Prestory note: Whelp, I've done my editing process. I'm still not entirely satisfied with it, but it'll have to do. I haven't edited Mousse's scene at all, but so as to not ruin the story for newcomers, I left an explanation at the end of the chapter. Also, I didn't really add a whole lot of sensory detail, but that was never my forte in the first place, and often times I can ruin the movement of the story by adding it. Some people like a lot of details, but others not so much, as the story never seems to kick off until around 50k words, which is quite a read. :P So therefore, I'm going to leave it be, as far as that tadbit editing goes.
I guess you can really say the story plot picks up here, or at the end of this chapter to be more specific. Last chapter was just a bunch of entrances, a funny situation and what not. I tried to make this chapter at least somewhat funny, but this is a mostly explaining chapter. Next chapter I promise will be funny, hehe. ^.^
Well without further adue.
"...The Chaos Theory...It is said that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. If there is some possibility for chaos, however minute it is, then chaos will come..."
At first, Ranma felt drowsy. He felt someone touching his arm and his abdomen, but the touch was so fleeting that he labeled it as nothing. The touching returned, more violent than before. He craned his neck to the source of the sensations as his eyes fluttered open.
"Ranma airen!" Shampoo cried, "Ranma well now?"
Ranma was still groggy from his slumber when he heard Shampoo's statement. "Shampoo what are you doing here? And...what do you mean by 'are you well now'?"
Shampoo wept into Ranma's stomach area as she said, "Ranma not man. Ranma woman. Shampoo thought Ranma gone forever!"
Ranma stared pointedly at Shampoo. 'Has she completely lost it? What does she mean I'm a woman? I'm a man!' "What the hell do ya mean? How can I be a woman? Are ya really that dense?"
Instead of replying with words Shampoo groped Ranma's breasts. Ranma could immediately sense that something wasn't right. His breasts normally were not that sensitive to a touch. He glanced down at his own chest and promptly screamed.
"What...what happened?" Ranma cried, "Why'd ya do this?" Ranma choked Shampoo and began to pull her to and fro. "Undo this. Turn me back. Turn me back right now!"
"...But Shampoo innocent. Shampoo not know how turn Ranma into man." She was terrified at the new Ranma and put her hands in front of her, as if to protect her from Ranma's dauntless wrath.
Something popped into Ranma's mind that second. If he was a girl now, then how did Shampoo even recognize him. "Wait. Shampoo, how did you know this was me and not some random girl passed out on the street?"
"Shampoo saw Ranma transform. Ranma man. Bright light come. Ranma no longer man. Shampoo think light is magic. Great-grand mother Cologne know more." Shampoo explained with the limited Japanese that she understood.
Ranma picked himself, or rather, herself up and dusted herself off. Shampoo was right behind her in this act. "Well then, we should go see Cologne right now. Like hell I want Ryoga ta see me like this."
The distance in which Ranma and Shampoo both had to travel was a bit lengthy; with the sun already waning, Ranma could tell it would be late by the time she got back home. Her parents might not like that idea.
Her parents...What if she had to come home to them in this state. Would they recognize her? Shampoo was only able to recognize her because of what she'd seen happen, but no one else may be able to recognize her as Ranma, which would make everything more difficult.
What would she say? "Hello mom, dad. I know you may not believe me, but I am Ranma Saotome, your son, who's become a girl." Nah, that wouldn't work. No, she had to find a cure for this affliction before she had to confront any situations akin to that.
"Shampoo. I think it might be better if we take the subway there. Didn't ya say we had ta go to Koto? That's over forty miles from here." Ranma said as they walked by a sign that directed them to a subway nearby.
They were walking by passersby. Everything was crowded, and there were many cars traveling down the streets.
"Shampoo think that good idea." The two walked down a flight of steps to the underground subway and promptly departed from the station.
There wasn't much to say about the subway. It was dirty and poorly managed. Not to mention there were so many people crowding together in such a small space. It was one of the less finer things in Tokyo life that Ranma has come to know since she's moved here. Luckily she didn't have to use the subways very often, but she hated it when she had to.
She moved to Nerima in Tokyo when she was eight years old. She didn't know why, but her mother said the reason was for her safety. Since the day she moved here, she hadn't seen her brother, Konryu. As odd as that was, she thought nothing of it.
