AN1: This is a rewrite of Travelers. And Ranma is going to be OOC by seeming to be a lot smarter then usual, and Kasumi will also be OOC, just in attitude. Sorry if that turns you off. Oh and this has a slightly Super Ranma. Not God Like or anything near that, but slightly super.
AN2: Version 2.0 of a rewrite. Dang I'm bad.
Summery: After Saffron and the failed wedding, Ranma finally realizes that he will forever be half girl, so he wants to try to learn to get used to being one. After locking himself, temporarily, in his girl form, due to too many protests, he tries to see what life as a she is like. Unfortunately in a fight with Happosai, Kasumi gets swept into a portal that he summoned, and in trying to save her, they both get swept into a different dimension, one where the Sailor Senshi live, and it seems that Sailor Pluto recognizes both of them.
Disclaimer: I do not own the intellectual property that is Ranma One Half or any of its associated characters, locations, items, ideas, or anything else that may be associated with it. Those belong to each of its respective copyright owners. I do not own the intellectual property that is Sailor Moon or any of its associated characters, locations, items, ideas, or anything else that may be associated with it. Those belong to each of its respective copyright owners. I do not own any of the intellectual properties that are other fictional persons, places or things. Those belong to each of their own copyright owners. I do not own any real person, place or thing. Those belong to either themselves, in the case of a person, or their real life current true owners in case of a place or object. What I do own is any and every original person, place or thing, used in here as well as the story its self. Those very few things are mine. And that's all that ever will be mine.
STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND
CHAPTETR ONE
THE NEW GIRLS IN TOWN
Life's a funny thing. I, at one point in time, would never be caught dead doing anything even remotely similar to this, but now, now I was doing it with an air of pride.
What was I doing, you may ask? I, Ranma Saotome, the once self proclaimed 'Man among men' who was cursed to change into a female when splashed with cold water, had locked myself in my cursed form.
Yes I had locked myself. It is quite easy to lock yourself in your cursed form when you have a Jusenkyo curse. It's impossible to do the opposite though. And curing yourself, well good luck with that. All my so called 'shots at a cure' had blown up in my face, and, as I had destroyed the place I gotten my curse in a fight, I couldn't go to the source for a solution. Not that I would want to, for I had figured out a long time ago that the curses dispensed by Jusenkyo were additive, meaning they mixed. A prime example of that would be one Pantyhose Taro, who was a monster plain and simple when in his cursed form.
So, why had I locked myself in my cursed form you may ask? Well it was to get used to it. You see, it had occurred to me that while everyone else had gotten used to their curses, I had not. Not that it wasn't my fault, you try turning into a girl at the most inopportune moments and not have it annoy you, but it wasn't all my fault, for their was a small conspiracy against me to even begin to even except my curse.
For my father felt that women were weak and worthless. Women are not weak. I dare any man to have a period and then say that. But I, in my ignorance, chose to believe my father for the longest time, even though I had so much evidence to the contrary. Then my mother comes into the picture. She had a stupid contract that I had signed with FINGER PRINTS IN FINGER PAINT WHEN I WAS FIVE, saying that if I was not a 'Man among men', I'd commit ritual suicide. I'd rather not, thank you very much. I now no longer even acknowledge that contract, for one, my Mother has declared me to be a 'Man among men' and two, honestly, I was five, I could not read, and I SIGNED THE DAMN THING WITH MY FINGERPRINTS!! Besides, my mom's views on being manly are all screwed up. I think she would love it if I got every single one of my fiancée's pregnant, for then she'd have more grandkids that way. All she wants out of me is grandchildren. At times I feel that all I am to her is a walking sperm factory, and the product to be produced by me is little grandchildren for her. Ugh.
