Title: Care to Dance?
Author: Bill the Radish
Part: 1/?
Warnings: Un-betad
Disclaimer: Ginger is the only thing in here that's mine. Everything else belongs to someone else and I make no money off of any of this.
Summery: An old friend returns to repay a debt.
Pairing: not yet
Archive: Yes please.
C&C: Craved.
Notes: :P Thanks to everyone who commented on this it's first time out, hope the revision sucks slightly less...

"..." = dialogue
'...' = thought
/.../ = non-Japanese (should be obvious which language whenever used)
*...* = italics

***

Care to Dance? - 1

***

Things were once again returning to normal...

"Ranma no baka!"

Well...As normal as things got around the Tendo Dojo and Ranma Saotome in particular.

Anyway, the normal abnormality of Ranma's life should probably have tipped him off that something new was going to happen but, as normal, it didn't...

A few blocks from the dojo, a young man started to pull himself out of the sidewalk when...

"You like some help?"

Ranma looked up to see two girls...no, wait, just one girl. Standing with her hand out and an expression of concern on her face. Short tawny hair and light blue eyes, cute enough but she just radiated little sister for some reason. A small half-smile worked it's way to his face as he reached up to take the offered hand. "Thanks."

She helped pull him up and... rattled with the movement. Ranma glanced down at the girl's wrist, then to her bare ankles and other wrist; small strings of acorn-like beads hung around each joint. Simultaneously, the girl gasped in recognition and Ranma looked up at her in disbelief. It couldn't be...

"Ranma?"

"Ginger?!?"

Laughing, Ginger threw herself into Ranma's surprised embrace. "I can't believe it! Ranma! I've been looking for you for, like, MONTHS! How long have you been in Nerima?"

"We got here a few months after leaving your tribe. Why were you looking for me Ginger?" A large smile spread over Ranma's face as he finally started to return the gypsy's hug.

"Well, you remember those..."

"Ranma!"

Ranma flinched as Ginger looked over his left shoulder to see a young girl with short blue hair glaring at the reunited friends. Her face was alive with anger but pain and worry were the predominant feelings in expressive eyes.

"I guess I shouldn't have bothered coming to check on you."

"Akane... Ginger's a friend of mine from..."

"A 'friend'? I'll bet. Well fine! See if I care!"

Ranma pulled a hand down over his face as Akane turned to stalk away. Turning a sheepish and slightly sad smile on his friend, Ranma shrugged. "You were saying?"

"Well, the bandits that..."

The warning of a bicycle bell came just a little too late as Shampooo's delivery bike came bursting into the scene. "Nihao Airen. You take Shampoo on date now, yes?"

Ranma twitched.

"/Maybe if you removed the bike..?/"

Shampoo looked up, surprised at hearing her native tongue, and immediately forgot all about her husband under the bike. "/Gypsy sister! What are you doing here?/"

Wordlessly (as she'd been caught up in a hug somewhat fiercer than Ranma's), Ginger pointed at Ranma's still twitching form. Almost immediately she found herself sprawled out on the ground with a nervous Shampoo standing over her.

"/What does Ranma have to do with you being here?/"

"/We're old friends and I owe a debt. Why?/"

A bright and obviously forced smile appeared on Shampoo's face as she waved her hands about uselessly. "/No reason. I have a delivery to make right now but I'll see you later. Maybe we can spar?/"

"/Sounds great! I'd love to see some of what you've learned in the past year. See ya Shamps!/"

The smiling amazon disappeared as quickly as she'd come and Ginger turned back to Ranma, offering him her hand once again. "This happen often Ranma?"

"Pretty much daily." Ranma cracked his back and threw a smile in Ginger's direction when he saw her worried look. "Don't worry about it, nothing I can't handle."

"Physically, emotionally or mentally?"

"Aw, Ginger..."

"Ranma-sama!"

Startled, Ginger looked up to glimpse a leotard wearing silhouette racing over the rooftops before being pulled down a side street, into an alley and under a covered alcove. Ranma leaned out of the small shelter with a nervous look on his face and scanned the surrounding roofs. Apparently appeased, he leaned back and heaved a sigh.

