Title: Saiyajinnyannichuan – Spring of drowned female Saiyan
Author name: Trugeta

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ as well as Akira Toriyama and Funimation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Note further that I don't own any of the other trademarks mentioned in this story.

This story takes place at the beginning of the Ranma ½ series and several years after the Cell Games Saga. It's an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.

Besides, please check out my other Ranma stories. I try to keep a constant level of attention to all of them.

My thanks go to Rose Vaughn and HeWhoWalksTheEarth for betaing this; my stories would only be half as good without you.

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Chapter 1: Here's… Ranma?

It was late evening, and the mild air of a summer day was still comfortable enough to enjoy the last hours of what had been a wonderful day, at least weather-wise. Quite a lot of people in the Nerima ward of the Tokyo prefecture did just that and were sitting in parks and such. The two travel-worn figures who trudged along the street did not care, however.

Especially the tall, bulky man wearing glasses and a bandana around his head seemed to be impatient for some reason; he was also watching the sky from time to time, and seeing that it was still cloudless he felt it prudent to urge his companion on. Again. "Come on, boy, we're nearly there. If you'd take that ridiculous clothing off we could actually travel faster… urk!"

Some passers-by watched with astonishment as the bulky man was suddenly bodily lifted into the air by his companion, and some of them would swear later that they had heard a growl. The outstretched, slim arm of the cloaked figure did not tremble even the tiniest bit from lifting the considerable weight of the man.

A distinctly female voice answered from under the hood of the cloak, and coal-black eyes seemed to gleam in the semi-darkness of the late evening hour. "And whose fault would that be, oyaji no baka? Why the heck am I wearing this stupid cloak, hmm? Slipped your mind, huh? Well, let me refresh it!"

What followed next was too surprising for the few bystanders, and later they would wave it off as a collective hallucination because of the warm weather. After all, it had been the first real warm day of the year, and maybe it had addled their brains.

Anyway, the cloaked figure, and the cloak really hid all of her features, suddenly threw the fat man into the air with no apparent effort and kicked him straight into the wall with a roundhouse-kick. What followed next was short, violent and downright brutal.

In the end the battered and bruised man crashed against a fire-hydrant, and what happened thereafter was too much for the bystanders to grasp. For suddenly the bulky man changed into a giant panda, right before their eyes!

The large animal growfed and growled, and then, to the continued surprise of the eye-witnesses it began to scribble on what seemed to be wooden signs. # I told you before that we have to get to the Tendos. # Flip. # Now stop your whining and get moving, boy! # it signed.

One man out of the group of bystanders, who were meanwhile thinking this was all a big dream, turned towards the cloaked and supposedly female figure. If this was all a dream nothing could happen to him, right?

And surely the female under the cloak was stunningly beautiful, ne? Why else would she wear a cloak if not to conceal her beauty from prying eyes? This was his dream, and she had to be stunningly beautiful. Surely she would remove that cloak for him and shower him with her affections. After all, this was a dream and everything was possible in a dream. So why not go for it?

He smiled his most winning smile. "Excuse me, Miss, but if you want to visit the Tendos, their dojo is only two blocks away. Follow this street until the next possibility and then turn right. Then follow this street and you'll see it. Oh, and would you remove that cloak and go on a date with me?"

The cloaked figure growled once more, her fists itching. "No, but thank you anyway." she said in a barely controlled voice.

The panda took the distraction of the cloaked figure as an opportunity to subdue his companion, or to take revenge, who knew with animals? For suddenly the panda brought down his wooden sign on the back of the head of the cloaked figure and the force of the blow brought her down to her knees.

# Hah! # the panda signed, # Now you will meet your destiny, boy, and the schools will be joined! # he signed, convinced that his son was now too stunned to offer any resistance.

But as so often in the life of one Genma Saotome he was dead wrong. As his paw reached forward to sling his son over his shoulder, his cloaked companion suddenly seemed to blur from vision, and not a few of the bystanders rubbed their eyes.

If they had had any doubts before then that confirmed it. It was all one big dream, probably induced by some test the government was secretly commencing or something. Meanwhile the cloaked figure had reappeared behind the panda, and it lifted the panda effortlessly into the air with her right hand, right at the scruff of the neck.

A hard throw into the same wall as before later and it was the panda who saw stars. It looked quite comical how it was deeply indented in the brick wall, and moments later it slid down in a crumpled heap, only to be picked up again by the cloaked figure.

