Childhood's End
By M. Zephyr
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
Ranma x Akane. Everyone has to grow up sometime.
Warning: This story is for mature audiences only. There is nothing extremely explicit, but sexual themes and suggestive descriptions are present. The second chapter is the most intense in that regard.
Chapter 1. Childhood
It was summer in Japan, and in a private residence in the Nerima ward of Tokyo, seven people were gathered for dinner. At the head of the table was Soun Tendo, father and head of the household, dressed in a brown gi as usual. Genma Saotome, his old friend and one-time fellow student of the martial arts, and Nodoka Saotome, Genma's wife, were seated to his left. Genma and Nodoka currently resided in Soun's house as more or less permanent guests. Genma was a panda bear at the moment, the result of a curse picked up in China well over two years ago.
Nabiki Tendo, the middle of Soun's three daughters, sat beside Nodoka. Nabiki had recently completed her first term at Tokyo University. While she ate, she was trying to concentrate on the financial news from the radio beside her, listening via an earbud in one ear.
At the end of the table opposite her father was Kasumi Tendo, the oldest of Soun's three daughters. She had taken over the household duties while still a young girl, after the death of her mother. Now she was a composed and self-contained young woman of twenty-one.
Kasumi was the only one of these five who was currently able to display any degree of serenity. The other four all bore varying expressions of pained irritation. The source of the discord was an argument which raged on the final side of the table. There sat the youngest members of the combined households, Soun Tendo's youngest daughter, Akane, and Ranma Saotome, only child of Genma and Nodoka, and Akane's presumed fiancé.
After the horrifying events in China five months past, everyone had expected that the pair would settle down and learn to get along. However, these hopes had clearly been premature. In the aftermath of the disastrous, and failed, attempt at a wedding, Akane and Ranma had quickly resumed their regular bouts of insults, arguments and fighting.
"Well what am I supposed to think when you let that Chinese bimbo hang all over you?" Akane was shouting.
"Dammit, I wasn't letting her!" Ranma shouted right back. "She grabbed onto me! I couldn't get her to let go!"
"As if! You know you were enjoying it, you pervert!" There were resigned winces around the table. Everyone had known it wouldn't be long before Akane started using the P-word. "I saw the way she was flaunting her chest, rubbing herself against you!"
Ranma glared at the girl beside him. "I didn't ask her to! Hell, I didn't want her to! 'Course, you're probably just jealous that she's got something to flaunt and you don't, you flat-chested tomboy!"
Akane saw red. She was not flat-chested, but Ranma always insulted her by telling her how much she fell short of female ideals. Picking up a glass of water she drenched the boy, while smirking and loudly proclaiming, "Well, I guess you'd know all about not being flat-chested, huh?"
The water had of course activated Ranma's own curse, transforming him into a very buxom, red-haired girl. "Whaddya do that for, you stupid, macho chick! Do you think ..."
All other sound was cut off by the thunderclap of two hands slamming into the table, rattling all of the dishes. All eyes turned to Nabiki, whose face glowered in a rare display of anger rather than her normal icy amusement. The shouting had caused her to miss several important items of information from the radio for which she had been specifically listening.
"That ... is ... enough!" Nabiki shouted at the two teenagers on the other side of the table. "The two of you are supposed to be eighteen years old, but anyone listening to you would think you were eight instead! It's the same tired, recycled arguments every time; can't you at least come up with something new?! Ranma's going to tell Akane she doesn't know how to act like a girl. Akane's going to tell Ranma that at least she is a girl, and not some sex-changing pervert. Ranma's going to say something about how good the food is and how glad he is that Akane didn't cook tonight. Akane's going to give up on words and smash him over the head with something. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were two children on the playground who don't know any other way to show that they like each other. I have had it! Why don't you two just grow up!"
The irate girl rose swiftly to her feet and stormed out of the room, then up the stairs to her bedroom. Everyone heard a door slam.
Ranma turned to Akane, very puzzled, and asked, "What was that all about?"
Akane regarded him blankly, then shrugged her shoulders and returned to her meal. "I have no idea. Maybe she had a headache or something."
Kasumi and the three parents watched as the young couple started eating serenely. For all anyone could tell, the argument a minute ago might never have happened.
Although he hadn't truly understood the cause of her outburst, the things which Nabiki had yelled at him were still troubling Ranma long after dinner was over and done with. It seemed as if there was something important in her little speech, but he just couldn't quite get it. Of course he always argued with Akane. It wasn't as if anyone had ever asked if he wanted to be engaged to her, let alone trying to force them into a marriage. So what if he kinda, sorta, you know, that L-word ... loved her. He wasn't ready for marriage, and he had to make sure she understood that.
Still, he felt as if there was something more, something contained in Nabiki's words that was important. It occurred to him that if he couldn't figure it out for himself, the easiest thing to do would be to ask her. The problem was, trying to get information from Nabiki was apt to be expensive. Hesitantly, he knocked on her bedroom door. At the curt command "come in" he slowly opened the door and slipped inside.
"Er, hi Nabiki," he began nervously.
"Hi yourself, Saotome. Come to apologize for your behavior at dinner?"
Ranma rubbed the back of his head. "Well, not exactly. I guess ... I was wondering if you might ... explain what you were saying? I feel like there was something there I missed."
Nabiki eyed her potential brother-in-law speculatively. "Normally I charge for any kind of instruction or information. You know that."
Ranma gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I know. I, uh, don't have any money right now."
