Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Lonely Soul ❯ Prologue - Chapter 1 ( Prologue )

Prologue:

This is an alternate universe where Ranma and Genma did not go on a ten year training trip. Instead they would go for 4 months and return home to Nodoka. This changed many things, and Ranma received a decent education and learned to see other things besides the art.

This went on for many years, and Ranma grew into a fine young man, yet being away from school for most of the year left him with few friends. Even so, he was happy. He was advancing in the art, and making both his mother and father proud. Then, the faithful trip to China came about when he was fourteen. A tragic accident left him with a cursed body, and fatherless.

This devastated the family, and each of them took it in a different way. Nodoka cried herself to sleep many a nights, mourning the passing of her beloved husband. The two newest Saotomes, Miki and Nina, identical twins ten years younger then Ranma, were still too young to understand exactly what happened to their father. Everyday they would ask when their 'poppa' was going to come home, and every time Nodoka would run from the room in tears, leaving Ranma to try and explain to the two little girls about where their father had gone. They would cry and ask for their missing parent, then run to their rooms, not believing he wasn't coming home. This continued for weeks, they would ask with big innocent eyes, and receive the same answer.

Ranma, he was probably the most devastated. Sure, his 'pop' wasn't the greatest of parents, but he was mostly raised by him on the road and loved him all the same. So he kept it inside, never shedding tears except when no one was awake to see him. He had to be strong for his family, for he was the man of the house now. He would have to support the house until his mother could recover. So, all emotions were blocked, giving him a cold exterior to all except his family. He loved and cherished them above all else, and thus sacrificed what was left of his childhood to take on a man's responsibilities. He went to look for work wherever he could. He finally found a place that would hire someone his age, Nerima Construction.

Over the next few years, his mother calmed down but still did almost nothing but the bare minimum with chores, and for her daughters, she finally came around and began caring for them again. The twins finally got over the loss and have moved on to grade school. They look up to Ranma as their fatherly figure now. Ranma himself was a loving and caring brother, putting all his loved ones needs before his. But because of his cold exterior, his classmates avoided him and talked about him behind his back. He always heard the gossip because due to his sensitive hearing, but he never showed any reaction to it. He hardly said a word to anyone outside of his home, only speaking in bare minimum sentences in class. He was very lonely with no friends of any kind, but he spent most his free time when he wasn't at work playing and caring for Miki and Nina, taking them for walks and going to the park. But no one at school knew of this, all they saw was a strangely quiet and laid back person, not caring what anyone thought of him.

That was, of course, until one day in the courtyard, when Ranma had gotten stuck in the middle of the sprinklers as they came on. The crowd that had been conversing around the area had been startled beyond belief as the quiet boy changed into a luscious red-headed beauty. Ranma had simply looked at himself, shook of the excess water, and left the yard, going back to class.

He never explained what had happened then, the retelling of such a tale would bring back unwanted memories and he did not wish to break down in front of the listeners. So, he ignored them, not paying them any heed. This of course started the rumor mill about possibilities of the cause of the change. And many ended with the same name for him, a 'freak.'

And so went the rest of his Junior High life, and on he went to High School. The story starts three weeks into the semester of his sophomore year, and two weeks after a certain kendoist had made a declaration about obtaining a date with a certain dark haired teen…

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful Monday morning in the little Tokyo ward of Nerima. Birds were singing as the sun began its assent towards the heavens. Slowly, the town came alive as shop owners opened their stores and the men and women made their way to their respective jobs.

In a quant two story house near the center of town, the sound of laughter and feet stomping upstairs signaled to the figure downstairs of the awakening of his little sisters. Ranma, now a handsome 16 year old smiled faintly as he looked up to the ceiling. He was currently in the kitchen fixing breakfast for the other residence. His mother had come down with a cold, so he had taken up most of the duties she usually did. He stifled a yawn as he prodded the strips of bacon in the pan.

He had been at the construction site late yesterday, due to the slim time frame the company had in finishing the small building downtown. Ranma's unbelievable strength and fitness had helped the once small company prosper into the largest business in the area.

At first the owner had laughed at the prospect of hiring him a few years back. What on earth could a 14 year old boy do that any other man in the city could not? Well, his opinion changed when Ranma had lifted the massive steel beam that was used in the building process, and proceeded to 'jump', beam lying across his shoulder, up to the top story of the 4 story building. The owner had simply gapped, looking from the multi-ton piece of raw material, then to the boy. The transportation and maintenance of large cranes across town was very large, and with someone that could do THAT, well…lets just say the owner hired him on the spot, and paid 'quite' well for his service.

But work, combined with household chores and school had always left its mark on Ranma. He would not get many hours of sleep, since when he got home, he would take care of his families needs. He would tidy the rooms in the late hours of the night, and get to sleep around one in the morning. Then, he would get up before sunrise to get in some training before the normal morning routine began.

It had gotten tougher since his twin sisters began going to school. Now lunches had to be made, and the kids dressed. His mother was sick very often, due to lack of exercise. She had gotten better over the years, but she still rarely got out of the house, and had just recently taken up caring for her two small children more fully.

Ranma sighed as those thoughts brought back the unwanted memories of his trip to Jusenkyo. 'Why'd we have ta go and train there pop, there were hundreds of other trainin grounds over there…' he thought as the twins entered the kitchen. They sat at the table and beamed at their older brother.

