The Three Fiances Arc

1

らんま½

Somewhere in the Sea of Japan

It was a day like any other day at the small island. The sun was shining, and the sea gave a constant gentle breeze that rustled the very few palm trees that dotted the small beach in front of a small, pink house with the word KAME printed in big, bold, red letters above the door. Out in front of the house lounged a deceptively old man, reading his favorite issue of a swimsuit magazine.

He was dressed in his usual attire of a Hawaiian shirt, board shorts, and flip-flop sandals, and had a fu manchu mustache and beard. Who was this man; one might ask. The answer would be martial arts master, Muten Roshi. One of the oldest, if not the oldest, masters of the physical arts in the world. Muten Roshi, at four-hundred-thirty years old, had accomplished much in his unnaturally long life. He had risen from a foolish, cocky young man, become an expert martial artist at a decently young age, and even drank from the fabled fountain of youth -

"Twice," said the old man with a chuckle. "If you're going to introduce me, then you'd better add all my accomplishments, eheheh."

Alright, so he's claimed to have drank from the fabled fountain of youth twice.

"That's better."

AHEM! Moving along; Muten Roshi, however, was a reclusive, and cranky old hermit -

"I resent the cranky part."

- that usually spent his days reading instead of training the next generation of martial artists. With his advanced age, and knowledge, whoever trained under the hermit would undoubtedly be a splendid martial artist of the highest caliber.

"Yes, that's quite true," Roshi said, flipping a page in his magazine, "But young people these days rarely care for the true martial arts. Today most of what you see is sport fighting, or delinquents brawling on the streets." He sighed, briefly wondering who he was talking to, "It's part of the reason I live so far away from the mainlands. No noise, no pollution, and best of all no neighbors, except the occasional mermaid."

"Really, though, why should I care if I pass on my collection of techniques?" He wondered, "There's no one that's serious about the martial arts anymore, and those that are practice bastardized versions of once great techniques. Even the mighty Kuruda school's techniques have fallen into kick boxing."

And thus, the proud martial arts master withdrew himself from the modern world, content with his little island off the coast of Japan. Over one hundred years passed him by in the blink of an eye, and the man knew that, with the modern age advancing, those that sought martial training had gone the way of the old masters of martial arts.

Now, unknown to the master -

"Unknown? Ha!" Roshi chuckled, "I know exactly what's going to happen, thank you very much!"

If you're quite done breaking the fourth wall, I have a story to tell if you don't mind?!

"Sorry, but we both know what's going to happen, so cut the mysterious baloney." Roshi said, waving off the comments.

Hmph, some people...

らんま½

"Are we almost there?" Shouted a petite red-haired girl swimming rapidly alongside a giant panda.

The panda pulled out a sign, "Stop complaining, Boy!" The sign flipped over, "This is an important part of your training!" The sign flipped again, "We are making decent time," Flip, "But you are slowing us down!"

The girl scoffed, "Me? Slow us down?! I'll show you, Old Man!" The girl surged into the waves, and pulled ahead of the panda, who gave chase, "You still haven't told me why we're suddenly going to Japan. I thought we still had things to do back in China?"

"Did I not tell you?" The panda held out his sign, and flipped it around, "We're meeting your fiance."

The redhead nearly swallowed a gallon of sea water as she choked from the panda's explanation. "Fiance?!" Raged the girl, "Are you out of your mind?! After what just happened?!"

"It was sworn by our families' honor long ago!" The panda growled with his sign, "The house of Tendo has three daughters, and I promised my old friend and partner," he flipped the sign around, "That I would produce a male heir in order to join our two houses of Anything Goes Martial Arts!"

The girl gaped at the panda, disbelief clear on her face. Then rage contorted her features, "Damn you, Old Man!" She shouted, and punched the black and white animal clear out of the water and across the horizon. The redhead watched his progress until he was well out of sight before growling, "Dammit, what was he thinking? Stakin' our honor on something like this!?"

She sighed, looking around in hopes of spotting a place to crawl ashore. She spotted a small island to her left that looked to have a small house on it. "I hope whoever lives there has running water." She sighed, and started paddling again.

