Ranma 1/2: A cure for the curse
"A very tragic legend"
A Mid-Space production fanfic
Disclaimer:
All significant characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.
The Ranma 1/2 Manga and Anime are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Communications in their various formats and media.
Some characters are of my own creation, but I'd like to think they belong to Rumiko, since without her they never would have been born.
All other characters are the property of their respective owners.
The use of Ranma 1/2 and its characters in this story are not intended as an infringement on the intellectual property rights of Rumiko Takahashi or Viz Communications. I haven't seen any Shogokukan material, so naaaaae! #HOLDS EYELID DOWN AND POKES TONGUE OUT#.
All rights remain with their respective owners.
This story is intended to inform and entertain, and not to make money, however much I want it. Though I'd much prefer it if you enjoy this story, then email me and tell me. I'd love to hear from you.
Authors Comments:
Though a large fan of Ranma 1/2, I'm not any good at Japanese, so bear with me in my bad attempt at using what little Japanese grammar I know.
This story follows the 20th Manga Volume of Ranma 1/2, as released by Viz. If you've read the Manga, you'll see the point it leaves off, and this story begins. It follows the concept of a cure being offered to Ranma by a stranger. But the cure isn't necessary a full on fix for Ranma's problem. Read on and find out.
This is my first attempt at writing a Fan Fiction, so any comments *would* be appreciated.
I haven't seen the entire Anime or read the entire Manga, so I don't know if a final and permanent cure really does get offered to Ranma, but this is entirely my idea. Well, it's an idea that followed an idea, which followed an idea. And it just kept building in my mind until I had to put it down. Unfortunately I kept having more ideas, which delayed my writing until I could put them together. If this story is at all similar to any others (which I've found out recently) it is purely unintentional. Hopefully any similarity will disappear with the more that I write.
The rest of the credit goes to Rumiko Takahashi for creating such wonderful characters.
Rating: PG13+. If you're old enough to read the Manga or watch the Anime without a blood nose, then you can read this.
Lemon factor: 0.0%.
Lime factor: 8.0%.
WAFF content: Initialising counter: [...]
Special thanks to Bekar my pre-reader.
Reading this story includes:
Japanese speech, "will appear in double quotes."
Speech other than Japanese, "{will appear with braces and double quotes.}"
Signs held by pandas, 'will appear in single quotes.'
Emphasis when yelling *will appear bold and in asterisks.*
A character's thoughts, [will be italics and in square brackets.]
Another character's thoughts that may be overheard, [[will be italics and in double square brackets.]]
Sounds and actions will appear, #IN CAPITALS AND IN HASH SYMBOLS.#
Ranma 1/2: A cure for the curse
Chapter 01 – "Curses and cures"
The high craggy mountains in the Bayankala Range stretched for hundreds of Kilometres throughout the Mount Quanjing region, patches of forest dotting the landscape. Breaking the endless pattern of dull green and brown were the white caps of snow in the higher altitudes, which was slowly creeping down the mountains.
Winter was coming, and even in the Qinghai Province of China, the white snows always came. It covered a wide region of the Province, even as far down as a small cleft of a valley that held hundreds of naturally occurring springs.
The springs were little known, but to a small select few who had trekked through China searching the legendary training grounds known as Jusenkyo. Even fewer knew that they were cursed springs.
Two people stood on the snow sprinkled ridge in heavy coats and packs on their backs. Of all the people in the world, these two knew about the springs, and the danger that lurked in falling into the waters of Jusenkyo.
Together they looked down over the training grounds, with several upright bamboo poles dispersed in each and every spring, providing small platforms of sorts, for those with the skill and the courage to practice aerial forms of martial arts.
"Well, there it is Akane-chan," said Ranma, gesturing at the springs with a hand. "That's Jusenkyo."
"The accursed springs," she whispered with a sense of awe at seeing the place with her own eyes.
Several weeks earlier...
Nadoka Saotome blinked her eyes as she looked up at figure that leaned over her.
[That's it. She's seen me! Might as well kill myself now,] Ranma thought to herself.
At first Nadoka thought her son was in front of her. "Ra..." she began, but then recognised the red haired girl who held a look of disappointment on her face.
Nadoka stood up; miraculously dry after the being thrown through the air by the hot water from the pump.
"Ranko... so it was *you* who saved me?" Nadoka asked.
"Huh...?" Ranma said. [She must have seen me change! No... She didn't?] "Uh, no, I mean..." Ranma stumbled over her words.
Nadoka didn't hear her, "Of course... that must have been just a dream..." she said.
"A dream!" Akane and Ranma said together incredulously.
"I dreamt that Ranma rescued me," Nadoka said, her eyes shining with the vision still clear in her mind. "Oh he was such a fine young man..." #SIGH!#
Genma stood at a safe distance in Panda form and sweat dropped.
Ranma was at a loss for words.
"Actually Mrs. Saotome..." Akane began, but Ranma cut her off with a hand before she could say another word.
Akane looked to Ranma, "But..."
"It's okay, being a dream for now..." Ranma said, her eyes showing happiness. [Until I can become a complete guy again.]
Akane understood then, that this was Ranma's choice. She looked at Ranma, who stood there and watched as his mother waved goodbye to them, with a large smile clear on her face.
[There's a look in Ranma's eyes,] Akane thought, smiling to herself.
[Hold on tight to that dream, okaasan,] thought Ranma, as she vanished from view down the street.
