Ranma ½ - Bits of
Alt Fanfic
By Ozzallos
Part 2
Forward: Part 2 is incomplete and will likely stay that way. You have
been warned :p
Chapter VI
"YO! Cut that out!"
A crowd had gathered to watch the bizarre pair that had been
running up and down the wet streets of
"Your move."
The crowd continued to gawk. Was she talking to the Panda? As
if to answer their question, the giant animal was up again and barreling back
down the street, attempting to hit the young combatant with a volley of massive
paws. The redhead dodged gracefully, but her icy mask told the crowd that her
patience was wearing thin
"Well I still say this say this whole thing sucks!"
The next paw cam in and she grabbed it, locking it in place with both arms.
"…Picking my fiancée for me without even asking!"
The Panda's momentum did the rest. It was huge, but the redhead
was pissed, and she flipped it down into the waiting concrete brutally. The 'No
U-Turn" sign beneath the Panda's impact didn't stand a chance. She glared
angrily at the defeated bear, catching her breath.
"I'm going back to
KlonG!
The girl sank to the concrete unconscious, a victim of the
Giant Panda's Anything Goes School of Martial Arts final attack No U-Turn Fu.
The Panda dropped the mangled sign with a clatter and hefted the girl over its
shoulders.
All in all, it was just another really rotten day for one Ranma
Saotome. It had been one month since waking up at her father's campsite with no
memory as to how she'd gotten there or where she was. She had known it was the
cat-fist rage and the only thing Father had told her was that this was where
he'd tracked her to… Which was in the middle of exactly nowhere,
If he'd have said anything else, she would have just left right
there on the spot to finish training. Maybe even find a cure if she was lucky.
But if there was one thing the Amazon's had honed for Ranma in her eight month
stay, it was a razor sharp edge of honor and she acquiesced for the time being.
Along the way back to
And then only hours ago, he found out just what the matter of
family honor was: An arranged marriage with the Tendos', a friend of his
father. The plan was to engage Ranma to one of his daughters, thereby joining
the Tendo Dojo School of Indiscriminate Grappling and the Anything Goes School
of Martial Arts under one banner. Needless to say, the young boy/girl was
livid. THAT was the matter of family honor? He was barely sixteen! Marriage
could wait! Finishing grandmother's training took precedence. Then he could
safely find a cure for the Jyusenkyou curse. Then maybe… Just maybe, he could
think about a date. But an arranged marrige! HA!
Unfortunately, Genma Saotome had other plans as he carted the
unconscious redhead the last few miles to the Tendo family Dojo.
Six miles away, three daughters sat at their dining
room table as their father explained the good news. "Ranma and his father
have been on a voyage of training." The raven-haired father with a well
groomed mustache spoke, "Recently it seems they crossed into China."
"Wow! China!" The middle sister, Nabiki Tendo
exclaimed, clearly enamored with the idea of going out with a man of the world.
The excited expression framed by her short brown hair was obvious.
"What's so great about walking to China?" Akane Tendo
grumbled and brushed a lock of her long cobalt blue hair aside in annoyance.
Nabiki ignored her. "Is he cute?"
"How old is he?" The eldest sister, Kasumi Tendo
finally joined in with of mild irritation. She did have better things to be
doing right now, after all. "Younger men bore me."
Niether sister could stand it any longer. "What kind of
guy is this Ranma?" Both Nabiki and Kasumi asked simultaneously.
Soun Tendo shrugged. "No idea."
Nabiki leaned forward, trying to confirm what she had just
heard. "No Idea?"
"I've never met him." The father had indeed said it.
All three sisters were about ready to protest when the sounds
of close quartered combat erupted from outside, followed by somebody saying
something about letting go of something. It was obviously a brawl and the
family leapt from the table to get a better view.
"Ooooh! It must be Ranma!" Nabiki ran outside with
anticipation, the father following close behind.
He instinctively knew who it was. "Saotome, my friend,
we've been waiting!"
Even as Kasumi and Akane reluctantly joined their sister and
daughter, they were surprised to find them retreating just as fast, Giant Panda
in hot pursuit.
"Hey! YO!" the redhead slung over its shoulder
exclaimed suddenly. "You're scaring 'em spitless!"
Chaos erupted from the Tendo sisters as they press their father
for information, who clearly hadn't been expecting a Panda to take up residence
in their dojo. The bear stopped short, planting the redheaded stranger promptly
in front of the four.
After a few seconds, Soun Tendo pointed. "You …wouldn't
be…"
"Ranma Saotome." The newcomer confirmed shyly, then a
look of irritation passed through her eyes. "This is all his fault,"
jerking a thumb back to the panda.
Soun had no idea what the boy had meant by that last comment
but was clearly overjoyed regardless, grasping Ranma by the shoulders. "At
last! You've come!"
Nabiki leaned forward. "Ooo! He's cute!"
