"Hey, leggo of my fish, oyaji!" Ranma snarled, tugging at the sushi with his chopsticks while the panda beside him grumped and tugged at the fish of the sushi as well. "I said let go!" With a final tug, Ranma managed to wrest the piece of food away from his opponent and smugly gulped it down.

"No fair!" the panda held out a sign in protest, then dove for another piece of sushi on Ranma’s plate. And bickering began between the two again while those around the table rolled their eyes at the familiar scene.

"Now, now, son," Tendo Soun interjected gently, "one shouldn’t fight his own father over something as trivial as sushi."

"Easy for you to say," Ranma shot back, all the while struggling to foil the panda’s attempt at stealing another piece of his breakfast, "he’s not after your food. This greedy pig is always after mine!"

"You try to take some of my breakfast too sometimes!" The panda held up another sign even as ringed eyes narrowed at his son. Ranma just shot him a look of disgust and managed to win the sushi tug-o-war again. Genma snarled as his son got the best of the fight.

"Hmph, it’s always this way in breakfast," Akane complained, eyeing the two with irritation. "Ranma, can’t you grow up for once?"

"Hey, he started it, I didn’t," Ranma countered, frowning at his fiancee. "You saw the whole thing, didn’t you, Akane? So why do you always blame me?!"

"Because you are a so hopelessly immature –"

"And you’re a rude uncute tomboy!"

"Am not!"

"Is too!"

"Am not!"

"Is too! Is too!"

"Am—"

"Stop it, both of you!" Nabiki snapped, eyes narrowing. All eyes turned on her. "Really, can’t we all get along just for breakfast? All this daily arguing seems to be getting old."

The people around the breakfast table quieted down and resumed eating in grumpy silence. There were five people seated around the table. One was a panda with hooded eyes and a bored expression. Another was a long-haired man in his late forties wearing a brown doji, doing his best to keep an impassive expression. The third was a teenage boy with hair held in a braid wearing a Chinese-style shirt who shot sullen glances across the table at his fiancee. And the last was a teenage girl with short-cropped black hair who did her best to ignore the boy seated directly across her. And the last was another teenage girl with mahogany hair who simply ignored those around the table and was eating breakfast at her own leisurely pace.

Just then the sliding paper door opened to reveal another girl with long, chestnut hair and a perpetually dainty manner. She smiled at them all and received a wide grin from her father and a nod from Akane. Kasumi brought in a pot of tea and began pouring some for everybody before seating herself next to her father.

"Oh father, did you tell them the news yet?" Kasumi inquired sweetly, while Soun Tendo frowned momentarily then shaked his head sheepishly.

"Thanks for reminding me, Kasumi," he smiled at his daughter, then assumed a stern expression. "Everyone, listen up! It seems that you have a long-lost cousin coming to visit. Your mother had a cousin who was close to her when you were all young, but her cousin moved away soon before she had died and we have not heard from her again since. However, her teenage son has been touring the country and will be dropping by the dojo. I thought we should all be here to meet him."

"Feh, big deal," Ranma muttered, sipping his tea morosely. "Probably just another dopey jerk, seeing he’s related to you, Akane?"

"What’s that supposed to mean?!" Akane demanded, eyes narrowing dangerously, ready to reach for the mysterious-mallet-from-hyperspace to clobber Ranma.

"What’s his name, daddy?" Nabiki asked. "And what’s he like? Some decent and personable boy, I hope, unlike some people I know." She shot a glance at Ranma, who glared back like he was about to protest but decided against it and merely shrugged. Nabiki made mental calculations. If this cousin of theirs turned out even just a bit cute, she could make money running a dating service. And it’ll make his stay more…enjoyable. At least he won’t get bored hanging around.

"He’s supposed to be the top student in his high school as well as nice and polite. I hear he’s also a martial artist and gymnast, even if he doesn’t seem to train seriously. His name is Minamino Shuichi."

"Martial artist eh?" Ranma perked up in interest. "Well, he might be an okay guy after all. Maybe I can spar with him and show him a thing or two." 

The next day, there was a knock on the door immediately after breakfast. Tendo Soun nodded to everyone and rose to welcome the visitor. He opened the door to reveal a smiling young man with long, bushy red hair and twinkling emerald eyes. He was dressed in a sharp blue shirt and jacket that contrasted nicely with white slacks. He had a slender physique and a manner that spoke of simple elegance and quiet pride. He bowed politely to Soun and extended a small package to his host as he straightened up.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," he greeted, "Minamino Shuichi desu. I’m Minamino Shiori’s son. I believe she was your wife’s cousin."

