Of Mothers, Of Fathers
By: Lord Archive
Part of the Hard Life timeline.
This series deals with some serious, adult topics. There are no sex
scenes in this series, but some sexual references do occur.
Characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Video, etc..., and are
used without permission. I'm only borrowing them. I'll return them.
(I wonder if they'll notice if I kept Yuka.)
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Chapter 1 - NANI?!?
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The rain poured down on the inhabitants of Nerima as two people, who
had a very good reason to be out in this weather, approached Dr.
Tofu's clinic.
Dr. Tofu raised an eyebrow when he heard a knock at the door. His
clinic wasn't going to be opened for another hour. He opened the door
and was surprised to see onna-Ranma with some guy there. He thought it
was odd that the guy seemed somewhat familiar despite that he had
never seen a guy with blue hair before.
Ranma looked at Dr. Tofu with obvious fear in her eyes. "Doc, we need
your help."
"Certainly," Dr. Tofu said as he ushered the two of them inside. He
was concerned, Ranma was suppose to be on his honeymoon with Akane.
Dr. Tofu was about to ask about Akane when Ranma blurted out, "Somehow
Akane took my curse, and I'm stuck like this!"
Dr. Tofu blinked. He really hoped he didn't hear what he thought he
just heard. "Akane?"
The guy nodded. "Yes."
Dr. Tofu was VERY worried about this. He didn't know of any means to
transfer a Jusenkyo curse. He lead them into the examination room. He
handed the guy hot water from a teakettle. Dr. Tofu watched carefully
as the guy upended the water over himself, and turned into Akane.
Ranma also took some hot water, but it only added more water to her
already soaked body.
Akane quickly readjusted her clothes to keep them from falling.
Dr. Tofu asked, "Can you tell me how this might have happened?"
"Well, um," Ranma began, "Shampoo gave Akane some instant Nannichaun
as a wedding present. About a week ago, she used it. That's the only
unusual thing that's happened." Her face matched the color of her
hair.
Dr. Tofu was more than a bit surprised at hearing that. He never
thought... "How long did she remain a man and you a girl?"
"We were going to change back last night, but I didn't change back and
she turned back into a guy when she got wet."
Dr. Tofu took a moment to think, The
doctor became rather pale at the thought.
"Dr. Tofu, do you know what's wrong?" Akane asked.
"I... I might have an idea. I'd like to run some tests." Dr. Tofu
prayed he was wrong. "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk with Cologne
about this. She may know what the problem is."
"Sure," Ranma replied.
-------------------------------------
Dr. Tofu sat in his office, waiting for the test results. Ranma and
Akane were still in the examination room. Since he was waiting, now
would be a good time to call Cologne, but he was sure he didn't want
the answer she'd give him. He reluctantly picked up the phone and
dialed.
"Hello, Neko-Hanten," answered Cologne from the other end.
"Hello, Cologne, this is Dr. Tofu. I need to ask you something about
Jusenkyo curses."
"Oh, and what is it you want to know?"
"Can the curse be transferred with the use of say... instant
Nannichaun?"
"I've never heard of that happening." Cologne sounded very interested.
"Then, um, how can someone end up trapped in their cursed form?"
"There are many possible ways for that to happen."
"Can you tell me some of the biological reasons?"
"Well, if the person has a disease that cools the skin to the point
where any water that touches it would be too cold to trigger the
change. There are certain ways chi can be manipulated that could
prevent changing."
"What about..." Dr. Tofu whispered the next word to make sure Ranma
and Akane weren't listening in.
-------------------------------------
A moment later in the waiting room, Ranma and Akane heard what
sounded like Cologne laughing from Dr. Tofu's office.
Several minutes later, Dr. Tofu entered the examination room. He was
extremely nervous. He doubted they were going to take this well.
Cologne's response on the phone only added to what he thought was the
reason Ranma hadn't transformed back into a guy. The test he ran
wasn't the most accurate, but it agreed his suspicion.
Dr. Tofu gathered up his courage to tell them. For some reason, he
felt he rather tell them someone died than this. He also knew subtlety
in approaching this would be lost on them, he had to come out and say
it. "Ranma... I've discovered why you can't change back. The reason is
because you're... pregnant."
