Finally got finished with chapter one. It's a short one for me at only 40K,
but it was necessary for this sort of transition chapter to set things up
before we get to the real meat of the story. Only went through it twice with
no prereaders, so there should be stuff to find.


The Things We Wish For...
Chapter 1

Any and all C+C is appreciated. You can contact me at
sommer@3rdm.net

All of my fics are stored at the following:

Larry F's new address at:
http://www.rakhal.com/florestica/

Or R+C books at:
http://dbsommer.rcbooks.org

And also Angcobra is now storing all of my fics, at
http://dbsommer.web1000.com/dbsommer.html

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of the Ranma 1/2
characters. They belong to Takahashi and whomever she sold the rights to.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The staccato tapping of Kachiko Tendou's fingertips playing across the wood
of the dining room table filled the air. The gentle taps lightly echoed in
the room. She sat lackadaisically, slouching slightly, giving an air of
lassitude that was only contradicted by the half-lidded, and highly
suspicious, stare that was directed towards the two girls seated on the
opposite side of the table.

Then all four fingers struck the table at once and remained there, signaling
an end to the waiting. A soft whoosh of air was exhaled, and Kachiko's
posture straightened slightly. "So let me get this straight, you somehow got
this wish granting ability?" she pointed to Akane, "You wished your mother
hadn't been in a car accident which killed her. A noble sentiment, I
suppose. However the result of this wish was that I get plucked out of time
and thrown over twenty years into the future, where I get to meet the two of
you, who it just so happens, are my children, one of which is older than I
am now."

Akane shifted uncomfortably. "Well, that's a bit simplified, but yes, that's
pretty much what happened."

Kasumi nodded her head in agreement.

Kachiko leaned over the table and close to the girls. "Tell me something,
don't you think I would be a bit insulted at being told such a stupid lie? I
mean, come on, you've not only got magic, but time travel paradoxes thrown
in there as well. What sort of sucker is going to believe that?"

"But it's true!" Kasumi insisted.

"Ha!" Kachiko slammed her hand down on the table, not hard enough to crack
it, but with enough force to make it shift. "Oh please, changing some of the
furniture around in my house is not going to make me fall for this pathetic
lie. Especially since all of the new ones you used are incredibly tacky.
Don't you people believe in bright colors? You're as drab as my parents."

"We can prove this is the future, and you're our mother," Akane said.

"Sure you can. Why, this place is teeming with signs that it's the future,"
Kachiko said dramatically, rising to her feet and entering the kitchen. She
gazed in awe at her surroundings. "Look at all this futuristic equipment.
Ohh, a microwave. And what's that? Why it's a stove. Obviously the design
must be good, since it looks exactly like the same one that's been here
since before World War II. And is that... could it be... oh my god! It's an
object that produces cold so that food will last longer. It must be what
sci-fi writers call a refrigerator! I am in the future! Oh my!" Her eyes
rolled into the back of her head, and she gave a soft cry before sagging to
the floor.

"I don't remember Mother being quite this sarcastic," Kasumi quietly
confided to Akane.

Kachiko rose back to her feet and returned to the table, staring at the two
girls again. "Tell me something, and you can be honest with me, this is all
one of Wacky Wakaba's little practical jokes, isn't it?"

The girls looked at one another. Akane said, "Wacky Wakaba?"

"Oh sure, she's one of my close friends, as if you didn't know," Kachiko
said slyly. "She's always pulling practical jokes like this. Did she tell
you about the time she tried slipping a bomb in my locker, only I saw her
plant it, so I switched the lockers? Boy, you should have seen the look of
surprise on her face when she went to get her books and that baby went off.
She was out of the hospital in a week. She's a tough little thing. And then
there was the time we were at the celebration for the baseball team coming
in second in the national championship, and she tried to slip me a powerful
aphrodisiac. Only our drinks got mixed up and she ended up drinking it
instead. Boy, was she surprised the next morning. And sore. She couldn't
walk straight for a week. Oh, oh, and best of all, up until now anyway,
there was this time that she sent love letters to this locked up stalker
serial killer and pretended they were from me, so he would get fixated on
me. And then she helped him escape, only he turned on her, so it turned out
I had to save her. That girl always knows how to keep me on my toes."
Kachiko nearly doubled over in laughter at the memories.

Akane and Kasumi looked at their mother aghast. Akane blurted out, "What are
you talking about? Those aren't practical jokes. Those were murder
attempts!"

