A few minutes after introducing himself to the Tendo sisters for the second time, Ranma found himself sitting next to his father, Genma, in the living room. The three Tendo women sat across from them, and Soun sat to the side.
Ranma really wished Akane would stop glaring at him. She hadn't stopped since he reintroduced himself, and his feelings about it were starting to shift from guilt to irritation. If she'd just give them a moment to explain…
"So!" Soun shouted, all heads turning toward him. For the first time, Ranma took a good look at the man his father called 'friend'. He looked a fair bit younger than Genma, but maybe it was just the long dark hair, compared to Genma's bald dome. He had a good moustache, too, and Ranma couldn't help but wonder if his own father might look better with one. Probably not.
"Let's try this whole thing again. This," Soun gestured toward Ranma's father, "is my dear old friend."
"Genma Saotome," the old man said, adjusting his glasses. Gesturing Ranma's way, he continued, "This is my son, Ranma."
Deciding to try out a small smile and wave, Ranma was annoyed to see it do nothing to soften Akane's glare.
"What's going on?" Nabiki said, eyes flashing back and forth between Ranma and Genma. Her eyes were cold and calculating, and the idea of being caught in her gaze was unpleasant. Still, she was an attractive girl, Ranma had to admit, always fashionably dressed and her brown hair cut in a short, cute style that seemed to really suit her.
"Are you really that same girl we met earlier?" Kasumi said, looking Ranma's way. She was pretty too, but in more of a 'mom' sort of way. Not that Ranma remembered his mother, but, at any rate, Kasumi seemed like a typical mom. Her long brown hair was tied midway down with a bow, which was actually pretty similar to Akane's hairstyle, Ranma belatedly realized.
A sigh sounded next to Ranma. "Yes! The panda you all met earlier was me, while the girl was…" Genma sighed again, deeper this time. "That was Ranma."
"That doesn't make any sense," Nabiki said, still looking back and forth between them. "The panda was big enough for it to be a suit you fit in or something, but Ranma here was definitely shorter than he is now."
Another sigh. Then, suddenly, Ranma felt hands grip him, and he realized, far too late, what was about the happen.
Thrown by his father, Ranma sailed through the air and crashed into the pond a few yards behind the living room. The water was freezing, but Ranma was much more bothered by the tingling sensation that overtook his body for a moment. It happened every time Ranma transformed, and though the feeling itself wasn't unpleasant, Ranma's resentment at its implication caused him to hate the feeling itself as well.
Floundering around beneath the water, Ranma managed to right himself and push above the surface, eyes taking in the night sky above for a moment before his head dropped to glare daggers at the old man.
"The hell is your problem!?" Ranma yelled, his voice a pitch higher than before.
Each of the Tendos gasped, staring at Ranma with a mix of surprise and curiosity. Even Akane seemed to have shed her anger, at least for a moment. Though he expected it, Ranma still hated how their eyes roamed over his form, taking in his red hair, his more round face, his larger and much more round chest. The stares always felt so invasive, even though he knew that was rarely the intent.
"Oh, my own son!" Genma said, tears streaming down his face. "It pains me so much to see it… oh, the humiliation that I feel!"
"Hah, that you feel!?" Ranma said, climbing back to dry land and stomping back to the living room. He sat down angrily, the feeling of damp clothes against his skin only heightening his rage. He sat notably farther from Genma this time.
"Father, have your friends always been this way?" Kasumi said, glancing at Ranma with concern before looking to Soun.
"No!" he insisted. "Genma, at least, wasn't like this before." Soun turned his head toward the old man. "This is the fault of some horrific training exercise back in China, correct?"
"Indeed!" Genma proclaimed. "Only a few weeks ago, in fact. I shall tell you the story!"
Ugh. Ranma didn't want to hear this. But he had little choice but to sit there and relive one of the darkest days of his life.
{}
"Here, sir! Legendary 'Training Ground of Cursed Springs,'" the Chinese guide said, gesturing ahead.
The path Ranma and his father had been walking on opened up to a wide flat area, dotted with a multitude of small pools of water, presumably the springs the guide had mentioned. From each spring several bamboo poles rose up into the air. But aside from that, there wasn't much here.
"This place ain't that impressive," Ranma said, glancing at his father.
"You very strange one, sir," the guide said, also looking Genma's way. "This place very dangerous. Nobody use now." Glancing at the pool again, Ranma wondered how in the world such a place could be considered 'dangerous.' As though reading his mind, the guide continued, "More than one hundred spring here, and each one have own tragic legend!"
Psh, was that all? A bunch of myths and legends? Fairy tales weren't going to spook Ranma. But they'd come all this way, so they might as well try it out.
