Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Big Help ❯ Tests - Medical and Otherwise ( Chapter 4 )

A Big Help

A Ranma one half/Sailor Moon crossover fanfic

By Michael A. Ivins

 

Mykon and Jora are my original creations so I request that nobody uses them without permission. The rest of these characters are the property of their creators, publishers, anime production companies, etc. I write this for fun and make no profit off it.

 

 

Chapter 4

Tests - Medical and Otherwise

 

It was after school and Ranma was at the clinic of Dr. Tofu. They were sitting in his office instead of one of the examining rooms. The doctor said, “It's good to meet you Ranma. I take it you didn't come to visit me because of an injury.”

 

Ranma nodded. “I'm here about something else. I have a problem that I'd like to tell you about.” He launched into the tale of Jusenkyo, the curse and the things that had happened to him as a result of it.

 

FLASHBACK: Ranma looked at the trail. It was in poor repair and evident that it didn't get much use. “Pop, I'm really not comfortable with this. What if there are real curses at the `Training Ground of Cursed Springs?'”

 

“Don't be silly, boy. There are no curses. That's just a colorful name to impress the tourists.”

 

Ranma looked at the partially overgrown trail. “What tourists are you talking about? Look at this trail. It looks like it doesn't get more than a dozen people using it per month. That doesn't sound like a tourist attraction to me.”

 

“Truly dedicated martial artists are few.”

 

“Are you saying that this is like one of those Tibetan temples where just getting to the place is a trial to test if you're worthy of instruction?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“So, make up your mind pops. Those temples aren't tourist attractions. They don't print brochures. You only find out about them by asking at other temples and dojos. There is a brochure for this Jusenkyo place.”

 

“So it is a tourist attraction.”

 

“Have you read the brochure?” He paused and shook his head. “No, of course you haven't. You can't read Mandarin. I should never have mentioned that another name for the place is `Training Ground of Cursed Springs.” If the only name you heard for it was `Pools of Sorrow” you'd probably not be interested at all.”

 

“That's not true.”

 

“Yes it is. You want to visit any place that has “training ground” in the name. Its the same thing if the word “dojo” is in the name. Remember the `Dojo of Death?'”

 

“How was I supposed to know it was a training facility for martial arts vampires?”

 

Ranma shook his head. “It was in the brochure. That's really a problem for you isn't it? You never read the warnings, and if you do read them you don't pay any attention to them.”

 

“Your're exaggerating.”

 

“Am I? I remember the Temple of Doom, The Dojo of Destruction, The Shrine Despair, the Training Ground of Blood, the Temple of Pain and others I could name. Do you know the one thing that all of those have in common?”

 

“Uh… Colorful names?”

 

“No. The only thing all of those places have in common is that we only just barely got out of them alive. It is only luck that we also managed to get out of them with all our limbs still attached as well as eyes and ears. After some of that stuff I have to wonder if either of us is fully sane.”

 

“The important thing is that we did survive. We came away from each of those encounters smarter and more skilled. We learned much from them.”

 

“We learned? Yeah. I learned that messing with vampires is a bad idea. I learned I don't like fighting demons, ghouls, zombies, youma, or any or any other kind of undead or magical creatures. I just hope this new place has no monsters.”

 

“But you're so good at fighting monsters.”

 

The boy just glared at his father. They had been talking while they walked. After a little more time they to a cliff overlooking the valley. A thin mist clung to the ground. The mist was not thick enough to conceal the pools. The pools varied in size from some that looked little larger than a bathtub to a few that seemed big enough to be more like small lakes. They could also see rising up from the pools what looked like hair from the height of the cliff, but was probably poles of some kind.

 

As they went toward the trail that led down into the valley they found a sign on the side of the hill. Translated from the Chinese it said, “WARNING - Proceed at your own risk. There are active magical curses in these waters. Avoid immersion in the springs. Falling into a spring could cause you to leave the valley as something other than human.”

 

“Uh… Pop. I really think this is a bad idea.”

 

“Would you quit worrying? Be a man!”

 

They made their way down the trail into the valley. Before they could reach the pools they had to pass by a hut that seemed to be the home of a heavyset man who was sitting on a chair near the door. Since a few toys could be seen scattered around, it seemed likely that the man had a child that lived with him.

