INTRODUCTION
I know, I know. You've seen your fill of fics where Ranma
is split into Ranma and Ranko. There's also been several stories
done in the main series concerning the cast dealing with a
feminine Ranma created by various means (the Copy Ranma in manga
Volume 35 for example). This story's been preying on my mind for
some time, so, since I'm trying to get over a writer's block
concerning my final two "Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year"
stories, I decided to put this down.
Having lived in Korea for seven months during 1996-7, I've
come to appreciate the good and bad aspects of Confucian society.
A terrible problem plaguing Korea right now is selective
abortion. With the drive to bear healthy male children, mothers
usually abort unborn daughters to prevent themselves from
confronting the shame of not preserving the husband's family
line. Technically, this is illegal, but the Confucian-inspired
drive to have sons over daughters can be overpowering; I was
reading about cases like this throughout my stay. In fact, this
belief has actually led to suicide on several occasions!
Thus, I asked myself this: what if there was a place where
unwanted girls were "disposed" of, a place which turns out to be
as magical as Jusenkyou? And what would happen if Ranma came to
this place? Well, read on to learn the answer...
WRITER'S NOTES:
1) This story occurs after the manga series ends. Further,
this story leads in certain aspects to my planned sequel series
"Ranma 1/2 Twenty Years Later" (which will undergo serious
revision before being released at the same time as "Urusei
Yatsura Twenty Years Later"). Relax, Sean; Ryouga WILL be
married to Akari this time!
2) The Chinese and Korean names are given in family-name-first
order. Japanese names are given in given-name-first order.
3) "Kimiko" was used as the name of Akane's deceased mother in
another fanfic (I forget which one). It sounds nice.
4) Translations and explanations:
An-nyong-ha-se-yo - Good Day (Korean)
Hanbok - Traditional Korea dress. For
women, a two-piece dress with a
top similar to a gi's jersey
over a skirt.
Lee - Anglicization of the Korean "i"
(EE) sound, which sounds the
same as the Japanese. "I" is
Korean for "two."
Cholla-do - Cholla Province, located in
south-west Korea. Pronounced
CHAWL-LA. Divided today into
Chollapuk-do (North Cholla) and
Chollanam-do (South Cholla)
Tonghak Peasant Army - A "righteous army," in actuality
a people's militia, operating
against the pro-Japanese
elements in Korean government
during 1894, protesting the
movement which led to Korea's
annexation by Japan in 1910.
5) An explanation of the doubles' names:
Ranko - No explanation required.
Asana - In the Korean "Ranma," Akane's
name is Sa-na.
Shang-feng - I took the phonetic reading of
Shampoo's name (SHA-N-PU-U),
then looked up my kanji
dictionary to see the kanji
that matched SHA and PU. I had
to use FU (there is no PU), but
in Chinese, they are almost
always read "Shang-feng."
Shashi - Ukyou means "right capital."
Shashi means "left city."
Kodayuu - Kodachi means "small long
sword." Kodayuu means "small
courtesan." The last kanji is
changed (remember the joke about
Kunou's name?).
**** **** ****
And as we always say...ON WITH THE SHOW!!!!
**** **** ****
"Here it is!" Genma nods. "Jookoji-shima."
Ranma and Nodoka exchange concerned glances. The small
volcanic rock, not even a kilometre wide, was located in the
middle of the East China Sea. Over the sign displaying the
island's kanji title, were four direction signs. West, Shanghai.
North, Cheju-do. East, Makurazaki. South, Okinawa. Flapping
from flagpoles were the national flags of the People's Republic
of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan. The visiting Japanese
martial artists found this odd. "Hey, Pop, who owns this rock,
anyway?" Ranma wonders.
"I...I'm not sure," Genma muses, equally mystified. "Let's
see if there's someone here to tell us what's going on."
"Oh, honestly, Genma!" Nodoka's eyes roll. "When will you
stop listening to that old fool Happousai?! All he ever does is
get you and Souun-kun into more trouble!"
"Yeah, he does, doesn't he?!" Ranma snorts.
The three stop, tensing as their senses detect others. "Oh,
we have visitors," a Korean-accented voice announces.
"An-nyong-ha-se-yo!"
"Ni-hao!" a voice not so different from Shampoo's salutes.
"Ohayo gosaimasu," a Japanese voice adds.
The Saotomes turn to see three young women standing there.
