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Chapter 1: The Departure, The Relocation, The Unveiling
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or School Rumble. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Kobayashi Jin respectively.
Just something I thought I would try. It's been stuck in my head for a little while so I decided to get it out of me.
Also, if you don't know anything about Ranma ½, treat the Ranma side as a an OC.
Please give me your opinions.
The Departure
As Ranma boarded the train, he wondered how much his life had changed since Saffron and the failed wedding. He knew about his feelings had come out for Akane, but thanks to the famous Saotome Foot-in-the-Mouth disease, he had not only managed to push Akane away from him, but he had also destroyed any possible means of the engagement from going through (not that he minded, especially finding out Akane's real intentions).
He found an empty spot on the train and sat down. He pulled out the piece of paper which his mother had given to him only that morning and thought about the address. He knew a bit about the Kanagawa region from his studies and he hoped it would be a lot better than the hellhole he used to call home.
He thought back to the day where this while mess started; he had been trying to fix things up with Akane and he had hoped to actually make the engagement work.
Flashback
Ranma was lounging around on the roof and he was doing something what most people consider to be abnormal for the sixteen year-old in question: thinking.
'Man, I really need to get a better grip on my life. Just today, Akane malleted me into space twice, once for Shampoo groping me and the second was because Ukyo gave me some food. Yeesh, she really needs to get a hold on her temper,' he thought.
'Then again, I also need to work on myself too. I have always seemed to stumble around with my words and I nearly let it slip at Jusendo. God that would've made a huge mess…'
'Well, she also needs to get better. I nearly failed in saving her and though I absolutely abhor hitting girls, I really need to help her train: even I can't save all the time. And the next time she gets 'bride-napped,' she might get killed. God, her luck must be running out soon.'
Ranma used his limited brain capacity to actually think of a way to fix things. 'C'mon, Saotome, you can do this! What I need is to-'
Ranma froze. He had a brainwave, but he would be gambling a huge risk if he decided to go through with the idea. Sure, the other girls might have been showing a lot less face than usual, but things might actually work if he managed to swear everyone to silence.
The huge risk he was gambling? This whole plan could blow in their faces if even one detail leaked out. That usually meant Nabiki, and that meant he was going to have to come up with a good plan to outwit her. She could be scarier than he thought.
Kasumi was no problem. She could hide secrets better than everyone. The only other problem was their fathers. They were so emotional about this engagement, they practically yelled things to half of Nerima. If that happened, he may as well go through with the seppuku contract he had 'agreed' to when he was two, with or without his mother's consent.
Ranma faced a decision that had had huge pros and cons. Should he go through with this potentially life-threatening plan and reap the rewards, hiding everything in the process? Or should he just let things go the way they are and hope by some miracle that he and Akane get together?
Ranma shook his head. He had no room for doubts. He had made his mind and he went to go to consult with Akane.
'Ranma no BAKA! Why does he let those whores hang around with him? He should just tell them firmly 'Go away' and be done with it, but NOOO, he lets those bitches hang onto his every word and freeloads off them! Then he can go through that damned engagement! Not that I care…'
Akane was in her room and was doing her homework, but she found it difficult to actually do so after the day's events. She was currently fuming over Ranma and his behavior towards the girls he had around him, including herself.
'He praises the girls about their cooking, yet he ignores ME, and even yet, he insults ME! They even have better looks than me! If he cares about them so much, why doesn't he GO WITH THEM?' she yelled in her mind, wondering why her heart twisted at that statement.
'RANMA, I HATE-'
Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard some knocking on her glass window. She looked outside and found Ranma against the setting sun. He had a solemn look on his face and all anger on her face or even in her mind evaporated. It was a rarity that Ranma ever had a solemn look on his face.
"What do you want, Ranma?" she asked with a tone that meant 'this better be good, or you're dead.'
Ranma swallowed. "Akane, I am about to tell you possibly the most hair-brained, ingenious yet, dangerous idea I thought up of. If it works, we might be able to actually end this damned fiancé feud once and for all."
Akane lost her tone of voice as she spoke curiously, "Really? What is it?"
And so, Ranma went over the details of his plan. He went from exchanging services from each other and improving each other in secret and hiding this from everyone but the immediate family. He also told her the risks of this plan and he repeated several times that this plan could blow up in their faces and that it could any chance of an engagement from happening.
