Chapter 7: In the Neko
The Cat pushed against the tree, using the pressure to ground itself while it tried to break the Binding its Sire had infected it with last night for some reason. The Binding had immediately sealed the Boy away and then the Girl, but that left the Cat in charge, and the Cat was not about to lose such large pieces of itself. It was determined to protect itself and the Boy and the Girl were part of it.
It hadn't always been like that. Once, the three had been separate with the Boy hating the other two. But as he got older, that hate faded. There were actually times he called one or the other, and they answered. The more time he spent with his other sides, the more tolerant the Boy became. Eventually, the Boy's hatred for the Cat faded all together. He was still afraid of cats outside himself, but he was no longer afraid of the Cat inside. The Girl had been harder for him, but as he started to deal with women outside himself, the hatred for the Girl inside faded too. When the Boy lost and regained his Mate, the hatred ended all together and something unknown began to form between the three Selves – Peace. A short time after his Mate returned to him, the Boy found and lost his Spirit Brother. (1) In his grief, the Boy (in the Girl's shape) summoned the Cat and the Three merged completely for a brief period of time with the Cat ascendant. Together, they managed to fight for and regain the Brother. Once the battle was won, the Cat retreated, but something new had occurred – Acceptance. Now, the same Acceptance had occurred with the Girl, and with the Acceptance something else was occurring – Sharing. The Sharing was far from complete, but it was significant – the shattered Soul was starting to heal. There were even times that the Soul was briefly whole, especially when the Soul was with Mate.
Last night, another milestone had occurred. Once the Cat had awaken, the Cat had opened its eyes and saw Sire there. Obviously, the Sire had been responsible for the Binding. The Cat demanded they kill Sire, but even in their prison, the Boy and Girl said "No". Yet, they were very angry, and decreed that punishment was deserved. The Boy and Girl then removed all other restrictions from the Cat. The Cat allowed the Spirits contained inside itself to punish Sire, finally giving the Spirits revenge after eight years. With that revenge, the Spirits were now at peace inside of the Cat, unifying it and further strengthening it.
That had happened before sunrise. Since then, the Cat had returned to Nerima, and tried to break the Binding on the Girl and the Boy. The Cat had weakened it, but the Binding was still strong and the Cat was tiring. The constant effort was becoming very painful. Both the Spirits and Soul Pieces needed rest, but the Cat was afraid to lose the Boy and Girl and didn't want to stop. If it stopped, the Binding might restore itself.
The Cat was aware of the Humans below. They had been milling about for some time now, but so far left it alone. The Cat hoped this would continue. Due to the Sharing, it could now understand many of their words, but still couldn't speak any of them, so the Cat could not tell them to stay away, and it didn't want to hurt any of them. Suddenly, the Cat heard its name (something else the Cat had learned through the Sharing) called by a familiar voice. The Cat ("Ranma") stopped fighting for a moment ("Come here, Ranma") and was relieved the Binding did not immediately intensify ("See what I have?").
The Cat looked down and saw one of its Fighting Partners below it. Healer was no good with strikes or kicks, but could use words very well. Healer was not as good at healing as Teacher, but not bad either. Healer held up a ball. The Cat looked puzzled at Healer until Healer gave the ball a small squeeze. A strong scent entered the Cat's nose and suddenly nothing was as important as getting that ball. Many of the Spirits were suddenly aware and wanted the ball too.
The judge watched Dr. Ando holding the large toy out to the girl stuck in the tree. There were four policemen standing with the doctor holding a large tarp to catch the girl in case she leaped. "Ranma? Why is he calling the girl 'Ranma'?" the judge thought. Suddenly the girl sat up and stared at the toy. The doctor tossed the ball a couple meters up and got out of the way as the girl leaped and dove straight at the toy. The policeman pulled the tarp taunt. The girl caught the toy using her hands and mouth, and then bounced off the tarp, somersaulting over everyone's heads. She landed on all fours and then crouched down shaking the ball in her mouth. No one moved for a minute or two – everyone just stood watching her.
