Ranma Aqua-Isekai'd, by Chaos Orchid
Chapter 4: Ranma's First Fiancee
Ranma couldn't help but note that one of the Women Hero guard was staying just ahead of him. The little redhead and the much bulkier, streaky-haired Tint(? Is that her name?) were, after all, specifically assigned to guard him and see that he didn't escape.
But what drew his eye away from them were the naked women and men. Sure, he had known they were there before, but he had actually forgotten they were naked because of how weird a zoo's worth of animals were acting. It had been like he was a kid again and could forget he was a martial artist, losing himself in a cartoon or kid's book like those his Old Man hated him wasting his time with. Besides, when he wasn't bathing in cold, cold rivers or lakes, he was bathing at hot springs or public baths, or with the all-male group they were freeloading off of. Seeing a boy or man naked was almost common to him. But naked women?
Pop had tried to prepare him. He had told him how it had once been traditional in Japan for men and women, even strangers, to bathe together, but that had been ruined by lewd, foreign tourists. As an upholder of National Traditions, it was His Heir's duty to remember that if he were to see a live, naked woman. No ogling! Especially since that could only lead to Little Death! Death after death of your manhood, defeated by the weak sex and dragging you down to their level. "Save your manliness! Don't become distracted from the martial arts! Distraction lowers your guard! That can kill in a battle! Worse! Sex can only drain you of your vital energy!"
Still, Ranma was being distracted by the naked women scattered all about him on the main street of Animal Town. He had to look away! He was no pervert! Probably. Not that he ever really had a chance to find out for sure so far. No! What will they think of him if he acted like the boys who brought their hentai to the all-boys schools he had been to!? He could almost hear the speech on how 'You should respect girls and the weak' that the Lost Boy had…
Despite himself, he was distracted by the sway and wiggle of the blood-splattered butt and thighs of Shé-who seemed to be wearing only(!) ropes. The blood had come from the massive nosebleed of the now unconscious pig hanging, bound, down her back. Now there was something he could be proud of! He had yet to have any nosebleeds! Maybe he wouldn't ever have any! He had the training to use a healing technique to keep excessive blood away from what Pop had told him were his erogenous zones!
"You have problem?" It was the redhead. Smiling, she was, hands behind her back, walking backwards in front of the ball Pop was like because of being tightly bound. She was a safe to look at. She wasn't naked. (Yet? No! Don't imagine it!)
"Problem!?" Did she know what he was thinking!? Was there a girl-sense that alerted them to perverts!? "I, uh, was just tryin' to get used to everything!"
"I understand. I have trouble also when I came on This-side."
"You get here by gettin' cursed, right? That's what Prune said." And he glanced over to the purple-haired woman. She was safe, too, as she was wearing an unsexy Mao uniform. Was she right? He didn't feel cursed.
"I cursed alright! No did want body like this!" she said, gesturing down to and along her curves.
Ranma gulped. Belief threatened. But what if "Animals! All the animals around here are cursed, right!? If I am cursed, I could be an animal, too!" But would that really be better than being a girl.
Wait! "What if I become an animal that only lives a couple of years!?" Or over a hundred years but have to live them as a slow tortoise weighed down by a heavy shell?
"This-side have more ki energy than That-side. We no age fast! Live long enough and other half dead first. We then get life energy Half have left over. Me? Me have lots of life energy!" She grinned.
Before Ranma could ask what that meant, his senses alerted him to an incoming projectile! He was curt by catching it between two fingers. Looking at it, he saw it was broken stone.
Another broken stone bounced off his pants. It had been launched by a hoof of a passing deer. The first by a zebra's. Most of the stones on the road were worn mostly smooth, but Ranma figured that constantly being stomped on by animals with hard feet had to crack and then break them sooner or later.
Suddenly he was no longer rolling Pop. The writhing man had been cut lose from his ropes by sharp stones. His body was 'deflating' and invading their space.
Red saved Ranma and herself by giving him something for grab onto (her narrow shoulders, his solid forearms) so both could do a Leapfrog Pull + Mid-air Pull! (His feet were pulled from the oncoming feet while her feet were pulled from the oncoming head: Collision avoided!)
