Disclaimer: All characters that are used belong to their respective
creators. I do this for fun and do not take any money off of it. Please
don't sue me. The stories are mine, so please don't use them without
asking me.
--
Tom Mathews a.k.a. Disruptor
http://home1.gte.net/mathews1/
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: Clockwork1.txt
CLOCKWORK
01
Early in the morning, Akane Tendo stood outside of Furinkian High
and looked down at a bunch of boys laying on the ground.
"Give it up!!" she yelled. "I'm not going out with any of you!!"
An eldery woman stepped outside of the school and saw the
battleground. She gazed at Akane and frowned.
"Miss Tendo. Please accompany me to my office."
Akane gulped and nodded. She followed the woman into the school
and into a small room marked 'Vice Principal: Meiga Shoshi'. The Vice
Principal gestured towards a chair, indicating that Akane should sit
there. Once the she had, Meiga sat down behind her desk and shook her
head.
"Akane, I don't know what to do with you. I have told you before
that fighting is not allowed on school grounds."
"But, those boys are the ones who are attacking me," Akane
protested.
"I don't want to hear it. You are the one responsible for this.
Several boys have gone to the hospitial due to broken bones. You are too
irritable and prone to anger. Have you considered meditation?"
"Kuno is the one who...."
"I told you I don't hear it," Ms. Shoshi cut in. "Have you tried
meditation to calm you down?"
Akane seethed as the Vice Principal refused to hear her side and
ground out, "I have and it doesn't work for me. I've tried quite a few
things and nothing works."
The Vice Principal declared, "Well you'd better find something
soon, or I'm going to have to reccomend that you be sent to a sanitarium
for observation. Of course you could end this by just going on a date
with Kuno and saying that he's your boyfriend."
"I will not!" Akane shouted. "He's the cause of...."
Meiga slammed a book down on her table startling Akane into
silence.
"I told you, I don't want to hear it. Now head back to class."
Akane seethed as she left the Vice Principal's office. Her grouchy
mood detered all of her would-be suitors but Kuno. Trying to keep their
classroom exploding in violence, a number of the female populace of
Furinkian blocked Kuno from talking to Akane by using misdirection and
sheilding Akane from view by using their bodies as a blind.
After school, Akane in a black rage headed home. As she walked,
her thoughts were livid.
'What is with her? Why can't she see that I'm the one who's being
wronged? All those boys think that I'm some prize to be won. To them
I'm not a person, but a doll. My life would probably be easier if I was
one.'
Akane entered her home and saw her dad get the mail. She shrugged,
as it was probably unimportant. Changing into a gi, she headed towards
the dojo and started practicing her katas.
'I've tried everything to calm me down, but nothing works,' she
brooded. 'At this point I'm willing to try anything out once.'
--------------------------------------------
Reading a letter in front of his dojo, Soun cried, "He's coming,
Ranma's finally coming!"
Going inside his house, he went to gather his daughters up. He
quickly found Kasumi and Nabiki and explained what was going on.
Nabiki filled in Akane, after she had been dragged out of the dojo.
Nabiki had changed her clothes to a classic kimono.
"One of us is going to be engaged to a boy? What is Dad
thinking?" Akane demanded.
"Come off it, Akane," Nabiki chided. "You know how old-fashioned
Daddy is."
Akane growled and kept quiet. Nabiki smirked and heard a
disturbance at the front door. She went to see if it was Ranma and his
father. Nabiki quickly ran back and was followed by a panda carrying
an unconscious boy slung over its shoulder and carrying two packs.
Cowering behind her father, Nabiki asked, "Do you know this
panda?"
Soun frantically shook his head in the negative. Ignoring the
panda, Akane went to the unconscious boy and gently shook him. The
boy's eyes snapped open and he leaped to his feet.
"Pops!! Why did you have to bring me here? I told you I don't
want to get married. And, I want to find a cure." the boy yelled as
he kicked the panda out the back door into the pond.
Soun snapped out of his daze and asked, "Are you Ranma Saotome?"
"Er, yeah," Ranma said still seething.
Nabiki stared at the panda and whispered, "And that panda is your
father?"
"Stupid old man took us to a cursed training ground. He turns
into a panda whenever he gets splashed with cold water. If you want to
talk to him, just get some hot water."
Ranma yawning, because he was still tired, sat down as he
watched the Tendo's pour hot and cold water over his father. At first
they were stunned by the change that occurred. Soun quickly recovered
and told his girls to stop playing with his friend's curse. He used
some hot water to change Genma back and started talking. While they
were doing that, Akane came over and sat down beside Ranma.
