Part Three-The Explanation
Seated around the small tabled, Ranma once again sighed. "This is an extremely long story." She said, "It's going to take quite a while for me to explain it all. So...I might end up forgetting some parts. But first of all..." Ranma stood up, "do you think that you could lend me three buckets of hot water?"
Kaorou, wanting to make peace, looked up and hopefully said, "You'll find hot water in the bathroom. I have a couple of buckets stocked up in that room," she said, pointing to the open door "and you can get cold water from the well outside, if you ever need it."
Kenshin got up. He was tired of doing all the work, but he had to earn his keep. Although he had a strange suspicion that Kaorou-dono wouldn't throw him out even if he didn't do anything. He sighed. Kaorou- dono may have been helpful with the instructions, but she could at least have gotten up and taken them herself. He headed towards the door, and told Ranma to sit down. He would get the buckets and the water.
A couple of minutes later, Kenshin walked back into the room. He was so wasted. There was no way he could do this for a living. It was tiresome. As he set the buckets down and dropped to the floor, he heard Sanosuke laugh.
"Ah, Kenshin. You may be the greatest and strongest with a sword, but give you a bucket of water, and you're just another guy."
"Sano, as much as I would not like to say this, you must look at my size, that you must. Then, compare me to you. And you'll see why buckets of water cause me this much trouble."
Sanosuke laughed harder, and Yahiko broke into hiccups. Kaorou just sat there, stifling her laughter. Ranma, sitting now, looked at them with more respect. They are truly a family, she thought. But it's time that I explain what I mean.
She hushed them, rather reluctantly, and took the bucket up from the floor. Being a very accomplished martial artist, and undefeated, she had absolutely no trouble carrying all three buckets at once. The Kenshin-gumi stared at her in disbelief. She grinned to herself. Soon they would see.
Setting the buckets down, and leaving one of the hot ones in her hold, she brought it over her head and poured it, careful to leave some for the others. Her shoulders broadened, her chest flattened, she grew taller, and her red hair turned black, as did her blue eyes. The man now standing before them opened his mouth. A deep, handsome voice came out "Gomen. I'm Ranma Saotome." He watched for their reaction. They were to shocked to move. He decided that he had better finish with the rest of the crew before their muscles unfroze. When that happened, he'd be in a living Hell.
He quickly walked over to the girl, and stared the pig down. It started oinking madly, and Akane protectively covered it. "Don't you dare, Ranma." She said angrily. She stared him down, and although Ranma didn't want to, he had no choice but to look away.
"Don't worry, Ryoga, I won't give away your secret yet." He whispered. He walked to the cat and the duck next. Pushing them closer together, he stepped back and dumped the second bucket of hot water on them. The quick transformation began, and soon, instead of the cat stood a well-developed young woman with purple hair done partly in buns at the side of her head, with the rest hanging loose. She was wearing Chinese style clothing and shoes. Beside her, in the place of the duck, was a young man with long black hair and round glasses. He was wearing a white over dress with slits in both sides, and purple pants underneath. He shook his head, and a mildly annoying voice came out "Finally. I was tired of being a duck." He looked toward the girl beside him, and blushing, he asked "And how are you Shampoo? Are you ok?"
The purple haired Chinese girl looked toward him and said scornfully "Shampoo is fine. There no need to ask." Then she ran toward Ranma and jumped on him. "Oh, Ranma! Shampoo thank you for changing her!" Still hanging on, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Ranma, much to his disappointment, blushed. "Okay. Now can you please come down?" When she jumped off, Ranma took a quick glance at Akane. She too was blushing, and staring down at her pig. She looked angry. Seeing her like that made Ranma depressed. He wanted her too know...but he couldn't tell her.
Next he walked over to the panda and dumped the third bucket of water over the panda, and sitting as though nothing happened, in his place, was an old looking bald man, with a bandanna over his head. He was wearing grayish brown clothing, and glasses. He looked toward Ranma and said, "Thank you, m'boy." Turning to the others, he said, "I'm Genma Saotome. Ranma's father."
The Kenshin-Gumi stared at the newcomers in front of them in total and utter shock. How could this not affect them? It wasn't possible. This...this had to be a lie. Kenshin watched. He watched as Kaorou crumpled into a heap at his foot, watched Yahiko choke on air, and watch Sanosuke stare with a mixture of surprise and amusement on his face. Kenshin, surprised that he could still talk after witnessing something like that, found himself saying, "Explain now, that you should."
Once again the man, who used to be the redhead Ranma, sighed. He opened his mouth and once again, not the feisty voice they had become accustomed to from the girl came out, but a new, deep, and rich voice escaped his lips. "I know I have to explain. Make yourselves comfortable." He thought for a moment, "Pft...this isn't even my house and I'm telling you what to do."
