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Hi, I'm posting this for Hitomi, on her request (don't even start folks.)
Please send comments, critism, etc to
setsuna@setsuna.anifics.com with this header.
Anddd...
"Nabiki, I need some help. How much will it cost?"
Nabiki looked at the person who was asking for her help and raised an
eyebrow. It wasn't
that she was averse to helping but for some reason having this person ask
for help, and then ask
how much it would cost was a little worrisome. This had to be a matter so
serious, that money
would be out of the question, even for her. "Just whatever it cost me."
The person nodded. "I need to know something about Ranma, and I cannot
ask
him
directly, or know that I am looking into this."
Both of Nabiki's eyebrows raised at that. That it had something to do
with
Ranma was
expected, that she wanted this kept quiet was NOT in her character. "It's
extremely serious, isn't
it? Is Ranma going to die or something if we don't do something for him,
if
whatever it is, is not
correct?"
The woman before her sighed, and then sat on Nabiki's bed. "I'm not sure.
It could be
serious, but asking Genma is out of the question since he would lie to me,
and to Ranma. I doubt
Ranma even knows what is wrong, which is another reason I don't want to
talk
with him about it."
"What exactly is wrong?" Nabiki inquired, not comfortable with talking
around issues when
it came to business. While it was tradition, anything that took more time
made it difficult to plan and
gather information. "Do you think that something Genma has done
has...damaged...Ranma in
some manner?"
"I'm not sure, it could be something that happened on the training trip,
or
it could be his
curse, or it may be the situation. Given what I've seen, I'm afraid for
him,
and it may affect his
happiness. I need you to find out for sure."
"I'm sure it's not that bad Aunt Nodoka. After all, Ranma has faced
everything everyone
has been able to throw at him, and has always come out on top."
Nodoka nodded, and then said, "That's why. He's almost perfect in the
Martial Arts, he
keeps all of the ties of honour as best he can, and does it in a fashion
that no one can question,
even though people accuse him of things that he has not done, and are
definitely not true. He has
proven himself a man, a leader, and a person who everyone admires, and
tries
to emulate in some
manner. However, something with this picture is wrong. Very wrong."
Nabiki frowned, and then indicated for Nodoka to continue.
"I'm afraid that Ranma may have some problems with..."
Sexual Endeavours
Part One:
Beating Around the Bush...
A fan fiction based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series, Ranma 1/2
Saotome Ranma, Saotome Genma, Saotome Nodoka, Tendo Akane, Tendo Soun,
Tendo
Kasumi, Tendo Nabiki, Kuonji Ukyou, Hibiki Ryouga, P-chan, Shampoo, Shan
Pu,
Mousse, Mu Tsu, Cologne, Ku Lon, Kuno Tatewaki, Kuno Kodachi, Tofu-Sensei,
and
Hinako Sensei are copyright 1987, 2000 by Takahashi Rumiko.
Publishing rights: Japan by Shogakukan Inc. Tokyo
Hong Kong by Jademan (Holdings) Ltd.
North America by Viz Inc.
Written by Ichinohei Hitomi
Ranma smiled to himself as he completed his latest technique. After
several
weeks, he had
finally perfected a move that everyone would not expect from him. After
all,
he _never_ paid
attention to Happousai unless he did not have a choice. While Ranma would
never use the more
perverted techniques, he didn't deny that the little...whatever...was a
master of the Art, and thus
had something to teach, if you knew where to look.
Besides, it allowed him to work out his frustrations.
During the past year, since he had been at the dojo, everyone he had met
seemed to think
of him either as a prize to be won (or taken in some cases), an heir to
various schools he didn't
want to be associated with, or the person everyone and their semi-mystical
pet needed to kill,
maim, or enslave in order to prove they were better.
If he hadn't been observing and learning from everything that everyone
had
thrown at him,
his stress level would be a lot higher than it already was.
If only the various ties of honour weren't hanging over his head like a
blade. The promise
of being a 'Man Among Men', being engaged to both girls and boys thanks to
his father and uncle,
that he did not know the laws of the Joketsuzoku and thus had Shampoo as a
bridal candidate
with the assorted problems (read Mousse and Cologne), a perverted martial
arts master who he
was technically supposed to obey as the head of the school, trying to keep
up his grades in
academics, and who knew what else was still to come.
People either admired him or hated him because of it.
That's why he was glad that since his mother had arrived, he was allowed
to
have a room
of his own.
If _ANYONE_ learned his greatest secret then he would definitely be dead.
Well, perhaps
not dead, but at least ridiculed, made fun of, and, if Nabiki had her way,
make his life a living hell.
Giving a sigh as he left the dojo and went to the bath. If he had timed
everything correctly,
everyone he knew would be out.
And that meant that he could go and have some _real_ fun.
***
Nabiki walked around the shopping district, absently looking at various
stores. If what Aunt
Nodoka suspected was correct, it would explain a hell of a lot. To think
that the person who
personified the absolute 'ultra-masculine' image could not even think of...
Well, it certainly boggled the mind.
Nabiki's problem was how to confirm this without it getting out over the
entire district. Hell,
if just her father learned about this possibility, he'd be crying so loud,
everyone would hear him,
and that meant Shampoo, and Cologne, then Ukyou, not to mention the
Kuno's,
or her hot-headed
little sister. *Actually, Akane-chan would be the worst one to learn of
it.
She'd think it was some
kind of plan to be perverted and _wham_! Ranma will either be punched,
kicked, or malleted.*
Well, perhaps a look at his medical records, and then comparing those
with
some of the
books in the medical library might work. Then again, the doctors would
probably have noticed
something physically wrong since he did have to go through two cat scans
previously. "Damn it
Ranma, why can't anything be simple around you!" Nabiki muttered below her
breath, "All this
trouble with your 'fiancee's' and it could be because of some condition
that
you may not even know
about."
Turning around, she headed for Dr. Tofu's, not noticing the small, white
cat that just
happened to be below a fruit display.
Waiting until Nabiki was well away, the cat thought about what she just
heard. Something
was wrong, and it was the cause of Ranma not choosing her. She _knew_ it
had to be something
else, after all, who could resist her charms, and Shan Pu had a lot of
'charm'. It was hard to
imagine however, Ranma was _PERFECT_! There couldn't be something
physically
wrong with
him. Padding slowly away, Shan Pu thought of those perfect pectorals, the
firm abdomen, the
way...
She shook her head, and then started to run as fast as she could to the
Nekohanten. If
there was anything wrong Great-grandmother would know what to do. She
always knew what to
do, and then, perhaps, she would be willing to help her once again to
bring
her husband home, or
at least get him to acknowledge the marriage.
Shan Pu didn't care if she lived away from the village for the rest of
her
life, as long as she
had Ranma, children, and, of course, the wedding night which she
fantasized
about constantly.
Besides, she was sure it was Panda-man's fault. The man just lived to
create trouble,
especially for her husband. If anything was wrong, it had to be a curse of
some kind, just like the
curse of Jusenkyu. As soon as Ranma acknowledge who Shan was, she was
going
to make sure
that Panda-man was sent to a breeding farm.
***
Ryouga, of course, was trying to find Akari's farm. He was sure that it
was
somewhere
around here. He knew it had to be around somewhere since he passed these
apartment building
the last time he went to see her. Looking at his new piece of survival
gear,
a handheld GPS
mechanism, which had been a gift from Ranma after the failed wedding, he
changed directions to
follow the pointing mechanism. No word had been said about why Ranma had
gotten it, and
Ryouga, in a rare mood, being sorry that he messed up his friend's
marriage
opportunity for no
good reason, decided not to say a word himself. They both passed it off as
something that would
be handier to have than a compass, especially in wooded areas.
In all fairness to the poor lost boy, this time it really wasn't his
fault.
He was paying
attention to the device, and it was supposedly showing the way to get to
Akari's farm. There was,
however, a slight hairline crack in the surface that wouldn't be
noticeable,
even under close
inspection, and that had let water into the unit, shorting out a few of
the
circuits. Ironically, it was
showing the way to a home he had always been trying to find over the past
year, the Tendo Dojo
when he wanted to go somewhere else.
***
<character one> frowned at the girl in the alley across the street from
her. She still couldn't
believe it, even though she had seen the transformation herself. "That
little tramp!" <character
one> fumed, "She's been pretending to be a boy all this time! When I get
my
hands on her..."
She growled as the girl in the strange costume literally leapt to the top
of a five-story
apartment complex. To imagine that her supposed boyfriend was in reality a
'magical girl' was
more than irritating. <character one> was going to have some revenge, but
the question was how.
<character two a> who was now revealed as <character two b>, the person
who
had saved
Nerima many times over the last year from various threats, ranging from
criminals to mystical
people, was unbearably beautiful. For that reason alone, <character two a>
should be shown why
you never play with a girl's heart. Unfortunately, no matter the revenge
she
wanted, <character
one> could not risk harming her 'boyfriend', not unless she wanted to take
out the only person who
could face all of these mysterious threats. If they were actually threats
and not just a publicity
stunt.
She had to plan carefully, find her weakness, at least emotionally, and
then attack her in
that manner. It would be a perfect revenge, and make sure
that...that...girl
was at least physically
fine. <character one> snorted, in a way <character two b> had the perfect
cover. No one would
believe that a handsome, and absolutely perfect specimen of a man would
also
be such a cute,
beautiful, and sexy girl.
"You know," <character one> mumbled to herself, her hand clenching
unconsciously, "If I
was in a manga or anime, all I would have to do is grab a hammer and pound
the jerk over the
head. Too bad that's all fantasy, the idea has a lot of appeal."
***
"Hey Ranma!" a person said as she came into the computer lab, "Finish
your
assignment
for creative writing yet?"
Ranma kept his hand on his chest where he had clutched it. It was hard
enough finding
the time to do his extra work, and also fortunate that the juku he was in
knew of his unusual
situation, but he was always afraid that this would get back to everyone
he
knew. How would they
react to the fact that the 'super dumb jock' was in reality a closet
computer fanatic? He didn't even
want to try and find out, knowing that the girls would probably all rush
to
the class, and his rivals
would destroy everything he was trying to do. One reason that he had
chosen
a juku that was as
far away from home as possible.
"Fine so far. Don't scare me like that!" Ranma replied, his voice
showing
his annoyance.
"Yeah, right. The great writer and programmer gets so scared. Admit it,
you just got
caught up in your machine again."
Ranma snorted right back, "So? Computers are a great way of finding
information, and
they pay a hell of a lot better than being a writer or artist. Hell,
those
people working for Square
get money hand over fist!"
His companion, a girl in a school uniform, short hair, and glasses looked
at him in askance,
"Is money all you can think about?"
Ranma smirked back at the old argument, "Nah...There's also food, sleep,
hardware,
programming, and RPG's."
Sakura rolled her eyes, "You know, despite your build and the way I've
seen
you act
sometimes, you're a real geek."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Growling under her breath, she peeked over Ranma's shoulder. "What's
with
this
'character one' bit? Can't you even think of some names?
"Nah, it's so people can insert names of their own. I figure if the
story
is good enough, I
can make it into the base of our RPG project. Think of it, an RPG that
you
don't only have a base
story, but animation that sets out entire scenes, like a movie! It's the
easiest way to have things
work out. Not only that, but we can also build on it, and create several
different scenarios based
upon what's already happened. That way we can recycle a number of the
animation scenes with
only slight variations."
"Computers don't have that sort of video capacity."
"Ah...who cares about that right now. I figure that if it's encoded
right,
we can fit the whole
thing into about 8 Megs of data, and only 300 Kb of program." Ranma
replied.
Sakura looked at him carefully, "Ranma, the only way you could do that is
to write directly
to machine language."
"Of course! That's what makes this format so beautiful!"
Sakura groaned. What would it take to get this geek away from that damn
machine and
get him to notice her! He wasn't a dumb jock, and the fact that he was a
very smart, and
somewhat idealistic and naive guy should have left him open to the slight
suggestions she was
making. "Ranma...Oh never mind, just go back to what you were doing."
He shrugged slightly, and then got back to writing. Everyone here would
likely know the
source from which he was creating his stories for the project, but what
the
hell. Besides, it was
fun, and he could make situations happen in the stories that would never
happen in real life. A
glint came into his eyes as he thought of something. Perhaps a few hidden
codes in the story.
When he compiled it, only the most fanatical of players would discover
them,
and then he could
add a second hidden story to the game. Maybe a sex story, they always
seemed to make money,
or at least fans.
***
Tofu-sensei's eyebrow raised as he looked at Nabiki. "Why would you need
to have copies
of all of Ranma and Akane's medical records?"
Nabiki sighed, "Ranma would have married to Akane, if the wedding wasn't
ruined by the
various guest who showed up. While it is a matter of family honour, I've
got to give the traditional
proof of both families to idiots like Kuno-chan before we can try again.
Kuno-chan would love to
prove that Ranma was some type of undesirable, either from family history,
or to some sort of
medical problem which may be genetic."
"I heard rumours about his stability, but is he really that much of a
fanatic?" Tofu stated
quietly, "If he is, perhaps I could help by having a group 'talk' to him
for
the sake of the
community."
Nabiki grimaced, "It's already been tried with Kuno's father, who happens
to be the
headmaster of Furinkan. Unfortunately he is too well connected to do
anything. Why else would
the various teachers have been willing to be humiliated by him, or the
fact
that all of his programs
are overlooked by the education ministry? The man is an idiot, crazed,
and
a threat to the
students, but he is allowed to be free."
Tofu frowned, "How bad is he of a threat to the students? Is it
physically, or are there more
serious issues to be concerned about?"
"The school will be fortunate to have one person advance to a proper
level
given what has
happened."
Tofu sat up suddenly, If what Nabiki was implying was correct, it was
extremely serious.
How powerful was the Kuno clan? "Nabiki, tell me without wavering. Is
there a threat to the
students proceeding towards dishonour?"
Nabiki nodded, "Juku's are practically forbidden by the headmaster unless
it has to do with
studying about Hawaii. I doubt that many will pass the Juken, and even
then, it will have to be
overseas training."
Tofu nodded, and started to gather Ranma and Akane's files, medical
records, and
personal information. "It will take me a little while to write up a
letter
for each of these files, and I
now understand the urgency. I would like you to describe your impressions
of the headmaster, for
the records. I will, of course, keep your name out of this, and have an
observation group enter the
school. There are several Ministries which will be interested in this
information, and that have
more...influence, than the Ministry of Education."
Nabiki nodded, trading information was good, and perhaps something could
be
done about
the head nut. Perhaps a pool on how long before Headmaster Kuno was
removed, or the date
when he was to be removed would be appropriate. It wouldn't hurt to make
_some_ money on this
deal.
***
Laughing maniacally, Ranma prepared his move, knowing that he would be
successful,
and that his foe would be defeated, if not dead, for daring to try and go
after him.
"Saotome, just roll the damn dice. Whenever you laugh like that it sends
chills down my
spine."
"Ah, you're just jealous that I can pull it off. Besides, my character
is
supposed to be half
crazy because of that mind control attempt a while back, and you're the
one
who designed the
spell that did it."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know it'd backfire like that?" Ryu grumbled,
"Just because
you failed your saving throw is no reason to take it out on us."
Ranma replied by dumping a glass of water on his head, "Well, I _do_
happen
to have
some experience with real curses and magic you know."
Ryu grumbled while the others laughed.
Hikaru, the gamemaster then pointed at Ryu, and then at Ranma, and
everyone
broke out
laughing even harder. It got even worse when Ranma put her hands under
her
chin and fluttered
her eyelashes coquettishly. He then said, "You're the only one I know of
Ranma, that can make
role playing something else."
