Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Challenge ❯ Chapter 4

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

TITLE: Side Effects

BY: Jessi

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters, they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi or whoever else owns them.

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Ranma toweled off after he finished his bath, and walked to his and Genma's bedroom.

*I am SO tired. I feel like I could just fall over right now.. Maybe I won't wait up for Ryoga and Akane. I'm just goin straight to sleep.* Ranma thought drowsily. *But wait, there's something that I'm forgetting.. Oh yeah!! I forgot about the curse! Damn, I got so caught up in taunting Ryoga that I forgot to tell everyone that I'M CURED!! But I'm so tired.... it can wait until tomorrow morning...*

Ranma put on his pajamas and tumbled into his futon, closed his eyes, and fell right to sleep even though it was only 8:00 PM.

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Mousse ran through the streets of Nerima blindly, trying to see if he was on the right track to the Nekohanten. *I've been wandering the streets for an hour now, but I still haven't found my darling Shampoo's restaurant!! And it's dark now.. how will I ever be able to see well enough to find my way to the Nekohanten?*

*What's that?* Mousse thought as he heard something, it sounded like voices. "P-chan!!!!" A girl's voice rang through the quiet night air.

*That voice sounds very familiar... It's probably one of Saotome's fiancées* Mousse thought sarcastically.

"Pppp-cchhaannnn!!!" The voice called again. *Wait!! That's Akane!!! It IS one of Saotome's fiancées!* Mousse realized.

"P-chan!!!" A male voice called. Mousse had no trouble recognizing that voice, he and Ryoga had teamed up against Ranma before.

*That's Ryoga and Akane!!! They can help me see my way to the Nekohanten!*

Mousse followed the sound of the voices, trying not to bump into fences or telephone poles.

"Mousse??!!" Akane exclaimed. "What are you doing out!? The sun's already set, we're looking for my pet pig, but shouldn't you be in China anyway?"

"Hello, Akane," Mousse said, turning to Ryoga.

"Um, I'm Ryoga, THAT'S Akane," Ryoga corrected him, turning him to face Akane.

"Oh, yeah, thanks. Well, I can't see my way to the Nekohanten. Could ya help me there?" Mousse asked.

"Yeah, o'course. Well, Ryoga, I don't think we're going to find P-chan, we can look in the morning. Let's go Mousse. And Ryoga, don't get away from us, if you do, we won't see you for a while," Akane said with a laugh.

Akane and Ryoga walked Mousse to the restaurant and bade him goodnight. The two walked on for a while in silence, until Akane broke the quiet.

"Ryoga, where are you staying while you're in Nerima?"

Ryoga hadn't thought of that, usually he just camped outside. "Uh, I don't know. Usually when I travel I just camp outside," Ryoga said, quite embarrassed.

"I would invite you to stay at my home, but, with the Saotomes, we really don't have the room. Umm... maybe you could stay with Ukyo? Let's hurry, we might be able to catch her if she's at my house," Akane said. And the two hurried to the Tendo house.

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Shampoo walked around her room, collecting all her stuff, she wouldn't be coming back to this town. After most of her clothing was packed, Shampoo sat on her bed and reflected on the past year and a half she had spent in Nerima. Most of the time was spent chasing Ranma, cooking and cleaning around the restaurant, and devising new plans to get rid of the many fiancées Ranma had accumulated. Actually, Shampoo enjoyed chasing Ranma and trying to win him from the other fiancées. The fight made the victory that much sweeter.

*But now all that over, Shampoo win Ranma, and no more life in Nerima. After spell complete, we go back to China, where we belong. No more fighting for Husband, no more delivering ramen, it all over. But Ranma finally belong to Shampoo, it all worth it for Shampoo and Great-grandmudder's honor.* Shampoo reasoned.

She continued collecting her belongings, and when she was finished, Shampoo turned down the covers and climbed into bed. She was just about asleep, when she heard the door to the restaurant open. Shampoo's eyes snapped open, and her battle senses kicked in immediately. She recognized the aura of the person downstairs instantly.

*You stupid Mousse!!!* Shampoo thought before locking her bedroom door and getting back in bed.

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At the Tendo's, arrangements were made for Ryoga to stay at Ukyo's, she had several extra bedrooms on the top floor of Ucchans. Together, Ukyo and Ryoga left for Ukyo's house/restaurant, and Akane bade her family goodnight and cleaned up and went to bed. Unlike Shampoo, Akane fell right asleep.

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The next morning, Akane ran through the house getting her school things together.

"Is Ranma up yet??!!" Akane shouted through the house between laps up and down the stairs.

"Um, no I think he's still in bed, Akane," Kasumi said kindly.

"That dummy!!! We have to leave in ten minutes!" Akane shrieked.

"Well, Akane, you COULD wake him up," Nabiki said sarcastically as she walked past Akane and Kasumi at the foot of the stairs. Akane muttered something to herself as she ran up the stairs to wake Ranma.

Akane burst through Ranma's door, and shook Ranma roughly, trying to wake him.

"Ranma! Get up!!!! We need to go to school!!" Akane yelled.

When Ranma didn't wake, Akane got angry and shook him even harder. When Ranma still didn't get up, even after Akane tried several different methods, she went to get Nabiki and Kasumi to wake him up.

"Well, Akane, you know that Ranma doesn't wake easily," Kasumi said patiently.

"But Kasumi! I've shaken him, punched him, WHACKED HIM WITH MY MALLET, and thrown cold water on him and he still hasn't woken up!!!" Akane cried.

Nabiki moved past Akane, and knelt down next to the sleeping Ranma.

"Look, Kasumi, Akane, Ranma isn't breathing regularly. He's barely breathing at all..." Nabiki observed.

Akane went from red to ash white quicker than a stoplight.