"About 7 months ago, me and my pops here were searching for a sacred training ground. I am destined to be the greatest martial artist ever, so I have to work hard, day and night, to accomplish my goal. We crossed many rough waters. Finally, after days and days, we arrived at China. After searching and searching, we finally found what we were looking for. At least, that's what the old man thought. He didn't listen to the tour guide who told us that we were on the grounds of Cursed Springs. And pops saw fit to train over the springs while the man told us about the penalty of falling into a spring. I mean, how stupid can you be? But pops here thought it would be great for us to just train over a cursed spring...We fought, continuously, until finally, a kick I landed threw him into one of the springs. What came out of the spring was not my pops...it was a giant panda! I was so surprised, I didn't even notice it coming at me. And when you're not prepared to have a animal weighing over 500 pounds kick you in your face while balancing on a thin bamboo pole, then you are definitely in for a fall. I fell into a spring a couple of feet over. When I finally surfaced, I felt different. Smaller...less broad. I looked down, and what I saw made me scream. I had a bust! I...I became a woman. The only way I can change back is to go to the cursed springs once more."
"Basically the same thing happened to Shampoo, Mousse, and...Ryoga" said the man, ducking in case Akane decided to come at him with a pot, which she didn't. "Except Shampoo was chasing after the girl form of me, since I had defeated her in the tournament to judge the strongest women in her tribe. It is accustomed for the one who lost to the outsider to give that person the 'kiss of death'. She had sworn to chase after the female version of me. But the male version of me defeated her in an accidental combat when she was trying to kill Akane, and her tribal rules state that she must marry the man who defeats her. But I'm engaged to Akane...our parents decided it against our will. There is no way I would volunteer to marry a tomboy like her!" he declared, grinning. This time, the pot did happen to bash into his skull. He fell to the ground and rolled in pain. After what seemed like forever, he finally got up and continued the explanation, rubbing his head and glaring at Akane, who, in turn, stuck her tongue out at him.
"Mousse has been in love with Shampoo since who knows when. He was chasing after her, and fell into the Cursed Springs too. And Ryoga, he fell in when I accidentally kicked him into a spring while training with my pops. Ever since then, he's been chasing me...oh, yeah, also because of the reason that when we were kids, I promised to fight him. Ryoga has the worst sense of direction ever. I waited for him for four days, in the empty lot behind his house, and he couldn't find it. When I left on the fifth day, he managed to find his way to the lot, and thought I had never shown up. So now he's following me, to have a fight he could never win." Ranma sighed loudly...maybe because he was tired of this, or maybe to cover up the mad pig's noise.
"They all followed me to Akane's dojo, where I met the Tendou family, because I was suppose to be engaged to one of the three daughters. I happened to get engaged to her" he pointed at Akane, "since she hates boys and I not a full boy," he said ruefully.
"We were on our way to Cursed Springs. But if you'll let us, I think we'll stay here for a while."
Seated around the small tabled, Ranma once again sighed. "This is an extremely long story." She said, "It's going to take quite a while for me to explain it all. So...I might end up forgetting some parts. But first of all..." Ranma stood up, "do you think that you could lend me three buckets of hot water?"
Kaorou, wanting to make peace, looked up and hopefully said, "You'll find hot water in the bathroom. I have a couple of buckets stocked up in that room," she said, pointing to the open door "and you can get cold water from the well outside, if you ever need it."
Kenshin got up. He was tired of doing all the work, but he had to earn his keep. Although he had a strange suspicion that Kaorou-dono wouldn't throw him out even if he didn't do anything. He sighed. Kaorou- dono may have been helpful with the instructions, but she could at least have gotten up and taken them herself. He headed towards the door, and told Ranma to sit down. He would get the buckets and the water.
A couple of minutes later, Kenshin walked back into the room. He was so wasted. There was no way he could do this for a living. It was tiresome. As he set the buckets down and dropped to the floor, he heard Sanosuke laugh.
"Ah, Kenshin. You may be the greatest and strongest with a sword, but give you a bucket of water, and you're just another guy."
"Sano, as much as I would not like to say this, you must look at my size, that you must. Then, compare me to you. And you'll see why buckets of water cause me this much trouble."
Sanosuke laughed harder, and Yahiko broke into hiccups. Kaorou just sat there, stifling her laughter. Ranma, sitting now, looked at them with more respect. They are truly a family, she thought. But it's time that I explain what I mean.
She hushed them, rather reluctantly, and took the bucket up from the floor. Being a very accomplished martial artist, and undefeated, she had absolutely no trouble carrying all three buckets at once. The Kenshin-gumi stared at her in disbelief. She grinned to herself. Soon they would see.
Setting the buckets down, and leaving one of the hot ones in her hold, she brought it over her head and poured it, careful to leave some for the others. Her shoulders broadened, her chest flattened, she grew taller, and her red hair turned black, as did her blue eyes. The man now standing before them opened his mouth. A deep, handsome voice came out "Gomen. I'm Ranma Saotome." He watched for their reaction. They were to shocked to move. He decided that he had better finish with the rest of the crew before their muscles unfroze. When that happened, he'd be in a living Hell.
He quickly walked over to the girl, and stared the pig down. It started oinking madly, and Akane protectively covered it. "Don't you dare, Ranma." She said angrily. She stared him down, and although Ranma didn't want to, he had no choice but to look away.
