Chapter Text
Cliché as it may be, it was a dark and stormy night out in one of the more forested areas of Japan’s countryside, which, according to the Cultist’s Handbook, was ideal weather for human sacrifice. Deep in the trees, far from any sign of civilization lay a temple. A dark, decaying place with the smell of blood and ash thick in the air, with the walls all coated in thick layers of moss, mold or the odd marking made in paint or…darker material.
Inside the main hall, a mass of men in black robes—each marked with a pentagram on the back—chanted in a language older than memory. The air vibrated with unease as they applied new markings to the walls and one large one on the floor. On a podium above them stood their apparent leader, dressed in a more extravagant version of the robes and wearing a large goat skull as a helmet, holding a struggling bag in one hand. With practiced grace, he held up a hand, causing the gathered cultists to stop and stare at him.
“My brothers,” he intoned, voice thick with gravel and drama, “the time is nigh. Midnight is upon us; the temple is ready…” He then opened up the bag and reached in, “and the sacrifice is here!”
With a dramatic flair, he pulled out the contents of the bag and held it up for the others. In his hand held a struggling young boy, no older than six and oddly enough, looking more annoyed than anything else. He was dressed in a well-worn and dirty white martial artist gi with black hair tied back in a shortish ponytail with wide blue eyes glaring at the man holding him in the air.
“Let me go ya jerk!” He shouted at his captor, his feet kicking at the larger man. The cultist leader ignored him, instead walking forward and down toward the center of the marked floor, where a large altar with a sharp blade stood ready.
“And with this sacrifice,” the leader continued as he began lowering the child to the altar, “we shall attain greatness beyond any oth—will you stop?!”
Much to the aggravation of the cult leader, the child in his grip refused to settle down and stop squirming or trying to kick him.
“What’s with you brat!?” he shouted at his soon-to-be victim.
“Normally by this point kids like you should be blubbering and dripping snot, begging for your mommies!”
The child’s response was to swing a foot at his captor’s head, just barely missing the cultist’s nose.
“I don’t got a mom,” he snapped. “Now leggo!”
With a growl, the leader started shaking the child in his grip, yelling about how in his day children knew how to respect a proper sacrifice, all the while the brat in hand kept taking swings at him.
As this went on, two of the cultists started talking quietly.
“So where did we get this one again?” the taller one spoke in a low pitched, yet nasally voice.
“No clue,” said the stouter figure in a higher pitched and equally nasally voice. “From what I heard the boss just bought him from the kid’s father for 5,000 yen and a McDonald’s coupon.”
“Seriously?” the first responded in disgust. “That’s just messed up.”
“I know right?” the second replied. “I mean, I know we’re sacrificing a child to summon a demon for unlimited power and all that, but selling your own kid for that little? He didn’t even try to haggle from what I heard.”
Finally, the cultist leader slammed the child headfirst against the altar, knocking the kid for a loop before pinning him atop the stone next to the dagger.
"Now, quit being a pain in the ass and be a proper sacrifice already!" he snarled out as he reached over to grab the dagger.
Unfortunately for the cultist leader, the sacrifice in question was made of much sterner stuff (and more to the point had gone through more than his fair share of head injuries even at such an early age) and recovered far quicker than expected. So, just as the leader leaned down to grab the dagger, the child twisted beneath him and launched a brutal headbutt directly into the man's coccyx. The sudden jolt of pain caused the leader's arm to jerk violently, knocking the dagger into the air where it flipped once, twice, then embedded itself squarely in the skull of a nearby cultist.
With a loud “gerk!” said cultist promptly fell to the ground, his blood mingling with the mark that had been made on the ground.
As soon as the blood touched the mark, the entire room suddenly filled with a blood red glow as the white marks in the floor shifted to red.
Too shocked at the sight to keep hold, the leader dropped the child, who had the good sense to run off and take cover, as the smell of burning ozone filled the air.
Soon after, each of the cultists burst into green colored flames, screaming hysterically as they tried desperately to put themselves out to no avail.
As the final cultist hit the ground with one last pained wheeze, sparks of electricity began to cover the room, small sparks slowly covering every inch of the stone in the chamber before moving toward the center where the altar stood and merged into a large ball of electricity, floating in midair.
As the child slowly moved out from his hiding place, the ball suddenly burst into a blue flame and expanded in size till it hit the floor, now large enough to let an adult man through, the sounds of screaming and moaning filling the air.
Much to the child's confusion though, the screaming didn't sound anything like the pained yelps that he was used to hearing.
Really, he had no frame of reference, he just knew it wasn't pain he was hearing.
Before he could question it further, a tall, imposing figure stepped out of the hole. It was covered in shadows, but he could still make out some detail.
It stood tall, easily taller than his dad (with most of that seeming to stem from her legs) and a lot skinnier, curves that indicated that it was a girl, but she also had some very odd features to her.
A pair of long horns on her head, a long, thin tail that was twitching in irritation, and a pair of small wings sticking from her back.
Now, the child was not what one would consider worldly quite yet, but he knew enough (from the sheer amount of times his dad had sold him off to groups like this one only to steal him back) to know that whatever this lady was, it most likely wouldn't have anything good in mind for him.
