Usual disclaimers: I don't own them, any of them (for legal purposes, owning 50+ video tapes of Ranma ½ doesn't count) Just having a little fun here, not making a one thin penny and/or yen off this.

Anyone who has seen or read the series Revolutionary Girl Utena has met Saionji. And to know him is to hate him. I really wanted to see him suffer, and seemed to me that mere expulsion from school just wasn't enough, oh no. Just call this the first in my personal "scenes I would pay good money to see" series.

Rated for cartoon violence

Chapter One The New Student

The tall, too elegant teenager gazed at his new school with scorn. The shame of it; a member of his family reduced to attending a public high school. His thoughts turned to his recent expulsion from the exclusive Ohtori Academy. The rage threatened to overwhelm him. He would have his revenge. He would return, and when he did, Utena Tenjou would pay.

His family had been quite clear on his duties. He would attend this school, the only one that would take him. He would excel academically, he would excel athletically, and, above all, his behavior would be beyond reproach.

He glared at the school. It was so ordinary, built on the same ugly, utilitarian plan that every public high school in Japan employed. Everything about the place promised boredom. There was no possibility of challenge or interest to be found here, he was quite certain. He glanced up at the sign posted on the gate. "Furinkin High. What a plebeian name." He stalked through the front gate, prepared for disappointment.

His eyes swept over the inhabitants of the school yard. How very common they were all. There seemed to be no one there of any interest. He remembered his family's orders, and forced himself to he pleasant. He introduced himself to some of the more promising looking students. This school, he thought to himself, was going to be an exile in hell.

He was ready to enter the building when he saw her. A girl, a year or two younger than he walked through the gate. She seemed to be arguing with a boy, who instead of a standard uniform of dark trousers and white shirt, was wearing a bright red Chinese tunic. The girl captivated his attention. She wasn't the best looking girl in the school yard, nor the most poised, but she was far and away the most alive. Although she looked nothing like his beloved Anthy, she reminded him of his lost Rose Bride in some undefinable way. He was also aware of the way the other boys looked at her. Some were open in their admiration, others were a little more discreet. He turned to the boy next to him.

"Who is that girl?" over there he asked, a little too casually.

"That's Akane Tendo. And that's her fiancee, Ranma Santome."

"Fiancee?" Saionji was startled.

"Yeah, something her father and his father cooked up. They argue all the time, Akane and Ranma, I mean, not their dads." The student paused. "Actually, their dads to fight a lot too. Weird. Anyway, everyone here is taking bets on whether they really get married."

"An arranged marriage? How very...traditional." He considered this. Well, is wasn't like he wanted to marry her. But she would make for an interesting diversion until he could get back into Academy and win the Rose Bride back for his own.

"Yeah, how old-fashioned can you get. And that's not all. Ranma has more than one fiancee."

"More than one?" said the increasing puzzled Saionji.

"I've never understood a fraction of it myself, but Ukyo, who runs a restaurant is after him, and so is this crazy Chinese girl, and there's upper classman Kuno's weirdo of a sister, and, well, it's just not fair!" concluded his informant.

"Indeed." Maybe this year in public high school hell would be more interesting than he thought.

Getting to know Akane had been simplicity itself. She was not talking to her putative fiancee, a situation that Saionji learned was quite common. He asked her for assistance in finding his classroom, and she had been very happy to help him.

She had been seemingly flattered by the attention of an upper classman (and who wouldn't, he preened himself). She had shown him around the school. She pointed out foods at the lunch counter that were best avoided. When she learned of his interest in sword fighting, she offered to introduce him to members of the kendo team. The team was in Okinawa for a major meet, she had explained, but they would be back next week.

She had been polite, attentive, and exhibited every trait he found proper in a girl. To add to his pleasure, he was quite aware of Ranma Saotome's irritation, and the jealousy of the other boys. On the downside, he also met Akane's older sister, Nabiki, a cold, calculating female he hated on sight. Some of his more helpful classmates warned him of her penchant for blackmail. Still, not a bad week, all in all.

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And before anyone emails me, yes, I know in Japan that the family name comes first - but this is being written in English. OK?