[Ranma][FanFic] Kuno got lucky 1of2

[Gregg Sharp]

Kuno Got Lucky- 1/2: a brief alterniverse look.
friends for life This ain't nearly finished, it's just being
posted as i could use the feedback before finishing it up.
All this was - an idea that i thought would make an amusing
albeit twisted little story, except it went to 24K by the
time i got to the morning after Ranma's return to the Tendo
house.

Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi. fanfiction is for
noncommercial enjoyment only. All other use voids warranty.
If not completely satisfied with this product delete and
load another. This has one dark point right at the
beginning, but if you worship Akane you might want to change
channels right now.
0----------------November 14, 1989--------------0
Akane looked up from her Psych textbook and thought about
this. Were all those guys falling into the "Forbidden Fruit"
thing? She'd been mainly considered a tomboy and cast in
male roles in the school plays, but ever since Kuno had
started pursuing her she'd been having to deal with really
obnoxious boys.

Why Kuno had suddenly taken an interest in her when she'd
just turned fourteen was a mystery. It was like she hadn't
existed, then *boom* she was the center of attention.

Her eyes went back to the book, and a smile slowly came to
her. Reverse Psychology. All she needed to do was let that
freak of nature, aka Tatewaki Kuno, take her out once and
then the whole ordeal would be over.

Could it be THAT simple?
--0---------------January 12, 1990-------------0--
Doctor Tofu sighed, looked at Soun Tendo, looked to Nabiki,
then finally back at the patient. Nabiki had sent Kasumi off
on an errand, knowing what had been happening whenever the
doctor and Kasumi were together.

"Well, I'm afraid, Akane it's what you thought it might
have been. You're with child."

Soun went to demon head immediately, but lacked a target.
He then began bawling and bewailing the heavens on this
event.

Akane looked even more nauseated then when she had come in.

Nabiki merely nodded as if she had expected no less. She'd
extract vengeance upon the Kunos in general and Tatewaki
later, best she remain calm now for Akane.

"Uhm. Is the father..."

Nabiki's voice was ice. "A few months ago, Akane conceded
to go out with a boy who has been pursuing her. Tatewaki
Kuno. During the course of the evening, he somehow managed
to get most of the contents of a bottle of 'Old Fireball'
brand sake into her.

"When she finally woke up, it was in Kuno's bedroom. She
escaped, of course, but was reluctant to press charges.
After all, she was still wearing most of her clothing and
she didn't remember a thing."

Akane chose that moment to have a breakdown, and Nabiki had
to turn all of her attention to trying to comfort her
fourteen year old sister.
---0-------------January 13, 1990------------0---
"Girls, it is time for decisions." Soun, for the first time
in years, was cried out. A timely call to the police had
intercepted him on the Kuno estate, where he would likely
have torn the Kuno Heir into bloody little gobbets had he
not been so restrained. So, sitting in police custody,
under observation, he was meeting his three daughters under
very controlled circumstances.

Akane was almost sick again but would do what was standard
under the circumstances. The child would be aborted, the
proper rituals observed, and she would relocate to another
area. Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen over in Tanzania sounded like
a good choice, and their farm could handle Akane and give
her some much needed peace and quiet.

Nabiki nodded. No matter what path Akane had chosen, she
was ready to back her sister 100%. Tatewaki, having had
Akane, no longer found her of any interest and had turned
back to kendo for satisfaction. Well, Nabiki was about to
fix all that. Once Akane couldn't be hurt by it, news of
Kuno's deed would reach the right ears and he'd never be
allowed in any official kendo club.

Akane knew that, and this was part of the reason for her
decision.

Kasumi merely looked slightly disapproving and wondered if
she ought to have a talk with Akane. The
idea of living in a foreign country was so... odd.

For not the first time since this
nightmare had started, Soun Tendo was wishing that this were
ancient times. All it would take was a few moments and the
Kuno family tree would get trimmed.

"Kasumi, can you make the arrangements?"

Kasumi paused, then nodded. "The
arrangements are already being made for that."

"There is one other thing that I need to
speak to you of. Just in case anything happens to me.

"There were a couple of arrangements for
marriages that I made in my youth. One must be kept, the
other I hope you two can avoid." Soun's voice cracked but
the tears refused to come.

