These characters are based off those created by Rumiko Takahashi. No claim to ownership or intent to infringe is made here. No profit is or should be made from this story.
This is an 'alternate' Ranma world and, by definition, the characters will be different from the original. Bear this in mind if you decide to review. Double quotes indicate speech, single quotes indicate thought, indicate writing, and indicate foreign languages (i.e. not Japanese).
Yamato Nadesico
Soun Tendo watched his daughters with concern. A great deal of his concern was for their reaction to his announcement. Girls were unpredictable and his own daughters were worse than most. A small part of his concern was for his own health should they react badly. And the final part of his concern was for his friend Genma's son. If all three girls decided to accept the engagement, the poor boy would be in trouble. But, as his friend Genma was fond of saying, the life of a martial artist was fraught with danger.
For their part, the three girls were remarkably calm. Soun idly wondered what they would have been like if their mother had died earlier. As it was, she had passed away quietly the year before leaving an empty spot in the house. But she had raised her daughters well in these last few years. Even bed-ridden she had taught the girls her Art and made them into young women. And her presence had been felt beyond the walls of the Dojo as well.
Soun recalled the incident with the young Kuno boy, several years previous. His wife had, somehow, gotten wind of the incident and had, without ever leaving her bed, dealt with the situation. The entire neighborhood still walked softly around the Tendo girls, and the Kunos had become something of a laughingstock, barely receiving the respect due one of the old Samurai Families.
Her touch was evident in all three daughters. Gentle, kindly Kasumi showed every sign of having her mother's talent for soothing things. She was forever finding sick animals and nursing them to health. Half of the neighborhood children came to her with their bumps and scrapes. She was well thought of as a negotiator and haggler. She got the best deals and settled disputes, often before they occurred.
Nabiki was her mother's daughter as well. She was sharp witted and sharper tongued. Her analytical mind could tear apart any problem and solve any puzzle. When there were unexplained thefts, people came to Nabiki. When important deals were being made, people came to Nabiki. Contracts could hide nothing from her and numbers were her second language. She could use an abacus the way most people used a calculator. The fact that she was as beautiful as her older sister and mother was not lost on the young businessmen of the ward either.
Akane had her mother's beauty as well, though it hadn't finished blooming yet. Akane had also inherited her mother's temper. While his two older daughters could display a towering rage, Akane was a force of nature when she became angry. Fortunately she had inherited her mother's nearly endless patience as well. And, surprisingly, she had the aura of authority. When Akane spoke, people obeyed. She was always calm and in control. When the hurricanes had devastated Tokyo last summer, Akane had stepped forward and taken control of things and the Nerima ward had been one of the least affected by the chaos that ravaged other parts of the city. The fact that Kasumi and Nabiki had backed their sister and brought their own talents to bear was often overlooked by those who had faced the force of Akane's will.
Soun knew that if the three girls decided against the engagement, there would be no engagement. So he watched them quietly. He had brought up the possibility of arranged marriages before and the girls hadn't been too opposed to the prospect. He hoped that they would at least treat this as an omai. He would try to quietly convince Genma not to pressure things too much.
To Soun's surprise, his daughters suddenly began questioning him about Ranma. The questions displayed an interest, and possibly acceptance. His hopes began to rise as he tried to field their queries.
In a nearby section of the Nerima ward, close to the shopping district, a rather unusual argument was occurring. A huge, giant panda was waving signs at a tiny red haired girl. She was largely ignoring the animal as she examined the selection of kimonos in a store window.
She paused, in the process of entering the store, and turned to the panda.
"Father, you said that you wish for me to make a good impression on your friend and his family."
The panda held up a sign. I want my son to make an impression.
"Then you should never have taken your son to Jusenkyo, Father. Since I am currently your daughter, I will have to be the one who makes the good impression, and I can not do that without a new Kimono." And she slipped into the shop, shutting the door in the startled panda's face.
