Hina ½

Chapter 2

The Gang's All Here Part 1

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As the two walked towards Hinatasou, Ranma couldn't help but feel a little lost. Here he was, stuck in a new world as a new person because of one moment of stupidity on Nabiki's part.

Not a first time she had been stupid.

And his luck, her attempts to save her own ass by bringing him back would just lead to more trouble for him.

Yeah, like bringing these crazy girls to our world.

Shaking his head, he cleared out the horrid thoughts of both having to deal with the uncute tomboy and the violent kendo girl, not to mention the occasional assaults of the violent Todai hopeful.

Sometimes, it didn't pay to exist.

"Sempai, what did you do before the dorms?"

He stopped and turned towards Shinobu. He was hoping she would see him more as a big brother and not as a possible love interest.

But considering that in this world, he had an adopted sister who saw him more as a love interest than a big brother, he wasn't counting on it. "Um, I trained in martial arts, and have been trying to get into Tokyo University for the last two years."

She nodded. "Why are you still trying for Tokyo U?"

Ranma smiled. "Well, fifteen years ago, I promised two friends; Na-chan and Mu-chan; that we would get into Tokyo U together and live happily ever after." He paused and sighed, looking down at the ground, the depression in him feeling all too real. "I guess I haven't been trying hard enough."

She grabbed his arm. "You're still trying, Sempai, I'm sure they'll understand."

Ranma had to smile with her words. She had a quality that reminded him a lot of Kasumi. "Well, it's not all bad. Wanna see something neat?"

Seeing her nod excitedly, he cups his hands, and aimed towards the wilderness.

After all, what could go wrong with just showing her a small bit?

"Möko Takabisha!"

As the blue ball of confidence headed over the horizon...at about thirty times the size what Ranma wanted it to be, he knew he was regretting the previous thought.

Motoko stood steaming before the train engineer.

The training trip for the kendo club was being called off, because a streaking blue meteor had destroyed the rail line. They would have to return to the station, as it would take about a day for them to repair, not enough time for them to get any training done.

As the engineer began to send them back into the cars, she started wishing that she could run into a perverted male soon. She needed to release some anger.

"Hey! Aunt Haruka!"

On pure instinct, Haruka Urashima jumped over the counter, performed a simple somersault, and whapped her nephew over the head with her fan; never once dropping her cigarette.

And as she pulled back the broken fan, she knew her nephew had been busy. "Don't call me Aunt, Ranma."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I would if you'd quit smoking."

She tried to subdue him with her Evil Eye, but he just ignored her, choosing to escort a young girl that was with him to a table, and then ask her what tea she would like.

Sighing at the fact that her nephew seemed to no longer feel afraid of her—a sad and heart breaking realization—she sat down beside them. "So, Ranma, what brings you here?"

So, Ranma detailed about his earlier call with Hina, the fact that she had made the so-called "spur of the moment" decision to put him in charge of Hinatasou, and that he was going to set Shinobu up in the inn because of her parents.

"The girls won't like this. Well...Kitsune might, but Naru and Motoko won't."

Ranma just sipped his tea. "Well, it ain't like I'm forcing them to stay here. If they wanna act like I'm the enemy, so be it." His eyes grew, and his smile began to look a little wicked. "Shinobu, you wanna scare them some?"

"How, Sempai?"

He bent over and whispered into her ear. As he sat back, he openly smiled.

"But, won't that be mean to them, Sempai?"

"We'll only do it if they act mean first, okay?"

She looked reluctant, but nodded.

"So then, Ranma, what happens if the tenants leave?"

Ranma went back to his tea. "Well, I'm sure I can always find new tenants. After all, this place is a quiet little area, and with people always trying for and making it into Tokyo U, they'll always need a place to stay. Granma is sending someone with the money so I can get most of the repairs done by hand."

Shinobu looked worried. "But if you're working so much, how will you have time to study for Todai?"

