Ace Sanchez ( email: jsa@fl.net.au www: http://jsa.users.fl.net.au/ )

(Standard disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and its associated characters created 
by Rumiko Takahashi. I disclaim all mutilations to said characters ;))

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Blonde 1/2
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Part 1 "Here's Ranma?"


A light rain was falling wetly on the streets of Nerima, Tokyo. A girl 
came running out of the fog, water splashing beneath her bare feet. In 
one hand she carried a heavy looking carry pack, although the slender 
arm that was carrying it looked hardly taxed by the weight.

As she came around the fence and into the shopping district, people's 
eyes widened as far as they would go as soon as they saw her. The girl 
was the most beautiful young woman they had ever seen! Every man there 
began to crowd around the edges of the side street, as they came in 
closer to have a better look. Mutters of, "My God! That girl is hot!" 
spread around. The crowds began to exponentially grow larger.

"Get lost ya ol' fart!" The beautiful girl was looking over her shoulder 
at some unseen pursuer as she shouted, the rough words a distinct 
contrast to the soft alluring and sensual voice she possessed. She was 
soaking wet, her damp clinging shirt provoking more than one lewd 
fantasy out of the audience. Moist tendrils of water-darkened golden 
hair escaped from her pigtail as it flapped behind her in the wind.

The crowd's eyes grew even wider as they spotted who or what was chasing 
her as it came around the fence. It was a giant panda. Its fur was also 
soaking wet, courtesy of the storm. It loped after the extraordinarily 
beautiful girl on all fours, quite fast for a creature of it's size.

Suddenly, a starry-eyed man somehow materialised in front of the girl 
and tried to grab her. "Oh my love! Where have you been all my life?" 
Reflexively, the girl dodged, spun around and punted him at the panda. 

However, the panda moved to the side, remarkably agile for it's bulk, 
and avoided the human missile. Instead, the man shattered into the 
cart of a food stall. Fruit and vegetables went flying everywhere. The 
owner didn't notice though as he was also checking the girl out like all 
the other men.

"I mean, seriously!" the girl shouted at the panda again as they resumed 
the chase. "Engaging me to some girl without even asking?" There was a 
collective gasp from the audience at this revelation. However they 
discarded the information as untrue after a bit of thought. The world 
was already a cruel enough place without the most beautiful female on it 
being a lesbian.

Suddenly the girl stopped running and turned around to face the giant 
panda. Her beautiful face was red with fury. "I'm not going along with 
it!"

The panda growled angrily at the girl and charged, it's claws swinging
in a complex pattern which could only be martial arts, though it was
anyone's guess how a fat panda could do it. The girl leaped into the air
and rotated into a forward somersault kick hitting the panda right on 
the forehead knocking it backwards and on to its back. She landed gently
on her toes not even causing the water to splash beneath her feet. She
lifted her arms into a battle stance.

"So you wanna fight?" she asked confidently. "I'm ready ... wait hold 
that thought ..." She flicked off another man who had somehow glomped 
onto her arm. "Now I'm ready!" 

The panda growled loudly as it stood up and resumed its attack. This 
time it elevated fully onto it's hind legs, as if it were a man. A claw 
narrowly missed the blond girl's dodging quick body, as she back flipped 
out of harm's way. The panda continued with deceptively quick strikes 
for it's huge bulk, but just as amazingly, the girl jumped and ducked 
through the panda's fast offence, obviously skilled herself.

After an amazing sequence of attempted blows and dodges, the girl took 
the upper hand. Somehow she managed to leap inside the panda's guard 
and grab it's outstretched arm.  Spinning around, she threw it over her 
shoulder as smoothly and easily as if the panda weighed one pound 
instead of the one thousand it seemed to be. A poor street sign was 
crushed beyond repair after the fat animal landed on it. 

The beautiful girl snorted contemptuously at her defeated enemy. "You 
can't make me do it. The only thing I'm doing is go back to China." She 
tried to wipe the dirt from her hands but only succeeded in muddying her
shirt. "Yeah, even if I have to swim back like before, I'll undo this 
and you can go give birth to some other boy and make him get engaged." 
She looked around at all her observers and let out a sound of disgust. 
"And if it wasn't for this stupid storm ..."

Unfortunately, the girl's observation of them seemed to provoke the 
hordes of admiring men into madness. 

"She was looking at me!" a voice rang out. 

"No! She was looking at me!" another disagreed. 

"Are you kidding? With your ugly face?"

"Well maybe she wants variety from handsome men!"

"Ha! You wish!"

Soon the number of voices grew until the noise grew tenfold with all the
men arguing.

