Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and whoever she sold the rights to.
It was a calm and clear night over the streets of Nerima. Only the occasional barking dog disturbed the quiet scene of the small district of greater Tokyo. Most of the town's inhabitants were indoors preparing dinner or relaxing after the day's trials. So it was rather jarring when two men came barreling down the streets, fighting each other every step of the way.
"I can't believe you dragged me out of China for this, old man!" Ranma hollered at his father, trading blows at breathtaking speeds.
"Boy, you will do as I say and that's that!" Genma countered, fending off his son's punches and countering back with his own.
"I've put up with a lot of crap from you but this takes them all! Picking my own fiancée like that!" With that last statement came a surge of anger that urged Ranma to fight harder. He managed to trap one of Genma's arms when the older man came in with a punched aimed at his head, pulled him forward causing Genma to lose his footing for a few brief moments, then looped his right leg around and kicked his father in the back.
Genma stumbled forward a few steps but was quick to recover and turned around to face his ungrateful son. Just in time too as Ranma had used the opportunity to launch a flying kick at his face. Genma slapped his hands together, catching the leg above the ankle and stopping the foot that was mere centimeters from throwing him for a loop. Not wasting a moment, Genma heaved Ranma up by the trapped leg then back down, slamming him into the pavement. Now suitably stunned, Ranma was helpless to stop Genma from bopping him over the head.
"You're becoming a real pain to deal with, boy," Genma moaned as he bent down and lifted his unconscious son up and over his shoulder. "I hope getting you married will straighten you out. Or at least get someone else deal with you."
It was about this time that some of the locals were coming out of their houses to see what all the noise was about. Genma figured it was time to vacate quickly to avoid any more distractions. Forcing past the aches of his body, he ran down the street whilst carrying Ranma towards his ultimate destination.
Kasumi Tendo, eldest daughter of Soun Tendo, looked over the final preparations for tonight's meal and was satisfied with the turnout. She was a tall girl, with long brown hair tied into a pony-tail draped over her shoulder and wore a simple blouse and apron. She exited the kitchen and walked into the lounge area where she found her father sitting on the porch and staring blankly at a postcard.
"Father, dinner is ready," Kasumi called down to him softly. Soun, a man in his early forties with long black hair and mustache and wearing a simple brown martial arts gi, looked up at his daughter briefly, nodded then went back to looking at the postcard with a panda on it.
Kasumi frowned at the lack of response but wasn't surprised. Ever since receiving that postcard, Soun had been from one emotional extreme to another. He had seemed happier than he'd ever been when it had first arrived and had dropped a bombshell onto his children. But ever since then his good cheer had slowly drained out of him until all he did all day was sit and mope. If this mysterious fiancé of theirs didn't arrive soon, then Kasumi worried that her father wouldn't get himself out of this funk.
It had been a shock to all of the Tendo daughters to learn that one of them would soon be married off to a boy that none of them, not even Soun, had ever met before. It had been so unexpected that Kasumi still hadn't gotten over it and fretted about it every day. There were too many questions unanswered. Who was this Ranma? What was he like? Was he older than them? Would the house be tidied up when he arrived?
In a way, Kasumi envied her younger siblings. A few days after the announcement, Akane and Nabiki had stopped talking about it and had gone on with their daily routine. School and this upcoming fight Akane was getting into had taken up their time and it seemed that both had simply forgotten about it. Kasumi, who spent her days making sure the estate was in order, doing menial chores and shopping, had plenty of time to let her mind wander and think about the engagement. After all, she was the eldest and might be expected to be the one to carry out this pact with the Saotomes.
Sighing, Kasumi cleared her mind of these thoughts and left to go find the others. Nabiki, the middle daughter, was easiest. She was upstairs in her room, doing her homework while listening to the radio. She, like her older sister, had brown hair but was styled shorter, reaching just past her face. Nabiki wore a t-shirt and shorts, her usual attire when in the house. Hearing that dinner was ready allowed her to take a needed break and she hurried down to get her seat prepared.
