By Sydney Kyle
Chapter Nine: Dreams
"Inviting dreams,
The sound of the mountain temple
bell
Tumbles on foothills,
And with clouds the night grows
deep
Where on a peak a lamp still glows."
—Sogi, "Bell of an Old Temple"
She's going to lose you.
Mist. Dark, swirling, oppressive mist.
It filled his nostrils, inebriating him, making his head spin. It smelled of incense, antiquity, and something ominous and sweetly arcane.
She's going to lose you.
The aroma was also one of solitude and decay, and he narrowed his eyes. He was in some sort of subterranean chamber—a cave perhaps?—filled with swirling clouds of an eerie blue-green fog. His skin was tingling under his red Chinese shirt, and the tip of his pigtail stood out in tense spikes. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something—anything—was going to happen.
She's going to lose you.
Whirling around indignantly, he prepared to face his tormentor. But there was nobody there.
She's going to lose you.
He whirled again. Nobody. He was all alone in this place, save for the mist that curled and twisted as if it were alive, and the disembodied voice that emitted from everywhere around him.
She's going to lose you.
He was definitely getting annoyed.
"Shut up already!" he yelled, his voice reverberating back and forth against walls he could not see. "Who the heck are you, anyway? What're you talkin' 'bout?"
The abrupt silence that ensued rang deafeningly in his ears.
"Answer me!"
A low humming sound began, and he twisted around blindly in the dimness.
She's going to lose you...
He gritted his teeth, feeling himself teetering on the edge of exasperation. "Stop talkin' in riddles—who's gonna lose me anyway?"
A sliver of light speared the smoky haze. Turning, he caught sight of a shimmering blue-green halo materializing a few feet away from him. An image came into focus in the middle of the halo, momentarily startling in its simplicity.
It was the same face he'd seen when he'd stared into his own soul.
She's going to lose you, Ranma Saotome.
He felt the strength being siphoned from his body, and he crumpled to his knees into the midst of the whirling fog. He couldn't move, or open his eyes, or even twitch his little finger.
For the first time in a long while, Ranma Saotome felt completely helpless.
She's going to lose you, the voice droned on, caressing and rough, tender and taunting, affectionate and disdainful. It was lulling him toward a fake security, a false comfort—a promise of contentment that would not be fulfilled. It was also vaguely female.
It was only by summoning an intense amount of concentration that Ranma was able to move his mouth. "Why?" he whispered, his chest racking, eyes burning. "Why...?"
He felt the briefest touch of cool lips on his forehead.
Because, Ranma Saotome, you are mine.
"Who are you? I demand that you show yourself!"
He was back in the cave filled with crystals. Everywhere he looked, the mirror-like pieces of mineral reflected back to him his own face, rendered almost unrecognizable by an expression of anger and panic.
"What is it you want?" he shouted to no one in particular.
No. The voice that drifted into his ear was sudden, yet soothing, with the all the texture of sand-papered glass. It was male, as far as he could tell. What is it you want?
He blinked, caught momentarily off-guard. "M-me?"
You. Is there something that you long for the most? Something that you treasure deep in your heart—something that you know you can never have...?
There was only one thing that flashed through his fevered mind.
To his horror, the object of his thoughts was reflected onto the thousand crystal shards that littered the craggy walls around him. Out of the corners of his eyes, he could discern purple blurs.
"N-no," he choked out. "Not Shampoo...what are you planning to do with my beautiful Shampoo...?"
The crystals winked at him.
How bad do you want her, Mousse?
He closed his eyes. "You cannot...you cannot possibly know..."
Well, then, how much are you willing to do for her?
"What—what do you m-mean—"
How much are you willing to give up?
Mousse froze, his spectacles perched precariously on the bridge of his nose. "How much I..."
She can be yours, you know.
Had he heard wrong? Shampoo...would be...his?
A thrill of hope thrummed deep inside his heart—a hope that he hadn't dared to nurse for a long, long time...
She will be yours, Mousse—but remember, there is always a price to pay...
She'd never seen a more beautiful room.