Ginger wasn't too happy being stationed next to a dumpster however and showed it with a sharp pinch and a glare. "Okay, I'll bite. Who was that and how is all of this connected?"

"That, was Kodachi Kuno. She's crazy and thinks she's my 'one true love'." Ranma sighed and rubbed his arm where Ginger had pinched him and waited a few moments for Ginger's laughter to die down before finally glaring at her. "You want to know what's going on or not?"

Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, Ginger brought her laughs down to a snicker and nodded for him to continue.

"Shampoo chased me here from China. I, uh, beat her in a competition and... Aw wouldya cut it out Ginger?"

Ginger was, by this time, doubled over in laughter. "I'... I'm sor...sorry! It's just...SO FUNNY!"

Ranma rolled his eyes and stalked back toward the street they'd originally been on. Ginger followed a few feet behind, still giggling quietly.

"ANYWAY. By Amazon law, we're engaged and she won't leave me alone either. Akane..."

"The girl with the blue hair."

"Yeah, her." The slight twinge of bitterness that entered Ranma's voice caused Ginger to glance up with interest. "She's *also* my fiancee. Our Dad's arranged it a long time ago and never told us. Neither of us are too happy with it."

"I can tell." A slightly mischievous smile spread over Ginger's face. "So... Got any other fiancees I should know about?"

"Uh, yeah actually. Ukyou."

Ginger sweatdropped. That had *not* been the answer she'd expected.

"Dad arranged that marriage too. Traded my marrying Ucchan for Kuonji-san's okonomiaki cart. Took me and the cart and didn't look back."

"Ranma..."

The same confident and care-free smile he'd sent her after the run in with Shampoo was flashed. "It's *okay* Ginger. Nothing I can't handle. Hey, you have anywhere to stay while you're here? I'll bet you could stay at the Tendo's. You'll get along great with Kasumi! Probably Akane too once she figures out that you're really not trying to marry me. Come on."

Ranma strode ahead but Ginger hesitated and watched Ranma's back as he strode in the direction he'd come flying from.

'Ranma... I promise...'

***

Care to Dance? - 2

***

She had them charmed.

Well, okay, maybe they were just bowled over by her overwhelming chipper-ness and refusal to stop talking, but the end result was the same. That was all that mattered. Right?

"...Ohh, and I'll have to tell you about Ranma's first meeting with Sensei Talba and her favorite mud hole... But you don't really need to hear about that right now. What I should be explaining is how Ranma protected my tribe from these bandits. Well, no, the how isn't important as long as you know he protected them while I was in charge and, stupidly, away so now I owe him, like, this HUGE debt! So you see, I'm not trying to *marry* Ranma. My life just belongs to him for the next year and..."

"WAIT A SEC!"

Ginger sighed and turned her eyes toward the ceiling at the unanimous shout. 'Knew I wouldn't be able to slip that past them quietly...'

"What're ya talking about Ginger?"

"Ranma. I was in charge of the tribe while Sensei Talba was away negotiating with one of the amazon villages. I left the tribe to help gather food and didn't notice that most of the best fighters were all with me. The tribe was attacked and I wasn't there to protect it. You protected. I owe you the debt of every single life you saved. You're stuck with me until I've paid my debt."

"She's not staying *here* is she?" Nabiki frowned and glanced back and forth between Ranma and Ginger. "We already have to deal with two freeloaders *and* the considerable damage they brought with them, we don't need to add another."

"FREELOADING?!?" Ranma winced and Genma scowled under Ginger's incredulous stare. "You've been *freeloading*?!? How rude! Disrespecting a friend by taking advantage, disrespecting a supposed fiancee...

"*Supposed* fiancee? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well... I've met two out of three plus one loon in just one day, Akane. Forgive me for being a bit skeptical of the validity of all this." The youngest Tendo daughter fumed silently but Ginger plowed on, ignoring her. "Regardless, I *do* want to stay here near Ranma, Nabiki, but I wouldn't dream of freeloading. Just tell me what you want for rent and I'll do my best to oblige. Now, if you don't mind, I'd rather talk specifics later and clean up now?" Ginger wrinkled her nose up in what she hoped was a cute little pout. "It's been weeks since I've seen a decent shower, let alone a bath..."

