Growing up... again
"speech"
/thoughts/
-sounds-
(Author's notes or translations)
Flashback
Hi guys I'm back Again and I'm finished with the story's prologue. By the time you finish the chapter you'll understand what the story's title means. From now on I'll be slowly going through the lives of our two heroes, in other wordsbe prepared for funny stuff! If anyone has a good idea for the story contact me.
Chapter 4: The solution... sortaAkane couldn't believe how gentle Ranma was she was sure that her face was beat red and schooled herself why she didn't ask her fiancé to retrieve some of her clothes so she can at least cover some of her body. Soon she forgot all of these problems as she surrendered herself to Ranma's ministrations. /Akane keep your head out of the gutter! ./ she repeated over and over.
When Ranma moved over to her other thigh she could barely keep from returning her attention. /Bad girl what are you thinking about! ./ screamed her mind over and over with not much success.
Finally after five more minutes Ranma finished with her massage, and Akane let out a sigh of relief then her blush multiplied when she noticed that her sigh sounded a bit disappointed. This was proved by the part time girl's smug smile. "So you liked it?" asked Ranma with a grin on his face. For once Akane was speechless she wanted to hit him on the head, but malleting her within ten minutes after she saved her life would be not only mean but plain hideous. She slowly got up feeling that her muscles once again ready to comply to her wishes and covered herself once she noticed that she forgot about this little thing.
"I'll get dressed and then we can go back." she blurted out and disappeared in the bushes.
Asami was starting to get worried by the time the two arrived back at the village. "I'm sorry I know I'mj really late." started Akanebowing deeply several times.
"You had to bath in the lake!" asked the part time girl on Akane's side"What is it did you loose something?" he added after noticing how stiiff the girl was.
"Watch your mouth Ranma!" warned Akane. "You may have saved my life but I still have the right to hit you when you insult me!"
"Come on tomboy can't I make a joke?" it was when those words left Ranma's mouth that she realized her mistake, she ran but too son her escape came to a stop as Akane's mallet crashed down on her head. "I'm sorry! All right? Now get that mallet from my head! Will ya?"
"Oh before I forget Akane I prepared your hot bath!" informed Asami, she saw the girl shiver at the word bath. "Umm... did I say something bad?" she asked noticing Akane's horrid face.
"Well a certain t..." Ranma stopped a second and looked at Akane's weapon "...as I said a certain turbulent girl almost got herself killed when she took a cold bath with aching muscles."
"So that's what you call that. I'd rather say she's a bit tomboyish." answered Asami, "I think you would like to have some of the hot water she said handing Ranma a washbowl of water.
Ranma smirked when he heard Asami's remark in fact he was barely able to keep from laughing. Akane looked at him with wary eyes as if trying to decide if she should whack him across the head again or not. Ranma desperately plastered a neutral face and poured the bowl of hot water over his head to reverse his curse. "Much better!" he declared plastering his happy face, it worked, for now he was safe from Akane's wrath.
That evening Akane was barely able to move because of her aching muscles, and even if she wouldsucceedto move someone would immediately stop her. "Damn it!" she mumbled "It hurts like if I lost a fight!"
"But at least it means that you'll be all right!" answered Asami.
"Yeah Kasumi...I mean Asami is right you could have died this afternoon! Do you get that?" asked Ranma.
"I know that!" snapped the girl.
"Then shut up already and try to relax or it'll get worse."
"But it hurts!" whined Akane.
"I can't help ya you're the one who always wanted to be treated as a strong martial artist!" Akane fought to keep back from yelling at Ranma and thanks to some miracle she was sucessful.
"Well I am a girl by all means so I keep the right to complain!" she answered.
"Then do me a favour and don't mallet me when you think that I'm taking away your fights because I take on the guys who can easily beat you."
"I'm more than able to take care of myself!" declared Akane.
"Like when you were under water in the lake?" asked Ranma. "Akane can you remember the time whenwe faced the dojo destroyertogether, and when I was fighting with Saffron I would have never defeated him without your help." Akane nodded not really getting what he meant. "You have to let others help you! Even I would have sometrouble surviving on my own dammit and I can kick almost everybody's ass!"
Akane stared at Ranma not knowing what she should say to this it was almost like a shock for her when Ranma admitted that even for him it would be hard to live on his own. She didn't have any trouble with him till she figured out that he's not a girl like she first assumed. In fact they were on the best way to become friends, but when she figured out that he's a boy she thought that he's just like the others after her.
To this came the fact that her and Ranma's father were always plotting to get them to be together so they can force them to marry so they never really had the chance to talk till now. "Maybe Au byebye was a blessing in disguise." she mumbled to herself. /Ever since we were forced to flee from home our fathers weren't around to disturb us and we had the chance to talk about things calmly... at least more or less. /
Akane was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Ranma lay down next to her one HER futon. "What the hell do you think you're doing Ranma!" she half yelled trying to push him onto the ground but she didn't have much success.