"What animal do you turn into?" Akane demanded, loudly. "You said
you wanted to find a cure, so you must be cursed as well!"
"I don't turn into an animal," Ranma stated and then whispered so
softly that Akane thought she imagined it, "Anything would have been
better than that."
Akane asked in a loud voice, "Then what do you change into?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Ranma said bluntly, and tried to
stifle ayawn. "Still tired."
After finishing his conversation with Soun, Genma walked over to
Ranma and declared, "On your feet, boy. I'm not going to hide any
secrets from my old friend."
Ranma jumped up and yelled, "Forget it, Pops. I don't want
anyone to know that."
A smirking Nabiki splashed Ranma in the face with a glass of
water. Her mouth opened in surprise as Ranma's form shrank and became
a girl. Akane, sitting behind Ranma, had her eyes glued on the now
female Ranma's back.
"Arrgh!!"
Ranma ran towards the kitchen. As she passed by everyone, they
could see the large key sticking out of Ranma-chan's back. Before she
made it to the tap, the key stopped rotating and she ceased moving.
Genma wailed, "Oh my poor son! He fell in the Spring of Drowned
Clockwork Girl. Now he turns into a wind-up girl whenever he's
splashed with cold water."
Looking at the wound-down girl in sympathy, Akane walked over
and grabbed the key. She grabbed the key and started winding the red-
head up. After the youngest Tendo had done so, Ranma jerked back to
life and headed for the tap.
"Ranma, wait," Akane called. "It's all right. I just wound you
back up."
Ranma stopped and turned around to see all the Tendo's staring at
her. Shrugging, she pointed at her father.
"Pops, I am not getting a fianc�e. I have more important things
to worry about," the clockwork girl said and pointed over her shoulder.
"Like this for instance. I don't want to go through life stopping
every so often and having to wait for someone to wind me up."
"This is a matter of family honor, boy."
"Yes, you have a choice of my three lovely daughters to choose
from. Now, who would...."
"Father," Kasumi interrupted, "I think the best thing for our
guests right now is some food and rest."
Nabiki added, "Ranma doesn't even know us, so how is he going to
make a decision on who would be best?"
"Er, I guess you're both right," Soun replied. "Ranma, Akane will
show you the bathroom and the guest room. Your father and I have a
long overdue Shogi game to start."
Akane motioned for Ranma to follow her upstairs. Ranma grabbed
her pack and climbed the steps. On the way up, the two had a
conversation. The youngest Tendo ignored the ticking coming from the
other girl.
"You really don't like your curse, do you?" Akane asked, biting her
lower lip in thought.
"That's an understatement. If I just turned into a girl, I might
have handled it better. But, nooooo. I had to turn into a living
toy."
Pursing her lips, Akane asked, "How often do you need wound up?"
The clockwork girl replied, "With no switching back and forth, a
full winding lasts four hours. If I'm tired or hungry as a boy when I
switch to a girl, I only have a few minutes before I wind down. If
both, like I was downstairs, I will wind down almost instantly."
"I see," the youngest Tendo replied, and a sudden thought struck
her. "Wait a minute! Are you telling me that winding your girl form
up neutralizes your need for eating and sleeping."
Ranma snorted, "Figured that one out, did you? I've slept, but I
haven't had a single scrap of food or drink of water ever since I got
cursed. Pops just wanted all the food to himself."
Akane stared at the living toy.
Seeing her look, Ranma answered, "Pops said that a martial artist
must use every possible resource that he has available to succeed."
"Well, here's your room," Akane said as she opened a door, and
did her best not to stare at the key in Ranma's back.
Walking inside, Ranma dropped her back and looked around the
small, unfurnished room. She didn't notice a pamphlet and sealed
plastic bag spill out of her backpack. Seeing the items, Akane picked
them up.
"Ranma, what are these?" Akane asked while holding the bag and
booklet up.
The wind-up rolled her eyes and replied, "The booklet is a
catalog from Jusenkyo Supplies. The bag is some sort of one-shot
curse. You open the bag up and pour the contents into water and then
it acts sort of like a temporary Jusenkyo curse. Once your doused with
hot water, the curse is gone."
Opening her bag, Ranma showed that she had lots of the pouches.
"Apparently, I won some sort of contest while I was there. I won all
these packets of one-shot powders. All of them the same thing. And,
all of them completely worthless to me."
