A/N: Finally, the first major story arc, Ryoga!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Ranma related.
Chapter 10
"Hello Ranma, please, have a seat." Dr. Suzuki says without looking up as he enters the office, waving her hand towards the seats and couch while she is getting some paperwork organized at her desk.
"Sure." He responds, heading towards the chair from last time.
The deeper male voice does get her to look up, realizing it's not the red headed girl from last time. Blinking once or twice, she catches herself staring when he looks back at her.
"Oh right, I couldn't change back last week." Ranma says, seeing the familiar disbelieving look. Grabbing a glass from the coffee table and pouring in some water, he tips just enough out to trigger the change. Dr. Suzuki doesn't make a sound, but her mouth hangs open while she sits in amazement. She does eventually come to once again and walks over with her notepad.
"Amazing, I had wondered if maybe you were having a gender assignment, or body image kind of issue last week, but its an honest too goodness magical...thing." She says while sitting down.
"You wouldn't happen to have any hot water here would you?" Ranma asks, preferring to change back if he could.
"Oh right, let me get my thermos, its just got some tea in it, but should be hot still." She says, quickly retrieving and handing to Ranma. After a quick shift back, Ranma waits for Dr. Suzuki to begin.
"So Ranma, would you like to tell me about anything new in the last week?" The woman asks with a relaxed smile.
Ranma fumbles with his fingers for a few seconds as he considers what he wants to talk about. The memories of last nights movie and his embarrassing stare at Sachiko giving him a slight blush. "Uh yea, so uh, we had a movie night/sleep over last night, bunch of my friends and others. It was a lot of fun, but the girls picked a movie that had a bunch of fighting and kissing."
Dr. Suzuki nods, sensing he wasn't quite done with his thoughts.
"And well, it got me thinking about back in Junior high, when Sachiko was taking me out for training and she kissed me. Back then it didn't really click at all, I thought we were just learning a new trick. But while watching the movie I felt...weird, and then I kinda got lost in thought and was staring at Sachiko, and she and her friends all saw me. They probably think I was being a pervert or something like my guy friends." Ranma says, groaning at the last part.
"Hum, did they say anything to you about it?" Dr. Suzuki asks.
"No, They didn't really say much at all this morning, though her friends were giving me weird faces, but we were mostly busy cleaning up and stuff." Ranma replies.
"Do you think their perverts for having been looking at you Ranma during the scene?" Dr. Suzuki asks, causing the young man to give her a confused look.
"Huh? Why would I think that?" Ranma responds perplexed.
"Well, if you're one for looking at them, wouldn't that mean they are also for looking back at you?" Dr. Suzuki says, doing her best to hide a smirk.
"Well girls can't be...I mean Sachiko said they were just...but then they were looking at me…" Ranma's train of thought seemingly switching tracks rapidly until finally out of the station. "They...they are perverts!" He declares confidently, before suddenly feeling awkward having said that out loud.
"Well, lets take a step back and stop using the word pervert, as that intones something that isn't normal. I think a better word might be, attracted, infatuated, or even just curious." She says calmly. "Would one of those words better suit how you were feeling during this incident?" She asked.
"Curious." Ranma answered quite quickly.
"Alright, and its perfectly normal for teenagers to be curious about each other, your bodies are getting saturated with hormones while being stuck in school together, if they aren't learning, they're probably thinking about girls, boys, or both. It doesn't stop either, adults too can be curious about others, it's what helps drive them to talk to one another, find out what they like or dislike, maybe they become friend,s maybe more, but its perfectly normal." Dr. Suzuki explains calmly.
"If it's so normal, why does it make me feel weird then?!" Ranma asks quickly, before realizing what he just said and once again feeling like an embarrassed idiot.
Dr. Suzuki, gives him a reassuring smile in light of his own revelation. "Could you explain the, weird feelings?"
"Well, I mean...like, during the movie. At first I was thinking about what happened before with Sachiko, but then it was like my brain wouldn't shuddup, and kept showing me kissing other girls…" Ranma said, crossing his arms over his chest, and adjusting his sitting position so one leg was bent and resting its ankle over the others knee.
"Anything else?" Dr. Suzuki said gently.
Ranma seemed to close up though, refusing to look at her while continuing to sit there.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but remember, nothing leaves here, you're free to talk to me about anything you'd like." She says, almost a bit to well rehearsed considering how often she's had to say it.
"One...One of the other girls was me." Ranma finally said, a look of disgust on his face.
That did take Dr. Suzuki back, her eyes growing a wide as she processed what it might be like to fantasize about another body that was also your own. Seeing Ranma's face though made it obvious to her that he was struggling with this, something was definitely different between thinking of the other girls, and his female body.
"Ranma, I'll admit that is a very unique experience to be having. For the first part, I want to reassure it, its perfectly normal for everyone, boys and girls, to have dreams, fantasies, and desires around being with others, in physical and romantic relationships."
"For the last part, you've told me before that you don't feel like you're a girl when in that body, and that you don't really consider it as yourself. Could you tell me why you're upset about that body being apart of your fantasy." Dr. Suzuki finishes, honestly wondering what Ranma's answer might be as she tries to keep herself focused and not get distracted by her own thoughts.
Ranma seemed more upset at the realization that these kinds of thoughts were normal, his fist clenching tightly when asked why it was bothering him. "Because! Because what if when I'm in that body it starts thinking about my guy side, or my guy friends! What am I suppose to do about that! I already have to splash myself when I'm a guy and can't get those thoughts out of my head and don't want to walk around looking like a pervert, but then I just have them when I'm a girl which makes things...I don't know...strange?" Ranma said, his voice distressed and his hands in front like they were trying to grasp the meaning he couldn't convey himself.
Dr. Suzuki nodded in response before quickly writing down some more notes. Looking at the time though she was worried about running out before they had to talk about the school situation and how that was going. Quickly trying to think of what Ranma could do about this, she realized he was always assuming what others thought of him, but she doubted he'd ever asked anyone, or really considered their actions towards him.
