Permanent.
Ranma 1/2 and all related characters
are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and are used without permission. 
A sort of moody fic that I churned out today. Came out pretty good so far hope 
fully will get more action oriented later on...
 
Ranma Saotome sat by the window of the small apartment she had rented and 
sighed. In the past year she had not spoken unless it was absolutely necessary; 
ever since the incident in China; her father sat in the corner and snored 
loudly, while Mr. P wandered into the room looking lost as usual. It had been 
hard to find a place that would accept pets, especially a giant panda; but the 
Manager of the apartment had been so impressed with the human like manners of 
the panda that she had allowed them to remain. 
She only did two things now, train and work. She had managed to get a job in a 
local diner; it was barely kept open by its clientele of old men and women. She 
worked as a waitress; and had thus far been able to pay the bills and keep her 
and the old man fed. The place was going under and she didn't think it would 
last. 
She watched the rain hit the glass on the window as a small shower began, it was 
the beginnings of a much larger storm as thunder rumbled softly in the distance. 
Mr. P jumped up beside her and watched the shower quietly from her lap; almost 
out of habit she reached down and tightened the bandana around his neck. Outside 
people scurried away into the cover of buildings; She watched couples dive into 
secluded corners together, laughing or huddling close in each other's arms; a 
deep sorrow filled her heart as the images taunted her; it was something she 
would now never know. Finally tiring of brooding alone she stood, dropping the 
pig to the ground gently, and walked into the center of the room and began her 
Kata.
The panda rolled over to watch her. "Again?" said its sign. She intensified her 
movements growing faster and stronger with each blow. "Your obsessing boy," said 
the other side of the sign.
Ranma knew it must be bad if her father thought she was obsessing over martial 
arts. "What else have I got left?" she asked herself in her mind. No answer 
came. 
Ranma weaved through tables with a grace that other women only wished they could 
attain; her movements where quick and sharp as she flawlessly tended to her 
duties as if they where nothing more than an afterthought. Tomorrow she would 
begin school; She did not like her father's decision but she did not want to 
argue with him; it seemed to be a waste of her breath, lately every conversation 
seemed to be a waste of her breath. She passed a table with one of her regular 
customers and smiled; She didn't really feel like smiling but it was part of her 
job.
Mr. Daimoko watched Ranma flow around the tables with her usual zeal and 
unnatural dexterity; but something was not right, she was depressed from the 
moment he saw her. The sad girl did what she had to and more in her work, often 
seeming to take to a task as if it were a challenge. She was quiet and never 
rude to the customers, a model employee; but the air of depression was still 
there. "I hope she pulls through a young girl like that should enjoy her life," 
said a customer to him. 
"Yup, she is an excellent employee," replied Daimoko turning his gaze back to 
her again. "Easy on the eyes too, I only wish I was as young again," He could 
have sworn she spared him a spiteful stare for a split second.
Ranma walked home and sat at the table with her father and Mr.P as they ate 
dinner in the usual way, a free for all battle, although Ranma occasionally 
sided with Mr. P to be fair. She had picked up the pig from Jusenkyo after she 
and her father were cursed. The guide and her father had dropped into a pot of 
boiling water alive to cook it for supper. Ranma had walked in and saved it 
after it refused to die after several minutes. She had beat her father for 
trying to eat anything he had caught near the springs even after knowing about 
the curses and nursed the pig back to health; Only to find her suspicions true, 
it had been a man once. The two had a sort of bond between them, almost like a 
rivalry each understanding and sympathizing with the other's situation. Mr. P 
was a name they both just sort of adopted over time, as opposed to "pig" and the 
like.
Early the next morning, Ranma changed into her uniform, the skirt was longer 
than it needed to be and the blouse loose. Then she put on a thick pair of 
glasses and tightened the bindings around her chest her long red hair was in a 
loose ponytail with bangs that covered most of her face. She walked towards the 
door only to find Mr. P waiting for him. "I suppose you want to come?"
The pig nodded with a look that said, "You are not leaving me here all day with 
-him-." 
Ranma offered a rare smile and scooped him into the bag with a warning glare; 
Mr. P knew what it meant. "Don't wander off." Ranma walked out the door and onto 
the street; she immediately jumped onto a fence and walked purposefully towards 
the school. "I suppose he's trying to cling to some sort of humanity," she 
thought as she felt the pig move around in her bag.
