Chapter Text
Ranma Other-Half: First Spring
Spring 1988, Nerima Ward, Tokyo
It was a beautiful spring day in Nabiki Tendo’s home. The rain from this morning had dissipated around a few hours ago, leaving only beautiful sunshine and the scent of cherry blossoms mixing with fresh rain. She was sitting in the main room of her family home, part of an impromptu meeting that her widowed father organized. They were in the middle of finding out that at the end of the day, either Nabiki or one of her two sisters would be married to... some guy.
"Do you know anything about him?" Nabiki said, staring unblinking at her father. Her older sister Kasumi is to her right, her younger sister Akane sat next to her left at the table. All three girls were bewildered at their dad's open proclamation that he didn't know a thing about the man (boy?) one of them was bound to marry.
"Nope." Soun said, sounding like this was a normal way to answer the question. The middle Tendo sister was amazed, this is stupid even for Daddy.
"Not even a little?"
"I've never even met him." Soun replies, as matter-of-fact as the last answer.
"Seriously?"
"Dead serious."
Her father was an idiot. Nabiki always knew this, but right now it is painfully apparent. Nabiki began to wonder if this guy would end up a serial killer, or worse. A freeloader.
The conversation was halted from becoming even more ridiculous by a high pitched shrill outside the house. "LET GO OF ME!" All eyes in the home turned to the direction of the mysterious screaming. "I said, LET ME GO FUZZ BRAIN! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFFA ME! I REFUSE TO DO THIS!" Whoever was shouting was not happy, and sounded like they were kicking up a storm. They were also seemingly heading up to the front door, as the cacophony of stomping, shrieks and banging crept ever closer.
The blank, empty smile of Nabiki’s dad said it all. Whatever... That was outside, it was likely bringing the mysterious Ranma Saotome to them. The barely audible sliding of the front door was immediately registered by the whole room.
"We have company." Kasumi exclaims, breaking the tension in the room. Nabiki knows that whatever is about to happen, it's gonna be real interesting. Interesting was her business.
Time for Nabiki to put on her game face. "That's gotta be Ranma!" she proclaims, putting on her best "teenage girl excited to see a boy" impression.
Her dad quickly followed with a more genuine enthusiasm. "How I've waited for this day, Saotome!"
Nabiki had only rough details to go on. She knew her dad trained under the mentorship of some sort of demon with a man named Genma Saotome, before sending said demon to the underworld. They were close, but apparently not close enough to ever visit the Tendo home in the 17 years she had spent on this Earth. The two men were now masters of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. While all 3 Tendo girls trained with Daddy somewhat before the death of their mother, Akane was the only one still going ahead. Kasumi never much liked violence, and Nabiki learned there were other ways to manage life’s struggles. Mostly selective lying, bribery and manipulation. Much more effective, and less likely to get her hurt.
Now one of the Tendo girls was now going to marry Genma's son Ranma, and inherit the Tendo Dojo with him. Nabiki knew her ticket out of Nerima was going to be riding on this marriage. Specifically on her not being a part of it. As long as she didn’t grab the attention of the angry Panda in the hall- “Wait, why is there a panda in the hall?”
Nabiki and Soun stopped dead in their tracks. They stared at the beast which loomed in their hallway, equal parts confused, awestruck, and scared. The creature seemed to be as tall as the ceiling, with the source of the screaming being a much smaller person that the Panda... Kidnapped and hauled over its shoulder!?
As their brains caught up with the scene in front of them, they sprinted right back into the dining room. Nabiki put herself between the slowly approaching beast and her sisters on instinct. Her daddy put himself in front of Nabiki, with the looming shadow of the beast around the corner.
The figure of the bear leered over them, the mysterious person continuing to bash at its shoulder. Akane broke the silence, blurting out what everyone was thinking. "Why's there a panda here?"
“Why's there a panda here!?” Nabiki repeats in her head. There's no rational explanation for the sight in front of her. “How does a panda even get to Japan, let alone into our home?”
“Father, is this your friend?” Kasumi asks without even a hint of worry in her voice. All the man can muster is the rapid shaking of his head left and right.
Nabiki immediately quips back at her dad. “Oh, so what, a panda just decided to visit!?” Soun continues to shake his head. “Daddy, this isn’t normal!” Another shake. Nabiki just sighs at this point. All that training for her parent and protector to freeze up entirely at a Panda pretending to be Donkey Kong.
