The air in Nerima smelled different.

That was the thought which entered the man's mind as his bike rounded the next intersection. Edging ever closer to his destination, his blue jacket flapped in the morning breeze. He had carefully looked over the map of the area he was responsible for numerous times. Likewise, he had woken up early enough to avoid putting any pressure on himself to mad dash from one stop to the next. Instead, he drove slowly, appreciating the peaceful atmosphere around him.

It wasn't bad, but…it hadn't quite been what he'd been searching for, either.

It was such a quiet ward. He would have to wait until he was off the job before he went looking for some fun. Or maybe not… he thought gloomily. He did still have a lot of unpacking to do once he got back home.

The young man lazily stared out as his engine purred and his seat vibrated. This was home now, and as that reality set in, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. The world around him was completely at ease, serene, calm… He wondered just how many different words people had invented to mean boring.

Maybe it's because he grew up in an embarrassingly small, country town, or maybe it's because his down-to-earth folks had kept him too fixed in their nest. Whatever the case, was it too much to ask for some excitement in his life?

Ever since the mailman graduated high school, his time as an adult had been spent fishing and farming. How lame was that? The family business… It wasn't hard work by any margin, and he was already used to preparing food and keeping up the land, but he never enjoyed it. Any of it. Sure, it was reliable work, but he could never get into it. It was all just so…so country!

And he was sick and tired of country. So eventually, he called it quits and told his folks that he was moving out someplace a little more lively. He was heading to the largest city in Japan: Tokyo.

They tried to stop him, of course. In their own way, he supposed he could say they pulled out all the stops to win him over and get him to stay.

His dad had presented him the Soiler of Harvest Legend, a mighty family heirloom passed down from agricultural generation to generation. It was said to have seen its fair share of battles before, defending the peace and prosperity of their lush, green lands. For all its hype, however, it turned out to be nothing more than a rusty, old shovel. And those battles? Chasing raccoons and possums from their produce. Surely, the fight of the century.

His mom had went on some mushy tale about how she snagged his dad by his sweet tooth right before dangling the holy grail of their family's secret recipes over him. It was something only she knew how to bake, something he hadn't seen her fix in over a year - her carrot pie, her specialty. All he had to do was stay and all its secrets were his. He very fondly remembered pigging-out on all of his mom's creations as a kid. And unwilling as he was to give her any credit for that ploy, by her own words, she was right; her carrot pie especially was to die for. It was a good thing the big city had like, a million other pie recipes to choose from. He'd find one that clicked with him eventually. Nice try, mom.

And so, they eventually caved, accepting that their rural lifestyle had outgrown their baby boy. Tears in their eyes, they let him go. Still, the mailman had to say, setting out his own for the first time was no walk in the park; what with finding housing and work.

He had a little to get by on, but even with his reassurances, his parents were still worried about him taking his first real steps out into the world so far from home. "What if he's not eatin' well enough," he could hear his mother say, "or gets himself wrapped up in somethin' dangerous?"

He knew his parents had their prejudices about how city folk lived, but this was the capital of Japan. This was Tokyo. He'd be fine! What's the worst that could happen?

Heck, he was looking forward to some strangeness. Anything would beat the monotonous dull that was acres and acres of nothing and nobody worth of interest.

Unfortunately, even though he wanted to get closer to the bigger hangouts, what he could afford had placed him in the suburbs, which had placed him in Nerima. He sighed.

So not every corner was brimming with excitement in Tokyo. That was…fine, he guessed. He was eventually planning on getting more urban. He just had to work his way up to that point.

Being a mail courier didn't exactly bring in the big bucks, and it wasn't his first option, but honestly, he'd take anything they were tossing at him. They wanted some younger bodies? Well, sign him up.

He didn't have a problem with all the walking or heavy lifting that would be required. It was nothing compared to all his work on the farm. He had more than enough strength and energy to get these people their latest copy of Whatever Weakly.

Or a package like the one he had in the back. He hoped he wouldn't be getting too many of those. They throw off his balance on the bike.

As he pulled up to the next stop of the morning, he took in the location.

It was the grounds of a dojo. A quick glance at the sign confirmed this. Its old stone, slick tiles, and worn, wooden accents brought back memories of movies he used to watch on television or videocassettes. Those films always made martial arts look like the coolest thing in the world, but the reality probably wasn't near as glamorous. When you get down to it, it's just a bunch of punching and kicking. Even he could do that much, and movies tend to exaggerate stuff anyways.

What does the real thing look like? the mailman found himself wondering.

He turned off his bike and went sorting through the mail in his sash to find the ones labeled 'Tendo'. After taking out the package from the back, he started walking towards the residence.

The mailman approached the wooden entrance and knocked. "Delivery!" he called out. No answer. He hadn't been sure about expecting one. It was still early. Nonetheless, he didn't want to just barrel through and catch someone off guard if they were up as early as he had to be. That would be embarrassing. He pushed open the doors and entered.

