Subject: [FFML] [Ranma] [Fanfic] [SI] The Tendo's Brother, Chap. 1
From: Wakoid2@aol.com
Date: 4/19/2002, 1:22 PM
To: ffml@anifics.com


Disclaimer:  I do not in any way own Ranma 1/2.  Rumiko Takahashi does.  
If, for some reason, cameos from other series show up, they belong to 
their creators.

Much thanks to my prereaders:
'Dark Knight' <darkphoenixvr@hotmail.com>
'Zohar' <myrmiddon@hotmail.com>
'Rick Robinson' <richardrobinson@prodigy.net>

"  " Is someone speaking in Japanese.
%  % Is someone speaking in English.
/  / Is thought.
*  * Is sound effects.

^^^^^^^^^^
The Tendo's Brother
A Ranma 1/2 Self-Insertion Fanfic
By Nathan Huss
^^^^^^^^^^

A standard beginning...

It was drizzling in the streets of Nerima as a short, red-haired figure 
ran, chased by a large panda.  Turning around to face it, she launched an 
attack at it.

"I don't got time for this, oyaji!  I'm heading back to China to find a cure 
for this!"  She grabbed the panda's arm, and threw it into a nearby sign.  
"Chew on that," she said, turning around.  She didn't notice the panda 
ripping the sign out of the ground and slamming it into the back of her head.

Ignoring the stares of various passersby, the panda grabbed the unconscious 
girl and slung her over its shoulder.  After growling at some of those 
watching for a second, it continued on.

^^^^^^^^^^

Soun Tendo cried in joy as he read the postcard in front of him from his 
old friend, Genma Saotome.

"How I have waited for this day.  Kasumi!  Nabiki!  Akane!

As he went to go find his daughters, Akane was finishing up her morning 
jog.  Coming up to the Tendo household, she ran inside, changed into her gi, 
and then ran back outside where a bespectacled boy was waiting next to a 
stack of cinder blocks.  She ran up to the stack, and with a shout drove 
her fist though them.  As she sighed happily, the boy passed her a towel.

"Thanks," she said, using it to wipe some sweat from her forehead.

"No prob," he responded.  They both turned when the heard the sound of 
clapping from the direction of the house.  "Nice, sis," Nabiki said, 
smirking slightly.  "No wonder all the boys think you're weird."

"Well, _some_ of us don't think the world revolves around boys, Nabiki."  
Akane turned to the one who had handed her the towel, and smiled.  "Besides, 
you don't think I'm weird, do you?" she asked him.

She blinked, realizing that he had disappeared.  "Nathan!" she growled 
softly.

Nabiki chucked, and her smirk grew.  "Heh, Nate-chan is getting smarter.  
Anyway, dad has something he wants to tell us."  She and Akane walked 
back into the house.

^^^^^^^^^^

Ranma woke up slowly.  She shook her head to clear it, and then glared at 
the panda's back.  "Put me down, oyaji!" she shouted.

"Growf!"

She heard the sound of a door open, and twisted so she could get a better 
look.  They were at the front door of a house, looking down at a young 
gaijin who had opened the door.  He was nearly six feet tall, had curly 
brown hair, and a pair of glasses.  And he was looking up at them with a 
look of shock on his face.

"Hey, Nate-chan," they heard a female voice call from inside the house.  "Who 
is it?"

Behind the boy, a girl and an older man, both of them Japanese, walked up.  
Right as they reached 'Nate-chan,' they saw the panda.  Gasping, the two 
grabbed the boy and ran back into the house in fear.

Ranma felt his father shrug and follow them in.  They came across the 
occupants of the house again in the hall where the three from right before 
and two other girls were.

"Knock it off, you're scaring them spit less!" she yelled.

"Daddy, is this a friend of yours?" the girl who had helped drag the boy 
asked.  The man shook his head violently.  "Oh, so I suppose a panda just 
decided to visit for no reason?"

The panda took Ranma off his shoulder, and placed her down.  She scratched 
the back of her head nervously.

The man blinked, and then looked at her.  "You wouldn't be...?"

"Ranma Saotome.  Sorry 'bout this."