Meanwhile, Roshi was still sitting on the beach, finished with his magazine, and dozing off under the shade of one of the palms. "Ah, nothing like a peaceful day to relax and waste your cares away." He said, his hands behind his head.

Suddenly, the sound of sputtering caught his attention as he sat up, and spotted a young girl crawling onto his beach. "Hmph, right on time." He said, getting up from his chair, "You alright there, Missy?"

The girl coughed and sputtered tiredly, "Dammit, I hate this body, it gets tired too easily!"

Taking in her appearance, and ire, the old hermit came to a conclusion, "Hm, correct me if I'm wrong, child, but would you happen to have been a boy originally?"

The girl, finally noticing the old man, nodded her head shyly, "Er, yeah, I - "

"Took a trip to Jusenkyo, eh?" He chuckled, "I'd wager that you didn't believe in the legends surrounding that old training ground, and fell into one of the springs."

The girl scowled, "I didn't fall in, my stupid old man knocked me off of the pole I was standing on and into the Nyannīchuan."

"Spring of Drowned Girl, eh?" He laughed, turning about, "Well, no sense leaving you out here. Come in and warm up. Then you can tell me all about this little incident of yours, young...say what is your name?"

"Ranma," the girl said, getting to her feet, "Ranma Saotome."

Roshi smiled, "Well, Young Ranma Saotome, I am Muten Roshi," he said, his eyes twinkling behind his sunglasses.

らんま½

Roshi chuckled as he listened to the young Saotome, now a young black haired boy. "So, your father took you to the springs in hopes that the training grounds there would help with your school's midair combat style, and both of you found out that those stories were more than just that."

"Yeah," Ranma sighed, "It's a real pain to have this curse on me. I mean, I've trained for my whole life to be the very best martial artist I could be, and now I can't do anything because this stupid curse attracts water and changes me in the worst possible times!"

"Heheheh," Roshi chuckled, "I'll tell you something, boy, that curse does more than just attract cold water to you," he said, gaining the boy's undivided attention, "You see, I've bathed in a cursed spring as well," he went on to the boy's surprise, "I bathed in the Bèi yānmò dì hǎiguī de chūntiān, or Spring of Drowned Sea Turtle, and for quite a while, I had trouble with the curse until I could fully except it." He said, stroking his beard, "In truth, it didn't take long because I wanted the curse, and bathed in the spring willingly. But the curse does attract splashes of cold water, and sudden cold showers at the oddest times when you resist the curse, but it also attracts warm water, and often causes chaos to those that try to return to the springs to cure themselves."

"Chaos?" Ranma asked.

"Random situations that cause you to either forget about going to the springs, or prevents it altogether." Roshi clarified. "But it's not as bad for you as it is for others that have the curse." He chuckled at the boy's scowl, "At least you remain human, and being a girl, you may be physically weaker in this form, but you gain a double in speed, and judging by your physical condition, you must be very quick on your feet."

Ranma smirked, "Well, I don't like to brag - "

"And yet you were about to start," Roshi said, chuckling again, "Ranma, how would you like to learn from me?"

"From you?" Ranma asked, blinking, "What kind'a martial arts could you teach me?"

Now the old hermit outright cackled, "What couldn't I teach you, boy!" He laughed, "I know I don't look it, Ranma, but you're looking at one of the last true masters left in the world! I'm well over four hundred years old, and I've seen the greatest of the Arts fall into the shadows of history!" He proclaimed, "I possess countless scrolls and weapons passed down to me from the greatest warriors the world has had to offer."

He held out his gnarled palm, facing up, "And," he said, as he looked the boy dead in the eyes, "I can teach you this." His hand glowed, producing a softball-sized orb of energy, "And much, much more," he closed his hand, discharging the energy ball, "What do you say, kid?"

If you know Ranma Saotome, then you already know the answer to his question.

