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Chapter Text

A short redhead is dragging an injured boy behind her down the rainy streets of Tokyo. Every now and again he'll reach up and try and break her grip on his collar, but the fight earlier really messed him up, so he hardly has the strength to protest her actions, let alone dislodge her. She pulls his hand away again grumbling "C'mon, I least wanna get outta the rain jackass. Not to mention we're gonna need to stick around the city long enough to get supplies no matter where we go next."

"Easy 'nuff fer you ta say. Not like you're gonna be forced ta get hitched," he snipes back, though there's less venom than their earlier back and forths on where they should go next.

"S'not like we got anywhere else ta go ya idiot." They've been bickering about it since Pops had first mentioned the engagement. At least whatever happens next won't be on the panda's terms. After a few more blocks and a couple more snarky comments, they find themselves in front of a housegate with a sign, "Anything Goes: Tendo Dojo. Challengers welcome." She hauls the boy to a standing position, helping him steady himself. "If they're too pushy about it, we'll just skedaddle once we can grab a bit of cash and camping gear. Or, you could just man up and tell 'em no if it bothers ya so much. Not like the wedding'll be tomorrow or anything."

"Fine, you win," the boy concedes. There's no bell, and the palisade fences in a large compound, so they shove open the gate and make their way inside. The boy almost hiding a limp from his injuries.

"Never met him," her father admits with disturbing aplomb. Akane is about to snarl back how ridiculous this whole situation is when the conversation is interrupted by a ferocious banging coming from the door. "That must be them!" the man announces brightly before quickly making his way towards the entrance. She and her sisters follow, curiosity overcoming good sense.

The clamour doesn't let up the whole way. "Rude," Akane scoffs to herself.

When the door opens, it frames a brother and sister in matching red and blue silk shirts. The girl's hand drops to her side as her eyes flick towards the group standing opposite the now-open door. "Can I help the two of you?" her father asks, so it's probably not this Ranma they're apparently waiting for.

"Saotome Ranma, sorry 'bout this." Both siblings reply at the same time before turning and glaring at each other. It seems like they're about to snap, when they both slam their mouths shut with an audible clack of teeth. They turn away again, the boy grabbing the back of his neck with a sheepish expression, with the girl nervously tugging at her braid. That's when Akane notices that they even have the same hairstyle, weird. Three of the Tendos are gaping and staring at the bizarre pair. But thank the gods for Kasumi, who simply says, "Why don't you you both come in? We were just about to have some tea. You're more than welcome to join us."

"Sure" and "Thanks" are the quiet replies she gets. She leads the whole group back towards the main room, stopping and grabbing the whistling kettle from the kitchen before joining her family and the guests at the low table they seat themselves around.

The atmosphere in the main room is tense as the tea is served and people begin to drink it. Nobody seems to want to start what is definitely going to be an interesting conversation. Eventually it's Soun who sets down the cup and says, "I expected your father to be with you Ranma. And I wasn't expecting your sister at all. I thought Genma only had a son." His tone is polite, but inquisitive. He wants the two to open up and hopefully relax a bit before they get down to brass tacks.

"Oh, he... got held up." the girl Ranma replies cagily, stopping herself from tugging at her braid by an effort of will. She's fairly certain she shouldn't tell her father's best friend that she had brained him with a street sign and left him in the street an hour or so ago.

"Yeah," the boy Ranma adds. "He uh... said we should check with you about staying at the dojo for a few days while he... takes care of something important." He won't make eye contact with anyone, and it's becoming obvious that the pair is hiding something. It's less clear what they could be lying about, so Soun decides not to focus on it.

There's a few further abortive attempts at small talk before Soun gives up trying to break the ice and moves on to business. "Well, I'm sure we can take care of the matter of honour between our families even without Genma. These are my daughters. My eldest, Kasumi, 19. Then Nabiki, 17. And then Akane, 16, same as you. You're free to choose whichever of the girls you'd like to marry. My daughters are all fine young women, and would make any young man an excellent wife." The reactions are mixed. The redhead is blushing, stammering and refusing to make eye contact, while her brother looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

"He's a bit young for me, Daddy," Kasumi says, still quietly smiling.

"I mean, he's cute enough, I guess," Nabiki adds, "But I'm not really looking for a boyfriend right now."

Akane is fuming, "Ugh, boys," she finally huffs. She quickly stands up then grabs the sister's hand. Tugging her away from the table she says "Let's get outta here," as she pulls the other girl toward the dojo. "Do you do kempo?" The girl is blushing up a storm for some reason as she's yanked into the dojo.

"Uh... yeah, a little," she finally stammers, wondering why in the world this girl is being so forward with her. She pulls her hand away finally and fiddles with the toggles on her shirt, willing the blush to go down. When she finally gathers up the courage to look up, she sees Akane with a giant adorable grin. Her blush is back full force as she realizes what she just thought.

"How about a spar then?" the Tendo girl replies. "I'll go easy on you."

Her tone isn't teasing or cocky, but the comment still tugs at Ranma's pride. It's enough to knock her out of the embarrassing train of thought she was having about the cute fighter in front of her. She gives her head a quick shake and claps her hands on her cheeks to center herself. "Yeah, let's have a quick bout," she says as she finishes pulling herself together. "First touch alright with ya?" she adds letting her lips pull back into a trademark cocksure smirk. That'll at least mean she doesn't have to hurt the girl to prove she's the best. Saotome Ranma never loses.

"Sure," Akane says, her smile turning fierce at the other girl's attitude shift. She settles into a ready stance, expecting the redhead to do the same. The girl instead just clasps her hands behind her back with that cocky grin though. Akane reminds herself to hold back, as the other girl had admitted she doesn't know a lot about fighting. She holds herself ready, thinking she'll let Ranma have the first attack at least. But after several long seconds she decides to go for the attack as it becomes obvious that Ranma isn't going for it. She starts in with a fairly light punch, clearly telegraphed so the other girl will have room to dodge. So she isn't surprised that it doesn't make contact. She throws a few more, getting nothing but air. It's a bit surprising how effortlessly the redhead is dodging, so she starts to speed up. Akane realizes the other girl must have been being modest, as she's really quite good. So, she steps it up a notch, which is finally enough to start making her opponent step backwards and to the side, rather than pivoting by her neck and waist. After several more rounds though, Akane is getting frustrated, wishing the other girl would at least try and tag her back. Eventually she's maneuvered her towards the wall and in her anger she lets loose a final haymaker at full force, forgetting to hold back at all. Before she can even take stock of the fact that that punch could have broken bones, her fist is firmly buried in the wall and she's being poked in the back of the head. She turns back with blank confusion on her face. When she sees the redhead giggling behind her, she realizes the other girl had apparently leap-frogged over her fist. She's a bit stunned at first, but soon she's laughing right along too.

