Obligatory Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi still owns Ranma 1/2, and Ken Akamatsu still owns Mahou Sensei Negima!. Now if only a person's fandom could work like stock, then maybe I could own a piece of them pies. Then again, you guys out there would take so much of it that I'd be left with the crust. Worst diet EVER.
Episode 3: Connection Established
"So you wanna know about the Phoenix Tribe thing, right?" Ranma asked as he and Negi continued their walk to the Dojo. "Alright, might as well tell ya now, since no one's here. It all started about 2 weeks ago. I was busy relaxing on the roof after an attempt by Pops and Tendo to get me married with Akane when–"
"Wait, married?" Negi asked in a shocked tone.
"Hey, it was all Pops's stupid idea! Like I'd ever marry that uncute tomboy." Ranma gave himself a breath before returning on topic. "As I was saying, I was relaxing when I hear a scream. Checking the street, I see a girl getting attacked by two bird-men. Being the honorable martial artists we are, me and Ryoga beat the two up and get the girl to safety at the Cat Café. Turns out the girl is Plum, the Jusenkyo Guide's daughter."
"The Guide's daughter? I never saw her at all when I visited."
"Believe me, that was the first time I met her, and I've known the Guide a lot longer. Anyway, the two bird-men were soldiers from Mount Phoenix, where all the villagers are cursed by the Spring of Drowned Bird. They attacked Plum because they wanted a map to Jusendo, Jusenkyo's source. They were gonna drain the Springs for some ritual of theirs."
"Wait, the Spring has a Jusenkyo curse, right? Why would they endanger their own cure?"
"I guess they really liked it. Not the first time I've seen that. Besides, they needed the ritual for their king Saffron. Supposed to transform him so that he could work like a generator or something like that."
Negi now looked confused. "That…sounds harmless. And yet you still attacked them?"
"Hey, back then we didn't know what the whole ceremony was for or if the Springs could be brought back. And nobody was gonna risk it. Besides, they attacked first. Would've helped if we knew everything beforehand."
Negi was still confused, but he refused to question further. No use in staying on this topic any longer than necessary. "So, I'm assuming from what was shown on the news that you guys weren't able to hold onto the map, is that correct?"
Ranma sighed. "Yeah, we failed. We tried to split the map up, but they managed to brainwash Shampoo and got her to get the pieces from us."
"Shampoo?" Negi asked. "You lost the map to shampoo?"
Ranma sighed again. "Shampoo. Member of the Chinese Amazons. Waitress at the Cat Café. Constant pain in the ass ever since she arrived. You ain't the first kid to make that joke."
Negi couldn't help but picture a meaner version of Ku Fei, no matter how wrong the picture was. "I-I see. But I've never heard of a Chinese Amazon before."
"Not exactly the biggest group around. So anyway, with Shampoo gone we had a new reason to head to China. So Plum set sail back, taking with her me, Pops, Ryoga, and Mousse." Negi quickly labeled "Mousse" as another Amazon name, assuming that Ranma wasn't talking about hair products or friends of flying squirrels. "Long story short, we made it to Jusendo just in time to stop Saffron from completing his transformation. Good thing too, because he's gotta be the toughest punk I've ever fought. Still, I kicked his ass so hard that he froze and shattered to pieces. Don't worry: kid's immortal, and came back as a baby in an egg. They returned to Mount Phoenix, Jusenkyo was restored, and everything's back to normal."
Ranma had smirked towards the end, which only served to trouble Negi again. "You are happy that things are normal, but it sounds like nothing had been changed. How are you sure that this won't happen again?"
"'Cause my fight with Saffron was so powerful that it messed with the mountain itself. The whole water flow got rearranged, so now if they want to do the ritual they don't have to shut Jusenkyo off."