らんま½

A month had gone by since Ranma was taken under the wing of Muten Roshi, and a month since Roshi had taken a liking to the boy. Hearing Ranma's story of how he and his father had lived hand to mouth from the time that he was three made the elder realize that Ranma wasn't like most young people in the modern world. He was serious about becoming a martial arts master.

The young man confided much in him as the days went by, from his younger days in leaving the only friend he had ever made, to the point of feeling obligated find his father, and meet with the Tendo family. Hearing that their families' honor rested on his shoulders weighed him down heavily, and the old hermit could tell that it bothered him greatly at times.

Ranma, however, managed to throw himself into the training that the Turtle Hermit offered. Day in and day out, Ranma pushed himself until he collapsed from fatigue, so much so that Roshi had to put a stop to it at one point when the young man (at times young woman), started coughing up blood. And so, with the physical training set aside, the master took to teaching Ranma about Ki, and began instructing him in one of the most sought after techniques that existed: The Dancing Sky Art.

When Ranma heard about the technique, he scoffed at the very thought. That is, until Roshi demonstrated it by levitating right in front of him quiet easily. Ranma had been chomping at the bit to learn it right away. Roshi was impressed when Ranma managed to learn Ki manipulation in just under a day, which sped up his learning of the Dancing Sky technique. It was just under four weeks into their training that Ranma took his first step into the sky.

Roshi watched the young man as he hovered about two feet over the water, "That's quite good for your first try, Ranma," he called out to the boy, "Do you think you could go a little higher?"

Ranma nodded, and tried to rise a little higher, "How's that?" He asked as he hovered five feet above the water, now.

"Good, now we need to work on your control," Roshi said, "Take a few laps around the island, and try move a little faster each time, but don't push it. Don't want an early bath, do you?"

"Got it!" The young man shouted and started moving slowly around the island. Roshi watched his progress as the boy made his first pass around the small island, streamlining his body to move faster.

Ranma was moving at a decent speed by the time he'd made his fifth pass of the beach, and touched back down on the sandy soil, "How's that, old man?"

Roshi chuckled, "Not bad, kid, not bad." He snorted, "You're progressing nicely for such a young fellow."

Ranma chuckled bashfully at the praise, very much unused to such things considering his father never praised him in his sixteen years. "Should I keep going?"

The old hermit regarded the boy for a moment, noticing that he was slightly pale, and had a light sheen of sweat on his skin, "No, we'll stop for the day." He smiled, "No need to exhaust your energy to such extremes." He gestured toward the house, "Go have yourself a bath, and I'll whip us up some dinner."

Disgruntled about having to quit when there was still light out, Ranma trudged into the house and drew himself a bath. Settling himself in the warm water, he had time to think again, and his mind wandered to his father, and his apparent obligations to the Tendo family. It clawed at the inside of his head like a wild animal trying to escape.

"I have to go." He muttered to himself.

He finished his bath, and went to find his clothes...only to find them replaced by a red dogi uniform with Roshi's insignia on them.

Roshi was just setting the table when the young man came into the kitchen, bringing a smile to the old man's face, "Ah, I see you found my gift," he said fondly, "They look good on you."

"Thanks, I guess, but..." the boy hesitated, "Old man...I have to - "

"You want to meet with this family that your father has planned to marry you into." Roshi said, nodding, "Sit and eat. I made beef tongue curry for us."

Ranma nodded slowly and took his seat. The two ate in silence for a time until the meal was finished. The young man looked truly sorry at the moment, but the old hermit just smiled. "Ranma, I knew that you would leave me sooner than you wished." He said, surprising the boy. "I could no more keep you here than you could make me leave here."

"Then why...?" Ranma plucked at his dogi, "Why give me this?"

Roshi chuckled, "I've been training you, haven't I?" He said, "That makes you my student, no matter what your father, or anyone else says. And I know that, having heard how your father views the world, and how he treats you, he will try to gain control of you again, and set you in his way of thinking." He shook his head, "I'm sorry to be speaking of him this way considering he's your father, but the man is greedy, lazy, and embodies all that I despise about the word's martial artists today. I want him to see that, even though you are heir to his school, you are also a student of the Turtle School, and that will never change."

