Oyu No Ranma

by Zorknot

Ranma gets himself stuck as a girl early on. Now she's got completely new problems. In ch. 21 Ranma teaches Akane a lesson and then takes a nap, Nabiki tries to escape Azusa's frilly prison, and the ladle lady finally accomplishes what she was practicing for all this time.

18. Here There Be

Oyu no Ranma

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Zorknot

Chapter 18: Here There Be

In this chapter, there is a dragon. Also, Ryoga and Nabiki get lost, then find themselves, and Ranma has the worst experience of his life.

Disclaimer: Captain Cowen stepped off the long boat, his black boots sinking into the wet sand. Squinting against the bright midday sun he could see the end of the beach and a temple rising above a veritable wall of dense jungle. He pulled out his sword and held it aloft. "Tarry not, me mateys! The treasure lies within our grasp!" His first mate spoke up then:"Captain, we're not going." Cowen looked back, astonished. "Arr, ye can't turn back now. Not when the treasure's so close!" The first mate shrugged. "There never was a treasure. We made it up. You see we all find you kind of annoying and, well, this island is surrounded by quicksand so…" Captain Cowen tried to move forward, but the sand stuck quick to his boot. "Mutiny, is it? I'll have your guts for garters you intolerable ingrates! You scurvy scalawags!" The first mate sighed. "Again with the abuse! Really, Captain, none of us like these insults. We don't even know what scalawags are, but being called such things…it just isn't conducive to a positive work environment. So we're leaving you to die. Toodles!" As the longboats retreated back to the ship and the Captain sank farther into the sand he screamed "I curse ye all, ye rotten cowards. You'll find no wind to take you home I swear. Not so much as a mermaid's fart. And even should ye reach the end of yer journey, you'll find it was all a fanfiction based on the manga Ranma 1/2 by Takahashi Rumiko. She's a Nipponese lass with a mind for mischief, laddies, and many of the characters you'll meet and the situations you'll find are straight from her noggin!"

~~~~~Chapter 18: Here There Be~~~~~

You never really get used to dying. It's always a surprise. Always painful to the very core, like getting the breath knocked out of you while bursting into flames.

Here you are again, blinking your eyes, taking new breaths, feeling the satin sheets underneath your naked body. Of course your body, the air you breath, and the light that enters your eyes are simply constructs of a demon hive mind that's using you and all the other souls of Jusenkyo to obtain new souls to feed on, but it's really not worth focusing on that. Instead you look around you at the objects in your room. You are on a four post bed draped with the same red satiny material that your sheets are made of. You have a three mirror vanity sitting next to a large armoire and a display of a large constellation of pools with bamboo poles sticking out of them, a jagged mountain range in the background. In the center of the image is your pool, Nyannichuan. The walls are the color of rich chocolate, the crowning just under the ceiling silver, while the ceiling itself is covered in gold leaf.

It's all so horribly ostentatious. This isn't you anymore. It hasn't been for a while, but changing is so difficult. So difficult and yet inevitable.

You chose this room for yourself long ago, because you wanted to remind yourself that you were a woman. Not a little girl. Not a child. Furthermore you wanted your room to acknowledge you had power. You were never rich in any of the lives you've lived, but you can be as rich as you want now. You have the power to destroy nations.

But it's not what you want.

That dumb little girl, that partial soul acting on the errant whims of a teenager… she somehow saw right through all your pretension. You are not pure. You have thousands of memories of drowning, of abandonment, of feeling so worthless that the abyss seemed preferable to life. And it was all because of the tyranny of men. It fills you with rage even now how unjust the fate that befell all of you was. And you thought you could find some measure of fulfillment in making men suffer… in making them know what it was to be dismissed, discarded, repressed, and raped. There is still some grim pleasure to be felt in that education, but the partial soul was correct. Taking over Kosuke made you realize you want something more.

You wave your hand so that the display now shows the events experienced by Saotome Ranma Megumi. So young. So talented.

So loved.

What you told that boy in China was supposed to be disregarded. He was supposed to throw away the vial you gave him. He was supposed to be tortured for years with feelings of inadequacy, with captivity, with weakness, and sexual violation. And you would have laughed. But he actually did what you told him to do. And now she has friends, family, a real place in the world.

It's enough to make you sick.

~~~~~Ranma~~~~~

Shiratori's house looked a little more foreboding than the last time Ranma had seen it. Mostly because of what the lady at the hospital had said, but the way the street lights in the early evening cast the windows and door in deeper shadow didn't exactly help. He was in his male form, in his usual outfit, needing to feel a bit grounded after the wildness of the last hour. He stood with his mother and Akane gazing at the otherwise normal looking façade for a good minute.

A gust of wind blew some leaves past them all. Dogs barked in the distance.

"Honestly," Akane muttered and walked up to the front door. She knocked."You in there, you evil old crone? We've got some questions for you."

Ranma glanced at his mother. Should he have tried the door first? Was he being cowardly? Was that the manly thing to do, to just…knock? Ranma punched himself lightly on the thigh. None of that mattered. It never mattered. He rushed beside Akane to back his friend up if she needed it.

Akane smiled at him. It was a serious, yet warm, fellow-comrade sort of smile.

Ranma pounded at the door, building on the volume that Akane had set before. "Open up, granny. We know about Karada-san. You did something to Nabiki too." Ranma felt a light, warm hand on his shoulder.

"Perhaps this is a problem best solved between grownups," Nodoka's calm voice suggested. "I can call her, get her side of the story. Then if we need to we can get your fathers involved, and maybe some other people I know in the city…"

The door opened. Grandmother Shiratori stood, all four feet of her, smiling up at them all. She had a cup of steaming tea in her hand. "That won't be necessary, dear. I'll be leaving momentarily quite of my own accord." At this point she crossed her eyes and bobbed her head up and down comically. The move was so incongruous, though, that it went somehow past silly into creepy territory.

"What did you do to that poor lady? And why?" Akane asked.

Shiratori showed Akane her crooked, yellow teeth. She wagged her head from side to side slowly, a move somewhere between an exaggerated "I don't know" gesture and an imitation of a bird eying a potential meal. "You will never understand, boy." She turned to Ranma, "You, girl, you may someday. When you can hold life within, when you suffer to release it into the world, when that life gets destroyed by fools who cannot fathom its beauty."

"Did you…did you lose a child?" Nodoka asked. "I don't know how it would connect but I could certainly see someone going to great lengths to…"

"No," Shiratori cut Nodoka off. "Not a child." She curled her lip into a sneer. "I never gave birth to anything so human. The goddess was going to give me the power to return them to their true form. All she needed was a vessel. A way into this world…"

"What do you mean? Are you some sort of demon or something?" Ranma asked.

