yet another Bet storyline.
Ranma 1/2 characters/situations tm R.Takahashi
sincere thanks to my prereaders for helping to fine tune this
puppy...
--------
"Athena?" Toltiir was surprised. The goddess of wisdom
from two wards over, making a Bet entry?
She nodded and looked for a timeline that was in the process of
re-merging back into a major line, since that was one of the
rules of this game. Only pick a timeline to alter that was about
to "peter out" with a quantum variance (ie the thing
that made that timeline unique) in the degrading stages. There
were more of these surrounding an individual named Ranma Saotome
than, for example, a young goddess named Belldandy or the thief
named Arsene Lupin III.
Besides, Athena had another motive. "In one Mode, or set of
universes, I am also a patron of Amazons, it seems. Therefore,
let me adjust THIS event here and see what transpires."
--------
Shampoo was lost, and for a six year old girl who'd just lost her
mother, this was a bad thing. The trail ahead split into two
paths, and Shampoo didn't know which one to follow.
For a moment there seemed to be two Shampoos. One taking the left
fork that eventually would have lead to her being found by other
Amazons within a few miles of the Musk Citadel. She would end up
scolded, her training regimen increased mercilessly, and her few
friends drifting away as her available time for mischief
dwindled. That one faded as the timeline changed.
It wasn't too long before Shampoo was hungry, thirsty, and lost.
She counted herself lucky when she saw pools of water up ahead.
==================
a Ranma fanfic by Gregg S.
==================
"Shampoo, NO!"
Shampoo turned at the yell, her feet sliding on the soft mud
until, arms windmilling, she fell.
Shampoo felt a moment of panic, the pool's bottom had been
clearly visible, roughly three feet deep, but the water seemed to
force her down to the bottom.
Cologne grabbed a hooked pole from the Guide, dropping her staff
to use this other implement to pull Shampoo free.
"She's fallen in the 'Spring Of Drowned Big Bad Wolf.'
Supposedly there was a wolf that drowned there 14,500 years ago.
However, nobody has fallen into that particular spring in some
time."
"Yes, yes, I know! Now help me get Shampoo out before it
becomes Spring Of Drowned Six-year Old Girl!" Cologne had
ahold of Shampoo's clothing but lacked the leverage needed to
pull her clear of the spring's slope.
"Already have one of those," the Guide commented, as he
grabbed the pole and helped anchor Cologne as she moved Shampoo
over the lip of the spring. "Every so often an old cursed
spring seems to want make a new template. Also, no spring
duplicates another spring's effects exactly. There is a 'Spring
Of Drowned Girl' and there is a 'Spring Of Drowned Little Girl',
for example." The Guide shut his mouth, after all the Amazon
wasn't listening to him, nobody EVER listened to him.
"She's not breathing," Cologne pulled the girl away
from the spring and hit two pressure points. Shampoo spasmed,
flailed around, and spit up a really large amount of water.
"Okay. NOW she's breathing. She didn't change, either."
"Checking something." The Guide muttered, finding a
long grey hair and dipping it into the spring. The hair turned
purple. "Spring succeed in changing itself. Think maybe it
is now the Spring of Drowned Purple Haired Girl."
"I'm not sure why she did not get a curse," Cologne
noted. "You said this was a Spring Of Drowned Wolf? Why
didn't she turn into a puppy?"
"I don't know. Never seen anyone fall in that spring before.
Maybe spring was mislabeled on my map." The Guide moved back
to his hut. "Or maybe the spring lost the template, and that
was why it was so anxious to make her the new template."
Cologne looked at the cute little girl, and was grateful. At
least she didn't fall in the Spring of Drowned Man, which would
have been a horrible fate for an Amazon.
-----------
Shampoo looked out over the springs with her great grandmother.
"So now there's a Spring Of Drowned Shampoo? And whoever
falls in the spring will turn into my twin sister? NEAT!"
"No, child." Cologne sighed. "Shampoo, there are
times when we must be like an oak- strong and unbending, enduring
through whatever the world may throw at us. There are also times
we must be like a reed, and bend with whatever blow has been
struck so that we may spring back again afterwards. To be an
Amazon is to be like an oak, strong and proud, yet we came to
this area and became Amazons by being like the reed- being
flexible and adaptable."
"What do you mean, Great-Grandma?" Shampoo was curious,
it was obvious that her Great-grandmother was trying to say
something of great import to her.
"Quite simple, Great-grand-daughter. Many Amazons today are
like the oak, rigid and
unflexible, proud in their strength. What you went through today
may indicate that the path I chose for you is not necessarily the
one you are fated to have. 'Some people are born to Destiny, some
have it thrust upon them, others are merely screwed over by
it.'"
