Ranma & Kaneda
By Ron Dow75
21: The Cure, Essence of Competition
The stern Mr. Bozu looked at his pocket watch. The civics
teacher in the sumo-like partially shaved head had gotten
to Classroom 2-E early. Like so much of society, Furinkan
had been infected with the liberal ways of the West. The
former junior high morals teacher had chosen to focus his
efforts first on this class because it had a true, noble
samurai enrolled among the commoners. With Kuno-sama as
their core, he would--
The noise built, the building trembled, and as both
increased it became clear the rabble were headed this way!
Though out of his kendo uniform, Kuno lived up to Mr.
Bozu's estimation of him as his student rose from his seat,
"Hark! Do I hear the approach of unruly peasants!?!"
If they were rebelling, Sensei Bozu would be ready to
sacrifice himself in the cause with Lord Kuno! And he held
up his book over his heart.
"...Nabiki Tendou! Save me some pictures!"/ "You mean
SAVE the pictures! When we girls get our hands on them..."/
"Tendou, do you have them on CD?!"/ "Doesn't the internet
have ENOUGH porn!?!"/ "Hey, I'll pay you next Tuesday!
You KNOW I'm good for it!"/ "You're good for nothing!"/
"Just get them to us! You can bill all the guys in 1-F!"/
"Yeah, that's right! Bill them!"/ "What?? You're not with
our class!"/ "Hey, when there's a commotion, the Civil
Disobedience Club is there!"
When they got to the classroom door, nobody was able to get
in first. The guys and girls in the lead jammed themselves
at the doorway: "Quit shoving from behind!!"/ "Watch your
hands!"/ "I can't MOVE my hands!"/ "You can stop moving
your fingers!"/ "I wish I could SEE who I'm pushed up
against!"/ "Hey! Put your knee back down!"/ "When you
lower your shoulder!"
Kuno stood before the pack, his hands holding a sword that
was not there, "Go back, I say! You are outside of your
assigned place! This is the domain of your sempais! Leave
at once, or you shall feel the ire of the Blue Thunder
of..." The noisy crowd wasn't even aware he was there, let
alone who the boy in the Furinkan uniform was.
However, from behind the crammed people, a very female
voice in the hall was heard by at least one person, "Aki,
if you can hear me, you have five seconds to kiss me."
The widest of the guys cried, "Yuumei!?!" and sucked in his
breath and gut to reverse direction. This left a large gap
among the masses still trying to make it through the door.
The ones in front fell forward.
Kendo Master Kuno wasn't allowed to have his sword in
class. He met the onslaught without any weapon. He was
first trampled by the female students, then the male.
Mr. Bozu met the same fate under the feet of the stampede.
"Not the book! Not the--" The antique tome became even more
distressed.
Only Professional Beauty Contestant Yuumei Natsumi stepped
over the prostrate males, "You should be sorry, Aki. You
took longer than five seconds to reach me."
Wrestling Club President Aki Jumonji didn't even notice who
he was stepping on, "I don't get a kiss? I think you were
just tricking me again, Yuumei!"
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It took all of Nabiki's notorious composure to remain in
her seat. Her two vice presidents, on the other hand, had
disappeared to a far corner to let her deal with the mob on
her own: "Nabiki Tendou, how dare you even HAVE pictures
like that, let alone bring them to school!"/ "Worse! Try
and SELL them!"/ "C'mon, Nanao! There are sexier pictures
all over the media!"/ "Then WHY do you have to have
pictures of Ranma!?!"/ "Because she's cute??"/ "Because
she's here, and not there!"/ "Heh, heh! A girl you know
that you know what she looks like naked!"/ "There! You
see what you've started, Nabiki Tendou!!"/ "Who'll be
undressed next in their dirty, little minds!?"
A weakness of Nabiki's aikido Chi technique was that she
couldn't deal with multiple attackers (unless, of course,
they came at her like they did in martial arts movies, one
after another). But grasping of as many individual Chi as
she could she WAS able to read the group mindset. That was
how she was able to pick what seemed the best moment to
say, "Don't worry, girls. Ranma is practically unique. If
Ranma's going to be their template, who the guys might be
imagining as a naked girl will surprise them."
The one adult voice rose above the others, "Nobody should
imagine ANYBODY nude! In the Respectable Old Days, such was
unheard of!"
Go-don Amori agreed, "That's true: They still had mixed
bathing before the Westerners spoiled things."
Mr. Bozu declared, "That is NOT what I meant!" opening his
book towards the hoi polloi. Many of the pages had been
torn or ripped out by the stampede, but his "Book of
Morality" could still do some of its magic: "Feel the
punishment for your transgression against propriety!"
A line jumped from the page and flew at the forehead of the
nearest students. Those without a line instantly backed
away, and even those with a line felt compelled to retreat
from those whose line they could see. The Man of
Righteousness told them, "Now, leave! Leave this classroom,
leave this school--Leave the company of decent society!"
Their protests were silenced in their throats as the
convicted turned red. Most were red from shame, though
three of them felt angry. Their faces marked, they were
without a face and had no choice but to retreat in
disgrace.
The man held up his open book again. Fearing they would be
next, the remaining students that didn't belong in his
class hurried out.
The teacher turned his attention on his own class. One girl
in particular, "Miss Tendou," in said with all the doom he
could put into his voice.
Nabiki remained calm. "Mr. Bozu, I recognize the idea. They
used to tattoo criminals on their arms or foreheads. But
since you did not actually tattoo Natsumi and the others, I
take it their ink stigmas will wear off?"
Trying to control his indignation at her response, he said,
"One mark will disappear in one full day. A taste of being
shunned by family and friends should convince those who
wish to remain in civil society to mend their ways.
"But, you, Miss Tendou, have earned a SECOND mark! One for
instigating the trouble in the first place, and the SECOND
for not showing your superior the proper deference!"
Nabiki said, "And the third mark will combine with the
others to create the Japanese character for a dog, right?
We in Asia really have it in for dogs, don't we? I thought
you were TRYING to make us faithful servants?"
"Your lack of contriteness has entitled you to the sign of
evil, Tendou!! With this THIRD stroke, you are banished
from everything you hold dear for an entire year!!" And the
character leaped out his book.
The ink splashed the long bangs that covered Nabiki's
forehead.
Hazime Bozu stared at the incoherent stain in disbelief.
"The, the charges did not stick!?? But surely she has been
offensive!"
Nabiki leaned closer to the book, studying it. "Maybe
you've been punishing too many people. The ink looks faded.
See?"
The teacher was indignant, "Morality SHOULDN'T change! What
is wrong is always wrong!"
"Too much retribution blurs the substance." She took hold
of the book to show him about the ink. This infuriated him
as nothing else in his life had. He WAS determined to put
more effort in his spell. But the pages were now facing
him.
The sign for "Dog/Evil" struck his forehead. The book he
was holding now became too hot for him to hold. He screamed
like a lost soul as he dropped it. As it hit the floor it
seemed to echo through his darkened heart.
He ran in utter humiliation from the room, knocking out
Kuno again as he was just getting up. And he ran from the
school. But he did not leave Nerima. The outcast would be
lurking.
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Nabiki's vice presidents hurried to her. Ichie asked,
"How?? How did you keep from being affected like the
others?"
She answered, "I told you I refuse to believe in magic."
Tsugako added, "Or morality, either."
Nabiki reached down for the fallen Book of Morality, "No.
Morality has its place." She picked it up. "But it
shouldn't be in the hands of fanatics. They don't
understand its spirit, only the letter."
Ichie noted, "Quite literally, in Bozu's case."
To ease her tension, Tsugako tried to make a joke, "He
wanted to build character by imposing a character."
Nabiki picked up her bookbag, "This book may come in
handy." And she put it in before heading for the door. "If
you'll excuse me, I have to wash some ink out of my hair."
It was a boy who finally realized, "Without a teacher,
there's no class!"
"Yeah! Free time!"
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Not long after, Ranma-chan and seven others were out in the
hall in front of Classroom 1-F. She was still upset, "Why'd
WE have to be out here, again!? WE didn't do anything!"
Former gang girl Na said, "For a change."
Yuka asked Kaneda, "Is this what it's like being punished?"
Kaneda reminded her, "We're the only ones NOT being
punished."
Sayuri patiently explained to her, "The teacher couldn't
send ALL of those who ran out of class and disrupted the
school out into the hall. There were fewer of us who
didn't, so he sent US out here."
