Quiet Magics 5
Boy meets Girl
Thu-thump.
Thu-thump.
Thu-thump.
What the hell was that damn noise? Ranma turned his head into his pillow to try and drown it out, only to have the infernal rhythm interrupted by a mind splitting ring.
Instantly, the boy bolted up in bed. His stomach rolled as he failed miserably to find equilibrium and a million aches suddenly demanded his attention. His breath caught in his throat as he swallowed the cry of agony that had attempted to escape his burning lungs.
Through the myriad of pains that vied for his attention, Ranma tried to focus. The process made his brain hurt. He tried breathing deep, slow breaths; tried emptying his mind. Slowly the overload of sensations began to quiet. His lungs still ached with every breath, and he could feel himself overcompensating for the vertigo that held him, but gradually his mind began to clear.
Moving was very bad. It was the first idea he was able to hold onto clearly. A concussion… is that what this was? Ranma focused on the idea, trying to make it stick in his churning mind. He'd had many concussions before. Nausea… dizziness… that damned ringing in his ears… Yes, this was a concussion.
Putting a name to the problem helped to lessen its hold on him. Thoughts came a bit easier. Memories floated to the surface. There'd been a fight. Some monster was tangling it up with one of those magical girls he'd heard about. He'd gotten involved. Man that was a close one… lucky to be breathing at all.
Okay, so how bad was the damage? This had to rank up there in the top five worst concussions of all times, that was for sure. What else though? Breathing hurt… that wasn't the head wound. …cracked ribs? …maybe broken? Yeah, probably. Everything else hurt too… not too bad though… cuts, bruises, a few nasty burns.
Ranma tried once more to focus his mind. Ki manipulation was hard when you were suffering the mother of all headaches, but if he could meditate properly it would speed up his recovery considerably. Ranma's awareness struggled through the currents of his abused body, tugging at his life force; urging it into a more useful flow. Man, he was really wiped out. That last blast must have really been something. Still, a bit of rest and some serious food and he'd be back up to fighting form in no time. A few days… a week tops. No problem.
Did he have a week? Ranma hazarded opening one bleary eye. Opening your eyes was always a risk when you felt this bad. Bright lights, loud noises, they didn't help with the headache at all.
Oh good, it was dark. Ranma opened his eyes and let them adjust. He was in a bed… soft one too. That was a good sign. Someone had even gone through the effort of strapping up his injuries. Wasn't Kasumi or Tofu though… too tight in some spots, too loose in others. Not bad really, just not exactly a practiced level of care. Unless he had the world's worst nurse, he wasn't in a hospital or doctor's office.
Some of the details of the room began to seep through the haze of darkness and blurred vision. There were a lot of greens and browns in the room… very gender neutral. Even the artwork was kind of neutral. A few ink scrolls of bamboo gardens… A painting of Mount Fuji… Not bad stuff really, but it didn't give a lot of clues as to where he was. It was the kind of room just about anyone could be comfortable in.
Wherever he was, though, it was a big place. This room was just about half again the size of the guest bedroom at the Tendo's. Still, it begged the question; why the hell was he in this place?
Light suddenly flooded the room. Ranma attempted to shield his eyes from the relentless beams, but to no avail. Even if his night vision had survived the sudden illumination, it would still take a few seconds to focus past the needles of pain that the assault left lancing through his brain.
Thudding heartbeats drummed by as vision slowly returned. The view wasn't one the boy expected.
Panties. A petite set of white cotton panties with little stars all over them to be precise; wrapped around the equally petite bottom of a much underdressed young woman.
Ranma stared. He shouldn't have. God knows, nothing good could come of this. Any minute now the scantily clad girl would turn around and pound him flat for even being in the same room. With the shape he was in right now, the girl's stupid feminine outrage would probably put him six feet under.
She didn't turn around. No, what she did was bend over farther. It did very interesting things to the narrow strip of star spangled fabric running between her legs. The thin cotton slid over the juncture, teasingly suggesting at what was hidden beneath.
Damn it, he should be looking away. Maybe if she saw that he had his head turned, she wouldn't kill him outright. What he definitely should not have been doing was letting his eyes glide over the rest of her. Maybe if he hadn't, he wouldn't have noticed that her obscenely flimsy top covered absolutely nothing from this angle.
