Ranma 1/2: Defiance of the Heart
A fanfic story by Katrina Lee Halbred
This is my first fan-fic so please, bear with me.
Second Draft
All characters in this story are (c) by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz,
Kitty, and anyone else involved in the making of Ranma 1/2 or
anything related to Ranma 1/2.
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Please do not sell or distribute for profit.
*********************
With the exception of the Dream Demon which is of my
own creation. (At least I've never seen anyone else use one.
I've heard that there was a dream demon in a UY movie, but it
appears to be a different sort.<shrug>
Thanks go to Brendan O'Donnell for pointing that out.)
Thanks go out to Nicholas Leifker for his C&C and help on getting
me through the first fanfic I have ever done.
Well, on with the show....
Note: This episode takes place shortly after the anime episode
"Am I...Pretty? Ranma's Declaration of Womanhood"
---------------------------------------------------------------
[Opening theme song: Return to Innocence by Enigma]
The day had been a semi-eventful one for the Tendo household,
but, now things had begun to wind down as it approached the
evening. Kasumi had began her usual ritual of putting on her
apron and getting ready to cook dinner. Genma and Soun were
playing shogi on the back porch. Ranma was coming down the
stairs. And Akane was entering the kitchen as Ranma started to
walk by...
"Kasumi, can I help cook dinner?" asked Akane.
Kasumi looked slightly surprised, but she was still smiling.
It seemed as if she was always smiling, sometimes."Sure, " she
replied."Are you going to try bridal training again?"
Akane started to look very uncomfortable at the mention of
the word, bridal. "Um...Yes," she slowly responded. "I guess you
could say that. I'll show Ranma I can learn to cook, she
thought. I'll show all of you I can do it!
Kasumi seemed to beam at that response, saying "Good, I knew
you wouldn't give up!"
Someone groaned from the kitchen entrance. Akane and Kasumi
both turned to see Ranma, standing in the doorway, with a big
sweat drop on his head. Akane started to get an annoyed look at
this interruption.
"What's your problem, Ranma?" Akane asked, icily.
"Come on, Akane," he began. "we all know you can't cook, so
why torture us with your apparently futile attempts? Why not
just let Kasumi do the cooking since she knows how to cook - um,
Akane, don't look at me that way. Hey! I'm just stating-!"
A glowing red Akane began to advance on a now nervous Ranma.
Ranma has started to back away form her, quickly finding that
there is only so much room that he has to back up to.
Nabiki picked that moment to be walking by the kitchen
entrance. She notices the ensuing argument and shaking her head
sadly goes to the back door, opens it, and moves the table out
of the way of any possible flying people on their way out the
door.
On the back porch, Genma and Soun were still playing shogi.
Genma had a rather victorious look on his face.
"I've got you, Tendo, old boy," said Genma with a smirk.
"Wait, what's - " began Soun, desperately trying to find a
distraction so he could cheat. He was cut off by a shout from
Akane from inside the house.
"RANMA, YOU IDIOT!" Yelled Akane.
<*POW*>
Ranma flew out the back door, knocking the shogi board over
and Genma into the water. As Ranma continued his flight to the
Tendo Pond via Air Akane, he banged his head on the railing as
he broke it, following Genma. Ranma-chan came back up almost
immediately as did a grumbling Genma-panda who was currently
getting out of the pond.
Rubbing the back of her head, Ranma yelled "What'd you do that
for, you JERK!" back in at Akane.
"Ranma! Stay away from me!" Yelled a very mad Akane who
stomped up the stairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door in
a very unfeminine way upon reaching her destination.
Ranma-chan got out of the water, still rubbing the back of
her head and with a confused expression on her face.
"She is soooo uncute! All I did was tell her the truth about
her cooking." Ranma said indignitly.
Nabiki, who was watching Ranma-chan from the porch, shook her
head. "Ranma," she began "have you ever heard of a word called
tact? And besides, you know what happens whenever you even open
your mouth about her cooking. You must be dense or something."
Having said that, Nabiki walked back into the house.
Genma-panda held a sign up that says "Can't you two argue
without destroying the place each time?"
Grumbling, Ranma-chan said "It's not like I start the fights
or nothing. Akane overreacts to everything I say, the uncute
tomboy."
