Ranma-Chan awoke the next morning to a strange ceiling. Of course the fact that there was a ceiling at all was strange. As cognizance set in, she remembered what had happened yesterday. She looked down at herself. Yup, I’m wearing the same girly pajamas. She thought. At least I talked Videl out of sleeping in her room and having a slumber party. ‘We have to keep up appearances’, she says. She shook her head to clear out the cobwebs. She glanced up and over and saw the clock by the bed. (She had slept in the floor when she found the bed to be too soft.) It was around five-thirty in the morning. As good a time as any to start training.
She stood up, stretched out, and then changed into her white gi. She stepped out into the hall and walked across the way to Videl’s room. She knocked a couple times.
“Wha? Who’s ’ser?” Came a groggy voice from the other side.
“It’s Ranma! It’s time to start your training!” She beat on the door a couple more times for emphasis.
“Can’t it wait for a couple hours?”
“Nope! We gotta start early!” Ranma-Chan put a dash of amusement in her voice.
Videl muttered a few profanities about morning people, what should be done with them, and where. She finally relented and staggered out of bed. After changing, she stepped out into the hall.
Ranma-Chan and Videl stared at each other for a second, and then looked down at what they were wearing. They were wearing identical outfits.
Videl lifted an eyebrow. “Nice outfit.”
“Hey, you didn’t think I only wore red and black, did you?”
“No, you just seemed the type.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Videl waved her hand dismissively. “Nothing. The dojo’s this way.” She started to amble down the hallway.
Ranma-Chan cocked her head to the side. “Aren’t we going to practice outside?”
Videl turned around. “Are you kidding? I want to train on some mats.”
The pigtailed martial artist shrugged. “Whatever.”
They made their way into the dojo. Ranma-Chan took a look around. “Looks more like a private gym than a dojo.” Sure enough, there were weights, exercise bikes, and miscellaneous training equipment scattered around a central square mat that looked roughly twice the size of a normal training hall.
Videl just shrugged and walked out onto the mat and started stretching out. Ranma-Chan joined her. After a little while of stretching, Ranma-Chan finally spoke up. “So are you ready to work, or what?”
Videl popped her neck and dropped into a stance. “First I want to check something.” She launched at Ranma with a punch aimed at the redhead’s face.
Ranma-Chan just leaned back and watched Videl fly over her head and land on the other side. She promptly righted herself. Videl came from behind with a leg sweep. Ranma-Chan jumped up and over Videl, landing behind her back. The fight went back and forth for a while until Ranma-Chan got bored and started fighting back.
Videl failed to realize three important facts: One, she still hadn’t woken up all the way. Two, Ranma was much faster as a girl. Three, Ranma was fresh and fully energized. Ranma-Chan wiped the floor with Videl to say the least. Ranma-Chan flicked her pigtail over her shoulder. “You convinced?”
Videl pulled her ponytails out of her face, and nodded.
“Okay, then let’s start training. First off, you need to stop relying on brute strength so much. Second, you need to learn how to move better. Not necessarily faster, but better. Your movements need to flow more, less jerky.”
Videl straightened up. “I noticed you were having some balance problems.” She stuck her tongue out at him.
Ranma-Chan bristled. She looked down at her chest. “It’s these damn things! It’s like having two extra weights strapped to my chest! I’ve only been a girl for a month, and I’m still getting used to it.”
Videl laughed at the redhead. “That’s why we wear bras!”
“I’m a GUY!”
“You could still wear one around the house…”
“I’M NOT WEARING A BRA!!! I’M A GUY!!!” Ranma-Chan was turning red.
Videl out a finger up to her mouth and shushed her. “Quiet! You’ll wake my dad!”
“But I’m a guy!” Ranma-Chan hissed.
Videl threw her hands up in surrender. “Okay! I was only kidding! Come on, we need to get dressed if we’re going to make it to school on time.”
Ranma-Chan raised an eyebrow at her. “School? Why am I going to school?”
“You have to go to school so you’ll be prepared for the rest of your life.”
“But I’m going to be a martial artist the rest of my life. I don’t need to go to school for that.”
Videl rolled her eyes. “Well, what will you do if you’re hurt in a fight or something and you can’t fight anymore? How are you going to live after that? With an education you could still have a job.”