One is dressed in a sleeveless long skirt with a Chinese dragon
stitched on it. The second is in a hanbok. The third wears a
sea-pattern kimono. "Ah...hi, there!" Ranma smiles. "Don't mind
us; we're just coming by to visit."
The three smile. "We rarely get visitors," the Chinese
woman smiles. "I am Wei Yi-xin, First Guardian of this island."
"I am We Lee-shin, Second Guardian of this island," the
Korean woman lightly bows.
"I am Mishin Ei, Third Guardian of this island," the
Japanese woman bows.
The Saotomes exchange confused looks. "Those aren't your
real names, are they?!" Ranma wonders.
"No, they are not," Mishin admits. "We use them as aliases
during our tenure as Jookoji-shima's spiritual guardians. May we
enquire as to what brings you here today?"
"We came to relax and meditate," Genma explains. "My family
has been separated for some time. My sensei recommended this
place as a good one to seek inner harmony."
"Then you have come to the right place," Lee-shin smiles.
"Please, our humble abode is this way. Make yourselves
comfortable."
The Saotomes nod...
* * *
"My, what a lovely home," Nodoka sighs as she and Genma
relax in the guest hut beside the island's main building, a
pagoda-like temple located near the dormant volcano's mouth.
Ranma was off to find the bathhouse. It was now well past
sunset. The three guardians were now preparing a mixed feast.
"Tell me, Ei-san, who governs this island?" she gazes at Mishin.
"No nation claims Jookoji-shima, Saotome-san," Mishin
smiles. "This is a religious preserve maintained by an alliance
of sects in our homelands. I am a Shinto priestess, Lee-shin is
a shaman and Yi-xin is a Taoist researcher. We wish to create no
controversy over this island. Besides, it has no strategic or
nationalist value, so why worry?"
"I see," Nodoka muses. "Yet...I find it fascinating that
you three live together without any sign of...antagonism."
The guardians smile. "You are wise to question that,"
Lee-shin chuckles. "Before we took this assignment, we had to
spend a year in the other's country, learn the other's language
and culture to prevent... misunderstandings. We have been here
for several years, so we have no reason to complain."
"Yet," Yi-xin warns.
"What are you guarding?" Genma wonders.
"You don't know?!" the guardians wonder.
The Saotomes shake their heads. Suddenly, angry curses echo
from outside. "Damn, why'd it grow so dark out here all of a
sudden?!" Ranma-chan demands as the door slides open.
Everyone turns to see the transformed kempoist tromp in,
training a line of mud outside. Seeing the mud drying on her
body, atop several bleeding cuts in her arms, the guardians
freeze, faces paling. "Ranma, what happened?!" Nodoka gasps.
"Sorry, Mom...ah!!" Ranma-chan stares at her mess. "Oh,
jeez! I'm sorry about that! I went to look for the bathhouse,
fell into this pond, turned into a girl, got cut up by some sharp
stones, then stumbled around and fell into this mud-spring
somewhere!"
"No!!!" Yi-xin gasps. "You didn't go all the way into the
volcano, did you?!!"
"I...I think I did!" Ranma-chan scratches her head. "It's
so dark out there, I couldn't see more than three feet in front
of me!!"
"Mishin?" Yi-xin turns to her.
Drawing her spirit-sensor, Mishin passes it over Ranma-chan.
The vanes flap wildly. "This person has been cursed!" she
exclaims.
"Jusenkyou," Genma explains.
"Ah, the valley with the cursed spring training ground!"
Yi-xin nods understandingly. "Go on, Mishin. Is it...?"
Mishin nods. "It is."
The guardians exchange worried looks. "It's...what?"
Ranma-chan shudders.
The guardians stare at her. "You feel into what is known as
Nini-Quan-Qi- Niang...the Mud Spring of Abandoned Daughters,"
Yi-xin sighs. "For hundreds of years, those who have birthed
unwanted daughters have used this island...to dispose of them!"
"What?!!" the Saotomes cry in disbelief.
"I can attest to that," Lee-shin sighs. "In Korea, the urge
is there among many families to adhere to the Confucian drive to
bear sons to preserve the family line. I myself was nearly
aborted before my father made my mother see reason. I am sure
such is the same in China and Japan. In times past, this island
was used by those mothers who, worried that they would be made
outcast or killed by kin because they did not bear sons, sent
their unwanted children to this place...to die."
