Will You be my Fiance?
An Alternate History of Ranma �
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://members.tripod.com/~Ammadeau/fanfiction.htm

Here's something I've been working on when I'm stalled on
No Need for Ranma!  In this world, everyone ends up at least
two fiances/fiancees, maybe even Gos.  Tell me what you
think.

	It was the first day of school for Ranma.  Of course, the 
first day of school for everyone else was a week ago.  Due to some 
rather odd problems he was forced to transfer from his new high 
school to Furikan High.  It wasn't his fault that the gym had been 
leveled.  He still wasn�t clear on what he had actually done to earn 
the wrath of the master of Demolition Martial Arts.  Why should 
he have cared if one of Ranma�s other fights had knocked down the 
building the man had been paid to wreck?  It got knocked down 
either way, didn�t it?
	Ranma had a problem, actually he had several, but the main 
one was this; trouble always seemed to have a way of finding him.  
It was as if he were a magnet for every weird or dangerous thing 
that happened in Japan.  He collected archrivals and bizarre curses 
in ways other people collected lint, certainly not by choice.  There 
wasn't a week that went by without someone showing up with a 
grudge over something he, or more often, his father did.  If not that, 
then he'd end up starting a rivalry with a complete stranger over 
some stupid thing like getting the last bread in the cafeteria.  Well, 
maybe not something that ridculous.
	Anyway, here he was, at the entrance to his new school, 
tugging at the stiff collar of his new uniform that his mother had 
insisted that he wear.  Pops didn't care if he went in his Chinese 
clothes, but his mother wanted him to make a good impression, 
since it was likely if he screwed up here that he'd be banned from 
all of the other high schools in the district.  Ranma had a long 
enough walk as it was.
	He was surprised to see many of the boys gathered at the 
center of the courtyard.  Mob would have been a better term, they 
all seemed to be from various sports clubs, dressed in their 
baseball, tennis, judo, etc. uniforms and carrying their tools of the 
trade.  Was there going to be some sort of sports rally being held 
that morning?  It didn't seem likely since none of the girls were 
similarly dressed.
	But before he could ask what was going on, he heard a 
voice behind him scream "I Hate Boys!!!"  As he turned a girl flew 
past him, her long black hair tied into two pony tails.  The rest of 
her was a blur as she charged straight into the mob.
	Ranma's job dropped.  He couldn't believe what he was 
seeing.  The boys were actually attacking her!  No matter that she 
was obviously more skilled as she took them down without getting 
hit herself.  Ranma immediately saw red.  They were picking on 
her just like they had picked on his little sister Ranko.  Just because 
someone was able to defend themselves was no reason to attack 
them.  Forgetting everything his mother had told him about not 
getting in trouble, he jumped right into the fray.
	Ranma was a blur of motion that the boys had trouble 
following, much less attack.  He seemed to effortlessly flow out of 
their way, almost like a ghost, only becoming solid in order to 
strike.  His strikes removed all illsion of him being a speactre since 
they were precise and packed more strength than anyone of them 
were used to.  Soon Ranma and the girl were the only ones left 
standing.
	She immediately turned to him in a defensive stance.  
Ranma only looked puzzled.  Since he didn't attack, she launched 
one of her own.  He simply dodged out of the way of all of his 
stikes. There was no way he was going to fight a girl, his mother 
would kill him.  Peeping was fine, but fighting was a big no no.  
His mom was weird.  He was getting a little distracted by his 
thoughts, that last punch almost hit him.  This girl wasn�t a bad 
fighter, Ranma thought, but found her more impressive in her 
potential than her skills.
"Come on!"  She shouted impatiently at him, "Are you 
going to fight me or not?"
	�No,� Ranma replied, and kept up his dodging.
	This seemed to make the girl even angrier for some reason.  
�So I�m not good enough for you to fight, is that it?�
	The rest of the students watched the two in awe.  Someone 
that could match Akane and looked to be winning even though he 
wasn�t fighting back.  None of this registered with a certain 
kendoist, who was waiting for the preliminaries to be over so he 
could make his entrance.
	�I don�t hit girls,� Ranma told the girl that was attacking 
him as he dodged a kick, which he would have felt for days had it 
connected.  She certainly wasn�t kidding around.
	Akane was getting more and more frustrated.  Not only was 
this boy dodging all of her best strikes, but he seemed to not even 
take this fight seriously.  There was no way she was going to let 
herself loose and let some jerk think that he had the right to date 
her.
	�Why are you fighting me anyway?�  Ranma asked, not 
really worried about being late for his first day of classes.  He 
never really cared for school, though he did well enough.  His mom 
didn�t think grades were that important to being manly.
	�Because you�re a jerk,� she said the first thing that came to 
her mind, since he was concentrating mostly on trying to maim 
him.
	�What did I do?� he inquired in a tired-sounding voice.  
Why was he cursed to offend everyone he ever met?
	�Why won�t you fight me for real?�
	Tatwaki Kuno, rising young star of the kendo world, had 
finally had enough.  For why should a nobleman such as himself 
kept waiting, depriving his ladylove of his manly visage?  If Akane 
could not defeat this peasant, perhaps it should be he who should 
bring the scoundrel low?  What better way to prove his superior 
prowess.
	�Halt!�  He declared, stepping out onto the school grounds 
for all to see, boken in the one hand, rose in the other.  Kuno 
completely missed the look of disgust that crawled across Akane�s 
face as she first caught sight of him.
	Ranma was actually thankful for the interruption, at least 
the girl had stopped trying to hit him.  Now all he needed to know 
is why she was trying to fight him in the first place.  And while he 
was at it, why all of those boys had tried to attack her.
	�So cur,� Kuno addressed Ranma, holding his boken in a 
ready position, �You seek to date the lovely Akane Tendo by 
defeating her in combat.  But before, you must face me, Tawaki 
Kuno, Blue Thunder of Furikan High!�
	�Huh?�  was the only reply Ranma could form before Kuno 
lunged at him.