No objections were made and Ranma smiled, standing to show Ginger around the house. Returning his smile with her own unique grin, Ginger calmly detached the top third of her bag and started to follow...

...and immediately stopped.

Everyone, even the pig!, was staring at her as though she'd just removed her head. Sweatdropping and glancing at the half-a-bag in her hand, Ginger sighed. "The bottom is my instruments and music, the top is, mostly, my regular gear."

"Mostly?"

"Well..." Ginger's grin turned sheepish as she turned to face Akane, "Not all of my music fits in the bottom portion so some of it's in the top half and I keep my costumes in the top too..." A steady flush worked it's way over Ginger's face at the looks of pure incredulity everyone but Ranma was giving her. "I travel light!"

"Light headed you mean. Come on Ginger, I'll show you the furo and you can clean up."

"Thanks..." A soft rattle accompanied Ginger and Ranma up the stairs as the duo left the now whispering group behind them.

Quite a while later, Ginger was up to her nose in steaming hot water and humming contentedly. Introductions had gone well, considering. Nabiki had unknowingly given her a wonderful gift and Akane was looking more promising by the second.

She had fire. Dedication and pure stubbornness were obvious in her manner and there was a hidden strength behind her actions. More importantly though, that flash of jealousy that had appeared on her face when she found out what was in the bottom half of the bag.

'Jealous of my music collection? Maybe the instruments... No matter. Either way, there's a definite interest there. I wonder if she knows how to dance..?'

Shaking her head slightly, Ginger pulled herself out of the lovely tub and grabbed a towel to dry off with. Nabiki's gift was more important than Akane's interest. 'Who would've thought that Ranma had debts?'

A slightly evil smile crossed Ginger's face as she pulled her clothes on. 'Okay, so maybe he doesn't *technically* have debts. Freeloading though... Unacceptable by the tribe's standards and therefore, he has debts and *monetary* debts are easily taken care of.

'Ranma... I promise...'

***

"Okay, so, we're done? I can go now?"

Nabiki's nod was met with a whirlwind of action as the younger girl cleared out. The small collection of junkfood wrappers that had accumulated during their 'little chat' vanished with her and instead, a small drawstring bag with bells at the ends of the strings sat where the pile had been. A small but gleeful smile crossed Nabiki's face when she saw the bag's contents. "We decide on the rent and she leaves me three months up front. I *like* this girl!"

***

Much happier than she had been before, Ginger left the room and carefully tiptoed downstairs until just out of sight, but not hearing, range of the two people she was most interested in at the moment. Ranma and Akane, squabbling. A slight scowl replaced Ginger's initial amused smile as she realized what they were arguing about. 'Why fight over something so stupid? She's just curious and, especially in this case, curious is good.'

"I was just asking why she carried so much music Ranma! You don't have to make such a big deal out of it!"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO DISTURB HER YOU INSENSITIVE..."

"I dance."

The fighting couple turned, surprised at the intrusion, and Ginger smiled.

"You...what?"

"Dance. And speaking of dancing..." A slow cat's grin settled over Ginger's face as she turned toward Ranma. "I haven't had a decent sparring partner for a while..."

Akane watched, confused, as Ranma nodded before taking off toward the front door. Ginger had the other half of her bag in hand and started to follow but paused to toss a smile over her shoulder. "We'll need a lot of open space until we get used to each other again so we can't fight indoors. Come watch. I'll show you what the word 'dance' *really* me..."

"Come *on* slowpoke!"

Confused, blue haired girl forgotten, Ginger scowled in the direction Ranma had disappeared in. "You are SO gonna pay for that comment Ranma!"

In short order, a tawny haired blur was on it's way out of the house with Akane close behind. If nothing else, this was bound to be interesting...

***

"BAKA! BAKABAKABAKABAKABA.."

"I GET THE IDEA ALREADY GINGER!"

