"Let's get some hot water before we meet your friends," Ranma suggested. "I don't think they'd take well to a strange girl and a giant panda showing up out of the blue."
"Growlf," the panda replied.
Ranma assumed Genma had agreed and lead them to a tea shop he liked to frequent because the old lady who ran it refused to be surprised by anything. He'd once seen Mousse and Ryoga get into a fight in their animal forms, get splashed with hot water and turn back into humans in mid battle before getting splashed with cold again and all she'd done was shoo them out of the dining area with a pushbroom.
"Welcome to The Seabloom cafe, what can I get you?" the old lady asked as the two took a seat at the counter.
"We need two cups of green tea, two glasses of warm water, and a couple of cups of hot water to go please," Ranma said politely, sliding her a couple of bills.
"It won't be but a minute," she said.
"Thank you," Ranma said.
"I don't think I've seen you here before," a young man said as he took a seat next to Ranma with a smile on his face.
Ranma took a five yen coin out of her pocket and held it up. Once she was sure the boy was paying attention she used two fingers to bend it in two.
"Martial artist?" the boy asked.
"Yep."
"Not interested?"
"Nope," Ranma said as the old woman returned with their order. Ranma poured a cup of warm water over her head, her body shifting back to male. He quickly straightened his clothes that were now uncomfortably tight.
"I'm a little disappointed and a little relieved," the boy said shocked.
"How so?" Ranma asked, having been mainly paying attention to the old lady to see if he'd gotten a response from her this time and only gotten a polite nod as she searched below the counter for a towel, which she handed to him.
"On the one hand you were an awesomely hot girl and I was hoping to talk you into a threesome with my girl, but on the other hand since you're a guy who can change back and forth she'd probably leave me for you so I kinda dodged a bullet there," he admitted.
"That was a surprisingly well thought out answer," Ranma said, "most people would still be poking me and denying magic is real or demanding answers."
"You just bent a five yen coin in half, I'm not demanding anything," he said.
"Good call," Ranma replied. "From your calm and rational manner I assume you aren't a local?"
"Nah, I'm from Minato. Well gotta bounce and let me just say, epic tits. Fist bump." He tapped his fist against Ranma's and left.
Genma wiped his face with the towel. "Thank you, Ma'am," he said politely. "What are the extra cups of water for?"
"In case we get splashed before we get there," Ranma replied. "Curses are just that, so the odds of getting there in our birth forms… about one in three, less if it's something important."
"Good thinking," Genma said, pretty happy about how things were going. Thanks to the money Ranma had found they'd been able to hire transportation and had made excellent time. Normally he'd have insisted they walk even though they had the money, but he had found getting out of China increasingly urgent due to events.
"So why are we going to your friend's place?" Ranma asked already knowing the answer, but wanting to get it out in the open before they reached the Tendo's.
"Soun Tendo and I made a pact while we served under our evil master, that we train our children to be heirs of the school and through their marriage reunite our art!" Genma said, preparing for Ranma to try and escape.
Ranma sipped his tea as if he was considering what Genma had said.
Genma stayed on edge, knowing Ranma could just be trying to lure him into lowering his guard as it's what he would do in his son's position.
"Well, since I need to be in my birth form you haven't done anything suicidal, like try to engage me to a male," Ranma said. "I suppose the least I can do is meet my prospective fiance and see if we're compatible."
Genma was a little shocked at Ranma's reply. Ever since the springs Ranma had been calm and reasonable, much easier to get along with. Frankly it was beginning to freak him out! "Soun has three daughters, so you'll still have a choice to make."
"I'm still too young to legally marry," Ranma said, "but that just means I have time to get to know them all. Hopefully one of them turns out to be of wife potential, because if it's two, things could get complicated."
"That's the spirit," Genma said, ignoring anything but Ranma agreeing to meet them and hoping one would make a good wife.
"The tea was excellent," Ranma said as he got up and grabbed his cup of hot water. "I'll definitely come here again."
"Yes, just as the boy said," Genma said cheerfully, grabbing his own cup and following his son out.
Half an hour later
"I believe this is the place," Ranma said as she opened the gate.
"Growlf," the panda agreed.
As they approached the door Genma tried to steal his cup of hot water and Ranma easily avoided it. "I told you to save your water until we arrived," Ranma said, pouring her cup over her head and ringing the bell. "Now, try and behave, you don't want to scare them before I can explain your curse." Ranma ignored the pouting panda.
After a minute a beautiful young woman answered the door. "Hello, I'm Kasumi Tendo. What can I do for you?" she asked politely.
"It's nice to meet you Miss Tendo, my name is Ranma Saotome. I believe you were expecting me."
"Oh my, yes," she said quickly taking a good look at him, not even noticing the panda. "Please, come in."
The two entered and Ranma exchanged his shoes for house slippers, before being escorted to the table.
"Father your guests are here," Kasumi called out. "Let me get some tea," she said, leaving them at the table.
Soun rushed into the room and paused. "Is that a panda?" he asked surprised.