Happosai moped around the Tendo Dojo, feeling depressed. He clutched in one hand, a frilly pink brassier that he rubbed against his face, but it wouldn't... it couldn't cheer him up.
"Ohh, life is so cruel," he wailed.
The Tendo's and the Saotome's watched as he walked along the hallway, looking about ready to bawl his eyes out.
Ranma looked over at the old letch. "Looks like he's ready to keel over," he commented.
"Don't be so cruel Ranma," Genma spoke up from his game with Soun. "The master has not being feeling himself lately."
"Maybe this will cheer him up?" Nabiki held a stick out, waiving a pair of panties over the old man.
"Hey isn't that one of mine?" Akane called out.
Nabiki disappeared around the corner as Happosai followed, with Akane in pursuit.
Soun Tendo looked up from the Shogi board. "I think we should take the master out on a training trip, like the way we used to."
Genma paused, one hand holding a game piece in mid move. "You mean, visit our old stomping grounds, and refresh the old memories?" He said, a smile starting to appear on his face.
"We could re-live the old days!" Soun chuckled.
"What, stealing panties and bras from villages, and food whenever convenient?" Ranma asked.
#SPLASH!#
"Who asked you boy!" Genma demanded. An empty bucket dropped from his hand, rolling across the floor out of sight.
#CRACK# ... #SPLASH#
"When it involves you stealing food from the Amazons, it affects me!" Onna-Ranma called out to the panda climbing out of the Koi pond in the yard.
"We don't intend to go that far Ranma," Soun said, taking the opportunity to hide several game pieces.
Genma held up a sign in his furred paw as he came back inside and resumed his seat, 'Master's special place'
"What special place?"
Soun turned to Genma, with a big smile. Genma returned it with a toothy grin.
Ranma thought she felt a shiver run down her spine, watching those two conspire. The sensation felt so real she forced herself to look around at her back, and found Happosai stuck to her, his hands groping at her chest.
"Dammit you old letch," she yelled, yanking him off and booting the old man out the doorway and off into the distance.
"Whaaaaa!" was all that could be heard as he disappeared.
It was a strangely silent night with little wind and dark foreboding clouds lingered on the horizon. A stranger had appeared in town that day, wearing a heavy cloak that covered most of his features from view. Those that were familiar with strange visitors had initially thought it was the peculiar kid with the yellow bandana who often frequented the town, always asking for directions.
And the place usually sought for was, of course, the Tendo Dojo. And it was no exception that the stranger also sought the same place.
A man out on the street, hawking Okonomiyaki from a cart became the centre of the stranger's attention.
"Could you tell me where I can find the Tendo Dojo?"
The man pointed a cooking implement down the road. "It's down that way, turn left before the drainage canal, follow it until you pass under the rail line, then take the first left, and then the second right, and you should find it on your left."
The stranger bowed, and headed down the road, following the instructions precisely.
"Awfully polite fellow," the man commented before returning his attention to his Okonomiyaki cart.
At his window, Ranma stared out at the calm sky. A full moon could be seen amongst the clouds that were drifting in, shining its filtered light on his face. It was quiet, almost too quiet.
[I almost wish something would happen,] he thought glumly, and then shook his head.
Soun and Genma had left on a trip with the old letch, leaving him alone with the girls.
They hadn't wanted Ranma to come along, with Genma telling him, "There are some things we have to re-live with just the three of us."
Soun put it better when he said, "Ranma, we don't want you finding out what sort of torture the master put us through." He broke down crying in Ranma's chest, "And look after my three babies!"
#HMPH!# Akane could be heard in the background.
Right before they'd gone, Genma said one last thing. "Son, this is your chance to get with Akane. No parents looking over your shoulder. Be a *man*, and make the best of it." Genma had slapped him hard on the back and then left.
[What does he take me for? An idiot?]
Akane's schoolwork had been all of thirty minutes of algebra, leaving her with nothing to do for hours. She'd sat in her room reading one of her few books through again until she threw it down in boredom. It wasn't the same without her father and Genma around, providing some form of entertainment.
It was too quiet for her. She wanted to get out, and do something, like see a movie.
She'd already asked Nabiki. "I'm sorry imouto, but I've got to balance these books and finish my homework tonight," Nabiki had said. "Why don't you ask Ranma-kun?"
So Akane had tried Kasumi. "Oh my!" Kasumi said surprised by the offer. "Thankyou imouto, but wouldn't it be better to take Ranma-kun?"
[Ranma, Ranma... Maybe Oneechan is right and I should take him... it's not as if our fathers will try anything...]
She walked up and down the hallway, looking at Ranma's door as she considered.
[It's just a movie after all; it's not as if we're dating.]
Ranma turned from the window and stared at his room. He noticed a shadow pass by his closed door. It came back again and went in the other direction. Ranma waited, as the shadow went back and forth a few times before stopping in front of his door.
[Two small feet. Not Kasumi's style and Nabiki wouldn't be so obvious.] "Come in Akane," he called out.
The door rattled, and then it slid open.
"How... how'd you know?" Akane asked.
Ranma just rolled his eyes.
"What d'ya want?"
Akane felt a flush of anger at his tone, but held it back.
[Maybe he was doing something and I interrupted...] Akane thought. She looked around the room, as if considering what to say.
"I was thinking..." she began. "Would you like to..."
Before she could finish, there was a loud knocking from the front door downstairs.
