Odango Atama version 1.0 Author's notes: I owe a lot of thanks to Sidekickwannabe, Meteriablade, and Slade3 for the progress I was able to make on this chapter. I apologize if it is not up to the standards of the last four chapters, but this was a very difficult chapter for me to write. Please enjoy!

Chapter 5

"Ami, do you have a recording of that fight we had the other night?" Ranma-chan asked.

"The one where you got knocked out?" Ami responded.

"Yeah," Ranma-chan with a gulp. She didn't like to admit she'd been knocked out during a fight, but unfortunately, the truth was the truth. "That's the one. Can you play it and tell me what you see?"

"Sure..." Ami pulled out her super computer and typed in a few commands. After a second, the visual came on. It showed the Senshi arriving as a young girl was doing battle with the monster.

"Did you just record just the visuals or is there more?"

"Usagi, you know I always keep detailed records of all our fights for later study."

"Yeah... I'd like you to advance the recording to the moment where the redhead girl is struck."

"When she was trying to save you?"

"Yeah... something like that. Let me know if there's anything out of the ordinary at that point ok?"

"Sure... What are you getting at Usagi?"

"Hopefully, something that the data can prove..." The two watched over the battle and less then a minute into the fight, Usagi was apparently saved by the red head.

"This is interesting... There's an unusual spike of magic energy in the surrounding area. One from you, another from the girl, and the last from the beam. If I didn't know better I'd say the three magics are..." Ami commented slowly as her mind began to process this new information.

"Merging two beings into one."

"Oh... No, that can't be... but if that's true, then..."

"I am not Usagi. My real name is Saotome Ranma of the Anything Goes School of martial arts."

"What? Are you feeling ok? Your name is Usagi, not Ranma. You can't have merged with someone else..."

"You saw in the play back right? You saw what happened. I'm the girl that was fighting that monster when you five showed up. I'm the one that tried to save Usagi when the blast came. And for some reason, I've become one with Usagi... and I'm not sure why..."

"Usagi, I know that girl's death is hard for your to accept even though you haven't come out and said it yet, but that doesn't mean you have pretend to be that other person."

"I'm not pretending cause I'm really not Usagi. At least not the soul of her. Come on. We can get some hot water inside that restaurant."

"Hot water?" "Yes. You see, I have this curse. It's a long story, but the short version is a joke Kami-sama loves to play on me. Just add cold water for girl. Hot water reverses the curse."

"Hot and cold? Sounds like a bad joke based off the fact that the male organ gets smaller when dosed with cold water."

"What? Oh, that's right..."

"Come on Usagi, quit joking around. We have to go to Rei's house and do some studying."

"First we have to take care of this"

Inside the restaurant, Ranma-chan quickly got her cup of hot water and met up with Ami, who was waiting at one of the round brown tables.

"Promise me you won't faint, ok?"

"Promise? Sure. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." With that said, Ranma-chan poured the cup's contents over her blond hair. As the water flowed through it, the blond color seemed to flow off the hair with it. While this was odd enough for Ami, what really got her was how the odangos seemed to melt away into a single pigtail.

"Amazing," Ami whispered.

"Thank goodness you didn't faint..." Even as he finished saying this, he noticed something was wrong. Ami wasn't moving at all. No blinking, no moving, and only light breathing. "Passed out on her feet."

A minute passed and Ami started to move again. It started with her eyes. Then she took a deep breath and looked Ranma-chan square in the eyes.

"Can you do that again? I'd like to capture some data on that," Ami asked as she whipped out her portable computer from stuff space. This caused Ranma to face-vault.

After three changes back and forth, Ami was finally convinced that Ranma-chan could change genders. Unfortunately, Ami still wasn't convinced that Ranma-chan was really a he and that he was somebody completely different. She figured the change was the result of the increase in magic at the time of the accident. As far as Ranma's memories of being someone else, she decided that must be a result of stress.

So, Ranma had no choice. It was time to let Ami meet the folk.

"Hey Usagi? Since when did you braid your ponytails?"

"Huh?" was Ranma-chan's only response. As far as she knew, the ponytails on his girl side weren't braided. She reached back and felt them. Sure enough, they were now braided in the same style as his pigtail.

"I guess the female side is synchronizing with my male side..."

"That could be. Don't worry Usagi. We'll find a way to get rid of that male side for you."

"Listen Ami, I am a guy. Not some blond ditz." "This is bad. Now Usagi, remember, you promised me we'll go to Rei's house and study after this little errand right?"

"Yeah. I gave you my word of honor."

"Right..."

After a half hour train ride and a twenty minute walk, Ranma and Ami arrived at their destination. They would have made better time, but Ranma insisted on changing back into a guy first.

"This is the not so famous, partial wreaked, almost always hazardous for your health Tendo dojo," Ranma said with all the flair of a flight attendant.

"Hazardous for your health?" Just as Ami asked this, an umbrella flew out of no where, was dodged by Ranma and it continued into the ground. "What the?"

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!" For a change of pace, Ranma decided to simply pulled out a small canteen of water and splashed it on the lost boy.

"Welcome to my home," he said coolly. Of course, Ami had once again passed out on her feet. "Take the load off. Don't mind if I do."

