Part 5
sonias@globetrotter.net
sutaahela@geocities.com
Taiki was getting ready the next morning. They were off to try and find the Kishi no Kuro Bara. The 'hunting' party constituted of Murasaki (Taiki), Aoi, Midori, Tatsumaki and Tsunami. Miaka insisted on coming, all the while trying to find Taiki a good man to fall in love with. Miaka had devised a secondary plan... if the Kishi no Kuro Bara was a good guy, she would try to fix him up with Taiki. If that doesn't work, she thought, she could always try Hotohori or Tatsuki. Since they were coming with her and Tamahome, she would have all the time in the world to play cupid. She wouldn't even tell Taiki...
Tatsumaki was furious. Their party would be traveling as wealthy merchants, and she was outraged.
"I am a warrior-priestess. I shan't be a part of this masquerade!" She fumed. Taiki intervened.
"Please, Tatsumaki-san, if we go as warriors, the Kishi no Kuro Bara won't approach us, but he won't be as suspicious if we pass ourselves as merchants."
"Tatsumaki... listen to Murasaki-san... You know this is the best way we can find the Tsuki no Miko." said softly Tsunami.
"Still, it isn't my idea of how a good warrior should behave..." replied Tatsumaki.
"I understand your warrior's pride..." interrupted Hotohori. "... But sometimes a warrior must use subterfuge in other to win a battle. As long as it is honorable, there is no shame in this."
"The Emperor of Konan himself helps us, Tatsumaki..." added Tsunami. "Swallow your pride, my love. You know our mission is to bring Shiori-sama back with us safe and sound." Tatsumaki nodded, but she still had a dark scowl on her brow.
Taiki readjusted her traveling clothes. I'll never get used to wearing so many clothes at the same time, she thought. She always enjoyed a bolder, more stylish cut of dress. Hmm, ever since I've been on earth my clothes have only been men's clothes. When she thought of Earth, she thought of Ami. If time passed at the same rate on Earth as it was passing here like Miaka said, then Ami would probably be worried sick... I just hope, she thought, that Yaten didn't call her when I didn't come home yesterday night, to check if I was with her.
Later they were on the high road; Tatsuki had gone ahead and scouted the area. There was no sign of The Kishi no Kuro Bara. The road was long so the chances of ambush were many indeed. If he was intelligent, the Kishi would attack them when they least expected it. After being on their guard all-day, they made camp before the sun set. Taiki stretched her legs a little; she went to a small spring of water and knelt down to take a drink. She felt movement that told her she had made a mistake. In a flash she felt cold steel under her chin and a strong armored arm around her waist.
"Don't yell out and don't struggle and you'll be all right... do you understand?" she nodded slightly. The voice, although muffled by something before his face, had something familiar about it. Because the man talked through a layer of leather, his voice was pitched lower, but she thought she knew the voice. The man lifted her off the ground and carried her to her camp where the others were unpacking for the night unaware of what had just happened to her.
Out of nowhere, four armored men jumped in front of Taiki. She saw they all wore a black leather masked that hid their faces up to their eyes. They wore the yoroi of samurai complete with the helmet but the sign of the house they belonged to was missing. They were then the four Ronin that were with the Kishi no Kuro Bara. They let the men who carried her pass and positioned themselves behind him.
Back at the camp, Tatsumaki grumbled at the work they made her, the Kaze no Miko, do. She almost couldn't bear the outrage done to her station, but seeing the Emperor of Konan himself do menial tasks made her keep silent her boiling resentment. In the forest where Murasaki had gone, she felt movement. At first, she thought it was just Murasaki coming back, but she soon understood. Baka no Murasaki! She thought, you've grown too soft and let yourself be captured. Tatsumaki let go of the things she was carrying with a loud crash and brought her jewel sword out of its scabbard.
"Come then Kishi no Kuro Bara... face me! Or are you just good to kidnap defenseless women?" Tatsumaki growled. "What have you done to the Tsuki no Miko??? Answer me, DOG!"
