herself surprised at the rather determined statement.

“Well then,” the raven-haired empress began with a giggle, “I hope you manage to learn everything your teacher gives you.”

The cat-girl gave a small nod. “So you’re the old man’s mother?” She asked as she tilted her head. “I actually thought ya’d be a shriveled up old prune.” In response, both older women proceeded to sweat-drop.

‘She’s quite… outspoken.’ Funaho thought in some amusement.

Washu scratched the side of her head. ‘It’s a good thing that she’s a young child.’ The statement would have seemed ruder and more disrespectful if the cat-girl was older. “Ranma-chan, how about you continue climbing these steps? I need to have a chat with this fine lady here.”

“Why?”

“Just think of it as a training exercise.” Washu suppressed a smirk when the young cat-girl’s eyes lit up. “By walking up these steps, you are building your leg muscles. That’ll bring you one step closer to your goal.”

“Right!” Ranma announced with a wide smile before passing by the two women and continuing on her trek up the shrine steps. She was actually surprised by just how tired she was getting just by climbing some steps. Three years ago, she would have been able to do this without even breaking a sweat. Now, however, she was feeling wore out as she neared the top of the path. It was depressing, but at the same time, she somehow found herself looking forward to the idea of retraining herself.

When she reached the top, Ranma had fallen to her knees in an attempt to catch her breath. As she stared back down the path, Ranma found herself slightly dreading the idea of making her way all the way back down. With an annoyed sigh, the cat-girl hugged her egg closely as she got back to her feet.

Upon taking in the scenery of the shrine area, Ranma suddenly realized that this was the first time she had actually been up here. ‘Maybe I’ll see what the old man is up to.’ She thought as she caught sight of the shrine itself. As she made her way towards the building, Ranma had taken in the scenery around her. The area of the shrine was spacious, and maybe she could get permission from Katsuhito to train up here.

Coming to a stop at the entrance, the two-year-old was going to alert the elderly Shinto priest to her presence. She halted, however, when she noticed that the shoji was opened slightly. Curiosity getting the better of her, Ranma snuck up to the opening and peeked inside. There didn’t seem to be anything of real interest, but she did notice that Katsuhito -- with his back turned in her direction -- was staring out a window. When the Shinto priest turned around, the cat-girl could only stare at the man who looked and dressed similar to the old man, but looked much younger. “Wha?”

Needless-to-say, Katsuhito was able to hear her and instantly turned towards her direction. Silently cursing over the fact that he didn’t see the young cat-girl coming, he turned around and quickly put up his disguise before spinning back around. “You should know that peeking into a Shinto shrine like that is rude, Ranma.” He had hopes that the two-year-old would believe that what she might have saw was a trick of the lighting.

Quickly pushing open the shoji, Ranma pointed directly at the disguised man. “What the hell was that?!” She shouted as she clutched her egg with her other hand. “You were young one moment, but then you became an old fart the next!”

‘Old fart?’ Katsuhito thought with a slight frown before feigning confusion. “Whatever do you mean, Ranma?”

The cat-girl halted for a quick moment, but that didn’t stop her. “Don’t try pulling that crap! I know what I saw!” She may have been two-years-old, but that didn’t mean she was gullible.

The ‘elderly’ Shinto priest sighed to himself. “Close the door, Ranma. I don’t want to risk the chance of anyone else learning.” Once Ranma had done just that, Katsuhito spoke. “What you see now is just a disguise I use. That younger form you saw,” he let his disguise drop, “is my true form.”

“Awesome,” Ranma commented in childish delight after processing the information. “Why do ya use that disguise though?”

“Tell me, Ranma, don’t you think it would be weird for someone who has been around for years to still look as young as they did when they first appeared?”

“Well, I guess it might be a little weird.” Then again, she had seen a lot of weird crap in her time. “But Washu-sensei is over twenty thousand years old, and what about--”

“What planet are we living on, Ranma?” The man asked curiously.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. “Earth, duh.”

“Yes, Earth; a planet that is still in its development stage and is ignorant of the goings-on off planet. Unlike many other planets and civilizations, the people of Earth know nothing of life extension technology. Questions would be raised concerning someone who seems ageless, and mass hysteria or other bad scenarios could be put into play. The existence of non-Earthly technology and people must be kept secret until the time comes with this planet is developed enough to fully venture out into space.”

Throughout the explanation, Ranma could only nod in understanding. “People probably would have thought that ya were some kind of demon as well, right?”

“That too.” Katsuhito agreed with a nod. “Also, you’re a rather special case. It is forbidden to reveal ourselves to the people of a primitive civilization, but you needed to learn because of certain… issues.”

“Ya can say that again, old man.” Ranma responded before gaining a curious look upon her features. “What about the people who DO end up finding out, and aren’t really supposed to.”