"Ranma, I'm afraid we're going to run out of time before we can go much further on this topic, but here's something I want you to tell me, and think about before our next meeting. How do the people in your life treat you when you're in either of your bodies?"
Ranma, still upset, is a bit confused about the question, what did that matter when he's worried about these stupid thoughts in his brain. "What do ya mean?" He responded as the frustration seemed to leave him, replaced by confusion.
"Well, as an example, do your guy friends open the door for you when you're a girl, or treat you differently?"
"No, why would they do that?" Ranma questions.
Dr. Suzuki once again realizing she forgot that Ranma doesn't have much in the way of social graces. "It's common courtesy for boys to hold the door for girls." She explained.
"Oh, like when Yotaro made us wait for all the girls to get snacks first…" Ranma said, making the connection.
"Yes, that is another good example."
Ranma thought about it, and for the most part, his guy friends were more concerned about the other girls, or just not looking at him below the neck if he was watching, though he'd caught pretty much every boy in the class staring at him at least once. "No, I don't think they do that, their mostly concerned about not pissing me off, and treat'n me like a girl would probably do it." He replied.
Dr. Suzuki wrote down a note to go over healthy friendships not being about that, but shelved it for later. "How about Mirei, do you feel she treats you different?" Dr. Suzuki questioned.
Ranma grimaced, Mirei's preferences were hardly a secret, as his daughter regularly wanted him to change for her. "She'd rather have magical girl daddy than me in my normal form…" he answered.
"All the time?"
"Well...she likes me as a guy when she's on my shoulders, so she's taller than others. My female body is so short she's still not even above Lufa or Sachiko when on my shoulders then." He replied, remembering his daughters comments about how short he was as a girl.
"So how about you spend the next week thinking about how your female form is treated by others. Do they see you differently, why and how? Think about your martial arts training, if you assume you already know what the opponent is going to do, but you don't know your opponent, how likely are you to win that match?" Dr. Suzuki asks Ranma, hoping she made a good enough reference.
Ranma considered the task in front of him, to really think about how he was being treated when in his female body. He'd been so focused on either changing back, or something else that he never took the time. "I'd lose that fight, because I'd not be ready for something unexpected." He answered.
Dr. Suzuki gave him a smile, "Correct, assuming you know what others are thinking, is going to lead you into a spiral of misery. Why don't you first observe this next week, and after that we can talk about things that are going well, and those you're concerned about. Though I'm afraid we are out of time and have to go over the things the school requires now." She said to Ranma.
Ranma nodded in agreement. "Okay, I'll try to pay attention, though I do try to spend as little time as a girl as I can…"
# # #
Akane was smiling as she walked home from the local market, having been able to get all the things on the shopping list Nodaka had provided her, without having to haggle too much even to get the prices to a reasonable level. So when she ran into the boy who seemed to just materialize in front of her, she managed to keep her cool, for the most part.
"What the!" Akane exclaimed as she fell back on her rump, managing to keep her grocery bags held high as she landed solidly.
"Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry." The boy with a yellow bandanna replied, holding out a hand to help pick her up.
Akane held back her desire to yell at the boy when he apologized so quickly, but was surprised as the strenght of the boy, he pulled her up as if she weighed nothing, along with the groceries she was carrying. "It's uhm, fine, I probably should have been paying more attention myself." She replied a bit flustered at having fallen down in the first place. Taking a quick look now that she was standing she saw he seemed to be a traveler of some sorts with a large backpack and clothes that looked in need of a serious washing.
"You wouldn't happen to know where the Tendo dojo is would you? I believe it's in Nerima Ward, Tokyo". The boy asks her, in a way that seems to expect a negative answer.
"Uhm...yea, I was just heading there myself." Akane answered, now scrutinizing the young man in front of her a bit more for any sort of malice but finding none.
"That's great! Please, lead the way!" The boy enthusiastically replies, wanting to grab her hands but holds back on seeing them holding the grocery bags.
"Follow me." Akana replies a bit warily.
Three blocks later though, she looks behind her to see nothing there. Back tracking to the last intersection she looks around and finds no trace of the boy. Suddenly, the memory of Sachiko's story of arriving at the Tendo's hits home, and the idea of a boy who gets lost so easily seems to sink in. Akane runs the rest of the way home, happy to let them know that she might have run into Ryoga, the one boy who she had some respect for after the help he provided to Sachiko those years ago.
# # #
"Okay, so we'll meet at the studio Thursday, you'll have all the stuff you need and we can get things done then. Printing will take another week or so though before you have what you want." Nabiki said to Lufa who was standing in her room, nodding along to Nabiki's scheduled plan.
"Yes, that will be fine, I should have what I need by then, and the money for the final product by the time its ready." Lufa responds.
"Okay, its a pleasure doing business with you, and I have to say, this is probably the most well thought out plan I've seen so far, you sure you don't want to work for me a bit at the school?" Nabiki says with an approving look at the paperwork.
"I feel there could be some conflicts of interest, with Sachiko and yourself, along with my duties to the store and our elder." Lufa said with a bow.
"Okay, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Nabiki said as she stood up, preparing to walk the guest to the door.
"Oh, I'll be in touch if needed, but I must return to the store, my shift is in just a few minutes." Lufa says as she instead heads for the window, opening it up and quickly disappearing across the roof tops.
Nabiki whistled to herself as she watched the young amazon go, before turning back to the paperwork on her desk. 'Ranma's not going to now what hit him once she gets what she's ordering…' She thinks with a smirk before putting things into a file and locking them in her secure safe under her desk.
# # #
'Block the mid kick, slide left, hop the sweep, and attack while she's got her back turned' Akane thought to herself as she once again took her position against Lotion this evening. Giving the other girl a smile as she took her stance, she waited for Mr. Saotome to call the start to the practice match they were having after dinner. Ranma sat next to his father, watching the two girls take each other on in this spar before he and his father would have their turn to use the Dojo.
"Ready...Set...Fight!" Genma barked out loudly.