Wide-eyed, Akane asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Because, the packets duplicate the spring I fell into. Get some
cold water and some hot water and I'll show you."
Akane did as she was asked. When she returned with two glasses,
Ranma had already opened one of the pouches and had a stick out.
Seeing that one of the glasses had steam rising from it, the clockwork
took the other glass and poured the salt into it. Using her stick, she
stirred the water in the glass to make sure the salt was dissolved.
After doing so, she looked at Akane.
"Now what?" Akane asked, setting the hot water glass down.
Ranma threw the mixture at Akane, dousing her. After getting
doused, Akane felt her body tighten up and an intense itch in the
center of her back. She reached behind her and tried to scratch the
itch, but her fingers encountered a cool metal shaft rising from the
middle of her back. Eyes widening in shock, Akane was about to scream
when Ranma picked up the other glass and threw its contents at her.
"Don't worry. That stuff only works once," Ranma said, and then
muttered to herself. "Unlike mine, which is permanent."
Shaking off her near panic, Akane picked up one of the packets.
"When we have more time, would you mind if I used one of these? I
think you need someone to talk to who has some idea of what you go
through."
"Sure. Take them all if you wish. I have no need for them. You
can even have the catalog as well."
"Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot. If you're a boy and asleep, do we
douse you with water and wind you up."
"NO!!!," Ranma stated, almost yelling. "If I am asleep or
unconscious when I'm wound up, I'll just walk around like a toy
solider. Heck, if I'm wound down and you splash me with hot water,
I'll collapse unconscious."
"Oh," Akane said meekly and changed the subjects. "I'll get you
some hot water, so you can change back and get some sleep."
Taking the packets and catalog to her room, Akane thought, 'Poor
Ranma. Imagine having to go through all that hassle. Well, I'd better
get Ranma some hot water.'
After leaving her room, Akane filled a glass with hot water and
returned to the guest room. Once she was gone, Nabiki snuck into
Akane's room and found one of the packets and the pamphlet. She
quickly headed to her room and started plotting.
'Kuno will pay handsomely for pictures of you acting like a doll,
Akane.'
----------------------
As the morning sun painted the Tendo Dojo gold, Akane woke up and
started her early morning jog. She ran in the slightly chilly air,
thinking of Ranma's situation.
'After school, I'll use one of those packets. I should see what
Ranma does go through when winding down. Who am I kidding, maybe this
will calm me down. I almost killed someone yesterday.'
Akane suppressed a shudder as she recalled encountering that rod
in her back last night. She didn't have to look in a mirror to see
that it was actually a key, similar to Ranma's. Snapping her thoughts
back to the present, she saw that she was almost finished with her run.
Entering her house, she almost ran back out as she heard sounds of
combat.
'Wonder what's going on,' Akane thought as she headed for the
source of the noise.
She relaxed as she saw it was just Ranma and his father sparring
over the pond. During one exchange, Genma knocked Ranma into the pond
and landed.
"You're getting sloppy," he said with a smirk.
The now female clockwork Ranma threw a tub of water at her
father. The water hit Genma first and then the tub. Genma was knocked
down and changed into a panda.
"Now, who's getting sloppy?" Ranma asked.
The panda grabbed the tub and swung it down on top of Ranma's
head. Instead of knocking the clockwork girl to the ground, it buckled
and broke over the living toy's head with a sound like a shotgun going
off. Smirking, she grabbed the panda and threw it into the pond one-
handed.
"You really got sloppy there, Pops," Ranma said, as she walked
towards the Tendo's dining room.
Genma grabbed a teakettle and poured its contents on himself,
changing back into a man. He smiled a bit at his offspring as he
showed the kettle was now completely empty. The wind-up girl ignored
that and entered the house. She started to sit down, but her key
stopped turning and she jerked to a halt.
Stepping behind the clockwork, Akane thought, 'This is bizarre.'
Still intrigued by the novelty, she rotated Ranma's key and heard
ratcheting sounds coming from the human toy. Each time she turned the
key a full revolution and had to switch hand positions, Ranma jerked a
bit each time the key was released. Shortly she encountered heavy
resistance. Deciding not to over-wind Ranma, Akane released the key.
She watched in morbid fascination as the clockwork girl's key started
unwinding.
'How does it feel to go through that?,' Akane thought. 'I'll
find out after school. To have something regulate your movements and
actions that precisiely....'
Looking over her shoulder at Akane as she finished sitting down,
Ranma said, "Thanks. I appreciate it."
Nabiki smirked and said, "Keep it up, Akane, and you'll lose your
reputation for hating boys."
