----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Kleppe" <kleppe@mediaone.net>
To: <ffml@fanfic.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2000 5:58 AM
Subject: [FFML] [Ranma][Fanfic] For a Dying Friend
]] If this duplicates what others have said, so be it.
]]
]] Also, please remember that perusing C&C is a good
]] way to have the story spoiled...
FOR A DYING FRIEND
Ranma 1/2 manga fanfiction
by Gary Kleppe
The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the creation of and rightful
property of Rumiko Takahashi. They are used here without permission.
This story may be freely redistributed, but it should not be altered
substantially or used for profit in any way.
]] Nice to see a REAL disclaimer upon occasion.
]] BTW, Any comments are my thoughts. Your story is fine the way
]] it is. In fact it is your best, IMHO.
...
The clinic is a maze of corridors and examination rooms with
tables of cold stainless steel. Racks of medicine and equipment hang on
the walls, like the torture implements of a medieval dungeon.
]] A metaphor that brings back one of my favorite scenes in
]] "Star Trek 4". I'll leave it at that.
...
"Yes," I say, and hear the anger and frustration in my voice. I
shouldn't get mad at the doctor. It's not his fault. Whose it is, who
really deserves to be the target of the emotions I'm feeling, I don't
know. All I do know is that he's answered my question, by not answering
it. There was nothing that he, or I, could do.
Kidney deterioration. I think of Mrs. Yamane from next door, how
three years ago the ambulance came to her house to take her to the
hospital. Her kidneys were bad, they said; but they put her on a
dialysis machine and eventually transplanted another kidney into her
body, and she was able to come home. How I wish that were possible in
this case.
]] I will admit to having read (or at least scanning) the story
]] before I started this. One thing I find profoundly troubling.
]] WHY didn't Ranma let Akane in on who and what 'P-chan' was?
]] There would be no need to let 'P-chan' know, of course.
...
Except.... "Doctor, I promised my husband I would wait until
he's back."
"All right, Akane." The doctor nods in understanding. "There's
some tea in the outer room in case you'd like. I'll let you know if
there's any change."
]] It's interesting to ponder some of the moral discussions of the
]] day while reading this scene. (Please not on the list!)
With nothing else to do, I sit back and wait, as I said, for my
husband, wondering a little angrily why he couldn't have stayed with me
through this. I thought they were friends. He was the one who nearly
throttled the doctor demanding a dialysis machine, until the doctor
explained why it wouldn't work. Then he read the letter we'd gotten from
Shampoo, and ran off to the location her map had shown, not explaining
why it couldn't wait just a few days.
]] Again, if Ranma had explained the situation, Akane would not feel
]] as she does. This is a horribly painful secret to carry.
...
I poured the water over Ranma again. "Yeeeowtch! That's hot!" he
screamed, and he was male.
]] For now.
...
"Ranma's curse has... evolved?" I said, wondering what more
there was that she hadn't told us yet.
]] I will refrain from a Pokemon joke.
...
"Ranma, there's an old Amazon saying that you might wish to bear
in mind." Cologne hopped down from the chair to the floor. "A true
warrior only fights when fighting is to her advantage."
]] An interesting comment. Cologne clearly not only has
]] objectified Ranma, but Shampoo as well. I have little doubt
]] Shampoo would stay at Ranma's side, even now. BUT Shampoo
]] is young, and any time wasted here would mean less healthy
]] young Amazons she could produce.
]] The comment illustrates her position, but...
Turning, he looked her directly in the eyes. "His."
]] She is mistaken to think it Ranma's. The battle is CLEARLY
]] to Ranma's advantage, but not the tribe's.
...
I inched closer. "Found something?"
"Yeah!" He laid a book on my lap, pointing to the open page. "It
talks about the curses becoming permanent."
"Really?" I read it. *For some victims, the curses of Jusenkyo
may eventually require hotter and hotter water to undo, soon leaving the
victim fixed in cursed form. In such cases,*
The page ended there. Ranma turned to the next one. I began to
feel hopeful.
