Ranma-chan : I mean, Ranma, that I like him.
Ranma : Of course you like him, he's our friend.
(He whips P-chan to Ranma-chan, and the pig is none too happy to be
treated like some baseball. P-chan starts to bite Ranma-chan but she
hugs him close to her - stifling any squeals of protest. Ranma moves
over and sits on the bed with Ranma-chan. Ranma-chan unconsciously
edges closer to him.)
Ranma-chan : Yeah, but not that `like'. I mean, this kind of `like'...
(With that, she traps P-chan under her knee and she puts both hands on
either side of Ranma, who freezes up. She puts her face close to
Ranma's and breathes into his ear. Then, as if something had triggered,
Ranma found himself responding. He turned around and slowly put
both hands on Ranma-chan's breasts. Then he pushed her down on the
bed and squeezed slightly. P-chan gets out from under Ranma-chan and
looks on at Ranma and Ranma-chan with utter confusion and fascination.
Ranma lowers himself on Ranma-chan and begins to neck her. Ranma-
chan moans in pleasure and begins to unbutton her shirt with her hands.
P-chan was confused. Thoroughly so. Here was Ranma and his
female self making out with little reason. It was almost as if they just
got up and decided to have sex with each other...! Ranma-chan has all
her shirt unbuttoned and her breasts jiggled slightly each time Ranma-
chan wriggled in ecstasy. Ranma moved his mouth from her neck and
down to her naked breasts and began to kiss them. That snapped P-chan
out of the spell and he bit Ranma on the leg - as hard as a pig could
bite. Ranma let out a grunt of pain, reached down and grabbed P-chan.)
Ranma : What the hell are you doing, pig?! What did I do?
(Ranma-chan reaches up and tugs on Ranma's sleeve, as if to remind
him that she was here. He turned back and got the biggest shock of his
life. Ranma-chan was half-naked and she had *that* look on her face.
He quickly shook Ranma-chan's shoulders and the spell was broken -
she returned to her former self.)
Ranma-chan : Ummm....what am I doing half-naked? Ranma....!
Ranma : Why does everyone blame me for every little problem? If I
remembered correctly, YOU started it by coming up behind me...!
Ranma-chan : Oh yeah, sorry. (she quickly buttons her shirt up) I'd
sure like to know why I did that.
Ranma : The lust spell thing. We almost went all the way two days
ago, remember? And this morning..... Anyways, thanks, Ryoga. (P-
chan snorts)
(Akane steps back in the room and scoops up P-chan, who snuggles tight
in her arms, relieved to escape the two of them. Then the trio head
downstairs and show Akane around some more. Finally, the thrill of
exploring the house wore off and they decide to go home. The train
ride back was uneventful and they reach the Tendo Dojo in just minutes
on foot.)
Akane : We're home!! (she checks the clock. It is four o'clock)
Kasumi : Welcome home, Akane, Ranma and Ranko. Would you like
something to eat?
Ranma : No thanks. Not just yet.
(Ranma-chan went upstairs and takes the jacket off. She turns it around
and tentatively smells it. It smelt strange but not unpleasantly so. With
a sigh, she puts it on her futon and sits before it, contemplating the
jacket. It belonged to Keneda; of that, she was sure for it didn't fit her
well. She said she would return the next day to return it, before the two
went to the movies, but already she wanted to see him again.
Long minutes pass and Ranma-chan heard the regular sounds of the
Tendo household - and nothing more. Then she made up her mind.
Throwing on one of Akane's jackets, loaned to her because her former
jacket was too big for her, she opened the window and leapt out.
Within moments she was bounding from rooftop to rooftop, clutching
Keneda's jacket and feeling the wind rush by her ears and set her heart
to beating. On the way there, she thought of what she would say to
him. She imagined his reaction to her returning the jacket so early. He
would be grateful because it was probably his only jacket, considering
how frugal he seemed to be.
Then, after twenty minutes of full-out sprinting and leaping, she
landed in front of Keneda's house. She stepped up the front door and
lifted her hand to knock. Then she lowered her hand and, on a curious
impulse, she went over to the window and peeked in.
What she saw set off such a response in her that she could only
place one face to her emotion - jealousy. Intense, soul-searing, green-
eyed monster jealousy. Her fists unconsciously clenched hard on the
jacket and her breathing quickened, her teeth showing as she growled.
A beautiful girl with long, black hair that curled in lush curves,
and possessing a figure to rival Hinako-sensei's, the adult one that is, sat
on the couch next to Keneda. She was turned to Keneda and seemed to
be speaking. Keneda laughed at something and she laughed as well.
No. No, it can't be. Could Keneda be playing with her feelings?
That girl was his girlfriend, she was sure of it. And so soon too! After
he had promised her a date, he turned about and called his girlfriend
over!! Why, that *swine*! Ranma-chan may not love him yet, nor him
her, but to so casually brush off the impending date with her and seek
the company of his girlfriend is unforgivable.
Eyes narrowed into slits, she marched up to the front door and
rapped on it twice - sharply and curtly. After three seconds or so, the
door opened and Keneda looked out at Ranma-chan.)
Keneda : Oh, Ranko! You're back! Returning the jacket to me?
Ranma-chan : Yes. (hands him the jacket)
Keneda : Thanks, it was my favorite one!
Ranma-chan : (thinking) If I had known about the girl I would have
`lost' it somewhere down a drain, you two timer! (out loud) Oh, really?
Keneda : Yeah. Say, why don't you come inside for a while? It must
be cold and you must be tired. You look tired, anyway. Come in!
(Ranma-chan considered refusing the offer but she was curious about the
girl inside, so she simply nodded and stepped in. Keneda shut the door
behind her, the sound like that of a prison door being closed.
The girl was nowhere to be seen. Keneda probably told her to go
hide, or something. Ranma-chan nearly blurted out her suspicions but
she withheld it. The moment is not yet come. Then she heard a female
voice from down a hallway out of sight.)