The man in the black armor stopped, still carrying Taiki. "If I have kidnapped Murasaki-san, it is only because I know you too well, Kaze no Miko... You charge an enemy without thinking. I have taken Murasaki-san hostage so you would listen to me..."
Hotohori put himself between Tatsumaki and the Kishi using himself as a shield. "Then tell us what you wish... but first how do you know the name of the Headmaiden of the Suzaku no Miko?"
"I know Murasaki-san as well as she knows me..." said the Kishi no Kuro Bara. Taiki lifted an eyebrow. I do? She thought.
Miaka beamed. She was right! The Kishi was indeed in love with Murasaki. Everything was going so smoothly.
"I am not the one who kidnapped the Tsuki no Miko. I could never lift a finger against her." the Kishi added. I knew it, thought Miaka, he's a good guy.
"Bold words!" said Tatsumaki. "Give us proof! Let go of Murasaki and show us your face! If you are truthful you need not cover yourself. Show us your face if you tell us the truth."
Surprisingly, the Kishi no Kuro Bara let go of Taiki, who took a few steps away from the man. He then reached for his mask but paused.
"I and my warrior can show you our true faces, but I am afraid it will bring more sadness that I wish to cause." With that, he and his warrior took off their masks. All the Miko except for Miaka gasped. Taiki, too, gasped. She now knew why the voice sounded familiar. It was Mamoru-san. Behind him stood Jadeite, Nephrite, Zoicite and Kunzite.
"Kusanagi-sama!" cried out the Miko (except Taiki and Miaka)
"Thank the heavenly stars! Kusanagi-sama!" yelled Aoi crying. She ran to him, ran to him and kissed him passionately.
Taiki facevaulted, Seiya? Kissing Mamoru? She fell faint. What the heck was going on here? She thought, as Kusanagi returned Aoi's kisses with the passion of a long lost lover. Taiki felt her hair stand on end. This is getting more complicated and kooky than a couple of episodes of Melrose Place...
***************************************
Botan was flying, invisible to all mortal sight when she entered the apartment through the outside wall. She hated sneaking into someone else's lodging like a thief like that, but with Yaten still unconscious they didn't have much choice. They had to let her recuperate and reenergize and the best way was to place her in familiar surroundings. Botan turned tangible and opened the bay door that led to the balcony. Hiei, who was still holding Healer, dropped from the roof to the balcony with amazing speed, entering the apartment quickly and letting Botan close the bay window.
There was a knock on the door; Botan rushed to unlock it and let Yuusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama in. Kuwabara let out a long whistle.
"This place is bigger than my folk's house!" as he looked around impressed.
"Tell me about it!" replied Yuusuke. "I think my mom's pad is as big as this living room. Must cost a small fortune to live here..."
"If you two are quite finished I'd like to know where I could put her down..." said Hiei.
"If she's too heavy... I can..." started Kurama, extending his arms to take Healer. To his surprise Hiei backed up from him and gathered Healer closer.
"She's not... I can manage. I just thought she'd be more comfortable in a bed." Hiei said. Kurama was puzzled; Hiei was reacting strangely all of a sudden. Was he trying to make him feel uncomfortable toward Healer? Botan came back into view.
"There are bedrooms over here... her room must be in one of those. Hiei nodded and followed her, who in turn was followed by Kurama. Botan opened the first door and peered inside. The room was well furnished, an electric guitar was in a corner, and a set of drums in another. Beside the bed was a table with half-written papers on top. On the wall there were trophies for various sports, baseball, football, track, posters of the famous race car driver Tennoh Haruka. In yet another corner was a big duffel bag filled with what looked like sporting equipment.
"I don't think it's her room..." said Kurama.
"Yeah..." replied Botan. "I think this must be Seiya-kun's room..." Yuusuke popped his head in to have a look see.
"Seiya-kun..." he repeated. "After seeing Yaten transform into a woman... you think the other two are... you know, women."
"I don't know. Looks like a boy's room to me..." remarked Kuwabara.