He certainly had bigger when he was a girl, but there was something about the way the swells of her pert breasts swayed as she tugged at whatever she was focused on that was just hypnotic. Somehow Ranma managed to pull his eyes away from the taboo spectacle long enough to get a glimpse of her profile. Oh damn… It was her.
Ranma's head jerked away to find something, anything, to look at besides the nearly naked girl. If she caught him ogling her, she might go get that nasty pole-arm of hers, and then that'd be the end of one Ranma Saotome. Damn his cursed luck. Why did things like this always have to happen to him?
Okay, calm down. She didn't see anything yet. He'd just continue to look away and hope she left without noticing he was there. Yeah, fat chance of that happening.
Plan 'B' then… Got to make sure she knows he's not trying to look. Maybe he should do something to let her know he's awake?
"Um… hi."
The girl froze. Man this had to rank as one of the stupidest ideas he'd ever had. Get her attention and hope she notices you aren't trying to stare at her smooth, soft… Oh, he was a dead man.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ranma noticed her head slowly turn. Her huge, expressive eyes were painted in horrified mortification. Maybe he'd get lucky and she'd actually die of embarrassment before she could kill him.
"Oh… you're awake." The woman straightened herself woodenly, pulling the blanket she'd been fighting with up to cover herself. Even in the darkness, Ranma could see her face flush. Self-consciously she broke eye contact. Damn, had he been looking the whole time?
"I… I didn't… I mean… I wasn't trying to…" Shit. If this didn't come out right, he was going to get eviscerated for sure. Ranma took a deep breath. "What I'm tryin' ta say is I wasn't tryin' to peek at ya or nothin'." The boy managed to look away then. He'd have been scratching the base of his pigtail if it didn't hurt so bad to move.
The girl's flush deepened so much she practically glowed in the dark room. Her mouth opened and then closed again several times as though she were trying to speak, but couldn't. Finally she took a deep breath herself. "I'm sorry, I… Excuse me." She bowed low and backed out of the room awkwardly, her eyes still firmly focused on her feet.
Ranma shut his eyes again as she opened the door and slipped out. Well, that wasn't too bad… unless she was just going to get a dining room table to smash over his head or something. Crap.
Ranma scanned the room, looking for some means of escape. There was a window. For a second the young warrior contemplated crawling over to it and pitching himself out. If it wasn't too high, he might survive the fall. He'd have better odds than he would against that girl's pointy silver stick anyway. The boy made an effort to pull himself to the edge of the bed, only to stop as his head, stomach, ribs, and pretty much everything else protested at the movement.
Well shit. This just figured. He always knew he'd die like this, he just figured it'd be one of the fiancées that did the deed. Probably Akane… not that the others were any better really, it was just that Akane seemed to have more opportunity. Ranma lay back down. If this was the end, then he was at least going to be as comfortable as possible for it.
A soft knock sounded at the door before it creaked open a few centimeters. "Hello? Can… can I come in?"
Ranma took some cleansing breaths. "Uh… Depends. Ya didn't go get pole-arm of yours, did ya?"
Silence reigned for several seconds. What the hell was taking her so long? If she had it, she should have just come in and started sticking him with it. If she didn't, all she had to say was-
"…no."
Huh. This wasn't usually the way these things went. "Ya aren't plannin' on clobberin' me over the head with a table or nothin', are ya?"
"Um… no. I… I just wanted to talk." Talk? That was it? He'd been mesmerized by her swaying breasts and all she wanted was to talk? Just trying to process the oddness of the thought made Ranma's brain hurt. Was that her plan? Was she going to try and make his head explode with confusion?
"Yeah, okay. I guess ya can come in."
The girl crept back into the room, still refusing to look at anything but the floor. She'd put on a pair of black sweatpants and a really old, oversized pink tee-shirt with a faded unicorn design that hadn't managed to peel off yet. Absently, Ranma noted that the material was still way too thin to be decent. He could see the way it clung gently to the curves of her br… Shit, what the hell happened? She wasn't this damn distracting in the mini-skirt.
"I… I'm terribly sorry." The girl began fidgeting with the hem of the over-sized shirt. "I'm not usually… That is I don't normally go around wearing nothing but… I… You see, I didn't know you were awake."
