Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi and her licensees (Viz Communications in North America). This work is strictly for the non-profit enjoyment of fans. No copyright infringement is intended.
Last updated: 19/12/05
"Tomboy!"
"Idiot!"
The petty squabble seemed completely out of place on the beautiful sunny spring afternoon. Ranma really didn't want to be arguing but he had known Akane wasn't going to take it well when he started talking to Ukyo again as if the fiasco of a wedding last week and her involvement in its destruction had never happened. It wasn't that he was forgiving her, he just didn't like staying angry at his friends.
He glanced down at the fuming girl below where he stood on the fence. He still didn't get her. She was constantly shifting from hot to cold with him. She had switched from happy to angry over the failed wedding like she had a strobe setting. At first he figured she was happy she didn't have to marry a half man, and then she switched to being angry the wedding had failed.
"Look, Tomboy, I don't know what's got ya panties in a bunch. Ukyo is just a friend."
"FRIEND!" she screeched back at him. "I once considered her like that, but I changed my mind about that when... I don't know, maybe it was when she threw bombs at me!"
"It ain't like I asked her too. It ain't like you would have behaved any better if I went off to marry her!" he accused before he really considered what he said. You'd think by now he'd know better than to go down this path.
"What! If you want to marry her, GO! I'm not gonna stop a pervert like you! I wish you'd never even come into my life!"
He knew she didn't mean it when she was like this, but Ranma felt his chest tighten in pain. It cost him his attention as he was pushed from the fence forcefully and into a residential yard.
He could hear Akane's footsteps rushing off down the street as he sat up on the neat grass. Over his guilt at angering her again, he grinned that she mustn't be too upset if she didn't push him into some birdbath or pond.
Just then the sprinklers went on.
"Gods, I hate this curse."
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Hikaru Gosenkugi ran like the wind...
Well, a geeky uncoordinated wind.
He had been waiting months for this opportunity. He had been spying on Akane ever since she had returned from Ryuuganzawa with her fiancé. He had seen how close they had been getting, and though things settled back to the normal craziness soon after, he knew they cared for each other. And while Akane cared for Ranma, she could never accept him instead.
'But now, because of that fool Saotome, I have a chance!' He thought to himself as he ran home from seeing the two fighting and hearing Akane's parting words, 'I wish you'd never even come into my life!'
He wiped the sweat from his brow with his palm as he turned the last corner to home.
Rushing into his house he continued to run up the stairs to his room. Reaching for the handle, his sweaty hand failed to grip it and he slammed head first into the plywood.
\bang\
Looking up from the ground, he sat up, slightly put out that he had failed to even open the door, let alone mark the door with his impromptu charge. The damn thing normally opened with a stiff breeze through the house.
Climbing to his feet, he was a little woozy as he entered his room. Quickly binding two candles to the sides of his head, he pulled a box from his cupboard.
As he opened the box with hesitant fingers, he recalled purchasing it from an old crone at a dark magic shop he had attended. He had payed most of his college savings on the book, which the old woman claimed it could 'Grant wishes'. Only in hindsight did he really consider how eager she had been to sell it, nervousness he had not caught in his excitement.
It was a mystic tome that could grant a persons wish. But it could only grant a wish another made in ignorance, and worse still the black magic would only grant a wish made while acting under a heavy, negative emotion. Pain, Longing, Sadness, Hate, or as in this case, Anger.
He had watched Akane for months waiting for her to say those words, any wish that could get rid of Ranma. And now she had. Now it was time to free her.
Lighting the candles on his head, his hands caressed the image of a serene woman's face on the front of the book and he began to chant the words from the tome...
"Hikaru-chan?" his mother called. "Can you please take out the garbage dear?"
The chanting continued...
"Hikaru-chan."
The chanting wavered...
"HIKARU!"
The chanter left the room to put the garbage out in record time.
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Ranma-chan arrived back at the Dojo and could hear the breaking bricks in the Dojo. "I'll wait to apologise," she mumbled to herself.
Entering the kitchen the red head froze under her mothers gaze. The older woman had been helping Kasumi in the kitchen, teaching her a new recipe, when her son... daughter, entered, but after a moment reached for a glass to fill with hot water from the kettle. "I won't ask." She said handing the redhead the glass.
Ranma quickly doused herself, eager to be back to being her mother's son, rather than her disappointment. Running his hand through his black hair to dry it some, he smiled and thanked his mother, hoping she would stop shaking her head with that small smile she always had when she watched him change.
"Kasumi-chan, could I leave you to finish here. I'd like to talk with my son."
"Of course Aunty Saotome. That would be fine. Thank you for teaching me this dish."
Smiling gently, the older woman nodded, "Despite my sons... condition, I don't think he would want to learn some of the things I've always wanted to teach a daughter, Kasumi-chan. I'm very happy to be here with you and your sisters."
Ranma wasn't sure what to say so wisely kept his mouth shut, suppressing that odd feeling of guilt and jealousy at sharing his mother as she watched the women talk as Nodoka readied two cups of tea.
Leading her son out of the kitchen, Nodoka past the two men playing Shogi on the porch, and walked over to the larger rocks of the pond before sitting sedately in the afternoon sun and handing her son one of the two cups.
Ranma nervously eyed the rock he was to sit on, and gently sat down followed her example, waiting readily for it to roll back with him into the water. When it didn't, he shoved a little against it, just to be sure it wasn't lulling him into a false sense of security.
