Choices and Consequences
Chapter 21
Faith, Acceptance and Determination
A dose of reality to temper one's dreams...
Disclaimer: I am not Rumiko Takahashi, nor do I own Ranma 1/2.
The Next Day Friday March 3, 1994
Akane frowned as she laid on her bed, trying to study her notes from class; although she kept a cheery face up, she was worried about Ranma, something she would never admit aloud if she could help it. While he was very tough, a great fighter and never lost, she knew that Herb was also a truly great fighter and had clearly overwhelmed him in their battle; in addition, Ranma only needed to lose once more against a foe like the Musk Princess and she might...
'Not only is Herb strong, but she is clearly quite vindictive- she splashed Ranma with that curse-locking water for only causing her to flash us on accident; I mean, no one I know is that childish about accidents. If Ranma lost to her again, she might...kill her for no good reason.'
Akane shivered at that possibility as she heard the coughing coming from her sister's room continue. 'I hope Kasumi gets better soon; she doesn't deserve things like this to happen to her.' As Akane listened to her older sister's battle with her illness, she thought that there was at least one silver lining to Kasumi's situation.
'At least this illness might give her an excuse to see Doctor Tofu again; maybe this time he will get somewhere with her.' As she smiled slightly at the image of the doctor and her sister getting together, she turned her thoughts back to her currently female fiancé. 'Even though he might be outmatched, I won't shame him by doubting his abilities. He has won against great odds before and HE will survive this situation to win against them again. I will choose to have faith in him and his abilities; no matter what the odds against him I won't consider the possibility of his defeat!'
Akane then decided to get off that topic before she got depressed and move her thoughts to happier ones. 'I do hope that those three liked the lunches I made them; they will keep for several days and I am sure that I got the flavors right this time! I especially hope that Ranma and Ryoga will like the ones they received!'
Realizing that she wasn't even looking at her notes anymore, Akane decided to go check up on her sister. Hearing her ask who would make dinner if she was sick, Akane quickly volunteered and said in a kind voice, "No, No! Don't strain yourself! I'll be happy to cook!"
Apparently, they still didn't trust her skills in the kitchen as her dad had to persuade Kasumi to rest and get back into bed by saying that they would get takeout instead, Nabiki had already left to go to a friend's house before their Dad had managed to persuade the oldest Tendo sister. Suddenly, all of them heard the sound of Shampoo yelling up to them, "We're coming in! Nodoka and I!"
As Genma all but flew in an attempt to reach cold water before Nodoka caught him, Akane and the rest of the Tendos went to greet the pair. 'Argh! I have this really eerie feeling that something bad is about to happen here, and Ranma is not here to deal with it...'
Ryoga was troubled; as he did a long set of advanced katas, all of which he had mastered some time ago, he was trying to figure out why exactly he had agreed to come on this adventure with Ranma. 'I mean, its obvious why I SHOULD be going: to get the pail and use it to "cure" my dumb curse, but why then am I also spending much of my time thinking of ways to unlock Ranma's curse rather than get the pail of preservation?'
As he brooded over this, he watched his two traveling companions' sparring session. Sighing, he thought, 'At least those two know why they are here, Ranma because she needs her curse unlocked, and Ukyo because it gives her a way to help and be with her "Ranchan". Me, I'm still not sure why the hell I came along.'
With nothing better to do, Ryoga just kept watching the two of them as he ran through his exercises; since he had stopped hiking so much, he had found lately that he had more time for actual training, although, admittedly, his tough hiking life had been a big help as well. As he watched, he periodically snorted at the antics of one combatant or the other. Ranma was making use of her large speed advantage to block or dodge almost every attack the chef was throwing at her, but Ryoga could see her moves becoming cleaner and more efficient as time went on, a necessity if one wanted to keep up with someone as fast as Ranma.
As the two teens battled, they bantered insults back and forth, sometimes causing Ryoga to laugh.
"So Ucchan, how's the arthritis going?"
"Its going quite well actually, any 'cramps' lately Ranchan?"
"No signs of me acting like Ryoga, so I guess not. Say...have you been going to turtles for speed advice? Because it definitely shows!"
"Yep! And Ranchan, they were still faster than you, and in much better shape too!"
"Ooh, right in the heart! Oh well, at least I am still better built than you are Ucchan!"
At Ranma's remark, Ryoga winced; from what he had heard of Ukyo, that definitely wouldn't go over well with her, but she actually seemed to take it in stride as she replied with a smirk, "Yup, you sure are! I'll bet you get all the cute BOYS, like that nice Mikado Sanzenin I heard tales of!"
As Ranma's face went green, probably at the memory of her first kiss with that despicable womanizer, Ukyo got her over the head with her battle spatula, smirking as she did so.
