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"We're home!" Akane called out as she and Ranma entered the house. They changed into their indoor shoes and made their way to the family room.
Soun and pandaGenma were playing shogi while Kasumi and Nodoka were watching a soap. Nabiki was nowhere to be seen, but from the music coming from the stairs let them know that she was in her room. From the pace of the music, they could tell she was likely exercising. Nabiki was quite picky when it came to music. She had certain songs and types of music that she played for all of her activities. Fast, heavy drums and electric guitars were for exercise while soft happy jpop was for when she was doing her accounts. Classical music with lots of flutes and woodwinds usualy meant she was going over which pictures she had and who would want to purchase them.
They greeted their family and went up to Akane's room. Ranma stopped by his and changed out of the panties into boxers, while Akane changed out of her uniform into a casual skirt and sweater. Ranma went down to the flamily room while Akane stoped at Nabiki's and asked her to come down as she and Ranma had something to say to everyone.
Sensing an opportunity, Nabiki eagerly agreed, pulling on a pair of shorts and a sweater. She grabbed a minirecorder from the dozen that sat on a shelf near her door and a small camera from the shelf above them. She made sure the tape was fresh and the batteries new in both. She changed her film after every use so she knew that the camera had a new roll. She lazily made her way down, taking in the scene of everyone sitting around the table waiting for her.
"So what's the news, Akane?" she asked with a slow drawl, teasing her sister. "Ranma's brain is wired so he can only do martial arts?" She felt a faint rush of wind and looked over her shoulder staring at the mallet imbedded into the wall inches from her head. Her face paled as she looked back at her sister's angry face.
"Don't you ever say anything like that again, Nabiki!" she snarled.
Swallowing to hide her discomfort, Nabiki put a hasty grin on her face. "Whatever you say, imouto. I didn't know you cared so much about him though."
Akane glared at her sister, feeling for the first time the disgust she saw on Ranma's face when he spoke of her sister. "That's part of what we have to say." she reached out a hand to Ranma, who handed her a small packet of papers. Akane handed them out to everyone. "When we were at the hospital for the tests, the doctors found a problem. It seems that at some time in his life, Ranma's skull was fractured pretty badly. Badly enough, it seems, to leave several bone chips and spurs pressing against his brain."
Genma frowned as he looked down at the paper in his hands. It was filled with medical terms he didn't recognize. Next to him, Soun started as he studied the form. He was more familiar with medical terminology due to the horrible experience of his wife's illness and death. On the other side of Genma, Nodaka's face creased as she studied the form. She had a firmer grasp of the language than either of the male adults, but some of the terms were beyond her. On her right, Kasumi frowned deeply, understanding perfectly what the letter was saying. It seemed that Akane's theory was correct, and that Ranma's behaviour had been affected by this injury.
Nabiki studied the form, getting the general idea of what it was saying, but not getting what this had to do with anything important. Like selling the information to interested parties. "So what's that mean, exactly?"
Akane stared at Genma as she replied. "Something hit Ranma in the head hard enough to crush or split his skull. It splintered and there are pieces of bone pressing into his brain. This has affected his behaviour and personality. Most notably, it has made it impossible for Ranma to react as a man would to certain situations."
Nodaka's frown deepened. She didn't like where this seemed to be going. "What kind of situations?"
"The spur is pressing against the part of the brain that controls the hormones in charge of sexual arousal. It's blocking the gland from producing and sending out those hormones." She passed around the xrays, blown up around the area and circled with both forms. "That means that Ranma is not physically able to become sexually excited. The pressure is less on his female form, and some of the hormones are produced."
Nabiki was startled. All those girls chasing after Ranma to bed him, and the boy wouldn't be able to do anything about it even if he had wanted to. She held back a chuckle, not wanting to have another mallet tossed at her. "So Ranma can't get excited? Shampoo's going to love hearing that. Can you image Cologne's face when she hears that her son-in-law has no interest in sex?"
"It's not funny, Nabiki!" Akane growled, glaring at her sister. "Like I was saying, Ranma's male form is not able to produce the proper hormones that trigger arousal or lust. The injury is also keeping him from growing into a mature person. It's at least partially responsible for his mouthing off and immature actions. Mentally, he's kind of frozen right before puberty. His female form is a little further along, but still affected by the chips."
"How could this have happened?" Nodaka asked, a dangerous lilt to her voice.
Genma started and began to frantically look for a way to escape. "I have no idea! There were so many injuries during training, it's hard to pinpoint one silly little thing."
"Our son is incapable of being intimate with his wife because of your fool training! He is not a man, he's a boy! You were set on raising a martial artist with no distractions and you've done so. Congratulations. You've managed to raise a son who will never think of anything but martial arts. He'll be unable to even father a child, nevermind raising one. He'll be totally incapable of training any students and what other point is there for martial arts then to train others."