The subway was now fifteen minutes into its journey. Shampoo absentmindedly lain her head on Ranma's shoulder in her sleep. Ranma turned and looked at her sleeping; it had been three years after her move that she'd met Shampoo.
The next three and a half years were interesting, as Ranma's daily life was full of school and quests with Shampoo. She always seemed to be pulled into these quests; Having to go into a cave and fight a nasty daemon, running from rooftop to rooftop in search of a talisman with buffed ninjas in hot pursuit, and the list goes on.
Their final chapter in the quest was probably the most interesting one of them all.
There came a loud crashing noise that resounded in Ranma's ears as he crawled behind a fence. A shed had exploded into a fiery rubble by some distant attack.
"Curse not knowing how to fight!" Ranma cried as he leaped forward into a roll, narrowly dodging another explosion. He looked to Shampoo helplessly lying on the ground in front of the opponent, unconscious. "I might have been able to help her."
One explosion landed on Ranma. He was sent sprawling across the ground. His body skidded to a halt not long after, friction acting against his body. 'If only I hadn't met Shampoo, none of this would happen. I wouldn't be running for my life to avoid some madman. What was the term they used? Curiosity killed the cat? Better safe than sorry? Why do I always let Shampoo drag me into all these situations?'
'Oh yeah..that's right. A guy can't really turn down a cute girl's face. How pathetic...' Ranma then went limp.
The remaining portion of the battle Ranma doesn't remember, as he'd been knocked out by the impact of the explosion. When he came to, the first thing he noticed, when his drowsiness cleared, was that he was still alive. "Where am I?"
Shampoo was crowding over him. "Ranma airen!" Now this was a development. Ranma couldn't remember a time when Shampoo had called him airen. What did that mean, exactly? Oh yeah. Gulp. Fiance. "Shampoo thought Ranma dead. Killed by evil men. Shampoo so scared."
Ranma could only guess that this subtle change in Shampoo's attitude towards Ranma was from the development of the battle they'd fought. Well, it was more like a chase for Ranma, but that was besides the point. It wasn't as if Shampoo had not been kind to Ranma before this, but her new found discovery made her even more affectionate than before!
"What the hell are you doing...calling me by such an affectionate name?" Ranma asked.
"Ranma brave. Ranma no have magic; Ranma stand up to evil man. Shampoo love Ranma!" She cried into his chest. The pigtailed boy didn't know how to respond to her actions right then and there. It was as if he was paralyzed from the neck down as he saw her bury her face into his chest and cry.
Ranma bit his lip. While he didn't particularly like Shampoo, it didn't feel at all wrong to have her up next to him like this. Her hand cautiously draped itself over his chest and rested and the nape of his neck. She fiddled with the seam of his shirt, as if to pull it off him.
Something drew him towards her, and at the same time pushed him away at the same time. Something inside made his stomach reel on its side, not generating what one would term 'stomach butterflies', but a 'wrong' feeling. It was akin to instinct, like if one sensed danger, then their 'fight or flight' system would kick in. The feeling was telling him not to allow himself to be drawn to her.
And then Ranma had complete control of himself. His previous desires to pull himself nearer to Shampoo were completely eradicated, and in its place was serenity and acknowledgment. "And what of your quest? How did that go? Did you get the magic gem you'd been looking for?"
At that point in time, Cologne had come floating into the room like a genie. Overhearing Ranma's question, she responded in like, "No, although, as I'd clearly stated before when we'd first come here to Tokyo, our objective wasn't to obtain the gem. It was merely to prevent it from falling into other individual's hands. As we have defeated the only other individual to know its whereabouts in Tokyo, our mission has been completed."
"Shampoo no want to go. Shampoo like it here, with Ranma!" Shampoo cried.
"I apologize for not telling you in advance, Shampoo, but we really mustn't overextend our stay here in Tokyo. There are other matters we must attend to. I promise we will return one day, soon." Cologne replied. "I apologize for the three of us for any inconveniences that we've given you Ranma. I hope that we will meet again, next time in better circumstances."
Ranma nodded, but he was unable to say anything as Cologne and Shampoo left his life. And although he didn't know Mousse that well, so had he.
Ranma was suddenly pulled out of here daydream by a push. Shampoo and she both fell onto the walkway in the sub. When Ranma glanced upward, he'd noticed that it was now much emptier than before and there was a group of young men in front of her and Shampoo. Shampoo was also jolted awake by their ungraceful fall onto the walkway.