Ranma grinned, "Yeah, I know, and I'm great at it. Now about the spell
point system that
we're using, it seems a bit limited since we are basing it upon a person's
knowledge, constitution,
and stamina. I know it doesn't work that way in real life, heck, martial
arts doesn't work that way in
real life, at least not at the higher levels."
Ryu nodded, "Yeah, and if anyone should know, it's Saotome. His life is
filled with all sorts
of strange things happening."
"Problem is, it would be hard to fit into the current game system."
Sakura mused from
where she was sitting. "We'd have to tear it apart and revise the damn
thing, not to mention
making new spells to take everything into account."
"It's better that we do it now than later." commented Kenchiro as he
looked
over the
printouts he had. "The only way to confirm the system that we are going to
code is to test it out,
and that means changing things before we go any further and creating
internal blind spots."
Everyone groaned, and Ranma sighed. Just when she was about to take out
the sorcerer
who had created those pools of sorrow...
***
Cologne frowned as she went into her sanctum. It was hard to imagine
that
anything would
be wrong with Ranma, but the possibility could not be denied. Physical
problems were laughable,
especially at the rate Ranma learned techniques, or how he could hide the
amount he was holding
back against all of his opponents. He even managed to hide his true power
from her!
To Cologne, the real question was what could be wrong in Ranma's
upbringing
by his
cowardly father.
Cologne had given up on getting Ranma for her tribe quite a while ago. He
was stubborn,
egotistical, did not want to be held down, and had a lot of problems with
honour thanks to that no
good father. As far as she was concerned, Genma was thinking with only
one
thing, his stomach.
Why else would he make a deal with Ukyou's father for just a yatai, or
teach
his son that eating
and martial arts were the be all and end all of life?
That attitude was probably what was wrong with Ranma.
Then again, her grand daughter was not making things any easier.
The foolish girl was scheming, underhanded, and obviously not thinking of
the future as
she kept thinking that her own culture was the only one that mattered.
The
worst, absolute worst,
deed she had done was to try and break up the marriage between Ranma and
Akane, not
realizing that in this country they could already married, the couple just
had not completed the
public ceremonies. After almost a year in this country, Shampoo kept
showing her ignorance and
unwillingness to learn.
Admittedly, she had originally come to this country with Shampoo,
thinking
that Ranma just
needed a little bit of encouragement, and that he would recognize the laws
that he had
inadvertently crossed. Cologne was not against plotting, or doing
something
that could lead to
more for Shampoo, but she had at least made an effort to learn the laws
and
culture that she was
living in. She had also believed that the boy had been told of the laws
both times, when he had
been confronted by Shampoo in the village, and then later when he had
'defeated' Shampoo as a
male.
It was Shampoo's failure to tell the girl of the law, or even confirming
the consequences
when confronting Ranma the first time that led to her being retrained at
Jusenkyo. It was only
when she came back to China had it been learned that the girl only battled
the winner of the
tournament thinking that it was a battle over food, which it should have
been. To have later
learned that Shampoo had lied about how Ranma had won the match in male
form, and to have
not explained the circumstances first, which would have required Ranma to
make a formal
challenge, was worse. If this was learned about back in the village,
Shampoo would be locked in
her cursed form.
No, it would do no good to take Ranma back to China, which is why she did
not interfere
with the boy coming back to Japan when she had ample opportunity to keep
him
in the country,
and in the village.
Besides, even if the law had been followed properly, Ranma would be the
worst possible
person to have in the village, especially since trouble followed him like
a
magnet. Pantyhose Taro
who would constantly challenge him in some deluded belief that this would
get Happousai to
change his name, ghosts coming around to disturb the boy, and strange
challenges that no
seemingly rational person would accept. To top it off, the Japanese
seemed
to take all of this in
stride as normal!
Why else would they not complain to the authorities about that Kuno
family,
with the boy
making ludicrous statements that no one actually believed, the daughter
using dangerous items
that could cause innocents to die, and the father who wanted to torment
everyone with a very bad
haircut. Or worse yet, allow Happousai to live for the most part
peacefully
even though everyone,
even the government, knew where he lived.
No, despite what her daughter, grand daughters, and great grand
daughters,
as well as
others in the village thought, the Japanese were not backwards people with
no respect for others.
The warriors in this small section of Japan, a small, virtually
unnoticeable
and unremarkable
district of Tokyo were extremely strong, with many being able to defeat
the
entire village without
having to resort to special techniques that were within their own culture.
Thankfully her great
grand daughter had never run into that 'Nuku-Nuku' girl from Akie's
because
Cologne had seen
the girl take on an attack helicopter and win. Cologne doubted her own
chances at surviving at a
distance.
The manga and anime that the Japanese created were mild in comparison to
what went on
in the district every day.
If they brought Ranma to the village by force, or even made him angry in
any small way,
the Joketsuzoku would cease to exist. He would have to be kept either
drugged and helpless, or
given control of the village, which would be unthinkable by the hidebound
council. Anyone who
believed that Ranma, the person who killed Saffron, would be happy in a
small village with very
little of the modern conveniences was crazy. To that end, Cologne was
more
concerned with
making friendly contacts, teaching Ranma and any of his friends whenever
they wanted to learn,
and try to understand the Japanese people and why they thought the unusual
normal.
As for Ranma, the boy was annoying at times, but he was brilliant, if
anyone actually took
the time to see what he was doing. No, if there was a problem with Ranma,
then it would have to
be in his upbringing, and the fact that his father treated women as
objects
and not people. Given
this, and how shy, and scared of contact with girls who were overly
affectionate, despite his curse,
he would not accept being trapped in that manner. Admittedly, he had
reason
to be that way,
given how every girl he met seemed to want to throw themselves at him.
She
was quite sure that
if the current four girls were not martial artist, he would have more
after
him.
No, for the sake of peace, she would have to take a hand in this,
although
not in the way
Shampoo would like. She would have to find some way to have Ranma in a
public marriage
ceremony, and from the looks of it, it would have to be with Akane. There
was no way she would
come between Ranma and that girl!
Besides, it would also allow her to remain in Japan, and she did like all
of the amenities,
especially videogames.
With that thought, Cologne unlocked her private cabinet, turned on the
television, and
selected her favourite game. An RPG featuring three young girls who
happened to be the
saviours of another, magical, planet...
***
Sakura grinned suddenly. The perfect way to get Ranma to notice her had
just popped into
her head! If she used a variation LHA compression format series and
applied
that to the text of the
RPG they were working on, they could get the whole thing under 2 Megs, and
it would only add
about 40 Kb to the size of the main program, 64 if she was designing it to
perform on the fly
decoding with the help of a mini-database. This was a way to show the
most
egotistical
programmer of their juku that he wasn't the best.
Misa rolled her eyes as she saw Sakura's eyes. "Only one thing could
cause
that. You've
thought of a way to best Saotome."
Sakura nodded in excitement as she sipped her drink "Yep! It's the
perfect
way to show 'his
arrogance' that he's not the only programmer around!"
"You sure that it isn't just another way to get him to go out with you?"
Sakura started to cough as a bit of her drink went down the wrong way.
"Me?!? After that
arrogant bastard? You've got to be kidding."
Misa shook her head, "Ranma is a bit rough around the edges, but he's
always a perfect
gentleman. And you know how many girls are already after him, and they
have
no idea of what he
can really do. How many more girls do you think would be after him if they
knew his real skills."
"A lot..." Sakura sighed. Misa was correct about her reasons for trying
to
better Ranma.
"Look, he respects people who do their best, no matter what. He wants
someone who can think, or
act, or do something that is their best, and will always try to better
themselves. It's the reason he
keeps with that Tendo Akane, despite how she treats him. All I'm doing is
giving him a reason to
look elsewhere, not trying to force him to look at me."
