Welcome to my Ranma fanfiction! I hope you enjoy it!

This is version 2 of chapter 1.

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Ranma loved ice cream. It was his big secret. As he had grown up with his father, ice cream had been one of those occasional treats that Genma would buy for him every once in a blue moon, when the going got really tough. It was not only sweet and sugary in a way that everyday food couldn't compare to, it was cold – a frozen delicacy! When Ranma has taken his first lick of ice cream, he had nearly dropped it in shock – it was like trying to eat snow, but it actually tasted good! That ice cream had been chocolate flavored, and Ranma had, from then on, always preferred chocolate ice cream over anything else, purely for its nostalgic value.

But ice cream had been just that – a rare treat. And a man didn't try and find rare treats – he let them come to him. While the code of honor that Genma had spun into the entrapping web that it was today was often confusing, this bit Ranma understood perfectly: living purely on necessities was something only a real man could do, so living in such a manner was incontrovertible proof of being a man. He even understood why Genma insisted that Ranma had to continue upholding such proofs, as not only did he have to maintain the image of manliness for his mother, giving in to the small pleasures often led to even more slippage.

Oh, he understood that all too well.

When he had first been cursed to turn into a girl, Ranma had hated it with all his strength and loathed every second he had been trapped in that form. But he was a martial artist – and above that, a martial artist of the Anything Goes style, a style in which one found advantages where there were none and turned disabilities into winning strategies. To ignore the possible benefits of becoming a girl was not only against his style of fighting, it was against his style of thinking. Ranma hated to lose, and (much like his father, to his chagrin) he did whatever it took to win. That included trying to turn a curse into a blessing.

When he was a girl, people treated him differently – this was immediately apparent to Ranma. People expected different things from him, sometimes even if they knew he really was a boy. 'He really was a boy' – Ranma had professed that countless times, but he sometimes doubted whether that was really true or not. He wasn't asleep in class all the time – biology had taught him enough about the human body to know that the person was shaped by the body as much as the body was shaped by the person. As far as he could tell, when he got hit by cold water his body completely transformed into that of a female. He had experimented a little – no, not that way, he wasn't perverted, damn it! - and was fairly certain that his female body was a female version of himself. Comparing pictures had shown him that they had many of the same facial features, and discounting feminine curves and breasts, he still had the same general body shape. So after a while, he began to ask himself – when he was transformed into a female version of himself, was his mind transformed as well?

Every time he passed an ice cream shop in girl form, he felt the urge to get something sweet. This was nothing strange to him, as his love of ice cream was carefully repressed and sated only when convenient and honorable, but after the curse it had become stronger. He knew plenty of girls that obsessed about their weight, and plenty that disliked sweet things, but they were always more at ease than boys were with comforting themselves when they felt that they required it – and society said this was okay. Not that he'd ever say that to a girl, but that's what his experiences told him. If his girl form really was a female version of himself, then, it didn't seem that strange to indulge himself every once in a while, and society agreed. That was what his manly honor told him – that women should be indulged before men.

So if he was a different person, with different needs and wants, did the same rules of honor apply to him? Sure, it was important to uphold honor even as a girl, but was it important to uphold manliness? He still thought many of the tenants his father had taught him (some by indirect example of what not to do) were important to uphold, not from the perspective of a man, but from the perspective of a person. People expected different things of girls – and if he really was a girl, then his honor demanded that, to some extent, he uphold those expectations.

So he had bought that ice cream cone, one day. He had submitted to the pleasure. He had given the stall keeper the cutest smile he could muster (which, Ranma was proud to say, was pretty damned cute. One never let an advantage slip one by) and the guy had blushed, fumbled the scoop, and eventually given him a chocolate ice cream cone. Ranma had sat down and licked it carefully and methodically, savoring the flavor and the icy medium through which it was conveyed. He had felt much better, more confident, and refreshed – indulgence was something rare and special, and he treasured it all the more because it was okay for girls to indulge.

But it hadn't ended there. The next time he passed by an ice cream shop, he felt the urge, strong as ever. He had been busy at the time, and couldn't stop to have a treat, but the urge had gotten worse, at a rate much faster then normal. He knew why, too – all he had to do was transform into a girl, and suddenly it was, strangely enough, okay for him to indulge himself.

