Rip this sucker apart for me, PLEASE!!
Flame the hell out of this because I want this chapter
to be ready before tomorrow at this time!

Twenty months..
It took twenty months before I saw my Ranchan again.
Akane and I looked everywhere. As Herb dropped by my
grill every once in a while to give us information,
it became obvious that the dragon felt that he was to
blame for whatever happened, but he refused to tell us
what it was.
So we searched.
Our first big find was with the policeman who arrested
Ranchan. He was not the brightest of fellows, and we
had to travel all the way to the Central Kyoto Police
station just to see him. Apparently he was visiting a
cousin of his or something in Nerima. He directed us
to the Tokyo board of corrections, and that's where
the fun began.
We spent sixteen months looking for any news on
Saotome Ranma, and then Haabu came up with something.
A small document, certain parts were whited out from
the copies he gave us, and he refused to say why,
except that it was for our own good. A sweet gesture,
but Akane's mallet didn't think so.
The file contained the records of a person who, within
the first three days at an unnamed facility, blew a
door off of the hinges, got zapped frequently, and
became the captain of the Kenpo team.
Haabu offered to take us there, but we had to promise
that we would not look at the sign naming the
facility.
This was all grating on my nerves as well as Akane's
But we accepted. We had to.
When we entered the facility, it was very...clean.
Haabu approached the bored-looking receptionist as she
looked up in surprise
"We're here to see Saotome."
"Let's see....would that be Saotome Ran-"
"Yes. That Saotome." Haabu seemed to be straining.
"How long will it be?"
"We can have her in the meeting room in fifteen
minutes," The receptionist started making calls.
"You mean him...right?" Akane asked confusedly.
"No, Ma'am. this facility is, by nature, women only,
except for the staff, which on the inside is all
male."
We turned slowly towards Herb.
"Okay...what's up, Dragon...what happened to Ranchan?"
I was the first to speak up.
"Please, tell us. I'm tired, and I want to know what
happened that day." Akane looked as if she was
bordering on tears.
"The day of Ranma's arrest, a letter from me arrived,
warning him that two very precious artifacts of mine
had been stolen. I believe you know of these
artifacts, Tendo-san."
Akane gasped.
"What? What happened?" I was completely in the dark.
What could have happened to Ranma? 
Akane calmly explained the horror of the Kaisui-Fuu
and the Chisuiton to me.
"Oh...gods."
"But Happousai destroyed the kettle...it's remains
were all over our dojo, Herb!" Akane gasped as she
graped the meaning of her own words and shot Herb a
frightened look.
Herb looked slightly angry.
"The Ranma we see here may not be the Ranma we once
knew, and I believe it is time to test that theory."
We entered the door that the receptionist opened for
us.
"The third door on the right," the woman drawled,
quickly hurrying back to her post.

* * *

Memoirs. Part 2: Memoirs of a Woman.

After the fight with Yoiko, she, Sera and I quickly
became great friends. Yoiko even asked me to teach her
Kenpo, which I graciously accepted, minus a few of my
more...dangerous techniques.
In return, I asked Yoiko, who was very smart, to help
me with the classes in various subjects we were taught
each day.
I knew I was losing my grip on my manhood...but I
slowly stopped caring. I knew Akane wouldn't want me
anymore, and that Ukyo's honor had been satisfied...I
just hoped that, when I got out, there would be
somebody there for me.
Doc Izzy helped me a lot.
After the initial meeting, he treated me as if all
that had `supposedly' happened is true, because, as he
explained it, even if I had hallucinated it, virtual
problems in the mind would become real, to the mind,
and create the same complexes as if it had been real.
The doc helped me learn the one thing that had got me
into this place by not being there.
Prudence.
I learned when to, and not to fight, when to, and not
to kill (which is always, the doc said), and when to
not insert my foot, and Hokkaido, into my mouth.
The two years passed slowly, and I slowly gave up
every last shred of my manhood, except for the art,
and my `orientation.'
I never dreamt, that on January 5th, 2000, they would
come for me.
When they called for me, I was training, as usual,
with Yoiko.
When they said that I had a visitor I nearly lost my
control and hurt Yoiko.
"You know who it is, don't you." The older-seeming
girl asked, sympathetically.
"H-hai...I think so..."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"Hai."

