Heated Storm Yields a Wild Horse's Heart is a Ranma ½ alternate universe fanfiction by author Rewind Gone Nuts, which debuted on Fanfiction.net in December 2018.
The basic premise is simple: due to random chance, Ranma and Genma arrive at the Tendo Dojo in their true forms instead of in their cursed forms as in canon. Because of this, due to Nabiki Tendo being the only Tendo daughter actively interested in the engagement, she is engaged to Ranma from the get-go. Chaos, both expected and new, promptly ensues.
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This fanfic provides examples of:
- A-Cup Angst: Though not flat, Ukyo is upset to realize she has the smallest bust of Ranma's wives.
- Accent Slip-Up: Ukyo's Osakan accent, rendered here as vaguely Deep South speech pattern, thickens whenever she gets too emotional.
- Accidental Marriage: In addition to the canonical betrothal of Ranma & Shampoo, Nabiki technically gets wed to Shampoo when the latter invokes an obscure bylaw of the Joketsuzoku to avoid having to fight Nabiki for Ranma's hand.
- Adaptational Badass: Nabiki Tendo and Tatewaki Kuno are both given a power-up compared to their canonical counterparts. Overlaps with Took a Level in Badass, because they start as their canon selves and then work to improve.
- Adaptational Heroism: Well, closer to "Adaptational Niceness". Since Ranma in this universe isn't engaged to Akane, and because he's aware that "the pigtailed girl" is really Ranma, Kuno is actually much less of a jerk than he is in canon, since he lacks the personal enmity that colors their relationship in canon. Downplayed because he's still Kuno, and thusly he's still arrogant and a bit of a jerk.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
- The foundation of the fic; Ranma is engaged to Nabiki from the onset, which means he and Nabiki have a much, much more solid and pleasant relationship than in canon. Inversely, Ranma and Akane's relationship is worse.
- In canon, Ryoga is the Dogged Nice Guy to Akane, egged on by both her perception of him as a better friend than Ranma and by his success as masquerading as her pet, P-chan. In this fic, Akane actively dislikes Ryoga because she learned about the P-chan thing after the first night, forcing Ryoga to try and work his way back into her good books.
- In canon, Tatewaki Kuno hates Ranma on an emotional level for standing in the way of his pursuit of Akane Tendo and "The Pigtailed Girl", being unaware that the latter is Ranma's Gender Bender form. In this fic, he's aware of the two Ranmas being the same person, and with Ranma being engaged to Nabiki, is on better personal terms, although he still considers them professional rivals.
- All Men Are Perverts: Subverted. Despite having what is even noted In-Universe as a typical teenage boy's dream of his own harem, Ranma just feels uncomfortable at the idea of being around the girls when they are naked, citing that it feels dishonorable and disrespectful.
- Antiquated Linguistics: When speaking in Chinese, Shampoo uses this manner of dialect, to emphasize that she's a lot smarter than her simplistic grasp of "Japanese" suggests.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Both Soun and Akane initially refuse to believe in the existence of the Chinese Amazon Kiss of Death, despite seeing Ranma and Genma change forms in front of them.
- Beginner's Luck: Shampoo beats Ukyo at Street Fighter II Turbo despite never having heard of the game before.
- Berserk Button: Ranma quickly develops a very prominent Nabiki-shaped one. In their first meeting, Ranma's flippant attitude towards Kuno immediately swings to genuine anger when Kuno insults Nabiki (and, to a lesser degree, Ranma himself), at which point he promptly lays Kuno out flat with a Flash Step Megaton Punch combo. In a later chapter, when Ryoga nearly squashes Nabiki with a flying tree trunk (It Makes Sense in Context), Ranma proceeds to savagely beat Ryoga down before punting him into LEO.
- Big Damn Kiss:
- Nabiki plants one on Ranma in sheer relief after he reveals that he wasn't killed by the Golden Pair.
