Draxon’s Review Corner Presents
         A Tetsumi Production
                  Ranma 1/2
    Crash-Course With Destiny

Part One - Prologue To War
Chapter One - Destiny by Dinner

	Is it bright where you are?
	Have the people changed?
	Does it make you happy?
	Oh so strange…

		-- Smashing Pumpkins, “The End is the Beginning is the End”

Late January, 1988

	Haratsu stood in the Tetsumi dining room as the guests filed in.  His normal attire of heavy cotton robes was replaced by the more standard khaki and button-up shirt combo and for the first time in weeks he was smiling.  He looked back to the threshold of the kitchen to see Michelle nodding approvingly and smiling.  Haratsu gave her a warm smile; she would be a major topic in his discussions with the Tendo and Saotome families.  He smoothly made his way into the living room, where the Tendo girls were passing time by lounging on the sofas.
	“It is a good day to be a martial artist,” he said slowly and with an increasing tone of joy.  He smiled when his friend Soun nodded with the look of a wise man.
	“It is indeed.  I must thank you for providing for my family’s accommodations in the past several days.  I must say your plan for rebuilding my ancestral home is beyond all generosity I have ever experienced.”
	“You’ve done more than I can ever repay, Tendo,” he said cheerily, “You need not thank me for my petty monetary offerings; if you had not reacted as quickly as you did during the battle at Mt. Fuji I would be well in my grave by now.  But we have more immediate concerns to address, and we can do so in good time. Enjoy yourself until we call dinner; I am going to check on Apsu.”
	“Of course,” Soun said, his happy look dimming a bit, “How is your son now, anyway?” Haratsu breathed a deep breath, then spoke softly to Soun;
	“He is living, and relatively healthy, but harmony is so absent from his chi that he cannot harness it’s power.  I will also confide in you that I suspect he is hiding something from me; what I do not know.  Perhaps nothing.  He is still in a bit of shock after the battle but after tonight I believe he will improve dramatically.”
	“That’s good.  Regarding his chi; There is a man in Nerima named Tofu who may be able to help.  His knowledge of pressure points and medicinal healing may even rival your own healing abilities.  If you’d like I can arrange for him to stop by or perhaps for Apsu to see him.”
	“I would appreciate that.  Dinner should be starting in just about 30 minutes, so I must be on my way to make preparations and to check on Apsu.” He bowed lightly and made his way up the stairs.  After a bit more navigating he found himself at Apsu’s door.
	“Apsu, why haven’t you come down yet?” He asked after knocking on the door a bit.
	“Uhh, just a second! I… got some water spilled on me in the bathroom and I need to change.”  Haratsu shook his head at the female voice’s reply; Apsu had been spending way too much time as a girl… and why had he hesitated to answer?  He reached to turn the door knob.  Locked.
	“Open the door, I need to talk with you.”
	“Can it wait?  I’m not exactly dressed properly to open my door.”  Haratsu fumed just for a second, then released his tension in a firm voice.
	“That’s exactly what I suspected.  Now open the door.  Now.”  Apsu complied and the door opened slowly.  Haratsu walked into his son’s room and closed the door for her.  He looked at Apsu, who was obviously not dressed to be seen as she was wearing a black silk dress; One of Michelle’s favorites.  He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them Apsu was sitting on her bed with her head hanging down.
	“Why are you wearing one of Michelle’s dresses?”  The question came a bit harsher than intended, but time was short.  He needed his son to be downstairs with his manhood very much intact showing the Tendos and the Saotomes that the Tetsumi family was strong yet thankful for their help.  Instead, his son was sitting on his bed wearing a female body and female clothes.
	“I’m sorry.  I’ll change.”  Apsu’s reply was forced, and very dry.
	“That wasn’t my question.  Is this why you’ve been avoiding me for the past few days, and either way; Why are you wearing one of Michelle’s dresses?”
	“I… dunno.”
	“Your disrespect exceeds any you have ever given me before, but under the current circumstances I will allow it to pass.  I need you to be downstairs immediately showing everyone that this night is a happy night.  It absolutely will not do for you to continue in this emotional whirlwind as you have been for the past week.  Has the temporary loss of your chi energies scarred you so badly that you would sit groveling before me when before you have trusted me with every problem you faced?”  He walked to Apsu’s closet and produced a cotoroid outfit, which he tossed back on the bed as he continued; “If you would now show me the fact that your manhood is intact by changing into a suitable outfit I will wait until tomorrow before I ask further of this.”