Last was Akane, the youngest. She was also easy to find as the constant battle yells coming from the family dojo didn't exactly hide her position. Kasumi made her way downstairs and then out to the dojo. She was about to knock on the door when she heard a distressed cry come from within followed shortly by the sound of a human body crashing onto the floor. Wincing in sympathy, Kasumi opened the door slowly as though not wanting to see what was beyond it but too curious to stop herself. Peeking inside, she saw that Akane was indeed on the floor and entangled in a hula-hoop.
Stepping inside, Kasumi calmly asked, "Do you need any help, Akane?"
Akane, who, unlike her two older siblings, had long dark-blue hair that flowed down to the middle of her back and was tied at the end with a yellow bow. She also had two long hair tassels that would normally reach down to her chest but right now were sprawled across the floor. She was dressed in a yellow gi that she always wore when she worked out. Akane looked up at the voice and cringed at being found in such an embarrassing situation.
"No need!" Akane grunted as she tried to free herself. "I've got this under control!"
Kasumi watched, a sweat drop rolling down her head, as Akane fought against the constraints of the hula-hoop and only managed to get more tangled up. Finally, Akane got fed up and with a mighty flex of her muscles, snapped the hula-hoop in several places and freed herself from its grip. With her arms now free, she flung the pieces away in disgust, which landed next to the wide assortment of gymnastics equipment laying nearby, and reclaimed her feet.
"Dinner is ready," Kasumi said, hoping to get Akane to calm down with the prospect of food. "Maybe you should take a break and come back to this later."
Akane huffed in frustration but nodded nonetheless. Time was running out for her to learn this stuff but she conceded that a little time away from it would probably help. "Fine. Let me get my things picked up and I'll be there in a minute."
Kasumi nodded herself and left to get things ready. She hoped Akane knew what she was doing when she had accepted to help the school's Martial Arts Gymnastics team. It was admirable for her to step in when the other team members had been unable to fight but Kasumi wasn't sure if Akane had thought things through. Kasumi was no expert in martial arts but this gymnastics style didn't seem to mesh well with Akane's. However, Akane was a practitioner of the Tendo School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts so maybe Kasumi wasn't giving her enough credit. Perhaps Akane could learn this new style given enough practice.
Promptly discarding these thoughts in favor of thinking of serving dinner, Kasumi was just about to reenter the house when she noticed the oddest sight she could remember seeing. A man in a white gi and carrying a boy over his shoulder had just entered through the main gate and was walking up to the house. Alarmed, Kasumi ran in the side entrance and rushed to find her father. He was right where she had last left him.
"Father," Kasumi said urgently. "There is a strange man coming to the house. He was carrying a boy and-"
"A man and a boy you say?" Soun interrupted her. An excited look entered his eyes which only double at the sound of someone knocking at the front entrance. "Could it be..." he trailed off as he rushed to answer.
Perplexed, Kasumi followed and when she caught up, Soun was standing next to the entrance and starring in wonder at the man from before.
"Old friend," Soun sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "It has been too long."
"Indeed," Genma said in reply and in such a way that suggested that he was relieved to have finally arrived.
"I-Is that...?" Soun stuttered and pointed at the unconscious boy over Genma's shoulder.
"Hm?" Genma looked at where Soun was pointing. "Oh, right." Genma grabbed Ranma and set him down on his feet in front of Soun. Since Ranma was still out of it, Genma had to hold him up from falling down. "This is my son, Ranma."
"At last! You're here!" Soun lunged forward and grabbed Ranma up into a hug.
Ranma finally woke up from being jostled around and wasn't happy with the position he found himself in. "Let me go!" he roared and slugged Soun in the face.
Soun staggered back and nearby Kasumi gasped at the violence done to her father. Soun shook his head a few times before regarding Ranma who was looking a little guilty for striking out like that. However, whatever tension had been raised was dashed away when Soun smiled broadly and said, "He's your son all right! And he's got one heck of a punch! He's perfect!"
