Original Story Concepts inspired by 'Back to Elementary School' by Dumbledork, original posted on FF from February 12, 2010 to May 24, 2012.
This is a remixed and expanded continuation of an abandoned fic originally posted to in from 2010 to 2012. This fic was what introduced me to the relatively unknown gender bender manga Ichinensei ni Nacchattara, and thus was responsible for eventual creation of my other fic How Young Should I Make Him? which crosses over with Onimai. I enjoyed the original fic, but felt like some moments were a bit out of character and too condensed. I have thus applied my skills to expand and continue the original story. Some events have been completely altered, while others have been deleted and shifted around. Some parts of the original text will be used, but for most part everything has been rewritten from scratch.
This fic acts as an alternate ending and branching off point from Ranma 1/2 Chapter 349. It expands some details from that story, and expands upon it. Thus, the first few chapters will be a pure Ranma 1/2 fic before the crossover elements are introduced and become the main focus. Please be sure to comment as any feedback is incredibly helpful to me as a writer, especially since this is my first ever Ranma fic.
Chapter 1: When They Battled
Life was anything but normal for a certain martial artist by the name of Ranma Saotome. Taken from his mother at a young age, raised on the road to be constantly trained in martial arts by his father Genma, and forcibly engaged to numerous women without his knowledge or consent, Ranma had a pretty rough upbringing.
However, his misery had reached its peak when Genma decided to take Ranma to the legendary training grounds of Jusenkyo in China. Unbeknownst to the two, the area was full of cursed springs that would transform those that fell into them into them into the forms of a certain creature that had fallen into them in the distant past. Genma had fallen into the Spring of Drowned Panda, and was now cursed to become a Panda when splashed with cold water. Ranma on the other hand had fallen into the Spring of Drowned Girl, and was now cursed to become a girl when splashed with cold water. Although hot water could revert them back to their original states, these curses seemed to have it in for them. Cold water seemed to always find a way to splash the two at the most inconvenient times, leaving them to fend for themselves until they could find a source of hot water. Genma seemed to revel in his form and the amount that he could use it to get out of trouble or work, but Ranma absolutely despised it. He had been raised by Genma to be a man-among-men, and there was no way that he would ever be able to become one like this. On top iof that, he risked being called a pervert if he was ever caught changing back to normal in front of other people. A normal child might be able to vent their frustrations about this to a group of friends. Given the nature of his and Genma's constant traveling, however, Ranma had no real friends to speak of. It was just him and his father, and for the longest time it seemed as if that was the way that it was always going to be.
Things began to look up though after Genma announced that they would be living with his old friend Soun Tendo in Japan. Ranma saw this as his chance for a fresh start, a new beginning. It would be his opportunity to actually have something of a normal childhood, even though he didn't have much time left to experience one. His hopes were dashed though when Genma said that one of the conditions of their stay was that Ranma would be engaged to marry one of Soun's three daughters, something that he and Genma had in mind for almost twenty years. After arriving and introducing themselves, Ranma was forcibly engaged to Soun's youngest daughter Akane. The two didn't have the best introduction due to the nature of Ranma's curse, and never quite seemed to get along. In fact, there were times where their constant bickering led to Akane attacking and almost killing Ranma with whatever large blunt objects that happened to be in sight at the time. Deep down inside though, the two greatly deeply cared about each other, as evidenced by their jealousy whenever anyone else showed any degree of romantic interest towards either of them. There were talks here and there about the two getting married for real, but they never really progressed very far due to the arguments that would constantly arise between the two every time that the topic was brought up. Maybe they would be able to work it out someday, but for now it was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Although this would not be much of a hindrance to a normal life, their engagement ,as well as all of Genma's past misdeeds, had a massive impact on Ranma and Akane's lives going forward. Ranma was saddled with numerous suitors, both male and female, who were determined to make him theirs. Lots of them were complete strangers that he had no idea even existed until they showed up at the door of the Tendo Dojo ready to tie the knot. In addition to this, there were numerous rivals who wished to kill Ranma for one reason or another. Ranma had fallen into a near-daily cycle where he would be dragged into a fight that he rarely started and couldn't care less about. They were a constant source of annoyance for him, but he still fought them nonetheless. If anyone had to ask why his grades at school were so terrible, he would usually chalk it up to the constant fighting or strange occurrences interrupting his studies.
One such occurrence had happened recently. A few days prior. Ranma had discovered that his greatest rival Ryoga Hibiki had accidentally eaten the mysterious Mushrooms of Time, which would magically alter a person's age depending on how large they were. Eating one by accident had reduced Ryoga to a six-year old child because the mushroom he ate was six-centimeters tall. Pitying him, Ranma had decided to let Ryoga stay at the Tendo Dojo until they could grow more and turn him back to normal. This wouldn't have been a problem unto itself, but Ryoga's somewhat irrational hatred towards Ranma drove the two into a fight not long after. During the brawl, Ryoga force-fed Ranma one of the mushrooms, turning Ranma into a six year old child as well. Ever since then, the battle to grow more mushrooms and change back had escalated into an all-out war between the two.
Two days passed, and Ranma and Ryoga were getting more and more desperate to get back to their original ages. Akane had confiscated the last of the mushrooms and spores in secret after she became more than fed up with their constant squabbles about who would be the first to eat one and return to normal. The boys' constant fighting had caused quite a great deal of damage to the Tendo Dojo, and Akane was not sure that there would be much of a structure left so long as the mushrooms were kept within their reach.
To remedy this, Akane had put the flower pot containing the mushrooms into her room where they could slowly grow without interference. She believed that she had been able to do so without being seen, but that didn't stop Ranma and Ryoga from suspecting what she had done. After all, she was the only one not in the room while the others attempted to keep the two distracted for reasons that they never made very clear. Not considering the consequences for even a second, they snuck into the teenage girl's room and wreaked havoc inside; upending every drawer and searching every corner to find what they hoped would be their salvation. But when they heard the sound of Akane approaching the room, they hid inside a dresser drawer out of fear of what the unbalanced girl might do to them if she found them.
Akane was beyond shocked and angry when she walked in and saw the state that her room was in. Seeing her private sanctuary so completely violated was causing her rage to boil over.
"I swear, whoever did this is going to suffer once I get my hands on them." she yelled as she began to violently search through the various piles of junk scattered around the room for the culprits.
Ranma and Ryoga trembled from within the drawer. Akane's temper was a thing to fear on the best of days, and this was most certainly not one of those days. If she found them, they would be dead for sure.
Just as Akane was about to search her dresser, she heard Nabiki's voice calling out to her.
"Akane, I think that the mushrooms are at sixteen centimeters now." she said.
Nabiki opened the door and walked in. She had retrieved the mushrooms from Akane's room earlier that day since she knew that Ranma and Ryoga would likely search for them there. To keep them safe, she had decided to store them in her own room instead. As a young lady with exemplary business intuition, it seemed as if her wise gamble had paid off handsomely. Akane's spirit immediately brighted upon hearing this, her anger completely fading away.
"That's great news. Thanks for watching them, Nabiki." she beamed
The boys' ears peaked up when they heard this. There were still mushrooms for them to eat, and they were the perfect size to allow them to return to normal. As soon as they heard Akane leave the room, they became restless upon realizing that they had no way to get out of the dresser. Unfortunately for them the drawer was stuck, and in their new child sized forms they lacked the necessary strength to push it back open. They immediately let out sighs of frustration after trying and failing for a few seconds to force their way out.
"This is all your fault, Ranma." Ryoga yelled.
"Me? It was your idea to hide in here." Ranma yelled back.
The two growled at each other before Ranma calmed down and held up his hand.
"Okay stop, this isn't going to help us get out of here." he said. "Any other ideas?"
