Well, that's it. Apart from fragments that were never developed into stories, I have no more Ranma 1/2 to post here. That being said, I do have more stories in the works that are not Ranma 1/2 related, but they are not ready for posting. The updates will now beocme a trickle and it may be days between posts. I am working on scripts for the Pibvers Players, but they will not be posted here. Most likely you would have to visit the Pibgorn Comments site for more info.

Take care of yourselves and your families!

 

The light of dawn shines through the bedroom window. A boy, in a bedroll, snores softly.

"Darling!" calls out a young woman’s voice. The boy turns over.

"Darling!" she calls again, "It’s time for breakfast!" The boy sits up.

"Darling?" asks Ranma, puzzled, "Akane must be in a funny mood or something."

Ranma looks around. He does not recognize his surroundings. The door opens.

"Darling?"

Ranma is suddenly staring into the eyes of a girl with long, green hair, horns, and wearing a tiger stripe bikini. They both blink at each other. The girl looks around.

"Where did Darling go?" she asks. Ranma looks around. No one else is there.

"Who are you?" he asks.

"I’m Lum." she says, "Are you a friend of Darling’s?"

"I don’t know who you’re talking about." he says, "Oh, man! I must be dreaming!"

Ranma pinches himself, "OW!" He rubs his arm, "I guess that answers that."

"Ataru!" a woman’s voice calls out, "Lum, is Ataru coming down for breakfast?"

The steps creak as the woman walks up the stairs. Lum turns to look at her as she reaches the door. "Darling isn’t here." she says.

The woman looks in and sees Ranma.

"Excuse me." she says, "I didn’t know we had a visitor. I’m Ataru’s mother."

"I’m sorry," says Ranma, "but I’m not sure how I got here."

"Didn’t Ataru bring you here last night?" Mrs. Moroboshi asks.

Ranma shakes his head, "The last thing I know is that I was at the Tendo Dojo."

"Tendo Dojo?" she asks.

"Yeah." says Ranma, "It’s not far from the Furinkan High School."

"I’ve never heard of this school." she says, "My son goes to Tomobiki High School."

Ranma wonders if he got lost like Ryoga, "This is Tokyo, isn’t it?" he asks.

"Yes." Ataru’s mother says.

"Nerima district?" he asks.

"Yes." she says again.

"Then something is wrong here, because the local High School should be Furinkan."

"May I have your name, Master Tendo?" she asks.

"Huh?" he asks, then says, "It’s not Tendo. It’s Saotome. Ranma Saotome. My father and I are staying at the Tendo school of Anything-Goes Martial Arts."

"Anything-Goes Martial Arts?" she turns to the girl, "Lum, do you know of this place?"

Lum shakes her head slowly, "No, but maybe Darling knows." Suddenly reminded of who she was looking for, she floats across the room to the window, "DARLING!!" she calls out after she opens it.

THUNK!! Ranma hits his head on the wall as he backs into it, "OWW!!"

Lum and Mrs. Moroboshi look at him. His eyes are wide open in panic as he looks at Lum.

"She... she FLEW!!" he says in surprise. Two pairs of eyes blink at him.

"You can’t be from around here, if you’ve never seen Lum fly." says Mrs. Moroboshi.

"Then just where on Earth am I?" he demands, "And what IS she?!"

"Maybe you should put on some clothes and we can talk more calmly over Breakfast?" suggests Ataru’s Mother.

"My clothes?" he says looking around. All he has on, are his shorts and a shirt.

"I’m sure Lum can find you something to wear." she says and turns to walk down stairs.

Lum looks closely at Ranma as if measuring him. For once, Ranma is embarrassed.

Before he can say anything, Lum turns and goes to a closet. She opens it and throws out pants, a shirt, and shoes. She then sits at the desk and watches as Ranma gets dressed. He is too embarrassed to ask her to turn around. He puts on the pants and shirt, but leaves the shoes off. He then follows Lum as she floats down stairs.

"RAN-MA-AA!!!"

Ataru turns over on the bedroll, "Lum..." he moans, "The neighbors are fighting again. It’s too early. Tell them to shut up."

"RANMA, you’re already late for Breakfast..." Heavy footsteps pound their way down the hall.

Ataru’s stomach grumbles. He sits up, "Breakfast! Lum...?!" The door slides open.

"...are you going to sleep all day?!"

Ataru turns to the door and is now looking into the eyes of a very surprised Akane Tendo. Their eyes blink at each other.

Akane gets angry again and looks around, "Who are you?! And where’s Ranma?!"

Ataru has seen angry women before. He springs out of the bed and backs up, tripping over a sleeping form that growls at him. The form sits up and he is now face to face with a giant panda.

"EEEYOW!!" Ataru throws himself against the wall. BONK! His head hits a bookshelf. "Ow, ow, ow." he says, rubbing it. The girl and the panda step in to get a closer look at him.

"Mr. Saotome, do you know who he is?" she asks the panda.

"Funny name for a pan..." Ataru stops as the panda holds up a sign, "Never seen him before." it says.

"...da?" Ataru’s eyes roll up as he faints. The panda and Akane look at each other.

"How long have you lived in Tokyo, young man?" asks Mrs. Moroboshi.

"All my life." he says, "Except for the times my father and I went on training missions."

"Training missions?" asks Lum.

"My father and I are Martial artists." he says, "We’re trained in the Anything-Goes school of Martial Arts just like Akane and her father."

"Akane?" asks Lum.

"Yeah, Akane Tendo." he says, "Our fathers arranged for our engagement. Without our consent, I might add." Lum’s face brightens up.

"Darling and I are married too." she says.

"We’re not married yet." he says.

She begins to pout, "Darling says that too." she says and her head lowers.

"Excuse me for asking," says Ranma, "but are those horns?"

"Yes." says Lum. Her hand goes to one of her horns.

"Didn’t you know?" asks Mrs. Moroboshi, "Lum is an alien."

"And in just what Country do the people have horns?" he asks.

Mrs. Moroboshi shakes her head, "Not Country, planet."

"I’m from the planet ‘Oni’." says Lum.

"Wait a minute!" says Ranma in disbelief, "You’re from outer space?!"

"Of course I am." says Lum.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"Darling beat me in a contest and asked me to marry him." she says.

A wave of Deja Vu runs through Ranma’s mind. He looks closer at Lum. Without the horns and a different hair color, she might pass for Shampoo.

"You must have seen it on the news?" asks Ataru’s mother, "The game of tag to decide the fate of the Earth, the oil being taken by the space taxi people, all of the other visitors from space?"

Ranma shakes his head at each question. Ataru’s mother, sighs.

"Is there someone we can call to pick you up?" she asks.

"I guess so, the number for the Dojo is..." Ranma gives her the number for the Tendo residence.

Ataru’s mother stands, looks puzzled, then sits again, "That is our phone number."

"Can’t be." says Ranma.

"What is the address?" she asks, "I’ll try to take you home."

Ranma is confused, but gives her the address for the Dojo.

Mrs. Moroboshi sits back in the chair, "That is our address too."

"Something weird is going on." he says.

"We could have told you that." says a woman’s voice.

The three turn as Sakura and Cherry enter the Kitchen. Sakura has a ward in her hand. The ends of the two strips of folded paper are pointing straight at Ranma.

"You see, Uncle. I told you my ward would lead us to the source of the disturbance."

"And I told you, that all we had to do was to come here and we would have found it anyway." He frowns at the table, "Looks like we’re too late for Breakfast."

"You said that Ataru must be at the center of it." she reminds her Uncle, "As you can see, that is not Ataru."

"His face is still as unlucky as Ataru’s." says Cherry.

Ranma stands and cracks his knuckles, "Do you want to see if your face is unlucky too, old man?"

"You always bring out the best in people, Uncle." observes Sakura.

"It’s a gift I have." says Cherry.

"Young man," asks Sakura, "where did you come from?"

"The bedroom upstairs." says Ranma, with a touch of sarcasm.

"He’s too funny for a demon." says Cherry.

"Humph!" says Lum as she takes offense, "We found him in Darling’s room."

"Where is Ataru?" asks Sakura.

"We don’t know." says Ataru’s mother.

"Then we must see if there is anything unusual in that room." says Cherry.

All of them follow Lum as she floats upstairs.

As they enter the bedroom, Sakura takes out her ward. It is now pointing to the bedroll.

They look more closely at it. The bedroll has a cord going from underneath it to the wall outlet. Sakura lifts the cord.

"It looks like it could be for a heating pad. It was cold last night." says Ataru’s mother.

Lum examines the cord. "This is not for a heating pad." she says and pulls out a thin pad from under the bedroll.

"It looks like a heating pad." says Mrs. Moroboshi.

Lum shakes her head, "This pad allows two people from different dimensions to trade places."

"Trade places?!" the others say.

Lum nods, "But they have to be in the exact same place and asleep for this to work."

"But I was in my bedroom last night?" asks Ranma.

"This bedroom in our dimension and your bedroom in the other dimension must occupy the same space." says Cherry, "You and Ataru changed places because you were sleeping in the same spot in your bedrooms."

"How do I get back?" asks Ranma.

"You and Darling must be in the same places you were when you got up this morning and asleep." says Lum.

"Why do I have to be asleep?" he asks.

"You have to be completely relaxed and still." says Lum, "Otherwise it won’t work."

"Oh, just great!" he says, "You mean, we have to wait until after tonight to find out if this is going to work?"

Lum nods.

"And, if Ataru is not where he woke up this morning," says Sakura, "you will still be here tomorrow."

"Terrific!" says Ranma, "Maybe I should just find some Ruby slippers and click my heels three times?"

Cherry rubs his beads and chants, "There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home." Sakura whacks him on the head.

After Cherry and Sakura leave, Ataru’s mother turns to Lum.

"Lum," asks Mrs. Moroboshi, "why don’t you take this young man on a tour of the area." She turns to Ranma, "Since you will be here at least until tonight, you may as well look around."

Lum and Ranma nod. Lum leads him out of the house and down the street.

Ranma looks around, "The streets are the same, but all of the houses are different."

He looks back and says, "The Dojo would cover more than half of this block."

They continue to walk down the streets of Tokyo.

"Lum-Chan! Lum-Chan!" a small boy’s voice calls out. Ranma looks around, but Lum looks up.

"Ten-Chan!" she says as she sees him. His arms and legs pump hard as he floats down to her. He sees Ranma.

"Lum-Chan? Where’s that idiot, Ataru?" he asks, "Have you finally given up on him?

"Ten-Chan! Darling is my life!" she says.

"He is also an idiot." he says. He looks at Ranma, "Who’s he?"

"Ten-Chan, this is Ranma." she says, "He is staying with us until we can switch him for Darling."

"Why? Was Ataru kidnapped or something?" he asks.

"No." says Lum, "He used the Trans-Dimension Pad last night."

"I told him not to." says Ten.

"What?!" asks Lum.

Ten is suddenly nervous, "He-he said it was cold last night and pulled it out of the closet. I told him it wasn’t a heating pad, but he wouldn’t listen."

Lum sighs, "I knew I shouldn’t have left him alone last night."

"Where were you?" Ranma asks.

"I was busy with some experiments on my ship." she says.

"Your ship?" Ranma asks.

"Yes." says Lum and points upward. A flying saucer hangs in the sky above them.

Ranma looks up, "That’s a UFO?!"

"That’s my ship." says Lum.

"You really are an alien!" he says.