"What's all the noise out here?" Nabiki queried as she rounded the corner and spotted the newcomers. "Who are they?"
"Your new fiancé!" Soun joyously announced. He pointed at Kasumi and Nabiki in turn while saying, "This is Kasumi, she's 19 years old. This is Nabiki, she's 17 years old and-"
"How dare you hit my Dad!"
Everyone looked at where the furious voice rang out and found Akane running towards them from across the lawn. In one of her hands she carried a gymnastics ribbon which she was twirling above her. "You're going to get it with my new training!" Akane leaped up into the air, reared back the ribbon and then snapped it out.
And then promptly face-planted in the dirt before them when the ribbon entangled her legs causing her to pitch forward.
"And that's my youngest, Akane," Soun helpfully finished. "She's 16 years old. Pick one and she'll be your fiancée, son!"
Ranma blinked several times. "You have got to be kidding me," he deadpanned.
A few minutes later, the two families were gathered around the table. Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane were on one side while Genma and Ranma were on the other. Soun sat at the head of the table and was introducing his guests.
"This is Genma and Ranma Saotome. Like I told you before, Genma and I trained together and during that time we made a promise to unite our families through marriage and bring the two schools of Anything-Goes together. And now that they're here, we can finally fulfill that sacred vow!"
"Here! Here!" Genma cheered and the two men both lifted up sake cups that had been filled before hand, clanked them together and then downed the alcohol in one gulp.
Their children, however, were far less jubilant. The Tendo girls wore varying degrees of emotions on their faces with Kasumi pensive, Nabiki annoyed and Akane scowling. Ranma had a combination of all three. Things were not going the way any of them wanted.
Akane was the first to speak up. "I can't believe you're actually going through with this. Don't we get a say in any this?"
Soun placed down his cup and straightened himself up, gaining an authoritative presence that hadn't been seen in years. In stern tones that spoke of finality, Soun said, "This is a pact that must be upheld. One of you will have to marry Ranma. This is not up for discussion. If it's a choice you want then you can decide amongst yourselves who will be his fiancé."
His three daughters looked at him aghast.
Kasumi found her voice first. "Father, how can you say that?" The boy was at least three years her junior!
"Really," Nabiki seconded. "We don't even know this guy." He was cute but Nabiki wasn't one to just jump into things without knowing what she was getting into. This definitely qualified.
"And he attacked you," Akane finished. "What if he's dangerous and comes after us?" Not to mention that he seemed like a total jerk, just like the boys at school.
"I am right here, you know," Ranma growled. "And it's not like I like this any more than you do. Besides, he started it."
"Alright, settle down," Soun said while moving his hands in placating gestures. "I know this is all very sudden but the pact must be upheld. I'm sorry but that's just the way it has to be."
Several moments went by after Soun's speech but none of the younger generation knew what to say to get them out of this. Finally, Genma suggested, "We are going to be here for a while. Why don't we let the kids get to know one another before making a decision?"
Soun pondered this for a minute before slowly nodding in agreement. "I suppose that will work. I was hoping that we could get this settled now but perhaps rushing into it would be a bad thing. However, we can't have this going on too long. A decision must be made."
"You make it sound as though I'm even going to go along with this," Ranma suddenly interjected as he stood up. He walked over to where his pack had been placed and put it on.
Genma sprang up and blocked Ranma's path. "Now hang on boy! Where do you think you're going?"
"Back to China, of course!" Ranma yelled in his face. "This is no time for fiancées!"
"What's in China?" Nabiki asked, intrigued.
"I've got unfinished business there," Ranma dodged the answer.
"We're not leaving," Genma said, still blocking Ranma's way. "This was always going to be the end of the line for us. Now man up and do your duty!"
Ranma was just about to bite back with another tirade when Akane called out, "Just let him go. I've got no time for this either. My match is in another day and I've still got to get ready."
Ranma scoffed. It didn't go unnoticed.
