Son Turned Daughter
A Ranma � fanfict by Tangent
Pre-reading and editing assistance by:
Lord Talon;
Nevrmore;
And some guy named Steve
DISCLAIMER: 'Ranma �' and all characters therein
belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty, and Viz
Video. This fanfict has been produced for my own
enjoyment and to pass on without profit. Other characters
that come into play in this fanfict may or may not be pulled
from other sources (including other fanficts, RPGs, manga,
anime, literature, or possibly even *GASP* American comic
books!).
A WORD FROM TANGENT: I've wanted to do a story
like this one ever since I read 'An Alternate History of
Ranma �' by Ichinohei Hitomi. While I liked the story, I
couldn't help but feel that I would have written things a bit
differently. But then, that's what alternaverse fanficts are
about aren't they? So, in my tribute to both Rumiko
Takahashi and Ichinohei Hitomi, I bring you this tale of
'What would have happened if...'
CHAPTER ONE: So, Do You Want to be Friends?
Leading her new friend out to the Dojo, a fairly modern
set of rooms with florescent lights in the ceiling, a small
shine, some scenery and the dojo motto, Akane decided
that she would have to get Ranma to open up a little. "You
do practice Kempo don't you?"
Ranma, still a little nervous about these people and the
situation, but none the less glad that she had at least found
a friend, replied, "A little."
Akane noticed that Ranma was still very nervous, and
since physical exercise always soothed her, she said, "Then
let's have a little match, just between the two of us. OK?"
Ranma looked at Akane's face and was a little confused.
She was the first girl that the pig-tailed girl had ever met that
was really interested in the Martial arts, and that made her a
little apprehensive. Despite the fact that she was also a girl,
Ranma didn't really want to harm or fight Akane. Besides,
she had fought a girl once, and that had turned out to be a
disaster. "Aahhhh..."
Akane smiled again, noticing that the girl was now
confused. She was definitely too innocent for her own good,
especially since it was obvious that she would be living with
them now. "It's just for fun. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Ranma was still nervous as she replied, "If you say so."
Akane went into a battle stance. She had noticed that
Ranma hadn't gone into a stance, and stood with her arms
behind her back. Since it was obvious that she wasn't really
prepared, Akane had chosen a stance that would allow her to
transmit her movements in an obvious way.
She quickly closed the space between the two of them,
punching quickly, and shouting aloud. It was with some
surprise that she noted Ranma had leapt up five and a half
feet. She was obviously not as inexperienced at the arts as
she seemed, so Akane reduced the amount that she could
be read by half and then did a high side kick at the girl in
front of her.
Ranma just leapt up again and opened up her legs wide.
Spreading her arms out to keep her balance, she noted how
good Akane was, and admired her abilities. The way that
she suddenly dropped the amount of movement in the way
she could be read indicated that her opponent was very
skilled in the arts. If this continued, she could very well be
hit since she wouldn't be able to tell how the blow was going
to land. However, she still couldn't bring herself to throw a
blow that would hit or hurt Akane.
Meantime Akane kept throwing blows, each time reducing
the amount of movements that could be read. Punches, kicks,
jabs, and so on would continue to miss the small redhead as
she bobbed from one side to the other (or even backwards) to
avoid getting hit. While Akane was getting closer each time,
she still wasn't getting through. She also noticed that Ranma
adn't thrown a single blow at her. "What's wrong? Swing at me."
Ranma didn't respond. How could she take the chance on
hitting a friend? The only friend she'd had in a very, very long
time.
Akane suddenly started a set of blows that Ranma dodged,
although it had been a close thing at the beginning of the series
(the redhead had been forced to actually move and give ground
a little with each strike).
Ranma backed away a little bit while Akane did the same.
This was getting more and more serious with each passing
moment and she realized that one of them would get hurt if
this continued, and she didn't want to be the one to throw
the blow that hurt Akane. She then noticed the change in
Akane's stance, A change that indicated that Akane had
decided that this Ranma could stand more than just practice...
Akane in the meantime had been wondering why her blows
were missing. Each time she struck, she had narrowed the
margin that her movements had shown. Most martial artists
would have already been beaten back by the series of strikes
that she had already tried. [Why? Why am I missing her?]
she thought, [It's almost as if she's reading all my moves.]