	Apsu looked at the cotoroid shirt and pants, then shuddered a bit.
	“Apsu, if you do not show some initiative I will take you by the hem of your dress and drag you to the living room where you can interact as a girl would.  When you came to my crying about the compromise of your manhood two weeks ago I did not hold it against you, for times were desperate and fear was allowable.  When you cried over my supposed death I did not hold it against you; but rather took it as a sign of love.  Now, however is not the appropriate time for fear, sadness, or crying.  If you are acting like this because I saw you in your current state you will be relieved to know that you are free to pursue the exploration of your sexuality so long as you keep your manhood totally intact.  Tonight, however, I want my son to make me proud of him by showing me that he can overcome his own emotional burdens long enough to hear an announcement that may well turn his life around for the better.”
	Apsu looked up at her father for a second, then stood and paced across the room nervously.  “I… thought you would hold harsher feelings.  I’m sorry.  I feel like my life is so totally out of control now that it leaves me helpless… I guess that’s where the dresses come into play. I mean, if one feels helpless why not dress the part?  You’ve trained me since birth to be a strong, yet sensible and caring person.  I appreciate that and thank you for your years of labor.  You’ve told me that all I must do to repay you for my martial arts training is to ensure that our family line continues, and that it continues to grow stronger with time.  Now I may not even be able to do that,” she paused for a moment, then walked to her bed and sat down before continuing, “My life energies are locked deep within me now.  I may never again be able to harness the power of chi.  I can’t tell you how I know this, I just feel it… I had thought after I woke from my first sleep in over a week that my manhood would at least be salvaged, but I was wrong again.  I began to feel like my cursed form; what you are looking at now, was more like another side of me than anything… I can’t really explain something I don’t understand, but when I feel bad, which is most of the time now, I can just swap forms and I feel better for a while.  You finding out was not in my plans, I didn’t want to disappoint you again.”
	Haratsu made his way to the door, “Confusion, fear, lack of understanding, and personal explorations are all allowed in this house so long as I am the master of the school of Various Martial Arts.  The only condition is that you push all four aside when necessary.  I had thought you would be more open with me concerning your current issues, but we can discuss them later.”  He opened the door and stepped out, “I will leave you to yourself for a moment.  Please take control of your emotions and come downstairs as soon as possible.” The door shut.  He walked to the stairs and stepped down them one by one.  His son’s current state confused and worried him.  He was allowing individual problems to stack on top of him, and was obviously struggling under their weight.  It didn’t matter tho, after tonight Apsu would have better things to think about.  He saw Michelle on his way to the dining room and told her to help Apsu get ready as quickly as possible, then went to the kitchen to keep an eye on the food everyone would be soon devouring.
	Michelle walked into Apsu’s room to see her struggling with the zipper on the back of her dress, “Need some help?  I know that your father was up here a minute ago… What did he say?”
	Apsu turned to let Michelle unzip the dress, then faced her, “Basically he told me that everything I’ve been trying to hide from him didn’t matter.  I’ve been scared to death of him finding out about this stuff and when he finally does the only response I get is ‘come on down stairs, now is not the right time’.  I swear, I need to be fed nerve pills.”
	“Well it’s good that he isn’t bothering you about all of this, but why did you pick now of all times to be wearing a dress?  You know we are having dinner downstairs and that it’s supposed to be important.”
	Apsu slipped the dress off, and laid it on her bed, “I don’t know.  Actually, I do; Ryouga and Ranma will be down there as well as Akane.  Ryouga and Ranma are both awesome martial artists.  I’m supposed to be the best, tho.  I, not they, but I alone can fling chi energy around like it is nothing and use it in nearly any way I like.  I, the heir to the Tetsumi school, have the power to crush demonlords without as much as a high yield chi blast,” she slipped off her borrowed panties and bra and gave them to Michelle as she spoke, “I alone have the power to summon incredible healing power with a thought.  But you know what else I am?  I’m the only person on Earth who could possibly have all that power and not be able to use one damn bit of it.”
	Michelle took the underwear from Apsu and sat it next to the dress, “Is that so important to you?  Can you live without being able to fight the forces of hell for a while?  I honestly think that if you came to terms with yourself you’d find that all of that power you think is locked up is simply waiting for you to clear your head and use it.  I was talking to the people your comparing yourself to, and they all seem to think that knowing your okay is more important than what you can blow up right now.”
	Apsu sighed, “I guess I’ll just get changed and get downstairs then.  I have no idea why father wants to have half the neighborhood for dinner, but he wouldn’t have invited everyone if he didn’t have something planned.”
