Ranko 1/2

Vol. 1: A Visitor From China

Chapter 2

Ranma-chan looked from where she was sitting at the three Tendo daughters, and each one of them with the exception of Nabiki returned a confused look to her. Ranma had wondered how her father would explain this to them for the longest time, ever since he finally told her about the engagement. It was then that she finally realized that the trip to the cursed springs wasn’t a blunder on his part about not being able to read Chinese. He really did know the horrible secret of the springs, and knocked her into just the right spring.

“What’s this all about?” Akane quickly asked as she looked back and forth between Ranma-chan and her father.

“Are you really her? That same boy?” Kasumi quickly asked as she stared at the girl sitting in front of her not believing what she was seeing now, was the same person she saw earlier.

“I think that there is only one way to explain this.” Genma grabbed the front of Ranma-chan’s shirt tossing her over his shoulders out of the living room and towards a small pond in the backyard of the residence.

All three Tendo daughters watched the water as it bubbled for several moments before the boy they saw earlier leapt out of the pool.

“That is my son’s normal form tragically when splashed with cold…” Before Genma could finish his lie Ranma had circled around him and attacked sending his father tumbling towards the same pool. With a large splash a humongous panda slowly began crawling out of the pool.

“My father likes to tell lies… As you can see this is not my normal form… I’d best explain this from the beginning.” Ranma walked over to where Kasumi had left a kettle and carried it to the porch pouring it over his head. She could hear collective gasps as the Tendo’s watched the change in front of their own eyes.

Ranma-chan sighed sitting down by the table again, “It was two months ago when this happened.”

******

Mt Quanjing, Bayankala Range, Quinhai Province China

“Here sir….” The tour guide spoke as he pointed to the first row of springs, “Is Legendary ‘Training Ground of Accursed Springs.’”

I can hardly believe this is the place of all of those curses. I’ll have to be careful not to fall in one. Now I have to find that spring. Genma scanned the springs, which stretched out as far as he could see for several moments before he spotted a small spring very close to a cliff with a tiny red ribbon tied close to the stalk of a bamboo sticking out of the middle of it. That’s the one. “Are you ready Ranma?”

Ranma-chan looked over at her father and wondered just when their training voyage would finally be over. “Of course I’m ready.” She shifted a little; the binding holding her breasts becoming more uncomfortable a she removed her backpack. “This place is very nice.”

“You very strange one, no, sir?” The guide turned to look at the two, ”This place very dangerous nobody use now. Is more than one hundred spring here and every one have own tragic legend.”

If he keeps on talking Ranma might figure out why I brought her here. “Ranma follow me.” Genma shouted jumping up and to the top of a nearby bamboo shaft using it to vault to a higher one above a very large spring. Without saying a word Ranma quickly followed ending up on a bamboo stick several feet away.

“Ah! Sir! What you Doing” The Guide shouted as he ran towards the edge of the springs.

“I won’t go easy on you.” Genma quickly shouted over to Ranma as he moved into position to attack.

“Fine with me”

“Please sir! Very bad if you fall in spring!” That completely had Ranma’s attention as she turned to look at the guide. What is he talking about? She almost missed seeing her father leap at her in attack with quick movement she leapt strait upward her father flying under her missing the bamboo stick he’d aimed for.

Ranma watched as her father flailed in the air for several moments before he landed right in the middle of a rather large spring. “Are you done yet?” Then I can find out what the guide was talking about.

Ranma couldn’t believe her eyes as a large panda leapt out of the spring, which she saw her father fall into. On the panda’s ear hung Genma’s glasses and around the panda’s arms, his clothes. “Wha… Wha… Wha…”

“That is ‘Spring of Drowned Panda’ there is tragic legend, very tragic of panda who drown there two thousand year ago! Now whoever fall in spring take body of panda.” The guide shouted up from where he was standing safely away from the edge of the springs.

Ranma didn’t have the time to speak or even move as the Panda leapt at her catching her by surprise knocking her off to the side and against the cliff wall bouncing into a small spring at the base of the cliff.

“Ohhhh! Not spring of Drowned boy! There is tragic legend. Very tragic of young boy who drown in spring one thousand five hundred year ago! Now whoever fall in that spring take body of young boy. You lucky you already boy.” The guide thanked the stars never realizing Ranma’s disguise.