^^^^^^^^^^

Everyone was now gathered in the dining room at the table with the exception 
of Soun, who had been laid to the side after collapsing from learning Ranma 
was a girl.

"Nice going, dad, does this look like a boy to you?" Nabiki asked, poking 
Ranma's chest.

"Ranma was _supposed_ to be a boy," Soun responded weakly.

"Well she sure doesn't look like one!"  She continued to poke.

"Um, could you stop that?" Ranma asked.

"Nabiki!  Stop being rude!  She's our guest."  Akane turned to Ranma.  "Hi, 
I'm Akane.  Would you like to be friends?"  Ranma nodded shyly.  Akane 
smiled and stood up.  "Hey, you want to see our dojo?"  Ranma nodded again.  
As Ranma stood to follow, Akane motioned the to gaijin, Nathan, who also 
rose.

As they walked to the dojo, Akane reached up and whapped Nathan upside the 
head.

"Hey, what was that for?" he asked.

Akane grinned at him.  "That was for skipping out on answering my question 
earlier.  Honestly, did you think I would have done something to you if I 
didn't like your answer?"

"It was a distinct possibility in my mind," he mumbled, earning him another 
whap.

Once inside, Ranma and Akane stood in the center, while Nathan sat off to 
the side.

"So," Akane said.  "I heard you practice kempo?"

"A little," Ranma answered nervously.

"Want to spar?"

"Um... ok."

Akane got into a fighting stance, while Ranma just stood there, arms behind 
her back.  After a short period of waiting, Akane rushed up and began 
attacking.  Each of her strikes were easily dodged, even when she tried to 
hit Ranma in mid-air.  Eventually Akane pulled back, breathing heavily.  
Nathan whistled from where he was, impressed.

/Is she reading my moves?/ Akane wondered.  "Okay, this time for real!"  
She rushed forward and swung her fist.  Ranma nimbly jumped over her, 
causing the punch intended for her to crash through the wall of the dojo.  
As she heard a slight groan from Nathan, Akane felt a finger poke into 
the back of her head.

Akane turned around, and saw Ranma's smiling face.  After a few seconds, 
she began to smile as well.  "Wow, you're pretty good."

Ranma just shrugged sheepishly.

"Well, I'm just glad you're not a boy.  I would really have hated to 
lose to one."  With that, she got up and left the dojo.

Ranma just looked at Akane's retreating back, and sighed.  "Oh, boy."

"Damn, couldn't she have just a little bit more restraint?"  Ranma jumped 
slightly before she noticed Nathan suddenly standing next to her, staring 
at the hole in the wall.  "This is the third time this month," he continued.

"Um... what did she mean when she said she would have hated losing to a 
boy?" Ranma asked.

Nathan shook his head slightly and walked over to a corner that had a 
couple of wooden boards and a tool chest.  "It's a bit of a story," he 
said, "but it has to do with something that happens at school."  Picking 
up the equipment, he walked back over to the hole and opened the tool chest.

"Have you ever beaten her?"

Nathan looked at Ranma for a moment, and then let out a short laugh.  
"Yeah, right.  In a way, she's my sensei, since she's a more advanced 
student of the Tendo school.  It's more of a hobby for me, anyway."

Ranma just shrugged, then headed out herself.  As she got to the door, 
Kasumi walked in, and smiled.  "Oh, Ranma.  I just finished filling up 
the tub, and I thought you would want to take a bath."

"Yeah, thanks," Ranma said.  As she followed Kasumi out, she turned to 
Nathan.  "See ya."

Nathan waved back without really looking.  Sighing, he got to work fixing 
the wall.  /Hm... going to need to buy some more nails soon./

^^^^^^^^^^

Some time later, after some screaming and running around with large, 
heavy things...

"So, you're really that girl from before, and you're the panda?"

Genma nodded sagely.  "Hm... Where to begin?"  With that, he grabbed a 
currently male Ranma's shirt and tossed him into the pond.

"What'd you do that for?" Ranma-chan sputtered as she burst out of the 
water.

All there except the Saotomes gaped.

"Oh, the shame of it all!" Genma exclaimed.  "That my only son should be 
cursed so!"