I continued reading. *...there is no known way to remove the
curse. For this reason, Jusenkyo should be avoided at all costs.*
]] An old trick (a fortuitous page break), but effective here.
A silence fell over the room. This wasn't the first time Ranma
had faced the possibility of being stuck permanently as a woman; but
there had always been a cure, if not within reach, at least in sight.
]] It can be argued that the Kaisuifuu was not TECHNICALLY in sight,
]] at least until the end of the story arc.
...
"Thinkin' about that story, and this thing with the curse...
I've figured out something that I didn't really know before."
"What's that, Ranma?"
"My pop is a complete idiot."
]] It took Thirty-eight manga volumes and for Ranma to
]] realize that?! :)
...
I heard Ranma stand up. Part of me expected -- *wanted--* him to
drag me onto the bed and start ripping off my clothes. To this day, I'm
not sure how I'd have reacted. If he'd tried it any other time, I'd have
clobbered him within an inch of his life. But I still couldn't shake the
feeling, the fear, that this was the last chance we'd ever have to be...
together... as man and woman.
]] Now THIS is an interesting thought.
]] Perfect 20-20 hindsight.
]] I wonder if they should have taken a trip to the ol' sperm bank?
...
"You're sure?" Pause to listen. "You're really, really sure?"
Another pause. "Well, okay, but you're pretty sure?" And yet another.
"Okay, thanks!"
Breakfast was waiting for me at the table. I sat down. "Who was
that on the phone, Ranma?"
"The weather service." He smiled. "They said there's essentially
no chance of rain today."
]] Scant comfort in Nerima, the Seattle of the Orient...
]] Not to mention home of the cleanest sidewalks in Tokyo...
"Check this out." He handed me a piece of paper. The picture on
it showed a man in full scuba gear, complete with cyclopean mask and
duck-like flippers.
I handed it back. "Where'd you get it?"
"From Nabiki.
]] I STILL wonder if she showed this to Ranma just to see if he
]] would actually go out and get one.
See what this guy's wearing? It's a wet suit. But
in my case, it's gonna be a dry suit. I'm goin' over to Kinnikuatama's
sporting goods right now to get one."
...
"RANMA!" I passed two blocks before I realized I was still
wearing my in-house slippers. "Ranma, WAIT!" Fire burned in my chest as
I gasped for breath. I pushed myself faster. I could see him for a
moment as he rounded the corner onto Ushiro, and I shouted with what was
left of my breath. "Ranma, don't go down THAT street!"
I came around the corner. Ranma stood on the pavement, gaping in
stunned disbelief. Water dripped from his face. His female face. Oh,
gods, I thought, this isn't happening. I'm going to wake up any moment
now and still be in bed, and my life won't have been forever and
irreversibly changed by an old woman's careless splash of water.
]] Of all the ways for IT to happen. In other stories, it's a Chinese
]] warlord or an Amazon matriarch. But here, it's the old woman with
]] the water bucket.
"You like WATER?" Ranma shouted at the old woman. "I'll give you
water! C'mere! I'll jam that ladle right up your...."
"No!" I tackled him like an American football player, pushing
him to the ground. "You can't!"
Ladle in hand, the old woman walked back toward her house,
totally oblivious to the madman turned madwoman screaming at her. She
must have been deaf as a post.
"Damn it, Akane... I could've won." Ranma collapsed into my
arms, crying like a woman. No, like a human being. "I could've won."
]] An important distinction here. Akane might have grown up a bit.
]] If only Ranma's parents did too... :(
...
There was no answer, so Ranma and I went to check on him.
When we got to the bedroom, the window was hanging open. Mr.
Saotome's backpack was missing, along with the pile of spare gis that
usually occupied a spot on the floor.
]] An interesting question here is WHAT happened to him? I presume he
]] is concerned about THE AGREEMENT... Or, maybe the possibility of
]] being similarly trapped.
"Pop's flown the coop. Run off. Look at this."