"That is not how you grab a man you know."
"So? It's the best way to work with him. There are already too many
'enthusiastic' girls after
him and trying to force him to lose his virginity. How would you like it
if
boys were trying to force
you to lose your virginity?"
"Show me where those boys are so I can!"
"MISA!!!!"
***
The Next Day...
Ranma sighed happily on the way to school. Everything seemed right, and
with the day
being so peaceful, he could concentrate on a few more things, although he
still had to be careful of
Shampoo. Then again, his luck would never hold that long.
Of course, what Ranma considered peaceful would be what others considered
violent.
The day started off well, with his father, for once, asking to spar
instead
of tossing him out
the window. He managed not to get dunked in the pond, but also refused to
do the same to his
father, and with his mothers presence, especially her looking directly at
his father several times,
Ranma did not have to protect his food. Ranma and Akane were getting
along,
at least no words
of war had been exchanged as of yet, and even Nabiki was being nice. Of
course, it could have
something to do with his mother wanting to go out somewhere with him this
evening, but it seemed
Ranma spent very little time with his mother.
Amazingly enough, he made it to school without Shampoo being along the
way,
no Ukyou,
and even more amazingly, no Kuno at the gates. Ranma blinked, grabbed his
arm, pinched to
make sure, and blinked again. Despite that test, he felt as though he was
dreaming. No way
could the day be going that well. In fact, there was no way that anyone
could have as good a day
as he'd been having.
Ranma frowned suddenly. *It can't last. Nabiki being nice, the day
going
well, and not a
single argument with Akane. I better be extra careful today, since it
could
be more dangerous than
ever.*
His eyes boggled when Akane grabbed his hand and pulled him gently
towards
class, and
there wasn't an explosion. Ranma then noticed NABIKI smiling and nodding
in
satisfaction. He
looked around franticly, and saw everyone with smiles on their faces, not
paying attention to what
was happening, and not even noticing how close Akane was to him. It was
wrong! Unnatural! It
couldn't be happening! He had to be asleep!
*Yes! Asleep! That had to be it! No way could any of this happen
without
a lot of people
staring, or looking on, or making a bet, or anything. And I _know_ it
has
to be a dream since
Nabiki is smiling at Akane holding my hand without trying to make some
sort
of money off of it.
Well, since this is a dream, might as well enjoy it.* Ranma thought to
himself, not realizing the
problems that his actions were about to cause...
***
English Class:
"Ranma, would you please read article 27 and give us your interpretation
of
the described
events, and what this means for the general populace of Japan. Also, I
want you to write the
definition of word 12 in paragraph 3 on the board for the class."
Hinako-Sensei said as she
prepared herself for another bad reading. The boy was one of the worst at
English that she knew
of, and could barely get the shapes of Romanji correct a lot of the time,
so
she didn't expect much.
Still, foreign language studies were required, and she somehow had to
drill
it into his head in the
next two years.
Ranma looked at the word first, before he started to read, and came up to
the board.
Fortunately, it was a word that he was familiar with, especially since the
definitions were a bit
unusual; he'd had to look it up before. That he had to get such an easy
word to write the definition
to in his first class of the day was proof that it was a dream. No matter
what happened for the rest
of the day, he'd take it in stride. *Might as well have fun with this,
especially since I would never be
able to get away with it in real life without a protest!*
Variable: Anything which may change and thus change the outcome of a
given
circumstance. In
context, a named container that can hold a value consisting of a character
string of any length.
The variable can be created by applying a name and placing the value
within
with a put, place, or
input command.
Hinako-Sensei boggled at the fact that Ranma had written, and expanded
upon, an English
definition without looking at a dictionary, book, or reference guide, and
the fact that the Definition
was written in Romanji, and in ENGLISH! She almost fainted, but kept
pinching herself behind
her back as Ranma then turned around, and started to read the article,
without problems, and like
an American. This was a dream. It had to be a dream. Nothing else made
sense.
Math Class
The Sensei was amazed, confused, and absolutely happy!
Ranma, the worst student in the class, was answering every question
correctly! He had
even gone through several quadratics without a problem!
"Saotome-kun, I would like you to come up to the board and demonstrate
the
solution to
the equation that I have placed there."
As Ranma stepped up to the board, and went into the mathematical proof
that
showed how
one was equal with negative one, he smiled wider. The proof required
knowledge of calculus,
topology, and dimensional variance. Since Ranma could do this, then he
was
a genius, and since
he had not demonstrated such abilities before, it had to be thanks to His,
Aida-Sensei's, teachings.
He cried tears of joy as he stated, "Absolutely correct, Saotome-san!"
Sociology Class:
"...given the upheaval caused by modern society, and how our people have
reacted at
times, Japan seems to have a tendency to acquire mannerisms slowly, as is
evidenced by the
strength of 'Rock and Roll' from the American and British mid 50's to mid
60's era as opposed to
the modern 'Punk Rock' currently the issue in North America. This is not
to
say that the trend is
not followed, however, as there must be some manner of adaptation, as our
society would easily
stagnate.
"Examples of this adaptation are plentiful when we compare it to American
culture,
especially since we have been brought up in a manner conversant with
conservation of resources.
Our society recycles and reprocesses every little bit that we can due to
our
limited resources as
compared to the small recycling effort of the Americans with their
plentiful
resources. We adapted
to an area of the globe with few resources by learning how to recycle.
Now,
how does this apply
to the social context of society and business and the relationship of a
recognized 'Feudal' society
as represented by Japan versus a 'Democratic Republic' such as the United
States?
"The answer is quite simple, as our culture has already adapted the
'Feudal' model of
society as a semi-rigid structure and cross pasted democratic processes,
already in place in the
lower levels of society, as a means of satisfying the American military
and
cultural forces who
wished to cause an upheaval similar to, and with the same intent, that the
cultural upheaval by the
European Christian elements caused in Native North American Society.
Further, by having the
model applied to business, especially with a military approach to the
subject, as Sun Tzu is still
required reading to everyone involved in Japan's economic prosperity, this
has allowed us to
prevent Americans from 'culling' our society as was attempted by the
French
to the Vietnamese
people prior to World War II..."
The class was amazed as Saotome went on, but no one wanted to interrupt
him. Ranma
usually slept in class, never said a word, barely passed his courses, and
acted to everything with a
physical reaction rather than an intelligent one. A few of the braver
ones
in back of Ranma were
staring at him, then Akane who had been surprisingly silent, and then back
at Ranma.
Ranma, being this knowledgeable and intelligent?
It was either a dream or the world was coming to an end.
Computer Class:
The teacher was amazed at the speed with which Ranma typed, and the fact
that he had
finished his assignment in five minutes after the class started, when he
was
sure that Ranma could
hardly turn on the machine without an accident was nothing short of
amazing!
Surreptiously, he
started to check the network to see if something happened. He would not
be
surprised if
something like that American movie happened to Ranma. Given the
strangeness, it would be just
like the boy to be able to absorb the entire knowledge and the database of
a
mainframe through
an electrical accident. If not here, then somewhere. It was the only
possible explanation for the
boy being THIS good.
***
Ranma sighed happily. It was a good dream so far. Nice and peaceful, no
one bugging
him with unwanted questions, and not being splashed with cold water at the
most unexpected
times. Ukyou was friendly without mentioning the engagement, Kuno was
nowhere to be seen,
Akane was friendly and did not try to feed him, and now it was time to go
home and spend some
time with his mom. How could things get any better?
To Be Continued...
"Where do you want to go mom?" Ranma asked as the two of them left the
house.
Nodoka smiled, and then decided to tease her son a bit. "I thought we'd
go
downtown and have
dinner, and then do some shopping. You have enough boy's clothing for
now,
and I would like to see my
daughter dressed in something better, and acting less like a tomboy."