Nabiki sighed. "Do you ever? Okay, look, just this once I'll tell you for free. Mostly because if I can get this through your head, maybe I'll have fewer headaches in future, like the one I have right now. Just don't tell anybody I didn't charge you."
"Uh, right."
The girl grinned maliciously. "Now don't interrupt. I've got several things to say, and a lot of it's going to embarrass you and you're going to want to deny it. Don't. We'll take the denials as already said, and if you interrupt me I'm going to stop talking. Okay?"
Ranma settled to the floor, looking at her curiously. "Okay."
A thoughtful expression crossed Nabiki's face, as she looked into her memories. "You and Akane were engaged against your will. We all know that. But instead of blaming the guilty parties, our fathers, you've both been taking it out on each other. I still haven't figured out the reason for that. The two of you have been fighting ever since, even though everyone around could see that you were falling for each other."
Ranma shifted nervously but, true to his promise, kept silent.
"When the two of you got back from China," Nabiki went on, wincing as she remembered her own fears for her sister, "you couldn't keep your eyes off of one another. It was as if you were both afraid the other would no longer be there if you did. Our fathers, naturally, decided this meant the time was right to get the two of you married. We all know how successful that was. Apparently that was enough to get you past the shock of whatever happened in China, and put you back in the old modes of behavior. Insults. Arguments. You know, all the ways you act to keep from being pushed together."
Ranma nodded thoughtfully, and Nabiki wondered if for once she might actually be getting something through his skull. She continued.
"You two act the same way that two little kids act, when they like each other but don't want to show it. They argue and fight. Except that you're inhibited when it comes to hitting girls, so the violence is mostly in one direction, from Akane to you. You make up for it though by being a lot more harsh with your insults. Sometimes it sounds like you want to destroy any self image she has as a girl."
"No I don't," Ranma muttered, as if to himself.
"You could have fooled me, Saotome," Nabiki replied severely. "Uncute, unsexy, macho, thighs are too thick, built like a brick, ... Do any of those sound familiar? You don't want to be married yet, so instead of coming up with any effective way of dealing with our fathers, you go all childish and try to push Akane away instead. Of course, she's just as bad. It's as if the two of you have no idea how to behave like normal teenagers who like each other. Why aren't you arguing with your parents while the two of you sneak off to smooch in private, or ... or even more? That would be normal. If it weren't for the evidence of our eyes, I'd say that the two of you never reached puberty."
Ranma felt himself blushing at the image of himself and Akane kissing. It was such a scary idea, yet somehow attractive at the same time.
Nabiki snorted at the sight of his rosy cheeks. "See, that's part of what I'm talking about. Look at how you're blushing just at the thought of kissing her. Akane's the same way. You've known each other, been engaged to each other, for over two years, and you've been secretly attracted to each other for almost as long. You almost kissed during that ice skating mess shortly after you came here. But you still haven't kissed, in all that time. Well, except for that one time when you were in the neko-ken. Which doesn't count," she added quickly. "I'm not saying the two of you should be doing the deed in her bed, but never to have kissed, in all that time? Given how you both really feel about each other? That speaks to me of two people who are seriously intent on not becoming adults."
Nabiki crossed her arms and glared at him, more out of habit than any real animus. "Well, any of this get through to you, Saotome?"
It was clear that the freebie was over. Ranma stood up. "Thanks, Nabiki. I guess. Not sure what I'm gonna do about all that, but ... thanks."
Nabiki waved airily. "Sure thing, Saotome. Anything for a little peace and quiet around here, especially during the financial report. Next time, though, make sure to bring cash with you."
"Oneechan, may I speak with you?"
At the sound of the quiet, timid question, Kasumi paused in her tidying up to look at her youngest sister standing in the kitchen doorway.
"Of course, Akane, come in and have a seat," Kasumi replied cheerfully. She dried her hands, and pulled out a chair for herself.
Akane bit her lower lip. "It's ... it's about the things that Nabiki said at dinnertime. About Ranma and me acting like children. I mean, sure, Ranma's pretty childish, but I'm not ... am I?"
Kasumi carefully considered all possible responses, then sighed, discarding the option of a comforting "of course not." Perhaps Akane did need to hear this. "Well, yes, I'm afraid you are, little sister." She watched as Akane closed her eyes in pain, but steeled herself and went on. "We all know that you love Ranma, and that he feels the same way about you. No," she added quickly, cutting off the automatic response. "Don't bother to deny it." Akane closed her mouth on the protest which was on her lips.
Kasumi continued. "We've all heard your denials, more times than we really care to, I'm afraid. But actions speak louder than words, and your actions, and Ranma's, have clearly revealed just how you feel about each other.
"However, for whatever reason, you seem determined not to get any closer. Or at least, not to allow your relationship to grow beyond a point which, as Nabiki said, is rather reminiscent of two eight year olds on the playground. I would have hoped that by now you would be acting a little more maturely. Yet you continue to prefer arguments and fighting."
"It's all that baka's fault," Akane muttered.
"No it is not," Kasumi told her sternly. "Much of it is, yes, but you are equally to blame. At first I thought that your behavior was due to the way you were treated by the boys at school. Emotional scars that were taking time to heal properly, if you understand what I mean. I can't really believe that anymore - too much time has passed. It sometimes seems as if your emotional development has been frozen, as if you stopped growing emotionally when you reached puberty. I'm sorry if that sounds rather harsh, but that is how it looks to me.
"Just for example, while I myself do not condone improper behavior, your obsession with labeling any ... interaction ... between males and females as perverted is hardly a sign of maturity."
