[Ranma][FanFic] newRanma 16 - Understanding
C. Jones
here without permission.
------------------------------
newRanma 16: Understanding
by Chris Jones
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To Ranma's surprise, neither Ukyou nor Akane were as happy
as she thought they'd be about Shampoo's departure. It was a
pleasant surprise for her that they appeared to miss the girl
almost as much as she did, but Ranma did not question their
motives.
Since Shampoo left Japan to try to help Mousse with his
legal problems back in China the days had taken on a thin,
expectant quality. Ranma began to have more and more trouble
sleeping at night just because she couldn't help but think about
how close she was to being through with her ordeal.
The day of changing was almost upon her. Time couldn't
move quickly enough for Ranma. It felt like the days were flowing
as slowly as syrup.
One afternoon, Ranma spent a few hours at the Nekohanten
soaking up free ramen noodles and getting to know the new
waitresses, Tea, Cola, and Soda. All three girls were attractive
Amazon warriors. Although they barely spoke Japanese, Ranma knew
that the girls were smart, sharp, and skilled. Ranma wondered if
there was any way should could spar with them after her
restrictions were finally over without accidentally engaging
herself to one of them.
Better to leave well enough alone.
From time to time, one of the girls would say something in
Mandarin that was apparently quite naughty. The other two would
blush deeply and giggle at Ranma from across the restaurant.
"What are they saying?" Ranma asked Cologne as she pogoed
out of the kitchen on her gnarled cane.
"Girl-things," Cologne answered. "They're quite taken with
the idea of a handsome young martial artist who changes into a
pretty girl."
"Yeah, that's exactly what I need. Three more girlfriends.
No thank you!"
"I don't think they're serious about it," Cologne assured
her. "Also, they would never dream of trying to take you away from
Shampoo."
Apparently, they hadn't heard what passed between Ranma
and Shampoo at the embassy.
"Speaking of which, I figured you'd be back in your
village by now. Why are you sticking around here?"
Cologne nodded at the girls. "They're three of our best
and brightest. Since I needed some new help around here, I decided
to give them the opportunity. Besides, there are much better
schools and learning opportunities for young women in Japan than
there are in China." She laughed out loud. "When I was a girl, all
you really needed to dominate your enemies and excel in the world
was training in the martial arts. These days, Martial training
only goes so far. The world is changing very rapidly. To stay
strong and fierce, we must change with it."
It was quite a realization. Was Cologne truly moving the
center of the Joketsuzoku in order to take advantage of better
learning opportunities in Japan? Ranma realized that her home
country was probably not the best place in the world to try to get
ahead if you were a woman, but China was almost certainly more
restrictive.
Ranma shook her head. A few weeks ago, she would have
disputed what Cologne said. Now she realized that the world was
indeed a truly scary and complicated place. She remembered how
much fun learning Shiatsu had been. It was something she had never
really considered before. Ranma would always be a martial artist,
but maybe it wouldn't hurt her to broaden her own horizons a bit.
* * *
Later that week, Ranma realized that she and Hiroshi were
seeing less and less of Daisuke.
"We've lost him to a pretty face," Hiroshi lamented
Thursday afternoon as he and Ranma were on their way to the manga
shop.
"Could be worse," Ranma noted. "We could have lost him to
several pretty faces. I've been there and it's not that fun."
"Sometimes I wish I had your problems, Saotome. I'd
probably make them infinitely worse, but it sure would be lot of
fun getting in trouble."
"Bleh..."
In truth, Ranma was more than a little bit concerned about
her situation. When she hung out with both boys, it looked a whole
lot less like a romantic outing. Now, if she and Hiroshi walked
anywhere near each other on the sidewalk, people gave them
friendly stares and knowing smiles.
It came to a head in the manga shop. Ranma and Hiroshi
were discussing the finer points of mecha design in a robot manga,
when a couple girls wearing the uniform from a nearby junior-high
began to giggle at them. Obviously, they were scandalized by how
close the two were standing together or how casually they put
their heads together to read the same page.
Ranma stiffened.