The girl stared at the crowds of arguing men. "Geez, how pathetic, " she 
sighed in disgust. She turned to go on her way when an angry feminine 
voice shouted furiously from behind her.

"Hey you!" The voice shouted. 

Extremely hesitant as to what she would find, the girl turned around 
with a shudder. Wherever there were men, there were always women. She 
wasn't surprised to discover large mobs of angry women, about equal in 
number to the hordes of men, behind her. They ranged from cute teenaged 
girls to middle-aged adult women. However the one thing they all had in 
common was that they were all furious. The air rumbled as large amounts 
of handbags and umbrella's were waved around threateningly. A couple of
mallets were stroked in anticipation.

"Who, me?" the girl asked trying to sound innocent, inwardly beginning 
to panic as she remembered what happened last time she attracted this 
many men.

"Yes, you ... you siren!" the woman shouted again. It was a cute 
brunette, or at least, she would've been cute if her eyes weren't 
glowing red.

"How dare you steal my husband's affections!" another woman called out.

"Jezebel!"

"Man stealer!"

"Boyfriend taker!"

"Whore of Babylon!"

It continued until every woman in the crowd was shouting.

The girl stepped backwards terrified. She turned around, ready to flee
but found she was trapped. The women had somehow encircled her.

The accusations continued for almost five minutes before the mob grew
violent.

The panda sat up and shrugged its furry shoulders sympathetically, 
occasionally covering its droopy ears with it's claws to drown out the
shrill screams of pain. The sound of mallets, handbags and umbrella's 
impacting flesh followed by silence came next. But it was happy since 
the jealous women had succeeded in what the panda had been trying to 
do all along, which was knock her unconscious.


~*~*~*~


Outside a typical Japanese home, a man in a brown gi with long black 
hair and a slim moustache was checking his mail. A wooden sign which 
read, 'Tendo Anything Goes Martial Arts Training Hall,' was posted in 
the front.

Soun Tendo observed the dark mists moving across the horizon for a short 
moment. The freak storm had come and gone so quickly, it seemed as if it 
were an omen of some kind. Shrugging, he returned to checking his 
mailbox and discovered a postcard with a queer picture of a panda on it. 
He turned it around and read it. The card said, 

'Bringing Ranma in from China.' It was signed, 'Saotome.'

A torrent of joyful tears streamed down his cheeks. "Finally, Ranma will
be coming here. How I've waited for this day!" He ran back into the 
house excitedly calling for his three daughters. "Nabiki, Kasumi, 
Akane!" A frown marred his smile. "Akane? Where is that girl?" Kasumi 
was in the kitchen as usual, while Nabiki was in her bedroom reading a 
comic. However his youngest was nowhere to be found.

Down in the dojo, a girl in a light yellow gi breathed in, calmly and 
easily, as she sat in front of a pile of concrete bricks. Her shoulders 
tightened, then her hand came down in a blur of speed as she let out a 
loud yell. Dust, splinters and chunks of clay flew everywhere as the 
pile disintegrated through the middle. Akane sighed in satisfaction, as 
she shrugged her long black hair from her shoulders. "That felt pretty 
nice."

Suddenly a girl with short brown hair wearing a tank-top and shorts 
appeared in the doorway catching one of the brick pieces underneath her
foot. It was her older sister, Nabiki. "There you go again Akane," she 
spoke derisively, taking a snapshot of her sister out of a small camera 
she always had handy. "No wonder the boys think you are weird."

Ha! I wish! Akane thought sourly wiping moist hair from her forehead. 
Turning around to gift her sister with a tart smile. "Nabiki, not 
everyone believes the world revolves around, ugh,  boys."

Nabiki just looked boredly at her before turning around to walk back to 
the house. "Then I guess you won't be interested in this. Daddy is quite
excited."

Akane frowned. Excited was 'not' good.


~*~*~*~


Outside the Tendo residence, all seemed peaceful. A gentle breeze
whispered through the various trees around the large house, while the
birds chirped among themselves, hopping along the swaying branches.

However the peacefulness of the day was misleading as the discussion 
within the Tendo home was not peaceful at all.

"Fiance?!" a shocked voice called out, scaring a few chirping birds 
from their perch outside the Tendo house. Gathered around the family 
table, Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane listened, aghast at what their father 
had just explained to them.

"We have a fiance, father? You didn't tell us before." Kasumi was 
looking a little startled, which was so out of character it displayed 
just how overwhelmed she really was.

"Nah, he did it so we wouldn't run away from home before he got here." 
Nabiki said sarcastically. The she smiled. "On the other hand, there is 
still time ... " She frowned. "No, sounds too expensive."

