Out and About
“GREAT. just-JUST GREAT.” Koenma Jr had just slammed his elbows down onto his desk, gripping his head in his hands. “Awwuguhhh this WHOLE thing is a mess!”
Yusuke was currently rolling his arms around in their sockets, letting his shoulders move in circles. “Y’know, if we’re gonna do that more often, you two really gotta go on a diet.”
Ranma began steaming where he stood, “That ain’t no way to treat a-“ As he opened his mouth, and looked down to see his own body, some of his raven colored bangs being caught in his eye-sight as he did. “A martial artist.” He seemed to almost robotically smoothen out his anger. “We’re s’posed to have some weight to us.”
Though it wouldn’t have been terribly inconvenient to shave off more than a foot of that height, and some of that muscle weight, and my jaw-line probably weighs more too so-
His stomach ached something fierce once more.
Yer bein’ too soft. Less muscle mass means it woulda been harder to carry people. ‘Sides, there’s some weight that gets added in other places that still woulda dragged you down. No matter how cute-
He felt the pain bury itself deeper, having to actively cradle it with his arms and sit on the ground.
”Yeah, I got broom-sick the first time too. Koenma might have stomach meds around.” Yusuke added with a snicker, “But they’d be dosages for toddlers!”
“Can we please focus!?” Koenma screamed, trying to regain what little control he seemed to have over the situation.
”Right, yeah, the hell happened back there?” Yusuke seemed to snap back into the moment.
”And what were those freaky bug things!” Kuwabara seemed to shudder as he spoke, recalling the horde’s winged buzzes.
”And while I appreciate the save, uh, who are you all and what am I doing here?” Ranma seemed to grunt out his own words through his abdominal pain.
“All good questions” A new voice seemed to state, stepping into the room, first thing being seen were his pink-red uniform pants.
”Kurama?!” Yusuke said with a smile, “Didn’t think they’d let a demon into Koenma’s oh so holy sanctuary.” The street-tough punctuated his teasing with a chuckle.
The fox-boy gave a small smile at the ribbing, before it shrank back down to his neutrality. Giving way to a more serious, dour expression, but never quite losing the touch of his aloof gaze. ”Desperate times, I’m afraid.”
A second, sterner voice followed behind him. “Holy sanctuary.” The man’s voice scoffed as smaller footsteps followed behind Kurama. Revealing the tall, jet-black hair of a stout man with a white headband covering his forehead, and wearing a black cloak. “It’s a building. Urameshi.”
”Hiei!?” Both Yusuke and Botan took a half-step back, with Botan’s eyes widening in fear, and Yusuke preparing a fighting stance, eyes flaring up with confusion and anger.
“Hiei…?” Ramna added, practically a whisper to nobody but himself. Completely lost in the web of these people’s lives.
“As much as I would enjoy putting you into the ground detective. That’s not why I’m here.” Hiei let out a small, satisfied hum, “Though I would have cut you down before your other shoe hit the floor.”
With a sullen sigh, Koenma spoke, ”Desperate times is right.” Lifting his head out of his hands, he proceeded to hop onto his desk, giving the group a small presentation.
”We’ve got a big problem, The leader of the four saint beasts, Suzaku, has sent out a demand to allow them to stay in the human world! He’s taken control over the Makai whistle, an artifact that allows him to control Makai insects.”
As Koenma took a pause to show a display of the Makai whistle and insects on the projector behind him, the raven haired martial artist scratched his head. “Uh, so let em stay? What’s the big deal?”
Hiei let out a small guffaw.
“WH-WHAT— WHY— WHY WOULD— WHY WOULD I-“ Koenma nearly dropped his remote that progresses his slideshow. Stirring up and pointing down at the pig-tailed boy sitting criss-cross applesauce in his office. “WHO ISTHIS??”
“Hi I’m uh, Ranma Saotome… Sorry about that?” He seemed more confused by what he did to upset the baby boss man boy child guy than he was actually apologetic.