"I... I'M WHAT?!?" Ranma's scream momentarily lifted the roof off the
clinic.
"Wha... you can't mean...." Akane stammered, her face was as pale as a
ghost.
Dr. Tofu placed his hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I ran a test and
conferred with Cologne, and the results pointed to one possibility,
that you are pregnant."
"I can't be pregnant! I'M A GUY!" Ranma yelled, shaking like a leaf in
a typhoon.
Dr. Tofu knew that the quicker Ranma accepted it, the better. "I'm
sorry, Ranma, but the test results came up positive. You are
pregnant."
Ranma's face was locked in unimaginable horror. She stared at Dr.
Tofu, wanting him to say it was joke. The sad eyes of the doctor told
her it wasn't.
Akane could not believe what she just heard, but knew Dr. Tofu well
enough to know he wouldn't joke about this. She collapsed into a
chair. "I... I'm going to be a mother...no a FATHER?!" Her mind
threatened to take a vacation.
"No," came from Ranma's lips like a whisper. "No," she said weakly.
"No," she said, disbelievingly. "NO!" Ranma screamed at the top of her
lungs and ran out of the clinic.
Akane, startled by the outburst, chased after Ranma.
-------------------------------------
A man walked through the pouring rain. He didn't care about the rain.
It meant nothing to him. What did mean something to him had been
stripped from his hands forever. There was something else that
mattered to him, that may still be available to him, but it was of
little comfort to him at the moment. He just walked through the rain
lost to his own world.
He was startled when a girl with red hair ran into him. She was crying
and saying things incoherently, "How can I be... I was the groom....
I'm a guy... how can I be... pregnant?..."
The man instinctively gave the girl a little hug. He wanted to do
more, but, somehow, it seemed wrong at the moment. What the girl said
made little sense. He was stunned when she said she was pregnant.
"Ranma?" another guy called, approaching them.
"Go away," Ranma cried.
"Ranma, I'm not leaving you."
Ranma turned and looked at the guy. "Akane... how could you do this to
me?!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't think this could happen."
Ranma collapsed to her knees. "How can you mess this up? I was the
groom, and you the bride. I'm supposed to get you pregnant. Can't you
even get that straight?"
"Ranma, you didn't object to this before. You could've reminded me
that you have periods too. That we should've used protection."
Ranma ignored her, "How can you be such a macho chick to get ME
pregnant?!"
"Baka! I didn't think it was possible!"
"You're the idiot. You got your husband pregnant."
Akane would be upset at Ranma if she didn't look so miserable. The
sight of Ranma shivering and curled up into a ball, made Akane feel
terrible. He bent down and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I'm
so sorry. I wish I was the one who got pregnant."
Ranma hugged Akane even tighter, crying, "Akane, how... how could
you? How could you be that much of a tomboy?"
The man that Ranma had run into was in a state of shock. Well, he'd
been in shock since Nabiki informed him that Ranma and Akane got
married. The argument he watched was somewhat familiar to him, but the
parts being played didn't seem to fit. The guy played the role of
Akane, and the pig-tailed girl was Ranma? "Wha... What sorcery..." he
stammered.
Akane looked up and saw Kuno staring at him. "K-Kuno-sempai..."
"A-Akane?"
Akane blinked, and then nodded. "Yes, Kuno-sempai, I'm Akane. And the
pig-tailed girl is Ranma."
"How can this be? That vile sorcerer..." began his angry rant.
"Kuno-sempai!" Akane interrupted. "I got a hold of some magic and did
this to myself. Ranma has nothing to do with the fact I turn into a
guy with cold water. I really don't have time to explain everything to
you. I need to get my husband back to Dr. Tofu's to discuss his
pregnancy." Akane picked up Ranma, and ran off.
Kuno stood with a blank expression on his face. He could not believe
what just happened. Part of him wanted to forget it, to toss it aside
as one of Saotome's tricks. Another part decided to hold onto it,
because the idea of the man who took away his loves had gotten
pregnant was just too good to let go.
-------------------------------------
Dr. Tofu breathed a sigh of relief as Akane carried Ranma into the
clinic. "Is Ranma physically all right?" He asked, knowing that his
patient wasn't currently of the best mental health.
Akane nodded.
