Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma � and all related characters.
If anyone didn't know that you probably shouldn't be reading this story.
I know it's been a while, but chapter 12 is finally ready. Hopefully,
the next chapter won't take as long. Earlier chapters can be found at
http://members.xoom.com/Yoshiro_san/cwires. A brief reminder for anyone
who may be confused. Ranma, Ryoga and Nabiki aare in the wrong bodies,
Ukyo is getting ready for a duel with Mousse and Akane is jumping to
conclusions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 12:
Akane knew that following Nabiki was a bad idea. It was just that
not following her would be worse. Nabiki might look like Ryoga, but
that didn't extend to fighting skill. If anything went wrong, Akane
would step in to protect her sister...or possibly her brother.
Nabiki steadfastly resisted the urge to look backwards. He'd
caught several glimpses of someone following them, but hadn't been able
to make out many details. All he could see was that it was a short
haired girl, wearing baggy Chinese clothing with a cap.. As far as
Nabiki could see, the only good point was that Ryoga hadn't let Ranma
drag him into anything this time.
"Ryoga, are you sure you're enjoying this? You're being very
quiet."
With an effort, Nabiki turned his attention back to the girl walking
beside him. "I'm just a bit disappointed. I wanted this to be
special."
"Don't worry, Ryoga. I'm sure it will be fine."
Behind the pair, Akane breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment
she'd thought that Nabiki had seen her. She'd have to be more careful
in the future.
=================
Ukyo grunted slightly as she blocked Shampoo's bonbori with her
spatula. A hint of movement out of the corner of her eye was her only
warning as Ryoga swept her feet out from under her. That wasn't enough
for her to do more than convert her momentum into a forward roll instead
of an awkward sprawl. Before she could regain her feet, a sweeping
kick from Shampoo knocked the spatula from her loosened grip.
"Not bad. You lasted one minute and seventeen seconds. That's
your best time yet, Ukyo," Ranma said encouragingly. The genuine smile
on her face erased most of her resemblance to Nabiki.
Ukyo nodded grudgingly. It might not seem like much, but it was a
definite improvement over the six seconds she'd lasted the first time.
"How about a break?"
"In a while. I want Shampoo and Ryoga to help you with some basic
unarmed techniques first. We can take a break after that."
Suppressing a groan, Ukyo glanced over towards her sparring
partners. Ryoga looked vaguely embarrassed, but Ukyo would have sworn
that Shampoo was smirking. "All right, let's get this over with."
"Great! You know, Pop showed me some speed drills you can do while
you're eating."
=================
"Hello, Grandfather Happosai. How has your day been?"
"Just fine, Kasumi, m'girl, just fine," Happosai replied, patting
the bulging sack slung over his shoulder.
"Master? You've come back?" Ignoring the small voice of sanity
cowering in the back of his mind, Soun Tendo had rushed into the kitchen
when he heard the conversation.
"That's right! Now that Ranma's trapped as a girl, I'm here to
stay." With an evil cackle the diminutive martial arts master bounded
away.
"Father, what do you suppose he meant by Ranma being trapped,"
Kasumi questioned in concerned voice.
"I'm not sure, but with a man as diabolical as the master no good
can come of it." Soun paused to think for a moment, appearing unusually
calm. "I don't think we should tell anyone about what the master said.
Especially not Genma." Soun had barely managed to stop Genma from
engaging Nabiki to a door to door salesman yesterday. It was as if
there was some deep, primal instinct taking up an area in his brain that
would otherwise be devoted to rational thought.
"We shouldn't tell Auntie Nodoka either. We wouldn't want
to...upset her," Kasumi said indicating her agreement.
=================
Akane stalked silently through the bushes. Nabiki and his date had
taken a haphazard, zigzag path through the park that made it difficult
to follow from any distance. It was almost as if Nabiki knew that
someone was following them. Akane paused to blink away a stray droplet
of sweat and then shook her head. They were probably just lost.
Pushing forward again, she brushed against a tree, and then froze in
shock.
An incoherent cry of anger shook the bushes to Nabiki's right,
causing him to redden slightly in anger. He hadn't seen whoever was
following them in a while, but it could only be Ranma. There was no way
he was going to let that jerk ruin his plans. Forcing down the
suspicion that he was starting to think like Ryoga, Nabiki stepped off
the path.
"Akane!" The sight of his sister dressed in ill fitting clothes
and sprawled at the base of a tree, almost rendered him speechless.
"What are you doing here?"
"That tree groped me," Akane snarled, clambering to her feet and
slamming a kick into the side of the offending plant.
"Ow!"
"Did that tree just say something?" Kiyomi asked, appearing at
Nabiki's side.
"That hurt." An almost sickeningly cute face peered out of a large
knothole in the tree's side. "I was just being friendly."
"I guess it did."
Akane's reaction was considerably more direct. "Tsubasa, you
pervert!" Nabiki and Kiyomi instinctively looked away from the sounds
of mayhem and cracking wood that followed.
"Akane why were you following us?" Deciding that it was safe to
look again, Nabiki turned back towards Akane and winced slightly at the
sigh of Tsubasa's unconscious form.
