. . . I have no idea from this point on . . .
Ranma's Wish, Chapter one
By Felix Webster
All original Ranma 1/2 Characters Copyright Rumiko Takahashi (first
published by Shogakugan in Japan and brought over to North America by
Viz Communications), and are used without permission.
Please don't sue... cause I have no money.
I want to thank the following people for things (like pre reading):
Chris Stassen
Paul Blay
" " - speech
* * - thoughts
( ) - other languages - Chinese mostly -
[ ] - Panda signs
- The same old story. . . -
The sky was doing it's best to drown the district of Nerima with a
light but steady rain. Two figures walked down the streets of the town,
gaining stares from those they passed. The pair were very unusual, as
one was a handsome young man, and the other a panda. Both were carrying
packs and had the look of hard travels in their eyes.
"I'm telling you, Pop, this is a bad idea," the young man said as he
stopped walking, turned to face the panda and cocked an eyebrow, "I
know you and your friend made this silly agreement years ago, but you
told me that he only had daughters, so how do you plan to pull this one
off, huh?"
The boy seemed calm enough to the onlookers. . . Calm, but crazy, he
was talking to a panda after all, until that same panda held up a sign
in response, [They're girls and you're a boy, so everything will] -flip-
[work out fine]. The boy gave the panda a nasty look after reading the
sign, "And that's your fault too!"
At the sound of the accusation the panda moved into a ready stance,
but the boy just turned back to the direction they were originally
heading in. "Don't get worked up, Pop, I said I'd go and see this
friend of yours, and I stand by my word," the boy stated, shaking his
head at the panda's actions.
As the two started on their way again the boy looked into the rainy
afternoon sky, "I just hope they don't go ballistic when they find out
about this," he said sadly to himself.
The neighbourhood street was a peaceful place today, no one had a care
in the world and all one had to was enjoy the light cleansing rain. . .
unfortunately good things never last.
-----------
"YOU DID WHAT!?!"
A girl's voice could be heard for blocks in every direction, scaring
small children and animals.
"Calm down, Akane. I said my friend, Genma Saotome, and I made a pact
to unite our schools. We each agreed to engage one of our children to
the other in marriage." Although Soun Tendo looked calm inside he was
very excited by the postcard he held in his hand. "They'll be here
soon."
"How could you do this? Without even asking us!" Akane continued her
rant, she crossed her arms and gave her father a stare that could melt
titanium.
Nabiki smirked at her sister's attitude, Nabiki herself thought this
might be fun. . . or profitable, "Give it a rest, Sis. You never know
he could very good looking and rich, right daddy?" She turned to her
father looking for a response.
Soun put a hand behind his head and laughed slightly, "I don't know,
I've never met the boy."
"WHAT!?!"
The scream was so loud and full of anger it caused the boy to be
distracted enough from trying to look for the person who had screamed
the first time, trying to play hero, that he ran into a telephone pole.
The panda came running up to boy and held up another sign, [Ha, caught
you!], it then slapped its forehead was it realized the boy couldn't
read the sign while unconscious. The panda threw the boy over its
shoulder, then headed back on its way oblivious of the staring people.
"What do you mean you've never met him!?!" Akane continued to scream,
but not with the same volume as her throat was getting sore.
"The pact was made just after Kasumi's birth, and my friend didn't
have a child yet," Soun said never losing his calm as he was used to
his daughter's temper.
"Oh great, just great!" Akane just wouldn't give up her protests, but
she was running out of things to say.
"Akane, calm down," the eldest sister instructed very sternly. "I just
hope he isn't too much younger than me, it could cause. . . problems,"
Kasumi mused, sipping her tea while thinking about how to prepare for
the house guests that were coming.
"I hope he's rich and handsome, Kasumi. A bit of an age difference
wouldn't be so bad with those things going for a person," Nabiki said
with a devious smile.
"Kasumi! Nabiki! I can't believe that you're going along with this. .
. stupid plan!" Akane screamed, looking betrayed by her sisters.
The outer door to the family house opened right after Akane's
statement, and the sound of something very large entering came from
that direction.
"Put. Me. Down. Old man!" said a strong male voice from the same area,
"I said I wasn't gunna run away!"
"That must be Ranma!" Nabiki said as she jumped up and ran to the door
to greet him, with her father close behind her. A few seconds later
both came running back in a panic, followed by a large panda with a
person over its shoulder.
"Put me down, you're scaring them!" the boy yelled as he hit the panda
in the head. The panda reached over and grabbed the boy and placed him
down in front of itself. Soun had partially recovered by this time and
decided he had to ask, "You wouldn't be. . ."
The boy cut him off quickly, " I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this,"
he said without making eye contact, and looking very depressed.
Soun was ecstatic at this news, "Oh happy day, now our two schools can
be united!" he exclaimed as he hugged Ranma with all his might.
Nabiki gave Ranma a once over, she found the Chinese style red silk
shirt and black pants an interesting choice, but it looked good on him
she thought. She smiled at her sisters, "Well, he's handsome."
Akane crossed her arms and gave a, "Humph!" and looked away in
disgust. Kasumi just sipped her tea smiling sweetly.
"Could you. . . please stop it, I. . . can't breathe!" Ranma said
urgently, while struggling in Soun's hug.
Soun gave a short laugh and then released Ranma, "Well, my boy, it's
great to have you here," he said and gave Ranma a hard slap on the
boy's back, causing Ranma to stumble slightly.
Kasumi, who had been sitting quietly, had in fact been trying to think
of a way to delay her father, she had a plan now and was waiting for
the right time to act.
She didn't have to wait long.
Soun had just opened his mouth to introduce his daughters when Kasumi
cut him off, "Father, before we continue this discussion I think we
should let Ranma settle in first," she said it so sweetly, but also
with a undertone not to be refused.
"A. . . a fine idea, Kasumi. There's no reason to rush matters now
that Ranma is here," Soun replied trying to look patient.
Nabiki gave Ranma another look over. "So, you're a martial artist
huh?" she asked with a weird look on her face. She was thinking of the
money she could make off him if he was good.
"Um. . . Yeah," Ranma replied nervously, feeling like side of beef.
Nabiki chuckled slightly, she decided that there was only one way to
find out, "You know, Akane's a martial artist too. Maybe you two should
spar to see who's better."
Akane started to growl at her sister, then got a nasty grin on her
face, "Yeah, why don't we."
Ranma didn't like the look on Akane's face, it wasn't at all friendly,
but he figured things would be better after the ice was broken, "Um. .