Ranma felt his chest tighten, "I want to learn more from you, but - "

"Your honor demands that you follow through with your father's and the Tendo family's will." He nodded, "You're a good boy, Ranma, and, despite your many flaws, you will make a good man when you've had more time to grow."

"I learned a lot from you," Ranma said, "You've taught me more in this last month than my old man has in my entire life!"

Roshi smiled at the boy, "I admit that I've enjoyed teaching you, son, and, if you would have me, I would continue teaching you."

"But I have to - !"

"I mean that I would come with you, Ranma." He said, smiling at the boy's look of shock, "Why so surprised? You are the most promising young martial artist I've met in the last two hundred years, and if the Tendo family is anything like you, I may find another I can train alongside you as well." The boy was now grinning from ear to ear. "What do you say, my boy?"

Ranma stood, and bowed to his master, "I'd be honored if you came with me to Japan to continue my teachings, Master Roshi."

The old man chuckled, "Well, then, let's get packing, shall we?" He laughed, "After all, we are meeting your fiance, aren't we?"

らんま½

Genma Saotome sat across from his long time friend, Soun Tendo, both men crying waterfalls of tears down their cheeks as the Saotome patriarch relayed the news to the Tendo patriarch. "To think that the boy would be so excited to meet his fiance, only to be lost at sea on the way here!" Soun cried passionately, "My heart weeps for you, my old friend, to have lost such a promising child!"

"Indeed, Soun, the boy was so very excited to meet you and your daughters," Genma cried, "But he worried about his recent curse, and did not pay attention to the incoming waves as we swam!"

Out in the hall while to two men blubbered stood Soun's three lovely daughters. The eldest was Kasumi, a quiet and gentle young woman in her early twenties. She was the heart of the family, as well as the replacement for their mother. Bar furthering her education, or finding a job, she focused on the Tendo home, and menial chores required of the house.

Next in line was the middle daughter, Nabiki, shrewd, and cold to most save for her family. It was thanks to her that the house had a steady supply of money given that their father had stopped taking students after their mother's death. Her talents lay in her sharp mind, being able to manipulate, and blackmail anyone she chose.

The youngest, and the only other martial artist of the little family, was Akane. Unlike her sisters, who had brown hair that resembled their mother's, Akane had blue hair that she may have gotten from her father's side of the family, and her mother's lovely blue eyes. Unfortunately, as the youngest, and the closest to the age of Genma's son, she was the likely candidate that would be chosen to marry him if he had survived.

She was a strong martial artist in her own right, but hated male individuals with a passion. In recent times, when she had entered high school, she had been targeted by one of the school's richest, and possibly the most pompous students, one Tatewaki Kuno. He was the school's self-proclaimed kendo specialist, calling himself the Blue Thunder, and had demanded that she date him as soon as he saw her.

Of course, she had turned him down flat, but that hadn't stopped him from trying to force her to date him. The result? Kuno had been beaten to within an inch of his life, and had also started a yarn about the fact that if anyone wanted to date the lovely Akane Tendo, then they would have to defeat her in a duel. This had spawned something she liked to call the Hentai Horde, every single male in the school that had any form of martial training had taken to attacking her every morning in an attempt to win dating rights.

Personally, she didn't see the reason that any of them needed the Saotome heir, but she could see that a male heir was needed. Nerima was a richly cultured area in Japan, and many of the dojos, all of them really, looked down on the Tendo Dojo because they no longer accepted students, and the fact that they had no male heirs to pass their teachings onto.

Akane hated that line of thinking, finding it highly sexist that no one would take a female dojo master seriously. Their were plenty of female martial artists around the world nowadays, but the idea of learning from one was still unacceptable? [Give me a break,] the girl thought as she listened to the two men blubbering over the lost boy.

"What do you think of all of this, Nabiki?" The eldest daughter asked, "Since I prefer older men, I figure it would be either you or Akane to take this Ranma as a husband."

Nabiki shrugged, "Well, I could care less, really. As long as he's cute, and knows how to do his job, then I'm fine with it."

