Ranma 1/2: Both Halves Part One m.a. davis/miko belldandy@angelic.com Dr. Tofu carefully wrapped Akane’s leg as Ranma looked on. It was early morning, and the two apparent heirs to the Tendo Training Hall had dropped by Tofu’s clinic on their way to work. Tofu stifled a yawn as he finished the job, and glanced at the clock. With a full half hour before school started, there was no need for the two kids to hurry, but honestly, it was just like these two to find a way to get injured first thing in the morning. “So, you say this happened when Akane kicked an incense burner?” he asked. “More like tripped,” Ranma said. “Baka! I was trying to help you!” “Hey, no need to call me names. I can’t help it if you’re clumsy.” “Ranma, you idiot!” Akane began, and Dr. Tofu placed a hand on her shoulder. “Please, Akane, it’s too early and I don’t want to be treating Ranma next. Can you tell me what you were doing burning incense this early in the morning?” Ranma made a strange face. “It was just Happosai again,” Ranma said. “Trying to create two of me like he did last time. He never gives up.” “It was a good thing I heard him,” Akane said. “We don’t need to go through that whole demonic possession thing again.” “Create two of you?” Dr. Tofu said. “Demonic possession? I don’t think I’ve heard this story before. Do you have time to tell me?” Ten minutes later, having heard the whole story of Happosai’s attempt to split Ranma’s Yin and Yang, his male and female selves, the creation of an evil female Ranma, his dark side, his “yang”, and of the battle and ultimate defeat of this creature, Dr. Tofu sipped his tea thoughtfully. “Strange,” Dr. Tofu said, staring off into the distance. “How do you mean, Tofu-Sensei?” Akane asked. “It’s just that... I’ve read about this ceremony, and the special incense used, but I’ve never read of one of the results working out quite like that.” He looked back at the two seated before him. “Happosai clearly is not performing the ceremony correctly. If he were, the results would be different. This is a ceremony that is used when someone has developed distinctly different selves, and there is a need to separate the two...” “You mean split personalities? But that’s not Ranma’s problem.” “Well,” Dr. Tofu replied, taking another sip, “I think that was one of the original intents, but I’m sure I’ve read of it being used in cases such as this as well... in cases that involve a Jusenkyo curse, or a similar curse. My point is, if it were done right, there would be two Ranmas, one male and one female, and neither would be evil. If done right, they would both be you...” Ranma suddenly became very animated. “Do you mean that? You could actually split my male and female halves? I could be cured?” Dr. Tofu frowned. “I don’t know if I would call it a cure, Ranma. But yes, I think that, with a bit of research, I could perform the ceremony successfully. In fact, I’m sure of it.” “Yatta!” Ranma exclaimed jumping up. “Tofu-Sensei, that’s wonderful news! Could you do that for me? Could you?” Dr. Tofu set his tea down. His frown deepened. “Ranma, I don’t think you know what you’re asking. It’s not as easy as it sounds, and it’s not going to solve all of your problems.” As he saw the young man’s face fall, Dr. Tofu relented. “Okay, Ranma, I’ll tell you what. I’ll research this, to make sure I really know how to do it, then I’ll come to you with my proposal. Even if I can do it, it may not be what you really want.” What, are you kidding? It’s exactly what I want!” “But Ranma,” Akane said, “wouldn’t part of you be trapped as a girl?” “What? Who cares? The rest of me would be free of the curse! That’s all that matters!” Dr. Tofu sighed. “Well, I think you two had better head off to school. I’ll talk to you again when I’ve finished my research.” *** Three nights later Dr. Tofu sat at the table in the family room of the Tendo household, and for once, he wasn’t freaked out by the presence of Kasumi, just one room away. The doors were slid back to allow the afternoon sunlight in and a slight breeze was blowing from out over the pond. Within the walls of the Tendo dojo, everything was quiet and peaceful, and the only sound was that of the Doctor’s voice. “I’ve done a lot of reading in the last three days,” he said. “I’ve even consulted with Cologne, and I asked Happosai to describe to me what he himself attempted to do. After a lot of thought on the subject, I’m convinced that I can perform the ceremony correctly, and that no harm will come to Ranma during the process.” “All right!” Ranma exclaimed. “When can we do it?” “Ranma!” Akane exclaimed, “Don’t be stupid! This is serious! You can’t just jump straight into it.” “What would a kawaiikune like you know about