"Oh, man!" Ranma-chan sinks to her knees. "So...what's with
this place? Is it...?"
"As you learned to your cost in Jusenkyou, there are places
where death ...is not the final act of creation," Yi-xin sighs.
"Nini-Quan-Qi-Niang is a magical spring. The souls of those
countless women denied a fruitful life lay within it...waiting
for the day to come forth and gain a second chance at life. And
you just gave one person that chance!" she points at Ranma-chan's
bleeding arms.
"What did I do?!!" Ranma-chan gasps.
"By giving your blood to the spring, the DNA and proteins
serving as the building blocks of life will self-replicate until
a double of yourself in your female form, exact in every detail,
is born," Lee-shin explains. "Then, one of the souls will
inhabit it...and she will emerge from the spring, able to live
the life snuffed from her ages ago."
Ranma-chan and her parents exchange worried looks. "Is
there some way to stop this?!" Genma demands, bolting to his
feet.
The guardians shake their heads...
* * *
"He-he-he!!" Happousai snickers, gazing at the bubbling mud
spring before him. "They fell for it hook, line and sinker!
Once this old spring gets into gear, I'll have my own Ranma-chan
for keeps!!"
Before him, Nini-Quan-Qi-Niang bubbles to life as a pillar
of solidifiying mud surges forth. As steam billows from it, the
mud transforms, morphing into a humanoid shape. Within it, DNA
molecules shed by Ranma-chan combine with proteins and other
elements to forge a skeletal structure. Internal organs, muscles
and skin form next. In minutes, a whole person, complete with
beautiful red hair, sheds her muddy cocoon for the world outside!
"I did it!!!" Happousai cackles as he leaps to the living
Galatea before him. "Come to my arms, sweetie!!"
He winds up introduced to her fist! "Jiji!!!" the woman
growls, grabbing the aged master by his shirt. "What's the
freaking idea?!! Where am I?!!"
"Hey!!" Happousai snaps. "You're supposed to be my
love-slave!! Now let me go and introduce me to your lovely
gams!!!" he zips out of her arms and implants himself into her
cleavage...
...then winds up in orbit!! "Get outta here, you freak!!!"
the woman snaps, then wades out of the mud spring. "Ugh!! Where
am I?!!"
Suddenly, a light shines on her. "It has happened!" Yi-xin
sighs.
The woman blinks as she stares at those gathered around the
spring. "Mom! Pop!! What's going on here...eh?!"
She stops on seeing Ranma-chan gazing at her, still as a
girl, still caked in mud. "What the...?!" the woman gasps.
"You're me!!!"
"You're me!!!" Ranma-chan echoes, pointing at her.
Lee-shin approaches, drawing her own mystical charms. "Be
at peace, lost one!" she gently waves beads before the woman's
eyes. "Cast your mind beyond what your template gave you.
Remember who you are."
The woman pales, tears flooding her eyes as she painfully
shakes her head, the charms unlocking memories deep within her
mind. "No...no, Guardian ...please...don't..."
"You must accept it," Lee-shin intones.
The woman quakes as anguished sobs consume her. She
staggers into Ranma- chan's waiting arms, wails akin to a newborn
child lost in a strange world flooding from within...
* * *
"Lucky thing we had extra clothes for her," Nodoka sighs,
gazing at the weeping woman in her lap. "Honestly, Genma!!
Won't you ever learn not to listen to that old fool?! You and
Souun do the same thing all the time, accept his 'advice' as
gospel, then make total morons of yourself!! Kimiko-san warned
of the same thing! Won't you listen?!"
Genma shudders. "Yes, dear," he bows.
The door slides opens, revealing Ranma restored. "Ah,
thanks for the hot water, Yi-xin," he wipes his hair, then gazes
at his newborn twin. "How is she?"
"The replication is not just physical," Lee-shin sighs,
waving her beads over the dozing woman. "Since this was a
newborn child when she first died, she has no knowledge or
experience to call on to take control of her new life. When
Ranma-san fell into the pond, his memories were magically copied
into the new body."
"So, she'll be me in all aspects," Ranma sits beside her.
"Will she transform into a guy?"
"No," Yi-xin shakes her head. "The power of the spring
overwhelms other curses, including Jusenkyou's. Besides, those
who died here were always girls, not boys. It...reinforces your
curse, thus keeping her permanently in this form."
