Wow, I actually read my last few chapters, and I realized how bad
they were! At least I read the reviews, otherwise I'd be clueless! Thank
you so much, everyone who has read it, despite the awful story telling.
One thing that is bothering me though is the number of people who explain
to me that Jun is a Japanese name. Thank you, I've realized that.
However, I have not stated who Jun is! I'm not even sure if she is
Chinese! Besides, I've found it on Chinese name lists (many of them) as
female, and sometimes male or female. Thanks nonetheless for noticing
though. As for more details, you're all right; school has practically
beaten the idea of description out of me. All the stories I've written
were declared too long and off topic, so I started using as little
description as possible and started getting better grades.someone please
explain that to me??? Anyway, please bear with me, and I sincerely hope
you enjoy this chapter more than the others! (Really this is backwards for
me; usually my stories start out really good but get progressively worse as
I lose interest in the story, luckily this has not happened)
Disclaimer: I (obviously) do not own any of these characters, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and maybe some sort of anime company, I don't know, but I'm not making any profit off of this.
The Cure to Ranma's Curse: Part 5
Silence enveloped the three travelers as the guard's words echoed in their minds. In a strangely detached way, Ranma noticed that there were few people walking around the village, and vaguely wondered if it had something to do with their arrival. Then he noticed Akane; she was shaking, although with anger or fear he could not tell.
"Akane, please, don't do this! We'll find some other way! Perhaps the answer is simply to turn back into a man at Jusenkyo-" He tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it away, turning to look him in the eye.
"Why don't you believe in me Ranma?" She sounded hurt, her tired brown eyes questioning him.
"I do believe in you Akane, but you can't win! Even if you defeat the warrior, they'll make you kill her! Don't you understand? Either way, you'll have lost," He replied softly, staring back at her eyes to make sure she understood. She did; he could see the realization in her eyes.
"What are we going to do?" Akane said softly, the question hanging in the cool breeze. How could birds sing, how could the sun shine so brightly in a clear sky when they were faced with such problems? It was Ryoga who finally broke their thoughtful reverie.
"Why are they making her do this anyway? Why can't we fight? What's the point of having a challenge anyway?" He said the words bitterly, his fists clenched at his side. Ranma watched him for a moment, turning away to observe the few Amazons who were nearby, ignoring the strange visitors.
"It's a matriarchal society, to them Akane is probably our leader, or at least the best fighter. That's why if my cursed form wasn't going crazy I'd fight instead; though if it weren't distorted, we wouldn't be here would we?" His words made him laugh but neither Akane nor Ryoga joined him. "Why make us face a challenge for their help? Who knows?" These last words were said with bitterness equal to Ryoga's.
They decided to rest for the next three hours, mayhap they could figure out a plan of some sort. No good ideas came to them while they waited, and no one offered any help. So they sat in a small circle where they were, flanked by two small houses of wood and straw. Villagers passed by; still ignoring them. It was almost like watching TV; no interaction seemed possible with the people they 'watched'. Conversation was stilted among them too, and despite the problems ahead of them, boredom set in.
After a while, it had occurred to them that Akane would have difficulty fighting in the clothes she wore; so Ranma unpacked his white training pants and shirt and gave them to Akane. While he and Ryoga had turned their backs, Akane had quickly changed in a nearby patch of trees. The outfit was too large on her, but she would be able to move better in it than in her previous pants and sweater.
"I wonder where the fight will be." Akane said as the last hour ticked by.
"I'm guessing they'll tell us," Ranma answered her as he pointed to the three small women who had been in the tent. He had surmised that they were Elders, but he didn't really know much about the local government. Still, he rose to his feet as they approached. All three were taller than Cologne, yet he still thought they looked as though they could use a staff.
Akane and Ryoga followed his lead and stood up to wait for the women to approach; the golden-robed one walked in front, the green and blue walking a step behind her side by side. When they came close enough, the three of them bowed; it never hurt to be polite when in a strange place surrounded by extremely good fighters. The women seemed not to notice their bow, and the leader, perhaps the chief Elder, said in a stately voice,
"The challenge accepted by the strangers shall commence. The three best warriors of our village shall test the challenger one by one. If she can defeat all three and thus prove herself a true and deserving person, her request shall be granted. The fight shall be to the death, the challenger killed if she cannot defeat her opponent." As she spoke, Akane's gaze had firmed and her face betrayed no fear. Ranma felt admiration, love, and frustration for her. How could he convince her to not do this without wounding her pride? What words of his could convince her that he would rather die a thousand times than watch her die for him? He wanted to say something; to somehow stop this, but then they were following the elders to an open space in the village and he still hadn't thought of a way to stop it.
