Disclaimer:

Sadly, I do not own the amusement park that is Nerima, or the colorful characters Rumiko Takahashi created for us. I have been planning a transgender story for awhile now and have finally decided to try it. Unlike other stories using this same premise, this will not be a simple retelling of the manga. There will be canon events; however, they are not the focus of this story. There will be a number of plots and sub-plots that play out as Ranma discovers who and what she really is as opposed to what she had been led to believe growing up. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *panda signs*, "spoken", 'thoughts', [telepathic messages]

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The Butterfly Effect

Prologue

Jusenkyo's "Blessing"

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(Tuesday, March 31st, 1992, Very Late Evening)

Deep within the Mount Quanjing region of western China, a fourteen-year-old boy named Ranma Saotome was laying within his tent trying in vain to fall asleep. The boy in question wasn't particularly tall, reaching only five feet five inches in height with light blue eyes and shoulder-blade length jet black hair tied off at the neck. Due to his active martial arts lifestyle, he was fairly strong and well toned.

It was just another night following yet another day of hearing his father Genma go on and on about how some 'legendary' training ground would finally make a man out of him. He'd heard the same spiel every day for the last ten years and was more than sick of the tripe. He was a man damn it! Just because he didn't act like a slobbering Neanderthal didn't mean he wasn't a man. Still, he had to at least pretend to pay attention or else the man beat it into him. He was at the point where he just wanted their trip finished so he could return home and have some semblance of a normal life.

Sighing in frustration, Ranma cursed his sleeplessness and crawled out of his tent before wandering down the embankment towards a small pond they had camped beside for the evening. According to the old man they would arrive at Jusenkyo sometime the next morning. He was fairly certain it would wind up being nothing but a waste of time or worse, something horrible would happen that was completely avoidable.

He knelt beside the pond and sighed as he idly ran his fingers through the placid cold water. He watched with fascination as the ripples spread slowly across the water's surface before slowly bleeding away into nothing. Staring at the crescent moon's reflection, Ranma felt his eyes begin to sting with unshed tears as he thought, 'I just hope this Jusenkyo place is our last stop. I'm tired of wandering all over the place with only the stupid old man for company. I want to go home; it's been too long since I've felt like I belonged anywhere or even had a friend...'

The Saotome heir felt a tear slip down his cheek and violently shook his head as he mentally chastised himself, 'No, you can't cry Ranma! Pop will just beat on you again if he catches you crying. "A martial artist's life is fraught with peril..." "Are you a man or are you a weak and pathetic little girl?" "Men don't cry boy!" "You shame your mother's memory girl, she wanted you to be a real man but instead all she got was a flower sniffing sissy!"'

Staring at his reflection for several minutes, the junior martial artist sighed heavily and wondered, 'Why does Pop call me a girl? I may not have much experience with them, but I'm pretty sure I don't act like one. Granted, I've never been particularly macho, something the idiot seems to delight in reminding me of on a regular basis, but that doesn't make me a girl. Besides, if that fat ass thinks the way he acts is manly, I'd just assume have nothing to do with it anyway.'

Ranma had no idea how long he remained by the water's edge, pondering his past and hopes for the future. Eventually he decided he needed to clean up and return to bed or else he'd likely have to answer some uncomfortable questions in the morning. Once he was safely in bed within his tent, the fourteen-year-old rolled onto his side and pleaded with the kami above to release him from the living hell that had been his life for the last ten years. Closing his eyes, he eventually drifted off to sleep having no idea how many times he had prayed the same prayer night after night with nary a response.


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(Wednesday, April 1st, 1992, Early Morning)

Early the next morning, Ranma groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. After laying in his bedroll for several minutes, he decided to get up and crawled out of his tent only to sigh in relief when he heard his father snoring nearby. The dark-haired youth stretched and looked around the early morning sky that was quickly getting brighter with the rising sun. Between the crystal-clear pond, the dawn light and the numerous snow-capped mountains surrounding the valley, the view was rather picturesque. It was rare and peaceful times like this Ranma didn't mind the training trip. He had seen a lot of beautiful sights over the years that he treasured in place of friends and family. They were a poor substitute, but it was all he had.

He spent several minutes basking in his natural surroundings before finally deciding to take care of some pressing business while he could enjoy the peace and quiet. Once he was finished, Ranma glanced at the pond again and smirked as an evil idea popped into his head. Genma tended to either kick him out of bed or throw cold water on him to wake him up in the mornings for their pre-breakfast spar. Perhaps it was time for a little revenge.

'Payback's a bitch Pop,' Ranma thought maliciously with a snicker as he threw a bucket of freezing water onto his slumbering father.

"Aiieeeeee, that's cold!" Genma screeched before glaring at his son from where he lay in his bedroll completely soaked.

"What's that Pop? You scream like a girl and you dare call yourself a man?" the black-haired youth sneered.

Genma surged to his feet and charged his son intent on pounding the boy into the ground. The two martial artists spent the next several minutes viciously attacking one another with an assortment of kicks, punches and throws as they tried to one up the other. He didn't know why Ranma had suddenly decided to take things up a notch, but it was obvious something must have snapped within the boy since this was no ordinary morning spar. This was a fight, Ranma having decided to go all to vent some of his frustrations on the source of the majority of his problems.

