The Pestering Portal
Part Three
by Shastao and Sotek
Note: Rich, fortunate (and hopefully kind) people probably own all
the characters we didn't make up for this fanfic.
-
Chapter 8
-
The middle of the night, at a camp with a single tent pitched. A
campfire glows faintly. Kaion sits upright, in male form, about a
dozen yards from the campfire, half on watch and half pondering.
`It's amazing what we've been through this past fortnight and the five
days before then,' he thought to himself. `Little did we know at the
time that Ryouga, whom we thought would be our guide to his
destination, can't navigate at all.' Leaning back some, Kaion
recalled when they first landed on Japan...
* * * * *
The dragon was aiming for a beach, when suddenly the spell wore off.
Sotek coasted the last few dozen yards and made a lovely face-first
landing in a fair-sized pile of sand. "...Wonderful." The words came
from Kaion, but in a female voice. Kaion waded up to the beach,
carrying Ryouga's gear as well as his own, with a black piglet
clinging to dear life to Kaion's head.
`A pig. He turns into a pig. I guess that's something to be angry
about,' thought Sotek, as he saw a dripping Kaion slowly walk up the
beach towards Sotek.
* * * * *
`So we set up camp and made some hot water. Then Ryouga had to be
so persistant as to offering to take us to Tokyo with him. Having not
much else to do, we foolishly accepted,' Kaion reflected.
* * * * *
"So Tokyo is this way?" Ryouga asked, pointing to the left branch in
a road fork.
"No, it's this way," a traveler stated, pointing to the right.
"Err... sorry to bother you," Ryouga said to the traveler. "Let's
go," he said to Sotek and Kaion, not before heading off down the left
fork. Shrugging, Sotek and Kaion followed.
* * * * *
Kaion, in the camp, looked over to Sotek, who was sleeping soundly
in his sleeping bag out under the stars. `I wouldn't be surprised if
Sotek is familiar with half of Japan by now, thanks to our travels.'
Kaion stood up, stretched, took a few steps, then rested against a
treetrunk and promptly fell asleep.
-
Chapter 9
-
The fact that a white glow inexplicably appeared along one
particular street wasn't quite as surprising as the fact that a panda
had been in close persuit of a red-haired girl in Chinese clothing
ran out of an alley onto the same street, just a few blocks away,
moments before the white glow appeared. After the glow faded, three
boys appeared where the glow was. One turned into a pig, another into
a girl, and the other one just got plain wet in the rainfall over the
Nerima district that afternoon.
However, fewer people noticed this than the number that should have,
but it's not everyday you get to see a fight between a red-haired girl
and a panda in Nerima.
Kaion sighed. "...Y'know, i'm beginning to think this curse isn't a
one-time thing," trying to fix the sudden curls in her hair, to no
advantage.
"Wouldn't be much of a curse if it was," Sotek replied.
"Bwee!" said Ryouga, whom, at the moment, wasn't able to say
anything understandable.
"What in-?" Kaion blinked, seeing a panda rushing at a red-haired
girl in Chinese clothes.
"No idea," Sotek answered. Suddenly, Ryouga lept and charged at the
red-haired girl with a loud 'bwee' warcry.
The red-haired girl dodged the panda's strike, then she saw a black
piglet attacking her knee. "What the-? Get lost, stupid pig!" and
with that, Ryouga was punted onto the horizon. Dodging the panda's
strikes, the girl thought out loud, "Where'd that pig come from,
anyway?"
But she wasn't expecting an answer. "With us."
"What was with that pig, anyway?" asked the girl, nimbly dodging yet
another attack from the panda.
"Dunno," Kaion said.
"...Where did you two come from?"
"We just got here," Sotek answered. Getting fed up with the
constant attacks during the conversation, Sotek outstretched his arms,
muttered something incomprehensable, and the panda fell backwards and
hit the ground.
"...What the? What'd you just do?" asked the girl.
"Nothing much; I just weakened it for awhile," Sotek replied.
"...Why was that panda after you, anyway?" asked Kaion, flicking a
curly lock of bangs out of her eyes.
"...Who are you two?" the girl asked, in lieu of an answer.