A few minutes later, Akane came back down and joined the rest
of the family for dinner. Her and Ranma both seemed to ignore each
other the whole time, neither of them saying a word.
Occasionally, Akane glared at Ranma, who glared right back at
her.
Soun finally decided to break the silence. "You two really
ought to try to get along." He pauses to look at both of them,
scrutinizing each of them before continuing. "Not only are you
supposed to inherit the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts,
but you are both supposed to be engaged to one another. Can't
you both find other ways to work your differences out that are
more constructive (and less destructive)?"
Ranma looked a little more indignant than was probably good
for him as he said "Yeah, right, as if that violent tomboy knew
any other ways to express herself."
<*SLAP!*>
Akane looked rather mad as she got up, saying "I'm going to
my room." A few stomps up the stairs later, there was the sound
of a slamming door.
Ranma was obviously too stunned to move as he looked like a
statue with a red mark on his right cheek. All to quickly, he
recovers and yells "OW!" as he rubs his cheek.
Nabiki smirked. "Well, Ranma," she began. "Whenever you open
your mouth around her for the most part, it seems you can't help
but stick both hands and feet in (with Akane's help of course)."
Ranma glared at Nabiki, who seemed unphased by it. "Well,
ha-ha to you to." He said sarcastically.
Nabiki giggled as she headed upstairs to her room to figure
out who owed her money and how much. She carried the daily
stock report with her as she went upstairs.
Genma and Soun both groan.
Later that night, Ranma and Akane both went to bed, in their
respective rooms. Both of them seemed to be cooling off about
the earlier incident between the two of them.
Ranma, as he lyed down in his futon "Uncute tomboy."
Akane, as she got into her bed "Idiot."
After a bit, they both fell into troubled slumber.
Ranma woke up to find himself fully clothed and in total
darkness.
Akane also found herself fully clothed and in total darkness.
In the distance, a short ways away, she could see Ranma, who
appeared to be looking around in confusion. She tried to call out
to him, but he continued searching like she wasn't there.
Ranma, with a confused look on his face, "Where the heck am
I?"
Akane also wondered where she was. Being in a dream was one
thing, but for some reason this didn't feel like a dream. It
felt more...real.
As Akane tried to think through what had happened to her, she
suddenly found herself in a gi and in the Tendo dojo,
challenging the new girl, Ranma. She suddenly forgot about what
she was trying to figure out and concentrated on the sparring
match she was having.
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." Akane said, a determined
look on her face. She got into a battle stance.
Ranma-chan looked unconvinced as she got into a battle
stance as well. "Um...If you say so." Ranma-chan smiled,
slightly.
Akane made several attacks at the red-headed girl in
Chinese clothes that stood before her. Much to her annoyance,
though, Ranma-chan ducked and dodged every attempt that she
makes. Akane began to get unnerved as well as mad.
This girl, is acting like she isn't even trying, she thought.
Is she reading my moves?
"OK," began Akane. "This time, all out." Akane put all her
strength into a frontal power punch, but ended up putting a hole
in the dojo wall. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder from
behind. She turned around to see a nervously smiling Ranma-chan.
After a few seconds, Akane and Ranma-chan started to laugh. Akane
started to walk out of the dojo and stopped just at the door.
"I'm just glad you aren't a boy," said Akane, looking back at
Ranma-chan. Akane began to walk out of the dojo when she
felt a tap on her shoulder, again.
Akane looked around to find the two of them in a park,
sitting on a bench, together, both of them in nice dresses.
Ranma-chan's was white, while Akane's was blue. Akane, looks a
bit confused.
"What-? Where's the dojo?" Akane asked, looking quite
startled. Then, she seemed to notice Ranma-chan's dress for the
first time. "Ranma? What's going on? Why-? When did you ever
decide to start wearing dresses? You look so...feminine...NO!
NOT THAT AGAIN!!! ANYTHING BUT THAT!!!" Akane began to get a
large sweat drop on her head as she remembered the incident
where Ranma thought he was a girl.
Akane looked around, again, and noticed that Ranma was still
wandering around. She listened to what he was saying. She could
make out the word "mother". It appeared, that he was looking for
his mother.
