Hello everybody, I'm your new host, Scarlet-Eyed-Demon and this is my first Fanfiction. I know a lot of people rehash the first episode, and I will too, but you start at the beginning and I see no reason to question this wisdom. Without further ado, let's begin!
Ranma's POV
Of course, it had to be raining! Why'd Pop's think this would be a good idea anyway? Stupid old man; if I wanted to get engaged to someone, I'd do it myself!
"You'd better knock it off!" I threatened the fat panda when he attacked me, of course, he didn't listen and I knocked him one good. Then that dirty sneak went and hit me when my back was turned! I skidded right onto a crowded street.
"Your move," I told the panda and he attacked. I dodged around a bit before commenting, "I still think the whole thing sucks!" Then I managed to throw him over my shoulder, "Picking my fiancée without even asking! I'm going back to China now, so suck on that old man!" Of course, I should've known better than to turn my back on my old man. But in my defense, I didn't expect him to hit me over the head with a freaking STOP SIGN!
Nabiki's POV
"Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!" I heard Daddy call, but I was too wrapped up in my manga to notice at first. So he came up to my room and got me. I hadn't yet made it out the door when Daddy asked me to go find Akane for him. There was only one place my little sister would be if she wasn't in her room. I headed down to the family dojo and found her breaking cinder blocks. She almost makes it too easy sometimes.
"There you go again Akane. That's exactly the kind of thing that makes the boys think you're so weird," I chastised
"So why should I care Nabiki? Not everybody thinks the whole world revolves around…BOYS!" Akane shouted with her usual spirit.
"No? Then I guess this won't interest you…" I then walked back into the main house, knowing Akane would rise to the bait. She did and then when we were gathered, Daddy told us why he had done so.
"Fiancée?" Kasumi asked and I was a bit surprised myself at first. Daddy then told us about his old training buddy and how he and this training buddy had promised to join the schools by having his son marry one of us.
"Hey, wait a minute! Don't we get to have some say in who we're going to marry?" Akane protested
"Maybe you should wait until you meet him," I advised, "You never know, he might be really cute. Right Daddy?" Daddy chuckled nervously and I knew that was a bad sign. Daddy then told us a little bit more about how they had been on a training mission and had even gone to China. Of course, Kasumi's first question was this Ranma's age. The only thing I wanted to know was how cute he was. But Kasumi only had a taste for *ahem* older men.
"Well what kind of guy is he?" Akane asked
"I don't know," Daddy answered, again with that nervous chuckle.
"You don't know?" I was not amused
"I've never met him," Daddy admitted and I almost sighed. You'd think Daddy would at least want to meet the guy one of his daughters will be marrying.
"Let go you old fool!"
"Sounds like we have visitors," Kasumi remarked
"Oh! It must be Ranma!" I exclaimed and then went to go see. What I saw was a giant panda. Even my normally cool demeanor couldn't stand up to that shock. Also, the panda was carrying someone with red hair.
"Let go pop! You're scaring them spitless!" The unwilling passenger shouted
"So Father, this is your friend?" Kasumi asked in a slightly scared voice. It had been awhile since I had heard Kasumi crack a joke, even given the circumstances. Daddy just shook his head.
"Oh, so this panda just decided to drop in? Is that it Daddy?" I asked with sarcasm, but I didn't have any better ideas myself. Daddy again shook his head. The panda then set the red head down and I got a good look at…her.
"You, wouldn't be..?" Daddy almost didn't dare to finish that question
"I'm Ranma Saotome…sorry 'bout this," She said…well, at least I was right with the 'cute' part of my guess. The boys at school would probably go crazy over her.
"At last, you're here!" Daddy said
"'He' is cute!" I exclaimed before Daddy wrapped her in a hug. He must not have realized the truth yet. For some odd reason, the red head's pig tail then stuck straight out. After about five seconds, Daddy did realize the truth of the situation. I had to restrain from laughing for Daddy's sake.
"She's some boy alright," I remarked
"A girl..?" Daddy then promptly fainted. Guess the shock was too much for him. We got Daddy into the living room with a pillow and blanket until he recovered.
"Poor Father, he must be so disappointed," Kasumi sighed
"He's disappointed?! He's not the only one!" I cried, "Look at her! Some fiancée…"
"Stop it you two, he…she is our guest," Akane said and then Kasumi noticed Daddy had woken up.
"This is all your fault Daddy. Don't you know the difference between a boy and a girl?" I asked. Daddy had had his moments, but this one was a doozy.
"I assumed my friend Genma's son was a boy," Daddy defended himself. I then motioned to Ranma.
"Excuse me; does this look like a boy to you?" I asked
"Nabiki, leave her alone, a guest is a guest," Akane told me and I stopped for the moment. Akane then offered to be friends with Ranma and led her to the dojo. With that, I decided to go finish up my manga.
Later that same day, I was walking by the living room, when I saw Daddy was sitting with another guy. The elusive Genma Saotome perhaps? For some reason, they were both crying. Deciding to leave those two to their reunion, I went to look for Kasumi.
"Hey Kasumi, do you know who that man in the living room is?" I asked her
"Who knows?" Kasumi responded and then told me to tell Akane that she could take her bath. I did so and then returned to the kitchen to help with dinner. Five minutes later, a blood-curdling shriek pierced the night.