"No." Ryoga groaned. "The very thought of being stuck in here forever with the likes of you is a fate worse than death."
Ranma watched Ryoga sulking and almost pitied him. Soon after though, an idea raced through his mind.
"Ryoga, I have a plan." he said. "You launch your Shishi Hokodan when I count to three, okay?"
"Why should I trust you?" Ryoga asked while looking away.
Ranma angrily hit Ryoga on the head.
"Idiot, do you really think that I would be trying anything at a time like this?" Ranma yelled. "I'm in the same boat as you right now, and if we're going to get out of here you're going to have to trust me just this once. Do you think that you can do that for one lousy minute?"
Ryoga glanced off to the side sulking for a minute before eventually clenching his fists.
"Fine, I'll do it just this once." he answered. "That doesn't mean that I have to like it though."
"My thoughts exactly." Ranma said. "Now get ready to fire."
Ryoga closed his eyes and began to imagine the most depressing thing that he could do at the moment.
"If I don't find a way to get out of here, I'll never see Akane's beautiful smiling face ever again." he thought. "And on top of that I'll be stuck in a cramped space forever with Ranma of all people."
Ryoga's battle aura began to glow as his feelings of depression intensified. Ranma's body began emitting a similar aura of a different color.
"Once I get out of here, I'll finally be able to get back to normal." he thought with delight.
Unlike Ryoga, the attack that Ranma was planning to use relied on confidence instead of depression. It was always so easy for Ranma to become happy enough to use this attack, though for no particular reason he rarely ever called upon it. Using it now of all times was going to be a rare sight for the ages.
"One…two…three…" Ranma counted down.
"Shishi Hokodan." Ryoga yelled.
"Moko Takabisha." Ranma yelled at the exact same time.
The two opposing ki blasts generated by the boys quickly collided and combined into a single orb between them. Although the two were delighted at first, their expressions quickly became fearful when they saw the orb growing larger and larger. In no time at all, it would be so large that the tiny space the boys found themselves in wouldn't be able to hold it.
"Uh oh." Ryoga thought.
"We really didn't think this through at all." Ranma thought.
Akane's dresser began to rock back and forth as the increasing pressure from the orb began to strain it to its limit. As this was happening, the door opened and Akane stepped inside. She was holding two plates that each contained a mushroom of the appropriate size to return Ranma and Ryoga to normal.
"Ranma, Ryoga, you can come on out now. I have the mushrooms." she called out.
The words had barely left Akane's lips when the dresser exploded from the pressure. Akane felt the aftershock from the blast as it blew right past her, leaving her room even more of a warzone than it had already been. As angry as she was at this unexpected development, her heart sank the moment she realized that something very important had been destroyed in the blast.
Ranma and Ryoga stumbled out of the rubble of the dresser. As they regained their balance, they noticed Akane's expression and immediately realized that something was wrong.
"Where are the mushrooms?" Ranma asked.
Akane closed her eyes and showed them the plates that she had been holding. Ranma and Ryoga's faces sank when they saw nothing but charred remains that were still steaming. The explosion from the blast had completely incinerated the mushrooms, and with them, any chance of Ranma and Ryoga returning to normal.
"I'm sorry." Akane answered sadly, "Those were the last ones. Please try to be brave… and start your lives over again."
Akane turned away, tears forming in her eyes. Ranma felt a horrible feeling building up inside.
"It's…it's all over." he thought.
Beginning to tear up as well, Ranma quickly raced out of the dojo and onto the street. As he did, he passed by Genma who was currently in his panda form. Seeing Ranma run past, Genma held up a sign that read "What was all that about?"
As Akane walked out of her now destroyed bedroom, Ryoga stood there in shock. The thought of being stuck as a kid until he eventually grew up again was bad enough, but what hurt even more was seeing Akane so sad. Ryoga loved Akane with all of his heart, and the thought of being the cause of her unhappiness was a fate worse than death. In a sort of trance, Ryoga slowly walked over to the dojo's porch, his expression unchanging. As soon as he reached it, he collapsed face-first onto the floor and began to sob. He ended up pounding his fists out of frustration.
"Damn it, damn it damn it damn it." he yelled. "Why does this always happen to me? Am I destined to be miserable forever?"
Kasumi quickly noticed Ryoga's outburst and quickly rushed over to comfort him. She wasted no time in sitting on the ground beside him and patting him on the shoulders.
"There there." she said. "It'll be okay."
Soun suddenly popped up from the underside of the porch. He was holding several toys designed to keep young children entertained.
"No need to fret there, Ryoga." he said. "Here, why don't you let me help you take your mind off of it?"
Soun began to wave several of the colorful toys around in a desperate attempt to get Ryoga's attention. This may have worked if Ryoga really was six years old, but he still had the mind of a sixteen year old on the inside. In the end, he reacted to neither Kasumi's nor Soun's attempts to cheer him up, simply continuing to sob on the floor.
"I'm stuck as a child, and on top of that I hurt Akane." he thought. "Oh Kami-sama, just come and take me now."
Ryoga continued to sulk on the floor for the next few hours. Kasumi and Soun meant well, but they quickly realized that their efforts to cheer Ryoga up were in vain and let him be. Eventually he stopped crying, and instead curled up in a fetal position near the porch. Akane nearly smiled when she passed right by him on the way to the dining room. Nabiki noticed this as Akane closed the door behind her.
"You should really try to be more subtle, Akane." Nabiki said. "I know that you were trying to teach those two a lesson, but there's no reason to be that mean about it."
"Oh come on." Akane said as she rolled her eyes. "I know that it was a bit harsh, but we really didn't have any other options. It was the only way to get those two to stop fighting."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Nabiki shrugged. "I mean, just imagine what they would've done to this room if they found out that we had secretly stashed a few of them away."
As she said this, Nabiki quickly sprayed the two pots of mushrooms that were hidden under the dining room table. She and Akane had secretly taken two spores from a few of the larger mushrooms and placed them here at the same time that they hid the other ones in Nabiki's room. It was a classic case of misdirection to ensure that there was a backup plan in the likely event that Ranma and Ryoga's antics ended up destroying the original batch. The two had been taking shifts every thirty minutes to avoid arousing suspicion, using that time to grow the mushrooms and measure them to see if they had reached the target height that would return Ranma and Ryoga to normal. It was grueling work, but it was much more enjoyable when they didn't have to deal with two overpowered brawling kids getting in the way.
Since it was now Akane's turn to take over, she quickly checked the small rulers sticking out of the pot. Her face brightened immediately when she saw how high the mushrooms had grown.
"Hey look, this one is sixteen centimeters tall." she said. "And so is the other one."
"Great." Nabiki said. "Let's harvest them quickly before they grow any taller."
Akane and Nabiki quickly pulled the mushrooms out of the pot and laid them down on a towel on the table.
"And you're sure that we have more just in case?" Akane asked.
Nabiki quickly looked under the table for a few seconds before giving a thumbs up.
"Yep, that's correct." she said. "The main pot still has a bunch of additional spores growing just in case. And you and I are the only ones who know where it is. Just out of curiosity though, what makes you think that this is going to go any better after so many previously failed attempts? The second that those two learn that we have more mushrooms, they'll just start fighting all over again and our new batch will be destroyed as well. It'll be a real pain to have to start growing them all over again, so I hope that you're prepared."
"Don't worry, Nabiki. I got it all figured out." Akane answered. "Since they always end up fighting when we tell them together, let's just give each one to them separately."
"Huh?" Nabiki asked with a slight hint of intrigue.
Akane picked up the mushrooms and handed one to Nabiki.
