Want C&C on this plot outline

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

I apologise if this should have gone in Fic C&C instead, but as it's just a plot outline rather than an actual chapter, I figured that Ideas would be the better home. Like the title says, this is my currently developed plot outline for a future chapter of Another Rainy Day in Nerima, and I'd like to get some C&C on it.

The basic scenario for the chapter is that, when Ranma was pulling Akane through the hedge and making his declarations of love, he specifically shouted out Nabiki's name- so when he does pull his target through, he is confronted by a very angry Akane Tendo. Beyond the immediate ass-kicking, this greatly shakes up Ranma's ties to the Tendo Dojo; he has no interest in Nabiki, and knows that this is just a sick game of hers, but on the other hand Akane is now convinced that Ranma is in love with Nabiki and is even madder with both of them than she was before, as she's convinced that the fiasco was them playing a cruel joke on her. This is prime opportunity for one of the other girls to come sweeping in to take Akane's place in Ranma's heart, but I was feeling that I might try and do an Original Character romance just for variety's sake. Crossovers aren't possible because the sole animes I'm familiar with aren't suitable (said titles consist of Chrono Crusade, Teknoman, Robotech, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Disgaea, Inuyasha (Seasons 1 & 2) and Slayers, if you need proof why).

The precise scenario I have consists of Ranma getting out of the house to take a breath of fresh air in the wake of the current disaster his life has begun. In what I freely admit is the weakest part of the plot so far, he basically gets into a fight with a wandering ninja- well, kunoichi anyway. Defeating her, Ranma is naturally expecting to get another rival or, worse yet, another fiancee. Instead, she humbly bows before him and begs him to take her on as a disciple. She is on... well, call it a pilgramage, for lack of a better word. She's completed training under her previous master and is now wandering Japan to find new teachers to study under- and Ranma's Anything Goes style looks like a prime opportunity to her.

Of course, while Ranma is happy to have a student (well, once he gets over the shock anyway), he insists that their ties be kept secret; he's not stupid enough to think that the other lunatics in Nerima won't take this the worst way possible. From there, things get vague. The rough details I have are that the ninja girl, unfortunately for Ranma, does develop a crush on him and decides to "remove" the obstacle that is the Tendo arrangement, seeing as how neither Saotome treats the Kuonji or Amazon engagements as serious.

No, she does not try to murder the Tendos. Instead, she pulls a more effective variation of that hypnosis technique Sasuke uses in "Sasuke's Mission: Improbable". She creeps into Soun's room one night and inflicts "mind poison" so that he suddenly "realises" that the Saotome/Tendo engagement idea is a bad one, primarily based around the fact Genma is a lying, cheating, lazy bum who's already dishonored the engagement by making other engagements. The next morning, the hypnotized Soun Tendo gets into a big argument/fight with Genma, which results in the offended Saotome patriarch declaring that the engagement is off before he grabs Ranma and leaves. If you say this is out of character, I point you towards "Genma Takes a Walk".

Naturally, once Genma gets more or less out of Nerima, the ninja appears and introduces herself to Genma as Ranma's disciple, joining them on their travels and using them as a way to get close to Ranma's heart.

So, what do people think? Does this plot outline look like it could work?

[DarkFyre99]

The most obvious problem I see is that Ranma is still a student at the moment, and thus can't take a disciple. Not that little things like technicalities have ever stopped anyone in Ranma's life before.

The other problem I see is while Genma may not take the Amazon or Kuonji engagements seriously, the girls do. And even if the Tendo engagement is called off, the Kuonji one remains valid... and it comes with a restaurant where Genma can get all the free food he wants.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Yeah, technically Ranma is a student. But, really, who's the better martial artist? Him? Soun Tendo? Or Genma Saotome? I'd say Ranma knows enough techniques, and has enough raw skill, that he could at least be able to help a willing trainee out through regular sparring.

Yes, the other girls do take their engagements seriously. But, if Genma is on the outs with the Tendos, well, he's got no reason to stick around Nerima anymore, now does he? In fact, he might decide that it's high past time he and Ranma went back to China for a dip in the Nanniichuan, if only so he can go back to Nodoka while he tries to think (as far as that term applies to Genma) of a new plan for the future. I agree that he might consider Ukyo's engagement, but I don't know if she and Genma are on the best terms. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if her plan was to marry Ranma and then kick Genma out into the street- or at least, that Genma believes that.

There's also the fact, which I thought I had mentioned, that Ranma himself doesn't take Ukyo or Shampoo's engagement to him seriously the way he did Akane's. Akane's permanent removal from the mix doesn't really help them unless they have a way to take advantage of that- and the ninja has beaten them to the idea of trying to "plug that gap" with her own presence..