"Indeed it is," Ranma agreed, "well spotted."
"Thank you," Soun said absently as the panda waved a paw at him. He sat down trying to figure out when he'd ordered a trained panda. 'Maybe I should cut back on my drinking.'
"Ranma Saotome," Ranma introduced himself, offering a hand.
"Soun Tendo… You're Ranma?" he asked excitedly completely forgetting about the panda in the room.
"In the flesh," Ranma agreed as Kasumi returned with tea, setting out cups for everyone including the panda and her absent sisters.
"I'll go get Akane and Nabiki," Kasumi said before hurrying off.
"You're here to join the houses?" Soun asked with a broad smile.
"I'm here to get to know your daughters and find out who I'm compatible with," Ranma replied. "I can't legally marry for about a year and a half, so that gives us plenty of time to get to know one another."
"A fine plan," Soun said, happy that Genma's son had a good head on his shoulders.
"Growlf," the panda said, lifting the cup of tea in front of him.
Ranma placed a hand on the panda's arm. "Wait until everyone arrives so we can explain it all at once."
"Growlf," the panda agreed, setting the cup back down.
"That is a very well trained panda," Soun said. "Wasn't Genma supposed to come with you?"
"That's kinda complicated and I have a very hard to believe story to tell you, but it's easily explained and proven," Ranma replied. "Once the girls are here I'll tell you."
"A bit unusual, but alright," Soun said, well aware of how strange the life of a martial artist could be.
"You must be Ranma," a brown haired girl with a pageboy haircut said, as she took the seat directly across from Ranma. "I'm Nabiki Tendo."
"Pleased to meet you," Ranma said, enjoying how much friendlier Nabiki was when she was introduced to Ranma and not Ranko, as that did tend to sour relations between them.
"I understand you just came back from China?" she asked curiously.
"Dad, you said that boy was here?" Akane called out as she stepped into the room, sweaty from her workout and angry about the very idea of arranged marriages and some boy getting 'her' dojo!
"Akane!" Soun chastised her, upset at her rudeness.
Akane winced at the looks she was receiving. "Sorry," she apologized taking her seat across from Genma.
Ranma nodded and waited for Kasumi to pour herself a cup of tea before speaking, "Hello everyone, my name is Ranma Saotome, I've spent over a decade traveling the world learning martial arts and have just returned from China. My father informed me of an existing engagement with the Tendo's not more than half an hour ago when we stopped for tea, that's the reason I'm here."
"Half an hour ago?" Nabiki asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Ranma agreed. "It was a bit of a surprise, but no more than a meeting with an omiai would be, I don't expect a final engagement for quite some time, at least a year as we all get to know one another anyway. At this point I'd really like to be friends before we even consider anything more."
"I think I'd like that," Kasumi said, surprising her sisters.
"Friends can date, right?" Nabiki asked, a smirk playing about her lips.
"Friends can date," Ranma agreed, "there's just no expectation of any romantic activities."
"I can live with that," Nabiki agreed.
Ranma picked up his tea and upended it over his father, turning him human once more. "By the way, nearly everything you think you know about the nature of reality is wrong and magic exists."
It got loud for a minute and Ranma sat quietly and enjoyed his tea.
Ten minutes later
"...and that's the story," Genma said.
"You turn into a girl?!" Akane exclaimed, pointing at Ranma, rather rudely in his opinion.
Ranma decided he would do his best to help Kuno achieve his lifelong dream and help him marry Akane. "Yes," Ranma replied. "Thankfully we don't live in the medieval times so it's really easy to find hot water and some of the pools... " He gave an exaggerated shudder.
"Some of the pools?" Nabiki found herself asking.
"Spring of drowned carp," Ranma said sadly. "It takes at least a decade for the curse to be weakened enough to break, but imagine life where you have no choice but to live as a fish or be one light rain or random splash of water from becoming a fish and dying on the sidewalk."
"That's horrible… Wait, how does a fish drown?" Kasumi asked.
"Magic," Ranma replied. "Despite what they're called you don't even have to drown. There is one pool The Spring of Drowned Asura, that someone dropped a statue of an Asura in centuries ago, that curses people. I understand they develop temper problems and bad backs which just makes it worse."
"I can see how they'd develop anger issues, but bad backs?" Nabiki asked.
"Between the breast size increase and having four arms… it really isn't pleasant," Ranma explained. "Now that is a curse on everyone around them, as they gain the ability to throw fireballs as well."
Nabiki pictured an angry Akane with four arms flinging fireballs everywhere. "Yeah, I can see that."
"I don't believe you, this is all some trick," Akane said shaking her head.
Ranma poured his now cold tea over Genma.
"Growlf," the panda complained, before holding out his own cup to get a refill from Kasumi.
"Explain the panda," Ranma said, wondering if Kuno would prefer a summer or spring wedding.
Akane shivered as a chill ran down her spine and remained silent as Genma poured his cup of tea over his head.
"Must you use me as an example?" he asked Ranma, noting the koi pond in the backyard and deciding to teach his son a lesson.
