Psychological Evaluation of Patient Ranma Saotome.
Authored by Troy Alan Williams (AKA XStylus)
Begun on: 1-6-2000
First draft completed on: 1-9-2000
Final draft completed on: N/A
Revisions made on: N/A
Notes to RAAC/TASS: This, for now, may be categorized as a
one-shot LIME story. The LIME category is merited due to
discussion about homosexuality in this fic.
The Ranma 1/2 series is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi.
No infringement or disrespect for anyone's creativity is intended.
I assume no ownership to any of the characters listed herein.
Send comments to xstylus(at)hotmail,com
~~~
"Lay down on the couch, Ranma. Make yourself
comfortable."
The psychiatrist, Mr. Kenji Kuriaguwa, shuffled through
several papers looking for a specific file. After finding it, he took
yet another moment to briefly organize his small mess before
opening the file to begin his session with his client.
"I must begin by saying that, as a professional, I'm
honored to have the opportunity to document the psychological
difficulties you're having. You're a very interesting discovery."
"Yeah... that's pretty much what most of the other lab
rats said when -they- were poking and prodding me..." Ranma
grumbled. "...in places I'd rather not discuss." he added under his
breath. "At least that part of it is over. Damn scientists..."
Mr. Kuriaguwa scribbled several quick sentences on a
large piece of paper.
"You'll have to excuse their professional curiosity, Mr.
Saotome. Your... ...condition defies several laws of physics and
medical science."
"That's no reason to treat me like a guinea pig."
Mr. Kuriaguwa sharpened his pencil, then asked "Shall
we begin, Mr. Saotome?"
Ranma faintly nodded. At that, Mr. Kuriaguwa started a
small tape recorder.
"Normally these sessions are confidential. However, due
to special circumstances and also since you are the first
documented case of your... condition, much of what transpires in
this session will be used for scientific study. Your name will be
kept anonymous when possible. Is this agreeable?"
"No, but it's not like I have much of a choice, so... yeah."
Ranma answered.
"Then let us begin." Mr. Kuriaguwa shuffled a few
papers, coming to the first page. "Do you remember the day that
you fell into the Jusenkyo spring?"
"How can I forget it?" Ranma grunted.
"You had no knowledge of the springs, or their effects on
those who fell in, correct?"
"That's right."
"So when you fell into Nyanniichuan and emerged as a
woman, that must have been quite a shock."
"That's like calling a nuclear explosion a small
firecracker." Ranma quipped. "I was horrified."
Mr. Kuriaguwa paused his questioning to write more
notes, then continued.
"Please tell me your thoughts from the moment that
happened."
Ranma took a deep sigh. "Surprise wouldn't be an
adequate word. Three words came to mind: 'What', 'how', and
'why', and you can add a couple exclamation points to each
one."
Ranma glanced at Mr. Kuriaguwa who appeared to be
paying more attention to his notes than to Ranma's conversation.
"Are you listening?" Ranma asked.
"Yes. I'm writing down a few observations along with
some of what you're saying." Mr. Kuriaguwa answered.
"Isn't that what the tape recorder's for?" Ranma
inquired.
The Psychiatrist smiled in a canned, professional manner.
"We're here to talk about you, Mr. Saotome. There's time for
questions afterwards. Please continue."
Ranma shrugged. "Okay... uhm, where was I?"
"What, how, and why."
"Oh. Anyway, I had become a girl, and I was confused,
angry, and scared all in one shot. Not a pleasant mix, let me tell
you. The guide quickly came over and explained what happened,
but what he hadn't told me yet was that I could change back with
hot water. I thought I'd be stuck as a girl forever."
"And that scared you?"
"Damn right it did! All these years my pop had trained me
to be a paragon of manliness as part of some stupid agreement he
made with my mom a long time ago. He constantly used girls as
an example of weakness and what-not. Now here I was, a weak
sissy girl."
"I see. So your father's influence may have had much to
do with your disdain for your... condition?"
"I suppose." Ranma mumbled. "Yeah, I'd have to say
so."