Ranma sat stunned, looking at the blushing girl as though she'd grown a second head. Had she just apologized to him? That wasn't how this was supposed to go. Her blush deepened so hard Ranma was afraid she might burst a blood vessel. Better say something.
"…um, yeah. No problem."
The girl released a huge sigh of relief and slumped into the old rocking chair next to the bed. Long minutes passed in the dark. As she toyed nervously with her nightshirt, she'd glance occasionally up through her dark bangs at the boy, but every time their eyes met she'd quickly lower her gaze again. "So, um… I'm Hotaru."
"I'm Ranma…" He continued to stare at the girl as though she were some strange alien creature. Why the hell wasn't she calling him a pervert and beating him to death?
The girl continued to squirm under his scrutiny. "H… How are you feeling?"
Interesting question… His head hurt, he was dizzy, his lungs burned with every breath, he couldn't move without wanting to vomit, every part of him ached, and he was pretty sure he needed to pee. "…been worse I guess. Some aspirin wouldn't hurt though."
"Right, aspirin! Of course!" The girl bolted up. Just following the sudden motion made the damn ringing in Ranma's ears sing louder.
Hotaru hurried over towards the large vanity on the far side of the room and fetched a tumbler of water and a small medicine bottle. She returned to the bed and offered the drink. "Do you think you'll need help? I could hold the glass for you if you want?"
For the first time since she'd run out of the room, the girl actually managed to look Ranma in the eye. Twin pools of violet concern shone in the darkness. It was such an odd expression she had. Akane had looked that way a few times… It never lasted though. Usually he'd open his mouth and say something and she'd get angry and that would be the end of it.
"I'll be fine." Ranma began to force himself up to a sitting position. Not a good idea. He'd be damned if he was going to let her see him all weak and helpless though.
"A… are you sure?" The girl put the cup and bottle down on the rocker and moved to help Ranma sit up.
"Wait! No!" The boy jerked reflexively at the contact, sending another wave of vertigo washing over him. "…damn that hurt," he hissed through gritted teeth. Ranma took a few strained breaths to collect himself. "I… I've got it, thanks."
Hotaru backed up a few paces and averted her gaze. "I… I'm so sorry." Apparently she didn't know what to do after that though, because she immediately began fidgeting.
Oh great, here she was, just trying to help, and he had to go and upset her. Now he just felt like an ass. "Look, I didn't mean…" Ah man, why couldn't she just pound him and walk off in a huff like everyone else? "I didn't mean to… I'm just… I'm fine. Really. It helps to move around a bit, that's all." Yeah, if by 'help' he meant 'makes me want toss my lunch'.
Reluctantly the girl nodded. "Okay." She moved back to the rocker, retrieved the water, and nervously waited for Ranma to get himself into a sitting position.
Several minutes and a splitting migraine later, Ranma managed to prop himself up against the oak headboard with a pillow shoved awkwardly behind him. He was sweating, honestly sweating, at the effort. Yeah, that didn't make him seem weak and helpless at all. Ranma sighed in exasperation and turned to look at the girl.
She'd averted her eyes again. Ah man, the poor thing looked absolutely miserable. "You… uh… Maybe you could help with the water… if ya really want to." Ranma blushed at the lame offer. Big, damn, purple puppy-dog eyes… They should be considered a lethal weapon. They were a hell of a lot worse than Akane's stupid mallet, that was for sure.
Hotaru nodded and shuffled over to the edge of the bed. "Um, here…" She blushed again as she held out a couple of little white pills. Ranma took them from her and tossed them into his mouth only to begin gagging almost immediately on the bitter, chalky things.
Hurriedly the girl leaned over with the cup, trying to support Ranma's neck as she tilted the glass at his lips. Ranma took greedy gulps, trying to wash the foul taste out of his mouth. The girl tipped the glass farther, trying to keep up with his thirst. Unfortunately she was a little too fast.
Hotaru stared. The now empty glass fell from numb fingers. It clattered against the hardwood floor, rolling under the bed. The girl didn't even notice.
