The thin light of dawn made a slow crawl into the room shared by the Saotomes, the tiny beam cutting a line across the room through the gap in the window blinds. Eventually the light reached its target, the eyes of one Genma Saotome. With an ease born of long practise his eyes opened and he woke up completely in an instant.
He quietly got to his feet, making sure not to disturb his still sleeping wife, before moving to open the out he took a deep breath of the fresh morning air before coming back inside. Carefully, he walked over to his son's sleeping form and grabbed it by the shirt with both hands. Now normally he would have shouted a wake-up call to his son, but considering his wife was nearby, as well as the family sword, he decided discretion was the better part of valour.
Without any warning Ranma found herself shocked awake, the bone-chilling water of the pond dealing her systems a stronger blow than most punches. . Getting out of pond she cast a scathing look towards the window she had just recently been forced to travel through, before trying to wring out some of the water that had soaked her shirt.
Putting the somewhat less damp shirt back on she closed her eyes in focus. Concentrating she tentatively extended one of her newer senses, and one that quite disturbed her with its implications. Upstairs she could feel the heartbeats of her mother and the Tendo daughters. Frowning when she failed to find her father she turned her focus to the ground floor, ignoring the slow and steady pulse of Soun as he slept off yet another hangover, she searched for her father.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhaled, before spinning and delivering a punch right into the stomach of an invisible Genma. His eyes seemed to bulge incredulously as he he was forced to drop the Umi-SenKen cloak. Smirking, Ranma let herself drop backwards to the ground and deliver a quick kick to Genma's jaw, sending him skywards. Ranma looked up at the sky as she gauged how high she had hit her father before moving next to the pond. Leaning over she marked out an large x in the dirt about a foot away from the stones of the pond.
With a smug look on her face she took a step back and stared up at the quickly enlarging speck in the sky. Smiling she watched as her father plummeted towards the ground, all while screaming loudly enough to awaken those in the Tendo home. There was a dull thud as he impacted the ground, the force of his fall creating a small crater.
Still smirking Ranma walked around until she was standing to the back of her father who had only just begun to stir. Groggily, Genma raised his head and got to his feet searching the yard with bleary eyes for his son. By this point most of the rest of the household had awoken, save for Soun, and had gotten to spots where they could watch the ensuing combat with amusement, or in one case, disdain.
Not finding his son-turned-daughter, he let out a frustrated yell. "Dammit stop cheating you ungrateful boy!" His face gained a cruel edge to it as he smirked into the air. "Or maybe a weak little girl like you is afraid to fight fair." He opened his mouth to say more, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Even though he had a good idea as to who had tapped him, he was still unprepared for the sudden punch to the face as he turned around.
Reaching down Ranma grabbed her father by his gi and hurled him into the pond, making sure his head bounced off the rocks at the edge before sliding into the water. She stood staring at the unconscious panda floating in the pond with a subtle twitching of her eye. "Weak girl my fist. Baka Oyaji."
She sniffed disdainfully before heading inside, where the rest of the residents had already gotten dressed and were waiting for breakfast. Taking a quick left turn, Ranma avoided entering the dining room and went into the kitchen where he found Kasumi hard at work preparing breakfast. Smiling, he quietly grabbed a knife and started cutting up some vegetables, Kasumi's own smile brightening at the aid.
Once the food was finished cooking, Ranma deftly grabbed the various dishes and carried them out all at once, much to the delight of Kasumi. With an ease born of lots of practise, from all the times he was forced to work at the Nekohanten to pay off his debts, he set down the dishes without spilling a single bit of food. Considering everyone else had taken seats already, Ranma ended up sitting next to Kasumi.
Using his martial arts skills, Ranma quickly gathered up a dish and served it to Kasumi before anyone could blink. Ranma beamed as Kasumi giggled and hid her own mouh behind her hand.
"Oh Ranma-kun, thank you but you do know I can serve myself?" Kasumi teased, her lips curled into a hidden smile.
"But Kasumi-chan, you did most of the cooking so its only fair if you get something in return isn't it?" Ranma gave her his own small smile as took her bait.