"I see. Very interesting..." Mr. Kuriaguwa scribbled
several more notes onto his paper, and several more onto another
page. "Did you want to take a break for a moment? Would you
like a drink?"
"I could use a glass of water." Ranma answered.
Mr. Kuriaguwa poured a cup of water from a small water
cooler.
"Be careful not to spill it on yourself." he warned as he
handed the cup to Ranma.
Ranma took a small sip of the water. "Why? That's what
I wanted it for." Ranma poured the cup on himself, changing him
into a female.
Mr. Kuriaguwa was amazed. "Please explain why you
did that." He rapidly wrote down a slew of notes onto his papers.
"If we're trying to find out more about how I deal with
my girl form, it would only make sense if I were in it, right?"
Ranma answered.
"Ah. Indeed. The thought had crossed early on, but I
didn't want to ask." Mr. Kuriaguwa replied. "I thought it would
make you uncomfortable. Things are a lot more productive if
you're relaxed."
"Oh. Well, long as you ain't gonna poke me or nothin'
like those other chumps did..." Ranma replied with a twinge of
anger.
"Ah. See? You're tensing up. Here..." Mr. Kuriaguwa
handed Ranma another glass of water. "Take a sip, lay down,
take a deep breath and relax. I'm just here to talk, and help if I
can."
Ranma nodded.
"So... uhh... shall I call you Mr. Saotome or Ms.
Saotome?" Mr. Kuriaguwa asked with professional humor.
"MISTER." Ranma replied with a cold venom in her
voice. Mr. Kuriaguwa wrote down even more notes.
"My apologizes. A failed attempt at a joke. Ahem.
'Mister' Saotome, what are some of the things about being
female that bother you?"
"(Sigh) Well, for one thing, the obvious. I'm not a girl. I
was born a guy, and I wanna be a guy."
"What if you were born a girl, and had a curse that
changed you into a guy?"
"Same thing." Ranma answered. "It's like being in a
costume that won't come off. It's not me. Plain as that."
"So it's a costume to you? Are there times that you enjoy
this 'costume'?"
Ranma gave a wry grin. "I figured you were gonna ask
that. Yeah, I gotta be honest, there are times. I can usually scam
some free food or somethin'... Maybe pull a joke or two here or
there, that's about it. Not nearly worth the trouble."
"There aren't times that you go out for a walk or go hang
out with friends in your girl form just for the heck of it?"
"Not if I can help it." Ranma answered.
"What if you could control it? What if your girl form were
triggered by something you had control over? Ah, here's one...
what if you were given the choice of a total cure, or the ability to
better control when you changed?"
"Well if I could control it then this wouldn't be a curse
anymore, now would it? It'd be a costume, one I could keep
tucked away until needed. Something in my little bag of tricks."
"So you really and truly do not like your girl form at all, is
that what you're saying?"
Ranma chuckled. "I'll put it to ya' this way... Love to
meet her, but wouldn't wanna be her."
"So is it just that you don't like being a girl because it's
not -you-, or is there more to it?"
"Oh believe me, there's a hell'va lot more to it. Numero
Uno on that list is all the passes I get from guys. Try walking
down the street in a body like this passing by a few guys who's
only thought on their mind is how to (gulp) get in my pants. I'm
sure I'm not the only guy who'd be uncomfortable with that."
"Have you ever considered that the average woman
tends to worry about that on a daily basis? The difference is that
they can't escape it with hot water. You'll have to admit that as a
guy you seem to have a first hand perspective on the matter."
"I... I hadn't thought of that."
"That's part of the reason behind all those tests that were
done on you. It's not often that an opportunity to make a direct
comparison study on the differences between male and female
presents itself."
"Yeah yeah... so I'm told. Anyway, number two is the...
uh... physical differences. Ya' get me?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't." Mr. Kuriaguwa replied.
"Hoo boy... I, uhm... geez... Well, these two
'basketballs' attached to my chest aren't exactly the most
comfortable things, especially when I'm fighting... and I am NOT
going to wear a bra by any means."
"Why?"
"GUYS don't wear bras!"
"So pride and stubbornness is a factor?"