Ranma winced at each word out of his mother's mouth. He looked down at the ground, unable to keep his face from showing the pain.
Nodaka would have continued her tirade, but for the mallet that slammed the space between her and Genma. She turned a startled look at Akane, who was still holding the long handle.
"That's enough! Can't you see what your idiotic words are doing to Ranma? Can't you see how much it hurts him to hear you say those horrible things about him? And who the hell ever said anything about him not being able to father or raise a child?"
"Now listen here, young lady, I won't have you talking to me that way." Nodaka stated angrily. She opened her mouth to continue, but Kasumi interupted her.
"What was it you were saying, imoutochan? I thought you said Ranma wasn't physically able to make love." Kasumi calmly drank her tea and looked around the room.
Akane sneered at the woman who was to someday be her mother-in-law. "Those letters I gave you are orders from a doctor telling you that Ranma is under his care. The doctor took a few tests today, and next Saturday, he is going to be coming to the dojo to tell us the results. That means everyone. Cologne, Shampoo, Ryoga, everyone. Until that time, no one is allowed to harm Ranma in anyway. Any physical attacks on him, attempts to extort or otherwise make money off him without his and my permission, or any attempts to goad him into attacking will result in the doctor filling charges against the person responsible and in his taking Ranma away for his own safety. The papers are already filled, they simply need to be signed. This means, " she glared at Genma. "No stupid sneak attacks, no talks about wedding plans, no insults about his manliness," she turned to glare at Nabiki, "no selling photos or information regarding Ranma's condition. Nothing for the next week. If Ranma wishes to spar with you," another glare at Genma, "he will ask you to spar, and if you wish to spar against him, you will ask him. Should Happosai show up, he'll be told the same things."
"So why are you telling us, Akane? Why not call everyone else here now and tell everyone at the same time." Nabiki asked, trying to think of a way around the doctor's threat. She wasn't overly concerned with the possibility of arrest, since most of the local force new her and she was so helpful to them.
"Because letters have already been sent to the others. They should be reading them about now, actually and I don't doubt that some of them will be coming here to bother us about it anyway. I thought I'd get the preliminaries out of the way now, since quite frankly Nabiki, you and the Saotomes are probably the biggest problems Ranma faces at the moment."
Nabiki frowned. She didn't like being compared to the rest of the loonies that followed Ranma around. "How can you say that, imoutochan. Why, I've never harmed a hair on Ranma's head."
Akane snorted, her area flaring around her. "No, you've just sold Ranma out every chance you get. You take perverted pictures of him when he's sleeping or bathing and sell them to idiots like Kuno, which just eggs him on. You blackmail Ranma with little things since you know how naive he is about certain things. You sell him out to his rivals and fiancee's like he's a piece of meat. Anytime we seem to get closer, you find someone and sell them the information and they come barging in, interupting us. Ranma can't even take a bath without you calling someone and selling that information to them so that they will come here and sneak into the bath with him. That's one of the main problems I had with trusting Ranma. How could any one person be in so many situations unless they were a pervert. And all the time you were telling Shampoo and Kodachi whenever Ranma tried to sleep or take a bath. That's worse than anything Kuno or Mousse has ever done to him."
Nabiki cleared her face, taking on her stonelike business expression. "I was trying to help you out, imoutochan. I didn't want you to have to be engaged to some one like him."
"And what's wrong with him."
"He's a perverted freak of nature! He's always insulting you, he has no respect for anyone or anytrhing. He's an immature bastard who draws all these other freaks to him. Look at how many times you've been kidnapped because of him. One of these days, he's going to get you killed. He doesn't even care enough about you to train you properly or show you the proper respect as his fiancee. He's always chasing girls and cures without a thought of the pain it causes you. He even hits on guys while in his girl form."
Akane snorted and shook her head. "Didn't you hear a single word I just said, Nabiki? Ranma's brain is being poked by a part of his skull. There's a 2 inch long piece of bone stabbing his brain. For some reason, when he shifts into his female form, the spike is shifted and the pressure on his hormone gland is reduced. So in his female form, he's a little more mature than in his male form. The spike is keeping Ranma's mind the same as when the injury happened, probably around 9 or 10 years old. His female form is a little older and that's why he's able to fool so many people. He understands what attracts a guys attention, even is he doesn't understand why they are so attracted to his cutesy act." Akane looked around, studying the faces of her family. "Ranma's not able to understand his own emotions let alone control them. That's the reason he seems so immature and why he acts like he does."
Kasumi spoke, again forestalling Nodaka's attempts to chastise Akane. "Can anything be done to help him, Akane?"
