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Those What Ifs	By : humdrum07 Category: +M to R > Ranma ½ Views: 4703 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or its characters, nor do I make any money from this story

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“We can't just leave him here...”

“Like hell we can't... he just tried to kill me.”

“He wasn't trying to kill you, he wasn't aiming at any vital spots.”

“So fucking what?”

“I agree with Ranko.”

“Of course you would... I swear you're a les-- OW!”

“That's what you get Ranma... now help us drag him out of here before the gates close for the day.”

Ranma rolled his eyes, rubbing the now bruising spot on his cheek. Akane had a strong right hook. “Fine... but if he wakes up, I'm not saving you.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Ah,” Akane jumped from the sound of Ryoga standing up on his own two feet.

“You should know pressure points don't last too long on me... I was out, what, not even an hour?”

“Um... sorry,” said Ranko.

“Hm.”

“Come on... let's just go home. You're welcome to join us for dinner Ryoga.”

“What?” Ranma grabbed Akane's shoulders. She couldn't be serious. This maniac just tried to kill him! “Akane... are you forgetting what just happened hours ago?”

“It's my house and I can invite whoever the hell I want,” she wriggled out of his grasp and started walking out of the gates. “Let's go kiddos, before the vice principal demands you to fix up the yard.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++

The walk back to the Tendo dojo was a long one with Ryoga in tow. He didn't seem to be very friendly towards Ranko or Ranma, but he was just peachy around Akane. Ranko wondered if he had a crush on her. 'Too bad... I wouldn't mind him crushing on me.' She then shook her head. He just tried to kill her brother – even though she had just determined that that wasn't the case – she shouldn't be thinking things like that.

“So... I heard you were in China? How was that?” she asked.

“You should know... Ranko,” the way he said her name was so malicious that she could taste the venom on the air.

“Well, when we were there I thought it was beautiful. Especially Joketsuzoku... but that Shampoo girl was crazy,” she cracked a smile, hoping to break the heavy aura around them. “Right Ranma.”

“Sure, whatever,” the young martial artist wasn't happy to say the least. Not only was his rival hell bent on destroying him, he was also angry with his sister... he just didn't understand that.

“I'm cooking dinner...” Ranko started. She needed to lift this tension around them all. She was a fighter, but she didn't like people being angry. “Kasumi's going to help me... so I don't think I'll fail too miserably.”

“What are you two cooking?” asked Akane.

“Beef stew with a Caesar salad side. She wants me to start small.”

“That's nice... I know it'll be tasty--”

“Shut up!” Ranma glared at both girls and pointed at Ryoga, poking him in the chest. “Anyone else see something wrong with inviting my rival, the guy who just threw razor sharp bandanas at me, to dinner?”

“Don't be so dramatic Ranma,” Ranko tried to calm her brother down.

“Dramatic?”

“Actually I think I am kind of hungry,” Ryoga smirked while rubbing his stomach. He knew that Ranma didn't like where this was going. Making Ranma furious was almost as good as getting his revenge.

“See Ranma...”

++++++++++++++++++++++++

“My... we have one more for dinner?” Kasumi came out of the kitchen in order to greet the four teens that had just arrived.

“Yeah... I hope you don't mind. I figured we could have one more person for my cooking debut. The more the merrier right?” Ranko stepped out of her shoes, placing them near the doorway.

“Cooking debut?” Ryoga asked. “You plan on poisoning me too?” he glared at her, hoping that she heard, but unfortunately she didn't since she was going upstairs to change. There was no way she was going to cook in her uniform; not when she didn't have a spare yet.

“You're acting very mean Ryoga, what's gotten into you?”

Of course Akane would notice the animosity toward their new students. Normally he wouldn't care, but he had a crush on Akane ever since he started at Furinkan. At the moment, he was one of the few guys that had the privilege of being her friend, since most – to her – where disgusting perverts who needed to be pummeled to the ground. He couldn't afford to lose that.

“Forgive me Akane.”

“Okay... I'm ready,” Ranko emerged from the stairs wearing a simple black shirt and jean shorts. The thick-framed glasses she wore to school were gone.

“Good... let's get cooking then,” Kasumi gave her a smile and disappeared into the Kitchen followed by her eager student.

“I hope we don't have another Akane in our midst,” said Nabiki while sitting at the table doing the crossword in the local Nerima newspaper. Soun Tendo – sitting beside a large panda... which was maybe a pet? – shuddered along with Ryoga. Though Ryoga's wasn't visible. He didn't dare hurt Akane's feelings.