Soun pulled his future son in-law into a hug and suddenly
froze. He was remarkably soft in the chest area. The father pushed him back to
confirm what was becoming a growing sense of horror. Soun looked the boy over,
as did the daughters upon seen his reaction.
Nabiki poked at the boy's ample chest as if to believe it
herself.
"Um, could you please stop that?"
For Nabiki, there was only one inescapable conclusion.
"He' Is a GIRL."
Soun Tendo simply passed out.
"This is all your fault, Daddy!" Nabiki
laid into her now conscious father, clearly upset that her cute guy had turned
into a cute girl. "You should have made sure!"
"Well he said he had a SON!" The father protested
from his futon where he'd been dragged after passing out.
Nabiki grasped one of Ranma's breast and gave it a few good
squeezes to prove her point. "Do you see a son here? Hmmm? DO you?"
The redhead was clearly uncomfortable now. In fact, she was
fighting eight months of Amazon code that would demand instant action over such
an affront. "You really need to stop that."
Fortunately, the younger sister intervened before she could
take the matter to the next level. "Hey, join me in the practice
hall." She smiled. "I'm Akane. You want to be friends?"
A practice hall. An honest to god practice hall, Ranma mused
silently as she followed Akane out to the dojo. Now how long has it been since
I've seen one of these, let alone dueled in one? Ranma didn't even take note of
her mental terminology, as simple 'sparring' hadn't been in her vocabulary for
over a year now. Most of those duels had been fought outside, in the elements
as no holds barred style combat. In fact, the only rules she abided by in that
combat was the longest standing one-Don't break your fellow Amazon sister so
much as to compromise the safety of the entire tribe. Which still left Ranma a
lot of room to inflict considerable pain and suffering.
"You do karate, don't you?" Akane pressed the
rhetorical question as they stepped onto the mat.
"A little."
"Then let's have a little match, Okay?" Akane smiled.
"Just for fun. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Ranma simply nodded. Even as she charged, Akane couldn't have
known exactly what she was getting into as Ranma's mind clicked fully into
Amazon mode. The girl had issued a challenge and Ranma was the Alpha Female.
Everything in her village had been a test or some matter of honor and even
'little matches' such as these had a tendency to be brutal, despite the
'little' tag. Her brain made a rapid series of adjustments. She was a
Joketsuzoku Amazon being challenged by another female warrior. Save her sister,
there could only be one response.
Akane stepped in and threw her first attack. Anything after
that however, was a hazy memory as Ranma's arms spun in a windmill fashion. The
next thing she saw or felt was the jarring impact of the dojo floor. The world
snapped back into focus and Akane's eyes widened. She twisted around to look up
at the redhead, who was simply standing above her, observing the fallen girl
with cool eyes. There was next to no emotion in those eyes, Akane realized with
a start and began to debate whether she should even attempt another attack.
For the Amazon in Ranma, the situation was obvious from the
moment the girl had assumed her fighting stance. This female was so hopelessly
outclassed as to not even warrant dodging, let alone waste the energy to move.
And from the look in her eyes, Ranma noted that her credentials as Alpha Female
had been firmly established. With her Amazon satisfied, a more human Ranma
smiled and lent Akane a hand up.
Akane took the hand as if it were a snake or some other
venomous creature, that is to say very carefully. "You're really THAT
good…" She breathed as if not believing it herself
Ranma pulled her up and smiled lightly. "I had better
be," then her smile faded slightly. "After what I've-" She
stopped herself, but the smile returned.
Akane watched the girls' expression flicker and those same
emotionless eyes were now alive with them now. It didn't take a rocket
scientist to realize she had endured… Something. Something unpleasant. And that
was probably an understatement, Akane realized. Maybe I can cheer her up…
"Well, I'm just glad you're a girl." Akane smiled and
the redheaded girl gave her a questioning look. "It's just… I'd really
hate to lose to a boy!" Her good deed done for the for the day, Akane
walked out of the dojo, leaving Ranma in uneasy silence as two sets of emotions
raked her. The first was from Ranma Saotome, who sizzled with resentment at
being the aforementioned boy she just lost to. The second was the Amazon, who
resonated with the comment as if she had just found a tiny bit of home.
"EEEEeeeEEEEEEEYAAAAAHHHH!"
Akane bolted past her sisters wearing nothing but a small bathrobe
and a furious expression on her face. They watched curiously as she lifted the
heavy stone head of their birdbath off its foundation with some effort.
"I'll weigh him down!" She huffed, bringing the stone
around. "I'll drown him in the bathtube!"
Now Nabiki had to ask. "Akane what is it? What's that
for?"
"THERE'S A PERVERT IN THE BATHROOM!"
Nabiki and her sister debated the issue a bit longer before
Kasumi came to a realization, "That's odd. Ranma was in the bath just
now."
As if on cue, the sisters heard silent footsteps and turned to
find an approaching boy who they had never seen before and did not belong in
the dojo.
