Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma Layer ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 2 )

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Ranma looked out the passenger side window of the van, bored. "So, what's her name?"

Icchan glanced over to the pigtailed martial artist, "Hmm?"

"The person I'm staying with?"

"Ah, glad you asked. You are staying with Shoko Asami, sister of a very good friend of mine. She is a tv newscaster, you probably saw her during the tournament," Icchan then remained quiet, still trying to get a feel for the teenager. The boy seemed to be relaxed, not at all nervous. In fact, he seemed downright bored.

They eventually pulled up to the house that Shoko lives in. Ranma pulled his large pack out of the back, cradling the angel egg protectively.

Icchan then remembered something, "Do you have a computer?"

Ranma paused in midstep, "Uh, no. Do I need one?"

Crossing his left arm over his chest, and rubbing his chin with the right hand, Icchan pondered, "We'll have to see if Shoko has one you can use. Else, I may have to make a special case and help you set up your angel with my system."

Turning, the two went up to the door. Ranma range the doorbell. They heard some scrambling inside, but eventually the front door opened.

A woman with slightly messy light brown hair greeted them. She bowed once, "Hello, I am Shoko Asami."

Ranma bowed, "Ranma Saotome."

Shoko moved out of the way to let the two through. She was impressed with the size of the pack Ranma carried, it barely fit through the doorway. "I'll show to you to the spare bedroom. It used to be used by Misaki when she stayed here, now she is staying with her mother after the tournament."

The name sounded familiar to Ranma, but couldn't recall where he heard it. Going into the room, it had a mattress bed - which solicited a grin. "Better than the bedroll I brought." He put the angel egg carefully on the desk, and then the pack on the ground.

By the time he exited the room, he found that Icchan had already left in the van.

"He said he'll be by in the morning around 8 am to pick you up. I have a spare laptop he said you will need to configure your angel." Shoko was digging in her desk which had mounds of paper stacked. Eventually, she pulled out a gray laptop. "Here, you can use this. Just follow the directions that came with the angel, and you'll do fine."

Ranma accepted the laptop, when his stomache growled. It was approaching 6 pm, and he remembered having last eaten breakfast only.

Shoko grew a small smile, "Sorry, I'm not the best of cooks. Would you have any cooking skills? In return you won't have to pay me back for anything you eat."

This time Ranma spread a grin, "Sure thing. Just a sec," he ran back in the bedroom and put the laptop beside the angel egg. Rolling up his sleeves, "First though, if I'm going to be staying here there is something I should show you."

As he turned on the warm water to wash his hands, the cold water knob spurted out suddenly. Shoko's attention was centered on the tap, but when she turned back to Ranma - she was greeted with a shorter, definitely female, redhead but was wearing the same clothing. She was frantically trying to get under the sink to shut off the cold water flow.

Shoko stood there, trying to logically think what just happened.

Finally Ranma came up, dripping wet. "Ah jeez, I was hoping to get wet on my own and avoid making a mess." The took off her shirt wring it out, grumbling about stupid curses and being a water magnet.

Definitely female. Now Shoko was glad that Icchan had left, who knows what the pervert would be doing now.

Ranma put her wrinkled shirt back on. "Well, now you know my secret."

"Wha... what happened?"

Going back to the sink, Ranma grabbed a glass and put some hot water from the tap in it. "I'm cursed. When I was on a training trip with my old man, we came across this place in China called Jusenkou."

Shoko knodded weakly.

"There, there are several pools, each one with their own tragic story. I fell in," Ranma then gave a mock Chinese accent, "Naniyichuan. Pool of drown girl. There tragic story of girl who drown there 600 years ago. Now whoever fall in pool take body of girl."

"When I am doused with cold water, I change to a girl." Ranma then hefted the cooling but still warm glass of water over her head. She grew several inches, and the femine curves were replaced with the chizeled and well defined muscle of Ranma's male form. "When doused with warm water, I am changed to my original form as a guy."

Shoko was still quiet, the wheels in her head grinding. On one side as a newscaster, she saw this as a huge scoop. On the other she was familiar with keeping people's personal secrets confidential - such as when her sister wished to remain quiet with Misaki. In the end, she decided to keep Ranma's trust. "I would suggest we keep this a secret. I don't know how others in the area would take it."

Ranma knodded, "In Nerima ward, this is fairly common. I'm assuming though elsewhere it isn't as common."

Rolling the dampened sleeves back up, Ranma flexed his arm. "Now then, how about I get started on dinner?"