* * *

When I walked into the room, on the other side of the
clear wall were two redheaded girls, one with
short-cut hair and bangs in the front, the other with
slightly longer hair, but no bangs, a hairstyle that
would've suited a boy just as well.
A boy...
"Ranma...?"
"It's Ranko, now," she was obviously having trouble
breathing.
I leaned up against the glass where she was, but she
still remained somehow distant, not the man I had
known, and loved.
"So...is it true then? Are you really...stuck?"
The girl I thought I knew nodded slowly.
"Akane...Ranma died in my fourth day here, maybe even
earlier. Aside from the art I have not even a shred of
the past I left behind."
Ukyo chose this time to speak up.
"Not even us...?"
Ranma...no...Ranko clutched the hand of the girl
behind her.
"I'll never forget you two. Ukyo...you were my best
friend, and you, Akane, were my love. I still do love
both of you, but the fear that you could no longer
love me began to drown even that out over time."
"So it's true..." came the quiet implication of
surprise from the other girl.
Ranko quietly stood up and kissed her on the cheek.
Suddenly the door bust open and a rather young-looking
Japanese doctor burst into the room.
"Ohayo, Izzy-sama," Ranma said with an affectionate
smile, forgetting the drama of the moment for a bit.
"What's the news?"
"Ranko and Yoiko...it gives me great pleasure to
announce that you two will be released from our
facilities at the end of this month." The doctor was
beaming with pride and joy. "I wish you two the best
of luck, and would like to notify you that full use of
the building's phones are yours to call anybody you
may need to, to find a place to sta-"
The doctor halted as he noticed Ukyo and I standing
there.
He gave a meaningful look to Ranko.
"So, Ranko...do you have somebody to call?"
"Her place is already set up," Ukyo said.
Ranko broke out in a smile.
"Oh, Ucchan...thank you so much!"
She halted...
"Um...can my friend come too?"
Yoiko looked surprised.
"Ne, Ranko...these types and I don't mix...I'll come
visit later. And besides, from what I hear this chef
makes some great Okonomiyaki."

* * *

We quickly made arrangements to move into Ucchan's and
chatted about how much fun it would be. But Akane
looked sad, and I knew why.
I couldn't tell them everything, because if they knew
of my vengeance, they would try and stop me, and I
could not let that happen.
I would have my vengeance.

* * *

January passed like a flash, and I had never seen
Ranko so happy, but I also noticed that she seemed to
be preparing herself for something, more determined
than ever to live her life, I guessed at the time.
Prompted by this, I set up shop in Nerima and found a
Job, not telling Ranko. I thought it more prudent, for
the moment, to watch from afar.
Ranko and I had great fun setting up her record. and
we managed to even give another chance at college by
setting her up as a 16-year old in high school, which
was ironically where she started when she first came
to Nerima.
It hadn't taken more than the first of those two years
to realize that Ranko wasn't aging.
Unfortunately, that meant that we couldn't just pass
Ranko off as 18 and have her take the entrance exams.
So back to Fuurinkan Ranko went, four years later then
when she started.
This seemed to make her smile even more.

* * *

It was so weird to return to Nerima.
Last time I trod these streets, I couldn't walk ten
feet without being challenged to some duel.
Now it was so...peaceful.
Granted, last time I trod these streets I wore neither
a dress, nor panties and a bra.
I considered visiting the NekoHanten before I had
initially planned to, but figured that it could wait,
being the only trip I would probably make in the next
few weeks that was for pleasure.
I candidly checked my purse to assure that my money
was still there. I had gleaned a sum of money, a sum
that would even have caused Nabiki to blush from the
betting pools on the numerous Kenpo matches I won in
the Ward.
My first order of business was to doff the cotton gown
as soon as possible, as it wasn't as comfortable as
clothing could get, I was sure, and I really wanted to
try a sun dress.
I immediately entered a clothing store and found a
nice, inexpensive green sundress and a nice straw hat,
paid for them, entered the dressing room, and put them
on.
Liking the feel of the dress, I bought a few others in
assorted colors and a nice black pair of slippers, as
well as some heals, because I was feeling adventurous,
and they could have come in handy.
That being done, I headed the rest of the way to
Ucchan's.

