E-mail me at: oddball22@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: The Ranma characters aren't mine. Other characters may
appear that aren't mine, and some will be similar, and these will be
mine!
Ranma1/2
Whole New World
Chapter 1 - Here's Ranma YET Again (or the obligatory intro sequence)
Ranma awoke.
Or perhaps, it is better to say that awareness decided to
return to him.
"Ugh, what happened?"
"Oh, you're awake!" came a friendly male voice.
Ranma blinked his eyes open and sat up, taking in his
surroundings. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud, looking around at the
small clinic room. That's when he noticed the man in the light brown gi
and glasses standing next to his bed, making notes on a paper in a
manila folder.
"You're in my clinic and poke-center," the man replied. "Oh,
forgive me! My name is Dr. Tofu Ono. May I ask your name?"
Ranma groaned and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a small
migraine festering there. "Uh, Ranma Saotome." His eyes closed
momentarily as the pain peaked and subsided, which was why he missed the
startled look on the doctor's face.
Tofu's expression went back to normal when Ranma opened his
eyes and turned back to him.
"So, how'd I get here, anyway?" Ranma asked.
"Um, well some of the villagers brought you here when they found
you lying unconscious in the forest just outside of town," he explained
absently. "We don't get many wanderers passing through here without at
least one or two pokegirls for protection. It can be dangerous, what
with all the wild pokegirls out there."
Ranma blinked. "Poke-what?"
"Pokegirls," the doctor repeated, frowning. "Don't tell me you
don't know what they are?" He poked and prodded Ranma's head. "Hmmm, I
don't see any signs of amnesia..."
Ranma batted the hands away. "I'm fine. I just need to go find
my pop, and the stranger who brought me here." He slid off the
examination bed and spied his backpack leaning against the wall. "Uh,
how much do I owe ya, doc?"
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go running off just
yet," Tofu advised. "If you don't remember what pokegirls are, then you
would be unprepared for the wilds out there! What happens if you are
attacked?"
"Listen, doc, I'm a martial artist, and I can take care of
myself just fine," Ranma told him while slipping his backpack on. "Ain't
no girl better than me, and I can handle my fights just fine without
one." He stopped. "Wait a minute, are you the guy I was talkin' to
through the magic tunnel?"
Tofu blinked. [Okay, he really must be losing it. Nobody fights
without a pokegirl! I need to keep him safe until he remembers how the
world is.] "Magic tunnel? No, I can't say that I am. But if you don't
know where you are or where your father is-" he paused and waited for
Ranma's reluctant headshake, "-then I suggest you hang around, at least
until you get a pokegirl or two and learn how to handle them." He smiled
suddenly. "I know a friend who has a pokedojo and breeder ranch nearby,
and I'm sure he'd let you have one."
Ranma cocked an eyebrow. [There's that word again.] He didn't
know what it meant, but the doc seemed stressed that Ranma didn't, so he
thought he better play along for the moment. Although he did recognize
the word `dojo', and felt it might be a good idea to hang around long
enough to pick up the local fighting styles. Maybe he could even get
some free meals as well.
"Sure, I suppose," Ranma agreed.
Tofu smiled and nodded. "Excellent! Now, here's how you get
there..."
"Hello? Dr. Tofu, is that you?"
The man paused, as he listened to Tofu's explanation.
"Saotome!? Are you sure?"
He frowned as Tofu clarified the situation.
"I see, that can be a problem. Fortunately, we can help. You did
the right thing by sending him here, doctor. Thank you. Goodbye!"
The man hung up, as twin tracks of tears appeared on his face.
"Oh, after all these years, I thought he'd never arrive. At long last,
our dream can be fulfilled!"
Turning, Soun headed up the stairs, calling out, "Kasumi!
Nabiki! Akane! I have some wonderful news for you!"
Ranma wiped her wet bangs back, cursing the light sprinkle that
had activated her curse before she could seek shelter. She wondered how
the sky could go from clear and blue, to a light rain shower in such a
short time. It was if the gods had cursed her on purpose and were now
tormenting her with it.
Sighing noisily, she looked up at the sign that read "TENDO
POKE-DOJO and BREEDER RANCH". The lettering on the sign was somewhat
faded, and the gate next to it hung on it's hinges just barely, giving
the impression that this dojo had fallen on some bad times.
[Well, no sense in standing around out here,] she reasoned, then
pushed open the door and entered. Her fears that the well-worn gate
would collapse proved to be unfounded, as it opened with a loud creak.
She traversed the short walkway to arrive at the front door to the
house, giving three short knocks.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
"Hi, my name is Ranma Saotome and I-I-I-Ahhhhh! A ca-a-a-a-at!"
Well, not really, but under the circumstances it was certainly
understandable.
Kasumi looked at the young girl who was cringing in fright, now
several feet from the door. "Oh dear, are you alright?" She tweaked her
small pink nose, which had the effect of swishing her whiskers as well.
Ranma froze. "You can talk?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course I can, silly!" Kasumi replied with a warm smile that
somehow made Ranma slightly less nervous. "Please, won't you come in?"
The still-very-nervous pig-tailed girl swallowed as she took
the time to actually study the girl in the doorway. The whiskers poking
out from her short, furry nose were scary enough, and the large white
furry ears on either side of her head were similar to a cat, but not
quite. The conservative dress and apron hid any other possible features,
except for the white tail that swished back and forth from behind her.
Ranma was about to reply, when a male voice interrupted her.
"Kasumi, who is at the door?"
Kasumi turned slightly to the side to address the man in the
brown gi and black mustache as he stepped up beside her. "This is Ranma
Saotome, Father."
"At last!" Soun nearly wailed, then before Ranma knew what had
happened, she was caught up in a monster hug. "I've waited for this day
for so long! Now our dojo can be revived!"
"Daddy, what is it?" questioned a new female voice.
"Is it this Ranma?" yet another female voice, this one a bit
more inquisitive.
The boy-turned-girl in question was still in shock, due to
first seeing the cat-like girl and then being hugged by a strange man.
Just about then, Soun noticed something seemed a bit... off. He
squeezed his arms a bit, then stepped back and pantomimed `her' curves.
"You... are..." he started nervously.
Ranma recovered, and took a step back. "Um, Ranma Saotome."
Then she noticed the two other girls looking curiously at her. One
definitely did have some ca-ca-cat-like features, while the other
appeared relatively human.
The really scary one took a few steps forward and prodded
Ranma's new breasts. Ranma decided mimicking a statue would be a good
idea.
"Daddy, she can't be our tamer," the girl declared to her
father. "Ranma's a pokegirl!"
Soun came to the conclusion that unconsciousness seemed a lot
better than reality at the moment.
"But Saotome told me that he had a boy!" Soun cried as he awoke
on a futon in the living room.
"What part of this looks like a boy?" the cat-like girl said,
reaching over to squeeze a breast, becoming puzzled when her hand hit
only air. She looked up to see the red-headed, pig-tailed girl cringing
in the furthest corner.
"Nabiki!" the last girl admonished. "He-She's our guest! Stop
doing that!"
Ranma gulped as the only normal looking girl turned and smiled
cutely at her.
"Hi, I'm Akane Tendo, a Tomboy," she told Ranma. "Wanna be
friends?"
Ranma calmed some, seeing a friendly, *normal* face present.
"Ah, sure." She took Akane's proffered hand and smiled tentatively at
her.
[Well, she seems friendly, if a little shy,] Akane thought. [But
Nabiki and Kasumi scare her for some reason. Maybe I should get her out
of here to calm her down.] "You want to see our dojo?" she asked, and
was rewarded when Ranma smiled and nodded.
Nabiki and Kasumi watched Akane lead Ranma out.
"Well, she sure is strange," Nabiki said at last, crossing her
lightly brown-furred arms across her chest and twitching her whiskers.
"You're a fighting type, right?" Akane asked as they entered the
dojo.
Ranma blinked, still a little confused about what was going on.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so."
Akane walked to the center and assumed a fighting stance.
"Well, let's have a little match, then! Don't worry, I'll go easy on
you."
Ranma nodded, feeling more comfortable. Finally, something that
she could relate to!
