Nullifier 122. The very name strikes terror into the hearts of stout people in a world of superhuman martial artists, and magical items. Yet, such people have a relationship with the Nullifier that is tentative, dangerous, yet necessary to the utmost degree. Webdragon presents Nullifier 122, a fanfic - remastered and reworked. [WARNING : It has some semi-lemon bits but don't let them distract you from the story within.] C&C is welcome. Ranma 1/2 = (C) of Shogakukan Nullifier 122 by Webdragon Nullifier 122 ------------------ Part One : Divisions ------------------------- It is a special day at Furinkan High School. Today, the annual festival and fair of all the departments is in full swing. The Arts department is staging its own production of "The Monkey King" while the Home Economics classes have been whipping up a batch of goodies. The Science department is proudly showing off its homemade landmines and improved chloroform gas while the Sports department is roughing it up in the field and in the dojo. Akane and Ranma are touring each exhibit one by one. "Wow! Ranma, look at these dresses! The Fashion students are really something!" Akane touched a dark red dress with admiration. Ranma looked unimpressed at the assortment of dresses with low-cut bosoms and he snorted in derision. "What's wrong? Don't think you'll look good in them?" Akane peered at Ranma with a sly look on her face. "WHAT?! Keep it down, stupid!" "I'm just kidding! Ranma, you're such a dope sometimes." "What makes you think I'll wear a dress?! I'm a guy!" "Not in your normal form, idiot! In your girl body! Come to think of it, you'd really look good in one of these dresses. Especially this red one." Akane takes the red dress out and puts it on her front. "HEY!! I'm a GUY, alright? So what if I'm a girl half the time. It's not my fault anyhow." He looked so hurt that it was over- exaggerated and Akane laughed. Ranma glared at Akane suspiciously as she put the dress back. "Hey! What's so funny?!" "Can't you take a joke?" Akane walks around to another dress. "Akane!" It was Sayuri. "Come take a look at this dress!" Akane examines a blue dress, noting the satiny feel of silk. She blushes slightly when she sees the slit on both sides of the dress, the better to show the legs off. Her blush turns even redder upon noticing the low cut bosom. Sayuri notices Akane's blush and she laughs. "The better to catch guys with, Akane." Sayuri leans closer and she whispers into Akane's ear. "If you *really* wanted to catch Ranma's attention, why not buy this dress?" "What!? What makes you.....", Akane drops her voice to a whisper, "...I mean...what makes you think I want Ranma anyhow? He's insensitive, he insults me, he....." "Don't be coy, Akane. Anemi and the girls know." Sayuri raises her voice. "Anyway, I'll sell it to you cheap. Only two thousand yen. That's a steal compared to the sort of dresses you find in the department store." "No thanks, Sayuri. Hey, are you still up for the slumber party?" "Yes! Tonight, at your place, seven p.m.? All of us are coming!" "That's great, Sayuri!" "I hope P-Chan will be there, too. If you can find him, that is." "I'll try my best to find him. I promise." "Hey!" It was the fashion teacher. "Quit dawdling and come help me, Sayuri!" Sayuri waves to Akane as she and Ranma leave. "Well, these seem almost like the last of them. Let's go home. I'm starving!" Akane turned about at Ranma's words, after having waved goodbye to Sayuri. "What was that?" she asked. "I said, these must be, like, the last of them. I'm hungry and I want to go home." "No. Don't you think of anything else but your stomach, Ranma? We're not leaving yet." "Why not?" Ranma looked almost beside himself in indignant outrage. "The map I have here says that there's one more exhibit just around the corner." "*One* more measly, crummy...ooof!" Akane removes her elbow from Ranma's stomach. "Why are you so insensitive? Now I know you're really a guy, and not just a sex-changing pervert! A guy is always so insensitive! Give them, whoever it is, a chance at least!" "At least I don't go boo-hooing over the slightest thing, like girls do." Ranma hops out of range of Akane's elbow. "By the way, who is it?" Akane stared hard at the map, looking at it from different angles and even turning it upside down. "It...doesn't say. It just says `61'." "Yeah, yeah. Let's get it over with." As the two round the corner it seems as if the brightness and the cheer of the atmosphere suddenly reversed itself and turned into darkness and gloom. No lights were on in this corridor, only candles lit the way to the Exhibit 61. "This is creepy!" Akane instinctively inches close to Ranma, but she catches herself and forces herself to walk at least a foot or two apart from him. "Reminds me of somebody, though....." The two halt as they see Gosunkugi sitting behind a booth with the words `Voodoo Items' on the sign. Various puppets hang from frayed bits of cord under the sign, dangling above trinkets and bottles of potions. He stands up and looks forlornly at them. It seems as if nobody had visited his stand since he had it set up. The counter beside the stand stood at a grand total of zero. Gosunkugi turns his dark- rimmed eyes to Akane. "H-hello, Akane!" "Umm...you're