Chapter 1
version: 0.6
status: incomplete
Ranma walked slowly down the road, hanging his head slightly as he went along. His day had been one depressing act after another. From Akane attempting to smash him with her mallet to Shampoo trying to glomp him, he felt he needed a change and soon. Otherwise, he wasn't sure what he'd do.
As he walked down the road, something caught his attention. There was something odd on top of the garbage heap and it looked frighteningly human. He walked over and realized it looked very human except for the ears.
Leaning over, he checked it for a pulse and was unable to find one. His spirit sunk lower as he imagined that once again he'd messed up somehow.
'Moron, there's no way you can save everyone...,' he scolded himself. "Yeah, I know, but..."
His voice faltered as he looked down at the girls face. Her cute face caused his heart to skip a beat.
'She deserves a burial,' he thought as he leaned down to pick her up. As his arms went around her still form, he lifted and was surprised at how much she weighed. "Man, what'd you eat before you died? A big mack truck?"
Suddenly, he heard something drop as the girl's was lifted off the garbage bags. He looked down and spotted a small disc of some kind. Carefully he reached down and grabbed it, then shoved it into his pocket. He knew to never pass up something expensive looking and whatever it was looked like it could be worth something.
Later at Dr. Tofu's office, Ranma set the girl's body down and massaged his arms before knocking on the door.
"Hey Doc! You awake?" Ranma called out. After a minute, he sensed movement inside the clinic, indicating that Dr. Tofu was awake. After a few seconds, the door slide open and Ranma spotted Dr. Tofu's face complete with its usual smile he always seemed to have.
"Hello Ranma," Dr. Tofu greeted. "What can I do for you at this hour?"
"I found her," Ranma stated as he gestured to the girl's still form.
"Oh my, is she ok?"
"I don't think so Doc. I couldn't find a pulse."
"Oh... Well, bring her in. I have a few refrigeration units. I can put her in one of them." With that, Dr. Tofu leaned over to try to pick up the girl. "Goodness. She weighs a ton. Ranma, did you carry her here by yourself?"
"Yeah. She was a bit heavy, but it wasn't that bad."
"Well, would you mind carrying her for me then?"
"Sure Doc," Ranma answered as he leaned over and once again struggled to lift her. His muscles were still tired from the long walk to Dr. Tufu's.
Slowly, the two made the trip to the basement and set the girl down on the table. As Ranma admired her ghostly beauty, Dr. Tofu turned on the lights. When he returned, he gasped. "What's wrong Doc?"
"Ranma, that's not a person. It's a persocom."
"Per... so... con...?" Ranma carefully pronounced. "What's that?"
"It's a computer system that is very popular in some parts of Tokyo, though the are quite new."
"Really?"
"Yes. Where did you find this one?"
"I found her in the garbage."
"The garbage? Looks like you've got all the luck..."
"Bad luck usually, but I'm guessing this isn't one of those times."
"You're right about that. Normally, one would have to pay at least five hundred thousand yen for one of these. To find one in the garbage is nothing short of amazing."
"Five... Hundred... Thousand yen!"
"Yes, but I wonder who would have thrown this away?"
"I don't know. You think it's broken?"
"It's possible, but normally you'd just take them into the shop and have them repaired."
"If it's a computer, perhaps a newer model came out."
"That's also a possibility, but..."
"But if it cost that much money, not even the rich could throw them out so casually," Ranma finished for Dr. Tofu. "Do you know how to turn this on?"
"Yes I do, but Ranma...," Dr. Tofu hesitated as he spoke.
"Yeah Doc?"
"I'm not sure you'll be able to do turn it on."
"It's that hard?"
"No, not really. It's just in an area I don't think you'll be willing to touch."
"There are only three places that can be and at least two of them are two big to be on and off switches...," he said as his mind realized where the switch must be. "I can do this Doc. After all, it's just a machine... right?"
"Yes, it is. I'm surprised at how mature you're being about this."
"Heck, this is nothin... Now all I gotta do is reach down..." His hand was extended and aimed at it's target, but it seemed stuck as if an invisible wall was stopping it. 'I can do this. I can do this...'
Dr. Tofu decided this was going to take a while and left the room to go back to sleep.
The next morning Dr. Tofu went to check up on Ranma. He hoped to find the boy gone with the persocom, but he knew he couldn't get his hopes up. As he entered the room he left Ranma in, he realized he'd given the boy too much credit. He was still sitting in the same spot. His hand hadn't moved an inch and it was clear that Ranma was now in a great deal of pain. Dr. Tofu quickly pressed a series of pressure points to get the blood in Ranma's arm flowing again.
"Ranma, perhaps we should try something else..." Even as Dr. Tofu said this, an odd idea came to his mind. "I don't think you're brave enough to do it. I mean, this persocom is just too scary for you."
"What? You take that back!"
"Why? I mean, I left you here last night and you haven't done anything," Dr. Tofu hesitated. He knew was about to risk his life, but only the harshest of insults would motivate the response needed. "Let's face it, this is one thing that you can't do. Guess you'll just be a failure at everything cause you can't do anything."
"You don't think I got enough courage to push this?" Ranma asked as his hand darted between the persocom's legs, hitting the switch.
"There, now that wasn't so bad." As Dr. Tofu stated this, the persocom's wrappings started to unravel and its body began to float gently. Seconds later, the eyes opened and dilated.
"What the!"
"That's odd. I wonder if they all boot up like this?" Dr. Tofu wondered out loud.
The figure soon came to rest on the ground again and slumped forward. Ranma leaped forward and caught her. The first thing he noticed was how light she seemed to feel all of a sudden.
"Chii?" she asked.
"Chi?" Ranma repeated. "What do you mean Chi?"
"Chii."
"Ranma, I think she's trying to tell you her name," Dr. Tofu guessed.
"You think so? Is that it?" Ranma asked the girl. "Is your name Chii?"
Upon being called this, the girl suddenly glomped him.
"Chi!"