"So...I get a daughter out of this trip," Nodoka sighs.
"Poor child. Who would be so cruel as to allow her to die?"
"I wish I could remember."
The woman's eyes open, then she gazes at Nodoka.
"Okaa-sama," she smiles, gently gripping Nodoka's hand. She then
gazes at Genma. "Otoo-sama," she smiles, then stares at Ranma.
"Onii-sama."
The Saotomes exchange looks. "It is the only honourable
thing to do," Genma nods.
"Agreed," Nodoka sighs, warmly squeezing the woman's hand.
"Now, since we already have a Ranma Saotome, what do we call
you?"
"I know," Ranma chuckles. "Ranko."
Nodoka and Genma gaze at their son. "After all, every time
you came by, Mom, I always played 'Ranko Tendou,'" Ranma smiles,
then gazes at the newly-named Ranko. "I always wanted a kid
sister."
Ranko smiles...
* * *
A week later. Nerima.
"Hey, Dad, are you sure the Saotomes'll be back today?"
Nabiki wonders as she steps into the living room.
Souun reads his paper. "That was their intention," he flips
the page. "I hope they had a good time. They've been parted for
too long. It's nice to see them getting along."
"Yeah, after living for years under a death-threat from
Saotome-oba-chan," Nabiki muses as Kasumi walks into the room, a
tray of tea and snacks in hand. "Once they get back, all we have
to do now is try to convince Ranma and Akane to get married
finally."
"Now, now, Nabiki," Souun smiles, taking tea cup in hand.
"Ranma and Akane decided that they wanted to wait before
marrying. After all the times we tried to force them together, I
think they deserve the chance to decide what to do. Speaking of
which, where is Akane?"
Suddenly, a very loud "HIYAA!!!!" followed by the crunch of
concrete being shattered echoes from the dojo. "Where else?"
Nabiki picks up the business section of the paper. "Now, what's
going on in the stock world today...?"
A commotion then echoes from outside. "We're back!!"
Nodoka's voice echoes. "Souun-kun?! Everyone?!"
"Saotome!" Souun places the paper down. "There you are!
Did you have a good time out there...URK!!!!"
"Ranma, you're back!!" Akane bounds into the living room,
then stops, eyes wide. "WHAT THE...?!?!"
Movement freezes as four pairs of eyes fall on TWO Ranmas,
one male, one female, dressed alike, standing embarrassingly
before their parents. "Um... hi, guys," Ranko blushes,
scratching the back of her head. "You can call me Ranko Saotome.
Sorry about this..."
* * *
"She's a DOUBLE of Ranma?!!" Nabiki exclaims.
The Saotomes nod. "No thanks to Happousai!" Nodoka sips her
tea. "It turns out that little island had a mud spring where
unwanted babies were sent to die."
"That old freak must've splashed me to get me to fall into
the spring," Ranma grits his teeth.
"And I resulted from that," Ranko completes.
The Tendous blink, shocked by the tale. "So...what do we do
with her?!" Akane wonders. "I mean, I'm not interested in TWO
iinazukes, especially if one's permanently stuck as a girl!!"
"Hey, this wasn't my idea, you know!!" Ranko growls.
"Relax, Ranko," Ranma sighs. "Look, after what she went
through, we're not just going to turf her onto the streets.
Until we can help her make a place for herself in society, she's
staying with us!"
"A wise decision," Souun nods. "Well, where do we put her?"
"She could stay with Genma and me," Nodoka muses. "We're
putting in that new bedroom in the corner of the grounds, anyway.
Ranko-chan is unattached, so she should be with her parents."
Ranko hugs her mother's arm. "Well, we've settled that,"
Souun smiles. "All we have to do is stop Happousai from making a
mess of it."
"Actually, Jiji fouled it up from the start," Ranma snorts.
"You see, to make a love-slave from one of the lost souls of
Nini-Quan-Qi-Niang, you have to give a tiny portion of your own
blood once the spring is busy making the duplicate body. Jiji
forgot to do that!"
Everyone laughs. "All we have to do is wait for other
perverts to make themselves known," Nabiki sighs. "Like it or
not, Ranma, you did attract a lot of attention as a girl from all
sorts of people!"
"Kunou, Mikado Sanzenin, Densuke..." Ranma rattles off.
"Don't remind me!" Ranko flushes.
* * *
In a day, work is finished on the Saotomes' guest bedroom.