Shiratori cackled. "No, girl. Not quite"

"Hey, cut it out with the girl stuff. When I'm a guy I'm a guy, okay?"

Shiratori nodded in her exaggerated way. She looked from side to side conspiratorially. "You would like me to keep your situation secret. I understand. I must make the sacrifice after all. I must get started immediately. If you will excuse me…" Shiratori upended the cup of tea over her head. There was no other warning.

Ranma was knocked back some fifty feet into the chain link fence separating the road from the canal. He struggled to take in a breath. To his right, he saw Akane and his mother in a similar state, sprawled on the road against the fence. Only his mother wasn't moving. He rushed to her, his chest burning for lack of oxygen. He wanted to call out to his mother but all he could do was slap her cheek lightly and shake her as his vision began to darken. Finally his lungs remembered how to work and he could take in a blessed gasp of air.

Nodoka's eyes opened at the same moment, to Ranma's relief. Akane staggered toward them.

"What the heck happened?" Ranma asked, still finding his breath.

Akane pointed up.

Ranma had never seen a dragon before. Perhaps up close it might have been majestic. Or maybe it was just this particular dragon that looked like an angry worm with legs and wings wriggling between the city-glow orange clouds in the distance. Regardless, the sight made Ranma want to burn everything he had with a dragon on it.

"We need to figure out where it's going," Akane stepped toward the direction the dragon was flying.

Ranma grabbed her forearm firmly. "Akane." In the three syllables of her name, he tried to convey the futility and possible stupidity inherent in such an endeavor.

Akane paused and took a breath. "Yeah I know. I just feel so useless. I'm sick of feeling useless."

"You can help me get ready for my date."

"With Kuno? Sorry, no. You're on your own on that one. Even if he had a teleporter and he could beam us to China tomorrow morning, I still wouldn't think it was worth it. I'm fine. Better than before, really. Maybe a little more depressed than usual, but I'll get over that."

"Akane, for one thing, I don't think we should let part of your soul get taken by Jusenkyo without at least figuring out what exactly happened. And for another…" Here Ranma looked away, wishing he could just change forms with his mind so saying certain things wouldn't be so embarrassing. "It's not all about you."

"You actually want to go on this date, don't you?" Akane asked in disbelief.

"I'm not going to talk about it more without changing forms," Ranma said with grit teeth. "And not in front of my mom."

Nodoka held her hands up. "Don't mind me. I just want you to be happy."

Ranma smiled. "Thanks mom."

"I just don't understand why you turned back to your male form if you've decided to be a girl."

"I didn't decide that, Mom!"

Nodoka put a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Now, Megumi, we all heard what Shiratori-san said."

"Mom, she's an evil dragon lady! You can't believe anything she says!"

"It's alright, Ranma," Akane said with a smirk. "You are who you are. It doesn't matter what that is."

Ranma growled in frustration, "I haven't given up on being a guy, okay?"

"Okay, honey," Nodoka said, "Let's see about finding you a nice dress for your date."

~~~~~Shiratori~~~~~

As the psychic link between her and her grandson grew stronger, Shiratori settled into a glide and allowed herself to see through the boy's eyes. He stood on one leg on the top of his palace, eyes closed, focusing. He gathered his energy around him.

His eyes snapped open.

In quick succession, he shot out five ki blades each aimed at the top-most leaf of a tree.

One leaf was successfully struck. This was progress, still the tree that toppled over into the servant's quarters, the deep gash in the earth that ruined the eastern road, the largish explosion in the armory, and the neatly bisected cloud spoke to the room that still existed for improvement. It was unacceptable for a prince to have such shoddy aim. He tensed up for a moment, furious with himself. Then he relaxed. He was a prince. It would come to him eventually as all things did. In the meantime maybe a servant would complain, providing him with the amusement of an execution.

Just as Herb was about to call Mint and Lime, he heard a rush of wind in the trees. There was a peculiar scent in the air. Something he had never smelled before, and yet somehow knew.

A dragon alighted on the roof next to him.

A lesser man might have exclaimed, or gasped, or raised an eyebrow. Herb was not so common as this. He bowed deeply. Then he said, "Hello, Grandmother."

Shiratori smiled. Herb was just like his grandfather.

Nyannichuan would be pleased.

~~~~~Ranma~~~~~

The date was going wonderfully, really. The food was excellent, and Kuno continued to compliment Ranma throughout. More than that, a little more than half way through the meal, Tatewake had actually started to ask Ranma questions. And he listened to the answers. Granted he would then give a lengthy extemporaneous speech related only tangentially to what Ranma had said, but still, it was enjoyable. Ranma didn't like talking all that much anyway. It reminded her a little of her talks with Tasuke, back when she hadn't known how much of an evil bitch she was.

It made Ranma feel a little guilty about asking Kuno about going to China. She waited until after she was done with her steak and before the crème brulee. "Remember I told you I had a favor to ask?"

"Certes, thou hast informed me of such, oh radiant one."

Ranma felt heat rush to her cheeks again. Focusing, she continued. "It's about Akane. She recently…had something stolen from her, and she has to go to China to retrieve it."

"China, you say? Verily that dark continent is no place for a lady of such grace, even one as fierce as she. Everything from that quivering pit of humanity is devoid of color, spotted with white ash and pitch soot from the remnants of dreams rent asunder and immolated in the furnace of a totalitarian regime."

"It's not so bad. Well, okay, some of it is, but even where it's bad there are still people who will help you out." Ranma was remembering all the places her father and her had stayed in China. Sometimes it seemed like it was the poorest people who were the nicest. "Plus, you know, our grandparents did rape and kill an awful lot of their grandparents so I don't exactly feel comfortable passing judgment on them as a people."

"Let me judge them for you then, righteous one. They are low born savages, the lot of them. Any pretense of civilization you see them adopt is merely a devilish ruse meant to lure the unwary into the sickly treacle of communism and Confucianism." Kuno coughed and looked around. "Still, I confess to having never been." His expression softened as he continued: "How is it we have talked this long and yet only now am I hearing about how well-traveled you are? Surely you must have been a beacon of hope to the people there. It would scarcely be a surprise if some of the people you met there ended up following you here, seeking out your light."

