Hi!
    Well, my friend gave me this idea I really really liked so we're
both going ot be writing for this idea.  What if Ranma would rather have
a friend than a fiancee, and Akane never saw him that day. (Genma
doesn't show up with Ranma..for..uh.... some strange reason listed in
the fic)  Sorry If it's really close to the manga so far!  I PROMISE to
vere away from it in the next few parts!!  C&C's welcome.


A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Hi Hi!  Another attempt at writing an on going fic!  I got this idea
from my friend, who is also going to write a fic based on this sort of
story line.  I'm using my Manga as to help me along with the story so
sorry if some things are a little off, if you've only seen the anime (I
suggest to pick up the manga.  Takahashi-sensei is a GENIUS! *^_^*)
Well enough with me!  Have fun!

~Carly aka Akane-chan

All character's in the Ranma universe belong to Takashi Rumiko and the
respected publishers/releasers.  I take no hold to them what-so-ever.
It's just a story by a fan.  Please don't sue..... the Candian dollar
ain't worth much :P

"Someone Talking"
*Some thinking*
**An Action/Sound Effect**
[Panda Sign]
{{Flashback}}

******************************

The Feminine Touch

******************************

A scream came form the middle of an already overwhelmingly large crowd
of spectators, ,  "I STILL SAY THIS WHOLE THING SUCKS!!!  What the hell
are you talking about anyways?!"

A slightly large, black and white panda held up a sign, [You
Heard..uh..read me!  We're going to meet your fiancee!!]

The small red-head stood before the panda, eyeing him with caution.  She
seemed to regain some control and launched an all out attack on the
panda, in the end flipping him over into submission.  The girl flicked
her red, braided pony-tail back over her shoulder in a huff.

"I'm going back to China!  So suck on that, oyaji!!"  The red-head was
about to turn around when she was met promptly in the back of the face
with a street sign.  She moaned slightly and fell onto her back.
Apperently, the panda wasn't as unconcious as once thought.

Now the crowd had grown quite massively in numbers as the panda picked
up the unconsious girl and slung her over his shoulder.  After a
frightening "growf" to all the watchers, which sended them scattering in
all directions, the panda continued on his way.

But, little known to the bear, the red-head wore a smirk and rose her
hand to poke a section on the bears neck.  The panda fell flat on his
face.

"Got ya oyaji!  Anything Goes, nemui attack!  Make the person think
they've won, so you can spring an attack when they least expect!  Too
bad I hit you sleep spot!"  The girl laughed triumphantly, "You've gotta
wake up pretty early to get the jump on me, oyaji."  A devilish grin
passed across the grils mouth as she wrapped the bear in a large, brown
sack and punted him towards a spot they had passed when they first
arrived in Nerima, Japan.

The crowd was dispersed, and the girl stood soaked through from the
drizzling rain and took out a small piece of paper from her pocket,

"Tendou Dojou
Kodai Street
Nerima Japan"

*I guess I have no choice.....*  The girl thought reluctantly, as she
set off towards the Tendou Dojou.

******************************

"Ranma and his father have been on a voyage of training.  It seems they
crossed over into China."  Soun Tendou spoke as he sat across the table
from his three young daughters.  Kasumi, she was the oldest and was
bestowed as motherly figure since the since the absence of her own
mother when she was only young.  Nabiki sat in the middle, and took the
roll as middle child.  She was business woman, down to her very bones.
Akane sat on the other end, being the youngest child of sixteen.

"Wow! China!!"  Nabiki exlaimed enthustically.

Akane turned away from her father in disgust, "What's so great about
walking to China?"

"Is he cute?"  Nabiki asked excitedly.

"How old is he?"  Kasumi asked in wonder, "Younger men bore me..."  She
turned back to her father, "What kind of guy is this Ranma?"

Soun laughed nervously, "Hahaha.... I don't know.."

Nabiki stared at he father, "Don't KNOW?"

Soun stared back, "I've never met him."

Suddenly a knock at their front door broke the conversation.  Kasumi
rose to her feet to answer it, but was beaten to the punch by Nabiki and
her father.

Nabiki swung the door open, and grinned from ear to ear, "Oh, he is
cute!"

This prompted a blush on Ranma's behalf, "Uh...hi...."

"So, that means..!!!"  Soun said with excited eyes.

"I'm Saotome Ranma.... gomen nasai..."  Ranma said with pained eyes.
She was about to look up again when she felt someone glomp onto her,
"Gah!"

"Oh Ranma!  It' so good of you to come s--"  Soun was cut off when he
squezzed Ranma harder.  Bringing her back, he took a good look at her
chest.

Ranma facefaulted when she felt someone poking at her chest, "Uh....
could you stop that?"

Nabiki drew back from Ranma, "HE, is a SHE."

******************************

"Oh look he's coming to!  Poor otou-san... he's so disapointed..."
Kasumi said with some relief.  At least she wouldn't be pushed into a
marriage now.

"You think _HE'S_ disapointed!?  Some fiancee this is!"  Nabiki yelled
with some heat, while grabbing onto Ranma chest again.

"I really wish you'd stop that...."  Ranma said in a small voice.

"Stop it you two!!"  Akane yelled from beside Ranma, "He..uh.. She is
our guest!!  Now stop treating her like this!  Ranma, do you want to see
our dojou?"  Akane smiled sweetly, "My name's Akane.  Do you wanna be
friends?"

******************************

Akane withdrew her fist from the wall when she felt a small poke in the
back of her head.  She whipped around to see Ranma laughing slighty.
Akane couldn't help herself either and joined her new friend.

