It's been a while since the last chapter of this fic, but hopefully I'll
be quicker getting the next one out. Thanks to David Johnston and
Hiroyuki Yoshiro for prereading. Anyone who wishes to comment or offer
suggestions is welcome to do so.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or any of the ideas associated with
it. Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan, Inc do. Rights in North America
belong to Viz Communications.
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Chapter 9:
Shampoo cursed softly in Chinese as she hurried after Happosai and
Ryoga. It was taking all her speed not to fall further behind. Ukyo
was gaining slightly, but having Ranma's body was a definite advantage.
Shampoo only had one choice but that didn't mean that she had to like
it. "Oh no, Shampoo's bra slip!"
Ahead, Happosai abruptly reversed directions, bounced over Ryoga's
desperate attempt to grab him and sailed towards Shampoo on a parabolic
arc. "Don't worry, Happy will fix it!"
Shampoo smiled as she saw that Happosai had the statue clutched in
his hand. It would have been really embarrassing if she'd been wrong
about why Ryoga was chasing him. As it was, Happosai made an abrupt
reversal of direction when he met Shampoo's fist. Moving swiftly, she
snatched the statue out of the air and tucked it away.
"It was worth it!" Shampoo looked up to see Happosai's form fly
off into the distance, trailing a white object from one hand. Shampoo
flushed angrily, she'd thought that the little pervert hadn't managed to
get anywhere near her.
==================
Nabiki frowned, getting trapped in Ryoga's body was bad enough, but
now Happosai had stolen her only way to get changed back. Stepping
through the same door that Happosai and Ryoga had rushed through moments
earlier, Nabiki almost tripped over a girl sprawled on the ground. "Are
you all right, Kiyomi?" The minuscule pause while Nabiki searched for
the girl's name was almost unnoticeable.
"I'm fine, Ryoga. Thanks for asking."
Reaching down, Nabiki took her hand and effortlessly pulled her to
her feet. "So, what brings you here, tonight?" Despite the
circumstances, the chance to learn more about the latest complication in
Ranma's life was to good to pass up.
Kiyomi blushed slightly and looked away. "I came to see Ranma. He
asked me out, but he already has a girlfriend. I never should have
given him another chance," she muttered.
Nabiki blinked in shock. He'd come to expect this sort of thing
from Ranma, but it was a real surprise from Ukyo. "There are a few
things you probably don't know about Ranma. You'd be better off with
some other guy."
"Do you really think so?"
Warning bells began to ring in Nabiki's mind. He'd been a guy for
less than an hour, but already he knew that the expression on Kiyomi's
face couldn't be good news. Before he could decide what to do, matters
moved further out of his control as Shampoo bounded back into the
Tendos' yard, followed by Ukyo and Ryoga.
"Shampoo get statue back from pervert, Airen. See?" Nabiki
flinched as Shampoo grabbed hold of him with one arm and thrust the
statue into his face with the other.
"We'd better talk about that Shampoo." Nabiki tried to disengage
himself from the bouncy amazon without success and then decided to
simply head back to the house and explain things there.
With a shrug, Ryoga followed Nabiki inside, leaving Ukyo and Kiyomi
alone.
"I'll talk to you later," Ukyo said nervously. "I've got to take
care of something inside." Before Kiyomi could respond, Ukyo darted
past her.
==================
Nabiki shifted awkwardly as he watched Shampoo seat herself. Ryoga
was already lounging comfortably on the floor and Ukyo had apparently
forgotten that he was in Ranma's male form. At least Nabiki thought
that he was sitting just a bit to close. He could see Ranma hovering in
the entrance to the living room looking distinctly uncomfortable. "Why
don't you come in and sit down Ranma?"
"Why you say that? You is Ranma, yes?" Shampoo tilted her head to
one side as inspected Nabiki carefully.
"Not exactly. Your boyfriend had a little accident with the
statue." Nabiki nodded in Ranma's direction and watched as she
nervously entered the room.