"We both are." says Ten.

"Ten-Chan is my cousin." she says.

"You’re both from the planet ‘Oni’?" he asks.

Lum nods, "And so are Benten and..."

"Is Benten your cousin too?" he asks.

"NO!" Booms out a young woman’s voice from above.

All eyes look up to see Benten descending on her flying jetcycle.

"I am a Cosmic God." she says as she reaches street level.

"We were living on the same planet." says Lum.

"If you can call that ‘living’." says Benten, "It’s so boring! That’s why I come to visit Lum. Who are you?"

"I’m Ranma Saotome." he says. He looks at the jetcycle, "You don’t fly?" he asks.

"Like Lum? No. Flying is for Demons." she says, "We Gods prefer to travel with style."

"Humph!" says Lum as she takes offense again.

Benten looks around. "Where’s your husband, Lum?"

Ranma thinks, This Ataru must be a popular guy. Everyone is asking about him.

"Darling isn’t here." she says, "He may not be back until after tonight."

Benten relaxes a little, "That’s good. A girl’s not safe with him around."

While Lum grinds her teeth, Ranma asks, "What do you mean by that?"

"No offense, Lum, but," she says to her and looks at Ranma, "Ataru has a well deserved reputation for chasing women. Even when we turn him down or beat him to a pulp, he just does not give up."

"Sounds like a teen-aged version of Happosai." he says.

"Happosai?" asks Benten.

Ranma explains, "He’s the panty-stealing, girl-groping, pervert of a Martial Arts master who founded the Anything-Goes School."

"Does Ataru steal panties, Lum?" asks Benten.

"Certainly not!!" says an angry Lum. Her horns grow longer and her fangs are showing.

"Be glad for small favors." says Ranma, "If he is at the Tendo Dojo right now, you better hope he doesn’t pick up that habit from the old pervert."

"HE’D BETTER NOT!!!" screams Lum. FLASH/CRASH!!!

"OWW!!" Ranma sits up after being knocked to the ground. He rubs the same spot on his head that he hit earlier that morning. He looks at the others. Lum is still glowing.

"Lum?!" he asks, "Are you all right?!"

Still angry, she turns to him, "WHAT?!" she demands.

"You were hit by lightning!" he says. She looks at him, puzzled. The glow fades and the horns shrink.

Benten explains, "No. When Lum gets excited, she gives off lightning."

"And I can blow fire!" says Ten. He demonstrates with a big fireball.

"So much for being in Kansas." says Ranma. His stomach growls. "Is there somewhere we can get something to eat around here?" he asks.

"I saw a restaurant not far from here. It’s this way." says Benten as she rises up on her jetcycle and leads them to it.

As they near, Ranma sniffs, "Okonomiyaki." he says.

"How can you tell?" asks Lum.

"I can recognize that smell anywhere," he says, "but, something’s different."

Ranma looks at the shop curtain as they stop outside, "It can’t be." he says.

"What?" asks Lum. Ranma points. The sign says, "UCCHAN’S OKONOMIYAKI"

"So?" asks Lum. Ranma is too shaken to answer. They go in.

"Ucchan!" calls Lum.

"Be right there." answers a young woman as she serves a customer.

"Hi, Lum. What can I get for you and your friends?" she asks as she looks at the group.

"Ukyo?" asks Ranma. He is stunned. The girl standing there is a mirror image of Ukyo. She looks at him. The others sit down and stare at them.

"Yes, that’s my name." she says, "What would you like?"

Ranma snaps out of it and sits down, "Um, I-I’ll have a Seafood special?"

"One special coming right up." she takes the other orders and pours the batter.

As the okonomiyakis sizzle on the griddle, Ukyo tends to the other customers.

"Do you know her?" asks Benten.

"I thought I did." he says, "Where I’m from, there’s an Ukyo too."

"Two Ukyos?" asks Ten.

"What two Ukyos?" Ukyo asks. Ranma looks up. She is, once again, working on their order.

"Where I come from, there is another Ukyo." he says, "Ukyo Kuonji."

"Can’t be. That’s my name." she says. Her eyes narrow at him, "All right, just who are you?" She serves them.

Ranma takes a bite and swallows, "I’m Ranma Saotome." He looks confused and stares at his plate.

"What?" she asks, "Is something wrong with your pancake?"

"Don’t you mean pizza?" he asks.

"No," she says, "that’s a Japanese pancake."

"Pancake?" he asks. It’s another thing that tells Ranma, he’s not in Kansas anymore.

"Yeah, pancake." she says, "Is there anything wrong with it?"

"N-no." he says, "It’s great. It’s just a little different, that’s all."

Ukyo puts her hands on her hips and glares at him, "I’ll have you know, I’ve always used the same recipe that my father gave to me for the batter and the sauce." she says.

"That’s it." he says, "The sauce is different from the one made by the Ukyo that I know."

"How is it different?" asks Ukyo.

Ranma checks off a list of ingredients. With each one Ukyo is more and more surprised until the last one.

"I don’t know where you learned that list," she says, "but, I don’t use table salt, I use sea salt."

"Sea salt?" asks Ranma. He takes another taste, "You’re right. It is sea salt."

"You must eat at this other Ukyo’s restaurant a lot." says Benten.

"Well, she is my fiancée." he says.

"Fiancée?" asks Ukyo.

"But I thought you’re married to Akane Tendo?" asks Lum.

"I told you, we’re not married yet." he says, "We’re just engaged."

"Wait a minute!" says Ukyo with a little anger, "You have TWO fiancées?!"

"Take it easy, Ukyo!" he says as he backs off, "You’re not going to hit me with that big spatula, are you?"

She looks around, "What big spatula?"

Ranma suddenly realizes that this Ukyo is not wearing the big, steel spatula worn by his "Cute" fiancée. He returns to his chair.

"Why do you have two fiancées?" asks Benten.

"You can blame that on Pops." he says. Ranma explains how he got engaged to Akane and Ukyo. "...so, now I call Akane, my ‘Uncute’ fiancée."

"And this other Ukyo, what do you call her?" asks Lum.

"Oh, um, she’s my ‘Cute’ fiancée." he says as he raises his eyes to look at Ukyo.

Ukyo smiles and says, "I don’t think anyone would say I’m ‘Cute’." She laughs.

"Sure you are." says Ranma.

Ukyo stops laughing. She blushes, "Y-you think so?"

"The two of you are almost identical." he says.

"Almost?" she asks.

He says, "The Ukyo that I know is a Martial Artist and always carries a big steel spatula."

"A Martial Artist?" asks Ukyo.

"Uh-huh." he says and pauses. He smiles, "It’s kind of strange. You know, telling you about your other self."

"It’s kind of strange hearing about someone just like me." she says, then corrects herself, "Almost like me. I mean."

"So, why haven’t you picked a fiancée?" asks Benten, "What’s wrong with them?"

They all look at Ranma.

"It’s not them," he says, "it’s me."

"Well, what’s wrong with you?" asks Ukyo.

"Can I have a glass of cold water?" he asks. Ukyo nods and goes to get it for him.

Ranma almost hopes that the curse doesn’t work in this other dimension.

Ukyo returns with the water. Ranma takes a deep breath and dumps it on his head.

"Ran-Chan!" says Ten in shock.

"You’re right, Ten-Chan!" says Lum, "Except for the pigtail, he looks just like Ran-Chan."

"Hey!" he says, "Only Ukyo calls me that!"

"Why would I...?" Ukyo shakes her head, "Never mind. How did you do that?"

Ranma explains about his curse.

"So," says Ukyo, "your father not only has you engaged to two girls, but also knocked you into a spring that changes you into a girl?"

Girl-type Ranma nods, "He fell into a spring too."

"Both you and your father change into girls?" asks Benten.

"No." says Ranma, "He fell into a different spring. He changes into a big stupid panda."

"Well, that’s not so bad." says Ukyo, "At least you’re still human when you change."

"That’s what Ryoga says." he says.

"Who’s Ryoga?" asks Ukyo.

"He was knocked into another spring." he says.

"What does he change into?" asks Lum.

"Akane’s pet pig, P-Chan." he says.

"One of your fiancées has a boy, that changes into a pig, for a pet?" asks Benten.

"She doesn’t know." Girl-Ranma says.

"And you’re not going to tell her?" Ukyo asks.

"She’ll figure it out sooner or later." he says, "I hope she does before I get back."

"Why?" asks Ten.

"When Akane gets mad," he says, "I’m the one who gets hurt. If she finds out about Ryoga and P-Chan, she’ll probably want to kill me for not telling her sooner."

"Jackpot!" says a young man’s voice, "I told you there were some cute chicks in here."

Those seated at the counter, turn to the door. Three guys in leather jackets walk in.

"Hey, Doll." says one to Lum, "You look better than what’s on the menu."

"Good enough to eat." says the second to Benten.

"Maybe you’d like to join me for a drink?" says the third to Ranma.

Ranma turns back to Ukyo, "Hot water, please." Ukyo nods and gets a cup of hot water for Ranma. Ranma turns back to the guy, cup in hand.

"What are you going to do?" he asks, "Throw it in my face?"

"No, mine." says Ranma. Smiling, he empties the cup on his head. Ranma changes back.

"Hey! What’s going on here?" asks the guy.

"You just got the wrong girl." says the first guy as he puts his hand on Lum’s shoulder.

Lum smiles and soon, Z-Z-ZAK!! Electric shocks travel from her body to his.

"You’re both morons." says the second guy, then to Benten, "Don’t give me any trouble."

Benten smiles, "Ten-Chan?" she calls. Lum’s cousin floats down from the ceiling.

"What’s this?" the guy asks, "A floating beach ball?"

Ten draws in a deep breath.

Passersby watch as fire erupts from the restaurant. Soon, three guys looking "Well-done" stagger from the front door.

Boy-type Ranma sits back and looks at the others, "I could get to like it here." he says with a smile.

"Well, that was fun." says Benten as they leave the restaurant. She calls down her jetcycle, "What’s next, Lum?"

Lum rises up, "I have to look in on the experiments on my ship." she says.

"I want to go too." says Ten.

"No, Ten-Chan." says Lum, "You stay with Ranma. He must be at Darling’s house tonight."

Great, thinks Ranma, I’m being baby-sat by a flame-thrower.

Lum and Benten fly up to Lum’s UFO.

"LUM!!" calls out a young woman as she runs after them. Whether Lum hears her or not, she flies on.

"Shinobu-Chan!!" calls Ten. The woman turns.

"Ten-Chan! Ataru!" she calls and runs to them. When she reaches them, she gets a good look at Ranma and stops. "You’re not Ataru!" she says.

"I’m Ranma Saotome." he says, "Ataru should be back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" she asks.

"Ataru was kidnapped." says Ten.

"Kidnapped?!" asks Shinobu in surprise.

"He was not kidnapped!" says Ranma, annoyed.

"He’s a kid and he was asleep when you were switched?" asks Ten.

"It’s not the same thing!" shouts Ranma. "We just traded places."

"You and Ataru traded places?" asks Shinobu.

Ranma tells her, "He used some transfer pad device last night and we got switched"

"One of Lum’s devices?" she asks.

"Uh-huh." says Ten, "The Trans-Dimension Pad."

"GRR-R-R!" says Shinobu, "That, LUM!!" Her fists are clenched and her body shakes as she says it.

"Take it easy!" says Ranma. Ten makes a strategic withdrawal and flies off.