it?” “Ranma!” Dr. Tofu extended his hand. “Ranma, Akane’s right. You must listen to me carefully, and think hard about this. I know you think that you’re going to wake up permanently cured, but that will only be true for one of you. This ceremony will create two of you, permanently, and one of those two will be permanently cursed. At least, she will be female forever. We know that the Ranma who wakes up male will be able to adjust, so the decision really has to come from the other Ranma.” “What? How do you mean?” “What I mean is, do you really want to become female for the rest of your life?” Ranma looked uncomfortable. “Of course not! That’s not what this is about!” “That’s exactly what this is about,” Dr. Tofu said. “You are going to wake up afterwards, male forever. That is true. It’s also true that you are also going to wake up afterwards, female forever. Do you understand? You need to stop thinking about what it will be like to wake up forever cured, and think about what it will be like to wake up forever cursed because that person will be you. You, Ranma, will wake up a girl. You, Ranma. Not someone else that you can ignore. That person who winds up trapped in your girl form forever will be you. It’s not something that’s going to go away; it’s something that you’re going to have to live with for the rest of your life. And there will be another you, one who is cured, one who is male, one who is engaged to Akane and is the son of Genma Saotome and Nodoka Saotome, one who is the heir to the school of Anything-Goes Martial Arts, and that person will not be you! Is that what you want?” “No!” Ranma said. “I mean... of course not!” “Then I can not perform the ceremony.” “Now wait a second!” Ranma said. “One of me is going to be cured, right?” “Of course,” Dr. Tofu said, “but please understand what I’m saying. This decision needs to be made by the you that is going to become female forever. If the male you makes the decision, then it’s an easy one, but you haven’t paused to give any thought to the consequences of your actions. If you make this decision knowing that you’re the one who will stay female, then it’s much, much harder. The question is, can you can sacrifice yourself so that another version of you -- one that isn’t you any longer -- can be happy?” Ranma’s eyes grew wide, as the meaning of Dr. Tofu’s words finally hit home. *** “Is it so bad being a girl?” Akane asked. The two were sitting on the roof of the dojo as the sun set. Bright orange rays of light settled over the tiled roofs of Nerima, and Ranma stared off into the distance, lost in thought. “Yes... no...” Ranma said. “I mean... when Herb splashed me with the chiisuiton... when I thought I would never be a man again...” Ranma paused, clenching and unclenching his fists. “I don’t know if I could face that again, Akane... I... and yet...” He paused again, and looked into her eyes. Tears were coming from his eyes. “I... you.... Akane... you deserve someone who isn’t cursed... and I...” “Stop,” Akane said, placing her hand on his. “I don’t want you to make this decision because of me. You should know by now that I can live with your curse. I... I love you, Ranma. I...” Ranma stiffened momentarily at the words. Even now, even after what he’d said in Jusenkyo, even after their near wedding afterwards, the two of them still had trouble expressing their feelings for each other. Both of them knew how the other felt, and yet, having it said was still something of a shock to him. Ranma crushed Akane in a fierce hug. “Akane...” he said, and for several moments he could say no more. Finally he pulled back a little and looked into her eyes again. “Akane, I... if I do this, then... what Tofu-Sensei said is right. I’ll be trapped. I’ll be female, forever, and I... even if there’s another me, he’ll be the one engaged to you, and I... I’ll just be... I mean, how can I...” Akane grasped his hands tightly. “I’ll still be your friend, Ranma. Always.” For a moment, Ranma was taken back to that time, over a year ago, when they’d first met. He’d been in his girl form, and Akane had accepted her as such. “Do you want to be friends?” she’d asked, and she’d seemed so sweet, and friendly, and for a moment he’d actually felt something. Hope. Ranma had had so few friends in his life. He sometimes thought of Ryoga as a friend, but Ryoga saw him more as a rival. He’d like to think that Shampoo, or even Mousse, were his friends, but he knew neither of them saw him that way. His other friends at school... Hitoshi, Daisuke... he didn’t really have much in common with them, and with his martial arts skills and his curse, they had never been able to get too close. Ukyo was the one person he’d considered his first and closest friend, but even with her, he recognized that at least part of her friendship was based on her hopes of marrying him. And he knew why he loved Akane so. Despite everything, all of the arguments and all of the abuse, she was really the only person he’d ever met who accepted him without reservation, who loved him not because he was her fiancee, but just because. Despite everything she said, Akane did not really hold anything against him. Only her older sister, Kasumi, and his mother, accepted him in the same way, just as he was. Ranma would need the support of all three if he were to actually go through with this. “Part of me deserves to be happy.” he said. “My mother deserves to be happy. I know she accepts me as who I am, curse and all, but I still have a hard time accepting it. And I think... if she doesn’t mind having a daughter as well, then I... I think that maybe I...” *** “Uchan, are you my friend?” Ranma-chan sat in U-Chan’s Okonomiyaki-ya, and for once, she wasn’t wolfing her meal down. Ukyo looked up from her work. “Of course I am, Ranchan! How could you even ask such a thing?” “Because,” Ranma-chan said, “I’ve always considered you my best friend, but I’ve never been sure how much of your friendship was tied up in that whole engagement thing. Let me put it another way. If I were like this -- female -- permanently, for the rest of my life, would you still be my friend?” Ukyo looked uneasy. “Ranchan, I... I mean, sure, I’d be your friend, but I... what’s this about, exactly?” After Ranma-chan had explained the whole situation to her, Ukyo sat in silence for a great deal of time. Ranma-chan returned to her okonomiyaki, which had grown cold... perhaps the first time that had ever happened to her. Finally, Ukyo spoke. “So there would be a male and a female version of you?” Ranma nodded. “And this male version... he might marry Akane?” Ranma-chan looked away. “I... uh... he might...” “Or he might marry me?” Ranma-chan swallowed hard. “I... I don’t know, Uchan... I... I suppose it’s possible...” The black-haired okonomiyaki chef began pacing back and forth. “Ranchan, you know I’ll always be your friend, but I... if you were to marry Akane, I don’t know... I don’t think I could stay in Nerima.” Ranma-chan sighed. “I... I guess I understand.” Ukyo reached across the bar and grabbed Ranma’s hands. “Oh, Ranchan, don’t misunderstand me! I’ll always be your friend. Always! I know what a tough decision this must be, but I’ll be here for you, for as long as I’m able...” Ranma-chan nodded. But afterwards, as she walked home, alone under the pale moonlight, she realized that, if she were going to do this, she would only be able to count on Akane, and Kasumi, and her mother for support. She couldn’t expect anyone else to be there when she needed them... not Ukyo, not Nabiki, and almost certainly not her father or Mr. Tendo. The rest of her friends... well, none of them were that close. There was no question that most of them would be less than useless when it came to this. The only other person who might provide some support was Dr. Tofu. But she really wished, she really hoped, that Ukyo could be there when she needed her. *** Ranma had not known his mother long, but he was beginning to learn how much she really loved him, unconditionally. In the back of his mind there was always the question of ‘how did my father ever marry such a wonderful, understanding woman?’ It was a mystery that he felt he might never solve, but in the end he was very, very glad that it was so. Nodoka gathered him into her arms and rocked him gently back and forth. It was an overwhelmingly comforting experience, although he a bit self conscious about it, being in his guy form. Still, it was something he’d never experienced as a kid. It was something that even Kasumi, who’d been something of a surrogate mother to him ever since he’d arrived in Japan, could never have provided. “Oh, my son,” Nodoka said, so softly and gently. “Of course I will always love you! I will love you if you are my son, and I will love you if you are my daughter, and if there are two of you then I will love you twice as much! But really,” she said, pulling away, “you don’t need to do this, Ranma. There’s nothing wrong with you the way you are, you know that!” Ranma shifted uneasily. “I know,” he said. “But... Akane deserves better... and you deserve better...” “All I’ve ever deserved is to know that my son is okay. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to grow up happy and to be a proper and respectful son, and I think you’re well on your way to achieving both goals. As for Akane, you should let her decide what she deserves, and if she’s already accepted you as you are, then you should be content.” “But this curse...” “Is it such a curse, Ranma?” “Yes!” Ranma replied forcefully. “You don’t know what it’s like! One minute you’re a guy, the next minute you’ve got breasts and hips and everyone’s staring at you. It’s humiliating! It drives me nuts, trying to deal with it on an everyday basis. People talk about you, whisper behind your back, and even your friends treat you like some sort of freak. I catch myself almost becoming afraid of water itself, and sometimes I plan my whole day around trying to avoid it... but that never seems to work. If I go to the beach, I do it as a girl. I mean, I have girl’s swimsuits in the bottom of my dresser drawer! And then when I’m a girl, I have to plan out something as simple as using a public restroom, because nobody who knows me will let me to use the women’s restroom, but nobody who doesn’t know me will let me use the men’s... and don’t get me started on what it’s like at a public bath!” His mother drew him in to her again. “Oh, son, I know how difficult it’s been on you. It amazes me sometimes that your father could have raised you to be able to confront such a problem and handle it with such grace! But do you really think that this is going to solve your problems?” “I don’t know,” Ranma said, honestly. “Nothing else we’ve ever tried has worked, and at times I’ve thought about carrying this curse with me the rest of my life. But Tofu-Sensei is certain the ceremony will work, and it may be my last chance to lead a normal life... well, two mostly-normal lives...” “I understand, my son, and I’ll support your decision, whatever it is. But you really shouldn’t look at this as a cure. All this will do is change the nature of your curse...” *** Once again Ranma sat on the rooftop, watching the setting sun. He’d been doing this for several days, trying to think the whole thing through, but in the back of his mind he always knew what decision he was going to make. Perhaps he was putting it off just to give himself some time to reconsider, but in the end, there was nothing to reconsider. Dr. Tofu was right... it was selfish and self-deceiving to think of this choice from Ranma- kun’s point of view. But even Ranma-chan knew that they couldn’t spend the next sixty years of their life in the same way they’d spent the last year. Ranma had a macho streak as long as the rays of the setting sun, but even he couldn’t expect to maintain his usual nonchalance in the face of everything fate was throwing at him. There had to be an end to it, and the choice to end it was now before him. He stood. If he were to be trapped, then it would be a trap of his own choosing. If he were to be a girl hereafter, then, as long as some other part of him escaped and had a good life, it would be worth it. It was time to tell everyone. The choice was made. *** Ranma-chan stared into the mirror in dismay. “Do I really gotta do all of this girl stuff before the ceremony?” she asked. She picked at the pleats of the dress she was wearing. “I mean... why can’t we wait until we actually know if it works? Why can’t we wait until one of me really is a girl?” She stood in the center of “her” new room. It had been decided, now that Genma had moved back in with Nodoka, that the best thing would be for the two Ranmas to live apart, at least until they adjusted to being two different people. Therefore, a room had been prepared at the Saotome house that would be Ranma’s room, while the room that Ranma and Genma had shared at the Tendo Dojo was now being transformed into Ranko’s room. It was actually a larger room than any of the Tendo sisters had. She’d tried to argue that Kasumi should take it, and let her have one of the smaller rooms, but to no avail. She’d also argued over the placement of Ranko at the Tendo house and Ranma at the Saotome’s. She worried about feeling alienated from her mother... as if Nodoka was accepting the son and rejecting the daughter. But in the end, she bowed to the wisdom of keeping the two separate, and it made sense that Ranko, who would certainly be doing the most adjusting, should be the one who stayed in familiar surroundings. There was a western-style bed. They were being careful to not make the room too feminine, to not scare Ranko before she’d even gotten used to being a girl, but all of the Tendo sisters had beds, so they’d bought her one as well. Ranma had never slept in a bed before... in fact, after the way he’d been raised, a simple futon on the floor with a roof overhead had always seemed a bit of a luxury. It would be strange, sleeping in a bed for the first time. Then there was the closet, and the dresser. Nodoka had taken her shopping, along with Kasumi and Akane. It wasn’t the first time “Ranko” had gone shopping with Nodoka by