Growing Up
5– Chickenpox!
Morning came. As Ranma was sleeping sound in the living room in his crib, everyone else had breakfast in the kitchen.
"So, today he is three years old", Genma while drinking his black tea. "This will be his last day sleeping in the crib. So! Let's make a bet!"
"Hm? What kind of a bet?" Soun wondered.
"He will learn to use the potty today. That's what I bet. You will think he will still just wear diapers. The loser will do the laundry all the way to the day until Ranma is back 16! Deal?"
"Deal!" Soun shouted out. They shook their hands, grinning.
But suddenly they heard Ranma cry. Everyone in the kitchen heard it.
"Why is he crying? Three-year-olds don't really cry like that anymore..." Akane wondered.
"I'll go and see..." Genma got on his way to the living room. He put the lights on, and walked to the crib. Oh no. OH SHIT! The boy, at least his face and hands were covered with red spots!
"Why, oh why..." Genma shook his head.
"What is it...?" asked Soun, when he walked in the room with Akane and Kasumi behind him. They all stopped and stared at the child their eyes wide.
"Ahh! Is this-?" Akane asked. Kasumi walked beside them and knelt down in front of the crib, placing her hand on the boy's forehead.
"He feels warm..." she sighed. "It's chickenpox."
"Dadah! I'm itchy!" Ranma shouted and scratched his cheek.
"Good, son! You are talking!" Genma clapped his hands. "But don't scratch yourself, it will only make things worse."
"I have something for you", Kasumi smiled, petting the boy's head. "Just a minute." And she left.
"And so do I!" Genma said and turned at Soun. "You carry the crib away. I'll make a bed for him", he whispered in his ear. He nodded. So Soun grabbed the crib, and the men left, leaving Akane and Ranma behind. Ranma sat on the floor and kept scratching himself.
"No, no no no..." Akane shushed and grabbed the child's small wrist. He didn't like that. At all.
"It itches!" he shouted, clearly on the verge of tears. Akane sighed.
Soun arrived at the room, all alone.
"Where is Mr. Saotome?" Akane asked. Soun shrugged. But in no time Genma stepped in the room with a futon, pillow and a blanket on his back. He made a bed for Ranma on the floor.
"Come here, son", he said, petting the futon right next to him. Ranma got up and walked to him.
Then Kasumi came in with some kind of a jar in her hands. She sat down next to Ranma.
"Let's take your clothes off", she said. "You see, this is an ancient salve recipe for chickenpox. It will be spread all over your body, to help the itch."
And so, Genma helped Ranma take his pajamas off. Now the child was sitting on the floor, wearing only his diapers. This is when Genma remembered something.
"Ehm, say, son", he pet the boy's back. "What would you say if you stopped wearing those diapers and use the potty, you know, like a cool, big boy?"
"Eh?!" Soun remembered the bet. He rushed to the Saotomes and pet Ranma's head. "Don't listen to your mean daddy. Take your time, you don't need to rush with these things!"
"..." Ranma stared at the men. "Whatzza' potty?"
"As I said, it's something big kids use instead of diapers", Genma said.
"It's a hard thing to do! You have to rush to it when you feel like you need to pee or poo instead of just using the diaper!"
Genma gave Soun a murdering gaze. Kasumi sighed. She handed over the jar to Genma.
"Spread this on him", she said.
"Alright, alright..." the man mumbled and started spreading the salve on his son's back. But the boy wouldn't stop scratching his arms. Then the man had an idea!
"Kasumi, you finish with the salve", he said and got up from the floor. "I'll be back."
"Is it helping at all, Ran-chan?" Kasumi asked with a sad smile.
"It's itchy..." the boy mumbled, but wouldn't stop scratching. This is when Genma came back with nail scissors in his hands.
"So!" he snorted and sat down in front of Ranma. "As you won't stop scratching, this is the final option – I'll clip your nails."
Ranma stared at his father his eyes wide. He seemed like he didn't understand what the man had just said.
"Hold him", Genma said and shoved off the boy in Akane's arms. But as he started getting closer and closer to the boy with the scissors, Ranma started panicking. "Okay, the first nail..."
"HEEEEELP!" the child started screaming. He kicked and hit the man and girl. But then Ranma really lost it. As he watched his father's hands coming closer, he broke away and bit his father's index finger.
"Oww!" the man shouted. "Why you little-!"
"Calm down, Mr. Saotome", Akane said, calm, taking Ranma back in her arms. "Apologize your daddy, Ranma."
Ranma just stared at his father with a murdering gaze – and so did Genma.
"Well, what do you know! Things are getting more and more like with the 'real Ranma'", Soun raised his eyebrow. Genma sighed.
Ranma was playing in the living room with the Duplos. The men were playing shogi on the other side of the room. Suddenly Ranma got this feeling. He got up from the floor and walked to them.
"Da-dah", he said, pulling his father's sleeve.
"Hm? What is it?
"Ya' said I c' be a big, cool boy."
"Yes?"
"I wanna be cool. I need to do the potty."
Both men flinched. But then they both remembered the bet. This made Genma grin and Soun's eyes widen. But what could he do? He just watched the Saotomes walk together out of the room, shaking his head. He was screwed. Doomed.
They headed to the bathroom. And there it was – a white, small, plastic potty, next to the toilet seat.
"Okay now, pull your diapers down and sit here", the man said and pet the potty. Maybe a bit unsure, the boy put the diapers down to his ankles and sat down.
"Good, good..." Genma nodded. "This means you will Never, EVER need to wear a diaper again!"
"So now I'm a cool, big boy?" Ranma smiled.
"Sure you are", Genma pet the boy's hair.
Okay now, I want to thank you all readers! This story has been here for a bit under a month, and we already have over 1,100 reads! This is my fastest growing story ever! I would love some reviews thou ^^
