Sorry 'bout all the reposts. These two chapters have been significantly altered in terms of characterization from their original states, but not much plot-wise has changed. So you needn't read 'em if you don't WANT to... Although since part three is to be posted next, you might wanna do it. Your call, folks.
LE PLUS CA CHANGE...
Just another Ranma 1/2 fanfiction
By Dave Menard
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: Rumiko Takahashi-megamisama and others
own the original situations + characters. All A.N.C.'s are my
fault.
********************************
"Those who forget the painful lessons of history are
doomed to repeat them." -Someone Much Wiser Than The Author
"Those who forget the cause of the War of 1812 may be
doomed to repeat History 101" -The Author
"The sins of the Fathers are visited upon the sons, unto
the seventh generation..." -The Bible
"We are all cursed to turn into our parents..."-Anonymous
It was a perfectly normal Tuesday morning at Furinkan
High School. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and
assorted mysterious figures lurked ominously in the shadows,
waiting to wreak horrible vengeance upon a certain martial
artist.
The young man in question walked through the gates of the
school, accompanied by his fiancee, the youngest Tendo sister.
The two were studiously attempting to ignore each other, as
usual, when suddenly, the cry rang out:
"KOBUTA HIBIKI, PREPARE TO DIE!!!!"
The reader may be forgiven for being surprised. You were
expecting maybe Ranma Saotome? If so, I'm afraid you'll be
disappointed. Ranma Saotome hasn't been a student here in
twenty years. As a matter of fact, the pretty young lady whose
fiance has just been attacked is in fact his youngest
daughter, Sachiko Tendo. Confused yet? You will be...
Kobuta sighed. It was the same thing every day. He
charged forward to meet his opponent. Let's see, he thought.
It's Tuesday, so that must mean...
"FIREBALL!!!" A colossal burst of flame exploded directly
to his left. He flipped nimbly to his right, coming up in a
ready crouch. The delicately pretty girl he faced laughed
menacingly. Or, at least, it was intended to be menacing. In
point of fact, the only thing terrifying about Lina Gosunkugi
was her power. Physically, she was perhaps one of the
prettiest girls Kobuta had ever seen. Long, wavy black hair,
bright green eyes, a petite but shapely figure. The fact that
she affected a "goth" image only made her seem more exotic to
a country boy like Kobuta. He really wished they didn't have
to fight all the time, but that wasn't by HIS choice. As a
matter of fact, it was all the fault of...
"Hah! Gotcha now, you stupid hick!"
A sudden blow to the head sent Kobuta flying across the
quad. Fortunately for Kobuta, the hardest part of a Hibiki is
the head, so he merely picked himself up and snarled at the
jerk who struck him from behind.
"I'm warning you, Burakuro, back off, I'm not in the mood
today..."
"Hohohohohoho..." Burakuro laughed. Now HE had the
villainous laugh _down_. He tossed his head and consciously
struck a pose he knew highlighted his bishonen good looks.
"That's Upperclassman Taro to you, hayseed! I'm sick of you
showing me up, making me look bad in front of Achika!"
"Hey, it's not like I go out of my way to do it,
Upperclasshole! You do three quarters of it to yourself!"
The Achika in question took that as her cue, and
teleported onto Kobuta's arm, employing the glomp that got her
mother the coveted position of Co-Empress of Jurai. Burakuro
was knocked onto his keister by a quick snap kick from the new
arrival.
"Aww, Kobutaaaa..." she purred fetchingly in his ear,
causing his hair to stand on end. "You'll protect me from the
big, bad Upperclassman, won't you?"
"Gaaah! C'mon Achika, give me break, please?" Kobuta
flailed in Achika's grip to no avail. The spiky-haired alien
girl had him in the Hakubi glomp (tm, pat. pend.) from which
there was no escape. No escape, that is, until a lightning
bolt nearly parted Achika's hair. Whoops, thought Kobuta.
forgot about Gosunkugi...
"You stay away from my Burakuro-chan, you alien hussy!"
Lina cried, winding up for another bolt. Achika pulled a face.
"How many times do I have to tell you, witchy-poo, I
DON'T LIKE HIM!!!"
