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r e f l e c t i o n s
w i t h t h i s s p r i n g , i t h e e b e d !
Part Forty-One: With This Spring, I Thee Bed!
Before Ranko could reach Tofu's clinic, Fa Shen caught up to her and Mousse. Fa Shen had been stopped short of the kitchen by Cologne, who had noticed Ranko's recovery and decided to ask "Ranma" if she was prepared for her mother to learn what had happened when Ranko showed up at the clinic. Fa Shen and Ranma had both picked up the hint from Ranko to keep her recovery a secret for the moment, including what had happened to Ranma and Fa Shen in the process. Dropping the planning for a celebration for Mousse and Shun's union on Nabiki, Fa Shen had raced after Ranko, praying she reached her in time. Fortunately, Mousse had convinced Ranko that she was not severely injured and the pair had come down from the rooftops to walk along the side walk while they talked about what had happened. They were both surprised when Fa Shen dropped in on them, and Mousse cast suspicious looks in their direction when Fa Shen took Ranko aside to pass on the warning. Ranko had completely forgotten that Nodoka had gone with Tofu to the clinic to learn about Ranko's former curse."You don't think she's still there, do you?" Ranko challenged.
Fa Shen shrugged. "I don't know. She didn't come back to the dojo, though. I know it's been a couple of hours, but I am sure she had a lot of questions. The point is," she emphasized, "do you want to take a chance on letting her find out what's happened now?"
Ranko crossed her arms and shifted from foot to foot, while she looked down in thought. Some instinct for self preservation had prompted her to keep what happened in the furo a secret for the moment, while she tried to decide how much should be revealed to the others. It was not hard to imagine how Nodoka would react if she learned about the legacy of the curse, and how it was discovered. Anyone would find the bond between Ranma and Fa Shen perverse, but Nodoka was almost certain to find it incestuous. No one had really said anything, but it seemed obvious that the simplest way to deal with Fa Shen's presence was to think of her as Ranma and Ranko's sister. Fa Shen had no other family, and it was becoming obvious that Ranma and Ranko really could not be separated from her.
Looking up, Ranko commented, "I don't like the idea of hiding things from her immediately after clearing up everything else. She won't like the idea of you two having sex together, but it does save you from having to get cursed like me. If we hide the truth, and you two keep trading places, she'll eventually figure it out. Do you think that's a good idea?"
"I don't know. It would probably be easier if we got cursed anyway, instead of swapping bodies. I can't think of any way that won't cause problems unless Ranma and I were married to each other. I'm not really that comfortable with the idea of him sleeping with other men using my body," Fa Shen admitted, being painfully conscious of the fact that her current body had been with Ryouga. It left her with the feeling that it was not really her body.
"I didn't think of that," Ranko admitted.
Fa Shen hugged herself, rubbing her shoulders. "Maybe we should let Mousse see the doctor alone and go back to talk about this with Ranma. He and I need to figure out if we can live with things this way," Fa Shen suggested.
Ranko nodded, and went over to Mousse, "Hey, Mousse. I need to go back to the dojo and talk to Ranma and Fa Shen about something before I see my Mom again. Are you okay to see Tofu on your own?"
"I told you before I was fine. It's okay, Ranko."
With that assurance, Mousse continued down the street leaving Ranko and Fa Shen to watch her retreating form. When she turned a corner, the twin girls exchanged a look and sped back to the dojo. It did not take long to track Ranma down and pry him away from a fuming Shun. From his scathing comments, it seemed clear that Shun thought the boy was Fa Shen acting like Ranma to exact a little revenge for his transformation. Once the three teens were alone in the dojo, Ranko and Fa Shen pounded Ranma on the head a few times for thoughtlessly risking their new secret.
"Do you want people to know you can trade places by having sex!?" Ranko growled, before outlining the brief conversation she had with Fa Shen on the sidewalk. Ranma suggested just telling their mother that it had been him who had been turned into a guy, causing Ranko to roll her eyes. "That would still force us to tell everyone else, so they didn't tell her the truth."
"The truth about what?" a familiar, ancient voice intruded. The trio almost jumped out of their skins before turning around and looking down at Cologne. She smiled, sensing that the three were talking about Ranko's restoration. "Surely you didn't think I would not notice that Ranko was back to full strength, children?" she reprimanded them. Unfortunately, it was obvious that there was something she did not know. Having walked in on the last thing Ranko said, she was not aware of what the three were conspiring to keep secret. Seeing them clam up, Cologne sighed. "Obviously, you are not just worried about Nodoka learning that the two of you had sex. Since I am surprised to see Ranko has recovered so quickly, I assume that something unexpected has happened."
"You could say that," Ranma quipped, trying to look nonchalant.
Cologne nodded. "I doubt that whatever it was will remain secret for very long, but if you do not wish to confide in me, then I will let it go for now and focus on what I came in here to speak with you all about."
This roused their curiosity, even as they breathed a sigh of relief at the temporary reprieve. Taking the lead, Ranko asked, "I guess this has to do with what you learned from the Guide, right?"
Cologne nodded once again. "I learned some things that are concerning for everyone who has been transformed today, but the worst news falls on Fa Shen, I am afraid," she announced solemnly. Fa Shen was hard pressed to contain her reaction, which would have betrayed her current position.
Again, Ranko prompted the elder to continue. "What is it?"
