Tiger, Panda and Monsters
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A blanket of fog was draped across the ghost town of City Z as a heavy rain pounded the pavement. Two figures strolled down the busted footpath, an umbrella shielding them from the deluge. An imposing and impressively built young man held the umbrella slightly to his left as he walked, earning himself a damp shoulder. His reason for doing so was a rather unimpressive and strikingly bald young man whose hands were full carrying bags of discounted food.
"You know Genos…"
"Master?" Genos stood to attention as the man to his left spoke.
"It's pretty lucky that we found these Bitter Melons for such a good price. When it starts getting hot again, you can eat them to keep yourself cool."
"I see! You didn't just pick them out at random, being drawn in by the flashy sales stickers, as I initially assumed. You were thinking ahead for when the rain lets up and the summer heat returns even stronger. A cool body means a cool head, and a cool head is imperative in any battle. Is that what you're were trying to teach me Master Saitama!?"
"Uhh… Sure, Genos." The Master Saitama stiffly returned, seeing the attempt at conversation fall flat.
"Thank you Master, I will be sure to make a note of your wisdom when we are home."
The two continued on in relative silence beside the noise of the rain and the rivulets rushing through the gutters. It wasn't long. However, until Genos was alerted to an alien sound approaching them from up on ahead. His eyes narrowed and flashed before he stopped suddenly and held hi free hand up defensively.
Saitama halted before he found himself out of the protective dome of the umbrella, "Genos? Something up?"
"I'm picking up two potential threats heading in our direction at higher than average speed. I believe they are monsters."
"Monsters huh. I haven't seen as many around here lately. Maybe the heats been getting to them."
"Should I prepare to destroy them, Master!?" The palm of Genos' right hand began to steam and glow, a cybernetic arm revealing itself, and a deadly expression falling upon his face.
"As long as they don't mess with the groceries, I really don't care. Not like there's anyone around here they could hurt" Saitama shrugged, and a calm overcame his protégé.
"Are you sure Master?"
"If they don't bother us then I don't want to bother with them. I want to get out of this rain already…"
A figure shrouded by the rain blurred into view and as they closed in it seemed that Genos was correct in his guess. At first glance one would assume they were a young girl carrying a large pack, but the clearer they became the more inhuman features revealed themselves. Orange hair with black stripes running from the fringe to the tip of the girls pigtail, along with a pair of rounded, tiger-like ears perking up above her head stood out the starkest. Along with the similar design that appeared along her furred arms, the tail waving behind her also cemented the girls designation as a type of mysterious being. Somehow though the large Panda giving chase behind her, sprinting at speed on its stubby legs while sporting a Gi top ten sizes too small and a pair of glasses dangling in the wind from its left ear, seemed the stranger of the two.
Taking a swipe, the panda growled as the girl deftly leaped away from the strike, landing not far from the two homebound shoppers. Striking a pose that betrayed some form of training in the Martial Arts, she faced down what Genos assumed was a Panda-like mysterious being. Seemingly unaware, or simply unconcerned with their audience the two began to argue.
"HEY! You better cut that out!" the girl lunged forward with a kick, landing her foot squarely between the panda monsters eyes. The bear toppled backwards while the girl landed with nary a splash in front of the creature. She turned to keep walking as the panda sat up. It stealthily threw a chop at the back of her head with enough force to send her skidding down the rain-slicked road.
Getting back into a stance she looked back with focus, "Your move" and the panda went on the offensive.
"Well I still think the whole thing stinks! Picking my fiancé for me" she grabbed the pandas arm out of one of its strikes and launched it over her shoulder into an already battered road sign, "without even asking!"
The bear crumpled to the pavement, "I'm going back up north to the island! So suck on that old man!"
As she walked away unconcerned, the beaten road sign took its revenge when the panda pulled it from the ground and slugged the girl across the head with it. The panda gathered its own and the girls effects, along with the now unconscious girl herself and wandered onwards, disappearing into the curtain of rain and fog.
"That was strange" Genos muttered, looking towards where the panda had left, leaving the two heroes forgotten.
"Some kind of family drama? I guess even monsters would have that sometimes" Saitama turned away with waning interest and resumed his journey back to home.
Quickly following, Genos continued to peer over his shoulder, "Do you think we should pursue them, Master?"
"Nah, engagements have never been my thing. Let's go home Genos, I'm getting hungry."
/
"At last" tears streamed down the face of Soun Tendo as he read and re-read the post-card from city K, "Ranma is coming… How I've waited for this day…"
"And soon" the tears turned from streams to waves, "…very soon, Ranma will be here…"
"Listen up! Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!"