*Yep, my subconscious is really acting up. No way would mom smile like
that and say that I'm her
daughter. Guess I must be feeling guilty over the way I treated mom when
I
was Ranko, and the fact that I
ended up 'stealing' the daughter she never had when I finally revealed
myself to her. Well, might as well
play along. If I remember this, it may make a good scenario for our
role-playing games.* Ranma thought to
himself. "Can you give me a few minutes then mom? I need to go and
change."
Nodoka blinked at that, especially when Ranma rushed back in the house.
Ranma was definitely
not acting like himself. She had at least expected some kind of denials
that he wasn't her daughter, not her
son rushing back in the house to get changed. Of course, it could be that
he was tired of denying that he
was a girl every day, or he could be doing something to test her resolve
in
some manner. How could
Ranma test her by changing into nicer clothing was the thought she had.
When Ranma came back down wearing an outfit that Nodoka thought she'd
never
see on him again,
she was shocked. Ranma's hair was down from the pigtail, and redone into
a
nice ponytail, a small hat on
her head, black leggings, mini-skirt, blouse, and vest. She was carrying
a
small purse, and got a small
bottle of water out of the refrigerator. "I'm ready to go mom. Hope we
can
get more outfits like this one."
Nodoka blinked slowly and decided to play along. Laying her hand across
the girls' shoulder she
said, "Of course daughter. That's much better than what you were wearing
before, and I'm glad that you are
dropping the tomboy look. It's definitely time you grew up."
Ranma smiled as she led the way out of the house, *Well, if I had any
doubts before, this ruins
them. Mom wanting me as a daughter is crazy, and since she seems to want
me
as one, might as well have
fun with it. If I can force the circumstances of the dream the right way,
maybe I can become that 'magical
girl' character I'm working on, and get some idea for monsters or
something.*
Nodoka looked on in wonder from behind Ranma. Maybe she was right and it
was the curse that
was affecting Ranma. She had felt the bra strap, knowing that her son
hated
wearing those, even if she
needed it at times. Well, maybe it was time to test that theory out, and
she had just the store to visit to do
so. If her son refused to have anything to do with girls, perhaps it was
time to see if her daughter had any
problems with...
Sexual Endeavours
Part Two:
What's Good for the Gander...
A fan fiction based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series, Ranma 1/2
Saotome Ranma, Saotome Genma, Saotome Nodoka, Tendo Akane, Tendo Soun,
Tendo
Kasumi, Tendo Nabiki, Kuonji Ukyou, Hibiki Ryouga, P-chan, Shampoo, Shan
Pu,
Mousse, Mu Tsu, Cologne, Ku Lon, Kuno Tatewaki, Kuno Kodachi, Tofu-Sensei,
and
Hinako Sensei are copyright 1987, 2001 by Takahashi Rumiko.
Publishing rights: Japan by Shogakukan Inc. Tokyo
Hong Kong by Jademan (Holdings) Ltd.
North America by Viz Inc.
Written by Ichinohei Hitomi
Akane sat at the table, hardly moving, and wondering what, exactly,
happened at school. It was like
an unbelievable dream, a good one where her fiancé, Ranma, was a smart,
brilliant man with a mind that
rivalled others. There was one problem with the dream theory, however.
Akane knew that she had been
awake for the surprising show.
No one had mentioned it. They were scared to since it might mean that
they
would be brought into
this weirdness, but it had obviously unnerved them. No one was willing to
admit to that fear, or try to stop
Ranma if he suddenly turned violent. *That wasn't Ranma. It couldn't
have
been Ranma. Ranma would
have tried almost anything to sleep in class or goof off in some manner,
not
pay attention to the teachers.
That...that person was extremely well prepared, giving speeches, knowing
mathematics far beyond anything
we've been thought, and being fluent in English. Ranma doesn't know
English! He hardly knows Japanese,
and is much less fluent in Chinese, which is a hell of a lot closer to our
language. Could that have been an
impostor?*
She frowned slightly, still trying to think out everything. *It started
on
the way to school, without
Shampoo showing up. Next Kuno was missing, and it's unlikely he would
miss
a chance to see me or his
'pigtailed girl'. Then Ukyou was nice, not even mentioning the engagement
as she usually does, although at
the time I assumed it was because of fear of the unknown. Ranma then
starts
acting as if he was a Juku
student instead of his usual 'All I Need To Know Is Martial Arts'
attitude.
It's as though someone replaced
Ranma with a copy, but a flawed one which thought too much and is too
intelligent. He has to be an
impostor, but if this person is an impostor, where is the real Ranma?*
*Perhaps the better question to ask is who could have replaced Ranma with
this...person.* Akane
thought as she began to build a list of names in her head which included
Shampoo, Cologne, Happousai, or
any number of others. Of course, it included Kodachi and excluded
Tatewaki,
but then again, Kodachi was
the intelligent one.
"I've been hearing weird things about Ranma since after school, Akane.
Want
to tell me what it is
about, and who the new challenger is?" Nabiki drawled as she came to sit
at
the table.
Akane gasped and blinked rapidly. She was so caught up in thinking of
what
may have happened
that she never noticed her sister come home. "The person who was in class
wasn't Ranma, at least I don't
think so. It had to be an impostor of some kind."
Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Someone who could impersonate Ranma? Do you
know how unlikely
that sounds?"
"I know what it sounds like, Nabiki," Akane continued, "But how else can
you explain Ranma
knowing English, Mathematics, giving well thought out speeches, and not
fighting."
Akane's eyes widened, "Not fighting...That person didn't get into one
fight
today, he didn't insult me,
he didn't even make a wrong, pigheaded, or condescending comment to anyone
all day!"
Nabiki spit out her tea. Ranma, not stick his foot in his mouth at least
once for the entire day?
"Akane, that's impossible. Ranma may be an upstanding young man, but he's
a
thoughtless, slightly idiotic,
upstanding young man."
"Nabiki, I need you to find out if Ranma has been kidnapped, and if he
has,
who did it. If that was
Ranma, it wasn't the Ranma we knew and it could just be some passing
weirdness. If it wasn't Ranma, then
we need to go rescue him."
Nabiki frowned. It seems some of the rumours were true, at least of a
Ranma that was acting
extremely odd from what everyone knew about him. First his mother wants
to
know about Ranma's seeming
inability to have a normal male mind concerning sex. Now Akane thinks
Ranma
is too kind, considerate,
and intelligent to be himself. The next thing she knew people would be
telling her that the big lug had more
potential to earn an income than her! "I'll look into it, for free. If
this isn't Ranma, then my biggest source of
income has flown out the window, and I want him back."
Akane smiled, "Let's see if he's in his room."
"She's not home, Akane." Kasumi said as she came into the room with some
more tea. "She got
dressed and went out with her mother for diner and to go shopping."
Both of Soun's younger daughters boggled at this thought. Ranma, willing
to go shopping with his
mother? The man who hated to be in any store longer than five minutes?
"What was she wearing?" Asked Nabiki slowly.
"Oh, that nice mini-skirt outfit Aunt Nodoka bought for her a while back.
You know the one Akane, it
was when you both outgrew your bra's and had to look for new ones."
Akane gasped upon breathing in tea the wrong way, and looked at Nabiki,
"I
don't think I'll be around
for supper this evening."
Nabiki nodded slightly, "Neither will I. There is something that I need
to
do."
Both girls tried to be casual about it, but as soon as they got to the
street they started running.
Ranma, going with his mother dressed as a girl? It had to be an
impostor,
or a magical clone, or
something. It might even have been a case of some demon possessing the
boy,
and they had to find out.
Kasumi blinked as she picked up the teacups her sisters left behind, "I
hope that wasn't because of
something I said."
***
Mousse was grumbling from the roof of the Nekohanten. He had learned,
from
observation, that
Ranma was not one to annoy past a certain point. Of course, if he had
known
what Ranma was able to do,
that he was able to defeat a Pheonix by killing it's body, then he would
never have originally challenged him.