That was when she realized something. Her father said
that he had trained together with this girls father, and if that
was the case, then Ranma was probably a practitioner of
Arts of Anything Goes as well. She shifted stances, [OK
then, this time for real.]
Akane moved fast, approaching Ranma at a high speed
and throwing an authentic punch, rather than a practice blow.
Ranma barely had time to leap above the fist, having to crouch
slightly to gather enough speed. She saw that Akane's hand
was still in the wall, and an opportunity presented itself to her
to finish this fight quickly. She kicked off lightly from the wall
when she was at the apex of her jump, and flipped over to land
behind Akane, giving her a light tap on the back of her head
with her index finger.
Akane, was still stunned, not at having missed Ranma,
she had expected that, but that she had put so much force
into the blow that she had broken the wall. When she felt the
finger on her head, a strike that (had it been real) would have
knocked her out, she turned slowly. Ranma was smiling a bit
awkwardly and laughing hesitantly, but it was the first real bit
of joy that she had seen on the girl's face since she arrived.
Akane joined in the laughter, glad all of a sudden to have made
a friend and meeting someone she could really respect, and
Ranma's laughter grew steadier in its confidence.
Akane managed to stop herself, although the two of them
were now gasping a little, enjoying each other's company.
Looking at Ranma over her shoulder as she began to leave
the dojo, she said, "You're pretty good. I'm just glad that
you're a girl."
Ranma looked back at her, a bit of puzzlement on her
face, "Huh?"
Akane giggled a bit and looked back at Ranma, "It's just
that...I'd really hate to lose to a boy."
Ranma hesitated for a moment, almost allowing Akane
to exit the dojo before getting the resolve to speak up. "But,
Akane," she corrected, voice trembling from fear that she was
about to lose her new friend with what she was about to say.
"I *am* a boy..."
Akane stopped in shock at Ranma's pronouncement,
turning around and looking at the redheaded girl as if she
lost her mind. "Nani?"
In a small, hesitant voice, Ranma began to explain the
Nyanniichuan curse to Akane...
* * *
To say that Akane Tendo was a bit confused would be
understating things. What her new friend, Ranma Saotome,
had just confessed to her was more than a little shocking.
The lonely girl who had arrived that day accompanied by a
giant panda was really the boy that their fathers wanted to
engage to one of the Tendo daughters. And the panda was
supposedly the girl's father. Akane wanted to believe that it
was just some bizarre joke that Ranma was pulling on her,
but the frightened expression that she saw on the other girl's
face told her that Ranma was afraid of losing the only friend
that she had in a long, long time.
Not the sort of expression one would expect from a
practical joker, anyway. "I'm sorry, Ranma, but do you have
any way to prove what you just said? It's a little hard to believe."
"I change back to my true form with hot water," Ranma
explained softly. She couldn't tell how Akane was taking this,
and she almost wished that she had kept her mouth shut
earlier and said nothing. She almost hadn't, but she didn't want
to lie to her new friend, even if it cost her that very friendship.
"I... I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore," she
continued quietly, trying hard to hold back the tears that she
could feel coming on. "Who would want to be friends with a
freak like me, anyway?"
That was more than enough for Akane. "I didn't mean it
that way! Of course we're still friends! It's just that it's a bit
hard to take at the moment."
"Thank you Akane," Ranma said, relieved that she wasn't
going to lose her only friend after all. "That really means a lot
to me."
Akane thought of something, remembering what was
supposed to have happened earlier that day. "Are you aware
that you're supposed to choose either one of my sisters or
me to marry?"
"I'd actually forgotten about that, but yeah," Ranma
admitted. "Of course my idiot father didn't tell me until today,
right before it started raining..."
Akane giggled. "Ours didn't tell us until today either,
although I think Nabiki suspected something since she had
changed into that kimono."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ranma asked,
perplexed.
"You don't know?" Akane wondered at this, as it was part
of the cultural heritage that she supposedly shared with
Ranma as a fellow countryman... woman... whatever.
"Akane," Ranma explained calmly. "I just spent ten years
on a training journey with my old man, who doesn't seem to
think that anything is important unless it somehow involves
Martial Arts. I rather expect that there's a lot of stuff I should
know that he never saw fit to tell me about."
