Suffice to say, I've been quite lazy in regards to writing fanfics. And
I deeply apologize for taking so long to write this chapter. Partly, the
problem lies with the fact that I really am not satisfied with this
chapter, and I have labeled it as a "beta." If anyone shares my views,
email me, and I guess I'll completely rewrite this chapter.
BTW, this chapter was composed in Wordperfect 6.0 for DOS, a word
processor that does not crash like MS Word '95. Besides, WP does a great
job of formating the lines.
Chapter 10: Saotomes go
camping. A mob follows.
"Ranma, it's that time again." Ranma turned to Genma, and
felt gears turn in his head as he attempted to decipher the
cryptic message. Genma didn't wait, and he continued. "We're
going camping! I think a three day training trip would be great!
What do you think?" Genma grinned widely. 'As if you have a
choice boy, I've already checked with your mother.' Ranma
mentally sighed, because he could literally read Genma's
thoughts. Pretended to be oblivious to reality, Ranma smiled
deeply, and "graciously" accepted his father's offer.
Nodoka shook her head as she brought some dishes to the
table, with the eager assistance of Ukyo and Kodachi. Even if
the two girls loved to constantly argue, their presence was felt.
Almost immediately, both girls sat around Ranma, and began a
ruthless campaign of forcefeeding him. After a couple minutes,
Kodachi decided to give Ranma a rest, and asked Genma. "So where
are you taking Ranma to train?"
Genma glanced at a map. "Well, ahem! I was planning to
train at Mount Terror, but then again, we've been there before.
So," Genma randomly dropped his finger on a point on the map.
"We are going to train at this place." He presented the map to
Kodachi and Ranma. Ranma almost started to laugh, spewing a
couple droplets of food out his mouth.
"Hey, Pop! So we are going to train at Mt. Terror again?"
Genma face became confused as he stared at his finger. Nodoka
stifled a laugh, and sat next to Genma. Ranma patted his father
on the back. "Well, it's not that bad anyways. I guess we can
go again. Besides, the place seems to change everytime we go."
Kodachi tried to surpress a laugh when she heard "Mount
Terror." The first thing that flashed through her mind was,
'What a strange name for a mountain.' Kneeling next to Ranma,
she asked. "May I also come? I think I might benefit from
training too." Kodachi gave Ranma a winsome smile, and he
responded by playing with his pigtail.
"Errr, I don't see anything wrong." Ranma smiled back at his
friend.
Ukyo's face darkened when she saw Ranma's response. She
surpressed her desire to grab Ranma's head, and knock some sense
into him. 'After all, I am his official fiancee.' She decided
that a very direct approach was needed. She cuddled next to
Ranma, causing him to involuntarily blush as he felt (well never
mind.). "Ranma dear, do you think I can also come?"
Ranma stuttered, as he tried to think under such womanly
charms. Tongue-tied, he looked around pleading for help.
Kodachi smiled and came to Ranma's rescue. "Oh how cute!" She
just adored Ranma's reaction, and she responded by cuddling next
to Ranma. Besides, it wasn't fair that Ukyo had the opportunity
to hog Ranma.
Ranma's face turned from a nice shade of red to purple, and he
collapsed backwards. Kodachi laughed. "Ukyo, I think that's a
yes." Ukyo looked at Kodachi strangely as Kodachi's attention
was completely glued to Ranma's supine body. Ukyo almost shook
her head. Given similar circumstances she would have tried to
give any other girl a cold shoulder.
Genma smiled uneasily. "Well, that's settled. I'll go call
Soun and invite him too." Genma struggled up, and plodded
towards the telephone.
* * *
Mr. Tendo smiled as he hung up the telephone. Returning to
the dining table, he cheerfully tugged thoughtfully on his
mustache. 'Now is the perfect time! If Akane could train with
Ranma alone, perhaps the two could get together, and the future
of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts will be secure!'
Soun cleared his throat to get his daughters' attention, and he
made his announcement. "Akane, the Saotomes are going on a
training trip soon, and I have been invited to come along. If
you would like to, you could come along with me." None of the
Tendo daughters missed the sly wink that Soun flashed to Akane.
