Ever think that there are some great ideas out there, and that
they are never put together? What if Ranma, instead of falling into
Nyannichuan "spring of drowned girl" fell into one of the Kusenkyo
pools. A small thing though, I combined the two training grounds into
one big ground...with a couple of exceptions...:) It wouldn't be as
funny if he didn't change into a girl (of some kind) so I came up with
this little thing. (Sorry Scott, if some of what I write comes too
close to what you wrote:)
I will be writing this from three perspectives. One from
Ranma's POV, one an omniscient POV, and one from Akane's POV. You
will be able to tell which is which(I hope).
will indicate when the speaker is talking in Chinese, or
any variant thereof. (As I can't spell very much (if any) in Chinese so
will use this where I can't use correct spelling of what I mean)
[This] will be when the speaker is talking in English, or any
variant thereof.
And *this* will indicate when the current person will be
thinking.
Something that I never did before...but I read in other stories.
At the end of the chapter (or clip thereof) I will list the music
tracks that I listened to while writing this topsy-turvy story.
Standard Disclaimers (Takahashi, Viz., etc.)
Ranma 1/2
Alternate Landings
By Shadow Dancer(AKA Colin Hidson)
Episode 1
"Leave me alone!" I shout, as I run from my father. *He
doesn't care that I've gotten this curse, just wants to keep his
"precious" honor intact. As if he had any honor to begin with!* I run
down the street, shouting back at him, "It's your fault that I got
this damn curse to begin with, and now I CAN'T EVEN GET RID OF IT!!!"
I slow down as I try to keep from crying. It isn't manly. *Not that
"manly" can even apply to me anymore.* "I hate you!" I scream, as I
start getting back up to speed, "I hate you for taking me to China
without being able to speak Chinese! I hate what you did to me! I
hate you!" I can't help it. The tears are coming, whether I want
them or not. *Damn this rain* I think, as I stop and look at myself,
*Damn it for changing my father into his cursed form...* That's as
far as I get before something hits me in back of my head, and the
world goes black.
*****
A man is holding a postcard emblazoned with a picture of a
panda eating bamboo on the front. The man looks up and we
notice that it is Soun. "At last! Ranma is coming, finally!"Soun
mumbles to himself. Then he gathers his breath and starts calling,
"Kasumi! Nabiki! Akane!" (As you've probably read this seventeen
zillion times before, I will be skipping details unto the meeting of
the Tendo's and the Saotome's.)
A panda comes around the corner, holding a teenage boy that is
kicking and shouting "Put me down, Pops! You're scaring them!" The
panda then decides to put the boy down.
Soun points at the boy and asks, "You...wouldn't...be?"
The boy looks up at Soun, and then drops his gaze back down to
the floor, "I'm...Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."
Soun grabs Ranma, "Ranma! I have waited for this for so long!"
Ranma just pushes Soun away.
"I'm sorry, but we should talk, first...Oyaji probably failed to
tell you the specific problems of the marriage. If you could get
some hot water, I can explain everything." Soun looks on happily
while ignoring everything Ranma says.
*****
I'm sitting in the Tendo's living room. I was hoping to stall
this, but to take this properly, I have to tell them. Right out.
*Damn, I hate doing what's right* I sigh as the oldest daughter
walks in with a kettle of hot water. *I hope it isn't too hot.*
I stand and retrieve the kettle from her. She just smiles at me,
and then takes her place at the table. "You're probably
wondering about the panda that brought me here. Here's the simple
truth. That panda is my father." Everyone looks shocked, but I
continue, "My father took us to a training ground in China,
called Jusenkyou. My father and I were about to start training
when the guide said that the place was cursed. As my father rarely
listens to anyone, we started training, regardless." I take this
time to glare at my father, but continue, "At first, we traded a
few blows, but I got the first real hit in. I kicked him into one of
the pools, which the guide later told us was the spring of drowned
panda. Anyone who falls in turns into a panda with cold water."
Soun looks at me confused, "They change into a panda with cold
water, how do they change back?"
I just pick up the kettle, and pour it on Father. All the
Tendo's look surprised, then Soun just shrugs and asks, "Well, do
_you_ change into anything with cold water?" I just shake my head,
then Soun nods, and then introduces his daughters. Kasumi just
smiles. Nabiki looks at me as if I was a bank vault, or something.
Akane just glares at me.
Father claps me on the back, "Well, son? Which do you choose?
Who will you marry?"
Father forgot one point. "I'm not finished the story, so SIT BACK
DOWN" I growl. Everyone looks startled, but settle back to listen.
Father is trying to shush me, so I throw him into the pond. "After
Oyaji jumped back onto the poles, I was startled, but I kept up.
Father tried a sneak attack on me, but I managed to dodge, for the
first while. Then it happened. Father got a good hit on me. The
pool he landed me into was one of the hot-springs that also littered
the area. The guide told me that it was the hot-spring of drowned
young girl."
Soun speaks up, "But you said you don't change into anything
with cold water!"
I snarl, "I don't" I then pick up the kettle and pour the rest
of it on myself. Soun faints. Kasumi looks surprised. Nabiki
looks shocked. Akane just stares. I felt the tears welling up
again, but I don't have the control to stop them with this body.
