Quantum Destinies
A Ranma fanfic
by Steven Thesken (jurai-knight@home.com)
This idea occurred to me after I finished the science-fiction novel
�Paths to Otherwhere� by James P. Hogan. Ranma and all associated
characters are owned by Kitty and the ever-creative Rumiko
Takahashi. This is purely a work of fanfiction, so please read and
enjoy.
Notes: Thoughts will be bracketed by a * on each end. Any speech
other than Japanese will be bracketed by < and >.
Chapter 4 - Unexpected Developments
Ranma wasn�t sure what to make of his present situation. Akane
Tendo was still holding on to his chair in a way that prevented his
easy escape from her. Fragments of the wooden armrest sifted down
from underneath her right hand. He hadn�t realized just how strong
she was. Her attention was focused on the new addition to his lab, an
attractive girl with her hair done up in a single ponytail, one Kodachi
Kuno. Kodachi simply stood there pleasantly, her bookbag resting
against her thigh in a demure pose.
Ranma sneezed loudly. Akane turned to look at him, and
suddenly seemed to realize what her position might look like to a
stranger. She shot back away from him quickly, and moved over
towards the near wall. Kodachi raised one eyebrow as she changed
her smile to a grin, before banishing the amused expression from her
face.
�Yes, umm, you were saying, Miss Kuno?� Ranma glanced
around the room. His private lab space had been inviolate for months.
Now, he had two visitors in one day. Akane leaned against a wall and
attempted to look casual. The attempt failed. The look on Akane�s
face promised record amounts of pain if he dared to laugh at her
discomfort.
�I said that your advisor sent me down to see you, Ranma.�
Kodachi smiled pleasantly at him once more. �He thought you
wouldn�t mind some help with your project.�
�My project?� Ranma couldn�t recall that his advisor had ever
even set foot in his lab. Sensei Takiyama was a kind enough man, but
Ranma�s extensive knowledge of science always seemed to intimidate
him. They got along fairly well, though.
Sensei Takiyama was always able to procure the equipment and
materials that Ranma had needed. Ranma had needed to construct the
quantum flux coil himself from scratch. It wasn�t something that you
could go into a neighborhood electronics store and walk out with.
Creating it was the most challenging thing that Ranma had done in his
life.
�Yes. Sensei Takiyama felt that I could learn a lot from you.�
Kodachi set her bag down on the table. She settled herself on the
couch near where his equipment was assembled, and crossed her legs.
She smiled at him once more, but with an extra sparkle in her eyes.
That look froze Ranma�s thoughts dead in their tracks.
�Ummm,� Ranma swallowed through a throat suddenly gone dry.
Kodachi waited for him to speak as if he was about to give forth the
wisdom of the heavens. �That is to say...�
Akane narrowed her eyes at the cozy-looking pair. *What�s with
him? Hasn�t he ever had a girl smile at him before?* Her eyes
suddenly opened wide, and a small smile curled her lips. *So the
_great_ Ranma Saotome is shy with girls, eh?* A plan began to form
in Akane�s mind. *I need to talk with someone first to set it up. This
will be perfect.*
Ranma coughed into his fist. Kodachi was gently bobbing her
foot demurely as she waited for him to speak. �This is all very
flattering, Miss Kuno, but quite unexpected.� He got up from his chair
in an attempt to clear his head. �Excuse me a moment.�
He went over to the small sink in the corner of his lab. He rinsed
out the mug sitting on the shelf above the faucet, and filled it with
some cold water. Swallowing deeply, he drained the mug in four
swallows. He looked back, and Akane was giving him an inscrutable
look that was a good counterpoint to Kodachi�s flatly admiring look.
*I have two attractive women in my lab, and both of them aren�t
making any motion to leave. What do I do now?* For all of Ranma�s
learning, dealing with the female of the species was not part of his
curriculum.
�I�ll talk to you later, Ranma,� said Akane as she walked to the
door suddenly. �Don�t forget that we have a date.�
�Hey! I never agreed to nothing!� Ranma shouted at her as she
walked out the door. Akane turned for a moment, and she smiled at
him with a hard glint in her eyes. A moment later, she was gone.
