A Little Sense?
by greggsharp, metroanime@mindspring.com
http://metroanime.home.mindspring.com/

i don't own Ranma 1/2, all char trademarked by them that do.
timeframe: immediately after "Like Water For Ranma"
this story came out of the idea, what if you really could beat
some sense into someone...
then came the thought, "Phenomenon"
--------------------Day One----------------------------
 "RANMA! YOU IDIOT!" Akane came charging
at him, a frying pan in her hands.

 Ranma blinked, turned away from where he was
sparring with his father, and had enough time to think "but
I haven't done anything yet" before the cast iron impacted
his head with the usual result of transferred momentum.

 Ranma flipped over in midair from the impact.
His head bounced off of one of the rocks in the yard before
he came to a final stop.

 "Hmmmph. Guess that'll teach you..."

 "Oh no," Kasumi had come up upon hearing all the
noise and stared at the stream of red flowing from Ranma's
head to soak the ground.

 "Huh? Kasumi? Was I making that much noise?"
Akane's eyes tracked to what Kasumi was staring at and her
own pupils shrank. "R-Ranma?"
---------------------
 "Uhmf," managed Ranma through the pain. "Urrrr."
He could hear Kasumi's voice muttering in the background.

 *No sign of internal bleeding, though there was a
bone shard. We just can't afford the hospital. Please get 
better, Ranma.*

 "Uhm, Kasumi. Not so loud." Ranma groaned 
again.

 *He's coming to. Good, probably not as serious as it
looked. If only he and Akane could get along. I'm sure he didn't
throw out Akane's cooking to spite her.*

 "Didn't do that," Ranma slowly moved himself up. 
"Didn't throw her food out. Why was she cooking, anyway?"

 *Oh my, did I say that out loud?* "She felt 
encouraged by Mrs Saotome's instructions and wanted 
to fix something."*Such a mess she made too. I suppose 
I can't blame her for being distracted after all that.*

 Ranma felt the bandages around his head. "Yeah 
well, I'd have just escaped if I'd known she was cookin' - how 
come none of you all ever..." 

 Ranma's eyes met Kasumi's briefly. Contact.

 "What the hell..." Ranma managed, blushing and his 
jaw ready to impact the floor. 
----------------------------------------------------
 Two little girls standing nearby, and a much younger
looking Soun Tendo. Soun was holding some woman's hand who 
was lying in a hospital bed, various tubes and wires leading from her 
body to some machines nearby.

 Ranma realized his point of view was shorter, smaller 
even than his female cursed form. He also couldn't seem to move, 
like he was watching a movie that took up his whole field of vision.

 Soun was saying something about how the woman 
wouldn't leave, couldn't leave while her daughters were there.

 The beep of the cardiac monitor turned into a 
steady screech.

 The wave of crushing grief that rose up to overwhelm
him was not his own. Ranma realized as thoughts not his own 
passed through him, that this wasn't a movie.
-----------------------------------------------------
 Ranma saw other scenes/feelings in quick succession.
//Pride and joy at a first meal prepared "just like your mother used to."
//Taking Akane home from a visit with Doctor Tofu, and noticing 
that the older man seemed to watch her awfully closely. This bringing 
an unexpected surge of pleasure, as Kasumi realized that someone 
desired HER as more than a mother-substitute.//Sadness at an attempt
to have a meaningful conversation with Doctor Tofu, only to see the 
Doctor rushing out of his office carrying a skeleton with him. She 
valued a sense of humor, but...//

 //Watching your sisters grow more distant. One walling
herself off, the other a simmering rage that would pound the world
into submission.//

 //Shock and revulsion at the thought of being engaged
to another girl. Even if the other girl wasn't really a girl.//

 //Watching as various youths declared that they would
go to Nekonron China to rescue Akane, and a tiny quickly-quenched
flame of jealousy. Would they have done this for her, or would wedding 
plans be set? Would silly Doctor Tofu come and rescue her, or would 
he just continue to be silly?//

 //A lonely night where sleep would not come, as she
stared at the ceiling and wept about the unfairness of it all. She
was too homely, too boring, too responsible. Couldn't someone
want her for HER sake? Someone? Anyone? Please?//

 //Tofu leaving about the same time that Ukyou appeared.
His mother had apparently arranged a good marriage for the good
doctor, Miss Bighips Tokyo in fact. She wondered if he ever thought
of her.//

 //Sudden illness forcing her down. Akane was cooking.
The guilt she felt at not being able to meet those responsibilities
that she had taken over for her mother. Sadness at the thought
that out of her household NO ONE other than herself was both
willing and able to shoulder this burden. Indigestion as the miso
soup mix turned out to have traces of Akane's LAST meal within
it.// 
------------------------------
 With an effort, Ranma shut off the flood of memories
and looked away from those eyes. He didn't know HOW, but he
had a pretty good idea WHAT had just happened.

