Ranma-chan walked along the crumbling walls of Ranma-kun’s Citadel. It was obvious how bad things had gotten now, as the walls were littered with large holes, so much so that the main gate was no longer useful. The territory this symbol had stood in had once spanned the enter mindscape.
Now, it looked like a small island.
An island, which was all that was left of the original personality before Genma and the others created the fractures.
Ranma-chan was understandably upset. When Ranma-kun had orgasmed, it literally went everywhere, covering Ranma-pon and the doctor. The only reason she was clean was because she was behind him.
Ranma-pon enjoyed it tremendously, calling out how good it tasted to her to Ranma-kun.
It was supposed to be the catch to make Ranma-kun think the doctor’s tampering with him had caused his pregnancy, that...
Well, that didn’t matter now. He had taken one look at what he did and ran here.
Ranma-chan entered one of the larger holes, most likely created from some conflict between Ranma and Nodoka, as it was still fresh.
“MEOW!”
She turned to see Neko staring at her. Man, he must be desperate if he is using Neko. “Neko, can you go and keep an eye on Ranma-pon?”
“Meow!”
“I know Ranma-kun asked you to protect this place from me, but we have larger concerns here than his little ego. Even you have to be aware of what’ll happen if the good doctor manages to succeed?”
Neko, looking like a male Ranma in a furry cat body, bowed his head. “Meow.”
Ranma-chan walked over, petting his head. “Yeah, I don’t like doing this, either. But we have no options.”
Neko nodded and took off into the mindscape.
“Well, that will hopefully keep her in check until I can get back.” She hated having to come this deep to find and confront Ranma-kun. It left the driver’s seat open, and she knew Ranma-pon would seize the advantage. In all likelihood, the girl was talking with Nabiki now.
But she wouldn’t be able to move or cause any trouble. That paralysis powder would work until morning.
It gave them a few hours.
!@#$%!@#$%!@$%%^
She found him, sitting on a decrepit throne, head held in his hands as he kept chanting to himself how he wasn’t a pervert. She could relate: she had done the same thing after Akane had malleted her for not facing off against Happosai. It was a defining moment in her life, and even Nabiki knew that if she got control enough, she would make the mallet-happy tomboy pay for it. “So, are you done sulking like a weakling, or should I go get some diapers for the poor little baby?”
Ranma-kun looked up, his eyes slowly filling with anger. “Go away, leave me alone, haven’t you messed up my life enough tonight?”
“This isn’t about your weak little self, ch1ld. This is a lot bigger than your worthless ego. So grow up and act like an adult.”
“I AM AN ADULT!”
She smiled, enjoying the fact that they were now on her turf: a war of words. “Really? Let’s see now. You have four personalities in your head, you run away from anything that you don’t understand, you allow others to control and manipulate you, so you twist honor like your father—”
Ranma-kun stood up. “I am nothing like POPS!”
“Excuse me, but who says he doesn’t fight girls, but still challenges them? Who holds honor agreements with people who betray that honor and have none themselves? Who allows someone who calls themselves a martial artist to run rampant and assault them with no retaliation?”
Ranma-kun winced at every question. “I... They... But...”
“Face it, brother: you can’t decide who or what you are, so like Genma, you shove everything onto others. Namely, us. Ranma-pon became your repressed sexuality, I became your repressed caring side, and we all know how Neko got here.” She walked closer to him as he slumped back into his seat.
“Now, let’s go over those in the real world who mess with you. We have our worthless parents: both of them. And before you start, let’s remember that mom not only let the old man take us on a training trip when we were a few months old, but thought he could raise us as a man among men, whatever the hell that means. Now, can I continue, or do you plan to hide from the truth some more?”
Ranma-kun relented, nodding for her to continue, a small look of fear in his eyes at how strong she was acting.
“We have a father who has destroyed the family honor. We’d have more honor as ronin than as a Saotome. There isn’t a damn thing we can do to salvage that, unless Genma is kicked out of the clan. Mother, dear, has yet to show she has such a desire. Hell, the crazy woman expects the other girls to settle for mistresses, she never asked if we would accept that.
“Then we have the fiancées. Ukyo uses our friendship to push her claim, ignoring the fact that we won’t give up the Art to simply run a restaurant. She expects us to make every concession to fit into her life; to hell with what we want. She blames us for her father expecting Genma to break an honorable promise to make another. We both know the fight should have been between the fathers, not us.
“Then there is Shampoo. She may have feelings for us, but how true are they? We both know she isn’t looking at anything pretty if she returns without us, but she refuses to see we won’t return to be second class citizens, stripped of the Art because men shouldn’t be stronger than women. We both know Cologne could fix that, but she makes no move, enjoying the hunt for us.
“Akane, I...I want to kill the bitch for everything she’s done to us. She treats us like shit, and expects us to be her faithful little whipping person. She claims to be a martial artist, but doesn’t act like one. She wants quick power ups and complete control. She’s witnessed us using those moves Cologne taught us, and I have yet to see her try and learn them. And let’s not even get started on her poison.
“The entire living Kuno clan is nothing more than worthless backstabbers with no honor, and we would be doing the world a favor by breaking their bones and leaving them in a mental ward.
“Soun Tendo expects honor for his agreements, but refuses to see the dishonor in both his life and his friends.
“Happosai expects us to grovel at his feet like the others.
“The guys expect us to die for imagined slights.
“With the exception of two people, everyone either uses us to get what they want, or wants to kill us. That about sums up our life. You need to stop being a weak little prick and fucking stand up for yourself.”
“Why should I?” he whispered. “What would be the point?”
“The point is we have someone who is risking everything right now to save us from the doctor’s tampering, trying to keep us not only alive, but has been spending months trying to get us all back into one mind. Granted, her job would have been easier if she could have taken us away, but we both know we could never get away from these people.”
He slowly looked up at her. “Who l...l...likes us?”
She walked over to him, sitting on his lap and taking him into a hug. “I can’t tell you, but know that thanks to what the doctor did, she is risking everything to save us. When you discover what depths the doctor has manipulated you, you’ll find her as the one who keeps us going, the one who loves you as much as me. She doesn’t care what form you’re in, or which of us is in control, she just wants us to be there, be happy, and hopefully one day, be complete.”
Ranma-kun pulled back a little, tears coming down his face. “I’m so tired, Ranma-chan, so very tired.”
She pulled him back to her bosom, listening as his tears and sobs became louder. “I know, Ranma-kun, I know. Just remember all I’ve said when you wake up in the morning. I’ll always be here for you.”
As he cried, more of the walls fell, but unlike before, the island didn’t shrink.
Sun Jul 17 22:53:25 2005
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