“I told ya you’d scare them, put me down already ya moron!” The young captive screamed at the panda. To the amazement of the Tendos, the panda gently drops the small human down on command. The family gets their first real look at the person who was delivered by panda to their living room.
She was almost half the height of the panda, even shorter than Akane, the smallest of the bunch. The outfit of black pants and red shirt were too large on her. The fiery screaming now done, the unknown person seemed to shrink even further, her sapphire blue eyes immediately sinking down to the floor, red hair matching the very obvious blush in her cheeks. This person seemed downright bashful despite just screaming a minute ago. “That’s clearly not a boy.” Nabiki thought to herself. “There’s no way this is who it seems to be.”
The head of the house leaned down to meet the guest at eye level. “Are you... Would you happen to be...” he mutters, clearly confused, but still excited at the idea this is who he has waited so many years to meet.
“Ranma Saotome.... Sorry about this.” Ranma softly replies. The guest instinctively grabbed at her pigtail and twiddled with it, still unable to look Soun, or anyone, in the eye. Nabiki was astounded. “This precious little thing was the heir apparent to her Daddy’s dojo? She looked like she couldn’t harm a fly!” “So cute!” Nabiki exclaimed, not planning on that being an outside thought. “Crap, did I say that out loud?” She felt the loving stare of her little sister boring into her skull as a reply.
Her daddy’s joy seemed unstoppable in the moment. “Ranma! Oh how good it is to finally meet you!” He latched onto the small girl like she was her own son. “To finally meet Genma’s son after all... These... HUH?”
Soun suddenly pushes Ranma at arms length, incredibly uncomfortable. “There we go, now he’s working it out.” Nabiki joined her father in scanning the boy’s body, helping him notice that Ranma seemed... a little incorrectly shaped. Without a second thought, Nabiki took her hand and poked the stranger’s chest. “Well, that certainly isn’t fake.” she thought, her poke turning into her grabbing onto what she immediately knew was a breast. “How did Daddy mess up this bad with his information?”
Her concentration is broken by the gentle voice in front of her. “Umm... Can you please stop that?” Ranma quietly pleaded. The small girl was clearly not enjoying getting prodded at. “Ok, this changes the plans a little, I guess.” Nabiki thought, her mind immediately plotting a new way to navigate this. Ranma being a girl may make the marriage angle... impossible, which makes it easier to pass along the school to someone who isn’t Nabiki. I mean, it was probably gonna be Akane’s anyhow. Martial arts was her thing, not Kasumi’s, and definitely not Nabiki’s.
Nabiki ended her examination, turned to her dad and prepared her characteristic blunt manner of delivery. “Yeah, “he” is clearly a she.” She watched her father go completely still, then collapse onto the floor. The entire family, panda and Ranma included, sat down next to Soun as he cried silently, eyes staring at the ceiling. “Oh Daddy, you and your sensitive heart...”
Kasumi already had a bowl of water and towel ready to help aid their distraught father to health. “Poor father” Kasumi said, “He’s so disappointed.”
Nabiki wasn’t done with her elaborate act. “He’s disappointed?” Nabiki countered, with just the right amount of outrage. “I was promised a fiance!”
Akane interjected in defense of the redhead. “Stop it you two! She is our guest regardless.”
“He said he had a baby boy...” Their father repeated quietly, still crying into the ceiling, and refusing to blink. “Drama queen.”
Nabiki sighs, and grabs the poor girl’s chest again. “Do you see a boy here now? Huh!?” Whatever mental block her dad was having would need to be battered down with the reality that Ranma wasn’t what he planned.
Ranma maintained her composure and repeated her humble request to Nabiki, her eyes looking straight at the Tendo. “Hey, uhhh... please stop doin that. Seriously.” Nabiki realizes she’s definitely not helping the situation groping their guest, and retracts her hands. “Fair point, that was a little too handsy...” She didn’t even know why she did that to be honest. Wasn’t like the boobs would disappear or something. The new guest was now rightfully glaring at Nabiki.
Akane turned to the pig-tailed girl. “Would you like to see the Dojo?” Nabiki noticed Ranma’s interest is very quickly piqued at the word Dojo. “I’m Akane, wanna be friends?” Her younger sister continues, and Ranma immediately gets up and nods yes. Nabiki watches the two girls leave the living room and head straight for the Dojo on the other side of the property.
“She seems like she could be a good friend for Akane.” Kasumi happily notes to the rest of the empty room, continuing to dab cold water on Soun’s head. “She could use someone to practice with.” Classic Kasumi, finding the silver lining in everything. She had a point though, Akane needed a way to let out steam that wasn’t concrete blocks, or the entirety of the school’s male athletic body.