Ten minutes later, two groaning and badly bruised males were lying on the ground trying to catch their breath. Genma rolled to a sitting position and looked at his son with a proud smile on his face. Finally, the boy was becoming a man even though it would've been better if they'd saved the fight for Jusenkyo, not when they still had to walk several hours to get there.

"Come along boy, we'll need to eat breakfast and head out if we're going to reach Jusenkyo today," the elder Saotome said as he shuffled towards his backpack and pulled out some rice packets.

"Sure Pop, whatever you say," Ranma replied tiredly as he rolled to a sitting position. Despite aching all over, he couldn't help but grin when he noticed his father's injuries. Nothing was different, not really, except for perhaps a smidge of begrudging respect between the two of them.


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Several hours later, the Saotomes came upon a misty valley filled with hundreds of springs with bamboo poles sticking out of them. As they took in the sight, a portly man wearing a dark green Chinese Mao suit and hat with a red star walked out a nearby cabin and greeted them in broken Japanese.

"Here Sirs, welcome to famous training grounds of cursed springs, Jusenkyo," the man said as he bowed with a hint of amusement in his eyes. He wondered if the strangers would listen to him and avoid getting cursed. For some reason he doubted it. No one ever did.

'This is the "legendary" training ground Pops was so desperate to find? We could've done stuff like this in Japan,' Ranma thought with disdain as he looked at the springs and bamboo poles with a bored expression on his face. He understood the point easily enough, aerial combat being the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts specialty after all.

Genma set his backpack down and looked at his reticent son for a moment before asking, "Are you prepared Ranma?"

Ranma just shrugged as he set his pack on the ground and scoffed, "Aw man, this place ain't near as bad as I thought it'd be."

The guide started panicking and waved his arms as he said, "Oh Sirs, you very strange ones. This place very dangerous, no one use now. More than one hundred springs here and each have own tragedy!"

The elder Saotome just scoffed and leapt onto a pole over a nearby spring before shouting, "Ranma, follow me!"

"Right behind you," Ranma yelled back as he leapt onto a pole opposite his father.

The guide shook his head at his guests' actions and yelled, "Oh sirs! What you doing? I no finish my tragic story!"

Genma ignored the portly man below and growled at his son, "I won't go easy on you boy!"

Ranma just laughed, his voice dripping with arrogance as he sneered, "That's just the way I like it."

The two martial artists leapt at one another simultaneously and traded blows as they clashed in mid-air before landing on their opponent's original pole.

"Oh Sirs, very bad you fall in spring!" the guide shouted nervously and shook his head in resignation as his guests continued to ignore him.

The Saotome males looked at one another warily for a few moments before leaping at one another again. This time, Ranma used his hands to push off Genma's body in order to gain a little more altitude. Reorienting himself in a blink an eye, he drove his foot down into his father's back and knocked the balding man into the pool below them. He then landed softly on another pole and smirked as he said, "Gotcha."

Ranma looked down at the churning water below and wondered what was taking his father so long to resurface. Rather than show concern, the junior martial artist chuckled before asking in a condescending tone, "What's the matter Pop, done already?"

Without warning, a large panda leapt out of the spring growling as though it wanted to take someone's head off. Unbelievably, the ungainly beast was somehow able to balance on a pole without causing it to break under its weight. Genma-panda glared at his son angrily and growled as the boy stammered in surprise, "W-What the hell is that?"

The Chinese man pulled a sign out from behind his back and said, "That one Shonmaonīchuan, Spring of Drowned Panda. Very tragic story of panda that drown 2,000 year ago. Legend say, whoever fall in spring take body of panda."

Ranma started panicking as his eyes widened in disbelief, scarcely believing not only was magic real but his father had dragged them to a cursed training ground. Then again, the idea Genma would charge into a situation without knowing all the facts wasn't unusual. He quickly traded glances with the guide and the panda before yelling, "Hey buddy, you never said anything about that to us..."

Suddenly the giant panda surged forward and lashed out with a punch, blasting the shocked teenager off his perch. Ranma screamed in terror as he flew through the air for a few seconds before splashing head first in another spring. As he sank towards the bottom, the junior martial artist started feeling the freezing water of the Nyannīchuan pierce his body and numb his limbs. It didn't take long before he became acutely aware of a strange tingling sensation spreading throughout his body.

The Saotome heir just shook his head in disbelief. Did he really get knocked into a spring by a panda, an honest to kami panda wearing a dougi that was obviously too small for it? It was impossible wasn't it? There was no such thing as magic, let alone springs that turned men into animals, right? Figuring he had to be losing his mind after being hit in the head one too many times, Ranma started swimming towards the surface so he wouldn't drown. A few moments later, he broke the surface of the spring and began treading water even as he felt a curious sensation on his chest.

"Ah too bad, Mr. Customer fall in Nyannīchuan, Spring of Drowned Girl," the guide said with a chuckle. "Very tragic legend of young woman who drown 1,500 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of young woman."

Ranma blinked in confusion, certain he hadn't heard the man correctly and gasped in shock when he looked down at his, or rather her, body. She felt her mind go blank when she pulled open her dougi and noticed two large mounds of flesh where a flat washboard chest had been moments before. Breasts? She had two fully formed and relatively large breasts? What about... Closing her eyes, Ranma gingerly reached into her pants and found to her consternation she no longer possessed a certain bit of male anatomy.