Akane could only nod at that summery, not knowing how
to respond.
"Anyway," Ranma went on. "Let's go to the kitchen and
get some hot water so I can show you my true form. I'm
going to have to show everyone sooner or later, and it may
as well be sooner..."
* * *
Kasumi handed the teakettle over to Ranma, who had
just finished explaining the curse to her. "Oh, you poor dear!
This must be very hard on you!"
"You aint only kiddin'" Ranma responded dryly as she
began to pour the kettle over her head. Akane and Kasumi
watched with rapt attention, having been told what to expect,
but not quite believing that it would happen.
Just at that moment, Nabiki wandered into the kitchen.
"Kasumi, do you know... who... th..." The cause of Nabiki's
current difficulty in communicating was due to the fact that
the short redheaded girl that she had been so disappointed
with earlier had just grown about eight inches taller while
turning into a guy with raven-black hair before her eyes.
Her unshakable world-view had just received a sudden,
unexpected turn in a blender... Thump!
Ranma, Akane, and Kasumi looked at Nabiki where she
lay on the floor, having feinted. Kasumi then summed it up
nicely with her next statement; "Oh dear. I guess we should
have warned her as well."
Ranma scratched the back of his head, not quite sure
what to do. When he didn't see Nabiki earlier, he expected
to show her his curse at the same time that he showed the
girls' father. Instead, she had walked into the kitchen at just
the right time to get the shock of her life.
Akane looked on as Kasumi tended to their middle sister,
then glanced at Ranma, who seemed to be a little out of sorts.
When he returned her gaze, she saw that he still seemed
nervous, like he expected her to change her mind about still
being friends. Akane thought it over for a moment before
deciding that he didn't seem like the other boys at school.
"So, what do we do about this marriage agreement?" she
asked in general.
Ranma thought briefly about the matter, and Kasumi
seemed to be considering the situation as well. It was clear
that they were all in the same boat, having only been told
about the marriage agreement today, and just before actually
meeting each other on top of that.
"Um..." Ranma started. "It's not that I don't find any of you
attractive or nothin', but we only just met and I hardly know
any of you. Besides, I don't quite feel ready for marriage yet.
I mean, it's not something I've given a lot of thought about.
You girls deserve better than some guy who just came off the
road and doesn't know anything about bein' a husband..." In
a much smaller voice, but still audible enough for Akane and
Kasumi to hear, he continued; "I just want some friends for
now. I don't want to deal with all this pressure..."
Akane smiled at the boy in front of her. She was glad
that she had reserved her judgment and had decided to
remain friends. Ranma was definitely not like the other boys
she knew.
"Perhaps it would be better if we put off the decision then,"
Kasumi stated mildly, as if this was the most ordinary thing in
the world. "A year won't hurt anything, and by then we'll all
know eachother a bit better."
"A year sounds good to me," Akane put in. "Ranma?"
Ranma considered this, and nodded his agreement.
"Yeah, a year would probably do it. I'll definitely be better
prepared then. In the mean time, we can just get to know
each other." He gestured towards Nabiki, who still lay
unconscious as Kasumi was tending to her. "Who knows,
maybe by then, even she'll like me."
"In any event," Kasumi stated. "It's almost dinner time,
and you both still need to clean up."
"You first?" Ranma asked Akane as the two left the kitchen.
"No," Akane explained. "You are our guest. After you."
* * *
After dinner, Soun and Genma started to re-introduce
everyone, only to find out that the girls already knew about
the curses that the Saotomes were under. Of the girls, only
Nabiki seemed to be upset over the whole situation. It was
obvious that she wasn't happy with Ranma's curse, and that
she didn't want anything to do with the boy. Kasumi and
Akane appeared to like the boy, which surprised Soun.
Ranma was clearly younger than Kasumi, who had stated
her disinterest in younger men, and Akane had seemed dead
set against the idea of an arranged marriage when he brought
it up earlier.
Perhaps it was time to capitalize on the situation? "Well
then. You all seemed to have introduced yourselves to each
other. Which of my girls would you like to marry?"
"DAD!" Nabiki complained loudly. "He's a weirdo! Why
are you trying to keep this agreement!?"
"That's not a nice thing to say, Nabiki!" Kasumi scolded
her middle sister.
"It's not Ranma's fault that he's cursed," Akane put in.