"Who could that be?" Ranma said, getting up from the window sill. He hadn't even heard the squeaking of the wooden gates at the front. [Maybe it's Shampoo? Or Ukyo-chan?] He thought, heading for the doorway, leaving Akane standing there with her question unfinished.
Kasumi reached the door first. She had a pleasant smile on her face as she opened the door to find a stranger in a heavy cloak.
"Is this the Tendo Dojo?" The stranger asked.
"Yes it is," Kasumi replied. "Can I help you?"
"Could you please tell me, where can I find Ranma Saotome?"
"Ranma? Oh certainly..." Kasumi turned and called out. "Ranma-kun. A visitor for you."
She turned back to the visitor, inviting him in. "Would you like to come in? I've just prepared some tea."
Ranma came downstairs to find the stranger still standing in the dark cloak, covering his features. Instantly suspicious of the unknown stranger seeking him out, Ranma was on guard as he faced the stranger in the main room of the Tendo house.
Akane and Nabiki appeared at the doorway to the dinning room, to see this stranger as Kasumi returned with a tray holding a pot of tea and some cups.
"Here you go Kaneda-san," Kasumi offered a cup to the stranger, who sat himself at the table.
The stranger took a single sip from the cup before placing it down on the table in front of him. His face was still covered by the heavy cloak.
"Ranma Saotome?" the man asked with his eyes barely visible.
Ranma tensed, expecting an attack. Instead, the man flipped his hood off, revealing a slim man, his face weathered by time and travel, with jet black hair tied in a short ponytail.
"And you are?" Ranma asks.
"I am Kaneda Shotaro."
[Kaneda? I don't know any Kaneda,] Ranma thought to himself, still wary.
"I don't expect you've heard my name," he says. "I have travelled *many* a mile on my treks. I have being places and seen things that only the gods themselves could comprehend."
"So why are yo looking for me then? Are you another challenger?" Ranma finally asks.
"A challenger?" Kaneda asks. "Oh, no. No. I am not. I have come here, because of Jusenkyo."
[The cursed springs?]
"Ohh," the Tendo girls exclaimed together in surprise, coming into the room.
"What... what about Jusenkyo?" Ranma asked.
"You are the Ranma Saotome who visited the legendary training grounds of cursed springs, Jusenkyo, and fell in Nyanneechuan, the Spring of Drowned girl are you not?"
"What of it?" Ranma asks. His interest was piqued enough that he came forward warily, to sit at the table.
Kaneda started out telling his story, sipping tea between talking. "I was once cursed by the Jusenkyo springs."
[Once?] Ranma thinks.
"It was 20 years ago, when I first..." Kaneda hesitated, remembering the pain of the loss of everything he'd known in his life. He swallowed, and pushed forward. "I travelled from Japan in search of answers to questions I had, and ended up in China. You could call it an accident, but that is how I ended up with my curse. The guide wasn't very helpful, as he didn't know much Japanese. But to find myself changing bodies because of..."
Kaneda look to Ranma, sorrow filling his eyes. "You understand of course."
Ranma could only nod in sympathy.
"Seeking to understand what had happened to me I stayed on with the Guide and learnt Mandarin, whilst teaching him Japanese at the same time. It was a slow process, learning all the fundamentals of a new language, and the nature of the curse."
Kaneda emptied his cup.
"More tea?" Kasumi offered.
"Yes, arigotou."
Kasumi filled his cup, and listened as Kaneda continued his tale.
"I learnt many things whilst I was there, many important things about the Jusenkyo springs and the curses."
Ranma would have being on the edge of his seat, had he not being sitting on the floor already.
"Chinese legends talk of a large god, known Ma-Zhang who roamed the countryside searching for the perfect bride. He'd move frofm town to town, pillaging them in search of a girl to be his bride. The towns usually knew when he was coming, as he could be heard coming for some distance and they hid their unmarried girls away in the forests whenever he came looking. Ma-Zhang did this for one hundred years, until he realised that the towns, though they never had any girls in them when he visited, the people kept changing, and they never died out. He got angry and went on a rampage; killing everyone in the next town he came to. The girls who had hidden in the forest had watched from a distance, as their families were killed, so they plotted their revenge. Ma-Zhang watched as the girls came out of hiding, many beautiful girls who promised to marry him. Ma-Zhang agreed because all their familles were dead, he would marry all of them. The girls all agreed too, and told him to return on the next day when they would begin a feast for their nuptials. Ma-Zhang left, leaving the girls alone. The girls buried their familles, and set about cooking a great feast."
"They were going to marry him?" Akane asked.
"Oh they had no intention of marrying him," said Kaneda. "Ma-Zhang returned the next day to find a huge banquet ready. Because Ma-Zhang was so large, he ate all the food there, stuffing himself greedily. Ma-Zhang hadn't realised this, but all the food had being poisoned. It was only when he felt dizzy that he knew there was something wrong. He asked the girls what they had done, and they told him that it was revenge for killing their families. Ma-Zhang was shocked, yet he also understood. As Ma-Zhang collapsed, it is said that he cursed the ground he fell upon, saying that for eternity, the waters that flow from this ground will bring back the dead in the forms of the living. Ma-Zhang's body struck the ground, creating the Bayankala ranges. It is said that Jusenkyo springs are in the very spot where bodies of those dead families were buried."
Kaneda took a sip of tea, as Ranma reattached his jaw.
"Though the story of the spring's creation are interesting, nothing has every being said about how such a curse can be removed."
