Ranma of St. Bacchus, Chapter 37
By Chaos Orchid
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"You're acting like a girl! Be a man among men!"
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(she), (her), etc. are to indicate that while Ranma physically feels she is in a female body, psychologically (she) doesn't feel convinced she is female. Unparenthesized, it means her gender dysphoria has slipped down on her list of current concerns.
'She', 'her' means Ran's more accepting about being a girl.
She, her means she has fully embraced being a girl.
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Tendō Kasumi let her little sister snatch the phone from her.
Akane was no longer yelling, but her volume was raised, "Nabiki, this Yamada girl can't be top martial artist just by beating Kunō! I've been beating the idiot longer!"
"Exactly, Akane. You have been the only one. So far.
"Now, today(!), is the time for you to defeat her. If you don't, her reputation will grow and her supporters will find excuses for why she lost to you. You can stop the excuses before they start and gain even more support. – Your reputation as top martial artist will be established with those outside of Fūrinkan and Nerima."
"What do I care, Nabiki(?) My fights are būjutsu – fighting on homeground for justice! Especially against perverts!"
"Sure, Akane. But consider this: What if this Yamada Ran is as hentai as you think she is?"
"As I think she is(?)! You took those obscene pictures of her! You said you might even sell them to a gravure magazine –The less lewd ones!"
"–Yamada does have what it takes to be a guramoru idol. And with superior martial arts skill, she would feel free to flaunt her superior body. This would make her popular among the guys, and tempt girls to be as racy as her. By defeating her now, Akane, you are fighting not just against perverts, but perversion!"
Akane hated herself for letting Nabiki talk her into another of her schemes! "Alright! I'll change into my dōgi and go to Hebereke, wherever that is."
"I'm not surprised you don't remember where it is, given your history with somebody's sister. So unsurprised, I left you a map in your geography book. See you at 16!"
"Four o'clock!? Why do I have to wait(!)?"
Irritatingly, her sister chuckled and answer with an enigmatic, "Because that is Le Goûter time. Au revoir!"
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Nabiki's next call was to check into how well her lieutenants in Vulcan Enterprises, Ltd were doing. "Ryonami, how has the betting been going? …Yes – again – I know it was short notice. Ideally, we would have had at least a couple of school days to make book on the fight.
"But you and Kikuko are contacting those on our list of regular bettors and their friends(?) Yes(?) Then the math is there!
"As long as little sister loses the fight."
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'Ran' became annoyed. Mami insisted on treating (her) like a boy who would want her as a girlfriend. (She) ate faster than the others and left the cafeteria. (She) decided that thinking about the upcoming fight would take (her) mind off (her) feelings. Martial arts was, after all, something both girls and boys did(?) And lately, thinking of martial arts seemed to be giving her flashes of insights on the Boy (she) was cursed to become with hot water. So…
It wasn't going to be a competition, but a real battle, a majime-shōbu: with true intent! It might even turn into a fight! It might spread! …That didn't feel like a familiar thought. Hadn't (she) thought of that before (she) lost (her) memory(?)
Oh, well. This Tendō opponent….Akane? Is supposed to be a true martial artist, in both unarmed and armed techniques. She should be able to keep it to the code.
But can (she)? Huh?... (She) shouldn't fight (other) girls?... That's stupid.
Men are (the ones) meant to protect women. Huh?! That definitely had the feel of a guy? The Boy?(!) Is he a jerk?
The more (her) thoughts stayed with martial arts, the more uncomfortable 'she' became in 'her' body. Why had 'she' gone without a bra? A Sunday without a school uniform and being free to wear whatever wasn't now a good enough excuse.
Boobs were annoying(!)! When (she) did turns, they wanted to stay behind. The more sudden, the more they dragged. Behaving for them was swinging, swaying, dangling, bobbing. Like keeping the piss inside, 'she' had to pay some attention to them to keep them under what control (she) had over them –But that extra little attention that might be critical in a battle!
And now that 'she' was thinking of (her) list of distractions, every part over 'her' hard muscles was rippling and jiggling in their softness. Every part it seemed!
But most annoying were the ass and thighs, the soft and the hard parts! What little weight the short, 45 kg/100 lb body had was mainly below the waist! It was like two different bodies were stitched together! And the weirdest part of the body were the hips! Martial arts' analysis marked the jutting bones as weak spots and they made the legs and knees more vulnerable to injury!
But, still, in body-image defense, 'she' did have good, …and shapely legs and ass that slowed the scans 'other' girls did of her, their competition. Though they happily didn't like the way (she) moved them: Like a tomboy trying too hard to be a tomboy. Give it up, 'she' had been grudgingly told. 'Her' proportions are all wrong for it.
The girls did like to talk on 'her' remarkable proportions. No other girls they knew were as much of a shortstack without being a shortstack. 'She' was just stacked(!)
With a narrow, neutral ground in between. A pinched waist. …?: until married?
And then the talk would go back to 'her' rack–
"There she is! Ran! Ran! We have news for you!" Yuko called out, racing down the hall for her. With her was another girl also wearing miko clothing.
They were followed by Junko, "Remember, this is private!" ; and Yuna, "Do you wish to be target practice?"
Turning to look, 'Ran' saw 'she' was near the telephone room. 'She' went inside. (She) didn't understand the significance of there being only two girls talking in their phone booths during their free time; but 'she' knew it was more private in here than out there.
The wait was longer than 'she' thought it should be. In fact, 'she' was beginning to feel like a (she) again. But after a couple of minutes, in came Junko and Yuna, armlocking Yuko and the girl with long ponytail wrapped in mizuhiki washi paper. Both senpai surveyed the phone booths. Junko, "I can pull rank and order the kohai to leave."
