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A very familiar cry echoed through the halls of Furinkan High. "RANMA!" The most powerful martial artist of Nerima, who also happened to be chased by girls, considered himself the unluckiest guy on the face of the planet. Having a fiancée that didn't wait for you to explain things, and if you did took them the wrong way, was something that always ended in bodily harm done on him. The mallet descended as if in slow motion, and Ranma received the full force of Akane's wrath. "Serves you right!" She said satisfied as she turned to leave.
"Tomboy." Ranma muttered. Big mistake. Akane was still within earshot, and turning around with her red aura flaring punted him out the window. It had been a bad day altogether. He had been sucked of his battle aura, glomped by Shampoo, malleted by Akane, glomped by Ukyo, malleted by Akane, drugged and nearly killed by Kodachi, malleted by Akane, attacked by Ryoga, malleted by Akane, poisoned with something the tomboy dared call food and finally malleted by Akane once again. He considered a good endurance training, but it was beginning to get old. As he was flying through the sky, he wished things changed from the boring, and very painful, routine that his life had turned into. He should have remained content with what he had. As he landed, he cursed under his breath as he made a huge crater on the middle of a small forest. "Just how far did she send me this time?" He asked no one in particular. The pigtailed martial artist popped some of his joints to relieve the tension, and stood up to orient himself. He wasn't that far from the city, but it would take him a good hour and a half to return to school. The teacher was gonna have a field day with him, but he had to return. His mother had put it very simple for him. It was unmanly to miss your appointments.
"She's always pressuring me about being manly. As if being nice to Akane was something manly to do. More like lying to both of us." He was feeling pretty low on self worth. No matter how things turned out, he was always the one to blame for everything. Two months had passed since Phoenix Mountain, but nothing really changed. As soon as everyone relaxed, they started to bug Ranma as they always did.
Akane was the worst of all. She was convinced about his undying love for her, and was always angry because he refused the fact that he said such a thing. "As if I would ever care for an uncute tomboy like her." But it was a lie. He did care for her, even if he didn't love her as his life companion, that was something no one understood around here. All the girls wanted him, but none of them considered his personal feelings about the matter.
He was walking into town now, completely unaware of his surroundings, deeply in thought. *What to do?* He wanted to end his problems, but running away would not be a solution. The others would follow wherever he went. "Nope. I'm stuck with them until I can solve everything, one way or another." He was walking calmly until water came out of nowhere and he felt the change. With a glare, she turned to see an old lady watering the street. *What's the use?* She thought glumly as she continued walking down the street. Water always found a way to get her, even if it was with the secret sect of the water ladies. But the curse wasn't the foundation of her problems, nor was it the multiple engagements. They were causes, sure, but the main reason they had gotten so big was that he hadn't done a thing to remedy them. Not seriously, at least.
She turned around a corner to collide with a girl that was walking in deep thought as well. They both fell to the floor, taken completely off guard. "I'm sorry." She said, getting up and offering a hand. She froze at the sight of the girl she was helping up, and as the girl saw her, she froze as well. Ranma wished for things to change, he should be careful about wishing.
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Akane stomped out of school with anger. "That baka! How dare he leave school before it finishes!" Of course, she neglected the fact that it was her that sent him flying out the window. It was his fault, anyway. She saw Nabiki waiting for her with a smirk on her face. "And what do you want?" She was in a terrible mood. Kuno had taken advantage of the fact that Ranma was nowhere around, and proclaimed his undying love for her. Not that she didn't feel flattered a guy would tell her such things, but coming from Kuno it was as bad as being called uncute by Ranma. She blamed it on him as well.
Nabiki noticed the awful mood her sister was in since she kicked Ranma out the window and smirked. *You are so easy to predict, sis.* She maintained her smirk as she said. "You should be more careful with you fiancé, Akane. You mallet him several times a day and he seems to be getting tired of it." She was, in a way, serious about this. Ranma was incredibly durable and good natured, but even him would find it difficult to stand for Akane's temper tantrums any longer.