So, he bravely decided to get somewhere safer (not running. He most certainly was no coward who ran from danger! No sir!) only to knock loose a stone brick, causing a loud shattering noise.
The child's blood ran cold as the glowing yellow eyes of the creature settled on him, and he screamed as she closed in on him...
Ten Years Later...
It's probably a cliché at this point, but this story—like so many others—starts with something simple. For some, it might be a ring, or an amulet of seemingly humble origins. For this one, though, it begins with a cute postcard featuring a cartoon panda. Said postcard was currently in the Nerima precinct of Japan, gripped in the trembling hands of one Soun Tendo: martial artist, dojo master, and emotional landmine waiting to go off.
He stood tall by Japanese standards, with long black hair, a short but stern mustache, and the solid build of someone who had practiced martial arts for most of his life. Clad in a dark green gi, he stared at the postcard as silent tears trailed down his cheeks.
Enjoy this moment, folks—this dignity won’t last.
The cause of his joy? The words on the card: short, direct, to the point, and written in handwriting that made it a low-key miracle Soun could read it at all.
"Hi," it began plainly. "Bringing Ranma from China. Saotome. PS Bit of a snag. Shouldn’t be hard to deal with."
"R-Ranma and Genma?" Soun whispered joyfully, voice trembling as he clutched the card to his chest. "Coming here? Oh, how I’ve waited for this day!"
With a wide grin breaking across his face, he bolted upright and ran through the house shouting, "Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!"
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Outside the dojo, a young woman clad in shorts, a tank top, sneakers, and a small sweat towel could be seen jogging up to the dojo, sweat dripping from her well-toned form acting as proof of how long she'd been out there for a good run. She was a pretty young lady, with a cute face and long dark blue, almost black really, hair bouncing behind her tied up in a bow. Without breaking her stride, she jogged into the dojo part of the housing with a cheerful "I'm hooome!" Before coming to a stop with a light stretch.
Once she'd cooled down enough, she quickly disrobed, tossing away her running outfit and shoes, exchanging them for a martial arts gi. No, I will not go into detail on her exposed figure. Calm down you horndogs, you'll get your fap fodder.
She then gathered up a small pile of cinder bricks, stacking up about three of them before her, and took a deep breath, focusing herself before striking down with an angry "HYAH!", shattering the pile into rubble with a single strike. With a satisfied smile, she pulled back and observed her handiwork with pride, wiping a hand across her brow.\
"Geez Akane," a new voice chimed in with mocking amusement, "why the boys are so obsessed with you I'll never understand."
Turning around, the girl in the gi, now dubbed Akane, saw the new person enter the dojo. She stood about the same height with lighter brown hair done in a bob cut. Her figure wasn't as well toned as Akane, but was a fair bit curvier and softer, with more of it being displayed due to her choice of clothing, a pair of short shorts (Not hot pants, just a particularly short pair of shorts) that showed off her long legs amazingly and a tank top that somehow managed to loosely cling to her torso, showing off her breasts without exposing anything particularly naughty, topped off with a face that was similar to Akane's, but sharper and more calculating.
Akane let out a huff as she tightened her gi's black belt. "And why should I care Nabiki?" She said with an annoyed grimace. "Not everyone's world revolves around boys, especially not me."
The new girl, Nabiki, just gave a nonchalant shrug and turned around to leave, her hands behind her back. "Okay, then I guess Daddy's news wouldn't interest you."
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Outside the dojo, a heavy downpour of rain had begun, drenching everything in a shower of ice-cold water from the homes, the streets and the grass. I have no idea why I told you this, it's rain. I think it's safe to assume if you can (and are allowed) to read my works you know damned well what rain does.
Inside the Tendo Dojo's living room, one could find Soun seated at the head of the table with three girls sitting across from him. Two of them were Nabiki and Akane (the latter of whom apparently DID find Soun's news of interest) alongside a slightly older girl dressed in a conservative dress any housewife would be proud of with light brown hair done up in a loose ponytail with a bow tied up at the end and swung over her shoulder in a plait that normally marked a woman as a mother in Japanese media. Her face was just as pretty as the other two but much gentler and kindly looking, though she, alongside the other girls, looked confused as to what this was all about.
"A fiancé?" Asked our so far unnamed third girl, with Soun nodding solemnly in response.
"Yes Kasumi," he said in a firm, but cheerful voice, "one of you three will be engaged to the son of a very good friend of mine. His name is Ranma Saotome."
A wide happy grin broke out on his face as he continued, "If one of you three girls were to marry him and take over the Dojo, then this Dojo's legacy would be secured!"
The reaction of the girls varied widely, Nabiki took it calmly, simply sipping from a glass of lemonade she had before her, Kasumi grew a concerned look on her face while Akane...
"Now wait a minute!" Akane shouted as she slapped her hands on the table, "don't we get a say in who we marry!?"
Well, if you need me to describe the angry scowl on her face after that little, albeit justified, outburst I don't know what to tell you. Needless to say, it was NOT a happy look.
"Akane's right," Kasumi chimed in, "father, we've never even MET Ranma."
Soun just chuckled as he waved the postcard around. "That's easily fixed, he should be arriving here soon!"
