As always, C&C is anticipated, accepted, and appreciated.
"Miyabi" and "Masao" appear courtesy of Kunoichi, whose "Ranma
nibun no ichi" series inspired this "Paralell Universe".
All original Ranma1/2 Characters and Backstory Copyright
Rumiko Takahashi, and are used without permission.
Coutuva.
Mysteries of the Mind - Part 3
Discoveries and Disappointments
------------------------------------------------------------------
The incredible racket of the traffic, combined with the sunlight
streaming in on her face woke Ranma from her fitful slumber, forcing her
to face another day. Her head still throbbed from her large wound, and
she felt stiff, sore and unrested.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she glanced around the room,
momentarily startled by the unfamiliarity of it. After a second, she
remembered that she was still at Elysse's apartment, having been invited
to spend a few days... since she had no idea where she should be staying.
Yawning widely, and trying to stretch herself, she slowly pushed
her sore body into a sitting position, trying to find the energy to get up.
A cool breeze from the open window reminded her she was naked, which
prompted a good listen to see if Elysse was awake.
Satisfied she was alone, Ranma pushed the remaining covers off
of herself, and slowly got out of the bed. The effort made her grimace,
as she felt every sore spot she had... and there was a good number of them.
Padding softly to the bathroom, Ranma closed the door quietly,
not wanting to wake Elysse just yet. Her friend had two more hours to
sleep, and Ranma didn't want to be the cause of her missing it.
Elysse lay sprawled on her back across her large bed, having
dreamt all night of a life with Ranma. A smile decorated her face as
she slept, her dreams still filling her mind.
Suddenly, a piercing shriek jolted her awake, and as she tried
to determine where it came from, she heard her shower running.
"Ohmigod! Ranma!" she exclaimed, bolting from her bed.
In the bathroom, sprawled beside the tub was a terrified and very
naked male Ranma. His eyes were as big as plates and he was breathing
rapidly, shaking from head to toe. Elysse, upon seeing the man of her
dreams naked on her bathroom floor, froze in her tracks, gape mouthed.
Her eyes traveled from his splayed legs all the way up over his
ripped chest to his dripping wet hair, stopping at various points of
interest along the way. Only when Ranma tried to speak did she finally
snap out of her awestruck trance.
"Elysse..." he stammered, voice wavering with shock.
"I ch - ch- changed to... a boy!" he wailed, a definite female sound to
his speech.
Snapping herself back to reality, Elysse grabbed a glass from the
side of the vanity, filled it with cold water and threw it at Ranma, who
promptly shrieked again as the change occurred.
Stepping carefully to avoid the cold puddle on the floor, Elysse
reached down and grabbed Ranma'a arm, pulling her away from the tub.
Helping the still very shocked girl to her feet, she escorted her back
to the living room and sat her on the futon.
Ranma, stunned beyond reaction, simply sat shaking, naked and wet
on the futon, staring straight ahead with incredibly wide eyes.
Elysse, realizing that the poor girl was on the verge of a nervous
breakdown, sat beside her and tried to snap her back.
"Ranma...? Can you hear me?" she began, tentatively.
Ranma turned her head slowly, eyes still wide, and faced Elysse.
"I... turned... into a boy..." she breathed, then her eyes abruptly rolled
back in her head and she crumpled with a moan into Elysse's lap.
About an hour later, Ranma slowly opened her eyes to see Elysse
standing over her looking worried.
"What... happened to me?" she groaned, glancing about the room.
"Gomen nasai, Ranma-chan. I left the hand shower on, and it was
clipped on the wall above your head. When you started the water for your
bath, it came out above you, and soaked you before you knew what hit you."
Elysse answered, bowing slightly.
"Ano... Did I... change into a boy, Elysse?" Ranma asked, fearfully.
"Hai. You did." Elysse replied, resignedly. "I was going to talk
to you about that today, but you kinda beat me to it."
"You mean... it wasn't my imagination? I really did change into a
boy?!?" Ranma blurted, springing to a sit. "OOWww!" she moaned, as her
head reacted to the sudden move.
Elysse sighed heavily, then sat gently beside the bewildered
redhead.
"Remember how I mentioned that we 'have some things in common'?
Well, we have a 'curse', Ranma. It happened to us at a place in China
called "Jusenkyo". I was there on a trip with my parents, and you were
there several years earlier for Martial Arts Training. Both of us fell
into one of the 'Pools of Sorrow', and took the form of whatever drowned
there last."
Ranma simply stared at her, unable to think of anything to say.
Elysse took that as a cue to continue.
"The curses are triggered by water... Cold water, for example,
turns you to a girl. Warm water turns you..."
