PASTE TO CHAPTER ONE, PART ONE HERE
in Nerima. And perhaps another active layer around the Dojo as well.
It wouldn't do for their guest to be murdered, after all - or to turn out to
actually be a murderer. She honestly didn't know why they were even
trusting the boy this far, but she certainly wasn't going to drop her
guard any further...
After they left, Ranma lay down to sleep. Apparently Ryoga had
been successful, as odd as that seemed. He was somewhere that
everyone hated his name. Hated his face even. However, they did not
hate him specifically, only his counterpart. He did not do the things the
other Ranma had. Someday he would return to his own world, he hoped.
Before then, though, he would make that bastard copy of himself pay for
what he did to Akane, to the Tendos, to his mother, to Shampoo, to
everyone. Despite his brooding anger, worry and concern, he drifted off
to sleep with the endless drone of rain beating off of the dojo...
The sound of Akane screaming dragged him from his bed. Out the
door in a heart-beat, Ranma neglected to notice the change that the rain
brought her as she sprinted around the corner of the house for Akane's
window, her internal clock said it was about three in the morning.
Remembering what Nabiki had cautioned her about during the evening,
she began to shout. "Nabiki! Kasumi! Wake up! Wake up!"
In a single hop she was on Akane's window-sill, opening the locked
fixture with practiced ease, just wide enough to enter, in less time than
it took to draw another breath. Still calling for the girls, she looked around
her room. No one there, and Akane was just starting to sit up. Damn, she
had woken everyone for a nightmare. Well, better safe than sorry. Ranma
gathered Akane into her arms, trying to calm and comfort her, but was at
a loss as to what to do after that...
Nabiki entered behind the sword wielding Kasumi and flicked on the
light. Kasumi might be able to function in the dark, but she couldn't.
Everyone had woken to the sounds of Akane's screams, only to here
other yells only a second later. Looking at the redheaded girl who held
her sobbing sister, Nabiki was glad she brought her knife. Anyone who
could slip into the house without disturbing the wards was, by definition,
dangerous. Then again, why was the redhead rocking Akane and trying
to comfort her? "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm Ranma, remember? I heard Akane screaming, but there was
no-one here."
Kasumi could instantly spot the girls voice, and placed her sword
towards her. "Ranma is a boy. Answer if you value your life."
Ranma looked down at herself and groaned. "Sorry about this. I
forgot you didn't know. I'm cursed. I change sex in cold water."
Nabiki crossed to the bed and prized Akane from the strange girl's
arms. "Bullshit. Kasumi, take this girl downstairs. I be there as soon
as I calm down Akane."
At sword point, Ranma descended. When she reached the bottom,
he turned to Kasumi. "Do you want some tea while we're waiting?"
Kasumi held her feelings of hospitality in check. This girl was an
invader and had probably attacked her sister. She could wait without
tea. "I'm not taking my hands off this sword until you're out of here."
A few minutes later a composed Akane accompanied her sister down
to the living room. When she got there, she admired the girl. She was
very cute, even if a trifle damp from the rain still. "Kasumi, it was just a
nightmare. After I started screaming, I... I felt her holding me. I... I just
kept hearing Saotome... and fe-fealing... what he did to me... all over
again. Thank you for your help, but who are you?"
Ranma sighed again. "I told you, I'm Ranma, the guy that was in
the dojo. I've got a curse that changes me into a girl. Look, Nabiki,
could you get me some hot water please?"
Nabiki prodded the girl in the chest. "She certainly seems like a
girl to me. I really don't think they're fakes. Could be Ranma was a girl
in disguise, but I don't see why."
"ARRRG! Will someone get me some hot water, or will I get it
myself?"
Kasumi: "Move and you lose your head."
Nabiki: "What do you need hot water for?"
Akane: "How did you get in my window?"
"IT'S TO REVERSE MY CURSE! Forget it, I'll serve myself!"
Rolling backwards, Ranma sprang to her feet, moving under
Kasumi's sword strike. In a moment she was headed for the kitchen,
and Akane and Kasumi were following. Even as Kasumi swung at her,
she moved to the correct cupboard and grabbed a familiar yellow kettle.
