Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Wild Like You ❯ A Strange Stranger ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer (CMA): The characters and settings used in this story are the property of their respective owners. They are used here without permission, but with no malicious or libelous intent. The author receives no compensation for this work aside from peer reviews.

Summary: Gone is the uncute, macho tomboy we know and, er, don't hate as much as we could. Instead, we visit the Ranmaverse to find a busty, boy-crazy beauty whose life could never be better. Until (it's a law of the universe, or something) she meets Ranma. Ranma, the boy she's never met before, but falls in love with at first sight; Ranma, who has trained in the Art from the age of six, surpassing all but the greatest masters; Ranma, the boy who… isn't a boy? *Gulp*

Note: I tried to keep most of the characters in, uh, character. But a select few are severely OOC. Two obviously so from the start, and a few others (I think) as the story progresses. Well, you've been warned. But no, there won't be hordes of male fiancés tailing Ranma-chan. ^_^

Part 1: A Strange Stranger

The Tendo household was as serene as ever. Someone with a Polaroid and a nice tree limb to sit in could make a fortune selling postcards with its photo. He wasn't planning to make postcards, however. Actually, he wasn't even taking pictures of the house. His target was inside.

Akane Tendo. Even thinking the name sent chills of desire down his spine. Akane Tendo. Ooh, nice. Akane Tendo. Aaah… Whoa! There she is!

*Click* *Click* *Click-click-click*

He rapidly snapped shot after shot, watching intently as she swirled her skirt, looking at herself in the mirror. Her blue-green school uniform, complete with loose stockings and a matching hair bow, was supplemented by a less-than-modest amount of rose-colored (and scented, he had learned) lipstick, and a generous dab of emerald eyeshadow (with flecks of silver-he didn't get that telephoto lens for nothing).

Leaning over in the tree's sturdy canopy to get a clearer shot, he nearly fell out at a shout from within the house.

"Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane! Come here, please; I have an announcement!"

The boy righted himself, hurriedly packed up his camera and gear, then jumped carefully into the bushes below, trying his best not to light them afire with the candles around his head.

"I have an announcement!"

"Yes, Father; I'll be right there."

"Okay, Dad, just a sec'!"

"…"

Soun Tendo waited quietly for a third response. No such luck.

"Akane! Come down, please! Akane?"

"Just a second, Daddy! I'm trying to put on some makeup!"

A few moments later, Akane flew down the stairs.

"Yes, Daddy? What's going on?"

Soun cleared his throat and straightened his robe. He looked at each of them in turn, then began.

"I've just received word from an old friend, Genma Saotome, that he and his son, Ranma, will be arriving shortly; likely this afternoon. I want each of you to be on your absolute best behavior, because one of you will be engaged to Ranma, and we don't want him getting the wrong impression, now, do we?"

Three mouths gaped at him. Two pairs of eyes stared at him. The third pair-Akane's-sparkled.

"This is to do with continuing the Tendo school, Father?"

"It does indeed. Ranma has been training with his father for the past ten years; they practice the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, which is, of course, our sister school. In order to continue and combine both schools, you three will need to decide which of you will become engaged to him."

"Are you crazy, Dad? That arranged marriage stuff is so old-fashioned! Besides, who'll take care of finances? Who's going to bring in the money that supports this place?"

"Really, Daddy? Engaged? Oh, I hope he's cute!"

The two staring pairs of eyes turned to Akane. Two matching sweat drops appeared on two foreheads.

"Yes, Akane, dear. One of you three is to marry him and continue our combined school."

Two extended thumbs pointed at her.

Two voices from either side of her said as one, "Her."

A lean, muscular, black-haired boy, wearing a red Chinese-style silk shirt and black pants, ran down the street from out of nowhere, past the storefronts, past the milling pedestrians. Looking up in surprise, several Nerimans watched him pass, then went back to what they had been doing.

A large, portly panda, carrying a large, portly bag, a pair of glasses perched on its ears, ran past as well. This disturbed the denizens only slightly more; many simply assumed it had escaped from the zoo. Why on earth it was carrying a bag-or wearing glasses, for that matter-mattered not. Strange things happened in this town; one just had to accept these things as they came.

What followed was a little out of the ordinary, even for Nerima. The panda, which, it was now obvious, was chasing the boy, made an angry swipe at him, but he leaped easily over the strike, delivering a swift kick to the panda's girth powerful enough to stun the massive creature.

"Jeez, Pops! Whaddya think you're doin', huh? Gettin' me engaged without even askin'!"

A series of unintelligible 'browf' noises was the panda's only reply.

"Couldn't ya've at leas' told me earlier, so I could pound ya then?"