Girl : I'm gonna take a shower now, 'Neda, so...
Keneda : Yeah, yeah. I know.
Girl : Good.
(Inside, Ranma-chan fumed. Here she was, taking a shower in Keneda's
own house! Who does she think she is? Has she progressed with
Keneda so far that he accepted her actions without question? A nagging
feeling at the back of her mind told her that not all was the way it
seems. After all, the girl didn't make any attempt to hide herself from
her....then again, maybe she and Keneda didn't care whether or not
`Ranko' heard her or not.
Ranma-chan's slowly simmering rage went up another notch. By
hook or by crook, she was going to give it to Keneda. Keneda mouthed
words she didn't hear, and flourished at the couch. When she didn't
make a move, he moved over and sat down on it. And waited
expectantly. Ranma-chan felt herself mechanically moving over and
sitting down beside him, but placing the most distance between him and
her. He seemed disappointed at this but she didn't care. He was going
to have more on his hands than just disappointment in a few minutes.
The two of them sat there in silence for long minutes. Then Keneda
ventured to speak.)
Keneda : Thanks again, Ranko, for coming all the way back to return
the jacket. Actually, you shouldn't have.
Ranma-chan : (thinking) Yeah, you can say that again, *buddy*. (out
loud) I'm sorry for coming at such a *bad* time for you, while you're
entertaining your *guest* and all that.
Keneda : Guest? Oh, you mean Mikiyo!
Ranma-chan : So, her name is Mikiyo. That's *nice*.
Keneda : Yeah. Mikiyo. So what?
(Ranma-chan turns away from Keneda and strives to keep the daggers
of ice from stabbing her heart while a flood of tears wars with her
desire to scream in anger. She does neither but merely sits there and
shakes with barely suppressed emotion. The casual way he said
`Mikiyo' meant that he was used to her now.
How could he? Promising to date her one moment, then inviting
his *real* girlfriend over! Ranma-chan shot to her feet and began to
stalk over to the door, suddenly desiring to be gone from Keneda's
house. This was NOT the Keneda she knew before. This was no
honest, thoughtful and insightful friend of hers. She wanted nothing to
do with him anymore!)
Keneda : (getting up) Hey, where are you going?
Ranma-chan : Home.
Keneda : But you just got here. At least stay a little longer, Ranko!
Mikiyo would like to meet you, I'm sure.....
(That was the final straw for Ranma-chan. She slowly turned and let
Keneda see the dangerous look on her face that he had mistaken for
tiredness. The smile on Keneda's face faded and his step faltered.)
Ranma-chan : How dare you.....! You agree to go out with me one
moment, then you went and got this Mikiyo girl to pass the time with.
How could you?
Keneda : Huh? What? Wait a moment!
Ranma-chan : Call me jealous but I don't care. I have been on the
receiving end of jealousy many times, but I have not fully appreciated
the anger. The feeling of absolute betrayal. The hatred. Until now.
I hope you are happy with that...that girl of yours!!
(Keneda stared at Ranma-chan in shocked disbelief for a long moment,
then he started to laugh. Ranma-chan's jaw dropped and she stared at
Keneda. Then she growled and then she was face-to-face with Keneda,
her hands fastened on his shirt front and lifting him up off the floor. He
was still laughing and Ranma-chan considered throwing him into the
wall. Maybe *through* the wall. Then she simply let him fall from her
fingers and she turned to leave. She had had enough and wanted to go
home. She was tired.)
Keneda : Ranko!! Hey....(laughs a little more)..wait! I have something
to tell you!
Ranma-chan : Not interested. Seeya. Or, rather, not. (her hand closed
on the door knob and began to turn it but Keneda came up behind her
and clasped her shoulder.) Remove that hand from myself or I'll take
it off at the wrist. Now!
Keneda : Ranko! You have it all wrong! Mikiyo is....
Ranma-chan : Your girlfriend?! Grrr....! (her hand moved up to chop
Keneda's hand off at the wrist. She could do it. She had done the same
thing countless of times with cinder blocks.)
Keneda : My girlfriend?
Ranma-chan : There, YOU said it!! `Mikiyo is my girlfriend'!! You
......you twotimer!!
Keneda : She is my sister. My SISTER. Get it?
Ranma-chan : Yeah, yeah. Sure. I've heard that line many times. I
know your sister looks NOTHING at all like this Mikiyo....!!!
Besides....her name's Haruko! (she remembered how his sister had
looked like, five years ago. She had straight hair, and glasses, and she
was quite chubby.)
(In response, Keneda picked up the handbag on the table, rifled through
it and pulled out a Student I.D. card. He handed it to Ranma-chan, who
snatched it from his fingers and looked at it.
Then shocked silence reigned supreme for the span of five full
minutes, and Ranma-chan was working her mouth in silence, trying to
say something but the words just wouldn't come out. Keneda guided her
to the couch and sat her down. Then she seemed to return to herself
and the blood just rushed to her cheeks. Her ears burned with shame
and she tried to stammer an apology but her throat failed her.
Yamamoto! Mikiyo Yamamoto! Her family name was Yamamoto...and
so was Keneda's. But she looked so DIFFERENT now...! Much more
different!! Still....strangers' last names being the same is not so
uncommon....!)
Ranma-chan : But...but her name...?
Keneda : She changed it. Here's her old I.D....she keeps it around for
fun. See...she didn't like `Haruko' ...don't ask me why.... (Keneda
rifles in the handbag and shows it to Ranma-chan, who compares it. It
is the same. Same picture, just different name. She even had the same
smile and hand wave in both pics...!)
Ranma-chan let out a wail and threw herself facedown on the
couch, away from Keneda. She was so humiliated!! What will Keneda
think of her now?! She wished she could just curl up and die RIGHT
NOW. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder pull her back up but she
didn't resist. It was Keneda.)
