Just something I wanted to get off my hard drive...
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"A Magical Solution?" A Ranma 1/2 Oneshot
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Ranma 1/2 (c) Rumiko Takahashi / Shogakukan, Inc. Story and art by
Rumiko Takahashi. English adaptation by Gerard Jones and Toshifumi
Yoshida. RANMA 1/2 is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. This
story may be freely redistributed, but not altered or used for profit.
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Story by Douglas MacDougall http://www.dougmacd.net/fanworks/
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There are those that would call Ranma Saotome a womanizer. How
could he not be, stringing along three girls, like that? Or more,
depending on whom you asked.
More understanding people would call him indecisive. Raised by
something less than a paragon of a father, and having few friends
growing up, he might not know HOW to react to beautiful women fawning
over him.
Maybe he doesn't even know what love is?
Of course, nothing could be farther from the truth, for Ranma had
been in love -- True Love -- not once, but twice. Loves so true they
were blind to such matters as age or even gender.
Twitching in remembrance, the young martial artist almost forgot
what he was holding. He carefully opened his fist, revealing the tool
of his enlightenment.
He turned the piece of jewelry over in his fingers, feeling the
cold, smooth metal, and the odd gem resting inside. It seemed
harmless, but he'd learned not to trust anything magical. Magic had a
tendency to change you into a girl, give your fiancee whiskers, or
make you bow and scrape in apology to blind martial artists.
And, of course, made you fall in love with shriveled old mummies
or perpetually lost boys.
No, he didn't like magic at all, but at least he knew what this
particular trinket did. Hell, he knew what it did when you used it
the right way AND the wrong way. That made it safe for him to use,
right?
He stopped rolling the brooch in his hands and looked directly
into the setting and the odd drawing inside. He twisted the face
around a half turn and looked at it again. There were some extra
lines, but it was clearly a smiling face.
"That's right-side up."
He sure at hell didn't want to put the thing on upside down! Bad
enough when Shampoo had worn the damned thing the wrong way. Of
course, no one had seen fit to tell him that she was blowing him off
because she was under the influence of magic.
Okay, so maybe he had acted a little like a jerk. He'd used
underhanded tricks to force her to admit she loved him. Hell, he'd
even dragged Ukyo into it, too.
Then again, it'd worked. They both DID admit they love him, he
thought with a grin. Hell, even Akane admitted that she loved him --
lots! -- before an unfortunate bit of violence. Yes, indeed, he was
about as manly as they came! He lost himself in a moment of
self-admiration.
There was only one downside to his unstoppable charm: he didn't
know when to use it. He knew that all of the girls loved him, but he
wasn't sure which of them HE loved.
He knew he felt SOMETHING for them, but is was nothing like the
overpowering emotions he had felt from Cologne's love pills, or
Ryoga's koi fishing rod. Did he really love any of them? Maybe they
were "just friends".
The reversal jewel could tell him. Any doubts he had would be
washed away. And then--
Well, he'd worry about that, later. It was okay for the girls to
admit they loved him, but the other way around was out of the
question. He wasn't worried about the other girls getting angry, or
jealous, and making things difficult for him. No, he was worried
about how the girl he LOVED would make things difficult for him.
Shampoo would try drag him back to China. Ukyo would try to make
them into the perfect okonomiyaki-cooking family. He wasn't sure what
Akane would do, but it probably involved letting her sew and cook for
him. None of the scenarios were particularly appealing.
No matter what, they couldn't find out.
Of course, in one sense, he wouldn't find out, either. Shampoo
hadn't remembered acting... aloof to him, and Akane rather vehemently
denied ever admitting she felt anything towards him. Clearly, you
didn't remember what you did or how you acted while under the jewel's
spell.
That's when Ranma's natural brilliance had shown through. He'd
brought a piece of paper and a pencil. Currently they were being held
down in the breeze by the corner of his foot, as he sat cross-legged
in contemplation.
In somewhat crude letters he had spelled out:
"The One I Love Is: _____"
He'd just put on the jewel, fill in the blank, and take the jewel
back off. That way he wouldn't have to worry about any of the girls
walking in on him and finding out, and he wouldn't have to worry about
acting weird like the girls had. He could use the knowledge however
he saw fit.
For once, everything was going to work out. The magic would
actually work for him, making his life easier, instead of more
complicated. All it took was a little bit of forethought, and he
could start to solve his problems.
With a great deal of self-satisfaction, he turned the brooch
around, very carefully making sure that it stayed right-side up. He
released the pin, and carefully slipped it through the fabric of his
shirt. Finally, with some trepidation, he locked the pin back in
place.
Of course! Why didn't he see it before?
His heart was filled with the powerful emotions he remembered from
before. It WAS true love! And... And with this, he thought,
clasping the brooch, I can tell her -- SHOW her! I'll never take it
off! He leapt off the roof of the building, and went running to his
beloved. As he left, a wind arose, blowing the untouched paper off
the roof.
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Started 1999-08-25 Completed 2000-03-28 Last modified 2000-02-28
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Choose your own conclusion:
[Close up shot of UKYO's face,
trembling with outrage and dismay.]
UKYO: Ranma, what the hell are you doing?!?
[Pan back to see RANMA nuzzling AKANE.
UKYO brains him with her spatula.]
Or for those of you who can't swallow that ending:
[Close up shot of AKANE's face,
trembling with outrage and dismay.]
AKANE: Ranma, what the hell are you doing?!?
[Pan back to see RANMA nuzzling AKANE.
AKANE punts him with her foot.]
^_~
Doug
----
Douglas MacDougall "You were nicer when you were evil.
http://www.dougmacd.net Cuter, too. Definitely more sexy!"