Negi felt himself become more relieved. In other words, the Phoenix Tribe will most likely not become a problem again. Good to know. It would've been harder to keep magic secret if this whole incident repeated itself. Now, on to the next issue at hand…
"So, Ranma-san, about your curse…"
"That too? Alright, this curse is-" At that instant, Ranma was suddenly soaked with a bucket's worth of water. The Guide had already told Negi about the curse and its effects, but it was better to see the change in person. And it made Negi gasp in shock. Ranma's once-black hair turned bright red. His hips squeezed to give his body an hourglass shape, complimented by his now-larger hips and breasts. His face didn't change much, but it did have more of a "cute girl" look than before. His body shrunk; he was now a full head shorter than before, and although he still looked fit he looked more lean than muscular. However, the biggest shock to Negi was how fast the change had occurred. Ranma had gone from muscular black-haired boy to busty red-haired girl instantaneously. Even the age-changing pills took at least a couple of seconds to take effect. He never thought such a change could be made so quickly.
Ranma quickly recognized where she was standing, and quickly turned her head, Behind her was a very old and very short woman who had been tossing water. Before Ranma could say anything, the woman had gone inside.
Ranma began fuming. "Every time I pass by this house that old lady manages to splash me with water. Every. Single. Time." She proceeded to punch the nearby wall in a fit of minor rage. As she did this, Negi took note of Ranma's now-feminine voice.
Looking back at Negi, Ranma realized what happened to her body and sighed. "Well, so much for explaining it first. This here is how the curse works. Get splashed with cold water, and I turn into this. Hot water turns me back into my manly self." Negi's gaze was so fixed that he didn't notice the curb. And, well, let's just say that Ranma experienced his first Marshmallow Hell.
(For those of you unaware, "Marshmallow Hell" is when a boy's head gets stuck in a girl's cleavage. Busty girl and short young boy are preferable. For the forceful ramming and nuzzling of one's head into said cleavage, please check under "Glomp".)
Ranma quickly pushed Negi off her. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"AH! P-Please, don't hurt me! I-I just tripped! It was an accident!"
"Sure it was! Geez, I'm running into younger perverts all the time!"
"I-I wasn't trying to be perverted or anything like that! I just-" At that instant, a quick breeze blew by. Said breeze kicked up some dust. Anyone aware of Negi's allergies can probably guess the result.
"A-A-ACHOOO!" Negi's sneeze released a powerful gust of wind onto Ranma, transforming her shirt and pants into flower petals. Thankfully, Ranma's boxers remained intact. Unfortunately, her breasts now hanged loosely in the wind. Negi, quickly realizing what just happened, could only watch with wide eyes as he tried to think of something to say.
Ranma, looking shocked, looked down at her now-exposed chest. "M-My shirt." she mumbled. "Y-You destroyed my favorite shirt." Anger consumed her as her ki quickly spiked. "SO, didn't get a good look last time, huh?" She began walking forward cracking her knuckles. "Well, how about we fix that?"
At this point, Negi's mind was in too much of a state of panic to try to reason with the now-female, now-naked, and now-pissed-off martial artist in front of him. So, he did the next best thing: He turned around and sprinted as fast as he could.
"Oh no you don't, pervert! GET BACK HERE!" Ranma shouted, as she gave chase.
X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X
As said before, the people of Nerima are bombarded with the noise of martial arts so much that they cherished any moment of peace that they could get. So it became an unspoken rule of sorts to never go anywhere near the Tendo Dojo. People were savvy enough to know that they were involved with every martial arts and marriage stunt that happened in the town, so people figured that it would always be hectic and chaotic and noisy. And the neighbors would tell you that that was mostly true. However, it was possible for there to be peace within the Tendo household. It didn't always work, but usually the best way to assure the Dojo's peace was to make sure that Ranma wasn't home.
