Ryoga ½
by George Masologites
guilds@mail.serve.com
© 11/13/1996 Hunter Kid Publishing All Rights Reserved
1
1
Cursed Wishes
The cavern that housed the Lake of Wishing seemed almost clean, in an
odd way. Ryoga looked around and felt a kind of peacefulness run through
the marrow of his bones, and his heart beat slowed a little from its usual
fast-beating anger.
He looked around him, taking in the wonderful feeling of this mystical
place with all his senses and basking in them for as long as he could. He
smiled. Not his usual ironic smile, this was a smile of content. Yes, he
felt at peace with the world.
"I wonder where the spirit of the Lake is?" He asked himself in a
puzzled fashion.
-Right here, young man,- a powerfully deep voice resounded throughout
the large cavern, rebounding off its domed ceiling for an impressive
echoing effect.
"This again," he grunted. "Can't any of you spirits just come out and
be normal?"
The spirit laughed good-naturedly. -What, young traveler?- Does this
cavern not please you?
A thoughtful look came into Ryoga's dark brown eyes as he thought of
exactly how he wanted to be rid of his curse. He smiled at the spirit
which he could not see.
Somehow he could almost see the spirit grinning back at him, patiently,
waiting for him to speak his wish.
"Actually," Ryoga said, still thinking deeply, "I've come here, as you
probably know, to claim a wish. This is the Lake of Wishing, isn't it?"
-Yes, good lad, it is,- the spirit replied. -But think carefully.
Once made, the wish cannot be undone. Be very cautious about your wish,
traveler...-
After another moment, Ryoga decided exactly how he would word his wish.
"I wish," he said, his own voice sounding oddly insubstantial next to the
deep rumble of the spirit, "that I did not turn into a pig when splashed
with cold water."
He grinned with triumph. There. No way that could backfire, to be
sure. Just asked to be rid of that damned curse. Nothing more or less.
-It shall be as you command, young man,- the spirit said after a
moment. -Just submerge yourself in the lake and your request shall be
fulfilled.-
Ryoga ripped off his shirt in triumph and dove into the magical lake.
I'm not shrinking! Not changing! He cried out in his head.
He did feel an odd, more subtle change, though. Presumably just the
effects of the Jusenkyo curse washing away.
The magic lake held him under for a moment longer, then shot him up to
the surface. Ryoga cried out in glee, seeing that he still had hands.
Human hands!
"It worked!" Ryoga cried out in a shrill tone. "I'm cured!" the
young man yelled, bursting out into a jubiliant laughter.
-You sure?- the spirit asked dryly.
Ryoga ignored him, caught up in personal glee. The traveler danced out
of the lake, laughing all the way. "Eternal thanks, spirit!" Ryoga
laughed again. "I'm really cured!"
The spirit chuckled. -I suppose in a sense, you were. I'm afraid that
you may have worded that wish of yours a little too carefully,
though...hope you're happy with the results, son. Now you must leave this
place.-
"Sure thing, spirit!" Ryoga yelled, waving to the invisible spirit,
sprinting towards the cave entrance, clambering noisily up the rocks and
bursting out into the fresh morning air.
"The curse is gone!" Ryoga cried out, before realizing that calming
down may have been in order. "Hell, I'm pitchin' high notes I'm so
excited," the traveler grunted, before realizing that high notes were still
coming.
"What the...some kinda after...no!" Ryoga looked down saw two breasts
where before there were none.
The traveler took a look into her pants, and a look of pure alarm
filled her face.
Her cry resounded off the valley walls.
Ryoga panted. Why did this always happen to her? No, no, no!
"Damn it!" She screamed. "I said to get rid of my curse..." A
horrible realization dawned on her. "No, I just said to not turn into a
pig...arrggh!"
-Well, my good Ryoga, you got rid of the curse.-
Ryoga would have punched the voice if had been in the physical world.
"This is not what I meant!" She punctuated each word, making her voice
fierce. "I wanted to not be cursed at all! Not cursed to turn into a girl!"
-Then why didn't you tell the spirit that?-
"Because maybe I made a mistake. Ever think of that?"
-Didn't I warn you about this, Hibiki?-
"No...I mean yes! Well, yeah," her voice had turned resigned as she
collapsed, exhausted, on the grassy turf at her feet. "I guess you did."
-And so did the cavern spirit.-
"Alright! Alright! Don't rub it in!"
-What are you going to do now? Return to Japan? Resume traveling?