"We both know that each one wants to be the first one to change back." Akane continued. "Trying to give them the mushrooms at the same time will only serve to reignite that conflict, so let's try this instead. I'll give this mushroom to Ranma, and you give that one to Ryoga. Both of them are at opposite ends of the house right now, so that should prevent any conflicts between them from forming."
Nabiki remained silent for a few seconds before a sly smile spread across her face.
"Very smart idea, Sis." she said. "There might just be hope for you yet."
Akane felt a bit insulted by that statement as Nabiki began to exit the room.
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Akane asked angrily.
"Ask me again sometime." Nabiki chuckled.
Nabiki quickly disappeared from view around the corner, leaving Akane standing there all alone. She quickly sighed and began to head out to the front yard.
"Oh whatever." she thought. "I'd better just focus on getting this mushroom to Ranma before anything else happens."
It took no time at all for Nabiki to find Ryoga. He was still lying in the same position that he had been in thirty minutes ago before she took her turn watching the mushrooms. After hiding the mushroom behind her back with one hand, she quickly walked up to him, knelt down, and placed her other hand on his shoulder.
"Hey there, champ. Feeling any better?" she asked with a slightly mocking tone.
Ryoga quickly looked up, only to look back down when he saw Nabiki.
"Leave me alone." he said. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now, least of all you."
Nabiki quickly stood back up.
"Oh…?" she asked. "Then I take it that you don't want…this?"
Nabiki quickly revealed the mushroom when she said that last word. Ryoga looked up out of intrigue, and his eyes nearly bogged out of his head when he saw what Nabiki was holding.
"What the…where did you get that?" he asked out of shock.
"Honestly, you and Ranma are so easy to fool." Nabiki answered while placing her free hand across her face. "Did you really believe that Akane and I wouldn't have a backup plan in place to ensure that the mushrooms wouldn't be completely destroyed? We grew these in a different part of the house while you two were sulking. And don't bother trying to ask around to find out where we did it, because Akane is the only other person besides me who knows."
Ryoga looked off to the side for a few seconds.
"Well, as upset as I am about you two keeping this from us, I guess that I can understand why." he said. "These ones would've likely been destroyed just like all the others if we actually knew about them beforehand. In any event though, now I can finally change back before Ranma. Give it to me."
Ryoga leapt towards the mushroom as he said those last words, only to suddenly find himself pinned to the corner between the wall and the floor with Nabiki's foot.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" Ryoga asked angrily.
"First, do you understand what you did was wrong and apologize for it?" Nabiki asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ryoga asked.
Nabiki sighed a bit. She was clearly going to have to spell it all out for the diminutive idiot.
"Look, I'm not letting you have this mushroom until you apologize for what you did. Got it?" she asked.
Ryoga remained silent for a few seconds before letting his head down in defeat. Despite his greater level of martial arts prowess, Nabiki's overwhelming size compared to his own at the moment made it impossible for him to slip out of this one.
"Okay, fine. I'm sorry." he answered.
"For?" Nabiki asked.
"For…fighting with Ranma over the mushrooms and causing them to be repeatedly destroyed."
"And?" Nabiki asked.
"And…for wrecking the dojo because of all of our pathetic fighting with each other." Ryoga continued.
"And?" Nabiki asked with a hint of impatience in her voice.
Ryoga blinked a few times in confusion.
"Huh? What else could there be for me to…wait, of course." he thought.
"And…for destroying Akane's room and making her so upset." he continued. "I'm especially ashamed of that one."
Nabiki immediately smiled and lifted up her foot.
"Great, that's all I needed to hear." she said. "Here you go."
Nabiki bent over and handed the sixteen centimeter mushroom to Ryoga. Ryoga smiled and plopped the entire mushroom in his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. After several seconds had passed, he felt his body begin to grow rapidly. He smiled before realizing that his now-enlarged body couldn't possibly fit into the clothes that Kasumi had given him earlier. There was a series of loud ripping noises as the clothes tore themselves apart. Ryoga was left completely naked, but he didn't care in the slightest and practically jumped for joy.
"Yes finally, I'm sixteen years old again." he cried out.
Ryogs suddenly felt a large object strike him in the stomach. As he fell to the floor out of shock, he noticed that it was the bag that he always carried with him on his journey. Looking down the hallway, it was clear that Nabiki had been the one to throw it.
"Here, cover yourself up before you wind up scaring some old ladies or something." she said with a hint of indifference.
As Nabiki disappeared from view, Ryoga blushed furiously when he suddenly became aware of the fact that he had no clothes on. He quickly began to leaf through the bag looking for his usual outfit.
Nabiki made her way to the stairs. After the chaotic events of the past few days, she just wanted to relax for a little while in her room. She knew that this temporary peace wouldn't last forever, and wanted to savor it no matter how short it would inevitably end up being.
"Akane sure is quiet out there." she thought. "I wonder how Ranma is reacting to changing back."
"Nabiki, get out here." Akane yelled from outside.
Nabiki stopped ascending the stairs and turned around.
"Urgh, what could this be about?" she asked with a slight annoyance.
Nabiki exited out of the front of the dojo and saw Akane standing in the yard with Genma, who was still in his panda form. Akane had a look of worry on her face, and this caused Nabiki to feel the same way when she noticed that Ranma was nowhere in sight.
"What's going on here?" Nabiki asked. "Where's Ranma? Didn't you change him back?"
Akane shook her head.
"No, he isn't here." she answered.
"Well where is he then?" Nabiki asked.
Genma quickly held up a sign that read "Well, it's like this…"
"Hold on." Nabiki interrupted.
Nabiki quickly rushed back into the house and grabbed a kettle off of the stove. She wasted no time in heading back outside and pouring it on Genma, who turned back to normal after a few seconds.
"Okay, start talking." Nabiki said. "Where's Ranma? What happened to him?"
Genma adjusted his glasses before answering.
"I have no idea where he is." he answered. "I was just sitting out here minding my own business when he raced out of here in distress. He didn't say where he was going though."
Akane suddenly grabbed the kettle from Nabiki's hand and struck Genma on the head with it.
"And you just let him go off all on his own like that?" she asked.
Genma just closed his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Hey, my son is the single greatest martial artist of his generation." he responded. "He's more than capable of handling himself on his own for a while."
Hearing this made Akane even angrier.
"What is wrong with you?" she yelled. "Ranma is a child right now. Even with all of his skills, he's much more vulnerable in this state. How could you be so irresponsible?"
"Hey, you have no idea of the kinds of things that I used to put the boy through when he was that age. Most of it was absolute hell, but he always survived no matter how beaten and battered he was by the end of it. I'm sure that he can handle a few hours on the streets as a kid. If he can't, then I obviously didn't do a good enough job training him to survive at all costs."
Akane raised her first with absolute fury. She wanted so badly to pound Genma into the ground for his seeming indifference to Ranma's plight. Nabiki quickly took notice of this.
"Calm down, Akane." she called out. "Hurting him isn't going to help us get Ranma back any quicker."
Akane heard this and quickly took a deep breath before lowering her fist.
"Yeah, you're right." she said. "I guess that I was just a bit frustrated and lost my temper."
"Well, now that you're back to your senses, we should probably start looking for Ranma." Nabiki said. "He's probably at one of his usual hangouts, so try searching there. I'll stay here in case he comes back on his own."
"Sounds like a plan." Akane said.
Unbeknownst to the three, Ryoga had been listening to the entire conversation from the other side of the door. He began to smile devilishly as a plan formed into his mind.
"I can't believe it." he thought. "Ranma hasn't been able to change back yet. This is my chance. I can finally end the battle between us once and for all. I just need to get to him before Akane does."
Akane and Nabiki glanced towards the front door as Ryoga suddenly burst through it at top speed. He quickly raced past the two and headed through the front gate
"Ranma here I come. This time you're mine." he called out.