"It is mostly what I suspected when I read the back of the Instant Nyanniichaun packet," Cologne informed them. "As you all know, the instant curses are usually good one time only. They work the same as genuine curses, imprinting the transformation upon the spirit of the subject and using their ki to power it. The difference is that the instant lacks the raw power to brand the spirit and leave a permanent impression. If you think of it as a tattoo, of sorts, the instant is just painted on the surface while a genuine curse is stained under the skin. Under normal circumstances, no one can remain in the cursed state long enough, with the instant version, for the false tattoo to rub off. Unless, of course, the curse is locked."
The trio exchanged looks, and Ranma spoke up. "Wouldn't you just change back to normal when the instant curse wore off?"
"You are forgetting how the curse works," Cologne asserted. "If you recall, the curse destroys the original form, storing the memory of it in the infected part of the spirit. If the curse breaks down, the form it is holding becomes lost with it. For a normal person, the danger of locking the instant curse is the risk of being permanently transformed. For a cursed person, the danger is posed by what happens when the instant interacts with their curse. Because the water Akane threw was cold, the original curses of Mousse, Ryouga and Genma were activated. As always, the transformations were almost instantaneous. The human eye is not quick enough to catch where those transformations ended and where the instant curse activated on their cursed forms and took over. So, at present, the forms of their real curses have been shifted into the fabric of the temporary curses."
"So, they might end up with curses like mine?" Ranko frowned.
"If the temporary curse has fully disintegrated before the lock wears off, then yes. If, instead, the lock wears off while the temporary curse is breaking up, part of the original curse will become mixed up with the instant cursed form when they change back to normal." Cologne turned to Ranma, still unaware that he was not Fa Shen, "In your case, the danger is greatest because the lock on your form will not wear off on it's own. If you are not unlocked within a week, this will become your permanent form."
"Will he be able to get cursed again, or would the chisuiiton still prevent that?" Fa Shen asked hastily.
"That is hard to say," Cologne admitted. "I know an instant curse can work over a chisuiiton lock, because it's just on the surface, but it still might be necessary to use the Kaisuifuu on Fa Shen before she will be able to acquire a Nyanniichaun curse. In any case, I have asked the Guide to contact Herb and have him meet us at Jusenkyo. We cannot wait for Mousse to regain his duck form to fly us there in the trap mirror. We need to leave at once if we are to get there in time to help Fa Shen get back to normal."
The three teens exchanged looks and then asked Cologne to let them speak in private. Sensing how troubled they were, Cologne did not protest, and excused herself, saying she would see to it they were not disturbed until they came out of the dojo. When she was out of earshot, Fa Shen turned to Ranma and quickly explained her unease in her present body.
"I know it sounds stupid, but this doesn't feel like my body. I mean, how does it make you feel to know the body you are in was with Shampoo?" she pointed out, blushing mightily.
Ranma twitched and squirmed in discomfort. "Why did you have to remind me?" he complained. The notion of sex with Shampoo did not repulse him on a physical level. It was cementing a relationship with her that seemed most disturbing, and that had not really happened for Fa Shen. It certainly did not tie Ranma to Shampoo. All the same, a body had it's own memories and history. It was somewhat unsettling to know that she could remember having sex with him, but he not remember having sex with her. At least with Copy-Ranko and Ryouga, he could remember the parts he had not actually been there for. Even the girl's spirit had become a part of him, since he claimed the ki she possessed when he woke up and drained the rest of his share from Ranko. Shrugging, he added, "I admit, it's kinda creepy, but, if you take this body back and unlock the curse, we'll both go back to being stuck as girls and we won't be able to change bodies anymore."
"I'll be honest, I'm not sure I want to be trading bodies like that. I'm not sure I like what we have to do to do that," Fa Shen complained uneasily. That was not entirely correct. She enjoyed what they had to do, but it seriously complicated things. When she thought of sharing their bodies for the rest of their lives, it did not seem possible for them to have separate lives. Or relationships outside of their own. If Ranma was not a male version of herself, something like this would force her to marry him. On a deep level, she already felt like she had. She could not say that to him. So she had to put it another way quickly, before he took what she just said as a rejection. "I mean, it's not that bad if we're just sleeping with each other. I don't mind sharing myself with you. I just don't like the idea of you sharing 'me' with anyone else, if you get my meaning."
"You wouldn't want me to sleep with other guys, like Ryouga."
"I'm sorry," Fa Shen looked down. "When I think about this with other people involved, I don't really like it. It would be better, if you wanted to be free to do what you want as both a boy and a girl, to just get a curse and master it. At least that way, whatever you did, it would be in your own body."
"Fa Shen, do you even want to be a boy, I mean, even part time?"
"I don't know, Ranko. To be honest, the only interest I have in it is for the sex. It's the only thing I'd really have to be a boy for. If I had a male curse, I'd probably make more use of it, but the only thing that makes getting a curse tempting is being able to have sex that way."
Ranma nodded in silent agreement. There were a lot of things he liked about being a girl, but the only thing that would be impossible to give up was the possibility of having sex as one. Unlike Fa Shen, however, his attachment to his female self was profoundly reinforced by his feelings for Ryouga. If all he had was a desire to have sex as a girl, just the process of trading bodies would satisfy him. Unfortunately, he wanted more than that. Fa Shen was not wrong to fear that Ranma would use her body to continue a physical relationship with Ryouga, because he loved the lost boy.
"Well, I guess we're off to China, then," Ranko announced. At least part of Ranma's idea would still work. Checking her pocket, she confirmed that she still had the compact. Nodoka had given it back to her before leaving the Tendo home. They could purchase one plane ticket for whoever carried the compact, and the rest could ride it out in the mirror. It would still take most of a week for them to reach Jusenkyo, once they arrived in China. "I'll go talk to Nabiki about getting a plane ticket, and we can decide who is going to carry the mirror."