Court Akane?-
Resume traveling. Ryoga's first thought was just that, to leave her
troubled past behind her and wander the mountains and forests alone,
peacefully. Then her thoughts fell deeper, and she began to think about
company. It would be lonely, certainly, to wander alone, and she rather
missed the ever beautiful Akane's companionship, even if only while she was
a pig. She would return to Japan, probably, take a short dip in the river
or jump in a lake, inconspiciously walk into the Tendo's home and sleep
with Akane. Ah, those nights were such bliss. There was the...
Pig. Bed. These thoughts revolved around the newly made girl's head
as she glanced down at her breasts and groaned. "No, no, no..." With this
new curse, she could no longer seek solace in animal form.
Solace? She shook her head vigorously, clearing away the ridiculous
thought from her head. A curse was never a solace. That would've meant
that Ryoga wasn't man enough to face up to his life's troubles.
-Are you, though?- his guide asked him mildly.
Ryoga ground her teeth in frustration. "Yes, I am," she growled
angrily. But her mind delved deep into the question and came up with a far
different response. Who was? Ryoga's ravaged life was too hard for
anyone, no matter how tough, to face up to. Unfortunately for her, her
concience seemed to be able to read her mind.
-Then repair it.-
"What?" Ryoga said it merely as an unconcious reaction. The
obviousness of it hit her like a ton of bricks. Of course! Make amends.
Fix her life. But... "I can't." She made a pointed gesture at her
breasts. "How am I going to talk to anyone I used to know when I'm a female?"
-Do you really want me to answer that?-
Ryoga grunted sourly. "No, don't." If Saotome could get around as a
girl, so could she. She'd always been tougher than him, anyway. And being
a girl couldn't be worse than a pig.
"What made the cavern spirit choose a girl instead of...say, a wolf?"
She asked abruptly.
-I think the spirit likes for things to remain as close to their
natural form as possible, but it seems to not want to entirely repair things.-
"Why?"
-You really think I know? Maybe its got an awkward sense of humor.-
"Wonderful. Spirits that like to play jokes on people and ruin their
lives. Hey, stick around, will you, Voice? I'm going to heat up some hot
water and having company is always nice..."
The sun rose in the east, in the morning, in Japan in the Nerima
District, and it definitely rose altogether too quickly for Ranma's taste.
He groggily opened his eyes and rubbed a hand against his chest. Male.
That much was good. He started to rise, but then fell back down with a
tired yawn. On his second try, he rose all the way and walked to the
bathroom and washed his face off with moderately cool water. He shook his
head and snatched a towel off the rack, wiping his face and tossing the
towel on the floor. He stumbled over to the hallway door and turned the
knob.
He ran into the side of a panda.
"Growf."
"I'll take that as a 'good morning, son,'" he grumbled discontentedly
and he walked down the wooden stairs, yawning again.
"Good morning, Ranma," Nabiki's voice floated out to him. "What gender
are you this morning?"
Ranma glared at her and sat down at the table.
"Thanks for being so cordial, my good aqua-transsexual."
Ranma gave her a flat look. "Good what?"
Nabiki gave him an innocent look then whistled a bit. "Oh, nothing.
Nothing at all."
Ranma finally got all the way awake when someone kicked him in ribs.
It was Genma, back in human form, glasses, bandanna, and all.
Genma laughed. "Slow boy. Very slow. C'mon outside. I'll wake you
up real fast." He snatched up his son by the front of his shirt as Ranma
mumbled "oh, great" and tossed him out the sliding door, bounding after
him. "Where...?" He looked around blankly for his son.
Ranma sprung out from the bushes and shoved his leg under his father
and gave the big man a none too gentle shove. Genma's face was plastered
in mud as he stood up and kicked Ranma into the bordering wall. Ranma
jumped up and landed on a rock over the pond as he took up a fighting
stance. Genma followed likewise, and they began their typical morning
workout.
Ukyou Kuonji's morning was a particulary nondescript one. She just
stood there and flipped okonomiyaki and served the small number of
customers that liked them for breakfast. She would look up from her work
every now and then, glancing out the window for anything interesting that
might be brewing.
"Nothing," she grumbled to herself, and went back to flipping
okonimiyaki. It was like painting, sort of. Or maybe more like...
"Food!" The rough-edged female voice bellowed across the resturant.
Ukyou looked up to see what looked like Ranma. In his girl form.
"Ranma honey!" She grinned, trying to control her excitement. "Come
for breakfast?"
Ranma-chan didn't seem to hear her. She just stuck up a finger while
she leaned exhaustedly on the counter. "Gimme food," she demanded in a
tired voice. "A lot of it."
Ukyou raised an eyebrow in surprise at the commands, but shrugged and
started with the special.