"Would you mind?... We shouldn't poke our nose in other peoples' rooms..." said angrily Botan.
"Look who's talking..." replied Yuusuke; he dodged out of the way of the oar Botan had swung at him.
"Hiei, you might want to take the third door on the left... that's her room." said Kuwabara.
Kurama opened the door for Hiei. They both got in. The room was a little in disarray. The bed wasn't made; there were discarded pajamas on the floor. Several sheets of paper and sheets of music were lying on a keyboard. Kuwabara almost fell flat on his face when he stepped on a microphone that was lying on the ground. Kurama pulled back the covers and Hiei carefully placed Healer on her bed. Botan took the covers from Kurama and took them off the bed. She gathered the discarded sleepwear and turned to the boys.
"Okay, you guys can leave now I'll take it from here..." she said firmly. Understanding that she wanted to undress Healer and put her in sleepwear, the guys went back to the living room. After a few minutes, Botan came back and sat on the sofa. Yuusuke was curious about something.
"Well?..." he asked.
"Well, what?" Botan replied.
"Is she?... you know... " Continued Yuusuke. Kuwabara slapped his forehead.
He knew where this was leading. Kurama came to sit next to Hiei, chuckling
at Yuusuke's questions and a little annoyed by it as well. As for Hiei, as
always, who could tell what Hiei was thinking?
"Asleep? Yes, she's still needs to recuperate..." Botan told Yuusuke.
"That's not what I meant!" replied Yuusuke. Botan looked at him puzzled. She didn't get it.
"What Yuusuke is asking Botan is if Sailor Star Healer has all the right parts to be considered like a female of the species..." said Hiei flatly. All turned to look at Hiei. There was a silence and everyone had sweat drops on the side of their heads. "That is what you meant, isn't it?" said Hiei in the same manner as he had said the previous sentence. This time Yuusuke wasn't able to dodge the oar.
"Yuusuke! You're such a one-track minded hentai... I wonder how Keiko can put up with you!" Botan said.
A few hours passed. Yaten was still sleeping; the guys watched TV and had ordered take out. Kuwabara had gone to get the order when the phone rang.
"What do we do?" asked Botan.
"They have an answering machine. Let it take a message..." replied Yuusuke. They listened to the pre-recorded message, Kurama chuckling softly at the yadda-yadda bit Yaten said. Then there was a beep.
"Yaten, Taiki? It's me, Seiya.... Pick up the damn phone... Come ooooon, I know you guys are there!.... Yaten, you lazy bum, move from that couch and pick up!..." said the voice.
"Maybe we should answer," said Kurama as he picked up the phone. Everyone facevaulted.
"Finally! What took you so long?" said Seiya on the other side. Kurama didn't know what to say.
"Helloooo, are you going to answer or what? This call is starting to cost me a small fortune to just listen to your breathing... Heeelllooooo!!!!"
"Uh... Moshi-moshi... uh... Yaten can't come to the phone right now. Do you want to leave a message?" replied Kurama. The others fell from the sofa. They couldn't believe he just said that.
"Who is this? And where's Yaten? Or Taiki for that matter?" asked Seiya suspiciously.
"My name is Minamino Shuiichi, Yaten is... in the bathroom right now. Taiki-san hasn't come back yet..." Kurama winced. I couldn't come up with anything better to say?
"Excuse me for being rude, but what the hell are you doing at our apartment?" asked Seiya.
"Uh... Yaten got into a fight today with some school bullies..." Shuiichi paused while Seiya on the other side was swearing. "... But he's okay now... Me and my friends escorted him back here, so they wouldn't try anything funny and Yaten invited us to stay until Taiki came back..."
Seiya paused on the other end. "Okay, listen... I'm going to call back tomorrow. You tell him that. I'll call around the same time as today... tell him to be there..."
"I will, don't worry... Sayonara!" Kurama hung up and sighed. There was a knock on the door; Kuwabara had come back with the food. Since it was Chinese take out, he had quite a big bag.
