[Ranma 1/2][Fanfic] The Morning After (Revised)
Steven Scougall
AUTHOR'S FOREWOOD - Read this, it's important. Really.
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You may have read my first story "The Morning After" (TMA)
and its sequel "A Night Of Dreams" (ANOD). And you may be
wondering why I'm reposting my first fanfic - if you are then
read on.
Warning - this message contains spoilers about both stories.
It's all quite simple really. I got a bit sidetracked while
doing TMA and introduced a Ranma-Akane side story to it. This
was never supposed to happen. TMA was supposed to just be about
a weird dream Ranma was having.
Things got worse when I decided to expand on the Ranma-Akane
side story and wrote "A Night Of Dreams". This was from Akane's
viewpoint now, with some added events that were almost
inconsistent with Ranma's thoughts in TMA. And suddenly the
weird dream in TMA seemed to be out of place. And it was the
whole point of TMA in the first place.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear oh dear... what a fine kettle of
fish I'd gotten into. Things were most definitely Not Good At
All.
This is my attempt at fixing things up. "The Morning After"
has changed its focus appropriately, and the Ranma-Akane side
story may be showing up sometime in the future, possibly in a
project called Viewpoints. But only maybe.
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The Morning After (Revised)
by Steven Scougall
Based on Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 series.
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Where am I? Everything is black, there is no light to see
anything by. There is nothing to hear, nothing to feel, touch,
or smell. I am in... void.
But I'm here... aren't I? I can't see a thing so I can't see if
I'm here, but I should be able to feel myself, and maybe hear my
movements. And indeed, I can feel cloth on my body and I sense
movement and hear the rustle of clothing when I try to move my
arm. So I do exist, I just can't sense anything around me.
Only myself.
I move my arm to feel my body, it's my only reassurance that I'm
still here. I need that reassurance, even though I am
consciously aware I am here, whereever here is, I still need to
be completely sure.
I brush my hand around my face, feeling the eyelashes, the chin,
the eyebrows. Something seems wrong - the eyelashes are too
heavy, there isn't any hair on the chin, the eyebrows too thin.
And the face seems much too rounded and curved. But isn't that
the right way the face feels for a girl?
A GIRL? But I'm a boy!
I move my hand downwards in sudden terror to feel my chest, and
it only reaffirms what the feel of the tight cloth has been
telling me for the past few minutes. But this can't be! All my
life, I've been Ranma Saotome, SON of Genma and Nodoka Saotome.
A boy! Not a girl.
And then memory reminds me of the recent past, and I realise I'm
still in our camp nearby Jusenkyo, where Pop threw me into the
Nyannichuan and I changed... The memory flashes through my
mind... There's no doubt that it's true, I remember the
change... the way I screamed...
I sit up, sweating in terror, and open my eyes. Realisation
dawns - it was a nightmare. But a nightmare reflecting the
truth for yesterday's memory is still fresh in my mind, and I am
definitely a girl.
The weak light of early morning is streaming in through the
entrance to the tent, and I can hear the faint sound of birdsong
outside. Nearby I can hear the rumbling and snoring of my
father, who is now... a panda. This is all so ridiculous. Me a
girl, and Pop a giant panda... I would laugh at it all if it
weren't all so deadly true.
I get up and stretch. This feels strange - a girl's body feels
much different from a boy's. I feel as if I don't need to lean
over as far to fall, and I've found walking feels strange - I
can't step as far without my hips feeling awkward and I have to
lean back more.
I get into some clothes and quickly get into them. Ordianarily
I'd have a quick wash before putting my clothes on for the day
but around here that would be very stupid and EXTREMELY
dangerous.
For this is Jusenkyo, the 'land of cursed springs'. There are
many small springs here, each with its own terrible curse.
Falling into one changes the unlucky victim into another form,
into whatever drowned there who knows how many years ago.
Yesterday I 'fell' into the Nyannichuan, where a young girl
drowned one and a half thousand years ago. Pop dragged me here
in his endless quest to train me in the Indiscriminate Grappling
Saotome school of martial arts. But he didn't know the full
story of the place. He ended up being kicked into the spring of
the drowned panda - just punishment for later throwing me into
the Nyannichuan, WHEN he knew the nature of the springs and what
they do to you.
I look out at the springs of Jusenkyo. With the early morning
fog settled over the water, and the rising sun shining prettily
through the fog and off the water where it can, this place looks
almost... serene. But I'm not fooled. I know the truth of this
place.
With a deep heartfelt sigh, I start to turn around to return to
the tent. But as I turn a shimmer of light on a pool catches my
eye. I turn back. A shaft of sunlight seems to be picking out
one of the pools, glinting brighter off it than off the others.