“Hmm… In such cases as those, the incident is reported to the Galaxy Police, and then the individuals who learn of the secret will have their memories erased.” Katsuhito noticed the rather disgusted look that appeared on the cat-girl’s face. “I am sure that the idea sounds extreme, but it is to ensure that the information doesn’t spread.”

“I guess that makes some sense.” Ranma admitted. “I mean, I can see why it all has to be kept secret. Still, the idea of erasing someone’s mind is a little extreme.”

“Which is why you should keep this a secret from other people. You should also keep your status of being reborn from your previous life a secret. I imagine that you’ve had thoughts about revealing yourself to the people you knew, am I correct?”

Ranma slowly nodded her head. “Yeah, I’ve thought about it. I’ve actually revealed myself to four people though. My former mother, former fiancée, my former fiancée’s oldest sister, and a rival I used to have. I ended up meeting with them before I came here. Except for the last one, what should I tell the other three when I do see them again? I mean, I just randomly turned into a cat-girl. Hell, what will I tell my current family when I go back to visit? They don’t have the thrill of knowing that I had a previous life.”

The Shinto priest stroked his chin in thought. “For your former mother and the other two, I’ll see if I could allow them to know our secret.” Katsuhito hummed to himself. “As for your current family, I suppose that we could make up a story that portrays the demon that brought you here in a negative light. Perhaps you can explain to them that it was he who did this to you as some kind of evil joke, and while you are here, you are getting the necessary treatments to heal.”

“That might work.”

“Oh yes, and Ranma?” Katsuhito began; gaining the young cat-girl’s attention. “As you mentioned, you wish you could tell the people from your previous life how you are doing. I want you to promise me that -- except for the four people who currently know -- you won’t reveal yourself to anyone else. It probably would have been all right before your visit here, but there’s a strong chance that they could end up learning about things they shouldn’t.” The man’s glasses caught a glare from the light, and for some reason, Ranma felt herself shiver a little. “Do you think that you can swear to keep this secret?”

“S-- Sure I can.” Ranma responded nervously. “I swear that I won’t reveal myself to anyone else that I knew during my previous life.”

Katsuhito gave a small nod as he rested a hand on the cat-girl on the head. “I appreciate this, Ranma.” He stated with a small smile. “Also, I want you to keep my true form a secret from everyone down at the house. They do not need to know at this time.”

Ranma tilted her head. “I don’t see why, but sure.” Her crimson ears slowly started to twitch as a noise coming from outside reached her. “What’s that noise?”

“It is most likely the ship brining my father; the king of Jurai.” Katsuhito stated calmly as he took a sip of some tea.

“Wha?” Ranma asked as she jumped to her feet and ran to the entrance. When she looked outside, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she caught sight of a massive space ship pulling up just above the house. Turning to face the Shinto priest, Ranma extended her arm and pointed towards the ship. “That’s a space ship?!”

“Quite intimidating, isn’t it?” Katsuhito asked with some amusement. “Maybe you should head on down there. It’s not every day you meet the ruler of a planet.”

A contemplative look appeared on the two-year-old redhead’s face as she considered it. She WAS rather curious as to what was going on down there. After some parting words with the not-so-old Shrine priest, Ranma ran out of the building and made her way over to the steps before immediately stopping. As she stared down the path, a sweat-drop formed on her head. She did not feel like trekking down all those stairs after barely being able to climb up them.

There was, however, something she could do. Concentrating carefully, she imagined herself on the step five meters down. A split second later, she successfully found herself at her target. A triumphant smile appeared on her lips as she performed two more teleports. On the second, she appeared upside down six meters above the ground. Ranma managed to keep herself afloat before using one last teleport to appear at the bottom of the steps and on her feet.

“Success!” Ranma shouted as she jumped gleefully into the air. Her teleports weren’t perfect, but they worked successfully enough. If she kept it up, perhaps it wouldn’t be long before she could actually use them on a regular basis. ‘Maybe I should try some quick flying practice.’

After a moment of concentration, Ranma’s body began to rise up into the air. When she raised to a good enough height, she proceeded to slowly move forward and build up speed. She soon began flying in small loops as she increased her height a little more. As Ranma flew towards the Masaki house, she couldn’t help but feel an incredible amount of glee at being able to actually fly through the air.

The feeling was short lived -- however -- as the cat-girl started to lose momentum and flight capability. “Oh hell…” Ranma cursed to herself as she began to fall at an angle towards the deck. When she noticed that there were several people standing around, she gave a shout as she attempted to keep her egg safe. “Look out below!”

The warning came a little too late as Ranma crashed right into Ryoko and sent the ex-space pirate onto her back. It took everyone a moment to register what had happened, and once they did, they went to check on the downed duo. The scene that played in front of their eyes was the two-year-old cat-girl sitting safely and unharmed on top of a flat-on-her-back and slightly dazed Ryoko. In the girl’s arms was the egg; completely safe from any harm.