. okay."
------------
Ranma liked the look of the little dojo he was standing in, it had a
loved feeling as if it was well used and well cared for. After they had
bowed to the spirit of the dojo and then to each other, Ranma waited in
a relaxed stance watching for Akane's attack. Akane, on the other hand,
was getting even more mad that this boy wasn't taking her seriously.
She clenched her hands and decided she'd teach him that he was making a
mistake!
Akane's first strike was a kick aimed at Ranma's head, but it never
connected as Ranma leaped it in a dodge. She tried several other
attacks, all aimed to truly hurt her opponent, but all missed as Ranma
just moved around them.
"Will you fight back!" Akane screamed at Ranma, "What, are you too
weak to fight a girl?"
Ranma seemed unfazed by Akane's jibe at his honour, "I thought this
was a friendly little match?" he asked calmly.
Akane spat in his direction, "Friendly! Friendly! You come here in to
this house and force one of us to marry you, and want a friendly little
match!?!" she screamed.
Ranma moved past another of Akane's strikes confused by Akane's level
of anger, "Hey, It's not my idea! And trust me the marriage isn't gonna
happen anyway," he said plainly.
"Damn it! Fight me!" she howled at him in a even larger fit of rage,
then threw another kick at his head with all her strength.
Ranma was tired of this fight, and Akane's anger was rubbing of on
him, "Fine! If you want a fight you got one!" Ranma shouted back. His
next moves were blindingly fast as he blocked the kick, then spun her
to hit a nerve cluster in her back.
Akane hopped off slightly trying to regain her balance, she was on the
verge of issuing a scathing comment about Ranma's lack of manhood when
she felt her legs give out. Akane realized she had lost the fight as
she was falling toward the floor.
Ranma tried to ease Akane's fall to the floor, but was rewarded by her
trying to take his head off with her elbow. "What is your problem!"
Ranma asked in frustration, as he stepped away.
Akane was in a true panic about losing to a boy, but tried to hide it
the best way she knew how. . . with anger. "I HATE BOYS!!" she screamed
at him.
Ranma was shocked by the pure venom in Akane's statement, but he was
still mad at her actions. "I don't much like boys myself, but I don't
go out of my way to try and cripple them!" he said as he walked away
shaking his head, then looked back. "Don't worry about your legs,
you'll get the feeling back in a few minutes."
Akane sat in the middle of the dojo, "you don't understand. . ." she
said quietly to the empty room, then started to cry.
-------------
*Geez, what is that girl's problem with guys!* Ranma was trying to
decipher what might be wrong with the girl he just fought, then stopped
with wide eyes, *She couldn't have been . . . been. . . No, that would
have shown in her aura.*
Ranma was lost in his thoughts when Kasumi stopped him. "Ranma, here
are some towels. The furo is downstairs," she said smiling.
"Ah. . ., It's okay ,Kasumi, I really don't need a bath just yet,"
Ranma replied nervously.
"You've been fi. . . sparring, and in this house you take a bath after
you exercise," she said firmly as she put the towels in Ranma's hands
and left.
Ranma sat on the washing stool while he filled a bucket with cold
water. *Aww man, what are they going to think when they see me?*
He doused himself with the water, "Ack, cold!" he said shivering, then
stepped into the hot furo. The change in his body relaxed her as the
hot water soaked in to her form.
---------
*That bastard! How could he beat me!?! I've proven myself against more
than 20 guys at a time and no one has beaten me before!* Akane was
still fuming as she walked into the bathroom's outer area. As she
started to strip off her gi and threw in on a pile, she totally missed
the fact other clothes were already there. *Why'd he have to be so
good?* She opened the furo door still in thought, and heard water
splashing. Akane looked up quickly, dreading who she expected she
walked in on, only to find a red-haired girl in the furo desperately
trying to cover herself. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't realize the bath was
in use," Akane said calmly, then she closed the door. She quietly
dressed in her panties and gi top, then left the outer room, where she
snapped out of her daze and ran to the living room.
Ranma-chan sat back down in the furo, relaxing after the last few
tense moments where she tried to cover herself when someone walked in.
"Don't they know how to knock in this house!" she said in mock disgust,
then thought about what she had seen, "Well, she does have a great
body," she said to herself with a smirk.
----------
Akane ran into the house at a flat out pace, skidding to a halt in the
living room. "There's a burglar in the bathroom!" she screamed as she
grabbed the first large blunt object she could find, which was the
table of course.
"Akane, calm down," Kasumi said with concern about the mental state of
her youngest sister.
Nabiki rolled her eyes and asked, "Honestly, Akane, what would a
burglar find to steal in our bathroom?"
"She was taking a bath!" Akane answered with annoyance, then noticed
that her sisters were looking past her to the doorway. She turned
around and found the red haired girl standing in the doorway.
Kasumi was the first to speak up. "Oh, hello. . . do we know you?" she
asked trying to place the familiar face of this girl.
The red haired girl looked down. "I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about
earlier," she said with a weak smile.
Akane dropped the table in shock of what she heard the girl say,
unfortunately for her it was right above her head. "Ouch."
Nabiki ignored her sister, "If you're Ranma, who was the guy that was
here earlier?" she asked in her best businesslike voice.
"That was me too," Ranma-chan answered, then sat down across from
Nabiki at the replaced table. "It's kinda hard to explain, but me and
the boy you met earlier are the same person."
A strange man walked into the room with Soun Tendo. "Let me explain. .
." he started as he grabbed Ranma-chan's shirt and threw her out of the
house, right into a koi pond that was minding its own business.
The boy from earlier surfaced from the pond. "Watcha do that for,
Pop!?!" he yelled at the man. Ranma-kun stepped out of the pond and
started to reset his clothes, he squirmed slightly then reached into
his shirt to pull out the Koi hidden there. "You coulda showed them in
another way, I didn't have to get soaked to the bone!" he said as he
looked at the fish. He then threw the fish back into the pond and ran
back into the house.
Soun turned to his daughters, who were stunned at the scene which had
just played out before them, "This is my good friend, Genma Saotome,
he's Ranma's father," he said as he patted Genma on the shoulder.
"And a no good panda!" Ranma-kun said as he threw a bucket of water on
his father, which initiated Genma's change.
"Oh my, it's the panda from earlier," Kasumi exclaimed. The three
sisters were caught in wide-eyed shock having seen this impossibility.