Nabiki remembers in that moment that Ranma didn’t show up alone here. “Uhhh, anyone seen where the panda went?” she asks, darting her eyes all over the room. “How does such a massive thing just leave so quietly?”
The voice of their father breaks out, pain seeping through every word. “How could one care for such mundane things? The dojo is doomed. The Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts will die.” His eyes continue to stare at the ceiling, empty. Sorrowful. Pathetic. Nabiki could only be embarrassed by how he was acting right now.
“Daddy, you seem to forget that you have three children of your own, one of which can already kick your ass pretty regularly.” Nabiki says, wondering if it’ll even get to him.
“Do you mean you or Akane?” Daddy responds, the same pain in his voice, but it’s clear he’s recovering given the level of humour.
Nabiki lets out a small chuckle. “Just saying, Akane would probably still do fine running the Dojo. So maybe less panicking with the new guest, and more worrying about the massive bear on the loose?”
“Ok, I will get up in a minute. Kasumi, would you please get dinner prepared while Nabiki and I look for the beast?”
Kasumi quickly responds “Of course, father.” Nabiki takes this as her cue to leave the living room, and see where the bear went.
A few hours passed, and Nabiki had the basics of a plan worked out. A thorough search of the home showed no evidence of the Panda being near, but gave her plenty of time to think about the current events on her own.
Ranma and Akane ending up friends could end up helpful regarding the dojo. “Daddy may be a little hesitant leaving the school to just Akane, but Akane and her best friend who also is trained by Daddy’s best friend? That leaves a little more confidence. Less likely to keep me trapped in Nerima.” Said friendship already seemed to be blossoming. When Nabiki went to check on them in the Dojo, the two girls were completely invested in a spar.
This Ranma girl moved like no one Nabiki had ever seen before. She was sending herself high into the air as she dodged Akane’s moves. It was strange that Ranma wasn’t making any attacks herself, but the way it pissed Akane off had Nabiki thinking it was some sort of tactic of hers. “Would fit Anything-Goes in a way, I guess.”
Nabiki could already think of so many positives to come from this. Ranma would make Akane stronger. Perhaps strong enough to finally push the Hentai Horde away once and for all. She’d cement her position as the heir of the school, ensuring that Kasumi and Nabiki would be free to run their own lives. A more mischievous part of her wondered if there was any chemistry between those two, but Nabiki quickly ruled it out. Akane, for all her bluster of hating men, was at the very least suffering with being attracted to them. The stereotype of the martial artist woman being a raging dyke was hard to prove wrong, but Nabiki knew her sister well enough.
It would put a lot of pressure on the two friends to find men to marry, but definitely not as much as having Ranma marry one of them, if he had turned out a boy. For now, the best path forward looked like convincing Ranma and her father to stay here (whenever that guy showed up) so that Akane and Ranma could continue to be friends. Nabiki left her room and walked down the stairs, Nabiki’s new concern, and interest, was that missing Panda.
She pondered how to make some sort of interesting side hustle with Ranma’s strange pet, before she noticed Daddy in the living room, sitting with someone she had never met before. He was an older guy, wearing a gi and white head cover with glasses. The two weren’t talking, just... staring and silently crying. “I really wanted this day to get weirder...” she mumbled under her breath. Nabiki decides to head on over to the kitchen and see if Kasumi knows what’s up. “Hey sis, any clue who the old guy with Daddy is?”
Kasumi simply replies. “No idea.” Nabiki ponders the new strangeness, and begins to leave the kitchen before she’s interrupted by Kasumi. “Nabiki, could you let Akane know the bath is ready, then come help me set up dinner?”
“Oh yeah, sure thing.” Nabiki went back upstairs and knocked on Akane’s door. “Akane, bath is ready for you.”
She hears a muffled “Ok!” from inside Akane’s room and heads back downstairs to help her older sister. The older Tendo girls silently get the plates all set up, and grab the large trays of food. Nabiki tried to listen into the conversation at the table, assuming the strange old man is staying for dinner since he is still with Daddy in the living room. Her train of thought is quickly halted however by an unholy scream from above.
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
The scream comes barrelling down down the stairs, into the hall and manifested as Akane ran into the backyard, red as a cherry and bloodthirsty as a wolf. She tried to lift a massive stone shrine into the house, barely able to get it off the ground. “I’ll weigh him down! Drown him in the bathtub! Yeah, that’ll show him!” Akane rambles, seemingly unaware that the whole house is looking at her talk like she’s lost her mind.
