Disclaimer; This fanfiction uses existing ideas, characters and or worlds, but is an independent work of art. I own nothing, hence the reason for publishing my writings here instead of in real books where I could make some money.
-Chapter Four-
A Middle
The next morning in a clearing half an hour's flight east of Stabit, Delia was stirring.
She was roused by the sounds of a struggle just outside her tent, and went to investigate, after covering herself up appropriately. What she had expected to see, was Ranma training a few of his Pokémon against each other. She had not, in her wildest dreams – well, maybe – imagined that she would see him and his Pikachu jumping around and fighting with all of their limbs. The Pikachu had the added advantage of a tail that obeyed his will, while Ranma was a master of his art.
Delia was awed at the display of aerial acrobatics and the firework of colours as Zumi fired a volley of lightning bolts, countered by Ranma's ki-blasts. She started doubting that Ranma was human when she saw the combined speed and ki-ability.
This show of colours and fighting went on for another half hour before Ranma halted.
"Very good, Zumi, you honour me. Now, go read your book," he stated and gave the foot tall mouse a bow. Zumi gave a bow in return and ran off to the dictionary so his vocabulary could increase.
"Good morning, Ketchum-san," Delia greeted and crawled fully out of her tent.
"Just call me Ranma, okay?" Ranma replied in a wince. "And, good morning to you, too."
"That was an awesome display of skills, Ranma," Delia complimented with a slight blush.
"That was nothing," Ranma dismissed, "I'm just teaching Zumi my family art. I caught him copying me a while back, and decided to teach him to spare him any injury. He's a fast study, nearly as fast as I am ..."
"Would it be too much to ask, that you take on a few more students?" Delia asked with a heavy blush. "I'd be willing to pay for your services," she added and took out a wallet from her pocket. Ranma placed a hand over hers and pushed it slowly away.
"There is no need for money," he said seriously. "I will be willing to educate you and your friends for only your company during this trip. But first, I need to see how good you all are, so I'll know how much I need to help each of you."
"Right now?" Delia asked, slightly nervous.
"Of course," said Ranma. "If we do it after breakfast, then we'd have to wait until the food had settled if we wanted to avoid stomach cramps."
Delia could not argue that point, and released her Pokémon.
"Zumi, could you do us the favour of assessing Delia's friends?" Ranma asked, looking at the reading Pikachu.
"No problem, Wild Horse."
Ranma grumbled at having his friend separating the words that made up his name, but let it pass. Instead he looked over where the three Pokémon were standing in a line in front of Zumi, who was marching in front of them like a drill sergeant, and speaking to them in native Pokémon. There was the Pidgeot they had flown a bit on yesterday. Then there was a green praying mantis, a Scyther. And finally, what looked like a midget without genitals, with large arms and three plates sticking out of its nose-less, hair-free head, a Machop. Delia introduced them in order; Columba, Falx, and Robur.
Ranma could not help but grin and shake his head at the display they were putting on.
With a wave, Ranma initiated the sparring between himself and Delia.
Ranma's evaluation of Delia only took a few moments. She had obviously had a bit of basic training, but nothing extensive. This could be because the people here tended to rely more on the Pokémon they had enslaved, rather than using their own power.
"Good," said Ranma after having dodged each and every punch and kick the woman threw at him. Delia was sweating and panting heavily. "Well, I know where to start with you … endurance. Each morning before breakfast, you and your Pokémon are going to make your way around the camp for half an hour at top speed. When you get better, you will start doing it with weight on your back. For now, take a breather and get ready for breakfast." Ranma intended on treating her in a professional manner while being her sensei, no matter her being a woman.
Delia, while still panting and sweating on the ground, shot him a look that plainly asked if he did this for some sort of sadistic pleasure. The three Pokémon friends she had were giving Zumi the same look.
"I'll just go get some water for the instant ramen," he chuckled and grabbed the pan from next to the fire before walking out of the clearing, towards where he heard the trickle of water.