After they settle down a bit, Akane says, "You're better than you let on."

"Well, I do a little of everything. Anything goes, ya know? I really dunno alotta kempo specifically." She tugs at her braid, still smiling, but seeming to feel a bit bad about misleading her.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Akane should've known better than to assume the other girl wasn't a real fighter. "Well, at least it wasn't your brother. I'd hate to lose to a boy. Wanna be friends?"

"Who... but I'm a... Uh, whaddaya mean, Akane?"

"Well, boys just suck, and they're all perverts and creeps," she grumbles.

"Who're you callin' a pervert?" Ranma yells back, before it quite settles in her head that she is a girl now which is annoying, and Akane obviously was talking about the other Ranma. She deflates in embarrassment at her outburst, hoping the girl doesn't catch on.

"Look, Ranma. It's nice and all that you're willing to stick up for your brother like that. And it does speak well of him that you would. But Daddy implied that you all have been on the road a long time with your father for training, yeah? And just because a guy isn't pervving on his sister doesn't mean he isn't a creep with other girls. I mean, it'd take an extra special pervert to do something like that anyway."

"Hey, just... don't talk about... Ranma like that, alright? If you're gonna be rude about it, I don't think we can be friends." She holds that out as a peace offering. Akane seems pretty fun, and is definitely cute, and it'd be nice to have a friend and sparring partner again. She just hopes that the girl will leave off on insulting her and her... other self. Things'll not go too well otherwise.

Akane sighs, "I guess. I'll try and give him the benefit of the doubt at least. But don't expect me to hold to it if he starts acting like other guys. Friends?" She holds out a hand.

"I think I'd like that," the redhead says with a softer smile, shaking the girl's hand.

"How'd you get so fast?" Akane starts in excitedly, wondering if Ranma will teach her some new moves.

With Akane and the girl Ranma out of the room, the pressure at the table has only gotten heavier. After a few attempts to work out what to say, Ranma finally puts some of his thought into words. "Um... Mr Tendo. I get that you and Pops wanted to join the schools and all, but I don't think we're really ready to get hitched, ya know? Just... well... I don't even know how long we'll be in town or anything." He knows he's rambling and is probably only barely coherent, but damn if this isn't awkward. "I'd at least like ta get ta know a girl before we get together an' all. Is... that alright?" He looks away from the other three, still blushing, and rubbing the back of his neck again. He tries to project at least a bit of his usual confidence into his voice, but it's probably not working.

Soun deflates a little at the boy's comments. He wishes Genma were here to back him up, but with the awkward boy's words being nodded at by Kasumi and the thoughtful look on Nabiki's face, he's folding before he knows it. "I suppose that is acceptable," he finally replies. "A father does want his daughters to be happy in marriage. It is probably for the best that you get to know each of them before you decide. But the schools will be joined. This is about an honourable agreement between our families. And so long as you're a gentleman, I'm sure you'll be able to make a fine husband for whichever of my daughters you do choose." His pride won't let him back down completely, but he's willing to cede a little ground now to make things flow smoothly. The boy is obviously a bit skittish, and he can't risk running him off.

"Thanks," Ranma breaths out a big sigh of relief. Things would be so much worse with his father present. It's probably not "manly" to be nervous about choosing a bride and all. It makes the coming days of being a guest in the family's house feel much less stressful. And it's not like the girls are unattractive or anything. He's just not ready to start a family, that's all. He turns back with a bit of a grin. When he catches the friendly smile on Kasumi's face, he blushes a bit again. And the appraising look that Nabiki is giving him makes him go red all over. "So it's okay if I... if we stay here for a bit, right?"

"More than alright boy. You and your sister are welcome to stay as long as you need. Any child of my friend Genma is practically family anyhow. And you'll need to spend a good deal of time in our home so you have the chance to get to know my girls and choose your bride." It's not exactly the firm engagement that he would have hoped for, but he's sure if Ranma spends a few weeks living around the girls, they'll work something out. There's a crash out from the dojo, which makes Soun smile at the reminder that Akane is keeping up the art, even if he hasn't been able to spend as much time teaching her as he would have liked. He really needs to do better by his youngest daughter. Maybe he'll join her in the morning and see how well she's progressing.

On the other side of Nerima, a truck is pulling away. Bright red characters on the side read "Ueno Zoological Gardens" There's a pair of broken street signs nearby, waiting for a maintenance crew to swing by and repair.

Chapter Text

The next few days are quiet and more than a bit awkward, but Ranma and Akane seem to be getting on well. Ranma would, if asked, insist he isn't jealous of his sister, but the way Nabiki keeps needling him about how he never spends time in the dojo with her younger sister shows that she at least noticed something. The two Ranmas spend most of their days going back and forth between quietly bickering with each other or sparring in the dojo. When they aren't fighting, they're doing supernatural acrobatics or complicated katas. Neither of their houseguests is much for conversation, unless Mr Tendo asks one of them about something to do with fighting, in which case they'd each happily talk the entire family's ear off about it. Even Akane is impressed by their knowledge now and again like with his comments the differences in footwork between capoeira and baguazhang.

Both of them are developing a strong fight-or-flight response to the sound of a camera shutter though. It's when they catch it while they're coming out of a shared bath that they come to a proper agreement about something for the first time in the months since Jusenkyo. Nabiki has a habit of getting slightly risque candids, and neither of them is all too happy about it.

Sunday morning, Nabiki hears a voice calling from down the hallway, "Hey, Tendo!" She turns to see the guy Ranma giving her a bright smile that looks frustratingly good on him. It does strike her as suspicious to see it on his face outside of a spar with his sister though. Even still, it's hard to keep her guard up around him, even if he is up to something. Neither he nor his sister seem to have a scheming bone in their body, and they are both shit liars. So, whatever it is, it's probably harmless, or will be painfully transparent before it reaches a stage that she needs to worry about it.