"Oh, say it ain't so, my goddess of the stars!!" Taro
lunged forward for a glomp of his own, but Achika
dematerialized, leaving Burakuro with an armful of pissed-off
Kobuta.
"Get OFFA me, you fruitcake!!" Kobuta cried, flinging
Taro face-first into the concrete. Forgetting all thoughts of
vengeance against alien princesses and Hibikis, Lina cried out
in horror and ran to the unconscious Taro's side.
"Oh, no! Burakuro-chan? Burakuro-chan? Are you all
right?" She grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him
violently. "Please wake up, honey-poo!"
Taro merely drooled.
"Phew," said Kobuta. "Thank goodness THAT'S over. Now,
where did Sachiko get off to?"
"Kobuta-Airen want to skip school, take Ti-Pi on date?" a
sing-song voice called from above. With a groan, Kobuta looked
up to see a winged Amazon descending from the sky, a Chinese
Take-Away box held daintily in hand. She giggled, as kawaii as
a box of kittens as she tossed her deep sea-green hair over
her shoulder. He barely had time to register her presence when
he felt as much as heard someone alight behind him. Before he
had a chance to react, an almost feline voice purred in his
ear.
"Yes, Future Nephew, why not take my Niece on a date?"
"Gaah!" Kobuta jumped backwards a good five meters.
Panting, he faced the gorgeous thirty-something Chinese woman.
"Geez, Old Woman, you shouldn't _do_ that to a guy!"
"Who're you calling old?!" Ti-Pi's Aunt responded with a
whack upside the boy's head with a bonbori. "I'll have you
know I'm the youngest Matriarch in 3000 years of Amazon
history! Now smarten up and take Ti-Pi out! She even made you
some of her "special" ramen... nudge, nudge, wink wink..."
"Aiyahh! Is true, Airen!" Ti-Pi landed in front of him
with a cute little curtsey. "Come with Ti-Pi, she show you
Amazon Noodle Trick!"
"I, er..." Kobuta hawed. "Er, thanks but no thanks, Ti-
Pi, I..." He twiddled his fingers nervously. "It really
wouldn't be right and all..."
"Now now, Future Nephew, it seems to me that Miss Tendo
isn't all that interested..." Ti-Pi's Aunt said with a grin.
"Huh?" Kobuta said, looking startled.
Across the quad, Sachiko joined two of her friends and
made her way indoors, completely ignoring the trials and
tribulations of the Hibiki boy behind her. Her friend Chugoku,
the bespectacled Mistress of Hidden-Weapons-Style Okonomiyaki
Martial arts, adjusted her glasses and looked back.
"Wow, look at him go! You really lucked out, sugar!
Kobuta is one heck of a good martial artist... Kinda cute,
too, in an 'I just-fell-off-the-turnip-truck' sort of way."
"I honestly couldn't care less, Chugoku." Sachiko said
scornfully as she flipped her long black pigtail over her
shoulder. "If you like him so much, why don't YOU marry the
oaf?"
"Tsk." The third girl tsked, breaking her attention away
from her appraisal of Hibiki's martial skill. Unless she
stepped up her training regimen, she'd never manage to beat
him. "Kuonjii appears to be enamoured of that most delicious
stud-muffin Keiichi Tofu in class E-3."
"Kin! I am not!" Chugoku cried, blushing.
"Verily? Then why do thine glasses always fog up whenever
you see him? And why dost thou behave like one of the mentally
impaired whenever you attempt to parlay with the majorly-hot
Tofu-san?"
"I'm just shy, that's all..."
Kin laughed uproariously. Sachiko turned to the taller
girl, a sly smile on her face.
"Well, we all know who my dear, sweet cousin Kin's got
the hots for, don't we?"
"Do not presume to 'go there', Tendo, I swear I shall
make thy life a living hell, family or no!"
"Oooh! Who is it? Who is it?"
"I am in earnest, Tendo." Kin levelled a icy glare on her
cousin. "Tell her, and I shall triple the interest rate on
your loan!"
"Oh, alright..." Sachiko said in a long suffering tone.
"But lay off, okay? I just wanna go to class, and not even
THINK about a certain baka martial artist jock..."
"Fine, fine..."
"So uh, guys?" Chugoku interjected. "D'you know what the
quiz today in Home Ec's gonna be? I forgot to study..."
