Chapter 3: Should Have Looked Carefully Ranma-kun!

*Splash*

Shiina Makoto floated for a few moments, stunned. His life had flashed before his eyes when he'd chased Saotome outside, and had failed to realise they were on the third floor. Despite his youth it hadn't quite finished when he'd hit the water, and middle school was still wrapping up while he floated in the cool pool. Then he realised he was still alive. Also that the chlorine in the pool was really hurting his eyes. (Well, he thought it was the chlorine.)

Shaking himself back to his senses, he saw Saotome swimming away, and the tall boxer lunged forward. Grabbing at Ranma he wondered why the martial artist's hair looked so red. His second swing caught Saotome by the pigtail, which resulted in a surprisingly high-pitched yelp.

'Weirdly girly noise,' Shiina thought to himself as he brought his other arm around Ranma's torso to grapple his foe. He was briefly wondering if Ranma had always been so short when his thought process was derailed. His grasp around the enemy had resulted in contact with something soft... no, two soft somethings. Shiina subconsciously grabbed at the mysterious softness, trying to figure out what Ranma had down his shirt.

An even more high-pitch shout followed that, and Shiina found himself thrown out of the pool, slammed on his back (slightly indented into the concrete). Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ranma rushing away, and swore he heard Ranma whisper "Pervert" while scrambling away. Shiina meanwhile was staring at the clouds, trying to piece together what it meant. Sifting through his thoughts Ranma's angry words yelled at Hibari slid into the boxer's mind: "You ain't my type! I don't go... don't swing that way! Regardless of my own condition!"

What had Ranma meant by 'my own condition'? Shiina was scratching his head trying to slot it together, when suddenly a conclusion slid into place. It was a logical conclusion. Sure, there was a loose end or two, but Shiina knew he didn't have all the facts. Still, to anyone living a fairly ordinary life it was the only explanation that would make sense. Unfortunately, it was also almost 100% wrong.

Shiina saw no reason to continue the fight based on the new 'facts'. He'd convinced himself that Hibari's 'flirting' had been meant as good natured teasing which Ranma had misread. Hibari was nothing if not a joker. She teased Shiina all the time after all. As such Shiina pulled himself out of the cracked concrete and began walking back to class, when he saw Hibari hurrying out of the school with a kettle in her hand. The blonde looked at him angrily.

"I'm sorry," Shiina shrugged, before blushing a bit. "Tell her it was an accident. I didn't know... she was really quite convincing."

Hibari just did an adorable head tilt which made Shiina grow redder.

"I also won't tell anyone," the boxer muttered. "I don't know why she's attending school as a boy, but I'll help Ranma keep her secret, as it seems important to you."

Hibari started giggling. "Thanks. Very kind of you."

"I hope this might improve your opinion of me?" the pompadoured boy asked.

"Maybe," Hibari winked before heading off.

A red-haired Ranma meanwhile had managed to find a tree to hide himself in and had just pulled off his pants to ring them out.

"Great, that lanky oaf groped me," the redhead grumbled. "Now he's probably going to go and start even more rumours. Or maybe falling in love. That's probably how it'll end with my luck."

Ranma sighed, remembering what he'd heart people were twisting his words towards Hibari into.

"Wonder though, would using the curse to pretend to be a girl less dishonourable than those rumours?" Ranma muttered to himself.

"You'd look cute in the gym uniform," Hibari called up.

"Gah!" Ranma gasped, as he tried to hide himself deeper in the tree. "Keep away from me ya pervert!"

"Hmph," Hibari grumbled. "Well then, I guess I'll just use this kettle full of hot water to make some tea then."

A mischievous wink made Ranma blush, before Hibari continued. "Of course, jumping into the pool with half the school watching on your first day, it certainly makes it seem like you want them to know about the curse. Or are you jealous I get to go to school as a girl and you want to too?"

"I ain't going for any of that pervy nonsense," Ranma fumed. "I just didn't know the school layout yet, and couldn't listen to those rumours and lies. But I ain't gonna wear dresses or nothin'. I'm a guy dang it!"

Ranma subconsciously slapped his chest for emphasis, followed by a quiet 'ow'. Both of them blushed awkwardly.

"It's not fair," Hibari whispered under her breath.