Then we move on to one of my prospective father in laws, Soun Tendo. He feels that if I was comfortable with my girl side I wouldn't marry his daughter Akane. Not that I'd marry her anyways, seeing as she does not want me to. Then we move onto Akane herself. She hates me. I finally have figured that out. What with the way she screams it at the top of her lungs daily, you think I would have had some clue to that before now, but alas, I am usually very dense on these sorts of things, and I had thought that I loved her, when it was just the idea of being in love with her that I was in love with. She hates me because she's jealous of me, and I can't do anything to stop it, so I gave up on that. The first fight I ever lost because of giving up.
There are tons of others that also do not want me to get comfortable with my girl side, but I won't go into them here, for it would take me forever and a day to do so, so let's talk about the one person who is supporting me in my quest to understand my feminine side, Kasumi Tendo. She was like me, taken for granted by everyone around her, me included at one point in time, but that time had long since past. Now we were helping each other. She was helping me on my quest to understand the female aspect of my life, and I was helping her break out of the shell she had surrounded herself with after her mother's death.
A lot of people were disturbed when I locked my self on my quest for self understanding, but Kasumi had understood my reasoning, and she had supported it. And now I was taking her out to a movie, one of those so called chick flicks, because things were going to hell in a hand basket back at the Tendo home.
You see, since Kasumi and I had been spending so much time together lately, even more so after I had locked myself, the geniuses that are our fathers decided that it was time to switch the engagement from myself and Akane to me and Kasumi, 'For we get along so well' in their terms. I had to get out of there before I went and killed them all. Not that I minded being engaged to Kasumi, just the opposite in fact, but the fact is that they will always try to run my life. I felt trapped by them. No matter where I go in this world, they would eventually find me and then make my life a living hell.
So I went to an ice-cream parlor with Kasumi and we had discussed things. I found out that she had no real objection to being engaged to me save one. That being they would always try to run our lives. We needed a way out, and we needed it badly. Then after a futile brainstorming session, I suggested this movie to help us relax.
I really don't see what guys have against these so called 'Chick Flicks' they're ok. A little sappy at times, but ok. Then again, I just laugh at those action movies. My life makes them seem tame.
As the movie ended I stood up while I straitened my skirt. Yes, I, Ranma 'I'M A GUY DAMN IT!' Saotome, was wearing a skirt. And a mini at that. They're easier to fight in. As I stood so did Kasumi. As we left I heard the scariest sound a woman could ever hear. Because I now was one at the moment, it was scary to me too.
"Sweeto!" was the scream. Yes, Happosai, the master of perversion, was out there stealing bras. I stood in dumb shock as the master lecher finally went too far. He stole Kasumi's bra! As I stood there in dumb shock, he stole mine as well. Yes I was wearing one. You don't spend a lot of time as a girl and not.
"I never figured you'd actually wear one my boy. This will be my finest treasure!" he then cackled.
"You finally went too far old man. You stole Kasumi's bra!" I shouted as my battle aura flared up. As a true student of the art, I strived to improve myself even more since Saffron's defeat. I had almost lost that day. I was better now than I had been then, and it truly showed. I was finally releasing my true battle aura since that day. The 'Master' saw that he was no match and while I expected him to run and then to have to chase him all over the whole damn ward, he swore and pulled out a scroll. He mumbled a few words, and then there was a portal right where I had been. I was about to taunt the old man, when I noticed something. The portal was swallowing Kasumi!
I ran to her, grabbing her hands, trying to pull her out, and we both got sucked through. All the while I heard Happosai laughing insanely.
As I got up I noticed we were in a park. It was night and the sounds of fighting were coming this way.
"Kasumi, come on get up!" I shouted when I noticed she was lying on the ground.
"Huh?" was Kasumi's semi-conscious reply.
"Shit." I whispered. I was going to have to fight while protecting her. She was in no condition to move, I could see that now. She might even need medical help. I don't know.
It was then that I saw the fighters coming. Some sort of monsters were running around, stealing people's energy. Not their Ki, but something else, something very important. It made them all fall over, drained, like they had lost the will to live. I would not let that happen to Kasumi!