 

The man stood up and walked to greet them. “Welcome to the valley of Jusenkyo, the Training Ground of Cursed Springs. I am the guide to the springs. If you have any questions please ask me about them.”

 

Ranma bowed and asked in Mandarin, “I read the sign up at the top of the valley trail. What did it mean that falling in a spring could cause someone to leave the valley as something other than human?”

 

“Ah, you speak my language. You are from Japan, are you not?”

 

“Yes, we both are. This man is my father.”

 

“I speak Japanese. I will tell you the story in that language.”

 

He paused then began. “Many thousand year ago a curse was laid on the main spring on Jusendo Mountain. That water flowed into this valley and came up in these pools. After time some animals began to fall into the springs and drown there, leaving something of themselves behind. Some people also fall in springs and drown. Now if someone fall in cursed spring they take the body of whatever person or animal drowned there last.”

 

Predictably, Genma wasn't paying the least attention to this. As they approached the pools it could be seen that bamboo poles sticking up out of the pools. The father leapt up to balance on one of them.

 

Dismayed that his warning had been ignored, the Guide cried out, “Please, sir, What you doing? Very bad you fall in spring.”

 

Genma taunted Ranma from atop his pole. “You going to be a weak, scared little girl? Come up here and let's spar.”

 

Ranma grumbled, “I'm going to regret this.” He thought, “If I end up a dragon or a tiger, I'm going to eat my baka oyaji.”

 

The two martial artists leaped from pole to pole exchanging blows as they went. Because of the precarious perch neither was able to land a solid blow. Finally Ranma brought a little more strategy into his actions. This time he leapt out and delivered a kick while pushing off to launch himself to a landing on another of the poles. The kick robbed Genma's leap of all momentum and he dropped like a stone into the pool beneath him.

 

As he stood balancing on his bamboo pole Ranma was repeating over and over in his mind like a mantra, “Please don't be a cat, please don't be a cat.”

 

Bubbles came to the surface of the pool and Ranma was beginning to worry that he was going to have to dive in and retrieve his father. That was when something emerged from the pool. A mass larger than Genma had been, covered in black and white fur. From what the Guide had said, Ranma had been expecting something other than human but this was a surprise. The Panda had to be a foot taller than his father and likely twice as heavy.

 

Ranma tried to act in an intelligent manner but it was like a circuit breaker tripped in his brain. All he could do was stand and gape. Unfortunately for the pigtailed boy his brain hadn't finished its reboot by the time Genma leapt again. By the time he reacted it was too late. A massive paw struck with stunning force and he felt himself plummeting into another of the pools.

 

He felt himself hit with a big splash, then sink in. The water was cool but he felt a sensation of heat in his body. There was also a tingling that seemed to extend to every part his body. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not but he had the sensation that he was shrinking as well.

 

While the panda's blow was hard enough to stun, the splash in the pool helped to revive the martial artist. He reached out and felt the side of the pool. He was a bit disoriented but thought he could tell which way was up. He swam in that direction and finally felt his head break free of the water. He had been almost out of air and took great gasping breaths for a moment while still floating in the pool.

 

Finally satisfied he could get enough air to stay alive Ranma swam toward the edge of the pool and heaved himself onto the ground beside it. That was when he felt it. His body still seemed to have arms and legs but there was something on his chest that hadn't there before.

 

Still breathing hard, he rolled over on his back and opened his eyes. He held up his hands and looked. They looked slender and girlish but at least still human. He levered himself and finally looked down at her chest. She hesitantly touched her breast and confirmed they were real and sensitive to her touch. At last she pulled open the top of her gi for visual confirmation.

 

“I'm a girl!” The thought echoed in her mind. Before long all thought was washed away in a flood of rage and the overpowering urge to hurt her father. As she got up from the ground she looked around and saw the bulk of the panda. “OYAJI!” She screamed. Her memories at that point became a bit blurry. She remembered kicking and punching and chasing. There was a person who got in the way at one point but she pushed him aside.

END FLASHBACK

 

After Ranma finished Dr. Tofu took off his glasses and polished them with a cloth he kept on his desk. Ranma thought this must be something he does when he wants to gather his thoughts without being obvious about it.