Kasumi smiled thinly as she thought of an excuse to join the
trip. "Well, Father, may I also come? I could cook meals for
you and Akane." Soun's face appeared confused for a moment, and
then he realized the importance of Kasumi's offer. Four days
with Akane's cooking was definitely going to be a life
threatening experience. Soun smiled, and nodded his consent.
Nabiki groaned as she found herself isolated from Ranma.
Fortunately, she had a caring father. "Well, in that case, we
all might as well go together. Genma will be happy to have us
all along."
* * *
Shampoo cheerfully dropped off a couple orders for a patron,
and she turned around, only to bump into Mousse. "Mousse!"
Shampoo exclaimed as she gave Mousse a bonecrunching hug. "Where
you go? Not another girl?" Shampoo playfully gave Mousse an
angry look, and he broke into a sweat.
"No! How could I ever cheat on you?" Shampoo smiled as she
loved the qualities that made Mousse so loveable. He was
definitely devoted, nice, an excellent martial artist, and a very
loyal friend. "Anyways, on my way home, I heard the Saotome
family is going on a training trip to Terror Mountain. And since
you were kind of interested in Ranma..." Mousse turned red as he
continued to talk. Personally, he would prefer to have Shampoo
all to himself, but he lived to see Shampoo smile. That was why
recently he took an active interest in Ranma's activities.
Shampoo smiled as she pinched Mousse's cheek playfully.
"Mousse so nice! Shampoo love Mousse and Ranma!" Shampoo hugged
Mousse again, and everyone in the restaurant shook their heads in
envy as the color drained from Mousse's face.
* * *
Ryoga coughed, as he stared down a seemingly endless stretch
of street. He had spent the entire afternoon trying to go to the
market to buy some groceries for his mother, but instead he ended
up in many other places. Groaning in desperation, Ryoga slammed
his umbrella throught the fence next to him, and enterred the
yard to ask for directions.
Instead of seeing some unfamiliar face, Ryoga was surprised
to barge in on the Saotome family. "Oh," Ryoga laughed
nervously, trying not to draw the people's attention to the
gaping hole in the middle of their wall. "Hi Ranma. What's
happening? I was trying to get home from the market." Ranma
rolled his eyes as he thought of his hopeless friend trying to go
home.
Ranma struggled to his feet. "I'll take you home." Ranma
gestured with his hand to the door, and Ryoga laughed sheepishly
as he walked out the door followed by Ranma. The two friends
hardly made it out of the yard, when Ranma looked at the sky and
gave his appraisal. "I think it's going to rain." Ranma's
prediction turned out to be correct.
Ranma-chan stayed close to Ryoga in an attempt to remain dry.
Fortunately, Ryoga had a large bamboo umbrella, and it allowed
both to remain dry. Ranma-chan looked at Ryoga, as she spoke.
"Ryoga-chan! Father is going to take me on a training trip soon.
Do you want to come?"
Ryoga almost recoiled when he remembered his friend's
peculiar reaction to water. Keeping his voice calm, he tried to
distract Ranma, and he gently knocked her on the head. Nothing
happened unlike before. Well actually, Ranma-chan's eyes started
to water up as she tried to ignore the pain that a friend had hit
her. And pretty soon, a small accumulation became a torrent of
tears.
"Why did you hit me? Do you hate me?" Ranma-chan hugged
Ryoga, and Ryoga froze up. The feeling of a girl's lush body had
almost shortcircuited Ryoga's head, but by sheer willpower, Ryoga
gently pushed Ranma-chan away from him.
Ryoga reminded himself that the girl next to him in fact was
really a boy. "Ranma, well, could you please take me home? And
I'll come on your trip as soon as you stop crying." Ranma-chan
left out a sniffle, and she forced out a smile. She nodded in
agreement, and then led Ryoga to his home.
Several minutes after successfully sending Ryoga home, Ranma
grumbled as his red hair drooped in front of his eyes. 'I hate
it when I'm a girl. I hate it when I'm a girl. And why did
Ryoga have to splash me with a pot of really hot water? As if it
could do anything, it's still raining! But then again, I think I
was kind of behaving like a girl. I'm not that sure...' Before
Ranma could think any further, he reached his home, and he
silenced all thoughts.