"You don’t understand!" says Shinobu, with tears in her eyes. "Ever since Lum and Ataru had that race, something always happens to keep Ataru and I apart!"

Ranma finally gets a clue, "You mean, you and...?"

Shinobu sniffs, "Yes. I told Ataru that if he won the race, I would marry him. Instead, Lum thinks he wants to marry her."

"MOROBOSHI!!!" yells a young man as he runs at them, sword raised, "How dare you make Shinobu cry again!!!"

Shinobu cries out, "Mendo! Wait! This is not...!" Ranma puts a hand to her shoulder.

"Relax," he says, "I know how to handle someone like him."

Ranma waits until Mendo jumps to bring his sword down, he then grabs Shinobu and leaps to the side, setting her down on a nearby bench. He leaps again as Mendo redirects his strike and bounces off of a tree. Mendo has yet to recover, when Ranma closes in. Using the "Chestnut Fist", he launches a flurry of blows at Mendo and sends him flying. With a "WHUMP!", Mendo lands in a bush. Ranma then plants the sword in the ground near Mendo as he lays there unconscious. Ranma takes Shinobu’s hand and leads her away.

"How did you do that?" she asks, "Mendo’s been trained to use that sword."

Ranma shrugs his shoulders, "Let’s just say, I’ve been practicing against a guy who’s a lot better with a wooden sword, than he is with a real one."

Shinobu looks back. "But what about...?"

"Don’t worry," says Ranma, "if he’s anything like Kuno, he’ll be okay."

"Kuno?" asks Shinobu.

"It’s a long story." he says, then asks, "How long have you known Ataru?"

"All my life." she says, "We grew up together."

"So," asks Ranma, "even back then you figured you’d marry him someday?"

"Yes." says Shinobu, "But now, with Lum here..."

Ranma nods, "You’re kind of like Ukyo." he says.

"You mean that girl at the pancake shop?" she asks.

"Not exactly." he says. Ranma explains how he got two fiancées.

"Aren’t you worried about them?" she asks, "Lum and I have tried to stop him, but Ataru is always chasing other girls."

Ranma smiles, "Ukyo and Akane can take care of themselves. If Ataru goes after them or even Shampoo and Kodachi, he’s gonna need some medical help when he gets back."

"Don’t be too sure of that." says Shinobu, "Even Lum’s electro-shocks don’t slow him down anymore. If there’s a girl involved, Ataru would endure anything to get a date with her."

"He might find out that these ‘girls’ are a little tougher than he’s used to." says Ranma, "They’ve been trained to defend themselves by our own resident pervert. I hope Ataru and Happosai don’t join up. It’s bad enough dealing with only one. I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about aliens like you do."

"A world without aliens." she sighs, "That would be nice."

"Well," says Ranma, "we did have to deal with an ‘Oni’ once. It kept possessing people we knew. We either had to knock it out of them or drive it out with a spirit ward. We finally got it back in it’s box, put a new seal on it and floated the box out to sea."

"Wish I had a box like that." says Shinobu. The thought causes her to smile.

"But," says Ranma, "without Lum’s help, Ataru and I won’t be able to trade places again. And, with Lum being an alien, I don’t know if a spirit ward would work on her anyway."

"That’s too bad." says Shinobu. She sighs, "I don’t think Sakura would make one for me anyway, if she knew I would use it on Lum."

"Shinobu!" a young woman’s voice calls out to them. They turn to see a young woman with red hair and wearing a dress, waving as she walks towards them.

"Hello Ran." says Shinobu. Her voice is a little cold.

"Hello." she says. She looks at Ranma, then looks around, "Where’s Darling?"

"If you mean Ataru, he’s gone." she says, "He should be back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" says Ran, looking disappointed, "We were supposed to go on a walk today."

"A walk?!" asks Shinobu. She becomes angry again.

As she smiles, Ran turns angry inside. She thinks, Damn! With Lum in her ship, I thought I’d have a chance to suck Darling’s youth.

Ran looks at Ranma, "Who are you?"

"I’m Ranma Saotome." he says.

"Ran-ma?" she asks. He shakes his head.

"No, just Ranma." he says, "They were right. You do look like me."

"Like you?" asks Ran. She studies his face.

Shinobu loses her anger and becomes puzzled, "You don’t look anything alike." she says.

"I mean, like my girl-half." he says.

"Girl-half?!" ask both girls.

Ranma sighs. He looks over and sees a faucet with a hose. "It’s easier to show you than to explain it." He walks over to the hose and turns on the faucet, spraying himself with water.

After the transformation, Shinobu, in shock, turns from girl-type Ranma to Ran and back.

"What are you?!" shouts Ran, "An Alien?!"

"I’m no more an Alien than you are!" he shouts back. Ran draws back in fear.

"Then," asks Shinobu, "how did you do that?"

"It’s a curse." he says and tells them about the springs of Jusenkyo.

"How many have fallen into these springs?" asks Shinobu.

"Hundreds, probably." says girl-Ranma, "The only ones I know of are Pops, myself, Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, and some assassin those creeps from Jusenkyo sent after us."

"Assassin?" ask Ran and Shinobu.

"Yeah," says Ranma, "they said we were breaking their laws or something."

"What happened?" asks Ran.

"I found out that their ‘assassin’ turns into a non-violent priest when splashed with cold water." he says, "As long as we kept him wet with cold water, he helped us. Otherwise, we didn’t stand much of a chance."

"That was quick thinking." says Shinobu.

"It was an accident." says Ranma, "A bucket of cold water was the only thing handy to throw at him."

"Is there a cure?" asks Shinobu.

"We don’t know for sure." he says, "We hope that by taking a dip in the ‘Spring of Drowned Man’, us guys can go back to normal."

"What about the other one, ‘Shampoo’, was it?" asks Ran.

"If it works for us," says Ranma, "she can splash herself with water from the ‘Spring of Drowned Girl’."

"The one that you fell in?" asks Shinobu.

"Yes." says Girl-Ranma, then asks, "Why did Lum and Ataru have that race? His mother said something about deciding the fate of the Earth."

Ran says, "Many years ago, the race of Demons was driven off the Earth and they settled on the planet ‘Oni’. The Cosmic Gods were there first, but let them stay. The Demons decided that they wanted the Earth back, but instead of an invasion that might have destroyed it, they picked Darling to play tag against Lum."

Shinobu picks up, "Ataru had ten days to catch Lum, but he didn’t know Lum could fly. It was only after he pulled off her bikini top that Ataru gained the advantage and on the last day he grabbed Lum’s horns." Shinobu’s face turns sad, "The night before, I told Ataru that if he won, I would marry him. After he won, Lum thought it was her, he was talking about when he said he could now get married." Shinobu starts to cry again, "And now she won’t leave!"

In tears, Shinobu runs away. Leaving Ran with Ranma.

Forgetting that he’s there, Ran says, "That’s what she gets for falling in love with that idiot."

"If he’s such an idiot," asks girl-Ranma, "then why are you after him?"

Startled, Ran realizes that Ranma is looking at her suspiciously.

"I-I-I..." she stutters.

"I mean what would a Cosmic God want with someone like Ataru?" he asks.

Flustered, she asks, "You knew?!"

Girl-type Ranma is shocked that he was right, but follows through, "It wasn’t hard to guess." He says, lying, "After I changed, right away, you thought I was an alien. Lum said there were others here like Ten and Benten. You don’t have horns, so you can’t be a demon. If Benten is here, then other Cosmic Gods could be here as well. And, you knew about how the Demon race came to live on ‘Oni’ and that the Cosmic Gods ‘let’ them stay. You said that as if you’ve had a grudge against them for a long time. Or, at least against Lum. What better way to get back at Lum than to try to steal Ataru away from her."

Angry, Ran says, "Only Lum and Benten know I’m an alien. You better not tell anyone else!"

"Why should I?" asks Ranma, "If you could have taken Ataru away from Lum, you would’ve done it by now. Even if you do, from what I hear, Ataru’s no prize. If all you want is revenge, you and Ataru deserve each other!"

Ran blows a fuse, "REVENGE! I’m not going to take ‘Darling’ away from Lum! With a kiss, I can suck any man’s youth and turn him into an old man! I’m going to find Ataru and drain him dry! Now tell me where he is or I’ll start with you!" She advances on Ranma.

"YEEEEK!!" Ranma turns and runs away. Ran is close behind.

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS!!!" she shouts.

"Great!" says Ranma, "Now I’ve got a ‘Wicked Witch’ after me. If Ryoga were here, P-Chan would make a perfect ‘Toto’. Where’s a ‘Good Witch’ when you need one?!"

A shopkeeper sees them coming up the street, "Are you two girls in a race or something?!" he shouts as they pass.

"Girls?" asks Ranma, then says, "AH-HA!!" He stops and turns to face Ran.

She screeches to a stop and, breathing hard, she closes the distance between them.

Ranma smiles, "What are you going to do? Kiss a girl?"

Ran freezes in her tracks, her claw-like hands centimeters from girl-Ranma’s face.

"GRR-R-R!!! YOU’RE RIGHT!!!" she screams, "But I’ll find out what changes you back into a boy and I’ll drain you like a fresh squeezed orange!!" She stalks away.

"Whew!" he says relieved, "Now all I need is a yellow brick road."

Ranma walks in the direction away from Ran.

A little boy floats by, "HEY, TEN!!" calls Ranma. The boy circles back.

"Ran-Chan?" asks the boy, puzzled.

"No. It’s me, Ranma." he says, "It’s about time you came back, you Munchkin."

"Munchkin?" asks Ten, "I-I went to find Lum in case you and Shinobu had a fight."

"Why would I have a fight with her?" asks Ranma, "It’s Lum she’s mad at. Besides, you were supposed to stay with me. Remember?"

Ten begins to fidget and tears form.

"Never mind, Ten. I’m sorry." he says, embarrassed at taking out his anger on a little boy, "Let’s go back to Ataru’s house before something else happens. Okay?"

"Okay." says Ten as he leads Ranma back to the house. "Why are you a girl?" he asks.

"Let’s just say that I feel safer like this right now." girl-type Ranma says.

"You wouldn’t say that if Ataru was here." says Ten.

"It’s not Ataru that I’m worried about." he says.

They make it to the Moroboshi house.

"Hello! We’re back!" says Ten as they enter the door.

Mrs. Moroboshi says, "Hello, Ten-Chan. Who’s your little friend?"

"It’s me, Mrs. Moroboshi. Ranma Saotome." he says.

"But, I thought you were a boy?" she asks.

"Not all of the time." he says, then asks, "Is Ran around?"

"No," she says, "I haven’t seen her for quite a while."

"Good." he says, "Can I have some hot water, please?"

"Are you going to make some tea?" she asks. She puts a kettle of water on the stove.

"If there’s some left over, I might." he says.

After a few minutes, steam rises from the pot.

"That should be hot enough." he says and with a towel he removes the kettle from the stove.

"It’s not hot enough for tea." says Mrs. Moroboshi.

"It doesn’t have to be boiling, just hot." he says and pours it on his head.

"What are you do...?" Ataru’s mother asks, then stops as he transforms.

She drops back into her chair, "Y-you were a girl. N-now you’re a boy?"

"Mrs. Moroboshi? Are you all right?" he asks and puts the kettle back on the stove.

"H-how d-did you do that?" she asks.