"I saw it. . . but I still don't believe it," Nabiki finally was able
to say after a few minutes of watching the boy and the panda in a
strength struggle.
Ranma-kun shifted slightly to one side causing the panda to lose its
balance and fall away from him as he turned to the girls. "Well, Pop
can't talk in his panda form, so I'll explain," Ranma-kun said as he
sat down at the table again and gave his father a glare. "And he'd
probably lie about it too."
----------
"We were travelling in China during school's summer break, Pop here
had heard of this incredible, ancient training ground he wanted me to
see," Ranma-kun started his tale as he moved his glare off of his
father and looked at the sisters. He noticed Akane wasn't giving him
dirty looks anymore, in fact she looked embarrassed for some reason.
"Do you do this kind of travelling often?" Nabiki asked in interest.
"Well, Mom only lets Pop take me on training trips during school
breaks so mostly we had to stay in Japan. He convinced her this was
necessary for my training," Ranma-kun explained as he thought about
wanting to see his mother again. "Pop wanted to take me on a large
training trip when I was little, but Mom wouldn't let him take a little
girl away from her home for more an a month at a time, and when I
started school he had to wait till I had time off."
"So, Um, you're really a girl?" Akane asked in a small voice.
"Yeah, I'm a girl," Ranma-kun replied to her question then cocked an
eyebrow, "Why? You have a problem with girls too?"
Akane just cringed at the rebuke but didn't say anything; she just sat
there and looked away.
"You were telling us how this happened," Nabiki pointed out with
impatience.
"Right, as I said we had gone to this place called 'Jusenkyo', it was
impressive, over a hundred little springs with bamboo poles sticking
out of them. It's supposed to be a balance training exercise, though we
didn't know there was a consequence for falling off at the time," Ranma-
kun paused as Soun poured hot water over her head. "While fighting, I
slipped past Pop's defences and accidentally knocked him into a
spring," Ranma-chan looked apologetically at her father when she said
this, "The next I knew a huge panda came to the surface, laying face
down in the water. I hopped down and approached the panda, cause I was
looking for Pop, but the Guide distracted me and I slipped and landed
in another spring." Ranma-chan couldn't help remembering she felt a
sharp pain in her leg before it gave out, but she didn't want to
mention it. "I felt a weird sensation through out my whole body before
I surfaced," Ranma-chan said with a shiver, "The Guide was yelling a
bunch of stuff at us, but I was in too much shock when I saw my body to
listen to him. Later, when both me and Pop calmed down, the Guide
explained how the curses worked."
Nabiki looked at Genma, who had also changed back, "And you didn't
take the time to find out about these curses before you went there?"
she asked with obvious disgust in her voice.
"I bought a travel brochure about the place," Genma said in his defence.
"Yeah, but it was in Chinese!" Ranma-chan said.
"It was cheaper," Genma replied back.
"YOU CAN'T READ A WORD OF CHINESE!" The tears finally started to fall
from Ranma-chan's eyes as she screamed at him. "If you'd just gave the
brochure to me I could have seen the warning. . ." she said quietly
through her tears, ". . . and we could be home right now with Mom."
To Akane the tears on the girl's face was proof enough that it was a
girl and not a boy, because no boy as tough as Ranma would ever cry in
public. She quickly moved over to Ranma-chan and tried to comfort the
girl. Ranma-chan looked at Akane in surprise, she didn't expect to be
comforted as she was a freak, she especially didn't expect it to come
from Akane.
"Ranma. . . I'm sorry! If I knew, I would never have acted. . ." Akane
started to apologize, but she was cut off by her father.
"Saotome! You told me Ranma had a hot water curse and was a BOY!" Soun
said while shaking Genma by the shoulders. "How did you plan to unite
our two schools with only girls!?!"
"Calm down Soun, old friend, It's not a difficulty at all," Genma said
with a nervous smile.
Soun gave his 'old friend' a glare, "If you are suggesting that I
marry. . ."
"Noooo, that isn't what I meant!" Genma answered waving his hands in
front of himself. He paused for a moment to compose himself then he
continued, "I asked the Guide about the Nannichuan curse and he said
she could father children while in male form."
"Are you suggesting the she marry one of us and live as a man!?!"
Akane asked. She couldn't believe to gall of this man. "Have you even
asked Ranma about this yet?"
Genma looked uncomfortable, "My wife gave me no sons, so I have tried
to raise Ranma as if she were that son of which I so wished for. I have
tried to impart in her a man's sense of honour and responsibility,
unfortunately it seems she also has developed a man's taste in
relationships. . ."
"I don't understand, what's 'a man's taste in relationships' supposed
to mean?" Akane asked confused, as Kasumi choked on some tea and Nabiki
gave a surprised short laugh.
Ranma-chan looked into Akane's eyes. "It means, I like girls," she
said with a weak smile.
"Well, I like girls too," Akane started, then her eyes widened with
shocked realization. "Oh. . ."
"Yeah," Ranma replied to Akane's unasked question, nervously expecting
Akane to be repulsed by her perversion.
"When I . . .when I said I liked girls I didn't mean . . . mean that I
. . . " Akane tried to explain herself.
"It's okay, Akane, I understand," Ranma-chan said calmly. "Hopefully
we can be friends at least?"
"I just never thought about it, I mean I hate boys and all, but I have
don't . . ." Akane stopped when she realized what Ranma-chan had asked,
"You still want to be friends after all that stuff I yelled at you?"
"I don't know what was done to you to make you that mad at boys, but I
won't hold it against you as I'm a girl," Ranma-chan said as friendly
as she could. ". . . and I could use some friends right now," she added
quietly with another weak smile.
"Of course, Ranma!" Akane said happily, "Of course I'll be your friend."
Soun watched his youngest daughter and the child of his best friend,
it was nice to see a smile on Akane's face, but he wasn't sure he liked
Genma's idea. He looked at his friend, who looked proud of himself at
his cleverness, and made a decision. "Genma, I'm not about to engage
one of my daughters to another girl, even one which becomes a boy," he
cut off Genma's protest then continued, "but I am willing to allow them
to find out for themselves if they could live with this or not. As it
stands both you and Ranma can stay until they make up their minds."
A while later, after the girls asked Ranma-chan questions about what
being a guy was like and the fathers got reacquainted, sleeping
arrangements had to be made.
"Ranma can't sleep in the same room as her father, it's just not
right," Kasumi said after hearing Genma's ideas as to arrangements.
"But we have been sharing tents on training trips for years," Genma
stated.