So I stood in front of Kasumi and waited, and then one of them saw us. The others were being dealt with by some teenager girl's in some very provocative fuku's, but this one was unattended. So I waited as it charged us and at the last possible moment I through a Möko Takabisha at it.
It was hurt enough by it to stop, but it then just started to repair the damage. So I then launched into a Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken, followed by a Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken revised, chestnut kick, followed by another Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken. The plan worked. It was hurt, dazed, and far enough from Kasumi to do what I wanted.
I started to spiral around it while taunting it and preparing it for a world of pain. When it was in the perfect position for the move I screamed out "Hiryü Shöten Ha!" And then the Dragon ripped it up real good.
But, after it got back on the ground from my Ki born tornado, it slowly stood up and started to repair all the damage I dealt to it yet again. "What the hell is this thing?" I asked of myself while deciding that I would have to go all out and kill this thing before it could get past me and to Kasumi. I hate to kill, but ever since Saffron, I had learned a very important lesson, sometimes you must take a life to preserve a life. And it seemed that this was one of those times.
So I then prepared to do a move I had only done in practice but never in a true fight. It was way to powerful to use in one of my fights in Nerima, for it would defiantly, no doubt about it, kill one of those jerks. Cupping my hands to my side I slowly said while gathering the energy for it "Ka-Ma-Ha-Me-Ha!" shooting the beam of energy at the demonic being that threatened us. I had made it a wide beam, so I had gotten the whole creature in it, and it slowly disintegrated the damn thing.
I then heard Kasumi's voice from on the ground behind me ask, "Did you just pull off the Kamahamaha wave?"
"Yeah." I replied.
"I know you said that you were watching all that anime for ideas for some new moves, but to see you pull this one off is amazing." She told me.
"And I'm not amazing as it is?" I pouted.
She laughed at that and said "God that's a great one. Your pout should be classified as a weapon."
"Who said it's not?" I replied while smirking at her.
She then laughed again while trying to sit up. As I helped her up, she asked of me "Who are they?" pointing her left hand at the group of teenagers that had been fighting the other demons.
"I don't know. They were fighting the other monsters. And now they're watching us. They may see us as a new threat. Let's go meet them." I said with a lopsided grin.
Kasumi laughed yet again and told me with her own lopsided grin "Only you would just go and introduce your self to someone that sees you as a threat." She then chuckled.
"I can't walk." Kasumi then told me in a more serious tone.
"You're hurt that bad?" I asked her very worried.
"No." She told me with a shake of her head. "I am just completely wiped. That portal ride took a lot out of me."
"Oh, ok." I said in relief while picking her up in my arms. "I'll just carry you over there then."
As I held her in my arms while walking over there, I couldn't help but notice how right this felt, my carrying Kasumi. As we got near them, I said "Hi. I'm Ranma Saotome and this is Kasumi Tendo. Sorry about this."
They all just stood there and blinked as a response. "Uh, where exactly are we by the way?" Kasumi then politely asked.
A blue haired girl then asked of me after shaking her head "How did you kill that Youma? You're reading as completely human, but you're giving off enough of a strange energy type to light up Tokyo for a couple thousand years."
Another girl then shouted at the blue haired one "And I'm telling you that that energy is Ki! But even the greatest Ki masters can't do what this girl has done! It's beyond human!"
"And why can't a human have this much Ki?" I asked being slightly puzzled and very annoyed. "I do and I'm human. And I have a lot of acquaintances with near my levels of Ki too." I thought about it and then added. "You've obviously never have been to the Nerima Ward and had ignored all the rumors about it, am I right?"
The blue haired girl then blinked again and then asked "Nerima Ward? Where's that?"
"But everyone knows where the Nerima ward is! How else can they avoid it?" Kasumi protested in her obvious shock of them not having ever heard of the disaster area that is Nerima.
I, on the other hand, was seriously looking around. As I was looking up at the sky, I suddenly noticed something and swore. A lot. In every langue I knew. And I know a lot of them with my extensive traveling. And as everyone knows, the first thing you pick up in a foreign langue is cuss words. After six minutes of non stop multilingual swearing I asked "Kasumi, do you know how to travel by the stars?"