"Mrs. Moroboshi, you have a demon, who wants to be your Daughter-in-law, and her cousin, both living with your son." he reminds her. "I didn’t think that my changing between boy and girl would be such a shock to you of all people."

"I’m sorry," she says, "I just wasn’t expecting something like this."

When the water is hot enough, Ranma makes tea while Ataru’s mother calms down.

"Thank-you." she says as he gives her a cup.

The door opens. "Hello, Dear." says Mr. Moroboshi, "Oh, we have a guest." He looks around, "Where’s Ataru?"

"Hello, Dear." she says, "Ataru’s not here right now. This is Ranma Saotome."

"Hi." says Ranma.

A girl follows Ataru’s father in the door. She is carrying a take-out box.

"Lum-Chan!" calls Ten.

"Hello." she says to all of them, "Ranma, this box is for you." She hands it to him.

"For me?" he says, "From who?" He opens it. There inside, is an Okonomiyaki. On it is written, "Please meet me at the vacant lot. Ukyo."

"What does she want?" he asks Lum.

"She wouldn’t say." says Lum.

Ranma worries about running into a certain alien while in boy form.

"Well," he says, "if I’m going to go out..." Ranma pours himself a glass of cold water and dumps it on his head. He changes. Mrs. Moroboshi leads her husband to a chair as he is now in shock, much like she was.

"Lum?" he asks, "Could you show me to the vacant lot?" Lum nods and they leave.

"I’ve always wanted a daughter." says Mrs. Moroboshi after they are gone.

"With him as your child," says Ten, "you could have had a son and a daughter."

Ranma and Lum arrive at the vacant lot. Ukyo is sitting on an unused length of sewer pipe.

"Hi, Lum." she says, "Ranma? I thought you would be here in your boy form?"

"I just thought I would surprise you." he says as a lame excuse. "What is it you want, Ukyo?" he asks, then points, "Where did you get that big spatula?"

On her back, Ukyo is wearing a big metal spatula. "It belongs to my father." she says, "He stopped by the shop this afternoon. He was wearing it on his back and I asked him about it. He told me that if he had had a son, he would have taught him how to use it. I asked him if I could try it out. Would you teach me?"

"Why me?" girl-type Ranma asks.

"You and that other me have known each other for a long time." she explains, "If anyone should know how she uses it, it would have to be you."

"You’re probably right," he says, "but I would have to learn how to use it before I could teach you." He walks over to her. She hands him the spatula.

"Lum?" he calls as he turns to her, "This is going to take a while. Why don’t you go home and tell them not to hold dinner for me?"

"I have some Okonomiyakis with me in case we get hungry?" Ukyo offers.

Lum nods and flies away.

Girl-type Ranma walks to an open spot while checking the weight and balance of the weapon in his hands. Ukyo watches as he takes some practice swings. Soon she can hear and feel the wind being pushed by the spatula. Her hair, dances behind her as the breeze passes. Nearby, Cherry leaves his tent and sits to watch. After a while, Ranma, sweating and breathing heavy, lowers the spatula.

"You are good!" says Ukyo.

"It takes a lot more effort than I thought." he says.

"That is because you were fighting your own weapon." says Cherry.

"What was that?" he asks, "Maybe you’d like to show me?" He offers the oversized spatula to the little monk.

Cherry waves him off, "I shall demonstrate with one of those." He points to the smaller spatulas in Ukyo’s belt. She gives him one.

"By holding the weapon always flat into the wind," he explains, "you fight not only your opponent, but your weapon as well by forcing it to stay flat all of the time." He holds the spatula flat as Ranma had, then brings the handle forward. The paddle is angled back, much like the sword of a Samurai preparing to slice through the bamboo armor of an enemy. Cherry pivots and then brings the paddle forward with an audible "Crack".

"I see." says Ranma and he repeats the moves shown to him. "So. That’s how she does it!" With a few more swings that generate more wind and a metallic "Ring" that was not there before, Ranma stops and hands it to Ukyo.

Unsure of her own ability, Ukyo tries too hard to duplicate the moves and falls to the ground as the spatula leaves her hands. "OW!" she cries. Ranma ducks behind a sewer pipe as the spatula sails on by. Girl-Ranma retrieves the spatula and returns it to Ukyo as she gets back up again.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Like they say," she says, dusting herself off, "the only thing hurt is my pride." She takes it from him and sets herself again.

"You must not treat the weapon as a club." admonishes Cherry, "You must make it a part of yourself." He holds up his spatula, "Move with me."

Ukyo tries to do the same, "I’m never going to get this right." she says.

"Patience." says the monk. His moves become fluid and slow. Like someone practicing a form of relaxation and not a martial art. Ukyo follows along and both speed up as she becomes accustomed to it.

"I DID IT!!" shouts Ukyo after her spatula rings true as it passes through the air.

"You see." says Cherry, "The right Teacher and the right Student can accomplish great things."

Sensing that the training has paused, Ukyo makes a suggestion, "Why don’t we take a break and have something to eat?"

Like Pavlov’s dog, the very mention of food causes Cherry to drool. Ukyo walks over to her take-out box. She gives one to Cherry and Ranma, then nibbles on her own as they settle down to eat.

"Ranma?" asks Ukyo, "How long are you going to stay here?"

Pausing between bites, girl-type Ranma says, "If everything works out all right, I should be back home tomorrow morning."

"And, if it doesn’t?" she asks.

"I’ll have to keep trying until it does." he says. Ukyo looks down in disappointment.

Cherry finishes his Okonomiyaki before he says, "You’re the second Ranma that I’ve met today. Are you related?"

"I’m the same Ranma you met this morning." he says, "Thanks to a curse, I’m not always a boy."

"A curse?" asks Cherry. Ranma tells him about the springs of Jusenkyo.

"A most interesting curse." says Cherry when he is done. Cherry closes his eyes in concentration.

Girl-type Ranma looks around.

"What are you looking for?" asks Ukyo.

Startled, Ranma says, "Oh! Um... I’ve gotten so used to him showing up, that for a minute I thought he might be here."

"Who?" asks Ukyo.

"Ryoga." he says.

"You mean, Akane’s pet pig?" she asks.

"He’s not always a pig." Ranma has second thoughts about that statement, but goes on, "When he’s a pig, he’s called P-Chan."

"What made you think that he might be here?" she asks.

"That guy has no sense of direction." he explains, "If anyone could find their way here by mistake, it would have to be him."

"What does he look like?" she asks.

"When he’s not a pig, he carries a backpack and bamboo umbrella." he says, "But, he always wears a yellow and black checked bandanna. So, if you ever see a little pig with a bandanna like that, do me a favor and hit him with some hot water." He smiles.

"I’ll try it if I see one." she says.

Ranma thinks for a moment, "You might want to wrap a towel around him first."

Ukyo looks puzzled. She thinks it through, then blushes at the idea of a little pig changing into a boy, wearing nothing but a bandanna.

When the Okonomiyakis are gone, Cherry stands and heads for his tent, "Tomorrow, we shall continue the training. Young lady," he says to Ukyo, "you are a good student."

"What about me?" asks girl-type Ranma.

"You are a great student," says Cherry as he enters his tent, "but you will never be a great teacher."

Steam pours from Ranma’s head as his face turns red.

"Oh, come on, Ranma." says Ukyo trying to calm him down, "Pay no attention to the monk behind the tent flap."

"Oh, you’re back." says Mrs. Moroboshi when she opens the door for Ranma.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Moroboshi." girl-type Ranma says, "Is Lum home?"

"She’s upstairs in Ataru’s room." says Ataru’s mother.

"Are you spending the night with us?" asks Mr. Moroboshi.

"Not all of it, I hope." he says, "Just until Ataru and I can switch again."

"Do you want to change back?" asks Mrs. Moroboshi, "To a boy, I mean."

Ranma looks down, "I think I’d better. I don’t know if it’ll work if I’m like this."

Ataru’s mother gets the teapot from the stove and pours hot water on Ranma. After the change, she puts more water into the pot and returns it to the stove.

Ranma walks upstairs. Pausing, he knocks on the door to Ataru’s bedroom.

Lum opens it. "Ranma!" she says, "Come in. It’s getting late."

Floating in a corner, Ranma finds Lum’s cousin, already asleep.

Ranma sees the bedroll and the cord from the pad leading to a wall outlet.

He looks around, "Will you be sleeping in your UFO tonight, Lum?" he asks.

"No." says Lum, "I want to be here when Darling comes back."

"H-here?" he asks.

"Yes." she says and pulls open the closet. In it, is another bedroll on the floor.

Ranma lets out a nervous laugh. He had only seen the one bedroll laid out for him.

Ranma takes off the shirt given to him by Lum that morning. He turns away to remove the pants when he notices that Lum is still looking at him. Embarrassed, he hands her the clothes and climbs into the bedroll. Lum then inspects the bedroll to make sure it is in the right position and at the same time, gives Ranma a closer look at her than he expected.

When she is satisfied that all is in order, she turns out the light, gets into her bedroll and closes the closet door part way.

Ranma turns over and thinks about the events of that day, trying to put all thoughts of Lum out of his mind as he drifts off to sleep.

Ranma awakens to find that he is once again in his own room at the Tendo Dojo. With a sigh of relief, he lies back down and listens to his father’s snore. The sound of someone else sleeping in the room attracts his notice. Did Ataru stay here after all? Ranma looks around. There by the door, is Akane. She is sitting up and asleep. She has a baseball bat resting on her knees. As a precaution, Ranma crawls over and removes the bat, just in case she suddenly wakes up and starts swinging. With the bat now safely out of range, Ranma relaxes and returns to the bedroll. He sits there and watches as Akane dozes. Her face is peaceful and calm. So different from when she is awake and angry at him. Genma’s snore changes tone as his breathing is briefly interrupted. Ranma looks at his father, then back at Akane. Her eyes open. Her hands reach for a bat that is no longer there. Surprised by it’s absence, she springs to her feet, ready to fight before she sees him.

"Ranma?" she asks in shock.

"Hi." he says.

"How long have you been here?" she asks.

"Just a few minutes." he says.

"Why didn’t you wake me?" she asks. She kneels by the bedroll.

He lifts the bat from it’s hiding place, "I didn’t want to be wearing this."

She looks around, "He’s gone isn’t he."

"If I’m here," says Ranma, "I sure he is."

"That’s a relief." she says. Then gets angry, "You have no idea what it’s been like here all day!"

"Still," says Ranma, "I feel sorry for him."

"Sorry?!" asks Akane, "He’s a bigger pervert than you are!"

"Akane," says Ranma, "you have no idea of what he’s gone back to. Over there, he’s got a demon girl that gives off lightning and wants to marry him, her cousin who’s like a little flame-thrower, an alien girl that would like to drain his youth. Also, there’s another girl he grew up with that also wants to marry him and some jealous guy that would like to take his head off. Being here must have been like a vacation for him."

"Are you saying, you’d rather be here, Ranma?" asks Akane.

"Are you kidding?" he says, "All I have to deal with is a curse, an Amazon with a ghoul for a Great-grandmother, three guys that would like nothing better than to kill me, a pervert for a Martial Arts Master, a panda for a father, a girl that’s as insane as her brother, two fiancées and one of them thinks that I’m a pervert. Why shouldn’t I rather be here?"

"I guess you’re right, Ranma." she says, "I mean, why would he want to go back to a demon girl?"

"Well," says Ranma with a smile, "she is a cute demon girl."