"Man... For how many people you got food for in there?..." asked Yuusuke.
"Six persons." replied Kuwabara, handing some soup to Botan and Hiei.
"Six, but we're five persons here..." Yuusuke pondered. "You mean you bought food for Sleeping Beauty too?" He started to chuckle.
"Well she needs to eat, too... if she's to recover her energy... I didn't know if they had any food lying around so I thought if there's enough for five, there's enough for six. Besides, the owner owed me... so it didn't cost me that much..." answered Kuwabara.
"Always a sucker for a pretty face..." said Yuusuke. He received a slap behind his head.
"Frankly, Yuusuke-kun! You could be more polite around Princess Yaten..." scolded Botan.
"What's that Princess business anyway?" asked Hiei.
"Might as well tell you..." Botan sighted. "Yaten is not from this world..."
"Yeah so... So's Hiei and Kurama to a certain extent..." interrupted Yuusuke.
"But she doesn't come from the Reikai or the Makai. She's from a different solar system..." replied Botan.
"You're kidding, right?... You mean she's an illegal alien?" asked Kuwabara.
"No... Not really, you see... Oh, this is where this gets complicated. She and the other two Princesses... The Princess of this solar system greeted Seiya and Taiki here. So they are now accepted as Sailor Senshi here, too..." Botan paused to let all that sink in.
"The Princess of this solar system... who is it?" asked Kuwabara.
"I can't say... I'm not authorized to reveal her identity but she does exist, and one day in the future she will become Queen and a new Golden Age will reign on Earth. The Earth and the Reikai will coexist once more and people will have longer lives, and most if not all sickness shall be cured."
"Are you talking of Paradise?" asked Kurama.
"In a way. Now you understand that the Makai doesn't want this to come to pass. For them it will be a disaster for the Makai will be cleansed of all Evil." continued Botan. "That is why the real identity of the savior is only known by a few persons and her senshi."
"C-Could it be?" Yuusuke asked, pointing to Yaten's room.
"No...No, it isn't her but..." started Botan.
"But she knows the true identity of Neo-Queen Serenity..." a new voice interrupted her. He was a young man as tall as Yuusuke, dressed in Chinese clothes, on his forehead was written "Jr." and the most bizarre thing about him was the pacifier he had in his mouth.
"Koenma-sama!" said Botan. Hmm, this must be real important if Koenma leaves the Reikai to talk to us, thought Yuusuke.
"She has the knowledge that could help the Makai overthrow the fabled Golden Age. I did some research after Botan had come to my assistance for the information on Yaten Kou. There is a reason why the Makai has targeted Sailor Star Healer: she isn't supposed to be here..."
"What?" said Kurama.
"Yes... there was a ripple in time. The Princesses Seiya, Taiki and Yaten were forced to take a decision they were not supposed to take. There was a Sailor War raging a few months ago and although it was prophesized, its outcome has changed destiny a bit. The Princess Starlights, much to the chagrin of the Princess they protected, were exiled because of their ability to become male..."
"They were thrown out because they could turn into guys... I don't understand..." said Yuusuke "What does your gender have to do with protecting your count...solar system..."
Koenma sighted. "The Sailor Senshi have always been female, exclusively female. The gift of the Sailor Crystal is given to the daughter of the senshi. It has been so since the beginning of time. The Sailor Starlights sacrificed their bodies so they could find their own Princess. Time has taken a new tangent when the Sailor Senshi formed a conclave to cast out the Starlights. The Starlights could have roamed the Universe but they came back here and the future Neo-Queen Serenity has taken them under her wing."
"Does that mean there could be another Sailor War coming to Earth?" asked Hiei.
"No, because she cast out Chaos, the future Neo-Queen Serenity was granted this boon. And since this solar system is the most balanced, the council of Senshi doesn't want to gain the wrath of this powerful part of the galaxy. So they let the Starlights stay on Earth..."
