The Matchmaker, Chapter 1
I don't know when it finally hit me...I was living in a school full of maniacs. I can't for the life of me see why I never noticed before, but I sure as hell do now. I'm Futaba Shimeru, Furinkan High School's `Star of Wrestling' and a member of Freshman class A. I've been studying Wrestling and various grappling techniques for my entire life, and it's been normal. My Mother has worked for the government. My Father has stayed home, and my sister, well, Futana's Futana.
Anyway, everything had been relatively calm until the start of this year, when I finally learned why my family was so weird.
It started right smack on the first day of my second semester at Furinkan high. I managed to get to school as I normally did-Vaulting the side wall in order to avoid the brawls that went on out front-but this time I managed to get run over by a girl with fiery red hair and a pigtail just as I landed.
"Gomen ne!" The girl gave me a glance to make sure I was okay then ran off, not even offering me a hand to help me up.
"Pigtailed goddess!" Just as I was standing up, the School's Kendo Captain, one Tatewaki Kuno, charged straight into me and began propelling me directly along the trail of the redheaded girl. Not wanting to get caught up in this, I did what any sensible wrestler would do.
I chokeslammed him.
When Kuno came to, I was long gone.
As I wandered in the direction of my classroom I wondered who that pig-tailed girl was. There was so much going on at Furinkan that I didn't pay attention to. I wasn't exactly popular. I was too busy with dealing with schoolwork to really care. Wrestling was more fun than these weirdos anyway.
As slight poke on my shoulder jolted me from my reverie. I turned my head to see a tall guy with jet-black hair, sporting a pigtail similar to the one that the redhead had.
"That was a nice move, man! Thanks for the save!" The pigtailed guy ran off to a classroom across the hallway from mine. Class D. So he was a a freshman as well.
I walked into my classroom and managed to get seated just as the bell rang.
"Oi, Futaba!" Hiroshi, a tall, lanky guy who had transferred from Class D to my class at the start of the semester, grabbed me on the shoulder. "Nice job taking Kuno out today! You sure saved Ranma some trouble."
"Who's Ranma?" I was dumbfounded-I hadn't done anybody a favor recently.
"He's the one who you saved from Kuno today.
I shook my head and went back to my classwork. "Whatever, Hiroshi."
Not more than five minutes later, he tugged on my shoulder again. "Yo...check these out."
He tossed five pictures onto my desk that were of the redheaded girl, nearly nude, washing her hair.
"What the hell are you doing, Hiroshi? I could get in trou-"
"Shimeru Futaba!" A well-aimed eraser nailed me in the back of the head. "Go stand in the hall!" The teacher was repressing a smirk, I could tell by his voice. "And take your pictures with you."
"But Sensei! They're not..."
"Go, Shimeru!"
I quickly gathered up the photos and stood in the hall.
It was distressingly silent in the pristine, immaculate halls of Furinkan high, so I got bored quickly. Having nothing better to do, I began to look at the photos.
Hey. I was only human.
As I began to look at the photos over and over again...I began to get hot, and I began to feel sick. I began to turn towards the door of the classroom to ask my teacher if I could go to the nurse's office, but that's when the blackness came.
***
"Where did you find her?" A clinical voice, borne across the void of silence by my aching head, beseeched the rest of the emptiness.
"She was just lying there in the hall, carrying pictures of Ranma." This voice was male, deep, and not sounding anything but full of himself. "I can't see why, for the life of me."
"She's a looker, ain't she. `Dis Keiki gonna be on `da schools best teams once we reach her parents. Why `dun I see before, tho'?" The principal's obviously fake Hawaiian accent was far from being music to my ears. I had the luck of only having met the principal a few times since coming to Furinkan. I thanked my stars that they were concentrating on some girl, not me, and opened my eyes one by one to let in the light.
"Look. She's coming to! Let's ask her!" I opened my eyes in the direction of that voice, the clinical one to see the school's nurse staring directly at me. "Are you okay, dear? It looks like you overheated and fell down in one of our hallways. Can I get you anything? A glass of water, perhaps?"
"I'm fine. What about the girl in the other bed?" My voice felt odd, but I made nothing of it. After all, the nurse said I had just passed out.
"Der's no bed but dis one in da nurse's office, keiki. Who are ya?" I turned to my right to see the principal, adorned in hawaiian shirt and shorts as usual, and a boy with long hair, glasses, and a voluminous Chinese robe looking down on me.
"Then who were you talking about?" This was getting confusing, and my headache was getting worse.
Just as the principal was about to speak again, a tall, muscular boy with green hair barged into the room. "Gomen ne, sensei! My sister isn't used to public places. Gomen ne! I'll take her home now!" Bowing all the while, the boy picked me up like I was a doll, forcing me to wrap my arms around his neck, and walked out the door of the nurse's office, still bowing.
About this time i noticed that A: I was only wearing a hospital gown, B: My hands felt much softer and smaller than usual, and C: having my chest pressed up to another guy was uncomfortable, but not entirely so.
"Please explain what...doing?" I found it hard to get any breath out.
"You picked a hell of a time to grow up, cutie! Lucky Dad's had tabs on you since you hit puberty."
"What are you talking bout?"
The boy stopped, then took a sharp turn into a girls' bathroom. After one glance from him, all the girls who were in there giggled and ran out as he set me down on my feet in front of the mirror.
I wobbled a bit, and then regained my balance to come face-to-face with a beautiful girl, same green hair as the boy who stood behind me, grinning like a maniac, and a body that could win wars.
"This is some joke, right?" I was getting more confused by the moment.
"No Joke, Futaba-chan! Meet the new you!" As the boy made a grand gesture of introduction behind me, looking in the mirror, darkness chose to claim me again.
***
When I regained my consciousness for the second time that day, I was in my bed, and the slight pitter-patter of raindrops tickled my ears, reminding me that the world couldn't really be that upside down..
I quickly took a peek under the covers to discover that I was stark naked, and that I was male. It must have been a dream. I looked at my clock, expecting to see it being just about to chime 7AM, but instead saw that it was closer to 7PM.
I sat up and looked to my door to see my sister, Futana, leaning against the doorjamb.
"Rise and Shine, beautiful!" My sister casually walked up to me and gave me a squeeze. "Ready for dinner?"
Something was up. Futana was being entirely too nice.
"What's the deal, Futana? You're being entirely too nice." It usually paid to be blunt with my sister, as being anything else tended to get one groped.
Futana made a moue. "I'm just happy to see that my widdle brother has finally grown up! Can't I be happy for you, Futaba-chan?"
"Just leave me alone, Futana." I gave my sister a stern look, letting her know that I wanted some privacy to get dressed now.
As I walked downstairs I smelled something odd...was Mom cooking red beans with rice?
"What's with the special dinner?" I tried to act casual as I walked into my family's spacious living-room.
"I heard you achieved your heritage today, Futaba. Congratulations!" My father was obviously hiding his true elation at whatever had happened.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Dad." I had a sinking feeling-was all of what had just happened a dream?
My dad made doe eyes at me and grinned. "Oh, but I think you do, Futaba! It's nothing to hide. It happens to your sister and I too!" With that he flipped out a small photo and showed it to me. It was a photo of the redhead, this time completely nude.
"Your sister found these in your pockets when she picked you up. These pictures must have been what activated the change. I'll have to have them framed!"
"Da-ad! Where did you get th-" I lost my breath as I got a good look at the picture. The redhead wasn't just cute. She was gorgeous!..."
POP!
I suddenly felt distinctly odd.
My father let out an ecstatic laugh.
"So it is true, Futaba! We'll have to organize things with the principal right away!" He held up a mirror to show me the green-haired girl from my dream. I was the green haired girl!
"She's so cute!" Futana walked up to me and gave me a slightly less chaste hug then before.
"I can't believe this!" This couldn't have been true. I was a normal guy! I had friends, looked at soft porn, and avoided martial artists! Why was this happening to me? I was getting truly angry now, and there was nobody who could stop it.
"Calm down, Futaba-chan," dad tried to sooth me, but to no avail. "You need to calm down or things will get awkward."
"Why should I calm down!? Why didn't you tell me about this before?" I picked up a jacket and cap and ran outside, slamming the door on the way. The last thing I wanted was to be subject to Futana's teasing. I needed to be somewhere alone. Maybe the rain would cool my temper.
***
As I walked through the streets of Nerima I eventually came to unfamiliar territory, a park that I had never been to.
Not having much else to do, with the rain doing its level best to soak me to the bone, I came to the park restroom and immediately came upon a quandary. There were two sides to this. I could turn right and enter the men's room, ignoring my physical form, or I could take the left fork to the women's restroom. I was in uncharted territory.
I couldn't see any other way. I was female at the time, so I went into the left doorway, which became a foundation for what is one of the most interesting evenings I've ever had.
