Disclaimer:I do not own Ranma ½ and will not profit from using its characters. This story was made for entertainment purposes only.

The Evil Continues. Story II Part I

Onna Ranma’s stare penetrated all things. As she was always taught (a lesson she was never good at following before), she looked at everything but focused on nothing. She did not look at where she would strike, or away from where she would strike. She did not look at the opponent’s weak points, or away from his weak points. To do any of these things would tell the other fighter where she would attack. Rather she took a broad view, seeing everything but never obsessing on any detail. There were several strategies in her mind, with the will to commit yet the flexibility to change with changing circumstances.

Genma looked back at these emotionless penetrating eyes and sweated with fear. “Are you trying to psyche me out boy? Well it won’t work.” Onna Ranma silently continued to await her fathers move.”

“This isn’t a staring contest boy. You can’t win just by looking at me with that cold, vacant, penetrating gaze.” Genma’s anger lifted slightly and he began to feel hypnotized by Onna Ranma’s eyes. He dropped his own guard and just stared back. They looked through one another for a few moments, and then Ranma, who never once blinked, moved her leg slightly suggesting that she might attack herself. On seeing this Genma swiftly ran away in fear.

Darn Ranma thought. She had wanted to test how her skills were affected by her recent change of perspective. Her fathers morning sparring session should have at least been good for that.

Ranma thought about this for a minute. She could go piss off a great number of enemies, but starting the fights was still not her style. There was one option. She walked into the house and called to her. “Akane, father doesn’t seem up to our morning sparring session. Would you practice with me?”

Akane couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Onna Ranma didn’t even seem to realize she had asked something out of the ordinary. “You want me to spar. Will you take me seriously?”

“Yes, if you wish.”

Ranma never sparred with her. For the last month he would even role his eyes whenever Akane reminded him she was a martial artist.

They went into the yard and moved into fighting stances. Akane charged: punch, sidekick, elbow thrust. Onna Ranma dodged effortlessly. No more than effortlessly there was no wasted movement. She was always less than a centimeter out of Akane's reach, but still she was out of her reach. Akane thought she was trying to patronize her “Hey you said you would take me seriously, so attack already.”

Pow!

“Akane just starred at Onna Ranma in surprise. It was just a light jab. If she wanted Onna Ranma could have knocked her face off. This was just a hard tap, pointing out that she wasn’t guarding her face very well. Ranma gave Akane a moment to regain her composure then Akane smiled and attacked again.

Onna Ranma could have taken her down in a minute but neither of them would get much practice that way. She would dodge two or three strikes then give her another tap, always in the least defended spot, with enough force to hurt but not to damage. Repeated kicks to the left ribs showed Akane how poor that side of her guard was. A few light elbows to the shin showed her that her high kicks were being overused and had poor form. Low kicks were less showy, but more effective. Onna Ranma was taking the training seriously. She wasn’t showing off her own skills, just teaching them to Akane. But those eyes were so vacant, so unaffected. They told Akane she was no serious threat. Those eyes made her furious, so Akane decided she would just have to prove her wrong.

After about twenty minutes Onna Ranma stopped. “I have to prepare for school now.”

Akane starred at him dumbfounded. “Hah as if. Wait, you’re serious.” Ranma always has to be pressured to get ready at the last minute. What is going on? Onna Ranma just ignored Akane’s expression and walked away.

“Wait, there's plenty of time. If you go now you’ll be early.”

“Yes, I’m leaving with Nabiki today. She always leaves early.”

Akane was speechless as she limped back to the house.

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Something was definitely a little off at breakfast. Genma wasn’t around so he and Onna Ranma couldn’t steal food from each others plates. Ranma’s chopsticks moved at a normal speed and she didn’t eat with her mouth open. Kasumi wondered if she was feeling okay. Then, Ranma asked for another bowl of rice and it hit her. This was Onna Ranma’s sixth bowl. Normally she only eats five. She wasn’t eating less, she was eating more, and in a shorter period of time no less. Her manners were perfectly ladylike yet her technique would have challenged even Picollete Charodin.