Keneda : Don't be like this, Ranko. It was an honest mistake, I think.
Wherever did you get the idea that she was my girlfriend?
Ranma-chan : I..I looked in the window and saw the two of you. Then,
when I came inside, she called you `Neda' - short form for your name,
right? Then she went to take a sh-shower and....
Keneda : She wanted me to take any phone calls for her while she was
showering, Ranko.
Ranma-chan : I'm sorry, Keneda-san. I'm very, very sorry. I'll go
now....you must be kinda mad at me. (she gets up to leave but Keneda
pulls her back down by the arm.)
Keneda : It was a mistake, Ranko. I'm not mad at all, least of all at
you. You've been very nice, except when you yelled at me (Ranma-
chan cringes then), but that's ok. Let's just forget about it and don't
mention it to her, okay? I don't want her hassling and teasing me and
you.
Ranma-chan : Y-yeah.
Keneda : And one more thing. How did you know I had a sister? And
how did you know how she looked like five years ago? And what about
how you knew her name?
Ranma-chan : Oh, umm....I s-saw her at that time. I...I went to the
school here for a while, then I transferred.
(Keneda looked like he would ask her more, and eventually find out that
her story was fabricated. Ranma-chan wondered if he would ask
question after question until her soul lay bare for his examination - and
then he would find out that she was the female side of Ranma and he
would get sick and throw up and all that...oh God...oh God...!
Then he just let out a sigh and patted her on the shoulder, as if
letting her off the hook.)
Keneda : If you don't mind me asking, I'm surprised that you feel so
strongly about me considering that you have only just met me today.
Ranma-chan : (scowls) Why? Many guys wouldn't even ask questions
like that - they'd just accept it and laugh at their good fortune...! Am
I not goo...I mean, you don't think I can be your friend just like *that*?
Keneda : No, no! I mean...you act almost like you had known me for
a long time, that's all. And, strangely, I feel the...the same way too.
Ranko.
Ranma-chan : I-Is th-that right?
Keneda : It's very strange, Ranko. I feel as if I had known you before
but I'm sure I haven't seen you at all before.
(Ranma-chan quickly pulls the bindings on her pigtail off and lets the
hair flow down her back. It was growing longer now, faster than when
she had been half-and-half. Keneda gaped and blinked his eyes rapidly,
as if Ranma-chan had just transformed into someone else, which was the
point of it - to draw his attention away from her similarities in
appearance to Ranma.)
Keneda : You...you look better this way, Ranko. I...I hope you don't
tie your hair up in a pigtail. Somehow, it had kinda reminded me of
Ranma's pigtail. When you had it in a pigtail, you and Ranma looked
sort of similar.....but I guess strangers can look alike, right? Oh well.
Ranma-chan : Yeah. Strangers can look alike. That's it. (Gee, where
had she heard *that* before?)
Keneda : I guess I haven't seen you around before. But I still can't
shake that feeling....
(Ranma-chan just heaves a sigh of relief and wipes the sweat from her
brow. He had been on the verge of discovering her shared secret with
Ranma. Her face cooled down and the blood receded. Her feelings of
shame vanished when she looked into Keneda's smiling face. Then
Ranma-chan heard footsteps from around the corner and Mikiyo comes
in the room, wearing a towel on her head and dressed in a bathrobe.)
Mikiyo : Oh! We have a visitor! Welcome!
Ranma-chan : (shakily gets up) Pleased to meet you. I'm Ranko
Tendo.
Mikiyo : I'm Mikiyo, Keneda's sister. You must be the girl he was
talking about before I went for my shower.
Ranma-chan : He...he was talking about me? (looks at Keneda and he
flushes red).
Mikiyo : Yes. He said you were the girl he was going on a date with
tomorrow....and he was saying stuff about how cute you were and how
he felt so comfortable being around you and....(looks at Keneda's
furious face) Ooops. I wasn't supposed to say that out loud, now was
I?
Ranma-chan and Keneda : No, you weren't!!
Mikiyo : Yes, I'm sorry. (smiles mischeviously, a twinkle in her eye.)
I guess I gotta go and change into something more presentable, don't
you think?
(With that, she pulls the towel from her head and lets her long hair
down, and walks off to her room. Ranma-chan and Keneda sat in
embarassed silence, until Keneda cleared his throat.)
Keneda : I'm sorry, Ranko.
Ranma-chan : S-sorry about what? She did compliment me, you know.
Keneda : Yeah, but she likes to tease people, in a nice way, now and
then - and we were the butt of her joke just now.
Ranma-chan : Why did you tell her all that stuff?
Keneda : She wormed it out of me. She....has a way about her to get
all sorts of info out of you if you let her talk long enough.
(Ranma-chan edges close to Keneda, tentatively, to be sure. She looked
at Keneda and gave him a small smile, the reddish tinge of
embarassment already disappearing.)
Ranma-chan : I...I knew she didn't really mean it to be in a bad way.
It's just that...it warms my heart to hear that you said those things about
me. I'm glad.
Keneda : And I'm glad that you like it.
(Ranma-chan gets up and Keneda follows her to the door. She opens it,
bringing the cool wind inside, and she looks back at Keneda. Then she
waved goodbye and shut the door.)
(Keneda watched her walk away down the street, until she was out of
sight. Then he walked back to the couch and sat down heavily. <God,
does Ranko ever have a temper!>, he thought and felt tremendous
relief. She may have a temper, but he liked her. Alot.
They had only just met, and she knew nothing about him save for
his name, yet they already had the beginnings of a bond forged. He had
tried to date other girls before but the awkwardness usually became too
much for either party to bear. With Ranko, it seemed almost as if he
had known her well....like a very good friend, or something. He
couldn't pin down the feeling as it danced about his mind and eluded his
attempts to hold it, but he didn't need to examine it to know that it was
a good thing.
