Son Turned Daughter, Chapter 20
An unusual disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is the trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. And Son Turned Daughter was originally written back in 2002 by fanfiction author Tangent. Please see the first two chapters of this series under his pen name. This series has been written for noncommercial use only.
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Chapter 20
While I want to keep this story as true to the series Ranma ½ as the premise allows (and the speeded up meetings of the people who enter Ranma's life in the manga and anime), I believe in this one instance I have reason to make
it a crossover. Which two other manga/anime series are involved is revealed at the end of this chapter.
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The four-horse team and its carriage passed Ranma and Akane and her baby carriage as they approached Dr. Tōfū's clinic. Her father and sisters waved to them from inside.
From the walkway of the closed clinic stepped Ayane and Yasushi, Megumi's girls.
"What are you two doing here? You don't live around here," Akane asked, suspicious.
"Megumi told us about your dates yesterday," Ayane said.
"Ayane wants to hear more of the gossip," Yasushi said.
Akane and Ranma continued on their way. The other two followed.
"Ranma, you kissed Kodachi! And, then, you kissed Mikado Sanzenin of the Golden Pair!"
"You wanted to kiss Azusa, but that girl got away from you."
"What do you think of your step-brother, Romeo, kissing Kodachi like he did!"
"In women's apparel."
"He was wearin' a tanktop and boxers!" Ranma insisted.
"In a shop for women."
"And crossdressers," Yasushi added.
"I, my –Romeo's Not whatever a crossdresser is!" Ranma insisted.
"Look, there are Ikuko and Akiko!" Akane said, eager to change the subject. She waved to them.
They waved back and hurried up the hill to them.
"They were on the date, too! –Hey, girls, Romeo's no crossdresser, right(!)?!" Ranma yelled.
"Ranma!" Akane tried to get her not say the word. As usual, both he and she were clueless.
"Romeo?" , "Ooh! Romeo!" , "He has such a male vibe!" , "More guys should crossdress like Romeo!" , "Remember when we first met him? He was dressed up for a play!" , "Yeah! A romantic play!" , "And he was wearing tights!" , "He has nice legs!" , "I'd like to see him in a codpiece *Giggle*"
"Ikuko!" Akiko was surprised. That was so out of character for her.
"I can have some fun, too," the usually serious young woman said.
"But he was wearing lingerie?" Ayane asked.
"A chemise and tap panties," Yasushi said. Ikuko and Akiko looked at one another, then at the other two. They smiled and said as one, "On him, they looked good!"
"Yeah. That's what Megumi said." Ayame admitted defeat. Almost, "But Ranma did go about kissing people, boys, and girls!"
"How bisexual is Ranma?" Yasushi asked.
"Uh! Uh!" Akane searched for a response. "Ranma's dad did raise her to think she was a boy!"
"Okay," Ikuko accepted that explanation. "The Date Management Club will help her to think she is a girl!"
"And like men!" Akiko also accepted the challenge.
"Unless Ranma really is bisexual," Ayane smiled.
"And likes girls more than guys," Yasushi said.
"Ranma! Akane!" shouted and waved Makoto and Shikako coming to join the group. "What's with the weird costumes?" , "Who wears hoops skirts!?" ...
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The group of eight didn't become larger only because there was no more room near Ranma and Akane and her baby carriage. But ahead, and even behind, them, they saw more and more people on their way towards Furinkan High. And not just other teens, but adults, and, then people living above their stores in the business district. And Akane recognized most of them.
To anybody who asked about the baby carriage, she told them, "This is my new pet, Burin–chan!" , "Please, don't pick him up! He's so little and there are too many people around!" , "If I didn't have him in the carriage, he might get lost." , "He becomes lost easily, poor thing!" , "If he does become lost, will you, please, return him to us?" , "Yes, Ranma or me." , "And tell us if anybody is picking on him!" , "Right! Anybody who hurts Burin-chan will have to answer to us!" , "You don't want to make us angry!"