"What can I do for you, handsome?" Gods is this boy easy to fluster. His face goes fully red despite the obvious snark in her tone. He turns away slightly, unable to meet her eyes.

"Oh, well, I was just thinking, and like, maybe we oughtta hang out a bit, get ta know each other an all?" He says it like a question, and she gets the feeling that someone put him up to this. She isn't sure whether to blame Daddy or his sister. At least it is harmless—and obvious—what he's scheming. She can certainly play along for now, but it is a bit disappointing that his goal is so transparent.

"Oh, Saotome, are you asking me on a date?" She replies with a grin. She watches as he visibly tamps down his nerves and shakes himself loose a bit. When he meets her eyes again, he has a surprisingly confident smirk. Cocky is a good look on the bastard. Damnit.

"Yeah, guess I am."

She deliberately looks him up and down in a way her classmates have admitted makes them quite nervous. She gives it a moment to see how he'll hold up, expecting him to cave a bit before she continues their conversation. But for the first time since the two of them arrived, he seems actually able to handle what she is dishing out. He does blush a bit, just slightly this time, but he doesn't start stammering an apology or anything.

"Acceptable," she says with a curt nod. Might as well see how this goes. "Yakisoba, I think. There's a decent shop nearby, and I could use some warm noodles in this chill."

"Sure thing. You good ta head out, or didja need ta change?"

"Let's get going. I'll tell Kasumi we'll be out real quick."

"I'll meetcha out front then," Ranma says with a renewed grin before disappearing around the corner. She let's Kasumi know where they're heading and gets a typical vague big-sister reply, and she heads out.

"Lead the way Miss Tendo," Ranma says, holding out his elbow. She rolls her eyes and drags him down the street.

Ranma peeks out from the guest room with a grin. That had gone better than she would have expected. He really held his own on his part of the plan, which meant she'd have plenty of time to ransack Nabiki's room. Picking the lock, which she's no longer surprised is on the middle Tendo's door, she commits the layout of the room to memory. She owed Pops an apology, Martial Arts Rock Gardening did apparently have its uses. She locks the door behind her and sets to work tearing apart the room.

Her first find is a box of unused rolls of film, which she decides to pocket after a few moments' indecision. She can give it back to Nabiki after they've established some new ground rules with regards to privacy. It takes over an hour of searching before she turns up a photobox that has some of what she's looking for. There's a handful of prints of her and her boy self in various states of undress, there's also several shots of various strangers that all have dates, locations and numbers written on the back. She takes the whole box, just in case they need a bit of extra leverage.

It's not until she starts prying up the floorboards that she finds the real prize though. A small green lockbox, like the kind they use at foodcarts that don't have a proper register. The lock on this is better than the one on the bedroom door, but she's still able to pick it. Inside are two leather notebooks, a good chunk of cash, a key, and a binder of film negatives. Jackpot. She pages through the notebooks just because she's feeling nosy. The first notebook is some kind of ledger. There's pages and pages of names and dollar amounts, sometimes accompanied by ratios that must be betting odds given the way they're grouped together. The second smaller notebook is just phone numbers. Some of them have numbers next to them, some have a yen sign, but most of them are just labelled with what seems like a random word.

The middle Tendo is deep into some sketchy shit, ain't she? She leaves the books, but pockets the key and the film binder. This will definitely be enough to get the girl off their back. She knows she'll never figure out enough of what's in the notebooks to use it as a bargaining chip. The real objective was to get the photos though, so the girl has been defanged at the very least.

She quickly puts everything else back where she found it. Standing by the door and comparing it to her memory of the room before she had entered. Picture perfect. She smirks at the thought. Anxious to tell her other self that the mission was a success. Ranma stands with her ear to the door for a moment to make sure nobody else is the hall before ducking out of the room. Bouncing on her feet back in the guest room, she spots Akane out breaking bricks and decides she needs a good spar to work out some of these nerves.

The "date" was a disaster. Nabiki knew that Ranma couldn't hold a proper conversation, but given how he'd apparently psyched himself up for this earlier, she had expected better. Once they were seated at the restaurant he was back to his more usual self. In the few days she'd known him, if he wasn't bragging about some feat of martial prowess, he was either dead quiet or apologising for every little thing. And he ate like he expected someone to steal his food right from his bowl. At one point, she catches herself mentally lengthening the odds that the boy will wind up engaged to any of the three of them.

When they finally make their awkward way back to the dojo, she notices that he is looking visibly more on edge the closer they get to home. She wonders if he feels bad about how the date went, or if he's nervous about how Daddy will respond to his lackluster attempt at courting her. She puts it out of her mind and starts thinking about how to get the boy to go after Akane instead. He obviously has more in common with her little sister, but with the boys at school, she's not sure if Akane would ever give him a chance.

That evening, when she's getting her stuff ready for school, she can't find her fresh film. She knew she had just picked up another box, so she began to check a few extra places that she may have stashed it on accident. When she still can't find it, she digs into the hiding spaces of her closet and finds that her photobox is missing. That starts her panicking a bit, so she goes for her lockbox, which she is relieved to find. But, opening it up, that relief dissipates when she sees it's been raided.

She's both frustrated and calmed by the note she finds scribbled "We need to talk. Ranma." That sneaky little bitch. She finds herself wondering if both of the Ranmas were in on this little scheme, or if the sister had just put the other up to the little date nonsense to get her hands on Nabiki's shit. She'd definitely underestimated the girl at least. This could be interesting. But she can't believe she let them play her like that.

"D'you think she'll get to it tonight? Or do you think it'll take a few more days?" Ranma asked her guy half. Doing a handstand to keep working her arms a bit since she wasn't able to burn off all her energy with Akane earlier.

"Dunno, she takes a lotta photos, and you took all her film, so maybe?" He replies. "The whole date thing was a terrible idea, I can't believe ya talked me inta that."

"Yeah, yeah, it went terrible, I'm sure." She rolls herself forward into a crouch and waves her hands dismissively. "But it got her outta the house long 'nough fer me to ransack her shit. And can you imagine the look on her face when she figures we played her?"

Ranma chuckles at his girl self. "Yeah, she's gonna be right pissed, y'know."

