"Do you think they are going to freak when they find out about the curse?" a soft baritone voice echoed throughout the Furo.
Staring at the tiled ceiling, Harry felt the ripples of the bathwater as Ranma moved across the Furo to sit beside him. Neither feeling weird about the other boy being so close and just enjoyed the first peaceful moment since they had left Joketsuzoku, especially now that Genma got out of the bath to talk to Mr Tendo.
Letting out a long breath of air while subconsciously he scooted down a little more so that he was covered by more of the warm waters, and as he did so, he felt his tired body relax even more so.
"Probably" the word fell from his lips before he could stop it, but he knew it was the truth and judging from the sigh, Ranma did as well. "I had relatives, you know. Only three of them, but for the longest time, they were all I had. They never really liked me, and at times I would even say they despised me. I never knew why when I was little, but when I turned Eleven, I found out I had magic and that they had known all along. They called me a freak, like your father does with those stupid signs of his, but I learned that it doesn't matter what those idiots thought of me over time. That realisation only hardened over the last few years."
Ranma didn't say anything at first, seemingly going over what he had all told in his head, trying to pick a point of attack but then, after what felt like a few minutes, he spoke up in this utterly dull tone. "Sounds like Pops and your Relatives would get along like a log on the fire."
Snorting with laughter, Harry nodded. "Yeah, Uncle Vernon was like the British version of your dad. He's this bigshot salesman for a manufacturing company and likes to think that if he gets the sale, then it's his skill that did it, but if he fails, it's all my fault."
"Salesman and a Conman, two things cut from the same cloth."
Again, the pair fell into a moment of silence. One thinking about what it was like to be blamed for everything wrong in the world, while the other wondered what it was like to live on the road but still being ridiculed differently. Yet, both felt like they had found someone that could empathise with what they had gone through growing up but neither genuinely knowing how to talk about the subject in the long run.
Sighing again, Harry lifted his head off of the bathing ledge and gently pressed upon his neck until it cracked a little. To his ears, it should have hurt, but as he released the pressure, he felt nothing but relief. Placing his hands on the ledge, he used what strength his arms held to pull himself out of the warm waters. The rushing of displaced water, the droplets of waters falling from his warm body and back into the pool, was all he could hear for the moment as his vision blurred over from standing up to quickly but thankfully, he didn't faint.
Behind him, he could sense the worry in Ranma's magic at the sight of him wobbling, but he drew strength from that feeling of protection, the knowledge that if he fainted or fell, that his friend would help. So, using his hands to guide himself, he slowly manoeuvred his body until he could feel the cooler tiles of the ledge against the front of his thighs and with careful movements, he lifted his leg onto the other side.
However, just as he was about to lift the other one, he heard the sliding of the Furo door and found his eyes turning towards the sound. Not a single sound was heard for the longest second as if the world had frozen for the smallest of moments. The shallow breathing of the two males in the Furo and the hitched breath of the figure standing in the doorway was all that could be heard until slowly, the figure in the doorway backed away and shut the door.
In his mind, he counted, "One…two…three", and then, as if all the sound came rushing back in all at once, a deafening and feminine scream rang out. Physically wincing at the pitch that the girl reached, Harry hastily grabbed his towel. He could feel his anxiety starting to rise as he tried and failed to find his towel, but as his hands trembled, a hand fell upon his shoulder, and the soft fuzzy feeling of a towel was placed in his hands, calming him from a dawning panic attack.
"Thank you, Ranma." His voice was breathy, but he didn't care. He could deal with many things in his life, but he was less than useless when his anxiety peaks. The hand on his shoulder gave a gentle squeeze before lifting away, leaving an oddly empty feeling along his skin where the other boys hand had been.
"No problem, Hari, but we better get out of here and try to explain before that girl gets us in trouble." Harry couldn't help but agree with the other Raven-haired teen, although he was curious how he managed to sound both tired and amused at the idea of the girl getting them in trouble. Keeping his eyes locked on the exceptionally blurry figure of the Male Martial Artist as he walked towards the door, Harry silently wondered what was wrong with him.