I can't help myself. I start crying.
*****
Akane looks at the girl sitting and crying in front of her.
While she doesn't know if she has any feelings for this boy-turned-
girl, she knows that this girl is in a lot of pain right now.
Ranma seems to try to collect herself, and manages to do so,
after about five minutes. She speaks clearly, but with a small
tremor in her voice. "I asked the guide later about cures for our
curses, and what he told me was this: Your father can be cured, if
we can just find the Nannichuan. But you, I'm afraid, are stuck to
be like that forever. The hot-springs can cure some of the cold-
spring's curses, the cold-springs can cure cold-springs, but only
hot-springs can cure hot-spring curses. Before you ask, no. There
is not a hot-spring of drowned boy. I'm sorry." Ranma seems to be
holding more tears in, but she can't hold them in for long.
Akane stands, walks over to Ranma, and then sits beside her.
When Ranma doesn't notice, Akane puts her arm over Ranma's shoulder.
Ranma seems to unconsciously grab onto any support she could find, as
she turns and hugs Akane fiercely. Akane was surprised, but she
doesn't hit Ranma. *After all, She's only a little girl now, right?*
Akane just ignores her instinct to punch Ranma and just holds onto
her. Akane then has a mean idea.
"Ranma, you need a bath, right? Would you like to take a bath,
with me?" Kasumi looks very startled, but then smiles. *I hope that
she understands.* Thinks Akane as she waits for a response from the
crying Ranma.
Ranma stops crying long enough to whisper a tentative "Yes."
Akane just smiles at the little girl and then scoops her up into her
arms.
"Kasumi? Could you bring up some clothes and a couple of
towels for us, please?" Akane has a mischievous grin on her face, and
Nabiki looks like she understands what was going on. *I hope that he
doesn't take advantage of me while we're in the bath... unless I use
warm water to rinse her off, in which case, she won't be able to...
That's what I'll do.*
Kasumi just smiles and nods.
*****
I take Ranma into the bathroom, and she seems to calm down a
little, then she starts panicking for some reason. "Ranma calm down!
Stop acting like a spoiled brat!"
Ranma calms down a little and then asks, "What about me being
a boy?" She seems to be very concerned about that.
"Well, Ranma, you will turn back into a boy with cold water,
right?" Ranma nods, "Well then. If I don't let you touch cold
water for the duration of the bath, it's no problem right?"
Ranma nods, and then looks at me peculiarly. "Bu....You're
pretty..." I'm shocked, that Ranma should say that, even in girl
form. Unless...
"Ranma, would you say that as a boy?" Ranma looks startled for
a bit, and then sits down and thinks.
While she thinks, I undress her and start washing her. She
is really cute as a girl, now that I notice. I started thinking
about how life would be with her, and then I blushed. Ranma didn't
notice as she was still thinking. When I brought the bucket up to
her, Ranma started looking panicked. I shushed her, saying that it
was warm water, not cold. That seemed to calm her, as I poured the
water over her. Then something weird happened. Ranma seemed to start
wavering in front of me, as if she was going to change or something.
For a second, it seemed as if Ranma was both a girl and a boy at the
same time, then the wavering settled down and Ranma remained, still as
a girl.
Ranma then looked up. "Yes." She stated clearly.
I was startled, "Yes what?"
Ranma flushed a bit, "Yes I would say that, even if I were a
boy." Ranma fidgeted a bit, and then asked, "Do you like me?" She
seemed very self-conscious.
I thought about it, *Do I like him, her, whatever? I don't
know...She's nice as a girl, but that just might be because anyone can
hurt her that way. As a boy, he seems pretty nice, and he stopped
anyone from getting engaged by his actions. Would I _want_ to spend
the rest of my life with him? I don't know... Waitaminuite! That's
not what she asked! She wants to know if I like her. Actually, she's
very nice, so I would say yes.* I looked Ranma straight in the eye,
and said, "Yes, I think I like you. Why do you ask?"
Ranma flushed a bit, "I don't have very many friends. When I
started finding friends, Father always dragged me away, saying it was
time to continue with my training." Ranma looked sad, "But those days
are gone, now. And it's been a long time since I saw any of my
friends. " Ranma took a deep breath, as if she was going to ask
something really big, "Wouldyoubemyfriend?" She let the remainder of
her breath out explosively.
I was shocked. *A long time without friends, and being dragged
away from ones he was just making...Can I be a good friend to him,
her? I can't do any less than try.* I looked Ranma straight in the
eyes. She was scared for some reason. I plodded on, "Ranma, I would
be honored to be your friend. But I think it would be time to get
into the tub, don't you? Aren't you cold?"
Ranma looked like she just noticed the cold, herself. She
nodded, and we both slid into the tub. Ranma seemed to be happier
now, and also seemed to enjoy playing games in the tub. It was as if,
when she changed into a girl, that she was a girl, in more ways than
just the body. Something to think about later.
*****
For once in my life, I was happy. I had a friend, she liked
me...I was happy. I played in the tub, reveling in the childhood
games that my father never let me play before. But then, he wasn't
here and I was. I played in the tub for what seemed like hours.