"What was that?" Akane demanded.
Ranma turned towards her and opened his mouth. A second later though, he closed it and shook his head. "Nothin'," he said quietly. "Forget it."
Akane stood up and marched up to him. "If you've got something to say, then say it!"
Ranma looked down at her and into her anger filled eyes. He had wanted to comment on how if Akane was a practitioner of the Tendo side of the Anything-Goes school then it didn't look like the Tendo branch had a bright future ahead of it. However, Akane and the other girls hadn't done anything to really irritate him so had held back.
But if she wanted a piece of his mind, then he'd give it to her.
"Well-"
"How about you stay the night and decide what to do tomorrow?"
Both Ranma and Akane blinked and turned their heads towards the speaker. Now the center of attention, Kasumi felt uncomfortable. However, she steadied herself and continued, "It is getting very late. Traveling at night wouldn't be safe and a nice rest will definitely do you some good."
"Excellent suggestion, Kasumi!" Soun heartily agreed. He too gained his feet and came up to Ranma and slapped him playfully on the back. "We have a spare room that you can use. I'm sure you'd also enjoy a nice bath as well. What do you say?"
Having been deflated from his earlier anger, Ranma was at a loss of what to say. Eventually, he slurred out, "Sure."
"Great! Kasumi can show you your room and then the bath."
"This way," Kasumi beckoned and headed out the room.
Seeing that he had agreed, and the thought of a bed indoors and a hot bath was very appealing, Ranma sighed and followed.
Once they were gone, Akane huffed and headed out to finish picking up in the dojo. Nabiki shrugged and began snacking on the laid out dinner. Soun and Genma got busy finishing up the sake and toasting about how the schools would be joined in no time.
Kodachi Kuno, while active and passionate at most times, could be patient when she wanted to. Sometimes the best things in life come to those who wait, or however that saying goes. But hanging from a ceiling and waiting for her prey to arrive for over an hour was more than she could stand.
Really, Akane Tendo was very inconsiderate for being late for her own ambush!
So now Kodachi stalked through the halls of the Tendo home in search of the girl that had taken the place of the poor fools of the Furinkan Martial Arts Gymnastics team. It was only proper for her to greet her new opponent by attacking while she least expected it. It was all in fairness, after all.
Having searched the upstairs thoroughly, Kodachi was about to head downstairs when she heard the sound of someone ascending the stairs. She quickly dashed back into the room she believed to be Akane's and pressed her ear to the door. She thought she heard at least two people moving about but they didn't come towards her. It was a man and a woman's voices but much of it was muffled. The only thing she caught was that one of them was going for a bath. After a few minutes the noises faded away which she assumed meant they went back downstairs.
Growing frustrated that things weren't going as fast as she liked but determined to finish her mission, Kodachi decided to lay her ambush at the bath. With any luck, it would be Akane and then she could finally claim victory.
With her plan in mind, Kodachi left the same way she entered, through Akane's window, and raced towards the bathroom.
Once Kasumi had shown Ranma the bath and had left him to his privacy, he disrobed and began the pre-bath cleanup. Once he had lathered himself with the available soap, he reached down for the water bucket to rinse himself off. Instead of dowsing himself immediately, he stared at his reflection in the water before sighing and dumping the cold liquid over his head. Instantly, Ranma's form shifted into a girl.
"Hope none of them see me like this," Ranma said to herself quietly. "The last thing I need is for them to think that I'm a freak."
Hopefully, she'd be gone before anything like that happened. She didn't care what her father had planned, she wasn't going to stay here any longer than necessary. Not when there was a cure for this stupid curse out there somewhere.
But for now, a nice long soak. It had been far too long since she'd had one. Ranma stood back up, grabbed a towel and opened the door to the inner bathroom...
...and yelped in fright when a large wooden mallet crashed down on the spot she had been occupying had she not sidestepped away in time.
"Drat. Missed."
