RANMA 1/2 THE NEXT GENERATION HENTAI RPG - 11: thread 1 > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RtNGHrpg2/ Compilation and proofreading by St Fan [CONTINUED FROM MAIN THREAD'S START] Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "Alright!" Fang replied happily. "Will I be meeting them soon? What are you going to prepare? Will there be food? A lot of it, I'm hoping?" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma blinked at Fang's mention of food. "Okay... she's a Saotome all right." Her eagerness to meet the family embarrassed him, though. He was precisely planning the training trip to delay this meeting... as to get everybody to calm down, and the young Weretiger to be prepared to the weirdness of her new relatives. But how to tell her that without making her feel that he was ashamed of introducing her? Yes, in twenty years, Ranma learned some things about not putting your foot in your mouth. "Well, Fang-chan... you'll meet the rest of the family soon enough, don't worry. First, I want to talk to you about them... it'd better if you know a bit about your relatives before actually meeting them, right?" Yes, it would be better... if only to give her some safety warning, though. The like of "Don't bother Mascara whenever she's eating if you don't want to get claw marks in the face." or "Don't ever let Daiji or Yoiko lead the way if you don't want to end up at the North Pole." or "Don't even enter Shitagi's room uninvited if you don't want to get beaten up (and don't either enter it _invited_ if you don't want to get raped)."... Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Fang blink-blinked a few times, dropping off of Ranma's back and meandering around in front of him, tucking her hands behind her back and tilting her head, then nod-nodding with a bright smile in agreement. ^.^ ... It probably meant something bad when a Saotome kid went along with stuff -that- easily. Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma was indeed a bit puzzled by Fang's obedience... he was more used to kids generally acting stubborn or rowdy... not that they were all bad, but most inherited of the Saotome stubbornness or smart mouth. "Alright, Fang-chan. Wait for me here, I won't be long." And so, Ranma went to his room to prepare a quick backpack. It wasn't long, in fact, he kept from his time on the road the habit to throw together the essential and travel light (for a martial artist, of course). Putting also a few spare gi for Fang-chan, as well as some family albums, he went back to the living room. There, he prepared a note and started to think about what to say in it. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Now, one might assume that Fang's acquiescence was some outer prelude to misbehavior. In point of fact, this was not so. She was a fairly good- natured and obedient young woman, despite being a Saotome... which certainly didn't mean she didn't have a nose for mischief. She just had to be presented with an opportunity. But for now, she waited patiently, looking all around the front yard with an almost tourist-like fascination. Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma quickly put on the note he was called urgently for a monster hunt at Mt. Terror. He made no mention of Li Fang, of course, just telling everybody to not worry. Then, he realized he had at least to warn the few occupants of the house he was leaving. He wondered if Tamari and Inoma were still having fun upstairs. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Fang, meanwhile, was sitting in very clear view atop the wall surrounding the dojo, idly scratching at her sides and hips, unfamiliar with the feeling of cloth all over her, or of staying in human form and having bare skin all over like this. "Mommy, mommy, it's Legolas!" some kid chirped as she walked by with her mother, pointing up at a confused Fang. "No, dear, Orlando Bloom is much more girly-looking." the mother replied, patting her kid and hurrying him along. Fang just blinked after them, very confused, and feeling conflicted over whether to be insulted or not. Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma was standing behind the door of the twins' room, where Tamari and Inoma likely rested after enjoying themselves. "Tamari-chan... Inoma-chan..." he called, "I wanted to warn you... I have to leave. An urgent affair had called me at Mt. Terror... I'll be away for the weekend. I've already left a note for Akane and the kids in the entrance. You can stay for the night with your son... daughter, Tamari-chan. I'm sure Akane won't mind. Now, bye, see you soon." Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma, now wearing traveling cloth and carrying a large backpack, exited the house, searching for his new daughter. "Fang-chan?" he called. Waiting for her reply, he remembered the large crate she had traveled with. Steeping in front of the thing, he frowned. 'Okay... the family see a crate originating from China by the door... they'll conclude something weird just happened... and may wonder about my training trip. Now, to destroy the evidence....' After this conclusion, Ranma took an offensive posture, and lashed out a "Kashû Tenshin Amaguriken" on the crate, promptly reducing it into a pile of firewood. Re: Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "Nya?" Fang dropped from where she was sitting atop the outer wall, hooking her legs over the top so she could dangle, the borrowed T-shirt falling to bunch around her neck. "Are we leaving now...?" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma finished putting away the wood in the shed were they kept material to repair the house, and whipped his hands. "Yes, we are leaving now." he answered Fang, turning back to her. He saw then from her position that her current clothes weren't covering much, and she also had no shoes. "Mmmh... maybe you should wear something else for the train ride... and are you in the habit of not using footwear?" Re: Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "MORE clothes?" Fang pouted a bit, albeit upside-down, then raised her legs and flipped down to land on her feet and turn back towards Ranma. "No, no shoes. I know what they are, I've seen them, but usually I'm not even in human form this long... I couldn't wear shoes as a hybrid." Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Oh yeah... there's that too..." Ranma commented, rolling eyes. "You'll haveta show me your hybrid form... though not now. Later, where nobody could see us." Ranma could understand her reluctance toward shoes. He had himself not used footwear very much during the training trip of his youth. Martial artist could easily endure this, and it gave feet soles as hard as iron. He also had been wearing just a gi most of the time... which should be the adequate thing here. "That's a further reason for different clothes... is your alternate form bigger that your current one? Then, a loose dôgi should be the best thing." Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "... Lots." Fang said, a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "That's one reason we don't really wear clothes... stuff that would fit me as a hybrid hangs really, really loose when I'm human. But if you think it's best, daddy, that's what I'll wear...." Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "I understand, Fang-chan. Believe me, it's not to annoy you or impose you our values... but around here, it's just not done to be naked in public. You can get arrested... or you can attract a bunch of perverts. It's really safer to wear something." They walked to the dojo, where Ranma picked up some gi among the reserve. He choose one that would be large over Fang's frame, without being too cumbersome, and gave it to the Weretigress in human form. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Fang spent a few moments figuring out the proper way to fasten the small ties of the pants and close the gi shirt and tie the belt, then looked down at herself, twisting back and forth a little. Standing there wearing a white gi too big for her, she was rather reminiscent of a certain redhead of years gone by. Even moreso when, after a few moments, she grinned broadly and tucked her thumbs into the belt. "These are a lot more comfortable, daddy!" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Good. Then, if you're ready... let's go!" Ranma tried not to look too eager of leaving the grounds. He wasn't, really. It's not like he feared to be caught by any member of the family getting back home. It's just that... he really didn't want to lose time with explanations. He knew more or less the schedules of train to the village close to Mt. Terror, as he and the kids often went there to train. He even owned a small area of forest there, reserved to the family. It wasn't exactly in the same spot as the "monster" sight, but close enough. So, leaving the Saotome-Tendô Dôjô, Ranma headed toward Nerima's train station with Fang in toe. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Fang trotted along after Ranma, happily chattering about everything under the Neriman sun. "All these houses, and they're houses stacked on houses, that is so interesting, wow and some of the clothes people wear here are COMPLICATED, but that has a pretty pattern, what's that called, why is that woman slinging water on her walk...?" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block *SPLASH* "'Cause it's supposed to chase off evil spirits..." a feminine voice mumbled. Ranma hadn't bothered answering Fang's rapid-fire questions, except for the last one. It was concerning _her_ rather directly, since the Ladle Lady had just managed to nail her, once again.... Actually, it wasn't the same Ladle Lady than in Ranma's youth, but her daughter who inherited the house. She was now largely as old as her mother was twenty years ago, but nonetheless proudly keep up with the tradition of splashing Jusenkyô-cursed people in the neighborhood. That was why, in place of Fang's newly-found daddy, was standing a short, busty, red-haired woman busy dripping. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "...?" Fang leeeeeaned in to look at Ranma, head tilting. Then she went into a brief spurt of zipping about from various angles, tugging lightly at the pigtail, poking the hips, poking the chest... "..." ...then peering curiously at Ranma's face, which was now a lot closer to her own. "... You're a werewoman, daddy?" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma took all the looking and probing in stride. It wasn't like this was anything new. She knew it could be distressing for young children to see one of their parent switch gender with a draw of the bucket. The younger even tended to burst into tears when their "poppa" turned into a "momma", or vice-versa. Fang was older than that, of course, but it still was understandable it would puzzle her. "Naaa..." Ranma answered, shaking her clothes free of the water. "Jusenkyô. Nyanniichuan. Spring of Drowned Girl. 'Been some twenty years by now. Sorry, didn't want to startle you with this... I woulda told you, but later in the trip, after a proper warning." Though, now that Ranma was thinking about it, maybe it was better for a grown-up woman to travel with a young, slightly exhibitionist girl, rather than a grown-up man. It would attract less unwanted attention. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "Ohhhhhhh." Fang blinked a few more times, almost absentmindedly poking at Ranma's chest a few more times. *poik* ... *poik* ... *poik* Well, at least she wasn't going for the full-on Nabiki Greeting Fondle. "So you can't control it at all? How strange." She spent a moment considering, then simply shrugged, going back to smiling brightly. "Well, things are obviously going to be really interesting! Let's go, daddy!" Fang turned and resumed a march down the street, apparently unconcerned that she'd just cursed them to live in interesting times. Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan blushed, feeling her nipples involuntarily stiffen from Fang's poking. Covering her chest, she tried to ignore the feeling. "Well... I can control it as long as I got hot and cold water at hand." she answered to Fang's previous question. "Though at time it's plain easier for me to stay a woman." Ranma didn't comment on the interesting times bit. She heard it enough already. It looked like Fang-chan was of the optimist kind, taking everything in stride. A good thing, no doubt about it. Not that she held it over those of her kids' whose had a less optimistic outlook. They quickly reached the Nerima Train Station. Ranma tried not to look like she was in a hurry, but she nonetheless felt nervous. As long as she wasn't in the train, any acquaintance could show up and ask embarrassing questions. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Fang continued her little monologue of amazement over each and every little aspect of Nerima that caught her attention. It wasn't quite as annoying as it could have been... she didn't seem to even really be expecting Ranma to pay that much attention, instead of demanding her parent's constant full attention. She was just letting her mouth run along with her thoughts, most of which did seem sunny and optimistic. Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan sweatdropped... Fang was certainly enthusiastic. She could understand her excitement, considering it was probably the first time she saw a modern city. She'd probably have to explain plenty of things that could seem evidence for the city-dweller to the young Weretigress. Another reason to isolate her from the rest of the family for now. Once Fang would be prepared and a little less of a fish-out-of-the-water, Ranma would trust introducing her to the Saotome-Tendô madhouse. Ranma bought two tickets for the town closest to their destination, and waited for the train with Fang. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "So, do we jump down and run along these metal pathways?" Fang inquired, leaning out a bit over the side of the platform. "Why does it say to stay off the third one, daddy? Is that for really important people?" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Gack!" Ranma frantically grabbed Fang and pulled her away before she could jump on the tracks. Okay, maybe she underestimated how unfamiliar Fang-chan was with modernity. "Holy cow! Haven't you ever seen a train before? Qinghai may be backward, but there're still railroads in China! Don't tell me, when you said you never left your mountains, that meant you really NEVER LEFT?!" Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn "Um." Fang blinked a few times, then rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "... I went to the Nyuchezû village a few times. So, uh... no, I've never seen a train before. Some other people in the village leave pretty regularly. One of them brought back the little thing that plays disks of shiny metal that I learned Japanese from. But I've never seen a train. You go places on them...?" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Yes, you go places on them..." Ranma flatly answered. Then she sighed. "Okay, I guess I'll have to make your education. Good way of catching up time, anyway. "Okay, this is a train..." she explained, pointing at the transport that was coming their way. Nerima being within the city, there was only one track and the suburban train were frequents. They'd have to commute once at a bigger station. "First, the basic rules: you don't walk on the tracks... you don't stand before a train... that's dangerous. Well, unless you're an exceptional martial artist and can handle a lots off hurt... even so, I wouldn't suggest it as a training method." Genma would have, of course, but Ranma wasn't her father and tried to cut out with the most insane strengthening exercises. Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Fang nodded along dutifully, taking it all in and then giving a little bounce on the balls of her feet. "Got it! No walking on the tracks, and don't try to punch out the train." Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma sweatdropped, and mechanically nodded. How could she still be surprised, she had no idea. She was used to the fact that every of her kid was weird, by now. It couldn't be their rearing, of course; she couldn't see what she had ever done wrong with them.... It's just that they all had their own branch of weirdness, and Fang was still a novelty. Yes, must be it. The train stopped, and Ranma entered the wagon with her daughter, leading Fang to seat next to her. Putting her heavy backpack on the floor, she said "The trip will take some time, Fang-chan. Do you want to see the family albums in the meantime? You'll learn a lot about your siblings that way." Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn Fang tapped a toe against the inside of the train almost like someone testing the water of a pond before jumping in, then followed Ranma in, still seeming just a little leery. But at the mention of photo albums, she rushed over to sit down next to Ranma, all smiles again. "Yes, I'd like to very much! Please, let us look at them!" Re: Fang's Arrival St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma smiled, and opened the first of the albums. The first pages were devoted to wedding pictures. "This..." Ranma pointed to a set of pictures where she looked much younger and was surrounded by other teenagers in formal clothes. Though, besides their outfit, this didn't look like wedding pictures... more like a fight. There were plenty of scorch marks and weapons scattered. "Well... it's wasn't exactly my first wedding, since it was cancelled because of too much fighting. We call it the wedding fiasco, or marriage #0." The following pictures showed Ranma-kun with a black-haired woman by his side, in the formal pause of newlyweds. Strangely, as the pictures went they looked older and their wedding outfit changed. In one they were in traditional Shinto marriage garb. In another, Akane's wedding dress didn't hide a pregnant belly. In yet another, it was actually Ranma-chan in a wedding dress and Akane in a tuxedo. "These are pictures from my first real marriage with my wife. And these are pictures from the second wedding. And there from the third... the fourth...." Re: Fang's Arrival Rann Aridorn > "This..." Ranma pointed to a set of pictures where she looked much > younger and was surrounded by other teenagers in formal clothes. > Though, besides their outfit, this didn't look like wedding > pictures... more like a fight. There were plenty of scorch marks and > weapons scattered. "Well... it's wasn't exactly my first wedding, > since it was cancelled because of too much fighting. We call it the > wedding fiasco, or marriage #0." Fang leaned forward to peer at the photo, blinking a few times. "Too much... fighting? So, is there usually fighting at marriages here, and there was just too much this time, or is that not usual?" ^^; > The following pictures showed Ranma-kun with a black-haired woman by > his side, in the formal pause of newlyweds. Strangely, as the > pictures went they looked older and their wedding outfit changed. In > one they were in traditional Shinto marriage garb. In another, > Akane's wedding dress didn't hide a pregnant belly. In yet another, > it was actually Ranma-chan in a wedding dress and Akane in a tuxedo. > > "These are pictures from my first real marriage with my wife. And > these are pictures from the second wedding. And there from the > third... the fourth...." "..." Fang opened her mouth repeatedly to say something, then closed it every time the page turned. Finally, finding a little space to interject something, she said "So, do marriages in the outside world expire and you need to renew them a lot, or...?" 6.6;;; Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma nervously chuckled, and rubbed the back of her head. "Err... no... it's not exactly traditional to have fighting during one's wedding... but the place was a bit weird during my youth... well, it's still weird, but not in the same way and... ahem." Sweatdropping, Ranma wondered if she should tell everything to Fang about her and Akane's strange courtship. "As for the numerous weddings... it's not like they expire or anything like that. It's just that... divorces are accepted in this country and, well, with Akane... we had ups and downs... we sometimes fall out of touch or get into a dispute... and then, after a while, we find out we're still in love... and we marry again. Though now, it's the last... I mean we surely intend to STAY married this time." Clearing her throat, Ranma turned another page. They were obviously not finished with the marriage pictures. In the most recent ones, several children could be seen around the "newlyweds", making faces or looking uncomfortable in their formal clothes. "Note that in-between two marriages with Akane-chan, I did have other significant others. Here is my wedding with Ryôga Hibiki..." she explained while showing another picture. In it, Ranma-chan was clearly the "bride", clad in a beautiful dress, while the groom was a fanged, blushing, hunky young man (in a tuxedo, but still wearing a bandana for some reason). Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang looked at this, and apparently found it exceptionally giggle- worthy, her eyes twinkling brightly as she looked at it. "Daddy, you look pretty." she said, with a distinct teasing tone in her voice. Then she blinked. "Oh. So does that mean that you, daddy, are actually also a... mommy?" You could practically see the cat ears pop out and perk in confusion as her brain attempted to process this particular line of thought. ^o.o^ Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma blushed hard. She had gotten used to her dual-nature in all these years, but it was still somewhat embarrassing to explain to someone new. "Well... you shall not forget I'm born a man. But it's been so long since I have this curse, so that now... I guess you can say I'm both man and woman. "So, yes, I've been in a relationship with guys... and I've even had a few kids as the mother. But I have still more as a father, though." Resisting the urge to mention what was Fang's number in that count, she turned a new page. This time, they entered the section of the baby pictures. The first ones were of Ranma-chan, still a teenager, holding a crying newborn. She was on a hospital bed, and it was clear this was taken shortly after a birth. The redhead was fiercely blushing while some other people were fussing her and the baby. "That's my firstborn, Shitagi-chan. I was just seventeen at the time. Her birth was a bit of an... accident, you can say." she eluded, not wanting to tell the whole, long story unless pressed. "Actually, those are the only pictures I have of her as a baby. She was... taken from me shortly afterward. We were reunited only years later. Heck, even her name isn't my choice... I wanted to call her Ranma junior...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang blinked a lot more at all this, though looked rather bemused at the "Ranma junior" bit. n.n;;; Then she shifted back to the other part. "Taken from you and named something else...? How did that happen?" Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma sighed. "Looooong story. But after all, we have the whole night before us. I'm going to tell you about all your siblings, why not start by Shitagi, she's the oldest after all. Ranma pulled another album, one that contained pictures from her time in Nerima before the wedding fiasco. Browsing quickly various twenty- years-old pictures of the Tendô family, she found a few with Happôsai on it. "Here. This old, wrinkled geezer was the master of my father and his best friend, and the founder of the school. He was also a major pervert and pain in the ass...." Ranma-chan gave Fang-chan a detailed description of Happôsai, how he trained Genma and Sôun and created the Musabetsu Kakutô Ryû. In the process, she showed the young Weretigress a few pictures of her grandfather. "So, the old goat had this obnoxious godson, who hated his guts because of the crappy name he gave him and... wait, don't I have any picture of this jerk? Oh, I know." Swapping albums again, Ranma went directly to the end, to the more recent pictures, and found the one she was searching for. It showed a grinning young woman with an incredible long pigtail, and clad solely in panties, bra and garter hoses. She was making a victory sign at the camera, while at the same time grinding into the pavement a middle-aged man with her foot. The guy was wearing a dragon-scale vest, kung-fu pants and a pantyhose-colored sash. It was obvious the girl was related to Ranma-chan, though there was a family likeness with the downed man too, although it wasn't evident considering his black and blue face in the picture. "If you're wondering, the girl is Shitagi-chan, a year or two from now. The big mass of bruises underneath is her biological father." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "But he did not raise her? That is what you mean when you say 'biological father'?" Obviously she was feeling a little connection there, though no recriminations towards Ranma. Male tigers weren't always terribly faithful, after all. "She seems very powerful." she added in a rather proud tone. That was her sister, after all. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma noticed that Fang didn't comment either on Shitagi's choice of dress, or her attitude toward her own father. But it didn't surprise her much, by now the redhead was starting to understand Fang's mindset, at least in part. If her tribe was considering cloths as purely utilitarian, she wouldn't see anything wrong with a fighter wearing so little. And she grew up without a father, too. "No, he didn't raise her. And yes, you can believe Shitagi is powerful. More than you could imagine, in fact. Sometimes, I'm proud of her..." One the same page of the album was another picture of Shitagi. She was waving arms defensively and apparently crying, her dismayed expression screaming "It's not my fault!" In the background of the same picture could be seen Tokyo Tower; the huge metal structure was rather damaged, looking ready to topple as smoke rose from it. "... at other times... I don't know what to do with her." Back to the story, Ranma explained the past deal between Happôsai and Pansuto-Tarô. How the young man tried to get the old pervert to change his name, but to no avail. "Finally, some twenty years ago, Happôsai got into his sick mind that his heirs -- me and that bastard Tarô -- weren't showing him the proper respect. So, he started to dream of a new student with the best qualities of the two of us. The perfect heir, which Happôsai would raise and train himself, shaping him or her according to his vision." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn > "... at other times... I don't know what to do with her." Fang sweatdropped heavily. "... Y-yes..." > "Finally, some twenty years ago, Happôsai got into his sick mind that > his heirs -- me and that bastard Tarô -- weren't showing him the > proper respect. So, he started to dream of a new student with the > best qualities of the two of us. The perfect heir, that Happôsai > would raise and train himself, shaping him or her according to his > vision." Fang seemed to consider this, then gasped. "Do not tell me..." She pointed dramatically. "... he tried to get you pregnant, daddy?!" Well, maybe that little bit of something that broke in her brain earlier was still misfiring a little bit. Normally she might not have leapt right to that conclusion, but after the discussions of daddies who turn into mommies.... Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan winced and clamped a hand on Fang's mouth. Looking frantically around, she could see several of the passengers had turned toward them with curious looks. Ranma giggled nervously, with the apologetic "Kids, those days, you know..." face that many parents mastered. Then, Japanese unobtrusiveness kicked in, and the onlookers looked away. "Don't talk so loud, Fang-chan." Ranma whispered in a slightly upset tone. Then she sighed, still blushing, and went back to the album. "Well... actually, yes. Happôsai coned his idiot godson of doing the dirty deed in exchange for a new name... and under the threat of giving him an even worse one if he refused. The result is that they managed to drug me in girl form and...." Ranma trailed off. She had gone past any trauma by now, but it still wasn't the easiest thing to talk about. "It's not something we usually discuss, even within the family. You're old enough to know, but for many of your younger siblings we didn't go into details, as to not disturb them." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang seemed fairly confused, her forehead furrowing a little as she looked down at the photo book. The concept of forcing someone into sex against their will really wasn't a part of her worldview... where she was from, the general feeling was that everyone was pretty free with what they wanted to do, and no meant no. (Of course, that likely wasn't universally true, but especially to a young person it was probably viewed as the complete and honest truth.) Drugged? She knew what drugged meant. Despite regeneration, Weretigers still needed to be medicated on occasion. People sometimes got sleepy and out-of-it when they were drugged; she knew that from seeing it a few times. The wheels turned for a few moments, and finally snagged on what that meant. Fang blinked rapidly, then looked back up at Ranma with a shocked expression on her face. She just looked at the redhead, then, without saying anything, scooted as close against Ranma's side as she could and hugged her tightly. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma was surprised by the hug, but didn't struggle against it. This time, Fang-chan wasn't crushing her, and she could feel the earnest desire of comforting her "daddy". Ranma-chan smiled warmly. "There, there..." she said while stroking Fang's pretty blonde hair. She hesitated a bit with the last word, but finally blurted it out: "... Kitten. "No need to be upset, that's in the past now. And I got over it. Luckily, that wasn't my first time... I had a gentle lover to give me my first experience with a man...." It was the truth; Tôfû-sensei had done a lot to teach the young Ranma-chan how to enjoy her girl body (with Kasumi's blessing... long story). Ranma just then realized maybe it wasn't a good idea to discuss those things with Fang-chan... she wasn't sure how knowledgeable the young Weretigress was with those things. Though she doubted she was clueless; those rural villages were often more open about sexuality than the "civilized" world. How old did Fang say she was, already? "And I wouldn't regret giving birth to Shitagi for anything. I missed her enough in the first twelve years...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn > "No need to be upset, that's in the past now. And I got over it. > Luckily, that wasn't my first time... I had a gentle lover to give me > my first experience with a man...." Fang sighed, rather longingly. "That must have been nice, daddy. None of the boys in my village were really interested in me, for some reason. I always wondered if maybe because I was half-human I had some weird scent that was a turn-off for them." > "And I wouldn't regret giving birth to Shitagi for anything. I missed > her enough in the first twelve years...." "I imagine," Fang agreed, smiling. "I believe in you, daddy, you would have missed me, too... if you'd known about me." She laughed a bit, sheepishly. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan immediately catalogued the infos Fang just gave her. Virgin, check. Likely straight, check. Probably a bit shy sexually despite her nudist leaning, double-check. "What's that bullshit about being half-human? Aren't your people have a human form most of the time? What would make you any different of them? That's rubbish." Ranma didn't answer the part about her not missing Fang. There wasn't much she could do about not being present as a father during Fang's childhood, since she ignored her mere existence. Now, the important thing was to make her fit. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "No, mostly we stay in our hybrid forms. No one ever really treated me any different, not really. I just couldn't figure out why they... um...." Fang glanced down, tapping her index fingertips together. "Well. Boys and girls of the tribe tend to fool around as they start approaching the age of adulthood, trying things out with each other. But everyone always seemed nervous and made excuses if I tried to approach them, like there was something about me that made them skittish. I've just never really been able to figure out what it is." Fang sighed softly, then pushed a smile back onto her face and looked at Ranma again. "But I think that is enough of that. We are looking at the pictures and not griping about my life, yes?" Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Hey, don't say that, Fang-chan. I'd like too learn more about your life, too. But you're right, each thing in its time. You'll tell me about you later. Since I was introducing you to your siblings... let's go on with Shitagi." Ranma browsed the pictures of Shitagi for Fang. As she announced, none were of the girl before the age of twelve. In the photos where Shitagi was younger, there were often other children with her. Beside serious martial arts training, where all the kids were in gi, roughhousing with her siblings seemed to be Shitagi's favorite pastime. There was one when a young Shitagi was frantically stuffing her face with food, while trampling a pair of siblings who tried to catch some tidbits. "Saotome food-brawl... almost a tradition. I tried to get the kids to lose the habits, but it's not easy with all those bottomless pits." Not every Shitagi picture where of mayhem, though. One scene coming back often was of Shitagi using her incredible long braid to skip rope with her siblings. Often with a pair of redheaded twins. On most of those pics, Shitagi was sweatdropping, as if saying "Why me?". Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn > "Saotome food-brawl... almost a tradition. I tried to get the kids to > lose the habits, but it's not easy with all those bottomless pits." "You mean that's not how everyone eats?" 6.6 > Not every Shitagi picture where of mayhem, though. One scene coming > back often was of Shitagi using her incredible long braid to skip rope > with her siblings. Often with a pair of redheaded twins. On most of > those pics, Shitagi was sweatdropping, as if saying "Why me?". Fang started giggling at that, putting a hand over her mouth. She pointed a bit. "I could make my hair get that long, if I liked. But would my new siblings then want to jump over it in this manner...?" Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma, not knowing of this peculiarity of lycanthropes' hair, thought Fang-chan was joking. "Yeah, you could... though it would probably take you many years to reach that length. Shitagi is a special case. She says she had eaten a broth made with a female dragon's whisker... it has some weird effect on her hair." Turning a few pages, Ranma reached a part with photos you wouldn't find in most family albums, but which were quite natural for martial artists: snapshots of skill demonstration. Several showed Shitagi using her long braid like a rope or a chain, to strike or entangle her opponents. The pictures showed clearly she had great control over it. "As you can see, it's her favorite weapon. She can do incredible things with it. Though it's far from her only mean of fighting." Most of the pictures showed Shitagi in her usual "fighting gear", i.e. panties, bra and hoses. In some, she was throwing a piece of lingerie as a weapon. In other, she was breaking some wall, furniture or hapless foe into tiny bits barehanded. And in yet others, she was blasting something with a bright yellow sphere of energy shooting from her hands. "As you can see, Shitagi is really though..." Ranma-chan continued, with a mix of pride and aggravation in her voice. "Training for all those years with the old pervert made her not the most easy individual to deal with, but it certainly made her great martial artist. *I* could steal beat her, of course, but among her generation.... By the way, a warning: Shitagi just *love* to fight. When I'll introduce you, she'll probably want a match to see how good you are. Don't take it badly if it looks like she's trying to kill you... it's just her way of settling the pecking order." Looking straight at Fang, Ranma added "Of course, I don't know yet how good you are myself... I bet you're trained, we'll have to spare so I get an idea. But don't held too high hopes to prevail against Shitagi-chan. I don't say this to discourage you; just so that you know what to expect and don't get a nasty surprise...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn When Ranma looked up, Fang was looking rather wilder than before, her hair easily reaching the seat where she was sitting. She bundled it up out of her face with both hands, grinning cheekily. "I'll keep it in mind, daddy, don't worry," she chirped... then sweatdropped as some of the hair escaped the hold of her hands and flumped back down into her face. "... Um, daddy, do you have a knife or some scissors or something...?" Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block When her eyes fell on Fang's new look, Ranma jumped a bit from her seat, index and pinky extended and body twisted in the typical manga surprise pause. "Wha..." she started, mouth agape. "You... you didn't eat some kind of dragon whisker too, did you?" Why couldn't she have some NORMAL kids in the bunch? "Hu... no, I don't have scissors... we'll have to wait for the train to reach destination... I can buy some at the station then...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn > "Wha..." she started, mouth agape. > > "You... you didn't eat some kind of dragon whisker too, did you?" "Um... nuh-uh. I've never seen a dragon, but if I did, I think I'd probably leave his whiskers alone...." > Why couldn't she have some NORMAL kids in the bunch? OOC: Methinks the ship sailed on that when you knocked up a Weretiger. n.- > "Hu... no, I don't have scissors... we'll have to wait for the train > to reach destination... I can buy some at the station then...." "Eheheh. Sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to make things difficult...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma smiled back, her expression strangely reminding Fang of her mother. "Hey, don't sweat it... I'm used to weirdness... just yet to get used yours... I mean, most of my kids are far from ordinary anyway." To prove her point, Ranma opened the last page of Shitagi's pictures. "Just look at this, for example. Shitagi-chan has a Jusenkyô curse... an inherited one, in fact, it came directly from her biological father. When splashed with cold water, she turns into that." The following photos would have looked more in place in a horror movie than in a family album. On them were a large creature with a bull's head and hooves, a humanoid but hairy body, ridiculous short wings and a cluster of tentacles on the back. "Now, if Shitagi is powerful in human form, in this one she probably can wrestle with some Kaiju monster...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "It is quite strange-looking. I've never seen a creature like that before." Fang said agreeably, managing to get her hair pulled back and cinched into place a bit with her headband. Then she blinked. "But daddy, if these curses are passed down, why don't I change when I am splashed? Is it because I am a girl already...?" Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block > "It is quite strange-looking. I've never seen a creature like that > before," "Well, Jusenkyô can produce very bizarre results..." Ranma said, both about Shitagi's monster form and Fang's question. "Actually, about the curse being 'passed down', that's not that simple. Both with me and some of my friends who are similarly Jusenkyô-cursed, our kids sometimes inherited of the curse, sometimes not. We plain can't explain it; it seems to be rather random. And sometimes, the curses plain mix up with strange final effects. Of course, you would know if you had some curse with water, so you're among the lucky ones. But I can't tell if it's because you are a girl, or because you are a lycanthrope...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "Well, I've never noticed anything of the sort like that, so I'm sure we don't have to worry about it." Fang replied, cheerfully jinxing them. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma nodded, not realizing that Fang's statement was of the kind to attract bad luck. Even after all these years, she was still rather oblivious to this. "Okay, enough with Shitagi-chan... I'll show you your other siblings." Ranma browsed a different part of the album. "She's the perfect example of what I've talked about the curse mixing weirdly. Though I'm pretty certain you and her will get along." On the pictures was a petite woman with a definite feline look. Her body was slightly furred (which was quite evident as in several of the photos she wasn't wearing any clothes), the same color as her reddish- purple hair. Her ears were large and pointy, and a long supple tail could be seen jutting from her back. "Fang-chan, meet Saotome Mascara, age 18." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "Mya? She's... feline?" Fang blink-blinked a few times. "She's also naked in many of these, but you said that this was not the norm here. Is something special about these photos?" Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma sweatdropped. Of course, Mascara wasn't the best example of modesty to convince a nudist Weretigress. "Hu... no... that's not something special about those pictures... that's something special about Mascara." The photos showed the catgirl at various ages. Even when clothed, Mascara showed a very much feline behavior. Chasing after a butterfly. Proudly showing off a dead bird to her screaming sisters. Biting a mean-looking bulldog in the butt. Chasing after a ribbon that was tied to her tail.... "As I said," Ranma pursued her explanation, "Mascara is the result of mixed curses. Her mother has a Maonniichuan curse, she turns into a c- c-c-c... Felis Catus... oh, here's a picture of her." The picture Ranma indicated showed a smug-looking Mascara carrying a cute, pinkish cat in her mouth, by the skin of her neck, like a mother cat would do a kitten. The cat was looking a bit miffed, an expression you wouldn't expect on a feline. "Mascara's hybrid nature was evident from birth, though there was something else we didn't realize at first. When young, it wasn't easy to tell apart when Mascara-chan was acting like a baby, and when she was acting like a kitten. But we finally understood after some time that, with cold water, Mascara was becoming entirely f-f-f-feline... in mind, I mean. She's acting pretty c-c-c-catty even when in 'human' mind, but after a splash she's more like a smart c-c-c-c... animal. And when like that, of course, she has no interest in clothes." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "I see." Fang repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. She was looking just a tiny bit overwhelmed, trying to assimilate all this rather odd information. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma did notice that Fang had a hard time with all these info. "Hey, don't worry... you'll get a real feel at what Mascara is like when you'll meet her. Only thing I shall warn you against... don't ever bother Mascara-chan when she's eating. Whether in feline mind or not, when eating she's all instinct and tend to be aggressive. Other than that, she's fairly easy-going." Ranma had been pondering about explaining her own Neko-Ken problem to Fang-chan. But she preferred not to it immediately. Not only was it embarrassing, she preferred to talk about martial arts secret in a more secluded place. Uncomfortable with the too-feline pictures, Ranma went to other photos, this time showing Shampoo as a human. "Here's Mascara's mother in her true form. You see, she's a Nyuchezû warrior... I beat her in a fight some twenty years ago." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn > Ranma had been pondering about explaining her own Neko-Ken problem to > Fang-chan. But she preferred not to it immediately. Not only was it > embarrassing, she preferred to talk about martial arts secret in a > more secluded place. And besides, most people have absolutely no desire to hear the story of how they were conceived. > Uncomfortable with the too-feline pictures, Ranma went to other > photos, this time showing Shampoo as a human. > > "Here's Mascara's mother in her true form. You see, she's a Nyuchezû > warrior... I beat her in a fight some twenty years ago." "Oh, yes, Shan Pû. They talk about her in that village still. I think my mother said something about..." Fang looked upwards and tap-tapped her cheek. "'The oddest conflict of the marriage laws in twenty generations.'" Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan chuckled. "Yes, you can say that... not that I ever truly cared for their archaic laws, actually. But Shampoo-chan was genuinely in love with me... so, after my first divorce, I gave her a chance." What Ranma didn't mention was that Shampoo was already pregnant at the time, which in fact led to said divorce. "But the old hags... I mean, the tribe elders got quite a shock when Mascara was born. So much for 'stronger blood'. With the example of the Musk nearby, they weren't that eager to mix animal genes with their warriors." The first pictures of Mascara's life were obviously taken in the Nyuchezû village. A pregnant Shampoo was proudly showing of her round belly, with an arm possessively wrapped around Ranma-kun. A rather embarrassed Shampoo was holding a newborn in her arms, which looked as much as a wet kitten than a human baby. In the background, a very old and gnarled woman with long white hair was bashing her own head against a wall. In another picture, Shampoo was breast-feeding young Mascara... and if her mouth opened in a loud yell was any indication, she just discovered her daughter had already small, sharp teeth. Ranma could be seen behind her, a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. The next one was showing Ranma-chan in the same position as Shampoo before, equally yelling as Mascara nibbled on a milk-less breast. Shampoo was standing behind, waving her bonbori menacingly. Another pictures showed several very wet Joketsuzoku trying to catch a young catgirl and put her inside a tub. Mascara was obviously not complying, twisting around like a wildcat. "Oh, yeah... Mascara-chan never liked much taking a bath...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang giggled at these pictures. "Very cute, daddy." ^.^ Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Well, if you want cute pictures, there's load of them." Ranma asserted. Other pictures of Mascara's childhood followed. In one, she was climbing up a tree while a sister was trying to make her come down. In another she was building a fortress with two siblings, made out of blanket and pillows that they hung over chairs. The sibling most commonly seen with Mascara-chan was a small girl with long dark hair. In fact, they seemed quite inseparable. "The girl you see most often with Mascara is Kimiko-chan. She's... my daughter as well as my current wife's. Although I did the mothering and Akane the fathering...