- After being forced to free Ryoga, Azusa Shiratori gives a huge kiss to Ryoga before letting him go.
- As in canon, Ranma gets a whopper of a kiss from Shampoo after he unwittingly gets betrothed to her.
- To Nabiki's shock, the rite for being accepted as a Joketsuzoku's co-spouse involves a passionate liplock, as she learns firsthand.
- Nabiki gives one to Shampoo, mistaking her for Ranma, after Shampoo saves her from being blown out of a third-floor window.
- Ukyo is on the receiving end of her own Kiss of Marriage too.
- Big Eater: Downplayed, but Ranma observes in an early chapter that Nabiki's appetite is surprisingly hearty, since she manages to match him literally burger for burger by consuming three Big Macs on her own.
Word of God notes that this trait was drawn from some anime-only gags with Nabiki, although this trait hasn't been focused on. - Can't Act Perverted Toward a Love Interest: Ranma's willing to ask Nabiki for a kiss, since she initiated their first one, but he's shown to be very uncomfortable at being around her (or Shampoo, or Ukyo) when they're naked, and even more averse to touching them. The girls actually tell Ranma that a little perversion is actually okay, so long as he remembers to ask their permission first.
- Corporal Punishment: Akane gets a spanking (well, one slap to the butt, but the spirit is obvious) from Shampoo after she viciously backhands Ranma out of a third-floor window.
- Eloquent in My Native Tongue: When the fic portrays Shampoo's internal dialogue or her speaking verbally in Chinese, she sounds a lot smarter than her usual Hulk Speak would suggest.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- When Nabiki inadvertently rents Ranma out on a date with Kodachi, she's shocked and even a little guilty, noting to herself that she was actually just mocking Kodachi, who took her seriously.
- Ranma feels uncomfortable manipulating Kodachi when he sees how much she enjoys even slight affection.
- Nabiki is willing to take and sell sexy photos of Shampoo when she spies her unwanted new "co-wife" in soaking wet silk clothes due to Genma's morning sparring session, but draws the line at doing the same to Ranma's female form, noting that it would be a serious betrayal of Ranma.
- Exotic Extended Marriage: Invoked by Shampoo. It's a valid law amongst Chinese Amazons, although she notes in private to herself that it's rarely used and it actually requires the male undergo some manner of test to be valid. She's waiting for Cologne to arrive to administer said test, and hoping to try and overcome her bad first impressions with her spouses first. Once Ukyo arrives and Shampoo learns her claim predates everyone's, she invites her into the marriage.
- In chapter 16, Shampoo explains that one man can have multiple wives but one woman can't have multiple husbands, citing that a woman can only be pregnant by one man at a time so trying to have multiple husbands is seen as greedy.
- Flash Step:
- As in canon, Ranma can do this when he feels like it. He uses it to deliver a TKO via gut-punch to Tatewaki Kuno after the latter insults Nabiki by declaring being engaged to her "a worse punishment than anything (he) could imagine", and later does it to dodge an attack by Kodachi Kuno in their first meeting, just as he did in the anime canon.
- During Ranma's second formal duel against Ryoga, Nabiki manages to pull herself and her two friends out of the line of fire in an instant, though it exhausts her to do so.
- For Want Of A Nail: Genma and Ranma arrive at the Tendo dojo in their natural forms rather than their cursed forms as in canon. Everything else spirals from that one little change.
- Groin Attack: Nabiki's dramatic contribution to victory over the Golden Pair consists of delivering a very firm kick to Mikado's crotch when he tries to pull his usual antics on her.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Downplayed with Ranma. Between his connection to Nabiki (who isn't Miss Popular at Furinkan), and his role in breaking up the Hentai Horde, a number of the students at Furinkan resent or dislike him. Add in the number of bets placed on Ryoga during Ranma's second formal duel with the Eternally Lost Boy, and it results in widespread cheering for Ryoga to beat Ranma.