Then Akane got out of the tub, and I didn't want to be left
behind, so I climbed out, and started looking for the clothes that
Kasumi said she'd get out for me. Then I noticed her.
Nabiki was watching from the side of the door, and Akane was
staring at her as if she was a viper or something.
"Did you have fun?" Nabiki asked. She had a mean smile on and
had a camera in her hands. For some reason this scared me.
I grabbed onto Akane's waist, hoping for some protection.
*Protection? I can take care of myself!* one part of me thought, but
I knew better. *I'm helpless in this form, and no, at this point, I
CAN'T take care of myself.* I mentally screamed at myself. I was
trembling with fear at what Nabiki could do to me, while still only
claiming to be doing her duty.
Akane was surprised at my actions, but then she looked at Nabiki
angrily. "Nabiki," she growled, "Ranma and I were just having a bath,
so leave us alone!" Nabiki just smirked.
"Just having a bath?" She seemed much worse than a viper
now...I could barely keep from screaming. "What I heard sounded
a lot more deep that 'just a bath,' Akane." Akane looked
scared, now. I didn't blame her.
"Nabiki, what do you mean?" Akane's voice, even though she was
scared herself, bore just the faintest trace of steel. I looked at
Akane, not understanding what was going on. Akane looked down at me,
"It's all right, Ranma. I'll take care of this." For some reason I
believed her. Nabiki just smirked.
"Well, Akane," Nabiki drawled out Akane's name like it was
candy or something, "What do you think daddy-dearest would say if he
saw this happy picture. Hmm? He already knows that you fight all the
boys at the school. He just might take _this_ as another point of
proof that you aren't like most other girls." Nabiki just smirked,
"In fact, I'd say he would be disappointed in you. And yet, at the
same time, he just might arrange both of your marriages in spite of
what Ranma revealed. " I was starting to get what she was saying...and
it scared me, more than anything that ever happened to me before.
"But we can't!" I almost screamed, "We can't be married! Do you
think she'd want to take care of me in this form for the rest of her
life?" Akane looked at me carefully, and I started to feel doubt,
"Would you?" I ask Akane, afraid of her answer.
Akane looked at me for a minute. Nabiki got this huge grin on
her face. Nabiki laughed then, "Well, Ranma. It looks like you might
have a prospective fiancee already! I just hope that daddy-dearest
doesn't try forcing you...he might ruin something beautiful." I was
still watching Akane, hoping beyond hope.
Then Akane reached down and picked me up. She brushed my
hair aside, and kissed me on the cheek.
*****
I picked Ranma up, brushed her hair aside, and kissed her on the
cheek. *What am I doing?* I mentally screamed at myself. *Ranma
needs me. When he turns into a girl, he needs to have someone protect
him. I _want_ to be that someone.* Then it hit me. I wanted to be
with him. Forever, if need be. For some reason, that both scared me,
and excited me. I looked at why I was scared. *It's because she
turns into a boy, that's why, right?* I looked at Ranma. *That's
part of it, I just don't know how he will be when male.* I started
hugging Ranma.
Ranma looked at me, and quietly asked, "Would you like me if we
were engaged?" Ranma's voice quivered, as if she were afraid of
the answer.
*Would I? Well, I would rather know him better, but...*
"Akane? Are you going to answer him?" I whirled around. I
forgot completely about Nabiki. She was standing at the door, looking
interested at my answer. Not the way she usually looks at me, just
genuine interest.
I turned back to Ranma, and she looked afraid, still. I smiled,
trying to put Ranma at ease. "Ranma," I said, "I would like to get to
know you better. At this point I'm not sure if I would or not, but
later I will know. Is that good enough for you?"
Ranma just looked at me hopefully, and then hugged me. "I
want a friend more than a fiancee right now. Can we still be friends,
please?" Ranma seemed so insecure, seemed to need comfort more than
anything else. I pulled her up again and hugged her back. Then I did
something that I will remember for a long time. I think Ranma will
too.
I lifted Ranma's face up to mine, and said, clearly, "I hope
that, in time, we will be more than that." I then kissed Ranma.
Not those light pecks on the cheeks, or a small kiss. A Kiss.
On the lips. I don't know who was more surprised. Me, for doing
that, Ranma for not resisting, or Nabiki, who watched it all. I
then sat back, trying to get my bearings. *That never happened to
me, before...* I thought surprisedly to myself, *What came over me?
Maybe I _do_ love this person. Oh, no! It's almost suppertime!*
"Ranma, It's almost supper time, I think we should get ready, don't
you?" Ranma nodded, still confused, and we walked into the laundry
room. On the bench there were two towels, and two sets of clothes.
You could tell which one was mine, instantly, for it was the larger
of the two. What surprised me was Ranma's clothes pile. It was a
small dress, with all the accouterments of a little girl. What was
even more surprising was that she put the clothes on, _without
complaining_. "Ranma? Are those yours?" I hoped that they weren't
for some reason.