"Who… Who… " Nabiki found her voice first, but had a
hard time plying coherent thoughts to it. "Who are you?"
The black hair pigtailed boy looked embarrassed. "I'm
Ranma Saotome." Then, with a look of irritation, "And this is all
Pop's fault."
The entire family now sat in the family room, the
Tendo sisters facing the two Saotomes. Soun made introductions.
"I'll explain it once more." He began, sitting beside
the newcomers themselves. "This is my dear old friend…"
"Genma Saotome." The older man with glasses and a
white handkerchief around his bald head supplied. "And this is my
son…"
"Ranma." The boy rounded out the introductions.
Akane was visibly fuming now and the two older sisters
questioned the pair in disbelief. Genma decided a visual aid was in order and
expertly grabbed his son and flipped him into the coy pond outside. What broke
the surface was quite female and quite upset. Not only that, but she took
offense to his expressions of humiliation over his son's condition, which
promptly earned him a one way kick to the coy pond courtesy of the girl
herself. The resulting splash produced one giant, irritated panda. It took
several minutes and two cups of hot water for things to settle down enough so
that a reasonable explanation could be had.
That explanation was Jyusenkyou and its cursed springs as
Ranma's father detailed the salient points of their adventures abroad in China.
What should have been a fifteen minute tale lasted a half an hour as the
recounted story opened some not so old wounds. The ensuing battle turned father
to Panda and Son to girl. Having straitened things out, Soun Tendo turned the
panda back into his old friend with a kettle of boiling hot water while Ranma
declined the invitation to second degree burns.
"No sweat." Soun Tendo declared, having a firm grasp
of the situation now. "Your problem isn't so terrible after all!"
Ranma looked at the Tendo with doubt as he presented his daughters. "My
daughter Kasumi. Ninteen. Nabiki, Seventeen and Akane, Sixteen. Pick the one
you want and she's your fiancée."
vThe situation was just too bizarre for the daughters, and two
opted out immediately by pushing their youngest forward as the sacrificial
lamb.
"Me?" Akane began in shock. "Marry that Pervert?
Never!"
Ranma, who was content to remain a spectator, was drawn into
the debate rather forcefully. "Say-Whaddya mean 'PERVERT'!"
"You looked at my body, pervert!" Akane retorted testily.
"Hold it!" Ranma stopped her short. "You walked
in on me!"
"It's different when a girl sees a boy!" Akane
rationalized while their parents laughed at the cute couples' first spat, to
which Akane mentioned something about Ranma being a couple by himself. She was
just about to continue her tantrum when the redhead simply turned her back on
the sister.
"Goodbye!"
"Where you going, boy?" Genma asked forcefully.
"Back to Joketsuzoku!" His female son declared with
finality. "…To finish my training and maybe find a way to change back for
good! This is no time for 'fiancées'."
Then the Amazon stirred, absolutely certain in her superiority.
"By the way… You took a pretty good look at me too. Besides, it's no big
deal for me to see a naked girl. I mean I've been around plenty of naked women
as a woman." It was true too. After eight months in the hands of the
Joketsuzoku Amazons, the female body held little mystery for Ranma. That was
when the Amazon decided to thrust the knife home with a condescending laugh.
"And I'm built better to boot!"
Akane boiled over, lifting the dining room table high into the
air and down on Ranma. It never hit its target. The whirlwind spun around and
the table connected with a fist, splitting it cleanly in two. The pieces fell
harmlessly off to the side of Ranma and Akane now stared at those cold eyes
once again, realizing that she may have just made a slight error. The Amazon
within began to consider several tactical options with which to deal with this
trespass when a voice interrupted its calculations.
"Ranma!" Genma barked, and her eyes swiveled onto him
like a vice. It was a look he had seen all to many times and he knew what it
meant for Akane if left to it's own devices. "Remember your family
honor!"
The redhead blinked as her Amazon psyche shuddered. Honor. It
was one of the few things she had left from this shambling nightmare. She
blinked once more and the Amazon withdrew, it's only consolation being that the
girl in front of her named Akane represented absolutely no threat to her in
rank or physical prowess. Wasting the time to discipline her would almost be
too effortless.
Ranma gave her father one last glare. "One day you'll flip
that switch once too often, old man." Then she was gone out into the courtyard.
With the redhead gone, all eyes turned to Genma for an
explanation, who in turn looked to Soun. "Old friend, we're going to have
to have a talk about the Boy."
"So your saying when he's a boy Ranma
is…" Soun began, as if not quite grasping the concept.
"Is Ranma." Genma nodded. "More or less. But
when he's a girl there's something else behind those eyes."
"From the curse?" His friend offered.
"No, from the Amazons."
His friend tensed. Every accomplished martial artist knew
something of the Amazons of China. Even his master had recounted several tales
about them. They were independent, ruthless and occasionally cute. They were
also above all, accomplished martial artists in their own right. "But, I
thought the Amazons were… More legend than fact?"