Kachiko waved her hand dismissively at them. "Sakura says the same thing,
and like I keep telling her, don't be silly. They're jokes. Wakaba just has
a weird sense of humor. She's a buddy. She's done lots of favors for me.
Why, half the guys I dated in high school were dating her right beforehand.
Sometimes only the day before I started going out with them. She mentions it
constantly, and don't think for one second I don't consider myself in her
debt because of it."

"I... see," Akane admitted.

"So are you two ready to fess up about Wakaba being the mastermind behind
this?"

"Not at all. We've never even met someone named Wakaba. You really are in
the future," Kasumi insisted.

Kachiko rolled her eyes and rose to her feet. "All right, let's see what I
can find to prove this isn't the future." She looked around until her eyes
settled on the television. Triumphantly she walked over to it and examined
the buttons along the strip on the bottom. "Now we'll see what the
television stations of the future are broadcasting."

With the flick of a switch the screen came on and a voice loudly proclaimed,
"Down here at Miharu's Used Cars have great deals every day! Low prices mean
low interest rates! Come on down right now and we'll even throw in an extra
tire for nothing!"

Kachiko looked at the screen in horror. "You mean they still have used car
salesmen in the future?! Have you learned nothing? Next thing you'll tell me
is you didn't kill all the lawyers either." She smirked at the girls and
changed the channel.

"...day we are proud to present for your viewing pleasure, Akira Kurasawa's
Seven Magnificent Samurai."

"Of course. Nothing but cutting edge films as well," Kachiko chuckled, and
changed it again.

"...and high standing member of the Diet, resigned today over accusations of
bribery."

*Click*

"...taxes were raised yet again."

*Click*

"... news today of more unrest in the Mid-East."

"Oh yes, it's all so very different now in the future," Kachiko said
blandly, leaving the television on.

"But we can prove it to you," Kasumi said, "We have your shrine in the
living room."

Kachiko's eyebrows rose slightly. "A shrine? To me? Now this I have to see."
She exited the room, only to return a minute later. She held up a photo of
an attractive woman somewhere in her late twenties or early thirties, her
brown hair done up in a bun. It had been taken outdoors. She stood next to a
tree, dressed in a light gray kimono with her hands crossed in front of her.
The single shaft of sunlight seemed to be focused solely upon her, giving
her an unearthly aura. The corners of her mouth were turned slightly upward,
and her eyes spoke of warmth and caring.

Holding the picture before the girls, Kachiko pointed to it. "This is
supposed to be me?"

Both Akane and Kasumi nodded solemnly at the picture that had rested in its
place of reverence for over a decade. Kasumi said, "It was one of your
favorites."

Kachiko looked at it again. "BWAHAHAHAHA! You're so lame! Like this could
ever be me."

"But it is you!" Kasumi insisted.

Barely able to reign in her laughter, Kachiko got out, "Yeah, right. As if
I'd ever pose like this for a photo. Whoever you got to dress up like that
didn't know me at all. Wakaba should have known better that to try and pass
this ringer off as me."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked.

"I hate kimonos," Kachiko explained. "They're tight and confining. I never
wear them voluntarily, and would never let myself be photographed in one.
And then there's this hair in the picture. Aside from the fact it looks
completely lame, it just so happens that I hate long hair."

"But you always had long hair. It's one of the reasons I've always let mine
grow so long," Kasumi said.

Kachiko fingered her shortened locks. "Nope, this is all the longer I like
it. It's easier to manage and makes me look cute." She considered Kasumi for
a moment. "You'd probably look better with shorter hair, too, like Akane, or
whatever her real name is. Not that you look bad, just that you'd go from
being real cute to real hot. You got kind of a round face, like me, so it
would suit you better. Trust me on this." Kachiko returned her attention to
the photo. "But all of that is just circumstantial evidence. What's really
the most damning detail that shows this is a fake is that smile."

"What's wrong with Mom's, I mean your, smile?" Akane asked.

Kachiko rolled her eyes. "It's sooo not me. I mean, this woman looks like
it's taking an effort to even get her lips pointed upward. Now when I smile,
it's something the whole world can see. Watch." She held the photo
side-by-side with her head, then gave a huge toothy grin that nearly took up
half her face.

Kasumi said, "You look better with a soft smile."

"You look like a demented hyena," Akane agreed.

Kachiko scowled at the two girls, then held the photo in front of her. "I'm
insulted at the insinuation that I could ever look like this. You know what
the woman in this picture cries out so hard that it makes my eyes tear?
Frumpiness. She's an old frump that probably hasn't had a fun day in her
whole life. I can easily believe she's some housewife with three kids. She
looks tired, boring, and is right on the verge of lapsing into a coma."