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "And this is where you give another one of those explanation that makes it kind of ache just behind my forehead." Fang prompted, grinning sheepishly. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Ahem... I'm afraid so...." Ranma answered, grinning just as sheepishly as her daughter. "You haveta get used to it in this family... it's rather a requirement. Sighing, Ranma thought about how to put it in simple words. "Let's just say that around here, some people of our acquaintances had the bad habits of toying with weird Chinese medicine or strange artifacts, and leave it at that. In this case, Instant Nanniichuan, and a thingy called 'Zeus's Ball'. I'll give you a full, detailed description... when you'll be older." Ranma concluded with a blush. After all, there was one "family album" she didn't take on this trip. The one they carefully hid from the children. Where the conceptions of such-and-such kid could be tracked on some of the pictures. Again, it wasn't a common feature of many families, but with someone like Nabiki as a sister-in-law... they had gotten a lot of hard-core pictures over the years... to the point it became a habit. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang blink-blinked, tilting her head. When she was older? But she was practically an adult already! But being eager-to-please and trusting as she was, she simply nodded. "Okay, daddy, I'll wait 'til then." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma was glad Fang wasn't pressing the point. Sure, the Saotomes and their friends had a rather relaxed view toward sex, but that doesn't mean it was easy to explain to the children. Back to the photo album; Kimiko's child pictures where rather ordinary (at least compared to the rest of the family). Most often, Kimiko was seen stuffing her face... she seemed to have inherited a healthy dose of the Saotome appetite. In one, she's wearing make-up and one of her mother's dresses... but she's about five years old, and it looks really funny. However, there was a change from roughly the age of ten. Then, several of the photos showed Kimiko performing acts of limberness that where surprising... to become utterly outrageous in some of them, where she was bending or stretching her members beyond anything human. "Now, let me explain about Kimiko. Six years ago, I had some adventure and I brought back home a weird fruit, that was supposed to be magical ... I wanted to have my friends more versed in lore examining it, but this didn't happen. Kimiko had this bad habit of eating anything at hand, and... well... when I had my back turned, the fruit simply disappeared. "That fruit was from something called 'Gum-Gum tree'... and it has weird effects on Kimiko-chan." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang blinked, actually reaching over to take the album and hold it for herself. Slowly, her head tilted to one side, apparently trying to get the photo to look "right". Then she tilted the album in the opposite direction. Finally, she turned it upside-down and crossed her eyes. "... Hm..." @.@ Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma couldn't help but giggle from Fang's puzzled antics. "Yeah, I know, impressive... and it's just a little apercu of Kimiko's talents. She doesn't let people take photos of her most prized techniques. She may not be the strongest martial artist among my kids, but she certainly can use her gift to very good effect. She's very hard to hurt because her flesh and bones are like rubber, and some of her tricks can be very surprising for the unwary." The pictures showed Kimiko extending her arms or legs for a kick, just like Dhalsim from Street Fighter. Some showed some frustrated sibling trying to grapple with her, to end up "tied up" with Kimiko around. "Only Shitagi got the knack to deal with Kimiko-chan easily..." concluded Ranma. And indeed, there was picture showing the elder Saotome daughter standing above a downed Kimiko... with her arms and legs tied up in knots! On another one, Shitagi was playing basket with a weird, large ball... which sported Kimiko's face on it. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn A very large sweatdrop built on the back of Fang's head, and was quickly joined by several dozen other, smaller ones at these latest pictures. 'Aiya... I'm starting to wish I'd stayed at home in the village. My daddy is... well, a mommy too.' She looked aside at the redhead next to her. 'I even see some similarities, so strange. My cheekbones, my chin... it's so strange.' She looked back down at the album. 'And this is my family? They're all so... different. And odd. Nothing like anyone I've ever met before....' Melancholy was actually threatening to overtake her, until she looked through a few more of the photographs. Slowly, the feeling of confusion and dread faded. They were strange, and odd, and weird, and some might even call them freaks... ... but they were undeniably a family. Her family. 'Okay!' Fang thought, clenching a fist, hand raised and elbow bent, jaw taking a determined set. 'No more focusing on the strange differences! They're family, they're meant to be loved, not judged!' One could almost see the pastel swirls and bright sparkles of dedication around her. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma could see Fang-chan was a bit weirded out. Maybe it was too much for one little Weretigress to handle in one go. Though it was probably better she got to realize her siblings' strangeness through photos before meeting them in the flesh. "Hey, don't fret out... not all of your siblings are that weird. Many are pretty much ordinary kids." A bit on the edge as to prove her point, Ranma sowed Fang some other picture, choosing Satori as the next sibling. This sister, indeed, seemed a bit more mundane than the others. Many of her pictures showed her pulling some sort of prank, though. "As you can see, Satori-chan is quite the practical joker..." Indeed, in one picture a young Satori was pulling at Kimiko's ears and making them all big... In another, she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar (literally... her hand was stuck and she couldn't get it out.) In yet another, Satori was splatting a cream pie into Shitagi's face. Actually, the cream pie gag seemed to be one of her favorite. Some picture showed this to turn into a pie fight... among other, one where some older girl, her face dripping with cream, was trying to nail back Satori, but she ducked and instead it was Akane who got a pie in the face. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "Well, Satori certainly does seem to like cream pies!" Fang chirped in all innocence, smiling. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "That you can say. Her pranks are never mean, though. She just got that rather... lame sense of humor." Turning the pages of the album, they stumbled upon pictures of a young boy, of around ten. Ranma sighed wistfully. "That's... Hiro-kun. He should be sixteen by now, but we don't have recent pictures of him. That's because he got lost...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "Got... lost?" Fang blinked a few times. "... Like you might lose a knife or a clothing band or something?" ^o.o^ Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block "Er... no." Ranma answered, a bit puzzled by Fang's response. She didn't realize, however, that getting lost may seem weird for lycanthropes with perfect sense of smell... she wasn't thinking that far. Talking about the Hibiki directional curse was always a bit delicate anyway, people always thought your were pulling their legs. "You see... he has no sense of direction... never had. He got it from his father. So, one day, Hiro wandered from home... and we never saw him again." Before Fang could pale, though, Ranma added: "But thankfully, we know he's alive and well... I got a call from our old friend, the Jusenkyô guide, a few days ago. Hiro was at Jusenkyô, and on his way to home. How long will it take him to be back is anybody's guess, but at least we're reassured about his health. Boy, he must be a lot older now...