Most characters and situations in this story are the 
property of Takahashi Rumiko and are used without consent
but without the desire to give offense.  

For Every Action...


A wishing well.  Or at least, that's what the sign claimed.  "Wonder
whether Nabiki set this up?"  Ranma mused aloud.  *After all, the
sign doesn't say you'll actually get the wish, just that you get to
make one if you throw a coin in.  That's her kind of honesty.*  He
grinned for a moment and then shrugged and tossed a coin in.
"I wish...  Man, am I desperate or what?  Even for thinking
about doin' it... I have to be nuts.  And even if it was real,
you know it'd turn out goofy, same as every 'cure' I try.  I'm probably
lucky it's a phoney."  He turned his back, "Wish I knew why it always
turns out wrong."

                        *******

"What's so bad about being a girl!" snarled Akane, fists already
clenched as she glared at Ranma.  As ever, he was dumbstruck at
the idea of explaining how he felt about that or anything.

"Now, that's an interesting question."  Both turned to face the short
man with bright blue eyes.  "Tell me, Tendo Akane, are you interested
in the answer, or are you just picking a fight?"
"Uhm, do I know you?" Akane asked, distracted from the incipient fight
by her questioner's appearance from nowhere.

He tossed a 5 yen coin into the air and caught it again.
"No, but I know a fair bit about you.  I'm actually here to fulfill
a wish that Ranma made last night.  He asked for the answer to a
question.  Since I'm feeling generous, I'll toss in an answer to
your question as well."

Ranma looked puzzled, "I asked a question?"

"Yes, you asked why your cures always seem to go awry..."  the little
man continued once he was sure that he had both their rapt attentions.
"The answer is that magic is a conserved quantity, like mass and energy.
 It cannot be created, or destroyed, only altered and transferred.
 Thus, attempts to nullify your curse conceal it for a time, or twist it
into a different curse, but they all fail because they fail to dispose
of that force within you, fighting it, instead of releasing it."

"Ah man, how'm I supposed to do that?"

"There are some ways, but magic exacts a price you may
not wish to pay.  Now, Tendo Akane, about the answer to your question,
you accuse Ranma of insensitivity to your feelings, but what of your
insensitivity to his?"  The little man tossed his coin again, but this
time at the apex of it's flight, it flared and vanished.  His
voice became more dramatic in it's tones:

   "Saotome Ranma, I grant you respite from your curse
   Tendo Akane, I give you the gift of comprehension
   For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
   For every question, there is a matching explanation
   When you grasp the cost and the worth of the gift you recieve
   You may accept it or not, as you please."

Water erupted from the ground in a geyser under their feet, sending them
both sprawling before either recognised the threat.  "Akane, are you..."
Ranma stopped, horrified at the sight of a muscular boy, as tall as
Kuno, dressed in Akane's school uniform.  "Ranma, what ..."