Akane listened and the more she heard, the more impossible she thought it was going to be.
"Ranma are you sure that's going to work? This is a pretty insane plan, you know," she said, eyeing Ranma.
"Well, I have to agree with you; this one's a long shot. Just remember that this could kill any chance of an engagement if this backfires on us."
Akane was clueless as to what to do, but before she could say anything, Ranma continued. "The problem with this plan is that this could leak out, thanks to some rather untrustworthy, well placed sources in this family. Namely, our fathers and Nabiki."
Akane nodded and Ranma continued with his, for lack of a better word, debriefing.
"Your father and Pops, we can threaten with the engagement. The only problem is Nabiki. She is going to want something in return or we ask Kasumi to do something. I'm opting for Option 2, because that way, it'll hurt out wallets less, and let's face it, no one wants to be broke."
Akane nodded again, unable to say anything.
"Well, Akane? Do you want to do this? Knowing it could backfire in our faces?" asked Ranma seriously.
Akane remained speechless before she replied, "I need time, Ranma. Can I sleep on it?"
Ranma nodded, expecting this as the most likely answer from her. It was a lot of information to take in. it was an insane plan which merited more than favourable results, but yielded equally bad returns if it failed. It was like trying to get the final card for a royal flush in Texas Hold' ems: you had one chance, otherwise, it's game over.
Ranma left the room via the way he came in and he bounded onto the roof to let Akane have some thinking space. Meanwhile, he needed to come up with a way to outsmart Nabiki in such a way that he could actually have her allegiance in this plan without him and Akane having empty pockets.
He was in for a long night.
Ranma smiled at the memory and his foolish attempts at formulating a plan to outwit Nabiki in order to actually make this plan come to fruition. He had thought of various arguments, including one that involved him prostrating himself before 'Queen Nabiki,' but he quickly scrapped that as he more pride than that.
He remembered his surprise when he told the family, though the word surprise was a huge understatement. His poor vocabulary was couldn't think of a word big that could properly describe his emotion at the time.
Ranma knocked on Akane's door after school the following day. She'd been avoiding him the whole day, but he knew that would happen. It was bound to happen after what had transpired last night and so he respected her wishes.
"Come in," came the tired reply.
Ranma opened the door and he found Akane sitting at her desk, looking at Ranma with determination.
"I'll do it, Ranma," she said tiredly. The decision was not easy for her. She didn't know how long she could actually keep up this deception from the rest of Nerima, yet there was always the possibility that it could happen.
Ranma looked her. "Are you sure?" he asked.
Akane looked him in the eyes. That was all Ranma needed to confirm her response.
"Okay then. I think the first person we should tell is Kasumi. She would definitely keep this quiet until we can spread it out in the open."
She nodded and with Ranma, she left the room and went to the kitchen to find her older sister, who was surely preparing dinner.
Ranma and Akane entered the room tentatively. Kasumi was humming to herself and was busily preparing dinner with the joyous smile on her face.
"Ranma, Akane, what can I do for you?" she asked as she turned to face Ranma and Akane.
"Well, Nee-chan, I need to you to help with something me and Ranma have thought of," she said nervously.
"Well, what can I help you with?" she asked brightly.
Ranma launched into explanation mode as he explained his plan, good and bad results included. He explained the whole thing to Kasumi, Akane helping occasionally. Kasumi was still preparing dinner, so Akane went to set up the dishes when Ranma was still talking.
By the time Ranma had finished, the dishes had been set up and dinner had been finished. Kasumi wore a worried face in light of Ranma's new plan.
"Are you sure this will work, Ranma-kun?"
Ranma shrugged. "At best, and that's if we keep this whole charade up and swearing this whole family to silence, I give it a 25% chance of working. And that's being too generous."
Kasumi looked even more worried. "Are you sure, Ranma-kun, that you will want to do this? That you know the risks of the whole plan? That what might happen if you fail? Are you sure there isn't another way to do this?"
"Lying to the Nerima Wrecking Crew is easier than getting them to leave us alone: they were never really bright to begin with and they might even attack us. And if this plan get's out, 'all hell's going to break loose' isn't even a near-good enough expression to describe what will happen to this place."