Na snorted, "AND those five members of the Haiku Club who
stayed behind to write dirty poems on the blackboard."
Daisuke asked, "How come we stayed behind? It's not like us
to not try and get photos of a naked girl." He glanced over
at one in the black, silk 'pajamas', "Especially a girl
like Ranma."
Hiroshi said, "Yes it is. If we liked to compete, we'd have
real girls by now."
"Oh, yeah!" Daisuke's natural frown deepened, "I hate
crowds." It could make him feel very Un-Japanese.
Na smirked, "Mr. Egami is going to be pulling extra hours.
As the homeroom teacher, he's also the class counselor."
Ranma had attended schools all over Japan, but what
dominated her memories of them were the problems she had
with the kids, not the boring parts. And this was her first
time in a high school. Even so, she guessed that Furinkan
was different from many. That's why she asked, "What now?
Does the teacher come out here and teach us?"
Kaneda said, "I doubt that."
Sayuri agreed, "It would disrupt the other classes."
Daisuke's frown lightened, "We don't have a class!"
Ranma-chan said, "Then I don't have to hang around? Good!"
And she headed for the nearest exit, the hall windows.
Kaneda cried, "Ranma! Where are you going?!"
"Guess!"
Hiroshi cried, "Hey! Don't we get any consolation for not
getting to keep our photos of you topless?" Just before Na
elbowed the wind out of him.
"What do you think?" the pigtailed girl said as she jumped
from the third floor.
Na said, "The third floor? Even I'm impressed."
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The rest of the group left the building the normal way.
Kaneda lead the way, "I think I know where Ranma went. But
we may have had better luck to stay where we were." The
Principal might already be back at Classroom 1-F. He was
surprised Miss Hinako hadn't done anything about the
disruption. But she did say the teachers had made her agree
to let THEM tell her when they needed her help. As a reform
school teacher, she might even like NOT being called on to
use her "Happo Satsu" technique to handle every little
disturbance. After all, she would want to be respected for
her other talents, as well.
Daisuke said, "Stay in school when we don't HAVE to be!?"
Na agreed.
Yuka asked, "I kind of like school."
Sayuri asked Hiroshi, "Why are YOU hanging around? Why do
you want to find Ranma.... Forget I asked."
Hiroshi said, "I'm as big a martial arts fan as you are."
Even he knew that was a weak defense.
When they came to the area with holes in the trees,
everybody but Kaneda had to stop, and stare at the tree
house painted in black-and-gray anime.
Kaneda continued on. The redheaded guy thought his sharp
martial arts hearing picked up familiar voices out in the
track-and-field area beyond the trees.
There, Ranma-chan was trying to convince the acting
principal, and very adult Miss Hinako that, "...You said
you'd cure me!"
A bit annoyed, the woman said, "I said I will ATTEMPT to
cure you, Miss Ranma. And that can only be effective if you
are in serious competition." She tapped her hand purse
against her just-above-the-knee black skirt to emphasize
her impatience.
Ranma-chan stomped her foot and started pacing as she tried
to think of something else to win her argument. When she
saw Kaneda she lit up, "Hey! Kaneda can give me some
serious competition!" Then she muttered, "He'd better, or
he WILL face a serious fight."
Miss Hinako's face lit up, too, after seeing the handsome
teen, "Hello, Mr. Tendou! I hear your second period class
has been cancelled for the day?"
Kaneda approached them, "Uh, for a few of us. They should
be here in a minute or so."
Miss Hinako nodded, "I'm glad I'll be able to provide adult
supervision." For a change.
Ranma-chan ran up to him, "Enough talkin'! C'mon and spar!"
Kaneda was barely able to step back from Ranma's blow in
time. Kaneda put up a hand to block her other fist. That
hurt! But he used it to push himself further back. Out of
her reach, she tried to kick him; he pushed off from her
foot. She advanced on with her other foot, using the foot
she tried to kick him with as a lance. He stumbled; she
missed. He rolled; she followed...
The others had gotten there in time to see it. Hiroshi
cried, "A fight!"
Daisuke said, "That's not a fight. Nothing's connecting."
Yuka said, "Aww! Kaneda's being a gentleman. How sweet."
Na said, "Sweet my ass. Kaneda's just afraid a small girl
is going to beat HIS sorry butt."
Sayuri said, "Well, as a martial arts fan, I will say it
does take skill to remain on the defensive for any length
of time. And kempo is founded on defense."
Na said, "But you'd still like to see real a fight."
Sayuri said, "*Sigh* Yes."
Daisuke asked, "Want to bet, then, who can last the
longest?"
Sayuri said, "All things being even, girls have greater
stamina."
Hiroshi asked, "Then there's no way Kaneda can win?"
Na snorted, "Not unless he has some secret technique."
Kaneda WAS starting to get exhausted. Ranma-chan was
forcing him to the point where he'd have to choose to
seriously fight or take a humiliating dive. The longer it
went on, the more he saw their future as HER out in the
dojo and him taking care of the house. There was no comfort
in the knowledge she wasn't using her full speed against
him, yet.
Ranma looked over her shoulder, "Well, Miss Hinako!?! Is
this serious enough? Or do I stop treating him like a
girl?"
Hiroshi said, "Low blow."
Kaneda turned red, angered at being humiliated in front of
his friends.
Daisuke said, "You couldn't use your martial arts to at
least cop a feel?"
Na said, "He doesn't have the guts."
Kaneda's pride screamed, "Ha-Yaaaa!!" as he charged Ranma-
chan.
Miss Hinako slammed him with her Happo Change Return Chi-
releasing technique, tossing him several meters away.
Kaneda landed chin in the track's hard clay, centimeters
from the starting line.
Again, Miss Hinako had become a little girl, who scolded,
"Miss Ranma! Look what you made me do to poor Mr. Tendou!"
Her above-the-knee skirt had become a midi. Her little
hands were almost lost in the oversized crochet sweater.
"Why'd you do that for? He was about to give me some
serious competition!?"
"Miss Ranma, fighting him will not solve your problem."
"It won't?" She glared at Kaneda as the bruised boy picked
himself up. "You're right. Even mad, he'd probably hold
back." He was really a girl, after all. In Ranma's limited
experience with them, he hadn't come across many who COULD
put their heart into fighting.
Na said, "If you want to fight somebody who won't hold
back, how about me?" She was one of those girls who could.
Ranma-chan studied the tall, well-muscled girl who'd loaned
her her gym clothes yesterday when Ranma-chan had been nude
in the girls' locker room. "Do you know anything about
martial arts?"
She put up her fists, and took an unorthodox stance, "No.
But I've been in my share of brawls. I was watching you,
and I think I can go a few minutes with you."
Ranma-chan was still frowning, "I'd rather fight a guy.
Then *I* wouldn't have to hold back."
Hiroshi and Daisuke said, "Don't look at us!"
Sayuri accused, "Cowards."
"You bet!"
Reluctantly, Ranma-chan got into position, fists ready,
"Well, if it means I won't be expected to fight girls
again--"
Miss Hinako stomped her feet, "No, no, no! That's not how
you play! I told you fighting's not the answer!"
Ranma-chan said to the annoying child, "What IS the answer,
then!?!"
"I told you, competition! Competition!!" her frustration
was raising as the little girl tried to find the right
words to explain.
Kaneda was returning, "I think she means sports. I guess as
a martial artist, it feels familiar to you. There isn't the
uncertainty you get when you feel there's a good chance you
might lose."
Miss Hinako ran over to the teenager, "That's right! That's
exactly what makes a competition!" She grabbed one of his
hands with her little ones, "I'm sorry, Mr. Tendou! Are you
alright?! I didn't mean to hurt you? Will you forgive me?"
Kaneda felt uncomfortable, "Uh, sure, Miss Hinako." When he
tried to pull his hand free, the little principal wouldn't
let it go.
Na said, "You're fast, Ranma. But those moves of yours are
all for launching your body or parts. I bet I can beat you
in a race with any distance."
Ranma-chan said, "That sounds like a challenge."
Na stayed where she was. "It's a bet. You want to feel the
stakes are high? I say if I win, you have to do what I say
for a week."
Sayuri cried, "Na!"
Yuka said, "I know this game."
Kaneda gritted his teeth and prayed, "Come on, Ranma. Pass
up on a challenge." If Ranma DID lose, he could lose her
for a week to somebody else, maybe more.