When breakfast was over Ranma offered to help with the dishes, another oddity, but as usual Kasumi politely assured her that it wasn’t necessary. Ranma was about to insist, but Nabiki tapped her of the shoulder to get her attention. Ranma couldn’t resist her.

Nabiki brushed up to Ranma’s ear and whispered, “I found it.” Ranma showed no reaction but took her hand, and Nabiki ran upstairs. To everyone’s shock Ranma did not run, but his feet hovered above the ground and he moved along with Nabiki. Akane and Kasumi just stared at one another wondering what the heck was going on.

“Okay Ranma, this is the girls uniform I wore last year. I would have sold it to Akane, but her hips are too wide for my old clothes.”

Ranma took the outfit and held it close as one might cradle a teddy bear. It still had some of her scent, she thought to herself.

“That’ll be 200 yen please.”

Onna Ranma reached for her wallet before Nabiki told her she was kidding.

“Ranma, are you sure it’s okay for you to just go to school as a girl. I mean won’t it create problems?”

Ranma thought about how to explain this for a second. “Nabiki, do you ever wonder if I get periods.”

Nabiki stared at Ranma in shock. How did her question turn into this?

“How about what would happen if I got pregnant, and then took a hot bath? Can I wash my hands without transforming? If I get stitches or a bone cast, is it safe to transform? People see me as a liminal being. Like a creature of folklore, or at least that coyote who can survive getting anvils dropped on his head.”

“I don’t understand.”

“People handle my very existence by viewing me as something outside the real. The arrogant sexist man is cursed to spend half his life as a woman. The hunter gatherer must play the supporter and the nurturer. I can be a cursed hero or fish out of water. It’s kind of romantic as long as its fantasy. That’s how everyone sees me at school. They want to hear about my latest misadventure. If I act strange they think I’m in the process of having one. It will excite and entertain them.”

“But you not some fairytale coyote you’re…your Ranma, doesn’t anyone care about that.”

“Sounds like you do! Besides I’m not complaining. Everyone in high school feels trapped in a role, and fantasy hero isn’t a bad one.”

“So uh…”

Ranma knew what Nabiki wanted to ask now. “Yes they’re in synch with yours, Kasumi’s, and Akane’s, so I used to just stay male on those days. I’ve never been pregnant so I don’t know. I’ve learned to give the water time to warm up before touching it because it is enough to transform. And yes so I have to stay in one form when in a cast or stitches but surprisingly I don’t have as many water related accidents happen to me when that issue occurs.”

Nabiki shut up for awhile, because she felt that hearing any more might make her head explode. But on the way to school she asked, “So what are you going to tell people when we get there? You can’t just go around telling people you spit in two and strangled the other one.”

“It depends who asks. Everyone will want to hear something different and no one will get the story straight anyway. What do you intend to say.”

“I’ll charge them an outrageous information fee. Then I’ll make something up.”

“Give me a cut and I’ll back up and refer people to your story,” the redhead offered.

“Fine, 20 . That still leaves us with what to say. Hymn…how about Akane knocked you head first into the pond again.”

“Do you have anything other than brain damage?”

“Kuno saved you from the foul sorcerer Saotome. giggle ”

“That’s good.”

“What!”

“Well for one if people believe it they’ll think I was born a girl so they’ll accept my suddenly wanting to live as one.”

“So what do you say when Kuno wants a date, or when you’re splashed with hot water and the foul sorcerer Saotome appears?”

“Didn’t I tell you, I don’t transform anymore.”

“What!” How many surprises did this girl intend to drop on her.

They walked on for awhile. Nabiki was beginning to notice that this new Ranma wasn’t one to volunteer information, so finally she asked why the redhead no longer transforms.

“Remember the first time we split. Male Ranma kept his own body, while I was some sort of ghost. Well it was the same last night.”

“You’re alive, aren’t you? You have to be.” Nabiki was shocked by the desperation in her own voice. Damn it she thought once you start feeling things it’s so hard to stop. Now between her and Ranma she was the emotional one.