The panda sat on the curb and waited. He knew the girl would be back out when she realized she had no money. A few moments later he realized the she did have all their money. He had given it to her after discovering that pandas do not have pockets in which to place money purses. He had been unable to retrieve it, as his son was more than willing to fight him for it, and his daughter kept it someplace he would rather not think about. The panda sighed and spent the time day dreaming about all the sake and food he would never have now.
Soun was beginning to worry. He had told his daughters everything he could about Ranma, which wasn't much. He had run out of things to say several hours ago and his daughters were beginning to get restless. He hoped Genma got here quickly. Akane's eyes were beginning to feel like little coals.
A noise from the front gate alerted them to the arrival of guests. The three girls were up and moving before Soun could speak, but he was tall enough to see over them when Akane slid the front door open.
The little red head blinked in surprise as they stared at her. Her kimono was bright green with sakura petals embroidered across the front. She had gold and silver obi tied in a complex butterfly fold. She held her matching parasol over one shoulder, her purse dangling from her wrist. Her other hand was full of fur as she dragged a giant panda by the scruff of its neck.
Upon seeing them, she released the panda, letting its head hit the ground with a thump, and bowed politely, her hands together. "Pardon me, for intruding."
"Welcome to our home," Kasumi said, returning the bow.
Nabiki imitated her. "You must be chilled, please come in for some tea."
Akane followed suit. "Welcome to the Tendo Dojo."
They fell back as she entered, allowing her room to remove her geta. She placed her parasol in the rack and accepted the house slippers Akane placed for her. She followed them back to the main room and gracefully sat where Kasumi indicated. Soun found himself sitting at the foot of the table, across from their guest.
The tea ceremony that followed was enough to bring tears to Soun's eyes. Each of his daughters moved with grace and poise, recalling his wife. They performed the ceremony together in perfect harmony, though Soun knew they had never practiced the ceremony, alone or together.
During the brief pause after the tea had been drunk, the red haired girl brought out two boxes. She had performed her part in the ceremony as gracefully as her hostesses, and now she moved with calm poise and assurance. She set out the first small wooden box and passed it to Kasumi on her right. Without a word, Kasumi passed the box to Nabiki. Nabiki examined the box for a moment, but passed it to her father before any insult could be assumed.
Soun recognized the box, though it was of much finer quality than he was used to. The delicate carving on the cover showed a simple bridge over a stream, with a tree in the background. The detail on the woodcut was amazing. He knew that inside there would be a small bottle of sake and two small cups for drinking it. A really expensive set would have wooden cups.
While he was examining the detail of the wooden box, the girl had produced a second, slightly larger box. Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane were immediately interested in this box, recognizing the folded paper of Nerima's finest (and only) Chocolotier.
"My Father only told me that his friend had daughters, but not how many. I apologize for not bringing a gift for each of you." She bowed and held out the paper box to Kasumi. "Had I known of your number and beauty, I would have found more appropriate gifts."
Kasumi reverently accepted the box and set it so all three of them could see. Nabiki, being closest was salivating at the smell. As Kasumi opened the box, they gasped. Nestled in the box, each in it's own carefully made nest, were six fine chocolates. Kasumi considered the effort that had gone into hand making these chocolates. Nabiki considered the cost of such finely crafted chocolates. Akane considered the fact that she would get two of the chocolates for herself, and none of them had coconut.
The girls looked up to gaze on their guest with wonder. The girl smiled, rising to her feet to bow.
"I am Saotome Ranma. It is my pleasure to meet you."
The stunned silence was broken only by the sound of Soun slumping to the floor in a dead faint.
The four girls chatted amiably while they waited for Soun to wake. Ranma was happy to meet three new friends, though she wondered why they all seemed vaguely disappointed. Still, they were friendly and quite pleasant to spend an afternoon chatting with. It didn't hurt that they were also very beautiful in their kimonos.
"Oh," Kasumi interrupted one of Ranma's amusing stories; "Father is awake."
Nabiki shook her head reprovingly. "Daddy, you could have checked to make sure Ranma was a boy."