"That got 'em awake Keitaro." one of the men said. "Oh yeah..." One of the men fondled Ranma's breast; she received goosebumps and turned away in disgust. What was wrong with these men? Didn't they know she was a...'oh yeah. I'm not longer a guy. Dammit.'
She screamed as one of the guys jumped on her. Shampoo came to the rescue and plowed into him, sending the two reeling into a bench across the room.
Shampoo was biting onto the guy's shoulder like a cat! Ranma couldn't help but guffaw at the scene.
Another guy glared at Ranma, thinking that she was making fun of them, and grabbed a hold of her. Instinctively Ranma kneed the guy, who fell back and hit the side of the subway room. A pile of boxes plunged down on top of him. As the were nearing him, the guy squeaked, "Mommy!"
The man beside Keitaro, upon seeing his friend knocked out cold by a few boxes, assumed the fetal position and sucked on his thumb as he rocked himself back and forth.
"Get a hold of yourselves, men. These are two girls, why are you getting yourselves all worked up over nothing?" Keitaro said. He jumped Ranma and held her down, preventing her from moving from her bind. He began to grope he breasts and rub himself against her. This final act elicited a scream from Ranma.
Shampoo flung herself at Keitaro, who suddenly found himself lodged in the side of the subway. "Uhh..." Keitaro said. "Can someone help me out of here? Guys?"
The remaining three men stared at Shampoo with widened eyes. Shampoo glanced back at them, a wild flare in her eyes that would send any man packing. And that's exactly what these men did as soon as they saw her glare. They flung themselves out the window and the subway.
"What the hell, guys?" Keitaro said. "I would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for you pesky girls, and that crazy Chinese bitch especially." These earned him an extra glare from Shampoo, who kicked him in the gut and promptly knocked him out.
The dying sun cast long shadows over the district of Koto. Ranma, having been subjected to such heinous acts in the subway, was now aware of the dangers of being a girl, especially when alone. Every time the shadows shifted nearby, Ranma jumped, thinking there to be some predator behind every corner.
Going by the rumors in Koto, this place was especially dangerous, having garnered Yakuza-spawned gangs. However, despite that, its alleyways seemed to be void of violence, and what few people who'd been still out at this time seemed fairly nice.
As the sun gave off its final red orange goodbye and set beyond the horizon, Ranma noted that the Koto region was eerily similar to Nerima. Had she not been paying attention, she would have remarked that they were going in circles, for the ended up right back where they started.
Shampoo led Ranma down an alleyway not at all different from the one she'd found the magical orb. "So...why are you and your great-grandmother staying here in Koto?" Ranma asked, glancing to her breasts every few seconds. Curse her for not noticing these changes in her when she first woke up. Who could miss the large breasts and the cutesy high-pitched voice she had? She tried lowering her octave, as if to undo some damage that the mysterious orb caused her. "then again, I suppose it is safe enough."
"Great-grand mother look for tall hat man. Man has gem grand-mama Cologne looking for. Said to undo curses." Shampoo said as she halted in front of a door. "Wait. Shampoo tell grandmother Cologne Ranma here."
Once Shampoo had receded into the darkness that was her abode, it didn't take long for her to return with her family member. The old, but wise woman entreated Ranma to a comfortable couch and a cup of warm tea at once.
"I hear some magic has been placed on you, Ranma." Cologne said before taking a sip of her green herbal tea. "Shampoo has just told me some about the...after effects, but I will need you to fill in the gaps to get a better sense of what has been done onto you."
Ranma nodded and described the event with the greatest detail she could possibly give her. All throughout the explanation, she moved her hands around vivaciously, as if to boost her along in her speech. At one point she jumped up from her seat and reached out for the skies. "..And then there was a bright light!"
Her excitement caused her to knock a lamp post over. At first, Ranma wasn't to worried about it. She'd just repay Cologne back for the damages later. However when the broken lamp caught on fire, subsequently passing the fire off onto the carpet under their feet, her eyes twitched.
The trio spurned to life, darting up and down the apartment complex to retrieve a fire extinguisher. In the end, they somehow were able to obtain a fire extinguisher and put out the fire without much damage done to anybody's stuff...And that was when the fire alarm alerted the entire household of the danger its occupants were in.
