Prologue:

It was chaos in the lunchroom, as it always was. Kasuga Kyousuke, age 15, found himself watching, wondering why anyone would bother entering that skirmish. He also wondered why on earth the school didn't just have a bigger lunchroom with more food. Did the senior high school and college part of the academy just have first pick on the lunch budget?

Kyousuke's vague musings on the hierarchy of the subsets of the laddered academy was interrupted by the sight of a guy in a blue-ish gakuran emerging from the scrum, laughing happily as he held onto three tonkatsu sandwiches. Suddenly the strange boy, who, on second glance, had some rather fierce looking fangs, turned and glared at Kyousuke.

"Hah! Take that Ranma! You didn't steal my lunch this time!" the stranger declared, marching over to show off his haul of sandwiches.

"What? Who's Ranma?" Kyousuke asked, looking around to see if anyone else could fill him in. No one else was paying any attention to the conversation, all so focused on acquiring their own lunches.

"Pheh," the stranger declared, between mouthfuls of pork and bread, "If you think cutting your hair means I won't recognise you, then I'm insulted. I can see through your lame little disguise!"

Kyousuke opened his mouth, trying to figure out a reply, when he was cut off by his usual lunch companion.

"Darling!" Hikaru shouted, as she emerged from around a corner to pounce Kyousuke and nearly knocked him from his feet. Still clinging to him, she held up a large boxed lunch to show off her handiwork. "I made an extra tasty lunch today! C'mon, let's-wait, who's this guy, and why is he staring at you, sempai?"

Kyousuke was too focused on remaining upright despite the weight of the bubbly girl latched to him to give a reply (he'd use the Power, but wasn't sure if Hikaru would be able to feel the telekinetic support). The other boy, however, wore a strong look of confusion.

"A girl, but...but," looking around, Ryoga realised there were several girls in the area. And the boys were wearing black, rather than blue, gakurans. "Darn it! I'm at the wrong school again! I, uh, I've gotta go!"

As Ryoga ran off, he held a slightly odd pace due to his desire to eat the sandwiches he was carrying as he went.

"Well, that was different," Kyousuke muttered as Hikaru finally lept off him, allowing him to breath and think properly.

Part 1

Kyousuke's life was finished at age 17, he was sure of it. After getting a little turned about and accidentally teleporting into the girls' shower room yesterday (the school really wasn't designed for teleporting) there was no way Ayukawa was going to forgive him. Seeing her naked like that... He still ached severely from the beating he'd gotten from all the girls.

Maybe his best choice was just to run away, and try starting again somewhere no one knew him. He'd have to drop out of school for a bit, but he did have a bit of experience working in a restaurant, so he wasn't totally unemployable. But how far would be have to go? Maybe leaving Honshu altogether would be best, just to be safe... Or should he just try his most pathetic apology? Claim momentary insanity, and hope Ayukawa believed him?

These two options were what was warring in his head the last 3 hours as he'd wandered aimlessly through the streets of Tokyo, too lost in a cloud of indecision to notice when he crossed the border from Setagaya to Suginami.

"Gah!" Ranma yelped, as they dodged another knife from Mousse.

This had to be a new record, Ranma thought to themself as they leapt across another alleyway. Nearly an hour, and Mousse had kept his glasses on the whole time. Hopping across a small city street, the handsome pigtailed boy wondered how long Mousse would keep this up. Maybe they could try making it to Yokohama? Or try heading for the mountains? Fighting in the forests was always more fun than in cities (less need to worry about bystanders and property damage).

"What's this even about anyway, Duckie?" Ranma asked while bouncing along some telephone poles.

"What's this about? What's this about!? You kissed her!" Mousse bellowed, tossing an exploding rubber chicken at the pole Ranma had been standing on.

"I ain't kissed Shampoo!" Ranma replied, leaping down onto the roof of a nearby home.

"Yes you did! In the Nekoken yesterday! I saw with my own eyes!"

Ranma rolled their eyes, while still bounding along. "You really still trust those things?"

"Shampoo confirmed it!"

"Wah!" Ranma yelped, dodging a volley of daggers. "I asked Nabiki what I got up ta, she told me I never kissed anybody yesterday."

"You bumped your head against her! Shampoo told me that's how cats kiss!" Mousse shouted, growing more irate.

"It ain't the same! It's more like a French kiss-woah!" Ranma yelped, as some tiles they were standing on came loose.

"A FRENCH KISS!?" Mousse shouted, his voice reaching a new level of furious Ranma had never heard before as he began tossing everything in his arsenal at the pigtailed boy.