Ranma's absence was especially relieving for one Akane Tendo, who liked it when that annoying jerk wasn't pestering her. Her father, Soun, and his friend, Genma Saotome, were in the living room trying to cheat each other off another game of Go. Her sister Kasumi was preparing dinner in the kitchen, while her other sister Nabiki was in her room, plotting the next day's schemes. This left Akane ample time to finish up some well-needed cleaning around the house. Right now, she was just outside the front gates sweeping dirt. However, as she did so, she quickly turned her head down the street and started looking. She could've sworn she heard a stampede of sorts. It became clearer once it got closer.
"YOU CAN'T KEEP RUNNING!" Ranma's female voice yelled. And thus the peace of Nerima was shattered. Again.
As Ranma's yells became louder, Akane could see what was happening better. And she couldn't believe which was worse: the fact that Ranma was chasing what looked like a cute innocent boy around, or the fact that Ranma was chasing him with her breasts fully exposed. Akane's face quickly glowed a bright red. Whether it was from anger, disgust, embarrassment, or a combination was unknown even to her.
It was usually at this point where Akane would start shouting at Ranma, calling him "stupid" or "perverted" or "a jerk" or something like that. However, this time Akane decided to take a different approach. Noticing that there was a good enough distance between Ranma and Negi, Akane began gripping the end of the broom like a baseball bat. When Negi passed by, Akane quickly made her swing, whacking Ranma right in the face. She quickly fell to the ground, flung forward only by sheer momentum. Hearing the whacking sound, Negi stopped in his tracks at turned around.
"OWW!" Ranma yelped. "Whatcha do that for, you crazy tomb-OOF!" Before Ranma could finish her sentence, Akane had whacked her again, this time in the stomach.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? What are you doing picking on little kids for? Are you that petty that you have to beat up kids? Doesn't help that you're a girl right now! You look like a desperate pervert!"
Akane smacked Ranma again in the stomach. "And why don't you have a shirt on? How many times to I have to teach you feminine modesty? You can't go running around showing your chest off to everyone, especially little kids!"
Ranma quickly stood up and protested. "Hey, it ain't my fault I'm like this! The little brat over there literally blew my shirt off! Tore it to pieces and everything!"
"Pssh, oh please, Ranma. Can't you come up with at least a plausible excuse?" She quickly looked down at Ranma's chest. "And can you please at least try to cover yourself? Little kids here!" Readers at home should note that this is far from the worst that Negi's seen. He's seen several girls completely naked before. At this point, he's immune to this kind of stuff.
"Fine, if it means you're not gonna smack me again." Ranma sighed and crossed her arms, which at least kept her nipples from view. "But it's still his fault! I don't know how this pervert destroyed my shirt, but he did it somehow! I oughta beat him up on principle!"
"Don't worry, Ranma!" an old voice cried out. "I'll help ya out!" Suddenly, a brown-red blur popped up, aiming straight for Ranma. However, she quickly punched downwards, hitting the blur into the ground. What was left was a really old and really short man, holding a pipe in one hand and a pink lace bra in the other.
"Heh, like I'd ever let you help me, you freak."
"Oh come on now, Ranma, let me help. You can always accept help from your master!" The man jumped in the air, trying to tackle Ranma again. However, all his face met with was Ranma's foot as she hit him with an upward kick. Like Ryoga before him, the old man went skyward.
Ranma groaned. "Ugh, hope that keeps him out of the way for a while. Alright, I'm gonna go find some extra clothes. See ya." She turned to the house and ran inside.
Negi was about to say something when a still-red Akane snapped her broom in half, startling him. "I just don't believe how inconsiderate he can be sometimes!" Turning around and seeing Negi, Akane quickly regained her composure. "Oh, sorry you had to see that. Jerks, both of them. So, what's your name, little boy?"
Negi bowed. "My name is Negi Springfield. Yours?"
"I'm Akane. Akane Tendo. Nice to meet you. What are you doing here?"
"I was talking with Ranma-san regarding some…things. Um, I'm sorry if I'm trailing off a bit, but who was that just now?"
