Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and Oh my Goddess! characters do not belong to me. I am merely 'borrowing' them for the period this fic will take to be finished (considering my previous track record, sometime right before apocalypse)





Punch. Kick. Sweep. Each movement of his thudded against the practice dummy. How many times had he done this kata? He could not remember, only knowing it was enough that the kata came to him easily. There was a certain sort of peace to doing this he found, he could lose himself within the kata. Punch.Kick. He was not really using his full strength, rather he was practicing his kata and trying to improve his fighting style.

* Wonder what's going to happen today,* Ranma thought idly as his foot smacked the side of the dummy. He didn't have to concentrate for his kata's, they came to him naturally so his thoughts were allowed to wander elsewhere.

"Hey Ranma! We're going to the beach, coming along?" Urd said, appearing just besides him.

"No thanks," Ranma answered without pausing. When was the last time he had been to the beach? It had been the time when he finally gotten the phoenix pill from Cologne after having beaten her with the cat's fist.

Urd frowned. It had taken some cajoling to get Belldandy to go but now Ranma was refusing to go. And without Ranma, half the fun would be gone. Luckily she knew how to persuade him.

"Sniff, sniff. I try so hard to find us something." A few tears trickled down Urd's face for effect. Sure enough, it had the desired effect . She watched with a guilty pleasure as Ranma flinched slightly, as if struck.

Ranma wasn't sure what to do. First, Urd was crying-*sure she's probably faking it- but still she's crying.* A female was crying in front of him, and the instincts bred into him made him want to reach out and comfort her.

"Fine, I'll go." Ranma sighed and sure enough the tears stopped. *At least, this time I'm not trapped as a female.*

" Good.Now just get your trunks and we'll be off." Urd said, smiling. Ranma was simply too easy to fool. She felt slightly guilty about tricking him but she simply shrugged it off.

"I'm not swimming."

"Why not?"

" Have you forgotten my curse!?" Ranma didn't see how someone could forget it though, he certainly didn't.

" Oh yeah. Never mind, just bring your trunks. You won't have to go into the water." Urd said in her 'couldn't-care-less' manner. "Meet us by the mirror after you're done."

Ranma trudged towards his room, picked up his trunks before meeting Urd and Belldandy by the big mirror in the living room.

"We're not going to travel by that, are we?!" Ranma said, pointing towards the mirror with one hand.

" Why not?" Belldandy asked.

" Uhh....I'll think I'll meet you two there later.I'll go by bus." Ranma was reluctant to travel by use of the mirror, as he had an instinctive distrust of most magic. Having been cursed to change sex by magic hadn't helped him either.

" You're not scared are you?!" Urd said disbelievingly. How could Ranma be scared of such a simple and harmless thing? But then she had spent her whole life travelling that way and Ranma hadn't. First experiences were always somewhats scary she recalled.

" Scared!? Me!?" Ranma blustered. "Of course not!! Now let's get this through with!" *That thing has to be safe right, after all Belldandy travels using that method. But...Belldandy's a goddess. I just hope it doesn't react with my curse. With my luck, it'll probably turn me all female.* He shuddered at the thought as he had a mental vision of him and Kuno together. Immediately, he threw the mental image down and started stomping on it-all the while shouting *Argh!!No way that's going to happen!!!*.

****

"You know this is a pretty good idea." Ranma said cheerfully. "Even if you came up with it." They were currently lazing on the beach, waiting for Belldandy to come out from the changingrooms. They were in a deserted area on the beach, most people preferring to live without the wackiness that surrounded him.

*Bap* "Hey what was that for?"

"Don't insult your elders Saotome." Urd said as she lay in the sun, saoking up the heat of the sun.

" That way, I'd have been bowing to Happosai long ago." Ranma snorted.

" Happosai?" Urd said, sitting up apparently taking interest. "Short perverted martial artist?"

"Yah, you know him?"

" Of course! I tried to set him up with some girl called Cologne three hundred years ago."

Ranma blanched. "How could you do that to the poor girl!?-Wait! Three hundred years ago!?!?"

" Yeah."

" But you look so young!! Shouldn't you be shrunken and short like the old ghoul!?"

"I'm a goddess." Urd sniffed disdainfully.

"Wait, then how old is Belldandy?"

" She's younger than me."

"And that is?"

Urd flipped over so that she was lying on her stomach and facing him. "Why do you want to know Ranma?"

"Uh..." Why did he want to know anyway? For the life of him he didn't know, maybe it was idle curiousity. But it certainly was a shock, they certainly didn't look that old.