Akane snorted. "He deserves it for being a pervert." And with that she stomped past Nabiki, who just sighed resignedly. The middle Tendo daughter followed and wondered what to do. Things had gotten really hard for her to make any money off Ranma now. Everyone knew he was the best fighter around, so no one dared bet against him. That left betting pools out. Her only real income came from the photos she took of Ranma's female form, and that covered only a slight amount of the damage Akane caused with her short temper. Nabiki decided to put those thoughts aside and call some of her flunkies as soon as she got home. She had to keep the bill somehow.
Both Tendo sisters were so entangled on their own thoughts that neither bothered to break the silence until the arrived to the dojo. As they entered the house, Nabiki headed upstairs as Akane headed to the kitchen. "Where is he?" She asked her sister Kasumi, who was setting everything for dinner. Her fists were clenched and her teeth were gritting. She was heavenly mad.
Kasumi noticed this, but didn't care and gave her one of her usual smiles. "How was your day at school today, Akane?"
Akane got some of her control back as she remembered who she was talking to. She was still very angry as she said. "It was OK, except for the fact that Ranma ruined it." She said coldly.
Kasumi sighed as she served some tea for her sister. She knew Ranma wasn't always at fault, but Akane didn't seem to care. She was too immature to recognize when something she did was wrong. Instead, she just blamed others, mainly Ranma. She served her sister some tea as she asked. "Care to tell me what happened?"
Akane took a sip of the tea and started. "It was all going so well. Ranma was actually not calling me names when his hussies started showing up. Then he started picking on Ryoga again, and after that he insulted my cooking. After that he skipped the afternoon classes and I had to stand Kuno's declarations of love. It's all that baka's fault." She was glowing by now, and Kasumi took a tentative step back.
The eldest Tendo sister looked at her sister and shook her head. *She doesn't realize the truth.* It was a sad scenario, but it was what was happening. No matter how much reality tried to make itself known, Akane would just ignore it. Even the fact that she didn't catch on with Ryoga's cursed form escaped her attention. It was as if she wanted to ignore it all but the fact that it was all Ranma's fault.
Akane suddenly asked. "Where's father?"
Kasumi smiled. "He went out with Saotome-san and Auntie Nodoka. They said they would be getting home late, so we shouldn't wait up for them." It pleased her to see her father so full of life. Since the Saotomes had arrived, Soun had changed from being the empty shell he had become from his wife's dead, to a very active man, full of life.
Akane's features hardened again. "And Ranma?"
Kasumi would have frowned, but her eyebrows didn't have enough strength to do so. It was hard if you didn't do it at least once a year. "He hasn't come back home yet." She could see the news didn't seat well with her sister.
Akane was flaring again. "That Baka! He must be with one of his hussies." She stood up and said. "I'll be in the Dojo." And with that she went upstairs to change. There were bricks that needed to be crushed. It was a good warm up for when Ranma returned.
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Ranma could not believe his eyes. The only difference was the hair color and the height, but other than that, the girl in front of her was an exact replica of herself. "Wow." Was all she could say.
The girl, who was also in a state of shock at seeing someone that could be her twin, nearly fell again from the shock. Someone behind her prevented it, though. "It seems like you have as much luck as I do." A man's voice was heard. Ranma turned up, so see a tower of a man. He was tall and broad, with black long hair that covered most of his face. He supported the girl's weight with what seemed like little effort. The man turned his attention to Ranma, and said. "Hello. I take it this is Nerima?" It was almost a statement instead of a question.
Ranma nodded, and saw as the girl recovered from her shock and started returning the examination. Ranma saw this girl was a little different. She was taller and leaner, with silver hair braided back in a pigtail. Her eyes were the same blue she herself had. They examined each other for another while, and finally Ranma said. "Hi, I'm Ranma Saotome." She extended her hand forward.
The girl seemed to look shocked for a while, and the man had to break her out of the state so that she returned the friendly gesture. She smiled as she shook the offered hand. "I'm Karmine." She looked a bit embarrassed. "Sorry about bumping into you."
"I'm the one who should say that. I was too distracted to notice." Both girls stood there, motionless and in a very uncomfortable silence.
The man finally sighed and said. "We could continue with this reunion in a much more comfortable place." The suggestion was taken and they all headed for a nearby park, where they sat on a table for picnics.