"To a boy. But, I'm a really a *girl*... how...?" Ranma
stammered, looking at Elysse quizzically.
"It doesn't make any difference what you really are... all that
matters is the temperature of the water."
"Then that's why I..."
"Hai. The shower triggered your curse. It doesn't matter, by
the way, where the water comes from. Rain, lakes, cups, puddles... they
all have the same effect."
"Chikusho... this is crazy." Ranma spat, shaking her head.
"How long have I been like this?"
"As long as I've known you. I've had my curse for almost three
years... and for the first two, I didn't know I could change back to my
old self."
"So what do you change into?"
"You'll laugh..." Elysse replied, looking away for a moment.
"I won't... I promise." Ranma replied, already fighting a grin.
Elysse sighed, set herself, and looked Ranma in the eyes. "An
Arabian Mare." she said quickly, biting her lip.
Ranma lost it. "You change into a *horse*??" she sputtered
between fits of laughter.
"Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh!" Elysse complained, slapping
Ranma's shoulder.
"And I thought I had it bad!" Ranma continued, falling on her
back in another laughing fit. Elysse tried to look stern, but watching
the small Chinese girl beside her rolling around laughing was too much to
take.
"You're impossible!" Elysse blurted, starting to laugh herself.
Now that Ranma knew of her curse, she tried again to go get a shower.
Elysse shut off the hand shower for her, showed her how it worked, and then
left her on her own. Ranma thanked her, then stepped out of the
housecoat that Elysse had put on her when she passed out. Tentatively,
she stepped into the tub and turned on the water.
As soon as the warm liquid touched her feet, she could feel the
change occur again. Despite expecting it this time, it still came as a
bit of a shock. He immediately noticed that he was much taller, much
bigger, and had some interesting new features.
Wiping the steam from the sliding door mirror, Ranma leaned
forward and looked at his face. He thought it was a handsome one,
even though it had black hair.
Looking himself over, he noticed that he was pretty well built
in many respects, most of which he attributed to the Martial Arts
expertise that Elysse had mentioned.
Deciding that the whole thing wasn't so bad, he reached over and
turned off the hot water, and again felt the change. It was an odd
sensation, watching the world get bigger along with her chest, and seeing
her body go from hard and chiseled to soft and curvey.
Grinning happily at her newfound ability, she turned the hot
water back on, then off, then on, then off again. Giggling to herself,
the thought struck her that she could have a lot of fun with this new
trick. Finally, she left the hot water on and cheerfully finished the
shower. The only drawback came when he stepped out of the tub, all nice
and warm, and realized that he would have to get splashed with cold water
to change back to his normal state.
Just then, Elysse knocked at the door. "How'd it go, Ranma?
Everything okay?"
"Daijobu. Come on in, Elysse." Ranma called, a bit surprised
at his voice.
Elysse stepped through the door and promptly froze in her tracks,
a big embarrassed grin leaping to her face.
Ranma looked at her questioningly, wondering what was wrong.
Elysse covered her mouth with one hand, and slowly pointed toward Ranma's
midsection with the other, eyes locked on the same location.
Ranma glanced down, only to see that the towel he had wrapped
around his chest was about eight inches too short, revealing certain
aspects of his new body.
"Kuso." he cursed, and changed the position of the towel to
better protect his assets. "Gomen, Elysse-chan. I'm just not used to
driving one of these." Ranma stated, sheepishly.
Elysse gulped audibly then shook her head, hoping to clear the
flush on her cheeks. "It's okay... I don't mind; I mean, care." she
corrected, wincing at her slip.
"I'll bet you don't..." Ranma winked, heading toward the door.
As he stepped past Elysse, he couldn't resist the mischievous urge to pat
her backside, which made her jump slightly.
"Hentai!" she shot back with a grin, and closed the bathroom
door quickly.
Once it closed, Elysse turned and collapsed against it, breathing
rapidly. "Gad, this is going to drive me crazy!" she thought, still
feeling a warm glow from her 'sighting'.
Abruptly, she was bounced by a heavy knock on the door she was
leaning against.
"Hai?" she asked, wondering what Ranma forgot.
"I have to change back to me..." her favorite voice replied,
somewhat sheepishly.
Elysse sighed sadly, thinking it would have been nice to have
the male version around for a while, then opened the door to let him in.
"Gomen ne... I forgot. I'll only be a second." Ranma quipped,
quickly filling the glass from earlier and dumping it over his head.
"Arigato!" chimed onna-Ranma happily, and beat a quick retreat.
Elysse stood quietly for a moment, looking at the now-closed door
with a resigned look on her face. She had the distinct feeling that life
was about to get very exciting.