"No." she said with a puzzled look on her face.
""Well the fucking stars say this is and is not Earth. That bastard Happosai sent us to a different Earth or something!" I shouted.
"Oh my! You mean like an alternate reality? Like on a sci-fi show?" Kasumi asked, seeming to get the picture.
"Yes! That's exactly what I mean!" I said darkly.
A young woman, two older teens and a young girl, all in those bad fukus these girls were wearing stepped out of a portal.
"I knew it! When I saw her floating in mid air from the Time Gates, I knew you both had returned." The young woman exclaimed. "But how? Beryl feared you Sol," the young woman said while staring at me "more then the Queen herself. That's why when you and Terra were alone together, she opened a portal to a different reality and sent you out of this one all together! The Time Gates never showed your return happening, until I saw Terra here floating in mid air! How did you return?" the young woman asked of me, clearly at her wits end.
"I'm sorry Miss, but do we know you?" Kasumi asked while sounding slightly confused.
"Come on Kasumi, like we'd know any one who dresses in a fuku that look like they were designed by Happosai!" I said with disgust.
"They're not…well maybe they are that bad." Kasumi agreed after some thought.
"Pluto, they claim to be from a different reality. They claim to have bent sent here by someone." The blue haired one said.
"Why would Beryl fear her more then the Queen?" The one that knew what Ki was asked in obvious puzzlement.
"Why do I think we walked out of one mess and into another?" I asked of Kasumi.
"Because you're you?" Kasumi replied, following that statement with "It just wouldn't be you to be not in trouble."
"Too true. Way, way too true." I replied sadly.
"Great. More Senshi that forgot everything." Pluto cried while throwing her hands up in the air. "Let's go to our house so we can talk about this. Sol should be able to keep up even untransformed." She said and then she started running.
We all followed her and started roof hopping. And I was hard pressed to follow them. I couldn't believe it! Who ever these girls were, they were sure fast, faster then me by quite a bit. Then we then finally got to where we were going, a mansion.
"Wow! That was fun!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Can we do it again some time?" she asked me.
"Sure." I said with a blush. I never could refuse Kasumi anything.
As the others gathered around I asked "Do you think you can walk now Kasumi?"
"Yes Ranma. I think I can." She said, so I set her down and helped stabilize her.
After the door was opened, we all walked into a huge living room and we all sat down.
"Well now that we have some privacy, I'll tell you about it." The one called Pluto said. "First some background. Sol was the oldest and most powerful Senshi ever. She was given her position by Queen Serenity the First. The Queen I always speak of, the one who sent you girls into the future, was Queen Serenity the Sixteenth. All the other Senshi had been, replaced, due to losing them in battle, except for Sol. As time went on, Sol became less and less loyal to the Serenity line. She only served them out of duty and remembrance to the first Queen. Nothing more. Some said that she was even more powerful then the Queen. All knew that if she left, she could set up her own Empire with little to no trouble. It was in Queen Serenity the Thirteenth's time that something happened. Sol was thinking of leaving, but then a war started. After the war ended, a few of the Senshi were dead, including the Senshi of Terra, what we now call Earth. Well the next in line to be Senshi were to be made in a ceremony, and Sol was going to leave after the ceremonies, but fate then intervened. She saw the new Senshi of Terra, and it was love at first sight. She stayed around to woo the new Senshi, and she eventually won her heart. It was an odd pairing. Terra, the most loyal Senshi ever, and Sol, who had steadily become the most unloyal Senshi ever. Sol made it clear during Serenity the Fourteenth's rein that the only reason she continued to serve the Serenity line, was Terra. And that's because Terra would not leave with her. Beryl was one of those that felt that Sol had even more power then the Queen. At first she tried getting Sol to switch sides, but Sol refused, mainly because Terra would never defect. Besides, she also hated Beryl. She merely, disliked, the present Queen. So after reporting the attempted recruiting by Beryl, we went into preparing for war. Then Beryl some how sent Sol and Terra in to another reality, and then she attacked us while we were off guard. The rest you know."