Kin leaned over and smirked. "The mystery ingredient in
today's cuisine battle will be..."
"Yeah? Yeah?"
"500 yen, up-front."
"Aargh! Here! Now spill it, Kuno!"
"Very well, my ill-prepared compatriot. Today's mystery
ingredient is..." She paused dramatically for effect, "Pork!"
Sachiko smiled fiercely. "Did I ever tell you guys how
much I LOVE Home Ec?"
**************************
In the living room of the Tendo house, two men rapidly
approaching middle age sat across from each other, a game of
Mah-Jongg underway between them. The burlier of the two, a
scruffy-looking man sporting a pot-belly and a yellow and
black bandanna over his balding pate, leaned forward eagerly.
He was one tile away from a Pong!
"Say, Ranma... Isn't that one of the giant pink bats of
Madagascar over there?"
"Where?" He glanced around. "I don't see anything, Ryoga,
I... Hunh?" The other man, slimmer and with a full head of
slowly-greying hair pulled back into a pigtail looked down at
his point counters. He could have sworn... He stroked his chin
contemplatively. "Didn't I have fewer tiles than this?"
"Never mind that now. Look! Pong for me!"
"Aww. Do over! C'mon, Ryoga, do over!"
"Not a chance, Ranma, not a chance. And that makes a full
Mah-Jongg, so... Another game to me!"
"Grr. Fine. Another game?"
"Heh. Anytime..."
The two played a few more round, cheating merrily away,
before Ranma sat back with a sigh.
"So, whaddya think? D'you think our ungrateful children
are _ever_ gonna get married?"
"Of course they will. The Anything-Goes school, the
Hibiki School of One Righteous Fist and the Unryu School of
Sumo will be united, just like we planned. They'll come around
eventually. After all, you and Akane did..."
"Yeah, you're right. I just wish... Akane could see her
baby girls now... All grown up..." He broke into convulsive
sobs, sending streamers of tears across the room, drenching
his friend.
"Grunt!" Said the large black pig, his vast girth
quivering. He held up a wooden sign in his front trotter,
reading:
"There, there..."
"Thanks, Ryoga... Everything was going SO smoothly in the
beginning, wasn't it?"
***************************
Ranma Tendo sat zazen on the back porch, looking out
across the immaculately groomed garden. Tears streamed down
his face while a joyous smile spread across his features. He
glanced back down at the postcard, which bore a large pink pig
in sumo regalia on the front. It read:
"Bringing Kobuta from Okayama. Ryoga."
The missive was dated for a month ago, so they should be
showing up any time now..."It's about time!!" Ranma stood up,
clenching the postcard in one callused fist, and set out to
gather up his daughters.
He peered into the dojo, where his eldest daughter was
practicing. She was a blur of motion, her blue eyes flashing,
short-cropped black hair flying as she whirled through her
routines. Fists and feet flew, displaying her father's amazing
speed and her late mother's awesome strength. Her resemblance
to her mother brought a tear to her father's eye.
Clearing his throat, he called out to her. "Lonko!"
She paused in the midst of her kata, poised in the
completion of a movement that combined sheer beauty of form
with deadliest of intent. She looked over her shoulder towards
the house. Tsk. Father knew better than to disturb her while
she was practicing! She had a tournament tomorrow, and this
was going to be the year she took the all-Japan title!
"What is it, Pop? I'm a little busy right now, y'know,
practicin'?"
"Come into the house, sweetie. Family meeting time."
"This better not be about no fiance crap. Auntie Nabiki
warned me about "family meetings"...
"Um, er... Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Okay, fine, sorry Pop. Just keepin' my guard up like you
taught me..."
"Mmhmm." Ranma nodded. "Daughter, you make your Father
proud." he said with a smile. "Go get your little sister, and
meet me back here after you've showered."
Reluctantly, Lonko nodded, before setting out for the
house. Ranma watched her go, pride swelling his heart. Lonko
was the best martial artist he could make her, easily ten
times better than her mother had been at her age. Not as good
as HE'd been, of course, he chuckled to himself. But then
again, who was? Yes, Lonko was truly a worthy student of the
Anything Goes School. His OTHER daughter, however...