 

After he put his glasses back on the doctor said, “I am a little better versed in maters of magic, ki patterns and traditional medicine than the average family doctor around this area. That kind of knowledge comes in handy when practicing medicine in a place like Nerima.”

 

“That said, I admit that I have heard of Jusenkyo and the curses that happen there. You are the first person I've met who has such a curse. While I have heard about the curses, I don't know of a cure. Just because I don't know of one doesn't mean a cure doesn't exist.”

 

Ranma sagged a bit after he heard that. “I didn't really expect you would know. The way my luck runs it could never be that easy. Still, I had to ask.”

 

When Ranma didn't get up from his chair, Dr Tofu asked, “Was there something else you wanted to ask me about?”

 

Ranma nodded. “I want to be tested. I want to know what I have to work with.”

 

“I'm not sure I understand what you mean.”

 

“I want to know more about the curse and how it behaves. For example I want to find exactly how much water is needed to trigger the change. I know it doesn't take much, but I also know that it's more than a single raindrop.”

 

Dr. Tofu nodded. “That shouldn't be too hard to test.”

 

“I also want to find how hot the hot water has to be and how cold the cold water has to be. Basically I want to find out at what temperature water turns from being a trigger in one direction into a trigger in the other direction. Although I'm not sure how useful it would be I'd also like to know if there is any temperature of water that won't trigger a change either way.”

 

“I can understand why you would want to know that. I'm not sure why you would come to me with this. These are things you could test for your self with a thermometer and a bathtub.”

 

“True, but I was hoping to get it tested under more controlled conditions. There is more. I want to know just how `female' my girl form is. I want to get every kind of test that can be done, X-rays, blood tests, everything. I want my male form tested as well to see if the curse has made any changes there. I especially want to find out if there is anything about being in girl form that might affect the way I think or behave.”

“You worry that your curse might change the way you think?”

 

“Maybe it would be closer to say I want to know if it affects the way I feel about things. For a long time before I got the curse my dad used to insult me by calling me a girl. He would say, `You're talking like a girl,' `You're acting like a girl.' For him one of the worst insults he could throw at me was, `You wanna be a weak, silly girl?'”

 

“Why did he do that?”

 

“He was always after me to be `manly.' This is manly, that isn't. I shouldn't sound like a girl or act one because girls are stupid, silly, weak and a distraction from the Art. After I found out how much of a liar he is I learned to ignore most of the crap he said about women. Since I now turn into one I guess it's a good thing that I didn't take all of that to heart.”

 

Dr. Tofu nodded. “I would say that there is more to it than just how well you adjust to your curse.”

“Oh?”

 

“If you truly felt like that, if you behaved the way your father was trying to teach you, it would have made it very difficult for you to relate well to women. Openly displaying such attitudes would make women want to stay away from and to not associate with you.”

 

“Well I have some friends who have taught me a lot about it. In one way women are exactly like men. There are good ones and there are bad ones. Some are really nice, fun to talk to and so on. Then there are some that you couldn't pay me to hang out with.”

 

Dr. Tofu nodded. “It is good that you are so open minded.”

 

The doctor thought for a moment. “There is a potential problem. What you are asking for sounds like it could include things like Cat scans, genetic testing and gynecologic tests on your female form. That would be in addition to blood tests and x-rays. Some of those tests are expensive.”

 

“Actually that won't be a problem. During the time my father and I were traveling I did some jobs that paid well. It was nothing illegal, by the way, in case you were wondering. It turns out I have a knack for finding lost things, so I did some of that and collected rewards.”

 

“With help of some friends I was able to invest that income and now have a fund that will pay my way through college and not have to work while I do that. I also have a nice `nest egg' to get going after college. I've directed my bank to transfer money to the Tendo family account to cover the cost of room and board for my Dad and me. (I'm not going to be a freeloader like my father.)”

 

Dr. Tofu's eyes had gone wide. Ranma saw the reaction. “Doc, I pretend to be a dumb jock and I maybe even look like one, but I'm smarter than I look. I don't plan to be a rootless wanderer all of my life. I would greatly appreciate it if my Dad didn't learn about this for now. There will come a time when I will tell him but not now. If I know him, he'd try to take my money away from me and spend it on sake or other liquor.”

 

The doctor bowed his head. “He won't learn of it from me. I don't know how long you would be able to conceal it from Nabiki, though.”