Genma shook his head. "No. They're real and we found 'em.
The boy infiltrated the tribe to learn their techniques and came out… Changed.
I'm sure they brainwashed him somehow." Or simply provided him with
everything that he couldn't, but that thought never crossed his mind.
"What does that mean for the engagement?" Soun asked
with a slight edge of panic.
"I'm not sure," He rolled the question around in his
brain. "But watch your daughters around the girl-type, especially with
that Akane's temper. That's when she's the most ruthless."
"But… Why?"
Now this was a question Ranma's father had put some thought
into himself. "The Amazon's are a female dominated clan. Something tells
me Ranma had to do more to learn their secrets than just smile nicely to the
elders and it must have been pretty heavy stuff to put that noticeable of a
dent in my son's attitude."
Soun nodded, understanding, but not. "Alright. I'll try
and coach my Akane to keep her temper in check." Then he considered the
situation for a moment. "Maybe this isn't such a bad thing after
all."
Genma shot a queer look at his longtime friend.
"After all, she's a fireball, which makes the two a
perfect match!"
"I'm telling you Kas-chan, they're going to be
trouble."
Ranma snapped out of her rooftop stargazing as the voices
floated softly through the night air. It had been the Nabiki voice, Ranma
recognized, and a sliver of Amazon awareness brought a threat assessment to her
conscious. Physically she was nothing, it decided. Those eyes, however… She was
a predator and bore watching. The majority in standing, currently Ranma,
thought she was fairly attractive, though the breast poking had been a little
much. The sliver agreed but otherwise refused to call forth the remainder of
its Amazon host. The action could be… Overlooked.
"Why do you say that, Nabs?"
Kasumi, both Ranma and the sliver agreed. No threat in any way
shape or form, which automatically shuffled her into a different class:
Protection. Both portions agreed that the first duty of a Martial Artist was to
protect those who could not protect themselves, and Kasumi was mentally filed
away into that watch list.
"Have you seen how much they fight?" Nabiki replied.
"They're gonna break stuff left and right, I tell you. That table was only
the beginning."
"Oh my." Kasumi said thoughtfully. "You might be
right. And the way our father's friend ate…"
"…Is going to mean a much bigger food bill." Nabiki
agreed with her sister's realization. "Especially if Ranma is like his
father in any way." She sighed. "I'm going to have to find a way to
make money off them one way or the other if we're going to pay the bills…"
Ranma blanched at that one. Being compared to her father was…
Was… An affront. It was an affront that stirred the Amazon fully, but not to
violence. Ranma sat up and hopped off the roof, walking back inside the house
and past the parents. Both parts agreed. It was an insult, but not the kind
that would demand the restoration of honor in a physical manner. It merely
required… Correction. Immediate correction. She padded up the steps and found
Nabiki's room, murmurs still coming from it. Ranma rapped sharply on the door.
Nabiki stood up from her bed, looking at Kasumi quietly. Nobody
knocked in the household and Akane was in the bath, which meant either Ranma or
his Father. Last she saw, his father was talk to their father, which probably
meant… "Come in, Ranma."
Ranma increased Nabiki's threat potential by another notch with
a thin smile and slid the door open. She walked boldly into the center of her
room, the Alpha Female purposely invading their space in its entirety. Nabiki
recognized those cool eyes and mental stood on guard. They were the same ones
she' d seen split a table in half, though nowhere nearly as intense now. That,
and she had overheared- read: spied on -the two fathers and their discussion on
Ranma's Amazon troubles. This would be a delicate tightrope to walk, she
realized.
"What can we do for you, Saotome?"
Ranma's thin smile grew slightly at the sisters no-nonsense
manner and the Amazon began adding points to her threat assessment left and
right just on how she felt. No physical threat to be sure, but her mind would
be the deadly weapon here. Much like Grandmother, she thought with no small
amusement. She could be friends with this one if things turned out right. Not
equals, but friends would do.
"The question is what can I do for you." Ranma
corrected the sister. "I overheard at least part of your
conversation."
Kasumi, content with staying on the sidelines, looked at her
sister with concern. She knew it too and if this was the Amazon talking…
"You compared to my old man and that is not
acceptable." She frowned, eyes glinting. "You're right Nabiki Tendo…
With us around things are likely to become worse than better. I've lost a lot
on that stupid martial arts trip, but one thing I haven't lost is my
honor." She considered them both now, eyes softening further. "I've
got no love for this engagement, but I'll help however I can as a guest."
Nabiki opened her mouth, then closed it, staring at the redhead
thoughtfully. She was sure that the Amazon was in there right now, watching,
but contrary to what she had heard from the girl- er, boy's father, it wasn't
an uncontrolled whirlwind temper. It was… Strict. She was going to have to do a
bit of research at the library on Amazon etiquette just to see what hot buttons
they could avoid pushing with her. Call it 'know thy enemy'. One thing was for
certain; there was no doubting her sincerity.