Genma seemed to be of the same mind. He charged forward and leaped onto a bamboo pole, shouting for Ranma to follow
He did, though he was a little surprised to hear the guide yelling at them. "Sirs, what you doing!?
"I won't go easy on you," Genma said, paying the guide no mind and striking a combat stance.
Ranma smirked. "That's just how I want it."
The two martial artists leapt at each other, Ranma barely registering the guide's words as he shouted at them yet again. "Please, sirs! Very bad if you fall in spring!
Nimbly dodging Genma's downward strike, Ranma flipped above his father and gave him a firm kick, sending him crashing into the spring below. "Hah, gotcha!" he said, beaming, one foot finding purchase at the top of another bamboo pole.
Genma didn't come back up anywhere near as quickly as Ranma had expected. Were the springs a lot deeper than Ranma had figured? Had he kicked Genma hard enough to push him down deep? "Pop? Hey, what's up? You okay down there?"
To Ranma's utter shock, it was not a man that proceeded to leap from the water, but a giant panda. With an eerie grace, it jumped atop a bamboo pole, striking a familiar fighting stance.
Where the hell had Ranma's father gone!? He glanced back at the pool below, but saw nothing to insinuate anything else was down there. Turning his gaze back to the panda, he realized, with horror, that the animal had a gi stretched out on its back, and a pair of glasses hanging off one of its ears.
"Wh- wha- what the-?" Ranma said, unable to do anything but stare.
"That was 'Spring of Drowned Panda!'" the guide said from below. "There is very tragic legend of panda who drown there two thousand year ago!"
Head and eyes jerking toward the guide, Ranma tried to piece together what was going on. It seemed straightforward, except for the fact that it made utterly no sense. Curses weren't, like, actual things that could affect people, right? They were just superstitions! And yet…
"Whoever fall in that spring now take body of panda!" the guide said, as though Ranma hadn't clearly seen what had just happened.
A sound caused Ranma to twitch his head back toward the panda, which he belatedly noticed had leapt toward him. Ranma was no expert on panda emotions, but this one looked pissed. But why!? He hadn't known!
Barely managing to jump out of the way, Ranma shouted, "Wait! W-wait a sec, Pop! You never said nothin' 'bout this curse thing bein' real!"
Genma, assuming he was still mentally in control, didn't seem to be listening. The panda leapt back toward Ranma as soon as it could, attacking in a frenzy that Ranma couldn't understand, and was not prepared to handle, with his mind still reeling like it was.
All it took was one failed dodge for the panda to get a good grip on him, at which point it hurled a screaming Ranma toward another spring.
"Oh no, 'Spring of Drowned Girl!'" he heard the guide yell, right before he crashed face-first into the water.
The first thing Ranma's body registered was the intense cold of the water his skin had just come into contact with - it was like being dunked in a bucket of ice, except the ice was liquid and going up his nose. The second thing was a strange tingling feeling throughout his whole body, inside and outside. It began in his chest and spread like wildfire through the rest of him, even as 'the rest of him' shifted in ways his mind couldn't yet wrap itself around. It was a dull feeling, not painful, yet also all-encompassing, and altogether foreign.
Air. He needed air. Though the water stung his eyes, he forced them open, jerking his head this way and that until he found the light above. Clawing his way upwards, he managed to break the surface after a few agonizing seconds, immediately sucking in as much air as his lungs would allow.
Initial crisis averted, his mind turned to the body he could feel was different, even if he wasn't yet sure how. His hand looked more or less the same, maybe a little smaller, but it was definitely human. Spring of Drowned Girl. The words the guide had spoken came rushing back to him, and his breath hitched for a moment. Tearing open the front of his gi, he was horrified to discover his once flat chest now had two big mounds of fatty flesh on it.
No, no, no… This can't… I can't… Pop will hate this. Ranma thought, eyes still upon his new breasts. Not that his father was the only one, he reminded himself a few moments later. He hated this too, of course; what self-respecting boy would want to be a friggin' girl!?
It was all so vivid in Ranma's mind, and he hated it. To think that he, a proud man and proud martial artist, had been reduced to… to a woman. It was disgraceful! Though, as time had passed, he had found himself feeling grateful that he'd fallen in the 'Drowned Girl' spring, rather than one of the animal ones, like his father. Better to be a human, right? And, you know, if he had to be a girl, at least he was a pretty one. Things could be worse, even if they were still bad, was all he meant.
"The legendary Ground of Cursed Springs…" Soun said, shaking his head, expression sombre. "Its true horror has always been shrouded in mystery, until now…"
"Hah!" Ranma scoffed, glaring at his dad. "'True horror.' It was a load 'a crap, that's what it was! What was the idea, dragging us to that awful place, Pop?" This was far from the first time he'd asked, but he hoped that this time, when asked in front of a group of people, his father would finally cave.