Ranma-chan at least saw the trap, "You want me to agree to
be your slave!?!"
Na headed for the starting line, now, "You'll only be a
slave if I treat you like a slave. If I want you around
after one week, I won't." She looked over her shoulder,
"But, then, I don't know yet if I do want you around."
Ranma had been challenged by a girl in a strictly athletic,
non-contact event. And now that the terms were set, she was
giving her no time get out of it with any dignity. Ranma
joined her; if she didn't, she would have already lost.
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As the others gathered closer to the starting line, Yuka
asked, "Don't we need a flag or something?"
Sayuri said, "Yuka, in a foot race, you normally have a gun
or a horn."
Yuka smiled, "And a tape across the finish! I've seen
that."
Hiroshi said, "Why don't we use your ribbon, Sayuri?"
She frowned at him, "It's not long enough. Why don't we tie
it to your tongue."
Yuka asked, "How are we going to know who wins, if it's a
photo finish?"
Na had stripped down to the gym clothes she seemed to
always wear under her uniform, and was now getting down
into the starting position, "It won't be. The track's
horseshoe bends will take away the advantage Ranma has in
her straight-line kicks."
Ranma-chan crouched, too, "The Saotome School specializes
in mid-air pivots. I can launch myself, and THEN make the
turn."
Na kept her confident smile, "Pivots? You're going to do
pivots on an oval?"
Ranma-chan grumbled. Na was right. Ranma's training had
been for sharp, violent maneuvers. They just appeared
fluid. And if the girl with the longer legs had been in
many track races, SHE would be the one with the techniques.
Yuka cried, "GO!" and they went.
Sayuri asked, "Why'd you do that?!"
Yuka said, "They seemed ready and set."
Hiroshi said, "Look at them go!"
On the outside, Ranma-chan took the early lead, using her
powerful lower-body muscles to leap ahead. Na sneered as
she propelled herself forward. Ranma was bounding. While
the little redhead was stuck up in an arc, she would be
taking the shortcut on the ground. She'd even lowered
herself to lessen the wind resistance. That was another
thing Ranma was exposing herself to by jumping.
Na's confidence started to fade when she saw Ranma-chan
land BEYOND where the arc of her leap should have taken
her. The little redhead had then immediately launched
herself again with the foot she'd just landed. Na had to
restudy her strategy. To her surprise, she saw that Ranma
could almost run in air! She was somehow using her whole
body to flatten and lengthen her arc! But the first turn
was coming. That was the perfect place to mess Ranma's race
plan up. "Hey, girl!" Unknowingly she'd already hurt
Ranma's concentration by calling her a girl. "How much do
you WANT a chance of losing?!"
No Ranma didn't want a chance of losing. It went against
everything he'd been raised and trained to be. But if she
won too easily, she may just lose her chance to stop being
a girl! To really compete, to feel the maximum amount of
heart pumping adrenalin at the end, to win the CURE, she
would have to give herself a handicap!
Ranma didn't compensate and control her drilled-in pivot
habits. She spun around and landed facing the way she'd
come. Meanwhile, Na took a shortcut she couldn't take in a
real race: She ricocheted off of the grass curb of the
track, cut across the oval. She then ricocheted again
before straightening herself out on the inside lane...
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Sayuri said, "Wow, Na is actually in the lead."
Hiroshi said, "But Ranma's turned herself around! She's
taking the turn in two jumps."
Daisuke said, "It'd be faster if she just jumped across to
the other side of the track. Ranma can do that."
Yuka cheered, "Yeah, Ranma! Yeah, Na! Go, girls! Go,
girls!"
Kaneda said, "Er, Miss Hinako, shouldn't you be doing
something?" She still refused to let go of his hand.
The young girl looked up into his blue eyes, "Hmm? I'm
supposed to do something?"
"You're said you'd cure Ranma?" Not that he really wanted
Ranma cured of being a girl. But he'd become part of
Ranma's curse. He thought of Ranma as a girl, and so she
couldn't really be cured. And if she were made temporarily
a guy, right now he was willing to risk it. He was rattled
by the little kid making goo-goo eyes up at him. He knew
she had to use her hands to use her Chi technique.
"I did? Can't that wait? I can do it during gym class." Her
smile brightened, "Don't YOU have the same gym class?"
Kaneda really began to sweat. It was one thing for a grown
woman to come on to him, but-- "Miss Hinako! If you use
your technique on Ranma, won't you become an, uh, adult?!"
The child grinned with delight, "Of course! Now IS the best
time to be a grown woman!"
She let go of Kaneda...with only one of her hands. She got
the hand purse out from under her armpit and tried to open
it without letting go of his hand. "Here, let me hold it,"
he offered. "Hurry! Here they come!"
She got out a 50-yen coin and held it out in front of her.
Ranma was still up in the air. She was about to land on the
other side of the finish line. But if anything was to
happen to cause her to lose her momentum, Na's own last
minute kick would make her the winner by a nose.
Miss Hinako shouted, "Happo 50-yen Satsu--Bad Boy Exorcised
Number One!!"
Green tendrils came out from her Chi aura and went through
the hole in the coin. They reached out for the nearest
battle aura it was aimed at. And on the outside lane, that
was Ranma-chan's. And her Male Chi Spirit of Competition
was at its most intense.
Ranma's momentum was lost. She fell with a plop.
The lines of Chi force had grabbed hold of Ranma's aura.
This time, though it pulled only pieces from her Chi. The
pieces became Yin and Yang colors. What remained behind to
fill in the gaps was baby blue. The color that was
withdrawn with the green tendrils was pink, the traditional
Japanese color for boys.
The pink Chi was pulled through the 50-yen hole and into
the little Miss Hinako...and passed through her hand, into
Kaneda! From the purse he was still holding he felt
something familiar happen--But that was impossible!
Her green tendrils gone, and her aura dimmed, Miss Hinako
looked down at herself. She then cried in her little girl
voice, "Why didn't I change?? Why am I still a kid!?" She
let go of Kaneda's hand to have a tantrum, "Why can't I
grow up! I want to grow up! Why can't I be a real women!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Meanwhile, Yuka and the others ran for the fallen girl on
the track, "Don't move her, yet! You might make her
worse!"/ "Are you okay, Ranma!?!"/ "Please be okay,
Ranma!"/ "Yeah, we want to see in class not a hospital!"/
"Poor, Ranma! At least she didn't lose at martial arts!"
Ranma mumbled, "I...didn't...lose." Her arm was stretch
out, and her fingers were just across the line.
Na crawled across the finish line, and smiled,
"Congratulations, Ranma-chan! You won me for a whole week!"
Ranma-chan got up on her elbows, "I didn't agree to that."
Na said, "A bet is a bet." She knelt in front of her, "And
YOU didn't say your side of the bet was different!" She
poked Ranma-chan on the nose, "I have to do whatever you
say for a week, Ranma-chan."
Ranma-chan blushed, "You WANT to be my friend?" It was only
then that she noticed that Na's voice had become girlish.
Like her own.
Na said, "Of course I do, silly!"
A tear formed in the corners of her eyes, Ranma-chan smiled
up at her, "I'll try my best!"
As the weakened Na helped Ranma-chan up, Daisuke asked, "Do
you notice anything different about both of them?"
Hiroshi nodded, "Yeah. They're both acting like girls."
Sayuri said, "Those two tomboys?? ...But they're right! I
can feel it in their auras. They've become more feminine
than me!"
Yuka was now helping both Ranma and Na up, "Hurray! I have
two girl-girl friends!"
It was true. Na as a semi-reformed delinquent had had more
Yang than a well-balanced girl normally had. This male
spirit, as happens in most competitions, had been brought
forward and concentrated. Since she and Ranma were vying
with each other, their energies were intermingled. That was
how Na's weaker masculine traits had been caught up in the
suction that was trying to draw in Ranma's far more
tenacious ones. When Miss Hinako had extracted the Male
Principle from her Special Project, Ranma, she had had to
create a bigger drain than she had ever made before. That
was because, unknown to her, the girl she was curing of her
unfeminine ways WAS a male.
And when the bulk of their Yang Chi had finally been broken
loose from them, the momentum carried them through Miss
Hinako towards the male fetish her little girl had
forgotten she had in her hand purse. She was carrying it
for just that purpose. But at the moment her childish
impulses had wanted to hold onto Kaneda.
Kaneda had been holding both her hand AND the object that
was specifying WHAT kind of Chi was to flow.