Kasumi felt like she was going to make the apocalypse happen when she said the next sentence. "Ok, Ranma-kun, I'll help you by keeping the family quiet, but things like this don't generally stay silent for long. Father and Saotome-san shouldn't be too hard for you, but I'll help you with Nabiki."
Ranma sighed a breath of relief. "Arigato, Kasumi. I mean it."
Ranma bowed to her and he helped carry out the dishes for that night's dinner, surprising everyone but Kasumi. It took a lot more than Ranma showing manners to shock her.
Dinner was less quiet than usual. This meant that Genma stole Ranma's food, Ranma and Genma fight, Ranma falls into the pond, Genma brags, Ranma splashes him and they both start fighting, not over food, but out of sheer habit of doing this for so long. Kasumi also had a kettle of hot water for both Ranma and Genma, and after the hot water, they resumed the 'fight' over the food. The rest of the Tendos ignored this: they had gotten used to it after so long.
After dinner, when Kasumi had cleared the dishes, she made some tea and served some desert for the hot summer nights: crushed ice and iced tea. It was at this point that Ranma decided to announce the plan he and Akane had concocted.
"Hey, I need to speak to you," said Ranma and everyone gave Ranma their full and undivided attention. "Right. Well, I've been doing some thinking these last few days, and I've thought of a plan to end this fiancé war, but it's gonna need your cooperation."
And so Ranma repeated what he had said to Akane and Kasumi, but it took longer, mainly because of Soun and Genma's dancing around and yelling something along the lines of 'The houses will be joined.'
Ranma knew that by entering this plan, he had chosen Akane. The difference is, on the outside, it would be plain old Ranma and Akane fighting.
Nabiki had actually made the most surprising choice in this.
"I'll keep quiet about this, for as long as it takes. No charge," she said.
This caused everyone in the vicinity of the room to stare at Nabiki, save Kasumi, who had known she wouldn't sell out her family's honor for any price. People could be so unperceptive.
"What? Can't I do something charitable for once?" she asked. "I might be known as the Queen of Ice, but even I know when family honor is at stake."
And so, the most dangerous plan concocted had been put into practice. Operation: Stop Fiancé War had begun and it was going to a very good start, the parent's actually swearing their silence, or else the engagement would be gone for good and Nabiki swearing her silence as well.
Ranma looked back on the memory fondly. It was one of the few times Ranma had known Nabiki to be so charitable and it raised his respect for her higher. He thought he had known what he was doing at the time. God, was he so wrong.
For the first few weeks, everything was fine. Ranma and Akane had improved drastically in many areas. Akane had her temper in check and had improved beyond all doubt to Ranma. He had to drill in some of the Anything Goes school principles into Akane repeatedly, including not letting your emotions fuel your attacks, which she had been doing for most of the time. That was what was holding her back as a martial artist, or at least that was what Ranma had thought.
Akane had improved by leaps and bounds: Ranma would even be willing to pit her against Shampoo and he would bet she would be the winner. However, Ranma would not put her against Mousse and his hidden weapons. Though Akane had made huge jumps in terms of skill levels, she was not good at dodging the chains and flying weapons, as Ranma had demonstrated to her before.
Ranma, on the other hand, had improved in his social skills, though this was no mean feat. After trying different methods of trying to teach Ranma etiquette and manners, Akane finally resorted to drastic measures: She called upon the skills of Martial Arts Etiquette and within one week, after some hastily thought up explanations of trying to prove that in some way, all etiquette skills were related to Martial Arts, Ranma was now more perceptive of other people's feelings (though the same could be said otherwise in matters of love). He ate like a normal person, and he'd even had stopped most slang in his talking.
Ranma had also requested he be trained in 'Martial Arts Education' and during the same week he practiced his etiquette skills, Ranma was now flying in all areas of his schoolwork and was even beating Akane herself in areas like Mathematics and Science. Even at English, a horrible area of the school, Ranma was doing better and he even had a slight English accent to it. He just didn't show it because he was usually asleep during Ms. Hinako's class.
'Pops took me to England once. Don't ask why, but one of us had to learn to learn how to speak and he sure as hell wasn't going to,' he has said as he explained his sudden drastic improvement in English to Akane.
Ranma had actually enjoyed spending time with Akane. He enjoyed teaching her and vice versa. They had even managed to hold hands once without any interruptions, as was per usual with a Ranma Akane moment.