There was a lot of greenery on the grounds, complemented by the traditional style of housing he figured was common of many dojos. As he made his way to the front door of the housing complex, he heard sounds off in the distance. Allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, he turned away from the door to round the corner near some trees.

"They're up pretty early," he commented. "I guess even the real deal can't let a moment go by without some kinda act-" He froze. "W-What the..?"

Before him, near a pond, stood a boy younger than him with jet-black hair, short and fastened into a pigtail. The boy was wearing a white tank top and yellow boxers with blue stripes. He was dressed like he had just woken up. Nothing unusual there. He lived here. It was early. What had the mailman frozen to the spot, however, was the young man's company.

A panda.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that if you ever wanna hit me, Pop!" the young man exclaimed, raising an arm to parry the beast's fast approaching claw. The panda snarled in agitation but did not stop, tossing slash after slash at the boy, who slyly ducked under each one, hair bouncing with each step, and catapulted himself into the air, landing on a stone fixture embedded near the water.

"Heh," the young man smirked, lowering his body into a battle stance of some sort. The panda let out a low growl before it too lowered itself into a stance mirroring the boys.

A fighting panda.

They're fighting.

The mailman bristled in fear as the two combatants took to the air to clash with one another. He watched on, and with slow movements, stared down at what he was carrying. Was it worth it?

M-Maybe I should just...go? Say I got lost on the way here? A splash in the pool woke him from his musings.

He peeked back towards the two, nearly collapsing in shock from the sight that greeted him.

The panda from earlier was now swinging around a tiny red haired girl like a model rocket! Where had the boy gone?! Was he okay?! The mailman had never seen anything like this before. If the girl was scared, she hid it under a thick veil of fury.

Once the animal lost its grip, she landed. One foot bounded right back off the ground while the other struck a blow right into the panda's shoulder. Not that it did much. The panda simply took the hit and started to retaliate against the girl's assault with its own. The mailman was speechless.

Should he call someone? A neighbor? A police officer?

Animal control?

The black and white beast unleashed a flurry of slashes at the girl, who dodged and weaved her way through them all as she tried to get closer to the panda. With a loud cry, she launched an uppercut right at the animal's head. It dodged her attack, and with the girl's temporarily blind spot, knocked its arm into her side, sending her sailing through the air before she even had a chance to properly register what was happening.

Th-uoooom!

The mailman wilted in horror as the red haired girl crashed into the stone wall near him with a thunderous boom! His eye twitched as he tried to come up with a plan to escape.

Now that its primary target was taken care of, the panda would no doubt be coming for him next, and he had no intention of being that thing's meal or plaything! He figured he could just drop the package, grab the girl (or what's left of her), and book it for the exit. But was it safe to be making such sudden movements around that thing?

Any plan of action his mess of a mind was attempting to make came to an abrupt halt when the dust of the explosion cleared itself and the girl leaned off of the ground more pissed than injured. "You think that hurt, old man?!" the redhead spat, wiping dirt off her chin. She arose in a dash and bolted right towards the panda which had tossed her aside just moments ago. "I'll show you..!"

And just like that, the two were back at it again.

The mailman looked onwards at their fight like an idiot, jaw sagging. This had to be some kind of prank, right? Yeah, a prank! His head whipped about. He was hoping to see his co-workers jump out of the bushes and yell, "gotcha!" but nothing ever came.

Out of his peripheral vision, he was brought out of his thoughts by a woman walking towards him with a large, decorated, wooden basket held between her arms.

"Good morning!" she said with a lovely smile. "I don't recall ever seeing you stop by the house. Are you a new mail carrier?" she asked, pointing at the package he had in a tension-bound death grip.

He blinked. "Uhh..." She had such a serene expression on her face, seemingly unfazed by the chaos before her. The woman had long chestnut brown hair tied into a ribbon, with the rest of her locks draped over her shoulder. She wore a yellow blouse and a lavender dress.

She seemed so tranquil, so beautiful.

So out of place.

She also seemed patient, and had been waiting for him to respond. He didn't just want to stand there looking dazed, so he said the first thing that came to mind.

"…Huh?"

Not his most profound moment, but the woman didn't seem to mind. She took in his expression and followed his eyes to the battle he knew she couldn't have just noticed. She tilted her head back at him. "Are you worried about something?" she asked. He was worried about her now.

"Umm, a-are you going to be alright, miss?" He pointed at the girl from earlier. "Is she? I mean-a panda? An actual panda?! "

"Everything's fine. We're having some friends of the family stay with us and they're a little rambunctious."

"I-I see." Friends of the family? A hulking panda and a miniature tank that walks off being tossed into stone? I thought I had woken up hours ago. He licked his lips. "…I'll just need you to sign here, please." He handed her the clipboard and pen to confirm he delivered his package. Once she finished, she handed it back to him and took the package and mail off of his hands, resting her basket on top of it.

