Author's Notes:
Wow, just... wow. I had no idea so many people still remembered me. Thank you all for making me feel so welcome again, and I'm sorry this chapter took so long - between various real-world factors, such as the release of Resident Evil 2, I was delayed. I will be trying my hardest to get at least one chapter released per month, and hopefully more frequently than that when the time allows.
Chapter 2: First Day at Furinkan! The Path to Marriage Begins!
The sun rose on another beautiful spring morning in the Nerima district of Tokyo, the last few sakura blossoms still clinging to their trees almost glittering as the dawn light shimmered through the morning mist. It was another peaceful, placid, ordinary sort of day in Nerima... except for one house.
Nabiki Tendo bolted upright in her bed with a muffled curse as a sudden masculine bellow filled the air, ending in a loud crash. She had not had the best night's sleep, tossing and turning as her mind struggled to comprehend the shocks it had received the previous evening. Add in the fact that she wasn't a morning person at the best of times, and she was particularly displeased with her abrupt awakening at what she could only consider an unholy hour of the morning.
Especially when a loud 'kiyai' and the meaty sound of blows being exchanged promptly drifted into her bedroom.
"What in the world is going on?" She grumbled aloud in a half-curious, half-irritated tone of voice, pulling on her slippers and heading downstairs to the living room. Even as she reached the bottom of the stairs, a partial explanation reached her ears.
"What's the meaning of throwing me out the window, boy?!" thundered an unfamiliar voice.
"Oh, like you wouldn't have done the same thing," came another stranger's voice, younger than the first.
By that point, Nabiki had reached the living room and was able to see the source of the disturbance; their visitors from the previous evening, the father and son duo who called themselves the Saotomes. Both were clad in well-worn gis, and looked disgustingly awake for, in her sensible opinion, so early in the morning.
Genma didn't respond to his son's retort with words; instead, he let out a battle cry of his own and charged forward. Though she'd seen him in action briefly the night before, it still amazed her that such a blocky-looking man could move so fast! And yet, Ranma wasn't even the slightest phased by his father bearing down on him; they traded blows, blocks, counterstrikes and grapples at a speed that Nabiki could barely follow, springing around the garden like a pair of human-sized fleas; the branches of the loquat tree, the boulders around the koi pond, ornamental lanterns - if it stuck out above the ground, they were bouncing off of it.
"What is the matter with you boy? What's got you all worked up this morning?" Genma complained, launching an open palm thrust at his son.
"Oh, shut up, old man! You know perfectly well what you did!" Ranma snapped back, deflecting the strike and punching Genma in the gut.
"Ooof! Oh, come on! You can't be holding a grudge over that!" Genma protested. "It was going to come out eventually!"
"That's your only excuse? You went to all this trouble to get me to agree to come here in the first place, you drag us away from China for the sake of this engagement, and then you sabotage me like that?"
Nabiki was still half asleep but she noticed the particular emphasis on the word 'sabotage' and focused a bit more out of curiosity.
"Sabotage?!" Genma blurted, looking dumbfounded. "You couldn't have really thought you were going to hide the curse from her... wait... you like her, don't you?" he grinned with what Nabiki could say professionally was an evil smirk, laughing heartily for good measure.
"You were fighting tooth and nail not to come here, and now you're mad because I embarrassed you in front of your new crush!" he guffawed.
"S-shut up! I didn't know she'd be so cute when you brought us here," Ranma snapped back, cheeks pinkening with embarrassment. "But she is cute - and nice, and friendly... and now she won't want to speak to me again, because you made me look like a freak!" And with that, he lunged for his father - a sloppy move, because Genma grabbed his son's gi and used his momentum to fling Ranma into the pond.
Nabiki was glad nobody else in the house was nearby, else she'd have the choice situation of someone seeing the infamous 'Ice Queen of Nerima' blushing like a schoolgirl. Which, technically speaking, she was, but that wasn't the point. She was Nabiki the Mercenary, she who many courted for information, not her looks, which were often compared unfavorably to her sisters'.
To have a hunky boy - and, gender-bending weird-ass curse or not, that hadn't changed at least, be so taken with her, and call her cute in the bargain, was a shock to the system to say the least. It actually took her a moment to collect herself enough to be an active audience to the Saotome 'discussion' taking place outside, which had progressed to Genma taking the lead and attacking the still flustered ('because he thinks I'm cute!' Nabiki mentally squeaked) Ranma both physically and verbally.
"Oh, get over yourself, Ranma! You worry too much!" he scoffed, cuffing his son on the head for added emphasis. "I bet a good night's sleep and she'll be fine, if you think she's so great. She looked like she had a good head on her shoulders... assuming you were looking that high," he smirked as he saw his son's blush redouble. While he had trained Ranma to not be a common teenage male ruled by hormones, it was amusing to tease him about his appreciation for his intended's...assets.
Which is when an iron tub suddenly came spinning through the air from the other end of the pond and slammed into Genma's face, knocking him to the ground with a strangled profanity. "Ah, shaddup, ya old fool," Ranma snapped, blushing almost as red as his - currently her - hair.
Nabiki wondered if she should step out... talk to him, let him know she had heard him. But she just couldn't bring herself to speak up.
'What is the matter with you? Are you a blushing idiot like those other girls, or are you Nabiki Tendo?' she scolded herself. The kids at Furinkan High might call her names like 'Ice Queen' and 'Mercenary' as insults, but she'd always done her best to view them as at least partially badges of honor; she was a strong woman, a smart woman, and she knew how to get what she wanted, when she wanted!