"What about using the Nanniichuan?" Ranma asked.
Kaneda frowned. "The spring of drowned man? It is useful, but it does not cure. It is would be like mixing your curses, it is both unstable and possibly dangerous. Mixing a Nanniichuan on top of a Nyanneechuan and your cursed form would result in a hermaphrodite, though how much is hard to say. You might be ninety nine percent male, or ninety nine percent female. Dealing with two sets of magical curses always returns unstable results. And the Nanniichuan is not a pretty one by itself. That is unless you enjoy looking like a short Chinese man with features resembling the man who drowned in it originally."
"I didn't know..." Ranma stumbled.
All that time he'd spent chasing the Japanese Nanniichuan, fighting with Ryoga and getting into the girls locker room and then there was Shampoo with the Instant Nanniichuan Powder...
"Wait," Ranma interrupted. "I had some Instant Nanniichuan Powder a few months ago, and it was able to cure my curse, although it only worked once."
"Was this a 'Jusenkyo Magical Spring Product'?"
"Yes, why?"
Kaneda chuckled lightly. "'Jusenkyo Magical Spring Products' was one of my attempts at finding a cure. It was made from an unstable concoction of elements and distilled Jusenkyo spring water. It only worked once per application. The fact that it worked at all was a miracle, and not because it was made from Nanniichuan spring water, but because the mixture itself interfered with the actual curse." Kaneda shrugged his shoulders. "It was a poor attempt with mixed results."
"You mean if a cursed girl had used the instant Nanniichuan, she'd have stayed as a girl?" Ranma asked dumfounded.
"Pretty much. The instant Nanniichuan affects those without a Jusenkyo curse in the usual way. It's just no cure."
"So you ended up marketing this?" Nabiki piped up.
"I was living in one of the Chinese towns by this time, so I had to make a living somehow. Flogging off the Instant Nanniichuan Powder for some money seemed like a great idea at the time. Ever since leaving Jusenkyo most of my time has being devoted to finding a cure. I spent 20 long years trying to find a cure. I travelled all over, seeking magical treatments, reversal charms, anything, including resorting to black magic to help."
"You didn't find one?" Akane asked.
"On the contrary, I did find one," Kaneda replied.
Before Ranma spoke again, he drew his jaw up from the floor. "A cure?" He leaned forward, forgetting his former caution.
"Yes a cure," Kaneda replies, but Ranma sees something in his face a look that shows something other than the satisfaction of curing a life long curse.
"A cure is possible. No longer would you find water splashing you at the most inconvenient time. Where a simple splash of water once would have made your life miserable; now means little more than getting wet."
Kaneda mouth broke into a smile for the first time, as his eyes became shiny with moisture.
Nabiki felt reluctant to break the man from his moment of happiness, but she was missing an important angle here and had to ask. "Why now? Why Ranma? I'm sure there are more people deserving of a cure from Jusenkyo..."
Ranma glared at her for the suggestion, so she quickly changed her words. "...I mean. I'm sure that Ranma could cope with his cursed form much better compared to others, with smaller and more inconvenient forms."
A sigh escaped from Kaneda. "There is a reason, that I will explain. This cure would more than likely work on all cursed forms, but it would..." He stalled, as if unsure how best to form his words. "Those with human form curses are likely to suffer less pain, than those without," he finished. "The Chinese Guide kept a visitor registry, keeping a list of everyone who had ever visited Jusenkyo."
"Hey, wasn't that stolen by that monster?" Akane interrupted.
"It was stolen?" Kaneda asked with a worried look on his face.
"Yeah, it taken by Pantyhose Taro," added Ranma.
"Pantyhose?" Kaneda frowned.
"Yeah, don't ask. It's a long story, and to make it short, Happosai ate the book, and the panty freak disappeared," said Ranma. "Hopefully for good." He added as an afterthought.
"It does not matter, the registry is just for show. The guide keeps the real registry separate, along with more information on those who had fallen into a springs. It lists the spring, the name of the individual, and if possible where they live. There have being dozens of people over the recent years, few of which who fell into the human form springs. But of them all, yours was only one I was able to track down to your mother, and then to here."
"Mom?" Ranma exclaimed, looking around nervously. "You didn't tell her about Jusenkyo did you?"
"No. Just that I was searching for you. She was quite helpful in telling me where you were. I understand that there would be a reluctance on your part about telling some people about your curse, so I refrained from mentioning Jusenkyo or a cure to anyone until I found you."
Ranma relaxed, comforted that Kaneda had kept his mouth shut in front of his mother. But having the cure itself would negate that entirely.
"How can we trust what you are telling us is the truth?" Akane asked.
Ranma heard the movement from behind him and dodged sideways, as a splash of water flew across the room, hitting Kaneda square in the face. He flinched noticeably, but there was no change of body, no unbelievable morphing into some creature. He remained the same man who had walked through the doorway.
Ranma and Kaneda looked around at the person who threw the water, finding Nabiki standing there, guiltily holding an empty glass.
"Just thought it was a good idea to check."
Kasumi appeared with a towel, offing it to Kaneda.
"Arigotou," he said, wiping his face dry. "It is understandable. You want to verify my story, yet I am unable to prove to you either that I was once cursed."
"Hey that's true!" Akane exclaimed.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "So what's this cure?"
Kaneda let out a small snort. "It took a conversation with a Russian Paranormal Physicist about the properties of transmuting water, and the affects of latent thermodynamics of DNA."