Ranma flushed. "Yes, they are." She looked guilty, "I won't be
able to change back into a male permanently, so I _have_ to get used
to my new body. It doesn't mean that I have to like it, I just have
to get used to it." Ranma looked down at the floor. Now that I got a
good look at her, she really _was_ cute. She had her red hair tied up
in a long pony-tail, had big, blue eyes, and that little blue dress
didn't take anything from the effect. In fact, if she was a bit
older, I'd have to say that she would be _beautiful_.
Then something occurred to me. "Ranma? How long do you
usually stay a girl?" I was curious. Then I noticed something else.
I was standing there, watching Ranma get dressed, and failing to do so
myself. I flushed and quickly started getting dressed. Nabiki, it
seems, had walked out while I watching Ranma.
Ranma looked at me, strangely. "I don't know," she admitted,
"Usually I try to get back to being male as soon as possible. But for
some reason, I don't want to be male for a while." Her face went
comical, "Why, do you _want_ to see me here, " she waved her hand
around, "as a male, in t _this_?" and pointed at her dress. I tried to
think of what Ranma would look like, like that. I couldn't suppress
the giggle that I had at the thought. "See? I don't know how long
I'll stay like this, this time. Maybe a day, or so." She looked down
at herself, and then grinned. "What do you think father will think?"
She twirled around, "Think he will throw me in the pond as soon as he
sees me?"
I thought about her father. While he seemed to be a good
father from what I saw, so far, after consideration I had to
truthfully admit, "Actually, I think he might." I grinned, then, "But
do you think he would go through me to do so?"
Ranma looked at me, and got this little impish grin. She grabbed
my hand, started walking out the laundry room door, and giggled, "Would
you? I haven't been a girl this long before, and I would like to see
what it is like for the next while. Could you, please?" She looked
at me, and I swear, the cuteness level in the room must have tripled
in those few seconds.
I pulled Ranma back, so that she wouldn't trip and hurt herself,
"Sure Ranma, anything for my friend." I smiled at her when she
abruptly swung around and hugged me again. Maybe this was a good
thing, after all. At the very least, she wasn't complaining about her
curse all the time. She truly wanted to get to know this side of
herself better. I hugged her back, and then I saw father.
*****
"Oh, Akane!" Soun cried, "How good of you to take care of guests
like this. You make your father so proud of you!" Soun, apparently,
thought nothing of his daughter bathing with his guest. Ranma looked
surprised, and turned around quickly, a flush on her face. Soun
ignored it, "Akane, while I know Ranma's curse may be difficult to
deal with it, could you take care of him while he stays here?"
Akane's eyes went wide. She numbly nodded, while holding onto Ranma,
to keep her from running away.
"Yes, father, I will." Akane looked at Ranma, grinning. "I
wouldn't want my new friend to hurt herself, no?"
"Friend? He's your friend, now? Well, that's your choice. See
you at supper!" For some reason Soun seemed to be acting strangely,
as if he was still in shock of something. Something occurred to Akane
then, he wasn't crying, as he usually was. Maybe he should be taken
to Dr. Tofu's. After supper, of course.
Ranma was looking wide-eyed at where Soun was just standing, "Is
your father normally like that, Akane? It seemed to be pretty strange
compared to the way he was crying all the time before." Ranma seemed
to be in a bit of shock herself. She then shook it off, "Akane? Are
we going to go for supper? I'm hungry." As if to agree with that
statement, her stomach growled loudly. Ranma blushed in embarrassment.
Akane giggled a bit, and then pulled Ranma towards the stairs,
carefully. "Yes, Ranma, we'll go for supper, now."
*****
[Author's note. As you probably guessed, yes, I'm listening to
Captain Tractor, still. I wonder if Akane's house will be anything
like this song that I'm currently listening. "Home, where I never can
be lonely/ cause the leftovers/have a lot to say" Just a thought]
*****
Ranma surprised me at supper. While her father seemed to try to
eat everything in sight, she seemed to actually _try_ to eat like a
proper human. She actually seemed to be trying to act like me, as if
to try to make herself better, or something. Surprisingly enough,
Genma didn't try to throw Ranma into the pond as soon as he saw her.
While he did steal glances at Ranma and I while we were eating, he
didn't say anything about the bath. Good enough, for I didn't want to
deal with that at this point.
Kasumi has really out-done herself this time. The food is
excellent. Maybe she did it to try to impress our guests. From what
I see of Genma, impressing him was hard. Ranma, however, seemed to be
harder to impress, and yet, she enjoyed the meal as much, if not more
than, her father. Maybe it was because of the company, maybe the
food, maybe both. I'll ask her later.
Ranma was staying as close to me as possible, without seeming to.
That was interesting. Maybe she loves me, too? Can't think about
that right now. Kasumi might notice.
Nabiki was ignoring the rest of the family while she worked on
her ledgers. *I hope Ranma doesn't get the wrong idea about her.
She's really the only one that's keeping the dojo in the black, and
what she has to do to do so isn't really nice.*
Ranma mumbled something while she was looking at her father. I
leaned closer to her to ask what it was, and she noticed. I blushed,
and saw a responding blush work it's way to her face.
"What did you say, Ranma?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down,
so as not to alert to many people.