Looking bewildered, Ranma asked, "Hates boys? What?"
"It's like this," Akane started to explain. "There's this boy at
school called Tatewaki Kuno. He made a stupid speech saying that the
only way someone can date me is if they defeat me in combat. Now,
every day I have to beat up the entire male student body."
The only sounds at the table was the ticking coming from the
human clockwork. Ranma interlaced her fingers and put her chin on top
of them.
Soun cleared his throat ending that conversation. "Ranma, I
understand that you'll be going to school today."
The clockwork girl nodded. "After I change back, I'm supposed to
attend a school called Furinkan High."
"Good. You'll be in the same class as Akane. Don't worry about
the boys, Akane can take care of them."
Ranma stood up and headed for the kitchen to get some hot water and
Akane went upstairs after her book bag. Narrowing her eyes, Nabiki
watched her go.
Because of you, I lost my boyfriend, little sister. It's only
right that I get something back from you for that. Those packets
aren't that expensive and when I get enough money built up, I can order
some water,' Nabiki thought, as she listened to the two fathers'
conversation.
Genma asked, "Judging by the dust in the dojo, I take it you've
fallen on hard times. Eh, Tendo?"
"I'm afraid so. I haven't had a student for a couple of months,"
Soun replied with a sigh. "At least your son won't be that much of a
strain on our resources."
"Hand me the paper, Tendo," Genma said, with great reluctance.
"Apparently, I'm going to have to get a job."
"It's clear that Akane and Ranma seem to be the closest right
now," Soun said.
"Agreed. Akane will be my son's fianc�e. We just have to see
how things work out."
Suppressing a growl, Nabiki shrugged and also headed upstairs to
prepare for school.
--------------------------------
With wind whipping through their hair and a whooshing sound in
their ears, Ranma and Akane ran to school. Both of them kept an eye
out for any source of water that would trigger Ranma's curse.
Akane asked, "Ranma, when we get out of school, will you help me
with something?"
"Err. Sure," Ranma called down from the top of the fence he was
running along. "What with?"
"I'm going to use one of those packets you gave me last night.
I'm going to be hungry when I do so. I want you to wind me back up. I
am curious about what you go through every day.
"Uh. Right," Ranma replied, unsure. "All right, I guess I can
do that."
Looking down at Akane, he made an observation.
"Akane, you might want to change the way you have your hair. The
way it is now, you might have a problem."
'It took a long time to get my hair the way it was and there is
nothing wrong with it,' Akane thought angrily, and she spat, "Oh?
Really? And, what might that be?"
"Your hair is too long. It might get caught in the key and jam
it up," he replied, wincing a bit at the vitriol.
Anger subsiding, the Tendo girl meekly said, "Oh. I guess I
could put it up in a ponytail to keep my hair out of the way."
Not commenting, Ranma looked ahead and saw the clock of the
school. He jumped down to the street and ran beside Akane.
"Almost there," he called out. "If we hurry, we'll have twenty
minutes to spare."
"Stay out of the way," Akane said and started chanting, "Hate
boys. Hate boys. I really, really hate boys."
Casting a concerned glance at Akane, Ranma jumped on top of the
school's fence and looked down. He watched in a bit of awe as Akane
smashed through a huge group of boys. Among them were sumo wrestlers,
a baseball team, boxers, and others. After seeing the last one fall,
he jumped down.
"You go through that every day?"
"I'd wish they'd give it a rest. Let's get into school before Ms.
Shoshi sees us. I don't want to listen to her again."
"Who's Ms. Shoshi," Ranma muttered softly to himself.
Ranma shrugged and headed for the school's entrance when a shout
caught his attention.
"You there! You are being awfully familiar with the fair Akane
Tendo! What have you to say for yourself, knave?"
Turning around, Ranma saw a boy slightly older than him, dressed
in a Kendo outfit and carrying a wooden sword. He cast a glance
skywards and saw dark clouds forming.
'I have no intention of revealing my curse to everyone,' Ranma
thought, and then replied, "Her father and mine were trained at the
same time by the same person. Pops is just visiting an old friend."
Lowering his sword a bit, the boy replied, "I see. Know this: I,
Tatewaki Kuno the Blue Thunder of Furinkian High, shall smite any man
who threatens the fair Akane's honor. For a flower such as she can
only be protected by the most noble and brave."
"Oh brother," Ranma muttered as he rolled his eyes. "I think I'll
head inside. I don't want to be late for my first day at school."