Akane looked at her older sister, "Are you kidding?" She asked incredulously, "I love Dad to death, but he's basically selling one of us as a broodmare, you know?" She snarled, "And did you see the way that Saotome man was leering at Kasumi when he arrived? I wanted to clobber him!"

"I agree," Kasumi shivered, remembering the man's gaze. [Tofu never looked at me like that, thank Heaven.] Before either of them comment further, however, the door bell rang out, alerting them to yet another guest. "Now who could that be?"

"I'll get it," Akane volunteered, moving away from the dojo, "I don't think I can listen to those two for much long anyway."

"I'll prepare tea, then," Kasumi sighed, moving off toward the kitchen, "Nabiki, could you help prepare the tray?"

"Sure."

Akane padded toward the entrance of the Tendo home, and opened the door. What she found surprised her.

There were two of them, both male, and both strangely dressed, one more than the other. The first, standing at the forefront, was an old man in sunglasses, beard and mustache, and a dark blue suit and broad-rimmed hat. Behind him, fidgeting slightly, was a young man, possibly her age, or maybe a little older, dressed in a red training dogi. On his back he carried a long, wrapped item, as well as a small pouch at his hip. His eyes were a darker shade of blue than her own, and his hair was as black as pitch, and tied up into a pig-tail.

A martial artist for certain, given the presence he was giving off. "Um, can I help you?"

"I believe you can, my dear," the old man said with a small bow of his head, "Would this happen to be the Tendo residence?"

"Yeah, but I'm afraid we're not taking students anymore, Sir." Akane said, immediately thinking the young man was a potential student.

But the man only laughed, "Oh, no, we're not here to enroll him," he said, "You see, I'm hear to speak with masters of the Tendo and Saotome schools respectively."

Akane was growing uneasy, "I don't think they're in the mood for visitors."

"Not even to see Ranma Saotome?" The man asked, looking up at the young man behind him, "You weren't kidding when you said you had a lousy father, kid."

Ranma bowed his head, "That's not something I need reminding of, Master."

Akane groaned internally.

らんま½

To say that the reactions to Ranma's sudden appearance was mixed would be an understatement. Upon seeing the young man, Soun Tendo lept at the boy and nearly broke his back from the strength of his embrace, and Genma had nearly struck the boy had he not moved out of the way in time, tripping the old man up and tossing him into the Koi pond.

The Tendo sisters were shocked to see him come out again as a large, fat, irate panda. "So that story about falling into a cursed spring was true?" Akane looked at the panda with shock, and then at the boy now kneeling in front of her and her family next to the elder that had brought him.

Roshi regarded the panda with scorn, "How disgraceful." He muttered, turning his attention back to the Tendo family, "Forgive the sudden visit, Young Tendo, but my student was unable to focus on his training due to the promise made by his father and yourself." He said, gesturing to the panda.

"STUDENT?!" The panda held up a sign, flipping it around, "The boy is my student, not yours!"

Ignoring Genma for the moment, Soun gave a bow of his head, touching it to the floor, "You have my eternal gratitude for bringing young Ranma home to us." He said sincerely, "I had feared the worst when Saotome told me of his disappearance."

"Disappearance," Ranma frowned, "I threw decked him across the ocean, and swam to my Master's island where he offered to train me."

Soun's eye twitched slightly, but he ignored it, "I see, so my friend still has a habit of fudging the truth," he said, giving a small glare toward the panda, who held up a sign with a few obscenities on it. "Please, Saotome, not in front of the girls!"

"Anyway," Roshi continued, "I understand that you and that one," he gestured to the panda once again, "have sworn upon the honor of your families, and your schools to unite your two branches, and join them as one so that young Ranma can take over when the time comes, am I right?"

"You are," Soun said, nodding, "And once again, you have my profound eternal gratitude."

Roshi nodded, "There are no thanks needed. The boy was a delight to train, and has been a fine and quick study under myself." He smiled, "As such, I offered him the chance to become my true student, and pass down all that I know of the Arts." He gestured to the young man, "As you can see, by his uniform, he has accepted, and I have decided to continue his training here in Japan so that he need not worry about his honor being tarnished because of this promise between your families."

