Alternatives -- Chapter 8
Ranma 1/2 and all of its' characters are the property of Rumiko
Takahashi and
all of the companies who have licensed it. I don't own any of it. I do
not have
permission to use her characters or ideas. I am writing solely for
pleasure.
Don't sue.
All comments, flames, MST's or other responses are welcome. Let me
know what
you think.
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An unreasonable, jealous anger simmered within Ranko as she sat and
watched
Akane fall sobbing into Ranma's arms, arms that mere hours before were
hers.
She looked down through tear blurred eyes at herself. Bitterly, she
noticed
that she couldn't even hold Akane the way she wanted to because her arms
were
smaller and shorter than Akane's. Hell, she was shorter and smaller
than all of
her old fiancees now. When she had been crying and holding onto Akane,
it had
been *her* head on the other's shoulder. *She* had been the one wrapped
in
Akane's arms. *Her* arms had been hooked up and over her fiancee's
shoulders.
Her *friend's* shoulders, she crossly amended. Akane could never again
be more
than a friend. She certainly would never be her wife. The more she
watched
Ranma tenderly stroke Akane's head and murmur soothing words to her, the
more
she felt cheated out of the life that should have been, no, WAS hers.
Realizing
that she was not in control of her emotions, she decided to leave before
doing
something that she might regret.
Standing up was not the auotmatic reflex she expected and it shocked
and
surprised Ranko. Knees too wobbly to balance securely on, her arms
whipped
about in an attempt to keep upright and she wondered if toddlers felt
this way
when they took their first steps. Ranko took a step, kept her balance
and tried
another, this time falling unceremoniously at Ranma and Akane's feet.
"Ranko! What are you trying to do?" Akane asked with concern as she
pulled
her head from Ranma's shoulder to see what had happened. "Cologne said
that you
shouldn't be up until at least nightfall."
"I've gotta get outta here. You two need privacy and I need some
fresh air,"
Ranko said in desperation. She scrabbled quickly on the floor in an
embarrassed
attempt at standing up again.
Akane, realizing how she would feel, apologized, "I'm sorry, Rnako.
Let me
help you!" Akane easily stood and moved to help her up.
"NO!" Ranko shouted in furious envy. Catching herself, she took a
breath
and tried to calm down. "I just need to get out of here for a while,
OK?"
With a look of shock and hurt on her face, Akane shot back, "Fine,
fall on
your face again. I don't care!" As she spoke, she sat down next to
Ranma with
her back towards Ranko.
Nodoka, hearing the shout, asked as she opened the door to the room,
"Is
everything okay? I thought I heard someone yelling." Seeing Ranko, she
rushed
over and tried to get her back on her pallet, "Young lady, what do you
think
you're doing? You need to rest!"
Angrily, Ranko weakly resisted as Nodoka pushed her back. "Mom, I've
to get
out of this room!" she said. She looked at her mother, trying to get
her to
understand the pain she was going through.
Trying to learn how to mother a daughter, Nodoka viewed the pain and
suffering in Ranko's face and tried to understand the plea written
there.
Blushing a little, Nodoka began, "Oh! Ranko dear, I think I
understand.
Let's get you to the bathroom. Daughter, has anyone ever talked to you
about
what a woman goes through?"
"Mom, that's not it at all. I ... just ... need ... to ... get ...
some ...
fresh ... air," Ranko said through clenched teeth. Still, she blushed
slightly
at what her mother had suggested. Her jealousy and anger, however,
continued to
push her from the room. "Really, mom, I just need to go outside for a
little
while."
"All right, I'll help you. Akane, please stay here while I help
Ranko,"
Nodoka said. Sensing Ranko was too distraught to reprimand for the tone
of
voice she used, she decided to say nothing about it.
As Nodoka and Ranko came down the stairs, Ukyo moved forward towards
them.
"Here, Mrs. Saotome, let me help. Where are you going, sugar?" She
asked as
she took Nodoka's place beside Ranko.
"Outside," Ranko said curtly.
Ukyo took note of her pale face and red, puffy eyes. As she wrapped
her arm
around the redhead's shoulders, she could feel the anxiety in her body.