Akane looked like she was about to start crying. "It's just ... the thought of doing something like that, it scares me. Even with Ranma."
Kasumi reached over and patted her youngest sister on the shoulder. "I know little one, but in a way that's another sign of what I'm talking about. It's natural enough to feel a little fear about those sorts of things before you experience them, but you've taken it to quite an unhealthy degree. You should have started to grow past that at some point in the last few years.
"Now please understand that this isn't all about you. Ranma, for whatever reasons, has just as much growing up to do. He doesn't have any more idea of how to behave properly toward you, than you seem to have toward him. I used to think that if our fathers would leave the two of you alone for a while, that would remove some of the pressure, and the two of you could start working past some of your differences. However, they haven't really been pushing you much since the failed wedding attempt, and you still don't seem to be making much progress."
Akane turned a helpless look on her older sister. "So what's the answer, Kasumi? What should I do?"
Here Kasumi's wisdom ran out. "I don't really know. Maybe you should talk to some sort of counselor, though I hardly know where we'd find the money for it. Doctor Tofu probably knows about that sort of thing, though. Perhaps you should start by talking to him, ask him if he could recommend someone?"
Akane sighed deeply. "I'll think about it," she said quietly, then stood and left the room.
Over the next couple of days, Akane and Ranma both found themselves reflecting on these conversations again and again. They tried convincing themselves that Nabiki and Kasumi had been exaggerating matters, and that their own behavior was perfectly reasonable. However, their eyes had been opened. The more they thought about it, the more they could see the differences between themselves and their friends. It became impossible to pretend, at least to themselves, that there was nothing wrong.
Ranma wanted to get another man's perspective on the things Nabiki had said, but the problem with that was deciding whom he could trust to talk to about this. Finding anyone in Nerima, male or not, to whom he could dare express himself openly was no simple task. In the end, he thought of Doctor Tofu. Ranma figured that as long as he avoided mentioning Kasumi's name, they might be able to have a useful discussion.
Akane, on the other hand, was spared the struggle of deciding to whom to talk. Kasumi had suggested Doctor Tofu, and Akane agreed with this suggestion. She just needed to work up her courage. It promised to be a very difficult conversation.
So it happened that three days after Nabiki's explosion at dinner, Akane and Ranma each came to the separate decision to stop by the Ono clinic. Ranma set off first, but he took a meandering path there, hoping to avoid interruptions by anyone who might complicate matters. He was hoping that this wasn't really necessary, even though deep down he knew it was. Akane started later, but took a more direct route. By pure chance they arrived in front of the clinic at the same time, approaching from opposite directions. Both were surprised to see the other there, as they nervously said hello and stood awkwardly in place.
"So, uh, you here to see the doc?" Ranma asked, when it was clear that Akane wasn't going to continue down the street.
"Uh-huh," Akane replied. "How about you? Are you here to see him, too? Did you get hurt in a fight or something?"
"Uh, no, just want to talk to the doc about something." Ranma was starting to play with his pigtail, a sure sign of nervousness.
"Oh, well, um, in that case, I'll just ... um ... okay." Akane wasn't sure what to do. She didn't think that she'd be able to talk to Doctor Tofu if Ranma was here. Even if it did, sort of, involve him as well.
"Er, well," Ranma didn't really want to tell her why he was there, but then wondered if this might be an example of what Nabiki had been talking about. That he acted like a child. Before he lost his nerve, he blurted, "Just wanted to talk about some of what Nabiki said the other night."
"Oh," Akane answered quietly. She thought about the fact that it might not demonstrate much maturity if she couldn't admit to something that Ranma just had, so managed to barely squeeze out, "Me too."
Ranma blinked at that, then licked dry lips. "So, um, should we, uh, talk to him about it together?"
Akane was finding her toes rather interesting. "I ... suppose we might as well."
They went inside and, after exchanging their shoes for slippers, asked the receptionist if they could speak to the doctor. She told them to take a seat, and for the next half hour they nervously flipped through magazines, as an alternative to talking to one another. Finally the door opened, and Doctor Tofu was smiling down at them. "Akane! Ranma! How nice to see you. Please, come in."
They stood and followed him back to his office, each taking one of the chairs there, very carefully not looking at each other. Tofu seated himself in the more comfortable swivel chair located behind an overflowing desk. Interestingly, it was overflowing not with modern medical texts, but with ancient scrolls and similar documents.
"What can I do for you today?" Tofu asked cheerfully.
Both teenagers remained silent, waiting for the other one to speak first. They cast occasional glances at one another, but still neither one broke the silence. Finally Tofu started to draw his own conclusions from their behavior and asked sympathetically, "Akane, are you afraid that you might be pregnant?"
Both Akane and Ranma flushed absolutely scarlet. "No!" Akane choked out. "We haven't ..."
In an equally strained voice, Ranma said, "It ain't nothing like that, doc!"
"Oh." Tofu regarded them thoughtfully. "Well, then, perhaps you should tell me what is on your minds."
Ranma managed to begin. "Nabiki said something a few nights ago, about Akane and me behaving like young children who never grew up. That the way we behave around one another ain't the way that people our age would be expected to. Don't know if I agree with her or not, or how I oughta act if she's right. I thought maybe I could come and talk to you about it."
Akane began in a whisper, then cleared her throat and tried again a little louder. "I was talking to Kasumi about it later, as well. She agreed with Nabiki, and seemed to think that maybe some sort of counseling might help. She thought that maybe you could suggest how to find somebody."