Gosunkugi, right?" Akane peered at Gosunkugi and tried to place a name to the face while Ranma waved rather condescendingly to him. "Hey, weirdo! Watcha got over there?" Akane glares at Ranma and almost elbows him in the stomach. "Be polite, stupid!" "Okay, okay!" Ranma walked up to the stand and scanned it. Mallets, nails, various potions, candles and matches...all of it seemed like junk. Ranma spends some time looking through the paraphernalia, picking and discarding items as he listens to Gosunkugi's speech with a disinterested ear. Ranma picks up an ornament. "What's this?" "That amulet is supposed to take your warts away." "Right." Ranma tosses it back on the heap of junk and fishes through it with his hand. Eventually, his fingers settled on a tiny bottle of liquid that looked, for all the world, like a bottle of perfume. Yet, no such perfume swirled inside its container with a life of its own. "Hey, what's this? Cologne?" "That's a bottle of Nullifier, Blend 122. It's supposed to cure curses, illnesses, and...." "Just more of your jun..I mean, your stuff. Hmph. Supposed to cure curses and.....", Ranma double takes. What did Gosunkugi say, again? "Did you say...cure curses? Akane leaned forward in interest. "Cure....curses?" she asked with a bit of hesitation. , she thought, "Why, yes I did. But it's pretty old stock and....." "Can it really cure curses? Can it?" exclaimed Ranma, nearly beside himself in excitement. "Just follow the directions, Saotome." Ranma looks at the label. "But...but it's in Chinese!! I can't read that!" "Did I forget to mention that it's from the Baiyan-Kalan Range, Qinghai province of China? Apparently it was a tribal treasure of some sort. Now, it's a family heirloom." "How did your family get possession of such an important object?" Akane took the Nullifier from Ranma and looked at it. "My father was given it by a man. More, I cannot tell." "Well, how much for it?" Ranma started to dig into his pockets. "You can have it, if you wish. I don't really think it will have much effect after all these long years. Besides, you people were the only ones to visit my stand today. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something with this little gesture of mine." "Thank you, Gosunkugi." Akane bows, and still manages to jab Ranma in the side with her elbow. "T-thanks, man" Ranma sketches a short, quick bow. "Anytime." Gosunkugi flicks off his flashlight and plunges the hallway into darkness. The black-out lasts only a few seconds and the lights come back on in the hallway. Ranma and Akane are surprised, and more than a little spooked, to see no sign of Gosunkugi or his stand. It was almost as if he had disappeared. "C'mon, Ranma. Let's get out of here." Akane could fairly feel the goosebumps rising out of her skin and travelling all over her body in droves. "Y-yeah. Let's." Half an hour later, Ranma and Akane are on their way home. Ranma examining the bottle with much interest, somehow keeping his balance on the fence at the same time. He even went as far as to open it and take a sniff of the contents. "Hmmm...it...it smells funny." Ranma restoppered the bottle. "Hey, are you sure you want to use that thing?" "What if it can really cure me, Akane? Nullifier, Blend 122. Sounds pretty important. If it sounds important, it has a good chance of being important." "How are you going to read the directions on it?" Akane turned her attention back to the path. "I'm not. You go on home, Akane. I'll just be a second." "Why? What do you mean....oh. Nekohanten? I'm coming along too." "Ummm...okay, if you want." Ranma seemed quite a bit nervous at Akane accompanying him to the Nekohanten and he showed it by fidgeting constantly. The two reach the restaurant in short order and the both of them walk in. The place is nearly full and they managed to find a two-seater table. Shampoo flounces over and gives Ranma a hug. Akane simply sipped at her tea, seeming to pay no attention, but the tea cup shook with her effort not to crush it into tiny bits. "Ranma! Shampoo so happy see you! Shampoo go get ramen for Ranma! On house!" Shampoo starts to bounce away but Ranma grabs a corner of her apron and pulls her back. She looks surprised at first, but it quickly changes to a smile. Akane's cup cracks, just a little. "Could you also bring the old ghoul too? I wanna speak with..." An expertly aimed chopstick shot out of the kitchen and landed smack on the side of Ranma's head. Moving with incredible speed, a short figure came out of the kitchen and stood at Ranma's side, just in time to catch the chopstick as it fell. The diners clapped at this incredible feat of skill and speed. "Who's an old ghoul, sonny boy?" "I...uh..take that back." "I see my future son-in-law still needs a little ironing-out. Well, enough of all that. What was it you wanted to see me about?" "It's about this." Ranma fishes out the Nullifier from his pocket and he hands it to Cologne, who peers at it in astonishment. "It's a...a Nullifier, Blend 122. My tribe used to have one of these. It was old when I was a young girl just three hundred years ago. I was told by a village elder about its use but I forget what she had said. It has been so long, you know. Anyhow, how did you get a hold of this? It is