Ranetta, Vol. 2! – By Ocramed
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and Bayonetta belong to the respective properties.
Note: This is a one-shot, semi-fusion alt-story. C&C are welcomed.
Special Note: This is a Ranma 1/2/Bayonetta story only.
Author's Note: This is my way of testing the waters, after getting requests for a continuation. Enjoy…
Part 3
The day wears on, with Ranma finding school very, very…boring. As a result, Ranma decides to take a nap.
"Zzzzzzz…"
Akane looks over towards Ranma, and shakes her head, as she resumes her formal posture while trying to take in that day's instruction.
Meanwhile, Ranma, although he appeared to be sleeping, was not doing that…
"Really, little man," said Cereza, as she and Ranma walked in a mindscape of what appeared to be an old European town. "If you had to choose which if the Tendo sisters to marry, who would it be?"
"I told you, I don't want to marry any of 'em," Ranma said, as he sat down on a park bench.
"Ah, so you want to marry Soun Tendo, eh?" Cereza said with a mischievous grin.
"Oh, for crying out loud! That's YOU influencing me to be all girly."
"And what's wrong with being a girl?" Cereza said, as she whips back her black hair. Unlike Ranma's girl body, Cereza was thinner and taller…
"Well, for ONE, I rather stand up when I, well, go to the bathroom, and, two, I don't want to have babies. And do you know HOW girls have babies? They have to let guys do stuff to them."
"Well, for record, in these modern times, you can just let guys 'do stuff' to you without consequences."
"That's not the point, and you know it, Cereza."
"No, MY point is that a healthy young man such as yourself SHOULD show an interest in 'socializing' with girls…"
Pause.
"That is, unless you're into guys," Cereza said.
"No, I'm NOT. Jeez. And don't you try anything to get me with Kuno. I mean, I don't know if it's me flirting with Kuno, or you or something."
"Well, I DO apologize for that," Cereza said. "But, it's just so hard to resist in not being me."
"Well, YOU are a part of me, and whatever you do, it makes me feel weird."
"Like I said, I really do apologize for carrying on like that, but you should interact with girls a bit more. You'll learn how to be less shy around them."
"Well, I suppose you're right," Ranma said thoughtfully. He then thought of something else.
"We're talking about being less shy with girls, right?"
"Of course, my young friend," Cereza said, as she sweated bullets while crossing her legs. "Why would we talk about anything else?"
"Yeah, right!"
"Heh," Cereza replied. "And for the record, I'm a part of YOU, with YOU in the driving seat. If you don't like any of my influences, you have to assert your will."
"I don't even know what that means."
"Basically, you're milk, and I am chocolate. Sure, the taste of milk changes when chocolate is added, but YOU are still milk."
"Well, that's a better explanation than anything I can come up with…"
Pause.
"With you talking about me about talking to girls and junk, what about you?" Ranma said. "Didn't you have a guy you liked or something?"
Cereza turns away to look off into the distance…
"Cereza?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Ranma," Cereza said. "I was thinking about a man named Luka."
"'Luka'?"
"The funny thing was that I rebuffed his advances, thinking that he was too young and too nosy to be interesting," Cereza said with a knowing smile. "I do admit, in hindsight, I did like the attention."
"Ew," Ranma replied.
"Wot?" Cereza said. "You would like him."
"I'm afraid that if I meet him in my girl body, you liking him might rub off on me."
"Don't be ridiculous. It's been many years since I last saw him, and I am SURE that he has since moved on with his life…"
Pause.
"But if I have but one regret, it would be me not giving him a chance early on, in our little adventure," Cereza said. "But, that's all in the past…"
Cereza then stands up.
"As promise, I will teach you a new trick."
"Well, finally," Ranma said, as he gets on his feet. "So, what's next?"
"Uh, uh, uh, uh," Cereza said, as she wagged her left finger. "Not so fast."
"Oh-kay," Ranma said in a confused manner. "What gives?"
"In order for me to teach you my abilities, you have to be a girl," Cereza said. "This is the way of the Umbral Witch."
"This isn't a trick to get me to accept my girl-side, is it?" Ranma said suspicion.
"Not at all. However, certain abilities that I can teach you can only be appreciated if your girl-body has been anointed into the ways of the witch. And witches are FEMALE. Afterwards, if you can use what you learn as a male, then so be it…"
Pause.
"Personally, I would think that it would be interested to see if you COULD be the first 'Umbra Warlock'," Cereza said.
"Okay," Ranma said, seeing Cereza's point. "I'll accept that challenge."
"Good," Cereza said, as she takes a cup of water, which suddenly appeared in her hand, and pours it over Ranma's head…"
"Whoa," Ranma-onna said, as she looked at herself. "I can change into my girl body…in my mind, too?"