Then, as Ranma put it, 'all hell broke loose.'
Ranma was in the dojo, practicing with Akane. Ranma was fighting with Akane in a practice spar and they were both enjoying it immensely. Ranma was even ready to progress Akane to ki blasts.
As Ranma was distracted by his thought process, Akane sensed Ranma slowing down and she moved in to grab and throw him. However, Ranma managed to sense Akane, only a millisecond too late. The result was Akane grabbing Ranma, attempting to throw him and halfway in the air, Ranma grabbed her arms and Akane flew with Ranma. They landed in a crumpled heap, Ranma landing on top of her.
When Ranma recovered, Ranma found himself straddling Akane. And, inadvertently, they both locked eyes. Blue, staring into black, Ranma found himself staring into Akane's eyes like they were a window into her soul. Both their feelings lay open, with nothing to hide behind.
Ranma found himself lowering himself onto Akane's face, yet strangely, he didn't stop, nor did he want to stop. He was so afraid that Akane might want to stop, yet she didn't even blink as Ranma continued to lower his face onto Akane's.
Ranma, for the first time, claimed Akane's lips and he found the experience quite enjoying. He kissed her lightly and she kissed back, embracing each other.
Then the door slid open and Ranma and Akane broke apart. There, standing in the doorway with her mouth agape, was Ukyo, the okonomiyaki box on the floor.
Ukyo was walking along the path to the Tendo dojo, holding an okonomiyaki take-out box in her hand. She was going to visit her Ran-chan to see what was wrong with him.
It had been gradual, but she had been noticing small changes in him. Ranma was becoming more polite, he had nearly stopped using slang, he was actually doing well in school and the worst part was that he actually fighting less with Akane! She didn't know what Akane did to Ranma, but she sure as hell wasn't going to stand for it!
As she approached the Dojo, she heard fighting sounds. She turned towards the dojo and as she drew closer, she could hear the voices of a male and female fighting in there. She got even closer and she could make the male voice out as Ranma's, but the female, she couldn't make out yet.
Ukyo panicked. Ranma was running around with another girl behind her back?
'But Ran-chan isn't like that! That hussy who he was training with probably did something to him! Most likely the Amazon hussy, she probably used one of her potions on him! I'll get her for that!' she raged in her head and she ran towards the dojo door and threw it open.
What she did not expect was Akane and Ranma in the room. What's more, she did not expect to see Ranma and Akane kissing.
Ukyo's world shattered as she knew it. Nothing made sense to her as she pulled her battle spatula out, cried in all her fury and leapt at Ranma and Akane.
Ranma was the first to react, pulling Akane out of harm's way and disarming the crying Ukyo. Even after she had been disarmed, Ukyo leapt at Akane, using her fists. Though Ukyo was skilled at using her fists, she was no match for Akane as she put Ukyo onto the ground.
"WHY HER, RAN-CHAN? WHY?" Ukyo sobbed uncontrollably.
Ranma could do nothing but say, "I'm sorry, Ukyo. But, it's over. And, I think there was never an us in the first place. I'm sorry."
She struggled and cried, but Akane kept her hold on her, at least until Ranma told Akane to let her go.
"Go home, Ukyo," he said. It was not meant to be a cold and harsh order: just a recommendation. However, she seemed to get the wrong idea as she glared at Ranma and Akane and walked out of the dojo, not sparing either a backward glance.
End Flashback
Ranma shuddered when he remembered that following week: Visits punctured by smashing, breaking, yelling, accusing, congratulating and what not completely put a huge strain on his relationship on Akane that week as he could not find the time to have a private moment with her. Nerima made sure the couple never got another moment of peace.
Then, as 'it' happened.
Flashback
Ranma was walking back from school when he heard some sounds of fighting near him. He'd been returning from an errand that Kasumi asked him to do.
"Well? WHADDYA WAITIN FOR, HUH? CUM'N' GET IT!"
'Weird. That sounds like Akane. What's happening?'
Ranma ran and soon, he found Akane, Kodachi, Shampoo and Ukyo were in a vacant lot: they were fighting, to the outsider, to the death. Guess why?
"HAH! I guess I beat you! Ranma's mine and he's not going to be yours, EVER!" yelled Akane triumphantly.
