Megumi's Wish
An Oh My Goddess / Ranma 1/2 Crossover fanfiction
by mrthou
Disclaimer: Based on characters and situations created by Kosuke Fujishima (Oh My Goddess!) and Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2). They are used here without permission, but without intent of profit.
Chapter 1
There were some duties that Megumi Morisato enjoyed more than others. This was one of the former. Megumi was an outgoing person by nature, so the task of welcoming the newest tenants was one she genuinely enjoyed.
Megumi had campaigned rather vigorously for the responsibility of assistant apartment manager, and -- as with most things she strived for -- she had achieved it. There were other tenants who had seniority, both upper-classmen and those who had simply lived there longer. But none of them had showed the same enthusiasm for the task, and none begrudged her the position.
The beginning of the Spring quarter was always the busiest time of the year, or so she had been informed by the manager, Mrs. Tanaka. Of course, since Autumn was one of the main enrollment periods for new students, it would make sense that more people would be looking for places to live.
Here it was, room 304. She glanced down at the notepad she was carrying. The student's name was Ranma Saotome, age 19, from Nerima. Phys. Ed. major, first year. That was interesting. NIT didn't have much of a program in that area, though the college did turn out its fair share of teachers.
Megumi raised her hand to knock on the door, and was surprised when it opened before her hand reached the wood.
A young man of medium height held the door. He had blue eyes, and black hair pulled back into a pig-tail. He was wearing loose Chinese-style clothing, and it was apparent that he had an absolutely incredible physique. Definitely a Phys. Ed. major.
"Yes?" the man said, "What is it?" He said it in a neutral sort of way that made his words seem almost offensive.
Unphased, Megumi smiled at him. "Hello. Ranma Saotome?" The man nodded. "I'm Megumi Morisato, the SA for floors three and four."
"SA?"
"Student Assistant. I'm the assistant manager for this floor. I'm here to officially welcome you to the Westwood Apartments."
"Ah... sure. Thanks," Saotome said.
"Anyway, as the assistant manager it's my duty to meet all the new tenants, and give them a list of the rules of conduct." She handed him a sheet of paper. "I know, it's the same as the one you had to sign to rent this room, but humor me. It's my job." She smiled again.
Saotome took the paper. "Yeah, that's the same one." He gave her a half smile.
"Also, if you need any help with anything, lights, plumbing, whatever, just let me know, and I'll get on the problem."
"You a student here? How can you find time to keep this place up?"
"Oh, that's not really my job. My job is to organize everything and make sure everyone knows who's doing what. We all pitch in to keep this place clean. Anyway, I'm in room 301 if you have any problems."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Hmm..." Megumi said. "Oh, one other thing. We're having a party to welcome all the new students, and you're invited of course. This Thursday in the rec-room at 6. You know where it is, right?"
The young man frowned, and let go of the door to cross his arms in front of his chest. "Well, thanks for the invitation, but, I don't think I'll be there."
That wasn't what she wanted to hear. It was her job to organize that party, and she wanted to be sure everyone attended.
"Really?" Megumi asked. "It's a good opportunity to meet some of your fellow students. I'm sure everyone will be delighted to meet you."
"Some of them, I'm sure," Saotome replied cynically. "That's kind of what I'd like to avoid."
"You sure? At the very least it's a free meal."
"Well..."
"C'mon," she cajoled. "My brother's girlfriend will be terribly upset to know someone's refusing her cooking."
"She a good cook?" Saotome asked.
"She's the best I've ever met," Megumi answered. "And I'm not exaggerating at all."
He laughed, and uncrossed his arms. "Okay, I'll go, Morisato. Who am I to be passing up free food?"
Megumi flashed him another smile. "Great! Trust me, you'll have a good time. Everyone'll be there. Oh, and before I go, I need to know what you're going to bring to the party."
"Huh?"
"Food, drink, that sort of thing. One woman's cooking won't feed everyone, you know."