"As you put it so bluntly..." Ranma grumbled. "And
another thing... I... uhm... hate having to wait in lines at the girls
bathrooms, and I mean ya' gotta sit down just to PEE, and the
mechanics for that -alone- is completely different... But ya'
wanna know something...? I have NO IDEA how in the hell
women can have such bad aim so close to the pot. Some of those
bathrooms are SICK!"
"Mr. Kuriaguwa was trying -very- hard not to laugh,
trying to maintain his focus on his notes.
"It ain't funny, doc." Ranma muttered.
"(Cough) Of course not. Now, with all that in mind, do
you feel you have a better understanding of females, both
mentally and physically?"
"I'm not gonna ALLOW myself to understand them
mentally. But physically... well, there's much to be said for 'more
information than I needed to know'."
"Then let's talk about the physical perspective for a
moment." Mr. Kuriaguwa prepared a fresh sheet of paper, then
took a deep breath as if he were preparing for something.
"Do you have a period?" Mr. Kuriaguwa asked.
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"I know it's an uncomfortable question. I have to ask."
Ranma bit her lip and contemplated an answer for a
several moments.
"I'll just say that there's certain days that I try very,
VERY hard not to be a girl."
"Why?" Mr. Kuriaguwa inquired, scribbling more notes.
"DUH. Put two and two together, doc."
"Let me be more specific... why do you try so hard to
avoid it?"
"Like that needs an answer! Take a wild guess!" Ranma
retorted, her frustration building.
"It's not my job to guess your answers. It's my job to
make you say them so that I can help you face them."
"I don't wanna say them, and I certainly DON'T
WANNA FACE THEM!" Ranma shouted, grabbing a nearby
table and preparing to throw it in a sudden flash of anger.
"Ranma, put my table down." Mr. Kuriaguwa demanded
in a calm, controlled tone. At that, Ranma quickly realized what
she was doing and complied.
"Ranma, how close are you to... uhm, that day you try to
avoid?"
Ranma again bit her lip and withheld her response for a
moment.
"Sometimes it's early..." Ranma meekly responded.
"Well... then this is as good a time as any to move on to
the mental perspective." Mr. Kuriaguwa grabbed another sheet
of clean paper, having already filled the previous one.
Ranma cupped her head in her hands, unable to believe
that she had lost control like that.
"Have you ever lost control like that before, Ranma?"
"No... never." Ranma answered. "I've been in moods,
but it never got beyond that."
"I think the added tension from your ordeal in the lab
along with these rather uncomfortable questions during this rather
inopportune time pushed you to the breaking point. People snap
like that, Ranma. It's perfectly healthy. Don't feel bad about it."
"I need to have more control than that. I'm a martial
artist! If I lose control I could HURT someone."
"Everyone has a button that can be pushed, Ranma. No-
one is bulletproof." Mr. Kuriaguwa wrote several more
observations onto his paper. "How do you feel?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you feel better, or are you still angry? It's a simple
question. Did you even notice yourself getting angry? For one
moment you were somewhat calm, then the next moment you're
grabbing my table."
"I just... (sigh) look, ya' got any hot water?" Ranma
asked.
"I have water, but nothing to heat it with."
"Crap." Ranma cursed. "An aspirin then?"
"Oh. Say no more." Mr. Kuriaguwa opened his briefcase
and pulled out a bottle of midol.
"Here ya' go." Mr. Kuriaguwa offered Ranma the bottle.
"What are you doing with something like this?" Ranma
inquired as she popped a pill in her mouth.
"It's my wife's. I had a migraine and I was all out of
aspirin, so I tried one of those. Works wonders. It's a little
known secret."
"I'd be more worried about side effects."
Mr. Kuriaguwa chuckled. "Y'know, you won't wear a
bra, but you'll gladly pop a midol. I find that funny, if I may say
so."
"Yeah, but as you just proved, midol ain't just for
women." Ranma replied with a grin.
"Touche'. Well met." Mr. Kuriaguwa conceded.