* * *
Genma started to sweat, when he noticed the entire Tendo
family standing at the door to the Saotome Dojo. Genma had
probably expected Soun and Akane, but not the entire Tendo family
coming along. Genma spoke as his right eye twitched. "Soun, I
didn't expect you to bring your entire family..." Genma couldn't
continue, since Ryoga turned up at the gates to the Saotome Dojo,
his clothing quite dusty and a stray dog attached to his leg.
Ryoga groaned. "I'm here." Ryoga cursed himself. He had
better things to do such as... Well, he was sure he could think
of better things to do rather than go train in some obscure place
with Ranma, but a promise was a promise. And he did give his
word to Ranma-chan.
Everyone watched in amazement at Ryoga's determination. Even
Ranma had to scratch his head. "Ryoga, what are you doing here?"
Ryoga gave Ranma one strange look, but then dismissed his
comment. 'Perhaps Ranma is denying whatever happened.'
Nodoka took a step out of the Dojo, and for the first time
saw the miniature crowd that had congregated in front of her
home. On instinct, she knocked Genma on the head, forcing him to
cower behind Ranma. "Genma! Did you invite too many people
again?" Nodoka's attitude made a complete 180, and she smiled at
the others. "I just love guests. I guess we should move on,
before it gets too late."
* * *
Ranma ran silently among the trees, blindfolded. To him, he
could not see anything except for pitch blackness. He heard the
tiniest scrape of steel, and to his audience's amazement, he
reached behind him and lashed out with his blade. To his
satisfaction, he heard the sound of steel crashing into steel.
Immediately Genma tumbled backwards, and assumed a ready stance
as silent as possible. Genma allowed himself to smile grimly, as
he realized that he had trained Ranma well. Perhaps a little too
well. Genma looked at his sword arm, and noticed a superficial
cut left by Ranma's blade.
Ranma strained his ears to detect the slightest sound as
possible. As far as he could tell, he could hear only silence,
besides the tree that fell down. It seemed that while Ranma
attacked, his blade decided to pass through an obstructing tree.
Ukyo watched quite interested. Ranma did exhibit excellent
technique, but she wasn't interested in his technique. His
movements, sure, swift had attracted her. She enjoyed watching
him as he motioned through the dance of death. Ukyo turned her
attention to Kodachi who was solely practicing with her ribbon,
which was as sharp as a razor. Whirling around with almost no
sound, Kodachi brought down a small tree, and in the same motion
retracted the ribbon.
(Author's note: Yes, for those observant readers out there, this
lame scene is an minor attempt from me to attack the Forest
Conservation Groups.)
Ukyo turned her head in another direction, and she saw Nodoka
cheerfully giving Akane various pointers on sword technique and
form. Ukyo was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Ranma at
her side. "Hey, Ucchan! Why are you not practicing? It's great
here!" Ranma motioned with his arm to the clear air, almost
silent wilderness, and the towering trees around them. Ukyo had
to admit, this was a great place to be, whether it be for
training purposes or for general fun.
Ukyo shrugged her shoulders. "It seems that everyone is too
busy to train with me." Ukyo looked around. Kodachi, Nodoka,
and Akane were working out. Kasumi and Nabiki both didn't seem
like the types to be training in martial arts, and Soun was just
being a little too overprotective of Kasumi and Nabiki. Ryoga
was just lost, having gone out for firewood a moment ago. That
basically left no one to be with Ukyo. Ranma almost detected a
slight tone of sadness, and he sought to cheer up his childhood
friend.
"Hey, I'll train with you." Ukyo looked up at Ranma with
eagerness, and she nodded fervently. Ranma smiled as he stood
up. "But, I'm not going to go easy on you." Ukyo fingered the
spatula that was strapped to her back, and in a flash, she had
drawed the weapon and swung it at Ranma.