While she filled the kettle, she parried Kasumi's swift attacks with one
hand. Every cut or stroke Kasumi made, the girl would tap the flat of
the blade with her bare hands and deflect it. Akane watched in
amazement. Even to attempt such a thing was a joke, but to succeed
was beyond incredible.
When the kettle was filled and on the stove, the girl turned her full
attention to Kasumi. "It's not nice to play with sharp toys, Kasumi.
Someone, even me, could get hurt."
Faster then anyone could see - or sense, in Kasumi's case - she
reached out and pulled the sword from Kasumi's hands. Placing it on
the bench behind her, she sighed and looked at Akane. "You tried to
hit me this evening, and you couldn't. Do you want to try again, or can
we wait for the water to heat?"
The girls growled but relented. The kitchen exit was blocked, but if
she wanted to get out, she could have done it long ago. Eventually the
girl pulled the kettle off the stove and poured water over her head.
Kasumi heard her sisters fall to the floor, and took a fighting stance.
She could not hear any new attackers. Then Ranma spoke. "I warned
'em what to expect, and still they faint."
"Oh, Ranma-kun. When did you get here? Did you see a girl leaving?"
"Damn, sorry Kasumi, I forgot you couldn't see me change. Give me
your hand for a second. OK, feel it? That's my chest. Now I'll pour some
cold water. Do you get it?"
Under her hand, she felt her point of contact lower by several inches,
and swell into the soft firmness of a girl's breast. At the same time, the
voice rose in pitch. Unmistakably, Ranma had changed into the girl
they had been talking to.
"Oh my."
The sun was shining when Ranma finally managed to convince the
Tendo girls and to explain what had happened about his curse. Nabiki
was cynically refusing to believe in shape-changing magic curses, as
no magic she ever heard of allowed continuous and instant fluctuation
of form after the initial effect, curse or otherwise. And certainly not
without some sort of accompanying pain. The fastest metamorphosis
on record took place in just under five minutes, and the poor fellow had
passed out from the agony of such a rapid shift in physiology. Yet here
was Ranma, changing back and forth almost instantly with the
application of hot or cold water, never once complaining of even the
slightest discomfort. Unfortunately, she was having a hard time coming
up with a better explanation than a magical curse.
Akane sat there for a while, then got permission to try for herself.
After a while she got the hang of it, and spent almost three hours
changing him from one sex to another as quickly as water could heat.
"I could get to enjoy this!"
"I'm sure you would," Ranma responded dryly, remembering back
to when Ukyo had responded similarly to discovering his curse.
Granted, he was accepting their behavior towards him with better grace
this time, largely because he realized that they weren't entirely
comfortable with him. If this is what it took to ease their mind, they
could change him as often as they needed too...
When Kasumi began to place breakfast items on the table, Akane
ceased playing with her gender-changing toy. Ranma watched her as she
took the kettles and buckets away, she was much quieter and gentler
than the Akane she knew. For that matter, despite what she had said
last night, she was also a lot slower than the Akane she knew. Her
tomboy was fast and strong. This girl had much better technique, but
Ranma honestly believed that she wouldn't last the warm up against
the Akane he knew.
Ranma joined them at the breakfast table and noticed something
when reaching for the food. She was still a she. Moving her hand, he
grabbed the tea kettle and prepared for a very hot transformation.
"Ranma-kun, would you mind not changing? Akane gets a bit
nervous sometimes. I suspect that she just wanted to have a friendly
girl around for a while. Will you be going to school?"
That one stopped Ranma for a bit. To school or not to school?
Sighing she realized that school probably was necessary. For that
matter, if she kept up studying, her teachers wouldn't get on her case
too much when she returned. "Hmm, you could be right Kasumi. I think
I'd better go to school. For that matter, it might be better if I went as a
girl. It might make things a bit... easier for a while. Say! Will you be all
right if we go off to school. I know you've got the sword and everything,
but what if Saotome comes here?"
Kasumi laughed. It was a beautiful sound. So full of life and happiness,
just the sound to fill the emptiness created by such unpleasant thoughts.
"Don't worry, Ranma-kun. I'll head off the same time as you kids, and
spend the day with my fiancee."