At the school a large group of boys had gathered and was attacking a lone girl 
who was wiping the floor with them. Ranma watched for a moment before she felt 
someone's eyes on her; She grew uncomfortable and moved through the crowd, 
silently weaving her way between the boys looking at the ground as she quickly 
navigated the crowd without coming into contact with a single student. Once 
inside the building she let out a deep breath that she had not realized she was 
holding. Students who had long since grown used to the battle passed her and 
moved to their own lockers and classes without giving her a second glance. Ranma 
brushed her bangs back for a second and let them fall back into her face before 
moving out of the gaze of a particular group of girls to find her own way around 
the halls.
Nabiki Tendo watched the new arrival walk silently through the crowd unnoticed. 
"Who is that?" she wondered aloud. She looked at the girl through a pair of 
binoculars intently and smiled. She was a pretty girl and well trained in some 
form of martial arts judging from the way she moved through the crowd with ease, 
often ducking into shadows unnoticed. "That's not something you learn in a 
Dojo." Nabiki frowned a little as she followed her movements. 
"What?" gasped one of the girls next to her. 
"Find out who the new girl is," ordered Nabiki just before the girl disappeared 
into the building; Her target turned and looked straight at her right before she 
went in. "She's known I was watching her the whole time," thought Nabiki coolly. 

"New girl? Sure thing boss." replied the girl as she scurried away.
"Class this is Miss Saotome, a new transfer student who has just returned from a 
trip to China," Ranma bowed as the Teacher introduced her to the class. "So Miss 
Saotome tell us about yourself."
"No." Ranma walked to her seat in the back of the class ignoring the old man's 
confused look as he struggled to recover. She surveyed the room around her and 
noticed that the girl who had been fighting the boys in the courtyard was in the 
front row. The teacher began class again after recovering his wits; Ranma sat 
silently as the students watched her for a while and then forgot about her.
Three weeks pass...
Ranma and the pig sat at the small wooden table that sat in the center of the 
apartment with pages of work sitting in front of them; Mr. P had taken to doing 
the assignments the teacher had given the class. She stopped long enough to 
watch for a moment as he wrote with a small inkbottle and the tip of one of his 
hooves. The girl had long ago learned his real name, but Mr. P had stuck even 
then. Ranma frowned as he signed his paper "Ryoga Hibiki" and looked at her; she 
had been beaten again by the pig. She supposed School work made him feel a 
little human again; "Keep it up pig." She flicked him in the head with her index 
finger and smiled for a second before she got up and walked towards the door 
again; "Off to work," she thought a little sourly.
The next day a group of girls approached Ranma as she sat in her corner of the 
courtyard during lunch. "Hello," said the one in front that she recognized as 
the 'fight girl' Akane Tendo. "I'm Akane, I've seen you around but never really 
gotten to talk to you." The red head looked at her evenly and said nothing. 
"Ranma is it? I was wondering would like to go with us for ice cream after 
school or something?" the girl pushed back her long black locks of hair looking 
amazingly cute in the process. Ranma felt herself blushing and tried to stop it 
only making it worse. Akane's smile broadened; "You don't have to be shy." 
"No thanks, I have to work." Ranma stood and walked away after smiling politely 
for a moment.
Later after gym class she stood in the shower staring at the wall. As always she 
waited for most of the girls to leave before entering everyone had just assumed 
she was just shy. She watched the water drain into the hole in the floor through 
the steam; for the first time in a long while she did not thing how much she 
hated the water as she bathed. She could not get that girl out of her mind. 
"Perhaps its because she was the first to speak to you for a long time," her 
mind reasoned; She turned off the water and leaned on the wall as she tried to 
make some sense of her world again. "Maybe its time you got over this," said a 
voice in her head, a voice that was no longer hers, the voice of a man. 
She put a fist through the wall and growled. "Never," bitterness seemed to 
punctuate every word she spoke as of late. The few remaining girls in the shower 
shrieked and walked out quickly. She pulled her hand from the hole to see a 
frightened looking boy on the other side staring at her face through the hole, 
she grinned at him with a dark look in her eyes, after a second the boy's eyes 
started to wander downward. Ranma wrapped her towel around herself and walked 
out of the shower leaving him staring at the falling water and steam.
Daisuke could not believe his eyes; the most beautiful girl he had ever seen had 
almost punched him in the face...by putting her fist through the wall. "Who Was 
that?" he wondered. He knew he would have noticed a girl like that walking 
around, there was just no way he could miss it.
