A/N: Hello, dear readers! I can't believe I've decided to continue this after almost 8 years of solid abandonment! As I've explained on my profile, I've lost the email address and account I previously used and so I'm making a fresh start on this new one. :D
I decided to continue the story after I stumbled on my old account and saw the lovely reviews left on the original story. So thank you to all those who left those reviews! You've helped push my mind into actually keeping this thing going.
I hope you enjoy this. :)
Reminder: It's called Ranma's Double Standards because it's very loosely based on Judith McNaught's Double Standards. There's very little similarity besides the concept so don't worry about the story being ripped off!
Saotome Ranma, an elusive bachelor of 25 and owner of Battle Companies and the renowned Battle Dojo chain, lounged in his Jacuzzi with Shampoo, his current girlfriend. Maybe the word girlfriend could not accurately describe their relationship, which was an unemotional, sexually charged one. Perhaps the word mistress suited her better. At the moment, he was stroking her smooth back idly as she laid her head down on his chest.
Saotome Ranma was charming when he needed to be, but his devilish smile never reached his eyes. There was an air about him that screamed "danger" and he had a tendency to keep people at an arm's length. This could be seen from his dispassionate gaze now focused on Shampoo, as he contemplated awakening her.
It was too quiet in the Jacuzzi; far too quiet. The unnerving silence grated at Ranma.
"Shampoo?" he called softly, unwilling to wake her up if she was truly asleep. As much as he wanted companionship, he was reluctant to actually speak with her.
"Ranma," she moaned softly in response, lifting violet eyes full of promise and desire to his smoky blue ones.
Ranma smiled. Well then. Looks like he wouldn't have to make conversation at all.
Tendo Akane, a dedicated martial artist, was a highly accomplished 3rd Dan in kenpo and 4th Dan in karate at the young age of 24. She owned a highly spirited attitude and her biggest dream was to bring the Tendo dojo to the highest rung of the metaphorical ladder of fame and to not let it fall from there. Neither did she want the aforementioned ladder to fall on her beloved dojo.
Unfortunately, her dream had little chance of coming true for she was steadily heading towards bankruptcy. The few students she had were not enough to keep the small dojo going despite the tax returns she received for it. Besides that, most of them were leaving to join that billionaire's dojo (what's it called again?), the Battle Dojo. Bitterly, she reflected that she could see why. A variety of scheduled classes of different martial arts all at a low price, it was a highly established mixed martial arts gym that promised convenience for the everyday practitioner.
Rich people had everything, she thought with an unhappy sigh as she thought of the owner of the Battle Dojo, one of Japan's richest men - Saotome Ranma. The only thing higher than his ranking on Japan's Young Businessmen was his ranking on Japan's Most Eligible Bachelors. Pssh. Meanwhile, she couldn't even afford to take on another instructor. In a horse riding stance, she pivoted at her waist and smashed the block of bricks at her feet with a knife hand strike, straightening up only after dust settled.
Tendo Akane was a fiercely beautiful woman, the sort who inspired flowers and poems, odes to her nose. However, as generous and kind as she could be, her temperament tended to be volatile. Her spunky attitude had also managed to rub people the wrong way. Independent and fiery, she could be someone's dream woman or their worst nightmare.
However, she had little experience in relationships. This was due in part to her high school, where boys used to attack her in a frenzy in the mornings before classes in attempt to get her to date them. That experience left a bad taste in her mouth. She'd had crushes, but she was a little afraid of being pursued romantically and wasn't too fond of the idea of chasing after a person either.
It didn't bother her. After all, what type of woman would she be if she could not survive without a man in her life?
In all truth, she really was a romantic. It was hard to tell, though. She'd grown up as a tomboy, but she still embraced her feminine side. Unfortunately for some, they could not see both sides of her personality as merely a facet of who she was. Unfortunate for her as well, as the only time she'd received flowers were from Kuno Tatewaki and that was something she'd like to forget…
She tried to convince herself that she had neutral thoughts about her lack of sexual experience because she secretly hoped to save herself for marriage. Or at least for someone special. She didn't mind waiting because, after all, you can't miss what you've never had. What she never had was also a guy who would talk to her actual face. They weren't even that big, she thought miserably with a glance downwards.
This puzzled many young men and they ridiculed her for it, most of them stung by the fact she refused to sleep with them. Typical male ego! At this thought she kicked at the rubble from the bricks she had smashed with a dainty snort.