Kasumi was aghast. "How dare you say such things about my mother, er,
Mother." The shock drained out of her as she realized the quandary that was
present. She looked helplessly at Akane, who just shrugged her shoulders in
response.

Tossing the photo on the table so it landed in front of them, Kachiko said,
"You know something? If I was to turn into someone as dull as this, I would
prefer being dead. Better that than some living hell as a mindless automaton
chained to a boring husband and obnoxious kids for the rest of her dreary
existence."

"That was not the way things were! You were happy!" Kasumi cried out.

Akane was shocked at seeing her sister's emotional outburst. Certainly,
Akane was also disturbed at their mother's commentary on what she theorized
life had been like, even if this version of Kachiko Tendou hadn't lived
through those years, but to see the usually placid Kasumi on the verge of
anger was almost as disturbing as the idea that the girl before them was in
reality their mother.

Kachiko whistled. "You're a good actress. I can almost believe you really
think I'm your mother. I-" Her head darted in the direction of the
television.

"What-" was all Akane got out before Kachiko made a hushing motion with her
hand.

"I heard something." The time lost girl went over to the television and
turned it up.

The news reporter continued. "Many gathered in Moscow's Red Square to
celebrate the anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union. Crowds turned out
in the hundreds of thousands-"

Visibly disturbed, Kachiko changed the channel.

"-well, Mr. Morisoto, this so-called design flaw with the Shinohara OS is as
much a media sensation as the so-called Y2K bug that was supposed to cause
the end of the world as we knew it. But it looks to me like we made it well
past the year two thousand without the collapse of civilization. What you
have yet to accept are that labors are the way of the future, and this
interface system is the first step towards that futur-"

She changed the channel again.

"-since the unexpected cancellation of the popular series back in two
thousand and one. People have been writing in and demanding that it return-"

Kachiko turned the television off. She shot the two girls an angry glare.
"Exactly how did you manage to override the signal and show those to me?"

Shaking her head, Akane said, "We didn't. Those are really the television
programs that are on right now. You're in the future."

For a moment, Akane was worried the girl might hit her, then Kachiko's eyes
alighted on something that grabbed her complete attention. "Ah ha! An
oversight on your part." She walked over to a side table and picked up a
folded over newspaper. "Let's check out the date on this little thing." She
unfolded the paper and came to the front page. Her eyes scanned over it. A
second later, the paper made a crinkling sound as it was wadded into a very
small ball and hurled into the garbage can with considerable force. "It's
easy to make fake newspapers. I've seen them before. They're certainly be a
lot easier to make than the television trick."

"Mother," Kasumi said softly.

"Enough."

The way it was stated, in such a firm yet soft manner, reminded Kasumi of
the way the woman who had raised her would have issued the command.
Instinctively, the rest of what she had been planning to say died on her
tongue.

Kachiko walked over to a nearby window and stared out. She began looking at
the sights that were afforded by the view. Aloud, she calmly said, "Looks
like you got someone to fix up the fence and build a koi pond out back.
That's nice. I always liked the idea of a pond; less grass for me to cut. I
have to hand it to you, this is one elaborate hoax. The Matsui residence
looks the same as always. So do the Tanakas. And as for the Morimotos..."

Akane and Kasumi watched as the girl's lips pursed slightly and one of the
muscles on the side of her face began twitching. "Okay. Completely changing
a house. That can be done, too."

"Now you're being unrealistic," Akane said.

"So says the girl that claims she got a wish from a genie and brought her
dead mother back from the past." Kachiko snorted. "This is ridiculous. I'm
out of here."

"Where are you going?" Kasumi's voice was tinged with panic.

"Out where I can find someone to set me straight." There wasn't the faintest
hint of doubt in Kachiko's voice. If anything, it sounded tired. She turned
sharply on her heel and headed to the front door.

"Do you suppose you could untie us first?" Akane asked.

Pausing, Kachiko looked to where she had tied the girls together,
back-to-back. Upon entering the house, and believing the intruders to be
thieves, she had managed to grab some rope that had been conveniently lying
around and spun it around Akane, whom Kachiko had sensed was the more
physically capable of the pair, and immobilized her. It was a simple matter
to quickly do the same to the completely untrained Kasumi. Once they were
incapacitated, they had revealed their fraudulent tale to her, which
eventually led to her losing her temper at the inexplicably elaborate
scheme.