"But, is he all right? I mean, he'll wake up right? Should we call Dr. Tofu?" Akane asked.

"You know.. Akane, that might not be a bad idea. Ranma has never slept like this before.. Yes, go call Dr. Tofu," Kasumi said.

"Umm... Kasumi, do you think you could go the store to pick up a couple things I need for school, when Dr. Tofu gets here?" Nabiki asked. Kasumi looked at Nabiki strangely for a moment, and then agreed that she would.

Akane made the phone call, and reported to Kasumi and Nabiki that Dr. Tofu would be there in 5 minutes time. Kasumi left to pick up Nabiki's items from the store, and Nabiki and Akane sat and watched Ranma sleep, school forgotten.

"Nabiki," Akane said, "do you have any idea why Ranma isn't waking up? Or why he isn't... breathing very much?"

Nabiki looked at her sister, and saw that Akane was looking very worried, and tried to make her feel better.

"Akane, I'm not sure what is wrong with Ranma, but I'm sure everything will be just fine," Nabiki said consolingly.

*Serves him right.. after how he made Akane feel.. but my sister is worried about him, so for now I'll go easy on him. But once he's feeling better I'm going to rip him of all the money he has..* Nabiki thought.

Several thumps from the corridor told the two girls that the doctor had arrived. Dr. Tofu arrived on the scene and quickly analyzed the situation. Ranma was sleeping, obviously, but he would not wake. Even from where he was standing in the bedroom doorway, Dr. Tofu could tell that Ranma's breath was coming in short wisps. He observed that Nabiki looked calm and collected, but Akane was stiff with worry.

Without a word to either of the girls, Dr. Tofu set about examining the sleeping boy. Akane had told him on the telephone that Ranma had not been breathing normally and would not wake up, and that was all the information she could tell him. Upon inspection of Ranma's ki, Dr. Tofu was surprised to find something abnormal disturbing the usually navy blue color of Ranma's ki. There was a glint of silver in Ranma's ki. The doctor also observed that Ranma had gone into a low energy mode, conserving his ki energy, which was something that only expert martial artists could do, and they could do it only when they were in a life/death situation.

After making his inspection, Dr. Tofu arose and faced the two girls.

"Apparently, Ranma is in a low energy mode that conserves his energy. But there is something in his ki, which is navy blue, that could possibly be causing his body to be acting the way it is. There is a glint of silver in his ki. I'm going to try to find out what effect that silver has on Ranma," Dr. Tofu explained, and then turned back to Ranma.

*There is something wrong with his ki.. that silver color.. I've never seen anyone with silver ki before. Not if it hadn't been acted on by a spell or pressure point.* Dr. Tofu thought as he examined Ranma.

This time, the doctor tried to wake Ranma. As he did so, he watched the silver specks in Ranma's ki. He shook Ranma, and as he did, the silver glowed and expanded, and when Dr. Tofu poured water on Ranma, the silver glint in Ranma's ki, glowed tremendously and threatened to completely overcome the natural navy color of his ki. Dr. Tofu's brow furrowed, and shook Ranma again, the silver again tremored and reacted to the shake.

"Dr. Tofu? What's wrong with Ranma?" Akane asked when she saw the expression on the doctor's face.

He looked up, and met Akane's anxious gaze with a look of worry.

"Akane, there is something in Ranma's ki. It's a silver color, and the only time I've ever seen silver in a person's ki is when they are under the influence of a spell or pressure points are activated. The silver wisps of unnatural ki stir and overcome more of Ranma's natural ki each time I try to awake him. Has Happosai or Cologne had any opportunity to activate the pressure points?" the concerned doctor asked.

Akane visibly racked her brain, and said, "Umm... Happosai has been out of the country.. I think he said he was going on "The Great Panty Escapade", and Cologne just recently returned to Japan from China."

Dr. Tofu's brow furrowed even more at the news that neither Happosai nor Cologne could have possibly set off Ranma's pressure points, and no one other than himself, in Nerima, had the knowledge or ability to activate those points.

*Then it MUST be some sort of spell.. but why it won't allow him to wake up I cannot say..* Dr. Tofu thought to himself. *I must get to my libraries and research this.*

Dr. Tofu turned to leave the room, when Akane and Nabiki exchanged odd glances and called after him. "Dr. Tofu? What do you think is the matter with Ranma?" Nabiki asked.

"You said that it was either a spell or pressure point activation, and it obviously can't have anything to do with the points, so it's a spell?"

"Oh, um yes, I think it is safe to say that Ranma is under the influence of a spell," he replied. "I can't say for sure what type of spell it is, but I do know that IT is what's keeping him from waking, and I'm going to tear apart my library and any other resources I can find looking for a cure," the doctor said with a smile.

Akane looked relieved, knowing that her fiancée's care would be in Dr. Tofu's capable hands. Nabiki's face, however, could not be read, it would be impossible to know what she was thinking.

*Alright Ranma, you'll pull out of this, you always do, and then I'm going to take your money, bastard.* Nabiki thought, even though you would never have guessed it by looking at her expression.

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Outside, undetected by the trio inside, Cologne was perched on a branch near Ranma's bedroom window, listening to the conversation going on inside.

Cologne let out a quiet, barely audible, chuckle. *Son-in-law is already experiencing the side effects of the spell.. soon.. very soon now..*

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To be continued....

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: This one took me a while to write, partly because I've been busy, but reviews on my story spurred me on to complete it. Actually, I was actually thinking about not finishing this fic; I hadn't really had any good OR bad reaction to it. But now I know that SOMEONE is reading this and enjoying it, so I'll to finish it as soon as possible for those people! Well, this chapter turned out better than the last one, I think, and things are heating up now.. I'll try to get part 5 up as soon as possible!