"Kasumi!" Soun folded the Noren dividing the dining room and the kitchen to find a young woman turning the knob of the gas stove. She glanced over her shoulder, "Yes Father?"
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'In other news, monster attacks in the areas of city J and city K have increased. The outskirts of city Z have recently seen more monsters appearing from the abandoned area. Residents are advised to remain cautious and report any sightings to the Hero Association as soon as possible.'
The radio blared out the latest news much to the disinterest of the rooms only occupant whom found themselves far more invested in the magazine spread out on their pillow.
"Nabiki!" The girl laying on the bed turned to look as her father opened her door, trying to get her attention.
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"Akane!?" Soun opened the door to find a bedroom empty of his third daughter, "Where is that girl?"
Said girl was currently focusing on a pair of cinder-blocks piled on top of each other. Raising her hand in the air, and curling her fingers slightly into her palm, she brought it down like a hammer upon the blocks, "Hiiiiiyah!"
Looking contentedly at the leftover rubble the girl smiled, "Woah, that felt pretty good!"
Only to have her solitude interrupted by the flash of a camera.
"Here you go again Akane" Nabiki stood in the door to the dojo with a bemused look upon her face, "This is exactly the type of thing that makes the boys think you're so weird."
The comment smothered the mood entirely, "So why should I care Nabiki? Not everybody thinks the whole world revolves around boys!"
Akanes only response was a smile and a knowing drawl, "No? I guess this wouldn't interest you then."
/
"Fiancé?"
The family of four sat around the dining room table, Nabiki having taken the time to change into a kimono. The Patriarch of the Tendo family smiled, "Yes, the son of a very good friend of mine. His name is Ranma Saotome. If one of you three girls were to marry him and carry on this training hall, then the tendo family legacy would be secure."
The solemn anticipation was palpable in Souns voice, however the same could not be said for his youngest.
"Hey wait a minute here! Don't we get to have some say in who we're going to marry!?"
Nabiki leaned over to her aggrieved sister with a smirk, "Maybe you should wait until you meet him. You never know he might be really cute" she turned back to her father excitedly, "Right daddy?"
"Ahahahahaha…. He'll be here any minute" Looking back at the post-card as if to gleam some new kernel of information off of it he continued, "Ranma and his father have been on a training mission. Recently they have returned from the deep wilderness up north, on of the uninhabited islands if this post-card from Genma is right."
"Wait a minute" Nabiki leaned in with an frown, "Why did they send a post card from city K if they're heading here from up north. Didn't it say that they would be heading straight here once they were done up there?"
Soun glanced down back at the post-card, "Well… it says here that this card was sent three months ago. Left with instructions by my friend to deliver it today."
"Three months on an island crawling with monsters? Daddy are you sure your friend is coming today?" Nabikis' frown deepend, "Sure they're not in some monsters stomach?"
"Haahahahahaa… Now I know how it sounds, but Genma and I were trained to deal with tougher stuff then a few rowdy monsters…" Soun looked down once again at the post-card, nervously, and looked back up to his daughters who were all staring, "Never you worry. I'm sure both Ranma and Genma are at the door as we speak! Ahahahahaaa…"
As if on cue, the Tendo family heard a racket being kicked up near the front gate of the dojo. "Let go you old fool! I told you I don't want any party of this, no put me down" The shrill voice seemed to be echoing in from the front door as the tell-tale sliding sound rattled down the hall.
"Sounds like we have visitors" Kasumi began to stand to welcome the arrivals.
"Ooh, it must be Ranma!" Nabiki leaped into the hall to get the first look at her potential fiancé. "Soatome! My friend! We've been waiting!" Soun, hot on his daughters heels ran to the door.
"I hope that he's older than me…" Kasumi sighed, following her father.
The oldest of the sisters stopped short just at the door to the dining room as she found Nabiki and her father with expressions of shock and fear across their faces. The source of which revealed itself to be a pair of mysterious creatures rounding the corner causing a cry of fright to escape both the eldest and youngest sister.
"Put me down I said!" The monster tiger being manhandled by the presumably monster-panda seemed to be as happy as the Tendos were with its presence in their home.
Soun, quickly positioning himself in front of his family fell into a stance, fearfully determined to protect his daughters from the intruders. "Geez pop! Get some hot water first, you're scaring them spitless!"
"Now- NOW see here! I demand you leave immediately! I'm sure I have more then enough of what it takes to beat you monsters into submission! So-So, turn around and return from whence you came! Please…"
The panda leaned forward as the humanoid tiger monster punched it in the head, and held up simple wooden sign. A sign that read, 'Tendo! It's been too long!' and with a flip the sign continued, 'It's me, Saotome! Could you put a kettle on to boil old friend?'