a long shot, but it was the first time since her mother had learned that “Ranko” and Ranma were one and the same, and it was also the first time that she’d done so with the knowledge that she was going to be wearing the clothes they bought. There were dresses and skirts hanging in the closet, and bras and panties in the dresser drawers, and they belonged to Ranko. Of course, they’d purchased other clothing as well, clothing that was less obviously feminine and therefore, perhaps, more comfortable for her, but there was nothing, no matter how unisex in appearance, that was not actually intended for a girl. Ranko. Ranma really didn’t like the name, but she wasn’t prepared to pick out a new, wholly different “girl” name for herself. She just couldn’t imagine herself as a Yoiko or a Noriko, so Ranko would have to do. At least she was going to be Saotome Ranko, rather than Tendo Ranko. She was going to be her mother’s daughter, not some strange niece. Daughter. Ranma tried to imagine being anyone’s daughter. It just didn’t sound right to her at all. And then, she would be Akane’s sister. In-law, at least, and the Tendo sisters would be her sisters-in-law, always assuming that their fathers got their way and that... that he and Akane got... got... “It’s best if we prepare everything before hand,” her mother, Nodoka, said. “After all, Tofu-Sensei is correct. If you’re uncomfortable with dressing and acting like a girl now, how can you expect to do it for the rest of your life? Honestly, son, I’m really not convinced that this is the best course of action for you. But if it’s really what you want... then we’re going to do it right.” “Yeah, I understand,” Ranma said, but already she was beginning to have second thoughts. She didn’t want to admit it, especially now that she’d made the decision, but the idea of being trapped as a girl forever, of living here in this room and wearing these clothes, terrified her. She didn’t want to be a girl, not really. But for the sake of Akane, who deserved a fiancee that was 100% male, and for the sake of her mother, who deserved a real son, and especially for the sake of herself, her other self, who would be free of the curse forever, she was willing to go through with it. She shook her head and steeled herself for the task ahead of her. It would be for the best, she’d see. A part of her would be cured. A part of her would be happy. *** “Are you really ready for this, Ranma?” Ranma sat on the futon, a knot in his stomach, and nodded. The truth was, he was very, very scared, but he’d never backed down from any challenge, and he wasn’t about to back out now. He smiled wanly at the man in front of him. “I’m ready, Tofu- Sensei. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” The Doctor nodded, then turned and chased everyone else out of the room. As Dr. Tofu set up the incense-burner and made the other preparations necessary for the completion of the ceremony, Ranma stripped out of his clothing and lay down on the futon, pulling a thin blanket up over himself. He lay there, waiting, staring up at the beams of the ceiling, his heart beating wildly. He lay there for what seemed like forever, wishing it were over, wishing, actually, that it wouldn’t work, that he’d wake up and nothing would have happened. Slowly the smoke from the incense filled the room, curling about, twirling, mesmerizing him. The aroma was thick and heady, and he breathed it in, waiting, wondering if this whole thing would ever be over... His mind drifted back to that first time, in Jusenkyo, and he was falling, knocked off balance, still trying to comprehend what he’d just seen... a giant panda, attacking him with a kempo move? Then the shock of cold water, and he was sinking down, down into the dark recesses of the pool, and water was filling his lungs, and he was thrashing about, struggling to right himself, and he was kicking up to the surface, and he saw it, so green and inviting, coming closer, ever closer, and then his head was breaking the surface and he was coughing and breathing in ragged breaths, and the Chinese guide was saying something in broken Japanese... something about becoming a young girl... She was sitting on the engawa at the Tendo household, watching as the sun set and thinking about the young girl she’d just met. Akane, she’d said her name was, and then she’d asked if she wanted to be friends. They’d stepped into a large, empty dojo and sparred, and Ranma had seen that she was pretty good, but after all, Ranma could not remember a day in her life when she hadn’t been in training. She was easily the match of this new girl. Friends. It would be so nice, Ranma thought, if it could be that easy. If only... then the oldest sister of the