Her dates tended to end quickly and on a less than happy note. Punching someone (even with her strength held back) tended to do that.
Although she was 25, she didn't have much of a social life. She did have friends but she did not attend their parties. She had problems her friends did not have. She had to support her sisters and settle their dowries. Most families in her town were old fashioned and still believed in dowries. Her sisters would not marry well unless they had enough money settled on them.
She was young and she had a life, her sisters told her. She ought to live, not work. Akane had grinned at them and answered, "I do have a life. This is my life." Throughout all the heartache and pain, Akane kept a winsome smile on her face.
Little did she know that her smile was the reason the disgusting boys in school had kept challenging her, for it really was enchanting and wholeheartedly genuine.
And at that moment, Tendo Akane smiled to herself for she knew that she could always find ways to solve her problems.
There would always be hope.
"Xian Pu!" Ku Lon barked her great-granddaughter's name with anger. "Why haven't you gotten the amulet yet?" she demanded in Mandarin.
It was nearly midnight and Xian Pu had just reached the lavishly decorated home the Amazon clan rented for them in Japan. She had found her great-grandmother waiting rather patiently for her in the living room. Ku Lon was, of course, kept company by an old, battered Chinese book.
"I'm sorry, great grandmother. I can't seem to discover where he's hiding it," she answered in a sincerely sorry voice. She had after all, tried her best. And it still wasn't enough. "He doesn't trust me enough to leave me alone in his rooms. I'm beginning to think he doesn't like women, except for pleasure." Xian Pu punctuated her sentence with a little sigh.
"Hmm, that will present quite a problem, indeed," the wizened old woman remarked unhappily. "We have to lull him into a false sense of security and trust as far as you are concerned, great granddaughter. You didn't exactly give him the best of first impressions with that Kiss of-"
"Yes, great grandmother," Xian Pu agreed with as much humble respect as she could muster, deliberately cutting through her great grandmother's sentence with a wince at the reminder.
Together they sat in silence, thinking of ways to overcome their predicament. They had no wish to be cast out of the Amazon clan for not bringing back the amulet they were assigned to steal. The silence was suddenly broken by Shampoo's high pitched voice.
"Oh, great-grandmother," Xian Pu exclaimed excitedly. "I have an idea!"
"Tell me, Xian Pu."
"I was thinking of doing research and finding someone financially desperate enough, with sufficient martial arts skill, preferably in ninjutsu, to search his apartments while I distract him." Xian Pu finished her enthusiastic announcement and sucked in a deep breath, hoping for her matriarch's approval.
"That doesn't solve the matter of your Kiss of Marriage, Xian Pu," Ku Lon sighed.
Xian Pu visibly deflated, but brightened up after a moment's thought. "Perhaps we could pay her to seduce him and leave him broken-hearted? Right after that, I'll swoop in and comfort him. Maybe we can get them to also spy on him and find out information that would be useful to the tribe?"
"Well done, great-granddaughter!" Ku Lon cackled, pleased. Suddenly, her expression turned serious as she spotted a the large flaw in Xian Pu's plan. "And who will be our spy?"
"I heard from the underground that Konatsu is the person to go to for these things."
Ku Lon let out a bark of laughter. Xian Pu had never been the best at strategy and planning, but it looked to her like there was rapid improvement. "We will work out the details in the morning, then. For now, great granddaughter, you may sleep. You have truly earned the trust and responsibility required to be entrusted with this important mission."
Xian Pu smiled beatifically at the thought of revenge for her fallen honour. "Prepare yourself, Saotome Ranma."
However, Xian Pu hit an unexpected snag in her plan that night at the rendezvous she had arranged with contacts to meet Konatsu. Konatsu was unfortunately male. She discovered this to her shock as the underground had believed that he was female all the while, with rumours that half the mobsters were soft on what they had believed was a woman.
She appreciated that he was manipulative enough to take advantage of his ethereal feminine looks.
In return for her help in retrieving some documents from a rival's home (easy peasy, she used her curse to maximum advantage and sauntered in and out as a cat), he recommended that she approach a student he had taught ninjutsu, a certain Tendo Akane.
He reassured her that she met all of the necessary criteria: financially unstable, dislike towards Saotome, and desperate enough to cut the bastard dead.
As Xian Pu left their assigned meeting place, Konatsu spared a thought for his beloved, who had suffered at the hands of Saotome. He sincerely hoped that Saotome had finally met his match.
