A short redhead is dragging an injured boy behind her down the rainy streets of Tokyo. Every now and again he'll reach up and try and break her grip on his collar, but the fight earlier really messed him up, so he hardly has the strength to protest her actions, let alone dislodge her. She pulls his hand away again grumbling "C'mon, I least wanna get outta the rain jackass. Not to mention we're gonna need to stick around the city long enough to get supplies no matter where we go next." "Easy 'nuff fer you ta say. Not like you're gonna be forced ta get hitched," he snipes back, though there's less venom than their earlier back and forths on where they should go next.
"S'not like we got anywhere else ta go ya idiot." They've been bickering about it since Pops had first mentioned the engagement. At least whatever happens next won't be on the panda's terms. After a few more blocks and a couple more snarky comments, they find themselves in front of a housegate with a sign, "Anything Goes: Tendo Dojo. Challengers welcome." She hauls the boy to a standing position, helping him steady himself. "If they're too pushy about it, we'll just skedaddle once we can grab a bit of cash and camping gear. Or, you could just man up and tell 'em no if it bothers ya so much. Not like the wedding'll be tomorrow or anything."
"Fine, you win," the boy concedes. There's no bell, and the palisade fences in a large compound, so they shove open the gate and make their way inside. The boy almost hiding a limp from his injuries.
"Never met him," her father admits with disturbing aplomb. Akane is about to snarl back how ridiculous this whole situation is when the conversation is interrupted by a ferocious banging coming from the door. "That must be them!" the man announces brightly before quickly making his way towards the entrance. She and her sisters follow, curiosity overcoming good sense. The clamour doesn't let up the whole way. "Rude," Akane scoffs to herself.
When the door opens, it frames a brother and sister in matching red and blue silk shirts. The girl's hand drops to her side as her eyes flick towards the group standing opposite the now-open door. "Can I help the two of you?" her father asks, so it's probably not this Ranma they're apparently waiting for.
"Saotome Ranma, sorry 'bout this." Both siblings reply at the same time before turning and glaring at each other. It seems like they're about to snap, when they both slam their mouths shut with an audible clack of teeth. They turn away again, the boy grabbing the back of his neck with a sheepish expression, while the girl nervously tugging at her braid. That's when Akane notices that they even have the same hairstyle, weird. Three of the Tendos are gaping and staring at the bizarre pair. But thank the gods for Kasumi, who simply says, "Why don't you you both come in? We were just about to have some tea. You're more than welcome to join us."
"Sure" and "Thanks" are the quiet replies she gets. She leads the whole group back towards the main room, stopping and grabbing the whistling kettle from the kitchen before joining her family and the guests at the low table they seat themselves around.
The atmosphere in the main room is tense as the tea is served and people begin to drink it. Nobody seems to want to start what is definitely going to be an interesting conversation. Eventually it's Soun who sets down the cup and says, "I expected your father to be with you Ranma. And I wasn't expecting your sister at all. I thought Genma only had a son." His tone is polite, but inquisitive. He wants the two to open up and hopefully relax a bit before they get down to brass tacks.
"Oh, he... got held up." the girl Ranma replies cagily, stopping herself from tugging at her braid by an effort of will. She's fairly certain she shouldn't tell her father's best friend that she had brained him with a street sign and left him in the street an hour or so ago.
"Yeah," the boy Ranma adds. "He uh... said we should check with you about staying at the dojo for a few days while he... takes care of something important." He won't make eye contact with anyone, and it's becoming obvious that the pair is hiding something. It's less clear what they could be lying about, so Soun decides not to focus on it.
There's a few further abortive attempts at small talk before Soun gives up trying to break the ice and moves on to business. "Well, I'm sure we can take care of the matter of honour between our families even without Genma. These are my daughters. My eldest, Kasumi, 19. Then Nabiki, 17. And then Akane, 16, same as you. You're free to choose whichever of the girls you'd like to marry. My daughters are all fine young women, and would make any young man an excellent wife." The reactions are mixed. The redhead is blushing, stammering and refusing to make eye contact, while her brother looks like a deer caught in the headlights.
"He's a bit young for me, Daddy," Kasumi says, still quietly smiling. "I mean, he's cute enough, I guess," Nabiki adds, "But I'm not really looking for a boyfriend right now."
Akane is fuming, "Ugh, boys," she finally huffs. She quickly stands up then grabs the sister's hand. Tugging her away from the table she says "Let's get outta here," as she pulls the other girl toward the dojo. "Do you do kempo?" The girl is blushing up a storm for some reason as she's yanked into the dojo.
"Uh... yeah, a little," she finally stammers, wondering why in the world this girl is being so forward with her. She pulls her hand away finally and fiddles with the toggles on her shirt, willing the blush to go down. When she finally gathers up the courage to look up, she sees Akane with a giant adorable grin. Her blush is back full force as she realizes what she just thought.
"How about a spar then?" the Tendo girl replies. "I'll go easy on you." Her tone isn't teasing or cocky, but the comment still tugs at Ranma's pride. It's enough to knock her out of the embarrassing train of thought she was having about the cute fighter in front of her. She gives her head a quick shake and claps her hands on her cheeks to center herself. "Yeah, let's have a quick bout," she says as she finishes pulling herself together. "First touch alright with ya?" she adds letting her lips pull back into a trademark cocksure smirk. That'll at least mean she doesn't have to hurt the girl to prove she's the best. Saotome Ranma never loses.