Something seemed to click in Kurama the moment he heard the last name Saotome, a small confident smile appearing on his face as he looked the boy up and down again.
”Oh guys! It’s just Ranma! That explains everything!” Koenma smacked the remote against his comically large hat into his head, acting as if suddenly everything made sense. His tone very purposefully betrayed this idea.
“Ranma is someone from a file I’m investigating based on the person who fell from the gateway window. He sorta got tangled up in all of this though.” Botan had spoken over the pig-tailed boy before Ranma’s short fuse could fully be set off.
Koenma seemed confused, “I thought you said Ranko Saotome before. The girl?”
Sweat seemed to build up on Kuwabara and Yusuke’s backs so much they could be mistaken for local swamp marshes. Complete panic running through the two at the mentioning of the ‘time traveler.’
“Ix-nay on the anko-Ray!” Kuwabara seemed to squeak out, performing a slicing motion with his hand, fingers outstretched at his neck.
Seeing this, Koenma did not become any less confused. “M’kay, can someone explain what’s going on?!”
Botan intercepted between Ranma, the delinquents, the demons, and the ruler of the world. “Koenma sir! Ranma Saotome here has something to do with the case of Ranko Saotome. An individual claiming to be named Ranko Saotome appeared from the gateway window, saying she had been sent 50 years into the future. So since, as you said, that person’s file doesn’texist, we found someone in the same area, with the same clothes, with the same last name.”
A loud gulp could be heard from the repeatedly mentioned boy sitting there, who was currently getting the stink-eye from nearly everyone in the room.
“Ranma Saotome, who matches the same age, nearly the same description.” Botan continued.
”Even a martial artist.” Yusuke spat with some venom, “Does the exact same kind too.” Having realized that the person known as Ranko does not exist, he finally put the pieces together. Extremely miffed at being lied to.
Ranma could feel all eyes on him. Nearly every pair in the room, save for Botan who was talking to Koenma, still attempting to be respectful, was staring at him.
Shit.
A spiky, jet-black hair demon seemed to just be piercing into his soul, mostly amused at the show in front of him. Before something seemed to click for him as he heard what was happening, with an air of smug superiority, proceeded to walk off momentarily, not saying a word.
Pure bewilderment colored Kuwabara’s face. Unable to fully process what everyone here was implying, but the boy could swear there was some look of awe in that face. Like he had found something rare and amazing. Ranma was frankly surprised there was not more anger in someone who has seemed so hotheaded and prideful.
That anger, was however, found in Yusuke Urameshi, his spirit energy was wading off of him. Pissed as he could be, having been deceived by Ranma. “And the bugs showed up when we took this asshole to the diner too. Lyin’ to us, pretendin’ not to know what demons are, saying he trained with Genkai.” He quite literally pointed an accusatory finger at the martial artist. “Even sayin’ we should let the bad guys wreck up the place! Gimme one reason I shouldn’t kick the shit outta you right now!”
Kurama simply had a face of stone, watching the scene unfold with crossed arms.
“W-Wait I don’t even know who those guys are! I-“
Ranma was cut-off by the feeling of cold water hitting the back of his head.
”Jusenkyo.” Hiei stated, a now-empty styrofoam cup in hand. “Frankly Kurama, I’m ashamed on behalf of all of us that you hadn’t figured it out sooner.”
Ranma now sat there, red-haired, shorter, and let out a gulp.
Oh no. Nonononono.
I finally had a chance to be a normal person, as normal as I can get. To just have them think I was a guy. And to just let them think I was a normal g-
His stomach hurt something fierce again.
N-Normal… His mind corrected.
Kuwabara’s jaw hit the ground while watching the process happen. So quick, so instantaneous. A boy becomes a girl and that means a girl could become a boy. His head absolutely spinning, but the sparkle in his eyes only seemed to grow brighter, yet there was also an immense feeling coming from them. A new take on a feeling Ranma had seen all too many times from others whenever the curse took effect.
Pity.