Akane just wore a heated scowl that could have melted an iceberg. "Dad, 
I can't believe you did this!" However none of what they said seemed to 
pierce their father's bubble of joy.

"My greatest wish is at last to come true!" He smiled joyfully. "The 
Anything Goes Martial Arts School will continue if one of you could 
marry my friend's son, Ranma, and carry on the dojo."

The girl's realised then, just how important this was to their father.

Soun continued, "And recently they just crossed over from China."

"Ooh, China!" Nabiki exclaimed. Travelling meant money.

Akane still grumbled. "At least you could have asked us first."

Kasumi looked down at her hands thoughtfully. "I do hope he's not 
younger than me," she put in. "Younger men are so ... young."

"And I wouldn't mind if he's cute. What does he look like?" Nabiki 
looked expectantly at her father.

Soun shrugged a little self-consciously. "I have no idea." He frowned as 
he thought about it. "I've never met him."

Kasumi accepted this in her usual calm way, as the oldest she had more
experience with their father's goofiness. 

Nabiki did a double take. Engaging your own offspring, sight unseen?

Akane's scowl just grew darker if that was possible. 

Soun laughed confidently. "But, having Genma Saotome as his father, what 
could go wrong?" He was interrupted by the sound of knocking and the 
hallway door opening.

"Oh my," Kasumi's exclaimed. "Could that be them, father? And I haven't
even prepared anything yet." She stood up.

"Since the card came today, I bet it's them," Soun explained excitedly. 
"Oh it has been so long Genma! And now that you are here, our families 
will be united in marriage!" His eyes started to water as if about to 
start another round of ecstatic weeping. Nabiki went to answer it, 
while Soun followed excitedly.

Akane glared at his back. "Dad!" As she was about to continue to call 
out complaints, Nabiki and her father ran back into the room terrified. 
"Run! It's a dangerous animal!" Nabiki shouted in horror as she tried 
to hide behind Soun's back. At that point, the 'dangerous animal' 
waddled in. They all stared at the strange sight. A rather large panda 
stood at the entrance on it's hind legs. One massive arm was holding a 
slender person over its furry shoulder. The other was carrying a travel 
pack. It's human baggage was struggling and hitting it on the head. 
"Leggo 'o me, ya stupid ol' man!" came out of the struggling pile of 
limbs. "Can't you see you're scaring them?"

"Do you know these people, father?" Kasumi asked. These two couldn't be 
them. After all one of them wasn't even human. Soun just shook his head 
wildly.

"So this panda just decided to drop in uninvited?" Nabiki asked 
impertinently, now that she was safe behind her father's back.

The giant panda waddled in further and deposited its carry pack and 
wriggling burden on to the floor. The Tendos stared. It was unmistakably 
a girl. An incredibly beautiful girl.

She had on slightly damp chinese style clothes, which consisted of a red 
short-sleeved shirt and flowing black long pants. A tennis star's 
slender figure was accentuated by a tight white sash belted around her 
slim waist. Firm breasts were clearly visible through her wet clothing. 
Although she was a little slight and petite, she was definitely 
perfectly proportioned. 

Her silky blond hair was a little bit rumpled though, some long tendrils 
escaping from the pigtail at her neck as if someone had been pulling it. 
A couple of bruises and scratches that looked as if they were made by 
fingernails stood out a bit on her cheeks. However this messy effect 
just seemed to add to her beauty, enhancing her earthy appeal, rather 
than detract from it. 

Large blue eyes with long dark brown eyelashes were still glaring 
furiously at ... her panda? Then her expression changed as she realised
that she was being watched, and smiled weakly at them, blushing 
furiously.

A dimple appeared on her left cheek as she smiled. Akane thought that if 
she were a guy, she would've turned into jelly by that cute uplifting of 
her lips. Then she remembered that her father was a guy, in between all 
his crying, and spun to face him quickly. She was almost afraid to see 
the outcome. Good grief, she thought as she stared at him.

"Oh my girl! Let's get married right away!" Soun giggled wildly as he 
tried to glomp onto the girl's arm.

The blond girl's exquisite features twisted in embarrassment as she 
uppercutted him through the roof with a loud crash. Broken bits of 
wood and roof tiles came raining down.

"Um ... I'm Ranma Saotome," she said, still blushing prettily. "Sorry 
about this."


~*~*~*~


"But Saotome said he had a son!" Soun sobbed, having just regained
consciousness. He was also still red from embarrassment to how he had 
lost control upon first seeing Ranma. It was frightening how the beauty 
had affected him. And over his own best friend's daughter, no less!