* * *

When I entered Ucchan's I immediately felt at home,
the grill hadn't changed at all in the last two years,
which reminded me, I needed to get a job.
Ukyo was tending to some customers, so I sat at the
counter and waited patiently.
After the small rush of hungry salarymen receded,
Ucchan came to greet me.
"Ranchan! How was your trip? I love the dress!" her
voice seemed a bit strained as she mentioned the
dress.
"Fine, thank you, Ucchan."
"Good! When I agreed to be your guardian your
probation officer gave me some stuff, Ranchan. You
won't believe that I'm supposed to have you `in bed'
at 9 PM every night!" Ukyo took a sultry tone of
voice. "Would you like me to tuck you in too, sugar?"
At which point she dissolved into giggles. 
I gave my friend the benifit of a congenial chuckle.
"Well, Ucchan...it's good to be back. and interesting
to be sixteen again."
"About that, Ranchan...your friend set your sixteenth
birthday as February 24th in your records...I think
that she really wanted you to have a fresh start. So
we're going to invite a few friends, none of the
Tendos except for Akane, to come and visit, and we'll
introduce `Ranko.'
I nodded, not wanting to let Ucchan know my plans for
the next few days, and went to the bedroom to find a
drawer for my things.

* * *

It took months for me to get over what I had done.
I had effectively killed my child, sentenced him to a
prison where it was certain he'd never be released.
Never released with any luck, that is.
For a while I dreamt that he came back, and he killed
me, but I could always laugh that dream off, for the
very reason for which he was gone was the reason for
which he could never appear.
I was safe.
My son was dead.
My husband was kissing the ground at my feet after I
found out about the panda, and was always so
subservient. I enjoyed him that way. No more running
around chasing prospective suitors and potentially
causing dishonor to my family for that bloated moron.
Oh no. He wwas going to stay right at home, and give
me another child to blank out the dishonor of the
previous disappointment.
But I still had the dreams of my son, long dead,
castrated by fate.
And in every dream, he killed me.
I always felt the pain of that death, and knew by the
very spirit of the blade that shot through my gut that
it was by my own family's blade.
And so did I await the coming of my son, for though I
did not know it my heart did, and though I felt no
remorse for effectively killing him that day, I have
died every night these past two years for my cowardly
ways, and have come to await what fate may bring.

* * *

I slipped into the house as quietly as a mouse, or
perhaps a pig, but most definitely not as quietly as a
cat.
Assuming it was the right house, I would have my
vengeance this night, and two years of planning would
come to fruition.
I navigated the hallways of the modest home and came
to the master bedroom, and realized that I was most
definitely in the right place, for there, lying in the
bed, were my two progenitors, no doubt revelling in
the restfulness following the act that they must have
thought would relieve them of the memory of their
mistake. Me.
I tore my cowl off to let my hair roam free, the hair
of which I was so proud, the hair which I protested
every moment until I actually had it, then I loved it.