"Father had the chance to get rid of his curse after two days at
the springs. He passed it up, saying that he didn't deserve to be
without a curse if I had one. I sort of feel sorry for him, being
able to get rid of his curse, and yet not, for honor reasons. And yet
I envy him being able to get rid of it in the first place." She
looked me in the eyes, and whispered, "Did you know that I even jumped
into the cold-spring with the same curse that I have now? It didn't
work...because the hot-springs are more magical then the cold-ones.
They have to be, it seems, for it's nearly impossible for hot-springs
to exist in the same area as cold-springs without magic. I just wish
that I had fallen into something that would be easier for me to deal
with..." Ranma looked like she was about to start crying again. I
slowly drew her close and hugged her. She was valiantly trying to
stop crying, but was unable to. I hope that she doesn't consider this
"unmanly", for I've seen some men cry over less.
Ranma's father was looking at us, strangely, but decided to keep
his peace. Good thing, too, for if he had said anything that would
have... *There I go again, rushing to protect Ranma. But she needs it
now. For this once, I'll listen.* If he upset Ranma any more, then
I wouldn't hesitate to mash him to a pulp.
That reminded me, "Ranma, do you practice kempo while in
your cursed form?" Ranma looked startled. That's what she needs,
something to keep her mind off Jusenkyou.
Genma looked at me, and nodded. "That's right, son. You need to
find out this form's weaknesses and strengths. Go and practice, It'll
do you some good." I looked suspiciously at Genma, but he was
watching Ranma.
Ranma looked at Genma, then at me. "Would you train with me?"
She asked, "I don't want to train with father right now...he's used to
me being male, and might...might hurt me too much." Ranma looked
scared at that prospect, so I quickly agreed. "After supper,
though," Ranma was quick to put in, "I don't think that was enough
to hold me over for a full training session." It was true, Ranma
hadn't even finished half of her food. Then I noticed her face.
"Ranma, " I stated, "You don't have to eat it all. Kasumi will
understand." Ranma looked sick, for some reason.
Ranma turned to me, and said in a quivering voice, "I...I
normally eat as much as pops...for some reason, I can't even think of
eating that much, anymore..." Ranma looked green.
I hugged her closer, "It's all right, you wouldn't be able to eat
that much, anyway. You are quite a bit smaller than him, so it's
all right now." I then stood up, "Come on, it'll be dark soon, and we
want to do as much as possible before bedtime, right?" Ranma nodded,
so I led her quietly to the dojo.
*****
I impacted with the mat again. *I haven't been beaten this badly
since I first started out* I thought to myself morosely. *It's a
good thing that I can defend myself better in my other form.* I
looked over at Akane. She wasn't even breaking a sweat. I didn't
blame her. My new body was weaker, slower, and all-around worse than
my male body. But one thing that people have said about me, is that I
never give up, even against hopeless odds. I stood up again, and went
through one of the advanced katas for clearing the mind. I also
noticed that I was clumsier in this form...something else that I had
to work on. I looked at myself, small bruises everywhere, and the one
on my breast hurt a lot. I focussed on the bruise, and even though it
was superficial, it hurt more than it should have.
My mind clearing at last, I look at Akane, and she says, quietly,
"One last time, and then that's it for tonight." I nodded, and then
fell into the ready position. Akane motioned for me to start the
attack this time. As I know that she can take quite a lot from me in
this form, I go all out. I leap at her and prepare for a jump-kick,
and then notice one important thing. I didn't go as high as I should
have. She sees me prepping for the jump-kick, so I quickly change
tactics, as the kick wouldn't have landed anyway. Instead of kicking
out, I drop to the floor and try a sweep-kick. It would have worked,
if I was only ten times stronger than I was.
I then noticed something important. I had kicked with all my
strength, and when the kick landed, it felt like kicking steel. In my
normal body, I can handle it. But this body can't. I hear a crack as
I finish the sweep. Pain rushes through my body.
I scream loudly, as I feel my leg breaking. Akane rushes up to
me, as I whimper from the pain.
"What's wrong?" She asks. As I can't talk right now, I point
down to my leg, which is lying there, bent at an awkward angle. "Oh,
damn!" Akane mutters. She then calls out, "Kasumi! I'm taking Ranma
to doctor Tofu's!" She then gently picks me up and starts walking
quickly to the gate.
Kasumi rushes out and asks, "What happened?"
Akane answers for me, "Ranma and I were training in the dojo, and
she tried a tactic that she wasn't strong enough for. She broke her
leg trying to knock me off my feet."
Kasumi looks at me, and then says something that scared me,
"Ranma, I don't want you fighting. I know it's what you are used to,
all the time, but you need to settle down. This could have easily
been a dislocated leg, and then there would have been a big mess to
clean up." I looked at her, like she was crazy, and she explained as
we moved quickly down the street, "Ranma, when you dislocate your leg,
it's worse than dislocating your arm. Your leg muscles are strong
enough to send a dislocated bone right through the skin. You could
have died, and there would be nothing we could have done about it." I
got scared. Very scared. I started crying.
Akane looked at Kasumi, and said, "Kasumi, I think you should go
back to the house, I don't think our fathers can be trusted to be by
themselves in the house by themselves." Kasumi nodded, and left.