"I'd better call Ryouga and Akane and have them come back here. I doubt we can find Pops and Mr. Tendo fast enough, but I know everyone else will want to come along in case they need to use the springs to straighten out their curses," Ranma declared, heading to the door of the dojo.
"When you are done, I think we should switch back, Ranma," Fa Shen caught him by the shoulder. "It will be easier to hide our secret if we are who everyone thinks we are."
Ranko piped up, "If you're going to do that, you might as well do it now, since we have some privacy." She pulled out the compact and waved it for them to see. "If anyone gets past Cologne, I'll be the only one here in the dojo, and you two will be safe in the mirror. It will give me a chance to work on overcoming the feedback. If I can fight while you two are busy, your bond could still be useful as a secret weapon." Ranma and Fa Shen saw no reason to argue with her.
In the wash area of the Hibiki furo, Akane Tendo sat naked before a bucket of water and tried to control her breathing. Every step she had taken on the path to this moment of truth had tested her nerve and determination to the limit. The immensity of what she had decided to do had bled her legendary temper to death, starting from the moment she grabbed Ryouga by the hand and began to lead her home. With her conscience nagging her, she was tempted to let Ryouga off the hook, but even if she found she could not force the recently made girl have sex and still be able to live with herself, she had pried into her new rivals doubts and uncertainties about being a girl for Ranma sake. It had not been hard to lead Ryouga into convincing herself she needed to participate in this experiment. Akane further salved her guilt by doing everything she could to help put Ryouga at ease with her new body, and forgiving her for P-Chan's betrayal. It was sort of funny how that worked out in Akane's mind; since the greater trust had been invested in the little black pig, the majority of her hatred fixated on P-Chan. P-Chan's association with Ryouga roused enough anger to warrant severe bodily harm, while the new face of a female Ryouga was enough to completely diffuse Akane's wrath.It had actually been fun to spend time with female Ryouga, helping her with feminine things. Fortunately, they had made it to the Hibiki home before Ryouga's bladder burst. That scene had made Akane wonder how Ranma had survived his first week as a girl with just Genma to rely on. Akane had spent the next half hour or so helping Ryouga assemble a wardrobe for his female form from clothes he had outgrown in junior high. They had talked about their plans-once she had infected Ryouga with her own fears, the sexual experiment had become "their" plan-and agreed to take it one step at a time. They had both been sweating and breathing heavily in nervousness by the time Akane forced herself to take her first big step.
Ryouga was sitting across from Akane, still troubled by the youngest Tendo's intention of locking herself in male form with water proof soap. Because she only had one packet of Instant Nanniichaun, Akane had felt it was necessary, but Ryouga had argued against it. Not even knowing of the danger it posed, since they knew nothing about what Cologne had learned, Ryouga sensed Akane's family would probably kill her for letting Akane turn herself into a boy for a whole week. Of course, the rest of their plans were enough to get them both in serious trouble anyway. Unable to discourage Akane, Ryouga had insisted on being there when she changed, in case the shock caused Akane to stumble around, fall into the furo and drown. Considering what Akane planned to do with Ryouga's nubile young body, she had refused to hear any complaints about seeing Akane naked again.
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Ryouga asked once more, when several long minutes had passed and Akane had not moved.
Akane looked up at Ryouga, a slightly ill and terrified look on her face. "I have to. I just... everyone else got cursed by accident. I don't think anyone's tried to do this to themselves on purpose," Akane grumbled, looking down into the bucket. The bar of water proof soap lay at the bottom of the bucket, from when she filled it up. The instant powder was already mixed into the soapy water. All she had to do was tip it over her head, just like a normal bath, and it would all be over. She would scrub herself down with the bar of soap, for good measure, and finally know what Ranma, Shampoo and all the others did.
"Do you want me to do it?" Ryouga prompted. The waiting was beginning to shatter her nerve, and the itching in her nose warned of an impending nosebleed. The fear of what they planned had suppressed her naughty thoughts, but the longer she looked at Akane in the nude, the harder it was to keep her thoughts from straying and making her blood pressure rise.
Akane shook her head. Gritting her teeth, she whispered a silent prayer and doused herself in one motion. Her eyes closed as the chill water poured over her head and caused her entire body to tingle with numbness. The sensation only lasted an instant, but it was enough to make her think several times about opening her eyes. When she did, it was to stare over at Ryouga as the girl crashed to the floor in shock. Her eyes were instantly captured by the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. The boy looking back at her was pale with fear.
"Ohgod!" Akane gasped, and flinched as he saw his reflection's lips move in synch with the low voice that escaped his throat. He stood up on shaking legs to study himself in all his glory in the glass. His first thought was how sexy he looked, and that provoked an instant response from down under. Blood rushed from Akane's brain, causing the new bit of flesh to thicken and strain upwards. As blood geysered from Akane's nose, he keeled over backwards, unconscious.
"Akane!" Ryouga quickly roused herself and raced forward to catch the boy, and keep him from dashing his brains out on the edge of the furo. Ryouga, long used to marveling at the androgynous beauty of Akane, was almost breathless at the sight of the Adonis in her arms. Akane had always been muscular-earning her both Ranma's taunts and silent admiration. The boy in Ryouga's grip was, as the saying went, ripped. Not grotesquely muscled, but every muscle was perfectly defined. Hastily shifting the boy's weight, to lay him out on the tile floor, one of the questions Ryouga had fretted over was instantly answered. "I can definitely be attracted to a guy," she muttered, backing off with trembling limbs.