"An arranged marriage?" All three looked
up at this, but were still too numb from Akane's ordeal to
react that much.

"The one that must be kept is to an old
friend and training partner of mine. Genma Saotome. His son
Ranma has been training intensively in the martial arts
since he was six. Genma and I went to Hell and back,
training under a martial arts master who was a demon from
the Pit itself. After Ranma turns sixteen, they are supposed
to come to the dojo. We had agreed not to reveal the
arrangement before the day you
were to meet, after all the training is dangerous and
rigorous and Ranma may not survive to marry.

"The other is to the Chardin family. They,
ahem, have some rather disgusting habits and it would be
best if you were already engaged or married before they
decide to call in THAT old debt."

A wind seemed to swirl through the cellblock.

"Father," Kasumi began softly. "The Police have found your
old friend and contacted him. He is
supposedly coming to our home as we have no available
relatives. Aunt Beru's resources will be quite strained with
some boy they already have _and_ Akane, therefore
accompanying Akane is out of the question."

"He's coming? Oh, joyous day. Still you won't be able to
marry until after his sixteenth birthday,
which would be in March of '92."

"I see," said three daughters as they considered this
information, though they were still mainly in shock.
-------------------
Kasumi sat at the table and looked thoughtful. Akane
looked resigned. Nabiki had her "figuring things out"
expression on.

"You know, Kasumi," Nabiki broke the awkward silence after
a few minutes, "there's a way out of this. This Ranma guy
*might* be trainable. I figure from Daddy's description,
most likely the boy's been training in the martial arts and
nothing else. If we offer to be his friends..."

"Well, if we can be his friend, that *would* simplify
things." Kasumi said in a quiet voice, hoping that it would
all turn out for the best somehow.

"You really think he's going to be any different from
Kuno?" Akane snorted. "He's a boy, they're all the same."

"Maybe. But we *do* have some advantages here. We know
about the arranged marriage ahead of time, he doesn't. We
can double team this Ranma if necessary. Besides, there's
this Chardin
to worry about later. If necessary, well, we've got time to
arrange safe places to get to and get away from this whole
mess."

----0-------------January 19, 1990------------0----
The house seemed empty without Akane, but now the two new
guests had arrived.

The large man sighed and spoke of how they'd have to open
the dojo to students. Every other statement seemed to be a
complaint about how this was taking time away from the boy's
training. Still, he'd been through a lot with Soun, and
helping out Soun's family while the other was dealing with
the legal implications of an attempt at justice. It was a
martial artist's duty, more, it was a friend's duty.

The boy looked sullen and lonely, though, so Kasumi met
Nabiki's glance and nodded. Time to begin the rest of the
Plan.

"Uhm, Ranma," Nabiki spoke but Kasumi was there at her
elbow. "Hi, I'm Nabiki and this is my sister, Kasumi. Do
you want to be friends?"

Seeing the way the boy's face immediately brightened,
Nabiki knew that they had made the right choice.

Genma grumbled about little repairs that needed to be made
before students could be taken in, but suppressed a smile as
he watched the three sitting down and talking.

Ranma had never had any real friends, it might have
distracted him from the Art, but one of these two girls
would eventually be his daughter-in-law. If they became
friends before the engagement was mentioned, then it might
even be smoother than his own marriage. Genma allowed
himself a private moment of satisfaction at the thought of
his son's marriage being a happy one.

If only Soun were around, then Genma would know who to
engage Ranma to and the marriage could be set for Ranma's
sixteenth birthday. Genma really thought he needed Soun's
input on this as it impacted both families.

Genma watched out of the corner of his eye. The younger of
the two sisters was slowly drawing his son out, while the
other seemed a little shy and was content to make little
corrections and murmur agreement.

Genma shrugged and turned his full attention back to the
list he was making. Who knows, this might work out after
all.
------0------------January 10, 1992-------0-----
Kasumi blushed and turned her gaze downwards. It had been
rocky going, but Ranma had become a good friend to the two
daughters. Except that his sixteenth birthday, when Ranma
would be told of the engagement, was coming up soon.

Kasumi had watched as a good diet and plenty of food and
exercise had filled the boy out and he'd shot up in height.
She'd watched as the sullen and awkward boy who'd arrived
two years ago had become a more thoughtful and refined young
man.