Ranma, regathering herself, replied with an evil smile towards the okonomiyaki chef, "Heh-heh-heh. Ucchan. I hope you know...THIS MEANS WAR!"
As the brawl continued with a fury, Ryoga decided to postpone deciding on his reasons for this blasted adventure until later; he would cross that particular bridge when he came to it.
Shampoo smiled happily as Nodoka was busy talking to the Tendo family; unfortunately for them, the Tendo family had discovered quite quickly that, with Kasumi sick, the housework was definitely taking a hit. Nodoka, being as kind as she usually was, at least when not dealing with certain Seppuku contracts, said with a smile in response to their admittance that they were on the rocks, "Then...if its alright with you...may I make dinner tonight?"
The majority of the Tendos beamed until she continued, still smiling, "I'm sure that Akane wouldn't mind helping me, Shampoo too!"
Shampoo giggled at the looks on their faces; clearly they were afraid of both Akane's cooking and whatever magic that they thought she might use on them by way of the meal. She decided to tease them a little and flashed a wicked grin while Nodoka was looking away, causing all of them to gulp nervously. Nodoka then said cheerily, "If it's alright, I would love to teach your daughter Akane to cook properly."
Looking at Nodoka and Shampoo with some suspicion, Akane said, somewhat doubtfully, "Really?"
In response to Nodoka's offer, Soun, in tears, said, "Can you...Can you really cure Akane?"
In response to this, Shampoo thought to herself, 'I truly believe that would take a magic artifact to do so...her cooking is clearly a curse laid down upon her family.'
However, Nodoka, with the surety that came from not knowing what exactly she was up against, replied easily, "I'll make a fine cook out of her."
After about twenty minutes, Shampoo was beginning to think that executing the 'kiss of death' upon the youngest Tendo girl might be a mercy, saving the lives of the entire Tendo family from an eventual death via food poisoning. Akane, in her usual manic frenzy that she claimed was cooking, had already mixed chunks of the cutting board in with the carrot chunks and incinerated one of the main dishes by mistaking vegetable oil for white wine...somehow.
Shampoo was getting ready to break out her chui and chase Kitchen Destroyer out from her area of mischief, when she thought of an idea. While it was likely that Ranma hadn't told Genma about the soap, which would be pretty stupid as it would have been gone within the week given Genma's tendencies, it was quite possible that he would have told Akane of the soap. As such, it would probably be best if she kept Nodoka's conversation with Soun about the new engagement as private as possible. Neither of the idiot duo were likely to mention Shampoo's new engagement to Ranma until it was too late for fear of Akane using it as an excuse to break up with the 'boy' again; as such, if Akane didn't overhear the conversation, it was likely that they wouldn't mention it to Akane until it was far too late for the panda and his crying sidekick to do anything about it.
Smiling as her idea turned into a plan inside of her clever mind, Shampoo realized that most of the dishes for the meal were already completed and whispered to Nodoka, "If you want to have a nice, private conversation with Mr. Tendo, now would be a good time; let Akane and I finish off the last few dishes, we'll be fine."
As Nodoka smiled, nodded and left, Shampoo looked over at the deservedly maligned Kitchen Destroyer and said, "If you still think that you are a 'real cook', how about a taste match between the two of us?"
Ukyo sat quietly by the campfire where they had decided to camp, a short distance from a surprisingly nearby hotel, thinking to herself. 'Soon we will probably have to fight Herb, Lime and HIM again; what will happen if we are defeated? What would we do if we can never unlock Ranma's curse again? I love Ranchan dearly, but what if he is stuck as a she for the remainder of his life?'
Staring into the fire, she though to herself, 'I know for a fact that I love him now, but would I be able to keep loving him romantically if he was stuck as a she for the rest of our lives? He deserves to be able to know whether or not he can count on me for that; what if I was unable to keep loving him like that and we were unable to unlock his curse?'
As the flames of their campfire burned down slowly, she drew upon her memories, hoping to find the answer to her question.
Flashback Eleven Years Ago:
"Hey Ranchan, why don't you ever play with the other kids? Why always just with me?"
A young Ukyo and Ranma were eating okonomiyaki after 'battling' again. Ranma of course, had been the winner for the umpteenth time. Ukyo was wondering because she knew that none of the other boys or girls liked her because she was too much of a tomboy, as such she wondered why Ranma wasn't like them and instead wanted to spend time with her.
In response to her question however, the young Ranma paused scarfing down his okonomiyaki and said fiercely, "I don't wanna play with them because they told me that playing with you wasn't cool; I won't play with anyone who won't play with my best friend. No way!"
Ukyo's young heart glowed in warmth at his fierce defense of her. 'He's so nice! I want to be best friends with MY Ranchan forever!"
End Flashback
Ukyo smiled a little as she recalled the moment she had started to fall in love with Ranma, a love that had apparently lasted even through ten years of wanting him dead. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure that proved anything on its own; she then continued browsing through her memories.