Ranma had forgotten all about returning to school by now, intrigued as to why there was a girl that resembled her so much. She turned to the man, who still had his black hair over his face, and asked. "You wanted to know if this was Nerima, right?" The man nodded. "It's kind of difficult to not know in which city you are, unless you are like a friend of mine." She chuckled at remembering Ryoga was always lost.
The guy snorted. "Ryoga could get lost easily looking for the bathroom." This brought quite a reaction from Ranma, who was now in a ready stance.
"Who are you?" It was kind of a coincidence for there to be a girl that resembled her, but for this guy to know about Ryoga...
Karmine took a stance of her own. "None of your business." They were openly glaring at each other, and the guy sighed.
"Would you two calm down so I can explain things?" The silver haired girl noticed something in his tone of voice that made her return to her seat very quickly. Ranma loosened her stance, a little. The man continued. "Ranma, I know this is gonna sound far fetched, even for you. But we are from a different dimension."
Ranma laughed. "You've got to be kidding me. The only way to do that is by using..."
The man finished for her. "The Nanban Mirror." This time Ranma did seat next to them, eager to listen to this. They knew a lot about her, maybe this was the change she had been asking for. "Don't you prefer to change. I feel kind of weird with all the glances you two are getting." Both girls turned, and sure enough, there were a lot of people looking at the sight of two nearly identical women. A few minutes later, a now male Ranma returned, and the black haired man started. "We didn't get to this world with the Nanban Mirror, but we know it is the only safe way to return to our own. Karmine had a minor problem with a magic artifact back on our home-world, and we ended up here." Said girl seemed embarrassed about being so careless. The man didn't really blame her.
Ranma then eyed him suspiciously. "That doesn't explain why you know so much about me." As a response, the man lifted his hair from his face, revealing something that made Ranma gasp. "You are me." He stated.
The elder Ranma Saotome smiled as he said. "Indeed." His face was a lot more mature than his counterpart's. But it was unmistakable, he was also Ranma Saotome. "I know it is a great shock to meet yourself, but I didn't intend to do so."
"Is that what you meant by me having your luck?" Asked Karmine, who was amused at Ranma's reaction to seeing himself, only older. The boy had still to make a move from the shock.
Saotome nodded. "Yes. When I was younger, and even now, trouble has a way to find me. It seems like you have that same luck." He finished with a teasing smile, which made Karmine pout.
Ranma finally recovered and said. "Wow. Now this, I didn't expect." He turned serious as he said. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but the Nanban Mirror was destroyed a short while ago."
Karmine was shocked by this, but Saotome remained unperturbed. "We will have to wait for your mother to find us, then." Said the man calmly. This brought some comfort to the girl, who smiled faintly.
Ranma pondered something for a while, and finally asked. "Do you have a place to stay?" He didn't know why he wanted to help them, but something inside just told him to do so. Maybe the fact that he wanted to know about his future. If this Ranma had the same problems when he was young, he wanted to know what to do about them.
Saotome asked. "Is your mother still living in the dojo?" Ranma nodded. "Then there's nowhere we can go. I had hoped she would take us in."
The younger man said. "You could come to the dojo. I'm sure Tendo-san would have no problem with you staying over." He grimaced and added. "As long as you can pay Nabiki for your stay."
Karmine looked from one to the other, not really knowing what they were talking about. She had been amused about the whole situation, but now she was simply confused. Saotome thought about it, and finally nodded. "I think we have no choice. We need to be someplace where we can be found, so it must be the dojo."
Karmine suddenly asked. "How do you think the others will take it?"
Ranma paled visibly at this. *Akane is gonna think I got another fiancée.* He wasn't fond of the idea, but there was no possible solution to it. Gulping, he said. "Some of them will take it bad, but I see no other choice in the matter." And with that he stood up. They all started walking to the Tendo Dojo.
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Akane was just getting out of the dojo as she heard Ranma talking to someone in the gates to the compound. Since training didn't do a thing to appease her temper, she decided to deliver some extremely prejudiced justice and stormed up to him. "RANMA!" She cried as she started getting her mallet out. She stopped dead on her tracks as she noticed Ranma was talking to a girl that greatly resembled his cursed form. "What?" She asked.