"Okay... Ranma, I'm going to be asking some more personal
questions here. Just answer them truthfully and openly. The only
person who these answers matter to is yourself."
"(Sigh) Okay... just... well, not too personal, okay?"
"I can't guarantee that." Mr. Kuriaguwa replied. "Now
it's my understanding that you have a fiancee, correct?"
"Yeah. She's a tomboy who couldn't cook or swim if her
life depended on it."
Mr. Kuriaguwa paused for an extended period of time to
write some more observations.
"A tomboy, you say? So she acts like a guy?"
"Well... uhm, not totally. She doesn't go for any of the
usual girl things and stuff..."
"What does she think of you?"
Ranma hesitated for a moment. "I have no idea."
"Okay then... what do you think of her?"
Again, Ranma hesitated for a moment.
"She's cute." Ranma eventually answered.
"Do you find her... sexy?"
Ranma gave her interrogator a haunted look.
"I'll get back to you on that." Ranma answered.
"Are there any girls you find particularly sexy?" Mr.
Kuriaguwa further probed, earning yet another haunted look from
Ranma.
"Uhh... there is a point to this, right?"
"Now and then there's a girl that catches your eye,
right?"
Ranma fidgeted nervously. "W-well... yeah, I m-mean ...
Aww dammit, what the hell are you getting at?!"
"Now think hard about this one..." Mr. Kuriaguwa
grabbed yet -another- sheet of blank paper to write on. "Do your
eyes wander just as much while you're a girl?"
Ranma was going to hastily answer her innocence, but
thought the question more throughly, and searched harder for a
correct answer.
"I never paid much attention while I was a..." Ranma
scowled and smelled a trap. "Now, let me cut you off right there.
I do NOT like guys." Ranma punctuated her words with a glare.
"I already knew that. That's not in dispute." Mr.
Kuriaguwa reassured.
"GOOD. But yeah, I never thought to notice..." Ranma
muttered.
"I can try to explain." Mr. Kuriaguwa reached off his
shelf to pull down yet another file. "I counsel various homosexual
individuals and..."
"I AM NOT HOMOSEXUAL!" Ranma shouted.
"That was unnecessarily loud." Mr. Kuriaguwa rubbed
his ear. "And for your information, while you are in your female
form you can technically be considered a lesbian."
Ranma bit her lip.
"Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but there's some
studies which I just want you to be aware of." Mr. Kuriaguwa
thumbed through several more files. "There's two types of
homosexuality. One type is that the person is born homosexual as
a cause of genetic flaws or hormonal imbalances. They
instinctively are attracted to the same sex. The second type is
psychological. That person is homosexual because they choose to
be. Their instinct still attracts them to the opposite sex, they just
choose to repress it."
"You BETTER not be telling me that I'm..."
"Shhh... just hear me out for a moment." Mr. Kuriaguwa
set down his notes so that he could give full attention to his client.
"What I say is intended to give you piece of mind later on should
this matter arise."
"You're making me nervous doc..." Ranma muttered,
tapping her foot nervously.
"Just listen. Sexual attraction is largely psychological. A
person determines in their mind what they deem to be attractive.
Instinctual attraction can be different, and is more chemically
controlled.."
"I don't wanna hear about it..." Ranma muttered. "I can
tell where this is going and I DON'T wanna go there..."
"Now, when you become female, -everything- changes
except for your mind. Thus, you are subject to the same chemical
and instinctual reactions as any other female."
"Shut up! Shut up I say!" Ranma shouted.
"There's a reason why I'm telling you this, and it's to
your benefit."
"Aside from pissing me off...?!" Ranma snapped, her
anger flaring yet again.
"To summarize, you're attracted to girls and nothing will
change that. However, while you're a girl there may be times
when you find yourself aroused in the presence of a male or even
while thinking of one. This is your body at work, not your mind.
And, of course, there's much to be said for mind over body."
"You know, I might sleep better at night if I DIDN'T
know that..."
"You'd sleep less at night had you been in such a
situation and didn't understand why your body was acting the
way it was."
Ranma sighed. "I've already had a few of those sleepless
nights."
"I see. Then you understand what I'm talking about."