"HARLOT! HOW DARE YOU IMPEDE ON RANMA-SAMA'S BRILLIANCE?" yelled Kodachi in her maniacal voice.
Ranma, though, remained out of sight after hearing what Akane said.
'I'm just a trophy, huh? Just a fucking damned trophy to show off, huh?'
Never in Ranma's life had he felt so angry, so betrayed. Saffron and the Neko-ken training combined didn't match to the ferocity of this new anger embedded in Ranma. He let his aura flare out dangerously for the girls.
Akane was feeling triumphant when she felt hot, raw, unrestrained anger flow into the area. She was frozen at the sheer intensity of it. 'Who is this-'
Her thought was cut off as Ranma stepped into view. 'Oh shit.'
Ranma glared at each girl with such uncontrolled rage, the girls flinched every time they looked at him.
"So, Akane? Am I just a trophy to you? A damned fucking trophy just to show off to these, these…" Words failed Ranma as he tried to find words harsh enough to describe the bitches in front of him.
"Is that all I am to you? A game? A FUCKING GAME?" he roared and he let forth another pulse of anger into the world. The girls were clearly shaking in fear: the raw power Ranma displayed was nearly on par with a volcano.
"Despicable," Ranma said and he turned to leave. Never had Ranma felt more anger in his life: he tried to restrain himself with the Soul of Ice, but unfortunately, not even his disciplined mind could necessitate the focus for the self-control technique.
End Flashback
Ranma remembered, with anger, one of his arguments he had with Akane. God, it may have been short, but it was intensely powerful.
Flashback
When he got home, Akane was at the door.
"Where've you been?"
"Ryoga wanted a fight." It was the truth, even if it didn't go through.
"Liar. You're not even panting! I bet you were with one of you harem girl friends!"
"Not now, Akane. I'm tired and I want some sleep." His anger flared for everyone in the house to see.
"See! I was right! Otherwise you'd want some of Kasumi's food!"
Ranma ignored her ranting as he walked up the stairs and entered his room.
End Flashback
Of course, with that flashback, Ranma could not help but remember his best friend's advice to him.
Though he didn't know it at the time, Hibiki Ryoga was an invaluable friend to him.
Flashback
Ranma sitting at the river bank, looking into the depths of the water when the eternally lost boy found Ranma.
"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!"
Ranma didn't even look up. "Hey Ryoga."
Ryoga, halfway through his charge, froze. "What, no pig-boy today?"
"Nope."
Ryoga looked at him strangely. He decided to something nice for once and sat down next t him. Even Ranma had limits.
"So, what's wrong Ranma? Life slapping you in the face again?" It wasn't like him to act like this, acting down in the dumps.
Ranma laughed. "Yeah. My life had finally gotten to me. This shit hellhole as been taking me and screwing around with me like no tomorrow. Everyone, except Kasumi, has been treating me like horse shit. And ain't that a coincidence? It's like I'm just a trophy, rather than a person. I can't deal with it anymore."
They both looked out to the setting sun. Ranma was appreciating whichever god had allowed him to actually have a normal friend (or at least a friend who would at least listen to him).
Ryoga laughed. "Guess you know how I feel. Look at me: poor sense of direction, changes into a little porcine piglet, hopelessly in love, though probably not any more, considering that Akane has been tormenting you. I've doing fine with Akari."
"Good to hear, buddy," said Ranma. If he was a friend, he might as well treat him like one.
Ryoga blinked. "Buddy?"
"You're the only person who has actually sat down and talked to me like this before laying the hurt on me. That is a friend to me."
"Well, then, how about we actually start over, before that damned bread feud?"
"Sure. I need someone to talk to."
Ryoga stood up and picked his bag off the ground. "My suggestion to you, Ranma, is to start afresh." He put his bag on his back. "Just a piece of advice to you, Ranma. See you. I have to go back to Akari. I think she's waiting for me to come back. I was here to tie up a few loose ends. Give Akane my best."
End Flashback
'And now, here I am no idea where I am going, except for when my mother gave me this ticket. It was a good thing she let me found a friend which let me stay at their place: I don't like to be a burden to my own mother, no matter how much she would've liked it,' Ranma thought as he stepped off the train, hoping for a quiet, normal life.
He had no idea how wrong he was.