Shampoo considered this. Cologne was an Elder and known to be a
stickler for the customs,
rules, and Laws of the community. Somehow her falling in the
spring made things...different, even if it was just a possibility
that was being mentioned now.
"It MAY indicate that." Cologne sighed. Whatever was
going on, it bore further study. She wasn't willing to bet that
Shampoo had miraculously avoided a curse, so something else was
afoot. If it was what she thought it was...then she may have to
find another Heir.
-------
"You two, why you eat....my prize?!" Shampoo blinked.
The panda was acting in a definitely non-panda manner, but that
wasn't enough to capture her attention as much as the appearance
of the girl.
It was like looking in a mirror, except that the other girl's
purple hair was tied back in a pigtail and the clothes were some
foreign martial arts costume. A "gi" she thought it was
called.
Her own eyes blinked back at her as she heard the Guide
translating. "Guide! Did these two come from Jusenkyo?"
"This one say if she challenges you for prize, then this
isn't a problem. These two are from Japan, an island outside of
China."
"Okay, fine. It's expected of me to punish them. That's not
what I meant, though. Did these two visit Jusenkyo, that one
looks like she fell..."
The Guide nodded. "Yes. These two customers, they just
visited Jusenkyo. The boy fell into the spring you made. Now he
turns into your twin sister when splashed with cold water. His
father turns into a panda. Is this a problem?"
"Well then, I'll try to not to hurt HER too much,"
Shampoo said with a grin. "Have to get even with them a
little bit, I think, for making a mess of my prize."
Shampoo moved to one end of the log, knowing that if this was a
boy, he wouldn't be able to fight well in a girl form if he'd
just gotten cursed. She rushed in, fully intending to pound her
twin sister then forgive her.
Things did not turn out as she planned. The other girl kicked out
swiftly, and Shampoo felt herself slam into the ground.
Picking herself off, she smiled, knowing that it was really a boy
that had defeated her. If nothing else, maybe this would get
Mousse off her back.
She reached up, giving a gentle kiss to the strange twin. There
were startled outcries from around the ring, only some of whom
had heard the conversation between the Guide and Shampoo earlier.
The Guide, unfortunately, freaked. "OH NO! Sirs," he
grabbed the purple haired girl's arm and ran. "That one just
give you the Kiss Of Death!"
Shampoo blinked, watching the three running out of the village.
This was not how it had gone in her plans.
"Shampoo, that was NOT how you do the 'Kiss Of Death', and
you should know better."
"Great Grandma, I talked to the Guide before the fight. The
girl that looked like me was really a boy from someplace called
Japan who fell in that Spring I cursed."
"Oh, so you DID use the Kiss Of Marriage. How
interesting." Cologne chuckled. "Well, child, maybe
that 'Dirty Stormy Destiny' of yours is finally upon you, eh? Go
now, pursue. I must wrap up a few things here, but I'll catch up
with you soon."
"Okay, great grandmother!"
Cologne smiled. Shampoo had her hopes up, and there was a light
in her eyes that Cologne hadn't seen in entirely too long. She
hoped this would work out.
"Aloe! Tao Kun! Sugar! Spice! Come here, I have work for
you." Cologne watched as the four gathered. Aloe, a male but
a skilled healer, and one who spoke the Japanese language. Tao
Kun, big and strong, and not too bright, but he was a good
patient farmer who had helped to keep an eye on Shampoo while
Cologne was working on meeting potential new Heirs. Sugar, who
was good with a sword but she was also the second best tracker
they had. Spice, the exotic looking woman, who had taught Shampoo
how to deal with her new role.
Shampoo had not come back from Jusenkyo unchanged. She retained a
wracking cough that made her weak when the weather turned cold
and damp. While she was still good enough to be the Champion, she
was not good enough to be Cologne's Heir, and never would be. All
it would take is some wet, cold, weather and Shampoo would be
confined to a warm room and those smelly pastes that helped her
breathe.
Lorekeeper, though, that was a distinct possibility.
"You four, keep an eye on Shampoo. Stay far enough back that
you don't interfere, but close enough that you can reach her if
her health takes a turn for the worse. Aloe, she's likely going
as far as Japan. Stock up what medicines you think you'll need.
Let me know if she decides to accompany her husband-to-be to his
homeland."
"Many pardons, Elder," came Tao Kun's deep rumble.
"Why us? I mean, normally this is a solo operation, isn't
it?"
Cologne drew a deep breath. She wasn't used to males questioning
her decisions, but one had to make... allowances for Tao Kun. He
wasn't of more than average intelligence, and was slow. In more
than one way he resembled a mountain.
"Because, since Shampoo started training to be a Loremaster
instead of the Matriarch and my Heir, you four have been some of
her staunchest friends. Unlike Rei Ga, I can count on you four to
not do anything frivolous that will cause problems.(1) Now please
ready yourselves and go."
