I think I'm on time this week :)
In response to Ranma losing a "trash talk" battle…
Trash talk isn't really what took place in the men's bathroom. Homophobic and transphobic slurs were used that I'm not comfortable including. It was an extremely one-sided hate-crime.
I have to agree that Ranma probably would have talked right back to the bullies under different circumstances. However, with no way to change back into a guy, she was extra sensitive. She took it personally.
Okay… Here goes chapter four!
(Intro inspired by "Santa Monica Dream" - Angus and Julia Stone)
Six Months Later
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I lost. Ranma confirmed to herself reluctantly. I actually lost.
The sky was black. It had been black for three days - A dense, low hanging canopy riddled here and there with the occasional thread of electricity. Just now, a spurt of white light cast deep shadows across the deck of the ship. A low rumble followed.
The redhead watched the storm from her cabin window, eyes full of reverence and fear. There was nothing like a show of lightning and thunder to remind a person of their place in the world. And Ranma had been feeling pretty small as of late.
A pang of homesickness coursed through her chest as she thought of all the time she had spent in China. She had traveled miles and miles, scouring the country in search of a cure that could recover her male body. And, after all of the hardship and loneliness, she had come up empty.
She sighed as she began to retrace her steps.
She had initially charted a course straight to Jusenkyo, stopping only to rest and eat. Luckily she had always been talented at the martial art of obtaining free food. All she needed was her puppy-dog eyes and an older, male shopkeeper. She was practically guaranteed a meal in every town. It was too easy.
At night, she slept out under the stars, using her pack as a pillow. It was nothing new. She had grown up sleeping like this. Her panda of a father had always claimed that sleeping on the floor was a special technique of the Saotome School of Anything Goes. It was supposed to make her tougher, but really it just made her hips sore.
Arriving at Jusenkyo, the guide greeted her warmly. However, when asked if the nannichuan spring would bring back Ranma's male body, his face fell. "Too too sorry sir but no can reverse locking ladle." He said.
Ranma, being her usual stubborn self, decided to try regardless. She located the pool of drowned man and dove in. When she surfaced, nothing changed. It was like she was immune to Jusenkyo water.
Next, after a considerable amount of map reading, Ranma decided to visit the Musk Dynasty. She arrived at the small mountain village just as the sun was setting on the snowy peaks. A villager pointed her in the direction of the royal palace.
By the time that she made it to the intricately-decorated fortress, she was really quite exhausted. Two guards escorted her to a wide, red room with gold dragons on either side of a golden throne.
It was here that Herb had addressed her, demanding that she bow at his feet. Naturally, it was very difficult for Ranma to obey this command. But In the end, she told herself that it was a small price to pay for a chance at the cure.
Herb was quick to tell Ranma that the Musk didn't possess a method for reversing the effects of the locking ladle. "Let it go, pathetic girl!" He said.
Infuriated, Ranma challenged him to a fight. The two went head to head in an open courtyard, naming attack after attack as they reduced the stone walls and statues to rubble. Finally, after smashing head-first into a granite fountain, Ranma yielded.
Herb immediately claimed Ranma as his wife. This was to be expected, as the musk hold a long tradition of taking wives after battle. From Herb's perspective, he had vanquished Ranma-kun months ago. It was only right that he took the lost redhead under his wing.
Ranma fled. She didn't stop running until she had reached the nearest town where she collapsed in the street.
After spending a few days in a hospital room, Ranma resumed her quest. She visited shrine after shrine, magic shop after magic shop. It was always the same reaction. Disbelief. Pity. One shop-tender even suggested that she seek hormone medications and surgery. Of course, being five foot three, that wasn't the answer she was looking for.
Six months of travel ended in failure and intense depression. Ranma started to realize just how much the people in Nerima meant to her. She missed her adopted family. She missed her mom. She missed Akane most of all. Maybe she really did have feelings for the tomboy. She could look for a cure later. She needed to rest and recover in her room at the Tendo Dojo. She was ready to go home.
So she landed a job at a little shop in Zhoushan, doing menial tasks for pay until she had saved enough to take the ferry back to Japan. At last, with ominous clouds overhead, Ranma set out on her return journey across the East China Sea.
The redhead fell over on her side in the plush, compact bed, watching the raindrops collect on the glass pane in front of her. In a few short hours, for worse or for better, she would arrive back where she started.
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The rain fell at an angle. A million grey streaks slanting through the dismal scenery. Ranma's feet sloshed through puddle after puddle on the Tokyo sidewalk. Traffic sped by, occasionally throwing small waves in her direction. She moved her black umbrella to block them.
The water struck a nostalgic vein. For the longest time, she had avoided cold water like the plague. Half a year ago, she would have done anything to stay dry. To stay a boy.