The very next day, Xian Pu made her way to the Tendo dojo to meet Akane. She was about to knock on the door when she heard weeping coming from within. Ah, that has to be Tendo Akane, Shampoo thought in Chinese. That's right; her two sisters were in critically condition due to a hit and run. The Chinese girl tried not to smile when another thought occurred to her. Due to emotional stress, Akane would be more pressured to accept the position she offered. With that in mind, Shampoo lifted her hand once again to knock.
She barely had time to put down her hand for Akane answered immediately. Speed is good, Xian Pu thought, pleased with her choice. But as soon as Xian Pu saw the younger woman's face, she stepped back in shock. Akane was beautiful, almost too beautiful. This stung Shampoo's pride, for she knew that she was acknowledged as one of the most beautiful women in Japan.
Akane stared at the curious looking woman on her doorstep. All her thoughts of grieving were shoved to the back of her mind as she looked at the woman who was making a very… shall we say... violet first impression on her. Everything about her was violet; violet hair, violet eyes, violet clothes… She even smelled violet! She looked Chinese and when she spoke, her broken Japanese confirmed this.
"I Xian Pu, Amazon Chinese. Here to give you job," she declared. "Good pay, easy job, big money," the violet woman added quickly. Akane didn't care. She wanted to know more about the job. Especially the money part.
"Hello Shampoo," she greeted in the nicest way possible. She really wanted to make a good impression on the gorgeous Chinese lady but poor Akane hadn't realized that she had made a very common mistake (but it didn't really matter to Xian Pu who knew that most Japanese mispronounced her name) by calling the Amazon warrior Shampoo. "Do come in. I would love to know more." Fixing a smile on her face she directed Shampoo to the living room and made sure she was comfortable.
"Would you like a drink?" she asked. Shampoo shook her head and let out an irritated sigh. Akane then realized that Shampoo was impatient to tell her about the job. Not that she wanted to complain about Shampoo's choice.
"You hear about Saotome Ranma?" Shampoo asked her.
Akane nodded.
"You hear about Amazon women in China?" she then asked.
Akane gave her a confused look (how on earth could the two things be connected?) before nodding. She had heard about them from some martial arts history she was required to learn as part of becoming a certified instructor. She didn't know much besides the tribe deliberately alienating themselves from the rest of the Chinese nation as well as some speculation that they had cut some under the table dealings with the government to remain that way along with some political and legal immunity. As such, there was very little that she could learn of them besides the Amazons being a matriarchal community of highly trained warriors.
To the rest of the world, they simply did not exist.
"Ranma steal precious jewel from us few years steal it because it very useful, very beautiful, very precious. It has powers like can use to tell who you true love is," Shampoo said softly, as if in fear of being overheard even in an almost empty house. "He in China that time, looking for place to stay near Jusenkyo, place of cursed springs. We let him stay at village with man there overnight. But at night he steal jewel from us and we not know until now."
Akane couldn't help herself - she just had to interrupt. "Why didn't you know earlier?" she asked.
"Not everybody allowed look at jewel," Shampoo straightaway answered, remembering the details Cologne had told her to memorize. "Every few years, at special ceremony, we bring jewel out. This year, we no find jewel. This ceremony very special, need to earn Favor of Gods, which is God's love."
Akane found this ridiculous, but she allowed Shampoo to continue.
"We need jewel back. Without ceremony, life at village just stop." Shampoo's voice was tinged with desperation.
Alright, fine… But… "How did you find me?"
"Konatsu," Shampoo said simply. Akane pursed her lips. He always did say he'd call in a favour in the future in exchange for teaching her.
A few moments passed in silence. Shampoo decided to speak up then.
"Tendo will do job or not?"
Akane buried her face in her hands when a sharp feeling of guilt stabbed at her.
It's stealing, her conscience told her firmly. But it can be considered as justice when you look at it one way, for Ranma did steal it from them. The Amazons really need it for their ceremony, too. Akane also needed the money to support herself and work on the dojo. Besides, she owed Konatsu for polishing her skills and teaching her ninjutsu. Before him, she had hit a plateau in her training. There was only so much self training could do for you, after all.
Looking at it that way, Akane decided that it definitely wasn't a crime.
She met Shampoo's stare head on.
"I'll do it."
A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that. I'll be updating rapidly up till I've completed editing the fifth chapter. After that updates will come much slower since I've got to figure out where to take this thing.
I also need some proofreaders with extremely high standards. Hit me up if you wanna do that.
A good day to the rest of you!