Ranma sat spell bound as Kasumi wiggled her fingers at her. On
one hand she had a gold engagement ring, with quite a large diamond.
"Err... Kasumi... I... I didn't realize. Is... is it Dr. Tofu?"
Kasumi gave her patented smile and laughed happily again. "Of course
it is Ranma-kun. Do you know Dr. Tofu? He so lovely, always so kind.
There's really no-one like him."
Ranma chuckled a little. "Oh, I'm not sure that's right, Kasumi. I
can think of one person who's every bit as nice as Dr. Tofu, and the
lucky man happens to be marrying her."
Kasumi blushed and the two packed away the dishes in a
contented silence. Kasumi would wash, and Ranma put them away
while they waited for Akane and Nabiki to get ready for school. In a
few minutes the kitchen was sparkling clean again. When the four
headed off for school (and Tofu's, which was along the route) Kasumi
pondered Ranma. She seemed so nice, but several things just did not
fit. Firstly, she seemed to know them all well. She knew Akane's skill,
she knew Nabiki's habits of selling information. She also put away every
plate and glass without hesitation, and that meant that she knew her
kitchen. Ranma knew just a little bit too much for her to be comfortable.
On top of that, despite the fact that she had reacted with much better
grace that her sisters had to Ranma's 'curse', Kasumi knew full well the
medical reasons why rapid metamorphosis caused pain in those who
indulged in it. What Ranma had done was no illusion - while illusions
could be touched, they had to be seen to be effective, which made
Kasumi immune to them. Either Ranma had a tolerance of pain that
was quite simply beyond all human norms, or her 'curse' didn't hurt
at all...
Kasumi was just about to separate from the group to see her
fiancee when Ranma spoke up. "I've been thinking. Since everyone
here seems to jump at the name Ranma, perhaps we should try
something I usually do when I'm in my cursed form. Maybe Ranko,
or perhaps Yoiko..."
Nabiki and Kasumi were not very keen. They both had alarm bells
ringing about this Ranma. Something just did not add up. If Ranma
Saotome was back in Nerima, then there was the possibility that this
was him, playing one of his little games. Nabiki had never heard of a
spell which could change someone's sex so easily... but stranger
things had occurred.
Akane, on the other hand, was over the moon. She immediately
latched onto Ranma's arm and batted her eyes at her. "Oh, I like
Ranko! You really are a wild child! Hey, after school you want to come
back to the dojo? We could do some sparing again. I'm sure that there's
lots you could teach me, you were so good!"
'Ranko' looked distinctly nervous, and Nabiki and Kasumi just
frowned. Their sister could be a bit thick some times, and it looked
like this was one of them. 'Ranko' definitely was the sort of friend which
Akane favored, and Nabiki was just a little bit sad that she would not be
able to have that strong body of his. However, she knew what father would
say. If Ranma was half boy, and Akane liked him, Father would start
booking a wedding before the dust could settle.
After a moment, she knocked herself on the head, reminding
herself that she didn't trust this strange girl. Why was she suddenly
so enamored for her male version? It didn't make any sense!
As they continued on to school, Akane held Ranko's hand and
explained about their school and the strange Principle they had. He
was a bit obsessive about haircuts, and had a few strange ideas about
running a school, but all in all it was a nice enough place to study.
They had almost reached the school gates when they saw a crowd
of boys. Akane released Ranko's hand, and charged into the attacking
fray.
Ranko turned to Nabiki in shock. In her world, these fights had
ended within days of her arrival, and she had mostly forgotten them.
Looking at Nabiki, she struggled to put her surprise into words.
Nabiki took pity on the neo-girl and led her around the fight. "Yes,
this happens every morning. Gosunkugi decreed that anyone who
wanted to date Akane had to defeat her in combat. After all Akane's
been through, you'd think he could be a bit more tolerant, but that
guy's so obsessed he couldn't see anything other than himself."
Ranko could barely believe her ears. "Go... Gosunkugi!? Gosunkugi
told people to do this... and they did it?"
"Yeah. Makes you sick, doesn't it? But still, everyone's afraid of
him, so they sort of follow his orders."