"Ok, I'll take you're word on that," She replied.
Because it would be very bad not to take your word for it, Nabiki suspected
silently. "But what about your father?"
Ranma laughed with a mild snort and it was the first not so
tightly controlled emotion to break through the icy exterior. "He won't
lift a finger to help you. In fact, he'll try and take advantage of everything
he can here."
"I see." Nabiki stared at Ranma's matter-of-fact
summary of her own father. "Then we'll just have to find a way to use him
some-" Nabiki stoped suddenly, realizing she was detailing vital tactical
information to the son of the victim. Instead of the glower she was expecting,
a wide smile was plastered on the face of Ranma Saotome.
"Count me in."
It was high time to get out of this body, Ranma
thought as she undressed for a bath. Not that she wasn't used to it by now.
Nearly a year wandering around in the rainforest of China and among the Amazons
had all but erased that particular gender sensitivity, but it could get…
Tedious. Not all the time, but there were days when she could feel it pull at
her very being. Staying in it for too long was not necessarily conducive to her
masculinity, she decided. Especially with my Amazon. Even she could see it from
a third person viewpoint if she really focused, but it had become harder as of
late and she knew it was affecting her behavior, sometimes radically. It was
like a combat stance, Ranma had long since rationalized because it was the only
way she could even describe it to herself. She had gotten used to a certain
behavior set over the last year in female form and after prolonged exposure,
had inadvertently adopted the Amazon persona as his girl-type 'stance'. Female
meant Amazon, and his mind and body had gotten quite used to that fact,
especially when there was usually so much at stake. If it had just been eight
months of casual contact, things would probably be different. But it had been
in-depth, up close and personal every single day.
It was another disturbing fact that combat was now beginning to
feel more comfortable in his girl type than the boy, which wasn't necessarily a
huge surprise given her activities over the last year and a half. Water, water
everywhere and not a drop of it warm, she mused darkly. And that was the
double-edged sword she faced with the tribe. There was a price to staying and
learning those secret arts, and that price was one-hundred percent girl,
one-hundred percent of the time. And she was actually beginning to like it
there, Ranma thought with a hint of sadness. Shampoo was a great friend and it
was a simple life. Cologne was a hard but fair instructor. A lot simpler than
all the twisted schemes I'll have to deal with here, that's for sure. Why do I
always lose the good friends? Ucchan… Shampoo…
Ranma sighed and tossed the last article of clothing into the
basket. Now completely nude, she slid the bath door open to find herself face
to face with a shocked and equally nude Akane Tendo. After a moment of quiet
turmoil, Ranma could feel the anger building within the sister, and the Amazon
snapped into place in response. Akane's rise to anger stopped short of blowing
as she looked into those cool blue orbs once more. They dared her to throw an
insult.
The door to the house slid open and Nabiki poked her head in.
"A-chan, are you almost- Oh." She watched the two nude women stare
one another down in the bath doorway. If Akane lost it or Ranma tried to press
forward… Either way, it would be Akane on the losing end, she was sure of it.
"Ranma…" The redhead blinked once as Nabiki carefully
used her name. Akane watched as the cold eyes flickered momentarily.
"Helping us out means not eating my little sister." She wanted to
avoid the word fiancée if at all possible, as it probably meant next to nothing
in Ranma's book. Ranma looked back at Nabiki and a thin smile cracked the ice.
Amazingly enough, she stepped aside, allowing her sister to pass. She really
needed to find out more about the Amazons, Nabiki decided in earnest. This game
was just too touch and go for comfort. Besides, I thought I was a mercenary,
not a negotiator.
As if bidden by her thoughts, she watched Akane's face contort
with anger. That wouldn't do at all. "Akane!" The face faultered.
"You're done. Let it go." Akane's eyes flicked one last time over to
Ranma and she gathered her robe on the way out with a contemptuous sniff. Now
alone, Nabiki looked over Ranma who in turn looked her over. She nodded with
silent thanks and slid the bathroom door shut.
The middle sister sighed, amazed enough that she had
successfully defused the situation when two observations came to mind. First,
no feminine modesty whatsoever with that girl. I could have probably stared all
day without her flinching. What kind of life had she led? And second, what she
had said earlier was no boast.
She was better built to boot.