"Oh, that was Grandfather Happosai. That old pervert's always causing some kind of trouble. He'll be fine, unfortunately."
Negi was amused at the description. Sounds like how Asuna-san would describe Chamo-san.
Akane continued. "While Ranma's getting changed, you want to come in?"
"S-Sure, if that's okay." The two walked inside and into the dining room. There, Soun and Genma (in panda form) were still busy playing Go. Meanwhile, Nabiki was sitting at the table reading one of her books.
"Hi Nabiki. Didn't think you would be down already."
"Hm?" Nabiki hummed, turning her eyes from her book. "Oh, hey Akane. Kasumi said she was gonna be done with dinner soon, so I figured I just wait here." A smirk emerged on her face. "By the way, Ranma passed by me on the staircase. Tell me, did you do that, or did Happosai get to him? Or maybe Kuno managed to get a little close, perhaps?"
Akane turned red again. "I'd never do something perverted like that! He was already like that when I saw him!"
"Was he now. Gotta tell him to stop streaking like that in public."
"You're telling me. So, Negi, are you…" She trailed off, as she saw Negi frozen by the door frame. "Negi, are you alright?"
"P-P-P-Panda?" he stammered.
The panda turned and held up a sign saying "It's alright, kid. I'm not gonna bite." However, as it did so it heard a clacking sound coming from the board. Staring at Soun, the panda flipped the sign around, the other side saying"Alright, what did you just do?"
"Oh, nothing, Saotome-kun." Soun muttered. "Akane, you can sit down if you wish."
"Thanks Dad. Oh, I didn't introduce you all yet! Negi, this is my dad, Soun Tendo," she said, pointing to the man with long black hair and a black moustache opposite the panda, "the panda is Ranma's dad, Genma Saotome, and that over there," now pointing to the short brown-haired girl at the table, "is my sister Nabiki."
"Um, hi." Negi said, bowing. "My name is Negi Springfield. Nice to meet you all."
"Hello there, lad." Soun replied as he poured hot water on Genma, turning him from a panda into a bald man with glasses.
"AGHH! Do you always gotta make it so hot, Tendo-kun?"
"Don't be such a baby, Saotome-kun. Negi, would you like to join us?"
"If that's okay with you."
Soun took the seat at the end, while Genma sat next to him. Akane and Negi both sat next to each other towards the middle, with Nabiki on the other side. Ranma soon entered the room, now male and now sporting a shirt similar to his previous one, but blue.
"Hey guys." Ranma said. "I heard dinner's just about ready. Good, I'm starving." He took the seat across from his father.
Kasumi entered the room carrying a tray of food. "Dinner's ready." As she put the tray down, she saw Negi. "Oh! Negi-kun! I didn't realize you'd be back so soon!" She gave him a quick bow before sitting next to Nabiki.
As Negi returned the bow, Akane turned over towards him. "You know Kasumi?"
"I stopped by the house earlier to find Ranma-san." Negi said. "I met Kasumi-san then." Akane responded with a simple nod. "So, Ranma-san," Negi continued, "your father was a panda bear a couple of minutes ago. I'm assuming it's another Jusenkyo curse. Are there any others?"
Ranma turned towards Negi, his face still somewhat full from the rice that he had been chowing down. "There's Shampoo, who turns into a cat, and then there's Mousse, who turns into a duck. I've met others with curses, but they don't show up all that much."
"And how many people know about the curse?"
"Other than everyone here, I'd say everyone at school at least."
Negi's eyes suddenly went blank. "Th-The entire school knows?Ev-Everybody?"
Ranma took a moment to think. "Well, the Kunos don't know, but then again, they're too dense to ever figure it out. Otherwise, yeah, everyone."
"You're asking a lot of questions, boy." Nabiki said, staring at Negi. "Why is that?"
Negi gulped a bit of saliva as he brought up his alibi. "W-Well, I saw that whole report on the news, and I was so fascinated that I went all the way to China to meet Jusenkyo Guide-san about it. He told me to come here."