With that Soun Tendo found that his knees had finally failed him, and he collapsed into a heap before the creatures that he was flabbergasted to realise were Ranma and Genma Saotome.
/
Tension thicker than mud swamped the Tendo family as they sat across the table from their 'guests.'
Soun had been helped onto a spare futon with help from the monster panda, while its unwilling charged sat at the table grumbling over its foolishness.
"I can't believe you pops! Why'd ya think just bustin' here was smart, you old dope! Look at them! They're shakin' all over!"
At her fathers request, Akane refrained from clobbering the lights out of the monsters that had suddenly invaded her home. She kept a watchful glare over the two, unsure why her father believed the monster pandas declaration. The other one, the girl, didn't appear quite as threatening as the panda being as small as she was. Her decidedly inhuman features made up for what she lacked in presence. Ears, tail, stripes and fur along with what Akane almost had to admit was a cute cat-like nose. However what felt like more of an anomaly, and certainly the more intimidating of the two, was the massive monster panda calmly checking the temperature of the kettle Kasumi had shakingly brought out from the kitchen. Thankfully it was already set to boil, fear of what could've happened had she not been able to fulfill the creatures request running through her head.
All of a sudden the panda lifted the kettle over its head and poured. And where the panda had been sitting was now a bald, bespectacled man who looked at a glance to be around the same age as her father.
"There we go. Sorry for the shock. I assure you I meant know harm" The man gave the girls a wide smile, before the kettle was snatched from his hands by the tiger monster who proceeded clubbed him over the head with it.
"I'll bet! Hard to mean any harm when you 'aint thinkin' in the first place pops!" The girl lifted the kettle over her and made to pour it only to frown. Clubbing what was now certainly her father over the head again she balled her fist in anger.
"Hey stupid! You used all the hot water! What's your problem huh!?"
Kasumi, still shocked, took the kettle from the girls hands and walked back into the kitchen. Ranma calmed herself, with the promise of more hot water to come.
"Oh… uhh thanks."
"Hmm… Jusenkyo. It's true horror was lost until now…" Soun stared at the ceiling from his futon, mumbling wistfully, "To think the old legends are true, eh Saotome?"
"Hey what's he talkin' about pops? Are you saying you knew about Jusenkyo the whole time!?"
"Excuse me for a moment" Nabiki, keen to interrupt another scuffle in the house, asked, "What is this Jusenkyo exactly?"
Genma crossed his arms with a dramatic sigh, "It's such a long and complicated story my dear I… wouldn't know where to begin."
"Oh really?"
Genmas reminiscing was swiftly interrupted with a fist to the side of his skull, "Complicated shmomplicated! We just got lost 'cause you can't read a map to save your life old man!"
A tap to her shoulder stopped Ranma from enacting any further punishment on the man as she turned to find Kasumi holding another kettle out for her, "Miss Ranma? Here's some more water." Accepting the kettle the girl poured it over her head, and what appeared in front of the family was a young human man.
"Aww man, that's better! So now ya get it right? Me 'n my pops here aren't monsters so clam down."
"But… But how is this even possible?" Akane leaned forward in shock at the reveal of the true forms of their guests. While she had heard about people transforming into monsters before she'd never seen anything quite like this.
"Yes, yes I know exactly where to begin" Genma reached over to his right and grabbed Ranma by his shirt, "Lets start with THIS!" Ranma yelled in surprise as he was flung clear across the Tendos garden and into the Koi pond by the wall. Soun sat up and stared along with his daughters as the pond bubbled before a familiar monster sat up and glared at the elder Saotome.
"Oh my…" Nabiki murmured.
"Ranmas… a girl now" Kasumi followed.
"What'd you do that for pop!? I just changed back!" Genma walked out to the pond and clenched his fist, "I am so ashamed… I cannot bare to see my son like this…" Ranma grit her teeth and leaped out of the pond and over Genma, "Ranma Saotome, you break your fathers heart."
Genmas performance was interrupted by a swift kick to the back, sending him face first into the pond. An irritated panda rose from his place, "Who're you to talk? My old mans a panda."
Throwing a punch at her father, Ranma and Genma began trading blows as the Tendo sisters looked on. "Father you certainly have some unusual friends" Kasumi commented to her father as he walked up beside his daughters. "They didn't used to be like this. No doubt it was the legendary curse training grounds of Jusenkyo that did this too them. Maybe we should give them a few moments to come back to themselves…"
/
Having changed back and calmed themselves as best they could the Saotomes sat back at the dining room table, the Tendos eagerly awaiting a proper explanation for their current predicament.