 

Ranma sighed. “From all I've seen and what I've heard at school she's a real money wizard. I'm sure she will figure out where the extra money is coming from. I guess I'll deal with that when it happens.”

 

The doctor said, “I should point out that even if you get complete details of your physical make up in both forms there is a chance that it won't make any real difference. True, you would be better informed, but in the end you might still have to deal with the questions raised by your curse. It may simply come down to a conscious decision that you will behave one way in this form and another way in your other form. That would take mental discipline.”

 

Ranma pressed his lips into a thin line. After a moment, “I considered that. If that's how it works out, I think I can handle it. Some friends I know have taught me meditation techniques that will help me get the discipline I need. I've already started working on them. I have to be careful to keep the right balance.”

 

“The water tests you want can be done with the equipment in this clinic. I will contact some colleagues about the other tests.”

 

“Doc, I hope it wouldn't be a problem if we keep the curse as quiet as possible.”

 

“What do you mean?”

“Could we let the people doing the tests think that my male and female forms are two different people? I'd like if only one or two people whose discretion you trust know the whole story. I don't want to be turned into a lab rat or be the subject of lots of research papers.”

 

“Considering that your problems are caused by magic, I think that would probably be for the best. I know one doctor I can trust to be discreet. I will let him be the one to analyze the results of the tests.”

 

“Good. I'll see you on Saturday to start the water tests.”

 

Before Ranma could leave Dr. Tofu told him, “It may be too soon to give up all hope of a cure. I don't know one myself, but I know some people who are far more knowledgeable than I am in these matters. I have addresses for two of them. I will write letters to both and ask them about this. Even if they don't know of a cure they may know of a direction to focus a search. It could take a while to get an answer.”

 

“Since I don't have a choice I guess I can wait. I just hope they don't answer with something worse than `sorry, can't help you'.”

 

“What are worried that they might say?”

 

“Oh, maybe, `Something bad happens to all Jusenkyo victims after the first year of their curse.' I know they're not going to say the curse wears of in a few years. The guide already told me you keep the curse for the rest of your life. Of course he never said how many years `the rest of their lives' lasted.”

 

Ranma didn't like his math teacher. He felt like the guy was a jerk. It always seemed like he was calling Ranma up to the board to work on some math problems, believing that the boy had been sleeping through the class. It was true that Ranma was not paying much attention in math class, but it was only because the tutoring he's received from his friends had advanced Ranma's math skills far beyond high school level.

 

Ranma had decided to play a game to mess with his math teacher's head. He would pretend to sleep in class. When the teacher would put an exceptionally difficult problem on the board, Ranma would go up and solve it easily. The teacher was getting increasingly frustrated.

 

The teacher was determined that he would get the better of that smart ass slacker. Nobody was going to show him up in front of his other students. The math teacher looked into his old college textbooks and found a problem that he could use.

 

The next day when students came into the class they looked at the board and shook their heads. The equation there looked impossible, like something you would see in a science book or something. Was sensei still trying to show up Saotome? He might as well give up.

 

When Ranma came in he looked at the board and chuckled. The other students saw that & just nodded and smiled. They knew Sensei would never come up with an equation that Ranma couldn't solve.

 

Ranma took his seat and waited. Sure enough, sensei called him to the front of the class to solve the equation on the board. He studied the mass of symbols written in chalk and then marked an answer in the indicated space.

 

After he had finished the teacher surged to his feet and exclaimed. “Hah! You got that one wrong! The answer is 42.”

 

Ranma frowned and studied the mass of writing on the board. Finally he moved over to the left side of the equation and tapped a finger on the board below a symbol. “I think you'd better check your book again sensei. For the answer to be 42 this value would need to be equal to six. Here you've made it equal to nine.”

 

“What?” He opened his book to a bookmarked page and checked. He stared at the book and confirmed that he had in fact written the wrong value. Then he looked over the equation and worked the math out.

 

His jaw dropped. Not only had Saotome spotted the incorrect value, he had correctly solved the equation. “How did you do that?”

Ranma looked genuinely confused. “What… Do you mean how did I solve the equation?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Ranma launched into an explanation each of the steps he had taken in the solution of the equation. The other students in the class looked on with expressions of blank incomprehension on their faces. When he finished the teacher asked, “And you understand all of that?”