Ranma noticed her expression, and took it as a sign to get out of being malleted. "Akane, you're never gonna believe who I met today." He started with a smile.
Two hours later, the Tendo sisters sat at the table, looking at the two Ranmas and Karmine as they finished with the explanation. "And that's about it. They need a place to stay so that Karmine's mother can find them." Ranma finished. He had carefully let out certain bits of information, but that was mostly it.
Nabiki thought about it, and didn't like the idea of two more freeloaders. "We are already short for this month." She, however, could see the benefit of having them here. The girl was beautiful, and many people would want to buy photos of her since she was a true girl. As she turned her attention to Saotome, her eyes roamed through his powerful frame. His muscles put to shame those of his younger counterpart. Girls would be heads over heals for him.
Saotome smiled as he handed her something. "This shall cover the expenses for at least six months." Nabiki nearly fell back from the shock. She was holding a finely crafted ruby necklace. She had no doubt it could cover for that and more. Her money hungry eyes turned to Saotome, already making plans to strip him of everything he had.
Kasumi noticed the way Nabiki reacted, and disapproved. She turned to Saotome and Karmine. "We will be honored if you stay with us. I think Ranma can sleep in the dojo, while Karmine can sleep with either me or Nabiki." She was glad to be able to help them, even if it would put some strain in the house.
Karmine looked hesitantly at Saotome, and they exchanged a glance. The man the turned to Kasumi and said. "I think Karmine would feel better if she slept in the dojo with me. She doesn't feel comfortable with estrangers." His voice had a matter of fact tone that convinced everyone but a certain jealous tomboy.
Akane narrowed her eyes and asked coldly. "And why should she sleep with a pervert like you?" To her dismay, Saotome completely ignored her. He continued to speak with Kasumi, for whom he seemed to have a preference. Maybe because she was closer to his age. Akane turned her gaze to Karmine, and noticed how insecure she seemed. She didn't like Saotome one bit, but found easy becoming the girl's friend. She stood up and offered a hand to the silver haired girl. "You want to be friends?"
Ranma noticed as Karmine accepted the hand and smiled hesitantly. He could remember this scene from his past and knew what was coming. He followed both girls out the house, and to the dojo. In the house, Saotome continued to answer Nabiki's questions concisely and with little information, which only made the mercenary Tendo more persistent.
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Akane was looking at Ranma through a glare. "And what are you doing here?" She wanted Karmine to be her friend, and that baka would not help one bit. She noticed Karmine was giving her a weird look and turned to her with a smile. "Shall we begin?" And with that she assumed a karate fighting stance. She would like to have a normal fight, something she didn't get since Ranma arrived. Said boy watched the scene with nostalgia, Karmine was even reacting the same way he did when he arrived. She was standing completely relaxed and waiting for Akane to make her move. He just hoped Akane would take better losing to a girl than a boy, she obviously was dumb enough to miss all the signs that marked Karmine as a great martial artist. He put those thoughts aside as the fight begun.
Akane got impatient after a few seconds of studying her opponent and charged with a punch to the face. She was understandably shocked when Karmine ducked under it and delivered an uppercut that sent her flying backwards. She could feel the strength behind the blow and wondered how such an innocent looking girl could deliver this. She landed with a loud thud and had a very hard time getting to her feet. As she saw Ranma's smirk, she lost her temper and demanded. "What are you doing?"
Karmine wasn't taken aback by the anger coming from Akane, she had dealt with sore losers before. "You wanted to spar." She said matter of factly.
Akane came up with one of her usual comments. "I wasn't ready!" Her face was now red from the anger, and she was almost calling forth her mallet.
Ranma winced as he heard Karmine's answer to that. Akane would never live this one down. "And you call yourself a martial artist? How can you attack if you are not ready?" Her voice wasn't taunting, but rather curious at the philosophy of this Akane person.
Akane saw red as she charged forward with her mallet. "BAKA!"