"Only cause it saved space in the packs, Pop," Ranma replied annoyed.
"You can stay in my room with me, Ranma," Akane said with a smile,
"I've got what used to be the guest room, and it's more then big enough
for two people."
"You sure you want to share a room with a pervert, Akane?" Ranma-chan
asked.
"You're NOT a pervert!" Akane said sternly, "Don't think of yourself
like that!"
"I was kidding, Akane. I came to terms with it a long time ago," Ranma-
chan said with a smile.
"Um, yeah. . . come on I'll show you the room," Akane said, still
unsure about her new friend, but she wanted to make up for her earlier
attitude as much as she could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometime later, as all were asleep, Ranma became aware. He stood up,
and found himself in a place he couldn't completely describe. As he
turned around he saw a scene of Ranma-chan and Akane sleeping with
contentment in the same bed played out as if it was on a screen that
wasn't there, "What the heck is going on!?!" he said to whatever might
be listening.
"You're living what you wished for," said a voice that came from
beside him.
Ranma jumped, then noticed it was the old man from the store.
"Whatcha mean what I wished for!?! I didn't wish for this!" Ranma said
in anger as he waved his hand at the image.
"This is the best combination for the wishes you made," the old man
replied calmly, "You were warned to only make one wish."
"How is this even close to my wishes!?!" Ranma asked, the tension
showing in his voice.
The old man looked to the image and said, "Well, you wished to restart
your relationship with the girl, Akane, and it has been granted.
"But I also wished to have my curse gone, not to become a GIRL!" Ranma
screamed the last word at what he saw on the screen. "Worse than that,
she's a pervert, a . . ."
"Lesbian. Well, you can't have a truly loving relationship with
another girl if you are straight, now could you?" the old man said
looking almost as if he was enjoying himself. "And as for your wish
dealing with your curse, you said you wanted your 'Nyanniichuan curse'
gone, didn't you?"
"Of course I did," Ranma said, not knowing where this was going.
"And it has been granted. Unfortunately, to make accommodations for your
other wishes it had to become a Nannichuan curse." the old man replied.
Ranma was too stunned to continue the conversation for some time.
After a bit of thinking he finally had a few questions for the man, who
was admiring the girls on the screen.
"Okay, I want some answers," Ranma stated.
'That is why I'm here, I will explain any question dealing with your
wishes," the old man said, then added, "as long as it pertains with
what has already happened."
"Um, okay," Ranma replied. He didn't completely understand what the
old man meant, but he probably figure it out soon enough. "Why don't I
remember her life, I mean before this afternoon?"
"Simple, We could have put you into her life at her birth, but that
would take too long to show you we were granting your wishes, so we put
you into her just before your first meeting with the person who was the
most important part of your wishes," the old man explained, but he
noticed Ranma had a confused look on his face, so he added, "You have
all her memories when you are her, but when you are here you have only
memories that you have experienced as her, or those memories brought up
by situations she encounters."
"Ah, I think I understand," Ranma started as he tried to work it out.
"So, I will know what her past was like when it comes back to haunt
her?"
"Pretty much," the old man replied with a touch of humour.
"Okay, I leave that one for another time. . . what I'd like to know
now is why she doesn't look like me?" Ranma said pointing at the screen.
"I don't know what you mean, she looks just like you," the old man
answered with a touch of confusion.
"Oh, lets start with the body. She's taller than my cursed form, and
she's got smaller, um, breasts." He started his point boldly until that
last part of his statement.
"Well, for one thing she is not your cursed form. She has grown up a
girl, and through extensive training before and during puberty she has
developed to what you see there," the old man pointed out one of the
sleeping forms.
"But that doesn't explain the breasts, I mean they're smaller than
Akane's!" Ranma realized he should be having problems with his
annoyance with this fact, but right now he just wanted answers.
"Body fat is one of the things which adds to breast size, that girl
has very little extra body fat to help breast production," the old man
said while admiring the image of the girl he was describing.
"Um, that makes sense, I guess." Ranma would have to think about that
one later, he had other questions. "Why is her hair short and spiky,
and no pigtail?"
"I can't explain that one just yet, it will become evident later." The
old man looked at an watch he could only see. "any other questions"
"Yeah, a couple. She said that she had only been on training missions
during school breaks. . . has she been living with her mother?. . .is
she as good as I was at that point?" Ranma asked.
"Yes, as stated earlier you mother wouldn't let your father take a
little girl on extended training trips. Your father did convince your
mother that some training trips were necessary to improve the girl's
skills," the old man answered.
"What about her skills?" Ranma wanted to know the trade-off to staying
home with his mother vs. the 10 years with his father.
"She is very close to your level of skill. Minus one specific style,
but that is only because she was trying so hard to prove herself to her
father, who wanted a son more that anything else in the world," the old
man answered. Though he looked disappointed about something Ranma
couldn't figure out. "Some people don't know when they have a good
thing."
"I can understand her reasons for trying so hard, I have been doing
the same thing since the curse. . . to prove to myself, as well as Pop,
that I was still the man I was," Ranma said depressed. "I don't think I
would have improved so much in such a short time otherwise."
"That's a good realization, a very mature one." The old man looked
proud at Ranma's statement. "We have little time left, is there
anything else you want to know?"
"Um, yeah. . . is Akane. . . a. . .," Ranma tried to ask but he
couldn't get the question out for fear of what it might mean in his
other life.
"No, she not a lesbian if that is what you wanted to know," the old
man answered knowing that this question was coming. " We did nothing to
alter her as it wasn't needed to grant the wishes. And before you ask,
yes she would have attacked you like that if you had showed up as a guy
the first time you met. She is a high-spirited young girl by nature who
had some very bad experiences with boys at a very vulnerable time of
her life, she had her freedom of choice taken away for her and you were
just too much better than her for her ego to take."
"I would probably have had an easier time with her if I just was a
little more offensive when I sparred with her, but I can't hit a girl
without a damn good reason," Ranma said sadly, "I guess I don't have
that problem anymore either."
"Well, you've made some very impressive realizations tonight, sir, but
it is time for you to go back in to that Ranma there," the old man said
pointing to the girl on the screen who was moving as if she was about
to wake up.
For Ranma the little world of blue faded way and he stopped being just
himself.
Ranma-chan woke up slowly trying desperately to hold on to her dream.
She knew it was important but it slipped away from her mental grip like
the sands it was made up of.
____________
Next up: The first day of school is always hell. . .