Sensing
that she needed a friend, she jokingly asked her, "Do you want to go out
back
and sit, or would you like to go out the front and visit with Kuno?"
Ranko winced as if she had been slapped, "That's not even funny,
Ukyo. I
just want to be alone."
"Okay, the back door it is!" Ukyo smiled, trying to ease the other's
tension.
Once outside, Ukyo slowly walked Ranko to the town's square. The
center of
the village was where most non-specialized training, all tournaments and
challenges were held. There were several women and girls training as
Ukyo and
Ranko sat down beside each other to watch. Neither said anything as
they both
evaluated the different fighters. After a few minutes, they both sat
down.
Ranko sat curled up with her chin on her knees, arms wrapped around her
legs.
Ukyo sat cross-legged on Ranko's left turned so that she could face
either Ranko
or the fighters.
Judging that Ranko was in a very frail state emotionally, Ukyo
decided to let
her begin any conversation. She assumed that the best thing that she
could do
right now was just to be beside her. If Ranko wanted to talk, she
would. When
she did, Ukyo would be there to support her.
The silence between the two intensified. Whenever two or more people
began
sparring, Ranko would glance from one fighter to another as she tried to
anticipate their moves. After watching for a few minutes, she felt that
she
understood the styles that each was practicing. As her mind began
wandering,
she found that her curiosity was beginning to grow about something.
Finally, unable to stand it any longer, she said, "Ucchan?"
"Yes, sugar?"
"Why are you here, and not at the cabin?" She asked this in a quiet
voice,
while looking at her friend sideways through her bangs.
"What do you mean, honey?" Ukyo answered, confusion obvious in her
voice.
"Well, I'm not your fiance. I'm just a girl who used to be..." Ranko
stopped
as the bitterness and pain once again threatened to overwhelm her. She
turned
her face back to the practice area, not sure whether she was more afraid
that
Ukyo would leave or stay. No longer looking at her friend, she found
the
strength to continue. In a defeated tone, she said, "a man."
"You're a woman who used to be a man. Not just any man, you were
raised to
be a man's man, Ranma Saotome, fighter extraordinaire. Now you're
thinking that
you're just a little girl, Ranko, a cute little orchid," Ukyo almost
spat out
the last words mocking the contempt she imagined Ranko felt. Slowly,
hesitantly, she reached and took Ranko's hands in hers. "Ranko, you've
lost more
than anyone ever expects to today. I'm not going to try and sugarcoat
it for
you, honey. You're hurting and hurting badly," she continued in a voice
full of
kindness.
"Let me tell you a story. It's one that you've heard before, but I
think it
might have a different meaning for you today," Ukyo said with a
melancholy
smile. "When I was a very little girl, I had this friend who always was
challenging me for food..."
"Daddy, I'll stop that jackass, Ranchan today. No girl is going to
get by
ME!" she told her father proudly.
"Ukyo-chan, Ranchan is a boy. He's not a girl. What gave you the
idea he
was a girl?" her father asked while chuckling.
"Well, she's fun to play with! She's not icky like a boy. She has
long
hair!" Ukyo-chan said in triumph, "Ranchan gots to be a girl!"
"No, my girl, Ranchan is a boy. His father is traveling with him
teaching
him martial arts. Something like we travel together, while I teach you
everything there is to know about okonomiyaki," her father gently
corrected her.
"Humph!" Ukyo-chan thought quietly for a moment. "Daddy, since
Ranchan and
I get along so good, and he's a boy and I'm a girl, does that mean we'll
get
married when we grow up?"
"It could, Ukyo-chan, it very well could. Why don't we wait and see,
hmm?"
her father chuckled.
"Okay, Daddy."
Ukyo paused, and musingly said, "I think that's when father decided
we should
be married. A few days later, my father came to me..."
"Ukyo-chan, I have some wonderful news for you!" her father smiled
as he
told her the good news.
She was so excited! She ran and told all of her friends in
pre-school. The
other girls were all jealous that Ukyo had become engaged and would be
going all
over Japan with her new fiance. They all thought it was really neat and
romantic. When they all went home that night, they told their parents
that they
wanted a fiance so they could travel, just like Ukyo. Their parents
told them
that having a fiance and getting to travel were two very different
things. When
the day came for her departure, the pre-school held party for Ukyo-chan.
She
had a great time.
Two days later, when she was once again back in the pre-school, none
of the
other girls would play with her anymore. They all said that because her
fiance
had run away with her dowry she wasn't good enough to be a girl and that
she
should play with the OTHER boys.
At home with her father that night, she told him what had happened at
her
pre-school. He was angrier than she had ever seen him. He cursed the
entire
Saotome clan, he cursed the pre-school she attended and lastly he cursed
the
other children who treated his little girl so badly.
Turning to her, he said, "There is only one thing to do, Ukyo. May
you
forgive me someday. From now on, you are to be a boy. You will wear
boy's
clothes and act like a boy. I will change all of your records to show
you as a
boy. In this way, your dishonor shall forever be forgotten."
From that day forth, Ukyo-chan the girl was no more. Ukyo was now a
boy and
he had to hide the fact of his differences from then on.
"Ranko, I had to learn how to be a boy. Acting like a boy was easy.
All I
had to do was be stupid and try to show off by doing even dumber things
than the
others were doing. The problem was the physical difference. For
instance, do
you have any idea what it's like to only pee when no one else is around?
My
bladder must have been ten times the average size!" she smiled to
herself.
Regaining her seriousness, she continued, "When I hit puberty, I
thought I
was going to die! When you're enrolled at an all boys boarding school,
who do
you ask about the changes going on in your body? How do you hide them
from the
other guys?" Ukyo shivered in remembered shame and embarrassment.
Aghast, Ranko stared at her friend. She had known that Ukyo had
pretended to
be a boy growing up, but she had never taken the time to think about
what she
must have endured. "Ucchan, I'm sorry. I-I never realized."
"I know, Ranchan, I never told you. I wanted you to marry me because
you
loved me, not because you pitied me," she smiled at her friend.
They sat quietly for a few minutes, each lost in her own thoughts.
Ranko,
struck by the parallels in her and Ukyo's lives, sat and wondered what
shames
and embarrassments Ukyo had faced in her life as a boy. She tried to
imagine
passing as a girl while still having a boy's body. Looking at Ukyo, she
felt a
closeness and a sympathy for her friend she never had before.
Trying to summon her courage, Ukyo sat and thought about how she
wanted to
broach the next subject. Sighing and with timid touch, she put her hand
on
Ranko's leg gaining her attention, "Ranchan? I've got something else to
tell
you."
"Yeah, Ucchan?"
"When you were in the spring today, I went to the Guide's hut," she
haltingly
said. Part of her wanted to tell Ranko and another part wanted to
forget what
she'd done.
"I knew that wasn't a dream!" Realizing that she had interrupted,
she
blushed and said, "Uh, sorry, Ucchan, go on."
"When I saw what you were going through, I couldn't bear the thought
that you
would be doing that again, just for me," she closed her eyes trying to
stop the
memory. "Ranch-Ranko-honey, I asked the Guide if there was anything
that could
be done to save you from the pain of the jumps. He told me that the
Spring of
Drowned Twins, as the only permanent spring, always caused that agony.
He told
me that the only way to save you was to use Nannichuan water."
"What!" Ranko interjected, "Please, tell me that he didn't give it to
you!"
"No, I can't, sugar. He gave me the Nannichuan water then," Ukyo
said
gently. "I-I'm going to use it on myself." Ukyo shuddered
involuntarily.
Lowering her head so that the tears in her eyes could not be seen, she
continued, "I don't think I could live with myself if I let you go
through that
ordeal again. Let me do this for you. This way, I'll be able to help
you
adjust and save you some of the pain I've been through."
Shocked by this offer, Ranko pulled away from Ukyo, even as her eyes
got
bigger and her jaw dropped open. "Ucchan, you don't know what you're
saying.
Being cursed is awful! Do you really want to be afraid of water the
rest of
your life? Never knowing from one minute to the next what sex you'll
be?"
"Ranchan, I've lived as a guy most of my life. I know how to do it.
It'll
seem strange to have a thing between my legs and not have breasts, but
at least
I won't have to bind them anymore. From what I've seen, boxers are more
comfortable than bras, too," Ukyo nervously smiled.
