Another of those random ideas...

			    FULFILLMENT
			by Scott K. Jamison
			(Takahashi disclaimer)

	..."Now, Ranma!" shouted Schism.  The young martial artist 
gathered all the self-confidence he could muster and unleashed the force 
of his Mouko Takabisha at the demon.  It staggered and fell back into the 
circle.  
	The wizard gestured, and the circle was closed.  Screaming a 
final obscenity, the demon vanished back to whatever hell had spawned it. 
	"All right!" cheered Ranma.
	Schism ran a sooty hand through his hair.  "It seems, young 
Saotome, I owe you an apology, and a favor.  I am sorry I mistook you for 
an ally of the demon, and deeply regret any harm done to you and yours." 
	"You might want to apologize personally to Nabiki.  It was her 
bankbook you made me burn.  But I forgive you.  Now, about that favor..."
		*			*			*
	"Jyuusenkyo, eh?  Those curses are a bit tricky.  There is one 
spell that will cure you, but there's a catch."
	"Isn't there always?  Tell me about it."
		*			*			*
	He couldn't believe he was actually about to try this.  Even as 
Ranma knocked on the gate, the sense of unreality persisted.  He shifted 
nervously, his backpack contents sloshing slightly. 
	A servant answered, Ranma didn't know her name. 
	"Please inform Upperclassman Kunou Ranma Saotome wishes to speak 
with him on a matter of great importance."
	After a brief wait, he was escorted to the main garden, where 
Kunou was performing kata with his bokken. 
	"What do you want, Ranma Saotome?  Surely you have not come to 
challenge my unparalleled swordsmanship, or to finally apologize for your 
many injuries against my person and that of my two loves?" 
	"Actually, it's one of your loves I want to discuss, but first, 
is your sister around?" 
	"You are at last ready to date with her and give up Akane 
Tendou?" 
	"No, but this discussion will be hard enough without her 
interrupting." 
	"Then you may rest easy, Saotome, for she is at a flower show and 
did not intend to be back until late this evening.  I had intended to 
find the pigtailed girl and ask if she would like to dine out tonight." 
	"And it's her I need to talk to you about."  Ranma steeled 
himself.  "It would probably be best if you were sitting down for this.  
And I need you to promise you won't interrupt me or attack anyone until 
I've finished explaining.  Okay?"
	"On my honor, I so promise, unless this proves to be another of 
your foul tricks."  Kunou found a large and reasonably 
comfortable-looking boulder to sit on.  Ranma unpacked his bag. 
	"Now, about a year ago, my father and I went to China on a 
training trip.  Due to Pops' stupidity, we fell into some magic pools and 
were cursed.  From that time on, whenever we were doused with cold water, 
we turned into the things that drowned in those pools a long time ago.  
Hot water will turn us back, but only until the next time we get wet.  
That's why I'm always so nervous around water.
	"I'm going to show you what I turn into.  I remind you of your 
promise not to interrupt or attack."  Kunou's eyes glittered with 
interest.  Trick or not, he wanted to see what Ranma was up to.
	Ranma picked up the first canteen, opened it and poured the 
contents over himself.  The familiar tingling and a shift in his angle of 
vision heralded his change. 
	"Pig-tailed Girl!" breathed Kunou, almost rising, but remembering 
(and regretting) his pledge. 
	"Yes, I am the pigtailed girl, Ranma Saotome.  One body, one 
soul.  You always talked about dark sorcery, but you never truly 
understood, did you?"
	Kunou's brow knit in a frown as he thought.  Ranma poured a 
dollop of hot water from the thermos to change back to normal while he 
waited. 
	"So this is the nature of your hold over her.  I cannot believe I 
was so blind.  Then all the times she pulled away, she was not playing 
hard to get.  You were in direct control of her mind all the time."
	"That's one way of putting it, though as far as I can tell, she 
has no mind of her own.  Leastways, none that ever talked to me."
	"But why tell this to me now?  You could have continued playing 
me for the fool for months to come without my ever growing wise." 
	"Because at long last, I may have found a cure.  But I need 
someone to help me..." 
		*			*			*
	They gathered in the false dawn.  Ranma and Kunou, of course, 
since they had the appointment with Schism.  The Tendou family was in 
attendance, each responding to the upcoming event in her or his own 
typical way.  Soun wept with joy, Kasumi had brought a picnic lunch and 
was preparing for the meal to follow the ritual, Nabiki fondled the gold 
necklace she'd extorted from Schism as payment for her loss, and Akane 
fumed. 
	This last was ocassioned by Shampoo and Ukyou, who'd gotten wind 
of the event and decided to invite themselves.  Fortunately, Ranma had 
found a modicum of backbone and told them not to cause *any* disruption.  
Shampoo had "taken care of" Mousse, so she said, and Genma was set to 
guard against Ryouga or any random martial artists interrupting.  
	"Where's Kodachi?" asked Ranma.
	"Nabiki Tendou's stratagem of persuading the Principal to take 
her on a trip to Disneyland appears to have worked.  We can only hope the 
gaijin-inspired tourist attraction will survive their attentions.  And 
the trolls?"