"Sure," Akane says, her smile turning fierce at the other girl's attitude shift. She settles into a ready stance, expecting the redhead to do the same. The girl instead just clasps her hands behind her back with that cocky grin though. Akane reminds herself to hold back, as the other girl had admitted she doesn't know a lot about fighting. She holds herself ready, thinking she'll let Ranma have the first attack at least. But after several long seconds she decides to go for the attack as it becomes obvious that Ranma isn't going for it. She starts in with a fairly light punch, clearly telegraphed so the other girl will have room to dodge. So she isn't surprised that it doesn't make contact. She throws a few more, getting nothing but air. It's a bit surprising how effortlessly the redhead is dodging, so she starts to speed up. Akane realizes the other girl must have been being modest, as she's really quite good. So, she steps it up a notch, which is finally enough to start making her opponent step backwards and to the side, rather than pivoting by her neck and waist. After several more rounds though, Akane is getting frustrated, wishing the other girl would at least try and tag her back. Eventually she's maneuvered her towards the wall and in her anger she lets loose a final haymaker at full force, forgetting to hold back at all. Before she can even take stock of the fact that that punch could have broken bones, her fist is firmly buried in the wall and she's being poked in the back of the head. She turns back with blank confusion on her face. When she sees the redhead giggling behind her, she realizes the other girl had apparently leap-frogged over her fist. She's a bit stunned at first, but soon she's laughing right along too.
After they settle down a bit, Akane says, "You're better than you let on."
"Well, I do a little of everything. Anything goes, ya know? I really dunno alotta kempo specifically." She tugs at her braid, still smiling, but seeming to feel a bit bad about misleading her.
"Yeah, that makes sense." Akane should've known better than to assume the other girl wasn't a real fighter. "Well, at least it wasn't your brother. I'd hate to lose to a boy. Wanna be friends?"
"Who... but I'm a... Uh, whaddaya mean, Akane?"
"Well, boys just suck, and they're all perverts and creeps," she grumbles.
"Who're you callin' a pervert?" Ranma yells back, before it quite settles in her head that she is a girl now which is annoying, and Akane obviously was talking about the other Ranma. She deflates in embarrassment at her outburst, hoping the girl doesn't catch on.
"Look, Ranma. It's nice and all that you're willing to stick up for your brother like that. And it does speak well of him that you would. But daddy implied that you all have been on the road a long time with your father for training, yeah? And just because a guy isn't pervving on his sister doesn't mean he isn't a creep with other girls. I mean, it'd take an extra special pervert to do something like that anyway."
"Hey, just... don't talk about... Ranma like that, alright? If you're gonna be rude about it, I don't think we can be friends." She holds that out as a peace offering. Akane seems pretty fun, and is definitely cute, and it'd be nice to have a friend and sparring partner again. She just hopes that the girl will leave off on insulting her and her... other self. Things'll not go too well otherwise.
Akane sighs, "I guess. I'll try and give him the benefit of the doubt at least. But don't expect me to hold to it if he starts acting like other guys. Friends?" She holds out a hand. "I think I'd like that," the redhead says with a softer smile, shaking the girl's hand. "How'd you get so fast?" Akane starts in excitedly, wondering if Ranma will teach her some new moves.
With Akane and the girl Ranma out of the room, the pressure at the table has only gotten heavier. After a few attempts to work out what to say, Ranma finally puts some of his thought into words. "Um... Mr Tendo. I get that you and Pops wanted to join the schools and all, but I don't think we're really ready to get hitched, ya know? Just... well... I don't even know how long we'll be in town or anything." He knows he's rambling and is probably only barely coherent, but damn if this isn't awkward. "I'd at least like ta get ta know a girl before we get together an' all. Is... that alright?" He looks away from the other three, still blushing, and rubbing the back of his neck again. He tries to project at least a bit of his usual confidence into his voice, but it's probably not working.
Soun deflates a little at the boy's comments. He wishes Genma were here to back him up, but with the awkward boy's words being nodded at by Kasumi and the thoughtful look on Nabiki's face, he's folding before he knows it. "I suppose that is acceptable," he finally replies. "A father does want his daughters to be happy in marriage. It is probably for the best that you get to know each of them before you decide. But the schools will be joined. This is about an honourable agreement between our families. And so long as you're a gentleman, I'm sure you'll be able to make a fine husband for whichever of my daughters you do choose." His pride won't let him back down completely, but he's willing to cede a little ground now to make things flow smoothly. The boy is obviously a bit skittish, and he can't risk running him off.
"Thanks," Ranma breaths out a big sigh of relief. Things would be so much worse with his father present. It's probably not "manly" to be nervous about choosing a bride and all. It makes the coming days of being a guest in the family's house feel much less stressful. And it's not like the girls are unattractive or anything. He's just not ready to start a family, that's all. He turns back with a bit of a grin. When he catches the friendly smile on Kasumi's face, he blushes a bit again. And the appraising look that Nabiki is giving him makes him go red all over. "So it's okay if I... if we stay here for a bit, right?"
"More than alright boy. You and your sister are welcome to stay as long as you need. Any child of my friend Genma is practically family anyhow. And you'll need to spend a good deal of time in our home so you have the chance to get to know my girls and choose your bride." It's not exactly the firm engagement that he would have hoped for, but he's sure if Ranma spends a few weeks living around the girls, they'll work something out. There's a crash out from the dojo, which makes Soun smile at the reminder that Akane is keeping up the art, even if he hasn't been able to spend as much time teaching her as he would have liked. He really needs to do better by his youngest daughter. Maybe he'll join her in the morning and see how well she's progressing.
On the other side of Nerima, a truck is pulling away. Bright red characters on the side read "Ueno Zoological Gardens" There's a pair of broken street signs nearby, waiting for a maintenance crew to swing by and repair.