"I assumed that my friend Genma's son was a boy." Tears began to stream from his eyes.
"Father, Father, Father." Kasumi's tone was gently admonishing, as if she were used to his follies.
Akane was smirking. "Let's not be rude to her." She turned and smiled at Ranma. "I'm Akane. Let's be friends."
Ranma nodded at Akane, but her attention was mostly on Soun. "That is correct. I am Genma's son, Ranma."
Four sets of eyes showed disbelief. Nabiki, who was on Ranma's left, reached out and prodded her chest. Ranma blinked. Nabiki placed her cupped palm against Ranma's breast and massaged lightly. When she pulled her hand away there was an obvious bump. Ranma let out a breath that was half moan.
"Yup," Nabiki stated. "Boys don't react like that. And I'd say that's a D-cup, at least. Even though she's not wearing a bra."
"Oh my," Kasumi blushed. "How traditional."
Ranma was blushing worse than Kasumi. "I'm not a boy now, but I..." She paused and stared at the three girls. "This is going to take a demonstration."
They followed her has she led the way to the bathing room. Soun blinked as the door was firmly, but politely, shut in his face, leaving the four girls alone.
"You must understand," Ranma began as she undressed. "My father is not the wisest of men. He is completely focused on three things." She untied the obiage and the obijime. The obi followed as she unwound it. Quickly and carefully, she folded the strip of silk and laid it on the counter with the two shorter cords. "First is his stomach, second is his desire to avoid work, and third is making me the best martial artist in the world."
The Tendo girls stared with awe as Ranma removed her kimono. Part of the awe was for the fact that she was wearing a traditional kimono of several layers. Part of it was for the way she carefully removed and folded each layer without letting anything touch the floor. But mostly it was her flawless beauty that held their attention. It was a combination of her movement and poise, her build and looks, and her mere force of personality.
"In his pursuit of this last goal, father has not only neglected certain aspects of my education, but he has done some very unwise things. My current situation is the result of one of those things." She finally stood before them, completely naked, and led the way into the bathing area. Nabiki idly noted that she was naturally red haired.
"In the Bayankala region of the Quing-hai providence of China there is a place called 'The Pools of Sorrow' or Jusenkyo. It is an ancient training ground. There are hundreds of pools and thousands of bamboo poles. The apparent use is to balance atop the poles while trying to knock your opponent off. The pools will break your fall, preventing serious injury."
Akane nodded. She remembered training with her father atop a series of two-inch pegs in a similar manner. Ranma smiled at her. She leaned against the wall, certain that the heat was making her a bit dizzy.
"Unfortunately, this is not the primary use of Jusenkyo. You see each of the pools is cursed. Whoever falls into a pool gains the curse of that pool. My father does not read or understand Chinese and so he did not heed all the warnings. I did not know any better and followed him."
She paused and turned on the water in the sink, letting the hot water build temperature. She removed a towel from the rack and wrapped it loosely around her waist.
"Some of the springs affect your form, changing you into whatever drowned there, but leaving your mind intact. Others alter your mind but leave your body intact. The most insidious change both mind and body. Fortunately the curse is very temporary. When splashed with cold water the curse is activated. Warm water cancels it."
She sighed and looked over the three young women. They would hate her after this, for deceiving them. The lack of social skills possessed by her male form would no doubt alienate them further.
"My father was knocked into the Shanmaonichuan. The Spring of Drowned Panda."
She paused.
"You were knocked into a spring as well?" Akane asked softly. "What did it do to you?"
"This is my 'cursed' form. I fell into the YamatoNadesiconichuan."
"The Spring of Drowned Perfect Beauty? How is that a curse?" Nabiki wondered.
"Because before, I was taught that girls are weak, and to be protected. All my life my father taunted me to greater efforts by calling me a girl. Only girls cry, only girls like flowers, only girls show emotions. And so forth. Now suddenly, not only am I a girl, but I'm the 'Perfect' girl. And I suddenly have many social skills my father never taught me."