- I Have No Son!: In Nyuchiezu, being disowned by one's family makes one no longer a person but a thing. Shampoo says any who receive such punishment are given neither food nor shelter and are chased away from the village like a dangerous animal. According to her, death is a kinder punishment.
- If It's You, It's Okay:
- Shampoo makes it very clear that she's attracted to the male Ranma. But, as in canon, she has no problems with hugging Ranma or otherwise being physically affectionate to him when he's in female form as well. By extension, she acts the same way towards Nabiki.
- Nabiki slowly grows more comfortable with doing "couple things" like holding hands or being seen on dates with Ranma in female form over the course of the series.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Shampoo "solves" the problems with Kodachi by altering her memories to think she's in love with Ryoga.
- Loophole Abuse: During the Martial Arts Takeout race, Akane remembers that the girl who delivers her meal and has it eaten by the recipient (Kuno) first wins, so she shouts at Kuno that she'll go on a date with him if he eats the food she brought, causing him to run over and immediately scarf it down.
- Matriarchy: Joketsuzoku is a downplayed example. Men have to try harder to earn a "Self Name", something women obtain upon completing their martial arts training, which allows them to have a say in how the village is run. However, Shampoo makes very clear that every man who earns a "Self Name" is treated with just as much respect as a woman in the same position, and that men without "Self Names" are still treated with dignity.
- Loveable Sex Maniac: Shampoo is a downplayed female example. She has no shame about flaunting her generous assets or teasing the other girls in the group about their figures, and bluntly tells Ranma that, whilst she likes that he doesn't go drooling after girls in general, she would be more than happy to do sexual things with him beyond simply kissing.
- Mirror Character: Part of the reason Ranma and Nabiki hit it off is that they share some surprising similarities. In particular, both have a trickster's set of humor, causing them to turn teasing each other into a sort of bonding activity, and they share a pragmatic attitude towards acquiring money; Ranma openly hints that he used to pick pockets when he was younger, sees nothing wrong with Nabiki's photo shoots of Akane (although he admittedly doesn't know the whole story about them) and is happy to let Nabiki run bets on his duels in exchange for a share of the profits.
- Must Make Amends:
- Once Nabiki proves to Shampoo that "Girl Ranma" and "Boy Ranma" are the same person, Shampoo decides to make up for trying to kill Ranma and/or split him from Nabiki by offering for her and Nabiki to both marry him.
- Ryoga does his best to make things up to Akane after she learns he was her pet P-chan.
- Mythology Gag: After getting her first taste of videogames at a local arcade, Shampoo is instantly hooked, and when she learns that home gaming consoles exist, she is very interested in acquiring one. This is a reference to the fact Shampoo is shown to own a Super Famicom in the manga.
- No Sympathy: No one has any sympathy for Ryoga when he admits he didn't make it to his duel with Ranma until four days after they were supposed to meet, with Kuno stating being a single hour late is unacceptable. Upon learning he might have knocked Ryoga into a Jusenkyo pool, Ranma initially sympathizes but Nabiki points out that no one made Ryoga chase Ranma all the way to China just to settle a duel over bread of all things.
- Not So Stoic: In contrast to her canon self, who is generally the most unshakably confident individual in the cast, Nabiki in this fic displays a wider personality range, and it's made quite clear that her supposed "ice queen" title is far from the whole story. She is, amongst other things, impressed and scared (and perhaps a little turned on) when Ranma reveals his pickpocketing skills, she's shown to be insecure about her attractiveness compared to Akane to the point she genuinely gets afraid that Ranma might consider dumping her for her sister, she gets genuinely excited when she manages to split some concrete blocks during her Training from Hell (and wilts when she see Akane is effortlessly splitting a far larger pile), is nakedly afraid and even reduced to tears when Ranma is seemingly heavily injured during their duel with the Golden Pair, gives Ranma a Big Damn Kiss in relief when it turns out he's alright, and is subtly hinted at being jealous of Shampoo after the Chinese Amazon pushes their way into their lives.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Hideyoshi Daikoku offers to financially compensate Soun to drop Nabiki's engagement to Ranma, Nabiki steps in and says money isn't what's important in the situation, shocking everyone present (except Ranma).