"If that's Ranma over there, then who are you?" Akane asked,
once again looking at Ranma-chan sitting next to her.
Ranma-chan smiled and said "I'm Ranma as well...or, at least,
a side of Ranma you rarely see. No, not exactly that again. For
now, just call me, Ranko, to keep from confusing yourself."
Akane looked baffled, but nodded in agreement.
"Ranma has hidden so far under that mask of pride and honor
bull that at times, he doesn't even know I exist. He refuses to
accept the fact that I'm here, whether he wants me to be or
not." Ranko looked thoughtful as she said this.
Akane nodded, quietly.
"You've seen brief glimpses of me," began Ranko. "One time
was the incident where Ranma banged his head. That was only part
of me. It was twisted because of what you were doing at the
time."
Looking startled, Akane said "What do you mean?" As she
remembered the moments that led up to the incident, her look
darkened. "That...idiot. He had that coming, only..." Her voice
trailed off to a softer pitch. "I never realized that he would
want to stay a female."
Akane looked around and noticed that they are sitting in
blackness. Ranma was off to the distance, in front of them, still
looking for his mother.
"Am I dreaming this?" Akane asked Ranko.
Ranko smiled as she responded. "Are you dreaming this, or is
Ranma dreaming this? Maybe you are both in a dream together.
Then again, it would be much simpler to accept the fact that
none of this was real. Yet, why am I here, then? Look around you
and what do you see?"
Akane looked around them, in the darkness, and then down. "I
see darkness...And Ranma searching for his mother. Why is he
looking for his mother? He knows where she is. He can't go to
her, though. So why is he looking for her?"
Ranko looked at Akane, a very serious expression on her face.
"In actuality, Ranma does not know where she is. I do. He
doesn't know because if he did, there's the lingering promise he
has."
"But..." began Akane, even more confused then before.
"Ranma can never hug his mother, tell her he loves her, or
even tell her what's been happening in his life. He can never
tell her about the curse, either. Can he do any of these things,
without threat to his well being?"
Akane looked around again. "No, I guess not."
Akane froze in her movements as a familiar voice said "What
don't you guess, dear?"
Not now, Akane thought. I didn't need this now. She quickly
put on a false smile and glanced at the person the familiar
voice came from.
"Hello, Auntie Saotome! How are you?" Said Akane, trying to
sound cheerful.
Frowning, slightly, Nodoka responded "I am well. And yourself?"
Akane, still trying to hide how nervous she felt, said "I am
fine. Just trying to figure out where I am, right now."
Nodoka glances around, a puzzled look on her face. "Why, you
are in a lovely park. However, why are you not with my son? In
fact, why is my son looking for me? I'm right here."
Akane realized that someone was missing. This doesn't seem
right, she thought. "Auntie Saotome, have you seen Ranko
anywhere? She was here a few moments ago, but now, she seems to
have vanished."
Nodoka shook her head at Akane and began to walk over towards
Ranma. "My son! I am over here!" Called out Nodoka.
Ranma, looking nervous, began running towards his mother.
"Mom! I've missed you so...!" Ranma suddenly slipped and fell in
the pond as he was running alongside it. Ranma submerged for a
moment. Akane gasped as she tried to think of something quickly.
Panic began to grip her when she saw Ranko emerge and exit the
pond, looking slightly confused.
Nodoka gasped. "Ranko?" Nodoka asked confusedly. "Where's my
son? He fell in the pond somewhere near where you are, but now,
I don't see him. Is he OK?"
Ranko started cringing in terror and tears streak down her
face. "Mom," she began "I'm OK, for now..."
Nodoka didn't seem surprised at that last statement. "I was
wondering how long you would keep up this facade, Ranko. How
long did you think you could keep me from knowing the truth?
Your promise that you made to me is still in effect. You know
the punishment. Uphold family honor." Her katana blade appeared
from nowhere. "You are _not_ a man!" She began to advance on
Ranko, her blade held in a prepatory slash position.
Before Akane had realized what she was doing, her bokken had
appeared in her hands from somewhere as she charged in front of
Ranko, interposing herself between the two. Ranko, had sunk to
her knees, a look of pure terror on her face. She looked as if
she was deep in shock. Akane set herself in a defensive stance,
her bokken held ready and a fierce look of determination on her
face.