The figure gave the panda a blow to the back of the head, slung the now unconscious panda over its shoulder, and its eyes seemed to glint. "Nobody messes with Ranma Saotome, not even you, pops. And you idiot should know, I ain't no boy at the moment!"

That said the cloaked figure wandered off, leaving a stunned audience behind. Man, had that been one dream! Hopefully the government had loads more of the stuff they were currently testing, but next time they could also include some cute girls in their hallucinations, preferably without cloaks…

Meanwhile the cloaked figure by the name of Ranma Saotome was walking down the street with a panda on her shoulder, not even remotely taxed by the weight. She followed the descriptions the man had given her, and to her relief she found out that they had been correct.

There it was, the Tendo Dojo, even though Ranma had no idea why they were here. Her father had not said a word beside the fact that he wanted to visit his old friend and training companion Tendo Soun, and even though Ranma had been suspicious she had not really been able to leave the old man. After all, he was all that was left of her family as far as she knew, and up till now she had not been able to leave the old man, although that might have been a lot better for her.

"Ah yeah," Ranma mused to herself as she read the sign, "Tendo Dojo, Owner Tendo Soun, Master of the Tendo Ryu of the Musabetsu Kakuto. Hmm, at least that part of pops story has been true. It really seems as if this Tendo Soun is the Master of another branch of our Art. I wonder if he's any good…"

Then she made her presence known, and moments later a man in a brown gi with long black hair and a slim moustache came to the main gate. He was visibly irritated when his eyes fell on a cloaked figure and a… panda? "Yes, err, sir, how can I help you?" he asked cautiously.

Ranma grimaced under her hood. No wonder that the man was half-terrified, with the way they were looking right now. "I assume that you are Mr. Tendo." she said, and at the mans nod she continued, "I am Ranma Saotome, and this stupid baka here told me that you were expecting us." was the end of her explanation, as her eyes fell on two girls who were coming down the pathway.

They both seemed to be around her age, and both were quite beautiful. The, what she assumed older of the two had short brown hair that was cropped in a pageboy cut, and the glint in her eyes and the way she carried herself told Ranma that she was not someone you wanted to mess with unless you were sure of victory.

The other, younger girl had bluish-black hair in a slightly longer style than the older girl, and she carried herself somewhat like a martial artist. However, her whole posture, not to mention her aura screamed of someone with a hair-trigger temper.

Meanwhile Mr. Tendo had come out of his surprise-induced stupor, and after he had opened the main gate he came storming towards them and would have probably hugged her had she not been carrying her still unconscious baka of a pandafied father. "Oh Ranma, I can't believe that you have finally arrived, my boy! Now the schools will finally be joined!" he exclaimed, and erupted into a torrent of tears.

Ranma, on her part, was confused. "There you go too. What is it with this 'joining of the schools'? Baka pop here was rambling about the same shit."

Soun was taken aback. "What, you mean to tell me that your father did not explain to you that you are to marry one of my daughters to join our schools in marriage?" he asked surprised.

Ranma's surprise, however, was unlikely greater. "WHAT! M… marriage? Me? For Kami-samas sake, I'm only sixteen! Why would I want to marry?"

The bluish-black-haired girl, who had come nearer and was now standing behind her father nodded empathically. "Finally someone who shares my point of view, even if he is a perverted boy. See, father, I'm not the only one who thinks that this is a stupid idea." she said and crossed her arms over her chest.

Ranma shook her head in despair. "Pops, what have you done now?" she sighed, unheard by the others.

Nabiki who was trailing behind, smirked. It was just like her sister to be blunt, but on the other hand she was right. The engagement bit was quite the surprise their father had sprung at them, and the idea of having to marry a boy she knew next to nothing about was not that appealing to either of them. Though if he had money and good looks it could be an entirely different matter, at least on her part.

Soun, for his part, sputtered. "But it is no stupid idea; it is a matter of family honour! The schools must be joined, as it was promised by both Genma and me before any of you were even born! You, boy, are to marry one of my daughters. It is a matter of giri!"

Ranma was about to protest, but the girl with the pageboy cut interrupted. "It would be prudent if we went inside for further discussion. There's no need to alert the neighbours of any of this." she said, and added as an afterthought 'Not if I have the exclusive rights to any titbit of information.'