"Are you willing to give up all of your dreams for me?" Ranko asked,
afraid
of the answer she was going to hear.
"Give up my dreams? I've already given up my dream of revenge upon
you and
your father. I'm not giving up my dream of being the best okonomiyaki
chef in
Japan. I'm not even giving up my dream of being married to Ranma
Saotome. The
dream is changing, that's all." Timidly and very self-consciously, Ukyo
knelt
in front of Ranko, looking into her eyes she said, "I love you, Ranchan,
will
you marry me?"
Ranko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ukyo loved her. She
loved her
as much or more as she was in love with Akane. Racking her brain for
answers,
she said, "Ucchan, I don't want you to be cursed. It's not something I
would
wish on anyone, not even," she paused as she considered everyone she
knew,
"well, maybe Happosai. Ranma is still going to jump again, even with
your
sacrifice. Shampoo and Kodachi still need Ranmas. How will your being
cursed
stop that?"
"It's not. He won't have to hurt himself for me. I'll still have
you and
I'll be there for you. That's all I'm doing. Can't you understand?"
Ukyo said
in frustration.
"Yes. Yes, I do understand, Ucchan," Ranko said sadly. "I understand
because
I don't like to see the ones I love hurt either." With a sigh, she
shook her
head. "That's why we're here. Do you really want to be a man? Could
you be
happy knowing you were born a woman, living a man's life?" As she asked
the
question, Ranko reached out and caressed Ukyo's jaw lightly.
Holding the other girl's hand against her face, Ukyo quietly
implored,
"Ranchan, I've already told you that I lived as a boy for the last ten
years.
Until you called me your cute fiancee, I expected to live as a man for
the rest
of my life. If you are by my side, I'll be happy."
"I don't know, Ucchan." She had an uncertain look on her face.
"There's got
to be another way. What if I splash myself? I got used to being a boy
cursed
to be a girl, I guess I could get used to the opposite." She smiled at
Ukyo
trying to persuade her.
"Ranchan, be honest with me. Would you rather be an uncursed girl or
cursed
to be both again?" Ukyo said having none of it.
Ranko was look Ukyo in the eyes and her gaze dropped to the gorund.
"All I
know is that I'm tired of being afraid of water. The curse caused me
more
problems than anything else in my life, including my father," she
answered
begrudgingly.
"Then I'll use the water on myself." Ukyo said with finality. "You
won't
have to be afraid of water ever again. As I've already said, I'll be
there for
you whenever you need me. Our problems are solved," the young chef
pronounced
with a grin, only her voice's quavering betraying any fear.
Ranko suddenly sat up a little straighter as a thought struck her.
Excitedly, she said, "I know what we need to do! I'll splash myself
with
Nannichuan and jump into the spring with Ranma tomorrow. Then there
will be
three male Ranmas and me. There will only need to be one more jump made
afterwards for everyone to be satisfied."
Ukyo sat for a moment, thinking over Ranko's suggestion. The more
she
thought about it, the better it sounded. However, she knew the pain and
loneliness Ranko would be facing, having lived through the reverse
herself. Not
wanting her to go through what she had as a child, Ukyo formed a plan of
her
own. She still didn't want anyone to go through what she had witnessed,
but
knew it couldn't be stopped. She said with resignation, "Ranchan,
that's a good
plan. When do you want to get the water?"
Grimacing at the thought of intentionally cursing herself again,
Ranko said,
"Let's do it now, before I change my mind."
The little black piglet ran for his life. He stopped, head
whipping around
in a frantic search for any kind of hiding place. The hunters were
almost upon
him and he needed to find cover, any kind of cover. There was a small
hole
under a tree root and he tried to crawl into it. Unfortunately, his
bandanna
snared upon the root and caught fast, trapping him. As he heard the
hunter come
up behind him, he closed his eyes, said a quick prayer for Akari and
waited for
the killing blow. When the blow came, he gave one last snort and
collapsed into
a heap.
"This pig had spunk! Myrrh will be pleased that we caught this one!"
One of
the hunters said to the other.