"I can't allow you to do this, Auntie Saotome." Said Akane, a
big sweat drop on her head. I have...other plans for Ranma."
Nodoka laughed. "Why do you care, Miss Tendo? You always said
you hated him and never wanted to see him again. I thought you
wished you'd never met him. What's he to you, now?"
Ranko, tried to recover somewhat from her fear of being
forced to commit suppuku. What's she doing? Ranko thought to
herself. Akane can't match mom's sword skills. I can't seem to
move, though. I feel as if I'm being waited down by Akane's
cooking...
Akane, suddenly, for no apparent reason, got an irritated
look on her face and suddenly spun around on Ranko. "RANMA YOU
JERK!" She wacked him upside the head with her bokken. She then
spun back around to face Nodoka.
Ranko, recovered enough to yell "What was that for, you
JERK?"
Akane suddenly looked sheepish. "Um...I'm not sure why I did
that..." Her expression, once again became determined. "Are you
going to fight me, Auntie Saotome? I'm not going to let you kill
Ranma without a fight."
Nodoka looked quite amused. "You dodged that question quite
nicely, Miss Tendo. However, it was still a dodge. I repeat, in
case you didn't understand my question, what is Ranko to you?"
Akane had begun to get an annoyed look on her face. "I care
about him, OK? Is that OK? And his name is RANMA. I thought you
of all people would appreciate that fact. _He_ is after all your
_son_ and-" Akane's voice started to get really sarcastic, "of
course he _wanted_ to get cursed. It makes him _so_ manly. But,
I guess you can't see that beyond his physical form."
This can't be Auntie Saotome, thought Akane. This person is
cold, like a demon. She doesn't seem to care anything about her
son. Almost as if she was enjoying torturing him. That can't be
right.
Nodoka laughed again, "I didn't think you went for the
perverted cross-dressing type, Akane. But, then again, I guess
you always were a tomboy..."
Nodoka eeped as Akane's downward slash with the bokken
carened off of Nodoka's katana blade.
"I'm the only one who can call Ranma a cross-dresser or a
pervert. He's MY fiance! I can't believe you could be so cruel
to your own son. At least I care about him. Supukku, yeesh! What
a lame idea! And besides which, Ranma's more manly than a lot of
boys I know!" Akane yelled as she attacked Nodoka with all her
will.
"He is _not_ manly. He mistreats you, verbally. It would seem
as if he likes the low orbit flight plan you have set for him.
He has no respect for others and steps all over them with his
ego. How can you call him manly?" Nodoka looked smug after
saying this.
"Ranma's an insensitive jerk at times, but he's manly enough
for me!"
Nodoka looked startled as she backed up. Akane stared into the
glowing, red eyes of the laughing figure.
Wait a minute, thought Akane. Red eyes? Akane began to back
up, nervously as she realized that something was wrong.
Ranma, still in shock on the ground, but trying to recover
had heard this. Akane, he thoght, do you mean what you said? Do
I mean that much to you? Is this real?
Ranma tried to get up, but can't focus enough.
Nodoka's eyes continued to glow a brighter red as her form
began to shrink and change into the form of Ranko. Gasping,
Akane looked behind her to see a male Ranma, still paralyzed.
She looked back at Ranko and noticed that Ranko was in a battle
stance.
"Well, Akane," began Ranko. "You always wanted me to take you
seriously and fight you for real. So, now you get your chance.
Are you ready for me?" Ranko began to advance on Akane.
Akane began to get nervous. I have never been good enough to
defeat him, she thought, in any form. He was always able to
dodge my blows, even while reading a book or not paying
attention.
She backed up.
Suddenly, Ranma jumps to his feet and steps in front of
Akane. Akane looks relieved, but tries to hide it behind a mask
of annoyance. Ranma was paying too much attention to Ranko to
notice.
"Stand back, Akane, this is my fight, I believe." Ranma said.
"That's funny, Ranma." Began Ranko, smirking. "I thought you
wanted nothing to do with me." Ranko looked thoughtful for a
moment before continuing. "Because of that, I am myself for the
time being. Call me Ranko. Come on, Ranma, shall we dance? Now's
your chance to be rid of me once and for all."