"Unfortunately this event put some unexpected events into action, and because of the possibility, the Golden Age may not come to pass. The Makai want Yaten because of what she knows. What happened today... they tried to rip her Sailor Star Crystal from her and replace it with a Makai Crystal making her their pawn."
"I don't know if the Makai will try to reclaim her using the same stratagem or if they will try another way... I only know that you have to protect Princess Yaten so that she never falls into the hands of the Makai..."
"She needs to build back her strength for that..." whispered Kurama. He took the remaining soup and headed to Yaten's room. "I'll try to make her eat a little..." he said before entering her room.
"It's so kawaii to see Kurama taking care of Princess Yaten like that..." giggled Botan.
"I'm not sure I like the implication..." said Koenma. Everyone turned to look at him. "You see, Yaten and Kurama were not supposed to meet this soon..."
Kurama went into her room. She was sleeping so peacefully, and she looked adorable. In her arms she held a honey-colored teddy bear. He almost envied that bear, he thought. He sat next to her and brushed back the few strands of hair that had fallen on her face. He started to shake her gently. She grunted a little...
"Five more minutes, Taiki..." she mumbled.
"This isn't Taiki... please wake up, Princess..." said softly Kurama, Yaten's eyes opened and she sat up and realized that she was in her room.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. Her eyes flashed with budding anger. Even angry she looked beautiful, he thought.
"I am but your humble servant and I have brought you some soup, Princess Yaten." smiled Kurama.
She sighed and looked down at her teddy. "Don't call me that..." she whispered. "I am no longer a Princess, except maybe a Princess that rules over Space Dust..." There was a strange mixture of bitterness and sadness in her voice. Not wanting to hurt her, he didn't press her further. He gave her the soup. She shook her head.
"You need to get your strength back, Yaten..." He took a spoonful to her. She turned her head away. "Come on... take a sip... for me?" Still she shook her head. He had an idea. "One spoonful for Mr. Teddy?"
She turned around and said angrily. "I'm not a chi..
"I can eat by myself..." she said as she took the soup container from him.
She hated to admit it but tasting the soup made her hungry. Kurama looked
at her with a wide grin on his face. She ate the soup in no time flat; he
took the empty container from her.
"There's still some food left if you want some..." she nodded and got up,
but she was a little dizzy and Kurama helped her out. She grumbled and
tried to walk by herself, but when she realized she couldn't walk without
his help, she let him help her. She rested her head on his shoulder. She
felt secure against him as he led her to the dining room.
Botan got up and helped Kurama and Yaten sit down. Yuusuke and Kuwabara
prepared her a plate; she raised an eyebrow, why were they so helpful all
of a sudden? The only one that hadn't moved an inch was Hiei who just
studied her from afar. They gave Yaten her food and went back to their own
plates talking of all and nothing. It's funny, she thought as she ate, it's
almost as though I'm with the girls at Crown. She soon finished her plate.
Kurama filled it again and she ate it all. She couldn't believe how much
she had pigged out on the food. She could almost say she traded places with
Usagi for the day. Eating too much had a sleeping effect on her. She almost
didn't hear the laughs as she fell on Kurama's shoulder and Kuwabara had
said "TIIIMMMMBBBERRR!" She also
didn't feel him pick her up and gently place her back in her bed.
***********************************
Seiya was trying to wring the water out of her clothes. Next to her Ranma
was doing the same thing and she was mad as heck.
"I didn't know you were a girl..." started Seiya. Ranma turned around fuming.
"I AM NOT A GIRL!!! THIS IS A CURSE!!!!!" Ranma-chan yelled.
"Gomen, gomen, I didn't know..." apologized Seiya.
Ranma took Seiya by the hand. "Any way, we won't stay like this for long...
follow me... and we can talk about that Sailor business..." Ranma passed
the three Amazons that were beating the living daylights out of Ryoga.
"STOOOOPPP IT!" yelled Ranma-chan. That stopped the three sisters. "We need
to know what he used on Seiya and me... Just tie him up real good while
Seiya and I go take a hot bath. I don't think he used water from the pond
of the drowned girl on Seiya..."