"Oh my, but I couldn't have gotten everything done so quickly if it wasn't for your help Ranma-kun." Kasumi's tender smile had now turned into a near mirror image of Ranma's usual smirk.
"Nonsense, I'm sure you would have had it done perfectly and on time with or without my help." Ranma countered Kasumi with a slight chuckle. The two stared at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter.
Ranma had his smirk on full force, while the rest of those at the table were watching in a somewhat stunned fashion, save Genma who was helping himself to the food while no-one was paying attention. Nabiki was completely stunned, having never seen either her sister or Ranma behave in such a way. Nodoka was smiling, content to merely watch and for once not thinking about potential grand-children, her thoughts directed towards what she had decided the previous night. Soun was barely holding back tears at the sight of how similar Kasumi was to her dear departed mother.
Akane though, Akane was furious. It wasn't enough for Ranma to have three, four if one counted Kodachi but she was insane so she didn't really count, still three girls that he was going after, but now he had to go and add in her sister too! And what made it even worse was that her saint of a sister was flirting back with the pervert! As she watched him laughing her vision started to tunnel and become tinted with red.
She didn't even fully realize what she was doing until she after she had already begun to move. Her trusty mallet, her lone source of protection against all the men in the world, had found its way into her hands as she swung them downwards over her head. Eyes closed, she felt all her tension and rage ease into soft pleasure as she felt the force of the impact travel from the head of the hammer down the haft and up her arms.
Opening her eyes she was greeted with such a suprising sight that she was forced to blink several times to make sure it wasn't an illusion. Ranma was sitting unmoved from his seat, save for the single finger that was holding her mallet away from his head. Akane looked away in disbelief and her eyes caught on Ranma's own. Akane felt her blood freeze in her veins as she stared into Ranma's cold blue eyes. With a simple flick of the wrist Ranma disarmed her, sending the mallet flying backwards without even a blink or shifting of his eyes.
The table was silent, even the sounds of Genma eating ceased as everyone watched events unfold. Ranma slowly lowered his hand until it rested on the table. He leaned forwards until his face was inches from Akane's, who felt as if she was frozen in place. Ranma's smirk crept its way back onto his face, though this time it held a cruel edge to it. He took a deep breath, leaned back slightly, and let loose a ki enhanced burst of air that knocked Akane on her backside.
She stared up from her new position at Ranma who returned her look with an expressionless one of his own. However the effect was ruined as she saw a corner of his lip twitch, before slowly revolving itself into a smile that then turned into laughter, his laughter soon joined by that of Kasumi and his mother, the others at the table still too stunned to respond. Akane sputtered incoherently for several moments before getting up off her feet, casting one last scathing look at Ranma, and heading out of the room towards the dojo.
Genma was the first to recover, and proved that even after having settled down, relatively speaking, since coming to Nerima, his idiotic tendencies were still going strong.
"Foolish child! Go apologize to your fiancee! Ho-*CHING*" Whatever else Genma would have said was lost as the ringing sound of steel on steel filled the room and Genma felt its cold touch on his throat. As he looked around panickedly, a part of his mind noted that he hadn't seen Nodoka bring her Katana to the table with her. Deciding, for the moment at least, that discretion was the better part of valour, he quietly sat back down.
Nodoka gave him a stern look before removing the Katana from its threatening position. Sighing she turned to face her son who was looking at her with a mix of suprise and trepidation. Mentally she cursed herself for being so foolish and pig-headed before hand. She could only hope that she could recover what was left of her relationship with her son with what she had planned.
Clearing her throat she gave Genma a quick look before turning to face her son. "You can relax my son, I am in agreement with your behaviour and the one at fault is obviously your fiancee." Nodoka raised sword as Genma opened his mouth to say something, quite effectively shutting him up. "I have decided that it is in your and the Tendo family's best interests if you were to remove yourself from Nerima until your schooling is complete." She paused and was suprised when no-one, Genma excluded, made any motion to protest her decision.