'Blocked the kick' Akane thought as she barely got her defense in place, Lotion's speed being impressive considering the power behind her moves.
Sliding to the left she was able to just barely dodge the girls follow up punches, but as she slightly bent her knees to prepare for a sweep, Lotion simply shifted her balance to push forward into Akane and tackle her to the ground and tapping her forehead to signal victory. Flashing a V sign back to Ranma who smiled and clapped back.
"Nice switch up there Lotion, seeing Akane prepare for a sweep and going for the grapple." Ranma called out.
"Akane, you are right to think ahead of your opponent, but if you give away your own plans, they will gain the initiative, you need to make them work for you, do what you want, lure them into a false sense of winning, and then strike." Genma said in his serious teacher tone.
Akane grunted as she got up off the ground, with help from Lotion. "Yes, Sensei" she said loudly, while disappointed that she was once again taken down, she was far happier to finally have new training partners and skilled teachers besides just her dad.
"We do speed training, you not need prepare so early your response, yes?" Lotion said with a smile.
"Yea, I'm barely able to keep away from those nasty hits of yours as is, I don't think I can actually beat you just yet. But just you wait, I'll be giving you a run for your money soon." Akane said with a smirk.
"Alright pops, its our turn now." Ranma says, standing up and shaking his legs out after having been sitting and watching the last half hour.
"Prepare yourself boy, I haven't been slouching at school all day like you." Genma says pridefully.
"Yea, I can tell, you've gotten fatter, and balder." Ranma retorts with his signature cocky grin.
Akane and Lotion take a seat as they finish wiping off the sweat with their towels and grab their water bottles. "Who you think win?" Lotion whispers to Akane.
Akane considers the question for a bit as she watches the two fighters stretch and get into position. "Ranma's male right now, so I think he's got the advantage." She responds, knowing Ranma was a better fighter as a male, still not having gotten fully use to his females body reach and balance, though he was disgustingly fast when a girl and nearly impossible for her to even try and hit. Lotion nods in agreement as they turn back and get ready for the fight to begin.
The two fighters start about ten feet from each other, and no words are spoken, both standing ready waiting to see who would make the first move. Genma is the one to start as he slowly begins to circle to Ranma's left, knowing his son was primarily right handed. Ranma begins to do the same, and they both are slowly closing the distance to each other as they spiral.
Ranma is the first to act, with a feinted charging punch that he then seems to roll forward into a leg sweep. This gets Genma to leap into the air to avoid the sweep, which was what Ranma wanted as he quickly delivers a side kick to his father as he landed. Unfortunately Genma took the hit and used it to grab Ranma's leg and fling him, right towards the girls. Akane put her hands up in front of her, preparing to be impacted but soon opened her eyes to see that Lotion had jumped up and caught Ranma in her arms before he'd impacted.
Ranma is about to give a thanks for the catch when Lotion leans down and gives him a peck on his cheek, before placing him down on his own two feet. Before he has a chance to even blush he also feels Lotions hand give his rear a quick squeeze. She takes her seat again while Ranma looks shocked and before he can do anything his father barks.
"Stop flirting and get your head in the fight boy!" Genma says as Ranma makes his way back to the center.
"I didn't do nuthin!" Ranma says back angrily at his father as he prepares, trying to forget what happened.
"Honestly, I don't see what you all see in Ranma, he's just a dumb boy." Akane whispers to Lotion.
Lotion holds up the hand she used to grab Ranma's butt. "All boys dumb, not all boys have cute butt." She whispers back, using the hand to make a groping motion. Akane simply blushes and looks away, muttering something under her breath.
"Alright boy, don't think I'll go easy on you just cause your a girl sometimes." Genma taunts Ranma. Earning him a glare from the girls on the sideline.
"Sometimes a girl is still better than your always fat and lazy but just sometimes a panda self." Ranma retorts.
"Poor Mirei, stuck with two mothers…" Genma retorts.
"Hah, I'm a better father already than you ever were." Ranma says, some anger starting to show on his face.
"You don't know the first thing about being a father you ungrateful whelp!" Genma shouts back also starting to lose his cool.
"And who's fault is that!" Ranma yells as he's about to launch an attack.
"HALT!" Comes a shout from the entrance, as Mrs. Saotome comes in, giving both of the males in the room a look that caused Ranma to grimace, while his father began to get on his knees and kneel. "Girls, how about you give us some space, it seems we need to have a little family meeting." Nodoka says to Akane and Lotion, who both grab their things and head out without a word.
"Cute butt, but mom like Amazon elder…" Lotion says to Akane as they are outside and walking through the garden. Getting a nod from Akane as they enter the house.
"Genma, what in the world are you saying to our son!?" Nodoka says as she stalks over to the groveling man.
"Dear...We are only practicing the art of riling each other up to cause our opponent to lose their head and thus make mistakes we can exploit, its a key tenant of the Anything Goes style." Genma say confidently, though never once tries to raise his head.
"I know WHY you're doing it, I'm asking you Why you think its okay to taunt anyone about being a girl, or how you can have the audacity to think of yourself as a good parent, especially after the Cat-fist incident…" Nodoka says sternly, regretting saying cat as Ranma seems to immediately become paranoid and looking around the room.
Genma had no good response to either inqueries, knowing that his usual line of females being weak would result in nothing but hurting his attempts to get back into his wife's good graces. Hoping that just staying silent might see her switch targets he tried to not even breath.
Sighing at her husbands complete lack of an answer, Nodoka turns to Ranma. "Ranma, please tell me you don't actually believe the idiotic things you're father has taught you about women anymore do you?"
Snapping back to his mother, mostly sure there were none of...those things...around. "Huh, oh...yea, no, I mean, I know lots of strong girls, I figured pops was wrong about that a few years ago after getting my clock cleaned by Shampoo a few times after her granny taught her some new moves." He replied.