The boy had twitched when she'd spilled. Somehow, in the course of that tiny spasm, he'd changed. He was shorter now, and the hard angles of his body had smoothed… and he had breasts; huge, obvious, straining at the bandages, breasts! He was a girl!
Hotaru backed away slowly, unable to take her eyes off of the changed form in front of her. What on earth had she done? The girl looked down at the bottle in her hand, trying to read the label in the moonlight. It said Excedrin, just like it was supposed to. She'd taken a couple just a few hours ago herself, and they certainly hadn't given her a chest like that!
The girl lowered herself into the rocker mechanically, unable to focus. Hotaru cast a nervous glance back at the still groaning redhead that was lying in the bed where her heroic rescuer had been. Apparently the change hadn't been good for the boy… er girl's injuries. The stranger hissed through gritted teeth in pain.
Who was she? How did this happen? Was she even still- "…Ranma?"
The beauty in question turned her head ever so slightly to catch Hotaru's eyes. "…yeah. It's still me," she hissed. "Don't go screamin' or nothing, okay? I don't think my head could take it right now."
He… she didn't seem that panicked. Was she always like this? No… no, somebody would have noticed those things… Hell Hotaru remembered clearly being pressed up against a very manly chest just the other night. "Ranma, H… how?"
The boy turned girl leaned back against the oak headboard and closed her eyes. "Long story…" The girl struggled to control her breathing, jamming her words between short, even gasps. "It's a curse. Picked it up in China… few years back. Makes me change shape."
A curse? It made sense in a twisted sort of way. After all, to be as powerful as he was, Ranma had to have been exposed to strange and arcane magics somewhere. The senshi obviously weren't the only ones in the world with access to such powers. "Does it always hurt like that?"
Ranma shook her head, still grimacing in pain. "Nah. The bandages are just a bit too tight around the chest in this body is all. It ain't easy on the ribs."
"Oh." Hotaru was at a loss. How was she supposed to fix this? Maybe Usagi, or even Chibiusa could do something for the… person, but the only thing Saturn's power was good for was destruction. She didn't even have enough strength right now to heal normal injuries.
"Hey, don't worry about it." The redhead was trying to smile at her. "I'm used to it. It's okay, really."
Hotaru sat staring at the girl, trying to process what was going on. What had caused the change? How did he change back? Would he even want to change back? Hotaru sighed. For all she knew, the boy was actually a girl. What if this was Ranma's natural form? "Do… do you need any help? Would you like to change back?"
The redhead shrugged. "Probably not a good idea. I don't want nothing shiftin' around inside by accident." The girl got ready to move, but stopped herself. "Maybe, um… I don't suppose ya'd mind… That is, if ya'd really like somethin' to do, then I guess maybe you could help adjust these wrappings?" Ranma mumbled, looking away.
Hotaru smiled. That she could do. She'd been pretending to be a nurse since she was six. Lord knows she'd bandaged up enough of her old dolls and stuffed animals back in the day. Gently, Hotaru helped the petite redhead sit up so that the would-be nurse could slide behind her on the bed.
As soon as the young woman began to examine the bandages, she could see what was causing Ranma so much pain. The little metal tabs that held the woman's chest wrap in place were taut with tremendous pressure. Ranma grunted a few times as Hotaru tried to tease the little metal teeth of the clasps free of the bandage.
With one final nudge the tiny tabs gave way, shooting across the room at high speed as the elastic released its strain. Hotaru jerked away gasping. Ranma sucked in greedy gulps of air. Then the wrappings fell away.
Coils of bandage slid down the petite redhead's body, pooling around her waist. Hotaru caught herself staring again, tracing the curve of the busty woman's neck down past tiny shoulders, all the way to the small of her finely sculpted back. The heavy curve of the woman's feminine charms peeked around her profile in the moonlight.
Hotaru reminded herself to breathe as her eyes swept over the other woman's flawless ivory skin. Almost of their own volition, the girl's fingers hesitantly traced the edge of her companion's shoulder blade as though testing the reality of the ethereal vision. Ranma immediately tensed at the unexpected contact.
The young woman's hand darted back as though burned. "…I'm sorry. I…" Had she just been enthralled by the site of another girl's naked back? Hotaru tried to shake off the strange sensation. "We should probably get you wrapped back up."
