Nabiki calls out as she leaves the house, "Bye, Bye. See you in school."

"Nabiki, wait for me!"

"You've got to show Ranma the way to school."

"Why do I have to!"

Ranma frowns. "Go with her. I'll get directions from Kasumi."

Genma hits Ranma over the head with a sign, "Be nice to them. You're going to marry one of them."

"Being nice to them does not mean forcing my presence on them when I'm not wanted. Besides, I've been nice to all of them, even after all of the slights and insults I've received. I haven't decided what the most honorable choice is, and I'm not accepting your opinions on the matter."

Later, as Ranma walks to school alone, he plans aloud "Ok, the first loony I have to deal with is Kuno. What do I remember about him from the dream? He's a real pervert, practices Kendo, and won't admit defeat from a male. Oh yes, he turns everything around to fit his insanity."

"I'm not going to throw a fight to get on his good side. Logic won't work. Gotta be something that fits his delusion of being a samurai. He'll never accept me as his superior, and I refuse to be his lackey, so it's either enemies, or friends. Maybe he'll accept me as the annoying brother at arms? That way he's not an enemy, but I don't have to agree with him, and we can fight to improve our mutual skill. As if I couldn't beat him 20 different ways. If this works though, it means I don't have to like him and I don't have to accept ambushes. He'll never respect me until after we fight so I gotta think of a face saving gesture, or he'll never admit it. Something to stroke his ego..." Ranma's thoughts are interrupted when he's splashed by cold water, triggering his change to female. "Why me?"

-----------------------------

"Class, we have a new student today. His name is Ranma Saotome, and he comes from China. Tell the class about yourself."

"I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Anything Goes School of martial arts. I've been training all of my life. I believe my father has set up several conflicting arranged marriages for me, so I'm not seeing anyone, nor am I likely to. If a stranger attacks me, get at least 20 meters away. Some of the people trying to kill me aren't too picky about bystanders. I don't expect the first attack for several weeks."

"That's quite an introduction. However, being new to the school is no excuse for tardiness. Stand in the hall."

Ranma stares at the teacher as if he had grown another head. "Ok. You actually enforce tardiness, and you allow fights on campus?"

"We don't allow fights in this school."

"When I came into the school, there were a couple dozen guys that had been beaten up lying scattered over the ground."

"Well, that's a special case. Go stand in the hall."

-----------------------------

A dull cafeteria knife with a note attached flies through the classroom window, and embedded itself in Kuno's desk. Kuno reads the note. "I'd like to meet with you when you have the time, how about during lunch, or after school? I'll be at the soccer field. Please bring your bokken. Ranma Saotome."

"Nabiki Tendo. What do you know about a Ranma Saotome?"

"Why do you ask, Kuno-chan?"

"I just received a very casual challenge letter from him."

Nabiki gets a mischievous expression on her face. "Well, he's living at our house, and our fathers want to engage him to one of my sisters."

"Never! I'll never allow him to steal Akane from me. Why else would he issue a challenge?"

"Kuno! Stand in the hall."

-----------------------------

Kuno charges across the soccer field towards a waiting Ranma. "I shall never allow you to be engaged to Akane!"

"Great! Thanks!"

This takes the wind out of Kuno's sails. His bokken droops, and with a truly moronic expression says "What?"

"I've heard about you, and want to ask your help."

"Help?" Kuno hasn't fit this into his delusion, so he's not quite firing on all cylinders.

"I've heard both good and bad rumors about your prowess, and about your love for Akane, so I thought you'd be the perfect person to ask."

"Someone speaks badly of my prowess? Point out the coward so I may smite him!"

Ranma mollifies "Let me tell you what I know. You are undefeated in kendo. Only Akane has ever stood against you. The bad things are minor. They say that facing so many opponents who are so inferior in kendo, has made you slightly sloppy in defense, and that Akane uses that slight error to win against you. If I am good enough to be in your league of fighting skill, I hope that someday we might strengthen our skills through sparring."

"They are in error. My form is perfect, in spite of the many weak fools I have taken on. If you did not come here to fight, why did you summon me?"

"It is a matter of family honor. Will you listen to my tale?"