"And you're both currently probationary fathers as far as I'm concerned. If you want to continue this "Tenant of the school" then why not pick topics you both need to work on, like your educations, etiquette, personal hygiene, and ability to put your feet in your mouths constantly." She said with air quotes. Staring the two down until they both agreed.
"Alright, I'll let you two get back to your training, remember that we can hear your screaming in the house, so don't say anything you want me to hear Mirei repeat…" Nodoka says, leaving the threat hanging as she exits the Dojo.
Ranma looked back at his father as he slowly got up off the ground as he watched the entry in case his wife returned suddenly. "How exactly did you end up with mom and survive…" He asks his father.
"I nearly didn't, hence why we were on a training trip…" His father answers back, returning to a ready position. "I heard your math scores make children look like geniuses!" His father suddenly yelled as he unleashed a kick at Ranma's chest.
Ranma managed to lean back from the kick and then extend it into a somersault away from his father. "Says the Panda who can't even chew with his mouth closed." Ranma yelled back, before springing back at his father.
# # #
An hour later the two were in the furo, washing off the sweat and stink from their intense training. His father having the decency to look away while Ranma cleaned off with the cold water before got into the hot tub. Both had fresh bruises that were going to probably be two or three times larger the next day all over their arms and legs.
"Ranma…" Genma started to say something before pausing, looking conflicted or confused, Ranma wasn't sure, but turned to look at his old man and wait.
"Ranma...I take back what I said earlier. You're good with Mirei, and I can tell she does really like you." He says, giving Ranma not so much a smile, as a serious face.
"Uhm...thanks." Ranma replied, not use to his father ever taking back something, let alone complimenting him. "She likes her Panda too, even if he turns into a bald grandpa sometimes." He said, giving his dad a grin.
Unexpectedly to Ranma, Genma begins to tear up at that comment, then suddenly putting on a water works show equal to Souns. "MY Granddaughter Is So Cute!" He wails out loud, seemingly overfilling the tub with his tears.
"What the heck pops!" Ranma exclaims at the sudden outburst.
Genma seems to regain his composure after a short time. "Sorry, but I never expected to be a grandpa so soon. When she's cuddling me in my Panda form, I no longer even think of it as a curse…"
"Sure, and I bet you can't wait to get her into the dojo to start training also…" Ranma said, rolling his eyes at his fathers antics.
Genma freezes at the accusation, looking at the door worriedly. "Don't ever say that boy, I have no plans for such things. You've heard your mother, Sachiko and Mirei are hers, if I even hinted at it you'd all have a panda rug in no time." His father said in a dead serious tone. "Besides, your grandmother is more likely to take over that kind of training if she has the gift at all."
"What gift?" Ranma asks.
"I don't know much about it, but your mother comes from a long long lineage of demon hunters. Get's passed down to the girls, and the powers only work until they...well, have an adult relationship so to say." Genma explained. "Me and your mom kinda made a mess of your grandma's plans, one of many reasons she hates me. If you'd been born a girl, we'd never gone on our trip and you'd likely be training with her and your mom's sister instead."
Ranma was surprised to hear this, figuring his mom was from just some strange martial arts family that was based around her sword style. The fact it was about demon hunting probably would of shocked him a few years ago, but after all the crazy stuff in China, it almost made sense there would be people dedicated to stopping some of the more mystical stuff he has run into.
"When your grandma and aunt arrive, don't expect to see me around much, we get along about as well as oil and water…" Genma continued. "Though they'll be testing you to see if you have what ever it is that makes someone special."
"Huh, but I'm a guy?" Ranma reflexively responds.
"Not when there's cold water involved. If Jusenkyo can turn any male heir into a possible demon hunter, and if your...involvement...with Sachiko didn't break what ever it is that seems to be needed, I bet they'll be very interested in using it more in the future, and that means dealing with those amazons." Genma finished, a slight shudder at the thought of the amazons and the trouble he's had with them over the years.
Ranma sat silently as he considered what his father was saying. 'If I do got what ever they're looking for, I guess they'd show me how to do the sword stuff mom's been using. But having to be a girl to do it kinda stinks…' He thought as he felt his body relax in the hot water.
"What are we gonna do about the amazon problem though dad? They followed us all the way here, and now they're trying to be all overly friendly and stuff." Ranma asks his father.
"Problem? Son, your friend nearly gave his life for a few seconds of your "problem" this morning. Every boy in your school would love to have your "problem" with the amazons." His father said with a chuckle. "Foun Daxin should already be back at their village, and the elder already confirmed that I never did anything with her. So as far as amazon problems go, their all yours now."
Ranma groaned as he dunked his head under the water briefly. "Pops, I mean what am I suppose to do about them, they're getting more...forward all the time, you saw Lotion when she caught me after your throw, Shampoo would be worse if she wasn't already in trouble for other stuff at school." Ranma whined.
"Boy, do you think I ever had a bunch of girls trying to chase after me, and no Foun Daxin is the exception, we both know she's not normal." Genma said, giving him a look of annoyance. "Only thing I can tell you is not to try and be some playboy, your mother and the elder won't hesitate to make your life harsh if you think you can just play with their hearts."
"See, what does that even mean, I don't know how to play with their hearts, I don't even know what they want!" Ranma said exasperatedly.
"It means keep your hands, and other body parts, too yourself until you're willing to commit to more than friendship. There are men out there that will just lie to woman, tell them all the things they want to know so they can have their way with them. But once the woman wants more, like getting married, the man just disappears. You try that, and you better hope the amazon's get you before your mother, they'd at least haul you back as breeding stock or something to their village…" Genma explains.
"Wait, so I shouldn't touch them, but all they do is touch me!" Ranma says, upset at the obvious double standard.
"It's called flirting, they are trying to get you to pay attention to them." Genma says with a shrug. "You could always ask them not too."
"Wait...I can?" Ranma says, a bit surprised at such a simple solution.
Genma seems to hold the bridge of his nose with his hand, rubbing it as if he's got a headache. "Yes, well, you can try...though I suggest you do it very politely."