A loud silence filled the room. Yes, loud silence. You know, the kind of silence that actually covers any other sound? Even the rain pounding the roof had become more muffled as the girls came to terms with what they heard.
"WHAT!?" Akane and Nabiki cried out as Kasumi busied herself with her cup of tea. A model of restraint that one.
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Elsewhere in Nerima, a rather odd sight could be seen. A young woman, particularly short and curvy (Not shortstack level mind, but still shorter than average in Japan by a fair bit and quite busty besides), was running through the streets. Now, this and of itself wasn't particularly strange. Particularly with the influx of Martial Artists to the area ever since Soun and his late wife had daughters.
What DID make the sight odd was the rather large Panda chasing after her, swinging it's claws in clear attempts to strike the girl, the cracks said claws made in the concrete ground making it VERY clear this was not a young woman playing with her pet.
As the surprisingly agile beast lunged forward attempting to grab the girl, she leaped upward, jumping above the grab in a frankly astonishing display of physical prowess.
"Yo!" The girl shouted, lacking the terror one would normally expect. "Cut that..." as she landed away from the panda, she jumped back into the air and landed a flying kick right into the bear's collar bone, sending it flying, "OUT!" She yelled at the bear as it skid on the damp concrete.
Much to the surprise of the slowly gathering crowd, the panda stood back up without so much as a flinch from what had been done to it, wiping away a bit of saliva from its maw before striking up a stance that was easily recognizable as a martial arts stance, feet spread wide and arms bent and pointed at the girl to ensure quick strikes.
"Oh shit," one of the gathered crowds muttered, "tell me those nutbag Haiyachi's aren't moving in..."
In his defense, where else are you gonna find a Panda that knows Kung-Fu outside of DreamWorks movies?
The girl, however, continued to show absolutely no fear, taking up her own loose stance and glaring down the bear. "Your move," she muttered before the panda dashed forward with more speed than any panda really had right to and launched a series of sharp jabs attempting to strike the girl. To the continuing amazement of all gathered in the area, the girl dodged each and every strike with no real issue, ducking and weaving like she was made of water.
As she dodged, she continued yelling at the bear, not breaking her stride or focus for a second. "Well, I still say this whole thing SUCKS!" She suddenly grabbed the Panda's right arm midstride and held tight, somehow keeping it from moving as she continued to berate the animal. "Picking my fiancée for me..." she growled out before executing a magnificent judo slam, hurling the bear behind her and slamming it hard enough into the concrete to shatter the pavement "without even asking or telling me and Vee-chan!"
As the panda lay on the ground, seemingly out for the count, the girl stood over it, breathing heavily and catching her breath. Finally, she flung her hair back, tossing her pigtail behind her as she spoke firmly. "I'm gonna go find Vee-Chan and we're both going back to China. So, suck on that, Old Man!" Thus, with a huff, the girl grabbed a large and heavily laden travel pack, and started marching off, not noticing the Panda had risen and was now grasping a large traffic sign and ready to swing it like a club.
Just as the bear reared back, the sound of razor blades striking concrete echoed out from a nearby alley, causing both fighters to freeze, in joy for the human, in absolute terror for the bear. As the scraping stopped, both turned to see a figure hidden in shadows in said alleyway, with nothing else visible aside from glowing yellow eyes. Finally, the figure spoke.
"Really Genma?" She started clearly, more than a little annoyed. "You thought a cruise with an all you can drink buffet would keep me away? Not gonna lie, it ALMOST did, but *hurk!*"
Any further words were cut off as the young girl quickly ran up and hugged the shadowed figure with a wide, happy smile. After a moment to regain her breath, the figure chuckled and returned the hug. "Geeze," she began playfully, "a few days without me in your bed and you just go to pieces, huh?"
The smaller girl of the two (much smaller, the redhead was currently face first in the new figure's sizable bust) just grinned widely as she nuzzled the taller woman happily, causing said woman to start squirming with a light moan.
"I can't help it." The redhead said happily. I can't even remember the last time we didn't slee-"
(WHAP!) The sound of a sharp slap echoed out, causing the shorter girl to let out a yelp and back away from the taller woman, rubbing her tender tushie with a betrayed look.
"Sorry hon" the taller figure said with a near audible smirk. "If you kept that up, we would've been giving people here a show."
Looking around the shorter girl blushed as she saw the gathered crowd and the Panda were pointedly trying to avoid looking at the duo, the panda in particular looking EXTREMELY uncomfortable. The redhead chuckled as she bowed in apologies to the gathered people while the taller woman in the shadows glared at the Panda.
"As for YOU, furball," she hissed angrily, "what exactly was the plan here? It's been a good minute since you last tried to get rid of me, and you don't normally go so far as to actually spend money on cruise tickets. I'm rather curious."
The panda, matching the shadowed woman's glare, stood upright and took a steady breath, intending to unleash the greatest speech it had ever concocted.
"Grawf, growl, gragh, gwaorf."
The two stood glaring at each other for a long moment before the woman in shadows sighed, massaging her brow. "My bad," she muttered. "Don't even have an excuse for that. I even said how much I liked not being able to hear you talk." With another sigh, she turned to the still apologizing red head, reared back a hand, and swatted at her ass again, causing the shorter woman to shoot up straight with a yelp.