***

"Come on, Ranko! You'll love it!" Yoiko chimed in as I
sat in the barber's chair in the ward.
"Pigtails are out of style, Ranko-san!" Sera seemed to
be a bit bouncier than usual today.
The style they had picked out for me looked like a
boy's...but perhaps that would be good if I ever got
cured of this. The problem was, that at the same
time...it looked so feminine.
I slowly nodded my head and shut my eyes, and awaited
the cut, while clutching the Dragon's Whisker tightly
in my right hand. Not that I needed it any more, but
it sometimes felt to me as if it was my only
connection to my manhood.
There was, obviously, no pain.
When I opened my eyes the other two girls positioned
me in front of a mirror.
What I saw nearly made me fall out of the chair.
Looking back at me was a beautiful sixteen-year old
girl, even if I was nineteen, with short-cut hair,
pouting lips, and a great body.
"What a difference a pigtail makes..." Yoiko breathed
in my ear.
"Cut that out!" I smiled. Maybe this wasn't so bad...
Sera immedeately gave me a playful glomp as the three
of us broke down into laughter, enjoying the moment
and the birth of a new me.

Just a few weeks later, there was a heavy silence over
the Ward. Something was wrong.
I awoke to my well-earned white sheets to complete
lack of sound. Literally nothing was happening, so I
got up, slipped on a robe, and exited my room.
In the hallway, a few girls were leaning against a
wall near my room, chatting idly. They seemd to be as
uneasy as I was, but they still offered me a warm
smile as I gave a wary glance around the hallway.
"Where is everybody?" Despite the fact that it was
late morning and there were propably very few people
asleep, I whispered anyway. Maybe it was simply the
morose atmosphere in the ward that caused me too be
that way.
One of the two conversing girls silently pointed to
the door that led into the primary bath house and
returned to her conversation.
As I opened the door to the bath house, I came
face-to-pectorals of one of the large orderlies that
populated the ward during assemblies and emergencies.
Emergency. For some reason this set off one of my
internal alarms. Something was wrong.
I excused myself quietly and attempted to push my way
past the guard, but he simply raised one hamhand and
shook his head, giving me not his usual icy glare, but
a pitious, sympathetic look.
I tried to push in to the bath house again, still
remaining silent, and this time the guard used a
little more force, knocking me to the floor.
As he pushed me the second time, I got a glance behind
him and saw red. A very familiar red. Blood.
I increased my efforts tenfold and eventually pushed
past the guard, only to lay my eyes upon a scene that
was surely straight out of nightmares.
Lying in the corner of the bath, inert and pale, was
Arashi Sera.
The look in her eyes was anything but the vacancy that
people always described as being concurrant with
death, but a pallid, sorrowful stare, betraying the
insecurity that my friend must have been feeling, and
yet broadcasting that Sera must have wanted this, for
she looked so...peaceful.
She had been so cheerful. Was that all a mask?
Finally, I was able to tear my gaze to my friend�s
body. She had been dead for hours. What once was a
beautiful, and yet modest figure had been shrivelled
by the water as it drained it�s life into that same
water in some sick form of revenge.
Finally, I looked at Sera�s wrists and saw teh large
wedges of glass that were embedded in them and
accepted that my friend had died.
A hand gently gripped my shoulder and pulled me back,
it was Yoiko.
"She was hurt in ways that we could not imagine,
Ranko."
Yoiko pulled me into a warm embrace, expecting the
tears that never came. There would be no tears.
I envied Sera for her fate, but knew that I coulld not
succumb to it.

***

I drew closer to the bed in a few moments that could
have been hours as I brooded upon the life that had
brought me here..
My time was at hand.
I slowly pulled the little can with a horn on the end
out of my blouse pocket and, with all of the subtlety
of Ryoga asking a girl on a date, I pressed the little
button on the bullhorn.
Nodoka and Genma, for they surely did not care enough
to be called Mother and Father by me, anymore, both
jumped out of the bed in surprise.
"I'm sorry...did I interrupt anything?"
Genma was the first to speak. Apparently he had either
gained courage since we last met, or wasn't coherent
enough to run away.
"Who are you, little girl? This is a private home."
"Indeed, child. Have you no manners?"
"Awww...you mean you don't remember your dear little
Daughter?"
I will never forget the fear I saw in their eyes, for
it was the best thing that had happened to me in the
past two years.
"Ran-ma..." Genma managed to croak out before
fainting.
"Now that is the old man I grew to know and loathe." I
couldn't resist one of my old savage grins.
"I knew you'd come, Ranma." Nodoka said calmly.
I drove into a rage, within an inch of Nodoka's nose
before she could speak.
"Don't you dare call me that!" I fumed. "You killed
Ranma on that day two years ago. Do you remember that?
Don't you remember saying `my son is dead,' because I
sure as hell do! I died that day, but I was reborn."
Indeed. I had died so many times...