"~BAAAAAAAAAAAKAA!~"

From one side of the small meadow Ranma had led them too, Akane sat, rather, rolled with laughter.

Scowling, Ginger stared down at the mud puddle that she'd landed in during the first few minutes of their spar. "As if Sensei Talba didn't have me in the mud often enough. And you can't even claim a defeat on me! Ranma, you're dead!"

A confident quirk streaked across Ranma's face as he backed away from Ginger's steady approach. "That's what you think."

Care to Dance? - 4

***

Akane had both hands over her mouth in a desperate attempt not to laugh outright at the two...combatants. She was failing miserably.

Ranma had mud dripping from his bangs, grass leaking out from the hem of his shirt and was pouting up at his assailant from the center of the mud puddle that had started the whole argument. His assailant on the other hand sported mud coated feet, a streak of dirt across one cheek and over her nose, twigs stuck haphazardly in her hair and the most dumstruck expression as she stared at Ranma's much enhanced chest.

"Well...CRUD!"

The exclamation sent Akane over the edge into a fit of giggles which in turn changed Ranma's pout at Ginger into a scowl at his fiancee. "Aw, shaddup! She didn't know about..."

"Jusenkyo?"

Both Ranma and Akane looked up at Ginger in surprise at the timid question.

"You know about..?"
"What do you..?"

A calmly raised hand stopped both sets of hurried questions. "I traveled all over China with one of the most protective women alive. She told everyone all about Jusenkyo and even took us there once so we'd recognize it if we ever stumbled across it. Beyond that... I know I'd be screwed if I'd found out about...*that*...earlier today." Blowing her bangs out of the way, Ginger scowled at the tiny stick that hit her nose on it's way down before turning to the others with a crooked not-quite-smile. "Looks like Akane won't be getting a proper demonstration of dancing today. We need to clean up. Besides, I need to talk to Kasumi. See ya back at the house!"

Confused glances were all Ranma and Akane had time for before racing after Ginger.

***

"Kasumi!"

Warm brown eyes lifted from the gently steaming dish on the stove to quickly widen at the sight standing just outside the kitchen. "Oh my! Ginger, what happened?"

Belatedly, Ginger glanced down at her feet which, even though she'd taken her shoes off, were covered in slowly drying mud. "Ah... I was playing with Ranma. I'll clean it up later Kasumi but I *really* need to talk to you right now!"

Turning down the heat on the stove, Kasumi grabbed a wash cloth and ran it under the faucet while gesturing Ginger in. "What do you need to talk about?"

"What do you think the least selfish thing you could wish for Ranma would be?"

"Well... Happiness."

Ginger shook her head, accidentally scattering a few leaves on the kitchen floor as she did so. "It has to be more specific than that. Please Kasumi, I don't think there's anyone else to ask..."

Frowning faintly, Kasumi handed Ginger the warm wash cloth and turned back to her dinner. "Love. I wish Ranma could find love."

"With Akane?" Ginger wiped her feet off as well as possible and fetched another rag to start on the floor.

"If he could just find love with someone who could love him back I think he would *make* himself happy." Turning her normal, semi-vacant smile back to Ginger, Kasumi grabbed the prepared cleaning rag out of her hands and shooed her out of the kitchen. "I'll take care of the mess, you go get cleaned up."

Smiling gratefully over her shoulder, Ginger started toward the bathroom just in time to see Ranma and Akane taking their shoes off at the door. "I get first dibs!"

"Hey! You've *had* a bath tonight!"

The sound of the furo door closing was Ranma's only answer as he grumbled his way to the kitchen for some warm water.

***

Giggling faintly, Ginger started to strip for the second time that night.

'Why do I get the feeling I'll be doing this a *lot* here..?'

With a hiss of pleasure, Ginger sank down into the water until it came up to her nose. Not much left to do but plan...

'Both promises and a wish, all in one day no less! And somehow, I managed to avoid getting snared up by the whole Jusenkyo thing. Too bad the wish couldn't be as easy as the promises but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Besides, I know Ranma pretty well. Love can't be too hard to find... Right?"

***
owari
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