"Now, now, Father," Kasumi scolded as she tended to Soun's face. "The
bandages will get wet."

Nabiki prodded Ranma's firm breast through her red shirt. "If this is a 
boy, Dad, no wonder there are so many homosexuals in the world," she 
said sarcastically. But inwardly she was secretly rejoicing. Imagine all
the money she would make with photos of Ranma! Much more than she was
currently getting from her little sister she was willing to bet. Who
knows? Maybe she could even make Ranma into a supermodel. And of course
Ranma would need a manager...

"Mind cutting that out?" Ranma bit out, annoyed with Nabiki's prodding.

Nabiki leaned back, satisfied that Ranma's bust were as big and firm as
they looked. Models always needed large and attractive breasts.

Akane, in an agreeable mood now that an engagement between Ranma and any 
of them seemed unlikely, felt sorry for her. Obviously Ranma's father 
had just dumped his daughter and pet panda on them, probably seeking to 
abandon her. Though who knew why anyone would want to do that to this 
exquisite girl. Obviously, some kind of unfeeling monster. Her father 
sure knew how to pick his friends. She introduced herself. "Hi, I'm 
Akane. You want me to show you around the place? At least until Dad 
calms down a bit." She indicated her poor excuse for a father. He was 
still crying. Then she brightened. "We have a dojo you might like to 
see." 

Ranma's face showed visible relief. "Oh, can we?" she asked, trying not 
to look at Soun. 

Nabiki snapped out of her pleasant daydream involving Ranma and money. 
"Yes, Akane, go show her the dojo. We'll tell you when Dad here ... " 
She gave her father a dirty look. He hadn't stopped crying yet. " ... 
has calmed down a bit." 

Akane looked back at the fat panda sitting on the floor. "You want to
bring your panda? He can come too if you want."

Ranma gave her panda a dirty look, then kicked it in the head sending it 
flying backwards, unconscious. "Nah, he doesn't wanna come."


~*~*~*~


The practice hall of the dojo was a moderately large wooden room with
seats aligned along the walls and a few decorations hanging, giving
it a 'homey' feel, obviously Kasumi's influence. The shattered bricks 
were still lying in the corner from Akane's morning session which had 
been interrupted by Soun's announcement of the betrothal. Luckily, said 
betrothal was no longer a viable option now that Ranma had turned out to 
be a female instead. Not only that but probably the most femalish female 
in the whole world. Even Ranma's boyish clothes couldn't hide that fact.

Akane remembered from her Dad's description of Ranma and her father that 
they were martial artists also. In fact that was one of the objectives 
for the betrothal, that Ranma could marry one of them and carry on the 
dojo and the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. It stood to reason 
that even though Ranma being a male was a lie, she was still probably a 
great martial artist. That incredible uppercut she gave her father was a 
giveaway. "So, you train in Kempo?" Akane asked.

"Yes, some," Ranma replied, still looking around.

Akane smiled. "Then let's have a little match ok?"

Ranma looked at her uneasily. "Huh?"

"Just for fun," Akane reassured her. "I won't hurt you."

Ranma shrugged, letting her blond pigtail fall from her shoulder. 
"Okay," she agreed, though obviously still uneasy. Akane wondered about 
that. Was Ranma not that good and embarrassed that she would lose? After 
all, Ranma did have a body that looked as if it were only to be admired 
and not actually used. Then she reminded herself never to underestimate
an opponent.

The both of them stood out in the middle of the hall as they prepared to
begin. Akane looked at Ranma and again wondered how a girl could turn 
out that beautiful.

Then she shrugged inwardly. "Let's begin!" she called out formally. 

Akane relaxed into a battle stance. She waited for her opponent to do 
the same. Ranma, however, just stood there, hands clasped behind her 
back, her very posture an opening.

Akane realised that she had to attack first or wait forever. She flowed
forwards into a strong punch but without much speed to it, to test the
waters, so to speak. She found herself punching air. Ranma had jumped
straight up! This surprised her. She was expecting Ranma to have dodged 
it, but not so easily it looked as if she weren't even trying.

As Ranma descended from her jump, Akane executed a high roundhouse kick, 
to intercept her. However that failed also, since Ranma dodged it by 
twisting into a midair flip. Akane attacked a few times more, but failed 
to even touch her. She began to see a pattern. Akane attacked, Ranma 
dodged. She realised that the blond girl was deliberately holding back, 
and was not going to initiate any attacks on her own.

Starting to get annoyed, she watched as Ranma dodged another blow, 
landing softly a few feet away. "What's wrong? Swing at me!"