Mikiyo came back at that moment, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
She looked about for Ranko, then she looked at Keneda.)
Mikiyo : Where's Ranko? Am I not good company?
Keneda : She had to go home.
Mikiyo : Oh. And I wanted so much to talk to her too....
Keneda : You always want to talk to everybody you meet, sis! (under
his breath) Not to mention get people to tell you things they'd rather
keep private...!
Mikiyo : But she's different, I can tell. Something about her tells me
that she is...I don't know, *special* or something. I really like her.
Anyways...(she moves into the kitchen and opens the fridge) Do you
know where she lives?
Keneda : Why should you want to know?
Mikiyo : Since when was her home a classified secret? Maybe you
want to go over to her house to....keep her from getting...um... lonely
on those dark nights? Maybe you.....
Keneda : ALRIGHT!! ALRIGHT!! At Ranma's house. The Tendo
Dojo in Nerima Ward. <Jeez, she's being extra nosy today.>
Mikiyo : Really? I'll go visit her one day. Ranma's house, you say?
I thought his last name was Saotome?
Keneda : It is, but when he marries Akane Tendo....(he halts and he
asks inwardly WHY he even offered that tidbit of information to his
sister.....)
Mikiyo : Ooooh, marriage. How romantic!
Keneda : Whatever. Anyways...when he marries Akane Tendo...
Mikiyo : Akane Tendo? Who's she?
Keneda : Will you let me finish?!
Mikiyo : Bite my head off, why don'tcha? Sorry, go on.
Keneda : When he marries Akane Tendo, who is his fiancee, then he
will take over the Tendo Dojo. So, technically, it WILL be his home
in the near future.
Mikiyo : Oh. And who is Ranko in relation to all this?
Keneda : I had thought she was Ranma's fiancee, they look so well
suited for each other, but apparently she is Akane's cousin. (fidgets
uneasily) Let's drop the subject, okay? It's not nice to talk about other
people when they're not here.
Mikiyo : Yeah, you're right. Want to order pizza?
Keneda : You pay half.
Mikiyo : And you pay delivery charges as well. You still owe me that
400 yen from before.
(Keneda smiles and picks up the phone, already dialling the number.)
(Ranma-chan lands in front of the Tendo Dojo doors and she steps
inside, taking off her shoes as she did. She went upstairs and grabbed
a towel from her room. Then she went to take a bath.
Ranma-chan wondered what she was going to tell Hiroshi. She
wondered how she was going to remain friends with him while not
deepening their relationship over that one date. She found that she liked
Keneda better than Hiroshi, because he was more out-going and more
fun to be with. Besides, he knew martial arts too.
Strangely enough, the fact that she already knew him, when she
was a guy, didn't repulse her in the least. She was already waiting
anxiously for tomorrow to come.
Ranma-chan opened the bathroom door and shut it, a piece of
paper falling off as she did so. She bent over and picked it up. It read,
in Kasumi's neat handwriting, "Not much hot water left. Repairman
will come and fix it." She stripped her clothing off, slung the towel
about her neck, and she entered the bathing area.
Right into the astonished gazes of Ranma and Ryoga, who were
having a bath. She stood there, like a deer caught in the headlights of
an oncoming car, and Ranma and Ryoga's gazes simultaneously travel
all over her naked body, seeming to caress each breast and her butt and
her....)
Ranma-chan : WHAT do you guys think you are doing?!
Ryoga : N-nothing. (he tentatively feels his nose, checking for blood)
Ranma : He-hello, Ranma. (raises a shaky hand in greeting)
Ranma-chan : (wraps herself in the towel) What's this about the hot
water heater being broken?
Ranma : Oh, see, the reserve hot water tank still had some water in it
but the heater is broken. This is all the hot water we have left -
whatever me and Ryoga are using right now.
Ranma-chan : I....I guess, since you two already know what I look like
*naked*, I'd better just take a bath as well, so as not to waste the hot
water. But when I come in, you two get to a far corner *real* fast. Or
else. Got it?
(Getting nods of assent from Ranma and Ryoga, Ranma-chan pulls up
a stool and fills up a bucket of cold water, and takes the towel off. She
begins to soap herself all over, touching every inch with knowing fingers
and kneading the cares and worries from her. She heard choking sounds
behind her and she sneaked a peek. Ranma's face was burning red and
Ryoga was holding one hand tightly to his nostrils, his face equally as
red as Ranma's. Hah, the perverts. Serves them right.
Ranma-chan then moves the stool over to the bath and turns her
back on them.)
Ranma-chan : Will one of you guys please soap my back? Actually,
Ranma, you'd better do it. Ryoga would only bleed all over me.
(She heard some whispers and then she felt strong hands start to lather
the soap all over her back and she sighed. She felt fingers kneading the
soap into her skin and loosening her muscles up.)
Ranma : You...you've left your...um..lower back unsoaped....
Ranma-chan : Then you'd better soap it, right?
(The hands hesitated for a second, then they quickly rubbed some soap
on her lower back. Ranma-chan frowned.)
Ranma-chan : Rub it harder. Lather it. Take the dirt off of it. (she
could have done it herself but she didn't want to. She heard more
choking noises and she turned around, to see what was the matter.)
(Ryoga was soaping her back while Ranma has his fingers pressed tight
on Ryoga's nose.)
Ranma-chan : I thought I asked Ranma to do it...?
Ranma : Yeah, but...I can't touch you without going all...you know.
Ryoga : He dold me aboud the lusd spell, Ranma.
Ranma-chan : Oh. Is that it? Well, thanks.
(She takes the soap from Ryoga's fingers and she tips the bucket of cold
water over herself, washing off the soap. Then she gets up and steps
into the bath, pointing to the far end as she did so. Ranma and Ryoga
beat a hasty retreat to the indicated corner while Ranma-chan relaxed in
the hot water bath, her arms resting up on the edges, facing Ranma and
Ryoga. She threw her head back and lets her flowing hair cascade over
the bath tub edge. She lay like that for long minutes, soaking in the
heat.)