She shook the box around a bit. "Clinking? Hmm, I wonder what's inside," she trailed off saying, and then focused her attention back on the mailman. "Thank you for delivering this," she beamed.

The mailman awkwardly tilted his hat in response. "Yeah…no problem..." The woman began making her way back inside the house, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

His head mechanically turned back towards the girl and panda only to see them resting near the pond, their mortal combat seemingly abandoned. The redhead was saying something to the beast. What? He didn't know. He wasn't sure hearing it would do any good. After what he just witnessed, the man's mind was all tuckered out.

His gaze lingered for a moment…and then he was out the door.

Once outside the grounds, he absentmindedly continued onto the rest of his route. He made a mental note to call his folks once he'd gotten off from work - after he repacked his unpacked his belongings, that is.

His parents were right, the city was scary. A relaxing life in the boring, old country didn't sound so bad after all.

After her encounter with the postman, Kasumi strolled back inside the Tendo residence. Her early morning market run would have to be put on hold for the time being.

As she closed the door, she readjusted the package in her arms and set her basket near the door for later along with her shoes. She stepped into the living room and was met with the tired stare of her sister in her adorable baggy pajamas. Kasumi had always thought the paw print design on them was rather cute.

The other brown haired girl gave Kasumi a tired stare, giving a quick wave as her big sister sat down on the mat beside her. She carefully placed her box down on the wooden table that Nabiki's coffee rested on.

"Hey, sis, what are you doing back so soon?" Nabiki asked. "I thought you were heading out."

Kasumi grabbed the mail from on top of the package and started sorting through the various letters, looking to find anything of relevance or importance. So far, nothing.

"I was, but I ran into the mailman on my way outside." She put aside a flyer from the stack. There were advertisements for new televisions and other household electronics, along with coupons for a new hot spring that had opened up. All junk mail, it seemed.

She moved on to the next envelope and looked up at her sister. "I was surprised to see you up so early. You tend to like to sleep in late on days like today." Nabiki's face scrunched up at that comment.

"Yes, well, we normally don't have alarm clocks as persistent as the one's outside," she sourly replied, turning to look at the martial arts duo that had interrupted her beauty sleep. It seemed they had calmed themselves down to some degree, though Ranma was still yelling at her panda of a father. It probably wouldn't be too long until they were at it again. Nabiki took a sip of her coffee.

"They're both so lively," Kasumi said with a light chuckle.

Nabiki knew this. She had sat down at the table watching them once she realized that sleep was a hopeless pursuit. Might as well see what the hubbub was about. Embrace wakefulness. The coffee helped her there.

It was funny last night, watching Ranma and Mr. Saotome bicker, toss each other around, and transform back and forth. Even funnier was the added mayhem her sister introduced to the mix. But by now the novelty was wearing off some. No one in the house had gotten much rest last night. Nabiki had still hung on for hope that she could get at least a few good hours' worth of shut-eye. She got a couple, only for it to be cut short by the idiots outside.

Nabiki had actually been looking forward to meeting Ranma, too. She came out all dolled up in a fabulous kimono and everything, fully prepared to make a good first impression if what she was told about him sounded good.

When she heard that he was traveling in China, he certainly seemed a little attractive for a moment. And if he was cute, well, all the better, right? Maybe he'd have trinkets or gifts or cuisine brought from another country that he could lavish on her. But alas, the only gift Ranma brought with him from China was entertainment. That, and another wallet to scrounge some personal income from if the mood struck her and she played her cards right. Which she would. Nabiki could live with that.

Now if only the Saotome's had kept to themselves until, say… nightfall? Yes, nightfall sounded good right about now.

"I give it less than a week before every fish in that koi pond is floating belly up," Nabiki speculated. Especially with the way those two carelessly crash in. It was going to be tough times ahead with curses that behaved the way theirs did.

Having finished with the mail, Kasumi brought a knife over to start working on the package she was given. "I hope that won't be the case," she said, struggling a bit with the knife. The tape was thick.

"And all of this because Ranma's dad filled him in on the good news," Nabiki said.

"What news is that?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that he'll be going to school tomorrow with Akane and me. Call it a hunch, but I don't think he cared very much for that plan. It didn't take long before our guests headed outside to settle their differences mano a mano." She thought for a moment. "I caught a few stray lines here and there… Something, something... Beatings? Beating it? China… I don't know. He sure can't wait to ditch us." She crossed her arms on the table and rested her head on them. "Mr. Saotome seems stubborn though, so I don't think they'll be leaving anywhere anytime soon."

Kasumi finally got the box open, carefully putting the wrapping paper to the side so it could easily be thrown away after she was finished.