*                  *                *

As we stood over the casket, I vowed for Sera�s sake
that I would cry for her when I regained my honor, for
surely these tears were not fit for her grave. Perhaps
I was only telling myself that. Either way, it didn�t
seem to help the feeling I�d had in my gut since
seeing my friend�s corpse sit in that bathtub. I could
hardly be expected to be enjoying this though...right?
As some random Catholic priest recited prayers to morn
a woman who he never new, I searched the funeral for
Yoiko, but for some reason she was nowhere to be
found. I thought she had been Sera�s friend too.
As I left the burial ground, neatly situated just a
few blocks from the Ward, I recieve d a tap on my
shoulder. I knew exactly who it was.
"Why weren�t you there, Yoiko? Wasn�t she your friend
too?"
Yoiko nodded solemnly. "Priests and I don�t get along
very well, Ranchan. I visited the grave after that old
crow left."
Suddenly a gnarled hand gripped my shoulder and
frankly scared the hell out of me, which was ironic,
considering it was the priest.
"It will end, Saotome Ranko. It will end soon."
I never new whether I dreamt that or not. I guess I
did, in hindsight, because the next thing I remember
was waking up in a bed in the ward.

*               *              *

"What are you going to do?"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. I decided
long ago that death was too good for you. I have come
only to let you know that I am back, I am alive, and
that I want my sword."
"No...of all things...why take our family's honor?"
"Because you destroyed that honor. You besmirched our
family name when you abandoned your son, when you
abandoned your daughter to Hell." I was crying now,
something I had not done in my memory. This meeting
was not going as I had planned.
"You were no longer my son. and I raised no daughter."

*                  *                *

"So tell me about your parents." The doc must have not
been thinking that morning.
"I have no parents." This seemed to confuse him.
"Then who bred you? Who educated you?"
"Saotome Genma, and I was borne from Saotome Nodoka" I
knew where this was going.
"And what makes them �not� your parents?"
"They disowned me."
The doctor waited a moment, seeming to barely take
this all in. "So what�s keeping you from earning
reentry into your clan?"
"I don�t want to go back. In going back I become what
I was. When�s Izzy going to get here?"
"He�s sick. He wants me to sub for him."
"You�re doing a shitty job."
It was fun to see the doctor so riled up. I grinned as
I noticed him counting to ten under his breath
"Anyway..." he was nervous. Good. I wanted Izzy back.
"What about your friends?"
It was my turn to be uncomfortable. "I...had a
fiance..."
The doctor�s eyes lit up as if he had found something
important. "Good...what else?"
"Well, pretty much every other person in Nerima Ward
was out to either kill me, marry me, or both."
The doctor began scribbling madly on his notepad.
"I see. And have you ever killed anybody?"
"Twice. Well..sort of."
"Howso?"
"There�s the one you know about, the old pervert, and
there�s one this demigod I wasted a few years back,
but he came back to life."
The doctor finally looked up from his doubtless
all-important notes and gave me an odd stare.
"I think our time�s up, Miss Saotome."
I gave him my best cutie smile and walked out the
door.

*                 *               *

I managed to regain some composure.
"Give me the blade"
"You will pry it from my dead hands!"
I grabbed the blade before she could blink and held it
on my hands, arms stright out and palms facing up.
"I hereby proclaim that Saotome Nodoka, former
mistress of the Clan Saotome is unfit in her guidance
of her family..."
"No! Please, Ranma!"
"...for in her dishonor she has dishonored her entire
family. And so shall this blade be broken, to be
forged anew when the clan Saotome is once again ready
to rise. Or shall it be buried with the last surviving
member of it's clan. She who sullied it's perfection."
By the time I snapped the blade into two pieces
Saotome Nodoka was in hysterics, her heart broken. I
turned away from the broken woman to face Genma, the
monster of a man seeming to have recovered.
"Return when you have regained our honor, and I shall
be proud to call you daughter."
"Regain your honor when I have returned, and I shall
accept you as an adequate father," I said with a
smirk, and with that I left.