"Nii-chan, when's breakfast gonna be ready?" Asked the more energetic of the two, Miki. Her sister nodded in agreement.

Ranma smiled at the two lovingly. "In a bit, did you two wash up?" He looked at the two. They were identical in every physical way. Both had long, beautiful hair that flowed down their backs. Both were still in their pajamas and their hair was still disarrayed. He looked at Miki. She had taken her father's death the best of the three women of the house. There was always a big smile adorning her face, and a cheerful attitude. But Ranma knew she was a lot like him, blocking out the memories and putting on a facade. Many a nights when he returned from work and had checked on the two girls, he found the girl quietly crying in her bed. Ranma would go to her and comfort her the best he could, until she cried herself to sleep. Then the next day the facade would be back in place, and her cheerful act would begin again.

He turned his vision to the right a bit and looked at Miki's mirror image, the shy Nina. Ever since she was old enough to understand where her father was, and what had happened, she lost a little of her childhood cheerfulness. She was the quiet one of the two. She was very smart for her age, always the planner when he and the girls played games in the park. The two girls made the perfect team; Miki was a girl of action, and Nina a girl of intelligence. He smiled to the two as they held their hands out to him.

"All clean!" beamed Miki. Nina merely nodded.

"That's good." Ranma sat a plate in front of each. "Now hurry up and eat so you two aren't late for school. I'm gonna go take mom's food to her." The girls nodded and dug in, Miki at the 'normal' Saotome gusto pace while Nina ate at a slower pace. Ranma grabbed a small try and placed a plate of food, along with a pot of tea onto it. He then left the room carefully balancing the tray, and made her way to her mother's room.

Later that morning, Ranma was making his way to Furinkan High. He was running a little later then usual, due to a delay at his sister's Elementary School. Seems a parent's day was coming up and Miki and Nina's teacher wanted to inform him of it. He had said that hopefully he and his mother would be able to make it, and had thanked her for informing him. After hugging his sisters, he was off to school himself.

He turned the final corner and put on his normal 'ice-like' face, ready to deal with another day of whispers and rumors about him. He never paid them any heed, ignoring them and acting as though he didn't hear them, but inside he winced at every one. He was lonely, not having a real friend since the incident with his curse a few years back. Now, no one even approached him, in fear of also being ridiculed for hanging around the 'freak'. He shook his head and turned into the gate.

There before him, was the normal carnage that met students every morning. There, Akane Tendo stood in the center of a ring of devastation, bodies thrown everywhere. Ranma rolled his eyes. He found this thing very absurd and dishonorable. This had been going on for a few weeks now, every morning. They would listen to the idiot Kuno rant on about him being invincible, and then watch as he gets pounded by the youngest Tendo sister. Ranma usually ignored this, but since he was late today, he would have to pass through it to get to the building. Normally he would already be in his class, waiting for the teacher to make his appearance, but not today. He continued on his path to the doors.

He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Akane proceeded to pound the upperclassman into the ground, but something caught his eye. There, flying through the air, was a small object, glinting in the morning sun. Akane never noticed the missing object that the wooden bokken had snagged as she huffed, and stormed into the building. Ranma looked between the girl, and the object lying a few feet away. He 'sighed' and made his way to the object.

'A pendant…' he thought, as he bent to pick up the object. He stood and turned it over in his hand. It was a simple piece of work, a small angel in flight. It seemed to be made of silver and was connected to a thin chain. It was quite beautiful. He closed his hand around it and stuck it in a pocket. He would return it to her at lunch. He made his way to class…

Akane gasped as she reached towards her chest, grasping for an object that never left her possession. She frantically looked back and forth around the floor vainly. 'Where…where is it?' she thought hysterically.

"What's wrong Akane?" The Tendo girl looked up, tears beginning to come to her eyes. There her two best friends, Sayori and Yuka stood.

"My…my mother's pendant is gone!" The two girls gasped.

"Oh no! When did it disappear?" asked Yuka, sitting down next to her two friends.

"I don't know! I never take it off!" A few tears made their way down her cheeks.

"Oh, don't worry Akane-chan; we'll help you find it. Maybe it came off during the fight today… or maybe at your house in the bathroom?" Sayori suggested.

"I-I don't know. I hope so! That's all I have left of my mother! She gave it to me right before she died!" Akane said, wiping her eyes. Her two friends hugged her and told her it would be alright, that they would find it. Just then the door opened and in walked Ranma. He proceeded straight to his seat, ignoring the snickering as he passed. He sat at his desk by the window and stared out into the blue sky, never taking notice of the three girls a few rows over.

The teacher walked in a few moments later, and the school day started once again…

~Lunchtime~

The three girls sighed as they sat down under their normal tree. They had looked all over the area where the fights normally took place. No luck.

"Its probably at your house Akane, don't worry." Sayori said as she hugged Akane. Akane merely nodded and opened up her satchel, retrieving her bento.

The three talked… well Sayori and Yuka talked, while Akane merely poked at her food and listened to them distractedly. Suddenly, she looked up as her friends stopped talking abruptly, and a shadow fell across her. She looked towards the obstruction to where her two friends were staring over her right shoulder. There stood a tall, handsome boy with his hair tied back in a pig-tail.