Taking a deep breath she continued on. "To this end I've decided that it would be best if Ranma and I leave this evening, to try and prevent any of, 'his', problems from showing up and stopping us. I will not say where are destination is, as I'm sure the information would end up misused." Nodoka cast a glare in Nabiki's direction, who at least had the good sense to look slightly guilty. "Suffice to say I'm sure the Academy will be a perfect environment for my son, both my sister and I attended the Academy. Even back then there was a sense that things were quite all they seemed to be, so I'm sure Ranma's curse shouldn't prove much of a hassle. That is, if my son approves of this?"
She felt her heart warm as Ranma gave her a heartfelt smile. For Ranma it felt good for someone to let him make a decision for once, especially his mother. It seemed like things were looking up for him after all. "Yea, I'd like that. Maybe by the time I'm done that tomboy will have cooled off that temper of hers too." Soun looked like he wanted to say something to that, but the sight of Nodoka's still unsheathed blade kept him silent.
"Well then, why don't you go upstairs and pack your things. I have my belongings already prepared so I will go arrange a place to stay. Once you are enrolled you will stay on the Academy grounds but until then I will see if my sister Kukiko can let us stay with her till then. And You!" Nodoka's smile was replaced with a hard glare as she turned her attention to her husband. "You are going to give a complete list of everything, and I mean Everything, that you and Ranma did while on that trip of yours. Am I understood?" Genma rapidly nodded his head in agreement, his sense of self preservation already working in overdrive on ways to put a positive spin on some of his er, more undesirable efforts.
Nodoka narrowed her eyes put never the less lowered her blade and put in on the ground next to her. Smiling again she turned to Kasumi. "By the way dear, this tea of yours is simply wonderful, do you suppose you could give me your recipe?"
Several Days Later.
"Darn it mom, why do I gotta go ta this as a girl? And did I really have ta wear somethin' like this?" It was a sign of Ranma's discomfort that he, she at the moment, had slipped back into her old manner of speaking, even though thanks to the efforts of Kasumi and her mother it had mostly been eliminated. Ranma was walking down the long high-ceilinged hallway that led to the Headmaster's office. She was fitfully picking at the 'this' in question, a deep red blouse that managed to show off her developed body in quite a flattering manner. He had a spare change of clothes stored in stuff space, and it wasn't like he was truly worried about anyone here recognizing him, but it was the principle of the thing.
Nodoka gave a smiling sigh as she smoothed the skirt on the light blue business suit she wore. Ranma wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable in their clothes, as Nodoka had gotten so used to the formal kimono's that she customarily wore. She was glad though that her sister had some of her clothes from her younger days working for the family business. Looking down at the equally uncomfortable redhead next to her, she let herself smile a little, at the very least she had managed to keep her past hidden from her child.
She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Blinking, she turned and had to resist a sigh as she realised that in her distracted state she had walked right past the door to the Headmaster's office. Standing outside the door was a stunning woman with hair that was an interesting shade of blue-ish green. Smiling, she beckoned the pair of redheads over with a cheery wave. "You must be the Saotomes, the Headmaster has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. My name is Shizuna Minamoto, one of the guidance counselors, and unofficially, secretary to the Headmaster. Please come in."
The two redheads followed Shizuna into the office, and a sight that promtped a whistle from Ranma. "Dang, now those are some impressive eyebrows." Though she muttered her words under her breath, both her mother and Shizuna heard her, causing both to giggle. The Headmaster cocked one of his brows in amusment. Blushing in embaressment Ranma took a seat on the couch in front of the Headmaster's desk, his mother sitting down next to her.
The Headmaster gave them a small smile, before resting his arms on his desk and leaning forwards. "If you would begrudge a man his curious nature, I was wondering why you want to have your daughter attend school here. Even considering the fact that this is where you yourself attended many years ago, I can't help but think that there is some other reason. Especially considering your, 'daughter's', school records. So please, care to share your thoughts on this matter?"
Nodoka looked a slight bit off put by the sudden questioning, but recovered her throat to buy some time, she gave a pointed look towards Shizuna as she gave a measured response. "What do you know of... magic?" The Headmaster's eyes grew wider before narrowing, their focus flickering between the two redheads.