Tofu's eyebrows had risen quite a bit at these admissions. "I know that you both were rather shy when you first met. Do you really feel it might be as serious as that? Do you both feel there are problems in the way you act which should be fixed?"
Akane looked off into the distance. "Well, we're able to behave like regular people most of the time. Eating dinner together, talking, that sort of thing. But other than that ... the only other way we ever act around one another is arguing and fighting. Especially if ... especially if it looks like one of us might be about to say or do something ... you know, about our relationship."
Ranma fought past his embarrassment to say, "Nabiki seemed to think it was important that Akane and I have never ... um ... kissed." He was praying fervently that Akane wouldn't hit him for saying that.
Akane just looked down at her lap, blushing. "Kasumi suggested that I overreact whenever I start thinking about those sorts of things. I get scared." She gave a guilty, sideways look at Ranma before adding, "And I generally take it out on Ranma while calling him a pervert."
Tofu was rather surprised to hear all this. He had seen the first signs of attraction between the pair over two years ago. It did seem unusual that after all this time, they had not so much as kissed, even in private. They were both eighteen now. At the very least, they ought to be able to talk about their relationship. Still, it might not be anything beyond extreme shyness on both of their parts, coupled with a continuing fear that the other might not feel the same way. That wouldn't be so surprising considering their past histories. On the whole, Kasumi's suggestion about counseling was probably a good one.
On the other hand, it never hurt to cover all the bases. Perhaps they were both merely two very late bloomers, despite their apparent physical maturity. Tofu calmly said, "Akane, I want to check something. Please hold still for a moment." The doctor stood and walked over to her, then placed his fingertips gently on either side of her face. He concentrated on feeling the flow of chi in her body, in an effort to determine if it matched her physical maturity. He managed not to show his shock as he realized that there was something subtly wrong with her chi.
Tofu spoke again. "Akane, would you please imagine yourself kissing Ranma?" The girl blushed but said nothing. Tofu maintained his professional demeanor as he felt the girl's mixed emotions concerning what she was thinking, but frowned at how her chi reacted.
Stepping away, he turned to Ranma and said, "I'd like to try the same thing with you, Ranma." He repeated what he had done with Akane, finding much the same thing. He puzzled over what he had perceived as he walked back behind his desk and sat down.
The aberration he detected in their chi worried him. Tofu considered how he could confirm his observations, both for himself and for their own sakes. "I need to ask the two of you some very personal, embarrassing questions. I think you would be more comfortable if I ask you one at a time, with the other out of the room."
Ranma and Akane turned to regard one another. Something passed between them in that look. It was one of those times when things clicked, and they knew without speech that they were in this together. Ranma stated, "Doc, Akane and I were almost married a few months ago. I think we can handle whatever it is. Let 'er rip." Akane nodded her head in agreement.
Tofu's mouth twisted in what might have been a grin. "All right, if you say so. Ranma, how much have you fantasized about having sex with Akane? Or with any girl, for that matter?"
Both teenagers blushed heavily, thinking that perhaps they should have listened to Tofu about doing this separately. Ranma had to clear his throat a couple of times before answering, and he watched Akane warily out of the corner of his eye while he did so.
"Well, I ... I ... o'course I thought about it. I mean, they almost got us married. If they had, we'da had to do it. The idea was, uh, kinda scary."
Tofu drummed his fingertips on his desk, eyeing Ranma pensively. He decided to be blunt. "I didn't ask if you had thought about it. I asked if you had fantasized about it. Have you imagined it taking place, thought over the images, enjoyed the arousal? In particular, how often have you masturbated, in either of your forms, while imagining such things?" He cocked his head slightly, thinking over Ranma's upbringing. "I assume you know what the term means?"
It might not have seemed possible for the faces of the two young people to grow any more crimson, but somehow they managed it. Ranma choked out, "Yeah, I ... uh, know what it means. Some of the guys at school talk about it. Uh ..." Ranma whispered another prayer that Akane wouldn't clobber him or say something nasty. "I, uh, yeah ... I tried it. Once. Not for long. Just to see what the fuss was about. Uh ... for what it's worth, I still don't see."
Tofu asked seriously, "May I assume from what you said that you didn't reach orgasm?"
Ranma squirmed. "Uh, is that where the guy ..." He made a motion with his hand, moving outward from his groin. Tofu nodded, and Ranma responded, "Then, uh, no."
The doctor sighed, seeing his fears confirmed. He turned to Akane, as she had been dreading he would. "The same questions for you Akane."
She shook her head and whispered, "No, never. I mean, like Ranma, I, uh, thought about it. But not ..." She was unable to continue.
Tofu leaned back, giving the ceiling a troubled stare. He wondered how this had come to pass, and most especially, how it was that both of the teenagers in front of him had suffered this ... malfunction.
"Well ..." He cleared his throat and started again. "I'll need to do some research to see if I can find any similar cases, and how to correct the situation." He sighed and stood, signaling that the interview was at an end. "You were right to worry."
Akane and Ranma exchanged puzzled glances.
"But ... what's wrong with us?" Akane asked anxiously.
Doctor Tofu looked surprised. "Didn't I say? No, I suppose I didn't. Ah well, what I've just learned ..." He shook his head in self recrimination. "I can't believe that I never noticed it in any of my previous examinations." He steadied himself in order to explain without upsetting his young patients more than necessary.
"In both of your cases, your chi is not flowing as I would expect for someone of your age. It is much more like that of a child who has not yet reached puberty. The difference is rather subtle, and therefore easily overlooked. Not that it makes me feel any better that I did overlook it. It's very puzzling; I've never seen anything like it before. It's as if your bodies matured, but your spirits, your minds, haven't. What is really strange is that you're both affected."