Ranma's Wish, Chapter one
By Felix Webster
All original Ranma 1/2 Characters Copyright Rumiko Takahashi (first
published by Shogakugan in Japan and brought over to North America by
Viz Communications), and are used without permission.
Please don't sue... cause I have no money.
I want to thank the following people for things (like pre reading):
Chris Stassen
Paul Blay
" " - speech
* * - thoughts
( ) - other languages - Chinese mostly -
[ ] - Panda signs
- The same old story. . . -
The sky was doing it's best to drown the district of Nerima with a
light but steady rain. Two figures walked down the streets of the town,
gaining stares from those they passed. The pair were very unusual, as
one was a handsome young man, and the other a panda. Both were carrying
packs and had the look of hard travels in their eyes.
"I'm telling you, Pop, this is a bad idea," the young man said as he
stopped walking, turned to face the panda and cocked an eyebrow, "I
know you and your friend made this silly agreement years ago, but you
told me that he only had daughters, so how do you plan to pull this one
off, huh?"
The boy seemed calm enough to the onlookers. . . Calm, but crazy, he
was talking to a panda after all, until that same panda held up a sign
in response, [They're girls and you're a boy, so everything will] -flip-
[work out fine]. The boy gave the panda a nasty look after reading the
sign, "And that's your fault too!"
At the sound of the accusation the panda moved into a ready stance,
but the boy just turned back to the direction they were originally
heading in. "Don't get worked up, Pop, I said I'd go and see this
friend of yours, and I stand by my word," the boy stated, shaking his
head at the panda's actions.
As the two started on their way again the boy looked into the rainy
afternoon sky, "I just hope they don't go ballistic when they find out
about this," he said sadly to himself.
The neighbourhood street was a peaceful place today, no one had a care
in the world and all one had to was enjoy the light cleansing rain. . .
unfortunately good things never last.
-----------
"YOU DID WHAT!?!"
A girl's voice could be heard for blocks in every direction, scaring
small children and animals.
"Calm down, Akane. I said my friend, Genma Saotome, and I made a pact
to unite our schools. We each agreed to engage one of our children to
the other in marriage." Although Soun Tendo looked calm inside he was
very excited by the postcard he held in his hand. "They'll be here
soon."
"How could you do this? Without even asking us!" Akane continued her
rant, she crossed her arms and gave her father a stare that could melt
titanium.
Nabiki smirked at her sister's attitude, Nabiki herself thought this
might be fun. . . or profitable, "Give it a rest, Sis. You never know
he could very good looking and rich, right daddy?" She turned to her
father looking for a response.
Soun put a hand behind his head and laughed slightly, "I don't know,
I've never met the boy."
"WHAT!?!"
The scream was so loud and full of anger it caused the boy to be
distracted enough from trying to look for the person who had screamed
the first time, trying to play hero, that he ran into a telephone pole.
The panda came running up to boy and held up another sign, [Ha, caught
you!], it then slapped its forehead was it realized the boy couldn't
read the sign while unconscious. The panda threw the boy over its
shoulder, then headed back on its way oblivious of the staring people.
"What do you mean you've never met him!?!" Akane continued to scream,
but not with the same volume as her throat was getting sore.
"The pact was made just after Kasumi's birth, and my friend didn't
have a child yet," Soun said never losing his calm as he was used to
his daughter's temper.
"Oh great, just great!" Akane just wouldn't give up her protests, but
she was running out of things to say.
"Akane, calm down," the eldest sister instructed very sternly. "I just
hope he isn't too much younger than me, it could cause. . . problems,"
Kasumi mused, sipping her tea while thinking about how to prepare for
the house guests that were coming.
"I hope he's rich and handsome, Kasumi. A bit of an age difference
wouldn't be so bad with those things going for a person," Nabiki said
with a devious smile.
"Kasumi! Nabiki! I can't believe that you're going along with this. .
. stupid plan!" Akane screamed, looking betrayed by her sisters.
The outer door to the family house opened right after Akane's
statement, and the sound of something very large entering came from
that direction.
"Put. Me. Down. Old man!" said a strong male voice from the same area,
"I said I wasn't gunna run away!"
"That must be Ranma!" Nabiki said as she jumped up and ran to the door
to greet him, with her father close behind her. A few seconds later
both came running back in a panic, followed by a large panda with a
person over its shoulder.
"Put me down, you're scaring them!" the boy yelled as he hit the panda
in the head. The panda reached over and grabbed the boy and placed him
down in front of itself. Soun had partially recovered by this time and
decided he had to ask, "You wouldn't be. . ."
The boy cut him off quickly, " I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about this,"
he said without making eye contact, and looking very depressed.
Soun was ecstatic at this news, "Oh happy day, now our two schools can
be united!" he exclaimed as he hugged Ranma with all his might.
Nabiki gave Ranma a once over, she found the Chinese style red silk
shirt and black pants an interesting choice, but it looked good on him
she thought. She smiled at her sisters, "Well, he's handsome."
Akane crossed her arms and gave a, "Humph!" and looked away in
disgust. Kasumi just sipped her tea smiling sweetly.
"Could you. . . please stop it, I. . . can't breathe!" Ranma said
urgently, while struggling in Soun's hug.
Soun gave a short laugh and then released Ranma, "Well, my boy, it's
great to have you here," he said and gave Ranma a hard slap on the
boy's back, causing Ranma to stumble slightly.
Kasumi, who had been sitting quietly, had in fact been trying to think
of a way to delay her father, she had a plan now and was waiting for
the right time to act.
She didn't have to wait long.
Soun had just opened his mouth to introduce his daughters when Kasumi
cut him off, "Father, before we continue this discussion I think we
should let Ranma settle in first," she said it so sweetly, but also
with a undertone not to be refused.
"A. . . a fine idea, Kasumi. There's no reason to rush matters now
that Ranma is here," Soun replied trying to look patient.
Nabiki gave Ranma another look over. "So, you're a martial artist
huh?" she asked with a weird look on her face. She was thinking of the
money she could make off him if he was good.
"Um. . . Yeah," Ranma replied nervously, feeling like side of beef.
Nabiki chuckled slightly, she decided that there was only one way to
find out, "You know, Akane's a martial artist too. Maybe you two should
spar to see who's better."
Akane started to growl at her sister, then got a nasty grin on her
face, "Yeah, why don't we."
Ranma didn't like the look on Akane's face, it wasn't at all friendly,
but he figured things would be better after the ice was broken, "Um. .