"What the hell?" the neo-girl shrieked only to freeze at the high-pitched sound of her new voice.

Genma could only watch in horror as his worst nightmare became reality, his son had become a girl. Despite his child's outburst, he wasn't sure whether he should run or wait to see how the boy reacted. Sometimes it seemed like Ranma wanted to be a girl. Other times, like that morning, he could feel proud of the man his son had become. It was almost like the boy was two completely different people. The question was who was treading water fifty feet away. Was it the man he had raised who would likely try to kill him for turning him into a girl or was it the flower sniffing sissy he had tried desperately to turn into a man so many times over the years.

Ignoring her father for the moment, Ranma quickly made her way out of the spring and adjusted her dougi before kneeling beside the small body of water to look at her reflection. Compared with her former male body, which hadn't been that tall to begin with, she was short, quite petite really and likely not even five feet in height. Her light blue eyes had darkened to a mysterious deep blue that seemed to shine with an otherworldly light. In addition to her attention-grabbing eyes and impressive bust, she had fiery red hair along with a light dusting of freckles on her cheeks which were both fairly rare for someone of Japanese descent.

'I can't believe that moron cursed me to become a girl,' the redhead thought angrily as she turned to glare at her father. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed the panda was just standing there staring at her. Had the old fool known this was going to happen? That didn't seem likely considering how often he badgered her about acting like a man and not as he put it: a flower sniffing sissy. Deciding she didn't want to deal with the man turned beast, the neo-girl thought she could have a little fun freaking him out instead.

Genma watched anxiously as his child started walking towards him with an unreadable expression on her angelic face. His eyes widened in shock when he noticed the girl's physical features, particularly the flaming red hair and heart shaped face reminiscent of his wife Nodoka. The girl was shorter and more endowed than his wife but there was no questioning her lineage. The redhead was a Saotome female through and through. The fact she was walking towards him slowly and purposefully while saying nothing was more frightening than if she were to charge him while screaming, "You turned me in a girl, I'll kill you for this Pop!"

Ranma suppressed her anger as best she could as she slowly walked towards her father before stopping a few paces away. The two Saotomes stared at one another for nearly a minute before she suddenly leapt at the panda and tried to wrap her smaller arms around his bulk. Switching to feminine speech, the redhead buried her face in his furry belly and started crying as she exclaimed, "Thank you Daddy! Thank you so much for helping me become a real girl, you have no idea what this means to me. I love you, Father."

The elder Saotome was at a loss and just stared at the petite redhead trying to hug him, completely thrown by his child's actions and words. For starters, Ranma hadn't called him anything but 'Pop' or 'old man' since the NekoKen disaster when he was six. It was around then the boy had stopped showing him any kind of affection and he honestly couldn't remember if he'd ever heard his child say he loved him since they'd left home a decade earlier. He suspected Ranma still resented him for taking him away from his mother because he believed the boy needed to be away from all feminine influences to become a man amongst men. Not that it seemed to have helped; the boy was perhaps even more girlish now than he'd ever been back then. Of course, the fact Ranma was a girl probably had a lot to do with it.

"Growff? (Ranma?)" Genma-panda asked in his incomprehensible animal language.

"I forgive you Daddy," the neo-girl said quietly and slowly backed away as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Ranma didn't understand why she was crying and figured it had to be a girl thing. It was as though all of the emotions she had suppressed over the years were suddenly pouring out of her at once. Was she happy? Was she upset? She wasn't sure, her emotions were all over the place and she was so confused she had no idea what she was truly feeling.

It was too much. Genma backpedaled from his son turned daughter, a wild look in his eyes before he ran as though hounds from Hell were chasing him. Ten years, he had spent ten years trying to make a man out of his semi-girlish son and with one dip in a strange spring it was all undone. How could he return home now? There was no chance Nodoka would consider Ranma a man amongst men, not with the boy's curse and attitude. Perhaps he could hide with his old training partner Soun but that presented problems as well. Would he be able to engage the boy to one of his friend's daughters and join the schools like they had originally planned nearly twenty years ago?

Stamping down her wild emotions as best she could, at least until she'd had a chance to sort through them, Ranma burst out laughing and wiped the tears from her eyes as she watched her father run off. 'That should keep the jackass out of my hair for awhile. Who knows, maybe he'll even leave for good and I won't have to put up with his stupid "man amongst men" crap anymore. Kami-sama that's so annoying. I may be a man but what he wanted me to become is so ridiculous it's funny. Besides, it isn't like he's a good example of how a man should behave anyway.'

With a new spring in her step, the redhead skipped over to their packs and grunted when she tried to pick hers up. She frowned when she realized how much weaker she was in her female form and muttered darkly, "This better not be permanent or I may have to kill the panda for real, endangered species or not."


Ranma growled in irritation as she half carried, half dragged her father's pack into the cabin and dropped it in the corner of the common room beside her own. She couldn't help but wonder whether the man was carrying rocks in his pack or if she really was that much weaker than she was used to. Her pack hadn't been too bad, just a little on the heavy side but manageable. The neo-girl sighed as she knelt beside her pack and started looking through it to make sure she had everything she would need for her long journey home. Once finished with that, she searched her father's pack for anything of interest or value.

Finding a faded 4x6 photo, the redhead gasped as she stared at a picture of a beautiful auburn-haired woman in her late 20's wearing a very becoming and flowery light blue kimono. The woman was smiling gently and looked to be at peace, her soft brown eyes warm and inviting.