Akane struck out with her fist and Ranma dodged, though it came
closer than she expected, nearly tagging her face. Ranma was forced to
turn aside a second punch, then give ground as Akane kicked.
The raven-haired girl scowled after launching several more
attacks. "Why aren't you fighting back?" She had come close several
times, but had yet to touch her opponent. [Alright, time to step it up a
notch!]
"Yipe!" Ranma reflexes were put into overdrive as Akane became a
whirlwind. When several strikes got through Ranma's defenses, she
decided to resort to the other thing she had learned on the road with
her father.
"Is that the best ya can do?" Ranma taunted. "I'm barely
breaking a sweat here!"
"Ooh, I'll show you!" Akane yelled back, smiling grimly, then
launched into a tackle attack.
Ranma blinked as Akane nearly blurred as she sprinted forward.
Her fists even seemed to be glowing. Then Ranma had no more time for
thought, just barely dodging the explosive attack by flipping over her
opponent's head. When Akane's attack took out a good sized portion of
the dojo wall, Ranma decided she better end this quick. This girl had
serious power.
Landing, Ranma crouched and swept her leg out and dropped the
over-extended Akane to the ground, realizing that the powerful attack
had put the raven-haired girl off balance. Ranma caught, then pinned
Akane to the ground. The redhead felt rather reluctant to actually hurt
the other girl, though.
Akane had a very surprised look on her face. [She's the first
one who ever dodged my attack like that!] She was prepared to kick out
and continue the match, when Ranma smiled and began to laugh. Akane
couldn't help herself, as it was pretty funny. She was the one who had
wanted a fun match, after all.
"Where'd you learn to do that rapid-charge thing?" Ranma asked,
ever eager to pick up new techniques.
"Huh?" Akane stood up, looking confused, then her eyes cast
downwards and her voice turned strangely meek. "It's just a standard
move for a... Tomboy poke-girl. And... that's what I am." She seemed to
shrug it off, then gave a wan smile. "But I suppose I can teach you, if
you show me a few of those moves you used."
"Sure, why not?" Ranma agreed easily enough, but found herself
confused by the girl's behavior. She was obviously not happy about
something, but Ranma didn't know what to do about it, so she just kept
her mouth shut.
"Anyway," Akane said as she walked to the dojo door. "I'm just
glad you're not a boy."
"Um, why's that?" Ranma said nervously, remembering her curse.
Akane stopped in the doorway, then turned and gave the other
girl a humoring smile. "Silly, because then I'd have to be tamed." The
raven-haired girl shivered at the word `tamed', then turned to glance
out at the darkening sky. "Most pokegirls have to be tamed once they hit
threshold and are beaten by a boy. Some can hold out without it, and
some go feral." She shivered again, then gave Ranma a hopeful smile.
"With any luck, maybe I can avoid being tamed, too, don't you think?"
Even though Ranma didn't have the slightest idea what Akane was
talking about, she nodded anyway.
"There's a pervert in the bathroom!"
Nabiki blinked as her younger sister zoomed by in just her gi
top. "So why didn't you just kill him with your bare hands?"
Akane hefted the huge stone easily in her right hand. "Because
I wanted something heavier to smash him with!" That wasn't the real
reason, as it was mainly because she started feeling very strange when
she saw his muscular, naked form, as well as his-
Akane shook her head to clear it, unable and unwilling to deal
with that right now. And was she feeling that way? She shouldn't be,
unless-
"Uh, excuse me," a now-male Ranma offered. He saw Akane giving
him venom-filled glare, and he couldn't fault her for it, though it did
hurt. "I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this." He had planned to just
sneak out of this house before they discovered his curse, but Kasumi had
insisted he take a bath. Ranma, still nervous about the older girl's
appearance, had agreed.
And then Akane had walked in as he was getting out of the furo.
"You're Ranma!?" Nabiki said in disbelief. [Is this some sort of
abnormal pokegirl? A Ditto maybe, that wants to be a man? Freaky.]
The pigtailed boy sighed, then started in on *the* explanation.
One Jusenkyo tale later, left those gathered in the Tendo
living room stunned in silence. Ranma had even demonstrated the curse
with hot and cold water, and now sat damp and female across the table
from the three strange sisters.
Akane's face still held some of the glare, but there was ample
confusion there now as well. Nabiki was frowning slightly as she studied
the cursed girl, as if she was trying to decide who and what Ranma was.
Ranma was still quite afraid of Nabiki, but she could at least
recognize that the girl was part human, and therefore not all bad. Ranma
just didn't want to get too close to cat-like girl. Kasumi made Ranma
feel almost the same, but now that she thought about it, the oldest-
looking girl reminded Ranma more of a mouse, than a cat
"Magic tunnel?" Akane questioned in disbelief.
"What's China?" Kasumi asked in curiosity.
Ranma blinked in surprise. "What?"
"I think it used to be a country across the sea hundreds of
years ago," Nabiki explained. "I remember reading about it in one of
mom's books. It's part of the Indigo League now, same as us. As for the
magic tunnel bit, didn't Dr. Tofu say he got hit on the head?"
Nabiki turned back and studied Ranma, critically. [I was hoping
for a normal, pliable tamer I could control, and he seems naive enough,
if a little weird. Also, his guy side is pretty good-looking. However,
if I'm his only pokegirl, I'll have to fight quite a bit and I'm not
much of a fighter. The smart thing would be if he had a more combative
pokegirl in addition to me.]
"So you're really a boy, then?" Soun asked.
Ranma nodded vigorously.
Just to be sure, Soun flipped open his old pokedex, and scanned
the redhead. It beeped and blipped, and a few garbled characters flitted
across the screen, but nothing else happened. He had scanned his
daughters earlier with it, so he knew it was working properly. He
smiled; the boy may be a little strange, but a promise was a promise.
"Well now, your problem isn't so bad!" Soun said at last. "You
see, your father and I had an agreement that his son would take one of
my daughters as his Alpha pokegirl." He draped one arm around the boy-
currently-girl and gestured to his three daughters. "My oldest daughter,
Kasumi, nineteen, Mousewife. My middle daughter, Nabiki, seventeen,
Kitten. My youngest daughter, Akane, sixteen, Tomboy. Pick any one you
want, she'll be your Alpha!"
"I believe Akane would be best, don't you agree?" Kasumi said,
pushing her younger sister forward.
Nabiki took her older sister's cue. "Oh yes, she would be
perfect!" [If Ranma takes Akane as well as me, I can be the Alpha and
Akane can do all the fighting! But I'll have to get Akane to go with him
first, and then I can invite myself along.] A Kitten may have some
attack abilities, but there are many stronger pokegirls out there. What
if they got attacked as soon as they set out? Nabiki didn't really care
for the odds of survival in that case.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Akane protested, scowling. "Why me? I
don't want to go with that pervert!"
That got Ranma's attention, breaking him out his wonderings of
how this Soun Tendo knew his father. "Hey, whatta ya mean, `pervert'!?"
Nabiki sat back, amused, as the two bickered. Her plan was
forming, and it was perfect as usual. She just needed to get Akane to go
along with it...
Ranma awoke from her table-induced nap a short time later.
"Ughhh... what happened?"
"You'll have to forgive Akane," came Kasumi's soothing voice.
"She's a really nice pokegirl, but she can be a bit violent. It's not
her fault really, since she is a Tomboy. It's just her nature."
"Don't worry," Nabiki added. "I'm sure you'll get used to her in
time."
Ranma sat up while rubbing her head, took note of how close
Nabiki was, then quickly jumped back against the wall. "Ahhh!"
Nabiki rolled her eyes. For some odd reason, Ranma seemed
awfully scared of her. [Hmmm, this could put a kink in my plan. I won't
be able to go with him and control him if he's scared of me. Maybe I
just have to get in a taming session first...] She smiled lazily. "Well,
I'm going to check on Akane. See ya later!"
Ranma gulped nervously as Nabiki gave the red-head a hungry
smile, then left the room. With her gone, Ranma calmed considerably,
then turned to Kasumi. The pig-tailed girl figured it was about time to
get some answers, and she determined that the demure, mouse-like girl
was her best chance at getting some.
"Say, uh, Kasumi what's an Alpha anyway?"
