It was raining when Akane's father told her the news. Apparently, years ago, Soul Tendo had promised his best friend to entwine their families through the marriage of children, and now that this Saotome person and his son were coming back to Japan it was time to arrange the marriage. It grated her nerves that her father had waited until the day of arrival to tell Akane and her sisters about the visit that would end one of their lives forever. Well, that was overstating it a little, but Akane wasn't the biggest fan of guys right now, and the fact that she could end up married to one for the rest of her life seemed like a death sentence.
Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi sat formally at the dinner table with their father, waiting for their guests to arrive. Occasionally the silence would be shattered by a thundercrack, before settling again into stillness. Akane could already tell from their faces what her sisters felt about this. Nabiki was probably feeling inconvenienced, but had weighed the options and knew that with a man permanently wrapped around her finger getting what she wanted would be much easier. Kasumi was happy to do as her father said, and was clearly optimistic that she and her husband would get along famously.
Finally, after nearly a half hour of silent waiting, the door opened and in walked two men. The taller man was clearly her father's old friend, Genma Saotome. He was clearly bald, even though he tried to hide that with a bandana, and the years showed on his face in a way they had never shown on her own father's. Genma's son stood at his side, slightly shorter. He looked to be the same age as Akane, and his long black hair was tied into a traditional tail. He was clearly a martial artist as well, his toned physique standing out well through his gi. Even though she would never admit it to the stranger, Akane did find he was attractive. She then realized she was staring, and started to blush. The young man had been looking at her as well, and his blush mirrored her own.
Soun Tendo rushed to his feet and gave his old friend a tight hug. "Genma, you old fool! How was China?" The two then began to talk about various things, while the young man sat across the table from the Tendo daughters.
"So," Nabiki said, trying to start a conversation. "Our father neglected to tell us your name, Mr. Saotome. Considering one of us is going to be the new Mrs. Saotome soon, I think we'd like to know more about you, right?" Kasumi nodded and Akane shrugged, trying to come off as indifferent.
The newcomer's blush intensified, and he stammered out, "T-That wasn't my idea! I'm way too young to get married yet!" After realizing from their stares how silly he was being, he continued with, "My name is Ranma Saotome, and I'm 16 years old."
Something about that made Nabiki's coy smile widen. "Oh really? Now that's very interesting. That makes you and Akane here the same age." The last sentence was said with more volume, and it managed to carry into the conversation of the parents.
"What?" Soun asked. "If that's true, would it be alright with you, Genma, if Akane were to be the one to marry your son? It seems like the perfect sign, them being the same age and all."
Genma brought a hand to his chin, closing his eyes in deep meditation. "Well, perhaps a more experienced wife would be for the better..." After leaving that hanging in the air for a few seconds, Genma laughed and shook his head. "I'm joking of course! Akane would be perfect for my son!"
"It's decided then! Akane and Ranma shall be married on her 18th birthday!" And with that, the final nail in Akane's coffin crashed down, sealing her into a matrimonial fate.
It had been decided that in order to make the arranged marriage more pleasant, Akane and Ranma would spend the evening alone together. At first they weren't sure what to do, but Akane finally decided to try being civil and asked to spar with him. Their session was long and tiring. Akane marvelled at Ranma's speed, but in the few occasions she managed to hit him she could tell he was surprised with her strength. By the end they were tired, sweaty, and feeling more willing to talk. The first topic of conversation was, of course, how stupid this marriage was. "I mean, we hadn't even really met before it was decided!" she exclaimed.
That made Ranma laugh. "Not met? We hadn't even been born yet when they made their stupid agreement. Our dads, I'm telling you..." Akane could tell something had occurred to him, and waited for him to vocalize it. "Akane, what happened to your mother?" The question shocked her, and that was plain to see on her face. "I-I'm sorry! You don't have to answer th-"
"No, it's okay," Akane said. She took a deep breath, then continued. "I haven't talked about her to anyone in years. She died of an illness when I was still very young, so young that I can't remember much more of her than her face. Dad still prays to her shrine all the time, he still hasn't recovered. Kasumi's taken it a lot better, she goes to her grave occasionally. And Nabiki...she hasn't talked about her in years. I think she's trying to ignore the whole thing, and that worries me." She looked up into Ranma's eyes, her own still a little teary. "What about you Ranma? Where's your mom?"
A small stretch of silence passed before he answered. "She's still alive, I think. I haven't seen her since I was a child. My dad took me to train, and since then we've basically been homeless, traveling from place to place and training. I guess her and pop are separated, technically." He sighed. "I wish I knew where she lived, so I could see her one day, y'know." He turned and saw Akane staring at him, a small smile on her face. "What?" Ranma asked.
"You're not so bad, Ranma. For a guy, I mean," Akane said, leaving the and marrying you wouldn't be so bad unspoken. That led to a whole conversation about the differences between guys and girls, which went on for hours. Their emotions flung between righteous indignation, playful teasing, and begrudging acceptance throughout. Before they knew it they had spent hours just talking with each other, and they realized they had to head to bed. Akane left for her room, while Ranma went to sleep in the family room, with his father.
Akane was always the first to wake up in the morning, and decided to start off the day after getting dressed by sneaking downstairs to wake up Ranma. He was a surprisingly able conversationalist, and they was so much more they could talk about before they both had to go to school for the day. Akane made it to the family room without waking anyone, and saw both Ranma and Genma asleep in their sleeping bags. She crept up towards Ranma, still fast asleep, when she noticed something odd. His hair color had changed overnight; where it was once black it was a now a vibrant red. Confused, Akane decided to wake him up in the most interesting manner: pinching his nose. It took a few seconds for the lack of oxygen to hit Ranma, but he definitely was awake after that. "Wha? What's going on?" Ranma asked, still a little groggy. Ranma's voice sounded several octaves higher, and as Ranma pulled out of the sleeping bag, Akane saw that Ranma's body was very different from how she remembered it. Ranma was now nearly a foot shorter, and Ranma's chest sported breasts larger than Akane's own! Ranma's whole body was completely feminine. What was going on?
"Where's Ranma?" Akane asked, not sure anymore that this person really was Ranma anymore.
The stranger blinked her eyes, then sighed. "I told pop we should have just told you guys from the outside, but he never listens to me. He said you wouldn't believe it until you saw it." The girl looked Akane directly in the eyes and said, "Akane, it's me. I'm Ranma Saotome."
Akane was befuddled. "But, how? We spared yesterday, and you were clearly a man then!"
"My dad and I were training in China for the last year or so, and one of the last places we visited before coming here was Jusenkyo, a holy place. It's fully of springs and in each one someone or something has drowned there, cursing the water. Now, whoever falls into a spring becomes cursed. Neither pop or me bothered to listen to our guide, so we didn't even know about the curses until after he knocked me into one. I came out like this. Every four days I wake up like this, and I won't change back until tomorrow morning. We asked then, but no one knows of a cure." Ranma's voice took on a pleading tone. "I'm so sorry I hid this from you Akane. Are you mad?"
It took a moment for Akane to think of a reply. "No, no I'm not. This isn't your fault, it's your father's. Plus, as far as curses go, you could have gotten off a lot worse."
Ranma looked down at herself and grinned. "True. So, are you ready to head out for school? I won't take long getting ready myself."
That made Akane scratch her head. "How are we going to explain your curse to the school board?" she asked.
"We'll think of something on the way there. Let's get ready and go."
Akane knew it would take a while to get used to her fiance's odd curse, but she still found herself feeling hopeful. Maybe something good would come out of this after all.