He resisted, of course. He knew now that choosing, as a man, to become a girl and indulge his wants was only a shortcut, and it still violated his manly honor. But it was so hard, so difficult, when on one side he had his honor as a man telling him to repress himself, while on the other he had one of the few, oh so few benefits of becoming a girl telling him it was socially acceptable for him to indulge. He felt torn in two, equally pulled in two different directions. And one day, when he had been walking with Akane and Nabiki as a girl and the two had suddenly expressed a desire for ice cream, Ranma couldn't help but agree.

The next time it had become easier, and the one after that even easier, and soon he was sneaking off for little treats here and there, using smiles and a coquettish voice to get what he wanted without paying a cent – and all of it was socially acceptable. Well, a lot of people considered the free food part dishonorable, but that was like fat kids telling him it was unfair for him to be so athletic – they were just jealous. The whole evil-girl-twin affair had put him off it, but only for a while. In order to survive with his curse and not go ballistic on every guy than tried to hit on him while he was a girl, he had to make allowances and grow comfortable enough with his female body to shrug said advances off – meaning more treats.

It wasn't as bad as before the evil twin incident, but he still indulged himself, and he felt a bit guilty about it. Genma knew what was going on, too – Ranma could feel his eyes every time he walked into the house, probing and judging and asking questions that Ranma didn't want answers to. The fact that Genma never actually said anything made it worse – it was a silent agreement that, yes, the cursed had to make concessions to survive. Genma had his tire, and Ranma had his treats – but what went too far and entered into the realm of dishonorable conduct? Every time his father gave him that look, the look that was half fatherly concern and half contempt, Ranma found himself asking that question, and he didn't have the answer.

This morning, though, Genma wasn't giving him the Stare; thanks to the half-dozen martial artists currently sitting in the Soun dojo living room, he was too busy hiding in the corner and playing with his tire. At the moment, Ranma was crammed between Ryoga and Mousse; this was to prevent any of his fiancées from getting close enough to spark a conflict. Shampoo was leaning against a wall, glaring at Ukyo, who was levelly matching Shampoo's gaze with her own. Pantyhose Taro was leering at everyone around him, his distasteful lechery matched only by arrogant disdain. Kasumi was in the kitchen, preparing a second round of tea for everyone (the first being one of the major reasons the fragile peace existed at all), and Akane was seated across from Ranma, refusing to look at him because of some misunderstanding that, quite honestly, Ranma had already forgotten about. Nabiki had retreated onto the porch, where she was deciding how to allocate the funds to deal with the destruction that everyone knew would eventually erupt.

Ryoga shifted in his seat. "When is he going to get here? We've been waiting for, what, an hour?"

"Nervous, piggy?" Taro sneered. "Anxious to relieve yourself of your terrible burden? You're weak, just like that cowardly faggot sitting next to you!"

Ranma ground his teeth together. "Hey, can't you just shut your mouth for a little while, Pantyhose? A little longer and the guide will get here, and then you can go on your merry way."

"Unlike you idiots," Taro said lazily, "I'm not looking for a cure – if this doesn't pan out, I'll be fine. So I don't really care if I mess things up – in fact, I might just do it for fun!"

Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse looked at each other and grinned. "Do what you want. There's no way you can beat all of us at once," Ranma said.

"Maybe, maybe not." Taro pulled out a flask of water and started swishing it around. "I'd say the odds would be quite different if I happened to 'spill' this on myself."

"Don't bother," Nabiki said casually from outside. "I installed a hot water sprinkler system recently. You try anything and you'll be sprayed from three different directions faster than you can blink."

Taro growled, but replaced the flask on his belt. There was a silence for a few minutes, and then Akane spoke up.

"Ryoga, why are you here? You too, Ukyo; I thought this was only important to people who were cursed."

Ukyo flipped her hair over her shoulder, never taking her eyes of Shampoo, who was doing the same. "Emotional support, dear. Just in case, as Pantyhose here said, things don't pan out, I'll be here to make sure Ranma understands that he's still wanted and loved."