As I stare I see the light shimmering brighter and brighter off
this pool. But the nearby pools resolutely stay the same, the
light off them never changing in its intensity.
And then I hear a voice. But, strangely, it is not coming
through my ears, it is only in my mind. The voice is male, and
sounds like how I sounded before I turned into a girl. It calls
out to me, calling my name, and tells me that this pool is the
one I need. But what - how can jumping into another Jusenkyo
pool help me?
Trancelike, I slowly walk towards the spring, keeping my eyes
fixed on it as if losing sight of it will lose the spring. I
hear a crunching of gravel behind me - it's not very loud so I
don't think it could be a panda's steps. It's probably our
Chinese guide.
"Where we going?" comes a voice from behind me.
Yep, it's the guide alright. I recognise his voice and his
broken Japanese. I don't look behind me to acknowledge this, I
don't even bother to respond, I have to keep sight of the
spring. It is farther away than most, it takes a few minutes of
walking to reach it.
The guide steps up beside me and stands beside the spring. He
is fully clothed in green jacket and pants, green cap, and pipe
in his mouth. I don't bother to face him, I just look down at
my reflection in the pool for a short while, contemplating the
future.
After a short while I break the silence.
"Which pool is this one?"
"Not know this one, miss." He sweeps his hand around,
indicating all the nearby pools. "Not know any of these. No-
one fall in."
I recoil at his use of the word 'miss', I think of myself as a
boy - but I see my reflection in the pool. It may look very
similar to me as a boy. But it's a bit shorter, and the chest
of my shirt and the hips of my pants are tighter, and the belt
around my shirt is higher and tied tighter. I'm definitely female.
I turn to stare at the pool I have walked up to. "A voice
inside my head told me this was the pool I was looking for. But
what did it mean?"
Could the shimmer and the voice have been just my imagination?
Could I just be trying to convince myself that this is the
solution to my problem? Should I take the risk? And I really
don't see how jumping into another pool could help me. I don't
want to make things any worse.
The guide looks at me quizzically, and speaks. "Not trust it, I
think. Could be just a trick, and spring something else
entirely."
I nod glumly. In the silence, a breeze picks up, and becomes a
light wind, a strong wind, then almost a gale that howls around
the springs of Jusenkyo, raising choppy ripples on the water.
The reflection on the surface of the pool is temporarily
obliterated, indiscernible, just a wash of random colour. The
wind passes and the water settles and...
I cry out, startled. My reflection has changed into what I
looked like as a boy, and the guide's reflection has vanished.
Maybe I have changed back, but my body feels no different. I
look down at myself and see I am still a girl. I return my
stunned gaze to the pool. The reflection opens its mouth and
speaks. The voice it speaks with is the one I heard before, but
this time it is out loud and both I and the guide can hear.
"Ranma Saotome, this is the Nannichuan, the spring of the
drowned man. If you jump into this pool then you will be free
from the curse, and be a man for the rest of your life."
I draw my breath in sharply. What if this is true? The image
seems trustworthy enough, but I would like to be sure. If this
is just a trick then I could become something much worse. A pig
perhaps, or maybe a female snake headed yak or something.
The wind picks up again, once more roaring through the air and
chopping the water. Again the images on the water are rendered
indiscernible, and washed into random colours. As the water
settles I see that the reflection is of me as I am now, as a
girl, but the guide's image is still absent. My reflection
speaks once more, this time with my female voice.
"This is indeed the Nannichuan. The guide does know this, but
he was not allowed to tell you." I stare angrily at the guide,
who nods at me in assent. He removes his pipe from his mouth to
speak clearly.
"The image is telling the truth. This is the Nannichuan and it
will remove your curse. But I was told by the spirits of
Jusenkyo that I cannot reveal the location of this spring to
you. I do not know why."
I stare at him, dumbfounded. He is speaking impeccable
Japanese, nothing like the rough broken Japanese he spoke
before. I look back at the reflection, to see if there are
going to be any more surprises, but it now appears to fully
normal. Both my and the guide's reflections are there and are
moving in accord with our motions.
The disembodied voice of my female reflection speaks out of the
air, but this time it is more... unearthly... ghostly... spirit-
like. "It is not for you to enter this spring. You must remain
as you are now, and leave Jusenkyo."
"Why?" I shout. "Who are you? What is going on? Why must I
remain like this for the rest of my life?"
As I speak the wind returns, and this time it is much stronger.