She blinked as he held his hand out slightly, and slowly opened his fist. She gasped when a silver chain made its way out of his hand bit by bit, only to stop and hang from his fingers when there was no more length of chain to fall.

She slowly reached up. "My… my pendant! Where did you find it?" She grabbed the silver chain and Ranma released it. She retracted her hand and held the item protectively to her chest. She looked back up to the boy's face. "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this pendant means to Me." she said.

Ranma looked at her, and nodded. He turned away and made his way to his normal eating place, a secluded corner. Akane watched as he walked away, and then turned to her friends and let out a long breath, lifting the chain over her head and replacing the item around her neck.

"Hey! That was that weird guy form our class, umm…Saotome I think." said Yuka, still staring after the boy.

"Ranma." said Sayori. "He's really quiet, never talking to anyone. And some people say he turns into a girl!"

Yuka nodded. "Yeah, I remember back in Junior High when it happened. Right out in front of everyone too!"

Akane looked up after tucking her pendant back into her shirt. She looked over towards where the pig-tailed youth sat up in a tree, eating his lunch by himself. "He didn't seem that bad…" she started, not taking her eyes off him. "I mean, he's one of the only guys that don't attack me every morning, and he did return my mom's pendant…"

"Yea, but he's a freak Akane! What other explanation would there be for turning into a girl. He never denies anything people say, he just walks away." Yuka said.

Akane looked to her friends, then back at the youth in the tree. She saw how he just stared at his lunch, or out into space. She had seen that kind of look before, on her older sister. Every now and again she would catch Nabiki just staring off at nothing, pain in her eyes. She had been like that since their mother had died. Her sister hid behind her wall of ice, and pretended like nothing was wrong, but Akane knew she was hurting inside.

She watched as Ranma finished up his lunch, and leapted from the tree. He glided across the school grounds with grace that was only becoming of a skilled martial artist. She was surprised at this, since she had thought that Kuno and she were really the only major practitioners of the art in Nerima.

'Who are you Ranma Saotome…' she thought as she repacked her bento, then proceeded after her friends as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang.

As the three friends re-entered the classroom, Akane couldn't help but seek out the pig-tailed boy with her eyes. There, staring out into the yard as he always does, sat Ranma. She watched him out of the corner of her eyes as she made her way to her desk.

'If all those rumors about him are true, then why wouldn't he have just kept my necklace…' she thought, sitting down at her desk. In the background she noticed her two friends talking adamantly.

She got out her book for the next class, but couldn't put the boy out of her mind. Boys were all supposed to be immature, following the little voice that spoke below their wastes. Up until they actually grew up, all of them were perverts. That was why all those idiots attacked her in the morning, thinking if they beat her, they might get in her pants. 'But he…he hardly pays me any mind.'

This proved to warrant more looking into. What would cause this… this boy to be the way he is? Some of the rumors about him where quite degrading and she was sure he must have heard some of them. And what about him being a martial artist. Was he any good? Question after question ran through Akane's mind as she sat there looking at him.

He must have sensed her gaze as he suddenly turned towards her. She started and turned her eyes forward, embarrassed for getting caught staring. Ranma looked at her for a few more moments, before shifting his gaze back towards the window.

'Heh, that's right. Stare at the freak.' thought Ranma as he sighed. He let his mind wonder as he gazed at a small bird that had landed on the window sill. He smiled as the sparrow hopped around, searching for food and such.

He had noticed the youngest Tendo girl a few years back, why wouldn't he? There weren't too many female martial artists he knew about. She was good in a multiple opponent fight, but from watching a few of her first fights with Kuno, he could see she laws lacking a bit in the one-on-one fights. He didn't know why she never seemed to improve, maybe because of the way Kuno held back on her, or maybe some other reason, who knows.

He turned as he heard the door open, and watched as the teacher walked in. He sat back in his chair and pulled out his book, preparing for the final half of the school day.

For the rest of the week Akane stewed on the questions she had about Ranma. She had gone to her sister asking for info on the boy, but Nabiki had replied to her with a sigh and spoke in a tired tone.

"Akane, that guy…is even a mystery to me. Every time I had tried to follow him or sent someone to do so, he somehow knows we're there and loses us. I got his address from the school files, but that pretty much all they had on him." She sighed and she turned in her desk chair. "I once confronted him and tried to pry some information from him using…umm, my skills, but he couldn't have cared less what I did. He just raised an eyebrow at me, shook his head, and walked off."

Akane had thanked her sister and left in confusion. Not once had she ever known her sister to not be able to gain knowledge on a person. And to sense someone following him further proved he was a skilled martial artist. But that only answered one of many questions.

She idly lay back in her bed, unconsciously playing with the pendant that was around her neck. She sighed and flipped to her stomach. She had come to a conclusion. Tomorrow, after school, she would confront the boy himself. "Then maybe I can get some answers…" she mumbled, trying to go to sleep.

The bell rang and she quickly slid out of her desk. This was Friday, the day she was going to ask Ranma about himself. She hurried out the door, wanting to get outside so she could catch him by himself. She didn't want to go to him in the classroom, afraid of what the rumor mill would make out of it.

So she rushed out into the courtyard, stopping a ways outside the door. She turned to wait for him, only to groan at what she saw. There, fully clothed in his blue gee and hakima, stood none other than the Blue Thunder himself.