“I’m real. When I absorbed male Ranma’s energy I ascended beyond the spiritual realm.”

“I see, so your human, but you have a new body.”

“Close. I think this technically makes me a demon.”

Good Nabiki thought. This didn’t shock her. All these surprises were beginning to desensitize her. Maybe she could get back her ice queen demeanor after all. “Does this mean your going to sprout fangs or tentacles?”

“Depends, are you into that sort of thing?”

Nabiki gulped then quickly changed the subject. “Anyway we’re going to have to ask Happosai what that incense really did to you.”

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“Happosai,” Cologne demanded. “What did that incense do to Ranma?”

“I thought you were the expert. You’re the one who answered everyone’s questions the first time I used it.”

“Don’t get arrogant with me you old fool. I sensed it last night, just like I did the first time. Even after all the trouble it caused you used that incense again.”

“Should I be impressed? Should I be awed by your tremendous spiritual powers? Is master Happosai just some senile old man who should just leave everything in the hands of a child that has only lived a mere 300 years?”

Cologne rolled her eyes as the great master continued with his sarcasm. “If you tell me I’ll treat you to a beef bowl.”

“Five beef bowls. Don’t be stingy. You own a restaurant.”

Soon Happosai was in the Neko Hanten shoveling down beef and trying to grab Shampoo as she kept fresh bowls coming. After five bowls he began to speak.

“Few people truly understand the nature of the Anything Goes Schools wham bam thank you mamm personality splitting incense.”

“You mean the Jeck-Hy incense.”

“No I like my name better.”

“You like the name Pantyhose Taro.”

“Do you want to hear the story or don’t you.”

Cologne shut up and let the fool speak.

“You know that the incense was developed by monks who were trying to purge themselves of evil desire.”

“Yes.”

“Well, think about it, monks, men who reject all earthly delights, men who go off into the mountains to avoid the temptations of the outside, men who meditate for hours every day trying to purge themselves of all evil desires. In other words they were crazy people. Half of them probably already had split personalities.”

That would be Happosai’s impression of religious institutions Cologne thought.

“Anyway, the incense did indeed purge the monks of evil desires. They thought they had the discovery of a century. Those monks wanted to share it with the world. But when they tried it on people who didn’t have there strict religious training the results were random at best.”

“Random.”

“You see, using the personality splitter is like hitting a block of wood with a crack in it. It breaks along the cracks. The monks training caused stronger than normal cracks between there good sides, and what there foolish religious doctrines defined as evil.”

“What about Ranma?”

“Well he ain’t no monk. Have you ever played poker with Ranma?”

“Poker.”

“It’s a card game. Anyway Ranma grins like an idiot when he has good cards. He looks devastated when he has a bad hand and can’t even figure out how to bluff. Most of the Ranma we knew was right there on the surface. He was also proud, petty, egocentric and not afraid to show that. If there was anything Ranma tried to hide or segregate it was his good qualities. Take Akane for example. That idiot Ranma would go through hell to rescue her if she was kidnapped but he could not even say I care about you to her. Was it wrong of me to think I could force that side of him to the surface?”

“I still think you were more concerned about his segregated feminine side.”

“You got me there.”

“Why did you do this Happosai? Didn’t you realize the implications would be permanent?”

“I did this because it was in my nature.” A dark ominous shadow fell over Happosai as he continued. “You see I was born from the discarded evil of a thousand monks.”

Cologne gasped in horror. Then Happosai fell down laughing. “You actually believed me. Ha ha ha.”

The matriarch of the Amazons braced herself and hit Happosai several times with her staff. “Look you moron, what I want to know is there any way to get the old Ranma back?”

The master hesitated. Why should he tell her? After all he didn’t particularly want the old Ranma back. Still someone had to carry on the anything goes dojo. On the other had that demon girl was so cute. Heck with women’s lib and stuff maybe a girl could carry on the dojo. A female sensei would attract more female students. Suddenly Happosai imagined dozens of girls standing in a row facing him and practicing there high kicks. In Happosai's mind the martial arts obi uniforms morphed into skirts and the high kicks continued.