When I entered the restroom, not knowing what to expect, I encountered something unusually....usual. It was mostly the same as the Men's room, minus the stand-up urinals and with a little bit of sill added under the mirror. I slowly took off my jacket and T-shirt, examining the body that was surely my own, as odd as it seemed at the time. Not knowing anything better to do, I knotted the bottom of the shirt, confining my....my breasts uncomfortably, but making me look otherwise quite boyish. I gathered my Jacket tightly about me and stuffed as much of my hair as possible into the cap before going out into the world once again, looking somewhat like a boy, albeit a bishounen, but looking like a boy who was not me. I hadn't been able to consider that the girl in the mirror was me, and not just some insane curse.
When the rain once again began to assail me I noticed that it did not seem as bad as before now that I was bundled up. Maybe I would be able to sort out my chaotic thoughts. With this optimism in my mind, I began to wander the streets once again in search of inner Nerima and a way back home to sort out what exactly was going to happen.
Suddenly, a scream interrupted my thoughts.
"Why do you always have to do that, you stupid macho tomboy!? I was just trying to keep the pig from-"
"He's just an animal, Ranma! It's just like you to be jealous of a little pig!"
"That's it! I'm outta here! I don't have to take this shi-" I heard the sound of knuckle hitting flesh, and a body landed on top of me. I barely managed to drop to my knees to absorb the weight of the fall, and was surprised to find that the red-headed girl from earlier that day had fallen quite literally into my lap.
"Are you okay?" I asked, trying to artificially deepen my voice so that I still looked male. The redhead could only manage a slight moan that sounded something like 'tomboy.'
Not knowing what else to do, I began to search for shelter from the rain, for the girl must have had some kind of concussion and being in this cold, though it didn't bother me all that much, surely was a strain on her.
Eventually, I came to a bridge near a river that looked as if it had a slight enclosure under it that could fit the two of us, albeit cozily. Seeing no better place, I quickly carried her in and made sure that she was out of the now-pouring rain.
The minute I myself leaned back against the hard-cement 'wall' of the enclosure, which felt more like a cave at that time, I was asleep. My emotional exhaustion from that day had finally overtaken me.
***
I woke up to the sound of my alarm and immediately hopped out of bed, slamming the button on the small-raucous buzzer that notified me of the fact that it was time for school. I threw my uniform on and ran out the door, not giving my dad more than a nod, and charged all the way to Furinkan without getting breakfast. Just as I was about to make it through the gate the principal appeared in front of me.
"Oh! Dis' a kawaii Keiki! Will'ye bein' goin' out with da ol' principal now?" I didn't have time to stop, as the bell was about to ring so I quickly dodged to the side and dashed the rest of the way to my room without further exchange.
The teacher took role as normal, but then stared me directly down past his glasses when I answered.
"Is this some type of joke, miss? Because I do not find it funny. Please report to your classroom now." By now all eyes were upon me. That's when I realized that I wasn't me. I was the green haired girl, and I did not like the look in those boys' eyes. Gradually, one by one, they each got out of their chairs and came towards me, hunger in there eyes, all except one, who turned away from me, showing only the back of his head, sporting a pig-tail. Eventually, my view was blacked out by the rest of the boys, lustful and grinning with the act they were about to commit.
***
I awoke screaming in an unfamiliar bed. It was not my home and it smelled decidedly of pancakes. Not entirely unpleasant, really. As surveyed the room in which I sat, which was not much larger than my room, though the bed was nearly double the size of my own, a pretty girl knocked softly on the mostly-ajar door.
"You gave us a fright there, sugar. Ran-chan didn't know what to think of you and he wasn't about to bring you back to the Tendo place, what with Akane and all, so he brought ya to Konatsu and me." She softly shut the door behind her and walked towards me purposefully. Once she was within range she tore off my cap and grinned triumphantly. "I knew it! You're a girl!" She must have seen my chagrin at her realization, as she immediately sobered up. "I'm sorry, hun. Believe it or not I know how you feel. Ranchan thought you were unusually light but he's to shy to check, and I wasn't about to let Konatsu near you. I love him but he's a lecher if I let him be," she said as she winked slyly.
I snatched my cap back from her, not ready to give her trust, and gave her as icy of a glare as I could manage as I tucked my hair back under the cap. "Where am I and who are you? Where's that girl that fell on me?" The girl seemed to be making some mental connections of her own as I said that. "That girl....oh...She's downstairs. I think we have some explaining to do but first you two should talk. I'm going to call her up here, if that's okay, because you're not in any condition to be moving around. You've got a nasty fever." I tried to sit up and realized that she was right. I had no strength left.
As she walked for the door she made one final glance back at me and said "By the way...I'm Ukyo. Nice to meet you." With that she smiled and called out the door. "Ranchan! Maybe you two should talk!" I heard a clutter of footsteps as somebody came up some stairs, and then I saw the redheaded girl shyly slink into the door, looking quite abashed.
"I'm really sorry you had to get involved in that before. Akane's not usually that violent, really."
I couldn't understand why she was defending that guy!
"What are you talking about? He punched you over a wall! how can you not be mad at him! That's abuse!" I clutched the blankets that I sat under as the girl-Ranchan, Ukyo called her-pulled a chair up to the bed and looked at me sheepishly.
"Believe me, it's a helluva lot more complicated than it looks. You'd best just go home as soon as you're able to get up. It's almost 3 AM right now and your parents are probably worried sick, kid." Who was she calling kid? She couldn't have been more than a few months older than I was! No way I was letting her loose with a comment like that!
"I'm fifteen, you know," I said, glaring at the girl. "I'm perfectly able to take care of myself, and my parents have no business with me right now. They're the last people I want to talk to!" I regretted it the moment I said it, and it was plain that the redhead knew.
"Never say that in my presence," she said quietly. "You try having a damn father who believes that everything down to your dignity, down to your life and your manhood is worth giving up for becoming a better martial artist. You try having a mother who might force you to commit seppuku if you mess up! You've got it easier than you know, kid." This was pissing me off. This girl was making no sense and she was still calling me kid! I tried to sit up but managed only to roll over and fall out of bed, dislodging my cap and jacket.
In hindsight, I wish I had a picture of the look on the girl's face at that time, for it was certainly priceless.
"You're...a girl?"
I looked defiantly up at her from the floor. "Yeah...so...you have a problem with that?"
Despite my tone she broke into a grin. "I think I owe you an apology. I had assumed because of your high voice and the way you were trying to mask it that you were a young boy. I see. You can't be more than a few months far from my own age! I never thought to take a real good look at you." I relaxed a bit as the girl knelt over me a bit and offered me a hand, helping me back into bed. "Well hi. I'm Ranma Saotome."
"The Ranma Saotome who was getting chased by Kuno this morning?" I was a little dumbfounded.
"Yeah. What of it? How do you know about that?" She was suddenly on guard.
"Nothing...I just thought you were a guy." Again, Ranma gave me a guarded look.
"How? You weren't there this morning." I was about to open my mouth and correct him in his ungratefulness at my help, but then realized that I was the 'other' me.
I shrugged noncommittally and gave myself a little hug, just making sure that I was still all there. My heart was going rabbit-pace. I did not want to be found out.
Ranma didn't seem to want to give up the line of questioning, though, it seemed. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Futaba Shimeru" I rolled over and faced the window, which was about when I noticed the clock that stood on the sill. "Gods....you're right. I hadn't registered before. I should call home. Is there a phone here?" Ranma nodded with satisfaction and handed me a cordless phone, which I immediately used to dial Futana's pager. A few seconds later the phone rang, and I picked it up to hear Futana's voice. "Are you done running all over Nerima now, baby-girl, or do we get to play hide n' seek for a few more hours?"
"Just shut up and come get me, sis. I'm barely able to get out of this bed I'm running such a high fever. Can you get over yourself for a few minutes and give me a lift home?" I quickly queried Ranma as to the address and gave directions to Futana. In a matter of minutes, the green-haired boy from before showed up, winking slyly at Ukyo, her feminine boyfriend, and Ranma on her way upstairs, and eliciting a glare from Ranma by the way he sauntered around. Without so much as a word he slung me over his shoulder and bowed to Ranma. "I'm terribly sorry for my baby sister, miss. She's really not very good with people. Allow me to give you my phone number and offer you a date, courtesy of me, in consolation.
He managed to get out of the house and me into his car while only being pelted by a few fish cakes.
As I sedately buckled in and he started the car he gave me a hurt look, which I was almost to dazed to notice.
"You scared us, Futaba-chan. You scared us a lot. You'd better be pretty damn careful from this point on, and hope Dad doesn't ground you for life.
"Excuse me....Who are you!?" I managed to be surprised, despite my exhaustion.
The guy gave me an amused look and concentrated on the road for a minute. Then, with not more than a loud 'pop,' the guy was gone and Futana was there. The previous day was finally making sense. Futana gave me a knowing look, and the closest I'd ever seen from her to a caring smile, and then concentrated on the road completely. There was no more conversation until we got all the way home. Futana got out of the car and came around, helping me out and allowing me to use her shoulder as a sort of crutch. As we entered our home, our dad was there at the door, looking into my eyes sadly.