"No. You are not me. You cannot be. It's bad enough that I
have to be you when my mother is around, but you do _not_
exist." Ranma responded.
"Then supposing you tell me why I am standing right here,
right now."
Ranma shrugged. "I have no idea. There are any number of
reasons why you are here."
Ranko smirked at this. "You created me, Ranma." she said.
"You don't even know who you are anymore. When was the last time
you looked in the mirror? Which is the real you? The facade you
show everyone, or the sweet and innocent female you were last
week?"
That last remark seemed to hit the right buttons. Ranma
suddenly became enraged and attacked Ranko, his movements almost
too fast to be seen.
"I am a guy!" screamed Ranma, blinded by fury. "Got that? A
GUY! Die, whatever the heck you are! CHestnuts Roasting On An
Open Fire Attack!"
Ranma's fists seemed to move at a speed faster than the eye
can follow, but Ranko merely blocked all one-hundred of his
punches and kicked him in the gut about half-way through his
attack. Ranma staggered as she followed up with her own
Chestnuts attack. Ranma tries to block but only succeeded in
blocking some of them as the majority of the punches connected
to his midsection. A final punch from her Chestnuts attack
connected with the underside of his chin and he flew backwards,
several feet, landing next to Akane.
Ranma was in a daze. He couldn't get up as his feet were too
unsteady. He tried, but collapsed.
"No, I can't be beaten...I'm a guy, not a girl...I'm not a
female inside," his voice went quiet as he said "Am I?".
Ranko charged in for another attack, but Akane interposed
herself between the two combatants, standing protectively in
front of Ranma. Ranma didn't seem to notice this. He seems to be
out of it.
"Enough, Ranko." Akane said. "You've made your point."
Ranko frowned. "Have I? Give him a few seconds and he'll
start hiding behind his pride again. He always does and I, for
one am tired of it. He's so afraid of being called a girl..."
Akane suddenly realized something that had been bugging her
for quite awhile. "You aren't Ranko, are you?" Asked Akane,
pointedly. She waved her hands and a kettle of hot water
appeared in her hands. "Who, or more preferably, what are you?"
Ranko eyes the hot water, nervously. "A-Akane," Ranko
stammerred. "W-what are y-you doing with t-that hot water?"
Ranko started to get upset. "How did you do that? I'm the master
of this dream! I made sure that neither of you could do anything
other than normal. I should be the only one who can do things
like that."
"Thank you, Ranko, for confirming what I've suspected for
awhile now. There were quite a few things-Oh, hell with this!"
Akane threw the kettle of hot water at Ranko, who for some
reason, couldn't move. A beautiful blue aura began to glow
around Akane as her love for Ranma manifested itself. Akane
didn't seem to notice this. Ranma was sobbing on the ground,
oblivious to what's going on.
"No, it can't be! How did you lock me in place??! NO!" Ranko
sceamed as the water made contact with her body. Her whole body
seemed to lose cohesion as it flowed into the form of a black
cloud with glowing crimson eyes. Ranma suddenly revived, looking
startled and confused.
Akane glared at the dark cloud.
Akane had a made look on her face as she asked "Who are you?
Why did you do this?"
The cloud seemed to pause for a few moments before saying
anything. "I am called, Sankiousna. I am a Dream Demon and its
my job to do what I did. But, not for you. I have been tricked
by this Happosai person who summoned me."
Akane looked as if she was in a bit of surprise. "A dream
demon?" She asked. "As in something summoned to give a person
nightmares?"
A groan emmanated from somewhere with the cloud. "Um," said
the cloud, with a disgusted sound in its voice. "That's
close enough to the truth, I suppose. I was supposed to torment
Ranma all night with his mother and Ranko. But for some reason,
you are here as well. This should not be happening."
It was Akane's turn to groan as the familiar name of Happosai
was mentioned. Her face darkened quite a bit as she said
"Happosai is a pervert in the worst case. He usually spends most
of his time glomping onto Ranma-chan's chest while she's trying
to get away from him."