Akane turned back to me, "It's all right, Ranma. You didn't dislocate
your leg, you aren't in any danger. Just take it easy for now. We're
almost there. Calm down." She continued her soothing talking, and soon
enough I was calm again. Then we were at the clinic.
*****
Doctor Tofu was looking at my leg. "What did you do, try
to kick a stone?" Tofu asked concerned. He was poking and
prodding at my leg, most of which made me whimper in pain.
"Well, you are one lucky girl. You almost dislocated your leg, and
that would have been bad." Tears started to form in my eyes from
the constant pain. "You were also lucky in that I had to stay here
tonight to do some paperwork. Now, this is going to hurt..." He
proceeded to pull on my leg, trying to straighten the bone. As I
knew what to do, I pulled my body in the opposite direction. The
pain was enormous, but I survived through it before.
"There," Tofu said, as the bone finally slid into its proper
position. He then proceeded to poke a few spots on my leg and
back. Probably shiatsu pressure points. "There, now. You should
stay off this leg for about two months, can you do that?" I thought
about staying as a girl for two months straight. That was scary, but
accidentally wrecking the setting of the bone by changing would
probably be worse. I nodded. "Are you okay? Is there something
wrong?"
Akane started to say something, but I held up my hand,
stopping her. "Yes, I think that it will be...hard...for me to stay as a
girl for two months straight." Tofu stared at me like I was crazy.
"Ever hear of Jusenkyou?" At his nod, I continued, "I fell into one of
the springs. What you see now, " I point to myself, "is my cursed
form. Normally, I'm a sixteen-year-old teenage boy."
Tofu looked at me, and then asked, "Why didn't you
reverse the curse while you were there?"
I looked down at my hands, "I couldn't. There isn't a hot-
spring that _can_ cure this curse." Tofu blanched, "Yes, I know
that's scary, but I have to live with it now. I can try..." I hold back
the tears, barely, "I can try to live life as well as I can,
considering my curse, but it will be hard. What will be harder is
meeting my mother again, after what I've been through. I don't
know how she will react."
Akane walks up to me and holds me close. Tofu then says
something that surprises me, "Ranma, I've seen a study done on
people with Jusenkyou curses, and there is a way for you to change
forms while your leg is broken. From what I read, only what
happens to the hot-water form is permanent."
I start giggling. "Doctor, this _is_ my hot-water form."
Tofu appeared surprised, and then took on a thoughtful
look, "Ranma, I would like to try something, but I would like to
keep it in here, is that fine with you?" I nodded, "Fine then. Akane?
Could you please get some cold and some hot water? We'll be
waiting for you." I watched quietly as Akane left to get some water.
She came back a couple of minutes later with two buckets of water.
Tofu picked up one of the buckets, I guess that it is the
bucket with the cold water. I wait nervously as Doctor Tofu gets
ready to pour the water on me, then he asks, "Akane? Could you
please get ready with the hot water? If something goes wrong, I
want to undo the damage as soon as possible." Akane nods, and
then hefts the other bucket.
Tofu then notices something else. "Ranma, I don't think
you want to ruin your clothes, right?" I'm surprised. I completely
forgot that I grew _drastically_ when I change back into a boy. I
quickly strip out of my clothes, letting Akane help me with my
dress and panties. Then I climbed back on the table (not without
wincing) and get ready for the experiment.
Tofu comes up with the water. For some reason this
scares me. I try to examine my fear. I then start thinking of
Akane, but that's wrong. *Why would I be afraid of Akane?* I
think of any reason, and the bath pops into my mind. *But that
was okay, she invited me and made sure that I was a girl the
entire time! She wouldn't be mad at me for that, would she?* I
dismiss the thought as useless. Tofu then throws the water at
me, and the pain starts again, and doesn't stop. I scream, and
then a sheet of hot water flies over me. I'm back into my girl
form, and the pain has lessened considerably.
When I can see properly again, I notice Tofu standing beside
me looking concerned. "Ranma," He asks, "what was the pain like?
I'd like to know what the problem was so that I can fix it."
"It sort of felt like my bone was breaking, again." I
mumbled, "And again, and again..." I stifled a hysterical giggle.
Tofu looked surprised for some reason. "Ranma?" I
looked at him, "I will need to take some tissue samples, is that
all right?" I nod, "Good, I want to check some things...maybe this
will be able to tell me." Tofu went about the tissue-gathering
process quickly. (Author's note: As I don't know the process,
myself, I won't describe it here. If anyone can tell me how it
is done, I'll update this properly.)
"Okay, Ranma. Now I need to check something, can you
hold on for a few minutes?" I nod, seeing no harm in it. Tofu
walks back in the examination room about ten minutes later.
"Ranma, from what I can tell, so far, you will need to stay
in your cursed form to heal the bone properly. I found a
reference in one of my texts that gives an idea on how to prevent
the curse form activating. Or, in your case, keeping the curse
active. I'll need your permission to continue with this,
though."
I look at him, and he appears to be nervous about something.
"What is the process?" Akane asks. She appears to be nervous,
as well. I wonder why?