"Mother?" Ranma whispered as she stared longingly at the older woman. Her eyes began to sting as long forgotten memories of her pre-training trip life started bubbling to the surface. Oh Kami-sama how she missed her mother and desperately hoped the woman was still alive. Flipping the picture over, she noticed her father's messy handwriting and read, "Nodoka Saotome, March 21st, 1982, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan."

Ever since Genma had spirited her away and forced the decade long training trip from hell on her, Ranma had desperately wanted to reunite with her mother. From what little she could remember, Nodoka was a wonderful and caring young woman who wanted to spend all her free time with her. The auburn-haired woman would hold her in tender embraces and read to her even though she didn't really understand what her mother was saying. The two of them would often play together, whether they were simple games of 'peek-a-boo' or 'patty cake' to more complicated games such as 'memory' using various shapes and colors. She would often 'help' her mother in the garden by running around digging holes while the older woman 'cleaned up' by planting her flowers. Mother and child had spent most of their time together until one fateful day shortly before her fifth birthday.

Ranma sighed heavily, her deep blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she turned the photo back over and stared at her mother's face. A tear slipped down her cheek as she thought despondently, 'Mother, why did you let the old man take me away? Did I do something wrong, is that why you didn't want me anymore? I'm sorry for whatever I did that made you stop loving me...'

"Ah, Mr. Customer back, good," the Chinese man said cheerfully when he walked into the room a few minutes later, drawing his crying guest out of her reverie. Pouring some water into a kettle and placing it on the stove, the guide continued, "This one explains how Jusenkyo curse usually work. Cold water activate curse while hot water restore birth form but only until hit with cold water again. There no known cure though possible women of Nyucheizu know more. If find way to avoid water, can remain in form you want, choice yours. No have to change though curse tend to attract water."

"So, I'm not permanently a girl then," the redhead deadpanned using masculine speech as she sat at the common room table, finding it peculiar she didn't feel more relieved. Shouldn't she be happy she wasn't stuck as a girl? She was a guy after all. Instead, she felt a growing conflict within her heart and mind. Some part of her deep down was ecstatic she was a girl and noticed she was more comfortable with her body than she'd ever felt in the past while the rest of her just seemed lost and confused. Why would she feel more comfortable as a girl? That didn't make any sense whatsoever to her at all.

Ranma laid her head on the table and sighed, idly running her fingers along its rough wooden surface as she considered her feelings while years of 'man amongst men' propaganda fought against her burgeoning sense of self. For years she had felt something was wrong, that things weren't quite how they were meant to be but she'd never known how to deal with it. She hadn't even known how to define the problem, let alone figure out a solution. Talking to her father sure hadn't helped. Every time she had brought it up the man just yelled at her to stop 'acting like a girl' and had either beaten her severely or found some new sadistic training method to subject her to. Eventually she had just stopped talking about it.

Once the kettle was ready, the guide walked up to his guest and asked, "Mr. Customer want hot water?"

"Huh? What?" the redhead asked in confusion as she stared at her host with a bewildered look on her face. She had completely forgotten the man was preparing a kettle to change her back. After contemplating her conflicting feelings for several seconds, she finally nodded having decided she needed to know exactly how her curse worked and what she could expect from then on.

The Chinese man raised an eyebrow at his guest's hesitation but shrugged it off as he poured the hot water over her head. He watched as the girl grew larger and more muscular, her feminine curves disappearing as her hair turned black and she returned to her male form.

"Mr. Customer alright?" the guide asked nervously when he noticed his guest's demeanor hadn't changed and the boy still looked pensive.

"Fine," Ranma replied flatly. His stomach decided to take advantage of the growing silence and growled. When the man started chuckling he blushed and buried his face in his hands, causing the guide to laugh even harder.

"Mr. Customer want something to eat, yes? Have soup, fish and bread," the Chinese man asked in amusement as he rummaged through the cabinets looking for his remaining foodstuffs. Frowning at his low stocks, he decided he would offer to lead his guests to the nearby Amazon village where he could restock his supplies.

"Yeah, that'd be great," the black-haired boy answered distractedly as he continued to ponder his dilemma. Along with a growing sense of confusion, he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable in his male form. Where were these feelings coming from and what did it mean? Was the curse itself trying to force him to be a girl or was it something deeper? Was it him, her?

Once lunch was ready, the guide served himself and his guest a bowl of soup, some bread and a side of fish. As they ate in silence, Ranma couldn't help but think about his companion's earlier words and how his new curse worked. How he could theoretically remain female for the rest of his life if he chose provided he could avoid hot water. As much fun as he'd had scaring the old man by acting incredibly girlish, or at least what he thought might be girlish, he didn't know enough about being a girl for real due to minimal exposure to them over the years. Besides, being a guy was all he knew and he was mostly comfortable as one, his earlier confusion notwithstanding. Why would he even want to be a girl?

As the meal progressed Ranma grew steadily more uncomfortable and couldn't stop fidgeting. He was anxious to put as much distance between himself and his father as he possibly could. Now that he knew what his mother looked like and where she lived, or at least where she had lived before the training trip, he wanted nothing more than to go home. He hoped the woman would be able to accept him as a son who sometimes changed into a girl or a daughter, who was sometimes a boy…

"Is Mr. Customer alright?" the guide asked in concern when he noticed his guest was having trouble staying still.