Their laughter is broken up by a sharp rap on the door, which opens to show a livid Nabiki. They both gulp nervously at the sight of the angry girl. That kind of face never bodes well in their experience. She steps into the room quietly, and they look at each other before shrugging. Their expressions clearly saying, guess we'll see how this goes.

She holds out a hand expectantly, but they're not going to just give it all back. They've made it this far, and they're going to get something out of this situation. "Ya ain't getting any a the shots of us back, Tendo," the redhead says with a return glare.

"And we ain't just giving the rest back," the boy adds. "If we're gonna be sharing a roof, I— We think we need ta set some expectations."

"Yeah," the girl adds, holding up a roll of film. "Let's talk rules, compensation and all that, ne?"

"Fine." Nabiki grits her teeth, well-aware that she's not really in much of a position to bargain here. She doesn't have anything on these two in her safety deposit box, so she has fuck-all when it comes to leverage. She's developing a modicum of respect for these two, but it's infuriating to be in the weaker position like this. "But first, whose scheme was this?"

"The date was her idea, 'cause we needed ya busy while one of us snagged the photos. We were gonna wait 'til ya went back to school tomorrow, but I knew we couldn't be sure Kasumi'd stay outta our hair long 'nough."

"So you're both smarter than you look," Nabiki says with a more appraising look. "Let's talk shop then people. What do you two want from me in exchange for my supplies?"

"First, no more candids. If ya want pictures, ya gotta ask first. I ain't a sideshow or nothin."

"You an that camera are a right menace Tendo. Pretty impressive that ya can sneak up on me like that, but ya can't hide the shutter sound, so we'll know if ya do it again."

"That's... reasonable," she replies through gritted teeth.

"Ya been sellin any a these?"

"Ya got an awful lotta these shots of yer little sister too."

"Nobody knows the two of you yet, so there isn't a market for Saotome just yet. I assume once you've been around a couple of months, that'll change." She's very careful not to lay out too much information, but she can tell they won't let this drop without something. "Akane is really popular at school, so yes, I have been selling the occasional shot to some of the more... excitable boys. Nobody dangerous and nothing risqué."

"How much?"

"300 yen each for Akane, more risqué shots would go for about triple that, but I'm not pimping out my little sister. Even with a sizeable market for that."

"Well at least ya got some kinda standards."

"Not high ones, but better'n nothin."

Before Nabiki can respond to the half-insult, the redhead jumps in again. "None a the real pervy shots, and when ya sell 'em I wanna know who gets 'em and I want an 80% cut."

"Are you serious? You're gonna let her sell those?"

"Cash is cash, and I know you know we need it."

"Still..."

"40%" Nabiki cuts in.

"75," she counters.

"Too high, that's not enough profit in that to justify my effort. 50."

"60, and I keep the negatives."

"65, and no."

"70, and you can keep the negatives if I approve 'em."

"Deal." Nabiki holds out a hand to the girl.

"Deal," she replies, taking her hand. They spend a bit longer hashing out guidelines on the modelling before Ranma hands over the box of film rolls and a few of the demo photos. She then holds up the larger photobox. "Second, this is all blackmail and spank bank shit, ne?"

Damnit Nabiki, you really underestimated these two. "Yes."

"Then ya can have all this junk back."

"On one condition."

"And that is?"

"If ya got anything on anyone we have a problem with, ya tell us."

"And ya let us handle it."

"That's two conditions, but I suppose I'll let that slide."

"It really ain't, we ain't gonna do this shit your way."

"We'd rather have nothin than try and play your game, Tendo."

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'll give you two first crack at anyone, but if you lose me good material, you'll paying me back for damages."

"Fine, but we'll talk rates on that shit when it happens."

"I ain't just letting ya stack the ledger on me."

"You drive a hard bargain Saotome."

"Game recognises game, Tendo."

Her brother lets out a cackle at that. The photobox and negatives get passed back to Nabiki, who takes them with visible relief. She goes to stow the stuff back in her room when the boy grabs her shoulder. "Don't you want your bankbox key?"

"Easier to replace it than accept whatever it's gonna cost to get it back, and it's not like I can trust you not to have copied it."

The look on his face screams confusion, and he eventually says, "Ya can copy keys?"

"C'mon Tendo, I ain't gonna be exorbitant about it."

Nabiki sighs and turns around, "What do you want for it then, Saotome?"

"Two favors, and 20 thousand yen."

"Each."

"Please, I can get the lock replaced for less than that."

"Fine, same deal, but only 10 thousand each."

"Three and 15 thousand, total."

"Deal."

"Yeah, and I'd like to call in that first one."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I wanna go see the bank box with you," she says with a smile, "and get your help setting up an account for me, us."

"No deal, Saotome," she turns away again.

"C'mon Tendo, I wanna know the real good shit."

"Call it two if ya like, I want in on what yer cookin," her brother adds.

Nabiki stops her knee-jerk refusal and lets herself properly consider it. These two may be terrible liars, and more than a little out of touch when it comes to money, but they had played her. And it's not like they hadn't already pieced together most of what she's got hidden there. Extra boots on the ground would grow her operation, and if they could play her this easy, they'll be dead useful for some of what she works. Honestly, she's not losing much by letting them in just a little. "I guess I can live with that. Your sister asked first though, so she's the one that gets to come."

They all shake on it, though the boy has a frustrated look on his face. "Nice workin with ya Tendo."

"You too Saotome. And call me Nabiki, it looks as though we'll be working together."

"Sure thing Nabiki. And Ranma's fine." With a nice starting chunk of cash and a surprise potential income stream, Ranma is feeling good about things. She's got the assistance of her guy self, she's even making friends with Akane, and now they've won over probably the most advantageous sister as well. After Nabiki leaves the room, the two Ranmas turn to each other. "That went awful well, ne?"

"Ain't it just. She's a right menace, and I'm real glad we got her on side."

"For sure."

"And y'know, I think I could get used ta having a sister."

"Easier to run scams when ya can be two places at once, huh?"

"And ya ain't half bad company neither, sis."

"Right back at ya, sis."

"Hey, I ain't no girl or nothin."

"Well neither am I asshole."

"Well fuck you too jerk."

"Petty little bitch."

"Takes one ta know one."

