Hello all! It's time for something completely different. This is an AU, which means, as my all time favorite Kenshin fanfic writer puts it, "that OOC will occasionally jump around flailing its arms". In this AU, there is no gender/animal-bending curse. If you're looking for the water curses, look somewhere else. This does not mean there won't be freaky stuff and the occasional perversion. (Insert maniacal laughter here) Also, everyone's a little older and wiser, for the most part. Oh yes, and there's some swearing too, so it's rated T.
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Ranma ½ and its characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I don't even own a Nabiki plushie. (sobs)
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On the dark streets a figure rode, his red Suzuki GSXR 1000 screaming its battle cry as he pushed the engine. Yellow eyes gleamed in the sodium lights and the figure of a dragon flashed in and out of the shadows blanketing the road. Coming up on a light, he pulled alongside another rider on a yellow GSXR 1000, this one with a crane emblazoned on her back and similar yellow eyes gracing her helmet. Ryu turned his face, fully hidden by the face plate, towards his new companion. Kijuuki turned her helmet to him. A cock of the head, a nod, and when the light turned green, two cycles jumped off the line and raced down the street. For six blocks, they chased each other, first one, then the other gaining a slight advantage. As a canal bridge loomed ahead, they hit the brakes, skidding to a stop just at the edge. The front tires were equally aligned.
Another tie.
Kijuuki and Ryu switched off the engines and climbed off, facing each other. Ryu reached for his face plate, Kijuuki shook her head hard. He hooked his thumbs into his jacket pockets and cocked his head. She pulled off her leather gloves, tucking them into her protective pants and held out her hands, palms up. He grinned inside his helmet and stripped off his gloves, taking her hands gently in his. She had writing calluses on her right hand. He turned her hands over. The knuckles were also slightly calloused, the sign of someone who trained in fighting. Her nails were short and unpainted. Not surprising. He stroked his thumbs over her knuckles, wondering what kind of fighting she did. He blinked when she copied his gesture, feeling the marks that betrayed his martial arts training. They looked at each other and smiled, the gesture concealed, yet shared.
"Another time, Kijuuki?" Ryu asked, his voice muffled.
"Anything goes, Ryu," Kijuuki responded, her voice also muffled. They let go at the same time, pulling their gloves back on and mounting their respective bikes. A casual salute and the duelers roared away in opposite directions.
Parking Beaker between the house and the dojo, Akane Tendo threw the camouflage cover over her bike and headed into the house, stripping off her riding gear as she went. A light was still on in the main room, despite the midnight hour. Akane poked her head in the door. Yep, Nabiki was sitting at the table, fingers flying over her abacus and a pencil in her mouth. Akane smirked and strolled in, tossing a roll of bills onto the table. Nabiki spat out the pencil and picked up the bills.
"Good night, huh?" She asked the younger Tendo, who shrugged out of her jacket.
"Decent. Laid out a few of Black Rose's new recruits. Girl's got horrible taste in riders, but she still won't take me on."
"Not surprising, little sister. After all, how many times have you and Ryu faced off with no clear winner?"
"Tonight was the sixth."
"Figured him out yet?"
"He fights. Night!" With a wave of helmet, Akane disappeared up the stairs to hide her gear from Kasumi and go to bed. Nabiki snickered, adding the winnings to the family bank bag. Since their father had committed seppuku two years ago, the Tendo sisters had all worked very hard to keep the dojo going. Kasumi, then 20, took a job as a receptionist. Nabiki, at 17, spread her informant network wider and made a steady income selling secrets within and without high school. Akane, a mere 15, offered weekend martial arts classes for elementary school kids. It hadn't been easy, but together the 3 girls had made it work. Nabiki was secretly grateful their father had waited until Kasumi was an adult before offing himself like a samurai. If he hadn't, they would have all ended up in foster care. Kasumi was the head of the household, Nabiki the major breadwinner, which left Akane time to still be a kid. Naturally, the stubborn girl refused to and threw herself into school, teaching and street racing. Nabiki sighed and finished her calculations. Another month, another round of bills. At least now with two people working steadily, things weren't as tight. Nabiki had scored a job with the local bank after she graduated from high school, the manager owing her big time. And speaking of jobs, she'd better head for bed too. Gathering up her accounting gear, the middle sister padded upstairs. Her shift started at 9 am.
Ranma Saotome laid on his futon, twirling a lit joss stick between his fingers. The incense was halfway burned, making it difficult to avoid the glowing edge. He smirked, eyes focused on the ceiling as the slender stick danced. A slight sting and he put it back in its holder. Two thirds gone, he was getting better. Wouldn't Pops be pleased. Ranma snorted quietly and folded his hands behind his head. So Kijuuki was a fighter. That narrowed the field down quite a bit. He smirked as he remembered the night he discovered the Kijuuki was a woman. Their rules were simple, whomever won could choose what to reveal about themselves. In case of a tie, they had to agree on something. It was Kijuuki's first win and her posture had been smug as she unzipped her jacket, revealing a sweetly curved chest in a snug yellow T-shirt. He still fantasized about that night, going so far to take off her helmet too. The face beneath changed regularly. No one knew what Kijuuki looked like, few knew she was a girl. Like the Ryu, the Kijuuki preferred anonymity. They both enjoyed the reputation as excellent riders with a long standing rivalry. Kijuuki often went up against the Black Roses, the only all-girl crew in town. He himself was usually challenged by the Lost Boys or Blue Thunder, rival crews that constantly jockeyed for position. Lone riders like Kijuuki and Ryu rubbed the various groups wrong, especially when said loners regularly beat their members. Ranma turned on his side and closed his eyes. Sooner or later, he would know Kijuuki's face. And then, he smirked. Things would really heat up.