# # #
Arriving to the classroom Monday morning, Ranma saw most of the boys huddled around Hiroshi's and Daisuki's desks. Dropping his bag off at his seat Ranma walked over to see what they were talking about as no one seemed to have noticed him yet.
"You're the luckiest son of a bitch ever Daisuki, got to feel up the hottest girl in the school, and now she's gotta take care of you too!" One boy says to him with a jealous smile.
"Hottest? No way, Lufa's got those legs that go for days, I want her to feed me while I rest my head on her lap." Another boy says in disagreement.
"Pfft, like you have a chance, you barely come up to her chest, which is no where near Shampoo's, Right guys?" The boy says, looking around at the group only to realize Ranma was now standing next to them all. The group seemed to freeze suddenly, a few curses and a few prayers being muttered under their breath, waiting to see how Ranma would react.
"What?" Ranma says, seeing the whole group looking at him suddenly.
The awkward silence finally broken as Lufa walks through the door, talking with the two girls she sits next too. Seeing their chance as Ranma was distracted greeting her, the boys seem to all quickly head towards their seats, leaving Ranma standing next to his friends.
"What was that about?" Ranma asked Hiroshi.
"Shampoo showed up at Daisuki's place this morning, seems she has to keep helping him until his arms better, so everyone saw us as we entered the schoolyard and she was carrying his bag. Everyone wanted to know what happened, and how he got so lucky." Hiroshi explained.
"This is going to be the best two weeks of my life…" Daisuki stated a bit dreamily.
"Okay, but why'd everyone stop talking when I got here?" Ranma asked. "I didn't do anything."
"Cause most guys don't exactly take kindly to other guys talking about how hot their girlfriend, or in your case, girlfriends, are. Especially if that guy can bend steel for fun..." Hiroshi explained, at this point not even phased by Ranma's social lackings.
"But their not my girlfriends...their just friends that are girls…"
"Ranma...not all girls are trying to slee…" Hiroshi starts to say as Sachiko and her friends enter the room. "Okay...that's a bad example. Look, you might not think of them like that, but they've ALL made it clear that you're who they're interested in."
Ranma having missed Sachiko's entrance seems to be annoyed at Hiroshi's answer. "Don't I get a say in any of this?" Ranma replies.
"Dude, you're complaining about what is just about every boys fantasy in this school, multiple hot girls interested in you. Look at Daisuki, this is probably the closest he'll ever get to a girl in high school...college...maybe forever!" Hiroshi says a bit frustrated at Ranma's whining, while they both looked at their friend who was staring a bit to hard at his right hand as it seemed to be feeling or groping something in his imagination. Before they could say anything else though, the bell rung for the first period and the teacher made their entrance forcing Ranma back to his seat in the front.
# # #
"So if you see a boy about Ranma's height, wearing a yellow and black bandanna, and has a large backpack, try and keep him in place, or don't let go of him and get to a phone or something and call me." Sachiko tells her friends at lunch, having explained Akane's run in with Ryoga on Sunday.
"If he's half as cute and rugged as Ranma, you'll have to peel me off." Mako says with a grin.
"With the way things have been going, I can only hope to get an early shot at the guy before some Arabian princess shows up on a flying carpet and claiming him as her husband." Achika replies a bit disgruntled, looking over at Ranma and his friends who now included Shampoo who was helping feed Daisuki, while Lufa seemed to be enjoying sitting next to Ranma while teasing Shampoo about her duty.
"Akane didn't go into too much detail, but that he was obviously a martial artist, a bit rough, and had the fangs he was known for back in junior high. God...so many of those manga's the girls made had him as a vampire…" Sachiko told her friends.
"Martial artist vampire? Your junior high had some kinky girls…" Achika says.
"Girls who knew what they were doing...I'd let him suck anything he wanted…" Mako says with a bit of drool hanging from her mouth.
"It was a girls school, not like we had anything else to do but look over at the boys school…" Sachiko says.
"Only someone wasn't just 'looking'." Mako says giving Sachiko a devilish grin.
"Ugh...don't remind me." Sachiko replies.
"Remind you that you could basically walk over and claim the hottest boy in school without even having to try if you wanted?" Achika says, raising one eyebrow at her friends whining.
"What, if you haven't noticed, he's got three other girls ready and willing to drag him into their beds. Been through the aftermath of that, Mirei's gonna be an only child for a long time if I have anything to say about it." Sachiko shoots back.
"Please, we all saw him looking at you during the movie. That boy's shy, but he's definitely got a thing for you still. What's stopping you from just going up and asking him out on a date?" Achika says rolling her eyes and her friends excuses.
"He's my brother."
"Step brother, and you know your mom's not gonna stop you two."
"I don't have time for dates and stuff."
"You complained every week before he arrived that you were bored just watching Mirei, your mom would totally cover for you if it involved dating Ranma."
"It's been years, we don't know each other at all." Sachiko pleaded, wishing to drop the subject.
"Sounds like good first date material, you can catch up over dinner." Mako said, having recovered from her vampire martial artist fantasy.
"Who says I even still like him!?" Sachiko exclaims to her two friends.
Both girls look at each other with a look that seems to say they've accomplished their mission. "Seriously Sachiko, you've still got it for him, we see you looking at him in class, so stop giving the competition so much time and make your move, you know we're here for you." Achika says with a suddenly serious tone.
"I'm just looking at the teacher, Ranma's just in the way." She says defiantly.
"We both know you were the one first looking at him during the movie." Mako says, crossing her arms as if taking offense at Sachiko's lame excuse.
"If you haven't forgotten, the last time I made a move I was pretending to be a martial artist. I don't have any idea what I would do now."
"Easy, just smile, and hold his hand." Achika says with confidence. "He's not going to know what to do, and can't just run away or shake you off without being rude. Heck he might just collapse in a pile of goo when it short circuits his brain."
"There's no way that will work." Sachiko says.
"Simple minds, simple pleasures." Mako states.
Sachiko just grumbles at Mako's response.