 

The pigtailed boy looked like he couldn't understand why he was being asked. “Yes I understand it.” The unspoken remainder of that being, “How could I have solved it if I didn't understand it?”

 

“Where did you learn this? I've seen your records. You have little formal schooling and missed a lot of math classes. Yet you just solved a college level equation as if you had been doing this sort of thing for years. You not only solved the equation correctly, you spotted the error I made in writing it out.”

 

“I've had private tutoring to keep me up with the stuff I was missing by being on the road.”

 

The teacher boggled. “You haven't just `kept up.' Your tutors taught you far beyond high school level. You should have gotten that tutoring documented on your transcript.”

 

Ranma scratched the back of his neck just below the pigtail. “I sort of wondered why the stuff in the book was so easy. As to putting the tutoring on the transcript, I couldn't do that. The people who tutored me are really smart but they aren't accredited teachers.”

 

“Saotome-san, I owe you an apology. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I thought you were just being a smart-ass and were using some kind of trick to solve the problems I put on the board.”

 

“Uh, why would I do that?”

 

The teacher rubbed fingers over his forehead. “Why indeed?” He seemed to think for a moment. “Saotome-san, did those tutors teach you in any other subject areas besides math?”

 

“Yes, of course.”

 

“Saotome-san, it would appear that I have underestimated you. When I heard that you were a martial artist I was not expecting you to be a math prodigy as well.”

 

Ranma looked a bit angry. “I hope you're not saying you thought all martial artists are dumb.”

 

“Not all of them. I have noticed that most of the martial artists that I've met are sufficiently focused that they seldom pay attention to anything outside of their Art. Please do not be offended that I mistook you for one of them.”

 

Ranma bowed and graciously said, “Apology accepted.”

 

“I'm not going to take up any more class time on this. Come see me after class so we can talk about getting you tested for placement in more advanced classes.”

 

It was afternoon at the Tendo home and Ranma had cornered Genma in the guest room they shared. “Ok Pop, it's time for answers. No more lies and no more dodging the question. Is mom alive?”

 

“Son, are you sure you want to know?”

 

“That's a dumb question. Of course I want to know.”

 

The bald martial artist sighed. “I have kept the truth from you because it would only cause you pain.”

 

“Since when have you ever worried about causing me pain? Look, if she's dead then just tell me! I'll grieve; then I'll get over it.”

 

“I only caused you necessary pain and only in training. This is a pain that is not physical. The matter is complicated. Your mother is alive.”

 

“She is? Why haven't we gone to see her?”

“We can't.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Bear with me, son. Your mother didn't want me to take you on the training journey. Before she would agree to it I had to make her a promise that when I brought you back to her you would be a `man among men.' If you were not, we would both commit seppuku.”

 

Ranma felt stunned. “What? That's crazy!”

 

The elder Saotome nodded. “We even have a contract.”

 

“Wait, I was only five years old. How could I sign a contract?”

 

“You put your handprint on it in fingerpaint.”

 

“Oh, Kami-sama, you can't be serious.”

 

“I'm completely serious. If you show your face while you still have your curse we're both as good as dead.”

 

Ranma reeled back then sat heavily on the floor. “My only memories of mom are of a sweet, pretty lady who always treated me nice. Now you're telling me she would want me dead because of my curse.”

 

“Why do you think I was always so insistent that you be manly? I know you blame me for getting your curse, but that wouldn't matter to her. I can't present you to your mother as a man among men when you're a girl half the time. I'm sorry son, but you can't go see your mother until you can get a cure for the curse.”

 

“But we don't even know if there is a cure.”

 

“Don't you think I know that? I'd like to see my wife again after all this time, but I don't dare.”

 

Ranma glared at his father. “You better not be lying to me.”

 

“On this you can be certain, I am telling the truth. Why would I lie when it is my own life at risk?”

 

Ranma considered that. The panda-man did have a point.

 

Author's Note: Since this was a really short chapter I decided to throw in the flash back to Jusenkyo. Partly I'm trying to establish how smart Ranma is. Anytime in this fic when you see Ranma behaving like a dumb jock, it's an act, done to accomplish a goal. The flashback helps to establish how stupid Genma is. Even when aware of the warnings about the springs, he went ahead anyway.