(A/N: None of the sections from here on in will be as long as the previous one, unless I deem it necessary: that last one was about 4500 words long)
The relocation
As Ranma stepped off the train, he felt more than happy. He was away from the hellhole he once called home and was now going to a new lace to live. He just had to find it.
He found the first person outside the train station. It was a man with a moustache, black glasses, muscular build, jeans, black jacket, white shirt and he was sitting on a motorbike. Ranma decided to talk to this man.
"Um, hello?"
The man looked at him. It was hard to tell, though. The glasses made it hard to see.
"Could you tell me how to get to this address?"
The man took the piece of paper, looked, then had an expression of surprise.
"Ah! You must be the person Imouto-san was talking about!" he exclaimed.
Ranma could hardly believe his luck.
"I'm Harima Kenji! Imouto-san sent me here to pick you up. Though I was getting bored of waiting for you. Sorry I fell asleep."
"I'm Saotome Ranma! Sorry 'bout this!" He scratched the back of his head in his trademark fashion.
As Harima passed a spare helmet to him, he asked, "So, where you from?'
"Nerima."
Harima looked surprised. "Not surprised you want a new life. I've heard some crazy shit about that place."
Ranma looked at him. "I'm probably the cause of all that."
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah," he said. He clearly didn't want to talk about it, so Harima didn't (Harima is usually the most blind person to feelings, but since this is a guy-to-guy conversation, I decided to make this easier to read).
Ranma got onto the back of his bike, holding onto his back and Harima roared away, leaving a considerable amount of dust.
As Harima drove past, Ranma made a quick note about where some of the various landmarks to better his knowledge of the area.
As Harima drove into the neighborhood, Ranma looked around, seeing a huge mansion in the distance, a school and a video store.
Finally, Harima arrived at a traditional Japanese house. Ranma looked at it and he didn't know whether to be relieved or angry.
'I hope this doesn't bring back some bad memories,' Ranma thought as he got off the bike and passed the helmet back to Harima. He looked at the house and he found strangely nostalgic. If it weren't for the obvious fact that a dojo was missing, he would swear he was back at the Tendo Dojo.
As Harima parked his bike inside, the door opened and a girl with black hair and red eyes with a very excellent looking figure and dressed in a blue singlet with horizontal lines and a pair of white pants came through the doorway.
'Cute,' Ranma thought. As he did so, he felt something funny near his aura and the next thing he saw was the girl blushing. 'What the heck? Is she a mind reader?'
All these thoughts abated as the girl spoke. "Umm…You must be Saotome Ranma. I'm Tsukamoto Yakumo and-"
She was cut off as Ranma quickly slid into a defensive mode of stance. A moment later, a man with glasses, mushroom cut black hair and a muscular build came through.
"WHERE IS THE PERVERT STAYING WITH YAKUMO-KUN?"
'Not again,' thought Ranma.
"Oi, four-eyes, what the hell are you doing here?" said Harima, annoyed.
"You're staying with Yakumo?"
"No," said Ranma. "I am." And he stepped into view. "I'm Saotome Ranma and what d'ya want?"
"YOU! I WILL PERSONALLY BREAK YOU IF YOU TOUCH YAKUMO-KUN!"
Ranma looked at him, puzzled. "Why the hell would I want to touch her? I just met her. What are you, a freak?"
"I'M HANAI HARUKI AND I CHALLENGE YOU!"
"Fine. I accept your challenge."
Hanai got into a stance and Ranma read him quickly. 'Shaolin Kenpo. Similar to mine.'
"You practice Shaolin Kenpo?"
Hanai nearly fell at that. "You've heard of my dojo?"
"No. I studied it whilst I was in China. And to help you get acquainted with me, I'll introduce myself again. Harima, hold this for me, will you? I'm gonna kick this guy's butt from here to Nerima and back."
Harima held the bag as Ranma formally introduced himself.
"I'M SAOTOME RANMA OF THE SAOTOME MUSABETSU KAKUTOU RYUU SCHOOL! MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS ANYTHING GOES! AND I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!"
Hanai grinned. "You're in for surprise." And with that, he ran towards Ranma.
Just as he was about to grab Ranma, he leapt in and to the air behind Hanai. Ranma then did what he did to Akane when he fought her.
He tapped him on his head and said, "Harima, get Tsukamoto-chan into the house. This isn't going to be pretty."