--------
"Hey, pop, maybe there's a place we can get a meal up
ahead!" Ranma was so hungry that the chickens in the yard
might not make it to the frypan first.
"Yeah, we might be able to do chores or something for a
meal," Genma shrugged, they'd done it before.
"Is good idea. Shampoo have better one!"
Ranma and Genma stopped in mid-step. They turned to look at each
other, a large sweatdrop appearing on each head.
Ranma, still in girl form, turned around to see an almost mirror
image of her cursed form flipping wildly through a
Mandarin-Japanese phrasebook.
Shampoo finally found the page she wanted. "Ah. Town up
ahead have all you can eat..." Shampoo looked at the old man
and his daughter running down the road as if a demon were after
them. Shampoo blinked. "RUNNING AGAIN?! Shampoo get really
sick of this."(2)
"-Uhm, Shampoo.-"
"-Tao Kun, you told me you're supposed to watch from a
distance. I appreciate you wanting to help, but this is something
I'm supposed to do on my own.-"
"-I'm sorry, Shampoo. I just worry about you. You're
like a little sister to me.-"
"-I know. I like you too, Tao Kun. Say, if you could get
me ahead of them, that wouldn't be too much help, would
it?-"
Spice leaned against a tree and grinned. It felt SO good to get a
break from village life. Now if she could just get her brother
fixed up with some foreign woman that didn't look like Dowel or
had some talents that the village could use...
-------
Ranma was trapped, there was no way out. Her father had quite
abruptly vanished, in panda form no less. Now the door she had
ducked in had turned out to be a meat locker.
"Now you trapped," Shampoo said, closing the door
behind her. "You sit down and listen to Shampoo now, not go
running away again."
"Uh, look, I'm really sorry we ate your prize, and I didn't
mean to..."
"You be quiet and listen to Shampoo! I no give you Kiss Of
Death, you understand?"
Ranma blinked, looking into that face that looked so close to her
own. "No? But the Guide said..."
"Guide not understand. Shampoo not here to kill boy with
curse who look like Shampoo's twin sister. You understand?
Shampoo not speak Japanese goodly, just learn some this
week."
"Really?" Ranma relaxed a little at the woman's nod.
She wasn't carrying any weapons, after all. "So why are you
chasing me?"
"You promise you no run away? Give Shampoo chance?"
"Well, yeah, I guess."
"Your word?" Shampoo thought about Aloe's coaching on
this, he had speculated that these were travelling martial
artists so there was a chance that they had a code similar to the
ancient chinese shih.
Ranma was relieved that he wouldn't have to fight this girl after
all. "Well, yeah, as long as you're not trying to kill me or
nothing. Sure."
Aloe and Tao Kun brought the father out from concealment and
removed the gag. They'd transformed him to human form first as
the panda had just proven too unmanageable.
"What? Pop!"
"Not hurt your father," Shampoo noted with a raised
eyebrow to the young man. "Airen tell me what name is?"
"She means you," Aloe prompted Ranma.
"Ranma, Ranma Saotome."
Shampoo nodded. "Aloe, you please explain Ranma, Amazon
Law?"
Aloe spent some time going over the basic details, what the law
said, the penalties for noncompliance, etcetera. During that
time, some hot water was brought from the kitchen and Shampoo got
a good look at the male Ranma.
"So, this girl, er, she's got to marry or kill me. She's
some kinda warrior-princess, huh?"
Aloe held a hand up. "Her name is Shampoo, if you prefer.
Yes and yes, sort of. She's actually in training to be a
Lorekeeper(3), which is distinctly different from a Lore Master.
Sort of a scholar-warrior, like the ancient shih, if you don't
take the analogy too far."
"Ranma, you can't do this! Trust your father on this one,
son!"
Aloe stared at Genma with the sort of expression one studies a
bug with, when deciding whether it is worth the effort of
crushing it underfoot.
Shampoo smiled at Ranma. "So we go to your homeland,
yes?"
Spice looked thoughtful for a moment, then addressed Shampoo in
their native dialect. "Shampoo, why not just return to
the village with him?"
"I've never seen the outside world, Spice, besides-
haven't you always told me that Lore is where you find it, that
wisdom can be found anywhere, if you but know where to
look?"
"I'd qualify that as ALMOST anywhere." Spice
wasn't really unhappy with the concept, just because they didn't
have a lot of technology or money in the valley, didn't mean that
they didn't want to keep abreast of developments in the outside
world. Besides, Aloe was still single, and at his age, that was
worrisome in itself. Shifting back to the odd cadence of
Japanese, Spice continued. "Look, you accompany your fiance,
we'll let that dried up old prune of an Elder know what's going
on and see if she wants us to accompany you there.