. okay."
------------
Ranma liked the look of the little dojo he was standing in, it had a
loved feeling as if it was well used and well cared for. After they had
bowed to the spirit of the dojo and then to each other, Ranma waited in
a relaxed stance watching for Akane's attack. Akane, on the other hand,
was getting even more mad that this boy wasn't taking her seriously.
She clenched her hands and decided she'd teach him that he was making a
mistake!
Akane's first strike was a kick aimed at Ranma's head, but it never
connected as Ranma leaped it in a dodge. She tried several other
attacks, all aimed to truly hurt her opponent, but all missed as Ranma
just moved around them.
"Will you fight back!" Akane screamed at Ranma, "What, are you too
weak to fight a girl?"
Ranma seemed unfazed by Akane's jibe at his honour, "I thought this
was a friendly little match?" he asked calmly.
Akane spat in his direction, "Friendly! Friendly! You come here in to
this house and force one of us to marry you, and want a friendly little
match!?!" she screamed.
Ranma moved past another of Akane's strikes confused by Akane's level
of anger, "Hey, It's not my idea! And trust me the marriage isn't gonna
happen anyway," he said plainly.
"Damn it! Fight me!" she howled at him in a even larger fit of rage,
then threw another kick at his head with all her strength.
Ranma was tired of this fight, and Akane's anger was rubbing of on
him, "Fine! If you want a fight you got one!" Ranma shouted back. His
next moves were blindingly fast as he blocked the kick, then spun her
to hit a nerve cluster in her back.
Akane hopped off slightly trying to regain her balance, she was on the
verge of issuing a scathing comment about Ranma's lack of manhood when
she felt her legs give out. Akane realized she had lost the fight as
she was falling toward the floor.
Ranma tried to ease Akane's fall to the floor, but was rewarded by her
trying to take his head off with her elbow. "What is your problem!"
Ranma asked in frustration, as he stepped away.
Akane was in a true panic about losing to a boy, but tried to hide it
the best way she knew how. . . with anger. "I HATE BOYS!!" she screamed
at him.
Ranma was shocked by the pure venom in Akane's statement, but he was
still mad at her actions. "I don't much like boys myself, but I don't
go out of my way to try and cripple them!" he said as he walked away
shaking his head, then looked back. "Don't worry about your legs,
you'll get the feeling back in a few minutes."
Akane sat in the middle of the dojo, "you don't understand. . ." she
said quietly to the empty room, then started to cry.
-------------
*Geez, what is that girl's problem with guys!* Ranma was trying to
decipher what might be wrong with the girl he just fought, then stopped
with wide eyes, *She couldn't have been . . . been. . . No, that would
have shown in her aura.*
Ranma was lost in his thoughts when Kasumi stopped him. "Ranma, here
are some towels. The furo is downstairs," she said smiling.
"Ah. . ., It's okay ,Kasumi, I really don't need a bath just yet,"
Ranma replied nervously.
"You've been fi. . . sparring, and in this house you take a bath after
you exercise," she said firmly as she put the towels in Ranma's hands
and left.
Ranma sat on the washing stool while he filled a bucket with cold
water. *Aww man, what are they going to think when they see me?*
He doused himself with the water, "Ack, cold!" he said shivering, then
stepped into the hot furo. The change in his body relaxed her as the
hot water soaked in to her form.
---------
*That bastard! How could he beat me!?! I've proven myself against more
than 20 guys at a time and no one has beaten me before!* Akane was
still fuming as she walked into the bathroom's outer area. As she
started to strip off her gi and threw in on a pile, she totally missed
the fact other clothes were already there. *Why'd he have to be so
good?* She opened the furo door still in thought, and heard water
splashing. Akane looked up quickly, dreading who she expected she
walked in on, only to find a red-haired girl in the furo desperately
trying to cover herself. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't realize the bath was
in use," Akane said calmly, then she closed the door. She quietly
dressed in her panties and gi top, then left the outer room, where she
snapped out of her daze and ran to the living room.
Ranma-chan sat back down in the furo, relaxing after the last few
tense moments where she tried to cover herself when someone walked in.
"Don't they know how to knock in this house!" she said in mock disgust,
then thought about what she had seen, "Well, she does have a great
body," she said to herself with a smirk.
----------
Akane ran into the house at a flat out pace, skidding to a halt in the
living room. "There's a burglar in the bathroom!" she screamed as she
grabbed the first large blunt object she could find, which was the
table of course.
"Akane, calm down," Kasumi said with concern about the mental state of
her youngest sister.
Nabiki rolled her eyes and asked, "Honestly, Akane, what would a
burglar find to steal in our bathroom?"
"She was taking a bath!" Akane answered with annoyance, then noticed
that her sisters were looking past her to the doorway. She turned
around and found the red haired girl standing in the doorway.
Kasumi was the first to speak up. "Oh, hello. . . do we know you?" she
asked trying to place the familiar face of this girl.
The red haired girl looked down. "I'm Ranma Saotome, sorry about
earlier," she said with a weak smile.
Akane dropped the table in shock of what she heard the girl say,
unfortunately for her it was right above her head. "Ouch."
Nabiki ignored her sister, "If you're Ranma, who was the guy that was
here earlier?" she asked in her best businesslike voice.
"That was me too," Ranma-chan answered, then sat down across from
Nabiki at the replaced table. "It's kinda hard to explain, but me and
the boy you met earlier are the same person."
A strange man walked into the room with Soun Tendo. "Let me explain. .
." he started as he grabbed Ranma-chan's shirt and threw her out of the
house, right into a koi pond that was minding its own business.
The boy from earlier surfaced from the pond. "Watcha do that for,
Pop!?!" he yelled at the man. Ranma-kun stepped out of the pond and
started to reset his clothes, he squirmed slightly then reached into
his shirt to pull out the Koi hidden there. "You coulda showed them in
another way, I didn't have to get soaked to the bone!" he said as he
looked at the fish. He then threw the fish back into the pond and ran
back into the house.
Soun turned to his daughters, who were stunned at the scene which had
just played out before them, "This is my good friend, Genma Saotome,
he's Ranma's father," he said as he patted Genma on the shoulder.
"And a no good panda!" Ranma-kun said as he threw a bucket of water on
his father, which initiated Genma's change.
"Oh my, it's the panda from earlier," Kasumi exclaimed. The three
sisters were caught in wide-eyed shock having seen this impossibility.
