Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.

Remind me not to be on bad terms with life
A Ranma 1/2 story

By Shikumi

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the sun shining brightly in the sky, puffs of clouds
widely spaced in between. Summer had not yet given place to autumn, the hot and humid air
made every being lazy and sluggish.

The limousine sped its way merrily, oblivious to the uneasy tension between its passengers.
Just when it was getting too long, it pulled up at the entrance of a huge mansion. It was an
elegant European building, three stories high, painted white, with vines crawling up the walls,
making the building look as if it grew out of the ground, instead of being built on it. The road
leading to the mansion from the gate was dainty, providing beautiful views of the gardens. The
gardens were taken good care of, flower buds here and there, some not yet blooming, enough to add
lively colors to the green landscape. Marble angels stood amongst the flower beds, some in pairs,
sharing secrets, playing games only they knew of, while others stood alone, quietly enjoying
the nature around them.

However, the young girl inside the vehicle was too concentrated on sulking to really pay attention
to the scenery outside. Akane was silent all the way, speaking only when spoken to, answering with
one or two words at a time, often with only a shrug. The ice cream parlor must be crowded with
people, she realized, and felt a scowl creeping on her face. Her friends would have called her to
go grab an ice cream, or go to the mall and enjoy the strong air-conditioner there, but no, she
was stuck in a stupid awful car, on her way to a stupid, awful house, to live with stupid, awful
people. "I wonder if they'll notice me gone by Monday," thought the girl, "well, at least the air
conditioner is working in this car."

Meiko didn't know what to make of the situation. Her baby daughter pointedly ignored her, sure
she didn't say much, but to any question she asked, the girl only lifted her shoulders in an
indifferent motion, while her husband only managed to ask uncomfortable yes or no questions. Earlier
in the ride, she had reprimanded her daughter due to the frustrating yes's, no's, and occasional
shrugs from the girl. To her utter surprise, the girl simply looked at her and said, serious and
spiteful, "Children are to be seen, not heard," and nothing else, as if mocking her. Memories of
the night before came rushing to her and she had the good sense to feel ashamed. She kept her
temper in check and didn't press the girl for answers after that.

Upon arriving, the butler opened the car door for them and out stepped Genma, followed by the two
women. The servants greeted them at the door. Soon, though, four boys came running excitedly to
greet their parents and their new 'sister'.

Akane stood beside her mother and watched the boys, slightly interested despite her efforts to
remain scornful. Didn't Dad say only one son? Were they lonely like they thought? Suddenly the
boy with black hair and pigtail shifted his gaze to hers. Three other pairs of eyes turned to
her, curious as well. She searched their eyes for a long time.

"Akane, dear, these are your new brothers. Boys, your sister, Akane," said Genma.

The tallest of them had long silver hair that reached past his hips. Akane couldn't help wonder
how he would be able to keep his hair untangled. There was a dignified air around him, as if he
wouldn't and didn't tolerate childish and immature displays of behavior. His eyes were eerily
yellow with slits for pupils and were at the moment slightly narrowed in faint annoyance. Symmetrical
stripes ran on both cheeks, giving him a rather exotic look, and had it been in any other circumstance,
Akane would have been giggling with her friends about what a hunk he was. As it were, her current
thoughts of him ran along the lines of 'what a freak'. "I'm Sesshomarou," he said.

The next boy was the boy with black hair and pigtail. Ranma, as she soon found out, had stormy blue
eyes, and the confidence with which he held himself, with a touch of mischief, and arrogance like
all teenage boys, was enough to lead Akane to think that he was probably a troublemaker, and gloried
in it. His eyes were closer to normal human eyes, with round pupils, no stripes on his cheeks. He
had a rather handsome face, still boyish for the most part, the pigtail adding a very pleasant and
attractive look to his overall appearance, but like his brother, this fact did not come to the
attention of the girl before him, and she had already labeled him as 'Freak Two'.

The first thing the girl noticed of the next boy was a pair of cute dog-ears on his head. She felt
a sudden urge to reach out and scratch them, but quickly squashed that thought. This had to be 'Freak
Three', though he was introduced as Inuyasha, what normal human had DOG-ears? White hair flowed down
his back, and unlike his brother, whose hair was well groomed, silky and straight, his was wilder,
probably quite a feat for any barber or comb that tried to tame it. Still, no tangles were to be seen
in that mane, and somewhere at the back of her mind, Akane felt slightly jealous of his hair. He had
the same air of arrogance as the black haired boy, and except for his amber eyes, slits for pupils
and the ears, Akane was pretty much sure they were twins and probably partners in crime for any havoc
they wrecked.