Saotome sighed. "I knew there was a catch. Still, I said I'd go. And Ranma Saotome always keeps his promises..."
Megumi was unsettled by the bitter self-loathing that was evident in Saotome's voice. He seemed sad, and very, very alone. Well, maybe a party was just what he needed.
"We've already got most of what we need. If you can't manage, we'll figure something out."
"Nah, I'll bring something," Ranma said. "What's left?"
Megumi flipped to the appropriate page in her notebook, and handed it to Ranma.
"Well, if you need another noodle dish, I've got a killer yakisoba recipe. Really hot stuff. Will that do?"
"That would be great, Saotome," Megumi said. "Well, I'll see you around. I've got some other things to take care of. Remember, if you have any problems, just knock, or leave a message on the board."
"I'll do that, thanks." He bowed slightly, and then closed the door.
Well, that wasn't quite what she expected, Megumi thought to herself. Still, he seemed nice enough. Just a little distant. She hoped the party would cheer him up.
It was an interesting experience, Megumi decided, watching Ranma Saotome eat. He was sitting in the middle of the lunch room, eating what the cafeteria staff chose to call food and what most of the students preferred to call barely edible. Saotome didn't seem to notice.
In truth, watching him eat wasn't what was interesting. Rather, it was the exquisite dance going on all around him. He seemed, not oblivious, Megumi thought, but rather indifferent to the feminine attention he was receiving.
Megumi was more than willing to admit he was cute. He had beautiful eyes, she had noticed, and a great body. That was fairly obvious. Still, she wondered what it was about him that was attracting so many women. He was still only one man, no matter how cute, and he was making it perfectly clear he wasn't interested.
Of course, maybe that was it right there. Some women would take that as a challenge.
"Meg? Something wrong?" her brother Keiichi, who was sitting across from her, asked. "You look kind of spaced out."
Megumi shook her head. "No, nothing. Just saw something interesting."
"Who's the guy?" he asked, gesturing vaguely. "The one you've been staring at for the last ten minutes?"
"Ranma Saotome," she answered without thinking, "He's one of the new tenants at my apartment." She mentally shifted gears. "Have I really been staring for ten minutes?"
Keiichi nodded. "Yep. So what's going on with him?"
"What do you mean?"
"C'mon, Megumi, you've been staring at him for _ten minutes_. I'm just wondering why. Interested in him?"
Megumi blushed, then cursed herself for blushing. "It's nothing like that. I'm not really watching _him_, I'm watching everyone around him."
"Sure, Meg. If you say so. All I see are a bunch of girls trying to talk with him." Keiichi watched for a moment, as one girl left, and another one quickly took her place. "Looks like they aren't getting anywhere, though."
"And that's what I'm wondering about."
"That's easy enough to tell," her brother stated. "He's already got a girlfriend."
"No, he doesn't," Megumi disagreed. "He's available. Otherwise, most of the girls would have given up already."
Belldandy Asgard, her brother's girlfriend, arrived at that moment, bearing a pair of bentos. "Sorry I'm late, dear," she said to Keiichi, and then added "Hello Megumi. It's nice to see you."
"Hey, Bell," Keiichi greeted as he scooted over to make room. "That's okay. You're not responsible for your sister's mess." Belldandy handed Keiichi a bento, then offered the other to Megumi.
"I have another, if you want it."
"No thanks, Bell. I couldn't possibly take your lunch." Megumi pointed to her mostly empty lunch tray. "I've already got one, even if it's not quite as good as anything you make."
"That's an understatement," Keiichi added. "Mmmm. This is great Bell. Thanks."
"I'm so happy you like it, dear," Belldandy replied, and opened her own bento. She nervously started to pick at her food.
It was strange, now that Megumi thought about it, but she almost never saw Belldandy eat anything. In fact, as far as Megumi could recall, Belldandy never packed a lunch for herself. She always had one for Keiichi, but that was it.
Well, it wasn't really her business, and Belldandy obviously wasn't anorexic. She was far too healthy for that. Enviously so, even. Maybe she just didn't like having people watch her eat.
