"Listen boy," Genma signed. "There aren't enough demons in this world to remain a serious threat to it. Get over this delusion and..."
"Meanwhile the delusion turned my hair red and got me outta my curse," Ranma pointed out. "Listen, Pop, I'll turn back before we see this friend of yours, but I'm getting in the training that I can right now."
Ranma felt nervous. It had been two months since they had left the Amazon village and he hadn't seen anybody he considered worthy prospects for bringing over to the spirit realm. He was certain that by now the demons had at least as many on their side, as he did on his.
What was more, his ENEMIES all knew about what was going on and what they were doing. He had some fragmented clues, and his allies?
His "allies" only knew that a red-haired girl had kissed them and two days later would have woken up discovering that one of them could become a cat and the other a bat, with respective hybrid forms. They probably felt drawn to her as well, but she couldn't say that for certain.
That was another reason for being female, to leave behind rumor of her passage. That way the Amazons would be able to follow her even if there was no mystic bond directing them.
The way she things were going right now, they were going to lose before they started. Just like the spirit that had helped him. And in the middle of all this, his Pop wanted him to go get engaged or something.
"This ain't the time for fiancees though, Pop," Ranma said. "I'll see what your friend has to say, then I have things I need to do..." Somehow.
"You're not in a position to be picky, boy," Genma's sign noted. Ranma blinked.
"Oh really, Pop," Ranma said. "I'd say that I got about four times the chance anybody else does, ain't like I'm picky about anybody anymore." Genma blinked at the comment and worked around until he came up with the implication. Then he turned green.
"That is entirely beyond the pale, Boy," Genma demanded through a sign. "You cease to even consider that this instant."
"It ain't exactly a choice, Pop," Ranma said, narrow eyed. She forebear to mention that she had really seen no interesting men yet. She didn't want to give her Pop any comfort. Ranma paused in her walk and glanced around, almost seeming to sniff about.
It was weak, but that would change. A place nearby was drawing power in. It would be a stronghold eventually, quickly in fact. Perhaps staying in the area would be a good idea after all. Assuming she could live within whereever this power was going.
Suddenly the panda stopped, and grabbed Ranma, pulling her off to the side. The panda gestured at the grand estate before them.
"Here it is, Boy," Genma's sign said. "Now let's get in out of the rain." He moved forward, trying to draw his son, currently daughter, in.
Ranma winced as she was dragged forward through the gates. Something was pushing him outward, and as she moved closer forward, it was as if her strength was getting taken from him.
While she still could, Ranma slipped out of her father's grasp and jumped back past the gates. Instantly her strength returned to her, though she could still sense the force that had kept her at bay.
"What are you doing, Boy," Genma demanded through a sign. "Get in here."
"Ain't good manners, Pop," Ranma said. "Maybe we should ask them to come out here to meet us." The panda started to complain. "I ain't going in to meet them Pop, unless you want me to stay like this."
"Deal," the next sign read. "But I don't see why you want to stay out in the rain later."
"Err..." Ranma said, looking at the gate. "Just want to show good manners."
"So, Daddy," Nabiki said. "You've engaged us to a boy you've never met."
"It was decided long ago," Soun said. "Before any of you were born."
"And that makes it right!?" Akane demanded angrily.
"Well, it shouldn't matter," Soun said. "We'll find out all we want to know about him in soon, they should arrive today."
"Hey, Pops, don't just barge in like that," a voice shouted from outside.
"That must be them now," Soun declared happily.
"Ohhh, I hope he's cute," Nabiki declared, running towards the door, just a little ahead of her father.
"I hope he's not too young," Kasumi sighed.
"Boys," Akane muttered, following along last.
They soon found Nabiki and Soun pelting backward away from the door. Akane and Kasumi cleared the center of the hallway to let them pass and watched them, confused.
"Pops, you're scaring them spitless, get back her," that voice shouted.
Kasumi and Akane followed the responding growfing and roaring to see a panda standing in the genkan and arguing with a red-haired young man standing at the gate with a large pack.
A moment later and the panda was out cold. This tends to happen when one throws a brick into somethings head at near bullet velocity.
"Hey, sorry about Pop," the young man called out. "He ain't got no manners sometimes." Kasumi stepped forward cautiously as Akane stomped ahead.
"What are you doing travelling around with a vicious beast like that!" Akane demanded.
"Experiencing hell in small doses," the young man said succinctly, not disagreeing with any of Akane's description of his father. A strange look came over the young man's face and he glanced from Akane to her sister and back, spectatively. Akane growled and stepped protectively closer to Kasumi.
"Are you Ranma Saotome?" Kasumi asked, noting that Ranma was standing just outside the bounds of their land.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout this," Ranma said.
"Perhaps we should handle this somewhere..."
"Awwww Ranma my boy!!" her father yelled from the door. "We've been waiting for you. Please come in!" Ranma suddenly blinked in surprise, and then was immediately stepping through the gates, smiling brightly. Kasumi watched him pass her, and then shook her head.
"I have been reading too many gothic novels," she whispered to herself.
"Well, he is cute," Nabiki said, practically drooling. And he certainly is interested too, just look at how he's looking me over. Mmm mmmm.