With Ranma now living full-time with Akane, Kasumi pursuing Ono
Tofu, Nabiki floating between going after Tatewaki Kunou or
Ken'nosuke Kashaoo, and Souun fighting off the advances of Hinako
Ninomura, Ranko and her adopted parents spend much of their time
to themselves. This time, not wanting to get into the trap they
experienced with Ranma, Nodoka and Genma elect to work together
on fine-tuning their daughter's many rough points. Ranko
responds readily to their care, something she had yearned in her
previous existence but tragically never received.
"Is this okay, Mama?" Ranko stares at her mother.
Nodoka looks at the cut vegetables on the chopping board.
The two were working in the new wing's kitchenette. "Are they
washed?"
"Yes, Mama," Ranko readily nods. "Just like you said."
"Good! Let's start cooking!"
"Okay!" Ranko places them into the wok.
Sometime later, the Saotomes enjoy a very scrumptious meal.
"This is some of the best cooking I've ever seen!" Genma laughs.
"Kasumi herself would be impressed! Ranko, did you do this all
by yourself?!"
"No, Papa, Mama helped," Ranko blushes.
"She's so modest," Nodoka smiles.
They dig in. Genma and Nodoka exchange a concerned look.
Ranko seemed to shift between two people. One, a more effeminite
Ranma-chan, happily accepting that she was girl although
maintaining Ranma's well-bred pride and devotion to
self-improvement. The other, a lonely child desperate to please
those who had welcomed her to their hearth. The Guardians of
Jookoji-shima warned them about this. She had been a newborn
baby when she was put to death ages ago. Fully accepting her as
one of the Saotome family was a must. Ranko was the classic case
of an abandoned child: unwanted, unloved. Any perception of
rejection from Ranma, Genma or Nodoka and the results could be
catastrophic. Ranko's personas would shortly merge into one
whole being...but she had to be given that chance. And given the
problems plaguing the Saotome family at present, guaranteeing
that would be difficult.
The door slides open, revealing a pale Ranma. "Hi,
everyone...!" he moans before falling on his face.
"Onii-chan!" Ranko kneels before him. "Are you okay?!"
"Not really!" Ranma grunts, pushing himself back up. "I
just...had a little of Akane's curry..."
"Onii-chan, you're awful!!" Ranko pouts. "Akane-onee-chan
tries her best and you keep rejecting it!!"
"Hey, I didn't say anything about rejecting it!!" Ranma
snaps. "I didn't elect you to be a critic about my engagement!
Lay off!!"
Suddenly, Ranma finds himself facing the two biggest green
eyes in animation about to perform a perfect Souun Tendou
imitation. "Onii-chan...you don't like me...?" Ranko sniffs.
"No, no, no, no, no!!!" Ranma waves his hands to avert the
coming tidal waves. "It's not that, Ranko-chan!! I just don't
want people crawling on my spine because of Akane's mistakes!!"
Ranko then shudders, heat boiling from her body as she grabs
her brother by the shirt, then starts pounding the daylights out
of him. "You still despise Akane-onee-chan after all she's done
and suffered because of you?!! Onii-chan no baka!! Baka!!!
BAKA!!!! BAKA!!!!!!"
A second later, Ranma flies into the koi pond thanks to
Ranko's perfect uppercut! Akane emerges from the Tendou living
room, gazing concernedly as Ranma-chan emerges. "You okay?" she
wonders.
"Pleahh!!" Ranma-chan spits up water as she staggers into
the house. "Having a sister around's more trouble than I asked
for!"
Akane helps him inside...
* * *
The next day, Akane and Ranma head to school, he upon the
fence and she on the sidewalk beside him. "Sorry about the
curry, Ranma," the former sighs. "I guess I missed something in
the mix."
"It's okay," Ranma sighs, gazing at the beautiful day around
them. "You keep trying, you'll get it right. But I gotta remind
myself that Ranko's elected herself to be my special marriage
councillor."
"Eh?!" she gazes at him. "Ranko?!"
"Yeah!" he nods. "The Guardians at Jookoji-shima warned us
of that. Ranko may have my memories and attitudes towards
everything, but deep down, she's an abandoned kid craving a
family's love. That means she wants everyone to get along with
everyone else; it's a way of guaranteeing her happy world. If we
fight or if something happens to cause some friction between us,
she'll move to stop it...and with my skills and training, that's
going to guarantee trouble."
