If more subtle changes aren't your thing and you're familiar with the way Ranma starts, try skipping to the second arc, where the changes get much more pronounced! The first two chapters will be here if you want to come back later for them.

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Thap, thap, thap. The sound of feet slapping against concrete echoed in a regular rhythm as a young, dark-haired woman jogged down a suburban sidewalk in Japan. Her breath came out in short huffs, her long hair, tied with a ribbon halfway down, bobbing back and forth in time with each step. One of her hands grabbed for the small towel around her neck, dabbing at the sweat dripping down the side of her face.

A smile crossed her lips; she could see her destination just up ahead. The clouds above were looking heavy, but it seemed as though she'd manage to make it back before the rain began to pour.

The gates of her home loomed closer, and her eyes grazed over the sign that had hung next to them for as long as she could remember. In big, bold lettering were the words "Tendo Dojo", and beneath them, slightly smaller, "Anything-Goes Martial Arts."

Passing through the gate and then ducking into the currently empty dojo, the girl hurriedly threw her running shorts and top off, replacing them with a karategi. She kicked her sweat-drenched clothes into the corner of the room, then went back outside to set up some concrete blocks and wooden boards.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she began moving through a few basic kata, making an attempt to string them together as smoothly as she was able. Which... was not all that smoothly, to her continuing aggravation. But that made it all the more satisfying when she ended her performance with a shout, bringing her hand crashing down into the pile of boards and blocks and smashing them to pieces.

Letting loose a small, happy sigh, she wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "That was nice," she said, to no one in particular, her breathing still heavy.

"There you go again, Akane," said a voice from behind her, clearly Nabiki's. "No wonder the boys all think you're weird."

Glaring and turning to look at her older sister, Akane said, "So? Why should I care? Not everybody thinks the world revolves around boys." Crossing her arms, she muttered, "Especially not me."

Nabiki seemed unfazed. "Fair enough." She turned and began to walk away, hands behind her head. "I guess this whole 'fiancé business wouldn't interest you, then."

A loud rumble shook the air; the sky was dark. "Fiancé?" Akane said, baffled. "Nabiki, wait, what are you talking about?"

But the other girl was already gone, leaving Akane with little choice but to follow.

{}

"He's the son of a very good friend of mine," Akane's father, Soun, explained to his three daughters. The four family members were gathered around the living room table, and only one of them seemed pleased by the situation. "His name's Ranma Saotome, and if one of you three girls were to marry him and take over the dojo..." He smiled. "Well, then, the Tendo family legacy would be secure!"

"Wait just a minute!" Akane said, leaning forward and scowling. "Don't we get some say in who we marry?

"Akane's right, father," said Kasumi, the eldest daughter, her brow furrowed slightly in worry, rather than anger. "We've never even met this man, not to mention his son."

Nabiki, for her part, remained silent, doing little besides sipping on a drink.

"Heh heh, that's easily fixed!" Soun said, flapping a postcard he held in his left hand, which Akane only now noticed.

Nabiki reached out and took the postcard, read it over without a word, then passed it to Kasumi.

Soun continued. "Ranma and his father have been on a training journey for years now! Recently, it seems they've trekked all the way to China." He emphasized the last word as though it was supposed to be impressive.

The postcard made its way to Akane. The handwriting on it was sloppy and a bit difficult to read. ' Hi. Bringing Ranma from China. '

"Whatever," Akane said, tossing the card back to her father. "Any schmuck can go to China."

"Dad," Nabiki said, giving Soun a stern look. "We need more details. Age. Appearance. Personality. Financial state."

"Yes, father, just what sort of person is this Ranma?" Kasumi said.

Deep, resounding laughter filled the room for a moment, Soun's only reply, at first. He stopped suddenly, face blank. "No idea."

"No idea?" Nabiki said, quirking an eyebrow.

"I've never met the boy," Soun admitted.

All three girls sighed. "Of course you haven't," Nabiki muttered.

The rage bubbling up within within Akane was reaching a boiling point. This was beyond unfair, and she wasn't going to be a part of it. But before she could give her father a piece of her mind, a loud crash sounded from somewhere outside, near the entrance.

"Leggo, ya old fool!" shouted an unfamiliar voice. Sounds of a struggle echoed through the grounds.

"That must be them!" Soun said, leaping to his feet. Kasumi got to hers a moment after. The two of them hurried toward the entrance, Soun shouting, "Saotome, my friend! We've been waiting!"

The other two daughters got to their feet as well, though neither of them seemed interested in leaving the room. Akane was loath to meet the two men that had so suddenly forced their way into her life.

All too quickly, their father came running back, surprise and horror writ large upon his face. Kasumi walked swiftly behind him, equally shocked. And behind her, a massive, upright panda stomped down the walkway, a human slung over its shoulder. Akane's eyes went wide, her foot almost subconsciously moving back as she took on something of a fighting stance.

"You're scarin' 'em spitless, old man!" the unfamiliar human shouted, twisting and squirming on the panda's shoulder..