"Besides," Ranma interjected, a bit peeved about Nabiki's
reaction, "You seemed plenty interested in my other form.
What with you fondling and groping and all..."
"Yeah!" Akane dug in, following Ranma's lead in teasing
her sister (a rare opportunity, since Nabiki usually had the
upper hand in the teasing department). "What was up with
that anyway? You were acting worse than some of the guys
at school!"
"It was rather rude, Nabiki," Kasumi added calmly but firmly.
Nabiki was at a complete loss, not for the first time that day.
She did not like the feeling in the least bit. "I am not marrying a
freak!"
"Ah, who asked to marry you anyway?" Ranma
retaliated irritably.
Soun tried to salvage the situation before it became any
worse. "Well, there is always my eldest daughter, Kasumi,
or my youngest, Akane," he offered hopefully.
"Father," Kasumi started to explain. "Ranma, Akane, and
I discussed this earlier, and we feel that it would be best if we
put off the actual decision for a year so we could get to know
each other first."
"That's right," Akane agreed. "By then, we should know
who Ranma is best suited for, and we'll all be better prepared
to go ahead with the arrangement."
"But the decision needs to be made right away!" Genma
argued, worried with where this conversation seemed to be
going. He knew what was likely to happen if he and Ranma
stayed in one spot long enough, and he wanted his son
safely married before any of their past came back to haunt
them.
"Why?" Ranma asked, clueless about the poor decisions
his father had made over the years (well, the ones that would
effect an engagement anyway).
"It does seem like a reasonable request, Saotome," Soun
put in. Although he would have liked it better had the boy just
picked one of his daughters on the spot, it wasn't the end of
the world. Perhaps it would be better this way?
"Ah..." Genma started, and then stopped, realizing that
he had no good explanation for wanting to rush things. Maybe
if he pushed a few buttons, Ranma would hurry his decision
along. "Oh, the shame of it all!" he wailed. "My poor boy,
waffling like a girl!"
"WHAT did you say!?" demanded an outraged Akane,
preempting Ranma's own retort.
"My son, my only son, hesitating like some weak little
girl!" WHAM!!! Genma collapsed under the weight of the table
that Akane just slammed him with.
"Now that," Ranma started, "he had coming." He then
continued to sip his tea, as if nothing had happened...
* * *
Genma knew he had to do something. At the very least,
he had to get his son safely married before Nodoka found
out that they were back in the Tokyo area and discovered
their son's curse. Nor did Genma want to deal with the
problems that would crop up if any of his earlier...
entrepreneurism... came back to haunt him. It wasn't entirely
impossible that either his friend, Soun, would call off the
arrangement, or that his son, Ranma, would disown him
over what he had done during his various travels with the boy.
He needed a way to apply pressure to the boy. A way to
speed up the decision somehow. Some way to aggravate
Ranma to the point where he would give in and choose one of
Soun's daughters to marry. But what? What buttons could he
push to get things rolling in the right direction?
Then it hit him. Ranma had to go to school again, now
that they had settled down for a while. Genma still had to
register him at Furinkan High, but who said that he had to
register his son? What better way to apply pressure on the
boy than an embarrassing social situation?
With his plan firmly in mind, Genma dialed up the number
for Furinkan's registration office. "Hello? Yes... I'm Genma
Saotome, and I would like to enroll my daughter in your
school..."
If things went well, Ranma would be willing to make a
decision by the end of the next day...
* * *
Nabiki lay smoldering on her bed. Things had not gone
at all as she had expected them to. First the boy she had
been hoping to marry turned out to be a girl. Then the girl
turned out to actually be the boy, only under some sort of
curse that turned him into a girl with cold water. She had
been rather upset about that, and she had taken it out on
the boy after dinner.
Nabiki supposed that she really shouldn't have done
that. Besides the guilt trip that Kasumi was laying on her
about being rude to a guest, she had left herself wide open
to retaliation from Ranma. What was worse, Akane had
followed his lead with a few good digs of her own. That was
virtually unheard of! Nabiki was supposed to be on top of
the teasing game!
Well... she only had herself to blame. She had allowed
herself to be flustered when unexpected proof that magic
did indeed exist suddenly presented itself without warning,
and she had responded not with the cool, calm, control
that she dealt with everything. Rather, she had lashed out
blindly at the most convenient target of her frustrations,
which happened to be Ranma.