A number of girls at school had taken an interest in Ranma,
only to find either Kasumi or Nabiki indicating that the
boy was already taken. No details were ever given, but the
sight of Nabiki "buddying
around" with Ranma provided plenty of rumors, as did Kasumi
taking Ranma out for shopping expeditions and the like.

Then there were the odd challenges and martial arts styles
that were thrown against Ranma on a regular basis. Nabiki
usually pulling the strings in the background, making it
look like she was just making a profit of the bets. Martial
Arts Cooking, Martial Arts Housekeeping, Martial Arts
Kissing, Tao Philosophy Martial Arts, and all the other
little challenges that Ranma had risen to meet.

Every so often, Genma would declare a weekend or Sunday
training journey where Ranma and his father would go off
for intensive training in the Martial Arts. On occasion, one
or both daughters
would come along.

Both Kasumi and Nabiki had received additional training in
the martial arts. Ranma's enthusiasm for the Art was quite
obvious, and somewhat contagious. Besides, in order to give
his "big sister" time to spend studying, Ranma had taken
over some of the housecleaning duties. Those training
journeys
mainly were mini-vacations for the two girls, though Nabiki
found the extra freedom to be a plus.

This was to be the biggest such training journey. As it was
to China, both Kasumi and Nabiki wanted to go. Genma
insisted though, this would be a harsh trip and they'd be
living off the land.

Kasumi glanced at Nabiki who was giving Ranma his goodbye.
All three of them had gotten closer in the past two years.
Kuno kept coming by as a dojo destroyer, but would fall
fairly quickly to Ranma or his father.

The hatred Ranma held for Kuno was considerable after
holding a crying Nabiki late one night, as she related what
Kuno had done to their family.

"Ranma," Nabiki said, giving her friend a quick hug, "you
be sure to send those postcards!"

Ranma's own smile was a little uncomfortable, something
that amused both of the sisters. He'd become aware of the
certain tension between them, but had NO idea of what to do
or even if it was proper for him to feel that way.

Which had been part of the Plan as well.

"Have fun, you two." Kasumi waved as they left the house.

"Well, Kasumi," said Nabiki as she took down the dojo
shingle. "When Ranma returns, he'll be sixteen. He'll know
about the engagement."

"Yes, Nabiki." Kasumi smiled at her sister.

"So what do you think he's going to do?"

"Honestly?" Kasumi smiled, and it wasn't just a polite one.
There was a definite hint of amusement. "I think he'll go
into shock, followed shortly by denial, followed by many
sleepless nights as he tries to imagine it as being real,
followed by guilt about feeling that way about his two
friends."

"In other words, you haven't thought about it all." Nabiki
smirked and shook her head.

"Knowing that this was coming for the past two years? Why,
of course not, Nabiki. Why would I do something like that?"

"I have no idea, dear sister. Must just be my suspicious
nature."
-------0------March 6, 1992------0-------
Kasumi rushed in and Nabiki's question about what her
sister thought of this new shade of nail polish was banished
the moment she saw her sister's face.

"What is it, Kasumi?"

Kasumi held up a postcard.

Reluctantly, Nabiki took it, noting that this was from
some place in the Bayankala Mountains. Not that different
from the once a week postcard they'd been receiving from
Ranma.

Ranma's writing had gotten tolerable recently, but this
looked as if it had just gone back to the Ranma who had
first shown up at their door. Sloppy, with definite jerking
motions in the strokes of each character.

"Dear Nabiki and Kasumi,
Something terrible has happened. Pop could not read the
information in his guidebook and has taken me to a place of
nightmare. Now I have been cursed, I am unclean and not fit
to associate with decent people again. I do not know if I
can write again, or should. I will not darken your presence
until I have found a cure.
Ranma
Saotome."

Nabiki frowned, idly noting that her sister was almost
ready to cry. "What could they have gotten into that would
be THIS bad? Maybe Ranma's just overreacting."

Kasumi's face brightened by just a fraction. "The script at
the bottom is from some place called Jusenkyo. Do you think
you can..."