"Huh?" Akane asked.
Ranma didn't understand most of it himself, but he knew what Kaneda talking about. "He's talking about the Jusenkyo water, you baka!"
"At least I'm not an ecchi hydrotranssexual!" Akane shot back.
Kaneda looked from one to the other, then to Nabiki with a questioning look on his face. She could only shrug in reply.
Kaneda decided to continue. "Basically it is something so simple, it is almost beyond belief. To think that I wasted years in searching, and the cure turns out to be in the same place where the nightmare started." Kaneda's eyes were closed as he said this.
Ranma waited expectantly for the visitor to tell him.
"Ranma-san," said Kaneda, opening his eyes on the boy. "I must warn you, this cure is not without its side effects."
Ranma was almost ready to throttle the man. He'd talked on and on, and still hadn't gotten to the point.
"Yet you must endure the pain with the cure, that is why of all the people who have been to Jusenkyo, why I choose to tell you."
"Pain?" Ranma scoffed, pushing out his chest. "I can take anything!"
"Except criticism," Nabiki mumbled. Akane sniggered.
"If you are sure Ranma-san, I shall tell you."
Ranma nodded enthusiastically, leaning forward as he listened carefully.
"You will need to travel far, returning to Jusenkyo, with its legendary training grounds of cursed springs. Returning to the very spring, which cursed you, the Nyanneechuan. These springs, whilst well known for its training grounds, it is also a fresh water spring, naturally seeping out of the grounds at a temperature normally cold at those altitudes. You will have to collect water from the spring you fell into, enough to fill a whole kettle and heat the water to a boiling temperature for five minutes. When this is done, you must douse yourself with the still boiling water, and the curse will dissipate."
[That's it?] Ranma stared wide-eyed at the man, surprised that the curse could be lifted so simply. [If we'd collected some of the water from the spring before we'd left, then I wouldn't have to travel back to China, but Pops had to drag me back to Japan for the engagement.]
Nabiki was quiet as she thought to herself. [If the cure is so simple, then why hasn't Shampoo used it yet? Unless the Amazons don't know about it... then Cologne doesn't know everything that she professes.]
#CRACK!#
Akane jumped as the sound of thunder echoed outside the house, the lightning striking close by. She landed with arms wrapped around Ranma.
The two stared at one another's faces momentarily, until she pulled away and struck him with a closed fist. "You hentai!"
Ranma rocked back with the hit, absorbing most of it so he didn't go flying out of the room, but it did leave a distinct hand shaped impression on his face.
Kaneda was on his feet as he looked outside with a serious look to his face. "I must leave, I have spent too much time here already," he said, leaving the tea unfinished.
"What about this side effect you mentioned?" Nabiki asked.
"No I must leave," he said as another crack of thunder sounded outside. "Gomen. I cannot stay in one place too long. I would be putting you all in danger if I stayed to explain." he said, with eyes staring wildly at the building darkness outside.
"I can take anything," Ranma said, also standing to face the unknown threat from outside.
Kaneda turned to Ranma, his face emotionless. "There is no man who can stand against the supreme forces of nature." He pulled the cloak up over his head.
Ranma noticed for the first time, that stuck inside the cloak was a latticework of chain metal. He could even hear the rattling of metal on metal as Kaneda adjusted the garment so it covered him completely from head to toe.
"I must leave now," Kaneda said, heading for the front door.
Kasumi opened the door for him. Outside the sky was dark. Not with night, but with clouds that seemed to swell and gather upon themselves, driven by strong winds that were rattling loose tiles on the roof, and made the winds chimes dance.
"I thankyou for your hospitality Kasumi-chan," Kaneda offered, making Kasumi blush slightly.
"Please come again Kaneda-san," she replied.
Kaneda stepped outside the door and paused, as if he were about to say something. There was flash of lightning outside, making everyone blink. When they all looked again outside the door, Kaneda was gone.
"Strange fellow," said Kasumi as she closed the door.
It was following night, and the sky had cleared of the strange dark clouds. In the Tendo home, a figure crept silently down the stairs.
Ranma looked left then right checking that it was all clear. He held a large pack in one hand, as he headed for the kitchen. He'd need a few supplies of food for the journey, as it wouldn't do to starve on the way. He raided several items and stuffed them into the pack.
With a now bulging pack on his back, Ranma made his way through the darkened house with quiet steps, heading for the front door to make good his escape. He was half way there when heard a creak off to the right. He paused, wondering if he'd being caught.
#CLICK#
Ranma blinked as the lights came on, and stared wide eyed at the trio of girls who clustered at the stairs.
Akane stood in front in her nightgown with a barbell in one hand, held over her head, ready to throw it at the intruder they'd heard downstairs. Kasumi and Nabiki backed their younger sister up, standing ready to give support.
"Oh it's Ranma!" Kasumi exclaimed, her fear of a burglar in the house disappearing. Akane lowered the barbell, and expression of disappointment on her face
"You're not planning to sneak out of here without telling us are you?" Nabiki asked.
"Ah, well..." Ranma held a hand behind his head and grinned with a guilty expression.
"Ranma! You were going to go to China by yourself weren't you?" Akane demanded.
"Why not? This is my problem!"
"But... I want to go with you."
"Akane, don't be stupid. I'm going to China. It's going to take weeks, so I can't have a girl go with me."
"You shouldn't go alone Ranma. What if you get into trouble or something?"
