Alternate Landings

This story assumes that Ranma fell into a spring of drowned girl, but what would the ramifications be if that girl was only 5 years old?

The story is told from two points of view; one being Akane's, the other being Ranma chan's. Normally I don't like this type of writing, but in this story the approach works very well.

There's the usual Ranma-arrives-at-the-dojo opening, but in this case Ranma tells the Tendou's right off that he is cursed and that with hot water he changes into the five-year-old girl. Akane in this story becomes quite motherly, recognizing that the little girl is in tremendous psychological pain from what she has gone through. The desperation of the girl to find someone to hold on to, a friend, someone to anchor to, comes across very strongly and in a very tear-jerking manner.

The Akane/Ranma-chan relationship grows quickly, but then disaster strikes. When Ranma-chan is training with Akane her leg is broken and a whole new set of problems arise. Dr. Tofu helps her, but Ranma-chan must remain a little girl for two months until the leg heals.On the way home from Dr. Tofu's they meet Nodoka, adding yet another layer of complication.

The story is a really good one in dealing with the psychology of the two main characters. Akane, in this story, is more understanding, slower to anger and basically motherly. Ranma-chan is a five-year-old physically and, in many ways, mentally, and it's interesting to see how this affects her relationship with Akane.