Akane smiled at her sister, glad someone had asked the question. "Yes, oneechan. The doctor said that he can remove the spur and that Ranma's brain would start to produce the hormones he needs to grow. He said that there would be some changes with Ranma, since he'd start to feel and understand things he didn't before. He even mentioned that there might be some physical changes since that area also produces the hormones that let us grow and go through puberty."
Ranma spoke for the first time. "He thinks that my girl side will change more physically, since I kind of skipped that puberty stuff for it, but that my guys side might grow a bit taller and will be more affected mentally."
Akane continued. "They'll have to drill a small hole in Ranma's skull to pull out the spurs. That's why the doctor is coming over next Saturday. The tests they did will show in more detail which of the spurs they can take out and the best way for them to do so. That's why he's given this letter. He doesn't want to risk having the spurs knocked around in his head if Ranma's hit before the surgery. After the surgery, it will take about a month for Ranma to heal properly. And these orders will continue for that month."
As if on cue, a faint ringing could be heard, increasing in volume as it neared. Akane and Ranma turned to the wall, waiting expectantly for Shampoo to come crashing through it as she always did. They were surprised instead to hear the screen door to the yard open and two sets of slow footsteps and a clicking they recognized as Cologne's pogo trick on her staff. They turned to the entrance and waited for the Amazons to enter.
Cologne entered first, studying the people in the room. She paused just inside the room, causing Mousse and Shampoo to halt in their tracks behind her. She bowed to the Tendo patriach and to the eldest Tendo daughter. "May we come in? We've just received a rather disturbing letter and wish to confer with you regarding the validity of its content."
Kasumi nodded and gestured for the three to enter. She frowned slightly as Shampoo glared at Akane and started towards Ranma but resumed her gentle expression as the eager young girl was restrained with a glare from her elder.
Cologne hopped off the staff and took position at one end of the table, across from Soun. She gestured to the spot next to Nabiki and Shampoo reluctanly sat down, still throwing harsh looks at the youngest Tendo, who was holding Ranma in her arms. Mousse sat next to Akane, and slightly behind her, as was proper for a Amazon male. Cologne placed her copy of the letter and legal documents on the table before her.
"Is this true, Ranma?" she asked directly, seeing no sense in wasting their time on frivolties.
Ranma licked his lips and looked down at Akane. "Yup. The doc wants me to avoid fights for the week. Something about the tests showing the places he'll need to cut and which spurs to take out without them bouncing around, maybe causing more damage."
Cologne nodded. She could sense the truth in Ranma's words. "And these threats made by this doctor. He will see them through?"
Ranma nodded. "He's really annoyed about some of the stuff we told him. Even my gynocologist is pissed no one thought to have me go see one sooner."
"What is gyno-col-egist, Airen?" Shampoo asked.
"A doctor who specializes in female problems, granddaughter. I am surprised that you agreed to this, however, Ranma."
Ranma snorted. "I didn't say I liked it. Akane was the one who thought there might be something wrong and suggested we get both forms fully tested to make sure there were no problems. That included the gynocologist and full xrays and stuff for both forms. That's why there's this week without fighting thing. The xrays showed that there's a piece of bone pressing into my brain. The MRI and CAT scans take a few days to go over. He'll find the best way to remove the spurs and which ones to remove."
Cologne nodded. She had heard of similar injuries and surgeries. "So this will require surgery to repair?"
"Yes. At the very least, they'll need to either dig a hole in Ranma's skull or even remove a part of the skull to get at the spurs. Either way, it will take at least a month for his skull to heal. And that means no fighting or anything for that month." Akane took a breath. "The doctor also feels it would be best to have him stay in his male form, since that is the form that will be most affected by the surgery."
"I do not understand. Why is this so?" Mousse asked.
"The part of the brain that the is being poked is the part that controls the release of hormones and the control of emotions. Right now, Ranma's brain isn't releasing the proper hormones needed for Ranma to react as a normal guy would to certain situations." Akane paused letting that soak in.
Shampoo frown deepened. "Violent girl say Airen no feel when Shampoo try show love for Airen?" She might have trouble speaking the language, but Shampoo could understand quite a bit more than she spoke.
Akane returned the Amazon's frown with a glare. "That's right, Shampoo. Ranma's body doesn't physically react the way, say, Kuno's does. Or any other guy really. The spur shifts a little when he's a girl, and his girl form does react, at least a little." She went on to explain what she could about the differences in Ranma's behaviour and the effects the spur had on his emotional states.
Cologne frowned. If what she was hearing was correct, than Ranma was damaged in such a way that he would never be able to father children. This would mean he would be useless to the tribe. She could cancel Shampoo's claims on the young man. She would wait a few days before doing so, since she wanted to hear what the doctor would tell them. She had known since arriving in Japan that Shampoo would never possess Ranma no matter how much she tried. Ranma was already too much in love with Akane, and even if it was a child's love, it was still a love Shampoo could never hope to defeat. She had been trying, since the events at Jusendo and the Wedding Incident to subtly guide Shampoo onto another path, but she'd had little luck.