"Aw, Akane, you don't have to be overprotective. Ryo– Burin can take care of himself," Ranma said. "Especially after I train him."
"If Ranma trains him, he could probably enter Sumo pig wrestling tournaments!" Shikako said.
"People pay to watch people wrestle pigs?" Ranma didn't want to believe it. But she had a vision of a human porker trying to push out of the clay-and-roped circle a hog just as big.
"No, people pay to watch pigs wrestle pigs," Makoto said. "I have a cousin, Akari Unryu, who raises Sumo pigs and competes them."
"Burin would be squashed. It's too little," Yasushi said.
"Ha! Burin could beat even an 360 kg, 800 lb, large, black pig!"
"Bwee! Bwee!" the little, black pig agree.
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It was Sunday. The gates of the school would normally be shut. But they were open now. And there, greeting everybody, was the Headmaster. "Cheerio! Pip, pip! Tallyho! Rather!" the lunatic said in his fake British accent. "Bit of a bother, but the main course has been changed. Too many spectators, you know. It's no longer in the gym. Rather, the table has been set out on the main sports field. Be good to follow the crowd…"
"He's wearing a really old-fashioned tuxedo," Akane noticed. "It has long tails."
"He lost his tan," Ranma noticed.
"He's wearing makeup." , "A foundation." , "A very pasty one."
"He's wearing a monocle," Yasushi said.
"I say! There you are, Master Saotome! And Young Mistress Akane, too! Good show! I have your escort through this beastly crowd! Clap! Clap!"
And out to greet them came the Alpha Male Club. To say they weren't wearing tuxedos would be an understatement.
They were in just their competition shoes, socks, and trunks. Revealed were the rest of their bodies-beautiful (or, in the case of the weightlifters, just plain muscular ones). Of course, while they waited, the bodybuilders among them had to pose and flex.
For a moment, the small redhead was mesmerized. But only for a moment. She knew full well those were the wrong kind of muscles for martial arts.
"Stay in the middle of the Club, Akane-san and Ranma-san, and we'll get you safely to the lunch," Taichi, their president, said.
Akane was about to protest when she looked down at Burin–chan in the carriage. It would have a better chance inside a convoy. –Assuming none of the big lummoxes tripped!
"You do that, then! I'm gonna–" But before Ranma could leap away, Akane had grabbed her by the arm.
"Do you really want to try that in a hoop skirt?"
Ranma looked at it. Thought of the aerodynamics. And saw the skirt revealing everything underneath as she came down. Okay, that wouldn't bother her. But, then, the rush of air would thrust the skirt all the way up, interfering with her arms and sight!
So, Ranma walked like an old-fashioned lady with another one with an old-fashioned carriage surrounded by big, large, half-nude men. Her only comfort was they were so wide she was half-hidden behind this wall of male flesh.
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Yesterday, the school had been in a shambles after the Battle of the Sexes. Today almost all of the evidence was gone.
Yesterday, this sports field had been surrounded by the girls of the school. Today, it was being surrounded by those who couldn't find spots on the bleachers.
Yesterday, this sports field had held half the boys of the school captive. Today, there was a 20 x 20 ft, 6 x 6 m, wrestling ring with, inside its padded ropes, a 7 ft, 2 m, formally set dining table. For the while, the platters and tureens were covered with lids.
And behind the table were four antique, French chairs on each side. Nabiki and Kasumi were already sitting on the north side. Opposite them, on the south side, were, man/woman, Chance, a young woman Ranma didn't know, Picolet Cardin, and St. Paul. Standing on the ground by the raised platform of the ring was a somebody in a waitress uniform with touches of a nurse's.
Mr. Tendō was his daughter's and Ranma's recognized coach. He helped the "ladies" up the steps and between the ropes as "elegantly" as possible. Akane's entrance into the ring was made all the more awkward for her insisting on bringing Burin-chan, on a leash and swaddled in a baby blanket.