Nabiki calmly approaches Akane, not trying to show any sign that she’s stressed out by the sudden outburst. “Hey, uh, sis, what’s that for?”
“There’s a perv in the bathroom!” Akane’s reply speaks with murder in her voice, and Nabiki realizes her little sister is not taking the logical approach.
“Why not just kill him with your fists?”
“I-I WAS TOO SCARED TO THINK ABOUT THAT, OK?!”
Kasumi peeks out of the kitchen, confused about there being a mystery creep in the bathroom. “That’s odd. Ranma was just in the bath.” she says, which only adds more confusion to the rest of the house.
A new face pops out from the corner. It was an incredibly uncanny sight. A boy, for sure this time, wearing Ranma’s clothes. The pants and shirt are way less loose on him. Nabiki would even say they fit perfectly on this dude. The boy is a solid 20cm taller. He also has a pigtail like Ranma, but his hair is jet black, his eyes a much softer gray-blue. But he blushes just like her too. Nabiki has no idea how to go forward on this.
Kasumi asks the question on everyone’s mind at the same time Nabiki does.
“W-who-”
“Who are you?”
The three girls stare at the mystery boy, Akane with more violence in her eyes than the others. Nabiki can confirm that this was whoever was in the tub with that piece of information. The boy’s eyes darted to the floor, he was red as a strawberry. Bashful and nervous, just like Ranma.
“I’m... Ranma Saotome” He finally manages to say. “Sorry about this.”
Soun began the house meeting/dinner as if what had just happened today was a normal day and not the strangest series of events Nabiki had witnessed. “Let’s try this again. This is my dear friend-”
The mysterious older man that the Tendo sisters knew nothing about bowed as he sat. “Genma Saotome, and this is my son.” the man bluntly informed the girls.
He gestured to Ranma, sitting next to his father, who also bows. His face still looked incredibly nervous and shy. Nabiki couldn’t blame him given what had unfolded. Akane absolutely was blaming him still. “...Ranma.” He mutters. The guy continued to shake like a scared puppy.
Akane staring at him like she wants to rip his head off and kick it like a football was not helping with his nerves. Nabiki darts her eyes between the two. Akane looks angry as hell, Ranma looks like he wants to run away, and everyone else just ignored the incredibly tense atmosphere of the room.
“May as well ask the thing we’re all wondering.” she thinks to herself. “You gonna tell us what’s going on, then?” Nabiki asks Ranma, who immediately darts his eyes to her, the awkwardness still very much there. “If it wasn’t so pathetic, it’d be kind of cute how bashful the guy is. Definitely cuter with the red hair though.”
“Are you really the same girl from before?” Kasumi follows up.
Ranma lets out a small sigh, trying to think of some way to make this make sense to them. Before he can get going, his father starts to talk. “I know this must be confusing. It’s just that.... Hmm, how to even begin?” Nabiki watches the two guests closely, with no idea where the father is going with this. Before she even realizes it, Genma has picked Ranma up with one arm and pelts him into the pond in the backyard. The Tendo girls are startled with the act of violence, but are even more confused when the redhead returns out of the pond, gasping for air.
The redheaded Ranma finds her fury again as she shouted at her dad. “What the hell was that for!?” Nabiki can hear the girl (boy? How does this work!?) mumble about her father as she tries in vain to wring her shirt dry.
The Tendo family simply stared at her as she walked back to the house during Genma’s monologue. “Even though he is my beloved son, I still cringe every time it happens!” Obvious crocodile tears flow out of the bald man, making every Tendo sigh in unison.
“Oh yeah!?” Ranma ends the rant with a well placed kick, as Genma falls into the koi pond himself. Moments later, the Panda emerges, as promised. Ranma finishes her insult as the now larger and fuzzier Genma stared at her. “You’re one to talk. You’re the weird one.”
Nabiki had just watched a human turn into an entire Panda Bear through nothing but water and magic. A quick pinch confirmed this was not one of her dreams gone awry. Kasumi whispered to their dad. “Father, your friends are very unusual.”
“They haven’t told me everything yet.” Daddy elaborated. “But whatever happened in China was dangerous, and likely the cause.”
Akane was too busy being mad at Ranma to consider anything else.