"F-father," Kasumi said, standing behind him and shaking. "This is your friend?"

Beads of sweat dotting his face, Soun emphatically shook his head from side to side.

"Right, 'cause pandas drop by to visit all the time," Nabiki said, arms crossed. A stranger might have thought Nabiki was emotionally unaffected by the giant panda, but Akane knew from years of experience that her sister was simply masking shock and fear with forced nonchalance.

The panda stopped a short distance from the Tendos, gingerly placing the human it had been carrying on the ground in front of the group.

Soun and the newcomer stared at each other silently for a moment. Akane couldn't get a good look at the person's face, but the way they hid their eyes behind their bright red hair went a long way in signifying their discomfort.

"You... wouldn't happen to be..." Soun said.

"Ranma Saotome," the person mumbled, fingers fidgeting with their hair, which was tied in a braided pigtail. "Sorry 'bout this."

Soun's expression instantly flipped. Beaming, he clasped Ranma's shoulders. "You've come at last!"

"He's kinda cute," Nabiki said. still acting bored by the whole affair.

Pulling the nervous Ranma into a tight hug, Soun practically cried as he said, "It's so good of you to come! So goo-"

His face shifted again, smile evaporating. He pulled quickly away from Ranma, staring at their guest's chest.

Taking a few steps forward, Nabiki leaned over, eyes scanning over Ranma's whole upper body, which seemed to make Ranma very uncomfortable. Standing back up, Nabiki turned toward the rest of her family. "Yeah, pretty sure Ranma's a girl."

Once again Soun's reaction was immediate, not to mention dramatic. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face like waterfalls.

Kasumi sighed. "Father, please."

"Why do bad things happen to good people?" Soun sobbed.

"I'm sorry about this, Ranma. Please feel free to take a seat inside," the eldest daughter said, gesturing toward the main room.

Everyone, including the silent and currently docile panda, moved into that room, taking a seat around the table. After a fair bit of coaxing, Kasumi managed to move Soun into the room as well, though tears still poured down his face.

"So, Dad, good work on the 'fiancé' thing," Nabiki said with a smirk.

"Nabiki, please, leave him alone. You'll only make it worse," Kasumi said.

Akane, who was feeling much better about the situation despite its strange turn, said, "Yeah, c'mon, Nabiki! She's our guest!"

Not sparing her sisters a glance, Nabiki continued harassing her father. "You really should've made sure, you know."

"Well he said he had a son!" Soun shouted, still crying.

"I don't see any son in the room," Nabiki said, smirk widening.

Ranma shouldn't have to put up with this, Akane thought, getting to her feet. "Hey, walk with me?" she said softly to Ranma, with a small smile.

Though she seemed surprised, the red-headed girl smiled back and nodded. "Sure."

The two girls walked softly but swiftly from the room, a glance telling Akane that Kasumi was the only one to notice their departure.

"I'm sorry about... them," Akane said.

Ranma waved the apology away. "Don't worry 'bout it. I know I'm... not what you guys were expectin'."

Akane's expression darkened for a moment, before returning to a friendly smile. "None of us, besides our father, was expecting any of this." They walked in silence for a moment, then she said, "I'm Akane, by the way! Do you... want to be friends?"

Once again, Ranma seemed surprised, yet pleased. "Oh, uh, yeah! Sure!"

The two of them came to a stop in the middle of the hallway. "You wanna head to the practice hall?" Akane said.

Ranma's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

It didn't take them long to arrive, and though Akane offered to grab another karate gi, Ranma politely declined, apparently preferring to stay in her Chinese clothes.

"I fight in these all the time anyway," she explained.

Akane nodded. "So, you do Kenpo, right?"

"A little," Ranma said with a shrug.

"Great!" Akane said. "You want to spar a little?

"Sure!"

Akane grinned. "Just for fun, of course. No need to worry, I won't hurt you."

Though her eyebrows raised slightly, Ranma's only response was, "If you say so."

Taking a fighting stance, Akane was a little surprised to not see Ranma doing the same. Instead, the girl stood with her hands relaxed at her side, lightly tapping her own thighs every now and then. It was probably a lack of experience, Akane reasoned. "I'm gonna run at you, okay?"

Ranma nodded.

Her footsteps echoing in the open hall, Akane charged forward. "Sei!" she shouted, throwing a punch Ranma's way. To her surprise, the girl was no longer where Akane had aimed, apparently having leaped into the air above. That was unexpected, but Akane refused to let it phase her, immediately following her strike up with a high kick. Once again Ranma dodged, jutting her legs out to the side so that Akane's kick sailed beneath her.

Okay, maybe it wasn't inexperience. Launching another punch and then a kick at her opponent, Akane began to grow frustrated as Ranma easily dodged them both.

"What's wrong?" Akane said, breathing heavy. "Swing at me!"

Going for quick strikes this time, Akane threw three punches at Ranma, yet none of them coming close to hitting. Why!? Why am I missing her? Is she reading my moves, somehow?