The two both collapse onto their futon, laughing at the fact that they can't stop insulting themselves. It's still weird to think of each other as different people, but it's been some good fun now that they're having some luck working together. Their laughter is interrupted by the occasional jab or grapple or additional insult, but the tension that's grown between them since Jusenkyo has at least lapsed for a bit, if not broken altogether. Maybe the two of them aren't totally fucked after all.

Chapter Text

"School?"

"That ain't funny, Mr Tendo."

Neither Ranma is happy to find out at breakfast that they'll be enrolled in high school starting today. "Yes, Genma had apparently already filed the paperwork with the school before you arrived. Nabiki was sent home with a note on Saturday since the dojo was listed as your residence. They expected you two weeks ago, and will not be tolerating further absenteeism. Which is why my daughters will be escorting you to the school until further notice."

"But Pops always said school ain't important."

"Not like I've been in class the past year or any."

Mr Tendo levels a glare at their guests. "I will not have the pair of you bringing disgrace to this house over a disregard for your social responsibilities. You will attend your classes for so long as you remain under my roof, is that clear?"

"But" "Why?"

"Is that clear Ranma?"

The pair look back and forth between their host and each other several times. Each one making as if to add some further argument before cutting off. After a few rounds of abortive, silent protest, the boy slumps and the girl lets out a sigh. "Yes Mr Tendo," is the eventual reply, though it's obvious neither is happy about this concession.

"Good. I understand that neither of you has much wish to attend school, but it is an important part of your responsibilities as children. As an itinerant, your father may have had other priorities, and I will not gainsay his decisions, but it is clear that he intended for the three of you to establish yourselves here in Nerima. Snubbing this opportunity would be disrespectful not only of the school and of myself as your host, but of your father as well. I don't require more than that you make the effort to consistently attend class. If you find that academics do not interest you, find for yourself a way to take some other training out of the practice. At the very least it can serve as a lesson in patience and propriety."

Seeing the dejected looks in the face of the lecture, Nabiki takes pity on them and offers an out, "We need to get going if we're going to get you to class on time. You'll need to stop by the faculty office and find out what class you'll be in."

"Thanks Nabiki," they say in unison. It's uncanny how alike they are sometimes, and when they talk at the same time like that, it's a bit eerie. She shoves the thought aside as they all make their way out the door. Akane dashing to catch up with them at the gate.

The Ranmas make a game of the walk to school. Running along fences or doing cartwheels and occasionally dropping into a brief, low-contact spar while keeping pace with the sisters. Akane is honestly a bit mesmerised by the flowing way they move together. Her friend and her brother are both so graceful, and it both impresses her and grows a seed of envy. She may be strong and was the best martial artist her age before they arrived, but she's never had the speed or poise of the two. When Saotome catches her watching them, he gives a wink and a smirk before launching into a backflip without half trying. That gets her anger burning, and she's grateful to see the crowd of perverts to wail on come into view as they near the school.

The edge of the group of boys parts readily for Nabiki, and the two Ranmas weave their way through the group with ease to stick with her. On the other side they turn back to see that Akane has waded into a vicious melee instead. She's already laid out at least a half dozen of the guys before they turn to the other sister in confusion.

"Every morning a good portion of the guys at school try and win a date from Akane by winning this fight. She'll be fine, nobody here is close to on her level. Not to mention she's at her best when fighting a group and they all get in each other's way as much as hers. I don't even take bets on the melee anymore she wins so fast."

They turn back with increased interest and start muttering back and forth with each other about her technique which is a bit sloppy, if effective. They make especial note of how often she leaves herself fully open or overcommits. Nabiki understands enough of what's happening and being said to mostly follow until they start suggesting specific improvements in form and style. She sighs to herself. It was probably too much to expect either of them to ignore the fight and take care of school business, so she's definitely going to be late to class herself now.

When the fight ends, they congratulate Akane on her victory, which she takes well from Ranma but less so from her brother. She levels a glare at him before proceeding on to her main fight, the one with Kuno who is there spouting off his typical nonsense. She settles into her stance waiting for him to shut up and fight. She doesn't notice the furious quiet discussion between the two Ranmas just behind her. The redhead eventually wins a quick game of rock-paper-scissors that went through several ties, the boy drops back and holds up his hands, obviously annoyed and goes to stand by Nabiki.

"What's your sister up to," she asks when he's a bit closer.

"That guy carries himself well, and we both want a shot at him. She gets the first go; I'll get him next time."

"Akane's not going to be happy that the two of you are interfering with her fight."

He shrugs then adds, "She don't gotta like it, but she clearly ain't happy bout doing this everyday, and something's gotta give."

Neither of them takes in any of the kendoist's raving, but they both watch closely when he switches targets to his sister who looks annoyed by something the boy had said. The fight is painfully one-sided though, Ranma is able to dance around her opponent's blows as if it were choreographed. The boys from the melee have started picking themselves up and are watching the fight with interest themselves. Unfortunately, when he says something else as she steps fully within his guard, her face cuts from playful to furious, and she drops low before launching a vicious punch right into the boy's nuts.

Every guy in the yard flinches in sympathy. She pulls back with a grimace of her own before shouting, "Leave me outta your delusions creep. And ya better apologise to 'Kane." She kicks his bokken away hard enough for it to implant itself in a nearby tree before turning her glare at the crowd. The boys all quickly shuffle off, some dragging their friends behind. She turns back to Akane who's expression is clearly stuck somewhere between frustrated and confused. "Sorry ya gotta deal with that jerk all the time, and sorry ta cut in on your fight. I kinda wish I hadn't now, but least that'll teach em not to mess with us."

Akane steadies herself before letting out a sigh of her own, "Let's just get to class." She takes the redhead's hand and drags them off to the faculty office.

"What do you think Kuno said?" Nabiki asks quietly once they're following along.

"Not a clue. I ain't never been that mad in my life."

"I mean, Kuno's a creep, does your sister always respond that violently to guys coming onto her?"

"Hasn't ever come up, I guess," Ranma says with a shrug.

"You can't seriously tell me she's never had to deal with gross guys looking like that."

He starts nervously rubbing the back of his neck like he tends to when he's either about to apologise or lie about something. "Uh, not that I know about? Sorry?"