"Research the area and see what I come up with?" Nabiki
smiled. "Come on, after all, the boy's been like family.
Even if he is a bit of a jock. Consider it done."
--------0----March 12, 1992----0--------
Nabiki watched as a panda dragged a wet and bedraggled girl
into the room. Apparently,
she had struggled so much that the panda had been required
to knock her out.

"Mister Saotome?" Nabiki inquired. She'd asked three
pigeons, two dogs, a cat, and
some stray pig the same question today. The previous day
she'd used up three kettles of hot
water on every stray animal that had wandered in the open
gate.

[You know?] read a sign that the panda produced.

Nabiki sighed in relief. At last. "Kasumi, you can stop
dialing for animal control. This time it IS them." She put
the copy of "Lawson's Guide to Cursed Springs of The Far
East" down. She could look up
more details later.

The section about the curse's nature influencing the
mental nature of the victim would
need to be carefully considered.

Kasumi came back in, looked at the panda, then when Nabiki
pointed down at the unconscious girl, sighed deeply.

"He makes a cute girl," Kasumi said after a few moments.
"That's quite a bump on the back of his, no, HER head. Oh
my, what pronoun should you use?"

Nabiki knelt by Ranma and was surprised by the wave of
feelings that swept over her. She didn't consider herself
the maternal, nurturing sort, but that was definitely how
she felt at the moment. Maybe it was that the short girl
lying on the floor looked so helpless. Nabiki wanted to
gather Ranma in her arms and hold her, tell her that somehow
it would be all right.

That both Kasumi and Nabiki had changed during their
association with Ranma was somehow never considered by
either girl.

"Poor Ranma," Nabiki checked the clothing and found it
fairly soaked through. "Kasumi, we need to change her
clothing before she catches cold."

"'She'?" Kasumi sighed. "I suppose that's true. Oh, Mister
Saotome, there's water heating on the stove."

After the panda had left, Nabiki looked back to her sister.
"Furo?"

Kasumi hesitated. "No, let's try upstairs. If she woke up
in there with us..."

"He'd die of embarrassment," finished Nabiki.
------------------------
Ranma was in the process of freaking out, but quietly.
Waking up in her own bed, in her
cursed form, wearing her own pajamas when the last thing she
remembered was getting into a fight
with her stupid father in the street.

There was one more thing which contributed to the freaking
out, but mainly contributed to the silence. Ranma wasn't
alone.

Her eyes gradually were able to make out the details,
Nabiki apparently having crawled onto
Ranma's bed. The empty chair nearby and Nabiki's position
indicated that she'd started falling asleep
and probably had just intended to rest "for a minute." She
was wearing her usual pajamas, the set with all the little
finance symbols that Ranma had bought her last year.

A couple of years ago that had been odd, but he'd learned
that both sisters really missed the
presence of the third, and on lonely nights would bunk
together. One or the other would make mistakes
on occasion and end up in Ranma's room, which had once been
Nabiki's until Nabiki had moved into what
had once been Akane's room. This occasionally had the effect
of freaking Ranma out anyway, especially considering
Kasumi's normal nightwear.

Ranma made a mental note that he hadn't pounded on Tatewaki
Kuno recently for the hell he'd
put his friends (and their sister) through. He'd have to
consider doing something about that.

As it was, with Nabiki's taut curves a few inches away,
with only their pajamas separating them,
Ranma was way too conscious of the differences in the
feelings that had developed over the past two
years.

Nabiki had that secretive little smile on her face that
always seemed to fascinate Ranma somehow. Kasumi did
something similar when she laughed.

Ranma stopped herself, realizing how she had started to get
drawn in by that smile. Blushing
furiously, she stared at the ceiling. This cursed body was
reacting to her thoughts, and it was different from
the feelings in the uncursed form.

At least it was a familiar ceiling.
---------------------------------
Nabiki was cautious not to react, studying Ranma through
eyes barely opened. Not for the first
time, Nabiki wondered about the boy who was so different
from Tatewaki Kuno. They had the same ego and drive for
martial arts, but that was about where the similarities had
ended.

The problem was, did she want Ranma as a brother or did
she want him as a fiance? Very
likely, Mr. Saotome would insist on having the confrontation
in the morning. Ranma would have to choose one of them to be
engaged to, or they would have to choose one of themselves
to be engaged to Ranma.