The scalloped ceiling loomed high above her, looking like a sky woven out of feathery opalescent clouds. The walls, if that was what they were, glowed with a clear crystalline hue. Ripples of light flickered across the chamber, emitting from a magnificent fountain situated in the midst of the room.
She'd never been in a more beautiful room—and she'd never felt so uneasy in her entire life.
Something was definitely wrong. She could practically sense it in the bleak atmosphere of the room she was standing in right now.
Hmm. Been a long time since I've seen your kind.
She wheeled around at the voice. For some reason, she wasn't particularly surprised to discover that there was no one else around.
"What you mean, 'my kind'?" she demanded.
You are a Chinese Amazon, are you not? They were quite an inconvenience to us, even back then. What a coincidence it is that you should be one of the Cursed. But I admit I cannot complain. You are an exquisite thing—assured in your strength, fiery in your determination, and lethal in your beauty. Yes, you remind me much of her.
Shampoo glanced down. She was wearing an exquisite silk dress festooned with intricate spiral designs. With some detached interest, she noted that somewhere among the swarms of circles was the serpentine form of a dragon.
The faintest fragment of a recollection surfaced somewhere in her dream-fogged brain. "Ranma...where Ranma...?"
Ranma...Ranma...hmm. There was a brief pause. Ah, yes. Ranma Saotome. The boy with the pigtail, yes? You'll have to pardon me if he cannot be here right now. You see, I happen to know that he is rather preoccupied at the moment...with her.
Shampoo caught her breath. " 'Her...'?"
Is that trepidation I sense in your tone? The voice was mockingly sympathetic. Concern, perhaps? Worry?
Bringing her hands up, she rubbed them up and down her bare arms. A draft of frigid air had penetrated the chamber. "Shampoo no worried about Ranma going with another girl! He care about Shampoo, you see!"
Is that so? There was a hint of skepticism in the voice. Then who is this girl I see within his soul?
The water in the fountain began to bubble, spilling froth over the rosebud ceramic tiles.
Shampoo's eyes widened as she recognized the face of the girl in the water. Agony was etched into her features as she tore her gaze away. "That no true!" she protested. "Ranma no love her! She nothing but crazy violent tomboy—even Ranma say so!"
The voice was soft, almost pleasant. Maybe things aren't always what they seem, Amazon girl. You, of all people, must know that now...more than ever...
She only mildly astonished as a searing pain ravaged her shoulder. Her legs folded down after her like a telescope, and her purple mane flared out around her like a flower in bloom as she laid her head down upon the floor.
You see, Shampoo, I always make sure that my solicitors pay me nothing less than everything they can offer...
Flowers.
From everywhere around him, he could smell them. The heady scent of a hundred exotic flowers.
He was in a garden of some sort. The moon hung suspended amongst a fleet of stars, a milky orb that illuminated the faint forms of shrubs and flower bushes. In front of him was a little footpath that gleamed brightly in the moonlight. A closer inspection of the path revealed that it led straight to an odd-looking tree in the middle of the garden.
He walked toward the tree, stepping stiffly onto the silver-gilded trail like an automaton. There was something—someone—calling out to him, and try as he might, there was no way he was going to be able to resist it.
He saw her then, and his breath caught.
She looked like a vision as she sat there at the foot of the tree. Her long golden hair shimmered like ripples in a clear mountain stream, and drops of liquid sunset shone in her teardrop-shaped eyes. She was wearing a dress that seemed to be woven out of gossamer thread, and her complexion was as smooth and golden as the wavy locks of hair that framed her face.
She seemed to emanate an aura of perpetual innocence from her entire being, and yet there was something about her that made him pause as he approached her.
Her eyes locked on his, and there was no trace of hostility in them. Rather, they were warm and twinkling with invitation.
Come here. Her voice resounded in his ears and all around him, ringing with the inflection of a thousand tiny bells.
He obliged, feeling every bit of self-consciousness dissolve like cotton candy in the rain.
Come closer. Yes, that's it, boy. Closer. She was smiling now.
He stepped closer to her, as if under a trance, and she reached out, running her slender index finger down his cheek.