"Cute?!" asks Akane as she glares at him.

"MY COLLECTION!! WHERE IS THAT THIEF?!!"

Ranma and Akane turn to the hall as Happosai rushes up and pulls open the door.

"ATARU, YOU PERVERT!! WHERE ARE YOU?!!" He yells, waking up Genma.

Ranma says, "I’d guess he went back to where he came from."

Happosai sinks to the floor, "My collection." he whimpers.

"Ranma!" says Akane, her eyes wide in wonder, "You’re glowing!"

A blue haze surrounds him.

Ranma feels his hair stand on end as the static charge builds up. He leaps from the bedroll, "Akane! Look out!" He grabs her and pulls her away from the haze.

"What are you doing?!" she demands.

A voice calls from the haze. It is the ghostly voice of a very angry young woman, "DAH-LING-G-G!!". The haze erupts in blue fire and crackling thunder.

A second voice cries out. That of a very frightened young man, "EE-YY-OWW!!"

Moments later, the screams and blue fire disappear, leaving only bits of charred cloth drifting through the air. Happosai reaches out and catches one. He holds it close as the tears fall.

"M-my co-collection." He whimpers.

"Sea salt?" she asks, "I’ve never used it before."

"You should give it a try." he says.

"Wait a minute, Ranma." she says suspiciously, "Have you been eating someone else’s Okonomiyaki?"

"The only Okonomiyaki that I’ve eaten," he says with a smile, "are the ones cooked by Ukyo Kuonji."

Ukyo glares at him as if she still doesn’t trust him, "Okay, I’ll make a batch just for you, but don’t blame me if you don’t like it."

A boy runs into a restaurant, "Ucchan!"

KLANG!! The boy flies through the door and lands in the trash across the street.

Ataru looks up, says, "I’d recognize that spatula anywhere." and passes out.

A week later, Ranma is talking to a still shocked Ryoga.

"She knows, Ranma." he says.

"Who does, Ryoga." he asks.

"Ukyo." he says, "I was P-Chan and I was making my way through what I thought were the streets of Tokyo, except I couldn’t find anything but Ukyo’s restaurant. The next thing I know, I’m being grabbed from behind and dragged into the restaurant by Ukyo. She wrapped a towel around me and splashed me with hot water!"

"What did you do?" asks Ranma.

Shaking, Ryoga says, "I panicked! I ran out, found the nearest water and threw myself in!"

"Don’t worry about it, Ryoga." he says. Ranma explains.

"Another dimension?" he asks, "How did I get there?"

"You’re asking me?" says Ranma.

"If that’s true, then you don’t have to worry either, Ranma." says Ryoga.

"Worry about what?" he asks.

"While I was there, I saw a red-haired girl looking for you." he says, "At first I though she was you. She was furious and carrying a boiling teapot."

Ranma shudders at the thought.

"Where is this other dimension, Ranma?" asks Ryoga.

"Over the rainbow, Ryoga." Ranma says with a smile, "Somewhere, over the rainbow."

Fade Out

A little older looking Akane is putting books from a box onto a shelf. Her long hair is similar to when she first met Ranma. She is in a bedroom, different from the one she used to have. For one thing, there is P-Chan, wearing a familiar yellow and black checked Bandanna, watching her from a full-sized bed. She looks at a small hard cover book she has taken from the box.

"My Diary" it says on the cover. "Here you are." she says and takes a key from the back binding. She sits at a desk by the bed and unlocks it. She opens to the last page with writing on it.

"Looks like I haven’t had time to keep you up since the day Ranma and the others were cured." she says. P-Chan moves closer to her and, without looking, she reaches out to scratch him behind the ears.

She takes out a pen and writes:

Time to bring my diary up to date. Where shall I start?

After the cure, Cologne, Mousse, Shampoo, Sapphire, Opal and Jaden went back to China. The panda went with them and was released in a panda reserve. Sapphire met her fiancee Rubis, and it was love at first sight. That was three and a half years ago. So much seems to have happened since then.

Mousse’s eyesight and Ranma losing his fear of cats, weren’t the only extras following the cure, Ryoga now has an excellent sense of direction and has been making deliveries for Ukyo ever since. Even Dr. Tofu lost his nervousness around Kasumi and asked her to marry him. She agreed and he went out his mind. Leaping and spinning as he ran through the streets shouting, "She said, YES!". Four months later, they were married and now have two children, Emiko and Kenma. The room Ranma and his father were staying in is larger, so Dr. Tofu and Kasumi moved in there. It’s funny, even though he’s now married to my sister, we still call him, ‘Dr. Tofu’. Ranma then moved into Kasumi’s old room. Ranma’s father had a lot of explaining to do when he went home to his wife, but she took him back.

A year and a half ago, Ukyo and Ryoga, and Ranma and I, were married in a double ceremony. The others came from China to act as best men and bridesmaids. Three months later we acted as witnesses for them. Ranma’s father stood in for Opal’s father, while my father stood in for Sapphire’s. I think my father has fallen in love with Sapphire’s mother. He’s been back to China four times since the wedding. He calls them "Training Journeys". Ranma’s mother played the part of Opal’s mother. Sometimes she would slip and call Opal, "Lon-ko". For both weddings, Shampoo’s sister, Dye, made an adorable, if dangerous, flowergirl. As I was getting ready to marry Ranma, Dye said that if I was too nervous to go through with it, she would take my place. Needless to say, I turned her down, but I still had to break down the door of the dressing room after a chair had ‘accidentally’ found itself jammed against the door knob.

As Ukyo and I, joined Ranma and Ryoga for the ceremony, things became a little confused. For a while, it looked as though Ukyo was marrying Ranma and I was marrying Ryoga. What was even stranger, they didn’t seem to mind. It was when Ranma turned to Ukyo and Ryoga turned to me, that I had to say, "Wait a minute!?" All three of them started laughing like it was some big joke. I only wished they had let me in on it.

Halfway through our wedding, Kodachi Kuno crashed the ceremony, vowing to stop it. Shampoo, Dye, Opal, and even Sapphire teamed up and, as they called it, rendered her, ‘reasonable’. Ukyo and I wanted to help, but Cologne said it was the duty of the bridesmaids to prevent this from happening. Cologne made sure, that for the rest of the ceremony, Kodachi remained, ‘reasonable’.

Before they could get married, Shampoo and Mousse had to go through an Amazon ritual of some kind. Each had to answer any challenge to their union. Shampoo faced and defeated only one challenger, while Mousse had to face three. With Shampoo being the Great-granddaughter of the village Elder, it was no surprise that some would question Mousse’s fitness as Shampoo’s future husband. With his restored eyesight and no longer needing to rely on glasses, Mousse easily took on and defeated all of the young men who wanted to take his place. He even asked Ranma if he wanted to challenge his right to have Shampoo as his bride. Ranma, quickly and wisely, pointed out that he was already married and declined.

After graduation, Ranma was accepted to a university. Kodachi Kuno has also been accepted and started terrorizing it the moment she got there. Three months ago Ranma and I had our son. His name is Sounma, well, I had the baby, Ranma was passed out on the floor. Dr. Tofu delivered him as Cologne assisted. For some reason she said she had to be there when our child was born. Two weeks later she returned to China after Ukyo and Ryoga had their daughter, Ryuko. She has the blackest hair I have ever seen. After they were born, our fathers tried to talk Ranma and I into arranging a marriage between Sounma and Ryuko. We quickly put a stop to that. We told them that if, in the future, our child married Ryoga and Ukyo’s, it would be their decision, not ours. Still, she is cute. And if Ranma says, "Just like her mother." ONE MORE TIME...!

A letter from Shampoo arrived two weeks ago. She and Mousse are expecting their child in four months. She also said Opal and Jaden expect theirs in two months. Sapphire and her husband Rubis are still trying. Sapphire says her mother is thinking of coming to Japan. I haven’t told my father yet.

Ranma and I are settling into our new home. It’s a small addition father built onto the Dojo’s training hall. Kasumi’s children are now moved into our old rooms. After they were born, she was spending so much time with them, it was no wonder, that their first words were, "Auntie Nabiki."

Even though what I have written so far, seems more normal than what happened before Ranma and the others were cured, that doesn’t mean things were dull around here. Far from it. Ryoga and Ukyo had a few adventures of their own, and if I can get all the details from them, I will write them down here. One summer, Ranma and Ryoga worked as stuntmen on a movie, and almost killed each other during more than one fight scene. When the movie did come out, we were able to see it, only because those two had healed enough to be released from the hospital. Ukyo and I made it clear to them that if they ever tried anything like that again, we would put them back in the hospital, before the first day of shooting.

Akane smiles, puts the pen down, and closes her diary.

Ranma enters carrying a letter and a baby bottle.

"What’s that?" she asks.

"A bottle of cool water. It’s hot in here." he says.

"No, in your other hand, silly!" she points to the letter. He grins as he hands it to her.

"It’s a wedding announcement! Nabiki and Kuno are getting married!" she laughs.

"I’ll bet you, Akane, that by the time three months have passed after the wedding, she’ll have control of the Kuno family fortune." he says.

She laughs, "You don’t know my sister. If he’s marrying her, it’s because she already has control of it. Probably the only way she’ll let him have it back."

Ranma laughs and goes over to the crib to give Sounma his bottle.

"Akane, come here!" he says.

"What’s wrong?" she asks, getting up from the desk.

"The top came off the bottle." Ranma says as he sets the bottle down.

Akane looks at the baby, "He’s soaked. We’d better change him." Akane lifts her son from the crib, places him on the changing table and begins to pull off his clothes. Sounma is smiling.

"Akane," says Ranma. "I thought he had brown hair. Doesn’t it look a little red to you?"

"It’s just wet, Ranma. Let’s get his diaper off too." she says.

"Akane?" asks Ranma, "I thought we had a son?"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, RANMA!!!" she shouts at him.

Ranma sits up in bed, his heart pounding. The room around him is dark.

"Ranma, what’s wrong?"

He turns, looking at him from the bed next to him, is Akane.

He looks across the room to the crib holding their son.

Ranma lies back down.

"A bad dream?" she asks.

"I hope that’s all it was." he says. As he lies there he thinks, Sounma has never been splashed with cold water. Maybe tomorrow, that will have to change. But, what if it were true? Akane would have to know. What about the others? What would happen if their children...?

Akane’s hand slides across Ranma’s chest, "I know of a cure for bad dreams." she says.

Soon, all thoughts of cold water disappear from Ranma’s mind.

Fade out.

I'm taking a short break before posting the last two Ranma 1/2 stories.

I hope you'll understand that I want to give everyone a chance to go through the entire length of Dreams of Lives Long Past.

This was actually the first Ranma 1/2 story and I wanted to complete it before I went back and write the stories of what led up to it. More details can be found on the RANMA page of this blog.

 

If you have read through the entire series of stories I have posted so far, let me know what you think on the PIBGORN comments site. All coins and complements are welcome.

Genma has made a collar and leash for the panda and leads it to join the others.

On the way down, Akane walks between Ranma and Dr. Tofu. She turns to him.

"Dr. Tofu," she asks, "how long have you known about this spring?"

"My father," he says, "told me about this spring when I studied folk medicine with him."

Ranma asks, "Why couldn’t we use this spring before, if you knew it would cure us?"

Everyone comes to a stop and looks at Dr. Tofu.

