Sansaro glared at the girl as she attempted to land a kick to his face. His legs were longer, so he easily hooked his leg over her calf. Knocking it down to the ground, he used the force that was bringing him forward to punch her. She blocked, and twisted in mid-air. 'I know this move!' Saro exclaimed to himself, and raised his other arm to block her ferocious kick. They fell away from each other, panting slightly. "You've been raised in the Saotome school of anything goes martial arts."
She laughed menacingly. "So have you!" she replied, tossing back her hair. She wasn't wearing a bra, and Saro blushed. She may look just like his sister, but she was definitely not. "What's wrong, big boy, you tired already?"
"You—you're not wearing a bra."
"Ah!" She looked down. "So I'm not."
"Ranko-chan, what are you doing?" Mrs. Saotome ran over to the girl. "You're soaking wet, and why are you fighting Sansaro? He's family."
"Family?" Ranko glared at Sansaro, and he jerked back, and then gave her a glare of his own, bowing slightly.
"Saotome Sansaro, pleased to meet you," he muttered, not really loud enough to hear.
"Saotome?" Ranko blinked largely as she processed the information. "Ah, you're my—I mean Ranma's cousin!"
"Your's?" Saro asked, suspecting her.
"Sorry bout that. My cousin's going to be marrying Ranma, you see, so I just--."
"Ran," came a voice from inside, and Ranko hurried to greet her loudly. "Hey Akane, look whose here. It's Mrs. Saotome, and Ranma's cousin, Sansaro."
"Ranma's cousin?" began Akane, confused. "Oh, Ranma's cousin." She was staring at Sansaro like he was a giant fountain in the middle of a rain forest. "Pleased to meet you, you look just like Ranma."
"So everyone tells me," Sansaro replied, and Akane blushed. He didn't sound like Ranma.
"Please, come in for dinner! There's enough for all of us, I helped cook!"
Ranko made a gagging noise. "I'm sure it will taste just fine!" Sansaro said loudly, staring pointedly at her. "Just because you're a martial artist doesn't mean you're not a lady. If we were in China, you'd act like one."
"We aren't in China!" Ranko glared. "I came to Japan to get away from all that! The Saotome family is so stuffy it'd make you want to eat your socks."
"And yet you trained under a Saotome artist, and you tied with me in that test. You sound just like Ranma when he was little, a lazy child! You're a lady now, not a little boy! Even a little girl wouldn't go around in a shirt that's as tight as that without a bra!"
"How do you know? It sounds like you've worn one of these yourself!"
"I have a sister! I heard her complaining enough to understand being a lady! Akane here tries to cook so that she can be a good wife and I bet that doesn't keep her from being as strong a martial artist as the wife of a Saotome heir aught to be!"
"Saotome heir?" Ranko whispered, suddenly aghast. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said! I'll have you know that as the oldest child in the family, Ranma has the right to live in glory in China as the heir to the Saotome Dojo even though I'm the current leader's son. Che!" Sansaro jerked his head, his loosened ponytail now falling free around his face. "Even though he's only a few months older."
"Wha?" Ranko looked so confused, Sansaro thought she was going to blow up.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I'm sure it's nothing," Akane said. She pushed the two hot heads into the house. "Why don't you two both take a bath before dinner's ready?"
"Fine," Sansaro said, yielding to her wisdom. "I'll go first, then." Akane led him to the bathroom, and gave him a towel. He resisted the temptation to slam the door shut, and turned on the hot water gratefully. "I give up," he told the running water as it trickled to his toes, then stepped under it. "This would be so much easier if you took over."
"Ah," Sarato said as she scrubbed to the tip of her roots. "Saro is so silly; he's going to make everyone hate us!" As she reached for the shampoo she had brought in her bag, the door slid open. "Ah!" She turned to see a man, and she screamed. "Pervert!" He was wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, and she threw her wash basin at him, wrapping a towel around her as she did.
"Wait, wait a second!" He threw his arms out to block it, and his towel began to slide.
"Eechi!" She covered her eyes, screaming. "Shoot," he said, and sprayed himself with the cold water shower head. The water got in her eyes, and she felt Saro regain control.
He was sitting there, very confused, as Akane threw the door open. "What's going on?" she shouted. Then she saw Saro. "We let you into our home and let you use our bath! What kind of lowlife are you?"
"Stop," he shouted, waving his hands, and then sprayed himself with the hot water he was standing next to.
"Please stop," Sarato shouted as well. "Please, it wasn't my brother's fault. I was taking a shower, and someone came in."
Akane gaped, and so did Ranko. Ranko? When did she get there? "You've got a lot of explaining to do, now?" Ranko told her.
"So do you!" Sarato said angrily. "I saw what you did! I know you're just like us!"
"Just like you? So says the person who has multiple personalities."
"So says the twins who fell into the well where a lonely twin died, wishing for his sister's return as he drowned. After that we only had one body! That's why Saroto can't be the heir to the Saotome name! It's all Ranma's fault!"
"Calm down, you two." Another face appeared at the door.
"Nabiki!" Akane sighed. "You scared me."
"I should of scared them. We can talk about this after dinner. Mrs. Saotome will be here soon, so everyone should get back to the way they're supposed to be. Give Sansaro or Sarato or whoever some of Ranma's clothes to change into, Akane."
"Yes…" Akane stared, then went to bring Ranma's clothes while Sansaro finished the bath and got ready for dinner.
Dinner was a rather quiet matter.