Instead of hitting her friend, Ukyo watched Ranma leap
backwards into the trees. Launching a spread of her throwing
spatulas, Ukyo followed. And thus began a friendly battle
between Ranma and Ukyo, both leaping among the trees, only
pausing to parry and exchange blows. Their battle reached such a
level of intensity, that everyone paused to watch. Kodachi felt
a twinge of jealously as she watched Ranma intensely focused on
Ukyo. Kasumi completely paused in her activities, and placed her
hand over her mouth, and Nabiki constantly muttered quietly.
Akane watched Ranma, in awe of his abilities.
Even Ryoga, who managed to find his way back after five hours
walking around in a circle, was amazed with his friend's
capabilities. However, no one, even Ranma and Ukyo were prepared
for the next event. Ranma leaped up to the branch that Ukyo was
standing on, and made ready his strike, but the branch snapped,
and both fell.
Ukyo almost screamed, and to her comfort, she felt Ranma grab
her protectively. Peering over his shoulder, Ranma noticed the
giant fall below into a giant spring. With a large splash, Ranma
felt the breath knocked out of him as the icy cold water suddenly
surrounded him. Moments later, Ukyo, in a man's body, broke free
of the surface, and pulled a cold and stunned Ranma-chan from the
water.
Ukyo looked at Ranma and couldn't help but feel a big change
in his personality. Ukyo really hadn't had any contact with the
other Ranma. Ranma-chan shivered uncontrollably, and definitely
had a weird way of expressing her gratitude. "Oh thank you thank
you thank you!" Ranma-chan planted a kiss on Ukyo's cheek,
causing Ukyo's manly body to blush. At the same time, everyone's
attention was drawn to the sound of Akane's bokken being snapped
in half.
Ukyo fought off her embarrassment by being angry with
Ranma-chan. "Ran-chan! How could you kiss me? I'm supposed to
be a girl, and you're supposed to be a man!" Ukyo was shocked by
Ranma-chan's indignant response.
"I'm a girl!" Ranma-chan suddenly squinted her eyes as if
she were trying to remember something. "But I do remember Ukyo,"
she clutched her red head for a moment in intense thought. "You
have a curse, don't you?" Everyone watched paralyzed, as Ranma
suddenly pulled away, his womanly face emanating disgust. "I'm
sorry Ukyo, but I'm not used being this close to a man's body."
Ukyo sighed in relief as Ranma pulled away. Despite the fact
that Ukyo loved Ranma and all, she couldn't help but feel a
slight aversion when Ranma-chan kissed her.
Ranma suddenly realized his surroundings, and his woman's
body. Completely mystified, Ranma reviewed the last minute in
his memory. He remembered falling, and holding Ukyo to protect
her. And the last thing he recalled was the icy cold water, but
after that moment, everything seemed to be hazy, as if a
long-forgotten dream. Ranma shook his head, as he tried to sort
out everything. Nodoka needed only one look at Ranma to know
that something was wrong.
* * *
Nodoka sat in front of Ranma in his tent. "What's wrong
Ranma?" She watched Ranma look up nervously, and he immediately
tried up to cover up his problem.
"Nothing mother. There is nothing wrong." Ranma looked at
the ground as if ashamed. Nodoka's feelings were confirmed,
there was something on Ranma's mind. Besides, with sixteen years
of experience raising Ranma, Nodoka almost had a special rapport
with him.
"Come on Ranma, I know something is wrong. It's written over
your face." Nodoka reached out, and gently raised Ranma's head
so she could see his eyes. For once, she could see fear in his
eyes, and felt emanating from Ranma a uncertain queasy feeling.
Ranma was scared of something.
Ranma sighed, and he gave into his mother. He rarely could
ever stand up to his mother. "I haven't really noticed it until
now, but I know that when my yin-yang re-balances, I can't
remember that well what I did when I was Ranma-chan. Everything
that Ranma-chan does seems to be a really fuzzy dream, and I
think Ranma-chan is having a similar problem." Ranma was pretty
sure that Ranma-chan had the same problem that he had. "Like I
couldn't remember inviting Ryoga to come along with us."
Nodoka sighed. Ranma's curse seemed to be developing for the
worse. Nodoka rested her arms on Ranma's shoulders, to calm him.
"Don't worry. You'll still be my son, even if you are two
people. I just hope this doesn't get worse."