Again she launched into a series of attacks but time after time, Ranma 
dodged each successfully as well as, mysteriously, failing to attack 
back. Obviously Ranma was not even attempting to. She is so quick, Akane 
thought. Why couldn't she hit her? She was just 'too' fast!

Finally annoyed enough after so many failed attempts to land a blow, or
even receive one, Akane decided to go all out and try her best. She 
laughed to herself. "This time for real!" Putting everything she had 
in the fight, she executed a quick combo, ending in one of her fastest 
and strongest punches. However, instead of hitting Ranma it went through 
the wooden wall instead. Ranma had vaulted over her attack again. But 
this time she felt a soft tap on the back of her head! 

Ripping her fist out of the shattered hole in the wall, she whipped 
around furiously. This time Akane was really mad. Ranma was so good, it
was like she was holding back just to embarrass her.

"Uh, umm, well..." Ranma was blushing! It made her look so adorably
innocent, Akane felt bad for losing her temper. It just didn't feel 
right to lose her temper over someone who 'looked' like that.

"It's okay, Ranma," Akane tried to reassure her. "I'm just glad you 
aren't a boy. I'd really hate losing to a boy." Strangely this just 
seemed to agitate Ranma even further.

Just then Kasumi's voice startled them as she walked into the dojo. "If 
you two are finished, I think you should get cleaned up before we have 
dinner." Kasumi straightened one of the decorations on the wall.

Ranma sighed, grateful for the interruption, and followed Kasumi out
of the training hall. Akane followed also but spotted the mess she had
made that morning and decided to clean it up before joining them.


~*~*~*~


Nabiki stepped into the dojo just as Akane finished sweeping up the 
debris left by the bricks she had smashed. "So, you and Ranma sparred?"
she asked, noticing Akane's flushed face and heavy breathing. "How did 
it go?"

"Terrible..." Akane sighed. "A girl that looks that good. It's just not 
fair that her looks match up to her martial arts."

Nabiki smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't let it get you down, little
sister. After all, we all heard from Dad that Ranma has been training in 
Anything Goes Martial Arts almost from the day he, ... I mean she, was 
born. But I guess that was kind of doubtful after we found out he was 
really a girl."  And an extremely pretty one at that who should earn me 
lots of money, Nabiki added silently. "So now we know it was the truth. 
It's not an embarrassment to lose to someone with those kind of 
credentials." She smiled at Akane's dishevelment. "Go take a bath sis, 
you don't want to stink up the living room now do you?"

Akane snorted. "I can't say much for your speech, but I'll take your
advice and grab that bath. I know I need it, but to calm me down, not 
wash the smell off. I do 'not' smell." She left the dojo leaving Nabiki 
to smile and shake her head at her back.


~*~*~*~


Akane opened the door to the outer room of the bath, sighing in 
anticipation of washing the dirt off her body in the hot bath. She 
undressed quickly, smiling as she swung her towel over her shoulder. 
Nabiki was right, she did feel more relaxed after a hot bath, and now 
more than ever, she needed it's calming effects. Not only that, but 
Kasumi said that Ranma was already in there, and Akane was kind of 
curious if she looked just as perfect without clothes as with them.

Within the bath, Ranma let out a breath nervously and stood up, leaving 
the warmth of the water. Kasumi had practically made it an order for it 
to be taken. Should I just come out as I am ...? Ranma wondered. "Ranma, 
you in here?" a voice called out. All thoughts disappeared. Akane, 
barely covered by her skimpy towel had just walked in, her mouth going 
into an 'o' of surprise as she stared. Ranma's throat constricted. 

Akane blinked, hoping the naked teenage boy was just her overactive 
imagination. He didn't fade away. Just like a male, albeit an imaginary 
one, he was too stubborn to get out of her sight. Although he 'was' 
pretty cute. Must have been that romantic movie she watched last night 
giving her ideas. She pinched herself on the arm, expecting him to 
disappear. He didn't. She calmly left the bathroom and shut the door. 
However her scream as she ran off to the dining room lacked any calmness 
she displayed earlier.

Shouting loud enough to wake the dead, she picked up the table and 
lifted it over head, crying, "I'll kill him!" Her father and a strange 
man Akane didn't recognize looked at her oddly. He had on round glasses 
and a head scarf which failed to hide his baldness.

"Akane, what's wrong?" Nabiki asked, curiously.

"There's some strange pervert boy in the bathroom!" Akane forgot about 
the newcomer and indicated back where she came from, and turned about
to rush back in there, but this time hefting a heavy weapon.

"So why didn't you just clobber him, like usual?"

"He surprised me!"