"But you look shocked about the school knowing about Ranma's curse. Why would you care?"
"Nabiki, don't be rude." Akane replied.
"No, it's okay Akane-san." Negi said, "I was just curious, Nabiki-san. I'm just surprised that so many people know. I would've expected to have at least heard about it by now." It wasn't a complete lie, but Negi still had his mental fingers crossed.
Nabiki paused for a bit, then shrugged. "Yeah, that is kinda weird. But oh well." She returned to her dinner as Negi gave himself a mental pat on the back.
"If you don't mind," Soun began, "I have a question for you. The name 'Springfield' is clearly not Japanese. Where are you from?"
"I am from Wales, Tendo-san."
"Wales?" Akane asked. "Where's that?"
"I think it's somewhere nearby Britain." Nabiki answered. "You're a long way from home, kid. Why are ya here?"
"I'm here because I am currently studying as a teacher."
"Wait, WHAT?" In shock, Akane had sprung up from her seat, only to lean towards Negi and stare. "Hey, Ranma, you said Negi was a martial artist, right? Anything like Ninomiya-sensei?"
"Not when I saw him." Ranma answered. "Looking at him right now, I don't think so. Teach's altered metabolism causes her ki to act a little differently. I'm not seeing that with Negi here."
Negi stared blankly again, only this time with confusion. "Ni-Ninomiya-sensei? Altered metabolism? What do you mean?"
Akane sat back down. "Ninomiya-sensei's our English teacher. Grandfather Happosai used pressure points to change her metabolism, allowing her to absorb ki. However, this means that she looks like a kid all the time. It's only when she's absorbed ki that she looks like an adult."
"W-Well, I can assure you, Akane-san, that I am not like that at all."
"So you're an actual kid, and yet you're a teacher? What are you, some kind of genius prodigy?"
Negi chuckled a bit. "Some of my students actually called me that when I first arrived. I don't think I deserve such a big title though."
Kasumi decided to chime in. "I think it's wonderful that a boy like Negi-kun is able to hold a job at such a young age. Where do you teach?"
"I am an English teacher at Mahora Academy."
Soun nodded. "I have heard of Mahora before. I've heard that it is a very prestigious school."
"I've heard of it too." Nabiki added. "You teaching at the main district?" Negi could only respond with a nod. "Interesting, 'cause the main district happens to be the largest all-girl school in the country." The mere mention of "all-girl" caused Akane to flush red again, giving Nabiki a devious grin. "Why would they surround a cute boy like you with so many girls?"
That comment caused Akane to turn redder than a solar flare. "St-Stop it, Nabiki! You can't suggest that Negi's a pe-pervert! He's too young, nice, and innocent to be a pervert!"
"Didn't stop him from destroying my shirt, did it?" Ranma asked, staring at Negi in a way that made Negi feel squirmish. "Which leads to my question: How the hell did you do that?"
Negi, now in a semi-panic from Ranma's staring, quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "That was, uh, a technique I learned a few years back." Replace "technique" with "spell" and it was accurate, so Negi didn't feel that awkward saying it.
"Technique? Really? But I didn't sense that much ki. How'd you get something that big out of it?"
By now, Ranma didn't seem to be angry about the lost shirt anymore, but instead seemed to be genuinely curious. This only rattled Negi more as he tried to come up with a believable story. It was then that Negi thought back to the other two martial artists he met with Ranma. Specifically, he thought about Tatewaki Kuno.
"When I met you, I noticed that Kuno-san was capable of literally cutting the air. I have a gash in my robe to prove it. You do know of this, yes?" Ranma nodded, allowing Negi to proceed. "Well, my technique works in a similar way. However, the force I create is flat instead of sharped like Kuno-san's, which is how it was able to create the force of wind between you and Ryoga-san. The force is strong enough to blow away clothing if close enough."
