"The Convention"
by Richard Ryley
Chapter 1
Akane Tendo awoke to find herself in complete darkness. Immediately, she cast out with her other senses, to compensate for her blindness, and easily sensed that things were not quite right. She was a martial artist, after all, and she had an awareness of herself and her surroundings, even if it was largely self-trained. Her first thought was that her bed felt subtly different under her body, it was somewhat more solid and not contoured to her body by years of use. The sheets over her were very clean, but had a somewhat sanitized smell to them, not the fresh and homey smell of Kasumi's washing.
The second thing she noted was soft breathing nearby. She knew it was Ranma, from long experience with his voice, not that she had often had the chance to hear him sleeping. She also heard a somewhat distant thrumming of air conditioning, and the soft breeze she felt also told her that the air in the room was artificially circulated.
Sitting up, Akane tried to take stock of her surroundings. There were no windows, and no source of light at all, so she could see nothing. Blindly, she reached around and located the wall at her head, then followed it to the edge of the bed. Groping around, she located a nightstand and a lamp, which she turned on.
She was in some sort of a hotel room. She was in a double bed, as was Ranma Saotome, although thankfully they were not in the same bed. Not that she minded the thought, as she had grown rather fond of her reluctant fiance', but they were hardly ready for that. They had come to accept that they had grudgingly developed feelings for each other, but had agreed to put that aside. It would only be a complication to the plan. And there was plenty of time to explore the possibilities after they graduated.
Thoughts of the plan brought back up old, well ingrained habits. She scanned the room for any sign of eavesdropping or bugs. There didn't seem to be any, but their very presence here was in and of itself suspicious. Setting a scowl of irritation and disgust onto her face, she got out of bed to walk over to the pigtailed boy.
"Ranma! What are you doing in a bedroom with me, you pervert! Did you sneak me off to some love hotel or something? You jerk!"
She grabbed her fiance' and shook him, roughly. She kept this up for several seconds, knowing it would take some force to wake the boy up. Finally, Ranma blearily looked around. His eyes widening as he realized he was laying in a bed and not his futon, he suddenly sat up, crawling away from her across the bed.
"Akane! What am I doin' in your room! I didn't mean to, honest! I dunno how I got here!"
Akane clobbered him over the head. "We're not in my room, baka! Look around, we're in some hotel!"
He did so, and his confusion deepened as he studied the room. Looking back at Akane, he caught her smile at him. "I going to beat you to death, Ranma, for taking me to a place like this! You BAKA!" She put just enough emphasis on the word for him to interpret it as their 'code word'. "Thought you could get me alone to have your pervert way with me?"
"Honest, Akane, it's not what you think!" Ranma protested, but it was more to keep the noise going as he shuffled out of bed. He gestured with his eyes at the bathroom, and Akane nodded. "I dunno how we got here, I swear. It's not like I'd ever do anything with an uncute tomboy like you!"
"UNCUTE?" At her cue, Akane swung at him with all her strength, a wild punch that only barely connected with him, but still sent him reeling. Back towards the bathroom. "Come back here, you baka!" Akane yelled, chasing him as he made his retreat.
Inside the bathroom, they closed the door, and grinned at each other. "Think the bathroom's safe?" Ranma asked in a low whisper.
"I guess we can't really be sure, but we've got to take a chance. What do you think's going on here?"
Ranma looked around. "I don't remember coming to some hotel. Do you?" When Akane shook her head, Ranma added, "Last thing I remember, I was goin' to sleep in my room at home."
"Same here," Akane agreed. "Do you think maybe Nabiki dragged us off here? Thinking if she got us alone, we'd end up doing something, and she'd get film of it?"
Ranma shook his head, irritated. "I dunno. I wouldn't put it past her, but I dunno."
"Do you think maybe she's catching on to the plan? That she knows we've been faking it all this time?"
"I don't think so. She's never caught on before. It's more likely either she or our Pops arranged this to try and get us alone together."
Akane sighed. "Well, we can't act like we're being watched 24 hours a day. It's nerve wracking enough acting that way when we know that the family is around. I dunno if I can do it in an empty hotel room with no one around but you and me..."
"Let's just play it by ear, tomboy," Ranma put a hand on Akane's shoulder, with a gentle emphasis of his petname for her, just as she had done for him. She smiled happily at him. "We gotta have been brought here for some reason, so we gotta be on guard anyway."
In the room right next door to the one Akane and Ranma awakened in, another Ranma awakened. Although this was very much Ranma Saotome, still this was a very different Ranma Saotome. And the awakening was very different as well. For one thing, he had not been as soundly asleep, as the light in the room had been on for some time, and he had slowly been coming back to consciousness on his own. For another, rather than Akane Tendo shaking him and screaming at him for being a pervert, he was awakened by the warmth of her lips pressing against his own.