They sat in silence for a moment digesting this. Kasumi and I were digesting it as well. "What do you think, Pluto, was she more powerful then the Queen?" one of them asked. The one who knew what Ki was.
"I think it's like comparing apples and oranges." Pluto answered. "The Serenity line has always put healing powers as their top priority. The Queen was powerful in more, peaceful ways. Sol on the other hand is pure destruction. If you think Saturn's powers of destruction are something, she can't hold a candle to Sol. Sol is a warrior and destruction personified. They used their powers in absolute opposite ways. One for healing and peace, one for war and destruction. In terms of raw power, I think Sol was stronger then the Queen yes, but I think that was due to out living all the Queens. Given the same amount of time to build their power, who knows?"
"Why was she unloyal?" another asked. This time a blond with long hair.
"She was tired of her duty. She wanted to explore new things, do new things, but she could not. And she had also felt the, worthiness, I guess you could say, of the Queens had been falling down hill as of late. As the longest living subject of the Moon Kingdom, I felt she had that right to her opinion. I did not agree, but then I only had the Time Gates to show me all of what she had lived through."
"What was this about not seeing this in the time gates? And not seeing Sol at all?" The blue haired one asked.
"Sol is, well, she's too chaotic for me to see in the Time Gates. She never appears in them, so you can only see the results of her actions in them. And trying to see her future is a big pain in the ass because you have to look for her actions, not her herself." Pluto said like she was embarrassed about something.
"Gee someone Miss 'I know all' can't know all about." One of the girls said.
"So," Pluto began "are the two of you still together?"
"Um, just recently. I had been engaged to marry her sister, but our fathers just switched it over to her seeing as 'We get along so well.' A great thing in my mind. I much prefer Kasumi to any of the other girls after me." I said.
"Um, how did you get a girl legally as a fiancée?" a short haired blond girl asked.
"Um, well, you see…" I started, when Kasumi interrupted me.
"Our fathers arranged the marriage before any of our births, and so the government was forced to agree with it, because it was two families honor on the line." Kasumi lied.
I looked at her. Why did she lie? I didn't know, nor did I care at this exact moment. What I did care about was what we were going to do next. The lie could be sorted out later.
"So what happens now?" I asked.
"We prepare for the next big fight." Pluto said wearily.
"But I thought all the fighting was done!? You said after Galaxia there were no more big threats, just some messy clean up!" a blond with a weird hair style cried out.
"If Sol and Terra are here, then things have changed. All I know is that in about a year a new enemy is coming. The Time Gates are too disturbed by Sol's and Terra's appearance to give me any more details at this time. I should be able to get more out of them in a week or two at the most." Pluto said sighing. "I didn't see this coming, due to my never seeing Sol and Terra return, Stupid chaos generating powers." She then mumbled the last bit darkly.
"I guess that means they'll have to become Senshi?" the odd haired girl then asked.
"Yes Princess, That's exactly what it means." Pluto sighed again.
"Um, can someone please explain what's going on here?" Kasumi asked a little miffed, which was for anyone else, very, Very, VERY angry.
"Um, ok. Pluto, you explain." The odd haired girl who had been called Princess said, obviously sensing the importance of keeping Kasumi calm.
So Pluto then explained all about the Moon Kingdom, its fall, who we were supposedly in this so called Moon Kingdom, what they had accomplished and their dreams of Crystal Tokyo.
"Ok…." I said trailing off. Then I got my act together and asked "Can Kasumi and I talk about this alone? Please?" I asked.
"Sure. Just go into the next room." Another blue haired girl, Michiru I think they said her name was, said after a nod from the 'Princess'.
We went into the next room. "You do realize I'm going to have to play a girl for this right?" I asked. "Especially after what you said."