Ranma : S-So. Where did you go?
Ranma-chan : Hmmm? (she looks at Ranma) What was that?
Ranma : You left and went somewhere. Where?
Ranma-chan : Oh, I went back to Keneda's house, to return his jacket.
Ranma : But....why? It's 45 minutes away by train...
Ranma-chan : I ran.
Ranma : Oh, okay. (squints at Ranma-chan) Hey, your hair is down.
Ranma-chan : Yes, isn't it? Keneda said that....(shuts her mouth with
her hand, and looks fearfully at Ranma and Ryoga).
Ranma : Keneda said that...what?
Ranma-chan : It's nothing.
Ranma : I'm not stupid, you know. I noticed how Keneda was looking
at you, and you at him. What did he say?
Ranma-chan : He...he...said that...umm...(soft voice) he liked my hair
when it was down.
Ranma : What? Speak up.
Ranma-chan : He...l-liked my hair. When it was down, that is.
(Ranma-chan puts a trembling hand on her hair and smooths it.)
Ryoga : Keneda? Ranma, that's your friend from grade school!
Ranma and Ranma-chan : Y-yeah. So?
(Ryoga looks at Ranma-chan, then back at Ranma, a grimace crossing
his face. Ranma-chan knew what he was thinking, so she waded over
to stand next to Ranma, who shrank away as far as he could.)
Ranma-chan : Ryoga. Do you think it's so sick that I like Keneda?
Ryoga : Depends on what you mean by `like', Ranma. That...that is,
well, definitely not to my tastes. To put it bluntly, yes, it's sick that
you have these feelings for Keneda, Ranma (Ranma looks over sharply
at Ryoga) Ahem. I mean, `Ranko'.
Ranma-chan : But how can it be sick for me to like Keneda? I'm a girl
and he's a guy.
Ryoga : No, you're still a guy.
(Ranma-chan looks at him very strangely. Then she stands up straighter
and allows her breasts to peek above the surface of the water, and she
watches Ryoga's reaction. She was not disappointed. Ryoga's hand
immediately clamped on his nose and he shut his eyes tightly.)
Ryoga : Play fair, Ranma!!
Ranma-chan : (sinking back down) Alright, you can look now.
Ryoga : (opens one eye, then both.) But in my mind, you're still a guy.
Ranma-chan : How can I be a guy with a body like this? I told you
already, I'm a girl and I have the...um....what do you call it? Oh yeah,
the same *impulses* that any girl has. I can definitely say that I like
guys.
(Ranma and Ryoga shudder in revulsion. Here was Ranma's female
side saying that she liked guys. She was a part of Ranma and the two
guys knew it.)
Ryoga : (Turns to Ranma) Ranma, are you sure you weren't....
Ranma : NO! Absolutely not!
Ranma-chan : Why are you two attacking me? *I* am a girl. GET IT?
I - am - a - girl - NOW. I remember being a guy once but that was so
long ago....
Ranma : What do you mean `so long ago'? It has only been four or five
days!!
Ranma-chan : (starts in shock) Really? I-I didn't notice it. It just
seemed like a lifetime ago. Anyways, that memory of me being a guy
doesn't bother me a bit because I have accepted my body and my
impulses. (she pauses for a bit) Some days, when I wake up, I
sometimes feel like I had always been this way....
Ranma : Do you feel any regret?
Ranma-chan : I have just one regret but I won't go into it right now.
Anyways, I find it rather refreshing. No more of having to deal with
four jealous fiancees, weird monsters and wacky idiots dropping in once
in a while just to stir up havoc. I...I want to lead a normal-like life,
you know? Go to school, have a boyfriend (Ranma and Ryoga grimace
involuntarily at that), have lots of good friends, have some fun times....
Ranma : I...I know what you mean. But, if I had to choose between the
craziness of my life as a guy compared to the normal-like life you are
talking about, then I'd stay a guy all the time.
Ranma-chan : Yeah, I would like to think that I would have done the
same thing - but there was no choice for me, was there?
Ranma : Huh? No choice? We were the ones who put the Nullifier in
the tub!
Ranma-chan : Yeah, but I feel as if I'm a different person than you.
I don't blame you, now, but it's VERY HARD to see myself as that
Ranma of so long ago...I mean, four days ago, anymore than you can
see yourself in my spot. Can you?
Ranma : No. I can't.
Ranma-chan : I have grown apart in the four short days that have
passed. I'm no longer you and I think, given time, I won't even
remember being you at all. I do regret one thing, though. I still
remember my love. For...for...Aka...Akane. She...she kissed me.
Did you know that, Ryoga? She kissed me just two days ago, I think.
Ryoga : Akane....kissed you?
Ranma-chan : It was just a test. Anyways, she wanted to see if I really
had become a real girl. I felt disgusted when I put my lips to hers.
Ranma : But doesn't that mean that you don't like her....?
Ranma-chan : (whirls on Ranma, hair flying) NO! I still love
her...although I feel it slipping away. Anyways, it's still there. It's
just that if I do anything physical with her, or probably any other girl,
it will definitely be sickening to me. Yet, I can't just give up my love
for Akane just like *that*. But now, after visiting Keneda, I think I
can...I can finally let her go. (she pauses for a long second and she
wiped her eyes quickly) It's just painful to do so, y'know?
(Her voice breaks near the end. She turns around and starts to wade
back to her spot in the tub, away from the guys.)
Ranma : Hey, Ranma... (puts a hand on Ranma-chan's shoulder and
turns her about.)
(Ryoga felt a crackling surge in the atmosphere the moment Ranma
touched Ranma-chan, like electricity. Ranma and Ranma-chan stand
there motionless for the span of two seconds, then they begin to kiss
each other.)