A new voice broke through. "It won't." Ranma and his mother
wildly looked around, and were surprised by Cologne, who suddenly
appeared in front of them. Judging from the astonished faces,
Cologne gave a brief explanation. "Oh, it's just a cheap
disappearing technique." She turned to Ranma. "Well, Ranma, you
have been a tough nut to crack. But the curse has completely
developed in you. You now have fully developed three bodies:
your uncursed form, your cursed form with your mind, and your
cursed form with a different mind. Both minds are faintly
interconnected."
Before Ranma or Nodoka could respond to Cologne's
mini-speech, Cologne pulled out a tiny pocket watch. "Well, it's
getting late for me, and I'd better be going back." And Cologne
disappeared.
* * *
Ryoga watched his friend, who was obviously in a minor
depression. Ranma had just recounted what he learned from
Cologne, and Ryoga couldn't help but feel extremely sorry for his
friend. Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi, Kodachi, and Ukyo were also
present, and each felt the same way as Ryoga. Kasumi tried to
comfort Ranma, who was still reeling from Cologne's message.
Both Nabiki and Akane sat close to Ranma, both willingly aiding
Kasumi. Kodachi hugged Ranma, to the disappointment of the
others, as she tried to cheer Ranma up. However Kodachi's
cheerful nature didn't rub off on Ranma.
Ryoga couldn't help but be jealous when he saw Ranma pampered
by a huge swarm of girls. However, to Ryoga, honor, loyalty, and
friendship was far more important than jealousy, and he felt
sorry for Ranma. Ranma endured his treatment for a couple
minutes, but he felt an urge to be alone. He frequently did his
best thinking when he was alone, and Ranma stood up to the
amazement of the others. He offered a brief explanation of his
intentions. "I'm sorry, all of you are really nice, but I want
to be alone right now."
Ranma started walking. "There's a lot on my mind right now,
and I," Before anyone could stop him, Ranma tripped on a stray
root, and went sprawling down into a pool of water. Groaning in
anger, Ranma stood up from the water, and in his anger, screamed
out aloud. "Why do I have this curse?" Soon, as if to make
Ranma's life even more miserable, it started to rain.
* * *
Ranma-chan huddled as the rain fell. Besides being freezing
cold, Ranma-chan was quite dissappointed with... Well with...,
Ranma-chan forced her mind to grind along, and remembered Ranma.
She was quite disappointed with Ranma for packing such a sparse
selection of clothing. However, her frustration about improperly
packed clothing was dampened by the presence of Ryoga.
Ryoga groaned as he looked at Ranma-chan. It seemed that
whenever Ranma changed into female form, he was usually
Ranma-chan, unless of course, there was a situation in battle or
something. In battle, the converse was true, Ranma was usually
Ranma. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Ranma's yang levels
naturally increased during combat. Ryoga jerked slightly, when
he heard Ranma-chan speak. "Ryoga, do you think it's a little
cold?"
Ryoga paused, and he looked at Ranma-chan incredulously. Her
eyes were innocent enough, and had Ranma-chan been a real girl,
he would have quite possibly answered "Yes." But Ranma happened
to be his best friend and a guy, and that alone was enough to
warrant the complete rejection of Ranma-chan, however cute she
was. "No, it's not that bad, Ranma."
To Ryoga's surprise, Ranma-chan ignored his statement
completely, and she sat very close to Ryoga. "Well, that's
good." said Ranma-chan cheerfully. "Because I'm cold." Ryoga's
eyes openned wide as he watched, Ranma-chan's body, and what a
body it was. Closing his eyes, Ryoga turned his head away.
Unfortunately, Ranma-chan noticed, and she spoke. "Ryoga, what's
wrong? Do you hate me? Do you think I'm pretty?"
Ryoga almost choked on the questions, and he tried to put it
gently as possible. He was really uncomfortable in Ranma-chan's
close proximity, and he decided that he should respond as harshly
as possible to get her off of him. "No. I don't think you're
pretty because I know deep down inside, you are a guy."
Ranma-chan's mouth openned wide, as she took the full impact of
Ryoga's "rejection."
Ranma-chan stuttered as she tried to explain her situation.