Kuno is now seated, with a can of soda in one hand, and a bag of popcorn in the other. Ranma adopts the pose and manner of a traditional storyteller "My father is strong physically, but weak in spirit. I believe he has engaged me to multiple women without the others knowing. If I were to even date one of them, I'd be dishonoring all the families involved. I'll need your help in severing as many of these ties as I honorably can. One of these engagements was that I'd marry one of the Tendo sisters. I hoped you could help me break that bond so that I don't stain Akane's family's honor. Kuno, I need your help to keep them from forcing me to marry Akane, and disgrace her. There is no way I could honorably pursue her, except as a friend, but there are people who will force the issue. For Akane's sake, as well as mine, will you help?"

"I cannot but offer my aid in your predicament. But who are the knaves that dare to risk dishonoring Akane?"

"There are two. I hope you appreciate the sensitive nature of this problem, when you learn that they are my father, and Akane's father. Akane's father truly believes it is for his daughter's benefit. Even though he is wrong, he is trying his best to be honorable, so I can't hold it against him."

"How do you propose to solve this?"

"I don't know yet. Before we continue this, would you do me the honor of sparring with me? If I am close to your skill level, we might help each other improve. I too have only lost to my teachers. As this is for fun, neither of us are risking our reputations."

"Very well. You fight unarmed?"

"Musashi fought steel-armed samurai with an oar whittled into a bokken. Should I aspire to less than following his example by going unarmed?"

"He was a great man, but know this; it is possible to smash stone even with a wooden sword, if your skill is sufficient. Let us begin."

-----------------------------

As Kuno regains consciousness, he hears Ranma's voice. "Just as the rumors have said. Your opponents in the past have hurt you by being so poor fighters. You must regain your edge by sparring with a peer. Come, call me a peer, and we shall improve ourselves beyond what we can achieve alone."

"It will be a new experience for me. I cannot bring myself to go full out against Akane, and against all others I don't need to. We shall rise in skill until the very gods, themselves, may tremble."

-----------------------------

As Kuno returns to his desk after lunch, Nabiki asks, "So, Kuno. How was your fight with Ranma?"

"A match to make the earth tremble. Truly were we meant to meet. He is unlike any I've ever fought. I can hardly wait until the next time we spar."

"Spar? I thought you were going to kill him?"

"How could you mislead me into thinking that he wanted to marry your sister? The poor man, to be used so by his own family. Come. You must tell me all about your father's plan to marry Ranma into your family. Can he not see the pain such a plan would bring?"

"He wishes to unite the two branches of our families' schools of martial arts."

"But through marriage?"

"Tell me about it. He never even met Ranma before last night, and he had already decided on the marriage! Meeting his father, it wouldn't have surprised me if he were an honorless shiftless fool."

"No need to worry on that account. He seems to have a delicate perception of the trials of honor. He reminds me of myself, when I was younger."

"What happened out there?"

"He asked my help in annulling the agreement between your families. Then he pointed out some of the methods that the fair Akane uses to keep her maidenly innocence through her fighting prowess. With Ranma on my side, soon my approach shall so much dare the field, that Akane will couch down in fear, and yield."

"Sometimes I think that no man will ever couch with Akane."

"Be not afraid, for one day will I call you sister."

"I can hardly wait."

-----------------------------

"So, where did you go today during lunch?" Akane asks Ranma as he returns from lunch.

"I was just meeting Kuno. Interesting guy. I kinda like him."

"Figures that you two perverts would get along."

"Well, I hope you like dating perverts. After he agreed that our sparring match last night did not count as permission to date you, I started pointing out the mistakes in his defense that you used to defeat him this morning."

"What?"

"He's a fast learner. Once he knows the counters to your moves, and learns a new attack, he should be able to defeat you, and claim that date."

"How could you!"

"Easy. He treats me with respect, something that no Tendo has done. Besides, it's painful to watch him leaving such holes in his defense."

"But I hate Kuno!"

"Then you shouldn't have agreed to date him if he wins. I'd start training seriously, if I were you."

-----------------------------

Later that evening, Ranma walked up to the fathers who were busy playing one of their board-games, and asked, "So, Pop, what have you done to track down my childhood friend Ukyou?"

"Soun and I are hard at work on it, right friend?"

"What? Oh. Yes, right. Hard at work."

"Excellent, you do realize that if you want this engagement to happen, you have to find Ukyou, so any delay in finding Ukyou, is a delay of the engagement."

After Ranma had left them alone, Soun turns to his partner and asked, "Genma?"

"Yes?"

"We've been playing Shoji all day. Why aren't you looking for Ukyou?"

"Er. I didn't think he was serious last night?"

"Tomorrow, we'll start searching for him in earnest, right, friend?"

"Oh, of course!"