While she waited for Akane to recover, she silently debated her discovery. She thought back, half afraid of finding that her attraction was more than a product of her present form and her long crush on Akane. As a man, Ryouga certainly had been able to recognize masculine beauty. There were a number of times when Ranma and Ryouga had bathed together in junior high. That had been one of the perks of being Ryouga's friend, when Ranma and his father camped in a vacant lot during their stay in Ryouga's neighborhood. They were supposed to live in a grounds house where Genma was working for their keep, but of course Genma had never done any of the work so they were quickly out on the street. The end result was that Ryouga had seen Ranma in all his glory many times back then. With a tortured sigh, Ryouga admitted that she had found the other boy attractive, and, as a boy at the time, suppressed his reaction.
"But I'm not gay," she whimpered.
Akane heard that and cracked an eye. Before he could stop himself, his hands had moved to cover himself, leaving himself with a handful of something, but not where he expected. Sitting up, hands flying out as if they had grabbed onto hot coals, he stared down into his lap and began to hyperventilate.
In an instant, Ryouga was at his side, placing warm, relaxing hands on his shoulders and looking into his eyes, "Take it easy. Breathe in. Hold it... okay, let it out. That's good. Take another deep breath, just keep looking in my eyes." She continued with this until Akane had calmed down. She then shifted her attention to massaging his arms and legs, helping Akane relax into her new form by stimulating the muscles. "I know this is really weird, but trust me, it's nothing like turning into an animal. Not that much is different. If you think you are ready for it, you should try standing up and walking around. Let's get out of here and get you into some clothes, okay?"
Akane was grateful for the suggestion. If he did not get dressed, he would be tempted to explore, and that might not be a good idea at the moment. Only Ryouga's calming touch and soothing voice had kept him from completely losing it, and even then there was a voice in his head screaming at him for his stupidity. "Thanks, Ryouga," he murmured, trying to keep his voice to a whisper to disguise the change in pitch.
"It's not a problem, Akane. I wish you didn't have to do this, but... I understand. I'll help you though it, same as you did for me," she promised, offering a hand to the boy to help him stand up. Once Akane was on his feet, Ryouga grabbed a towel, quickly sluicing the remaining moisture off of his form and tying it around his waist.
"Oh! Wait! I have to use the soap, so this doesn't wash off!"
"Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, you can't avoid..." Ryouga trailed off. Akane met her eyes, and shook his head. Ryouga sighed and led him over to the bath stool. "Alright then. I'll wait over by the door for you to finish."
Akane nodded and reached for the soap and another bucket of water. With grim determination, he lathered his body, enlisting some more help from Ryouga to wash his back. In spite of his dread, he paid careful attention to his private region, taking the opportunity to get acquainted with his manhood. Unfortunately, Ranma had never confided the trouble he had with his first bath, and to Ryouga's shock, Akane proved just as susceptible. When Akane finished and looked up in a pleasure induced haze, he saw Ryouga plastered with her back to the wall gnawing on her fist.
Without even thinking, Akane beaned Ryouga on the head with the soap. "What is it with you and watching!?" he shouted, as Ryouga covered her head and finally looked away. Grumbling, he turned his back to her and proceeded to rinse himself off. By this time, a chill had set in, so he climbed into the furo. Akane settled back and closed his eyes, soaking in the heat. A few moments later, he heard a bath stool shift under Ryouga's weight and a tap open to fill a wash bucket. Opening his eyes, he noticed that Ryouga had stripped down and fetched a different bar of soap. "What do you think you are doing?"
Ryouga looked over her shoulder. "I need a bath too, so I might as well get it out of my system," she stated. It had not occurred to her, until Akane had become engrossed, what would happen the first time she bathed. Now, it seemed obvious, and given her past history with Akane, she had no business trying to hide her own immodest behavior. "I can't really complain if you want to watch. I don't really have the right to hide anything from you, do I?"
Akane looked down into the water. It was penetrating that the qualities he had liked in Ryouga had been genuine. The lost "boy" was just as bad as Ranma in a lot of ways, a true social moron, but there was a sense of honor there. Gently caressing what this experiment had gifted him with, he replied, "I guess I don't have the right to call anyone else a pervert anymore. I... I'll watch... if you want me to."
Ryouga considered that, and then turned around on the stool to face the boy. With an impish, if self-conscious smile, she picked up the soap and did her best to proceed as naturally as possible. "Maybe you should. You might want to know if you find girls attractive that way," she teased. It was mostly bluster and posturing, but considering what they had planned, they really needed to break the ice and get comfortable with this sort of thing. It did not escape Ryouga that, whatever the outcome of Nodoka's test, there was still a good chance that she might ultimately end up sharing Ranma with Akane.
Akane did not say anything, and he did not try to avert his eyes. There was something too fascinating about seeing how a boy would respond to being in a girl's body. It did not take long for Ryouga to become oblivious to her audience. That was a good thing, because the nature of Akane's "applause" would have done bad things for her ego. In defense of Akane, he was just discovering the peculiarity of the masculine brain, and it's response to visual stimulus. Akane's endurance was the first to collapse, allowing him to rescue Ryouga from the torturous ordeal Ranma suffered his first time. "Ryouga! Ease off, idiot! It... er... doesn't work the same for girls," he blabbed, before clapping a hand over his mouth.
Ryouga jerked out of her trance and paused, blinking. "What?"