...So why was she just standing here? Okay, yes, even the Ice Queen got lonely, but being engaged didn't mean she'd lost her mind! Unconsciously, Nabiki stiffened her spine, drew herself upright, and made ready to step out and talk to her new beau...
And that's when Genma chose that moment to leap back up from the lawn, face bruise-red from where he'd been hit, and club Ranma over the skull with it. Nabiki instinctively froze, watching as Ranma hit the ground hard - and then bounced back with a roar, filling the air with clamor and clangor as the tub became an impromptu weapon and shield that both Saotomes warred over. As they bounced and rattled and banged over the yard, Nabiki calmly stepped back and sat at the table. She had many good qualities, but not least of those was the common sense not to get involved in a brawl like that!
Not that sitting by on the sidelines wasn't a good idea for other reasons. She could really admire Ranma's speed and agility from here... if only he were in the right shape, then this would be some real fun, but even as it was, this was like watching a kung fu movie for free.
"Honestly! Who do they think they're impressing?" Akane grumbled, making Nabiki start and bite back a yelp.
"When did you get here?" she blurted out, then cursed herself for losing control like that.
Fortunately, Akane barely gave her more than a half-hearted curious glance before looking back at the fighting guests. "Not surprised you didn't hear me over that racket. Pair of show-offs," she said.
Nabiki smirked. "And yet you can't stop watching them either. Somebody's still sore about losing to a 'show-off' yesterday, aren't they?"
At that, Akane let out a wordless noise of indignation, sticking her nose up in the air disdainfully. That made it her turn to jump when Soun spoke up, the Tendo patriarch having come to the dining room for breakfast.
"Come now, Akane, it's nothing shameful; there's always someone better. Ranma worked hard to get as good as he did. I'm confident that with some dedicated practice and hard training, you'll catch up in no time," he consoled her. Then he looked out at the lawn and frowned. "I will speak to Saotome about not making quite so much noise during his morning sparring sessions, though."
Nabiki couldn't help but privately agree; the curse was one thing, but if she had to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning because of a little brawl, well, that would be the end of this marriage. Even as she thought that, Kasumi entered the dining room and laid out dishes on the table, before taking her customary seat.
"Mr. Saotome? Ranma? Breakfast is ready!" Kasumi called out, her voice sweet and carefree as normal, as if it were an everyday event to see people fighting like the Saotomes in her yard.
"Breakfast, you say? We'll be right there, Kasumi dear," Genma said, in between trying to keep Ranma pinned in a chokehold. Unfortunately for him, that distraction was all the time Ranma needed to grab his-her father's gi and fling him forward into the pond, where he landed with a mighty splash.
Adjusting her gi, the boy-turned-girl strode over to the dining room with a smile. "Breakfast? Thank you, Kasumi. It smells great," she said politely. Then she stopped when she saw Nabiki. "Oh. Um..."
Nabiki bit her tongue; she wanted to say something comforting, she really did, but... not in front of an audience. Instead, she just nodded and gestured at the spot next to her. She saw Ranma bite her lip, but after a moment's hesitation, she hesitantly sat down beside her.
The tension in the air was palpable... until Genma lumbered in and proceeded to sit down between them both, forcing them to scramble partially aside to avoid being squished under damp panda. Neither was quite sure if they appreciated the excuse, or if they were annoyed at his rudeness.
Oblivious to the feelings of his son-daughter and future daughter-in-law, Genma reached for his bowl of miso soup and rice... only for Kasumi to snatch it away. "Growf?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Saotome, but pandas don't eat people food. Here, I made you some panda food earlier," Kasumi replied, before whipping out a platter of bamboo shoots out from behind herself and placing it in front of the part-time panda.
"...Where did you find that?" Nabiki asked, staring at her elder sister like she couldn't decide on being impressed or disturbed by the sudden shrub procurement, with Akane nodding her agreement to the sentiment.
"A good hostess always prepares for her guests," Kasumi replied serenely, giving her usual happy smile. It made a rather effective poker face, Nabiki noticed.
'That answers... absolutely nothing...' Nabiki thought to herself, opening her mouth to press the matter further, her curiosity remaining unsatiated. Then her stomach growled, and she blushed slightly as another part of her body declared it too needed appeasement. 'And I don't really care; let's eat!'
Ranma had already taken her breakfast bowl and was scarfing down its contents quickly, lest Genma try and steal it from her. It wouldn't be the first time, after all, and she was much too hungry to put up with that nonsense today.
Luckily, he didn't seem to want to make a fuss, instead picking up a bamboo stalk and giving it a sour look before biting into it with a loud crunch. 'These people are weird,' Ranma thought to herself. 'But the food's great!'
As the six ate their way through breakfast, peace settled back onto the dining room, broken only by the sounds of munching and utensils clicking on bowls and plates. Ranma and Nabiki didn't speak to each other, but they both visibly relaxed, not that either of them knew that.
Just as the meal reached its close and dishes were being set aside to be picked up and taken for washing, Soun cleared his throat with a cough and spoke up. "Once you're done, Ranma, you'll need to go and have a bath. When you're ready, Nabiki will escort you to Furinkan High School - you'll begin attending there today."
"Wait, what!?" Ranma blurted out, looking at Soun dumbfounded. "Why am I going to school?"
"I know that the first term of the year started some time ago, but they found a place to fit you in," Soun replied calmly, his face the perfect image of a stern Japanese patriarch as he laid down the law to Ranma. "Surely , you didn't think you'd be living here and not attend school, surely?"
"I... ah... never thought about it," Ranma admitted, before her face brightened with the light of inspiration. "But I don't even have any school books!" she protested.