"Cute, hmmph," Akane said. "If he's supposed to help teach her, he'll have to be more than cute. Maybe you'd like to spar a little, so I can see if you're worthy to claim the schools name?"
"Sure," Ranma said, a little hesitantly. Akane smirked at that, obviously he wasn't certain of himself.
Ranma had almost asked if he could change first, but stopped himself. He shook his head a little irritably. He needed to train his girl side, but he couldn't show that off without tripping off a lot of suspicion. Maybe he should have come as a girl, then at least he could have imitated a Jusenkyo curse for a while. But no, he just had to do this the right way.
I guess it's training my girl form in secret then, Ranma said. Ranma sighed and shook his head as he returned his thoughts to the present.
"So, do you do Kempo?" Akane asked. Ranma shrugged.
"A little," he said. "You want to limit it to that style?" Akane blinked a little at that comment.
"Errr, sure," Akane said, confused. What does he mean limit it to that style.
"Okay," he nodded, doing his best not to get on her bad side. "Let's start."
"Be careful, Akane," the elder sister said, from where she was watching them worriedly. Ranma glanced at her and looked nervous.
She's nervous about, Ranma thought. I guess she should be. He took a deep breath and sighed.
"Don't worry, Kasumi, I can handle this loser," Akane declared. Then she was all business. "Okay then, FIGHT!"
The fight went as predictably as his battle with Shampoo, until the very end.
This time it's for real! Akane promised herself angrily, launching forward in an all out attack. Suddenly her opponent just wasn't there and her hand was embedded in a wall. Akane blinked in disbelief.
"Damn, didn't expect that," someone behind her said. She ripped her hand out of the wall and turned to see Ranma standing there looking sheepish. "Your round I guess."
"Huh?" Akane said, surprised that he was conceding after she hadn't been able to hit him. "What? How!?"
"You limited the match to Kempo, Akane," Kasumi reminded her. "And Ranma's last maneuver was...Wu Shu?"
"Capoeira," Ranma corrected, sounding embarrassed. "My Wu Shu gets more air than that."
"Oh, I see," Kasumi said, still looking cautious.
"Hey, Kasumi," Nabiki called out. "Do you know who that guy is in there with Daddy?"
"Hmm," Kasumi said, reluctant to leave her watch over the strange young man. "What man is that?"
"He just sort of appeared out of nowhere," Nabiki said.
"Oh?" Kasumi said, trying not to sound nervous. "I suppose I should see about that." Kasumi glanced at Ranma and then left to investigate this new mystery.
"So, Sis, how'd you do?" Nabiki asked, smirking.
"I'm still trying to figure that out myself," Akane said.
"She won," Ranma said, unequivocally. Nabiki looked over Ranma, noting that he wasn't breathing heavily and hadn't a mark on him.
"How?" Nabiki asked.
"That was my question," Akane said, still trying to get over someone claiming they lost when they dominated the match.
"I broke the terms of the match," Ranma said shrugging. "I think I should go talk to my Pop, now. Tell me when you guys are done with the bath, its been awhile since I had a hot one."
Then Ranma left the room, hiding a rather depressed and nervous look on his face as he left the dojo.
"So, Ranma," Soun said. "Your father has explained about his curse and your trip, now onto business."
"Yeah, let's get this over with," Ranma muttered.
"And no complaints, Boy," Genma snapped angrily. "You'll choose a fiancee and like it!"
"He said he'd do it, Saotome," Soun said, questioningly.
"Huh?" Genma blinked. "But on the way here he was...and then...what?"
"What do you mean, 'get this over with?'" Akane demanded. "We aren't good enough for you?" Ranma looked around and scratched his head.
"Hey, I ain't stayed in one place for long, Pop," Ranma said. "And maybe I care more about family honor than you do." He almost winced at that as he thought something else. Or maybe I want to make these three girls very sick for a couple of days so they can help me fight some demons and maybe get them killed in the process.
Besides, the longer he stayed in Nerima, the more it felt like this was where everything was going to happen.
"I'm sixteen years old," he said, as if that explained everything. He held off on saying a lot of things he'd LIKE to say. He had to keep them from disliking him, needed to take this somewhat slow. As slow as could considering the situation. "I'm willing to give this a try, but it ain't exactly what I would call the right age for me to be choosing who to spend the rest of my life with."
"That's why I'M doing the choosing, Boy," Genma said. Ranma gave him a sidelong glance.
"You don't have to live with the consequences," Ranma said. "I'll choose within the limits your giving me, or I ain't doing this."
"So which of my daughters do you want...."
"That would be me!" Nabiki called out, drawing all eyes toward her. Ranma blinked for several seconds, confused and surprised.
"Umm, sure," Ranma said finally.
"Congratulations, Nabiki," Kasumi said, hesitantly. "I just hope you aren't making a rash decision."
"Oh please," Nabiki said. "Ranma's right, we're really too young to get married, and as long as Daddy and Mr. Saotome see we're willing to go along with this, they won't pressure us. It's really sort of like having a steady boyfriend when you think about it."