Reality set in because they had never practiced together. They stumbled up against the two-story big Ox-man. And of course he took it the wrong way!
After hearing him bellow again, Ranma said, "Doen't it ever just moo?"
The giant caught up the two annoyances in its huge hands and slammed them together high above the ground. Or tried to. Ranma's bare foot kicked a pressure point that made the hand spasm.
Ranma held onto Red as they fell, and she hugged him back. He had the longer legs so he landed first. Training took over and they both landed without being damaged. The hero in them had them wrap a protective arm around the other as they turned to face the monstrous threat.
The ox-man was glaring down at them as he shook the pain out of his hand. The next move was its.
A falcon that Ranma thought was the one that had been sent to report to Elder Cologne flew down onto the bull's snout and held up a wooden sign. The message was facing away from Ranma, but not the monster could see it (cross eyed). It blew a loud, strong snort out its nose. But it turned out that was because it got the message. It wasn't going to attack. This time.
"Ranma! Be a man! Don't be weakened by temptation!" That hadn't taken long for Pop be messing with his life again.
But it bought Ranma around to realizing he had a girl pressed up against himself. He had never been this close to a girl before. He had never had her warm softness molding itself around his hand, his arm, his side or feel laying against him the extra softness of her-
"Aaa!" He screamed, she screamed; he jumped away, she jumped away. Their actions were mirror opposites. They even bowed to each other, "Sorry! Sorry!"
Pop strode between them and extended his arms to keep them separated. Ranma yelled, "I wasn't tryin' nothing!" And slapped the hand away. Red did the same against the other hand.
"I protect him! I guard!" Red said she was just doing her duty.
"Protect!? I was protectin' you!" The duty of a martial artist by the Code.
"Does this place even have protection?"
"Get your mind outa the gutter, Pop! You're the one that says No is the best protection!"
The man-woman (woman-man?) Powder came up to the man smaller than her and yanked him away, to hold him in a half-nelson, her muscular forearm around his neck. "I say we mark this 'winner' fail! Like most men, he has no honor!"
"He is no hero," Shé, her commander, agreed. "Boy, though…." Shé looked at him appreciatively. "Hmm. Add new young man to my harem?"
Red gasped and looked like somebody who knew she could be bullied. Shé was her senior! Shé could give her orders that she couldn't refuse! She was defeated before she could even-
"My name is Eyeshadow! You Ranma!" And she attacked him with her lips! Her arms around his neck, the short girl hung from him, pressing her chest against his.
Seconds after recovering from his surprise, Ranma pulled her off of him. "What was that for!?" She had stolen his first kiss!
Dropped to her feet, she answered, "You now know my name; I know your name!" Okay, they were now 'formally' introduced. "I have first date right!" What!?
"Hey! That first kiss I want!" cried the second-most manish guard, Tint. "I is Eyeshadow sensei!"
"We all is!" Powder said. "Eyeshadow: End of line!" (And she hit Pop's head for emphasis.)
Shé merely chuckled. "Line short if all must challenge Shé." Shé lassoed her kohai and reeled the redhead closer. "I see our reluctant girl think she ready for womanhood."
The falcon swooped down from it's perch with an alarm-like *kak-kak-kak*! It landed on Ranma's head, he couldn't see its new sign. But he saw everybody's surprised reaction at its message-none were more shocked than Eyeshadow herself. "Elder Cologne is now Protector of Eyeshadow!?"
Everybody had to cry out, "Why!?"
Everybody but Ranma. "Get off my head! Those talons hurt!" And he lashed out at the falcon so that it had to fly away from his fists.
Another of its sign landed at his feet and it…had Chinese ideographs he was uncertain of. It probably had one or two that were probably meant to be read as the character's sound, not meaning. And he didn't speak Chinese.
Frowning, Shé told him. "Elder Cologne will not tell until she see Eyeshadow and you."
"Me!?"
"We couple?!" Eyeshadow tried to smile.