-----------
end chapter 1, PHMM.
this was originally written as a 20k Betfic, a single chapter to
look at a possibility. i recently found this copy (though i
recall vaguely writing out other scenes that were probably lost
in one of the hard drive crashes.
It is presented here simply because i liked the ideas presented,
and unlike The Art and some other fics of mine that are
apparently gone forever, i found this nearly complete copy.
Enjoy.
where can this go?
Shampoo is in training to be
a Lorekeeper, and has been since she got
sick after falling in Jusenkyo. She's still the
village Champion, still an impressive fighter,
but the pressure has largely been lifted from
her and she's developed more than the amazon
killing machine first depicted in the anime.
She's not quite as good a fighter as in the orig
timeline, but more apt to find solutions. She's
also interested in finding and bringing back
various bits of Lore (information, techniques,
and developments) that can help the villages
thrive.
Shampoo and Ranma. Shampoo is
a LOT more subtle, in keeping with her new
role. Ranma knows that Shampoo considers
him to be married to her, and that she's just
giving him time to get used to the idea. At
this point, neither know about the deal to
engage Ranma to a Tendo. She's still as
affectionate and bouncy as ever, but wants
to be loved for herself, not because of the
Law. Shampoo is also the first girl to be nice
to Ranma, cute, affectionate, and (in her role
as a Lorekeeper) one of the few amazons who
actually listens to what a male has to say.
Cologne. Will view Ranma as a
second chance, particularly as her new Heir
isn't working out. (May detail Reikei later,
the trainee whose lack of control gets her
dumped, becoming a rival to Shampoo
similar to the Ryouga-Ranma rivalry.)
Will only make brief appearances though,
as it would be better if she could find an
Heir this generation instead of waiting
for the next one (ie:the daughter of Ranma
& Shampoo.) Will tend to be the wise and
supportive elder as she detects that Shampoo
has already hooked Ranma, and what is
needed now is to play out the line and reel
him in when he stops fighting. In the meantime
is looking for Reikei's replacement by about
Chapter Five.
Genma. One morning Shampoo
looks out the window and sees Genma
running off with an unconcious Ranma
draped over the panda's shoulder. He
still plans on uniting the two schools,
and Shampoo gives chase, though she
loses them initially due to the humidity
causing problems with her breathing.
Ranma escapes. Genma goes on to the
Tendo dojo, letting Soun know that
Ranma has been delayed, but will soon
be here- he's just been hit in the head
and is delusional. Genma finds and knocks
Ranma out and goes through most of the
first episode (anime) with an unconcious
male Ranma/purple haired girl. "Now watch,
the amazon he imagines will exactly match
his cursed form."
Akane. How will she react to
this purple haired girl suddenly brought
to the dojo? Not to mention the young
girl protesting that she's already got one
engagement she didn't ask for? Will she
buy this "temporary hallucination brought
on by the shock of having a curse" line
that Genma's spinning?
This is fully intended as a
Shampoo gets Ranma storyline. She
may also get someone else, but i'm not
telling at this point. No, it's not Mousse.
As for the four friends: Aloe
wants to stick around and make sure that
Shampoo will be okay. After all, it is VERY
humid in Japan. Akane AND Kasumi both
think Aloe's quite attractive: he's mature,
compassionate, the gentle healer archtype,
doesn't act silly (a plus to Kasumi), isn't in
love with Kasumi (big plus to Akane). He is
NOT a fighter, has an aversion to causing
other people pain, which is one reason he
hasn't been able to find a wife back among
the amazons. Good healer, but weak fighter.
Tao Kun, archetype:gentle giant
farmer. Like a mountain: big, strong, slow
both physically and mentally, stamina to
match his strength. Knows the Breaking
Point manuever and the Iron Skin technique.
Has trouble with the idea of hurting anyone,
though he's not as averse to it as Aloe. If
someone threatens little sister (no bloodline
connection) Shampoo, THAT can get him
moving.
Spice sees two possibilites for
Aloe's happiness, and she loves her brother,
even if he is a bit weird. Kasumi has the
gentle nature and nurturer's heart that Spice
sees as a perfect match to her brother's.
Nabiki has intelligence, craftiness, and
an understanding of business practices
that could well improve the standard of
living among her people. Maybe...
Sugar, the tracker, probably does
leave to report on the situation. She may
return, though, especially when the pet pig
she found wanders off at an odd time.
----------------------------------
(1) Cue ominous thunder.
(2) Maybe this is OOC. Maybe not.
i don't care, i think it's amusing.
(3) i have no problem with the idea
of all women of the amazons being trained
to fight. Just as with any similar group, though,
some aren't going to be especially interested
or good at HTH combat. It's not canon, but
it's human nature. Not all of the noncombat
roles would be considered suitable for the
various males. The shih, by the way, were
real, though accounts of them vary wildly.