The eldest daughter started checking Ranma's head. "Oh dear.
Akane didn't hit that hard, did she?" She stopped when Ranma waved her
off. "Well, an Alpha is the pokegirl that spends most of her time
outside her pokeball. She's also the girl that tends to manage and train
the other pokegirls that a tamer catches. The kind of pokegirl a tamer
uses for his Alpha, says a lot about the tamer, usually."
Ranma looked even more confused. "Pokeball? Tamer?" She got an
image of her pandafied father being trained in a circus by balancing on
a colorful beach ball, which brought a momentary smile to her face. Then
she blinked as Kasumi showed her a small ball that was red on the top
half and white on the bottom half. "What's that?"
Kasumi nodded. "It's my pokeball, and for my tamer to use." She
replaced the ball in an apron pocket, then patted Ranma's shoulder.
"You'll get along fine with Akane, you'll see."
Ranma shook her head and stood up. Right now, she was just
confused. She said her thanks to Kasumi, then walked out, deciding to at
least take a bath and turn back into a male.
Nabiki watched the female Ranma walk into the changing room.
The middle Tendo had taken the liberty of removing the "Occupied" sign.
[Akane did get defeated by Ranma, so that should have triggered her.
True, he was female at the time, but once Akane's brain processes the
fact that she was defeated by a guy, her genetic impulses should do the
rest. Now I just need to get her in a situation where her hormones have
the best chance of taking over.]
She winced as she heard the slap echo from within the bathroom.
[Well, it's a start anyway. She may be in denial now, but it can't last
forever.]
Nabiki sighed as Ranma left the bathroom, still female, and
with the added handprint on her cheek. [I'll also have to get Ranma to
go along with this as well.] She caught up to her in the living room
after grabbing the heated kettle off the stove. "Ranma, can I speak to
you for a second? I'll give you this to change back if you do."
Ranma froze, then turned slowly see Nabiki standing in the
hallway. "Uh, I guess so," she replied nervously, seeing the heated
kettle. "But, could you just stay there, not that I'm afraid of ya or
nothin'... I just - well - ah, just getting used to all this, `cause I
ain't never seen someone like you before."
Nabiki waited while the other girl ran down. [Hmmm, Ranma does
seem as if he's never met another pokegirl before, but how could that
be? Was he sequestered away in a forgotten portion of the world with no
pokegirls? That would explain the lack of social mannerisms as well.]
The middle Tendo seated herself on a cushion and placed the
kettle on the table. "Listen, I just thought we might talk. I'm sure you
have many questions, and I can help answer them."
Ranma nodded slowly, then almost faster than Nabiki's eye could
follow, the red-head grabbed the kettle and doused herself. Ranma sighed
in relief as he sat down against the wall.
"Um, thanks," he told her. He was silent for a few seconds, then
asked, "What exactly is a pokegirl anyway? The doc that treated me said
I'd need one to defend myself, but I don't need any girl to fight my
battles for me."
"A pokegirl is what me and my sisters are, and what our mother
was," Nabiki explained, having heard this familiar lecture as she was
growing up. "We are genetically enhanced in many different ways as a
result of a war that happened a long time ago. Because of this, we are
faster and stronger than any man, as well as having a wide degree of
inherent special abilities. Most of us look relatively human, but there
are others, mostly wild ones, that are more animal-like than girl."
Ranma frowned. "That still doesn't explain why I should need
one. I don't care how good they think they are, I'm better than any
girl!"
"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," Nabiki said, shaking her head. She also
undid the top button of her blouse. Ranma didn't notice right away, but
Nabiki knew he would soon. "Even if you do know how to fight humans,
wild pokegirls are an entirely different story. Some have strong
poisons, others are spider-like and will trap you in webbing before
devouring you. There are hundreds more that wield magic, psionics, and
elemental attacks. A few would even drag you under into ground itself.
They're stronger and tougher than any normal human, and can heal fast.
Even if you can fight, you'd have to be lucky to survive an encounter
with a pack of wild pokegirls."
Ranma merely `hmphed' to this, clearly not believing the
explanation. Nabiki decided on a different approach.
"I saw your match against Akane, and I can tell that you were
hard-pressed there for awhile." Nabiki leaned forward a little, undoing
another button in the process, giving Ranma a good view of her cleavage.
"Nonsense, I was doin' f-f-fine." That's when he noted Nabiki's
new position and the extra view he was getting. He swallowed. Hard.
[Perfect!] Nabiki thought, grinning on the inside. [He's getting
flustered. He may have seen a woman's body before, but never quite like
this. I can tell he's a virgin, so I have to do this slowly. With any
luck, he'll start thinking of me in a totally different way.]
"Well you see, Akane wasn't even fighting at close to her full
strength," the cat-like pokegirl said in a low whisper as she leaned
farther across the table, now knowing that Akane was in fact listening
in just inside the hallway. Nabiki may not have the strength or power of
a fighter, but she had other skills, like advanced smell and hearing.
She had heard the youngest Tendo pad up in her bare feet, and having
lived with them for her entire life, she was well aware of what each of
her family members smelled like.
Ranma had finally had enough. Nabiki was getting too close, and
her presence combined with the pose, the (frightfully) hungry smile, the
cleavage, and the idea that Akane was better than him, was enough to
send him to his feet.
"What!?" Ranma protested. "Ain't no way that brutish chick is
better than me!"
"Brutish chick am I?" Akane nearly yelled in outrage, appearing
in the doorway. "I'm better than a half-pokegirl freak any day of the
week, and if you were to try me for real, you'd see that!"
"Oh yeah?" Ranma retorted brilliantly. Despite the fact that he
was arguing, Ranma felt good. For with all the strangeness he had
encountered today, arguing, fighting, and insults were things he was
very comfortable with. In unknown and different situations, it is only
human nature to seek out and cling to that which is familiar. "If you're
challenging me, you better take it back or else I'll have to prove to
you that I'm better than some macho violent tomboy!"
Akane's hands were clenched at her sides as she looked down,
trembling, and a vein throbbing on her forehead. Inside, she could hear
the mocking whispers that she was a Tomboy, a pokegirl, and not a real
girl; voices that she had heard from a young age and had always tried to
deny. She had wanted to be her own person, but a pokegirl was
genetically predisposed to being imprinted by the first boy that managed
to subdue her. Akane was very afraid of that.
Her head came up to spear the arrogant pig-tailed boy with the
look. "Fine then, I challenge you! Meet me back out in the dojo, and
we'll see which one of us is the best!" [If I can beat him, maybe he'll
give up and leave! I won't let a boy control me!]
Ranma was taken aback by the fire in the girl's eyes. She
seemed incredibly determined to prove herself, a feeling that Ranma was
well-acquainted with, having used that same determination to prove
himself to his father. It was something he understood and could respect.
But he still had his own pride to contend with. "Fine! I hope
you're a good loser!"
Akane whirled and left the room, trudging up the stairs to
change into her gi, while Ranma stood there wondering what had just
happened. Then he shook his head and left for the dojo to wait, figuring
that if the girl wanted a fight, he give her one. He didn't really want
to hurt her, per se, but he wasn't going to lose, especially not to a
girl.
Back in the living room Nabiki allowed that inner grin to
finally come to the surface. [Perfect! Ranma is as easily manipulated as
I thought he would be.] Just then, she heard the front door open and her
father come in.
She smiled wider. [Now to add one more ingredient to the list.]
"Oh, Daddy..."
"What's this?" Ranma asked turning over the small red device in
his hands. It looked like a small notepad, and had a wand pointing out
the top.
"It's called a `Poke-Dex' and it's yours," Soun explained. "All
tamers have one, as it helps to identify wild pokegirls, as well as give
detailed information about your own. It also doubles as an ID. This one
is now registered to you."
The ID part Ranma understood, as he knew his father had usually
carried an ID and had gotten into trouble when he was caught without
one. The rest was still moderately confusing. "Ah, okay." Out of
curiosity, he opened it up to see small screen and several buttons.