With that, he picked up the blue-headed middle schooler and carried her to the family room like a sack of potatoes.

"Welcome home Ranma-kun," Kasumi greeted him as he entered.

"Hi Kasumi-chan."

"What's wrong with Akane? She looks little blue?"

"Huh? Oh, this is Ami. She's a really nice person. Once she snaps to, I'm sure she'll say hi or something... Here, take this," Ranma asked as he handed the squirming animal to Kasumi. "You know, bacon would sure taste real good about now."

"Ranma!" Kasumi scolded.

"I'm sorry."

"As you should be. To think you'd ask me to try to prepare bacon from scratch from such a tiny piglet." This was preceded by Japan's world renowned increase in the local gravity as Ranma's face found a new home in the wooden floor boards. Ami woke up in a very strange position. Not an embarrassing one nor was it a scandalous one either, unless she wasn't alone. As it was, she was alone, but still it worried her. Somehow she'd ended up in someone else's bed and it wasn't her bed time. She knew this because her mind was still telling her she hadn't studied yet.

"Are you alright Ami?" a male voice asked.

"Huh?" For just a second, she thought the worst had happened after all. Of course, the fact that her clothes were still on put her at ease. "Yes, I'm fine. What happened?"

"You fainted and I brought you inside. Kasumi prepared a bed for you to lay down in so you won't hurt yourself when you woke up," he informed her. Suddenly, she caught him almost staring just before he violently turned away. Unfortunately, he was blushing because he realized what he had been doing.

"Thank you."

"When you're ready, I'll introduce you to everyone."

Ami and Ranma spent the next hour in a half way point between peace and mayhem. Actually, it was much closer to mayhem, but Kasumi did a great job of neutralizing a lot of it. Ami was bombarded with question about who she was and why she was there. Most of the questions seemed to be clearing up any possibilities that she was another fiancée.

During one part of the interrogation... that is, during part of the meeting, Kasumi decided the group would soon be getting hungry, so she went to the kitchen and brought back a small plate of bacon.

"Kasumi?"

"Yes Ranma"

"That's not that pig I brought in earlier is it?"

"Why of course not. I told you that one isn't ready," she said with an almost evil smile.

"P-chan?" Akane asked. "Kasumi, you wouldn't cook up P-chan would you?"

"No Akane, I wouldn't." Something about her smile told Ranma she didn't mean that though.

"So Ami, do you believe me now?"

"Yes...," she muttered.

"Then we'd better go and meet up with the others," he suggested before turning back to the others. "I have to make sure Ami gets home safely. I promise to tell you guys everything when I get back, however it might be a while."

- - - - -

Rei started her chanting and carefully concentrated on the fire. At first, nothing showed up. However, she knew it wasn't the fire's fault. It was her own. She was still angry that Usagi was late.

'And it was her idea to do this!' Rei fumed.

After a few minutes of similar thoughts, including a few possible death threats, she regained her cool and the fire began to take forms. At first it was as vague as boy and girl. Nothing unique about either. Then the two people became almost mirror images of each other. Finally ending with the female side making some kind of change. The change oddly enough looked like Usagi.

Of course, since this was just fire, to anyone else, this would simply appear to be nothing more your average four foot tall blaze. And who didn't have at least one or two of them going in each of their national forest.

To Rei, the images were as clear as watching a movie. Well, a movie on a VHS and of course, the tape was a bit worn out, but you get the idea.

"These twins have gone through some kind of change... but what the heck does that have to do with us?" she lamented.

"Rei, we should get studying. If Ami arrives and finds us slacking off, she'll get angry." Rei responded in the way all good Japanese citizens do when they are told something outrageous or incredibly shocking or just plain stupid. She planted her face in the ground and hoped it would grow into a new and better her. One that would be focused on the here and now instead of the future. And what do you know. Minutes later, she came up ready to clobber Makoto.

However, before Rei can commence with the beatings, Minako ran in.

"Hey you two, I see Ami and she's with someone," Minako announced.

"It's probably meatball head," Rei guessed.

"I don't think so. This person looks too tall, not to mention a bit too male."

"What! It can't be... Ami's bringing a date to study group?"

"What did he look like?" Makoto asked.

"I didn't get to close a look, but he reminds me of that guy we saw in that ramen shop."

"Ranma?" Makoto questioned as she tried not to break down into tears. 'Fair well my former love...'

"This just isn't like Ami though. Her with a boyfriend? And she's bringing him to study group. And being late? Let's go find out what's going on here!" Rei shouted as if they were preparing to go to war. With this, the troops mobilized.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Ranma?" Ami asked nervously. Their plan was to march up to them and change after explaining the situation.

"Yeah. They need to know. If I hide this from them, they will only distrust me even more when they eventually do find out... And they will. Some how this secret of mine always gets out despite my best efforts."

"They don't look happy as it is."

"Huh?" About this time, Ranma noticed the three girls that were currently on the warpath and headed straight for them.

Just as the three girls reached the two of them and got a good look at Ranma, Kami decided it was time to water the grass, the trees, and any aquatransvestites that happened to be in the area.