"I'm sorry about this, Futaba-chan. I thought that making this a joyous occasion would make it easier on you, as well. I was wrong. can you forgive me?" I was able only to nod dumbly, as exhaustion from the fever began to overtake me. "I'll simply trust that you learned what you needed to know tonight, and that hopefully, you've come to terms with what we are. Don't forget that Futana and I are here for you, and remember that the easiest way of living like this is by learning to enjoy it. Rest well, my son, my daughter. Tomorrow is a new day." I registered what I could of his speech, and crawled upstairs and into by bed with Futana's help. Dad was right. I had to make the best of this. But now, I had to sleep.
***
I awoke the next morning feeling very little of the distress and unreality that had plagued me the evening before. I knew that last night was not a dream, and I was, for some reason, happy that way. Sparing no time, I got dressed in my school uniform and ran downstairs two at a time only to encounter Futana and Dad, already eating breakfast.
"'morning, Sunshine," Futana said around a mouthful of pancakes, as dad gave me an appraising glance.
I nodded my greetings to Futana and returned Dad's glance. He was plotting something.
After a hearty breakfast I began to head out the door to head for school, but was stopped by a strong hand on my shoulder.
"I'm going to come with you today, Son. Principal Kuno is the same principal as when Futana was at your school, so he knows how to make your life a whole lot easier with the adjustments you need to make. I'll drive you so we can sort this all out." There seemed to be a hint of pride in his voice, but I must have had my head too far in the clouds to notice, thinking of how I could possibly cope with this and still have 'a life.'
***
We sat in the principal's office, which was unsurprisingly adorned with pictures of principal Kuno, in Hawaiian garb, in photos that were so obviously doctored that it was a wonder that the man wasn't blind.
"I've been expecting you, Mr. Shimeru. I had figured that you'd make this visit yesterday." All trace of accent was gone from the principal's voice, giving me a glance through the madness that gave the Furinkan student body reason to fear him and see that there was truly intelligence in that tree-topped skull. That caused enough surprise in me as is, but it was nothing compared to what he told me next.
"All of the secret passages are in place, Futaba-san, and all of the changing rooms between the girls' and boys' bathrooms are fully renovated for your sake. In return I ask very little of you. I want you to join Furinkan's Kenpo team. I just managed to get Ranma Saotome to offer to coach it with some...'academic coaxing,' and, having seen your wrestling skills I'd like to see if maybe Furinkan can have two martial stars."
"But why me?" I barely managed to gasp out a reply. This was becoming too shocking.
"Before Ranma Saotome, your older sister was the best martial artist I'd ever seen-" This was too much, so the change set in right on cue, eliciting a grin from the principal. "And we need a girl to be Ranma's counterpart for the skating and gymnastics tournaments. As much as I love teasing him about his girl form, and he still hasn't caught on about that, he's all male. You have no such inhibition."
"She'll do it." My father gave me a supportive glance and put his arm around my shoulder, "but in return you extend full privileges to Futaba because of her...condition, meaning she has essentially unlimited tardies, cumulative grades between her 'two selves' and an unlimited hall pass, and you transfer her to class A."
The principal nodded grimly. "In anything will prepare him for our tournaments, that will. I agree, Mr. Shimeru," the principal's sunglasses caught the sun, "and not it be bein' time for 'dis keiki to get her new school uniform and bein' introduced to her classmates."
I got up sheepishly and glanced at my father, who nodded and handed me a bag. "Good luck, Futaba-chan." He gave me a pat on the shoulder and left the room after that, nodding at the principal as he left. As his back was turned I saw something that I had never seen in the principal's eyes before.
Respect.
***
As I walked up to the student store the principal patted my bag. "You'll be wantin' to put those on, Keiki. The girls at Furinkan no bein' in the boxers all day. Noticing my blush he cackled evilly and pranced off, searching for truants to whom he could give toilet-duty.
I walked up to the counter at the store, trying to act casual, and bowed deferentially to the woman working there.
"Hi, miss," I said while staring at my feet, finding my tennis shoes very interesting. "I need to buy some...umm..."
The woman tapped the top of my head, and, at the sight of my confused glance, nodded understandingly.
"This, miss?" She held up a pair of the gym shorts that girls always wore in P.E and a shirt to match. I nodded dumbly, not wanting to give myself away.
"Well...that will be five hundred yen."
I shuffled my feet uncomfortably, looking at the back shelves of the store sheepishly.
"Is there more, miss?"
I nodded shyly.
She looked behind her and grabbed two seifuku that looked as if they would be about my size, but I wasn't done yet.
Half an hour, dozens of incoherent mumblings, and two-thousand yen later I had a week's worth of school clothing and was blushing so deeply it looked as if I was badly sunburnt.
The last step, though, was the hardest. I sneakily tiptoed into the girls bathroom, trying to make sure that nobody was there, and got a shriek as a result.
"Eeek! Pervert!" A girl ran out of the stall nearest to me brandishing a mallet and nearly brained me with it. she would have, had another not charged in between the two of us to stop her mallet in its path before it met its termination on my forehead.
"Yuka! Can't you see she's terrified!?" The second one, a short-haired girl with pretty green eyes winked at me. "Hi! I'm Sayuri. Are you new here? You can't be much more than a freshman and I've never seen you around..."
The long-haired one, Yuka, stashed her mallet and looked appraisingly at me. "Why are you wearing a boy's uniform, anyway?"
i twiddled my thumbs and said exactly what dad had rehearsed with me in the car on the way to school. "I didn't have any other clothing and I'm so...so confused..." I rolled out a crocodile tear and both girls shrugged.
"Well, we can try and help you if you like," Yuka said shyly. "What class are you in?"
"Freshman Class A. I'm a new transfer student," I sniffled a bit to complete the wistful image and dragged my bag into the now-vacant stall and began to disrobe, making sure that my boxers didn't drop on the floor and into Yuka and Sayuri's sight.
"Really?" Yuka's voice brightened considerably. "It happens that we're in that class too!"
What luck! I managed to find two people from my new class this soon. I put the white cotton panties that were in my bag on with no trouble at all, but had to puzzle over the sports bra for a bit.
"Yeah. It's just lucky the principal put us on toilet duty, I guess," Sayuri made a 'bleah' sound with distaste. I made a mental note to thank the principal next time I spoke to him in private.
Finally I managed to slip the seifuku on and re-open the stall door. Both girls instantly gave me appraising looks and each, obviously coming to her own conclusions, smiled.
I quickly zipped up my duffle bag and smiled cheerily at the two of them. "Well? Lead the way!"
***
The teacher stood up and glared at me immediately when i entered Freshman classroom A. I was probably as surprised as she was, as she couldn't have been more than twelve years old.
"Well, class. This must be the new student I've been briefed on," The girl's glare turned into a smile as she visibly showed recognition of memory when Sayuri and Yuka waled in behind me. "She'll be spending some time with us this semester, and is entirely new to Furinkan. Please welcome Futaba-chan Shimeru!"
There were a few bored claps and a few interested stares as I glanced around the room, most notably the one from the tall pigtailed boy in back, and, once she saw his expression, the scowling short-haired girl next to him. I noticed with relief, despite the stares, that Ukyo was in this classroom as well.
Realizing that I had a pregnant silence, I attempted to reconcile.
"O-ha-yo!" I managed probably the most cheerful three syllables I had ever spouted out. "I'm Futaba and I hope to have a lot of fun here at Furinkan! I'll be joining the Kenpo team so you're all sure to see me around, so don't hesitate to say 'hi!'"
This turned the pigtailed boy's glare into a nervous look and only deepened the short-haired girl's scowl. The teacher quickly pointed me to an empty seat and resumed her lesson.
"So, class! What have we learned from Shakespeare's Othello?"
The pigtailed boy's hand shot up immediately.
The teacher looked slightly afraid, but pointed at him and nodded. "Go ahead, Ranma."
It was my turn to shoot a glare at him. Ranma had been the red-haired girl from last night! That couldn't be! Two people with the same name, maybe?
before I had a change to complete the thought my glare was intercepted by the short-haired girl and returned tenfold, with a dose of raw hatred on the side. She had something against me and I had no idea what.
Ranma, oblivious to this, answered the teacher's question. "Well, Miss Hinako! I'd say that Othello was horrified in the end of what Iago, the one who he thought to be a friend, had turned out to be!" This guy was a dunce? Wasn't he able to really read Shakespeare? I shot my hand up as quickly as I could and fairly bounced in my seat, earning an approving smile from the diminutive teacher.
"I completely disagree with Ranma's analysis, Hinako-sensei. He's only looking it on the level of the outer battle. What caused Othello so much pain was not at what he found the beast Iago's true colors too be, but at what he in himself, for the beast was not in what Iago was, but what Iago created." This earned confused looks from about half the class, facefaults from another quarter, and interested glances from miss Hinako, Ranma, Ukyo, and the short-haired girl.
Miss Hinako put her book down and walked towards me purposefully. As I began to slouch down in my desk she took my hand and pumped it eagerly. "Bravo, Futaba-chan. I'm sure we'll be great friends. Welcome to my class."
***
After my outburst at Ranma's remark the entire class seemed to be much more casual, students chatting and even a few boys passing notes to me asking if I might want to go out and two Chinese students, one familiar-looking boy with long hair and glasses, and a girl with a very....loud outfit walking in and sitting down at the back of class. It seemed that they were new transfer students, much to Ranma's chagrin. All-in-all, It was a good day until lunch.
