Ray Chu stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror.
Young, handsome—the kind of face that made girls scream.
That's right! This was exactly how he'd looked before traveling across worlds, only younger, about fifteen or sixteen.
But… Ray Chu examined his pale palms carefully. Compared to his Pikachu form, he was noticeably weaker now. Aside from a faint trace of ki lingering in him, both his physical abilities and his energy control were far inferior.
So Pikachu is my true form after all…?
"Hey… what should we do with this guy?" Ranma and Genma whispered nearby, having accepted their own transformations with surprising speed.
Genma suggested softly, "Should we just leave him?"
"No way! We have to figure out the secret behind his transformation. It might be our chance to change back!" Ranma shot back.
Seeing the father and son conspiring, Ray Chu walked over and tapped Ranma's shoulder. "You're Saotome Ranma, right?"
Ranma turned to Genma, puzzled. "Am I that famous?"
Just as I thought!
Ray Chu clapped his hands once. After thinking for a moment, he said seriously, "I'd like to learn the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts."
"Learn Anything-Goes Martial Arts…?" Father and son exchanged stunned looks. No one had ever asked for something so odd.
In martial arts circles, the Saotome School was virtually unknown. Besides themselves, no one had even heard of it. There were countless more renowned—and far stronger—schools out there.
"I can pay tuition," Ray Chu added.
"Deal!" father and son answered in unison.
...
And so, Ray Chu joined the Saotome family's training journey, becoming another disciple under Saotome Genma.
"The essence of the Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts," the current master declared proudly, "is to train in the harshest, most dangerous places on Earth."
Thus began Ray Chu's training—mountains, lakes, forests, swamps, deserts, seas… Over the next half year, Ray Chu traveled across China with the father-and-son duo, leaving footprints wherever they trained.
They endured countless brutal training sessions, challenged legendary martial grounds, and kept searching for a cure for their cursed transformations—but found nothing.
Until…
"It's decided! Our next stop is here…" On a transoceanic ship, Genma stabbed his finger onto a map.
Ranma glanced at it, confused. "Isn't this Japan?"
"Actually… it's for your engagement." Genma nodded solemnly. "Your fiancée is the daughter of my old friend, Tendo Soun. It's time to fulfill our promise."
"Engagement?! How come I never heard of this!" Ranma's face darkened as he grabbed the map.
Splash!
Genma suddenly poured cold water over Ranma, turning him into a girl. "Oh dear, I wonder if my old friend will still honor our arrangement, considering my son's turned into such a pervert."
"Who are you calling a pervert?!" Ranma retaliated immediately, splashing Genma and turning him into a giant panda. The two erupted into a chaotic brawl, rolling across the cabin.
Ray Chu leisurely sipped his water, ignoring the combatants bouncing around the room. He was thoroughly used to their antics by now.
When a stray bucket of hot water splashed onto him and turned him back into Pikachu, he finally let out an annoyed "Pika!" and zapped them both out of the room with a Thunder Shock.
Because of that, Ranma and Genma ended up performing in the ship's circus troupe to pay off the damages, only clearing their debts when they reached port.
Genma stepped onto land with teary eyes, vividly recalling how terrifying hyperactive kids were while he'd been posing as a circus panda.
"I won't accept this engagement—I'm going back to China!" Ranma huffed and turned around.
Ray Chu, human again, pointed toward the departing ship. "But the ship's already gone."
"Dammit! I'll swim back then!"
Ranma snatched up his bag—only for Genma to sprint off with it, sending Ranma charging after him.
"Get back here, you bastard!"
"Of course it'd end like this," Ray Chu muttered, strolling after them and ignoring the countless gazes—mostly from pretty girls—along the street.
"He's so handsome!"
"I want to talk to him!"
"He looks like a high schooler…"
Hmm… these girls sure are enthusiastic, Ray Chu thought, amused. Too bad! I'm not interested.
After surviving a childhood full of attention from overly eager women, Ray Chu had long since decided romance was a waste of time. All he needed was martial arts.
After enough noise and chaos, Genma (in panda form) finally subdued Ranma, slung the girl-form Ranma over his shoulder, and burst into a dojo.
"It must be Ranma!"
"Saotome-kun! We've been waiting!"
A group rushed out of the dojo. A middle-aged man eagerly hugged Ray Chu, who'd walked in behind them. "Ranma! You've finally arrived!"
"So handsome~! Daddy, I can marry him!" The second daughter, Nabiki, said at once.
"He looks younger than me, though…" The eldest daughter, Kasumi, remarked gently.
"..." The youngest daughter, Akane, stayed silent.
"Ahem! I believe you've got the wrong person," Ray Chu said, calm and serious.
A furry paw tapped Tendo Soun's shoulder. The panda pointed at himself, then at the girl he'd been carrying, before finally setting her down.
"A—a girl…?"
...
A short while later, everyone sat together in the living room: the Tendo family, the Saotomes from China, and Ray Chu.
"So you're saying… this girl is Ranma, but because of Jusenkyo's curse, she turned out like this," Tendo Soun concluded, clapping once.
The panda nodded and raised a wooden sign. "I can prove it." He produced a kettle of hot water and poured it over himself and Ranma.
"Ouch! That's hot!" Ranma yelled, immediately punching Genma down.
"This is my son, Saotome Ranma, and this young man is my disciple from China, Ray Chu. Thank you for having us."
"How fascinating! Cold water turns you into a girl, hot water turns you back. I've never heard of such a curse." The three daughters whispered among themselves, sneaking glances at Ranma and Ray Chu, then sighed in unison.
Tendo Soun seemed greatly relieved, patting Ranma's shoulder warmly. "It's not a serious problem after all!"
"My eldest daughter, Kasumi, age nineteen. Middle daughter, Nabiki, seventeen. Youngest, Akane, sixteen. Choose one to be your fiancée."
"It's decided! Akane!"
"Yep, perfect match!" Kasumi and Nabiki declared, pushing their youngest sister forward.
"Why me?!"
"Akane, you hate boys, right? Ranma-kun is half girl—perfect fit!"
"But—"
"No buts! It's settled!"
"As for Ray Chu-kun…" Soun's eyes softened kindly as he looked at Ray Chu, Nabiki's hopeful gaze following. "You're from China, correct? Is there a daughter you prefer?"
"No, thank you. If possible, I'd just like to stay here for a while. I'll pay rent."
"Hahaha! Young people's relationships take time. You can get to know each other first," Soun and Genma agreed, while Ranma shouted angrily in the background.
"As for rent, don't worry about it! You're a disciple of the Saotome School. Stay as long as you like!"
And so began Ray Chu's days at the Tendo household…
---
T/N: HUHEUEHUEHUEHUE hmmmm lets get a placehold for how he looks rn one sec
FREAK YOU BTW THIS IS SOOOO CUTEEEEEEE this is defff how he looks yep!!! and yes thats the clothes he gets muahuhauhauhauha
anyway heres the tendo family
Kasumi (oldest sister)
Nibika (middle)
Akame! (youngest)
lmao there was pics on patreon, honestly i usually give pics on patreon but they dont transfer over so i just remove me mentioning it
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl