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* Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction * Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction * Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction *
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Switch: Herbs and Spices (Chapter 09 / 22) by Nikholas "Switch" F. Toledo
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Please do remember that Ranma 1/2 is a trademark and a copyright of and
by some big name people and companies I am not even worthy to introduce.
Anybody who says that I took any of their stuff better not find me
hiding. Also, great thanks to whoever reads this and likes it, good
thanks to whoever reads it anyhow, and teeny thanks to whoever saw this.
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Day 2


 Ninth Inning and Outing



 Ki is an unusual thing.
 During the earlier years of the sciences, they had thought that
heat was a type of matter, flowing from body to body as a liquid would as
it is poured from a container into another. Enlightenment had started
when they had begun to realize that heat was a manifestation of entropy
in matter.
 Latter-day developments in this field of physics are already of the
notion of the ultimate unification of all the forms of energy; that all
forms of energy in nature are different shades of the same basic
material, present in all forms.
 In this sense, maybe ki is a form of energy.
 Ki also has a tendency to be attacked by more down-to-earth forces,
like gravity, and inertia. The Earth, not only being a large
electromagnet, is also a large ki-magnet, but the chi (as compared to
your normal person's ki) that the Earth keeps in its reservoir is mostly
on its surface, and is sedentary, much like a large lake. Instead of
being completely static, the chi of the Earth follows a current, much
like the clouds in the sky, due to planet's rotation on its axis.
 In today's modern day and age, man is going speeds increasing,
keeping with a brisk pace that society sets for it. This means that a
larger amount of stress can be caused by going against the currents set
by terrestrial chi.
 Following the path that Ranma and company took from Nerima, in
Tokyo, to Mount Fuji, their route takes them from east to west, which
goes in the same direction as the rotation of the earth. This rotation
causes the clouds to run from west to east, as would the chi-currents.
Thus, the ki of the high-powered martial artists would, effectively, be
immersed in a stream of counter-flowing chi.
 Needless to say, blowing into the wind would just get spit into
your face.

 "... princess... no... no coffee, please... cooking... hmmm,"
Shampoo murmured into her forearm in Chinese. "... gotta... keep...
awake," she continued, as a pot began to boil nearby. "... might cause a
fire...." She dozed off, turning over, and accidentally hit the knob for
the stove, shutting off the burner. Her mouth opened to different widths
regularly, softly.