Dr. Tofu looks at Ranma, "If we had used this spring before now, before you and the others started having the dreams, your two halves would have split with no souls to return to the other halves. The bodies would be here, but they would be empty. In other words, dead."

Everyone, except Cologne, is staggered by this revelation.

Akane looks down at P-Chan, she swallows and holds him closer. Ranma, with his arm around her, can feel her trembling as he looks at each of the others who had drowned at Jusenkyo. The animals may not understand, but Opal is crying into Jaden’s chest, her hands clutching at his robe and he is also visibly shaken after Cologne tells them what was said. As Soun is the one closest to her, Sapphire turns to him in tears. Having raised three daughters of his own, he draws her in to console her. Genma, Shampoo, and Mousse show the same reaction as Akane, to the animals in their charge.

Ukyo looks at Ryoga. He is standing there, frozen. His eyes stare vacantly ahead as Dr. Tofu’s words sink in. She steps into him and wraps her arms around him, holding him tight, waiting for Ryoga to come back to himself. Ukyo knows he would have gone without the cure, if it had meant that Akane would have been handed a lifeless P-Chan. She can feel the pounding of the heart within her own chest, echoing against his. As time passes, the two beats merge and become one.

Slowly, Ryoga’s arms enfold Ukyo, as he becomes aware of her presence.

As they stand there, wrapped in each other’s arms, Ukyo remembers the first night that Ryoga spent in the spare room next to hers above her restaurant. Sometimes he would call out and wake her as she dozed in the chair at his bedside. Once, when he had awoken her by calling out, "Akane", she had shaken her head and said, "Dreaming". He must have heard her because his voice changed and it sounded as if he was repeating a passage from a book. He had said, "We all need something to hold onto, even if it’s only a dream, but sometimes, a dream can fade and die."

It was Ryoga’s next line that hit Ukyo the hardest, "And sometimes, a new dream comes along to take it’s place."

In his arms, Ukyo promises to give Ryoga a new dream, and make it a reality.

Long moments pass as they and the others recover from this shock.

It is a much quieter group that is once again walking down the path.

Soon, Ryoga and Ukyo are leading the way. Halfway down they hear a familiar howl coming from the trail ahead. Ryoga looks at Ukyo.

"Looks like they haven’t learned their lesson." he says, smiling. She grins and nods.

Ryoga turns to Akane, P-Chan is starting to panic.

"Hold tight to P-Chan, Akane." he says as he pulls out his umbrella, "Ukyo and I will take care of this."

He turns to Ukyo, "Are you ready, Friend of my Soul?"

Her grin goes wider as she pulls the large metal spatula from her back.

"Right behind you, Friend of my Soul." she says. Together they run down the trail.

"‘Friend of my soul’?" asks Ranma. He shakes his head, "Must be a private joke, or something."

Akane turns to Ranma, "Aren’t you going to follow them?"

"Who me?" he asks, "I’m not going to spoil their fun."

As they reach the trees, Ryoga asks, "Ukyo, are we a couple now?"

"Yes, Sugar." she says as the first of the wild dogs come into view, "We’re a couple now."

Akane and the others listen as animal howls and human yells, mix with the sound of metal hitting flesh. Yelps of pain and cries of rage are followed by a distant voice bellowing, "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!!".

A loud rumble is heard and then silence.

They resume their walk down the trail, knowing that it is now, safe.

As they walk, Akane turns to him, "Ranma, how long have you known about Ryoga and P-Chan?"

"Well... I... uh..." stammers Ranma. Beads of sweat form on his face.

"When we get back," Akane says in an extremely threatening tone, "you and I are going to have a very, long, talk."

Ranma resigns himself to his fate, thinking, "So much for nobody getting hurt."

In China, the Jusenkyo guide is standing by the springs. He watches as six drain, then refill. He marks down each one as it happens, "Panda... cat... duck... boy... girl... pig..." He watches for others. Seeing no more drain, he says, "This very bad, can’t have ‘Training Ground of Cursed Springs’ without cursed springs. Look like I must find replacements again." He flips through his list of springs, finds what he wants, goes over to a spring and dips a pail into it. He takes the pail to his campfire and sets it aside. He takes a kettle of water and puts it on a hook above his campfire. He adds three drops from a small green bottle and says, "This for later, no need for me to stay cursed." He smiles, dumps the pail of spring water onto his head and changes into a large wolf. He turns to the woods and howls. Soon answering howls come and he lopes off into the woods.

At a Circus in Eastern China, a sideshow Barker is having problems.

"What do you mean, ‘It doesn’t work anymore.’?!" he demands.

"We’ve been trying all afternoon." says one performer, "It must have worn off."

"It’s a curse! How can it wear off?!" the Barker asks, "Did you use cold water?!"

Another performer, her feet in a tub of hot water and a blanket around her, says, "We even put ice in the water to make sure." she sneezes, "It just doesn’t work anymore."

He turns to his assistant, "How many are left that still change?"

The Barker’s assistant says, "Only three can’t change anymore, so that leaves seven."

"What did these three change into?" he asks.

"The boy, the girl, and the panda." says the assistant.

"What?!" says the Barker, "Those are my star attractions! Who cares if we can change a monkey into a mouse! We need these three to be able to change again!"

The Circus Manager asks, "How did they get the curse in the first place?"

"They each fell into a spring at some place called Jusenkyo." says the Barker.

"Well," says the Manager, "don’t just stand there. Take them back!"

After their return to Tokyo, the group breaks up as they walk. Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse make their good-byes and, with the cat and duck, turn down a street leading to the Cat Cafe. Ryoga and Ukyo do the same as they head for her restaurant. Ranma notices that Ryoga seems to be leading the way.

Ranma discusses an idea he has, with the ones that remain.

As Opal, Akane with P-Chan, and Dr. Tofu enter the Dojo gate, Kasumi and Nabiki see them and walk out of the house to meet them. Jaden walks in next to Soun, with the panda, carrying a sign in his mouth, next to him.

"Hello, Dr. Tofu." says Kasumi as she greets him.

"Good afternoon, Kasumi. How are you today?" he asks in return.

"I’m fine. Thank-you Doctor." she says.

Nabiki looks at P-Chan, in Akane’s arms, then Opal, Jaden, and the panda. She says, "I guess it didn’t work after all." then to Opal with a smile, "Ranma, the price of hot water has just gone up."

Akane smiles as Genma, Ranma, and Sapphire step into view from beyond the Dojo gate. Genma soon stands by the panda, Ranma walks over to be next to Opal, Sapphire and Jaden are now arm in arm.

Nabiki and Kasumi both stare at them with an amazed look in their eyes. This proves to be too much for Kasumi, her hand goes to her mouth, "Oh, my!" she says and faints.

Dr. Tofu rushes forward and catches her. He picks her up and carries her inside. Nabiki looks as though she might follow her older sister’s example. Soun Tendo keeps his middle daughter on her feet as he guides Nabiki inside.

Through Sapphire, Opal and Jaden say good-bye. Sapphire leads them to the Cat Cafe.

Genma takes the leash and guides the panda around the house. Ranma tries to follow.

"Hold it right there, Ranma!" says Akane.

Ranma cringes, "Uh-oh."

"‘Uh-oh.’, is right!" she says grabbing his arm, "You and I are going up to my room so we can talk in private!" and pushes him ahead of her as they go inside.

A voice calls out from upstairs, "Ranma, my boy! It’s been a long time! Heads up, Cutie!"

Ranma is doused by cold water. Instead of getting angry, he waits for the inevitable as Happosai follows the water and lands on his chest. It takes a few moments for Happosai to realize that something is wrong.

Ranma grabs him by the collar, "And just who do you think you were looking for?" he asks as he pulls Happosai away and gives him a good look at his chest.

"What?!" says Happosai, "Wasn’t that water cold enough?!"

"It’s all over, Freak!" says Ranma as he carries Happosai outside, "Looks like you’ll have to find your nourishment somewhere else!" Ranma tosses him up in the air, pulls back his right foot, "PUNT!!" and kicks Happosai for all he’s worth.

Two students from Furinkan High School look up, then at each other. Both nod and say, "Boy-Ranma." and continue on their way.

"Ranma!?" asks Akane, "Was that really necessary?"

"Don’t worry about him, Akane." Ranma says, "He’ll be back in no time."

"But for now," she says as she again leads Ranma back inside, "we are going upstairs."

Genma, who has returned from tying the panda to a tree in back, hears this, walks to the living room door and calls to his friend. Together, he and Soun watch as their children go up to Akane’s room and close the door.

Nabiki leaves the living room to find them at the bottom of the stairs and looking at the upper floor.

"What’s going on up there?" she asks.

Her father jumps, "N-nothing, Nabiki! Wh-what makes you think anything is going on in Akane’s room? I mean! How is Kasumi?"

Nabiki looks back at the living room and says, "She’s fine. Dr. Tofu’s with her. I’d better get back." She looks up in the direction of Akane’s room, "I guess they aren’t the only ones who need a chaperone." She returns to the living room.

Ryoga and Ukyo reach her restaurant.

"I’m impressed, Ryoga." she says, "You didn’t get lost once."

"It must have been that spring, Ukyo." he says, "My mind is clearer now than it ever was. I think I could guide you back to that spring and not take a single wrong turn."

"We’ll see, Ryoga." she says and gives him a little test, "Which way is the Tendo Dojo?"

Ryoga points and gives directions from their location, he even gives her a shortcut she didn’t know about. He does the same for the Cat Cafe and Furinkan High School.

"Okay, Ryoga. Enough." she says, smiling, "You made your point. Come on inside. You’ve got some bed rest to catch up on." She takes his arm as they go in together.

"WHERE IS THAT BOY?!!" yells Happosai after he knocks down the front door. He is breathing hard and his battle aura surrounds his body, "NOBODY DOES THAT TO ME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!!"

"Please, Master." begs Soun, "Keep your voice down. He’s upstairs with Akane."

Happosai’s eyes open wide, his aura fades, "Well, that’s different! I didn’t know the boy had it in him."

He begins to climb the stairs.

"Master!" Soun says in a loud whisper, "I’m sure they wish to be left alone!"

"You worry too much!" he whispers back, "They won’t even know I’m there."

In Akane’s room, Ranma is standing by the desk. Akane is sitting on the bed and looking at P-Chan as he begins to explore the room. Finally she asks, "All right, Ranma. The truth this time. How long have you known about P-Chan?"

Ranma takes a deep breath. With a sigh he says, "Almost from the very beginning."

Ranma tells Akane about the night when she found P-Chan in her room and asked Ranma to give him a bath. He explains how P-Chan changed when he put the little pig in the hot water and became Ryoga.

"It all goes back to that fight we were supposed to have in Junior High." Ranma says, "After three days, he didn’t show so I went home. I thought that was the end of it, but when my father took me to China, Ryoga followed us there. After we fell into the springs, I was chasing Pop and somehow Ryoga was knocked into the ‘Spring of Drowned Piglet’."

"No wonder you two are always fighting. But that still doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me about Ryoga and P-Chan." she says.

"I’m not the only one who’s kept it from you, Akane." he says.

"So," she says, "everyone knew and was laughing at me behind my back! ‘There goes Akane Tendo. She has a boy for a pet and even takes him to bed with her.’?!"

P-Chan is on the floor. He is rooting around and sniffing, as if looking for food.

"Look at him, Ranma." she says, "He doesn’t even act like he used to."