"Ahhhh, never have these eyes lain sight to such beauty before them. Truly only the gods themselves could place such a wondrous sight upon this earth." Stated the kendoist as the wind blows through his hair and he held a rose to his face, sniffing quaintly. "Only one as noble as I might have the right to lay claim to such a fierce spirit. For only the noble Blue Thunder, the undefeated rising star of Furinkan High may defeat the glorious Valkerie, whose fighting prowess is as fierce as the heavens themselves." Kuno lowered his bokken towards Akane.

"Kuno…I do NOT want to deal with you now." said Akane rolling her eyes. She suddenly spotted a red shirt make its way out of the school building. She began making her way over to the pig-tailed boy, only to have the True Blunder block her way. She growled. "Kuno…"

"Fear not Akane Tendo, for I shall give you the right to date with me if you shall defeat me in honorable combat." Kuno stated, bringing his bokken to ready once again.

Akane looked over Kuno's shoulder and saw Ranma fixing to walk outside the gate, just on the other side of the small crowd that had formed around her and the idiot.

'Damn, I am NOT going to let him get away after I finally got the courage to ask about him.' Without thinking she opened her mouth. "HEY RANMA!"

The crowd all blinked simultaneously and turned towards the direction the Tendo girl had yelled.

The pig-tailed boy stopped as he heard his name being called. He slowly turned his head to the rear and panned the area for who had yelled at him. It wasn't that difficult since a few dozen eyes were all on him. He spotted Akane Tendo and Kuno-sempai in the center of the ring, and figured it had been Akane that had yelled at him, considering the looks she was getting form a few people in the crowd.

He stood there not moving as the circle of people parted as the girl made her way towards him. She seemed flustered and embarrassed at all the gazes on her. She finally reached him.

He raised an eyebrow towards her as she spoke. "Umm… I was wondering if…"

"Why would one such as you, Akane Tendo, speak to such an abomination as that vile cur?" spoke a voice from behind her, cutting her off.

Both looked to see Kuno approaching, group of students not far behind. He stopped a dozen feet form the pair.

"Mind you own business Kuno, I just wanted to thank him and ask him a few questions, if you don't mind." Akane said with her hands on her hips. "You have no say in who I speak to."

"Never will I allow such grace to speak with this, this freak of nature! Truly only a being of dark magic could change their appearance as I saw with mine own eyes."

Akane's eyes narrowed as the upperclassman said this. "How dare you judge some one so? Who gave you the right to say such things about people…" she cut herself off as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned.

Ranma simply 'sighed' and shook his head.

"But…but he's…"

"HOW DARE SUCH MISERABLE SCUM TOUCH THE BEAUTIOUS AKANE! UNHAND HER!" Kuno charged at Ranma, bokken held high.

Akane jumped in front of Ranma, blocking Kuno's path. "Just leave him alone Kuno. You have no reason to attack him." Akane knew Ranma was a martial artist, but how good of one was still unknown to her. She didn't want to see someone get hurt for no reason.

Ranma turned and started back towards the gate as Kuno let up on his charge.

"So the freak hides behind women like the coward he is. Very well, one such as you has every reason to cower before my noble blade. Run cretin!"

Ranma stopped mid step as he heard these words. Memories flowed through his mind of his younger days, days training under his father when he was young. The reason for him being a martial artist and the ideals of his school had been ingrained into his psyche, one ideal in particular…

~Flashback~

We see a larger man I a white gee standing before a young Ranma. Both were out of breath form sparring. After regaining their breath, the older one spoke.

"Ranma m'boy, one of the most important teachings of the Saotome School of Anything Goes is pride in their abilities. Any practitioner of our art is never, and I do mean NEVER to run from a fight. You will accept any and every challenge, and will win at any cost." Genma Saotome looked down at his 6 year old son. "Do you understand son?"

Little Ranma nodded vigorously with a big smile on his face. "Okay poppa!"

Genma grinned and patted his little boy on the back. "You will make me and your mother proud someday Ranma. Now what say we go grab us some dinner…"

~End Flashback~

Ranma spun around quickly, and stared at the older boy through slitted eyelids. He dropped his satchel from his back and slowly made his way back to the two people. He stopped five feet from them, and spoke. Many in the crowd had never even heard him talk, but his statement was short, calm, and to the point. "I accept."

Akane was surprised when she saw Ranma stop short of the gate, and turn back towards them. Then she was even more shocked by his simple words.

"I accept."

Her eyes widened. "Ranma, you don't need to…" she trailed off when it was obvious the boy was ignoring her. His sight was only for the older boy.

"HA! So the monstrosity does have some backbone! Very well, I shall smite thee with my blade and rid our presence of such a terrible annoyance." Kuno leveled his bokken.

Akane backed away and silently hoped Ranma wasn't hurt too badly. 'I mean, I fight him every day and I can barely beat him,' she thought to herself.

"I ATTACK!" screamed Kuno, charging once more with his bokken raised. Ranma merely waited in a relax stance.

Many students shut their eyes as the bokken descended on the pig-tailed boys head. Yes, many were freaked out by him, but they didn't want to see his skull cleaved by the wooden sword. The bokken dropped with inhuman force, and Kuno grinned in victory as his blade stuck, and went through Ranma. His eyes widened as his opponent seemed to disappear around his bokken. 'AN AFTER IMAGE!' Kuno screamed in his head. And then, he felt pain.