"Growf!" went Genma, who promptly drop a school book satchel on the table in front of Ranma, who eyed it like a rattlesnake, her plan of retreat cut off before she'd evidently even thought of it.
"How long have you been planning this?" she asked suspiciously, not willing to touch it to check if the books were new or even bought.
"And where was he hiding it?" Nabiki asked, unable to stop herself craning her neck to see the dimensions of the school bag and contemplate how it would fit...somewhere on a panda.
"That's not important. Now, hurry up and go get clean and changed, Ranma; you don't want to be late for your first day at school, now do you?" Soun replied, relying on the power of 'seeming to know what he is doing' to goad Ranma into following along. It almost worked before his youngest piped up.
"Why does Nabiki have to take him there, anyway? She's in the grade above us," Akane pointed out, a legitimate question to Soun's consternation. But the Japanese patriarch rallied.
"She's his fiancee; of course she should show him the way. It's only proper," Soun declared, with solemn dignity that made 'Penma,' as Nabiki mentally coined him, snort with knowing derision.
And, just like that, Nabiki's appetite went sour. The... 'normalcy', for lack of a better word, had helped her forget it, but Soun's words had just brought home everything weighing on her mind about the engagement and Ranma's curse. She looked down at her bowl, and then gently pushed it aside. "I'm full, Kasumi. I'll go grab my books and wait for you, Ranma," she said, not looking at her betrothed as she did.
"Um... kay," Ranma replied quietly. From the corner of her eye, Nabiki could just about make out the downcast look on her face around Genma's fuzzy bulk. The gi-clad redhead then lifted her bowl to her mouth and chugged the remaining contents in a single swallow - to Nabiki's surprise and Kasumi's visible discomfort - before putting the bowl on the table and placing her hands together in the traditional gesture. "Thanks for the food, Kasumi. It was wonderful," Ranma said, and then she quietly got up and left the dining room.
About 5 or 10 minutes later...
The streets between Nabiki's home at the Tendo dojo and Furinkan High School were a familiar sight to her - as they should be for somebody in her second year. But, today of all days, they also felt a little alien... which probably had to do with the fact that today, she was being accompanied by somebody other than one of her sisters. Akane had raced on ahead whilst Nabiki was waiting for Ranma to get out of the bath, and so it just left her with her new fiance.
Or maybe it was the fact he was walking along the nearest fence-line as casually as she was walking the street. Seriously, how did he not fall down from there? He didn't look like he needed to try to hold his balance!
But Nabiki didn't ask. The awkward silence from the dining room still lingered, clinging to them like their own personal cloud of hesitation. Which made it quite surprising when Ranma suddenly up and broke it, startling Nabiki from her internal mental recursion.
"I... I'm sorry, Nabiki," he said, his voice soft and sad.
"Sorry? What for?" Nabiki asked, her response more instinctual than thought out, and she wanted to smack herself as soon as she realized what she'd said. 'Way to sound cool and in control, Nabiki,' she mentally groused.
"For... I don't know, for coming here, I guess? You had a life until yesterday, and now I screwed it all up. All because my pops and yours decided you had to get married to a freak," Ranma replied bitterly, maintaining his perfect balance walking on the fence even as he hunched in on himself. This had been weighing on him ever since his unwanted revelation the previous evening, and he just couldn't hold it back anymore.
Ever since the incident at the springs he'd felt like he was losing control of his life and last night had only exacerbated that feeling.
'Okay, now's your chance to make up for last night...' Nabiki thought to herself. She always had been the Tendo daughter best at figuring out what she wanted and going for it, and Ranma's behavior had actually made it easier than she had anticipated.
"Ranma? Look, you don't have anything to apologize for," she told him... before stopping and looking up at him expectantly. "Hey, can you come down here? It's easier to say this when I'm not craning my neck," she added with a bit of wry humor in her voice.
A wide-eyed Ranma nodded and stepped off of the fence, dropping lightly to the pavement next to her. "But..." he began.
"But nothing," Nabiki interjected, not wanting to give him a chance to derail her. "Look, I'm not going to insult you by lying; yes, the turning into a girl thing is kind of weird to say nothing of your father turning into an endangered species. But that's not your fault, as was made abundantly clear last night. And it's not like either the curse or the engagement were your ideas as well. So don't beat yourself up over them, okay?"
"But... last night?" Ranma replied, feeling very lost, his hands waving a bit out of sheer need to do something with them.
"I mean, I'd just learned that magic was real, which rocked my world to begin with. That it happened to be because you transform when wet is just icing on the cake," Nabiki mock grumbled, giving Ranma a little smile to remove the sting of her words. The more she talked, the more confident she felt. Now she was feeling more like her old self, talking someone into seeing things her way. "I mean, talk about a paradigm shift; it was a lot to process, you know?"
At this, Ranma managed a wry snort. "Trust me, it's worse when you're the one changing."
"Yeah, I'll bet. Anyway, my point is... I know we haven't known each other long, but you're obviously a nice guy, and you're really cute, so... yeah, I'm not dumping you any time soon. So stop beating yourself up over scaring me off, 'kay?" she asked, smiling sweetly at him, even fluttering her eyelashes for good measure. She had to suppress a giggle at the way this made Ranma blush; oh yeah, teasing him was going to be fun.
Ranma looked at her with wide, shocked eyes. "You heard me this morning..." he said, audibly and visibly mortified, the blush as red as his female form's hair.