 It was almost as impossible as changing gender with
a splash of water.

 "Ranma, are you alright?" *He must still be hurt.*

 Ranma almost staggered from the wave of warmth
and caring from the older girl. "Uhm, yeah, Kasumi, I just think
I need to be alone, for awhile."

 *With a head injury like that it isn't safe to be left
alone like that. Brave, foolish, Ranma-kun.*

 "Oh, you know me, Kasumi. I'm used to it. My head
gets pounded on all the time."

 "Oh...my." *I KNOW I didn't say anything that time.
Has he suddenly gotten observant? Or maybe he just knows
something about concussions as he's gotten so much of them.*

 "Yeah, that's it, always getting...pounded." Ranma's
voice trailed off as he realized that Kasumi wasn't talking. He
knew she had realized the same thing.

 *Ranma's...reading my mind?!* A quick flash of
shame as she wondered what had been revealed to this brash
young man. He didn't know about...

 "It ain't like that!" Ranma backed up as if he were
afraid Kasumi was going to hit him. The accusation in her eyes
was enough. "I didn't mean to...I wasn't...I didn't see..."

 *So...he knows.* Guilt/shame/embarassment/pity/
annoyance/sadness/loneliness/fear. "Ranma...I am not Akane.
I am not going to pound you into the ground."

 "Kasumi, I know you're not Akane. Oh boy, do I
know you're not Akane." Ranma was still sorting through
the sensations/information he'd gotten from that brief moment
of eye contact. He felt he knew Kasumi better now than he'd
ever known anyone in his life. He knew her as well as she knew
herself, better even, as she had never been able to look at her
from outside herself. "I...can you keep this quiet? I don't want
anyone to think me any more of a freak than I already am."

 "Well..." Kasumi hesitated. Fear again pulsing upward.

 It hit Ranma like it was a physical attack. "No!" His
eyes sought out Kasumi's again. "No, Kasumi, don't be scared.
Please, please help me." He wanted so bad to have someone to
confide in, someone to talk to, someone who wasn't going to 
constantly pound on him or sell him. He felt the NEED to make
her understand!

 Kasumi blinked.
---------------------------------------
 //Pleading with his father, not again, not into the
pit again! Tied up, helpless, and thrown into a restless and
hungry dark. Betrayed.//

 //A slap from his father, the older man yelling 
about getting him a dress. He was weak, he was stupid, he
was fearful, therefore he was acting like a girl and should
dress the part. Ranma swearing he would never be weak,
that he would yet make his father proud.//

 //Crying one night. Friends abandoned yet
again. His Ucchan, his best friend ever, though the other
boy was a little clumsy. Still, if it were necessary to be a
better martial artist, he'd do it! He would NOT be weak!//

 //Ranma's shock as a giant panda shot out of
the pool, landing on one of the bamboo poles. The Guide
explaining quickly about the horror of Jusenkyo. The 
panda attacking. Cool water enveloping his form. The
unpleasant sensation as muscles and internal organs
shifted into a slightly different configuration. The horror
of all the work of ten years being undone in an instant.
His father had told him often enough. Girls were weak,
stupid, silly. And now he was one.//

 //Three girls sitting across from him at a 
table. Shock and disgust on the faces of two, anger on
the third. Appreciation for the mature beauty of the
eldest, the sensuality of the middle, and the cuteness
of the youngest was pushed aside by resentment at
being forced into this. Another friend lost, he noted
as he saw the youngest continue to get angrier. The
two slightly older girls taking the opportunity to throw
their youngest sister off to the lions. The realization
that, as in all his life, he was unwanted and resented.//

 //Watching the woman in front of him.
Realizing there was more than one kind of strength.
Realizing that she had no one to tell her that SHE was
beautiful, that she was appreciated, that she...mattered.//
-------------------------------
 Kasumi blinked again. Under that towering
ego and overwhelming self-confidence, there was...