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Whilst Akane's skills don't get a lot of attention in the fic, subtle moments remind readers that Akane actually is a pretty impressive martial artist in her own right... she's just not in Ranma's super-crazy league. Most prominently is when Nabiki is undergoing her Training from Hell, only to look over and see Akane effortlessly handling a far more difficult version of Nabiki's lesson. Nabiki herself notes that, whilst she has improved drastically from her original "unarmed civilian" level, she still is weaker than Akane. In particular, Akane is the one who wins the Miss Martial Arts Takeout Race by means of perseverance and out-of-the-box thinking (namely, taking advantage of Kuno's crush on her and Loophole Abuse).
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Combined with Please Wake Up when Ranma is thrown into a wall during his and Nabiki's match against Azusa and Mikado. After taking the hit to protect Nabiki, she begs Ranma "Don't leave me alone! ...not like mom". Thankfully, Ranma is merely unconscious and wakes up shortly.
- Remembered Too Late: Shampoo can inflict Laser-Guided Amnesia on others through a secret amazon technique. When asked why she didn't use it on Nabiki, Shampoo admits she forgot about it until after Nabiki had earned the right to be co-wife.
- Rescue Romance: As in canon, Kodachi falls for Ranma after he saves her from a nasty fall. Unlike in canon, he didn't cause it this time; he caught her after Ryoga bodily threw Kodachi out of Akane's window, inadvertently knocking her unconscious by smacking her head against the window frame in the process.
- Later, between Ryoga and Kodachi, courtesy of Shampoo modifying the latter's memories.
- Sadist Teacher: Take Genma Saotome, canonically a Sink or Swim Mentor and Fair-Weather Mentor overlap. Tell him he has a week to prepare Nabiki to fight an official challenge match to preserve "the honor of the Anything Goes school". Then stand well back...
- Secret-Keeper:
- Ironically, Tatewaki Kuno becomes this for Ranma's female curse in this fic, whereas in canon he ended up being the only person in the entirety of Furinkan High to be unaware of the two Ranmas being the same person.
- Subverted with Ranma, who was Ryoga's (reluctant) Secret-Keeper in canon, but who here gets Nabiki to help him outing Ryoga's disguise.
- Serious Business:
- In-universe, when motivated to train somebody properly, Genma is surprisingly focused. Not even being chased repeatedly by an outraged Soun and Akane stops Genma from trying to carry out his crazy training of Nabiki, and he wholeheartedly agrees with Ranma's assessment that Akane should skip a week of school to prepare for the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics match.
- Also in-universe, ice cream is this to Nabiki, who is horrified to learn that Ranma has never eaten ice cream in his whole life and proclaims it to be the most horrible thing his father has ever done... admittedly, this is before she learns about the Neko-ken or the whole Ukyo thing. Kikuko and Ryonami are equally appalled when Nabiki tells them of this.
- In Nyuchiezu, losing ones family name is considered the worst punishment of all, with Shampoo explaining that anyone who loses their family name is no longer considered a person, merely a thing.
- Marriage also serious business in Nyuchiezu, to the point that the easiest way for a man to earn a "Self Name" is to be chosen as a husband. Word of God is that this idea was born as an attempt to reconcile Shampoo's "white knight" romantic fantasies and the obvious seriousness of the Kiss of Marriage rule with the general perception of the Joketsuzoku as a Matriarchy. As an extension of this belief, a woman taking more than one husband is a good way to lose their family name. Not only is it insulting to their husband, saying his honor isn't worth respecting and his Name not worth passing on, it's also seen as being greedy and preventing other women from having husbands and children of their own.
