An unusual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. And Son Turned Daughter was originally written way back in 2002 by the FanFiction author Tangent, and his characters Megumi, Yasushi and Ayane have, likewise, been borrowed without permission. Please see the first two chapters of this story under his pen name. This story is written for non-commercial purposes only.

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"NO!" Akane screamed, yanking to free Ranma by her skate boot even as she shoved to get the boy away from her friend.

Mikado remained unmoved on the ice. But he, being a womanizer, not a misogynist, had held the little redhead gently.

The 100 lb, 45 kg, Ranma (and Burin-kun) was sent flying over the ice, through the air!

Azusa's blade only trimmed the very tip of the redhead's pigtail.

Ranma did a mid-air maneuver and landed on her own skates. Then after that, she had no control! She - and the pig that had stopped biting her because of its surprise - hurled across the ice. She was coming to the sideboards of the rink fast!

She raised her foot, ready to push off of the wall and going leaping, mid-air, back to attack the guy who had come within a lips' graze of being her first kiss from a human man!

The little woman in a blouse, culottes and nude bodysuit fell! She slid. Until - her skates up in the air - her plump girl-butt slammed into the wall.

Meanwhile, Mikado's arms had replaced the redhead with the long-haired girl. "You are jealous. You needn't be," he said suavely. "You may have the honor of being 899th."

"What!? You want me to kiss you!?" Akane was angry.

"No...you want me to kiss you."

"In your wildest fantasies!"

"No, my lovely. In yours."

Ranma had twisted around, one elbow on the ice and one hand on the pig, in time to see this scene.

And another threat to her and Akane, on top of that. "Lolita and Charlotte! Azusa is coming for you!"

The still-pigtailed girl looked at the little creature that had bitten her. "You're not the first animal to bite me. You're wild. And confused. I understand. But - Sorry!" And from her awkward position, she threw it at Mikado!

It bounced off the skater boy and landed in Akane's hand. She automatically held on and raised it as a shield. The too handsome jerk kissed the forehead of the pig.

The little, black pig got angry!

"Mikado! Look at Aki! You've kissed me once!"

The costume of one of the audition girls was in shreds. Only her nude bodysuit protected what modesty she possessed.

Burin-kun at first didn't realize it was just a nude bodysuit. It thought she was showing everything! And the slash that revealed one of her nipples told it the truth.

But it saw the exposed nipple!

"Vile animal!" Mikado screamed as an eruption of nose blood splattered on him. "Look what you've done to my performance suit!"

"You leave the poor animal alone!" Akane yelled, clutching it and twisting to keep it away from the beast. Her knee came up and rammed into his gut.

Being distracted meant he no longer had a solid stance on the ice - The Great Mikado of the Golden Pair was sent sliding yards backward.

And Kuno raced in the aisle behind the sideboards to finally be where his wooden sword could inflict justice upon the unmitigated philanderer!

"Charlotte! Charlotte! Come to Azusa!" the other half of the Pair cried, skating towards the cute and adorable little thing. In her hand was a little mallet labeled, Marianne.

"Akane!" Ranma cried, and used her legs to launch herself over the ice - belly down!

She grabbed the kawaii-overdose wackjob by the ankles. She had sacrificed her dignity for her friend, as Azusa's butt landed on her back.

And they both go sliding over the ice. Towards Mikado. And Kuno.

"Lolita!" Azusa cried, seeing the red pigtail between her thighs.

And that wasn't chaotic enough?! Cowardly Hiroshi had also joined them in his skates.

"I hope the Date Management Club knows what it's doing. I hope it's worth the date they promised to get me."

Ikuko and Akiko had found their way into the AV room of the ice rink.

Music started playing.

Unfortunately for Hiroshi what had been set up to play had been selected by Mikado. It was an oldie, but one he considered appropriate: Kung Fu Fighting Dance (Fatboy Slim, Remix),

"...Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting! Those fists were as fast as lightning! ..."

