Chapter 1: Ranma, The Black Sheep With A White Sheep

In Nerima, an average sized town in Japan, lived a widower, Soun Tendo, and his three daughters. The oldest of the girls was Kasumi, a beautiful, nineteen year old woman with a saintly personality. At age seventeen was Nabiki, a girl whose love of money was in its own class. Though nice at times, she will resort to most anything to gain just one more yen. And the youngest of the sisters was Akane, a martial artist at the young age of only sixteen, and a true force to be reckoned with.

Their father, Soun, was out on the porch, scratching at his moustache as he fiddled with the mail. He quickly glanced at the recent post, throwing each one behind his shoulder as he went through them all. Though, at the last piece, a small postcard with a picture of a giant panda, he quickly stopped. He read over the barely legible writing on the opposing side several times.

He jumped from his sitting position and starting jogging around the house, yelling, "Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi! Quickly, clean the Dojo, prepare a meal, put on a dress! Today is the day you meet a very important man!" A girl with long, dark, black hair, a bright yellow gi, and a slightly annoyed look on her face ran up to Soun. Two other women, both with dark brown hair, walked up in succession.

"Why, father," said the tallest, most elegant of the three, "who is it that will be visiting?" Her voice rolled off her tounge in a very soothing manner, like a mothers would.

Soun held up the postcard for them all to read and the shortest of the girls, Akane, began to read aloud. "Soun, old friend, my son and I are on our way to Nerima to meet your daughters, and choose his fiancée. I also have some… troubling news… to discuss with you. My son, Ranma, takes after me, as he is a great martial artist. Soun, we have much to talk about. Genma Saotome."

The three girls all gave their father disappointed stares, although, Akane's might have been more of a 'you set up one of our marriages without our consent?' death glare. A tear of sadness streamed down Souns cheek as his daughters displeasure reached him.

Kasumi, the oldest of the three, broke into a smile. "Okay, Father, we'll meet your friend, but I don't think any of us will want to marry him." He dropped down and started hugging Kasumi's ankles. The Tendo family walked into the Tea Room and sat down. Kasumi prepared some tea, and the four of them drank in silence as they waited for the arrival of Genma and his son.

Nearly half an hour later, the acute ears of Soun were the first to notice the soft footsteps approaching the entrance way. He hopped to his feet and ran to the cobbled path. As he exited the room he began a greeting for his old ally. "Saotome! Old friend, It's been so many y-!"

He quickly stopped when he saw who was coming through. Nabiki joined him immediately, but she stopped as soon as she had a peek at the entrance way.

"D-Daddy," she said as a giant panda, a small pure white lamb, and a very cranky red headed girl came drudging through the doorway, "These are your friends?" He nervously nodded no as the panda came to a stop. The girl gave an angry stare that made Soun cringe.

"I'm… I'm Ramna Saotome." She murmered, her scowl fading to an apologetic glance. "Sorry about this." The lamb let out a bleat, then jumped onto Ranmas head. She walked into the Tea Room and took a seat next across from Nabiki, and the panda followed.

"Oh my," Kasumi said, seeing both the panda and the lamb, "so you're Ranma. You look much more feminine than the post card led me to believe." Nabiki took a seat next to Ranma, and she gave her a quick look over.

"Daddy, this is a girl. I though you said Ranma was a boy."

Soun scratched his head and stared at the girl. "Well, I assumed that my friends SON was a MAN."

"Does this look like a boy to you?" she said in an aggravated tone, picking up one of Ranma's breasts. A very annoyed facial expression came over Ranma.

"Please stop that." She said, gently slapping Nabikis hand away.

"Nabiki, you shouldn't do that. She's a guest." Said Akane in a high, sweet voice. She stood up and placed a hand out for Ranma. "I heard you were into martial arts. Maybe you'd like to practice a little?" a small giggle escaped her mouth when she finished her sentence. 'How could I think this was going to be a stupid boy' she wondered to herself.

"Yeah. As long as you really don't mind." The red head replied. Ranma grabbed the hand, and the two girls, along with the sheep still on Ranma's head, walked over to the next building over, a large dojo.

Akane shot a glance at Ranma's sheep that was still perched on her cranium, even as the girl stretched. "Are you going to take that sheep off your head?" she asked.

"Huh?" She looked up and saw the things head poking out from over her. "Oh yeah, sorry." She gently set the lamb on the ground and bowed to Akane. Akane returned the bow, and they both got into their striking positions.

