Locked and alone
I do not own Ranma ½, it ultimately belongs to Rumiko Takaheshi.
This story has not yet been beta'd and was done on the spur of the moment, so I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1:
We all know how Ranma Saotome gained his Jusenkyo curse, there are many versions of the event told throughout existence, and many are the same while some are different.
This one counts as the latter, though not much is different. Ranma kicked his father towards the spring of drowned panda, and the two had not heard the guides warning.
He heard the last warning though.
"No, MR Customer cannot fall in spring" He bellowed in broken Japanese. "Springs are cursed, and any who fall in doomed by same curse".
Now, Ranma is not a superstitious person, but he preferred not to take the risk, where family was concerned anyway, and as much as he sometimes wishes it was otherwise, Genma IS family.
The younger martial artist kicked at the air, putting enough force into it to change his direction mid-air, and dove towards his falling father. Catching up to the elder he swung him away from the spring, and changed his own direction so as not to fall into the pool himself.
Genma, of course had not realised the spar was over, believing this to be a follow up he grabbed his sons cleaner GI, flinging him across the way and directly into another pool.
He then landed on his own head, knocking him unconscious.
The guide waited for the younger Saotome to resurface, a pipe in hand. "Oh too bad" he said as the new figure broke the surface of the water "You fall into spring of drowned girl" a sign with the Chinese translation appeared in his hands, "tragic legend of young girl who drown there over one thousand year ago".
Ranma hardly registered the man's dialogue, as he was currently staring in disbelief at the two new additions to his chest.
Ok Ranma he thought Its not that bad, you aren't sure its all gone so….
As he thought this his hands, still underwater, went to his trousers and felt for….. Something that wasn't there. Needless to say what he found and what he wanted to find were two completely different things.
"WHAT THE HELL"!? She screamed, her hands immediately going to her throat even as the words left her mouth.
"It as I say Mr Customer" The Chinese man informed her "you fall in spring of drowned girl, now you girl".
Ranma mouthed the words in disbelief for a few moments, then she got mad, turning to the idiot she was forced to call father she got ready to rip him a new oriphice. Only to find said idiot already out cold.
Not being the type to kick an enemy when their down Ranma tried to think of some other form of release, she couldn't hit the guide, he had tried to warn them, saved her father from being cursed as well, and was currently offering to tell her about some kind of cure. She was tempted to cry before that last thought caught up to her.
"Did you say cure"? She asked eagerly.
The guide nodded, "I thought you might hear that bit" he laughed "but I afraid that it no permanent, Jusenkyo curses are trigger by cold water, warm water will change back".
Ranma felt like crying again, yet through a mix of telling herself that men don't cry and trying to think positively she managed to drag her father back to the hut without more than a single sniff.
"By the way" she said, mainly to start a conversation and direct her thoughts away from brooding "My names Ranma, I've never been one for being too formal" She admitted while scratching the back of her head slightly nervously.
"I am Ling" The guide told her with a smile, "It pleasure to meet you Ranma".
Ling came to Ranma with a filled kettle, it had been put over a flame in the kitchen but was not overly hot.
"I will pour water over your head Mr Ranma" He said "Will cause change and you will be man again".
The redhead nodded, with that motion noting for the first time that she was indeed a redhead right now. "That'll be nice" she said.
With that Ling did as he said, letting a small flow of water fall onto his guests head. His reassuring smile however soon faded, replaced by a confused frown.
"What's wrong"? Ranma asked "why didn't I change back" she immediately questioned upon hearing her still very high pitched voice. She quickly started panicking again, as it was clear the guide…ling was as stumped as she was.
"I'm not sure" He said after a short pause, then tested the water with his hand. "Kettle is not cold, water should have turned you back, one moment" he turned back to the burner, waiting for the water to heat up to near boiling point before returning to her.
"This will sting Mr Ranma, sorry" And immediately upended the entire kettle over her head.
Ranma didn't cry out, having a high pain tolerance she merely closed her eyes and hoped.
She opened them again to see Ling was already over the other end of the room, searching frantically through a small book. Ranma walked over to him, knowing without checking that it hadn't worked. She saw the book was handwritten and apparently no single person ever wrote more than a single paragraph. If her basic Chinese was right then the language was a lot more archaic just a few pages before the current, showing the book must only be written in once every few hundred years.
Ling was frantically looking through his predecessors' notes on strange (er) happenings at Jusenkyo, though he had read the journal more than a few times before he had never EVER come across something like this. There was only the locking ladle that could lock someone in their cursed form indefinitely, and that was currently in the hands of the musk, who he hadn't seen hide nor hair of for several months.
"I don't know what happen" He admitted after re-reading the book several times. "I never seen someone locked as soon as cursed before".
Ranma sighed, the small consolation that she could at least turn back to her guy form had been dashed and if anyone should have known what was going on then surely it would have been the man tasked with guarding it.
"I'm stuck like this right" she asked rhetorically, looking to the unconscious lump that was her father, "He's not gunna take this very well".