I was sitting casually, eating some pasta-bread in the small clearing in between a bush and the main building, just out of plain view of the sports field, where I always ate by myself when a tap came on my shoulder. It was the pigtailed boy, but his approach was so silent it scared me.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Futaba. You've opened my eyes twice today. I just hope you can manage to keep your head above the water." He flashed me an easy grin.
I gave him a silent stare and did my solid best not to return his grin, though it took effort. "Why are you treating me like a friend and what relation are you to Ranma Saotome? Is the fact that the two of you have the same given name just a coincidence?"
The boy stared at me for a moment as if I had grown a third arm and then let out a hearty laugh. "I think I owe you an apology and an explanation, Futaba-chan. If you give me a moment I'll be glad to clear this up." He immediately sat in seiza right in front of me as I grew more confused by the moment, and then looked squarely into my eyes.
"Now, if you would, would you please splash your cup of water right in my face."
Now it was my turn to give him an odd look. "You want me to what?"
"Splash it in my face!" I was growing more aggravated by the moment at this jerk, and he was asking for it, so I was only too happy to comply.
The result was a moment that I will never forget until the end of my days, for within instants of the water touching him, the boy was no longer a him, as he had become the scarlet-haired girl who I had met the night before, wearing a look of extreme embarrassment.
"Perhaps we should re-introduce ourselves. I'm Ranma Saotome. sorry 'bout this."
***
We talked for most of the rest of lunch, he explaining how he had contracted this curse on a training trip to China and me listening and nodding. I decided that he was someone with whom I could get along, but also knew I was not ready to tell anybody what I was. Luckily, the short-haired girl absolved me of the trouble of having to tell him anything at that time.
"So, pop and I went to the fair to cool down, and that's where I caught the fishes using the very technique that the old hag had taught-oopmh!" A brick hit the boy squarely in the forehead, causing me to jump back a few feet and crouch into a defensive huddle. His assailant quickly made herself evident by running up and attempting to hit him over the head in the same place where the now-shattered brick had hit.
"There you are! You lecher!" The girl was yelling at Ranma as if he was a wayward dog who had just eaten her homework. "Do I have to tie you to a tree to keep you from being a pervert!?" She barely paid any attention to my hand holding hers back until I gave it a shake.
By that time I as so incensed that I had to keep my voice in a low growl in order to not let my anger at this girl consume me. "You'd better have a reason for having done that. He hasn't done anything to hurt you." The girl looked at me as if I was pond scum, making it all the much harder to contain my anger. "Ranma's my fiance, ditz. He shouldn't be messing around with other girls."
Strangely enough, two days earlier I wouldn't have even considered hitting a girl. Only intervention by a strange boy with long hair and glasses saved her from what would have been a broken nose. As is, I heard the distinct creak of bone in his hand as he caught my punch.
"Settle down, Shimeru. This is neither the time nor the place. Akane, you come with me, now." Without waiting for her consent the boy hopped off, Akane kicking and flailing under his right arm, negating to give so much as a backward glance at Ranma. When I turned back to Ranma he was staring apologetically, but not in the direction that Akane was carried off in. He was looking at me.
"I'm truly sorry about that, but hitting Akane is the worst thing you could have tried to do. She's one of those people who becomes your enemy for life, or your best friend. She's never in between."
I looked into Ranma's eyes, noticing how deep and beautiful they were. "And which are you, to her?"
He simply shrugged.
"Why are you affianced to her, Ranma?" The directness of my question caught him off guard.
"I-I....our fathers arranged it and I didn't-"
"Then why do you stay with her, if it's this way? Why don't you tell your father to go to hell and leave her? do you love her?"
Ranma began to nod, but then halted. I confirmed my own thoughts as he shook his head, slowly but resolutely from side to side, his eyes glazing as he did. Something inside me reached out to him and I gathered him in my arms. He pulled away but looked longingly at me, nonetheless. "I tried to be what I could to her, really did, but it always ended up with us fighting and her hitting me with something blunt. I just never worked out for us. She's just so..."
I hushed him and reached out to him again, my head telling me how inherently wrong what I was doing was and my heart telling my head to shut the hell up, because he needed this.
"It's okay Ran....chan." I risked using the honorific that Ukyo had used the other night, hoping that it would cheer him up. "Look. Lunch's almost over so we had to go to Phys Ed now. You get to try end teach me Kenpo! Don't concentrate on her for a while, Ignore your medieval parents and enjoy yourself!"
His gaze brightened enough for me to steal the spot and stuff a sweet chestnut into his mouth. "An opening!" Somehow, that managed to break all tension, and we both ended up laughing on the way to our next classes.
***
I honestly couldn't see how girls could stand wearing bloomers outside. They were so small! I may as well have been in my underwear, and the leers from the boys who sat on the grass at the sides of the field made it plain that they were thinking exactly the same thing.
I shrugged as I ran up to meet Ranma and the rest of the Furinkan Kendo team. Ranma looked to be in a much better mood, but he had not changed his clothes. Maybe he wasn't up for practicing today.
I was surprised when Ranma motioned closer to me and nodded affirmatively to the rest of the class.
"Okay. Today you are all going to learn how to fall. Any of you who have already taken a competitive sport such as wrestling or football should know this, and those of you who don't know this will benefit greatly from it. Futaba-chan, let's have you come up first.
I stepped up to Ranma and folded back into a mirror of the stance he was going into.
"Now, Futaba, good stance, I'm going to throw you." It still caught me off guard when he did exactly what he said he was going to do, but I managed to do a half-somersault and land on my feet, barely.
The class applauded as Ranma nodded to me. "Now, guys, what did you notice from Futaba's landing?"
The group of students was dead silent, much to my amusement.
"Okay. I'll tell you. Futaba kicked upwards, not downwards as I sent her hurtling through the air. Not only did this bring her feet, which she made the heaviest part of her body, down by doing so, but she softened the landing that she would have had if she had kicked downwards. Futaba, I would suggest tucking your arms in next time too."
I nodded and Ranma continued on. At the end of the hour I was exhausted, but I had thoroughly enjoyed myself.
***
In the locker room, as I was getting changed, a hand tapped on my shoulder again, but this time I knew who it was. I closed my locker and gave a questioning look to Akane, who was standing sheepishly behind me.
"I think I owe you an apology, Futaba-chan. I have to admit that when I saw you and Ranma there I assumed the worst, and that when you stopped me from hitting him, despite how wrong I was to do so, I was even angrier, because nobody stands up to me, much less him. Er...do you need a hand with that?" She began to laugh good-naturedly as I fumbled with the bra I was trying to get on.
It was my turn to look sheepish now, but at least I was beginning to see what Ranma could have seen in Akane past the violence. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to wearing these things."
Akane gave me a critical look and laughed nervously. "I see that."
I must have blushed down to my knees as Akane quickly slipped behind me and helped me attach the bra.
"There," she said. "I'm sorry about earlier today. let's be friends"
Akane began to run off, but, as I was getting my uniform on, I stopped her.
"Akane, why are you like that with Ranma?"
"Honestly...I don't particularly like him."
"Then why are you so protective of him....sort of?"
Akane had to stop and think about this for a moment. She was obviously a good deal more experienced at the clothing thing than I was, as she was already dressed. Finally, reluctantly, she spoke...
"I guess it's because I've never had much of a good relationship with any boys, excluding one, and I'm not about to be stood up by one. Does that make any sense?"
I nodded dumbly, and this seemed to satisfy her.
"So, Futaba-chan Shimeru. What's your next class?"
"Er..." I paused to look at my schedule. "The principal put me in home-ec."
She practically bounced with delight. "Great! I'm in that class too!"
I toed the ground reluctantly. "...but I can't cook..."
Akane shrugged. "You're probably a good deal better than I am. Just relax and have fun."
Home-ec passed quickly as I grew to like Akane more and more, though I knew, with that temper of hers, that I could never see her as more than a friend. She was right about one thing, though. I was a much better cook than she. I noticed a number of broken ovens with her name and moderately large amounts of Yen written on labels on their fronts.
***
By the time I got home, I was exhausted, so the last thing I expected was to meet Futana-kun at my front door, holding a pair of tight jeans and a black T-shirt.
"Put these on, Futaba-chan. We're going shopping," He said with a glint in his eye. "After all, you can't wear my sports bra forever, or that other little pretty I gave you! These things are expensive and it's time for you to buy your own."
Futana tossed the clothing to me, which I quickly sprinted into my room to put on and, finding the shirt to be a few sizes to small, walked back downstairs in only jeans and the bra that I put on after gym.
"Um, Futana....this shirt is way too small."
"Relax, sis. It's the style now. Everybody loves the midriff!" I gave her a withering look but put the shirt on.
That being done, we walked out the door and got into Futana's car, heading for downtown Nerima to buy clothing.
Chapter 1, End.
Well...this is the rough draft of The Matchmaker, chapter 1, and I'm sure you found it to be very different from Memoirs and Zhenmaoh (which is on hold) to say the least.
Please E-mail comments and Criticisms to Inu_Ranma@yahoo.com
Thank you!