Sachiko hummed happily to herself as she chopped the
cabbage for tonight's dinner. It was such a joy to cook for
her loved ones. With Auntie Kasumi and Grandmother Saotome's
help, she'd become as good a cook, as good a _woman_, as her
mother was. Daddy even said that her cooking was better than
Mother's, but surely he was simply exaggerating...
A sarcastic snort caused her to pause in her labours. she
turned, to see her big sister leaning in the doorway.
"No _wonder_ Daddy thinks you're such a disappointment,
Sachiko..."
"Tsk." Sachiko glared at her annoying big sister. "Not
everyone thinks the world revolves around _martial arts_,
Lonko!"
"It does in this house, Sacchi. How're you ever gonna
represent the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts if you're
such a girly-girl?"
"Hmmph. Devoting your life to being the best there is at
beating people up isn't exactly my idea of a good livelihood,
Lonko. This _is_ the twenty-first century, you know. Martial
arts are for thugs and barbarians." The younger girl paused,
taking a deep breath. "Did you just come here to insult me, or
did you want something?"
"Yeah, Pop is callin' a family meetin' at the dojo, so
take off that stoopid apron an' getcher butt out there..."
"Honestly! Do you and Daddy want to eat or not? SOMEbody
has to look after these things..."
"Yeah, yeah, nobody appreciates you, yadda yadda..."
**********************
Some distance away, at the Nerima train station...
"Japan Rail 23 from Okayama now arriving on track four!"
The train pulled up and opened its doors, disgorging a
herd of salarymen and office ladies who began to scurry
towards the turnstiles, heedless of the driving rain. They
were, however, quite mindful of the squealing, snorting
presence of two large pigs, one domestic and black, the other
a bristly, tusked wild boar. Both were gigantic, easily five
feet tall at the shoulders, with red lacquered umbrellas
clenched in their mouths and matching black and yellow
kerchiefs tied around their necks. For all their imposing
size, the beasts seemed remarkably placid, one would almost
say domesticated. Grunting between themselves, they trotted
off the platform and into the city streets.
*******************
Twenty minutes later, the Tendos were gathered in the
Dojo, underneath the "Iroha" sign. Ranma knelt in front of his
daughters, his face impassive. The two teenaged girls fidgeted
nervously, for different reasons.
Lonko's danger sense was working overtime, virtually
screaming at her to flee the area, as impending doom was
approaching. Sachiko was merely worried the rice would scorch.
Ranma sighed, gathering himself. When he straightened,
his eyes were firm and hard.
"Lonko, Sachiko, I have wonderful news. A very old and
dear friend of the family is coming to visit with his son..."
Lonko stood up, eyes blazing. "I KNEW it! Stupid old man,
I should'a known! I ain't gettin' married to nobody! You'd
NEVER pull somethin' like this if Mom was still around! You-"
"That's enough, Lonko!" Sachiko barked, grabbing her
older sister's arm firmly. "No one said anything about getting
married!"
"Er, actually..." Ranma said, sotto voce.
"Wha-at?!" Both daughters yelled, incredulous.
"It's, er... not an arranged marriage, if that's what
you're thinking..."
"IT HAD BETTER NOT BE!!!" Lonko yelled.
"So what is it then, Daddy?" Sachiko asked, her voice
hard.
"It's er, well, I would like it very much if one of you
would _consider_ marrying this boy. He _is_ the son of a very
good friend of your dear, departed mother and I, and heir to
two very old schools of the Art... Now, don't look at me that
way, I said _consider_!"
"No way!" Sachiko cried. "I'm not marrying any idiot
martial artist! Bad enough I have to put up with you two!"
"Sachiko!" Ranma cried. "You break your father's heart!"
"Heir to two schools, huh?" Lonko murmured, interested
despite herself. "Is he any good?"
"Actually..." Ranma answered, "I have no idea. I'd hope
so, considering the fact his father is the only man who ever
came close to beating me..."
"That's not what Uncle Tatewaki says," Lonko quipped.
"According to him, he whupped your butt all the time!"