Ryoga : WHAT THE.......?!
(Ranma and Ranma-chan pay him no heed. Then Ranma's hand moves
beneath the surface of the water and goes inbetween Ranma-chan's legs.
She lets out a cry of pleasure and Ranma begins to neck her, running his
tongue all over the soft skin of her neck. Ranma-chan responds by
running her fingers all over Ranma's muscled back.
Ryoga was confused. Thoroughly so. Holding his nose tightly,
he watched in morbid fascination as the sexual foreplay between Ranma
and Ranma-chan progressed. Then Ranma-chan began to work her way
down Ranma....and Ryoga snapped out of his daze.
Ryoga lashed out with a sledgehammer fist and Ranma flew into
the bathroom wall with a purpling bruise on the side of his head. Then
he moved to do the same to Ranma-chan but he stopped, considered for
a moment, and slapped her across the face instead of slugging her like
he did to Ranma. She shook her head, as if waking out of a dream, and
looked about. She noticed that she was extremely near to Ryoga. She
shrieks and threw herself down in the water, and backpedaled away
from him.)
Ranma-chan : YOU PERVERT!!
Ryoga : It wasn't me!! It was Ranma!! YOU guys started it but I
stopped you before you went too far!!
Ranma : He...he's right, Ranma. Your touch. It felt like electricity.
I remember grabbing at you and then I...I kinda remember...I was
gonna....well, I won't say it. But something came over me....it made
me WANT her so bad you wouldn't believe it, Ryoga. (looks over at
Ranma-chan) How in hell did that ever happen? I have...touched you,
like putting an arm about you and non-sex stuff, and nothing of this sort
ever happened. What is happening?
Ryoga : It seems like it happened the moment Ranma touched
...er...`Ranko'.
Ranma-chan : This must be the lust spell in action, like that old ghoul
said. But I thought the Nullifier was old stock? If it is, then why is this
happening? I thought it was supposed to fade away...?
Ranma : We're gonna have a long talk with the old ghoul about this.
She must have played us for dopes, or something.
(Ranma and Ryoga get out and quickly wrap towels about their waists.
Then they dry off and go and get changed. Ranma-chan followed them
a minute later, after changing into new clothing. Then the three of them
leave and head for Nekohanten.
Pushing aside the drapings, Ranma-chan went in first. There were
no customers. Shampoo looks up and waves to her. Then Ranma
followed and Shampoo was all over him in the space of two seconds.
Ryoga trailed inside. Cologne pogoed out of the back on her stick and
went up to meet the three.)
Cologne : Son-in-law. Ranma. What is wrong? You both look mad.
Ranma : Old ghoul, you told us that the lust spell was supposed to go
away....!
Ranma-chan : He and I almost went all the way. Explain.
Cologne : No, you explain. Tell me everything, from the beginning.
(Ranma tells her about the bath and what had happened when Ranma-
chan touched him.)
Cologne : Is that right? Then that means that the lust spell grows
stronger as the physical consumnation of the relationship is not enacted.
It makes good sense, really, as an incentive of some sort.
Ranma : Umm...can you repeat that again?
Cologne : *sigh*. If you (points at Ranma) don't have sex with her
(points at Ranma-chan) SOON, then the lust spell would only grow
stronger and stronger. It'll get to the point where the mere closeness of
the other person in a private place is enough to....well, you know. One
of you would then have to move away if you don't want to have sex.
Forever.
(She pauses dramatically, for the words to sink in.)
Cologne : Right now, the spell will only kick in every once in a while,
but in time to come, the spell would grow so strong the mere touch of
bare skin would start the two of you off on a bout of love making.
Then it gets even worse. In time to come, neither of you could ever
have sex with another person unless it be with the `other' side of you.
You would be, for all purposes, impotent.
(Shampoo spoke in rapid Chinese to Cologne, who replied. Shampoo's
face slowly blanched as Cologne spoke, each sentence in Chinese
seeming to steal the blood from her face. She dropped the tray she was
holding and grabbed Ranma by the shirt front, growling something in
Chinese. Then she cast a nasty glance at Ranma-chan and snarled
something in the same language.)
Cologne : She says that if Ranma *ever* went and....
Shampoo : Girl-type Ranma no play `train and tunnel' with boy-type
Ranma!! Never!! Shampoo no allow it! Girl-type Ranma stay away,
or Shampoo kill!
Ranma-chan : Hey! Maybe the old crone is wrong....or just joking.
Shampoo : Great-great-grandmother *never* wrong. Great-great-
grandmother *NOT* joking, girl-type Ranma! Stay away, or Shampoo
kill girl-type Ranma!
Ranma : (removes Shampoo's hands from him) Is...is there another
cure for this?
Cologne : Well...there is....but....
(Before Shampoo could act, Cologne touched a pressure spot in
Shampoo's neck and she fell unconscious.)
Cologne : Good. There is only one cure for this lust spell, to my
knowledge. It's quite simple. Have sex with each other.
Ranma-chan : W-what? H-have sex? But....!
Cologne : I don't want my future son-in-law to be sexually impotent in
the future, so I suggest that the two of you get cracking. And use a
condom. Besides, it will be good practice. (she shoulders Shampoo's
prone form and pogoes away, signalling the end of the conversation.)
Ryoga : Excuse me but I think I'll...step outside for a bit. (he shoulders
his backpack and practically runs out of the restaurant, his face chalk-
white.)
(Ranma-chan falls heavily in a chair and Ranma just leans on a table.
Have sex?! Is that the only way to dissipate the lust spell? Is Cologne
pulling their leg? But she couldn't be. She has only joked ONCE to
their knowledge, and it wasn't a very good one. She was essentially
giving Ranma the green light to go ahead and have sex with Ranma-
chan, in the best interests of Shampoo, of course.)