He didn't. "You sound like a woman!" Genma declared, glaring right back. "Were you not prepared to give your life for the sake of training!?"
Ranma had heard it before, and he was sick of listening. If his father wasn't going to say anything, it might as well be because he was physically unable.
Getting quietly to his feet, Ranma walked to stand behind Genma. The old man seemed to be too busy shaking his head in disgust to be concerned about this. Which was unfortunate for him, since the next thing Ranma did was squeeze out some of his soggy shirt right onto the jerk's neck.
Enraged, the dad-turned-panda swiveled around and threw a punch at Ranma, who easily blocked it and threw his own punch. It quickly devolved into a slap fight, as the two mighty martial artists hit at each other's arms like rowdy children.
"Mr. Saotome!" Kasumi chided, grabbing one big, furry arm. "That is no way to treat your child!"
Genma gestured at Ranma, in a clear 'he started it' sort of way, which didn't seem to impress Kasumi.
"You went too far, Mr. Saotome," Nabiki said, standing nearby with her arms crossed. "Even for martial arts training, that was a stupid risk."
"It was far too dangerous!" Kasumi said with a nod. "What ever made you choose to do something so reckless?"
The panda reached into his stretched gi and tossed a paper book to the ground. Nabiki picked it up, giving it a once over while Kasumi looked on.
"Is it about the training grounds?" Kasumi said.
Nabiki nodded. "Yeah, I think so. It's in Chinese." She flipped it open. "It's a map, and a guide, I think?"
With a small sigh, Kasumi turned her gaze back toward Genma. "You can't read Chinese, can you?"
The panda shook his head back and forth, as Ranma punched him hard in the shoulder. That was the damn reason!?
Soun appeared next to them, which Ranma only barely processed before the man began dumping a boiling pot of water on the panda's head. Genma shifted back to his human form, yelping and screaming and moving a good few feet away from the cause of his pain.
"So, when doused with hot water, you return to human form," Soun said, looking proud about his assertion.
Rubbing his head, Genma glared. "It needn't be that hot."
Sidling up to Ranma this time, Soun continued, "So, when doused with cold water, you become a girl." He gestured at Ranma's current body. Ranma had almost forgotten he was still in 'girl-mode', as he referred to it. "But hot water turns you back into a boy!" The Tendo patriarch jerked his arm forward, attempting to catch Ranma with the boiling water, which Ranma only narrowly managed to avoid.
"Hot water! Not boiling!" Ranma said, waving his hands in front of himself.
Soun set the kettle down, then moved close to Ranma again, pulling him into a side hug of sorts. "This little problem of yours isn't so terrible afterall!" Soun said with a grin. Who the hell was he to decide that? But before Ranma could respond, Soun spoke again. "My daughter Kasumi, age nineteen. Nabiki, eighteen. And Akane, seventeen." He gestured at each girl as he spoke. "Pick the one you want, and she's your fiancée!"
Ranma gaped. Genma had mentioned that this whole fiancée thing was the reason they were coming here, and Ranma hated it. But he hadn't expected Mr. Tendo to tell Ranma to pick, like he was choosing meat at a deli. "Uh, I… um…"
Kasumi shook her head. "I'm sorry Ranma, and father, but I'm just not interested in being with someone." Belatedly, she added, "Right now."
Nabiki jerked a thumb towards Akane. "Don't even worry about it, sis, Akane's the one for him!"
The youngest Tendo sister, who had been quiet and not glaring for quite some time, seemed shocked by the suggestion. This shock quickly turned to anger. "You've got to be joking! Why would I be-"
"Well you hate boys, right?" Nabiki said.
Akane faltered. "I-I mean, yes, but…"
Nabiki gestured toward Ranma, smiling mischievously. "Well you're in luck, 'cause this guy is half-girl!"
"Hey!" Ranma said.
"I'm not gonna marry some pervert!" Akane insisted, not even looking Ranma's direction.
The hell? Ranma leaped to his feet. "Whaddya mean 'pervert'!?"
Akane turned toward him so quickly that her long hair flipped over her shoulder. "You stared at my naked chest, you creep!"
Though he felt his cheeks heat up a little, Ranma was unsure whether it was embarrassment or anger that was the cause. Probably both. "Hold it! You were the one that walked in on me! And you took a pretty good look, too!"
Waving a hand dismissively, Akane said, "That's different! I was trying to figure out who you were, and you didn't have anything on your chest at the time, anyway!"
A few feet away, the two fathers laughed amongst each other. "They're already a perfect couple!" Soun proclaimed.
Jerking her head to face them, a few angry tears in her eyes, Akane said, "He's a freaking couple by himself!"
