Ranma 1/2: Siblings
Episode 1

All Ranma 1/2 characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi.  Viz owns the US
rights, and I'm using them without permission.  Don't sue me, I have no
money.

***

Ranma stared at the piece of paper in his hand in dismay.  "Aww, man,
ANOTHER challenge?" he groaned.  "Where do they all come from?"

Akane grabbed the paper from his hands.  "Ranma, this challenge is for one
hour from now!"  She read the paper closely "Andrew Fujihara," she mused. 
"Well, it's a guy, maybe you won't end up with another fiancee."

Ranma groaned, and Nabiki looked up from the manga she was reading.  "As if
four isn't enough."

Ranma whirled. "Kodachi is NOT my fiancee!' he roared.

"No, just Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo," she countered evenly.  "But the fact
that Kodachi is Kuno-ing you makes her close enought to count."  She smiled
in triumph as Ranma grumbled.

He stood and walked over to his father.  "Talk, old man.  This is something
you did, it always is." He whapped his father on the head.  "Who'd you
engage me to this time?"  Genma grabbed his ever-present bucket of water
and tried to splash himself, but Ranma knocked the bucket away.  "Nice try,
Pop, but this time you're not going panda on me.  TALK!"

Genma grabbed his son and tossed him into the Koi pond.  "Show your father
some respect, boy!"  He look the paper from Akane, who was looming over
him.  "Hmm...I don't remember engaging Ranma to a Fujihara," he said
reading the challenge.  "The name does sound familiar though..."  He
suddenly stood. "Ranma!  You must meet this challenger and discover why he
wants to kill you!  The honor of the Saotome name depends on it!"

Ranma crawled out of the Koi pond, muttering under her breath.   She walked
into the kitchen, and returned back to the living room after a quick
dousing with hot water.  "Fine," he sighed. "I'm going."  He trudged out of
the Tendo's.  Akane silently followed him, her face showing her worry.

They walked for a few minutes in silence.  "Uh, R-ranma," Akane stuttered. 
"Is...is something wrong?"  She had never seen Ranma this way before.  He
was so calm, so depressed.  He was almost like...Ryoga.

Ranma stiffened at her question.  "Nothin's wrong," he said defensively,
then sighed.  "No, that's not true.  There is something wrong."  He
stopped, and turned to her, and Akane could see he had let down a few of
the barriers.  "I don't WANT another person hating me, Akane.  It seems no
matter what I do I end up with either another enemy or another fiancee." 
He truned and walked on for a few steps.  "I'm so tired of all this crap."

Akane followed Ranma for a few moments, and thought about what Ranma had
said.  *He's been like this for days.  This isn't like him.  I wonder what
brought this on...oh!*  Akane thought back to the weekened, when some of
her friends showed up for a slumber-party.  *Ranma had been sitting in the
living room with us, until we started that silly oath promising to be
friends forever.*  She remembered getting a little angry at Ranma for
getting up and running out of the room.  She thought about it for a few
moments, and her eyes suddenly grew moist as the realization hit her.  

*Ranma has...no friends.*  She shook her head in negation. *Of course he
does!  What about Ryoga...he's always trying to kill Ranma.  Ok, Ukyo!  No,
she's another fiancee, that puts a damper on things.  Hiroshi and Daisuke? 
They only hang around with him at school becuase they think his 'touch'
will rub off on them.*  She ransacked her brain for a moment, and looked at
Ranma sadly.  *The closest thing Ranma has to a friend is...me.*  She
swallowed the lump in ther throat.  *And I'm always fighting with him.* 
"Oh, Ranma," she whispered.

"Hey, Akane, we're here." Ranma's voice startled her out of her reviere. 
"Pop? Mom? What are you guys doing here?"  Akane looked up and saw a rather
battered Mr. Saotome standing beside a rather angry Mrs. Saotome.

Nodoka answered him.  "That challenge letter was to Ranma Saotome, a son of
the Saotome family, not to Ranma Saotome the person."  She gave ger husband
a glare that could peel paint.  "After I got the story out of your father,
I convinced him to come."  The confusion Ranma showed prompted her to go
further.  "This is a family affair, a matter of honor.  As the heads of the
family, we should be here."

"Uh, right Mom," Ranma agreed.  "Whatever you say."  He looked around the
vacant lot he was supposed to fight in.  "Where IS this guy?" he demanded.

"Behind you," a low voice answered.