"Is it because that I'm cursed to become a boy?" Ryoga turned
towards Ranma-chan, and he was greeted with a face that just
dripped with sadness. Ryoga stared at Ranma-chan, sort of
scared. 'What! Ranma-chan thinks that she is cursed to become a
boy?' Ranma-chan looked ashamed at the floor. "I understand.
I'll leave you alone."
Ryoga stopped Ranma-chan. "Ranma! Stop. You have to be
insane trying to go out in the rain like that! Come on, please
stop. I didn't mean what I said." Ryoga felt like slapping
himself silly, because when he saw Ranma-chan's face, he
basically just melted. He tried to comfort Ranma-chan, and
holding his breath, he ventured to pull down Ranma-chan next to
him.
"Ranma, it isn't that I hate you. It's just that I think
you're only my best friend, nothing more." Ranma-chan looked at
Ryoga, pleading as if she wanted more, but looking at the
resolution of Ryoga's face, she knew that she couldn't convince
him otherwise.
Ranma-chan sighed, for she had her heart set on winning
Ryoga's affections. But, he had come out rather clearly, and
refused to return her affections. 'At least he want's to be my
friend, but how I wish it'd be more serious.' Ranma-chan smiled
cheerfully, having voluntarily given up her dreams. Ranma-chan
wasn't one to force others.
Ranma-chan, disregarding the rain outside, stood up, and
pushed back the flap. Ryoga tried to stop Ranma-chan, but she
playfully brushed his hand away. She joked back at him.
"Hentai! What were you planning? Keeping me in the tent with
you?" She looked outside at the light drizzle that floated
downwards, hazing the view, but not serious enough to be
stinging. "Well, I'm going to sleep somewhere more proper."
Ranma-chan reluctantly left the comfort of her tent and
swiftly recalled the sleeping arrangements. Kodachi and Ukyo
were together, despite their protests. Akane was with Nabiki.
Soun was alone, and Kasumi was alone. Well, understandably,
Ranma-chan didn't want to sleep with Soun, so she made her way to
Kasumi's tent. Calling out "Kasumi," Ranma-chan paused a
moment, before letting herself into the tent. Ranma-chan asked,
"Kasumi do you think I can sleep here?" Ranma-chan paused for a
moment. "It wouldn't be right if I sleep with Ryoga."
* * *
Ranma groaned as he turned in his sleep, and his hand landed
on something different. It was warm, nice, and soft in general.
A sudden feminine gasp completely woke Ranma right out of his
sleep. His eyes rapidly adjusting to the surrounding, Ranma was
shocked to find Kasumi next to him. Ranma looked at himself,
surprised to find himself in woman form, and his hand was on....
"Rise and shine Kasumi." The tent was immediately tugged
open, and Akane's head entered the tent. She immediately gasped
when she saw Ranma and Kasumi. "Kasumi! What happened?" Akane
felt a certain rage fill her. 'How dare Kasumi! How dare she
try to get close with Ranma!' But then again, Akane convinced
herself otherwise. 'Nah, Kasumi's too proper. She would never
do anything unless she was married. Hopefully this is a
mistake.'
Squinting against the sunshine, Kasumi cheerfully replied.
"Oh nothing Akane. Ranma-chan had to sleep somewhere, and my
tent was the only suitable place. Nothing happened at all."
Ranma quickly retracted his hand, and struggled out of the tent.
The only thing that was on his mind was to find a pot of hot
water.
The other girls had a different opinion of why Ranma spent
his night in Kasumi's tent. Ukyo and Kodachi had gone far enough
to shoo Kasumi away from the campfire to deny her the pleasure of
preparing a meal. But eventually, the misunderstanding was
clarified when Ranma proved that he really didn't remember what
happened the previous night and Ryoga testified to Ranma's
statement.
Genma had watched the girls quarrel that morning, and he had
sighed in relief. "Thank god we return tomorrow." he said to
Nodoka, evoking a laugh from her.
That's that. Nothing much really happened in this chapter, except for
more playing around with Ranma's curse. Errr, well, this story is
getting more and more tedious, and I hope the later chapters will be more
meaningful, as opposed to this one.