"Boys," Nabiki says with a shake of her head. "C'mon, let's get your homeroom assignment and hopefully a pass that excuses me being late."

There's some confusion when Nabiki brings in a second Saotome Ranma into the faculty office. After some explanation was given, the vice-principal throws up her hands in defeat. "This is ridiculous, even for Nerima. I really should have taken that offer in Minato ward, can't be any crazier than it gets around her." She mutters to herself an impressively colourful tirade for a schoolteacher as she gathers up more paperwork to fill out. "Your father only sent in paperwork for one of you, so you'll have to fill all this out. Tendo, you're excused from classes to deal with this." She scribbles off a note and ducks out of the room muttering about it being too early for sake.

It takes the two of them over an hour to fill out the paperwork. Ranma's handwriting is atrocious, and Nabiki doesn't know enough to fill things in without his help, after Ranma is a bit too unhelpful, she grabs his sister's paperwork and just copies it all over. Eventually the woman returns to find them finishing up the stack of paperwork. She takes the top page and hands it back, "No, I refuse. You'll have to go by something else, your sister is already down in our records as Ranma and I don't want any of my teachers to have to put up with the hassle just because your parents weren't reasonable enough to give you your own names."

"But..." he starts to interrupt.

"Pick. Something. Else."

There will obviously be no arguing with the woman, so Ranma scribbles kana on a scrap of paper a few times trying to find something that he can live with. He settles on Ransu after trying a few others out, which Nabiki gives a nod and writes down with the characters Orchid Child with a smirk. Ranma immediate scratches that out. "Hell no. I ain't no flower girl, plus I'd just fuck up writing my name all the time, keep Chaos." Nabiki relents and tries writing it out with Chaos and Clarity with a look of mild irritation. "Sure," he says with a shrug, so she copies it to the proper form.

The vice-principal takes the finished paperwork back with a slightly less severe glare and tells them to get to class, handing Ransu a note for his teacher. Nabiki escorts him to his new classroom, shared with Akane and his sister. "Too bad she beat me to the office, then she could have been the flower," he grumbles along the way.

Nabiki laughs right in his face, which certainly isn't helping his mood any. "Too bad, flower boy. Just get to class already, I've got business to take care of." She gestures at the room marked 1F, and stalks away with a smirk and a wave.

"We're gonna get you for that Nabiki," he mutters to door in front of him. He shakes himself loose and knocks before entering.

"Sorry bout interrupting, I'm Saotome Ran...su." His... sister is hunched over herself, laughing her head off apparently at his introduction. He hands over the note, and he gets waved to an empty desk near the door. Akane is glaring at him like this whole thing is his fault, and he gets a few odd looks from some of the other girls in class as he sits down. He tries to pay attention to the history lecture, but everything with today has just been too much. He pulls out a notebook and just starts doodling, occasionally writing down a date or name from the lecture, because he is trying to pay attention. He remembers Mr Tendo's words from breakfast about respect and responsibility, and unlike the bullshit Pops was always spouting, he can't seem to just ignore it all.

School isn't too bad. Sure, he spends the whole day antsy as can be from trying (and mostly failing) to sit still and pay attention, a struggle he sees his sister shares. The dark looks they are both getting from Akane aren't helping either of them, nor are the curious ones from the other students. But despite all that, lunch comes around, he and his sister sit together in silence while they both devour the food Kasumi had thankfully sent along with them both.

"So, how's your first day of school going, Ransu?" she asks, not even trying to mask the obvious humour in her tone.

"My day is going just fine, Sis," he replies, trying for a similarly playful tone, but it comes out more disgruntled than anything.

Ignoring everyone else in favour of the devil they each know, lunch passes smoothly, and they both seem in a decent enough mood afterwards. That all changes when Akane comes and drags his sister off to the changing rooms for gym. He tags along, grateful for the excuse to be doing something active, but leery of the idea for some reason.

"I ain't wearing no fuckin' bloomers, 'Kane!" she screeches into her friend's face. She had been trying to figure out how to get out of being dragged into the girl's locker room when she spotted another girl coming out. She hadn't been planning on going into the room to begin with, but this took precedence. Ain't no way in hell or back again that she was wearing that gym uniform. And, she realised, throwing a fit about this is the perfect excuse to get out of the whole thing.

Akane looks pissed, and has tears in her eyes. "Well don't scream at me about it you jerk. If you want to complain about it, go yell at the vice-principal." Her voice is only slightly raised and it's decidedly unfriendly. Her friend stomps through the door into the changing room, nearly knocking another classmate off her feet. Ranma starts to stammer out an apology, but Akane is gone before she can get a word out. She starts to follow only to remember the purpose of that door. She wasn't a girl and she wasn't going to peep on her classmates just cause they thought she was too.

She wasn't stepping foot in that room, so she follows the girls leaving out too the field where the gym teacher is waiting. She gets a glare that clearly says she ought to be in uniform, but the woman doesn't say anything, so Ranma ignores it. She would die before she let someone put her in that getup.

It isn't long before the rest of the class arrives, and Ranma notices the way Akane deliberately makes for the opposite end of the crowd, putting distance and several bodies between them. It almost makes her regret not apologising already, even if that meant going into the girl's changing room. She shakes her head and turns to the teacher's explanation of whatever they'll be doing today.

Ranma... Ransu heard the screaming coming from down the hall by the girl's locker room. He cringed at his sister's tone, and hoped that she wasn't going to start a fight with Akane. Things were bad enough in the Tendo home even with her slowly building a friendship with the youngest sister. They really couldn't afford to alienate one of the people they were staying with. Whatever reply Akane gave wasn't loud enough to hear from this far, and there was no sense or sound of a fight, so he shouldered his way into the guy's locker room. He feels strangely out of place, but he quickly changes into a gym uniform and follows the other guys out.

They gather up in a separate field from the girls, which isn't something he'd really given much thought to. His middle school had been an all-boys school, so he hadn't expected the lessons to be divided up like this. The way Akane stands off on the opposite end of the crowd of girls from his sister is unfortunately telling. It's going to be a headache trying to figure out how to navigate this situation. Thankfully he won't have to deal with it until after gym class, which passes unfortunately quickly. The girls off doing baseball while the guys are sent jogging around the campus. Ransu has the requisite number of laps run before most of the class is even half done. The other students are in decent shape, sure, but he's Saotome Ran...su. He rolls his eyes at the reminder that his sister stole his name.