The couple regarded one another, wondering if perhaps the other one was to blame for the situation they were in. Tofu saw this and said, "I really don't think it's likely that either of you caused this condition in the other. I don't see how it could be contagious. And anyway, the answers you gave to my question indicate that this has likely been a problem since before the two of you met."
Akane asked, "Do you really think you can find out how to fix it? And what will happen to us if you do?"
The doctor shrugged, wishing he could give a more positive answer. "Honestly, Akane, I don't know. Like I said, I've never encountered anything like it before. If we do find a cure, the effect is likely to be profound. Your minds would suddenly be operating in a different manner. In some ways, it would almost be like going through puberty overnight. I hesitate to guess what the implications might be."
"Anything else you can tell us, doc?" Ranma inquired. When Tofu shook his head, the boy added, "All right. Thanks for figuring out part of the problem anyway, and for anything else you can learn. At least it's good to know that there's a reason, rather than just the two of us being too stubborn to grow up."
Ranma stood and bowed to the doctor, then waited for Akane to do the same. As they walked out the door of his office, Tofu took off his glasses and polished them. He had no clue where to start looking for an answer to this problem.
As they walked down the road back in the direction of the Tendo home, Akane and Ranma were both finding it difficult to look at one another. "So, we're both really children at heart, huh?" Ranma said, trying for a light-hearted tone. He wasn't entirely successful.
"What are we going to do, Ranma?" Akane asked, sounding worried. "I mean, we can try to fight less, but that doesn't really solve anything. I'd like to get married ... I mean, uh, to marry someone, someday. But what Tofu said makes it sound like I'd never be able to be ... be a real adult, for, uh, whoever I marry."
Ranma glanced over at her, and took a breath. He felt scared of admitting such things, afraid of how she would react, but now he had learned that some of that fear was due to a problem, something that was wrong with him. That made it a challenge, and he hated to lose when challenged. So he fought down his own terror to reach over and grab hold of Akane's hand, then said, "I'd like to marry you, too, someday. At least, I think so. If you want to. If we can fix this. Damn, I meant to sound a lot more confident than this."
Akane giggled, although there were tears in her eyes. "Thanks, baka."
Ranma turned to look at her again, and she heard the tremor in his voice, serious though he sounded. "Do you think we should risk talking to Cologne about this? Despite the fact she caught me a few days ago, I've been trying pretty hard to avoid Shampoo the last few months. But Cologne knows an awful lot about chi and stuff."
Akane bit her lip and looked scared. "I don't know, Ranma. I don't trust her. What if she fixes you, but makes me worse? Or finds some way to twist whatever's wrong to force you to come with her? I'd rather wait to see if Tofu can find anything before trying that."
Ranma thought about it, then nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I just hate sitting around and waiting, especially when we don't know how long it might be." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "This is such a screwed up mess, it sounds almost like the result of one of my pop's schemes."
He took a few more steps, then added in a completely different and firmer tone of voice, "You know, it does sound exactly like something my pop might have done. Except ... that wouldn't explain why you're affected."
Akane looked over at him, then looked at the road ahead again, thoughtful. "It might, you know. Daddy's done some silly things in the past, too. And we know they've done some things together. Like that agreement that got us engaged in the first place."
"Maybe ..." Ranma was beginning to feel like this idea had a ring of truth to it. "It certainly seems like the simplest explanation for why we're both affected. But how are we going to find out for sure? If we ask them about it, they'll just deny everything."
"I don't know. Hmm. Suppose you didn't know you'd been put through the neko-ken training, but were beginning to suspect something. Is there any way you would have been able to learn the truth? People you could ask he might have confided in or something?"
"Actually, that one's pretty easy ..." Ranma trailed off, then smiled. "That was smart of you, Akane. I was gonna say, he recorded the neko-ken training in his journal. If we can get to his journals for a while, without anyone bothering us, maybe we can find something. Since you're affected too, it'd probably be something that happened before he took me away from home. Not that we won't look in the later ones if we don't find something, but that would be where we should start."
Akane had stopped and stared at him, causing Ranma to stop as well, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. "If you knew how to get hold of your father's journals, why haven't you gone through them before? You might have learned about things like Ukyo."
Ranma squirmed. "Well, it wouldn't have been right. They're his journals, not something I should be prying through. It's like somebody reading your diary, right? Besides, I'm not sure I want to know if there's more surprises like that waiting out there for me. But this time it affects us both, and we gotta know, and I don't trust the old man to tell us."
Akane shook her head over her fiancé's sometimes unpredictable sense of honor. "Okay. Let's get home and see if we can figure some way to get those journals away from him without his noticing it."
"We're home!" Akane called out as they stepped through the door and removed their shoes.
Kasumi poked her head out of the kitchen door, drying her hands on a towel. "Hello Akane, Ranma. Oh, Ranma, your parents have gone out and won't be back until supper time. Your mother received word that the repairs on her house are finally complete, and they went over there to check on it."
"Thanks Kasumi," Ranma told her. As the older girl stepped back into the kitchen, Ranma whispered in an aside to Akane, "Now that's pretty convenient. Maybe some kami is watching out for us. Let's head upstairs and get to work."
"So where does your father keep his journals?" Akane asked at they entered the guest room. "For that matter, how do you know where they are?"