"I saw it. . . but I still don't believe it," Nabiki finally was able
to say after a few minutes of watching the boy and the panda in a
strength struggle.
Ranma-kun shifted slightly to one side causing the panda to lose its
balance and fall away from him as he turned to the girls. "Well, Pop
can't talk in his panda form, so I'll explain," Ranma-kun said as he
sat down at the table again and gave his father a glare. "And he'd
probably lie about it too."
----------
"We were travelling in China during school's summer break, Pop here
had heard of this incredible, ancient training ground he wanted me to
see," Ranma-kun started his tale as he moved his glare off of his
father and looked at the sisters. He noticed Akane wasn't giving him
dirty looks anymore, in fact she looked embarrassed for some reason.
"Do you do this kind of travelling often?" Nabiki asked in interest.
"Well, Mom only lets Pop take me on training trips during school
breaks so mostly we had to stay in Japan. He convinced her this was
necessary for my training," Ranma-kun explained as he thought about
wanting to see his mother again. "Pop wanted to take me on a large
training trip when I was little, but Mom wouldn't let him take a little
girl away from her home for more an a month at a time, and when I
started school he had to wait till I had time off."
"So, Um, you're really a girl?" Akane asked in a small voice.
"Yeah, I'm a girl," Ranma-kun replied to her question then cocked an
eyebrow, "Why? You have a problem with girls too?"
Akane just cringed at the rebuke but didn't say anything; she just sat
there and looked away.
"You were telling us how this happened," Nabiki pointed out with
impatience.
"Right, as I said we had gone to this place called 'Jusenkyo', it was
impressive, over a hundred little springs with bamboo poles sticking
out of them. It's supposed to be a balance training exercise, though we
didn't know there was a consequence for falling off at the time," Ranma-
kun paused as Soun poured hot water over her head. "While fighting, I
slipped past Pop's defences and accidentally knocked him into a
spring," Ranma-chan looked apologetically at her father when she said
this, "The next I knew a huge panda came to the surface, laying face
down in the water. I hopped down and approached the panda, cause I was
looking for Pop, but the Guide distracted me and I slipped and landed
in another spring." Ranma-chan couldn't help remembering she felt a
sharp pain in her leg before it gave out, but she didn't want to
mention it. "I felt a weird sensation through out my whole body before
I surfaced," Ranma-chan said with a shiver, "The Guide was yelling a
bunch of stuff at us, but I was in too much shock when I saw my body to
listen to him. Later, when both me and Pop calmed down, the Guide
explained how the curses worked."
Nabiki looked at Genma, who had also changed back, "And you didn't
take the time to find out about these curses before you went there?"
she asked with obvious disgust in her voice.
"I bought a travel brochure about the place," Genma said in his defence.
"Yeah, but it was in Chinese!" Ranma-chan said.
"It was cheaper," Genma replied back.
"YOU CAN'T READ A WORD OF CHINESE!" The tears finally started to fall
from Ranma-chan's eyes as she screamed at him. "If you'd just gave the
brochure to me I could have seen the warning. . ." she said quietly
through her tears, ". . . and we could be home right now with Mom."
To Akane the tears on the girl's face was proof enough that it was a
girl and not a boy, because no boy as tough as Ranma would ever cry in
public. She quickly moved over to Ranma-chan and tried to comfort the
girl. Ranma-chan looked at Akane in surprise, she didn't expect to be
comforted as she was a freak, she especially didn't expect it to come
from Akane.
"Ranma. . . I'm sorry! If I knew, I would never have acted. . ." Akane
started to apologize, but she was cut off by her father.
"Saotome! You told me Ranma had a hot water curse and was a BOY!" Soun
said while shaking Genma by the shoulders. "How did you plan to unite
our two schools with only girls!?!"
"Calm down Soun, old friend, It's not a difficulty at all," Genma said
with a nervous smile.
Soun gave his 'old friend' a glare, "If you are suggesting that I
marry. . ."
"Noooo, that isn't what I meant!" Genma answered waving his hands in
front of himself. He paused for a moment to compose himself then he
continued, "I asked the Guide about the Nannichuan curse and he said
she could father children while in male form."
"Are you suggesting the she marry one of us and live as a man!?!"
Akane asked. She couldn't believe to gall of this man. "Have you even
asked Ranma about this yet?"
Genma looked uncomfortable, "My wife gave me no sons, so I have tried
to raise Ranma as if she were that son of which I so wished for. I have
tried to impart in her a man's sense of honour and responsibility,
unfortunately it seems she also has developed a man's taste in
relationships. . ."
"I don't understand, what's 'a man's taste in relationships' supposed
to mean?" Akane asked confused, as Kasumi choked on some tea and Nabiki
gave a surprised short laugh.
Ranma-chan looked into Akane's eyes. "It means, I like girls," she
said with a weak smile.
"Well, I like girls too," Akane started, then her eyes widened with
shocked realization. "Oh. . ."
"Yeah," Ranma replied to Akane's unasked question, nervously expecting
Akane to be repulsed by her perversion.
"When I . . .when I said I liked girls I didn't mean . . . mean that I
. . . " Akane tried to explain herself.
"It's okay, Akane, I understand," Ranma-chan said calmly. "Hopefully
we can be friends at least?"
"I just never thought about it, I mean I hate boys and all, but I have
don't . . ." Akane stopped when she realized what Ranma-chan had asked,
"You still want to be friends after all that stuff I yelled at you?"
"I don't know what was done to you to make you that mad at boys, but I
won't hold it against you as I'm a girl," Ranma-chan said as friendly
as she could. ". . . and I could use some friends right now," she added
quietly with another weak smile.
"Of course, Ranma!" Akane said happily, "Of course I'll be your friend."
Soun watched his youngest daughter and the child of his best friend,
it was nice to see a smile on Akane's face, but he wasn't sure he liked
Genma's idea. He looked at his friend, who looked proud of himself at
his cleverness, and made a decision. "Genma, I'm not about to engage
one of my daughters to another girl, even one which becomes a boy," he
cut off Genma's protest then continued, "but I am willing to allow them
to find out for themselves if they could live with this or not. As it
stands both you and Ranma can stay until they make up their minds."
A while later, after the girls asked Ranma-chan questions about what
being a guy was like and the fathers got reacquainted, sleeping
arrangements had to be made.
"Ranma can't sleep in the same room as her father, it's just not
right," Kasumi said after hearing Genma's ideas as to arrangements.
"But we have been sharing tents on training trips for years," Genma
stated.