First Akane, then Ranma sat down. All the ladies had to keep their hands on the hoop skirts to keep them down. Kasumi was a natural at it, Nabiki knew how to do it well. Akane had the weight of a little pig to help her. Ranma...well, at least she didn't show her petticoats and pantaloons.
Then the referee entered the ring. He descended riding the giant hook of a construction crane. But he was pretending he was parachuting down at the end of his open umbrella.
Ranma wasn't paying him any attention. Her trained senses were warning her of the danger of the unknown teen next to Chardin. She was obviously not Japanese. She had pale skin, platinum blonde hair and wore all white clothes that fit in well with those the la Belle France School of Martial Arts Fine Dining were making them her and the Tendō sisters wear. As further accouterments were her bouquet of white lilies and...an ornate picture frame propped up behind her.
"I say!" the HeadcaseMaster said, jumping the last feet down onto the mat. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? Right-ho!" And he closed his brolly.
"Master!" the small ninja, Sasuke, said, offering the microphone up to him.
"Oh, bother! I won't be bothered. You keep pace and see that my words are heard; there's a good man.
"On this side, facing north," he said, pointing with his brolly, "is la Belle France School of Martial Art of Fine Dining!
Their captain is none other than the heir to a Belle France Cuisine de le Gourmands family of restaurants, Mr. Picolet Chardin III!"
"Monsieur!" Chardin corrected as he rose to accept the applause of the crowd.
The Silky Darling crashed against Ranma's defenses! Too many of the girls and women's hearts beat faster at the sight of this handsome blonde! What saved her own girl brain from being swept up in their delight was the disapproval enough had for his hair! This was Japan, and many disapproved of hair not native to their homeland. Still, Ranma again was reminded just how much of a girl she could be. And that was exactly why she had to be a girl! Only by confronting her condition could she hope to stay in control of her emotions and impulses! But it was hard practice!
And their captain and first representative of this challenge match–"
"Psst! Master," Sasuke said, "they wish it to be called a duel."
"Rather not. Too French for my tastes. –Sandurin san Pour-san!"
"That's Madame Sandrine Saint Paul!" she rose up in her greatest dignity to protest.
"In France. But when in Rome, as the saying goes. That is how most here in Japan pronounce your name, is it not?"
"Can it, Kunō!" She said, in English, to Santa Kunō.
"I say, Old Girl! Let's not be testy! Why can't you adopt a good Japanese name, like this beauty of tomorrow, a princess in comportment only, Asuka Saginomiya!"
The white girl of the lilies rose to accept the adoration of the boys and men of the audience. Having far, far more practice being a guy, and, also, having had years of Chaste Warrior training, Ranma was able to resist the male feelings the sight of her aroused. (Though her girl brain responded to the overall critique the born–females were giving Asuka.) But more immediate than those was the sense of danger Ranma had about her. She was trouble!
"And, lastly, is the second, Chansu. (No family name)."
"Monsieur Chance Gamblers." he, at last, rose and bowed.
And then headed to the Headmaster. "What is ze meaning of zese insults!"
"Oh, piffle, Old Boy! I'm just demonstrating my neutrality as the referee. I, too, am a European, you know."
"You are not! You are Japanese!"
"I dare say, we Brits and they are island peoples. Perhaps that is what confuses you."
"I shall challenge you to a game of chance when this is over!" And he returned to his side.
"And here, with their backs to the north, is the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts, Unqualified!
"I say, you sound a bit of a group of unmitigated bounders. Are you sure you wish to be known as willing to do anything? Are you willing to cheat?"
Her sisters looked at Nabiki. The Ice Queen was unmoved.
"Are you willing to lie?"
"I never lie," Nabiki said.
"Get on with it, or I'll make you bald like a Buddhist monk!" Ranma cried. Geez! He was making her sorry she had cut off his topknot and changed him from thinking he was Hawaiian to this flavor-of-the-day nutjob!