Inspired, Mikado played with the "cosplay samurai" who didn't even dare to be on the ice. He spun like a whirlwind, his fists repeatedly striking the bokken. Soon the fool would no longer be able to hold onto his wooden sword, lose it, and he, Mikado Sanzenin, of the Ice Cream Shop of Martial Arts, would use his fists directly!

But Kuno's own bokken could be (nearly) as speedy!

Ranma was using her fists as well: She smashed hers into the solid ice, reaching the cold floor beneath. Not having to think about sliding, now, she whipped her back!

Azusa was hurled off the redhead's back. And at Mikado! Being his perfect partner - on ice but nowhere else - she knew how to grab him without being hit by fists which were "...a little bit frightening…" to others.

Kuno, of course, did not understand this. "I shall save you, Miss!" he vowed and made to pull her to safety.

Mikado was still spinning. So, Azusa was spinning. So-

Kuno found himself sliding heels-only along the ice. Straight at Akane.

After her blow, he found himself still on his feet but sliding towards Hiroshi!

In perfect timing, without really noticing Kuno coming towards them, Hiroshi and Megumi separated to the beat of the music. "Damn, Hiroshi! Who would've thought you were good at dancing. And on skates, too!" Okay, maybe the music wasn't unfortunate for Hiroshi.

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"ENOUGH!: Ranma cried. "This has gone on long enough!" Too long, probably.

The little, pigtailed girl struck the ice blow after blow after powerful blow! The ice below her fists cracked. The cracks spread. Then most of the rink became unskatable. (Hiroshi's and Megumi's remained skate-dancing in their little area.)

"How dare you violate the sacred rink!" Mikado glared at the girl. "Now I must kiss you!"

"WHAT!?" Ranma cried. "Bein' kissed by you would be punishment! But that don't keep you from soundin' as crazy as her!"

"Kiss her, Mikado! Then make her give Azusa her Lolita!"

"Quiet, Wench! You're not supposed to tell others about the power of my kisses!"

"Oh! So that's why you've kissed Eight Hundred-somethin' girls! Now, I'm really mad! I've already dealt with somebody like you today. Kodachi! You probably know her!"

"No, I have not."

"Azusa knows her! Azusa makes her sick!"

"You make everybody sick, you eighteen-year-old Brat!"

"I can believe that." Ranma got into the Stance on the chunked ice, her hands bruised and ice-cold. But the energy of her ki was heating them and her. "I'm takin' your lips down!"

"I don't fight women, only fight them off," he said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Now, I'm gonna be sick!"

"Azusa fights women!" And jumped at the chance.

"How long is this going to continue?" Hiroshi asked Megumi. "The music's stopped."

Before Azusa could reach the redhead, she reached Charlotte.

Akane had thrust out the little, black pig into her path. And as Azusa was hugging it to her, Akane took the skate she had in the other hand and sliced through the annoying little-girl woman's costume.

Burin-kun wasn't sure if it was seeing nude or nude bodysuit. But it didn't matter. Its imagination had been primed - It still got yet another nosebleed!

Azusa screamed - And threw the terribly un-,un-, uncute beast down at the ice where it belonged!

Ranma dived and saved Burin-kun.

"That is two performance suits the pig owes us," Mikado said. "I assume you two are responsible for it."

Ranma had rolled and was back on her feet. "Here, Akane!" she said, tossing the pig to her. To him, she said, "Let's see how great you are when I got solid footin'!"

"Kiss them, Mikado! Kiss them! Put them under your Spell!" Azusa demanded.

"Shut up! It doesn't work like that, yet, you idiot!" He would have to find a way to keep you from blabbing about his Spell of A Thousand Kisses! If he had that last kiss, he could control even the woman he wanted to control the most - Azusa!

"899th kiss, uh!? I get it!" Akane said, now holding up both in her oh hands the skates she had taken off because she could no longer skate on the ruined ice.