Ranma was silent for a while, trying to decide how to take Kuno's apparent xenophobia. Then she relaxed. It was just Kuno's exaggerated way of speaking, she thought. It didn't mean anything. "I've only been to China and Japan. I'm not that well-traveled," Ranma demurred. "As for followers, I kind of hope not. There were some good people in China, but a lot of crazy people too."

The waiter brought out the crème brulée and set it before Ranma and Kuno. "Thank you, garçon," Kuno said, "and may I say your service has been excellent this evening." For most people, saying something like that would be a joke or a sarcastic backward remark, but for Kuno, the words seemed genuine.

Ranma hadn't realized she was staring until Tatewake said, "What is it, exalted one?"

"It's nothing," Ranma said. Then she thought better of it. "You know, you're this strange mix of arrogant and thoughtful. You come off as condescending, but it almost seems as though you're actually trying to be nice."

"It's not an act, fair one." Kuno frowned for the first time that night. "I am arrogant. I think highly of myself, and sometimes I am not as worthy of praise as I surmise. I tried to correct this trait for a time without much success. I find that keeping to a realistic view of oneself is a winding trail through a dense forest of doubt and indecision. I would rather be a proud fool than a foul prude, and so I remain as I am. Still I try to honor goodness where I see it, even in the lowest places. A butterfly is an insect and yet it doth give beauty to the world. So too these people who seem to me inferior to myself. And perhaps it is I who is the one deficient. But then so too might I be the butterfly, dreaming of being Kuno Tatewaki, like the butterfly of the Chinese philosopher Chang Tzu." There was added emphasis on the word "Chinese," and Kuno raised an eyebrow to indicate he knew he was contradicting his earlier sentiment on the Chinese, and furthermore, that he was doing it on purpose.

Ranma wondered if this was Kuno's way of admitting he was wrong.

Kuno waved his hands to conclude his speech after the brief pause. "At some point speculation gives way to the assumptions one is accustomed to."

"So you just assume you're better than everyone else because it makes you happy? And you're nice sometimes…why again?"

"Oh, fair one, your words are sharp! I like to dance with language, but you have a way of punching it in the gut. I suppose the most direct way I can explain it, is that being arrogant makes me happy, but that acknowledging the things that give me joy, makes me happy all the more. And I see no contradiction in this, for I am myself a being in this universe, and if I did not make myself happy, I should think it a poor universe to live in."

Ranma nodded. Some of that actually made sense. She used her spoon to break through the shell of the crème brulée. "You might be a good guy, Kuno Tatewake."

"Truly? Is that a compliment or condescension?"

Ranma looked up at the playful glint in Tatewake's eye. If she hadn't been on the other side of the table she would have kissed him then. She looked down. This was a guy. This was Kuno! "To be honest," she said to her crème brulée, "I thought you were a doofus. Even a creep."

"You've said as much in the past, angel."

Ranma looked up again.

Tatewake was looking her straight in the eyes. "Do not think that because I choose to ignore such comments, I do not hear them. You are proud as I am proud. As Akane and my sister are proud. We do not suffer fools easily, we gods and goddesses, and I know my ardor may seem as rank foolishness at first blush. But, my radiant Megumi, I could not bear to feel the love I feel for you and not express it."

"Tatewake…I…I like you," Ranma blushed at saying that much, "but I don't love you. You know that, right?"

"I am aware. I apologize for my impatience. I want us married. Even as we sit here, I imagine our lives together. I wonder about the names of our children."

"And Akane?" Ranma threw her friend's name out mostly to get Kuno to stop imagining disturbing things.

Kuno's expression grew pained. "I love her too, of course. But whereas she has not moved much past her original position, you have acknowledged me. In truth there is something almost mannish to Akane's manner of late that has soured my opinion of her."

"What do you mean?"

Kuno shrugged. "Like you she protests my advances, and oft with violence. And, like you, until now there has always been a hesitancy, a feeling that were I to stop pursuing her, she would miss it. Today however there was no such feeling. It was like I was confessing my love to a man. I'm sure she must be under some enchantment, but I must say it is disconcerting."

Ranma dipped her spoon into her crème brulée and brought it to her mouth. It was sweet. It reminded her a little of marshmallows. She had always liked sweet things. Perhaps she had always been a girl inside. If she had met Kuno as a guy she would have been irritated by him. Ranma had always hated pretty boy types. But maybe that was because…

Ranma swallowed quickly and shook her head free of that line of reasoning. "I don't know if it's an enchantment. I'm not sure if it's something we can fix or if we even should fix it. But basically all the girly parts of Akane got sucked away to China. She's telling everyone she's a man now. Most of the time it's just her, and it seems weird, but she's been getting better at it." Ranma was remembering how Shiratori had called her "boy," and how she handled Nabiki, and how she seemed so confident and assertive. At that time Ranma could almost imagine Akane as a guy, which was odd because it also reminded her of when she first met Akane. When she defended a guest and became her friend.

Kuno was nodding "Some foul sorcerer has her in his clutches then. He is possessing her. I will aid in any way I can. You have my word in this."

Ranma waited for the odd chiming warp of the universe that she had grown to expect whenever anyone made a promise, but nothing happened. Kuno wasn't a witch or anything. Still, the anticipation reminded Ranma that her life had gotten weird in yet another way. "If you could take us, that is, me and Akane to China, that'd be a big help."

Kuno seemed to think on this for a moment. Then he said, "This will be a little tricky. I have a plane, but I don't think I can count on the pilot not to inform my father of our escapade, and believe me when I say that my father would make things infinitely more complicated. "

"Can't we just fly like normal people?"

Tatewake snorted at this. "Megumi, my angel, normal people get passports, wait in line, and sit in cramped spaces for hours on end as they are hurtled from one kafka-esqe pedestrian factory to another. They do not fly."

"Oh. My mistake," Ranma rolled her eyes.

"You think I'm being too proud again, but I assure you, you would not want to be subject to such madness."

"No, no you're right. I would literally rather swim the Sea of Japan than do all that."

Kuno set his silverware down on the table with finality. "Then it's settled. I don't like it, but we'll have to have my sister fly us."

"Your sister?"

Kuno nodded. "She is…how to put it best…a raving lunatic who is the bane of my existence. Still, she is my younger sister, and she did recently get her pilot's license."

"How…?"

"My sister does what she wants. The moment someone tells her she can't do something, she will, by hook or crook, find a way to do it. It is her most irritating quality. I don't know how she managed to get a pilot's license, but I do know that if she put any effort into the endeavor, she will not deign to make either of us aware. It is her conceit to appear as if all things come easily to her."

"She sounds like an interesting person," Ranma observed.

