I do not own Ranma or any of the characters, places, intellectual properties etc therein, they are in the sole ownership of one Rumiko Takahashi. If a sufficient number of people read these supposedly crazed ramblings then a sixty foot diameter portal to Blor'kesh will open and the wonderful and mighty god Cthulu will awaken from his millennia slumber. Or not.


Ku-Lon was getting ready for her sleep, fluffing up one of her pillows in her tent, when she heard Xian-Pu and Ranma return from their nightly talk. Something sounded different this time, there was none of the normally light-hearted chat between them as they emerged from the trees. Warranting this as strange enough to investigate she hopped outside into the brisk night air only to come face-to-face with her Great Granddaughter, Ranma planted over her back like a sheep on a shepherd.

"My dear, what happened to Son-in-law?" Xian-Pu just looked tired and slightly irritated.

"I told him about his engagement situation and he fell from the tree." She left out that on his way down to the earth Ranma hit his head a number of times on passing branches which stopped his usual cat-like landing, forcing Xian-Pu to carry him all the way back to camp. The whole way back from the tree she had wished for some cold water, it might have woken Ranma up but if not it would have at least made him a bit lighter. As it was, Ranma's toned and muscled physique actually made him fairly dense, in a few senses of the word.

"Well, I can hardly blame the boy; to have something he has built the last year of his life around suddenly disappear must have been quite the shock." Xian-Pu hadn't considered that, she had actually thought Ranma would be pleased to be finally rid of the other engagements, he complained about them all the time after all. "Anyway, you might as well put Ranma to bed, no point waking him now." Xian-Pu nodded, still considering how she had completely misread Ranma's reaction.

"Great-Grandmother?"

"Yes dear?"

"Am I right for Ranma?" The question momentarily gave Ku-Lon a reason for pause, Xian-Pu had never been this forward with her feelings on Ranma and she had definitely never expressed any doubts.

"What does it matter dear? You love him and there are no other engagements to worry about anymore." Xian-Pu was unsatisfied with the evasive answer.

"But that isn't the point. I won't be happy if Ranma isn't." Xian-Pu was acting very strangely tonight and Ku-Lon thought Ranma might not have been the only one to hit their head.

"If you must know girl, I believe you two make an amazing couple" Once again Xian-Pu gave her Great-Grandmother a look that clearly said she wasn't impressed with the answer again. Ku-Lon gave a long sigh; this wasn't going to be easy. "Xian-Pu, you and Ranma are very similar in many ways. You are both very dedicated to that which you truly love, you are also brash, stubborn and have a tendency to speak or act without really thinking. In many ways this makes you the average teen couple, except it is so much more than that." Xian-Pu quietly waited for Ku-Lon to continue.

"In my years I have seen relationships exactly like yours crumble into pitiful squabbling and hatred." Xian-Pu looked up at her Great Grandmother, clearly shocked by the honesty of her answer. "In fact, your own parents were almost the same. Your father was arrogant and brash, wanting to travel the world, never staying in one place until he met your mother. It was those years he spent in the village, tied down, unable to move on, this was what drove your parents apart."

Kon-Xiela never really spoke to Xian-Pu about her father, she had the vaguest memories of the man from when she was very young but apart from that the man was a mystery. She knew he was still alive somewhere but whenever she expressed interest in the man, her mother would get a very tired look on her face and Xian-Pu would stop asking. Her face fell; she didn't want that to happen with Ranma, her heart couldn't face it. Seeing the hurt and depressed look creep into Xian-Pu's face Ku-Lon used her staff to raise the girl's chin so she could see her gentle smile.

"Yet at the same time Great-Granddaughter, I have seen those exact same relationships flourish into some of the strongest and most loving couples I have ever seen. They are people who would die for one another if it meant their partner would be safe for even a single second longer. To be honest Xian-Pu I do not know which category you and Ranma might fall into, but knowing that boy and the chaotic but wonderful life he leads, you would probably have a whole category to yourself."

Xian-Pu timidly smiled, it had been so long since she and her Great-Grandmother had shared a conversation like this. It was pleasing to finally talk about themselves as opposed to the next training regime or technique to learn.

"Thank you Great-Grandmother, it was nice talking to you about this."

"I'm happy too child, I've missed our talks, if I remember right then the last time we really talked about anything meaningful was when you got your first per-"

"Great-grandmother!" Ku-Lon smiled warmly, it had been a joke and Xian-Pu knew that, returning the smile with a slightly embarrassed one of her own. The older woman wished the younger a good night but just as they turned from one another toward their respective tents Xian-Pu realised she still had something to talk about.

"One last thing Great-Grandmother."

"Yes girl, please be quick, we elderly need our sleep after all." Xian-Pu nodded, gracious that her Great-Grandmother gave her the time.

"Would it be possible to use my Ki technique in my other form?" Once again the young woman had made Ku-Lon pause mid-thought.

"You mean as a cat? Well I suppose theoretically it should be possible as you understand the method now but why would you ever have need of it? It isn't like you will have your curse for much longer." Xian-Pu sighed, something that didn't go unnoticed, she knew this was going to be difficult to explain.

"Great Grandmother, what if I don't want to remove my curse?" Ku-Lon's face took on an extremely serious tone, as did her voice.

"What are you talking about girl?" Xian-Pu tried a smile but the intense stare from Ku-Lon made her falter and her voice came out weak or timid.

"I've just come to accept it as a part of myself. It's different but I do enjoy it on occasion, so if Ranma doesn't fear it why do I have to get rid of it?" Ku-Lon's face softened a bit at the explanation but her tone of voice lost none of its impact.