Ranma�s thoughts were black as he stared at the empty doorway.
*First she always bullied me, since I never fought back. Then when I
suddenly gained the ability to fight back, she beat me black and blue.
Now she apparently won�t leave me alone until I break her jaw or
something.* Ranma sighed.
�So that was Akane Tendo,� said a voice to his right. �She seems
to be a woman of great passions.�
�Yeah, I suppose.� Ranma turned to look at Kodachi.
�So would you like my help with your project?� Kodachi bounced
to her feet. �I really want to learn what you know about quantum
mechanics. I�ve been hearing rumors about what you might have been
doing down here, but I�m not sure how much is true since you keep to
yourself so much.� Kodachi looked him right in the eyes. �To be
honest, I was expecting someone different, based on your record. Your
abilities yesterday were a surprise.�
�Is that why you transferred here to the Academy? To learn from
me?� Ranma felt his ego swell.
�Well, that may have been one reason.� She walked over to him,
her skirt swaying gently with her movements. �My mother was
recently able to get me a full scholarship for her help with the
Emperor�s botanical gardens last year.� Ranma�s ego deflated
somewhat.
�Scholarship?� Ranma scratched the back of his head with his
right hand. �What did she do to get you that?�
�She was brought in for her expertise with rare plant life.�
Ranma nodded as she spoke. �She�s a botanist. The Emperor had a
rare orchid that was refusing to bloom, and my mother managed to
coax it into life.�
�I see. You don�t share your mother�s interests in the biological
sciences?� Ranma took a subtle step back, since the smell of her
perfume was becoming distracting. Kodachi moved forward a half
step as well. She continued to smile at Ranma. The room seemed to
be getting a little warmer.
�I helped her grub around in the dirt with her little plants, but it
didn�t really hold much interest for me for a career. I grow some
flowers at our estate for relaxation, but it�s only a hobby.� She moved
another half step closer to Ranma. He ran a finger under the edge of
his collar to loosen it a little.
�Well, umm, how about if I think about it? The assisting part, I
mean.� He suddenly reached down to grab her bag, and pressed it into
her arms. �I�ve really got a lot of work to do right now.�
�What? But I...� She started to protest as he guided her gently to
the door. �I wanted to talk with you some more about what you�re
working on.� She was still protesting as Ranma shoved her gently
outside the door.
�I said that I�d think about it. I�ll talk to you tomorrow. I really
have a lot of work to do right now. Bye now.� He spoke in a rush,
before he lost his nerve. Kodachi had her mouth open when he shut
the door on her. He slid the deadbolt home with a sigh, and leaned his
head against the door.
*I couldn�t seem to concentrate with her looking at me like that. I
don�t need any distractions right now. I have to focus on my work.*
Ranma kept repeating these things to himself as he trudged back to the
couch. He sat down and held his face in his hands. *I need to focus
on my work.*
******************************
Kodachi walked away from the door to Ranma�s lab. She had
rushed the issue, and had paid the price. *Trying to talk with him
again now would be counter-productive. I need to get his trust first.
I
certainly didn�t expect him to be so shy. I could see the fear in his
eyes. Even through the double dose of pheromones in my perfume, I
could not put him at ease.* She was so preoccupied that she didn�t
notice that she wasn�t alone suddenly.
�Didn�t have any luck with him?� Akane Tendo stepped out of
the shadows at the end of the corridor. �I thought I�d wait and see
how things went between you and him.�
�I don�t see how it�s any concern of yours, Miss Tendo� Kodachi
replied. She started to walk past Akane.
�I�m making it my concern, Miss Kuno,� said Akane. She
grabbed Kodachi by the shoulder and shoved her against the wall. She
released her hold to place her left forearm against Kodachi�s shoulder.
She smiled unpleasantly. �I have a prior claim on Ranma Saotome.