Mmm, very good, she declared, raking her gaze over his face and down his body. Much better than I expected. You will do nicely, Ryouga Hibiki.
It was as if the emerald fire that used to rage within Ryouga's eyes had been extinguished, and all that remained in them was a dull green smoke. He felt lethargic—too tired to even think. The tiniest part of his mind, however, continued to rebel.
No...Akane...I must not betray Akane...
As if reading his thoughts, the girl lay a finger on his lips, effectively silencing him. No. No Akane. No more Akane, or Akari, or anybody else...
The night breeze ruffled the bow on his bandanna, lifting their hair, rustling her dress and cooling his skin.
Tell me what you want, and it will be yours, Ryouga Hibiki. Her hand dropped from his mouth and ran up his arm, then slipped underneath his shirt onto his bare chest.
He shivered, and she smiled again, a dragon's smile.
And you—you are mine...
Ryouga Hibiki woke up in a cold sweat.
All of his nerves and synapses were on the verge of exploding into a thousand tiny shards, gearing into overdrive, despite the fact that just a moment ago he'd been asleep.
A bright glare appeared to be on the other side of his eyelids.
Where...where am I...?
It was a question he'd been asking strangers—as well as his not-so-close acquaintances—most of his life. Mostly he asked himself that when he was awake, but he also asked himself that when caught between slumber and wakefulness.
He found himself in the last place he expected.
Blinking rapidly, he tensed up and glanced around. I'm...in the living room...of the Tendo Dojo, he realized with a start. But how did I end up here...?
Then he remembered. He must have drifted off to sleep here last night after enduring two grueling minutes of Cologne's glory-laden account of how she became the most renowned Chinese Amazon in Joketsuzoku, complete with a chronological listing of all her amazing exploits. All right, so maybe some parts of it were interesting, but he doubted their validity—especially when she'd narrated that yarn about the way she had averted a flood in Joketsuzoku by using own body like a living dam. After that the story had driven him to unconsciousness faster than the Hiryu Shoten Ha or any kind of knockout pill.
It was odd, he mused. Leaving him here in the living room of the dojo—in full sight of the shoji doors—was a big risk. If the Dynasty had willed it, then they could easily break through the entrance, seize him, and suck up his soul without a moment's hesitation.
And then he remembered. He was cured.
Good-bye, P-Chan. Hello, Akane...
His head snapped up, eyes wide. Akane!
Brimming over with sudden exuberance, he barely had time to register the million thoughts that ran through his mind.
At last, I have a chance...I can finally win Akane—as a man...
Ryouga attempted to stand up from his sitting position, and then he froze.
He was trapped.
In the midst of a trio of slumbering girls.
Mousse heard her, even as he floundered about in the currents of sleep. He could recognize her voice—anywhere, anytime, even in his dreams...
Except he knew he wasn't dreaming.
He opened one eye, blinked as his poor vision kicked in, then pulled down his round spectacles from its precarious angle on top of his head. The scene before him melted together into jarring clarity.
Shampoo was moaning.
And her head was on Ryouga's lap.
Okay...if I shift a little to the left—yeah, that's right—not too quick now—then maybe I could...
Ryouga gulped as another tiny moan escaped Shampoo's lips. Akari shifted restlessly on his left side, while Ukyou burrowed her head deeper onto his right shoulder, her white silk bow brushing his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to collect his frenzied thoughts.
How—how did this happen to me...?
"Ryouga Hibiki! Get your hands off my beautiful Shampoo!"
His eyes snapped open in alarm, only to discover an enraged Mousse bearing down on him, armed with his legions of chains, ax blades, and a rubber chicken.
"Aaaarrrrghhh—!"
Mousse slammed right into him, sending the both of them tearing out through the wall Ryouga had been leaning on.
CRASH
There would be another hole to repair in the Tendo dojo.
Ranma Saotome was jolted out of his febrile slumber by a series of noises coming from somewhere outside.
His defenses automatically kicked in, and he scrambled out of his futon, fists raised, adrenaline pumping, fully expecting another ambush by the Dragon clan.