Ranma : I...I think we don't have to do it. We can resist it, I know we
will.
Ranma-chan : I sure hope so. (thinks of Keneda). I really, really hope
so.
(Ranma-chan holds her head in both hands and massages her temples
lightly. This couldn't be happening. All because of one little bottle of
Nullifier 122.)
Ranma : Ranma....we know how we feel about Akane. So, for our
sake, we have to stay apart from each other as much as we can.
Hopefully, the lust spell will go away. I hope you understand that.
Ranma-chan : Yes I do. I'm sorry, too.
(Unconsciously she steps up to Ranma to hug him goodbye for a while,
to show that she understood....and Ranma goes to do the same too.
They two would have touched if not for Cologne. Moving far faster
than one might think from looking at her decrepit body, she seemed to
appear right between Ranma and Ranma-chan.)
Cologne : Did you two listen to me, or not? If you so as much *brush*
each other's bare skin, you may start doing it on the spot. It would
really attract business but I prefer not to have to clean up. Now,
remember my words and leave before Shampoo wakes up. I'll have a
hard time enough dealing with my fiery youngling and I don't need you
two to aggravate her. Go.
(Ranma-chan casts a look at Ranma, her eyes shimmering slightly under
the lights of Nekohanten, then she turned about and left the restaurant.
Ranma moves to follow her but Cologne restrains him with her stick.)
Cologne : Don't be stupid, sonny boy. Think of what people will say
of you when they catch the two of you lying naked in the streets,
enfolded in each other's arms! Leave after I go and *don't* touch
her...not until you get a condom and you two go to a private place.
Ranma : Is...is it really that bad?
Cologne : Trust 3000 years of Amazon history. I have seen it happen
a number of times before and it is not a pretty sight.
Ranma : But I don't want to....!
Cologne : Then you will be impotent for the rest of your life.
Remember what I said. (she activates a trapdoor with her stick and falls
into a secret room, long white hair flying. The opening closes
seamlessly.)
Ranma : I...guess I'd better go now.
(He slowly starts out of the Nekohanten, Cologne's words echoing in his
mind. He can't have sex with Ranma-chan! He...is not like that with
her. Sure there was a time when he was *that* close to doing it, but it
was the lust spell. The lust spell. He thought the Nullifier was bad
enough to split his female side from him, but he never counted on the
lust spell to have gotten so strong.....If what Cologne said was true, he
was going to be impotent for the rest of his days. But....what
about...Akane? How would he....!? Ranma perished the thought as
soon as it appeared. Right now the problem was the lust spell and he
was not going to let his personal fantasy interfere with that.
All the knowledge he had of sexual intercourse were from rumors
and some ecchi mags his friends had sneaked into class....and he felt
sure that he could pull it off....Ranma struck himself on the head. What
was he thinking? He didn't want to give of himself to Ranma-chan!
There was only one person he wanted to do that to and she was NOT
about to let him go that easily...no matter what.)
(Ranma-chan broke into a dead run after she was out of sight of
Nekohanten. Cologne's words rang over and over again in her mind.
"Have sex...have sex....HAVE SEX...!" She let out a shriek and took
to the air, bounding from rooftop to rooftop. She can't have sex with
Ranma! She didn't love him in that way! What about Keneda? She
had entertained a fantasy concerning him and her but now it seemed like
it was in jeopardy. It'll only be a one-time thing, a voice inside of her
seemed to say, just have fun with Ranma and then the lust spell will be
broken for good. You won't even be impregnated if you use protection.
NO!!!, she yelled inside of her. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!
I want to give myself to one person only.....not to Ranma!! But the
voice was silent and said no more. She slowed to a walk and she began
to think.
What would Akane say if she knew? Or, more to the point, what
would Akane *do* to the both of them? Ranma-chan had a suspicion
that Akane would pull off something close to murder, but stop short of
killing her and Ranma. The consequences were too much to even think
about. She stepped through the front gates of the Tendo Dojo and went
inside. Taking off her shoes, she went and sat down in the living room.
Seeing P-chan on the couch watching a channel about vacation spots far
from Japan, Ranma-chan flops beside him on her belly and brings him
into her arms. P-chan squeals questioningly. Ranma-chan sighs.)
Ranma-chan : Cologne says that we are not even supposed to hug. She
said that the touch of bare skin may be enough to set *it* off.
(P-chan just `bwees' softly and turns back to the channel, his limited
vocabulary as a pig exhausted, but his little face had a frown and
something resembling disgust playing about the snout. Ranma-chan pats
him and he squeals questioningly.)
Ranma-chan : If...if Ranma and I look like we're about to....you know,
then can you step in? I'm counting on you, Ryoga. I don't want
to....you know....alright?
(P-chan squeals softly and the two of them turn back to the TV. Long
minutes later, Ranma-chan heard the door open and someone step inside.
She resisted the urge to look over. It had to be Ranma. She just knew
it. She heard footsteps behind her, then the person paused, as if looking
down at her and wondering what to say. Ranma-chan kept her eyes
studiously glued on the TV set. Then she heard a sigh and Ranma
moved away.)
(His female side didn't even look up when he had returned home.
Ranma understood the necessity of the situation but it still stung him to
the quick. He had felt no attraction to her as he stood behind the couch.
Kasumi passed him with that perpetual smile on her face, hands
hidden behind her back. He turned a corner, and came face to face with
Akane.)
Akane : Oh! Sorry. (takes a closer look at Ranma's face) What's with
the long face, Ranma?
Ranma : Nothing. Nothing at all. (Ranma felt reasonably sure that
Akane would pound him flat if she knew what was bothering him)
Akane : Alright, if you say so. (she walks off to the living room.)
(Ranma went up the stairs to his room and entered it. He shut the door
behind him and fell, with a groan, on his futon. So many things
happening at once. It was....too much for him to think about right now.