"Damn," Hiroshi whispered. "I didn't think this was going
to be a problem. You wanna get out of here?"
Ranma exhaled angrily. "No," she stated after several
seconds of listening to the quiet giggles and gossip directed at
them. "I will not allow my curse to mess with my life like this."
Hiroshi shrugged and continued to read. The girls
continued to giggle, and even started to follow the pair around,
gossiping behind their back. Finally, after Ranma checked out and
was about to leave, she got fed up with the situation.
With her most vapid expression, she wrapped her arms
around one of Hiroshi's and began to fawn all over him.
"What are you doing?!" Hiroshi hissed.
"Giving them what they want," Ranma whispered into his
ear.
"Well, stop it!"
"Tee hee!" Ranma giggled, bouncing in as cute a manner as
she could manage. She stuck her tongue out at the nosy girls and
led Hiroshi from the shop.
"Did you really have to do that?" Hiroshi asked. His face
and ears were burning red.
"Just think of it as punishment for staring at my ass all
the time," Ranma said.
* * *
Soun returned from his somber trip at the end of the week.
He was happy to be back, and cried when he ate the cookies Kasumi
had ready for him. He brought souvenirs back for both his
daughters and Ranma. Kasumi got an American cookbook, and Akane
got a large stack of maps, illustrated guidebooks, and postcards.
She also got a small acrylic model of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Ranma got an English language martial arts video.
Nabiki got perhaps the most expensive gift, but none of
the other girls begrudged her her prize. It was a stack of
currency, one piece of each domination of American currency from a
small copper penny to green paper one-hundred dollar note.
"No thousand note?" Nabiki asked, gleefully sorting
through her new acquisition.
"I'm not made out of money, you know," Soun said.
Nabiki was apparently lost in contemplation. She held up
both a gold colored one dollar coin decorated with the face of an
American-Indian princess and the familiar one dollar bill.
"Oh, by the way, I'm going to be gone for dinner again,"
Nabiki said before she went to hide her loot.
"Oh?" Soun asked.
"Nabiki and Taiyoko have become quite good friends,"
Kasumi noted.
Ranma nodded in agreement, thinking that Nabiki was
starting to go out with Taiyoko quite a bit more often. Maybe if
she spent more time with her friends, Nabiki would be less
interested in romance with Ranma. Ranma wasn't sure if she liked
that or not, but thought that it would definitely keep her out of
trouble.
The next day, Ranma began to wonder about her own parents.
They had indicated that it might be awhile before they got back,
but Ranma hadn't heard hide nor hair of them in the entire time
they had been gone.
The next week passed uneventfully, but seemed like it
would never end. Ranma felt like she was trapped in concrete.
Worse, her anticipation made her jumpy. She started to worry about
things that were probably inconsequential.
"You don't think I'll have any problem with my head do
you?" Ranma asked, staring in the mirror one morning before she
left for school.
"Of course not, Ranma," Akane said impatiently. "Hurry up,
before we're late again!"
Ranma noted dimly that Nabiki missed dinner every night
that week, and was gone quite late most evenings, but was far, far
too concerned with her own problems to really care.
In the back of her brain, Ranma knew that in only a few
days she'd be able to starting thinking about really doing the
kinds of things she wanted to with... with...
Ucchan certainly looked good in that bunny suit, Ranma
remembered. Akane could be pretty cute when she wanted to. Maybe
she'd even think about spending the kind of time with Nabiki that
the girl seemed to want after she changed back into a guy. Ranma
thought that maybe she should give some thought to trying to
figure out what to do about her multiple engagements.
Unfortunately for Ranma, it was all she could do to sit
still, let alone concentrate on any of her problems. Everything
would change again on Friday. It would be a whole new game... a
new fight with new challenges.
* * *
On Thursday, Ranma went to Tofuu's clinic for a checkup.
Rather than ushering her inside, however, Tofuu had his clinic
locked up and his small economy car running out in front.
"What's the deal?" Ranma asked.
"I wanted to take you back to the hospital for a CAT-scan
and some x-rays," Tofuu explained. "I just wanted to make sure
that there are no obvious problems before you change back
tomorrow."