Ranma blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and looked up into the cute face of his short haired fiancee. She grinned at him happily. Ranma regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "And what do you mean by waking me up with a kiss, you uncute tomboy?"
Akane blew a hair out of her face. She was already dressed, in a blue dress that Ranma thought looked adorable on her. "You were asleep long enough, lazybones, and I figured it was time to wake up. Your sister's already up."
"Ucchan?" Ranma sat up, looking around the room. Confusion registered on his face as he took in his surroundings. He could hear the sound of a shower running from the bathroom.
He then looked down at the bed in which he was lying. He glanced up at Akane, raising an eyebrow again. She smirked at him. "No, pervert, we didn't wake up in the same bed together. Apparently, Ukyo and I shared that bed," She tilted her head at the other bed. "But no, we have no idea how we got here."
Ranma immediately jumped to alert mode, although he could sense no immediate danger. "No windows. Why would a hotel room not have any windows?"
"And no TV either," Akane commented. "It's definitely strange. I can only guess we've been brought here for some reason. A tournament, maybe? It's not like we get kidnapped all the time..."'
"What does Sis have to say? Anything feel weird in the environment?"
Akane shook her head. "She did say something about sensing weird 'echoes' from around us, but like me, she can't really sense any danger. Everything's actually kind of... familiar."
Ranma nodded. He could sense it too. There was definitely a feeling of confusion in the air, and worry and concern, but more curiosity than anything else. He was just about to tune his ki to see if he could sense even further, when he suddenly looked at the door. Akane echoed his movement.
There was a knock. There was a short pause, and then another knock, followed by a woman's voice, saying, "Is anyone in there? I... I seem to be kind of lost and I'd kind of like a guide to the lobby if that's all right."
Ranma glanced at Akane, and then stepped quickly to the door. Looking back to make sure he was between her and anything that might threaten his fiancee, he answered. "Hold on a moment." He noted there was no peephole in the door, so taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he opened the door.
To his utter shock, a redheaded girl stood on the other side of the door. Ukyo's cursed form. "Sis?" he asked. Akane's mouth fell open.
The girl looked at him, and her blue eyes widened. "Ranma! Wow, you... what are you doing here?"
"That's impossible!" Akane shouted. "Ukyo's in the shower! I saw her!"
As Ranma sized up the red haired girl, his alarm jumped several notches, although oddly he still didn't sense any danger. The girl was dressed oddly for Ukyo, wearing a teal sweater that was very complementary to her hair, and a knit beret. She was also wearing silver earrings and a charm bracelet. For Ukyo, it would be shockingly feminine, and the girl didn't carry herself like Ukyo either.
To Ranma's further astonishment, though, coming up behind her was... Akane! Another Akane! He glanced back at the girl behind him, then at the black haired girl in the hall. She was staring back at him, a look of shock and astonishment on her face that probably matched his own. Coming up behind HER was, of all people, Ryoga.
"What the heck is going on?" Ranma yelled. Then he suddenly took off running back into the room. He pulled open the door to the bathroom, stepping inside. Startled, Ukyo wrapped her arms around herself. She was in the shower, and the water was obviously hot as she was in her normal form.
"Ranchan! What are you doing?" Ukyo turned red.
"Sorry, Sis." Ranma looked away from her, and turned to see the red haired girl as she came up behind him. "There's this girl here who looks just like your cursed form."
"What are you talking about, Ranma?" The redheaded girl asked. "You know me... I'm Ranko, remember?"
"Huh?" Ranma just stared at her. He had the presence of mind to keep his guard up, but he did note that the girl wasn't threatening him.
She looked back at Akane. "Surely YOU remember me, Akane?" She held up her wrist, showing her the charm bracelet. At the blank look on the dark haired girl's face, she frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you two?"
At that moment, Ryoga had reached the bathroom as well, and Ukyo shrieked and wrapped the shower curtain around herself. "Ryoga, you pig! Get out of here!"
Ryoga turned red and rapidly turned around. As he did, Ukyo slipped in her attempt to cover herself up and almost fell out of the shower. She grabbed the shower handle to catch herself, and twisted it, turning the water cold. She almost instantly shrank down into a petite, busty redhead, and a few seconds later, the spray from the water caught Ranma, and he turned into a lanky, ponytailed girl with brown hair.
The red haired girl stared at the two of them in shock, her mouth falling open. She looked at Ukyo's cursed form, then down at her own body. Then she looked over at Ranma, now looking like Ukyo. "Uc.. Ucchan?"