“But I haven’t been in school in forever! I’ll be too far behind!”
Videl walked over and slapped the pigtailed girl on the back. “Don’t worry so much. I’ll help you. It’ll be fun!”
Ranma-Chan looked at her warily. “I’m not so sure…”
“Look, there was supposed to be a new kid today anyway. He didn’t show up for registration, so you’ll just take his place. Don’t worry so much. It’ll be fun!” She paused. “One more thing…”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to go as a girl, or guy?”
“I’M A…”
Videl clapped her hands over Ranma-Chan’s mouth. “A guy. I know. Just be quieter about it. Okay?” Ranma-Chan nodded. “Good. Now let’s get showered and I’ll meet you at the front door.”
They broke and went for separate bathrooms (with 50 rooms in the house, there were plenty baths to go around.) On her way out, Videl made a side trip to the kitchen. “Hey cook!”
The pudgy man with the doughboy hat looked up. “Yes, Miss Videl?”
“Can you get me a thermos of hot water?”
“Sure, do you want tea or soup?”
“Just hot water.”
“What do you need hot water for?”
Videl just smiled and winked at him. “I’m going to do some magic.”
The chef just chuckled and shook his head. He filled a thermos from the faucet and gave it to Videl. “I’d like to know what kind of trick uses hot water.”
“Maybe you’ll find out someday…” She left the sentence hanging mysteriously as she turned and left to find Ranma-Chan. She found her waiting by the front door. “Come on, Ranma. We need to go to the helipad to fly to school.”
Ranma-Chan gave her a confused look. “Ain’t we going ta walk?”
“It’s ‘AREN’T we going TO walk’, and no. Why walk, when we can fly?”
Ranma-Chan scratched her head. “For exercise?”
Videl raised an eyebrow at her. “Wasn’t this morning enough?”
Ranma-Chan just looked at her. “Nope. How about this, where’s the school?”
Videl pointed in the general direction. “It’s across town that way. It’s the tall building with ‘Orange Star High School’ written on the front.”
“Alright, you fly, I’ll go by foot. We’ll see who gets there first.”
Videl shook her head. “You’re nuts, you know that, don’t you?”
Ranma gave her his trademark cocky grin. “Just watch.” She started to run to the border of the compound.
“Wait!” Videl shouted.
Ranma-Chan stopped in mid-leap and turned her head around to her. “What?”
“You might want this!” She chunked the thermos of hot water at him.
Ranma-Chan caught it. “Thanks.”
“Wait until you get outside the fence before you use it.”
Ranma-Chan nodded her head. “Okay. See you at school.” She hopped the compound wall and used the water.
Videl just shook her head and pulled out her capsulated jet copter. “He’ll never get there in time for school.” About that time a red streak made its way to the top of one of the far buildings and across the tops of others. “Then again…maybe I should hurry.” She depressed the button on the capsule and chunked the capsule. She was in the cockpit and ready to take off before the smoke had cleared. She powered up and raced after Ranma.
Ranma was having the time of his life. It was a jungle of good sized buildings perfect for roof hopping. The feeling of flying through the air is what the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. He spotted the high school in the distance. Too easy.
Videl pushed her engines to catch up with Ranma. She had lost precious time thinking that Ranma wouldn’t have a chance, but yet again, the young man had surprised her. She came over a rise and saw him approaching the school grounds. I won’t make it! I still have to park this thing!
Ranma was leaning against one of the school walls as Videl came running in after parking and recapping her copter. “What took you so long?”
Videl was breathing heavily. “Okay! *huff huff* No fair! *pant* You were flying too!”
Ranma grinned at her and shrugged his shoulders. “I never said I was going to stay on the ground.” He kicked off the wall and walked past her. “So where’s the classroom?”
Videl rolled her eyes at his arrogance. “You need to register first. Just go in and turn right, and you’ll see the office. I’ll see you in class.”
While Ranma went to register, Videl hurried to her first class. She rushed up the side steps of the classroom that tiered the student’s desk and stopped in front of a slim girl with short-cropped blonde hair. “Ireeza! You’ve got to trade me seats!”
“No way!” The blonde looked back at her. “Shyapuna will complain all through class!”
“Please!”
“Why should I?”
“Just do it, I’ll owe you! Please!”
“What’s so important?”