She knew since encountering Ranma in the nekoken that the child would not be forced into anything and that to try to do so could lead to his destroying the tribe. Ranma was too powerful to be dragged off to China against his will and his will was too powerful to be controlled by any of the drugs and magic she had carefully allowed Shampoo to try. No. Ranma would not live long in the village. He was too much a man and too little a woman to accept being a subject of scorn by the elders and other woman of the tribe who had little to no respect for any male. No more delaying the inevitable. She could not let Shampoo continue to dishonor herself any longer. There was also the fact that Ranma was her cousin, even if it was a somewhat distant relation.
She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small box. She placed it on the table on top of the documents. She waited until everyone was looking at her before speaking. "In this box is a supply of extra strength waterproof soap. Each bar will last 5 days or 5 uses, wich ever comes first. There are 10 bars left. That should protect you Ranma for nearly two months. You said it would take a month to heal, but this gives you some extra time incase the damage is worse that the doctors think at the moment."
Ranma grinned. "Thanks, old ghoul. That's almost decent of ya' "
Cologne chuckled. She would miss the youth when she returned home. "As a result of your condition, Ranma, it is my sad duty to renounce all claims on you by the Amazon nation. At the moment, you are useless to us. Though, I hope you won't mind if we stick around for a while. I'd like to see what happens when you're able to react like your friends to all the girls throwing themselves at you." She tapped a small hand on the papers. "We will honor these requests made by the doctors. We shall leave now, and return Saturday." She bowed to Soun and Kasumi again, leaping onto her staff, which had remained standing in the middle of the doorway. "Shampoo, Mousse, come. There is nothing more for us here today."
"But grandmother-"Shampoo started, as she began to recover from the shock of hearing her grandmother crush her hopes of marrying her Airen.
"I said there was nothing for us here, Xian Pu! Ranma is no longer your Airen. He is free to choose you if he wishes, but the Kiss of Marriage and the Kiss of Death hold no power over him any more. Now let us go. It will soon be time for the evening rush." She hopped out of the room, followed by a strangely silent Mousse and a sobbing Shampoo.
"Well, looks like that's one less worry for you now, Ranma." Nabiki stated, watching the Amazon's leave. She didn't think Shampoo was ready to give up just yet, and was already formulating plans to make more yen from her.
Ranma was staring into space. He'd gone into shock and had missed most of what Cologne had said. his mind kept repeating that he was free. No more glomping, no more drugged food, no more running off in the night after Shampoo smashed her way into his room. Free to bath without worry of finding the purple headed Amazon waiting to scrub his back. "heh. That was easy." he stated as his mind returned to the present. He reached out and grabbed the box, standing and making his way out of the room.
"Where do you think you're going, son?" Nodaka demanded. "We must still discuss the horrible way in which Akane has spoken to me today."
Ranma's eyes were glazed over, not really paying attention to what his mother was saying. His mind filled with images of what the next month would be like. "Huh? What was that kaasan?"
Nodaka glared at her son's fiancee, who returned her glare. "Nevermind, son. We can discuss it later."
"Okay. I'm gonna take a bath, make sure this soap works."
"Be careful, Ranma. You have ten bars and we need at least seven for after the surgery."
Ranma grinned. "The docs gonna be here Saturday. That's 6 days. I'll use the one bar. Then after he tells us what's going on, I'll use the second and we can do this surgery stuff."
Nabiki sighed. "Ranma, even if the doctor puts a priority on your case, it could be awhile before you actually have the surgery. Hospitals have to deal with the most life threatening cases first."
Ranma blinked. "So what? It could be a couple of weeks before I have the surgery?"
"What Nabiki was trying to say is that with all the things that happen in a city the size of Tokyo, it might be as much as 6 months before you are able to have the surgery." Kasumi replied as calmly as she could.
Ranma deflated. He'd been hoping that it wouldn't take too long to have the surgery. If he was going to go ahead with this, he wanted it done quickly. He seriously doubted that the chaos in his life would be able to go on a 6 months hiatus waiting for the operation and the 1month needed to heal after it. It would be hard enough just going the next week without anything happening to him. "Oh well. I'd better test the soap anyway. I'll be out in a bit." He turned again to go upstairs, but paused, looking at his fiancee. "Akane, why don't you get changed and I'll meet you in the dojo. We can do some more training like the other day."
Akane smiled brilliantly, lighting up the whole room with her inner glow. "Sure. I'll start loosening up while you bath!" She stood and followed her fiance up the stairs, leaving him at the furoba while she continued to her room to change into her favorite gi.