"I'm fine, just a little anxious to get on the road and away from Pop," Ranma replied as he glanced at the open doorway leading outside. "No telling what brilliant idea the idiot will think of next and I'd just assume not be around to find out."

"What about the Joketsuzoku? Thought Sir wanted to speak with them about curse," the Chinese man asked quietly.

"I do," the junior martial artist said only to sigh in resignation as he shook his head. "Let me guess, you don't want to lead me to the village without the stupid panda."

"Sir correct, this one would prefer he not remain."

"Fine, I guess I can put up with the moron for a few more days," Ranma grumbled irritably before marching towards the sink in order to turn himself into his female form.

"What Sir doing?"

"As long as I have to stick around for a bit, I might as well take advantage of it and see what this form is capable of," the redhead replied using masculine speech as she dried off her face with a nearby towel. "Even if we both hate the fact we're cursed now, it won't stop the panda from trying to take advantage of my weakness."

"Does Sir really believe being woman is weakness?" the Chinese man asked nervously. "Joketsuzoku womens take offense to that kind of thinking."

"Best not let Pop speak around them then, he won't be able to keep his big mouth shut," Ranma replied with a toothy grin as she briefly considered her own position on the matter. Not ready to face her own misogyny, the neo-girl shook her head and sighed as she continued, "Whether or not these women are weaker than men doesn't really matter, I just know that it's true in my case. Take my pack for instance, as a guy I barely notice its weight. As a girl, it's too heavy and I doubt I'll be able to carry it for long without having to stop and rest."


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Meanwhile, a sixteen year old boy named Ryoga Hibiki was standing atop a cliff overlooking the valley of Jusenkyo and sighed when he noticed hundreds of little pools dotting the landscape below. His hated enemy, Ranma Saotome, was somewhere nearby he just knew it. The moderately tall and muscular boy was clad in dark green pants and a yellow sleeveless tunic. He wore a black and yellow bandana in his messy black hair and shouldered a massive backpack with a red umbrella on top. The eternal lost boy raised his fist to the heavens, ready to condemn the Saotome heir for running out on their man to man fight when the ground started shaking beneath his feet. He turned only to see a very large panda charging towards him on its hind legs.

'What the...?' the lost boy thought frantically as he tried to dodge out of the way of the charging ursine. Unfortunately for him, he was just a little too slow and one of the panda's front paws casually batted him aside only to cause him to plummet towards the valley below. He screamed in terror as he fell towards the springs before tucking his body into a ball and hoped he would absorb the shock across his legs and posterior as opposed to the more sensitive portions of his body.

Ryoga plunged into the freezing pond with a huge splash and grit his teeth in pain, it was like hitting concrete! As the icy water invaded every pore of his body, he felt a strange tingling sensation as the magic of the spring twisted and perverted his body into that of a small animal. The lost boy had no idea what was happening to him, he only knew that his body was a lot smaller and differently configured. Summoning up every ounce of his remaining strength, he struggled to swim to the surface and hoped he wouldn't drown.

Swimming towards the edge of the spring, the lost boy looked around and squealed in shock. Not only did his backpack look monstrous from his new perspective, the world itself looked quite a bit larger than he was used to which made him feel very small and vulnerable. A situation he was unaccustomed with and rather poorly equipped to handle at the moment. Ryoga sighed deeply as he looked at his trotters and wondered what sort of animal he had become. Whatever it was, it was small, covered with a leathery hide and about the size of a rabbit.

His introspections were interrupted when he was suddenly plucked off the ground by a pair of claws and found himself staring at the panda that had run him off the cliff in the first place. Ryoga shuddered when the large ursine started licking its lips in a most disturbing manner.

Genma-panda hurried towards the guide's cabin with what he hoped would be a decent meal for the first time in weeks. He was getting tired of trail rations, berries and the tiny fish his son could catch during their trip through the Chinese wilderness. He considered the piglet in his claws and wondered how it would taste. Maybe it would be just the thing to raise his spirits after the horrific day he'd had to endure so far. His heir was now a girl, totally unsuitable for carrying on the Anything Goes style of Martial Arts and he was a panda!

'There better be a cure or else I won't be able to marry him off to one of Soun's daughters and enjoy my well-deserved retirement,' Genma thought with a shudder as he remembered the seppuku pledge he and his son had signed before they left. Given Ranma's age at the time, his 'signature' was a handprint and the boy had no idea what he had 'signed'. It was his hope that if Ranma were married, Nodoka would consider him manly despite the curse and the pledge would be satisfied.

"What Mr. Customer have there?" the portly Chinese man asked as he turned his attention towards the door when he heard the panda walk in carrying a small struggling animal. He pulled out a cleaver and a two-prong fork and began scraping them together as he said, "Ah Sir, that look like delicious piglet. I make sweet and sour pork for you."

While Genma was busy tying the struggling animal to a cooking spit above a pot of boiling water, the guide started sharpening his cleaver and continued, "Here in Jusenkyo exists cursed spring Heitowennīchuan, Spring of Drowned Black Piglet. Legend say black piglet drown in spring 1,200 year ago. Now whoever fall in spring take body of black piglet."

A few moments later the fire was ready, and the portly Chinese man held up the piglet as he said, "Maybe this one human no?" Ryoga nodded his head vigorously before the guide continued, "I make funny joke yes?"

