Ranma blinked. How had he ended up here? Then he shrugged. This wouldn't be the first time something weird like this had happened to him. He'd seen some pretty strange stuff, and participated in more, while fighting in the King of Fighters tournament. Now the only question was to find out where he was. And how he was going to explain this to Hotaru...
He looked over the sign again. Well, challenging dojo wasn't the most glamorous thing, he had been brought here for some reason, and that seemed most likely at the moment. So he walked around the fence to that back, and rang the bell he found there.
A few moments later, a black-haired girl about his own age opened the door. "Follow me, the dojo is..." The girl trailed off and just stared at him.
Ranma looked himself over to see if something was wrong with his clothes - red jacket over white silk shirt, and black silk pants, nope, all there. He looked back at the girl as she screamed, and then vanished.
He blinked. Did they practice some form of speed-based martial-arts here? He hated fighting those. Then the girl was back, holding a... poster?
"OhmygoodnessIcan'tbelieveyou'reherecanIhaveyourautograph?"
Ranma just blinked.
***
A few minutes later, Ranma was joining the girl - Akane - and her sisters to tea. The eldest girl, Kasumi, had insisted that he be properly refreshed before they fight. The other girl, Nabiki, was also excited at having a 'celebrity' at their dojo.
Ranma, of course, was shocked. Sure, Terry, Rock, and himself had been winning a bunch of tournaments, and sure, he had just won the Millionaire fight, and took out that lunatic who burned down a good portion of Osaka... but famous? He had never thought of himself in those terms.
"So," he ventured at last, "You're the best student of this dojo?" he asked Akane.
Akane gave a small snort. "Only student would be more like it." Then she looked a little melancholy. "Daddy hasn't taught anyone else since Mother died. And he stopped teaching me when his friend came to live with us."
"Huh? Why is that?"
Nabiki answered for her. "That was because 'Uncle' Genma - our father's friend - convinced him that there wasn't any use teaching a girl more than the basics of martial arts." Nabiki rolled her eyes. "He's one of those types that believe that women can't do 'Manly' things like the Martial Arts with any competence."
Ranma winced at the thought of any of the girls he knew in the tournaments being told that.
Akane continued. "I used to get real mad over it, but when I would try and prove myself to him, he'd just keep beating me. I tried going somewhere else for training, but daddy cried up a storm when he found out, and pulled me out of it. All I can really do is keep practicing what I know, and try to pick up what I can from watching the televised tournaments."
Ranma suddenly put two and to together. "You aren't expecting to win my challenge, are you?"
Akane grinned sheepishly. "No... but maybe if we lost the dojo sign to someone else, daddy might be forced to take training me seriously again. Besides, one of the tenants of our school is that we always accept a challenge, no matter from who."
Ranma shook his head. He decided when he left that he would leave the names of a few dojo he knew in Japan. She obviously wanted more from the martial arts than she could get from her father... if/when she finally goes off on her own, there were several places that could take her in. Come to think of it, she did sort of resemble Makoto...
Just then, they heard voices at the front door. Kasumi got up to greet them. Ranma looked at the remaining girls. "Sounds like daddy and 'uncle' are back." Nabiki answered his silent question.
Then Kasumi came back, leading a man with long black hair... and someone Ranma never expected to see again, his own father!
***
"So you really are his long lost son?" Nabiki asked. She seemed highly amused by the entire thing.
Ranma growled. "Yeah, technically. Dumb jerk abandoned me, though."
"Acording to him," Akane said, "A dragon stole you away from him."
Ranma snorted this time. "I don't remember anything like that. All I remember was one day he wasn't there anymore, and then Terry took me in."
"Well, boy!" Genma announced, "Now that you're back, it's time to fulfill your duties!"
"Duties?" Ranma was echoed by the Tendo sisters.
"Yes," Mr. Tendo - Soun - replied. "When he was just born, we decided that one day Ranma would marry one of you girls. So Ranma, pick a girl, and she will be your fiancee!"
Nabiki spit out her drink, Akane just fainted, Kasumi just gave a loud, "Oh, my!"
And all Ranma could do was think, "How am I going to explain this to Hotaru? How are Bonne, Makoto, and Ibuki going to take this..."
***
AN -
The Hotaru and Makoto mentioned are NOT the Sailor Senshi ones. Rather, I mean Hotaru Futaba from Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves, and Makoto from Street Fighter III 3rd strike. (And yes, Makoto does look a lot like Akane...)
(Posted Thu, 17 Oct 2002 16:36)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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