"We're home!" Akane called out as she and Ranma entered the house. They changed into their indoor shoes and made their way to the family room.
Soun and pandaGenma were playing shogi while Kasumi and Nodoka were watching a soap. Nabiki was nowhere to be seen, but from the music coming from the stairs let them know that she was in her room. From the pace of the music, they could tell she was likely exercising. Nabiki was quite picky when it came to music. She had certain songs and types of music that she played for all of her activities. Fast, heavy drums and electric guitars were for exercise while soft happy jpop was for when she was doing her accounts. Classical music with lots of flutes and woodwinds usualy meant she was going over which pictures she had and who would want to purchase them.
They greeted their family and went up to Akane's room. Ranma stopped by his and changed out of the panties into boxers, while Akane changed out of her uniform into a casual skirt and sweater. Ranma went down to the flamily room while Akane stoped at Nabiki's and asked her to come down as she and Ranma had something to say to everyone.
Sensing an opportunity, Nabiki eagerly agreed, pulling on a pair of shorts and a sweater. She grabbed a minirecorder from the dozen that sat on a shelf near her door and a small camera from the shelf above them. She made sure the tape was fresh and the batteries new in both. She changed her film after every use so she knew that the camera had a new roll. She lazily made her way down, taking in the scene of everyone sitting around the table waiting for her.
"So what's the news, Akane?" she asked with a slow drawl, teasing her sister. "Ranma's brain is wired so he can only do martial arts?" She felt a faint rush of wind and looked over her shoulder staring at the mallet imbedded into the wall inches from her head. Her face paled as she looked back at her sister's angry face.
"Don't you ever say anything like that again, Nabiki!" she snarled.
Swallowing to hide her discomfort, Nabiki put a hasty grin on her face. "Whatever you say, imouto. I didn't know you cared so much about him though."
Akane glared at her sister, feeling for the first time the disgust she saw on Ranma's face when he spoke of her sister. "That's part of what we have to say." she reached out a hand to Ranma, who handed her a small packet of papers. Akane handed them out to everyone. "When we were at the hospital for the tests, the doctors found a problem. It seems that at some time in his life, Ranma's skull was fractured pretty badly. Badly enough, it seems, to leave several bone chips and spurs pressing against his brain."
Genma frowned as he looked down at the paper in his hands. It was filled with medical terms he didn't recognize. Next to him, Soun started as he studied the form. He was more familiar with medical terminology due to the horrible experience of his wife's illness and death. On the other side of Genma, Nodaka's face creased as she studied the form. She had a firmer grasp of the language than either of the male adults, but some of the terms were beyond her. On her right, Kasumi frowned deeply, understanding perfectly what the letter was saying. It seemed that Akane's theory was correct, and that Ranma's behaviour had been affected by this injury.
Nabiki studied the form, getting the general idea of what it was saying, but not getting what this had to do with anything important. Like selling the information to interested parties. "So what's that mean, exactly?"
Akane stared at Genma as she replied. "Something hit Ranma in the head hard enough to crush or split his skull. It splintered and there are pieces of bone pressing into his brain. This has affected his behaviour and personality. Most notably, it has made it impossible for Ranma to react as a man would to certain situations."
Nodaka's frown deepened. She didn't like where this seemed to be going. "What kind of situations?"
"The spur is pressing against the part of the brain that controls the hormones in charge of sexual arousal. It's blocking the gland from producing and sending out those hormones." She passed around the xrays, blown up around the area and circled with both forms. "That means that Ranma is not physically able to become sexually excited. The pressure is less on his female form, and some of the hormones are produced."
Nabiki was startled. All those girls chasing after Ranma to bed him, and the boy wouldn't be able to do anything about it even if he had wanted to. She held back a chuckle, not wanting to have another mallet tossed at her. "So Ranma can't get excited? Shampoo's going to love hearing that. Can you image Cologne's face when she hears that her son-in-law has no interest in sex?"
"It's not funny, Nabiki!" Akane growled, glaring at her sister. "Like I was saying, Ranma's male form is not able to produce the proper hormones that trigger arousal or lust. The injury is also keeping him from growing into a mature person. It's at least partially responsible for his mouthing off and immature actions. Mentally, he's kind of frozen right before puberty. His female form is a little further along, but still affected by the chips."
"How could this have happened?" Nodaka asked, a dangerous lilt to her voice.
Genma started and began to frantically look for a way to escape. "I have no idea! There were so many injuries during training, it's hard to pinpoint one silly little thing."
"Our son is incapable of being intimate with his wife because of your fool training! He is not a man, he's a boy! You were set on raising a martial artist with no distractions and you've done so. Congratulations. You've managed to raise a son who will never think of anything but martial arts. He'll be unable to even father a child, nevermind raising one. He'll be totally incapable of training any students and what other point is there for martial arts then to train others."
