Genius and Ditz: Two Sides of a Whole.
Ranma, Dexter's Lab stuff, Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z and anything else used are property of their owners/creators. I do not own any aspect of them. I'm just writing for fun.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
/signs/
Chapter 3
Captain Barnaby had seen many odd things in his 50 years of being a captain on his boat. That kind of thing happens when you travel between Japan and China. All the weird ones seem to come out of the woodwork and use his very ship for the traveling. The eye-patched shipman figured this wasn't one of the weirdest things he'd seen, but it did rank somewhere in the top 20 or so.
The cute girl of 13, at least he thought she was 13, with blond hair in a pair of twin curly ponytails held a large and overweight bespectacled man in a dirty gi and bandana bound and gagged by a bunch of rope. The girl herself was wearing an eye-patch similar in fashion to his… only it had a pink heart on it. Her ponytails poked through a blue and white striped bandana, which was the same color and style as her shirt she wore. A pair of black fingerless gloves adorned her hands. A knee length black skirt with a pink heart on it fluttered in the breeze as her black knee length boots stayed firm on the slippery wood. In her hand was a short wooden sword that was pointed at the down older man. Even the octopus doll tied to the girl's waist was sporting an eye-patch.
"Ye be a scurvy scoundrel papa. Have ye just informed me that we needed to leave the Amazons instead of bagging me and knocking me out, I would have come with no problem. Alas, ye had to do what ye did, and shall face the consequences. If it wasn't for the fact that I love yer hide, and that it would be so dastardly, I'd have ye walk the plank." She gave the large man a poke in the nose with the wooden sword.
Ranma turned to the captain and gave a bow. "Thank you so much for allowing us to travel on your ship, sir." She received a full belly laugh for the statement.
"Not at all lass. You did pay for the boat ride after all." He didn't know how one child could be so cute and innocent, and yet powerful and not-to-be-messed-with at the same time. He watched earlier as the large man took the child out of the bag, and it looked like she was just regaining her consciousness. He was about to intervene when he saw the child start to cry, but then stood back as that crying turned to anger towards the overweight man. Said man was then twisted and turned in a way that shouldn't be. He made note to show the scene to his crew, so none of them would feel the need to pick on the child or anything.
"Oh, that's right." The blonde said as she tapped her head lightly with a fist. While in the Amazon village, she had helped out with odd jobs that earned her some money. With that, she was able to pay for the boat ride to Japan. When they get there, she would need to transfer it all into yen. Maybe she would get in her boy form for that. She didn't want a ditzy moment when doing it.
Casting the thought from her mind, she returned to the activity she was doing just a few minutes before; poking her father over and over again with the wooden sword. 'The water-proof soap should be wearing off any time now. Then it would be easier to carry papa around.'
It was several more hours before the small boat reached Japan, and as Ranma was disembarking, she untied her father's bindings. Finally free to move around and talk again, the balding martial artist looked to his child. "Ranma, we are going to go meet an old friend. It's a very important matter."
"Ok papa, but what is the important matter?" She asked with a tilted head.
"Well… ahem… there was a pact made many years ago that said that the two branches of Anything Goes Martial Arts would be joined someday. That day is now." He watched as the blonde began clapping.
"That sounds so lovely papa!" Confusion played across her face, "but how do you go about joining them?" Her father enjoyed a well placed face fault.
"What I'm talking about is that my old buddy Soun Tendo and I decided that our children should be engaged!" Sparkles began to shine in Ranma's eyes.
"EEEEEE!!!! REALLY?! That's so romantic!" Calming down, she shook her head, "But I'm too young for romance papa. I'm only 16, and I have a bit more of my life before I need to decide." A blush crept upon her face. "Is it a boy or girl papa? I do like girls more than boys, but…"
"A GIRL!!!!" Genma shouted at the top of his lungs. 'This curse is a BAD thing damn it.' He thought as his chest heaved. "Ranma, I want you to turn back into a boy for this… now."
The blue eyed blonde gave a pout. "Ok, I'll do it papa, but I won't make promises about agreeing to the engagement." Her eyes turned to her wrist. "Quadra-chan, activate hot water sequence now."