	Looking out on this from her classroom window, Nabiki 
wondered if for once Kuno-chan was in way over his head.  Akane 
regularly pounds him and this new guy avoided all of her hits with 
ease.  She decided that it was time to set up a few bets.

	The fight was relatively short.  Kuno lashed out with his 
boken at speeds that could bruise by the air pressure alone, which 
Ranma dodged on instinct, still confused about what exactly was 
going on.  He was used to people attacking him, but at least they 
usually gave him a reason why.  Not that their reasons always made 
sense, but still.
	Ranma shrugged.  It didn�t really matter why this guy was 
attacking him.  Now that he wasn�t facing a girl, he had no 
problem fighting back.  A few minutes later, Kuno lay 
unconscious, with nothing left of his boken but splinters.

	�Hi, I�m um Ranma Soatome,� he said to the class.  He was 
nervous, not because it was a new school, he was used to 
transferring all the time by now, but by the looks he was getting.  
Half the boys were glaring at him, which from prior experience, 
Ranma knew would lead to fights later.  He wasn�t worried, he 
could take them all on without any trouble.
Then there were the looks that half the girls were giving 
him, which made him feel distinctly uncomfortable.  They were the 
very opposite of the looks that the boys were giving him.  They 
were the kind of looks his kid sister got at the candy store, wanting 
to buy all of it and take it with her.  They all looked hungry.
	�It seems that you just transferred here from Takashi High 
School,� the teacher announced, �However, that doesn�t change the 
fact that you and Akane Tendo were late.  Go stand in the hall.�

	�This is all your fault, you know,� Akane told him after a 
few moments of silence.
	�My fault?  That Kuno jerk attacked me.�
	�Well, that wouldn�t have happened if you hadn�t butted in 
on my fight.�
	�I couldn�t just stand by and let those guys attack you like 
that.  It isn�t right.  Guys shouldn�t hit girls.�
	�Well, I happen to be a girl and a martial artist.  I�ve been 
fighting those guys every morning for the past week.�
	Every morning?  Ranma wondered, why doesn�t the school 
do anything about it.  �So what was that all about anyway?  That 
Kuno guy was babbling something, but I could hardly understand 
what he was saying.�
	�At the beginning of the year, Kuno made this stupid 
speech about any guy who wanted to date me had to defeat me in 
combat first.  I�ve had to fight them all every morning for over a 
week now.�
	�And the school hasn�t done anything to stop this?�
	�The principal is Kuno�s dad, though no one has seen him 
yet.  I hear he�s in Hawaii, studying their teaching methods.�

	In another classroom, Kuno was using a hand mirror to 
examine �Baka� neatly printed on his forhead.  Nabiki snickered as 
the kendoist complained about the �wretched knave�s� lack of 
proper spelling.  Personally, she thought he had it exactly right.

