In 1989 he'd gotten Ami for his 13th birthday. A blue swimsuit and a pair of glasses, looking positively lost and unsure of herself.
1990 had seen his 14th birthday and the arrival of his Rei in a red t-shirt and shorts.
1991 had been his 15th birthday, Makoto had arrived. She'd been wearing a green ribbon and apron and not much else. Genma had gotten her new clothes almost immediately.
1992 he had turned 16, his present had been Minako, and when he'd gotten away from her attempts at being affectionate, he could see that she'd worn an orange-tinted kimono.
He'd taught all of them what he could of the martial arts. Different styles worked for different ones. Usagi and Ami were pretty good with Tai Chi and Ami was fairly good with aikido. Rei took best to karate. Makoto was good at a wide variety, and so was learning as many as he could teach her. Minako had been a disaster in a couple of styles until he'd found something called capioera that she seemed to be good at. He even heard of something called Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts, but unfortunately no masters teaching it.
Of course, there were a lot of neogirls out there. There were a fair number of Usagi and Ami and Minako and so on. There were a few Nodokas and Aois and Argillas and Megumis and Kasumis and Jeannes and Joys and Tinas and Kotonos and Jennies and Asukas and so on. There was a fair variety, there being 559 varieties (though every year saw at least one new production model) that turned out to be clonable when you added in the mixes and genemod types. There was a sameness though, because each was a clone produced under very exacting procedures to try and maximize appearance and avoid malformities.
There tended to be outfits specifically designed for each type, as well as accessories and various other sundries. Some were more popular in one certain area, some only were found within a specific country or region, and some were considered "rare collectibles" by those into such things. Distribution was a problem due to legal issues, so there tended to be "clumping" of particular groups.
Nodoka hadn't arranged for Ranma to have one of all of them. Having her son being manly with one of her clones - not proper. Even if the only ones that were truly considered "neogirls" and therefore having "pet" as a career was valid were those varieties who had the odd natural makeup and slight genemodifications.
Nodoka herself didn't understand most of the details, though she did understand that the reasons for genemoding had been because there were those who had the greatest resistance to the disease had those strange bits in their genetic code somehow.
The genetic sciences had developed very quickly with regards to cloning, fastgrowth, and finding the lucky bits that seemed to have some resistance to the plague. Full understanding was still a long way away.
Still, the five neogirls with Ranma knew one overriding fact.
"Come on, boy. We're going to China."
Any plan of Genma's needed to be looked at askance at the very least.
"Oh boy, Chinese food!" Usagi clapped her hands at the thought of all the delicious stuff they had over there.
"Hmmm, maybe I should brush up on my Chinese," said Ami thoughtfully.
"I sense a terrible tragic tale about to unfold," ominously stated Rei.
"What about exit visas? I thought China had closed its borders during the Plague and hasn't reopened them," said Makoto, lowering the pack that had all the books so Ami could get her Chinese phrasebook out.
"You suppose I can get a Chinese dress, one of those banner kinds?" asked Minako.
Genma prepared to put his foot down. "No. Absolutely not. None of you are coming along. It is just I and Ranma."
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(Posted Tue, 13 Dec 2005 08:50)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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