"What's in the box?" Nabiki asked, sitting up some. Kasumi pulled out an assortment of plates, kitchen utensils, and other such items.

"Supplies."

"For the Saotomes?" Nabiki guessed, putting her head back down. Nothing to see there.

"Probably."

Soun began walking down the stairs.

"Isn't it funny that Daddy had the foresight to pick out all their kitchen supplies down to the napkin, but not enough to tell his daughters about an arranged marriage before he sprung it up on us like he did?"

Soun began walking back up the stairs.

"It was rather sudden," Kasumi agreed.

"No kidding." Nabiki said. "Hey, if it came down to it, would you have been alright with it? Let me get your take on this, sis."

"On what?"

Nabiki spun her hand around idly. "On this whole arranged marriage business. You know. If Daddy hadn't waited until the eleventh hour, would you have been okay getting hitched for something like this?"

Kasumi stopped and wondered. Would she have been? She wasn't seeing anyone, so it wouldn't have intruded on her romantic life. By itself, the idea of an arranged marriage doesn't sound so awful, but there tended to be more preparation normally involved with something like this, or at least more than the Tendo sisters had been afforded. For an important event meant to reinforce and bring together their family's martial arts schools, not a lot of effort seemed to go into setting the stage for such a thing. It spoke volumes that Kasumi couldn't be sure if she had ever heard of the name Saotome before her father brought it up to them just recently.

"I can't say," she said honestly. "There are a lot of things to consider, but I think I would have preferred to have met with the person Father selected beforehand. Father didn't know anything about Ranma. How old or young he was… His interests, what he was like…"

Nabiki nodded.

"But you never know what life will bring you. I guess that's what makes things exciting. It's always fascinating to have the opportunity to meet new people, so if the man Father chose was kind and caring, I'm sure everything would have turned out just fine."

Nabiki smirked. "Then it's a good thing we pawned him off on Akane, huh?"

"Nabiki!" Kasumi said, lightly scolding her sister. "Ranma isn't a bad person… And he and Akane do both have similar interests. They got along so well yesterday…before…"

"Before she found out he was a boy and tried to flatten his head in with this table?" Yes, that was how Kasumi remembered it.

It's unfortunate fate had it that her younger sister found Ranma in such a state. "It must have been quite a shock for her, but they have time." Kasumi cupped her hands together. "I think they have the chance to become wonderful friends, don't you agree? Who knows what's in store for them in the future?"

"A steady stream of problems, that's what," Nabiki mumbled, looking down at her coffee.

Curiosity couldn't escape her. She was particularly interested in seeing how strongly a certain someone would react in regards to the whole engagement affair. That fool had been after her sister since school started and it was highly unlikely he would take too well to recent news. This semester just might become one for the books.

At the thought, she heard another big splash outside. Things sounded like they were heating up again, and she'd be here to watch, if only because she had nothing better to do at the moment.

"Are you gonna stick around to see what happens?" Nabiki grinned at her sister. "You couldn't ask for better seats."

"I really should get going." Kasumi drew a concerned gaze outdoors. "Oh, my. I hope they aren't too rough with each other."

Outdoors in the Tendo yard, blue eyes trained themselves onto their target, expectant. He had kept her on her toes - that's for sure. A lot could be said about Genma Saotome, but her father was no pushover when it came to the arts. And neither was she, even as she was at the moment. A variety of ways to clobber him ran their way through her mind, hands on her knees, leaning, as she hovered near the edges of the koi pond.

In the beginning, adjusting herself for combat had taken a little bit of effort. Real combat, that is. Even from the start, she was leagues above what just about any other martial artist had to offer. Still, she didn't want her new body being any more of a hindrance than it already was. Teaching it how to fight properly would be a big relief.

My new body… What a crazy couple of weeks it's been.

There were so many differences to take into account: height, weight, balance, center of gravity, muscle size, hand size, foot size, leg length, arm reach, the lack of body parts, the addition of body parts - the list went on.

The ample fruits hanging off of her chest unsurprisingly didn't do any favors at all for her balance. And the way they swayed and rocked back and forth when she moved around too much, or at all... Figuring out how to deal with that one was a real nuisance. Still is, really. But after all the work she put into her female form during her post-Jusenkyo journey, Ranma had to admit that she felt pretty proud of herself. In only a few weeks she had modified a fighting style ingrained in her since childhood to the point where her new one could function about as well as the old, more or less.

One of the core principles of Anything Goes Martial Arts was adaptability, after all.

Granted, the styles and forms were still fundamentally the same, only tweaked a bit to take into account the contrast between her girl body and her real one. Some things were more obvious - others subtle - but all these tweaks and modifications brought with them their own problems.