"Like you're one to talk!" Ranma yelled, leaping over and kicking her 
father into the pond as well.  Once Genma emerged as a panda, the two 
Saotomes immediately began swiping at each other.

"You sure have some strange friends, daddy," Nabiki said.

"That's putting it mildly," Nathan muttered.

"They weren't like this before," said Soun.  "This happened to them in 
China."

After Ranma and Genma had taken a quick bath, they told the story of how 
they had acquired their curses.  As Genma finished speaking, Ranma was 
virtually shaking in anger at the memory of the events.

"If you woulda just listened to the guide, this never would have 
happened!" Ranma shouted, grabbing Genma.  The Saotome elder promptly 
reversed the grab and tossed his son into the pond again.

"Foolish boy!  Weren't you prepared to lay down your life for the 
Art?"

"My life, yes!  My manhood is another story!"  Ranma splashed her father 
in retaliation.  They started swiping at each other.

Before they could really get deep into the fight, Genma-panda was 
Immediately set upon by the elder two Tendo daughters.  As they started 
to question the panda's reasons for going to Jusenkyo in the first place, 
Nathan shuffled over next to Ranma.

"So..." Nathan paused for a second.  "Everything?"

Ranma nodded.  "Full change."

Nathan blinked, then shook his head.  "That must be freaky the first few 
times."

Ranma glared at his father, who had just dropped the Jusenkyo brochure.  
"It doesn't exactly get easier."

Nathan just nodded.

"So," Soun began, coming into the room with a steaming kettle.  "Cold 
water activates the curse, and hot water changes you back."  He poured 
some of the water over Genma.

"It needn't be _that_ hot, Tendo," Genma said irritably.

Soun just went over to pour the rest onto Ranma.  Both she and Nathan 
dived out of the way to avoid being splashed.

"Hot water, not boiling water!" Ranma yelled, while Nathan 
simultaneously exclaimed, "Watch it with that!"

Soun sat down at the table.  "Your problem isn't that bad after all.  These 
are my daughters.  Kasumi, age 19; Nabiki, age 17; and Akane, age 16.  Pick 
the one you want, and she'll be your fianc�e."

"Oh, he wants Akane," Kasumi said quickly.

"Definitely," added Nabiki as the two of them pushed Akane forward.

"Wha- why would I want to be engaged to some sex-changing pervert!?" 
Akane yelled.

"C'mon Akane.  The changing thing isn't his fault, and he doesn't seem 
like a pervert at all," Nathan said, trying to calm the girl down.

"He saw me naked in the bath!!!"  Nathan winced from the volume of her 
voice.

Nabiki shrugged.  "So?  What about that time a couple of months ago 
when-"

"Nabiki," Nathan interrupted.  "Everyone involved in that agreed that we 
should all just forget all about it."

"Oh, right.  Sorry."

Ranma just frowned, and stood up.  As she began to walk away, she heard 
Genma.  "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Back to China, oyaji!  I don't have time for fianc�es!"  She turned to 
Akane, who was still glowering.  "By the way, you got a pretty good look 
at me as well back then.  It's not like I saw anything I hadn't before.  
I mean, I've seen myself plenty of times, and I'm better built to boot."

As Ranma finished speaking, Nathan simply closed his eyes and waited for 
what came next.

*WHAM!*

"Now that he had coming," said Genma.

^^^^^^^^^^

Ranma jolted up as she regained consciousness, and then gripped her head 
as a wave of pain hit.

"Easy there, you got hit pretty hard," she heard Nathan say.  "As a point 
of advice, don't insult Akane like that again.  It'll save you a lot of 
injuries in the long run."

Nodding, Ranma slowly lay back down.

"You'll have to forgive Akane," Kasumi said, picking up a washcloth that 
had been placed on Ranma's forehead.  "She's a very nice girl, except that 
she's a violent maniac at times."

"That really explains things, sis," said Nabiki, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, just give her another chance," said Nathan.  "I've lived with 
the Tendos for about six years, and I know that Akane can be very nice 
once you get to know her."

Ranma simply nodded again and slowly got up.  "I'm going to take a bath 
and change back."  She walked out of the room and shut the door behind 
her.