"Don't worry, Ryoga, I won't give away your secret yet." He whispered. He walked to the cat and the duck next. Pushing them closer together, he stepped back and dumped the second bucket of hot water on them. The quick transformation began, and soon, instead of the cat stood a well-developed young woman with purple hair done partly in buns at the side of her head, with the rest hanging loose. She was wearing Chinese style clothing and shoes. Beside her, in the place of the duck, was a young man with long black hair and round glasses. He was wearing a white over dress with slits in both sides, and purple pants underneath. He shook his head, and a mildly annoying voice came out "Finally. I was tired of being a duck." He looked toward the girl beside him, and blushing, he asked "And how are you Shampoo? Are you ok?"
The purple haired Chinese girl looked toward him and said scornfully "Shampoo is fine. There no need to ask." Then she ran toward Ranma and jumped on him. "Oh, Ranma! Shampoo thank you for changing her!" Still hanging on, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Ranma, much to his disappointment, blushed. "Okay. Now can you please come down?" When she jumped off, Ranma took a quick glance at Akane. She too was blushing, and staring down at her pig. She looked angry. Seeing her like that made Ranma depressed. He wanted her too know...but he couldn't tell her.
Next he walked over to the panda and dumped the third bucket of water over the panda, and sitting as though nothing happened, in his place, was an old looking bald man, with a bandanna over his head. He was wearing grayish brown clothing, and glasses. He looked toward Ranma and said, "Thank you, m'boy." Turning to the others, he said, "I'm Genma Saotome. Ranma's father."
The Kenshin-Gumi stared at the newcomers in front of them in total and utter shock. How could this not affect them? It wasn't possible. This...this had to be a lie. Kenshin watched. He watched as Kaorou crumpled into a heap at his foot, watched Yahiko choke on air, and watch Sanosuke stare with a mixture of surprise and amusement on his face. Kenshin, surprised that he could still talk after witnessing something like that, found himself saying, "Explain now, that you should."
Once again the man, who used to be the redhead Ranma, sighed. He opened his mouth and once again, not the feisty voice they had become accustomed to from the girl came out, but a new, deep, and rich voice escaped his lips. "I know I have to explain. Make yourselves comfortable." He thought for a moment, "Pft...this isn't even my house and I'm telling you what to do."
"About 7 months ago, me and my pops here were searching for a sacred training ground. I am destined to be the greatest martial artist ever, so I have to work hard, day and night, to accomplish my goal. We crossed many rough waters. Finally, after days and days, we arrived at China. After searching and searching, we finally found what we were looking for. At least, that's what the old man thought. He didn't listen to the tour guide who told us that we were on the grounds of Cursed Springs. And pops saw fit to train over the springs while the man told us about the penalty of falling into a spring. I mean, how stupid can you be? But pops here thought it would be great for us to just train over a cursed spring...We fought, continuously, until finally, a kick I landed threw him into one of the springs. What came out of the spring was not my pops...it was a giant panda! I was so surprised, I didn't even notice it coming at me. And when you're not prepared to have a animal weighing over 500 pounds kick you in your face while balancing on a thin bamboo pole, then you are definitely in for a fall. I fell into a spring a couple of feet over. When I finally surfaced, I felt different. Smaller...less broad. I looked down, and what I saw made me scream. I had a bust! I...I became a woman. The only way I can change back is to go to the cursed springs once more."
"Basically the same thing happened to Shampoo, Mousse, and...Ryoga" said the man, ducking in case Akane decided to come at him with a pot, which she didn't. "Except Shampoo was chasing after the girl form of me, since I had defeated her in the tournament to judge the strongest women in her tribe. It is accustomed for the one who lost to the outsider to give that person the 'kiss of death'. She had sworn to chase after the female version of me. But the male version of me defeated her in an accidental combat when she was trying to kill Akane, and her tribal rules state that she must marry the man who defeats her. But I'm engaged to Akane...our parents decided it against our will. There is no way I would volunteer to marry a tomboy like her!" he declared, grinning. This time, the pot did happen to bash into his skull. He fell to the ground and rolled in pain. After what seemed like forever, he finally got up and continued the explanation, rubbing his head and glaring at Akane, who, in turn, stuck her tongue out at him.
"Mousse has been in love with Shampoo since who knows when. He was chasing after her, and fell into the Cursed Springs too. And Ryoga, he fell in when I accidentally kicked him into a spring while training with my pops. Ever since then, he's been chasing me...oh, yeah, also because of the reason that when we were kids, I promised to fight him. Ryoga has the worst sense of direction ever. I waited for him for four days, in the empty lot behind his house, and he couldn't find it. When I left on the fifth day, he managed to find his way to the lot, and thought I had never shown up. So now he's following me, to have a fight he could never win." Ranma sighed loudly...maybe because he was tired of this, or maybe to cover up the mad pig's noise.
"They all followed me to Akane's dojo, where I met the Tendou family, because I was suppose to be engaged to one of the three daughters. I happened to get engaged to her" he pointed at Akane, "since she hates boys and I not a full boy," he said ruefully.
"We were on our way to Cursed Springs. But if you'll let us, I think we'll stay here for a while."