You�re _not_ going to interfere with it.�
�Let go of me, Miss Tendo,� said Kodachi in a cool tone. She
dropped her school bag to the ground. Her left hand wrapped around
Akane�s wrist as the two girls locked eyes in a battle of wills. Akane
increased the pressure of her forearm against Kodachi�s shoulder.
�In a moment you�re going to learn that you shouldn�t mess with
me, Kodachi.� Akane�s right hand slowly curled into a tight fist.
�Oh?� Kodachi drove her knee up into Akane�s stomach,
knocking her away. �Why is that, Miss Tendo?�
Akane gasped for air, surprised by the hit. Her eyes narrowed in
fury. *No one does that to me,* she thought darkly. *No one.*
Akane launched into a furious assault against Kodachi. Her fists
were turned aside from Kodachi�s face time and again by expert
blocks. Her kicks missed Kodachi as she ducked and whirled around
Akane. The air was filled with the sounds of grunted effort on the part
of both girls.
Kodachi found herself operating on the defensive. She kept trying
to get some distance between her and Akane to let her use her kicks,
but the shorter girl was relentless. Kodachi missed a block, and
Akane�s fist streaked in to slam low into Kodachi�s chest. The pain
was intense, and Kodachi was surprised at the strength of the blow.
She staggered back, and Akane followed up with a smashing fist strike
across her jaw. Flecks of blood spattered against the nearest wall.
Kodachi collapsed against the wall, her head spinning.
Akane stood back, surprised that Kodachi had gone down so
quickly. This wasn�t much of a challenge, and it was ending too
quickly. She decided to taunt the other girl. �Come on! Get up! I
still have some things to teach you!� She circled Kodachi warily
Kodachi caught her breath, and grimaced. She tasted blood in her
mouth. *This has gotten too far out of hand. I can�t afford to waste
time with this fool. I�m sure that Ranma will thank me for putting her
down for the count.* She gathered herself, slowly pulling herself up
the wall. She was acting worse injured than she really was.
�Ready for more? Good!� Akane came in with a pretty
straightforward attack. She didn�t expect to see any more fight left in
Kodachi, so her defenses were a little weak.
That was all Kodachi needed. Her foot exploded from the floor in
a powerful side kick that drove hard into Akane�s stomach. She
dropped her foot, and used it as a pivot for a reverse spin kick that
whirled her body gracefully about. Her right foot slammed across
Akane�s face, spinning her around in a dazed condition. A sudden
blurring in her vision kept her from finishing Akane off while she was
off balance.
Akane took both kicks and managed to remain on her feet. Her
mouth dripped blood, and it felt like a tooth had come loose. She
probed the inside of her mouth with her tongue a moment to confirm
it. She grinned savagely. She hadn�t had this much of a challenge in
a long time. She found herself enjoying this.
*I don�t believe this,* thought Kodachi as Akane came back up
into a ready stance after a moment. She felt a shiver run down her
spine as Akane smiled a bloody smile in the dim light. The two of
them circled each other again, both far more wary of the other than
when this fight began.
�Was that your best shot, Kodachi?� Akane�s voice was full of
contempt. Kodachi didn�t waste her breath on replying. Her ribs were
in agony, and each breath was a new experience in pain. Akane was
moving slower too, but Kodachi was surprised that the other girl was
still moving at all.
*She took two of my best kicks and didn�t fall. Her reputation
_wasn�t_ exaggerated. I can see now that the other girls weren�t
lying. She�s even tougher than they were giving her credit for.*
Kodachi looked Akane over for any weaknesses in her defense.
Akane came in with a series of punches, elbow strikes, and kicks.
Kodachi had no choice but to try and see if she could slip any blows in
while doing her best to dodge. She couldn�t get past Akane�s guard
without leaving herself open, so it became a battle of endurance. Both
girls took hit after hit as they both refused to yield.
*Kodachi is a wonderful opponent,* thought Akane as she paused
a moment to catch her breath. *She�s strong, fast, and skilled. If
Ranma�s skill is greater than hers, then I _have_ to see if I can beat
him.* She couldn�t stop grinning at the thought of their inevitable
confrontation. This is what she lived for, the challenge of the fight.