Ranma was power incarnate.
He thought back to seeing a human, one who did not have any Divine
Lineage,
Dragon Blood, or
Pheonix Infusion, take on an immortal who was considered a God and win.
There were other 'Pheonix', the
lesser birds who did not have the powers of rebirth, but for one to take
on
a being who could incinerate the
planet and win was beyond comprehension. In an earlier age, Saotome Ranma
would have been
considered a God, or a Demi-God, such as Herakles had been.
To have been fighting such power in his pursuit of Shan Pu...
Shuddering would have been too easy to contemplate.
Looking down at the street, he stared, took off his glasses, cleaned
them,
put them back on, and
stared again.
He was seeing things. He had to have been. Perhaps it was time to see
an
eye doctor in this
country, get some new glasses or perhaps those contact lenses he had heard
about, if they did not interfere
with his curse. Yes, a new lighter, and much more flattering pair of
glasses would be the best thing he could
do for himself, instead of these that were provided by those Canadian aid
workers. Perhaps that way
illusions, such as what he saw below, could be forever banished.
After all, he knew of Genma's 'Man Among Men' promise and what it would
mean, so there was no
way that he was seeing Ranma, of all people, female, dressed as a very
modern young girl in a miniskirt,
with his mother, who would more than likely take his head if he appeared
that way.
Dropping into the alley behind the Nekohanten, Mousse looked at the
building. *No, not tonight. I
can't put up with the usual crap to prove myself to a woman who has no
idea
what love really is. Stupid
laws. They're so damned outdated and illogical. Why can't those
hidebound
old women become a part of
this century. I've got to get away for a while, anywhere to forget what's
been happening. The bar would be
the best place to go for now.*
The young Master of Hidden Weapons left, expecting to spend a few
thousand,
perhaps as much as
one hundred thousand, yen on a good tasting liquor, with as high an
alcohol
content as was possible.
***
Ryouga looked at the sign in front of him, blinked, checked the GPS unit
once more, and sighed.
"Figures," he muttered, depressed. "When I want to find Akari's, I end
up
at the Dojo. Even this
technological wonder can't help my sense of direction."
Ryouga opened the gate and went in, deciding that since he was in the
neighbourhood, he might as
well stop by and say hello. Maybe Ranma could help him figure out what
was
wrong, since he bought the
unit. Perhaps he input the wrong co-ordinates or something, since he and
Ranma had gone around writing
down all the places Ryouga considered important, such as his home, the
Dojo,
Akari's, and the school.
Ryouga confirmed the co-ordinates himself, so it was the only explanation.
He knocked on the door frame before entering, "Hello, is anyone home?"
Kasumi came out of the kitchen, "Oh, hello Ryouga-kun, no one is home at
the moment, but if you
would like to wait, I can prepare some tea."
Ryouga smiled. Kasumi was always so nice to everyone, to the point where
people thought that she
was absolutely clueless to what happened around her. Of course, having
spent so much time around the
Dojo, he knew differently, "Thank-you Kasumi, I would appreciate that."
While he was waiting, he decided to look at the co-ordinate on the GPS
and
compare it to the
written co-ordinates he had. The co-ordinates for Akari's matched, so he
looked at the unit, wondering if it
could be broken. Since there was no obvious damage, he tried inputting
other co-ordinates, such as
Ukyou's or the Nekohanten. All of them said that he had arrived.
"The Deities must hate me." Ryouga said as he looked at the unit which
had
been his hope of
actually getting places. "Either that, or someone, somewhere, is trying
to
tell me something."
"What was that Ryouga-kun?"
Ryouga clutched at his chest for a second. Damn she was quiet when she
wanted to be. "Nothing
Kasumi, do you know where Ranma went?"
Kasumi smiled pleasantly, "Ranma-chan went out with her mother, they
should
be back after their
shopping trip, since both of them were talking about getting some new
outfits so she wouldn't be much of a
tomboy anymore."
Ryouga sipped his tea slowly, trying not to panic. His sense of
direction
really did it this time, he
was in another universe, one without the GPS satellites in orbit. It was
the only explanation for Ranma
going shopping with _HER_ mother in order to become less of a tomboy...
***
If it had been in character, Ranma would have laughed long and loud at
the
sight of the store her
mother wanted to shop in. Ok, she was only thinking of putting in
something
like this, although it was a little
bit perverted, but for her dreams to pursue this. Well, she was used to
unusual dreams, and it may also give
her some ideas for the second, hidden story, not that she would tell the
others until it was ready for the final
compile.
Shaking her head a little, and desperately keeping a smile from her face,
Ranma followed her
mother into the most unusual store she would ever go into.
"Ranma-chan, now that you are a young woman, I think it's time we get you
something for when you
get married, and to help you out when your husband ignores you." Nodoka
said, a small smile on her lips. If
she was wrong about her daughter, her sons deception would be exposed.
Either way, she would get what
she wanted in the end. Grandchildren.
"Mother," Ranma began, "Are you sure we should go in there with so many
people around?"
"Are you afraid of going in Ranma?"
Ok, how to play this, the bold, full of life woman who thinks nothing of
sex, or the shy, demure, girl
who her mother would be shocked if she went in willingly. Well, her
character was supposed to be a nice
girl, so..."Well, a little bit. I mean the classes at school were
embarrassing, and to enter so brazenly...It's
unseemly for a young woman."
Nodoka blinked, then blinked again. Ranma, her child, admitting fear?
"It
will be all right. Besides,
it's better than coming in here with your boyfriend."
Ranma giggled, "I suppose you're right mom. I can just imagine what he'd
think of me."
Nodoka was slightly shocked at that admission. *Perhaps I should think
of
changing the
engagement, if I can find the boy that my daughter likes. Otherwise, I
could just open it up and see which
boy...person, can win my daughters heart. It may not be wise to engage
her
to the first boy that catches her
eye.*
***
Around the corner from the store, both Akane's and Nabiki's eyes were
wide
open in shock. They
still couldn't believe what they heard, and it was obvious that Ranma's
mother believed that she was a girl.
Still, Ranma, their Ranma, _HAD_ _A_ _BOYFRIEND_!?!?!
"I want his name Nabiki. I want to know who the pervert is that is
taking
advantage of _MY_
Ranma-chan!" Akane growled out. "Forget the impostor bit, if Ranma is
thinking of having a boyfriend, it has
to be some kind of magic potion or something. Like the time Ryouga wanted
Ranma, or perhaps like Kuno's
wishing sword. Either way, I _will_ _kill_ the pervert, and you're going
to
help me!"
Nabiki could only nod, although she didn't really hear what she was
agreeing to. *Masaka! It has to
be the curse, or Ranma's father really screwed up his mind. Given what
his
father put him through, it's
probably the later. What kind of horror, or hell, did he put his child
through? Could he have molested
Ranma in some way to cause this and his girl form is really part of a
separate personality?*
"I'm going to find the pervert. Let's see. The possibilities are
Happousai, Kuno, Ryouga, that
damned kissing pervert who skates, the guys who tried to marry Ranma, or
perhaps someone new. I don't
care how long it takes, I'll kill him for trying to take _MY_ Ranma away
from me." Akane continued to
grumble, wanting more than anything to see what Ranma was up to in that
sex
shop.
Nabiki shook her head to clear it. She had to find out exactly what was
happening, not only for
Nodoka's sake, or Ranma's, but for the peace of Nerima. If this was
learned, by anyone, the whole district
could go up in flames as angry fiancé's tried to interrogate innocent
boys.
If that happened, all bets were off
as far as the government was concerned. If Akane learned of...
Nabiki winced, as she finally heard what Akane was saying. *Perhaps the
best thing to hope for is
some damage control...*
***
Ranma looked around, and kept her eyes shinning as though she was a five
year old in a candy
store. She had seen most of this stuff before, hell, thanks to Nabiki's
picture sessions, she had more lingerie
and intimate apparel than most girls. The first rack she went to were of
some delicate sets of almost see
through intimates, and decided to play her role to the hilt. "Mom, can I
have a few of these?"