Kuno shook his head, "She's like Tendo Nabiki. She thinks people are playthings to be won, manipulated, and then discarded."

"I don't think Nabiki's that bad. She cares about people, she just…" Ranma wasn't sure how to put it. She had grown fond of Nabiki. Up until Akane had pointed out the flaws, she had thought Nabiki's plan was good, both morally and logistically. If it had been her mother, she would have been just as angry at Akane. But Akane was right too. She could have just asked everyone what they wanted, and things would have turned out so much better. "She just likes scheming a little too much."

"Perhaps, perhaps," Kuno allowed, "I know you've joined her group. She has maybe decided on turning a new leaf. I suspect, however, she's simply playing a 'long con' as they say. She will betray you, if she has not already."

Ranma sipped some coffee in the silence that followed. She wasn't sure who betrayed whom at the hospital, but Kuno's words seemed a little weightier than they would have if that scene hadn't occurred. "So…your sister, what's her scheme going to be?"

"A good question, bright one. I'll have to think on it. You can see why this will be tricky now, I suspect?"

Ranma nodded.

"It won't be by this weekend, as we might have hoped, but next weekend, perhaps…otherwise we may have to suffer public transport after all."

~~~~Nabiki, three days later~~~~~

Forsworn. The voices whispered as Nabiki stood on a rocky outcropping in the middle of a wide expanse of steppe-land. The wind blew through his hair. Brushing it away from his eyes he pulled out one of Ryoga's scarves and tied it onto his forehead. He looked all around him and saw nothing but the tent where he and Ryoga slept the night previous.

Based on how far they had walked and the long boat ride they took, Nabiki was pretty sure they were in China. Based on the coolness of the wind and the clouds in the distance, it was going to rain later on today. No point in changing back. Forsworn, the voices whispered again.

Out of the tent, Ryoga emerged as a girl. Her female form was dark-skinned, and as tall as the male form with an athletic build. She could be an exotic sports model of Indian or African descent…although the green hair might be a bit too exotic for most modeling jobs. Nabiki's male form by contrast was almost completely normal. Aside from being way more handsome than any other male form Nabiki knew. Muscular without being hulkish, strong solid features with just a hint of softness. Nabiki had turned into what his girl self would have considered her ideal man. And since there was no way Nabiki would ever be able to find someone nearly as hot who would look past all the problems he'd recently acquired…Well, it was better to be a hot guy, than be without one. Ryoga would just have to get used to being a woman. She was his familiar after all. Forsworn.

Ryoga walked toward Nabiki. She was the same height, yes, but her pants were a little too short now, showing her ankles, and her collar was a little too wide, showing the top of one of her shoulders. She was plenty sexy. She had no reason to be upset. "Why are your stupid spirits saying you're forsworn, Nabiki?" Ryoga asked in a brassy voice.

Forsworn! The spirits perked up a bit on being mentioned.

"They aren't my spirits Ryoga-baby," Nabiki said, "We're in this together now. Whether we like it or not."

Ryoga crossed her arms under her breasts. "What happens if you're forsworn, Nabiki? What exactly are they threatening?"

Nabiki shrugged. "I won't be able to do magic anymore, I suppose."

Ryoga nodded. "And the voices? When do they stop? Because I'd like to have a night of sleep at some point."

"They'll stop when there is no longer any chance of me fulfilling my obligation."

"Which is what, exactly?"

Nabiki paused. He looked at the emptiness around him. Jusenkyo could be a week away or a day. If he could find Akane's spring maybe he could bring the water back and use it to help his sister. He could block Ryoga from his mind now. He had told his familiar that he wanted to cure their curse. He told him that, even though he was pretty sure the curses didn't work like that. Pretty sure. It wasn't a lie. Not really. "I don't want to get into it. We need to move faster. That's all."

Forsworn! The spirits warned.

"Nabiki, whatever it is, we can get it done and come back here afterwards. Jusenkyo can wait. You don't even mind that form anyway."

"Neither of us like the pig form, Ryoga. And we can't always decide what we end up with. You haven't been able to turn male since that rainstorm after we first left." None of this was a lie either. Nabiki never lied. Not really…

"You haven't let me!" Ryoga protested.

"Come now,Ryoga baby," Nabiki said, "It's a two-way street. If you would stay a pig long enough for me to douse myself, I could be a girl again and then we could be back to normal." Again. Not a lie. But it was almost worse. Maybe it was worse.

"And if you turned yourself into a pig, I could turn back into a man. I know we've got this musical chairs version of a curse, Nabiki. But we could deal with that. It's better than what I had before. If you would just stop running away…"

"I'm not running away!" Nabiki snapped.

Ryoga gave Nabiki a dubious look, something she had gotten better at since turning female.

"I'm not!" Nabiki repeated. It wasn't a lie. She was running toward something. She was trying to accomplish something. It felt like a lie though.

Ryoga looked away. "It's okay that you aren't perfect, you know. The gods know I'm not perfect, but you can't just hide what's wrong with you from people."

"Is that so? Well, what do think I should do?"

Ryoga looked back frowning. "Plot your revenge!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Because of Akane and Ranma, we've seen Hell. We need to destroy their happiness."

Nabiki nodded slowly. He took a shuddering breath and let it out "And we can't do that in China."

Ryoga nodded. "And if you're forsworn it'll be harder to work out."

It was crazy. Stupid even. But it seemed more honest somehow. He had always wanted to be honest. Someone people could trust. Where had it gone wrong? An image of Grandmother Shiratori's smiling face came to his mind. It was because of the promise he had made to her, he decided. The one the spirits were annoying them about. Nabiki looked out at the land around him one last time. He sighed. "Fine. I'll go back to Nerima and babysit Asuza."

There was a gust of wind that blew between them.

Ryoga frowned, staggering a little at the undue drama. "That's it? You just have to babysit someone?"

"You haven't met Asuza," Nabiki said sourly.

"Asuza…yeah, I remember you talking to the old lady about that the other day. So that's what the whispering is all about?"

"Yes, I made a promise and as a witch, I must fulfill it."

Ryoga crossed her arms. "You know if you have to fulfill it as a witch, we could stop by a town and make some adjustments."

"We can get ourselves situated as soon as we get into Tokyo," Nabiki said, careful not to make any new promises.

"Good. Tokyo should be close by, we just need to go through the forest beyond this field, and take the ferry" Ryoga said.

"I thought we were in China?"

Ryoga nodded. "That's right. China's right next to Tokyo."

"That can't be right! Tokyo's just above Mexico!" Nabiki stopped himself. He could almost recognize when Ryoga's family curse messed with his sense of geography, but he didn't know how to stop it.

Ryoga started retrieving their things out of the tent. "You're thinking of The United Arab Emirates," she corrected, "Trust me, Tokyo is just North of China and west of Elvis's bathroom."

"Wow. Elvis's bathroom must be huge."

"You have no idea," Ryoga assured Nabiki.