Ling thought for a moment "We should wait until Mr Customer wakes up" he suggested "Then we could tell him about problem, and then I can show you to Amazon village, Elders there may know of way to help".
Ranma looked to him sharply, "Could they help"? She asked, daring to hope.
The man shrugged "I no sure, they may and It never hurt to try".
The redhead could only agree with that, knowing that those who don't try never get anything in life.
And so they waited for the elder to wake.
As it happened they didn't need to wait too long, Genma's own training meant that he was a very fast healer, and you never stay unconscious too long with Soun as a training partner, the cheeky sod.
The elder Saotome got up from his prone position on the ground to see that he was no longer outside but in a small room with a well-used but homely feel to it. The guide was also sitting nearby with a young redheaded girl, who held more than a passing resemblance to a younger Nodoka, the wife he'd left behind to train his son.
"Where am I"? He questioned as soon as he was awake, "And where's my good for nothing son" he added.
Ranma grit her teeth but held back a retort as she knew her father was about to get a proverbial kick to the nads.
"Well Mr Customer" Ling began, "If you remember I tried to warn the two of you about the springs".
Genma interrupted gruffly, "Yeah, yeah I remember something about a curse, some silly native hobgoblin".
Ling raised an eyebrow in Ranma's direction.
"Yeah" she muttered so Genma never heard, "he's always like that".
The Chinese native shook his head, "I promise sir it no 'silly tradition', people who fall into springs take form of whatever drown in spring last, be it man or beast, and you nearly fell into spring of drowned panda".
The bald martial artist nodded, humouring the man for the moment. He had seen some magic in his time so thought it might be worth hearing him out.
"You're son heard me at last second, and saved you from falling in".
Genma smirked slightly, "good man, there's hope for him yet".
Ranma smiled a little too, knowing that was high praise from the elder martial artist.
"But, you may remember throwing him in mid-air yourself"? Ling questioned.
Genma squinted, trying to remember, "I don't quite remember, I think I landed on my head"?
Both of the others nodded. "You didn't right yourself in time" Ranma critiqued, as they usually would do so together post-spar.
He looked taken aback slightly by this "Of course not, I was merely demonstrating how NOT to land" he emphasized.
"Of course" The redhead said sarcastically, but was interrupted from saying more by Ling cutting in.
"Well, sir, you did throw Mr Ranma into another spring, and now he is cursed".
"Bull" Genma immediately stated, "I don't believe this crap, if he's cursed then where is he"?
It was Ranma who answered, "I'm right here pop".
Genma's eyes dilated at being called that in such a familiar tone by the redhead in front of him, "Impossible he said, if that's the case then were both….." He started thinking in obvious panic.
"We're what" Ranma asked curiously.
Ling on the other hand was immediately suspicious, fear, worry or even outright hostility he was expecting. Panic, not so much. His eyes quickly sharpened as he came to a realisation this man didn't want an explanation, he wanted an excuse.
Genma's thoughts were going a mile a minute, trying to figure out how he could make this better, he enjoyed life, and didn't want it to end. He sieved through his memories trying to find something to help him, when he came across one from long before Ranma was born, it was even before he knew Nodoka.
His master, who shall not be named by him, was telling him and Soun about an old conquest of his, some woman in China who lived near Jusenkyo a few hundred years ago. He warned them never to go there in fear of turning into an unnatural form and only turning back through the use of hot water. This was on top of the fact that the place was a constant battle ground between three tribes, one of bestial half breed's led by a mighty dragon, another of birdlike warriors led by an actual god who couldn't die. The third was by far the worst he had said, a tribe of horrendous half dog women warriors, led by a bitch-queen (or queen bitch, he couldn't actually remember exactly which he had said).
Of course it was the first fact he latched on to now.
"Ha" The bald man exclaimed, "Now I know how to prove your lies" he stated, "My old master had told me of these springs many years ago, and he told me cursed victims return to normal with hot water".
Ranma was gobsmacked and became unresponsive to Lings gentle reassurances.
The latter looked to the elder 'customer' with a wary glance He knew about Jusenkyo yet still he came, with his young son to boot? He thought incredulously. "I am afraid that your son's curse has not been affected by the water, so if you will come with me tomorrow I will take you to amazon village so you can ask the matriarchs for help" he pleaded his case.
This last part merely cemented Genma's own caution "So" he chuckled "You're trying to get me to the amazons eh, well my master told me about them too, I should thank you though, I doubt I would have found out where my son is so quickly on my own".
Ling was left speechless at this leap in logic "I don't understand what you mean sir"? He was going to go on but that was when another spoke up.
"You knew"? Ranma asked, disbelief plain on her face but with a simmering anger just beneath. "You knew about the curses but still brought us here"?
Genma merely smirked "I don't need to answer to you, little girl".
The anger quickly overshadowed the disbelief in her eyes now, growing into rage. "Baka oyaji" she charged at the man, a red blur as she went for him.