"As if I'd get into trouble..."
"Like running into a cat?" Akane interrupted.
Ranma froze. "C...c...cat?" He looked around furtively, but the room was empty of felines. He took a minute to calm down. "I guess maybe you could come along." [It'd be better than travelling with Ryoga, and going with Shampoo would be a seriously bad idea,] he thought glumly.
"Really? Thankyou Ranma, you won't forget this. You can think of it as a training trip if you want. I could even cook for you."
"Cook?" Ranma gulped.
Nabiki thought it was an appropriate time to interrupt. "Ranma, have you thought about how you're going to get to China?"
"Well, Pop and I swum across to China the first time. It's not going to be difficult just swim back."
"Do you have any idea how long that'll take?"
"Well it took us a couple of weeks to get from Jusenkyo to here," Ranma said, leaving out the details about travelling via the Amazon village, and the numerous times they were attacked by Shampoo on the way.
"What if I told you that you could get there in under a week?" Nabiki said.
"A week?" Ranma asked. "How?"
Nabiki didn't reply, until he looked down at her extended hand. "20,000 Yen."
Ranma almost choked. "20,000?"
"Well, do you want to get there in under a week or not?"
"Yes, but..." Ranma emptied his pockets. "I've only got about 4,000 Yen," he said holding out the scrunched up notes and coins.
When Nabiki lowered her hand, Ranma looked downcast until she took the money from him.
"That'll do for now. You can pay me the rest later. I've being able to book passage for two on a ship leaving Tokyo harbour for China in the morning."
"A ship? That's great!" Akane said.
"Don't thank me yet. What are you going to do about school while you're gone?"
"What about it?" Ranma shot back. "This is a cure, a final cure. To make me a whole man again!" He said, striking a pose.
"Akane-chan, you're not just going to do nothing about your school work are you?"
"Um..." Akane hesitated, not sure what to do.
"5,000 Yen." Nabiki stated, her hand out.
Akane grumbled as she handed the money over to her Mercenary sister.
"That'll be taken care of," said Nabiki as she counted it. "You'll both have to be at the docks by 6AM."
"I'll pack some food for the trip," Kasumi volunteered, heading for the darkened kitchen still in her nightgown. Kasumi voice floated out as the lights came on in the kitchen. "And you'll have to take some warm coats with you too."
Ranma looked from the kitchen to the other two sisters. He considered them both as they had big smiles on their faces. [Nabiki's probably thinking about how much money she's going to make out of me, but Akane?]
"I'll expect you to pay me back every yen Ranma." Nabiki turned around, and headed back to her room. She stopped as she remembered something, and called over her shoulder. "Oh, and Ranma-kun. If you can't pay me back in two weeks, I'll start changing you interest."
They'd left the ship behind in Shanghai five days before, and Akane still couldn't believe that her sister had sold them out as labour on board a freighter.
"I mean I just don't get it. How could she?" Akane complained.
"You don't get it? I'm the one who still owes her 16,000 Yen, and I don't see any way of making money out here do you?" [She'd going to take it out of my hide when we get back,] Ranma thought glumly. [How does Nabiki always get me into this? At least she won't be able to take any more embarrassing photos of my female side. Heh.]
Ranma's face changed into a grin at the thought of finally getting rid of his curse. If what the strangely cloaked Kaneda had said were true, then in a few hours, his nightmare would be over. [No more old ladies splashing me at bad moments. I'll be able to take a bath again, without having the guys ogle me, or worry about being chased out by the girls.] Ranma was elated. [*And* no more Happosai trying to get into my clothes. I won't have to go chasing phantom cures with Ryoga, or have weird men trying...]
"How much further is it?" Akane spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.
Ranma looked around at the countryside. They were between tall mountains, which were high enough to have white peaks all year round. Winter hadn't really settled in yet but the icy cold ground they walked upon crunched under their footsteps. Here and there a smattering of snow dotted the landscape. It was just as well they wore the heavy coats Kasumi had given them otherwise the cold would have stopped them long ago.
Ranma considered the terrain. [This place looks very familiar.] "It's not too far," said Ranma.
Akane stole a look at her travelling companion. Six days they'd being travelling together, mostly alone. It's the first time she had had the chance to spend time with her 'fiancé' alone, without interruption by bonbori wielding maniacs, or psychotic siblings.
It was the first time they'd spent time together, so in some ways it felt almost like a date to her. She shuddered at the thought. [No, this is a training trip, not a date. We aren't going to kiss each other when we get home.]
But she couldn't help but be reminded of when she tried to cook a meal for them the first night. She knew her culinary skills were severely lacking yet she still tried her best. [He didn't have to act like he was being choked to death though. Jerk.] Akane sighed as she adjusted the pack she carried. [But he did try to eat all of it.]
The ridge they followed slowly rose to what looked like another mountain peak, until it eventually crested at a ridge at the end of a small hidden valley. Hundreds of small pools dotted the valley, some of which were hidden out of sight behind rocky outcroppings which split the valley into a number of branches that spread out in a number of directions. Bamboo poles stood vertically out the pools, making the valley floor look like the back of a porcupine.
"Well, there it is Akane-chan. That's Jusenkyo," said Ranma as he gestured at the springs. [We're here. We're finally here.]
Akane stared in awe at the place. All she could say was, "The accursed springs."
Ranma restrained himself from running down the slope to the springs without Akane. [It'll come soon enough,] he told himself, as they climbed down together, scuffing the light snow on the ground as they approached. [Just a few more minutes.]