- Skinship Grope: When Ranma, Nabiki, Shampoo and Ukyo all attend the same public baths, naturally, the born girls can't resist commenting on and physically appraising their own and each other's... assets.
- The Stations of the Canon: In what the author acknowledges is the biggest weakness of the story, its status as a 1st episode/chapter divergence fic means the early portion has to be dedicated to bringing over the major elements of Ranma ½ canon. That means the introduction of the Kuno siblings, Ryoga, Shampoo, Cologne, Mousse, Happosai and Ukyo, and currently only the first four have arrived.
- Sweet Tooth: Nabiki absolutely loves sweets, in what Word of God has stated is a trait taken from her anime incarnation.
- Take a Third Option: After Nabiki reveals the truth about the two Ranmas to Shampoo, the Chinese Amazon is stuck with a dilemma; abandon the boy she wants to marry in recognition of Nabiki's good deed to her, or follow expected tradition and drive Nabiki away from Ranma. She chooses instead to invoke an old and rarely-used law of her people and marry them both instead.
- Talking Is a Free Action: Averted. When Kodachi starts monologuing about how Nabiki will pay for her transgressions, Nabiki flees to find Ranma.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The Golden Pair are depicted with a more overtly strained relationship than in canon, because Asuza has learned that "Charlotte" actually is a boy and so she is extra-determined to keep him for herself.
- Those Two Guys: Nabiki's henchwenches from the anime, tentatively named "Kikuko" and "Ryonami", are given a bigger starring role in the fic as Nabiki's flunkies and best friends. Ironically, Hiroshi and Daisuke, the canonical Those Two Guys, don't get namedropped until after Shampoo arrives.
- Through His Stomach: After formally engaging herself to both Ranma and Nabiki, Shampoo tries to get them to warm up to the idea a little by showing off her excellent cooking skills with a hearty dinner of Canton-style pork with hibiscus. Unlike in canon, she gets the pig from the local market, rather than trying to serve up Ryoga.
- Training from Hell: Nabiki's martial arts training under Genma, unsurprisingly. Highlights include being thrown out of the window and into the koi pond to wake her up (Ranma catches her before she hits the water), dodging tennis balls that Genma is throwing with enough force to bruise bone, and running for her life whilst Genma chases after her with a bullwhip.
- Took a Level in Badass:
- Akane actually gets a whole week of training in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics under Ryoga, and so gets what is acknowledged in-universe as a pretty decent power up... unfortunately, it's still not enough to bring her into Shampoo's league.
- Nabiki is forced to undergo Training from Hell for the Martial Arts Couples' Figure Skating match, and manages to claw her way to somewhere in Akane's original league. Although she is quick to note that she is still a pretty pathetic combatant by the standards of anyone Ranma fights, this is leaps and bounds over her strictly non-combatant canonical counterpart.
- Invoked with Tatewaki Kuno, whose relationship with Ranma is more of a "professional rival" and thusly he's striving to actively improve his general abilities whilst diversifying his techniques.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Shampoo politely offers Tatewaki Kuno some advice on improving as a swordsman in thanks for his giving her directions when she first visits Furinkan High. Tatewaki promptly uses these instructions to go on to become a serious rival for Ranma... or at least to begin the journey to becoming one.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend:
- Shampoo in this fic is much more proactive about coming to Ranma's defense, although she's equally determined to protect Nabiki as well due to their being co-wives. When Kodachi first comes seeking revenge upon Nabiki after having learned about Ranma's curse, Shampoo immediately declares that she won't let the Kuno girl hurt them, and proceeds to beat Kodachi down.
- Nabiki has shades of this as well, given her Groin Attack on Mikado Sanzenin after the latter seemingly comes close to killing Ranma with the Goodbye Whirl.
- You No Take Candle: As in canon, when speaking in Japanese, Shampoo speaks this way, though she's more eloquent and old fashioned in Chinese.