Dr. Tofu guided back into the examining room. He ran a few cursory
examinations to check Ranma's feminine health. He then turned his
attention to examining Akane. He used what limited knowledge he had
on magic to try to determine anything about her Nannichaun curse,
but was coming up blank. Studying the chi lines of Akane in her
male form troubled Dr. Tofu, they were a bit too stable so soon
after recieving a transformational curse.
"What a lovely couple," the Amazon elder said, barely surpressing
her amusement with the situation in front of her. Cologne's
favorite type of jokes were ironies and the two Saotomes were
shining examples. A girl who hotly denied her tomboy nature had
gotten her man amongst men husband pregnant.
"Do ya know how ta fix this mess?" Ranma meekly asked.
"Well, daughter, I'm not a miracle worker, and you two have
gotten yourself into a lot of trouble. All I can do is explain
the situation."
"So what do we do?" Akane asked.
"You're going to be parents," Cologne replied simply.
"Can't I get an abortion?" Ranma asked.
"Only if you want to stay a girl. Your curse is locked and you'll
only be able to change back into a man if you either give birth or
miscarriage naturally."
"There are ways to induce 'natural' miscarriage," Dr. Tofu said.
"Remember, doctor, that we are dealing with magic, and magic will
often defy logic. A cursed individual who intends to cause a
natural miscarriage will still be locked, unless the intent is to
stay a girl and then the lock is removed."
"So you're saying...." Ranma began to ask.
"You will soon be a mother, Ranma. Congratulations." Cologne grinned.
"Isn't there anything I can do?!" Ranma screamed.
"I'm sorry to say, but there is no other option. Many ancient
Amazons and Musk have tried and failed."
"Y-you're lying! I can't become a mother! I CAN'T!!!" Ranma broke
down and cried into her wife's massive male chest.
Akane tried to sooth his pregnant husband, but what he really
wished he could wake up from this nightmare, especially considering
his dreams weren't this weird.
-------------------------------------
To say Ukyou wasn't feeling very well would be an understatement.
While she had given up on marrying Ranma, it still hurt watching him
get married to Akane. She still couldn't believe how stupid she was in
getting drunk at the wedding reception, and then doing... THAT after
it.
To top off her emotional pain, she felt like she had the flu.
Ukyou laid in bed, not really wanting to move. She glared at the
person who wandered into her room.
Ryoga stammered, "Err... sorry. Trying to find the bathroom."
Ukyou didn't bother to say anything, giving him directions was
pointless.
Ryoga was thankful that Ukyou allowed him to stay last night despite
what happened between them after the wedding reception. He still
hadn't quite come to terms with it. Ryoga noticed the unhealthy color
of Ukyou's face. "Ukyou, are you all right?"
"No, I think I got the flu," she muttered.
"Perhaps you should go see a doctor."
Ukyou was about to refuse but the queasiness of her stomach decided to
have it's say as she threw up into her trash can. After a moment, she
said, "Maybe I should."
Ukyou quickly prepared to leave, and made an appointment with
Dr. Tofu.
Ryoga walked with her towards the clinic, using his umbrella to keep
both of them dry. As things happen with Jusenkyo curses, a strong gust
of wind sent enough water to transform him.
"Bweep," Ryoga cursed.
Ukyou looked at him in disgust. She picked him up and his clothes, but
failed to pick up his umbrella. "What's this thing made of? Depleted
uranium?" She gave up using it, and walked the rest of the way there.
-------------------------------------
A half hour later Ranma's crying subsided. She hated feeling this weak,
this out of control. But what happened took away everything she once
held as important, her manhood. She could almost feel her phantom
manliness between her legs, but other feminine parts were real and
wouldn't let her forget their existance. Ranma grabbed at what
remained of her pride and quipped, "What a great birthday present for
you. Surprise, you're a father."
Akane closed his eyes, feeling as if he was just stabbed by his husband.
Ranma's birthday had been a week ago and her present was to make her a
woman. If he hadn't been so insistent, the girl in his arms wouldn't be
pregnant.
"I'll let Dr. Tofu explain what you'll experience during you're
pregnancy, but you should know that the lock on the curse won't lift
until about a month after you give birth when a specific chemical
balance is reached and unlocks it." Cologne turned to Akane.
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