To his immense surprise, there was no one in the room—save for the thickset form of his still-snoring father sprawled on the adjoining bed.
Ranma shuddered a little, feeling the last fragments of a dream slowly vacating his mind. He swiped damp bangs away from his eyes, noting with some apprehension that Shampoo was nowhere to be seen in the room.
THUD
He was taken aback momentarily as something was flung hard against the wall outside. "What the—"
Genma rolled over and promptly whapped his son on the head with a spare pillow. "Keep it down, boy! I'm trying to sleep here!"
Ranma bopped him in the head in retaliation. "Hey! That ain't me, old man!"
Rubbing his scalp in a disgruntled fashion, Genma Saotome propped himself up with one arm and glared up at his son. "Then who, pray tell, is making that infernal racket?"
Ranma opened his mouth to reply, but he snapped it closed the next second as the sound of yelling drifted in from outside.
No way...that sounds like...like...
"Answer me when I'm talking to you, boy! Who is—oomph!"
Genma was interrupted as Ranma plowed over him, making a beeline toward the door.
"I never imagined that you would stoop this low!"
"I already told you, Mousse—it was an accident! I had nothing to do with it, I swear!"
"You shall pay, Hibiki!" And with that, Mousse tossed up the chicken he held in his hand, which in turn launched a volley of explosive eggs.
Ukyou, Akari, and Shampoo appeared at the porch, joined shortly by a slightly irked-looking Akane. Despite the fact that they'd been unceremoniously yanked from the arms of sleep, the girls were definitely wide-awake now as they watched the two brawlers face off against each other in the dojo courtyard.
"Ryouga! Mousse! What d'you think you're doing?" shrieked Akane.
"Ai-yah! Stupid Mousse—you stop that right now!" commanded Shampoo.
Mousse halted his assault on Ryouga long enough to adopt a noble countenance before his love. "Fear not, Shampoo," he declared gallantly. "For I, Mousse, shall defend your honor against this—this cur!"
"What you talking—" Shampoo began.
"So...where were we?" continued Mousse, training his attention once more on his flabbergasted opponent. "Ah, yes..." He whipped out a toilet from the confines of his robes and propelled it toward Ryouga. "Die, Hibiki!"
The other boy dodged the porcelain object, irritation starting to creep onto his features. "Mousse, Ididn't—"
"Silence! It appears that you have been influenced by that coward Ranma after all!"
Bad choice of words. Anyone who was Ryouga Hibiki's acquaintance knew full well that the quickest way to piss him off was to compare or mention him on the same sentence as Ranma Saotome.
It was Ukyou who first noticed the warning signs, and she hastily attempted a stab at peace. "H-hey, you jackass! Mousse was just kidding. Aheheh...right, Mousse? Mousse?"
Ryouga's battle aura was beginning to radiate outward in alarming waves. His words came out in a low, dangerous growl.
"Don't..." He ducked a stray egg. "...ever..." He jumped over a battery of chains. "...compare me..." A mace attached to a chain zoomed toward him, but his reflexes kicked into gear and he caught it firmly. "...to..." Mace firmly in hand, he yanked it forward, sending Mousse hurtling toward him. "...Ranma!"
Mousse whisked something out of his robes and shut his eyes.
There was a painful, resounding crack as Ryouga's fist connected with solid porcelain.
Shards of the shattered toilet were flung everywhere, and Ryouga recoiled from the impact. Seizing the advantage, Mousse tossed away the remnants of the shield-toilet and charged at Ryouga in a blind rage.
"YAAAAAAAAAHH—gurgle"
SPLASH
The duel ended the way most of the duels in the Tendo dojo ended—in the Koi pond.
"This is too weird," Ranma murmured.
Mousse and Ryouga's slightly insane laughter punctuated his words. They were cackling even as they sat thigh-deep in the Koi pond.
"I'll say," seconded Genma, his visage grave. "A commotion erupts early in the morning at the Tendo dojo, and for once my son has nothing to do with it."
BAM
"This ain't funny, Pop." Ranma extracted his elbow from the crater it had created on his father's face. "Don'cha think that this's just a little too weird?"