"No, I don't think so. You're staying here. Once I get to the bottom of
this, I'm going to make you two apologize for trying to drive me nuts. See
you later." Kachiko headed out of the room and into the hall. A moment later
she opened and front door, closed it behind her, and entered the world
beyond.

The time lost girl's footsteps were confident as she hurried in a familiar
direction. She knew damn well where she had to go to get to the bottom of
matters. Sakura was the one person in the world Kachiko would trust with her
life, and more importantly, she had no tolerance for Wakaba's pranks. The
idea that she would was as alien as Kachiko giving up martial arts. It would
be a simple matter to visit the best friend she ever had and hear from her
mouth how this whole thing was an elaborate hoax and boy would Wakaba pay
for going way over the bounds this time. Bombs and aphrodisiacs were one
thing, but playing with a poor young girl's mind was quite another.

As Kachiko made her way through Nerima, the unsettled feeling, that had come
into being since watching the fake television programs, grew to ungodly
proportions. The neighborhood was not quite right, like the Tanaka's house.
While the overall layout to the area was the same, it was in the smaller
details where the discrepancies became obvious. Houses weren't quite the way
she remembered them. They had different colors or altered exteriors. Cars
looked different, as though their basic deigns had changed overnight.
Everyone's clothing seems slightly off as well, especially among the
teenagers. While there were familiar school uniforms and business suits,
many of the more casual styles had been altered almost to the degree where
it felt like she was walking through a foreign country. Why, some girls were
even wearing clothing that bared their mid-riffs, and no one even seemed to
take notice.

"Maybe it was some sort of post-hypnotic suggestion," Kachiko murmured to
herself. Time travel was impossible. Those two girls at her house were not
her non-existent daughters. She was a virgin. With one notable exception,
virgins didn't have children, and certainly not three grown offspring. It
was a stupid joke that Wakaba was really going to be given hell for.

With each block traveled, with each person passed, the uneasy feeling in
Kachiko stomach grew until it felt like she would expel the contents of her
stomach over the sidewalk. Panic, an emotion she rarely experienced, ate
away at the edges of her controlled demeanor. She wanted to grab the people
that passed by and order them to start acting normally, but she fended off
such irrational thoughts with the assurance that Sakura could make it all
better. Sakura made everything better. She had a way of explaining things
that could make complete chaos seem, if not like order, at least
understandable.

Not a moment too soon in her opinion, Kachiko arrived at her destination.
She stood outside the small walkway to a familiar two story structure that
was on the small side. Sakura lived with her parents, older sister, and her
sister's husband and child. It was terribly crowded, which was one of the
reasons Sakura visited the Tendou residence so often; it was the only place
were she could get some space of her own. After this little escapade,
Kachiko was going to recommend Sakura move in for at least a week until
everything felt like normal.

Ten steps up the walk, the same ten steps it had always taken, and Kachiko
found herself standing next to the entryway of the house. Finger shaking
with uncharacteristic nervousness, she pressed the familiar red button for
the doorbell (or was it a different shade of red?) and heard a familiar
ringing from inside. Already her spirit started to ease at the familiar
sensations.

"Coming," a feminine voice from inside announced. A handful of seconds
later, the door opened to reveal an average-looking woman, a bit on the
heavy side, in her late thirties, and with a long mane of black hair that
appeared slightly frazzled. Automatically she said, "Greetings-" and stopped
as her eyes focused on the young woman standing outside on the porch. Her
eyes widened and she drew back in horror for a moment as she breathed out,
"Kachi."

Kachiko's mouth went dry. No words could come out, no matter how she tried
to force them. Everything she had known, everything she had wanted to
believe contrary to the evidence presented to her, was lost in a second and
she understood the horrifying truth.

Just as quickly the woman composed herself, drawing up to her full height
before bowing. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. You remind me of someone I
knew from a long time ago." She rose from her bow and looked her visitor
over more closely. "Tell me, is your last name Tendou?"

Automatically, Kachiko managed to say, "Yes."

A look of profound relief passed over the woman's features. "That explains
it. You're one of Kachi's daughters, aren't you?"

Despite feeling her world knocked out from under her feet, Kachiko's mind
went from being completely dazed to processing information. In a far off
voice, her mind managed to form a response using what knowledge it had
gathered in the last few hours. "Yes, Akane. Akane Tendou."

The woman bowed again. "It's an honor to meet you. What brings you here,
might I ask?"

Kachiko was still in a daze of sorts. It took a moment to come up with an
answer. "You are Sakura Daisho?"