"Ah, me too!" Ryoga exclaimed hurriedly. "I couldn't let my, uh, my dear friend Ranma face something like this alone, could I? Isn't that right, dear friend Ranma?" He nudged Ranma, a strained smile plastered on his face.

"Ah, right," Ranma monotoned as he rolled his eyes, "I'm so glad my dear friend Ryoga is here to help. I have no idea what I'd do without him."

Ryoga gave a forced laugh and put his arm around Ranma's shoulders. "Yes, that's right, dear friend! We'll always be there for each other, won't we!"

Akane smiled. "It's nice to see that you're such good friends."

"Yeah, right. Good friends," Ranma muttered.

Ryoga leaned over and whispered into Ranma's ear. "I owe you, man."

"That's what you've said the last fifty times I helped you out of a jam, but I haven't seen you deliver yet."

"That's harsh! I help you out all the time!"

"Not nearly as much as I help you out!"

"Oh yeah? Prove it!"

"Gladly!"

Mousse leaned over and began whispering as well. "Will you two shut up and wait?"

Ranma glared, his temper and competitive spirit getting the better of him. "Stay out of this, ducky. It's none of your business!"

"It becomes my business when you threaten my chance of getting a cure!"

"Like you even need it! You enjoy it when Shampoo teases you in your duck form!"

"I do not! Saotome's the pervert, not me!"

"Hey! Why do people keep saying that about me?"

"Because you change into a girl whenever it suits you?"

"That's not fair, man! My curse is way harder to live with than yours!"

"Fool! You know nothing of hardship! You ruined my life, Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"

Ranma paused for a second, and the other two did the same.

"Aren't you going to do anything, Ryoga?" Ranma finally asked.

"What? Why would I- oh, yeah, I did just say that, didn't I. Sorry, it's kind of a reflex nowadays."

"Great. My 'dear friend' has a conditioned reflex to try to kill me. That says a lot about my life."

"It's not a reflex to kill you, just to say that I'm going to."

"And that says a lot about your life."

"Shut up, ducky, or I'll show you real suffering!"

"You know, I actually have a brand of knife that's named 'Real Suffering' stored in my coat right now. I could show it to you, if you want – real close."

"Don't threaten me, feather-butt, or I'll poke a hole in your head."

"Calm down, you two! Think of the cure, think of the cure!"

"Why should I be thinking of a cure that may or may not exist when thereason I'm cursed is right in front of me?"

"Oh, so now you're going to try something? Fine, porky, bring it! When I kick your ass, and ducky's here too for good measure, I'll keep the cure all to myself!"

"You evil, evil man! I'll never let Shampoo fall into your clutches!"

The three began to stand, but were interrupted when there was a knock on the door. There was a general scramble as everyone tried to open the door, but it was, of course, Kasumi who got there first.

"Why, hello there," she said cheerfully as she opened the door. "You must be the Jusenkyo Guide everyone's been waiting for. Please, come in and have some tea."

The Guide, his hat in his hands, bowed deeply. "Thank you very much, thank you very much," he mumbled hastily. He walked through the door, his stride so cautious and polite that Ranma had trouble precisely sensing his movements. To everyone's surprise, though, another man followed the Guide through the doorway – an old, old man, who, despite having a cane in one hand, walked with power and excitement, and had a gleam in his eyes. He had an amazing tower of white, shiny hair on his head – it almost looked alive, it was so vibrant. Ranma was reminded of Happosai, but without the overbearing presence of lust, or the baldness.

The Guide went to the table, bowed to everyone once more, and then kneeled down. "Honored visitors of Jusenkyo, I bear terrible, terrible news, and possibility of wonderful, wonderful news. This is why head of order, Jusenkyo Morals Committee, has come to see you and give news."

Ranma immediately felt pangs of worry, and looking around he saw similar reactions in everyone else. What could this terrible news be, Ranma thought, and what did he mean by the 'possibility' of great news?

"Well," the old man said with cheer, "first, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Kondi Xia Nia, and I am indeed the head of the Jusenkyo Morals Committee. I will waste no time; the news I bear you will be hard to take, and I'm sure you will have many questions."

Suddenly, his expression and tone became intensely serious. "I am afraid that the Jusenkyo Springs are now dead."