Finally he gave a sigh and beckoned over to Shizuna. Once she was standing next to him she leaned over so he could whisper into her ear. "Could you bring in Takahata-san and Tatsumiya-chan? I feel there prescence may aid things here." Giving a small nod, Shizuna quietly left the room. At the same time the Headmaster had turned his now hard gaze back to pair on the couch.
"Now, what makes you think I would know anything of magic? Magic is a myth made up ages ago by those who couldn't understand how something occurred. You don't honestly expect me to believe in such a thing, do you?" If he was right then his question should be enough to get a rise out of one of the two in front of him, probably by 'proving' magic's existance to him in some way. As per his position, it was his duty to keep a track of all magic users in the region, and he had to make sure that neither of the two in front of him was a threat.
Instead, he was quite shocked when the younger redhead crossed her gaze with his, turning from where it had been studying the pictures hanging on the wall. The look in her eyes was something else, something he had felt from only a few people in his life, one of whom he saw just the other day. A small smile grew on the girl's face, though it failed to reach her eyes. "Oh I'm pretty sure you know about magic. After all, you're practically glowing with it."
The Headmaster straightened near imperceptively, one of his arms dropping to his side, the hand out of sight behind the desk, while his other hand moved to stroke his beard . "Oh ho ho, am I now? And if I am as strong as you say, what exactly can you, do to me?" The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as Ranma and the Headmaster stared into each other's eyes, Nodoka nervously watching from the sidelines. Ranma abruptly eased up and relaxed back into her seat, the heavy atmosphere easing.
Ranma gave the old man across from her a look of respect before giving a chuckle that turned into a short bout of loud laughter. Wiping a tear from her eye, she adopted her usual superior smirk, before dissappearing from view, to the shock of the others present. The Headmaster opened his mouth to utter a minor cantrip of revelation, when he felt something sharp press against his throat. With wide eyes he turned his head slightly to side, catching sight of a still smirking Ranma, her hand holding the handle of one of his ornate letter openers.
Ranma opened her mouth to say something, but stopped and instead cocked her head to the side, as if hearing some sound that no-one else could. Giving the Headmaster an unconciously flirtatious wink, Ranma again vanished, the letter opener returned to its sheathe as if it had never left and Ranma herself reappearing on the couch, in exactly the same position as she had been in before she had vanished the first time. Ranma gave the still disoriented Headmaster one last smirk before turning her head towards the door.
"You can come in now." There was a loud thump as someone banged their head against the door they had been leaning against. The door opened and three entered, the male of the trio rubbing his head. Ranma gave him a quick once over, taking in the controlled way in which he moved, and his obvious ki reserves, finding him to be the greatest threat in the room if it came down to a fight, as he could stall her while the Headmaster worked his magic. Ranma didn't bother to look too deeply into the secretary, as she had already done a quick scan the moment they had been introduced, finding only the faintest traces of magic and ki that any normal person might have.
It was the last of the trio that garnered the most of Ranma's attention. Though she was dressed in the not uncommon and traditional vestements of a shrine maiden, though that made her appearance only the stranger, as her well tanned skin tone was not one commonly associated with those of purely Japanese descent. As with the other new arrival, she walked with an ease and efficiency in her movements that belied training in some form of martial arts. But what truly attracted Ranma's attention was the fifty caliber rifle the girl carried in slung over her shoulder. He knew of only a few people who carried around that kind of firepower like it was nothing, and the last one had been...
"Mana-chan?"
There was a simultaneous blink as those in the room digested Ranma's sudden, and quite odd, question. Mana herself froze, staring at Ranma in confusion. Mistaking Mana's reaction for recognition, Ranma continued on. "Wow, it's been so long since I saw you. How are your aunt and mom doing? Oh, and is your aunt Revy still hounding you over that one night in Bangkok? I mean, I would have done something similar if it had been my mom, but did you really have to shoot the Chairman of the Chinese PolitBuro for hitting on Rally?"