Soun Tendo nodded, his middle daughter was right. Such talk was not for their neighbours' ears, and he might get a bit louder if he had to convince the boy to act on the honour pact. If Ranma was anything like Genma, then his trusty demon-head would probably be necessary…

While Ranma followed Soun Tendo up to the house the youngest girl eyed her suspiciously. "Why are you carrying a panda with you? Is this some kind of perversity boys get off at? And why are you wearing a cloak and hiding your face?"

Ranma was taken aback at the attitude of the girl, but before she could say anything the other girl butted in. "Akane, Ranma is a guest, and in our home we treat guests with respect. So put your perversity fixation and your inquiries into the back of your head for a while, okay?"

Nabiki smirked at the grumbling of her younger sister. Little sis was always so temperamental, and it was so embarrassingly easy to turn it against her. And besides, this Ranma looked quite passable from what she could tell, aside from the tone of voice, which seemed to be a bit too high. Hmm, maybe he was not through puberty completely yet, as unlikely as that sounded. But whatever it was, she'd soon find out.

The Saotome youth nodded in thanks. "The name's Ranma. Pleased to meet you."

The middle Tendo daughter returned the nod. "My name is Nabiki, and the pleasure is all mine." she said with a smile. "You already know my little sister Akane." she said and pointed to a gagging Akane.

Ranma nodded, and now she knew that her assumptions about the girl had been correct. She had a volatile temper, and apparently also an odd fixation on perversity. What the heck was perverted about carrying her stupid and pandafied baka of a father on the shoulder?

While Ranma stepped through the door, closely followed by the two Tendo girls, Nabiki repeated the question her little sister had asked, even if more eloquently and much less insulting. "Ranma, why are you carrying a panda on your shoulder? Is he a pet or something?" she asked in the hope that he was trained so that she could make money off of it.

Ranma turned her hooded head to Nabiki and smirked, and although Nabiki could not see the smirk she could feel it. "He's just a stupid animal, and I doubt that you could teach him any new tricks. Believe me, I tried. As for why I'm carrying him, he annoyed me and I had to knock him out."

"Huh?" Akane exclaimed, "How on Earth can a panda be annoying?"

Nabiki was asking herself the same question, but she felt Ranma smirk once more. "If you could get me some hot and cold water I would gladly show you." she said in an amused tone of voice.

Nonplussed, the sisters looked at each other and shrugged. Akane, wanting to know what that perverts game was went to the kitchen to inform her oldest sister that they had a guest and a… panda, and that cold and hot water would be needed. Once that had been done she returned to the living room, into which her father had led the pervert… err, guest.

"So," Soun said, "you can lay down that panda of yours over there. I assume it is house-trained?" he asked.

Ranma snorted in amusement. "Even if nothing else, yes, that he is."

Soun nodded, while Ranma dumped the panda onto the ground. From the thump that was caused Soun mused that the animal had to be quite heavy, probably around a thousand pounds or something. To be able to carry such a heavy animal without even looking taxed Ranma had to be very strong!

With gleaming eyes Soun looked forward to see what this son of Genma looked like under the cloak. "Son, why are you wearing this cloak? It is unbearably warm, so why don't you take it off?"

Ranma snorted. "The warmth is a price I'm willing to pay in face of the alternative."

"Hah! I bet you're just a chicken who's too afraid to show his face. Afraid that none of us would want to marry you? Well, you have every reason to be, because none of as are going to. At least I will not marry a perverted boy!" Akane exclaimed.

This time Nabiki was sure that she saw coal-black eyes gleaming from under the hut. "Who are you to insult me in this way? You don't even know me, yet you assume that I am a pervert. Why?"

Akane glowered at Ranma. "Because you are a boy and all boys are perverts! That I know from experience!"

"Akane!" Soun scolded before Ranma could retort, "He is a guest! Get a grip on yourself."

The youngest Tendo daughter shrugged, and from that Ranma guessed that the Tendo patriarch did not have much authority here. Before she could retort to Akane's response yet another girl came out of the kitchen, although 'girl' seemed to be the inappropriate term.

This was a young woman, and she was radiating beauty and serenity. "Father," she said in a melodic voice, "here is the hot and cold water that was requested." Then she looked at Ranma. "Oh my, you must be the guest Akane spoke of. Hello, I'm Kasumi." she said with a polite bow.

Ranma returned the bow. "Yes, I am Ranma. Pleased to meet you."