exclusive to the Bayan-Kalan Range of the Qinghai province of China and it has never been duplicated outside of China." "We got it from Gosunkugi." Akane sets her tea cup on the table. "Gosunkugi?" Ranma leans back on his chair and Shampoo leaves, to take customer's order. Cologne gives the bottle back to Ranma. "He's some nerd at our school who thinks that magic is real and voodoo curses work." "What's his background?" Akane sighs. "We don't know. Nobody knows, not even the teachers. Why do you ask?" "Oh, don't worry about it, dear." "But I'm not really following any of this. Can you explain it to us, please?" Cologne contemplates that question for a few moments, then she nods and hops up on a seat. She motions Akane and Ranma close, so others wouldn't hear what she had to say. "Our tribe had suffering from a band of marauding tigers. Not a week would go by without one of our tribe getting mauled or killed by these beasts. A travelling sorcerer by the name of X'ian Taolu managed to destroy each and every one of the beasts. In gratitude, we gave him two of our treasures. One was this Nullifier, Blend 122. I don't remember the second item, but it was the most important of all." "So....this is your Nullifier, then?" said Ranma as he held the bottle up to the light, to show off the swirling, purple liquid. "It's very possible, son-in-law." "But that would make the man who gave the Nullifier to Gosunkugi's father over three hundred years old!" exclaimed Akane in surprise. "You would be surprised to find out just how irrational our world is. Stranger things have happened, and will happen again." "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ranma. "Exactly what it means. Take me, example." "No thanks." "As an example, foolish boy, not as your bride. Unless....you really mean it?" Ranma looks sick at that thought and Cologne smirks in triumph. "Okay, whatever. What do the instructions say on the side?" Akane took the bottle from Ranma and gave it to Cologne. "It says to use it while taking a bath in water that's neither hot nor cold. I assume that means lukewarm water. Effects will occur after a few minutes. That's it. Exactly what its effects are, I don't remember." "Alright!! I can give this one a try then, right?" Ranma held the bottle carefully. "No, not yet. The elder told me its exact purpose and I wouldn't want my future son-in-law to be exposed to unpredictable magic. Let me try and remember it before you use it, boy. The water is the key....." "She's right, Ranma. Who knows what it would do?" Ranma was in possession of another possible cure for his condition, and he knew it well. Such cures had come and gone, and while he felt that it was yet another cure in a long succession of cures - he still couldn't help but feel a huge thrill of excitement and anticipation. His curse could be nullified for good! All he had to do was use the Nullifier 122 and whatever happens, happens. If he got cured, so much the better. If he didn't, it won't cost him anything. At least, he hoped so. Cologne hops off the chair and starts to walk back to the kitchen. "I'll get Shampoo to bring you two some ramen", she calls over her shoulder. On the house. Remember, son-in-law, not to use it until I remember what it's used for." She leaves and heads back into the kitchen, deep in thought. Shampoo comes out after a short while and places two orders of ramen on the table. Ranma and Akane eat their food and leave to walk back home. The afternoon sun rose high and a cool wind sweeps the leaves from the path. The two walk into the Tendo residence. Kasumi is drying a new batch of clothes on the line. Soun and Genma are playing go, each trying to outmanoeuvre the other. A bird trills its song on the branch of a cherry blossom tree, which overlooks a pond, where graceful carp swim. Nabiki is watching TV, and Happosai...well, only God knows where he is, or what he's doing, and He's not telling. Akane takes her shoes off and steps into the house. "I'm home! Kasumi, I don't need dinner tonight, I already ate. Nabiki?" "Yes?" "Did anyone call for me?" "Yes. Sayuri called at about five. Said something about a slumber party and she would be coming with Anemi.....and two others." Akane checks her watch. It was 5:30. "Sounds fine to me. Thanks, Nabiki." "I ought to charge you for that, but you're my sister and I'll make an exception this time." Akane heaves a sigh at Nabiki's mercenary character, yet she knows at the same time that Nabiki did have a soft spot in her heart for friends and family, no matter her outside demeanour. Kasumi stepped out of the kitchen and she beckoned to Akane. "Akane, could you come and help me make the treats for the slumber party?" Her words on Akane were instantly electrifying, making Akane pep up with newfound vigor. "I'd love to!" She was already following Kasumi into the kitchen. Ranma snorts and takes his leave, to go practice in the backyard. He sets up a circle of straw dummies and he begins to warm up, to stretch his limbs and to get into the mood. Then he launches himself into a flying kick, with his right foot just brushing the side of a dummy's face. He followed up with his left foot from behind in a roundhouse, slamming the ball of his foot into the dummy's side. Then, spinning