Megumi's gaze wandered across the lunch room, back toward Ranma Saotome.
"Why did he say that?" she said to herself. "And why did he seem so sad about it?"
"Who is sad, Megumi?" Belldandy asked. She followed Megumi's gaze across the lunch room.
"I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?"
"Yep. You're drooling over him again, Meg." Keiichi teased.
"Keiichi, you shouldn't say such things to your little sister," Belldandy rebuked gently. Keiichi flushed briefly, then buried his nose in his food.
Megumi smiled her thanks. "Ranma Saotome. He's a new tenant at my apartment."
"My, he does seem to be attracting a lot of attention."
As they watched, a girl quickly left this table, seemingly on the verge of tears.
"Rejected!" Keiichi remarked. "He's starting to get irritated."
"Yeah, he is. I'm really curious..." Megumi said.
"You'll get shot down," Keiichi warned.
"I'm not interested in him that way. And besides, I'm not going over there now."
"He does look sad," Belldandy said. "Can't those girls see he wants to be left alone?"
"Probably not," Megumi replied. "I do wonder why they haven't given..."
Just then, Saotome looked up and made eye contact. He raised an eyebrow, and gestured almost imperceptibly at her with his chopsticks. He held her gaze for a moment, then looked away.
"... up ... yet," Megumi finished. "Umm..."
Saotome made eye contact again. He gestured with his chopsticks once more, this time with a quick motion toward himself. Then he held her gaze.
Megumi raised a hand and pointed to herself. He nodded.
"Meg? What's that about?" her brother asked.
Belldandy answered, "Mr. Saotome just called her over."
"What?"
Saotome gestured a third time.
Megumi got up, and started walking toward him. She hoped she wasn't about to make a fool out of herself.
Ranma sighed. He wondered what it was about him that attracted so many types of trouble, particularly of the female variety. Ranma was vain, and he knew he was handsome, but the sheer quantity of attention he garnered was ridiculous.
He glanced up at the small crowd of women surrounding him. A few of the members had changed since the last time he looked, but they had been replaced by others who were just the same. He answered a few questions as politely as he could, which wasn't very, considering he was getting a bit irritated. These were the foolish girls, he knew from personal experience. They weren't really interested in him as a person, but rather him as a status symbol. The more clever girls would try to get him alone after lunch, when there was less competition.
Not for the first time Ranma wondered why he didn't just lie and say he was engaged. It wouldn't even be much of a lie, really. There were at least two girls he knew of who still considered him to be their fiance, though Ranma didn't see it the same way. Still, lying had never gotten him anything but trouble, especially since he was so bad at it.
Ranma looked up again, and this time something caught his eye. It was that girl who he talked to last night, the assistant dorm manager. What was her name again? Morisato, that was it. Megumi Morisato. He looked over the two people sitting with her who were also watching him. One, a foreigner by the looks of her, was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, and he'd seen quite a few. She had strange markings on her face -- one on her forehead and one on each cheek. He looked over the boy sitting next to her, a short guy who bore an obvious resemblance to Megumi.
Probably Morisato's brother, Ranma thought, and his girlfriend. Lucky guy, I guess.
An idea occurred to him then. Morisato had said something about talking with her about any problems he might have. Well this wasn't what she meant by that, he was sure, but he did have a problem her presence would solve, at least temporarily. It might embarrass her a bit, but he owed her that much for tricking him into bringing something to that party.
Ranma caught her gaze and gestured at her slightly with his chopsticks. He saw her eyes widen slightly. He'd caught the attention of several other young women in the area, but that didn't really bother him to much.
He gestured again, this time in a "come here" sort of way. She blushed slightly, he could see, then pointed to herself hesitantly. Ranma nodded.
The young man he assumed was her brother said something to her, then the other woman said something in return. Ranma held Morisato's gaze, and gestured a third time, this time jerking his head back slightly to make his intentions more obvious.
