[Ranma] "Scarlet Spring" (7/11)

By Henry J. Cobb

$Id: scarlet_spring7.txt,v 1.5 1997/01/27 03:32:52 hcobb Exp $



The Ranma 1/2 characters and situations are the creation of Rumiko

Takahashi.  No infringement of her copyrights is intended.



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So far:



Akane met Shampoo (Xian-ko) in China six years ago, when she stayed in

her house while recovering from a fever she picked up in a cursed

spring.



Shampoo came to Nerima to kill Akane (she followed her Panda?), was

defeated by Ranma, fixated on him, tried the memory block trick, failed

and has now returned to China.



Akane has gotten Ranma to pretend to be happy about being her fiancee,

so as to protect her father.



Akane knows that Ranma turns into some girl (who she hasn't seen) and

that there is another girl that looks just like herself and has claimed

to be her.



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It was now three weeks since P-chan and Shampoo had vanished.



Akane was working on the balance beam, in the gymnastics club workout

after class, when she heard a thump from outside the building and Ranma

saying "Akane."



In a flash she was at the window.



Gos was on the ground with Ranma standing over him.



"Whats up?"  Akane asked.



"This little worm was taking pictures of you, without permission,"

Ranma replied.



"Oh, Gos is always doing that.  Don't let it bother you."



"Akane, y-you know me?"  Gos asked.



"Sure I do, you're Hikaru Gosunkugi, you sit two seats behind Ranma in

our class."



"And you're just going to put up with this?"  Ranma turned to Akane.



"It's jut a hobby of his.  I'm sure he means no harm."



At this point Gos leapt up and snatched a hair from Ranma's head.



"Ouch!  Why you little!"  Ranma started to go after Gos.



"Oh, let him be.  I'd think you were jealous."



The next day after class, Upperclassman Kuno attempted to challenge

Ranma, with the usual results.



Akane looked back and saw that Gos was going to comfort the fallen

kendoist, but Ranma pulled her along before she could see any more.  It

takes all kinds, she guessed.



Over the next week, Gos was constantly pestering everybody who knew

Ranma, except Akane.



Thursday, on the way home after class, Ranma hopped down from the fence,

spun Akane around and said. "Smile!"



"What?"  Then Akane heard the click of a shutter.



"You said it was OK, if Gos photographed you.  So I thought we'd improve

the composition a bit."



"What's was that about?"  Akane asked Ranma, as they walked away from

Gos.



"He's been ``secretly'' photographing me all week.  Do you think he's

got a crush on me now?"



Akane tried to picture Gos and Ranma as a couple.  "Uh."



"Can I borrow one of your dresses, for our first date?"  Ranma curtsied

back at Gos.



"Stop it Ranma!  That's not funny.  Just imagine what everybody would

think if I was engaged to a cross-dressing pervert."



Ranma stopped, suddenly stunned.



"What's the matter Ranma?  Oh, the girl form.  I'm sorry.  You just hide

it so well... I forget."



"That's OK."



"What's she like, this girl?  Would my clothes fit you, when you're

her?"



"Yeah, I guess so."



"Look, it's P-chan!  He's come back!"



The small black pig looked at Akane, then ran the other way, into a

wall.  He bounced back stunned.



"Well, he sure seems happy to see you Akane."



"He's just confused, that's all."  Akane tucked the pig in her arms.



"Are you sure that's P-chan?"



"Of course, I'm sure.  Who else wears a bandana like this?"



"Uh, Ryouga?"



"Don't be silly.  Though they do have a lot in common..."



P-chan looked up at Akane with a mixture of shock and confusion.



"...they're both so brave and loyal, such good friends."  Akane gave the

pig a kiss on the snout and he blushed, then sighed.



Friday, after class, Akane heard a scream of pure terror, it sounded

like Ranma.  She found him lying catatonic, on his back.



"Ranma!"  She shook him.



"Ughuhnigauh....  Hello Akane."



"Ranma!  What happened?  Who did this to you?"



"Oh nothing, I'm OK."  Ranma sprung up and dusted himself off.



Saturday morning, Akane placed P-chan to the side so that she could

begin her Kenpo practice with Ranma , when Genma entered the Dojo.



"I'm sorry to interrupt Akane, but I must teach my son over again from

the beginning."



"What's the matter, uncle Genma?"



"I heard how he screamed and was found unconscious.  I didn't raise him

to be so fragile."



"Then you know what happened to Ranma?"



"Yes, he has this-"



Splash!  Ranma dumped the fire bucket over his father, turning him into

a panda.



"Ranma!  Why did you do that?  Do you have a weak spot?"



"I'm sorry, I can't tell you, and there's a very good reason."



"W-why?"



"Here!"  Ranma smashed into the floor and pulled up Gos, wearing candles

on his head.



"W-why hello Saotome, what brings you here?"  Gos started, then Ranma

threw him into the Koi pond.



"Why did you do that?"  Akane asked.



"Fire hazard, his candles might have caught the Dojo on fire.  Look,

let's take a break and work on this later."



As Akane stepped out of the Dojo, she saw that her sister was looking

for something.  "What is it Kasumi?"



"I've lost Hanachiyo.  I was looking after her for a friend."



They heard a blood chilling scream from the other side of the Dojo and

ran to it.  Akane was in such a rush that she trampled Gos underfoot.



They found Ranma twitching under a cat.



"Oh there you are Hanachiyo."  Kasumi picked the cat up.



"Ranma, what is it?  Are you afraid of cats?"  Akane gently shook him

back to awareness.



"Yes, my son is such a coward."



"Shut up, this is all your fault old man!"



"Like this?"  Genma held up Hanachiyo, and Ranma hid behind Akane.



