Chapter One: Meet Teji!
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Ranma shifted at his desk. The teacher was late, which was pretty unusual. He glanced over at Akane who had her face in a book she obviously wasn't really reading. Suddenly, the door creeked open and the teacher stepped in and shuffled some papers at his desk. Adjusting his glasses, he addressed the class. "I understand that we are getting a new student in class," he said, turning his attention to Ranma. "He might interest you, Mr. Saotome. He seems to have been on a training voyage for martial arts and has just returned from China." Ranma tilted his head, for once listening to his sensei.
Slowly, the knob on the door turned and a tall boy with black hair, which hung in a long braid (down to almost his waist). His eyes were a deep brown with green highlights and his blue sleevless, Chinese style shirt seemed a bit small for him. As he bowed, a small drip of water trickled from his hair. "Ohayo," he said, grinning confidently, "My name's Tejina Musha." He smirked in Ranma's direction. "Call me Teji."
Ranma was amazed at just how much this boy looked like him, as were the others. The girls were only intersted in how good he looked and they gave the suddenly blushing boy google eyes. "Take your seat, Mr. Musha," sensei said with no hint of emotion. "And we will begin class."
At lunch, Ranma spotted two girls talking to Tejina, who was blushing and scratching his head. He listened in for no good reason. "Hey," one girl flirted, giving Teji a nudge, "I hear you traveled to China, huh? Wow! Must've been tough! You know, you're not the only one who traveled to China." She pointed to Ranma, who hadn't realized he had been standing in their plain view. "Ranma Saotome did, too. Hey, you got a girlfri-" Teji blushed and put up his hand, shutting her up. He excused himself and walked up to Ranma.
"Hi, you must be the famous Ranma Saotome, huh?" the boy asked, bowing to him and laughing. "I guess you already know, but I'm Teji."
Ranma nodded and bowed back. "Yeah," he replied, smiling in a friendly manner. "Nice to meet you." Teji nodded back.
Suddenly the bell rang. "Oh damn." Teji sighed. He turned back to Ranma one last time before heading for class. "That vacant lot by Hiroshi street... you know it right? Meet me there after school." He walked into the building.
Akane appeared next to Ranma and watched the other boy disappear from view. "So," she asked. "What were you two talking about?" Ranma shrugged.
"He seems nice," he answered, walking with her towards class. "Though I'm pretty sure he just challenged me to a duel after school." Akane sighed and shook her head.
Ranma kept an eye on Teji a bit during class. Hey, know your opponent, right? He seemed normal enough, though he liked to stay clear of flirty girls. Ranma knew the feeling. Sensei interupted his train of thought by announcing a bathroom break.
Teji stood, obviously not sure where the bathroom was. Ranma nudged him and signaled for him to follow. "Come on. I'll show you where it is."
As they walked down the hall, the two made some small talk and laughed about the girls from lunch. Ranma stopped in front of the boy's bathroom and held open the door. "Here it is, the eighth wonder of the world." He laughed.
Teji bit his lip and then waved his hand in front of him in dismissle. "No," he answered, blushing slightly, "I don't got to go. I'll just get a drink."
Ranma pulled the boy in by the back of his shirt. "Oh, come on. Anything that gets us out of class." Teji's blush deepened and he protested, but was ignored. "Besides, I want to talk to you." Teji sighed and followed him in.
"So," Ranma said, hopping onto the sink and kicking his feet. "You've been training in China, right? You a martial artist?" Teji nodded.
"And I'm guessing you are, too?" he ventured, blushing madly and turning away from a boy using the urinal. Ranma cocked an eyebrow but ignored this.
"Yep," he replied, grinning somewhat arrogantly and laughing. "The best. No one can beat me; just thought I'd warn you before our fight today."
Teji grinned back and crossed his arms, matching Ranma smile-for-smile. "Is that so?" he replied, "Well, I should warn you that I'm the best of the best." He stuck out his tounge jokingly and Ranma laughed.
School seemed to move quickly, and the time finally came. Teji, Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki walked together to the vacant lot and the two boys dropped their bookbags in the corner. Nabiki and Akane sat down to watch, the older girl crunching an apple. "Okay, Saotome-San," Teji said with a wry smile. "I'll give you the first move."
