Somewhere in the district of Furinkan, was a nice little house, that held the Saotome family. There were four members.
In the master bedroom was Genma Saotome, the lazy sloth but loving husband and current man of the house. In the kitchen was Nadoka Saotome. The traditional and mildly naïve house wife and loving mother.
In the living room watching TV was the oldest child at only ten years old, Ranma Saotome. He was an outgoing boy whose main hobbies included eating, sleeping, training, and spoiling his kid sister who was still sleeping soundly.
The kid sister was none other than Scarlett Saotome. The youngest resident at eight years old. She was a very docile, timid and somewhat unworldy child, who usually caught unwanted attention due to her unusual pink hair. She was also very dependant towards her family, and was particularly clingy towards her brother.
The house was still littered with boxes that had yet to be unpacked, suggesting that the family had just recently moved in.
Nadoka looked back at her son from over the stove. "Ranma, would you wake up your little sister please? Tell her that breakfast is almost ready."
Ranma nodded. "Ok, Mom!" He bounced off of the couch and ran into the room he shared with his kid sister. "Oi, Lechan! Wake up!"
Scarlett's natural response was to pull the blankets over her head and release a tiny moan. "Five more minutes Oniichan..."
Ranma frowned and pulled the covers off her and to shake her. "No way, Mom says breakfast is almost done! And we'll be late to school if ya don't hurry up!"
Scarlett sat up lazily and struggled to open her eyes and lift her head. "Fiiiine..." She groaned. She was instantly greeted by the sensation of cold water hitting her face. She let out a shriek and glared at her big brother.
"Come on let's go!" Ranma said impatiently.
She glared at him. "Ranma no baka!" She snapped.
Ranma merely laughed at his sister's attempt to be intimidating. It was impossible. She was just too cute to be scary. "That woke ya up didn't it?"
Scarlett glared. "Out!"
She threw her now damp pillow in his direction, but he had already run out the door. She muttered something incoherently and changed into her school uniform which consisted of a black and gray plaid skirt, a white blouse, black tights and loafers. She attempted to tie her neckerchief with several times before she grew frustrated. She went to the kitchen and lightly tugged on her mothers sleeve.
"Mama, I can't tie my scarf!" She whined, poutng somewhat.
Nadoka chuckled and shook her head. She proceded to tie the neckerchief for her daughter. "Over and under and tuck..." She tugged it once to make sure it was secure. "There. Eat your pancakes, we've got some time before it's time for you to leave."
Scarlett smiled appreciatively and hopped onto the chair and ate her pancakes quickly, but carefully. She looked to the side and was surprised to see Genma sulking and grumbling as he ate his breakfast outside.
"Breakfast was yummy, but uh...why did Papa have to eat outside?"
Ranma snickered. "Mom made Pops eat outside because he was too lazy to finish unpacking."
Scarlett blinked. "Oh." She walked to Genma and smiled. "Papa, please do your chores so you can have breakfast with us tomorrow!" She chirped. Genma smiled affectionately at his daughter and nodded. "Bai bai!"
"Scarlett remember to stick close to your big brother OK?"
Scarlett nodded to her mother. "Hai. Bai bai!" She grabbed Ranma's hand and allowed him to lead her to school. "Oniichan, we'll make friends here right?" She asked.
"Definitely. Well, I'll probably make more friends than you though, since I'm super cool, but I'm sure you'll make a lot too." Scarlett rolled her eyes.
Soon, the big building that was their new school was in front of them. Furinkan Elementary. As they grew nearer and nearer to the door, Scarlett found herself getting nervous. During preschool, Scarlett had been bumped right up to kindergarten, for being a bit more intelligent than the other children her age. As a result, she typically found herself being the youngest child in her class, or rarely, the entire grade. She was in fourth grade now. According to her big brother, fourth grade was much harder than third. The teachers were a bit stricter and the students were much rowdier.
None of that seemed very appealing to Scarlett.
"Scarlett, the office is right there. If you need any help you go there, ok?" Ranma said, pointing to the office right in front of the door.