Ranma read the move a mile away. He waited till the last minute, then blurred.

He was behind the kendoist before anyone could blink, and planted his heel in the small of his opponents back. Kuno flew through the air and slammed face first into the outer wall of the school. He slumped to the ground slowly.

Gingerly, Kuno rose to his feet, pain shooting throughout his body. He turned towards his opponent, and reassessed him. "So cur, you have some skill. But you shall never defeat the Blue Thunder!" Once again he charged, more carefully this time.

The slash came quickly, but Ranma was faster. A cross slash across his chest was dodged by bending his back at an unnatural angle; a horizontal slash was leaped over. Time and time again Ranma dodged as though the fight was not even a challenge. The calm, ice-like façade never left his visage as Kuno begin to tire.

Finally, Ranma had enough. He had to pick up his two sisters soon and couldn't afford to take anymore time. As the next slash came, Ranma quickly stepped into Kuno's range. He caught Kuno's bokken in his left hand, and quicker then the eye could see, slammed his palm into his opponents wrist in a disarming move. The sword was released smoothly as Kuno's face twisted in pain. But Ranma wasn't done. In one smooth motion after taking the blade, his right foot swept Kuno's legs out from under him. Kuno seemed to hang in mid air, parallel to the ground for a split second. Then, Ranma struck his opponents chest in an open palm strike with such force, that the kendoist was sent rocketing towards the wall once more.

This time, Kuno didn't make an indention in the concrete fence. No, when he hit the wall, it collapsed around him and he was sent into the street on the other side. There he lay, unmoving.

The courtyard was silent as the battle came to an end. Everyone stared at the hole in the outer wall for the school. Kuno, Furinkan High's champion had not only been defeated, but was utterly torn apart. Ranma, the strange, silent boy; the freak that turns into a girl, had done what none had dared attempt.

The heads turned towards the movement they saw heading towards the gate. There, Ranma was bending over to retrieve his dropped satchel. All eyes followed him as he slowly mad his way out and to the left, down the street.

Akane quickly shook herself out of her stupor. 'Un…unbelievable! I couldn't even follow him!' she looked towards where Ranma was and blinked, he wasn't there. She turned towards the gate to see a pig-tail disappear around the fence. Quickly, she made her way to follow, leaving everyone to gap at what had just happened.

"Ranma…Ranma wait up!" The boy stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. Akane was rushing to catch up with him.

She pulled up beside him and matched his stride. He turned his gaze back forward and continued walking. She continued to look at him.

"I knew you were a martial artist, but wow! You sure surprised a lot of people back there." she said with a smirk.

Ranma slightly turned his head and looked at her through the corner of his eyes, then turned back.

Akane fumed at being ignored by the boy. 'God! What the hell is wrong with him!' she thought. "Hey, I know you can talk, I heard you back at the school." They continued walking, Akane getting angrier with each step. Finally, she grabbed his arm and spun him to face her. "Look, I'm just trying to be friendly." Ranma just stared at her curiously. "FINE! Be that way!" with that Akane turned and stormed off.

"Why?" Akane stopped in her tracks at his voice. She turned back to Ranma.

"What?" She asked, walking back to him.

He peered at her, and tilted his head. "Why would you want to be…friendly with me?" He asked in a calm voice.

"What do you mean, why?" she asked confused.

"Why would you want to talk to a freak like me?" he asked, squinting his eyes as he examined her.

"Well…" she began, "you seemed different from the other guys. I mean, most of them probably would have asked for a date or something in return for finding my pendant. But you just nodded and walked away." she said looking at him. "And I saw how you glided across the ground, and I knew you were some type of martial artist..."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. Both were quiet for awhile. Ranma, knowing he couldn't make his sisters wait, finally spoke up. "I have to go…" he said quietly.

Akane was startled by his abrupt statement, and she looked at him. "Why?"

Ranma seemed to hesitate for a second, then spoke again. "I have to pick up my sisters."

Akane watched as he turned to walk away. 'God he's rude.' "Hey, mind if I come with you… I want to ask you some more questions."

Ranma stopped and looked at her for a second. He seemed to study her for a moment. 'Why in the heck would she want to come with me? And what's with the questions…' he sighed and turned to walk again. "Fine." he simply stated.

Akane rolled her eyes and began following. After a moment she began asking a few questions again. They continued on towards Miki and Nina's school.

"NII-CHAN!" came a voice from ahead, as the two teens approached the Elementary School. Akane looked ahead of her to see two blurs making their way towards Ranma. She looked towards her companion, and watched as for the first time this week, she saw him smile.

Ranma walked forward and kneeled down, almost getting bowled over by the two kids. "Hey squirts, how was your day?" He asked as he gave both of them a tight hug.

"Great! We both won at tag today when we played at recess. It was a lot of fun, but no one was fast enough to out run Nina and Me." stated Miki, releasing her brother. Nina just nodded like usual.

Ranma grinned a little wider and messed up both the girl's hair. "Well you 'should' be faster, with all the practice you get chasing me in the park." He stated, chuckling a bit. The girls just giggled and took Ranma's hands as he stood up.

Akane could do nothing more than stare at the boy that was always so quiet at school. He seemed like a totally different person. She looked at the two girls, and smiled at how cute they both were. It wasn't often you saw identical twins.