Slipping into the laundry room, Ranma pointed over towards one of the baskets on the floor, "That one's yours, it has the dress from the guide sitting on top." His tone was oddly casual, with the only hint of mirth colouring his words.
Giving a nod of understanding, Harry made his way over to his basket of clothing and began riffling through it and silently smiled at the feeling of the smooth silk under his fingers; it felt like water had to be weaved into a piece of cloth. Then, shaking his head, his hair swaying as he did so, he started sorting everything out. The Cheongsams that Healer Koh Lon had given him were placed to the right of the basket, undergarments to the left, and in the end, his single Chinese silk shirt, or blouse if he asked Koh Lon, and his light green Kung Fu pants were all that's left in the basket.
Slipping on a pair of pants, doing his best to ignore the strange new feeling of the tight cloth pressing around his bits, he quickly followed with getting his trousers and shirt on. It was all odd to him to feel the cool but smooth silk sliding along his skin. He didn't know how to describe it, but it was different when he wore silk in his female form.
"Nice outfit Harry, although you didn't strike me as a Soyboy."
Looking at his friend, Harry couldn't help but frown at his words. He knew that it wasn't said in derision or to ridicule him, but that didn't mean he liked being labelled something he wasn't. After all, he was still sick, not effeminate. And he knew what that derivative meant after listening to his uncle rant for years on end about homosexuals. It was just like the word Sissy, which he didn't think would fit him after he took on and got stabbed by a Hungarian Horntail right through his shoulder.
Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair to calm himself, but as he spoke, he knew some of his irritation leaked through, "What do you mean? What's wrong with my clothes?"
But Ranma only shrugged like it was no big deal, "Nothing really. It's just that you're wearing girls' panties, those light green pants, and your shirt is kind of girly too. It's all silver with the same flower design as that blue Cheongsam you have but in plain black this time." He shrugged again, "It's just different, that's all."
Feeling his anxiety started to rear its ugly head again, Harry found himself clenching his hands into fists with his nails digging into the flesh of his palms. Not enough to draw blood but enough to hurt and distract him. Sometimes, he wished Ranma could just stop himself from putting his foot in his mouth and ruining the peace between them, or at least destroying Harry's peace while remaining utterly oblivious.
"I didn't know; Healer Koh Lon got them for me right before we left, and I can't exactly see what they look like right now." It was true, or at least as close as he was willing to admit aloud. He had seen them when he was in his other form and thought they were brilliant. He liked the Lily flower adorning his clothes; it made him feel closer to his mother and, at least in his mind, wearing the silver and green colours was like a rebellion against all his Gryffindor friend's ridiculous belief that they could never wear those colours just because Slytherins wore it. And now that they couldn't see him, he liked being able to wear them as he pleased.
Again, Ranma just shrugged as he slipped his red silk shirt and flipped his pigtail out from under his shirt.
Sighing, Harry just pushed himself past his friend and out into the hallway. Going deeper into the house, he could hear people talking while he runs his hand against the wall to give him a better idea of just where he was going and stopping him before he passed any more doors. Behind him, he could just barely pick up on the sound of Ranma's footfalls against the hardwood flooring. Still, he could feel the calmness of his magic as it rolled from the other boys in a gentle wave, unconsciously taking solace in the feeling of it as it seemingly washed over his entire being.
Just before they reached the living room or Washitsu, as Ranma told him in the days passed, he heard what was going on and felt tense. It was only a little bit, but he could see figures in the room; one was standing with what he guessed: the coffee table raised above her head and two men sitting upon the floor.
"I'm going to drown those perverts in the Furo!" a female voice practically growled, and Harry couldn't stop himself from gulping. He didn't want to be on this girl's bad side, not when she could effortlessly lift that table above her head as she did it every day.