"A French kiss on the cheek! Y'know, like they do with friends? Real casual! Not a French Kiss French kiss!" Ranma shouted, dodging dozens of spiked chains, daggers, and unidentifiable objects. (They were fairly certain at least one of those items was one of Akane's cookies.)

Hoping Mousse would run out of projectiles, Ranma slipped down into an alley, using the buildings to shield them. The loud crunching noise from a ball-and-chain embedding itself in a nearby wall made Ranma smile. Mousse usually liked to save those for near the end, this was finally winding down.

Ranma couldn't imagine life without this level of fun in it.

Kyousuke kicked an empty can down the road as he walked. He'd finally ruled that faking his death was going overboard, but was only marginally closer to a solution for his main problem. Run or stay? Run or Stay? Neither option seemed good.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyousuke saw motion in the alleyway he was crossing. He turned to see what was happening, the figure (which he'd only managed to register was about his height and wearing red) ran straight at him, and then... when did he start running? Stumbling a bit, Kyousuke realised he'd made a decent chunk of the way across the park he'd been walking beside in a few seconds.

"Saotome! Stop running, and face me!" a bespectacled boy shouted, emerging from that alleyway Kyousuke had just been walking past.

Kyousuke stared at the guy; his long hair, flowing white robes, and thick glasses were certainly an unusual look. And...wait, why was he glaring this way? Kyousuke could only assume the guy was going to ask him where this 'Saotome' went... at least until the guy chucked a dagger his way.

"Eek!" Kyousuke squeaked, sliding to dodge the dagger.

He then stared in confusion as he managed to swing out of the way with ease, and the blade seemed to fly by in slow motion. Kyousuke assumed he'd used his telekinetic abilities without realising it. (Also, something felt weird about his hair, but he couldn't quite place that.) Terrified, he broke out into a run, hoping to escape this knife wielding eccentric.

As he ran, he was stunned by just how fast his feet were carrying him. This was quite possibly the fasted he'd ever run in his life (the only time that might have compared was that time he'd been a cat, but he was also much smaller then, so Kyousuke wasn't certain how they'd compared).

"Stop running, Saotome!" Mousse shouted.

"You've got the wrong guy!" Kyousuke replied as he ran. His voice sound kind of odd, but he chalked that up to panic.

"Ha! Do you really think I'd fall for that so easily? I'm wearing my glasses!"

Annoyed by what he thought was Ranma's attempt at a trick, Mousse launched another volley of daggers. (With one meat cleaver thrown in by mistake... Cologne was definitely going to yell at him for tossing around Neko Hanten company supplies.)

Kyousuke was amazed that it was so easy to dodge. Some of the moves he ended up pulling felt like something out of a Jackie Chan movie. Feeling a buzz of adrenaline, Kyousuke decided to see if he could pull off more moves from the movies he'd watched lately. Running up towards his unfamiliar foe, Kyousuke swerved and dodged projectiles with ease, before slipping in and connecting with an uppercut that sent the long haired boy flying.

"I don't really understand it, but this is so cool," Kyousuke muttered under his breath.

An angry yell revealed that his foe was still conscious, and was now running his way looking only slightly more annoyed (if any change had happened from that punch). Despite these mysterious new martial arts powers, Kyousuke couldn't overcome his natural self preservation instincts and broke into a retreat.

Scrambling down the quiet side streets of suburban Tokyo, Kyousuke immediately regretted punching this guy. He'd just been running on adrenaline. This was probably going to end as badly as his short time in the Karate club.

That was when he made a wrong turn, and soon found himself in an alleyway that proved to be a dead end. Turning around, Kyousuke felt his back against the wall as his bespectacled foe approached.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about punching you, m-maybe we can talk this out?" Kyousuke stammered as he watched his opponent draw some throwing knives.

"It's too late for that, Saotome," Mousse hissed. "I'm going to avenge Shampoo's hon-hmrphf."

The last grunt out of Mousse being the result of a girl on a bicycle landing on his head. Kyousuke found his eyes drifting up to realise the buildings surrounding them were at least three floors high. Where on earth did this girl come from?

"Stupid Mousse," the girl muttered, before turning to Kyousuke with a large smile. Suddenly she propelled forward, tackling Kyosuke. "Airen!"

Looking down at the gorgeous stranger now clung to him (she was definitely softer in certain places than Hikaru, and with a tighter grip), Kyousuke realised he was wearing very different clothing than he'd been just fifteen minutes earlier (a red and sleeveless silk shirt of some kind?). His own arms also looked rather more muscular. What exactly had happened?