^^^^^^^^^^

/Ite!  It still smarts!/ Ranma thought, rubbing the bruise on the back 
of her head.  She walked down the stairs toward the bathroom.

Ranma opened the door to the changing area, but before she had gone in 
all the way she noticed the 'occupied' sign up on the door.

/Oh, great.  Akane's probably in there./  She quickly walked back out and 
shut the door behind her.

A few minutes later, Akane walked out, toweling off her hair, to find 
Ranma sitting off to the side.  "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to finish," Ranma said, standing up.  "I noticed you 
were in there, and didn't really want to get hit again.  Now you can't say 
I'm a pervert."  She walked inside and closed the door.

"Hmph... We'll see," Akane said, but without much force.

^^^^^^^^^^

The next day...

"What do you mean I have to go to school?" asked Ranma.

Akane sighed as she heard Ranma and Mr. Saotome argue downstairs.  Walking 
down the hall to Nathan's room, she knocked on the door.  "Nathan, are 
you up yet?  It's almost time for school."  There was no answer from 
inside.  "Not again."

Opening the door, she carefully picked her steps across a mess of clothing, 
manga, paperback novels, and miscellaneous papers that lay scattered across 
the floor.  When she finally reached the bed at the other side of the room, 
she pulled back the covers to reveal a still-sleeping Nathan, who had an 
open manga lying on his chest.

Akane 'tsked.'  "He stayed up reading again.  Didn't even change before 
going to sleep."  Shrugging, she gripped his shoulder and shook him 
roughly.  "Wake up, Nathan.  It's nearly time to leave for school."

%Hzzzuh?  Lemme 'lone.  Still sleepy.%

She shook him several more times, getting the same results.  Grinning, 
she pulled out her trump card.  "If you don't get up, I'll get Nabiki to 
make you do so."

%I'm up!% Nathan shouted, leaping out of bed.  Unfortunately, he ended 
up landing on another manga, and his foot slipped out from under him.

*WHUMP!*  %Owww...%

Giggling, Akane shook her head.  "Hurry up, it's almost time to leave."

After leaving Nathan to get changed into his school uniform, Akane 
headed downstairs to see Nabiki already leaving.  "Hey, wait for me!"

Nabiki just grinned.  "Shouldn't you go to school with your fianc�e?"

Akane looked back to Ranma, who was frowning at the schoolbag that had just 
been given to him.

"Why would I want to-"

There was another loud *WHUMP!* from upstairs, followed by a trickle of 
mixed cursing in English and Japanese.

"Doesn't he ever clean up his room?" pondered Nabiki.

"I think the last time was the year before this," Akane said.  "He managed 
to get it back to a total mess within three days.  I just wonder how he 
managed to convince Kasumi to leave it like that."

Nabiki nodded, and then continued out the door.  Akane almost followed, 
but grudgingly decided to wait for Ranma.

"I still don't see why I hafta go," Ranma muttered as he walked over to 
Akane.

Akane didn't answer, but just shouted upstairs.  "Nathan!  We're going to 
be late!"

"Coming!"

After Nathan finally hopped down the stairs, the three of them left for 
school.

"Hey, Nathan," Ranma began.  He was currently walking on the fence next to 
the other two.  "I was meaning to ask earlier, but didn't get the chance.  
How come you're living with the Tendo's?  Did they adopt you or something?"

Nathan looked up at Ranma, then back to the street as he continued 
walking.  "No, though Mr. Tendo is currently my legal guardian," he said 
flatly. 

Ranma blinked.  Nathan had seemed a lot friendlier the other day.  "Geez, 
what's gotten..."  He stopped talking as he saw Akane waving in a 'no' 
manner.  Ranma hopped down to walk next to Akane.  "What is it?" he 
whispered.

"Nathan's parents died in an accident about six years ago, while he had 
been at our dojo for lessons," Akane whispered back.  "I'm not sure exactly 
why, but since he was the last one to see them before it happened, dad felt 
he had to take care of Nathan."

"Oh, man..."

The two of them walked in silence, trailing behind Nathan.