Akane was beginning to get angry. Ranma was speaking of neglect and possible abuse. And the whole attitude toward girls was not helping her feel kindly toward her father's friend. She promised herself to show him a thing or two about girls when she met him.
Kasumi was torn. This young girl needed comforting and healing, but she had obviously not finished her story. Though Kasumi was normally very kind and forgiving, she was beginning to feel a bit irritated with Ranma's father. She would certainly give him a piece of her mind when she met him.
Nabiki brushed aside the story. She had already reached a conclusion that her sisters hadn't quite caught. Based on the fact that Ranma had been dragging an unconscious panda when she arrived, and the fact that Ranma had claimed to be a boy, saying that this girl form was his 'curse', logically, Ranma believed herself to be a boy.
"So you really are a boy? But you aren't as socially adept as you are now." Nabiki cut to the heart of the matter. Ranma nodded and stuck her hand under the steaming water. The change caught the breath of all three observers. Ranma gained nearly forty centimeters of height and quite a bit of mass. Her chest seemed to shrink and expand all at once, the lush softness of her breasts giving way to the firm solidity of his pectorals. Her curves vanished into his muscles. She had been toned and trim. He was firm and built. Three girls blinked and began to breathe faster.
Ranma blushed at the intensity of their stare. He wasn't mentally prepared for the situation he was in, and the social skills and poise of his female form were only dim memories. He put his hand to his pigtail in embarrassment. There was a moment while he noticed the widening of the eyes of the girls before the consequences of his action occurred to him. He had one hand in the sink and the other behind his head. Therefore there was no hand to continue holding the towel around his waist.
"Oh." Kasumi.
"My." Nabiki.
"God." Akane.
Ranma displayed his excellent training in the martial arts and reacted without thinking. He dove into the furo. Unfortunately, it was empty. The Tendo girls got a very good look at Ranma's other cheek as he scrambled for the faucet and turned on the cold water. The angle gave the girls another view of the change as buns of steel melted into a lush tush. Akane fanned herself, thinking that the heat was really bad in here.
Ranma sat up, much calmer and bowed, putting her forehead on the floor. "I am very sorry about this."
Soun Tendo faced the four girls across the table. A brief explanation of the events in the bathing room had been given. He wasn't sure he believed, but his daughters did. He could tell by the looks and body language that each of the three had some interest in this. He suspected that poor Ranma was in for trouble.
"So. You change into a girl with cold water, and hot water changes you back. Not an insurmountable problem." He paused. He could tell his own daughters were interested in the engagement, but he couldn't read Ranma. He decided to play it safe. "Did your father tell you about the agreement we made?"
Ranma was currently in girl form. She had plenty of training and skill to be the perfect Japanese woman. Which meant she knew all about omai and the associated meanings. She already had several clues, and the word 'agreement' provided the final piece of the puzzle.
Soun watched the young girl's face run a gamut of expressions, starting with confusion and ending at anger. He decided that Genma was in for a world of hurt if he had trained this girl to be the best. The expressions on his own daughters' faces were also cause for concern.
"Pardon me, Tendo-san," Ranma said, rising to her feet. "If I may use your Dojo, I need to have a discussion with my panda."
Soun nodded, knowing he had no choice. His daughters accompanied the girl. He noticed that Kasumi went through the kitchen. Shortly he saw Ranma dragging a vainly struggling panda into the dojo. Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane went in and shortly came back out. They all knelt on the steps, apparently waiting to be called back in.
"Father, how could you?"
The shout was followed by raised voices. The female voice dominated the male one. There was a splash and a shriek of rage.
"MY KIMONO!!!"
The sounds that followed were horrible. Screams of pain and popping of bone and ligament echoed around the yard. Soun buried his head in his newspaper and tuned out the sound of his best friend being chastised by his daughter. He had learned long ago to never interfere in a woman's matters.