"You will come back with Shampoo to the restaurant," the blue haired girl declared, lightly tapping him on the nose. "Shampoo has cooked a special new treat. Come!"

Kyousuke found himself being lead by the wrist past a now grovelling Mousse. The bespectacled boy (with the bicycle still balanced on his head somehow) tried to explain that he was defending Shampoo's honour, only to get punched in the face for his trouble.

As confusing as it was, Kyousuke was certain that he needed to find a mirror. He suspected he'd accidentally swapped bodies with someone, and seeing his reflection would answer his question.

Ranma groaned as they regained consciousness, in serious pain. What on earth had hit them?

Looking around, Mousse was nowhere to be seen, so that was good. Now to figure out which part of Tokyo they were in. Ranma hopped to their feet, only to wonder why it felt like like they their limbs were several times more exhausted than they had any right to be. That was when Ranma noticed they were also wearing very different clothing from before, now in a purple button up t-shirt, suspenders, and a pair of khakis.

"What on earth am I wearin'?" Ranma muttered, scratching at the back of their head.

It was then went they noticed something odd about their hair. Reaching down, they found their signature pigtail was missing, and their hair felt quite a bit shorter in the back. Feeling a sense of worry, Ranma looked around for a window of some sort.

There weren't any available nearby, but the sound of traffic not far away left Ranma with the impression there'd be some shops over that way. Marching off in a huff, Ranma silently plotted vengeance against Mousse if their hair had indeed been cut.

Their instincts proved right and they found themself on a commercial street a couple blocks later. It didn't take long to find a shop with a large window that was reflective enough. Their hair was indeed cut short in the back, though their bangs seems untouched (maybe a little fluffier than usual?).

"He did cut it! Why that little-" Ranma began, only to realise (as they balled their hand into a fist, a move that would normally be a fairly effective flex) that there seemed to be rather less muscle on their arms than usual.

Very confused, Ranma unbuttoned the shirt slightly to pull it off their head. There was a white undershirt beneath, but enough was revealed to show a severe lack of toning.

"Okay, what the heck is going on?" Ranma mumbled, staring at down right average looking arms. "I'm as skinny as Dai or Hiroshi."

Was it that weakness moxibustion? Ranma didn't remember that impacting muscle mass, only the actually ability to exert strength. Also, their voice sounded kind of funny.

"Kasuga? What are you doing all the way up here?... Kasuga? Hello?" a girl's voice said. There was something vaguely familiar about it, but none of the content registered.

Ranma had been mostly oblivious to her, but then the girl poked them in the arm, causing them to jump slightly. Turning, Ranma saw that the girl who poked them was about his age, with a soft face, and long dark hair that had a hint of blue to it. Her smile had a slightly mischievous edge to it that Ranma didn't want to admit was cute.

"H-hello?" Ranma offered, not sure what to make of this girl. Who was she, and why was she talking to them.

"If you're worried that I'm still upset about yesterday, don't be. I know you didn't do it on purpose. You're too shy for that."

"Oh, uh... thanks?" Ranma offered, still perplexed.

"What are you doing up in Suginami, though?" the girl asked.

"I... uh, felt like going for a run?"

"That's quite the run , Kasuga," the girl replied with a laugh.

"Who's Kasuga?" Ranma asked, wondering if there was some sort of mix up.

"Oh, one of those days, is it? You get the strangest ideas on how to remake yourself sometimes Kasuga," the girl replied, chuckling a little to herself. "Well, come on, let's grab a train back to Abcb. I'll make you some lunch."

While the situation had Ranma confused, free lunch was not something a Saotome ever passed up, so they nodded. "Sure thing. That sounds good."

Obviously they needed to go talk to Cologne at some point and find out what was going on with their muscle mass, but... empty stomachs came first.

It was then that Ranma noticed the large shopping bag in the girl's hand. It paid to be polite to one's cook. "I could carry that, if ya want?"

"If you'd like," the girl replied, handing it off to them.

Ranma and the girl walked in silence towards the nearest train station. The streets were fairly quiet out here, which Ranma found relaxing. It also meant Ranma was able to hear the girl humming to herself. She seemed to have a pretty good melody going, which led Ranma to believe she had some musical talent.

Reaching the station, Ranma realised the need to see if they had a wallet or not in these strange clothes. A bit of patting revealed the answer to be a negative, leave Ranma in an awkward position. Luckily the girl just giggled and paid Ranma's fare as well.