“Huh-Hmm” The teacher cleared his throat. “We have a new student today. Please introduce yourself.”
The young man with the black pigtail and Chinese clothes stepped inside the classroom. “I’m Saotome Ranma. Pleased to meet you.”
Ireeza’s pupils became little hearts. “He’s a hunk!”
Videl tried pushing the blonde over to the next seat, but she wouldn’t budge. “Trade me seats!”
“NO WAY!” Ireeza dug her fingers into the tabletop.
“Is there something wrong Ireeza?” The teacher asked.
Ireeza put on her most brilliant smile. “I was just trying to make Videl take her seat so the new boy can sit on the end.” She winked at Ranma.
Ranma gulped.
“Fine, Fine.” The teacher shifted his gaze to Videl. “Please take your seat Videl, so we can begin class.”
Videl glared at Ireeza as she took her seat between the blonde and a muscle bound boy with hair down to the middle of his back. Ranma walked up to the empty seat uneasily as he saw the look that Ireeza was giving him. He felt like a plate full of steak in a room full of starving martial artists. He took the seat next to her. “Uh, hi.”
She leaned over the table on her elbows with her head on her hands. “Hi, my name’s Ireeza. So what’s a hunk like you doing in Satan City?”
Ranma nervously scratched the back of his head. “Uh, well…I’m sorta training with Videl.”
Ireeza turned to Videl. “Why Videl, you little miser! Keeping something like this away from your best friend!”
Videl crossed her arms. “This is exactly the reason why.”
Ireeza gave her a fake hurt look. “Why, Videl, is that a little ol’ green-eyed monster I see, hmm?”
Videl rolled her eyes. “For your information, he’s living with me. So there!”
“So have you done anything yet?”
The exchange just went downhill from there. It started to attract the attention of the whole class. The color drained from Ranma’s face as he tried to sink as low in his chair as possible. I wish there was a technique to let me disappear…
Finally the boy with the long blonde hair snapped his fingers. “Hey! I remember you now!”
Ranma looked at him with a clueless expression. “Really? From where?”
He pointed at the pigtailed martial artist. “You were on the news last night! You’re Videl’s new love interest!”
Ranma’s eyes went wild as the entire class’s attention snapped to Ranma. He held out his hands in warding gestures. “It’s nuthin’ like that! We’re just friends!”
“So you’re free, huh?” Ireeza slid over next to him.
“Hey!” Videl shouted.
“That’s enough!” The teacher shouted. “We’re here to learn, not act out a bad soap opera.” The teacher pulled out his teacher’s text. “All of you take out your international history books and we’ll continue where we left off on our discussion of Chinese history.”
At the mention of China, Ranma’s ears perked up. Maybe he’ll say something about Josenkyo. The teacher droned on a while and discussed all the ancient tribes that had come and gone through the country. As the teacher started going into more recent history Ranma had a confused look on his face. “What about the Amazons?”
Ranma didn’t say it very loud, but the teacher still popped his head up from his text and glanced at the boy. “What was that, Saotome?”
“Uh, I was just wondering when you were going to mention the Amazons.”
“There is no such thing, Saotome. Now I suggest you don’t occupy your time with boyhood fantasies and dreams.”
“Sure, whatever.” Ranma rolled his eyes. I wish it were only a bad dream…
After class Videl caught up with Ranma. “What was that Amazon thing about?”
Ranma tensed up. “Nothing! Really!”
“Does it have something to do with your curse?”
“Uh, not really…forget I mentioned it.” He quickly changed the subject. “So what are we going to do in gym? They got any good martial arts stuff?”
Videl grinned at him. “We’re going to do something that I know that I’m better at than you.”
Ranma raised an eyebrow at her. “What? Needlepoint?”
Videl gave him a cocky smirk. “Nope. The Great American Pastime.”
“Sitting on our tails and watching TV?”
“No, stupid. Baseball!”
“What’s baseball?”
“It’s a sport. Haven’t you ever played baseball?”
Ranma shook his head no. “Is it anything like Kung-Fu?”
Videl shook her head in frustration. “Didn’t you play any sports?”
Ranma shook his head. “Nope. I was always training with my pops.”
“Well you’ll enjoy it. Just do as I tell you and you’ll be fine.”