A shocked and somewhat horrified silence settled on those in the room as they stared a pale Mana, her jaw dropped as far as physically possible without dislocation. The Headmaster made a choked noise that sounded suspiciously similar to that of a cut-off laugh. Takahata had a blank expression on his face, but mentally he was rolling around on the floor laughing, he had heard about the incident the redhead was referring to, though the foreigners who had committed the act had been unknown to most outside of the incident. Nodoka was staring horror-stricken between her son, currently daughter, and the dark skinned young woman with the gun.
Mana's jaw worked soundlessly as she tried to unravel the shocked mess her mind had become and identify the one who had so calmly dropped one of her most carefully kept secrets like it was nothing. The only ones who had known about that incident were her own family, and she was sure they would never say anything, and the young boy they had taken in for training for a while. A boy that looked a lot like the redhead in front of her, now that she thought about it, right down to the same pig-tailed hair, though the colour was a touch different.
"R-ranma?" Ranma blinked at the suprisingly timid question before nodding, a large smile on her face. The next thing she knew she was lying on the ground staring at the ceiling, her jaw throbbing from the pain of getting slammed by the butt of Mana's rifle. As Mana stood over Ranma, a vein on her forehead pulsing along with a twitch of her brow, she slowly lowered her arms from their post-strike position.
"Do you have any idea how worried we were when you dissapeared like that? We thought you had been kidnapped or worse! If I hadn't found that note of yours we probably would have torn the city apart looking for you! And what the hell happened to you, because I'm pretty sure that last time I saw you, you were most assuredly male." Despite the strange looks her question got her, Mana remained in her threatening position over Ranma.
"Uh, about that. You wouldn't have happened to have heard of a place called Jusenkyo while you were traveling, would you?" Ranma asked sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. From the way her rifle slipped out of her shocked hands, Ranma made the reasonable assumption that she had in fact heard of the Valley of the Cursed Springs. Nodoka decided that this would be the best time in which to speak, as it didn't look like there would be a better pause in the conversation.
"Jusenkyo is actually the main reason I wanted Ranma to attend school here. I seem to recall a certain instance when I attended class here, involving some interesting effects for that movie they were shooting around here, shame it was never completed, those giant icicles were quite impressive." She said smugly as she watched both the Headmaster and the other gentleman twitch at her words.
"Now before a year ago I would have simply let myself believe that was in fact a movie shoot, as I the alternative would have been simply unbelievable. But after my son-turned-daughter returned from a training trip with my husband, cursed by Jusenkyo, well, to say it opened my eyes would be quite the understatement."
The Headmaster let out a sigh and sunk into his chair. These were the kind of days he hated getting up for in the morning, honestly not even a half-hour from Homeroom and someone was holding his balls in a vice. From what the scores on the entry tests, and the grades and reports from her old school said, Ranma was quite sub-par when it came to the academic aspects of her life, but the difference in score between her last test from her old school and the entry exam she would only barely manage to get into the high school level.
His eyes took on a far away look while he stroked his beard as he thought over the matter. Most of the classes were starting this very morning, and he couldn't very well change their roster on a whim, the teachers would have his hide in an instant if he did. Although, his thoughtful expression gave way to a small smile, there was one teacher who probably wouldn't mind. And if the reports on Ranma's skills were in any way accurate, and considering the fact that she had trained with Mana and her family, then she would definitely be of use in that class.
With a twinkle in his eyes the Headmaster cleared his throat, getting the attention of those in room. Mana and Ranma ceased their discussion on various martial arts techniques they had come across since they had last seen each other, and Shizuna and Nodoka turned from their discussion of various traditional and cultural matters and ideas. "I have decided that while Ranma can attend the Academy, she will have to do so from the Junior High level, as her knowledge simply isn't up to par."
The Headmaster wrote something down on a sheet of paper before folding it and handing it over to Shizuna. Smiling he turned to the somewhat smoldering redhead. "Now I'm sure that this is not what you wanted, but it is for the best. Shizuna-san has your letter of acceptance to give to your new teacher, who, by the way, is also just beginning here, as well as the list of the necessary textbooks."