"What happened, Akane? What are you doing with that?" the kindly voice of Kasumi called out from what he thought might have been the kitchen, and he watched as this 'Akane' turned towards the young woman's voice, the table still clutched between her fingers.
"There are two perverts in the Furo!"
Behind him, he could feel Ranma twitch at the label this girl Akane was giving them before even talking to them. But Harry didn't take her words to heart and instead focused as well as he could on what was happened before him.
"Well, jeez, why didn't you just clobber them or something?" another girl's voice spoke out, although her voice sounded very much amused.
"Because I got scared, alright! What did I suppose to do? They were naked and in the Furo together like a couple of Perverts!"
"Oh, I do hope…." Kasumi never got to finish her sentence, though, as Ranma seemingly slipped right past Harry and walked into the Living room, drawing everyone's attention upon himself.
Chewing his lip, Harry wondered what he was supposed to do. If he went out there, they would take what Akane said wrongly and think they were up to something in the bathtub when she had walked in on them, especially if they shared Ranma's opinion of his clothing. But if he didn't go, Ranma was likely to say something to get that girl to smash the table on his head, and Harry didn't want his friend to get hurt just because this girl didn't bother to look at the little sign that Ranma had put on the door.
"Excuse me, who are you calling a Pervert?" Ranma's voice rang out like a gong, his irritation evident to anyone who heard him, but he kept himself from physically reacting towards the Tendo girl. For a second, the house was silent, but then Kasumi stepped out from the kitchen, absently whipping her hands on the front of her apron.
"Oh dear…and who might you be?"
He watched as Ranma turned his head away from Akane and onto Kasumi. He felt the other boys magic relax slightly but not enough that it wasn't tinged with anger. And to Harry's utter amazement, even when still furious at this Akane girl, Ranma gave a polite bow to Kasumi. His arms were at his side, and his back bent forward at a 45 degrees angle.
"I'm Saotome Ranma, sorry about this. "He said it like it was plain as day, and Harry had to fight himself not to smack himself in the forehead or, better yet, slap Ranma upside the head…or in the chest…or the arm…just hit him in general.
The only response the Tendo girls gave was a solid thunking sound as the table Akane was holding slipped through her slack grip and collided with her head. Harry would have thought she'd react somewhat, seeing as it made him wince, but all she did was stare at Ranma with the blank eyes of a goldfish.
Thankfully, it was Kasumi that broke the silence.
"You…You were that girl from earlier?" She moved slowly as she came from the Kitchen, her hands clutching her apron in a small show of how utterly confused she was and unsure what to say. Her eyes travelled up and down, taking in Ranma's original appearance before her eyes drifted over his shoulder and landed on himself.
His back tensed as her eyes landed on him. He couldn't make out the expression on Kasumi's face, but Ranma's magic seemed to sing with pained understanding as he took the look of the older girl. It made Harry wonder what the older woman was thinking. What conclusions she was coming to as she moved over towards him.
"And you…you were the other girl, weren't you? The one that nearly cried when I offered the bath." Her voice was low as if she was trying not to let the others hear what she was saying to him. And as his cheeks reddened under her words, he nearly flinched as she brought him into a hug. It was warm. Kasumi made him feel safe in her arms, just like Ranma did. But somehow…this felt sisterly, rather than how Ranma made him feel. Absently, Harry noticed Ranma move towards the Fathers as Akane was ordered to put the table back, and the Saotomes began telling their story to the other Tendo girls.
Sitting in a borrowed long Shirt from Nabiki and a pair of plain blue knickers, Harry watched as Genma tried and failed to inhale all the food at the dining room table. Most of his attempt was thankfully being foiled by a combination of Ranma and Mr Tendo smacking his hand every time he tried. Why he still thought to try it, even after the last two weeks of Ranma constantly keeping him away from their food, she didn't know.
Her head was still cold from the unexpected toss into the Pond by Ranma's father, but at least Kasumi was lovely enough to get her something to change into so she wasn't sitting there in damp clothing. For whatever stubborn reason, her friend was still dressed in his soaked silk shirt and Kung Fu pants. However, he did have a towel gently resting on the top of his red hair to keep water from flying everywhere as he ate and kept Genma from everyone's dinner.