To challenge himself, Ranma pulled the two Pokéballs he had gotten, from sub-space, and started juggling all three items as he walked through bushes and between trees. This was great practice in hand-eye-coordination. The trick was executed flawlessly, until he stepped on something slippery he had not seen and dropped the items he had in the air as he stumbled to maintain his balance.
The telltale sound of a Pokémon entering a Pokéball came from behind him as he righted himself and snatched the pot from the stream before it came out of reach.
On the ground, next to the other, was one of the two Pokéballs, shaking, and the tap was blinking red for a moment.
Then the rocking and blinking stopped.
"Oh great," Ranma muttered to himself, "I just enslaved a defenceless Pokémon."
Not wanting to waste any time, Ranma commanded the Pokéball to open, and it did. Flopping limply on the ground was that same type fish he had been eating before he could get rations. Thinking this to be a lucky catch, as now he could have something extra for breakfast, Ranma filled the pot with water, and grabbed the Pokéballs and Magicarp.
"Look what I found!" said Ranma as he entered the camp. He was holding the Magicarp by its tail as Delia saw it.
"Oh, that poor thing!" she exclaimed and was examining it before Ranma could blink. "You got to it just in time! Did you catch it? No matter, I have something that can help the poor thing in my bag, just hold on a minute."
Delia was moving with practiced ease as she fluidly made her way through her backpack and retrieved some vial from it, and returning to drip the content of the vial into the fish's gaping mouth.
"There," she sighed. "Now all she needs now is rest." Noting Ranma's curious gaze, she blushed before doing what seemed to come natural to her. Compliments. "That is a real catch, Ranma, it will grow into a good fighter."
This piqued Ranma's interest. "Really?"
"Well, not as much now, but in a while … yes."
"Maybe I should ask her what she wants before forcing her to endure training ..." Ranma mused, only to be answered by the fish in question with a spray of water. Cold water. "Now, was that necessary?" she asked the stunned fish. "Now I have to get some more warm water."
Not noticing the shocked look on Delia, Ranma placed the pot on the fire, and sat by to wait for it.
"Wha – Who – How – oh my!"
Ranma looked in Delia's direction.
"It's a curse," she explained. "Cold water does this," with a sweep of her hands, she indicated her now busty form, before pulling and binding the middle string on her vest to give her breasts support. "Warm water returns me to my normal body."
"Oh my," Delia gasped, exhaustion and Magicarp forgotten.
"Go ahead, make fun of, or insult me," Ranma continued wearily and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Why would I do that?"
Ranma looked up in near disbelief. There were hardly any humans who knew of the curse that did not do either. There were even those who shied away from her upon discovering the gender-changing curse, fearing it might be contagious.
"I'm sure you didn't get the curse willingly, so why should you be mocked for it?"
Unable to resist, Ranma crossed the space between the two, and started hugging the other woman while expressing her gratitude for the acceptance shown so freely.
It took her a few minutes to realise her invading the other woman's personal space.
"I'm sorry … it's just that very few accept my curse so fast," she explained, blushing as heavily as Delia.
"That's okay, Ranma … you are still you, no matter what shell you wear."
Once more, Delia's personal space was invaded by a facsimile of an Amazon glomp.
This time it took longer for Ranma to gather her wits and retreat a few steps.
"Sorry, reflex," she apologised.
While muttering apologies, Ranma was hit on her head by Zumi's now ever-present sign.
"Magicarp say she stay," the message read. "Want get good."
Ranma sobered and crouched over the previous potential snack.
"You want us to train you?" she asked seriously. At the movement that could be interpreted as a nod, Ranma looked at the fish. "This will not be an easy or painless training, understood? You will ache after each exercise, you will be in pain until you get good enough to avoid getting hit … do you understand this?"
"She say, understand," Zumi translated with his sign.
"Very well, then" Ranma stood to her full height. "Help her train her muscles, all of them. Even if she seems able to live above water, she can't be very mobile … by strengthening her muscles she'll be at least able to flop out of the way of attacks. We will work our way from there."
"Hai, sensei," the sign read as Zumi caught hold of the tail of the fish, and dragged her off to the other Pokémon.
Ranma returned to wait for the water to boil.
"The curse," started Delia awkwardly. "Does it go all out?" The question ended in a blush.