Just then, Nabiki walked into the dojo and the pokedex came to
life as it spoke. {Kitten: the cat-type pokegirl. Kittens make good
pets, as they keep themselves clean and can be very affectionate. They
are weaker fighters than most pokegirls, but can have some useful
alternate talents.}
Ranma blinked. "Ah, okay..."
Nabiki was followed by Akane, who was dressed in a gi once
more, and the pokedex once again became active. {Tomboy: the fighting-
type pokegirl. Tomboys are powerful fighters, but can be hard to handle.
Their strength is very high and are very well-suited to heavy lifting.}
"Well that was helpful," Ranma muttered, then noticed the way
Akane was staring at him. Her gaze appeared somewhat hurt, but that
quickly disappeared to be replaced by anger. Ranma really couldn't
figure out what this crazy chick's problem was.
"What's going on?" Soun asked, seeing Ranma and Akane take up
opposing combat stances.
Nabiki pulled him aside. "Oh, they're just going to have a
little match."
"What!?" Soun blurted. "Tamers don't fight their pokegirls!"
"I'm not his pokegirl!" Akane yelled.
"Relax, daddy, Ranma seems to be a decent fighter," Nabiki
soothed. "And I don't think Akane will hurt him too badly."
Ranma snorted at that. "As if she'll even be able to touch me!"
"We'll see about that!" Akane countered.
Nabiki raised her hand, then dropped it. "Begin!"
As Ranma expected, Akane led off on the offensive. Ranma worked
to duck and block the powerful punches that flared suddenly then
disappeared. He upped his speed and twisted away from a thrust kick,
then ducked under a roundhouse. Ranma turned aside a left hook, probed
her defenses with a few light punches, then broke away to gauge what he
had learned.
Ranma noted that Akane seemed to be breathing a little harder,
but she was otherwise fine. That was to be expected, since Ranma still
couldn't bring himself to attacking full out. His punches were pretty
light, and were mainly used to get Akane on the defensive so he would
face less attacks. He was faster than her, but she was pretty strong. He
didn't know who's strength was actually greater.
On the sidelines, Soun slowly reeled his jaw back into place.
[Ranma knows Anything-Goes! I know Genma said he was going to train his
son, but I never thought that meant actual fighting! I thought he was
just going to train him to be a good tamer.] Anything-Goes was a style
of fighting that had been taught at this dojo for as long as Soun could
remember, but only to pokegirls. Lately, though, no one had wanted to
learn.
Nabiki had come to the same conclusion. Though she had trained
in the Anything-Goes style as well, Akane had been better at it due to
being a natural fighting-type. Nabiki liked to use her brain more often,
but a pokegirl couldn't survive in this world by brains alone, unless
she wanted to be a domesticated Titmouse or Bunny type. Nabiki had
greater aspirations than that, and she would need some fighting skills
to obtain it.
"What's the matter?" Akane taunted. "Still can't really fight
me? You might as well give up now if you can't fight me for real!"
That did it for Ranma. He may not want to actually hurt her,
but no way was Ranma Saotome going to lose! He grinned. "Well if you
could fight at all, this might actually be worth my time."
"Why you-!" Akane charged again, this time going back into her
tackle attack.
Ranma saw it coming and prepared to dodge to the side, but
Akane halted it just before reaching him and lashed out with a weapon
that wasn't in her hands a second before. Ranma instinctively brought
both his forearms up to block.
*WHAM!* The large mallet strike sent Ranma skidding backwards.
That had hurt, but inwardly he was smiling. This was more like it! He
stopped and grinned cockily at her again. "That the best you can do?"
"RANMA NO BAKA!" Akane yelled, which froze Ranma in place for
some reason, allowing her to close the distance again strike out with a
fist that was seemingly on fire. The strike rocked his head back and
temporarily scrambled his thoughts, allowing his reflexes to take over.
Turning with the blow, Ranma lashed out with a roundhouse kick
that was too fast for Akane to block. As she spun from the impact, Ranma
lanced out with an uppercut that rocked the girl up into the air,
landing on her back some distance away. He leapt into the air to prepare
for the axe kick that would finish the combo, when his thought processes
kicked back in and he realized what he was doing. He adjusted his aim
slightly, so the ball of his right foot cracked the wooden planks just
to the side of the raven-haired girl's head.
Akane recovered enough to realize that if Ranma had finished
that move, it would have been very painful. She had a good healing
factor, but that kick would have been enough to take her out of the
match.
She had lost, that much was clear. While a part of her relished
the good fight, she couldn't help but feel despair well up at the
thought.
She had lost. To a boy.
"The winner: Ranma!" Nabiki announced, recognizing that Ranma
had technically won as well. [Just as I had hoped!] She felt a twinge as
Akane ran out of the dojo with tears forming in her eyes, but covered it
up with the fact that she was just doing what was in Akane's best
interests.
Akane was good, but Nabiki could tell that Ranma was much
faster and almost as strong. In her own sparring sessions with her
sister, Nabiki's speed was slightly better than Akane's, but the middle
Tendo just couldn't do enough damage to beat Akane. Nabiki had learned
from watching Akane's first match with the cursed girl, that Ranma was
highly skilled, moreso than herself.
Being a good gambler, Nabiki had easily seen that Ranma had
better odds of winning this fight. She had a backup plan if Ranma had
lost, but it wouldn't be needed now.
"Well, that was quite fascinating," Soun said, nodding. "Well
done, boy. You earned your first pokegirl! Of course, most either get
one from a breeder ranch or use traps to catch a wild pokegirl, but
whatever works for you." He shook his head, then handed Ranma a small
ball. "Here's Akane's pokeball. Good luck on your travels, son!"
"Hey, waitaminute!" Ranma protested. "What makes you think I'm
taking her anywhere?"
"Daddy, why don't we just let Ranma stay here for a few days?"
Nabiki suggested diplomatically. "He's still apparently new to this, and
it would give him time to acclimate to everything."
Soun nodded sagely. "Yes, I suppose that's alright. After all,
there's no real hurry is there? No sense in just pushing you out the
door until you understand everything you need to." He chuckled. "In
fact, it would be very dangerous to send a tamer out unprepared. Good
thinking, Nabiki."
Ranma felt more and more uncomfortable as Soun went on.
"Dangerous? I can handle anything! I've been travelin' most of my life.
It ain't no problem."
Nabiki turned and hissed at Ranma, which had the effect of
sending Ranma out the dojo door, stuttering something about getting
cleaned up. [Just as I thought, he must have ailuraphobia. That's why
I'm really the only one that scares him.] She smiled once he was gone,
inwardly chuckling at what she had done. [Well, there are ways of curing
people of their fears!]
Soun blinked at the retreating Ranma, puzzled by his reaction.
"Well, that was strange. He does seem good enough, I suppose. I just
wonder where his father, my old friend, is?"
"He also seems very new at this," Nabiki added, then turned back
to her father. "In fact, why not allow him to take two of us? It would
increase his odds of survival in the wilds."
Soun nodded. "Another good idea, but I'd like it if at least
one of you girls could stay around to handle the chores."
Nabiki grinned. "Leave it to me, Daddy!" Finally, this was her
chance! She had no inclinations of staying around a broken-down old
dojo, and this Ranma looked like her best chance for getting out and
making something of herself. There were, of course, a few problems to
work out, such as Ranma's fear of cats. But Nabiki was confident she
could deal with it. She was so sure, she would bet on it!
In her room, Akane thoughts were a jumble. She had finally been
defeated by a boy. A strange, perverted boy who turn into girl with
water and would now have to tame her, though he was quite handsome and
she recalled what he looked like when he stood up in the furo-
Akane began to bash her head against the wall and chant her
"Boys Are Perverts" mantra.
In the kitchen, Kasumi finished cleaning the kitchen,
blissfully content, and happy that they apparently had a new guest for
awhile.
And in the guest room, Ranma was laying on his back and
wondering what the hell he had got himself into.
---------------------------
Author's notes:
Okay, first off I should say that I didn't create the pokegirl concept.
I'm just using my own spin on them to tell a fun story, and create a
slightly different world. For those who don't know what pokegirls are,
just sit back and wait, and further chapters will explain my variation
on them.
And last of all, nothing is set in stone as far as this story goes.
Rewrites may occur, to better explain some points. After all, I'm only
human!