Ranma picks him up and holds him out to Akane. "No, Ranma." she says, shaking her head, "I can’t. He’s just not the same anymore." Ranma sets him down again. P-Chan resumes his search of the room. P-Chan stops at the door and snorts. Ranma looks at him. P-Chan looks at the door, then Ranma, then back at the door. His actions remind Ranma of something he used to do when he was still Ryoga’s other half. Ranma goes over and picks up P-Chan once more. Without waiting for an argument from Akane, he forces the little pig into her hands and takes something from Akane’s desk.

"What are you going to do with that, Ranma?" she asks. His hand is a blur as the object streaks toward the door.

Happosai leaps back as the needle sharp blade of the letter opener punches through the outer skin of the door. From his new vantage point, at the top of Genma’s head, he stares at the knife point that now occupies the space his ear was in, just seconds ago.

He rubs the side of his face, then looks at his hand, as if checking for blood.

"I guess they wish to be left alone." he says. The others, standing just below the top of the stairs, nod. First Soun, and then Genma, with Happosai still perched on his head, turn to go back downstairs. After they are gone, Ranma and Akane close the door.

Ranma turns to look at her, "P-Chan may not be as different as you think, Akane."

Akane looks down at the little pig in her arms and a smile returns to her face.

"Come on Ryoga, only one more step." says Ukyo as she leads him up the stairs.

"I think the tea has worn off." he says. His feet are now like lead weights as Ukyo helps him return to the same room he has occupied the last few days. Carefully, she lowers him to the bed. Off come the boots and his shirt. Ukyo leaves the room to give him some privacy as he finishes getting ready for bed. While she is out, she gets a medical kit and brings it back to the room. When she returns, Ryoga is already asleep. With a smile, she sits beside the bed and removes his arm from beneath the covers. She takes off the dressing applied by Cologne. The scrape, from the paw of a dog that almost got her, is healing nicely. She cleans it, then applies ointment and a fresh bandage. As she works, she remembers that it was he, who said it first; ‘Friend of my Soul’. If you loved someone so much, you would risk your life to save theirs, that, is what you would call them.

She places his arm on the blanket and starts to stand, his hand reaches out and takes hers. "Ukyo." he calls out. She looks at him, but he is still asleep. She sits back down. It was only a few days ago that it was "Akane." that he had called out in his sleep. After a few moments his hand relaxes. She thinks of something and decides to see how it sounds. Holding his hand, softly, she says, "Mrs. Ukyo Hibiki."

Ryoga stirs in the bed, "What? Ukyo, did you say something?"

Smiling, she says, "It’s okay, Ryoga. Go back to sleep, and this time, Ryoga, no more nightmares. Please?" A brief smile touches Ryoga’s face. His eyes close.

Ryoga opens his eyes again, "Ukyo, please look in on my dog, Checkers."

Ukyo asks, "But, I thought you hated dogs?"

He says, "That was because of P-Chan’s memories. I could never hate Checkers."

Ukyo listens as he gives her directions to a house he has only found with help or by accident before. She promises to see how his dog and her puppies are doing and to leave a note for his parents if they are not there. Exhausted by this last effort, Ryoga closes his eyes again. Once more she places his hand on the bed. This time she does not get up, but watches as he sleeps.

At the Cat Cafe, Cologne watches as the cat and duck play together. Finally, the duck lies down. The cat leaps on his back, curls up and goes to sleep. Mu-Mu Chan extends his wings, then brings them in to cover the cat in a blanket of feathers.

"That looks familiar." she says, "Maybe there is something of you two still within them." She turns to look at Shampoo and Mousse. They seem to be ignoring her and the animals completely. She walks over to separate them.

"That’s enough, you two." she says, "We have to get this cafe ready for it’s next owner."

The spell broken, they turn to her.

"What you talking, Great-grandmother?" asks Shampoo.

"We can’t stay here forever." she says, "We have to get back to our village in China."

"Shampoo no want to go!" she says.

"If Shampoo stays, so will I." says Mousse.

"That is just not possible." Cologne says, "We must go back and we will take Sapphire, Opal and Jaden with us. Besides, it’s not as if we were leaving tomorrow. It’ll take a few weeks to find someone to take over here and to arrange for our return. And, I think a going away party is in order. It’ll probably take us three days to clean up just from that."

On the way to the cafe, Sapphire, Opal, and Jaden come across someone who thinks he knows one of them.

"Saotome!" he says, "I thought you were to be ‘cured’ this day. Did it not work?"

Opal appears to recognize him. Her look is one of annoyance bordering on hatred.

"I do not know who you are." says Sapphire, "But this is no longer Ranma Saotome. This is his former girl half, who’s identity has been returned to her. Her name is Opal. She is of a China long past and does not understand your Japanese."

"If that is indeed the case," says Tatewaki Kuno, drawing his kendo sword, "inform her that I would date with her."

Jaden steps in front of Opal. "And just who are you?" asks Kuno.

"This is her fiancé, Jaden." says Sapphire.

"FIANCÉ?!?!" he says. Enraged at the hated word, he swings his sword at Jaden.

Jaden catches the wooden sword and takes it away from Kuno. He runs his thumb and forefinger along it’s entire length and gives it back.

Dumbfounded, Kuno stands there looking at his sword, as Opal, Jaden and Sapphire resume their walk to the Cat Cafe.

After they are gone, Kuno watches as his kendo sword splits into two identical halves.

At the Tendo Dojo, Ranma is still trying to help Akane come to terms with the relationship that existed between Ryoga and P-Chan. As they talk, P-Chan watches them from the bed.

"It’s not as if we didn’t want to tell you, Akane," he says, "I guess we all thought that if anyone should tell you, it had to be Ryoga."

"It’s okay, Ranma." she says, "I know I should be upset with Ryoga for not telling me, but I can understand why he didn’t. He’s just a lonely boy. At least when he was P-Chan, he was accepted as part of this family. Maybe we can find someone for him."

"I wouldn’t worry about that, Akane." says Ranma, "The way he and Ukyo were acting on the way back from the spring, I’d say they both found what they needed."

"I guess you’re right." says Akane, "I wanted to talk to Ryoga on the train coming back, but Ukyo wouldn’t let me get near him."

"That reminds me," says Ranma as he pulls a piece of cloth from his pocket, "Ryoga wanted me to give you this." he shows her a yellow and black checked bandanna, walks to the bed, and ties it around P-Chan’s neck. Akane stares at P-Chan as Ranma steps back.

Tears form in her eyes, she turns and wraps her arms around him, her face buried in his chest, "Thank-you, Ranma."

"Akane?" says Ranma.

"Yes, Ranma?" she asks. Her voice muffled by his chest.

"What are we going to do now?" he asks.

"What do you mean?" asks Akane as she pulls back to look at his face.

"We are, after all, engaged. Aren’t we?" he asks. He places his hands on her shoulders.

"Yes?" she asks, suddenly suspicious, "Just what did you have in mind?"

"Well." he looks deep into her eyes and asks, "Shouldn’t we tell our fathers?"

Akane stares at him for a second, then starts to laugh. Again, tears form in her eyes from this emotional release. After a minute, her laughter eases.

Ranma is not done yet, "What’s wrong, Akane? Don’t you think they’ll approve?" he asks.

Akane starts laughing all over again. Her laughter rings throughout the house.

Soun, Genma, Nabiki and Happosai look up, but it appears that Kasumi and Dr. Tofu, only have eyes for each other.

Fade out.

The next morning, the cafe is quite crowded as all concerned arrive. For Akane’s sake, Ryoga acts as if nothing is wrong, but he is sitting down when she and Ranma get there.

They go to the station and get on a train. They get off at the station for Gotemba, and catch the bus for Mount Fuji. After the bus drops them off, Cologne and Dr. Tofu lead the way to the spring.

Halfway up the trail to the spring, Ryoga and Ukyo slow down and soon fall behind.

"Come on Ryoga, we have to keep up." Ukyo says. She helps him walk.

"I’m trying." he says. They go on, but fall farther behind. Ahead of them, the others can no longer be seen. Ryoga is soon out of breath. Ukyo eases him down.

"Rest awhile." she says, "We’ll catch up later."

"If we don’t get there soon. They may start without us." Ryoga says between breaths.

"Ryoga," asks Ukyo as she sits beside him, "do you think this cure will work?"

Ryoga takes a deep breath and says, "I almost hope it won’t."

Puzzled, she turns her head to look at him. "Why?" she says, "I thought you said you wanted to be cured before Akane found out about P-Chan?"

"Even if they won’t admit it," he says, "Ranma and Akane do love each other. If Ranma is cured, nothing any of us do, will ever break them up. To her, I’m just a friend. Akane loves P-Chan, but only as her pet. If I am cured," he takes a deep breath as he pauses,

"P-Chan will be gone, and that will break Akane’s heart. I don’t think I could live with myself, with that on my conscience. I know that I would rather go without the cure, than hurt Akane."

Ukyo thinks for a while. Ryoga’s words, "To her, I’m just a friend." reflect her own feelings on how Ranma sees her. She decides that it is time to bring up a subject neither has talked about since it happened.

"Do you remember the Tunnel of Lost Love, Ryoga?" Ukyo asks. "Where we almost made it to the exit?"

He nods, "The ghosts said we were more of a couple than Ranma and Akane."

Ukyo says, "We had to fight them off just to get outside. When we got to that cafe, everyone thought we were a couple."

Ryoga says, "I think we may have deserved that for trying to break them up."

"If Ranma is cured, and we can’t break them up," asks Ukyo, "where does that leave us?"

"We’ll still be friends." he says, as he takes her hand in his and gives it a squeeze.

She squeezes his in return. "Ryoga?" she asks, "What kind of a friend am I to you?"

"You’re the best friend that I have." he says.

"That’s, not what I mean." she says as she continues to hold his hand.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"My father said that there was more than one type of friend. Those you knew and liked, were just ‘plain’ friends. Those you cared about to the point that, if they got hurt, you would want to help them anyway you could. He said they were a ‘Friend of your heart’."

"Ukyo," says Ryoga, "if those are my choices, then you’re a ‘Friend of my Heart’."

A wave of relief passes through her.

She kisses his cheek, "Thank-you, Ryoga." and smiles, "Friend of my Heart."

Blushing, he asks, "Which is Ranma?"

She smiles, "I haven’t decided yet." It is a small lie, but harmless, at this point.

"Is there a third choice?" he asks.

She nods, "If you loved someone so much, you would risk your life to save theirs. They would be called a ‘Friend of your Soul’."

Ryoga nods.

Ukyo thinks of something he said the day before.

She asks, "Ryoga, do you think today might be the day?"

He nods and says, "Today may be the day."

He thinks, Today may be the day we give up on Akane and Ranma.

A howl is heard in the distance. They look at each other. A second howl is heard, closer.

Ukyo pulls him to his feet and says, "Let’s go Ryoga."

Fear drives them both now, but a low growl in front brings them to a stop. They are soon surrounded by a pack of wild dogs.

"Can you stand?" Ukyo asks. He nods and she releases him and readies her big metal spatula. Ryoga is unsteady, but covers her back. He unwinds his bandanna and begins to twirl. The dogs close in.

