Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, not me. I am making no profit from this work of fanfiction, only mental relief, and personal satisfaction.
Authors Notes:
First of all, thank you for all the reviews; you are a true motivation for me to continue. Second, my roommate is an avid novel reader, and I have discussed my paragraph issues with him, and I believe this will be much easier on the eyes. Third, Ranma has no etiquette, yes, but he is in the presence of a creature of legend, one whom deserves the utmost respect, so Ranma does as he does best, he adapts fast, and uses the dragon's own speech patterns to at least try to be presentable. Fourth, Ranma did accept a bit too hastily, but we all know that Ranma wouldn't say no to a woman, especially a mother in distress. The dragon did unintentionally feed Ranma's ego, and Ranma knows he is the best, and who better to raise the child to follow his code of honor, than the best. Lastly, the fight went faster than the Musk could really react to; taking less than 30 seconds, start to spear. I'm sorry if things don't quite make much sense yet, but I don't want to give away future development for the sake of early understanding. Hopefully this chapter will answer a lot of your "Why" questions. Enjoy.
Matron Draconus
Chapter 02
Amazon Law
Around mid-afternoon Ranma Saotome, and her sleeping charge, near the cursed valley that she still harbors ill thoughts of. Remembering what Krynn told her of the man here, she makes her way directly to the small hut to the side of the valley. Her steps coming easier, and with much less pain since the weapon was removed from her leg.
Seeing her return, the guide stands and moves to greet his now frequent customer. "Honored sir, you return for travel packs, yes?"
Just then the sleeping whelp wakes, and stretches her small body with a big yawn. "Oh sir, where you get baby dragon, you no steal, right?"
Ranma's anger boils over in an instant, "Of course I didn't steal her!" Ranma pauses to regain some composure, "Her mother gave her to me, trusting me with her only child."
The guide immediately drops in a deep bow, "Oh, honored sir I no mean insult, understand now, great dragon give you highest honor, chose you to take her young."
"Uh, yeah you could say that." Ranma stops and looks at the infant, "I need somethin' from ya."
The guide straightens up, "Yes honored sir, I help if can."
Ranma looks out to the springs, "Take me to the spring I fell in."
The guide escorts Ranma out through the springs, taking a winding, but much safer path. "Here sir we have cursed spring Nyannichuan, spring of drowned girl. Very tragic story of young girl who drowned here over fifteen hundred year ago. Now whoever fall in spring, take body of girl."
Ranma slowly begins to walk into the spring, "Oh sir, what you doing, baby dragon will get curse."
"Honoring a promise I made to her dying mother." As Ranma settles in she begins to bathe the whelp in the cursed waters, witnessing the change with her own eyes. Finally accepting the fact that she is this child's only parent, Ranma steps out cradling the infant human with cerulean blue hair.
"Look sir, you is lucky, baby have same eyes as you. Come honored customer, I have meal ready, you hungry?" The guide begins the short trek back to his hut, with Ranma in tow.
Back inside Ranma settles in, still holding the naked infant, "Well, I suppose I gotta name ay, since your mom didn't tell me your name."
"Oh sir, you have most unique challenge there, what to name dragon girl." The portly man sets out a couple of large dishes, "Hope you is hungry, I make too too delicious Cantonese-style sweet and sour pork."
Ranma smiles, "you just answered my problem." She holds up the infant, looking her in the eyes, "I'll call ya Tatsuko, Tatsuko Saotome."
The baby gurgles happily at this, and proceeds to pee on Ranma's lap.
Ranma looks angry, for only an instant, and the guide laughs at the poor girl, "Sir, look like you need find diaper for baby."
Ranma's left eye twitches at that comment, "I can see that. Well kid, you gotta wait 'cause I'm starvin'."
With that they both dig in, Ranma's eating like a ravenous animal eliciting a few odd looks from the guide sitting across the table.
A short while later, after cleaning up the guide returns with a steaming kettle of water. "Would honored customer like hot water?"
Ranma looks at the man, puzzled. "Hot water?"
"I no have chance tell you before, hot water is for changing back to normal self."
"What!" Ranma stands abruptly, causing a small cry to come from Tatsuko, "You mean I can change back?"
"Yes, splash hot water make you normal self again, splash cold water make you girl again."
Ranma lays the girl down on the man's couch, "Gimme that," and she upends the kettle over her head.
Looking himself over, Ranma happily discovers he is in fact, male again. "That's the best news you could have given me."
Looking at Ranma's dirty and torn gi, "Um sir, you is having more clothings in pack, yes?"
Ranma nods, "Yeah, I've got a few other things, why?"
"Can use damage gi, make many diaper for baby." The man points at Ranma's leg, and motions towards the couch, where Tatsuko is contently playing with her fingers.
Ranma looks at his ripped gi, "Good idea man." Then he goes to the corner where his and the old man's packs are.
After digging out a change of clothes, Ranma steps outside to change, and returns a moment later wearing his signature red and black silk outfit.