The boy turned a disgusted look on her. "Give me a break, Akane. We share a room, and we're talking about journals. That means he writes in 'em regularly, at least the current one. While we were on the road he just kept it in the bottom of his pack. Now he's got a locked chest he keeps 'em in." Ranma reached down and pulled a chest out of the closet.
Akane was looking a little sheepish. "But if it's locked, how are we going to get to them? If you smash the chest, he'll know what you were doing."
Ranma snorted. "Remember who I have for an old man, Akane." He went back over to the closet and fished around in Genma's pack, coming back with a small wire. He inserted this into the hole in the lock and started wiggling it around.
"You know how to pick a lock?" Akane asked breathlessly.
"Of course," he responded nonchalantly. "At least, if it ain't too complicated. And pop ain't Nabiki, who's got the sense to spend a little extra on a strong safe to protect her secrets." There was a click from the lock and the lid of the chest lifted to reveal its contents.
The dark-haired girl gave him a bright smile. "Consider me suitably impressed, Ranma Saotome. Now let's get to work."
Ranma pulled out several journals, and flipped through them looking at dates. He set aside two that predated the start of their fateful training trip, then gave one to Akane before opening the other and starting to read. Silence reigned in the room for the next couple of hours, except for the occasional spontaneous comment such as "Oh my God!" or "I don't believe it!" or "Pop, I'm gonna kill you!"
Finally Akane excitedly reported, "Ranma, I think I've found something!"
Putting his own journal down carefully so as not to lose his place, Ranma gave her his full attention.
Akane read slowly, the writing having faded over the years. "The date is from when you and I were five years old. It says, 'That old bore Kurosawa here at the temple ...' Uh ..." Akane scanned back to a previous entry. "That's some temple near the town of Ikawa in Akita. Anyway, "... here at the temple mentioned a ritual used in the past. It is supposed to allow the person who performed the ritual to exercise additional authority over the subject for the rest of his life. The only catch is - it can only be performed on young children. He even showed me the scroll. That night I borrowed and copied the scroll, then put it back. I'll be returning home soon, and we'll see how it works on Ranma.'"
"Well, I suppose that might have something to do with it," Ranma agreed tentatively.
"Wait, there's more," Akane told him. "A few entries further along. Yada yada. Here. 'I performed the ritual on Ranma a few days ago, and it seems to have worked. He still protests sometimes, but he is much more inclined to do as he is told when I press. The control is imperfect, and works best when he is not seriously opposed, but it has made him easier to handle. I think I shall pass this along to my friend Tendo. I fear that only his youngest is still young enough to undergo the rite, but I hear that she has been proving quite a handful to him. Besides, one day we might need such control to make sure we are able to convince two of our children to marry and unite the schools.'" Akane looked at Ranma. "What do you think?"
Ranma considered. "Some sort of magic ritual that was performed on both of us. You're right, that might explain this mess. Although it don't sound like it worked as well on us as they hoped, whether or not it caused the problem the doc saw. I wonder if we can find that temple ..." He paused, thoughtful. "Akita ain't exactly next door, but it might be worth trying. First though, I suppose we oughta be thorough and finish going through these. Just in case that ain't the explanation and there's something else here to be found."
Akane sighed, disappointed that she would have to return to deciphering the faded writing. "I guess you're right. Still, I'm feeling more hopeful now than I was earlier."
Ranma nodded, returning to the journal in front of him.
Nothing else had been found before dinner, and the two teenagers had taken the time to discuss what to do about the clue they had discovered, the ritual they had read about. It hadn't take them long to decide to sneak away to the temple in Akita, to see if they could find any answers there. Promising to get together that evening to pack and make further plans, they went their separate ways to prepare for dinner.
During the meal, both Akane and Ranma managed to school their faces and not reveal their inner turmoil to any of their parents. In truth, Kasumi and Nabiki both guessed that something was wrong, but only assumed that the two of them had gotten into another argument.
Ranma hid his pack in Akane's room to keep his father from seeing it and guessing that something was up. Very early the next morning, while Kasumi was in the kitchen and before anyone else was up to see him slipping into Akane's room, they took their packs out through Akane's window and hid them behind the dojo. Ranma helped Akane back in through the window, then the two of them came downstairs together, a bit earlier than usual.
After eating breakfast, they told Kasumi that they were going out for a while and would be back later. They left by the front gate, whereupon Ranma hopped over the side wall to retrieve their packs and the two quickly made their way to the train station. With any luck, it would be a few hours, at least, before anyone found the note left in Akane's room. The note which said they would be back in a few days.
The trip to Akita was uneventful, and they reached Ikawa by late afternoon. There weren't many temples in the area, and the first person they asked, an elderly person they saw coming out of the post office, actually recognized the name of Kurosawa. He told them that Kurosawa was still a priest and gave them directions to the temple. With rising hope the young couple made their way there.
As they entered the building, an old man in the robes of a priest came out of a side doorway and spotted them. "Greetings. May I be of service in any way?"
"We are looking for a priest by the name of Kurosawa," Akane told him, trying to tamp down the eagerness in her voice.
The old man smiled. "Then I am the one you seek. What may I do for you?"
The two teens smiled in relief at having found the priest so easily. Ranma made introductions. "My name is Ranma Saotome, and this is my fiancée Akane Tendo." He paused as he took in the look of astonishment on the old man's face, then looked down at his female body and flushed. "Um, sorry, forgot about that idiot emptying the pail of water on me a few minutes ago."