"Finally though, we can stop acting like you don't still have a thing for him though. Watching you act like a wall flower the last month has been painful." Achika states.
"I can't wait for you two to get boyfriends...I might have some peace and quiet for once…" Sachiko says as she packs up her lunch, the bell having rung to mark the end of their lunch period.
# # #
"Poor Shampoo, having to serve Daisuki like that in front of everyone…" Yuka said, watching Ranma's group from their tree spot near the entrance with Akane, Lotion, and Sayuri.
"Ugh, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." Akane says with disgust as Shampoo feeds another grape to the boy, who apparently asked his mom to only pack small foods Shampoo would have to hand feed him on purpose.
"Is too too great dishonor. Elder was very upset with her lack of control." Lotion says trying not to smirk at her rivals misfortune. "Shampoo always too forward, not know how to be subtle."
"Says the girl who his kissed Ranma and grabbed his butt…" Akane says rolling her eyes.
"You kissed him!" Yuka asks in surprise.
"Just on cheek." Lotion clarifies. "He got thrown during practice, so I grab him."
"What was it like, grabbing his butt?" Sayuri asks with a blush.
Lotion blushes as she remembers the feeling in her hands, "Was a little soft, but feel firm when he move. Can't wait for next chance." She said with a smile, using her hand to show how she grabbed him.
Akane just sighed at the girls antics, why anyone would want to do that was beyond her. She'd much rather be held by a prince while riding on a horse, or on a balcony like in Romeo and Juliet. Not looking at the girls though proved lucky though as she spotted a small black pig wander into the school yard looking some how...lost?
"Oh, its lost little piggy!" She said excitedly as she got up to try and get closer.
"Oh boy, here was go again…" Yuka says giving Sayuri a knowing look.
"What mean by that?" Lotion asks the two girls as they watch Akane try to get closer without scaring the animal.
"Akane loves cute animals, but her dad's allergic to most of them or just won't let her keep them. So ever since grade school she'd find one and then try to find a place to keep them...sometimes in her room, or at our places" Yuka answered.
They watched as Akane inched her way closer to the animal that seemed to be oblivious as it continued to walk towards the school building until Akane was right next to it. Her attempt to pick up the animal though resulted in it dashing away, but not looking where it was going and instead ended up running right into Lotion who snapped it up with her chopsticks, holding onto the Bandanna around its neck.
"Oh good, you got it! It might be someone's lost pet, we should find somewhere safe for it." Akane says as she jogs back over to the group.
Lotion thinks for a minute before replying, "I take to restaurant, we have many boxes too keep safe. We check on it after school." Getting a smiling nod from Akane, Lotion quickly jumps up and hops away on the roof tops to the nearby restaurant.
Akane spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about the little pig and what they could call it, confirming its a boy pig when Lotion returned, though worried as lotion said it must be shy pig, it passed out when she checked. Akane almost pulled the stocky amazon out of classroom while still seated when the final bell rang. She did tell her sister where she was going though before heading to the restaurant with Lotion, the other Amazon's staying with Ranma and his group.
# # #
"I think P-chan is a great name for a cute little piggy, what do you think" Akane asked her amazon friend as she made quick time through the shopping district towards the restaurant, lotion's feet barely touching the ground as she was dragged behind.
"Is fine, but please, watch where going, we almost hit elder." Lotion pleaded with her friend who seemed to be a cruise missile headed towards her destination.
"Huh, its fine, we'll be there shortly and can check on P-chan!" Akane said enthusiastically, while narrowly missing a mother and her stroller.
Lotion silently thanked many deities as she soon saw the Cat-cafe in the distance. She promised to never get any cute animal in the future if it meant having Akane in such a manic state that the safety of others was merely a secondary concern as she was dragged through the streets.
Arriving at the restaurant, Akane barely greeted the elder Cologne as she made her way to the back yard. Lotion bowed and apologized for Akane's behavior though before following her friend out to the back yard.
"Ohh, he's so dirty, we need to give the poor little piggy a bath!" Lotion heard from Akane as she entered the backyard.
"Pigs be good at cleaning themselves, we just give him water, he do rest." Lotion said, having some experience with helping the farmers in the village.
"Oh no, that won't do, lets give him a proper bath, then the owner won't think we've mistreated him." Akane insisted.
P-chan though was very distraught by the idea of a bath, especially by two young ladies. He tried to fight his way out of Akane's grip but found it near impossible to make any headway.
"Fine, I get basin, you take to my room and get towel, upstairs, second on left, bath across hallway." Lotion said, sighing as she headed into the kitchen to find a large basin and begin filling it with hot water.
"Thanks! P-chan, settle down, you need a good bath before we try and find your owners." Akane admonished the squirming piglet as she headed too the room.
Sitting in Lotions room on her bed, Akane looked at the small sparse space, with just a simple desk and chair as the only other furniture, a closet in the wall was likely where her clothes were kept. On the desk she could see a picture of Lotion with who she suspected were her parents, and maybe a younger kid brother who was holding a small dog. Lotion definitely got her looks from her mother, but the blue hair and bushy eye brows came from her dad. Akane was a bit lost in thought about what it would be like to have to up and move to a whole other country, even with others from the village, it still must feel lonely, and she mindlessly held P-chan closer to her chest.
"Take Bandanna off, no need it get wet." Lotion said as she entered with the basin of hot water and a sponge, seeing Akane a bit distracted and looking at the picture on her desk.
"Oh, right." Akane said, going about untying the bandanna. "Huh, this kinda looks like the one Ryoga was wearing, I wonder if P-chan belongs to him?" She wonders out loud.
P-chan seems to come too again after having been crushed into Akane's breast and fainting, seeing the basin of water, and Akane putting the bandanna down to the side and beginning to move closer, he freaked out and began to do everything possible to get out of her grip.
"Calm down P-chan, its just a bath!" Akane said, struggling to keep the small animal in her grip without hurting it. As she got closer Lotion reached out to try and help, P-chan managing to flip over just before the girls plunged him into the water.