Akane searched his brain for the right term, and then responded. "Don't try and make yourself ejaculate. It's not that common for girls, and you'll make yourself pass out trying to the first time. That was your third orgasm, so give yourself a rest!" he urged, flushing darkly.
Ryouga considered that, and sighed in relief. "I'm glad you explained that. I thought I was never going to come!"
Akane cringed. Ryouga blushed and proceeded to rinse herself off before joining Akane in the bath. Akane ran more hot water to heat the cooling furo, then relaxed back once more. After Ryouga got comfortable, Akane croaked, "I still don't believe I am doing this." Across from her, the girl nodded. Their indulgences had done a lot to ease the tension, but they were both still uncomfortable and kept their distance. For the first time, Ryouga was glad of the fact that her parents were constantly absent whenever she visited. The only problem was, when the phone started ringing, there was no one there to answer it, forcing Ryouga to race out of the bath in search of the phone. Fortunately, as long as she had the sound to home in on, she was not in danger of getting lost. Even more fortunately, Akane had realized the danger of letting Ryouga out of his sight, and he soon followed, bringing towels and clothes for both of them.
Ryouga thanked him, and finished the conversation. Turning to Akane, she announced, "That was Ranma. She said we need to come back to the dojo."
Akane pushed his damp hair back in irritation, "Did he say why?"
Ryouga frowned, "Yes. If Fa Shen doesn't meet Herb at Jusenkyo before a week passes, she'll be stuck permanently as a boy."
That was enough to make Akane forget his exasperation. Looking down at himself, and imagining himself stuck that way forever, he shivered. He had not planned on letting Ranma see what he had done so soon, hoping to have settled his doubts about being a man for Ranma first. "Damn. This is too soon."
Ryouga picked up on his thoughts, and bit her lip. "It sounded like they didn't expect to leave until tomorrow morning. If you can get us back there before breakfast, we still have time..." she trailed off, leaving the offer hanging.
Akane crossed his arms and thought hard. It would be too easy for people to guess what she had planned if she was seen like this tonight. There would not be another chance to be with Ryouga alone. Meeting her eyes, he challenged, "Are you sure? You really don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"We both need to find out, Akane. At least if it doesn't work with you and me, Ranma doesn't get hurt. I'd rather not have that happen with him," she stated softly, the fear showing clearly on her face. "I'll call them back and tell them we'll be there in the morning."
Ranma hung up the phone and stared at the wall. Around her, the rest of the household was running around preparing for the wedding feast for Shun and Mousse. While Ryouga had not been told about what had happened, Ranma decided Ryouga had been smart to put off coming back to the dojo until the next morning. Sighing deeply, she turned and returned to her room. From the conversation, when Ryouga called back, it was painfully evident that Ryouga was taking advantage of her transformation to find out if she could be girl enough to satisfy Ranma. The red-head tried to suppress the guilt she felt for inspiring her lover to consider such a thing for her by focusing on the fact that Ryouga's predicament had encouraged Akane to forgive the lost "boy" for P-Chan's betrayal. Not that he envied Ryouga for having Akane teach her to be a girl. At least Ryouga was in no danger of becoming more than a tomboy with her help. It would have been much worse if Nodoka had been the one to tutor Ryouga. With a rueful laugh, Ranma recalled her mother's announcement when she returned to the dojo. Fa Shen had been right to have them switch back. Ranko was keeping her recovery a secret still, so it had not been a complete disaster when Nodoka discovered that Fa Shen had been turned into a boy. Still, the prospect that Ranma and Fa Shen could heal Ranko now had prompted Nodoka to take Ranma aside and tell her that, while she could not condemn what had to be done for Ranko, the position it put her in made it even more necessary for Ranma to learn how to be a lady.Nodoka, taking notice of the wedding preparations for Shun and Mousse, insisted on beginning Ranma's training tonight. The only good side was that what Nodoka had in mind was no worse than what Ranma endured on Copy-Ranko's date. Poor Fa Shen was definitely getting the worst of it, since, in Nodoka's odd way of looking at things, Fa Shen had earned an honorary place in the family as Ranma's "lover". Nodoka had taken him aside to emphasize how important it was, under the circumstances, for him to be a "gentleman" for her daughter. Fortunately, as an amazon, he already possessed most of the manly virtues Nodoka required. Straining to understand her reaction, it took Nabiki's observation to put the triplets at ease. The way Nabiki saw it, the strangeness Nodoka returned home to was normal in comparison to what happened that morning, allowing her to confront three more sex changes and take them in stride. "Normal is entirely relative, believe me!" Nabiki laughed. When Nodoka heard about what happened to Soun and Genma, she had sat down at the table and laughed until tears were streaming down her face.
Ranma shook her head at the memory and joined Ranko in the search for suitable clothes for the evening. Ranko informed her that, because it was an amazon wedding, she was able to convince their mother that they should dress appropriately as amazons-pulling out a pair of Chinese cheongsams. Ranma immediately approved of the sleek, silk, high collared dresses, since the high slits made them practical for combat. Ranko reminded Ranma of how the old man-the one who gave her the Chinese outfits she had become identified with as Ranma-had forced her to accept the dresses, when he discovered her curse. Because most of Ranma's clothes had been destroyed by the endless confrontations with Shampoo, and he had been broke, he had jumped at the chance to win a free wardrobe by challenging the old man. Ranma's task had been to ruin his clothes. That had proven almost impossible, since the wiry old tailor had been a skilled martial artist who emphasized special techniques to manipulate clothing. The way he used his ki to reinforce and repair cloth, or even make it into a weapon, had verged on magic. When Ranma succeeded in reducing the tailor's clothes to rags, he had conceded defeat and then offered to teach Ranma his techniques while he demonstrated his ability to restore the outfit by brushing it down and pulling it into order.