Momentarily shocked by the wight of the old man's words, Ranma felt hope dying in him. When he saw the pathetic expressions of loss and fear on the faces of Mousse, Shampoo, and even Ryoga, he couldn't exercise restraint. "What the hell do you mean, they're 'dead'!? Explain yourself!"

Kondi Xia Nia nodded gravely. "I have every intention to. As you are no doubt aware, being the perpetrators of the incident, the Dragon Statue was destroyed in your fight with Saffron."

"Yeah," Ryoga said, his voice trembling despite his best attempts to control it, "and the waters got mixed together. But we were told that this was just a temporary problem!"

"It was. As any of your elders could tell you, powerful magical items and places like Jusenkyo will normally repair themselves, even if it takes hundreds of years. In this incident, however, the magic of Jusenkyo has completely vanished. Not even the barest of fragments of the magic that once powered Jusenkyo remains."

"That impossible!" Shampoo suddenly shouted. "Magic no get destroyed like that, is impossible!"

"You are absolutely right," Kondi Xia Nia said. "It was not destroyed, as that is impossible. It was stolen."

Everyone suddenly started shouting.

"Stolen!"

"How?"

"By who!"

"Who would have such power?"

"Calm down, clam down," the old man said. "I am partially here to see if the culprit is here – or if there really is a culprit at all. Please remain calm while I perform a small ritual."

Kondi Xia Nia pulled a small glass flask out of his pocket with one hand, and a stone suspended on a string with the other. Pouring the contents of the flask over the stone, he gently swung it in circles with his eyes closed. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly exhaled in one quick burst, and flipped the stone into the air. Instead of responding to gravity, it hovered – and then shot straight for Ranma, nearly tearing itself out of the old man's grasp.

Ranma suddenly found himself the subject of half a dozen extremely hard, possibly violent stares. He gulped. "Uh, it's not what it looks like? I have no idea what's going on either, the old man should explain, start explaining how this isn't my fault, geezer!"

The old man chuckled. "No need to look so angry, everyone. It appears that, not only have I found where the magic has gone – I have found a way to cure you all."

Ryoga, like his normal self, suddenly switched from intensely wanting to kill Ranma to intensely wanting to hug Kondi Xia Nia. "Really!? That's wonderful!"

"Wow," Akane piped up, "you're such a good friend for Ranma! He doesn't deserve you at all!"

Ryoga flinched and rubbed the back of his head. Meanwhile, Mousse continued where Ryoga had left off. "Please, tell us what this cure is. Do we need to do something to Ranma? Something violent?"

"Oy, oy, I haven't done anything wrong!"

"No," Kondi Xia Nia said, "you haven't. This will require a rather complicated explanation, so listen carefully."

Pausing, he let everyone give him their full attention before continuing. "In this world, there are many fantastic beings. You have already met one – Saffron, a literally immortal creature, who will be born again and again. You have heard legends of many others, such as dragons, ogres, and sometimes even gods, although these fantastic being are not true gods. These creatures are all born in the same way – from those bearing a God Seed.

"A God Seed is a bit of special Ki. It is formed when a normal human expends a tremendous amount of Ki and energy in an extremely short amount of time. As you can imagine, while this is rare, it is far from impossible. Cologne and Happosai, people you are familiar with, I believe, both have God Seeds in them; many martial artists develop them if they dedicate themselves to their art long enough.

"Possessing a God Seed, by itself, does not give you title to call yourself a god. However, it certainly makes you exceed the term 'human', as I'm sure you have seen for yourself. A possessor of a God Seed does not age the same way a human does – their body stays fairly fit no matter how old they get, and they do not suffer many of the ills that normally befall the elderly. This results in their lives being greatly extended in length. The strength of these effects differs from Seed to Seed, and not all God Seeds are equal.

"In addition, powerful God Seeds have unique properties in and of themselves. Happosai's is rather famous, for example; his ability to subsist on and use lust as a substitute for Ki is nigh legendary, and many people have tried to emulate it. But, of the few that manage to create God Seeds within themselves, only the barest fraction of those continue on to develop such properties. As for the fantastic beings I mentioned earlier – those with God Seeds give birth to children who are naturally stronger and healthier than normal children, and can more easily create God Seeds. If a few generations in a row manage to develop God Seeds, then the children they bear will cease to be human entirely, and develop into the mystical races and creatures you know and have fought. It also helps if both parents of a child have God Seeds."