As Ryoga exited the property, he quickly dashed down a random street that he assumed to be the correct one, not paying any attention to where his final destination would even be.
Akane and Nabiki blinked in confusion as the dust cleared from Ryoga's unexpected exit.
"Well, I guess that you'd better get going then." Nabiki said. "If he gets to Ranma first, there's no telling what he might end up doing to him. I wouldn't want to be in Ranma's shoes during such an uneven match."
"Don't worry, there's nothing to be concerned about." Akane said. "With Ryoga's nonexistent sense of direction, there's no way that he'll be able to find Ranma. We probably won't even see him again for at least a few weeks, given his track record anyway."
"I don't know." Nabiki said. "I have a strange feeling that this might just be his lucky day. He was the first one to change back after all. ¥1000 says that he makes it there first."
"Nabiki, this isn't the time for that." Akane said angrily.
"Okay, ¥500 then." Nabiki offered.
Akane grunted before running out of the front gate as well. As soon as she disappeared from view, Nabiki sighed and went back into the house.
"Oh you're no fun." she said, closing the door behind her.
Meanwhile, Akane took off down the street.
"Now if I know Ranma, he likely went somewhere to train and take his mind off of everything." she thought. "Luckily, I know of one place in particular which fits the bill perfectly…"
"Hi-yah." Ranma yelled as he let out one strong final kick.
Feeling a bit worn out, Ranma quickly placed his foot back down and wiped his forehead, which was covered with sweat. He had just gone through quite a workout.
Whenever he needed to be alone, Ranma would always come to this vacant lot, just a few blocks away from the Tendo Dojo, to train. It had plenty of wide open space that made it perfect for practicing complex movements, and no one else would disturb him since they had no real use for it the way he did. It was a quiet sanctuary that belonged only to Ranma, except for the few times that Ryoga issued him a challenge letter. Considering the mass amount of property damage that usually resulted from their duels, Ranma had suggested coming here for them since no one would care what was destroyed.
Truth be told, another reason why Ranma enjoyed this place was the fact that training here allowed him to mentally recharge whenever things were seeming down. He came here often when he was afflicted with the Full-Body Cat's Tongue, when he was struggling to master the Shishi Hokodan, and any time that he and Akane got into a huge fight that typically occurred because he couldn't remember to just keep his big mouth shut. If he was agitated about something, a good workout was all that he needed to re-center himself.
Today was no different. Ranma had been so shaken up over accidentally destroying the remaining Mushrooms of Time that he seemed to run here out of instinct after fleeing the Tendo Dojo in tears. Working out on his own for a few hours here had made him feel much better, and he was now ready to handle whatever the world had left to throw at him.
"Well, I may be stuck as a child right now, but I'm not giving up just yet." he declared. "The mushrooms may be destroyed, but if there's one thing that I've learned during this past year it's that there's always another way. With all of the magical and mythical items and techniques that are out there, I'm sure that there's at least one of those things that'll restore me to my original age. I just need to find it. Even if it takes a million years, I swear that I will."
Ranma suddenly became aware of the fact that the sun was much lower in the sky compared to where it was before.
"Though first things first." he continued. "The others are probably worried sick since I just rushed out of there without saying anything. Better head back and let them know that I'm okay."
Ranma turned around and began to make his way out of the lot. All of a sudden, he sensed an attack coming from behind. Turning around, he noticed a gigantic figure directly above him.
"Ranma, prepare to die." Ryoga yelled.
Ranma dodged at the last possible second before Ryoga struck the ground where Ranma had just been standing. The sheer force of the attack shattered everything within two meters of the impact, leaving a large crater in its wake. Luckily, Ranma avoided any damage and safely landed on the far side of the crater.
"Ryoga, what are you…?" he asked.
Ranma's anger was replaced with confusion when he realized that Ryoga was back to his original age and size. Though from Ranma's perspective, he looked more like a giant with an extremely smug expression on his face.
"Um, what's going on? How did you get back to normal?" Ranma asked.
Ryoga chuckled for a few seconds before answering.
"Oh, didn't you know, Ranma?" he asked smugly. "Turns out there was a single mushroom left growing that they neglected to mention to us. Since you ran off so suddenly, they decided to give it to me instead."
As shocked as Ranma was, he saw right through Ryoga's complete lie and became enraged.
"You're such a liar." Ranma yelled. "There's no way that they would pick you over me just because you happened to be the only one there. And even if they did, there's no way that that was the last mushroom. As long as they have at least one, more can always be grown from the spores, and there's no way that they would overlook a simple fact like that."
Ryoga's smile faded as he heard Ranma's accusations.
"Alright, you got me." he admitted. "You're right, they did manage to grow more. In fact, they managed to grow two more of the appropriate length, but they did give me the first one. Akane is searching the streets right now so she can give you the other one."
Ryoga quickly got into a battle stance.
"But…I'm not going to give her the chance to do so." he continued. "I've wanted to defeat you for years, but never had a chance because we were always too evenly matched. Now the stalemate between our abilities has finally been broken, and I'm not going to let this opportunity pass me by. Ranma, today is the day that I finally get my revenge for everything that you've ever put me through."
As he said that last sentence, Ryoga rushed at Ranma and began to attack him furiously. Ranma began to dodge almost every attack that was thrown at him and smirked.
"Well, what do you know?" he thought. "Seems this tiny body really is useful for something. Ryoga is so much larger than me that I can always see his attacks coming."
Ryoga noticed Ranma's smug expression and responded with one of his own.
"Do you honestly think that you can beat me by simply dodging?" he asked. "Even if you keep going on like this, you're going to wear yourself out eventually. I'm older than you, and thus have much more strength and stamina. All I need to do is keep this up and I'll win in no time at all."
Ranma's smile faded when he realized just how right Ryoga was. He had already previously noticed that he was prone to falling asleep more easily than before; a likely side effect of his reduced age. He was already exhausted from his workout, and had become so much sooner than he usually did despite going through the exact same routine he always went through. He would need to try a different strategy.
"Okay Ryoga, if that's how you feel, then take this." Ranma yelled. "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire technique."
Ranma quickly got in close and launched a flurry of punches directly at Ryoga's chest. Ranma quickly stopped out of shock when he realized that Ryoga wasn't reacting to any of them whatsoever. Looking up, Ranma noticed that Ryoga's smug expression seemed to be even greater now.
"That tickles." he chuckled. "Now let me show you what I can do."
Ryoga quickly pushed Ranma up and gave him a hard kick at full strength right to the poor kid's chest. The impact sent Ranma flying at incredible speed right into the nearby fence. Ranma cried out in pain, coughing up some blood which only caused the pain to feel more intense. He felt as if he had just been run over by a truck.
"Woah, that went even better than I thought it would." Ryoga said triumphantly. "Victory is finally within my grasp."
Ranma quickly forced himself to his feet, fighting through all of the pain.
"Urgh, this is bad." he thought. "Ryoga is so much stronger than me when I'm in this state. I don't think that I'll be able to survive another hit like that. I need to find a way to end this quickly, but what can I possibly do?"
"Ha ha, you're so pathetic, Ranma." Ryoga laughed. "Once I get rid of you with my next attack, Akane will be all mine at long last. You have no chance of victory. There isn't a single one of your attacks that can get through my defense, and you'll just pass out if you continue to try and dodge me. Face it, it's all over for you."
All of a sudden, a thought entered Ranma's mind. Something that Ryoga had said made him realize just how he could still pull off a comeback, despite his lack of strength.
"That's it." he thought. "That's how I'm going to beat Ryoga. It's a definite gamble, but it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice right now. I need to play this carefully or else it really will be all over for me."
"Hey Ryoga, why would Akane date a complete jerk like you." he called out.
Ryoga's expression quickly darkened.