Knowing what was coming Ranma set the house slippers he was wearing aside and let Genma throw him towards the pond. He rolled in mid air and landed on the stone in the middle of the pond on his feet. "Spar?" he offered.
Annoyed that Ranma had escaped his punishment Genma got up. "Yes, I do believe it's time for a spar."
The two forms quickly blurred into action stunning the Tendo's with the speed at which they moved.
"No way," Nabiki said in disbelief as the sound of flesh striking flesh rang out across the backyard, looking like the special effects from a high end martial arts movie.
"My old sparring partner hasn't lost his edge," Soun said with a smile, pleased to see his future son-in-law was very well trained indeed. "In fact… I think Genma has improved."
Genma landed in the koi pond splashing water everywhere.
Ranma adjusted her clothes to fit her new frame, but Genma didn't attack, simply climbing out of the pond and shaking himself off. "As you can see it's no trick," Ranma said wringing water out of her pigtail and wiping off her face, while sending a back kick at her father, who had attacked while he thought she was distracted.
"As curses go it could be worse," Soun said.
"Yeah, he could be carp," Nabiki said with a shiver, thinking Ranma had got off lucky.
"It's perverse!" Akane exclaimed, eyeing the redhead and comparing herself and coming off second best.
"That's why it's called a curse and not a blessing," Ranma said as she came inside. "There is a rumor that the curse is suppose to teach each individual something, but I'm at a loss as to what turning into a girl is suppose to teach me."
Genma followed Ranma inside and poured a cup of hot tea over his head. "Well, you are a lot more polite and your cooking is better."
"Bit of a waste to use that much magic to teach me what a couple of summer school classes would cover," Ranma said as she sat down. "Besides, what has it taught you?"
"That poachers are evil!" Genma declared with a growl.
"Oh yeah," Ranma said using the soul of ice to keep a straight face. To speed Genma up, so they could reach Japan without stumbling into a half a dozen situations they normally got into, Ranma had hired some people to hunt Genma. It had been remarkably effective, but lowered the number of times they'd run into Shampoo sadly.
"Poachers?" Soun asked.
"Poachers," Genma said firmly. "China is rife with them."
"Not going to turn back?" Kasumi asked Ranma.
"Nah, I think the curse splashes you more the less time you're in your cursed form. I get around it a little by sleeping in my cursed form, so I don't have to worry about getting woken up by being splashed, but I still wait a little while after being splashed before turning back, just in case," Ranma explained.
Nabiki reached out to check if Ranma's breasts were real, not even thinking about what she was doing.
Ranma moved back. "Nabiki! I said friends first!"
"Friends check each others' cup sizes," Nabiki tried to defend her actions, blurting out the first excuse she could think of.
"At the table?" Ranma asked, playing dumb, something she was remarkably good at.
"In the locker room and at slumber parties mostly," Nabiki admitted.
"Oh," Ranma said, "well I have no plans to go into any girls locker rooms and I seriously doubt I'll be invited to any slumber parties," she joked.
Kasumi and Nabiki giggled at the idea of any girl inviting the polite and formal boy they'd just met to lounge around in pajamas and exchange makeup tips.
"You never know," Nabiki joked, thinking this was the strangest day she'd ever had.
"That's perverted!" Akane exclaimed, picturing Ranma sneaking into a slumber party with a bunch of defenseless girls.
"Slumber parties are perverted?" Ranma asked Nabiki with a clueless look on her face.
"Not the ones I've been to," Nabiki lied, before making sure everyone saw her looking at Akane suspiciously.
Akane blushed and spluttered as if she had something to hide, which Ranma knew wasn't true but considering the number of things Akane thought was perverted, she probably thought she did.
Ranma turned to Kasumi deciding to let Akane stew for a while. "Would you like help preparing diner?"
"I couldn't ask a guest to help," Kasumi said.
"If things work out we're going to be family," Ranma said, "and I quite enjoy cooking. So, please may I help?"
"If you like," Kasumi conceded, hoping Ranma was a better cook than Akane. She silently muttered a prayer in her mind that is was so.
"I think I'll join you," Nabiki said, surprising her family who knew that she never cooked unless forced to.
"I'll help," Akane quickly offered not wanting to leave her defenseless sisters to Ranma's mercy.
"No room," Nabiki said firmly. "Sorry sis, we can only fit three people in there comfortably unless we want to be brushing up against each other all the time… unless that's what you had planned…"
"No!" Akane exclaimed wide eyed.
"Good, then you can wait out here," Nabiki said quickly as they escaped into the kitchen.
As the door was closing Soun could be heard saying, "what exactly goes on at the slumber parties you attend?"
Typing by: fyrewolf5
TN: I know she was made worse in the anime, but even in the manga Akane was a bitch, nice to see a version of her actually being forced to deal with her actions even a little, and I think a nice spring wedding with Tatewaki Kuno would be best. Hopefully Ranma can prevent the full Kuno family from getting too nuts on him, Kodachi being into him is going to be tough enough, don't need Tatewaki trying to "rescue" Ranko as well.