"What gives!?" The red head shouted as she backed away clutching her ass.
The shadowed woman chuckled at the sight. "Sorry Hun, couldn't help it." She then let out a sigh as she looked at the panda. "Well then, I guess we might as well do what the idiot wants for once.
The redhead gaped in shock as the aforementioned bear looked smug. "But...Vee-Chan, don't you want my..." she blushed as she looked down at herself. "...Condition cured?"
The red head quickly found herself being drug into another hug as Vee-Chan stroked her hair. "You know I don't. I've been having too much fun with you like this." The shorter girl grumbled grumpily as the taller continued. "Plus, sometime the idiot's plans are entertaining in their own right and I wanna see where it goes."
Fine. "The redhead grumbled as she broke away and regathered her bag, following after the proudly marching bear for a bit before realizing something. She turned around and, sure enough, Vee-Chan was still in the shadows, watching. "You comin'? Why are you hanging out there anyway?"
The shadowed woman winced. "Give me a sec. There was a LOT of booze on that cruise, and my eyes are still sensitive."
The redhead sighed and continued after the panda with a shake of her head.
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Back at the Tendo dojo, Soun had just been wrapping up the long, complicated and tragic story of how he and Genma met under the same master, trained, fought and bled together (Really more like were left holding the bag for their master's antics but for the sake of his dignity we'll allow him his creative reinterpretations allow), and the oath they made to unite their branches of the school under one banner. Needless to say, the girls were...less than impressed. Nabiki's eyes just glazed over any time anything martial arts related was mentioned, Kasumi looked more concerned than anything while Akane was still more irritated than anything. Thankfully, Soun seemed to be wrapping up.
"Ranma and his father have been on a training journey, teaching and molding Ranma into a fine martial artist." He looked over the letter as though he was a sage observing a scroll. "It would seem they recently made a trek to China."
That managed to get Nabiki at least to pay attention as her eyes widened in excitement. "Oooh! China!"
Akane just turned her head aside, clearly uninterested and grumbled. "Whatever, any schmuck can go to China. Much to her irritation, Nabiki was undeterred by the muttering.
"So, what does he look like?" The middle Tendo daughter continued, "Is he cute?"
Kasumi meanwhile just frowned. "He's not younger than me, is he? Younger men are so...boring."
Get your laughs out now folks. It's the last time Kasumi's gonna be the butt of a joke for a good bit.
Finally, the eldest and middle Tendo daughters chimed in with the most important question of all.
"What kind of guy is this Ranma?"
Soun chuckled in that wise way only patriarchs could, a cheeky grin on his face as he answered.
"No idea."
The silence that filled the room then was so thick that it was almost visible. None of the girls could (or rather could bring themselves to) understand that bit of insanity that came from their father's mouth. Slowly, Nabiki leaned forward with a blank look and flat voice.
"You have no idea?"
Soun just shrugged before answering. "I've never met him."
Much to Soun's continuing good fortune that day, a sudden knocking at the door could be heard, drawing attention away from this latest faux pas, followed by muffled yelling. "For crying out loud old man, let me go first at least!"
Nabiki and Soun quickly stood up, excited looks on both their faces as they ran off.
"Ohh! It must be Ranma!" Nabiki exclaimed with that special kind of excitement only teenaged girls hoping to meet someone cite could manage (and before I get accusations of sexism, teenage boys have their own version, usually with less dignity).
Soun was right behind her, joyful tears trailing down his face like rivers and he added his own yelling to the chorus. "Saotome my friend! We've been expecting you!"
As the father and middle daughter ran off, Kasumi and Akane stood up slowly, more reserved about the whole matter.
"Oh dear, I hope he's older." Kasumi sighed to herself, knowing that if Nabiki doesn't like him it would most likely fall on her as the oldest to shoulder yet another burden.
Akane's thoughts weren't quite as deep. "How depressing, boys!"
The stomping of feet drew their focus back to the now, as did the sight of Nabiki and Soun running back towards them, panic on their faces as what looked to be a massive panda stomped towards them, letting out a series of growls and snarls as it reaches towards Soun.
"Grof growl ragh!" The panda growled in a strangely forward way, reaching out to Soun as though it wanted to hug him, only to stop with a sudden jerk and a forward tumble, a large lump on the back of its head, along with a Red haired teen standing on its back.
"I WARNED YA!" The teen yelled. "You're gonna scare people spitless doin that!"
"Father..." Kasumi whispered while leaning closer to Soun, "THIS is your friend?"
Soun, unwilling to trust his voice after the apparent bear attack, just rapidly shook his head no, allowing Nabiki to get her own shot in "Oh! So, this panda just decided to visit!" She shouted still in a fear induced freak out. "Happens ALL the time!"
Eventually though, Soun's attention fell on the short redhead before them all. Much to his daughter's surprise, being put on the spot like that seemed to be making the newcomer bashful as they looked away and gently started playing with their pigtail with a light blush.
"You..." Soun began calmly, leaning over and pointing at the guest in his home "wouldn't happen to be..."
Finally, the redhead spoke again in a rather quiet tone "I'm Saotome Ranma...sorry about this..."