Ranma winced at each word out of his mother's mouth. He looked down at the ground, unable to keep his face from showing the pain.
Nodaka would have continued her tirade, but for the mallet that slammed the space between her and Genma. She turned a startled look at Akane, who was still holding the long handle.
"That's enough! Can't you see what your idiotic words are doing to Ranma? Can't you see how much it hurts him to hear you say those horrible things about him? And who the hell ever said anything about him not being able to father or raise a child?"
"Now listen here, young lady, I won't have you talking to me that way." Nodaka stated angrily. She opened her mouth to continue, but Kasumi interupted her.
"What was it you were saying, imoutochan? I thought you said Ranma wasn't physically able to make love." Kasumi calmly drank her tea and looked around the room.
Akane sneered at the woman who was to someday be her mother-in-law. "Those letters I gave you are orders from a doctor telling you that Ranma is under his care. The doctor took a few tests today, and next Saturday, he is going to be coming to the dojo to tell us the results. That means everyone. Cologne, Shampoo, Ryoga, everyone. Until that time, no one is allowed to harm Ranma in anyway. Any physical attacks on him, attempts to extort or otherwise make money off him without his and my permission, or any attempts to goad him into attacking will result in the doctor filling charges against the person responsible and in his taking Ranma away for his own safety. The papers are already filled, they simply need to be signed. This means, " she glared at Genma. "No stupid sneak attacks, no talks about wedding plans, no insults about his manliness," she turned to glare at Nabiki, "no selling photos or information regarding Ranma's condition. Nothing for the next week. If Ranma wishes to spar with you," another glare at Genma, "he will ask you to spar, and if you wish to spar against him, you will ask him. Should Happosai show up, he'll be told the same things."
"So why are you telling us, Akane? Why not call everyone else here now and tell everyone at the same time." Nabiki asked, trying to think of a way around the doctor's threat. She wasn't overly concerned with the possibility of arrest, since most of the local force new her and she was so helpful to them.
"Because letters have already been sent to the others. They should be reading them about now, actually and I don't doubt that some of them will be coming here to bother us about it anyway. I thought I'd get the preliminaries out of the way now, since quite frankly Nabiki, you and the Saotomes are probably the biggest problems Ranma faces at the moment."
Nabiki frowned. She didn't like being compared to the rest of the loonies that followed Ranma around. "How can you say that, imoutochan. Why, I've never harmed a hair on Ranma's head."
Akane snorted, her area flaring around her. "No, you've just sold Ranma out every chance you get. You take perverted pictures of him when he's sleeping or bathing and sell them to idiots like Kuno, which just eggs him on. You blackmail Ranma with little things since you know how naive he is about certain things. You sell him out to his rivals and fiancee's like he's a piece of meat. Anytime we seem to get closer, you find someone and sell them the information and they come barging in, interupting us. Ranma can't even take a bath without you calling someone and selling that information to them so that they will come here and sneak into the bath with him. That's one of the main problems I had with trusting Ranma. How could any one person be in so many situations unless they were a pervert. And all the time you were telling Shampoo and Kodachi whenever Ranma tried to sleep or take a bath. That's worse than anything Kuno or Mousse has ever done to him."
Nabiki cleared her face, taking on her stonelike business expression. "I was trying to help you out, imoutochan. I didn't want you to have to be engaged to some one like him."
"And what's wrong with him."
"He's a perverted freak of nature! He's always insulting you, he has no respect for anyone or anytrhing. He's an immature bastard who draws all these other freaks to him. Look at how many times you've been kidnapped because of him. One of these days, he's going to get you killed. He doesn't even care enough about you to train you properly or show you the proper respect as his fiancee. He's always chasing girls and cures without a thought of the pain it causes you. He even hits on guys while in his girl form."
Akane snorted and shook her head. "Didn't you hear a single word I just said, Nabiki? Ranma's brain is being poked by a part of his skull. There's a 2 inch long piece of bone stabbing his brain. For some reason, when he shifts into his female form, the spike is shifted and the pressure on his hormone gland is reduced. So in his female form, he's a little more mature than in his male form. The spike is keeping Ranma's mind the same as when the injury happened, probably around 9 or 10 years old. His female form is a little older and that's why he's able to fool so many people. He understands what attracts a guys attention, even is he doesn't understand why they are so attracted to his cutesy act." Akane looked around, studying the faces of her family. "Ranma's not able to understand his own emotions let alone control them. That's the reason he seems so immature and why he acts like he does."
Kasumi spoke, again forestalling Nodaka's attempts to chastise Akane. "Can anything be done to help him, Akane?"