*I was wrong,* thought Kodachi during the same moment.
*Akane is a _lot_ tougher than her reputation. She started out angry,
but now she keeps grinning at me. What does she keep grinning
about?* Kodachi paused and tried to think of a way to win. *She
can�t be able to take much more of this!*
�The dancing is over, Kodachi,� said Akane. One of her eyes was
swelling up, and she kept tasting blood in her mouth. �Now we get
serious.� Akane started moving forward.
Kodachi readied herself. She could feel bruises on top of bruises
all up and down her body. Her body felt like she was fighting in mud,
her movements were so sluggish. She wasn�t about to yield to Akane
though. *No retreat, no surrender,* she thought grimly to herself.
Her focus was clear. She moved forward to meet Akane.
They came together in a last sequence of strikes. Blows that
would have been easily blocked earlier, slipped through defenses now
ragged from exhaustion. Akane took a solid shot up from beneath her
jaw from Kodachi�s elbow. A split second later, Kodachi felt Akane�s
fist crack against her shoulder, turning her left arm numb. Akane
drove her knee into the lower ribs of Kodachi�s right side, but she
managed to blunt the blow by twisting away at the last moment.
Kodachi managed to execute a side kick that gave her the
satisfaction of hearing one or two of Akane�s ribs cracking from the
impact. The effort had cost her dearly though. Her vision was graying
out. She felt herself fall against the cement wall, and struggled to
remain standing. Her knees gave out on her. *I should have just run
away... this was so stupid...*
�Unhh!� Akane staggered back, crying out in pain. She
staggered up against the far wall, her vision blurring. She saw
Kodachi slumped against the other wall, her head bowed. *I c... can�t
lose... Father didn�t raise me to be a loser.*
She staggered over to Kodachi, but the other girl had fallen
unconscious already, slumped against the wall. Akane felt a thrill of
victory over her fallen foe. It even managed to overcome the pain of
her cracked ribs that was making it hard to breathe now. She sat down
against the wall, next to Kodachi. It was too far to try to make it to
the
other wall. She suddenly felt so very tired. *I�ll just rest here and
catch my breath. Nabiki will cover for me again. She always does...*
Akane�s last thought faded to black as she fell unconscious.
The hallway was quiet again.
******************************
Ranma powered up his equipment. *I may not know how to deal
with women, but I�m sure that one of my counterparts must. Take the
one from quantum band sixteen. He had three women interested in
him there, at least. He _must_ know how to deal with women better
than I do. The personality changes don�t seem as serious now, so
maybe I just needed a short period of adjustment to deal with the new
memories.* He flipped the switches on the backup power cells back to
their proper settings.
He looked up as he heard a sound from down the hallway. *Must
be the janitor banging around a little early today. Good thing the
walls are thick. The last thing I need is noise disturbing my
concentration.* He pulled the keyboard into his lap, tapping away at
the keys as he watched the pre-activation sequence scroll up the
monitor.
*QUANTUM COORDINATE FILE #00000011 LOADED INTO
MATRIX
*SET CYCLE INTO ACTIVE MODE: YES
*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST:
Ranma tapped his fingers against the edge of the keyboard. *Too
short a time won�t do me any good, but too long a time may be risking
more severe personality changes. Hmmm. What to do?* He leaned
back and studied the wall. *Ah well, science doesn�t advance very far
without taking some risks. It�s not like I�m going to die. So far, the
worst that seemed to happen was that I picked up some personality
quirks. The skill gains _more_ than offset that.* He let a smile cross
his face. *After all, it�s a scientist�s duty to explore the unknown.*
He tapped away at the keyboard.
*SET TIME DURATION FOR TEST: 60.00 MINUTES
*WAITING FOR SIGNAL FROM NEURAL HEADSET
Ranma laid back on the couch, the neural headset in one hand.
He stretched his arms out until his shoulders popped. He set the
keyboard on the floor next to the couch. *This is it.* He rested his
head back, and placed the headset down on top of his head.