"Me, too!" Ranma said. "My guess is you can only kiss a girl once! So, if I kiss you twice….!"

"Then you will also be my 900th kiss."

"I think you're bluffin'!" And she jumped at him.

He dodged.

But he wasn't used to avoiding girls. (He couldn't even avoid Azusa!) And the little redhead grabbed and held on.

Her knees digging into his gut, and pulling on his fancy shirt, Ranma forced her lips onto his!

Wow! What a kiss! It was so powerful - it propelled her off of him! Rip! went his shirt.

"Eee!" Akane cried. Blond smoke shot off from his head. He was left with charred, blackened hair.

Mikado's knees knocked together and he collapsed to the broken ice. His didn't look so much as handsome as stupid. And helplessly disgusted.

"Azusa has never seen a kiss do this to Mikado," she said, pulling at the tongue that was hanging out.

Ranma saw and got an idea. "Hey, Azusa! I got a reputation for bein' bisexual!"

"Bisexual?"

"It means I also kiss girls!"

Azusa screamed and ran as fast as her skates could take her over the broken ice.

[][][]

"How many more First Kisses are you going to have today!" Akane frowned. "The more you do, the less special you make ours!"

"These weren't First Kisses! Only Real Kisses count! I didn't wanna do them: I hadda!"

"So, are you going to kiss Kuno and get it over with? On the lips? Maybe some tongue?"

"Never! Kodachi and Mikado were because I hadda 'cuz I'm a martial artist, defendin' the weak!"

"Gee, Martial Arts Kissing. Maybe Ikuko and Akiko have a point. Even I'm beginning to find it hard to believe."

"It's true! I know how my kiss stopped Kodachi from stealin' other women's sexiness. You know it as well as I do. You know about the ki reservoir. She's - was! - a vampire on it! She had to make herself 'hungry' for even more sexiness by passin' a little onto other girls. It's then like she's a drug dealer! They had to come to her for their sexiness fix or become like you. Akane!"

"Hey! You're my friend - Until you keep insulting me!"

"Sorry, Akane! Really! Anyway, that Mikado didn't use the reservoir. But I think I know how I blew Mikado's mind and spell. I'm really a guy! Too much of a guy!" Ranma proudly said. "His spell was only for real girls! It might have been able to handle me if he kissed me with him thinkin' he was kissin' a girl. But I was doin' the kissin' and I knew I wasn't enjoyin' it 'cuz I'm a guy!" And she laughed with relief at that knowledge!

"Okay. But what about Kuno? You've already kissed one guy. Get it over with!"

"I won't because of the Somethin'!"

Akane noticed Burin-kun (Burin-kun? Couldn't Ranma come up with a cute name for this cute, little pig that reminded her of stuffed, plushie animal?). It was stirring in her arms, trying to recover from its nosebleeds. "Burin-chan needs to eat something to bring his strength back up. I'm going to ask Kuno if-Eee!"

The runt ninja had found a trapdoor in the floor which he could use now that the rink ice was broken and loosened. "My Master has given his faithful retainer, Sasuke Sarugakure, orders to cater to you ladies every whim! I shall get something for the pig.

"I shall, then, return to the shop you were at before and return with duplicates of those clothes you have on now. They are covered in pig blood, after all."

Akane looked at her new outfit. "You're right!" She had been getting so used to fighting the Hentai Horde and getting their blood on her she hadn't given the pig's blood enough thought.

"If Kuno don't like my bloody clothes it's okay by me."

"That's not a very girly attitude, Ranma."

"You're right! -Oh, would you really do that for little me, little m-no: Mr. Honorable Ninja, Sasuke?!"

"Honorable? Mister? And she even called me by my given name." Once he got over the shock, his grin threatened to be wider than his round face. "Yes! Of course, I will Ranma-sama! I shall do it at once!"

"Hey! What about something for B-chan to eat!"

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"His name is Burin-kun!" Ranma insisted. "He's a guy(!) Guys don't like havin' a "-chan"."