Akane muttered something that sounded suspiciously like pervert, and Ranma was the only one who had heard it accurately. This time she chose to ignore it. So the girl had an attitude, but maybe she was not all too bad if she got to know her first.

Soun, on his part, was getting impatient. He wanted to know what his future-son-in-law looked like. "So, what is it with that cold and hot water you wanted to show us, boy? I hope it is important, we have much to discuss. Like, for example, where is your father? He wrote that he'd bring you with him, yet he is not here while you are. Will he arrive later?"

Ranma smirked under the hood. "You could say that pops is… disguised." she said with amusement. Then she became serious once more. "Mr. Tendo, do you believe in magic?"

Soun looked surprised in face of the question. "Not per se, Ranma. I have seen a lot in my time and know that there is a lot between the Heavens and Earth that we don't know, but I can not say that I downright believe in magic. Why?"

The smirk, unseen by the others, deepened. "Because you are going to witness the definite proof of magic in a few moments, and you better sit down for it." she advised.

Doubtfully but with a shrug the Tendos complied and sat down on their usual cushions at the table and watched. Ranma held the cup with hot water in her right hand. "Now you see a panda…" she said as she poured the hot water over the animal, "and now… my father!" she exclaimed.

The Tendos were as baffled as you can get. Their mouths were hanging open and their eyes were the size of dinner plates. The transformation they had just witnessed should have been scientifically impossible! "But… but…" Soun exclaimed, his brain still off-line. "Damn, I better sit down."

"You are sitting already, dad." deadpanned Nabiki.

"Oh, true."

And Nabiki, being the one most grounded in reality had gathered her bearings the fastest, while a certain Genma Saotome spent his time jumping through the living room, busily fanning himself with cool air. "Did I just see a panda turn into a human? And did you just call that man your father?"

Ranma nodded, and found the display her father was giving very amusing. "Yes to both questions, Nabiki. That baka panda is my father, and he's a baka in both forms." she stated.

The middle Tendo daughter nodded, while the rest stared, still dumbfounded. Genma, who had meanwhile recovered, stared at his cloaked child. "Respect your Elders, boy! I am still your father!" he exclaimed.

Ranma snorted. "Give me something to respect and I might just do it, old man. Else bugger off."

This exchange brought Soun back from his trip to lala-land. "G… Genma? Is that really you?" he asked as he got up.

He surveyed the tall, bulky man with his balding head and glasses, and the other man nodded, tears streaming down his face. "Yes, Soun, it is really me."

Soun shook his head, tears also streaming down his face. "But… but how?"

Genma sighed heavily as he sunk down onto one of the cushions. "Oh the horrors, Soun, you would not believe the horrors I endured in the name of training and the Art!" he exclaimed in a tragic voice, and Ranma snorted at this.

Akane, for her part, was really interested in repeating the experiment to confirm if what she had just seen was the truth. Thus, before Genma could utter another syllable, the youngest Tendo girl had gotten up and had upended the glass of cold water over the sometimes-panda. To herself she had mused that if the hot water changed the panda into a human, then the cold water would reverse it. Simple logic.

Few moments later she had proof that her theory had been correct, and Genma-panda growfed annoyed while Ranma was rolling on the floor in laughter. # What did you do that for, girl? # he signed. # And you, stop laughing, boy. Respect your poor father! # he signed.

That brought Ranma to her feet faster than the promise of food could ever have. "Poor father, eh? So, old man, who's brilliant idea was it to train at the 'legendary training grounds of Jusenkyo', eh? Who of us could not read one word Chinese, but was sure that it was harmless, eh? Poor father, my butt!" she exclaimed angrily.

For the first time since she had seen Ranma Nabiki had a now growing suspicion. That last exclamation had sounded too much like… righteous female fury. She knew that tone of voice much too well as she had heard it so often on her sister.

But no, that couldn't be, could it? "Ranma, don't you want to take off your cloak? It must be getting unbearably hot underneath all that thick drapery." she said as innocently as possible.

Ranma, not born yesterday, knew exactly what Nabiki intended. But inwardly she mused that she wouldn't have any other choice. They'd find out anyway at some point in time. Better get it over with now. Thus she took of her hood first, and the rest of the cloak followed. As expected, gasps could be heard. 'Well,' Ranma mused to herself, 'why should it be different here?'

to be continued…