"Your Uncle Tatewaki is a moron." Ranma said hotly. "He
couldn't touch me if I had my arms and legs tied behind my
back, with my whole body sunken two feet into concrete and a
bullseye painted on my chest. And I've got pictures to prove
it. No, Ryoga is the only one who ever even came close..." His
eyes grew misty. "When I think back on those days, I... Well,
never mind. But please, both of you, give the boy a chance,
will you?" He glanced up at his two darling daughters, only to
realize that he no longer had their attention. Instead, the
girls were focused on the doors of the dojo.
"D-daddy?" Sachiko whispered. "There's a wild boar in the
garden..."
"Yeah, Pop, an' it's got a friend..."
Ranma nodded. "Little black pig wearing a bandanna?"
"Nuh-uh... BIG black pig wearing a bandanna..."
The three Tendos piled out the door.
TO BE CONTINUED...
*************************
LE PLUS CA CHANGE...
Just Another Ranma fanfiction
By Dave Menard
Part Two
OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: The original characters and situations
were created by Rumiko Takahashi-megamisama, I'm just playing
in her cursed pools...
**********************
Once upon a time, there was a man who was a martial
artist. He met a girl, (well, several girls actually, but he
only married one of 'em) and they had beautiful daughters
together.
They loving couple had ten happy years together. One day,
however, his beautiful wife got sick, and, after a time, she
passed away. This sad turn of events greatly affected the
once-happy man. Where once he was stoic and rash, he became
emotionally fragile, a shadow of the great warrior he once
was. But his daughters were a comfort to him, and so he
survived her loss.
There came a time when his daughters were almost grown,
and he began to think of their futures. For the oldest his
heart held no fear, since she was, to his mind, the perfect
young woman, the very spit and image of his late wife. For his
youngest, however, he worried.
She was headstrong and fierce, and refused to listen to
her father and become a traditional woman of their clan. She
would, he felt, have a very tough time of things if he did not
act to protect her interests and get her a good husband. (He
thought this because he was, after all, Japanese, which
implies a certain amount of sexist piggery.)
Thus, he contacted his oldest and dearest friend, a man
with whom he had endured countless trials and tribulations.
The man's friend had a son, who was possibly the greatest
martial artist of his generation. Who better to marry his
daughter? And so a marriage meeting was called. (Although the
man, being fairly cunning, and fond of having his head
attached to his neck, did not inform his daughters of this
fact until it was too late for them to flee)
The man's name was Ranma Tendo. And as to the outcome of
that marriage meeting, well...
**************************************
"Daddy, why are there pigs in the garden?" Sachiko asked
impatiently. The filthy beasts were getting hoofprints all
over her freshly raked gravel!
"Yeah, Pop, that one's got me beat too..." Lonko
deadpanned. The errant porkers had _something_ to do with her
baka father's idiot plan to marry one of them off, she was
sure...
Ranma himself was a little confused. What with the
earlier cloudburst, he had expected perhaps _one_ visitor of
the porcine persuasion, but two? He walked out into the
garden, carefully keeping to the stepping stones. Approaching
the slightly smaller of the two beasts, an enormous black pig
sporting a yellow and black bandanna, he cleared his throat
hesitantly.
"Uhrm, You wouldn't be..?"
The beast seemed to nod, before producing a wooden sign
from nowhere that read:
"Yep, It's me, Ryoga Hibiki. Sorry about your garden..."
Ranma beamed. "Ryoga, my friend. How've you been?!" He
clapped the oinker on the haunch. "Akari's been feeding you
well, I see!"
Both Tendo daughters goggled.
"Daddy, do you mean to tell me that this... This ANIMAL
is your 'old friend'?!" Sachiko paused, as a realization sank
in. "That wild boar over there had BETTER not be..."
The boar in question held up his own sign.
"Kobuta Hibiki. What's the problem?"
Sachiko fainted dead away. Lonko, for her part, merely
stared, mouth gaping.
"P-pop? I ain't marryin' no pig..."
The boar blinked quizzically and held up a sign. "So
what's wrong with pigs?"
Lonko joined her sister on the ground.
"Hmm..." Ranma muttered. "_That_ went better than
expected..." The large black pig nodded in agreement.
*********************************
Sachiko awoke to the pleasant sensation of a cool cloth
being tamped across her forehead by someone with a very gentle
touch. Her eyes still closed, she murmured, smiling.
"Ooh, that's nice, Lonko... I had the weirdest dream. I
dreamed father was planning on marrying one of us off to a
pig. Isn't that silly?"