They went out to the baseball field and Videl promptly went to the gym teacher and told him in no uncertain terms that Ranma was on HER team. They took the field and Ranma stood out in right field. “So what do I do out here?”
“Just use your glove to catch any balls that get hit in your area. I’ll tell you where to throw it after that!”
Ranma shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, easy enough. I don’t see how this’ll be fun though.”
Shyapuna stepped up to the plate. “Prepare to get whiplash from another ball going over the fences, Videl.”
Videl spat a sunflower seed shell aside the pitcher’s mound. “Prepare to strike out. I’m going to throw you my guaranteed no hit fastball!”
“I’d get my receipt out, ‘cause this one’s going out!”
Ranma rolled his eyes. “Just throw the ball already!” He yelled.
Videl smiled and wound up for the pitch. She hauled off and threw the ball with all of her strength.
The muscle-bound blonde reared back and hit the ball square on the sweet spot and sent the ball sailing toward right field. He smiled an ‘I-told-you-so’ grin and started trotted toward first base.
Ranma saw the ball coming his way. He leapt up to try and intercept it. I’m not going to make it! He took off his glove and threw it straight up. The glove hit the ball and shot the ball straight up. Ranma landed in a crouch and held his bare hand out. The ball fell into the hand without Ranma even looking up. “Saotome School of Anything Goes Baseball!” He brought his head up showing a huge Cheshire grin.
“Throw the ball!” Videl shouted.
“Where?”
“Third base?”
“Which one is third?”
“The one on the left side of the field!”
Luckily for both of them the runner on third base was too shocked to dive back for the bag. Ranma reared back and threw the ball at third baseman. The ball hit the third baseman’s glove exactly in the center. The umpire on third base held up his right arm in a fist. “Like, third and out!”
Ranma trotted back into the dugout past a seething Shyapuna. “I’ll get you for that Saotome!”
Ranma smirked. “Yeah, right.”
One of the kids looked at the scorecard. “Ninth batter’s up.”
Videl turned to Ranma. “That’s you wonder boy.”
“That’s Wonder Man to you.” He took a bat up to the plate and held it like a katana.
The gym teacher looked at him. “Shouldn’t you hold the bat closer to the end?”
Ranma blinked at him. “Should I?”
“Well, we’ll just see how you do.”
Shyapuna twisted the skin on the baseball. I’ll give him a fastball high and tight. He thought. We’ll watch him duck like a sissy. That should take the mighty Ranma Saotome down a notch. He wound up and threw the ball.
Ranma realize very quickly where the ball was headed. He swung the bat to block the ball and deflect the ball back to the thrower. Luke Skywalker would have been proud. The ball struck the longhaired blonde and knocked him off the mound. “That coulda hurt, you know!”
Shyapuna sat up. The baseball was embedded in his eye socket. As he came upright, the ball rolled out and down his chest. “I’ll get you Saotome…” He hissed under his breath.
Ranma harrumphed. “Yeah, right.”
The sky started to cloud up, and there was a sound of thunder in the distance.
Shyapuna was sporting a nice shiner when he walked over to where Ranma was standing. “I’m the captain of the boxing club. I’ll show you!” He swung a haymaker at Ranma.
Ranma jumped over the punch with his finger extended. As he landed behind the blonde he felt a drop of rain. The sky cracked with thunder as rain started to come down.
Videl charged out and grabbed Ranma by the hand and hauled him away from the field. “Hurry up Ranma! You don’t want to get wet!”
Ranma nodded and ran with her away from the field.
Shyapuna glared after him. “First he steals Videl from me. Then he embarrasses me on the playing field. Finally he runs away from a man-to-man fight!” The rain started coming down in earnest.
Ireeza walked up next to him, holding an umbrella. “Actually, he already won.”
He turned to her. “What! That’s ridiculous!”
She pulled out a compact and showed him the mirror. “Take a look at your forehead, mighty warrior.”
Shyapuna traced the kanji on his head that was the symbol for buffoon. “That Saotome is soo dead!” He charged off after Ranma and Videl.
A very wet Videl and Ranma-Chan stopped under a tree. “He’s lucky it started raining.” Ranma-Chan took off her pants and started wringing them out.
“No kidding.” Videl agreed. “He not really that great of a fighter. I can take him easily. He’s just a boxer, not a martial artist.”