Ranma dropped the towel and hopped several steps away and saw the person that tried to squash her. She was a girl her age wearing a green leotard that showed off a lithe and athletic body and had dark hair that was tied into an off-center ponytail. Kodachi lifted up the mallet, raised it above her head and declared, "Prepare yourself, Akane Tendo!"
"Huh?" Ranma sputtered. She raised up her hands in warding gestures and cried out, "Wait! I'm not her! You got the wrong-YIKES!" Ranma scrambled out of the way when Kodachi once again tried to slam the giant hammer into her skull.
"Stand still and accept defeat!" Kodachi continued to shout. She chased the still protesting redhead all over the bath while swinging her weapon. Each time Kodachi attacked she would just miss her target and put a large dent into whatever was unfortunate enough to be in the mallet's way. "You are only making things harder on yourself! Stop moving!"
"As if!" Ranma retorted. Being caught so off guard like this and having to constantly twist, duck and dodge out of the way of the other girl's non-stop assault was making it difficult to find a way to get her to stop. That became a non-issue however when Ranma tripped over the towel she had dropped and fell back and into the tub.
"I've got you now!" Kodachi said triumphantly. She raised the mallet high and waited for the perfect time to strike.
"Ranma! What's going on in there? Are you all right?"
The sound of the voice just outside stopped Kodachi in her stance. "Curses. This will have to be finished later." With a mighty leap, Kodachi jumped through the room window and back into the night.
Seconds later, Ranma, now back to being male, burst out of the warm water and hung over the side of the bath, gasping for breath. Just in time for the whole Tendo family to rush into the room and behold the devastation of their bathroom.
"What the hell did you do in here?" Nabiki exclaimed.
"My poor house," Soun sobbed.
Akane marched over, grabbed the still recovering Ranma by the pigtail and lifted him up to eye level. "Well?" she shouted in his face. "Explain yourself!"
"Um...Akane...ah," Kasumi stuttered behind her.
"What?" Akane irritably asked back.
"He's a little...ah...how you say. That is..."
"Naked," Nabiki finished for her flustered sister.
Akane blinked, looked down and received an eyeful. "Ah!" She dropped Ranma like she was holding a hot poker and scooted away.
"Thanks for that, sis," Nabiki smirked. "At least he's good eye candy."
"Never mind that," Soun spoke up, temporarily ending his tears. He walked up to Ranma and demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Ranma defended quickly while staying as low as he could get in the bath. "This crazy girl was here thinking I was Akane and tried to beat me up!" Several unconvinced stares was the response to that. "Honest!"
"Oh, please," Akane scoffed. "You expect us to believe that? How could anyone think that you could be me? You're not even a girl!"
Ranma looked guiltily away, unable to think of a response to that without revealing his greatest shame.
Before anyone could throw out anymore accusations, Soun turned back towards his children and said, "Girls, let's leave so he can get dressed and we'll settle this later."
"What?" Akane exclaimed. "You can't be serious! He totaled our bathroom and you're just letting him off the hook?"
"This is not the place to talk about this. Come on, back to the living room." Soun began herding his daughters out of the room but not before Akane shot Ranma a dirty look before stomping out.
Ranma groaned and climbed out of the bath. How was he going to convince them about what happened? Hell, he hardly believed it. He was certain though that it wasn't going to go well.
What a way to make a first impression.
The next morning, Ranma awoke in the guest room from prodding from Genma.
"Wake up, boy," Genma said over him, poking his son in the ribs. "Time for training."
"Go away," Ranma grumbled and turned over in his futon.
He didn't get the chance to reclaim his sleep as Genma grabbed hold of the futon and lifted it up, dumping Ranma onto the floor. Ranma scrabbled to his feet, faced his father and yelled, "What the hell, Pops? It's still early!"
"You've got school soon so we don't have that much time," Genma explained.
Ranma blinked, staring dumbly back at Genma. "You've got to be kidding. School? When did that happen?"
"Right now. You'll be going to the same school that Akane and Nabiki go to. It will be a good way to get to know them before they make their decision."