And as she watched, Harry couldn't help but feel angry at the Akane girl.
Yes, her sisters did pass the engagement to her friend off onto the younger Tendo girl, but that didn't give her the right to call him a Pervert simply because of the curse or her misinterpretation of what happened the Furo. Sure, Ranma had been a bit of a jerk when he called her an uncute tomboy, but that didn't mean she had to smash him in the head with the table. And yet, she did, even though she was the one insulting both of them in the first place.
"So, what's your name? You never did tell us, and Ranma kept switching your name in his little story."
Taking her eyes away from her friend as he swatted his father's hand once more, Harry turned her emerald gaze upon the Middle Tendo sister.
The first thing she noticed about the girl was the curious glimmer in her chocolate brown eyes. They reminded her so much of Hermione's when she found something worth researching, and yet, there was a calculative glint to them that wouldn't be present in her only female friend's eyes. Beyond that, no longer was she dressed in a Kimono like she had been when they first entered the Living room, and she was now dressed in a simple pair of white shorts that rose to her waist and a teal-coloured shirt. It went much better with the bob cut hairstyle she wore.
"Well? You do have a name, don't you?" Blinking, Harry couldn't help the smile that came to her lips and the assertiveness that rung in the girl's voice. Just like Hermione.
Thinking back on the letter she had received from the Headmistress of Mahoutokoro a week ago, Harry knew that she had options of what to pick for a new legal name, but how to pick one, she wasn't sure. She didn't want a name close to Harry Potter, but she didn't want a silly name either. What was a name that could hold very loose ties to her British name but not be it all the same?
She had shown the list to Ranma as soon as she opened it and asked him what name she should pick. There were well over a dozen to choose from, but none of them had called out to her as he spoke of the meanings and connotations affiliated with each one.
"Her name is Ishikawa Yui, but I like to call her Hari."
Both girl's eyes jerked towards the teenage Martial Artist, one with disbelief and the other curiosity. Yet, Ranma was just sitting there, slowly eating from his bowl of rice with one hand as he used the other to swat his father hand the moment it came to close. There was a slight upturn to his soft pink lips, and his red hair was partially obscuring his eyes, but Harry could still see the unease glimmering in his eyes. All Harry did was smile at him, letting her acceptance of the name radiate through her eyes and almost immediately, the weariness in his eyes faded as if it was never even there.
Besides the unhealthy redhead, Nabiki's eyebrow arched upward as she watched their silent conversation but didn't say anything towards the exchange. Instead, she decided that she would watch the pair in the coming future. Something about them was different from everyone else she had met in her life, and it fascinated her, especially the girl to her right.
Nabiki was not a stupid girl, not in the slightest, and when the Saotome's were telling their story earlier, she noticed a few minor quirks to their tale. The first was rather obvious when she thought about the entire story. When the older Saotome spoke of Yui, he always had a disgusted sneer on his lips, and he would call her a boy with utter disdain in his tone. He also tended to twist his story to make himself seem like the victim, but his son would speak up and tell them what happened, showing a backbone towards the man that had trained him all of his life.
But as Ranma told his story from the moment Yui joined them, his voice would change from indifference to something similar to fondness. His eyes would flicker towards the redhead, although at the time she had been a boy, and this small smile would barely appear on his lips. Nabiki didn't think anyone, not even Ranma and Yui, noticed it, but she did. He also never called Yui a boy when she was a girl but made sure to tell the boy when he was a boy, unlike his father. It was strange as if he saw Yui as the girl and Hari as the boy, but sometimes Hari would be told when she was she and did nothing but quirk her interest.
Focusing her gaze upon the green-eyed girl, Nabiki's eyes widened for a moment before she felt like slapping herself for not thinking about it earlier.