“Hey... I just need more practice!” Akane defended herself.

“And for that to happen, we need a steel-armored kitchen. Who knows what other monstrosities you'll cook up?” Nabiki hadn't looked up from her crossword, continuing to casually check off clues as she spoke.

“Ha ha...” she glared at Nabiki before sitting down beside her father, who was trying hard not to laugh. “And what are you laughing at daddy?”

“Nothing Akane,” he looked down, trying awkwardly not to look her in the eyes, then addressed Ryoga. “Ah, Hibiki... so nice of you to drop by again.”

Ryoga opened his mouth to say that Akane had invited him, but she beat him to it. “I invited him... turns out he knows Ranma.”

“Oh now do you?” Soun Tendo raised an eyebrow at Ryoga then looked at the panda balancing on a beach ball behind him. Soun seemed to be silently inquiring something to which the panda “responded” with an 'I Don't Know' scrawled on a wooden sign.

“Did that panda just...?” Ryoga started, but shook his head. It probably wasn't important anyway, and his eyes could have been playing tricks on him.

“Well, it's good to know that my future son-in-law has a friend in Nerima. Now it won't be so difficult for him to find people to hang out with.”

“Future son-in-law?” Ryoga's eyes almost popped out of his head. He looked from Akane to Soun, trying to discern something in their faces that said it was all a joke... but to no avail.

“Yeah... I'm not so happy about it,” Akane's eyes were downcast and she was absentmindedly tracing the grooves in the wooden table.

“So Ranma ruins my life again...”

“What was that?” Akane looked up from what she was doing. Ryoga said something, but it was so faint and mumbled under his breath that she couldn't quite place what it was.

“Nothing.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Dinner is served!” Ranko stood in the kitchen doorway with the pot full of stew grasped by the handles. Kasumi was beside her with a bowl of salad. “Hope you all like it.”

Ryoga rolled his eyes at the seemingly innocent girl in front of them, but he knew that she wasn't as innocent as she was trying to be. Where was the girl that knocked him out with pressure points, or the one that pushed him into Jusenkyo? Her bullshit wasn't fooling him.

“Finally... you're acting like a proper lady,” Genma, who came into the room immediately after the panda had left, was now sitting near his friend Soun, with a white gi and white bandana. “Now only if you would stop this nonsense about learning martial arts.”

“I thought martial arts was your life, and you wanted your children to learn how to fight,” Ranko started. She sincerely hoped he didn't start on this conversation again. She understood that her parents had very strong and medieval thoughts about male and female roles. She tried to keep her calm, but felt her grip on her emotions slipping. The pot of stew was almost dropped viciously onto the table, to which Kasumi gave her a small look silently inquiring if she was okay.

“It is, and I wanted my My MALE child to learn so HE would take over the dojo... and since you were born female, there is no need for you to learn martial arts,” he started serving himself. “You know your mother wants you to be a lady.”

“And being a lady entails staying mum, cooking all day, and bearing potential heirs? And what should I do when faced with a situation where I have to defend myself?” she started serving herself rather mechanically, trying to keep her anger in. “Call you or Ranma?”

“Of course not... your job is to stay pretty and learn domestic chores to snag you a man. Maybe by then, you'll have a nice martial artist of a husband, and he could bail you out.”

Ryoga looked from daughter to father with eyes wide. Not even his father, when he saw him, was so backwards minded... and he liked to think of him as a traditional man.

“Pops...” Ranma started.

“No, Ranma... she needs to learn her place. Do you know why your mother let you go with us on our trip?”

Ranko rolled her eyes. Here he goes again. She started to mock him as he told her the reason. “'Because your mother wanted you to learn at a young age how to do chores and take care of people.' I know dad... you don't have to rub it in.”

“Don't talk back to your father.”

Soun and the rest of the Tendos stayed silent, though Akane was visibly fuming. She could only thank her lucky stars that her father didn't think that way.

Ranko pushed her plate away and stared at it in disgust. “I'm not that hungry anymore,” she stood up and glared at her father, who was too busy looking for potatoes in his stew. He always liked eating the potatoes first for some odd reason. “Forgive me for being born a girl,” she then stomped out of the living room and up the steps to the bedroom she shared with Kasumi.

“Not cool pops...” Ranma shot his father an evil glare. He knew that Ranko was trying very hard not to punch his lights out, and maybe do a little more. Ranma had taught her how to fight, now she was probably at his level, but she still had to hide it from Genma as to not disappoint him any further. If it were Ranma though, he wouldn't give a fuck. Let the old man be disappointed... but Ranko was a daddy's girl despite the fact that Genma didn't think too highly of the female race.