Since she knew how to get rid of the curse, at least temporarily, she had to make sure that her cursed form's alterations didn't seep into her real body's movements, because then it'd screw things up on the other end and… What a pain…

And it shouldn't be, she knew, because the answer to every issue she's having with the thing was waiting somewhere back in China… Probably. Hopefully. Had to be! But her father was dead set on staying put for the time being.

So she unloaded all that frustration onto the old man. They even decided to make a little match out of it. Whoever got knocked onto the ground loses a point. The first to knock the other down five times claims ultimate victory. Simple match, simple rules. If Ranma won, Genma would have to get off his behind and try to find a way to get them back to China. If Genma won, Ranma would quit bugging him about it, the lazy bum.

Things were going good. Ranma was still in her male body at the time. He was winning. Then he heard Akane say goodbye to her sister as she went outside, decked out in some warm-up clothes. She must have been going exercising or something. Nothing to care about there, but on her way out she spotted him and shot him the stink eye. And for what? He was just minding his own business. That dumb tomboy didn't have any reason to be giving him strange looks when he hadn't said a word to her all morning. He hadn't even done anything.

Unfortunately, the distraction gave his father more than enough of an opportunity to land him flat on his tail. Leave it to the old man to celebrate getting in a cheap shot. Ranma knew he should have been paying more attention, but getting laughed at hadn't made that slip up any easier to swallow. A win for Genma. Yeah, so what? He knew he would turn it around.

And he had. After that, Ranma threw himself into the battle and back into the rhythm of things. The two had clashed some more, each entirely focused on the other. They had both changed into their cursed forms at some point in the fight, and now weren't fighting at all.

They had each lost four points.

Genma's face was currently underwater in the Tendo's koi pond.

He hadn't come up for air yet.

And it's been something like, a minute or so, she forgets.

Was he drowning?

"Get up, Pop. You ain't foolin' anyone," she commanded. She had seen him break out this same ploy time and time again. Pretend to be hurt or incapacitated to garner her sympathy or lower her guard, and then strike when she least expects it, sometimes to steal her food. Well, not today. She's not falling for it.

Instead, the girl crouched down and watched him float for a while. He'll get sick of playing possum eventually, she thought. And he can't stay dunked in that thing for long anyway. Man's gotta breathe. As long as she didn't take the bait, he'd give up.

And so, Ranma waited, at attention, her eyes narrowed and muscles anxious, ready for the moment he gets fed up with his charade and launches an attack in frustration that it failed. He was far from lumbering in that panda body of his, but the tiny powerhouse was quick on her feet, and she'd remind him of that…as soon as he stops kidding around.

The sun slowly began to peak out through the clouds. He remained as still as she was, his front side still submerged in the water. A few insects lighted on his frame, even.

The minutes passed by.

"P-Pop? It ain't gonna work, y'know?"

No response.

"You're better off just getting up and going back at it like a man. You'd waste less time that way."

Nothing.

"Pop?" Ranma rose, and carefully made her way around the pond where he had floated off to. Squatting and reaching down, she had meant to turn him over when she caught the ever so slight movement of his sides up close.

He was breathing.

That sneaky little-!

In an instant, Genma flipped over and tore his arm across the surface of the pond, sending a rush of water crashing into Ranma's face. She screaked and stumbled backward some, blinded, and readied herself just as she saw his claw come speeding towards her from the narrow window of her vision.

"Ha!" She dodged, ducking under his attack, fully ready to dash forward and tackle him in a flurry of punches. He rushed, sensing her intent, and kicked his leg out from under hers. Oh, no!

Sideways in the air and with only one way down, she started to panic. In a last-ditch effort, Ranma shifted her weight and positioned her right arm accordingly, hoping to quickly catapult herself back up once she touched the ground.

Instead, she slipped on the wet grass and fell.

"Damn it..!" she cursed, spitting out pieces of the yard and wiping her face with the back of her hand.

Ranma raised her head and looked up from her spot on the ground to see Genma tauntingly skipping in place with his hands on his hips. He was grinning as wide as his stupid panda face allowed, and looked quite pleased with himself for tricking his only child into believing he had met a watery end at her hand. The bastard.

Ranma shook her head. "Let's go again! That last one didn't count!" she demanded, pushing off of the wet surface, water trickling off from her clothes and hair. She blew a crimson lock out of her face and glared at the man-turned-animal before her.

Genma simply grumbled gibberish, shook himself off, and started towards the house. Ranma watched him go before slumping her shoulders. Realizing that it was a lost cause, she sighed and started wringing out her soaked cloths as best she could.

"Almost had him," she complained, "but he just had to go and pull a cheap trick like that, both of 'em. Splashin' me like that…" Deciding that it was as good as it was getting at the moment, she left her clothes alone to follow her panda of a father inside.

"How'd you even manage to stay under that long?" Ranma asked from behind him. He turned around with an expression too smug for her liking while holding up a straw. Really?

"When'd you have time to grab that?"