The cloud paused for a minute. "It would seem, then" it
continued, "that I have a few debts to pay him. You see, you are
both a loving couple." Akane and Ranma both looked at each other
and blushed, quickly glancing away. "I can find no real wrong
doings in your hearts, except for your pride. You both have
never intentionally hurt anyone. Though at times, Ranma, you are
too kind towards females. If you don't exert some back bone,
they will forever be taking advantage of you and you'll never
have the fiance fiasco solved. You, Akane, " Akane jumped,
slightly at the mention of her name, "need to stop jumping to
conclusions at everything Ranma does. He doesn't know how to
apologize since his father never showed him."
Ranma and Akane both looked away from each other, blushing
furiously.
The cloud continued. "Finally, Ranma, learn to accept your
female side more than you do. Only in that way will your mother
know who you are. For if she knew how you were as a male, _then_
you would have something to worry about. You are not a man, but
you are a MACHO and EGOTISTICAL brute who needs to have his ego
shatterred every now and then."
Ranma looked quite mad, by now at hearing anything about his
female half. He looked like he was trying to say something, but
was strangely silent.
The cloud began to fade out. "Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Saotome.
Until next time..." it disappeared.
"That...That...That JERK! How dare he...!" Ranma was furious.
Akane suddenly jumped into Ranma's arms and kissed him on the
mouth. Ranma was to startled to know how to react.
Ranma started blushing again. "Um...Akane...But...People,"
looks around, the park is desserted "...I...well..."
Akane laughed. "Since this is only a dream, it doesn't
matter, does it?" She asked.
Ranma's blush got deeper. "But..." He started to mumble.
"Great, now she's acting like another Shampoo...I miss the
tomboy-erk! That is-! Um..."
Akane, who had obviously heard his muttering, got very mad.
"RANMA! You idiot! You could ruin a romance novel!!!"
<*POW*>
Akane decked him with an uppercut that sent him flying into
the air. He landed in the pond, only to wake up in his futon.
He got up, groggily. The first thing he noticed was that he
was female. The second thing she noticed was that she was wet all
over. She felt her futon, but noticed that it wasn't wet. A
worried look slowly emerged from her face.
"That was a weird dream. It was a dream, wasn't it? It had to
be a dream." She yawned. "Still, I suppose I'd better go apologize
to Akane for insulting her yesterday..."
Ranma got up and headed for the door. She didn't notice the
glow of light that suddenly surrounded her. Nor did she notice
the fact that her clothing had changed. She wobbled, slightly,
still groggy from her sudden awakening. Her father was still
asleep on his futon as she opened the door and exited her room
to the hallway. She noticed that Nabiki was already awake. She
was staring at her curiously. She ignored it, as she was used to
it. However, she noticed Kasumi, Soun, and Akane all stared at
her curiously.
A large sweat drop formed on Ranma's head as she started to
get very nervous, realizing that something wasn't quite right.
She gulped. Her clothing suddenly didn't feel right for some
reason.
"What? What are you all staring at?" She asked, somewhat
crossly. "Nabiki, did you take photos of me again last night?"
Nabiki shook her head, smirking. "But, if you didn't-how? No!"
A sudden panic began to grip Ranma-chan as she started to blush.
"Are you feeling OK, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, giggling. Nabiki
had her camera in hand and was taking pictures of her.
Ranma-chan gulped. "Sure, Nabiki, why do you ask?"
Kasumi smiled sweetly as she said "That outfit looks so sweet
on you, Ranma."
Ranma-chan gulped again. "Outfit? What outfit??" She asked,
not really wanting to know the answer. Something definately
felt more...drafty abou the current outfit she was wearing.
"Ranma," began Nabiki. "If you had wanted a sleeping outfit
like that, you could have just asked me. I've got plenty that'd
fit you nicely."
Ranma-chan closed her eyes and looked down at herself. She
opened them and screamed. "Happosai, you pervert! I'm going to
get you for this!" Yelled Ranma-chan.
Ranma-chan ran back into her room while everybody laughed.
She grabbed a mirror and looked at herself good. She groaned,
not wanting her father to see her in the outfit. She glanced
over at him, nervously. He was still snoring away. She looked at
herself in the mirror again, staring at the blue frilled ladies
nighty she was wearing with pink panties. A thought passes
through her head before she can banish it: "Cute..." She changed
clothes, quickly. As she finished, she looked over to a picture
of her mother sitting next to the futon. Her mother looked
hopeful in the picture. Ranma-chan started to get nervous as she
realized that she didn't have any pictures of her mother. She
picked up the picture and looked at the back. On the back was a
note.