*            *             *

I have failed my family.
I have not protected my blade.
I have been given a ritual invitation to Seppuku by
she who was my heir.
I take up what remains of the blade and attempt to
commit Harakiri.
My husband, curse his heart, stops me.
"No, Nodoka. She said she would come back, our honor
can be restored, but not until penance is done."

*              *             *

Some have said that revenge cannot satiate the heart,
but I found that it worked out rather well.
I had one more visit to make, then I would be able to
make due with what I had, and live my life.

*            *               *

That night...I awoke screaming.
I had the dream again...but it was so more real.
Ucchan sat up in her bed as I stood up and crept out
the door to the bathroom to rinse my face off.
When I looked up from the sink Akane was behind me,
and Ukyo behind her.
"Ranchan...what's wrong?" Ukyo said softly. "You
probably woke up the entire neighborhood with that
scream...it sounded as if you were dying.
"I was..." I managed to say.

*              *                *

We sat Ranko down upon the bed, and I guess it was at
that point that I realized that the cocky boy I once
new was dead. Here was a frightened, lost girl.
"Ranko-chan. What's wrong?" I instinctively used the
-chan with Ranma.
She told us.
"Gods...and you've been having this dream since you
went to the `Ward,'" Ukyo said.
Ranko nodded slowly, her bottom lip quivering.
"And t-this time it was more real than any of the
others..."
Thinking of nothing better to do, I gently put my arm
around Ranma and held her close.
She slowly leaned on me and fell asleep.
I looked up to Ukyo for help.
"She's yours, Akane...you deal with her," Ukyo said
with a joking, yet sad smile.
"Ukyo...Ucchan..."
I slowly picked Ranko up, not knowing what else to do,
and took her into my room, but as I tried to set her
onto my bed I found that she wouldn't disengage.
I sighed and cuddled the young girl, at least in body,
close.

*                   *                    *

When I awoke, I was severely Tangled with Akane.
Oh Shoot, Oh Shoot, Oh Shoot...She's going to kill me!
As I tried to unwrap my arms from their death grip
around her Akane opened her eyes.
"Ne...Ranko...no racket, please. You kept Ukyo and I
up late last night."
I nodded, confused, and unentangled the rest of the
way.
As I was leaving the room, Akane sat up and giggled.
"Ranko, dear," I winced at being called this "pull
your slip down; your panties are showing."
I could swear I was blushing in my toes
"You may have learned to be female, but you still have
the modesty of a bakana pervert..."
I quietly gave the slip a tug and went into Ukyo's
room to change.
As I entered, Ukyo fixed me with a level stare and
closed the door behind us.
"What's going on, Ranma?"
I went to my drawer and pulled out a sundress and some
underthings.
"What do you mean?"
Ukyo turned on the small TV in the corner of her room,
which was running an action news report, live from the
southwest quarter of Nerima.
"And here we are, at the house of Saotome Nodoka, the
woman who allegedly turned herself into the police
this morning, claiming that she had attempted Harakiri
last night, and wished to be admitted to the Kyoto
Woman's Ward as soon as possible. 
Her husband, Genma, gave only one comment, saying that
his wife would be spending a few months in the ward,
as a favor from a friend, in order to repent and
regain her family's honor. Interestingly enough, the
Ward is the same place where the girl who is accused
for the death of her son, a Jane Doe who was
unavailable for questioning, served a recent two-year
term in the ward, with time off for good behavior, and
was the captain of the Kenpo team. And now for a
message from our Sponsor, Pocky-BZZT!"
Ukyo turned the television off.
"What part did you have in this?"
"Well I'll be..." is all I could manage.
"Damn it, Ranko! You're not some headstrong kid
anymore! You've been in trouble with the law once
already, and I will not have you jeopardizing your
life again, do you understand me?"
"Ukyo, you're starting to sound like my mother
would..."
She slapped me. Not hard, but enough to let me know
what I had just said.
"Don't you dare compare me to that bitch, Ranchan. I
spent two years of my life searching for you under
every possible stone. I may not be able to give you
the love that Akane can, but I still love you, and I
need you, for me, to play it safe, just this once,
until things clear up for us, okay?"
"Ucchan...I never realized."
"Well you'd damn well better start thinking actively,
Ranchan. You may be just a teen to the rest of the
world, but there are a few people who still know you
and care about you, and Akane and I are among them."
"I just need one more visit, Ucchan. No violence, no
killing, not a bruise. I promise."
"Okay, Ranchan."
Ukyo seemed to cheer up almost instantly.
"Okay. We have a big day planned. We have to buy you
some school uniforms today, so get ready to do some
shopping!"

