Disclaimer: I wish I do, but I don't own Ranma 1/2 & its characters

Chapter 1

It was an old photo of a young woman, faded, but very much treasured by this man, which kept him crying all these years. Yes, Soun Tendo could never forget his long dead wife. He missed her so much that he can't wait to meet her again, soon.

"My darling, it won't be long, I'll get to see you once again!" wailed the frail looking Soun, staring at his wife's photo.

"Father, please don't say that! Do you really want to leave us all?" cried Kasumi, his eldest daughter.

"I'm sorry Kasumi, but my heart is so weak now. I only got lucky to survive that heart attack to say my last goodbye to you & your sisters..."

"Oh Father. Don't think anything about that! How can we live without even a single parent around...?"

"Kasumi dear, don't worry, I've asked my good old friend to look after you all when I'm gone. "Sniffed Soun.

"Please stop father. You just need to rest well & eat lots of nutritious food to get back to your healthier self! Oh my, I better go now and prepare our dinner!"

When Kasumi got down the hall, she heard their doorbell rung. So, she went to their gate and was greeted by a delivery man, handing her a postcard. She went back upstairs to give it to her father.

"They're here Kasumi, my good friend Genma & his son Ranma, are on their way now! Quick, get Nabiki & Akane here, I've got to tell you something important! Soun said excitedly.

After awhile, up in Soun's room...

"Whaaaaat?" The three sisters exclaimed in unison.

"But dad? How can you engaged us to someone we haven't even met! He could be anything but a pervert boy!" Akane, the youngest, who hates boys, protested.

"Well, as long as he's cute...and have a lot of potential, I won't mind!" Nabiki, their "money-maker", quipped.

"Oh my! I hope he's a responsible guy, and older than me! Said Kasumi, their eldest and the motherly figure in their home.

"Girls, girls! I'm sure anyone of you will like Ranma! Soun assured the three.

They were interrupted by a doorbell. So the three girls went to their gate.

"Hmm, he's cute!" Nabiki purred, while batting eyelashes to the young man.

"Um pops, what's the meaning of this?" Ranma blushingly exclaimed.

"Finally I found your dojo! Oh where is my good friend Soun?" inquired the older guy.

"Father is upstairs in his room, he's very weak to meet you right now. I'll lead you two to him, follow me please." Kasumi calmly said.

"Hmp, a boy!" Akane said while following them all up to their house. Ranma did not miss her intense & piercing look, making him shudder a bit.

"Genma my ol' friend! It's great to see you again!" Soun beamed.

"Soun, great to see you too! I heard what happened, how are you feeling now?"

"That's the reason I wrote you a letter months ago...I think my days are numbered! But, my girls, I don't want to just leave them behind. I've got to make sure someone will look after them & protect them!"

"Don't say that my friend! But have no doubt, I'll protect your children to the best of my abilities, I promise you that in our honour! Right my boy?" Genma assured.

"..." Ranma was really confused now.

"And the dojo! Soun exclaimed. "I assumed you haven't forgotten our promises?"

"Of course not my friend! Well here's my son Ranma. We just got back from our training in China to make him the greatest martial artist in the world!" boasted Genma

"Hahaha! And the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts will flourish to become the best martial arts school! Soun added. "Well Ranma these are my daughters, Kasumi 19yrs old, Nabiki 17, & Akane 16. Choose anyone you like Ranma, and she will be your bride!"

"Are you kidding?" Shouted Ranma. "I ain't gonna marry no one! Girls will only distract me from getting my goal. I don't have time for this marriage thing, I should just go back to china and train!"

"Speak for yourself! And you think anyone of us would seriously marry you? Hah, dream on you pervert!" Akane hotly replied, feeling a little hurt by Ranma's blunt comment.

"Who are you calling pervert..?" Ranma then noticed her wearing a gi, and a little sweaty. "...you tomboy!"

"Why you..?"

"Hahaha! Looks like we already have a couple here Genma!"

"It's very obvious Soun! Of course a marriage between my son & your daughter is just the most natural thing to happen! Well they even share the same age. Boy you chose your mate just right!"

"We're not!" shouted Akane & Ranma angrily.

"Well, well, well! I must admit, you two seem to have chemistry, you're both immature & loud!" Nabiki laughed, with glint in her eyes. She suddenly realized a new source for her money-making scheme.

"Oh my! Of course being both martial artists, you two are perfect for each other!" Kasumi added, feeling genuinely happy for her baby sister. "Maybe she will eventually learn not to hate boys." She thought.

"I can't believe you two!" Akane snapped.

"Akane my dear! Won't you grant your dying father's wish? I'd like to be assured that our dojo & school's legacy will live on before I die. I don't think I have much time left." Soun said pleadingly.

"But dad...!" Akane wanted to object but saw how sad & dejected Soun suddenly turned into. How frail he is & how dark the circles around his eyes had been. She realized that her father is seriously ill, and that she won't forgive herself if anything would happen to him without getting his wish granted.

She took a deep breath & said, "Can I, just think about it? I love you Dad and I want you to be happy...I just need to be alone for awhile." and so Akane turned her back to them, trying hard to keep her tears from falling before reaching her room.

Everyone was silent, looking at Akane's retreating back.

Up in her room, Akane cried as quietly as she can.

She thought, "How can they gang up on me? How can I be able to deny dad's wish when seriously he might get a heart attack again and this time...he might not be able to make it! But then, who am I kidding. I barely know anything about this Ranma boy, except that he seems like a jerk, and a martial artist with the same school as ours!"

Author's Note

Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic, so please bear with me for all the flaws you've found in my writing...well, I should add that this is already the edited version. As I've mentioned before, I want to shorten this first chapter but I've got to have a good flow of conversation among the casts. I hope this is better now from my first post.