Scarlett sweatdropped. She didn't actually recall entering the building. "H-Hai!" She glanced around and saw the many students walking around. She looked at her brother and pooched out her lip a little. "Oniichan will play with me during recess right?" She asked, her large blue eyes showing her slight anxiety.
Ranma smiled. "You know it! Bye Lechan!" He called, already running away.
"Bai bai, Oniichan!" She called, wondering if her small voice even reached his ears over the loud chatter of the students and teacher. Suddenly she felt a hand shove her to the ground. "Owie!" She shrieked.
Scarlett rubbed her head and turned around to glare at whoever had commited the act. She saw a boy, maybe nine or ten, roughly about Ranma's height. He had black hair and piercing hazel eyes. He had frown on his face, and what Scarlett saw to be a fang sticking out in the side. His hair was long in the front, and he wore a yellow scarf on his head to keep it from his face.
She stood up and glared at the fanged boy. "You big meanie, what was that for?!" She demanded angrily.
The boy narrowed his eyes in a glare that honestly frightened her greatly. "You were in the way." He walked past her.
Scarlett stood there in shock before whipping around and sticking her tongue out at the boy's leaving figure. "What a jerk! I hope I don't have any classes with him!" She huffed and walked into the office, regaining her composure quickly, which was mostly due to her short attention span. She saw a little bell on the desk and dinged it once. "Excuse me?"
She saw a lady behind the counter lean over to look at the small child. "Yes?"
"I'm Saotome Scarlett. I don't know where my class is. My oniichan said I could get help here. Will you help me please?"
The lady smiled at the young child's soft voice and polite manners. "Saotome Scarlett? I think I saw one of your classmates a few minutes ago." She grabbed the phone and spoke into it. "Hibiki Ryoga please come into the main office please, Hibiki Ryoga?"
Scarlett stared at the phone, fascinated as she heard the woman's voice echo in the hallways.
"Ah, there he is."
Scarlett turned to see the boy who had pushed her opening the door and approaching them. The pink haired child sweatdropped and quickly retreated behind the woman. "No!" The woman and Ryoga both blinked. "Don't make me go with him, he's mean!" She pleaded.
The woman blinked. "Ryoga? Mean? Sweetie, Ryoga is one of the kindest boys in this school."
Scarlett didn't move from her hiding spot behind the woman's legs. "But he pushed me down and he didn't even say sorry!" She teared up somewhat as she looked up at the woman. "Can't a custodian show me around or something?"
The woman looked at Ryoga, shocked at the accusation. "Is this true Ryoga?"
Ryoga glared at Scarlett, but it was gone within an instant before the woman could even acknowledge it. "No I would never push someone down, especially not a girl."
The woman looked at her. "Young lady, it's not nice to lie."
Scarlett's eyes widened and she felt much like a deer in the headlights. She began to feel tears forming in her eyes. "B-But I'm not lying!"
"Ryoga is an honest boy, he wouldn't do something like this."
Scarlett's vision began to glaze over as her tears became heavier. "F-Fine..."
The lady smiled gently and wiped Scarlett's tears away with her thumbs. "Don't lie again, OK?"
She looked at Ryoga and saw the fakest smile and look of concern on his face. "Hey, it's OK. Don't cry. You probably confused me for someone else." He chirped.
Scarlett looked down, sniffling a little. "H-Hai..." She muttered.
"Run along you two. Don't be late for class."
Scarlett nodded silently and followed Ryoga as he led her down the hall. She glnced up and saw him wearing that same scary glare. "No listen here brat, you won't tell on me again, or else. Got that?" He whispered harshly.
Scarlett glared at him with no confidence at all. "O-Or else what?"
"To put it simple, we'll have a big problem." He narrowed his eyes.
Scarlett whimpered and looked down. "Alright..."
"You'll do my homework too." She nodded once. Ryoga smirked. "Good, now let's go." He then gave the small child a shove, causing her to stumble slightly as she walked.
'Oniichan... it's only been a little while and already someone is picking on me...' She thought silently to herself. She felt tears invade her eyes once more as she walked besides Ryoga.
"Hey! Lechan! I've been looking for you!" Scarlett stopped and looked behind her, causing Ryoga to do the same. Ranma came running towards her, slightly out of breath. "I forgot to give you your lunch." He smiled as he handed her the cute orange lunch bag.