Stopping short of the springs, they found some sort of sign stuck in the ground.
Ranma dusted some snow off the sign with a gloved hand. Large Chinese symbols were written across it. Ranma stared at the sign, trying to comprehend the writing without success.
"I can't read it," he sighed.
#COUGH#
Ranma turned towards the throat sounds Akane was making, to find her pointing at the far bottom corner of the sign.
He leaned in close to make out barely legible Japanese kanji.
"Welcome to Jusenkyo. Closed for winter," he read. "I guess this *is* the place then," he added as he stood up.
Akane could only make a small sound through her nose in reply.
The small cabin that the Chinese guide usually resided in stood cold, dark and empty, almost as if abandoned.
"There's no one here?" Akane asked, as she looked around after dropping her pack on the floor.
Ranma was stacking some wood in the fireplace in preparation for lighting it. "No one except us," he commented, touching a match to the tinder.
Akane stood in the open doorway, and stared at the pools, transfixed by the very presence of those springs. [Ranma, Mr. Saotome, Shampoo, and Mousse have all being here, and fallen into these springs. Are they such good training grounds? What about Ryoga-kun? Has he been here too?]
"It's a pity the guide isn't here," Ranma said, breaking into Akane's thoughts as he slowly built the fire up. "I'd like to know what all the other springs are."
"Didn't you find out last time you were here?" She asked, closing the door so the warmth wouldn't escape.
"I was so busy chasing Pops after the accident, I guess we didn't have much time to listen to the Guide. We were so focused on our problems, that we forgot all about the other springs."
Ranma could hear Akane searching through the things in the cabin. He looked up when he heard the metallic clatter of an empty kettle on the table. He could only look at it, feeling a lifetime of agony waiting to be swept away, with so many memories, some good and some bad. [So many problems come from this place.]
"Well?" Akane asked, frowning at his lack of enthusiasm. "Aren't you going to do it now?"
He nodded slowly, knowing there was no point putting it off. He thought it odd, as he picked up the kettle, heading outside towards the springs. This curse of his had become useful. There had being so many situations where changing gender had saved his life, though when he thought about it, many a time that life had being put in danger because of the curse, or in seeking a cure for the curse.
Akane looked on as Ranma looked at the springs, seeking the Nyanneechuan. She didn't want to interrupt him, but she didn't want him cursing himself accidentally with something else... "Are you sure you know which one it is?"
[I'm sure,] he said to himself, nodding in reply. [I can never forget where it was.]
It wasn't as if he weren't sure which one it was, it was more like he was taking his time.
He looked up at the bamboo poles, almost reliving the moment when Genma had flown out of the Shonmaoneechuan to subsequently knock him into the water below.
Ranma stopped at the edge of the spring, the very spring he'd fallen into what seemed like so long ago. He looked into the water's of the Nyanneechuan, and stared at it, almost daring it to stop him from taking the water he was about to scoop out. Except for the small ripples caused by a light breeze, the spring was calm, showing only a reflection of himself in the waters as he carefully leaned over the spring. The only sound to break the silence was the sound of water filling a kettle.
Akane watched, as he stood up kettle in hand, and walked slowly back to the cabin with an expressionless face. She followed, wondering what could be going through his mind right now.
The cabin having warmed up enough now, they hung their coats up by the door before crouching in front of the fire to watch a particular battered and scratched kettle as it heated up.
To Ranma, it seemed like ages, watching and waiting for the water to come to a boil, then wait for another five minutes as it vented steam from the top. Wordlessly, he took it off the fire, and settled it on the floor for a moment.
Akane could only watch anxiously, unsure about the entire process. The entire journey, initiated by one stranger, lead down to this one moment.
[Now's the time,] Ranma thought to himself grimly. "You'd better stand back Akane-chan, I don't want you getting splashed."
Akane nodded understanding, and moved all the way back, until she felt the wall against her back.
At one point in time, she'd wondered vaguely what it would be like to turn into a boy, wondering if it would solve some of her problems. There was a Nanniichuan here, a spring of drowned man that would do just that, turn her into a boy. She shook her head, dismissing the thought as absurd, as she considered Ranma's predicament, and all the complications that have arisen because of it. It wasn't a burden she wanted to take on, willing or otherwise.
Ranma looked to Akane with a cocky grin on his face. "A full man finally," he said, before upending the kettle of boiling water over his head.
He'd known the water was hot, but nothing had prepared him for the searing pain that started at the top of his head and slowly clawed down his face and work its way down his body all the way to his feet. Ranma could only grit his teeth to stop from screaming out as the kettle clattered to the floor empty, hoping that this would work.
For a moment, Akane saw nothing except Ranma standing there in apparent agony. Then Ranma's features seemed to flash a moment. For a split second an onna-Ranma stood there with her red hair, then back again to otoko-Ranma. The expression on his face never changed, as he changed back again, flickering as if someone kept changing the channel on a TV set back and forth, onna-Ranma then otoko-Ranma, the back, then forth.
Akane would blink for a moment, and she would become a he.
The flickering grew faster still, until Akane could no longer see two people, but only a constant blur that held no distinct shape of either onna-Ranma or otoko-Ranma.
Akane had one bad thought suddenly run though her mind. [Oh no. What if his boy and girl forms merge into one body?] She held an image in her mind of otoko-Ranma with breasts, screaming in frustration.