"It's Ogawa now," Sakura informed her. "I've been married for some time. No
one's called me by my maiden name for years."

Years. "You knew Kachiko Tendou well, didn't you?"

A pained look crossed Sakura's features. She shifted uncomfortably. "Why
yes, we were best friends when we went to high school. But we... fell out of
touch over the years. I doubt if you were born the last time we saw one
another. I read about her death in the paper."

"You know she's dead?" Kachiko asked, more bile rising to her throat.

Sakura nodded. "It was a tragedy. Even though we'd had a falling out, it
still broke my heart." A sniffle escaped the older woman's lips.

The way Sakura, even one whose image was distorted by the years, sniffled
caught Kachiko's attention. "You and I... I mean you and my mother had a
falling out? But you were best friends."

Sakura gave the younger girl a sad stare. Tears were starting to form in her
eyes. "Ah, my dear. I'm afraid you'll discover that even the greatest of
friendships can mean nothing when a man becomes involved in the situation."

"Oh." Even Kachiko's tumultuous mind didn't need more information to figure
out the reason of why their friendship had fallen apart.

"Events reached their peak during late in our senior year. We exchanged
harsh words. Your mother had quite the tongue on her. Things degenerated
from there until we barely spoke to one another. Then we stopped talking
altogether." She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "I just wished I
could have made up with her before she passed on. It's just, I thought there
was always enough time to do it later, so I never got around to it. And now
it's too late."

Seeing her friend in such pain served to kick Kachiko's senses back into
full working order. Whatever the physical differences between the Sakura of
Kachiko's yesterday and the woman before her now became meaningless. Kachiko
soothed, "I know for a fact she forgave any disagreements you two had
before she died. She... she could never hold anything against someone who
was her best friend. Not for long. She... had so few friends. I know she
valued your friendship most of all."

Sakura appeared buoyed by the hope. "I... I'm sorry. This has all caught me
off guard. You're certain she forgave me?"

"As sure as I'm standing here now," Kachiko assured her.

Sakura's obvious attempts to stem the flow of tears were to no avail. "I'm
sorry. I didn't realize how much this bothered me. But now, when I thought
forgiveness would never come..." She began crying some more.

Automatically Kachiko reached forward and hugged Sakura, the years that
stood between them melting away. Never had she seen her best friend cry,
especially not like this. Such guilt, no matter the cause, pained Kachiko to
see, and she did her best to remove it and comfort the woman.

After several minutes, Sakura regained some measure of her composure.
"Forgive me for making such a spectacle of myself."

"Ah, don't worry about," Kachiko waved her hand dismissively.

The response surprised Sakura. "You know, you sound exactly like your mother
when you do that. She used to wave her hand and gave that same reply to
everything she thought was unimportant."

"I, ah, take after her a lot." Kachiko shifted uncomfortably.

A soft gasp escaped Sakura's lips. "Where are my manners? Forgive me. I've
been keeping you out here on the porch and crying on you all this time and I
still don't know what brought you here."

"My feet," Kachiko joked.

"Oh dear, you seem to have inherited your mother's pitiful sense of humor as
well."

"Hey! I got a great sense of humor."

A high pitched laugh escaped Sakura's lips. "She used to say that exact same
thing whenever I mentioned that shortcoming." Significantly more cheerful,
she said, "Now, what brings you here?"

Kachiko shifted uncomfortably. She wanted to run, but needed to stay. Not
just to be in the presence of someone familiar, but because she needed to
know everything that had happened during her absent years. It would be only
one piece of the puzzle, but a vital one. "Sak... I mean Mrs. Ogawa. Could
you tell me about my mother?"

The question made Sakura nod. "Now I understand."

That caught Kachiko off guard. "You do? How?"

The older woman smiled serenely. "She died when you were very young, and you
want to know more about her, don't you?"

Not one to pass up such an obvious opportunity, Kachiko said, "Yes. That's
it. Definitely. I'd like to know everything about her. Oh, just one thing.
Do you remember her disappearing for a brief while back in the summer when
she was seventeen?"

Sakura paused in thought. "Not that I can remember, and that was long before
we started having problems. We saw each other practically ever day. Why do
you ask?"

Thinking fast enough that it surprised even her, Kachiko explained, "Someone
said she might have taken a trip during that time, but I guess they were
wrong."

Not completely certain what to make of the that, Sakura simply replied, "Why
don't we go inside? It'll be more comfortable and I can serve us some tea."