"This is merely a dreamscape, my dear," Cereza said. "Until you can dominate it yourself, you are subject to the 'physics' that exists here. And that includes how the Jusenkyo curse is affected here."
"Ah," Ranma-onna said. "But…I don't feel girly here, compared to when I am awake with the curse activated."
"That's because you are still male on the outside," Cereza said. "Although, it would be neat if you could mentally affect your curse."
"Huh," Ranma-onna said, as she notices a free-standing mirror, which was propped up in the middle of the walk way. Curious, Ranma-onna slowly walked up to the mirror, and took a good look at her cursed body…
"Whoa," Ranma-onna said, as she examined her cursed body. "I…I look beautiful…"
"That's because you are a handsome young man, Ranma," Cereza said with a smile, as she saunters up to the teenage martial artist. "If only I was a bit more unethical, I would seduce you right here…"
"And…I almost look like you."
"According to that fascinating guide at Jusenkyo, my body served as the template, with what you are filling that it," Cereza said. "In other words, right now, we could pass as 'half-sisters', with one mother having different fathers, for example."
"Oh…"
"You know, I always wanted to have a sister," Cereza said.
"You did?" Ranma-onna said, as she turned to face her friend.
"Yep. The Umbral Witches did not like the fact that my mother, also an Umbral Witch, was impregnated by my father, a Lumen Sage. They thought that such a union would cause chaos. I suppose that they are right about that, since I just LOVE to screw with people."
"Um…"
"Figuratively speaking, of course, I think. Nevertheless, when I met Jeanne, heir to the legacy of the Umbral Witches, we hit it off quickly as best friends…"
Pause.
"I miss Jeanne," Bayonetta said, as she shed a single tear. "I…I guess that's why I prefer you to be a girl, since you're the only one I can share things with."
"Huh," Ranma-onna said with a raised eyebrow.
"No, really. We could go shopping together, and then get our hair and nails done together…"
Pause.
"And then we could pick up guys at bars," Cereza said, as she grins.
"And there goes my sympathy," Ranma-onna said, as she rolled her eyes for a moment. "Look, can't we do the training thing now?"
"Certainly," Cereza said. "And to make this 'fun', we should have some obstacles. Agreed?"
"Yeah, yeah," Ranma-onna said dismissively. "What we have to do? Jump through hoops or something?"
"Or something," Cereza said, as she snapped her fingers.
SNAP!
There was an intense light that was shining overhead.
"What?" Ranma-onna said, as she tried to cover her eyes. She could make out winged creatures…
"Those, my young friend are angels," Cereza said. "Well, representation of angels, at any rate."
"And they'll help us?"
"No. They are going to try to kill us."
"WHAT?"
THOOMP!
"Skreeee!" screeched the first angel, as he twirled around what appeared to be some sort of halberd.
"Now, if you make it past these gents, and the creature that follow them, I will be waiting on the other side of THAT building," Cereza said, as she points to the small building past the angels. "Oh, and one more thing: you do not have to hold back, since these angels are not real here…"
Pause.
"Good luck…"
And, with that Cereza fades from view.
"Gee, thanks a lot!" Ranma-onna yelled, just as the angels attacked.
Ranma-onna dodges the first strike by first jumping backward, and then towards the side of the thrusting weapon.
"Heh," Ranma-onna said, as she performs a leap kick, that knocks the first angel unto the ground. Upon impact, the angel shatters into light particles.
KRISH!
"Well, this is easy," Ranma-onna said, as she makes short work of her opponents.
KRISH!
KRISH!
KRISH!
"I thought that I was to face a challenge," Ranma-onna said in cocky manner, as she smiled.
"Oh, but these are just the preliminaries, my young friend," said Cereza's disembodied voice. "Your challenge is FAR from being over."
"Huh-?"
Suddenly, the ground lightens up, as something big begins rise from the ground, causing Ranma-onna to gulp.
"SKRREEEEE!" yelled the giant angel, as he twirled his battle axe.
"Gee, thanks a lot!" Ranma-onna yelled, before turning her full attention towards her latest opponent…
A short time later, a bruised Ranma-onna, who had a battle axe strapped on her back, confronts Cereza, who was casually reading a magazine on a bench on the other side of the building.
"Ah, you're here," Cereza said, not bothering to look up from her reading. "Took you long enough."
"I hate you right now," Ranma-onna said. "I really, REALLY do."
"I thought you like having a challenge to test your skill?" Cereza said mockingly, as she tosses aside her magazine to look at Ranma-onna. "At any rate, you past the preliminaries."
"THAT was the preliminaries?" Ranma-onna replied incredulously.