~~~~~Ranma~~~~~

Ranma prepared herself. Three days away from school, from work. Three days of nothing but training. She had managed a weeklong vacation from Yui's Yakitori by threatening to quit again. As for school, well, Hoko said she could hold the fort for a few days, and it wasn't like classes really mattered.

Ranma filled her lungs with air as she regarded the practice dummy. She concentrated her ki in the area of her throat, feeling it burn a little like strong sake. Finally she let it all out. "JACKASS!" Ranma yelled.

Nothing happened.

"That sounded weak, Ranma," Akane informed her. She casually broke a stack of concrete blocks after saying this and wiped the sweat off her forehead with a small, satisfied grin.

"Weak? What do you know about it?" Ranma snapped.

Akane held her hands up. "I don't know anything. I just…well when you yell like that, it sounds more…cute than scary."

"Maybe I should change forms," Ranma grumbled.

Akane shook her head. "I don't think that's it. I think part of it might be that you're not used to yelling or screaming in a higher register, but you aren't getting angry either. I'm not sure if you can get angry. I've seen you annoyed. Frustrated. I've even seen you snap. But the kind of fury that you need for this kind of thing? You like people too much."

"I don't like Kumon!"

"Do you want to kill him?"

"Well, no…but I want to teach him a lesson. Put him in his place!" Ranma clenched a fist.

"Ranma, you're adorable!" Akane laughed.

Ranma blushed. Half because she was angry, half because she kind of liked being called adorable. "You don't have to laugh about it."

Akane's walked away from Ranma and turned to face her, her expression now serious. "I found something out. It's going to upset you, but it would be worse for me to hide it, I think. Just…I'm sorry in advance, okay?"

"Umm…okay?"

Akane adopted a basic ready stance. She had bought herself a new gi. It was all black and a longer cut than her old yellow one. The dark colors hid some of her curves, and while she still looked like a cute girl with a short hairstyle most of the time, every now and then…you could almost believe she was a man. This was one of those times. She took a deep breath and let it out. Then she relaxed. She actually seemed to slouch a little. Her expression grew darker, more bitter. Ranma started to wonder if she had done something to upset her. And then there was a sharp intake of air…

"BITCH!" Akane roared.

Ranma felt her body stiffen. She couldn't move for a full second, not even to swallow. Finally the effect dissipated and she took a breath. "My gods, Akane, I…"

Akane had turned around, she held a finger up. "I need a second," she said in a hoarse voice.

"But that's amazing! How did you figure that out? The student has become the master I guess."

Akane shook her head, she turned around, smiling slightly. "I still can't make the vacuum blades like you can. Not even close on that. I just… The anger didn't go away when Jusenkyo took my social hangups. It's still there, like a bomb in my stomach; there just aren't as many triggers. I can just control it now, sort of."

"Sort of?" Ranma asked.

Akane looked away. "I miss my sisters," she said, "Sometimes I hate you for making them leave. I know it wasn't really your fault, but… "

"They'll be back. Ryoga will keep Nabiki safe, and Kasumi can take care of herself."

Akane nodded. "I know. But they've been gone a week now. I just wish I could tell them I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Because I shouldn't have judged them so harshly! Honestly, I know more than anyone what it's like to hate someone and love them at the same time."

Ranma smirked "Aw," she said, "I hate and love you too, Akane. Especially now that you've mastered the technique I've been trying to figure out for most of a week."

Akane's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then she smiled. "Well, I'll help you figure out the shouting part if you can teach me the vacuum blades."

"You know I can't figure out how to throw them yet. They just come out of my hands like…claws." Ranma extended them out and waved them through the air a bit. They were mostly invisible unless you paid attention to the slight refraction of light. It was a little too much like the nekoken for Ranma to be completely comfortable with it. It felt right to have claws, though. Just like it felt right to walk on roofs and fences.

"You don't seem to understand how awesome that is," Akane said with wonderment. "Here," she picked up an unbroken cinder block with one hand and held in front of her so the long side was vertical, "cut through this."

Smiling, Ranma did as Akane asked, separating the brick into three sections, two of which landed on the tatami of the dojo with heavy thuds.