"There better not be!" Ranma exclaimed.
After the quick ride to the hospital, Tofuu guided Ranma
through the maze of corridors to the CAT-scan lab. The procedure
was relatively quick and painless. The X-rays were also fairly
quick. While they were waiting for the results, Tofuu took Ranma
into a vacant examination room for a quick physical examination.
He had her unfasten her shirt so that he could use a stethoscope,
but his manner was quick and professional.
"Everything looks to be in order," Tofuu noted absently as
Ranma refastened her shirt. "You've grown four centimeters in the
last three months."
"Really?"
"You're still young enough to be growing," Tofuu noted.
"It's also possible that your surgery triggered a little bit of a
growth spurt. I'm certain that your hormone levels have been
fluctuating somewhat as well. If you notice any odd pains in your
ribs or long bones, let me know."
Ranma nodded.
Once the CAT-scan and x-rays were ready, Tofuu pointed out
the square cut in Ranma's skull, which was still quite visible
despite the fact that it had healed. He said that he thought Ranma
would have no problem changing back. He admitted that the
Jusenkyou curse was still very much a mystery, but doubted that
anything short of having broken or cut bones would ever
inconvenience Ranma so much because of it again.
Ranma had cleared the last of her hurdles before changing
back.
* * *
Friday morning, Kunou sat alone. Of course he was
surrounded by the other students, but didn't really feel like he
fit in at all. Usually, he exchanged light banter with Nabiki
Tendou, but she had school left early, noting in passing that
today was Ranma's special day.
Ranma... the pigtailed-girl... had been looking forward to
today for months now. Kunou had slowly come to understand that
today was the day when she would be freed from the restrictions
placed upon her movement by over-careful doctors and surgeons. He
remembered Nabiki Tendou's words from that day so many weeks ago
when she warned him how much danger his beloved was really in.
Then, there was talk of this curse that everybody but him
seemed to engage in. Foolish nonsense. Everyone knew that there
was no such thing as magic.
His mind flashed back to a day more than a decade ago. It
played out in his mind, as grainy and distorted as the eight
millimeter film his father had captured the memory on:
In the film, the little boy watched the magician tie a
complicated-looking knot in a piece of white rope. Then he handed
the rope to the little boy and gestured to the audience.
With his hands on either end of the short rope, the little
boy pulled to demonstrate to the audience that yes, indeed, the
knot was solid.
Then the magician put his hands around the knot and
shouted his magical words. When his hands came away, the knot was
gone and the rope was suddenly slack.
The little boy stared in amazement, examining the rope. He
pulled it again, unbelieving. He couldn't understand how something
so magical could have happened right in front of his eyes.
To that day, Kunou couldn't grasp how the trick was done.
He had learned long ago that there were things he simply couldn't
understand. That didn't mean they were magic.
Frankly, he was glad that the male Ranma Saotome had
chosen to recover from his injuries in isolation. Kunou had gotten
to know the pigtailed girl better than ever before. She had even
hinted that she considered him to be her friend, even if she was
still reluctant to pursue any kind of romantic relationship.
Perhaps today would be the day he could help her to see
reason, and to finally escape the shadow of Ranma Saotome.
Making up his mind, he gathered his things and left a note
for the teacher before he left school.
* * *
Ranma realized she was trembling with excitement as she
and some of her closest friends gathered at the Nekohanten. Akane
and her sisters were there, as well as Ukyou. Daisuke, Saya,
Hiroshi, Sayuri, and Yuka had also come to wish her well. Soun,
Tofuu and Cologne chatted near the back of the restaurant, while
everyone else was joking around amiably. Ranma looked on happily,
but was far, far too nervous to join them. She wondered if the
cramps in her stomach were from the nervousness, or her period,
which was due to start in just a few days. Either way, it wouldn't
be a problem in just a few minutes. The tension Ranma had been
building up over months would be done with in a few hundred
heartbeats.
Earlier in the day, that tension had been almost
unbearable. Even Akane seemed keyed up.