"Well, this guy seems to like it! Don't you, B-chan, baby!" Kuno had bribed somebody to open up one of the concession stands and she was now feeding it nibbles of ice cream bars. And the pig was enjoying itself in her lap.

"At least call him Burin. Geez, B-chan sounds…." she remembered Akane's temper and stopped herself.

"AH, yes! Burin! The name stirs memories," Kuno said as all the daters sat in the nearly deserted food court. "You all know, I am sure, that I am a collector and connoisseur of the classics! I have, of course, the complete recordings of Tunde Burin - Thunder Pig!"

"Is that where he got the idea to be the "Blue Thunder"?" Ranma muttered.

"Was that the cartoon that was translated into other languages a Super Pig?" Hiroshi asked.

"Bwee! BWEE!"

"It likes it! Hey, B-chan!" Ranma called.

The little, black pig shook its head.

"Burin-kun!"

"Bwee! Bwee!"

"It's name is Burin-kun!" The pigheaded, pigtailed girl had won at something else that day!

"Wasn't it about a little girl who gained super-powers when she put on a pig's nose and turned into a pig?" asked Hiroshi.

"Burin-chan!" Akane stuck her tongue out at the pigtailed girl.

"It's got a curly tail!" Megumi noticed. "Hey, Date Management, maybe you should get Ranma's pigtail to have a curl, too!" Smirk!

"The pigtail holds an interesting place in Chinese history," Kuno said, ready, of course, to impress others with his knowledge of lore. This time historic.

"Didn't you say you were in China before you came to Nerima, Ranma?" Hiroshi had a good memory for anything that involved girls, even if he wasn't good remembering his homework.

"I certainly got my pigtail in China," Ranma scowled. Among other things!

"When the Mongols conquered China, they wished to make those proud people feel humiliated and subjugated. So they forced the men to wear pigtails, queues. It wasn't because they were symbolic of pigs but, rather, of what the Mongols did to the tails of their horses. And, so, they rode their subjects.

"And, to this day, the Chinese do not like to wait in queues," he finished with perfect Kuno logic.

"Gee, Ranma, your name really is "Wild Horse"," Hiroshi said.

"A Wild one that can't be conquered!"

Akane frowned and said more to herself, "I think Kasumi's right. It's better spelled, "Chaos Orchid"."

[][][]

Sasuke finally arrived with the bags with the duplicate of Akane's dress and Ranma's blouse and culottes.

"May I hold Burin-chan?" Akiko asked as they were about to leave to change in the ladies' room.

"I'd like to pet him, too," said Ikuko , "Eh, why not," Megumi said, reaching to pet it as Akane gave him to the others. "It's still a pig, though."

So, it was just her and Ranma in the ladies' room. And as they were changing out of bloodstained clothes and bodysuits, going all the way down to their lingerie, and into nicer new clothes, Akane asked her friend, "What other truths haven't you told me about, Ranma? How can I help you if I don't know what will help?"

"Let me see...I told you about my Jusenkyo curse," and the redhead started counting on her fingers. "And Shampoo and the amazons…. You know about my hair curse…. I was going to tell you why I wear Chinese clothes...but probably not anymore. Have I told you about the Cat Fist, yet?" She had a handful, and she wasn't done yet.

"What about Kuno(!)? Why won't you kiss him and get it over with?! You said something about something!"

"Yeah. That." Ranma frowned glumly. "The Something is a curse, too. It's maybe part of the curse that's tryin' to make me a girl in my mind and not just my body. You know, even when I have my guy brain back? But it ain't doin' it honestly by doin' it directly! It's doin' it by makin' me too freakin' honest!"

"Honestly, honestly? How is being honest going to make you a girl?"

"I don't know! Not exactly. It's takin' what I don't like about my pop, what I feel guilty about, and reinforcin' me wantin' to be honest, you know, not takin' anythin' from anybody without askin'. I can't even tell myself I'm just borrowin'! Sometimes the Something won't even let me ask! And I don't really know what me havin' to accept gifts has to do with keepin' me honest.'