Something about this one hurt worse than before. Because he realized that, once again, he was being put on display for people to see. People he knew he wouldn’t even probably see again. That even if it was just for a few days, before his life went back into a complicated love dodecahedron of martial arts and insanity. He would have maybe a day or a few with these people where he just got to be the normal one.
And here he is, being paraded around by the team as a liar. A freakshow. The thing he hated the most was how much he didn’t even disagree with them. I mean, how many times has he put on some dumb disguise and dress in order to sabotage one of Ryoga and Akane’s outings. That’s something bugs bunny does, not a normal man. Not a man amongst men. Being in a girl’s body, acting all prissy, the stupid, pathetic part of him that actually gets to feel cute. That stuff’s for-
for—
for weaklings.
He doubled over, gripping his stomach, willing the beginnings of saltwater to stay put, to not collect anymore.
Men don’t cry.
The look on the spirit detective’s face was that of anger that washed out into extreme confusion and bewilderment, back into a white hot rage, and then back into an even deeper sense of confusion and shock. “Uh, r-remind me to never drink the water here…” He said, tensing up as he stared at the water cooler that Hiei had taken his drink from.
”To be clear Hiei.” The now second redhead in the room addressed his former accomplice, “I had known that Ranko was lying when we first met. I just didn’t have as many details. Though I had my suspicions the moment I saw Ranma. I was just hoping to gather more information. I was hoping that Saotome would come clean without the need for intervention at best, and at worst I’d step in before anything worse could unfold.”
They all knew. They were just humoring you. Pitying the freak as usual.
“I’m not- I didn’t-…” Ranma started, doing his level best to try and keep his voice even. He always found it so much harder to shut out his emotions in this body. He could normally separate himself so much easier from his own self, his surroundings. But like this it’s always been harder. “I just thought, you guys hunted demons, and I have this curse. And maybe you’d hunt someone who’s cursed but then the demon guy showed up and I had already said it by then and I- I didn’t know-“
”Why lie about Genkai!?” Balling up his hands in a fury, Urameshi leaned forward, his words more of a shout than anything. “Why bring the old hag into this?!”
Twiddling his fingers, pressing his index ones together, Ranma took a more bashful tone to his sorrow. “I uhm… My old man is named Genma. I already called myself Ranko so I just added kai to the end of his name instead… I didn’t think it’d be anyone you’d know.”
The boy let out a small, nervous chuckle as he said his own thoughts aloud, realizing just how ridiculous it all is.
Kurama began letting out a small chuckle, “I’m not sure what’s more absurd, your motivations or the fact that I actually do believe you.”
”Listen I’m tellin ya the truth-“ Ranma swapped from anger masking sorrow to surprise. “Wait-, really?”
The shorter of the demons gave his associate a glare, watching Kurama give a barely present, yet warm smile as he spoke. “Indeed.”
Swiveling his head like a dog hearing a knock on the door, Yusuke beamed his eyes to Kurama. “You WHAT?!”
Kurama addressed the angered delinquent. “I believe Saotome. The four saint beasts would surely not send someone who’s such a terrible liar, and they lack the ability to assess who the window grabs as well. It’s unlikely the two are connected. Less likely that Saotome found a way to know what demons are but still insisted on calling spirit energy ki.”
Ranma felt each word of lambasted ignorance and insults to his abilities sink into him like arrows, attempting to hold in his rage at the blows to his pride. Simmering in his own anger.
”That’s…” The entire group watched as Yusuke’s anger slowly washed out of his system as he processed that. “Wow.”
Now the pig-tailed figure wasn’t sure whether or not he was more mad at Kurama’s insults, or the fact that they seemed to convince everyone. However angry he was, he was equally relieved.
Though he did not enjoy the light-bulb that seemed to appear over Botan’s head, along with a smirk. ”The gateway window only pulls those with high potential spirit energy. If we’re sure that Ranma isn’t siding with demons, I know just the way he can repay us for the trouble.”