Tofu looks me straight in the eye, "I would need to insert a
non-organic object into an area of your body that your other form
can't handle."
"What do you mean?" I ask, being very confused by his
meaning.
"Ranma, he means that he has to put something here," Akane
points between my legs. I finally get what she means and start
blushing.
"Will it hurt?" I ask. *What am I asking that for? Of
course it won't! What's wrong with me?* My mind flies around in
circles, and I miss what Tofu's reply was. I nod, without really
thinking about it.
"Akane, can you hold her down, please?"
That startles me out of my thoughts. *Hold me down? It
_is_ going to hurt? Oh, nonononononononono...* I don't have
enough time to move, as Akane is close enough to just reach over
and grab me. I start panicking as Tofu comes over with this
smooth metal rod-like thing. "No," I moan, but it's too late.
Tofu quickly slides the rod inside me. I scream.
*nonononOnONONONO!!! Get this thing out of me!!!* I try
kicking and squirming, but Akane holds me steady, and my kicks
didn't hurt Tofu. He grabs my broken leg, to keep it from
further harm, with one hand, while pushing the rod further into
me with the other. While it doesn't hurt, the fact that
something is _inside_ me is very frightening. My screaming turns
to crying, and Akane holds me tighter, moving around so that
she's holding me with a hug, instead of just holding my arms.
"It's okay, Ranma," Akane whispered, "it's okay. This is
_normal_. Kinda. Girls have to put foreign objects inside
themselves all the time."
I slowly stopped crying. "Yeah? When?" I asked, feeling
slightly strange. *This is scary, but why do I feel good?* I
shake off the feeling.
"When you get older, Ranma," she replied. "When you start
having your...period." Akane blushed at that. For some reason,
I couldn't keep the blush from my cheeks, either.
Tofu was watching my face. "Ranma? Is it bothering you
still?"
I shake my head, "No, it just startled me, that's all."
Tofu nodded, "I expected as much. Now, Ranma. I will need
to put a brace on your leg, to keep the bone from moving around
too much."
I was curious, "Why not a cast?" I inquired, as I started
putting my clothes back on.
Tofu shrugged, "A cast would brake your bone even more,
should you change forms. Although that rod will reduce the
possibility, what if the rod falls out?" He gets out this plastic
brace that looks like it has really big cloth bands holding it
together. "Okay, this is what we are going to use on you. This
is my last one, so don't break it, okay?" I nod, "Good. This one
is self-adjusting, so if you change forms, it will stay around
your leg without breaking. It's also waterproof, so you can
still wear it in the water." Tofu then pulls my leg straight,
and attaches the brace. "The only problem is when you change
back to girl form...it doesn't change sizes down on it's own.
You will have to re tighten it every time you change. But that
isn't much of a problem, right?" I nod, "Good. I will be
checking out those samples of yours, to see what changes, besides
your age and sex, there were to you. Okay, you two, it's time
for me to close up, off you go."
"Thank-you doctor!" Akane and I chorused, as we left back
to the house.
"You're welcome. Bye now." Tofu waved to us. I waved back.
Akane was surprised at that for some reason. I just shrugged and
tried walking with the brace on, noting that it supported my
weight nicely. Akane took my hand and led me home again.
What an interesting day.
*****
Although I expected Ranma to act a bit differently when
female form, I didn't expect it to be this much. I walked
towards the hose without really noticing things we were passing.
Ranma said something that startled me, though.
"Akane? Doesn't that look like mother?" I whirled and
looked where Ranma was pointing, but I didn't see anyone.
"Where, Ranma?" I was getting nervous. *Is Ranma seeing
things?* I hoped not.
Ranma pointed again, "There! In that house over there!" I
looked closer, and sure enough, through an open window I could
see that there was someone who looked startlingly like Ranma,
albeit about thirty years older than her current form.
"Yes, Ranma, she looks a lot like your mother. Now we have
to get home, now. It's getting late."
The woman looked up, "Did you say Ranma? Do you know where
he is?" The woman heard us, it seems.
I nod, "Yes, I said Ranma. This is...her. Ranma, say hello
to the nice lady."
Ranma dutifully says, "Hello. Are you my mother? I haven't
seen her for ten years." Ranma looked sad.
The woman looked startled, "Ten years? I haven't seen my
son for that long, too! Hey, you don't look older than five
years old. How could you not have seen your mother for ten?"
I started getting nervous again, but Ranma replied before I
could answer her, "I'm not really five, I'm actually sixteen. My
father was taking me on a training trip..."
The woman interrupted, "A training trip? Tell me, is your
father's name Genma?" Ranma nods, and the woman looks at me for
confirmation. I nod. She then asks Ranma to continue.
"As I was saying, my father took me on a training trip, and
about a month ago, we came to this training ground. It was a
place with a lot of cursed springs that changes people into
whatever drowned in there last. While we were training, father
fell in the spring of drowned panda, and he knocked me in the
hot-spring of drowned young girl." Ranma finished her
explanation.
"Well, that's an interesting story. Can you change back
right now?" Ranma started to look scared.