*                     *                  *

When we were done shopping I had five new outfits, as
well as three sets of gym clothes.
On our way back to Ucchan's we started to pass by the
Ono clinic.
I stopped.
"Ranchan..." Ukyo warned softly.
"It's okay, Ukyo. I'd like to say hi to Tofu and see
if he remembers me"
Without another word I entered the clinic.
The drawing room of the Ono clinic was surprisingly
neat and kempt, and as I entered I noticed that there
had been a doorbell installed.
Thinking of no better way to introduce myself once
again, I rang the bell.
"Hello?" Came the call from inside the clinic. The
door buzzed open, another new addition. "Come on in!"
I cautiously entered the clinic to find Dr. Tofu
sitting there on his stool, the same as ever, except
with a bit shorter hair, and a much larger smile than
I had ever seen him with.
"Well...Hi there!" I couldn't believe it. The doc
didn't recognize me.
I slowly sat down in front if him and put on the
kawaii act, much perfected from last time I had seen
Doctor Tofu.
"Hello, Tofu-sama...I hear that you're the best doctor
in Nerima ward, and I was hoping you'd be my
physician."
Ukyo appeared in the door and started giggling. Tofu
looked at her in surprise, and then did a double-take
as he looked back at me.
"What are you doing here, Ukyo-...Oh. I see. Why the
kawaii act, Ranma?"
I nodded slowly and dropped the act, noting that there
wasn't as much dropping to do as before.
"How much do you know of what happened, Dr. Tofu?"
"I'm going to have to assume you mean with the
incident with Happousai, Ranm-"
"Ranko. It's Ranko now. Ranma is dead."
"...Ranko." Tofu continued smoothly on. "I examined
the body afterwords and confirmed the death, and, if
it wasn't for the signature breaks in each bone being
your own fists, I would've not believed it was you.
When I offered to clear up the identity with the many
blood samples I have here, your mother declined DNA
testing, saying she never had a daughter. Though I
thought this odd, I could do nothing, as that is most
definitely her choice. The last I heard of you, for I
did try and keep track, you were a Jane Doe that was
being transferred to the Kyoto Woman's Ward. I lost
track of you soon after, as said Jane Doe
disappeared."
"Well, doc. You have most of the story. What you may
not know is that Happousai used the chisuiton on me
before he died. and I'm locked in this form,
presumably for the rest of my natural life."
Tofu seemed to be taking this rather well.
"If you need to, Ran...ko. I will be here to talk to
always."
I made a formal bow.
"Thank you, doctor Tofu, I would be honored to accept
not only your advice, but your physical care as well."
With that I left, having made a new friend for the
second time.

*                 *                 *

After the visit to Tofu's Ranko seemed more at ease.
But something about her still scared me. she was much
stronger physically, much more powerful of an artist
than she had ever been. Not only this, but she was
also much more sophisticated than Ranma had ever been.
Yes. She scared me. She even frustrated me, because in
her assurance of the success of her plans she was
becoming the exact image of the petulant girls who
populated her apparent age group.
The sooner this was over, the better.