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang sweatdropped. Again. She'd mostly been confused because Ranma's phrasing earlier had had her picturing someone setting a baby down, wandering away to do something, then coming back and scratching their head at the spot being empty, and the aftermath including looking under furniture and rocks. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block This time, Ranma was oblivious to Fang's puzzlement, and pursued with the pictures. Hiro's, being less numerous, were quickly finished; in most of them, he simply looked confused. Next were pictures of a pair of red-haired girls, twins obviously. "And here are Yoiko-chan and Daiji-chan. My latest maternal daughters. The big oaf grinning stupidly with his fangs showing next to them is their father. Ryôga Hibiki, the only guy I was lengthily married to...." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn "Yes, you mentioned that." Fang replied. "They look so much like you!" Of course, so did she, if not quite so identical, the coloration just made it less obvious. She pondered a little, then said "So you had shorter marriages to other men? Were any of them interesting?" She was obviously coming to accept the weirdness of the family, and even seemed like she wanted to hear more about it. She leaned in a bit to examine the twins, perhaps trying to pick out some difference between them. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan blushed at Fang's indiscrete question. She should have seen it coming, anyway. "Hu... nay, you can't exactly call those marriages. Let's say I... drifted a bit while I was disenchanted with women for a time. But I never really was in love with a man, besides Ryôga. Still love him, I guess... but I still love many of my wives too." While they talked, Fang could examine the pictures. Yoiko and Daiji were really hard to tell apart, especially when young. There were pictures of them on the road with their father... they looked like to be four years old or such. A picture where they were playing in the mud, both all naked. A few others of them bathing in a lake or stream with their mommy. Pictures of the girls, a bit older, playing dress-up or beauty parlor with their mommy. The funny part was that on some of them, their mother was a guy, and the girls still insisted putting him in a dress or applying make-up. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn > Ranma-chan blushed at Fang's indiscrete question. She should have > seen it coming, anyway. "Hu... nay, you can't exactly call those > marriages. Let's say I... drifted a bit while I was disenchanted with > women for a time. But I never really was in love with a man, besides > Ryôga. Still love him, I guess... but I still love many of my wives > too." "You really do sound like a tiger, daddy." Fang replied almost absently as she continued to examine the photos. > Pictures of the girls, a bit older, playing dress-up or beauty parlor > with their mommy. The funny part was that on some of them, their > mother was a guy, and the girls still insisted putting him in a dress > or applying make-up. Fang made a rather amusing sound, a muffled snort that doubled her over and had her pressing a hand tightly over her mouth. The shaking of her muffled laughter started freeing some of her newly voluminous hair and letting it puff down over her face. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma looked flustered, hiding her eyes in her bangs, and muttering "I thought that kid pictures were supposed to be embarrassing to the _children_... not to the mother." While Fang struggled with her hair, Ranma turned a page, showing pictures of the twin practicing their martial arts. They often were sparring together, and using large pieces of cloth of blankets as some sort of weapon. Also on this page were pictures of Yoiko and Daiji coming out of a hospital, covered in bandages. Not only were they all patched up, but their siblings had doodled lots of catcalls on their casts, "dope twins" and the like, that were hilarious. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang had just managed to get her hair under control enough to peek at the page. This sent her off into fresh peals of laughter, enough that she collapsed across Ranma's lap like a little blonde furball. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan looked at the picture that inspired Fang's hearty laugh, and sweatdropped. It was true the twins looked quite comical in it, if you took apart the fact that they were hurt (fortunately not too badly). It was essentially the look on their faces that was priceless. "Oh yeah..." Ranma mumbled, "Yoiko and Daiji also have that weird obsession with dangerous training. I mean, even more dangerous that what would be considered sane by any martial artist...." Considering the average level of sanity of Nerima's martial artists, that was quite a statement Ranma made there. "This time, it was... it was from... damn it, I can't even remember which stunt they pulled! They've done so many... though I'm their mother, I shouldn't forgot things like that." Twisting her face while she was in deep thought, Ranma finally recalled. "Oh yeah... I think it was from the time they tried to make themselves immune to electricity... by gradual exposure! They actually severed a high-voltage cable at one point. Shitagi saved them just in time... luckily they only got minor burns." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn Fang eventually got her giggles under control, though she was still flopped across Ranma's lap. She rolled face-up, pondering. "Electricity... electricity... ... OH! Kind of like that stuff you can sometimes get to zap from your clothes?" She made a face. "I don't like that stuff." Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma rolled eyes, reminding herself that Fang was quite the country bumpkin, and that she'd have a lot to learn when in the city. She let her newly-discovered child rest on her lap, while they browsed the pages of the album, introducing Fang-chan to her other, younger siblings and cousins. Thus went the dusk, and then the night, as the train carried them away from the big city, toward the relative wilderness of the mountains of Japan. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan Rann Aridorn > Ranma rolled eyes, reminding herself that Fang was quite the country > bumpkin, and that she'd have a lot to learn when in the city. If Ranma had ever seen what a good static electricity zap could do to a hybrid-form lycanthrope, he might have perhaps been a bit more understanding. As it was, that was likely a lesson to be learned at a later date. > She let her newly-discovered rest on her lap, while they browsed the > pages of the album, introducing Fang-chan to her other, younger > siblings and cousins. > > Thus went the dusk, and then the night, as the train carried them away > from the big city, toward the relative wilderness of the mountains of > Japan. Eventually, Fang's yawns grew closer and closer together, eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Eventually, they got to an empty page, and with a sleepy murmur of "So this will be where my pictures go, right...?" she drifted off. Re: Training Trip with Fang-chan St Fan, Kami of Writer's Block Ranma-chan let Fang rest her head on her lap, gently stroking the stripped blonde hairs. "Yes, sweetie... that's where your photos will go. We'll work on getting plenty of memories...." This said, Ranma kept watching Fang as she fell asleep, soon following her in Morpheus's arms. [TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 13, THREAD 3]