"Now what do we do?" Officer Ueda asked.
"We wait for a few minutes and pray," Doctor Ando said. "But at least she's out of the tree."
"What's in the ball?" Officer Kokawa asked.
"The ball is just something I throw at her when she ticks me off," the doc said. "Usually she just catches it to annoy me further. I was hoping it would trigger a memory even now, and it did. I doped the ball with something to mellow her out just a little – nothing too harsh or anything that might knock her out. I'm afraid anything stronger might do damage to her in this state, and I am sort of fond of her."
"That was quite a jump she made over everyone's head," the judge commented.
"She's an acrobat, a gymnast, and a martial artist – a very good one," Ando said. "You should see what she can do in her right mind." The policemen around him stiffened for a second and then relaxed when they took apart what he had said. A few threw approving glances.
"Do you know the family very well?" the judge asked.
"Yes…" the doc answered with a little hesitation. "Keep in mind that I'm not suppose to divulge too much without a court order."
"I am the lead judge around here," Sanu pointed out.
"Yes, and that gets you a lot of leeway," Ando admitted. "But we do have lawful procedures to protect people's privacy."
"Well, maybe you could explain this to me..." the judge said. He took out a folder from a briefcase. Sanu saw the confusion in the policemen's eyes – they never saw Ryuu drop off the briefcase. He handed the forged document set to the doctor.
Doctor Ando looked over the file with a hard eye and seemed to be cursing under his breath about how morons and idiots should not be allowed to mate. He handed the folder back to the judge. "It seems that Ranko has a few fans in the Public Records Office. That file shouldn't exist."
"I'm sorry? It contains a birth record. Everyone should have a birth record," the judge prompted. "However, I agree that the document should be in a different format if it really was eighteen years old like this person obviously is.' He pointed at Ranko batting around the ball.
"Yes, but Ranko Tendo is an alias. The birth date is correct (or at least close enough), and Ranko's real mother is Nodoka Saotome, but the father is not Soun Tendo. Mr. Tendo is a foster father of sorts, one of two that I know of. Whoever created that document didn't follow the cover-story – she's suppose to be Mr. Tendo's niece, or at least niece by marriage."
"Who is this?" the judge demanded pointing at Ranko several meters away.
Ando considered the judge for a moment and seemed to make up his mind. He turned to Kokawa and Ueda: "Could you two please follow the judge and myself over to Ranko? If she makes a break for it, I will not be able to keep up. Keep in mind that you are not to divulge anything I say to the judge as Officers of the Law." He looked at the other policemen: "Could you please fall back a little? This is a private medical matter."
Ando motioned for the judge to follow him. They stopped a couple of meters away from Ranko. The doctor turned to the judge and asked: "Are you aware of what an intersex person is, Judge Sanu?"
"Intersex? You mean a hermaphrodite?" the judge asked.
"Hermaphrodite typically refers to physical characteristics only. Ranko's case is a bit more severe. She/he has an extreme form of intersex chimerism – enough so that she/he has two complete sets of functioning sex organs."
"Your joking!" Sanu burst out.
"No, I'm not, I'm afraid. Usually, this condition is caused by two young fraternal embryos that merge in the womb to become one fetus. Another possible causation is where a cell or group of cells in the early blastocyte mutate, but that usually leads to intersex mosaicism (however, not always). I'm not sure of the exact mechanism, but Ranko is an intersex person. His/her real name is Ranma Saotome. When she/he is dressed as a boy, everyone addresses him as 'Ranma'. When dressed as a girl as she is now, we address her as "Ranko," Ando told him.
"So, why the elaborate ruse?" Sanu pushed.