Scalett wiped her eyes and took it. "A-Arigato!" She chirped, forcing herself to sound cheerful.
Ranma, however, noticed immediately. "Hey why are you crying?" He asked. He pulled her into a gentle hug.
Scarlett hugged him back and whimpered. "I was sad that I forgot my lunch..." She muttered.
Ranma pulled back and grinned. "Then it's a good thing that you've got an awesome big brother like me." Scarlett cracked a weak smile. He placed his hand on her head. "Stay out of trouble, and remember, you can come to me about anything, OK?"
Scarlett sniffled and nodded. "Hai. Bai bai Oniichan." She watched him leave before looking at Ryoga.
"Good girl." He said.
She looked down, a deep frown on her face. "I'm not a dog..." She muttered.
He smirked. "You are my dog that does what I tell her to." Scarlett made a noise of disapproval but nodded none the less. He opened the door to their classroom and pushed her inside. "I'm sorry, are you alright?" He said, using that fake smile that Scarlett already found herself hating.
She got up and dusted herself off. "It's alright, it was an accident." She muttered.
The teacher walked up to them, frowning somewhat. "You two go stand in the hallway, you're both late."
They both groaned and walked into the hallway. Scarlett stared at her shoes, and flinched as she suddenly felt the heated glare of Ryoga. "You can't be mad at me! We wouldn't have been lte if you weren't being mean to me and pushing me around!"
Ryoga's glare hardened. "You wanna see mean, huh?"
Scarlett winced and trembled a little. "W-what do you mean?"
Ryoga looked to the side, smirkng. "I'm going to be your brother's best friend, now."
She looked at him in disbelief. "That's not fair!"
"Life isn't fair, pinky." She closed her eyes and whimpered before she began to wail. Ryoga sweatdropped and glared at her. "Stop crying!" He snapped.
This only made her cry more, harder, with a stronger intensity. "Leave me alone! If I have to cry then I'll cry!" She wailed. "I wanna go home!" No one came out at the sound of the eight year old crying. These tantrums were much too normal in the elementary school...
Ryoga flicked her head. "Stop crying or I'll get really pissed off." He hissed quietly.
Scarlett held her head. 'I wanna go home...' She ws then caught off guard by Ryoga pulling her into an embrace.
"Don't cry Saotome-san."
What a sudden switch. Why was the rude boy suddenly hugging and trying to comfort her?
"Lechan what happened?" She heard behind her. Ranma. That was why. That made more sense. Ranma quickly glared at Ryoga. "What did you do to my sister?" He growled.
Scarlett smiled mentally. This was going to stop. Ranma had finally caught on. This boy was going to leave her alone because her wonderful big brother had her back.
"I didn't do anything to her. We were sent outside for being late, and she strted crying so I was trying to comfort her."
Ranma's demeanor quickly changed. "Thanks man!" He patted Scarlett's head. "It's just one tardy, it's alright." Suddenly Scarlett began to think that her "wonderful" big brother deserved a "wonderful" smack upside the head.
She glanced at Ryoga, who turned to her and gave her that charming fake smile of his. Scarlett hugged her older brother who immediately hugged back. 'This is it. This is the place in this school that's nice and warm. In Oniichan's arms...' She thought, deeply crestfallen.
Ranma grinned. "Hey, do you wanna be friends?"
Scarlett hugged her brother tightly. 'Onichan, no...you're falling into his trap...!'
He nodded once. "Sure! I'm Hibiki Ryoga!"
"I'm Saotome Ranma, and this is my sister Saotome Scarlett!"
"I know. I have the same classes as her." Ryoga grinned and put his hand on Scarlett's head and smiled at her. "We'll be spending a lot of time together." That sounded more like a threat...
Scarlett released a tiny whimper that was barely audible to herself. "Y-Yay." She buried her face into Ranma's chest. 'I'm doomed. Oniichan...! Why don't you see what's happening here?!'
All done! That's chapter one! Hope you liked it! I'm co-writing this with my friend Ash, who's username is Rooroobazooka! I know it's short but I'm proud of it! =D