"Affirmative Ranma." The feminine voice in the watch said as a hatch opened up and sprayed a stream of hot water at Ranma. The blonde's form and clothing shifted into her birth form and preferred male clothing. Closing his eyes and clenching his purple gloved fist, the boy smiled.
"It's so great to be a boy again." He opened his eyes, "Contacts, glasses mode now." The contacts in his eyes popped out and began to form into his glasses. "He he… much better." His eyes then looked back at his father. "As I said a few minutes ago old man, no promises about the engagement. I'm too young for a stupid engagement, and I have no interest in being bogged down by it." A hollowed and disturbed look appeared in his eyes. "And old man, let us NEVER speak of that whole 'boy and girl' thing again. For my sanity, please do not ever bring it up."
"You got nothing to worry with that, Ranma." He would never bring that up again either. It was then that something else registered. "Boy! It's a matter of honor that it be fulfilled. Would you dare forsake your very own honor?"
Ranma gave a snort. "Please, I know you pops. More than likely it was made while you and your buddy were drunk on your asses. Besides…" his glasses glinted in the light. "It's actually YOUR honor that says I must be engaged. It very well isn't MY honor that's being put at stake here." He ignored the rantings of his father and looked at the time on his watch. "I do believe that since you only used the soap once, probably very little of it too by the way you smell, the effect on it has worn off about now. Quadra-chan." Ranma blinked at himself for a second before realizing what he just said. "Great, something ended up leaking through. Whatever… Quadra-chan, cold water shower for the old man."
A stream of cold water shot out of the watch and hit Genma right on, turning him into his monkey form. Robotic hands appeared and stuffed him into a cage. Picking up the cage, the bespectacled boy looked into the sky. "It looks like it just might pour." Reaching into his coat pocket, the pigtailed boy pulled out a small blue stick. Pressing the button on it, the stick extended a food and a half and sprouted an umbrella. The umbrella then dropped plastic and see-through material down to knee level; protecting him from the rain and possible splashes. Looking down at his waist, he noticed that Octi was still tied to his side. Grabbing a hold of the plushie, he stuck it in a sub-space pocket for safe storage, until he went girl again.
"Let's get this over with then." Ranma said as he began walking. He didn't care that he was earning a bunch of odd stares for what he was doing.
Genma pulled out a sign. /You don't even know where you need to go, do you?/
"Nope, so why don't we just enjoy the scenery old man? I'm in no hurry to get there."
/Sometimes I think you're mad./
"Well pops, I'm a super intelligent 16-year-old scientist/martial artist who has the appearance of a 13-year-old who has been on the road with an idiot of a father for 10 years. I gained a curse that turns me into a girl with a personality of the exact opposite of my own, a 'foil of myself' if you will. Then I spent most of my time in an Amazon village in said girl form until a certain father abducted me in the middle of the night in a bag and high-tailed it to the docks as fast as he could. I may not be mad, but I sure in the hell might be eccentric." The glint that was on his glasses made Genma shiver.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Not a bad looking place they have here." Ranma stated as he looked around the front entrance. He actually wasn't expecting a friend of his father's to have something like this. Said father was currently standing next to him, since the pigtailed boy figured that showing up with a monkey in a cage would be a bit odd. Better save the weird stuff until after they introduced themselves.
"Alright boy, let's get going. I sent a postcard, so they're probably expecting us."
"Since when did YOU send a post card? You were a monkey in a cage the whole time, and that was right after we got off the boat. There's no possible way you should have been able to send one."
"First class mail while I still had you in the bag, boy." Genma stated simply.
"Oh…" Was all the boy could say. "Remind me to do a little experimenting on you for that little stunt. Tying you up and poking you with a wooden pirate sword for a few hours while dressed like some pirate wannabe while I was a girl wasn't enough." He knew it sounded odd, but he figured screw it. He didn't like it, but he figured to just get used to it. It was either that, or go insane. He preferred the former the most.
"Whatever boy" Genma stated as both Saotomes walked up to the entrance and knocked. A few seconds later, the entrance swung open and Soun was standing with a wide smile as he looked upon his best friend.