He lowered his cup to the table. "Shinobu, I place the comfort of others before myself. I have to make certain that first and foremost, the tenants here are comfortable." Damn, who knew fusing with the immortal punching bag would do this to my vocab? "I have to keep this place running well, or the girls that would see me as a threat would use it as an excuse to get me kicked out. I won't be giving them any reasons to start fights over this. Besides, if I'm in charge here, I'll need to do this all anyway. If I can't handle the pressure now, what'll happen when I do get into Todai?

Haruka took the information in stride. So, not only was her nephew not in Todai, not only was he willingly taking the reigns as well as come up with a secret plan to deal with them, but he seemed...confident, he seemed ready to take over the reigns of power his grandmother had offered.

It was a great disturbance in the force...I mean, it set off her Haruka-senses. Yes, something was amiss. Her nephew should be depressed, cowardly, and with a pension of getting into trouble that was so strong, he should have tripped over a thought and ended up embarrassing himself by his head landing up the young Shinobu's dress.

But then his words caught her. Hina was sending...someone...with the money. "Um, who is Hina sending to deliver the funds and deed?"

Ranma just smiled. "She's sending Little Kanako!"

Ranma soon found himself covered in the tea Haruka had been drinking.

After getting Shinobu's belongings; as well as Demon-heading both her parents into finally acting civilized, the duo was once again climbing the stairs.

"Sempai, isn't that heavy?"

He smiled, rubbing her head. "Nah. I had to train one time with a couch strapped to my back, and an overweight sensei laying on it while running in a swamp."

"Wasn't that dangerous?"

"Nah. Now the wolves chasing me; that was dangerous."

Shinobu could only stare with wide eyed as he continued up the stairs, lugging her belongings and the groceries for the dinner she promised to make him.

"And that is about it," Ranma ended his tour, trying to recall all he knew about Hinatasou, including the memories he got from Keitaro.

"Wow," was all Shinobu could say. This place; to her, was heaven. "Thank you for bringing me back here, Sempai." She had already told him of her old visits here, ending with her broken arm.

For her, it had been a place of great dreams, of happier times.

For Ranma, it was a prison, a castle, Hell, Heaven... He had so much to do, so little time, and a rare chance for some peace. Sure, he had to cram tons of facts, formulas, and knowledge into his head. But, he didn't have to worry about passing this time. The story original had Keitaro and Mutsumi pass on their fourth time, Naru on her second.

But then, he had to figure out how to reveal their promise. He knew the Liddo-kun was a great start, but he needed Mutsumi here before he could truly proceed with that angle. The best he could do was hint at it if he was ever in her room.

Then there was Mutsumi. His only thought at the moment was perhaps finding her, and maybe staging a small reunion, calling her Mu-chan, and hoping by then, Naru had discovered that Mu-chan still had her name on the Liddo-kun.

Of course, such plans were to be put on hold. As soon as they had come down the stairs, they met the Hinatasou welcoming brigade: Naru, Mitsune, and Kaolla Su.

"Well, well. Who do we have here?" asked Kitsune, a playful smirk on her face.

"Hello, I'm Ranma Urashima, and this is Shinobu Maehara. She's a new tenant and I'm the new owner and manager."

"WHAT?" screamed the two girls before them.

Ranma was about to continue, but bent back a bit to avoid a flying foot from his right side. The foot belonged to a hyper active girl who used the wall in front of her to bound off, flip to the ceiling, and push off to land on Ranma's shoulders.

"Cool, you are good. You wanna play?"

"Maybe after dinner."

"Okies!" She jumped off his shoulders, landing and bowing. "I'm Kaolla Su!"

"Can we get back to you being manager?" asked Naru, trying to remain calm.

Ranma scratched the back of his head. "Well, seems Grandma Hina called me this morning and gave me the dorm to run. I guess the woman was hoping I would run it while still trying for Todai. Nice of her, since my folks were getting tired of my attempts. But, oh well."