"I FORBID IT!" Genma signed, "THE BOY IS THE ONLY HEIR TO MY SCHOOL!"

Ignored again, Soun looked at the young man, who looked sheepish, "Raise your head, son, you need not be cowed by me."

Ranma's head snapped up, "I - Uh - that is - "

"You'll have to forgive him," Roshi said, "Ranma, having been raised away from the civilized world, is a bit socially awkward."

"Hmph," Akane snorted.

"Time with take care of that," Soun smiled warmly, "But I must somewhat agree with my old friend, Saotome; the boy must be his heir so that our martial arts style does not die out."

"Even if I offer you the teachings of the Turtle School?" The elder asked, shocking Soun and Genma, the panda holding up a sign saying, "That cannot be!" while Soun's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Sir, that's...that's not possible," Soun said, trembling, "The Turtle School has been dead for well over three hundred years! And the last master was - "

"Muten Roshi?" The elder chuckled, stroking his beard, "And my school stopped accepting students two hundred years ago, not three. How do I know this? Because I am Master Muten Roshi, of the Turtle School."

Soun and Genma were speechless, while the three girls were simply confused. Akane more than most. "Uh, pardon me, but what's so special about this Turtle School, sir?"

Roshi chuckled, "Well, my dear, my school not only taught martial arts, but specialized in Ki manipulation, such as strengthening the body using the natural flow of energy inside of us, and in some cases, using that same energy in a blast attack. Surely you've heard of Ki blasts?"

Akane nodded, "Yeah, but I've always thought those were just legends."

The elder smiled at the young woman, and looked to his student, "Ranma, why don't you show her an example?"

Ranma nodded, and stood up, stepping into the center of the dojo. Soun leaned over, "You've taught him to use Ki?"

"Indeed, but only to manipulate it through his body, not blasts," Roshi smiled, "He still needs a little practice, but he should be ready soon."

Akane was barely listening as she watched the young martial artist with interest in what he could be about to do. Standing straight, Ranma closed his eyes, as if focusing on something. A movement caught the girl's attention as she saw a small ring of dust kick around his feet, even though there was no flow of air in the room to cause such a thing. A small sheen encompassed the young man, then, and he began to lift from the floor until she had to look up at him as he rose next to the ceiling.

"Oh, wow..."

"The Sky Dance!?" Soun cried in sheer joy, looking at the elder, "You really are who you say you are!" Both he and Genma bowed their heads to the floor, "We are truly honored to have you in our presence, Master!"

"Truly honored!" Signed the panda as Ranma came back down.

Akane was already rushing up to him, "That was amazing!" She shouted, coming close to him, "Can you teach me to do that?"

Roshi looked at her, noting that the girl was in karate gi, "Ah, so you are the martial artist of the family," he said, smiling, and looking at the two patriarchs, "Soun, while I would indeed like to train Ranma, I feel it's only fair that I also train his fiance in the same techniques." Akane and Soun beamed at this, "And while staying here, I would offer due compensation."

Soun looked at the man in shock, "Oh, Master you don't need - "

"Keep quiet, Daddy!" Nabiki hissed.

Roshi chuckled at her, "Fallen on hard times, eh?" He asked of her, gaining a nod from the middle daughter, "So I see. Akane, Ranma, please be seated." He asked, and the two teens sat back down, Akane next to her family, and Ranma next to the master. "Now," Roshi reached into his suit's inner pocket, and pulled out a lovely, glowing jewel that had Nabiki drooling, "This I present to the Tendo family as a gift, and compensation in return for allowing me to stay here in order to train my student." He said, placing the jewel in Soun's trembling hands, "This is the Jewel of the Dragon's Neck."

"It's beautiful," Kasumi smiled, "But surely you wouldn't want to part with something like this?" She asked, looking at the master, "It must be worth a small fortune?"