Ranma remembered how impatient she had been when she
changed out of panties and into a pair of boxers for what she
hoped was the last time ever. She had almost torn the boxers
pulling them over her hips. When she checked her hair, she decided
that it had grown out enough in three months. She wouldn't look
girly or cute when she changed.
All those concerns faded as the minutes clicked by.
After a few minutes, Taiyoko walked through the door.
"Hey! I didn't expect you to come."
The blonde girl embraced Ranma warmly. "I got out of
school because I know how important this is to you." She smiled at
Ranma and went to sit by Nabiki.
Then, to Ranma's surprise, Kunou came through the door.
"I really didn't expect you to come," she echoed.
"Isn't today your special day?" Kunou asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," Ranma replied.
Finally, after several minutes, everyone could see a red
sports-car pull up outside the Nekohanten. Ambassador Soap entered
the shop, carrying a cloth bundle.
"That's it, right?" Ranma asked. "No tricks or anything?"
"My grandmother might try to trick you from time to time,"
Soap assured her in an amused tone, "But I'll play it straight."
She unwrapped the Kaisufu and handed the magical kettle to Ranma.
"I have some hot water in the kitchen," Cologne said. "Let
me get it."
"I'll help you," Kasumi volunteered.
Ranma waited, fidgeting impatiently. She felt like
everyone was staring at her, but she really didn't care anymore.
All she wanted was to pour hot water over her head and wash away
her cursed body.
"So what are you looking forward to most, Ranma?" Hiroshi
asked lamely.
"Being able to stand up when I take a piss," Ranma said.
There were probably things she would like to do with her male body
more, maybe something with one of the girls perhaps, but she
couldn't talk about that in public.
For a second, Ranma wondered where her parents were. Her
mother said that she wanted to see Ranma change back. Ranma was a
little saddened because she and Genma were going to miss it.
"Are you ready?" Cologne asked.
Kasumi walked into the dining room carrying a bucket full
of steaming water. Ranma held the magical kettle out eagerly.
Cologne cleared her throat. "The water has to be in
contact with the Kaisufu and your body at the same time. If you
pour slowly--"
"I have done this before," Ranma noted. "Pour, Kasumi,"
she pleaded.
Suddenly, the door burst open.
Ranma turned, but put a hand on the bucket of warm water
just in case.
"GROWF!!!"
"Pops!"
"Wait, Ranma!" Nodoka said, running into the shop. At
least Ranma thought it was her mother. The woman was wearing a
short chengosam and cloth shoes. Her hair was wrapped up in a
scarf, but Ranma recognized her mother's face. She looked good,
like she had gotten a lot of exercise recently. Younger, even.
"Mom?"
"GROWF!!" The panda began hurriedly scribbling on a sign.
The woman ran over to Ranma and pecked her on the cheek.
She brushed aside a curl of red hair that poked out from
underneath the woman's scarf. "I'm sorry we're so late, Ranma-
chan. Please go ahead."
Wait a second. Red hair?
'QUICKLY!' Genma's sign read.
Ranma nodded, and upended the now-full Kaisufu over her
head.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the first droplet fell
down from the kettle. Years later, Ranma would remember that it
seemed to fall for an eternity before it splashed on her nose.
There was wetness, and an intense pain in her head. She
could briefly feel the bones in her skull shifting to accommodate
the newly-healed bone.
And then Ranma dropped the kettle on the wet floor...
And looked around at everyone who was staring in wonder,
or happiness, or appreciation...
And jumped into the air and screamed like a maniac...
Because Ranma Saotome was back.
"YEEEEEESSSSS!" Ranma shouted, shaking *his* fists in the
air above *his* head. He laughed out loud and began to dance
around.
Nodoka hugged him, wrapping her arms around him, and
bussing him noisily on the cheek. "I'm so happy for you, my son."
Ranma was still too happy for any kind of real speech, so
settled for returning his mother's embrace.
'HURRY, NO-CHAN,' the panda's sign read. 'WE DON'T HAVE
MUCH TIME LEFT.'
"What ever is the matter?" Kasumi asked.