If Negi had his eyes closed, it's because the strain of pulling that big of a lie was getting to him. As Ranma paused to let the words sink, Negi prayed to God that it would work.
"Well, I gotta say, I'm impressed, kid." Ranma responded, breaking the silence. "What else can you do?"
Negi practically jumped into response. "I'd prefer not to do any more. I don't want to exhaust myself."
"Whatever." Ranma replied, going back to finishing his meal. With that, Negi could finally breathe again. Negi-2 Other-0.
However, Negi relief didn't last too long as Nabiki spoke again. "You didn't answer my question yet. Why are you teaching at an all-girls school?"
"To be honest, I don't know. I was assigned to Mahora when I graduated, and I was allowed to work full-time when I proved that I could do a good job. It helped that I became popular among my students. The Headmaster of the Academy in Wales and the Dean of Mahora are both good friends, so maybe the Headmaster wanted to make sure I was safe."
That, and a large of number of Mahora's staff consists of mages and magic-knowing humans who would be more than willing to keep an eye on Negi and make sure that he didn't blow his cover. Not that he'd ever say that out loud. Granted, hestill blew his cover, but at least they tried.
"Well, the food was good as always, Kasumi." Nabiki muttered, yawning and stretching her arms. "Geez, I'm tired already. Shouldn't have stayed up so late last night. I think I'm going to get ready for bed."
"Same." Akane replied. However, as she got up something came across her mind. "Hey Negi, where are you going now exactly?"
Negi hesitated. "Well, truthfully, I just came into town earlier today, and I wasn't expecting to be here for so long."
"So you don't have anywhere to stay? I can't accept that! Dad, is it okay if Negi stays over for the night?"
Soun thought it over as he was setting up the Go board. "Unfortunately we don't have any more bedrooms available."
"Then he can stay in my room!"
Nabiki smirked. "Wow, Akane. I've didn't think you could be so insistent on having boys in your room."
"I-It's not like that! It's just not right for a little boy like Negi to be wandering around so late at night. Besides, Negi is young and innocent and I can trust him more in my room than with anyone else."
"Why do you keep looking at me?" Ranma shouted.
"It's alright, Akane-san. I can handle myself just fine. I don't want to be a burden at all."
"You won't be! Come on, you can stay over for the night and be back on the road by morning. Besides, the city at night can be a bad place for a kid like you. What do you say?"
At this point, Negi was finding it hard to deny such hospitality. "Al-Alright. I'll stay."
With everyone preparing for sleep, Negi was dragged upstairs and through a door with a hanging duck-shaped "Akane" nameplate. Akane left, allowing Negi to take in his surroundings. Other than the dumbbells on the side, it looked like a typical bedroom you'd expect a teenage girl to have. He still felt like he was being a burden, but he was too grateful of Akane's generosity to upset her by leaving. Akane returned shortly later, carrying a spare pillow and blanket. Negi was fine with sleeping on the floor, and did so as Akane tucked herself into bed.
"Goodnight, Negi."
"Goodnight, Akane-san." As he turned to sleep, he suddenly remembered a question. "Akane-san, when I met Ranma-san earlier, he mentioned Tendo-san and Saotome-san trying to get you and Ranma-san married. Can you explain?"
"Ugh, he mentioned it? I was hoping to go on tonight without having to talk about it. Long story short, Dad and Saotome-san made a promise years ago saying that they would unite the Dojo by having their kids get married. Don't really think about it too much. I'd never love an insensitive jerk like him. Goodnight."
As he passed out, two things came up in Negi's mind. First, he thought he heard a hint of a lie in Akane's voice when she mentioned how she didn't love Ranma. Second, he prayed that Akane didn't smell like Nekane. He really couldn't afford to sleep-hug tonight.
The Next Morning
Akane quickly sprang down the stairs. Turning a few corners, she saw Kasumi preparing breakfast.