"Indeed, but what is wealth when you cannot share it?" Roshi smiled at the eldest Tendo daughter, "This will ensure that our stay here will not hinder your daily lives, and that we are not freeloading off of your family." He said, and gestured to Ranma, "Now, Ranma, I do believe you have something to gift young Akane, considering you two are the closest in age?"

Ranma blushed, and nodded nervously as he took the wrapped item from his back, unbinding it as he placed it in front of the equally embarrassed girl as she found her earlier suspicions of being singled out to be correct.

She watched, however, as Ranma unwrapped the item, and revealed a beautiful battle fan with red plumage at the head, and a long, crimson shaft. "This is - "

"Speak up, Ranma," Roshi said, prodding the boy.

"Right," Ranma yelped, clearing his throat, "Uh, this is my gift to you, my-my f-f-fiance, Akane Tendo; the Crimson Demon Fan." He lifted the fan from the wrappings and offered it to her.

Akane took the fan gingerly, surprised at how light if felt in her hands, and let her fingers touch to plumage, shocked that they seemed to glow like embers at her touch. "It's amazing."

"It uses Ki to launch flames from the fan, and can kick up a pretty nasty wind," Ranma said, having practiced with the fan prior to leaving the island, "I thought something practical would be appropriate."

"And?" Roshi prodded as Ranma nodded, and took the pouch from his hip.

He presented this to Soun, "I doubt my old man's given over a bridal price, so I'd like to offer this as a treasured heirloom for the Tendo family." He said as Soun accepted the offering, opening it up to find yet another jewel with what looked like a piece of coral locked inside of it. "It's called - "

"The Blood Coral Crystal," Soun breathed out, looking at the boy, "How is this yours to give?"

Roshi chuckled, "That would be my doing." He said, "Seeing as the boy comes from a rough upbringing, I thought to help him." He said, "And as to how I came into possession of the crystal, well, I'm over four hundred years old, so I've got quite the collection of magical artifacts and demonic relics."

Soun nodded in acceptance, and bowed, "You've brought honor to my home," the man said gratefully, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"Will you, then, accept the marriage of Akane Tendo to Ranma Saotome?" Roshi asked.

"Without question."

らんま½

Ranma groaned as he sat out on the patio and the day finally came to an end. The entire ordeal with the Tendo family had left him drained, physically and mentally. He had been more nervous than he thought after laying eyes on Akane, especially since she was the one that greeted them at the door. [At least she likes the fan,] he sighed, thankful that the girl had seen the weapon as appropriate.

After the meeting had ended, Kasumi had cooked them a massive meal to celebrate, and, to his utter embarrassment, his father had tried to swipe food from everyone's plates, even though there was more than enough to go around for one. [This is what we get for living hand to mouth for so long,] he thought, but frowned. He knew that his father was just doing this so that he could live comfortably since they didn't have their own dojo.

Still, though, he rather liked the Tendo family. Soun was welcoming, and Kasumi already felt like...well, he didn't know what having a mother felt like. His father had told him she died just before they had left on their training trip when he was only three years old. So maybe she felt like his own older sister? He would ask about it later.

Nabiki seemed to like the fact that they were paying(paid) rent. She and Kasumi were pretty, he guessed, though he didn't have many women in his life to compare them to...well, there were the Amazons, but they were -

"Hey," said a voice behind him. He turned around to find his...fiance, staring at him with a slight mistrustful glint in her eyes. "If you want to take a bath, we've all taken ours."

"Thanks," the boy said shortly, giving the girl a small look. She was just a little shorter than himself, (taller than his female self), and had eyes a lighter shade than his own. She also kept her hair long, almost all the way down her back and kept it tied near the end. She was...cute?

The girl kept that glint in her eye before her curiosity got the better of her. "Do you really have a curse on you that turns you into a girl?"

Rather than answer, Ranma hopped to his feet and padded over to the koi pond, and splashed himself in the face. Akane then watched in fascination as the strong, broad shoulder gave way to slim, dainty shoulders no wider than her own. His height seemed to shrink as he stood back up, and now seemed just barely shorter than herself. His hair turned bright red, and, as he turned, she noticed two things on his chest that had most definitely not been their before.