"This is the field. To step outside of it-" Ranma saw there were dark lines around the edge of the rectangular space, "Is to forfeit the match and lose." She finished. Akane nodded her understanding and walked to the center; Ranma felt ill suddenly. As he watched, frozen with horror and indecision, a young woman who reminded him of Shampoo, approached Akane. The woman had long, flowing black hair that was tied in back. Her loose yet form fitting clothes were exactly like the ones Shampoo had worn when Ranma had first seen her. Somewhere a drum was hit loudly, and in the time it took Ranma to blink, the young woman had lunged at Akane.
His breath caught in his throat as she managed to block and then roll away from the Amazon. The crowd watching was silent; no words of encouragement and warning were shouted. Ranma glanced at Ryoga, who stood next to him. His arms were crossed tightly and he watched the match with a frown on his face. Almost too afraid to look, Ranma turned back to Akane. She was on defense, not having a chance to strike at the warrior.
'That girl's moving faster than Shampoo!' Ranma realized with horror; Akane would never be able to defeat her, unless she managed to wait until the Amazon tired out. 'Yes!' Ranma thought happily; Akane was strong and she had good endurance. She had a chance to win this. His brief euphoria ended quickly when he realized that even if she was able to outlast this warrior; there were two more after her. There was no chance she would be able to fight them all off. Ryoga must have come to a similar conclusion for he elbowed Ranma in the side, trying not to attract attention from the elder Amazons, who were standing a few yards away to their right.
"So how are we going to get her out of this without all of us getting killed?"
Ryoga whispered, not quite turning his head. Ranma's brow furrowed; how indeed? If they tried to simply put an end to the fight, it seemed likely the Amazons would kill them all for cheating. He would never admit to limitations in his ability, and Ryoga was almost as good as him, but even he doubted they could take on a full village of fighters as good as Mousse and Shampoo or better.
"I don't know," Ranma said back. They watched in silence, each trying to find a way to end this without offending the Amazons or getting them all killed.
Minutes passed, Ranma could tell Akane was tiring. Sweat ran down her red face as she dodged the blows and kicks of the woman. In contrast, the Amazon didn't look the least bit fazed; her hair was barely out of its tie and she wasn't breathing as heavily as Akane. 'What to do? What can I do?' the words ran around in Ranma's head like a circle. It was a maddening spectacle; he had never felt so helpless before in his life. It was his duty as a martial artist to protect others. While that included Akane beyond all doubt, he didn't want to fight the Amazons. He knew he could defeat at least some of them, perhaps most. He also knew that there were children in the village and the odds were that if he killed even one person, there would be innocent people left to grieve.
Ryoga's cry of "NO!" broke through his thoughts and he looked back up at the fighters. Almost in slow motion, he saw the Amazon warrior's high kick catch Akane in the head and she was thrown to the ground. She did not get back up. His sense of honor and duty had disappeared; Ranma broke through the small line of people watching in front of him and ran towards Akane. He sensed Ryoga right behind him, but he didn't really care. His only thoughts were of reaching Akane before her opponent. The woman was preparing for a move to kill; he could see it. He ran until he was close enough to jump the rest of the way, which he did, landing in front of Akane. Quickly he picked her up and out of the way of the woman's fists.
"Stop!" He shouted, and to his surprise, she did. Looking uncertainly towards the elders, she simply stood there and watched him.
"Is she alright?" Ryoga asked breathlessly as Ranma laid Akane back on the ground, kneeling in front of her. Ryoga was still standing; watching the crowd to make sure no one would try and attack them.
"Yeah, I think she just got hit pretty hard; she's unconscious," Ranma answered him as he checked Akane's pulse. It was steady, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he picked her up again and turned to study the crowd.
The three old women had entered the fighting area. The one in green robes said something to the warrior in Chinese; she bowed to the elders and left. Ranma hoped that was a good sign.
"I'm sorry we asked for your help, but this fight is over," Ranma said to them coldly.
"Ah, but you shall receive our help, if you still want it," The leader of the three replied. Her gold robes shimmered in the sun, making it hard to see, but Ranma was pretty sure she was smiling.
"What do you mean? Akane lost," Ryoga answered angrily, taking a step toward them.