"Get to the point," Ranma said with annoyance. "How does this effect us?"

"Oh, it already has. Ranma, in your fight with Saffron, you managed to develop a God Seed, and one of considerable strength. It was so strong, in fact, that it absorbed the power of Jusenkyo."

Ranma was stunned for a second, and then he started shouting. "That's ridiculous! Why should we believe you? How do we know you're not just trying to pin this off on me so you can get away with the power of Jusenkyo, huh?"

"Why, the test I used just now on you is proof enough. The stone was a fragment of the Dragon Statue, and the water was from Jusenkyo, before it's magic was stolen. Storing it bled out its magic, but the imprint remained, and the fact that it flew at you so hungrily is proof enough that the magic resides with you."

"Wha- Huh-" Ranma gripped his forehead tightly with one hand, feeling a headache beginning to come on. "Argh! All you're doing is making my head hurt with all these roundabout explanations that don't really explain anything! God Seeds or Stones or whatever the hell you're talking about, I don't care. Just tell me how I can fix things, how I can put the magic back into Jusenkyo."

Kondi Xia Nia shook his head. "That's quite impossible. The magic has bonded with you quite firmly. However, do not fear. Jusenkyo has become a part of you – whatever Jusenkyo could accomplish, you can as well. I'm not sure to what extent, as the magic of Jusenkyo was simply one of change, and the pools were more geographical extensions of that magic than inherent aspects, but I'm fairly certain curing people of their curses is something you can easily accomplish, once you figure out how to actually use these powers."

"Wait," Ranma said, a little breathlessly. "Are you saying- am I cured? If I figure out how to use this magic or whatever, I'll never have to become a girl again?"

Kondi Xia Nia shook his head again, this time sadly. "I'm afraid that is not going to happen. You see, the reason the magic latched onto you is because you were cursed. You are not the first person the develop a God Seed while in the presence of the magic that cursed you – and you are not the first to absorb the magic like you have. Your curse has become the mortar between you and the magic – and just as surely as you cannot get rid of the magic, you cannot get rid of the curse. There are ways to cure curses, and even if you don't have the ability to cure these people here, they should eventually be able to find a magic powerful enough to counter Jusenkyo. You, however, will never be able to escape it – not unless you wish to destroy yourself as well."

Ranma felt a depression deeper than any he had ever felt before grip him tightly. His vision started to dim, and everything seemed to fade away. The old man continued to speak, but Ranma wasn't really listening any more. He just couldn't handle it – the smallest shreds of hope, that he had always been able to hold onto no matter how desperate he became, had themselves been shredded entirely, and cast away into nothingness. There was nothing left, no path to take. His father had taught him to keep on fighting no matter what, to never give up, but there was nothing left to fight anymore. There was no cure. He was the cure, but only for others. The irony was too strong for him to handle.

He felt hands on his arm, on his shoulders, and curled up into a ball. Warm bodies pressed against him, and he pressed back, but only to feel the warmth. Deep, deep in his mind, he felt the Neko-ken stirring, waking, and then mourning with him. He could feel the thoughts of his cat-self – not a truly distinct personality but merely a highly fractured aspect of himself – and he could feel its sorrow, its regret at opportunities lost, futures laid to waste. He shared his sorrow with his cat-self, and it shared its carefree feline outlook, and Ranma felt the depression lifting a little bit.

Then, to his surprise, he felt a different, third presence – his girl self. It was not nearly as fractures as the neko-ken, but it was still slightly different. Ranma couldn't visualize it as anything different from him; if the neko-ken was standing in front of him, he was back to back with his girl side, and their empathy for each other was so strong that they really were just one person. Nevertheless, today something was distinctly different; the girl side had, perhaps, fractured a little bit more, enough that it could take some of his pain, and ease his burden.