"Genma my old friend! Long time no see, come on in!!" The mustachioed man happily led his friend into the house while Ranma followed behind. The scientist/martial artist could feel that the man was a very emotional. After a few seconds of walking behind the two chattering like chipmunks, the pigtailed boy caught sight of the family room they were lead to. His eyes then laid upon three girls sitting down on the floor.
One had a serene and calm feeling to her, and her brown hair was tied in a ponytail. The next had a calculating look in her eyes. Eyes that held a great deal of cunning and intelligence, and her brown hair was in a page-boy style. The third had the feel of someone who had a fiery temper, and her eyes seemed as if she wasn't happy at all. Her hair was black with a blue-ish tint to it in a long ponytail style.
The shorter haired girl was looking at her with calculating eyes while the other two stared at the two old friends catching up on old times. The girl then got to her feet and walked up to him. When she was just in front, a bored look played across her face as she patted his head. "You're a bit short for a 16-year-old. You look more like you're 13."
Returning the bored look, Ranma responded. "And for someone with such cunning and intelligence surrounding her, you lack a great deal of tact." The two stared at each other, neither wavering. It almost seemed like an eternity before both looked away from each other, and Ranma was grabbed in a hug by the long haired man who greeted them at the door.
"Oh how I waited for this day to come." Soun said as he cried. "Come meat my daughters." He started from left to right. "Kasumi, age 19, Nabiki, age 17, and Akane, age 16. Pick any one and…"
"No." Ranma simply said. The response caused everyone to look at him in shock and confusion.
"What?" Soun asked.
"Why should I treat three human beings like a piece of meat? Besides, I just came along to meet you people. I never agreed to an engagement."
"B… but honor…"
"My old man's honor you mean. HE made the promise I would. I never made such promise. I'm 16, yes, but that's still too young. There's also the fact that none of us know each other at all."
Soun stood up and walked off pulling Genma. "Saotome, we need to talk about this." Both fathers walked out of view to talk about something. Ranma had a feeling that wasn't the end of it. A noise distracted his train of thought. Glancing at the trio of girls, he saw the youngest stand up, a look of anger on her face.
"I will not be engaged to a shrimpy BOY." The word 'boy' was dripping with such malice that the pigtailed boy could almost feel it. "I challenge you. If I win, you leave. If you win, then you can stay." She cracked her knuckles with a determined look on her face.
Giving an infuriating smirk, the cursed boy responded. "Fine, you asked for it."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Both Ranma and Akane were facing off in the dojo. Looking at the small boy, Akane smiled. "I'll warn you now; I'm the best martial artist in Nerima. You can back out now if you think your shrimpy body wouldn't be able to take it." There was no way the short boy would be able to beat her. Especially dressed like some science geek.
Scratching the back of his head, Ranma gave a sigh. It irked him many times when people made cracks about his height, but he learned many times that trying to lash out due to that caused trouble. It didn't mean that he NEVER would get the person back though. "Whenever you are ready… Akane was it?"
Akane nodded and charged forward, her fist ready to hit the boy in the head. She was startled when the boy moved to the side at a speed almost unimaginable, grabbed her fist, plowed it down into the floor, and sent an elbow to the back of her head. "The best in Nerima you said? Now that's just plain sad… tomboy." He really hoped it was her ego talking. There was no way that could have been the best there was. If it was… then he could always challenge people's intellects.
"I… I wasn't ready for what you did, and don't call me tomboy!" She sent a sideways punch to hit the bastard, only to have it caught and be flipped onto her back. "What the hell? This shouldn't be possible."
"But it is tomboy, it is." Ranma commented with a smirk. He wasn't the type of person to play around with people in a match. His girl form was however. She loved to ballet and dance around them, pretending nothing was going on until she let loose with quick strikes.
An eyebrow rose when the floored girl sat up with an aura of anger raging around her. "Don't call me tomboy!" She charged at the tiny boy again, only to be floored again. She was flat on her stomach when Ranma sat down on her back and gave a yawn.
"So do you give up tomboy?"
"Grrrrr… yes…" Akane reluctantly said in embarrassment. How could she lose like this to a boy so short? She felt the weight get off her back, and saw the boy handing his hand out to her to help her up. Hesitantly, she accepted the hand and was pulled to her feet. "Um… thanks" She said with a frown as she walked away.