While the transformation was instant, the brains of all the now three teenagers in the room needed sometime to take inventory. Ryoga found himself on the floor laying on his back which was arched as his butt was firmly in the basin still, he was also completely naked. His first thought was to run, but something had hold of a certain sensitive part of him which prevented any movement at the moment. Looking down, he saw the two girls who'd captured him, their faces slowly turning red.
Lotion found herself slightly wet, the water in the basin having been splashed when a much larger object suddenly filled it. Looking down at her hands she realized one was on his thigh, and other was on his stomach, both of which felt warm and muscular. It was the object between where her hands were that that made her eyes become as big as a plates, not only was it quite larger than she'd thought was normal, but Akane's hand seemed to be holding it tightly, possibly painfully so.
Akane's mind had crashed, she knew something had happened when they put P-chan in the water, but suddenly she found herself holding onto a boy...a naked boy that she was holding by his very private part. This was impossible though, as she would never do something like this, which means that this was all a dream, or a nightmare. Doing the only thing she could do, she screamed, which caused the others in the room to scream also. Unfortunately for Ryoga, her grip only got tighter.
"Augggghhhhh" Ryoga cried in pain, trying to grab Akane's wrist to get her to let go.
"EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKK!" Akane screamed as the naked boy seemed to be reaching out towards her, she instinctively let go of him and swung out with her hand to punch him. Which struck home as he had no way to really dodge. Ryoga slid across the floor and hit the wall, seemingly knocked out cold.
"Ah, no kill him Akane." Lotion said in a panic, getting up to check on the boy.
"He..He...I...Touched…" Akane seemed to be babeling to herself as she looked down at her now empty right hand.
"What is going on in here?" Cologne asked as she opened the door only to find the chaos in the room. Seeing the naked and wet boy, and remembering that Lotion had brought a small lost pig back during lunch, she started to understand the situation.
":I'm guessing the pig turned into this boy?:" She asked Lotion.
":Yes Elder, I believe it may be Ryoga, the boy who help Sachiko many years ago.:" She replied. "Akane, is same boy you run into?" She asked, but getting no reply as Akane quickly got up and ran to the restroom across the hall, beginning to wash her hands vigorously while mumbling to herself.
"If it is, then we need to not let him out of our sight. Stay here, I'll get a box and we can change him back, as we don't have any clothes for him." The Elder replies before hurrying down to the restaurant.
"Akane, use cup next to sink, bring cold water so we change back." Lotion shouts to her friend who could still be heard scrubbing.
Soon enough, Akane handed the cup to Lotion, not wanting to go back into the room where Ryoga was. Lotion poored the water on Ryoga and like she expected, he turned back into the small black piglet. Picking him up they put him in the vegetable box Cologne had brought up and were soon headed on their way to the Tendo's.
"Lotion, promise me we never talk about what just happened, ever." Akane said, still blushing at the events.
"Okay, I no tell, but what you do if he tell?" Lotion asked.
"I'll thank him for helping Sachiko, and then I'll pound him into atoms." Akane said as if she'd already considered it.
"Is shame, he pretty cute, and...gifted." Lotion said, getting Akane to turn bright red and give her a scowl.
# # #
"Mrs. Saotome!" Akane calls from the entrance as Lotion and her arrive. Hearing a reply from the kitchen the two head towards it with the box.
"What is it dear, oh, hello Lotion." Nodoka says, seeing the young amazon accompanying Akane as she wipes her hands off with a towel from the kitchen entrance.
"We found him! We found Ryoga!" Akane says, holding up the box.
Nodoka, a bit taken back by the claim and then the box, worried what could she possibly mean, was Ryoga…
Akane quickly placed the box down and pulled out the piglet to show Mrs. Saotome.
"Akane dear...that's a…" Suddenly Nodoka's eyes narrow, and her face tightens up. "Put it down! Back away!" She shouts at the two girls as she reaches behind her into the kitchen for her sword.
Confused by the commands Akane continues to hold Ryoga while looking at Lotion to see if she understood what was going on, but the other girl was just as perplexed.
"Drop the pig Akane, it's tainted by some sort of evil!" Nodoka says, coming out of the kitchen with her sword at the ready.
"What?!" Akane shreaks. "No, wait, it's Ryoga, he has a Jusenkyo curse just like Ranma!" Akane quickly explains, taking a step back as Nodoka closed in.
Nodoka stops her charge, though keeps her sword at the ready. "Ranma's curse doesn't look or feel evil, but that little pig you say is Ryoga is practically dripping in some sort of demonic essence."
Having heard the shouting, Others in the house begin to show up to see whats going on. "Hey, is everything oka…" Ranma begins to ask as he and Mirei come from the backyard where they'd been helping hang some laundry, Ranma currently female due to mirei having squeezed out a sock while on his shoulders. Seeing his mom with her sword out, he next looked at Akane and Lotion, and then the piglet. "Whoa, what's wrong with that glowing pig?" He asked confused.
Nodoka, a little shocked at his comment turned to him. "You can see that too? Quick, get changed and tell me if you still can." She orders him. Mirei is also looking at the pig, but doesn't seem to hear the exchange as she tries to get closer.
"Mirei dear, please stay where you are, we don't want to touch it just yet, in fact Akane, why don't you put it back in the box, it seems to be sleeping anyway." Nodoka says, the two girls following directions while they wait for Ranma to return shortly.
"Oh huh...now it just looks like a normal pig, what's going on mom?" Ranma asks having returned from the kitchen a boy again.
"Akane says the little pig there, is your friend Ryoga, it seems he too has a Jusenkyo curse." His mother explained. "It would also seem that he's been tainted by some form of evil, though I'm not skilled enough to figure out what exactly. We should change him back so we can find out what exactly is going on, can you grab a cup of warm water Ranma."
"WAIT!" Akane shouts as Ranma steps towards the kitchen. "He...won't have any clothes if we do that now, right?" She says with a blush, Lotion also blushing and looking away at the memory.