Things did not work as Miss Hinako had planned. She did not
have the chance to eat Ranma's Chi. Most of Ranma's and
Na's Male Power had flowed into Kaneda Tendou.
"Aw, all of the girlies in a group hug. Isn't that just too
cute." Kaneda's voice had lowered noticeably.
Sayuri was startled by the unfamiliar edge to his voice.
"I'm not over there...." When she looked at him, she was
nearly shocked at his appearance. Though he was no taller
than 179 cm/1'10" he looked taller. His uniform had become
tighter, as his muscles had become tenser and more defined.
This was most obviously in his hardened face. He radiated
masculinity in his aura...and it was threatening to turn
her on.
Meanwhile Hiroshi and Daisuke were noticing the differences
in quickly recovering Ranma-chan, and Na. "Wow! Have they
gotten cuter?"
Daisuke said, "Ranma has. She's gotten softer...more," he
used his hands, "curvy!"
It wasn't just because of her sudden loss of energy that
Ranma-chan was letting her curves be where they naturally
wanted to be. She was more loose and relaxed as she was now
truly comfortable with her female body. It was her MALE
body which would soon trouble her.
Daisuke wondered, "Do you think she'll wiggle?"
Hiroshi said, "Let's hope she does."
How feminine was Ranma's female side? The way Genma had
isolated and raised his son and heir left Ranma with little
more than stereotypes about girls. These did not include
anything overtly sexy, though.
...But now Ranma was ready to take her cues from the girls
around her. If they wiggled, teased, or flirted....
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yuka broke from her hug of the two former tomboys. She felt
closer than she ever had towards them. They even felt like
girls she could relate to, "Why the change from attitude?"
Na asked, "I don't know. I still remember everything. I can
even give all the details about the rumbles I've been in. I
just can't understand WHY I would want to do the things I
used to do."
Ranma-chan agreed with Na, "It's more like a dream than
something that's supposed to be real. I remember things
from the past, but it's like they happened to somebody
else, not me." Her smile became bright and friendly, "I'd
rather forget about that person. Okay?"
For some reason that smile bugged Kaneda, "Ranma, come over
here! You're MY fiancée, you should be with me."
Ranma said winsomely, "Oh, Kanchan! I LIVE with you! We
have lots of time together! I want to spend sometime with
my girl friends!"
That wasn't good enough for Kaneda. He strode over to the
little pigtailed bitch, "I SAID I want you with me!"
As soon as he grabbed her by her wrist, a connection was
made. He'd been overcharged with Chi he wasn't managing
correctly. The fetish in the hand purse he was still
holding allowed for the discharge most of Kaneda's Yin
Principle into Ranma. Ranma was made even more female.
But it also made Kaneda feel less conflicted. Though he now
had a very high dose of testosterone, he became somewhat
less tense and hard. His natural hot-and-cold anger was
still there, but it had moved away from the need to prove
just how much of man he really was. He let go of her wrist.
He didn't apologize, but he backed off.
But Ranma now wanted to follow him. "Oh, Kaneda! I will go
with you!" She'd felt that sudden surge of femininity came
though HIS masculinity. She felt something she'd never felt
before. She felt like an incomplete opposite.
Little Miss Hinako came up to Kaneda and grabbed her purse
back. "I don't like you like this!!" she yelled at him like
the kid she was. "I liked you better when you were nice!"
As a reform teacher, she had had more than her share of
overly masculine-types, both as students and guards. She
held up the 50-yen coin.
Kaneda grinned. "Oh, yes. This is were you change into a
hot babe." Hiroshi and Daisuke formed a part of HIS idea of
what it meant to be a guy.
Miss Hinako called out, "Happo 50-yen Satsu--Good Boy--"
What happened next happened without Ranma consciously
thinking about it. As soon as Ranma's trained senses judged
when the Principal was about her own age, her quick
reflexes tackled her, "Leave my Kaneda alone!"
Miss Hinako did not stop at being a sixteen-year-old. She
continued until she was her normal adult form. But almost
immediately she regressed. Ranma-chan found herself
straddling a child almost half her age.
Ranma-chan turned red, "Oo! Oo! I'm so sorry!!" She
hurriedly got off the smaller girl, "I don't know what came
over me! Forgive me, Miss Hinako! I abhor violence! Some,
something came over me!" Despite being mostly female, now,
Ranma-chan still had some Yang left in her. And that was
trained to take action.
Little Miss Hinako glared at her, "Let's see how jealous
you are when I take away his masculinity!"
Kaneda's manliness had been lowered, but it was still well
over what he had experienced before, "My masculinity!? Hey,
wait a minute, there, Miss Principal! My being less of man
would mean I'd appreciate girls less, right?" He took her
coin away. "That's something I definitely can do without."
When Miss Hinako reached for her purse, Kaneda took that,
as well. "No more magic coins for you, little lady."
"I don't need coins! ANY circle will do!" she declared,
holding up her hands.
"Oh, really?" He stuck a couple of fingers in between the
hers.
Miss Hinako broke the finger circle and reformed it. Kaneda
stuck his fingers in this one. This was repeated a third
and a fourth and a fifth time!
Meanwhile, his other fingers caught hold of her small chin,
"Miss Hinako, did you say any circle? How about the one you
make when you kiss?"
The startled girl stammered, "Wha, wha, what??"
He moved closer to her lips, "I would prefer to kiss you as
a fully developed woman, but what if...."
Miss Hinako squeezed her eyes together, and beat him
against the chest, "No, no! I'm not allowed to kiss!" She
scrambled to her feet and ran; she wept loud and bitterly,
"I'm not allowed to do ANYTHING grownup!"
Daisuke's said, "Ever?"
Hiroshi's fantasies took a hit as well, "That doesn't mean
when she IS grownup, does it?" But that was the seed of the
answer. Sooner or later she WOULD become underage.
Kaneda wasn't disappointed at the rejection. He smirked.
Sayuri told him, "That was mean."
He got back up, "As opposed to what she wanted to do to
me?"
Ranma-chan repeated the name of the defeated in sympathy,
"Miss Hinako." She then smiled when she saw Kaneda, "I like
you the way you are."
Na smiled, too, "You do seem more attractive." She giggled,
"Or is it just me?"
Kaneda said, "You do too, Sweetie."
Ranma-chan felt jealous. She took one of his arms in hers.
"It's time to go to class, Kanchan."
Kaneda looked down at her, and said suggestively, "Why
don't we skip school today, Honey?"
Little Ranma felt weak in the knees, but she said, blushing
maidenly, "It just wouldn't be proper to leave early. We'll
have our time together, away from our friends. We live
together."
He groaned, "I wish we DID live together."
Sayuri stepped up beside Ranma, "Cool it, girl. Don't get
overheated. Save it for the honeymoon."
Yuka chanted one of her daddum's lessons, " "Once a guy
gets what he wants, he will leave you for somebody else he
wants"."
Na said sadly, "Yes, that has unfortunately been my all too
sad experience." She stood by her friend, "Hold out, Ranma-
chan!"
Ranma-chan looked to her friends, "You think so?" They all
nodded. She looked up to Kaneda.
He asked, "Are you going to listen to them or ME?"
Ranma looked at neither side. She gazed off, unfocused. She
said, at last, "I'm going listen to myself." She looked up
into his eyes, pleading that they would understand, "I'm
not ready yet." She squeezed his arm, "But when I am, I
want it to be with you...Darling."
Kaneda patted her hand.
He then pried it off. He said to Hiroshi and Daisuke,
"Let's skip school. I'm just too restless to sit at a desk
today." And without waiting for them to answer, he was on
his way. His two friends followed.
Sayuri said, "Ow! That was harsh."
Na tried to comfort the rejected Ranma-chan, "Don't let him
get to you, Ranma-chan. He still wants you. He's just
playing the hard-to-get game."
Sayuri said, "That's right, Ranma. And YOU'VE got to play
that game even harder! If you don't, you'll be under his
thumb."
While Ranma was thinking about what had been said, Yuka had
looked in the open purse. "What was Miss Hinako doing with
this?" she said, holding up the fetish.
Na blushed, "It looks like she does do at least ONE thing
an adult woman does."
To Ranma it only looked like a slender wooden carp with
triangular scales. As she was struggling to figure out
what it was about that disturbed them, her trained Chi
sense noticed, "Oh, wow...do you feel all that MALE
energy!"
Yuka dropped it, "Is THAT what I feel!?!"