A napkin lay on the floor. A crude sketch on it was drawn in
felt pen. The blade of a katana. The meaning was obvious.
]] Oh, I guess it was the agreement.
...
"You would take a son away from his mother?"
"If the alternative is you taking him away from me, then yes, I
would."
"Akane, I'm not such an unreasonable person as you apparently
think me. I do appreciate that what's happened to Ranma is out of her
control."
"I--" I flustered, as the protective walls of formality that I'd
built crumbled around me. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Saotome." Should've known
better than to do battle with a master.
"That's all right, dear. Now we need to decide what to do about
Ranma, don't we."
]] I hope I don't make a fool of myself by asking if this is a
]] question?
"What would you suggest, Mrs. Saotome?" Maybe she would be able
to help. As the old saying went, with age comes wisdom, or at least if
you didn't end up as an underwear-stealing pervert.
"It is the gods' will, evidently, that Ranma, at least for the
present, is to be a woman. So, he should learn how to be a woman."
]] Sorry, I may get reamed over this, but this rubs me the wrong way.
]] Don't forget all Nodoka's tests of manhood, etc. And how she
]] said how manly Ranma was, while unconscious in cursed form, in the
]] manga. I think she wouldn't behave this way, but you are the
]] author.
"How do you mean?" I asked, not liking where this was going.
"Buy him some women's clothes. Take him on 'girls' nights out.'
Go to a cooking class together."
"Thank you, Mrs. Saotome," I said. "I'll give your idea all the
consideration it deserves." I hung up.
I didn't talk much with her after that.
]] Oh well.
Okay, so I didn't have the wisdom that comes with age. But I
did, at least some of the time, know a dangerously stupid idea when I
hear one. All his life, Ranma had been told that being manly was good,
that he was worthless unless he acted like a macho jerk all of the time.
As much as I might like to cure him of that, I couldn't just pretend
that it wasn't so anymore.
]] Bites tongue. (Or is it restrains typing fingers?) Whatever.
No, if anything, I had to make Ranma feel *more* like a man.
And, as I went through an ordinary day's motions, it became undeniably
clear what that would take. If I were planning to fight Pantyhose,
Saffron, and Ashura single-handed, I wouldn't have been more afraid.
]] Should that be a semicolon in the above line?
"Sure." His breasts flopped a little as he swung around to a
sitting position. He ought to wear a bra, I thought, but now wasn't a
good time to bring that up. "About the engagement, right?" His voice was
leaden, with no trace of enthusiasm or surprise.
]] A sports bra might not be too big of a concession. One idea that
]] occurred to me was a radical mastectomy.
I crouched down next to him. "Uh huh."
"Look, it's all right," he said, his eyes locked firmly onto my
foot. "Don't worry about it."
"About what?"
"Pop's gone anyhow. I'll tell Mr. Tendo where he can stick that
family pledge thing. You ain't gotta marry me."
]] Somehow, I like don't gotta better...
...
"Is that the only problem you have with this?" I asked. "What
people will think?"
"Um...." He thought for a second. "Yeah."
]] It's GREAT to see a strong Akane in this situation.
...
"He's run off. He may be trapped in his cursed form too, for all
we know." Actually, I hadn't thought about it before then. But Mr.
Saotome had at least half the same genes as Ranma, so it stood to reason
that he'd be susceptible as well. I hoped he'd be all right.
]] This is incredibly magnanimous, since he is the ultimate
]] architect of their woe.
...
"Well? How's it look?"
]] Presumably Akane got some fashion tips for Ukyo...
...
He examined himself in the mirror. "I suppose I could pass for
myself if the person really didn't know me that well. At least the curse
doesn't change my hair color or something stupid like that."
]] The obligatory swipe at the evil non-manga faction.
He smirked.
...
"Okay, I give up," he said. "You win." Quite some admission,
coming from him. "Akane, do you wanna marry me?"