Sipping her tea, Nodoka watched her son with amusement. She so wanted to be closer to him... She wanted the six-year-old boy her husband took from her back. "So Ranma-kun, how was your day at school?"
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Akane continued practicing in the Dojo, her anger fading as her movements drained the energy from her frustration. Finishing another routine, she glanced out the Dojo doors and saw Ranma and his mother talking quietly by the pond.
She closed to beside the door to look out at them discreetly. She didn't begrudge either Ranma or Aunty Saotome any happiness in their reunion. But watching it like this, it was a painful reminder of her own late mother. She cared a lot about both the woman and young man out there. But...
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Hikaru turned the last page of the tomb, sweat pouring from his face as he struggled to stay in control.
He was almost there. He could feel the power as he read the words from the page.
"Ip Snar, Nar Galush, let Akane Tendo's wish about Ranma come true. I beseech the gods. Grant her WISH!"
On the front of the book, on the forehead of the woman's face, a rich purple eye opened from an invisible slit, pulsing with power.
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"I wish my mother was here." Akane mumbled to herself sadly, before her world was filled with white light.
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A beautiful young goddess sat at her terminal at the Goddess Relief Office, watching over the connection board while waiting for her next assignment. She couldn't get over the odd flutter in her stomach. A feeling something big was coming. Not today, but soon...
Her thoughts were disrupted by the sudden burst of sparks and popping from in front of her, her hands automatically lifting in front of her to protect her from the sudden burst.
"What the f..." she began in surprise, before calming herself to an "Oh my."
Two other goddesses looked over from their terminals in sudden surprise at the event. Seeing the goddess was okay they looked at each other before looking back. One, a beautiful woman with golden tanned skin and platinum white hair leaned in her chair to whisper to the other.
"I didn't think my sister even knew that word started with an F."
"Got me Urd. I doubt anyone will believe she wasn't going to say 'Firetruck'."
All Urd could do was nod as she watched her younger sister begin to magically rebuild the ruined console and try to discover what happened.
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Out of the clear blue sky, a mighty bolt of lightning slammed into the Tendo yard, specifically the head of perpetual guest and one half of the Dojo's heirs, Ranma Saotome.
Akane was thrown back into the Dojo by the thunderous blast, the fathers tossed into the house, their game board scattering. Nodoka was thrown heavily across the yard, rolling on the grass.
First back on her feet, Akane froze looking at the smoking hole where her fiancé had just been sitting. Even the rock was gone.
Rushing out, she was about to run to Aunty Saotome's limp form when she saw the red hair sitting under the water of the pond. Jumping in she began to lift the red haired girl from the water to the edge when she tripped into the water with a splash.
Raising herself and her fiancé, she began to move again, but froze when she saw what she had tripped over. Reaching down, she dragged the male body of Ranma to the surface of the water, her gaze repeatedly switching between the two Ranmas' she was holding up.
A shadow came over her and she looked up at the worried face of her father, moving to help her. His mouth was opening and closing but she suddenly realised that she couldn't hear anything over a low ringing in her ears.
Dragging the two Ranma's to the porch, she saw Uncle Saotome bringing the collapsed form of his wife as well. Kasumi and Nabiki were there and asking questions but she couldn't make them out. Kasumi finally checked over the three and gave her an 'okay' hand signal.
With her panic gone, an overwealmed Akane broke down and cried.
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By the time Doctor Tofu arrived, Akane's hearing was slowly returning, she was now able to understand when yelled at. The Doctor had obviously been amazed by the presence of two Ranmas', but he seemed to think they were all going to be alright, despite the male Ranma's odd twitching.
It wasn't long before Nodoka woke up, obviously having trouble hearing but otherwise fine. She immediately began fretting over the two Ranma's and demanding to know what happened.
No one had any answers, though Nabiki did point out that it couldn't be natural, what with the clear weather, and the fact that every one of the fish in the pond had somehow survived.
It was still a couple hours later when the female Ranma began to stir, Nodoka and Akane immediately by her side.
"Ranma? Are you all right? Can you hear me?" Nodoka's voice was near pleading as she asked before hugging the smaller girl tightly.
Ranma-chan had no idea what was going on an quickly pushed the strange woman before her away. "Um, excuse me. Who are you people? Where am..."
Her blue eyes flashed around the strangers before widening greatly as they settled on Mr Tendo. "Soun? Soun-chan? What happened to you?"
Soun had no idea what to make of Ranma's behaviour, "Son? Are you all right? You took a nasty blow?"
The blue eyes looked back at him in amazement. "Son? Anata, what are you talking about? It's me. Kimiko."
Soun's body slumped as his eyes rolled back in his head at the declaration. He didn't fall, he just feinted and sat there.
"Mother!" Kasumi's voice squeaked.
The red-haired girl everyone knew as Ranma looked at Kasumi for a moment before the blue eyes widened even further. "K-Kasumi? You're... you're all grown up?"
The eyes swung around to look at the others, but focused on the two younger women, "Nabiki-chan? Akane-chan? H-how... you're all grown up? What happened to me?"
Akane's mind whirled before remembering her wish, made right before the lightning. "I... I wished you back," she said gently before looking at her sisters and back at the red haired girl.
"Mother!" she cried hugging the red head. "You came back!"
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Special thanks to MwhaleK, Paul Henkel, Rosedreams, Jamison Whithehead, Wheedle1, tendoakane3, and Sakurabana for proof reading and plot inspiring.
Thank you for reading.
Trent O'Donoghue