	Michelle kissed Apsu on the lips, not caring that he was female at the moment.  Soon enough he’d be back to himself, and that was what mattered.  “I’ll go down and wait for you.  Let’s see what this dinner is all about.”

[…] 15 Minutes Later

	Haratsu gave an approving look to a very male Apsu, then stood and gestured to everyone at the table. “I’m sure all of you are wondering why I would go through the trouble of having such a large dinner on the spur of the moment.  Let me say that I believe there are several topics that need to be thoroughly discussed, and some possibilities to examine.  First of all, congratulations to everyone involved in the rescue of Akane and Michelle,” he gestured to the two to emphasize, “Had it not been for your determination everyone would be missing someone important in their lives.  In all my time as a martial artist I have never seen four families unite on a single front so quickly and efficiently,” he was sure to say four, instead of three families to honor Ryouga’s assistance.  “However, we should all be aware of the mistake I made twenty years ago.  At the time I thought Talarath must be dead; I had dealt damage enough to kill a hundred men and was exhausted like never before.  There is a chance that Talarath is yet still somehow alive,” he took a second to allow that thought to sink in, “I know that no obvious means of confirming his death are available to us, so I’ve decided to learn as much about the history of that creature as possible.  My first lead is a man in Honolulu that contacted me last week who says that he has information I would find valuable.  I do not know why this man would know to contact me concerning Talarath, and he would not tell me what he knew over the phone but I have decided to travel to Hawaii and meet him.  If indeed Talarath does still exist I would like to confirm now that our alliance formed to save Akane and Michelle is still in existence.”
	Soun looked at his daughters, “I am not much of a fighter these days, but if Talarath is still alive you have my pledge that the Anything-Goes school will join any campaign against him.”  Haratsu looked to Genma, who gave a confident affirmative.
	“If Talarath does exist, I do not expect for us to be able to initiate any attack against him without him showing himself first.  Therefore, Talarath would have before him the option of waiting as long as necessary for us to forget and for our alliance to collapse.  It is entirely possible that he may wait two or three generations and gain his vengeance on our families when it is least expected,” he paused for a few seconds, “I for one do not want my great grandchildren dying because I failed to see that their future existence would be safe.  Therefore I propose another option: If we cannot confirm either the death or existence of Talarath our families must stay united as long as necessary, even if that extends past our own lifetimes.”  Unanimous approval swept the room; No one present was about to argue against the safety of future generations.
	Haratsu sat back into his chair, his primary point made, “I also think it can be agreed that everyone is having a rough time adapting to life after that battle.  Tendo-san, I have hired a contractor to rebuild your dojo from the foundation up.  The job will take some time, however.  I also thought that since I am heading to Hawaii on business, why not bring everyone else along?  Money is not a rarity in my family these days, but trusted friends are.  If you want to come, you are all welcome.”  He smiled with delight as several affirmative shouts filled the dining room.
	“It has been way too long since I got to sit back and relax!” Ranma announced, already stretching with relief, “Hey Apsu, I’ve been meaning to ask if you could teach me some of those fancier tricks of yours.  I’ve got plenty of techniques to trade if you’re interested.”
	“I’m always interested in a new technique, maybe I could work on some of that speed training I heard you’re famous for.” Apsu dodged with a vengeance anything that could lead to a question concerning his ability to use chi.
	“Ahh man, your no fun! That’s the basic stuff.  I guess I can deal with the boredom tho, you should pick it up pretty fast.”
	“Haratsu,” Genma began slowly, but purposefully, “You said we were coming to celebrate.  Obviously the continuing alliance between our families is reason enough for celebration, but why were you in such a festive mood earlier even as you thought of how to tell us that Talarath might still be alive?  There must be more.”
	“Your right. There is.  My family has had a rough time in the past few generations.  I have no living relatives other than Apsu, and if he or Michelle is killed before their natural times the Tetsumi line is finished.  I understand that you are in a similar situation, Saotome Genma.  There is one other reason I called you all here, and it is cause for celebration.  Apsu, Michelle, please stand.
	“The final, and most important reason you are all here involves my son and my future daughter in law.  They have lived together as fiancé’s for a year, and the thought never crossed my mind to ask them to marry any earlier than age 18.  Recent events, however, have led me to believe that waiting in life can have only negative consequences.  Therefore, with you as my witnesses I hereby give Apsu my consent should he choose to pursue marriage with Michelle.”  