"But I just sent Ranma for a bath ... " Kasumi put in, a puzzled look 
on her face.

Someone coughed dryly and everyone looked at the opening to the room. It 
was that same boy Akane had surprised in the tub. He was wearing Ranma's 
chinese clothes. He even had the same hair style and eye colour, although 
he had black-brown hair and not blonde. This puzzled her. What had 
happened to Ranma?

Soun, Nabiki, Kasumi and Akane looked at him expectantly. Only the plump 
stranger wearing the head scarf and round glasses looked unsurprised.

"Um, I'm Ranma Saotome ... sorry about this."


~*~*~*~


Night was preparing to settle in above the town of Nerima, Tokyo. The 
late afternoon sun's red light gently diminished as it continued to set.
Again, peacefulness was not mirrored to what was currently happening
within the Tendo house. Loud voices could be heard drifting out of the 
open windows.

Inside, the seemingly, newly arrived Genma Saotome, and his 'male' son,
Ranma, have sat down opposite to Soun Tendo and his three daughters, 
Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane, at the large family table. Soun had explained
ecstatically that Genma had shown up a while after Akane had gone to
show Ranma around. Although Genma did have to wait some time before Soun
recovered from his bout of weeping before he was noticed.

"So Saotome, you really did have a son!" Soun was crying again, but this
time in happiness. "But then who was that other girl?" He reddened a bit
remembering her beauty.

"Er ... yes, Tendo." Genma looked distinctly uncomfortable as he worked
out how to exactly explain the situation. Then his face suddenly
brightened as he decided what to do. He stood up, and with a quick flip
over his shoulder, sent Ranma hurtling outside and towards the small koi 
pond at the back of the house.

Everyone looked on in shock as Ranma shouted, flailing his arms and legs
about, to somehow divert his path from the oncoming water. He failed
miserably, making a fountain of cold water splash up from where he
landed.

The water, rippling at the surface, suddenly bubbled as a figure gasped
for air, and emerged from within the pond. Ranma seemed smaller for
some reason, with lighter hair and a bigger chest.

"What the hell did you do that for Pop?!" It was a feminine voice that 
somehow, seemed familiar. Soun and his daughters, shocked beyond belief, 
stared as Ranma slowly walked back towards them dripping wet. Ranma 
looked ... different. 

"What? Now he's a girl?" Soun exclaimed, more confused than ever. He
studied Ranma's body, hoping that it was just his imagination and that
Ranma had somehow gotten yellow muck in his hair, and was just stooping
so he seemed short. But then he noticed the definite twin bulges in 
Ranma's chest, which clung damply to the inside of her sopping red 
shirt. The slender curves of Ranma's body also could not be ignored. 
Ranma was definitely that beautiful girl he had lost it over earlier. 
Soun's mouth dropped open, saliva leaking out at one corner.

Akane's mouth also dropped open as she realised that the beautiful girl 
she had wanted to be friends with was actually a guy. Slowly her anger 
started to build.

Nabiki was shocked too, she wanted her beautiful new supermodel! Then
she calmed down after she realised that her plans were still possible if
Ranma could change back, and that dunk into the pond proved it.

Kasumi just smiled gently at Ranma, unfazed.

Genma started crying. "Oh my poor son! How cruel for him to suffer this
appalling condition! I cannot bear to see him like this!"

Ranma just ran back, ignoring the stares and furiously hammered her 
father into that same pool that she had just gotten out of. Genma flew 
even higher than Ranma had and fell making a huge splash. "And you know 
just who's fault that is, don't you, ya ol' fool!"

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "That pond isn't too deep."

However, instead of the expected Mr. Saotome that resurfaced, it was the
same panda that had come with Ranma in the first place. Soun seemed to
come out of his idiotic stupor for a second. "Saotome! Is that you?" he 
asked incredulously. Then he caught another look at Ranma and fell back
into his own little world.

The panda crawled out of the pond, its fur all drenched and soaking wet.
It held up a wooden sign saying, "Yes, unfortunately." The panda then
reversed the sign revealing, "And it's all Ranma's fault!"

"What!" Ranma shouted, her face slowly turning red. "It was you who 
thought Jusenkyou was a famous training ground!"

The panda slowly returned, dripping water all over the floor. Kasumi
frowned at all the mess the panda was making as it lifted up another
wooden sign.

"The kettle please?" the sign which the panda lifted, read. Kasumi 
fetched it for him. The panda then upended the whole kettle over his 
head. The girls were again shocked as the panda shrunk back into a man.

Soun was still comatose, mouth hanging open with a considerable amount
of drool puddling beneath him.