 Someone who had been repeatedly betrayed
by his father. Someone who had repeatedly opened his
heart only to have it ripped out. Someone who covered
massive insecurities with arrogance and insults.

 Someone who was now beginning to realize
that other people might be just as insecure and lonely
as he was.

 "I think," Kasumi managed, "that maybe we
ought to keep this quiet and perhaps that I should tell
everyone not to disturb you for a little while." She had
to think about what SHE had just seen, as well.

 "Yes, Kasumi-chan," Ranma found he could
shut her thoughts out if he tried. "Thank you."
-----------------------------------
 Ranma sat back in the emptiness of the room,
blessedly alone, when the door was pulled back again.
Ukyou slid into the room, closing the door behind herself.

 *Please, Ranma, DON'T force me away.* She
forced the concern away from her face to look at Ranma.

 "Ucchan, I wanted to be alone." Ranma was
quieter than he usually was. To actually feel the affection
and concern radiating off of Ukyou was disarming to say
the least.

 "I...just wanted to check up on you, sugar."
*WHY?! Why do you have to put up with this, why do you
let her hurt you like this? Ranchan, PLEASE!* "So...are
you really feeling better?"

 "Some, yes. Very tired though." He wasn't going
to look at her. Absolutely not. Even though he could feel
her apprehension and sadness as she realized he wasn't 
looking at her.

 "Well...then, I guess I'll leave you alone." *Damn
it, Ranchan, why can't you get it through your thick head 
that I'm your fiancee too! You jackass.*

 Ranma looked up briefly as Ukyou knelt next
to him, her hand coming up to almost touch the bandages.
Contact.
-------------------------------------------------
 //This time she'd get that BOY! Thinking he
could get free food from them! This time she'd stop him!//

 //Sharing a quiet moment with the boy who loved
okonomiyaki almost as much as she did. A quiet moment with
the two of them sitting closely together. He considered her
his best friend? A friend...//

 //They were leaving her! Her Ranchan, waving bye
bye as the two abandoned her. Betrayed. Alone.//

 //A quest for vengeance ending in a series of 
revelations. He was clueless, ignorant, nieve. Not completely
blameless, perhaps, but certainly not the monster she'd come
to expect. More like the boy she'd fallen in love with long long 
ago...//

 //Watching bitterly as other women, completely wrong
for her Ranchan, continued to abuse him. Abuse his trust. Abuse 
his body. Abuse his code of honor. Abuse his capacity for love.//
----------------------------
 Ranma tore his gaze away, REALLY wishing he hadn't
done that. That he hadn't seen.

 Ukyou blinked. A tear? Ranma crying, even if it was
just one tear? Impossible!

 "Uhm, Ukyou, I'd REALLY like to be alone right now."

 "Yeah, sure, Ranchan. I've got to get back to work
anyway." *Damn that Akane! She's really hurt him this time.*

 "Ucchan, I..." Ranma stopped. "Thank you."

 Ukyou left without a word, certain from Ranma's
reluctance to even look at her that she'd done something wrong.

 Ranma waited a few minutes, sighing, knowing that
he could expect one more visitor AT LEAST. He wasn't disappointed.

 The door slid open again. The surprise was that it was
not Shampoo. 

 "Hmph, Saotome," Nabiki folded her arms and looked 
sternly at Ranma. "You know damn well that..."

 Ranma actually chose to meet her gaze. He'd never
understood her. Contact.
----------------------------------------------
 //The same room, the same scene with a dying mother.
This time the angle was a little different, but it was the same. A
little girl promising herself that she would never be vulnerable
again.//

 //Watching Kasumi trying to handle too much at once,
and the elder sister trying to manage her homework, keeping care
of the house, plus balance the checkbook. It was the last that she
found the most fascinating. Tens adding to hundreds, a plus here
and a minus there, making the numbers add up. There was a joy
to be found, a sense of accomplishment, in making this little amount
of income stretch out to cover all the expenses. Still, more money
was needed. How to get it? Kasumi's gratitude as she took over the 
finances...//