Disclaimer: The Ranma characters aren't mine. Other characters may
appear that aren't mine, and some will be similar, and these will be
mine!
Ranma1/2
Whole New World
Chapter 1 - Here's Ranma YET Again (or the obligatory intro sequence)
Ranma awoke.
Or perhaps, it is better to say that awareness decided to
return to him.
"Ugh, what happened?"
"Oh, you're awake!" came a friendly male voice.
Ranma blinked his eyes open and sat up, taking in his
surroundings. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud, looking around at the
small clinic room. That's when he noticed the man in the light brown gi
and glasses standing next to his bed, making notes on a paper in a
manila folder.
"You're in my clinic and poke-center," the man replied. "Oh,
forgive me! My name is Dr. Tofu Ono. May I ask your name?"
Ranma groaned and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a small
migraine festering there. "Uh, Ranma Saotome." His eyes closed
momentarily as the pain peaked and subsided, which was why he missed the
startled look on the doctor's face.
Tofu's expression went back to normal when Ranma opened his
eyes and turned back to him.
"So, how'd I get here, anyway?" Ranma asked.
"Um, well some of the villagers brought you here when they found
you lying unconscious in the forest just outside of town," he explained
absently. "We don't get many wanderers passing through here without at
least one or two pokegirls for protection. It can be dangerous, what
with all the wild pokegirls out there."
Ranma blinked. "Poke-what?"
"Pokegirls," the doctor repeated, frowning. "Don't tell me you
don't know what they are?" He poked and prodded Ranma's head. "Hmmm, I
don't see any signs of amnesia..."
Ranma batted the hands away. "I'm fine. I just need to go find
my pop, and the stranger who brought me here." He slid off the
examination bed and spied his backpack leaning against the wall. "Uh,
how much do I owe ya, doc?"
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go running off just
yet," Tofu advised. "If you don't remember what pokegirls are, then you
would be unprepared for the wilds out there! What happens if you are
attacked?"
"Listen, doc, I'm a martial artist, and I can take care of
myself just fine," Ranma told him while slipping his backpack on. "Ain't
no girl better than me, and I can handle my fights just fine without
one." He stopped. "Wait a minute, are you the guy I was talkin' to
through the magic tunnel?"
Tofu blinked. [Okay, he really must be losing it. Nobody fights
without a pokegirl! I need to keep him safe until he remembers how the
world is.] "Magic tunnel? No, I can't say that I am. But if you don't
know where you are or where your father is-" he paused and waited for
Ranma's reluctant headshake, "-then I suggest you hang around, at least
until you get a pokegirl or two and learn how to handle them." He smiled
suddenly. "I know a friend who has a pokedojo and breeder ranch nearby,
and I'm sure he'd let you have one."
Ranma cocked an eyebrow. [There's that word again.] He didn't
know what it meant, but the doc seemed stressed that Ranma didn't, so he
thought he better play along for the moment. Although he did recognize
the word `dojo', and felt it might be a good idea to hang around long
enough to pick up the local fighting styles. Maybe he could even get
some free meals as well.
"Sure, I suppose," Ranma agreed.
Tofu smiled and nodded. "Excellent! Now, here's how you get
there..."
"Hello? Dr. Tofu, is that you?"
The man paused, as he listened to Tofu's explanation.
"Saotome!? Are you sure?"
He frowned as Tofu clarified the situation.
"I see, that can be a problem. Fortunately, we can help. You did
the right thing by sending him here, doctor. Thank you. Goodbye!"
The man hung up, as twin tracks of tears appeared on his face.
"Oh, after all these years, I thought he'd never arrive. At long last,
our dream can be fulfilled!"
Turning, Soun headed up the stairs, calling out, "Kasumi!
Nabiki! Akane! I have some wonderful news for you!"
Ranma wiped her wet bangs back, cursing the light sprinkle that
had activated her curse before she could seek shelter. She wondered how
the sky could go from clear and blue, to a light rain shower in such a
short time. It was if the gods had cursed her on purpose and were now
tormenting her with it.
Sighing noisily, she looked up at the sign that read "TENDO
POKE-DOJO and BREEDER RANCH". The lettering on the sign was somewhat
faded, and the gate next to it hung on it's hinges just barely, giving
the impression that this dojo had fallen on some bad times.
[Well, no sense in standing around out here,] she reasoned, then
pushed open the door and entered. Her fears that the well-worn gate
would collapse proved to be unfounded, as it opened with a loud creak.
She traversed the short walkway to arrive at the front door to the
house, giving three short knocks.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
"Hi, my name is Ranma Saotome and I-I-I-Ahhhhh! A ca-a-a-a-at!"
Well, not really, but under the circumstances it was certainly
understandable.
Kasumi looked at the young girl who was cringing in fright, now
several feet from the door. "Oh dear, are you alright?" She tweaked her
small pink nose, which had the effect of swishing her whiskers as well.
Ranma froze. "You can talk?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course I can, silly!" Kasumi replied with a warm smile that
somehow made Ranma slightly less nervous. "Please, won't you come in?"
The still-very-nervous pig-tailed girl swallowed as she took
the time to actually study the girl in the doorway. The whiskers poking
out from her short, furry nose were scary enough, and the large white
furry ears on either side of her head were similar to a cat, but not
quite. The conservative dress and apron hid any other possible features,
except for the white tail that swished back and forth from behind her.
Ranma was about to reply, when a male voice interrupted her.
"Kasumi, who is at the door?"
Kasumi turned slightly to the side to address the man in the
brown gi and black mustache as he stepped up beside her. "This is Ranma
Saotome, Father."
"At last!" Soun nearly wailed, then before Ranma knew what had
happened, she was caught up in a monster hug. "I've waited for this day
for so long! Now our dojo can be revived!"
"Daddy, what is it?" questioned a new female voice.
"Is it this Ranma?" yet another female voice, this one a bit
more inquisitive.
The boy-turned-girl in question was still in shock, due to
first seeing the cat-like girl and then being hugged by a strange man.
Just about then, Soun noticed something seemed a bit... off. He
squeezed his arms a bit, then stepped back and pantomimed `her' curves.
"You... are..." he started nervously.
Ranma recovered, and took a step back. "Um, Ranma Saotome."
Then she noticed the two other girls looking curiously at her. One
definitely did have some ca-ca-cat-like features, while the other
appeared relatively human.
The really scary one took a few steps forward and prodded
Ranma's new breasts. Ranma decided mimicking a statue would be a good
idea.
"Daddy, she can't be our tamer," the girl declared to her
father. "Ranma's a pokegirl!"
Soun came to the conclusion that unconsciousness seemed a lot
better than reality at the moment.
"But Saotome told me that he had a boy!" Soun cried as he awoke
on a futon in the living room.
"What part of this looks like a boy?" the cat-like girl said,
reaching over to squeeze a breast, becoming puzzled when her hand hit
only air. She looked up to see the red-headed, pig-tailed girl cringing
in the furthest corner.
"Nabiki!" the last girl admonished. "He-She's our guest! Stop
doing that!"
Ranma gulped as the only normal looking girl turned and smiled
cutely at her.
"Hi, I'm Akane Tendo, a Tomboy," she told Ranma. "Wanna be
friends?"
Ranma calmed some, seeing a friendly, *normal* face present.
"Ah, sure." She took Akane's proffered hand and smiled tentatively at
her.
[Well, she seems friendly, if a little shy,] Akane thought. [But
Nabiki and Kasumi scare her for some reason. Maybe I should get her out
of here to calm her down.] "You want to see our dojo?" she asked, and
was rewarded when Ranma smiled and nodded.
Nabiki and Kasumi watched Akane lead Ranma out.
"Well, she sure is strange," Nabiki said at last, crossing her
lightly brown-furred arms across her chest and twitching her whiskers.
"You're a fighting type, right?" Akane asked as they entered the
dojo.
Ranma blinked, still a little confused about what was going on.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so."
Akane walked to the center and assumed a fighting stance.
"Well, let's have a little match, then! Don't worry, I'll go easy on
you."
Ranma nodded, feeling more comfortable. Finally, something that
she could relate to!