Ranma stood up in the pool feeling very odd. The cloth that was once binding now was floating nearby in the water. Ranma looked downward to see a very well muscular chest, that’s not possible.

“You see what I mean?”

******

“It wasn’t under he finally mentioned the engagement to me that I realized that the trip to the cursed springs was planned all along.” Ranma-chan didn’t lift her eyes from the table until she felt Nabiki’s arms around her in support.

“This is an outrage.” Soun shouted towards the panda.

“Daddy it isn’t so bad. Why not let her stay here?” Nabiki looked towards her father speaking without realizing what she said until after she said it.

The panda had finally made it’s way onto the porch where it held a sign over it’s head ‘Well she still is half boy you know.’

Kasumi and Nabiki looked back and forth between their father and the panda wondering what chaos would happen next.

“Do what you want to the panda, Ranma’s staying.” Nabiki spoke up quickly giving a very angry stare at the panda. “Sell him to a zoo for all I care.” With that Nabiki pulled Ranma-chan to her feet and lead her out of the room.

The panda seeing that in essence he won quickly wrote on another sign ‘Wonderful girl… so what’s for dinner?’ there is no way that Soun would sell me to a zoo.

******

Nabiki sat on her bed watching Ranma unpack her backpack for several moments before she finally spoke up, “How long has your father had you dressing like a boy?”

“Oh all my life really… it’s only really been uncomfortable in the last few years.” Ranma-chan quietly folded a shirt placing it aside.

“I can imagine.” Nabiki stood up and made her way over to the redhead lifting Ranma-chan’s shirt and untying the clothing binding her. Her hands moved around pulling the cloth off, “I’m jealous you know.”

Nabiki looked up at Ranma-chan’s deeply blushing face. “We’ll have to go shopping for some undergarments so you won’t have to be uncomfortable. And we’ll have to get you a uniform as well.”

“But I already have one.”

“You want to wear the boys uniform that you brought with you?”

“Sure, nothing that I’ve found in the rulebook is against it, only that I have a uniform.”

Nabiki lifted the nearly empty backpack to move it out of the way when she noticed a slip of paper at the bottom of the pack. “Ranko?” She read out the name immediately realizing it was a birth certificate.

“Yeah that’s the name my mother gave me when I was born… but my father calls me Ranma so much that I normally respond to that.”

“So all along he’s been planning for that trip to the springs.”

Ranko nodded as she removed her shirt and pants placing them to the side to see if her uniform still fit. “Pretty much I wish I knew what was going on in his head before this.”

Nabiki sat back on her bed watching Ranko dress again. “I think you should go by Ranko… would certainly help you distance yourself from what that jerk did.”

“I may as well… I don’t have any identification under Ranma anyway.” With a sigh Ranko made her way over to the mirror. Turning each way to see how the uniform fit on her.

Nabiki continued to watch as Ranko modeled her uniform in front of the mirror very conscious of how aroused she was becoming. “I’m going to check on Nabiki to see how dinner is coming come on down when you’ve finished putting your clothes away.” Nabiki stood on shaky knees and made her way out of the door. I wonder how the heck I’ll ever get sleep with her sleeping in my room tonight.

Ranko glanced at the door for a moment before she turned her eyes back to her uniform. At least it still fits. Ranko made her way over to the bed and sat on it, her mind going through various what ifs. What if she had paid attention to what her father was really saying and stayed away from the cursed springs? Would life have been any easier then?

Ranko shifted on the bed her hand touching a book as it moved under the pillow. She glanced down reaching under the pillow to pull out a manga, Amber Star. Isn’t this the manga where there aren’t any men? I picked this up several years ago but I lost it, she probably has the entire collection, maybe I could ask her if I could read it sometime. Ranko slide the book under the pillow again trying to make the bed look as it did when Nabiki had left the room. The Volume I had read of it back then was the first one when they had just left earth. I wish I still had it now.

******

“I think you should count yourself lucky that Nabiki didn’t sell you to a circus like she threatened. I don’t think that I’ve seen her quite so angry before.” Soun looked across the table at his friend. “Didn’t you and your wife…”

“She isn’t with us anymore.” Genma quickly inserted before his friend could finish his question. “She died giving birth to Ranko. I thought that perhaps if I could raise her like a boy, and find the cursed springs then perhaps our plan for the dojo could still be fulfilled. I didn’t expect the curses to work out like they did.”