Nabiki watched the newly revealed redhead with strong curiousity. This... Ummm... Person had a nervous streak, but when Ranma was a girl, there was a fire in her... Him... Ranma, that wasn’t there as a guy. For someone who was “cursed” into that form, Ranma didn’t seem to be as panicked or uncomfortable as she would imagine someone would be. The idea of being turned into a man made Nabiki nauseous. Ranma just seemed to be fine with it. It was like everything was upside down in how Genma explained the tale.
Nabiki hadn’t even noticed while she was thinking about it that Genma had picked up Ranma like a kitten by the back of the neck, and taken them both upstairs to the bath. When the two returned as boy and man instead of girl and Panda, Nabiki finally snapped out of it and realized they had changed back in... what, 5 minutes? Their clothes were even dry somehow, despite being the same outfits from before!
Ranma and Genma sat back down and proceeded like nothing had happened. Genma prepared himself with a clearing of his throat and adjusting of he gi. “This will be a long story, so sit tight.” the man proclaims to his audience. “It was about 2 weeks ago-”
“So, not that long a story.” Nabiki interrupts. While Genma was mildly annoyed by the outburst, the rest of the house, Ranma included, got a good chuckle or smile out of it. People could say a lot of things about Nabiki Tendo, but they couldn’t say she lacked comedic timing.
Pop’s story was in fact, not that long. Wasn’t like Ranma didn’t already know it. They had travelled deep into China to seek out a bunch of springs called Jusenkyo. Apparently they were all cursed springs. His old ma fell into one that now makes him a Panda, and Ranma fell into one that makes him a girl. He watched the reactions at the table.
Kasumi, the more mature acting one, looked on in complete horror. Akane and Nabiki appeared genuinely intrigued by the whole thing, occasionally exchanging glances of acknowledgement to each other. “The hell are they thinkin?” Mr. Tendo listened with an intense stoicism, never letting any of his emotions or reactions be visible. He finally adjusted his eyes to meet the old man as he spoke. “The Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo. Its true horrors were always shrouded in mystery until now...”
“Is Mr. Tendo sayin people know this place was cursed!?” Ranma processed what he had heard from Soun, and was beginning to feel signs of his anger. He kept staring at the ground, but his face contorted like he was barely containing himself. “What do ya mean “true horror”?” Ranma muttered before he finally grabbed the old man by the neckline of his gi and shook him like an 8-ball. “You tellin’ me ya knew what was there, and ya still dragged me to that place!?” The bastard managed to quickly overpower Ranma, and throw him back, again, into the pond. Ranma could detect a running event starting to manifest around said pond.
His old man chastised the redhead once she bounced out of the pond, clearly more angry than before. “You sound like a girl again, Ranma! Are you not prepared to lose your life for your training!?” The comment sent a gasp through the Tendo clan. None of the daughters were impressed with dad’s usual woman-bashing.
“My life is one thing...” Ranma said, staring directly at her dad. Genma hadn’t even noticed Ranma was hiding a bucket of cold water behind her until she threw it on him and the Panda once again took his place like magic. “My sense of self is a whole other story!” She yelled, trying to pummel her dad into submission. Genma refused to go down, and the two just kept hitting each other while the Tendos watched.
To the amazement of everyone else in the home, Kasumi stood up and grabbed Genma by the arm. “Enough!” The eldest Tendo daughter barked at the bear, managing to make him stop in his tracks. “Mr. Saotome, you went too far! What would ever make you do something so dangerous, and to bring your son with you!?” The older sister’s authority could make a grown man shudder. And apparently, also a grown Panda.
Ranma was able to free herself from Genma’s paws, looking amazed at Kasumi’s ability to instantly shut down her father. Her eyes darted to everyone else in the room. Soun was... Gone, somewhere. Nabiki was standing, but just watching everything play out with an obvious curiousity. It made sense to Ranma, none of this was normal. Akane still, somehow, was still hung up on the part where she walked in on Ranma bathing clearly. The smallest Tendo still glared death at Ranma, despite... literally everything else that had just happened. “Jeez, more important things ta obsess over at this point.”
Before Genma could try to even muster whatever answer a Panda can give to a question, a pamphlet fell out of his fur. Somehow. No one questioned it, and Nabiki went to pick it up. She scanned the front page quickly. “National Catalogue of Chinese Training Grounds... I think. It’s in Chinese.”
Kasumi ponders the information for a moment before grabbing the pamphlet herself. “You can’t read Chinese, can you Mr. Saotome?” Kasumi asks.