"Nothing!" Nodoka said, a little too quickly. Her hand
went to the knot of the scarf underneath her chin, making sure
that it was still fastened securely. "Ranma," she hastily amended.
"I know it sounds strange, but if anyone comes looking for your
father and myself, we will be in..."
'VENEZUELA,' Genma wrote.
"Uh, right. I love you Ranma. We'll see you soon."
"GROWF! GROOOWFF!"
With that, his mother and father-turned-panda ran back out
the door.
Then the party began. It wasn't even seriously interrupted
when a small band of ninjas came into the Nekohanten demanding to
know where the red-headed woman and her panda had gone.
"Red-head and a panda?" Ranma asked, shaking his head. "No
clue. Haven't seen them."
"They went to Venezuela," Akane said.
"Akane!" Nabiki chided. "You don't give away information
like that for free." Then, she and Taiyoko both collapsed into a
fit of giggles.
With a sick expression on his face, Tatewaki Kunou got up
from his seat and walked out of the Nekohanten.
* * *
Kunou wandered around town for some time. His mind was
empty. The problem was, if he thought too hard, what he saw came
back to him. If he didn't consciously force it from his mind, it
played out over and over again.
Ranma upended the kettle over her head. Before the water
hit her face, she was the beautiful pigtailed girl he knew and
loved. After the water hit her face, there was Ranma Saotome,
holding the kettle above his head.
He had seen the illusion before, of course, but never so
closely. There were too many details that were too perfect-- the
way Ranma's clothes stretched to cover a larger frame or the way
the boy had to adjust his stance slightly to account for a larger
base. Then there was the kettle. It didn't bob any at all as it
was held above the magically changing martial artist. If Kunou had
been paying attention to just the kettle, he would have sworn that
it never changed hands.
The really unbelievable part was that everyone around
Kunou, including Ranma's mother, treated the two as if they were
truly the same person... just like both Ranma and the pigtailed
girl claimed was the case all along.
Kunou was certain that this could not be the case! There
was no such thing as magic. It must have a reasonable explanation.
It must! Even if he could not understand it, it must.
What explanation was there for what Kunou had seen?
It was well after dark by the time Kunou approached his
home. He let himself in the gate and strode along the wooden path
to the training yards behind his family's mansion. He found a tree
stump near the small artificial river that ran through the Kunou's
property, and sat on it. He concentrated, trying to keep the
images out of his mind.
Kodachi's crocodile started to climb up out of the stream
towards him, but Kunou glared at it darkly enough to send it
scurrying back into the safety of the murky water.
"You feel like talking about it?"
Kunou stood and spun, drawing his bokken.
Ranma-- the male one-- was standing on a tree limb above
Kunou. The pigtailed boy dropped, grabbed the limb with one hand,
and turned a graceful somersault before landing on the ground in
front of Kunou. He staggered as he landed, almost losing his
balance.
"Damn. I am so out of shape. I'm gonna spend the next
twelve weeks doing nothing but sparring and training. Maybe you
should attack me. You probably have a pretty good chance of
beating me right now."
"Leave here at once!" Kunou commanded.
"If you really want me to," Ranma said. "You were happy to
see me here a few days ago."
"That wasn't you!" Kunou accused.
Ranma shook his head sadly, and took several steps away.
He leaned casually on a tree. "I really don't know why I'm doing
this. If you still don't believe what you saw, then I guess
there's no hope of ever convincing you."
"Then why are you troubling me like this?" Kunou asked
sadly. "Why must you torment me so?"
"And you weren't tormenting me when you kissed me?" Ranma
stuck out his tongue and gagged. "Gyahh! I can't believe I just
said that."
Kunou paled. "Even if you were to convince me, I know
there's no such thing as magic! You won't fool me."
"You know, I thought there wasn't any such thing as magic
a few years ago. My dad had done enough 'magic' tricks on people's
money or their food to convince me. When I fell in that damned
spring everything changed. If magic's got a smell, I stink of it
right now."
"No! There's a logical explanation. I can't... There no
way I could..."