"Ranma's right, Mr. Saotome," Ukyou piped up, looking worried. "Maybe Mousse and Ryouga aren't the best of friends, but they do get along. But just now Mousse was mad at Ryouga about something."
"Come to think of it, he did mention that you had something to do with it," Nabiki noted, giving Shampoo a matter-of-fact glance.
Shampoo assumed an indignant look. "Ai-yah! Mousse stupid boy, that all. He not know what he talk about sometimes!"
"Either that," Ukyou added, "or maybe Ryouga did try something funny with you, jackass that he is."
Akari, predictably enough, rose to Ryouga's defense. "Oh, no...Ryouga-sama would never do anything like that!"
"Yeah!" Akane put in. "I know Ryouga would neverdo that!"
Ranma scowled at her. "An' how'd ya know that, Akane?" he queried, his voice dripping causticity. "Lemme tell you somethin' if ya think he's so honorable—"
"Oh, grow up, Ranma!" Akane rolled her eyes. Inside, though, her heart was doing somersaults. Ranma...he sounds like...like he's actually jealous...
His next statement, however, wasn't exactly sweet. "I ain't the one who needs growing...in fact, I could think of some places on ya that're just achin' for growth!" retorted Ranma.
Akane's face fell, but she recovered nicely, though inwardly her blood was beginning to boil. "Oh, yeah? Well, you—"
"What do you think of this, Tendo?" Genma questioned, turning deaf ears on Round Two of Ranma and Akane's commencing argument.
Soun rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "For starters, Saotome, it does appear indeed that there is something not quite right here..."
"If that is your assumption, then I must say that it is correct."
They all swung their heads down simultaneously, just in time to recognize the diminutive figure standing calmly in their midst.
"Great-grandmother!" breathed Shampoo. "You come back..."
"Of course," said the wizened old woman, flipping her long silver hair nonchalantly over her shoulder. Oscillating, she trained her eyes on their anticipative faces. "Now, if you all are ready, then let us proceed inside. No sense letting the details fall on strangers' ears." She nodded toward the Koi pond. "So if you could calm those two down and have them join us, then I will explain what this madness is all about..."
"I gotta talk to you later, Ryouga."
Ryouga wiped his saturated bangs out of his eyes and found himself looking into Ukyou Kuonji's sparkling blue eyes. "About what?" he queried, though not a bit suspiciously.
She tipped her head coquettishly to one side. "You know...things."
The memory of her crooning in his ear immediately sprang to his mind, and he tensed somewhat. "Oh...you wanna talk to me about that plan of your—"
Her sweet, coy facade vanished, and the next second she had him pinned solidly with one hand to the wall of the hallway. Her other hand was clamped on his mouth, ultimately silencing him. "You jackass!" she hissed, switching back into her aggressive, masculine mode. "Not so loud! You want everyone to hear?"
Ryouga twisted his head to the side, freeing his mouth from her hand. "What're you talking about?" he hissed back, equally vexed. "This is about a plan, isn't it?"
They regarded each other defiantly for a minute. Then Ukyou glanced down and realized, with some consternation, that the dampness from his shirt was leaking into her clothes. The water had escaped into her collar and there were trickles methodically tracing the cleave of her chest. She relaxed her grip on him and stepped back, breathing deeply as she pressed the front of her blouse to her skin, allowing the fabric to seep up the wetness.
"You know, sugar, you can be really dense sometimes," she told him, her voice low. "In fact, it's a wonder I even put up with you if I didn't need you right now."
"Need me? For what?" Ryouga was instantly alert.
Her only response was to grace him with a tiny half-smile. "To break up Ranma and Akane, what else?"
Ryouga started. "Break up Ranma and Akane? How—"
She smiled again at him, and this time, it was a full-fledged, billion-megawatt smile. "Explain later, Ryouga-hon," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the main room of the Tendo dojo. "We wouldn't want them getting suspicious now, would we?"
As if on cue, Akane's voice drifted over toward them from the other room. "Ryouga? Are you okay? Come have some breakfast with us!"