"Yes?" she said questionilly.
"I know you don't care about the curse, or what form I'm in, but you do realize that sooner or later that this will backfire right?" I asked.
"Probably." She just said with a small shrug.
I just stared at her slack jawed and asked "Then why…?"
"Did I lie? I think we will have to soften them up a bit before giving them a blow like Sol's reincarnation was a male. Besides, this will help you get to understand what being a female is like even better, if everyone thinks you truly are one." She said.
I grumbled a bit and said "You're probably right."
"I know I am." She said sounding slightly smug. 'The real Kasumi is showing through more and more the longer we are here.' I thought with a small grin.
"On to other matters, do we except this offer to join them?" I then asked of her.
"I think we should." She replied after some thought. "I mean that Pluto lady, Setsuna, was that her real name? She said she recognized us from a past life, and I don't think she was lying. I think that we were meant to come here. To help them out, and to get away from our past lives." She said.
"So you think we're stuck here too?" I asked.
"Yes." She said lowering her head. "I also think it may be for the best." She said softly.
"Somehow I agree." I said with a heavy sigh. "Well let's tell them we'll be joining up. I wonder if someone can put us up though?" I asked, while walking to the door.
As we entered the room where the girls were, Kasumi said "We except."
"Yay! They accepted!" Usagi, I think her name was screamed in joy.
"Of course they did dummy!" Rei said. 'I don't think I'm going to like her.' I thought. 'Then again, I don't really know her, but she is rather rude.' I continued to think.
"Just a moment." Setsuna said, and then she disappeared. She reappeared a moment later with two decorated sticks in either hand.
Kasumi blinked and I said "Neat trick."
"These are your Henshin Rods" Setsuna said. Seeing the blank looks that were on our faces she continued with "They allow you to transform into Senshi." She said handing us them.
I looked at it and shook it.
"Um, how do they work?" Kasumi asked, while looking at it and holding it between two fingers.
"I was kinda wondering the same thing." I said.
"You," she said pointing to Kasumi "Hold the Henshin Rod high and say 'Terra, Planet Power, Make Up' and you" she said pointing to me "say 'Sol, Star Power, Make Up.'"
Kasumi and I just looked at her. "You have got to be kidding me." I told her in disgust.
"Yes. It does seem rather, silly." Kasumi said looking at the stick that was in-between her fingers doubtfully.
"Just try it." Setsuna said with a sigh.
We did so, Kasumi saying her phrase and me saying mine.
After what could only be described as a naked twirlly light show, I was back on the floor and dressed similar to everyone else in the room. I had on a mostly white, but trimmed with red, top, a too, too short black skirt, red gloves that came to mid upper arm, red boots that went to mid thigh and two frilly black bows, one on my breasts and one at the small of my back.
I looked at my self in disgust, and then I said with revulsion "Oh you have got to be kidding me! This is the stupidest…" I then trailed off at seeing Kasumi. "Then again." I whispered while slightly drooling at seeing the vision of loveliness that Kasumi had become. She had on a mostly white top, but it was trimmed with dark blue, a dark green short skirt, one that was a little longer then mine, but not by much, dark green high heels, dark blue wrist length gloves, showing off both her arms and legs wonderfully, a dark blue bow on her breasts, and a dark green bow at the small of her back. The whole effect made her look stunning, and I told her so.
"Thank you Ranma." She said blushing. "You look absolutely gorgeous yourself." She told me.
I blushed at that. I don't know if it was from knowing that Kasumi thinks I look good, or my embarrassment of being in this outfit, or both, or if it was even something else, but blush I did.
"Thanks Kasumi." I muttered.
Setsuna then cleared her throat. "If I may continue?" She asked us. We nodded in response. "To untransform, just concentrate on it, like this." And suddenly all the girls flashed with light, and they were dressed normally.
So, Kasumi and I tried it, and after a flash of light, we were both dressed like we were before. But I now could feel a new power, deep within me, and it was aching to be set free again.