 //Profound disappointment turning into bitter resentment.
Her fiancee, a lifeline in the sea of loneliness, had turned out to be a
GIRL! This could not be tolerated. That this 'Ranma' wouldn't be 
rich was understood well in advance, but she'd HOPED he would
at least be cute. That he wasn't a he was yet another insult offered
to her by life. So be it, she would only pursue money from now on!
At least that way she couldn't be hurt again.//

 //Noting that Akane had been cooking and that there
was an open box of rat poison, Nabiki "accidently" threw the
contents of the stewpot out. Seeing the plastic liner beginning
to dissolve, Nabiki congratulated herself on her insight.//
-------------------------
 "So, YOU'RE the one who threw Akane's dinner out
and started all this!" Ranma glared at Nabiki.

 "Who me?" *How did he know?* "You're grasping
at straws, Saotome."

 Ranma thought for a moment.  While he was doing
so, Nabiki started talking about a photo shoot she had in mind.

 Ranma smiled as he thought of something. He couldn't
bring himself to hit a girl, and when he'd tried to convince Kasumi
earlier, he'd done a good job but something subtler would be 
needed if he wanted to keep his secret. Something like...

 He didn't realize that he was thinking like Nabiki at
the time.

 Ranma tried sending a feeling. A feeling that Nabiki
was well acquainted with, as was Ranma. Loneliness.

 Nabiki's voice trailed off. Alone. She was so alone.
If one was swimming with the sharks, one had to be as cold 
as they were. There was no comfort there, no shoulder to cry
on, no one to lean on. Any sign of weakness would bring the
sharks in to feed on you. Nabiki rallied. Strength. Soul of ice.

 Ranma had seen. He had learned. He had now 
experienced four lives. Thinking in terms of a battle, he
shifted gears, allowing the Kasumi he'd learned to guide
him to victory over this foe.

 Hugging Nabiki, he stroked her hair and mumbled
how it would be all right. He switched the loneliness to duplicate
exactly and sincerely the same compassion and tenderness he'd
felt from Ukyou.

 It was a tender, kind, gentle moment. Something that
Nabiki had rarely experienced in her life, and never from anyone
besides her elder sister.

 Nabiki crumbled, having absolutely no defense against
this sort of attack. 

 Ranma let up on the projection as he realized that Nabiki
was hugging him back, and the dampness on his shirt was from...
Ranma continued to stroke her hair and hold her, knowing from the
Kasumi portion of his mind that this would be the best way to handle
it.

 After a few moments like this, the door opened. Akane
looked in, saw this scene, and went into shutdown. *NO! Nonononono.
This can't be! No way! Nabiki? Ranma?!* Her mind a confused jumble,
Akane made her way back to her room. *Hallucination, that was it, that
baka had made me so worried that I couldn't see straight. Yeah, that
was it. It had been a very long day, too. All this cold wet weather...*

 Nabiki hesitated at first, then firmly disengaged herself from
Ranma. "Well, Saotome, I guess you're all right. I've just got to..." She
lost track of what she was going to say as she looked into his eyes. 
Ranma was...different. She could see a deep, gentle, caring in him now.
Directed at her. At the heartless mercenary. Or was he looking deeper?

 She snorted and walked off. Ranma? Ranma getting 
observant? No way. Couldn't be. She'd never...

 Nabiki closed the door to her room and shivered. It was
broken by a smile, though. To be held like that, to feel safe and secure,
as if he could actually care for someone besides himself. It had been a
nice fantasy.

 And if he COULD be like that. Nabiki wondered how difficult
it would be to get the engagement switched over.
----------------------------------
 Ranma's eyes shot open. The slight trace of perfume
wasn't what had awakened him. The muttering in Chinese and
the projected concern/sadness/affection were.

 "Airen?" Shampoo crept closer, not wanting to
awaken anyone else in the house.

 "What do you want, Shampoo?" Ranma addressed
the shape in the darkness that he knew was the amazon. "It's
very late."

 "Airen. Shampoo just worried. Heard violent pervert
girl hurt you bad. Airen..."

 Ranma smiled in the concealing darkness. At least
with it this dark he didn't have to worry...