“Thanks for breaking my fall, Ryoko.” Ranma announced with a laugh.

“Pipsqueak,” the cyan-haired woman growled as she reached up and grabbed hold of one of the younger girl’s ears. “What’s the big idea of crashing into me?!”

“Ow, ow, ow! Will ya stop that?!” Ranma shouted before kicking her tormenter in the face and jumping back. “Jeez, it wasn’t my fault. I suddenly lost ability as I was flying.”

After rubbing her face from the kick, Ryoko centered a glare towards the cat-girl. “Well why the hell were you trying to fly without anyone to watch you? You don’t exactly have the proper ability to go that high!”

The cat-girl growled in response. “Hey, I’m not a baby! I’m capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need anyone around to hold my hand! Got it, old mummy?” She proceeded to stick her tongue out before turning her head.

“Yeah, that’s real mature, pipsqueak.”

Ranma was about to open her mouth, but the sound of someone clearing their throat halted her from doing so. Turning towards the source, her heterochromatic eyes locked on to a man whose hair and beard were both dark purple in color. Said man also had a rather stern look on his face as he stared into her direction.

“And just who is this child that has decided to drop in on us?” Azusa asked in a rather annoyed tone. He didn’t like that he was interrupted just before an announcement he was going to make.

Misaki -- overjoyed at seeing the young cat-girl again -- glomped onto Ranma and rubbed her cheek against the child’s. “She’s a darling little cutie who is staying here with everyone else!” A round of sighs accompanied the woman’s actions. “Ranma-chan, I’d like you to meet Azusa Masaki Jurai; ruler of Jurai. My and Funaho-neechan’s husband.” Misaki stated; using the sister term to show how close she was to Azusa’s first wife. Grabbing the redhead’s hand, Misaki guided her over to the rest of the group.. “If we keep him from talking any longer, the king of Jurai will start pouting over the fact that nobody’s listening to him.”

“Misaki!” Azusa stated in indignation as a tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks. As his second wife proceeded to ignore him in favor of doting over the young cat-girl, Azusa decided that it would probably be a good time to just get on with what he was originally going to announce. “Now, since that little distraction is out of the way,” this earned a glare from Ranma, “we can get back to the task at hand. Ayeka, Sasami, you can do as you please.” Before the two princesses could react, Azusa continued. “Under one condition though. You can have your wish if, and only if, that boy wins a duel with the man I choose as your fiancé!”

Silence reigned among the group until it was broken by the excited voice of a certain two-year-old. “Alright, I get to see a duel!” Everyone turned to stare at her. “This is going to be so awesome!” Ranma added with stars shining in her eyes and her tail swishing back and forth uncontrollably. It had been so long since she had actually seen a true fight. “Oh, we need some popcorn, and perhaps some drinks! Can’t watch a fight without--” The cat-girl was silenced when the area became mysteriously dark.

A sudden voice caused her to turn on her heals and stare out onto the pier. From above, a pillar of light shone down onto the wooden planks. Ranma watched in fascination for the opponent who would be fighting Tenchi to appear. Then, in a swirl of petals, the man appeared. Ranma’s face fell slightly when she caught sight of the over-dressed pink-haired man. When the man attempted to put on some kind of extravagant showing, but was stopped by Azusa, the cat-girl’s features fell completely.

‘Ya gotta be kidding me.’ Ranma thought to herself with a sigh as everyone began getting preparations ready. She watched as the pink-haired man entertained himself with his own voice. ‘So much for seeing an incredible fight after so long.’ Turning around, she made her way over to the sliding glass doors and sat near them.

“You seem rather disappointed.” Funaho stated from next to the two-year-old. The first wife of Azusa noticed the egg in Ranma’s arms for the second time. During her talk with Washu, the genius had stated that she didn’t plan -- or want -- to create another Ryo-Ohki. The thing within the young cat-girl’s egg may have been based off of Ryo-Ohki, but it was different enough. When Funaho had brought up the dangers and concerns of a two-year-old having control of a space ship that was similar enough to Ryo-Ohki, Washu had reassured her that she intensely believed that her student could be trusted.

Ranma stared up at the raven-haired woman. “Do ya know anything about that guy?” She asked as she pointed to the pink-haired man.

Funaho nodded. “His name is Seiryo Tennan. He is the son of a wealthy Juraian family. He’s known to be rather boastful and full of himself, but he does possess some skill.”

‘Well, at least it’ll be a fight.’ Ranma thought as she accepted some popcorn and tea from Sasami. As she listened to Seiryo rant and rave about the Masaki house and everything about it, Ranma soon found herself losing her cool. “Kick that idiot’s butt, Tenchi!”

Seiryo turned his attention to the cat-girl and laughed. “Him; kick my butt? Little girl, your faith in him is incredible. However, a lowly Earthling such as him will never be able to defeat one such as myself. It is a sad fact that everyone knows. I am the great Seiryo Tennan, after all.”