When Elysse finished her shower, she wandered back into the
livingroom toweling her hair dry. Ranma sat cross-legged on the futon, a
towel draped over her own head as she watched television.
"Hey, Elysse." Ranma greeted, absently.
"So, Ranma-chan, what are you going to do today? I have to go to
work, so you're pretty much on your own." Elysee responded, stopping
beside the distracted redhead.
"Ano... go to work?" Ranma repeated, turning to look at her
companion. "Where do you work?"
"I'm just a waitress at the Chinese place down the street. I have
to work days this week." she explained, heading off toward the kitchen.
"Want some breakfast?"
"A job... I better get myself one soon, ne Elysse? I can't keep
eating your food and wearing your clothes all the time." Ranma noted,
pulling at the borrowed t-shirt she sported.
"That sounds like an idea... but you can't be in good enough
shape to go job-hunting yet. You're still pretty busted up."
"Well, I have a bit of a headache today, but it's not bad." Ranma
reported, gingerly touching the damp dressing on her head.
"Speaking of that, I should have a look at that dressing before
I go. C'mere, Ranma... sit here so I can check it." Elysse instructed,
pointing at the chair near her.
"Hai, hai." Ranma agreed, walking over and sitting where she was
told.
Elysse stood just to Ranma's right and began to remove the large
dressing carefully. Ranma sat grimacing as she did, until a chance
glance gained her an eyeful of Elysse's firm, perky chest. The light
material of the night shirt she had on clung invitingly to her still-damp
skin, highlighting each breast and nipple perfectly.
Ranma couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight, and she sighed
inwardly, able to just taste the tantalizing nub dancing before her
appreciative eyes.
"Well, it looks like you're healing very well. I shouldn't be
surprised, I guess." Elysse commented, remembering how he shook off a
malleting that would have killed another man.
Ranma almost jumped at the sound of her voice, still entranced by
her friend's chest. Shaking her head, she finally stammered a reply.
"Glad to hear it. So, what's next?"
"I'll change this to a smaller one, and we'll have breakfast.
I think you should stay in for at least today though, Ranma... give
yourself time to fully recover. Maybe after work, I'll take you shopping
for some clothes. I just happen to have a little extra money this month."
she stated, a very small grin flashing over her face.
"Okay, if you say so. I don't know how to get around this place,
anyway." Ranma replied, somewhat disappointedly.
"I'll show you around tonight. I promise." Elysse smiled,
placing a hand on Ranma's shoulder. 'Let's get some breakfast going."
"Tadaima!" Elysse called as she closed the apartment door behind
her.
"Elysse! I have some great news!" Ranma gushed, bouncing up to
her friend and wrapping a hug around her.
"Whoa, girl... what's this all about?" Elysse stammered, a bit
overwhelmed by the greeting.
"I got an interview! Already! The first place I called said
they'd meet me!" Ranma bubbled, her large blue eyes dancing with excitement.
"What? You better start from the beginning..."
"Okay. I saw an Ad in the paper for a Daycare Assistant, and it
said 'no experience necessary'. I called them up, and it turns out the
owner is Japanese! We started talking, and she said to come in tomorrow...
They really want to talk to me! Ain't it great?!"
"Well, Congrats, Ranma! I'm happy for you... but are you sure
you can handle it?"
"I dunno... but I'm sure going to try!" she continued,
ecstatically.
"Okay... then we better get you some decent clothes, ne?" Elysse
replied, winking at Ranma.
"Hai! Are there any shops around here that sell Chinese styles?
That's my favorite kind of clothes."
"Lots... Hey, you; I just remembered something. The newspaper
is English... how did you read it?"
"I just picked it up and started flipping through it, then
discovered that I could make sense of the words... I can even speak it!"
Ranma replied, grinning cheesily. "Listen! " Ranma asked glibly
in virtually perfect English.
"Ano... you sound perfect! Tell you what. Let's talk English
from now on... It's the language here, and you'll need to anyway."
"Hmmm... Okay, I guess I should." Ranma acquiesced, in English.
"By the way, Elysse... I don't know how you're going to feel about this,
but I've been thinking about it all day. I really want to change my name.
I just don't like 'Ranma'... it's kinda wierd." Ranma stated, regarding
Elysse cautiously.
"You want to change your name??" she repeated, then went quiet
for a few seconds. "Ahh, what the hell. You don't remember who you are
anyway, so I can't see it being a problem." she decided, grinning.
Inwardly, she was beside herself... this meant one more connection broken.
"Great! So from now on, call me 'Hitomi'... Hitomiii... Seirei.
Yeah, I like that name a lot better." she grinned, quite satisfied with
herself.
"I think I'm going to sit down..." Elysse breathed, more than
just a little overwhelmed. "What's got into you, Ra.. Hitomi? I thought
you were just going to rest today."