Flashback One Year Ago:
"Darn it!"
Ukyo ran to the shower attached to the hotel she had been staying at, hoping to find Ranma and exact her vengeance upon him and his father. She had just woken up from a dream where she and Rancha...her quarry had met up again. She had defeated Genma handily, for some reason only knocking him unconscious when she really wanted to do nothing less than kill him, but when she fought Rancha...her quarry, she had lost, only for him to give some stupid excuse that she could no longer remember and tell her that he really loved her.
After that, rather than claiming the vengeance from her best frie...hated enemy that she wanted above all else, she had...demonstrated to him the OTHER reason one marries a Kuonji and, to her absolute mortification, she had woken up sweaty and sticky...yet again. Snarling in her fury, she berated herself, "If I have to have these blasted dreams, why can't they be about some movie star, an actor, or even another woman! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him! I have no feelings for the jerk other than pure, unadulterated hatred!"
As she ranted at herself, sounding unconvincing even to her ears, the dream-her just laughed in her mind merrily, yet mockingly, seeming to say, 'You don't even believe that yourself...'
End Flashback:
Ukyo blushed at that particular memory, even when she had 'hated him more than anything in the world', she hadn't been able to stop herself from wanting to be with the same person who had first made the cruelty of the other children seem meaningless in his presence; the dreams had just changed as her hormones kicked in and she entered puberty. She was becoming reasonably sure in her decision, but she still wanted to be certain, so her mind went over to one more memory.
Flashback When Ukyo First Learned About Ranma's Curse:
As she poured hot then cold water over her beloved Ranchan, Ukyo was lost in thought. 'Ooh, this is so much fun! Hot boy I love! Hot girl I love! Hot boy I love! Hot girl I love! So many possibilities! When I marry him, I marry the boy I love more than anything, get to live my dream where I cook him an okonomiyaki while watching him practice his martial arts skills, not that I will neglect my own, and I get could experiment whenever I want to with just me and Ranchan! Wait a minute...BAD THOUGHTS UKYO!'
Ukyo then responded mentally, scolding herself. 'The marriage is about more than whether you want to start your honeymoon as soon as you meet him! It's about love and affection and the sharing of troubles and dreams...Wait, that's not a problem, I want to do that anyway with him. Its just that, in addition to being the same person I fell in love with, he's really cute now!'
Realizing that it probably wasn't the best time to be dwelling on these thoughts, Ukyo ordered herself, 'OK Ukyo...let's save those thoughts for private time, lest you give yourself a nosebleed in front of your long-lost fiancé...'
End Flashback
Ukyo smiled as she came to her final decision. 'It doesn't matter to me, even if Ranchan never becomes a man again, I still want to be as close as I can possibly get to him and spend the rest of my life with him.' She then chuckled a little as another thought came to mind. 'Ironically, it would probably be easier to marry him now because I am legally a boy! After I get home, I am going to give dad a kiss on the cheek for making me live my life as a boy for ten years...maybe not, but I will still thank him if that turns out to be helpful.'
After a short laugh at the irony, she continued her train of thought. 'No matter what happens, I will choose to accept Ranma, flaws, female form or whatever, and keep on trying to make him mine as much as I am his!'
Finishing making her choice, she realized that the hotel had an outdoor hot springs and yelled back to Ranma and Ryoga, who were tussling again for whatever reason, "Hey boys! Whadaya say we stop in that hotel over there, the hotel Inozuru! We have the money, and its got nice beds and a hot springs! Besides, in all honesty, YOU STINK!"
As the two others shouted at one another, arguing about whether or not it was worth their time, Ukyo started packing up the campsite, taking the decision out of their hands, it was her money she planned on using to pay for them after all...
As she finished off the rest of the meal while cooking up another dish for her taste match with Akane, not that it was needed given that she could probably just take a raw egg and beat the Tendo girl in taste, Shampoo, free from any important distraction, started thinking about Ranma's new problem.
'What will I do if Ranma fails to defeat Herb and get his curse unlocked? Amazon law doesn't allow two women to marry! Nor does Japanese law! What will I do!?' Shampoo realized that she was starting to let her emotions get the best of her, just like she did when Ranma pretended that he was really a woman when she first realized that both Ranmas were the same, so she took a deep breath, then whispered to herself, "Shampoo, Focus! You are an Amazon Champion! You do not give up on something really important to you, EVER!"
Following the instructions she gave herself, Shampoo carefully focused. 'OK, Ranma, although probably outmatched, unless he is killed during one of the battles, only has to defeat that Musk princess once in order to reclaim his manhood; moreover, if he makes it to the 'water pot of liberation first, he won't even have to fight her to get his curse unlocked!'