Yuna, "No need to. All we need to say is–"
"Dragon!"
"That's enough, Tairo!" Junko told her, striking her head.
"Do you want me to cut off that ponytail?" Yuna the beautician threatened. "You know how important hair is to traditionalist Shintoists, Kyōha-girl."
"I'm a Jinja miko," Yuko smiled. She, too, had long hair but had silver ponytail cuffs. She also had died her bangs white. Then she turned to the redhead, "The soup is ready," she said at almost a normal volume.
"Soup?" Then 'Ran's' eyes went wide! "Dragon."
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On the way to the Miko Clubroom, 'Ran' was mentally divided between (she) and 'she', with even some normal-girl she almost making an appearance in their mind. Did 'she' really want to know the Boy?(!)? The more (she) felt 'his' presence, the more different (he) seemed from 'her'. Not completely different, but significantly different. The way 'she her'self could understand it was that it was something like the difference between būdō and būjutsu, ritual experience and fighting exercises. Could they find a way to live in harmony, (his) yang to 'her' yin?
Junko and Yuna chose to stand outside as guards, while the third miko, also costumed, led the others to the stove. "I lost contact with the owner of Egg Top Cafe!"
"But with the power of three!" Tairo cliché'd. But only for a second. "...Maybe."
"Residue," Yuko said hopefully. "Ran, you haven't washed your hair, yet: Right!?"
"With this French braid(?!) I don't wanna sit through another round of hairdoin' no sooner 'n I hafta!"
Tairo understood the spell, "Fumiko, the pot has all the ingredients for the "Dragon's Whisker" soup(?)"
Fumiko, "And it's still hot enough to serve!"
'Ran' now understood: "H,H,Hot!? If hot water touches me, I'll grow hair – Too much, Too fast! I could be bald in minutes!"
Fumiko, "It'll only take seconds! And, see, we have pans of cold water to dump on you!"
"Like I wanna be soaked!"
Yuko, "Your hair has to have had absorbed the magic from the Dragon's Whisker, Ran! The hot soup will loosen it and we can quickly brush it out of your hair!" She was already holding a hair brush.
And Tairo was holding up a jar of white substance, "But first comes the arcane knowledge!"
'Ran' continued frowning, "It looks like a jar of mayo."
"It is a jar of mayonnaise."
Noa, "Nipponese love mayonnaise!"
"In soup(!)?"
"Nipponese eat strange things."
Then 'Ran' remembered she hadn't been with 'her' other dormmates. "You have miko clothes?"
"You wear from Miko Club before! Dorm 9 have laundry duty. Send to Dorm 13 by mistake!"
"Okay. You brought their outfit back."
"Important you wear again!"
"Humph! Part of the ritual to cure my curse?" "Nipponese" were heavily into rituals, especially Shintoists.
"No. For, for," Noa was blushing, "for when boy."
"For when I become the Boy?" 'Ran' looked down at the body (she) did not enjoy. …All the way down to the ripped, stone-washed jeans. "Oh! Uh, he's, uh, bigger 'n me, right(?)"
Yuko knew how the American's mind could go, "The boy Ran wouldn't be crossdressing. Priests wear them even under their formal garments."
'Ran' ended up wearing only the hakama pants (drawstring and elastic waistband). But not the hakui. 'She' liked the black with wide streaks of shiny red. And it was man-sized.
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The boy 'Ran' jumped out of the chair, unable to sit still with her-then-his hair brushed while hot soup was ladled on. (No mayonnaise.)
'He' was immediately splashed!
"Fumiko! You didn't have to do that," Yuko told her.
Tairo, "See? The hair didn't grow!" Then she blinked, hearing her own words, "The Boy's hair didn't grow: We did it!"
Fumiko joined in, "The Miko Club did something arcane!"
Yuko, "We're a success!" And she snapped her fingers, "Take that, Onmyō Club!"
Meanwhile, 'Ran' was feeling the length of 'her' heavily soaked hair. Freed of the French braid it seemed too long. But, to (her) relief, not anywhere as long as it had been cursed to be!
'She' went to the mirror. Flattened by the water, 'her' – ugh – red hair didn't look as good as the raven-haired girls'. 'She' knew that wasn't the time to let it bother 'her', but it did. At least Dragon's Whisker soup was mostly a clear broth.
Then 'her' hands felt something…odd. They gripped different locks…and when they came to the shoulders, they jumped to them and around to 'her' front. 'Her' hair, 'her' clothes: They were all drying!?
'She' wasn't the only one to notice; Noa, "Magic in body take-in water?"
Hearing that, the Miko Club had something more to be excited about!
'Ran' fled before they could get more soup or water onto 'her' or 'him'!
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Junko, Yuna and Noa again formed a guard around 'Ran'. But not Yuko; at the moment she was acting more miko than dormmate. "We need to talk about this," Junko said in a quiet voice.
Yuna agreed, "We need to be ready for when the secret is learned."
Noa, "Secret? Oh, that boy Ran no grow–Ow!" They had put her up front within easy reach.
"Next time, an arrow," Yuna warned.
'Ran' was getting lost in 'her' own thoughts. Would 'she' be comfortable with 'his' thoughts? Did she want to find out?
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NOTES:
Yes, after four days, the effects of Kodachi's amnesia poison are weakening. Since the male him is not directly tied to his persona, the poison isn't actively attacking it
Some meta: In the manga and anime (now animes), Ranma doesn't seem to stay wet. S/he may be wearing a tank top, but there is no wet T-shirt. My solution is that the curse absorbs the water for its own purposes