Author's notes: Hello everyone, I have been reading Ranma ½ fanfiction since I was 14 and it feels nice to be the one writing for once. Upon choosing to give this story a chance, I already thank you. I hope you would enjoy and follow through this story. I would also like to thank Beedok for the Beta of this story, thank you all so much! - ReiChan99

Disclaimer: I don't own the beautiful and exciting series that is Ranma ½, We have Rumiko Takahasi to thank for that!

Chapter 1: Into the Woods

Ranma Saotome was, unusually, worried. It was the habit of his father to disappear for a day or two during a regular training trip, most of which was looking for something to eat or maybe someone to swindle. However this wasn't your usual unusual. For one, Genma had only been gone for an entire evening, without leaving a word of his whereabouts or his plans as to why he had to head out. Yet here he was in the middle of an unfamiliar ground, anxious to the point of prespirated panic. Ranma was confident in his father's skills but there was just something not right about this mountain they randomly choose to train at. It was, after all, part of a martial artist to have keen sensitivity of your surroundings. He iterated his concerns to his father earlier on the trip, only to receive another deafening lecture on manliness and how a martial artist life is fought with peril. Perhaps his father's intuition had worn down as he prioritize his stomach other than his other supposedly fine tuned senses.

Ranma continued to search over the trees and tall grasses hoping for a glimmer of black and white fur. "Damn it old man, I told you not to go panda" Ranma seethed through his teeth, He gets hungry easily, and now he blames me for finishing all the food? Well I don't see myself turning into a 400 pound mammal. Using his slightly tired legs, he jumped branch after branch trying to get a different view to see more of the forest. It wasn't so much his father's health that he was worried about, it was what his father might do when he wanders around. Exhausted from all the jumping and aimless shouting, Ranma rested on one of the branches. The canopy of the forest was so well established that the drizzle earlier that afternoon didn't quite meet the ground. The contained water, however, found his head after applying much of a force as he leaned on the trunk. Exhausted, pissed, wet, and female, Ranma closed her eyes in gracious defeat.

"I'll find him, and when I do-I'll make sure he gets it". Ranma slightly shifted her posture, looking for a sweeter spot in the tree when suddenly a much sweeter smell invaded her senses. Where is it coming from? She was quite intune with flora and fauna around her, yet her primal instincts told her that this was something she had never encountered before.

Ranma bolted right up and took a deeper smell of the air. The smell resembled a love-child of cherries and honey, like the initial whiff of a freshly served parfait in a hot Sunday afternoon. Rich, aromatic, temptatious. Suddenly, a much more familiar scent intruded, a smell of wet fur she had been well acquainted. "Wherever that smell is coming from, Pop's must be there too!",she yelled, going after the scent.

Trailing through the forest, she ran as if her life depended on it. Her father was, of course, very prone to eating whatever he found without taking a second guess, so could be in trouble. She continued to run, jump, duck, as the aroma grew stronger and the trees grew taller. Taller? And darker too, she noted. She froze as she felt a thread like snap, disconnecting her from her surroundings. Her head felt lighter, her chest colder and tighter. This place is getting kinda freaky. It wasn't like her to forget the path she took, she always knew how to get back. Was this how Ryoga feels all time? To her own disbelief, she was undoubtedly, lost. She has to continue nevertheless. Genma Saotome will have to pay for this, and she isn't going to make it easy. What have you done this time old man- where the hell are you!

The forest answered in an instant with a sharp-pained bark from the ascending trail. "Pop!" she cried as she leapt through the woods once more. A short wave of comfort greeted her after seeing her speculations were confirmed, the source of the fragrance lead her to where the panda was. In front of her was unmistakably that of a large animal, donning the distinguishable coat of black and white.

"There you are!" She shouted as she marched towards the unmoving panda.

"What the hell were you thinking pops- running away like that?! Do you have any idea how long it took for me to find you-"

BARK!

Ranma took a step back, Wait, that doesn't sound like pops at all. She looked through the back her head for any memory of her father creating such an unusual sound. He growled most of time, albeit more aggressive whenever they fought. They may have been constantly likened to wild animals in the heat of battle, but even Genma was never that feral. She stepped forward, this time taking a closer look.