 "... Daddy. I love you, Daddy."
 Ukyo saw her father look over her from their embrace. He pulled
away, still within her arms' width, to say, "so, what has my tiger been
doing today?"
 He looked a lot larger than she could remember... almost as huge
and imposing as he was when she was still an apprentice chef, back when
she was six. She could swear that she was wearing that yellow headband
she used to wear... but, no. It was just matted hair, on a sweaty brow.
 She looked up into her father's confident but amused gaze, "I've
been training for the time I'd meet Ranma." She didn't wonder why she
was using that caring tone she had whenever she mentioned his name, just
at the sad note which she carried it with. She felt the tears in her
eyes. "Tell me again, Daddy. Why he left me."
 "I didn't leave you, Ucchan." Ranma kept the warmth in his arms in
his eyes. "I never would."
 "But... Ranma." She cut off what she would say as she lay her head
on his chest, his manly chest, and stopped.
 "What?" Ranma had a questioning glance.
 "Ranma... I... I... don't think you love me." She wouldn't afford
to return the caring link he extended, afraid.
 "Why? I... I love you." His hesitation was bridged by a painful
gap.
 "As a friend," she supplied. "Nothing more."
 "Isn't that what matters?" he said, his innocent tone beckoning
her to open up, to care.
 "No, it's not." She looked into his eyes, then. Ryoga's eyes.
 "But, what could there be between us? You have Ranma, I have
Akane."
 "But I don't, and you don't. They have each other." She kept her
chest coming closer to Ryoga's. She let a shuddering sigh out.
 "You want substitutes. For you and me." Ryoga didn't sound hurt,
just curious. "A happy ending."
 "NO," she intoned. "Well, yes, a happy ending. But... Ryoga..."
 "I can't believe that you're giving up on him. That you'd want me
to give up on Akane. Or Nabiki." Ryoga's voice had a chastising, sharp
tone, beneath its lack of volume.
 She shook a bit, when he mentioned Nabiki. "I... I haven't." She
was a bit surprised with her own answer. She couldn't loosen her grip on
him. She spoke into his chest. "It was just... just that when you...
and Nabiki... came in yesterday. She... she wanted to... take you away
from me." She ended that statement awkwardly.
 She felt her face moisten. A hand lifted from her back, and
pectorals stretched obliquely. She looked up to see Ryoga offer her a
bandanna. She took her own hand from his back, and graciously accepted
it.
 She was able to put in, "I-," *sob*, "I... didn't know what to do.
I did," *sob*, "what came," *sob*, "to me first.... I really didn't,"
*sob*, "think about it..." She gave herself a good half-minute to clear
her sinuses. Ryoga sort of let his left arm drape across the small of
her back, his hand brushing her left waist, while his right arm held her
shoulders reassuringly.
 "I... I guess I didn't want her to. To get you. From me. I- It
felt right for a while, and it was so silly," she was smiling to herself,
"because I, I wanted you to care for me, too." Under her breath, she
added, "I thought you did, too."
 Ryoga lay, calm-as-you-please, where he was. Where he was under
Ukyo, on the floor. He was amazed. He was touched, but he felt... at
peace. Shock, he thought.
 "Ukyo," he began, having only entered the conversation during the
time Ukyo had mentioned Nabiki, "I... I care for you."
 "Don't give me that crap," her voice became savage, "not as a
friend, dammit. I wouldn't have bothered as much as I have if I wanted
to make a friend, Ryoga." She said nothing, her heart beating as much as
it was doing.
 Ryoga couldn't really say much. He wanted to be completely honest;
a strange thing, since he couldn't be completely honest with Akane. But
he really didn't know what to say. All he knew was that when he saw the
tears roll down her cheek was that he wanted to hold her tight and make
the tears disappear. Nothing you would call love immediately. But what
was? Gazing into the eyes of someone who kissed you, but thought you
were a pig?
 He held her still form closely, tucked his head, keeping his face
in her hair, and rocked them side to side.

 Kasumi closed the letter neatly, by twice folding it, then firmly
enforcing the crease onto the paper. She put it on top of the book,
which already rested near the potted plant near the head of her bed. She
slipped silently into bed, and lay into it, thinking. She had forgotten
that dawn was to break in half an hour.

 Genma woke, bursting his bubble with an audible *pop*. He had had
a wonderfully unremarkable night's sleep; he had half-expected to dream
of his estranged wife, and half-expected to have a nightmare involving
her katana.
 He blinked in the spring early morning, aware that the days were
starting to grow longer and that the purples of dawn were coming out
earlier. Since it was still too dark to play a decent game of go, he
returned to sleep.

 Shampoo came to almost immediately. Luckily, the stew had not
cooled to the point where the effects of the cooking would have been
nullified. She went to wash her hands, and douse herself with a
negligible amount of cold water. It wouldn't do well to shrink in her
skin now, as she took a bowl of the potion concocted, and went on a
bicycle to find the terrible transvestite.

 Akane woke up, quite refreshed, despite having woken up two hours
earlier. Talking to Kasumi had helped, but not by too much. It was just
the smell of the dew of dawn which held her breathing in and out and
lying on her bed for the next ten minutes.
 Soon, the odor of cooking oil on a shallow pan wafted through the
air, cutting through the communion nature had with her. The hues held a
parade, and it was well into orange when she sat to stretch the kinks out
of her system.
 She chose not to have her bath yet, and opened her closet to find a
change of clothes appropriate to her light mood. She arbitrarily opened
drawers, hoping that the clothing would catch her attention, instead of
her having to look for it.
 The middle drawer opened to an appropriate pair of a yellow tank-
top and a set of short denim shorts. She immediately closed the drawer,
unaware of the origin of a cold draft that entered her room.
 She settled for a short-sleeved dress, which was frilly and satiny.
It felt cool to the skin, and for a moment, she felt irretrievably calm.
She wondered if she had ever worn this when Ranma was around, because the
calm which she felt mixed with the warmth she felt just by thinking of
him, of him, in those brief moments of want, gave her a heady,
intoxicating sensation. She sat on the floor, her knees giving ever so
slightly, and she laid her hands on her lap, one atop the other.
 She yawned, bringing her thoughts into perspective. She stood,
giving the room a once-over, then closed the door, bare feet on the
hallway wood.