"Who cares about Myrrh? I just want to have fun and this one showed
much
spirit," the other replied eagerly.
Together, they tied the piglet up and wandered back to their camp.
Arriving
at camp, they found that the others had been successful in their hunts.
Some
had captured a deer, four rabbits, a frog, and two squirrels. Not
caring about
laws not their own, a few had liberated two hens and a sheep from a
local farm.
At the worst, they were going to eat well the next few days. Optimally
they
would be going home with twelve mistresses to strengthen the Musk
people. They
all were going to enjoy the next few days.
His first thought upon waking was surprise that he was still alive.
Ryouga
tried moving but couldn't because his legs had been bound securely with
wire.
Still hurting from the blow to his head and unable to concentrate, he
fuzzily
surmised that he had a concussion. Not being able to do anything else,
he
looked around trying to figure a way to escape, if given the chance.
He was in a camp set up in a military style. The tents had been set
up in
three rows of nine each, with four other, larger ones slightly separated
from
the rest. These were the shelters for the leaders of the band. Lastly,
a
sunshade large enough for ten men was pitched close to the woods from
which
smoke and the smells of cooking drifted. Placed in the space between th
e jungle
and a valley filled with springs, the camp was not very defensible.
He looked at the valley, knowing that he'd seen it before, but where?
Then
he remembered, <Jusenkyo, valley of the cursed springs! He hadn't
gotten too
lost, at least. Why didn't they kill him?> He looked at his immediate
surroundings and found that many animals were bound or tied down next to
him.
He could only wonder what they had planned for him.
His answer came quickly. A soldier came by and took the sheep with
him on a
leash. He led it towards a pool where most of the other men had
gathered.
Since they spoke Chinese and he didn't, he couldn't understand anything
being
said. However, he could tell that some sort of division was being done.
For
when the sheep was within the group of men, three stepped forward
pointing to
themselves and arguing loudly.
The argument became louder and more heated until one of the men drew
his
sword and advanced upon the other two. At that point, a monster of a
man
stepped forward and yelled something at them. The three looked at each
other
and stood at attention. The leader moved forward and randomly selected
the
three men. The first man picked, smiled in victory and began removing
his
clothing. When he was naked, he grabbed the leash on the sheep, picked
the
animal up and threw it into the pool. Pulling on the leash, he pulled a
woman
from the pool.
Stunned at what he was seeing, he remembered tales of the Musk and
their
practice of marrying animals, but had believed that custom had gone the
way of
foot-binding. He knew differently now. As the terrified screams of the
newly
created woman began ripping through the night, Ryouga stared in shocked
horror
and revulsion as an organized gang rape began. By the time the third
man took
her, even her sobs had stopped and she lay unmoving underneath her
rapist. As
he finished, he stood up and spat on her and said something to the other
men.
One of them handed him a pot of water, which he threw on the woman. She
transformed back into a sheep, which he quickly killed and began
butchering. It
was at this point that Ryouga's head injury allowed him to escape the
sheer
barbarity of the tableau in front of him by forcing him unconscious.
Ryouga woke the next morning when it was his turn. As the man
holding him
began walking towards the spring, he tried with all of his might to
break away.
He was unsuccessful for two reasons: he was still bound with wire and
the man
carrying him was expecting the pig to struggle. As he neared the
bastards who
called themselves men, he vowed to himself that he would die before they
did
anything to him. He felt someone attach something to his bandanna as
the wires
were removed from his legs. The next thing he knew, he was flying
through the
air into the spring.
As she stood up, Ryouga was surprised to find that she was a normal
looking
woman and not a half-pig woman. She felt a tug on her bandanna and
looked
toward the beast pulling her towards himself. Her eyelids slotted in
anger. A
small smile formed on her lips as she began concentrating, beginning a
build-up
of chi in preparation for performing a Shishi Houkodan. With a gasp of
pain,
she fell forward into the water as her concentration failed because of
her head
injury.
"I'll die before you can touch me!" she yelled as she felt herself
pulled
forward.
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Mike Allen
http://home1.gte.net/allenmk
My homepage is now updated with all of my revised versions of the
chapters!
PS. Please email me with your thoughts, feelings and suggestions. I
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