There, they said the thing!
Happy tears pooling in his eyes, Soun grabbed Ranma by the shoulders with a grin of pure, undiluted joy on his face. "You've come at last!" He cheered.
"Oooh, he IS cute!" Nabiki added while Akane just looked on, unimpressed.
Soun was about to wrap his arms around the short redhead and offer more welcomes to this long-awaited meeting but found any attempt to do so halted by a hand pressed against his forehead. It was an unfamiliar hand, dainty, very feminine, yet deceptively strong with a healthy tan. Following said hand was a long arm in a loose, ruffled deep pink sleeve that trailed to a young woman.
She stood tall, taller than even Soun with Ranma only being about chest high to her, with a figure that (if only for a moment) made Soun forget about his wife. Her chest? Large and yet still obviously perky. Her hips? Full on childbearing. Her legs? Made up a good 75% of her height at LEAST. Combine all that with long, flowing blonde hair and a beautiful face with long eyelashes, full lips coated in black lipstick, pink eyes oddly enough, and a smirk that just screamed "bad bitch" and you had a lady that would look indecent in a burka!
And she was NOT dressed in a Burka! This absolute bombshell of a woman was garbed in thigh high, high heeled boots that exposed the top of her feet, a ruffled yet tight dark pink mini skirt with a white star that was shorter on the right side than it was the left, and the top was an off-the-shoulder red top trimmed with white ruffles, the sleeves long and tight against her arms though her right sleeve wasn’t attached to the rest. A bold white star marked the center of the bodice, drawing the eye to the fitted, playful design, and her impressive bust.
Put bluntly, she was sexy, and she knew it.
The new girl smirked wider as she looked down at Soun. "Sorry gramps, but I've never been one to share." She spoke in a tone that sounded casual but still managed a blush from Soun. She then flicked his forehead, sending the Tendo Patriarch tumbling back onto the floor.
"FATHER/DAD" Kasumi and Akane shouted as they attended to their fallen father alongside Ranma who did NOT look at all surprised, while Nabiki looked toward the newcomer who strode to the group with her hips swinging wide, clearly trying to draw eyes toward her.
"Sorry again about this," Ranma murmured, bowing toward Soun. "Vee-Chan is very...protective sometimes."
Soun, to his credit, waved it off. "No need son, no need, no telling what all you and your father saw out..." he paused as he suddenly realized something VERY important. "Um...who is she by the way? Genma's letter never mentioned a third person and where is Genma for that matter?"
The Blond just smiled playfully and extended a hand to the Tendo Patriarch. "Verosika Mayday," she said plainly only to let out a light grunt as Ranma elbowed her in the side lightly.
“Other way Vee-chan.” The Redhead muttered.
“Right,” Verosika grumbled, rubbing her side slightly, “forgot, Asia, family name first. Mayday Verosika. I'm Ranma's partner." She turned towards Ranma and openly licked her lips as she stared right at the silk covered glutes. "In all things..." she purred before reaching out and slapping Ranma's ass with a hard (SLAP!) Causing the redhead to jump up with an "eep!" and turn toward Verosika with a glare.
"Will you cut that out!?" Ranma snapped. "Bad enough you do that when we're in private, but in front of people!?" Verosika's response was to just playfully stick her tongue out at Ranma, causing the short redhead to let out a huff.
"P-partner!?" Soun stammered out, outright connecting the dots right from the word go what Verosika meant. Meanwhile Nabiki was torn between disappointment that the cute boy she thought she'd be engaged to was apparently already taken and something her sharp eyes noticed when Ranma jumped with the booty slap. Before anyone could stop her, Nabiki walked up to Ranma and poked a finger into the red head’s chest, and frowning deeply when she felt something that a male martial artist had no business having.
“Daddy,” she began coldly, still poking and prodding at Ranma’s chest, “he’s a girl.” Any further messing with the cloth covered softness was cut off by the sudden appearance of Verosika’s hand clamping around Nabiki’s wrist, not painfully, but firmly. With only slight hesitation, Nabiki looked up to see Verosika giving an oddly friendly grin.
“Ask before you go groping what’s mine, sweetie.” The blonde said in a stern, yet cheery tone. “Savvy?”
“Savvy.” Nabiki muttered, rubbing her wrist after the taller girl let go until a sudden thump drew everyone’s attention to what caused the noise.
The source? Soun’s body on the floor once more, passed out from the collective trauma.
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Minutes later found the group in the living room, gathered around a near comatose Soun Tendo who was currently laid out on a futon, covered with a blanket, and weeping openly with tears trailing down his face and onto his (now very soggy) pillow. The various girls (And the now awake Panda) had taken up positions around him, kneeling in case he needed something, or to just observe what was happening, save for Verosika who was leaning in the doorway with a very amused smirk.
“Poor father,” Kasumi spoke gently as she dipped a rag into a bowl of cool water and rang it out before placing it on the Tendo patriarch’s head, “he’s so disappointed.”
“He’s disappointed!?” Nabiki shot back with a glare. “Some fiancée this is!” She either missed or ignored the wince from Ranma, who looked down in shame, and pointedly ignored the firm look Verosika gave her.