“Since when have curses ever worked out like people want them to?” The two men heard Nabiki’s angry voice and cringed each one expecting her to become more violent than Akane on her worst day.

“Dinner is ready” Kasumi quickly broke up the mood as she carried a large pot filled with rice into the room. “Nabiki would you please help me set the table.”

“Sure Kasumi” She then gave the two men a ‘touch the food and die’ look before following her sister into the kitchen.

“You think they’ll turn Akane loose on us?” Genma whispered to Soun as soon as Nabiki left the room.

“Right now I’m more worried about Nabiki… She’s never been like this before.”

“Whatever you get you deserve old man” Ranko stood at the entrance to the living room with her ‘if looks could kill you’d be dead’ stare fixed on her father.

“It was just to insure that the Dojo would be taken care of.” Genma quickly began pleading but let his voice die out when he realized just how deeper into the hole it was getting him.

Ranko quickly made her way into the kitchen passing Kasumi on the way in.

“Oh good you’re here could you help Nabiki and me set the tables?”

“Sure” Ranko stepped into the kitchen nearly running into Nabiki, “oh sorry” Ranko’s arm shot out helping Nabiki balance herself. “Didn’t mean to nearly run into you.”

Nabiki’s throat was dry as she felt Ranko’s hands on her. Her heart beat faster as she looked up into Ranko’s eyes again. “It’s okay” Nabiki finally breathed out as she forced herself to continue carrying the food into the living room.

By the time that Ranko had brought the rest of the food Akane had joined in and they were already eating. Nabiki quickly motioned for Ranko to sit beside her as soon as the red head had placed the tray of food she was holding down.

“Why don’t you tell us about yourself?” Kasumi asked Ranko as she began filling bowls with rice and passing them around.

“I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell… after my mother died I know my father had already planned where he would take me on his training voyage… we wondered around Japan for the longest time. On up until the few months before we left for Japan everything was fine.” Ranko noticed the curious looks from Nabiki and continued, “Pop had put me in a boys school. That was a living nightmare especially trying to keep them from finding out.”

Genma quickly looked for a hiding place as the Tendo sisters all turned their eyes on him with stares strong enough to melt iron.

“How could you Mr. Saotome she could have been hurt.” Kasumi was on her feet in an instant. “How could you have done such things to your own daughter.”

“I think there is another training grounds I need to visit” Genma was on his feet in an instant, followed by Soun.

“I think I should visit those grounds as well.” I need to escape before they kill me too.

“Has he always been like that?” Akane quietly asked as soon as the two had left the house.

Ranko nodded as she watched Nabiki eat her food wondering to herself if coming here was actually a bad thing.

Nabiki quickly dressed into her pajamas as soon as the meal was over and sat on her bed reading a book waiting for Ranko to arrive. I guess she felt it was her duty to help Kasumi with the dishes for the first night; Nabiki’s mind began wandering towards that kitchen. She could see Ranko washing dishes but only wearing an apron. A deep blush spread quickly over Nabiki’s face at the thought.

“Having a nice daydream.” A soft voice came from the door as Ranko slowly entered the room.

“Oh I guess.” Nabiki could feel her blush travel even deeper as Ranko curled up on her makeshift bed on the floor. “We can get a bunk bed into the room tomorrow so you won’t have to sleep on the floor.”

“Thanks, I’ve gotten used to it, from all the traveling but it still isn’t all that fun.”

“You can sleep in my bed if you want of course it’s large enough.”

“Thanks wasn’t sure if my back could handle another night like that.”

Forgetting about the book she had hidden under her pillow Nabiki moved it to the side. A very deep blush appeared on her face as she noticed Ranko could clearly see the book.

“Neat… do you have the rest of the series? I had the first one… but I lost it on the voyage… sometimes I think my father threw it away.”

“The one in which they introduce Alleia?”

Ranko nodded and looked at the cover of the manga much closer.

“She died in this one, really tragic, she was really in love with Amber.”

“At least they did find each other… that’s the most important thing.”

“Yeah” Nabiki smiled and turned off the light.