Morisato, still blushing slightly, got up from her table and started to wade her way through the lunch room crowd toward him. When she got close enough, Ranma cracked a smile, and called, "Yo, Morisato, where you been?"
When Saotome called out her name, Megumi realized exactly what he was doing. He was using her to clear up the crowd. Her brother was never going to let her live this down.
"Hey, Saotome," she replied, as casually as she could manage, given the situation.
"Pull up a chair," he said. As she did, there was a collective sigh of disappointment from the surrounding crowd, and various grumblings about the Morisatos having all the luck.
"So, Saotome," Megumi said, "how's your first week at Nekomi Tech treating you?"
"'Bout how you'd probably expect," he replied. "My Psych professor's a real ass. English teacher's pretty good, but I speak the language better'n she does."
"Really? Then why are you taking English at all?"
"I don't read or write it too good," the pig-tailed man said. "Most of my other classes are pretty boring, but that's pretty normal for school."
"Did you get Mr. Suzuki for Psych?"
"Yeah, that's him. Don't like him at all. 'Course, I don't think he likes himself, either."
Megumi smiled. "No, he doesn't." There was a moment's pause, then she continued. "So, Saotome, have you decided what clubs you're going to join?"
"Nah. I'll probably check out the martial arts clubs, if there are any, but I doubt they'll have anyone at my level. Still, it might be kinda fun to throw a couple of 'em around."
"You seem pretty confident about that," Megumi noted. "I've heard that the Kendo team's second captain is one of the best in the minor college league."
"Really?" Ranma asked. "What's his name, do you know?"
"Kuno, I think," Megumi said in response. "I haven't ever met him, but his name has shown up in the school paper a couple of times."
"Tatewaki Kuno?" Saotome asked. Megumi nodded. "I know him. Went to the same high school. He's not so hot. Sticks to the forms too much."
A shadow passed over Saotome's face, the same one that had haunted him for an instant yesterday, when he had made that comment about keeping promises. He shook his head and looked down. "I don't think I want to see him any time soon."
Megumi sensed that she shouldn't ask him to elaborate, so she switched the topic. "Well, there's lots of other clubs. Baseball, swimming, diving, tennis. And there's the non-athletic clubs, like the motor club, chess club, journalism. All sorts of things."
"Hmm... So what clubs are you in?"
"Me? I'm the captain of the softball team. "I'm also sort of an unofficial member of the motor club."
"Unofficial?"
"Yes," Megumi said. "My brother's in it, and his girlfriend too." Megumi leaned a little closer, and then said quietly, "They're the only responsible members of the club. But you don't necessarily have to repeat that to anyone." Megumi continued in a normal voice, "Everything usually ends up getting dumped on my brother, so I lend a hand when I have time."
"That your brother you were sitting with, over there?" Saotome asked.
"Yep, that's him. And his girlfriend, the one who I said cooks so well." Megumi smiled. "You want to meet them?"
Saotome shrugged. "Sure. Don't know to many people around here. I should probably make the effort."
"Hmm?" Megumi said. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind. It's not important."
Ranma wasn't quite sure why, but he felt comfortable around Megumi. Perhaps it was because, despite the fact that they'd met only yesterday, she had already demonstrated a genuine interest in his well-being, even if it was only on a social level. There weren't to many people who had ever done that.
They made their way to the far corner of the lunch room where Megumi's brother and his girlfriend sat. The man seemed to be watching their approach with some amusement, the woman with concern.
Megumi introduced them. "Keiichi, this is Ranma Saotome. Saotome, Keiichi Morisato."
Keiichi stood, and offered his hand. Ranma noted as he shook his hand that Keiichi was rather short, although size wasn't really something Ranma worried to much about, and that he seemed to be no kind of Martial Artist, which wasn't a surprise at all. So few people were, around here.
"And I'm Belldandy," the young woman next to Keiichi said. She offered her hand as well. Ranma noticed from up close the facial markings she wore were not tattoos, at least not like any he had ever seen. Rather, it looked as if the skin itself was actually colored differently. It was far too real to be body paint, though.