"What are you two going to do about school? I mean, are you going to go as girls or guys?" Both teens seemed to freeze for a moment before rapidly losing whatever colour they had in their skin.
Inside Harry's mind, she felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head, shocking her mind to a standstill. In the last month, she knew it would be easier to just stay in her current form but never did she think about the social repercussions of that decision. Staying as a girl meant that she would have to take certain classes at school, use different facilities than she was used to, and be expected to act an entirely different way than she did in the past. People would look at her differently, did look at her differently, as she went about her life.
But would it be easier to be a boy until she was changed back into a girl? The constant worry of being turned into a girl while she was around boys at school, fearing the locker rooms and bathrooms at all hours of the day? She had heard more than she ever wanted to hear when her Dormmates talked about girls and their obsession with seeing a girl's naked body or a girl doing something sexual. She tried to block their words out, but it had rarely worked, instilling a very faint dislike for them in the back of her mind.
Or could she go about her day as a girl? Wearing the girl's uniform and not freak out when she used the facilities? She had spent most of the last month as a girl, and more than once, she had seen both her own body and Ranma's naked when they took baths or changed clothes. She didn't think seeing the female body bothered her that much anymore but would her reaction be the same in the locker rooms? In the Bathrooms?
Gulping in a big breath of air, Harry turned her eyes onto her redheaded friend. His eyes were firm and nearly glowing with resolve and vigour. One glance at his eyes, and she already knew his answer. He would fight with every bone in his body to remain male.
Yet, she felt shame roll through her own body and mind. She knew now, as she had known for the last month that she did not have the will to fight the Jusenkyo curse. If necessary, she would turn back to male, but she knew she would stay as she was if it wasn't. Magic was Magic, and if it felt she needed this curse, then she simply couldn't fight it.
"I'm a guy; I'm damn well gonna go ta school as a guy, curse be damned." She didn't know if he intended it, but Ranma's words came out loud, carrying away from their little corner of the table and to the rest of the people around them. Almost as one, everyone else's eyes snapped in their direction before Genma laughed and smacked Ranma on the back.
"That's right, my boy! No true man would dare stay in the form of a weak little girl!" his eyes landed on her as he finished, and she couldn't stop the flinch from happening, only for his face to turn to disgust instead of the usual dislike that he showed most people.
Then, as if a blink of an eye happened, she felt their attention move from her friend and onto her. Sweat started to form on her brow as she took in their scrutiny. While Genma held an intense sense of disgust for her from the very beginning, she felt a little bit better upon seeing the uncertainty in Mr Tendo's eyes. She wasn't a Saotome or a Tendo. At the same time, foreign, so she didn't fit anywhere regarding the betrothal contract. With her initially being a guy, there was no way in his eyes that she could seduce Ranma. So, to him, it didn't matter what she did, just as long as she didn't cause any problems for his family.
To his left, she took in Kasumi's warm smile and couldn't help herself but smile in return. She reminisced over the hug the older girl had given her when the duo had first come into the living room or her kind offer to let them take a bath when they first arrived. She was positive that if they had met Mr Tendo at the front gate, they wouldn't have had a chance to get all cleaned up until after dinner. Harry thought Kasumi wouldn't care what form she took for school, only that she was happy and polite to others throughout her day.
When her eyes slipped off of Kasumi and onto her youngest sister, Harry wasn't sure what to do under the glare coming from the girl. There was anger in her eyes, as well as a hint of distrust and repulsion, while she silently ground her teeth together. Judging from her age, Harry knew that until Ranma and she went to Mahoutokoro, they would be put in classes with each other. She could quickly tell their classmates about her curse, that she was just a boy with a curse that turned him into a girl. That she was a pervert, trying to get into the girl's locker room just to see them undress or trying to steal their boyfriends. But she wouldn't…she couldn't even look at her own body without feeling disgusted for herself, let alone someone else's. Ranma was the only person she could look at and not feel distraught.