"Hi Ranma. What do you think?" Belldandy said, now dressed in an average swimsuit, yet the air of femininty she always wore around her made it look twice as beautiful, rivalling even Urd in Ranma's opinion.

"..." Ranma's jaws dropped open in surprise.

"Ranma?" Belldandy waved her hand in front of Ranma's face to try and elicit a response from him.

*Kawaii...* Ranma still couldn't believe his eyes. Then realizing he had been staring at Belldandy for the past few seconds, he hastily averted his eyes. "Ah...you look great."

" Really?" Somehow Belldandy seemed delighted with his approval.

* If she was Akane, she would have bashed me by now......speaking of Akane, I wonder where she is now,* Ranma thought to himself as he lay back to relax in the sun.

****

"Ah-choo!" Akane sniffled slightly. *Who's thinking of me now?*

"Akane, isn't this fun?" Yuka asked as she lay down on the beach, admiring the body of the lifeguard.

Akane sighed, ogling at males wasn't her idea of fun. *Maybe I should just go home,* she thought. Except home was just too...boring now. There was hardly anything to do other than come home, do her homework, listen to Genma and her father nag about Ranma, eat and then back to sleep. And the cycle would just continue the next day. And that was why she had jumped at the opportunity to get out from the house, so when Yuka and Sayuri had invited her to the beach she had accepted.

"Oh look at that one!" Sayuri exclaimed, pointing frantically.

Akane sighed, *Oh well at least it's better than nothing.*

****

"SWEET-O!!"

*Uh-oh,* Ranma thought. *The old pervert's back again.* He watched as Happosai sailed over in a graceful arc towards Urd-

*SPLAT*

-only to slam straight into some sort of forcefield surrounding Urd(who barely even looked up).

"Gawrk," Happosai gurgled as he fell down.

*It wouldn't be too much to ask for if the old pervert actually stayed down would it?* Ranma prayed. He didn't want an so far perfect day to be ruined.

"Nice trick lady, but it won't defeat the Master of the Anything Goes Martial Arts but I fear I'll just have to give you my attention some other time." And with that, he leapt for Belldandy.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!!" Ranma yelled as he punched Happosai in the face.

" How dare you treat your master like that!"

" You're no master of mine!" Ranma fairly snarled, sounding just like a grizzly bear.

"Why, I ought to...." at this time, a slightly sadistic grin came over Happosai's face, "Never mind, I'll just let Ryouga take care of you."

"Ryouga?!" Ranma snorted, not in a nice way but rather disbelievingly and insultingly. "He can't beat me......" this time it took less time for the truth to sink into Ranma's brain, "Okay what did you teach him!"

"I'll never tell you," Happosai said,starting to jump away.

"Wait!! Tell me you old freak!" Ranma started to chase after Happosai, one arm extended to catch him.

"Forget it! Happo-daikarin!(1)"

" Raging Lion's Roar!(2)" Ranma said, throwing a red ki-blast at Happosai, however this time the red seemed to have been slightly diluted, being a rather pale red. However it was enough to blast Happosai. Unfortunately the bomb was also in the path.

*BOOM*

A slightly charred Ranma stood in the midst of a sand crater, arm still outstretched as he watched a wrinkled old pervert flying off into the distance.

(1) Is this spelling correct?

(2) Anyone know how to translate this into Japanese??

*****

*The youngster's nowadays are so ungrateful,* Happosai thought as he rummaged through his cupboard boxful of belongings, searching for something to help him gain revenge on Ranma.

*Eh, what's this?* He held a ornate bracelet in his small palm. *Wait....* he tried to remember, * this is the bracelet with the love pills!!*

"Yes!!" Happosai exclaimed gleefully, all thoughts of revenge forgotten for the moment. *Now to find a pretty girl...*

****

"Shampoo!"

Without even looking, Shampoo's hand whapped out, smacking the old pervert in the head.

"Now is that any way to treat your elders?" Happosai complained, rubbing his forehead.

"What you want?" Shampoo had heard that Ranma was on this beach and was trying to find him but so far, she had had no luck.

"Hmmph, I suppose I just have to teach you some other time. Actually I came to give you this." Happosai held out an ornate bracelet. "This," he continued, "will make Ranma fall in love with you if you eat one of these here. Why you'll become the most beautiful person he has ever seen."

"Really?" Shampoo was full of doubt. The temptation that it would make Ranma love her was almost too much to resist but with a warrior's discipline she forced it down. She did not trust Happosai, not the slightest and furthermore she was not dumb. There was a saying among her people that 'somethings were too good to be true'. Also, somehow the bracelet seemed familiar to her as if she had heard of it before.