Akane, not missing Ranma’s hurt expression, spoke up. “Stop it you two, he…SHE’S, our guest!”
Nabiki, now turning towards Soun, did not let up. “This is all your fault father! You should’ve made sure before you got our hopes up!”
“Well, he said he had a son!” Soun shouted/sobbed hysterically.
Nabiki refused to let up though. “Do you see a SON here!? Hmm!?” She reached out to grab Ranma’s breasts again, but the sudden sensation of being able to feel Verosika’s glare on her made Nabiki instead grab the red head’s shoulders and shake her torso, making her VERY prodigious bust shake and quake. “Do you!?”
“U-u-u-m…” Ranma nervously began, her voice shaking from the motions. “C-c-could…s-s-s-seriously-y-y, ple-e-e-ase stop tha-a-at?”
With a disgusted huff, Nabiki stood up and marched off, grumbling under her breath as she went. For her part, Verosika just rolled her eyes at the departing Tendo daughter and took her spot by Ranma, gently holding the shorter girl who currently looked rather hurt by Nabiki’s words, something Akane noticed and opted to address.
“Hey,” Akane began, drawing Ranma’s attention, “either of you wanna join me in the dojo?” She then gave the red head a warm smile. “I’m Akane, wanna be friends?”
With a shy smile, Ranma nodded and stood up, following Akane, Verosika not far behind with her own smile.
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Inside the Tendo dojo, the three girls had taken up their own positions, Akane at one end of the dojo, stretching her limbs while Ranma stood on the other watching her. Verosika meanwhile was standing near the doorway watching the two with a smile Akane thought she recognized as the kind those pervert boys at school had when they were looking through those magazines they tried to hide…but she had to be mistaken, they were all girls here, right?
“Sure you don’t want to join us, Mayday-San?” Akana asked the aforementioned blonde. “I can handle two on one!”
Verosika waved her off, her grin widening at what Akane said. “Thanks, but no thanks, you and Ranma are the fighters here, I prefer to watch.” She licked her lips and muttered as Akane turned towards Ranma. “And get physical AFTER the fight…”
Doing her best to ignore the taller woman, Akane then turned towards Ranma. “So, you practice Kenpo, right?”
“A bit.” Ranma said quietly.
Akane’s smile widened as she took a side stance. “Right then,” she said in good cheer, “I’ll take it easy on you, okay?” She then clenched her eyebrows as she looked right at Ranma, who’d yet to take her own stance for the fight. After waiting for her a bit longer, Akane dashed forward, both arms bent and ready to strike.
As soon as she reached Ranma, Akane threw a strong right hook, her fist whistling through the air from the force of her punch, seemingly about to strike Ranma…only for the redhead to do something Akane never expected and jumped directly into the air, dodging the punch completely. To Akane’s credit as a fighter, while the blatant disregard of most of what she knew about physics was shocking, it didn’t slow her down at all and she responded with a roundhouse kick towards Ranma’s legs only for the redhead to perform an effortless midair split, avoiding the strike as she hit the ground feet first.
Akane however didn’t let up, swinging and kicking at Ranma with mighty swings, only for her frustration to build as the shorter girl ducked and weaved past every attack with the added insult that she wasn’t even trying! Akane was starting to feel fatigued from every overextended punch and kick, breath coming harder, sweat starting to form, but Ranma barely looked like she was breathing at all, let alone throwing any attacks of her own!
Meanwhile, off to the side, Verosika just watched the fight intently, breathing heavily at each dodged attack, not even noticing Nabiki, opting to watch the fight as well if only out of boredom, walking up beside her.
“So,” the middle Tendo daughter began warily, watching the taller woman with a side eyed glance, “big fan of martial arts I take it?”
“Oh, you have no idea…” Verosika purred, licking her lips as she saw Ranma effortlessly duck and weave through a series of rapid-fire punches from Akane. “Look at how taught her muscles are, how they’re so well built and toned without being bulky.” Her hands then, to Nabiki’s shock at the sheer brazenness of it, started wandering her own curves. “My little Ranma’s such a work of art…”
“Hoo kay…” Nabiki thought to herself as she stepped away from the clearly uninhibited blonde, “no closet for her then I suppose.”
Back in the fight, Akane was quickly finding herself getting frustrated as Ranma all but literally ran circles around her. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, the youngest Tendo daughter backed away, breathing heavily but keeping her arms bent and primed at her sides, ready to counterattack if needed.
“Why…why am I missing her?” Akane thought to herself, breathing heavily while Ranma looked fresh as a daisy in comparison. “Is she reading my moves?” With a scowl and clench of her eyebrows, Akane readied her next strike. “Okay, this time for real!”
She then dashed forward as quickly as she could, throwing out a straight punch that had all her strength behind it, one of the best punches Akane had ever thrown in her life, a true work of art!
Only for Ranma to, once again, hop over it, and Akane, leading the latter to hit the wall that was behind the redhead, leaving a fist sized hole in the sturdy wood. As Ranma landed on her feet, she then opted to add a playful bit of insult to injury by poking Akane in the back of her head. Stunned, Akane slowly turned to see the smiling face of Ranma.