The last thing he heard was the soft computer-generated voice
saying, �Activating cycle.�
******************************
Ranma found himself staring out the window. He looked up
towards the front of the classroom. The teacher had his back to the
class and was detailing some aspect of Japanese history on the
blackboard. *Oh great. I forgot that he�d be in class.* This wasn�t
going to be nearly as educational as he thought it was going to be. He
looked around to see how many people that he could recognize from
the other Ranma�s life.
Ukyou, in the back of the room, noticed Ranma start to look
around at the other people in class. He�d been a zombie through his
first two morning classes, and she�d watched with a fair amount of
sympathetic amusement as he�d propped himself up to try and pay
attention. Homeroom was amusing. Even as sleepy as Ranma was, he
was able to answer any question put to him by the teacher correctly.
Hearing Ranma speaking English better than the teacher during
second period was even more fun.
Akane was still irked at Ranma from the previous night. She still
couldn�t figure out how he had improved his penmanship, let alone his
English ability, so much in the space of a single day. It just wasn�t
fair. School was at least _one_ thing that she could do better than he
could on a consistent basis, and that had ceased to be true. Despite
his
improvement in his scholastic ability remaining, his personality had
changed back to normal this morning. He�d been his usual jerk self to
her this morning.
The teacher turned to face the class. �Mister Saotome, we haven�t
heard anything from you yet this class. Can you tell us what you think
was the most important event of the year 1680 in our nation�s
history?�
Ranma looked up at the teacher and blinked. He opened his
mouth and spoke before he could realize what he was saying. �I
believe that was the year that Tsunayoshi became the new Shogun of
Japan. He was the fifth of the Tokugawa Era.�
�Correct, Mister Saotome,� said the teacher with a smile. �Can
you tell me what he was famous for doing?�
�Oh, that�s easy. The time of his rule was known as the Great
Reform in Japan. He began many social changes, such as changes in
the allowed roles for women and the embrace of Western ideas into
our culture.� The class stared at him in stunned silence, along with
the teacher. Ranma looked around in confusion. *Isn�t that right?*
�Ahh,� began the teacher in a mild tone of voice, �that�s an
interesting guess, Mister Saotome. It�s wrong, but it�s a very
interesting guess. Perhaps you should re-read this chapter before
tomorrow.� Ranma sat back in his seat and mentally slapped himself.
*Idiot,* he thought with a fair amount of self-directed anger. The
teacher didn�t ask him another question for the rest of the period.
Akane couldn�t stop herself from smirking behind him. *What a
moron,* she thought. *If he didn�t know the answer, he should have
just said his usual �I dunno,� instead of making something up. At least
it gives me something new to tease him about. It�s nice to know that I
can still do better than him at something as simple as history.*
******************************
When the elderly security guard found the unconscious bodies of
Akane and Kodachi lying in a hallway of the basement, he could only
gawk for a few seconds. *What happened here?* He bent down to
check that they were still breathing. There were small splotches of
blood on the walls and floor, and both girls showed obvious signs of
having been in some sort of fight with each other.
He eyed the way that they were sitting. *I wonder why they were
fighting each other? Oh wait, that one is the younger Miss Tendo.
Now it makes sense. She must have challenged the new girl. I
wonder why they came all the way down here to fight? Hmm...
Judging by the mutual bodily damage, it must have been quite a show.
I swear, what is with the younger generation? A woman should be in
the home making babies and tending to a house, not brawling around
like a man. It just makes a man sick.* He clucked his tongue.
All of a sudden, the lights in the hallway went out. The guard
sighed. *Another power outage. I�d better call someone to drag these
two girls up to the nurse.* He flipped on his flashlight and went to
make the call. *Young Mister Saotome should be coming down to his
lab in a few hours. He won�t be pleased if he doesn�t have any power.
I�d better call someone in Maintenance to see if I can�t get him some
power before then. Damn the old wiring down here. Hopefully, it
won�t take them long to fix.*
******************************
Inside Ranma�s lab, next to his comatose form, the video monitor
flickered when the power suddenly died. The fluorescent lights went
dark, and the room was now lit only by the dim light of the computer
monitor. The screen cleared suddenly.