The blonde then glared at her busty fiancé, and proceed to chuck the kettle at the tree just beside his head. Upon impact with the trunk the hot water sprayed out, and changed Ranma back. Ranma nearly slipped from the branch he was on dodging the kettle. He had no idea what he'd done to warrant getting something tossed at his head. Still, he was glad for the hot water.

"Come on, let's get back to class," Hibari said as the kettle clanged back to earth.

"To listen to more lies?" Ranma glared as he hopped down from the tree, wringing his pants out on last time for good measure. "I'd rather not."

"There's a simple solution," Hibari smiled playfully, "Everyone here sees me as a girl, so you just have to seem extra lovey-dovey with me, and the rumours will stop."

Ranma just glared, "Yeah, no. I've had enough school for the day. I'm goin' home."

After a brief eye roll Hibari replied, "Fine, I'm going to class though."

Ranma was taking off his shoes, growing impatient for the sweet release of some hot water when the father of the Ozoora clan noticed he was home. Somehow he'd managed to get splashed by a car driving through the one puddle leftover from yesterday's rain.

"You're back early," the mustachioed yakuza boss stated flatly.

"Yeah, well... you can blame 'Hibari-chan' for that," Ranma grumbled. "How does that guy even get away with goin' to school as a girl?"

"The principal is an old friend of mine," the middle aged father said as he shrugged. "He's willing to look the other way on more than a few issues. As for the situation with Hibari, when my wife passed away I fell into a period of weakness. Hibari had begun acting more feminine soon after, I think as a coping mechanism, and I was too shattered to stop him. By the time I'd snapped out of it half the boys in his class had crushes on him and the family honour was in jeopardy. Keeping the secret was less shameful, and it's only gotten worse since."

Ranma just stared at the man, unimpressed. In his current form Ranma's glare judgment felt even harsher to a man with four feminine children who often pointed the same look at him.

"Still, your presence should hopefully shake him out of it. Having another boy around his age, who at least always acts masculine will provide him a role model," Ibari nodded happily to himself. "Your curse might even help with the issue. Showing that you can act masculine even when you don't look it. I have sometimes wondered if Hibari's naturally pretty face is why he's afraid to act masculine."

Ranma sighed. "Yeah, alright. I don't much like spendin' time with deviant types, but I'll try my best to sort him out. At the very least to get outta this dumb engagement you stuck me in."

The hospital room in Kyushu was once more home to a tragic event. Many people had died within its walls over the years, but that fact lessened the pain of the event only for the unfeeling walls. The teen crying and holding his mother didn't care. Her eyes were closed as she was drifting towards the end.

"Mom, please, you have to hold on," Kosaku cried.

In a panic her started shaking her as he cried. The doctor began to chastise him when the woman awoke.

"Kosaku... You need to go to Tokyo... You'll be on your own... Go stay with the Tendo's. You'll-you'll look after my boy, right Soun?"

The strange man who was crying more than Kosaku bent forward and took her other arm, "Of course Harue. I swear on my honour as a martial artist."

"Hong Kong?" the bandanna wearing lad asked, making sure he'd heard correctly.

"Yes, this is Hong Kong," the old man said in mildly accented Japanese, "Where did you think you were?"

"I'd been aiming for Tianjin... no wonder the coast seemed so much further than I thought. At least I didn't end up in Kenya," Ryoga shrugged.

The old Chinese man was knocked from his feet by the absurdity of this boy's sense of direction.

Chapter 3.5: A Man Among Men!

(AKA: Chapter 3 was too short to be it's own update.)

Ranma was relaxing in a hot spring when Hibari slid seductively out of the water before him, wearing a very wet white button up shirt, and leaned over gracefully into Ranma's personal space. Hibari began slowly unbuttoning the shirt, while give Ranma serious bedroom eyes.

"W-what are you doin'?" Ranma stuttered.

"I-I love you," Hibari whispered.

"We-we're both guys," Ranma shot back nervously.

"Oh really?" Hibari smiled and pointed at Ranma's chest.

Ranma practically shrieked to see that he was in female form, despite the quite warm water he was sitting in. He tried to retreat, but found the water pushing him in place, while Hibari's shirt had slid off to reveal a male torso. Hibari pushed forward to hold Ranma as the redhead struggled to escape. Just before a kiss landed on his lips he found a statement escape his mouth. The kiss landed.