Akane was finished, so they walked over to her and headed for
the school building. "I don't believe it. People are afraid of Gosunkugi?"
"Sure, no one can defeat him, and no-one comes anywhere near
him in power. He's probably the strongest mage in Nerima!"
When Ranko collapsed in shock, Akane carried her into class.
Nabiki wandered off thoughtfully. What they said was true. Gos-kun
was the best. He might not be as rich as Kuno-chan, but he had lots
of potential. A talented mage could have the world as his oyster,
especially if he had someone to guide him. Then again, the best way
to deal with Ranko may be to have someone with a little magical
experience have a look at that 'curse' of his. Perhaps a word in
Gosunkugi's ear...
Akane and Ranko were out in the grounds eating lunch when
Gosunkugi walked up. He looked the same as Ranko remembered,
but then, her Gosunkugi could not even command the respect of the
cockroaches, let alone command the sorts of power that Akane had
told her about. Gosunkugi on the other hand was thoroughly
unimpressed by Ranko. She looked like a Martial Artist, and he had
not been beaten in a fight since Elementary School when his powers
first manifested. Adjusting his vision to look in the magical and etheric
planes, Gosunkugi could not detect any sort of magic around Ranko.
She showed signs of having magically blessed... but most of the usual
magical fluxes were not present. If Nabiki had seen anyone other than
Ranko, it must have been an illusion spell cast at the time.
Nice enough looking, but Nabiki had expressed a concern that her
sister was falling for this stranger. As always, Gosenkugi refused to
come to terms with Akane's interest in girls, or the reasons why her
interests lay that way. While they appeared innocent enough, just sitting
together like friends, Nabiki was seldom wrong when it came to reading
people's motives. It had to be better with her own family, right?
"So, it is true! You have decided to mock my word and date with
the lovely Tendo Akane. Despite the fact that you are a member of the
fairer sex, you are still bound by my commands! Even more so, since
you would attempt to pervert this innocent girl with your strange desires.
No! If you would date with her, you must beat her in combat!"
Ranko just looked a t Gosenkugi through half-lidded eyes, thoroughly
unimpressed. "I did."
Gosunkugi turned beet root purple in rage. "You claim that you could
be someone as good as my flower? Very well, you must also beat me
before I would accept your advances on her!"
"'Scuse me Akane. This will only take a moment."
Even as Akane protested, Ranko stood up, then launched a blow
at Gosunkugi. She could see he was a wimp, so she wouldn't go all
out. When the blow stopped an inch from his face, Gosunkugi laughed.
"Feh! Your pitiful attacks can never penetrate my shield spell! Surrender
now and renounce you attempts on Akane's virtue and affections, or
face your punishment!"
Ranma snarled and took a fighting stance. Maybe there was some
truth to what Akane had said about magic. "You make me sick, Gos.
You're worse than Kuno ever was. He wanted Akane because he loved
her. You just see her as an object, a toy. Akane's someone special,
and I l... I l... I like her, so back off, or your gunna get hurt!"
Neither Akane and Gosunkugi could not quite understand Ranko's
references to Kuno. Although he was rich and a talented Kendo fighter,
he was still only one of the hordes of boys which wanted Akane. At
Ranko declaration of appreciation for Akane, they had quite distinctly
different reactions. Akane clasped her hands beneath her chin, and
looked like she was in heaven. Gosunkugi looked like he was in hell.
To help spread the misery, he summoned a small fireball in
one hand with a rapid utterance of a spell and threw it at Ranko. That
should take the fight out of her.
Ranko saw the small orange ball coming for her and leaped straight
into the air. The fireball passed underneath her, and exploded against a
tree in the distance. When she landed, Ranko sent a series of kicks
and punches against Gosunkugi's shield. None of them managed to
penetrate, but they knocked him back a step. Watching in the distance,
Nabiki went white as a sheet. She wanted Gos-kun to scare Ranko,
maybe force her to drop whatever spell she used to change sex.
Instead, it looked like Gos-kun was going to kill her. This wasn't what
she had wanted at all!
This time Gosunkugi summoned two, much larger, fireballs with a
harsher invokation, and when he threw them, they also flew faster.