Happosai stood there drooling for several minutes, until Cologne whacked him on the head with her staff. “Are you sure you were not born of the evil of a thousand men.”

“Of course I’m sure! It was fifty men tops. Kidding ha ha ha.”

Cologne sighed. Trying to get facts out of Happosai just makes things more convoluted. “One more thing, right now when I try to detect Ranma I only sense one female aura. Where is male Ranma?”

The ominous shadow fell over Happosai once more. “I’m sure he’ll show up in some form or other.”

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“EEEK!” several girls screamed

“Yeah, I’m all female now so I can’t use the other bathroom. See Nabiki for details. Tell her I referred you.”

After several awkward minutes Onna Ranma exited the girl’s bathroom to find something far more awkward outside. Kuno was waiting for her to get out.

“Pig tailed goddess; Nabiki Tendo hath just informed me that the wretched cur Saotome has fled. She told me that I did defeat him. Odd that this did slip my mind. Anyhow it must be true since your titian hair now flows freely, no longer in the pig tail style that emulated Saotome.” Kuno suddenly held out his arms and raised his voice. “Oh titian haired goddess wilt thou date with me.”

“Sure.”

“But my goddess surely…what? Kuno was caught off guard on account that her acceptance was colder than most of her refusals.

“I said okay, I’ll go out with you.” She matter of factly echoed.

“You…you…of course you will.”

Now for the catch, Onna Ranma mused. “Me and Nabiki are going to the mall after school because I need a few things, why don’t you keep us company.”

“My love shopping in a place for commoners, I’ll have to put a stop to this. The mall, why no scion of the house of Kuno would go to a mere mall, and neither should a beauty as fair as thyself. Let me escort you and Nabiki to the finest boutique in Nerima then after I have attended to all your needs we shall dine in the greatest of luxury.”

“If you insist.” Onna Ranma then took out her to do list and crossed off arrange for new female wardrobe. It didn’t really matter that Kuno saw the list, he was to self deluded to care.

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Onna Ranma entered her morning homeroom five minutes early. Ranma was wearing a girls uniform and her pig tail was untied. There were stares and whispers all through the classroom, yet no one dared simply ask Ranma what was going on. She exuded an air of confidence that told them all was as it should be.

Finally Hinako entered and demanded to know what everyone else only gossiped about. “Saotome, explain yourself. Why are you dressed like that?”

“Dressed like what sensei.” She said in a cold ghostly voice that sent chills up Hinako's spine.”

“Your wearing a…a…girls uniform,” the teacher stammered.

“Oh yes.” Onna Ranma now spoke to address all the students. “As you know I have in the past disregarded the schools dress code. Our teachers love and patience has taught me a new respect for discipline and propriety. I will now dress in proper feminine attire rather than those distasteful boys clothes. If people ask why the change I will tell them Hinako did this to me and she will do it for you to.”

At this several male students ran out of the classroom in terror.

What game is Saotome playing, the teacher wondered. “Okay class, open your books to page 146.”

Class went on but it did not proceed smoothly. Hinako kept losing her train of thought, her hand shook too much to write on the board. She began to stutter. It was Saotome, she kept looking at her. She never chatted with other students, she never took a nap, and she didn’t even blink. She just looked at Hinako and wrote notes in a notebook. “Alright, and the area is…I CAN’T TAKE IT ANY MORE. Saotome, why are you watching me?”

“I am watching you because you are giving a lecture sensei.” She answered.

“Okay, if you’re paying attention then what is pi?”

“The circumference of any circle is pi times its diameter. This constant is roughly 3.14159265.”

Hinako stood there in shock for several minutes. She was so still that one of the more daring students was about to start doodling on her when suddenly she jumped in the air screaming “I reached her!” Hinako ran over to Ranma. “Oh Ranma I reached you, I thought I was a failure as a teacher but,” she began to cry “I’ve reached you. Will you pay attention to all my lessons now?”

“Of course sensei, I care about my grades.” Ranma held the teachers hand firmly to reassure her.