 Nodoka woke up, finally satisfied that time had come. The day
looked good, and the sun didn't glare into her eyes as much as shine.
She had a good feeling that today, she would at last meet her husband,
and her son. She was sure of it. She wore her smile with her through
cooking her breakfast, and she actually was able to sing a lullaby she
had forgotten. The tune wasn't obvious at first, but as she came to the
refrain, she had enough to go on the rest of the song.

 "There's a candle, shining true,
 in the window, just for you.
 Red and yellow, blue and gold,
 always hot against the cold.

 Mother's waiting; she's inside,
 nowhere can there shadows hide.
 Keep you safe, and keep you warm,
 sleeping sound on Mother's arm."

 After leaving the eggs in the frying pan, she started fishing for
some fresh milk, which she set on the table along with the plate and
stainless steel utensil. She forgot the glass.

 "She'll never forget that smile you had.
 She'll never forget you say 'I love you.'
 She'll never forget that smile you had.
 She'll never forget you say 'I love you.'"

 She had nearly forgotten that she was singing, as she got some rice
from the cooker. She put this on the plate, as she poured some milk into
her glass.

 "There's a candle, shining true,
 in the window, just for you.
 Almost gone, it's flickering,
 rain outside pit-pattering.

 Mother's waiting; she's inside,
 looking where the shadows hide.
 Are you safe? Who keeps you warm?
 Mother wishes you no harm."

 The healthy crackling of her scrambled eggs told her that three
minutes had already elapsed. She took the pan in one hand, and closed
the burner with the other. Making sure that none of the oil went in the
plate, she extracted her serving.

 "She'll never forget that smile you had.
 She'll never forget you say 'I love you.'
 She'll never forget you left with Dad.
 She'll never forget you say 'I love you.'"

 Somehow, when she ate her breakfast, her spirits dwindled, but kept
high.

 The man slammed the door, not bothering to switch on the lights.
It was a long day, and he was desperate for a bath. If only he could
afford to get a place with a bath. If only he could afford to get a
place with one; he might have to get his bath tomorrow, after he woke
up. If he'd remember to do so.
 He tried to conjure the strength to wonder if all that he's done
was right, but he felt he really didn't have that much of a choice. Free
will, in his case, was simply to keep ignorant of the world, and the
world ignorant of him. He still had a hundred destinies to fulfill, most
important of which has his own.
 He fell asleep as his body hit the bed.

 Tsubasa rolled in the trash. His nap would not have ended, had he
not rolled over to stuff his nose into a smelly old boot.
 "Hrrr-pbht!" He was about three seconds too late to stop olfactory
contact. He was reeling for the next three minutes, until a cold gust of
wind sent him shivers in the alley.
 He took a good look at his undershirt, and the light blue boxers,
with little ducks and "Quack"s on it. "Ugh," he said, with a little
blush.
 Finding some suitable attire (rearranging to find a relatively
odorless, dry and clean cardboard box), the master of disguise could
barely make out sounds coming from the top of the building to his left.
 Not knowing better, he jumped into the middle of a drama.

 Kuno woke up. He blinked. Ahhh... the summer wind. He had missed
it so much.
 He left his quarters, donning a dark-toned kimono, and left to
practice swipes at assorted dummies.

 Cologne fully opened her eyes, as she had only been half-asleep.
The peak of Japan's most revered volcano was fast growing before her, but
it was not as large as she had needed it to be. She continued her
meditation, summoning the reserves of ki she would need.
 Traveling as they had, they were, quite effectively running counter
to the normal path of the Earth's own chi. It would not suit them to
exert at all, as they would no doubt have to readjust their orientation
before they would reduce their velocity.
 She rested, keeping her eyes on the sleeping forms.