"One must be moderate in all things. Except for the Eightfold Path," he clasped his hands and bowed, giving her a taste of his fake monk.
But he went back to being fake British, "Their coach is none other than the heir of the Tendō Training Hall, Kohai Soun Tendō!"
"Thank you!" Soun bowed from his place on the ground. "Thank you, friends and neighbors!"
"And their captain and first representative," and Ranma rose, "is Ms. Nabiki Tendō!"
"Hey!I'm the captain and I'm the one that started this challenge!" Ranma cried.
"You say something, Young Miss? The Rules of Fighting say the referee is to only recognize the captains and coaches."
"You're just still mad at me for giving you a haircut!"
"Unless Nabiki paid him," Akane said to Burin-chan alone. The Kunōs were too rich to be bought, but too crazy not to accept bribes, anyway.
"Give it a rest, Ranma," Nabiki said. "All you have to lose is me to another man. Or do you want to marry another man?"
"You're making a fool of yourself!" Akane told the redhead, pulling her back down by her skirt. And Burin-chan, of course, agreed with her.
Ranma crossed her arms over her bust and fumed. "I hope she humiliates herself."
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The lids were taken off the platters and tureens revealing what the waiter and waitress were serving up onto the plates and bowls. The referee told the audience what was the seven-course meal: "hors-d'oeuvres, Vichyssoise soup, chicken basquaise, Pont L'Eveque cheese and Normandy apple bread, honey almond crêpes, creme brulee French press coffee and a digestif."
Nabiki stood on one side of the 1 m ,3 ft, wide table, Madame St. Paul on the other. Even in Japan, Nabiki thought it would be difficult to meet somebody who seemed even more rigidly proper.
"Everybody ready for a go? Then Tally-ho, and–"
"Hold it!" Nabiki raised her hand. "Where are the salt and pepper?! How do you expect me to eat something not seasoned to my own personal taste! Nabiki Tendō insists on having things to her own personal taste."
"Sacré bleu! Non! There is no greater offense to ze chef zan to question his taste! If you do not prefer his taste, you should take your taste elsewhere!"
"Oh, I should forfeit over bad food."
"La Belle Francoias Cuisine de le Gourmands serves only the finest, à la Français, of cuisine!"
Nabiki leaned on the table and faced off with the woman old enough to be her eldest aunt, "The customer is always right, as the Americans say. If it does not meet my tastes, it's bad. And I'll tell that to anybody and everybody. They will all–"
"Here, Miss Nabiki," Sasuke said, coming out from under the hanging tablecloth and holding the mike up for her.
She took it. "Everybody! I have something to say! This French food is–"
Flash!
And the microphone was gone and in St. Paul's hand.
Ranma leaned forward in her chair. All of her trained senses were on the alert! She had to discover the secret to their technique!
"Chance!" St. Paul motioned to her second. Who motioned to the waitress on the ground. Who motioned to…Eventually, the motion reached their catering truck...
...and Nabiki had her salt and pepper.
She frowned. "This is a pepper grinder."
Madame St. Paul came close to smirking. "You were expecting to cause me to sneeze and have me open my mouth and, so, lose ze contest? Ze move is legal, but this repas will present you with no opportunity to use ze maneuver."
"Really?" And Nabiki began grinding over a fancy, silk napkin.
Flash! Flash! Flash! The hors d'oeuvres disappeared faster as she could grind.
The soup would be next. Nabiki had to work with what she had! She flicked the napkin and sent the ground pepper at St. Paul! The Madame of Fine Dining was experienced. She knew how to counter the attack.
Nabiki knew that, too. With her other hand, she sent her bowl of soup towards her opponent. Now, was the woman so experienced she could handle two attacks at once?
Between each Flash! there was a Wave~ of her hand that kept her nose clear. The soup disappeared in mid-air and she did not sneeze! Now, that was experience!