*                  *                 *

I approached the Tendo dojo on padded feet and knocked
on the back door. As Soun Tendo approached the door I
made sure all of my coverings.were in place
"What can I do for you?" Tendo looked and sounded much
more...drawn.
"I have come to offer a warning, Soun Tendo."
"Who are you?"
I allowed him to see my vicious smile as I removed my
cowl.
"Remember me, coward?"
"Hello, Ranma."
"Wrong. Ranma is dead. I'm Ranko."
"Whatever. What do you have to say? Say it and leave a
broken man to himself."
"Pardon? You still have all of your daughters, do you
not?"
"Hardly. After Akane left, Nabiki was too disgusted to
speak to me, and so went to start a trading house in
Central Tokyo, while Kasumi went to live with Doctor
Tofu. I've been alone for a year now."
At the look of the old man, I softened.
"You've taken more punishment than I could ever give,
Tendo-kun."
"Regardless. I deserve your contempt as well."
"I think not. Instead of my original plans I would
instead offer my services as an instructor at your
dojo. I will even offer to attempt to get your
daughters to speak with you again."
The hope that shone in the man's eyes was enough to
make me want to dance.
"Saotome Ranko, your mercy does an old fool kindness."
I bowed, and, without another word, left the Tendo
dojo.

*                   *                   *

I went home, during daylight, and entered the
restaurant.
As I entered I saw, to my surprise, Akane cooking
Okonomiyaki right alongside Ukyo.
"Akane! Did you learn to cook? That's fantastic!"
I got some appraising looks from customers.
Akane gave me a curt nod and continued flipping her
Okonomiyaki.
I yawned and headed upstairs.
Despite the early time, I was exhausted, so I headed
straight for my bedroll.
On it was lying a small book, bound in red leather
with a very intricate Celtic-cross looking design on
it. as opened the book I found that the pages were all
blank, except for the first page, on which was printed
two very small, very intricate words.
"Saotome Ranko."
I smiled delightedly and began to write.

*                      *                   *

I am Saotome Ranko and I am...a Woman.
Well...sort of.
When I initially looked back on it, the last two years
of my life seemed to be a comparative hell. I had lost
what I considered to be my humanity. Little did I know
that what I then considered to be my Humanity was in
fact my manhood.
I wasn't always a woman. In fact, I spent most of my
life as a man. You see, there as this curse...

*                 *                     *

Akane and I looked in to see Ranchan lying on her
bedroll, feet kicking playfully in the air, writing in
the diary we got her that day. I gently pressed my
finger over my lips and went back downstairs to make
myself some dinner.
It looked as if Ranchan had finally found her center.

*                        *                          * 

I lingered a moment after Ukyo went downstairs. I
guess I was still anxious to find whether Ranma was
still there, somewhere in that petite, feminine frame.
I guess I was just looking for the man I loved.
I knew he would come back, though.
He had to.
Nobody defeats Ranma Saotome!
But, then again. Was Ranma really defeated, or was
this just a sort of metamorphosis?
Had I lost a lover?
Could I bring myself to love what he...she had become?
I hoped so. I hoped to all of the gods.
Was this really my love?
In this body of little more than a child?

*                        *                  *

I watched Great-grandson for a few days. But perhaps
it wasn't appropriate for me to call her that anymore,
as I certainly had no cure for her.
So she wasn't aging, fascinating.
I would have to consult the others.
Shampoo would be very interested in this new
development.

*              *               *

The Eyes of the Snake are watching, forgotten,

the debt has yet to be paid, misbegotten.

The Eyes of the Dragon are aware, unafraid.

We always pay our Debts. Our Debts are ALWAYS Paid.

*                   *                    *

Disclaimer:
The Ranma characters aren't mine, and I don't make
money from them
The other characters are mine, and I don't make money
from then either.
cool, huh?

Inu-Ranma
Inu_Ranma@Yahoo.com


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