"Hmm," Akane thought. That day, Ranma had rescued her from her nightmare of Kodachi - Twice! First by becoming her Romeo. And then by confronting Kodachi herself and sending her off crying! And, now, it was what she did to Mikado. "It has to do with you being a hero? Maybe?"

"What?!"

"Why did you go to the Cursed Training Ground?"

"To become a better martial artist, of course!"

"And beyond the usual reasons, why do you want to be a martial artist?"

Ranma scratched her head. "Besides doin' what pop made me do so I could be the best? I guess the only reasons I have are what the Code says I should have."

"Then that's it! The Code says you should protect the weak - Be a hero!"

"Okay, if that's true, what do gifts have to do with bein' a hero, then, huh?!"

"Uh, you have to be strong to accept a gift? -Oh! It's something a guy might not understand! A girl accepts a gift even if she didn't ask for it or wants it because she doesn't want to hurt their feelings. That can be sort of heroic because she's helping them feel something like a hero themselves. Especially, if they have to sacrifice something for the gift! No, wait, maybe that last part is about being a damsel."

"See!? Havin' to take gifts ain't bein' a hero."

"Damsels can be heroines!" But even Akane was finding that hard to believe. Wouldn't that make Big Sister Kasumi a heroine? No, she didn't receive many gifts. She was the one who gave gifts. Everyday. And always. She was the one who makes sacrifices.

"What you're tryin' to make me believe is, Jusenkyo really is a trainin' ground. And it's makin' me a better martial artist by cursin' me with people and things I have to be a hero against or for?"

"A hero and a heroine!" Akane smiled. It did not last. "Or maybe just a -Wha, what if you fail at being a heroine, you become just the kind of girl your dad's told you girls are!"

A look of horror came to Ranma's face. "I think I'm gonna be-"

"Burin-chan got sick!" Akiko said, coming into the ladies' room. There was some puke on her clothes.

"Yeah. I don't think pigs are lactose tolerant," Ikuko said, following her. There was little on her, too. "This one isn't!"

While they were using the sinks, Megumi came in. "Don't blame me, but that pig got lost!"

"Lost!" Akane cried.

"How does a pig get lost?" Ranma asked.

"As soon as it was feeling better, it jumped out of my hands and headed for here. But he ended up in the men's room next door!"

"I'm goin' in…. No, I guess I'm not." The looks on the born-girls' faces told her they wouldn't like her to go there. "Geez, right. It has to come out of there sometime," she said in girl-speak.

But when they came out of the ladies room, they saw Hiroshi come out of the men's. He told them there was no sign of any pig in there.

"Last I saw of Kuno, he was chasing after a naked man holding a bandana over his dick."

"He's trying to be a hero," Akane nudged Ranma.

"I still ain't gonna kiss him," Ranma growled back. "That'd be me bein' a damsel. I'll kiss if I have to if bein' a hero says I have to, but that's it! I ain't gonna kiss because no curse is tryin' to force me to! I'm the Wild Horse! I won't be conquered!"

The others tried to figure out what she (and Akane) were talking about. "Shit! All that fuss over mercy kissing," Megumi said.

"I wish some girl would have mercy on me," Hiroshi said, reminding himself not to cry.

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"That flouter of all public morality and decency did evade this expert hunter!" Kuno told them on returning.

"You mean you lost him," Hiroshi said.

"What did you just infer?" Kuno said, the tip of his bokken now under the peasant's chin.

"-He got lost, you didn't!(?)" He let a sigh of relief when Kuno took the wooden sword away.

"Is this date almost over with?" Ranma asked, hoping it was, of course.

"I'm afraid not, Ranma. But we can't use the rink anymore. It's closed for today," Akane said.

"Let's go dancing!" Megumi said, taking Hiroshi's hand and doing a dance step or two.