'So prideful' Ranma thought with humor as he also went to walk out of the dojo, only to be stopped by Kasumi.
"Ranma" she said in a serene tone, "You must be sweaty after your spar with Akane. The bath should be ready about now." The eldest daughter was greeted by a smile.
"That's ok… Kasumi. I didn't even break a sweat. Thanks anyway though. I'll take mine later on."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I jumped a bit ahead of myself a little while ago." Soun said, referring to how he tried to do the engagement without having everyone FULLY introduced. "We never got you girls fully introduced to our guests. This here is my old Friend…"
"Genma Saotome, and this is my son…"
"Ranma Saotome. Martial artist and great scientific genius." The pigtailed boy finished as he pushed his glasses up. Akane gave a huff at the introduction.
"You're really full of yourself."
"Well as you experienced first hand, I can back it up. Unlike a certain tomboy who brags herself up without being able to bring to the table." At the word table, Akane hefted it up to bring it down upon his head. With a glare of his glasses, Ranma hopped away. "Violent one at that, aren't you?"
"Grrr…"
"Ok, ok" Ranma said with his hands in the air. "No more wisecracks at your expense… for now. After-all, you DID start it." He cleared his throat to get their attention better. "Now before any of this whole fiancée thing goes any further, there are a few things that need to be brought to light."
"And what might that be?" Nabiki asked in mild curiosity. She was slightly amused at how her sister was being so flustered at not being able to do anything. There was also the thing about the boy's personality that she liked.
"The cursed springs of Jusenkyou. It's a place where if one falls in, they gain the form of whatever drowned there last with cold water. Hot water reverses the effect until next time."
Then again, maybe he was delusional. "You can't seriously expect us to believe in magical curses, can you?" Her response was a smile that said 'of course'. The boy then splashed a little water from the glass he had on his father. The fat man seemed to shrink before their eyes into a monkey. "Y… you were serious." She stared at the monkey for a second before looking back at the boy. "So do you have a curse?" She thought that this was his cursed form, and that he was probably some dumb jock or something.
With a nod, Ranma poured the rest of the water on himself. Everyone watched as his form and clothing changed before their eyes. Instead of a black haired boy with his hair in a pigtail, there stood a blonde haired girl with twin curly pony tails. The lab outfit he wore changed into a collared dress shirt, blue tie, blue/black plaid skirt, white socks, and black buckle shoes. Her glasses then proceeded to change into contacts. After it was done, the boy turned girl took her place at the table in a polite manner.
"This is my 'curse' form." It was then that Akane jumped up and grabbed Ranma by her tie, her hard eyes looking into the blonde's soft blue ones.
"You really ARE a pervert! I bet you use this form to check yourself out, don't you?! Worse yet, you probably even sneak into the women's bath to get a peek, RIGHT?!" Her hard eyes became confused when the blue eyes she was staring into began to shimmer with unshed tears.
"Why are you so +sniff+ mean? I'm sorry I said all those bad things about you earlier. I would NEVER +sniff+ sneak into a women's bath to peek at people. Doing that would be so wrong!" She started wiping her eyes as Akane let her go.
"Wha… are you actually two different people?" This was all just plain weird. There was no way she could act THAT well if she was still the boy from before. The blonde finished wiping her eyes before speaking.
"I'm the same person. My intelligence, skills, memories, and what I've seen and done carry on between forms, but my base personalities are different in each form. You've already seen my boy form's personality." Akane gave an intense glare at the mention of that. "My girl form is the exact opposite." Ranma said as she twiddled her fingers.
"We can see that Ranma-chan." Kasumi said with a smile. She was a little scared by the thought of the person switching genders, but her girl form was just so adorable. The current monkified Genma was cuddled in the oldest Tendo daughter's arms. She just couldn't refrain from cuddling the cute thing, even though the monkey was actually a fat and bald martial artist.
"So hot water turns you back?" Soun asked in curiosity. At the confirmation nod, he stood up. "Well that's not so bad at all. That won't stop the engagement in the slightest. As I said earlier, please pick…."
"No!" Ranma shouted as she slammed her hands against the table and stood up.