“I don’t care if yer the king of cheese. You-- Mmph!” Ranma found her hand being covered by a small hand. Turning her head, she learned that it was Washu who had silenced her. “Mmph!”

“Be quiet and let them start the fight.” The older redhead stated as she continued to chow down on popcorn.

Ranma -- reluctantly -- complied and watched the fight begin. Well, if you could call it a fight, that is. Tenchi and Seiryo just seemed to be standing there, and the latter was insulting and berating the former about the fight being hopeless. Bored out of her skull, Ranma was about to insult Seiryo some more, but was silenced due to a faint noise being picked up by her ears.

Turning her head from side to side, she attempted to locate what sounded like either a whistle or a hum. The young redhead couldn’t the source, but she did notice that Sasami was passing out umbrellas to everyone. “Why’s everyone getting umbrellas? It doesn’t look like it’s gonna rain.” Ranma asked as her ears continued to twitch to the annoyingly faint sound that was growing louder.

Wrapping her arm around Ranma’s head, Ryoko pulled the younger girl towards her. “That’s because we’re all preparing for Mihoshi.”

“Huh?” The cat-girl asked in confusion. She had only met Mihoshi for a short time before the woman had went back into space to get back to her job.

“Her ship’s probably going to crash.” the ex-space pirate drawled out as she leaned forward to speak into Ranma’s ear. “You see, a little over two months ago, Mihoshi’s ship fell to the ground and completely destroyed the house.” She had to refrain from laughing in amusement at the rather pale expression that appeared on the two-year-old’s face. “It took almost a month for Tenchi’s father to rebuild the house, and so we had to bunk in Washu’s lab until it was finished.”

It had taken a couple tries, but Ranma had finally managed to find her voice. “Um-- Ryoko-- By any chance, would the low whistling sound that I’m hearing right now be coming from Mihoshi’s ship?” The noise was getting louder and louder with each passing moment.

“Hmm… yep.” Ryoko answered as the amusing sight of a freaked out two-year-old cat-girl played out in front of her eyes.

“What?! But shouldn’t we-- Gah!” The redhead’s sentence remained unfinished as the steadily growing whistle noise became too loud for her sensitive hearing to handle. Pulling her legs towards her to hold on to the egg, Ranma’s hands quickly moved to her ears in an effort to stop what felt like her head trying to explode. “It hurts…” She whined as tears appeared at the corners of her eyes.

Ryoko’s amusement promptly vanished when she noticed just how uncomfortable the younger girl was getting. Sure, the noise -- nearing its peek as Mihoshi was just a few moments away from splash down -- was ear-piercing, but it wasn’t as painful as the kid was making it out to be. It was then she remembered that the girl’s hearing was much greater than everyone else’s. “Washu, I think we have a problem.” Ryoko stated in a somewhat rare moment of concern as she attempted to comfort the younger Masu. She wasn’t the only one in the group who realized the issue at once.

“Damn it, I didn’t even take that into consideration!” Washu cursed as Mihoshi finally crashed down into the lake and produced an even louder boom that accompanied the still lingering whistle. Both sounds together caused Ranma to shout out in excruciating pain as the tears continued to flow from her eyes.

Without any thought, Washu -- in an action that surprised everyone present -- pulled the distraught child into a comforting and motherly hug. As she held Ranma in place, the older redhead proceeded to speak into the younger’s ear in a soothing manner as she softly ran a hand through child’s hair. “Shh… it’s alright, Ranma-chan. It’ll be over soon.”

The crying subsided, but the cat-girl still seemed distraught and in pain from the overwhelming experience. Deciding to try something that Misaki had mentioned to her, Washu moved a hand to the base of Ranma’s ear and started gently scratching the spot. As she scratched, the small cat-girl began to relax and calm down. Once she was fully relaxed, said cat-girl began to softly purr.

‘Misaki was right.’ Washu thought. ‘Her purring really does have a strange soothing effect.’ placing her chin on top of Ranma’s head, the diminutive genius began to gently rock back and forth with a content two-year-old resting in her arms. She honestly didn’t care what anyone thought of the scene.

“Washu-chan, how’s Ranma doing?” Tenchi asked as he stopped over in front of the group. He had noticed that something had happened with the cat-girl while facing off against Seiryo, and he had guessed that it must have been because of Mihoshi.

“She’s doing fine. I may need to run some tests to check and see if her hearing is alright, but I have a feeling she’ll bounce right back.” Washu answered. “By the way, Tenchi, congratulations on your ‘win’.”

“That’s right, Tenchi’s the winner!” Sasami announced as she jumped to her feet. Ryo-Ohki also gave a few happy myahs.