"Uh-oh!" she smiles. "Looks like you have a guardian angel
watching over you now, Ranma!"
He considers the point, then nods. "Well, it's not too bad.
She really can cook a storm. Why don't you spend time with her?
Maybe she can teach you some things."
"Maybe I should," she muses. "After all, she'll become my
sister-in-law when we do marry, so we should get along."
Suddenly, a bell rings. Ranma turns...and finds his face
smashed in by Shampoo's front tire! "Nihao, Ranma!" the Chinese
warrior-maiden beams as she bear-hugs her "fiance." "We go to
date today, yes?!"
"You go to date today, NO!!!!" Akane snarls. "Shampoo, lay
off!!! Will you get this through your head: Ranma wants ME, not
you!!!"
Shampoo glares at her rival. "Shampoo no accept what
happened on Hoo-oo- san!!" she snarls. "No change what happened
before!! Ranma wants Shampoo, not stupid tomboy Akane!!!"
Suddenly, the thunder of running feet echo. "You leave
Onii-chan and Akane-onee-chan alone, you hussy!!!" Ranko snaps as
her fist flies.
Shampoo finds herself soaring into the morning sky! Ranma
and Akane watch her disappear, then gaze in disbelief at Ranko.
"Don't you think you overdid it, Ranko?" Ranma wonders. "If
Shampoo learns you're a girl full-time, it could mean the Kiss of
Death!"
"It's okay, Onii-chan," Ranko sighs. "I died once,
remember?"
She heads off. Ranma and Akane exchange worried looks...
* * *
"Shampoo find whoever hit Shampoo and make stupid busy-body
pay!!" the bruised warrior-maiden growls as Cologne works on her
darkened cheek. "Ai-yah!!" she jolts, wincing at the application
of the hydrogen peroxide. "Feel like ton of bricks hit
Shampoo!!"
"Whoever struck you possessed enormous passion matched to
well-honed skills," the aged matriarch hums. "Further, I sense a
strange power. Something tells me there's more to your attacker
than meets the eye, Shampoo. You best be careful."
"Shampoo no give up!" Shampoo growls. "Shampoo make stupid
busy-body regret ever butting into Shampoo's business!!"
"Be careful, child!" Cologne hisses, shaking her head.
Sometimes, her great-granddaughter's pride blinded her to some
basic facts. Her skills as a warrior had seen her through
before, but there was always the first time... which could easily
prove to be the last. "Something is not right. Now, tell me,
what did this person say when she struck you?"
"She say 'leave Onii-chan and Akane-onee-chan alone,'"
Shampoo repeats. "But, it no make sense. Ranma no have baby
sister."
Cologne's eyes narrow. "I remember that son-in-law and his
family went on a small vacation together," she hops onto her
cane. "I think I better investigate this. You remain here,
Shampoo."
The aged matriarch leaves. Shampoo snorts as she gazes at
the bar. "Heh! Shampoo beat interloper soon enough!"
Suddenly, the door blasts open, revealing Mousse. "Shampoo,
how could you?!" the weaponsmaster whines. "Why are you still
chasing Ranma when he's made it clear he's going to marry
Akane?!"
"Mousse no speak stupid things!" Shampoo sends him on an
impromptu flying lesson via her fist! "Get out!!"
"Shampoo...!!" he wails as he soars away.
Shampoo grumbles as she returns to her chair. Suddenly, the
door slams open again. "Shampoo, you idiot!!!" a familiar voice
thunders. "How can you keep throwing this nice boy away all the
time?!!"
Shampoo spins around to see Ranko standing there, a dazed
Mousse hanging over her shoulder. "Ranma!!" Shampoo bounds to
her. "Ranma come visit Shampoo today...!"
She winds up flying into Ranko's foot! "Not me, stupid!"
she growls, then thrusts Mousse into Shampoo's arms. "Him!!"
Shampoo blinks surprisedly. "You no Ranma!" she growls,
tossing the weaponsmaster aside. "Ranma no care what Mousse
does! Who you?!"
"I'm Ranko Saotome," the woman declares. "I'm Ranma's
sister!"
Shampoo stops. "Sister?! Ranma no have sister! You lie!!"
"It's the truth!" Ranko smiles. "Further, Onii-chan wants
Akane, not a hypertempered bimbo like you! Now, you either lay
off my brother once and for all time or suffer the consequences!!