"Kasumi! Where did Negi go?"
"Oh, you're up Akane. Negi-kun already left. He seemed to be in a rush. He was the first after me to wake up, and he didn't even stay for breakfast. He did tell me to give his regards to the family."
With that, Kasumi continued cooking, while Akane went back to her room. He left without saying goodbye, Akane thought as she stared out the window. What was he in such a rush for?
Two Days Later
"Ah, Negi-kun! Good to have you back! Though I'm surprised that the trip took so long. How did it go?"
Negi was sweating and panting. "It went well, Dean-san. I'm happy to inform you that the Saffron incident is no longer of risk."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I found the Jusenkyo Guide, who led me to Ranma Saotome-san in Nerima. Ranma-san told me that the Phoenix Tribe will not be a problem." Negi proceeded to relay everything that Ranma had told him.
Konoe nodded in approval. "Excellent, Negi-kun. Now, what of the Jusenkyo curses?"
"Um, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that a good portion of Nerima knows of the curses. Ranma can confirm that the student population of the local high school knows, but there may be more."
"That's…a large number, Negi-kun. How could we not have known this earlier?"
"That's what I thought! But earlier that day I saw a fight that Ranma-san got into, and saw that nobody was paying attention to it. My best guess is that such events are so common that nobody gives them any special attention."
"An interesting hypothesis, Negi-kun, but it's too risky for me to rely on. Tell me, what's the good news?"
Negi panted and wiped some sweat from his brow. "The good news is actually in two parts. The first part is that the only magic is from the curses. All of the stuff Ranma-san could do is ki based, so it's not a big concern for us. The second part is that I have fixed everything."
"And what do you mean by that, exactly?"
"I did spend a night in Nerima, but at sunrise I quickly left and returned to Jusenkyo. After talking with Guide-san, I managed to get a barrel of water from the Spring of Drowned Man. Guide-san told me that it would work as a cure. I just returned from delivering it personally."
The Dean nodded and clapped. "Negi-kun, you have done us a great service. You have averted a potential disaster. Your mission is done. And just in time for you to leave, too! Go have fun with your vacation. It's definitely well-deserved."
Negi bowed, and left the Dean's office. A smile of relief was painted on his face. Yes, everything's under control now. I gave Ranma-san enough to cure an entire town! If only I could've actually given it to them instead of sneaking up and leaving it by the front door. Oh well. I like them, but I hope this never becomes a problem again.
X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X
Dear Ranma Saotome,
Anonymous boy tell me you not cured yet. So I give you new barrel of Niannichuan. Make sure you use this time! I make no more!
-Jusenkyo Guide
This letter, which had once served as the barrel's label, was now soaked in a puddle of the barrel's contents. At the center of the puddle was Ryoga and Ranma, kneeling down with a look of shock in their eyes. This scene would make any sympathizer for them happy, until you learned two things. First, both boys did not look wet. Second, Ranma was not a boy.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Happosai cackled. "Did you think it would be so simple, boy? I can't let you escape with a cure that easily! Not when I just got all this nice new lingerie for you to try out!"
Ranma, still shocked from the loss, stood her ground and glared at Happosai. "Ryoga?"
Ryoga was still on the ground, but had a similar glare. "Yeah?"
"Truce?"
"You bet."
Just as Happosai prepared another Happo Fire Burst, Ranma and Ryoga lunged forward. They shouted the first thing they could think of.
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS YOU BASTARD!"
X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X
"Hey, Negi-kun!" Negi turned around, and saw Asuna Kagurazaka, his student/roommate, wave as she approached. With her were fellow classmates Nodoka, Yue, and Haruna.
"Hello, Asuna-san. How is everything?"
Asuna leaned forward and grabbed Negi's head. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Ever since you disappeared Eva-chan's been giving me and Kotaro-kun hell!"
"Gah! I'm sorry, Asuna-san! I was just on business!"