"Geez pops, what's gotten into ya?" Before her hands were able to reach its back, the giant panda swiftly spun and growled as they faced each other. She saw the dread and fear in her eyes reflect back from the blank-glassy stare of the 6 foot bear before her. No, this can't be pop... but no, there can't be other pandas wondering in Japan right? She heard a sizable crunch under her feet . She looked down at the shattered object and felt her heart sank-those were pop's glasses.

Deductions made and done, the teenage martial artist shifted into a more intimidating form, creating a supposed battle aura to dominate the other creature. "Snap out of it pops, this isn't you! Aren't pandas supposed to be friendly?".

It was uncertain whether the panda was offended by her shallow notion or irritated by the sheer power of the battle aura she had made but nevertheless the beast lunged its full weight on her, causing Ranma to fall to the ground.

"Arghh! Get off me! WAKE UP OLD MAN!" Ranma sent the beast to a short flight after a single powerful kick. That damn smell, it's gotta be why pop's is acting all nuts! Now on her feet, she smelled the air once again.

A tree stood from where the aroma sprung, and it was as beautiful as its scent with the rays of the setting sun seeped through its silhouette accentuated its hypnotic stature. About five meters tall, it was adorned with glowing shades of green and yellow leaves. Like the ginkgo, its branches looked towards the sky as if in worship, its fruits hanged low, a smooth red-violet drupe that resembled a peach. Ranma marveled, a little more surprised than she liked to admit but this was no time for aesthetic pleasantries and immediately snagged one of its fruits from the lower branches and opened it in half. Ranma never felt quite a punch like this odor did to her nose. The smell of rotting meat sliced through her sinuses, pinning her head like a thousand cold needles repeatedly pricking her all at once.

"Ugh, anybody would go mad if they got sold into this trap!"she said, tossing the opened fruit to the ground.

Sentiments were shared by the martial artist and all the victims of the tree before her father. Ranma audibly gasped when she saw the forest floor covered with half-eaten red-violet peaches. Most of them were already decaying and others were quite fresh from a solid bite that was never taken again. Odd, some of these are still fresh and not one of them is finished. If pop's was one of those who ate it, what happened to the others?

It wasn't long before the feral panda regained its composure and charged Ranma once again. Ranma pulled out one of the thicker branches and placed her entire weight against it to the animal's powerful jaws.

"I don't want to hurt you pops but please WAKE U-". The hairs at the back of her neck raised. They weren't alone. With all her strength, she pushed her father to the ground. Dodging the arrow headed towards the bear's head.

"Who's there?" She shouted to the forest. Another arrow flew. This time she caught it with her bare hands inches away from her left eye. Still, no sign of the archer.

Ranma grew restless, "Come out here and fight you cowar- ARGH!" A third arrow came through pinning her hard on the tree through her yellow chinese shirt.

"Don't move." a disembodied voice said darkly. The archer followed, covered in a pure white kitsune mask as he emerged from the shadows of the woods wearing a dark blue striped haori with a brown hakama. He drew another arrow from his back, pointing sharp tip towards her.

"Hey, hey! Be careful where you point that thing!" Ranma cried. The archer moved the tip away from her, now directed to the panda's chest.

"I said, BE. CAREFUL!" she yelled, pulling the arrow from the tree and threw it towards the masked man. The man swerved the incoming weapon with his bow, just as she had planned. An opening! Ranma delivered at a sharp powerful kick on his face, cleanly parting his masks into two, revealing what Ranma described at that moment, the human embodiment of the sakura mochi; his head was full of soft, pink, unruly hair that ran to his shoulders and he stared at her with the most stunning pair of green eyes that resembled evergreen moss that grew along the streams of the forest.

"What are you?" he said, with more curiosity in his tone than anger.

"What am I?" Ranma said in disbelief, " I'm *human* you jerk, and that's my father you're trying to kill!"

