A/N: Remember Kasumi's warning to Tofu in Chapter 1?...

Epilogue II: Challenge Met

Kasumi was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when she heard the front door open. It should have herald the arrival of Ranma and Tofu (Mousse was already in the house), but there was none of the usually bantering and bickering that accompanied the two men. Concerned, she walked into the foyer to see her fiancé and future brother-in-law (twice over) enter at the same time she did. Ranma was in his female form and the young woman was covered in mud, but she had a large smile on her face.

"Hello Kasumi. Is the bath free? Today's the day they are replacing the hot water heater in the clinic," Ranko asked.

"Good morning, Ranma. Yes, the bath is free. Akane is still out on her jog and Father hasn't woken up yet."

The young woman nodded her thanks and walked toward the bath with quite the spring in her step. Kasumi turned her attention to Tofu. The good doctor was covered in scratches and dust and looked very disgruntled. "Are you all right, love?" she asked.

"Let's just say that my campaign to teach Ranma some humility backfired rather spectacularly, and let it go at that for now," he answered. "Please?" he added plaintively.

She looked at her husband-to-be and decided to follow-up later. She just smiled and nodded. Then she went back into the kitchen and started to bring things out. While she did this, Tofu had walked into the family room, reached into his satchel and brought out his laptop. Then he sat in the middle of the floor (away from the furniture) and began tapping away. Once the table was set, curiosity got the better of her and she went to see what he was working on. Looking over his shoulders she saw it was a letter:

Dear Elders,

Today I learned something I thought I should share with the rest of our community. Apparently, when Kitsune feed on the chaos their tricks create, it generates a certain amount of excess heat despite any mental and emotional control the Kitsune may maintain. This heat can leave the Kitsune vulnerable to certain advanced Martial Arts tactics such as the Hiryu Shoten Ha….

Kasumi broke off reading and ran quickly into the kitchen. Tofu winced at the sound of her muffled laughter…

A/N: Finally! The original story I sketched out so long ago is completed. While this is not the end of this "Continuum" or "Chronicles" (pick either term), it is the end of "Bindings". Of course, it looks nothing like I originally planned, but details, details… I started this mess three years ago and 155 chapters later we have reached the end of the Manga continuation. I am honored so many of you have read this all. Thank you to all who have submitted reviews for this story and all the other stories. The entire story set has improved because of you.

So where does the story go from here? Well, I'm taking a break until June – I'm all "drama'ed" out. When I pick up again, expect lighter stories for this continuum for a little bit. I need to re-work the outline due to what has already been written, so the drama will have to wait. The next story in the pipeline will be an adventure/humor story: "The Bachelor Party". Tofu's friends and contemporaries are going to throw him one hell of a Bachelor Party, whether he likes it or not. So, the good doctor decides to bring a reserved team along to help keep things under control. Who's on the team you ask? Why, Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse of course; along with Inspector Ojima (who owes Tofu a major favor) and the florist/mage Hideo. I'm sorry – did I say they were going to keep things under control? You'll have to read to find out. By the way, the story is rated a solid "M". Don't look for any graphic descriptions (your imaginations are probably better than mine in that regard), but there will be lots of adult topics, adult situations, and some unusual things done with food. Probably won't be any worse than what you'd see on TV at 10PM. Personally, I think I could probably get away with "T" (judging from some of the "M" and "T" stories I have read), but my wife insisted on "M" for safety's sake after having read some of the material and I'm determined to stay married. At least the tale left her laughing.

I'll also be revisiting "At the Beach" and reworking some of the dialogue between the Jellyfish King and Ranma. I was never really happy with it, but I wanted to publish a summer story when it was actually summer. I rushed the story instead of letting it "ferment" like I usually do, something I regret. To make it up to folks, I plan on adding a bonus chapter featuring "The Terrible Four" – Daisuke, Hiroshi, Yuka, and Sayuri. I'll add a little character development for them and have them discuss their relationships with Akane and Ranma.

Until then, take care and keep reading/writing!

- Skystrider