Chapter VII
School,
Ranma snorted with contempt as he walked lightly on a chain-linked fence. It
was a new day and he was going to… School. When was the last time he had been
to one of those, he wondered. Five? Six? For all his gripes, he had to admit
one thing-It was a damn sight better than wandering around lost in a rain
forest with no food or shelter. So yeah, I can stand school, Ranma decided,
then looked down at the girl he had been following to school. Now that is
something I can't stand. Macho chicks. They had been trading witty retorts all
morning long about how neither was actually engaged or even wanted to be in the
presence of the other, which was fine by Ranma. Besides, the Amazon was
displeased with her at the moment, so being as far from her as possible was
probably the best thing anyway. He could feel her grumbling beneath the
surface. She'd stay there as long as he was a guy, Ranma knew, but he was as
close as he wanted to get to that particular disaster waiting to happen. Cold
water plus Akane plus insult minus anybody to intervene equaled a painful
lesson in Amazon etiquette, Ranma was certain. Well, I'll try and hold myself
back if it comes down to it. Try to convince myself she's not worth the effort.
But as a girl, he'd know there'd be no guarantees.
Now granted, there were plenty of macho chicks that were her
village sisters, and he liked most of them well enough, but they also followed
the same code he did. Or she did, rather. Sometimes keeping it all strait was a
royal pain. But this one was self-centered, had no code and could not even
begin to satisfy the multiple breaches in etiquette Ranma had endured. He
consciously forced the bubbling Amazon down, which was a much easier task as a
guy. In fact, he preferred it that way. The less overlap between sexes, the
better.
The stick-boy wanted to fight again, Ranma sighed inwardly.
Upperclassman Kuno was nowhere near his level and yet he insisted on dueling
him. Frankly, he was lucky it was he the senior had challenged and not the
girl, Ranma observed. I'll happily play around with the buffoon. The Amazon
would have broken him, being an official challenge and a boy. That was a
serious infraction. Boys just didn't challenge Amazon girls. It was the way of
things, and that way of things was enforced quite brutally.
Their arrival at school had been… Eventful. Apparently Akane
had a fan club, Ranma noted and watched as she proceed to beat the tar out of
half the male student body. Now that was impressive and the sliver of Amazon
awareness made a note of it. Quite a bit like home, it noted and Ranma had
smiled in spite of himself. Obviously the men were battling for the affections
of the female and while it wasn't quite Amazon, it'd been the closest thing
he'd seen yet to home. Apparently it happened every morning too, and that's
where Kuno came in. The student had taken instant offense to him living under
the same roof as Akane and after a small scuffle had taken larger offense to
the fact that they were engaged, however unwillingly. Not that either Ranma or
Akane explaining the matter to him helped, so they took the fight outside.
Off the third story.
With the gym pool right below them.
"Yow!" Ranma exclaimed and cursed himself mentally as
he realized his error. Yet for all of his problems, Kuno was on the worse end
of the stick as he hadn't been expecting the jump. Or the Pool. And if he
played his cards right, one angry little redhead.
SPLAaaSH!
The duel could wait, Ranma decided and the Amazon grudgingly
agreed as his body shifted into a girl on contact with the pool water. Right
now the priority was to maintain her cover because the last thing she needed
right now was more complications in her already complicated life. She was just
imagining what the entire school would do when it found out they had gender
changing student in their midst. God, life was so much simpler back at the
village she sniffed and glided beneath the water, only to find Kuno floating on
the surface face down. His eyes were open but the boy was clearly senseless.
The Amazon grumbled. Boys challenging girls was one thing and
while she'd normally be happy to let him drowned here, she then wouldn't have
the satisfaction of beating him into the ground later. Besides, it'd be a mark
against her honor if she simply let him drown before the duel even began. So
she grabbed the upperclassman to float him to the side and much to her
surprise, was promptly grabbed- groped, she amended -back by the student.
"RANMA SAOTOME!" Kuno erupted from his unconscious
stupor with a gasp. "I FIGHT ON!"
Enough was enough. She oughta just give this fool a Kiss of
Death and be done with it, but that would require her to lose and that would
be, of course, impossible for her to do. Ranma toyed with idea of throwing any
future fights just so she could enact the protocol, but personal honor was more
important than personal vengeance at the moment so she settled grabbing the
upperclassman head and flipped him onto the dry concrete. Hard. The move also
had the advantage of catapulting Ranma up and away from the prying eyes of the
other students above.
"Upperclassman, I challenge you!"
Ranma smiled from her tree branch. She may not like the girl,
but this was the proper way of things.
Akane had found Ranma in her treetop perch half nude and
ringing out her wet clothes. After a few insults, she taunted her with a kettle
of hot water, much to the redhead's annoyance. She was really going to have to
teach that girl a lesson one of these days. But then Kuno arrived and she
immediately redeemed herself in a most Amazon fashion. Maybe Akane wasn't a
total write-off after all, Ranma speculated.
"So be it!" Kuno exclaimed, "If you win… I shall
let you go out with me! Thus I shall lose with all my might!"
The guy was insufferable! Ranma grumbled as she struggled to
pull in the kettle Akane had hastily thrown just before the upperclassman
arrived. Kuno stepped in with his bokken for a high overhead strike and Akane
slapped the blade between her hands, instantly brining it to a halt. The
momentum brought him in and she fell backwards smoothly, planting a solid foot
into his chest. The move pushed him skyward…
KLONG!