"I got bored... sitting around in here feeling like a burden got
to bugging me, so I checked out the paper." she replied, walking over
and flopping on the futon.
Elysse regarded the redhead reprovingly. "You're no burden.
I like having you here. I just want to make sure you're not rushing
things a bit... that gash in your noggin is far from healed."
"I know... It's just that something inside me keeps bugging me
to get off my butt and contribute. I just can't sit around doing nothing.
When you told me you had to go to work today, that's when it hit me."
the newly-dubbed Hitomi explained, searching Elysse's eyes for
understanding. "You invited me to stay to help me get my memory back,
and I've been thinking that I should help with the expenses. As you
probably noticed, I eat like your other form." she added, smirking.
"All right... you win. Just be careful... those kids can be
deadly." Elysse advised, lowering an eyebrow.
"That's okay... I love kids. The more the merrier. Plus, the
place is only a few blocks east of here... I can walk it... once I
find it." Hitomi grinned, skritching her head. "I actually can't
wait to start." she exclaimed, clasping her hands together happily.
"Well, if that's the case, I don't feel much like making supper
tonight anyway... let's see what we can find you to wear, and go out for
dinner and some mad shopping. Oh, and one more thing... Since you don't
have any ID, I'll talk to a 'friend' of mine, and get you some made up.
You'll need it to get work."
"Sure!" Hitomi gushed, rolling off the futon. "Elysse... Thanks."
she said quietly, leaning down and kissing the surprised girl's cheek.
"You've been wonderful, and I can't begin to express my appreciation."
she continued, bowing deeply.
"It's...okay. What are friends for, eh?" Elysse smiled, waving
off the praise. Anyway, let's get you dressed... We have a big night
ahead of us!"
On the walking deck outside the house, Akane sat quietly, knees
drawn up under her chin and arms wrapped around them. Rhythmically, she
rocked back and forth, staring into nothingness. Her mind still would not
let her think of anything but her husband's handsome face, his unruly hair,
and his friendly, loving voice.
Sighing forlornly, she again cursed herself for agreeing to let
him go to Canada, as her intuition had told her that it was wrong. Now,
with no way of knowing if he was alive or dead, all she could do was sit,
wait, worry, and miss him terribly.
Behind her, she could just hear the padding of tiny feet
approaching her. Turning slightly, she saw Miyabi standing a few feet
away, hands behind her back, and a foot nervously twisting on the floor.
"Okasaan..." the small voice ventured, unsure of itself.
"Hai, Mi-chan?" Akane replied, her heart melting as she realized
that she wasn't the only one who dearly missed Ranma. She also felt an
immediate pang of guilt for not having been there for the little one
while she struggled to recover from her own shock.
"Okasaan... can I sit with you?" Miyabi asked quietly, aware of
how upset her Mom had been over the past couple of days.
"Hai. Absolutely." Akane smiled weakly, raising her arm toward
the child. Relief washed over the little one's face as she immediately
snuggled up to her Mom.
Wordlessly, the two sat holding one another tightly, each
offering the other some badly needed emotional support.
After a few moments, Akane noticed that Miyabi was crying softly
into her blouse, little fists clenched around handfuls of the fabric.
"Oh, Mi-chan... don't cry, Honey. Everything will be okay.
Papa will be home... soon." she encouraged, trying to sound like she
believed it.
"Where did he go, Mommy...? Why won't he come home to us? Did
we make him mad?" Miyabi sobbed in response, her anguish evident in her
voice.
Akane gasped audibly at the questions, and immediately lifted
her sniffling daughter and sat her in her lap.
"Mi-chan, I want you to always remember that your Papa loves you
more than anything. You're his 'little tsunami'." she began, trying to
smile cheerfully. "He hates being away from us, and if there was any
way he could, he'd be here right now. He's not away because of anything
we've done, he's away because of an accident. When he gets better,
we'll have him back." she continued, running a hand through her
daughter's jet-black hair.
"But where is he? Why can't we see him?" Miyabi cried, her
eyes bearing a look of utter defeat.
Akane didn't answer right away. Sighing, she turned and looked
up at the first few stars appearing in the early evening sky.
Abruptly, she had to fight back tears of her own as she realized
that this was just about the time when Ranma would normally jump down from
the roof, landing right about where the two of them sat.
"I don't know, Honey... but I hope he's all right." she finally
replied with a sniff, and gently pulled Miyabi into a big, squashy hug.
========================================================================
END - Mysteries of the Mind - Part 3 A Ranma1/2 FanFic by V. Coutu
Comments Welcomed, Flames Extinguished!
coutuva@vecdev.com
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