Impotency, having sex, Ranma-chan taking an interest in Keneda,
Akane's possible reaction to all this, his mom's attitude toward Ranma-
chan..... All he wanted to do was to sleep. Yes, sleep for all time.
Ranma was just about to doze off when he noticed that Ranma-chan's
futon and blanket were not more than three feet from his own.
He considered it for a long moment - then he got up and placed the
futon further from him. Much further. Just in case. Then he went
back and fell asleep - his dreams long and lightless.)
(Ranma-chan flicked the TV off. Akane had already gone to bed, taking
P-chan with her. Now she was all alone in the living room, hearing the
night sounds float in from an open window. She got up and walked
over to the window, staring out at the peaceful garden, watching the
cherry blossoms fall on the surface of the carp pond, preventing the light
of the moon from shining inside the pond.
Ranma-chan stepped back to the couch and fell on it. And in
moments, despite all her worries, she was asleep.)
(Sometime during the night, a figure cloaked in the shadows of the
living room stepped up to the couch, holding something in her hands.
It seemed to consider Ranma-chan's sleeping form for a long moment.
Ranma-chan was huddled up and shivering violently, for the night
was cold - even colder than the morning. She tossed here and there,
trying to find a spot where she could conserve her warmth, but she
failed miserably.
Nodoka leaned in close to Ranma-chan and watched her. Then she
noticed....tears.
Ranma-chan was crying silently in her sleep. Then, still asleep,
she said....)
Ranma-chan : M-mom.....I'm...
(And she said no more, but the tears still flowed freely down her cheek
and onto the couch. Nodoka paused for a second - then she brought the
comforter up and draped it about Ranma-chan's sleeping form, tucking
in the corners. Ranma-chan was still weeping but she no longer
shivered. Nodoka still watched her.
And, gradually, a slight smile appeared on Ranma-chan's face.
The tears stopped flowing. Nodoka silently rose up from the couch and
walked back to the room she was sharing with Genma - or would have
been if he had been back on time. A flood of confusing and conflicting
thoughts and emotions swept her mind as she left. Questions of identity
occupied a large part of her thoughts now...., specifically Ranko's.)
(Ranma-chan was dreaming that she was caught in a snowstorm while
wearing her summer clothing. She had been turned out of the house by
her own mother, after she had found out her secret. She fell to her
knees and clutched herself, trying to keep the heat in but failing anyhow.
Tears fell from her eyes but didn't freeze, despite the incredibly
coldness of the snowstorm. "M-mom...I'm....", she said into the
howling wind. Then she curled up, feeling death's cold touch steal into
her soul and wrench at her heart.
Then, inexplicably, the snowstorm stopped and the snow melted
away. Summer returned in full force and Ranma-chan slowly stood up,
relieved that she was still alive. Her mom came out and took her into
her arms, hugging her and telling her that everything was alright. And
Ranma-chan's tears stopped.
And suddenly the dreamscape shattered and reformed into a steamy
bedroom. She was kissing someone - a guy - passionately, their
embraces slowly turning into petting and fondling. Soon, Ranma-chan
thought feverishly, she was going to get physical with him. Her nipples
were hard and tingling, her groin heating up. Her clothing vanished,
and so did her partner's. Their naked bodies gleamed in the moonlight
coming from the window. "Keneda.......", she whispered seductively
to her partner.
"Who's Keneda?", replied he. Ranma-chan sat up and took a good
look. It was Ranma, smiling lewdly at her nakedness.
Ranma-chan screamed and threw herself off the bed. Ranma stood
up and laughed, and he made his way towards her. Ranma-chan curled
up in a corner, screaming, "NO, I DON'T WANT TO HAVE SEX
WITH YOU!!! NO!! I D-DON'T CARE WHAT COLOGNE SAYS!!"
Ranma stopped and his features flickered. And he became Keneda.
"Now, would you have sex with me, Ranko?"
And Ranma-chan found herself agreeing. Both in words and in
action..... Strangely, she felt no pleasure nor any sensation as Keneda
moved in and out of her with his member. She felt it move, alright, it's
just that she didn't feel any ecstasy.... She begged Keneda to stop for a
second, so that she could collect her thoughts and maybe figure out why
this is happening, but when she turned about Keneda was gone.
And she was all alone in a dark room. The darkness suddenly
coalesced and took the form of Ranma. And he was naked.
Ranma-chan didn't resist, she didn't know why, when Ranma got
on the bed with her and pushed her onto her back. She spread her legs
apart and Ranma entered her with his member, moving in and out.
Pleasure! Pure ecstasy!! Ranma-chan felt his grip on her arms shift to
her breasts, and began to rub them. She responded by gripping the
bedsheets beneath her, which seemed to swirl with an unearthly color,
and crying out in pleasure. He moaned in time to her cries and
gradually increased his tempo.
The rhythmic pound of his hips against hers, coupled with the
sensations she was getting, was all. Then he came, and so did she, and
the both of them fell on the bed - contented as can be. Yes, all was
right in this world.)
(The moonlight washed over Ranma-chan's sleeping form and bathed her
face, set in an expression of contentment. She turned over under her
comforter and searched for a better spot on the couch. The living room
was silent, save for the chirp of the crickets.
Then the first drops of rain fell. The crickets stopped and took
what shelter they may as the drizzle suddenly turned into a downpour.
The heavens were unleashing their fury upon the face of the earth, it
may have seemed to any who witnessed the storm.
The rain tore apart the veil of cherry blossoms from the pond and
scattered them far and wide.
-----------------------
Well, what did you think? A little too abstract towards the end? Too
many unanswered questions? Like the matter of the *photo* from part
3, or Nodoka's feelings, or how Ranma and Ranma-chan are going to
resolve this?
Answer : ^_^
Anyhow, can you imagine what it'll be like for me to write part 6?!
Arrghhh!!!! Must - have - coffee!!!! See you later.
-WebDragon