Inu.
I don't know when it finally hit me...I was living in a school full of maniacs. I can't for the life of me see why I never noticed before, but I sure as hell do now. I'm Futaba Shimeru, Furinkan High School's `Star of Wrestling' and a member of Freshman class A. I've been studying Wrestling and various grappling techniques for my entire life, and it's been normal. My Mother has worked for the government. My Father has stayed home, and my sister, well, Futana's Futana.
Anyway, everything had been relatively calm until the start of this year, when I finally learned why my family was so weird.
It started right smack on the first day of my second semester at Furinkan high. I managed to get to school as I normally did-Vaulting the side wall in order to avoid the brawls that went on out front-but this time I managed to get run over by a girl with fiery red hair and a pigtail just as I landed.
"Gomen ne!" The girl gave me a glance to make sure I was okay then ran off, not even offering me a hand to help me up.
"Pigtailed goddess!" Just as I was standing up, the School's Kendo Captain, one Tatewaki Kuno, charged straight into me and began propelling me directly along the trail of the redheaded girl. Not wanting to get caught up in this, I did what any sensible wrestler would do.
I chokeslammed him.
When Kuno came to, I was long gone.
As I wandered in the direction of my classroom I wondered who that pig-tailed girl was. There was so much going on at Furinkan that I didn't pay attention to. I wasn't exactly popular. I was too busy with dealing with schoolwork to really care. Wrestling was more fun than these weirdos anyway.
As slight poke on my shoulder jolted me from my reverie. I turned my head to see a tall guy with jet-black hair, sporting a pigtail similar to the one that the redhead had.
"That was a nice move, man! Thanks for the save!" The pigtailed guy ran off to a classroom across the hallway from mine. Class D. So he was a a freshman as well.
I walked into my classroom and managed to get seated just as the bell rang.
"Oi, Futaba!" Hiroshi, a tall, lanky guy who had transferred from Class D to my class at the start of the semester, grabbed me on the shoulder. "Nice job taking Kuno out today! You sure saved Ranma some trouble."
"Who's Ranma?" I was dumbfounded-I hadn't done anybody a favor recently.
"He's the one who you saved from Kuno today.
I shook my head and went back to my classwork. "Whatever, Hiroshi."
Not more than five minutes later, he tugged on my shoulder again. "Yo...check these out."
He tossed five pictures onto my desk that were of the redheaded girl, nearly nude, washing her hair.
"What the hell are you doing, Hiroshi? I could get in trou-"
"Shimeru Futaba!" A well-aimed eraser nailed me in the back of the head. "Go stand in the hall!" The teacher was repressing a smirk, I could tell by his voice. "And take your pictures with you."
"But Sensei! They're not..."
"Go, Shimeru!"
I quickly gathered up the photos and stood in the hall.
It was distressingly silent in the pristine, immaculate halls of Furinkan high, so I got bored quickly. Having nothing better to do, I began to look at the photos.
Hey. I was only human.
As I began to look at the photos over and over again...I began to get hot, and I began to feel sick. I began to turn towards the door of the classroom to ask my teacher if I could go to the nurse's office, but that's when the blackness came.
***
"Where did you find her?" A clinical voice, borne across the void of silence by my aching head, beseeched the rest of the emptiness.
"She was just lying there in the hall, carrying pictures of Ranma." This voice was male, deep, and not sounding anything but full of himself. "I can't see why, for the life of me."
"She's a looker, ain't she. `Dis Keiki gonna be on `da schools best teams once we reach her parents. Why `dun I see before, tho'?" The principal's obviously fake Hawaiian accent was far from being music to my ears. I had the luck of only having met the principal a few times since coming to Furinkan. I thanked my stars that they were concentrating on some girl, not me, and opened my eyes one by one to let in the light.
"Look. She's coming to! Let's ask her!" I opened my eyes in the direction of that voice, the clinical one to see the school's nurse staring directly at me. "Are you okay, dear? It looks like you overheated and fell down in one of our hallways. Can I get you anything? A glass of water, perhaps?"
"I'm fine. What about the girl in the other bed?" My voice felt odd, but I made nothing of it. After all, the nurse said I had just passed out.
"Der's no bed but dis one in da nurse's office, keiki. Who are ya?" I turned to my right to see the principal, adorned in hawaiian shirt and shorts as usual, and a boy with long hair, glasses, and a voluminous Chinese robe looking down on me.
"Then who were you talking about?" This was getting confusing, and my headache was getting worse.
Just as the principal was about to speak again, a tall, muscular boy with green hair barged into the room. "Gomen ne, sensei! My sister isn't used to public places. Gomen ne! I'll take her home now!" Bowing all the while, the boy picked me up like I was a doll, forcing me to wrap my arms around his neck, and walked out the door of the nurse's office, still bowing.
About this time i noticed that A: I was only wearing a hospital gown, B: My hands felt much softer and smaller than usual, and C: having my chest pressed up to another guy was uncomfortable, but not entirely so.
"Please explain what...doing?" I found it hard to get any breath out.
"You picked a hell of a time to grow up, cutie! Lucky Dad's had tabs on you since you hit puberty."
"What are you talking bout?"
The boy stopped, then took a sharp turn into a girls' bathroom. After one glance from him, all the girls who were in there giggled and ran out as he set me down on my feet in front of the mirror.
I wobbled a bit, and then regained my balance to come face-to-face with a beautiful girl, same green hair as the boy who stood behind me, grinning like a maniac, and a body that could win wars.
"This is some joke, right?" I was getting more confused by the moment.
"No Joke, Futaba-chan! Meet the new you!" As the boy made a grand gesture of introduction behind me, looking in the mirror, darkness chose to claim me again.
***
When I regained my consciousness for the second time that day, I was in my bed, and the slight pitter-patter of raindrops tickled my ears, reminding me that the world couldn't really be that upside down..
I quickly took a peek under the covers to discover that I was stark naked, and that I was male. It must have been a dream. I looked at my clock, expecting to see it being just about to chime 7AM, but instead saw that it was closer to 7PM.
I sat up and looked to my door to see my sister, Futana, leaning against the doorjamb.
"Rise and Shine, beautiful!" My sister casually walked up to me and gave me a squeeze. "Ready for dinner?"
Something was up. Futana was being entirely too nice.
"What's the deal, Futana? You're being entirely too nice." It usually paid to be blunt with my sister, as being anything else tended to get one groped.
Futana made a moue. "I'm just happy to see that my widdle brother has finally grown up! Can't I be happy for you, Futaba-chan?"
"Just leave me alone, Futana." I gave my sister a stern look, letting her know that I wanted some privacy to get dressed now.
As I walked downstairs I smelled something odd...was Mom cooking red beans with rice?
"What's with the special dinner?" I tried to act casual as I walked into my family's spacious living-room.
"I heard you achieved your heritage today, Futaba. Congratulations!" My father was obviously hiding his true elation at whatever had happened.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Dad." I had a sinking feeling-was all of what had just happened a dream?
My dad made doe eyes at me and grinned. "Oh, but I think you do, Futaba! It's nothing to hide. It happens to your sister and I too!" With that he flipped out a small photo and showed it to me. It was a photo of the redhead, this time completely nude.
"Your sister found these in your pockets when she picked you up. These pictures must have been what activated the change. I'll have to have them framed!"
"Da-ad! Where did you get th-" I lost my breath as I got a good look at the picture. The redhead wasn't just cute. She was gorgeous!..."
POP!
I suddenly felt distinctly odd.
My father let out an ecstatic laugh.
"So it is true, Futaba! We'll have to organize things with the principal right away!" He held up a mirror to show me the green-haired girl from my dream. I was the green haired girl!
"She's so cute!" Futana walked up to me and gave me a slightly less chaste hug then before.
"I can't believe this!" This couldn't have been true. I was a normal guy! I had friends, looked at soft porn, and avoided martial artists! Why was this happening to me? I was getting truly angry now, and there was nobody who could stop it.
"Calm down, Futaba-chan," dad tried to sooth me, but to no avail. "You need to calm down or things will get awkward."
"Why should I calm down!? Why didn't you tell me about this before?" I picked up a jacket and cap and ran outside, slamming the door on the way. The last thing I wanted was to be subject to Futana's teasing. I needed to be somewhere alone. Maybe the rain would cool my temper.
***
As I walked through the streets of Nerima I eventually came to unfamiliar territory, a park that I had never been to.
Not having much else to do, with the rain doing its level best to soak me to the bone, I came to the park restroom and immediately came upon a quandary. There were two sides to this. I could turn right and enter the men's room, ignoring my physical form, or I could take the left fork to the women's restroom. I was in uncharted territory.
I couldn't see any other way. I was female at the time, so I went into the left doorway, which became a foundation for what is one of the most interesting evenings I've ever had.
When I entered the restroom, not knowing what to expect, I encountered something unusually....usual. It was mostly the same as the Men's room, minus the stand-up urinals and with a little bit of sill added under the mirror. I slowly took off my jacket and T-shirt, examining the body that was surely my own, as odd as it seemed at the time. Not knowing anything better to do, I knotted the bottom of the shirt, confining my....my breasts uncomfortably, but making me look otherwise quite boyish. I gathered my Jacket tightly about me and stuffed as much of my hair as possible into the cap before going out into the world once again, looking somewhat like a boy, albeit a bishounen, but looking like a boy who was not me. I hadn't been able to consider that the girl in the mirror was me, and not just some insane curse.