"Every...single...word," Nabiki confirmed, her grin taking on a more mischievous cast that would be familiar, and dreaded, to others at Furinkan High. "So chin up, cutie; I'm not saying we should have the ceremony today, but I want to get to know you better and see if we can work out. Deal?"
"D-deal," Ranma stammered, his blush still strong... but also smiling sincerely, a sight that made Nabiki's heart flutter briefly.
'Damn, girl; you might still have hit a jackpot after all...' Nabiki thought to herself with increasing smugness, the thought of being able to stick it to those who said she'd never be able to find someone by showing up at Furinkan High School with a cute, and seemingly caring, hunk on her arm warming the cockles of her heart.
'I have got to make this work... what are the odds I'll find another girl who can look past the curse?' Ranma thought to himself.
At that exact same moment, two other ladies, one with purple pigtails, and another dressed in men's fashion, sneezed in unison without noticing before continuing to go about their day
After a few moments of mutual contemplation, Nabiki managed to drag herself back from staring at her fiance and tilted her head towards the direction of the high school. "Alright, now, let's get to school, shall we? Don't want to be late on your first day."
Ranma simply nodded, and the two resumed their leisurely walk, albeit with a much more relaxed atmosphere between them. They had plenty of time, after all, and there was no longer any damp quilt of hesitation stifling their enjoyment of each other's company.
It wasn't long before they reached the gates to Furinkan High School. What Ranma saw when he stepped through the gates, though, made him stop and stare, dumbfounded. "What the heck?" he asked, as he took in the sight of Akane Tendo being mobbed by a veritable army of guys from what looked like every martial arts and sports club Furinkan High had, with footballers and tennis players alongside karate guys and wrestlers.
And regardless of club, each was taking a thorough pounding from a very pissed off teenage girl.
It was... well, in all honesty, it was one of the most surreal experiences Ranma had ever had if he was going to be frank. Guys just weren't supposed to do things like that to girls... Maybe Akane had a reason for her whole 'pervert!' schtick Ranma contemplated
Realizing Ranma had stopped following her, Nabiki turned back to him, and then walked over to stand by him again. "Oh, that's just my baby sister's fanclub," Nabiki replied once she was back level with Ranma, waving a hand dismissively. To tell the truth,she'd been honestly afraid for Akane in the face of this 'exercise' at first, but after days of watching her effortlessly pound the morons flat, the whole matter had gotten a little blaise.
"This happen often?" Ranma asked.
"Try every school morning," Nabiki replied. A quick glance at the clock showed they had plenty of time, so she felt no need to risk getting in the line of fire. She'd wait here for Akane to finish, then cross.
"...Why? What's all this about?" Ranma said incredulously, his hands framing the brawl like a bizarre tableau. Since Nabiki showed no signs of moving, he decided to follow her lead.
"At the start of the semester, our school had this big public speaking contest. Tatewaki Kuno, this idiot from my classroom, got up in front of the whole school and declared that if anyone wanted to date Akane Tendo, they had to either beat her in a fight, or go through him first. The result... well, you can see for yourself," she shrugged as Akane bodily slammed a gi-clad karate practitioner into a nearby tree.
"And they actually went along with this nonsense?" Ranma asked, dumbfounded. Suddenly, Akane's nasty attitude towards his arrival made a lot more sense...
"Yeah. Kuno's a moron, but he's also the champion of our kendo club - he's considered the toughest fighter in our school." As Akane floored a wrestler who looked to be nearly twice her height and three times her weight with one punch to the face, Nabiki amended herself, "I mean, after Akane, of course."
"Of course," Ranma responded dryly; Akane wasn't bad, as he could attest, but a good two thirds of the fighters were either holding back or just awful so the bar was a bit...wobbly in Ranma's opinion. Then he saw something that caught his eye, and turned his attention back to Nabiki.
"I take it that's him now?" he asked, pointing at a youth in a kendo uniform and wielding a bokken who was striding across the field now that the last of Akane's other fighters had fallen.
"Got it in one. Come on, let's get you to the office to be assigned; Akane can take care of him without any problems..."
In Room 1-F, as final bell rings...
Akane sighed as she settled into her seat. Much as she hated the annoyance of having to do it every morning, she had to admit; pounding the snot out of Kuno and his lamebrained lackies really was cathartic, especially after her humiliation the previous evening. Still, at least she hadn't been stuck with the freaky jerk - that would have been the worst! And now school would be a perfect refuge from him. Yes, she could just relax, concentrate on her school work, and pretend like everything was normal...
"Class? We have a new student joining us today. Please say hello to Ranma Saotome, who will be joining us after a recent visit to China."
Akane froze dead. No; no, she couldn't have...
Slowly, reluctantly, she looked up and saw that Ranma was indeed standing at the front of the classroom, looking uncertainly around the room... until he spotted her, then he just looked glum. Akane felt a flash of anger at his reaction; who did he think he was? She had a right to be annoyed with him for intruding on her classtime!
But she bit her tongue and didn't kick up a fuss, even as he was directed to an empty desk too close to her own for comfort. Instead, she deliberately ignored him and focused on the teacher. And as Ranma pulled out his school books with the rest of them, it seemed like he was at least willing to return that courtesy.
So much for school being a refuge... she should have known better than to tempt fate like that.
Lunch time at Furinkan High...
When the lunch bell rang, Akane was part of the students who chose to leave the desks behind and head outside to eat. It was a nice day and, frankly, she didn't want to be cooped up with Ranma any longer than she had to. Finding herself a nice shady tree, she sat down and was soon joined by her friends; Yuka, Sayuri, Makoto and Shikako, who swarmed to join her on the soft grass.