There was a long, long moment of silence. The two Akanes had stopped next to each other, and were staring, wide eyed. Ryoga was staring at the both of them. The redhead in the shower managed to regain her footing and shut off the water, at which time she just stood there, dripping.
Finally, the redheaded girl who had called herself Ranko put a hand to her temple. "You're... you're not the Ranma I met before."
"Huh?" said Ranma again. It wasn't helping much, but it was the best he could do.
She turned away from the doorway. "I... uh... I met another version of me... Ranma... from another universe. I'm... I'm a version of Ranma that was born a girl. You... you obviously are another Ranma. There... there must be... there could be thousands of alternate worlds, I guess. Who knows how many of... us there are."
"You're... you're..." The girl who now had Ukyo's face stared at Ranko. "You're me? A girl... a girl me?"
Ranko nodded. "Maybe you'd better change back. I'll give ya some privacy, Ucchan. Sorry about this." She stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
The Akane that had come in with Ranko looked at her. She was wearing a yellow gi, which the other Akane recognized as one she wore all the time. "So... this isn't the Akane you met before?"
Ranko looked up at her sister's double. "Nah, Sis... although this is an Akane. So... uh... I guess you're Ranma's fiance?" She asked the stunned girl.
"Uh... yeah," Akane agreed. "We're not exactly happy about it, but..." She took a deep breath. "Oh, who am I fooling? We both really love each other. Just don't tell our fathers that." She grinned at the redhead.
Ranko grinned back at her. As she did, the other Akane suddenly started. "Sis! That other Ranma called Ukyou Sis! I guess she's his sister here instead of me..."
"Oh, yeah! That makes sense." She glanced back at the bathroom door, just as it opened. Ranma came out, looking a bit shell shocked. He had changed out of the undershirt and shorts he had been sleeping in, and was now wearing his usual red and black outfit.
"I'm sorry about the confusion, Ranma," Ranko said. "I just assumed since you were a Ranma, you were the one I met before."
"ANOTHER Ranma?" Ranma asked.
Ranko nodded, glancing at her Akane. She was staring at the male Ranma wide-eyed, as if she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. "I met him about four years ago, when I was pulled into his world by a wish. He and his Akane helped me get back."
"What... what was that Ranma like?" Akane asked, the one in the blue dress who was here with her male Ranma.
Ranko turned to look at her. "He turns into me... well, my body. This red haired form." She gestured at herself. "Ukyou doesn't have a curse in my world, and she didn't in that one either... or if she did, she didn't change while I was around.
The Akane in blue had noticed her double's open mouth stare. "Hey, quit staring at MY Ranma!" The jealousy in her voice was unmistakable.
The other Akane shook her head, as if startled out of her thoughts. Then she blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry... it's been so long..." She looked back at Ranma again, and shuddered. "You're... I'm sorry, but you're bringing up some... uncomfortable memories." She seemed to shake off her mood, but then looked confused as she noticed the anger in her duplicate's eyes.
"It's okay, Sis," Ranko said. "I had the same reaction when I saw him... well, the other Ranma anyway." She looked back at her sister's twin. "In my world, Sis and I have known each other since we were four. So you don't have to worry about it, Akane. I'm sure my Akane's just as freaked out by seeing a male me as you are by seeing a girl version of your Ranma."
That seemed to appease Akane a bit. "Well, to me... it's weird because to me you look like Ukyo's cursed form. But... aren't you just Ranma in... in a girl's body?"
Ranko shook her head. "I AM a girl, Akane. I was born a girl. I... I even like guys, like any woman would." She cut her eyes at Ryoga, and he returned her smile, but Ranma and Akane mostly missed it over their mutual look of disgust. Ranko giggled, though, which caused the two to start even more. "The other Akane was bothered by it, too, but don't be. I'm pretty sure your Ranma's just as much a man as I am a woman."
"So, the Jusenkyo Guide was right." Akane looked up at Ranma. "Ucchan does turn into a female version of you. This is... a female version of you, standing right here."
Ranko nodded. Then she looked back at Ranma. "How in the world did you end up turning into Ucchan?"
"We fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl at the same time. The spring makes me turn inta her, and her turn into a female me."
"Ah, that makes sense." Ranko nodded, and then her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, that means she was travelling with you. Did Pops not abandon her when we were six?"
"He tried, but I wouldn't let him."
Ranko shot her counterpart a sunny smile, although there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Good. I've always felt really guilty about that. It's nice to know that there's a world where I didn't make that mistake."