"Now, Saotome, why don't you start at the beginning?"
"Well Tendo, it all began three months ago during the last leg of our training journey. I remembered the old training grounds mentioned by… *ahem* anyway, the ones we learned about when we were young."
"Yes, I recall. The legendary training grounds of Jusenkyo… known for its terrible dangers, and horrifying curses."
"Ahhhh, you stupid old man! You knew the place was cursed and dragged me there anyway!? Whats the matter with you!?" Ranma slugged his father over the head.
Genma turned to stared his son dead in the eyes, "I had a VERY good reason Ranma. Do you doubt your father so?"
Halting another assault, Ranma paused. It wasn't often his old man gave him such a look. "O-oh yeah? Well, what was it then huh? Spit it out!"
Genma stood and turned to gaze over the sinking afternoon sun solemnly, "You see Ranma… I forgot all about it. Ahahahahahaha-!" A swift kick to his side silenced his outburst with Ranma scowling, "Ah I should've known."
"Ow owowow ow, R-ranma I had another good reason you know!"
Kasumi shook her head, "Mr Saotome, what reason could you have had to want to go there at all? And in such a dangerous area."
Sitting back down at the table Genma continued, "You see, what I recalled of the legend was that those who trained at the 'Pools of Sorrow' would gain inhuman strength, the likes of which no mere martial artist could hope to challenge. We journeyed for weeks, through monster infested jungles and across the ocean"
He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, "Of course once we got there and fell into the springs that covered the training ground It became apparent that the part about inhuman strength was a lot more literal than I thought."
Nabiki asked with eyebrows raised, "And? Then what?"
"Then we came here."
Soun, finishing his tea, cleared his throat. "Well now, your situation isn't so bad after all son. If this curse of yours can be reversed with hot water then the engagement can continue after all! Come, pick whoever you like; my eldest daughter Kasumi, my middle daughter Nabiki or my youngest daughter Akane."
"Oh, he want's Akane" Kasumi offered, holding her youngest sister in front of her.
"What! Me!? Marry him!?"
"What's the problem Akane? You hate boys, right? Well, he's half girl" Nabiki followed suite, pushing Akane forward.
"He's also half monster, in case you don't remember!"
"Well I think they'd be perfect for each other wouldn't you say Tendo?"
"When you're right, you're right Saotome."
"No way, no way! I'm not marrying anyone! And especially not a boy who turns into some kind of… freak!"
Twitching at his 'fiancés' comment, Ranma joined in the argument "Yeah! This is no time for engagements pop! We need to get back to searching for a cure! I 'aint marrying no body either, especially not some uncute tomboy like her."
"What was that!?"
"You heard me" Ranma huffed as he turned to make his way out of the dining room, "Call me a freak… even as a monster, I'm ten times better looking than you could ever be." As he strolled away with a mocking laugh he quite suddenly found himself slipping into unconsciousness as the dining room table was launched into the back of his head by one irate Akane.
Breathing with exertion and fury, Akane huffed and turned to leave the dining room and head to her room. Genma, having fallen to his side to avoid the table turned to look at Soun.
"Who needs Jusenkyo for inhuman strength, eh Tendo…"
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Well there we go; chapter one of whatever of this story idea I felt like putting to paper.
Couple of things I guess I'll add down here if anyone's curious. First off, I'm not planning to make this some story driven, long ass read. This is really only getting done cause I was bored and figured I'd try my hand at a bit of creative writing as it's been forever since I did it. I'm really only going to update this when I've got a good idea for a funny chapter. The fun of Ranma was always the characters getting into weird situations so that's what I'm going to try and replicate. There's not going to be any interaction with Saitama or anyone past that bit at the start, I'm keeping things focused on the Ranma characters for the most part.
I'm a bit more interested in getting these characters into the world of OPM rather then being a part of its story. That's the reason I changed Ranmas curse up a bit along with a few others if I get to them. I figured that it would help with adding conflict to the world he's in, in a way it normally wouldn't, and get some fun encounters out of it. As for why he a tiger thing; I wasn't sure what to do with the curse at first. I was thinking of maybe giving him some kind of power or something, but eventually I decided to just have it relate to what he was already good at; strength, speed, and a Chinese theme. It works nicely with the whole tiger/panda thing. And no! He doesn't look like a furry, keep your dicks out of your hands you freaks.
Anyway, just figured I'd add that. Don't know when I'll put the next chapter out, though it is about halfway done. Whenever I get around to it, I guess. See you then.
Edit: This stupid website decided that all the breaks I had in here weren't necessary. Had to update it.