"Aiyah! This very bad." Ukyo apparently agreed because he tried
to inconspicuously inch farther from Nabiki.
Nabiki struggled to remain calm. "Why? You got the statue back
from Happosai and it obviously still works. Ranma and I should be able
to switch back easily."
Shampoo shook her head vigorously. "Using statue place very great
stress on person's spirit. Have to wait week before can use again."
"What? I'm going to be stuck in your body for a week?"
Nabiki would have found the indignation in Ranma's voice amusing if
the situation hadn't struck so close to home. "I'm not any happier
about this than you are, Ranma." Nabiki paused considering the
situation. "I suppose that Ukyo is going to want to switch back into
her own body right away." At Ukyo's nod, Nabiki continued, "That would
mean that Ryoga would wind up in Ranma's body."
"I guess you'll be pretty happy about that, Ryoga," Ranma said
bitterly.
"Hey, this isn't my fault. Besides, I don't see much difference."
"What do you mean by that?" Ukyo cut in.
"Shampoo think everyone should be quiet. Ukyo and Pig-boy use
statue
to switch and then Shampoo put statue in safe place."
"You do that. I'd better explain this to Dad. Akane's running
interference, but I don't know how long that will last." Seeing no
signs of disagreement, Nabiki rose and prepared to leave.
The others sat for a moment, and then Ranma stood reluctantly. "I
guess I'd better go after her before she gets to far." With that, Ranma
headed outside in search of Nabiki. Behind her, Shampoo handed the
troublesome figurine to Ukyo and gave instructions for its use.
================
Entering the living room, Nabiki saw an obviously flustered Akane
trying to comfort her father, while a Panda happily rearranged shogi
pieces behind them. It didn't look like there was anything to gain by
delaying, so Nabiki decided to take the direct approach. "Dad, I have
something to tell you."
"Wah! My baby girl's been turned into a boy," the Tendo patriarch
wailed.
Nabiki winced and shot a helpless glance at Akane. "I take it you
already told him."
"I had to. Since Happosai has the statue there's no way for you
and Ranma to switch back."
"Shampoo got the statue back, but Ranma and I won't be able to use
it again for another week."
"Shampoo? What else happened?"
"Not much. Ryoga and Ukyo switched bodies and Mousse showed up.
Oh yeah, that Kiyomi girl was there as well."
"In the last fifteen minutes? That sounds like a lot." Akane
glanced over at her father. "Maybe you should tell Dad that you're all
right."
#Yes. It's his move,# Genma signed.
"It's all right, Daddy. I'll be back in my own body in just a few
days."
=================
Ranma gazed at the scene in front of her in irritation. She didn't
really care that Ryoga was inhabiting her body, but this definitely
crossed the line. "Ryoga, why are you packing?"
"Why do you think, Ranma? Nabiki's bound to discover my curse, and
when she does she'll tell Akane."
"I don't think that she will. Besides, you can't just take off in
my body," Ranma argued.
"Why wouldn't she tell Akane. They'll both probably think I'm some
kind of pervert," Ryoga said bitterly, as he tried to stuff another
shirt into his pack.
Ranma bit back the obvious retort that rose to her lips. After
all, she was trying to persuade Ryoga to stay. "I'm sure that Nabiki
will wait until after she's in her own body to tell Akane. She wants to
get switched back as much as we do." "In fact," Ranma continued, his
spirits rising, "this gives us a chance to persuade her not to tell
Akane at all."
"I'll wait and see, but I'm not taking any chances," Ryoga said, as
he continued to pack.
==================
"Ukyo happy to have right body, yes?"
Ukyo and Shampoo had closed Ucchan's early and were quietly
celebrating Ukyo's good fortune. It wasn't exactly the company that
Ukyo would have chosen, but Ranma didn't feel like celebrating at the
moment. "I sure am," Ukyo confirmed. "Although, I've got to admit that
having Ranma's body to myself did have it's good points."