I'll be over later today, I hope to see you and your father.
I love you.
-Nodoka Saotome
Ranma-chan gulped as she realized the day it was signed was
today. She splashed her father with cold water from a
conveniantly nearby bucket. Genma-panda wakes up, startled.
"Mom's on her way here, Pop." Ranma said nervously.
Genma-panda held up a sign. "How do you know?"
Ranma-chan started to look frantic. "Dammit! I know, OK. I
can't explain."
Meanwhile, Akane had gone back into her room and was getting
ready to come downstairs. Just before she left her room, she
noticed that the picture she had of her mother sitting by her
bed is crying. She stared at that, startled.
Akane looked confused. "That picture is usually in my desk
drawer." She said, thoughtfully. "And its...crying. How is that
possible?" She shruged, chalking it up as another weird
happening with no explanation and walked out of her bedroom.
A little while later, Ranma-chan came downstairs in her usual
Chinese clothes. She looked a bit nervous.
Kasumi was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. "Breakfast will
be ready in a few minutes." She called out. "Oh, Ranma, why
didn't you change into a boy?"
Ranma-chan looked uncomfortable. "Um...Mom's on her way
here."
Several gasping sounds came from several directions as
everyone suddenly listened to what Ranma-chan was saying.
Nabiki was the only one who didn't look surprised. "How do
you know this, Ranma? Nothing's come in the mail to indicate
this. Are you sure?"
Ranma-chan nodded emphaticly. She looked at Akane, who looked
at her questionly.
Genma-panda finally came downstairs as well.
"Excuse us for a minute," Ranma-chan said as she grabbed
Akane's hand and dragged them both onto the roof.
Genma-panda and Soun both headed for the back door, trying to
hear what was going on with their two children. They were
intercepted by an interposing Kasumi who's smile had dropped,
slightly, to show some disappointment. This had the effect of
giving everyone in the room a cold shiver. Genma-panda and Soun
both beat a hasty retreat.
"This time, I think we should leave them be." Kasumi said,
smiling again, but her voice had something else in it that made
everyone in the room sweat.
On the roof, Akane looked irritated, but was somewhat nervous.
"It was a dream, Ranma, it never happened." She blurted out,
suddenly.
"Wait." Replied Ranma-chan. "How did you know what I was
going to ask? No...it couldn't" Ranma-chan and Akane both began
to blush, furiously. Ranma-chan took a deep breath. "Look,
Akane...I'm sorry...I insulted you yesterday about your
cooking. I was...well, everytime I try your cooking, I always
get sick."
Akane's face started to get flush with anger. "Ranma...WHAT
ARE YOU SAYING???! ARE YOU SAYING MY COOKING"S BAD??"
Ranma-chan instantly regretted her choice of words.
"N-nothing...I'm just trying to apologize, Akane."
Akane started glowing red, yet again. "RANMA!"
Ranma-chan gulped, knowing what was coming. In the first
second, Ranma-chan for some reason stared at Akane. Before
anything happened, Ranma-chan mutterred "Cute" under her breath
before realizing what she'd just said.
Kasumi came out back to announce breakfast, but she never got
a chance as Ranma-chan came crashing through the roof, landing
on the table.
"Uncute, tomboy. What'd she go and do that for?" Ranma-chan
got up, still grumbling insults under her breath.
Akane, her mallet disappeared back to where ever it came
from, suddenly realized what Ranma-chan had said before she had
been "hammered". Did he call me cute? She thought to herself.
She jumped down to the ground and walked in.
Soun suddenly started to look around. "Where's the Master? He
usually never misses a meal."
Ranma-chan looked thoughtful for a minute. "One minute." She
ran out.
Ranma-chan ran into Happosai's room to see what's going on.
As she got to the room, she heard screaming and cursing sounds
emmanating from Happosai's room. She entered the room and saw
Happosai being held by a foot in mid air by a dark, ominous
cloud. Ranma-chan gasped as she recognized the Dream Demon.
Ranma-chan casually looked at the pair. "Hey! What are you
doing, Dreamy?"
The demon groaned as its eyes turned to stair at Ranma-chan.