"Don't worry Akane I won't do nothing I'm just a bit tired."
"Then lay down on yours!" snapped the girl.
"You're on it!" countered Ranma.
"Then get lost!"
"Get lost yourself! Tomboy!" a ferocious roar could be heard across the village as Akane sent Ranma on a nice long air trip trough the roof of the hut.
Next morning Kanna slowly slid open the door of her father's home, "I heard what happened to Akane and I thought that you could use some herbs." She called out. Ranma and Akane couldn't really imagine why but the rest of the family became horrid. As the girl started to pack out the stuff she brought they learned why she completely mixed up every plant and even brought some poisonous ones.
Then Ranma's eyes spotted a certain mushroom that was very similar to one that made him trouble some time ago. "Isn't that one of those mushrooms of ages?" he asked.
"Yeah! I think you're right!" agreed Akane. Trying to find a more comfortable position to sit and failing badly, since her muscles were hurting like hell.
Ranma picked up the mushroom and inspected it more carefully he was about to smell it when Akimaru jumped on him. "Don't eat it It'll turn you into a little kid!" he yelled.
"What are you talking about that's just an edible mushroom!" countered Kanna.
"I think I have an idea with it!" remarked Ranma.
Akane went horrid when she saw the look in Ranma's eyes "Oh no Ranma don't even think of it!" she yelled.
"Do you have any better idea how to settle this mess with the killer? By the way we would be rid of our suitors forever."responded the boy.
"Umm... actually. No! I guess you're right." answered Akane.
"Then it's settled we'll grow some mushrooms and eat them Au byebye is after two teens not primary school kids." Akane groaned she didn't like the idea at all but she had to agree that his is the best idea that they have.
"All right! I'm in!" she said not so much enthusiasm.
"You really think I like it any better than you?" asked Ranma.
Several days later in NerimaTwo shadows raced into the Tendo dojo with one of them carrying a plate of mushrooms. "Don't you think that we should have eaten a mushroom before coming here." asked one of them.
"I though that we should talk to our parents before doing anything, maybe Canary man gave up by now." answered the other.
"And what if he didn't? What would we do them Ranma?"
"You mean if he found us? Die what else!"
"And that's why I'm going to eat one!" answered Akane.
"Don't forget we can't become older than eight! I don't want him to recognise us!"
"Don't worry I'm not stupid Ranma!"
"Just shut up and eat!"
"All right, all right! But I don't want to become a baby!" answered Akane measuring the mushrooms, and soon she give out a happy squeal and grabbed a mushroom that was exactly 7.9 cm big. She picked it up and was about to place it into her mouth but Ranma snatched it from her hands.
"On no! Don't even think about it I'll have to eat a bigger one than you!" interrupted Ranma.
"And why is that?" asked Akane.
"I want to be the older one!"
"That's too bad! Now give that mushroom back!"
"Forget it tomboy that's mine!"
"What did you call me you pervert!" responded Akane not so quietly.
Ranma was about to munch down the mushroom when Akane's punch reached him and he was catapulted across the dojo and slammed against the wall. As for the mushroom in his hand that got squashed on the wall.
"Great going Akane!" he yelled. Not even a second later they heard a crash coming from the garden as a certain killer moved in on it's pray. The two teenagers jumped onto the mushrooms with the speed of a lighting and devoured the first one they could get into their hands.
The wall of the dojo was blasted to smithereens and aAu byebyeentered but he found nothing but two infants. "Damn it I would have betted that I heard those two!" cursed a certain killer before exiting.
The two kids almost fell onto each other in relief when they saw that Au byebye is retreating, and turned back to the problem at hand. Both were trying to find the biggest mushroom, and Akane was successful it was quite a bit shorter than the first one not much bigger than five centimetres but it had to do and she was sure of one thing she never again wanted to wear diapers.
Once again she was about to bite into the mushroom when Ranma attacked snatching it from her hand, she immediately returnedRanma's favourtrying to retrieve the little grey delicacy while Ranma continued to back in a spiral by the time Akane noticed it was too late and Ranma countered. Too bad that he wasn't fast enough and shemanaged toget out of the Hiryu-shoten-ha's way, but her hand didn't and the strong winds ripped the mushroom from it.
Both kids jumped up into the air to grab it but when Akane saw that Ranma would be the one to reach their goal first she kicked him in the rear. At the same time the boy stretched out his hand to grab the mushroom and thanks to the extra boost he got instead of grabbing it he knocked it high up in the air.