Ranma snorted his agreement. Then he glanced over at Ryoga. "So what's your story, Pork Butt? What are you doing here?"
Ranko noticed as Akane turned a glare of irritation and distrust on Ryoga. She also noticed what Ranma had called him and put two and two together. She glanced at her Akane, knowing that she knew the secret, but her counterpart in that other world hadn't. She wondered what was different about this Akane that she would be so angry.
"I'm Ranko's fiance'," Ryoga said proudly.
"WHAT!" Ranma and Akane both said, simultaneously. A third voice added its chorus as well, as Ukyo had just stepped out of the bathroom.
"You're engaged to... you're engaged to... ME?" Ranma stared at Ryoga incredulously, his face turning green.
"You!" Akane snapped, her expression exploding into rage. "You went after Ranma, after what you did to me? You... you..."
Ukyo looked ready to strangle him as well. Ranko quickly interceded, moving quickly to put herself between these strange duplicates and the man she loved. "Hey, hold on! I know Ryouga and I had some problems a long time ago, and I'm sure you guys had the same problems too! But that's all over with! Ryouga has changed, and I love him now. So I won't let you hurt him! You got that!"
As she made that last statement, Ranko had started to glow, and Ranma drew back a bit, surprised at the intensity of her battle aura. She reached up to pat Ryoga's shoulder, though. "Honey, go get me a glass of water, okay?"
Ryoga nodded and headed into the bathroom. In the meantime, Ranko turned to face Ryoga's three accusers. "I know it bothers you to think of Ryouga and a version of you together, Ranma, your counterpart from that other world felt the same way. But Ryouga's really nothing like he used to be. He's good, and kind, and since he started caring for me instead of hating his 'Ranma' and blaming all his troubles on him, he's been happy. He doesn't get depressed any more. And he forgave me for what I did."
As Ryoga walked back to her, he handed her a paper cup. She grinned at him, and then threw the water in his face. Ranma, Akane and Ukyo gasped, as Ryoga transformed into a slender, black haired, and very beautiful young girl.
Akane and Ukyo stared at each other, their mouths falling open. "He... he turns into a girl?"
Ranko nodded. "I cursed him. He blamed me for it, for the longest time. But when he started to feel like MY curse was worse than his, he forgave me. And I forgave him." She smiled up at Ryoga, and he kissed her.
Ranma tried not to gag at that. But he breathed a sigh and shook his head. "Sorry. Ryoga turns inta somethin' else in our world."
Ranko stepped a bit closer to him. "Ixnay on the igpay. My Akane knows, but she only found out about two years ago, and it's still kinda a sensitive subject..."
Ranma's eyes widened. "You mean... he did?" He seemed to grow violently angry, like his Akane had. "And you still ended up with the..."
Suddenly, Ranma felt his own Akane's hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her. "Do you remember what I told him, Ranma?" She said gently. "That I would forgive him, if he forgave you?"
Ranma nodded. Akane continued, her voice low. "It looks like this Ryoga did." She glanced at Ryoga, not smiling at the girl, but with a look of understanding and gratitude. "I wish our Ryoga could meet you."
Stepping back, she spoke back in her normal voice. "Our Ryoga was a very hateful person, and he did some... very cruel things to Ukyo and me. I know it wasn't you that did those things, Ryoga, and even our Ryoga... I still hope to forgive him some day. I apologize for my reaction." She bowed.
Ranko smiled. "Thank you, Akane. I can always count on you to see the good in everyone."
Both Akanes smiled at that. Ranma shot his a smirk. "Except in me, of course, you uncute tomboy."
"You have no good qualities, baka," Akane shot back, but she was grinning widely. Their counterparts from Ranko's world smiled as well, easily seeing their teasing for what it was.
"So..." Ukyo put in. "What exactly are we doing here? I'm guessing you guys have no more idea of how you got here than we do?"
The mood quickly turned somber. "You all just woke up here, after falling asleep in your own homes?" Ranko asked. They all nodded their confirmation.
"Then there's got to be a reason we're all here, and it can't be a coincidence that we're the same people... or at least, Ranma and Akane are the same people, and we're... well, Ranma's fiance and sister, respectively." She said the last to Ryoga.
"What happened the last time you met another Ranma?" Akane asked Ranko. "Was there someone behind it?"
"Some prince named Willie," Ranko said. "Although I'm not sure if he's involved this time."
"Well, let's look around this place," Ukyo said. "Maybe we can find some people who know what's going on."
"That was my thought," Ranko said. "And then I found you. Didn't answer any questions, it just gave me more..."
The group filed outside, stopping a moment to look at a sign next to the door, out in the hall. It read, "The Saotome Sisters."