…And into Ranma's kettle, much to her irritation. Recognition
flashed through the student's eyes as he found Ranma waiting on the tree
branch. It was the girl from the pool. "So. Did you see where that boy in
the pigtail went?"
The fool didn't know about the curse yet? "Uh-uh."
"That coward!" Kuno fumed. "Running away from a
fight! No doubt he feared my prowess! Bah! He is no man! He is no man!"
The Amazon awoke fully and she dropped the kettle with Kuno
attatched to the ground below. She jumped down as well. "I can take you
any time! Come on!"
"Heh! Amusing." The upperclassman retrieved his
wooden sword from Akane. "Well should you win… I will allow you to go out
with me!"
The strike came in as a blur, but Ranma was already in the air.
Akane could only watched as she observed those familiar eyes slip into place.
Ranma had become… Cold. Like their sparring. And the table. She hadn't
overheard their parents on Ranma's Amazon like Nabiki had, but she knew the
eyes.
"And who's asking to go out with YOU?" The Amazon
slid down the reverse edge of the bokken and planted a powerful foot into the
side of his face. She knew that that hit alone would have been sufficient to
put Kuno down, but she wasn't done. He was a boy and she was an Amazon girl.
Boys didn't challenge Amazon girls. Period. End of story. Mousse she could
tolerate. He knew the Code. This one however… This one was going to get hurt.
Even as Kuno began to lose his balance, Ranma landed lightly
herself and shot two more kicks into his gut, sending him into her tree with a
shattering thud. She stepped forward and unleashed a roundhouse kick to his
dazed head, smashing his other cheek. The stick-boy fell away, crumbling under
his own weight. Ranma grabbed the sword before he hit the ground, noting the
boy still retained some kernel of awareness.
Akane watched horrified as those eyes of ice bore into Kuno.
"Know this, Kuno… I own you. Challenge me again and I will break
you." As if to provide an object lesson, she snapped the wooden sword in
half with a hand and it fell to the earth by his body. Lesson done for the day,
Ranma walked off across the school property, leaving Akane and the stricken
Kuno looking on after the girl.
"And then he just tore into Kuno!" Akane
explained with an edge of panic to her sister later that night. Nabiki sat on
her sister's bed reading a book as she listened. "The first kick would
have done the job, but three more after that was… Overkill!"
"He?" Nabiki queried with an arched eyebrow.
"Okay, she."
"That's because Kuno's a boy," Nabiki replied
cryptically.
"What do you mean by that?"
Nabiki waggled the book she was reading for Akane's benefit.
"Ancient Customs of the Chinese Amazon." She recited the title,
looking at her sister. "Had a hell of a time find it at the library
today." Now Akane was thoroughly confused. "You were already gone so
you didn't hear about Ranma's… Adventures in China. She ate, lived and breathed
Amazon culture for the better part of a year."
Akane shrugged. "So?"
"They're a warrior based society ruled by women."
Nabiki explained. "Ranking is determined in no small part by prowess in
combat. If you want to move up in rank within an Amazon village, you challenge
the person above you in the form of a ritual duel." She flipped the page,
continuing her summary. "Insults and physical threats demand immediate
action by the recipient. If honor is not satisfied, the member will have no choice
but to engage in physical combat to restore her honor."
Nabiki watched as dread crept into Akane's face "…Oh
crap."
"'Oh crap' indeed." Nibiki nodded. "According to
the rules I'm reading here, she's been very patient with you so far."
Akane paled. After what she'd done to Kuno… "Um, where
does Kuno tie into this?"
Nabiki smiled. "Like I said, he's a boy. Boys are second
class citizens to the Amazon women." The smile faded and she pointed to
the book. "According to this, she'd be well within her rights to take his
life for even thinking of challenging her."
Akane's cheek twitched. "But Ranma's a boy…"
"Which might be the only reason he's still alive."
Nabiki shrugged. "Beats me. I can't even begin to comprehend how Saotome's
juggling all the different aspects of his life, such as it is." She
paused, then looked at Akane. "And if the book is right and what you told
me about Kuno today is accurate, you should be receiving a visit any time
now."
As if she had timed it such, there was a sharp rap on Akane
Tendo's bedroom door. She looked at Nabiki with wide eyes and she simply
shrugged.
"Um, come in?"
The door slid open and a female Ranma stepped in. Both sisters
immediately checked the eyes and found they maintained a temperature above
freezing.
"What can we do for you, Saotome?" Nabiki asked then
smiled at her little joke. A thin smile crept across the redheads face, but
promptly disappeared.
"I'm here to address a matter of honor with Akane."
Akane shuddered internally. Oh crap, she's not actually going
to enforce that stupid code is she! I'm gonna get my butt-
"It was not my place to interfere with your duel with
Kuno." She stated in a voice considerably closer to room tempreture.