"Once he showed me how to do it, it wasn't that hard to do. It's not that different from using ki to heal, but it seems more impressive because clothes are a lot simpler than flesh," Ranko commented, as she smoothed out the cheongsams, erasing every sign that they had been crumpled up at the bottom of her backpack for almost a year. "I never thought I'd need these, but now I am glad he made me take them too."
Ranma just stared. Shaking her head roughly to snap out of the memories Ranko had evoked, she shuddered, "It is so weird listening to you talk about stuff like that when my memories say that all happened to me." Ranko met her eyes and nodded in agreement. She did not need to say that her one year hardly compared to the sixteen Ranma had on her. Without comment, they stripped down, chose appropriate undergarments, and slithered into the dresses. Taking turns, they brushed out each other's hair and called Nodoka up to style it for them and help with make up and accessories. It was as Nodoka was applying eye makeup to both of them that she noticed that Ranko's eyes were actually grey. Before she could comment on it, Ranko snapped out of her reverie and as her mood shifted they changed back to the blue Nodoka was familiar with. Curious, Nodoka began to ask questions evoking other moods in the girl, and discovered her eyes could also shift to green. Under the same type of probing, she determined that Ranma's eyes remained the same brilliant blue. Smiling in satisfaction, having found a reliable way to tell the girls apart, she kept her observations to herself and ushered the girls downstairs to dinner.
Ranko and Ranma wandered off to check on Fa Shen, who was in charge of Shun for the evening. Nodoka sought out Cologne and mentioned the eye color changes she had noticed in Ranko. Ever observant, the matriarch pointed out that Nodoka and Fa Shen also had this characteristic, as of that morning, and explained that the Togenkyo water had probably affected eye color as well as hair color. Ranma-kun had always had grey eyes, while Ranma-chan and Nodoka had always had blue eyes, so the difference had probably been due to the different effect of the Togenkyo taint on male and female victims. To test her theory, Cologne had Ranma take a drink from her flask of Togenkyo antidote. Additional probing showed that Ranma's eyes now altered according to mood, confirming that the last vestige of the taint had been removed from her. Nodoka pouted at having lost an easy way to tell the girls apart, but shook it off.
"How does one ever get used to such things?" Nodoka complained wearily. Just a day ago, even a simple thing like this change in eye color would have seemed miraculous, but rather than feeling jaded by what she had witnessed this day, she was simply exhausted by it.
Cologne laughed, "Oh, believe me, there is no getting used to it. I am no stranger to myths and legends come to life, but in all my days I never expected to see so much in one day! I don't know what it is about your child, Nodoka, but in any incarnation she seems to be a favorite toy of the gods."
Nodoka shuddered. She was not a person to speak lightly of the hand of the kami in people's lives. It was certainly true that Ranma and company rivaled Happosai as a focus for pure chaos. On the other hand, the karmic burden on her child, or rather children, was a telling testament to the seriousness of Ranma's unnamed legacy. More than ever, she wished her father had confided in her, or at least warned her that the family debt might have supernatural significance. It could not be just coincidence that so many improbable things would unfold in one person's life. No, she suspected that there was a different curse on her son's head, and that she had only seen the beginning of its effects. Putting that aside for a moment, she turned back to Cologne. "What was it you wished to speak to me about, Elder?" she asked politely.
Cologne smiled, "I see you are taking your children's amazon heritage seriously, Dear. I should say, from what I have seen, you would make a fine clan matriarch, Nodoka." Watching the younger woman blush, Cologne chuckled lightly. Clearing her throat, she got to the point, "As I am sure you are aware, Fa Shen is cut off from her own time and her own family. I understand that in the present circumstances it would make you uncomfortable to think of her as family, but Ranma and Ranko are the closest thing she has to family in this day and age, and you are the closest thing she has to a mother. I point this out because, with the condemnation of my heir, Shampoo, I am considering making Fa Shen my new heir. I do not wish to conflict with any possible claim you might make to her, so that leaves me with adopting you, so that all your children may be considered suitable heirs to my position."
Nodoka blinked in surprise. "Me?" she asked in surprise.
"Well, preferably you. Not necessarily your husband, mind you," Cologne grinned. As Nodoka blushed in anger, there seemed no need to state her reservations about bringing Genma into the tribe. "However, the question you might be asking is, what qualifies you, in particular, to bear this honor. No?"
Nodoka nodded, dismissing thoughts of her husband.
"Well, as I have mentioned to your children, I believe that you are the descendant of one of the victims of the Nyanniichaun who had the fortune to be marked by Fa Shen's ghost. The resemblance is simply too uncanny to be anything else, and the stories your father told you add some substance to the idea. I was too hasty in dismissing his claim that your mother was an amazon. If she bore such a curse, it would have granted her instant membership, for we would do anything to preserve the bloodline of Fa Shen as it has been passed through that spring for fifteen-hundred years. As the mother of Fa Shen's reincarnation, this is doubly true for you."
"Oh my. I don't know what to say."
"I hope you say yes, but I give you a week to make your decision," Cologne proclaimed before moving on. "As you know, Fa Shen is not over fond of being a man, and the intimacy with Ranma is a matter of practical necessity. We will be making haste tomorrow to speed her to a meeting in China where she might be restored to normal. If that should fail, she will have no choice but to follow in Ranma and Ranko's footsteps and assume a curse to restore her womanhood. From there, we can return to the village where you and your children can be formally welcomed into the tribe and all questions about your status resolved."