Ranma saw it, and reacted just in time. "Akane, stop!" He took a hold of her mallet and got it out of her hands. He didn't know why, but he felt something inside that forced him to protect Karmine from any harm. He would normally never fight Akane back, but the tomboy was about to hurt someone.
Akane saw Ranma out of the corner of her eye and noticed her mallet was in his hands. She punched him full force in the face as she wordlessly exited the dojo. The pigtailed boy was groaning out of annoyance rather than pain when he noticed a hand to help him up. He took it and stared into the blue eyes of Karmine. "Thanks." He said truthfully.
Karmine had just seen something really weird. She knew Ranma was a superb martial artist, but he didn't fight back when Akane attacked him. She just couldn't understand that girl. Her doubts must have been clearly showing on her face, because Ranma answered them. "Akane has a very short temper and a problem admitting when someone is better than her. It usually helps when she hits me because she thinks she is a decent martial artist."
Karmine was confused by this and asked. "But why do you keep it up? If she believes it, then she will never become a better martial artist. Scratch that, she will never become a martial artist."
Ranma winced, but nodded and said. "She's impatient and won't train properly. I guess she needs to grow up, her sisters have made her life too easy and she takes everything for granted."
The girl nodded and assumed a fighting stance. "Care to try me? She wasn't that much of a challenge."
Ranma smiled. He would usually refuse a challenge from a girl, but because the girls he knew couldn't take what he could dish out. Karmine seemed different, so he decided to spar a little. Pulling his punches, of course. They jumped at each other.
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Saotome, Kasumi and Nabiki saw as Akane stomped through the room. She was fuming and grumbling about baka perverts and tomboys. As soon as she was upstairs, Nabiki couldn't take it anymore. "Akane talking about tomboys?" She burst out laughing. This would have shocked Saotome and Kasumi, if it wasn't for the fact that they too found it amusing.
After a while, Kasumi got up and asked Nabiki. "Could you call Karmine and Ranma for dinner, Nabiki? I'll go get Akane." And with that she walked up the stairs. Nabiki shrugged and made her way to the dojo, where the sounds of fighting could be heard. She peeked in, to watch what was happening. If she was expecting for Ranma to be dodging everything, she could not be further from the truth.
Ranma and Karmine exchanged blows with a speed that surpassed everything she had seen before. Ranma was actually fighting back! They both sported several bruises, and were sweating heavily. The middle Tendo sister cursed for not having her camera with her, these photos would be worth a fortune.
Ranma ducked under a spin-kick, and narrowly avoided a wicked elbow smash. He was shocked to see a girl could be this good. She could actually give Ryoga a challenge, considering her speed. Ranma was a bit slower, but stronger and had more endurance. He was also confused by her style, it seemed like nothing he knew, but all he had mastered at the same time. This girl was definitely someone to take seriously.
Karmine received another blow to the midsection, and cursed under her breath. She could tell Ranma was extremely skilled and fast. His patterns in fighting were completely chaotic, and he was damn hard to hit. This only made her enjoy the fight, because it meant she would have to try harder to defeat him. She could tell Ranma was pulling back his punches, but didn't care, she wasn't going full out either. Karmine jumped over what seemed like a leg sweep, but her eyes widened as she saw she had fallen into a trap. Ranma, instead of following with his attack, jumped and employed the specialty of the Saotome Anything Goes. Because of her precarious position, Karmine was ill prepared for mid-air combat, and she received several hits that forced her breath out. She landed on her back, with Ranma's heel inches away from her nose. The fight was over.
Ranma backed away to let her stand on her own. "You're pretty good. The best I've fought in a while." He was still surprised to see a girl could fight him almost evenly. He also knew she had been holding back.
Karmine smiled as she jumped to her feet. "You won, this time. But don't you dare think I'll remain idle. I'm training harder to challenge you again."
Ranma's features took his determined state. "I hope so." He would train and be ready for it. This was, after all, what he lived for. The challenge.
Clapping got them out of their staring contest and they both turned to see Nabiki, smirking confidently. "Well, well, well. It seems like you found someone who can fight back, Saotome. I wonder how Akane will take the news that you 'do' fight girls." Her eyes had the same hungry look they assumed when making money.