Dark emotions started to bubble toward the surface of her mind, so she ripped her eyes away from the Raven-haired girl and looked at Nabiki. The brunette's eyes sparkled with curiosity, and she was smirking as if she knew something that Harry didn't, but Harry didn't think she would judge her for when she decided. She seemed friendlier than her younger sister, though and scarily similar to Hermione. That was enough for Harry to at least give the girl a chance.
And when her eyes fell upon her still female friend, she felt her heart flutter slightly as he smiled at her. His body language wasn't judging her, just waiting for her to choose the foreseeable future.
"I…I think I'm just going to stay as I am, one less thing to worry about throughout the day." Her words were soft at first, even to her ears, but it did nothing to stop the others from hearing her; although, many of them simply nodded in acceptance while two of them frowned even more than before. Then, turning her eyes away from Ranma and his bright red hair towards Nabiki, she tried to settle her nerves as she continued, "Do you think you could help Ranma and I study a bit after school? Neither of us has had the best education, and I don't know how to read kanji all that well."
Nabiki couldn't help but pause as the foreign girls asked her for aid as her eyes practically glowed with hopefulness. Her throat seemed to thicken with emotion, and her mind went fuzzy at sight, but with a bit of shack of her head, she cleared the cobwebs from her brain and turned her mind onto the current situation.
She had two cursed teens sitting before her; one a very skilled martial artist if his father tales are believed and rather good-looking in either form. She could use those looks of his to make more money off her classmates, especially since she could already see that they were going to need a more extensive food budget with them here. But Yui, she didn't know what she could get out of it to help the household. She had seen the foreigner in both of their forms already, and while she was sure they would look enticing to others once she was healthy again, she didn't see what she could do right now. Maybe she could help Kasumi with taking care of the household? At least then, it wouldn't all be on her sisters' shoulders.
"I think I can do that, but you two are going to have to do something more me in return." Her words dripped like honey from her tongue, but she couldn't keep the little smirk off her face at the sight of them visibly gulp in apprehension.
Life was going to be fun from here on out. She could feel it.
Late into the night, shortly after everyone had gone to bed, Ranma sat upon the tiled roof and stared off into the night sky, absently twirling his pigtail in his fingers. The city was silent around him, no yells of drunks into the night sky and no blaring horns of cars as they passed. It was oddly peaceful. Yet, all he could do was think about how much his life had been changing in the last month. No longer was he alone with just his father, fighting for survival under the man's idea of training. Now he had a friend, and he found it hard to remember a time without Hari around. A month was all that had passed since he pulled the foreigner from the Jusenkyo spring, and yet, it felt like years had gone by.
Day after day, he would watch her as she helped them prepare food for the three of them, learning how to cook food over a campfire and quickly getting skilled at it. He found himself enjoying the feeling of her soft skin under his hands as he washed her back in the rivers of China. Occasionally, he would find himself tracing one of the scars that marred her flesh, feeling the shivers that ran through her body at his gentle touches, but she never pushed him away, nor did he ask where they came from. He had figured it out while they were in the bath earlier that afternoon.
Her relatives, the ones she said, despised her very existence, and yet, as much as he wanted to hurt the people that harmed her, he would not do so unless she gave him the okay. It was her choice, after all.
Letting his mind drift away from his feelings about Hari's relatives, he focused on everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. He still wasn't happy that he was being forced into marrying one of the Tendo girls, especially that Akane girl. She seemed to dislike Hari, even more so after Hari decided it would be easier for her to go to school as a girl, and he didn't like that in the slightest. Ranma didn't understand why Hari made the choice she did, he didn't think she honestly did either, but he was at least going to respect it. He knew that Akane would try to do something to his friend once they started going to school, even if it's only for a short time, but there was nothing he could do to stop her.
Speaking of school, Ranma wasn't too sure he was happy about it. According to Nabiki, Furinkan was Nerima's school for sports and sport-based martial arts and that many of the students weren't the smartest or mentally stable. But, of course, the few students that were smart and not insane were forced to go there because of how low the tuition was compared to their neighbouring districts. And while it didn't sound boring to him, it would make it harder for him to protect Hari while they were there. Not to mention all the studying they would have to do to catch up with their classmates.