family was leaning over her with a towel in her hand, telling her that she needed to take a bath, that she was tired and sweaty and that she didn’t have any choice... acting like the mother Ranma had never had, even now, only a few hours after meeting her... and Ranma was being led to the bathroom, knowing that things were about to come to a head, that things were about to become much more difficult... She was at the beach, cursing the name of Shampoo’s grandmother... she felt the eyes of everyone on her as she walked through the sand, barefoot, bare-legged from waist to ankle, wearing nothing but a one-piece swimsuit, modest by girl’s standards but strange and revealing to Ranma... she’d insisted that Kasumi stitch “Boy” on the front, as if it made some kind of difference... and some of her friends from school were there, and they whispered behind her back and asked Akane the strangest questions, which Ranma could not help but overhear... why is Ranma a girl? Isn’t that strange? Does he like it that way? Is he ever going to be a guy again? And they all, except for that idiot Kuno, knew her shameful secret, and any chance of Ranma having a normal life was gone forever, and they could never, ever understand what it was like for her... He was fighting a tall, silver-haired Chinese girl, and as the girl moved through the air it was as if a green dragon were striking out at him, and Ranma was attacking with his best moves, but they were being blocked, and her attacks were breaking through his defenses... and then he was falling, and as the ground came up to meet him he saw the bucket, and felt the splash of water, and the tingle as he changed to she... and she looked up to see Herb, the girl who’d defeated her, and she heard one word, “omoshiroi” -- amusing! -- and then Herb was splashing Ranma with water from something called a “chiisuiton”, an artifact that would lock Ranma into her female form forever... It was raining again, and she was finally standing in Jusenkyo, as she’d dreamed of all those years ago, and the training grounds of a thousand cursed pools was one huge lake, and Akane was standing behind her, calling her name, and Ranma finally knew that she would never, never be free of his curse... And then she heard voices around her, and felt the futon beneath her, and a light breeze on her cheek, and smelled the last of the incense being blown away, and she knew. Without opening her eyes, without any sights or sounds to confirm the truth, she knew. And she lay there, wondering if it would be worth it, and wondering what it was going to be like, and tears came to her eyes. She heard his voice. Ranma’s voice. “Did it work?” There was surprise and apprehension in that voice. Even for such a young man it was a masculine voice, with a confident, even arrogant timbre that she’d always loved. Strange, she thought, to be in love with your own voice, but after all, she had had two distinctly different voices, and there were things you could say with a strong, masculine voice that sounded very different when a feminine voice said them. That was his voice now. It would never be her voice, ever again, nor would he ever again have to speak with her voice. She opened her eyes. He was seated several feet from her, with the rest of the family, and Dr. Tofu, gathered around. They were pouring water over his head, cold water, and he was looking down at himself in amazement. His hair was plastered to his head, and water cascaded down his face. His clothing became soaked. he began to shiver as a stiffer breeze blew in, and still nothing happened. And then he looked at her, his face twisting, trying to hide his excitement from her, trying to think of something to say that might make it better... but they both knew that she would give anything to be in his position, and he would rather die than be in hers... “I’m... I’m sorry...” he began. “Don’t,” she said. Then, “I’m happy for you,” she said, and the tears were streaming down her face. “Really, I am. Really...” She turned her head to the side, and then her mother was there, with her arms around her, and she buried her head and cried. *** End Part One *** This story is directly inspired by the fanfic “Ranma 1/2: Two Sides Of A Coin” by Benares, which was itself inspired by Ranma 1/2 tv episode #41, “Ranma wo osou kyoufuno tatari”, aired on 90.08.24, and translated by VIZ as “Ranma And The Evil Within”, part of their “Smells Like Evil Spirit” volume. Benares did not complete his fan fiction story, but I really liked the basic idea of splitting Ranma into two separate people, one cured forever, one cursed forever. Benares’s story is very well written, but after due consideration I thought that, instead of trying to continue