Ranma groaned and asked. "How much, Nabiki?"
Nabiki placed a finger to her chin and thought about it. "I'll let you know." She finally said, which caused Ranma to fear what she could come up with. Nabiki then continued. "By the way, dinner's almost ready so let's go before your future self devours everything." As soon as she said this, two blurs passed her. She smiled to herself as she walked casually back in. Kasumi wouldn't serve dinner until they were all at the table, so what was the hurry.
As she neared the table, she could see Akane glaring daggers at both Karmine and Ranma. The pigtailed boy wasn't unusual, but the new girl seemed nice enough. Nabiki proposed herself to find out what happened. The most unusual sight was Saotome, he was eating at a human pace. Ranma was eating with his usual gusto for food, especially Kasumi's, but Saotome and Karmine were eating with a lot of table manners. Nabiki couldn't help but comment. "Not hungry, Saotome?"
Both Ranmas turned to her, and asked. "Huh?" "What do you mean?"
Nabiki rolled her eyes and stated. "OK. This is gonna be really confusing. What about we call our Ranma by his name and the oldest one, Saotome?"
The counterparts looked at each other and shrugged. They didn't mind. Dinner was peaceful, and soon everyone was doing different stuff. Akane went to her room as fast as she finished. Kasumi and Karmine were washing the dishes, it took several tries for the girl to convince Kasumi about helping. Ranma, Nabiki and Saotome remained at the table. Nabiki decided to continue with her interrogation, what better way to have a hold on Saotome and get her hands on his money? "So, Saotome. You know a lot about us. How are things in your world?"
Saotome thought about it for a while, and said. "They were about the same as they are here. I assume you already fought Saffron?" He asked Ranma, who nodded. "Yeah, they were about the same. In the Tendo Dojo, at least. I don't know many things about this world, so I have nothing to compare my experiences with."
*Not much information there.* Thought Nabiki to herself. Ranma would usually boast about himself and give all the information without thought, but Saotome seemed a lot more reserved. *Maybe he is the difference in our worlds.*
Ranma suddenly joined the conversation. "Hey man, what about fiancées and stuff?" He still wanted some feedback for his problem. His counterpart seemed more experience than himself, and every bit of information helped, especially if it came from himself.
Saotome answered truthfully. "Done with it. Don't have to worry about it anymore, not for a while now." He was being vague on purpose, partly to annoy Nabiki and partly because he knew Ranma needed to do this on his own. He would advise him from time to time, but that would be it.
That moment was chosen by Karmine and Kasumi to reenter the room. "Thank you for your help, Karmine." The eldest Tendo said with a smile.
Karmine waved it off. "It's the least I can do for you after you took us in." She sat next to Saotome and asked. "What are you talking about?" Ranma found out why he always got so much free food as a girl. If his cursed form was half as cute as this girl in front of him was, then he really felt sorry for the guys he tricked.
Saotome smiled wickedly and answered. "We were talking about you going to school. We may be staying for a while."
Karmine pouted and quickly put in. "Can't we just skip that?" Nabiki smirked as she noticed she liked school as much as Ranma.
Kasumi turned to her and said with a smile. "You need an education, Karmine. I can help you get what you need." And with that she disappeared from the room, already thinking about school supplies. Karmine found nothing to argue with, no one ever argued with Kasumi.
Saotome laughed and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry. If you behave and go to school I'll tell your mother to give you a break from studying and train you in the use of the spear." This got her attention as her features illuminated.
"Really?" She asked hopefully.
Saotome nodded. "Yeah. Now go to bed and have some rest. You have an early start tomorrow morning when we get you in school." All her worries forgotten, Karmine stood up and excused herself from the room. Nabiki and Ranma slack-jawed at the ease with which Saotome convinced her about school.
Ranma suddenly remembered something he said and asked. "Spear. Does she use weapons?" He asked. He didn't have much respect for people who fought with a weapon, but Karmine had shown him that, if anything, she could take care of herself with her bare hands. Nabiki looked at him with her cold expression, but it was obvious she shared the same doubt.