Genma pulled a string on the ceiling that definitely was not there before, which unleashes a torrent of confetti and a script that just says “Bingo!” on it. Ranma’s brain was short circuiting at the revelation, and the only solution for her was to smack her old man right on the head.
Mr. Tendo returned to the chaos with a fresh kettle of boiling water. Without any hesitation, he started to pour it on the Panda. Pops changed back to the man that was there 4 minutes ago, although his face was a little more red from burns. “So... When doused with hot water you return to your human form.” Soun says to his old friend, the puzzle finally starting to reveal itself.
The old man is clearly trying to avoid showing how much pain he is in as he replies. “Well, it doesn’t need to be that hot.” Ranma allowed herself a small giggle at that.
Their host’s attention switched to Ranma, as he continued to work out how the curse functions in real time. “When you are doused with cold water, you become a girl... But hot water makes you a boy again!” the man exclaims as he fails to pour water on Ranma, who quickly dodged it.
“HOT water, not SCALDING!” She yelled.
Mr. Tendo dropped the kettle and began to let out the kind of hearty laugh only a dad can make. Patting Ranma gently on the back, the man exclaimed joyfully. “Your problem isn’t so bad after all Ranma!”
“Wait.” Nabiki started to catch up with where her dad is going with this. “The engagement is still on. Shit.” Her mind moved at a million miles a minute working this out. Ranma will still get the Dojo, and there will still be an arranged marriage. If it goes to Nabiki, she’s stuck in Nerima with no real way out. She has to get it onto Kasumi or Akane. “Kasumi won’t take someone who’s 16, although if that could be adjusted... NO, bad idea.”
Before she could fully process if it would work with Akane, Kasumi had already made the decision. “Oooh, he wants Akane!” the eldest sister exclaimed.
Nabiki instantly caught on and followed it up. “Oh, definitely!” Akane just looked confused while Ranma seemed irritated at what was unfolding before her. “Sorry sis, it’s for the best.”
Akane finally managed to blurt something out against this whole charade. “You’re joking! Why would I ever-”
Before Akane could finish, Nabiki countered her with a simple question. “Well, you hate boys, right?”
Kasumi and Nabiki were completely in sync at that point, as the eldest took over the line of thinking. “Then you’re in luck! He’s half-girl!”
“Pretty good choice for a husband for you if I say to myself.”
“Almost perfect!”
“I’m not marrying that pervert!” Akane interrupted the banter, staring straight at Ranma. Ranma’s irritation evolved into outright outrage.
“What do ya mean “pervert”!?”
“You saw me NAKED you creep!”
“Hey, you’re the one who walked in on me, okay!?”
“IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN IT’S A GUY! YOU KNOW IT!”
“They’re already a perfect couple!” Daddy commented, bursting into laughter with Mr. Saotome. It only pissed off Ranma and Akane even more.
Ranma immediately went for the backyard door and simply stated one word. “Goodbye.”
“Where are you going, boy?!” Genma asked.
“I’m goin back to China, ta fix this curse for good! I got no time for “fiancees” when I gotta fix the crap you caused, pops! By the way-” Ranma adjusts herself to stare at Akane, both of their angers at equal intensity. “I wasn’t the only one gawkin. You took a good look at me too.” Akane went supercritical at the implication of that last sentence. She was practically radiating rage. The other sisters simply watched at the dinner table to see how this turned out. Kasumi poured Nabiki a cup of tea while she took notes. She was learning a lot about the new guest right now.
“Besides,” Ranma continued, “it’s no big deal for me ta see a naked girl. I mean, how many times have I seen myself, right? At least I have better proportions than you!” Ranma turned around and giggled maniacally as she continued to walk towards the door. Everyone in the room except her knew what was coming next.
When Ranma turned around, Akane had grabbed the dinner table and slammed it right down on Ranma, knocking her out instantly and flattening her like a pancake. Nabiki was not done her tea, nor Kasumi done pouring her own. The notes were fine, just on the other side of the room. Genma broke the silence with the first wise words he had said at the home all day. “Yeah, Ranma had that coming.”
Daddy simply sighed and then turned to the older sisters. “Kasumi, Nabiki, I hate to ask this so late in the evening, but can you take Ranma upstairs and ensure he is still alive after that? Genma and I will get the living room sorted. Akane, I think-”
Their father was quickly and sharply interrupted by Akane before he could finish. “Yeah yeah, I’ll go blow off some steam. The perv deserved it though!” She marched off towards the Dojo, some concrete bricks were calling her name at this point.
