[Author's Quick Note: Here's a shortfic that I decided to write; it's
based on something I posted to RAAF earlier. (Blade, you're going to hate
me for this one... ;) This fic takes place shortly before volume 24.]
Frozen in Form
by Hunter Kid
guilds@mail.serve.com
http://www.serve.com/guilds/ranma/
(c) 09/20/1997 All Rights Reserved
He couldn't believe it.
It had taken nearly forever, so it seemed, and the help of his most
powerful ally, but he had finally done it. His long ordeal, his long days
of embarrassment and unfair suffering - they were now at an end.
And things, for once, were going his way.
Tarou, now Kenji Tarou, was happy. Happousai was tough, but he was no
match for him; not when he combined forces with his ally. Happousai seemed
almost invulnerable, but he had managed to, at long last, beat him without
cheating. And Happousai had renamed him.
His ally, also his girlfriend, had wisely suggested that he do away
with his original intended name and name himself something simple. Tarou
had agreed; he knew from experience that while he was as smart as she was,
she posessed a great deal more common sense than him (not that he'd ever
admit it to anyone), and decided on the name 'Kenji.' Simple, to the
point, and most importantly, there was absolutely -zero- association that
anyone could connect the name to women's underclothing. That in itself was
enough for him to get a pleasure trip off of, but now things were -really-
going his way.
Not only had he gotten his name problem fixed and defeated the old
lecher, but he had also gotten himself a girlfriend along the way! More
like mutually beneficial ally, at first, but they had really grown to like
each other after awhile. And much to Tarou's genuine surprise (and
delight), she was intrigued, rather than repulsed, by the fact that he
could transform into a huge chimera virtually at will.
The two of them had met when Tarou had returned to Japan to seek out a
way to defeat Happousai, and had gotten along fairly well from the start.
He had no idea how she had gotten there, but she was alone in a small town
in Hokkaido, unconscious and barely breathing when he found her.
He had slowly nursed her back to health, and she was truly grateful for
his assistance. Tarou liked her for the main reason that she didn't ask
what his name was at first, and when she did, was content with the simple
'Tarou' that he gave in response. He had grown slightly alarmed when she
told him that she, in fact, wasn't sure what her name was.
She obviously had amnesia.
Tarou had never dealt with anyone in that condition before, so as the
two traveled across the countryside on foot, she filled him in on the vague
details of her past life, which were almost pitifully scant.
She had apparently grown up in some backwater village in China and
lived some sort of pampered life (Tarou privately doubted this; after all,
who leads a pampered life in the wilderness of China?), and she seemed to
think that she may have been a princess of some sort. Tarou was a bit
skeptical at this as well, but didn't protest to her claims to being as
such just so long as she didn't try to order him around or anything.
Besides a few memories of growing up, all of which were nothing very
specific, she remembered a couple of close friends - a vague recollection
of a fellow with a fur cap was the most specified thing that she could
give, though.
Tarou, for his own part, didn't mind that she didn't have a past. She
was the first woman who had ever shown him true, unwavering kindness, and
because of that, he poured his heart out to her, and the two quickly became
good friends, and not long afterwards, lovers. She had agreed without any
fuss to help Tarou change his name after he informed her of it with a great
deal of embarrassment on his part, and had very kindly not laughed or said
anything as if his name was already perfectly normal. At his claim that it
was personal honor that required him to change it, she had agreed to it
without any complaint.
She, as a matter-of-fact, was the one who had defeated Happousai in the
end. He had been weakened to a piteous state and reverted to human form
when she had snuck behind the old pervert and unleashed what appeared to be
a fairly powerful chi blast; Tarou privately attributed it to strong
emotion, though he had never actually witnessed an aura quite as visible as
hers was.
After his rather humiliating defeat, Happousai had agreed to change his
name to Kenji, and that was that.
He was now Kenji Tarou, and he was, for the moment, content. Well,
maybe he'd go seek out that Ranma Saotome to beat up on for awhile if he
ever got bored, but for now, he felt pretty good about the state of things.
Tarou eventually married the girl, as their friendship and love for one
another never wavered nor faltered. The girl never did regain her memory,
except for one little part:
She recalled that her name was Herb.
END
Did you guess who it was before that last line? The powerful chi attacks
and the recollection of the old friend with the fur cap (which was Mint,
BTW) may have given it away, but not too badly, I hope. :)
As to why Herb was unconscious or what happened to Lime and Mint... Well,
that's a tale for another time, I suppose.
Oh yeah, as I stated above - this takes place shortly before volume 24, and
thus Herb is stuck in female form. It stands to reason that whatever
knocked her (him, whatever) out also destroyed or stole the chiisuiton.
C&C directed to guilds@mail.serve.com. I appreciate all comments. :)
Hunter Kid
http://www.serve.com/guilds/ranma/
guilds@mail.serve.com