Silence reigned supreme for a moment.  All eyes fixed on Apsu who fell back into his seat, shocked.  After a few seconds he looked at Michelle, his face asking all the questions.  When she nodded yes a smile creeped across his face until it threatened to tear his lips, at which point he pushed his chair back and with a fluid motion planted his lips all over Michelle’s, to much applause.  All the problems that just a moment ago had dominated his life seemed to vanish and a carefree feeling radiated in all directions.  He kissed as if he were trying to become one with Michelle, which had the side effect of causing him to lose his balance in the process.  He didn’t care; He let himself fall, and was delighted with a childlike glee when Michelle came crashing down on top of him.  Their kissing continued, and the dinner they were attending became an alternate existence.
If they had been listening, they would have heard nothing but cheers and as much applause as the small crowd could generate.  Haratsu absolutely beamed with happiness as he saw his sons reaction.  He’d begun to doubt that Apsu would ever come out of the emotional pit he had lived in for the past few weeks, and Michelle’s quick acceptance of his unspoken question proved beyond a doubt that she would be willing to carry on the family line with him.  “Please excuse them for a moment, I think their modesty will return to them in time, although I make no guarantees that it will happen tonight!”
Genma stood, the radiant happiness of the Tetsumi family infecting him like a virus, “No excuses are needed, my friend.  I have an announcement as well.  Your family has been an example to everyone, and your cause for bringing us together on this night has indeed turned out to be cause for celebration!”  He grasped a bottle of sake and gestured around the table with it, “With your permission, Tetsumi-san, I would officially like to begin the celebration, the way a real celebration should be handled!”
“Of course, Saotome, of course!  You and your son fought as hard as anyone to ensure that our families could experience moments such as this, I want everyone to drink until they are too drunk to walk to the couch!”  His happiness seemed to transcend the limits of mankind; he began to unconsciously generate a warm ocean-blue aura of chi that danced happily around him and cast tranquil shadows across the walls.  With effort he broke his smile enough to speak clearly, “And I won’t be happy until everyone at this table has eaten enough food for ten people!”  He expected his food supply to last hours, and into the next day if need-be.  Granted, he didn’t expect the massive appetite of the Saotomes, but their eating habits were roughly comparable with that of his own, although he had mastered speed, volume, and neatness at the same time.
A festive mood held in it’s grip everyone under the Tetsumi roof.  Ryouga began to fantasize about his big moment with Akane aloud, and when he realized what he’d done his face washed over with a bright maroon color.  Akane overheard him asking someone to marry him, and a nagging suspicion told her he had said her name.  She brushed it aside; Ryouga was a good friend, nothing more.  She reached under the table and located Ranma’s left hand, which she immediately grasped and claimed for her own.  Her heart raced when she looked at Ranma…. He was smiling!  *YES*
Ranma smiled, “Are you inspired?”  Alarm klaxons blared their usual warnings in his head like world war three had started, but a tac-nuke of determination and hope silenced them before he could say anything to cause the war which they warned about.  He squeezed Akane’s hand; He was in the process of preparing himself to say something he’d wanted to say for months, and there could be absolutely *no* chance that Akane would misinterpret him this time.
Akane’s heart jumped around the world in a record two seconds, her chest began to hurt slightly with the pounding within, so she decided to try and get the waiting over with as soon as possible.  She looked around the table; Haratsu, Genma, and Soun were eating like kings.  Apsu and Michelle were still attached to each other in loving celebration, Kasumi was smiling as she ate, blissfully unaware that her sister had decided to take a major risk in her relationship.  Nabiki was eating and observing Apsu, a smile firmly planted on her face as she began to plan how she would make money off of their wedding.  When Akane looked at Ryouga he was staring straight into his food, although she could have sworn he had been looking at her for just an instant. She set her gaze back on Ranma, who was still awaiting an answer.
“Kiss me.”  She smiled awkwardly, three weeks ago those words would have never come out of her mouth.  Ranma nodded and advanced slowly, mindful that everyone was still in the room.  When his lips finally touched Akane’s he melted like ice.  His caution overridden by desire, he proceeded to learn what a *real* kiss was like.  Akane grasped him in her arms and held him for dear life as a year of locked up feelings burst out of her and straight into him.
