Megumi's Wish
An Oh My Goddess / Ranma 1/2 Crossover fanfiction

by mrthou

Disclaimer:  Based on characters and situations created by Kosuke
Fujishima (Oh My Goddess!) and Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2).  They are
used here without permission, but without intent of profit.

Chapter 2
==========

      Ranma Saotome didn't like parties.

      It's not that he actually had anything against the basic premise.
A group of people getting together to have fun was theoretically a good
idea.  But in practice, a water-triggered transformation curse and a
tendency to attract trouble made parties and Ranma incompatible.

      Not that anyone here knew that.  Yet.

      Still, he'd made a promise, and Ranma Saotome kept his promises.
He'd go to the party.

      The biggest problem, of course, was the curse.  No one here knew
about it, and he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.
He no longer hated the curse; not the way he used to, at least.  Oh,
sure, he'd blustered and complained about turning into a girl, but the
truth was, he'd grown used to it, and it wasn't the worst thing that had
ever happened to him.  Turning into a girl didn't carry any major
disabilities, unlike, say, turning into a duck or a pig.  Ranma could
still do everything he normally could, and there were even some
advantages to it.

      On the other hand, the curse was a serious annoyance and
embarrassment.  It had put him in more awkward positions in the last
three years than the whole rest of his life taken all at once.  He was a
cold-water magnet whenever he wished to stay male, and to a lesser
degree, a hot-water magnet when he tried to stay female -- not that he
made a habit of that, of course.

      Mostly, though, it was the reaction of other people that he worried
about.  Being seen as a freak by the whole campus was not high on his
list of priorities.

      So, to the problem at hand.  How to attend a party -- where there
was sure to be an abundance of cold liquids -- without changing into a
girl in front of everyone.

      Idea one: go as a girl.  Technically, he'd still be attending the
party, just like he'd promised the Morisato girl.  It had several
advantages.  First, he'd be less likely to run into hot liquids than
cold, thereby sparing the embarrassment of accidental changing.  Second,
he'd be able to introduce everyone to "Ranko", so no one would be
surprised when she showed up later (and show up she most certainly
would).

      On the other hand, it would mean using a fake identity more than he
was comfortable with, and being hit on by the male population, which
Ranma *definitely* wasn't comfortable with.

      Okay, scratch that.  Idea two: Water-proof soap.  The advantages
were clear, but Ranma only had a limited supply of the stuff.  It would
be best if he could get by without using it.

      Idea three: go as-is, and avoid people with drinks like the plague.
There were numerous problems with that, though.  Water didn't set off
his danger sense, so someone could still get him from behind.  It would
also make him seem anti-social, since the proportion of drink-holding
people to non-drink-holding people would likely be pretty large.

      Idea four: screw it all and just go.  If an accident happened, he'd
deal with it like a man.  There was something almost liberating about
the idea of doing whatever he liked and the rest of the world be damned.

      Ranma mulled it over as he prepared his party dish, a spicy
yakisoba recipe his mother had taught to him when she'd known him only
as "Ranko", the Tendo's female cousin.  By the time he'd finished, Ranma
hadn't come up with anything else.  So, water-proof soap it was.

      Ranma finished cleaning up, and hopped into the shower for a quick
treatment of aqua-block 100 proof.  Two minutes later he was dressed and
out the door, heading down the stairs to the common room.

      He offered a silent prayer to the gods for a mostly trouble-free
party.  He didn't know if they were listening, but it never hurt to ask
for a little bit of divine intervention.

----------

      The party was going well, Megumi decided.  Not that she'd expected
any less.  All it had taken was a few judiciously placed remarks to the
right people.  First, she'd mentioned it to Tamiya in passing,
guaranteeing the presence of most of the motor club.  True, most
everyone thought the motor club was strange, but no one denied that they
knew how to party.  She'd also dropped a few offhand comments to several
of the girls from the softball team, and a number of her other friends,
to ensure proper mix of males and females.

      Belldandy seemed to have anticipated the crowd, preparing a huge
supply and selection of party foods.  Megumi felt a little guilty about
that, but Bell had just shrugged it off, saying that she enjoyed
cooking.

      On top of all that, many people, officially invited or not, brought
friends.  The result was a lively party by almost any standard.

      The entertainment seemed to be going well, too.  The pool table was
seeing good use, and karaoke machine, for good or ill, was running full-
tilt.  While it was true most people enjoyed karaoke, it was equally
true that most people did not enjoy listening to Tamiya's and Ootaki's
singing -- or rather, their not so reasonable approximations of it.

      In general, though, most everyone seemed to be having a good time,
singing, playing, talking, eating, drinking, and every combination of
the above.