Akane tried to fill in. "Ranma has a curse that changes him into a girl whenever he's splashed with cold water. As soon as we can get some hot water, he'll change back into a boy." She shrugged. "I'm sure that sounds a bit crazy, but we're both so used to it that sometimes we don't even notice."
Ranma looked around. "Can we sit down somewhere?" he asked diffidently. "We need to talk to you about something that happened around thirteen years ago, give or take. Something my old man did. We're hoping you might know something about it, and might be able to help us, or at least give us some more information."
The priest regarded them quizzically, but led them to a small room where tea was already waiting on a low table, apparently interrupted by their arrival. He took out a couple of additional bowls and everyone knelt around the table. Ranma wasted no time in using some of the hot water to restore his male body, which attracted another stare from Kurosawa until he realized what he was doing and dropped his eyes.
The priest raised his cup and breathed deeply of the aromatic steam, but lowered it again without drinking. "Thirteen years is quite a long time. I pray that my memory is sufficient to your need. You are looking for a cure to your ... curse, then? I cannot recall anything even remotely like that."
Ranma looked startled. "Eh? No ... no, this has nothing to do with my curse." He fell silent for a moment, troubled that it hadn't even occurred to him that a stranger would naturally think that the problem he was most anxious to solve was his curse. Akane vaguely guessed what was worrying him, and decided to gently prompt him back to the problem at hand.
"I know that thirteen years is a long time," Akane said softly, "but I hope that you can help us. Ranma, I think you should start by describing your father as best you remember him from when you were young."
The young man shook himself free of his thoughts about his curse, then proceeded to describe Genma as he would have appeared over a decade ago. The old priest listened with polite interest, but showed no gleam of recognition. Doggedly, Ranma continued, explaining that his father had shown an interest in some ritual the priest had described.
Unfortunately, his tongue began to stumble as Ranma attempted to describe the details they had read. He turned in frustration to Akane. "Could you explain about the ritual? I think you can probably manage to do a better job than I'm doing."
Akane took up the thread of the conversation. "We have reason to believe that Ranma's father performed this ritual on him, and it's possible that he then gave it to my father to perform on me. According to what he wrote, it was something that could only be done to a very young child. We were five at the time and ... and he wrote that my next older sister was already too old, even though she's only a year older than me."
Akane paused for a moment, only to be interrupted by the old priest. "Do you know anything of the nature of the magic? What it was supposed to do?"
Akane frowned, as she had been about to speak of that. "Saotome-san seemed to think it would grant some sort of authority over the one on whom it was performed to the person who carried it out."
The priest sat meditatively for a few moments before asking, "And you think that I had something to do with this? That I helped him to perform such an act of magic? I assure you ..."
Ranma interrupted, shaking his head, speaking abruptly and to the point. "Naw. We don't think you had a hand in it. It's just my old man said that you're the one who told him about it." He looked sideways at Akane and added, a tad sheepishly, "Well, he wrote it in his journal anyway, so it comes to the same thing."
Kurosawa sat in contemplative silence for a while with his eyes closed, long enough for the two teens to wonder if he might have fallen asleep. Then the old man's face paled. Standing, he told them, "I'll be back shortly." He left the room.
While he was gone, Akane and Ranma began to argue about whether he would find anything. Some twenty minutes passed. Then the old priest came back into the room carrying a scroll. He reeled back in surprise at the loud voices, and the two teens fell silent, red-faced, when they noticed his presence.
Kurosawa reentered the room, looking both grave and disturbed. In truth, he had felt a certain reluctance to reveal that his temple had such a scroll in its possession, but forced himself onward despite the small sense of dishonor.
"I believe I've found it," he declared, then knelt and carefully unrolled the aged and cracking scroll, reading through it rapidly. He shook his head over the contents.
At last he turned to them and stated, "If you will permit me, I believe I can quickly determine whether or not this has been done to you." Receiving nods from the young man and woman before him, he moved closer and held his hands before first one and then the other. Finally he sighed and said, "I am sorry to inform you that you are indeed victims of this magic. This is most repugnant, and the fact that it was your own fathers ..." He shook his head again. "It's not like this would have granted them much additional control. You were already their children and therefore subject to their authority for that reason. I can only hope that they were unaware that this particular spell has the side effect of freezing the subject in an immature stage of emotional development."
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Ranma demanded, confused by the long words.
Akane sighed before answering. "It means Nabiki was right. We do act like a couple of little kids."
The priest sipped some tea, grimacing a little that it had cooled, but swallowed it nonetheless. He continued speaking. "I do not know why I told your father about this at all. It is an ancient ritual, used by certain unscrupulous lords, intended for children raised as slaves. It made them more accepting of their slavery. It was never intended to grant absolute control over all aspects of behavior. It is inconceivable that someone would wish to use it on their own children! All moral issues aside, there is the question of grandchildren. Wouldn't they want them? Unbelievable, simply unbelievable."
Ranma gave a bitter chuckle. "It's easier to believe if you know my old man. He's got a long history of screw-ups like this, and he's a past master at only hearing or reading what he wants to, and ignoring anything inconvenient. I'm willing to bet he never even noticed it would keep a person from completely growing up."
"Ranma's right, I'm afraid," Akane added sadly. "But what's done is done. The important thing right now is, can you do anything to help us? Is there any way to undo this?"
The old man smiled at her. "Yes, I believe so, or at least I feel it is quite hopeful. Please, allow me some time to study this further and make preparations. With any luck, I will already have all that I need, and we can attempt to undo the damage tomorrow."