Genma was surprised at the speed with which she moved, she was obviously trained, (though why they'd train a woman I'll never know).
Despite her speed Genma managed to dodge her starting volley, noticing that the girl was almost falling over every time she took a step, as though she was trying to walk like a man. Don't fall for it Genma old boy, it's all an act He thought.
Ranma couldn't understand why she had almost ended up on her face there, she had done that countless times before without that happening. In her state of mind however she was not exactly thinking of why she wasn't hitting, just that she wanted to hit him.
Of course this lead to Genma swerving around most of her punches, and she only managed to hit him when he got cornered.
Again however, Ranma and Genma both noted the strength of the hits were not as those of male Ranma, or in Genma's case his Ranma. Genma, as a big man who had been around was not as affected by the single hits as some would have been, though in concentrated amounts they could easily compensate in numbers what they lacked in power. Ranma of course was just getting more and more frustrated, leading to sloppier attacks.
The elder Saotome had to admit she had some skill but if this was her best then she had no chance against him.
"I'm leaving" Genma stated, slightly out of breath but not winded, "Hope I don't return". With that he used the only way he knew to get away from a faster opponent, dropping into the Umisenken.
As he left he heard the wail from the girl, it was filled with anger, and though he wasn't particularly attuned to feelings he thought he could detect a certain amount of despair, betrayal, though who betrayed her he wouldn't know and…loss?
Ranma was left standing on the side of one of the pools, not knowing what to do. She seemed to be unable to fight as effectively in this body and upon reflection, admitted she'd need to train to regain equilibrium. That was all in the back of her mind though as her conscious was trying to register a single truth.
Dads gone.
Throughout Ranma's life Genma had always been there, it had always been the two of them, on the road, training. Ok occasionally he would do something stupid or drag him away from friends, or they would have to leave somewhere suddenly, but he would always be there. Even through the Neko-Ken, that hell on Earth, Genma had been there in the end, had even apologised on that one lone occurrence.
So, in this, the first time in years that Ranma had been left alone by his father, he did something else he hadn't done for years either…. She cried.
She wanted to blame the fact that she was a girl now but, deep down she knew, if this had happened when she was a he then he would have cried too.
Maybe not as much though.
Ling was in awe of the skill that was shown by those two martial artists, despite the elder obviously feeling less than impressed by the younger. He never knew that any outside the valley still put so much stock in personal skill.
All that aside, he was even more appalled at the way that the older man seemed to only hear what he wanted to, not even giving him chance to convince him of the truth, well in his opinion a man like that didn't deserve a child, let alone one who would risk cursing themselves to save him from the same fate.
He walked up to the quivering form in front of him and picked her up, she was surprisingly light, but felt like a tightened coil at this point. Walking towards his hut, he quickly put her onto the spare bed he had for Jusenkyo victims. He would take her to the Amazon's tomorrow and try to help her as much as he could.
Ranma slept fitfully that night, she had several nightmares where she was alone, and there were no monsters, no animals, no anything. She was simply alone in an empty space that she could never leave.
For someone who had never been truly alone, that was terrifying.
The next day found Ranma and the guide travelling up the mountain pass to the amazon's village.
"We nearly there" Ling told his charge, "The elders know more about the curses than I, so should help if we polite".
Ranma nodded. The sooner she was able to become male again the sooner she could show her father that she was Ranma, and she wouldn't feel so alone.
Ling smiled at her seemingly happier attitude, though he felt it prudent to keep her grounded in reality. "I know you excited, but elders may not know way either, it merely guess".
"What about the other tribes"? She wondered aloud.
"The phoenix are very careful to only use one spring occasionally" Ling informed her, "otherwise they stay up on mountain".
"Any more"? The redhead questioned.
Ling nodded "The musk use the spring you fell into to turn animal to woman, use to gain animal ability, they good if you want to lock curse, unlock… not so much".
The groan from beside him told the native that his meaning had been understood "So Amazon women are best to go to".
Ranma nodded sadly, this was a last ditch effort, if this didn't work….
She didn't really want to think about that.
An; Hey guys, what you think of my new story then? This is my first attempt at a Ranma1/2 story, and though the whole locked thing has been done before (a lot) I'm hoping to put my own twist in the road. I'm not sure who to make as the pairing, I was thinking of pairing Ranma with either Nabiki or Kasumi, though I'm not sure yet.
Those who are wondering about I.P, I am not giving up on the story, the reasons for stopping are on my profile and I promise I'll go back to it when I feel able to finish it properly. I'd rather not put together a hack'n'slash ending as I would feel like I'm insulting the readers.
Back to this story, I have a basic plan set up in my mind (and hard drive) for this story, yet it has room for manoeuvring and fine tuning, so if anyone has any suggestions I am fully willing to listen, hell I'll even redo chapters if a suggestions good enough.
So please read and review….. Flames will be admired from afar.
Ever watching….
Rio.