*MAIN POWER FAILURE. SWITCH TO EMERGENCY FUEL CELL BACKUPS SUCCESSFUL.
*SIGNATURE LOCK MAINTAINED.
*FUEL CELLS CURRENT POWER OUTPUT INSUFFICIENT TO ACTIVATE RECALL PULSE.
*ACTIVATING CAPACITOR TRICKLE CHARGER.
*TIME REQUIRED FOR SUFFICIENT CHARGE: 6 HOURS, 53 MINUTES.
*POWER FAILURE NOTED IN SYSTEM LOG.
*POWERING DOWN MONITOR TO CONSERVE ENERGY.
The screen went dark.
******************************
When recall didn�t occur at the expected time, Ranma was
puzzled at first. He had checked the clock on the wall when he first
arrived in his counterpart�s mind. It read 10:22 then. It was now
11:24, and he was still here. *What the hell could have gone wrong?*
He stared out the window at a passing jet in the distance as he
went over the possible failures that might have occurred in his
equipment. He had made every circuit redundant, so what could have
failed? He should have received the recall pulse as long as he was
still
hooked up to the neural interface.
*I should have been recalled unless my body was removed from
the equipment for some reason, or the power failed.* The thought of
the first option sent a cold chill through him. If someone had
disconnected him, then he wasn�t getting back. If the power failed,
then the backup capacitor should be charging for an emergency recall
pulse. Ranma found himself praying for the second option. As
interesting as this life was, he didn�t want to grow old and die here.
He continued to stare out the window as his thoughts focused on the
problem at hand.
�Mister Saotome,� called Miss Hinako. �Would you care to
answer problem number eleven for us?� Miss Hinako was pleased
with Ranma�s new ability in math. He had been able to answer both
questions that she�d put to him since class began. However, he wasn�t
looking at her now though, and her little girl face was now frowning.
*Going delinquent on me again already, Mister Saotome?* She pulled
out her coin as she set her book up on her desk.
Ranma heard the teacher yell out something, and suddenly his
body felt drained of energy. He tried to lift a hand, but was too weak
to move. Miss Hinako�s form ballooned up into her full adult stature
as Ranma passed out at his desk.
******************************
Ranma woke up with a splitting headache. The class was in the
middle of lunch period it looked like. He looked at the clock. It read
12:08. He shook his head to clear it. *Recall still hasn�t occurred.
If
the power hasn�t failed on the other end, then this is bad. This is
very
bad. I thought I�d managed to cover all contingencies, but I guess I
messed up somewhere. I guess I should have taken Kodachi up on her
offer. I should have at least had someone to watch over me on the
other end, just in case. If my equipment has lost the signature lock on
me, then I�m stuck here for good. If that�s true, then I�ve messed up
two lives instead of just one.*
Ranma set his head back down on the desk, and covered it with
his arms. Akane glanced over and noticed that Ranma had woken
back up finally. Ukyou noticed Ranma awake, and came over to cheer
him up with a fresh okonomiyaki. Akane frowned at Ukyou, but the
other girl didn�t notice.
�Hey, Ranma honey,� said Ukyou�s voice from somewhere to his
right. �You recovered enough for some lunch? I got your favorite
here, freshly made.� He opened one eye and saw her smiling at him.
In front of her, like some sort of offering, was a plate full of fresh
okonomiyaki. Ranma really didn�t feel much like eating, even though
his stomach was giving him strong signals to eat. He sat up.
�Thanks, Ukyou.� He smiled wanly at her, but her face lit up with
an even bigger smile than the one she was wearing before. The smell
of food was making his mouth water. He started to eat, and Ukyou
looked puzzled.
�What�s wrong?� She looked at him, her head cocked at a slight
angle to one side. �You normally eat one of my specials a lot faster
than this. You wanna talk about it?�
�Not really,� he replied. �I�m just feeling a little tired right now.
My head is killing me too. Must be from whatever it was that hit me.