"But… but…"
"Tendo-san, love is not a thing that can be forced. It is a thing that grows within a person's heart as they are around their soul mate. It is the very feeling one gets from sharing their very heart with the person they found. To force love is to force disaster among two people. Distrust could fester within the heart, and there can not be love without trust. To stick two people together randomly and not know if they will actually like each other is evil and cruel. I will not allow that to happen and break someone's heart. Love is the most cherished emotion someone could have, and love… makes the world go round!!!" The blonde announced as she struck a pose. This act caused everyone to stare blankly at her for a long while. Finally, Nabiki spoke.
"What are you, some kind of Sailor Senshi or something?" On the other hand, that sounded even cornier than the speeches they came up with.
"Sailor Senshi?" Ranma asked with a tilt of her head. Was that anything like that Sailor V game? Nabiki got up and disappeared upstairs. A couple minutes later, she came back down with a couple magazines and handed them to the young blonde. Her eyes scanned the pages that had images of them. "EEEEEEEEE!!! Their outfits are so adorable!" She squealed out with sparkles in her eyes at pictures of all the scouts in action. "I wish I could have something like that!!!"
Sweat-drops met her declaration as everyone looked at each other. "He really is different when he's a she. It's scary." The comment came from Akane who was now completely confused over the whole thing. Here was a boy who she already hated and did not want to be engaged to, and then he turns into a bubbly and cute girl who one would find hard to hate. It made her head spin.
Soun decided to speak up again at that moment. "Um… but what about the engagement?" He was met with an intense blue-eyed glare. "Ranma is so scary!" The black haired patriarch announced with tears streaming from his eyes. Seeing the tears from the man, Ranma's eyes softened.
"Tendo-saaaaaaannnn… I told you that love cannot be a forced thing. Nobody can get engaged with not being familiar with one another. That would only lead to ruin!" The curly pony-tailed blonde's eyes lit up. Snapping her fingers, she had an idea. "Oh, I know! We just get to know each other for a year-and-a-half to two years. If love blooms within that time, then there's the answer. If there are no feelings, then it is not destined to be." She finished with her eyes sparkling as if she was in her own little world. All three Tendo sisters involuntarily shivered at the girl's romantic nature.
The two fathers, however, were plotting amongst themselves on how this could possibly work. It wasn't easy, however, with the fact that Genma was a monkey and had to use signs. It would have been better if the engagement could have happened right away, but it seemed that the… girl was stubborn in that aspect. She did agree to it though, so they would have to try and come up with a scheme to see it through. Giving a nod to his best friend, Soun stood up.
"Then it's decided. Ranma shall be staying here in that time and shall use the guest room." The Tendo patriarch turned to his oldest daughter. "Kasumi, will you be a dear and show our guests to the guest room?"
"Of course father." Kasumi stated as she stood up and motioned for the girl and monkey to follow her. The older girl almost giggled at the skipping the younger girl did as she followed. 'There is no way I could ever fall in love with someone like Ranma, but the girl form is so sweet and adorable. Maybe she would get along with the boy's girl form.' When they finally made it to the guest room, she opened the door. "Here's the guest room, Ranma-chan."
"Thank you Kasumi-san." The younger girl said politely as she looked around the room. "The room is lovely Kasumi-san. Maybe I could get a few curtains, posters, rugs, and a bunch of other things to make it more comfortable." Her eyes then locked onto the sliding closet.
"But" Kasumi began with a bit of thought, "Would your boy side appreciate all the decorations?" A giggle met he question as she looked at the blonde.
"You're right Kasumi-san, but there's an easy solution to it." Walking up to the sliding closet, Ranma opened and entered it before closing it again. The gentle Tendo had no clue of what to make of this scene when the closet opened again. Out of the closet came boy Ranma.
"Could you please go get everyone and bring them up here Kasumi? I'd like to show everyone something." The brown haired girl was slightly un-nerved by the glinting from the glasses, but nodded as she left to get everyone.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"My female side would feel more at home in the guest room, but this is the place for me. Behold everyone, this is my laboratory!" Ranma announced to the assembled group with his hands spread out. Everyone looked around with wide eyes almost ready to pop out of their heads.
Sure, it made sense that there was a bed, desk, and a few other things for someone to sleep on. However, that was the only thing that even seemed normal. The entire area they were standing in was a vast area with machinery and computers as far as the eye could see. Well not JUST machinery and computers.