like a top, he delivered backhand after backhand to its face with frightening speed and power, each strike making the dummy shake and sway, and culminated with a punch from his right fist that focused all the power of his ki and his muscles and broke the dummy off its stand, sending it flying to the far end of the backyard - some 30 metres away. But he wasn't finished yet. He still had three opponents remaining. A sidekick later and another straw dummy went to join the first. He leapt high into the air and landed a kick on the third, then using the third as a springboard, he bounced off and kneed the fourth in the head. In seconds, it was all over. The wreckage of four straw dummies lay about him and he wasn't even sweating. He needed more of a challenge than just fighting against set targets, but what could give him a serious workout? More importantly, who could? Kuno was a joke, and so was Mousse, although they were far superior to the best *average* martial artist. He sparred with Akane sometimes, but he found her too little of a challenge to make their matches interesting. Not that he told her, as he would be liable to receive a mallet on the head for his comments. He needed someone with whom he didn't have to pull his punches, or pass up opportunities for easy victories due to flaws in defenses, and that person would still have to give him a run for his money. That someone was Ryoga. Through their days as budding martial artists, Ranma had the advantage of a tutor - in his father, that was, while Ryoga had nobody but himself and his determination to beat Ranma. Ranma was surprised that Ryoga was such a good martial artist without having been taught in any school or by any tutor. Ranma looked about for him, hoping to see a glimpse of his bandanna, or his red umbrella and his heavy pack, or even a little black pig. He saw none of what he was looking for, even after leaping onto the rooftop with a single bound. He suddenly lost interest in working out today, as there were no challenges worthy of him on the horizon, and he went inside to take a bath. It felt strange, but refreshing to take a break from his usual routine. As he stepped by the kitchen, he heard Kasumi asking Akane to fetch her ingredients and other things - and he did not hear her asking Akane to make the sweets. Though Kasumi seemed rather oblivious at times, Ranma was not really surprised to see such insight and thoughtfulness in her - she wasn't about to let Akane, with her underdeveloped `cooking' skills, make the sweets that would seal her friends' collective fates. Ranma grabs his bath stuff from his room and puts the Nullifier bottle into his bath pail. He was not about to let it go out of sight just yet! He stripped his clothing off and hung it on pegs behind the door, taking care to lock it as he did, then he filled the tub with hot water while he sat on a plastic chair. Then he tipped a bucket of cold water over himself and she shivered at the chilliness. She pours more cold water on herself, making sure that she washed every inch of herself. She lifts each of her breasts, mumbling and muttering to herself as she pours the water under them. When she was a guy, she never had to do this! It irked her to see, and feel, body parts that only a girl should be most familiar with. The tub was almost full of hot water and she turned the tap off. Now she would let it cool down a bit while she soaped herself. As she was smaller as a girl, she could get herself soaped faster and thereby getting into the hot tub sooner. She couldn't deny herself the fact that she had a killer body, for a teenage girl. Her breasts were the largest of any girl, part-time or not, in Furinkan High and her figure rivalled that of Shampoo in pleasing contours. What made all the difference was that this body was *hers*, and not belonging to another girl. As she scrubs her back, she started to wonder what it would be like to be free of the curse...right now. Wonder changed to curiosity, and curiosity quickly turns into temptation. The little bottle seemed to beckon to her, seemed to invite her to pour its contents into the bath. Ranma-chan sat unmoving for quite a long time, thinking and weighing the pros and cons of using something she didn't even know about. But she was, by nature, stubborn and unwilling to wait. What does the old ghoul know anyway? She waited until the bath water had cooled to lukewarm, then she opened the bottle and slowly let a single drop fall out. The purple liquid dissipated quickly. Ranma-chan hesitates for a second, then she washes the soap off herself with a bucket of hot water and he gets into the tub. He thought he felt a slight tingle but wasn't sure. Convinced that not enough Nullifier was used, Ranma tips it just enough for another drop. Unfortunately, through a combination of soapy hands and blind fate, the bottle slips from his grip and falls with a plop into the tub. Cursing, he flailed blindly under the surface of the water with his hands, grabbing for the bottle, but it kept slipping out of his grasp - as if it had a mind of its own. After three futile tries, he managed to get a hold of it and he held it up. Where once was purple liquid, now only water remained. The tingle started even as his eyes widened