Unfortunately, her hopes of a nice friendly lunch together were dashed when Yuka asked, "So, Akane, what do you think of the new guy in the class?"
Akane grimaced; she really didn't want to talk about Ranma.
Shikako noticed Akane's reaction and shook her head. "Oh, please, Yuka; don't you think Akane's got enough trouble with boys already?" She said, patting Akane's shoulder in commiseration.
"Well, yeah... but he seemed nice, didn't he? Not a perverted jerk like those losers who listen to Kuno," Yuka replied, idly brushing her fingers through her long, light-brown hair.
"How can you tell? He didn't even say a word when the teacher introduced him," Makoto replied. Then she dashed Akane's hopes of sanity by grinning and adding, "But then, the strong silent type is kind of cute, don't you think?"
Akane wrestled with the notion of whether or not she really wanted to shoot down her mullet-headed friend's thought process by revealing that Ranma was engaged to her elder sister. She didn't really feel the need to protect Nabiki's privacy or anything like that, but at the same time, she didn't particularly want to be associated with Ranma in public either.
...And of course the moment she thought that, Sayuri had to grin and replied to Makoto, "Well, if you think he's cute, you're in luck; he's coming this way!"
The five girls looked up from each other and, sure enough, Ranma was striding briskly towards them, lazily raising an arm in a wave as he drew close. "Yo, Akane," he called out.
"What do you want?" Akane asked with ill grace; yes, she wasn't outright furious at him like she was the night before, but Akane was still the type to give a grudge a really good squeeze before letting go.
"Hey, don't get your hair in a knot. Do you know where Nabiki is? I thought I'd go see her while it's lunchtime," Ranma replied defensively. So she'd lost a spar; didn't have to keep biting his head off, sheesh..
For the briefest moment, Akane considered telling him to get lost... but then she reconsidered; it wasn't like it was an arduous request, and besides, telling him would get him out of her hair. "I'm not really sure. If she's not in her homeroom of 2-E, then she's probably sitting somewhere quiet and out of the way. She doesn't socialize much during lunch - likes her privacy," Akane explained to the newcomer. She privately added, 'For her money grubbing and blackmailing,' in the security of her own head; she doubted Nabiki would be able to hide her little 'business' from Ranma for long, but she didn't feel comfortable revealing it herself. It just didn't feel fair to her sister.
"I see... thanks, Akane, at least I know where to start looking," Ranma said, shrugging lightly, and then jogged off.
'Huh. That... actually wasn't so painful,' Akane thought to herself feeling pleasantly surprised. Then the thought withered on the proverbial vine as her best friends turned to her with amazed looks. "Akane, you know him? He knows your sister?" they asked in unison, eyes gleaming like hunters at the prospect of some very juicy gossip.
'Oh, great...'
Meanwhile, Nabiki had set herself up under a tree not all that far away. Contrary to what Akane had said, she was not that far removed from the other students at all, sitting just far enough away to have her privacy.
Well, she would have it, if a certain loudmouthed kendo club-member from her homeroom hadn't thrust his presence into the situation. Not that it was entirely unwelcome, since he'd had the foresight to bring his wallet with him, but if not for that, he was one person she'd be happy to go about her day without seeing.
"There you are, Kuno. Those are all the shots I have today. You want 'em?" She asked rhetorically, showing off the last of the snaps she'd taken the previous afternoon.
Kuno was practically trembling with joy (at least, she hoped it was joy) as he ogled the shots of Akane's workout routine. "What strength! What power! She is truly a tigress amongst kittens!" he declared dramatically, a disquieting light in his eyes as he perused the lot. "I'll take them all!"
"That'll be a thousand yen per photo," Nabiki replied, with her usual level of poisoned sweetness that, as it often did, seemingly went over Kuno's head.
At those words, Kuno looked shocked, pulled out of his...reverie by the sound of his wallet crying in terror. "I protest! The heavens themselves would weep at that price!"
Nabiki was about to retort, when another voice suddenly rang out. "Hey, Nabiki! There you are!" She looked away from her classmate to see Ranma, walking over to her with a wave and a smile. "I've been looking all over for you," he said, visibly smiling in his satisfaction at finding her.
"Excuse me, but I was having a conversation with Nabiki Tendo first," Kuno replied with a scowl, a sneer of disdain marring his visage... not that he was particularly appealing to begin with, in Nabiki's completely unbiased opinion.
Ranma just blinked at him as if only now noticing the upperclassman's presence. "Oh, hey. You're that bozo from this morning," he said, as casually as one would comment on the weather.
"Bozo!?" Kuno spluttered in outrage, whilst Nabiki bit her lip, concern helping her to squash the immediate humor she saw in one of Furinkan High's biggest jerks being verbally cut down like that. There was no way this was going to end well...
"Well, yeah. You organized a bunch of thugs to beat up a girl every morning 'cuz you wanna go out with her. Most people who aren't morons would have just asked her, ya know," Ranma replied, smirking at his evident superior knowledge of the workings of the feminine mind.
"Impudent whelp! Who are you!" Kuno thundered, whipping out his ever-present bokken and pointing it at Ranma, the wooden practice sword practically vibrating with Kuno's indignation.
To Nabiki's mild surprise, her fiance didn't look even the slightest afraid. Instead, he was actually smiling, like he enjoyed the prospect of a fight. Ranma jabbed a thumb at himself, ready to speak, only to be cut off by Kuno's ego.