But Nabiki had discovered some already ground pepper in the grinder and had saved it in a corner of her hand (little, pinky and palm). She blew that and caught off-guard the woman still recovering from the last attacks.
Madame St. Paul sneezed!
It happened quickly! More rapidly than most could or would notice! But Ranma saw!
She fell off her chair in surprise and disgust!
The Old Woman's lips had gone two feet, 60 cm, out from her face! And her jaw had dropped a foot, 30 cm!
But, then, she was back to having the tight-lipped, prim and proper mouth.
Nabiki started tossing whatever was handy, and as rapidly as she could at St. Paul!
Flash! Flash! Fash! But instead of disappearing, they all were returned to their proper place on the table!
–Only to have Nabiki re-use it to re-toss!
Nabiki had thrown so many so quickly, St. Paul wasn't quite finished with one attack before she had to deal with another!
Again, Ranma felt amazed and sickened! The woman could stretch out her tongue three, maybe four feet, 90 – 120 cm! And not just stretch it, but use like a New World monkey's tail! It was prehensile and she would catch, lift and carry things as easily as a tentacle of an octopus could! But in air, not water!
Madame St. Paul knew she could not finish the duel by eating all of the food thrown at her. This upstart reaching past her class, Nabiki Tendō, was not the only opponent she had to face that day. While she, like all of the members of Les Exiles, was a gourmand, there was a price to pay for excessive eating. She was unwilling to pay it, at this time. Not on this unworthy opponent!
Flash! among flashes! And Nabiki felt something damp snap against a pressure point of her wrist. As what happens when a doctor taps a hammer against a knee, she reflexively lost control!
She spilled creme brulee coffee on her dress! To add insult to injury, the coffee went down the large amount of cleavage her decolletage revealed. At least it wasn't scaldingly hot.
"Bit of a bad show, Young Missy," referee Headmaster said. "You seem to have lost your elegance. You certainly have demonstrated no etiquette, eh, what?"
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Nabiki returned to her seat in defeat. It was no great loss for her. She had had an idea and had tried her best. More importantly, she had given Ranma (and possibly Akane) a preview of the opponent they were about to face. She would collect on the debt one way or another.
"Did you see?" Ranma whispered to Akane.
"I think...I don't want to believe it." What she thought she had seen Madame St. Paul doing was like a trick of the imagination, something just at the edge of reality, one that was gone before she was sure it had come.
"She's a monster! They all have to be! That's the horrible secret of their technique!"
"Oh, Ranma! Don't judge them by appearances. They're snooty, uptight, out-of-date snobs, but they seem alright, otherwise. They let you use the iron corset you have on!"
"Eeh!" Ranma's warding fingers went up. "They, they want to make me a monster, too!"
"Ranma! They're not monsters!" She hoped.
"The second representative of the Anything-Goes School is Mrs. Kasumi Tendō!" the Headmaster announced.
"Oh, my, no. I'm not a Missus, I'm a Miss. But I'll pass my turn to my Little Sister, Akane."
"Hey! You've been callin' me your Little Sister, too!" Ranma wanted her turn!
"Akane, do you really think your rival school of Martial Arts Fine Dining is worth the risk?" her big sister asked. "Even if it had worked, it might be...past its sell-by date."
"I, I have to try!" she told herself more than anybody else. She rose to her feet (lost under the hoop skirt)
"I am a martial artist! I will take the risk! Ranma's not the only one who can pull off impossible feats!" And she strode to the table, her little bundle of pig in her arms.
"Really sorry to say this, Young Girl, but you have disqualified yourself," the referee told her. And the Headmaster looked over to Kasumi. "You as well, Older Girl."
"Great! That means it's My turn!" Ranma cried.
"I won't let you! I'll have my chance to prove I'm a martial artist!" Akane screamed. And Burin–chan squealed just as loudly, too.