      Yes, it was a most successful party.

      Still, there was one person Megumi noticed who definitely was not
having a good time, although almost any other man in his position would
be extremely happy, as he was surrounded by half a dozen attractive
young women.  She noticed him looking about distractedly, as if he was
waiting for someone to bail him out.  He caught her gaze, and gave her a
look that clearly said, "Help!"

      Megumi walked over to the little cluster, which was slowly
migrating toward the snack table.  "Hey, Saotome, what's up?"

      "Oh, hi Morisato.  Nice party you've got, here."

      Megumi smiled at the compliment.  "It does seem to be going rather
well.  Everyone here having a good time?"

      The girls all said that they were.  Saotome didn't say anything.

      "Well, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've got to borrow Mr. Saotome
here for a minute."

      "Can't it wait?" One of the girls asked.

      "Well, it probably could," Megumi admitted, "but I'd like to do it
now before I forget.  So if you'll excuse us?"

      There was some general grumbling, but none of the women actually
moved to stop them as they moved out of the rec room.

      "That's twice I've bailed you out now, Saotome," Megumi said.

      "Yeah, well, thanks.  Those girls were starting to get a little
annoying."

      "You don't seem to be having a good time."

      He looked away.  "I guess parties just aren't my thing."

      "Seems to me like maybe pretty girls aren't your thing."

      "Hey," Saotome protested, "I like girls just fine.  It's just...
I'm not really interested in any of... them."  He made a vague gesture
in the direction of the main party group.

      "Already have someone, huh?"  Megumi didn't really think that was
the case, for some reason, but she decided to ask anyway.

      "No, not really," Saotome mumbled.  His voice took on that same
depressed quality she'd heard from him before.  "I'm just not really
interested at the moment."

      "Well, if you say so," Megumi replied.  "You know what you need to
do?"

      "What?"

      "You need to relax a little.  You're too tense.  Eat, drink, sing.
If you're too nervous to sing, drink some more, until you're not.  Try
to have a good time.  And if you keep getting crowded, just go hang out
with some of the motor club guys."

      "Huh?"

      "It'll work, trust me."  Megumi turned to walk a way.  "Oh, and by
the way, you're on clean-up duty tonight."

      He groaned.  "Gee, thanks."

      "You're welcome."

----------

      If there was one social activity that the goddess Urd truly
enjoyed, it was that curious custom called a party.  Urd made a habit of
attending at least one party every week, even if it meant crashing.
There was simply no better place for Urd to practice her chosen craft,
that of leading mortals into the holy bonds of love.  Megumi was quite
nice to have invited Urd to this party.  She'd have to do a favor for
her in return.

      Contrary to Keiichi's opinion, Urd was not really obsessed with
sex.  Sex was only one aspect of love, and not necessarily the most
important.  The only reason she teased her sister's boyfriend so
blatantly was because he was completely hopeless when it came to
physical intimacies.

      Flirting was probably Urd's favorite aspect of love.  It was such
an enjoyable past-time, and one she was extremely skilled at.  She was,
as usual, having a great deal of success.  But in this case, it was a
bit boring: she already had most of the motor club boys wrapped around
her fingers, so only a routine maintenance was required to encourage
their behavior.

      There were a few new faces around, but only one really caught her
eye.  A young man with blue eyes and a pig-tail had rejected her
advances three times already, something she was unaccustomed to.  In
fact, she found it almost insulting.  The boy -- he'd said his name was
Ranma -- seemed oblivious to her verbal and physical charms.  If he were
gay, it might be understandable, but Urd had watched him closely, and
his reactions denied that.

      Urd smirked in amusement at the young man's reaction to Keiichi's
sister.  He treated most of the women who approached him with thinly-
veiled hostility, but Megumi was given a much warmer reception.  It had
to do with body language, she decided.  Megumi suppressed her attraction
to the boy, which unconsciously made him relax.  Belldandy, who didn't
have any attraction to Ranma whatsoever, was treated similarly.

      Well, such behavior demanded her attention.  Time to go do a little
matchmaking.

      Urd was a master of controlling her own actions.  Normally, she
made it perfectly clear through a combination of body language, voice,
and pheromones that she was an attractive, interesting (and interested)
woman.  It was equally easy, using the same techniques, to make herself
entirely unobtrusive.  Doing so, she approached Ranma once again.

      "Oh.  You're back," he said.

      Urd gave a short bark of laughter to cover up her surprise.
Usually, humans would simply ignore her, or react in a manner that
showed only a basic awareness of her presence when she used this trick.
It was true even if she started the process directly in front of them.
Ranma was a very alert person.