"What kind of business could you possibly be on, especially when we're supposed to be leaving soon?"
"Dean-san needed me to do a favor for him. Something regarding martial artists in Nerima. There's really no need for me to-"
"WAIT DID YOU SAY NERIMA?" This interruption came courtesy of Haruna, who had quickly gotten all up in Negi's face, causing him to freeze.
Negi stared back at Haruna with a confused look in his eyes. What could she have known about Nerima? Did she know what he had done? And then it hit him, causing his eyes to go wide. The girl in front of him was Haruna Saotome. Stammering, he answered, "W-Wait, Haruna-san, a-are you r-r-related to R-Ranma-san?"
Haruna picked Negi up by the collar and started shaking him. "YOU'VE MET RANMA-KUN? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
"GGAAAAHH! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I DIDN'T REALIZE!"
Asuna's anger was now replaced with confusion. "Uh, Paru, who's Ranma?"
Haruna struck a dynamic pose. "Ranma-kun is my martial artist cousin, of course! Honya-chan, you remember that aunt I told you about? The one with the same name as you who I visit every now and then?" It took a bit of thinking before Nodoka nodded. "One thing she's always talking about is her son Ranma, the 'man amongst men'!"
"You have a martial arts cousin? ThatI didn't see coming." Asuna snarked. "So, what's he like?"
"…I've never met him before." Haruna admitted, though still maintaining her pose. Asuna facevaulted. "Uncle Genma took Ranma-kun when he was a kid. Aunt Nodoka only found them about a month ago."
"Sounds over-dramatic if you ask me. C'mon, Negi-kun! We've only got a couple of days left!"
"Alright, Asuna-san! I'm coming!"
The group went off to join the rest of their gang as the prepared for their trip to Wales. Days later, they would set off on schedule to Mundus Magicus, the Magic World. Negi decided not to think about Ranma, believing that he was no longer an issue to care about. It helped that so much happened upon arrival to the Magic World that Negi couldn't think of anything other than the present. So it all ends nice and smoothly and this crossover is officially done, right?
A reader would be foolish to think that would be true. You see, Ranma is what TV Tropes would call a "Weirdness Magnet". Pretty self-explanatory; Ranma is considered like a magnet that attracts weirdos. And like any magnet, Ranma is perfectly capable of attracting the same weirdos whenever fate decides the next boxing match isn't going to be exciting enough (read: all the damn time). However, this is going to be an interesting case that Ranma has never seen before. It's not just Ranma and Negi this time. It's Mahora and Nerima.
Spoilers? Not really. You should've figured it was going to happen anyway. It'd be a stupid crossover if it didn't. Now, before I drag this all the way to Hell, here's the finisher: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to…
Magister Ran-Magi
A Mahou Sensei Negima!/Ranma ½ Crossover Fic by Watchtower
End Prologue
Hey guys. Geez, it's been a lot longer than I thought. Well, good news is that with school done, I'm going to have a lot more free time to work on this. Not a lot, if my mom has anything to say about it.
I already knew this chapter was going to be long, but I had no idea it would be this long. It didn't help that I had to make it even longer to avoid running into plot holes. Thank you guys for your reception, support, and patience.
The first section that I put big emphasis on while writing this was how Negi tried to justify accidently blowing up Ranma's shirt. I needed a way to get Negi out of that little situation, and I thought that creating a parallel to Kuno would make for an interesting connection. The second was Negi's failed attempt at curing Ranma. I wanted to get Negi out of Nerima in a way where the Dean wouldn't swarm Nerima in search for Ranma. After many failed attempts at creating a believable excuse for Negi not trying to cure Ranma, it suddenly clicked to me that this isn't the first time that Ranma's had access to a cure. So I rewrote the whole bit to what you see here. I personally believe that it's more in-character and funnier, and I hope you guys feel the same way.
Finally, I'd just like to thank Japanese Teeth again for proofreading this...again.