Ranma gaped for a few seconds before shaking his head and said, "Hate to rain on your parade, but none of them want anything to do with me. Or did you forget last night?"
Genma crossed his arms and gained a stern look. "I still don't understand what happened. You sure that someone came in to attack you?"
"Why would I make something like that up?"
"Whatever. Just be glad Soun was able to calm his daughters down and let us stay here."
"You could have backed me up, ya know, instead of just agreeing with what Mr. Tendo was saying."
"I wasn't there so what could I have said? But enough of this. Get to the back yard so we can get our workout in." Without another word, Genma left the room.
Ranma almost when back to bed, just to spite him. However, Genma could get creative in punishing Ranma whenever he didn't follow orders. It usually involved some harebrained training exercise. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to beat some frustration out of the old man. Smiling evilly, Ranma got dressed quickly and headed out to the yard.
His eagerness to deck Genma into next week was halted when he saw the decently sized pond laying right in the middle of the backyard. Past experience had taught him that any body of water, no mater how large or small, would seek him out and trigger the curse.
"Ranma, what are you waiting for?" Genma called to him from his position out in the lawn. "Come on!"
"What about that?" Ranma said, pointing to the pond.
Genma glanced at the pond for a second and turned back to Ranma. "What about it?"
"It's cold water, you numbskull!"
"So?"
"Have you lost your mind? What about our curses?"
"Oh." Genma scratched his head in thought for a moment. He then shrugged and responded, "Well, we need to tell them about it at some point. No way we can keep something like that a secret."
"Wanna bet?" Ranma spat out. "I don't even know why I'm still here. We should be getting back to China to get rid of this stupid curse instead of staying here."
"Not gonna happen," Genma spoke with finality. "We stay here, you marry one of those girls and then we can deal with all that."
"Gimme one good reason why I don't pack up and head on out!"
Surprisingly, Genma had one ready. "You said a girl was out looking for Akane and tried to take her out last night. Shouldn't you stay and make sure she doesn't end up hurt? It's a martial artist's duty to protect others."
"Akane's a martial artist." Even as the words left his mouth, Ranma knew how lame that sounded. From what he'd seen of Akane's fighting skill and what that crazy girl had done, he wasn't sure Akane would have gotten out unscathed.
Genma heard the doubt in Ranma's voice and pounced on it. "You see? Think about what would happen if you left. She'd be bedridden by now if you hadn't been around to help. You'd feel guilty too if you just up and left knowing that someone is in danger and you knew that you could do something about it.
"Plus, you could really impress her by staying and being her shiny knight."
Ranma hated how Genma knew him so well. He was right. He couldn't in good conscience leave Akane to fend for herself, no matter how much it would inconvenience him. And there was the idea of showing Akane and everyone else just what a real practitioner of the Anything-Goes style could do.
"All right," Ranma reluctantly agreed. "I'll stay here until I know nobody will be hurt. Satisfied?"
"Completely," Genma said, smiling. Inwardly, he thought, 'And by then you'll be so smitten with her that you won't want to leave.'
Genma was about to suggest that they get their spar in when Akane came into view wearing workout clothes and a towel draped over her shoulders. She eyed the both of them suspiciously before heading out towards the kitchen.
Before she could leave, Ranma asked, "Where were you?"
"Out jogging," she answered shortly.
"You know, that girl might still be around and realize you're the one she's looking for. You shouldn't go out alone."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." Without another word, she left.
"We'll see," Ranma said to himself.
Just then, Nabiki came into the room, dressed in her school uniform. "Morning," she greeted then called out more loudly, "I'm heading off to school! See ya!"
"Wait!" Akane called, running back into the room. "I'll go with you."
"Sorry, can't stay. Busy day! I'm sure you can show Ranma the way." And with that, Nabiki trotted away.
"Great," Akane muttered.
"Don't I feel special," Ranma groused.