A sniffling and wet Mihoshi appeared before the group. “Um-- Washu--”

“You idiot!” Washu shouted as she jumped to her feet. The sudden and unexpected action caused everyone to leap back in surprise. “Do you realize that -- through your blatant carelessness -- you could have very well damaged Ranma-chan’s hearing? She’s still trying to get used to her enhanced senses!”

Mihoshi’s eyes began to tear up again. “I… I…. I’m sorryyyyy!” The blonde cried as the tears began to flow out of her eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. My ship just suddenly stopped working!”

Washu opened her mouth to speak, but closed it as she began to scratch her head in annoyance. The girl was just so annoying at times. “Alright, I’ll fix your ship, Mihoshi.” She didn’t add, however, that if Ranma’s hearing had been damaged, she was going to strap the blonde to a machine and use her as a guinea pig.

A small groan caused everyone’s attention to switch to the waking form of Ranma. “My head feels like I was hit by a bus.” The cat-girl stated as she opened her eyes. “What happened?” Glancing around, she noticed that Tenchi was no longer facing off against Seiryo. All of a sudden, her eyes widened. “AAAAHHHH!” Everyone watched as the redhead instantaneously leapt to her feet. “I MISSED THE FIGHT?!” A stream of tears soon began flowing from her eyes. “Noooo… the first real fight I’d be able to see in forever, and I end up missing it.”

“Actually--” Tenchi began with a sweat-drop.

“Who won?” Ranma asked in a depressed voice with drooped ears and tail. “Tell me ya at least kicked that guy’s butt, Tenchi. Don’t tell me that ya lost.” This time the entire group sweat-dropped.

“Technically, Mihoshi won the fight.” Funaho answered. At the cat-girl’s confused look, she continued. “Tenchi won, officially. However, Mihoshi’s ship crashed into the lake and sent up a surge of water. Tenchi managed to remain standing, but Seiryo was knocked out and pulled into the lake. He’s still floating around at this moment.”

Ranma stared at her for a moment before making her way over to the edge of the deck. Sure enough, the pink-haired wannabe fiancée was floating on his back in the water. “Ya gotta be kidding me.” Ranma stated as she slapped her face. Turning around, she made her way back to the group. “There wasn’t even a fight. I was excited to see one, but the idiot got knocked out by some WATER.”

“Well, the wave of water WAS kind of large and powerful.” Tenchi answered as he scratched his cheek.

“Don’t care.” Ranma retorted. “He still lost to a bunch of water.”

“Wait just a minute.” Everyone turned around to see Seiryo struggling to climb out of the water. Once he managed to get back on the deck, he coughed out some water. It was apparent -- with the sight of him clenching his fists and glaring at Tenchi -- that he wasn’t happy with his supposed loss “Are you saying that I LOST? How did I lose if we didn’t even FIGHT? Sure, I couldn’t keep my ground when that water hit, but that doesn’t even count! There’s no way I could lose to an EARTHLING of all people. I won’t admit defeat yet, and I won’t allow the princesses to live in these barbaric living conditions any longer! I will--”

“Hey, Pinky!” Ranma shouted.

“What do you wan--” Seiryo quickly found himself enveloped in a fireball. The magical flames quickly dissipated away, but Seiryo himself was left completely charred. A puff of smoke and a groan exited his mouth before he fell backwards and back into the water.

Every single pair of eyes in the area turned there attention to the redheaded cat-girl who had fired off the spell. “How do ya like that? Ya were even defeated by a TWO-YEAR-OLD Earthling!” Ranma taunted before remembering the fireball that she had just used. It was kind of fun, and her anger and annoyance were both gone, so maybe it wouldn’t be all that bad to actually learn more about her magic.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Ranma noticed that everyone was staring directly at her again. “Hey, why’s everyone staring at me?” Her answer came when Washu produced a mirror and had her look into it. The first thing she had seen when she stared into the reflective surface was that her hair and the fur color of her ears were bleach white. The very same coloring could be found on her tail. “Oh.”

“Is that all you have to say?” Washu asked with an unusually serious look on her face. “Did we not get into a discussion about your overuse of your mana’s pool capacity?”

Ranma gave the older redhead a nervous chuckle. “Well-- Yeah, but I’m fine, Washu-sensei!” She was aware that their discussion was causing everyone to stare at the two, and she was hoping Washu wouldn’t say anymore. “Sure, I feel a little weak, but nothing else is wrong. I guess using that fire spell when I talked to ya earlier was a bad thing.”

“Ranma-chan,” Sasami began, “Didn’t you also waste some magic earlier by having a fire spell dance in your hand for a minute?”

The young cat-girl flinched slightly. “Well, yeah… he-he. I-- Uh-- guess I did use a little too much of my magic today.” The stare she was receiving from her teacher caused her to nervously poke her fingers together. “Like I said, Washu-sensei, I’m fine.”