"Honestly Kasuga. Going for a long walk without your wallet. You need to think ahead better," the girl said as they walked down the stairs to the waiting area, her tone removing any harshness to her words.

Ranma had to wonder why this girl was convinced they were this Kasuga person, but also knew they'd have a very long walk home with their strangely weakened muscles and no wallet. So maybe they could be polite, play along, and then get fare for a train back to Nerima. Also free food.

It was slightly disconcerting to see that they were catching the southbound train on the Inokashira line, but it didn't make a huge difference to travel times home if they got fare for the ride home.

The train arrived soon enough, and they began sliding through the suburbs of Tokyo in the general direction of Shibuya. Ranma was ready to sit patiently and find out where they'd be getting out, when the girl leaned against them in what felt like a romantic gesture. Ranma swallowed nervously, not wanting to play into the role too much. Helpful stranger getting a free lunch was one thing, but taking advantage of similar looks to be romantic... that would be crossing a line.

Hoping for a distraction, Ranma peaked into the bag they were carrying. The box said it was a cappuccino machine, which was something Ranma vaguely remembered Nabiki saying she wanted.

"So... is this for the restaurant, or your own?" Ranma asked, hoping the question wasn't too suspicious.

"The restaurant. Master said the old one was starting to get a little worn down," the girl replied, sitting up a bit. "Probably Hikaru helping out too many times."

Ranma nodded, relieved to have apparently dispelled the romantic mood a little. Further probing about the trip and why the girl had gone so far to shop (the restaurant owner's favourite shop had moved for rent reasons) filled the rest of the ride until they arrived at Shimo-Kitazawa Station.

Kitazawa itself proved quite bustling, not that Ranma was surprised, being so close to Shibuya. Slipping along through the crowds, Ranma did their best not to lose the girl they were with. Luckily this Abcb place proved not to be too far away, so the chances to lose her were minimal.

A bell chimed as they walked into the western style cafe. It felt quite cozy to Ranma, even if it was pretty quiet right now.

"Hello Master, it's mission successful," the girl declared.

"Oh, Madoka-kun, you were quick. I figured you'd grab something to eat while you were out," the man behind the counter said. He looked to be in his mid 30s, with a beard and fluffy hair all a medium brown.

"Well, I ran into Kasuga, who'd apparently gotten himself lost with an empty stomach and no wallet. I figured it would be cheaper to eat something here. Employee discount and all," Madoka replied. "Plus he owes me train fare, so I thought we could have him help out for a bit."

"I'm not sure we'll have much need for him today, it's pretty dead," the man replied.

Madoka looked around. "Huh, I suppose that's true. Alright, Kasuga, what did you want for lunch?"

"Um," Ranma mumbled, realising they had no idea what the restaurant served, but that this 'Kasuga' person should know. Then they had an idea that led to rather a large smile. "How 'bout you surprise me, Madoka?"

Suddenly both of them were staring at Ranma. What did they do wrong? Should they have used an honourific? Was this Madoka a senior to this Kasuga?

"Wow, so he's finally progressed to using your given name. I thought the day would never come," the owner laughed.

Madoka, for her part, blushed slightly. "Uh, okay. Sure thing... Kyousuke."

Ranma shrank behind the bag a bit. Maybe it was time to come clean... but why did this man also think they were this Kasuga guy? Ranma's curiosity about who Kasuga Kyousuke was growing by the minute.

Plus, they hadn't gotten any lunch yet.

Kyousuke clung on to this Shampoo girl for dear life. He'd been on a bicycle moving this fast before, but that was when he'd been using his powers to get a major speed boost. This girl, however, seemed to be doing in all under the power of her legs. And she seemed to be complete comfortable with riding in the weirdest places. Like along a fence right now.

Then, with zero warning, they leapt off the fence and ground to a screeching halt. His heart still racing furiously, Kyousuke found it hard to let go of the girl. Mostly because of fear from the ride, but also because the girl was gorgeous. Between her cute, and distinctly foreign, face and her figure that at least rivaled Ayukawa's... he felt like he'd be happy to do whatever she told him. Maybe he could wait just a little bit before tracking down whoever he'd swapped bodies with... if he'd really swapped bodies. A mirror would obviously tell him, but if he just didn't confirm it for a little bit, then he could spend a bit more time with this cute girl.

"As much as Shampoo likes being held, airen will have to let go if Shampoo's going to do any cooking."

"Oh, heh, sorry," Kyousuke muttered as he let go and stepped back away from the bicycle.

Shampoo walked over to lock her bicycle up at the restaurant's side. Kyousuke was sure she was making sure to show off her legs as she leaned forward to close the lock. She then bounced back towards him, smiling away.