That was it. Ranma didn't have to take this crap. Swiveling around, he marched toward the hallway. "Buh-bye!"
"Where do you think you're going, boy?" Genma said with a small growl.
"Back to China!" Ranma insisted. "I'm finding a way back over there, and then I'm finding a cure. This is no time for crap like 'fiancées!'"
He stopped, glancing back at Akane. She seemed surprised, but still upset, and her eyes narrowed when they met his.
"Couple by himself," Ranma thought, glaring right back. He felt rage boiling within, and though he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't help but let some of it out. "You know, Akane," he said, practically spitting her name. "It's no big deal for me to see a girl's body. I mean, I've seen this one loads of times," he said, gesturing at himself. Then a wicked grin emerged on his face. "Besides, I may be flat-chested in my other form, but in this one? After seeing us both naked, it's pretty clear I've got the better body."
He turned and started walking away, laughing loudly. Part of him really wanted to see the look on her face, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
There was a whooshing sound in the air, which the distracted Ranma barely noticed. But he definitely did notice the great weight that smashed into him from above, slamming him into the floor and knocking him out cold.
{}
When Ranma awoke, the first thing she noticed was the soft pillow her face was pressed into. Jerking her head upwards and glancing around, she found that the only person still in the room was Akane's oldest sister.
"Ah, you're awake!" Kasumi said, smiling sweetly at the still bleary-eyed Ranma.
A dull ache in the back of his head finally registered to Ranma's senses. Clamping a hand to it, he grimaced, muttering, "Owww…"
"Are you okay?" Kasumi asked, leaning over him a little.
Sitting up slowly, Ranma said, "Yeah, think I'm fine..."
"Good," Kasumi said with a smile. She had one of the warmest, most heartwarming smiles Ranma had ever encountered, though admittedly his life up to this point hadn't exactly been brimming with kind smiles.
"What… what happened?" Ranma said, glancing about the room.
Kasumi sighed. "Akane hit you with the table."
Ranma's eyes went wide. "The whole table?"
Giving a small nod, Kasumi said, "Yes. But don't think too badly of her. She's really a very sweet girl, despite sometimes being a violent maniac."
Ranma blinked. That didn't make sense.
"Besides," Kasumi said, her smile waning, "you were very rude to her. She should have handled it less violently, but it was also quite out of line for you to talk to her that way."
Heart sinking, Ranma found himself wishing that Kasumi looked more angry when she said that. Instead, she still seemed warm, overall, but with a small touch of disappointment. It was difficult to bear.
"I - I'm sorry," he said meekly.
"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Kasumi replied, getting to her feet. She offered a hand, and though he didn't need it, Ranma took it and stood.
"Thanks," he said, hoping she knew that he meant it for more than just the help in standing.
Her smile returned, immediately easing his heart. "You're very welcome." Bowing, she said, "If you'll excuse me," and exited the room.
Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Ranma rubbed the back of his head a little more. What now? It was late, so he should probably just go to bed, but he knew his dad would complain if he went to bed looking like he did. And thus, with reluctance, he headed toward the washroom.
What kinda girl is that Akane, anyway? ...She's not half bad at fighting, and she can use a damn table as a weapon… His mind flashed back to earlier,when they had first met. She'd been so much nicer then. "Friends", she said. But so much for that when she found out I'm a boy. It's not like I meant to lie to her… It's just... hard to talk about.
Reaching the laundry room, he wasted no time in tossing his still moist clothes into the hamper. Well, whatever, who wants to be friends with a jerk like that anyway?
Sliding the door to the washroom open, he froze when he realized someone was standing directly in front of him.
Akane. Naked.
Clamping his eyes shut, Ranma slammed the door closed, then turned to walk away. But with his mind so frazzled, he started walking without opening his eyes, and ended up crashing into the hamper. Balance lost, he tumbled to the floor, the hamper going with him and scattering its contents on both his naked body and the floor. Judging by the dampness, it was one of his own articles of clothing that had fallen onto his face.
The sound of the washroom door sliding open met his ears, followed by a few soft footsteps. The damp garment on his face was lifted, and when he opened his eyes, he found that Akane was standing over him, a towel wrapped around her body.
"You okay?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
Not wanting to give her another reason to be upset, Ranma averted his eyes. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."
"Good," Akane said, releasing the shirt and letting it plop back onto Ranma's face.
The sound of her footsteps started up again and then receded, presumably as she walked away. Ranma sighed, still lying on the ground.
Why's life gotta be so difficult?
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Just to reassure y'all that I won't simply be writing a novel version of the manga with slight changes, I can promise that there will be BIG changes as we continue. Some characters are different, some are introduced sooner, and some are just gone! The same goes for the arcs! So trust me, y'all are in for a long, wild ride.
Next time: Kuno!