“At least the little souvenir I left him will make him think twice before messing with me again.”
Videl looked at him. “What souvenir?”
Ranma-Chan grinned. “You’ll see.”
“SAOTOME!!!”
Ranma-Chan’s grin widened as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll guess sooner than you thought.
Shyapuna grabbed Ranma-Chan’s shoulder and spun her around. “Ranma!” He blinked twice when he got an eyeful of what he thought was Ranma. “Sorry, uh, my name’s Shyapuna.”
Ranma-Chan slapped his hand away. “That’s enough grabbing.”
The blonde looked sheepish. “You haven’t seen a boy with the same hairstyle as you come through here?”
Videl pointed over the wall. “He went that way. You better hurry.” Shyapuna looked up to see where she pointed. Videl saw the mark on his head, and fell over laughing.
“What?” He felt his head and remembered the kanji. “Saotome is DEAD!!!”
Ranma-Chan was starting to laugh as well. “Fat chance of that.”
He turned to her. “Why do you say that?”
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “He’s VERY good, you don’t stand a chance.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well…uh…”
Videl jumped in to help Ranma out. “She’s his sister.”
Ranma-Chan picked up on it. “Yeah! Saotome…uh…”
“Pan.”
Ranma-Chan turned back to Shyapuna. “Yeah. Saotome Pan.”
Shyapuna dropped to a knee and grabbed her hand. “You must go out with me!”
Ranma-Chan reared back and punted the blonde away. “Get away you pervert!”
The form of Shyapuna flew away. Videl whistled. “Not bad. Good height and distance. I give it a ten. You do that often?”
“Usually I only reserve that for my pops, but he was cruisin’ for a bruisin’.” Ranma-Chan shifted mental gears. “Pan?”
Videl blushed a bit. “It was the only name I could come up with. You know, like Peter Pan?”
“Not really.”
“And…”
“And?”
Videl blushed more. “Nothing.” It’s just what I was going to name my first kid.
Ranma-Chan watched as Videl became a deeper color of red. Strange. “Well, whatever. Let’s go back and get some dry clothes and some hot water.”
“Sure.”
Ranma-Chan glanced at her. “You’re not worried about missing school?”
Videl shrugged. “Do it all the time. I AM the champion of justice for this city.”
Ranma-Chan smirked. “I think this city might have two champion’s on it’s side.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’m going to help you. I can’t have a half-trained student getting herself killed before she can be a decent fighter.”
Videl bristled at the comment. “I AM a decent fighter!”
Ranma-Chan tried to ward her off. “Hey! I’m sorry!”
Videl smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s go home.”
Ranma-Chan smiled. Home. Never really called any place that before, but I don’t think I should start now. I still have a cure to find.
Shyapuna was walking home after school and he was trying to come up with a solution to his new Saotome dilemma. “I won’t worry about chasing Videl anymore. Ranma can have her. His sister is a major hottie! I‘ll just take her! But first, I need to find a way to beat him, but I can’t hope to take him. He’s too good. I’ll need help.” He glanced up as he passed a billboard with Mr. Satan holding his hand up in a V. “That’s it!”
Shyapuna ran to a pay phone. He dialed the number he had memorized while working up the nerve to ask Videl out for the first time (she refused of course). A servant answered. “Yes, Satan residence.”
“I’d like to speak with Mr. Satan.”
“Mr. Satan doesn’t give out free interviews. You’ll have to go through his press office and get an appointment and pay the fee.”
“Tell him it’s urgent!”
“Really…” The servant’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Tell him I have information about the boy that Videl has been seeing.”
“I’ll put him right on!”
There was a shuffling over the phone and after a short pause the voice was replaced by the gruff voice of Mr. Satan. “Hello? Who is this?”
“This is Shyapuna, one of Videl’s classmates.”
“What do you know about the boy?”
“I’ll give you all the information you need. I just ask one thing in return.”
“And what is that?”
“You have to train me to beat him!”
Mr. Satan started laughing. “I like your style, boy! If it’ll take that boy out of the picture, then I’d be glad to train you. After I’m done, you’ll be able to take out anybody on this earth! So who’s the corpse?”
Shyapuna grinned a toothy grin. “His name is Saotome Ranma.”