“Heh heh, got ya.” The shorter girl said playfully. The lighthearted mirth managed to cut through Akane’s frustration, and she soon joined in, both girls laughing at the absurdity of Akane’s loss. After the two calmed down, Akane took a breath and smiled towards her opponent.
“You’re… pretty good.” She admitted with a bit of hesitation in wanting to admit it, more out of wounded pride than poor sportsmanship. With a light stretch she continued, “At least you’re a girl. Can’t think of anything worse than losing to a boy.”
Ranma stiffened as an uncomfortable frown formed on her face. Thankfully, the sudden arrival of Kasumi drew everyone’s attention.
“The Bath is ready.” She said cheerfully and politely before looking at Ranma. “Ranma, would you or Mayday San like to go first?”
“Well, that’s nice of you to offer Kasumi,” Ranma began, “But HOOP! Vee-chan! What are you…” Verosika wrapping her arms around the shorter girl’s mid-section and lifting her upwards cut off anything else the redhead had to say very quickly, with any attempts at objection being cut off as Ranma saw the manic look in the Blonde’s eyes.
“Yes, yes we would like that.” Verosika said with a wide grin. “Ranma and I will take the first bath. All the baths. Lot of time on the road. Need to clean. Bye now.” She then dashed off, a small dust cloud forming in her wake and leaving the trio of Tendo daughters staring wide eyed.
“Wow.” Akane muttered. “Never seen someone so eager to take a bath with someone. They must be really close friends.”
Nabiki rolled her eyes at the naivete shown by her little sister. “Yep. Close “friends” Akane. VERY close.”
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In the changing room just outside the Tendo bathing room, Ranma and Verosika’s clothing could be seen inside, or rather in the general vicinity of, the laundry basket, indicating that the duo had gone in at a rush (Or were just sloppy with such matters). Inside though was blocked off by a thick sheen of steam from the bathtub itself, blocking off any view one could have of what was going on inside.
That said, what could be heard was still loud and clear, and what could be heard was the splashing of freezing water, the scrubbing of soap, and two women engaged in a rather…”heated” discussion.
“Mmmf! V-Vee-Chan,” Ranma’s muffled voice could be heard. “Come on, we weren’t separated that long! And we’re in someone’s house!” A sharp gasp and moan from the redhead echoed out as the other woman giggled.
“Oh, come on Ranma, tell me you aren’t at least a LITTLE pent up. Over a week without Vee-Chan to drain you dry every night, especially with these new additions…” Another gasp from Ranma could be heard, followed by the sounds of her struggling a bit. “Come on, don’t be shy.”
Ranma muttered. “But…you know I don’t like looking like…this. I hate this body.”
Things settled down a bit before Verosika spoke again. Ranma, do you love the forms I take?”
“You know I do.” The redhead said defensively. “But you know I love your real form more too. You feel better like that, more…real.”
Verosika let out a small chuckle and a flash of light filled the room and vanished quickly. “Flatterer,” she cooed, “but don’t try and distract me. Both are me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And so both are you.” Light kissing could be heard. “I love you no matter the form you take Ranma. You know that, so don’t be drug down so much by it.”
Light grumbling could be heard from the shorter girl. “Still rather not be doing this under someone else’s roof…or at least be a boy again for this. I DID miss you…”
Verosika just let out a laugh before the sound of Ranma squeaking indignantly could be heard, followed by a splash. What followed was a deeper, more masculine voice. “You really have too much fun being that much taller than me, ya know that?”
“I do.” Verosika spoke cheerfully as the water in the tub splashed slightly. “Now, I believe we were overdue for some fun?”
“Fine,” The male voice let out a sigh before being smothered by the sound of hungry kissing. “MMPH! Watch your tail!”
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Kasumi Tendo was a woman of many aspects. She was dutiful more than anything else to be sure, what else do you call a woman who steps down from her schooling after the death of her mother to take care of the family after all?
She was also rather serene and sweet by and large. Oh, she has her moments, but she was the type to never carry grudges and always have a cup of tea for any guest, no matter their reasons for being there.
But she was also a woman who liked consistency in her days, she enjoyed her little routines, some would say clung to them, and was never happy whenever they were interrupted. This day? It had been nothing but one interruption to her routine after another after another and it seemed to refuse to let up. First there was the announcement of the engagement, the attack of that giant panda, the apparent cancellation of the engagement due to the boy she or her sisters were promised to being a girl, that other, very clearly foreign girl (Not that Kasumi had an issue mind, but dear lord that Verosika woman wore it like a second skin) basically tornadoing her way into things, really, it was just a mess.
Made the sight of her father and that strange man in a martial arts Gi in the living room sobbing at each other look rather quaint in comparison to the rest of the day really…who was that man anyway?
Before she could contemplated the latest matter further, the sight of Akane walking by with a towel in her arms drew her back down. “Akane, what are you doing?” she asked.
The youngest Tendo just smiled. “I’m going up to join Ranma and Verosika in the bath. We’re all friends, so it should be fine, right?”
Kasumi paused and blinked a moment, every instinct telling her that would be a bad idea. She wasn’t worldly, but she heard enough from the goings on with some of the girls from St. Hebereke's (not nice girls that they were) that Ranma and Verosika were very much MORE than just friends. On the other hand, it’s not like she knew all the details there, perhaps the two were just very close.