in the realization of what he did. The sensation felt like tiny needle pricks on the part of his body that was submerged in the lukewarm water. The tingle quickly increased in intensity and Ranma tried to get out of the bath. But his legs felt like lead and the water seemed as viscous as wet cement. He tried to call for help but nothing came out, just a strangled croak. The tingling now probed the beginning of real pain, and Ranma was helpless! Suddenly an explosion of light burst forth from the waters and engulfed Ranma, delivering him into the realm of unconsciousness. * * * "Ice cream, everyone!" Kasumi stepped out of the kitchen with a tray that had a tub of ice cream and a number of bowls and spoons. Practically everyone dropped whatever they were doing and they rushed for the table. Kasumi smiles as she begins dishing out the treat. It was one of the many things everyone liked about her - she was apt to spring pleasant surprises in subtle, yet tangible ways. Akane took a spoonful of the ice cream and she licked it. Then she looked around. "Where's Ranma? He loves this flavor of ice cream", she asked. "Last I saw of him was when he went to take a bath, like half an hour ago. You know, he's been in there awfully long.....", replied Nabiki. "Oh, my. I hope there's nothing wrong. I'll go check on him", assured Kasumi as she stood up. Akane shoos Kasumi back and seats her in her chair, pushing a bowl of ice cream before her. "Don't worry about him. Let's keep his share in the freezer. He's bound to come out any moment now." Minutes pass and everyone finishes their ice cream and go back to whatever they were doing before. Soon, an hour has passed since Ranma went inside the bath. Kasumi turns to Akane. "Akane, why don't you go check on Ranma?" "Sure. Whatever you say. I hope nothing has happened...." Akane gets up and she runs to the bath, fearing the worst. * * * Ranma-chan woke up in the bath, feeling the cool water on her lower torso and the air on her upper torso. She found herself slumped in one corner of the bath, one arm dangling over the edge and the other on her lap, both her legs folded beneath her. She sat up straight and examined herself for any injuries. She found none. Ranma-chan glances over the edge of the tub and sees the empty bottle of Nullifier lying there. "Well....that didn't seem to work. Oh well, just another thing that seemed to be a cure." She raises herself out of the tub. And falls straight back on her butt, splashing a considerable amount of water out of the tub. She rubbed her eyes once, then twice. Ranma was *right there* at the other end of the tub. She was so shocked that she couldn't even think, nor move, nor react in any other way than to stare in surprise. Ranma awoke from unconsciousness and lay looking at the bath ceiling for a long moment or two. He could feel the cool water of the bath lapping at his body. He tentatively felt himself from head to toe, making sure as to what sex he was at the moment. No mistake about it, he was male. A grab in between his legs confirmed that to him. And that meant.....Ranma bolted upright, a huge smile on his face. He heard a little splash from the other end of the tub, and looked up. Ranma stared at Ranma-chan sitting at the other end of the tub, who was staring back just as surprised, and as naked, as he was. "Ummm....this is just a dream, right?" asked Ranma-chan as she fidgeted not a metre from Ranma. "It must be a dream. No way there could be my female self right across from me. No way." Ranma rubbed his eyes and pinched his skin. "But...I'm right here. Why is it....I mean...why are you.....there?" "I...I should ask you the same question. This has gotta be a dream! I mean....I'm male and I'm here...and you're female and over there. It just...just doesn't make sense!" Ranma bangs his head on the tub, a decision he immediately regretted for he cut his forehead on the edge. He felt the pain searing on his head and he felt the blood dripping from the cut. He tasted the blood. It tasted salty. This couldn't be a dream! In addition to the pain, he felt the stirrings of sexual arousement beginning, just by looking at his naked female form. He remembered what he was thinking about before, when he had been female and soaping himself, and he turns beet red. He never realized how exact and accurate his thoughts had been until now....! Ranma-chan saw Ranma's reddening face. Putting one and one together, she crossed both her arms across her breasts and turned her lower body away from Ranma. "S-sorry. Are you...are you real?" Ranma inches a little closer to Ranma-chan. "As real as that!" Ranma-chan shrinks away from Ranma and nods at the growing erection between Ranma's legs, not daring to take her arms off herself. "I can't help it! If you're real, then take my hand. I want to feel you, to see if you're...you're really real." Ranma stretches out a hand which Ranma-chan slaps away, and quickly covers herself again. "You pervert! How dare you try and feel me!" Ranma looks at the reddening slap mark on his hand and he looks back up at Ranma-chan. "It's true. You're real." "This has gotta be a dream! I can't be with you. You are me. I am you. We are the same people.....unless.... the Nullifier really did work. But, I