Gasping awake Ranma realised that what he'd said in the dream just before the kiss:

"Stop! Hibari-chan, I'm the guy!"

Ranma shivered as he held himself. The room was still fairly dark as Ranma tried to regain control over his breathing. He glanced out the window, terrified that what he said in the dream meant he'd actually wanted to kiss Hibari on some level. It had been a full week and he was still a confused mess. He whispered to himself that it was the curse. It had to be.

"Yeah! That's it! Just the curse," Ranma stated aloud, boasting to the empty room. Hoping the mantra would work better when said aloud.

"Wazz all tha' noise?" a sleepy Hibari grumbled, stumbling through the door between rooms in only a night gown. "Ya okay?"

"It's... it's nothin'," Ranma stuttered. Struggling to ignore the blonde's beautiful face.

"Oh good," Hibari replied, approaching Ranma's bed. "I'm goin' back ta sleep."

Ranma was shivering as he'd backed against the wall, and found himself sliding into a near state of shock as his fiancée slid into bed beside him and swiftly fell asleep. The blonde was out cold before Ranma could stop Hibari.

"Hey!" he grumbled. "We can't share a bed! Not when I'm just in my boxers an' your in that... whatever it is. People'll think I'm a pervert too!"

Just as Ranma was reaching over to try to shove Hibari back awake the door opened. Seiji stood there confused. Then he chuckled.

"Sorry, but boss' rules," the large man said quietly, as a produced a squirt gun and drenched a sleepy Ranma in a single shot. "Not allowed to share a bed otherwise."

The instant redhead glared.

"Izzz no fun," Hibari muttered, climbing reluctantly out of bed.

The redhead and blonde both grumpily wandered towards the dining room, only mildly surprised that Tsugumi was already hard at work cooking breakfast. Ranma had barely noticed how quickly some parts of life with the Oozora family had become routine in the past week. He certainly liked the fact that Genma was sleeping in a different building of the compound, saving him from morning ambushes. They still got their sparring in when he got home from school, but it was nice to not be woken up by a surprise attack (though he expected the panda was just trying to lull him into a false sense of security and would begin attacking again soon).

"Morning boy," Genma grumbled as he wandered to the table, before grunting at Ranma's physical femininity and attire. "Not being a very good role model for the perv-er, Hibari-kun."

The sudden shift in tone was sparked by the Oozora father entering the room. While Hibari's father was far from gentle about the terms he used in regards to Hibari there seemed to be a clear understanding among the Oozora clan's grunts to never use those insults themselves when Ibari was around and Genma wasn't quite sure he could get away with it either. The curly haired yakuza leader however was lost in thought as he sat down, holding a letter in his hand.

"Son," Oozora-san said firmly to Hibari. "Do you remember what I'd told you the day before the Saotomes arrived?"

"That I should give my sister her dress back?" Hibari asked with a cheeky smile.

"No, the other thing."

"That I shouldn't juggle the veggies when I'm cooking?" Hibari replied with a mischievous glint in those blue eyes. "Or was it Tsugumi who said that?"

"No!" Ibari roared as he stood up to loom over the table. "That I'd been too soft, and it was time you start rigorous training to grow into a man among men, worthy of the Oozora family! That I'd sent for a man who specialised in training the manliest yakuza!"

"Oh," Hibari giggled and winked, "That was my third guess."

"Well, I've just gotten word he's in Tokyo once more, and should be here soon," the mustachioed yakuza boss boasted, before turning to Ranma and Genma. "As for you two... When the Spartan Dragon succeeds I will need to find a different debt repayment option. Maybe Tsubame-"

At that the yakuza boss finally noticed just how Ranma-chan was dressed. Or rather, not dressed. Sitting their in only a pair of boxers, Ranma's well endowed chest was visible for all to see. Oozora-san's weak heart was not prepared for a shock like that so early in the morning, and the man collapsed clutching his chest muttering about white crocodiles. At the sound of the commotion Seiji and Suba rushed in carrying an assortment of medications for the curly haired yakuza boss. Meanwhile the rest of the family figured out what had caused the sudden attack.

"Gah, Ranma!" Tsubame shouted angrily. "Show a bit of feminine modesty!"