Genma, who was sitting at the table ready to eat, started chuckling when the Jusenkyo guide dropped the small animal into the boiling pot of water.

Ryoga instantly transformed and screamed as he jumped out of the pot, knocking it onto the floor and spilling its contents in the process. The lost boy, who was quite red from the scalding water and his own anger, bolted from the guide's cabin in a desperate attempt to get away while hoping he could find his pack and put some clothes on. Despite wanting revenge on his rival, being nearly boiled alive tended to change one's priorities at least in the short term. He continued to run as he shouted angrily, "Damn you Saotome! I'll see you in Hell for this!"


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While Genma and the guide were busy trying to cook a certain lost boy, Ranma had wandered around outside for awhile before stumbling upon a small clearing nearby. Due to the heavy foliage surrounding the area, she couldn't see much beyond the clearing but was reasonably certain she'd be able to sense anyone who approached. Despite wanting to start her journey home, she knew she needed to know what her female body was capable of. It wasn't a matter of if her father would attack her; it was a question of when.

Ranma spent several minutes loosening up her muscles as she considered everything she had experienced as a girl so far. One of the first things she'd noticed, other than the obvious height/reach differences and breasts she had to figure out how to balance, was how soft and sensitive her skin was. It was as though her body was more like that of an ordinary teenaged girl and she had never trained as a martial artist at all.

'Hmm, that's going to be a problem. Panda-baka isn't likely to go easy on me and it's almost as though I've never done this before,' Ranma thought worriedly as she tried a beginner kata. Unfortunately, she was incredibly clumsy and her body protested the strange movements and positions. To make matters worse, the gentle river of warmth she was accustomed to feeling within her body was mostly gone. She wasn't sure whether her clumsiness was due to her new body, the loss of chi or both. To make things even more confusing, she could feel a different type of energy flowing throughout her body as well. While her chi was warm and soothing, this new energy was cold and sluggish but oddly comforting which she thought was strange. Whatever it was, it didn't flow through her body quite the same way and as a result, her movements weren't nearly as fluid as they'd been earlier that morning.

'So, compared to my male form I'm clumsy, weak and in poor physical condition. Pop will love that,' the redhead mused with a grimace as she continued to struggle with her beginner kata. She knew she needed to get stronger and adapt to her female body, there was simply no way she could guarantee she'd be able to do all her fighting as a male. In fact, given her father's propensity for cheap tricks, she suspected the panda would purposely attack her as a girl just to 'prove' females were inferior to men. They were reasonably matched in their original forms, but their curse forms were another story. While her father had gained substantial strength and reach as a panda, she had lost most hers becoming a girl.

As the morning wore on, Ranma discovered her initial assessment of her abilities was correct. Because her body was that of someone who had never done martial arts before, she found it difficult to get it to perform. Utilizing what little chi she possessed helped a little but ultimately it was due to her body's lack of muscle memory and a different sense of balance that really handicapped her abilities. While she was still weak and in poor physical condition, at least compared with her birth form, once her body started cooperating she wasn't nearly as clumsy and could reasonably flow from one form to the next. Once she was no longer tripping over her own two left feet, she discovered she was quite a bit faster than she'd been as a guy.


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Ryoga was nervous. Not only was he lost, which wasn't all that unusual, he was stark naked in the middle of a forest without any of his supplies. The only saving grace was the area didn't seem heavily populated with wildlife or civilization. After being nearly boiled alive, he had run with the hope he could make it back to the spring where he'd left his pack. He sighed dejectedly as he looked around in dismay, no sign of the pools that had caused his latest misfortune anywhere. Realizing he would never find his belongings standing still, the lost boy picked a random direction and started walking.

As he walked along, his sharp ears detected what sounded like heavy breathing. Ryoga froze and closed his eyes as he listened more intently to discern what he had heard. As he focused on the sound, he thought he could hear a feminine quality in the unknown being's breathing.

'Great, I'm naked and there's a female nearby who won't appreciate me barging in on them,' the Hibiki heir thought anxiously as he crouched low to the ground. Still, he was too curious to turn back, and it was possible the person would be able to direct him towards the springs so long as he didn't expose himself.

After a few minutes of duck waddling closer, Ryoga was forced to stop because the foliage he was using for cover suddenly gave way to a small clearing. The teenager froze, his olive eyes widening in surprise as his gaze fell upon the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He couldn't help but stare at the petite redhead as the girl twisted and twirled in the complicated pattern of a martial arts kata. A few moments later the girl stopped and adjusted her dougi before turning to look directly at him, his breath catching in his throat as he stared into her deep blue eyes.

"Who are you and why are you watching me?" the girl demanded using feminine speech in a beautiful soprano voice as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Ryoga found he couldn't speak and started shaking with nervousness. Not only was he incredibly shy and nervous around females under the best of circumstances, he was stark naked and didn't want to discover what the girl would do to him should she find out.

"I know you're there," the redhead snapped as she started tapping her foot in aggravation.

"S-Sorry Miss, it's um, well... I-I was just wondering if you could tell me where I am," Ryoga stammered as he tried to make himself even smaller.

"Jusenkyo," the girl answered curtly. "Now, care to tell me why you're hiding in the bushes watching me?"

"Um, I'm naked..."