Akane smiled at her sister, glad someone had asked the question. "Yes, oneechan. The doctor said that he can remove the spur and that Ranma's brain would start to produce the hormones he needs to grow. He said that there would be some changes with Ranma, since he'd start to feel and understand things he didn't before. He even mentioned that there might be some physical changes since that area also produces the hormones that let us grow and go through puberty."
Ranma spoke for the first time. "He thinks that my girl side will change more physically, since I kind of skipped that puberty stuff for it, but that my guys side might grow a bit taller and will be more affected mentally."
Akane continued. "They'll have to drill a small hole in Ranma's skull to pull out the spurs. That's why the doctor is coming over next Saturday. The tests they did will show in more detail which of the spurs they can take out and the best way for them to do so. That's why he's given this letter. He doesn't want to risk having the spurs knocked around in his head if Ranma's hit before the surgery. After the surgery, it will take about a month for Ranma to heal properly. And these orders will continue for that month."
As if on cue, a faint ringing could be heard, increasing in volume as it neared. Akane and Ranma turned to the wall, waiting expectantly for Shampoo to come crashing through it as she always did. They were surprised instead to hear the screen door to the yard open and two sets of slow footsteps and a clicking they recognized as Cologne's pogo trick on her staff. They turned to the entrance and waited for the Amazons to enter.
Cologne entered first, studying the people in the room. She paused just inside the room, causing Mousse and Shampoo to halt in their tracks behind her. She bowed to the Tendo patriach and to the eldest Tendo daughter. "May we come in? We've just received a rather disturbing letter and wish to confer with you regarding the validity of its content."
Kasumi nodded and gestured for the three to enter. She frowned slightly as Shampoo glared at Akane and started towards Ranma but resumed her gentle expression as the eager young girl was restrained with a glare from her elder.
Cologne hopped off the staff and took position at one end of the table, across from Soun. She gestured to the spot next to Nabiki and Shampoo reluctanly sat down, still throwing harsh looks at the youngest Tendo, who was holding Ranma in her arms. Mousse sat next to Akane, and slightly behind her, as was proper for a Amazon male. Cologne placed her copy of the letter and legal documents on the table before her.
"Is this true, Ranma?" she asked directly, seeing no sense in wasting their time on frivolties.
Ranma licked his lips and looked down at Akane. "Yup. The doc wants me to avoid fights for the week. Something about the tests showing the places he'll need to cut and which spurs to take out without them bouncing around, maybe causing more damage."
Cologne nodded. She could sense the truth in Ranma's words. "And these threats made by this doctor. He will see them through?"
Ranma nodded. "He's really annoyed about some of the stuff we told him. Even my gynocologist is pissed no one thought to have me go see one sooner."
"What is gyno-col-egist, Airen?" Shampoo asked.
"A doctor who specializes in female problems, granddaughter. I am surprised that you agreed to this, however, Ranma."
Ranma snorted. "I didn't say I liked it. Akane was the one who thought there might be something wrong and suggested we get both forms fully tested to make sure there were no problems. That included the gynocologist and full xrays and stuff for both forms. That's why there's this week without fighting thing. The xrays showed that there's a piece of bone pressing into my brain. The MRI and CAT scans take a few days to go over. He'll find the best way to remove the spurs and which ones to remove."
Cologne nodded. She had heard of similar injuries and surgeries. "So this will require surgery to repair?"
"Yes. At the very least, they'll need to either dig a hole in Ranma's skull or even remove a part of the skull to get at the spurs. Either way, it will take at least a month for his skull to heal. And that means no fighting or anything for that month." Akane took a breath. "The doctor also feels it would be best to have him stay in his male form, since that is the form that will be most affected by the surgery."
"I do not understand. Why is this so?" Mousse asked.
"The part of the brain that the is being poked is the part that controls the release of hormones and the control of emotions. Right now, Ranma's brain isn't releasing the proper hormones needed for Ranma to react as a normal guy would to certain situations." Akane paused letting that soak in.
Shampoo frown deepened. "Violent girl say Airen no feel when Shampoo try show love for Airen?" She might have trouble speaking the language, but Shampoo could understand quite a bit more than she spoke.
Akane returned the Amazon's frown with a glare. "That's right, Shampoo. Ranma's body doesn't physically react the way, say, Kuno's does. Or any other guy really. The spur shifts a little when he's a girl, and his girl form does react, at least a little." She went on to explain what she could about the differences in Ranma's behaviour and the effects the spur had on his emotional states.
Cologne frowned. If what she was hearing was correct, than Ranma was damaged in such a way that he would never be able to father children. This would mean he would be useless to the tribe. She could cancel Shampoo's claims on the young man. She would wait a few days before doing so, since she wanted to hear what the doctor would tell them. She had known since arriving in Japan that Shampoo would never possess Ranma no matter how much she tried. Ranma was already too much in love with Akane, and even if it was a child's love, it was still a love Shampoo could never hope to defeat. She had been trying, since the events at Jusendo and the Wedding Incident to subtly guide Shampoo onto another path, but she'd had little luck.