Saotome shrugged. "She likes training more than anything else. Besides, her mother is the finest weapon master I've ever met. It runs in her veins to use weapons." He neglected to say that, although he preferred to fight bare handed, he was also experienced using different types of weaponry.
Ranma and Nabiki noticed the reference to Karmine's mother, again, but thought nothing of it. Ranma understood himself perfectly, and Nabiki knew enough about Ranma to see that he wasn't romantically involved with the girl. Of course, he was protective, but he was protective of his enemies as well. Nabiki finally broke the long silence. "I think we should have some rest. Tomorrow is a school day."
"You kids go ahead. I guess I have to wait for your parents to explain things. They'll have a lot of questions." Nabiki and Ranma nodded and went upstairs to get some sleep. The elder Ranma was left alone in the room, thinking of how to explain things in terms that Genma and Soun understood. Those two had pretty obtuse minds.
Kasumi entered the room and said. "Will you need help explaining things?" She had a backpack on her hand, and a school uniform over her shoulder. Her tone of voice was sweet, but determined. Saotome knew the futility of saying no, and nodded with a smile.
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Genma, Soun and Nodoka arrived home somewhere around midnight. It had been a tiring day, and they needed a rest. As they neared the house, they noticed the lights of the dinning room were on, and wondered what was happening. Soun opened the door, and let his two companions in before entering himself. As they entered the room, their eyes fixated on the shape of the man with black hair. He was tall and muscular. His frame was covered by black leather pants and boots, and a white sleeveless shirt that fit tightly. What caught their attention the most were his features. "Ranma?" Asked Nodoka, who was the only one able to speak.
After about an hour of explanations from Saotome and Kasumi, the story about the new guests was finished once again. *And hopefully for the last time.* Thought Saotome. He turned to Soun. "If it bothers you that we stay here, we'll leave first thing in the morning."
Soun shook his head. "It doesn't bother me, son. I'm just a little shocked about this. It's not something that happens everyday, even here." Saotome thanked him for his hospitality.
Nodoka examined the man in front of her, and felt proud he was so manly. "You say that a young girl came with you from that other world?"
Kasumi nodded and answered for him. "Her name's Karmine, and she is very nice." The parents nodded, and wondered if someone could be on Kasumi's bad side.
Saotome stood up. "Well, I guess I need to rest. It's been a long day, and tomorrow I'm taking Karmine to school for registration." He bid everyone good night and headed to the dojo. The others followed soon after, and the night stroke Nerima.
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Akane woke up to hear the sounds of battle on the backyard, as usual. She got up and put on her t-shirt and shorts, ready to go for her morning jog. As she passed through the dinning room, she noticed Ranma was sparring with his father. Nothing unusual there, the baka was so good she had to turn away in disgust. He was a constant remainder that she wasn't the best anymore. As she opened the door to get out of the house, she saw someone already stretching. Saotome was dressed in black pants and a black sleeveless t-shirt. He smiled as he saw her. "Good morning, Akane."
"What are you doing?" She asked more confused than mad. Ranma never got out to have a run.
Saotome shrugged. "I like to have a jog in the mornings to relax my muscles. It's a good way to start the day." He said calmly. His next words caught Akane by surprise. "Karmine is still asleep. I decided to let her rest in the mornings for school."
Akane would have said she didn't care, but there was a certain something in Saotome's voice that calmed her. "But what about her training?" Genma and Ranma always were training, which made her wonder what had happened to this older version of the pervert.
"She will train in the afternoons after she finishes her homework. It's a good way to force her to make it." He laughed a little. "She likes to train, a lot." By now Akane had relaxed and was stretching as well, ready to begin. He asked her. "You mind if we run together?" Akane shook her head, and they started on her usual route.
As they jogged, Akane wondered what made this Ranma so different to the one she knew. He hadn't insulted her so far, and was even nice. She stole glances from time to time, and she saw he had a serene look to him. Ranma was always on the defensive, expecting one of his enemies to show up. They rounded a corner, and she found herself getting winded. She was trying to keep up, and Saotome was really making her work out. They arrived at the house, to see Kasumi sweeping as usual. "Good morning, Kasumi!" Greeted Akane, a little winded. She felt tired, but happy that she had been able to keep up.