-----------------------------

The next day, as Akane and Ranma in female form enter the school courtyard, the school perverts charged them shouting "Akane! I love you. Let me defeat you! Pigtailed girl! Lose to me!"

Ranma shouts, "Why are your admirers attacking me?"

"I don't know. Just stay out of my way."

After the speedy incapacitation of the attacking crowd, Kuno steps out and says. "Truly that boorish lot deserved defeat at your hands, lovely ladies. But now you face me."

Ranma is furious. "Kuno! Did you put these losers up to this?"

"They but merely sought the right to date with you as I do."

"I have no intention of dating anyone, whether they defeat me, or not. If anyone attacks me again for that reason, I will break their left forearm before I knock them out. I don't want to date anyone! The idea of going out with someone because they can beat you up makes me sick to my stomach! Just because Akane is willing to go along with this doesn't mean I share her sick fantasies!"

"Hey!"

"But why would you object to dating the magnificent Tatewaki Kuno?"

"I'm too disgusted by this display to discuss it now. Ask Ranma when you spar at lunch."

-----------------------------

"Ranma! You deceiver. Release the lovely pigtailed girl to me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nabiki told me of your enslavement of the pigtailed goddess."

"Why would I enslave my younger sister?"

"Sister? Nabiki said that you two were of one mind and body!"

"She's family. Anything she wants, I want to find. Her enemies are my enemies. I'm closer to her than my own father."

"Then if she isn't dating you, why does she refuse to date me?"

"Once again it's my stupid father's fault. He engaged her to a violent martial artist without her knowledge. She's vowed that they will never marry, but still she has no desire to date anyone after that fiasco."

"That cad! Show me her betrothed so I might smite him!"

"No need. The engagement is all but annulled, and that gorilla never came near to hurting her. If you attack, then their family might feel the need to reinforce their claim to save face. Let this farce of an omiai die a forgotten death. I'll make sure nothing comes of it."

"Still, I insist you call me at once if there's any help I can lend. As you are her elder brother, I seek your permission to date her."

"I can not give anyone approval while she hates the idea of dating. I promise to let you know the moment she considers herself ready to date. That is the best I can offer at this time without betraying her like our father did. I hope you understand."

"It is less than I wished, but truly the only honorable path. I shall have to console myself with her images."

"Who took those photos?"

"I purchased them from Nabiki, yesterday afternoon."

"They were taken without her permission. This says volumes about the Tendo hospitality."

"I shall take Nabiki to task over this."

"I claim first right as her brother. I'll speak with the head of her clan tonight. How dare they do this while trying to join our families?"

"Your anger exceeds my own. I will leave this matter in your hands."

-----------------------------

"Mr. Tendo. As it is a matter of family honor, I will give you a chance to convince me why I should continue to live under your roof after your middle daughter has taken pictures of me without my knowing, while I was incompletely dressed, and gave or sold them to people at school?"

"Waaah. My daughter is a pornographer."

"Not quite pornography, but still objectionable."

Soun immediately tries begging, "Ranma! Please don't leave!"

"Do something about this. If you don't resolve this right now, I will leave."

"Ungrateful boy! You can't leave. I order you to stay!"

"Ordering me to be photographed in indecent attire? Don't you think the police would like to know that you are using your child to start a child pornography ring, and that you are the head pimp?"

"You wouldn't!"

"Find a way to satisfy me about this situation, or you can kiss your plans goodbye."

-----------------------------

Soun enters Nabiki's room, and asks her, "Nabiki, have you been taking pictures of Ranma and distributing them at school?"

"Well, only to defray the costs of having him here."

"They are my guests, and Ranma is here against his will. You can't charge them rent."

"I know. That's why I took the photos instead."

"I know I haven't done anything like this in years, but Nabiki, you are grounded."

"You're kidding."

"Try me. Give Ranma the negatives and all of the money you've made from him. I'll hold your camera until he forgives you. You're grounded until then, or for one week, whichever is longer."

"You can't do that!"

"The only reason you're not getting a spanking, is that it would embarrass both of us. If you're going to behave as a child, you'll be treated as one."

-----------------------------

Nabiki, still fuming, corners Ranma. "So what would it take to get your formal forgiveness?"

"How about letting me sell similar photographs of you around school?"

"I think not. What else?"

"Find the idea distasteful? Don't want your classmates leering at you?"

"OK, you've made your point!"

"Why should I forgive you? I don't particularly like you. Find some way on your own to convince me that you're seriously sorry, and not just sorry for being caught."