Harima nodded and he picked her up, bridal style and walked into the house. He then returned outside to witness the match.
Hanai was still in shock. 'What on earth? He's faster than me!'
Ranma was tired of waiting. "Oi, Hanai!"
He returned to the world of the living. "What?"
"EAT THIS! KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!"
50 punches flashed out and in less than 2 seconds, Hanai was on the ground.
(A/N: My beta had a complaint with this, and if you are going to complain, refer to the note at the bottom)
"Too easy," Ranma said. Harima stared in shock.
"What the hell? How'd you do that shit?"
Ranma looked at him "Believe me, I don't think learning the technique was worth the trouble. It's called 'Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken' for a reason."
"Wait. 'Roasting Chestnuts on an Open Fire?' How does that work?"
"You gather enough speed to pluck the chestnuts from the fire without getting burnt. Hence, the name."
Harima stared at him. Even he knew when he was out-matched. Heck, the entire school didn't even make up for one-tenth of his power. But, even he had his pride.
Just then, the door opened and Yakumo came out, this time with Tenma, Yakumo's big sister, and her friends, Suou Mikoto and Takano Akira. Suou looked at Hanai and cried.
"What on earth? Who did this?"
Ranma looked guiltily. "Sorry 'bout that. He wanted a fight and I gave him one."
Suou stared at him.
"Well, I'm Saotome Ranma. Tsukamoto-chan, sorry about interrupting you, but he appeared."
Yakumo shook her head. "Iie, don't worry about it."
Everyone took turns to introduce themselves. Tenma had a lot of fun doing so.
"It'll be like having a big brother!"
'Or sister, depending on which form I'm in,' thought Ranma, making a mental note to tell them about the curse. Everyone walked in and there was a small party going on.
"Now, you didn't have to go to this much trouble, you know," said Ranma, looking at all the food. Hanai was dumped unceremoniously into the couch by Harima and they all sat down around the table and they began to eat.
Ranma had a great time. He learnt about Mikoto's martial arts background and he made a mental note to ask about the dojo's location and about Yakumo and Tenma and their background. Hanai soon recovered and, for Yakumo's sake, kept his anger in check and even managed to converse normally with Ranma.
It was getting late and so the group had to break so everyone could go to sleep. The occupants and Ranma saw everyone off. Hanai, still sore from Ranma's attack (he was still partially in shock) was helped by Mikoto. Soon, Mikoto, with Hanai, walked home. Harima, as he had his bike, roared off into the night. Soon, all was quiet around the Tsukamoto household.
The unveiling
Ranma was in the kitchen, helping Yakumo clear up the dishes and washing them: he felt obliged to help in the since they had gone to this much trouble for him.
As Ranma washed the dishes, Yakumo felt like she should be helping. Ranma had said he should clean them and said that she should relax, but she felt a need to help him.
"Saotome-san, are you sure-" she started before being cut off.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. You can go sit down," he said. "Relax. You went through all this trouble for me and I need to repay you. I can't believe you're allowing me houseroom here."
She nodded and she busied herself making some iced tea for herself, her sister and her guest.
Ranma quickly finished cleaning the dishes using his 'Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken' attack and he stacked them away after wiping them. Yakumo had also finished making the iced tea for her family and guest, so she brought it out for into the dining room. Ranma insisted he carried the tray and soon, Yakumo and Ranma were sipping some tea, talking.
"Nee-san, there's ice tea down here. And it's about to start!" Yakumo called to her sister. Within less than a heartbeat, Tenma had zoomed down the stairs, turned on the TV and grabbed her drink, ready to watch 'The Three Who Were Slashed.'
Ranma was a little surprised at the speed of the girl. 'Then again, I've seen stranger.'
As the show came on and the action started, Tenma did the usual: yelling, posing, the usual.
Ranma was intrigued, for lack of a better word, at the girl's antics and looked at Yakumo.
"I don't mean to be rude, but does she always do this?" he asked inquisitively.
She nodded, embarrassed at her sister's behavior in front of guests, but Ranma waved it away.
"Don't worry. I've seen more childish people than her." Yakumo nodded as she felt relieved that her sister wasn't putting her guest off.