When the rain once again began to assail me I noticed that it did not seem as bad as before now that I was bundled up. Maybe I would be able to sort out my chaotic thoughts. With this optimism in my mind, I began to wander the streets once again in search of inner Nerima and a way back home to sort out what exactly was going to happen.
Suddenly, a scream interrupted my thoughts.
"Why do you always have to do that, you stupid macho tomboy!? I was just trying to keep the pig from-"
"He's just an animal, Ranma! It's just like you to be jealous of a little pig!"
"That's it! I'm outta here! I don't have to take this shi-" I heard the sound of knuckle hitting flesh, and a body landed on top of me. I barely managed to drop to my knees to absorb the weight of the fall, and was surprised to find that the red-headed girl from earlier that day had fallen quite literally into my lap.
"Are you okay?" I asked, trying to artificially deepen my voice so that I still looked male. The redhead could only manage a slight moan that sounded something like 'tomboy.'
Not knowing what else to do, I began to search for shelter from the rain, for the girl must have had some kind of concussion and being in this cold, though it didn't bother me all that much, surely was a strain on her.
Eventually, I came to a bridge near a river that looked as if it had a slight enclosure under it that could fit the two of us, albeit cozily. Seeing no better place, I quickly carried her in and made sure that she was out of the now-pouring rain.
The minute I myself leaned back against the hard-cement 'wall' of the enclosure, which felt more like a cave at that time, I was asleep. My emotional exhaustion from that day had finally overtaken me.
***
I woke up to the sound of my alarm and immediately hopped out of bed, slamming the button on the small-raucous buzzer that notified me of the fact that it was time for school. I threw my uniform on and ran out the door, not giving my dad more than a nod, and charged all the way to Furinkan without getting breakfast. Just as I was about to make it through the gate the principal appeared in front of me.
"Oh! Dis' a kawaii Keiki! Will'ye bein' goin' out with da ol' principal now?" I didn't have time to stop, as the bell was about to ring so I quickly dodged to the side and dashed the rest of the way to my room without further exchange.
The teacher took role as normal, but then stared me directly down past his glasses when I answered.
"Is this some type of joke, miss? Because I do not find it funny. Please report to your classroom now." By now all eyes were upon me. That's when I realized that I wasn't me. I was the green haired girl, and I did not like the look in those boys' eyes. Gradually, one by one, they each got out of their chairs and came towards me, hunger in there eyes, all except one, who turned away from me, showing only the back of his head, sporting a pig-tail. Eventually, my view was blacked out by the rest of the boys, lustful and grinning with the act they were about to commit.
***
I awoke screaming in an unfamiliar bed. It was not my home and it smelled decidedly of pancakes. Not entirely unpleasant, really. As surveyed the room in which I sat, which was not much larger than my room, though the bed was nearly double the size of my own, a pretty girl knocked softly on the mostly-ajar door.
"You gave us a fright there, sugar. Ran-chan didn't know what to think of you and he wasn't about to bring you back to the Tendo place, what with Akane and all, so he brought ya to Konatsu and me." She softly shut the door behind her and walked towards me purposefully. Once she was within range she tore off my cap and grinned triumphantly. "I knew it! You're a girl!" She must have seen my chagrin at her realization, as she immediately sobered up. "I'm sorry, hun. Believe it or not I know how you feel. Ranchan thought you were unusually light but he's to shy to check, and I wasn't about to let Konatsu near you. I love him but he's a lecher if I let him be," she said as she winked slyly.
I snatched my cap back from her, not ready to give her trust, and gave her as icy of a glare as I could manage as I tucked my hair back under the cap. "Where am I and who are you? Where's that girl that fell on me?" The girl seemed to be making some mental connections of her own as I said that. "That girl....oh...She's downstairs. I think we have some explaining to do but first you two should talk. I'm going to call her up here, if that's okay, because you're not in any condition to be moving around. You've got a nasty fever." I tried to sit up and realized that she was right. I had no strength left.
As she walked for the door she made one final glance back at me and said "By the way...I'm Ukyo. Nice to meet you." With that she smiled and called out the door. "Ranchan! Maybe you two should talk!" I heard a clutter of footsteps as somebody came up some stairs, and then I saw the redheaded girl shyly slink into the door, looking quite abashed.
"I'm really sorry you had to get involved in that before. Akane's not usually that violent, really."
I couldn't understand why she was defending that guy!
"What are you talking about? He punched you over a wall! how can you not be mad at him! That's abuse!" I clutched the blankets that I sat under as the girl-Ranchan, Ukyo called her-pulled a chair up to the bed and looked at me sheepishly.
"Believe me, it's a helluva lot more complicated than it looks. You'd best just go home as soon as you're able to get up. It's almost 3 AM right now and your parents are probably worried sick, kid." Who was she calling kid? She couldn't have been more than a few months older than I was! No way I was letting her loose with a comment like that!
"I'm fifteen, you know," I said, glaring at the girl. "I'm perfectly able to take care of myself, and my parents have no business with me right now. They're the last people I want to talk to!" I regretted it the moment I said it, and it was plain that the redhead knew.
"Never say that in my presence," she said quietly. "You try having a damn father who believes that everything down to your dignity, down to your life and your manhood is worth giving up for becoming a better martial artist. You try having a mother who might force you to commit seppuku if you mess up! You've got it easier than you know, kid." This was pissing me off. This girl was making no sense and she was still calling me kid! I tried to sit up but managed only to roll over and fall out of bed, dislodging my cap and jacket.
In hindsight, I wish I had a picture of the look on the girl's face at that time, for it was certainly priceless.
"You're...a girl?"
I looked defiantly up at her from the floor. "Yeah...so...you have a problem with that?"
Despite my tone she broke into a grin. "I think I owe you an apology. I had assumed because of your high voice and the way you were trying to mask it that you were a young boy. I see. You can't be more than a few months far from my own age! I never thought to take a real good look at you." I relaxed a bit as the girl knelt over me a bit and offered me a hand, helping me back into bed. "Well hi. I'm Ranma Saotome."
"The Ranma Saotome who was getting chased by Kuno this morning?" I was a little dumbfounded.
"Yeah. What of it? How do you know about that?" She was suddenly on guard.
"Nothing...I just thought you were a guy." Again, Ranma gave me a guarded look.
"How? You weren't there this morning." I was about to open my mouth and correct him in his ungratefulness at my help, but then realized that I was the 'other' me.
I shrugged noncommittally and gave myself a little hug, just making sure that I was still all there. My heart was going rabbit-pace. I did not want to be found out.
Ranma didn't seem to want to give up the line of questioning, though, it seemed. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Futaba Shimeru" I rolled over and faced the window, which was about when I noticed the clock that stood on the sill. "Gods....you're right. I hadn't registered before. I should call home. Is there a phone here?" Ranma nodded with satisfaction and handed me a cordless phone, which I immediately used to dial Futana's pager. A few seconds later the phone rang, and I picked it up to hear Futana's voice. "Are you done running all over Nerima now, baby-girl, or do we get to play hide n' seek for a few more hours?"
"Just shut up and come get me, sis. I'm barely able to get out of this bed I'm running such a high fever. Can you get over yourself for a few minutes and give me a lift home?" I quickly queried Ranma as to the address and gave directions to Futana. In a matter of minutes, the green-haired boy from before showed up, winking slyly at Ukyo, her feminine boyfriend, and Ranma on her way upstairs, and eliciting a glare from Ranma by the way he sauntered around. Without so much as a word he slung me over his shoulder and bowed to Ranma. "I'm terribly sorry for my baby sister, miss. She's really not very good with people. Allow me to give you my phone number and offer you a date, courtesy of me, in consolation.
He managed to get out of the house and me into his car while only being pelted by a few fish cakes.
As I sedately buckled in and he started the car he gave me a hurt look, which I was almost to dazed to notice.
"You scared us, Futaba-chan. You scared us a lot. You'd better be pretty damn careful from this point on, and hope Dad doesn't ground you for life.
"Excuse me....Who are you!?" I managed to be surprised, despite my exhaustion.
The guy gave me an amused look and concentrated on the road for a minute. Then, with not more than a loud 'pop,' the guy was gone and Futana was there. The previous day was finally making sense. Futana gave me a knowing look, and the closest I'd ever seen from her to a caring smile, and then concentrated on the road completely. There was no more conversation until we got all the way home. Futana got out of the car and came around, helping me out and allowing me to use her shoulder as a sort of crutch. As we entered our home, our dad was there at the door, looking into my eyes sadly.
"I'm sorry about this, Futaba-chan. I thought that making this a joyous occasion would make it easier on you, as well. I was wrong. can you forgive me?" I was able only to nod dumbly, as exhaustion from the fever began to overtake me. "I'll simply trust that you learned what you needed to know tonight, and that hopefully, you've come to terms with what we are. Don't forget that Futana and I are here for you, and remember that the easiest way of living like this is by learning to enjoy it. Rest well, my son, my daughter. Tomorrow is a new day." I registered what I could of his speech, and crawled upstairs and into by bed with Futana's help. Dad was right. I had to make the best of this. But now, I had to sleep.