"That never gets old," Akane said as she crushed the remaining section in her hand.

~~~~~Nabiki~~~~~

These curses were really starting to get old. Nabiki was a pig now. Ryoga, still a girl, was carrying her in her backpack.

Nabiki was hungry. She was tired. Peering out from the back pack, the world was a muddy gray mess because, news flash, pigs don't see color. People were huge intimidating blobs. She just wanted to bury herself into the pack.

As a man she was physically strong. She had authority without having to prove herself. She could pretend she was okay. But as a pig, she was helpless. She was not nearly as fast as Ryoga could be. She was barely quicker than a normal pig. She couldn't talk; so there was no manipulating people into helping her. All she had was Ryoga, her familiar. Only now Ryoga was the girl and she the pig. If she died, would Ryoga die? If it weren't for Ryoga, would anyone even know? And why was she thinking of death so much? Why was she feeling this constant weight on her back? Why was it so hard to find reasons to keep watching the world outside? If she worked at it, she could probably wedge herself between the dented pan and kettle and the book on calligraphy. If she relaxed the pressure might squeeze the air out of her small lungs. Or she could just drift off to sleep and allow the same thing to happen accidentally.

No. Nabiki shook her head. No. She had to stay awake. She had to keep going. But she was having a hard time remembering why.

Ryoga was trudging through a forest. The spirits called out FORSWORN! At them whenever they got farther away from Tokyo, so they were making good progress, but there were snags. For one thing, the spirits weren't aware of topology or roads, either that or they didn't care, so they prodded them toward Tokyo as the crow flies instead of as the pig waddles. For another, Ryoga was fond of sticking to a direction until she absolutely could go no farther, which made for some sticky predicaments. Usually Ryoga barreled forward at an alarming pace, tearing through trees and other obstructions with abandon, but she was tiring now. They would have to make camp soon.

A snake dropped down from a tree into Ryoga's pack. It was a black snake. It didn't look poisonous. Too small to be a problem except for small creatures like rabbits and squirrels and…

Nabiki closed her eyes. She had to fight to make a sound because something black was coiled around her.

It wasn't entirely the snake.

Ryoga heard her. She took off her pack and asked her what was wrong. The snake made a hissing noise and launched itself at Ryoga. Ryoga stepped to the side, snatched the thing out of the air. She bit its neck and yanked the head off, spitting it on the ground. The headless tail wrapped reflexively around her arm, bleeding all over her sleeve.

"Are you okay, Nabiki?" She asked.

Nabiki just stared at Ryoga. Part of her was grateful.

Ryoga waited for a response for a moment. Then she looked away, pulled the snake carcass off her arm and pulled Nabiki out of the pack. "I think we'll camp here."

Nabiki watched as he set up the tent, made a fire filled the kettle with water from a nearby stream. "Nabiki," she said, as the kettle was warming on the fire, "You need to stop blocking me."

For a moment Nabiki didn't know what Ryoga was talking about. She had almost forgotten that she had a bond with the snake killer. She was her familiar. Her spiritual property. There was no way she was going to stop blocking her. Ryoga would realize how terrible she was and leave. No, Ryoga would make her leave. And while she was gone someone would kill Ryoga. And Nabiki would only see the blood. The body. But she wouldn't be able to break down and cry. She would have to console her sister. She would have to make sure the family stayed together. If they knew how much it was hurting her…if they knew how difficult it was to do what she needed to do for the family…they'd realize she was powerless. Nabiki closed her eyes again. Her heart was starting to beat rapidly now. The snake had barely phased her by comparison.

"Nabiki, you're…" Ryoga sighed and sat next to Nabiki. "Look, my whole family has this curse. My dad had a hard time with it. I barely got to see him as a result. But my mom raised me without any problem. Not from the curse anyway. She had friends, you see, lots of them. They would all help her whenever she had to go somewhere." Ryoga poked at some of the embers of the fire with a stick. "You don't know how bad it was for me for a while. You don't know how much I had to rely on getting my vengeance to get me through it, to even move. It's so much nicer having you with me. I don't even care about being a girl really. I'm human. I have someone to talk to…"Ryoga put her hand on Nabiki's head. The action turned into a petting. Ryoga's warm hand flowing over the fur on her body. It felt nice. "You helped me. When we thought Akane had hurt herself, you heard my thoughts, you felt what I felt. You told me you'd be there for me. It was exactly what I needed to hear." Ryoga stopped petting her. "If you turn that into a lie, I'll kill you."

Nabiki looked up at Ryoga's expression. The dark-skinned woman with green hair and yellow bandana looked off into the distance, a canine protruding over her lower lip. She had said the words matter-of-factly. For Ryoga, though, they carried a peculiar weight. Was Nabiki like Ranma? Was she going to run off? Or would she honor her agreement. Would she do what she said she was going to do?

"There's something my mother told me that I never really listened to." Ryoga removed a bandanna to grip the kettle with,"'If you can't trust,' she said, 'you can't be trusted.'". Ryoga was about to use the water on Nabiki, but Nabiki shook her head and pointed a hoof at Ryoga. Ryoga doused herself with water becoming male, Then he tried Nabiki again. This time, Nabiki relented.

She felt herself in her old body again. Immediately she felt tears build up in her eyes and she cursed at herself to get them to stop.

"Nabiki," Ryoga said, holding out his hand. He had held out his hand before. He had trusted her before. She had turned him into her familiar. A spiritual kawarimi, a dummy soul to get burned from karmic discharges. "Nabiki, trust me." He meant stop blocking him. He meant stop keeping secrets. Nabiki wasn't sure if she could do that.

She wasn't paying enough attention to her tear ducts. A drop of hot moisture fell down her cheek. Cursing at her body's betrayal, she fastidiously wiped the wetness from her face. Ryoga's hand was still there. She took a deep breath. Her hand gripped Ryoga's.

At first nothing dramatic happened. She still felt an aching weight in her lungs, but it was maybe a little less heavy. She started to feel something else too. She knew it was something Ryoga felt. It was something she felt too. It was a peculiar feeling of desperate greed. It was a need they could both see fulfilled in each other. It was gravity pulling them together.

The kiss was long and electric. They each were drinking gasoline to put out their flaming hearts. It was unbearable, but it was wonderful. They could not stop. Soon, Nabiki found she could not get Ryoga's clothes off him fast enough.

~~~~~Ranma~~~~~

It was past two in the morning, but Ranma had to tell somebody. Her dad would just grunt at her and say something like "It's about time." Her mother would just give her a "way to go!" Besides both of them were in enemy territory, under the influence of the usurper, Kumon. She needed to let the one person who would understand know what she had figured out.

"Akane!" Ranma said, shaking her friend. "Akane, wake up!"

Akane rolled over and scratched her bare breast. It was a bit distracting, but mostly in a "Did I just see that?" kind of way."Ranma? Is that you?" she asked. "Your voice sounds strange."

"I've been training. Let me show you."

"Okay," Akane agreed and climbed out of bed. She was in great shape. Her soft skin and curves were like a calm pool of water, and her muscles like mysterious serpents writhing underneath. She was also naked.

"Um, Akane? You may not have sexual hangups anymore, but I still do." Ranma pointed out.

"It's not anything you haven't seen, Ranma," Akane said.

Ranma felt a wave of heat on her cheeks. Yep, she thought, still like girls.

"Okay, fine," Akane said, grabbing a nightgown and pulling it over her head. "But it's only because you can't stop oogling me. You're the prettiest girl I know, but you don't see me telling you what to wear, do you?"

Ranma felt the heat in her cheeks intensify.

"Honestly, you're really a sucker for compliments, aren't you?"

"Yeah, well you do tell me what to wear, or did you forget about how we met?" Ranma said remembering Akane's insistence on female undergarments.

"I had such a crush on you!" Akane exclaimed.

Ranma held the bridge of her nose. "I had a crush on you too. I think you're a pretty girl and you'd make a pretty awesome dude. Now can I show what I learned or are we going to talk about sex all night?"

"Thanks," Akane said smiling. "Did you figure out the Yamasenken?"

"Yes and no," Ranma said "Come at me, I'll show you."

Akane nodded and started to run toward Ranma fist reared back for one of her powerful punches.

"Please stop…" Ranma said softly. She filled the words with her feelings of friendship toward Akane, with her growing faith in the goodness of people, with goodwill.

Akane stopped dead in her tracks. "H-holy shit," she said when she could talk. "I barely heard you say anything but…"

Ranma smiled. It worked. "I call it the Kazesenken. The Yamasenken is supposed to be a noisy thief, breaking in the front door. I thought, what if someone just asked politely? I tried putting the opposite emotion into the sound and it seemed to work."

