Pink light shot out from the Moon Scepter in all directions, then focused in on Ranma. His body floated up into the air, and he said involuntarily, "Beautiful..." and closed his eyes.
Water poured off of his body and puddled beneath him. In the water, his reflection showed a red-headed girl. Meanwhile, the sound of dozens of cats yowling was heard, and the ghostly forms of cats flew out of his body for a moment, vanishing as quickly as they had appeared. Below him, the pool of water evaporated away.
Ranma grew several inches taller, and though the watchers couldn't see it, the scars hidden under his clothes faded away.
"Why did he get taller?" Minako wondered.
Ami speculated, "Perhaps he didn't get proper nutrition as a child, and so didn't grow to his proper height?"
Makoto commented, "He was cute before, but now he looks just like --"
"We know, we know." Ami, Rei, and Minako interrupted her.
Meanwhile, inside Ranma's mind, Ranma found himself in the Cat-fist pit - but there was only one cat there, and Ranma found he wasn't afraid.
"What's going on?" Ranma wondered.
The cat spoke in Ranma's voice. "You no longer need me, so I'll be leaving you now. Before I go, though, I wanted to pass on my knowledge."
"Huh?"
The cat began to glow, then leaped at Ranma. Ranma held his arms up to block the cat, but the cat turned transparent and passed through his arms and into Ranma.
Now Ranma found himself reliving the times he'd spent in the cat-fist. He remembered how to act as a cat, how to generate ki-claws, and even how he had "kissed" Akane.
As the last of the memories ended, Ranma knew that from then on he'd be able to act, think, and fight like a cat or a human whenever he wanted, and that he would never be afraid of cats again.
Ranma felt the cold air around him, the sound of several women talking about something, and his feet resting on the ground. He opened his eyes and saw Eternal Sailor Moon looking at him.
"How do you feel?" Moon asked Ranma.
"Good. Really good. Better than I've ever felt before," Ranma said with a bit of surprise. He looked down at himself, then did a few practice punches and kicks. He then adjusted his clothes and looked around at the girls in confusion. "Am I... taller?"
Moon looked embarrassed. "A little bit. Ami thinks it's because you were shorter than you were supposed to be because you didn't eat well enough as a kid. ...I hope it's not a problem..."
Ranma grumbled, "Damn it, Pops!" then shook his head. To Moon he said, "Nah, I got used to fighting with a girl's body before, getting used to being a little taller shouldn't be that big of a problem. ...But what about my curse? Do you think it's gone?"
Moon nodded. "I think so. My healing removed a pool of water with the image of a girl in it from you - I'm guessing that was your girl-curse."
"Was the girl a red-head?"
"Yes."
"That would be the curse then."
"It also removed... um, what looked like the ghosts of several cats..."
"Ghosts...? Does that mean I was being haunted?"
Ami said, "They could have represented something else."
"If you say so. The important thing is, I'm not afraid of cats anymore! Thanks! ...Which reminds me..." Ranma looked down at his hand, and glowing "claws" appeared at the ends of his fingers. Ranma smirked, then let them disappear again.
Rei, Minako, and Makoto's jaws dropped, and Ami's eyes widened.
Rei said suspiciously, "How did you do that?!"
"It's a martial arts technique - the Cat-Fist. It allows you to form your ki into claws that can cut through just about anything. The method for teaching the technique was banned, however, 'cause if it doesn't kill the student, it can drive the person insane. I was lucky - I only thought I was a cat some of the time. But now, I'm fine, and can perform the technique without thinking I'm a cat!"
Minako said quietly to the others, "He only thought he was a cat some of the time...?"
Makoto said equally quietly, "If that's lucky, I don't want to meet someone who was unlucky when learning the technique!"
Ignoring the girls' mutterings, Ranma said, "I wish we could test to see for sure if I'm cured of my curse, though. Too bad we don't have any cold water around..."
Moon turned to Ami. "Hey, you can make cold water. Why don't you transform and splash him?"
Ami hesitated, then nodded.
Rei put her hand to her forehead. Quietly, she said, "Like I said, bye-bye secret identities!"
Pulling out her transformation pen, Ami cried, "Mercury Crystal Power, MAKE UP!" Her body was covered in a pattern of blue light but one could tell that her clothes had vanished. A wall of water splashed up around her, and when it receded she was dressed as Super Sailor Mercury.
Mercury told Ranma, "By the way, we usually keep the fact that we're the Sailor Senshi a secret. If and when we get back to our own time, could you please not reveal our identities to anybody?"
Ranma nodded. "No problem."
Not wanting to hurt Ranma, Mercury used her weakest attack, "Mercury Bubbles Blast!", aiming it so the bubbles would hit Ranma before they broke open to create the attack's usual fog.
Hitting Ranma, the bubbles burst into a combination of water and mist. When the mist cleared, Ranma was wet (though only dripping a little), but fully male.
Seeing his clothes plastered to his muscular frame, Minako licked her lips and drooled a bit.
Ranma looked down at himself, then burst into a wide grin. He began dancing around, singing, "Never gonna be a girl again!"
Everyone sweatdropped.
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(Posted Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:23)
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