***
I awoke the next morning feeling very little of the distress and unreality that had plagued me the evening before. I knew that last night was not a dream, and I was, for some reason, happy that way. Sparing no time, I got dressed in my school uniform and ran downstairs two at a time only to encounter Futana and Dad, already eating breakfast.
"'morning, Sunshine," Futana said around a mouthful of pancakes, as dad gave me an appraising glance.
I nodded my greetings to Futana and returned Dad's glance. He was plotting something.
After a hearty breakfast I began to head out the door to head for school, but was stopped by a strong hand on my shoulder.
"I'm going to come with you today, Son. Principal Kuno is the same principal as when Futana was at your school, so he knows how to make your life a whole lot easier with the adjustments you need to make. I'll drive you so we can sort this all out." There seemed to be a hint of pride in his voice, but I must have had my head too far in the clouds to notice, thinking of how I could possibly cope with this and still have 'a life.'
***
We sat in the principal's office, which was unsurprisingly adorned with pictures of principal Kuno, in Hawaiian garb, in photos that were so obviously doctored that it was a wonder that the man wasn't blind.
"I've been expecting you, Mr. Shimeru. I had figured that you'd make this visit yesterday." All trace of accent was gone from the principal's voice, giving me a glance through the madness that gave the Furinkan student body reason to fear him and see that there was truly intelligence in that tree-topped skull. That caused enough surprise in me as is, but it was nothing compared to what he told me next.
"All of the secret passages are in place, Futaba-san, and all of the changing rooms between the girls' and boys' bathrooms are fully renovated for your sake. In return I ask very little of you. I want you to join Furinkan's Kenpo team. I just managed to get Ranma Saotome to offer to coach it with some...'academic coaxing,' and, having seen your wrestling skills I'd like to see if maybe Furinkan can have two martial stars."
"But why me?" I barely managed to gasp out a reply. This was becoming too shocking.
"Before Ranma Saotome, your older sister was the best martial artist I'd ever seen-" This was too much, so the change set in right on cue, eliciting a grin from the principal. "And we need a girl to be Ranma's counterpart for the skating and gymnastics tournaments. As much as I love teasing him about his girl form, and he still hasn't caught on about that, he's all male. You have no such inhibition."
"She'll do it." My father gave me a supportive glance and put his arm around my shoulder, "but in return you extend full privileges to Futaba because of her...condition, meaning she has essentially unlimited tardies, cumulative grades between her 'two selves' and an unlimited hall pass, and you transfer her to class A."
The principal nodded grimly. "In anything will prepare him for our tournaments, that will. I agree, Mr. Shimeru," the principal's sunglasses caught the sun, "and not it be bein' time for 'dis keiki to get her new school uniform and bein' introduced to her classmates."
I got up sheepishly and glanced at my father, who nodded and handed me a bag. "Good luck, Futaba-chan." He gave me a pat on the shoulder and left the room after that, nodding at the principal as he left. As his back was turned I saw something that I had never seen in the principal's eyes before.
Respect.
***
As I walked up to the student store the principal patted my bag. "You'll be wantin' to put those on, Keiki. The girls at Furinkan no bein' in the boxers all day. Noticing my blush he cackled evilly and pranced off, searching for truants to whom he could give toilet-duty.
I walked up to the counter at the store, trying to act casual, and bowed deferentially to the woman working there.
"Hi, miss," I said while staring at my feet, finding my tennis shoes very interesting. "I need to buy some...umm..."
The woman tapped the top of my head, and, at the sight of my confused glance, nodded understandingly.
"This, miss?" She held up a pair of the gym shorts that girls always wore in P.E and a shirt to match. I nodded dumbly, not wanting to give myself away.
"Well...that will be five hundred yen."
I shuffled my feet uncomfortably, looking at the back shelves of the store sheepishly.
"Is there more, miss?"
I nodded shyly.
She looked behind her and grabbed two seifuku that looked as if they would be about my size, but I wasn't done yet.
Half an hour, dozens of incoherent mumblings, and two-thousand yen later I had a week's worth of school clothing and was blushing so deeply it looked as if I was badly sunburnt.
The last step, though, was the hardest. I sneakily tiptoed into the girls bathroom, trying to make sure that nobody was there, and got a shriek as a result.
"Eeek! Pervert!" A girl ran out of the stall nearest to me brandishing a mallet and nearly brained me with it. she would have, had another not charged in between the two of us to stop her mallet in its path before it met its termination on my forehead.
"Yuka! Can't you see she's terrified!?" The second one, a short-haired girl with pretty green eyes winked at me. "Hi! I'm Sayuri. Are you new here? You can't be much more than a freshman and I've never seen you around..."
The long-haired one, Yuka, stashed her mallet and looked appraisingly at me. "Why are you wearing a boy's uniform, anyway?"
i twiddled my thumbs and said exactly what dad had rehearsed with me in the car on the way to school. "I didn't have any other clothing and I'm so...so confused..." I rolled out a crocodile tear and both girls shrugged.
"Well, we can try and help you if you like," Yuka said shyly. "What class are you in?"
"Freshman Class A. I'm a new transfer student," I sniffled a bit to complete the wistful image and dragged my bag into the now-vacant stall and began to disrobe, making sure that my boxers didn't drop on the floor and into Yuka and Sayuri's sight.
"Really?" Yuka's voice brightened considerably. "It happens that we're in that class too!"
What luck! I managed to find two people from my new class this soon. I put the white cotton panties that were in my bag on with no trouble at all, but had to puzzle over the sports bra for a bit.
"Yeah. It's just lucky the principal put us on toilet duty, I guess," Sayuri made a 'bleah' sound with distaste. I made a mental note to thank the principal next time I spoke to him in private.
Finally I managed to slip the seifuku on and re-open the stall door. Both girls instantly gave me appraising looks and each, obviously coming to her own conclusions, smiled.
I quickly zipped up my duffle bag and smiled cheerily at the two of them. "Well? Lead the way!"
***
The teacher stood up and glared at me immediately when i entered Freshman classroom A. I was probably as surprised as she was, as she couldn't have been more than twelve years old.
"Well, class. This must be the new student I've been briefed on," The girl's glare turned into a smile as she visibly showed recognition of memory when Sayuri and Yuka waled in behind me. "She'll be spending some time with us this semester, and is entirely new to Furinkan. Please welcome Futaba-chan Shimeru!"
There were a few bored claps and a few interested stares as I glanced around the room, most notably the one from the tall pigtailed boy in back, and, once she saw his expression, the scowling short-haired girl next to him. I noticed with relief, despite the stares, that Ukyo was in this classroom as well.
Realizing that I had a pregnant silence, I attempted to reconcile.
"O-ha-yo!" I managed probably the most cheerful three syllables I had ever spouted out. "I'm Futaba and I hope to have a lot of fun here at Furinkan! I'll be joining the Kenpo team so you're all sure to see me around, so don't hesitate to say 'hi!'"
This turned the pigtailed boy's glare into a nervous look and only deepened the short-haired girl's scowl. The teacher quickly pointed me to an empty seat and resumed her lesson.
"So, class! What have we learned from Shakespeare's Othello?"
The pigtailed boy's hand shot up immediately.
The teacher looked slightly afraid, but pointed at him and nodded. "Go ahead, Ranma."
It was my turn to shoot a glare at him. Ranma had been the red-haired girl from last night! That couldn't be! Two people with the same name, maybe?
before I had a change to complete the thought my glare was intercepted by the short-haired girl and returned tenfold, with a dose of raw hatred on the side. She had something against me and I had no idea what.
Ranma, oblivious to this, answered the teacher's question. "Well, Miss Hinako! I'd say that Othello was horrified in the end of what Iago, the one who he thought to be a friend, had turned out to be!" This guy was a dunce? Wasn't he able to really read Shakespeare? I shot my hand up as quickly as I could and fairly bounced in my seat, earning an approving smile from the diminutive teacher.
"I completely disagree with Ranma's analysis, Hinako-sensei. He's only looking it on the level of the outer battle. What caused Othello so much pain was not at what he found the beast Iago's true colors too be, but at what he in himself, for the beast was not in what Iago was, but what Iago created." This earned confused looks from about half the class, facefaults from another quarter, and interested glances from miss Hinako, Ranma, Ukyo, and the short-haired girl.
Miss Hinako put her book down and walked towards me purposefully. As I began to slouch down in my desk she took my hand and pumped it eagerly. "Bravo, Futaba-chan. I'm sure we'll be great friends. Welcome to my class."
***
After my outburst at Ranma's remark the entire class seemed to be much more casual, students chatting and even a few boys passing notes to me asking if I might want to go out and two Chinese students, one familiar-looking boy with long hair and glasses, and a girl with a very....loud outfit walking in and sitting down at the back of class. It seemed that they were new transfer students, much to Ranma's chagrin. All-in-all, It was a good day until lunch.