Flabbergasted, Kuno stared at Ranma's receding form.
"Is he not man enough even to try and fight to see if he's worthy
of dating the fair Akane Tendo? What sort of man is he?"
Rushing past the dazed Kuno, Akane called, "One who has more
important things to worry about than a date."
Pursing his lips, the kendoist strolled into the school. "What
could be more important than Akane Tendo?"
From a third story window, Nabiki had watched the scene unfold.
She was still a bit miffed that her dad had chosen Akane to be Ranma's
fianc�e, but somewhat relieved as well.
'I'll have to be careful. If I push them together too fast, I'll
lose money. But I also don't want to separate them. I might be
forced to marry that half clockwork.'
Musing on what she overheard last night, Nabiki thought, 'Akane
said that she'll try one of the packets later. My guess is after
school. I've got some fresh film. Now, all I have to do is convince
Akane to wear that outfit.'
---------
Near the lockers, Akane and Ranma were putting their shoes in
their respective cubicles. Ranma kept throwing concerned glances at
Akane, because she was still seething.
"Are you all right?" Ranma asked.
Clenching and unclenching her fists in an effort not to yell,
Akane replied, "That daily battle is stressing me out. Of course there
is Ms. Shoshi's little lectures i have to put up with as well. Because
of those things, I haven't been able to relax for quite a while now.
Don't even bother saying meditation. I've tried it and several other
stress reducing activities, to no effect."
"Oh," Ranma said and quickly changed the subjects. "Which way is
the classroom?"
"This way," the youngest Tendo replied and headed down a
corridor.
Shrugging, Ranma followed.
----------------------------------
During lunch, Nabiki was interrupted by Kuno, who sat down across
from her.
"Nabiki Tendo, I require your services. I need to know who that
boy was that accompanied Akane to school," Kuno said, while sliding a
thousand yen note to her.
Taking the note, Nabiki replied, "His name is Ranma Saotome. His
father and mine are old training buddies."
"So that is the truth. I had my doubts about that," Kuno said,
and then ranted, "Foul cur! Using your father to get to the fair
Akane. I must teach you a lesson about that."
'Just like you taught my boyfriend about not using me?' Nabiki
thought, watching Kuno storm off.
------------
Sitting outside, Ranma watched Akane and the other girls play
baseball. Out of the side of his left eye, he spotted Kuno coming
towards him. He quickly jumped to his feet and leaned against a nearby
tree.
"Knave! How dare you use your father's connection to Akane's
father to date her! You must first defeat her in combat. Those are
the only conditions that I will accept!" Kuno ranted.
"Date her?" Ranma asked, with a smirk on his face. "I have no
intention of dating anyone at the moment, you flake."
"You lie!" the kendoist screamed and charged Ranma.
Ranma jumped out of the way as the bokken sliced through the tree
he was leaning against. With a rush of falling leaves, the tree fell
over with a loud thud. Looking at the now dead plant, Ranma swallowed
and dropped into a fighting stance.
'Okay, he's a nutcase, but a dangerous one.'
The pig-tailed boy dropped to one knee and leg swept Kuno.
Feeling his legs being knocked out from under him, Tatewaki did a
forward roll and landed back on his feet. Ranma did a flying kick to
try and knock Kuno out. The kendoist brought his bokken up and blocked
the kick. For a brief moment, Ranma's foot was pushing in on Kuno's
bokken. Kuno used all his might and pushed Ranma away. The pig-tailed
boy crashed through some bushes and into a ceramic birdbath, shattering
it. The water in the birdbath was enough to trigger Ranma's curse. A
rustling in the bushes told the clockwork, that Kuno was coming.
Turning she faced Kuno, unaware of the change. As the kendoist broke
through the hedge, he spotted Ranma and stopped, confused. Ranma did a
circle kick to Kuno's head and knocked him out. Looking down at Kuno,
the living toy heard a shout.
"Ranma, are you all right?" Akane called. "I saw Kuno attack
you and..."
"I'm fine," Ranma replied. "Kuno didn't have much in him."
Akane retorted, "Or maybe, your current form is too much for him.
Didn't you notice that you changed?"
Ranma closed her eyes and felt the key turning in her back.
Opening them, she spoke to Akane.
"Not until you mentioned it."
"Um. Do you need rewound?"
Shaking her head, Ranma said, "Not at the moment. Let's go home.
I don't want to deal with Kuno again today."
The youngest Tendo thought about it and nodded. The two girls
headed back home, leaving Kuno lying on the ground. Moaning a bit,
Kuno regained some consioussness.