"Where are you going?" asked Akane.
"To the baths... might as well show Seiya how to turn back to normal..."
replied Ranma as she led Seiya by the hand.
Normal? She thought to herself... I'm normal now... My male body is the one
that's not normal... But she didn't say that out loud. She just let Ranma
guide her to the furo room. As she walked, Seiya couldn't help but notice
just how cute Ranma was as a girl. She caught herself smiling when she
thought that and blushed slightly. He was okay as a guy, she thought, but
really cute as a girl... Must have a lot of guys running after her, well
him. That's probably why she was so ticked off earlier.
Ranma-chan entered the Furo and opened the faucet to fill it. Her father
must have come take a bath because there wasn't much water left. She turned
around. Knowing the tub would take a while to get full again,, she decided to
ask some questions. As Seiya was pulling off her wet clothes, she seemed to
be looking for something.
"Don't worry. There are robes in the other room. We can use those when we get
out..." Ranma said, Seiya nodded. "Okay let's cut to the chase... You were
that Sailor Star Fighter I saw this afternoon, weren't you?"
Seiya sighed but tried to deny everything. "I don't know what you're
talking about..." Seiya started.
"Oh! No. You won't brush me off that easily. It was you. I recognized your
face..." then Ranma looked lower at Seiya's chest. "... And a certain part
of your anatomy..." she added.
Seiya facevaulted and did the first thing that came to mind and covered her
breasts. Ranma-chan chuckled. "You have the same expression you had in the
afternoon, too..." she laughed. Seiya had a sweat drop along her skull but
she too began to giggle and then she laughed too.
"So..." started again Ranma. "Are you like me then, Seiya? A boy that
transforms into a girl? Only you seem to control when that happens..."
"Like you?..." replied Seiya as Ranma was taking off her own clothes.
"No... Not really..."
Ranma-chan stopped the water and checked it; the water was just perfect.
"Uh? What do you mean?"
"Actually..." sighed Seiya, "I'm a girl that transforms into a guy. When
we came to Earth we took male forms to look for our Princess and the best
way to find her was to sing for her... so we sang and became a popular
singing group... we didn't want to become popular... we just did."
Ranma-chan looked at her puzzled. She was all mixed up, especially about the
coming to Earth and Princess deal, but one question popped in her mouth she
was so surprised by Seiya's confession that the words just got out of her
mouth.
"Why would a beautiful girl like you want to become a boy?" Ranma-chan
blushed. Now why did I say that? She thought, she's going to think I'm
weird...
Seiya blushed. "Honto? You think I'm beautiful..." she smiled. Ranma-chan
was embarrassed. Thinking quickly, she pointed to the water trying to change
the subject.
"Uh...uh... Look! The water's hot. When you use warm water you turn back
into a man... okay... I- I guess we should do it now, okay?" That last part
Ranma-chan almost said pleadingly, so Seiya didn't press her/him
further, but she was rather glad Ranma had found her beautiful. They both
got into the tub at the same time. Seiya looked down at herself.
"Huh?!!! Ranma? Is this suppose to take some time to work?" She asked. She
looked back up at Ranma who was frantic.
"Maybe the water's not hot enough... Ouch! The water's scalding hot and
still I'm not changing ... Oh no!... This isn't happening. This isn't
happening... I'm dreaming, yeah that's it! I'm dreaming... hehehehe! All I
have to do is wake up and everything will be..." *SLAP! *
Ranma-chan blinked at Seiya who had just given her a slap on her cheek. She
was about to give another one when Ranma-chan lifted her hand to stop her.
"Gomen..." said Seiya. " But you were rambling..."
"I'm okay... I'm okay..." said Ranma-chan, then she hit the side of the furo
making a small crack.
"I can guess that it's not going the way you want it..." said Seiya.
"Well DUH! What was your first clue?" Ranma-chan spitted out. She sobered
up. "Gomen, I shouldn't take it out on you... it's not your fault. Man, I'm
stuck being a girl..."