He wondered for a moment how she managed to achieve that effect. It really was pretty unique.
They all engaged in some pleasant small talk about various things; school subjects, hobbies, music, weather. Keiichi was very fond of motor vehicles and racing, it turned out, and his sister and girlfriend seemed to be fairly into it too. Megumi and Keiichi shared a fondness for softball as well. Ranma himself mentioned his extensive training in martial arts, and a basic interest in sports in general. Ranma found that he was actually enjoying himself, something that had happened all too rarely of late.
Still, there was something bothering him. Ranma felt a slight but constant tingling sensation throughout his whole body. It was the same feeling he got whenever there was danger around, or when someone was following him.
'Get a grip on yourself, Ranma,' he thought to himself. 'There's no one here trying to hurt you.' Absently, Ranma spun his chopsticks around in his hands a few times.
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Keiichi asked him.
"Do what?"
"That thing with your chopsticks."
Ranma held up his right hand and twirled the chopsticks around his thumb. "That?"
Keiichi nodded. "Yeah."
Ranma shrugged. "Saotome school of Anything-Goes chopstick fighting."
"Fighting with chopsticks?" Megumi exclaimed. "I'd have to see that to believe it."
"Well, it's not really fighting, exactly..." Ranma admitted, "Although I did run into a guy who used them as his main weapon. It's more of a competition to see who can eat more food."
"What do you mean?" Belldandy asked.
"Simple. You just try to steal other people's food with your chopsticks, while defending your own."
"What good does that do?" Keiichi said.
"Reflexes, misdirection, deception, and learning to recognize them," Ranma replied. "Actually, I think it was just Pop's excuse to steal my food when I was growin' up."
"But that's awful," Belldandy exclaimed. "How could someone steal from their own child?"
Ranma laughed at that. Belldandy's question was a perfectly innocent one, but it was a question anyone who had ever spent time with his father would never ask. It wasn't really funny, but he laughed all the same.
Belldandy's face turned a slight shade of pink. "Did I say something funny?"
"Nah, it's just that..." Ranma hesitated. He didn't really want to go into his life story right now. He barely knew these people, after all. Really, he didn't know anyone here. Suddenly, Ranma felt very alone. He sighed. "It's about my father, not you. Don't worry about it."
They chatted for a bit longer, and Ranma felt a surge in the gentle tingling on the edge of his senses. Before he could isolate the source of the sensation, it diminished. He glanced around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"Well, I gotta be going," Ranma said, standing up. "I need to pick up some books for my next class. I'll see you all around, okay?"
"See you later, Saotome," Megumi said.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Ranma," Belldandy added.
"Same here," Keiichi said.
"Yeah, well, catch ya later."
The morning had been sunny, but now clouds threatened to pour out their wrath on the world, or at least cry about it a bit. Ranma hoped he made it back to the apartment before it started raining.
There was something bothering him, but he couldn't place a finger on it. Keiichi and Belldandy had seemed normal enough, just like Megumi, so it couldn't be them. Maybe it was just him. He wasn't really used to being around normal people, since his life had always been anything but. He'd gotten to know some of the students at Furinkan, but Furinkan didn't really fit the profile of "normal" any better than he did, and most of the students didn't either.
Maybe it was just the coming rain showers. Rain always made Ranma a little nervous, for obvious reasons.
Yeah, that was probably it. Just the rain.
Author's Notes: This idea came to me while reading through Chris Jones' enjoyable "Ranma's Apartment" series, where Ranma ends up leaving the dojo and moving in next door to Megumi Morisato. You can check it out at http://www.furinkan.net/.
This story takes place a few years after the end of the manga in Ranma 1/2 continuity, and somewhere between the end of the Oh My Goddess OVAs and the movie (which I haven't seen). Feel free to point out any wild inaccuracies in the timeline, and I'll think about changing them (if it doesn't mess up my story too much).