Ranma dropped into an offensive stance as Teji's became defensive. "Okay," he retorted, smiling back, "But I won't need more than one move!" With that, he dashed forward and began throwing numorous punches at the other boy. Teji blocked most and ducked under the others. `He's good.' Ranma thought silently. He brought his knee to Teji's stomach.
Teji took a surprised step back. "Hey," he said, smile returning. "You aren't half bad." He took an offensive stance of his own and did a flip in the air, landing a kick straight into Ranma's chest. He stumbled back and gasped in shock. The grin left his face. Sure, this was a friendly test of skill, but it was a serious one.
Ranma ran back towards his opponent and threw a series of agile kicks and punches toward Teji, who dodged most but was clipped a few times before leaping onto the fence and standing on the post with one foot, arms raised in the air like the wings of a crane. "Come on." He beckoned.
Ranma obligied. He surprised both Teji and his two spectators by striking, not Teji, but the post on which he stood. It snapped in half and as Tejina fell he flipped him over his shoulder. Teji would have hit the cement, but he did a backflip and wobbled to his feet.
The longer-pig-tailed-boy recovered quickly and ran back towards Ranma, punching him three times. One punch hit its target and Ranma landed on his butt on the ground. He slowly sat back up.
"Ranma, prepare to die!!!" a voice rose up as Ryoga Hibiki charged, umbrella forward, at his adversary. Ranma leaped above the attack and Ryoga snorted, facing him.
Ranma crossed his arms in irritation. "Ryoga, what'd I tell you about butting into a man-to-man fight?" Akane got up and gave the Eternal Lost Boy a friendly bow.
"Konnichiwa, Ryoga!" she chirped brightly, earning an annoyed grumble from her fiance'. "When did you get in?"
Ryoga blushed and waved to Akane. "H-hi, Akane!" he replied, smiling broadly. "I just got in from Hokkaido not long ago."
Teji startled the fanged boy when he tapped him on the back. "Who are you and what's going on?" he questioned, giving Ranma a pouty look.
"Oh. Tejina, that's Ryoga, the resident pig-boy of Nerima." Ranma obliged, getting a disgusted look from the "pig-boy".
"Ranma, you are such a jerk!" Akane snapped, slamming her trusty mallet into his head. She huffed and turned to Teji and Ryoga, who looked amused. "Teji, Ryoga's a friend of our's. He travels a lot."
Teji bowed to Ryoga, who did the same. "Nice to meet you." He greeted respectfully. Ryoga replied the same.
"What about our duel?" Ranma butted in eagerly. Nabiki stretched her arms, bored, and tossed her apple core in the waste basket to her right.
"Ranma, just forget the stupid thing, you idiot." Akane growled, threatening him with a waving fist. Akane brightened and turned back to "pig boy" and Teji. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you two come to dinner at our place, the Tendo Dojo? It would be nice and I could help cook the meal!"
Ranma made a gagging face at the thought of Akane cooking. The irratated tomboy slammed the broken fence peg into his head. Ryoga smiled. "R-r-really, Akane?" he replied. "I'd love to! I'm sure your cooking will be wonderful!"
Tejina scratched his head. "I don't know..." Ranma peeled himself off the ground and patted his new friend on the back.
"Come on, Tej." He said in a chirpy voice. "You can't leave me alone with these idiots!" The two lauged and Akane looked thoroughly angry.
"Well..." Teji thought, rubbing his chin. "I guess it wouldn't hurt anything. I"d love to come, if you'd have me." Akane and Ranma nodded while Ryoga just blushed, thinking of a night at Akane's.
It wasn't long before the dinner at the Tendos'. Tejina sat next to Ranma, who had Akane on his other side and Nabiki and Ryoga across from them and Mr. Tendo and Saotome at the heads of the table.
Kasumi walked into the dining room later, setting glasses of tea by Genma, Soun, Ranma, Akane, Ryoga, Tejina, Nabiki, and at her place. "It'll be done shortly." She said with a cheerful smile, returning to the kitchen after leaving the hot kettle on the table for self-serve refills.