"I'll take mine with some lemon and a hit of sake."

A haunted expression passed ever so quickly across Sakura's  features. Then
the soft smile returned and she laughed. "Forgive me, but you are exactly
like your mother. She wouldn't willingly drink it any other way either."

"Errr, right."

Sakura ushered Kachiko inside. As they entered surroundings that were
familiar yet strangely alien to the younger girl, an errant thought occurred
to Kachiko. "What happened to the guy you two fought over?"

"I married him, so it wasn't all for nothing," Sakura admitted, blushing
heavily.

Intrigued at the sort of man who could come between two such close
friends --and at how he could have possibly picked Sakura over someone as
vibrant and vivacious as Kachiko herself-- the younger girl asked, "Is he
around?"

"No, he's at work. But I have a pictures of him. Here's one. You can see him
for yourself." Sakura picked up a framed photograph that had been sitting on
a stand next to the kitchen.

Kachiko took one look at it and recoiled. "You two actually fought over
him?"

"Yes," Sakura sighed, holding the photo to her bosom.

"Thanks for doing me a favor and winning," Kachiko murmured in disbelief.

"What was that?" Sakura asked.

"I can tell by the picture he has a nice personality," Kachiko blurted out.
"Why don't we go back to the topic of my mother?"

"Of course." The older woman took one last longing gaze at the photo before
setting it down and moving to a couch so the duo could speak. Within moments
they were talking like old friends, a fact Sakura found oddly comforting,
despite the awkwardness of the situation.

They remained in conversation until well after the sun disappeared below the
horizon.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nabiki looked at her two sisters and, for once, didn't know what to make of
the situation. "You're absolutely certain this woman was our mother? It
wasn't some impostor or evil duplicate from a mirror or an animate statue
that looks like her or some spirit possessing her body?"

Akane snapped, "It's not like I had any time to take a DNA test or
something! I made the wish, and she jumped us almost as soon as she came
in."

Kasumi shrugged. "I'm uncertain too. I know she's young, but I can't see
Mother being so hostile to strangers in her house. And she moved so fast
that even Akane couldn't do anything before she was tied up. Mother didn't
know any martial arts. Only Father did."

"Unless she stopped practicing after she got pregnant or something. The dojo
is actually from her side of the family, and she was an only child," Nabiki
pointed out. "How about looking up some old photos of her and see if they
match?"

Kasumi placed her finger to her chin in thought. "Actually, now that I think
about it, I don't recall seeing any pictures of mother when she was young.
The only ones I can remember are from after she and Father were married."

"That's odd," Akane said.

"Yes. Now that I think about it, you're right. I wonder why that is." Nabiki
began to ponder the dilemma, then realized there were important matters at
hand. "But why did she come back so young?"

"I didn't wish for that," Akane assured her. "I only wished she hadn't died
in a car accident and was here with us today."

"What precisely did you wish for? I mean the exact phrasing?" Nabiki asked.

Hand to her temple in thought, Akane reluctantly admitted, "I'm not so sure
I remember the exact wording. A lot's happened since then, and I was in a
hurry. I did word it carefully though so she didn't end up dying later on
from something else. I'm pretty sure I said I wished she hadn't been in a
car accident and was alive today and with us."

"That sounds about right." Kasumi continued wringing her hands in concern.

Nabiki held up her own hands in surrender. "Maybe Daddy can shed some light
on it. Right now what I want to know is where is she. Where would she go?"

"How should I know?" Akane snapped.

Nabiki said, "You wished for her back. Maybe there's some sort of link
between you."

"There is. She's my mother, and I'm her daughter. It's the same link you
have."

Kasumi made her way between the two and spoke in soothing tones. "Now
everyone needs to settle down." Kasumi forced her own worries under control
for the sake of her sisters. Her words had the desired effect as both Nabiki
and Akane cooled off.

Nabiki was about to say something else when the sound of the front door
opening reached their ears. Not hearing anyone announce their arrival, all
three girls remained in the living room waiting for the visitor to approach
them.

The sound of footsteps informed them they would not have to wait long.
Within seconds, Nabiki laid her eyes upon her 'mother' for the first time in
over ten years. Despite the difference between memory and the girl standing
before her, the resemblance between Kachiko and her daughters, especially
Akane, was too striking to miss. Despite the usual control she had over her
emotions, Nabiki felt a sort of happiness slip through as she said, "Hello,
Mother."

Kachiko let out a tired sigh. "You must be the middle one Akane and Kasumi
were telling me about. Nakiki."