I sighed. "Ranma, you idiot, why do you think I went through the
trouble of...." I stopped, as it dawned on me why he'd said that. "Oh.
Yes, Ranma. Yes!"
]] Ah... So she listened. I like her new found maturity. As I said,
]] a strong Akane is needed to turn this situation around.
We hesitated for a few moments, and then our lips met. It was a
sloppy kiss, but our first real one all the same, and I'll always
remember it.
]] Good scene. No, Great scene.
...
The ceremony went off without a hitch; after everything we'd
been through, it was quite anticlimactic. Ranma seemed almost
disappointed that no one showed up to demand that he marry her (or him)
instead. I could almost see his ego deflating. *You're damaged goods,
Saotome; no one wants you anymore.*
]] Nice observation.
After the wedding, Nabiki went off to begin university studies
in Osaka. Mrs. Saotome went back to whatever it was she did,
]] One of the great unsolved mysteries...
and Ranma
and I went back home with Dad and Kasumi.
At first, we were both scared to try anything resembling sex.
For the first few weeks, all we did was kiss, and cuddle in the dark
until we fell asleep. Neither of us had any experience, and the fact
that we were -- physically -- both women only made it more difficult.
Especially for me. My every instinct told me that this was wrong, that I
should be disgusted at the thought of touching another woman in that
way.
Eventually, we finally worked up the courage to explore each
other by touch. We bumbled around blindly, learning by trial and error,
and one thing led to another. I learned to look past the deceptions of
sight and feel and see Ranma as the man he really was -- as he'd always
been -- and make love to my husband.
]] Thanks for sparing us the details. You said what had to be said,
]] and no more.
...
Having inherited the family dojo, Ranma and I looked over the
family finances and found that they were an absolute mess.
]] Sigh. Probably true.
...
I stayed mostly by Ranma's side during all of this conversation,
occasionally correcting his memory of the facts (what else is a good
wife for?) I could just imagine what was going through his mind. These
people had missing limbs, couldn't walk, couldn't hear, but they didn't
sit around moping about it. They simply carried on with their lives,
working, helping each other, and even enjoying themselves. And now here
was Ranma Saotome. Ranma, who had a body most anyone would envy. A body
with which there was absolutely nothing wrong except that it happened to
be a different gender from the one to which he was accustomed. And what
did *you* have to complain about, Ranma Saotome?
]] This is a wonderful scene that puts it all in perspective.
]] A thought on the conclusion, however. Could gender be removed?
]] For example: A body with which there was absolutely nothing wrong
]] except that it happened to be a little different from the one to
]] which he was accustomed.
]] It may or may not work. Your call.
Eventually, the crowd began to thin out. Ranma and I made our
goodbyes as we drifted toward the exit. Kasumi waved at us. "Byebye!"
"Kasumi..." A smile crept onto Ranma's face. "Thanks."
With eyes wide, she looked back at him. "Oh my. For what?"
]] And the riddle that is Kasumi remains unanswered. Did brilliant
]] Kasumi set this up, then put on her act? OR did blissfully unaware
]] Kasumi forget the cookies by accident and call to have Akane
]] deliver them?
...
I hadn't even given a thought to Ryoga in the past few months.
Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. I'd just assumed that he'd gone back
to his parents, or to Akari, or to wherever he spent most of his time.
It was a little unsettling to realize that I didn't know all that much
about him -- that I hadn't really even tried to find out.
]] Truer words were never spoken. Or thought.
...
My arms sagged, and I noticed that I was still carrying a bag
full of groceries in each of them. With an undignified grunt, I lugged
them into the kitchen and began putting them in their proper places.
Maybe I had no right to know what Ranma and Ryoga were talking about.
Maybe it was something personal between them, something that I had no
part in unless one of them decided to confide in me.
...
]] This is, as I said earlier, profoundly troubling. I'm not saying
]] rewrite it, just recording my feelings.
...
"Honestly," I grumbled, doing as asked.
Something squirmed in my arms. I shifted them, trying to balance
whatever it was. It squealed, and I knew what I was holding.