"Wow," Akane said. "I had no idea you could be polite."

Ranma punched her in the shoulder, laughing.

"Does it work in your male form too?" Akane asked.

Ranma paused, mouth open. "I, uh…don't know."

"Well, we should try it out!" Akane rushed out of her room.

Ranma followed her downstairs with some trepidation. Why hadn't she tried before now? The whole point of winning against Kumon was to prove she was manlier.

No. It was to prove she was better. And maybe, also, to prove to herself that she didn't need to be a man. Somewhere in her mind, she was always going to fight him as a woman.

In the kitchen, Akane was ready with a glass of water, which she quickly splashed in Ranma's face. "Ready?" she asked once he was male.

"Whenever you're ready,"Ranma said.

Akane frowned.

"What is it?"

"Ranma, your voice…"

"What about it? I'm a little hoarse from the training but…" Ranma realized he still sounded like a girl. He tried coughing and speaking again. "Hello?" It was like a girl trying to sound like man. Ranma tried again with the same result. "Maybe it's just temporary? A side effect of the training?"

Akane shook her head. "Sorry, Ranma. You don't have an Adam's apple. I don't think this is going away."

Ranma felt his neck. Akane was right. A quick perusal revealed that everything else was more or less intact, but the bump that usually protruded from his throat as a guy wasn't there.

"Your face changed too. You're kind of bishonen now. Even without breasts and with the wider shoulders, I think you could wear a dress in public now and no one would look twice."

"It's Tokyo. No one would look twice anyway," Ranma grumbled.

"You know what I mean." Akane looked down for a moment. When she looked up again her eyes had curious glint to them. Her lips were thinned as if she were holding something back.

"What is it, Akane?"

"I have an idea. More of a proposition really. But I don't think you're going to like it."

~~~~~Nabiki~~~~~

It was a gray, overcast day. Everything looked weary and slightly irritated, but that might have just been Nabiki projecting. The door to Grandmother Shiratori's house was wide open, and a trail of sakura petals led inside. The pieces of trash, and what looked like raccoon droppings ruined the otherwise inviting image.

"Looks like nobody's home," observed Ryoga intelligently.

Nabiki might have made a smart comment to that, but she was too busy experiencing Ryoga's memory of finally returning home to find his mother gone. It filled her with a feeling of melancholy that matched their current surroundings beautifully. "You think any of the animals are still in there?"

Ryoga remembered a squirrel jumping out of a kitchen counter at him once.

"Uh," Nabiki smiled, "How about you go in first then." She didn't like being such a girl about it, but she was in her girl body, and, more importantly, she didn't like the idea of anything clawing at her face.

"My pleasure," Ryoga said with slight smirk as he moved in front of her. "I love getting my face clawed at." He entered the house, paused briefly at the genkan, but decided against taking off his shoes. A wise decision, given the excrement. After he set his backpack down on a relatively clean section of floor he paused and raised a finger.

There was a scratching sound

He picked up an iron skillet from the stove. "You want me to try and save it or anything?" he asked.

Nabiki shook her head. "I hate animals. Beat the crap out of it." Actually Nabiki was partial to puppies. There'd been one or two she was almost tempted to buy from her search for a familiar earlier. Nabiki winced.

"It wasn't a lie, Nab-chan," Ryoga told her. "This is different."

Nabiki nodded. A puppy might lick your face, but it wouldn't try to eat it normally.

Ryoga quickly opened a lower counter, skillet in whacking position. The raccoon was barely visible in the gloom, but from behind Ryoga Nabiki could see the gleam of its eye and the white of its teeth. "Nab-chan, could you?…"

Nabiki quickly fetched the heavy police flashlight from Ryoga's pack and handed it to him.

When Ryoga shined the beam into the cabinet, the raccoon reared up and bore its teeth again. There was something on its foot. Paw. Whatever. It was pale and rectangular. Ryoga sighed, and put down the skillet. He handed Nabiki the light and she held it as he gathered up the small mat in front of the sink. In rush of movement, Ryoga threw the mat onto the creature and curled it around. Holding the curled mat firmly he pulled out the wriggling, angry raccoon and held it up in the air.

Nabiki could see now the mouse trap snapped onto the back paw. She wasn't sure what most people would feel under such a situation. She felt angry. "You little bastard," she seethed as she quickly, before she thought better of it, wedged the light in her armpit, grabbed the back paw with her right hand, and pulled at the spring loaded metal arm of the trap with her left. She managed to get the trap off and threw it to the ground. "Damn you. Damn you to seven hells, you little piece of shit!"

Ryoga carried the writhing animal outside.

Nabiki struggled to get her breathing back to normal before Ryoga came back. She couldn't start relying on him too much. She was the Ice Queen. She didn't lose her cool. Especially not over a stupid raccoon.

Ryoga came back in with a worried expression on his face. "Nabiki?"

"What?" She snapped.

"It's okay that you're a good person. You don't need to hide that."

"Fuck you," Nabiki told him. "It ruins my mystique." She took a breath as she assessed the situation. "It looks like she hasn't been here for a while. I'd say almost a week."

"Kinda curious timing isn't it?" Ryoga noted. "I mean that's when we left right? Maybe we should call your family, see if they know anything?"

Nabiki looked at the phone. It probably still worked. She could probably call and hear Akane's voice. Maybe even Kasumi's. Or her father's, or Ranma's. Scowling, she turned away. "No. No, it's just grandmother Shiratori. She does this every now and then. I just have to clean up and wait for her to come back usually. Azusa might even be able to help if we can make it fun for her somehow."

Ryoga nodded slowly. They both knew that they would have to talk to Nabiki's family eventually. It didn't have to be now though. "So what should I know about Asuza?"

Nabiki pulled a sponge mop and a bucket out of the pantry and started filling the bucket with water from the sink. "Imagine a pink tornado with a particular affinity for cute things. Cute things and ice skating."

"Okay…"

Nabiki jerked upward. She turned off the water and turned around grabbing Ryoga's tunic. "Whatever happens, neither of us can turn into a pig while she's here."

"Does she hate pigs or something?" Ryoga asked.

"Worse," Nabiki replied. "She would find us adorable."

The walls inside Grandmother Shiratori's house seemed to loom over them now with increased foreboding.

Nabiki looked at her hand on Ryoga's chest. She breathed in his pinewood scent. "Thank you for being here," she said.

"Where else would I be?" Ryoga quipped, but quickly grew serious when he caught Nabiki's mood.

"I'm not exactly inexperienced? I know a thing or two about men," Nabiki said. "But sex has always been my kryptonite."

"Well you know I was a virgin before so…"

"Shush. The other two guys were virgins too. They all left me right afterward though. I couldn't control them anymore. I mean, I suppose they might have left because they realized I'm just a manipulative bitch, but still it's not like they didn't get something out of it."

"You're not just a manipulative bitch."

Nabiki smiled, "Not 'just,' huh?"

Ryoga smiled back.

"If I could block our link, you could too. You could leave if you want. I don't really have any power over you — at least as long as I don't try to use magic again, and even then I'm not sure what the rules are exactly. You're still here though even after we've had sex. This is uncharted territory for me."

"Here there be dragons," Ryoga said.

"That would be written everywhere on the map for us, though, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Ryoga agreed.

"So there you go," Nabiki said, taking a breath and separating herself from Ryoga's warm, strong body. "Business as usual."