Preparing to strike, Akane grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Ranma was no amateur, that much was clear, and it was time Akane stopped pulling her punches. Charging forward as quickly as possible, Akane launched her fist at Ranma, every bit of her power and speed behind it. There was a loud "KRAK" as she punched through the wall of the dojo, the wood splintering around her arm.

A finger poked softly into the back of her head, and she turned, incredulous to see Ranma standing behind her. For a moment, she simply stared, and the redhead stared back. Then the other girl started giggling, and after a moment, Akane couldn't help but do the same. Pulling her arm out of the wall, she laughed and laughed, the tension in her mind and body melting away.

"You're, uh... pretty good," she said, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. Ranma didn't say anything, instead rubbing the back of her head and flashing a smile, her cheeks a light tint of red.

Akane sighed, moving a few steps away, still reeling at how easily she'd been beaten. "I'm just…" She paused. "I'm just glad you're a girl, you know?" She turned to look at Ranma. "I'd really hate to lose to a boy, so I'm glad Dad was wrong about that."

Ranma's smile faltered, no response forthcoming. Which was fair, the whole point of the sparring match was to get their mind off the whole awkward situation that had brought Ranma here.

"Hey, I'm going to head up to my room for a bit," Akane said. "Feel free to stay here if you want. ...Or whatever, really. You're our guest, so our house is your house."

The only response she received was a meek smile and nod.

{}

Akane stopped by the washroom first, to start filling the bath, then headed toward the stairs, asking Nabiki to let her know when the bath was filled all the way. Up in her room, she collapsed on her bed, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

This whole thing was… well, it was a mess, and she still didn't completely understand what was going on. It seemed like that was true for just about everyone involved, though. And Ranma… she seemed nice. Skilled, too - far more skilled than Akane had imagined. But she didn't gloat about it, at least, and if she stuck around, maybe she could give Akane a few tips. It'd be nice to have another girl in the house that enjoyed martial arts, at least.

Her thoughts floated about in a similar sphere for a while longer, until she heard Nabiki yelling at her about the bath.

Gathering up a change of clothes, Akane made her way down to the washroom. She stopped when passing the living room, surprised to see some older man she didn't recognize sitting across from her father. Perhaps his actual friend had arrived? Hopefully he hadn't brought a son with him. Regardless, Akane wanted to clean up before dealing with any of that, so after a quick look she hurried on her way.

Humming lightly to herself, she pushed open the laundry room door. The room was already warm from the heat of the room it connected to, which was pleasant to walk into. Akane pulled the ribbon out of her hair, then removed her karate gi, tossing it into the hamper. Setting her change of clothes to the side, she grabbed a small towel, set her hand on the side of the door to the washroom, and pushed it open.

Someone was already inside. For a split second, Akane thought she'd just walked in on Ranma, since the person was in the middle of braiding their hair into a pigtail. Except the hair was black. And the person was significantly taller than Ranma. And their chest… it was uncovered, and broad, and flat. Some small part of Akane registered relief over the fact that this strange man had a towel wrapped around his loins.

Shit. Akane didn't have anything wrapped around her lower half. She was holding a towel, which was partially covering her, but that was it. The strange man's eyes, wide as saucers, glanced down at Akane's bare chest for a moment before looking away, his cheeks reddening.

Akane closed the door.

Slowly, face blank, she pulled her change of clothes on - a one-piece nightgown. Then she calmly exited the laundry room, closing the door behind her. She stood in front of it, panic rising within her to extreme levels, despite her blank face.

Then it broke.

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Akane sprinted down the hallway, not stopping until she reached the grounds outside the living room. She glanced about, eyes focusing in on the stone lantern, which she grabbed the round top half of.

"Akane? What's going on? What're you doing?" Nabiki asked, leaning out of the living room and looking genuinely confused.

Eyes wide and pupils constricted, Akane shouted, ."I'm gonna kill him! Smash his head in!"

"Who are you talking about?" Kasumi said, coming to stand next to Nabiki and looking twice as worried.

Now screeching, Akane said, "There's a pervert in the bathroom!"

"Why don't you just kill him with your bare hands?" Nabiki said, seemingly serious.

"Because I'm afraid!" Akane replied, a few tears forming in her eyes.

Kasumi, glancing back and forth between the hallway to the bathroom and her sister, said, "That's strange… I sent Ranma to the bath a while ago…" Her eyes widened, apparently catching something in the hallway.

Akane turned to look, still gripping the stone lantern. A man was walking toward them - the same man she'd just seen in the washroom, albeit clothed now.

"Who…?" Kasumi muttered.

"Who are you?" Nabiki said, pointing.

The guy looked deeply embarrassed, and had difficulty maintaining eye contact, seeming to prefer the floor instead. Rubbing the back of his head with one hand, he said, "I'm… Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

Akane dropped the stone lantern, which miraculously didn't crush her feet.

Ranma met her eyes, though it seemed to take him no small amount of effort to do so. "...Sorry 'bout this."