 Contact.
----------------------------------------
 //Crying as her great-grandmother told her the story
of how her mother died, brutalized by the Musk at the Fjord Of 
Standing Stones. Her father, a weak male, could only watch as
the Elders decided her fate.//

 //Mousse. Again and again and again. Instead of
taking the hint he continued to press his attacks on her. Why
couldn't he understand. She just was NOT interested! Ah, now
Tai Za on the other hand. A little weird, and not much of a fighter,
it was true, but then SHE was the warrior. It wasn't unheard of
for a strong amazon to choose and defeat a male, far more common
than the other way around! Tai Za was cute, a good farmer, a
decent forager. Shampoo thought about it, she was six years old.
Tai Za was eight. Close enough.//

 //Shampoo glaring at Mousse. He'd gone too far. Too
far! It had been an "accident" they said. Mousse's thrown dagger
missing a target to cut through a support rope while Tai Za worked
on the Challenge Log. The crushing weight landing on the poor
farmer/carpenter. She vowed she would NEVER let Mousse have
her. NEVER!//

 //Shampoo defeated by the boy Ranma. The revelation
that boy was girl. Fleeing in horror with a broken heart.//

 //Her Grandmother explaining the law to a broken 
hearted Shampoo. Failing once was Jusenkyo. Failing twice...
Exile was the LEAST punishment she could expect.//
------------------------------
 Ranma paused. He'd always thought that Shampoo
had been pursuing him because of those stupid laws. That
wasn't it. She genuinely loved him.

 However, if she DIDN'T get him, she'd be 
punished, and severely. Cologne could intervene, but at
the very least Shampoo would never go home again.

 "Ranma?" Shampoo looked hesitantly at
Ranma.

 "Uhm, Shampoo, I got some stuff to sort
through. Do ya mind? I REALLY need to be alone."

 *Ranma doesn't look very good at all.
Maybe I ought to bring him some soup? If he's lost
a lot of blood, he'll need to replenish his strength.*
"Airen, can Shampoo bring too too delicious 
soup in morning?"

 "Yeah, Shampoo, that sounds good."
Ranma sighed. He was beginning to long for
ignorance.

 *The way he was looking at me?! Could
it be...finally?* Shampoo slapped herself. *I'm not 
dreaming!!! He was actually looking at me as if he 
was seeing something besides a source of food or
an irritant!*

 "Uhm, Shampoo. Please. I need to be 
alone."

 *He's being polite!?!* Shampoo trembled.
*Steady now. If you use the Amazon Glomp, he's 
injured. Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow.* "Good 
night, Ranma."

 Ranma watched her leave then settled
back. He was understanding her thoughts now. She
was still thinking in Mandarin. This was bad...
-------------------------------------------
end Day One...

uhm, this is just a little project that went to 23k
while i was still just trying to make it notes for later
followup. (scary, huh?)
the sense is telepathy. this could go as nuts as 
anything else if  regular anime series Ranma is
suddenly...different. At the end of Day One, he's
not just Ranma. He's literally lived (flash transference)
the lives of Kasumi, Nabiki, Ukyou, and Shampoo. 
 So, Day Two starts with him getting up
pre-dawn and making breakfast. By the time he wakes
up, he realizes he's going through Kasumi's usual 
morning chores. Kasumi, having had Ranma thrust
his life experiences into her mind, is out in the dojo
doing katas when SHE realizes what she's doing.
 Breakfast, oddly enough, will be 
breakfast style okonomiyaki done to perfection.
Lunches will be traditional obento. Maybe the plan is
for a Chinese dish for dinner. He's tapping into the
skills and memories of other people, and is developing
some of their personality traits as well.
 Kasumi as nice and kind as always, but
having a touch of Ranma to her personality in certain
situations.
 Eventually, inevitably, Akane will pummel
him. In typical anime/manga series fashion, this would
return Ranma to normal with him having no memory
of these events and having lost his insight into life
and the people around him. Cause for pummelling:
he probably will actually act friendly/concerned about
either Shampoo or Ukyou.
 Normality resumed, right? If I eventually
go this route, well, Kasumi is still barbequing fish
in the backyard while she trains in the amaguriken.
Not to mention that if various cast members get to
know this new Ranma, a lot of 'em aren't gonna be
pleased at the status quo being restored...