"Do you mean, does it give me that time of the month, or, are you asking if I like boys?"
"The first," answered Delia with a heavier blush.
Ranma made a grand sweep over her body.
"This change comes with all the accessories, thank you very much … it's a pain, too," she replied.
She stopped talking to upend a boiling pot of water over her head. The change was instantaneous.
"Much better," Ranma sighed in relief.
"How did you manage not getting burned?" questioned Delia in awe as she examined him closer.
"With the help of a combination of a technique called Soul of Ice, and a special pill ..." was Ranma's mysterious reply.
"Excuse me?"
"The Soul of Ice is a special technique that allows me to chill not only my moods and body, but also my surroundings." Ranma explained. "The pill is called the Phoenix Pill, and gives the user an immunity to heat, though most of it is used to counter a pressure point technique used on me called the Cat's Tongue technique, which would have made me extra sensitive to heat."
And that was the last they said about that matter. Ranma went for more water for their breakfast, and everything settled into a routine. For the next few days, they spent the mornings training. The afternoons were spent walking, while carrying heavy backpacks, all but Aegu, which they had named the fish, who only had to flap her way after them on the ground. As this is very strenuous, they only travelled for a few hours, at a slow pace so that Aegu could keep up with them. The newest members of the group held back their complaints as this was what they had been warned about when they agreed to the training. Everyone but Zumi had been astonished when Ranma hoisted a huge boulder onto his shoulders and started walking, on the first day of walking together.
As it turned out, Delia was correct in her assessment of Aegu. That fish learned very quickly. The day before they reached Cutoff, she had managed to flip herself several feet into the air and across ground. She even managed to flap her way to Falx and slap her during a free-for-all sparring one morning.
Delia was very proud of Ranma, not to mention grateful. In those short days they had known each other, her Pokémon had nearly doubled their strength, endurance and special abilities.
Not wanting to risk being seen, Delia stayed in camp while Ranma entered Cutoff for supplies. Ranma remarked how differently he was treated as a male, as opposed to female. There was no room for haggling, and all the prices seemed elevated. He could not go as a female, because he had seen a picture of himself as a woman in nearly every window he passed, stating that "This Woman Is Wanted for Destruction of Property" the names and breeds of Pokémon of the gym leader was listed underneath, along with a bounty that, by his math-skills, summed up to be enough for a car, when comparing the prices for the supplies he had gotten.
Upon returning to camp, Delia declared that they should travel around the village, and not through. This is what put them on the path that lead north, to the city of Target. It was the safest way to get to the top most northern island of the small chain south of Kanto.
About a week later, nearly halfway to Target, something Ranma had never expected happened. Aegu "evolved", as Zumi later explained. Gone was the red carp-like fish that could flop ten feet into the air and spit small ki-blasts. In its place, was a large, blue, limb-less, eastern-style dragon with fins here and there, and without a beard or whiskers, Gyarados, as Zumi explained was the name of her species.
Aegu couldn't be happier with how things had gone since she joined them, even if it was unwillingly at first.
The other Pokémon were equally pleased.
Falx' speed had increased to the point that only Ranma was able to fend off the bladed arms during sparring matches.
Robur's strength was such that he could crush a boulder between his hands, and had learned to throw ki-blasts, mild ones, but increasing.
Columba's speed and agility in the air had also increased greatly, nearly breaking the sound-barrier at one point, and had learned to send ki-blades, of non-lethal strength, when flapping her wings at a target.
Delia was very excited about the changes her Pokémon exhibited, and could not restrain herself from giving him a hurried peck in thanks. Unseen by them both, this gesture left them both looking like perfect examples of tomatoes. In the background, the five Pokémon were plotting something sinister that would not be revealed for days to come.
Author's Notes: Okay, another chapter revised, and again I am very ashamed of the mistakes I've made … the very mistakes I've corrected others about. What on Earth made me decide to post this without proofreading it thoroughly? At this point, I would like to ask anyone who might have an idea if they any spring to mind about what kinds of adventures could spring from this story for a sequel to please send them to me … credit will be given where credit is due.