"It isn't so bad, you know." said Seiya.
"What could be more grave than a boy stuck in a girl's body." flatly said
Ranma-chan.
"Being a girl stuck in a boy's body..." smiled Seiya, trying to make
Ranma-chan smile again. Ranma-chan seemed to be thinking about something
else. "You're right, you know, there are things worse than this... but what
are we going to tell the others...? I don't think Akane recognized you as
Sailor Star Fighter, but they are going to wonder how you turned out
female..."
Seiya was still thinking about it when they heard the door adjacent to the
bath open. It was Akane.
"I've brought you guys some clothes." she called through the door.
"Akane-san... you can come in..." said Seiya. Ranma-chan facevaulted.
"Are you crazy?" she whispered to her. "She's going to blow a gasket when she
gets in here..."
Seiya got out of the water and put on the robe that she had brought with
her. She opened the door to the bath. Akane looked down on the ground
blushing; her idol singer was in front of her with only a bathrobe.
"Uh... Akane-san... It's okay... I haven't changed yet." said Seiya. Akane
looked up and glancing over Seiya's shoulder she saw Ranma-chan in the
bath. A HOT bath and still Ranma was a girl. Akane was about to faint when
Seiya said.
"Akane-san... I think we have a small problem..." Akane looked at Seiya,
the soft lashes, the full lips, the rounded cheekbones. Akane just looked
at her with a vague expression on her face. Then she fell forward, fainting.
When Akane came to, she was in the living room. Ranma-chan was fanning her,
Katsumi was handing her some calming tea, and Nabiki was eating some Shrimp
Chips. Akane sighed.
"I think I just had a terrible nightmare..." she said. " I just dreamed
that Seiya-kun was stuck in the body of a girl..." Ranma stopped fanning,
Katsumi said Ara...
"I'm afraid it wasn't a dream Akane-san..." said Seiya, but the voice was
definitely more female. "I am really stuck in a girl's body..." Liar!
Thought Ranma-chan but she didn't say a word.
"But... How is it possible?" asked Akane.
"That's what we wanted to ask Ryoga-kun..." grumbled Ranma-chan. "But he's
out cold because some morons beat the crap out of him..."
The three Tendo sisters blushed at that comment. "Anyway, he's strong like
an ox. He'll survive." commented Ranma-chan.
"Maybe..." started Seiya. "... Just maybe, since I fell in the pond at the
same time as Ranma, what was in the pond interacted with his curse and in a
way cursed me, too..."
Uh? Thought Ranma-chan, they'll never believe that. What a load of bulls...
"BUT OF COURSE!!!" shouted Akane. "That's the only possible explanation!
That stuff in the pond was probably magic and by falling at the same time
it affected both of you at the same time."
Katsumi and Nabiki nodded. Seiya subtedly winked at Ranma-chan. Her plan had
worked. Ranma didn't believe it. They bought it. Maybe they didn't want to
believe Seiya really turned into a woman sometimes so they just assumed
what Seiya was saying to be the truth. Ranma-chan sighed. That's the moment
Ryoga decided to revive.
"What was the license plate of the truck that ran over me?" he mumbled.
"The truck's name was the 'Girl Tendo trampling machine'" said Ranma-chan.
"Now what the heck did you do to me and Seiya-kun?" asked Ranma-chan.
Ryoga's face lit up. "I did it? You're stuck as a woman Saotome. You got
what you deserve BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" *SMASH! * Akane hit Ryoga. Ranma-chan
blushed to see Akane so concerned for her.
"Akane-chan..." Ranma whispered.
"Maybe Ranma-kun deserved it!" said Akane; Ranma-chan grumbled to herself,
then again she thought, maybe not! "But why doing the same thing to poor
Seiya-kun?"
"Uh? Who?" sheepishly said Ryoga.
"Hum... That would be me," said Seiya.
"You mean... He was a boy before he hit the water?" Ryoga could feel Akane,
Katsumi and Nabiki's anger rise when they grimly nodded. Ranma-chan took
the opportunity to ask the most important question.
