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Swinging the bathroom door open, an exiting teenager stumbled as his hand met no resistance. Ranma mumbled an "excuse me" and slid by the young man. Said youth glanced back in confusion and hesitated before shrugging in embarrassment and leaving. Ranma knew without looking back that the teenager was considering whether he should the 'confused' girl that she was in the wrong restroom. She was used to it, but still let out a satisfied and somewhat relieved sigh as she felt the male presence disappear and the door settle closed.
Considering herself in the mirror, Ranma could only smirk and say, "didn't think I'd see you again." Losing the smirk, she reached for the faucet handle. "now to get you cleaned up." And then I can get this damn gift shopping for ucchan over and done with. Sighing for what seemed the nth time in the past half hour, she twisted the knob and water rushed from the faucet to greet sink and drain. The girl-turned-boy had dried of on her way to McDonalds, and if it weren't for disgusting feel of dried dirt, she would have skipped getting wet again. Looking down and cupping the still cold water in her hands, she leaned forward and began to scrub her face clean. When she was done, her eyes opened and she checked to see how well she had done her job.
The sound of water meeting no resistance and splashing against white played backdrop to widened eyes and bloodless face. Ranma had done her job well. In fact, so well that, along with the dirt, she had scrubbed her old face right off. Staring in horror at what the mirror had to offer, Ranma Saotome moved the lips of Ukyo Kuonji in a silent attempt to do ... to do something. Whether to keep her world from crumbling further or to merely give in and cry, Ranma needed to hear something other than the water splashing the sink and the- and the steam staining her face? Thrusting her hands underneath the faucet and the now hot water made him flinch and then exhale noisily at the welcome change in reflection.
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In the park, Ranma sat slumped forward and wearily scrubbed his hands through his hair. He apologized to Ucchan in his mind, because he would definitely be seeing her sooner rather than later. He still had to get her a gift. A cheap one too, unless he could scrounge up some money somehow. There was always his father's path, which could swing him a better gift and a nice dinner as well (though wouldn't likely look too good in front of his friend). Maybe he could take over her dinner rush and let her take a nap and get ready and then treat her to a movie or a kin-of-nice dinner. It's the thought that counts, right?
These thoughts however, were set aside for the moment, and would return if time permitted. What was important at the moment was the curse. The new curse. His mind played over the different aspects and implications of his situation even as his eyes roamed the park noting the various activities of the other visitors. His curse was now even more of a wild card. Before, he only had to worry about not knowing when he would get splashed. Now, now he had to worry about not knowing when he would get splashed and what he would turn into. Add to that the fact that being splashed while transformed caused him to change forms again and, well, Ranma was not pleased. He smiled at the two children loudly chasing squirrels around the park as their mother sat in a tired heap upon the bench adjacent to his. What scared him the most were the unknowns. The old wizard had implied that physical form may not be the only thing that could change in the transformation. He could possibly lose all control and turn into a completely different person with cold water. Another disturbing element concerning the loss of control was the old man's thoughts on the human mind. Ranma didn't know much about philosophy or psychology or whatever it was scientists called it, but he understood what the old fart was getting at. If Ranma had forewarning of coldwater, and that was a big 'if,' his control of the change could be tenuous at best. This all would have been easier if the thought of mental change hadn't scared him off from experimenting with the transformation. Still, I gotta' do something.
(Posted Wed, 09 Oct 2002 10:56)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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