"Uh-huh," Cereza said. "Now, as promised, it's time for your lesson."
"It's about time," Ranma-onna said, as she tosses aside the weapon that was on her back. "Okay, I'm ready."
"Good. Now, let's change the scenery a bit…"
The mindscape changed, to one that of night. The full moon began to rise into the sky…
"The Umbral Witch is one who is connected to the Moon," Cereza said. "In fact, the Moon has been historically linked to women, because of our natural cycle."
"Um, what?"
"You know, menstruation."
"I don't know what that means."
"Let me guess: you did not get a talk about 'the birds and the bees' from 'The Panda', eh?" Cereza said disapprovingly.
"The only thing I was told from Pops is that boys and girls are different, and that girls make babies," Ranma-onna said with a shrug. "How that happens, I was never told."
"Ranma, you and I will have to talk about this subject in detail later," Cereza said. "At any rate, women are attuned to the phases of the Moon. Umbral Witches learned to tap into this power to do…this…"
As the full Moon shines above the pair, Cereza aura began to glow a purple color.
"Now, watch, and learn," Cereza said, as she suddenly turns and jumps against a wall of a nearby building. She then ran up the wall…and then stopped and turned to face an amazed Ranma-onna.
"See?" Cereza said, as she casually twirled around. "Easy as pie."
"That's cool!" Ranma-onna said. "Let me try it…"
Ranma-onna jumps and runs up the wall that Cereza was standing on.
"Okay, I got it!" Ranma-onna said, as she slows down. "I got it-!"
And then, gravity becomes a reality, as Ranma-onna begins to fall.
"Hey!" Ranma-onna yelled, just before Cereza catches her.
"Relax, I have you," Cereza said, as she held a now-dangling Ranma-onna.
"Easy for you to say," Ranma-onna said, as she looked down at the abyss that was her mind.
"It is, because I embrace my womanhood," Cereza said. "And if you want to master this trick, you have to embrace yours."
"I told you, I ain't accepting my being a girl! I'm a guy."
"And a handsome one at that. But, I'm not telling you to accept your girl-side. Well, ultimately I am for self-serving reasons, but, in this case, you have to accept the potential of your girl body."
"My…potential?"
"Yes. The potential power that all humans have is vast, but men and women have different potentials. Have you not studied eastern philosophy?"
"Other than to get better at martial arts, no," Ranma-onna said.
"Then view this training as such," Cereza said. "And to do that, view your girl body as a different type of power source than your male power."
"Alright, so…where do I begin?"
"Focus on the center of balance within your body."
"But that would be my lower, um, stomach."
"Exactly. Men are typically broad-shouldered, while women are hip heavy. Draw your energy from there."
"But it feels weird."
"Yes, at first. But try it, and embrace that part of you that make you female."
With hesitance, Ranma-onna draws her strength from her lower torso, rather than her upper torso like she normally does as a male…
"I think…I feel something," Ranma-onna said, as she begins to glow.
"Good, now, plant your feet onto the wall," Cereza said.
Ranma-onna bends her legs at her hip, and then plants her feet firmly onto the surface of the wall.
"Okay, now what?"
"Now, push the energy into the wall, like you would when you use your hands to climb the walls or ceilings," Cereza said.
"I think I have it," Ranma-onna said.
"Good," Cereza said, as she lets go of Ranma-onna's hand.
"Ah!" Ranma-onna yelled, as she instinctively tried to brace for a fall, only to realize that she merely fell backwards, until she hits her back unto the wall after bending backwards.
BAMF!
"Oof!" Ranma-onna said. "Why'd you do that for…?"
"Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention, darling," Cereza said. "Apparently, you were, since you are on your butt right now…"
"I'm not?" Ranma-onna said in realization. "Oh, I'm not!"
"Okay, then stand up. Think the wall as the ground you walk on."
Ranma-onna concentrated, as she stood up, making her perpendicular to the wall.
"There, that was not so hard," Cereza said. "Now, come to me…"
"Okay," Ranma-onna said, as she slowly walks towards Cereza, as if she was a newborn.
"Excellent," Cereza said, as she held Ranma-onna's hands. "Continue to practice, and you'll be good at this in your girl form. And perhaps, you'll figure out a way to transfer this ability to your male half."
"Well, I better, cause I feel weird," Ranma-onna said. "Now what?"
"We go for a run," Cereza said, as she turns to run perpendicular to the wall. "Come on, we do not have all day. After all, we DO have a challenge with that handsome Tatewaki Kuno this afternoon."
Ranma-onna merely shook her head in disbelief, as she begins to move. Only Cereza would find that insufferable Kuno to be attractive…
Tbc.