"So, Tejina," Nabiki questioned, sipping her tea, "Where do you live?" Teji rubbed the back of his head and looked a little embarressed.
"Actually..." he replied, setting his tea down and folding his hands, "I don't have anywhere to live. My mom died when I was ten during a sparring match and my dad only pops up off and on. I was planning on setting up a tent at that lot for a while."
"Oh, that's a shame." Soun said sympathetically. Then, he grinned happily. "I know. Why don't you stay with us? There's some extra space in the guest room where Saotome and Ranma are staying and I'm sure they'd love to have you!" Ranma smiled and nodded.
Teji smiled brightly, looking toward the head Tendo. "You really wouldn't mind?" he asked. The others nodded and smiled back. "If you really think it's okay, I'd love to stay with you until I get back on my feet."
Kasumi walked in at that moment and placed the food on the table.
"Okay, it's all done." She said, sitting down. Teji woofed down his food as fast as Ranma and Genma. He sighed contentedly.
"That was great, Kasumi-San." Tejina complemented, swishing around the last tiny bit of his tea. "Could you please pass me that kettle, there?"
Kasumi nodded and handed the kettle to the boy. He was about to pour it in his cup but Genma suddenly attacked the remnents of his son's food, bumping into Ranma who fell over on top of Teji.
"Aahgh!" came the voice under Ranma. A different voice... a female voice. The pig-tailed boy slowly got off of his friend, only to find a pig-tailed girl with dark brown hair in his place. The clothes that had been a bit big for "him" suddenly fit nicely. "Uhhmmm..." Teji sat back up and rubbed her arm, embarressed and at a loss for words.
Nabiki was the first to come to her senses. "Explain." She said simply. Teji nodded and, with a sad sigh, began her story...
"It was a while back, about two months now, I suppose. I was by myself, training in China and looking for some Jusenkyo Springs training grounds. The guide advised me to turn back and told me it was dangerous. That only made me want to train there more.
I leaped onto the first pole that stuck out of one of the small springs. "No! Please, ma'am!" the guide pleaded. "Is not safe! Very bad if fall in spring!"
I snorted. "I just won't fall then, will I?" I began to do my katas, hopping from peg to peg. I wondered what made this place so special. I wish I had never found out.
I was busy training. So busy, in fact, that I didn't notice the storm clouds accumulating overhead. Of course, those poles sticking out of the springs seemed to be just begging to get hit by lightning.
I dove out of the way of the bolt, diving into the spring water as I did so. It was so weird. My body felt all tingly and funny and I just didn't feel... right. I popped above the water and saw a shocked guide standing over me.
"Aiyaa!" he yelled. "You fall in Spring of Drowned Man! Very tragic story of young man what drown there three thousand five hundred year ago. Whoever fall in cursed spring take body of young man. You see for yourself?"
I checked, you know where. Sure enough, I was a guy. Boy was I PISSED! When he told me hot water would change me back, I was relieved. Until he explained that cold water would always return me to guy form no matter what."
Teji sighed as she finished the story. Her audience was hushed. Ranma looked at the now girl in shock. "Jusenkyo?" he mimicked. Tejina nodded. Akane grabbed a glass of ice water off the table and splashed it all over Ranma, taking care not to hit the sex-changing guest.
"Gaah!" the red-headed female glowered at her fiancee, who grinned back evilly. Teji cocked her head. Onna-Ranma sighed. "Me too." She rung her braid out. "My pop and I, actually. He turns into a big fat panda."
"Oh my Kami-Sama," Teji gasped. She then smiled and laughed. "It's good to see I'm not the only one. So you turn into a girl, huh?" She giggled and Ranma splashed her with another glass.
"Look who's laughing." The "girl" retorted playfully. Teji huffed and pulled his wet black hair out of his face.
"Oh my." Kasumi said in her usual tone. "If Tejina-Kun... umm... Tejina... is really a girl, then she couldn't possibly stay in Ranma's room, could she?"
Soun shook his head and laughed, patting Teji on his now solid muscular back. "No need to worry, Kasumi." He said with a smile. "Tejina here is from the Musha Clan, right? Well, they can't have a relationship with anyone their father doesn't arrange for them."