"Well, daughter, we'll look those over after we see what's in this
cabinet." Nodoka replied, indicating
a display case.
Ranma looked at what was inside and almost lost control. "Those
are...large
mom, are they
sculptures of some kind?"
"No dear, they are meant to be used by a girl when her husband is away."
Ranma looked again, "Are you sure? I mean, the size of those, I don't
think they'd fit."
Nodoka's eyebrows raised. Admittedly she pointed out devices that were
very large, but for her
daughter to even indicate that they were too large told her that she was
no
longer a virgin. She'd definitely
have to look for the boy Ranma wanted to marry, "Well, our bodies can
accommodate more than you would
think daughter. How about I choose one for you to use whenever you are
feeling a bit needy?"
"Ok," Ranma replied, indicating the rear of the store. "I want to see
what's back there."
Curious herself, Nodoka followed her daughter, and saw what was in back.
Well, if her daughter
was a lady, she wouldn't want any of this. In fact, it would limit the
number of men that her daughter could
find as a mate.
Ranma looked on at all of the leather armour hanging on the walls.
Chest
plates, skirts, face
masks, just what a magical girl needed. In fact, she could use this as a
place where magical girls went to get
their uniforms and costumes made! "Mom, can I get some of this?"
Nodoka almost fainted at hearing those words. "O..of course dear. We
just
need to make sure they
fit correctly."
Ranma wasted little time in cornering a salesperson, and striping down to
her panties and bra in
order to get a custom made set of armour. Looking around, she began to
get
some ideas of what she
wanted, such as that one piece bit of armour that would be something like
a
swimsuit, the boots would be a
nice addition, but without those thin, high heels, maybe some lower, wider
heels, and a wider area for her
toes, and a split leather skirt would be good. Soon she was in full
discussion with the sales person about
what she wanted, and the possibilities involved, such as gloves, mask,
whips, chains, etc.
Nodoka just stood there, until she decided to head back to the outer
section of the store, going
towards the magazine racks. *Books. I need books and information on
this...lifestyle my daughter has
chosen. Maybe then I can figure out which one of the boys she knows likes
her like this, and I can set a
meeting with his parents. To imagine, my daughter likes to control men
like
that! At least this way she won't
make the same mistakes I did with Genma.*
***
Ukyou was worried. Not that was anything new, considering she ran her own
business, went to
school, participated in various adventures, and was beginning to get an
idea
of what life could be like when
she married Ranma. Then again, she wasn't usually worried about the man
she
loved, since he was so buff,
and tight, and looked so...
She faded off into a small fantasy, one that had become more frequent in
the past few weeks.
While she had originally been fantasizing about Ranma as a husband, taking
care of the children as she
made money, or less often, sharing the lifestyle of a travelling chef,
recent events had her thinking along the
lines of how he'd be in bed, or if Ranma's girl form would scream
when...extremely excited. While Ukyou did
think of Ranma as a boy, some of the time, she had easily recognized that
being legally male, and Ranma's
penchant for water, that having a wife would actually be a good thing.
And
it provided so many wonderful
and entertaining possibilities as well.
Shaking off her thoughts, at least on how well she could satisfy her
eventual wife in bed, Ukyou
started to think about what happened at school. While Ranma was her
friend,
and hopefully, her life mate,
the life he led was stranger than most in Japan could ever hope to match,
and what happened today was, to
her, an indicator that Ranma was just about ready to leave Nerima,
possibly
for good. Being the only one
who actually listened to Ranma most of the time, barring her fits of
jealousy, she already knew Ranma was
hiding a lot.
Like most, she had assumed that Ranma was hiding his fighting prowess,
and
using all of the
battles with Happousai, Cologne, Kuno, Ryouga, and the rest as a way of
improving his martial arts. Then
again, Ranma's mind was like a high end government computer, dedicated
only
to battle. She had probably
been the only one in English to notice that Ranma had given a definition
that was not in their standard
translation dictionary, and it wasn't until computer class that she
managed
to read the definition in the rear of
the programming manual. Ranma wasn't really hiding his abilities in
battle,
although that seemed to be a
good excuse, he was hiding his abilities in being a very good student.
Thinking about it a lot, it made more sense than most people would
imagine.
First, Ranma's life with his father hardly concentrated on academics,
especially with his travelling all
the time. English, being recognized as one of the International languages
important to know, he would
naturally have picked it up. Passing grades in English would be
impossible,
unless he was hiding how good
he was, and being able to read in many languages would be an asset,
especially since many of the more
unusual techniques were written in various languages, including codes that
were designed only for use by
people who knew that school of the art. This being the case, Ranma would
be
very familiar with
cryptography. and cryptographic notation, and thus mathematics. To
understand situations no matter
where he travelled in the world, a good understanding of geography and
sociology would be required. For
people not to have realized that Ranma would have been held back by
several
grades if he wasn't very
intelligent meant he had done a significant amount of acting, and knew
people better than anyone else
would believe. *But why keep the engagements up in the air?"
Thinking about that for a little while, she realized that Ranma was
keeping
the engagements floating
for two good reasons. The first being honour, not his honour, but
everyone
else's. If he chose a fiancé out
of the many people after him, then Ranma would be ruining the honour of
others. She remembered Ranma
telling her about how the famous 'eating' competition had happened, and
what
it had meant for others.
The second reason she could figure out was because he was not ready to
get
married yet.
Ranma did not go out on dates, in fact he avoided them, trying not to
hurt
others feelings. The only
times she knew of that Ranma had agreed to dating had been because someone
had dangled a possible
'cure' in front of his face. However, it made little sense since Ranma
used his female form just as often as
his male form, and was also comfortable with it. Most of the time, he
seemed to be looking for cure for the
others than for himself.
*If Ranma is ready to go somewhere else, the best thing I can do is talk
to
Aunt Saotome, and ask
her to send Ranma, as a girl, to a private school where she can become a
scientist or teacher. Hell, Ranma
could probably pass the Juken easily at the moment, so it would probably
be
a matter of polishing her skills
at a good private school. A good private _boarding_ school, with me being
her room mate. That way, I can
get her to relax a bit, not have to push the engagement so much, and
eventually seduce my future wife! It's
the perfect plan!*
***
Nodoka paid for everything that Ranma wanted, from the barely there sleep
wear, to the leather
outfits which would have to be picked up at a later date. She had also
included several items for her
daughter that she had also picked up, such as what they were looking at
before, and several books for
herself. From what she had already read, it could be any number of the
boys
that she knew of. *That
Tatewaki boy seems to be a likely candidate since he likes to be hurt by
Ranma, thinking it's her way of
showing love. Then again, Ryouga-kun is also a likely possibility, since
he
does like fighting Ranma a lot,
and that he also tried to get her by magic. Mu Tsu could also be a
possibility because of his culture, and the
fact that he loses so often, although Ukyou-chan's waitress may be a
possibility because she enjoys being a
very submissive young lady instead of a boy. And it may be someone I
don't
know about.*
"Mom, are you ok?" Ranma asked, as she looked at her mother.
"Yes, Ranma-chan. Why do you ask?" Nodoka replied while looking at her
daughter with new
understanding.
"Because you looked spaced out for a moment." Ranma said. "Is there
something wrong?"
"No dear, I was just thinking about how you would look in your new
leather
outfit."
"Yeah! It's great isn't it?" Ranma exclaimed enthusiastically as she
started towards the door. "Who
would have guessed they dressed people in those costumes? Now I know
where
to get what ever I need
when I need to fight anybody!"