"What questions might those be?" Nodoka asked nervously.
"Well, in light of the crime Shampoo committed against your daughter, her claim to Ranko is dissolved with her honor. As Mousse has become a woman and taken a husband, she no longer may pursue her challenge of Ranko. However, it is necessary to determine if Ryouga is married to Ranma or Ranko, which will require a ruling of the council. I believe the choice you have given Ranma will be respected by the council and will help them reach their decision. If Ranma chooses the boy, I am certain Ranko will not contest it, but if he does not, then Ryouga will belong to Ranko. I hope that this does not upset you, Nodoka," Cologne amended, bending her head in respectful deference.
Nodoka chewed her lip. "As I understand it, the feelings between Ryouga and Ranma have their roots in Ranko. I believe what they have done has blinded them both to the truth, that Ranma is captured by Ranko's love for the boy, and his love for Ranko has been redirected towards Ranma. I only pushed this decision on them so that they would be compelled to see that for themselves," Nodoka finally explained herself.
"I can see you would be worthy of a place on the council yourself," Cologne grinned, approving of the mother's firm but gentle wisdom. Nodding, she concluded, "So, then, is it your wish to claim Fa Shen as your child?"
Nodoka glanced across the room to look at the boy. She found it easy to think of him as another daughter, while at the same time she wished there was some way for Fa Shen to trade places with Ranma, so that it was her son who stood a chance of becoming entirely male. With a heavy sigh, she answered, "I would be pleased to call her my daughter, but whatever happens to her I will recognize her as my child. Although, if you are correct, it would be more accurate to view her as my mother."
Cologne nodded in acceptance. "I suppose that is a strange thing to consider, though you can be assured, Fa Shen herself had no children. She will most certainly look upon you as a mother," the old woman comforted Nodoka. Having settled the matter for the moment, confident that what was now possible greatly exceeded her wildest expectations, she was free to turn her attention to addressing her Great-Grandchild's happiness. Politely dismissing Nodoka, she summoned Shun with a gesture, and Fa Shen dutifully followed the brooding boy as he had been charged.
"Yes, Elder Cologne?" Shun opened, after kneeling before the matriarch.
"Make yourself comfortable, Shun. I simply wished to speak to you about your marriage," Cologne gave Fa Shen a look, and the red haired boy quietly dismissed himself from earshot. Once assured of relative privacy, Cologne spoke directly. "Shampoo, I understand that this turn of events is disappointing, but after what you have done, there is no way I can spare you. As much as it grieves me to see you reduced to this, I have to say I am grateful to Mousse for bringing you back into the tribe. I am afraid that there is no one else who would take you as you are, since you have certainly offended both Ranko and Fa Shen beyond endurance."
"Shampoo understand, Great-Grandmother," the boy sighed, taking some comfort from the fact that Cologne was willing to momentarily suspend the fiction he was forced to submit to.
Cologne studied him sadly for a moment, before continuing. "Before I comment on your good fortune to have such a loving and devoted wife, I suppose I must point out that there is no certainty she will remain a woman. If Mousse reverts back to normal, there will be no cause for the tribe to accept him as a woman, and this marriage will be dissolved. Furthermore, if Fa Shen also is restored, your exile will be reversed. If it were not to become known exactly what you intended to do to Ranko, it might even be possible to absolve you of that guilt and commute your sentence. You are simply fortunate that locking Fa Shen merely recreated the situation in which she was resurrected, so even the details of that might be kept from the council, permitting you to regain your name and womanhood."
Shun looked up hopefully.
"Do not rejoice yet. These things are only possible if Ranko and Fa Shen endorse them. I suspect, however sympathetic they may be toward you, that they will not do so as long as you lay claim to Ranko. I have it within my power to make yours and your wife's conditions permanent, and preserve what you now have. It is the only thing I can guarantee. If you should be restored to normal, and resume your pursuit of Ranko, all she needs to do is state what you did here today, and your life will be forfeit. Do you understand?"
Shun gulped and nodded.
"Good. As things stand, I can no longer consider you my heir. That honor shall go to Fa Shen as reparation for your crime. Honestly, if she were to challenge you for that position, she would claim it easily." Cologne paused to scan the room, finding Mousse being fussed over by Ranma and Ranko. Narrowing her eyes, she corrected herself. Apparently they were ribbing the neo-girl about the high point of her wedding night. Returning to Shun with a giggle, she decided it was time to clarify something. "Shampoo, I know that you never hated Mousse as much as you pretended. I believe I encouraged your disdain for him with my own disapproval. The thing is, I never really told you why I disapproved of him. To put it simply, I was always of the opinion that he should have been a girl. It seemed such a waste of talent for him to be born a male, especially considering the curse afflicting the men in his family. Why a family of blind martial artists chose to practice a hidden weapons style, instead of the art of fighting blind, I will never understand."
Shun gaped at Cologne. "You say, you approve of Mousse NOW?"
Cologne laughed, "I suppose I am. Again, the decision is yours, child. I dare say, if Mousse has any more chisuiiton water, she has already made her condition permanent. As far as she knows, you have no other option yourself. Now, you know otherwise. I would prefer to have my great-granddaughter back, but if this marriage is your only chance of happiness, I do hope you will embrace it. If not, then I will do what I can to help you redeem yourself."