“It's the truth...” Genma sighed. “Besides... now that you're...” he trailed off, not wanting to discuss the curse. “Well, you know, she's our only hope for us not committing Seppuku. If she becomes a woman among women, then neither she or me will have to commit Seppuku.”

“What about me then?”

“I'm still working on that... but every scenario points to you taking one for the team.”

“Saotome!” Soun couldn't believe that he was actually discussing Ranma committing seppuku to save himself. He was as crazy as Nodoka. “Akane and Ranma will not be able to unite the schools if he is deceased.”

Soun and Genma continued bickering as Ryoga contemplated the Tendo's house guests. He almost felt sorry for Ranko. Now that he knew she dealt with this – and from the looks of it, quite often – he felt guilty exacting revenge upon her.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

“You okay?” Kasumi sat on her bed, having left the dishes for Akane and Ranma – they offered to do them to escape the awkwardness Genma had created.

“Yeah,” Ranko sat up in her futon, already clad in her Pajamas which consisted of a white fitted T-shirt and black terry cloth pants. “I'm used to his gender talks, especially now that he and Ranma are cursed.”

Kasumi gave her a small smile, she could tell that Ranko was still a little miffed. “I'm sorry...”

Ranko shrugged, “It's okay... he and my mom just don't understand that I don't want to be the good housewife who just cooks and cleans all day... no offense to you. I mean, if it works for you then--”

“None taken,” she put a hand on Ranko's shoulder letting her know that Kasumi truly took no offense. “You feel guilty don't you?”

She nodded, “A little...”

“There's nothing wrong for wanting something different than your parents. Trust me. I'm the oldest, but I wanted nothing to do with martial arts or being heir to the school, neither did Nabiki. Luckily father never made us feel guilty. That little argument was despicable on your father's part.”

Ranko shrugged. “Well... that's the way he was raised I guess. I can't change how he thinks.”

“I suppose not,” Kasumi smiled again and patted Ranko's shoulder. “I'm going to see if Ranma and Akane need any help with the dishes... if you're asleep by the time I come back, I'll just sleep on the couch. I wouldn't want to disturb you.”

“Kasumi,” Ranko chuckled. “This is your room... don't worry about waking me up for a few seconds in the middle of the night.”

“Right then...” Kasumi smiled yet again and closed the door before heading down to check on the three teens doing dishes. She didn't think all three of them needed to work on dishes. It wasn't that hard of a chore, but nobody wanted to be around Genma at the moment.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

“That was hard...”

“Luckily we have a dishwasher at home.”

“Oh my gosh... you two are being so dramatic,” Akane said while placing the last clean dish in the dryer rack.

“Well... I'm off to bed,” Ranma threw the dirty rag he had been holding into the sink. “I'm seriously going to kill my dad tonight,” and with that, he was off to the room he shared with his father leaving Ryoga and Akane alone.

“So... are you and Ranma really engaged?” Ryoga's eyes were downcast and was twiddling his fingers, hoping she would tell him 'no'.

“It is true... I guess I was the lucky one that got stuck being engaged to him. Nabiki and Kasumi are too good for him, I guess,” she turned to face him and leaned back on the kitchen counter. “But, don't tell him this, it is kind of exciting being engaged... and he is kind of handsome.”

Ryoga couldn't believe his ears. Was she falling for his rival? Sure, he and Akane were only friends, but he hoped that by becoming her friend – her only male friend mind you – he had a clear path to becoming her boyfriend. Apparently not though.

“I guess I should be going to bed then...” she pushed her palms off the counter and started to leave through the kitchen doorway, looking back before she made her way up the steps. “You're welcome to stay the night... unfortunately you'll have to take the couch, or the study.”

Ryoga shook his head, “No that's okay... thank you. I should be heading home.”

“Okay then... goodnight Ryoga!” Akane gave him one last smile before heading up the steps, leaving Ryoga to let himself out of the Tendo household.

Second chapter, yay! So I forgot that Ryoga cuts Akane's hair with his bandanas in the manga... let's just say that she still has long hair at this point. She will get it cut off though, but I'm not sure how I'm going to write it. Will she cut it? Will Ryoga accidently cut it? Will someone else cut it? And Shampoo and Mousse will make an appearance, so will P-Chan. Be patient.

Oh, and can you tell I don't like Genma. I don't hate him, but I don't care much for his character. He always struck me as being sexist.
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Those What Ifs