      "Yes, I'm back," Urd replied.  "Don't worry, though.  I can take a
hint.  You're not interested."

      Ranma cracked half a smile.  "You got that right.  Most of these
other girls don't seem to get it, though.  How'd you do that, by the
way?"

      "Do what?"

      "You tried to sneak up on me.  It was kinda weird, like you were
trying to make me ignore you.  Actually, you're still doing it."

      This startled Urd even more.  She readjusted her posture and
pheromone levels back to normal.  "Better?"

      "Yeah," Ranma answered, seeming suddenly uncomfortable.  Urd toned
down her presence a bit, and he unconsciously relaxed.  "So, how'd you
do that?"

      "It's a matter of body language, mostly."  Urd saw no reason to lie
about it.  "You just adjust your posture and motion in such a way that
people think you don't matter."

      "Hiding in plain sight?"

      "Nicely put," Urd said.  "That describes it quite well.  C'mon,
let's get a drink.  I can't stand talking and not drinking."  She
grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the refreshments.  Ranma allowed
himself to be led.

      Urd was a master of more than just love potions.  In fact, for the
most part she only used love potions when she required a few laughs, as
things never went as intended.  She could still recall that time Tamiya
had chased Ootaki around campus, proclaiming his undying affection.

      No, love potions were dangerous.  Much more useful were truth
serums, emotional exhibitors, and several delightful concoctions that
loosened inhibitions while leaving the user in complete command of their
mental faculties.

      Urd poured a couple of drinks, adding a small quantity of her
favorite truth serum to one cup while Ranma wasn't looking.  The two
drops she'd added to one of Keiichi's drinks earlier were enough to
remove emotional inhibitions.  Five drops would turn a person into a
blathering idiot who did nothing but tell the absolute truth as they saw
it, to whoever happened to pass by.  A single drop would loosen the
tongue slightly, causing a person to drop their defenses and answer
questions they normally wouldn't, which was the effect she currently
wanted.  With practiced ease and slight of hand, Urd dosed a glass.

      She turned to Ranma, and had a sudden, inexplicable urge to throw
the drink at him.  He stared at her quizzically for a moment, then took
the proffered drink.

      They chatted for a bit about inconsequential things, and after a
short while, Ranma's answers became longer and more detailed.  The
potion was working its magic.

      "So, Ranma, tell me about yourself."

      Ranma rambled on for a bit about martial arts; it seemed to be his
purpose in life.  He talked about his childhood, about the training trip
that he went on with his father for ten years.  He told Urd about
falling into a spring called Jusenkyou, and how he'd obtained a curse to
turn into a girl.  He talked for a while about his sixteenth year of
life, and how he'd had four beautiful girls chasing him.  When she tried
asking about them, he promptly shut up.

      "I don't want to talk about it," he told her.

      "I won't ask again, then."

      Urd asked several more questions, probing around the outside edges
of the emotional block.  But she never got far before he'd stop talking.
She managed to coax names out of him --Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi, and Akane
--, but nothing else.  He never said anything directly; but Urd
suspected that he'd had a break-up with one of them.  Perhaps worse.
Whatever it was, it had hurt him deeply.

      "Look, none of this matters," Ranma growled in irritation.  "It's
all in the past, and I don't wanna talk about it anymore."

      "Alright, then, if you don't want to talk about the past, then how
about the present?"

      "What about it?"

      "Well, since you asked, I want to know why you aren't dating
anyone.  You seem to be rather popular with the ladies."  Urd knew she
wasn't being subtle.  But then, that was why she used the truth potion
in the first place.  It spared a lot of effort.

      "Umm... Well, it's just... I'm just not interested, alright?
They're all being irritating."  Ranma sullenly gulped down the remainder
of his drink.

      "All of them?"  She prompted.

      "Yeah.  You included.  Well, maybe not Belldandy, but she's got a
boyfriend, so she don't have a reason to be.  And maybe not those girls
over there, since I haven't talked to them.  And Megumi, 'cause she's
not flirting with me, just being a friend, even if she *is* making me do
clean-up duty."

      Urd had to exert a considerable amount of self-control to prevent
laughter from escaping her lips.  This boy was *too* easy to manipulate.
"Ah.  So you don't like people who flirt with you."

      "Yeah, something like that."

      "Well, I'll try to restrain myself, then."  Urd almost laughed
again.  "Does that mean you like girls who *don't* flirt with you?"

      "Um... I guess."  Ranma reached back and tugged nervously on his
pig-tail.

      "So, you must really like my sister and Megumi, since they haven't
flirted with you all night."

      "Um... I don't know," Ranma stammered.  "Who's you're sister?"