Just then though, Tenma slipped and fell. And though, this might seem like a common thing for her to do, there were two irregularities. One, she has never done this when impersonating Mangoku. Two, she had her glass of ice tea in her hand. And while this might seem like a normal thing, this posed far more serious consequences than what it seemed
For those of you who aren't familiar with the Ranmaverse workings, these accidents usually ended up with someone being splashed. There are, of course, no exceptions to this rule. And this time certainly was the case.
As the glass flew towards Ranma, he felt a sudden chill down his spine. As he looked forward, he saw the glass flying towards him and he could do no more than widen his eyes as the tea spilt over him, activating his curse.
Of course, this phenomenon was not uncommon in Nerima as Ranma-chan felt the effects of the cold tea spill over her, soaking her to the bone. But then again, it was summer, so it was probably welcome. However, Yakumo and Tenma were clearly not used to seeing such fantastical curses as they were sure the saw a boy morph into a girl.
Yakumo was the first to realize, staring openly at the morphed girl/boy. The shock she received could kill an elephant.
"Uno…"
Ranma-chan looked at her sheepishly. "I didn't think I would have to explain this now. It's a curse I picked up in China when I went there about two years previously. I got it at a place called Jusenkyo. My father took me there."
She nodded, still trying to recover from the shock.
"Umm, I hope you don't mind, but can I have some hot water? It doesn't have to be boiling, just hot," Ranma-chan requested. Yakumo blinked, then she got up and went to the kitchen to get some water.
By this time, Tenma had recovered from her fall and looked at Ranma-chan with curiosity.
"Where's Saotome-kun?" she asked.
"I am Saotome Ranma. It's a curse I got from China. I'll explain," she said as Yakumo returned with a kettle of hot water.
"As I said before, my father dragged me there to a legendary training ground called Jusenkyo."
Yakumo frowned. "Pool of Sorrows?"
Ranma nodded, pulling his shirt on. "Apparently, after a training accident, I and my father fell into one of the many cursed springs around there. As you can tell from the kettle, it is a water-based curse."
"The curse activates with cold water. This could be rain, falling into a river or, as you just saw, tea. The curse is reverted temporarily with hot water. My father was cursed to be a panda. As for myself, I turn into a girl," Ranma-chan said and he poured the kettle on himself.
Both Yakumo and Tenma stared as the original Ranma emerged.
"Saotome-san…" said Yakumo, looking at him with absolute horror.
Ranma sighed and he put the kettle down next to him.
"I fell into the cursed spring called Nyannichuan, the Cursed Spring of Drowned Girl. She drowned there 1800 years ago. As far as I know, there is only one cure."
"What is it, Ranma?" asked Yakumo.
"Water from the Nannichuan, the Cursed Spring of Drowned Man."
"Are there any others?" asked Tenma.
"There's one for ducks, pigs, cats, pandas, you should know, Ashura, the anti-god from Indian legend, Pious Man and the craziest of them all, Ox-Riding-a-Yeti-while-carrying-a-Crane-and-Eel."
The silence permeated the room like a dramatic pause before a scary scene in a movie. The sisters were absorbed in their own thoughts before Ranma said something to them.
"If possible, could you please keep quiet about this? I don't want another uproar," he said, almost desperately. Almost. Ranma still had his pride.
Tenma and Yakumo merely nodded: they could kind of understand why he didn't want something like this getting out. Yakumo understood more because she had a huge secret herself.
Soon though, it was time for bed and as Ranma showered in the bathroom, Yakumo was in her room, wondering what other secrets her guest had.
Little did anyone know though, that the one of the secrets Ranma held would directly affect one of her sister's friends.
Well? You like? Please review for me!
Ranma: Do I really have to do this? This is kinda lame, you know.
Me: OH, FOR GOODNESS SAKES! JUST DO IT! IT'S NOT GONNA KILL YA! OR I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO NERIMA!
Ryoga: Do it, or else you'll face Akane again. And this bucket's gonna hit your face. *Holds bucket threateningly*
Ranma: Ahh! Fine, Fine! *Takes big breath* Next time, on Something Old, Something New…
Ranma the Third Grader?
Ranma the God-Slayer??
Ranma the Friend???
Me: There, that wasn't so hard, was it?
Ranma: Where's my union? And my lawyer?
Me: If you read the contract, you know that you have to do what I say. I HAVE THE POWER! *Lightning Strikes in the Background*
Ranma & Ryoga:…
Me: Ja ne!