	"Cologne's taking care of village business, and Happosai, well, 
feeding him three barrels of sake and shipping him to Rio de Janerio for 
Carnival season should occupy the old perv for a week."
	"Then we are as ready as ever we shall be."
	The sorcerer came up to them, his off-colored eye gleaming in the 
early morning light.
	"All the preparations are made."  Schism turned to Kunou.  "Are 
you quite certain you fully understand what is to be done and are here 
willingly?"
	"Yes.  The pig-tailed girl is to be freed from Ranma Saotome and 
bound to me.  We will be one body, one soul."
	"You'll be cursed to turn female, exactly as Ranma is now."
	"As I said."
	"Then take your places."  The young men did so, and the ritual 
began as the first rays of the sun came over the horizon. 
		*			*			*
	With the sun now fully over the horizon, Schism stopped 
chanting.  He dropped to the ground, obviously exhausted.  
	"Izzat it?  I don't think anything happened." complained Ranma. 
	"The ritual...is completed.  You may leave the circles now." 
	Ranma stretched his legs and stood up.  "Yo, Kunou.  You feel any 
different?"  He was amused to see the swordsman had fallen asleep.  
	"Only one way to tell if it worked." said Akane, wielding a 
bucket. 
	Ranma sighed.  "Guess so.  Get it over with." 
	Akane threw the water, and Ranma waited for the change.  It never 
came.  All the cold water did was get him wet.
	"I'm cured!  I'm cured!  Whoop whoop!" he yelled, driving his arm 
into the air in a victory gesture.
	"Ranma, I'm so happy for y--"
	"Ranma all man, so he marry Sham--"
	"Ran-chan!"
	All simultaneously.  Ranma was too busy dancing a little jig to 
pay any attention to his fiancees though.  That was, until a mallet, 
spatula and bonbori impacted his skull at the same time. 
	"Ow!  Whadja do *that* for?  Oh, right.  Thanks for coming 
everyone, I really appreciate your support."  Suddenly, he got a nasty 
glint in his eye.  "And if I'm cured..."
	Ranma picked up another bucket and tossed it on the sleeping 
Kunou, who woke with a sputter.  Except that by the time he sat up, the 
swordslinger was a *she*.  A girl who looked exactly like female Ranma, 
except that her scarlet hair was in Kunou's hairstyle.
	"Ranma Saotome!  I shall defeat thee in--"  She stopped, and put 
a hand to her throat, followed by certain other areas of the body.  
Nabiki offered her a mirror.
	"Congratulations, Kunou-chan." she smirked.  "Guess you won't 
need to buy pictures of her any more, huh? But you might be interested in 
some feminine personal products I just happen to have brought with me..."   	
	"I don't get it." said Akane.  "Shouldn't he be turning into a 
female version of himself, look something like Kodachi, maybe?" 
	Schism swallowed a mouthful of Kasumi's rice dumpling.  "Well, if 
he'd fallen in the Spring of Drowned Girl himself, yes.  But he 
specifically has *Ranma's* curse, thus he turns into the girl Ranma once 
did."
	"Say, do you think you could arrange--" began Genma.  
	"Like you're ever going to find someone stupid enough to accept 
your curse?" asked Ukyou.  "Get real.  Ran-chan, would you like more 
okonomiyaki?"
	"No! Husband want breakfast ramen, yes?"
	The two expert cook fiancees squared off.  Ranma sighed.  
Obviously some things hadn't changed, even with his cure.  He slid a 
little closer to Akane, but not enough to spook her.
	"Where is the pigtail?"
	"You have to make it yourself, Kunou.  500 yen to show you how." 
	After a couple of clumsy attempts, Kunou gave in and paid up. 
	Kunou tried the hot water/cold water trick a couple of times to 
see how it worked.
	"Well, Saotome, I must now take my leave."
	"Aren't you forgetting something?  A little agreement we made?"
	Kunou flinched.  "Yes.  Honor."  He went to Akane and bowed low 
before her.
	"Akane Tendou.  She who captured half my heart, rapturous beauty, 
like unto the sweet honeydew of madness.  I hereby regretfully renounce 
any claim to you, and pledge upon my honor and that of the house of Kunou 
that I will never pursue you romantically again.  I hope you can forgive 
me for abandoning you in this manner."
	"Yes. Yes, I think I can.  Thank you, Upperclassman."
		*			*			*
	Several days later, Ranma was defending himself against the 
bokken strikes of Osage Kunou, as the kendoist preferred to be called in 
his female form.  It was a bit strange for Ranma, as while Kunou was 
still learning how to use his new body, and thus should have been an easy 
target, the now full-time boy found himself holding back.  Was it the 
sensation of fighting a part of his own identity, or just his well-known 
reluctance to hurt girls?
	"So, Osage, how you adjusting?" Dodge, strike, dodge...
	"Quite well, actually.  Though I still have trouble adjusting to 
the new clothing styles.  That, and my sister keeps trying to kill me 
whenever I get wet.  The Principal doesn't even seem to have noticed my 
transformations.  Oh, and I had to thrash the Kendo Club until they 
recognized me as leader again."  STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE...
	What Kunou didn't know was that the Principal had made a few 
promises earlier in his life...promises that were about to come due...

		The End

SKJAM!
"I seek to cure what's inside, frightened of what I've become"