"Have fallen in love with a guy?" Ranma asked seriously.
Kunou was shaking. His face was full of anger and outrage.
"I thought that might be it. As a matter of fact, I guess
that's why I came. I know what it's like to be confused, mostly
because I've been confused as hell the last few months. I've been
second guessing myself and suffering like anything because I
wasn't sure what... or even *who* I was. Believe me," he laughed,
"you ain't the first guy to fall in love with me. You ain't even
the first guy to try to kiss me. Why with this body--" Ranma
walked over to the creek and used his foot to splash up a spray of
water. "--with this body, I'd even fall in love with me," she
finished.
Kunou froze. Ranma's voice just rose up in pitch to become
the familiar voice of his beloved. There was no switching of
places. No trick. No illusion.
"So... do you believe now?" Ranma asked.
Kunou turned and sat back down on his stump, his face
buried in his hands.
"When I was a little boy," the kendoist started quietly.
"My dear mother took Kodachi and myself to a public library. There
was a free magic show that day. Mother had grown up very poor, so
she thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to entertain her
children. We could have hired a magicians to perform every day,
but she took us to that particular show. While we were there, the
magician performed a certain trick. He tied a knot in a rope and
made me pull on it to show that it was fast. Then he made the knot
disappear while I was still holding the rope. It was magic. I
thought it was magic, at least. I was terrified. Even to this day,
I still cannot fathom that illusion. As my mother told me, that
does not mean it was any less a trick."
Ranma put a finger to her chin in thought. After a few
seconds, she sat down next to Kunou and began to pull at the waist
of her pants. She untied the cord that held them up, and worked
over it for several seconds, tying an intricate knot. Finally, she
held it up.
Wordlessly, Kunou took either end. He pulled. Sure enough,
the knot held.
"And... voila," Ranma said, pressing one short length of
rope back through the knot while Kunou was still holding it.
The knot came undone in Kunou's hands.
"It's a kind of slipknot," Ranma explained. "It won't
budge if it can pull on that one piece, but the second you pull it
out of the rest of the knot, it comes open. It's kinda like a
lynch pin." She took the rope back away from him and tied it back
around her pants. "There's magic, and then there's... *magic*,"
she said, standing and gesturing at her own body.
"I want to be your friend," she said after walking around
Kunou's training yard for a second. "You're an asshole sometimes,
but that's true for everybody. I can't be your friend as long as
you believe that someday you're gonna 'free me from Ranma'. You
can't treat me one way when I'm a guy, and then another when I'm a
girl."
Kunou stared into her face wordlessly.
"If you're wondering," Ranma said, "--and I don't think
you are, but I feel the need to say it anyway-- I'm still a guy.
Up here, if nowhere else," she elaborated, pointing at her head.
"I like girls. I'm sorry if my body made me lead you on. I can
never love you. Not as a girl. Not as a guy. Sorry."
The two stood in silence for several minutes.
"Now that I can finally do everything I want to again, I'm
gonna need some training partners," Ranma said. "Lots of em,
probably. It's gonna take me a while to get back in shape. You
wanna fight me from time to time? We could probably both use the
practice."
"I will consider that... Ranma," Kunou replied quietly.
Ranma grinned. She turned and ran.
High above, on the roof of the Kunou mansion, a pair of
eyes looked down where the scene had just taken place below. They
followed Ranma as she ran towards the wall, and then vaulted it.
Then they followed Kunou as he tiredly trudged up towards the
building.
The crack of a ribbon sounded out, and then there was
nothing.
----------
~to be continued.
Plane tickets to the U.S. -
Room, board and souvenirs for two weeks - $350
One of each kind of currency up to $100 - $189.91
Knowing that your daughter isn't going to extort you for even
more? - Priceless
--
* * *
C. Jones - gui...@furinkan.net - http://www.furinkan.net
Public Key: http://www.furinkan.net/key.txt
Everybody in the room stared at Mihoshi. The policewoman
began to cry."I didn't mean to infect the world! I'm so
sorry!!!! WAHHHAHHHHHHH!!!!"
- From 'The Virus'