She knew since encountering Ranma in the nekoken that the child would not be forced into anything and that to try to do so could lead to his destroying the tribe. Ranma was too powerful to be dragged off to China against his will and his will was too powerful to be controlled by any of the drugs and magic she had carefully allowed Shampoo to try. No. Ranma would not live long in the village. He was too much a man and too little a woman to accept being a subject of scorn by the elders and other woman of the tribe who had little to no respect for any male. No more delaying the inevitable. She could not let Shampoo continue to dishonor herself any longer. There was also the fact that Ranma was her cousin, even if it was a somewhat distant relation.
She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small box. She placed it on the table on top of the documents. She waited until everyone was looking at her before speaking. "In this box is a supply of extra strength waterproof soap. Each bar will last 5 days or 5 uses, wich ever comes first. There are 10 bars left. That should protect you Ranma for nearly two months. You said it would take a month to heal, but this gives you some extra time incase the damage is worse that the doctors think at the moment."
Ranma grinned. "Thanks, old ghoul. That's almost decent of ya' "
Cologne chuckled. She would miss the youth when she returned home. "As a result of your condition, Ranma, it is my sad duty to renounce all claims on you by the Amazon nation. At the moment, you are useless to us. Though, I hope you won't mind if we stick around for a while. I'd like to see what happens when you're able to react like your friends to all the girls throwing themselves at you." She tapped a small hand on the papers. "We will honor these requests made by the doctors. We shall leave now, and return Saturday." She bowed to Soun and Kasumi again, leaping onto her staff, which had remained standing in the middle of the doorway. "Shampoo, Mousse, come. There is nothing more for us here today."
"But grandmother-"Shampoo started, as she began to recover from the shock of hearing her grandmother crush her hopes of marrying her Airen.
"I said there was nothing for us here, Xian Pu! Ranma is no longer your Airen. He is free to choose you if he wishes, but the Kiss of Marriage and the Kiss of Death hold no power over him any more. Now let us go. It will soon be time for the evening rush." She hopped out of the room, followed by a strangely silent Mousse and a sobbing Shampoo.
"Well, looks like that's one less worry for you now, Ranma." Nabiki stated, watching the Amazon's leave. She didn't think Shampoo was ready to give up just yet, and was already formulating plans to make more yen from her.
Ranma was staring into space. He'd gone into shock and had missed most of what Cologne had said. his mind kept repeating that he was free. No more glomping, no more drugged food, no more running off in the night after Shampoo smashed her way into his room. Free to bath without worry of finding the purple headed Amazon waiting to scrub his back. "heh. That was easy." he stated as his mind returned to the present. He reached out and grabbed the box, standing and making his way out of the room.
"Where do you think you're going, son?" Nodaka demanded. "We must still discuss the horrible way in which Akane has spoken to me today."
Ranma's eyes were glazed over, not really paying attention to what his mother was saying. His mind filled with images of what the next month would be like. "Huh? What was that kaasan?"
Nodaka glared at her son's fiancee, who returned her glare. "Nevermind, son. We can discuss it later."
"Okay. I'm gonna take a bath, make sure this soap works."
"Be careful, Ranma. You have ten bars and we need at least seven for after the surgery."
Ranma grinned. "The docs gonna be here Saturday. That's 6 days. I'll use the one bar. Then after he tells us what's going on, I'll use the second and we can do this surgery stuff."
Nabiki sighed. "Ranma, even if the doctor puts a priority on your case, it could be awhile before you actually have the surgery. Hospitals have to deal with the most life threatening cases first."
Ranma blinked. "So what? It could be a couple of weeks before I have the surgery?"
"What Nabiki was trying to say is that with all the things that happen in a city the size of Tokyo, it might be as much as 6 months before you are able to have the surgery." Kasumi replied as calmly as she could.
Ranma deflated. He'd been hoping that it wouldn't take too long to have the surgery. If he was going to go ahead with this, he wanted it done quickly. He seriously doubted that the chaos in his life would be able to go on a 6 months hiatus waiting for the operation and the 1month needed to heal after it. It would be hard enough just going the next week without anything happening to him. "Oh well. I'd better test the soap anyway. I'll be out in a bit." He turned again to go upstairs, but paused, looking at his fiancee. "Akane, why don't you get changed and I'll meet you in the dojo. We can do some more training like the other day."
Akane smiled brilliantly, lighting up the whole room with her inner glow. "Sure. I'll start loosening up while you bath!" She stood and followed her fiance up the stairs, leaving him at the furoba while she continued to her room to change into her favorite gi.