Ando shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know. A decision was made long before I arrived on the scene to allow the child to grow up without medical intervention. I do know that the female genitalia were not readily apparent at birth – hence the true name 'Ranma'. I guess they wanted the child to determine who he/she really was – Ranko is an identity that allows Ranma the freedom to see what being a woman is like. While I don't necessary agree with the decision, I must admit that it seems to be working. Lately, Ranma has been encouraging people to always address him/her as 'Ranma'. Given that Ranko could be characterized as an 'extreme tomboy' by people that know her, it looks like Ranma will choose to be primarily male and may take steps when he/she comes of age. I do know that Ranma has formed a more than friendly relationship with the youngest of Soun Tendo's daughters. From what I know of the daughter, I would say that Ranma has made his own decision to follow the male side of his personality."
Ando handed the file back to the judge. "It seems someone in the Records office decided to give Ranko a little more substance," he said to the judge. "I cannot say I really disapprove there even if it was shoddily done – we have all sorts busybodies in this town, and an official record would keep snoops out of Ranma's personal life."
Judge Sanu looked at the girl, who had stopped batting the ball and was crouching down with a slightly zoned expression on her face. He was having a hard time believing the story, but it seemed a little too preposterous not be true. The doctor was obviously an intelligent man and surely could have come up with a simpler lie. The judge could ask to see "hard" evidence, but didn't feel that was appropriate under the circumstance – the girl hadn't done anything wrong. Suddenly, a wince of pain appeared on the girl's face. The doctor also noticed it and looked concerned. "So, that pain isn't normal when she's stuck in this fit?" Sanu asked the doctor.
"No, it's not," the man replied. Ando slowly crouched down and approached the girl cautiously. "Hey," he called softly. "How are you feeling, Ranma?" He managed to get right next to the girl, when she suddenly reacted. The girl got up on all fours and threw a soft head-butt into the man's shoulder, rocking him back a little, but otherwise not moving or harming him. The doctor seemed surprised for a moment. One of the police officers snorted a little laugh. The doc's surprise faded to annoyance, and then softened into a smile after he gave his own little laugh. "All right you little pain. It's obvious you know who I am," he told the girl in a more normal manner of speech. "But, come on, I just want to see if you are hurt. Lie down for me please."
The girl threw a mischievous look at the doctor, but otherwise did as she was told. The doctor carefully probed her abdomen and her limbs. He then looked at her chest and neck. Finally, he probed her face and head. There was some bruising around the mouth that he couldn't make sense of. "Open up" he commanded. The girl looked rebellious for a moment until a spasm of pain appeared on her face. Her mouth popped open and snapped shut in reaction to the pain, but it was enough for Ando to get a look. "She's got bruising around her mouth. She was obviously in a fight with someone, but that seems to be the worst of it," he told the three onlookers. The girl rolled onto her stomach and cradled her head with her arms and hands in obvious pain. Again, the judge was shocked by how cat-like she seemed. Ando sat there rubbing her back and making some comforting noises. He seemed to be lost in thought.
"Shouldn't you get her to a hospital?" Sanu asked.
"I'd rather not," Ando answered. "Her psyche would be better served at a smaller place. Unfortunately, the power surges last night damaged my clinic and there's no one at the Tendo house where she and her mother stay. To be honest, I'm worried about head trauma. She's obviously in pain, there's bruising around the mouth, and she's cradling her head. Her pupils seemed normal, but that's not always a reliable indicator. I may not have any options here – I think she has to go in for observation. But I need to go with her, and not have Nerima General assume the case. Until Dr. Ono gets back tomorrow, I'm the best one to determine if her behavior is normal or not given her psychosis."
"The Court is assuming guardianship until her mother or foster father comes back – provided I can verify what you've told me," Sanu said. Ando just shrugged his shoulders. "I'll see to it that you are the attending physician then. Where's her birth father?"
"Estranged," Ando said distractedly. "And I hope it stays that way." At Sanu's questioning look, Ando went on: "I won't say her father's name in front of her. You can get it off the birth record, but he's a real bastard. I suspect severe child abuse, but I have no proof, only hearsay. He forced a separation from her mother for quite a while. The mother has only been reunited with her child relatively recently. He never took the whole intersex condition very well."