"Nabiki, actually," she corrected.

"Whatever. Someone else must have picked that stupid name." Kachiko plopped
down and sat cross-legged on the floor, staring off into space.

Akane and Kasumi approached her hopefully. Akane was the first to speak,
"Um, I don't mean to be nosy, but where did you go?"

Staying in her seated position, Kachiko said in a quiet voice, "To see a
friend. Now I know you guys were telling the truth. I really am over twenty
years in the future. Somehow your wish pulled me out from my present and to
here." She closed her eyes and seemed to tremble slightly. "Do you know what
this means?"

Akane laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Yes. You're trapped in a time
and place not of your own making. Everything you knew is changed or
disappeared altogether. Everyone you knew has gone on without you, and
you're just a memory to them. In a lot of ways, it's like you're alone. The
entire world you grew up on is gone for good. I know it's terribly
frightening, but I promise you we'll be with you every step of the way and
help do whatever it takes to put you at ease."

Softly, still with her eyes closed and trembling, Kachiko said, "Who cares
about all that?"

"What?" Akane said.

Suddenly Kachiko shot to her feet, knocking Akane over. Pumping her fist to
the sky, the time lost girl shouted, "Don't you get it?! I cheated death!
BWHAHAHAHA!"

The trio of girls cringed and drew back.

A cold aura of power glowed around Kachiko. In delirious glee she shouted,
"I have a second chance at everything! I mean, getting cut down while I was
still relatively in the prime of my life? Talk about being cheated. And to
have it happen to someone as nice, cute, and intelligent as me? I tell you,
when something like that happens, it makes you think there isn't such a
thing as justice in this world. And then there was how pitiful my life was
before I died. Sakura told me some of the stupid things I did after I ended
up in a car accident and damaged my leg so badly I could barely perform
martial arts anymore. I can't believe I let my parents convince me since I
was shot as a martial artist I needed give up the art and settle down and
marry young so someone could carry on the dojo. And having several children
before I was twenty five? Why, it's like I was given a death sentence before
I was dead."

"Excuse me, but we are those children, you know!" Akane shouted. Nabiki was
scowling at the raving woman as well, while Kasumi looked truly disturbed at
her mother's declarations.

Kachiko didn't hear a word. She yelled to the sky, "This time, I'm really
going to do things right! None of this marrying young, having kids, or
crossing streets! I'm going to have fun, fun, fun until I keel over from
exhaustion, and then I'm really going to cut loose! And it begins now!"

Without giving the astonished girls a second glance, Kachiko headed directly
for the refrigerator and began rummaging through it. Within seconds she
pulled out a large bottle of saki and removed the top.

Kasumi waved her hands and tried getting her mother's attention. "Excuse me,
but that's father and Mr. Saotome's saki. I don't think it's really proper
to..."

Placing the bottle to her lips, Kachiko tilted her head back and proceeded
to drink. The bottle never left her lips as she guzzled the liquid down in
loud gulps that filled the otherwise shocked silent room. The alcohol was
gone as quickly as if it had been poured down a drain.

"Ah! Now that's the way to start things off!" Kachiko tossed the bottle
against a wall, shattering the glass container and creating a small
collection of shards in that area of the room.

"I'll clean that up," Kasumi said in a daze as she left the room to grab a
broom and dust pan.

"What's all this racket?" A new voice, carrying an authoritative tone,
demanded from the doorway leading to the living room.

Everyone turned to see Soun Tendou looking crossly upon the scene. His anger
was short-lived as his eyes fell upon a young woman again for the first
time. He blinked once for Disbelief. A second time for Denial. A third for
Acceptance.

He was across the room in a flash, embracing the impossible dream. "Oh, my
love, I've missed you so much!" he wept.

So consumed was his mind in being given his heart's deepest desire, that it
failed to notice the girl stiffen under his grasp. Lost in turmoil, it
failed to register the tightening of muscles in response to his familiar
grip. And though his mind was preoccupied, his body still responded to the
savage uppercut dealt to it by flying up into the air like a missile,
through the second floor, through the roof, and across a distance well out
of sight of the residents of the house.

"What the hell was that?!" Kachiko huffed out, her fist still coiled and
prepared to lash out at anything else that might try to jump her.

In a tired voice, Nabiki said, "That, was your husband and father of your
children: Soun Tendou."

Kachiko stomped her foot in anger and pointed up to the hole in the ceiling.
"Don't be stupid! There's no way I'd ever marry an old fossil like that! And
he's a pervert, too! He ran right in here and groped me! I feel like I need
a bath! Ewwww!"