"Ahh...I'll b-be there, Akane!" Ryouga managed to squeak. He turned to Ukyou, still blushing badly, and she sent him a knowing look.
"What?" he demanded. She was making him nervous.
Her face was practically brimming over with self-congratulatory mirth. "Nothing." She brushed past him, pausing for the briefest instant to relay to him some last instructions. "I'll tell you all about it later, okay?"
Ryouga gazed after her as she proceeded on ahead, the implications of her newest plan swirling about his head.
"Are you coming over here, young man, or shall I have to begin my narrative without you?" Cologne called.
He snapped out of his cogitation and shuffled on down to breakfast.
Exhausted. Cold. Dirty.
That was how they felt at this moment, at the end of a long, long journey, carried out in the span of a long, long night. Each step had been faltering and weak, as though conducted with the strength and expertise of a toddler. The night air had been cold and dank, seeping into their bones, rendering their joints stiff and sore. Dirt caked their faces and limbs, drying in the glare of the morning sun.
The trek was over. They'd survived, and they'd finally arrived at their destination.
It had been a virtual cakewalk breaking into the domicile. The denizens of the house appeared to be engrossed in their daily morning ritual down in the main room, and thus there was no one around on the second floor to intercept the two intruders as they dropped in via one of the windows.
The one in front strolled languidly down the empty corridor, studying the surroundings with a practiced eye, while its companion scampered off in the opposite direction.
The entrance to a certain room caught the figure's attention. After some recalcitrance, the door swung open and the intruder sauntered through. When the door swung closed on its hinges, there was a tiny metallic sound as the lock scraped against the latch, but it did not go in.
Kasumi was in the kitchen, humming, as she prepared second helpings of taki-soba noodles for the ravenous assemblage in the main room. Genma and Soun sat at their usual spot near the Shogi board, while Ranma, Akane, Ryouga, Ukyou, Mousse, Shampoo, Akari, and Nabiki were clustered around the dining table, listening raptly as Cologne spoke.
"The Cave of Yasakami...who would have believed that it does, indeed, exist? No one, perhaps—not even the ancestors of the Chinese Amazons, who have been reputed to conduct extensive searches for such a cave. For centuries, the cave has remained just that—a story, one concocted by the Dynasty itself as a venue of false hope.
"Yes, the Dynasty was the one who first introduced the concept of the cave. The name 'Yasakami' that was taken from one of the Dynasty's most precious treasures—the Yasakami-no-Magatama, a blue-green jewel shaped like one half of a yin-yang.
"Now, this jewel was only one of the three most prized possessions of the Dynasty—all of which harbor secrets and undreamed of by any human. They are the Yasakami-no-Magatama, which I have already told you about; the Murakamo-no-Tsurugi—the Sword of Murakamo; and finally the Yamato-no-Kagami—the Mirror of Yata.
"Now all these objects are held sacred because of the incredible power that lies sealed within each one. Those are what gave the Dynasty its omnipotence—what kept them in might in the centuries the gods disappeared from the earth.
"It is said that from the Yasakami-no-Magatama came the Cave of Yasakami—the last resort of those who were under a curse.
"Yes, a curse. A bad-luck curse, a love curse—any kind of curse, including that of having two separate bodies. The Cave of Yasakami was said to be able to purge one from any sort of curse—even that of the dual-body variety."
Ranma frowned. "Well, it worked. So what's your point, old ghoul?"
Cologne turned her gaze toward him. "Tell me something first, son-in-law...did anything odd happen to any of you last night or today?"
"You mean besides Ryouga putting the moves on Shampoo?" Ranma joked, earning himself a glare from his rival.
"I already explained what happened, Ranma," growled the bandannaed boy. "I didn't do anything, you got that?"
"I wish I could believe that, Hibiki," snorted Mousse.
"Are you accusing me of lying?"
"Well, I saw you forcing yourself upon my beloved Shampoo with my own eyes!"
"What?"
"Ai-yah! You do that, Ryouga?"
"N-n-no! Of course not!"
Cologne turned to Genma and Soun. "You. Did anything else happen in the last twelve hours aside from this?"