"Ranko, the name is Sankiousna, not Dreamy." It said, sounding a
bit miffed. "I'm giving paybacks where they are do. Don't
interfere. This doesn't concern you."
"Actually," began Ranma-chan. "Considering what and how I
woke up, I'd say I have first dibs on Happi as far as beating
the tar out of him."
"Ranma! Help! Please!" Screamed Happosai.
Ranma-chan put on her cute and innocent look and said
"But, Happosai, aren't you supposed to set the example? It
wouldn't be proper to interfere in a man-to-..er man-to-demon
fight, now would it?"
Happosai started to look frantic. "OK, I'm sorry, Ranma, now
help me, PLEASE!!"
Ranma-chan sighed. She knew she was going to hate herself for
this. Faster then the demon can follow, she grabbed Happosai
from the demon's grasp and punted him through the ceiling and
into the air.
"Take that you pervert!!" Yelled Ranma-chan.
The demon glares at Ranma-chan, but soon sighs and
disappears. "You win, Ronko. I can do nothing more to you at
this time. As it is, I've tormented you enough. Farewell...for
now."
The rest of the family rushed into the room in time to see
the demon dematerialize into the ether. Akane erks as she
realizes the dream about the demon wasn't just some weird dream
she shared with Ranma.
"Well, I'm starved, let's eat." Stated Ranma-chan.
"Oh, my..." said Kasumi, as she looked up.
Ranma-chan face-faulted. "'Oh, my'? I don't like the sound of
that..." began Ranma-chan as she got up.
Happosai dropped back through the hole in the roof, landing
on Ranma-chan's chest, squeezing and groping. Ranma-chan freaked
out.
"Ah, my darling Ranma-chan, let me thank you properly!"
Exclaimed the pervert.
Ranma-chan grabbed for Happosai, but Happosai simply tossed
her through a wall. A few seconds later, Ranma-chan ran back in
after Happosai. Both zoom by the family and into the hallway.
"Come back here you little freak!" Yelled Ranma-chan, enraged.
Akane groaned as she said "Just another _EXCITING_ day in the
Tendo house."
Ranma-chan and Happosai ran back into Happosai's room as they
all heard a knock on the door and a familiar female voice say
"Hello?" Everyone turned pale as they realized who it was.
Ranma-chan took the opportunity of distraction to grab
Happosai and punt him into the next episode.
"Hello, Auntie Saotome!" Said everyone, trying to look cheery
as a somewhat surprised Nodoka walked into the room.
[To be continued.]
Coming up next: Nodoka vs. Happosai in "Leave My Niece
Alone!"
Author's notes:
* Note 1 * - The whole sequence is the fight between Akane and
Ranma when they first meet in the first episode titled "Here's
Ranma"
* Note 2 * - That mysterious incident that everyone keeps
freaking out about is the episode "Am I Pretty?...Ranma's
Declaration Of Womanhood" found on tape 5 of the Hard Battle
Series put out by Viz Video. The tape is titled "Pretty
Womanhood"
* Note 3 - A dream demon is a race of neutrally aligned demons
that are neither good or bad who visit certain people for some
of the things they have done wrong. At times, they are very
cruel. Other times, they are very kind for they reward people as
well. They come from the ethereal plane and are usually referred
to as dream masters while "pestering" someone.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I hope you like this story. It is my first attempt at
writing a fan-fic so please send comments, questions, etc. I
plan on writing some other stories along this line dealing with
Ranma, his female side, and his trying to get back together with
his mother so watch in the future for "Leave My Niece Alone".
Some personal notes : I don't use any of the Japanese verbage
since I get quite annoyed at a lot of it. Especially since I
still don't know what half of it means. (What does ne and ja ne
mean?) I figure if I'm going to write this in english, it'll be
in english. If it's going to be in Japanese, I'll write it in
Japanese (where's my Japanese to English dictionary?). Those are
my views.
Please, comments and criticism welcome. I know this isn't the
best story, but I do plan on making quite a few changes in it if
I'm given the proper feedback.
Let me know what you thought about the story and what needs to
be changed to make it better.
(I go through my roommate's account so title any email sent to
me with "Katrina: <title>" or something like that)
-Katrina Lee Halbred
mathius@keyway.net