When gym lets out, she disappears, which bodes even worse for their current relationship with the Tendos. So, Ransu mans up and decides to catch up with Akane and try and... he's not really sure what his plan is here, but he feels like he has to do something. When Akane comes out of the locker room, he's waiting. "Hey 'Kane, sorry about Ranma." How does anyone ever deal with interpersonal problems? This is so awkward. Akane gives him a glare and starts to walk off without saying anything. "Could ya at least tell me what got her knickers in a twist? I know we both have a bit of a temper, but that came out of nowhere."

Thankfully, she relents, "She threw a fit about the gym uniform."

"Oh, I 'spose that makes sense. I know I wouldn't be caught dead in bloomers." He shudders at the idea of being forced to wear the girls' uniforms at all.

"Of course not, you're a boy," she adds, shaking her head.

"Oh, well, we're alot alike is all... and I mean we... she never really wore girl's clothes is all. Not alot of room for fancy clothes when you're on the road all the time an all."

"She acts like she doesn't even think she's a girl!" Akane starts to rant, seeming to forget that she's talking to him at all, which suits him just fine. Maybe she'll open up if she's not thinking about him being a guy. "We were heading into the locker room, and she was already acting cagey, but then Akemi came out, and she just started yelling. At me. I thought we were friends." At this point she turns to look at him, and seems to be irritated by the reminder he's there and not some girl from her class.

"Yeah, sorry bout that. I don't think she was really mad at you, but I can't say I blame her for overacting. I prolly woulda lost it too." He offers her a sheepish smile, hoping to defuse a bit more of the tension. It at least doesn't make things worse, as Akane just sighs and turns away again. She doesn't seem as upset anymore. "Lissen, Pops was always real... weird about girly shit. It's prolly just gonna take some time t'adjust. I'm sure she feels bad for yellin at ya. I know I would."

"Thanks Saotome." Her reply is terse and seemingly begrudging, but it's still the best interaction the two of them have had since their arrival, so he'll take it.

Chapter Text

Nabiki doesn't know what's wrong but Ranma was in a bad mood as they made their way home. She's a bit surprised that the girl would join her on the walk home when she's been spending so much of her time with Akane. There was some buzz about a fight earlier, but she had a lot of stuff to catch up on at home, so she hadn't stuck around to dish up the latest gossip. Well, Ranma was working towards becoming her friend. She hates feeling obligated to care though. "Who started the fight?"

"What?"

"You or Akane? Who started it? It's obvious you two are arguing, you want to talk about it?"

Ranma kicks a rock before leaping up onto the fence. "No," she mutters angrily.

"Well, not my problem then." Nabiki tried, but if the stubborn girl won't talk, there isn't much she can do.

"I ain't wearing that stupid gym uniform." It's a quiet mutter, and if she hadn't trained her ears through years of eavesdropping, she wouldn't have heard it, and Ranma probably hadn't meant her to.

"Furinkan's uniforms are pretty hideous, aren't they?" She'll throw the other girl one last attempt. But her patience, and sympathy are limited.

Ranma sighs and drops off the fence to walk alongside Nabiki almost like a normal person. Her steps are still whisper quiet and obviously measured, but she supposes that's just what a martial artist of Ranma's calibre is like with everything. "This is gonna sound right stupid. But, I really don't feel right changing in front of the girls at school." Nabiki's a bit thrown by the admission and chooses to give Ranma a bit more time to open up about whatever's going on. "It's always just been Pops and me really, and he always just treated me like a boy, so it's real weird being here and having everybody acting like I can just be a girl and all. I don't know how to girl! I don't even wanna be a girl. I don't wanna wear dresses or makeup... or fucking bloomers!" She kicks an empty can hard enough that it flattens itself against the wall of the house they're walking past.

Ranma sticks her hands in her pockets and sulks, which is as new to Nabiki as everything about that rant. Well, she had sort of guessed at the idea of Mr Saotome raising Ranma as a boy, but she didn't know what to do with the whole... imposter? thing. She places a hand on Ranma's shoulder, trying to find words for what she wants to say to the girl. "You don't have to like the clothes to be a girl, dumbass. Furinkan's pretty lax about the dress code anyway, otherwise they might make you dye your hair black or something, and the dress might be the least of your problems." Ranma gives her an absolutely dumbfounded expression. "Look, Ranma, you can be as much a tomboy as you like, but being pissy at school isn't a reason to get into a fight with my little sister. She's not any more a fan than you are. Heck, I bet most of the girls in school would be on your side about this. The gym uniform is the worst. Cheap polyester, poorly fit and barely more there than underwear, those stupid bloomers are uncomfortable and not just physically."

"Whatcha mean?"

"It means they leave little to the imagination, and boys like to stare idiot. I thought it was just your brother, but you really don't have a clue about guys being creeps, do you?"

"Never been a problem til we got here," she says with a shrug.

"With the tits you're slinging, you really ought to wear a sports bra at least girl, I have a hard time imagining you made it through puberty without being hassled by gross men. Regardless, the bloomers suck, you could probably get other girls to throw a fit with you, and then maybe they'll drop the gym uniform entirely if enough people complain." It hadn't really crossed her mind before, but between the lax enforcement of the dress code in general, and a widespread disapproval, they probably could get a decent concession from the staff. Something to spread some gossip about in the future. She can see the gears turning in Ranma's head though, and that's pulling her out of her funk at least.

"If everybody hates them so much, why hasn't anyone done anything about it yet?"

"Social conformity's a hell of a drug Ranma. If you haven't noticed, you are one of like, six people at our school who aren't wearing the proper uniforms. If everybody's going along with it, nobody really wants to rock the boat. Stubborn brats like yourself obviously excluded," she adds with a smirk. That lights a fire in Ranma and even gets a smile in return. Well, that's Nabiki's good deed for the week. "You should still apologise to my sister."

Akane was fuming. She was continuing to focus on the anger, because she thought if she let herself feel the hurt or the fear, she'd drown in it. And she doesn't want to cry in front of a stupid boy. Especially not when he's apparently trying to be nice and hasn't done a single thing to come onto her or act perverted or fit into any of the roles boys have so far played in her life. She's mad at Ranma for yelling at her, and hurt that her newest friend was upset with her, and scared that she may have ruined their relationship. And of course her fucking brother had to be right here, walking her home, like a perfect genetleman and shaking up her entire worldview on top of everything. She wants to yell at him the same way Ranma had yelled at her, but that seems like it would just make everything worse.