Ranma cursed while starting to fall back to the ground and watched as the mushroom disappeared in the sky as it was moving into medium earth orbit.
Now there were only two mushrooms that were suitable for Ranma and Akane. Both were four centimetres big. They didn't like it but it was better than nothing. Both eyed the others mushroom thinking that that was bigger so they agreed to exchange them. After this they hungrily ate their mushrooms and within seconds they turned into four year old kids.
TRanma and Akanecarefully searched for any bigger mushrooms but they weren't lucky. Finally Ranma decided to give up the hopeless exploration. "Let's throw the rest out I don't want out favourite killer to find out!" he suggested Akane nodded to this and Ranma turned around to grab the plate, but he stopped when he saw that Akane uncertainly stepped in front of him.
"Umm... Ranma there is one thing I want to ask." She started somewhat uncertainly.
"Yeah what is it?" asked Ranma. He didn't want to admit but with Akane looking like a little girl he didn't have a that big need to tease her.
"Ya know considering that there may be some other crazy guys like Kuno out there I'm sure that one of them would declare himself my protector."
"And?" asked Ranma not getting where she was going.
"Well I also kinda like you and I wonder if we could stay engaged and marry when we get old enough."
Ranma flushed deep red after hearing this "Well I err... ummm... you see..." he tried to get his foot out of his mouth but just like any other male Saotome he didn't have much success.
"Now really Ranma you saw me naked and something like this embarrasses you?" asked Akane, the boy merely nodded to this. "Just say yes or no!" urged Akane while hiding a mallet behind her back. Just in case.
"Well yeah I also kinda like you. It would be nice to stay engaged!" he blurted out. Seconds later the sound of a mallet hitting the dojo floor could be heard across the building.
Akane raced forward and pulled him into a bone crushing hug, the boy didn't know what to do so he simply stood there. He was lucky that right now Akane's body was on the development level of a four-year-old kid otherwise there would be quite a load of blood coming out of his nose.
Suddenly the beautiful moment was interrupted by a shriek of terror. Akane and Ranma jumped apart and looked at Soun Tendo who was lying at the entrance of the dojo crying because of what he saw. Finally her daughter saw things his way. However there was the problem that both she and her fiancé were four-year-old kids. In other words he didn't know whether to cry in happiness, or sorrow.
Soon the sound of several people running towards them could be heard and within a few seconds the entire Tendo family plus one Genma Saotome. Seconds laterseveral thumps could be heard as their yaws came into contact with the floor. "What the heck happened with you two?" asked Nabiki.
"This is our answer to Au byebye! Now could you quit it with the gawking?" responded Ranma. He barely finished his sentence when he felt someone grabbing his hand and starting to pull him towards the guest room.
"Tendo! I'm taking my boyon a training trip I'll be back after ten years so he can fulfil his obligation." Not much time after Genma finished his sentence he felt a foot connect with his face. The foot in question belonged to no other than Ranma. Using his father's temporally dazed state the boy freed himself from the part time panda's hand and jumped to the ground and was ready to fend off any of his father's attacks.
"Forget it old man I already have enough fiancés I don't need another load of them!" snapped Ranma Jr.
"What are you talking about boy? You need to be trained! Look at yourself it's for your best!" answered Genma. Ranma's answer was a kick aimed for his father's head, and so the little father son conflict turned into a street fight.
There was only one slight problem, thanks to the fact that Ranma lost the strength of his adult body he wasn't strong enough to bring down his father anymore, but for that he got so much faster that the old man had no chance to hit him, and soo the all day long fight begun.
Several hours later on the other side of townKuno was relaxing in the garden of his home with a half finished poem resting in front of him. "Ah what beautiful day it is! It reminds me of the my fierce tigress Akane wonder what she's doing right now..." high above a certain mushroom started it's re-entry into Earth's atmosphere after it did several laps around the planet. "...what stupid question! What else can she think of but me!" the mushroom was continuing to loose height and thanks to the little visit into outer space it was just right, nice and crispy.
Kunocontinued rattling not knowing that within a few minutes he'll receive the fright of his life. Thanks to the fact that he had been at it for hours the world's by farstupidest samurai got tired. The mushroom meanwhile continued its approach.
Kuno stood up from his chair and started to yawn while stretching, of course he did all this in a noble way. The mushroom by now has locked onto its target. Kuno continued to yawn. The orbital food reached the city limits of Nerima, but there wasn't a single person who would have guessed what kind of trouble would come out of this.
Tatewaki Kuno was more then surprised when he felt something invade his mouth, the force of the mushroom's fall was so strong that it promptly went down his throat. After this it took only a couple of seconds for the mushroom's effect to start. The only problem was that the delusional boy never noticed that he was transformed into a kid.