“And will you stop interfering when I try to discipline other students….No, will you help me restore discipline to this classroom.”

“Yes sensei, I will.”

Every student gasped upon hearing this. It was a gasp of pure horror.

Around this time the bell rang. This was good considering several students were going to get up and run away anyhow. Akane wanted to ask Ranma what the heck was going on, but she had to wait while Ranma continued to chat with Hinako. Ranma tried to arrange some tutoring sessions, and the teacher gladly obliged, treating her new favorite student like a long lost sister. They chatted until the break was over and Ranma had to get to her next class.

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“What do you mean male Ranma will turn up in some form or other,” Cologne demanded.

“Well, his ki was drained and his physical body was converted into energy to create the girls demon body. He can’t really die while the girl is alive, but he will need lots of energy before he can manifest as a demon like she did. Most likely he’s somewhere with lots of heavy ki.”

“You mean he’ll have to resort to feeding off human misery like some bottom sucking mazoku.”

“Yuppers.”

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Nabiki could not stop laughing. Hearing what happened in class from her sources seemed funny enough, but hearing it from Ranma in her straight matter of fact voice was hilarious.

Ranma’s reasoning was pretty simple. She really did want to improve her grades all of a sudden, and though Hinako is insane she does care about her students so why be enemies.

Suddenly Akane grabbed Ranma by the ear and twisted in just such a way as to pull her up to eye level. “Ranma, explain yourself,” she demanded.

“You mean how I have been acting today.”

“I mean, letting Happosai grab me, the morning spar, that weird joke about strangling your other self, the girly clothes and hair, what you did in class. It’s all crazy.”

“You forgot her date with Kuno,” Nabiki added.

“Your what!”

“Akane,” Ranma said under duress but still in a calm voice, “The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But, you’re right. I am different.”

“What, did you hit your head again?”

“No. Akane I know it’s strange, but believe me, this change is for the better.”

Akane released Ranma’s ear, but only so she could take hold of her mallet and knock some sense into her fiancé. Ranma just stood there, figuring maybe Akane will listen after a few swings, but before she could even lift the mallet, “SLAP.”

Akane stared at her sister in surprise.

“Akane stop it.” Nabiki was crying. Nabiki never cries. This was more shocking to Akane than the slap. “Akane, you may not want to admit it, but you know that something has been wrong for a long time. Why do you think you and Ranma got along so well for the last month? It’s because you both lost interest. You didn’t fight because you didn’t care. But that other Ranma was… he was cold on the inside…he didn’t care…no he hated all of us. This Ranma may seem cold on the outside, but I know better. This is the real Ranma. This is the one I…you…this is the right one.”

“How did it happen?”

“It was the incense; we banished the wrong one, so me and Happosai did it again.”

Akane knew. She suspected for awhile. What Nabiki said was true. Akane knew it. After the first time, when the female Ranma was banished by the incense, Ranma felt like a bad actor. He didn’t break character, but she knew he was acting. He never broke character or improvised anything. It was just so shallow. Nothing beyond what everyone expected. “Then the old Ranma is he gone?”

Ranma nodded.

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“Nabiki, that was so difficult.”

“Ranma, she’s my sister, I couldn’t stand to see her like that either.”

“It’s like she’s in mourning. I felt as though I was seeing my own funeral. Maybe Ranma Saotome really is gone. Maybe I’m just some thing that took his place.” Ranma wouldn’t have hurt her like that.

“No Ranma would have put his foot in his mouth and made it worse. You did right. You put all your cards on the table knowing Akane’s strong enough to handle the whole truth.”

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Meanwhile Ryoga was lost and out of food. However, these old problems paled before his newest concern. He ran his fingers though his hair. It was normal so why he wondered. “WHY DOES MY SHADOW HAVE A PIG TAIL?”

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Well that’s it. I figure this is the first of a possible three chapters.

Thanks for all the reviews and support.

Most people felt the last part was too short, so I went a little bit longer.

Please review this new part.

Next up is the shopping trip, and just what is happening with Ryoga.