Ranma and Akane whirled.  Behind them stood a young Japanese man of roughly
Ranma's age, maybe a little older.  He stood about Ranma's height, and
seemed to be of similar build, a few pounds lighter in muscle.  He had
short silver hair, and light blue eyes.  He wore a blue long sleeved shirt
and grey pants, and carried a long object carefully wrapped in cloth.

"My, what a handsome young man," Nodoka murmered.  He turned and looked at
her, and bowed to her and Genma respectfully.

"I assume you are the heads of the Saotome family," he said.  The man
pulled two scrolls from the bundle he carried.  He handed one to Nodoka.
"This is my family's copy of the original pact."  He handed her the other
one.  "This is the certificate verifiying that I am the last living member
of my family."  He turned and walked to the center of the lot.  "I am
Andrew Fujihara.  As the last surviving member of the Fujihara family, I
challenge you, Ranma Saotome!"

Ranma sighed.  "Accepted," he replied in a resigned tone.  "Lets get it
over with."

Andrew nodded and walked into the vacant lot, placing his bundle by the
side.  He then walked to a position a little ways from the center of the
lot, facing Ranma.  "Ready?" he asked.  Ranma nodded silently, and with
that Andrew charged at Ranma, levelling a viscious kick that swung through
the air where Ranma once stood.

Ranma tried to come down on Andrew, but the other rolled away and attempted
a sweep which Ranma jumped back from.  "Hey," Ranma said, "you're not bad."
 His eyes hardened.  "But I'm not in the mood."  He lept at Andrew.  "KACHU
TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" His hands blurred out and struck Andrew a dozen times,
knocking him back several feet.

"Nice," Andrew congratulated, wiping a bit of blood from his mouth.  "But
two can play at that game."  He charged at Ranma again. "KONTON ICHIREN
SEME!"  he cried as he struck out at Ranma rapidly.

Ranma snorted, and blocked all the blows, or rather, he attempted to.  He
could see the other telegraphing his moves, but whatever Ranma tried to
block was not what he was hit with.  After a few dozen hits, Ranma rolled
away.  "I'm impressed," he said, wincing.  "Can you beat this?"  He
gathered chi in his hands.  "MOKO TAKABISHA!"  The blast flew out of his
hands and slammed into Andrew, who was pushed back a few meters, but
emerged unscathed, if rather charred.

"Oh, I can do that," Andrew replied.  Like Ranma, he gathered chi in his
hands. "OOKAMI TAKABISHA!!!!"  A blast flew from his hands and impacted
Ranma, who turned arround and blasted him again.

"What are they doing?!" Akane asked from the sidelines as she watched the
two trade blasts.  "This is insane!"

Genma shook his head in dismay.  "The boy has turned the challenge into an
endurance match," he told her.  "It has become a matter of who is
stronger."  He watched another exchange.  "Ranma may have met his match..."
he mused.

"No way!" Akane insisted.  "RANMA!" she called out.  "Hurry up and win!" 
She winced as Ranma was hit by another blast.

"You think I'm playing, you uncute tomboy?!" he called back.  He spat blood
and glared at the other.  "She's right though, it's time to end this."  He
concentrated a moment,  "HIRYU SHOTEN HA!!!!!"  He grinned as the dragon
whirlwind flew at Andrew.

"Bah," Andrew said.  "I can do that."  He concentrated, trying to ignore
the approaching threat.  "OOKAMI GUFUU!!!!!"  Chi gathered around his legs,
and he made a sudden high kick. His own whirlwind appeared and flew at the
other.  "That'll take care of..." he died off as he saw his attack get
absorbed into the other, making it stronger.  "Oh...SHIT," he cried as the
whirlwind flew into him and he was knocked into the air.  He fell back to
the ground unconscious.

Ranma looked at the other for a moment, then fell to his knees, exhausted. 
"Got ya that time."

"RANMA!" Akane yelled, and ran to his side.  "You jerk, what the hell were
you doing?  Were you TRYING to get killed?" she demanded.  

"Ah, he was nothing," Ranma retorted wearily.

Akane's retort was silenced by a groan from Andrew, who sat up.  "I lost,"
he said, and held his head for a moment.  "I lost."  He struggled to his
feet and stumbled over to the bundle he brought with him.  He unwrapped it,
and pulled out an ancient katana.  He held it in both hands and slowly
walked over to Ranma.  He kneeled in front of Ranma, and offered up the
sword.  "I, the last son of Fujihara, have been defeated by a son of
Saotome.  My name dies here.  Do your duty.  Slay me with my family's
blade, and destroy it."

Ranma looked in horror at the blade.  "Kill you?" he whispered, and turned
to his mother, who had picked up the pact and was reading it franticly. 
"Mom, what do I do?" he asked, stricken.  "I can't just kill him!  I
just...CAN'T!"