"Well, that's not fair!" Akane puffed, crossing her arms. "But I still don't think she should sleep in Ranma's room, seeing as her father's not around or anything." Tejina cocked his head, wondering why it mattered.
"You see, Teji-Kun," Nabiki explained, to the girl-turned-boy's great annoyance of the word "kun" being used. "Akane and Ranma are engaged, as he is with several others. She just doesn't want you to, you know, fool around behind her back." Akane blushed.
Ranma poured some of the hot water from the kettle over the now HIS head, then passed it to Tejina. The girl shook her hair slightly and blushed. "By my honor, I can never love a man. Clan law." The others looked at her sympathetically.
"So, father," Kasumi changed the subject, patting more rice in her saki bowl. "You say you've heard of the Musha Clan?"
Genma and Soun nodded. "Yes," the Tendo replied, setting down his empty tea cup and sighing contentedly. "A very strict group. Last on the list of importance is their own lives. Only the strongest survive this martial arts group, the others are usually killed by their superiors."
Akane looked sick at the thought and Teji nodded, sighing sadly. "Yes, I did have a younger brother..." she sopped up some of the spilled water with her napkin. "But my grandfather was forced to kill him in combat for his... weakness."
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Kasumi said in a motherly tone. Tejina shook her head and laughed, indicating that it was not an important subject to speak of.
Akane got up and took her plate to the kitchen, stopping at the counter for a second to think. `I don't care what law she has,' she mumbled in her head, sighing as she walked back toward the dining room. `She still has no business living in the same room as my stupid jerk of a fiance!' She smiled, knowing that she had nothing against the poor girl. She actually liked her. Maybe she could help her with martial arts.
She yawned, begining to walk up the stares. "Well, it was really nice to meet you, Tejina." She said kindly. "It's awefully late, though. I'm going to go to bed." Ryoga watched her with burning intent as she disappeared toward her room.
He turned and stopped for a moment by the front door. "I better head back myself." He said, bowing before opening the door. "Thanks for having me and it was good to meet you, Teji." The girl waved as he left.
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Ranma shifted at his desk. The teacher was late, which was pretty unusual. He glanced over at Akane who had her face in a book she obviously wasn't really reading. Suddenly, the door creeked open and the teacher stepped in and shuffled some papers at his desk. Adjusting his glasses, he addressed the class. "I understand that we are getting a new student in class," he said, turning his attention to Ranma. "He might interest you, Mr. Saotome. He seems to have been on a training voyage for martial arts and has just returned from China." Ranma tilted his head, for once listening to his sensei.
Slowly, the knob on the door turned and a tall boy with black hair, which hung in a long braid (down to almost his waist). His eyes were a deep brown with green highlights and his blue sleevless, Chinese style shirt seemed a bit small for him. As he bowed, a small drip of water trickled from his hair. "Ohayo," he said, grinning confidently, "My name's Tejina Musha." He smirked in Ranma's direction. "Call me Teji."
Ranma was amazed at just how much this boy looked like him, as were the others. The girls were only intersted in how good he looked and they gave the suddenly blushing boy google eyes. "Take your seat, Mr. Musha," sensei said with no hint of emotion. "And we will begin class."
At lunch, Ranma spotted two girls talking to Tejina, who was blushing and scratching his head. He listened in for no good reason. "Hey," one girl flirted, giving Teji a nudge, "I hear you traveled to China, huh? Wow! Must've been tough! You know, you're not the only one who traveled to China." She pointed to Ranma, who hadn't realized he had been standing in their plain view. "Ranma Saotome did, too. Hey, you got a girlfri-" Teji blushed and put up his hand, shutting her up. He excused himself and walked up to Ranma.
"Hi, you must be the famous Ranma Saotome, huh?" the boy asked, bowing to him and laughing. "I guess you already know, but I'm Teji."
Ranma nodded and bowed back. "Yeah," he replied, smiling in a friendly manner. "Nice to meet you." Teji nodded back.
Suddenly the bell rang. "Oh damn." Teji sighed. He turned back to Ranma one last time before heading for class. "That vacant lot by Hiroshi street... you know it right? Meet me there after school." He walked into the building.