thought it was supposed to nullify curses..." "It did. I'm not female." "I'm...I'm gonna put some hot water into the tub." Still holding an arm over her breasts, she gets out and walks over to the tap, which was near by Ranma. She bends over and turns the hot water tap on. She leaves the tap running and she sits right next to the taps, letting her body get the hot water first. Ranma sat there, mesmerized by the naked beauty next to him. "What's the matter? Never seen a real guy before?!" growled Ranma-chan. She splashes some really hot water on herself, oblivious to the pain. Ranma winced. "What guy? I...I mean...you're still a girl." Ranma-chan shot to her feet and tore her arms from her breasts. "I-AM-NOT-A-GIRL! I'm a guy now! See?" Ranma-chan thumps a hand on her chest and stands up, dripping water from her graceful curves, long legs. Ranma's eyes goggle as he takes in her water-slicked breasts, wet and shiny flanks, and her wet and still-dripping pubic hair. Ranma-chan looks down at her body. "Eeeeeeeeaaaahhh! I'm....still a girl!!" She dunks her head back under the scalding hot water. "This should....owww!....this should do the trick!" "No, stop, you fool! You'll get boiled alive!!" "Shut up, you!! I'm a guy, not a girl! C'mon, change, damn it!" Ranma grabbed Ranma-chan by the shoulders and dragged her kicking and screaming from the jet of near-boiling water shooting out the tap. She tries to throw herself under the tap again but Ranma flung both arms around her body and pulled her from the tub. His hands were clamped tight around her firm breasts, which made rather excellent hand holds. His still-erect manhood poked hard against her butt and Ranma-chan shrieked. She turns around and slugs Ranma one across the face. "PERVERT!! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!" "H-hey! I didn't mean to do that! I was only trying to help you!" Ranma backed away defensively, one hand trying vainly to cover himself, the other in a defensive posture. Ranma-chan looked steamed, literally. Her upper torso was completely red from the near-boiling water. Suddenly conscious of her nakedness, she sinks to her knees and covers herself with her hands, which she pulled away immediately because even a mere touch on her scalded skin was pure agony. "Wh-why didn't I change back? Why? WHY??!?" "The Nullifier! It did work! But instead of curing my curse completely, it....sort of, like, separated my female half from my male half, or something. So we aren't cursed anymore, it's just that I'm back to normal and you're in a normal girl's body." Ranma stands up, still holding himself, and gets a towel. "Here, you put this on until we get this all sorted out......" The bathroom door slams open and Akane runs in, one hand clapped over her eyes. Ranma yelps in fright. "Ranma?! Is there something wrong?!" cried Akane. Ranma, in a supreme act of willpower, willed his manhood back to normal and covered himself with the towel in record time. Ranma-chan is still examining herself, trying to find out why she didn't change back. "A-Akane!" stammered Ranma. Ranma-chan took little notice. "Is Shampoo in here again?! I heard a girl's voice in here, Ranma! No use hiding, Shampoo!" Akane pulls a mallet from behind her back. "Come here, you...little...!" "Akane! Shampoo's not in here...in fact...." "In fact what? She's hanging all over you like a cheap suit? There's too much mist in here to see! How hot did you have the water anyhow, like boiling?" Ranma-chan heard nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat, and she saw nothing but her female body. Why didn't she change back? Why was she still a girl? The full horror of the situation was only beginning to assert itself onto her mind. She was no longer male. She was a female, for good it seemed. Nothing felt right. The situation was not good, for her at least, she felt very painful all over, and nothing of her body seemed to move or feel okay. Damnit, she was a guy, not a girl!! Akane stumbled into the bathroom, blindly swinging. At length, she simply dropped her hand from her eyes and she stalked the bathroom, ears tuning out the sound of the hot water tap. Through the billowing clouds of steam coming from the super-heated bath, she could make out Ranma searching for his clothing ....and a female form on the bath floor, hands out and resting on either side of her, her head turned down. "Ah-hah! There you are, Shampoo!! Hii-yaaa!" Akane lifts the mallet up over her head and brings it down on whom she thought to be Shampoo. "Aaaaahhhh!!!", cried Ranma-chan as she catches the mallet in both hands, just two or three inches from her head. "Nnnnnggrrrrrr! Die, you!!" growled Akane as she leaned into the mallet and strained against Ranma-chan's strength. Bit by bit, due to Akane's leverage, Ranma-chan's arms began to give out to the tremendous pressure. "A-Akane!! I'm Ranma!! Take a good look!" cried out Ranma- chan in desperation. "R-Ranma?" Akane looks over at Ranma in his towel, and back at the still-undefined female shape on the floor, but she did not let up on Ranma-chan. Seeing that, Ranma ran over and turned the tap off. Then he opened a window, to let all the steam out. The bathroom clears and Ranma-chan is revealed, kneeling before Akane, naked and holding off her attack. Akane let the mallet drop from nerveless fingers as she stared from Ranma to Ranma-chan and back. "What is going on here?! Ranma!" She turns on Ranma, who pulls his towel tighter. Ranma-chan dropped the mallet and she put her hands on the floor beside her, resting them. Now her thoughts were focused on Akane and she looked upwards. "Umm....the Nullifier dropped into the bath. All of it spilled into the water and then this happened." Akane knelt down next to Ranma-chan and she tentatively reached out a hand, and touched her, getting a wince and a small gasp of pain from Ranma-chan. "Ranma? Are you alright?" asked Akane. "Yeah," replied Ranma. "She means me, stupid. Well, I got burnt by the hot water. I didn't change back though...", said Ranma-chan. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. Akane looked Ranma-chan over, and she noticed finger marks on Ranma-chan's breasts - four finger marks per breast and a finger mark on either side of her back, corresponding to the level of her breasts. In other words, it looked as if someone had grabbed her from behind. "Who did that to you?!" exclaimed Akane. She looked up at Ranma. "Ranma!! You PERVERT!!" "I was only trying to pull her away from the hot water tap, stupid! Tell her!" Ranma yelled at both Akane and Ranma-chan alike. Akane got a towel from the rack and draped it over Ranma-chan. Ranma- chan's skin begins to return to normal. Two Ranmas. Akane looked them over and she sighed. If it weren't for her daily diet of wackiness and crazy events, she would have been much more surprised at this. It wasn't any crazier than super strength soba, or fathers that turn into pandas and it didn't seem any more earthshaking than those. There was always a cure, right? At least, that was what Akane was hoping for. She couldn't handle TWO Ranmas running about, could she? Akane picks the Nullifier bottle up. "You used the Nullifier, didn't you?" It was a fact, not a question and Ranma knew it. "Yeah.....", replied both Ranma and Ranma-chan. "...and it cured me of the curse!!" finished Ranma. "...it gave me the curse!!" finished Ranma-chan. Ranma and Ranma-chan look at each other at each other's words, then Ranma-chan frowns. "What are doing in my body?!" she yelled. "Your body? This is *my* body, not yours!!" Ranma pulled his towel tighter in a protective motion. "But I'm a guy, not a girl!! My body is a guy's body, not this girl's body! It's...it's *your* fault that I'm a girl, for good it seems!!" "Wha...*my* fault?! Are you forgetting that YOU put the Nullifier into the bath, shorty!?" Ranma was pointing at Ranma-chan in accusation. Akane folded her arms, and a bluish battle aura began to play about her as she fought to retain some control of her anger. "So did you!! And who are you calling shorty?!" "You!!" "Hey....guys.....", began Akane. "And you're a pervert 'cuz you tried to...." "I already told you, I was trying to help save your worthless skin from boiling alive, but I see you're an ingrate!" "What do you mean by `ingrate'?!" screeched Ranma-chan. Ranma smirked. "And I can see you're a *girl* as well!" he said with a sly look on his face. "Why you....!" "Girly-girly-girr....ly!" Ranma-chan grabs a bucket and flings it at Ranma, who catches it and whips it back. Ranma-chan dodged the missile and threw a bottle of shampoo, and Ranma dodged that as well. "See, I knew it!! Girls can't even throw straight!" taunted Ranma as Ranma-chan hefted the bath chair. "Eat this!!" screamed Ranma-chan as she began to throw it at Ranma, who made a face at her. "ENOUGH!! The both of you, shut up!" Akane had lost her cool and she whirled on Ranma. "You're at as much fault as she is, but the least the BOTH of YOU could do is to stop fighting!" Ranma-chan turned to Akane. "But he's cured and I'm not! That makes it *his* fault!" she shrieked. "Huh?" Akane didn't see the reasoning behind that. Ranma walks away. "Well, I'm not gonna stand around here like this", he called back over his shoulder even as he grabbed his clothing and left. "HEY, IDIOT!! THOSE ARE MY CLOTHES!!!", yelled Ranma- chan as she wrapped the towel securely about her body and ran after her male counterpart. Akane follows Ranma-chan out the door. Ranma was in his room, his pants on, and he was about to put on a shirt. when Ranma-chan tore in, wet, dripping and clothed in only a slip of a towel. She glares at Ranma in anger. "That's my favorite shirt you're wearing!!" she growled. "No it's not!! It's my favorite shirt!" "Give that to me!" Holding the towel in place with one hand, Ranma-chan grabbed at the shirt with the other and tried to take it away. Ranma contemptuously pulls it away from Ranma-chan's one-handed grip. Ranma-chan fairly snarled in anger and she took hold of the shirt with both her hands, pulling with all her might and leaning backwards. Unfortunately her towel took a mind of its own and fell from her body, exposing her nakedness to Ranma. Yelping in fright, Ranma-chan let go of the shirt and made a grab for her towel. Ranma couldn't resist the temptation and he kicked the towel into the air with one foot and caught it. Ranma-chan screeched and lunged for the towel but Ranma dangled it just out of reach. "Ha ha ha! Too short to reach