"Please accept my apology." The redhead bowed formally, much to
Akane's surprise. She looked from Ranma, then over to Nabiki. What the--!
"You were already engaged in a duel with Kuno, A-chan. If
I'm reading this correctly…" She watched as Ranma's eyes flicked from her
to the book she was holding. "She had no right to interrupt such a duel…
Especially when the boy was yours to do with as you will."
Ranma took a step forward, cocking her head to read the title
of the book Nabiki held. "Ancient Customs of the Chinese… Huh!" She
sniffed in surprise. "How'd ya know?"
"Your Daddy blabbed about it to our Daddy." She
explained. "Anything he knows, we know." Then she looked at Ranma
seriously. She had to ask. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you
apologizing in your girl form?"
Ranma looked as if to be considering her answer carefully.
"Because it satisfies Honor."
"And your boy form wouldn't?" It was more a statement
than a question.
Again, Ranma hesitated. "It's more… 'Appropriate' this
way."
"Because of all the time you spent with the Amazons."
Ranma nodded slowly. It wasn't often she had the duality of her
thought process called into question. It was a curiosity in itself for her as
well.
"Yes. I…" She looked as if she weren't about ready to
continued, but pushed on. "I was forced to remain a girl nearly
one-hundred percent of the time in their company. All their values, the honor
and Code fell to this body to be carried out…" She paused once more.
"…It just wouldn't mean the same thing… In the other body."
That's some heavy-duty compartmentalization Ranma's got going
on up there, Nabiki noted silently. That could wait, she decided and turned to
Akane. "Don't you have something to tell her as well?"
The sister looked at Nabiki curiously, then mouthied a silent
"Oh!" in surprise. She promptly got up and produced her own bow.
"I… Uh… Sorry I… Didin't realize…" She looked at the book, which was
explaining everything she had missed. "Let's just call it even,
Okay?"
Ranma looked at the girl for a second longer and nodded.
"I'm still not going to be your fiancée." She stated
firmly. Nabiki looked at her in disbelief. The girl just did not know when to
keep her mouth-
"Likewise." Ranma smiled. It was a mutual
understanding. As long as the girl didn't go off and continue to poke at her
honor with a stick, things might actually turn out okay. It was obvious she was
one of the Alpha Females at her school and even her behavior in regards to the
boys there reflected that fact. Yes. This would do until she found an honorable
way out of the twisted mess her father had tied her into.
"And no offense, Ranma," Nabiki began tentatively,
"But you do kinda need to lighten up on the whole Amazon thing."
Ranma looked at her more sharply than she meant to, then
softened. "I… I know. It's just… They gave me back… the only thing I have
left in the world."
Akane now observed the girl in front of her with a new sense of
revelation. This was the girl she's seen after their match… The girl that had
lost something… Something big. And it was obvious the Amazons didn't restore
her manhood, so…?
"What did you… Lose?" Akane asked with some
hesitation. But she couldn't help it. The eyes flicked over to her, but there
was no anger.
"Everything that mattered." She settled in and told
them the whole story. Being sold for rice and two pickles, thrown repeatedly
into a pit of starving cats, swimming to China. On the trail for months with
little food or shelter. Forced to beg and steal. And to top it off, barely
remembering what his mother looked like. The sister's disbelief deepened with
every word.
"By the time I stumbled across the Amazons, the curse was
beginning to take a backseat to everthing else," She continued. "It
became just another thing, y'know? Sure, a big thing, but after everything else
even the big things just become things." Then she looked up at the pair
with a warm smile. "But the Amazons gave me some of those things back, but
especially my pride and honor. I learned that this curse is a small thing
compared to losing that." Ranma sighed. "I miss my sister."
"Sister?" Akane questioned with an arched eyebrow.
"Daddy said you were an only child." Nabiki chimed
in.
"Uh… In China." Ranma corrected herself with a shade
of pink on her face. "I was adopted into the tribe and she's been my best
friend…"
Ranma's voice trailed off and both sisters looked on her
thoughtfully. Even Akane, who was dead set against marrying- let alone marrying
a gender cursed guy -wasn't immune to the plight of the girl in front of them
now that the facts in their fullest measure were known. Ranma had everyone and
everything taken from him- and her -and was now being forced into an
arrangement nobody in their right mind would have concocted… Which said a lot
about their parents.
Author's notes:
See, I told you it was unfinished. Not sure if I will finish it
at this point. The story seems a tad too moody for what I was aiming for,
though part one had promise. After that, it just got too far away from
"Ranma" for my tastes. That and I really just don't feel like a
complete rewrite of the series with Amazon Ranma all the way up to his meeting with
Shampoo (which is where I planned on wrapping the this series up originally). A
clear case of lack of vision :p As an example, I blasted the two parts of
"Exact Change" in a fraction of the time while this was in progress.
Somebody is definitely going to have to bug me to get this completed :p