"I ain't a part of nobody's couple!" Ranma protested.
"He can't be!" Pop struggled to break free of Powder. "My son's already engaged to be married! It's been arranged since before he was born!"
"What!? That's the first time I ever heard of that!" Ranma's stress was growing by the second!
"We know he liar," Powder said, gagging him with her hand. Shé gave her a piece of rope and the woman took a sweat-stained handkerchief and stuffed it in his mouth. The short rope kept it in place.
"What happen on That-side no important! No can go back!" Powder yelled to get it though the man's thick head. "That all for his other half!"
"Bwee? Bwee!?" The little, black pig woke up at that moment. It was still dazed and now even more confused.
"Elder Cologne must test and see if she read omens correct,' Shé said more to herself than the others. "That mean elder possibly wrong. Small chance, but chance." Shé looked directly at the boy now. "You have Chaos Seed?"
"Chaos Seed!?" Suddenly Eyeshadow was wondering what she had gotten mixed up with.
"Bet! Bet!" Tint called out. "What kind of Chaos Seed new-to-This-side have!"
"There're more 'n one kind?" Ranma hadn't even known there was one kind. The pig wasn't the only one confused.
"I want know what he change into," Powder told her. "No good if man-size chaos," she said, squeezing her example, Pop, hard.
"Or if they…" Tint grinned as she looked at Fox. They had legendary status as tricksters and not to be trusted. Fox was already to reach into its weapon-space. "...raccoon dog," foxes' legendary rivals.
A sheered sheep came up to the company of guards and guests dragging a burlap bag. Ranma at last noticed that they had attracted the interest of what looked like all of Animal Town. They were only meant to be passing through, but they had instead become a spectacle. Some found them entertaining, others didn't. Rumors were being spread. There were a large number of signs to be seen. And the naked and clothed humans murmured and muttered.
When the sheep stopped, a sign popped out from the wool. [I take bet!]
'There you go!" Tint laughed. "If Lanolin bet, it sure thing!"
Ranma imagined he could feel the Chaos Seed sprouting in him. No! They were playing mind games with him! "I no ever have bad luck! No really!" All of his bad luck didn't seemed to be because of him but because of something his Old Man did!
Shé was growing more interested in him by the moment. "The Chaos Seed could have been planted in you between That-side and This-side. Is that clear?"
"Very…. ? Why're you speakin' good Japanese now?"
"The Chaos Seed! You are acquiring the Power of Communication swifter than normal!"
"Good. Then I do not have to soil my tongue with that barbaric language of his." The wordless ox-man was gone and it was Nylon that was insulting him and Japan.
To be honest, Ranma didn't understand everything the jerk said. He hadn't yet fully gained the ability to understand or speak Chinese without knowing he was. But with Nylon it was easy to guess what he was missing. They were things he wished he didn't hear.
("Bet's off, Lanolin," Tint told the sheep.)
"It's like what happens in shows where people go to a different planet or time and yet can understand whatever's being said," Eyeshadow told him. "They shouldn't. Especially if they don't have something like a Universal Translator."
"I don't understand what those born on That-side are saying when they talk like that," Shé said. "I think of how wherever the Naban Mirror sends you, its magic allows you to know whatever's being said."
Ranma stifled a groan. Pop had always said girls talked more and now that they didn't have fit what they said to his ability to understand, they were letting their femaleness out big time.
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NOTES:
World-building. My apologies for information overload. I have a tendency to get one idea after another. But I feel all of them here will be important to the story. And I can see how they will all be tied together. If you feel lost, you hopefully won't be when it's time to make use of them. Rumiko-sama only filled in details when she had to and I probably should have as well.
I'll try to limit future confusion, but I will warn you. This story could go in a more traditional Isekai/Fantasy direction. Ki and magic are stronger on This-side. And where there are cursed springs, there are the Musk and Phoenix Kingdoms.
Oh, please note: One of the major things that make humans human is language. And I believe women can not only be better at it, but invented it along with many other things that distinguish us from (real) animals. Ranma is going to unlearn his upbringing. More on my theory later.