"Come in! Shampoo will give you a much better lunch than angry girl could ever manage," she declared, grabbing Kyousuke by the wrist and pulling him along.

Ranma was surprised that it had taken just two sandwiches for them to feel reasonably satiated. After all the running around they'd done that morning, they'd expected to be starving.

"So, Kyousuke," the owner began, "do you think you'll be free to help out on weekends again this summer? It's always good to have you around."

"Uh, it should probably be fine?" Ranma replied. It wasn't like they were actually promising anything.

Madoka shot them a smile that seem to indicate she was quite happy with that answer. Ranma felt slightly guilty to be stealing a smile as nice as that.

Then the smile vanished and Madoka looked away to clean something, blushing slightly. Ranma wondered what had happened when the entrance bell chimed.

"Darling? It is darling!" a bubbly girl's voice called out.

Suddenly Ranma found themself being clasped onto by a girl who had almost certainly leapt across half the restaurant to tackled them. Even though she was quite light, Ranma found it a struggle to stay on the stool they were sitting on with the added weight (hammering once more the question of where their muscles had gone).

Ranma let out a sigh of relief when no electric shock followed being called 'darling', before wondering if they'd been reading too much manga to have honestly expected lightning.

"Oh sempai! I was so worried. I went and talked with your sisters this morning, and they said you were gone when they got up, and that you didn't have your wallet or your keys or anything. So I went out asking if anyone had seen you! And I had Yuusaku out too, but I haven't seen that boy for an hour... Anyway! It's great that you're here and you're safe, darling! Did Madoka find you?" the girl said, in remarkably little time.

"I, uh, yeah?" Ranma offered, hoping this girl would release them from her tight grip.

"Mhm, I found him staring aimlessly at his reflection up in Suginami. He didn't even have train fair," Madoka explained, her tone much harsher now than it had been earlier, confusing Ranma a little.

Finally the new girl let go and hopped onto the seat beside Ranma. Now able to get a look at her, they couldn't help feeling that she was like sunshine personified with that smile she wore. She was clearly a bit younger than them, looking like she'd still be in middle school, and had light brown hair cut short.

"Sempai, you're very silly sometimes. I feel like I have to worry about you," she said, with a false pout.

"I.. heh, maybe?" Ranma muttered. What was the situation here? Madoka had been seeming romantic earlier, but was now going for a cold shoulder. And this new girl seemed utterly infatuated. Maybe they'd just read Madoka wrong. It wasn't like reading emotions was Ranma's strongest skillset.

"Hikaru, if his family's worried, maybe you should take Kyousuke home?" Madoka said.

Hikaru lit up. "That's a good idea, Madoka! Come on, sempai!"

Before Ranma could try to back out of this and make an effort to confess they were being dragged out the door. Well, the jig would be up as soon as they reached this Kyousuke's family. No way would family would fall for Ranma's apparently similar appearance, even if everyone else had... right?

Or at least that was Ranma was thinking for the first part of the run through streets Ranma didn't know. Then it began to rain. And Ranma's curse didn't activate.

They had no idea what to make of that, and just slid into auto-pilot from the shock.

Kyousuke had been very impressed with the amount of food this Shampoo girl brought him to eat. And even more surprised that he was getting through all of it. He'd barely used the Power today... what had the person to whom this body belonged been up to all day?

He was finishing up when the front door of the restaurant slammed open.

"Ranma! There you are! Did you forget we were leaving today?" a short haired girl shouted.

She was damp from the rain outside, and Kyousuke did his best to keep his eyes from wandering to notice the effect that had on her shirt. As she marched over, Kyousuke slowly realized that 'Ranma' was the name of the guy this body belonged to.

"H-hi?" Kyousuke offered, having no idea how to respond to this girl.

It was probably time he went back and found his body. Free food from a beautiful waitress was nice and all, but he didn't want to have to deal with serious problems.

"Hi? Hi!? We were supposed to leave an hour ago! And you're just here having a leisurely lunch with Shampoo," the girl groaned. Despite her bad mood, she was exceptionally cute.

Before Kyousuke could offer a reply, the girl yanked on the pigtail that he currently had and dragged him towards the door.

"Airen, don't worry! Shampoo will see you again soon!" the blue haired beauty announced.

Kyousuke was about to protest when they crossed the threshold back outside. A couple drops of rain hit his forehead, and then... what were those lumps that suddenly appeared on his chest? Kyousuke stared in shock for a moment, before passing out.