The End of the chapter
By Ron Dow75
21: The Cure, Essence of Competition
The stern Mr. Bozu looked at his pocket watch. The civics
teacher in the sumo-like partially shaved head had gotten
to Classroom 2-E early. Like so much of society, Furinkan
had been infected with the liberal ways of the West. The
former junior high morals teacher had chosen to focus his
efforts first on this class because it had a true, noble
samurai enrolled among the commoners. With Kuno-sama as
their core, he would--
The noise built, the building trembled, and as both
increased it became clear the rabble were headed this way!
Though out of his kendo uniform, Kuno lived up to Mr.
Bozu's estimation of him as his student rose from his seat,
"Hark! Do I hear the approach of unruly peasants!?!"
If they were rebelling, Sensei Bozu would be ready to
sacrifice himself in the cause with Lord Kuno! And he held
up his book over his heart.
"...Nabiki Tendou! Save me some pictures!"/ "You mean
SAVE the pictures! When we girls get our hands on them..."/
"Tendou, do you have them on CD?!"/ "Doesn't the internet
have ENOUGH porn!?!"/ "Hey, I'll pay you next Tuesday!
You KNOW I'm good for it!"/ "You're good for nothing!"/
"Just get them to us! You can bill all the guys in 1-F!"/
"Yeah, that's right! Bill them!"/ "What?? You're not with
our class!"/ "Hey, when there's a commotion, the Civil
Disobedience Club is there!"
When they got to the classroom door, nobody was able to get
in first. The guys and girls in the lead jammed themselves
at the doorway: "Quit shoving from behind!!"/ "Watch your
hands!"/ "I can't MOVE my hands!"/ "You can stop moving
your fingers!"/ "I wish I could SEE who I'm pushed up
against!"/ "Hey! Put your knee back down!"/ "When you
lower your shoulder!"
Kuno stood before the pack, his hands holding a sword that
was not there, "Go back, I say! You are outside of your
assigned place! This is the domain of your sempais! Leave
at once, or you shall feel the ire of the Blue Thunder
of..." The noisy crowd wasn't even aware he was there, let
alone who the boy in the Furinkan uniform was.
However, from behind the crammed people, a very female
voice in the hall was heard by at least one person, "Aki,
if you can hear me, you have five seconds to kiss me."
The widest of the guys cried, "Yuumei!?!" and sucked in his
breath and gut to reverse direction. This left a large gap
among the masses still trying to make it through the door.
The ones in front fell forward.
Kendo Master Kuno wasn't allowed to have his sword in
class. He met the onslaught without any weapon. He was
first trampled by the female students, then the male.
Mr. Bozu met the same fate under the feet of the stampede.
"Not the book! Not the--" The antique tome became even more
distressed.
Only Professional Beauty Contestant Yuumei Natsumi stepped
over the prostrate males, "You should be sorry, Aki. You
took longer than five seconds to reach me."
Wrestling Club President Aki Jumonji didn't even notice who
he was stepping on, "I don't get a kiss? I think you were
just tricking me again, Yuumei!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It took all of Nabiki's notorious composure to remain in
her seat. Her two vice presidents, on the other hand, had
disappeared to a far corner to let her deal with the mob on
her own: "Nabiki Tendou, how dare you even HAVE pictures
like that, let alone bring them to school!"/ "Worse! Try
and SELL them!"/ "C'mon, Nanao! There are sexier pictures
all over the media!"/ "Then WHY do you have to have
pictures of Ranma!?!"/ "Because she's cute??"/ "Because
she's here, and not there!"/ "Heh, heh! A girl you know
that you know what she looks like naked!"/ "There! You
see what you've started, Nabiki Tendou!!"/ "Who'll be
undressed next in their dirty, little minds!?"
A weakness of Nabiki's aikido Chi technique was that she
couldn't deal with multiple attackers (unless, of course,
they came at her like they did in martial arts movies, one
after another). But grasping of as many individual Chi as
she could she WAS able to read the group mindset. That was
how she was able to pick what seemed the best moment to
say, "Don't worry, girls. Ranma is practically unique. If
Ranma's going to be their template, who the guys might be
imagining as a naked girl will surprise them."
The one adult voice rose above the others, "Nobody should
imagine ANYBODY nude! In the Respectable Old Days, such was
unheard of!"
Go-don Amori agreed, "That's true: They still had mixed
bathing before the Westerners spoiled things."
Mr. Bozu declared, "That is NOT what I meant!" opening his
book towards the hoi polloi. Many of the pages had been
torn or ripped out by the stampede, but his "Book of
Morality" could still do some of its magic: "Feel the
punishment for your transgression against propriety!"
A line jumped from the page and flew at the forehead of the
nearest students. Those without a line instantly backed
away, and even those with a line felt compelled to retreat
from those whose line they could see. The Man of
Righteousness told them, "Now, leave! Leave this classroom,
leave this school--Leave the company of decent society!"
Their protests were silenced in their throats as the
convicted turned red. Most were red from shame, though
three of them felt angry. Their faces marked, they were
without a face and had no choice but to retreat in
disgrace.
The man held up his open book again. Fearing they would be
next, the remaining students that didn't belong in his
class hurried out.
The teacher turned his attention on his own class. One girl
in particular, "Miss Tendou," in said with all the doom he
could put into his voice.
Nabiki remained calm. "Mr. Bozu, I recognize the idea. They
used to tattoo criminals on their arms or foreheads. But
since you did not actually tattoo Natsumi and the others, I
take it their ink stigmas will wear off?"
Trying to control his indignation at her response, he said,
"One mark will disappear in one full day. A taste of being
shunned by family and friends should convince those who
wish to remain in civil society to mend their ways.
"But, you, Miss Tendou, have earned a SECOND mark! One for
instigating the trouble in the first place, and the SECOND
for not showing your superior the proper deference!"
Nabiki said, "And the third mark will combine with the
others to create the Japanese character for a dog, right?
We in Asia really have it in for dogs, don't we? I thought
you were TRYING to make us faithful servants?"
"Your lack of contriteness has entitled you to the sign of
evil, Tendou!! With this THIRD stroke, you are banished
from everything you hold dear for an entire year!!" And the
character leaped out his book.
The ink splashed the long bangs that covered Nabiki's
forehead.
Hazime Bozu stared at the incoherent stain in disbelief.
"The, the charges did not stick!?? But surely she has been
offensive!"
Nabiki leaned closer to the book, studying it. "Maybe
you've been punishing too many people. The ink looks faded.
See?"
The teacher was indignant, "Morality SHOULDN'T change! What
is wrong is always wrong!"
"Too much retribution blurs the substance." She took hold
of the book to show him about the ink. This infuriated him
as nothing else in his life had. He WAS determined to put
more effort in his spell. But the pages were now facing
him.
The sign for "Dog/Evil" struck his forehead. The book he
was holding now became too hot for him to hold. He screamed
like a lost soul as he dropped it. As it hit the floor it
seemed to echo through his darkened heart.
He ran in utter humiliation from the room, knocking out
Kuno again as he was just getting up. And he ran from the
school. But he did not leave Nerima. The outcast would be
lurking.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Nabiki's vice presidents hurried to her. Ichie asked,
"How?? How did you keep from being affected like the
others?"
She answered, "I told you I refuse to believe in magic."
Tsugako added, "Or morality, either."
Nabiki reached down for the fallen Book of Morality, "No.
Morality has its place." She picked it up. "But it
shouldn't be in the hands of fanatics. They don't
understand its spirit, only the letter."
Ichie noted, "Quite literally, in Bozu's case."
To ease her tension, Tsugako tried to make a joke, "He
wanted to build character by imposing a character."
Nabiki picked up her bookbag, "This book may come in
handy." And she put it in before heading for the door. "If
you'll excuse me, I have to wash some ink out of my hair."
It was a boy who finally realized, "Without a teacher,
there's no class!"
"Yeah! Free time!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Not long after, Ranma-chan and seven others were out in the
hall in front of Classroom 1-F. She was still upset, "Why'd
WE have to be out here, again!? WE didn't do anything!"
Former gang girl Na said, "For a change."
Yuka asked Kaneda, "Is this what it's like being punished?"
Kaneda reminded her, "We're the only ones NOT being
punished."
Sayuri patiently explained to her, "The teacher couldn't
send ALL of those who ran out of class and disrupted the
school out into the hall. There were fewer of us who
didn't, so he sent US out here."