The boy turned on his heel and walked away casually. Behind him, the panda struggled to its feet. Uprooting a nearby street sign, it swung the sign forcefully into the boy's head. To a collection of astonished eyes, the panda picked up the boy, threw him over its shoulder, and walked away, occasionally growling at a few people it considered to be staring too hard.

"Oh, my. It's really raining quite hard, Father. Do you think they'll be able to make it in this weather?"

"Of course, Kasumi-chan! They are martial artists, after all, just like our family. A little rain isn't going to stop them! HAHA!"

A bang of the door startled them both.

"I'll bet that's them now, as a matter of fact! Would you mind showing them in, Kasumi?"

"Certainly, Father. I'll be right back."

Before she got very far, a panda entered the sitting room, a black-haired boy slung over his shoulder, both of them dripping wet. The boy was pounding the panda on the back with his fists, to little effect.

"Ah… wh-who… w-what…" Soun stuttered.

The panda set the boy down in front of itself, then prodded him forward.

"Um… I'm Ranma Saotome… sorry 'bout this."

Two heads peeked from the top of the stairwell.

"Wow! He is cute!" whispered Akane.

"Hoo, yeah; I almost regret giving him to you," Nabiki replied.

"Well, it's too late now." She stuck out her tongue.

"I guess. But I could still try to steal him from you-"

"No way! I'm the one that agreed to get engaged to him!"

"You'd agree to be engaged to half of the boys at school, too, if you had the chance."

"I would not!"

"Would too."

"Would not!"

"Would-"

"Nabiki! Akane!" Their father's voice interrupted their spat.

The two girls fairly ran down the stairs, slowing as they came near the assembled group.

"Dad… what's a panda doing in our house?"

"Girls, this is, ah, Ranma Saotome. Your fiancé, Akane."

Her eyes glittered at his acknowledgment. She took another appraising look at him, walking around him, 'inspecting' every last inch. It didn't go over well with Ranma.

"What, am I a piece o' meat? So my pops got me stuck in this engagement thing, that don't mean ya gotta look me over like this! Sheesh, next I bet yer gonna say somethin' like 'He'll do' or somethin'!"

"He'll do," she said, trying to conceal a giggle.

Ranma growled. "Why, you…"

"I'm just kidding, Ranma!" She giggled aloud, unable to control herself. "But you are cute…" Her comment elicited a blush and sweatdrop from Ranma, and she giggled again.

"Hey, Pops-I thought this was supposed ta be somethin' about combinin' the schools? How's that gonna work if I'm engaged ta her?" He tried to whisper discreetly to the panda, but Akane overheard. She huffed loudly and glared at him.

"I bet I know just as much about martial arts as you, mister. How about we go out to the dojo and see how good you are?"

"You're on!"

Akane, in her familiar yellow gi, practically danced around Ranma, throwing punches like fastballs, trying desperately to break through his defenses. Is he reading my moves? she wondered to herself.

To Ranma, she complained, "Come on! Aren't you at least gonna fight back?"

No sooner did the words leave her mouth, than Ranma had flipped over her head, rebounded from the wall, and tapped the back of her head, claiming his victory. For a few seconds they stood there, then Akane turned around, and they bowed to one another.

"You're better than I gave you credit for, Ranma. Sorry I doubted you," she said with a smile.

"Hey, you're not half bad yourself. Nice power, gotta work on your defense, though."

"Friends?" She extended a hand.

"Friends." He took it, and gave a quick shake.

"I'm so glad you're a guy. I'd have felt horrible losing to a girl like that."

Ranma stared at her-no, through her-for a moment, but smiled wistfully, and turned to leave the dojo.

Nabiki and Kasumi watched from the sitting room as Akane and Ranma returned from their spar; more so Ranma than Akane.

"Well, it seems they're getting along famously, ne, Kasumi?"

"I suppose so, Nabiki. I almost regret giving him to Akane…"

Nabiki snickered. "You? I don't know, I just can't see you in a gi, sis. That's Akane's thing."

"As you well know, all three of us have trained quite thoroughly under Father. It just so happens that we two failed to continue that training, as I have my household duties, and you your financial pursuits. Akane, on the other hand, sees martial arts as her life-aside from boys, of course."

"I guess I see your point. But still… he's quite a catch."

"Indeed. I wonder if Akane would consider… but no. I couldn't do that to her, sisters or no."

Kasumi put down the socks she had been darning, and followed Ranma up to his room, picking up a towel from the stack just inside the furoba.

Handing him the towel, she told him, "The bath will be ready in just a minute, Ranma."

"Ah, no, that's all right."

"But I'm sure you're all sweaty from your workout, aren't you? It's perfectly fine; go ahead and take a bath."

"I, uh… oh, okay." They're going to find out sooner or later….