"Anyway, why did you do that Ryoga? I thought we had settled our differences
last time..." said Ranma-chan.
"Yeah... What gives Ryoga-kun? Why are you so mad?" asked Akane softening a
little. Ryoga looked at her surprised.
"You... You mean you don't know?" he blurted out.
"Know what?" asked a bewildered Akane. Ryoga blushed and scratched his
head; he looked up to Ranma-chan.
"Huh... Saotome... Could I have a word with you?... In private?..." asked
Ryoga. Ranma-chan lifted an eyebrow but nodded and got up. While they were
waiting for the two boys (err... you know what I mean...), Katsumi took a
brush and started to brush Seiya's hair.
"Your hair is a mess Seiya-k.... u.... May I call you Seiya-chan? Let me
get the tangles out..." Seiya nodded, but soon enough, she thought she was
taking way too much time grooming her hair. She tried to turn her head so
she could see but everybody knows that's impossible, so she finally asked.
"Uh? Katsumi-san... what are you doing?"
"I always put my hair in a braid before going to sleep I thought I'd do one
for you to see how you looked with it..." Katsumi gently said but before
Seiya could object, Katsumi got up. "All done..."
Meanwhile Ranma-chan had taken Ryoga to the guestroom. Before Ranma-chan
could talk, Ryoga put a piece of paper before her face.
"Read it!" grumbled Ryoga.
"Ryoga Hibiki, you pathetic excuse for a human being. There will be no more
lies. I have told your precious Akane that you are P-chan the pig, the very
pig she cuddled in the night. She doesn't want to see your ugly lying face
ever again. I have shown her pictures of you transforming. Here are copies of
those pictures... hehehe I have the negatives. Now I have Akane all for
myself BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Please send my regards to other swines like you... Ranma Saotome."
"I NEVER wrote this!" said Ranma-chan.
"I figured that out when Akane asked me why I so mad... if she knew I
turned into a pig she wouldn't have asked..."
"Who gave you the stuff you put in the pond?" asked Ranma-chan.
"I bought it from an old man in the market about a week ago..." replied Ryoga.
Of course, he got lost coming here, thought Ranma-chan. "You think you
could tell me which booth if I brought you to the market?"
"Yeah... sure why?" replied Ryoga.
"Because you, me and Seiya are going to go see that old man and ask for the
antidote... Baka! I and most certainly Seiya didn't do anything to you to
deserve this..." said Ranma-chan.
"Hai... Gomen..." blushed Ryoga.
"I guess you better sleep here... so I know where you are tomorrow
morning..." and with that Ranma-chan threw a glass of cold water in Ryoga's
face. The transformation was instantaneous and amidst Ryoga's clothes there
was a cute little black pig that hissed at Ranma-chan. She picked him up by
the collar so he wouldn't bite her.
"What are you so pissed off about? You realize where you're going to sleep?"
asked Ranma-chan.
The piglet stopped and looking at Ranma-chan and blushed, he settled down
and behaved. Ranma-chan came back into the living room. P-chan leaped out of
Ranma-chan's arms when Akane saw him and called out his name.
"P-chan!!! You came back!!!" Akane, smiling, gave the black little pig the
biggest hug she could give him. Seiya looked surprised at the pig but her
face changed rapidly. She had little stars in her eyes and her face was all
kawaii.
"OOOOHHHH!" she cooed. "He SOOOOO KAWAIIIII!!! Can I hold him?" Seiya said,
putting her fists to her face like an excited little girl. Everyone in the
room had huge sweatdrops on the side of their heads. Even Ranma raised an
eyebrow. I guess the old saying is right: chase away your true nature; it
comes back at you to make you look like a fool...
Akane gave P-chan to Seiya then turned to Ranma whispering, "Ranma-chan, we
have to find something to change him back. He's starting to act like a
girl..."
That's probably because he's a girl... thought Ranma-chan to herself.
End of part 5