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Furikan High School is a school of many traditions. Their kendo and swim teams were top notch, the teachers preferred the 'water bucket' punishment and the morning fight never lasted more then five minutes.
Yes, every morning, just inside the front gates, there was a fight. It started two years ago, when one Tatewaki Kuno, kendo captain and leader of the Blue Thunders, announced that anyone wishing to date one Akane Tendo must first defeat her in honorable combat. The idea was to get all of his competition out of the way so he could date her himself. Sadly, his great idea backfired, as every schoolday morning for two years, Akane defeated every single challenger, including Tatewaki. The spectacle had devolved from twenty guys screaming romantic poetry to two incredibly stubborn, and some said incredibly stupid, potential Romeos, Tatewaki and Ryoga Hibiki, leader of the Lost Boys crew. Akane was reported to say those two were as bad as the twenty, for both were very good fighters and simply refused to give up already.
Ranma leaned against one of the support posts near the front door, arms folded over his chest, one eye cocked to the gates and one studying the restlessly pacing swains. Having dueled these two many times, both on and off the streets, Ranma found a sadistic pleasure in watching Hibiki and Kuno getting beat down by Akane. Ranma also crushed on the beautiful martial artist, but refused to swallow his pride and join the hordes fighting for her hand. The strategy worked, as Akane treated him with casual respect instead of contempt.
"She's coming!" A voice cried from the school wall, one of the many lookouts assigned by various betting pools. Hibiki and Kuno rushed to the gates, shoving and yelling insults at each other. As Akane came into view, both turned and began shouting undying professions of love. Akane's face darkened and she picked up speed. Ryoga got in front by tripping Kuno and threw a bandana like a lethal frisbee. Akane caught it in one hand and threw it back, not breaking stride. Ryoga ducked and the bandana caught Kuno dead in the forehead, knocking him back a good five feet. Akane jumped as Kuno hit the dirt, planting her foot firmly in Ryoga's face and using him as a springboard to clear Kuno's body. She missed, landing squarely on Kuno's chest and driving what little breath he had left clean out of his lungs.
"Serves you right!" Akane declared, jumping off and dashing to the doors. As she passed Ranma, he flashed her a victory sign under his arm. She returned it against the handle of her bookbag. Ranma smirked as he pushed off the post and strolled into school.
There is one more tradition noteworthy about this school. It happens at lunch time and has been dubbed "The Great Hair/Hare Chase". It also started about two years ago, when Ranma moved into town and caught the eye and obsession of one Xian Pu. Xian Pu's family owned a ramen shop and the beautiful Chinese expatriate took it upon herself to make sure Ranma had a delicious lunch, even though she didn't attend Furikan High. Xian Pu went to the all girl private school St. Hebereke across town. She was also a member of high standing in the Black Roses, which explained how she managed to ride from her school to the ramen shop to Ranma's school, chase him around the courtyard for fifteen minutes and still get back before her next class.
The fact that she was repeatedly beaten by Kijuuki was a taboo subject, liable to get one pummeled by a deluxe combo 3 or bori-bori, whichever was handiest.
This particular day was no different. Ranma had learned to keep one ear out for Xian Pu's nitrous-kicked Yamaha R1 and when he heard it come around the corner, he would find someplace to hide. Not that he didn't enjoy the free lunches; it was better then curry bread! No, he hid because Xian Pu had the annoying habit of jumping him like an octopus and clinging to him until he finished her offering. It was embarrassing, ESPECIALLY when she did it around Akane.
Sure enough, right as the noon bell rang, Ranma dashed to the roof. Various couples and a few delinquents liked to use the roof as a meeting place. Ranma used it as a sentry tower. He hopped onto the roof of the stair access and studied the roads around school. Quickly spotting a black and blue blur heading his way, he jumped down and dashed down the stairs, nearly knocking over a couple looking for a quiet place to sneak a few kisses. They exchanged shrugs and continued on their way. Ranma skipped the stairs in favor of running down the wide handrails and bolted outside via a second story window. Students calmly got out of his way and various wagers were made as he dashed towards a large oak tree. It was spring, the leaves had come in enough to hide him. With a finger to his lips at the various students sitting under said tree, he shimmied up the trunk and scrambled into the branches. Not a second too soon, for just as he found a good place to sit, Xian Pu rode into the courtyard.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! I HERE WITH YUMMY LUNCH!!" She caroled at the top of her lungs. Various students winced at her tone and broken Japanese. Despite the fact that she had moved here as a child, Xian Pu and her grandmother insisted on speaking broken Japanese when working in the ramen shop. The crews knew better, Ranma knew better. On the streets, she was not only fluent, she tended to rhapsodize. Stick a ramen pail in her hand and she turned into a silly girl fresh off the boat. Go figure. Xian Pu began cruising slowly around, peering at every boy closely and checking in every likely hiding spot, occasionally calling "RAAAANNMMAAAAA!" As she passed the tree where he was hiding, she stopped.
"See Ranma, violent girl?" She asked. Ranma blinked in surprise. Violent girl?
"Oh, yeah, Xian Pu, I have," Akane's voice responded. Ranma nearly fell out of the tree. "He was heading for the pool, muttering something about scuba gear."
"Violent girl no lie?" Xian Pu sounded suspicious. Ranma scooted to a slightly better view and peered between the leaves.
"Why would I lie? I hate boys, everyone knows that."
"Hmm. Truth. Xian Pu check." She drove off, calling his name. Ranma sat back; arms folded again and drummed his fingers against his bicep. Why HAD Akane lied?