"Er, yeah, real silly..." A masculine voice answered.
Sachiko's eyes shot open. She was in her room, on her bed, and
most importantly, a handsome boy was looking down on her, a
mix of concern and embarrassment on his face. He had thick,
coarse brown hair with a pale blonde streak slightly off
centre in his bangs. Some kind of birthmark, maybe? His eyes
were dark brown, almost black, and held an abiding warmth so
comforting that Sachiko felt herself drawn into the twin
chestnut pools. He smiled shyly at her scrutiny, a hint of
sharp canine poking over his bottom lip, a touch of scarlet
colouring his cheeks.
"Uh, hi..." He said, tugging nervously at the yellow and
black bandanna tied cowboy-style around his neck. "You okay,
miss?"
Sachiko blushed, suddenly hyper-aware of the boy's
proximity. Slowly, she backed away and sat up at the same
time, gaining a little breathing room.
"Hi yourself..." She said softly, smiling. "I'm Sachiko,
pleased to meet you. And you are..?"
The boy blinked. "Didn't I already introduce myself? I'm-
"
He was cut off as the door to the room was flung open,
revealing Lonko. She took in the scene and smirked.
"Well, well... The sleeping princess finally wakes up,
eh? Prince Charming here give you a big ol' smooch?"
"What?! No!" Both teens chorused, looking frantically to
each other for confirmation. "Nothing happened, honest!"
Lonko cocked an eyebrow. "Well, that's as may be,
lovebirds, but I need to borrow my sister for a moment.
Sacchi, c'mere."
"Now wait a minute, Lonko, I was just-"
"I said c'mere!" She reached over and yanked her sister
to her feet and out the door in a flash, sliding the door shut
behind her, leaving a very confused boy in her wake.
***********************
Lonko finally dropped her sister once she was sure they
were out of earshot of the boy.
"Lonko, what was THAT all about?! I was just about to-"
"Just about to step in a big pile of it, you mean. That
boy is a pig!"
"Tsk. Honestly, you're such a tomboy, Lonko. Not ALL boys
are pigs..."
"No, you baka! I mean _really_ a pig! Cripes, are you
really such an airhead you don't remember what made you faint
in the first place?"
"Hey! There's no need to be insulting! I remember
perfectly well! We were in the dojo, Daddy had just said
something about an old friend of his..." Her voice trailed
off. "Oh my god! OH MY GOD!!!"
"Aha." said Lonko with a smirk. "Now do you understand?"
"Yes!!! I left the rice cooker on! Dinner will be
ruined!!!"
Lonko picked herself up from the floor and tried again.
"No, woodenhead! I meant the fact that Pops wants one of us to
marry a pig! An honest-to-kami, big as life and twice as ugly
pig!"
"Huh? Then I wasn't dreaming..."
"Oh, man, I wish we BOTH were. Pop has gone off his
rocker for sure!"
"Okay... One thing at a time, Lonko." Sachiko took a deep
breath and composed herself. "What does all this have to do
with that cute boy in my room?"
"Geez, hormone-case! Pay attention, I'll take it slowly.
Nod if you follow me." Sachiko nodded. "Good. The boy." Nod.
"The cute boy" Another nod. "The cute boy in your room."
Further nodding. "The cute boy in your room turns into a pig."
A blink, another, then...
"Lost me."
"Aaaarrrgggh!!! Look, I saw it with my own eyes! Pop
emptied a kettle over the big hairy pig's head, and it turned
into that boy!"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"Would I make something this dumb up?!!"
"You have a point. Still, why on earth world Daddy want
one of us to marry a... What do you _call_ a pig that turns
into a boy, anyway? A werepig?"
"Who knows?" Lonko said dismissively. "Who cares? All I
know is Pop's gonna answer a few questions..."
The two scrambled downstairs into the living room in
search of their father.