Akane appeared next to Ranma and watched the other boy disappear from view. "So," she asked. "What were you two talking about?" Ranma shrugged.
"He seems nice," he answered, walking with her towards class. "Though I'm pretty sure he just challenged me to a duel after school." Akane sighed and shook her head.
Ranma kept an eye on Teji a bit during class. Hey, know your opponent, right? He seemed normal enough, though he liked to stay clear of flirty girls. Ranma knew the feeling. Sensei interupted his train of thought by announcing a bathroom break.
Teji stood, obviously not sure where the bathroom was. Ranma nudged him and signaled for him to follow. "Come on. I'll show you where it is."
As they walked down the hall, the two made some small talk and laughed about the girls from lunch. Ranma stopped in front of the boy's bathroom and held open the door. "Here it is, the eighth wonder of the world." He laughed.
Teji bit his lip and then waved his hand in front of him in dismissle. "No," he answered, blushing slightly, "I don't got to go. I'll just get a drink."
Ranma pulled the boy in by the back of his shirt. "Oh, come on. Anything that gets us out of class." Teji's blush deepened and he protested, but was ignored. "Besides, I want to talk to you." Teji sighed and followed him in.
"So," Ranma said, hopping onto the sink and kicking his feet. "You've been training in China, right? You a martial artist?" Teji nodded.
"And I'm guessing you are, too?" he ventured, blushing madly and turning away from a boy using the urinal. Ranma cocked an eyebrow but ignored this.
"Yep," he replied, grinning somewhat arrogantly and laughing. "The best. No one can beat me; just thought I'd warn you before our fight today."
Teji grinned back and crossed his arms, matching Ranma smile-for-smile. "Is that so?" he replied, "Well, I should warn you that I'm the best of the best." He stuck out his tounge jokingly and Ranma laughed.
School seemed to move quickly, and the time finally came. Teji, Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki walked together to the vacant lot and the two boys dropped their bookbags in the corner. Nabiki and Akane sat down to watch, the older girl crunching an apple. "Okay, Saotome-San," Teji said with a wry smile. "I'll give you the first move."
Ranma dropped into an offensive stance as Teji's became defensive. "Okay," he retorted, smiling back, "But I won't need more than one move!" With that, he dashed forward and began throwing numorous punches at the other boy. Teji blocked most and ducked under the others. `He's good.' Ranma thought silently. He brought his knee to Teji's stomach.
Teji took a surprised step back. "Hey," he said, smile returning. "You aren't half bad." He took an offensive stance of his own and did a flip in the air, landing a kick straight into Ranma's chest. He stumbled back and gasped in shock. The grin left his face. Sure, this was a friendly test of skill, but it was a serious one.
Ranma ran back towards his opponent and threw a series of agile kicks and punches toward Teji, who dodged most but was clipped a few times before leaping onto the fence and standing on the post with one foot, arms raised in the air like the wings of a crane. "Come on." He beckoned.
Ranma obligied. He surprised both Teji and his two spectators by striking, not Teji, but the post on which he stood. It snapped in half and as Tejina fell he flipped him over his shoulder. Teji would have hit the cement, but he did a backflip and wobbled to his feet.
The longer-pig-tailed-boy recovered quickly and ran back towards Ranma, punching him three times. One punch hit its target and Ranma landed on his butt on the ground. He slowly sat back up.
"Ranma, prepare to die!!!" a voice rose up as Ryoga Hibiki charged, umbrella forward, at his adversary. Ranma leaped above the attack and Ryoga snorted, facing him.
Ranma crossed his arms in irritation. "Ryoga, what'd I tell you about butting into a man-to-man fight?" Akane got up and gave the Eternal Lost Boy a friendly bow.
"Konnichiwa, Ryoga!" she chirped brightly, earning an annoyed grumble from her fiance'. "When did you get in?"
Ryoga blushed and waved to Akane. "H-hi, Akane!" he replied, smiling broadly. "I just got in from Hokkaido not long ago."
Teji startled the fanged boy when he tapped him on the back. "Who are you and what's going on?" he questioned, giving Ranma a pouty look.