"Thank you, son," Soun inclined his head politely. "Welcome and I hope you will make yourself feel at home during your stay here. Come, I’ll introduce you to my daughters."

Shuichi nodded as he followed Soun into the house. They reached the reception area where three teenage girls, one teenage boy and a panda were seating. He smiled at them as if seeing them all together was the most normal thing in the world. The oldest of the three girls gave him a motherly smile while the girl with the short-cropped dark hair gave him a polite, welcoming smile. The other girl, however, was eyeing him interest through narrow, hooded eyes that made Shuichi wonder if he was being graded like some side of beef. The teenage boy with the ponytail gave him a smirk and a half-wave while the panda seemed to ignore him altogether.

What a weird household…but then again I’ve seen much stranger sights, Shuichi thought to himself. Oh well, I promised mother I’d get to know my cousins better. This should be an interesting experience.

"Honor student, are you?" Nabiki inquired, and nodded to herself when Shuichi smiled and inclined his head in acknowledgment. She mentally added that to the list of his attributes that she could mention when she introduced him around. Gorgeous and smart, definitely a plus. She began making calculations of how much she could charge as date referral fee.

"Hear that, Ranma?" Akane glanced at her fiancee. "You ought to take a cue from Shuu-san and be more serious about your studies."

"That’s right, son," Soun agreed with his daughter. "You should exercise your mind often along with the rest of your body, I always say." The panda beside him grunted in agreement.

"Ne, Shuichi, I hear you’re also a martial artist," Ranma remarked idly, ignoring the comments. They think he’s so great, huh? Let’s see if he can live up to it. He saw the answering twinkle in Shuichi’s eyes and an enigmatic smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. "Aside from being a gymnast and a volleyball player among others?"

"I train every now and then," Shuichi shrugged. More than you’d ever know, Ranma-kun, and sometimes less than I would like.

"So what do you say, you and me spar a little?" Ranma stood up and eyed Shuichi in anticipation. "I’ll go easy on you."

"You won’t need to," Shuichi replied quietly, standing up as well, Ranma’s remarks having ignited his spirit of competition. "I usually hold my own well enough in a fight."

"Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" Akane said nervously, shifting her eyes from her fiancee to her red-haired cousin. "Not that I mean any disrespect or anything, but Ranma can get carried away in a fight and one of you could get badly hurt—"

"Daijobu, Akane-san," Shuichi smiled gently and squeezed Akane’s shoulder. "I’ll be careful, and I’m sure Ranma-kun will be as well. Is there any place where we can hold this match?"

"C’mon over to the dojo," Ranma said, heading for the door. "I’ll wait for you there." He gave a half-salute and headed out the door.

"What school have you trained under, son?" Soun inquired. "Your mother wasn’t very particular about this in her letter."

"No discipline in particular," Shuichi mused, veiled merriment in his eyes. "But I think you’ve mentioned that Ranma-kun is trained in the Anything Goes style of martial arts? Well, I can say my style’s something to that effect too, more or less."

"Interesting," Nabiki murmured, studying Shuichi. Even as he was about to face off against Ranma – and Nabiki knew Ranma was no slouch in fighting – her cousin seemed to be completely at ease and had an air of quiet confidence about him that she liked. Of course, she knew that if he fought well, it would increase his date market value. And she’d be glad to refer him around. For a fee, of course, Nabiki reminded herself mentally.

"Well, shall we?" Shuichi turned to Soun. "Will you show me the way to the dojo, Tendo-san? It wouldn’t be polite to keep Ranma waiting."

"Ah, yes, follow me this way," Soun said. "I think you’ll match up well with Ranma. And maybe we’ll even uncover some new techniques in the process." Soun laughed good-naturedly, even as they filed out of the reception area on their way to the dojo in anticipation for the upcoming sparring match between Saotome Ranma and Minamino Shuichi.

• Back to Part I
• Proceed to Part III

Ranma 1/2 is a copyright of Rumiko Takahashi / Shonen Sunday / etc. Yu Yu Hakusho is a copyright of Yoshihiro Togashi / Shue Isha Fuji TV, Studio Pierrot. This fanfic is for non-commercial, entertainment purposes only.