"I don't dance, don't ask me," Ranma said. Especially if it involves having to touch a guy like Megumi was doing.

"A movie!" Akane returned to her preferred date activity.

"There's not enough time for one before the dinner part of the date," Ikuko told them.

"I'm sure the proprietor of the restaurant where I have made reservations will accommodate our having a later dining time," Kuno bragged.

"A movie it is!" Akane smiled.

"Pachinko!" Akiko spoke up. After the looks she got, she said, "Well, during the last date I was on, months ago, we played pachinko. It's the very Japanese thing to do."

"You were younger, then, Akiko," Ikuko said. "Let's see. This is Shibuya, so there are museums…"

"Including the Yebisu Beer Museum," Megumi said.

"...there's the parks, like the Olympic Park…"

"We're always walking in Nerima," Hiroshi complained. "We don't even use bikes!"

"Walking is what all need to achieve fitness and maintain health!" Kuno told him. "Look no further at my own example!"

"The best place to walk and shop in Shibuya is Cat Street-"

"No! No, C-C-Ca- What she said!" Ranma told them adamantly.

Akane's friend-antenna went up! She had to help! Why? She didn't know, but Ranma hadn't said something in the ladies room about -Oh, she'' find out later! "The NHK Broadcasting Center is in Shibuya! Maybe there's a show we can watch!"

"NHK Nodo Jiman!" Megumi said. "We can audition to sing on TV! That's better than karaoke!"

"Only, that show goes to where the singers are. They'd have to come to Nerima," Akiko said. "But there's Fashion Contest!" And she looked at Ranma and Akane, "It's anything-goes."

"There's Imagine-Nation!" said an adult who looked vaguely familiar, even to Ranma.

"That's the show were anything that has to do with mangas, anime or video games are shown and talked about!"

"And I even interview the creators! I'm Toru Ono!"

After hesitating, Akane blurted out, "Ono?! That's Dr. Tofu's family name! We're all so familiar with him in Nerima, we use his first name."

"And many call me Toru, too," he smiled. "I'm Tofu's brother. Younger brother."

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It wasn't long before they were all inside Mr. Kyo's mobile studio-office-dressing room RV. With all the things it had to carry, there still managed to be room for the seven of them and him. (Though, not for his crew. Except for the driver and a passenger, they had to find other means to go back the NHK Center.)

"Actually, I'm don't just work for Image-Nation. I do any broadcasting activity where they need my voice, and sometimes my face." Yes, he was handsome, Akane thought. He could almost make her forget about her crush on his older brother. And that voice was so smooth and male. How bisexual was she? She was beginning to realize just how non-bisexual she may be.

"Did Dr. Tofu ask you to look for us?" Megumi asked, looking at the Date Management Club suspiciously.

"No. To be honest, we haven't talked to one another for a while, now. I was at the skating arena because I wanted to broadcast the next match of the Golden Pair of Kolhotz High."

"Mikado and Azusa!" Akiko cried. "That's why I know their names! They're the best high school figure skating martial artists there is!"

"Martial Arts Figure Skating?" Akane had to ask.

"Now she tells us," Ranma said, rolling her big blue eyes, not impressed with its game sense.

"Well, I arrived too late. Did you see what happened to them and the rink?" (They all nodded. Akiko was about to say something, but both Ikuko and Akane hit her arms at the same time.) "I'm not interested in news. I'm not a reporter. So, I was leaving when I heard you people mention Nerima."

"Where your brother lives!" Akane made the connection.

"Why haven't you talked with Dr. Tofu for a while?" Ikuko asked, suspicious.

He handed her his phone. "Why not call and ask him yourself."

[][][]

"I guess if the Doc says he's okay, I guess we can spend some date-time here," Ranma said, looking casually around the studio basically empty of people but full of equipment, props, and costumes.

"He also said we are to be on our guard with him," Kuno said, his hand near his wooden sword.

"I'm sure we can trust him!" Akane defended. "He is the brother of Dr. Tofu!"