"Excuse me," Kasumi said, coming over to calm her sister and her pig down. While her warm, gentle hands rubbed them, she asked the man, "May I ask why we are disqualified?"
"Oh, I rather suppose that you have no idea about the Rules of Fighting, you Innocent Thing You. There is a set order to who precedes who, you know."
"Oh, my, you're saying that I disqualified myself by not following the protocol of the list of who goes before who? Oh, my, that does go against etiquette. May I ask to see the list?"
"Say what?" Of course, the Headmaster had no formal list. He was going to dismiss her, anyway, but he could not take his eyes away from hers. His turbulent soul was falling into the abyss of her peaceful soul. He would be sitting and meditating if he stayed there too long. He felt he could lose his need to keep the world spinning!
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"Ranma," Kasumi said as she passed her. "I am pretty sure Akane will win. But you will have the most important part in today's event. Please, be prepared. I must go now to pray and sing...
"Why, thank you, Father," she said as he helped her get between the ropes and down the steps. She then made her way through the crowd.
She passed the caterers bringing the replacement courses of hors-d'oeuvres and soup.
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"You are fighting with a pig?" Madame St. Paul accused.
"Is there anything in the rules that says I can't?! And I'm not trying to insult you! This is very important to my school of Martial Arts Fine Dining!"
"Animals are not allowed at ze table!"
"Burin-chan will not have to be at the table! I'm keeping him in my arms. What could be more Finer Dining than not only not seeing my mouth move but my hands, too!
"And even, if he did end up on the table, he's clean! And he's had all his…." She looked down at him. "Have you had all of your shots? We'll see that you do."
"BWEE!" In its struggle to get out of Akane's arm, the thing he had been holding under the blanket fell out and down onto the mat of the wrestling ring.
"Ryo–Burin-chan!" Akane cried, seeing her chance of winning fumbled.
"Here you are, Miss Akane Tendō," Sasuke said, handing her the antique, Chinese incense burner. "And here's the packet of incense that was in it."
"Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Ninja!" she cried with relief. "Set it on the table," she asked him, as she tried to control the animal. Sasuke did. And he tore open the packet and poured the pellets in. "Do you wish me to light them for you, Miss Akane Tendō?"
"Yes, Mr. Ninja –No, wait! I need the lozenge in its hidden drawer."
"Hidden drawer?" After feeling around for it, he found the latch that kept the spring from opening the small drawer. Inside was what looked like a piece of candy. Though one that was a dark, disgusting looking green. It left no appeal for anybody to put it in their mouth.
Meanwhile, Madame St. Paul was arguing with the referee. "I demand you disqualify zis simple adolescent – Again! She is making ze moquerie of ze elegance of etiquette!"
Headmaster Kunō remembered the eyes of Kasumi and the unspeakable calm she could inflict on his troubled mind. "Must say, the Young Lady has a right to her own techniques. And I would consider the pig the right handicap for your benefit, what?"
She glared at the lunatic and knew it would be a waste to argue with the so-called referee.
Instead, she turned her attention to the food on the table. She, Madame St. Paul, would begin the competition now!
Flash! Flash! Flash!
But before she could, the woman obsessed with etiquette felt compelled to put each and every thing on the table back in their proper position. Besides, with the speed of her tongue, it wouldn't take long.
Akane held Buri-chan up to her shoulder, patting it to keep it calm, but also to remind him what a strong hold she had on it. She didn't want Ryōga to get lost in the crowd, or worse, the poor little thing.
And thinking on this helped to take her mind off the flavor of the lozenge. It was acrid with the taste of the incense, but it also had the mix of all other flavors mushed together, like chocolate ice cream and sardines and maple syrup and natto! Even being on center stage with the pig instead of her Romeo wasn't becoming enough of a distraction from it!
No! She had to keep it in her mouth! She had to compete! She had to prove to everybody she Was a martial artist! She could endure
She took the deep-breath of the martial artist marshaling all of her energy and resolve!