Ranma looked up from the counter - about twenty feet from Ukyou, near
the door - and shook her head. "Nothing fancy. Just plain junk, and a lot
of it."
"Um...right." Ukyou flipped up four plain okonomiyakis and hurled them
all toward Ranma who caught them all and proceeded to devour them hungrily.
Ukyou looked at Ranma speculatively. "How on earth did you get so beat
up, Ranma?" She stopped Ranma from eating for a moment and lifted up her
face. "And why are you wearing a bandanna?"
"It's the new style," she mumbled, and went on eating.
"Do you want something to drink with that?"
"Just hot water, and not to drink."
"Of course. Wait here."
When Ukyou got back with a kettle, Ranma grabbed it, smiled briefly at
her, and walked out without using it, leaving her staring after her in
puzzlement.
Akane stalked along the side of the road angrily. Honestly! Ranma
could be such a jerk sometimes. He was nice in fair weather, but once the
drizzle had started, he had become she, and they had started arguing. The
outcome was them both walking off in opposite directions, both away from
the school, which meant they were both going to be late. Right now, Akane
didn't really care about that.
As she irritably wiped off a lock of wet black hair from her face, she
heard the sound of tired steps behind her. She wasn't sure what made them
sound tired, just the sound gave that impression. Turning around, she saw
why.
Ranma, in his girl form, stood behind her, miserably walking in the
rain, caked with dirt turning to mud, and carrying a large sack on her
back. When Akane looked at her with a certain amount of curiousity and
even more anger and disgust, she just smiled exhaustedly back.
That made Akane even more curious. "Ranma? What did you do? Throw
yourself into a ditch in the last five minutes?"
Ranma-chan coughed. "Nah." She smiled a wistful smile. "Akane, will
you do me a favor?"
"What do you want now?"
"I'm exhausted. I've been out for so long." She leaned on the fence
and closed her eyes. "Can you take me to a bed, please?"
"Ranma, what have you done in these last-" she checked her watch "- six
minutes? Even you can't get into too much trouble in that short of a time."
"It's a long story. A long, long story. Will you take me to the Tendo
Dojo...?" With that, Ranma-chan fell against the fence, seemingly asleep.
Akane's puzzlement turned to alarm as she quickly propped up the
unconcious Ranma onto her back and proceeded to the Dojo. When she woke
up, she would get some answers.
Ukyou's face must have betrayed her puzzlement when only three minutes
after Ranma-chan had left, a Ranma-kun in perfect health walked in,
grumbling to himself about 'uncooperative girls, especially tomboys.'
Ranma must have also seen that puzzlement.
"What?" He asked shortly.
Ukyou stuttered for a second. "Ah...Ranma. W-where's the kettle?"
She couldn't think of anything better to say.
"What kettle?"
"The one I lent you a few minutes ago, and you just walked out with
it...?" She paused. "Say, what happened to you, anyway, Ranma?"
"I got into an argument with Akane. Again. And I'm getting tired of
it. Damn tomboy."
"She was physically attacking you? You must've been more tired than
you looked if you couldn't dodge them."
Ranma cocked an eyebrow. "What're you talking about, Ucchan? I'm not
in the least bit tired."
"Really? You sure looked like it a few minutes ago."
"You were spying on me and Akane?"
"I don't think that Akane was in here..."
"And I was? I was walking to school and we got into an argument. So I
came here to relax. What wrong, Ucchan? You look puzzled."
Ukyou nodded. "Well...yeah. You were in here a few minutes ago, with
that wierd bandanna, all tired out, and you-"
"Bandanna?"
"Yeah. Don't you remember? It was orange and black. Looked cute on
you."
Ranma's eyebrows narrowed. "An orange and black bandanna? I've never
worn anything like that. Why would I be wearing a bandanna?"
"Beats me. You gave me a sarcastic remark when I asked."
"I did?"
"Yes, you did. And then you took off with my kettle..."
"I'm really getting confused here, Ukyou. I wasn't here earlier this
morning. I wasn't even here yesterday. Akane hasn't been here in about a
week. I never wear bandannas, and I'm not tired at all. What's going on?"
"I'm as confused as you are. Unless that wasn't really you that was
here earlier. Which doesn't seem too likely."
"Did she have a pigtail?"
"I didn't think to check. I sort of assumed that she did. Unless you
undid yours." The chef paused. "Ranma, do you often wear orange and green?"
"The colors? No, I like red and blue. Why?"
"This girl was wearing an orange sweater and green pants, bound up at
the calves. Sound like something you would wear?"