Ranma stepped into the bathroom, the towel around his waist. He unwrapped himself and stepped into the warm bath, sighing. It was inevitable, of course. Nothing ever seemed to go right in her life.

She heard the door slide open, and looked up, expecting her father. Damn the fates, but it was the last person she wanted to find out-Akane. Akane stopped short in the doorway, staring at the unfamiliar girl in the furo.

"Um, gomen," she muttered, stepping back out into the hallway, and closing the door before her. She took a few deep breaths to regain her composure, then let out an earsplitting scream.

"Was that Akane?" Nabiki asked of her older sister.

"I… I think so…"

They were quickly answered when the girl in question, wearing only a towel, burst into the sitting room, shrieking like a banshee.

"What on earth is wrong, Akane?"

"There's a girl in the furo!"

"A girl? Oh, no, and I just told Ranma that the bath was ready! I hope he doesn't go in there and-"

"But what the hell is a girl doing in there, anyway?"

"I'm wondering more about why you were going in there with Ranma," Nabiki said, winking at Akane.

"I- I- that's not it at all! I didn't even know he was-"

"Lighten up, Akane. Anyway, we should go see who this 'girl in the furo' is, before she gets away."

She hadn't taken a step when a short, red-haired girl came down the stairs, wrapped in a towel. She hung her head, as if she knew the fate that awaited her.

The three sisters and their father watched her descend. She slowly reached a spot just a few feet from them, then stopped and looked up at them. What looked like tears were starting to form in her eyes as she began to speak.

"I- I'm Ranma Saotome… sorry 'bout this."

"What the hell is going on!?" Akane screamed. A woman walking with two children several blocks over covered their ears, and hurried them along.

"I'm, uh… I'm really sorry, Akane, I… I wanted to tell you, but-"

"You're telling me I'm engaged to a girl!?"

"Wait, please, just let me explain!"

The panda 'browf'ed, waving its paws around.

"Um, well, my dad wants to say something, I guess… d'you have any hot water?"

Kasumi slipped into the kitchen, returning shortly with a kettle of boiling water. Ranma accepted it, then turned to pour the water over the panda's head. Soun was amazed, to say the least, when the panda's body seemed to melt, revealing-

"Genma? Genma Saotome? How on earth…?"

"Ah, Kasumi, dear, it needn't be that hot… As for your question, friend, it began about 16 years ago…"

Genma proceeded to recount the tale of his and Ranma's adventures: how he had so badly wanted a son, to fulfill his promise with Soun; how his wife, Nodoka, gave him a daughter, but after the birth was rendered infertile, dashing his hopes of a son to carry on the school; how he learned of a legendary spring in China that could change the form of one's body; how he took the infant Ranma to Jyusenkyo in hopes of tranforming her into a boy; how he spent the next 6 years raising his 'son' and instructing 'him' to keep away from hot water; how he spent 10 years after that training his 'son' in the Art; how finally, after all Genma had done to prevent it, Ranma found out about her true form. And, of course, how he was sure something could be worked out to keep the honor of both families, seeing as it would now be difficult to wed Ranma and Akane without… repercussions.

Soun's head was spinning. For some reason, the phrase "seriously screwy" passed numerous times through his mind, but he studiously ignored it, certain there must be some way to reconcile this information overload. After a while, he gave in, with a less-than-convinced reply:

"That's seriously screwy."

Genma sweatdropped.

"I don't think so, Dad; 'seriously screwy' would be Akane refusing a date with that rich Kuno guy from school. This takes 'seriously screwy' and blows it to smithereens with nuclear warheads."

Genma sweatdropped again. The Tendos nodded grimly.

"So let me get this straight: your daughter, whom you raised as a son, trained in the Art, and concealed her sex from everyone including herself, is engaged to my daughter, and the only way to preserve honor on both sides is to carry through with the marriage, or for the both of them to commit ritual suicide. Am I right?"

"Um… er… something like that, yes."

"No way! I am not gonna get engaged to a girl! Daddy, how could you do something like this!?"

"Akane, dear, believe me, had I known…"

"This cannot be happening! This is the most perverted idea I have ever heard! Someone, please, wake me up from this nightmare… please, please…"

Ranma sighed. "I knew somethin' like this was gonna happen. That's it, I'm headin' for China, to see if I can find a cure or somethin'. Then maybe somebody'll see me for who I am, not what I look like." She stood up, heading for the front door.

"Now you wait just one minute, young lady," Soun told her sternly. "This may all be a misunderstanding, but you are technically engaged to my daughter, until the engagement can be nullified. So you'll stay right here until we can do just that."

"Nuh-uh. I'm outta here. You can keep your stupid 'engagement.' You comin' or what, Pops?"

Ranma looked back to see her father leaning over to Soun, whispering. She gave them a quizzical look, then continued toward the door.