The fire fighters were there in almost an instant. Initially they were angry, but that anger quickly subsided, and by the of the next hour or so, they were laughing lightheartedly over the event. The fire fighters packed up their things and left, but not without complimenting the apartment's occupants of their room...as well as their quick response to the ordeal.
"...I'm glad that is over with." Ranma said with a sigh. She leaned her upper body over the kitchen counter-top lazily. Right at the moment, the family room didn't exactly smell like the best place in the world to be.
"Not to be mean or anything, but you were a little stupid allowing that to happen." Cologne said.
Ranma looked pointedly back at her for a moment before chuckling halfheartedly at her and saying, "I'm sure you don't really mean that do you, ya old hag?" At that, Cologne rubbed her temples in frustration, but she didn't comment on Ranma's rude behavior.
Ranma sweat-dropped. She was suddenly nervous being here after causing such a commotion. That kind of stuff was normal to Ranma, so she'd never, ever felt bad for an accident that she'd done. Perhaps it was a side affect from being in a girl's body to long.
Speaking of which, that was the reason she came here in the first place, to get out of this girl body and back in to her own. "Oh yeah, almost forgot why I came here in the first place, what with that whole incident...sorry, by the way. What does the whole body-changeroo sound like?"
Cologne was a bit surprised at the apology she received, as it was uncommon for Ranma to apologize at all, but she said none-the-less, "The orb might have been used for occult magic in the western tribes of Malaysia in the sixth century, though the magic they partook in was barred so quickly after it took off. The orb in which you spoke of is certainly one of their more notable tools."
"And? How do I undo this?"
"Well the thing is..." Cologne paused, building up suspense. "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? I've been changed into a girl there must be a way to change me back!"
Cologne nodded in agreement. "There normally is a way to undo magic like this, and most magic today with these kind of affects would only be temporary, but..."
"Oh no, not the but..." Ranma whined. "Anything but the but!"
"The magic that was used on you was unstable. As a matter of fact, if you had not dropped the mystic object, your life could have very well been taken from you. The fact that the orb smashing onto the ground must have severed the connection you had with the magic." Cologne explained.
"Shouldn't I be, oh...I dunno, normal then?" Ranma complained. She balled her hand and held it firmly at her side. "Being in this body sucks. I've been touched in bad places, and I've already had to go to the bathroom. Twice. I couldn't even aim!" Tears formed in her eyes over her lost ability.
"Nonsense, girls can aim...just not as easily." Cologne replied, "But that's besides the point. And that is another difference in the time's magic. Today's magic has a focal point as well charge limit for most spells or incantations. Like mixtures, for example, can be diluted and made less powerful. That magic, however, builds up and builds up until no more magic can be contained, and then it disperses. That light you and Shampoo saw was the result of that process.
"Usually without a sever point as well, the magic, having filled its victim to the brim with the magic, would normally result in the victims' death. You, Ranma, had unwittingly severed the connection yourself. To sum things up a bit, you went through the magic's affects without that negative side affect. However, that is not to say that you weren't lucky in surviving that unstable magic in the first place."
"So I should be able to go back now right?" Ranma asked stupidly.
"Again, I'm not sure." Cologne said, "Come with me." They entered a dark room; Shampoo flipped a switch. "This storage of grandmother's magic."
There were a few tables secured at the center of the room, and pressed up against all four walls were shelves of books. The room encompassed thousands of them.
Cologne picked out a book and set it down at one of the tables. Opening it up and turning a few pages here and there, she pointed to an important paragraph of the page. "Aha. Here it is."
"What does it say?" Ranma asked curiously as she and Shampoo approached Cologne.
"The specifics of the effects of the spell are not gender-changing or gender oriented, but it does have a wide range of uses, or so it was meant for a lot of uses. It can grant users their desires and wishes."
"Like hell I desired to be in this body." Ranma clicked her tongue.
"I'm not so certain it was your desire that was fulfilled." Cologne murmured. "Mousse! Come here!"
A tall man with spectacles hanging over the bridge of his nose appeared in the doorway behind them. "Yes, mistress?"
"Do you know anything a magical orb that was recently used?" Cologne asked, "Don't lie if you do. Any knowledge pertinent to Ranma's predicament could help him get him back to his original self."