“For now,” Washu stated. “However, constant overuse of your pool capacity could lead to severe problems. Since you are obviously not too keen or concerned in making sure you don’t over-use your magic, I’ll have to do it for you.”

“How?” Ranma asked with a slight hint of worry. Even in the limited time that she had known the genius, Ranma knew that an angered Washu hell-bent on something was not good for someone’s health.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Ya gotta be kidding me, Washu-sensei.” Ranma whined in both annoyance and embarrassment as she stared at the item that her teacher was holding. It looked almost like a normal cat collar, and it even had a small little bell on it that jingled when it was moved. The idea of wearing that collar felt even more degrading than she already felt over being part cat.

She would have run -- she had already tried to, -- but there was the small fact of being restrained by a machine that ruled out the idea. Ranma decided to reevaluate her opinion of Washu to the idea that the woman was also sadistic and cruel AS WELL AS psychotic and weird.

“It’s always so cute when they squirm and try to break free.” Washu commented with a small laugh. “Still, it has to be done for your own safety, Ranma-chan.” She proceeded to place the collar around the struggling girl’s neck. “This collar has a sensor within it. That sensor’s job is to detect any unauthorized use of mana. If you perform any magic when you aren’t supposed to, not only will it send a signal notifying me, but it will also cause the bell on your collar to chime at a fast pace; signaling the others that you are using your magic when you aren’t supposed to.”

“That’s unfair!”

“You’re right,” Washu responded with a hum. “I should let you continue to use up your magic’s limited pool capacity.” The diminutive genius reached out and placed her fingers around a lock of Ranma’s bleached white hair. “After-all, white hair and fur seems to actually look good on you. Who cares if you end up becoming terribly ill or die from internal bleeding, Right?”

Ranma was about to open her mouth and retort, but halted before a word could leave her mouth. A rather uncomfortable silenced passed between the two before the cat-girl finally spoke. “What do ya mean by that?”

“Hmm?” Washu asked as she pushed the lock of hair she was holding back. “Oh, nothing much; just that the constant strain of depleting your magic’s pool capacity can take a toll on your very body. I’ve learned of it in my researching of some of the more magically oriented civilizations about 17,000 years ago. Those who use magic usually have a pool and bucket capacity. The bucket capacity is determined at birth, and it’s the amount of mana that one person could use at one given time.”

“Um--”

“Say you want to cast a spell, but the mana required is of a greater amount than you actually have the capacity for. Since you don’t meet the needed quota, you won’t be able to cast the spell at all. In essence, it’s like trying to fill up a bucket with more water than it can hold. What happens when you try and add more water than the bucket is capable of containing?”

“Ya can’t, because it’s already full and will just run off.” Ranma answered.

“Exactly.” Washu chirped happily. “Every magical spell has a minimum amount of mana required. If the minimum amount is greater than what your metaphorical bucket can hold, you won’t be able to cast it. Pool capacity is different than bucket capacity. Your pool capacity is the amount of mana you actually HAVE at your disposal. While your bucket capacity is determined at birth and represents the amount of magic you can use at one time, your pool capacity does not. It is the amount you have access to.” The redheaded genius reached over to ring the small bell on Ranma’s collar. “Pop-quiz; can you figure out what I am trying to say, Ranma-chan?”

Closing her eyes, the cat-girl attempted to understand the small magic lesson. “Um-- You are saying that even though I have the capacity to gather enough mana for a spell, I don’t have the proper amount to do the job?” Ranma answered as she stared at her teacher with large questioning eyes.

“Correct!” Washu shouted as she gleefully wrapped her arms around the younger girl’s head. “You are so adorable when you answer with those cute eyes of yours, Ranma-chan! I could ask you questions all day!”

“Get off of me!” Ranma shouted in a muffled voice. When Washu had let go, the cat-girl sighed in relief.

“Anyway,” Washu began as she cleared her throat, “Let us use that Dragon Slave spell as an example. While you have the bucket capacity required to cast it, you have a limited amount of magical energy in your pool. To cast the Dragon Slave right now would deplete all of your mana and put an incredible amount of strain on your body. In fact, it would dip into your very life force. Tell me, Ranma-chan, how do you feel right now? I want the TRUTH.”

With just one look into Washu’s eyes, Ranma felt that it would indeed by wise to tell her the truth. “W-- Well, I feel kinda tired and weak, and my whole body hurts a little.”

“What you are experiencing is magical strain. You have used up your pool’s mana, and if you attempt to use anymore at this moment, and possibly the next day or two, you’ll be in danger of dying.” At that statement, the younger girl’s face paled enough to almost match her hair. “Now do you see why we had to go with placing this magic monitoring collar on you? It’s to ensure your safety.” There was also a small amount of amusement purpose mixed in, but Washu wouldn’t tell her student that. “I will be monitoring your magical use, and if you even attempt to use any mana, it will activate a function that will seal it before you could even use it.