Akane scowled and was about to respond to that when Kasumi walked in carrying two packages. She held them out for both Akane and Ranma and said, "Here are your lunches. You better get ready or you'll be late."
"Thanks," Akane sighed and headed off to get cleaned up and dressed.
Ranma took his own and was going to give his own thanks when Genma came up from behind and slapped him on the back. "How about that? Mighty considerate woman there. Makes a great quality in a wife, don't you think?"
Ranma and Kasumi blushed heavily.
"Thanks," Ranma finally said, taking the offered lunch and leaving to get ready as well. He pointedly kept his eyes off either of them as he left.
"Now remember, we don't know each other once we get there," Akane called up to Ranma as she walked along the sidewalk.
"Fine by me," Ranma said back to her as he walked on top of the fence next to the sidewalk.
"And don't mention anything about the engagement. I have enough trouble at school right now and don't need more hassle."
"Sure."
They proceeded to ignore each other from then on. Both walked in silence and before long, the school came into view. Suddenly Akane charged forward and chanted, "I hate boys. I hate boys! I HATE BOYS!" Startled, Ranma hopped off the fence and ran to catch up to her, wondering what could have possibly brought that on.
"I HATE...boys?"
Ranma skidded to a halt to avoid colliding with one of his potential fiancées when Akane abruptly stopped and was looking through the gates of the school. She was staring blankly out on the front grounds, mouth open and wide eyed.
'The heck is going on?' Ranma pondered internally. He moved so that he could look through the gates and quickly duplicated Akane's expression.
There was a stack of bodies laying on the stone pathway to the front building entrance. All of them were boys and many were decked out in sports gear. There were also black specs that appeared to be leaves of some kind sprinkled all over and around them.
Akane ran forward to check on them and had almost reached them when a hand on her arm stopped her. She looked back and found Ranma holding her back. "What are you doing?" she asked angrily as she ripped her arm out of his grasp. "We have to help them!"
"Hang on a sec, okay?" Ranma urged. "Something's wrong. I feel-" He suddenly scooped up Akane and jumped away, just as a small explosion went off just above their heads. Ranma landed well away and when he and Akane looked back they saw more of the black specs falling to the ground where they had just stood.
Shortly after, a laugh rang out across the school grounds and then a figure landed in front of the downed group of boys. "Rather nimble of you to avoid that," Kodachi complimented. Instead of her green leotard from last night, she now wore a school uniform but it was different from what Akane and Nabiki wore.
"That's her!" Ranma said, pointing with one hand and still holding Akane with the other. "That's the one that attacked me!"
Kodachi squinted her eyes but unless she was losing her mind, he certainly wasn't the redhead from before. Very close resemblance though. An older brother maybe? "I have no idea what you are talking about," Kodachi tutted. "I think I'd remember an encounter with one such as you." She winked and blew him a kiss.
"Never mind that!" Akane interrupted. She pointed at the bodies behind Kodachi. "What did you do to them?"
"Oh, them?" Kodachi said, waving her hand in nonchalance. "They are just taking a snooze from a little concoction of mine." She raised up a hand which held a rose with black petals. Ranma and Akane realized then that the boys were covered with the same type of petals. Kodachi continued, "A perfect symbol for me, the Black Rose of St. Hebereke!"
She laughed again and lifted her other hand. This one had a gymnastics ribbon which she twirled around her creating a small whirlwind that caused the nearby rose petals to lift up and fly around. The nearby students that had come out of the school or were just arriving scattered to avoid the same fate as the boys before them.
"They were spouting off about their love, Akane Tendo!" Kodachi explained further while continuing her miniature tornado. "I knew that if I took out her little fanclub that she'd arrive to save them. We could then have our glorious match!"
"But that's not until tomorrow night!" Akane pointed out.
"All's fair in love and war!" Kodachi countered.
"Enough of this!"