"Pervert!" the redhead shouted in disgust and turned to storm off towards the visitor center.

"No wait! Please. I lost my supplies near some pools, but I can't seem to find my way back..." Ryoga said urgently, hoping the girl would be willing to lead him back to the springs. "Can you help me?"

Ranma stopped and turned towards the voice as she considered the stranger's request. On the one hand, being the kind person she was, she felt she should help the poor guy out. On the other, she was very much aware of her increased vulnerability in her female form. She may be a martial artist but given her normal teenaged girl's body, Ranma knew she would have trouble preventing the guy from doing whatever he wanted and that frightened her. What if the man was lying and was just trying to lure her into leaving the relative safety of the clearing? What if he wanted to do unspeakable things to her virgin body?

"Stay away from me," the redhead demanded in a shaky voice as an icy fear gripped her heart and she started hyperventilating. She raised her hands in a warding gesture and slowly backed away from the unknown male as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. She had to get away, not just from the stranger, but Jusenkyo and her father as well. More than anything, she needed to feel safe and just wanted to go home and be with her mother.

"Um, Miss?"

"Stay away from me you pervert!" Ranma screamed in terror before sprinting from the clearing as fast as she could, tears obscuring her vision as they sparkled in her wake. Some small part of her couldn't believe that she, Ranma Saotome and man amongst men, had just run away like a scared little girl rather than stand her ground like she'd been taught. Another part of her acknowledged the fact had she encountered the stranger as a guy, she wouldn't have felt threatened or been nearly as frightened. It was a testament to how much things had truly changed for her in such a short amount of time.


Minutes later, Ranma arrived at the visitor's center completely winded and collapsed in a boneless heap. Despite knowing her physical conditioning wasn't anywhere near that of her male form, she still scowled in irritation at just how weak and out of shape she really was. She knew she would need to find time in the coming months to condition her new body and ensure she'd be able to defend herself in female form.

"Where the hell have you been boy?" Genma demanded angrily as he emerged from the cabin only to scowl when he noticed his child was female. He was about to chastise his son for being a weak girl when a brief flash of light caught his attention. Focusing on the redhead's face, he narrowed his eyes when he noticed the girl's shimmering eyes and tear stained cheeks.

"Training," Ranma replied anxiously as she slowly rose to her feet. She knew her father was angry but whether it was due to the fact she was female, because he had been waiting for her or a combination of the two she wasn't sure. It didn't really matter either. She just hoped they could skip the lecture and subsequent fight because she was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, from everything that had happened since that morning.

"Training? More like crying," the part time panda scoffed as he shook his head in disgust. "You're no man, you're still the same weak and pathetic flower sniffing sissy you've always been," Genma sneered as he slipped into an offensive combat stance. Without giving Ranma a chance to take her own stance, the elder Saotome leapt forward and viciously kicked his child into a nearby tree. His smile of satisfaction quickly changed into a scowl when the girl collapsed in a heap on the ground. He glared at the redhead and growled, "Get up girl; I didn't hit you that hard."

Ranma lay still for several moments and struggled to breathe before slowly rolling to a seated position, clutching her bruised abdomen as she winced in pain from hitting the tree. She looked up at her father, hurt and betrayal written all over her face as her deep blue eyes shimmered with more unshed tears and asked in a soft child-like voice, "Ow, what was that for Daddy?"

Genma scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head in disgust as he sneered, "Pathetic, you can't even take a hit without crying. You're nothing but a disgrace, a weak and silly little girl trying to play at being a man. I came here with someone I thought I could be proud to call my son but it's obvious he died in a horrible training accident. Ranma, my manly son, is gone and you, girl, are not my child. I do not know you for you are a stranger."

Now usually when the elder Saotome said things like that it goaded his son into dropping any 'girlishness' he may have been displaying and act manlier. Genma didn't really want to disown the boy, considering what his wife would do to him if he ever truly followed up on it and she found out. He just wanted Ranma to start acting like the man amongst men he had tried so hard to raise the boy to be and not, in his opinion, the weak and silly flower sniffing sissy he had taken from his wife ten years before.

"What the hell Pop?" Ranma shrieked as she slowly climbed to her feet. She turned smoldering dark blue eyes on her father and clenched her fists in anger, tears running down her cheeks as her emotional control crumbled from the strain. The redhead narrowed her eyes as a small fiery aura began forming around her lithe body. She knew she was losing control and closed her eyes as she tried to slow her breathing and regain her equilibrium.

"You are weak girl, you've always been weak," Genma taunted as he shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe I was foolish enough to believe you could ever be heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. So long as you continue to act like the pathetic little girl you've been your entire life, you're on your own as you are dead to me. If, on the other hand, you permanently renounce your girlishness and become the man amongst men I have raised you to be, you will be welcomed as my son and a Saotome once more."

The redhead bowed her head and kept her eyes closed, her entire body trembling with a mixture of hurt, anger, and hate as her tears splashed unceremoniously on the ground at her feet. She'd heard her father say some idiotic and hurtful things over the years but never anything like this.

"Oh look, the pathetic little girl is crying, boo freaking hoo," the balding martial artist jeered before he started laughing at his son turned daughter. "You're even less of a man than I thought. You'll never amount to anything, let alone make the rank of Master, if you can't even handle a little taunting or a single hit."