Ranko dodged them both, but was singed slightly when she got too
close. Moving in, she launched a series of blows that could have
shattered a brick wall. Again all she did was knock him back.
They kept this up for a few more passes. By this time, Gosunkugi's
shield was starting to weaken from the massive damage it had stopped.
In the past, he had helped the police and fought against killers with
guns, and even then he had not been as hard pressed as he was now.
The girl was an impossible target, even after he had cast a haste spell
on himself. No one should be able to move that quickly, and she did
this without any sort of magical aura. He did not even want to think
how much those blows would have hurt if they contacted. Time to end
this once and for all.
A rapid, sing-song and nonsensical utterance later, and a sheet of
flame grew up around the mage as he laughed insanely. "Now know
true fear! You will never defeat me, since every time you attack, you
will only hurt yourself."
Ranko looked around at the crowd that had gathered. Probably a
bit too close, but she thought her control was better than when she
first tried it... Moving around in a circle, she continued to dodge the
lightning and fire that Gosunkugi was throwing. When she reached the
inside of her spiral, she screamed and threw her icy punch.
"HIRYUU SHOTEN HA!"
Gosunkugi never even saw what was coming. It should have been
a physical impossibility to do what this girl did without magic. When
she finally struck, the blow did not even land. Instead, he found himself
in the center of a massive whirlwind. Sucked up into the air, he was
battered and blasted by rocks and sand. When the Rising Dragon
Ascension finally ended, he was dropped unceremoniously on the
ground from almost sixty meters. His magical shield saved him from
death, but he was concussed badly. As he lost consciousness, he
marveled at the sheer raw elemental power that Ranko had displayed,
all without once emitting any kind of magical aura. Truly another worthy
of his greatness...
Ranko walked over to the body on the ground and nudged it with her
toe. No movement other than ragged breathing was evident. "I guess
that makes me the winner. And I say, Akane can do what she wants,
when she wants! Anyone who objects to treating Akane normally, they're
gunna answer to me!"
Everyone was too stunned to answer. Magic was a common class at
Furinkan, just like learning another language, only more useful, and it
required greater natural talent. Everyone had been required to do a year
of magic when they were young: it wouldn't do to miss out on a
high-class mage just because they chose they wrong subjects. Over
half of the students watching were magically sensitive to one degree
or another, and every one of them swore that Gosunkugi was the only
person using magic.
It shouldn't be possible to do what Ranko had done without it.
The school was a buzz with rumors and discussion. The two hottest
topics were Ranko and Ranko. How did she beat Gosunkugi, and was
she Akane's latest friend? Most of the girls knew Akane's disposition,
but since she respected them enough to treat them normally when
they said no, they respected her enough to remain her friends. All of
her close friends knew what Saotome Ranma had done to her, and they
brought anyone back into line if they tried to make life difficult for her.
One of Akane's friends, Natsuko, decided to go over to Akane's place
that night. If Ranko really was staying in their dojo, it might help the girl if
she knew how Akane probably felt, before Akane told her. Not every girl
reacted well when another girl told them that they were in love. Natsuko
wanted to tell her in class, but Nabiki had come in with the teacher and
told Akane and Ranko that they were needed at home.
Akane, Nabiki and Ranko ran home. When Kasumi had called the
school, she said that she and Tofu had gone home, and that they
should meet them there. Apparently their father had called from China,
and wanted to speak to everyone.
END CHAPTER ONE
A WORD FROM TANGENT: From here on out, Polarity will be
written by me. I changed the title from Hated, because while Fire has
given me permission to continue the story, he still plans to do so
himself following a different track than what I outlined to him when I
asked. Eventually, I may get around to adding more to this first chapter,
rather than just the bits and pieces I already put into this draft of it.
By the way - apologies to Fire. Many of my 'spelling' corrections
were to Americanize British spellings of common words. Some of the
grammar corrections were probably of a similar nature, due more to
cultural differences between us rather than inherent inaccuracies in
our own writing styles...
~~~
When given the constants a, b and c, and the variables x, y and z...
I often find it helpful to concentrate on point q
Tangent
tangent@zbzoom.net