Akane struck out with her fist and Ranma dodged, though it came
closer than she expected, nearly tagging her face. Ranma was forced to
turn aside a second punch, then give ground as Akane kicked.
The raven-haired girl scowled after launching several more
attacks. "Why aren't you fighting back?" She had come close several
times, but had yet to touch her opponent. [Alright, time to step it up a
notch!]
"Yipe!" Ranma reflexes were put into overdrive as Akane became a
whirlwind. When several strikes got through Ranma's defenses, she
decided to resort to the other thing she had learned on the road with
her father.
"Is that the best ya can do?" Ranma taunted. "I'm barely
breaking a sweat here!"
"Ooh, I'll show you!" Akane yelled back, smiling grimly, then
launched into a tackle attack.
Ranma blinked as Akane nearly blurred as she sprinted forward.
Her fists even seemed to be glowing. Then Ranma had no more time for
thought, just barely dodging the explosive attack by flipping over her
opponent's head. When Akane's attack took out a good sized portion of
the dojo wall, Ranma decided she better end this quick. This girl had
serious power.
Landing, Ranma crouched and swept her leg out and dropped the
over-extended Akane to the ground, realizing that the powerful attack
had put the raven-haired girl off balance. Ranma caught, then pinned
Akane to the ground. The redhead felt rather reluctant to actually hurt
the other girl, though.
Akane had a very surprised look on her face. [She's the first
one who ever dodged my attack like that!] She was prepared to kick out
and continue the match, when Ranma smiled and began to laugh. Akane
couldn't help herself, as it was pretty funny. She was the one who had
wanted a fun match, after all.
"Where'd you learn to do that rapid-charge thing?" Ranma asked,
ever eager to pick up new techniques.
"Huh?" Akane stood up, looking confused, then her eyes cast
downwards and her voice turned strangely meek. "It's just a standard
move for a... Tomboy poke-girl. And... that's what I am." She seemed to
shrug it off, then gave a wan smile. "But I suppose I can teach you, if
you show me a few of those moves you used."
"Sure, why not?" Ranma agreed easily enough, but found herself
confused by the girl's behavior. She was obviously not happy about
something, but Ranma didn't know what to do about it, so she just kept
her mouth shut.
"Anyway," Akane said as she walked to the dojo door. "I'm just
glad you're not a boy."
"Um, why's that?" Ranma said nervously, remembering her curse.
Akane stopped in the doorway, then turned and gave the other
girl a humoring smile. "Silly, because then I'd have to be tamed." The
raven-haired girl shivered at the word `tamed', then turned to glance
out at the darkening sky. "Most pokegirls have to be tamed once they hit
threshold and are beaten by a boy. Some can hold out without it, and
some go feral." She shivered again, then gave Ranma a hopeful smile.
"With any luck, maybe I can avoid being tamed, too, don't you think?"
Even though Ranma didn't have the slightest idea what Akane was
talking about, she nodded anyway.
"There's a pervert in the bathroom!"
Nabiki blinked as her younger sister zoomed by in just her gi
top. "So why didn't you just kill him with your bare hands?"
Akane hefted the huge stone easily in her right hand. "Because
I wanted something heavier to smash him with!" That wasn't the real
reason, as it was mainly because she started feeling very strange when
she saw his muscular, naked form, as well as his-
Akane shook her head to clear it, unable and unwilling to deal
with that right now. And was she feeling that way? She shouldn't be,
unless-
"Uh, excuse me," a now-male Ranma offered. He saw Akane giving
him venom-filled glare, and he couldn't fault her for it, though it did
hurt. "I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this." He had planned to just
sneak out of this house before they discovered his curse, but Kasumi had
insisted he take a bath. Ranma, still nervous about the older girl's
appearance, had agreed.
And then Akane had walked in as he was getting out of the furo.
"You're Ranma!?" Nabiki said in disbelief. [Is this some sort of
abnormal pokegirl? A Ditto maybe, that wants to be a man? Freaky.]
The pigtailed boy sighed, then started in on *the* explanation.
One Jusenkyo tale later, left those gathered in the Tendo
living room stunned in silence. Ranma had even demonstrated the curse
with hot and cold water, and now sat damp and female across the table
from the three strange sisters.
Akane's face still held some of the glare, but there was ample
confusion there now as well. Nabiki was frowning slightly as she studied
the cursed girl, as if she was trying to decide who and what Ranma was.
Ranma was still quite afraid of Nabiki, but she could at least
recognize that the girl was part human, and therefore not all bad. Ranma
just didn't want to get too close to cat-like girl. Kasumi made Ranma
feel almost the same, but now that she thought about it, the oldest-
looking girl reminded Ranma more of a mouse, than a cat
"Magic tunnel?" Akane questioned in disbelief.
"What's China?" Kasumi asked in curiosity.
Ranma blinked in surprise. "What?"
"I think it used to be a country across the sea hundreds of
years ago," Nabiki explained. "I remember reading about it in one of
mom's books. It's part of the Indigo League now, same as us. As for the
magic tunnel bit, didn't Dr. Tofu say he got hit on the head?"
Nabiki turned back and studied Ranma, critically. [I was hoping
for a normal, pliable tamer I could control, and he seems naive enough,
if a little weird. Also, his guy side is pretty good-looking. However,
if I'm his only pokegirl, I'll have to fight quite a bit and I'm not
much of a fighter. The smart thing would be if he had a more combative
pokegirl in addition to me.]
"So you're really a boy, then?" Soun asked.
Ranma nodded vigorously.
Just to be sure, Soun flipped open his old pokedex, and scanned
the redhead. It beeped and blipped, and a few garbled characters flitted
across the screen, but nothing else happened. He had scanned his
daughters earlier with it, so he knew it was working properly. He
smiled; the boy may be a little strange, but a promise was a promise.
"Well now, your problem isn't so bad!" Soun said at last. "You
see, your father and I had an agreement that his son would take one of
my daughters as his Alpha pokegirl." He draped one arm around the boy-
currently-girl and gestured to his three daughters. "My oldest daughter,
Kasumi, nineteen, Mousewife. My middle daughter, Nabiki, seventeen,
Kitten. My youngest daughter, Akane, sixteen, Tomboy. Pick any one you
want, she'll be your Alpha!"
"I believe Akane would be best, don't you agree?" Kasumi said,
pushing her younger sister forward.
Nabiki took her older sister's cue. "Oh yes, she would be
perfect!" [If Ranma takes Akane as well as me, I can be the Alpha and
Akane can do all the fighting! But I'll have to get Akane to go with him
first, and then I can invite myself along.] A Kitten may have some
attack abilities, but there are many stronger pokegirls out there. What
if they got attacked as soon as they set out? Nabiki didn't really care
for the odds of survival in that case.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Akane protested, scowling. "Why me? I
don't want to go with that pervert!"
That got Ranma's attention, breaking him out his wonderings of
how this Soun Tendo knew his father. "Hey, whatta ya mean, `pervert'!?"
Nabiki sat back, amused, as the two bickered. Her plan was
forming, and it was perfect as usual. She just needed to get Akane to go
along with it...
Ranma awoke from her table-induced nap a short time later.
"Ughhh... what happened?"
"You'll have to forgive Akane," came Kasumi's soothing voice.
"She's a really nice pokegirl, but she can be a bit violent. It's not
her fault really, since she is a Tomboy. It's just her nature."
"Don't worry," Nabiki added. "I'm sure you'll get used to her in
time."
Ranma sat up while rubbing her head, took note of how close
Nabiki was, then quickly jumped back against the wall. "Ahhh!"
Nabiki rolled her eyes. For some odd reason, Ranma seemed
awfully scared of her. [Hmmm, this could put a kink in my plan. I won't
be able to go with him and control him if he's scared of me. Maybe I
just have to get in a taming session first...] She smiled lazily. "Well,
I'm going to check on Akane. See ya later!"
Ranma gulped nervously as Nabiki gave the red-head a hungry
smile, then left the room. With her gone, Ranma calmed considerably,
then turned to Kasumi. The pig-tailed girl figured it was about time to
get some answers, and she determined that the demure, mouse-like girl
was her best chance at getting some.
"Say, uh, Kasumi what's an Alpha anyway?"