Or they could all simply flee. She'd noted about a year ago
that when referring to the "we" who would escape, she'd
started including Ranma.

After a long discussion, Kasumi and Nabiki had reached a
decision. Whether it would have the intended effect remained
to be seen.

Nabiki looked at the nervous boy nearby and wondered about
a great many things.
---------------March 13, 1992------------------------
Kasumi fixed the traditional Japanese breakfast (miso soup
with tofu, rice, and green tea) and seemed to be the only
one left unaffected by the tension in the house that
morning.

Genma Saotome was slightly put off, though you'd have to
know him to be able to tell. It was displayed in a few
nervous gestures and his eating just slightly slower than
usual.

Nabiki blinked blearily around and wondered why mornings
had to come so damn early anyway.

Ranma was still radiating angst. How could he deal with a
curse that turned him into a girl? How could he associate
with decent people like Kasumi and Nabiki when his body was
subject to uncontrolled transformations? How could he be
sitting here eating breakfast when he should be looking for
a cure?

"I..." Ranma began.

"Well, that's it then. Ranma, my son, it is time for you
to meet the obligations of family honor and make a
decision!"

"More tea, Mister Saotome?"

"Yeah, like what kinda decision?"

"Uhm, thank you, Kasumi." Genma paused. He wished that
Soun were here to back him up, but the Tendo patriarch would
be facing his parole board in a few days. Hopefully the news
that his youngest daughter was currently doing quite well as
a tournament winner in the InterSchool Games Karate division
would help him maintain his calm.

"Pop?" Ranma wasn't sure why, but the feeling of tension
in the room had just risen considerably.

"Ahem. Years ago, Mister Tendo and myself studied the
Martial Arts under a sensei who has rightly been called a
'demon.' This sensei, whose name should never be mentioned,
put us through many terrible trials."

"Kinda like the training you put me through, huh?"

"That's right." Genma paused. "NO! STUPID BOY! Anyway.
There was an agreement borne out of this terrible hardship,
that eventually the two Schools of Anything Goes would be
united."

"Oh? And I'm supposed to challenge Nabiki or Kasumi to a
dojo fight? Get real, old man." Ranma snorted, then looked a
little fearfully at Nabiki. "Not that you don't have your
own strengths!"

Nabiki smirked a little. The lessons he'd been taught had
taken hold. You couldn't force this wild horse, but he could
be led.

"Oh my, Mister Saotome. You want Ranma to fight us for the
dojo? That wouldn't be proper at all." Kasumi looked mildly
disapproving, though Ranma had trained her some in the past
year.

"Kasumi!" Nabiki acted scandalized, just as they'd
discussed it earlier. "What Mister Saotome here is trying to
say is that he's talking about marriage."

"Pop? Aren't you a little old for Kasumi?"

Ranma looked a little puzzled as his father and his two
sisters facefaulted.

"Yeah, Mister Saotome! Besides, you never said what
happened to Ranma's mother!" Nabiki was rewarded with the
familiar nervous expression, plus Mr. Saotome turned two
shades paler than he usually did. Filing this away as a
possible clue, Nabiki decided to pursue this angle later.

"I'm sorry, Mister Saotome. I don't really think that
would be a proper relationship." Kasumi shook her head and
acted mildly outraged.

Genma groaned. "No. That is NOT what I meant. What I meant
is that one of you two will have to marry Ranma."

"Oh, is that all?" Kasumi refilled her own teacup as if
this were of no concern to her at all now.

"Oh, you had me worried for a minute there." Nabiki
smirked, studying Ranma out of the corner of her eyes.
Three, two, one.

"Well, I guess that....HEY!!" Ranma's eyes went wide as
the concept penetrated.

"So, what do you think, Nabiki?" Kasumi glanced over at
her sister. "Do you want a fiance or a brother-in-law?"

"I could do worse, for either, y'know." Nabiki
half-lowered her eyelids and quite openly studied Ranma from
across the table.

"HEY!"

"Agreed, though his grades in math aren't terribly high.
Still, you have helped bring his other grades up." Kasumi
looked quite thoughtful.

"B-bu-but I..."