"What about the rest of the family?" the judged asked.
"Her mom is with the Tendo sisters away at an all-women spa retreat. Ranma's not eligible to go for obvious reasons, but urged them to go anyway. Mr. Tendo is at a business conference – it's not like Ranma can't normally take care of herself. I have people trying to raise everyone, but some are due back tomorrow anyway. As I said, my boss, Dr. Ono, is also due back tomorrow. He's good friends with Ranma."
"All right, let me make some phone calls," the judge said and walked away from them.
After the judge walked away, Ando took a phone out of his shirt pocket. It was on and had been running the entire time he dealt with Ranma. He put the phone to his mouth: "Did you get all that?" he spoke into the phone.
"You're a bloody genius, Ando. You didn't lie to the judge once," a voice told him.
"Hey, I like the little idiot too, but I'm not going to jail if this all blows up," Ando said. "You want to keep Nerima's secrets? That's on your head, not mine."
"So be it," Inspector Ojima said. "We will take care of things from here. See if you can make the shape-shifter well."
"I'll do my best," Ando said before he hung up. At another spasm of pain from the red-head in front of him, he began to rub her back again. "Hang in there, my friend. I'll try and find something to help at the hospital. And when Ono gets back, he's buying us both some very expensive sushi…"
Sanu called Ryuu on his cell phone. "What's up Boss?" Ryuu answered.
"I just a got a very strange story from the attending physician," Sanu told his henchman. "I need you to go find out everything you can on a Ranma Saotome. You probably cannot get the police file, because it is in use somewhere, but pull anything else you can, especially anything that can get us some identifying marks. Any more luck on Ranko Tendo?"
"No, Boss. Aside from the obvious forgery, she has no school records, no government ID, and no medical records. It's a safe bet Ranko Tendo is not a real person," Ryuu said.
"Yes and no – the physician said it's an alias for Ranma Saotome," Sanu told him. "He also gave me a story why the name Ranko is used. See what you can find out; I don't want to influence you one way or another."
"Consider it done, Boss," Ryuu said signing off.
Inspector Ojima hung up the phone after speaking to Doctor Ando. He knew that the man was a decent doctor, but he didn't know the man could be a decent human being as well. Still, the doc had stuck his neck out as far as he was going to. He would not lie to the judge, but that was all right. Ojima was going to make sure that wasn't necessary. He needed to call Nerima General and talk to the Chief of Staff there to make sure the proper records were in place. He also needed to create a file for Ranma and have some special legal guardians appointed – like Soun and Kasumi Tendo. Judge Kato owed Ojima a few favors.
Ojima picked up the report from Imia on the Ono Clinic. The Office Manager had been distracted and allowed Imia to check the room Ranma stayed in last night without protest. Imia had found pieces of a glass bottle and a few usable prints. The prints led back to Genma Saotome. Enough was enough. Whatever happened to Ranma Saotome was caused by Genma. Ojima rarely got involved with disputes among the Martial Artists, but he wish he knew about Ranma when the boy was five – Ranma should have been taken away from Genma back then. Unfortunately, Ojima never found a reason to lock up Genma since the pair's arrival in Nerima. Now, it was too late, and the boy was almost a man. But Ojima was going to get his "pound of flesh" anyway.
"Ito!" he called out.
"Yes, Inspector," the man returned.
"Put out an all-points-bulletin for Genma Saotome!"
"What for?" Officer Ito asked.
"Assault and violation of a restraining order. Add that the man is armed and dangerous and necessary force is authorized!" Ojima said, being very careful not to let the venom out.
Footnotes:
(1) The story was told in "Brothers".
A/N: Correction to the timeline on 2/25/14 - Ranma suffered the Cat Fist training when he was ten, not seven. Thank you to Compucles for catching that.