"Shampoo can see that. Shampoo be happy when everything back to
normal, though."
"You and me both. I'm not sure I remember what normal feels
like." Ukyo frowned as something occurred to her. "Do you know what
happened to Mousse? I didn't see him after we got back from chasing
Happosai."
"Shampoo not know. Mousse not give up easy though."
"That's what I was afraid of. Maybe I should start training more.
It doesn't look like our plan with Ryoga will work."
"Training good idea. Shampoo help."
"I've got a few ideas as well."
==================
Mousse trailed silently behind the short haired girl. He was
already regretting his decision to leave the tribe, and not just because
it meant he couldn't stay at the Nekohanten. His perfect plan had
turned into a disaster worse than his darkest nightmare. Ranma had said
that he loved Shampoo and Ukyo had apparently learned a powerful
technique. Mousse knew that he needed to find an ally and he needed to
know what had happened while he was away.
"Excuse me, Miss." Fortunately, it looked like he could accomplish
both goals at once. "I'd like to talk to you for a moment."
At the sound of the quiet voice behind her, Kiyomi spun around.
Seeing the person who'd spoken she relaxed slightly. "I'm over here."
At the sound of her voice, the boy turned away from the street sign he'd
been speaking to and pushed his glasses down off of his forehead.
"Pardon me. I sometimes have trouble with my eyesight. I saw you
talking with Ranma and Shampoo and I was wondering if I could talk to
you about them."
"You're that boy that attacked Ranma, aren't you." Kiyomi
considered the boy in front of her. His long hair and the white robe he
was wearing were a bit unusual. He definitely had cute eyes, though.
"Yes, I am Mousse, the future husband of Shampoo," the Chinese boy
announced with stunning disregard for the facts.
"I'm Kiyomi Matsumara. Shampoo is the girl who was with Ranma?"
Kiyomi asked.
"Well, yes."
"Doesn't she have any shame at all?"
"What do you mean by that?" Mousse bristled at the casual insult
to his beloved Shampoo.
"She is seeing three guys at one time, if what you say is true."
"Three? You mean Ukyo?"
"No. She was flirting with Ryoga. And just five minutes after
Ranma said he loved her," Kiyomi replied indignantly.
Mousse and Kiyomi would both learn a great deal in the following
conversation. However, the accuracy of that information was open to
debate.
=================
Nabiki smiled softly to himself. It was true that he'd been angry
at first, but that emotion had quickly been replaced by the growing
realization that there had to be a way to turn this situation to his
advantage. So far Nabiki hadn't been able to think of much, but there
was definite potential. A nice relaxing soak in the furo would be the
perfect way to come up with some ideas.
Before rinsing himself off to enter the furo, Nabiki paused to
inspect his temporary body. Being a guy was still mostly weird, but he
could tell that Ryoga's training had really paid off. Maybe he could
pose for some photos and then sell them later. Shelving the idea for
future consideration, Nabiki raised the bucket and let the cool water
pour over his head. He shuddered involuntarily as dizziness swept over
him and the bucket clattered to the ground.
Blinking to clear his head, Nabiki was at first puzzled. The room
seemed to have become much larger and for some reason he was on all
fours. Realization dawning, he examined his body once more. Various
features made themselves clear. He had four legs, hooves, a tail and
Ryoga's bandanna appeared to have shifted location to form a makeshift
collar. The facts were clear. Ryoga had a Jusenkyo curse, and was in
fact Akane's pet pig. Pigs aren't normally capable of maniacal
laughter, but Nabiki came surprisingly close.
=================
Ryoga ate nervously, acutely aware of the tension around him.
Breakfast this morning was certainly different. The Tendo family seemed
to be trying to ignore the entire situation with varying degrees of
success. The fact that Nabiki still hadn't made an appearance probably
helped, but Akane refused to look in Ranma's direction and her father
would burst into tears at random intervals. The Saotomes on the other
hand were coping quite well.