"He only meant that Mr. Toru is in broadcasting!" Ikuko said. "They're always looking for something to fill their airtime."

"Yeah!" Megumi said, a big dressing room RV star in her eyes.

"But he if he does not want to do news. Ayane isn't going to like that." And Akiko wasn't too thrilled either.

"Ayane is a gossip," Megumi said.

"Exactly," Akiko said.

"Ayane knows all the gossip on you, Megumi," Ikuko said. "Do you still want to become a celebrity?"

Megumi gave her just the kind of expression she was looking for. That was one less problem she had to manage on this date. Hopefully.

She did not see the reaction of Ranma. Akane failed to notice, too. Her eyes were still on Dr. Tofu's younger brother. He was much more her age. Though, her doctor did things to make himself look younger than his brother. Besides, Dr. Tofu was so in love with her big sister, Kasumi, he hadn't really dated anybody for years now! (No, Akane, don't think of how very young Kasumi was when he began wanting her!)

"Uh, maybe I don't wanna take the TV tour," Ranma said. "I, I really don't watch TV. Or go to the movies. Or read mangas. Or play video games. Or…"

"Look!" Akiko cried, running over to where different clothes and parts of outfits were hanging from racks or in bins. "These are left over from Fashion Contest!"

"Hey, I can use this mike to sing like I'm on Nodo Jiman!" said Megumi.

"Dress up in one of these costumes and pretend you're an idol!"

"What, you don't think I look good in what I'm wearing? You picked this dress out for me, Akiko!"

"I didn't pick out that awful color! It doesn't suit you, Megumi!"

"Don't you two go fighting again!" Ikuko said.

"Why don't we all dress up as idols! It'll be fun!" Akane said.

"Akane, I don't think that's a good idea! Ranma tried to warn her friend to back off.

[][][]

Of course, Ranma lost the argument. Her girl brain just couldn't resist being one of the girls by joining in.

But, then, Hiroshi also got into costume. And Kuno? He thought his white tuxedo was outstanding in and of itself. Hiroshi sort of agreed, "You know, before today, when I thought of tuxedos, I thought of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Of course, he did wear white as the Moonlight Knight."

"You simpleton. Have you not watched any James Bond, 007 movies?"

"Have you?" Hiroshi got no answer. Apparently, Kuno's tastes did not go in that direction. If it did, he might not be wearing his "samurai" kendo-gi so much.

"I think he looks a lot like Shutaro Mendo, of Urusei Yatsura. Though, his was usually a white plebe uniform," Mr. Toru said. "And he, too, always had a sword or some weapon he was expert in."

"Wasn't he a character in that anime about a green-haired-and-horns alien princess oni?" Hiroshi asked. He remembered Lum not so much by her name as by her furry, tiger-striped bikini. "Mendo was supposed to be the richest kid in Japan."

"Do tell," Kuno said smugly."What an apt comparison, then."

"He had the hots for the main girl-character, but he was always made a fool of by the main guy-character."

"You go too far!" and his wooden sword was again near the throat of Hiroshi.

"Don't go acting like Ataro Moroboshi!" Mr. Toru laughed. "I've been doing my homework for my interview with Rumiko Takahashi. She also had another successful manga and anime at the same time, Maison Ikkoku. But she has stopped doing those and is now looking for an inspiration for another new series. She said she wants another Shinobu Miyake-like character and will have her be the female lead as she had originally intended for Those Obnoxious Aliens."

Both Akiko and Ikuko looked at each other, then laughed.

"What's so funny?" Akane asked.

"Nothing!" they said. Then laughed again.

Finally, Akiko couldn't resist. "Isn't it rumored she is bisexual or something? She created the first sort-of gender bender in anime that was supposed to be taken a serious, right? I mean, Ryunosuke was a regular on the show."

Megumi frowned. "Hey, I just remembered being called a Ryunosuke just because I get into fights! If there's any girl like that whose dad raises her to be a boy, it's-" Suddenly, she was laughing, too!