Ranma breathed deeply and slowly opened her eyes as the fiery aura surrounding her lithe form darkened until it was a deep purple with streaks of black lightning arcing throughout. She smiled maliciously at the sudden gasp of shock and look of absolute horror on her father's face as cold fury radiated from her body, dropping the surrounding air temperature by more than thirty degrees. Tapping into the strange energy she could feel swirling throughout her body, her normally soft and peaceful deep blue eyes darkened until they became a more demonic reddish-purple color. Her malicious smile widened into a truly wicked grin as a dark purple and black flaming ball of energy materialized in her left hand.

Drawn by the rather noisy argument between his two guests, the guide walked out of the cabin only to freeze in his tracks when he noticed the tableau occurring right outside his door. It didn't take him long to notice the dark aura surrounding his female guest. He gulped nervously and started edging away from the imminent violent encounter.

Genma found himself paralyzed with fear as he stared at his son turned daughter turned angry demon while the redhead glared at him, fury and hate clearly visible on her otherwise angelic face. Even his old master Happosai didn't frighten him this much and the old pervert was someone to fear. Despite the chill in the air, he could feel sweat beading down his forehead and started to panic as he wondered, 'How the hell did the boy learn to conjure dark fire out of thin air? Oh Kami-sama, is he really going to kill me?'

"You are no father, you pathetic sack of shit," the redhead snarled in a low and dangerous tone. "You're nothing more than a bully who gets his jollies from torturing his own child."

"Ranma?" the elder Saotome asked in a small voice. He gulped nervously as he felt the blood drain out of his face and watched in genuine fear as his son turned daughter's demonic eyes hardened. In that moment he knew the awful truth, he knew the demon possessing his son had decided to kill him.

"Good-bye, father," the neo-girl said with an air of finality as she pushed her left hand forward and launched the deadly looking fireball directly at her father's chest.

Genma's eyes widened in shock moments before the dark fireball slammed into his midsection and blasted him off his feet. Kami-sama, it was like being hit by a freaking battering ram! As he flew through the air, he could scarcely believe the demon had actually gone through with its attack. He knew at least a few of his ribs were cracked if not outright broken and that didn't include what would likely happen when he landed. A few moments later he crashed headlong into the wall of the visitor center and was instantly rendered unconscious.

Ranma glared hatefully at the crumpled form of her father with contempt, part of her hoping the man would stand up so she could justify attacking him again. Once a few minutes had passed and it was obvious the part time panda wouldn't be waking up anytime in the near future, her aura faded as her eyes returned to normal and she fell to her knees. Overcome with a sudden onslaught of grief, Ranma buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.

The Jusenkyo guide was at a loss, having watched the entire confrontation and uncertain whether he should try to comfort the young woman or not. He certainly had no desire to wind up embedded in the wall like the girl's father. A couple minutes passed before the danger seemed to have passed and his paternal instincts kicked in. He thought about his daughter Plum and decided he would try to help the softly crying girl who no longer seemed to be possessed by an evil demon. He still wasn't sure what to make of the horrific scene he had witnessed and hoped the Joketsuzoku might be able to shed some light on the phenomenon.

The Chinese man knelt beside the distraught redhead and cautiously wrapped his arms around her trying to soothe her tears. Oddly enough, the girl didn't pull away and allowed him to embrace her. The two of them remained in that position for several minutes until Ranma pulled away and thanked him as she dried her tears.

"This one happy to help, Miss?" the guide asked hesitantly with a questioning look on his face as he helped the young woman to her feet.

"Yeah, I think Miss would be more accurate at this point," Ranma replied softly with a wan smile as she tried to straighten herself up. She still wasn't quite sure exactly how she felt about herself just yet, but it seemed logical to address her based on her present form rather than some vague concept of gender identity she didn't understand.

"How did Miss create aura and fire?"

"I-I… I don't know," the redhead whispered as she looked at her left hand in wonder. "I felt my anger spiraling out of control and I just wanted to shut him up. Oh Goddess, what's happening to me?"

"This one not know; perhaps Joketsuzoku have idea," the Chinese man replied somberly as he looked at the downed form of the older man. Contrary to what he had told his companion earlier about not wanting to leave the elder Saotome behind, he knew the three of them would never make it to Nyucheizu if both of them were present given their latest display of hostility towards one another. Nodding his head decisively, he decided he would lead the girl to the Amazon village without her father. Once he was satisfied she was safe, he would gather the supplies he needed and return. He hoped the panda would be gone by then.

For the next ten minutes or so, Ranma and the guide made preparations to leave. Grinning evilly, she and the Chinese man dragged Genma's unconscious form towards one of the trees just outside the clearing. Once in position, she callously tossed a cup of cold water on the overbearing tyrant and watched impassively as the fat man turned into an even fatter panda. The two of them then proceeded to tie the elder Saotome to the tree, wrapping a rope she had taken from her father's pack around his bloated body quite a few times in order to make it harder for the man to free himself.

Ranma knew her father would find a way to escape but at least they would have peace and quiet for a few hours before he caught up with them. Turning towards the guide, she bowed politely and said, "Sir, will you please lead me to the Amazon village now? I am ready to go."

The Chinese man nodded slowly and said, "Come Miss, this one show way to Nyucheizu, village of Joketsuzoku womens. Maybe we arrive on good day for seasonal tournament."


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Author's Notes:

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it.

Publish Date: January 1st, 2020