He heft up his shoulders, a common response, when he didn't forget that he couldn't talk. He probably grabbed that thing in secret before they started fighting, just in case. She would have to be extra cautious around him in future spars. He had a lot of access to small, useful objects now that they were staying with the Tendos.

Nabiki briefly gazed up at them as they walked in. She hummed at their worn appearance before turning her attention to something else, like flipping through some magazine at the table.

"Kasumi boiled some water for you before she went out. It's in the kitchen right on the stove," she told them, never once taking her eyes off the page.

Ranma gave her thanks and Genma grunted out a response before they both headed into the kitchen to revert back to normal. Ranma still didn't know what to make of the older girl yet, but she had made a far better impression on her than some other people. Well, minus the groping.

Genma poured the kettle water over his head, changing back to human form. How his clothes and glasses reappeared when he did, she didn't know, but for the sake of all the girls they had living here, she was grateful.

"Ahh~," he sighed. "It's good to be back." Genma was about to pass the kettle over to Ranma when he caught her expression. "What is it, Boy? Something bothering you? You hungry? I know I am."

"You don't plan on leaving Japan at all, do you?" she asked, barely a question.

"Of course not!" he quickly answered. "We've already settled in. You're getting married, the dojos are becoming one, all of your hopes and dreams are finally coming true! Who would I be to take that away from you?"

"All of that's your dreams! Yours! Not mine!" She thumbed at herself. "I didn't dream of uniting your precious martial arts schools! I didn't dream of marryin' some tomboy! And I certainly didn't dream of being stuck here like this, waiting for it all to happen!" She grabbed a handful of her chest. "Are you tellin' me this was all part of your big plan-?!"

"Urk!" she cried. Genma, having had enough of her rant, promptly bashed her head with the kettle.

"Quit your complaining, Ranma!" She held her aching head with her hands. That kettle's pretty sturdy. "You're almost an adult now and I've indulged you long enough. It's time to step off of that tricycle you've been using to ride your way through life and man up! Face your responsibilities with the dignity and honor that I've planted in you since birth-!"

"Gah!" he cried. Ranma, having had enough of his rant, promptly punched him in the face with her fist.

"You can't teach me values you never had to begin with," she grumbled, annoyed.

He brushed it off. "Now look, I understand your frustrations but you have to look beyond your comfort zone and think about how your actions will affect the people around you."

"What people?"

Genma set the kettle down as placed his hands on his son'sshoulders. He had to reach a little lower now, however, since she was his daughter at the moment. "A fit, strapping, handsome young man like yourself shouldn't be out on the road while his soon-to-be wife waits and worries," Genma spoke seriously. Ranma gave him a dry look and heard Nabiki snort from the other room.

She shrugged her father's hands off of her. "And what about you?" she accused. "You should be on my side, not fighting me on this. Or do you want to be stuck as a panda for the rest of your life?"

"Of course I don't, but I hardly see the issue now," he grinned, folding both of his arms confidently across his chest. "We know what activates the curse and we know how to undo it. Really, how difficult can it be to keep away from cold water? Hahahaha-"

Splash!

Genma blinked as the water dripped down from his furry head.

Ranma glared silently at him.

Mechanically, both their heads lifted to stare up at the now dripping roof. Nabiki quirked a brow at them, then went back to her reading.

"I told Daddy it was only a matter of time before the ceiling started leaking if he didn't let a professional take a look at the plumbing. Some people can be sooo stubborn..."

"What'd I tell ya?!" Ranma shrieked, pointing at her father. He ignored her and dully sulked back through the living room without even bothering to change.

Genma plopped down in the hallway near the opened door and stared outside, defeated. Nabiki turned a page. "Maybe Kasumi should start adding bamboo to her list of shopping items." The panda's head dipped even lower.

Ranma spared one last sharp look at him before lifting the kettle, pouring it on herself, and placing it back on the counter. "I'm going up to my room," came a lower voice.

The pigtailed boy slowly ascended the staircase, hands at his sides in fists. He realized now there was no chance of convincing his father to come back with him to China. He had tried, but from the start he knew he'd be pounding up against a brick wall.

Genma could be as stubborn as they come, and once an idea had wormed its way into his head, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him from acting on it, wherever it led. That reckless, damn-the-consequences way of thinking had gotten the Saotome's into more trouble than Ranma could think to remember, and he didn't see any sign of it slowing down. But that was fine by him. So be it, then! He'd look for a way to that dumb country all his own, and reflecting on it, maybe that was for the best. Least I won't be handing him any more chances to screw things up.

Walking on the slick, wooden finish of the second floor, he stopped at the sliding door of his room. Out the corner of his eye, further down, he caught a glimpse of Soun Tendo, crouched, reading a newspaper.

In the hallway.

…Well, I guess it's his house. Guy can read wherever he wants.