"And you take me for an idiot?, a human can't come from a beast- Either way he has eaten from the tree of greed. No animal in my forest is allowed wandering around under its influence. Stand aside, or I'll end you."

"He's not an animal, he's a man! I don't know what is up with your funny tree but you ain't laying a hand on 'im"

At that moment, no two souls were more confused about the other. Each was persistent to their own ends, none with the sign of submission. Ranma stood impatiently, wanting to strike but she knew more than enough that this boy wasn't ordinary. She was frustrated with herself that she was not able to sense his presence of the bat. He was magic, she had seen it, but he was of a different kind that she couldn't seem to wrap her mind around.

He looked at her with utmost curiosity. He had never seen a human girl move in such away. But moreover, her passion for the beast's life was more than overwhelming. The tree of greed subdues any human whose heart overflows with earthly desires. Once intoxicated, the poison of their own souls invade their senses, turning them into creatures their spirit best resembles. At that point, it was his job as guardian to bring these creatures to their place, ensuring the peace of his forest.

"It doesn't matter, you humans have done nothing but take. You have disrespected me long enoug-"

"I haven't taken none from you, you jackass. You think killing people justifies that? You got another thing coming bud, and its me!" Ranma said, throwing a solid punch to his face.

Unsuspectedly, her fist was caught by her opponent. This guy is fast! I'm fucked!

"I've had enough of this, if its not a threat to my forest, then its a threat for my people."

He threw her effortlessly to side and making Ranma squeal from the pain as her body met the cold hard ground. She tried to pull herself back up as she heard the sound of an unsheathing katana. NO! DAD! Not this way! Not now-

"Well if you needed animal control, you could've just called you know!"

Ranma collected her strength as fast as she could. She gathered all the vines she found nearby and snagged the sword out the wielder's hand.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Showing you how it's done. Hey pops, look-food!"

"FOOL!"

Ranma was too focused on her plan to hear his warning. She probably didn't need it anyway as she used the tree branch to recoil herself and delivered a kick strong enough to knock the panda out. Proud of her success, she faced the pink haired boy and pointed a finger at him, "Who's the fool now huh fox face?"

"You are."

Ranma could see where the insult was coming from, she celebrated a little too early. She realized her miscalculations the moment Genma stood behind her in his full size, towering her petite form. The panda released a powerful bark that sent her off her senses. The impulse of her blow irritated the bear. So much that it trashed around, like any terrified animal in the wild and brought about a large scratch on the unsuspecting martial artist's back. Her heart would've been caught as well, if the pink haired boy hadn't pull her away on time.

Too dazed, dizzy and in pain, Ranma slowly succumbed to unconsciousness and now with the impact of her strike settling, Genma's cursed form followed suit.

The rain started to pour in the forest just as the sun finished setting for the day. Just then a green pheasant who had clearly been watching the whole affair approached the boy.

"May we come out now, sire?" the pheasant asked.

The boy nodded, the panda was no longer a threat to his subjects. This wasn't one that he could kill, not yet to say the least.

The pheasant looked closely at the human girl in his master's arms "She's no ordinary woman sire."

"Of course, she came from a panda." He replied sarcastically, as he watched his most loyal servant shed off his pheasant form.

"And you believe that, Prince Hakuto?" Tadao said, now in his humanoid form.

Hakuto chuckled, "Possibly, they are magic after all." It was the only explanation. The girl saw through his mask. It was only possible if she has somehow already tempered with magic.

"What to do with the beast, then?"

"Place the panda into the cave at the outskirts of the village. Enclose it with rocks and sticks, do it as fast as you could. It won't be long before he wakes."

"And the girl?"

"Her wounds need tending, I'll take her to the palace. Then she and her 'father' can leave by sunrise."

"Yes, prince Hakuto." Tadao replied, bowing to his master as he left. "If I may your majesty-" he continued, "This one might just be your equal and perhaps possibly, the one to break the curse?"

The prince stopped in his tracks, and studied Ranma's unwearied face.

"It's too early to hope. Besides, we don't have much time left."

Tadao sighed, "Yes, your highness."

End of Chapter 1