I was sitting casually, eating some pasta-bread in the small clearing in between a bush and the main building, just out of plain view of the sports field, where I always ate by myself when a tap came on my shoulder. It was the pigtailed boy, but his approach was so silent it scared me.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Futaba. You've opened my eyes twice today. I just hope you can manage to keep your head above the water." He flashed me an easy grin.
I gave him a silent stare and did my solid best not to return his grin, though it took effort. "Why are you treating me like a friend and what relation are you to Ranma Saotome? Is the fact that the two of you have the same given name just a coincidence?"
The boy stared at me for a moment as if I had grown a third arm and then let out a hearty laugh. "I think I owe you an apology and an explanation, Futaba-chan. If you give me a moment I'll be glad to clear this up." He immediately sat in seiza right in front of me as I grew more confused by the moment, and then looked squarely into my eyes.
"Now, if you would, would you please splash your cup of water right in my face."
Now it was my turn to give him an odd look. "You want me to what?"
"Splash it in my face!" I was growing more aggravated by the moment at this jerk, and he was asking for it, so I was only too happy to comply.
The result was a moment that I will never forget until the end of my days, for within instants of the water touching him, the boy was no longer a him, as he had become the scarlet-haired girl who I had met the night before, wearing a look of extreme embarrassment.
"Perhaps we should re-introduce ourselves. I'm Ranma Saotome. sorry 'bout this."
***
We talked for most of the rest of lunch, he explaining how he had contracted this curse on a training trip to China and me listening and nodding. I decided that he was someone with whom I could get along, but also knew I was not ready to tell anybody what I was. Luckily, the short-haired girl absolved me of the trouble of having to tell him anything at that time.
"So, pop and I went to the fair to cool down, and that's where I caught the fishes using the very technique that the old hag had taught-oopmh!" A brick hit the boy squarely in the forehead, causing me to jump back a few feet and crouch into a defensive huddle. His assailant quickly made herself evident by running up and attempting to hit him over the head in the same place where the now-shattered brick had hit.
"There you are! You lecher!" The girl was yelling at Ranma as if he was a wayward dog who had just eaten her homework. "Do I have to tie you to a tree to keep you from being a pervert!?" She barely paid any attention to my hand holding hers back until I gave it a shake.
By that time I as so incensed that I had to keep my voice in a low growl in order to not let my anger at this girl consume me. "You'd better have a reason for having done that. He hasn't done anything to hurt you." The girl looked at me as if I was pond scum, making it all the much harder to contain my anger. "Ranma's my fiance, ditz. He shouldn't be messing around with other girls."
Strangely enough, two days earlier I wouldn't have even considered hitting a girl. Only intervention by a strange boy with long hair and glasses saved her from what would have been a broken nose. As is, I heard the distinct creak of bone in his hand as he caught my punch.
"Settle down, Shimeru. This is neither the time nor the place. Akane, you come with me, now." Without waiting for her consent the boy hopped off, Akane kicking and flailing under his right arm, negating to give so much as a backward glance at Ranma. When I turned back to Ranma he was staring apologetically, but not in the direction that Akane was carried off in. He was looking at me.
"I'm truly sorry about that, but hitting Akane is the worst thing you could have tried to do. She's one of those people who becomes your enemy for life, or your best friend. She's never in between."
I looked into Ranma's eyes, noticing how deep and beautiful they were. "And which are you, to her?"
He simply shrugged.
"Why are you affianced to her, Ranma?" The directness of my question caught him off guard.
"I-I....our fathers arranged it and I didn't-"
"Then why do you stay with her, if it's this way? Why don't you tell your father to go to hell and leave her? do you love her?"
Ranma began to nod, but then halted. I confirmed my own thoughts as he shook his head, slowly but resolutely from side to side, his eyes glazing as he did. Something inside me reached out to him and I gathered him in my arms. He pulled away but looked longingly at me, nonetheless. "I tried to be what I could to her, really did, but it always ended up with us fighting and her hitting me with something blunt. I just never worked out for us. She's just so..."
I hushed him and reached out to him again, my head telling me how inherently wrong what I was doing was and my heart telling my head to shut the hell up, because he needed this.
"It's okay Ran....chan." I risked using the honorific that Ukyo had used the other night, hoping that it would cheer him up. "Look. Lunch's almost over so we had to go to Phys Ed now. You get to try end teach me Kenpo! Don't concentrate on her for a while, Ignore your medieval parents and enjoy yourself!"
His gaze brightened enough for me to steal the spot and stuff a sweet chestnut into his mouth. "An opening!" Somehow, that managed to break all tension, and we both ended up laughing on the way to our next classes.
***
I honestly couldn't see how girls could stand wearing bloomers outside. They were so small! I may as well have been in my underwear, and the leers from the boys who sat on the grass at the sides of the field made it plain that they were thinking exactly the same thing.
I shrugged as I ran up to meet Ranma and the rest of the Furinkan Kendo team. Ranma looked to be in a much better mood, but he had not changed his clothes. Maybe he wasn't up for practicing today.
I was surprised when Ranma motioned closer to me and nodded affirmatively to the rest of the class.
"Okay. Today you are all going to learn how to fall. Any of you who have already taken a competitive sport such as wrestling or football should know this, and those of you who don't know this will benefit greatly from it. Futaba-chan, let's have you come up first.
I stepped up to Ranma and folded back into a mirror of the stance he was going into.
"Now, Futaba, good stance, I'm going to throw you." It still caught me off guard when he did exactly what he said he was going to do, but I managed to do a half-somersault and land on my feet, barely.
The class applauded as Ranma nodded to me. "Now, guys, what did you notice from Futaba's landing?"
The group of students was dead silent, much to my amusement.
"Okay. I'll tell you. Futaba kicked upwards, not downwards as I sent her hurtling through the air. Not only did this bring her feet, which she made the heaviest part of her body, down by doing so, but she softened the landing that she would have had if she had kicked downwards. Futaba, I would suggest tucking your arms in next time too."
I nodded and Ranma continued on. At the end of the hour I was exhausted, but I had thoroughly enjoyed myself.
***
In the locker room, as I was getting changed, a hand tapped on my shoulder again, but this time I knew who it was. I closed my locker and gave a questioning look to Akane, who was standing sheepishly behind me.
"I think I owe you an apology, Futaba-chan. I have to admit that when I saw you and Ranma there I assumed the worst, and that when you stopped me from hitting him, despite how wrong I was to do so, I was even angrier, because nobody stands up to me, much less him. Er...do you need a hand with that?" She began to laugh good-naturedly as I fumbled with the bra I was trying to get on.
It was my turn to look sheepish now, but at least I was beginning to see what Ranma could have seen in Akane past the violence. "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to wearing these things."
Akane gave me a critical look and laughed nervously. "I see that."
I must have blushed down to my knees as Akane quickly slipped behind me and helped me attach the bra.
"There," she said. "I'm sorry about earlier today. let's be friends"
Akane began to run off, but, as I was getting my uniform on, I stopped her.
"Akane, why are you like that with Ranma?"
"Honestly...I don't particularly like him."
"Then why are you so protective of him....sort of?"
Akane had to stop and think about this for a moment. She was obviously a good deal more experienced at the clothing thing than I was, as she was already dressed. Finally, reluctantly, she spoke...
"I guess it's because I've never had much of a good relationship with any boys, excluding one, and I'm not about to be stood up by one. Does that make any sense?"
I nodded dumbly, and this seemed to satisfy her.
"So, Futaba-chan Shimeru. What's your next class?"
"Er..." I paused to look at my schedule. "The principal put me in home-ec."
She practically bounced with delight. "Great! I'm in that class too!"
I toed the ground reluctantly. "...but I can't cook..."
Akane shrugged. "You're probably a good deal better than I am. Just relax and have fun."
Home-ec passed quickly as I grew to like Akane more and more, though I knew, with that temper of hers, that I could never see her as more than a friend. She was right about one thing, though. I was a much better cook than she. I noticed a number of broken ovens with her name and moderately large amounts of Yen written on labels on their fronts.
***
By the time I got home, I was exhausted, so the last thing I expected was to meet Futana-kun at my front door, holding a pair of tight jeans and a black T-shirt.
"Put these on, Futaba-chan. We're going shopping," He said with a glint in his eye. "After all, you can't wear my sports bra forever, or that other little pretty I gave you! These things are expensive and it's time for you to buy your own."
Futana tossed the clothing to me, which I quickly sprinted into my room to put on and, finding the shirt to be a few sizes to small, walked back downstairs in only jeans and the bra that I put on after gym.
"Um, Futana....this shirt is way too small."
"Relax, sis. It's the style now. Everybody loves the midriff!" I gave her a withering look but put the shirt on.
That being done, we walked out the door and got into Futana's car, heading for downtown Nerima to buy clothing.
Chapter 1, End.
Well...this is the rough draft of The Matchmaker, chapter 1, and I'm sure you found it to be very different from Memoirs and Zhenmaoh (which is on hold) to say the least.
Please E-mail comments and Criticisms to Inu_Ranma@yahoo.com
Thank you!
Inu.