The eldest daughter started checking Ranma's head. "Oh dear.
Akane didn't hit that hard, did she?" She stopped when Ranma waved her
off. "Well, an Alpha is the pokegirl that spends most of her time
outside her pokeball. She's also the girl that tends to manage and train
the other pokegirls that a tamer catches. The kind of pokegirl a tamer
uses for his Alpha, says a lot about the tamer, usually."
Ranma looked even more confused. "Pokeball? Tamer?" She got an
image of her pandafied father being trained in a circus by balancing on
a colorful beach ball, which brought a momentary smile to her face. Then
she blinked as Kasumi showed her a small ball that was red on the top
half and white on the bottom half. "What's that?"
Kasumi nodded. "It's my pokeball, and for my tamer to use." She
replaced the ball in an apron pocket, then patted Ranma's shoulder.
"You'll get along fine with Akane, you'll see."
Ranma shook her head and stood up. Right now, she was just
confused. She said her thanks to Kasumi, then walked out, deciding to at
least take a bath and turn back into a male.
Nabiki watched the female Ranma walk into the changing room.
The middle Tendo had taken the liberty of removing the "Occupied" sign.
[Akane did get defeated by Ranma, so that should have triggered her.
True, he was female at the time, but once Akane's brain processes the
fact that she was defeated by a guy, her genetic impulses should do the
rest. Now I just need to get her in a situation where her hormones have
the best chance of taking over.]
She winced as she heard the slap echo from within the bathroom.
[Well, it's a start anyway. She may be in denial now, but it can't last
forever.]
Nabiki sighed as Ranma left the bathroom, still female, and
with the added handprint on her cheek. [I'll also have to get Ranma to
go along with this as well.] She caught up to her in the living room
after grabbing the heated kettle off the stove. "Ranma, can I speak to
you for a second? I'll give you this to change back if you do."
Ranma froze, then turned slowly see Nabiki standing in the
hallway. "Uh, I guess so," she replied nervously, seeing the heated
kettle. "But, could you just stay there, not that I'm afraid of ya or
nothin'... I just - well - ah, just getting used to all this, `cause I
ain't never seen someone like you before."
Nabiki waited while the other girl ran down. [Hmmm, Ranma does
seem as if he's never met another pokegirl before, but how could that
be? Was he sequestered away in a forgotten portion of the world with no
pokegirls? That would explain the lack of social mannerisms as well.]
The middle Tendo seated herself on a cushion and placed the
kettle on the table. "Listen, I just thought we might talk. I'm sure you
have many questions, and I can help answer them."
Ranma nodded slowly, then almost faster than Nabiki's eye could
follow, the red-head grabbed the kettle and doused herself. Ranma sighed
in relief as he sat down against the wall.
"Um, thanks," he told her. He was silent for a few seconds, then
asked, "What exactly is a pokegirl anyway? The doc that treated me said
I'd need one to defend myself, but I don't need any girl to fight my
battles for me."
"A pokegirl is what me and my sisters are, and what our mother
was," Nabiki explained, having heard this familiar lecture as she was
growing up. "We are genetically enhanced in many different ways as a
result of a war that happened a long time ago. Because of this, we are
faster and stronger than any man, as well as having a wide degree of
inherent special abilities. Most of us look relatively human, but there
are others, mostly wild ones, that are more animal-like than girl."
Ranma frowned. "That still doesn't explain why I should need
one. I don't care how good they think they are, I'm better than any
girl!"
"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," Nabiki said, shaking her head. She also
undid the top button of her blouse. Ranma didn't notice right away, but
Nabiki knew he would soon. "Even if you do know how to fight humans,
wild pokegirls are an entirely different story. Some have strong
poisons, others are spider-like and will trap you in webbing before
devouring you. There are hundreds more that wield magic, psionics, and
elemental attacks. A few would even drag you under into ground itself.
They're stronger and tougher than any normal human, and can heal fast.
Even if you can fight, you'd have to be lucky to survive an encounter
with a pack of wild pokegirls."
Ranma merely `hmphed' to this, clearly not believing the
explanation. Nabiki decided on a different approach.
"I saw your match against Akane, and I can tell that you were
hard-pressed there for awhile." Nabiki leaned forward a little, undoing
another button in the process, giving Ranma a good view of her cleavage.
"Nonsense, I was doin' f-f-fine." That's when he noted Nabiki's
new position and the extra view he was getting. He swallowed. Hard.
[Perfect!] Nabiki thought, grinning on the inside. [He's getting
flustered. He may have seen a woman's body before, but never quite like
this. I can tell he's a virgin, so I have to do this slowly. With any
luck, he'll start thinking of me in a totally different way.]
"Well you see, Akane wasn't even fighting at close to her full
strength," the cat-like pokegirl said in a low whisper as she leaned
farther across the table, now knowing that Akane was in fact listening
in just inside the hallway. Nabiki may not have the strength or power of
a fighter, but she had other skills, like advanced smell and hearing.
She had heard the youngest Tendo pad up in her bare feet, and having
lived with them for her entire life, she was well aware of what each of
her family members smelled like.
Ranma had finally had enough. Nabiki was getting too close, and
her presence combined with the pose, the (frightfully) hungry smile, the
cleavage, and the idea that Akane was better than him, was enough to
send him to his feet.
"What!?" Ranma protested. "Ain't no way that brutish chick is
better than me!"
"Brutish chick am I?" Akane nearly yelled in outrage, appearing
in the doorway. "I'm better than a half-pokegirl freak any day of the
week, and if you were to try me for real, you'd see that!"
"Oh yeah?" Ranma retorted brilliantly. Despite the fact that he
was arguing, Ranma felt good. For with all the strangeness he had
encountered today, arguing, fighting, and insults were things he was
very comfortable with. In unknown and different situations, it is only
human nature to seek out and cling to that which is familiar. "If you're
challenging me, you better take it back or else I'll have to prove to
you that I'm better than some macho violent tomboy!"
Akane's hands were clenched at her sides as she looked down,
trembling, and a vein throbbing on her forehead. Inside, she could hear
the mocking whispers that she was a Tomboy, a pokegirl, and not a real
girl; voices that she had heard from a young age and had always tried to
deny. She had wanted to be her own person, but a pokegirl was
genetically predisposed to being imprinted by the first boy that managed
to subdue her. Akane was very afraid of that.
Her head came up to spear the arrogant pig-tailed boy with the
look. "Fine then, I challenge you! Meet me back out in the dojo, and
we'll see which one of us is the best!" [If I can beat him, maybe he'll
give up and leave! I won't let a boy control me!]
Ranma was taken aback by the fire in the girl's eyes. She
seemed incredibly determined to prove herself, a feeling that Ranma was
well-acquainted with, having used that same determination to prove
himself to his father. It was something he understood and could respect.
But he still had his own pride to contend with. "Fine! I hope
you're a good loser!"
Akane whirled and left the room, trudging up the stairs to
change into her gi, while Ranma stood there wondering what had just
happened. Then he shook his head and left for the dojo to wait, figuring
that if the girl wanted a fight, he give her one. He didn't really want
to hurt her, per se, but he wasn't going to lose, especially not to a
girl.
Back in the living room Nabiki allowed that inner grin to
finally come to the surface. [Perfect! Ranma is as easily manipulated as
I thought he would be.] Just then, she heard the front door open and her
father come in.
She smiled wider. [Now to add one more ingredient to the list.]
"Oh, Daddy..."
"What's this?" Ranma asked turning over the small red device in
his hands. It looked like a small notepad, and had a wand pointing out
the top.
"It's called a `Poke-Dex' and it's yours," Soun explained. "All
tamers have one, as it helps to identify wild pokegirls, as well as give
detailed information about your own. It also doubles as an ID. This one
is now registered to you."
The ID part Ranma understood, as he knew his father had usually
carried an ID and had gotten into trouble when he was caught without
one. The rest was still moderately confusing. "Ah, okay." Out of
curiosity, he opened it up to see small screen and several buttons.