"I was just...worried, yeah that's right." Akane gave an
unconvincing chuckle as she looked into Nabiki's eyes.
Kiyomi smiled triumphantly. To her the explanation was obvious.
"You were jealous."
"I was not! I was just making sure he didn't take advantage of
you." Too late, Akane bit her tongue. That explanation might make a
certain amount of sense, considering how Nabiki treated the guys she
dated. When the other person thought she was talking about Ryoga...
"That's absurd! Ryoga wouldn't hurt a fly."
Akane blinked in surprise. She knew that Ryoga was a nice guy, but
he was a little violent at times. The rest of the time he was
homicidal.
"Come on Ryoga, I think I will have something to eat after all."
Grabbing hold of Nabiki's arm possessively, Kiyomi began to gently pull
him away from Akane.
"Did I just make things worse?" Akane wondered.
Lying forgotten on the ground, Tsubasa moaned softly. He drew
strength and encouragement from the advice of Ranma's mother. This just
meant that Akane was playing hard to get. She'd fall right into his
arms when he proved how manly he was.
=================
"Do you think Ukyo has a chance, Ranma? Are you listening to me?"
Ryoga scowled angrily at Ranma, who was standing motionless in front of
the Tendos' door.
"Quiet, P-chan. There's something wrong."
"Bah. I don't feel anything. Forcing his way past Ranma, Ryoga
opened the door and confidently stepped through it. A stream of water
changed his confidence to shock when he stepped inside. "What the?"
"Time for our first training session. You'll need to wear this,
though." Happosai produced a white silk bra, holding it clutched
tightly in one hand. "You don't want them to sag, after all."
"I was right. Something's wrong," Ranma said, peering over the
suddenly shorter Ryoga's shoulder.
"Aren't you happy to see me, Ranma?" Unshed tears glistened in
Happosai's eyes. "How can you be so cruel to an old man?" With an
barely stifled sob, Happosai lunged forward and buried his face in
Ryoga's bosom.
"Die, freak!" Ryoga's first blow knocked Happosai loose, and a
wild chase through the house quickly ensued. Ranma watched as a
laughing Happosai easily avoided Ryoga's wild attacks.
"Great. What else can go wrong?" Ranma asked as he listened to
the running battle move through the house and out the back.
"Nabiki Tendo, I require your services." The formal wording and
stiff tone could belong only one person.
Turning, Ranma had her suspicions confirmed. Standing behind her
was Tatewaki Kuno. For once he wore casual clothing, instead of wearing
his usual kendo uniform. "Yeah, what do you want Kuno?"
"Because of your unfortunate absence from school, I have not
received the merchandise I was promised."
"What're you talking about Kuno?"
"Do not mock me. You have promised to provide images of my goddess
of okonomiyaki."
For a moment, indecision froze Ranma. No matter what the
circumstances, she couldn't bring herself to go along with Kuno.
Fortunately, there was another option. "Just like a man to be so
insensitive."
Kuno frowned. This was unexpected and when dealing with Nabiki
that could only mean one thing. It was going to be expensive. "Cease
you prattling and speak clearly."
"How do you think it makes me feel when you always buy pictures of
other women?" Ranma demanded.
"I had not considered the matter."
"Well, I'm a woman too. I like to know that men find me
attractive."
"Surely you jest. I hardly think a heart of ice such as your's
could be troubled by such a thing."
"Do you really think so little of me?" Wiping awayan imaginary
tear, Ranma turned her head away from Kuno.
"Very well. I will buy pictures of you as well." Deep inside
Kuno's skull a single thought began to stir. Had Nabiki Tendo fallen
victim to the manly charms of Furinkan's most noble student? Perhaps
this could result in a discount rate?
"That's nice." Ranma directed her most saccharine smile at the
hapless lecher. "Stop by in a couple of days and I'll have something
ready."
"But I..."
"See you later." Still smiling, Ranma slammed the door on Kuno's
face.
=================
"Ranma what are you doing?" Akane wasn't sure what she'd expected
to find when she saw Nabiki's door open. It just wasn't Ranma on her
knees searching through Nabiki's desk.
"Kuno showed up looking to buy some pictures of Ucchan. I'm trying
to find them."
"You're going to sell them?" Akane struggled to keep her temper
and avoid jumping to conclusions. She knew that she couldn't really hit
Ranma under the circumstances.
"I just want to make sure they aren't too...you know."
"I suppose so. I'll help."
"You will?"
"Of course. Nabiki is my sister and Ukyo is a friend." As she
spoke, Akane unobtrusively moved a familiar envelope on the top of
Nabiki's desk out of sight. Its contents would have sparked a
conversation with Ranma that she really didn't feel like having.
Ranma frowned uneasily at the way Akane was behaving. It wasn't
that she objected to Akane treating her better, it was just that she
didn't want to have to be someone else in order for it happen. "Okay.
You check the drawers on the other side."
"Okay." Akane pulled the top drawer open, and began to quickly
sort through the material in it. Coming to an envelope, she pulled the
contents out and began to examine them. After only a glance, she
blushed and shoved the pictures back inside. She wondered who'd be
buying pictures of Ranma's male side and how Nabiki had managed to get
such revealing pictures.