~~~~Ranma~~~~~

Ranma hugs her knees to her breasts, rocking back and forth in the water. It was too much. The destruction. The pain. The blood. In the water she can see her claws protruding from her knuckles. She can't make them go away. If anything they seem to get more and more solid. She can hear Akane in her bedroom upstairs trying to clean everything up. She can hear her sigh and drop a pile of sheets on the floor. She can still smell the metallic tang of blood in the air.

Akane is walking down the stairs now. She's sliding open the door to the antechamber. She's sliding something soft against her skin. She opening the door to the bathroom. She turns on the light.

Ranma shields her eyes against the light.

"You had the right idea, Ranma," She says, "I should have just followed you in to begin with." She fills a bucket with water and pours it over herself. "Phew! I feel better already! Hmm… you may want to look away while I take care of some stuff."

Ranma hasn't been looking at anything much at all for the last fifteen minutes. She knows what Akane is doing, though. She knows where most of the blood came from.

After a few minutes the level of the water rises as Akane lowers herself in. "Ah that's better," she says. "Are you okay?"

Ranma looks up at Akane's concerned face. She tries to respond but it only comes out as a strange mewling sound.

"It looked a lot worse that it was, Ranma. I'm okay, really. I'm not going to lie. It was painful. But we had to know right? And now we do."

Ranma closes her eyes. The tension inside her eases a little. She's okay, she tells herself. She isn't hurt that badly. Ranma opens and closes her hands but claws are still there. She knows it's from the nekoken. She knows it's from being afraid. All she has to do is stop being afraid. But what if she can't stop this time? What if stays like this? The claws turn opaque.

"Ranma, snap out of it. Everyone goes through this right? It's not a big deal."

Ranma takes a few deep breaths. The claws fade away. The world stops spinning. "You're really okay?" she manages in a hoarse whisper.

"Yes. I knew it was going to be bad for me. I didn't think you'd have such a hard time with it, but you're so damn empathetic, and I've never been good at hiding my emotions." Akane scoots closer and grabs Ranma's hand. "We're still friends, okay? Nothing's changed. And we don't ever have to do that again."

"Never again," Ranma agrees.

Akane gives her an odd look. "Yeah." She looks away, eyes distant. "It was pretty bad, wasn't it?"

"You were screaming," Ranma says. "You wouldn't let me stop. My claws came out. I could have killed you."

"But you didn't. We got through it okay. The bleeding's even stopped or I wouldn't be sitting here with you. I'm not a china doll, Ranma you don't have to worry so much. Sorry for clobbering you by the way. It was just a reflex."

Ranma touches the tender area around her eye. "I couldn't dodge. I was…"

"Yeah. I know."

A few moments pass in silence.

"So that's it," Akane says finally. "We've done it. We've had sex."

"I never want to be a man again," Ranma says.

"Honestly, Ranma, you had the better deal here, I don't know why you're so upset."

You have to seize this opportunity. This is your chance.

Akane continues. You can see the side of her young face as she speaks. Her piercing blue eyes, her impertinent jaw. "I'm kind of glad we did it, though. Like I said, now we know. For sure."

There will be more of a struggle later, but for now Ranma is all too happy to be absent from this conversation. You smile "You think you'll still be a guy when you get that part of your soul back?" Is Akane off limits, or can you kill her with abandon?

Akane shrugs, leaning back. "I don't think I'm going to get that part of my soul back. I don't think I want it. I guess we have to go to China and make sure that there isn't anything else to this thing, but I don't want to go back to who I was."

You will have to wait a bit, then, it seems.

"What about you?" Akane asks, "Should I start calling you Megumi, like the others?"

"Yes," you say. "Call me Megumi from now on."

…

…

…

…

…

~~~~~End Chapter 18~~~~~

~~~~~Author's Note~~~~~

Been a while. I have a new job, which takes up a lot of my time. Who knows when the next update will be? I've never exactly been speedy with them though, so it does kind of irritate me when I see people lamenting about this being a dead fic. When it's been ten years since the last update MAYBE then you can call it dead. I'm glad that people are still enjoying it though, and when I get a review in my email it gives me the kick in the pants I need to finish.

This chapter spent a long time almost done. I wasn't sure how to end it. I love it when characters pass points of no return, but they have to have somewhere to go afterward. This twist gives me a path forward and lets me make good on the whole point of view experiment I started.

The next chapter is going to be extremely difficult to write. Difficult but fun. I hope you're still with me for the ride.

As a bonus, here's a little passage of exposition that didn't quite fit with the rest of the chapter for POV reasons. It was originally intended to appear after the first Nabiki section:

In the interest of clarity it should be now revealed that the spa in Hokkaido that Ryoga was once stuck in for three days was not, in fact Elvis's bathroom. It was, however, very luxurious and had a lot of American tourists at the time. As for China, Ryoga had only managed to get there by getting lost on a cargo ship, and he'd only managed to get back by hiding in some luggage with Japanese writing at an airport in his piglet form. Incidentally, because of this, he had actually spent a week in Memphis, not too far away from Graceland, but at the time he thought he was in the Middle East because of a misleading taxi ride. Although the story of how Ryoga got back to Japan proper is long and involves many adventures and tribulations, it is perhaps best to simply say that Ryoga thinks that "Fedex" is a city in Egypt, and let the reader's imagination sort out the details.

Nabiki and Ryoga were, in fact, in Hokkaido, the Northern-most island of Japan, not too far from the spa where Ryoga got lost for three days. For Ryoga, who has had his curse for his entire life, "North" isn't so much a direction as a state of mind.

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