Your stupid laws don't apply here, you know!"
An ominous battle aura billows around Shampoo as she
methodically advances on Ranko. "Shampoo no know where false
Ranma come from! Now, Shampoo no care! False Ranma insult Ranma
by living! Shampoo now erase false Ranma from life!!"
She moves to deliver the Kiss of Death...and gets another
foot in the face! "Forget it!" Ranko snarls, her own battle aura
forming around her. "You want to do that, be ready to back it
up! NO ONE tears apart MY family and gets away with it!!"
Shampoo howls, lunging for Ranko...and winds up at the
receiving end of the kachuu tenshin amarigurken!! "Your
funeral!!!" Ranko snarls, the force of her blows wrecking half
the Nekohanten.
Shampoo screams as she finds herself flung into the kitchen.
She had not expected something so...vicious! Trying to recover,
she moves to defend herself...and gets pitched through a window
by a wrist-toss. *Ai-yah!!* she gasps, trying to put some
distance between her and the red-haired spitfire coming at her.
*False Ranma fight like mad demon! Shampoo have to stop her
before Shampoo dies!*
The sounds of battle alert a small crowd, including Ukyou
Kuonji, on her way to Ucchan's to start another day. "Hey,
sounds like Ran-chan needs help!" the okonomiyaki cook muses as
she turns the corner, then freezes on seeing what is happening.
"No way...!"
Shampoo finds herself flung against a fence as Ranko
advances, the latter's green eyes never swerving from target.
"Say it, Shampoo!!" she snarls. "Say you'll never bother
Onii-chan again!"
"Never!!" Shampoo spits at her. "Shampoo never forego
Ranma!"
"Fine, then!" Ranko snarls as the air around her boils.
Ukyou trembles as Ranko begins to spin around Shampoo, the
air around them heating up. She knew what was next: the
hiryuu-shootenha. "Oh, man, what's got into Ran-chan?!" she
gasps, moving to intercede. "Ran-chan, cut it out!! What are
you doing?!"
Before she could get close, Mousse appears between Ranko and
Shampoo, hands out to protect the latter. "Wait!!!" he cries.
"Please, lost spirit!!! Leave Shampoo alone!!!"
"Mousse go away!!" Shampoo snarls. "This between Shampoo
and false Ranma!!"
"This is no ordinary girl, Shampoo!" Mousse faces her.
"She's a spirit born of Nini-Quan-Qi-Niang!!"
Shampoo moves to shove the weaponsmaster out of the way,
then stops, gazing in disbelief at him. "What...what Mousse
say...?"
"Your great-grandmother just learned it from the Saotomes!!"
Mousse gasps. "Ranko here is a double born when Ranma fell into
Nini-Quan-Qi-Niang a week ago!! What are you trying to do?!!"
Shampoo trembles, then gazes at Ranko, who has drawn back,
fists ready to fly in case the warrior-maiden changes her mind.
"She...she spirit of... abandoned girl...?!"
"Yes!!" Mousse nods, gently gripping her shoulders. "Don't
you remember your clan's promise?! Why your clan came into
being?!"
Shampoo shudders fearfully, then feeling her courage return,
draws away from Mousse and prostrates herself before Ranko.
"Shampoo beg Ranko-spirit's forgiveness! Shampoo shame herself
and clan, dishonour pledge to lost girls of Nini-Quan-Qi-Niang!
Shampoo...await judgement Ranko-spirit gives her."
Ranko relaxes, her gaze unwavering. "I demand one thing,
Shampoo! You know what that is!"
Shampoo blinks. "No...not that," she shakes her head,
staring pleadingly at Ranko. "Ranko-spirit...no ask that..."
"Say it!" Ranko growls. "Say it so everyone can hear it!"
Shampoo shudders, then bows, her voice sounding like she had
drunk acid. "Shampoo...swear...never...to pursue Ranma...ever
again."
Gasps utter from the crowd around them, surprised that the
warrior-maiden could be cornered into making THAT vow so easily.
"Good!" Ranko lowers her fists. "Remember that!"
She turns and walks back to the Tendou dojo. Shampoo
remains in place, heart-wrenching sobs causing her strength to
drain. Mousse kneels beside her, drawing her into a warm
embrace. Nearby, Ukyou is ashen-faced. "What the heck's going
on here...?!" she gasps...
* * *
To be continued...
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