and complete it, I would rather write the whole thing again from a slightly different angle. In any case I’m generally more partial to a well-written prose story; whether that is what we have here is for you to decide. The question for me is, would Ranma still go through with this if it were all explained to him before hand? A big part of the question is whether Ranma could ever decide to become a girl for the rest of his life, assuming all of his other obligations for being a man were met, and that IF he managed to make that choice, could he live with it? Also, it should be noted that in the original episode Happosai states that the process of splitting the two only would work if Ranma wanted to become a girl. Part of the assumption in Benares’s story is that Happosai doesn’t know what he’s doing, and the actual process will work even if Ranma doesn’t want to become a girl. Happosai never achieved the results he sought in the original tale, so that might be a safe assumption. In any case, in my story Ranma has to answer that question (whether he wants to become a girl) before the split is made. Deep down, I think Ranma enjoys being a girl at least part of the time, even if he could never admit it to himself. But would he really want to become a girl permanently? I think we can safely say that the answer to that is: Never! Not On Your Life! But could he convince himself that he could live with it, as long as another part of himself is permanently free of the curse? I think he could... it’s sort of an honor thing, a deal made with himself to break himself of the curse. But is he right, or is he deluding himself? Can he live with it? I think he will regret the decision, but he will attempt to live with it, because it’s a decision he’s made himself. Again, it’s sort of an honor thing. Whether he succeeds, well, that’s the heart of the story. David Johnson wrote “Bie Liao”, which consists of two short prose chapters that continue Benares’s story. I did not find them in the r.a.a.c. archive, but on Benares’s own web page: users.why.net/xanthus/. These two chapters are nicely written but short and don’t advance the plot very much, and don’t really wrap anything up. They point the way to a potential end, but I felt the whole dynamic of Ranma being trapped forever as a girl had yet to be completely explored. Also, Benares’s story is written very much in the tradition of the original manga, and therefore I have the feeling that the best ending for it would be to somehow bring the whole episode to a close and return things to the way they were at the beginning. I have no idea if Benares really planned to do that, but David takes the story in a different and more serious direction. I think that’s another reason I chose not to try and continue what they had done... for my purposes, I wanted something that was more serious than the manga from the very beginning. I have also read Roy Rim’s "Split Personalities" (which is nothing like Adam J Fabio's “Ranma 1/2: Two completely different people” -- despite what I may have said earlier), which accomplishes the same trick (creating a completely male and completely female Ranma) by means of water from the spring of drowned twins, which first shows up in the stories involving Pantyhose. Roy’s story in the r.a.a.c. archives exists as a massive lemon story that is uneven and goes on and on and on; a much shorter non-lemon document that is a partial rewrite of his original lemon story; three short lemon side-stories, and the beginnings of a large battle-tournament story that other authors were invited to join in on, but instead it just ends. By this point he’s put away the lemon aspects of the story and long ago stopped exploring the dynamics of the trapped female Ranma. Some of what he wrote is interesting (I read all of it after all) but it is also uneven, and at several points characters act extremely out of character (in my opinion) in order to accommodate the lemon scenes. I wish I could say I drew more inspiration from his story, but while I liked the fact that Ukyo became Ranma-chan’s closest friend, and I liked that Kasumi takes Ranma-chan under her wing, I just can’t envision most of the sexual encounters he cooks up as actually happening. Thanks to KaraOhki and Joseph Palmer for encouraging me to write something. This isn’t what I told them I was going to write... in fact, I’ve got five very different Ranma 1/2 fanfics plotted at the moment, and three of them partially written. Perhaps I should also thank This is not my first story by far, but my first anime fanfic and the first time I’ve ever posted anything. Tell me what you think. Want to see more? I’m already writing it. Write to miko at belldandy@angelic.com.