"You must," Andrew said softly.  "It is a matter of honor."

"Ranma," Nodoka called, and walked over to his side.  "There is no way
out," she told him.  "According to the pact, the Fujihara name must die
here."  She then bent and whispered into his ear.  Ranma's eyes widened and
he looked at his mother in shock.

"Are...you sure, Mom?" he asked her.

"It's the only way, son." Genma said, coming up to stand beside his wife.

Ranma nodded and took the blade.  He unsheathed it, and raised it up to
strike.  Andrew closed his eyes and waited for the bite of the sword.  *I
hope it's quick.*   He heard the whistle of the blade, and then a
discordant metalic ring.  He looked up and saw Ranma with the hilt of the
blade in one hand, and the rest of the blade in another.

"The Fujihara clan ends here."  He told the other, sounding very formal. 
"You are no longer Andrew Fujihara, you are now..." he risked a look at his
mother, who nodded, and he dropped the pieces of the katana to the ground. 
"Andrew Saotome." He placed his hands on Andrew's shoulders.  "My brother."

Andrew looked at the pieces of his family blade silently.  "But..."  he
felt another hand on his shoulder. Nodoka's.

"Come, son.  Let us go home.  You should meet your new family."  He looked
up at her, and saw only kindness in her face.  

Andrew looked at Genma, who was smiling broadly.  "Two sons," he told him. 
"How could a man be happier?"

*Well, they seem happy,* he thought.  *But but how do I feel?*  He shook
his head as he gathered up the pieces of the Fujihara blade.  *I'll have to
bury this.*  He stood and walked over to the others who were waiting.  He
looked at the cute dark-haired girl who had come with Ranma.  "Are...you my
new sister?"  he asked her tentatively.  He looked confused when Ranma and
Genma laughed.

"No, Andrew," Nodoka told him.  "That is Akane Tendo, Ranma's fiancee." 
Akane grimaced.  Andrew looked at her for a moment.  "Pleased to meet you,"
he said politely.

*She's cute.  Ranma...my brother's a lucky guy I guess.*  He looked up as
Genma turned and entered a home.  *Tendo Dojo,* he read.  *I guess we live
with Akane's family.*  He looked around.  *Nice place.*

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone," Ranma said as he led him inside.

"Welcome home," a soft voice said.  Andrew focussed on the speaker, a tall
young woman with long brown hair tied into with a ribbon.  She was very
attractive, and wore a long dress and an apron.  "Who's your friend?"

"Hey, Kasumi," Ranma replied.  "This is Andrew...my brother."  

"Oh my," she said.  "I didn't know you had a brother!"  She looked Andrew
up and down. "He doesn't look like you."

"Long story, Kasumi," Ranma said.  "Is Nabs and your father around?"

"Nabiki's in her room, and father's in the garden," she replied.  "I'll
call them and make some tea."

"Please save some of the hot water, Kasumi," Nodoka said, walking in with
Genma.  "Andrew should know about my husband and son's little problem too."
 Andrew gave her a suspicous look, but kept his silence.

After a few minutes, they were all gathered together at the table.  
"Everyone," Nodoka said, "I would like you to meet my son, Andrew."

"Great, another freeloader," Nabiki muttered.  She looked Andrew over, and
her eyes narrowed.  "Weren't you the guy who challenged Ranma just now?"

Andrew nodded and took one of the scrolls from Nodoka.  He unrolled it. 
"This is a copy of a pact between the Fujihara family and the Saotome
family.  400 years ago, the two families agreed that when only one male
member of either family remains, he must challenge a member of the other. 
Should he be victorious, he is allowed to continue his family.  If he
loses, his life is forfeit, ending the line there."  He looked at Ranma,
his face blank.  "I lost."

Soun looked at Genma with more than a little suprise.  "And rather than
kill the boy, you decided to adopt him."  He nodded solemly.  "Well played,
Saotome."  He smiled at his eldest daughters, who looked rather confused. 
"By adopting him, they have ended his family's line without a needless
death.  It was an honorable solution to an amoral act."  Tears began to
fall from his face. "It's so BEAUTIFUL."  

Andrew looked at Soun in amazement as the man wailed.  He leaned over to
Ranma.  "Is he always this emotional?" he whispered.

Ranma chuckled softly and nodded.  "You get used to it."

Nodoka cleared her throat.  "And now there is something you should know,
Andrew.  Your new father and brother have a little problem.  She took two
glasses of water and poured them on her husband's and Ranma's heads. 
Andrew's eyes widened as Ranma morphed into a red-haired girl and Genma
became a panda."