And so she fumes, her steps barely controlled enough to stalk home without leaving footprints in the concrete. Even with that modicum of control she's still destroying this pair of shoes, but she can't bring herself to stop and properly calm down. Nabiki's going to be so mad if she needs to replace a pair that Akane wasn't even close to growing out of yet. She does stop and decides to join Ranma in walking home barefoot. She shoves her shoes in her bag, the soles are decidedly more worn than they were this morning, but she hasn't ruined them yet. "You trained your feet enough for that, Tendo? Going barefoot in a city is asking for scrapes and all, especially if you don't keep your steps light." He hops in front of her on one foot showing off his callouses, and a couple nasty scars on the bottom of his left. "Just be careful, 'kay? Ya don't wanna fuck up your feet as a martial artist. One time I couldn't stand on this foot for a month cause I did something stupid without shoes."

That stops her dead. He's not just being nice, he's treating her as a martial artist, he's being helpful. Her own father can barely do that for her, and here's this boy, basically a stranger, who she's treated like garbage for the month or so they've known each other, and he's trying to help. Not by being condescending and offering to protect her, but by taking her seriously as a fellow student of the Art. She stops, and she properly looks at the boy, who's face is so similar to his sisters, hell they're practically identical, if it weren't for his sister's hair colour and boobs, she probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart. "Ugh, why couldn't you be an asshole," she mutters under her breath. He gives her a quizzical look that says he couldn't quite hear her, but she stops staring at him and continues the walk home, taking her steps carefully as if walking were a kata she was trying to perfect. Ransu steps in front of her and matches her stride, his steps measured and exact, and she finds herself mimicking the way he raises and sets his feet. She's jealous of his natural grace, one more way he's just like his sister. She tries to get out of her head and focus on walking home carefully, and it really does help her calm down.

"I'm sorry" they both say at the same time. They had just made eye contact in the living room, where Ranma was doing homework. They both let out a relieved sigh and give the other a moment to continue. Ransu bugged out, after giving his sister a shy wave, dashing up the stairs and getting out of the way of their much-needed conversation. Ranma decides to man up and take the initiative. "'Kane, your like, my only friend, and I have no excuse for losing it on ya like that. I feel like a dumb jerk for yellin and all, and I hope we can still be friends?"

"Yeah Ranma, I'd like that. And I'm sorry for not being considerate about your unusual upbringing. I should have known that you'd have a hard time with girl stuff growing up on the road around only your father and brother. Thanks for the apology." Her smile is warm, if a bit small, but that's okay. They had their first real fight... and they were still friends! It didn't turn into a war like things had with her other old friends, she wishes she could remember their names. There was someone in Osaka when she was real small, and she's pretty sure she had a friend in middle school that she fought with all the time too. She hopes things can stay more friend than rival this time around.

"Y'any good at this triangle-whatsit? I ain't never done any a this fancy math 'fore."

"Trigonometry, and yeah, it's not that hard. What are you having problems with?"

Ranma gestures at the worksheet with a shrug, "All of it, I guess?"

Ransu knocked on Nabiki's door, holding his own math homework, ready to blow their last favour on a semester's worth of math tutoring, because this shit is ridiculous. When Nabiki opens the door, and catches a look at the paper gripped tightly in his hands, she shows mercy. "Fine, I can help you with your stupid math homework. Can't have my business partner flunking out of highschoool." He's relieved that she didn't try to extort him over it, and honestly a bit surprised. But he knows better than to call attention to her helpfulness. She drags an extra stool over to her desk and makes him sit down. She grabs the worksheet and places it in front of her. "Trigonometry is a bitch, but it won't cause you too many problems if you focus on the rule of three."

The study session is brief and to the point. He's not sure how much of what she'd tried to drum into his head would actually stick, but he'd solved half the problems correctly without any help, so he was off to a good start. "Is it time for dinner soon? I'm starving." In the time it had taken him to finish off the worksheet, she'd apparently completed all her other homework. It's going to be so annoying playing catchup on school after Pops decided they'd be fine skipping the last year of middle school in exchange for a trip to China. He had learned a lot about the PRC and Communism, so if they covered any of that in history, he'd have a leg up, but it didn't really make up for all the places he was way behind.

"Might be another hour or so, Kasumi takes homework seriously and expects everybody to get theirs done before dinner when possible."

Ransu lets his head fall forward onto the finished worksheet with a groan. "School is stupid, I wanna go back to China."

Nabiki gives him a flick on the forehead. "Don't be a baby Ransu. I know you've got a good enough memory to compensate for being a bit behind. As long as you put in the bare minimum of effort, I think you'll pass fine."

"I'd rather flunk out than do any more of this weird nonsense math."

"For fuck's sake, do I have to make it a martial arts challenge for you to try at school?"

"Is martial arts trigonometry a thing now?" Ransu says with genuine panic in his voice.

Nabiki pinches the bridge of her nose, these idiots will be the death of her. She smacks him on the back of the head. "No, but I'm sure there's some kind of absurd martial arts mathematician or schoolteacher or whatever. What I meant was, try and treat school like a tournament. You put in the work in the various brackets, and if you take your opponents seriously, you can come out on top, or at least place."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of it like that. Thanks Nabiki. I'll try to rise to the challenge."

"You do that then. Now get out of my room, I've got other stuff I want to get done before dinner. Go play swords with your sister or something." He glares at her, but knows better than to rise to the taunt.

He heads out the door just in time to bump into Akane and Ranma heading to her room. She's pulling his sister along by the wrist and looks excited about something that has his other half wincing. He gives her a gentle squeeze of the shoulder, his expression reading "good luck" while her eyes beg him to rescue her from whatever Akane has in mind. "Gonna go do some katas in the dojo, let me know when dinner's ready?" Ranma has an absolutely betrayed expression on her face as Akane nods and tugs the girl into her room without a word. "Glad they made up, I don't think I could handle it if they stayed mad." He whistles to himself as he makes his way out to practice forms.