Mr. Saotome took the table off of Ranma’s small body and, began to carry him (or her?) up the stairs. “I will get him up there for you two, just make sure he isn’t dead or anything, yeah?” Kasumi and Nabiki nodded as they escorted the burly man to the guestroom.
After setting up a quick mat and pillow, Genma laid his unconscious, and very much still female son down in the guestroom of the Tendo home. Kasumi followed with a small first aid kit and a bowl of cold water, towel already soaked. Nabiki sat down next to them with her notepad, a pen, and a camera. She didn’t need the camera, she just liked having it nearby.
“I appreciate you girls helping him out. I will be downstairs helping your father with the mess.” Genma humbly stated to the two teens and then he left, leaving Ranma with them. Despite just getting the lights knocked out of her, Ranma looked incredibly peaceful lying back-side up on the mat. There wasn’t any obvious external signs of damage, so Kasumi just placed a wet towel on Ranma’s head, hoping it would soothe any pain she felt while unconscious. Nabiki was scribbling notes, more ideas and theories regarding this new scenario she found herself in.
“This is all so strange, isn’t it Nabiki?” Kasumi broke the silence after a minute or so, still staring at Ranma.
“Yeah, can’t say I was expecting our little sis’ to get married off to a magical half-girl through his father who’s also a Panda.” Nabiki replied, hoping the humour would lighten Kasumi’s spirits. If the small giggle was any sign, it did. It wasn’t long though before Kasumi started a more serious conversation.
“Nabiki, did we make a mistake?”“What, you mean offering up Akane the way we did?”
“Yes. She is much more distressed about it than I thought she would be.”
“I wouldn’t sweat it too hard, sis’. It’s been a weird day, and you know how Akane is about boys. Once the shock is out of her system I am sure the two will make up.”
“How are you so sure?” Kasumi’s eyes moved to meet Nabiki. She could see Kasumi was worried. Really worried. The two older girls were both good at hiding their emotions, especially compared to Akane. But there was a reason Nabiki was called the “Ice Queen” of Furinkan High and Kasumi wasn’t given such a reputation when she was still going there.
Nabiki wasn’t quite sure how to put her sister at ease, but she had a few ideas of how to try. “It’s Akane. C’mon, the girl breaks cinder blocks for fun and beats the crap out of every boy in school. How could she not become friends with another martial artist like Ranma?”
Nabiki hoped the explanation would help her older sister calm down. She wasn’t sure if it fully worked, but she could see the concern lessen a little on Kasumi’s face. “They did seem to get along well before the bathroom incident...” Kasumi recollected mostly to herself, but still loud enough for Nabiki to hear it. “Still,” she continued, “I know I wouldn’t be happy if someone forced me to marry someone I didn’t know well. And what if they don’t work out?”
Nabiki didn’t like this line of thinking, because she knew where it went. “Well. I guess then the mantle of fiancee would be passed to me or you.” she simply responded, trying to gauge Kasumi’s response.
Kasumi instantly seemed to panic a little at the thought. “I couldn’t, Nabiki. I am sorry, I just couldn’t.” The tense conversation was suddenly interrupted by a quiet but still audible groan coming from Ranma’s direction. She didn’t wake up, but the noise was a good sign she wasn’t dead.
After the two girls confirmed Ranma was still knocked out, Nabiki continued the conversation. “I mean, I can’t either. You know I would go crazy if I had to be some guy’s housewife stuck at the Dojo the rest of my life. These two will just have to work somehow.” The girls were at an impasse. They both knew their father would never willingly give this up, and their new half-Panda guest seemed just as motivated to see it through. They both just stared at Ranma, blissfully unaware of what was going on thanks to the Akane-induced head trauma.
Akane had already broken all the bricks in the backyard by the time she decided to go into the dojo proper. She still had a lot of anger to burn through about the perv she was now engaged to. “Unbelievable...” she muttered to herself, thinking about everything that had transpired. She tried to put that behind her for just a moment as she finished her approach to the centre of the Dojo floor. The cool spring air flowed into the building, boiling on contact with her. She could feel the energy radiate off of her as she closed her eyes and started to slow her breathing down.
Akane began to go through the motions of her katas. A simple, steady swaying of her hands to start, but she could feel herself being pulled faster and faster into each move. Her feet began to follow through on the cuts, and the cuts became punches. Her direction kept changing, and to an onlooker it would seem like the girl was fighting an invisible army that surrounded her on all sides. In her mind though, all she could see was that stupid, creepy boy.