"What did you just say?" he asked angrily.
"I was asking why Akane would ever go out with the likes of you." Ranma answered. "I mean, you'll never be anything but a wandering friend in her eyes. These events change nothing. If she only knew the true depths of your depravity."
"You be quiet." Ryoga yelled. "Stop acting like you're so much higher and mightier than me when you treat her like crap every day."
"At least I don't need to become a pig to get some genuine affection from her." Ranma sneered.
Something began to snap inside Ryoga. Ranma had just hit the hot button with that last insult.
"Oh look at me, I'm the poor little piggy who's so miserable and alone that I have to sleep in the same bed as Akane like a pervert without her ever knowing that it's me." Ranma said mockingly. "I'm so heartsick that even when I have a perfect girlfriend who loves me unconditionally, I still have to feel the hots for the long lost flame that never truly was, nor ever will be. A two timer, on top of a complete pervert who sneaks into that flames bed without her knowledge. And on top of that, I get lost no matter where I end up, and because of this I'll likely be left alone and miserable for all eternity like the pig that I truly am."
"I said shut up, Ranma." Ryoga yelled.
Ryoga's anger had reached its peak. He was seeing red. Nothing else mattered in his eyes except making Ranma suffer for what he was saying. To accomplish this, he rushed towards Rama at top speed, intent on hitting him with everything he had. Ranma relaxed his expression as soon as he saw Ryoga move.
"He's so easy to goad on." Ranma thought. "Now comes the tricky part."
Ryoga lashed at Ranma furiously, and Ranma dodged while backing up slightly. Upset at missing, Ryoga continued to attack, and Ranma continued to back up, slowly leading Ryoga into a tighter and tighter circle. Although Ryoga was doing exactly what Ranma had wanted him to do, it wasn't exactly a smooth experience to endure. Ranma was still injured and weakened from that first attack. This and Ryoga's anger-induced speed made it extremely difficult for Ranma to dodge. There were multiple instances where Ranma considered it an absolute miracle
"Oh I see, so that's how it is, huh?" Ryoga asked angrily. "Well maybe I should try a different tactic then. Take this."
Ryoga suddenly began using an attack that Ranma hadn't seen in a long time. In his blind rage, he pulled out several spare bandanas from his pockets and began to throw them at Ranma like shuriken, in addition to the punches that he was already sending Ranma's way. Ranma was nearly thrown off balance by this, because these attacks didn't just just end when they hit the ground. They instead bounced off and curved back around, much akin to demented boomerangs that could come back around to bite you at any given time.
"Damn, he's really going all out." Ranma thought. "Last time I remember him doing this was when he accidentally cut Akane's hair with one of these things. I need to take care of them quickly before any of them has a chance to strike. If even one manages to get through my defenses, I'll be at Ryoga's mercy for sure."
Keeping his cold expression intact, Ranma closed his eyes and focused in an attempt to sense the world around him. Concentrating heavily, Ranma managed to not only dodge Ryoga's attacks, but also knock back the bandana boomerangs whenever they came from one of his usual blind spots. He managed to do all of this while continuing to back up in his intended path. Fortunately, because of the general flatness of the lot, Ranma didn't have to worry about unexpected debris getting in the way of what he was planning to do. Plus, he had trained with this technique so much that he could find his way around the path for it in his sleep, or in this very specific case, when he wasn't able to see a thing.
The circle that Ranma was leading Ryoga in grew smaller and smaller. Small storm clouds began to form in the sky above. Ryoga failed to notice this, however, as all of his focus was centered on Ranma and the thought of beating him. As the two reached the center of the circle, Ryoga pulled out one final bandana.
"Okay Ranma, this ends now." he yelled. "Take this."
Ryoga threw the bandana, which Ranma dodged effortlessly. Ranma saw an opening and slipped directly under Ryoga while his arm was still outstretched.
"Hiryu Shoten Ha." Ranma yelled while punching straight upward.
A massive tornado formed from the ground where Ranma was standing. Ryoga became caught up in the attack and soon found himself being launched into the air. His anger was quickly replaced with terror and he began to soar through the sky.
"Urgh, Ranma." he yelled. "You will pay for this."
Ryoga soon disappeared from view, and Ranma collapsed onto his knees with a smile on his face.
"Works every time." he chuckled weakly.
As the dust cleared, Ranma noticed the silhouette of a figure coming right for him. He quickly groaned and managed to stand himself back up, getting into the best fighting stance that he could manage.
"Aren't you done already?" he asked, slightly dizzy. "How many more times do I have to beat you already?"
"Ranma?" a female voice called out.
In confusion, Ranma quickly rubbed his eyes. When he took a closer look, he recognized who it was right away.
"Akane?" he asked with a mixture of happiness, confusion, and relief. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, obviously." Akane answered. "You ran off in such a hurry before, and we were all worried. Why did you have to fight Ryoga? You could've been killed taking him on in that body."
"Hey don't go pointing fingers or nothing, he was the one who attacked me." Ranma answered angrily. "And what was he doing transformed back to normal anyway? He claimed that you had an extra mushroom stored away somewhere and gave it to him because he happened to be there. Please tell me that he was lying."
Akane didn't move or say anything for a few seconds. When she finally responded, she bowed slightly.
"Please forgive me, Ranma." she said. "It's all true. We did hide away a mushroom, and we did give it to Ryoga."
Ranma collapsed onto his knees out of shock.
"What? No. How could you, Akane?" he thought.
"Sorry for keeping it a secret, but Nabiki and I knew that we would never be able to grow them as long as you two kept fighting over them." Akane continued.
"So you just…gave Ryoga the last one because he didn't run away after being traumatized by your little lie?" Ranma asked. "I almost died when he attacked me just now. How could you be so stupid?"
Akane's face began to furl out of anger.
"Hey, it's your own fault for running off in the first place." she answered. "If you had just stayed put then you would've had first dibs on the mushroom once we finished growing it."
Ranma's face immediately sank.
"Oh. I guess that you have a point there." he said in a dejected manner.
"Besides, I never said that that was the only mushroom that we grew." Akane continued.
Ranma's head immediately perked up upon hearing this.
"Wait, you mean…?" he asked.
"That's right." Akane nodded. "We were able to grow a second mushroom of the right size, and I happen to have it with me. That's the whole reason why I went looking for you in the first place."
"Of course, we never could've predicted that Ryoga would wind up finding you first." she thought. "I'm glad that I didn't take Nabiki up on that stupid bet of hers."
"So…you really have it?" Ranma asked with anticipation. "You're not just messing with me?"
"Here it is." Akane said as she held out her right hand.
Ranma beamed as the mushroom came into view. After so many struggles, the end was finally in sight. With one quick bite, he could finally be restored to his original age. The best part was that Ryoga was nowhere to be found, and thus could no longer interfere with the procedure. Ranma smiled brightly at Akane, completely ignoring all of the pain that he was feeling.
"Thanks Akane, I really appreciate it." he said.
"Well don't just stand there, come and get it already." Akane said.
Ranma began to slowly limp over to Akane, his eyes completely focused on the mushroom. At the same time, he couldn't help but notice the bright aura that Akane was leaking out. This was a very rare sight indeed; to see Akane with the most perfect little smile on her face. Ranma always felt so warm and fuzzy inside when he saw it.
"She looks so cute when she smiles like that." he thought. "Why can't she do this kind of thing more often?"
Ranma was almost within reach of the mushroom when he suddenly heard a familiar whirring noise getting louder and louder. Glancing behind Akane's shoulder, Ranma saw the bandana that he had dodged earlier coming straight for Akane's head. In a panic, Ranma's body reacted without thinking.
"Akane, look out." he yelled.