	Ranma wasn�t really surprised when Kuno tried to attack 
him at lunch.  He managed to finish his lunch and fend of the 
kendoist with ease.  Heck, Ranma was used to people trying to 
interrupt his meals and the training over the dinner table had paid 
off.  Lunch ended with Kuno making another trip to the nurse�s 
office.

	Ranma breathed a sigh of relief as he finally left the 
classroom for the day.  School, the most boring and pointless part 
of his day, was now over.  Now all he wanted to do was go home, 
get a little training in, and spend some time shopping for 
ingredients.  His mom was letting him cook again tonight and he 
already had the meal planned out in his mind.  Food was second 
only to martial arts in Ranma�s mind.  He loved to eat and due to 
traveling with a father who couldn�t even boil water properly, he 
had learned to love to cook.  He was a little surprised that not only 
did cooking fit his mother�s sometimes odd definition of manly, 
but that she actually helped and encouraged his hobby.  While his 
father may have resented the time this took away from training, 
Genma often thought with his stomach first.
	Kuno blocked the exit of the school grounds, boken at the 
ready.  Already a sizable crowd had gathered around him that 
Ranma noticed was mostly female for some reason.
	�Now villian, face the rightous wrath of the Blue Thunder!�
	�Again?� Ranma asked him, exasperated.  His usual rivals 
weren�t so persistant to challenge him three times in the same day.  
�Weren�t the first two beatings I gave you enough?�
	The crowd snickered at this, while Kuno seethed.  �No man 
could have defeated me honorably.  You begiled me with your 
black magic.  Die, sorcerer!�
	Needless to say, this fight lasted about as long as the others.

**

	�Engaged?�  The Tendo girls chorused in surprise.
	Not noticing their reaction, the Tendo Patriach simply 
nodded and continued.  �After my old friend and I freed ourselves 
from under the infulence of our old master, we made an agreement 
that our family lines and the two schools of Stone Fist Martial Arts 
should be joined.  They should be here any day now!�
	�Daddy,� Nabiki told him, �This postcard says that they 
should have arrived two weeks ago.  Are you sure that they�re even 
coming?�
	�Of course!  It�s just that my old friend has some trouble 
with directions.  I hear that his son has inherited this condition.�
	Nabiki and Akane exchanged dubious glances while 
Kasumi got up to add a few more servings to the dinner she was 
making.
	That was when the doorbell sounded.
	�They must be here.�

Akane�s Journal:
	After daddy had made his announcement, the last thing I 
was expecting to come to the door was a huge boar with a young 
girl slung over its shoulder.  This person announced herself to be 
Ryoga Hibiki, that apparently one of us was supposed to be 
marrying.  Nabiki found out that she was definitively a girl, despite 
father ranting about how his old friend only had a son.  She seemed 
so nervous and lost that I immediately took pity on the girl and 
dragged her away to the dojo where we had a little match.
	A wasn�t really expecting her to be that good, probably a 
match for Ranma even, not that he would ever fight a girl with his 
mother always watching over him.  I really wasn�t expecting to 
walk in on some naked guy in our bathroom when Ryoga was 
supposed to be there.  It was a good thing that after nearly walking 
in on Ranma than I�ve learned to at least wear a bathrobe.
	Turns out this guy was Ryoga after all, just has some weird 
Chinese curse that changes him into a her with cold water.  And 
daddy still wanted to go through with this whole ridiculous fianc�e 
idea!  Then my sisters had the nerve to pawn him off on me 
without asking me about it.  I�m only sixteen!  There was no way 
that I was going to marry some boy I just met.  Bet he�s a pervert 
too, pretending to be a girl just so he could walk in on me.  All 
boys are perverts anyway, well except for Ranma.  No way Ranma 
would force somebody to marry him.  Not that he�d really have to.  
I mean half the girls at school are chasing after him and he hardly 
notices them!