Ranma nodded.
"And you were up because you were afraid that you'd
start liking guys, am I right?"
Ranma vigorously nodded.
"Then take comfort in knowing that it won't happen
unless you choose to. As I said, mind over body."
"I REALLY want to be rid of this curse..."
"That's out of my hands, Mr. Saotome." Mr. Kuriaguwa
picked up his notes and wrote down a few last words, then
placed them in a notebook and shut off the tape recorder. "Well,
this session is over."
"Thank goodness..." Ranma got up and headed for the
door.
"Not so fast. Sit down."
Ranma groaned and did as she was told.
"I realize that you're going through a lot of stress with
this. I just want to let you know that I want to help. I'm offering
you my services free of charge, any time you need them. No
notes, no tape recorders, but on one condition."
"And that is...?"
"No more hiding from yourself. No more denial. If
you've got a problem, I can't help you if you can't even admit it
to yourself. You've got to talk to me honestly and openly."
"There's certain things I just can't talk about...
"Then you don't want my help."
Ranma hesitated for a moment.
"Do you have time?" Ranma asked.
Mr. Kuriaguwa pushed an intercom button on his phone.
"Ms. Chikawa, please reschedule all my appointments for the
next two hours."
A timid voice replied over the speakerphone. "Will do,
sir."
Ranma laid down on the couch, preparing to begin her
second session.
"So... what do you want to talk about?" Mr. Kuriaguwa
asked.
"It's about my fiancee."
"Go on." Mr. Kuriaguwa folded his hands and gave his
complete and undivided attention.
"I... I love her. And... well, I think about her a lot."
"Nothing wrong with that."
"No... I mean, I -think- about her. Get me?"
Mr. Kuriaguwa smiled. "I gotcha. She must be pretty
cute."
Ranma smiled. "She is..."
"Okay, so you have a desire for her. Last time I checked,
that's supposed to be a good thing."
"Getting back to that conversation about lesbians, I think
there's more truth to that than I care to admit." Ranma muttered
with a cringe.
"How to do you mean?"
Ranma sighed. "When I'm a guy, I look forward to the
day when I can... you know, -be- with her."
Mr. Kuriaguwa chuckled. "One guy, one girl, semi-
private room... is that what you mean?"
"Yeah." Ranma blushed. "Only natural, right?"
Mr. Kuriaguwa nodded.
Ranma took another deep sigh. "When I'm a girl, I think
of the same thing... only this time it's... uhm... one girl, one
tomboy, sound-proof room..."
Mr. Kuriaguwa raised an eyebrow.
"When I'm a guy and I think of something like that I
cringe. But when I'm a girl it... it just feels right." Ranma rubbed
her forehead. "That's the first time I've admitted that this curse
has had any affect on my mind."
"Very interesting."
"I'm hoping that she'll be... well, -okay- with that."
"I see." Mr. Kuriaguwa stroked his chin.
"So what do you think, doc?"
"I think working with you is going to be very interesting.
Maybe I made a mistake in offering my services for free." Mr.
Kuriaguwa chuckled. "Maybe I should've offered to pay you."
Ranma gave a warm smile. "I don't take money from
friends."
Mr. Kuriaguwa smiled back and pondered a thought. His
cousin, Dr. Tofu Ono, had taught him well.
-End.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, this definitely is not my first fanfic, but
it is the very FIRST one that I have completed from start to finish,
and in remarkable time as well. Maybe it's because it's smaller
than my usual novel sized ones... oh well. In either case, send me
feedback. I'd be nice to know if people actually -read- my
work... :)
I wrote this fic to tie in with another fic which I plan on doing
later. In that fic, a few scientists catch wind of Ranma's curse
and... well, you can pretty much guess the rest. In either case,
through their bumbling they accidentally make Ranma's curse
incurable (he can change forms with hot/cold water like always,
but the curse can't ever be lifted), among many other things. This
fic theoretically takes place -after- that one. I'll get started on it
later.
I've yet to see any fics that try to psychoanalyze Ranma as to
how his curse in general has affected him, and that surprises me.