"Oh my God!" Usagi screamed, causing everyone to look at her in alarm. "It's past midnight! I'm going to be in so much trouble with my mom!"
"Um, it IS late," Ami said while chuckling "We can continue this tomorrow after school." And then over half the girls left, leaving us with Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru.
"Ok," Setsuna said sitting down. "I just need to know a few things about the two of you, so I can set up identities for the both of you."
"How?" Kasumi asked as Michiru, Haruka and Hotaru left the room.
"Never you mind that. Let's just say I have my ways. You'll both be staying here with us, but I need some information from the two of you. Like how old you are, how good you were in school, your interests, stuff like that." Setsuna said.
I motioned to Kasumi that she should go first. "Um, well my full name is Kasumi Tendo, and I'm Twenty years old. I had wanted to go to college, then on to med school after I had finished high school, and I had the grades for it. I had graduated at the top of my class in high school, but when my mother died, my family absolutely fell apart, causing me have to fill my mother's role, and to have to give up on my dreams. For the past seven years I've been the surrogate mother and the only true authority figure in our house. I would like, if I could, to go to college and then on to med school. I spent all my free time looking at medical books that I had borrowed from the wards doctor, and when he left, I then went to the library for them.
"Ok, that gives me a good start. How about you Ranma?" Setsuna asked me.
"Well, I'm seventeen, my full name is Ranma Saotome, and my education is spotty at best. My father took me on a ten year training trip at age five, and I didn't go to school for more then two to three months at a time, and not that often either, until I was sixteen and I had moved in with the Tendo's. Even then my education was horrible, due to the insane principle, a delusional kendoist that I was always fighting, and all the others out for my blood that kept showing up at the school. Plus I usually had to take a few weeks off every few months to save Akane from who ever kidnapped her to get at me. Or was it save them from Akane?" Kasumi giggled at that. "Also every few months the school would be closed for a few days for repairs from my fights. I know martial arts, the bad side of magic, and that's about it." I said glumly.
"You're joking, right?" Setsuna asked with obvious shock.
"No Miss, she's not." Kasumi said while shaking her head. "She's severally understating it if anything. Her father has socially crippled her, and subjected her to in the name of training utter torture. Though he did succeed in getting what he wanted and had set out to get. The best martial artist our world had ever seen." Kasumi said.
"Thanks Kasumi." I said.
She looked at me and then shook her head again, and then said. "But the price was too high Ranma. Outside of a fight you're clueless. You're a sweet and loving person, who because of the way you were raised, does not really know how to function outside of a fight."
She saw how I looked and hugged me close to her saying "Don't worry about it Ranma, I still care for you."
"Well," Setsuna glumly said "I see where this could be a problem."
"Huh?" I asked. "How could what be a problem?" I asked.
"Kasumi's fine, I think. I can go over things with her later, and set up an identity for her." Setsuna said. "But you," She said staring at me. "Your life sounded bad. I want you to tell me your full and complete life story, so I can get a better feel for what you've hinted has been done to you, and what your life was like." She told me with a look I couldn't identify in her eyes.
Haruka, Michiru and Hotaru came in and sat down at that point, brining with them a lot of food.
"So, it sounds like she's had a rough life?" Haruka asked sitting down.
"It's what they alluded to." Setsuna replied.
"We were hungry and thought you might want some snacks as well." Michiru said. My stomach then growled at that point.
Kasumi then laughed, saying "That won't even make a decent light snack for Ranma. She eats more then ten armies do. Do you mind if I use your kitchen to whip something up for me and Ranma while she talks? I'll be listening in, and be right back." She asked them.
As I was staring at the food, Michiru gulped and said, "Maybe you'd better, before we all start losing some limbs here."
Kasumi then laughed and stood up saying, "You may be right. Well I'll be back in a little bit with your food Ranma, so no stealing theirs." She said while wagging a finger at me. "I'll be listening in too, so go on and tell them your story. And I'll throw in anything I know that you forgot." And with that, she left the room.