Nodoka almost fell on her face at that statement. *I'm going to have to
make sure I find that boy
who took my baby's virginity, and have him marry her, or open up the
competition to anyone who can get her
to the alter. I am _not_ going to have a daughter that wants to greet
every
person she meets in _that_ outfit,
especially in public. It's already bad enough that she had a specific
idea
of what she wanted, Ranma will not
be a girl of loose morals!*
***
Akane glared as she watched Ranma leave the store, several bags in her
hand, as well as those
bags in Aunt Nodoka's hand. She already knew that Ranma's mother was a
bit
of a pervert, especially with
her trying to get Ranma to 'peek' into girls windows. For her to have
brought Ranma here, was just more
proof that she needed to get him out of her hands. *After I find that
pervert who's trying to steal Ranma, I
am making _sure_ we move and Aunt Nodoka is far away from us. A private
boarding school will do, and
then I can show Ranma how a person shows love, in the _proper_ way. I
will
_not_ have _my_ fiancé
lusting after boys!*
"Akane, calm down and think for a little while. You can't just go around
trying to kill every boy you
meet. We have to be cautious and careful, and then get the boy and talk
to
him. It will be a lot worse if you
just go off and try to kill him for something that he probably has no idea
about." Nabiki stated while laying a
hand on her sisters shoulder. "Ranma could just have had a hard knock to
the head, or it could be her...his
way of coping with the curse."
Akane grunted, and tried to think rationally about it. "You're right
Nabiki, I'll keep my cool, and since
you know more about being sneaky, I'll let you find the pervert. Just let
me know who it is, and help me
come up with a way to keep Ranma for myself."
It was the best she could hope for, for now. "I promise little sister.
I
will find the boy Ranma's been
seeing, and I will tell you who he is."
Akane however, was thinking a little bit differently. She had promised
not
to go after the perverts
who could be the ones after Ranma, but she did not promise not to tell
Shampoo and Ukyou. Nor did she
promise not to tell Kodachi, if she could convince her that 'the pig
tailed
girl' and Ranma were one and the
same. *If I can't confront the pervert, and beat him up, I'm sure the
others would only be too glad to do so.
They may be competition, but they are the _proper_ competition, unlike any
of those pervert boys!*
"Let's go home Akane, I don't think it would be a good idea to be
following
her like this, she may get
suspicious." Nabiki said while sighing in relief. With Akane agreeing to
let her handle the situation, things
were not as desperate as they might get. She was not willing to see
Nerima's death toll take a sudden sharp
climb while her little sister 'investigated' matters herself.
***
In a nearby mansion, a phone rang, and the man sitting at the desk
answered
it. When he heard
what his informant told him, he knew that, at least for the next few
weeks,
his actions and those who were
closest to him, had to change. In a way, the call was not unexpected,
given
the confusion in Nerima, but he
had hoped his hobbies would last a little while longer. Pressing a
button,
he turned to the revealed monitors
along one wall, and searched for the various occupants of the estate.
Finding the people he wanted, he
summoned them to his office, despite their protests.
Yes, someone was out there, dangerous to him and the people he knew. He
did have his
suspicions, especially given the way people were talking. However, now
was
not the time for what could
easily be handled later. He had time, and that was to his advantage.
***
Ryouga was still smiling, and drinking more tea. Tempting as it was to
run
away, as far away as he
could get, he knew he couldn't risk it. If he had, somehow, ended up in
another world, then this place was
the only possibility of getting home. Given that, he was unsurprised as
Ranma walked in, looking very
pretty. He was not, however, prepared for what was about to happen.
"Ryouga-kun! You're back! Where were you? Have you eaten? Any new
adventures to talk
about?" Ranma exclaimed cutely and enthusiastically.
Ryouga laughed a bit nervously, "Hi Ranma-chan. You're as bubbly as
ever."
Ranma was having fun with this dream. Ryouga being a friend, without
their
usual sparing was
something that could be said to have never happened. Now, how to make
this
really fun. "At least you're
back in time for our date tomorrow!"
Nodoka raised an eyebrow at this, and narrowed her eyes at the boy. *Is
he
the one?*
Ryouga laughed a little more nervously. Kami! In this world he was
Ranma's boyfriend, and from
the look Nodoka was giving him, one who still had to prove himself!
"Well,
I did try to make it back as fast as
possible, Ranma-chan."
Giggling, more as a way of stopping herself from bursting out laughing,
Ranma gestured to her
bags, "I was just shopping, and I've got to show you what we bought, wait
until you see them on me!"
At this point Nodoka stepped in. Ryouga was definitely suspect in having
sex with her daughter.
"Perhaps after your date tomorrow dear. Right now, I need to talk with
Ryouga for a little while. Go and put
away your new clothes and items, and I'll talk with you later."
"Ok, mom." Well, at least her subconscious wasn't being that perverted.
Her mother stepped in at
exactly the right time to prevent everything becoming x-rated.
Ryouga nervously watched Ranma leave the room, and then gulped at the
contained fury on
Nodoka's face. "Ehhhh, what do you want to talk about Saotome-sama?"
"Walk with me for a while, young man. I believe we have much to
discuss."
Nodoka said coldly.
Gulping, Ryouga followed Nodoka out of the house, and hoped that she was
not going to take his
life. What kind of cad was the Ryouga of this universe?
"Ryouga-kun, I need to know if you love my daughter." Nodoka stated, as
they walked out of the
gate.
"I...Well...She is a good friend, and I do enjoy being with her. I'm
just
not sure we're ready for
marriage as of yet," he stated nervously, "We're still in school, and
well,
I need to find out if I can take care of
her properly."
Nodoka nodded, it seemed the boy was honourable enough, and was looking
towards the future.
"So, will I have to search for you, or will my daughter be disappointed
when
you fail to show up _again_."
Ryouga gulped hard. This was not going the way he wanted, and he was
definitely not enjoying this
confrontation. His counterpart sounded like he had disappointed his
girlfriend several times, and her mother
was getting tired of it. In a way, it was a not so subtle warning that if
her daughter was not satisfied in every
way possible, then he would face her wrath, probably at the end of her
katana. If this is what the Genma in
his universe had to face, then it was no wonder he took off with Ranma for
over ten years. She was scary!
"Ahhh...I was thinking of staying at the dojo for the night, that way I
can
be ready. The problem is I don't
really have a formal outfit to wear in order to take her out tomorrow."
"Well, we'll just have to solve that problem. Of course, I'll expect you
to take her out to a nice place
for dinner, and to show her a good time. Just not _TOO_ good a time."
Nodoka stated, looking the boy in
the eye. "When we get back, you are _going_ to be on your best behaviour,
is that clear Ryouga-kun?"
Ryouga gulped again. Ok, not in every way possible. Then again,
avoiding
the possibility of having
sex with Ranma was fine with him, even if this Ranma was a girl and
sexually
active with his counterpart,
which was likely given the stare he was getting. "Perfectly,
Saotome-sama."
***
*Oh shit!* Nabiki thought to herself, as she looked at Akane who was
glowing with a very bright
aura. *If Ryouga is dating Ranma, he'll be killed if Akane gets a hold of
him.*
*I'll kill him. I'll make him sorry he ever came here. He'll look nice
skinned, and after I make sure
that he painfully loses what all perverts seem to think with. To think
that
I thought Ryouga was a nice guy,
but it seems he _still_ hasn't given up on getting Ranma for himself.* The
youngest Tendo seethed.
"Calm down Akane, you know how things tend to get blown out of proportion
around here. With how
Aunt Saotome was reacting, it's possible she just jumped to conclusions
and
trapped him into it. After all,
when has he ever gone after a girl without having a major case of nerves!"
Nabiki said nervously, not willing
to see the damage the eventual fight would cause. "I'll find out for
sure,
just keep calm.
"I'll keep calm, Nabiki," Akane stated, letting her aura flare out. *But
as soon as I tell the others, it
will be open season on Hibiki, and he's going to wish that he never tried
to
get Ranma by Magic, just like last
time. The best part is, there is no way this can be blamed on me when the
others kill him.*
To Be Continued...
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