Nodoka blinks at the revelation, then considers what their options are. "Well, Ranma, go get some of your clothes, we'll wait for him to wake up and then he can change upstairs."
It was about half an hour until the piglet began to wake up, looking at bit cross eyed at first. Mirei was currently sitting at the table drawing some piggies, having been upset that she still wasn't allowed to touch or hold the small animal. Sachiko, Nabiki, and Lufa who had been in Nabiki's room had joined the group, having been told about what was going on by Akane.
"Ryoga, is that really you?" Ranma asked, which got a 'Bweee" response and an affirmative shake of the pigs head. "Alright, lets go upstairs, I got some clothes for you so we can change ya back." Ranma then picked him up and headed upstairs while the rest of the group waited.
Soon they heard a few shouts that sounded like some arguing, but soon enough the two boys returned, Ranma leading the way while holding Ryoga's hand to make sure he didn't get lost somehow.
"Ranma, would you stop, I'm trying to tell you something important!" Ryoga shouted at the boy as he was dragged into the room.
"I already told ya, It can wait, you have some people that want to thank ya." Ranma said, tugging the boy up next to him, who was now sporting a confused look.
The room was silent as the boy came face to face with a table surrounded by teenage girls in a mix of school uniforms and casual clothes staring at him along with a woman in a kimono and a small child in overalls. The girls for the most part were all staring back, except for Akane and Lotion who seemed to have found his shoes to be more interesting. The woman was the first to move as she got up from the table and then, stopping a few feet from him, got on her knee's and bowed her head to the floor.
"Ryoga Hibiki, I wish to extend my deepest thanks for the help you provided Sachiko those years ago. The Saotome clan owes you a debt we might never be able to repay." Nodoka spoke elegantly.
"Sachiko, Ranma, that's what I've been trying to tell ya, we gotta find her, she's in trouble and having your baby!" Ryoga shouts at Ranma, not having comprehended what Nodoka was saying after he heard the name.
"Momma, you're gonna have a baby?!" Mirei yells loudly, excited that her wish for a sibling was coming true. "I want a sister!" She adds demandingly.
"Ugh, you bonehead, she's right there, along with the baby." Ranma says exasperatedly while pointing at the two.
"I'm not a baby!" Mirei shouts back at Ranma.
"Hi." Sachiko manages to get out, tears in her eyes but a large smile on her face, giving Ryoga a small wave.
"But...But...we never made it, I got lost before I could get you to the Tendo's. I've spent the last four years trying to get back to you, or find Ranma so he could help…" Ryoga says, starting to cry himself as the feeling of hopelessness from the memories bubble up.
Sachiko's eyes are dripping with tears as she smiles and replies. "We made it, we were just two blocks away when you disappeared. You saved me, and my daughter, you're our hero." The rest of the room also tearing up at the reunion.
"We...we made it…" Ryoga says, falling to his knees as his legs seemed to give out. "The babies safe…" Looking at Mirei, his face cracked into a huge smile.
"You're a genuine hero man." Ranma says, slapping Ryoga's back.
Ryoga began to laugh, slowly at first before it became more manic, almost out of control, until Nodoka suddenly shouted at the group. "GET BACK!"
Suddenly the laughing stopped and Ryoga's eye's opened and they were entirely black except for tiny red pupils that seemed to glow and move independently of the other. "A HeRo?! That won't do at all...suffering is what he needs, pain, anguish. Let me turn this HeRo into a VILLIAN!" Ryoga said, though the voice now was not his own, screaching as if the voice was scratching a blackboard as it spoke. Before Nodoka could get up from her kneeling position, it kicked her across the room before dodging a kick from Ranma in return.
The possessed Ryoga made a leap towards Mirei, an arm outstretched to grab her. Fear pumped into Ranma's heart as he watched, unable to act himself as he recovered from his missed attack, his mouth opened to shout but nothing came out. Lufa and Lotion though were in a position to do as both had already begun to move the moment Ryoga kicked at Mrs. Saotome. Lotion took a powerful swing with her right arm towards the path he was on, but somehow in mid-air the trajectory changed to avoid it. Lufa though used this to her advantage, and grabbed the extended arm and threw the boy through the sliding doors and into the back yard.
Ryoga gave a demonic screech as he landed, having flipped himself like a cat to land on all fours. Ranma, Lotion, and Akane ran out after him, while Lufa grabbed Mirei up and ran towards the kitchen to get the sword, and check on Mrs. Saotome, Nabiki and Sachiko following after.
"I don't know what you are, but let Ryoga go!" Ranma shouted.
"Let him go? Why would I let such a delicious treat such as him go, we've been bound since he was born and he's simply exquisite!" The possessed boy spoke, before lashing out towards Akane with a punch that caught her right in the stomach, but was answered by her headbutting him in return.
While Akane was still trying to catch her breath Lotion had pulled out her Tonfa and began to circle the boy while Ranma kept himself between the house. Lotion tried to pressure the demon, hoping to maybe break a leg or something non-vital, but it was faster than her, and without Ranma able to go on the offensive they were in a bit of a stalemate until Akane could rejoin the fight.
The possessed boy was getting upset, each attempt to move past Ranma failed, having to fall back before he was kept in place just long enough for Lotion's attacks to hit. He tried to leap onto the roof, but hit some sort of invisible barrier, keeping him lower to the ground than he'd like. Finally a distraction came when a man in a brown gi came running out of the dojo asking what was going on. Running towards the compounds wall he punched at it in hopes of shattering it, only instead it zapped him back, a loud crack of thunder shaking the neighborhood.
"What! Wards?" It screached as it looked at his blackened right hand that now hung limp along with half that side of his body.
"Hold him down!" Nodoka shouted from the broken entryway, her face bloody and extremely pissed.
Akane, Lotion, and Ranma all tackled him and pinned him to the ground, though he managed to throw Akane off of his left leg and into the pond before a bright yellow flash streamed out towards them from Mrs. Saotome, hitting them all and throwing them across the garden unconscious.