‘Wonder what’ll happen if I try to take it off.’

Almost as if she read her mind, Washu continued. “And don’t think you’ll be able to remove the collar. There’s a special lock on it that only I can remove. You’ll be able to use your magic if given the okay, but ONLY if I give it to you. Got it?”

“Yes, Washu-sensei.” Ranma answered with a grumble.

“You will continue to wear that collar until your magical pool has reached a point to where you can use it properly without easily succumbing to magical depletion. Do I need to repeat myself, or did you manage to catch all of that?”

“I understood, Washu-sensei.” Ranma answered again as she mentally cursed the woman for putting such an embarrassing item around her neck.

“Oh don’t be so angry, Ranma-chan.” Washu stated with a smirk as she rested a hand on the restrained cat-girl’s head. “It’s not like I’m forcing you into a cute little dress with a big bow on your head.”

Ranma averted her gaze. “Ya probably would if ya felt it would be amusing.”

‘Heh-- She’s right.’ The 20,000-year-old genius thought in amusement. “You know, Ranma-chan, you have a very interesting situation on your hands.”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about how you react when someone scratches you behind the ear.” The look on her student’s face was absolutely priceless. “You wouldn’t mind letting me see if you purr every time your ear is scratched, would you? It could be a good subject for me to research. Maybe we can see how long it lasts at a time, and learn if there are any lingering after-affects of you entering into that state.” Her hand began to slowly move towards the younger girl’s ear.

“Wait, stop!” Ranma shouted as she struggled, but remembered that she couldn’t move at all. “Damn it, Washu!”

Washu stopped before tilting her head and staring into her student’s eyes. “Oh my, you have a rather naughty mouth, and you didn’t call me either Washu-chan or Washu-sensei. How do you expect me to listen to your request?” When the cat-girl opened her mouth, Washu shook her head before she began to scratching. “I’m afraid it’s too late, Ranma-chan.”

“You’re insane!” Ranma managed to shout out before she began succumbing. “So… insane.” Her body proceeded to fall relaxed as she started purring.

‘I’m so glad I decided to take her up as a student.’ Washu thought in amusement. The girl was just so full of surprises and easy to tease. ‘Her purring really is soothing to listen to.’

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

About half an hour later, a fuming Ranma was sitting at the Masaki house’s low table as she returned to working on her packet assignment. Sitting comfortably in a basket next to her was her egg. ‘I can’t believe she actually did that to me while I was restrained.’ She thought as the memory of Washu scratching her behind the ear was fresh in her mind. The white-haired child only hoped that nobody else would try and do the same thing.

When she felt a presence, Ranma raised her head to see that it was Emperor Azusa who was standing near the table. “I must admit,” Azusa began in his gruff voice, “That fireball you cast earlier was quite impressive for one so young.”

“Thanks.” Ranma answered as her mood lightened up a little. “Doesn’t mean squat though now that Washu-sensei has me wearing this collar that prevents me from using my magic.” The cat-girl proceeded to write the answer down to one of her assignment questions. “So, what is it that ya want?” There had to be a reason that the man wanted to talk with her. He didn’t seem like the kind who would freely converse with other people.

A vein appeared on the ruler of Jurai’s forehead at the rather rude and careless reply. Azusa had to remember that she was just a two-year-old. A smart two-year-old, but a two-year-old none-the-less. “I am rather curious. You are but an Earthling toddler, and yet -- from what I’ve been informed -- it seems that you have the potential to become great; unlike a great majority of people on this planet.” His statement caused the cat-girl’s ego to rise. “But I must ask. What do you plan on doing with this potential?”

“Huh?” Ranma asked intelligently.

“What do you plan on doing with this potential that you have?” Azusa repeated. “You must have some goal within your mind.” He had seen many become powerful. Several of those people gave into their urges and used such abilities to cause destruction around the universe. He hoped that the young cat-girl he was talking to would not become one of the latter.

Scratching the side of her head with the pencil eraser, Ranma contemplated the question. “I have a goal to become the best.”

“But WHY do you want to become the best?” Azusa asked. “What will you do with the power and abilities you gain?”

Ranma gave a shrug. “I dunno.” The answer caused the ruler of Jurai to sweat-drop. “Probably use my abilities to help those in danger. It’s not like I’m gonna let it all go to my head and become some crazy megalomaniacal dictator bent on molding the universe into my own image or anything.” If possible, the sweat-drop on Azusa’s head became larger. “Besides, I’ve thought about becoming an Auror.”

“An Auror?” Azusa asked after hearing the unfamiliar word.

“Yeah, an Auror.” Ranma answered as she recalled what Dumbledore had mentioned. “It’s someone who goes around and kicks the butts of dark wizards and witches who try and harm both the magical and non-magical communities. It sounds like an awesome job.”