I feel awful.� He finished the okonomiyaki as he talked. Things
started to feel a little better with some food in him.
Ukyou nodded sagely. �You just need some fresh air and food. I
can make you another one, and you can eat it outside with me. How
does that sound?� Her eyes sparkled at the thought of spending some
time with Ranma.
�Sure,� he replied with a sudden smile. That sounded pretty good
to him. Ranma wasn�t sure what to make of the sparkly-eyed look that
Ukyou was giving him though. He decided not to make an issue of it.
He hopped out the window before consciously realizing what he was
doing. A moment of panic was replaced by exhilaration as his body
bounced off branches on the tree outside, and he landed on the ground
unhurt.
�Showoff,� Ukyou called out to him from the window above with
a grin. She turned around to see Akane frowning at her. The
youngest Tendo walked over to look out the window.
�Ranma!� Akane glared down at him. �Where do you think
you�re going?�
�I�m gonna eat lunch with Ukyou, ya dumb tomboy. What does it
look like I�m gonna do?� He blinked, and paused for a moment to
consider what he just said. *Hmmm. Where did _that_ come from?
Maybe this Ranma isn�t as skilled at dealing with women as I hoped.*
A desk impacted next to him with a small explosion of wood and
metal. �Hey! That was _my_ desk!� He paused after shouting and
thought for a moment. *Err... sort of.* He glared up at the window,
and saw an image of his own world�s Akane superimposed over this
one for a moment. He was surprised at the level of raw anger that
suddenly filled him. He blinked his eyes as her image shifted back to
normal, and glared up at her. Akane glared back. *I don�t need this
right now,* he thought. *I�ve got bigger problems.* He took off at a
jog for the gate.
�Ranma?! Where are you going?� Akane called after him from
the window. He didn�t reply, but doubled his running speed instead.
He hopped over the front wall of the school without looking back at
her, and then he was gone.
Akane and Ukyou both blinked in confusion. They looked at each
other in wonder. Both of them had the same thought. *What�s wrong
with Ranma?*
******************************
Akane slowly returned to consciousness, and the first sensation
that greeted her was pain. Her body hurt all over. She sighed and
tried to relax back against a soft mattress beneath her. Even such a
simple thing as breathing hurt, so she tried to take little panting
breaths. She opened her eyes. The first sight she saw was Nabiki
looking at her from a chair nearby. Nabiki noticed Akane�s eyes open,
and smiled.
�I see that you�re back among the living, little sister,� said Nabiki
in a pleased voice. �Looks like you bit off a little more than you
could
chew this time. Does it hurt much?� Nabiki examined the bandages
wrapped around Akane�s chest.
�It hurts to breathe a bit,� Akane replies. �How badly am I hurt,
Nabiki?�
�Bad enough,� answered Nabiki. �You have two cracked ribs,
multiple contusions, and some deep muscle damage. None of your
internal organs appear to be injured, and you managed to avoid a
concussion by some miracle. The doctor said that you should be fine
in a few weeks if you take it easy.� Nabiki paused as she looked over
her beaten up sister. �So, was it worth it?�
Akane nodded slightly. �Every fight is worth it. I can only
improve myself by challenging stronger and stronger opponents.�
Akane looked her sister squarely in the eyes. �You don�t know the
thrill of combat like I do. You can�t understand what it means to me.�
Akane smiled as an image of Ranma fighting Kodachi to a standstill
floated across her vision. *Oh, Ranma... I can hardly wait to fight
with you. Your skill is the challenge I think I�ve been looking for all
my life.*
******************************
Ranma just let himself wander. It was a nice enough day for some
outside thinking time. He glanced at a street clock, and the time read
12:43. *What do I do now? If I�m right about the power failure, then
I should have less than five hours left before full capacitor charge is
reached. That would make for almost seven hours in this body and
mind. If a single hour could change me so much, then what will
seven hours do?*
�Ranma,� squealed a happy female voice. Ranma glanced around
and was suddenly embraced by a familiar girl, a pretty Chinese girl to
be exact. She held him in a tight embrace. After what he�d been
through, it felt nice.