"But wait! Is it not the custom to give one's own name first? Fine then! Mine I shall give!" Kuno declared. Striking a dramatic pose, sword upheld towards the heavens, he proclaimed, "I am the undefeated captain of this school's kendo club! The rising new star of the high school fencing world! The sound of my voice strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies! My peers call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" And now he swept his sword down with a deliberate swish of ruffled air, before adding in a more normal voice, "Tatewaki Kuno, age seventeen."
Tendo and Saotome stared at him in mutual disbelief, Ranma's jaw having fallen open in his dumbfoundedness at his upperclassman's antics with his right eyebrow twitching from all the conflicting expressions his brain was telling it to show at once. Even Nabiki couldn't resist what she said next; "Weren't you calling yourself 'The Shooting Star' just last week?"
"Pfft. An ignoble title that failed to captured my true magnificence," Kuno replied with aplomb, brushing a forelock aside with practiced disdain. "But I digress! Your name and business, lowborn wretch!"
Ranma blinked for a moment, shook his head as if to keep the stupid from settling, and then replied levelly, "I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I was looking for Nabiki... but if I found myself a fight, that's fine too."
"Hmph. It's obvious you are as ignorant as you are rude, Saotome." Kuno scoffed, his ego propelling his speech into the realm of delusional boasting. "You honestly believe you can stand against me on the field of combat?"
"I know I can," Ranma replied instantly, his body and tone casual as only real confidence and self-assurance could provide.
Nabiki couldn't help but snigger, whilst it was Kuno's turn to stare at him, mouth open and dumbstruck. After a moment, he visibly shook himself back to his senses, scowling as he tightened his grip on his bokken's hilt and shifted into a combat stance.
"What! Very well then, you ruffian; if you wish a reminder of your rightful place... have at you!"
Now a chill ran down Nabiki's spine as Kuno suddenly charged at Ranma; yes, Ranma had done surprisingly well against Akane the previous evening, but Kuno wasn't just making empty boasts! He might have the brains of a bowl of miso soup, but he was a legitimately strong fighter, and she'd always suspected he could beat Akane in their morning brawls if he wasn't holding back out of some twisted mixture of honor and lust. "Watch out!" she called to her new fiance...
Then she stared in disbelief as Ranma sprang backwards as if rocket-propelled, a standing backflip that brought him clear over their heads and over what looked like close to two meters backwards. Okay, maybe he knew what he was doing after all...
Kuno rushed forward,swinging his weapon in swift, powerful strikes- not a one of which connected. Nabiki could hardly keep up with the action, and her heart clenched as she saw just how narrowly Ranma seemed to dodge them. Worse, Ranma wasn't striking back - Kuno was the only one attacking.
Unbeknownst to Nabiki, Kuno was growing quite perturbed. He'd never had an opponent who could dodge him as easily as this; the impertinent newcomer didn't waste a single movement. Neither strike nor thrust seemed to be able to touch him. Furrowing his brow, he took a wide swing at his opponent's waist, only for this 'Ranma Saotome' to spring backwards away from it, clearing a waist-high shrub in the bargain. Irritated, Kuno strode forward, chopping down the obstruction with an effortless flick of his bokken. "You're a slippery one, aren't you?"
"Or maybe you're just not as good as you think you are," Ranma replied with a lazy shrug. He wasn't even breathing hard at this point.
"Heh, look, somebody's taking on Kuno!" came a shout from across the field. Out of the corner of their eyes, the two combatants watched as curious students flocked to the sight. To Ranma's confusion, once they saw Nabiki, they surged towards her. He wondered what that was all about.
Kuno simply smirked at the sight. "So, that's her game, is it? You're a pawn of Nabiki Tendo's? How much is she paying you to lure me into this unseemly little farce? Or were you a dupe of hers?"
"Just what are you talking about?" Ranma snapped back, frowning angrily. He didn't like this Kuno guy on principle, but he wasn't going to let him badmouth his fiancee, that was for certain!
"Oh, come now; no one would want to see a heartless mercenary like Nabiki Tendo if they did not either have business with her or were under her thumb," Kuno replied as if stating a simple truth on the same level that water was wet. Not that that was going to save him...
"...You're going to regret that," Ranma said darkly, curling his fingers into fists so tightly so that his joints audibly popped and crackled. His dad had drummed it into his head with surprising thoroughness to not be a bully, but Genma always had possessed a rather flexible definition of the term... besides, if anyone deserved a knuckle sandwich at this moment, it was Kuno.
"Kuno, leave Nabiki's new fiance alone!" came a shout, one that made everybody's head snap towards the direction of Akane Tendo, currently running onto the scene.
Nabiki went pale with horror. 'Akane, you idiot!' she thought to herself, palm snapping to her forehead with an audible clap. 'Not in front of everyone!'
"Fiance? You're engaged to marry Nabiki Tendo?" Kuno asked his foe, looking between his beloved Akane and the insolent Ranma with a dumbfounded expression.
"Not that it's any of your business but yeah, we're engaged," Ranma replied, still in a fighting stance, not seeing what this had to do with Kuno's imminent pummeling of Great Justice.
"Our parents arranged everything, it's not Nabiki's idea," Akane interjected, speaking up to be heard over the clamour of students trying to ask Nabiki for confirmation.
"Pft. An arranged marriage? How quaint and old-fashioned," Kuno declared, relaxing out of his combat stance.
'Says the wanna-be samurai,' Nabiki sourly thought to herself, her second hand joining the first in now pressing into her temples to stave off the impending headache Akane's bullheaded behavior was inducing.
"If this is true, then our quarrel has ended. There is little punishment I could dish out that the heavens have not already heaped upon your unworthy head," Kuno proclaimed 'magnanimously, running his fingers through his hair in a lazy combing.