"Who was she? What a fiery spirit. I will allow her to date
with me," Kuno mumbled, before dropping back to sleep.
----------------------------------------
Entering the Tendo kitchen, Akane was carrying a small packet.
She smiled as she found an old plastic cup that no one used. She
filled the cup with water and headed for the dojo. Opening the door to
the gym, she spotted Ranma, in his male form, doing katas. She winced
a bit as her stomach growled from a lack of food.
"Ranma," Akane called. "I'm ready."
Stopping his katas, Ranma turned and saw Akane. He was a bit
suprised at Akane's choice of clothes. She was wearing thigh high
white boots and a yellow, shiny mini-dress that left her arms exposed.
Plus, her hair was done up in a pony-tail.
"Er. Akane, what's with the get-up?"
Blushing a bit, Akane replied, "Something Nabiki said to me
before lunch, made a bit of sense. She said that this costume would go
well with a life-sized wind-up, like yourself. Also, it's the only
thing I have that I don't mind having a hole put through the back of."
"Oh. Um. Well let's begin," Ranma said. 'I don't think I could
wear something like that.'
Taking the glass of water and the packet, Ranma prepared the
concoction. He splashed Akane with the water when he was done. As
soon as the water hit her, Akane felt her skin tighten up and harden.
The itching sensation in the middle of her back had returned, but she
was aware of the feeling of a rod in the center of her back revolving.
In her mind, an almost overpowering compulsion to move pushed in on her
thoughts. Putting her hand on her stomach, she felt something
different about her midriff, beyond the harder and stiffer body of a
doll.
The clockwork Akane said, "This is strange. I feel so different.
I was hungry when I came here, so it shouldn't be too much longer."
The two waited until Akane had wound down. As she wound down,
she saw that Ranma had lied to her, she was fully aware of what was
going on around her. Feeling his face flush, Ranma gripped the key in
Akane's back and started turning. As the key turned, Akane felt as if
someone had plugged her into an outlet. The wave after wave of energy
coming from her spring being tightened caused her body to tingle. Each
crank caused her to straighten up a bit more. She was able to move
again once Ranma had finished winding her up and released her key.
Looking at Ranma, Akane said, "That was intense. Why did you lie
about being aware while you were wound down?"
"I don't want heaps of pity for my condition. By saying that I'm
asleep, I keep it down."
"Oh," Akane replied. Putting her hand on her stomach, Akane
asked, "What is with this?"
Seeing what she was doing, Ranma replied, "Oh. That's a button.
I've pushed mine and it does nothing."
Rolling her eyes skyward, Akane retorted, "Maybe the person
herself can't activate the button. Did you ask your father about it?"
"Have you flipped? If I asked Pops something like that, he would
say I'm not a true martial artist. Then, he'd probably come up with
some strange training."
Feeling extremly curious about the button, Akane pondered her
choices. She could ask Ranma to push it and find out what it did, but
would put her at some risk, or she could forget about it and be left
forever wondering about its function. She immediately discarded
pushing the button on Ranma's clockwork form.
Screwing up her courage, Akane said, "Ranma, push my button. I
want to know."
Trying to keep his embarrassment down, Ranma's finger darted out
as fast as he could muster. It pushed in on Akane's belly button.
Both Akane and Ranma heard a loud click. Stiffing up, Akane marched
around the dojo in a stiff-legged style with arms swing rythmically
back and forth. Occasionally she would bounce off a wall, as she walked
straight into it. Every time she did, she left dents in the wood from
where her arms and body hit the wall.
'She's walking around like a toy soldier,' Ranma thought,
wonderingly. 'She wasn't asleep. Then how.... The button.'
With that revelation, Ranma jumped in front of the toy Tendo and
jabbed his finger out again. Once again a loud click was heard in the
dojo, as Akane dropped back into a more regular stance.
"Okay," Akane commented, "So, that's what it's like to be a toy
soldier."
"Akane, are you all right?"
Having a strange look on her face, Akane replied, "I'm fine,
Ranma. I just didn't think that would happen."
Curious, Ranma asked, "How did it feel?"
Shaking her head, Akane replied, "I'm not going to spoil it for
you. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to change back."
Ranma nodded and went back to his katas. He watched Akane leave
and thought about what had just happend.
'So, that's what that button is for. I'm glad I didn't ask Pops.
He would have found some way to use it to his advantage. Funny, it
almost sounded like she regretted changing back. Nah, just my
imagination.'