Shampoo couldn�t believe her luck. She had finished her lunch
deliveries, and she was on her way back to the restaurant when she
spied Ranma walking down the street. �Ranma not in school now?�
�I�m taking some time off,� he replied. His hands moved up to
rest on Shampoo�s back. He returned the embrace.
�You want take Shampoo on date?� She snuggled even tighter
against him.
A passing car sent a wave of water from a puddle splashing over
the couple. Ranma felt a strange rippling sensation whisper over him,
not entirely unpleasant. It was over in an instant, and he suddenly
found himself holding a cat. More importantly, he was now a she.
There was a shocked moment of silence. *I just turned into a girl,*
she thought in shock. A disorienting wave of memories wash over
her. *Jusenkyo,* she remembers.
�Mew?� The cat in her hands meowed at her in a questioning
tone. Shampoo was surprised by Ranma�s calmness. *He usually
reacts much quicker.*
Ranma felt the first wave of fear brush against her thoughts.
*Cat,* she thought, as she felt fear begin to grip her. Ranma liked
cats, though. *Why do I feel afraid?* Ranma stared at the small
feline in her hands. It was damp, it was looking at her with a puzzled
expression, and it was being held in her hands. *C... cat,* the boy
turned girl thought stupidly.
Ranma dropped Shampoo to the sidewalk, as the boy turned girl
clutched her head. She dropped to her knees, frowning in deep
concentration. *There is nothing to fear. There is _nothing_ to
fear!*
Ranma had the memories of the Cat Fist training wash over her mind.
Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes as she struggled to keep
control. *Fear is an animal reaction. I am a human being of
intelligence and will. I will not feel fear. I will _not_ feel fear!*
Shampoo didn�t understand what was happening. Ranma hadn�t
run away from her, nor had she screamed in fear. Ranma was
currently rocking on her knees, and her eyes were squeezed tight.
Shampoo wasn�t sure what to do. She watched her love with worried
eyes.
Ranma focused her thoughts, pushing against the fear that
struggled to rip her sanity away. *Fear can be controlled. There is
nothing to fear.* Memories of claws ripping at a little boy's flesh
exploded across her mind. *I can control this.* Ranma struggled
with the fear, focusing her thoughts on pushing the animal reaction
back down into the depths of the subconscious. *I will not submit to
this.* Ranma felt something begin to give in her thoughts, as she
visualized the fear as a wild animal to be conquered.
�Get back,� she muttered. �I won�t be defeated by a stupid fear. I
refuse to submit to fear. My will is stronger than this fear.� Ranma
was calling up all of the self-control exercises done as a child. Ever
so
slowly, the fear receded. After a time she opened her eyes.
The fear was controlled. Ranma took a deep breath to calm her
nerves. The feelings of this female form were rather jarring to the
senses. The sight of two female breasts moving in and out beneath her
chin was strangely fascinating. It helped to take her mind off the
fear.
*This is going to take some getting used to.*
Shampoo sat next to Ranma. She was a little surprised when
Ranma reached out and hesitantly put her hand on Shampoo�s head.
After a moment, Ranma began to scratch her behind her ears as the
boy turned girl began to chuckle. Shampoo didn�t care. Ranma was
touching her in cat form and didn�t appear to be afraid. She would
remember this day for the rest of her life.
******************************
Kodachi woke up, and immediately wished that she hadn�t. Her
face hurt, her chest hurt, and every muscle in her body felt like it had
been stretched like taffy. *That�s what I get for fighting full-contact
in
a body that wasn�t up to it. Sparring with Ranma was one thing, but I
this body isn�t built up far enough yet to deal with the likes of Akane
Tendo.* Kodachi relaxed back into the bed she was lying in. *That�s
what I get for overestimating myself.*
Kodachi looked out the window. A songbird had begun to sing in
the tree outside. �Oh, Ranma,� she sighed. Her voice dropped to a
whisper. �You may be the only one who can help me. I just want to
get back home.� She closed her eyes to try to sleep.