*Splash!*

Ranma-chan sighed and looked at the old lady who was washing the 
sidewalk outside her house.

"I'm going home," she said, turning around.

"What do you mean, 'going home?'  You're supposed to go to school," Akane 
said.

Ranma gestured to herself.  "Like this?  No way!  I'm not about to show 
up the first day as a girl!  I'm going back to take a bath and change."

Akane just grabbed Ranma's wrist and started pulling her down a side street.  
"I know where we can get some hot water that's close to school.  You go on 
ahead, Nathan."

The bespectacled boy nodded slightly and continued walking.

"Hope I didn't upset him when I asked that before," Ranma said.

"He'll be okay, probably.  Just give him a bit and it'll virtually be like 
he forget you brought it up."

"Really?  That's great!"

Akane didn't respond, but just had a slightly sad look on her face.

Eventually, they reached a clinic, and Akane headed inside.  While Ranma 
was waiting, she felt a hand fall on her shoulder.  Turning around quickly, 
she came face to face with a skull.  Ranma leapt up and grabbed the top of 
the wall.

"Oh, sorry about that," said a friendly voice.  Ranma blinked and let 
herself drop.

"I hope Betty-chan didn't scare you," the man holding the medical skeleton 
said, smiling.

It was then that Akane came back outside, carrying a kettle.  When she saw 
the man, she blushed and set the kettle down on Ranma's head.

"Good morning, Tofu-sensei," she said, bowing.

"Ah.  Good morning, Akane.  No new injuries, I hope."

"I haven't had any lately."

"That's good to hear.  Oh, when you see Nathan, tell him that he can come 
in a bit later than usual.  There aren't that many appointments for today."

"Hai, sensei.  I will."

Ranma, who had just finished pouring the warm water over himself, looked 
on with interest.

As they ran to get to school on time, Ranma looked over to Akane.  "So 
that guy, he's a martial artist, right?"

"Yes.  I'm surprised you could tell."

"When he snuck up on me, I couldn't even feel his presence."

"Yeah, he's pretty good.  He's been our family's doctor for as long as 
I can remember.  He's been fixing up my scrapes, cuts, and bruises ever 
since I was little.  Nathan started working part time in his clinic a few 
months ago."

"I suppose that's how he managed to get right next to me the other day 
in the dojo without me noticing it," Ranma said, thinking back.

Akane chuckled.  "He really likes that trick, but he says he hasn't 
fully learned it though."

As they approached the school, Ranma noticed Akane's face take on 
an increasingly angry look.  Glancing forward, he saw a large group 
of boys standing just inside the school's gate, in a medley of 
different uniforms.

Akane suddenly burst forward with a growl, and plowed into the group.  
Ranma slowed down, and stood just inside the school grounds to watch.

The boys were attacking Akane en-mass, but she took out each one that came 
close to her.  

"Hey, Ranma!"  The pig-tailed martial artist looked up to see Nabiki in 
one of the school's windows.  "Hurry up or you'll be late!"

"But what about...?"  He motioned toward Akane, who at that moment 
took out three guys at once.

"Don't worry, she does this every day!" Nabiki called back.

Ranma blinked.  /Every day?/

Soon, the grounds were covered with unconscious boys, while Akane 
stood breathing deeply.  Then, as if on cue, she held out her hand to 
catch an object that was streaking toward her.

"Kuno," she growled.

"Ah, what a boorish lot these weaklings be, to think that they could 
defeat the fair Akane Tendo."  A young man, wearing a hakama and wielding 
a bokken, stepped out from behind a tree.  "I noted that the gaijin Huss 
entered these grounds alone this day, and feared you had taken ill.  I 
now can see that such fears were unwarranted, though I would have gladly 
come to tend you in your sickness."

"Popular, aren't ya?  I guess 'Huss' is Nathan's last name?" Ranma asked 
as he walked up next to Akane.

"Just stay out of this, Ranma," she said.

"Hold there!" Kuno said, pointing the wooden sword at Ranma.  "Who are 
you to speak so familiarly to Akane Tendo?"