Everyone turned their gaze at the new arrival who stepped out from behind a tree on the lawn. He was an older boy with short brown hair and wore a formal looking samurai garb instead of the usual school uniform for boys. He held a bokken, a wooden sword, which he was now pointing at Ranma and Akane. "I care not what my twisted sister does to these morons but I demand to know why you hold Akane Tendo so intimately!"
Both Ranma and Akane blinked before realizing that Ranma was still carrying her from his rescue from the rose petals. They separated instantly and blushed heavily.
Something the newcomer said sparked Akane's interests and shook her out of her embarrassment. "Wait, this is your sister, Kuno?"
Tatewaki Kuno sighed deeply and said, "Indeed she is, though it pains me to admit it."
"Lovely to see you to, brother dear," Kodachi drawled in contempt.
Ranma, who was feeling like he was being sucked into some bizarre soap opera, tapped Akane on the shoulder and asked, "Akane, who are all these people?"
Kuno focused back on Ranma and regained his earlier anger. "I should be asking the same to you! Who are you to be so close to my beloved Akane?"
"Hey! Back off!" Ranma yelled back. "She was just showing me the way to school." To Akane he said, "You never told me you had a boyfriend."
"He is not my boyfriend!" Akane loudly protested, yelling in Ranma's face. "All he is, is a pain in my ass!"
"So you are Akane Tendo," Kodachi interjected next. "The one I'll be fighting and the same one that my brother has been obsessing over these past few weeks. Interesting."
"That's right! And I'm going to make you pay for all you've done. First for the girl's gymnastics team and then those guys!" Akane pointed at the still unconscious group of boys nearby.
"Then let's shake on our match to come." Kodachi dropped her ribbon and rose and held out her hand.
While the byplay between the girls was going on, Ranma was being assaulted by Kuno again. "You still haven't answered to my satisfaction what you were doing holding Akane like that!"
Ranma placed his hands behind his head and in a bored tone said, "What's it to you anyway? Seems she doesn't want anything to do with you."
"The pursuit of Akane Tendo is mine alone! I will not let you interfere. Have a thee!" He raised up his sword and charged.
Ranma smirked and readied himself for a fight. He'd show this blowhard and everyone else just what he was made of.
In the sky above, thunder rumbled.
Ranma looked up sharply and noticed for the first time all the dark clouds that had appeared overhead. Distracted, he barely dodged away in time from Kuno's swipe. He hopped out of the way of another strike and heard another rumbling from above. He had seconds before the rain hit. He waited for Kuno to come back in for a slash then performed a mighty leap that turned into a flip over the taller boy's head. He kicked Kuno in the skull, used the foothold to push off and then landed and ran for all he was worth towards where the girls were standing.
Akane tentatively reached forward to shake Kodachi hand, uncertain if she should or not. From what she'd seen so far, this girl was treacherous and couldn't be trusted. She didn't see any tricks right now though but was wary none the less. Just as her hand was going to close round Kodachi's, an impact threw the two apart and Akane had the sensation of being carried. Because of this, she missed seeing Kodachi stagger back and drop the thumbtacks that were hidden between her fingers. A few seconds later, Akane was set down and she had the chance to reorient herself. She was inside the school now where several students were busy heading to class.
"Few, that was close," she heard Ranma say to himself.
Akane whirled on him and growled out low enough for only Ranma to hear, "Would you stop grabbing me like that? And what's the big idea of bringing me here? I was in the middle of something!"
"Hey, it was about to rain!" Ranma defended. "And I didn't want to waste my time out there and be late for class."
"Whatever. Since we're here we might as well get going. Just don't think you've seen the last of Kuno. He's persistent to say the least."
"Yeah, yeah," Ranma waved her off. "You just be more careful around that Kodachi chick unless you want to miss out on your match with her."
"I'll be ready," Akane promised intensely. "No way is she going to get the best of me."
With that, Akane headed off to class, Ranma following close behind. Not even the start of the school day and things were getting nuts. What more could possible happen to make things more crazy?
Several miles away, high in the sky, a glowing figure streaked it's way closer and closer to the island of Japan.