His senses began to return. and Ranma found himself in a lap – three laps, in fact. In an emergency meeting, Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyo had unanimously decided to cuddle him all at once, and Ranma could see Ryoga and Mousse staring down at him with sadness in their eyes – sadness, but also hunger – hunger for a cure. Looking at Shampoo, he expected to find the same hunger there, but to his surprise found only empathy.

Realizing that he was having fairly intimate physical contact with not one, two, but three of his fiancées all at once, Ranma sat up very straight. Looking around, he found that nothing had changed much. I must not have been out for very long.

He took a long, deep breathe, and focused his eyes on Kondi Xia Nia. "All right, old man. If I have some sort of God Stone in me,-"

"God Seed."

"God Seed, Stone, Pebble, whatever, that can cure everybody, then I'd like to figure out how to use it quickly. So, could you teach me how?"

Kondi Xia Nia shook his head and chuckled. "I'm afraid I'd have no idea what to do. As you guessed, I do indeed possess a God Seed, but it is a very weak one with no abilities beyond the norm for God Seeds, and I have no experience that may help you. Khu Lon may be powerful, but to my knowledge she does not possess a Seed with unique abilities either – but then, she is a secretive woman, and it is entirely possible she has hidden them all this time. Happosai would probably be a wonderful teacher – but I doubt he would accept you as a student. He may have taught martial arts to many, but he keeps the secrets to his God Seed vary carefully hidden."

Ranma blanched. "I wouldn't let Happosai train me if he begged.Isn't there anyone else who could teach me?"

Kondi Xia Nia blinked. "I thought that would be obvious. You father would be a perfect tutor."

Everyone stopped moving and turned their gazes towards Genma. He was still playing with the tire – only now, he was also holding a sign, which read I'm just a simple panda, don't mind me .

Ranma coughed. "I think you have a case of mistaken identity. My father-"

"-is an extremely famous martial artist, in the right circles. He developed a God Seed early on in life, just like you did, and it was a strong one. It is no surprise that your God Seed is as strong as it is – Genma, while clearly not terribly wise, is not someone to be trifled with. In the circles I travel in, he's known as The Master."

"My father," Ranma said, his voice filled with contempt, "is a thief and a liar. I regularly kick his ass at martial arts, and he cowers at the slightest of frowns from the weakest of people. There is noway that he could have a, a, a God Seed. Really."

Kondi Xia Nia laughed heartily. "You are absolutely right about his character! I said he was famous, not that he was a good person. However, his abilities are not to be doubted. He may look like he's only forty, but he is actually over a hundred years old."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Indeed it is. Mr. Saotome is extremely out of character with the typical Seed-bearing martial artist. He spends his time begging meals and trying to secure luxury for himself, and his honor is a fairly bendable concept."

Genma ignored the conversation, and continued to rock his tire back and forth. An additional line had been added to his sign at some point: Just a panda. That's all. Nothing more .

"If my pop was some kind of long-lived super hero, he'd be living it up, not trying to get me to shack up with his friends daughter just so he can mooch off me for the rest of his life."

Akane looked indignant, but said nothing. Kondi Xia Nia continued. "I'm sure he would – but his abilities don't go that way. You see, your father's God Seed makes him a highly ingenious creator of martial art styles and techniques. From what I've heard, you've already come into contact with the pair he designed around thieving, the Umisenken and the Yamasenken."

Ranma opened his mouth, but then shut it again. Thinking for a moment, he then nodded. "You're right. I always wondered how he could come up with such a special martial art style."

"Indeed. The Yamasenken, actually, is the only technique I've heard of that Genma has taught to another. Normally he seals them away. I've heard he considers it cheating to use his God Seed – that he's too young to have to rely on it."

Suddenly Genma was at the table, back in human form. Sighing, he sat himself down. "Well, there's no point hiding it now. Everything this man has said is true. I do, indeed, possess a God Seed – and I do, indeed, refuse to use it. As a master of the Anything Goes martial arts styles, I must follow its tenants – and as you know, son, the core tenant is to use the technique, not to let the technique use you."

Kondi Xia Nia raised an eyebrow. "Is this true, Ranma?"

Ranma scratched his head. "Well, I guess it is true, but I always thought it was one of those things that people said just to sound wise. This time is probably no different. But hey!" He turned to Genma. "If you really do have one of these Seeds, then you've got some explaining to do!"