Na snorted, "AND those five members of the Haiku Club who
stayed behind to write dirty poems on the blackboard."
Daisuke asked, "How come we stayed behind? It's not like us
to not try and get photos of a naked girl." He glanced over
at one in the black, silk 'pajamas', "Especially a girl
like Ranma."
Hiroshi said, "Yes it is. If we liked to compete, we'd have
real girls by now."
"Oh, yeah!" Daisuke's natural frown deepened, "I hate
crowds." It could make him feel very Un-Japanese.
Na smirked, "Mr. Egami is going to be pulling extra hours.
As the homeroom teacher, he's also the class counselor."
Ranma had attended schools all over Japan, but what
dominated her memories of them were the problems she had
with the kids, not the boring parts. And this was her first
time in a high school. Even so, she guessed that Furinkan
was different from many. That's why she asked, "What now?
Does the teacher come out here and teach us?"
Kaneda said, "I doubt that."
Sayuri agreed, "It would disrupt the other classes."
Daisuke's frown lightened, "We don't have a class!"
Ranma-chan said, "Then I don't have to hang around? Good!"
And she headed for the nearest exit, the hall windows.
Kaneda cried, "Ranma! Where are you going?!"
"Guess!"
Hiroshi cried, "Hey! Don't we get any consolation for not
getting to keep our photos of you topless?" Just before Na
elbowed the wind out of him.
"What do you think?" the pigtailed girl said as she jumped
from the third floor.
Na said, "The third floor? Even I'm impressed."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The rest of the group left the building the normal way.
Kaneda lead the way, "I think I know where Ranma went. But
we may have had better luck to stay where we were." The
Principal might already be back at Classroom 1-F. He was
surprised Miss Hinako hadn't done anything about the
disruption. But she did say the teachers had made her agree
to let THEM tell her when they needed her help. As a reform
school teacher, she might even like NOT being called on to
use her "Happo Satsu" technique to handle every little
disturbance. After all, she would want to be respected for
her other talents, as well.
Daisuke said, "Stay in school when we don't HAVE to be!?"
Na agreed.
Yuka asked, "I kind of like school."
Sayuri asked Hiroshi, "Why are YOU hanging around? Why do
you want to find Ranma.... Forget I asked."
Hiroshi said, "I'm as big a martial arts fan as you are."
Even he knew that was a weak defense.
When they came to the area with holes in the trees,
everybody but Kaneda had to stop, and stare at the tree
house painted in black-and-gray anime.
Kaneda continued on. The redheaded guy thought his sharp
martial arts hearing picked up familiar voices out in the
track-and-field area beyond the trees.
There, Ranma-chan was trying to convince the acting
principal, and very adult Miss Hinako that, "...You said
you'd cure me!"
A bit annoyed, the woman said, "I said I will ATTEMPT to
cure you, Miss Ranma. And that can only be effective if you
are in serious competition." She tapped her hand purse
against her just-above-the-knee black skirt to emphasize
her impatience.
Ranma-chan stomped her foot and started pacing as she tried
to think of something else to win her argument. When she
saw Kaneda she lit up, "Hey! Kaneda can give me some
serious competition!" Then she muttered, "He'd better, or
he WILL face a serious fight."
Miss Hinako's face lit up, too, after seeing the handsome
teen, "Hello, Mr. Tendou! I hear your second period class
has been cancelled for the day?"
Kaneda approached them, "Uh, for a few of us. They should
be here in a minute or so."
Miss Hinako nodded, "I'm glad I'll be able to provide adult
supervision." For a change.
Ranma-chan ran up to him, "Enough talkin'! C'mon and spar!"
Kaneda was barely able to step back from Ranma's blow in
time. Kaneda put up a hand to block her other fist. That
hurt! But he used it to push himself further back. Out of
her reach, she tried to kick him; he pushed off from her
foot. She advanced on with her other foot, using the foot
she tried to kick him with as a lance. He stumbled; she
missed. He rolled; she followed...
The others had gotten there in time to see it. Hiroshi
cried, "A fight!"
Daisuke said, "That's not a fight. Nothing's connecting."
Yuka said, "Aww! Kaneda's being a gentleman. How sweet."
Na said, "Sweet my ass. Kaneda's just afraid a small girl
is going to beat HIS sorry butt."
Sayuri said, "Well, as a martial arts fan, I will say it
does take skill to remain on the defensive for any length
of time. And kempo is founded on defense."
Na said, "But you'd still like to see real a fight."
Sayuri said, "*Sigh* Yes."
Daisuke asked, "Want to bet, then, who can last the
longest?"
Sayuri said, "All things being even, girls have greater
stamina."
Hiroshi asked, "Then there's no way Kaneda can win?"
Na snorted, "Not unless he has some secret technique."
Kaneda WAS starting to get exhausted. Ranma-chan was
forcing him to the point where he'd have to choose to
seriously fight or take a humiliating dive. The longer it
went on, the more he saw their future as HER out in the
dojo and him taking care of the house. There was no comfort
in the knowledge she wasn't using her full speed against
him, yet.
Ranma looked over her shoulder, "Well, Miss Hinako!?! Is
this serious enough? Or do I stop treating him like a
girl?"
Hiroshi said, "Low blow."
Kaneda turned red, angered at being humiliated in front of
his friends.
Daisuke said, "You couldn't use your martial arts to at
least cop a feel?"
Na said, "He doesn't have the guts."
Kaneda's pride screamed, "Ha-Yaaaa!!" as he charged Ranma-
chan.
Miss Hinako slammed him with her Happo Change Return Chi-
releasing technique, tossing him several meters away.
Kaneda landed chin in the track's hard clay, centimeters
from the starting line.
Again, Miss Hinako had become a little girl, who scolded,
"Miss Ranma! Look what you made me do to poor Mr. Tendou!"
Her above-the-knee skirt had become a midi. Her little
hands were almost lost in the oversized crochet sweater.
"Why'd you do that for? He was about to give me some
serious competition!?"
"Miss Ranma, fighting him will not solve your problem."
"It won't?" She glared at Kaneda as the bruised boy picked
himself up. "You're right. Even mad, he'd probably hold
back." He was really a girl, after all. In Ranma's limited
experience with them, he hadn't come across many who COULD
put their heart into fighting.
Na said, "If you want to fight somebody who won't hold
back, how about me?" She was one of those girls who could.
Ranma-chan studied the tall, well-muscled girl who'd loaned
her her gym clothes yesterday when Ranma-chan had been nude
in the girls' locker room. "Do you know anything about
martial arts?"
She put up her fists, and took an unorthodox stance, "No.
But I've been in my share of brawls. I was watching you,
and I think I can go a few minutes with you."
Ranma-chan was still frowning, "I'd rather fight a guy.
Then *I* wouldn't have to hold back."
Hiroshi and Daisuke said, "Don't look at us!"
Sayuri accused, "Cowards."
"You bet!"
Reluctantly, Ranma-chan got into position, fists ready,
"Well, if it means I won't be expected to fight girls
again--"
Miss Hinako stomped her feet, "No, no, no! That's not how
you play! I told you fighting's not the answer!"
Ranma-chan said to the annoying child, "What IS the answer,
then!?!"
"I told you, competition! Competition!!" her frustration
was raising as the little girl tried to find the right
words to explain.
Kaneda was returning, "I think she means sports. I guess as
a martial artist, it feels familiar to you. There isn't the
uncertainty you get when you feel there's a good chance you
might lose."
Miss Hinako ran over to the teenager, "That's right! That's
exactly what makes a competition!" She grabbed one of his
hands with her little ones, "I'm sorry, Mr. Tendou! Are you
alright?! I didn't mean to hurt you? Will you forgive me?"
Kaneda felt uncomfortable, "Uh, sure, Miss Hinako." When he
tried to pull his hand free, the little principal wouldn't
let it go.
Na said, "You're fast, Ranma. But those moves of yours are
all for launching your body or parts. I bet I can beat you
in a race with any distance."
Ranma-chan said, "That sounds like a challenge."
Na stayed where she was. "It's a bet. You want to feel the
stakes are high? I say if I win, you have to do what I say
for a week."
Sayuri cried, "Na!"
Yuka said, "I know this game."
Kaneda gritted his teeth and prayed, "Come on, Ranma. Pass
up on a challenge." If Ranma DID lose, he could lose her
for a week to somebody else, maybe more.
Ranma-chan at least saw the trap, "You want me to agree to
be your slave!?!"