"That's interesting," Ukyo commented. "I guess we are the Saotome Sisters, Ranchan, you and I."
"I am NOT your sister!" Ranma growled.
"Sometimes you are." Ukyo grinned at him, as Ranma continued to scowl.
"There was a sign like that next to our door," Ranko said, gesturing at the next room down the hall. "It said, 'Genma's Daughter'. Which I am. So that seems to fit."
"What does it mean?" the Akane in blue asked.
Ukyo thought for a moment. "Maybe... some way to categorize us? A way of referencing which universe we come from?"
Ranma looked down the hall. It was somewhat plain, bare white, and unnervingly, seemed to stretch on for a great distance. "Could each of these rooms be... another universe?"
"Or even... another US..." Ranko looked a bit pale.
"Oh, wow..." her Akane commented. Then she smiled. "Well, actually, I had always wanted to meet the other me than you met on your trip. Maybe she will be here."
Ranko brightened, "Yeah, and the other Ranma might be here as well. It will be nice to see him again."
Ranma's Akane snickered. "You're Ranma all right. You've got so much of an ego you're looking forward to meeting yourself."
Both Ranko and Akane laughed, while Ranma pouted. Ukyo elbowed him. They continued down the hall to the next door, which was labeled, "A Little Different."
"That's you, baka," Akane commented. "A little different."
"Cut it out, tomboy," Ranma protested. But Akane leaned up and kissed him. Suddenly Ranko and her Akane were the ones turning green.
Ranma knocked on the door. There was silence from the room for a moment, and then a male voice calling out, "Just a minute!" Then the door was opened.
On the other side of the door was another Ranma. He looked up at the Ranma standing outside the door, and then at the red headed girl standing next to him. With a shriek of alarm, he sprang back into a defensive pose. Even though most of the group outside in the hall had been expecting it, it was still such a shock that they just stared with their mouths open.
"Oh, yeah," Ukyo grumbled. "I can see how this is gonna go."
Author's Notes:
As you have probably guessed by now, this story comes from an idea I had about the various versions of Ranma from fanfiction all meeting each other. This idea was born mainly from reading "Equal Halves", the story where Ranko from "Genma's Daughter" meets her counterpart in the canon, and "Definitions of Hell", where Richard Lawson's male and female Ranmas meet each other. There is a line in "Equal Halves" where Akane envisions millions of alternate universes, each potentially with their own Ranma. While I don't have enough time for millions of Ranmas to meet, :) I thought it might be interesting for some of the most distinct and different to encounter each other.
Of course, I began with the Ranma and Akane from my own two fanfictions, "A Little Different", and "The Saotome Sisters". I thought this would start it out "close to home", so to speak. "Genma's Daughter" was the obvious choice for the third in this first chapter, as it is very much the inspiration for my own fanfictions, and Ranko would have already encountered another Ranma, and be different enough from him to make her story of alternate realities more credible. I at first toyed with the idea of only using Ranma, or only Ranma and Akane, but then I realized that "Saotome Sisters" is too much a trio story to leave either of the three out, and this would also make it so I don't have to choose between Ranko's Akane or her Ryoga.
Some universes will only have two representatives, (such as "A Little Different") or even one, for fanfics where Ranma or Akane has died and left their partner alone. I certainly intend to throw in some stories where Ranma is paired with Ukyo or Shampoo, but I since my own stories feature the Ranma/Akane pairing, and so do most of the stories I tend to like, it will probably be a while before any alternate pairings show up.
While I'm going to be vague about "A Little Different", it takes place some time after the two chapters I posted, when Akane and Ranma are much closer, but still keeping up the charade to stall for time until they graduate. They are in love, though, they've just agreed not to talk about it. Ranma, Akane and Ukyo are from after "The Saotome Sisters" reaches its planned end, and so there may be some spoilers here. Ranma and Akane have admitted their feelings to each other and tend to kiss and otherwise act as lovers, but are still saving themselves for marriage. They have also learned the truth about P-chan's identity, so that gives away that the secret will get out in "Saotome Sisters". (Although I won't say how)
As for "Genma's Daughter", while Akane doesn't know P-chan's secret in that story or "Equal Halves", she does in "Notes from Juliard", so I decided to set it after that story as well. This makes Ranko a bit older than the others, although I'm vague about how much time has passed since "Saotome Sisters" (probably about two years) "Notes from Juliard" takes place five years after the timeframe of the canon. (That is, Ranko is 21) Particularly observant readers may note that Ranko and her Akane include the trailing "u" in Ryouga and Ukyou when they are speaking, to stay true to that story, even though I don't use that convention myself.