The incense from the burner mixed with the food. Then, responding to the lozenge, it was drawn back towards it –and it took the food with it! The solid food had become just their aromas! The scent of incense brought with it the whiff of the hors-d'oeuvres, the fragrance of the soup, the bouquet of the chicken medley, the stink of the cheese, the perfume of the coffee – All at the same time! Not just the smell, but the pure, concentrated flavors separated out and contrasted one against the others! It was enough to make anybody less determined than Akane puke!
The miasmas rose off the plates, the bowls, the platters, and the tureens!
"Mon Dieu! Ze Fine Dining technique of ze Taoists! Ze secret of zeir Sages! I of Occidental France cannot be outclassed by ze Oriental school!" Her tongue whipped out, snapping this way and that to gather the different colored clouds! She was so anxious, though, she forgot etiquette and allowed her saliva to run along the length of her tongue and be flung about in slobber!
Her spit, too, became part of the fume entering Akane's nose!
She mustn't gag! She mustn't puke! Whatever happened, she Must, Not, Lose, the lozenge!
In one last desperate gambit, Madame St, Paul tried to suck the remaining mists, she shaped her mouth into a great straw!
The audience gasped! Others screamed! "Monster!" some cried!
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"Oh, my! She has let the cat out of the bag, hasn't she(?)!"
"Kasumi?(?)" Ranma asked. She had come back?
But, wait, that wasn't her voice. Ranma turned to see who was sitting next to her.
It was an oddly costumed man with a staff, his hair in a bob cut. He had the air of a traveler long on the road, something Ranma was quite familiar with. "Who are you?"
With a mischievous gleam in his eye, the squinty man said to her. "People call me, Xelloss."
"What are you doing here in the ring?!"
"That, is a secret," he said with an enigmatic smile.
Ranma wasn't watching as Akane puked, but she heard her do it!
"Akane!" she cried, rushing to her.
"I say! Terribly, terribly bad show! No elegance at all! Akane Tendō is declared the loser!" the referee announced.
"Akane?" Ranma held her bent over friend by her shoulders. "Akane, I'm so sorry! It must be–"
"Here! Take it!" Akane handed her the lozenge she had rescued. "Put it in your mouth! You must not let the
Anything-Goes School lose!"
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Kasumi had found a hidden spot where no one could or would be able to see her.
Bowing her head, she clapped two times and put her hands together in prayer. "All-Father, Kam-–sama, who is most at home in the Constellations of the North Star, hear my call!
"Let my Guardian Angel sing her song of praise! Emerge, Holly Belle! Let your beauty be revealed!"
The presence just on the edge of human awareness became one with Kasumi's aura...and from there collected the light of this plane of reality to take the shape of an angel, with long, elegant feathers spreading out from her wings, a white, loose halter top and a long white skirt that morphed into a heavenly cloud that Kasumi herself shared.
The eldest daughter of Soun Tendō parted her hands and followed Holly Bell's as they both began to sing a wordless hymn of unearthly harmony and beauty!
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Akane had Ryōga in a firm hug. And Ranma had Akane in a firm hug, as she stood behind her. Ranma was now not fighting for her own pride, she was fighting for their school's. But even more important, she was fighting for her friend's!
With the lozenge firmly in the redhead's mouth, once again, all that could be humanly consumed became one with the air, shifting the very wind to blow the pall towards her. And, like Akane, Ranma discovered how even the best of flavors could become vile when their very earthy essences were smelled all at once! And that was trying to discount the puke that was also in the blend!
But Ranma had had a hard life! Time and again, she had had to eat whatever was available, things even she would not stomach unless she was forced to by hunger! She had practice tasting disgusting, revolting things! She even almost liked natto!
And soon – but not soon enough as far as she was concerned! – all of the food was gone!
And she had not opened her mouth once.
She, her school, and Akane had won.
And so the referee declared.
And Madame St. Paul hung her head in defeat.