	�But I can�t marry him!�  Akane shouted without thinking.
	Everyone turned to her stunned.  Soun had decided that the 
curse wasn�t that big a deal and the marrige should go through 
anyway.  Nabiki and Kasumi had insisted that Akane be the one 
that should accept the engagement.
	�Why is that Akane?�  Kasumi asked in her usual tone of 
voice.
	For the second time that night, Akane had to restrain herself 
from lashing out at her sister.  First she joins up with Nabiki to 
dump this on me, now she�s trying to stop me from getting out of 
it.  
She thought about the real reason, that she wasn�t ready to 
get married to a complete stranger, but knew it wouldn�t be enough 
to stop her father.  She thought about pointing out the fact that 
Ryoga was already a couple by himself, but he was already giving 
her a kicked puppy look.  She had never met a martial artist that 
was so meek before.
	�I can�t marry him because I already have a fianc�e!�  She 
declaring, grinning inwardly.  Can�t have two fianc�es, now could 
she?
	Everyone was back to being stunned, except for Nabiki.  
Her father looked ready to faint.
	�Yeah right sis, you pound any guy who gets close to you.  
No way you�d give anyone the chance to propose.  You�d probably 
put someone in the hospital for that.�
	�I do too have a fianc�e Nabiki!� Akane practically growled 
at her sister, since this was partly her fault to begin with.  What did 
she do to have her sisters turn against her like this?
	�So what�s the name of this so-called fianc�e, hmm?�
	Damnit, she�s got me there, Akane thought, looking at her 
smug expression.  Got to think of something quick if I don�t want 
to become Mrs. Hibiki soon.  What to say?  If I just make someone 
up, Nabiki is sure to find out.  I doubt Saruyai or Yuka would be 
willing to dress up as a guy and pretend to be my fianc�e.  There�s 
only one person who might be willing to help me.
	�His name is . . .  Ranma Saotome!�
	�Oh my!� Kasumi declared, nearly fainting away.  
Everyone else went back to being shocked, though some hadn�t 
recovered from the last one yet.  Mr. Hibiki wondered where he 
had heard the name �Saotome� before.  It seemed familiar 
somehow.
	Nabiki wasn�t one to give up so easily though.  She knew 
that she�d be the next choice in line, and her plans did not include 
getting married before college.  Besides, from what she could tell, 
Ryoga was definitely not her type.  Muscle-bound, cute in a 
somewhat pathetic sort of way, but a little too light when it came to 
brains.  The sex changing and the lack of direction were definite 
turnoffs.
She was also wondering about Kasumi�s actions.  Nabiki 
thought she would have blindly accepted this because of family 
honor.  She wondered why she had reacted so strongly to the name 
of Akane�s supposed fianc�e.  Could it be that she knows Ranma 
somehow?  It didn�t seem likely.
	�I�m not buying it sis.  He only transferred to our school 
last week.  He doesn�t strike me as the type to move that fast.�
	But Akane had anticipated her sister this time and had 
already come up with a plausible explanation.  �Actually, we really 
met over a year ago during one of those inter-school things and 
have kept in touch ever since.  We kept out relationship a secret 
since we didn�t know how our parents would react.  But when he 
found that he was transferring to our school he proposed and I 
accepted.�
	Nabiki was still smirking.  Her sister was obviously lying 
about the whole thing.  She remembered how viciously Akane had 
attacked Ranma when he first came to school.  No way would she 
have done that if they were in love, but then again her sister did 
have an odd way of showing her affection for someone.  Besides, if 
this were true, why didn�t she mention it before?  It would have 
probably stopped the fights with half the male population of the 
school, though Kuno-chan was unlikely to give up so easily.  But 
then again, Ranma had stopped the fights for her.
	�Well, the boy will just have to be made to see reason and 
break his engagement with you,� Mr. Tendo declared, �After all, 
this is a matter of family honor.�  In his shortsightedness, he had 
completely forgotten that he had two other, fianc�eless daughters, 
much to the relief of said daughters.
	Akane yelled at her father and ran up to her room.  Kasumi, 
feeling the matter somewhat resolved, went to clean up in the 
kitchen.  The fathers decided to play a game of shogi to celebrate 
the impending union.
	Ryoga looked after Akane, depressed for some time.  After 
a few minutes, he spoke up, �I don�t want to force her to give up 
her fianc�e.�
	�Oh please,� Nabiki told him, �Don�t tell me that you 
actually believed that story of hers.  There is no way she�s known 
Ranma for more than a week and there is even less chance that 
they�re in love.  My sister has just had bad experiences with boys 
recently.  I�m sure she�ll warm up to you once she gets to know 
you.�

**
	Ranko dashed to the phone and picked it up before Ranma 
could get to it.  Their parents had decided to go out to eat, leaving 
them alone with takeout.  Ranma had wanted to cook something, 
but his sister demanded that they order out.  And Ranko had been 
harassing him ever since.  Ranma loved his little sister, but there 
were times that he had a hard time dealing with her.
	�Moshi Moshi.�
	Ranko listened for a few moments and then hand the phone 
over to her brother with a big smile on her face.  �It�s Aka-ne.�

	�Ranma?�  The voice on the phone was so tentitive that he 
almost didn�t recognise it.
	�Yeah, hi Akane, what�s up?� Ranma asked, trying to 
ignore the looks that Ranko was giving him.  Bad enough were all 
the manly suggestions coming from his mother.  Him and Akane 
were only friends.  Couldn�t he have a friend that just happened to 
be a girl?
	�Um, this is going to sound kind of strange, but I need your 
help with something.�
	�If it�s the math homework I haven�t gotten to it yet.�  Math 
was about the only subject that he was better than Akane in, well 
that and gym.  They had been helping each other with their 
homework for a while now.  Ranma�s grades had actually shown 
some signs of improvement.
	�No, no, it�s not that,� Akane replied.  �I need you . . .�
	�Need me to do what?� Ranma prompted her after a minute 
or so of silence.
�I need you to pretend to be my fianc�e for a while,� Akane 
answered in a rush.
	�Huh?�

Ranma�s Journal:
	Akane�s been pestering me about starting to write one of 
these things ever since I started telling her about all the weird 
things that have happened in my life.  I guess the day that she 
�proposed� to me would be a good place to start.
	Seems that her father had this dumb idea to marry her off to 
some guy that she had just met, on top of which has a curse that 
turns him into a girl and can lost in a bathroom (which, according 
to her, has already happened once).  So she wants me to pretend to 
be her fianc�e so she doesn�t get married next week.  Okay, it�s a 
crazy idea.  Sounds like something I�d come up with and it�ll 
probably cause more problems than it�ll solve, but I agree anyway.  
Why?  Well, Akane�s the first real female friend that I�ve had and 
is about the best friend I have now.
	Besides, pretending to be engaged to her might be kind of 
nice.

**

	Ranma was a little surprised by the distressed look on 
Kasumi�s face when he ran into her at the market the next day.  It 
looked so out of place on her that he simply had to find out what 
was the matter.
	�Kasumi, what�s wrong?�
	Kasumi nearly jumped, startled that she hadn�t even noticed 
that Ranma was there until he had spoken to her.  Maybe, she 
hoped, it isn�t him, just someone with the same name.
	�Ranma, do you know my sister Akane?�
	�Akane�s your sister?�  Ranma replied, surprised.  If there 
were two people who were not at all alike it was Kasumi and 
Akane.
	Kasumi couldn�t help but feel even more depressed.  All 
this time that she had known him and he�d been in love with her 
sister.  Even that time when he had carried her home after she had 
sprained her ankle.
	�It�s about your engagement to Akane . . .�
	�Yeah, boy was I surprised when she asked me.�
	Kasumi did a double take.  �Wait a minute, she proposed to 
you?�
	�She called up last night with this story about some jerk 
appearing out of nowhere and now she�s got to marry him.  So she 
came up with this crazy scheme that we pretend to be engaged for a 
while to get her father off her back.  She�s helped me out before so 
I said yes.�
	�So you�re only pretending to be engaged to her?�
	�Yeah, but don�t tell her that I told you.  I don�t think that 
she wanted anyone to know, but I�m sure she can�t trust you, being 
her sister and all.�
	Ranma noticed an immediate change in Kasumi.  Her head 
was held high and her smile seemed brighter than he had ever seen 
it before.

**
	�What is it pop?� Ranma asked as the Saotomes had 
gathered around the dinner table for a sudden family meeting.
	�Ranma, when you were little I made a certain agreement . . 
.� Genma began to announce.
	Ranma had the sudden premonition of impending doom.

**

	�Akane?�
	�What is it Ranma?�
	�Look, I�ve got a favor to ask you . . .�



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