"Sorry, she can't, right now. For a couple of reasons,
really," The woman gestured for me to explain, "Well, Ranma
needs cold water to change back to her normal form, and I don't
think that it will be a good idea for her to change again." At
her puzzled expression, I clarified, "Ranma broke her leg a
little while ago when we were training at my families dojo. The
doctor says that if she changes back to her male form, that she
will re-break her leg, and that would slow the healing process a
lot."
The woman nods, "That's a good explanation. Is there any
reason for Genma to not be able to change?" I shake my head,
"Fine then. I'd like to see my husband, again. It's been too
long. One other thing, how does Genma reverse his curse?"
I say, "He needs hot water to change back into human form.
Why do you ask?"
The woman looks at me, "It's because he's a coward at heart.
He will probably try to hide behind his curse when he finally
notices me." She grins, "I'm glad you told me, Ranma. I'm also
glad that I vetoed your father's suggestion for seppuku if he
didn't make you a manly man. Not that I would have taken the
curse into consideration, though. By the way, is there a way to
remove the curses permanently?"
Ranma started to get tears in her eyes, "There isn't a way,
for me. But there is one for father. He can reverse it from the
spring of drowned man."
"Why can't you remove your curse?" She asked.
Knowing that this will make Ranma cry even more, I kneel
down and hold her close, as she answers, "Only a hot-spring can
reverse hot-spring curses. But...but there isn't a
hot...hot-spring of drowned man." Ranma starts crying and I hold
her tightly, trying to calm her down.
"What's wrong with my son?" Demanded Ranma's mother, "Why
would he be crying about something like that?"
I started getting angry, "It _means_ that Ranma won't be
able to control what form she's in, for the rest of her life!" I
tried to calm down, but only marginally succeeded, "How many
people do you think will _want_ to marry a person with Ranma's
problem? Offhand, I only know of one! Oops..." I blushed,
noting that I went too far.
Ranma immediately stopped crying, "You would?" She asked,
incredulously. Ranma's mother looked very surprised at both my
outburst, and Ranma's reply to it.
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking about what my son was going
through." She looked at me, "I'm also sorry that I heard your
testament of love, " She smirked at that, "but that's your
business. Oh! I forgot the introductions. My name is Nodoka
Saotome."
I flushed, for I forgot to introduce myself as well, "My
name is Akane Tendo. Pleased to meet you." My breath suddenly
left my body, as Ranma got over her startlement and tackled me
with a hug. "Ranma," I gasped, "could you please tone it down?
I'm not used to be a landing mat." Although I was gasping for
breath, I couldn't help but giggle at that. Nodoka was laughing,
as well.
"Well, Akane," Nodoka giggled, "it seems that Ranma mirrors
your own sentiments. Can you tell me where your place is, so
that I can visit tomorrow? I'd like to surprise my wayward
husband." I giggled at the thought, and told her. "Well, you
ought to get home, soon. Your fathers are probably worried sick."
She smiled as bid each other farewell.
What an interesting day.
*****
Ranma and Akane had only a five minute walk to make it back
to the house, which went by without incident. They stepped into
the house at about nine-thirty. Kasumi greeted them.
"Did everything go okay at the doctor's, Akane?" Kasumi
looked concerned.
"Everything went fine, Kasumi. One thing though, Ranma
won't be changing back to male for two months. Doctor's orders."
Akane grinned.
"Oh, my. We will have to find someplace for her to sleep,
then." Kasumi looked at Akane, who blushed.
"She can sleep with me, if it won't be too much trouble,"
Akane replied, still blushing.
"That's a good girl," approves Soun, who just walked
downstairs, "Kasumi? could you make some tea please? I'm
finding it hard to sleep."
Kasumi nodded and walked into the kitchen. Akane and Ranma
looked at each other, shrugged, and hurried upstairs.
In Akane's room, Akane was helping Ranma get ready for bed.
"But I don't wanna wear pink!" Ranma complained, "Especially
pink with kitties!"
"Quit your griping. It's the only one we have for anyone
your size. If you want, we can buy you some new ones tomorrow.
Is that all right?" Ranma stopped complaining at than point and
just nodded. "All right, then. I'll just go and get another futon
for you. Just wait here and I'll be right back." Akane left the
room and came back a couple of minutes later with a futon and some
blankets. She then proceeded to set up the futon on the floor.
"There. You can sleep here tonight. Good night, Ranma."
Stated Akane, as she lay on her bed.
"G'night, Akane." Replied Ranma, as she climbed into her
makeshift bed. Ranma tossed and turned for almost half an hour
before she gave up. She stood up and walked over to the bed.
"Akane?" Ranma called out softly.
"Nnngh?" Akane asked.
"Can I sleep with you, please?" Ranma asked quietly, "It's
too cold on the floor."
"Sure..." Akane mumbled. Ranma then climbed into the bed
beside Akane.
Snuggled up against Akane, Ranma soon fell asleep.
*****
Such ends episode 1 of Alternate Landings. Hope you liked
it.
Do you really need to ask what I was listening to?
Probably. For the entirety of episode 1, I listened to Captain
Tractor's first CD. Nothing else. Boring huh?
I await the flames.
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