"I'm Sotek Windrider, and he--er she's Kaion. And you are?"
"Ranma Saotome."
"...Why were you fighting, anyway?" inquired Kaion.
"Because /somebody/", Ranma kicked the panda, "had to go and pick a
fianceé for me without even asking!" A brief pause, as the rain
continued to fall, and people around were just staring, most under
umbrellas. "...I'll be going back to China now."
"Why?" asked Sotek.
"...I've got to find a cure now."
"For what?"
"...I doubt you'd understand."
Kaion mumbled to Sotek, "Where is that name familiar?" Sotek had
to think for a few moments, before finally remembering.
"Jusenkyo!"
"H-how'd you know?" a nervous Ranma inquired.
"...We've been places," Kaion said, hoping that would suffice for an
answer.
"I might be able to help you, but i'll need to rest for a while,
first..." Sotek told Ranma.
"...Rest? Well, if you can help with this curse..." Ranma trailed,
watching the panda get up off of the ground. It muttered at Ranma,
who responded with "Oh, fine," and then motioned for the duo to
follow.
"We going to follow that panda?" Kaion asked.
"Why not?"
-
Chapter 10
-
There was a knock on the door of the Tendo residence, which Soun
Tendo, expecting such, rushed to answer, shouting "Saotome, my friend!
We've been waiting!" towards the door. There he found a panda and a
red-haired girl. "Uhh..." he stated before rushing back on inside.
With a shrug, the panda and red-haired girl entered, with Sotek and a
blonde with a katana strapped to her back following them inside.
After a bit of staring from the Tendos at the four strangers who had
just entered their home, Soun pointed at Sotek, the only humanoid male
in the group and stated, "You... wouldn't be..."
"I'm not. Over there," Sotek said, pointing to the red-haired girl
who stood nearby.
"...Yes, i'm Ranma Saotome," she said, with a disdainful look on her
face. Soun's face lights up.
"At last! You're here!" he exclaims, then gives Ranma a rather
tight hug, then Soun zones out and faints as Nabiki points out that
Ranma isn't a boy.
Akane leads Ranma to the dojo for a spar after offering to be
friends. The panda slips off in the direction of the bathroom, thus
leaving Kasumi, Nabiki, Soun, Sotek, and Kaion in the living room.
"So, who are you two?" asks Soun, to Sotek and Kaion, in which Kaion
is still in girl form.
Kaion was the first to respond. "Kaion, guard and friend of..."
with a gesture towards Sotek.
"Sotek Windrider," Sotek finished. Brief conversation was made,
then Kasumi left to go cook, and Nabiki got bored and went off towards
her room for reasons unknown.
A few minutes pass, then a man enters the room. "Saotome!", Soun
greets him as he enters. Genma then explained to Soun, and as well
Sotek and Kaion, about his trip to China, especially Jusenkyo.
"And Tendo, these are some travelling companions...uhh...what're
your names again?" Genma asked.
"Sotek Windrider."
"Kaion." With that, a bit of small talk was made, and Genma and
Soun got some sake to drink, and a few minutes later, a very loud and
prolonged scream was heard.
Kaion jumped to her feet and attempted to draw her katana, but
stumbles, and falls, trapping one arm between her back and the still
sheathed katana. Akane runs in the room, hefts the table, and shouts
"I'll drown him in the bathtub!"
"Ow," mutters Kaion as Sotek merely blinks. Moments later a youth
of about 16 years of age walks into the room.
"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this." The three Tendo sisters
were surprised by this. Genma then explained to them, in detail,
about Jusenkyo.
"Oh! So *that's* why Ryouga attacked you!" exclaimed Sotek as a
soaking wet Ranma pulled herself out of the pond in the garden, but
nobody except Kaion heard this in all the befuddlement as the laws of
physics seemed to have taken a severe beating.
After pouring very hot water on Genma, and missing Ranma with the
same teakettle of water, Kaion grabs the quarter-full teakettle that
was set aside. She poured it on herself, revealing that he, too, has
the Jusenkyo Curse of Nyannichuan.
* TO BE CONTINUED *