Na headed for the starting line, now, "You'll only be a
slave if I treat you like a slave. If I want you around
after one week, I won't." She looked over her shoulder,
"But, then, I don't know yet if I do want you around."
Ranma had been challenged by a girl in a strictly athletic,
non-contact event. And now that the terms were set, she was
giving her no time get out of it with any dignity. Ranma
joined her; if she didn't, she would have already lost.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As the others gathered closer to the starting line, Yuka
asked, "Don't we need a flag or something?"
Sayuri said, "Yuka, in a foot race, you normally have a gun
or a horn."
Yuka smiled, "And a tape across the finish! I've seen
that."
Hiroshi said, "Why don't we use your ribbon, Sayuri?"
She frowned at him, "It's not long enough. Why don't we tie
it to your tongue."
Yuka asked, "How are we going to know who wins, if it's a
photo finish?"
Na had stripped down to the gym clothes she seemed to
always wear under her uniform, and was now getting down
into the starting position, "It won't be. The track's
horseshoe bends will take away the advantage Ranma has in
her straight-line kicks."
Ranma-chan crouched, too, "The Saotome School specializes
in mid-air pivots. I can launch myself, and THEN make the
turn."
Na kept her confident smile, "Pivots? You're going to do
pivots on an oval?"
Ranma-chan grumbled. Na was right. Ranma's training had
been for sharp, violent maneuvers. They just appeared
fluid. And if the girl with the longer legs had been in
many track races, SHE would be the one with the techniques.
Yuka cried, "GO!" and they went.
Sayuri asked, "Why'd you do that?!"
Yuka said, "They seemed ready and set."
Hiroshi said, "Look at them go!"
On the outside, Ranma-chan took the early lead, using her
powerful lower-body muscles to leap ahead. Na sneered as
she propelled herself forward. Ranma was bounding. While
the little redhead was stuck up in an arc, she would be
taking the shortcut on the ground. She'd even lowered
herself to lessen the wind resistance. That was another
thing Ranma was exposing herself to by jumping.
Na's confidence started to fade when she saw Ranma-chan
land BEYOND where the arc of her leap should have taken
her. The little redhead had then immediately launched
herself again with the foot she'd just landed. Na had to
restudy her strategy. To her surprise, she saw that Ranma
could almost run in air! She was somehow using her whole
body to flatten and lengthen her arc! But the first turn
was coming. That was the perfect place to mess Ranma's race
plan up. "Hey, girl!" Unknowingly she'd already hurt
Ranma's concentration by calling her a girl. "How much do
you WANT a chance of losing?!"
No Ranma didn't want a chance of losing. It went against
everything he'd been raised and trained to be. But if she
won too easily, she may just lose her chance to stop being
a girl! To really compete, to feel the maximum amount of
heart pumping adrenalin at the end, to win the CURE, she
would have to give herself a handicap!
Ranma didn't compensate and control her drilled-in pivot
habits. She spun around and landed facing the way she'd
come. Meanwhile, Na took a shortcut she couldn't take in a
real race: She ricocheted off of the grass curb of the
track, cut across the oval. She then ricocheted again
before straightening herself out on the inside lane...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sayuri said, "Wow, Na is actually in the lead."
Hiroshi said, "But Ranma's turned herself around! She's
taking the turn in two jumps."
Daisuke said, "It'd be faster if she just jumped across to
the other side of the track. Ranma can do that."
Yuka cheered, "Yeah, Ranma! Yeah, Na! Go, girls! Go,
girls!"
Kaneda said, "Er, Miss Hinako, shouldn't you be doing
something?" She still refused to let go of his hand.
The young girl looked up into his blue eyes, "Hmm? I'm
supposed to do something?"
"You're said you'd cure Ranma?" Not that he really wanted
Ranma cured of being a girl. But he'd become part of
Ranma's curse. He thought of Ranma as a girl, and so she
couldn't really be cured. And if she were made temporarily
a guy, right now he was willing to risk it. He was rattled
by the little kid making goo-goo eyes up at him. He knew
she had to use her hands to use her Chi technique.
"I did? Can't that wait? I can do it during gym class." Her
smile brightened, "Don't YOU have the same gym class?"
Kaneda really began to sweat. It was one thing for a grown
woman to come on to him, but-- "Miss Hinako! If you use
your technique on Ranma, won't you become an, uh, adult?!"
The child grinned with delight, "Of course! Now IS the best
time to be a grown woman!"
She let go of Kaneda...with only one of her hands. She got
the hand purse out from under her armpit and tried to open
it without letting go of his hand. "Here, let me hold it,"
he offered. "Hurry! Here they come!"
She got out a 50-yen coin and held it out in front of her.
Ranma was still up in the air. She was about to land on the
other side of the finish line. But if anything was to
happen to cause her to lose her momentum, Na's own last
minute kick would make her the winner by a nose.
Miss Hinako shouted, "Happo 50-yen Satsu--Bad Boy Exorcised
Number One!!"
Green tendrils came out from her Chi aura and went through
the hole in the coin. They reached out for the nearest
battle aura it was aimed at. And on the outside lane, that
was Ranma-chan's. And her Male Chi Spirit of Competition
was at its most intense.
Ranma's momentum was lost. She fell with a plop.
The lines of Chi force had grabbed hold of Ranma's aura.
This time, though it pulled only pieces from her Chi. The
pieces became Yin and Yang colors. What remained behind to
fill in the gaps was baby blue. The color that was
withdrawn with the green tendrils was pink, the traditional
Japanese color for boys.
The pink Chi was pulled through the 50-yen hole and into
the little Miss Hinako...and passed through her hand, into
Kaneda! From the purse he was still holding he felt
something familiar happen--But that was impossible!
Her green tendrils gone, and her aura dimmed, Miss Hinako
looked down at herself. She then cried in her little girl
voice, "Why didn't I change?? Why am I still a kid!?" She
let go of Kaneda's hand to have a tantrum, "Why can't I
grow up! I want to grow up! Why can't I be a real women!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Meanwhile, Yuka and the others ran for the fallen girl on
the track, "Don't move her, yet! You might make her
worse!"/ "Are you okay, Ranma!?!"/ "Please be okay,
Ranma!"/ "Yeah, we want to see in class not a hospital!"/
"Poor, Ranma! At least she didn't lose at martial arts!"
Ranma mumbled, "I...didn't...lose." Her arm was stretch
out, and her fingers were just across the line.
Na crawled across the finish line, and smiled,
"Congratulations, Ranma-chan! You won me for a whole week!"
Ranma-chan got up on her elbows, "I didn't agree to that."
Na said, "A bet is a bet." She knelt in front of her, "And
YOU didn't say your side of the bet was different!" She
poked Ranma-chan on the nose, "I have to do whatever you
say for a week, Ranma-chan."
Ranma-chan blushed, "You WANT to be my friend?" It was only
then that she noticed that Na's voice had become girlish.
Like her own.
Na said, "Of course I do, silly!"
A tear formed in the corners of her eyes, Ranma-chan smiled
up at her, "I'll try my best!"
As the weakened Na helped Ranma-chan up, Daisuke asked, "Do
you notice anything different about both of them?"
Hiroshi nodded, "Yeah. They're both acting like girls."
Sayuri said, "Those two tomboys?? ...But they're right! I
can feel it in their auras. They've become more feminine
than me!"
Yuka was now helping both Ranma and Na up, "Hurray! I have
two girl-girl friends!"
It was true. Na as a semi-reformed delinquent had had more
Yang than a well-balanced girl normally had. This male
spirit, as happens in most competitions, had been brought
forward and concentrated. Since she and Ranma were vying
with each other, their energies were intermingled. That was
how Na's weaker masculine traits had been caught up in the
suction that was trying to draw in Ranma's far more
tenacious ones. When Miss Hinako had extracted the Male
Principle from her Special Project, Ranma, she had had to
create a bigger drain than she had ever made before. That
was because, unknown to her, the girl she was curing of her
unfeminine ways WAS a male.
And when the bulk of their Yang Chi had finally been broken
loose from them, the momentum carried them through Miss
Hinako towards the male fetish her little girl had
forgotten she had in her hand purse. She was carrying it
for just that purpose. But at the moment her childish
impulses had wanted to hold onto Kaneda.
Kaneda had been holding both her hand AND the object that
was specifying WHAT kind of Chi was to flow.