Thankfully, Hari had managed to talk Nabiki into tutoring them, but they would have to do something in return for her to do that. Hari's payment for the tutoring, school, and lodging at the Tendo's was to help Kasumi around the house. He didn't think it was that bad of a deal for her, seeing as she was still so unhealthy that she couldn't lift much anyway. She didn't fight it either, only saying it wasn't too different from what she had to do growing up and was happy that she could learn how to cook some of Japan's classical dishes. He didn't get that too much, but if she learned how to cook his native food like she had learned how to cook on the road, he would happily eat whatever she made.
But for Ranma, his payment was much worse. Nabiki had this evil little smile on her lips as she described what she wanted him to do in return for his lodging, tutoring, and schooling. Every day Ranma would have to let Nabiki take photos of him to sell to her classmate and submit to a modelling agency that she had in mind. This wasn't so bad, and he would even get ten per cent of the earnings per week. However, much to his chagrin, she also wanted him to model for her in his female form. She said that they would sell as pocky did to children, but he didn't believe it to be true. In the end, he did agree to do the modelling but that none of the photos was allowed to be perverted in nature.
So now he was being forced to get his picture taken daily, only to be sold to his future classmates. People that he was going to have to see almost daily for the next four months. Guys would purchase pictures of his curse form and do gross things to them simply because his curse form was beautiful. He didn't know what the girls would do with his photos, but he was too afraid to ask. But at least he would have money to buy things that catch his interest and maybe get himself some new clothing.
"I wonder if Hari would want something different to wear? It can't be all that comfortable to wear dresses all the time." Smiling to himself, Ranma couldn't stop himself from picturing his friend's face when he offered to get her more boy-like clothing. She'd probably thank him until his ears bled or his head exploded.
He still couldn't believe she let him come up with her new name. He didn't know why she needed one, but Cologne had suggested he think of one while they were travelling, and Ishikawa Yui was what he came up with within the end. Why he thought calling her Supportive Stone River was a good idea, he wasn't sure, but somehow it fit her perfectly.
Chuckling, Ranma looked upon the full moon that lit up the night sky and wondered. Hari and Cologne said magic was real, actual magic, and not just the magic held in Jusenkyo. There was a world of Magical beings, creatures, and plants all around him, but it was just hidden from the eyes of the Mundane through the manipulations of its bearers. Ranma had never really put much thought into magic when he was little, but he still had some curiosity over what can be done with it. For example, being able to control the elements would be cool, even if only one.
He did remember that man in Shanghai pulling out a stick before giving it a few quick waves as the world around them had quieted to barely a muffle. What it was, he didn't know, but it was worthwhile. If he could find a…spell…that could silence things, then he was going to use it on his pops at night so he could sleep without listening to his ridiculous snoring. That was reason enough to go to this 'magical school' and do his absolute best. They might even be able to find a cure for him…for them.
Reaching towards the moon with his hand outstretched, only slivers of the moon slipping between the gaps, Ranma stared at his normal-looking hand. For him, over the last month, he had grown used to seeing the blue scales between his fingers and the black nails that extended slightly past his fingertips. If he counted the improved eyesight, he wouldn't have been against keeping the inhumane features that his female form held, but that was just it, he would have to be a girl to have them, and he didn't like that, not at all.
Being a girl may be okay to some people, but Ranma couldn't adjust to the strange sensations of having a girl's body. How Hari could do it, he wasn't sure, but she was lucky. She didn't feel trapped in a cage that just felt too small every time her curse was activated. He had to constantly fight the feeling of his hips swaying as he walked, and his skin always seemed to itch beneath the surface. Although, it had nothing on the feel of his boobs bouncing with every step. He had asked Cologne if she knew of any way to keep them in place or even make them smaller, but the old ghoul had only cackled at him and brought out a bra. He had wasted no time in throwing it across the room like it was something poisonous.