"Sir, I wash and cut up gi, you rest for while." The guide takes Ranma's wasted gi and heads outside, while Ranma picks up his daughter and relaxes on the couch.
"Well kid, looks like I'm your father and mother now. But I don't even know what to feed you, let alone anything else about raising a kid." Ranma lays back and lets out a long sigh, lost in his situation for a while.
The guide eventually returns with a small stack of fragments of Ranma's old gi. "Here we are sir, but only have two pins, so not losing."
Ranma gets up, "Uh, thanks." He looks at the stack of cloth, not having a clue of what to do with it.
"Put baby on couch, I show how change diaper." Ranma lays Tatsuko down, and the guide goes to work, pointing out the specifics as he goes.
When the man finishes, Ranma picks her up and looks to the guide, "So uh, what should I uh, ya know, feed her?"
"You have big problem there, you no birth mother, so you no have breast milk."
Ranma cringes at that strange thought. "Sir, only choice you have is, make her dragon and feed her meat, but no change her to girl for at least hour, give time to digest. Meat bad for human baby."
Ranma looks outside, seeing that its almost dusk he turns back to his host, "Guide, I have one more question before I gotta go. What kind of, uh, stuff can you make from a dragon's body?"
The guide goes silent for a moment, "Dragon mother is dead, yes?"
Ranma nods, "Yes, she told me to use her body to protect and nourish us."
"You going back, I come with, pay respect to honored dragon, guardian of mountain."
"Um, okay, I guess, but not till the moon comes up."
"In old days warrior make many different clothings, armors, and weapons from parts of dragon. Most common is scaled armor, cloak of dragon wing, and knives of dragon talon. Never hear of eating dragon."
Ranma looks outside again, "Well, it's close enough to dark, I gotta get going. Will you carry my father's pack?"
Ranma spends the next few days living in the cave, the Jusenkyo guide makes frequent visits. With a lot of help from the guide, Ranma manages to utilize as much of Krynn's remains as he believes possible.
He creates a scaled cloak, using wing leather, back scales, and sinew to bind it together. He also makes a rather menacing looking skull cap from the dragon's skull, and clawed gauntlets from her front claws. Ranma makes a pouch for carrying Tatsuko that he can wear on his back or front, and a walking staff from a long wing bone.
The first couple of days father and daughter feed on freshly cooked meat, and using salts provided by the Jusenkyo guide, he wraps and packs much of the remaining meat, to be rations for his upcoming travels.
On the last day Ranma plans on being there, he makes Tatsuko human once again; she stayed a dragon during the stay in the cave.
The guide is there to show Ranma to a nearby Amazon village, it lies in the direction Ranma punted the panda.
Ranma's keen senses detect a presence outside the cave. Motioning for the guide to be silent, he points at the sleeping infant then disappears outside.
He returns a moment later and throws a dazed man in tiger furs down on the cave floor, and quickly dons one of the gauntlets, purely for the intimidation factor.
"Oh, sir that Musk warrior, probably scout if alone. What you doing to him?" The guide watches curiously as Ranma pins him down, unable to move the slightest bit.
Ranma growls, "Getting information," and decks the Musk scout to help restore his mental faculties.
"Tell me why your prince wanted this dragon dead!" The Musk lay there not responding.
Ranma shows his clawed hand, "Tell me now, or I'll gouge your eyes out!"
This got a response from the now cowering man, "The beast refused our prince's gracious offer to be royal breeding stock."
Ranma looks to the Jusenkyo guide confused, "Breeding stock?"
"Yes honored sir, the Musk take many different animal to cursed spring, make them woman for breeding mighty warrior. Royal Musk have dragon blood."
This makes Ranma furious, "She refused to be cursed breeding stock, so you killed her!" He decks the scout again, "Go tell your damned prince the last dragon is dead!"
Ranma gets up and kicks the man out of the cave. "Now get outta here, you make me sick!"
The Musk scout runs off, lucky to get away with only a few broken ribs.
"Sir now is good time for leaving, Musk prince very vengeful."
"Good idea, I'm done here anyway."
Ranma prepares to leave, wearing everything he made, Tatsuko's pouch on his chest, his own pack on his back and his father's in his right hand.
Again Ranma departs from the cave, not looking back, for good this time.
A few hours later, it's been raining since just after leaving the cave, the three travelers arrive at the Joketsuzoku Amazon village. Ranma immediately notices the gathering of women, and what appears to be a contest battle of sorts.
"Oh, good fortune sir, we arrive during contest to see who village greatest warrior is."
"Cool, this should be interesting. Maybe one of these women could give me some tips on taking care of Tatsuko." Said baby is quietly sleeping in Ranma's pouch.
"Oh no sir, that very bad." The Jusenkyo guide points to a table holding a massive feast, and the fat panda gorging himself.