Akane charged right in with a straight punch, but Ranma disappeared. Akane looked around. Behind her! She struck with a roundhouse kick, but hit nothing. Instead, Ranma, out of nowhere, appeared on her leg and gave her a small smile. Any traces of smile that may have been taking resident on Akane's face immediately left, an she let out a long billowing, battle cry. She started punching rapid fire at Ranma, though instead of running, Ranma dodged every strike.

"Come on, you need to attack!" yelled Akane as she charge at Ranma with a fist ready to hit just about anything. Anything, of course, being Ranma, who was now at the other end of the dojo. Just a moment, no, half a moment before Akane's fist was to make impact, Ranma made a great leap into the air, clearing two backflips as she came down.

Akane stood, her fist broken through the thick wall. Ranma poked the back of Akane's head with her own index finger, then then both started to fall into a fit of wild laughter. Akane pulled her hand out of the wall and started scratching the back of her head. "Let's head back. I don't know about you, but I sure am thirsty." The sheep quietly bleated, and they headed back. When they returned they talked for a few hours before Kasumi oh-so-gently- intruded.

"Excuse me, Ranma, but your bath is ready."

"Oh, alright Kasumi. Thank you." She stood up and prepared. In the Tea Room, Soun Tendo and a middle aged man in a perfectly white gi sat across from each other, both men with tears in their eyes.

Ranma dipped herself in the hot bath, and after a few seconds, her red pigtail became a much darker black shade, and the large breast that had been manhandled, woops, I mean WOmanhandled, by Nabiki was no longer present, nor was the one on the other side. Instead in their place were muscular pectorals.

When she talked, it was in a much deeper voice, obviously not a female's. "Should I keep the curse a secret? They'd all think I was a freak if they knew." After a few minutes of soaking, he got out, now it was VERY evident that Ranma was no girl. "No, I have to tell them." He opened the sliding door that seperated the tub from the rest of the bathroom, though, an unexpected guest was on the other side.

Akane, the only thing covering her was a towel. She had a very shocked look on her face, but then, so did the also naked MAN that opened the bath door. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahh! A pervert!" She quickly slapped him through the window of the second floor bathroom and got her clothes back on. She raced down stairs to the Tea Room and saw everyone already sitting down, well almost everyone. The panda and Ranma were both missing, though, the shepp was there, along with a fat, bald man wearing glasses.

"Guys, I just saw a pervert in the bathroom!" The man in the gi let out a sigh.

"That isn't any pervert. That was my son, Ranma."

"I don't think so. Ranma is a girl."

The boy with the black pigtail came down the stairs, though, now he had on a pair of loose pants and a red, Chinese, silk shirt. He sat down and sighed heavily. "Pop, you sure we should tell 'em?" The fat man, Genma, nodded a yes. "Yes, I am Ranma Saotome. I'm that girl that you met, but, she isn't me. My pop, my sister, and I are all cursed."

"And just what sister would that be, huh? Is she just that panda? Does your dad turn into a sheep?" Though she said it sarcastically, Ranma gave her a serious stare.

"No, don't be silly. The sheep is my sister and the old man is the panda." Genma nodded.

"Maybe," said Genma, "we should just show you." He picked Ranma up and tossed him into a small coy pond that was just outside the Tea Room. Black haired boy went in, and out came red headed girl.

"Oh no you don't!" She hopped out of the pond and kicked Genma, making him fly into the pool. Out came the panda.

He held up a sign with rough scribblings of words on it. 'Hey! What was that for?!' it said. Soun walked out with a steaming kettle of water and poured it on both their heads. Everyone gasped as the two returned to father and son.

"Saotome, would you mind explaining how this happened again?" Ranma kneed his father in the chin, and Genma fell back into the pool. Once again, he was a panda.

"No way I'm letting pop tell it. He'll just make me out to be the bad guy. Sis should be the one to tell it." He took the still half full kettle and poured it on the sheep. There stood a girl around Akane's age with big green eyes and long chestnut hair going all down her back, but the top was tied with a ribbon.

She wore a blue blouse with white trim and sleeves tied with ribbons and a pair of black form fitting pants. She smiled at everyone and a slight blush appeared on her face.

"Hi. I'm Ukyo."

Alright, everyone, this is just sort of a practice thing. I'm just going to see how you react. If you liked it I'd really appreciate a review and a favorite. If I don't really get anything, I'll stop writing this. So, I hope to see you again with a new chapter of anything, bye! Oh, And soon I'll give a bit more info on why it's called Ranma the Shepherd

RFPR