Nabiki waved that off. "Oh, c'mon Kasumi. Your coaching
him in Japanese History brought those grades up. He's
learned a LOT from you."

"But I? Marriage? Too young!"

Nabiki gave her best sultry look. "Hmmmm. You know, he's
not bad looking either. Much better than most of the guys at
school."

"I am?" Pride started to undermine embarassment.

"So, Nabiki, how do we decide?"

Genma's eyes were wide and his head was bobbing around
like he were at a tennis match.

"Jan pen? No, too simple."

"Cards, perhaps?"

"How about this? We both get engaged to him, and when we
decide which one is most compatible?"

"A year or so, that would be good." Kasumi nodded and
gathered her dishes up. "That sounds like a good plan."

Nabiki gathered her own dishes and got up too. "Yeah.
Don't want to go into anything rashly, after all."

The two Saotomes, sitting still in shock, took a few
minutes to recover from the way the two Tendos had taken
control of the situation and run with it.

"Hey, I... I mean that I. Who says I'm gonna marry
anybody?!"

"Ranma-kun," said Nabiki, sticking her head around the
corner, "take some time and get used to the idea. After last
night, after all..."

Ranma audibly swallowed.

Kasumi's voice wafted in from the kitchen. "Fell asleep
while watching him, Nabiki? Poor Ranma. You've had entirely
too much stress lately, haven't you?"

"Th-thanks, Kasumi," muttered Ranma, feeling extremely
confused.
-----------------------------------
Nabiki became aware of the way Ranma kept scrutinizing her
from his usual position atop the fence on the way to school.
"Something up, Ranma-kun?"

"Well, it's kinda..." Ranma's voice trailed off.

Nabiki knew him well enough by now. She merely smirked and
raised an eyebrow, waiting for Ranma to get around to saying
what was on his mind.

"Errr. Well. It's this bit with the engagement," Ranma
began haltingly.

"Oh? You want it to be a short engagement?"

"yeah...no...I don't know," Ranma said, his voice a whisper
as he looked confusedly at Nabiki.

Nabiki reminded herself that she had come to terms with
this over a couple of years, as opposed to Ranma dealing
with it over breakfast that very morning.

There had been times, though, over the past two years where
Ranma had obviously noticed that his housemates/friends had
been of the female persuasion. One of the times he'd had her
pinned demonstrating a martial arts hold had been QUITE
obvious. And had sent the boy into a panic when he'd become
aware of it.

"Don't let it get to you, Ranma," Nabiki said, quite
deliberately not using "little brother" or one of the other
terms of endearment that she and Kasumi had used over the
past two years. "You've got some breathing room, but I
suspect that'll evaporate when Daddy gets home."

"Oh? Mister Tendo's being released?"

"Yeah, though they want him to continue taking Remeron."
Nabiki stopped and tried to meet Ranma's gaze. She didn't
want to force the issue, but she also couldn't leave him
ignorant of this. "Ranma, he'll be back in a week. If you
haven't chosen me or Kasumi at that time, *he* will probably
choose for you."

"Oh." Ranma looked back into guileless brown eyes. As
Nachan had once said, she'd run scams on anyone, EXCEPT
family. After Akane's departure, family had become sacred
ground. Ranma swallowed, his world seeming to be focussed
entirely in on shining brown eyes.

"YOU RETURN, VARLET!"

Ranma recovered to glare at the bokken wielder. "What do
*you* want, Kuno?"

"My vengeance upon Nabiki Tendo, of course. Today is the
day I shall avenge the smearing of my name, reclaim my
honor, and then on to claim my bright angel, Akane."

"Whoa," Nabiki made a time-out gesture. "Last I heard you
didn't want Akane after you'd gotten what you wanted from
her. What made you change your mind?"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, mercenary. Besides,
once Akane has tasted of the noble Kuno loin, surely she can
get no satisfaction from lesser sources."

Ranma frowned. "Actually, from what her sisters have told
me, she's just sincerely repulsed."

"You obviously do not understand the fair maid's heart as
well as I do, but enough of this. HAVE AT THEE!"

Ranma knocked down the bokken wielder and kicked him into
the canal. It was far kinder than what Nabiki wanted to do.

-------------
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ja ne, gregg
--
-----------------------------
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ja ne,
gregg