"Amazon warrior womans be very angry, panda eating first prize feast, what is for winner of contest. Womans eat panda in place of feast."
Ranma makes her way directly to the stupid panda, "Stupid old man, that food is for the winner of their contest. They're gonna eat you in place of their feast, ya idiot!"
Genma holds up a sign, "They're just girls boy, don't tell me you're afraid."
"They may be just girls, but there's dozens of 'em. Ya fool, try thinking with something besides your stomach for once!"
By now the women have noticed the outsider girl and her pet panda that's eating the prize. Xian Pu the battle victor, moves to dispose of the outsider, save what's left of her feast, and claim her new panda fur rug.
"Pop, ya gotta get outta here before they notice ya."
The panda flips his sign, "Too late."
Ranma turns just in time to see the young, purple-haired Amazon ready to strike with her twin Bonbori battle maces.
"Oh no ya don't!" Reacting with expert skill, Ranma throws her father's pack at the panda, deflects the first mace with her right gauntleted hand, quickly trips the Amazon with her bone staff, and flows into a spin kick that sends the girl flying into the closest group of Amazon women.
Amazon elder Khu Lon notices the fight starting at the prize table, and moves to investigate. After seeing her great granddaughter easily batted away, she turns her attention to the outsider girl. Seeing the mark on the girl's face, she notices the very unique signature in her aura. "Oh no, it couldn't be."
Khu Lon accelerates, blinking past the other Amazons, moving in to get a closer look.
Xian Pu stands, forsaking her maces, and walks up to the outsider girl, and gently cups the girls face in her hands.
Ranma readies herself when the mace girl gets back up, but relaxes slightly when the Amazon simply walks up to her. "Hey look, I don't wanna fight ya, I'm just here to get my stupid pops, kay?"
Tatsuko starts crying after Ranma's little scuffle with the Amazon girl.
Khu Lon confirms her suspicions at the sight of the crying baby, that she can clearly see is a dragon, cursed to be human. Seeing Xian Pu's course of action, Khu Lon panics, "No Xian Pu, don't!"
Xian Pu plants a soft kiss on the left cheek of the girl, right on the dragon's mark, slowly backing away, with narrowed eyes she turns to question her great grandmother's outburst, only to be knocked to her knees by a blow to the top of the head by Khu Lon's staff.
"Foolish girl, that is the Matron Draconus! Do you know what you've done?"
Xian Pu hangs her head in shame, knowing that she is as good as dead; giving the Kiss of Death to the honored dragon mother is a most heinous crime, punishable by death.
"Oh honored sirs, that very bad!"
"Huh?" Ranma turns to the guide, not understanding what just happened.
"She give you Amazon Kiss of Death, now whole tribe kill you! Run Sirs!"
"Oh crap, ain't gotta tell me twice." Ranma turns to run, knowing this will agitate little Tatsuko even more. "I'm outta here, stay if ya want pop." And Ranma bolts, praying she can out run a mob of armed and angry women seeing red.
The panda quickly signs, "Right behind ya boy." Before grabbing his pack and a huge ham flank, and then he beats feet, leaving a dust cloud in his wake.
Elder Khu Lon turns to the only man present, "You there, Jusenkyo guide, what do you know of that girl?"
"Honorable Elder, that is no girl, He is a Japanese man that fell into Nyannichuan."
"A man?" Khu Lon smiles at this wonderful turn of events, "And the child?"
"She is a baby dragon, the only surviving kin of the great dragon. Her mother was killed the other day by a band of Musk, sent by their prince."
Khu Lon loses her composure, "Musk!" She turns to the rest of the tribe, "Hear me!" Silence falls, "The Musk have murdered the great dragon Krynn. And for this they shall lose their beloved Prince Herb!"
Xian Pu stands and faces the approaching elder, ready to receive punishment for her foolishness.
"Xian Pu, you are fortunate, fate has smiled on you today. That was a man, cursed by Nyannichuan."
Xian Pu's bubbly demeanor returns in an instant, "So that kiss I gave him was the Kiss of Marriage."
"Yes great granddaughter, you just bagged the perfect husband. And when you are wed you will share his title of Matron Draconus, and achieve the highest status in the tribe."
Xian Pu seems lost in happiness and thoughts of being the youngest elder in the history of the Joketsuzoku.
"Pack your bags Xian Pu; we're going to Japan to fetch your prize husband."
After Words:
I hope this one is better, but I really love all the reviews, even mister "WALL OFF TEXT' really, it all helps. Now I know many will question Ranma "making" things of Krynn's remains, I'm not going to justify it yet, I don't want to spoil future chapters, but remember, he did make a promise, and the guide did help him with most of it. BTW, Ranma probably won't be using the cap and gauntlets, their mainly keepsakes.
I could use some help though, how should Ranma go about transporting Tatsuko back to Japan? He may be dumb, but he's not stupid enough to swim that while carrying an infant. Please, I crave feedback, you are all fueling my writing motivation.