The family gathered around the dinning room table and Genma explained

how his attempt to teach Ranma the cat fist had caused Ranma's cat

phobia.



"But, it did work, didn't it?"  Akane asked.  "You sent, us that

postcard when Ranma was ten about it."



"Yes, but at such a terrible cost."  Genma seemed tormented.



"Ranma, can you show us this cat fist?  I've heard such weird things

about it."



"I'm sorry Akane, it isn't something I can just show you.  With luck,

you'll never see it."



Akane spotted Gos sneaking away.  She hoped that he hadn't heard too

much.



Tuesday after class, Ranma found a note in his locker.



"What is it Ranma, a letter from a secret admirer?"  Akane asked.



"No, it's from you."



"What?"  Akane read the note, with a totally bogus signature of hers at

the bottom, asking Ranma to rescue her in the gym.



When they arrived, they found Gos tied up in a school dress on the

stage.  "Ranma, you've come to rescue me!"



Akane was up on the stage in a moment.  "Gos!  This time you've gone too

far!"  She grabbed him.



As Ranma joined them, Gos slipped out of the ropes around him and pulled

a cord that dangled from the ceiling, dropping Akane into the cellar

under the stage.  "I've got you now, Saotome, er."



"You slime, trapping Akane like that!"



Gos pulled another cord, releasing a deadweight, which smashed himself

down into the cellar.



Ranma lightly jumped down. "OK, Gos, any last words?"



"Yes, would you like a fish sausage?"  Gos handed some to Ranma, as

feline eyes stared hungrily from the shadows.



Akane plugged her ears, but Ranma didn't scream, he took Gos's hand and

made his way unsteadily to the exit.  "C-Come'on Akane, let's go home."



"Gos, take off that dress now!"  Akane demanded and began to drag Ranma

away by his pigtail.



"Ah, Akane, you really shouldn't open that door."



"Shut up Gos," she slid it open and faced a tiger.  "What?"



"I told you not to open that door."



The horde of hungry cats hid behind Ranma, as the tiger backed him

against the wall.



"Ranma!" Akane clutched at his arm, as Gos pressed against her back.



Ranma let loose a roar and stalked towards the tiger on all fours.



Was this the cat-fist?, Akane wondered.



The tiger suddenly jumped out the trapdoor, followed by Ranma.



When Akane reached the gym, she found the floor shredded, the tiger

curled into a fetal posture in the corner and Tatewaki unconscious, with

his clothes in tatters.  Ranma was just visible, heading out into the

schoolyard.



Akane followed him and found him in a tree, licking his hand as if it

was a paw.  "Ranma!"  She shouted up at him.



He seemed to take notice of her then and crouched.



"Ranma, come down from there!"



Suddenly, Ranma leapt down at her, his hands extended like claws.



"Yiii!"  Akane closed her eyes and turned her face away from the

attack.  She felt herself being thrown back against the ground.  Ranma

pinned her down and she felt his breath on her face.



"Ranma?"  She opened her eyes and looked directly into his.  His

expression was unreadable, inhuman.



He brought his face even closer to hers and licked the bridge of her

nose.



"You pervert!"  She threw him high into the air.  She wondered how she'd

managed to do that.  "Oh no, Ranma!  He'll be hurt when he lands!"



She heard a splash and hurried towards the swimming pool, but all that

remained when she got there was a trail of wet footprints leading away

from the school.



He's running on two legs.  At least he's human again, cats hate water.

But, he's a girl now, so he ran away again.  I guess I'll see him at

home then.



On the way home, Akane came to the block where Dr Tofu's office was.

She never had apologised to him for those awful things that other Akane

had said, but she needed to check on Ranma first.  Then she saw just the

face of a girl entering the office.  The face was the same as her own.



Akane rushed into the office, but there was nobody in the front office.

Looking around she spotted a notepad on the doctors desk, out of

curiosity she read the note there.



"Mister Tendo, I wish to XXXXXXXX ask the XXXXXXXX honor of your

permission to your XXXXXXXX daughters hand in XXXXXXX"  Obviously the

note needed a lot of work.



Oh no!  He wants to marry me!  He thinks the copy is me.  I've got to

stop this somehow, but he's so useless when the subject comes up.



Dr Tofu and Ranma stepped in from the back office.



"Hello Akane, what brings you here today?"  The doctor asked.



"Dr Tofu, about that girl who just came in here..."  Akane started.



"I didn't see a girl here, did you Ranma?"



"Not me sir."



"Oh, I must have been mistaken, never mind."  This is worse than I

thought.  I know, I'll ask Kasumi to talk to him.  They seem to be

getting along better now.  "Come along Ranma, I think we've had enough

excitement for one day."



When they arrived back at the Dojo, Gos, Ryouga and Tatewaki were

waiting.



"We saw what you did to Akane, you animal!"  Ryouga shouted.



"What?"  Ranma asked.



"You, uh licked my nose."



"I did what?  Uhmp!"



Ryouga had taken advantage of Ranma's confusion to land a solid punch to

the gut.  Gos and Ryouga held Ranma down.



"Animal!"  Tatewaki snarled, while beating on Ranma with his bokutou.



"Stop it!"  Akane ordered, rushing forwards to grab Ranma.  "We're an

engaged couple.  Whatever we do is our business.  It's not up to you

three to defend my honor.  Anyway, I thought it was kind of fun."  With

that Akane licked the bridge of Ranma's nose, to his great surprise.



	Henry J. Cobb	hcobb@slip.net          http://www.io.com/~hcobb

    This one goes up to eleven, too.

    Next time: Shampoo gets naked with somebody in the tub.