The innocent pair of bluish green (or greenish blue) that looked up at her came as a pleasant change
from the former less welcoming stares. Further inspection revealed a little boy with brown hair, paws
for feet and a tail behind him. Nobody could really hold a grudge against such an adorable little kid,
even temperamental girls with a reputation of being amazingly stubborn when they wanted to be. She felt
an odd string pulling at her, telling her in no certain terms and feelings that this little boy was
familiar to her. She smiled at him, and was pleasantly rewarded with a toothy one. "I'm Shippo! I'm
Shippo!" said the little boy excitedly.

"Don't be annoying, Shippo," came a harsh voice, while three hard, angry glares turned to the fox-boy,
shouting 'Traitor! Traitor!' at the child. It didn't bother him though; he was too young to notice or
understand.

The girl lowered her eyes and glared at the floor. She felt...disappointed...at what she saw, as if
somebody cheated her of a chance to have friends or companions in this awful situation. 'Hmpf, lonely?
Don't make me laugh! I'll bet they are perverts like all boys,' She spat in her mind, 'Spoiled brats,
I bet, too!'

"Doso yoroshiku," said Akane politely, stiffly.

"Welcome to our house!" replied the boys in unison. There was something in their voice that made
Akane snap her head up and stare.

'You won't last a month here, wench,' their eyes said, in amusement.

"Thanks!"

Her own were twinkling with determination, excitement slowly starting to rise in her veins.
'Is that a challenge?'

"Wanna be friends?"

'Oh yes, little girl, you can bet on it,' the message was silent, but not ignorable, amusement
reaching their smiles, lips curling in cocky, confident, mocking smirks.

"That would be great!"

'You're on,' and she let a smirk of her own show.

--

The inside of the mansion proved to be even more splendid then the outside. There was a beautiful,
enormous glass chandelier hanging in the ceiling of the main hall. A wide set of stairs led to the
second floor, before splitting into two stairs to the side, leading to the third floor.

A great door to the left revealed a ballroom, decorated in baroque style, with some beautiful oil
paintings on the walls. The door to the right led to the dining room, an amazing room with a long,
rectangular table, and matching chairs. This room had more modern decorations; the dining collection
was designed with bent legs and abstract forms, and yet were strangely stable. The room next to the
dining room was the parlor (AN: hmmm...that would be the living room, used especially to have visitors
sit down and chat and have a tea, and such...I don't have a better word to describe it...though maybe
living room would do, I guess~). There was a set of expensive looking sofa and a tea table, also in a
simple yet elegant style like the dining room. There was a picture of the beach with a palm tree to
the right.

A door that was camouflaged in the wall was the entrance to the kitchen, but there were other places
to see, so Meiko steered Akane away from it, towards the second floor.

The library on the second floor was an enormous room, filled with heaps of books, with comfortable
chairs and couches dispersed through out the room. There were also a few tables for homework, and a
low table for snacks and tea. A tea set was placed on the table, with one of the cups half filled,
suggesting that someone was recently in the room. A few guest rooms, the master bedroom and a family
room, where the family got together sometimes to sit down together, were the all what was left of
the second floor.

The third floor was made up of corridors that ran the perimeter of the residence. There were five
rooms on this story, Sesshomarou's bedroom, the twin's bedroom, Shippo's bedroom (which was coincidentally
the smallest), a playroom, and the last room was designated to Akane.

It was about twice the size of her former bedroom, with a bathroom for herself, a king-sized bed that
had flower covers and curtains. A closet that reached the ceiling was at the farthest wall at the back,
with some elegant dresses inside. The young girl was told that she could buy new clothes to fill that
particular piece of furniture. There was a desk positioned next to the window, which looked out into
the backyard, a vast territory with a small forest not very far away. A long couch was placed to the
side, with a lamp next to it, the perfect place for night readings.

"Akane, why don't you make yourself comfortable, and you can go exploring. Be sure to be at the dining
room at six, won't you? That's the time for dinner!" exclaimed Meiko.

"Yes, Mother," replied Akane.

The elder woman looked at her daughter one last time before exiting the room, leaving Akane to do as
she liked until mealtime.

--

AN: I'm done with midterms...sort of...so here I am posting a new chapter...hope you enjoy!
Kinai: I'm not from Spain~ I'm Asian, but grew up in Latin America...so I know some Spanish...