Ukyo sends three dogs flying with her spatula. Ryoga sends two running with his bandannas. Ukyo throws her large spatula at the pack leader, driving him away. Ryoga is down on one knee, his umbrella propping him up. Ukyo now has only her small spatulas and cannot keep the dogs at bay. "Ryoga! Help me!" she calls. Seeing her surrounded by dogs on three sides, he leaps in front of her, driving one finger into the ground. He yells, "Bakusai Tenketsu!" and uses his body to shield Ukyo from the exploding rock. The dogs that can, run. He falls into her arms.

"Thank-you Ryoga." she says.

"I hate dogs." is all he can say.

"I don’t blame you, Sugar. Lets go." Ukyo pulls him up the trail. Cologne watches from a tree as they move on. She disappears. As Ryoga and Ukyo enter a widening in the path, they see Cologne and Sapphire.

Over a small fire, a teapot is steaming.

Sapphire takes the teapot and pours into a cup, "Drink this, Ryoga."

Cologne says, "You will need this. You must be strong when you are cured."

Ryoga takes the cup. He says, "Thank-you." and drinks. Sapphire pours a cup for Ukyo.

She says, "Thank-you." She tastes the herbs and a generous portion of honey.

They rest for a few minutes, then Ryoga gets up, "Shall we go?" He gives Ukyo a hand.

He pulls her to her feet and they continue up the path. Soon they reach a clearing. The others stand around a stream leading to a pool fed by water from the side of a cliff wall.

Akane asks, "Where have you been?"

"We, um, got lost." Ukyo says.

Ranma looks at her, but says nothing.

"Great-grandmother, we here." says Shampoo, "We start now?"

Cologne studies the spring. "Not yet, we must wait until the hot water flows as well."

"How much longer do we have to wait?" says Ranma.

"Be patient, Ranma." says Dr. Tofu, "We can’t simply turn on the hot water, now can we?"

"Perhaps, we can." Cologne examines the rock face, "The hot water is here." she taps the cliff wall with her staff. A trickle of water appears. Steam rises from it in the cool air.

Soon, hot water flows into the pool mixing with the cold.

Everyone looks at Ranma. He says, "Pop, why don’t you go first."

Genma nods and steps up to the pool.

Dr. Tofu steps into the pool and says, "Mr. Tendo, I’ll need your help."

Soun Tendo nods and steps into the other side of the pool.

With a deep breath, Genma steps into the pool between the two men.

Dr. Tofu says, "Mr. Tendo, after we lower Mr. Saotome into the water, if you feel any change, pull him out." Soun nods. They lower Genma into the pool. The waters churn and Soun looks surprised as he pulls a panda out of the water.

"IT DIDN’T WORK!" shouts Ranma.

Then, Dr. Tofu pulls Genma from the water.

"WHAT’S GOING ON?" shouts Soun.

Akane helps Ranma pull his father from the pool. "Hey Pop, are you okay?" Genma nods.

Ryoga and Mousse pull the panda from the water. The panda wanders over to some bamboo, breaks off a piece and begins to eat.

Ranma eases his father down. Genma looks at the Panda and says, "Sure takes a lot out of you." as he works to get his breath back.

"Cologne, what just happened?!" demands Akane.

"The dreams they were having, were the souls trying to reclaim their bodies." says Cologne, "The souls could only do this when they went to sleep in the bodies of those that drowned at Jusenkyo. The healing waters of this spring, will allow the two halves to split and the souls to return to their bodies."

Ukyo pulls on his arm, "Ryoga, did you hear that?"

"Yes, Ukyo," says Ryoga with a dazed look on his face, "I can be cured and Akane will still have P-Chan."

"But, if she sees P-Chan coming out of the water...?" she asks anxiously.

Ryoga nods, "Maybe it’s better this way. If she wants to kill me for not telling her sooner, I won’t stop her."

"She’ll have to get through me first, Sugar." says Ukyo.

Ryoga looks at her, thinking, Did she mean that?

She looks at him, "I didn’t spend the last few days nursing you back to health, just to let someone kill you." She pokes his chest with her finger, "And, once we return, you’re going right back in that bed."

Ryoga stares at her with his mouth open. She reaches over, closes it for him, and pats his cheek as she smiles.

Shampoo goes next, then Mousse. As Shampoo helps Mousse out of the pool, his glasses fall off. She bends down to pick them up.

He stares at her, "Shampoo? Is that you?"

She stands and hands him his glasses, "Here, Mousse, put on glasses."

He looks at the glasses, then back at her, "No, Shampoo." he says, "I don’t need them anymore."

"You no need glasses?!" she says, staring at his face.

"No, I don’t." he says, trembling, "Shampoo, you’re beautiful!"

"You see Shampoo without glasses!" she says, "I so happy!" and throws her arms around him, nearly knocking them both back into the pool. Shampoo pulls back a bit, looks Mousse in his eyes and says, "Wo ai ni." Mousse’s eyes tear up as they resume their embrace.

The others look at Dr. Tofu and Cologne.

"I told you it was a healing spring." says Cologne. Then to Ranma, "Well, former Son-in-law, I guess you’re off the hook."

When they part, Shampoo takes Mu-Mu Chan from Ukyo.

Ranma stands behind Akane as Ryoga walks by with Shampoo’s cat.

He gives the cat to Mousse.

Sapphire takes her turn and a robe from Cologne’s pack covers Jaden as he is pulled from the pool.

"You’re next, Ranma." says Dr. Tofu. Ranma looks at Akane, then Ryoga and Ukyo, and steps into the pool. Another robe is provided for Opal as she leaves the pool. The others watch as Opal and Jaden are reunited at last.

The flow of hot water begins to decrease.

Cologne says. "If anyone else needs this cure, they’d better do it now."

As he steps forward, Akane asks, "Ryoga?"

"I had hoped you would never see this, Akane." he says. He looks at Ukyo. She nods. He looks back at Akane, "But I am glad I no longer need to keep this from you." He steps into the pool.

Dr. Tofu and Soun Tendo lower him into the water. Moments later, Dr. Tofu lifts Ryoga out of the water. Ukyo and Ranma pull him from the pool.

Soun has his back to her as he calls, "Akane, come here."

She steps to the pool not knowing what to expect. Soun turns and hands his youngest daughter, a little black piglet.

"P-P-P-Chan?!" she says. Akane’s hands shake as she takes him. The little pig opens his eyes and snorts softly. As with the others and their clothes, he is not wearing the Bandanna that he wore when he was Ryoga’s other half.

The hot water stops flowing from the rock. "It is done." says Cologne.

Akane carries P-Chan over to Ryoga, who, is resting on Ukyo’s lap. Ukyo has her hands on his shoulders and looks as though she is ready to protect him, if needed.

"I’m sorry, Akane. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you." he says, "You’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. I hope you’re not too angry."

Akane, as if in shock, looks at P-Chan, then Ryoga, "Ryoga, you and P-Chan, have helped me through some very rough times." she says, "Even with Ranma and my family, I don’t know how I would have gotten by, without the two of you." He smiles. She adds, "What are you going to do now?"

Ryoga looks up at Ukyo, she says, "Akane, you leave him to me. Ranma?"

"Yes, Ucchan?" he asks.

"From now on, we’re just ‘plain’ friends." she says, "You got that."

"Yes, Ucch-," he stops as she gives him a stern look, then says, "Yes, Ukyo."

Ryoga understands what she means, and smiling, he says, "Poor Ranma, dumped by two girls in one day."

Ranma looks at Mousse and Shampoo, Ryoga and Ukyo, then Akane and says to Ryoga, "Today the best man won." Who that is, he doesn’t say.

Ukyo says, "I told you Saotome, if you didn’t choose, someday that choice would be made for you."

Ranma adds, "So far, it doesn’t look like anyone has gotten hurt."

Akane pulls on Ranma’s arm, "What?" he asks. She points to Opal and Jaden. They are sitting together under a tree and holding hands. Akane leads Ranma away from the others. She puts P-Chan down and sits under a tree.

"Weren’t you going to ask me something after your cure?" she asks.

He smiles and sits beside her. Taking her hand, he says, "Akane, there is no one here telling us what we must do. What we do from now on, must be for us, not them." pausing, he says, "Akane, I love you. It would honor me greatly, if you would be my fiancée."

"Ranma," says Akane, "what I do now, is for us and no one else." she leans in close, "I love you. The answer is yes. I want you to be my fiancé." They both lean forward and kiss. After they part, Ranma smiles and says, "No tape this time."

Akane smiles, "No tape, no reversal jewel, no pendant."

He adds, "And no accident."

She smiles at him, "Am I still ‘uncute’?"

He smiles at her, "Akane, you were never, ‘uncute’."

"Are we still ‘just friends’, Ranma?" she asks.

"The best kind, Akane." he answers. They both lean forward again.

Something small, fast and pink leaps onto Ranma’s chest. "Meow?" He looks down.

It’s Shampoo’s cat.

"Ranma!" says Akane. Knowing about Ranma’s fear of cats, she braces for his reaction. She watches as he leans back, puts his hands around the cat and pets it. The cat is soon purring and rubbing his chin with her head.

"Ranma!" she says in surprise, "Y-your fear of cats is gone."

Ranma looks at Akane, "The old ghoul said it was a healing spring."

"Then," she says, "your Cat-Fist is gone too." He nods. The cat leaps away and they watch it return to Shampoo and Mousse. Near them, Sapphire and Cologne are pouring tea.

"Ranma?" asks Akane.

"Yes, Akane?" he says.

"What did it feel like?" she asks, "When you were cured, I mean."

Ranma thinks for a moment, "There wasn’t really any pain. It felt more like I was leaving something behind. As if something I’ve been carrying around for so long, was dropped and now I can’t find it. Except, that I know what’s gone and I know where it is." he says as he looks toward Opal, "I guess it would be like when P-Chan was missing and you couldn’t find him."

Akane picks up P-Chan, "I think I understand, Ranma."

Ranma helps her to her feet and they rejoin the others.

Sapphire and Cologne walk up to Ukyo as she pulls Ryoga to his feet. Each is holding a cup of tea for them. Cologne says, "Both of you will need this for the journey down to the bus stop." They drink the tea, once again Ukyo notices the herbs and honey. They smile and say "Thank-you" to Sapphire and Cologne.

"Young man," says Cologne to Ryoga, "once this wears off, you will need three more days of bed rest. You will also need someone to take care of you." She looks at Ukyo, who now has one arm around his, and says, "But, I don’t think that will be a problem."

Ryoga and Ukyo look at each other and they both stifle a laugh at Cologne’s statement of the obvious.

As they walk away from Ryoga and Ukyo, Cologne turns to Sapphire and asks, "Was I ever so young?" Sapphire knows better than to answer such a rhetorical question.

Opal and Jaden walk up to Sapphire and Cologne. Jaden speaks to Sapphire in Chinese. Cologne has to provide her with a running translation, because the Chinese of 1500 years ago is somewhat different from that of today. When they finish, all four bow and Jaden embraces Sapphire.

Akane asks Ranma, "What’s that all about?"

Ranma shakes his head, "I don’t know."

The four turn to them and Opal speaks to Ranma in Chinese. Again Cologne translates, "Opal wishes to thank Ranma for giving her back her life and reuniting her with Jaden."

Opal and Jaden bow, Ranma and Akane do the same. Opal moves up to Ranma and embraces him. As Ranma puts his arms around her, he is reminded of when he held Akane and had the vision of holding Opal as well. Akane has to restrain herself from hitting Ranma out of pure reflex. After they separate, Opal looks at Akane, and smiles as she steps back to stand beside Jaden.