"I'LL DROWN HIM IN THE BATH TUB!" Akane roared…'him'? Him who? Kasumi and I poked our heads into the living room to see Akane hefting the table.
"Akane, what's going on?" Kasumi asked
"There's a pervert in the bathroom!" Akane shouted
"Well gee Akane, why didn't you just clobber him then?" I asked
"Because I got scared! Is that alright?!" Akane shouted back and then Kasumi said she hoped Ranma was OK. Before we could investigate, a boy showed up. Most likely, the one Akane had been screaming about. He was dressed in Ranma's cloths, but they seemed to fit him better.
"Who are you?" I asked
"I'm ah…Ranma Saotome…sorry 'bout this," He answered and for one of the few times in my life, I was at a loss for words. The only thing that was processing in my brain was that the girl Ranma had vibrant red hair and this one had coal black hair. Even Akane was too stunned to pound him.
"I can explain everything," Daddy said and all the while, Akane was giving the boy Ranma a glare that was just short of putting him six feet under.
"This gets more interesting by the minute," I quipped
"Are you really her? The same who we saw before?" Kasumi asked and I wondered how she had drawn that conclusion. Maybe my sister had been spending too much time in the kitchen.
"I am," Ranma replied and once again, I was shocked. My brain refused to identify this cute guy and that rather 'well built' girl as one and the same. Then Genma helped us along by tossing Ranma into the koi pond. In went a definitely male Ranma and out came a positively female one. Unless these guys were really good magicians, they were telling the truth. But how?
"Oh my," Was all I could think of to say.
"Ranma's a…girl now," Kasumi said, equally unnerved.
"I am so ashamed. I cannot bear to see my son like this, Ranma Saotome, you break your Father's heart," Genma lamented before Ranma jumped out of the koi pond and kicked Genma in. Genma then turned into that panda from earlier.
"Who are you to talk?! My old man's a panda!" Ranma shouted and only one thought was in my head: 'Wouldn't a psychologist love to get his hands on these two'.
"Father, you certainly have some unusual friends," Kasumi quipped. That's two jokes in one day! Must be a record or something.
"They didn't used to be like this. It was training in China that did this to them," Daddy said and after Genma and Ranma had stopped trying to beat each other up, we were told the story of 'Jusenkyo'. They told us that if you fell in one of the springs, you'd change into whatever drowned there. Twenty four hours ago, I would have laughed in their faces. Now, I believe them, having seen the evidence first hand. Judging by the look on Ranma's face, he didn't appreciate his curse. Ranma then started yelling at his dad.
"Ranma, you sound like a girl!" With that, Ranma was thrown into the koi pond again by his 'loving' father. "Were you not prepared to lay down your life for the sake of the Art?!"
"My life, yes! My manhood is a different story!" Ranma shouted and then doused his father in water. Once again, they were fighting. I get the impression that it happens a lot. Then Daddy showed us how the curse worked. When doused with cold water, they turned into their curse forms. When doused with hot water, they returned to normal. I bet Ryu would love to get his hands on a sample of their blood if nothing else.
That's when Daddy brought up that engagement again and to tell the truth, I was a bit…uneasy with the whole prospect of being engaged to someone who was a part-time girl. Of course, Kasumi probably didn't like it either if for no other reason than Ranma was younger than her. So the obvious choice was Akane, she hated boys anyway, so it was probably a blessing in disguise.
"I guess you're in luck Akane," I remarked
"Why me?!" Akane protested
"Because you hate boys," I stated
"Which means you're in luck since Ranma's half girl," Kasumi agreed
"Me? Marry that pervert?! Never!" Akane shouted and then Akane and Ranma got into a fight over the fact that Akane called Ranma a pervert. It's not really his fault he was born a guy, but I wasn't about to have that conversation with my litter sister…again. Daddy and Mr. Saotome then started chuckling.
"You see? They're already the perfect couple!" Daddy proclaimed, which got him yelled at by Akane. Ranma then declared that he was going back to China, presumably for a cure to his curse. It looked like Ranma would get away clean, but then he had to open his big mouth about being 'better built' than Akane. While I don't think he deserved being flattened by the table, he did ask for some retribution. His father was totally unsympathetic.
"Now that, he had coming."
"Nabiki, would you help me take Ranma to his room?" Kasumi asked and I agreed. When Ranma finally woke up, Kasumi told Ranma that Akane was a 'sweet girl, but high spirited'. Yeah, he'll really believe that right after he was swatted like an overgrown bug.
"Oh good Kasumi, like that explains everything," I remarked and then Ranma told us he was going to take a bath. Two minutes later, a resounding *smack* was heard. I guess Akane had been taking her bath. Whoopsies. I went downstairs to wait for Akane. When she did come down, she told me her side of the story.
"But you were both girls at the time! So what's the big deal?" I exclaimed and not for the first time, worried about my little sister's temper. Well, at any rate, this should be an interesting experience.
Well, that's the end of the first chapter. If any of you are wondering, I will be mostly going by the anime, but will try and include stuff like Saffron and the failed wedding. In other news, I'm surprised how much I enjoyed writing Nabiki. What do you guys think?