Things did not work as Miss Hinako had planned. She did not
have the chance to eat Ranma's Chi. Most of Ranma's and
Na's Male Power had flowed into Kaneda Tendou.
"Aw, all of the girlies in a group hug. Isn't that just too
cute." Kaneda's voice had lowered noticeably.
Sayuri was startled by the unfamiliar edge to his voice.
"I'm not over there...." When she looked at him, she was
nearly shocked at his appearance. Though he was no taller
than 179 cm/1'10" he looked taller. His uniform had become
tighter, as his muscles had become tenser and more defined.
This was most obviously in his hardened face. He radiated
masculinity in his aura...and it was threatening to turn
her on.
Meanwhile Hiroshi and Daisuke were noticing the differences
in quickly recovering Ranma-chan, and Na. "Wow! Have they
gotten cuter?"
Daisuke said, "Ranma has. She's gotten softer...more," he
used his hands, "curvy!"
It wasn't just because of her sudden loss of energy that
Ranma-chan was letting her curves be where they naturally
wanted to be. She was more loose and relaxed as she was now
truly comfortable with her female body. It was her MALE
body which would soon trouble her.
Daisuke wondered, "Do you think she'll wiggle?"
Hiroshi said, "Let's hope she does."
How feminine was Ranma's female side? The way Genma had
isolated and raised his son and heir left Ranma with little
more than stereotypes about girls. These did not include
anything overtly sexy, though.
...But now Ranma was ready to take her cues from the girls
around her. If they wiggled, teased, or flirted....
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yuka broke from her hug of the two former tomboys. She felt
closer than she ever had towards them. They even felt like
girls she could relate to, "Why the change from attitude?"
Na asked, "I don't know. I still remember everything. I can
even give all the details about the rumbles I've been in. I
just can't understand WHY I would want to do the things I
used to do."
Ranma-chan agreed with Na, "It's more like a dream than
something that's supposed to be real. I remember things
from the past, but it's like they happened to somebody
else, not me." Her smile became bright and friendly, "I'd
rather forget about that person. Okay?"
For some reason that smile bugged Kaneda, "Ranma, come over
here! You're MY fiancée, you should be with me."
Ranma said winsomely, "Oh, Kanchan! I LIVE with you! We
have lots of time together! I want to spend sometime with
my girl friends!"
That wasn't good enough for Kaneda. He strode over to the
little pigtailed bitch, "I SAID I want you with me!"
As soon as he grabbed her by her wrist, a connection was
made. He'd been overcharged with Chi he wasn't managing
correctly. The fetish in the hand purse he was still
holding allowed for the discharge most of Kaneda's Yin
Principle into Ranma. Ranma was made even more female.
But it also made Kaneda feel less conflicted. Though he now
had a very high dose of testosterone, he became somewhat
less tense and hard. His natural hot-and-cold anger was
still there, but it had moved away from the need to prove
just how much of man he really was. He let go of her wrist.
He didn't apologize, but he backed off.
But Ranma now wanted to follow him. "Oh, Kaneda! I will go
with you!" She'd felt that sudden surge of femininity came
though HIS masculinity. She felt something she'd never felt
before. She felt like an incomplete opposite.
Little Miss Hinako came up to Kaneda and grabbed her purse
back. "I don't like you like this!!" she yelled at him like
the kid she was. "I liked you better when you were nice!"
As a reform teacher, she had had more than her share of
overly masculine-types, both as students and guards. She
held up the 50-yen coin.
Kaneda grinned. "Oh, yes. This is were you change into a
hot babe." Hiroshi and Daisuke formed a part of HIS idea of
what it meant to be a guy.
Miss Hinako called out, "Happo 50-yen Satsu--Good Boy--"
What happened next happened without Ranma consciously
thinking about it. As soon as Ranma's trained senses judged
when the Principal was about her own age, her quick
reflexes tackled her, "Leave my Kaneda alone!"
Miss Hinako did not stop at being a sixteen-year-old. She
continued until she was her normal adult form. But almost
immediately she regressed. Ranma-chan found herself
straddling a child almost half her age.
Ranma-chan turned red, "Oo! Oo! I'm so sorry!!" She
hurriedly got off the smaller girl, "I don't know what came
over me! Forgive me, Miss Hinako! I abhor violence! Some,
something came over me!" Despite being mostly female, now,
Ranma-chan still had some Yang left in her. And that was
trained to take action.
Little Miss Hinako glared at her, "Let's see how jealous
you are when I take away his masculinity!"
Kaneda's manliness had been lowered, but it was still well
over what he had experienced before, "My masculinity!? Hey,
wait a minute, there, Miss Principal! My being less of man
would mean I'd appreciate girls less, right?" He took her
coin away. "That's something I definitely can do without."
When Miss Hinako reached for her purse, Kaneda took that,
as well. "No more magic coins for you, little lady."
"I don't need coins! ANY circle will do!" she declared,
holding up her hands.
"Oh, really?" He stuck a couple of fingers in between the
hers.
Miss Hinako broke the finger circle and reformed it. Kaneda
stuck his fingers in this one. This was repeated a third
and a fourth and a fifth time!
Meanwhile, his other fingers caught hold of her small chin,
"Miss Hinako, did you say any circle? How about the one you
make when you kiss?"
The startled girl stammered, "Wha, wha, what??"
He moved closer to her lips, "I would prefer to kiss you as
a fully developed woman, but what if...."
Miss Hinako squeezed her eyes together, and beat him
against the chest, "No, no! I'm not allowed to kiss!" She
scrambled to her feet and ran; she wept loud and bitterly,
"I'm not allowed to do ANYTHING grownup!"
Daisuke's said, "Ever?"
Hiroshi's fantasies took a hit as well, "That doesn't mean
when she IS grownup, does it?" But that was the seed of the
answer. Sooner or later she WOULD become underage.
Kaneda wasn't disappointed at the rejection. He smirked.
Sayuri told him, "That was mean."
He got back up, "As opposed to what she wanted to do to
me?"
Ranma-chan repeated the name of the defeated in sympathy,
"Miss Hinako." She then smiled when she saw Kaneda, "I like
you the way you are."
Na smiled, too, "You do seem more attractive." She giggled,
"Or is it just me?"
Kaneda said, "You do too, Sweetie."
Ranma-chan felt jealous. She took one of his arms in hers.
"It's time to go to class, Kanchan."
Kaneda looked down at her, and said suggestively, "Why
don't we skip school today, Honey?"
Little Ranma felt weak in the knees, but she said, blushing
maidenly, "It just wouldn't be proper to leave early. We'll
have our time together, away from our friends. We live
together."
He groaned, "I wish we DID live together."
Sayuri stepped up beside Ranma, "Cool it, girl. Don't get
overheated. Save it for the honeymoon."
Yuka chanted one of her daddum's lessons, " "Once a guy
gets what he wants, he will leave you for somebody else he
wants"."
Na said sadly, "Yes, that has unfortunately been my all too
sad experience." She stood by her friend, "Hold out, Ranma-
chan!"
Ranma-chan looked to her friends, "You think so?" They all
nodded. She looked up to Kaneda.
He asked, "Are you going to listen to them or ME?"
Ranma looked at neither side. She gazed off, unfocused. She
said, at last, "I'm going listen to myself." She looked up
into his eyes, pleading that they would understand, "I'm
not ready yet." She squeezed his arm, "But when I am, I
want it to be with you...Darling."
Kaneda patted her hand.
He then pried it off. He said to Hiroshi and Daisuke,
"Let's skip school. I'm just too restless to sit at a desk
today." And without waiting for them to answer, he was on
his way. His two friends followed.
Sayuri said, "Ow! That was harsh."
Na tried to comfort the rejected Ranma-chan, "Don't let him
get to you, Ranma-chan. He still wants you. He's just
playing the hard-to-get game."
Sayuri said, "That's right, Ranma. And YOU'VE got to play
that game even harder! If you don't, you'll be under his
thumb."
While Ranma was thinking about what had been said, Yuka had
looked in the open purse. "What was Miss Hinako doing with
this?" she said, holding up the fetish.
Na blushed, "It looks like she does do at least ONE thing
an adult woman does."
To Ranma it only looked like a slender wooden carp with
triangular scales. As she was struggling to figure out
what it was about that disturbed them, her trained Chi
sense noticed, "Oh, wow...do you feel all that MALE
energy!"
Yuka dropped it, "Is THAT what I feel!?!"
The End of the chapter