She could only stand and watch, until an explosion rent the inside of the cabin, sending two objects in different directions, hitting opposite walls.
Akane let go of the breath she hadn't known she was holding, and looked at the empty spot Ranma had being standing in.
Slowly she walked forward, knowing that she'd seen two blurs shooting in opposite directions. She looked one way then the other. On the floor, around the corner of the table, she caught sight of Ranma-kun's placid face appearing to be unconscious. Akane looked the other way, and saw Ranma's trousers and feet sticking out over the pile of wood, appearing to twitch by their self.
"Ranma!" She screamed. [My god, he's being torn in half!] She thought, before slumping to the floor in a faint.
Ranma groaned, lifting himself up onto an elbow from the dirty cold floor. He felt a little colder than normal, and looked down to find his pants missing. It was a little strange, yet he could clearly see his exposed manhood. He let out a breath, but checked his chest too, just in case, but he proved to be man from top to bottom and completely intact.
He felt his face for the pain he'd felt after pouring the boiling water over himself, but it was gone.
[I guess everything's alright,] he thought. [But am I cured?]
Slowly Ranma climbed to his feet. The first he noticed was Akane lying motionless on the floor, facing away from him.
He started to approach, but remembered his half nakedness, and decided not to venture too close. [Akane would have a fit and punch me into orbit, and I'd probably land in another spring. Better look for those pants first.] He didn't wonder how the pants went missing in the first place, as he started looking on the floor around him.
Looking under the table, Ranma heard a moan. He turned to look at Akane, but instead the moan arose from the woodpile at the other end of the cabin, where a set of feet could be seen sticking out.
[Who's that?] Ranma asked himself, totally blank.
The feet disappeared as the figure behind the woodpile made some noise as they struggled to climb to their feet on the unstable pile.
Over the edge of the wood, Ranma watched almost in slow motion as a head of red hair rose from behind the wood, followed by a very familiar face.
Onna-Ranma groaned in frustration. That fact that her shirt was missing somewhere did not concern her at the moment. It was the two well formed breasts that she could see plain and clearly in the slightly chill air of the cabin. [The cure didn't work,] she thought as she shook her head.
Holding her pigtail out to the side, she could see the red colour of it in her peripheral vision.
She rolled off the wood, to stand up as she tried to remember if she'd done something wrong. [I'm sure it was the right spring.]
Standing up, something caught her attention on the other side of the woodpile.
Her mouth dropped open, as she saw herself, or rather himself standing there staring back.
Both the Ranma's could only look at one another with shocked expressions on their faces, and let out a simultaneous scream.
End Chapter 1
Author's Notes:
Okay, Kaneda Shotaro. If you don't know who he is, I won't tell you. He's from another Manga/Anime. Though I hadn't intended this to be a crossover, so you'll just have to be satisfied with my explanation of his 'appearance' as being a cameo. Hopefully he'll come back again to explain a few things for us, before he leaves for good.
One thing I hoped to do with this story, is actually maintain the continuity of the 'Ranma' universe, its laws of physics and whatnot. So I have no intention of creating or destroying what people are familiar with at pleasure (though I'd love to), unless it is required to keep the story going (this is a reference to the Instant Nanniichuan Powder). Unfortunately I've also had to twist around the time continuum to make winter come early. Fortunately I've never seen any clear sense of calendar progression in the series so far, so you'll just have to put up with whatever season I drop on the story.
I've avoided Shampoo, Ryoga and Mousse for now, which is best explained as it would totally freak the story if we had P-Chan *and* Ryoga running about lost. That's why another cursed character (other than the one's we or I knew) was required to start the story off.
The old guys had to be out of the way of course, so Akane and Ranma could be alone #COUGH#, though what happens from there is anyone's imagination (hey, keep it clean!) And the only person to do that is Happosai. Whether their intention is to re-live happy moments, or bury him again, time can only tell.
This is actually the second rewrite of this chapter. Not much has changed, except expanding on the story, and introducing a lot of elements and explaining everything that should have being explained in the first place. But it did get to what I was driving for, creating this unique situation, the splitting of Ranma into two.
Now he really is half himself... err herself, umm, well, you get the idea. Ranma what we once knew of, is split into two complete entities, one being in the body of the original un-cursed otoko-Ranma (oops, shouldn't have mentioned that spoiler), and the other in the onna-Ranko (the red-head girl) form.
One will be happy that he is a complete man again... thus he can face his mother without any problem (except maybe the panda). The other will be trapped in a female form, forever having thought himself a boy (another spoiler), but having that shattered by this... so called cure.
As for explaining the splitting (the effect, not the process). It's my thought that they are complete entities. Each Ranma is the same as he was before (another words, he/she don't have half strength), it's Ranma x 2. Name of the second Chapter?
Next Chapter (read with a cute girl voice):
What can two Ranma's get up to? What can two Ranma's get up to together (ooh, that's lemon material)? What will other people think? What will his fiancées think? What will Akane say when she wakes up? When will Akane actually wake up? Maybe she'll fall into a spring?
All this and more in the next exciting episode of "A cure for the curse".
BTW: If you have a more exciting title, then tell me. I'll have to consider it though, as there is a larger plot to consider.
Please send me C&C! And direct them to BillGates(at)Micro..., er.. to the address at the top.
Flame me, and I'll sick my legion of un-dead RPG game characters on you.
Bwah hah hah hah... er... well... I sort of missed my megalomaniac laugh.