"Later, boy, later. I want to make something clear first." Genma gave everyone in the room a long, hard stare. "Now you know my secret. Everyone here is a responsible martial artist, so I expect you to keep it. This changes nothing – I'm not going to start accepting martial art challenges, and I'm not going to start unleashing sealed techniques on anyone. I sealed them for a reason, and they're going to stay that way."

Ranma blinked, and then his eyes widened. "Oh. Oh! Now I understand! You keep sealing up those techniques because, if you used them, you'd be plagued with people asking to learn them from you – as well as people trying to prove their strength by beating you. You're just lazy!"

Genma gave Ranma a withering glare. "Don't presume you know me, boy! You're still a little brat compared to me, so don't get uppity!"

"Hah! I can take you down any day of the week!"

Genma frowned, but then turned back to the rest of the people in the room. He took a deep breath, and everyone leaned in to hear what he was going to say.

Suddenly looking nervous, Genma grabbed a glass of tea, now gone cold, and splashed himself back into being a panda and returned to the corner, where he picked up his tire and resumed his play. The sign went back up as well, now truncated to, Just a panda .

Ranma rolled his eyes and turned back to Kondi Xia Nia. "That's my father for you, running away from his responsibilities. I'll get answers out of him later. Can you tell me a little bit more about what you do know of my condition?"

Kondi Xia Nia nodded. "Certainly. I learned much about the fairly mysterious Genma today, so I'd be happy to help." He cleared his throat. "The strength of your God Seed is amazing – in fact, a shred more power at your birth and you would have ended up something entirely different. As it is, though, you were born a completely normal human – but the circumstances of your Seed's birth have modified that somewhat. Absorbing the power of Jusenkyo has fundamentally altered your being, and I imagine that both parts of you, both your cursed side and your normal side, will begin to become equally important parts of you. I'd say that chaos will become a part of your life, but that already seems to be true."

Ranma pondered for a minute. "Well, I believe you. If nothing else, my old man would never straight out lie about something like that. He doesn't have the imagination. Also, while I was, well, depressed back there, I realized that there was something different about a power I had – the Neko-ken. You know what it is?"

"Indeed I do. I am terribly sorry that you have learned such a brutal technique. Your father seems to be projecting his thirst for learning and creating techniques onto you."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, there was something different about it today. It seemed gentler – more a part of me, more something I could control."

"I imagine that the strengthening and healing effects of your God Seed have already begun to effect you. It is not just a physical strength that it grants you – your mind will be protected and bolstered as well. In addition, the magic of Jusenkyo may be working to meld your separate personalities together – that's what the scope of Jusenkyo is, after all, forcing two distinct creatures to live in the same body harmoniously."

"Wait- are you saying that I'm going to become girly now? No way!"

"Not at all, not at all!" Kondi Xia Nia laughed. "Well, I can't pretend to know what will happen, but I highly doubt that. If your personalities merged, the curse would be effectively bypassed, or perhaps changed – and the magic of Jusenkyo will not allow that. The curse will always be with you, and that involves having two distinct bodies. I mentioned that your two different bodies will become equally important: this is because your feminine side will become more influential while you are feminine. In short, while you are female you will be female, and while you are male you will be male."

Ranma frowned. "but that's- that's so confusing. Which am I supposed to be?"

"Both, of course. You'll be the same person, with the same goals and beliefs, just with different ways of getting there, so to speak. Do not fret over it – it is a part of you, and not something thrust upon you. It really is inaccurate to call it a curse anymore – it is no longer a magical effect being imposed upon you, it is a magical effect being generated by you. I have little knowledge of what it will be truly like, but I imagine it might make things easier if you name your other side something different – assuming you haven't already."

Ranma was quiet as he thought about this, and Ryoga took the opportunity to speak. "You know, I'm all for giving Ranma space to figure out what the hell is going on, but how soon can we expect him to be able to cure us?"

Genma grunted to get everyone's attention, and then raised a series of signs. Now that he's realized what's happening, It will probably take a month or two. Have patience. He'll figure it out. He's my son, after all .