Truthfully, Ranma didn't have a clue why Hina had given Keitaro the deed. The only thing he could figure out was she either enjoyed hearing about her grandson getting the shit beat out of him, or wanted him to be manly like Ranma's mother wanted him to be.

"No offense, sugar," said Kitsune, "but why would we allow a guy here?"

Ranma just smiled, not evilly, but a kind smile he often wore when faced with bad news. "Well, she did put me in charge. If I wanted to, I could make this place co-ed, or return it to an inn. I ain't going to force you girls to stay here, but don't go making me feel like a pervert. I'll respect your privacy, but don't go abusing mine." There, I even sounded like I know what I'm doing.

Hell, maybe bonding with him wasn't so bad after all. MWAHAHAHAHA! I will defeat Nabiki when I return home!

"I don't like it," proclaimed Naru.

Ranma's face hardened. "Tough. My family, my place, my choice. Like I said, I ain't holding you here. Besides, with the exams coming up, I'm relatively certain I can find some Todai hopefuls and students who need a nice residence here who won't go anti-male because of some bad experiences."

That seemed to deflate Naru, as well as put a concerned look on Mitsune's face. Ranma remembered that the girl was basically someone who moved the plot along, occasionally stirring up trouble, and would be likely to attack his wallet with a mixture of Nabiki's cunning and Shampoo's flirtations.

Somehow, Ranma knew that merging now had its drawbacks, remembering how like Ryoga Keitaro was when it came to women.

But, he could always stir up some trouble on his own. A mischievous smile crossed his face. "Shinobu, we can do what we talked about after dinner, if that's okay with you?"

"I don't know, Sempai," she said. To be honest, Shinobu had forgotten the plan Ranma had made as soon as she had seen him talk to her parents, seeing in her mind the big brother she had always wanted. "Won't I be sore tomorrow?"

"PERVERT!"

He turned, catching Naru's slap. "How is what we're talking about perverted?"

"Because you are going to—"

"We are going to practice martial arts after dinner, Miss." Ranma nodded sadly, but was smiling inside at how fast he had not only pushed the temperamental girl's buttons, but embarrassed her in front of everyone. "She's just worried that we might work too hard and her muscles will be sore tomorrow. Now, exactly what was your perverted mind thinking that we were discussing?" releasing her, he turned to make certain they were face to face, wondering if she would realize sooner what had occurred earlier that day when he was still Keitaro.

"I...well...I..." Naru had the decency to blush with embarrassment.

That was, until she caught sight of his face, the memory of prep school hitting her like Su on a sugar bender. "YOU'RE THE PERVERT WHO LOOKED UP MY SKIRT!" Naru lunged to deliver a punch.

A punch that Ranma caught with ease. "Skirt? Oh, yeah. Now I remember you. You were that girl I ran into and fell down in front of me, legs open."

Ranma just shrugged. "Well, then I'd suggest not wearing skirts that short." Smiling, he looked over to Shinobu. "Should we get started on dinner?"

Seeing her nod, a smile returning, the duo went to prepare dinner.

Kitsune just shrugged, heading up to her room to prepare a proper greeting for Ranma. After all, she had her rent to consider. Su just wandered off to create some new gadget. After all, the ronin didn't say no.

Naru hissed a bit as the two went into the kitchen. Not only had the pervert embarrassed her, but he shrugged her off like she wasn't even worth the effort.

Well, when Motoko got back, the pervert would get what he deserved.

Kanako relaxed in her seat as the plane made the final leg of the voyage back to Japan.

She had to smile at how much her Onii-chan had rattled Grandma Hina's cage. It wasn't everyday someone got the drop on the old bird.

The fact that it was her brother that did it...that was priceless.

Now, she was on her way to join him, so that they could run the dorms together.

God help anyone who got in her way of her dreams.

Motoko sneezed, rubbing her nose, before she made her way up the stairs. God, she needed a target.