It would be almost three days before Daisuke was proven not to be insane. He 
wandered around asking about the beautiful red haired girl who had put her hand 
through the wall for the rest of the week.
"Jeez Daisuke, the only girl around here with red hair is that creepy Saotome 
kid; maybe she should go out with Gosunkugi," Hiroshi snorted crudely at his 
joke during lunch the day after the incident. 
"Don't be gross, she was a goddess," Daisuke's eyes glazed over as he 
desperately tried to picture the event in his mind again.
Then on Friday...
Tatewaki Kuno stepped out from behind a tree in front of Akane Tendo with his 
bukoten held ready. Ranma was less than three feet behind the girl hoping to get 
by before the carnage started again. "Shit," muttered the girl as she tried to 
pick up her pace to avoid the fight before it started; As she had planed Kuno 
did not notice her, unfortunately he also did not notice slicing her bag in half 
as he swung at Akane. Ranma stopped wide-eyed staring at the bag half in her 
arms; the pig was gone.
"Ryoga!" cried Ranma softly as Kuno's foot came down on the other half of her 
bag without thinking She threw herself into the boy and knocked him away from 
the bag. 
"Who would Dare?!" roared Kuno as he turned to see a small average looking girl 
bent over half a bag holding a small pig. "How dare you interfere-" he spoke 
until she looked up at him.
"He's cut." She gave him an angry stare that bored deep into his own eyes; the 
pig in her arms had a shallow gash along its side. 
"What?" said Kuno not quite comprehending the situation yet. 
"You hurt my friend." said the girl she did not say it with emotion, she had 
spoken evenly and coolly as if she was giving the time. She stood up and removed 
her glasses before flexing every muscle in her chest; tearing the tight and 
restrictive binding on her breast, finally she reached up and tied a ribbon from 
her bag onto her hair creating a more manageable ponytail and clenched her fist 
at her sides after laying the animal on the ground gently.
Kuno and the rest of the student body gasped as the normally quiet girl went 
from an average, cute looking, but quiet and odd girl; to a stunning and fierce 
looking pissed off babe, in a matter of seconds. The girl looked at the pig as 
the animal glared at Kuno angrily nursing its side. 
"I challenge you," said Ranma calmly. 
Kuno laughed and smiled his best smile at her. "Very well if you win I shall 
allow you to date with me." 
"If I win there won't be any of you left to date," growled the girl as she 
stepped back and remained relaxed. 
Kuno swung once, that was all; Ranma was on him immediately, she crushed him 
easily, pounding on him for almost a full minute; strategically placing blows to 
keep him standing although he wanted to fall after the first; Kuno collapsed in 
a heap when it was all over. 
"Wow," said Akane as she looked over Kuno and noted he had a long red mark in 
the same manner as the pig did along his side, his Kendo uniform was torn to 
shreds along the area she had concentrated most of her blows. It would make a 
rather nasty bruise for some time. Ranma walked towards the school with the pig 
cradled in her arms. She held it in a respectful manner, not that of a young 
girl comforting a pet. Akane watched as the girl disappeared towards the nurse's 
office.
Nabiki ran up to Akane and frowned as she desperately tried to catch her breath 
and speak at the same time. "We have to find out where she lives." 
"Why?" asked Akane after clearing the daze from what she had just seen. 
"Akane are you blind?" asked Nabiki with a surprised look crossing her features 
for a moment. 
"What do you mean?" asked the younger girl as she tried to turn her attentions 
from the girl's diminishing figure.
"She was using the Anything Goes style, you of all people should know that," 
said Nabiki coolly with a smug smile.
"Only two families practice that style that is rediculo-" Akane stopped; Nabiki 
was right. 
Ranma walked towards her home and watched the two girls follow her silently as 
they could. "Come on out, you aren't hiding from anyone Tendo," she said after a 
few bocks. Akane stepped out of hiding and blushed at being caught. "And the 
other girl." Nabiki grumbled and stepped from her own spot. "What do you want?" 
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" asked Akane. 
"My father taught me," said Ranma turning away. 
"Wait!" called Akane after her. 
"What is it?" sighed Ranma. 
"Why do you act like that? Would it hurt you to smile?" She looked at Ranma with 
a sad expression almost pitying. 
"You wouldn't understand," Ranma turned away in disgust, she didn't need pity. 