Kasumi smiled at them. "Good morning. How was your morning jog?" She noticed Saotome had accompanied Akane, and wondered why she wasn't trying to kill him as usual.
"Fine." Akane smiled back and went inside to take a bath and get ready for school. She turned to one side and noticed a panda emerging from the pond. Ranma had won their morning match, again.
As Akane entered, Kasumi turned her attention to Saotome. "I already woke Karmine up. She's almost ready to go."
"Thank you, Kasumi." He said as he walked into the house. He greeted Soun, Nodoka and Genma-panda, who were already having some tea and reading the newspaper. Ranma joined soon after, and they started on breakfast. Nabiki had already left for school, and Karmine was getting her school supplies ready. Suddenly Saotome remembered something, or someone, that was missing. "By the way, where's master Happosai?"
Soun and Genma-panda placed their hands over his mouth frantically looking everywhere. "Shhhhhh. You'll call his attention." Soun said. The panda nodded nervously.
Karmine entered the room. "Good morning." She greeted everyone. Nodoka's, Soun's and Genma's jaws almost hit the floor. "What?" She asked, examining her school uniform, which was different from Akane's.
Saotome chuckled. "I forgot to tell them you looked just like my cursed form." Karmine giggled and sat very close to Saotome. They had breakfast with the usual food war. Genma tried once to steal from Karmine's plate, but he received such a hit from her that he resumed trying to get his son's food instead. At least he knew it was just a game. Nodoka noticed Karmine kept on glancing her way, and wondered why she was so curious. Genma was oblivious to the fact, but he too was a target for the examinations of the silver haired girl.
Akane finally had enough and asked. "Why are you wearing that uniform? Aren't you going to Furinkan with us?"
Saotome answered for her. "Karmine would love to go to your school, but she's not in that grade yet. She's attending a junior high not far from your school."
Ranma suddenly felt a cold chill run through his spine as he asked the girl. "How old are you?" He couldn't believe he had had such a good fight with a girl younger than him. Karmine also looked to be their age.
Said girl answered. "I turned fifteen about a month ago." She continued on eating after that, and didn't notice Ranma's and Akane's faces of surprise. Ranma and Akane decided to leave for school, and said their good byes.
Nodoka noticed the older Ranma was awfully familiar with Karmine, and she was too comfortable with him. Her mind started wandering when she remembered they had slept together. She decided to have a talk with her son about proper behavior. *He might be from another world, but he's still my son.*
Karmine thanked Kasumi for breakfast and excused herself to get her school supplies. "If you'll excuse me. I'm taking Karmine to school. I will return after picking her up." And with that he headed for the door. Nodoka got up and followed him.
As she reached the door, she caught sight of her son putting on his shoes. "Ranma, may I speak to you?"
Saotome answered casually. "Sure thing, mom. What about?"
Nodoka was taken aback by his response, but nonetheless continued with her intent. "Son, I don't know if it is proper for you to be so close with Karmine. She's too young."
Saotome eyed her strangely. "What do you mean?"
Nodoka continued on. "She's too young to be dating someone your age." She stated matter of factly. The response she got from Saotome was what she least expected. He clutched at his stomach from laughing so hard. His mirth continued for several seconds and Nodoka's patience was running out.
Karmine chose this time to enter the room. "What's so funny?" She asked.
Saotome tried to explain it to her, but as soon as he remembered Nodoka's words, he collapsed laughing again. Karmine turned to Nodoka for an answer. The older woman looked at her sternly and said. "I was explaining to my son that I don't think it's proper for you two to be dating. You are too young for him and..." She trailed off as Karmine started laughing as well. Nodoka frowned. "What's so funny?" She asked annoyed. She was even fingering her katana.
The laughing ones composed themselves enough to open the door. Karmine gave Nodoka a peck on the cheek and headed out. "Bye, grandma." She said cheerfully, and still giggling.
Nodoka turned to her son, shocked. "Grandma?" She asked shakily.
Saotome shrugged and headed out himself. As soon as Nodoka was alone, she did the only thing that could be done after such an emotional blow. She fainted.
(Incomplete) |