"…yeah." Ranma remained tense, her posture stiff and awkward.
Hotaru bit back a curse. What on earth had she been thinking? Touching the other woman like that, looking at her like that, it was way beyond inappropriate. Of course Ranma was uncomfortable. The young Senshi tried to occupy her guilty mind with the task of bandaging the other woman. It didn't take more than a single pass around Ranma's waist to realize the terrible flaw in that plan.
Hotaru found her thoughts interrupted when she noticed that, as she adjusted the bandage, she had wrapped her arms completely around the redhead's body. It was an odd sort of embrace. They weren't really touching, but Hotaru had her chest close enough to Ranma's back that she could feel the heat rising off the other girl's skin. The young senshi held her breath, realizing that it was causing the wispy hairs at the base of the other girl's pigtail to sway lightly with each exhalation.
Ranma was still as stiff as a board. Hotaru backed away slowly and turned her furiously blushing face towards the far wall. "How about you do the wrapping and I'll just pass the roll around your back?"
The boy turned girl breathed a deep sigh of relief as the tension began to abate. "Yeah, good idea."
The two worked in awkward silence for the first few passes. This was just awful. He… she… This sort of thing must happen all the time for… Hotaru still didn't know which pronoun to use. She couldn't even think about her rescuer without being horribly confused. How on earth did Ranma live with this day in and day out? "It… It must be really hard for you. The curse I mean."
The redhead sighed. "It's gotten easier I guess. It was bad for a while, right after it first happened, but I've kinda gotten used to it. The only part that really still bugs me is when guys start checkin' me out when I'm like this."
Hotaru nodded in the darkness, murmuring her understanding. So, he was a boy then. Even if he wasn't interested in her, the knowledge gave her some sense of relief. It wasn't that the young senshi had any difficulties with alternative relationships really, her current guardians at least gave her some frame of reference for that sort of thing, but the last few minutes had been more than a little unsettling. None of the other women in Hotaru's life had ever evoked such an intense response.
The bandage made its last pass around the redhead's chest. Hotaru pulled it snug and tied it off in silence. The curse had been a shock, but on some level the young senshi found it humorously ironic that her savior had been a magical girl, at least technically. Idly Hotaru wondered if Ranma kept his alternate identity a secret just like her family did theirs. The question remained, though; was her identity still a secret?
Ranma hadn't been all that surprised when Hotaru introduced herself, almost like he'd expected her to be the one who'd taken him in. He should have been asking her where he was or how he'd gotten here. Instead he'd asked her about her pole-arm. He must have seen her change.
What if he didn't though? Hotaru slid out from behind her patient and sat herself in the rocker next to the bed. She turned towards the cursed individual again, trying to peer into the young… man's mind. Ranma had moved back towards the headboard, letting it support him. Haunting blue eyes stole quick, nervous glances towards the young senshi now and then, but whatever thoughts were churning in the stormy orbs chose to remain hidden.
How could she ask him what he knew without revealing herself if he actually knew nothing? What would happen if he did know? How would Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama react? Would they be willing to trust such clandestine knowledge to a stranger? Would they try to eliminate him as a potential threat? Her adopted parents had been remarkably tolerant thus far, but how much were they willing to risk?
"…look," Ranma whispered, "If it really bothers ya that much, I can change back."
Hotaru could hear the pain hidden beneath the words. She stared at the redhead, perplexed. Why would Ranma think she was… Oh!
"No! No it's not that! I just… I…" Damn. What was she supposed to say? How long had she been sitting here worrying about her stupid secret identity while he'd been thinking that she was upset by his curse? "I… Ranma, what do you remember about how you got here?"
The boy turned girl winced in pain as she twisted her neck to get a better look at the young senshi. The poor er… man… looked completely confused.
"Everything I guess. You were fightin' some crazy monster. I jumped in to help out. We got stuck in that bubble of yours… then things kinda got really nasty. Next thing I know, I'm here."
The blood drained from Hotaru's face. He knew. Oh Serenity preserve, he knew. The others would… well, maybe not kill him, but they certainly wouldn't let this stand. There'd be a fight at least, and no matter which side won, she'd be the one to lose. "You… You saw? I mean, you know it was me?"