"How do you know?" asked Nabiki.
Ranma sighed again and turned to face the girls again; She had not spoken this 
much in a long time. "Well, what do you want to know?" 
"Where did you learn the any thing goes style?" asked the older girl. 
Ranma gasped. "How do you know what it's called?" 
Akane smiled as Ranma gaped at the sign on the gate to her home. "Weird, eh 
Mr.P?" she asked the pig. Akane was a little surprised when the pig nodded in 
reply. 
"Your pig is so cute! Can I hold him?" asked Akane smiling at the pig. 
"If he wants to let you, he isn't really a pet. Just don't put him down or he'll 
get lost," answered Ranma not really paying attention. 
"Hello young lady are you interested in taking a class with us?" Soun Tendo 
appeared next to the three girls from the gate; he had walked out after seeing 
Ranma staring at the sign. 
"No thanks, I already know the style; although I am a bit surprised to see some 
one else teaches it." 
Soun looked at her oddly. "Well now, I doubt that miss...?" said Soun warily to 
the girl. 
"Saotome, Ranma Saotome," replied girl; Soun gasped and staggered back as he 
attempted to stay conscious. 
Soun sat across from the girl looking cheerful as she nervously looked around. 
"So how is old Genma?" 
"Gone," replied Ranma casually.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Soun looked a little pale suddenly. "You have a 
brother I understand?" the man tried his best to sound cheerful. 
"I am an only child," answered Ranma. 
"And your Mother?" asked Soun desperately attempting to control his emotions.
"Haven't seen her in ten years," said the girl, she was looking less and less 
interested in the conversation, but she was at least trying to be polite. 
Soun looked at the girl in shock. "That is truly sad," he tried his best to look 
dignified. 
"How did you know my father?" asked Ranma suddenly in a suspicious tone.
"We were best friends for many years training under the same master," replied 
Soun barely holding back tears. 
"I see." Ranma frowned and turned away from him absently. 
Akane looked at her softly from her place at the table; it explained allot about 
her; the girls family was gone and she had to work to support herself and who 
ever she was living with; Desperate to end the tension Akane piped up. "Ranma, 
you want to go spar in the Dojo?" 
Ranma turned to face her and a small smile formed on her lips, "sure." 
Ranma recognized Akane's style from earlier fights and never gave it a second 
thought; but now up close and personal she saw that it was indeed Anything Goes 
style. Even though it was a little rough and inexperienced. Ranma flipped over 
Akane as she Charged at her screaming "This time for real!" She landed behind 
her and tapped her on the back of the head. 
"Wow, your pretty good." said Akane laughing. Ranma soon joined in; it was the 
first time she had laughed in a very long time. "It's getting late, won't 
somebody get worried about you?" 
"I live alone," said Ranma. "Well, just me and the animals." she corrected. 
"Oh," Akane looked surprised for a moment. 
Soun walked up to the pair. He had been watching for some time now and spoke up. 
"Someone as young as you living alone?" 
Ranma turned pale, if she was turned over to the government now who knows what 
would happen to her father and Ryoga. "I-I uhhh..." 
"I feel responsible for you young lady. Your father was a good friend who helped 
me keep my sanity over those terrible years of training with the master. If 
Genma had a son then our two families would have been joined through Marriage. 
Therefore, I would like to think of you as family, I would be honored if you 
would stay with us." Soun started crying a river of tears.
"B-but, you just met me, and I uh..." stammered Ranma
Ranma did not know what to say to the man; they had returned to the living room 
and sat around the table again as Soun made his proposition. It would help her 
considerably to have a stable home and not have to worry about scratching 
together enough to pay the rent and feed her and her 'family'; she frowned and 
thought for a moment. "I accept...on two conditions, One is that you allow me to 
keep my animals, and the second is that you allow me to pay rent."
"Very well. I hope they are well trained," replied Soun as he seemed to beam 
happiness.
"You could say that," was all Ranma could think to say.
Nabiki was sitting with the pig in front of the television going over some 
problems in her notebook and doing the budget. "You're right that is wrong," she 
corrected and looked to the pig it nodded and pressed some numbers on her 
calculator. "Right that should do it," she said to it and it squealed happily. 
Soun saw this and sweat. "Lets go Mr. P, we have some stuff to talk about at 
home." The pig jumped into her arms as she passed and the two walked out into 
the night.
 
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