"You just give bracelet to Shampoo?"

" Of course if you'll just eat one of these pills-"

Pills! That was it! This was the bracelet that contained the three love pills of various potency. But it had been missing for the village for three hundred years ever since some panty thief stole it. *Aiyah! I bet panty-thief was Happosai!!*

She smiled, a devious smile. First of all she had the chance to recover one of the more valuable Amazon treasure's-an act which would surely bring her respect- and secondly the bracelet belonged to her Hiba-chan and that would mean she would be able to please Hiba-chan at the same time. *Is killing two birds with one stone,* she thought.

"Okay, give Shampoo now."

"Sure!" Happosai handed her the bracelet, only to be punted way into the sky.

Shampoo grinned, *now to find husband.*

****

"What do you mean you won't try my food! What, it's not good enough for you?" Urd yelled. *How dare he! A mortal no less! He ought to be honoured to eat the goddess of love's cooking."

" I'd rather eat Akane's cooking! At least I know what will happen to me then!" Ranma retorted, keeping his arms crossed in front of him and scowling. Belldandy was doing her best to try and make peace between the two of them.

"RANMA NO BAKA!!" Akane kicked him into the sea. She was not in a good mood, having come here to investigate after a red burst of light had exploded from here and she had seen Happosai flying away. At first hopeful that it was some excitement, she arrived only to find out it was tied in with Ranma.

Of course finding Ranma in the company of two lovely women on the beach and then hearing him insult her cooking hadn't helped any.

Flop-flop-splash Ranma bounced off the water like a smooth stone before finally dropping into it.

"What did you do that for you uncute tomboy!" Ranm-chan spluttered, as she waded out of the water.

"Grr."

Ranma-chan ignored the angry looks that Akane was casting at him, preferring to get out of the water and change back to a male.

"Airen!" A cute bubbly voice came from the beach just as he was halfway to the beach.

*That bracelet she's wearing sure looks familiar,* Urd thought, *where have I seen it before...Something to do with pills...*

"Huh, Shampoo?" Ranma-chan said, opening his mouth-which was the opening Shampoo had been looking for.

Quicker than the eye could see, Shampoo threw a lovepill at Ranma-chan, which flew into his open mouth and hit the back of his throat, gagging him slightly.

"Hack, hak," Ranma hunched over, choking slightly on the slightly large pill that was now clogging up his throat. "Gulp," Ranma sighed, finally being able to breath again as he swallowed the pill.

"Ranma?" Akane said, worried about him. He looked he was choking on something-of course it was reaction she was familiar with as he performed it everytime she cooked.

Ranma-chan started to look up when suddenly he felt a sudden weight on his head.

*SPLASH*

"Husband no look at Violent Girl!" Shampoo yelled, keeping her feet on Ranma-chan's head-which was now below sea level.

"Glarg!" Ranma-chan shouted, trying to go up for air. Desperately he tried to keep himself from inhaling in water as most of the air had been knocked out of him when Shampoo had landed on him.

"Husband no look at any other girl besides Shampoo!" She had to be the first girl he looked at, she knew that much.

"You know if you don't get off him soon, he won't be able to look at anyone else," Urd pointed out.

"Aiyah!" Shampoo immediately pulled Ranma-chan up, trying to slap her awake.

Ranma-chan groaned, a good sign. Choking slightly before throwing up seawater, she turned towards Shampoo and asked, "what the heck happened?"

Shampoo smiled, she had won. "Airen come and live with Shampoo now?"

"No! Not after you tried to drown me, I want an explaination and I want it now!" Ranma-chan snapped. *She almost's drowns me and then expects me to live with her!?!!*

Shampoo flinched from the force of Ranma's outburst. *How? The pill is supposed to make him fall in love with me! But now...*

"Now I remember! Love pills!!" Urd yelled triumphantly, smacking her fist into her palm.

"Huh?"

" That bracelet contains three love pills. One will make you fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex you see for one moment, the other for one day and the last for your whole life."

"WHAT!?" Ranma-chan and Akane both screamed at the same time.

"Heh heh and here I thought it was lost forever," Urd said.

" Is this true Shampoo?" Ranma-chan asked Shampoo, hoping that it wasn't.

Shampoo only nodded her head sadly.

"Is there any way to reverse it?!?" Ranma-chan yelled frantically, grabbing hold of Urd by the shoulders and shaking her.

" Nope, unless the effects wear off."