'You are going to be paying double, no, triple the price for your next batch of photos, jerk!' Nabiki declared within the privacy of her own head, scowling furiously at Kuno and immediately plotting the many and painful ways she'd be gouging his wallet.
"You know... I didn't come over here to start a fight. But if you wanted a little spar, well, that was no skin off my nose," Ranma said, conversationally as if talking about the weather. "But you just went and made this personal."
"Oh, really?" Kuno replied smugly, his usual cocky smirk on his face as he leisurely raised his bokken again.
Nabiki blinked... and it was over. The undignified sound of air noisily and roughly expelling itself from someone's lungs filled the air, and there was Ranma, standing in front of Kuno, who was now bent over Ranma's fist embedded in his solar plexus. Furinkan High's most fearsome warrior (after Akane Tendo) gagged and choked softly, whilst Ranma, in the same light and airy tone as before, said, "You shouldn't oughta have done that." A blur of motion, and Ranma had delivered a spin-kick to Kuno's head, sending him flying across the ground and crashing to earth in a limp bundle of limbs and clothing.
Dead silence fell across the school ground, broken only by the sharp, wince-inducing cracks of Ranma's neck as he methodically bent it from side to side. He looked straight at Nabiki, Kuno's body laying in the background...
And then, with a perfect sense of ironic humor, the school bell rang, sounding the start of the next period. Ranma visibly wilted, sighing audibly. "Never mind... I'll see you after school, Nabiki."
And with that, he turned and headed for homeroom, leaving the other students gawping in his wake. After a moment, they too began to disperse, heading for their respective homerooms and chattering about what they'd seen, with one or two of Kuno's flunkies grabbing the unconscious kendo master and dragging him off to the nurse's.
But it was the Tendo sisters who had the most to think about what they'd seen.
Nabiki was... well, to say she was conflicted was to put it mildly. She had never, in her life, had anyone stand up for her like that. Even her own sister wouldn't usually act in that protective a manner. Oh, Akane would physically defend her, but she wouldn't take insults to Nabiki so... personally. Nabiki had always prided herself on being able to stand up for herself, but having a guy actually come to her defense like that? ...Well, she'd be lying if she said she didn't rather enjoy it.
Oh, and she was also going to get back at her sister for blurting out the news about her engagement in front of all those other students, but that would wait.
Akane, meanwhile, was unsure what to think about everything. She had to admit, it was kind of impressive seeing Kuno taken down like that. She knew from the last evening that Ranma was good - but now she couldn't argue that it was some kind of fluke. And seeing him get mad at Kuno bad-mouthing her sister? Well... maybe he wasn't a total jerk after all. That curse was still way too freaky, though.
But with the last bells chiming and students hurrying back to their homerooms, they had far bigger things to focus on, at least for the immediate future.
3PM, End of School Day
The final school bell had never sounded so welcoming to Nabiki Tendo as it did this afternoon. Luckily, one of the perks of having a reputation as the school's resident deal-making ice queen was that few people were willing to risk asking her about Akane's little bombshell, despite it making the gossip rounds. So, she'd managed to enjoy a certain amount of privacy during the day - even if she had needed to promise Kikuko and Ryonami to give them a personal explanation the next day. Still, it was a huge relief to finally be out of school and heading away from staring eyes and gossiping whispers.
Now the only thing that was missing was her fiance... where was he?
And with perfect timing, Ranma's face suddenly dropped down in front of hers, upside down but visibly smiling. "Hey there. Going my way?" he asked, even as Nabiki literally jumped in shock.
"Where'd you come from!?" she yelped instinctively. Then she forcibly pulled herself back together, and looked him over curiously, realizing he was hanging by his feet from an overhanging branch. "And why are you hiding in a tree?"
"Eh, all the nosy jerks in school wanted to bug me after Akane made her big announcement. So I took the route they couldn't follow," Ranma explained, leisurely dropping down from the branch and twisting in mid-air to land on his feet.
"Understandable. I would have done the same if I could," Nabiki admitted, privately enjoying the way Ranma's body flexed. Yes, things were weird but lookit that butt! 'No, bad Nabiki, no perving!' She admonished herself; she had to focus.
"So, what was the deal with that jerk Kuno? Why was he hanging around you when I found you, anyway?" Ranma asked her quizzically, tilting his head to try to catch her gaze.
Now Nabiki froze up; what was she supposed to say? She didn't want to ruin Ranma's favorable opinion of her by admitting the... less than savory things he did to fatten her pocket money budget. But at the same time, he was going to find out eventually - it was inevitable - and if he found out later, he'd take it even worse.
'...Wow. This must be how he felt about telling me about the curse, huh. Irony's a bitch,' a tiny part of Nabiki's mind noted. The rest of her mind was racing, trying to figure out what to do... before her confident side firmly settled into place. She could do this - it was just a matter of spinning it right! And nobody in the Tendo family could spin a story like Nabiki.
"He wanted to do some business with me," she explained, putting on a smile to add to the relaxed tone she was using and make what she said seem more light and inconsequential.
"Funny way of showing it, the names he was calling you," Ranma noted sourly, frowning at the memory and making Nabiki's smile unconsciously deepen in response.
"Those names are actually partially why he wanted to do business. The school calls me things like that because they all want my services, but they hate the prices they have to pay for them," Nabiki explained levelly, shrugging away the insults with the ease of long practice.
"Services? Business?" Ranma asked, his expression growing concerned.