The way he was able to dodge every attack she made earlier in the day now drove her mad. The silent Ranma in her mind never audibly mocked her, just like when they sparred for real. Before, it was nice to have someone who just focused on the fight with her. Now, knowing who he really was, it just made her more angry. The attacks got faster, more unpredictable even to Akane. An uppercut that sent her high in the air, kicks that pummelled the space in front of her like a piston. She let out an intense scream as she spun around in the air to wind up a left-handed hook that reverberated in the Dojo as she released it.
Akane masterfully dropped back onto the ground and opened her eyes. She half expected to see Ranma there, but was glad to see nothing. Still an empty Dojo. Her family Dojo. Hers. Not his. That knowledge made the energy in Akane’s body ground her into the floor. This random weirdo was never going to take away her right to run the Dojo at the end of the day. She would prove it to him, to Dad, and to everyone. Akane Tendo was a force to be reckoned with, not some prize for her dad to give away.
Ranma slowly started to wake up without a clue where she was or why she was there. Her eyes were slow to open, each little breath she took seemed to make the dull ache of her head more and more hard to ignore. Then, suddenly she bolted halfway up, before the headache forced her back down.
“She’s awake!” Ranma could hear Kasumi exclaim beside her. Ranma’s own groans of pain soon had the woman placing a wet towel on Ranma’s head, while also gently patting her back. Ranma liked Kasumi, she was nice and thoughtful. Ranma moved her head in Kasumi’s general direction to see that Nabiki was also there, staring attentively as usual. Not in like, a weird way to Ranma, just. She wasn’t used to someone who seemed so busy reading the room like that girl. Her stare was also hard to read, it was like she just shut off the part of her brain that makes her face do stuff. From the look of where she was, Ranma guessed this was where her and the old man were gonna sleep while at the Tendo home. “Are you ok, Ranma?” Kasumi asked.
Ranma replied simply. “Yeah.” It was all she really could say after the scrambling of her brain at this point.
“Please don’t think too harshly of Akane.” Kasumi said to Ranma, sweetness still in her voice. “She’s really a very sweet girl, she’s just also a bit of a violent maniac sometimes.” That sentence made Ranma look hard at Kasumi. It sounded weird hearing from her, especially with how she said it. Did she hear her right?
Clearly Nabiki heard it too as she chimed in with a loud singular laugh, and a sarcastic comment. “Oh yeah Kasumi, great. That makes a lot of sense.” Ranma couldn’t help but laugh a little. Nabiki was funny, and hadn’t tried to kill Ranma yet, so she liked the middle Tendo enough too.
Ranma was able to slowly get up and without saying anything, neither Tendo acknowledging her departure. She walked out of the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. She needed another bath, both to change her form and to feel better after getting clobbered by a table. “Jeez! Still hurts. What is with that girl anyway?” Ranma thought to herself as she started to walk down the stairs. “First she wants to be my friend soooo bad, but the second she finds out I’m actually a guy...” Her thoughts kinda die down before they can finish. She found herself already at the door to the bath. She quickly takes off her clothes, grabs a towel and opens the sliding door as Akane starts to leave-
Oh no. Akane. Akane is right in front of her.
Ranma is sitting next to his dad as he sips on a cup of tea on the backyard patio. The slap mark from Akane is still red on his face. Ranma just stares into the void as his father tries to talk to him. “Hey, she’s got spunk! It makes for a cute and energetic fiancee!” Genma says, trying his damnedest to make a good point.
Ranma is having none of it. “She’s not cute.”
Akane and Nabiki are both having their own tea in the living room, within ear-shot of Ranma and Genma. Nabiki is also trying her best to get Akane to see reason, for the sake of the peace. “What’s the problem? You said it yourself, it’s different when it’s both girls.”
Akane didn’t budge on the matter at all. “Well, maybe it isn’t different at all with him!” Nabiki just sighed. This was going to be a real challenge to work out. Nabiki still had some ideas for how to make this work. Not just for her own sake, but her sister’s. “And that klutz fiance she has too, I guess.”
But that would all have to wait for tomorrow. Tonight she still had to make sure the two didn’t murder each other in their sleep. Nabiki noticed Akane’s eyes shift back to where Ranma was sitting. Ranma adjusted his to look back at Akane too. The second their eyes locked, Akane’s moved back to her drink on the table, which seemed to really piss off Ranma. “How could ANYONE think that she is cute!?”
“Is it tomorrow yet?” Nabiki asked herself.