Now it was just a ritual. No matter how soaked she might be, Ranma only had one body. And that body was female. Each month of her journey she had experienced a bloody and painful reminder of that fact.
She looked up, straining to read the street signs across the intersection. She couldn't quite make out the characters, but she recognized the buildings. She was less than a block away from the Tendo Dojo. Her heart began to race. She imagined meeting Akane at the front door. Her mind turned over the words she would use.
"Hi!"
No. Too cheerful.
"I'm back..."
No that's too casual.
Maybe… "I'm sorry about this…"
Ugh I use that line too much…
Okay… Let's see… "I'm sorry, Akane, I... uh… I missed you. I couldn't…"
Her mind trailed off as she turned the corner. Two figures stood at the front door to the Tendo Dojo. Ranma immediately recognized them as Akane and Hiroshi. She stopped dead in her tracks. What the heck is she talkin' to him for? Ranma wondered. They barely even know each other!
Akane moved her hands gently up to Hiroshi's chest. She leaned into him, and he placed his hand on the small of her back. She stood on her toes, bringing her face closer to his. Then the unthinkable happened. They kissed.
Ranma was too stunned to make use of her martial arts reflexes. She took a step back and slipped, falling on her butt with a loud splash. Akane broke away from Hiroshi and turned around, looking for the source of the noise. She paled as her eyes met Ranma's. Surprise and guilt played across her face.
"Akane…" Ranma voiced hoarsely. "I-I thought y-you…"
The whole time she was in China, Ranma had imagined returning to Akane as a man. She had pictured walking up to the door with flowers in hand, resolving to do all of the romantic things that she had failed to do in the past. But now, Ranma would never get the chance. Akane loved someone else. Hiroshi of all people.
"Ranma…" Akane muttered inaudibly.
Ranma couldn't believe it. It was all too much to take in. She sprang to her feet and followed her instincts. She dropped her umbrella, lept onto a rooftop, and ran.
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Ranma's eyes stung from the mix of hot tears and cold rain as she approached the iron bridge. The crepuscular light cast her surroundings in a dreary navy hue. Just beyond the railing, the horizon touched a vast, green bay. A dash of light-grey sky filled the distance between the water and the looming canopy above. Reaching the rail, the redhead looked down at the crashing waves. It was easily a hundred-foot fall to the bridge's foundation.
This was the end. The culmination of her misery. The unnatural conclusion to her unnatural existence. Funny how she had always guessed it would come to this. Her life had been built around a seppuku contract. What else could that foreshadow?
The answer was so sickeningly obvious, there was no way to avoid it.
Slowly, she climbed over the slippery railing to stand on the concrete edge. She hesitated, dizzily staring down her fate. Closing her eyes, she took one deep breath and let go of the railing. She could feel herself falling forward. She hoped that it would be quick.
Without warning, Ranma felt a warm hand at her left wrist. Her body swung around on its momentum, colliding with the iron rail. Her eyes flickered open to see a dark-haired girl standing in the rain.
"No, no!" Ranma shouted. "Let go of me, damnit!"
"You know I won't do that!" Akane's grip was unrelenting, and she began to tug the redhead back over the railing. Ranma put up a fight, but found that her small arms weren't nearly as strong as Akane's. Eventually, she gave up, sliding over the rail to land in Akane's lap. The dark-haired girl's grip only seemed to intensify as she grabbed ahold of Ranma's other wrist. "What were you thinking, baka?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"You know what I was thinkin'!" Ranma yelled back. "How dare you try an' stop me! How dare you kiss *him*!" She blushed a little. Even in a suicidal haze, Ranma was uncomfortable sharing her feelings.
Akane's grip softened. She couldn't look the redhead in the eyes. She opted to study the wet asphalt instead. "Ranma…" She spoke finally, "You left me. You were gone for six whole months. You didn't tell anyone where you were going... You never reached out. Your mom…" She lingered for a moment, "Your mom thinks that you're dead. The police never found your body…" She mustered the courage to meet Ranma's gaze. "We were devastated, Ranma. We all care about you... More than you'll ever know."
The former couple sat still, staring deeply into each other's eyes until Ranma broke the silence. "I'm sorry, Akane…" She said softly, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I'm really sorry, honest. I had to try to find a cure... I just had to. I did it for me... B-but I also sorta did it for you..." She sobbed. "And I lost, Akane. I lost. I don't want to be alive anymore… I n-need h-help…"
Akane nodded in sympathy before relinquishing her grip and bringing the trembling girl into a hug.
"Help me." Ranma whimpered.
Akane pulled away, placing a hand on each of Ranma's shoulders. "I'm going to call the hospital, okay?" She looked straight ahead and spoke as calmly as possible. "It's the one in the city. I've been there before and I know that they'll take good care of you. The doctors are really kind-hearted and they know exactly what to do."