Shoko knodded, and fell back on the living room couch. She contented herself to watching the martial artist in his acrobatics in the kitchen - seeming to make the art of preparing food to the edge of full hand to hand combat. Also, she was deducing other realities of Ranma's curse. If that was magic, then there had to be other real magic in the world.

Before long, Ranma had prepared a full course meal with stir fried, green tea, and a batch of baking rolls in the oven. The mingling aromas brought the news caster back to the present, and she was realizing just how hungry she was.

The two sat down at the table. Ranma dug in immediately at blazing speed. Shoko didn't say anything, wondering why he was in such a hurry. She chalked it off to what she saw of him in the kitchen.

"You do martial arts?"

"Hmmm?" Ranma swallowed a mouthful. "Uh, ya. I'm heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I'm the best there is."

"So is that why you are trying out angelic layer?" Now the news caster in Shoko was starting to come out, and she was starting to relax.

"Sorta. Nabiki, one of the folks I'm staying with in Nerima, sorta challenged me to try out angelic layer. I accepted, although I didn't tell her," Ranma then grabbed a roll and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Why didn't you tell her?"

Ranma shrugged, "I don't know, maybe so they'll leave me alone. If she knew I was here, the rest of the loon squad would be breaking down your walls." He held up his hand, "Don't ask, just that it would be ugly."

The rest of dinner was quiet till Ranma excused himself and went into the bedroom. Going over to the desk, he picked up the angel egg. "Read the directions eh?" He picked up a small booklet that came with.

Going to the first page, "Hmmm... says to open it in the bath." He blanched, "Great, just what would pops think if he found me playing with dolls in the bath. Challenge is a challenge, and I never lose."

Grabbing a towel, he went into the furo. After washing up, he rinsed off and stepped into the large basin. Before opening the egg, he gave the angel inside a once over. "Doesn't look so tough."

Popping the seal, the watery fluid inside flowed into the tub. Lifting out the angel, Ranma held it in one hand. "Darn, Iccan just _had_ to give me a girl doll." Getting out, Ranma dried off and went back to his room in the towel.

Putting the doll on the bed, he changed into some boxers. A quick glance at the laptop, "Guess its now or never." He pulled out the manual, "I hate computers, but at this this is sorta related to martial arts. So, I should be able to do it." Skimming down, he saw a diagram putting on the hair and cutting it to length. Smirking, Ranma started adjusting on the ahir. "Why not make it like me... I am the best. And I never lose."

He was impressed with the array of hair colors, but was undecided between the red of his girl side, or the black of his guy side. Eventually, Ranma decided on the red since the doll was a girl. The hair was tediously tied into a pigtail, although in the end he realized it was too long - reaching to the waist.

Reaching for the sissors, he was almost ready to cut when he second thought and left it. "Maybe not... it really isn't me so it should have some differences."

Next, he looked at another diagram in the manual and mimiced it putting the the angel in the creation stand. It hovered there, unmoving.

Next, he turned on the laptop with the CD inside. The familiar Angelic Layer logo from the championship on television came up, then changed to a screen with various bars and numbers.

"Select the attributes for the angel eh? Speed, and a moderate amount strength."

Clicking on the next button, all that came up with a name. Here, Ranma was drew up a blank. He rested his head on his hands, staring at the angel. "Heh, if Akane had her way it would probably be called D-Chan, doll chan."

Eventually he knodded off to sleep.

--- MORNING ---

Ranma jerked open with a start when his biological clock stepped in. The clock read 7:30 am. Flexing, he noticed the laptop and angel were still in place where he left them.

"I guess I'll have to call you something, may as well go with... hmm... Reiko. Not like I care that much about the doll. Just as long as I win," Ranma typed in the name, and confirmed his entry.

The stand rings lowered, energizing the angel and melding the hair. Slowly, it opened its eyes - which were purple. Then it fell over, which Ranma easily caught.

"Now, to get some clothes for you." A quick check on the clock showed 20 more minutes till Icchan's arrival to pick him up. Digging into this pack at the foot of the bed, he changed into his usual red and black Chinese clothing and threw the clothing he was wearing yesterday to the side.

Further scrounging in the pack he pulled out a needle and thread used for patching up holes when on the road. Handy when there isn't a town nearby, or money short to buy new cloths.

All he had available was some white cloth, but was very light. In less than five minutes (with application of martial arts sewing), the doll was in a very accurate white martial arts gi. Some more scrounging and he put a black belt on.

"Finished! Won't Icchan be surpised. Hopefully today I can try it out." Ranma put the doll a smaller bag he found in the room and rushed out to fix up and eat breakfast.