Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Challenge ❯ Chapter 2

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

TITLE: The Spell

BY: Jessi

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Ranma characters. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and whoever else owns them.


*Ranma, that jerk! He completely forgot that I was even there!* Akane was fuming as she sat at her desk, on time for a change. *That stupid Shampoo, she can't leave us alone for a second, can she?* She thought.

At that moment, Ranma came in, several minutes late. He was made to stand in the hall with the water buckets, but that didn't seem to bother him at all. In fact, he looked ecstatic. *What's he so happy about? Could Shampoo have been telling the truth? Does she really have a cure for Ranma?* Akane thought dumbfounded, Shampoo had never said anything about this "cure" before.

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*Wow, no more girl-side... What's it gonna be like, to be a REAL man again? Is this REALLY something I wanna go through with? I mean, this curse has been a part of my life for SO long, what will it be like without it?* Ranma quickly pushed the doubts to the back of his mind. *There's nothing to miss, I mean, I'M HALF GIRL for cryin' out loud! If I'm cured of that.... well, everything will be right again.*

Ranma continued daydreaming about being a full man again; he disregarded the doubts and the nagging feeling that had continued to pester him throughout Shampoo's explanation. *According to Shampoo, all I gotta do is pour this potion on me and then I'll never be a GIRL again. And she sounded completely sincere about this, it didn't seem like she was trying to make me forget Akane again or something dumb like that. And she hasn't done anything like casting a spell on me for about 7 months. Now, if I can just figure out why I still have this damn feeling that something bad is gonna happen.* Ranma thought.

Ranma was stunned out of his reverie by the sound of shattering glass. "Ni hao, Ranma!!" Shampoo cried as she burst through the window. "Shampoo!! What are you doing here? And how did you get up here? It's the third floor!" Ranma asked. Shampoo ignored his words and glomped onto him, causing him to spill the water in the buckets, turning him into a girl. "Shampoo!!! What'd ya do THAT for!!!?" Ranma shouted angrily. "Come with Shampoo, Ranma! We use potion today!!" Ranma's irritation quickly faded away, and he followed Shampoo out the broken glass window, just in time to avoid the school master who had heard the racket and come to reprimand Ranma.

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"So, Shampoo, where did you pick this potion up? You didn't tell me this morning." Ranma asked as they ran through the streets of Nerima in the direction of the Nekohanten. "Umm... Great-grandmudder find cure in 3,000 year old Chinese Amazon scroll that only Amazon Matriarch have access to. Great-grandmudder and Shampoo prepare potion all on own!" Shampoo told the lie, and mentally reminded herself to tell Cologne the story of the Amazon scroll.

"Oh, so will this potion go into effect immediately?" Ranma was curious about the potion; Shampoo had only been able to tell him bits and pieces about it before Ranma realized that Akane had walked away, looking extremely angry and dangerous and that he was going to be late to school. "Yes, potion go in effect right away. See, Ranma change into girl and then pour potion on Ranma, then never have to be girl again!!!!" Shampoo lied yet again. *I wish Ranma just marry Shampoo, I no like lying, but it must be done!* Shampoo thought.

The two arrived at the Nekohanten five minutes later, and Ranma could hardly contain his excitement. Cologne was inside the closed Nekohanten, shaking up a jar of reddish liquid.

"Hello, Son-in-law. Are you ready to use this potion?" Cologne asked, holding out the jar for Ranma to take a good look at. "What?! Of course I'm ready to never be a girl again!!!!" Ranma exclaimed. "Shampoo get cold water!" Shampoo scurried off to the kitchens to get a bucket of chilled water. She returned quickly, and doused Ranma with it. "What'd you d-!" Ranma cut off his habitual words when he remembered the purpose of turning into a girl. "Well then, Son-in-law, are you ready?" Cologne asked.