The Tendos gathered around their table again. This time, yet another was added to the group. The older man was covered with bandages. His arm was in a sling, and he was sitting with one leg stuck out beside him. His ankle was heavily wrapped.
Beside him sat Ranma. She was still fuming. She was wearing one of Akane's old yukata while her kimono dried. Fortunately for Genma's health, the water did not seem to have stained the silk. Unfortunately for Soun's blood pressure, the yukata was a bit too small in certain areas. They hadn't been able to find any underwear for her either. From the looks Akane was giving the girl, she hadn't tried too hard.
"This is your friend, Daddy?" Nabiki beat him to the punch. "You really need to find better friends."
"Nabiki is right, Father." Kasumi chimed in. "I certainly hope that he plans to clean the furo after he bathes." She made her opinion of his need for a bath and ability to clean anything very clear.
If his older two daughters were hot tempered, his youngest was cold as ice. "He may sleep in the dojo, if you insist upon him staying. We will not have him shedding in the house or clawing the walls or furniture." Akane's tone caused Genma to flinch. "Ranma can sleep with me... er I mean in the guest room." Akane blushed as she looked at Ranma. Nabiki and Kasumi snickered at the slip.
Ranma smiled, glad to have a friend who didn't think she was a freak. "I'd be happy to sleep with you Akane. Nabiki and Kasumi too. We could have a slumber party."
Akane took a moment to recover, realizing that Ranma had no idea of the innuendo she had just made. Kasumi and Nabiki both turned a rather alarming shade of red, though Nabiki was obviously trying to hold her laughter in, while Kasumi was embarrassed.
"That's my boy," Genma roared. "Already planning to find out which will be the best fiancée in bed."
Ranma rounded on him. "Father, shut your perverted mouth. Or I will add a broken jaw to your list of injuries. And then turn you into a panda as well." The threat worked. Genma went very pale and snapped his mouth shut.
Ranma turned to the girls. "I must apologize, but I cannot choose any one of you as a fiancée. I would like to take time to get to know you and we can mutually decide which of us would be the best match. Is this agreeable?"
Soun held his breath.
"Of course, Ranma-chan. We would like to get to know you too."
"Some of us more intimately than others," Nabiki said, nudging Akane.
Akane just smirked back at her sister. "You were drooling too, Oneechan. And Kasumi isn't all pure thoughts either." She turned back to Ranma. "Pardon us, but there isn't any one like you in Nerima. You are much more attractive, in both forms, than anyone we know. Please pardon our rudeness."
Ranma bowed to her. "Pardon me for contradicting you Akane-chan, but you do know three girls who are more attractive than I." Her smile and the tilt of her head made all three Tendos blush at the compliment.
Author's Notes: 'Yamato Nadesico' is very roughly translated as 'Perfect Beauty' or 'Classic Beauty.' The actual implications go much deeper than that. If you've seen Ai Yori Aoshi, you have some idea of what this means. Aoi is referred to as a 'Yamato Nadesico.' Because I do not feel confident of my ability to capture that essence, I will not continue this story past the arrival of Ryoga, if I continue at all.
The other major change is the timing of Mrs. Tendo's death. Here she died only a year ago, so her influence will be much stronger. I am giving her a great deal of influence and power intentionally. After all, if Soun is still respected in the community years after her death, how much influence and respect she must have had while living. With an additional 8 years or so to exert that influence, the Tendos have turned out very different. Note that the incident referred to with Kuno is not the speech he gave in the original. This unidentified incident took place while both were in middle school. No other mention will be made of it.
Some may notice Akane's attraction to Ranma and assume I am making her a lesbian. While I am exaggerating her responses, I have no intention of making Akane a woman chasing guy hater. She is attracted to Ranma. Ranma's female form has a great deal of charisma and personality. Added to her looks, this makes her very attractive. Akane would have a 'school-girl crush' on Ranma, except that Ranma is also male. Nabiki and Kasumi are also attracted to Ranma (in both forms), but I am not emphasizing it as much. And there will be no lemon scenes.