The darker-skinned, long-haired, mustached figure was dressed in the same faded green gi Ranma saw him in last night. For the first time, he wondered how many students this place had, and how the Tendo side of Anything Goes compared to the Saotome's. This Soun Tendo was the head of the dojo here. Not to mention, he trained alongside his father all those years ago. It stands to reason that he should be pretty strong.

Something to come back to later, Ranma figured.

Turning his attention away from Soun, Ranma slid open his door to enter. The sudden noise jolted the man upright in terror. His head whipped around frantically, but when he saw it was only Ranma, he visibly relaxed. Breathing a sigh of relief, Soun waved his arm in greeting while walking up to speak to the pigtailed boy.

"Good morning, Son," he chirped. "I hope you and your father are finding our house well. I heard you and Saotome outside sparring. Early to rise, are we?"

"Uh… Something like that."

The man laughed. "I can remember those days quite well myself," he reminisced. "Saotome and I were quite the active pair when we were younger. Why, I can hardly recall a moment where we weren't searching for the next big challenge to sharpen our skills. It was fun back then, exploring the world for the most exotic training locations, or racking our brains to devise even more brutal methods of pushing ourselves."

Hard to imagine someone who used to run around with a guy like my pop settled down in a nice place like this, the pigtailed boy thought. And had three daughters to boot. "Sounds nice," Ranma told him. "I dunno how much of that I'll be doing here," he murmured.

"Nonsense." Soun clasped his shoulder, smiling heartily. "You've only just arrived. You haven't seen all that Tokyo has yet to offer. Now, there's the training hall in building over to the right of this one when you find yourself needing a reliable place to practice in." His eyes glinted over. "I've-uh, heard that you begin school tomorrow... Why not take the time today to get acquainted with the area? I could have Akane show you around if you want..?" he trailed off.

"Um…" Ranma gave him a strained look. "Yeah, no thanks. Besides, I'm pretty sure she took off earlier." Soun's expression dipped at this.

"Ah, yes. Her morning runs." He let go of the boy before giving him a firm pat on the back. "Well, I'm sure she'll be back soon if you change your mind."

Yeah, right. "Uh-huh." He turned, getting ready to go into his room. Soun was still standing there, glancing at the staircase. Ranma shifted towards the man, his curiosity winning out.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Soun blinked. "Huh? Ohnonono, not at all. Haha." He gulped before turning stone-faced. "Tell me, are my daughters still downstairs?"

"One of them is. Aaaaaah…Kasumi, I think, left to go do something."

Soun sighed wearily "I see." With that, Ranma again started to slide open the door when something hit him.

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. The ceiling in the kitchen's leaking." Soun frowned at this.

"I suppose I've had it coming. There's a problem with the water main in the house at the moment. I've sent for someone to come and take a look at it but it may be a while before they arrive." Great. "Worse come to worse, we'll have to stop using the washroom for the time being and move our business to the public bathhouse. That'll prevent the leaks from getting any more problematic than they are."

Hopefully, the repair guy shows up before then. "Gotcha. Talk to ya later, Mr. Tendo."

Ranma entered his shared bedroom and shut the door behind him. He let loose a breath as he eased in.

Walking further into the room, he knelt down at his traveling bag. He and his father still hadn't finished unpacking from the night before. They didn't have much, but the allure of a room and bed after so many weeks of madness and mayhem was too tantalizing to pass up. They were exhausted by the time they set the mat on the floor, and sleep when they hit the pillow.

The Tendo's had set them up in a pretty good room, too. It was large enough for both of them with space to spare. There was the slightest hint of décor in it: a calendar on the left-hand corner of the wall, a vase with plants placed in it near the window, a dresser, a small desk… All very barebones, but that was to be expected of a guest room. Ranma wasn't sure what to do with the plants, though. Hopefully, they were artificial. If he had to keep up with watering them, they were as good as dead.

Ranma finished rooting through his pack and pulled out a clean change of clothes. He'd have to make a quick trip to the washroom before it ended up getting shut down like Mr. Tendo mentioned.

The Tendo family patriarch had acted all chummy with him earlier, like he had known the boy his entire life. Maybe it was only natural for him since he was friends with his father, but it still felt a little strange.

To the man's credit, he was trying to help Ranma feel at home, even if his hospitality didn't come from the most selfless place.

Soun had gone through a real shock when he discovered that his panda-delivered son-in-law was a girl. A revelation or two later, however, and he took Ranma's sex-changing curse well enough not to throw off his plans. Either he really didn't care, he was that desperate to unite their family's schools, or he was off his rocker. Any one of those could be the case. Ranma didn't really know the guy yet, but anyone who was friends - good friends - with Genma Saotome of all people had to have more than their fair share of screws loose.

The two older girls, Kasumi and Nabiki, didn't look like they were all that bothered with the whole situation. Well, he figured they weren't. It was a bit hard to tell with how well he knew them.