Ranma frowned.  "Well, I'm-"

"Ah, but 'tis it not the custom to give one's own name first?" Kuno 
asked, cutting Ranma off.  "Very well, then mine I shall give.  I am the 
rising star of the Kendo world, the mightiest-"  At this point, a small 
glint of metal flashed in the air, and a metal bolt struck Kuno in the 
side of the head.

"Do not think I saw not the culprit of that attack, Huss!" roared Kuno, 
pointing his blade at said boy.

"Just get to the end of it!" Nathan shouted back.

Grumbling, Kuno turned back to face Ranma.  "As I was about to proclaim:  
I am Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!"

*CRACKTHOOM!*

"Well, I'm Ranma Saotome, and I'm stayin' at the Tendo's..." said 
Ranma, scratching his head.

"What?  You dare sleep under the same roof as Akane Tendo?  Have at thee!"  
Kuno dashed forward to attack, but Ranma easily flipped out of the way.

"I am Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial 
Arts," he tossed his bag over to Akane to hold, "and I accept your 
challenge."

"Short, simple, to the point," Nathan said casually to some of the 
other students watching nearby.  "Much better than any of Kuno's, in 
my opinion."

"Silence, Huss!" bellowed Kuno.  Unfortunately for the kendoist, this gave 
Ranma a diversion to start attacking, putting the older boy on the 
defensive immediately.

Trying to rally back, Kuno started slashing with his bokken, making Ranma 
jump back a good ways.  "Never will I allow a peasant such as you to force 
your evil desires onto the fair Akane Tendo!"

Both Ranma and Akane twitched as Kuno said that.  Ranma immediately ran up 
until he was face to face with Kuno.  "Listen, you..."

/So fast.../ the kendoist thought.

"I'm staying at the Tendo's 'cause my old man is friends with Mr. 
Tendo," continued Ranma.  "As for Akane, why _anyone_ would want to 'force 
their desires' on an violent tomboy like her is beyond me!  They'd probably 
end up getting their head handed to them!"

>From his vantage point, Nathan shook his head and groaned.

Akane scowled.  And Ranma had been acting almost nice up until then.  She 
threw Ranma's bag at the back of his head.  At the same moment, Kuno 
launched a downward slash, intending to cut Ranma in half.  Ranma leapt 
into the air, however, causing his bag to get sliced instead of himself, 
and then descended on Kuno.

No one had noticed that clouds had started to form as soon as Kuno had 
finished giving his name, but now drops started to fall as Ranma's finger 
poked Kuno's forehead and Kuno's bokken pass by Ranma's throat.

Kuno blinked.

Ranma blinked.

Most of the students watching wondered why Ranma suddenly looked like 
he was smaller.

"Sa-Saotome?" Kuno managed to get out.

"Yeah, it's me.  Damn it!  Why'd this have to happen now?"

Kuno looked down at Ranma's now-female form, and, of course, came up 
with a completely wrong explanation for it.

"I see now your plot fiend!  You had hoped to seduce me with this body, 
luring me away from my true love Akane Tendo, so that you could ensnare 
her for your dark pleasures!"

"What!?  No!" Ranma yelled, leaping back.

"I have seen through your tricks, sorcerer!  I shall smite thee to 
protect my fair Akane!" Kuno raised his bokken and prepared to attack.

Nearly invisible because of the falling rain, another bolt flew out and 
hit Kuno in the back of the head.

Kuno spun around.  "Curse you, Huss!  This is the last..."  He trailed off 
as he failed to see Nathan anywhere.  Turning around again, he saw that 
Ranma was now gone.

^^^^^^^^^

"What did you drag me away for?" Ranma asked as she was pushed into an
equipment shed by Nathan.  "I coulda handled that idiot easily!"

Nathan looked around quickly to see if Kuno had been able to follow, 
and then came in and shut the door.  "It was for your sanity's sake, not 
your health.  Believe me, once Kuno gets something like this into his 
head, it never leaves."

Ranma grumbled slightly, but left it at that.  "Why'd it have to start 
raining, though?  Of all the worst times..."  She continued to mutter, and 
took off her shirt to wring the water out.

Giving a small yelp, Nathan quickly turned around.

Ranma gave him a quizzical look.  "What's with you?"