I looked around at the four women in the room, all waiting for me to speak. Gulping I thought on how to tell this without saying I was really a guy. "Well, I was taken away from my mother at the age of five by my father for a ten year training trip." I started. I didn't have any trouble until Jusenkyo, where I said only my pop got cursed. The real trouble with the story started when I got to telling them about Nerima. We had already explained Akane, and Tatewaki was easy too, at first, but Kodachi was a little harder. Kasumi, who had returned by that time, said that Kodachi was dislocated from reality, and depending on the moment, was either in love with me, or hated me and wanted to kill me. We then said the same thing with Tatewaki, after she had come up with that idea. When I got to the kiss of marriage by Shampoo, Kasumi said, that by the laws of her people, if she were to realize that she could never beat the outsider woman she gave the kiss of death to, she could either be forever cast out of the tribe, or bring the woman into the tribe as a wife. So we said that Shampoo had taken the latter option. Uyko was described by Kasumi as that we had both thought the other was a boy when we were six, and since now she was legally a male, when she found out that I was female, she contacted her father whom didn't care, as long as honor was satisfied. He even went as far as to tell her, 'Well, at least you're on the family roll as a male, so you CAN marry her." And all my other fiancées were explained away by Kasumi, who said things like, 'Genma wanted a son, and usually he forgot that he didn't have one when making engagements for his daughter to feed his gluttonous appetite." And things like that.
Well after we got through telling my very modified life, the four women we were sharing a room with were looking very, Very, VERY pissed off. "Kasumi, why does everyone look like that when I tell this story?" I asked her confused.
"Is she serious?!" Haruka yelled.
"Yes. Sadly Ranma sees nothing wrong with how she was raised. Oh, she gets a little angry about certain things, but sees nothing truly wrong with her life. Her life is her life, and what could be truly wrong with it? That is her way of thinking." Kasumi said looking down and shaking her head.
"You're never going back there if I have anything to say about it." Setsuna said in anger. "Well, I have to think about you and your back story. I'll come up with something to explain you, I'm sure of it. Now let's talk, and flesh out both of your new identities." Setsuna said.
Over the next few hours, we came up with this. Kasumi Tendo was Setsuna's cousin on her mother's side, and she lost both parents at seventeen. After high school, Kasumi went traveling, and has just returned to start college, and hopes to go to medical school. She would be staying with her 'Cousin Setsuna'.
I on the other hand, really didn't like what they came up with for me, In fact I hated it. I was kidnapped by my father, who had been cast out of our clan, and taken to a remote area of china, where I had spent all my time learning Martial Arts. I had just been rescued by my family, and seeing as my mother was now dead, having killed herself in her grief, I was sent to live with my Aunt Setsuna. I had been tested for school, and was put back into the first fucking year of high school! And had I had barely even qualified for that! I was being sent back three years!
"Now do you both have your stories straight?" Setsuna asked.
Kasumi nodded and I said "Yeah. I hate it, but yeah."
"Well you'll be starting high school with the other girls. Good thing school only started two weeks ago, so I can get you in. So tomorrow, both of you are starting school. Kasumi, I've explained for you that we just found Ranma after years of searching, and you went with me to get her. It's all in the records, and was approved." Setsuna told us.
"I can't believe I'm starting high school all over again!" I wailed in my despair. I hate school.
"Sorry." Setsuna said softly. "It's the best we can do. You barely past the entrance exams as it was." And that was true. She had given them to me, and I sucked. "Three points lower, and you'd be back in Jr. High." I blanched at that thought. "Ok off to bed with everyone, we have a busy day tomorrow." And so with that, we all stood up and went to bed.
EAN: Ok, I salvaged a lot from the first two chapters of Travelers to make this chapter. In fact other then the opening scene, this is almost a complete rip off of Travelers. But am now taking it in an entirely new direction, as I did not like what I had done past this point, so from now on, starting on chapter two, it will be all new stuff.