it.....shorty?" Ranma dangled it again. Ranma-chan presses up against Ranma and stretches up for the towel, bringing a good part of her nude body against Ranma's own. There seemed to be a slight crackle of electricity as that happened, that both of them thought they could hear and feel, but nothing out of the ordinary happened just yet. Ranma noted, somewhat absently, how *soft* yet firm her breasts were - how silky her skin felt against his......how was it he never noticed such things when Shampoo did the same thing? This was his female side, for crying out loud! "GIVE ME THAT!!!" shrieked Ranma-chan in desperation. She too felt her own body against Ranma's, and she did not like how it felt at all. At least, that was what her mind told her. She was a guy, and he was a guy, and guys shouldn't, musn't, do stuff like this. Yet, her body sang a whole different tune altogether. It bombarded her with new feelings, new sensations - things she had never experienced before. Like the *excitement* she felt coursing throughout her body when the tips of her breasts rubbed against Ranma's abs, for he was still unclothed from the waist up. Or how she began to feel all hot and bothered below, and she resisted an urge to reach down and rub between her legs - to quell whatever was happening there. "Ranma!!!!" Both Ranma and Ranma-chan turn around at that voice. Ranma had only enough time to witness a fist flying at his face before he was whacked into the wall. Akane picked the towel up and gave it to Ranma-chan, who was covering herself with both hands. "Th-thanks, Akane." Ranma-chan gratefully takes the towel and she wraps herself in it. Akane turns to Ranma. "Ranma, you pervert!!" she snarled at him. Ranma-chan became outraged at that. "Hey, it's his fault!!", she yelled in protest. "Not you, idiot!! Him!!" Akane shot back while pointing at Ranma, who was just getting up from Akane's punch. "O...oh. Sorry." With that, Ranma-chan began to hunt around for clothes. Akane interposed herself between Ranma and Ranma-chan, looming dangerously over Ranma. "Alright, Akane! Alright!! Enough with that `I'm gonna kill you' look, already! I was just playing with her...!" "HIM!! I'm a guy, not a girl!!!" Ranma-chan had turned about with a shirt and a pair of pants in her hands. "A guy that has a pair of real breasts and nothing between *her* legs?" *WHACK* A clock had somehow been displaced from the top of the clothes drawer and now it was attached to Ranma's face. Ranma-chan dusted her hands off and she looked for a private place to begin changing. Seeing none, she looked at Akane with a pleading expression on her face while holding her clothes up - and Akane drags an unconscious Ranma out of the room. The door shuts behind Akane and almost immediately she heard running. "What's all the noise all about? Kasumi just told me that there seemed to be a fight going on up here!" Soun was climbing the stairs with Genma, Nabiki and Kasumi in tow. Genma adjusts the glasses on his face. "Ranma, my boy. You have fighting spirit, and so do you, Akane, but you two should keep it in the dojo, not in the house...." began Genma. Nabiki turned Ranma's head towards her. "Wow, I guess this is what you would call a `timely appearance'", punned Nabiki. "Cut it out, Nabiki. Dad, I'd....I'd like you to meet Ranma....and Ranma." "Ranma...and Ranma?" Soun looked confused, as did everyone else. Ranma's door opened and Ranma-chan breezed out, in her favorite red shirt and black pants. She was adjusting her hair with her hands, smoothing it back and making sure nothing was sticking out, and she seemed to be looking for something to look into - to see her reflection. Then she noticed six pairs of eyes on her and she turned to face them all. "What? What's wrong? Is it my hair?" asked Ranma-chan. She pulled her pigtail around and examined it with a critical eye. "Akane...tell me it's a dream", said Soun. "It's NOT a dream, Dad." "It's a dream for me, Akane!" Nabiki had produced a camera and she was twirling it around on one finger. "Oh...are they really separate people, but with the same mind?" asked Kasumi. "But I'm still Ranma, even though he's stolen *my* body...", began Ranma-chan. "*Your* body? Your body is that girl's body. My body is this guy's body. Seems pretty fair to me." "No it's not!! You're the one who screwed up by putting the Nullifier into the bath!!" "Hey, I thought I already...." "Oh, my. Where are you going to sleep, Ranma?" asked Kasumi. "In my room, Kasumi. Where else?" replied Ranma. "She means me, dummy. In my room, where else?" said Ranma- chan. "Didn't I just say that?" "So you did. It's *my* room and I ain't gonna share it with nobody!!" "No, it's *my* room and I ain't gonna share it with..." "It's *both* your rooms. And you'll both have to stay there because we don't have any other guest rooms", finished Akane. Ranma and Ranma-chan look sullen for a long moment, and they wondered if they should fight to see who would get the room. Then, they simply grumbled their assent with Akane's order. Everyone heard a tapping sound coming from below and Kasumi looked over. Cologne hopped up the stairs on her stick and landed before everyone. "Cologne!", cried Akane, "thank God you're here! Can you tell us what's going on around here?"