Nathan glanced over his should, reddened, and turned back.  "Ranma, 
what are you?"

"Huh?  What d'you mean?" she asked as she twisted out her shirt.

"At the moment, what are you?"

"Oh, a girl.  Why?"

Nathan groaned, and rubbed his forehead slightly.  /Going to need one 
of the girls to have a little talk with him./

*KLANG!*

Nathan blinked, and turned around to see that Ranma now had a kettle 
impacted on her head, courtesy of Akane.  Unfortunately, she _still_ 
didn't have a top on, so he quickly turned away.

"Just what do you think your doing?" Akane asked.  "Nathan's here!"

"Yeah, so?"  Ranma took the kettle off of her head and poured the contents 
over herself.

"Don't you have any feminine modesty?"

"Hey, I'm a guy!" Ranma exclaimed.  "Why should I have any of that 
feminine modesty junk?"

As the two of them began to argue, Nathan took a deep breath and 
stepped forward.  "Hey Akane, what's Kuno doing now?"

Glaring at Ranma slightly, she replied, "He's currently searching for the 
two of you, going on about how you're plotting against him."

"Figures."  He glanced out the window again.  "I'd guess that if we can 
sneak around him, we won't have to worry about him until lunch.  Where 
was he last you heard?"

"Somewhere out by the athletic fields," said Akane.

Nathan nodded.  "Should be easy, then.  Let's go."

^^^^^^^^^^

Shortly thereafter, Ranma was introduced to his new classmates.  After that, 
he and Akane had to stand in the hall for being so late.

Akane looked down at the buckets of water they were forced to hold.  
"This is partially your fault, you know."

"My fault?  I woulda finished Kuno off quick if Nathan hadn't nabbed 
me!"

"That's why I said it's _partially_ your fault."

"What was with that crowd anyway?" asked Ranma.  "I think Nathan sorta 
mentioned it the other day, but he didn't really explain it."

Akane sighed.  "At the beginning of the school year, Kuno made some 
idiotic speech about how anyone who wanted to date me had to defeat me 
in combat."

"And you have to fight them all every day?"

"Yeah.  I always get it done before class starts, though."

Ranma frowned.  "I told you, I would have finished it if-"

Akane nodded.  "I know, I know.  You've already said that."

Ranma grumped and turned away.  "You're the one who brought it up 
again," he muttered.  

They stood there for a while longer, silently, until the teacher let them 
rejoin the class.

^^^^^^^^^^

After school, Akane, Ranma, and Nathan, walked home.

"Kuno never did show up again," Nathan said absently.

"I heard some students say he was last seen leaving, ranting about 
'those fiends'," Akane said.

Nathan shrugged.  "Never expected him to think we actually left 
school.  Still..."

Akane nodded in agreement.  "Anyway, I think we should get in a bit of 
training today.  You'll need to start improving your skill if Kuno decides 
to attack you."

Nathan's pace slowed down slightly.  "I'm not doing that bad, and I got 
out of it the last time.  Besides, I have to get ready to go to the 
clinic."

Akane smirked.  "He nearly managed to break some of your ribs, and would 
have if I hadn't shown up just then.  As for the clinic, Tofu-sensei said 
that you could come in later, since there aren't that many appointments.  
We're training, got it?"

"Yes, 'sensei'."

Ranma blinked and looked between the two of them.  "What're you so down 
for?" he asked Nathan.  "I know she isn't that good, but I'm betting you 
definitely could use a lot of improving."

Akane's right eye twitched.  "What do you mean, 'isn't that good'?" she 
growled.

"Well, I could see this morning that your form was a bit sloppy, and I 
did fight you yesterday, so..."

"Ranma no baka!"  *WHAM!*

Akane stormed off toward home.  Nathan sighed, picked up Ranma's limp 
body, and headed towards Tofu's clinic.

"Soon, we're going to have to introduce you to the concept of tact," he 
mumbled.

^^^^^^^^^^

Notes:

This is my first attempt at doing a SI fic, so please be a bit lenient in 
your opinions.  Anyway, I welcome any C&C or questions that might be had.  
I'll get to working on the next chapter now.  Bye.


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