"Wow.  You're really good!  I'm so glad you're a girl!"  Akane smiled.

Ranma grimaced inwardly, "Why's that?"

"Well, I just would really hate to lose to a guy."  Akane finished as
she walked form the dojou, "Come on!  I'll show you to your room!"

Ranma looked somehwat crestfallen, but followed Akane anyway.  When they
reached the top of the stairs Akane slid open a door to reveal a plain
guest room.  Ranma set her sack down in the middle of the floor and eyed
the place.

Akane scowled, "I'm sorry it's not much...."

Ranma shook her head profusely, "No!  It's great thanks!  I'm
just...well... it's weird to say.  I guess I'm happy to be staying in
one place for once."

Akane smiled, "Well, we're happy to have you!  Better than some guy.
They're all hentai if you ask me..."

Ranma looked somewhat hurt, "Oh...yeah....."

"Well, dinner will be ready soon!  You should get set up, and we can
talk later okay?"  Akane said enthusiastically as she slid the door back
shut and padded down the hall towards her room.

Ranma sighed and eyed the room.  No, her room.  A smile passed across
her face unintentionally.  She sat down and crossed her legs, ready to
unpack her thing when a knock came at the door.  Half expecting it to be
Akane again Ranma called for the person to come in.  Ranma was a little
disapointed when it wasn't her.

"Ranma-chan, why don't you have a bath before dinner?"  Kasumi called
from the doorway, "I'm sure you worked up a sweat when you were
practicing with Akane-chan."

Ranma was reluctant to say the least, but she thought it over again and
decided it might be a good idea, "Okay.  Thanks Kasumi-san."

Kasumi watched Ranma retreat from her room then walked a few paces to
the room beside the guest one.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

"Hai?"  Akane called from inside.

Kasumi gingerly opened the door to speak to her sister, "The bath is
ready now Akane-chan.  Ranma-chan's in there but I don't think she'd
mined you in there."

Akane smiled, "Arigatou, Kasumi onee-chan!"

******************************

"Oh that's cold!!"  Ranma complained as she sat on her stool and dumped
water on her head.  After ringing out her pig-tail, she thought back to
her spar with Akane.

{{"I'm just glad you're a girl....}}

Ranma let out a sigh, *Glad I'm a girl... what a laugh.  I wonder what
she has against guys anyway....*  Her thoughts wandered back to just
before her father and she came to Nerima.

******************************

{{"Welcome to ground of cursed springs, Jusenkyou."  Spoke a plump,
slightly tanned man with a thick Chinese accent.

"Well I don't look very impressive to me."  Said the young man with
jet-black hair.

"So, are you ready, Ranma?"  The man wearing the tunic said as he jumped
onto one of the many poles juting out from the many ponds that
surrounded the training grounds.

"Right behind you, oyaji!"  Ranma yelled as he bounded behind his
father.

The Chinese man's eyes almost fell out of their sockets, "No Sirs!!
Very bad you fall in spring!!!"

There was a splash.

"Oh too bad, you fall in spring of drowned panda.  There very tragic
legend of panda who drowned there two thousand year ago!"

Another splash.

"AIYA!!  You fall in spring of drowned girl!!  Very, very sad story of
girl what drowned there one thousand five hundred year ago!  Now whoever
fall there, take body of young girl!  You see what I mean?"}}

******************************

*Stupid oyaji!  He took me there and didn't even know a lick of
Chinese!!  And now he's gone and engaged me to one the Tendou's!  Right
now, I'd take a friend over a fiancee anyway......  and when Akane finds
out I'm a guy, it'll be back to square one.*  Then a thought dawned on
her, *That is, IF she finds out I'm a guy.....*  She was just about to
step into the furo when she heard a faint whistle coming from the other
side of the bathroom door.  She quickly stepped away from the furo and
wrapped herself in a towel.

Akane opened the door to see a slightly shocked Ranma, "Oh, sorry I
didn't mean to scare you."

Ranma shook her head, "No it's okay. I..umm... I was just leaving!"  And
with that Ranma smiled nervously and left the bathroom to a confused
Akane.  But, she only shrugged and got ready to bathe.

******************************

Ranma shut the door to her room quickly behind her and let out a breath
she had been holding in, "Now THAT, was close..."  She thought.  Ranma
threw on some new clothes and sat down on her new futon.

*What I need is a friend, right?  Well Akane doesn't seem to like guys
very much.  Gods I hate being in this form, but Akane likes me, right?
Oyaji is gone, and judging from where I sent him, he won't get here for
a LONG while.*  Ranm smirked to that thought.  Yes, the Nerima zoo
oughta hold him for a while at least, *Cold water will keep me in this
form, and as long as I can avoid the hot water water that will change me
back, no one will know!  This'll give me a chance to get to know the
girls anyway, cuz oyaji will get here sometime and I'll be forced to
make a choice.*  Ranma felt a small pang of guilt, *But when Akane finds
out, she's gonna be mad.... but there's no other way.  I wonder who the
other two will react...*

Ranma smiled, *A new house.  With my own room, and my own bed.  It feels
kinda nice to stay in one place for once, not to mention I have a
friend.....*

"A new friend........."

******************************

okay All done.  PLEASE don't flame me and say Nerima doesn't have a zoo
or something along those lines.  I have NO idea if it does.  I just put
it in there for the story's sake.  I DON NOT appreciate flames, and they
will be discarded without a second glance.  C&C's VERY welcome!!