**************************************
In the frilly pink and kawaii nightmare that was
Sachiko's room, the boy scratched his head pensively. What a
strange family... Nothing like his own happy one. He smiled to
himself as he thought back to peaceful days on the family
farm/dojo. He looked out the window at the setting sun. Right
about now, he'd be mucking out the pens and setting up for the
animals' evening feeding. Mom and Dad would be working hard
right alongside him. He sighed happily. Then, after dinner, it
would be time for sparring with Dad, which was just as
enjoyable, but in a different way. Then, if he wasn't too
tired, and it wasn't a school night, he could hike over to
their nearest neighbour's house and hang out with Achika, if
she was there. She split her time between her folks' place
(wherever that was) and her grandfather's home. She wasn't
always around, but he fondly remembered playing with Achika
and her big sister Mayuka growing up. Their Gramma always made
the best toys. Plus, it was pretty cool having a friend who
owned a spaceship.
He looked around the room casually, trying to discern the
personality of the inhabitant by it's contents. Some idol
singer posters, a Datalink terminal at a small desk, about
like the one he had at home. A vast collection of Sanrio
characters oddly devoid of Hello Kitty merchandise... Not
exactly the type of room he expected for a martial artist.
There were no weight sets, no training manuals. All in all, it
looked pretty much like a real girly-girl's room. He twiddled
his thumbs, bored already.
At least the girl herself was cute. Mega cute. Cute face,
cute brown eyes, cute pigtail (gotta love those), she even
looked cute when she slept. Didn't look like much more than a
bit of fluff, though. No muscle tone, for one. How good a
fighter could she be?
The older girl, Lonko, seemed more his speed, but
she'd already made her opinion clear on the matter. If she
didn't like pigs, she wasn't the girl for him. Besides, she
seemed so... coarse, he supposed was the word. Being a strong
woman didn't preclude femininity, as his mother proved.
Well, he thought, I'd best make a good impression on
Sachiko. He stood up and took a deep breath. Time to pull out
all the stops and turn on the ol' Hibiki charm...
***********************************
He found his father seated at the table, across from his
host and his host's daughters, both of whom were scowling
fiercely. Kobuta essayed a smile at Sachiko, but she merely
deepened her scowl and looked away. Aw, man! he thought. What
happened? We were getting along so well...
A palpable silence hung over the room. Kobuta coughed
into his hand as he sat down next to his father.
"So, what'd I miss?" He smiled. It went over like a lead
balloon with the Tendo daughters, although their father
attempted a reassuring smile.
"Well, now that we're all settled," Ranma said, a tone of
forced joviality suffusing his voice, "I believe proper
introductions are in order. Ryoga, Kobuta, may I present my
daughters. Lonko, she's nineteen-" Lonko nodded warily, never
breaking eye contact with Kobuta. He began to sweat. "-and
Sachiko, aged sixteen." Kobuta attempted a pleasant smile,
that froze on his face when Sachiko hhmphed and looked away.
Ryoga heaved his bulk to his feet and bowed formally from
the waist at both daughters. "I am Ryoga Hibiki, and this is
my son, Kobuta. He's seventeen." Kobuta bowed.
"Your hospitality honours us greatly, Tendo-san." Kobuta
intoned formally, his father beaming with pride. Ranma nodded
and smiled, gesturing for them to sit down.
"No need to be so formal now, everyone! We're practically
family... So, Ryoga... Why don't we leave these kids alone to
get to know each other, while we catch up?"
"Great idea!" Ryoga nodded, before leaning over and
whispering in his son's ear. "Now, son, remember. One of these
girls is going to be your future wife, so be a gentleman." he
said firmly. Kobuta nodded. "Good." Ryoga straightened to face
the girls. "Well, It was a pleasure meeting you two. I'm
looking forward to getting to know you both better."
The two fathers left, leaving the three teens seated
around the table.
The Tendo girls stared at their suitor. He started
sweating harder.
"So... Uh... Gosh..." He cudgled his brain, desperately
seeking an opening line. What would Mom say? he thought
frantically. She's so polite and well-mannered... He
plastered a big, friendly smile on his face. "You girls are as
pretty as a couple of pigs!"
It didn't go over as well as he'd hoped...
**********************************
TO BE CONTINUED.
Here Endeth The Lesson.
Spa Fon!
-------------------------------------------
Dave Menard
Keeper of Pink's Hammer of Vengeance
Knight of the Combat Fiancees
Member of the Space Pirates Guild
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/spacepiratesguild/
"I would not, could not kill the King... I would not poison Anything!"
--Green Eggs and Hamlet