The bell was rung.
Bell? What bell? They had not used a bell in this match.
The iron corset Ranma was wearing was ringing, resonating with another sound. The sound gave her corset an unearthly but very beautiful tone. The ringing was harmonic and almost musical. The bell seemed...holy.
"This is where you part comes in," said the man who people called Xelloss. His hand was on one of her shoulders. "You remind me of Lina Inverse, so I am sure you are capable of vanquishing the monsters inhabiting the bodies of those others who are wearing iron corsets."
"They really are monsters?!"
"Now, do you really think humans can deform their mouths and tongues as they can? Or eat faster than the human eye can follow?
"But, no. They are only the humans the monsters are, if you'll pardon the expression, 'living' in. But they could become monsters unless you save them."
Somehow, Ranma thought she could trust this Xelloss character. The music vibrating her whole body to the bone told her that she should. "Okay. What do I do?!"
"It is all a matter of will. Do you have the will of a hero to vanquish the enemy of humanity and all beings on this plane of existence? Can you shift the very north polar axis of the world and set this world spinning on its proper course?"
"You Bet I CAN! I'm Ranma Saotome!" Her own will increased the volume of the bell music.
But that wasn't enough! She hit her belly against the inside of the corset. She adjusted and adjusted again the beat, relying on her trained senses to find the right feel!
And the holy music gained a rhythm! A very human rhythm, full of syncopation!
And the iron corsets of the le Belle de la France School began resonating with Ranma's corset! Their corsets had not before because they did not have the link to Holy Purity as Ranma had. And now, the martial artist was passing it along to the monsters through their link with their human hosts!
Theirs had a competing, far less musical sound to their bell rings. There was a clash of dissonance and disharmony!
The audience covered their ears. Some screamed to hide behind their own wall of noise. Some tried to run away from it!
"Don't forget the static electricity," Xelloss advised.
While continuing to beat her belly against the corset, she also found a way to rub her belly against it!
But how could she generate enough electricity to open up the pathway to Heaven the Taoist Sages and the shamen used?! How strong a bolt of lightning could she possibly give Kam-sama?!
"Allow me," Xellos said, touching his staff to her bodice,
FLASH!
In a scream of pain, the misshapen monsters that had been inside Madame St. Paul, Chance Gamblers, and Picolet Chardin III rose up out of their hosts' bodies!
Yelling vows of vengeance on Xelloss, they shifted out of this universe and into the alternative universe they belonged, one where they did not need human hosts.
"Well done, Ranma Saotome! And you did it without the Blast Bomb or the Laguna Blade spell Lina Inverse uses! Of course, she, too, has to use a talisman to accomplish those.
"Well, I must join my fellow monsters in that other world." And he, too, began to fade.
"Will I ever see you again?!"
"Now, that, is a secret," he smiled.
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I apologize for the spoiler on Xelloss. He became a major character in The Slayers. While, as a monster and servant of more powerful monsters, he is dedicated to Chaos – literally! – he seems to have his own agenda. Hmm, that sounds like the magic of Ranma's Jusenkyo curse.
The same actress that voiced Kasumi also voiced Belldandy of Oh, My Goddess. The two characters are often compared in fan fictions that I have read. In my interpretation, Holly Bell(e) is the true, consistent form, and Belldandy is just the goddess form that ages, dies and is reborn time and again. Kasumi is one of Holy Bell's human forms. Belldandy has a goddess brain, Kasumi a girl brain.
And, if you know anything about Belldandy's sisters, the answer is yes, that's how I view Nabiki and Akane, too. But, no, there is not a on-to-one match between the pairs of sisters and their abilities of Future, Present, and Past.
Retrospect: The reference to characters outside of Ranma ½ canon was meant to be a one-off. It was…until my creativity felt compelled to weave them into the greater story, changing the trajectory completely. This chapter, then is precursor to Son Turned Daughter: Yggdrasil.