"Oh. Tejina, that's Ryoga, the resident pig-boy of Nerima." Ranma obliged, getting a disgusted look from the "pig-boy".
"Ranma, you are such a jerk!" Akane snapped, slamming her trusty mallet into his head. She huffed and turned to Teji and Ryoga, who looked amused. "Teji, Ryoga's a friend of our's. He travels a lot."
Teji bowed to Ryoga, who did the same. "Nice to meet you." He greeted respectfully. Ryoga replied the same.
"What about our duel?" Ranma butted in eagerly. Nabiki stretched her arms, bored, and tossed her apple core in the waste basket to her right.
"Ranma, just forget the stupid thing, you idiot." Akane growled, threatening him with a waving fist. Akane brightened and turned back to "pig boy" and Teji. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you two come to dinner at our place, the Tendo Dojo? It would be nice and I could help cook the meal!"
Ranma made a gagging face at the thought of Akane cooking. The irratated tomboy slammed the broken fence peg into his head. Ryoga smiled. "R-r-really, Akane?" he replied. "I'd love to! I'm sure your cooking will be wonderful!"
Tejina scratched his head. "I don't know..." Ranma peeled himself off the ground and patted his new friend on the back.
"Come on, Tej." He said in a chirpy voice. "You can't leave me alone with these idiots!" The two lauged and Akane looked thoroughly angry.
"Well..." Teji thought, rubbing his chin. "I guess it wouldn't hurt anything. I"d love to come, if you'd have me." Akane and Ranma nodded while Ryoga just blushed, thinking of a night at Akane's.
It wasn't long before the dinner at the Tendos'. Tejina sat next to Ranma, who had Akane on his other side and Nabiki and Ryoga across from them and Mr. Tendo and Saotome at the heads of the table.
Kasumi walked into the dining room later, setting glasses of tea by Genma, Soun, Ranma, Akane, Ryoga, Tejina, Nabiki, and at her place. "It'll be done shortly." She said with a cheerful smile, returning to the kitchen after leaving the hot kettle on the table for self-serve refills.
"So, Tejina," Nabiki questioned, sipping her tea, "Where do you live?" Teji rubbed the back of his head and looked a little embarressed.
"Actually..." he replied, setting his tea down and folding his hands, "I don't have anywhere to live. My mom died when I was ten during a sparring match and my dad only pops up off and on. I was planning on setting up a tent at that lot for a while."
"Oh, that's a shame." Soun said sympathetically. Then, he grinned happily. "I know. Why don't you stay with us? There's some extra space in the guest room where Saotome and Ranma are staying and I'm sure they'd love to have you!" Ranma smiled and nodded.
Teji smiled brightly, looking toward the head Tendo. "You really wouldn't mind?" he asked. The others nodded and smiled back. "If you really think it's okay, I'd love to stay with you until I get back on my feet."
Kasumi walked in at that moment and placed the food on the table.
"Okay, it's all done." She said, sitting down. Teji woofed down his food as fast as Ranma and Genma. He sighed contentedly.
"That was great, Kasumi-San." Tejina complemented, swishing around the last tiny bit of his tea. "Could you please pass me that kettle, there?"
Kasumi nodded and handed the kettle to the boy. He was about to pour it in his cup but Genma suddenly attacked the remnents of his son's food, bumping into Ranma who fell over on top of Teji.
"Aahgh!" came the voice under Ranma. A different voice... a female voice. The pig-tailed boy slowly got off of his friend, only to find a pig-tailed girl with dark brown hair in his place. The clothes that had been a bit big for "him" suddenly fit nicely. "Uhhmmm..." Teji sat back up and rubbed her arm, embarressed and at a loss for words.
Nabiki was the first to come to her senses. "Explain." She said simply. Teji nodded and, with a sad sigh, began her story...
"It was a while back, about two months now, I suppose. I was by myself, training in China and looking for some Jusenkyo Springs training grounds. The guide advised me to turn back and told me it was dangerous. That only made me want to train there more.
I leaped onto the first pole that stuck out of one of the small springs. "No! Please, ma'am!" the guide pleaded. "Is not safe! Very bad if fall in spring!"