Miki looked at the girl that had arrived with her older brother for a moment. Then her face lit up. She tugged on Ranma's hand to get his attention. "Nii-chan, I that your girlfriend?" she asked quite loudly.

Akane's face flushed when she heard this. Ranma blinked at her sister, and answered. "Uhh…no Miki, this is a girl from my school. Akane-san, these are my little sisters, Miki," he lifted Miki's hand with his, "and Nina." He did the same with his other sister.

Akane regained her composure and smiled to the girls. "It's nice to meet you two, I'm Akane Tendo." She bowed.

The two sisters bowed in return.

"Well, we better be getting home," started Ranma. Nina had been looking closely between her brother and the pretty girl in front of her. She smiled slightly as an idea came to her.

'Nii-chan needs a friend.' She thought. She snuck around Ranma's leg and whispered into Miki's ear. Miki's eyes lit up once again and she looked at Akane. She released her brother's hand and ran toward the older girl.

Miki latched onto Akane's hand and tugged on it. "Akane-chan, come have dinner with us! Nii-chan's a great cook, and you can meet Okasan!" she said excitedly.

Ranma's eyes widened a little. "Now Miki, I-I'm sure Akane-san already had plans for dinner." he said as he stared down at Miki.

Akane looked down towards the little girl latched onto her. "Umm… Its ok Miki-chan, I wouldn't want to put your family out. My sister has probably already cooked for me and…"

"Pleeeeease!" begged Miki, tugging up and down on the teen's hand, making Akane bob up and down. Ranma blinked as Nina released his hand and made her way over to Akane, grabbing her other hand.

"Please." came her quiet voice.

<blink><blink> 'She normally never talks to anyone…' thought Ranma in wonder. He looked up to where Akane was literally being dragged towards his house. "Well…If you would like, I don't mind cooking extra." He said in a quiet voice.

"Umm…" said Akane. She looked as the two girls gave her the patented 'puppy dog eyes,' and she relented. "Okay, I'll just call my sister when we get to your house, ok?"

"Yatta!" yelled Miki, while Nina just smiled a bit wider. They dragged Akane towards Ranma, Miki holding Akane's right hand, and Nina holding her other. When they reached the pig-tailed boy, Miki grabbed her brother's left hand and they all began walking home.

Ranma just looked down at his two sisters, and shook his head. 'What in the world has gotten into them…?'

Nodoka was finally up and about around the house. She was feeling a tad better, and had wanted to get out of bed. She was sitting in the living room, reading a book, when she heard the rest of her family enter.

"Tadaima!" came the voice of Miki. "Okasan, we have a guest!" Nodoka blinked when she heard that. She placed a bookmark in her book and sat it on the table. She had a blanket wrapped around her so she could keep warm, and her slippers sat on the floor near by.

The four new arrivals removed their shoes, Akane using the guest house slippers, and walked into the living room. Immediately, the two small girls ran and jumped into their mother's lap.

"Oh, careful girls, I'm not as young as I used to be." stated Nodoka, hugging her two children. She looked up and a huge grin came to her face. "Why hello young lady! And who might you be?" 'Finally, my son has a girlfriend!'

"Umm, Mother this is a girl from my school that Miki and Nina invited to dinner. Akane-san, this is my mother Nodoka Saotome." Akane bowed two the Saotome matriarch respectfully. Nodoka bowed her head in return, and when she looked up, she gave a knowing smile towards her son, raising an eyebrow.

Ranma just stared at her mother as she gave him a look he hadn't seen for many a years; a look that signaled 'run' in his head. "Well, I'll just go start dinner. Umm… Akane, make yourself at home. Dinner will be ready soon." He quickly retreated into the kitchen as fast as protocol would allow when a host had guests.

Akane just blinked as Ranma literally ran to the kitchen. She felt her hands seized and looked down to see the two sisters had once again captured her hands. They began pulling her towards the backyard.

"Come play with us Akane-chan. Nii-chan will finish dinner in a bit." Miki said. Nina nodded her head and gave a slight tug.

"O-Okay" She didn't know what else to say. She looked over her shoulder to Ranma's mother with a questioning look. Nodoka merely smiled and nodded. So Akane turned back and allowed her self to be dragged along.

Everyone made their way to the low table for dinner. Ranma was still in the kitchen, finishing up on dinner, and getting ready to carry it in. The two girls dashed to the table to take two places on the same side. Akane looked at the seats left, and took one of the two that wasn't occupied. She saw that Nodoka had taken the head of the table on the right, and she figured Ranma's father would be sitting opposite of her.

She flushed a bit as she remembered the conversation she had with the two sisters outside as they played a few games…

~Flashback~

The three were sitting next to the small pond in the backyard, taking a break after playing a game of tag. She had stopped in the hall and called home to tell Kasumi that she would be over at a friend's house for dinner. After that, they had made their way to the yard.

"Hey Akane…Nii-chan is really, really great you know." Stated Miki as she clasped both her hands together and got a dreamy (A/N corny) look on her face. Nina nodded vigorously and tried her best to copy her sister's acting.

<blink><blink> "Umm…is that so…" Akane said, caught off guard.

"Yup! And he's really nice, and is a great cook, too." Miki stated.

"Err…that's really great." 'Where are they going with this?' thought Akane.

Miki got up and hopped over to Akane; she leaned over and cupped her hands around Akane's ear. "And he's got BIG muscles and is really strong. He's a great martial artist…and will make a GREAT daddy one day." She whispered, giggling afterwards.