" But Ranma doesn't seem to be in love with Shampoo," Belldandy said.

" Oh that's because Ranma's a girl now," Urd said in an off-hand tone.

There was total silence for a moment.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!"

" You mean I'm going to fall in love with...guys?" Ranma-chan screamed, not really believing it. *Why does this have to happen to me!?*

"Yup, unless you turn back to a male."

" Hot water!Ineedhotwater!" Ranma-chan scrambled around trying to find a source of hot

water.

"Why not just wait for the effect to wear out Ranma?" Belldandy said comfortingly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ranma-chan brightened up. *Why didn't I think of that?*

Akane and Shampoo glowered.

"Afraid that won't work," Urd said, examining the bracelet, "if I'm not wrong Ranma ate the 'whole life' pill."

This was too much for the poor Ranma-chan who nearly started having a nervous breakdown.

" Someone get me hot water now!! Shampoo, please scoot and get me hot water now!!" Ranma-chan started yelling, all the while wringing her hands.

Shampoo scooted.

"Well, we'd better cover up your sight then," Belldandy sighed, wrapping a towel around his eyes.

Ranma-chan sighed. Could this day get even worse?

Akane stood quite near Ranma-chan, determined to keep him from the claws of Shampoo.

Urd wondered how she could turn this to her sister's advantage.

Belldandy smiled, confident that everything would turn out all right.

****

"Hi Hiba-chan. Sorry can not talk now, must bring water to Ranma or he fall in love with boy." The words were said in such a rush that it was amazing that anyone could understand it. Shampoo rushed in, grabbed a kettle of hot water and was out the door, the words still trailing after her.

*What was that all about?* Cologne wondered.

****

" You know I just thought of something Urd," Ranma-chan said, without the slightest trace of emotion.

"Hm?"

"You made those pills right?"

"Yeah."

"So you can make an antidote to them right?"

"Well...yes but it'll take some time," Urd said.

" Well can you start on it now!!"

" I'm relaxing at the beach," Urd said, nearly causing Ranma-chan to suffer an apolexy.

"Urd. Please do it." Belldandy said sternly.

"Sigh, fine I'll do it. I just need to get my potions," Urd said, walking away.

"Where are you going?" Ranma-chan asked impatient.

"To find a television of course," Urd replied.

*A television. She wants to watch television at a time like this!?* Akane thought to herself, incredulous.

****

"Pig-tailed goddess!" Before Ranma-chan knew what was happening, she was being hugged rather tightly and being throughly squashed.

" Oh how the heavens weep to see your beauty. Fear not for one day I shall banish the vile Saotome back to the deepest pits of hell for you," Kunou rambled, pausing for an instant upon seeing her blindfold, "Oh has that foul Saotome binded your eyes to hide your sight of me? Fear not for I shall remove the bindings and let you view me in all my splendour-"

*SMASH*

Kunou's speech was abruptly cut off as Ranma-chan's fist sent him flying into orbit. Shuddering slightly, she tightened the blindfold and waited for Shampoo to appear.

"Airen, Shampoo back now." He felt the hot water pouring onto him, felt the familiar change.

And then he felt someone trying to pull his blindfold off.

"Shampoo! What are you doing!?" He yelled, his hands struggling to keep the blindfold on.

"Now Airen boy again, look at Shampoo and fall in love with Shampoo,"

"No way that is going to happen Shampoo!" Akane's battle aura started lighting up. Belldandy just remained silent and tight-lipped, feeling annoyed and slightly nervous.

"Violent girl want fight with Shampoo? Shampoo more than happy to fight."

"No! Stay away Akane, Shampoo's not your match," Ranma said, finding the soft hands trying to undo his blindfold and grabbing them, flipped Shampoo onto the sand. "Shampoo, it's me you want, so come and get me!"

*Sometimes you have to fight without your sight. At that time, you must trust your heart to lead you through,* his father had told him that. At first he had scoffed at it, confident he would never have to fight blinded but here he was doing exactly that. This fight was possibly one of the biggest he had ever faced, the prize something invaluable to him-his heart.

*Trust your heart,* Ranma tried to picture the beach, tried to picture Belldandy and Akane standing aside-both unwilling to interfere. As he concentrated, the mental picture became clearer and clearer.

"Are you crazy!" Akane yelled, "you can't fight blindfolded." She was about tush up to him and help him beat Shampoo, no matter what he had said- when Belldandy caught her arm.

"Let go of me! What are you doing?? He'll lose!"

"No, he won't. I believe in him, he will be able to do this."