Ranma's anger flared at that. "Feminine modesty? What do I need that for? I ain't a girl!"

"Still, in that form you can be distracting to the men around here," Hibari cut in. "Here, this'll help."

The red head caught the tossed object before cluing in as to what the item was until it was in his hands, at which pointed he yelped. "A bra?! I ain't gonna wear one a those! I'm not a pervert! Take your dumb thing back."

As Ranma shoved the offending undergarment back at Hibari it allowed Tsubame get a better look at it and what she saw drew her back in the conversation.

"That's my bra! Hibari!"

The brunette lunged across the table at her blonde sibling, who was already running off, tongue out mischievously. The petite Ranma grumbled, but turned to go back to his room and put on an undershirt. Then he'd grab a shower.

While the teens of the house were occupied there was a knock at the door, and the thug stationed there opened it to find an intimidating man in an all black suit, a white tie, slick backed hair, a pencil mustache, and distinctive pointed sunglasses. The panicked guard called out for Ibari, who quickly made his way to the door (having recovered from his early heart issues) with Genma in tow.

"You seem troubled," the Spartan Dragon said to Ibari.

"It's that obvious?" the Oozora clan patriarch replied (not realising Genma was holding a sign behind him that read 'Oozora-san is troubled') and then he continued. "Come in and we shall discuss it."

As they walked in the little blue haired Suzume strolled in (oddly enough wearing a sweater with her name on it, though it wasn't like Ranma didn't have an undershirt similarly emblazoned with his own name). Looking up at the fierce yakuza trainer Suzume was shocked when the man removed his sunglasses to display a frightening sight of almost impossibly far set and small yet intense eyes. The young girl burst into tears and ran off.

"That was a very small child," Spartan shot coldly. "What was she doing here? This is a place for men."

"She's my daughter," Ibari stabbed back. "I try to run a family oriented gang."

The Spartan Dragon seemed less than approving of that, but knew it was not his place to say. Instead he just followed the two middle aged stocky men to a seating area, put his sunglasses back on, and waited as Seiji served some tea.

"I must say, it is an honour to meet the Spartan Dragon," Genma spoke up (knowing that Ibari liked to focus on his tea when drinking it). "I have heard you are the toughest yakuza trainer in Japan, a fierce martial artist, and perhaps the very embodiment of true masculinity."

"It has been said," Sparta Tatsugorou replied. "I am curious as to why I have been called here though. Oozora-san was rather cryptic with his request."

"I need you to train my son," the Oozora father replied. "He... is my only heir, yet is a severe disappointment, whatever I try."

"Hmm," Sparta sighed, "I will need to meet him of course."

Oozora's reply was cut off by a blonde running past the door, followed by an angry brunette demanding the return of one of her skirts. The chaos was followed by a casual looking boy with a short braid in his black hair who only seemed to half care about the chaos, choosing the loiter near the door. Sparta began to appraise the youth.

"This is your son?" the man replied, continuing before he got a reply. "He seems in good shape, but perhaps a bit too relaxed. Hair is much too long though. Silk shirt might be a little soft for a real man."

Genma coughed, and then thought back to a certain contract he'd signed a little over a decade earlier.

"Actually, that is my own son. If you wish to include him in your training it would be appreciated. His martial arts are excellent, but he rather lacks respect. Along with a certain... other issue."

Ranma rolled his eyes.

Sparta nodded sternly. "My own son is similar. Then where is Oozora-san's boy?"

Oozora Ibari grew a bit red in the face from frustration, before yelling: "Hibari-kun, get in here!"

The blonde from earlier appeared, wearing a mini-skirt, cute poofy sweater, and bright red stockings.

"Yes dad?" Hibari replied as she appeared at the door.

Sparta spat out the tea he was drinking, drenching Genma (who was glad it was such a warm beverage). The yakuza trainer was on his feet in an instant, glaring at the blonde. Furiously he whipped off the sunglasses to increase the intensity of his stare. The response was on he'd never received before. Hibari simply burst out laughing.

"He looks like a flatfish," the heir of the Oozora clan giggled.

Ranma gave the man a second appraisal and had to agree with his fiancée. "You're right, he does."

The Spartan Dragon was shocked to his core. Still, a true man relished a challenge. He was going to have to investigate.