He just hoped that he could get some kind of help at this Mahoutokoro place.
Clenching his fist, Ranma nodded to himself before getting up to his feet. The strange feeling of the tiled roof pressing into the soles of his feet was quickly ignored as he made his way towards the edge. Looking over the side, Ranma took in the sight of the small deck that ran the side of the house, just a meter in width from the actual building. It wasn't much, but it was enough for him to land on.
So, dropping down to his knees, he took a firm hold of the ledge before practically throwing himself over the side. Then, keeping a tight grip with his fingers, Ranma used his weight to swing his feet back and forth until he was optimistic that he had enough momentum to make it to the balcony. Those few seconds of near weightlessness that he felt as he flew through the air was amazing to the teenage boy, but it quickly came to an end when his feet came to a gentle landing upon the wood.
Smiling a vast smile, Ranma calmly made his way over to the open window that led into the room that his Pops, himself, and Hari were sharing. The sight that meets him as he glanced in brought a relaxed look to his eyes.
The room itself was rather bare, with nothing on the walls and no furniture to name anywhere in sight but what grabbed his attention was the sight of Hari curled into a ball upon her futon mat as she clung to his backpack. Her red hair was tousled, and her shirt had ridden upward in her sleep, unknowingly revealing her panties to him, but she still looked striking to his eyes.
Maybe it was the moonlight shining down on her from the sky, or perhaps it was because he had been thinking about her for the last hour as he sat upon the roof. Either way, it was a sight to behold.
Hopping into the room, Ranma changed into his shorts and tank top that he usually slept in before laying down upon his mat and drifting off to sleep. Never did he pause to think about why his pop's futon was empty or the lack of snores to keep him awake until the early hours of the day.
Growling under his breath, Genma took a deep gulp of aged Sake that he had happily pilfered from Soun's liquor cabinet before slamming it down upon the Chabudai, never caring for the small dribbles that had missed his mouth only to roll off his chin and strain his training Gi.
"Ever since that little gaijin freak showed up, my life has turned into utter hell!"
He couldn't keep the memories rushing to the front of his mind, thunder enveloped his every thought, and the rain fell in excess, making it hard for him to concentrate. Even though a month has passed, he could still feel his feet sinking into the mud as the primal growling of those barbaric men echoed in his ear while they hunted him down. He couldn't stop the shiver from going down his spine before taking another shaky gulp of alcohol.
"And now, it's going to be staying here, in MY room. Curse you, Tendo and your bleeding heart. If that little freak seduces my no-good son before he marries Akane, then I am utterly fucked."
He felt his body shudder all the more at the mere thought of just what his wife would do to him if she ever found out that Ranma had been cursed to turn into a girl, let alone what she would do if that freak managed to trick his idiotic son into dating it. Absently, he took another gulp of Sake as his free hand moved to just under his heart. A small jolt of pain flashed through him, dubious of whether his inebriated mind or his body created it.
He would never admit it, but Genma was terrified of his wife and the family katana. She swore she'd wield it for the entirety of Ranma's training trip; as if a silent but deadly promise of what would happen to him if his son didn't meet her standards.
"Man amongst Men...what a task to force upon me to teach the damn boy." Drumming his fingers along the flask, he sounded positively animalistic as he growled under his breath. Of course, he never even bothered to ask Nadoka what she meant by Man Amongst Men, but he had his ideas of what it was.
A Man-Amongst-Men was a man that could defeat anyone in hand-to-hand combat, to leave them in pain as they lay upon the earth with blood flowing from their wounds. To have the ability to force their way past any obstacle, to grow beyond their limits with every moment of harsh training. Being able to seduce any women into his bed to fulfil his lust and duty towards the Saotome clan. And most importantly, to be able to keep greedy debt collectors that worked for the Yakuza and government officials from getting to Genma and to pay for his retirement.
Oh, how he couldn't wait until he could retire and never have to work again.