"Jusenkyo," he breathed.

"You know about it?" Ranma-chan asked, suprised. Andrew noticed her voice
was soprano. "Why?"

Andrew took off his shirt, picked up another glass of water, and poured it
on his head. The others looked in shock at the canine who replaced Andrew. 
He had a long face, and tail, intelligent eyes, and soft grey fur.

Nabiki laughed.  "Neat, I always wanted a dog."  Andrew-wolf's nostrils
flared and a little bark escaped his throat, followed by a yelp as Kasumi
poured hot water on him. As he morphed back into a human, he grabbed his
clothes and rolled out of view, hurriedly putting his clothes back on.

"I'm not a dog," he growled as he sat back at the table, "I'm a WOLF."

"Dog, wolf, what's the diff?" Ranma asked, her voice dropping several
pitches as she reversed the curse.

Andrew gave him a disgusted look.  "To a wolf, it makes all the difference
in the world."  He sniffed.  "We have more class."  Ranma looked at him in
disbelief, and then they both snickered.

"Ha. Ha," Akane said dryly.  "How did you get cursed?" she asked.

"A while ago, I went to China for training.  While I was there, I fell in
with a village of martial artists.  They offered to train me if I aided
them in fighting off another village.  They would only train me in the
advanced techniques if I went through their rite of passage, which involved
going to Jusenkyo and running around on the poles until you slipped and
fell in.  They thought it would connect you with your spirit animal.  Each
hour you last means one technique you may learn.  I lasted three hours, so
they trained me in three techniques."  He grimaced.  "That was before I
discovered the village they were fighting with was an Amazon village.  I
found out about their way of deciding who marries who, and refused the
challenge."

Genma looked at him disapprovingly.  "After they trained you, boy?  That's
dishonorable."

Andrew shrugged.  "So was not telling me that if I won I'd end up with a
bride.  They promised that there were no strings attached to the challenge.
 They lied, so the agreement was void."

"Can't find a fault with that," Nabiki judged.  "Sounds perfectly fair." 
Genma looked displeased, but a glare from Nodoka silenced him.

Ranma stood up.  "Come on, you can stay with me.  We'll grab a spare
futon."  He started to lead Andrew upstairs, but stopped.  "Don't ya got
any stuff?"  Andrew shook his head.  "Nothing?"

"I sold the last of my things to get a ticket to Nerima," he said.  "All I
have is the clothes on my back."

"Been there," Ranma said sympathetically.  "Come on, we've got school
tommorow."

"School?"  Andrew asked as they entered the room.

"Yeah, you'll love it.  How old are you?"  Ranma slipped out of the room
and came back in with a futon, which he laid on the floor.

"Eighteen," Andrew said apprehensively as he began to dress the mattress
with the sheets Ranma gave him.  "Why?"

"Neat.  Well, big bro, you'll be in Nabiki's class."  He suddenly laughed. 
"You'll LOVE your classmates."

Andrew couldn't help the faint feeling of dread he had as he followed his
new brother.  "Hey, LITTLE brother, how old are you?"

"Seventeen," Ranma told him.

"And you're engaged?"  Ranma grimaced much like Akane had.  "Oh, arranged?"
 Ranma sighed and nodded.  "Oh well, she seems like a nice girl, could be
worse."

"That uncute violent tomboy?" Ranma protested.  "Are you kidding me?" 

"You don't like her?" Andrew asked, suprised.

"No way!"  Ranma insisted.  "She's bad tempered, she never listens to my
side, she can't cook, and she's clumsy!"

Andrew looked silently at his sibling while he ranted on.  "Right.  You
don't like her at all."  He smiled wryly to himself, and laid out on the
futon.  "'Night, Ranma."

Ranma turned out the light and laid out on his.  "'Night, 'Drew."

They both laid in the darkness for a while, pondering the days events. 
Sleep was very long in coming.

Notes:

Andrew's Attacks: Yes, they're alot like Ranma's, they're supposed to be.

Konton Ichiren Seme = chaos series attack
-it's a bunch of very fast attacks where the attacker telegraphs one move
but strikes with another

Ookami Takabisha = Wolf Domineering
-Moko Takabisha with a wolf motif

Ookami Gufuu = Wolf Tornado
-Hiryu Shoten Ha-like.  Andrew lifts up his loot, chi gathers around it,
and he makes a sideways high kick.  (Kinda like doing the splits standing
up.) Result is the same, but there's a pack of wolves, not a dragon.