He paused before adding thoughtfully. "If you like, there is a room that you can use tonight, and, I fear I must insist, tomorrow night as well. At least, if we are successful. I am unsure what the full effects of undoing this magic will be. I would like to be assured that you come to no immediate harm as a result of my ... efforts."
"Immediate harm?" Akane inquired nervously. "What sort of harm? And do you expect there to be any long term problems?" The unspoken implications worried her, and she wondered if they were only going to make things worse.
The old priest smiled again. "You will very likely experience some mental changes, as your minds suddenly shift to a state which is more normal for two people your age. It will probably be rather ... disorienting. I think you should be fine over the long term."
"I think we're willing to take that risk," Ranma stated with conviction.
"Very well. Allow me to show you to the room I mentioned, and where to wash up. I hope you will join me for dinner later. Aside from that I fear I will be unable to entertain you, as I will be busy studying the scroll in order to determine how to reverse what was done."
"Thank you very much," Akane told him, and they both stood and bowed deeply, before he led them to another room.
Their first night in the temple passed reasonably well. Or at least, it did so after a short argument which started when Akane informed Ranma that he'd better not try anything funny just because they were sleeping in the same room. Despite this minor spat, they both managed to get a good night's sleep, and woke the next morning feeling hopeful.
Kurosawa did not finish his preparations until after lunch, a meal Ranma and Akane did little more than pretend to eat, being too anxious over what was to happen for even Ranma to feel hungry. There was another brief argument over who should go first, which Ranma finally won. Kurosawa carefully positioned him among the diagrams chalked onto the wooden floor. Cautioning him not to move, the priest picked up several pieces of paper, marked with odd symbols. These were then attached to Ranma's forehead, the middle of his back and chest, his arms and legs, and more than a little embarrassingly, to his groin.
The priest moved directly in front of Ranma and placing his hands on the boy's chest, proceeded to chant for several minutes. He entered a trance, allowing him to see the flow of chi within Ranma's body, as if he were standing within it. He looked over the streams flowing around him, realizing that he could see where the paths had been altered, where the flow had been dammed or diverted. Gently he reached out and started realigning the flow, finding it to be a great deal easier than he had expected. It was as if the energies were cooperating with him rather than fighting to remain in the old channels.
Luckily, Kurosawa had already seen Ranma's curse. Otherwise, he would have been very shocked when he found the dormant pathways of female chi, which he realized must embody the boy's curse. He made no attempt to remove those pathways, being far too frightened of the potential consequences, but did realign them into the more mature state to match what he had done for the currently flowing male chi.
As he was taking a last look around, he saw a knot which was clearly, fundamentally wrong, and took a moment to untangle it, straightening the pathways out so that they would be able to flow much more smoothly. He was unsure of what he had just done, but felt that it could only be an improvement. Finally he spoke the triggers to bring himself out of the trance.
Opening his eyes, he looked directly at Ranma. "How do you feel, young man?"
Ranma shrugged. "I don't think I feel any different at all. Did you really do something?"
Kurosawa smiled. "I certainly did." He took a minute to examine the boy again, noting the new pattern to the flow. "Yes, it worked and seems to be holding just fine. Let's hope the fact you don't feel different means that the change will affect you gradually, rather than all of it hitting you at once. Now if you'll move aside, we'll let Tendo-san have her turn, after which I think I'll leave you two to clean up while I go take a nap."
The priest repeated the preparations for Akane, taking care that everything he had done for Ranma was done as exactly and precisely for her. The diversion of chi pathways went much more quickly and easily, however, since there were no complications with a Jusenkyo curse or that strange knot he had found in the young man. He took the time to confirm that Akane's chi was flowing along normal channels before exiting his trance.
Kurosawa spoke briefly to Akane, ascertaining that she, like Ranma, felt no differently. He then asked the two to help him to his sleeping chamber, where he practically collapsed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Akane and Ranma took the time to wash the diagrams off of the floor, and to clean up everything else which had gone into performing the ritual. They were both silent while doing so, each wrapped in his or her own inward thoughts, as they tried to notice if they were thinking or feeling anything differently. Afterward they went outside to sit in the warm sun, and watched some butterflies which were flitting about the lawn.
It was Ranma who finally broke the silence. "So do you feel any different yet, Akane?"
She shook her head, her short hair gently swaying with the motion. "No, not really. How about you?"
He shrugged, stretching his shirt around his muscular arms. "Nothing yet. I suppose it's like he said, it'll be a bit gradual. O'course, maybe it's just trying to lure us into thinking that, and in an hour or so it's all gonna come crashing down on us at once. Given how things usually go in my life, that seems a lot more likely on the whole."
Akane nodded her agreement, and they both settled back to enjoy the summer afternoon.
Neither of the two teenagers noticed any other changes for the rest of that day. As they prepared for bed that night, Akane asked calmly, "You will behave yourself tonight, right Ranma?" There was nothing accusatory in her voice to accompany this question.
Ranma responded equally calmly. "Of course. You should know that by now. Good night, Akane."
"Good night, Ranma."
They closed their eyes, and sleep descended on the end of their childhood.
Author's note:
Stay tuned for "Adolescence," the second chapter of Childhood's End. The story will conclude in the third chapter, "Adulthood."
I have begun work on Side by Side, the sequel to Togetherness. More correctly, since I'd already been doing work in the form of planning, I should say that I now have a rough draft of the first chapter. Still, I'm guessing it will be at least a month before I'm able to post it.
I recently finished a suggested timeline for the events in the Ranma 1/2 manga, which I have placed on my web site. Feel free to stop by and check it out.