~*~*~*~


With Genma changed back into a man and Soun recovered enough to seem 
like a normal human being, Genma explained how he and Ranma had gotten 
cursed. Ranma, however, was still lushly female, since Genma had used up 
all of the kettle water that seemed to turn them back into normal.


~~ Flashback ~~


"Hmmm, this doesn't seem like a training ground Pop ..." Ranma was 
looking suspiciously at the strange pools of water with long bamboo 
poles suspended over and between them.

"Of course it is, boy! After all it 'is' listed in this old martial 
arts book I found," Genma replied and even fished out the book he was 
carrying to prove his point. "See? Jusenkyou. Famous training ground.
Right above this stuff that I can't read."

Although he was a bit puzzled at the funny chinese guide, in a uniform
of some kind and a hat, jumping up and down and shouting at them. But 
since Genma couldn't understand what he was saying, he ignored him. What 
he couldn't understand, couldn't hurt him right? "C'mon Ranma! Let's 
begin!"

"Right behind you!"

Both of them leapt up, each of them landing on a pole, balancing 
perfectly on one foot, ignoring the shouts of the guide.

The two of them leapt from pole to pole, each intending to knock the 
other on to the ground and maybe even into an embarrassing cold bath. 
However it was Ranma who achieved that first.

With a quick midair kick, courtesy of his son, Genma was knocked head
first down into a pool. Ranma gloated. The chinese guide managed to 
shout something in recognizable japanese, something about a cursed pool 
and a drowned panda, but Ranma was too intent on watching his father 
surface the water, wet and defeated, to truly pay attention.

"Ha ha, old man! How is the water down there?" he smirked.

Suddenly a loud growl came from below, and to Ranma's shock, a huge 
Panda wearing his father's gi and snarling viscously exploded from the 
water. Instinctively, he tried to dodge, but the surprise of a panda 
coming up instead of his father, slowed him down enough that the panda 
was able to land a solid strike.

Shouting, Ranma fell into the pool below him. Resurfacing, and spitting
out water he again managed to catch a snatch of what that strange 
chinese guide was saying.

"Oh, too bad! Fall in spring of drowned girl! The Nyannichuan! Very 
tragic legend of girl that fall in pool and drown! Now whoever fall in 
pool take form of girl!"

Shaking, a grim foreboding coming to him, Ranma ripped open his shirt 
and saw the impossible. He had sprouted breasts!


~~ End flashback ~~


"And that's how it happened." Genma sadly shook his head.

"Hey, that's not all!" Ranma said evilly, rubbing her hands together as 
she anticipated her father's coming discomfort.

Genma, strangely, went white. "No!! Don't tell them what happened next!"

Soun perked up a little, not blushing anymore since he had gotten a 
little used to Ranma's female body. "Go, on girl, umm, err, boy! Tell!"

Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi also curious urged Ranma to tell them.


~~ Flashback again ~~


"Arrrrghhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Ranma was shouting his head off. Jumping out of
the pool as if it were acid, he realised his diminished size and felt
his face. It felt different, smoother like a girl's. Feeling the blood 
rushing to his face under his smaller looking palms, he got another 
horrifying thought. Extremely hesitant, he opened the top of his pants. 
Frightened, he peeked inside. "Ii-t's go-o-o-nnne!!" the newly made 
'she' wailed miserably. "And how come I have blond errr ... arrrghhhh!
down there??!!"

The chinese guide's voice continued in the background.

" ... although hot water reverse effect  ... at least till hit with cold 
water agai .. n? ..."

Stuck in abject misery, Ranma didn't notice the sudden silence.

Suddenly two things collided with her. One was the giant panda, 
that Ranma concluded must be her father, and the other was the chinese 
guide. They were each holding tightly on to her arms.

"Bee-yoo-ti-full ...," the guide was slobbering out of his drool.

The panda was making suspicious high-pitched growling noises. It flashed
a wooden sign from nowhere, saying "Hubba, hubba!"

Appalled and scared to death, Ranma slipped out of their grasp and 
started running for her life. Her two admirers immediately began 
pursuit.


~~ End flashback ~~


"And they kept me on the run for hours, before they managed to snap out 
of it," Ranma finished.

With incredulous looks on their faces, Soun and his daughters turned to
see what Genma had to say about that. Instead they found a damp panda
holding a sign that said, "Don't look at me." It flipped the sign. "I'm 
only a cute panda!"

At that point, they heard the kettle whistling and Akane fetched it.
She splashed the panda with its contents. "So cold water changes you, but 
hot water gets you back to normal." She tried to splash Ranma too, but 
she jumped up quickly and managed to dodge the boiling water.