Shampoo considered, for a moment, how he would react to a Mousse who was not a blind idiot. He had to admit to himself, that the innumerable insults he had suffered through Mousse's inattention were all attributed to the former boy's eyesight. A problem Shampoo herself had escalated. In a timid voice he admitted, "If can see good, Shampoo no mind Mousse so much. No can respect warrior who make fool of himself all time. Shampoo never know if he serious or if he just mocking her. Mousse make nice girl, but... Shampoo not so happy to be boy. Want to be Shampoo again. Not know what to do."
Cologne's heart ached for her great-grandchild. Therein lay the real problem. Mousse's love would make it easy for her to accept her current form, and such feelings might, in time, reconcile Shampoo to being Shun. It did not mean the pair would not wish deep down to be what they once were. The best hope for both of them, since the lock on their temporary cursed posed the same risks, would be for them to end up with versions of Ranko's curse. Neither of them had intended to change sex, and if fate decided to mark them that way, the council would make an exception for them. The danger of exposing either of them to Jusenkyo again, if their curses were compromised, was too great to consider. Rather than share her thoughts, she responded only with, "If the fates are kind, an answer will present itself. Until then, I bid you, enjoy your marriage, for it might not last."
Shun considered that and then turned to look at Mousse. It was not the ideal relationship he had imagined with Ranko, and his heart ached for the red-haired girl as she stood next to Shun's wife. No, far from perfect, but it had potential. If nothing else, Mousse would need help fitting in as a woman, and Shun was well equipped to provide it. Even at her worst, when Shampoo had nothing but contempt for the boy, Mousse had been her friend. If he had been at all sincere about his feelings for Shampoo, it was possible that the girl he was now would treat her husband with respect, as an equal, and that was part of her dream with Ranko. Excusing himself, Shun made his way over to greet his wife, and begin the process of repairing their relationship.
Somewhere in the deep, dark forest, two women strained their voices to imitate the manly tones they were used to, as the tried to cling to their lost manhood. They sat on a log close to their camp fire, legs braced wide apart, but certainly not wide enough to accommodate the egos they tried to inflate. However hard they tried, while dousing their sorrows with sake, they could not console themselves for their condition, and fell to poking at each other's bodies and mocking each other for their fall from grace. It was as the two fathers were falling over each other, so drunk that each was driven to making sloppy passes at the other woman, that a booming, hearty cackle of joy chilled their hearts. As one, they turned their heads to peer through the flames and see the tiny demon that was approaching. While not the first shriek of terror to escape their throats at this very sight, it was the first time in many decades that Soun and Genma were truly equipped to scream like little school girls. That, and the sight of them clinging to each other in mortal fear, was enough to cripple Happosai with tears of laughter."Oh happy day!" he cried, as he recovered and lunged over the fire to glomp his two disciples. It only took a moment for the last shred of masculine outrage and pride to shatter before a flood of righteous, feminine indignity spurred the pair to lash out in terrified vengeance. It was one of the most enjoyable beatings the still weakened pervert had ever endured. Many long minutes after Soun and Genma retreated, panting with exhaustion, Happosai sprung up and eyed the two carefully. Then, reaching into a bulging knapsack, he pulled out bras and panties suitable for their new dimensions, Happosai charged back into the fray. He quickly proved that, while he was reluctant to strike either of them in their present forms, he could certainly harass them into a weary stupor.
"Soun! Genma! I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see you like this!" he crowed, when the pair revived and noticed themselves dressed solely in lingerie.
"Saotome-kun," Soun gulped, pointing at her old friend with a trembling hand. "Just look at what the master has done to you!"
"Yes, Tendo-kun," Genma shuddered, pointing back, "Truly, the master knows your tastes."
"Hey!"
"Sorry, sorry... Just remembering the good old days..."
"You promised never to speak of that again!"
"Under the circumstances..."
"But it was my wife's idea!" Soun bawled.
"I know. I know. Akane certainly does take after her mother."
"Ahem."
The pair suddenly remembered they were not alone anymore. "Gyaaaa! Run, Tendo!" Genma bolted to her feet and sprinted out of the clearing.
"Oh, I just love chases!"
"Yaaaaa!" Soun raced after Genma.
"Have no fear! Happosai is here! Let me offer you girls a shoulder to cry on!" rubbing his hands, the old lecher leaped off in pursuit.
By the end of the night, he would have them trained to wear undergarments more to their master's taste, and cowed enough to obey him in executing the schemes his demented mind could think up to exploit their new forms to liberate his silky darlings, and the poor, curvaceous beauties that were imprisoned by them. In the morning, the world would tremble at the onslaught of chibi-Happosai, infant molester, his devoted mother Genko and their beloved maid-servant, Sunna!
AN: It is my hope to wrap this up by Part 45, however, with the plans for a sequel not all the threads opened in this story will be wrapped up here. At least one thread is going to wander off into a side story, if it proves to be a distraction from the emphasis of the sequel. As many of you may note, the opening threat of Reflections has already been resolved, with Ranko's escape from the influence of the mirror and her recovery. However, things are a far cry from being back to normal! The big question on everyone's mind, right now, must be: Are all these people going to remain stuck as the wrong sex, or end up with a sex changing curse? Well, all I can say is, people who play with fire tend to get burnt. There was never a realistic chance of all the moths drawn to Ranma's-or in this case, Ranko's-flame escaping unscathed. If ever I wished to hear my reader's feedback, it would be to find out what you all think might happen to the twice cursed members of the NWC! Where will all this chaos lead? Tune in next time to find out!
Ja ne!