Ranma quickly leapt up and struck Akane's chest with an uppercut punch. This forced her backwards and caused her to fall onto the ground a few seconds later. As she winced in pain, Ranma glanced up and watched the rogue bandana pass through the space that Akane's head had occupied only a few seconds ago. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, what was that for?" Akane asked angrily.
"I'm sorry." Ranma said. "One of Ryoga's lingering attacks was about to take your head off."
"Huh?" Akane asked.
Ranma pointed to the bandana which was now whirring out of sight, and Akane's temper faded away.
"So you were just…trying to protect me?" she asked, her cheeks turning bright red.
"Hey, I wouldn't want your hair to get cut again." Ranma grinned. "It looks perfectly cute just the way it is."
Akane began to smile again.
"Ranma." she said pleasantly.
Akane soon became aware of the fact that her right hand felt much lighter. Looking down, she began to panic upon realizing that the mushroom was missing.
"Hey, what happened to the mushroom?" she asked.
Ranma looked down as well and began to panic as well.
"Oh no, it must've gotten knocked out of your hand when I pushed you to the ground." he said. "Where could it be?"
Akane and Ranma began to look around frantically for the mushroom. After a few seconds, Akane looked up and began to point at the sky.
"Look, there it is." she cried out.
Ranma looked in the direction that Akane was pointing and saw it. The mushroom was flying through the air, quite high up. It was plummeting towards the ground on the far side of the lot, and this caused Ranma to leap into action. If that mushroom crashed into the ground, it would be destroyed upon impact for sure, and with Ranma's last chance of being returned to normal.
"I got it." he called out.
Ranma began to run across the lot, fighting through the pain.
"Careful Ranma, you're still hurt." she called out.
Ranma winced from the pain as she said this.
"Well, reminding me about it isn't going to help me right now." he thought.
Ranma continued to run across the lot, his eyes looking for the right point to jump and grab the mushroom. After a few seconds, he saw his opening and leapt straight up, extending his hands.
"Almost there. Just a little bit further."
Ranma continued to get closer and closer to the mushroom before his hands closed around it. He smiled in delight as he landed on the ground and turned around to face Akane. Akane's face lit up when she saw that Ranma was successful and began to run over to him.
"Ranma, you did it." she called out.
"Yep, I did indeed." Ranma said.
Ranma held the mushroom above his head as if it was an olympic gold metal that he had just won.
"And with that, I can finally return to normal." he said, laughing triumphantly.
Ranma was so caught up in his victory that he failed to hear the whirring sound getting louder once again. He was about to pull the mushroom down to consume it when the rogue bandana suddenly whizzed by and struck it, causing it to explode in a gooey mess. Ranma and Akane were left in states of shock.
"Oh no." Akane thought.
After a few seconds, Ranma pulled the destroyed stump back down, his eyes never wavering from it. He had been so close. It was right there. He had held it in his hands, and it was now destroyed. Ranma felt tears welling up within him.
"It's…it's all over. For real this time." he stuttered out.
Then, as if due to a combination of the injuries he suffered, the exhaustion from the long day he had, and the shock at seeing his future disappear, Ranma suddenly passed out where he stood. Right before he could hit the ground, Akane caught him.
Soon afterwards, Akane was giving Ranma a piggyback ride as she walked back in the direction of the Tendo Dojo. Seeing Ranma's face looking so peaceful made her feel content despite everything that had just happened.
"You just rest up Ranma." she thought. "I know that things might seem bad right now, but we still have a way out. Nabiki and I have another pot full of mushrooms hidden away. By the time that you wake up again, I'm sure that we'll have another one grown just for you. You don't have to do a thing, just let us take care of everything."
As she passed by the nearby canal, Akane looked off to the side and smiled at what she saw. The sun was about to set, and it painted the entire neighborhood a gorgeous mixture of orange and yellow. It was one of the most beautiful sights that she had ever seen.
"I wish that you could see this, Ranma." she thought. "If you were awake right now, I think that you'd agree with my taking this as a sign that everything is going to be alright."
As the sun set, Kasumi continued to sweep up the dojo happily as if nothing was wrong in the world whatsoever. Despite all of the chaos that was always happening around her, it never once managed to bring her down in any capacity. She was the most level-headed out of anyone else in the household, and she had to be. She couldn't very well be expected to run the home if she didn't have the mental fortitude to prevail no matter the circumstances that she found herself in. As a result, she would just happily whistle a tune to herself as she sought to clean up the damage from Ranma and Ryoga's rampages as best as she could.
Meanwhile, Nabiki was working to fix the damage in her own way. She had been going through the entire house, surveying every area that had been damaged or destroyed and calculating how much it would cost to repair. So far it wasn't looking good. The two had brawled so many times over that the house would require some serious work to get it back into a suitable state. It was for the most part still livable, but there were some areas where describing them as such would stretch credibility more than just a little bit.
"Such a pain." Nabiki said while rubbing her temples. "Our finances are already stretched thin enough as it is. With all of this recent damage, I'm going to have to dip into my personal savings just to help us break even."
The thought of having to do so made Nabiki even more frustrated. Unlike the rest of her family, Nabiki was a business-oriented person with a love for generating profit out of the tiniest things. She secretly took photos of Akane and Ranma's female form to be sold in bulk to the many boys at Furinkan High who were madly in love with the two. It was very good business for her, especially since one of her top clients was the wealthy idiotic upperclassman Tatewaki Kuno, who was forever torn between his passion for the two. There were also times where she acted as a bookie, taking all bets on the outcomes of the various matches that Ranma and Akane fought on a near-daily basis.
There were also times where Nabiki acted as a shadow queen of sorts, manipulating events from behind the scenes for the sake of short term financial gain. A few months prior, Akane had gotten particularly angry at Ranma and decided to end their engagement on the spot, jokingly suggesting that Ranma should be Nabiki's fiance instead. Although Ranma had no intention of actually doing so, Nabiki immediately saw an opportunity and decided to play the role with a sense of absolute devotion. One might say that Nabiki was only doing this because she genuinely wanted to help Akane get back together with Ranma, but she still attempted to milk the situation for all it was worth through her multiple offers to sell Ranma back to Akane before their ultimate reconciliation.
In any event, finances and business were the things that Nabiki excelled at. All of her aptitude tests at school had shown that she would have a bright future in either field if she decided to pursue them after graduation. She hadn't fully decided on which path she would take once she went off to college, but it was still very reassuring to know that she had potential futures lined up for herself. For the time being, she was happy to continue managing her family's finances. The dojo hadn't had any paying students for a long time, and no one in the house actually had any sort of job outside it in order to make a living. It hadn't been so bad for the Tendos when it was just them, but the arrival of the Saotome's put a great financial burden on the family. If it wasn't the two extra, and extremely gluttonous, mouths that now needed to be fed, it was all of the damage to the dojo that resulted from all of the chaos that the two had brought with them. Genma held a position as Dr. Tofu's assistant when he first arrived, but the job had abruptly ended when Dr. Tofu decided to just pack up and leave in the middle of the night without even telling anyone about it. No one was aware that he was gone until Kasumi walked down to return a book that she had borrowed from the doctor, only to find his place locked up and empty as if no one had ever lived there. Since then, the six had just barely been able to get by. There were many times that the dojo had been threatened with foreclosure due to an inability to pay the bills.
None of this was any kind of obstacle for Nabiki though. The income generated from the sales of her photos, as well as many of her other get-rich-quick schemes, were always more than enough to allow her to cover any expenses. She was also in charge of the family's taxes, and was constantly looking for financial loopholes she could exploit that would allow the family to continue living their lives just a little bit longer. She hated the times when she would be forced to dip into her personal savings just to balance everything out, but she was never as bothered by it as she appeared. Deep down inside that cold, unfeeling chest of hers was a heart that burned brightest when it came to taking care of her family. Just as Kasumi was at her happiest when it came to taking care of all of the household chores, Nabiki was at her happiest when it came to taking care of the household finances. She would never admit this out loud to anyone, but her love for her family was her only weakness. If Akane was destined to take over the dojo itself, Nabiki would be extremely happy staying by her side to help manage the dojo's finances, provided that she would still be able to continue her extremely profitable ventures on the side.