Mousse grumbled and glanced away...he mumbled, "If you're talking about what I did to Ranma today, then I have...Though I did what I had to."
"Please explain yourself."
Ranma gawked at this person. This was a person whom she'd never seen before. Why had he done that to her? Life suddenly seemed so cruel. One man is deprived of his manhood by another person whom he'd never met before. Ranma thought she'd hit rock bottom before, but seriously, this has got to take the cake of the worst, and possibly the most random, occurrence that has ever happened to her.
"I...Shampoo never ceased talking about Ranma, about how much she loved him and their future together. I..I didn't know what to do or what to say... I- I just did it to protect my love for Shampoo!" He had used the magic to remove Ranma as a threat to Shampoo and Mousse's nonexistent relationship.
Ranma stared at Mousse with widened eyes. She felt her eyes sting. 'No, this can't be happening...I can't cry. Not for such a stupid reason like this.' Her fists shook, in frustration at how Mousse dealt with the situation and at herself. She was nearly entirely incapable of hiding her emotions now.
"You think...you think what you did was going to change Shampoo's mind about you?" Ranma yelled, tinged with pain. "All you've done was possibly ruin my life. Love can't be demanded; if Shampoo was meant to love you...then she would have eventually stopped pining over me and come runnin' ta you."
Everyone looked to Ranma. Cologne and Mousse understood Ranma perfectly, though there was room for...misunderstanding. Shampoo suddenly shouted with glee and said, "That why Ranma Shampoo airen and no Mousse airen. Mousse no understand Shampoo!" She then promptly glomped Ranma in the side.
Ranma sweat dropped. 'Oops, I don't think I said that last sentence right. Geez, Shampoo's actin' like I'm professin' my love to her or somethin'.' "Uhh...that's enough Shampoo' you're not helping matters any."
"Well..." Cologne said as she walked up to a hidden cabinet in the far back of the storage room. "With what Mousse has just said, there may be a way to temporarily restore your old form." She picked out a glass vial filled with a neon-green liquid.
She returned to the group at the table. "I can't guarantee that you'll stay in your old form though. This magic is meant to negate a changed-state magic, but it's not nearly as strong as the magic that changed you into a woman. You might experience random gender changes, and since the magic Mousse used on you is long lasting, you only have so long before it wears off.
"In the mean time, I will look for some remedies that will effectively defuse the magic placed on you." Cologne finished her explanation. She handed Ranma the vial.
"Thank you." Ranma said as she drank the vial. The gender change was slow, but Ranma was at least thankful that he had his old body back, if only temporary. "Hopefully this will get me through two weeks."
After thanking the odd family one last time, and exchanging good-byes, Ranma departed into the starry night. He had a long walk back to Nerima, but at the very least he was in his body. He never knew how good it could be to be a guy. Still, the fun that was Ranma's life wasn't over yet. No, he had a feeling it had just begun.
Author's Note: Alright, I've somewhat updated the second chapter. Originally, I hadn't given a reason why Shampoo had started calling Ranma "Ranma-airen!" But now I have; and at an important time in the story too, I believe. During the final chapter of Shampoo's quest, Shampoo realized, after she thought she'd lost him forever, that she loved him. Although, it is evident from Ranma's reaction, that he does not reciprocate those feelings. Sorry if I didn't make that last notion obvious; it is certainly difficult to explain how one feels when they are pulled in two different directions like that, between like and disgust. I better just leave it as it is though, heh.
Anyways, we've also found out what Shampoo had been questing for, although not certainly why or even where the magic gem is. This definitely will have some significance in the story, but I guess it'd just be good practice for me to make things like that significant in subsequent chapters.
I have added another funny scene, but after that I've pretty much lost my will to revise much further beyond the subway scene. I still don't like the way I introduced Mousse's character into the story, but I can't see any other way of introducing him right now without either totally screwing up the story or losing the affect of pulling out Ranma's emotions the way I did. Someday I might find a better way to introduce him, and maybe even pull out Ranma's emotions in a more intricate and powerful way, but I'll leave it for now. I'd say that this is one of those times where it's better to tredge onward and then reflect back on it when I've found more tangible grounds to work on.
Anyways, that's all for now; I hope you enjoy my update. I'll work on a few chapters of my Lies of the Villains book and then get back to you all. See you later.