I snorted. "I just won't fall then, will I?" I began to do my katas, hopping from peg to peg. I wondered what made this place so special. I wish I had never found out.
I was busy training. So busy, in fact, that I didn't notice the storm clouds accumulating overhead. Of course, those poles sticking out of the springs seemed to be just begging to get hit by lightning.
I dove out of the way of the bolt, diving into the spring water as I did so. It was so weird. My body felt all tingly and funny and I just didn't feel... right. I popped above the water and saw a shocked guide standing over me.
"Aiyaa!" he yelled. "You fall in Spring of Drowned Man! Very tragic story of young man what drown there three thousand five hundred year ago. Whoever fall in cursed spring take body of young man. You see for yourself?"
I checked, you know where. Sure enough, I was a guy. Boy was I PISSED! When he told me hot water would change me back, I was relieved. Until he explained that cold water would always return me to guy form no matter what."
Teji sighed as she finished the story. Her audience was hushed. Ranma looked at the now girl in shock. "Jusenkyo?" he mimicked. Tejina nodded. Akane grabbed a glass of ice water off the table and splashed it all over Ranma, taking care not to hit the sex-changing guest.
"Gaah!" the red-headed female glowered at her fiancee, who grinned back evilly. Teji cocked her head. Onna-Ranma sighed. "Me too." She rung her braid out. "My pop and I, actually. He turns into a big fat panda."
"Oh my Kami-Sama," Teji gasped. She then smiled and laughed. "It's good to see I'm not the only one. So you turn into a girl, huh?" She giggled and Ranma splashed her with another glass.
"Look who's laughing." The "girl" retorted playfully. Teji huffed and pulled his wet black hair out of his face.
"Oh my." Kasumi said in her usual tone. "If Tejina-Kun... umm... Tejina... is really a girl, then she couldn't possibly stay in Ranma's room, could she?"
Soun shook his head and laughed, patting Teji on his now solid muscular back. "No need to worry, Kasumi." He said with a smile. "Tejina here is from the Musha Clan, right? Well, they can't have a relationship with anyone their father doesn't arrange for them."
"Well, that's not fair!" Akane puffed, crossing her arms. "But I still don't think she should sleep in Ranma's room, seeing as her father's not around or anything." Tejina cocked his head, wondering why it mattered.
"You see, Teji-Kun," Nabiki explained, to the girl-turned-boy's great annoyance of the word "kun" being used. "Akane and Ranma are engaged, as he is with several others. She just doesn't want you to, you know, fool around behind her back." Akane blushed.
Ranma poured some of the hot water from the kettle over the now HIS head, then passed it to Tejina. The girl shook her hair slightly and blushed. "By my honor, I can never love a man. Clan law." The others looked at her sympathetically.
"So, father," Kasumi changed the subject, patting more rice in her saki bowl. "You say you've heard of the Musha Clan?"
Genma and Soun nodded. "Yes," the Tendo replied, setting down his empty tea cup and sighing contentedly. "A very strict group. Last on the list of importance is their own lives. Only the strongest survive this martial arts group, the others are usually killed by their superiors."
Akane looked sick at the thought and Teji nodded, sighing sadly. "Yes, I did have a younger brother..." she sopped up some of the spilled water with her napkin. "But my grandfather was forced to kill him in combat for his... weakness."
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Kasumi said in a motherly tone. Tejina shook her head and laughed, indicating that it was not an important subject to speak of.
Akane got up and took her plate to the kitchen, stopping at the counter for a second to think. `I don't care what law she has,' she mumbled in her head, sighing as she walked back toward the dining room. `She still has no business living in the same room as my stupid jerk of a fiance!' She smiled, knowing that she had nothing against the poor girl. She actually liked her. Maybe she could help her with martial arts.
She yawned, begining to walk up the stares. "Well, it was really nice to meet you, Tejina." She said kindly. "It's awefully late, though. I'm going to go to bed." Ryoga watched her with burning intent as she disappeared toward her room.
He turned and stopped for a moment by the front door. "I better head back myself." He said, bowing before opening the door. "Thanks for having me and it was good to meet you, Teji." The girl waved as he left.