 Akane entered to kitchen, hoping to catch a few quick cooking tips
(or maybe even to try a recipe). "Good morning, Kasu..."
 She trailed off at the sight that greeted her after turning the
corner. Across from the table in the center of the room, a figure was
audibly chopping on a board, near the sink. The table itself had
foodstuffs organized into piles of vegetables, cooking additives (along
with cooking oil, baking soda, flour, and some soba noodles), and
seasonings. Some cooking oil was already in the process of being heated,
and a small cloud was starting to come from it.
 Nabiki turned from her cutting. "Where'd you put the eggs, Kasumi?
They're not in the..." She noticed the expression Akane was wearing.
"...'fridge."
 "We're all out of eggs, Nabiki. Kasumi said that they were all out
when she bought the groceries yesterday."
 "Oh" was all her older sister said.
 Nabiki was tempted to wipe the sweat from her brow, but just
wrinkled it. She reached out for a towellette from the roll under a
shelf, and dabbed at her brow with that. She wiped off some oil from her
fingers on the side of the apron, taking care not to touch the jumper
underneath.
 "So," Akane started.
 "... what am I cooking?" Nabiki chuckled under her breath. Maybe
she could just talk her way past her little sister. "Breakfast."
 "All this," her baby sister said, indicating the preparations on
the table, "just for the three of us?"
 "Well, I was thinking of making us brunch, really."
 "Where is Kasumi, anyway? Isn't she awake yet? Is she sick?"
Akane knew that her eldest sister was always awake before anyone else,
making breakfast before waking the rest of the family. Her lilting,
worried tone carried that.
 Nabiki shook her head. Such a creature of status quo... afraid of
change. Actually, both she and her beloved husband-to-be were such
beasts. That's probably been a reason why they've been so slow in
their... proper consummation. She gave such a smirk at the thought of
her meek and clumsy sister... well, when she's not given to temper, that
is.
 "No, she just overslept, I think."
 Akane focussed her guilty-party staring at her toes. It clearly
indicated that she had an inkling as to why their eldest sibling was
still asleep. This, Nabiki thought, was a better thought, than that.
 "Don't worry. I'll check up on her later," Nabiki offered.
 Her blue-haired sister just nodded, and excused herself. "If you
need to get Dr. Tofu..."
 "... I'll call you." Nabiki was glad she wasn't even going to try
to help in the kitchen.
 "... um... Nabiki... would you need help...?" Akane was partway
out the door.
 Nabiki kept her sigh. "No, I'll be fine. Maybe you should check
on big sis."
 Akane sighed. "Oh, okay." She closed the door behind her softly.
 Nabiki let out a breath, then remembered the pan. As she toned
down the burner, she looked at her mother's cookbook again. She looked
at the recipe for "Homemade Okonomiyaki", and found no way of making do
without the eggs. Dismissing her own particular needs, she leafed
around, trying to find something she could even try to cook for her
family.

 Tsubasa had almost gotten up the wall, when he heard the breaking
of a bowl. He had caught a ladle that jumped from shingle to shingle
onto his noggin. It smelled of something else, really. He let go of it,
like the wet, dirty old sock it reminded him of.
 "You witch! What did you just feed me?" an enraged male voice had
shouted.
 "S-Stupid!" said the voice that made his heart stop. "You leave
now!"
 "Damned right! I can't believe that I stayed as long as I have
with you! Go to your stupid Prince Charming, and have your happy
ending!"
 Tsubasa was able to clamber up faster, catching a glimpse of a
long-haired young man in a white tunic turn away from the love of his
life. She, on the other hand, looked like she had a frog in her throat.
The pent-up look, and her barely restrained emotion, in his honest
opinion, made her seem all the more animated, more desirable. She had an
almost teary-eyed expression. "Leave! Shampoo no care!" She turned on
her heel.
 Mousse had simply wanted to be very, very far away from Shampoo.
Except that he still had to get his meager belongings, which were in the
cellar. Her cellar.
 He angrily took the frilly pink dress tatters that stuck to him,
and threw them in the carton which he saw on the roof. He then bodily
tossed the cardboard package into the open trash bin floors below. He
made a show of clapping his hands to clean them, crossed the top of the
Cat Cafe, then jumped down to the front of the restaurant, which was the
fastest way to the cellar, in his opinion.
 Too bad that he hadn't seen a truck coming across, which he got
onto and away.
 Tsubasa wondered, as consciousness fled him, if this was one of
those days when waking up just wasn't worth it.
 Kodachi, otherwise unnoticed on the roof, did not care much. She
was still fast asleep, and now quite alone.

 "Son-in-law," Cologne arced the end of her staff at Ranma.
 "Wh-" The staff hit. "What? What you do that for?"
 She indicated the foremost object in their periphery.
 "We're here."