"Most of the design is from my own mind, but I had a little help with a few ideas from a genius friend of mine." There was an area of the giant place that consisted of a grassy area with a few trees, plants, koi pond, and… a playground? "That… and my girl side had a hand in some things. I should be lucky the entire place won't get decked out in pink with plush toys all over the place." Ranma said with a grumble.
"B… but" Nabiki stuttered as she looked around in complete shock. "How is this even possible? You did this in a closet for goodness sake." This was bordering between the lines of fantasy and science fiction. Her entire view of what could and could not happen had been completely thrown out of the window.
A smirk played across the boy's features. "It's just a simple matter of bending space and time to create a pocket dimension that can be placed in a small area." He watched as the girl with short brown hair tried to understand it before shaking her head.
"I'm not even going to try and understand. It's late and we need to get to bed for school tomorrow."
"We?" Ranma asked in curiosity. He wondered if he could just show off his intellect so the school could see that he was too smart for anything they could come up with.
"Of course 'we'." Nabiki stated as she walked off. "You ARE supposed to be 16. Besides, you're going to have a fun time registering tomorrow. Usually it would just be with the vice principal, but the principal of the school recently returned from a trip to Hawaii. Let's just say that he's an interesting person." She hid a smile. The boy was in for an interesting time.
The pigtailed boy gave a shrug to the retreating girl. Why should he fear someone who just got back from Hawaii? Turning his eyes towards his father, his glasses gave off a glare in the light. "I believe, old man, that it is time we do a little experimenting." The scientist/martial artist acted before the monkey even knew it, and the next thing everyone knew, the monkey that was Genma was strapped to some kind of machine. Looking towards his best friend, Genma suddenly felt a feeling of betrayal when the Tendos, freaked out by the sudden manic-ness in the boy's features, ran out of the place.
"OOOK EEK!! (COWARDS!!!)"
"Now pops" Ranma began, "there is no reason to get so upset. You had this coming for ten years. I won't hurt you too much, but I do want to see if your brain waves are exactly the same as they are when you are human. Maybe I'll also run you through a series of tests to see the extent of what you are capable of." The sounds of a screaming monkey were almost drowned out by the sound of a slightly maniacal laugh that echoed throughout the lab, and into the home of the Tendos.
"Be strong my friend, for it is the duty of a martial artist to endure such trials." Soun said with his fist to his chest as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"He sure is a boy who loves what he does." Kasumi stated as she sipped her tea. Inside she hoped that the boy would return to being a girl. She was such a nice girl despite her oddities.
"He's mentally unstable!" Akane shouted as she heard the maniacal laughter. "I can't believe someone like that is even living with us. If he tries to do something to me, I'll…"
"You'll what?" Nabiki asked with a bored look on her face. "You weren't able to do a damn thing in the dojo, so what makes you think you'd be able to do anything to a boy with vast intelligence, martial ability, a laboratory at his disposal, and countless other things we know nothing about yet." A small look played across her features. "I wonder if he's looking for an assistant or something." Everyone gave her an odd look. "What? A girl has to have her hobbies. Who knows, maybe he could create some sort of spying device, or something for stealth, maybe even the perfect camera." Yen signs floated around in her eyes. "Maybe he could even invent something that could rake in the money. The engagement might not be so bad. He may be short, and his girl form is a big oddity, but he has some excellent credentials none-the-less."
"Oh Kami-sama… my sister is a pervert." Akane stated softly as she stared at the older girl.
"There's nothing wrong with being a little bit of a pervert Akane." Nabiki stated as she stood up. "It can provide such amusement at times." She gave a wave as she headed upstairs for bed.
'I will not allow that boy to get his hands on my obviously deranged sister.' The tomboy thought with determination in her eyes.
xxA.Nxx
Another chapter down, and some more fun to come.
I also figured out what Ryoga's cursed form will be.
Plans are underway for a whole double identity of Ranma's. While his girl form will do one thing, his boy form will do another. Both things would coincide sometimes with each other, and the latter is something he noticed that many people probably voice about super heroes; which he'll end up getting into with a little persuasion from Nabiki.