The Transformation of Ryoga

The Transformation of Ryoga (良牙変身) is the 15th chapter of the Ranma 1/2 manga and the sixth chapter of the Ryoga Hibiki Intro Arc.

Synopsis
One dark and stormy night Ryoga arrives at the Tendo home ready to fight Ranma once again. Everyone is asleep and Genma is very angry about being woken up in the middle of the night, so he throws the two boys outside. Ranma lands in the koi pond and transforms, but Ryoga is very careful to stay under his umbrella. After Ryoga is forced to leave when the drops his Umbrella, Ranma finds a dog he believes to be Ryoga while Akane finds an odd black piglet in her room.

Plot Overview
A heavy rainstorm is falling and Ryoga is walking in the rain, under his Umbrella. Ryoga then reaches the Tendo Dojo and thinks to himself that Ranma has now reached his end. Ryoga then enters the room which Ranma is sleeping in and, after failing to wake Ranma up otherwise, Ryoga goes to punch Ranma. However, Ranma rolls onto his side and dodges Ryoga, causing Ryoga to punch through Ranma's pillow instead. Ryoga tries again to wake Ranma by punching him, but when he tries to Ranma simply rolls over and dodges it. This angers Ryoga considerably, causing him to loose his temper and shout extremely loudly; this wakes up both Ranma and Genma (who had been sleeping in his panda form next to Ranma the whole time).

Angered at being woken up so earlier, Genma throws both Ranma and Ryoga outside. Ryoga covers himself under his Umbrella while the still fairly asleep Ranma falls into the pond in the garden, turning him into his female form. Ranma then finally wakes up properly and sees Ryoga, still under his Umbrella, stood in a fighting stance looking back at her. Ranma then asks what Ryoga's doing since it's the middle of the night. Ryoga replies that revenge knows not of day or night, hearing this annoys Ranma as she can't see what Ryoga has to get "revenge" for anymore.

Ryoga then tells Ranma that after he skipped out of their last duel he followed Ranma all the way to China. This causes Ranma to ask Ryoga if he fell into a Jusenkyo spring and is now cursed as well. Ryoga doesn't answer Ranma's question and instead attacks Ranma. Meanwhile, Akane has been woken up by all the noise. Kasumi then enters Akane's room and asks if she's awake as well. As the two walk downstairs Kasumi says she thinks it's a burglar, to which Akane replies it better not be.

The two of them then see the outline of Ryoga outside and mistake him for a burglar. Akane says she's going to beat his brains out, but Kasumi suggests they do something else. She then picks up some Dumbbells and offers them to Akane. Back outside, and the fight between Ryoga and Ranma is continuing. Just then Ryoga is hit by the Dumbbells which Kasumi had given Akane. This causes Ryoga to drop his Umbrella and run away.

Kasumi and Akane are relieved that it was only Ryoga and not actually a burglar. Meanwhile, Ranma has run after Ryoga and only finds his clothes and backpack. This convinces Ranma that Ryoga is cursed like him. Just then Ranma looks behind and sees a rather vicious looking dog.

Akane goes back into her room and yawns. Just as she is about to go back to bed she hers a noise and demands whoever it is to come out. A small black object comes flying towards, which she manages to hit to the floor. Akane then looks at what it was she just hit and it turns out to be a small black piglet with a scarf/bandana around it's neck. Akane tries to befriend the piglet and after the piglet at first being apprehensive she manages to get hold of it. She then begins asking the piglet if it was outside in the rain all this time. After examining it's head, Akane also notices a lump on the piglet's head.

Ranma is now in the living room of the Tendo Dojo saying sorry to Ryoga for what's happened to him. However, instead of Ryoga, Ranma is talking to the dog which she'd met while searching for Ryoga. Akane then walks in and asks Ranma what that dog is doing here. Ranma then asks her the same question regarding the black piglet she's carrying. The piglet then seems to get very anger and tries to attack Ranma, but cannot get out of Akane's arms. Akane then tells the piglet to hush and that she'll put some medicine on that bump.

Ranma then says the piglet is blushing, to which Akane says that that is silly. Ranma then picks up the piglet, looks at it's genitalia, and says that it's a boy. Akane looks as well and agrees. The piglet then begins to attack Ranma's head with it's front feet. Akane takes back the piglet and asks Ranma about the dog again. Ranma doesn't answer Akane's question and instead thinks to herself while looking at the dog that she'll keep his secret as part of the "Warrior's Code". Akane then asks if that's the Yamane's dog, Bess. Akane continues saying that she's sure it is, she then pets the dog.

Seeing the reaction of the dog to Akane calling it "Bess" and the what she's just told Ranma, Ranma goes to get a boiled Tetsubin from the kitchen. She then pours the water over Bess and tells Akane to look away. However, Bess simply shakes the water off. Akane asks Ranma what exactly Ranma is trying to do. Ranma then begins to walk off saying that she feels stupid. When Akane asks Ranma where she's going Ranma replies that she's going to have a hot bath since she's freezing from being out in the rain.

Just then the piglet sneezes. This makes Akane ask Ranma to take the piglet with her. After seemingly being against the idea, Ranma takes the piglet to the bathroom. Once there, Ranma begins to undress and wonders that if the Dog is just a Dog then where could Ryoga be. Ranma then grabs the piglet (which she had pinned underneath her foot) and plunges it into the hot bath. However, as Ranma takes her hand out from under the water, instead of the piglet being in Ranma's hand, Ryoga appears instead. Ryoga looks angrily at Ranma while Ranma remembers about what she's said.

Cast in Order of Appearance

 * Ryoga Hibiki (human)
 * Ranma Saotome (male)
 * Genma Saotome (panda)
 * Ranma Saotome (female)
 * Akane Tendo
 * Kasumi Tendo
 * Ryoga Hibiki (P-chan, debut)
 * Bess (debut)

Quotes

 * Ryoga! It's the middle of the night! What are you doing?! Silence! Does revenge know of night or day?! - Ranma asking Ryoga what he's doing and Ryoga's response.
 * It... It is a burglar! With a pack for stolen goods! - Kasumi after she sees Ryoga's outline outside and mistakes it for a burglar.
 * Dirty-minded Pig! I knew it! A male! - Ranma after she takes the piglet from Akane and looks at it's genitals.
 * Take a bath with a Pig?! - Ranma after Akane asks her to take the piglet with her to the bathroom.
 * So if the Dog's just a Dog... where's that idiot Ryoga? - Ranma wondering where Ryoga must be.
 * ... Oops. - Ryoga looking angrily at Ranma and Ranma's response.

Trivia

 * This chapter reveals that Ryoga Hibiki also has a Jusenkyo curse.
 * The clock in the room which Ranma was sleeping reveals that Ryoga broke in at 2:06am.
 * Ranma acts rather hypocritical at one point of this chapter. This is shown as how she won't reveal what she believes to be Ryoga's curse to Akane, yet Ranma has no problem with pouring hot water over Bess who, if she had actually been Ryoga, would've turned back into a human and reveal Ryoga's curse to Akane anyway.
 * However, Ranma did turn Akane around so she wouldn't see Ryoga transform had Bess actually been him. But, had it been Ryoga, it still would've been easy for Akane to put two-and-two together and realize that Ryoga was cursed like Ranma.