Ranma nodded. "O-okay." she breathed. "I'll go."
Akane produced a rose-gold Iphone from her back pocket. She dialed the emergency number quickly and held the phone to her ear. "Yes..." She spoke to the operator. "Yes, I'm here with my friend… She just attempted suicide and we need an ambulance." She paused for a moment. "Okay, that's ok… Thank you. I'll wait with her."
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Akane stood in front of the Cat Cafe, watching Ki Lun hop towards her through the glass doors. Inside the shop, several cardboard boxes of various sizes lay strewn around on the floor. The sign hanging near the door handle read 'Closed Indefinitely'.
A bell jingled as Ki Lun unlocked and opened the door.
"Well child…" The old woman croaked, "What now?"
"Ranma is back." Akane said bluntly.
The amazon chortled. "Oh? So you're here because Ranma finally came to her senses and decided to take my potion?"
"No…" Akane glanced down at her feet. "She tried to hurt herself actually. But she's doing a little bit better now... I helped her get to a psych ward."
"I see." Ki Lun said quietly. "And is this what you've come to tell me?"
"No… I mean… Yes, but no…" Akane stumbled, "I know that the hospital is going to help Ranma. They can give her therapy and medications to improve her mood... But I also know that her condition is going to eat away at her..."
"And?"
"And I need the potion, Cologne. I'm going to get her to take it." She met Ki Lun's eyes with a solemn and heavy look. "It's just like you said. If there were a cure, Ranma would have found it by now. I might not be there the next time she is a danger to herself…"
The old woman reached into her pocket, removing a vile of purple liquid. "I'm glad to hear it." She said. "I knew one of you would ask for it sooner or later, so I brewed a batch in advance." Shakily, she offered the glass vile to Akane. "One drop will be enough. But be warned, child… Although it will begin immediately, the real changes will take several weeks to unfold. I recommend that you keep a very close eye on our redhead."
Akane received the potion and gave a wary nod. "She won't feel trapped anymore… Will she? It'll be like she was always a girl, right?"
"She won't feel trapped... No... But she will remember everything." Cologne sighed, "She's going to need friends."
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Ranma sat behind the table in the corner of a large white room, propping her chin up on a fist. She was wearing maroon colored scrubs. All around, patients sat in chairs. Some were playing board games, some were watching tv. Ranma watched her former fiancé approach with two foam cups in her hands. The brown-eyed girl set the steaming cups on the table and smiled placatingly.
"I made you some tea!" She chirped. "It's peppermint. They say it's good for anxiety."
"T-thank you." Ranma replied. She eyed the cup nervously. It was tea, not food. Still, Ranma worried that Akane might have found a way to make it potent. She gave the cup a sniff before raising it to her lips and taking a sip. It tasted like a normal cup of tea. She smiled in relief. "It's good." She remarked.
Akane offered a fleeting smile. "Your mom just texted me. She says she's almost here."
Ranma nodded. Her stomach sunk a little as she imagined how worried her mother must have been after she disappeared. I just left… Without even saying goodbye.
Akane noticed the redhead's anxious expression. "Relax." She said calmly. "She isn't mad at you…"
"Sure, Akane." Ranma agreed. "You're probably right."
Ranma couldn't help but feel that there was something odd about akane. The brown-eyed girl seemed overly cheerful given the darkness of recent events. It was almost like she was hiding something.
"So…" Akane picked up. "Did you get good sleep last night?"
"Actually… Yeah…" Ranma replied. "Yeah I did. They've got me on these new medicautions…"
"You mean medications." Akane giggled. Ranma joined her good-naturedly.
"Yeah those. They make ya really sleepy."
Just then, the soft, popping sound of an opening door alerted them to the arrival of a tall woman with auburn hair.
"Ranma!" The woman gasped. She rushed towards the redhead.
"Mom!" Ranma shouted.
"Oh, Ranma…" Nodoka crooned, wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter. After several seconds, she backed away to look the ginger girl over with teary eyes. "You look so healthy and well rested!"
"I-I've been gettin' better..." Ranma said as tears of her own began to show. She looked down at the table. "I never shoulda left without telling ya first… I'm so sorry..."
"Pumpkin..." Nodoka began with a trembling lip. The corners of her mouth raised slightly as she spoke. "I'm just so glad that you're alive."
Ranma mirrored her mother with a soft smile. Although she couldn't quite place where it was coming from, a sense of peace permeated her soul. Maybe it was the medications... Or maybe it was the reunion with her mother. Whatever it was, Ranma felt more content and whole than she had felt in a long, long time. Maybe, just maybe, she had something to live for after all.
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Songs to play you out:
"Doctor Blind" - Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton
"Repeat Until Death" - Novo Amor
"Carin at the Liquor Store" - The National