"Yes," Kasumi said. "But there is something...odd about Ranma."
"Yeah, red-hair, flaming red-hair," Nabiki said. "His mother must be a gaijin or something. Oh well, that just makes him exotic."
"There seems to be something else," Kasumi said quietly.
Ranma woke up in time to turn his headlong flight through the air into something controled as the morning festivities began. Last night he had managed to fight the urge that time was of the essence and NOT sneak into any of the girl's rooms to give them his little gift.
Ranma shivered as he fought Genma. He actually had a name for it now. That wasn't good. His distraction cost him as he was tossed into the koi pond.
"You're sloppy boy," Genma declared.
"I'll show you sloppy, Oyaji," Ranma growled, eliciting a shiver from his father as Genma remembered the two times he had tried to spar Ranma in either hybrid form. Before each time, Ranma had sounded like that. Still, Ranma seemed to be trying to hide what he was, so he wouldn't resort to that.
Not in broad daylight at least.
"Breakfast," Kasumi called out. "The food is read...oops!" The sound of something falling came to Ranma's ears, and he turned to see Kasumi in the middle of a fall and dropping a container of race.
Ranma moved to her side so quickly that Genma could barely follow his motions.
"Are you all right, Kasumi-san," Ranma asked, catching Kasumi and helping her stand up.
"Yes," Kasumi said, catching her breath and looking surprised. "I'm sorry. I seem to have spilled the rice." Kasumi glanced down and Ranma followed the look.
"Well it ain't cooked," Ranma said. "An it's just on the floor, which is spotless, so I think it's okay. Want me to help clean it up?"
"No that's fine," Kasumi said, uncertainly. "I can handle it, just eat your breakfast." Ranma shrugged and sat down with the rest of the family as Nabiki gave Kasumi a inquisitive glance.
Kasumi bent down to pick up the rice, indicating for the others to eat as she did so. Watching Ranma as she was proceeding with the task, she noticed a hint of surprise before he went back to eating.
"Gah!!!" Akane coughed out. "Kasumi, what's with the garlic in all of this?"
"Oh," Kasumi said, embarrassed. "I just thought I'd spice things up a little."
"Wow, look at the time," Nabiki said suddenly. "Come on Ranma, we gotta go."
"But..." Ranma said, pointing at his bowl before Nabiki dragged him off.
Kasumi returned the rice to the kitchen and looked at Ranma's plate herself. He had eaten all the meat right off and had barely touched the vegetables. Though he had been working on that when Nabiki pulled him away.
"Kasumi," Akane said. "I can barely believe it."
"Hmm?" Kasumi looked up inquisitively.
"Your sister is right, Kasumi," her father said. "As long as the engagement remains between Nabiki and Ranma, you should not interfere in their relationship."
"Excuse me?" Kasumi said. "You think...oh my."
"Errr, Nabiki," Ranma said to his new, and bright-eyed, fiancee. "What's with the huge collection of idiots in sports gear?"
"Oh, that's the hentai squad," Nabiki said. "My sister will be by to clean them up soo...what's wrong with you." Ranma stood straight up and scanned the crowd.
"You don't feel that?" Ranma asked before mentally smacking himself in the head. Duh, of course she doesn't feel that. She's still human. Damn, looks like things are already speeding up on me.
"Feel what?" Nabiki asked.
"Nabiki Tendo," a voice said. Nabiki felt a chill wash over her, then she turned around and saw that it was only Kuno.
"Oh, Kuno-baby," she said. "It's only you."
"Perhaps you could introduce me to your friend," Kuno said superiorly.
"Oh this isn't my friend," Nabiki said with a smirk. "This is my...Ranma, what's wrong with you now?" Ranma was practically in stance as he faced Kuno.
"Nevermind, it is proper to introduce one's self first," Kuno said. "I am the rising star of the high school kendo world. The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High. Kuno Tatewaki, age 17."
"And perhaps you can tell me your other name too," Ranma said, growling in an ancient language.
"That would be telling," the other said. Nabiki backed up looking between the two nervously. "I didn't think there were any of you on this plane of existence little fox, I'm glad I was wrong. I thought that that bitch we killed this summer would be last of your kind I could taste for a long time."
"I ain't going to be as easy to take out as you think," Ranma growled.
"What are you two talking about," Nabiki said crossly. "And what are speaking?"
"It is an ancient precursor to our modern Japanese," Kuno explained. "....Families like mine and your...friend's keep the knowledge alive."
"I see," Nabiki said suspiciously. "And what are you talking about?"
"I believe it came down to a challenge," Kuno said, smirking. "But I don't think either of us is willing to...endanger bystanders at the moment. Another time perhaps."
"You can count on it, voidling," Ranma growled. Kuno nodded.
"You can tell your sister that I won't be engaging in this plebian attempt to acquire her attention any longer," Kuno said.
"But you're the one that set the challenge," Nabiki said, confused. She looked to Ranma and back to Kuno. "If you were a cat....What are you doing up there?" The moment she had said cat, he had leaped to the nearest tree.
"Long story," Ranma said, then muttered under his breath. "Bad enough I'm gonna have to work with one..."