"Ranma Saotome, I challenge you." Soun's voice stopped her cold.

She stood frozen, barely moving even to breathe. "What?" she whispered, her eyes glaring holes into the door ahead.

"I, Soun Tendo, challenge you, Ranma Saotome. I challenge you to remain in this household, under my care and supervision, at least until such time as your engagement to my daughter, Akane, can be legally nullified. I challenge you, if you cannot bring yourself to love her as the man you were raised to be, to love her as a friend to the woman you are. Finally, I challenge you to strive your absolute hardest to make both the Saotome and Tendo schools of Anything-Goes Martial Arts proud of you, by seeing this situation as the challenge it already was, and accepting it."

The redhead turned slowly, agonizingly slowly. Her glare moved as slowly from the door to her challenger. As she stared him down, a menacing glint in her eye, the beginnings of a smile twitched at the edge of her mouth. She whispered again, a little more loudly.

"I… accept."

"You can't be serious, Daddy! He's a-well, she is a girl, and I am definitely not going to go around kissing a girl; what would people think?"

"For one, neither I nor anyone else said a word about kissing. Also, you must remember she's been raised as a boy her entire life, up until recently. And knowing you, I know you can't deny you're very attracted to her in male form."

"I… well… that is…" Akane stuttered. It was true; 'he' was a very bishounen boy, and she knew quite a few of those-none of which stacked up very well against Ranma. Then there was the little matter of the female Ranma looking sexier than even Akane herself-and, if you were to ask the male population of Furinkan High, that was saying something. "I- I suppose. But still! It's- it's- it's perverted!"

"Is it as perverted as the times you dressed as a boy for the school play?"

"Even worse than that! She really is a boy! Well, sort of. And another thing-"

"Hold on, hold on. You mean to tell me that Ranma-who was forced to become a boy, to act and dress like a boy, to think like a boy-is more perverted than you choosing to act and dress like a boy? I can tell just by looking at her, watching her reactions, that she isn't very happy living like that, either! I think you both need to give each other a chance, a chance to see each other for who you really are, not what you look like or act like. I think you need to go back in there and apologize to Ranma, perhaps even pretend that you like her, or want to be her friend. I'm not saying I want to see my daughter marry another woman, either, but I also don't want to see a lost, confused little girl like that thrown out into the cold just because she isn't the boy you thought she was. Please, Akane… for me…?"

Akane looked him in the eye, trying to see some hint of his usual trickery and plotting. Nothing. He seemed to be entirely honest on this. And, if she were to be honest with herself, she did kind of sympathize with the girl in the other room. He was right; that girl had been forced to live the way she did; it wasn't something she had chosen at all, nor was it something she likely would have chosen. She let out a deep sigh.

"All right, Daddy. I'll give it a try. For you."

"Thank you, Akane, dear. I know you don't like it, but it would be best, don't you think?"

"Yes, Daddy. I… I guess you're right. But I wouldn't exactly say she's a little girl, you know? She's… damn, she's better built than me."

Soun sweatdropped.

"Well, Ranma-chan, I'm glad you decided to stay. I'm Kasumi, the eldest; this is Nabiki, the… breadwinner of the family, now that Father has stopped teaching classes; and of course, you've ah, already met Akane, my youngest sister."

"Um… okay. Nice ta meetcha." Ranma extended her hand. Kasumi looked at the hand, shook her head, and gave the redhead a crushing embrace.

"Welcome to our home, little sister."

"S-sister? But, I thought… y'know…"

"Oh, you mean Akane? Well, don't let her get to you. She can be a violent maniac at times, but she's really a sweet girl deep down. Besides, I think she likes you-as a boy, anyway. And I'm sure she'll be more than willing to be friends with you as a girl. Either way, you're still like a sister to me."

"Oh… thanks." Ranma smiled up at Kasumi. "Thanks."

Author's Notes:

Hmm… Yes, this is intended to be, first and foremost, a romance; comedy pulling a very close second. It's an unconventional romance, sure, but a romance nonetheless. And when you're a martial artist with a curse, things tend to get crazy. Someone tell me when it's over… <whimper>

Kasumi: Compman-kun, I'm not certain it's such a good idea to put Ranma-kun and Akane-chan through this kind of thing. They have been getting along well lately, but don't you think that their relationship is strained enough?

Well, y'know… I just thought maybe a little role-reversal would help. Besides, it's only one story, and Ranma's been a girl for long periods of time before, so I think we're all right.

Kasumi: But they are both very volatile; I just hope you know what you're doing.

Me too, Kasumi-chan… me too.

I'll keep writing if you keep reading. Ja!

Next chapter: Ranma learns some of the darker aspects of girlhood: dresses, panties, and… Kuno? Read on in Part 2: It's Not What It Looks Like!