Nabiki quickly turned around so she could head upstairs and check out Akane's room. She knew that Akane would likely need a new dresser, as well as a new paint job. She quickly passed by the entrance to the dining room. That room was not damaged in any way, so she thus had no reason to check it out. And yet, she froze for a moment just as she walked by it. She felt a strange urge to turn around and stare at the door.
"What's going on?" she thought. "Why do I have such a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad is about to happen?"
Nabiki shook her head a few times in an attempt to rid herself of the feeling, but it persisted. She opened her eyes, they fell on an empty flower pot lying on the nearby windowsill.
"No, we're fine. The mushrooms are perfectly safe." she said to herself.
Despite what Nabiki was saying, every instinct in her body was telling her that the mushrooms weren't safe whatsoever. With everything that happened over the last few days, it was clear that those mushrooms were extremely prone to being destroyed. Even though they were in what was considered to be the safest place in the house, if anything happened to them that would be the end of everything. Akane had been reluctant to allow for any more spare pots with the mushrooms to be created, lest Ranma and Ryoga discover them and go berserk yet again. Nabiki had somewhat reluctantly agreed to this, mainly because Akane sounded so reassuring and because she didn't want to risk her own room being destroyed as well. And yet, Nabiki knew from your many years of experience that always having a backup plan was always a must, not just in business but in all facets of life.
Although Akane's reassuring words rang through her head, Nabiki just couldn't shake off the feeling any longer and quickly rushed over to pick up the pot.
"Forgive me, Akane." she thought. "Normally, I would trust you and respect your wishes. But if something does happen, at least this way we'll be prepared."
Nabiki walked over to the door leading to the dining room. As she placed her hands on the handle, she suddenly heard a loud crash coming from inside. Her eyes widened out of confusion.
"What was that?" she asked.
Nabiki quickly flung open the door, and became horrified at what she saw. Splayed on top of the table was Ryoga, who was completely disoriented and unresponsive. He looked as if she had just seen hell, and was covered with debris. Looking up, Nabiki noticed a large hole in the ceiling and sighed.
"Well, I guess that he got to Ranma first." she said. "And like the idiot that he is, she started a fight and got blasted back to here of all places. As if I didn't already have enough things to deal with."
Kasumi, Soun, and Genma immediately came running up behind Nabiki. Their eyes nearly bogged out of their heads when they saw what had happened.
"Oh my." Kasumi said.
"My dining room." Soun cried out.
"That's quite a bit of damage." Genma added.
Sound quickly grabbed Nabiki and began to shake her.
"Nabiki, please tell me that we have enough to fix this as well." he pleaded.
Nabiki quickly pushed her father away.
"Don't worry, Daddy." she answered. "It'll be tight, but I think that we should be able to get by if I use all of my savings to cover it."
"Oh, thank goodness." Soun said, tears rolling down her face.
"Of course, it'll be much harder to replace Mother's antique table." Kasumi said. "That thing had so many memories."
Nabiki nearly turned white upon hearing those words.
"Wait, what are you talking about, Kasumi?" she asked.
"The table." Kasumi answered while pointing at the spot where Ryoga was lying. "It seems as if Ryoga broke it when he fell through the ceiling."
Nabiki took a closer look at where Kasumi was pointing and became horrified when she saw that what was being said wasn't an exaggeration. Right underneath where Ryoga had landed was a long split in the wood that caused both ends of the table to collapse inward. Somehow, Ryoga had managed to completely break the table right through the middle, right in the same spot where the pot full of mushrooms had been safely tucked underneath.
"No." Nabiki cried out in a loud manner that she rarely displayed in front of other people.
Nabiki quickly rushed over to Ryoga and pushed him aside, completely ignoring his groans of pain. Lifting up both pieces of the destroyed table with a sudden burst of strength, her face sank when she confirmed that her greatest fear had come true.
"Nabiki, what's wrong?" Kasumi asked.
Nabiki slowly scooped up a handful of the shattered remains of the flowerpot, soil, and the mushrooms which had now been completely reduced to several small piles of goop.
"It's the mushrooms." she answered. "They're all destroyed, for real this time."
There was a mixture of shock, and also confusion on the faces of Kasumi, Soun, and Genma.
"Hold on, I thought that Akane said that all of the mushrooms were destroyed before." Genma asked.
Nabiki shook her head.
"That was just a lie we came up with to ensure that Ranma and Ryoga would stop fighting long enough for us to grow more." she said. "Akane and I managed to grow two more just before Ryoga ran out of here. I gave Ryoga the first one, and Akane went out to find Ranma and give him the other one. We kept the pot hidden under here in case that we needed to grow more. It seemed like the perfect plan."
"It certainly seemed that way." Soun nodded. "Your mother really knew what she was doing when she picked up that table for us after we got married. I wanted a different one, but she insisted that only this one would be able to handle the large family that we were planning to have, and she was completely right. Despite all of the chaos and heartbreak that our family has endured over the years, it's survived just about everything that's ever come its way. And now…"
Soun collapsed onto the ground in a fit of sobs.
"And now, one of the last things I had left to remember her by is gone." he cried.
Kasumi began to rub one of Soun's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Father. It'll be alright." she said. "Once we get the house back in order, we can all go and pick up a new one together."
When Soun failed to respond, Kasumi turned her attention back to Nabiki.
"Are you sure that all of the mushrooms are gone, Nabiki?" she asked. "Maybe one somehow managed to remain intact."
Nabiki shifted through the dirt in an attempt to see if Kasumi's words rang true, but stopped when it became apparent that they didn't.
"No luck." she said. "Ryoga broke the table at the exact point where the pot was resting. The entire thing was crushed, as was every single mushroom growing in it. Even the smallest ones were unable to survive such a blow."
Nabiki gripped both of her fists together out of worry.
"Akane, I really hope that you were able to give that last mushroom to Ranma." she thought. "Because if you weren't able to, our only possible backup is gone. Given that Ryoga was ultimately defeated, I can only assume that you were able to do so. Still though, I won't be able to rest until I see it for myself."
All of sudden, the front door could be heard opening.
"I'm home." Akane's voice called out.
Everyone's faces immediately brightened up upon hearing Akane's voice. If she was back, that meant that she had Ranma with her. That also meant that she had been able to give him the mushroom and return him back to his original age.
"We're in here, Akane." Soun yelled with absolute delight.
Everyone's face's sank the instant that Akane walked in. She did indeed have Ranma with her, but he was still the same young child that had left the dojo only a few hours ago. What was new was the large amount of dirt and bruising all across his tiny body. Kasumi immediately stepped forward out of concern to take a closer look.
"Oh my, what happened?" she asked.
"Believe it or not, Ryoga found Ranma before I could get to him." Akane answered. "The two had a fight, and Ranma just barely managed to win. He was so exhausted afterwards that he passed out right after I managed to find him."
Nabiki would normally be angry that Akane hadn't agreed to one of her bets that actually managed to pay off. This time however, her expression did not change whatsoever.
"Poor Ranma." Kasumi said. "Give him to me, I'll clean him off a bit in the kitchen."