"Owwwwww! Hot, hot!" Genma cried, now in male form, as he jumped up and 
began hopping around in pain. "Hot water! It needn't be quite that hot!"

"Whatever," Akane answered, not the least bit repentant.

Soun, who was sitting down contemplating these strange turn of events, 
suddenly stood up overjoyed. "So Saotome, Ranma is really a boy?"

Genma answered positive.

"Ha ha ha, so the engagement can still carry on!" Soun laughed. "We can
get married right away!"

Akane, Kasumi and Nabiki's eyes widened in disbelief.

Ranma and his father shouted, "What!!??"

"Oops! That just slipped out! I meant that he can still marry one of my 
daughters, ha ha ha ha!" He was about to slap Ranma on the back, but 
then stopped himself. He might not be able to control himself if he 
touched her. "So choose which of my daughters you want to marry." He 
indicated his daughters. "My daughter, Kasumi, nineteen. Nabiki, 
seventeen. And Akane, sixteen."

Blood started to heat up Ranma's face.

"Pick whoever you want and that is your fiance."

Nabiki grinned. With Ranma chained to her in marriage, she would have
exclusive rights to his female body. "I'll marry him Daddy. After all, 
Kasumi already has a sweetheart." Kasumi blushed. "And Akane ... er ... 
you know Akane," she continued.

Akane looked at her angrily. "Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, we all know Akane isn't into boys. Besides she could never handle
a serious relationship like I can."

"Hah! That's a laugh! Besides, Dad wants to continue the Anything Goes
Martial Arts, while you'll probably just end up selling off the dojo!"

Soun, hearing this, hurriedly grabbed Akane's shoulders. "Then it's 
settled then! Akane will marry Ranma!" He started sobbing wildly. "Oh my 
little girl! I'm so happy!" 

Nabiki huffed in exasperation. That line of Akane's had effectively 
ruined her chances. Oh stuff it! she thought. She didn't want to marry 
such a weirdo anyway. And it would play havok on her ego. Imagine 
marrying someone who was more sexy as a female than you! Besides, she 
stopped training in the martial arts a long time ago and she couldn't 
ruin her father's dreams like that. In all likelyhood, she probably 
would end up selling the dojo.

"I'm sure you'll let me borrow him whenever I want anyway, won't you 
Akane?" Nabiki said, resigned. "For the interests of making money of 
course." That would do it. She didn't need to make such a sacrifice if 
she could thrust it on Akane and she could still reap all the rewards!

Akane looked around wildly. "B-but I didn't mean that 'I' wanted to 
marry him! He's a girl half the time!"

Kasumi smiled gently at her. "But you hate boys, Akane. Therefore, he's 
the perfect one for you."

"But he's such a pervert! Even his father lusts after him! That is sick 
I tell you! Sick!"

"Hey!" Genma cried out, indignant. "Every male who has seen Ranma in
female form for the first time has and will act like that! That was my
one and only time I've fallen from grace!"

Ranma gave her father a look that she would disprove that statement 
later but then returned to glaring at Akane. "And it's not my fault I'm 
so beautiful as a girl!" she added, starting to get angry. "You think I 
like male attention? If anything it's Pop here who deserves all the 
blame." Ranma splashed a glass of water at her father, turning him into 
a panda.

"And ... and it would be embarrassing if I had a fiance who looked a 
hundred times better than me, " Akane argued, grasping at straws now.
"I could never marry someone like him! Why, he even saw me in the nude!"

"Hey! you walked in on me!" Ranma turned around, refusing to look at 
her. "By the way, I noticed you got a pretty good look at me as well! 
And besides, it's no big deal for me to see a naked girl. I've looked at 
myself plenty of times."

Akane snorted. "See? He even perves on himself!"

"Actually, I would rather peep at myself than you. After all, I'm way, 
waaaaaaay, way better built than you could ever hope to be!" Ranma 
lifted her hands up behind her head, and began to laugh out loud evilly. 
"Ha ha ha ha ha urk-!"

Her laughter was cut off by Akane smashing the table in a mighty 
overhead swing on to the back of her head. Ranma's head, although quite 
hard, was no competition for the Tendo family room table.

"R-aa-nnma! You fool! Why don't you just marry yourself then?" Akane 
shouted at the unconscious form underneath the wooden fixture before 
angrily turning around and stomping off to her room.

"They're already a perfect couple," the panda signed.


--- End of Part 1.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As always, C&C appreciated...

Ace Sanchez (email: jsa@fl.net.au | www: http://jsa.users.fl.net.au/)