"Girl, you realise that this is the first time you've even had the opportunity to cure yourself? I only barely managed to get the other elders to accept lifting the punishment, and that was only after I explained the situation with Ranma and his own curse." Xian-Pu nodded, she had considered this. Seeing that that wasn't working Ku-Lon tried a different tact, something she hadn't hoped to have to do as it might scare her Great-Granddaughter.

"Look Xian-Pu, do you know exactly why training at Jusenkyo is considered an Amazon woman's worst punishment?" Xian-Pu was slightly worried when Ku-Lon heavily stressed the word 'woman' but answered back as confidently as she could.

"Having a curse is a great dishonour." Ku-Lon sighed once again.

"Have you ever heard of a male Amazon being punished in the same manner? Keep in mind what happened to Mu-Tzu was not a punishment but his own fault." Xian-Pu slowly shook her head, really wishing Ku-Lon would reach the point, she was becoming very worried by the way the old woman was skirting around her own words. "Xian-Pu, it's because a woman with a Jusenkyo curse cannot get pregnant."

The night was unnaturally silent as those three words sunk into Xian-Pu's soul 'cannot get pregnant'. Not a single bird cried nor a cicada chirped, even Ku-Lon took note of the sheer silence that hung over the clearing like a fog. Just as smothering as that deathly quiet was on the old woman, it was the shrill scream that pierced through it that truly frightened the old woman. Xian-Pu ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction as her Great-Grandmother, screaming and crying as she went.

The banshee-like shriek was even enough to wake a previously unconscious Ranma who raised his head just to see Xian-Pu rush madly into the tree line. He got to his feet in milliseconds and without thinking immediately sprinted after her. Ku-Lon barely saw the red and black blur that sped past her into the dense foliage of the surrounding forest, her only inclination that Ranma had moved at all was the loud cry that scattered a few birds into the starless night sky.

"Shampoo!"


After five minutes of straight sprinting following Xian-Pu through the dense forest based on sound alone finally found her in a small clearing, not unlike their own. There was a small pond as black as the sky above them and crystal clear like a mirror. He couldn't wrench his eyes away from the image of Xian-Pu curled up in a fetal position crying freely into the ground. He knew that he didn't know what to say to make the girl stop crying, no matter how much he could have wished for it.

After the time spent with Xian-Pu he had learnt that sometimes saying nothing at all was the best thing he could do. So he did just that, he quietly walked up to the weeping girl who turned in her position on the ground to look at him with tear-streaked and bloodshot eyes. The sight nearly made him abandon his previous idea as his heartstrings were tugged but he continued. He settled down next to the stricken girl and gathered her up in his arms, allowing her to freely cry into his chest.

It stayed this way for another five minutes, or more since Ranma really couldn't tell out here but he knew his shirt was slowly being soaked by Xian-Pu's seemingly never ending tears. He had no idea what could have possibly made Xian-Pu cry like this, with a start he thought it might have been something he did. Perhaps she had taken offense when he passed out at the news over his engagements. He looked at the normally strong and proud Amazon in his embrace and realised that she would never be this emotional over something like that, no it was something else.

Of course he would wait for her to tell him what, it wasn't his place to ask, especially if it was this important to Xian-Pu. He was interrupted in the middle of his inner monologue by a quiet whisper from said teen.

"Xian-Pu sorry Airen." He tried not to look completely incredulous when he answered.

"For what, you haven't done anything?" This brought on a whole new wave of tears that Ranma was now sure he had caused, only increasing his ever-growing discomfort. This round lasted only a few seconds but any moment that a girl was crying near Ranma felt like an eternity.

"Xian-Pu sorry for running away." Rama finally felt like this was a good time to ask what all of this was about.

"But why did you run?" Ranma actually thought Xian-Pu was about to cry again but she managed to hold back long enough to tell him.

"Great-Grandmother say because of curse Xian-Pu can no get pregnant." As the girl once again dissolved into heavy sobs Ranma thought on what she had said. But of course as soon as she said it then it made complete sense. After all back in Nerima he was a practical magnet for water, how would a girl go nine months without getting wet? This sudden realisation made Ranma realise how much this must hurt Xian-Pu. He realised it was now a choice for her between having children and keeping her cat form.

"So what are you going to do?" He said it as softly as possible so there was no doubt the question was sincere with no malice whatsoever. Xian-Pu had finally cried her last tear; she had nothing left to give so she looked up at him.

"Xian-Pu have to give up curse, want to be mother more than anything in world" To be honest the thought scared Ranma to no end as he knew exactly who she wanted to be a mother with.

"You could always just leave it for a few years you know. I mean you're not ready to be a mother right now, right?" She just looked so tired as she hung her head away from him.

"No, but longer Xian-Pu keep curse, harder it be to give up later." He breathed a silent sigh of relief and helped her to her feet, slowly leading her back towards the camp.

"You never know, there may be a way around it. Maybe there's some way to make sure you can't change, like when Cologne locked me in my girl form with the cat's tongue pressure point." A small sparkle of hope lit itself deep in Xian-Pu's eyes but was quickly quashed by the more rational side of her mind. If such a method was possible and known to the Amazon's then her Great-Grandmother would have never told her about the loss of pregnancy.

Xian-Pu suddenly felt a little heavier in Ranma's arms but he supported her all the same to the camp where Ku-Lon waited expectantly, worry evident in the elderly woman's features. Once she saw that her Great-Granddaughter was safe she sighed and regained her usual impassive look before getting into her tent for the night. Ranma did the same with Xian-Pu and soon the now exhausted girl was curled up in his arms lightly snoring.

Ranma on the other hand was kept awake for hours after that, something about what Xian-Pu had said struck a chord deep in Ranma's being. He fought with himself all night until his brain just gave up and shut down for the night. The next day was going to be a long one, he could tell.


Author's Note: Reviews are starting to dry up, I like to be kept nice and soaked otherwise I'll start slowing down, heck even a favourite might do