With that particular doubt assuaged, at least partially, she then focused on what she could do in Nerima and frowned. 'OK, first of all, I have to make sure that I check the Joketsuzoku archives as carefully as I can; I did a light foray into them last night, but there are probably more ways than just the one I heard about in that tale to cure his condition and I MUST find them. It is my duty as his wife...err fiancée.'
Blazing with a bright battle aura and fierce determination, Shampoo decided, 'No matter what it takes, I will find a way for him to regain his manhood because I love him! I choose to follow the path of determination, just as I did when I came back from China! Just like the path to become his wife, I will keep on it until I either succeed or it is proven to be completely impossible!'
As she was deciding this, Akane, in order to boil the eggs for a dish, had put them in the microwave. The resulting explosion sent the door to the microwave crash right into Shampoo's head; her last thoughts before going unconscious were, 'I am beginning to really hate that girl...'
Author's note: In case it isn't obvious, Ryoga isn't questioning whether he should be on the quest with Ranma and Ukyo; he's questioning the reason why. The reason it is so different from how he acted during this arc in canon is actually pretty simple: in canon, the Herb arc took place almost right after the Fishing Rod of Love arc, if that didn't make him want to throttle Ranma (Although it was Ryoga's fault in that arc), nothing would. In this version, the Fishing Rod of Love arc hasn't quite arrived yet, meaning that Ryoga would probably be suffering from some indecision whether or not to focus on helping his rival, or to focus on getting the 'pail of preservation'.
As for the contents of Ukyo's flashbacks, it's not so much that she is bisexual, although she might be curious, as she is Ranmasexual. As she has gotten used to treating both forms of Ranma as Ranma, I suspect that would cause any attraction she has for his male form to bleed over to his female form as well (It is probably the same with Akane and Shampoo, although obviously not Kodachi as she doesn't know about the curse). Mind you, she still probably would prefer him as a guy, but she still loves him enough to marry him even if he is stuck in female form.
All three of the girls are making choices about how to react to Ranma's curse being locked: Akane has chosen to have faith in his ability to undo it, Ukyo has chosen to accept that they might never undo it and Shampoo has chosen to be determined and find a way to cure him and help him find one by any means necessary.
Remember, Shampoo's opinion of Akane is quite biased, she is actually beginning to consider Akane as an active threat to Ranma, clearly this would cause her to dislike her even more than before.
Gangsta Spanksta: Thank you for letting me know, I was unsure on semi-colon usage and will probably go back to chapter 20 and edit it to remove the errors sooner or later. I can't say that I have figured them out yet, but I hope that this chapter is free of that sort of error.
James Birdsong: Your welcome is welcome=). Word of warning, if you say something like 'Your welcome that welcomed my welcome is welcome', then I will reserve the right not to respond, as much as I would normally prefer to do so.
DiMeraslover(Chapter 19): It may not be physical pain, but after Happosai, I think that, short of making him one with her katana, there is little Nodoka can do to hurt him physically that would be worse than what Happosai probably did. As such, hitting them in the engagements is probably the most painful thing that Genma or Soun could possibly imagine.
Agreed, the Musk, or at least Herb, are quite ruthless in pursuit of their goals. Yeah, just like canon, Ranma let his temper get away from him, but similar to canon, he had quite the provocation, even if it was different.
I find it difficult to understand what you meant in this line, but Akane, thinking that Ranma was only beaten up, was still primarily focused on the fiancée wars and afraid of revealing her feelings to her rivals, or anyone for that matter. Nodoka will be watching, but not too often; similar to canon, she won't be around all of the time. As for Nodoka still loving Ranma as a girl, I can guarantee you that, barring the threat of death, Ranma will never, ever let Nodoka know he is currently locked in girl-form. He's too worried about the curse as is, there is no way he would want to tell her that her 'man among men' has become a girl full-time; as such, I can guarantee that there will be no dating of Kuno on the part of Ranma in the near future.
Thank you very much again=).
DiMeraslover(Chapter 20): Yes, they (Akane and Shampoo) are both being rather adultlike about the idea of Ukyo going with Ranma and Ryoga, although partially its because Happosai, Genma, and Soun don't want to go, Cologne and Shampoo can't go, and Akane, even with the bit of training she did with Ryoga last week, would be no more than collateral damage against any of the three Musk warriors, and they both know that those three are more than a match for Ranma and Ryoga on their own.
I strongly believe that about 90% of Ranma 1/2 readers believe that the world would be better off if those two took a long walk off of a short pier. That is probably Ryoga's style, but he will be letting her know how she feels eventually, and far before the end. Even if he is to lose or end up with someone else, he will be happy with the knowledge that he fought for her as best as he can, and if he should win her, he will know that he made the right choice regardless. (I have a significant dislike for the fact that Ranma never was able to do either of the big reveals to Akane in canon; he deserves better than to lose without a fight).