She should really apologize to the boy, but apologizing
to anyone about anything, especially someone that she had
just met, rankled to Nabiki. Maybe she would find a way to
quietly make it up to him instead, without having to admit
that she had behaved poorly towards him so far...
* * *
Ranma, for his part, had already put Nabiki's behavior
out of his mind. The girl had received nothing but
disappointment and shock today, so her reaction was
understandable to him. Besides, his father seemed to be up
to something again, and how Nabiki perceived him was a
much lesser worry than the kind of thoughtless trouble
Genma Saotome could brew up.
At the moment, however, he could not give either one
his attention. Akane had asked him, as a friend, to help her
improve in the art. While he didn't want to hit someone that
he had just become friends with, it wouldn't be fair to just
keep dodging her like he had earlier. He still didn't feel
comfortable with the idea of hitting another girl just yet.
Maybe if he explained his reasons to Akane, they could
work something out?
"Um, Akane?" Ranma asked, hesitantly.
"Yes?" Akane responded, wondering what was making
Ranma nervous now. Surely he hadn't decided that he
wanted to be engaged already.
"Well..." Ranma began nervously. "I only ever fought
one other girl before, and that didn't turn out so well..."
"Don't worry, Ranma," Akane assured her new friend.
"I've been training most of my life in the Anything Goes
School of Martial Arts. I'm not some delicate little flower
that can't take a hit."
"It's not that," Ranma explained, "although I'm not
comfortable with the idea of hitting a friend either. Shampoo
was the village champion for her age group, from what the
guide had told us..." Ranma trailed off, unsure as to what
to say next.
"So she beat you?" Akane asked, not knowing whether
to be amused or annoyed.
"No," Ranma corrected. "I beat her, and that's the
problem." Ranma then went on to explain what had
happened in Joketsuzoku...
Akane considered Ranma's dilemma after hearing him
out. She now knew why he had just kept dodging her during
their earlier match, and could understand his problem. With
a sigh, she wondered what other trouble her new friend's idiot
father had gotten him into over the years. "Well, I guess
there's no help for it then. If you don't feel comfortable sparring
with me, maybe we can just show each other our moves..."
"No, Akane," Ranma stated. "That's not fair to you. I'll
spar with you. Just give me a little time, okay?"
"Okay!" Akane affirmed, brightening. Ranma had already
proven to be a superior martial artist earlier, and Akane could
not help but feel that her own training would be enhanced if
she sparred with him. "Does it matter to you which form you
spar in?" she asked.
"Not really," Ranma replied, "but I suppose I should get
used to the way my girl half moves in combat, and it would
be useful to know just what I can give and take in that form..."
"Well then. Let's get some water and find out, shall we?"
Akane stated cheerfully. Maybe her new friend wasn't a girl,
but perhaps not all boys were jerks after all...
END CHAPTER ONE
OMAKE THEATER PRESENTS: Problem Solved?
It was raining lightly in the Nerima district. In the Tendo
Household, Akane's voice was raised in protest. "FIANCE?!?"
Soun Tendo looked at Akane, "Yes, the son of a very
good friend of mine. His name is Ranma Saotome" he stated.
"If one of you were to marry him, and carry on this dojo, then
the Tendo family legacy would be assured."
Akane thought about this for a moment.
"Oh, THANK YOU, daddy!" she cried cheerfully, moving
around the table and giving her father a hug. "Maybe this will
finally convince Kuno and the other jerks at school to stop
harassing me every morning!"
Massive facefaulting abounded, including remarkable
ones from the redhead and the panda, who hadn't even arrived
yet...
OMAKE THEATER II PRESENTS: Something About a Bath...
"In any event," Kasumi stated. "It's almost dinner time,
and you both still need to clean up."
"You first?" Ranma asked Akane as the two began to
leave the kitchen.
"No," Akane explained. "You are our guest. After you."
"Why don't I draw a bath, and we can all take one
together?" Kasumi proposed, prompting a massive facefault
from the entire cast, crew, and audience of the entire Ranma
eries. Including Nabiki, who was still unconscious...
END
P.S: Never throw out a good Omake... or a bad one, either!
^_^