Akane slowly handed the unconscious Ranma to Kasumi. Kasumi carried Ranma into the kitchen and began to wipe him down with a wet cloth. This had the side effect of transforming Ranma into his female form. Although the differences were much more subtle because of the age difference, female Ranma somehow looked even cuter when unconscious. Akane breathed a sigh of relief. They might not have had access to Dr. Tofu anymore, but Kasumi had more than enough medical skills to care for people when they needed it the most. She knew that Ranma would be in good hands with her.
"And…what about the mushroom?" Nabiki asked. "Please tell me that you just decided to wait until he wakes up before giving it to him."
Akane shook her head.
"Sadly, no." she answered. "I was about to give it to him, when one of Ryoga's stray bandanas almost took my head off much in the same way that my hair was cut by that other one several months ago."
Akane fidgeted her short hair in the back, right around the point where it was cut by a similar attack all of those months ago.
"Anyway, Ranma knocked me down to prevent me from being killed." she continued. "It was quite the sweet gesture on his part."
As Akane smiled and blushed slightly, Genma smiled as well and crossed his arms.
"That's my son for you." he said. "Always willing to protect others no matter the cost. I'm so very proud of him."
Akane's face fell.
"Unfortunately though, his efforts to protect me resulted in the mushroom being knocked upward out of my hands." she continued. "Ranma was able to catch the mushroom, but the bandana circled around and destroyed it right after he managed to do so."
Everyone in the room froze. Their greatest fear from the events of the past couple of days had actually come true.
"So…you mean…?" Soun stuttered out.
"Yeah, I'm afraid so." Akane answered. "The mushroom that we spent the afternoon growing is gone. Luckily we have an extra pot that's still intact. Nabiki, have any of the mushrooms grown large enough to be used?"
Nobody answered, and it was at this time that Akane suddenly realized that no one was smiling anymore. In fact, they all had looks of guilt and uneasiness on their faces.
"Um, what's going on?" she asked.
When nobody answered her, Akane glanced around her father's shoulder and noticed the unconscious Ryoga lying in a pile of rubble.
"Huh? What's Ryoga doing here?" she asked.
Akane quickly pushed her way through her family to check on Ryoga. He was still breathing, even if he was completely beaten up. Her eyes widened when she looked around and noticed the destroyed table.
"Oh no, the mushrooms." she cried out.
Akane turned to look for the pot, only to notice the pile of dirt that Nabiki had her hands buried in. Akane looked Nabiki directly in the eyes.
"Nabiki…did any of them manage to…?" she asked.
"I'm sorry." Nabiki answered while shaking her head. "When the idiot fell through the ceiling, he broke the table right where we had hidden the pot. None of the mushrooms managed to survive."
Akane dropped to her knees out of shock. Her face looked as if she had just seen hell. Nabiki looked right at her with an extreme expression of guilt. Although neither one was saying anything out loud, it was almost as if they could hear each other's thoughts.
"This is all my fault, Ranma." Akane thought. "I wasn't thinking and told Nabiki to not worry about getting another pot ready in case this happened. I mean, I never expected that anything would ever be able to break Mother's indestructible table, but still."
"Don't blame yourself, Akane. The fault is all mine." Nabiki thought. "I was so worried about not causing any more damage to the house that I neglected to prepare a backup in time. If I hadn't felt so conflicted about it and just acted right away, we would still have an extra pot lying in wait and ready to grow."
"So now what happens?" Kasumi asked. "Do you think that there's still a way for Ranma to return to normal?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way." Genma answered. "If I know my son, he'll start searching for a cure the minute he wakes up."
"Well that's certainly something good to think about, Saotome, but what about Akane?" Soun asked.
"Huh? What about me?" Akane asked.
"Well, Ranma is clearly not in any state to fulfil his commitment to marry Akane the way he is now. I think that we need to sit down right now and work out the logistics."
Akane felt her anger rising.
"Are you serious, Dad?" she yelled. "Do you really think that this is the time to be bringing that up?"
"I'm just trying to secure your future Akane, and the future of our schools." Soun answered.
Akane opened her mouth to say something else, but Kasumi beat her to the punch.
"Father, right now we need to focus on letting Ranma recover." she said. "Allow him to rest. We can always discuss this once he wakes up. On top of that, we need to focus on getting the house fixed before we discuss any future plans. Don't you think that those things take top priority over Ranma and Akane's engagement?"
Soun closed his eyes to ponder these words for a few seconds.
"Yes, you're quite right, Kasumi." he answered. "Ranma can't very well carry on our legacy while he's still clinging to life now can he? We'll talk about this later."
Akane quickly breathed a sigh of relief and mouthed the words "Thank you." to Kasumi while her father's eyes were still closed. Kasumi immediately smiled.
"Well in that case, can someone help bring Ryoga into the dojo?" she asked. "I'll have more space to treat the two of them in there."
"Yeah." Genma answered.
"Of course." Soun added.
Soun and Genma worked to pick up the unconscious Ryoga and began to drag him in the direction of the dojo. Kasumi quickly followed them, still carrying Ranma in her arms. Akane watched the three as they quickly disappeared outside and began to clasp her hands together.
"Ranma, please get well soon." she thought. "Today I saw that part of you that rarely comes out; the part where you don't act like such a jerk and do the right thing just because. Maybe it only decided to show its face because you suddenly became so young, but I want to see it again. Our fathers will likely put off our engagement until you manage to return back to normal. If that does happen, maybe I'll get to see that side of you a bit more often."
Akane looked down slightly, her heart racing at the thought.
"I know that things are going to be difficult for you once you wake up, but don't you worry about a thing. No matter what happens, I'll be there by your side to support you all the way."
End of Chapter 1
1/7/2024
Special thanks to my biggest supporters: Homura VanRoyen, sudowiki
Hi Everyone. Welcome to this brand new story, my first ever non-Onimai fic.
Because I've been a bit burned out working on The Oyama Project, I've decided to try a change of pace and work on a completely new fandom to recharge. The fic that this was inspired by was what introduced me to Ichinensei ni Nacchattara in the first place. While I enjoyed that fic, I felt that it was too full of unnecessary American popular culture references, that some characters acted or spoke way too far out of character, and that it was abandoned before it really had a chance to show off its potential. Thus, I decided to create an entirely new version of the story, and I have been having a blast working on it so far.
The story will follow the basic structure of the original fic for a time, however many events have been changed, deleted, altered, moved around, and/or expanded upon to create a much more rich story. For the first few chapters, the story will remain a pure Ranma fic before the characters from Ichinensei ni Nacchattara are introduced.
Perhaps the biggest change from the original fic was how the Mushrooms of Time were destroyed. In the original, it was caused after Akane acted very out of character and punched Ryoga through a wall, causing the mushrooms to be destroyed. I wanted to find a way to honor that while finding a more organic way to make it happen, and thus came up with the idea of Ryoga falling through the ceiling and accidently destroying the table. Because of this, I added the battle with Ranma to set it up. I hope that I did a good job with it, as it was my first time writing a battle scene. Before now, the closest that I've come is writing up sports competitions that are mostly summarized descriptions.
The next chapter will be released in a few days. It will cover the aftermath of the destruction of the mushrooms, and show how Ranma reacts to the news. As a result, it will likely draw from the original material far more than this chapter did, albeit with several alterations. Honestly, it was amazing just how much I ended up writing from scratch for this chapter, but I guess that shows just how far I've come as a writer.
And for those of you who are waiting on The Oyama Project, don't worry. I plan on alternating between working on that fic and this one, and it shouldn't impact my usual posting schedule. That one is still my top priority, and I have every intent of finishing it.
Please be sure to like and comment on this chapter as any feedback you give me is extremely helpful to me as an aspiring writer.
If you enjoy what you've seen so far and you're interested in seeing more, consider checking out my other stories.
I'd like to thank you all for your encouraging likes, follows, and comments, and stay tuned for Chapter 2, coming soon.