"There is one thing though I must ask of you." The Headmaster's expression turned grave as the atmosphere in the room became heavy. Ranma herself was quite impressed by the weight of the aura the old man was putting out. "I ask that you keep the knowledge of magic in the strictest of confidentiality. If you were to let such knowledge out amongst the general public, well it wouldn't be pretty, and we who know and use magic have ways of dealing those who are deemed risks. I trust I have your full co-operation?"
Ranma gave a somber nod, she didn't doubt that she could take maybe a few magic users, but if they had a large number at least as skilled as the other old man who had come into the room, then she couldn't possibly win, and that fact galled her. Seeing the nod the Headmaster smiled as the tension in the room vanished. "Good, good. Now then, Shizuna-san will show you to your new homeroom. I'm sure Springfield-san will apreciate your prescence. Now off with you, I have a lot of paper work to get back to."
Ranma and Nodoka stood and gave the Headmaster matching bows before leaving, Ranma talking amicably with Mana as the door closed behind them, leaving the Headmaster alone with Takamichi. Letting out a large sigh, the Headmaster visibly deflated as he gave a rueful shake of his head. Takamichi took a seat on the now vacant couch, putting an unlit cigarette in his mouth. "You know, that girl, she's skilled. Really skilled, you can easily tell by way she moves, every step is perfectly controlled and fluid."
The Headmaster nodded."Her file says as much, though I'm quite sure that if anything the reports understate her true strength. I'm sure you heard about the incident in China a few months back?" Takamichi gave a wary nod. " Well, the dispatch team we sent came back some rather disturbing findings. Someone killed the True Phoenix." Takamichi's cigarette fell out of his slackened jaw. "From what our people could gather from those who nearby and those who had witnessed the event, a large portion having actually become demi-phoenixes from exposure to the True Phoenix after several centuries, a warrior from came from Japan to challenge the Phoenix for the life of his stolen love. Our people couldn't find anyone who was actually at ground zero, but suffice to say the outcome was quite spectacular. At least thirty-five percent of the mountain was turned into rubble. That girl matches the description we were given of the Japanese warrior exactly."
Takamichi put another cigarette in his mouth and lit it with trembling hands. The Phoenix had been a mage of such great power and evil that he held a bounty several magnitudes higher than even the so-call Undying Mage Evangeline. The Phoenix had once been just a purely average mage, and his power had come at the cost of his sanity, as he had, in secret, bound some of the most powerful pieces of magic known at the time, and some he had created himself, to his very soul. For a while, before he had decided to make a name for himself, he had worked as a spell-for-hire, serving anyone for the right amount of gold. It was after this time, when he decided he wanted to become an 'eternal emperor', that forced nearly the entire magical realm to unite against him, the ensueing fight leaving him greatly weakened, and forcing him to flee to the mortal realm and hide away.
Takamichi took a long drag to calm his nerves before he asked, "So what are we going to do with her? I mean we can't just let someone with that kind of power loose on the campus. Where is sh- you put her in Negi's class, didn't you." The HEadmaster gave a hearty chuckle at the annoyance in Takamichi's voice.
"Ohohoho, do you think so little of me my young friend? But yes, I think that if there was anyone who could keep her under control it would be the young Springfield, especially if he takes after his father at all. I just hope she doesn't make enemies of the rest of the class, she doesn't seem to be the most, er, polite of people."
Both Takamichi and the Headmaster went pale at the exact same moment, a terrifying thought running through their mind, what will happen when Ranma and Evangeline meet? If the two didn't get along, or worse, if they decided they liked each other, what horrors might they unleash?
Sorry it took so long to update but here I am. Been a bit busy with school and all, but soon I shall be free... Soon...
To those who expressed concern, no, it will not be a Ranma-chan fic. It will kinda balanced, there may be more of her from chapter to the next, but it won't be a lock-fic. Ranma-kun will show up more so in next chapter.
Also thanks for the wonderful services of my beta for this story, Dreamingfox.
And props to Muaji for correctly guessing the cross for Take the Red and Run.
FG signing off.
Next Chapter: It's time to meet the class. Now what's going on with Evangeline?