Akane blushed as the little girl spoke. 'God, I feel like I'm at a meat market being told about a head of cattle.' she thought to herself. "Does he now…" she said slowly.

Nina took Akane's left hand and tugged on it, getting her attention. And in a quiet voice, she spoke. "Nii-chan IS really great…but he doesn't have any friends. Just because he has that curse and spends all his time working and taking care of us and Okasan, nobody likes him." She was almost in tears as she spoke of it.

Miki nodded sadly. "He doesn't care about his own feelings; he just wants to make sure we're ok. That's why we wanted to ask you to be Nii-chan's girlfriend."

'Curse?' though Akane. She decided to ask about it later at a more appropriate time. The Tendo girl looked back and forth between the girls; both having serious faces as opposed to the carefree smiles from earlier. "Well…I don't know about girlfriend, but I think I can be his friend. How about that?"

Both girls nodded vigorously. Akane was surprised when both hugged her tightly.

"Thank you Akane-chan, you won' regret being his friend, we promise." Nina nodded her head in agreement with her sister's statement.

"Girls! Ranma is about done with dinner, go wash up!" came Nodoka's voice from inside the house.

All three jumped up and made their way towards the bathroom, Akane deep in thought all the way…

~End Flashback~

Akane was brought back by the arrival of the food. Ranma sat the dishes carefully around the center of the table, and took the place next to Akane. They all took their servings and dug in.

Akane's eyes widened as she began eating. 'This is GREAT' she thought as she begins eating a tad faster. 'This is almost as good as Kasumi's…' she winced as she thought of her own culinary skills. She quickly threw that thought away before she began getting angry and breaking things.

The meal continued with small talk about school and such. Ranma spoke a bit about his job, and even spoke a little about his latest training exercises. All in all Akane had a good time and things went quite smoothly, until Miki reached across the table to get her helping of the desert Ranma had made.

As luck would have it, the desert was just out of reach and she slipped slightly, toppling a glass of ice water over into Ranma's lap.

Akane gasped loudly, bringing her hand up to her mouth. She backed away form the table slightly. "Wha…wha," she tried to say.

Ranma sighed and looked down to his wet shirt, now covering a genorious;y large set of breasts. She looked at Akane for a moment, and slowly stood. 'Figures…' he thought. "Excuse me…" he said sullenly, and walked out of the room.

Akane just sat there wide eyes, and Miki seemed almost in tears. Nodoka just sighed and hugged her crying daughter. She looked up towards their guests as she seemed to come around.

"What the hell happened?" she nearly yelled. She was near hysterics as all those rumors she hadn't believed about him changing genders was just proven true to her.

"Akane dear, a few years back…Ranma and his father went on a training trip to China." Nodoka hated telling this story; it always brought her to tears upon remembering her husband's death and her son's curse. "There was a place called Jusenkyo, a cursed training ground with many springs, each with its own history. The two had trained there, and in the end…" she was now in tears, "Genma, my husband, lost his life, and Ranma was cursed to become a girl when touched by cold water. It has been no end of trouble for him. I know he seems to not care when people talk about him, but I can tell its slowly eating away at him from the inside."

Nina walked around to the other side of the table and hugged Akane. "Please don't be mean to Nii-chan. He's still the same person on the inside when he changes. People always make fun of him… and he's too nice to do anything about them." Now even little Nina was crying.

Akane was still trying to take everything in. 'I don't believe he changed into a girl…' she looked down to the girl hugging her, and at the tears in each of the Saotome females' eyes. Finally she hugged the girl in her arms tighter. "I…I won't, don't worry. I was just shocked at first, but it sounds like there's nothing he can do about it."

Nodoka gave her a thankful smile. "Thank you Akane-chan, he really does need a friend." She looked back to where her son had disappeared upstairs and sighed. "He will probably be too ashamed to come back down here tonight, will you be okay getting home on your own?" she asked.

Akane nodded. "Don't worry about me; I'm a martial artist, so I'll be alright." She released the girl in her lap. Nina wiped her nose and said goodbye to Akane, disappearing upstairs to see to her brother.

The three left said their goodbyes and Akane left the Saotome residence. Her mind was running at a mile a minute as she went over all she had found out in that one day. She wasn't too sure what to think about all the info about Ranma she had collected, but she knew one thing. He was badly in need of a friend, and she was bound determined to remedy that problem.

Nina entered her brother's room to find him changing out of his wet clothes. He had already stripped his shirt and was about to take off his pants when he noticed her.

Ranma smiled. "Hey squirt." He continued stripping down to what he usually sleeps in and placed the wet clothes where they could dry out. "Akane-san leave?"

Nina nodded. Ranma sighed and sat down. Nina ran and jumped in his lap. "She said she would still be your friend. Momma kinda explained a little about the curse." she said while giving him a hug.

Ranma was surprised to hear this. From the horrified look on the girl's face he thought she would had second thoughts about her offer for friendship. For the young girl to accept it was strange to him.

"Really now, and why would she do that?" he asked.

"She's really nice. You should ask her out Nii-chan." Nina said quietly.

Ranma smiled slightly. "She has many other unwanted suitors Nina-chan. It would do no good to add one more to the crowd."