"P-CHAN!" My eyes flew open as I squeezed the pig excitedly.
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you again!"
Ranma chuckled. "Geez, squeeze him to death, why don'tcha."
"Sorry!" I loosened my grip to took a look at P-chan. His limbs
were much scrawnier than they'd been, and his once-plump belly had
thinned. "Oh, Ranma, look at him!"
...
And every day, no matter what else might be going on or might
need to be done, Ranma and P-chan would train. Three times a day,
regardless of the weather, they went to the park. Sometimes they simply
raced to see how many laps they could run together around the perimeter.
Other times they played a game that Ranma called "P-ball." The object,
so far as I could tell, was to tag your opponent with a thrown tennis
ball; there were a whole host of other rules and complications to it
that seemed to be made up day by day.
Months stretched into years. Our lives had once again settled
into a sort of stable pattern, just as they had after Ranma's arrival in
Nerima so long ago. It was a status quo that lasted until the day the
letter came.
]] Soapbox time!
]] Okay, I must ask a question. Again, the story is wonderful as it is
]] But...
]]
]] Ranma has Akane to honor his manhood. But Ryouga becomes the
]] family dog. He has a human mind, where is the mental
]] stimulation? Something to read, perhaps? This could be as simple
]] as Ranma always using new magazines to line his... uh... pigbox
]] or whatever. It could be as elaborate as a mini TV set with a
]] remote. And to be honest, I feel Ranma WOULD buy one. But that
]] would profoundly alter the story. Any, it really hurts to see
]] a human being treated like an animal. A pampered and love pet no
]] doubt, but an animal.
]] I appreciate the inspiration for the piece being a beloved pet,
]] but I DO feel Ranma would do even more than he does.
...
Ranma,
I finally find map that tell where to find
zuihouniquan!!! You not believe where it say go look: in Japan!
Not only is Japan, is place only twenty kilometers out of Tokyo!
I no know if map is correct, maybe out of date, maybe false. But
I hope it tell truth. You go follow map, Ranma, and I hope you
find cure. Zaijian,
Shampoo
]] WOW! Pronouns!!!
...
"But they'll be able to help him, right?" Ranma said, his eyes
pleading like an eight-year-old's.
]] The strain of this secret is heart breaking.
...
The whole thing seemed ludicrous. What on Earth was Ranma
thinking? But the look in his eyes said that this was the most important
thing in the whole world. I didn't understand it, but I had to trust
him.
]] Why doesn't Akane wonder WHY Ranma asks like this. He HATED
]] P-chan before, why not now?
...
"Mister--" The clinic receptionist carries a towel over to
Ranma, staring at his ripped clothing, at the opened breast bindings.
"Mister... Saotome?"
"Akane, I found it!" he says, ignoring the man staring at his
revealed cleavage. A sealed Freezerware container rests in his left
]] Is 'Freezerware' a proper name/brand name?
...
Dr. Tanaka reaches down to touch the pig, then looks up and
shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Akane."
My husband collapses into my arms. I embrace him with all my
strength; his shirt squishes, and I can feel the wetness seeping into my
dress, and I don't care. Ranma begins to sob, like a girl, I want to
think, but that's not right; like a human being, one who's just lost a
friend. Perhaps I'll never understand what was really between them, a
friendship so strong that Ranma was willing to give up his one chance at
a cure to save his friend's life by making him a human.
Maybe none of us can really understand. Maybe all we can do is
to plow ahead, taking whatever life gives us. I don't know. I'm too
tired to think anymore.
I look at Ranma, and notice that he's fallen asleep in my arms.
I want to join him, but one of us needs to get us back home. I glance
down at the table for a final look, one final snapshot for the scrapbook
that was my memory. Goodbye, P-chan.
]] Thanks. I said my piece...
Kevin D. Hammel
========================================
khammel@mail.anime.sobhrach.com
kevinsff@pacbell.net
http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~khammel/
========================================