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"Argghhh!!!!!! Where am I now!? DAMN YOU, SAOTOME!" Ryoga's voice sounded through the thick forest, as he tried to find his way back to Nerima, he missed seeing Akane. A stunned farmer that was looking for one of his animals gave Ryoga a strange look. "Umm, sir, do you need help finding your way somewhere?" The farmer asked. "Yes, could you please show me the direction to Tokyo, Nerima district?" Ryoga asked dumbly. "Sir, the Nerima district is on the other side of this forest. Just go this way and you can't miss it," The farmer pointed Ryoga to the right. "Thank you very much," and Ryoga turned and walked to the left. "Umm, hang on! I said the other way!!!" The farmer looked completely dumbfounded at Ryoga's poor sense of direction. "Huh? Oh it's the OTHER way?? All right then! Thanks!!!" Ryoga waved as he walked off in the opposite direction. *Finally, I'll see Akane again!*

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As Akane walked home from school, she wondered where Ranma could possibly have gone. The students and teacher had heard the sound of shattering glass, voices, and a splash of water from inside the classroom. But when they went out to the hall to see what all the commotion was about, there was nothing there except two upturned buckets, shattered glass, and several puddles of water. Ranma was nowhere to be seen.

"That dummy, he knows he can't just LEAVE school all of a sudden!" Akane muttered irritatedly under her breath. *Maybe you're just worried because you haven't seen him since this morning* The voices in Akane's head commented. Akane dashed any thoughts of worry for Ranma, and quickly replaced them with more intense feelings of irritation and anger towards him.

Akane was so absorbed in her thoughts of anger toward Ranma that she didn't notice that she was already at the Tendo home. "I'm home already!? Ahh, well I was doing a lot of thinking.. anyhow I'm starving, I wonder what Kasumi's fixing for dinner..."

Akane entered the house and was greeted immediately by a cheery Kasumi.
"Why, hello Akane! How was your day?" Kasumi asked cheerfully. "Oh, it was fine," Akane replied, not quite meeting Kasumi's gaze. "And where's Ranma?" Kasumi questioned. "I'm not sure. I'm going to go out to the dojo, Kasumi; will you please call me when dinner's ready?" Akane said quietly, with an edge in her voice that was barely noticeable. "Okay, Akane. I'll call you when it's time to eat." Kasumi watched Akane run up the stairs past Nabiki without saying a word to her, and a feeling of motherly worry washed over her. *Akane certainly wasn't acting like herself. And where could that Ranma be?* Kasumi thought.

"Hey, Kasumi. What's up with Akane?" Nabiki asked, looking slightly miffed that Akane hadn't acknowledged her presence on the stairs. "Akane didn't say that anything was bothering her, Nabiki. She said she'd be in the dojo until dinnertime. I need to finish dinner up now, Nabiki. I'll call you when it's ready!" Kasumi put on her "Don't-make-Akane-mad-if-you-wish-to-live-to-see-tomorrow" smile and scurried off to the kitchen to finish the meal.

*All right then, I'm going to find out what's up with Akane. I might be able to make a profit if I'm lucky...* Nabiki thought mischievously.

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On the other side of town, a weary looking traveler hobbled into a restaurant, hoping to find directions to the Tendo Dojo.

"Ryoga!! What are you doing here?? I didn't expect to see you for at LEAST another month or two!!!" Ukyo Kuonji exclaimed. "Here, have a seat, sugar. Where have you been!? Oh never mind, you won't be able to answer that. What kind of okonomiyaki would ya like?"

"Thanks Ukyo. Umm... doesn't matter, just give me the house specialty," Ryoga replied with a grin. "Actually, I was kinda looking for the Tendo Dojo. D'ya think you could... um...." Ryoga trailed off, embarrassed of his poor ability to find his way anywhere. "Ryoga, are you asking for me to show you the way there? Of couse I can! In fact, I was planning on going over tonight anyway to pick up an original okonomiyaki recipe that Kasumi invented, so feel free to come along!" Ukyo said warmly. Ryoga's eyes lit up with the idea of arriving at the dojo and seeing Akane's smile.

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"All right, I'm ready. I'm ready to never be a girl again," A feminine voice spoke determinedly in the Nekohanten restaurant. "Okay then Son-in-law. Here it comes," Cologne poured the red liquid on Ranma-chan.

Ranma felt a series of intense, but extremely different sensations charge through his body. First, there was the usual feeling that came with changing from guy to girl and vice versa. But then, there was also the feeling that he was just plunged into ice cold water, and then burned with scalding hot iron rods. Ranma then felt numbness, starting at his toes and fingers and working its way through his whole body. "Arrggghhh!!!!" Ranma cried in pain. As the sensations continued, Ranma bit his lip until it bled.

Shampoo watched, feeling sympathy for him, but also feeling ecstatic knowing that Ranma would finally be hers. *Just a little longer, then Ranma will finally be Shampoo's...*

Ranma quit screaming abruptly, the pain had stopped quite suddenly. He looked over himself. He was a man. Without a word to Shampoo or the Old-ghoul he dashed to the kitchen and splashed himself with cold water. "Yes!!!! It worked!!! I'm cured!!!" Ranma cried from the kitchen.
He ran back to Shampoo and Cologne and wrapped his arms around Shampoo in an ecstatic hug. "Thank you so much Shampoo!! And you too, Cologne!" Ranma said as he embraced Cologne in a hug as well. "Well, Son-in-law, I'm glad that we could provide you a service." Cologne said.

"Yeah, thanks again. I'm gonna go home, tell Akane and the others. I'm not a pervert anymore!!!" Ranma exclaimed. Ranma ran out the door and through the streets of Nerima, crying, "I'm cured!!"

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"Hiya!" Akane went through her kata forms with a fury she had never had before. She'd been angrier with Ranma than this before, but she'd never had this much power and anger, even when she was furious with Ranma. *Maybe it is worry.. I haven't seen that stupid jerk since this morning, on the way to school. And the puddles of water in the hall, he was a girl when he left, no doubt about that. I'm sure no one could kidnap Ranma, he's too quick. He must have left of his own will.. and who was that other voice I heard?*

Akane racked her brain for the answer to her question, replaying the minutes before the schoolmaster rushed to the hall to see what was going on in her head. *It was a girl's voice..* Akane suddenly realized who she had heard that morning, and punched a hole in the wall. "Damn you Shampoo!" Akane spat viciously.

Akane stormed from the dojo up to her room, slamming the door hard enough to make the house rattle. Nabiki poked her head out her bedroom door, and then walked quietly down the hall to Akane's room and leaned her ear against the door. She could hear Akane, crying?

"Dammit, Ranma. We could make this engagement work if only you weren't always.. if only Shampoo and Ukyo and Kodachi were gone. But you can't bear the thought of only having an "uncute" fiancée can you?" Akane's voice was muffled, like her head was in her pillow, and it was interrupted several times by "hics".

Nabiki pulled away from the door, sympathy playing across her usually unreadable features. *Akane.. Ranma you jerk!*

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"Come ON, Ryoga. Geez, they'll be HAPPY to see you again! There's no need to be NERVOUS and JITTERY for crying out loud!" Ukyo said, her voice exasperate. "B-b-b-but I don't know what to say to Akane!!!!!" Ryoga cried.

"Listen Ryoga, we're here. We're right outside their house. All you have to do is.. okay never mind, I'll knock and you can just stand by and look nice. All right? Then you can talk to Akane, geez, it isn't like you've never talked to her before or something like that!!" Ukyo said, annoyance now evident in her voice. "Look, sugar," Ukyo said more patiently, "I'm going to knock on the door. When you see Akane, the words will come naturally. Just calm down."

Ukyo knocked, and was greeted almost immediately by Kasumi. "Why, hello Ukyo! Oh, and Ryoga, too! Please come in," Kasumi said smilingly. "Hey, Kasumi. I was wondering if you had that recipe perfected," Ukyo said. "Yes, I sure do. I'll get it in a minute, but would you like to stay for dinner? It's just about finished," Kasumi asked. "Yes, that'd be nice," Ukyo said with a smile.

"And Ryoga! We haven't seen you in a very long time! Have you been on the road?" Kasumi asked. Ryoga turned a shade of pink, and nodded. "Well, Akane's in her room, but I'll go up and see if she'd like to come down," Kasumi said with one last cheerful smile.

*That is one wonderful woman. I wish I had a sister like that.* Ukyo thought as she watched Kasumi's retreating back. "So Ryoga, I guess we should go to the living room then?" Ukyo commented. "Um.. yeah, let's go," The Lost Boy agreed.

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To be continued....


All right, so that's the end of part two. I tried to incorporate some advice that I got from a friend. C&C welcome.
jfossmeyer@hotmail.com