"But she's really nice, and she came to eat dinner with us, so she has to like you a little." Nina tried to reason. She was quite smart for a 6 year old.

Ranma sighed. "She was just curious about me Nina. To everyone at school I'm just a strange freak of nature…"

"YOU ARE NOT!" Nina practically screamed. Ranma jumped, not used to the quiet girl raising her voice. "Any girl would like you if they got to know you. You're the best brother in the world."

Ranma smiled and hugged his sister again. "Well…very few are willing to get to know me sis, its no big deal, I got the three most important things in the world to me here at home." He kissed the top of her head lovingly.

"But Nii-chan…" Nina's lower lip trembled. "At least give Akane a chance. She's willing be your friend, you just watch."

Ranma chuckled, and sat his sister down on the floor. "…alright, I promise. Now off to bed with you, I got the weekend off and I plan to spend it with my two favorite sisters." He pushed her towards the door.

"Okay Nii-chan, g-night" Nina said, rushing down the hall to join her sister in brushing her teeth.

Ranma shook his head and finished getting ready for bed. He laid down on his futon and sighed. Maybe... just maybe, he could get to know her better…

"Tadaima!" yelled Akane as she walked into her house. She slipped off her shoes and made her way to the living room.

"Why hello Akane-chan. Did you have fun at your friend's house?" asked a beautiful woman with long brown hair and a conservative dress on.

"Yeah Kasumi, umm…it was quite surprising." said Akane, putting away her bag.

"That's nice." Kasumi made her way back to the kitchen.

Akane kissed her father that was sitting in front of the television, and made her way up to her room. As she got inside, she stripped and got into her yellow 'hello kitty' pajamas. She was about to get into bed, when her door opened. She turned to see her older sister Nabiki leaning against the door frame, eyebrow raised.

"Well little sister. How was dinner with Mr. Saotome, hmm?" asked the short brown haired girl. She smirked when her little sister's eyes shot open wide, then narrowed.

"You followed me?" asked Akane, growling slightly.

"Moi? Of course not." stated the older girl innocently. "Kimiko did." She smirked again.

Akane growled again and threw her pillow at her sister. Nabiki caught it, walked inside, and sat by her baby sister. "So, what happened?"

"Yea right, like I would tell you. I'm sure the whole school populace would love to hear about it." Akane said, rolling her eyes.

"My lips are sealed." Akane gave her a long stare. Nabiki sighed and threw up her hands. "Come on Akane, sister to sister. I swear none of it will be sold, sheesh."

Akane stared at her for awhile, and then sighed. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Well for starters, was he all the rumors made him up to be? You know cold hearted bastard that doesn't give a damn about a thing. The freak of nature that changes sex and sucks the souls out of little children. You know all the talk."

Akane's brow furrowed. "None of it really." She sighed. "When we picked up his sisters and went to his house, he was like a different person. At school he's so quiet and secluded. But around those little girls, he just seems to become this loving older brother that would give anything to see his sisters smile." She grinned as she remembered the two cute sisters.

"Oh really?" Nabiki said, quite surprised. "You mean he's some sweet, sensitive guy that just kinda… 'turns' off all emotions when he leaves the house? Interesting…"

Akane chuckled a bit and Nabiki gave her a questioning look. Akane saw this and decided to humor her. "He has these two 6 year old twin sisters, Miki and Nina. They were so cute and energetic. They're the ones that got me to come to dinner." She shook her head. "It was like they were trying to sell off their brother to me or something."

Nabiki furrowed her brow. "How so?"

"Well… they kept on talking about his good points when we were alone, and how great a…" she blushed a bit and continued in a quiet voice. "How great a body he has; and how good a father he'll make."

Nabiki blinked. "Why were they doing that?" she smirked. "Trying to set their brother up with a cute girl, eh?"

Akane seemed to zone off for a second as she remembered the requests of the sisters, and how serious they were as they made them. Then she seemed to come back to herself a moment later. "They said he didn't have any friends, and they wanted me to be his."

"Well, considering the way everyone talks about him it's not surprising." stated Nabiki in an obvious tone. "So, are you gonna get to know him?" 'This is great, maybe baby sister will finally get over her boy thing and actually date a decent guy.' she thought to herself.

"Akane paused for a second, then nodded. "He seemed alright; a lot different from the others. But if he tries one thing, I'm gonna rip his head off, and I don't mean his skull."

"Heh, I wouldn't put it past ya sis, but be careful. From what I saw at school today, I'd say he's a damn good fighter." said Nabiki, standing and making her way to the door. "But don't ever be too quick to judge little sister. You never know, he might be the one…" she left with that.

"Yea…" she mumbled, turning off the light and getting into bed. It took awhile to get to sleep, with too many things running through her mind. But soon enough, she drifted off to sweet slumber, all thoughts and questions forgotten.

Author Notes:

I know, I'm sorry I started a new one. But you see when I get an idea I just have to write on it. And between school, work, and reading other fanfics : P its hard to think up what comes next. But be patient, they will be continued.

I thought this would be a popular idea and be quite enjoyable for all. I am trying to write longer chapters like many of you asked, and I'm double checking spelling and grammar.

Anyway, thanks for reading and keep on checking up on my stories and reviewing, I love all your suggestions, they help a ton.

Next up: What's gonna happen now that the most famous girl in school, befriends the strangest…

Thx

Eternal Flame