"Thanks, dad. That means so much to me, coming from a pillar of moral integrity such as yourself. I'm so proud to be your son – After all, nobody else could better teach me what not to become."

Genma threw a sign at Ranma, who half-heartedly deflected it with one hand. Genma produced more signs, these meant to be read. After he figures out how to cure you all, Ranma and I are going on a training journey. I expect we'll be gone for at least a year.

"What!?" Ranma shouted. "You can't just do that to me, pops! I don't want to leave! I have school here! And what about this fiancée problem – I can't just leave!"

Sure you can! It's a great idea. When you come back, everyone will have a better perspective on what to do.

Ukyo stepped up, eyes flaming. "I'm-"

-Not coming with us. No one's coming with us.

Ukyo stepped forward threateningly. "I've chased after you two all my life, and you expect me to suddenly stop now? I'm following you, no matter what you do!"

Genma shrugged, an odd gesture coming from a panda on its back gripping a tire. Do as you wish. We'll be back in a year. I'll make sure to give you an exact date, so when you lose us, you'll know when to come back here to Nerima.

Ukyo growled, but said nothing more. While Genma having a God Seed was pretty unbelievable, his ability to run was something no one was doubting.

Shampoo flounced over and attached herself to Ranma's arm. "Shampoo wait forever for Airen. Well, Shampoo go home, but come back when Airen comes back. Shampoo definitely marry Airen! Definitely!"

Aware that Shampoo's behavior was causing Akane severe irritation, Ranma carefully slid out of her grasp, but found himself placing a hand on Shampoo's shoulder anyway. He still remembered how he hadn't seen a hint of greed when he had fallen into a depression – and he was grateful. "I'm sure you will, but I'm not gone yet – and I have not intention of going."

Shampoo tried to regain her previously amorous contact, but Ranma prevented her from doing so. "Shampoo never give up on Airen! Never! Shampoo marry Airen even if cursed forever!"

Ranma winced. "That's not really an 'if' anymore. And forever seems to have gotten a lot longer. I can't promise that I'll marry you, Shampoo, you know that - but I will promise to cure you."

Shampoo gave him the full measure of her cuteness, opening her eyes wide and gently placing her hands on his chest. "That all you promise?"

Ranma blushed, and found his tongue tripping over itself. "Well.. I... uh... you see... I mean, I can't just..." Looking around for help, he found none forthcoming. Akane looked away, her previous anger seemingly intensified. "We'll, uh, we can talk about this later. After I cure you. Okay?"

Shampoo nodded. "Okay. Shampoo and Airen talk long time. Want to... make up for long absence."

"I told you, I won't be leaving. Pop's not going to win this one." Ranma opened his mouth to say more, but to his surprise he found himself being lifted into the air – by Genma, who had returned to human form. He barely had time to gasp before they were out the door and flying through the air, Genma carrying Ranma away from the house at a speed considerably more intense than anything he'd ever seen him use before. Ranma struggled and broke free, but they were already several blocks away.

"What do you want, old man! Why'd ya have to steal me away like that!"

Genma straightened his glasses. "I could see you were having trouble understanding the importance of this trip we- you, really- need to take."

"I don't see what's so different this time. Sure, there's this whole seed thing going on, but you just see some extra potential in me and want to train me extra hard, don't you?"

Shaking his head, Genma looked quite serious. "This isn't really a training trip at all. In actuality, there are people you need to meet, formalities that need to be taken for a newly ascended God Seed, and I need to make sure you attend to them. That's why we'll be going on this trip – and that's why you can't just choose a wife now. I can hardly expect whoever you choose to just willingly let me take you away – so you'll have to choose afterwards. I'm confidant in my skills, but those girls are determined – I'd rather not have to find out if I can outrun them or not."

"Whatever, pops. If you're done, I'm going back to the house."

"Not so fast!" Genma extended his battle aura a bit, and Ranma immediately got into a fighting pose. "It is true that I seal most of my techniques. It may sound arrogant of me, but the techniques I create are so good that I just can't handle them. But there are a few that I use, if not regularly." Genma sank into a low stance, and tensed all of his muscles. "And I need to teach you at least one of them, right here, right now."