"Hey! I didn't know that Ryoga wore leopard print briefs. I
wonder how Nabiki got him to pose like that."
Akane looked over at Ranma staring at a picture she held in her
hand and flushed angrily. "Give me that." Akane snatched the picture
out of Ranma's hand and glanced at it herself. She immediately realized
two things. First, Ryoga had a better build than she'd thought. The
other realization was a bit more disturbing. "I think this is Nabiki,
Ranma," Akane said, fighting down a queasy feeling in her stomach.
"She sure didn't waste much time then. She's only been in Ryoga's
body a couple of days."
"She's adapting very well," Akane grated. "Ranma! Stop looking at
those pictures."
"What? Oh yeah?" Ranma casually dropped the picture she was
holding to the floor, making sure it landed face down. There was no
sense giving Akane a swelled head, after all. "Hey, I think I've found
something."
"Pictures of Ukyo?" Akane asked. She hoped it wasn't Ryoga again.
"No, love letters. Man, there are a lot of them." Ranma picked
one out of the pile and scanned through it. "Some guy's got it really
bad for her. At least he was smart enough not to sign his name."
"Never mind, Ranma. I've found the pictures. We can't let Nabiki
sell something like this."
Ignoring Akane's scowl, Ranma grabbed a photo and examined it
herself. "Yeah, Ukyo would be pretty steamed. I don't think Ryoga
would happy either."
"Ryoga? Of course, that's our furo in the picture. It must really
be him." Akane frowned. There was something wrong about the whole
conversation.
"Do you have the negatives?"
"They're right here."
"Good. Just grab them and we'll put everything back."
=================
Ukyo sat wearily at the counter of Ucchan's. Her day hadn't been
an easy one by any standard and closing Ucchan's was starting to cut
into her profits. The days when Shampoo had served as a waitress had to
draw business in though. Actually, that was sort of depressing. It
wasn't as if she needed a reminder of how much more feminine the amazon
was. A persistent rapping noise drew Ukyo out of her brooding. Her
first impulse was to ignore the sound, but that changed when she saw
its source.
"Cologne! Shampoo said you'd be back tonight." Ukyo grinned
widely at the sight of the wizened matriarch, as she yanked the door to
Ucchan's open.
"Yes, I've already spoken to her and I must say that I've returned
barely in time."
"Then you can get Ranchan back in his body?" Ukyo asked eagerly.
"There are certain mystic rituals that can result in an exchange of
bodies." Cologne congratulated herself for wisely omitting the fact
that no one had performed the rituals in far longer than she'd been
alive. "They will require considerable time to prepare, so I suggest we
concentrate on your most immediate problem."
"You mean Mousse. You know, that law never made much sense to me.
Aren't you people supposed to be some sort of matriarchy?"
"An overstatement. In any case, the laws regarding defeat by an
outsider were intended as punishment." Cologne raised a single finger
for emphasis. "Consider the possibility that Genma might have defeated
Shampoo."
Ukyo shivered uncontrollably. That wasn't a fate that she'd wish
on anyone. "I'd rather not."
"Understandable. Now there are a number of preparations you must
make if you hope to defeat Mousse."
As Cologne outlined her plan, Ukyo leaned forward to listen.
=================
Ranma looked up from where she was lounging on the futon, as the
door to her room opened. "Ryoga, what happened to you?" Considering
that Ryoga had left chasing Happosai, Ranma already had a few ideas.
Still, with Ryoga looking this bad she had to ask.
"I chased Happosai into the women's side at the public bath," Ryoga
said, pulling off the torn and stained shirt he was wearing.
Ranma winced sympathetically; she knew how that went. It also
explained where Ryoga had found hot water. "You ought to know better.
I'm surprised you didn't pass out from blood loss or something."
"I'm getting better about that. Besides, extreme terror is a great
distraction." Ryoga sat down, wincing slightly. "Anything happen
here?"
"Nabiki got back from her date. She seemed pretty happy. At
least, she said that she and Kiyomi are going out again on Saturday."
"I hope she doesn't expect me to pay again."
"Say, aren't you a bit embarrassed that she has better luck with
girls than you?"
=================
Happosai bounded happily over the rooftops. It had been several
hours since he'd lost Ryoga, but he still had a smile on his face. Even
though things hadn't gone exactly as he planned, he knew he was going to
enjoy himself. A sudden impulse prompted him to leap to safety while a
wooden staff cut through the space he'd just vacated. "Come to relive
old times?"
"Give the statue back," Cologne said, her level voice strangely
threatening
"Sorry, I don't have it and I think you know why."
"I'm not as easy to fool as my Great-granddaughter or that chef. I
know it couldn't be destroyed that easily."
"Just like the Nanban mirror? Believe me, I'm just as broken up
about this as you are."
Cologne paused. Happosai's sorrow was insincere as always, but
he'd never been able to lie to her. "I'll be watching."
Happosai watched Cologne pogo off. How could she accuse him of
something that dishonest. It was an insult to his honor as a martial
artist. She did have point about the statue though. Suddenly, an evil
grin twisted his withered face. Things might be even better than he'd
thought.
End Chapter 12