Nabiki took a deep breath and began to explain. "Daddy tries but, well, his allowance just doesn't stretch as far as it needs to," she said. "So, when I learned about economics back in middle school, I realized that I had a solution. I supply things that my fellow students want, and in return, they provide me with things that I want," she concluded with a grin, before stepping towards him and spinning around to lean her back gently against his front.
Ranma was startled, but he immediately moved to keep her from falling, skin prickling from the unfamiliar, but distinctly not unwelcome, feeling of a soft female body in his arms.
Privately, Nabiki wondered if maybe she wasn't overdoing it... but from Ranma's reaction, this definitely seemed like a way to keep him from delving too deeply into the less than savory nature of her business deals. Of course, it didn't hurt that there was a rather delicious tingling feeling from being held like this...
Pushing that aside, Nabiki added, "So, yes, all it is are my fellow students being hypocrites. I give them things they want, and they badmouth me for it."
"What kind of things do you do?" Ranma asked her, doing his damndest to remember his father's lessons on being a gentleman in this sort of situation... which was surprisingly tricky when most of his brain was imitating a bomb shelter alarm, screaming 'GIRL! GIRL! GIRL! GIRL!' at the top of its metaphorical lungs.
"Oh, little things. When there's competitions of some sort or another, I run betting rings. If people are worried about tests or projects I arrange for some extra tutelary help. I obtain photographs of girls and guys for people with crushes. Little things like that," Nabiki flippantly replied. It was strangely comfortable being pressed up against Ranma like this...mmm, were those muscles she could feel through his shirt? Nice...
"Is that all? Huh, okay, thanks for telling me," Ranma replied sincerely.
'What.' Nabiki blinked as Ranma's words registered. She'd been hoping to do damage control with her spin on things, but Ranma sounded... blaise. That reaction hadn't been on the cards, and that left her a touch disoriented and vulnerable for the second time in as many days. "You don't mind?" she asked, unable to resist.
"Hey, I grew up on the road. You think pops was swimming in steady, reliable jobs? We had to get... creative about keeping our finances up, or we went hungry. Okay, we still went hungry now and then, but not because we weren't willing to work. So I seriously doubt that there's anything you've done that I probably haven't done something similar. Besides, if all your photos are as tame as these, what's the harm?"
'Again, what?' Truly confused now, Nabiki stepped away from her fiance so she could look him in the eyes... and her heart skipped a beat as she realized he was looking at the photos of Akane that she had been offering to Kuno at lunch time. Frantically checking her pockets on auto-pilot, which confirmed what her eyes were telling her, she blurted out, "How did you - you picked my pocket?!"
Ranma smirked at her indignant expression, a wry and confident expression that made her heart skip another beat. "Like I said, we found creative ways to keep ourselves fed on the road. So, yeah, I understand where you're coming from, okay?" he asked, handing her the photos back.
"That's impressive... and honestly a little terrifying. I never felt your hands...what else can you do with them?" she asked, giving him a mischievous smile, which only deepened when he blushed, having obviously picked up on the innuendo. 'Gotcha.'
"Buy me something nice and I'll tell you," Ranma retorted, and now it was his turn to smile as Nabiki blushed, if not as profusely as he had. 'Hah! Who said i couldn't talk to girls? Oh yeah, eat it, pops!' He mentally crowed
"Well... you like fast food? There's a nice burger joint not too far from Furinkan, and we never did get to have lunch together," she replied. It hadn't exactly been hard to figure out why Ranma had been looking for her at lunch, and after today's stunt? Well, paying for her own after-school snack was the least she could do to thank him.
"Sounds great; lead the way," Ranma said, smiling happily.
As the two teens started walking off, both shared the same thought; 'This engagement might turn out alright after all...'
Chapter End & Closing Notes
And that's the end of our second chapter. Hope to see you guys all again much sooner than this one took!
I actually did some research on how Japanese school days work and... well, I'll be honest, it kind of left me more confused than when I started, because we've seen Ranma and Akane having lunch both outside and in their classrooms. So I'm going to just have to make things up to some extent. It isn't ideal, but, hey, Ranma 1/2 was never the most realistic of stories to begin with, and it's not like the series itself didn't play around with Japanese cultural realities.
Because I can foresee these being brought up, allow me to head these questions off at the pass:
1: Why are Ranma and Nabiki so much friendlier towards each other than Ranma and Akane were in canon?
Simple answer? Because Nabiki isn't Akane. What a lot of Akane's fans don't like to admit is that, in the first two episodes (or 4 manga chapters), Akane is really quite a jerk to Ranma. She repeatedly insults him, and physically assaults him (or at least tries to) whenever he retorts in kind. She builds up a strong negative impression with him that doesn't begin to change until Dr. Tofu intervenes. At the same time, Ranma's angry responses to Akane's words and actions just make her feel more affronted; it's a vicious cycle. Akane has a kneejerk "if it hurts me, ATTACK!" mentality, which does not mesh well with Ranma. Nabiki, however, doesn't have that same sort of temperament. She thinks first and acts second. So she doesn't build up the negative impression with Ranma, who in turn doesn't fight back. Thus, no vicious cycle of relationship issues.
2: How did Ranma beat Kuno so fast?
This one's easy; because even at this early point, Ranma drastically outclasses Kuno. Look at his first couple of fights against Kuno in canon; Kuno never lands a hit on Ranma until he's distracted in that last fight by seeing the photos of girl-Ranma and Akane, whilst Ranma doesn't even bother to attack Kuno until that same fight - which is when he puts Kuno down faster than Kuno can even blink. So, if Ranma feels like getting serious, which he does here, then he can stomp Kuno without even trying.