"Only cause it saved space in the packs, Pop," Ranma replied annoyed.
"You can stay in my room with me, Ranma," Akane said with a smile,
"I've got what used to be the guest room, and it's more then big enough
for two people."
"You sure you want to share a room with a pervert, Akane?" Ranma-chan
asked.
"You're NOT a pervert!" Akane said sternly, "Don't think of yourself
like that!"
"I was kidding, Akane. I came to terms with it a long time ago," Ranma-
chan said with a smile.
"Um, yeah. . . come on I'll show you the room," Akane said, still
unsure about her new friend, but she wanted to make up for her earlier
attitude as much as she could.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometime later, as all were asleep, Ranma became aware. He stood up,
and found himself in a place he couldn't completely describe. As he
turned around he saw a scene of Ranma-chan and Akane sleeping with
contentment in the same bed played out as if it was on a screen that
wasn't there, "What the heck is going on!?!" he said to whatever might
be listening.
"You're living what you wished for," said a voice that came from
beside him.
Ranma jumped, then noticed it was the old man from the store.
"Whatcha mean what I wished for!?! I didn't wish for this!" Ranma said
in anger as he waved his hand at the image.
"This is the best combination for the wishes you made," the old man
replied calmly, "You were warned to only make one wish."
"How is this even close to my wishes!?!" Ranma asked, the tension
showing in his voice.
The old man looked to the image and said, "Well, you wished to restart
your relationship with the girl, Akane, and it has been granted.
"But I also wished to have my curse gone, not to become a GIRL!" Ranma
screamed the last word at what he saw on the screen. "Worse than that,
she's a pervert, a . . ."
"Lesbian. Well, you can't have a truly loving relationship with
another girl if you are straight, now could you?" the old man said
looking almost as if he was enjoying himself. "And as for your wish
dealing with your curse, you said you wanted your 'Nyanniichuan curse'
gone, didn't you?"
"Of course I did," Ranma said, not knowing where this was going.
"And it has been granted. Unfortunately, to make accommodations for your
other wishes it had to become a Nannichuan curse." the old man replied.
Ranma was too stunned to continue the conversation for some time.
After a bit of thinking he finally had a few questions for the man, who
was admiring the girls on the screen.
"Okay, I want some answers," Ranma stated.
'That is why I'm here, I will explain any question dealing with your
wishes," the old man said, then added, "as long as it pertains with
what has already happened."
"Um, okay," Ranma replied. He didn't completely understand what the
old man meant, but he probably figure it out soon enough. "Why don't I
remember her life, I mean before this afternoon?"
"Simple, We could have put you into her life at her birth, but that
would take too long to show you we were granting your wishes, so we put
you into her just before your first meeting with the person who was the
most important part of your wishes," the old man explained, but he
noticed Ranma had a confused look on his face, so he added, "You have
all her memories when you are her, but when you are here you have only
memories that you have experienced as her, or those memories brought up
by situations she encounters."
"Ah, I think I understand," Ranma started as he tried to work it out.
"So, I will know what her past was like when it comes back to haunt
her?"
"Pretty much," the old man replied with a touch of humour.
"Okay, I leave that one for another time. . . what I'd like to know
now is why she doesn't look like me?" Ranma said pointing at the screen.
"I don't know what you mean, she looks just like you," the old man
answered with a touch of confusion.
"Oh, lets start with the body. She's taller than my cursed form, and
she's got smaller, um, breasts." He started his point boldly until that
last part of his statement.
"Well, for one thing she is not your cursed form. She has grown up a
girl, and through extensive training before and during puberty she has
developed to what you see there," the old man pointed out one of the
sleeping forms.
"But that doesn't explain the breasts, I mean they're smaller than
Akane's!" Ranma realized he should be having problems with his
annoyance with this fact, but right now he just wanted answers.
"Body fat is one of the things which adds to breast size, that girl
has very little extra body fat to help breast production," the old man
said while admiring the image of the girl he was describing.
"Um, that makes sense, I guess." Ranma would have to think about that
one later, he had other questions. "Why is her hair short and spiky,
and no pigtail?"
"I can't explain that one just yet, it will become evident later." The
old man looked at an watch he could only see. "any other questions"
"Yeah, a couple. She said that she had only been on training missions
during school breaks. . . has she been living with her mother?. . .is
she as good as I was at that point?" Ranma asked.
"Yes, as stated earlier you mother wouldn't let your father take a
little girl on extended training trips. Your father did convince your
mother that some training trips were necessary to improve the girl's
skills," the old man answered.
"What about her skills?" Ranma wanted to know the trade-off to staying
home with his mother vs. the 10 years with his father.
"She is very close to your level of skill. Minus one specific style,
but that is only because she was trying so hard to prove herself to her
father, who wanted a son more that anything else in the world," the old
man answered. Though he looked disappointed about something Ranma
couldn't figure out. "Some people don't know when they have a good
thing."
"I can understand her reasons for trying so hard, I have been doing
the same thing since the curse. . . to prove to myself, as well as Pop,
that I was still the man I was," Ranma said depressed. "I don't think I
would have improved so much in such a short time otherwise."
"That's a good realization, a very mature one." The old man looked
proud at Ranma's statement. "We have little time left, is there
anything else you want to know?"
"Um, yeah. . . is Akane. . . a. . .," Ranma tried to ask but he
couldn't get the question out for fear of what it might mean in his
other life.
"No, she not a lesbian if that is what you wanted to know," the old
man answered knowing that this question was coming. " We did nothing to
alter her as it wasn't needed to grant the wishes. And before you ask,
yes she would have attacked you like that if you had showed up as a guy
the first time you met. She is a high-spirited young girl by nature who
had some very bad experiences with boys at a very vulnerable time of
her life, she had her freedom of choice taken away for her and you were
just too much better than her for her ego to take."
"I would probably have had an easier time with her if I just was a
little more offensive when I sparred with her, but I can't hit a girl
without a damn good reason," Ranma said sadly, "I guess I don't have
that problem anymore either."
"Well, you've made some very impressive realizations tonight, sir, but
it is time for you to go back in to that Ranma there," the old man said
pointing to the girl on the screen who was moving as if she was about
to wake up.
For Ranma the little world of blue faded way and he stopped being just
himself.
Ranma-chan woke up slowly trying desperately to hold on to her dream.
She knew it was important but it slipped away from her mental grip like
the sands it was made up of.
____________
Next up: The first day of school is always hell. . .