Just then, Nabiki walked into the dojo and the pokedex came to
life as it spoke. {Kitten: the cat-type pokegirl. Kittens make good
pets, as they keep themselves clean and can be very affectionate. They
are weaker fighters than most pokegirls, but can have some useful
alternate talents.}
Ranma blinked. "Ah, okay..."
Nabiki was followed by Akane, who was dressed in a gi once
more, and the pokedex once again became active. {Tomboy: the fighting-
type pokegirl. Tomboys are powerful fighters, but can be hard to handle.
Their strength is very high and are very well-suited to heavy lifting.}
"Well that was helpful," Ranma muttered, then noticed the way
Akane was staring at him. Her gaze appeared somewhat hurt, but that
quickly disappeared to be replaced by anger. Ranma really couldn't
figure out what this crazy chick's problem was.
"What's going on?" Soun asked, seeing Ranma and Akane take up
opposing combat stances.
Nabiki pulled him aside. "Oh, they're just going to have a
little match."
"What!?" Soun blurted. "Tamers don't fight their pokegirls!"
"I'm not his pokegirl!" Akane yelled.
"Relax, daddy, Ranma seems to be a decent fighter," Nabiki
soothed. "And I don't think Akane will hurt him too badly."
Ranma snorted at that. "As if she'll even be able to touch me!"
"We'll see about that!" Akane countered.
Nabiki raised her hand, then dropped it. "Begin!"
As Ranma expected, Akane led off on the offensive. Ranma worked
to duck and block the powerful punches that flared suddenly then
disappeared. He upped his speed and twisted away from a thrust kick,
then ducked under a roundhouse. Ranma turned aside a left hook, probed
her defenses with a few light punches, then broke away to gauge what he
had learned.
Ranma noted that Akane seemed to be breathing a little harder,
but she was otherwise fine. That was to be expected, since Ranma still
couldn't bring himself to attacking full out. His punches were pretty
light, and were mainly used to get Akane on the defensive so he would
face less attacks. He was faster than her, but she was pretty strong. He
didn't know who's strength was actually greater.
On the sidelines, Soun slowly reeled his jaw back into place.
[Ranma knows Anything-Goes! I know Genma said he was going to train his
son, but I never thought that meant actual fighting! I thought he was
just going to train him to be a good tamer.] Anything-Goes was a style
of fighting that had been taught at this dojo for as long as Soun could
remember, but only to pokegirls. Lately, though, no one had wanted to
learn.
Nabiki had come to the same conclusion. Though she had trained
in the Anything-Goes style as well, Akane had been better at it due to
being a natural fighting-type. Nabiki liked to use her brain more often,
but a pokegirl couldn't survive in this world by brains alone, unless
she wanted to be a domesticated Titmouse or Bunny type. Nabiki had
greater aspirations than that, and she would need some fighting skills
to obtain it.
"What's the matter?" Akane taunted. "Still can't really fight
me? You might as well give up now if you can't fight me for real!"
That did it for Ranma. He may not want to actually hurt her,
but no way was Ranma Saotome going to lose! He grinned. "Well if you
could fight at all, this might actually be worth my time."
"Why you-!" Akane charged again, this time going back into her
tackle attack.
Ranma saw it coming and prepared to dodge to the side, but
Akane halted it just before reaching him and lashed out with a weapon
that wasn't in her hands a second before. Ranma instinctively brought
both his forearms up to block.
*WHAM!* The large mallet strike sent Ranma skidding backwards.
That had hurt, but inwardly he was smiling. This was more like it! He
stopped and grinned cockily at her again. "That the best you can do?"
"RANMA NO BAKA!" Akane yelled, which froze Ranma in place for
some reason, allowing her to close the distance again strike out with a
fist that was seemingly on fire. The strike rocked his head back and
temporarily scrambled his thoughts, allowing his reflexes to take over.
Turning with the blow, Ranma lashed out with a roundhouse kick
that was too fast for Akane to block. As she spun from the impact, Ranma
lanced out with an uppercut that rocked the girl up into the air,
landing on her back some distance away. He leapt into the air to prepare
for the axe kick that would finish the combo, when his thought processes
kicked back in and he realized what he was doing. He adjusted his aim
slightly, so the ball of his right foot cracked the wooden planks just
to the side of the raven-haired girl's head.
Akane recovered enough to realize that if Ranma had finished
that move, it would have been very painful. She had a good healing
factor, but that kick would have been enough to take her out of the
match.
She had lost, that much was clear. While a part of her relished
the good fight, she couldn't help but feel despair well up at the
thought.
She had lost. To a boy.
"The winner: Ranma!" Nabiki announced, recognizing that Ranma
had technically won as well. [Just as I had hoped!] She felt a twinge as
Akane ran out of the dojo with tears forming in her eyes, but covered it
up with the fact that she was just doing what was in Akane's best
interests.
Akane was good, but Nabiki could tell that Ranma was much
faster and almost as strong. In her own sparring sessions with her
sister, Nabiki's speed was slightly better than Akane's, but the middle
Tendo just couldn't do enough damage to beat Akane. Nabiki had learned
from watching Akane's first match with the cursed girl, that Ranma was
highly skilled, moreso than herself.
Being a good gambler, Nabiki had easily seen that Ranma had
better odds of winning this fight. She had a backup plan if Ranma had
lost, but it wouldn't be needed now.
"Well, that was quite fascinating," Soun said, nodding. "Well
done, boy. You earned your first pokegirl! Of course, most either get
one from a breeder ranch or use traps to catch a wild pokegirl, but
whatever works for you." He shook his head, then handed Ranma a small
ball. "Here's Akane's pokeball. Good luck on your travels, son!"
"Hey, waitaminute!" Ranma protested. "What makes you think I'm
taking her anywhere?"
"Daddy, why don't we just let Ranma stay here for a few days?"
Nabiki suggested diplomatically. "He's still apparently new to this, and
it would give him time to acclimate to everything."
Soun nodded sagely. "Yes, I suppose that's alright. After all,
there's no real hurry is there? No sense in just pushing you out the
door until you understand everything you need to." He chuckled. "In
fact, it would be very dangerous to send a tamer out unprepared. Good
thinking, Nabiki."
Ranma felt more and more uncomfortable as Soun went on.
"Dangerous? I can handle anything! I've been travelin' most of my life.
It ain't no problem."
Nabiki turned and hissed at Ranma, which had the effect of
sending Ranma out the dojo door, stuttering something about getting
cleaned up. [Just as I thought, he must have ailuraphobia. That's why
I'm really the only one that scares him.] She smiled once he was gone,
inwardly chuckling at what she had done. [Well, there are ways of curing
people of their fears!]
Soun blinked at the retreating Ranma, puzzled by his reaction.
"Well, that was strange. He does seem good enough, I suppose. I just
wonder where his father, my old friend, is?"
"He also seems very new at this," Nabiki added, then turned back
to her father. "In fact, why not allow him to take two of us? It would
increase his odds of survival in the wilds."
Soun nodded. "Another good idea, but I'd like it if at least
one of you girls could stay around to handle the chores."
Nabiki grinned. "Leave it to me, Daddy!" Finally, this was her
chance! She had no inclinations of staying around a broken-down old
dojo, and this Ranma looked like her best chance for getting out and
making something of herself. There were, of course, a few problems to
work out, such as Ranma's fear of cats. But Nabiki was confident she
could deal with it. She was so sure, she would bet on it!
In her room, Akane thoughts were a jumble. She had finally been
defeated by a boy. A strange, perverted boy who turn into girl with
water and would now have to tame her, though he was quite handsome and
she recalled what he looked like when he stood up in the furo-
Akane began to bash her head against the wall and chant her
"Boys Are Perverts" mantra.
In the kitchen, Kasumi finished cleaning the kitchen,
blissfully content, and happy that they apparently had a new guest for
awhile.
And in the guest room, Ranma was laying on his back and
wondering what the hell he had got himself into.
---------------------------
Author's notes:
Okay, first off I should say that I didn't create the pokegirl concept.
I'm just using my own spin on them to tell a fun story, and create a
slightly different world. For those who don't know what pokegirls are,
just sit back and wait, and further chapters will explain my variation
on them.
And last of all, nothing is set in stone as far as this story goes.
Rewrites may occur, to better explain some points. After all, I'm only
human!