      "Belldandy," Urd supplied.

      "Really?  You two don't look anything alike.  Except for those
weird facial tattoos you have."  Urd was once again surprised.  Most
people were encouraged to not notice the goddess markings.  "But anyway,
I guess I like them okay."

      "Well, I'm sure they'll be glad to hear that.  But my sister's
already taken.  So you'll just have to settle for Keiichi's sister."

      "Morisato?"

      "Well, that *is* her name.  But if you have any intentions, you
*should* consider calling her Megumi.  It gets ever so confusing when
you say 'Morisato'.  I mean, who are you referring to?  Keiichi?
Megumi?"

      "Uh, I guess."  Ranma tried to take a drink from his cup, but it
was empty, so he started back toward the table where the beer was set
up.  "I think I need a refill."

      "Well, have a good time."  And with that, Urd became invisible once
again, wandering off to ponder her findings.

      "Urd?"  It was Belldandy.  Of course, Bell was probably the only
one who noticed her at the moment, except for Ranma.

      "Yeah, sis?"

      "What did you give to Keiichi?" Belldandy asked.  She didn't sound
angry, just curious.

      "Just a few drops of a truth potion.  It's harmless, and wears out
in a couple of hours."

      "Well, perhaps you should give it to him more often," Bell
suggested.

      Urd choked on her drink.  Her sister, encouraging her to drug
Keiichi?  "Why do you say that?" she croaked.

      "He's much more honest with himself this way.  Much more
affectionate."

      "Why, sister, there *is* a selfish bone in your body," Urd said
with a grin.  "I'm shocked, really."

      Belldandy looked away, obviously suppressing a blush.  "He needs to
lose his nervousness.  If you were to continue using this truth serum on
him occasionally, it might help him to gain confidence."

      Urd smirked.  "Yes, it probably will.  Especially with
encouragement from you, little sister."

      Belldandy's self-control failed, and her face turned pink.  "Yes,
well, I'll leave you to your thoughts, Sister."  So saying, she returned
to the side of her somewhat drunken boyfriend.

      "Well, I didn't see that one coming," Urd mumbled to herself.
"This night is turning out to be quite eventful."

----------

      It was sometime later, as the party was finally winding down, that
Megumi approached Urd.

      "What did you talk to him about?" she asked, gesturing to Ranma,
who was helping Belldandy and Keiichi clean up a bit.

      "Various things.  He's actually got a rather fascinating story to
tell, if you can coax it out of him."

      "How did you manage to get him to talk at all?  Megumi asked.  "You
didn't seem to be having much success earlier."

      "I'm a master at conversation," Urd bragged.  "Actually, it was
rather simple.  I just told him that I'd given up, and had no romantic
interest in him whatsoever.  After that, he talked a lot more."

      "Do you know why he seems so unhappy?"

      "No," Urd replied.  "He wouldn't talk about it, and I wasn't going
to ask him outright."

      Megumi sighed.  "You know, I just wish he could be happy."

      Urd coughed.  Had Megumi just said what she thought she'd said?
"What?"

      Megumi looked at her curiously.  "I said, I wish Saotome could be
happy.  Well, I'm going to help clean up."

      Damn.  She'd said the magic words.  "I wish," she'd said.  Urd was
not required to grant wishes; it wasn't in her contract.  But like every
deity, she felt a nearly overwhelming compulsion to help.  It was a
piece of genetic code that God Himself had programmed into the lesser
divinity.  And Megumi had just triggered that directive.  To make
matters worse, she'd made a reasonable, heart-felt wish, making the
compulsion even stronger.

      Urd had been caught off guard by the statement, though the
sentiment didn't surprise her.  The truth was, Megumi and her brother
were very similar.  They were both gifted with a selfless nature,
willing and wanting to help others.  It was a quality Belldandy had, as
well.  Urd really did not, and was somewhat envious.

      *Well,* Urd thought, *I was planning to do something nice for her.
So I'll make sure she gets her wish.*

      Urd smiled.  Wish granting *would* look good on her record.  And if
she could match up Megumi and the Saotome boy while she was at it, well,
then, so much the better.  And if that didn't work out, at least she
would be entertained.

      Hiding in plain sight, Urd walked out of the common room and looked
for a television set to teleport through.  She needed to get home --
there was a lot of research to be done.

      It felt good to be back in business.

----------

      Overall, the party hadn't been too bad, Ranma thought as he
meandered back toward his room.  Three people had spilled drinks in his
general direction, but out of longstanding habit he'd managed to avoid
getting wet.  Of course, after using the waterproof soap he didn't
really need to worry about it, but it was still rather unpleasant to
have beer spilled on one's self.