I place my arms around my face, protecting it, and around them I
see the bamboo poles bending in the wind, and I can hear the
chopping of the water as it is blown from the springs and onto
the ground. The voice speaks and dies with the wind, leaving no
more than a faint whisper.
"Farewell, Ranma Saotome," it breathes. And then it is gone.
In some way I know I am never to hear this voice again, and that
I will be this way for the rest of my life.
I turn around to face the camp, then look to the side at the
guide. "Come on, let's return to the camp."
He takes the pipe out of his mouth, blows some smoke, and speaks
with a conspiratorial tone. "The spirits of Jusenkyo have
spoken, and their word is law here. There's nothing further you
can do. It's time to go."
He adjusts his hat and raises his pipe, and smiles. "Best not
tell about this," he says in the same broken Japanese as before,
and ambles off towards the tents on the edges of the ground.
After a second I follow.
* * * * *
My eyes flutter open, and stare beyond the ceiling. That dream...
That was really strange, very bizarre... and nothing like what
really happened the morning after the change. But I wonder if
it what it said was true. If it was, then I must stay as I
am... for the rest of my life. Can I manage that?
Can I manage going female every time I get splashed with cold
water? Or will I eventully go mad? I don't really have a
choice, and besides this feels like a challenge. And when faced
with a challenge, Ranma Saotome does not back down.
If I just treat this as another challenge in my life, and gods
know there have been plenty of them, then I can make it. I can
get over this.
Struck with a sudden thought, I get up from my futon, step over
Pop, and pad over to the mirror. In the little early light, I
can just about make out my reflection.
Nani!? It is of my female body, but I am currently male...
aren't I? I look down at myself to make sure. Yes, I still am.
Maybe I'm hallucinating after that dream. I wouldn't be
surprised by that. I look up, and the reflection is still of
female self, mirroring every action I make.
This is very strange, and a little spooky even. After that
dream I shouldn't be so surprised - but that was a dream and
this is reality. A mirror is supposed to reflect what actually
is, and nothing else. I stare at the mirror, wondering if my
reflection is going to act strangely. But for five minutes
nothing happens, it just mirrors my movements. Maybe the strain
is starting to affect my mind.
I turn to leave, and I see the reflection stop and hold up a
hand. I turn to look at it, not really surprised by this, not
after tonight. I hear its - my - ghostly voice whispering in my
mind.
"Remember, I am part of you, and you can never lose me. And if
you cannot get rid of me then you must accept me, and accept
what you are."
"I will", is my response, and this time, of all the promises
I've made, I really mean it.
It smiles, and then slowly fades and is gone, my reflection is
just of my male body once more. I wave my arm around, just to
make sure the reflection is perfectly normal and that it is not
thinking of animating, changing, or talking to me. Satisfied, I
finally leave the mirror and walk back to my futon, sit down,
and await the new day.
(End)
AFTERWOOD
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There you have it. 'The Morning After', changed, hacked around,
edited, and somewhat different to its earlier incarnation. This
story has had a long and turbulent history of change (just ask
Megazone who had to put up with two last minute requests not to
post it) but I feel that now it's finally all done and correct.
As for the future, I've discounted the possibility of a
'Viewpoints' story. The best you're going to get to that are
the old versions of TMA and ANOD. My next probable story will
be focussing on Kasumi and a new guy in Nerima, who for a change
does not go to Furinkan and can't fight to save his life. He
probably does piss Kuno off though. Some things never change
<wicked grin>.
As usual, contact me at:
S.Sco...@student.anu.edu.au
OR
s940...@student.anu.edu.au (more reliable but more techy)
And not during December 1995 to February 1996 as I'll be off
visiting my family in Korea. (No they're not Korean, they're
just living there.)
This is my last story for 1995. Exams are pressing in horribly
and I simply don't have any more time to waste.
THE USUAL DISCLAIMERS
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- All characters and settings in this story (and of course, the
rest of the Ranma 1/2 world) are the creations and copyright of
Rumiko Takahashi, 1987 - 1995.
- Thanks of course go to Takahashi-sensei who gave us all Ranma
1/2. My life would be a lot duller without it. Even though it
occasionally dives into the realms of extreme ridiculousness.
- Thanks go to all the people who write Ranma 1/2 fan fiction
(and other types of fanfics too) for influencing me to actually
write something. Special thanks go to Ed Hrzic (I think that's
how his name is spelled) who wrote 'The Dragon Comb Mystery'
which got me interested in the first place. I wish he'd
continue and finish it sometime though.
- Thanks to Megazone for posting this to rec.arts.anime.stories
and putting it in the ftp archive at ftp.std.com/archives/anime-
fan-works/Ranma
Steven Scougall
November 1995