“It sounds like a waste.” Azusa replied.

The cat-girl stared up at the Juraian emperor. “What do you mean? I’d be putting my abilities to good use.”

“Perhaps,” Azusa began, “but it does sound like a waste to only put your abilities to use on one planet; a primitive planet at that. It might also be a better plan to join an organization such as the Galaxy Police. Not only would you be able to put everything to use, but you’d be able to help and visit other planets and sections of the galaxy.” Of course, Earthlings weren’t usually allowed to join, but considering that the cat-girl was aware of, and living with, extraterrestrial life, that rule would be lenient.

“Pass”

“Wha-- Why?”

“I’d probably be stuck in some stupid ship most of the time. I’d rather be moving around than sitting on my rump in a ship all the time. I’d probably have to rely on some stupid ship weapons as well.”

“But--”

“Dear,” Funaho began as she appeared next to her husband, “I think that’s enough. Her mind is already set on something.” The woman leaned in to whisper in her husband’s ear. “Just what are you trying to do? You seem rather interested in trying to get her to believe you.”

Azusa coughed nervously into his fist. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, honey. I just think that when she gets older, her skills would be better put to use in an organization similar to the Galaxy Police.”

“Perhaps even thinking about adding her power to the Juraian military?” Funaho asked icily. Her answer came when her husband stiffened. “You saw how powerful she could become and decided that she could become a great asset to add power to Jurai as well.”

“Well-- Honey-- If she did, she really would be able to put her abilities to use.”

“You two realize that I’m still right here, right?” Ranma asked with a smirk to the two royals as she pointed to her ears. “Go ahead, though, I want to hear more of how ya want to manipulate me into agreeing to become a pawn of yours when I grow up.”

Azusa found himself at a loss for anything to say. He couldn’t believe that a two-year-old of all people was able to see right through him. Without anything more to say, and in an attempt to keep his dignity, the emperor of Jurai turned around and walked out of the room. This left Funaho to turn her attention to the redhead-turned-white haired child before sitting down at the table herself.

“I apologize if my husband’s behavior has angered you. He just tends to get carried away at times with what he thinks is best.”

“Nah, I’m not angry. It’s actually nice that he considered my abilities were good.” Ranma’s ego had been boosted greatly by the meeting with Azusa.

Funaho gave the young cat-girl a small smile. “Still, he did raise a good point. Figuring out what you are going to do with your abilities is a good idea. You’re being taught by possibly the greatest scientific mind in the universe. You have access to a growing reservoir of magic. You are working on becoming a formidable martial artist. You have DNA of Masu running through you, and you will own a ship similar to, but not completely like, Ryo-Ohki. That will be a great deal of power at your disposal.”

Ranma opened her mouth to speak, but found that nothing would come out of it. What exactly WOULD she do with everything she had? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she didn’t have any idea what-so-ever. “I… don’t know.” She finally answered in a small voice. She had always planned on just continuing her martial arts -- she had absolutely no desire to even THINK of giving up, -- but one of the biggest goals she aimed for was gone. She could no longer take over as heir of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. She could, if she desired, create a whole new branch of the Anything Goes -- something Ranma planned to do, -- but there was debate over whether the cat-girl would actually want to train anybody.

That was it; Ranma honestly didn’t have a strong goal to shoot for. The position of Auror was a start, but she wondered if the job was as interesting as Dumbledore had led her to believe. ‘Wonder if that old fart left out anything important.’

Funaho placed a comforting hand over the cat-girl’s hand. “Then maybe you should think about what you’re going to do. It’ll be a long while before you will probably need to decide, so just consider the possibilities of what you COULD end up doing with the knowledge and abilities that you gain.” The first wife of Azusa slowly pushed herself to her feet. “It won’t be too long before we leave to go back to Jurai. I’m sure Misaki will want to see you again before we depart.” With that, the raven-haired woman turned and walked away from the room.

Left to ponder over what Funaho had told her, Ranma leaned backwards and pulled the egg into her lap. As she sat there ran her hand over the top of the spherical object, Ranma continued to contemplate the very thought that quickly started to annoy her. ‘C’mon, why the hell am I thinking so hard about this? I’m currently two-years-old, so I shouldn’t have to think about this crap.’

Deciding to toss the issue out of her mind for now, Ranma returned to her assignment. “Ha, this one’s an easy one!” She shouted in triumph as she wrote down the answer. “Now on to the next-- Damn it, Washu-sensei.” The cat-girl cursed as she discovered that the next one was too complicated. Thoughts over what she’d do later on were mostly -- but not completely -- forgotten.

xxA.Nxx

The time frame of the Tenchi Muyo aspect of the series is a few weeks after the Dr. Clay fiasco. Xellos arrived a few days before the Clay arc and managed to -- somehow -- get Washu to agree to see Ranma.

Ranma Then arrived a couple days after the Clay arc.