      Sure, the girls had been a bit of a pain at first -- he still
didn't understand why they all gravitated towards him --, but after a
while most of them had given up.  Morisato had bailed him out twice --
not that he needed help, of course, but it made things easier.

      He'd even taken her advice, and managed to relax a bit.  The women
seemed much less persistent once he actually started socializing a
little, although he had no idea why.  He'd never understand women, even
if he did turn into one.

      Navigating the stairs carefully -- he was a little drunk, so he
took it slow, only three at a time -- Ranma wondered what was up with
the Asgards.  Both Urd and Belldandy scared him on some level that he
couldn't quite understand, Urd more so than her younger sister.  They
both made him feel nervous, like he was about to be attacked.  Urd's
flirting had made him uncomfortable, but that sneaking trick she did
could be better described as terrifying.  There was something unusual
about the two of them.

      Arriving at the appropriate door, he staggered through the
stairwell door and down the hall, exaggerating his sway slightly out of
habitual showmanship.

      Actually, for a while there, he'd been happy.  It had been... nice.
Happiness wasn't something he was accustomed to, recently.

      "Oh, hey Megumi," he greeted as he passed.  "Nice party.  Thanks
for inviting me."

      "Ranma..."

      Ranma stopped.  He turned to face her.  "Yeah?"

      "Why are you up here?  This is the fourth floor."

      Ranma blinked.  "It is?"

      "Yes.  It is."

      Ranma looked at the nearest door.  412.  Yeah, this was the fourth
floor, alright.

      "Uh, oops?  Well, um, guess I'll be going downstairs now."  He
started heading back.  Megumi's arm stopped him.

      "You okay?" Megumi asked.  "Looks like you took my advice a little
too far."

      "Huh?"  Ranma was having a hard time concentrating on what she was
saying.  There was something strangely alluring about her arm...

      "You're drunk, Saotome."

      "Yeah, pleasantly so."  He looked her up and down, transfixed in
his somewhat drunken stupor.  She blushed, but didn't look away.  She
did lower her arm, though.  His eyes traced the contour of that arm,
following the line up to her shoulder, along the side of her neck, to
her ear, and finally, her eyes.

      "Um, Saotome?"

      "Yeah?"

      "You okay?  You don't seem quite... with it..."  Megumi looked him
straight in the eyes, forcing his gaze to lock with hers.  Ranma looked
away.

      "Um, sorry."  Geez, why the hell had he done that?  It wasn't like
she was *that* much to look at.  Sure, she was on the attractive side of
average, but he'd seen a lot more of better.  Hell, sometimes he *had*
better.  All that weird stuff that Urd chick had said was starting to
get to him.

      "Well, I think maybe you need to sleep it off," She offered with a
half-smile.  "I'd say you'll feel better in the morning, but you won't."

      Ranma didn't reply, but nodded, and started heading back down the
hall.  Megumi followed.

----------

      Megumi put a hand to her face, and felt heat.

      Well, that had been embarrassing.  A little flattering, too, she
supposed.  But very uncomfortable.

      At least he seemed happier.  She'd been right, a party was just the
thing to cheer him up.

      "So, what were you doing up here, anyway?"  Ranma asked.  "I mean,
this isn't your floor, either."

      Megumi pulled out a set of keys from her pocket, shaking them.
"Had to unlock a door.  Someone forgot their key."

      "Oh.  Well, just wondering."

      They made their way downstairs, to the third floor.  As they
approached the door to Saotome's apartment, he patted at his hip
pockets, then his rear ones, prompting a few thoughts that Megumi
quickly squashed.

      "Um, Megumi, I think I forgot my keys, too."

      Megumi pulled her master keys, finding the one for the third floor.
She unlocked the door.  "There you go, Saotome.  Have a good night."

      "Thanks.  You too.  Oh, and Megumi?"

      "Yeah?"

      "Call me Ranma.  I don't like to hear 'Saotome' from my friends,
okay?"

      Megumi smiled.  "No problem.  Well, good night, Ranma."

      "Good night."

==========

Author's Notes:

      This story is based on the manga continuity of both Ranma 1/2 and 
OMG.  It is set several years after Volume 32 of Ranma 1/2, and sometime 
during Megumi's third year (Keiichi's fourth) at NIT, whatever volume that 
works out to be.  I originally planned on using the OMG anime continuity, 
but found that the manga provided richer plot and characterization with 
which to work.  A revised version of chapter 1 which takes these changes 
into account will be completed shortly.

      As always, C&C welcome.  This story is also archived on 
fanfiction.net at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=781422.

      Thanks for reading!



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