Only three of the group are laughing. Hiroshi was too focused on the girl that flew around in the bikini (and the interesting POV the viewer got of different parts of her mostly exposed body). "Is she going to have another Lum, the Infamous-like character?" Oh, he did remember her name.

"The Princess of Mangas just about has to. That type of character is very popular among readers. But she swore she wouldn't let the girl take control of her story like she had with the other. She probably won't come from outer space, but she probably will be an alien. Perhaps from China."

"China!" And there was a fresh outburst of teen-girl laughter.

Ranma just looked at them all and wondered if she should be like them and join in. But she just didn't get what was so funny. It didn't sound funny to her.

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"We have the technology, people!" Akiko said, waving at the cameras and the support equipment they were standing before. "Now, let's make the Magic!"

"Aw, geez! Why am I doin' this again?" Ranma face was sour, and she didn't want to make it cute again. Oh, yes. It was because her girl brain couldn't resist trying to be one of the girls. Not really to be a girl, but to be like her girl friends.

They had her dressed like them in a little, frilly, cutesie costume with - as she was told - little girl toy-like accessories. ("Think of Sailor Moon or other maho shoujo accessories!" Akiko had told them as they were making their selections.) They, then, had stood in front of a long "ballerina" mirror with a barre to get a group look at how they looked as a "singing idol group".

"How can anybody take girls who look like we do seriously?" the redhead had glowered.

"You said you don't watch TV or play video games, Ranma," Hiroshi said, wishing he could pull a camera out of nowhere. "They have those where being a singing idol is heroic!"

"See!" Ranma told the born-girls. "The pervert likes girls this way!"

They even had a set to stand in front of that hadn't been changed for another one, yet. "This reminds me of our family dojo," Akane said. "Except...Christmassy."

"They've been filming for a Christmas special," Mr. Toru said. "I'll admit, it does seem early even for that. But it can be hard to reserve studio time. There are other reasons, perhaps, too."

"Mr. Ono?" an older woman said, coming into the studio. "Mr. Toru Ono?"

The everybody except Ranma, Akane and Kuno begin to whisper among themselves. "Is that the Rumiko Takahashi?" , "The Princess of Manga!" , "The mangaka behind Rumik Theatre!" , "A celebrity!"

"Yoshimura-san!" Mr. Tofu went to greet her. Needless to say, all but three of the group were disappointed. "You're early."

"I wanted to be here early for my interview. Mind if I sit and watch these wonderful-looking teens perform?"

"No...Is that a problem for you girls? See, it's not a problem." He notices the redhead, "Almost not a problem."

"Come on, Ranma, smile!" , "Yeah, you're one of us, now!" , "Sing along with us!" , "So, you really don't know how to sing!" , "Do the best you can." , "Follow along with us!" , "Fake it, if you have to!" , "Of course, you don't know the words. That's what that TV screen prompter is for! See?" , "It's professional karaoke!" , "Okay! Okay. ...Are those words even s'pose to make sense?"

"Mr. Ono, I'm looking for something that can compete with Takahashi-sama. I may never become as famous or have as much money as she has, but I give my publisher what they want. I just need inspiration, right now.

"...Say that girl with the red hair stands out. She has a sort of...a vibe. Strange, she's so cute and yet... Let's see...my character should have...not red, but pink hair. What else do you know about her, Mr. Ono?"

"...Sayonara my heart...
I want to feel this loneliness,
I want you back in my arms.

"Darling, just for me, can't I wait for you?..."

An Yoshimura would be correct, her manga, and the anime based on it would never come anywhere near to being as famous as any of Takahashi-san's. But it could be said the title reflected something of Ranma's curse to be a girl, Cho Kuse ni Nariso, "I'll Make a Habit of It".

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In this AU, alternative universe, timelines are blurred and do not necessarily follow along with either that of the manga, anime, video game or the wider world outside of Ranma ½.