Finally, Kasumi just smiled. “You go right ahead then Akane, I’ll call when dinner’s ready.” With a nod, Akane strode off upstairs and to the changing area connected to the bath where she proceeded to undress. Grabbing her towel, she slid open the door, strode in…and froze at what she saw.
There, in the tub, was not the short redhead and tall tanned blonde she was expecting, but a tall(er than her) black haired man and…and…okay, there was no two ways about it, that woman was a curvaceous demon, locked in a VERY passionate embrace if her tongue crammed down that far down his throat was any indication and for some reason the demon had her tail wrapped around the man’s leg.
…Oh dear Kami, that’s not his leg.
The couple in the tub slowly opened their eyes at hearing the intrusion, the man’s skin turning a bright red as the demon smirked. Slowly, the two broke off the kiss, the man sinking into the now steamier than usual water while the demon turned to look at Akane.
“You gonna stand there, or hop in?” She said smugly. “Waters fine.”
Akane just stared a moment longer before backing up and closing the door.
“She’s so shy,” the succubus in the tub giggled while the man she was straddling just attempted to drown himself.
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Akane, while not quite the ranting misandrist nutcase a lot of authors portray her as, was not a quiet girl by any definition. She was violent, proud, opinionated, and stubborn to a fault. But the grave quiet she carried as she closed the door to the bath and redressed herself in her gi was nothing short of out of character for the girl.
So, what came next would’ve been a relief to those observing her who knew her.
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“YEAAAAAH!” Akane’s scream could be heard all throughout the Tendo household, drawing attention from all inside with concerned stares, from Soun and his new guest from the living room, and Kasumi and Nabiki bringing beer and snacks to them (And Nabiki helping herself to said snacks), not a ear in the house missed the sheer, unbridled panic in the youngest daughter’s voice…
“EYAHHH!”
Or the second scream, followed by the rapid foot falls as she dashed through the halls and towards the backyard towards a large and VERY heavy stone shrine used for holding burning incense. With nary a pause, she grabbed the head of the shrine, yanking it up with no effort.
“I’ll kill them,” She babbled in shock, “I’ll drown them both in the bathtub!” Such was the sight her sisters walked in on as they came to see what had gotten Akane in such a tizzy.
“Akane, what is it?!” Nabiki asked out of rare genuine concern for her kid sister.
Akane’s freak out had yet to fade as she began marching back with her makeshift weapon, stopping to glare at Nabiki in fear. “There’re perverts in the bathroom! Two of them! ONE’S A DEMON!”
And thus, any concern in Nabiki vanished at the apparent insanity Akane had fallen into. “So, why didn’t you just kill them with your bare hands?” She asked flatly, clearly not believing her.
“Because I was afraid!” Akane shot back. Meanwhile, Kasumi just looked towards the bathroom.
“Oh my, weren’t Ranma and Verosika in the bathroom?” She asked out of concern for her guests.
It was then that new, hesitant footfalls could be heard coming down the stairs to the bath, revealing someone wearing Ranma’s clothes, and most certainly looking like her with the pigtail, but clearly very different. He was male for one, filling out the clothes a lot better with a bit wider and touch more muscular frame, taller, sharper facial features that still carried a bit of softness of youth, and black hair instead of red, and he wasn’t alone.
Behind him stood a woman so striking she may as well have been conjured from a pin-up magazine and a heavy metal album cover at the same time. She was tall, taller than anyone in the room, with sharp, curving horns curling back from a head of flowing platinum-pink hair, swishing behind her in a high, stylish, and long enough to reach her ass ponytail. Her skin was a deep, vibrant pink, broken only by the black star markings on her horns with black tips and the deep shadows painted around her slitted yellow eyes, framed by lashes sharp enough to cut glass.
She wore a puffed, oversized pink fur coat that practically screamed 'diva', worn loose around the shoulders like she didn’t care how expensive it looked, because she knew she looked better. Underneath was a black strapless mini dress hugged tight against every curve, decorated with a bold white starburst across the chest and hip, because clearly subtlety was for lesser beings.
Her tail, tipped with a heart-shaped spade, flicked lazily behind her in amused irritation, and her batlike wings twitched with the kind of restrained energy that made it very clear she was not someone to mess with. Thigh-high stockings completed the look, decorated with a crisscrossing ribbon motif that practically pointed the eye where she wanted it to go.
How apparent is it that the author of this thing is a VERY lonely man?
Standing before the girls, the boy looked down at his feet, a light blush on his face as he mumbled bashfully. “I’m…I’m Ranma Saotome…sorry about this.”
The apparently demonic woman wrapped around Ranma in a sensual hold, her arms wrapping around his chest and waist like snakes much to Ranma’s deepening embarrassment if his darkening blush was any indication. With a purr that was nothing short of seductive, she spoke, “and I’m Mayday. Verosika Mayday. Sorry, not sorry.”
Thus, beginning a new take on an old story…
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Next Time on Helluva Wild Succubus
Demon girlfriends. Cursed pools. A panda with a grudge. And Nabiki deciding how many yen she can charge for front-row seats to whatever the hell is going on.
End of Chapter
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