"No, that sounds like Ryoga's outfit. Are you sure it wasn't Ryoga in
here earlier?"
"It was a girl, Ranma."
"Think Ryoga's into drag?"
"Trust me, this was a girl, Ranma. You have any siblings...?"
It was about noon when Ranma finally woke up. Akane was confused as
ever when her eyes finally fluttered open, and her head jerked upward,
alarmed.
"Are you okay, Ranma?" Akane asked her, worried.
"A-Akane!" Ranma-chan spluttered. "W-w...?"
Akane smiled at her. "Just relax, Ranma. You looked pretty tired out
back there. What happened to you, anyway?"
Ranma stared back at her blankly.
Akane sighed and tried again. "What did you do in those six minutes
before I brought you here that made you change your clothes, get caked with
dirt, and sap your strength so much?"
Ranma was still gaving her an uncomprehending stare when she suddenly
shook off her apparent paralysis and looked down at herself. "Change my
clothes?"
Akane nodded. It was a start, anyway.
"I don't understand. When didn't I wear clothes like this?"
Akane looked at her orange and green outfit speculatively. "I haven't
ever seen you wear something like that. Actually, it looks like something
out of Ryoga's wardrobe. Even the bandanna does."
"B-but, Akane," Ranma began hesitantly, "I, uh, am..." She trailed off
as the grogginess from her sleep wore off, and her face filled with alarm.
She began swearing profusely. "It wasn't a dream! It really all
happened!" Her tone was now fascinated. "Voice? Voice? Are you still in
there? I reached my destination!"
Akane looked worriedly at Ranma. "Quit talking to yourself. Or a
voice. It makes me nervous." She shivered uncomfortably at the thought.
Ranma shook her head and collapsed onto the bed. "I don't believe
this. So you were right after all, Voice. Maybe I can handle all this by
myself..."
"Handle what?" Akane's tone was a nervous one.
Suddenly, Ranma jerked upright and jumped out of the bed, staring at
Akane as if for the first time. "A-Akane!"
Akane sighed. "You already did that, Ranma. Would you cut the
dramatic effects and just tell me what you're trying to pull?"
"Where am I?" Ranma demanded.
"Where else? The Tendo Dojo. My room. Ranma, are you sure you're
okay...?"
"What am I in your room for?"
"This was the first place that I thought to take you. If you'd like to
move to your room, I be happy to..."
Ranma seemed to be getting nervous. "No! I mean, no, I'm fine. I
like it here. It's great. Lot of fun. Rest assured."
"Why are you acting so strange, Ranma?"
"Strange? Me? What are you talking about, Akane?"
"I've never seen you this nervous before. Tell me what happened."
"Happened where?"
"How many times do I have to explain this? Would you like me to go
over the whole story?"
Ranma's eyes grew interested. "Go ahead. You've gotten me interested."
"We were walking to school, and we were talking. Just normally
talking, then it started to rain. You got angry and we started fighting.
You ran off to Tofu's yelling about hot water and then I didn't see you for
five or six minutes." She paused. "When you got back, you were beat up
and exhausted and asked for me to take you home. I assumed you meant the
Dojo."
"Uh...yeah."
"So what did you do during that short time?"
Ranma's eyes darted for a way out of the question. Akane noticed this.
"No, wait, Ranma," she said quickly. "You don't have to answer that. I
was just curious, that's all." More than curiousity, she noted to herself.
Before Ranma could reply, Kasumi walked in, carrying a kettle of hot
water with a smile. "Good afternoon, you two," she said cheerfully. "I
heard you talking and thought that maybe Ranma would want some hot water."
Without another word, she left.
Ranma snatched up the kettle and tested the water. "Hot," she
acknowledged, and walked into the bathroom, where Akane could hear water
splashing. When Ranma didn't come back out, Akane opened the door,
puzzled. Her puzzlement only increased as Ranma was no where to be seen,
and the bathroom window's opened curtains fluttered in the slight breeze.
---------------------------------
Well, I finished up chapter 1. Think it took me long enough? From
June to November. Hm. Problem? Nah. I just hadn't worked on it in
awhile. It really didn't take me very long to write it once I got my @$$
in the seat and got to work. Please, comments are welcome! All
commentaries go to guilds@mail.serve.com, or, if you'd actually like to
talk to me, I go on IRC occasionally under the name HunterKid. All flames
will be read, laughed at, and deleted. If you liked it, respond! Input is
what decides when I finish chapters. Who knows? If this one's well liked,
I may even put out chapter 2 this month! Woundn't that be just amazing?
Ja ne!