"Why, no, not anything I can recall," replied Genma, confused.
"Hmmm." The crone appeared thoughtful. "So...you are absolutely certain that nothing at all happened?"
Shampoo abandoned her wary inspection of Ryouga long enough to consider the old woman's inquiry. "Shampoo not think of this before, Great-grandmother, but...Shampoo have this crazy dream last night..."
Cologne snapped her attention toward her granddaughter, her eyes narrowing. "You say you had an unusual dream, Shampoo?"
"Ai-yah!" Shampoo nodded resolutely, her purple hair bobbing up and down. Then she sobered a little. "Shampoo remember only little, but she remember it well. It so strange..."
"How unusual," Mousse spoke up suddenly. "I, too, had an odd dream."
"Hey, so did I," Ranma volunteered.
"Yeah, me, too," Ryouga seconded, glad for the distraction.
Cologne raised a curious eyebrow. "A dream, eh? Interesting, indeed.Very interesting." She took a swallow of herbal tea. "So they have resorted to dreams now, eh?" she muttered, half to herself. "Since they are now unable to intercept you in reality, then they attempt to get to you through your dreams..."
"Whaddaya mean, 'get to us'?" interjected Ranma.
The old woman peeked at him at the corner of her eye. "I told you yesterday, son-in-law. You five are their only liabilities—the only ones who can stop the Dynasty. It is only rational, then, that they must keep watch over you, making certain that you do not live up to the Prophecy."
"So...that means that the Dynasty's making sure that Ranma and the others don't get in their way when they begin their conquest, right?" queried Nabiki.
"Yes. They are vulnerable against those with the Yin-Yang essence—dual forms. At least, that is what has been written."
"Well, a lotta good that'll do us," Ranma remarked sarcastically. "I mean, how're we gonna be able to defeat those Dragon jerks if we ain't cursed no more?"
Cologne oscillated toward him, raising an eyebrow. " 'Cursed no more', eh, son-in-law?"
There was something in the way she delivered her reply that made a chill crawl up Ranma's spine. "What'cha talkin' 'bout, old ghoul?"
"This." A quick sweep of the staff indicated the pieces of Ryouga's canteen that remained on the floor, forgotten in the light of last night's revelation. "Or, to be more precise, the water that was in this."
"But—but the water in there purged us of the Jusenkyo curse," stammered Mousse. "I—I still cannot comprehend why—"
"It was Yasakami water." Cologne's tone was tart. "A worse solution you could not have found, son-in-law."
"Whaddaya mean?" demanded Ranma. "Thanks to that water, I don't hafta turn into a girl no more! I'm cured! We're all cured! I can even show you if you like!" He got up and began to pace. "You tryin' ta tell me that there's somethin' wrong in that?"
Shampoo appraised her great-grandmother with anxious eyes. "Great-grandmother...what wrong with water?" she questioned her softly.
Cologne squeezed her own eyes shut. "Ah, Shampoo, if only I had gotten here on time, I would have been able to prevent you from pursuing the Yasakami cure..."
"What's going to happen to us?" Genma cried, looking as if he were ready to emit a Soun-Tendo patent wail.
"What—what're you saying?" Ryouga jumped to his feet, starting to panic. "Does...does this 'cure' have any side effects or something?"
"No, boy...no side effects at all."
Ranma pinned her with a disbelieving stare. "But...I thought you said—"
The ancient Chinese Amazon let out her breath in one resigned whoosh. "What I said is that it doesn't have any side effects. And yes, you have been cured. I do not doubt that at all, no."
Nabiki tapped an elegant fingernail against the wooden dining table. "So what's wrong already?"
Cologne spared her a disapproving glimpse at her impatient tone, but she cut to the chase. "I'm telling you that there although you may have rid yourselves of the Jusenkyo curse, you may have inadvertently placed yourselves in an even deeper dilemma."
"And that is...?" Ukyou trailed off.
The old woman clasped her stick closer to her.
"You all have been cured," she said at last, "but at a price. The curse of Jusenkyo may no longer be upon you, but you have another curse in its place—the curse of Yasakami."
End of Chapter Nine