Patience wearing thin, Nabiki said, "He was somewhat younger when you were
married, and since he's your husband, he's done a lot of more intimate
things with you, myself, Kasumi, and Akane being proof positive of that."

"The hell he has!" Kachiko raged. "I'm as virgin as pristine snow, and
intend to remain that way until I find the right guy. If that geriatric lech
even looks at me funny, I'll rip off his !#$ balls and feed them to those
fish out in back."

Finished cleaning up the broken glass, Kasumi looked worriedly at her
mother. "Oh dear. Does this mean I should look up the number of a marriage
counselor for you and Father?"

Kachiko ominously intoned, "It means you'd better look up the number of a
morgue if he tries to lay one more perverted finger on me again."

"What's all this racket about?" A different voice asked from the doorway
where Soun had entered only minutes before.

Kachiko was about to bellow out a general condemnation about clobbering the
next pervert that dared to enter the room when her eyes alighted on the
speaker and the words floated out of her mind and into the void beyond.

Upon hearing the shouting, Ranma had entered the room fully expecting the
typical scene of carnage and confusion. Instead he found himself looking at
Akane, who had mysteriously gained narrower hips. It took him a second to
look more closely at the face and realize, "Hey, you aren't Akane."

Kachiko sauntered forward. "Damn straight I'm not. My name is Kachiko, but I
insist you call me Kachi." She stood next to Ranma and looked deeply into
his eyes. "And what's your name?"

Confronted with someone who looked so much Akane, but was looking at him in
a way Akane definitely did not, confused him enough that he stumbled over
his words as he spoke. "I'm ah, Ranma Saotome."

"And what brings you here?" Kachiko asked. "Besides your feet," she added.

"I ah, live here." It was almost said as a question.

Kachiko all but purred, "Well, well, well. It looks like the future is going
to be fun after all."

Collecting some of his senses, Ranma got out, "What's that supposed to
meumph!" The rest of his words were smothered as Kachiko's lips pressed
against his.

Ranma's eyes widened in shock at the move. Kasumi covered her mouth in
surprise while Nabiki merely shook her head.

Akane had the most profound response as she shouted, "Ranma! How dare you
kiss my mother like that!"

Ranma darted his lips away from Kachiko's and gestured wildly with his hands
while shouting, "I did not kiss her! She kissed m... did you say she's your
mother?"

"Actually, I didn't kiss anyone. I jus' lost my balance since the room's
spinning so much," Kachiko explained as she slid down Ranma and all but
pooled onto the floor at his feet. "I feel dizzy and nauseous. I think I'm
suffering from the side effects of time travel."

"You're suffering from the side effects of pounding down a whole bottle of
sake," Nabiki stated coolly.

Kachiko snorted, "Ha! I'll have you know I've drank entire bottles of sake
before and been perfectly fine. Observe." The young girl rose effortlessly
to her feet and stood as rigidly as a tree.

Nabiki walked over and tapped a single finger against her mother's chest.
Kachiko proceeded to fall over and land with a thud, just like a tree that
had been chopped down. "Didn't drink any of them all at once, did you?" she
said to the girl on the floor.

"A minor detail that escaped my notish," Kachiko slurred. "Ranma, help me to
my bed, would you?"

Seeing what terrible shape the girl was in, Ranma did as he was requested by
picking her up in his arms. "Um, which bed are you sleeping in?"

"Yours will do," she said groggily.

"And where do I sleep?"

"Don't be shilly. It's your bed. You'll be sleeping in it too,"

"She'll be sleeping in my room," Akane said in no uncertain terms. "I'm
responsible for her being here, so it's the least I can do until we get
things sorted out."

In a completely bewildered voice, Ranma asked, "Um, exactly what is going on
here?" as the girl in his arms began singing, "I'm not very dead; I'm just
very happy," extremely off key.

Akane shook her head at the scene. "First, we put her to bed, then we'll get
to the explanations. It's going to be a long and confusing one this time,
even for around here."

Ranma groaned in surrender.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well, got this one finished. This was a transition chapter, and subsequently
I wasn't able to get into the flow I really wanted to with it. But it was
necessary since I had to get some groundwork put down and the way paved for
future chapters. Hopefully, the next chapter will be more in line with the
more humorous style of storytelling I really want to go for in this series
as Kachi begins her first steps in actually interacting with the fun loving
lot of people around her, and we get to see their reaction to her.













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