"Ranma, try to slow down. Eating so quickly isn't ladylike." In
some cases a little to well, at least as far as Ryoga was concerned.
"Just as soon as Pop stops stealing my food."
"Genma, let our daughter eat in peace."
"Ranma, Ryoga, I think that we should go somewhere and talk."
Ryoga winced at the voice behind him. It was one that he'd heard
his entire life, but it had never before sounded so sinister.
Wordlessly, he rose to follow Nabiki.
=================
"I'm glad that you two are being so cooperative," Nabiki said
quietly, as Ranma and Ryoga seated themselves.
"I suppose you found out about..."
"Your little curse? Yes, I did. But you don't have to worry about
me telling anyone about it."
"I don't?"
"That's right. After all, you're going to help me a lot."
"You're blackmailing Ryoga," Ranma exclaimed in disgust, although
without surprise.
"No, I'm blackmailing Ranma and the best thing is that I won't have
to stop when you get your body back. It doesn't look like you want
Ryoga's curse revealed either." Nabiki's sly grin looked strangely out
of place on Ryoga's face.
"Hey! You can't do that. It's Ryoga's secret," Ranma protested.
Nabiki shrugged. "Sorry. I guess life just isn't fair. If it
makes you feel better I'll blackmail him as well."
"Thanks, Ranma."
"Now that we have that settled, there are some other things that
we have to talk about. There's no way that Ranma can take my classes
without someone figuring out that something's wrong. So he'll have to
be sick for the next few days."
"I will? That's great!" Ranma's momentary grin disappeared as
something occurred to him. "Don't you have to show some kind of proof
that you're sick?"
"Don't worry. I've thought of everything."
Ranma and Ryoga both wondered why hearing that gave them such a
bad feeling. Ignoring their nervous expressions, Nabiki continued, "Now
this is what you have to say, Ranma...."
=================
Ranma walked uncertainly towards Nabiki's classroom. It wasn't
being a girl or wearing a school uniform that bothered her. It wasn't
even feeling so slow and awkward, although that didn't help. It was
that she was supposed to be impersonating someone that she knew next to
nothing about. Ranma realized that she didn't even know if Nabiki had
friends and couldn't think of anyone in the same class, other than
Kuno. At least he wouldn't have to keep things up for long.
Almost walking past Nabiki's classroom, Ranma turned sharply and
entered. Without pausing, she quickly walked over to the teacher's desk
and halted in front of it. "Mr. Hamada..."
As Ranma's voice trailed off, the middle aged, bespectacled teacher
looked up. "What is it Miss Tendo?"
"I'm afraid that I won't be able to attend class for several days."
"I trust that you have a reason for this announcement," the teacher
prompted.
"I've come down with a case of lycanthropy."
"You're a werewolf? Somehow I find... This has something to do
with Saotome, doesn't it?" Mr. Hamada had always considered most of the
stories about Ranma and the group of teens that surrounded him to be
exaggerations. That was before he'd started to share the staff room
with a ten year old. It was definitely before he'd been roped into
chaperoning the last school dance.
"Yes. You see, his father sold him to this old gypsy witch and..."
"Never mind. You can leave now." As he settled back into his
chair, Mr. Hamada absentmindedly waved the girl standing before him out
of the room. It was times like this that he wished he'd accepted that
job over in Juban.
=================
"Will you relax, Akane. This isn't the end of the world. In fact,
it's sort of nice to in the same class as you," Nabiki allowed.
Akane looked over at the rather masculine form of her sister
walking beside her. "I suppose so. It's just that I was finally
starting to get along with Ranma."
"I suppose that things are a bit inconvenient for you. Is that
Kuno waiting by the gates?"
"I think that it is. You'd better let me handle this Nabiki."
"I can take care of this myself. And remember to call me Ryoga."
Akane watched for a moment as Nabiki walked confidently towards
Kuno and then began to hurry in the same direction.
End Chapter 9.