The oldest daughter treated him kindly after his match with Akane, and later after said girl knocked him over the head with a table. Kasumi seemed the good-natured type. She acted the part, she was pleasant enough. She and her sister had practically raced to push him onto the youngest sibling, but…he honestly couldn't blame them for trying. They didn't want to be tied down at their age any more than he did.

The middle Tendo, well…she definitely hadn't skipped a beat when it came to him. It was kind of hard to tell what she was thinking. She seemed pretty casual, laid-back. He didn't take too kindly to people invading his personal space like little miss grabby had, but he's met way worse.

Genma, his father, always the perpetrator of mayhem, just went along with the flow of things as he always had. Ranma hadn't expected less. Only now the man had roped in other people to ride his roller coaster of chaos for what looked to be long-term. It seemed long-term. His father and Mr. Tendo made it sound long-term. They were all gung-ho about the whole marriage thing, but Ranma wasn't sure about this whole deal quite yet. Firstly, he had zero interest in being engaged, period. Secondly, this wouldn't be the first time that he's 'settled down'. He had been part of plenty rodeos before. Something would come up, his father would catch wind of some new or exciting thing, and they'd uproot from whatever home they had created like it never even existed. A part of him thought this time might be different, but he wasn't too keen on sticking around to see what would come from that.

Which brought him to… Akane... He snorted. God help him if he had to spend a week living under the same roof as that hypocrite. It was ironic that the person who should understand best how he felt about this had turned on him. Ain't that a laugh? She complained to high heaven about not wanting to get married to him - like she was the only one on that boat. It's not like he asked for this any more than she had. But even so, she took it like he was in on some grand scheme to claim her hand in matrimony.

Oh, but everything was my fault... She walked in on him, stood there and gaped at him in all his naked glory, and had the nerve to call him a pervert? As if! At least she had a towel covering up most of her naughty bits. Then, without saying a thing, she rushed to the living room to pick out something to clobber him with. She had stayed quiet and listened to his father explain about what happened, sure, but after that, all bets were off. She lashed out at him like he was some kind of freak, calling him a pervert, and in front of all those people, too, her family. She didn't care who she was badmouthing him in front of.

Ranma stood up. Perfect. Now, he was aggravated. Well, sorry Pop, but you tired. The last thing he needed was to be chained to a girl with an attitude like that one's. Let some other unfortunate soul have her.

The boy stepped down into the washroom, clothes hung over his shoulder. He'd wash up real quick downstairs and then get dressed for the day. He didn't see Kasumi around anywhere, which was disappointing because apparently she was the cook of the house.

Great. Who knew how long she'd be with breakfast. Ranma let the water run in the furo until it was filled enough to enter.

He lowered himself into the bath to soak. It was nice and warm, which felt especially refreshing after being dunked in cold water so many times. Which reminded him… If that repair guy didn't get to the Tendo's quickly enough, just how much trouble was he in?

The last thing Ranma wanted was to hit a cold spot somewhere in the public bath and end up a spectacle while trying to relax. That would be the worst. He shook away those unnerving thoughts.

That's the kind of thing I'm talkin' about. Trouble, that's all this is. Just... he caught himself. I can't go spending the rest of my life stuck living like this. No way. He shuffled some in the tub, feeling all at once constricted. Ranma leaned his head over to the arm he had hanging off the edge of the furo, blankly staring at the muscular appendage, and then scoffed, turning away. I gotta break this dumb curse as soon as possible. The fewer people around who think of him as some sort of freak, the better.

This inevitably brought him back to last night. Again. The thing is, Akane was actually really nice to him at first. Once Soun took the dive, she up and asked him if he wanted to be her friend. That's it. A hand on the shoulder and a simple smile. It wasn't anything special, but…it didn't seem all that bad a deal at the time. Ranma woefully outclassed her, but it was still kind of fun hanging with her in the training hall. After everything he had been through up to that point, things were starting to look up a little…

But he knew how well that turned out.

Ranma closed his eyes. With nothing planned for the day, he figured he would take Soun's advice after all. He'd go outside and just...walk for a while, to get familiar with the area. Alone.

He'd try not to get lost. Ranma didn't think he would. He didn't have any destination in mind or any idea of how far he would go. He'd just stretch his legs some more before Kasumi came back. If something happened and he couldn't find his way to the dojo by ground, the rooftops were always an option.

As Ranma leaned further in and the water rose to his neck, he couldn't help but let his mind hone in on a simple feeling. Some might even call it a premonition.

"Staying here's gonna suck."

AN: I started writing this a few years back and kinda just stopped. Maybe I'd poke at it every once in a while, but I didn't work on it as much. I'll be going through, editing and posting what chapters I had and then…continuing on from there, I guess.

This story's based primarily on the anime's version of the series. Cover art by Suna (xxsignitifato).