The redhead nodded slightly. "Yeah, of course. I mean, it was kinda hard to focus on all the little details at the start of the fight, but once that whoppin' aura of yours started to fade… I wasn't supposed to see that, was I?"
Hotaru shook her head. "No." This was bad. This was very, very bad. When the others found out… "Ranma, you can't tell anyone about this. You need to promise me! Don't tell my family, or my friends, or anyone, ever!"
Ranma shook her head. "Then how are we gonna explain-"
"You tell everyone you were knocked out in a fight." It would have to be a lie. The others could never know that he'd found out. "Tell everyone that I told you Saturn brought you here to be cared for by people she trusted. They won't ask any questions. It'll work."
"But…"
"Please!" Hotaru stared at her companion, praying for him to accept. She didn't mind begging if that's what it took. This was the only way she could keep everyone from fighting; the only way to keep someone she cared about from getting hurt.
The redhead looked away. "…fine. I don't like lying though, so this better be important."
Hotaru sagged with relief. "It is. It'll help keep a lot of people safe."
Ranma nodded once, but still wore a scowl. Hotaru felt herself smile ever so slightly. It spoke volumes about the redhead's character that this deception upset her so much. Hotaru would have to add honesty to the ever growing mental list she was making of her savior's virtues.
Said hero rolled his eyes when he caught a glance of Hotaru's grin, but he eventually smirked back all the same. "Well, I guess if it keeps people safe, then maybe I won't complain too much."
Hotaru's smile widened. "Thank you. And since I haven't said it yet, thank you for helping last night too. I… I don't think I'd have managed on my own."
The redhead's smile twisted in roguish merriment, much as it had from the rooftops the previous evening. "Well, I wouldn't have been much of a martial artist if I didn't help out a pretty girl in distress."
"Besides," Ranma's grin slipped as she spoke, "that thing was sent after me, so dealin' with it was my responsibility. I couldn't just let it hurt innocent people, ya know?" The redhead's expression slowly sank into a pensive frown.
It was true. The monster had been after him. It said as much. Hotaru watched the last traces of mirth leave her companion. "Ranma, why was that thing trying to kill you?"
Ranma picked at the linens pooled around her legs. "Don't really know… Happens all the time, though, so I'm used to it at least. Most of the nuts out to get me don't seem to need much reason for it these days."
Hotaru blanched. "You… you fight things like that all the time?" Damn, and here she thought her and her friends were doing a pretty good job keeping a lid on the whole demon invasion thing.
"Nah, usually it's just some nut lookin' for a good fight. Most of the time it ain't serious or nothin'." Ranma fell silent, her gaze peering into some painful memory playing itself out between herself and the far wall. "Last night was different. Last night went too far."
Thinking about last night's fight was upsetting the redhead. So much so, in fact, that Hotaru could practically feel the weight of her companion's dower mood permeate the room. Of course, who could blame Ranma? That creature had been too horrible for words. It wasn't acting alone though. There was still a threat out there. "Who's Happosai?"
Ranma glanced back towards the other girl, a slight scowl on her elfin face. The frosty darkness swirling behind the cursed boy's eyes was too intense to meet for very long. Hotaru looked down, risking only occasional glances at those intense pools of ice. "The demon, it mentioned someone named Happosai. You looked like you recognized the name."
The boy turned away, but his countenance had only grown colder and more lethal. Hotaru felt herself shiver. This was the same cold fury that had stared down a baron of the ninth hell.
"You don't worry about it." The redhead's voice was a soft whisper, a protective shield against pending violence, much as it had been when Hotaru had lain curled in a ball on last night's hellish battlefield. "I'll take care of Happosai. He ain't gonna' be a problem for much longer."
A pit of ice formed in Hotaru's gut. Death was lingering in that promise. The young senshi prayed it wasn't Ranma's.
Author's notes:
Thanks go out to my pre-readers Ssokolow and Ozz. You guys do a great job of keeping me in line.
Once again, artwork is posted on my writer's profile page on if you care for that sort of stuff.
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. It was nice to be able to focus exclusively on the interaction of my two lead characters again.
As always, heaps of praise inspires me to get off my lazy butt, and constructive criticism makes me a better writer, so feel free to leave a review.
See everyone in a couple weeks.