Cheers erupted from Soun, Genma, and Haratsu when they noticed Ranma’s initiative.  Soun proceeded to cry up a storm while Genma proclaimed how proud he was of his son.  Nabiki sat staring at them with absolute disbelief, and the feeling that a moment ago could be described as festive intensified until only one choice of words would suffice; Unanimous joy and unconditional love.  Haratsu slowly nodded in pure happiness; The omen he was witnessing before him was too good to be true. He took Soun’s hand with his right, and motioned Genma to join them.  Genma placed his hand over Haratsu’s, who looked from him to Soun.
“Let this omen become a pledge from me to you and both of your families. Although not related by blood, our families share a common bond that cannot be broken, therefore, my happiness is *your* happiness!”  The three drank intensely to the pledge, and nobody noticed that Ryouga had left to sit in the living room by himself.
	Michelle and Apsu finally broke their kiss for longer than the required half-second for air.  They looked at each other for a few long seconds, their hearts dancing to the unmistakable rhythm of love and their bodies demanding more than they were receiving.  Michelle stood and pulled a dazed Apsu to his feet, then proceeded to march to his bedroom with him never more than a step behind.  Upon entering her soon-to-be husband’s room she closed and locked the door, then vocally declared that anyone interrupting her would be met with the forces of hell.
	“So, where do we go from here?” Apsu asked, his first words since his father’s announcement.  Michelle responded, to his surprise, by picking him up and throwing him on the bed.  She was still just 16, a virgin, and she decided she wanted to keep that title; if only for a few more days.  “How far do you want to go?”
	Apsu looked around.  He had indeed been flung a good four feet to a perfect position on the bed, “Well, you’ve got me where you want me,” he smiled with perfect delight, “And you’ve got as much of me as you want.”
	Michelle walked forward slowly, and began to slip off her blue and black silk dress, “Okay, then.  There’s just one rule for tonight:  My underwear stays on, other than that, your *mine*!  She jumped on the bed and attacked.  Her opponent was Apsu, and her goal was to induce a state of total happiness, joy, and pleasure in him that would last well into the next day.  For the next two hours the pair experimented on each other’s body, finding new and unexpected ways of inducing pleasure.  After some time Apsu fell victim to an attack on his earlobes and drew into a totally submissive state of pleasure while Michelle had her way with him.  The pair reached a quiet, but sweaty climax a moment later, then collapsed in exhaustion.  They then proceeded to hold each other without speaking, and after a few moments sleep claimed them and allowed them to dream of more pleasures to come.
	Ranma and Akane laid on the Tetsumi’s sofa in the living room.  They had slightly less ambitious plans, and after listening to their fathers’ drunken talk of joining the Saotome and Tetsumi families in a generation or two had settled in snugly on the sofa to talk.  Words came rarely, however, as both Ranma and Akane feared more than anything else that they would say the wrong thing and ruin the moment.  They communicated with the warmth and snugness of their bodies, and as Akane’s eyes began to close in sleep she could swear she’d heard Ranma say it; “I. Love. You,” capital letters and all.  She breathed in slowly, and as if talking in a dream said, “I love you, too…”  Ranma smiled, a few worries managed to surface in his mind; Such as what to say to Ukyou, how to explain to Shampoo what had happened without getting the Amazon killed when she attacked Akane, but these were trivial matters at the time.  He finally had Akane, and nothing was going to change that. Nothing.  He thought for a moment about the imminent marriage that his father was undoubtedly planning with Soun in the dining room, and wondered to himself if he should try to stop it; After all, he and Akane had always resisted any type of forced marriage.  After a few minutes he decided that sometime soon it would no longer be a matter of refusing a forced marriage; He had every intention of doing it willingly if Akane kept her current attitude.  All the cuteness she had allowed to show through in the last year was dim compared to her beauty in the present.  Ranma took a moment to admire the girl that was now sleeping in his arms. The girl that had proven that she was indeed his true fiancée, Akane.
	Haratsu laid in his bed, tears streaming down his face like lazy mountain creeks.  He’d finally fulfilled a promise that he held most sacred to his heart; The promise he made to his father before delivering the finishing blow in a desperate fight; The promise that three weeks ago he had thought all but broken; To ensure, above all else, that the Tetsumi family would continue to exist past his generation.  That alone was not enough to bring tears to his hardened face, however.  He had always expected to be able to continue the family line; assuring a permanent alliance with two other powerful families in a single night went beyond even his capability to predict.  There was talk already of joining the Tetsumi and Saotome ways of discipline into a single all-encompassing art that would reign undisputed as the greatest martial art of the 20th century and beyond.  He smiled beneath his tears of joy; The Tetsumi family had been battered to near extinction in the 20th century, but nothing on Earth could prepare the world for their comeback in the 21st.