"Weird, huh?" Ranma asked in a clearly female voice as she tucked her arms behind her back, blushing slightly.

Akane nodded, "Really weird," she said, shaking herself out of her surprise, "Uh, how does that work?"

"Dunno," Ranma shrugged, "Doesn't take much for it to happen though. Master Roshi told me that it attracts both warm and cold water, forcing me to change at the worst possible times, and causes a lot of chaos in my life if I'm close to curing myself, or even near Jusenkyo."

"How did it happen, if you don't mind telling me, that is?" Akane said, still curious about her fiance's transformation.

"Well," Ranma quickly told her about how she and her father had traveled to Jusenkyo because Genma had heard that the springs were fantastic training ground to practice their midair combat style, and how he had knocked her father into the Spring of Drowned Panda, and had been shocked, and scared when the man appeared as a panda, not even noticing the transformation until it was too late, and knocked Ranma right into the Spring of Drowned Girl.

Needless to say, Ranma had been surprised when she found out that she had breasts instead of pects. "Listen," the redhead sighed, "I'm...really sorry about this whole fiance thing...it wasn't my idea, and I'm pretty sure you don't wanna marry someone like me." She bowed low, "So...yeah, I'm sorry..."

Akane blinked several times before she started giggling, making the young girl look up, "Mister Roshi was right, you are awkward!"

Ranma took immediate offence to that, "Well, excuse me for being out of touch with the world!" The redhead shouted defensively, "It's not my fault my stupid ol' man drags me all over the place to learn more martial arts! It's not my fault I only ever had one friend as a kid, and got dragged away from him, too, and I -" Ranma suddenly caught herself before she could go any further when she noticed that Akane was no longer laughing, but looking at her with shock and slight sympathy. "Sorry."

Akane shook her head, "No, I should the one saying that, this time," she sighed, "Your dad...he hasn't given us the best impression, even if my dad says he's an honorable man - "

"Him? Honorable?!" Ranma spat, "Ha! He wouldn't know honor if it came up and bit him in the tail!"

Akane was a little stunned at the passion which Ranma was showing, "Whoa, I didn't think you disliked him that much?"

"I love my dad, because he's family," Ranma huffed, crossing her arms, "But I've always hated the way he acts...he lies...cheats...steals...and he took me away from my only friend in the world."

Akane nodded, leaning against the frame of the door, "I guess I can understand that, I mean, I can't stand him, and I've only just met him," she admitted, "And I guess he's partly responsible for your curse, huh?"

Ranma shook her head, "Nah, that happened because I got spooked and let my guard down." She admitted, "He nailed me fair and square."

"But training there was his idea?" Akane pushed, gaining a nod, "Then, if he hadn't taken you there in the first place, you never would've been cursed."

Again, Ranma shrugged, seeing her point. "So...what can you do in a place like Nerima?" She asked, making the young Tendo heir smile slightly. Akane sat down on the porch, gesturing for her to join her, and began chatting about her favorite places to go in the city.

Muten Roshi's Treasures:

The Jewel of the Dragon's Neck: The jewel is a strange metal sphere with an exposed, yellow, glowing core.

The Crimson Demon Fan: A war fan made from the feathers of a fire-bird that emit flames when Ki is channeled through it, making it a powerful weapon. It was formerly used by Ranma Saotome, but was gifted by him to his fiance, Akane Tendo.

The Blood Coral Crystal: The crystal is a red orb it gives the holder the ability to put up a powerful barrier using their Ki. It became a treasured family heirloom of the Tendo family after it was given as a bridal price for Akane Tendo.

Story Arcs:

The Three Fiances Arc: 1 - ?

Summary: Ranma Saotome is the heir of one of two branches to the Anything Goes Martial Arts. On his way to Japan, he meets an old man that claims to be a Master of the Arts, and offers him training while the young heir eventually travels to Japan.

The Three Swords Arc:

Ancient Enemy Arc:

Four War Gods Arc:

I beg for reviews to give this story life!