"For someone who's his fiancee, you don't seem to care about him much," Akane said. a touch of bitterness in her tone.

"For someone who used to be his fiancee, you don't trust in him enough. And I do care, more than you know and if he appears to lose I'll do anything to help him," Belldandy said, grim, * even if I'm not supposed to use my power against mortals except in self-defense.*

Shampoo attacked, which was just the move Ranma had been waiting. Lulled into a false sense of security, certain that he wouldn't be able to fight without his eyesight she had been overconfident. *Just like the first time I beat her,* Ranma gave a tight-lipped smile.

Just as she was about to reach him, Ranma drew his leg in a tight arc in the sand in front of him, sending a wall of sand flying upwards and obstructing Shampoo's vision.

But even that wouldn't hold her long, so he used the only move he could without hurting her. "Saotome Martial arts Secret Technique!!! Run away!!" And with that he started to run off in a random direction, which just happened to be away from Shampoo.

"....."

****

*Damn it! When is Urd going to come up with the antidote! I just can't keep running forever!! And I don't want to have a wear bloody blindfold all my life!" All these thoughts raced through Ranma's head as he continued running. Maybe he was losing them, he sure couldn't hear the sounds of pursuit now.

*Why do this things keep happening to me!? I came to the beach for a perfectly normal day and look what happens! I get fed a love potion, that will get me to fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex I see for my whole life and I can't do a blasted thing to prevent it. Argh!! Where is Urd when you need her!*

Wait. What was that it heard, it sounded suspiciously like someone running towards him. *Argh!* He screamed silently in frustration, increasing his pace.

Too late he realized that he was running towards the 'someone' in question instead of away from him.

"SAOTOME!! RELEASE YOUR HOLD ON THE PIG-TAILED GIRL!" Kuno bellowed, striking out with his bokken, aiming for Ranma's head.

Ranma tried to dodge, and was partially successful. He managed not to get his head skewered like a watermelon but the bokken passed by, grazing his head at the sides and also cutting the blindfold.

Ranma brought up an unsteady hand towards his temples and when it came away, it was slick with blood. Ranma tried not to let his shock show, he could have been killed in that attack. Somehow he had never ever considered that possiblity before after all he was the best, no one could defeat him much less kill him. Yet Kuno had come close to doing both in the past minute. Althought the wound was not serious, only a skin wound but if he hadn't dodged...

" So the vile Saotome trembles in fear of the Blue Thunder! Fear not Akane Tendo and Pig-Tailed one, I shall rescue you from the foul enchantment by banishing Saotome back to hell!"

Anger exploded within Ranma, he could not remember the last time he had ever been as enraged as this. *Kuno almost kills me and he rambles about Akane and my female side!* Tearing off the blindfold, he yelled, "Fine Kuno, you want a fight. You've got a fight! I don't need no damn blindfold for you, we're both boys!"

Kuno charged at Ranma, who was just standing there with a look of fierce determination on his face.

Just as Kuno swung his bokken down at Ranma, Ranma burst into action.

"KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!!" Hundreds of fists flew at Kuno sending him flying backwards, the first few destroying his bokken, the others destroying him.

Ranma observed the limp body of Kuno with a certain satisfaction. *Heh served him right too,* he thought, sneering slightly.

"Ranma!" Belldandy's voice called to him. Instinctively he looked back before remembering the pills. *Uh-oh,* was his last thought as he looked at Belldandy.

"Ranma?" Akane called out. He was acting strangely, just staring at them. Well not really, just staring at Belldandy in particular. She gasped as she remembered the effect the pills had. *Has he fallen in love with...*

Ranma rushed up to Belldandy, grabbing her in a tight embrace. " Let's get married now."

Belldandy blushed slightly. Hard as it was to do she pushed Ranma away. "You're under the effects of the pill remember?" She chided him, hoping to retain some of her will power.

"I don't care. Let's just get married. We'll have little kids and name them-Ugh," Ranma toppled over to the sand, a small dart like object stuck in his back.

"Looks like I got here just in time," Urd said.

****



That night, Urd was awakened by a noises, which seemed to be coming from the spacious yard of the temple.

Yawning, she looked out of her window to see who it was. "Ranma, what are you doing up so late!" She yelled.

Ranma turned to stare at her, surprise showing itself on his face. "Uh...I'm just practicing," He said nervously.

"Well don't make so much noise! I'm trying to sleep here!" Urd said, slamming the window shut.

*Phew, she's gone,* Ranma thought, turning back towards his target. It was time he got this correct.

"Raging..."

"Lions'..."

The End