"But you have still proven yourselves to be deserving people. It is obvious you our desperate for our help, and yet you would not allow your friend," Seeing the protective way Ranma was holding Akane to him, she rephrased her words, "Your love, to die. You may think our ways hard, but we recognize what it means to be a good person as well as a good fighter, and we know that they are equally important traits,"
Ranma was stunned, even Ryoga looked unsure of what to say.
"Well, that's certainly a nicer sentiment than what Cologne would say," Ryoga said in a relieved voice, a small smile on his face. Ranma couldn't have agreed more. Before they could answer the woman, a man darted onto the ground. He was wearing a dark shirt outlined with white cuffs on the sleeves, with dark glasses and pants, and a small mustache adorned his face. Ranma stared at him; he looked vaguely familiar some how.
In halting Japanese the man said, slowly but with a sense of eagerness,
"You know Cologne?" Taken aback by the question, Ranma and Ryoga nodded.
"Uh yeah, I know her and Shampoo, and Mousse," Ranma replied. The man broke into a smile.
"You know daughter, Shampoo?" He asked them. Ranma and Ryoga stared at each other in surprise; Shampoo had a father?
"Yeah, we know her. He was engaged to her for awhile," Ryoga answered him, jabbing a thumb in Ranma's direction and his smile growing as he ignored Ranma's angered protest.
"Ah! Daughter has written of you!" He didn't quite get the word for written write, but he mimed the act and Ranma and Ryoga understood it. The man then turned to the women, bowing deeply. They talked in quick Chinese for a few minutes, the boys wondering what was going on. For the moment, at least, things seemed to be looking up for them. Shampoo's father turned back to them, and smiled.
"Please, accept my hospitality while you here. Friends of daughter is friends of mine. Village Elders will give all help needed," He told them happily. Ranma broke into a smile himself. This was certainly an unexpected change in the Amazon's attitudes, but it was most certainly a welcome one. Still, Ryoga and Ranma were a little wary; they bowed their thanks but exchanged skeptical glances.
"Thank you, I'm Ranma Saotome," He added almost as an afterthought, wondering if Shampoo had written to her father at all and if she had, what had she told him?
"I'm Ryoga Hibiki," Ryoga said as Shampoo's father ushered them away from the fighting field. Ranma was still carrying Akane's limp form, but he barely noticed her weight. A quick examination had told him that she was only unconscious and would wake up soon, although he would have like someone with more medical knowledge to confirm that. For the moment, he said nothing and merely followed the man, Ryoga at his side, through the small streets of the village.
"I am Detangler, welcome to our village," He said pleasantly, hands folded in his robes as they walked along the street. Villagers whispered as they passed, but Ranma ignored them. Instead, he met Ryoga's puzzled look with one of his own. In a questioning voice, he asked,
"Uh-, pleased to meet you, Tangler?" He said, sounding confused. Shampoo's father sighed audibly, stopped walking and turned to face the two young men.
"It's Detangler, not the Tangler. Don't worry, it's a common mistake," He said, and he did sound used to correcting people. Ranma and Ryoga blushed slightly, but Detangler ignored them and kept walking. Presently they reached a small house; really more of a hut, although it looked more comfortable than the word implied. They followed Detangler inside, and he motioned for Ranma to set Akane down on a mat on the floor.
The room was dark, with a few windows, but not dank or unclean. It smelled of straw, which Ranma saw the roof was made of, and a small wooden table and a few stools, with cushions on the floor, with a bed in the back, gave it a cozy feeling. After gently laying Akane onto the mat, Detangler told them to sit down, which they did.
"So, what is the reason you have come seeking aid from us?" Detangler asked curiously. Ranma explained his curse and the reason they had come.
"When can we see the Elders?" Ranma asked him hesitantly, not sure they were really called that. Detangler didn't seem to notice though.
"They await us in the Council Hall, would one of you like to remain with the girl? If not, I can ask a neighbor to watch her while we are gone," Again, Ranma hesitated. He didn't want to leave Akane by herself, but he didn't know how long it would take her to wake up.
"I'll stay with her," Ryoga volunteered. "Don't worry about her Ranma. Just go find your cure so we can go home," He said calmly as Ranma and Detangler stood up. Ranma nodded to him, but turned once Detangler had gone to wait for him outside. Lowering his voice, Ranma inquired,
"Why didn't you look for the Spring of Drowned Man while we were at Jusenkyo?" He asked, for he had been wondering why Ryoga hadn't looked for the cure while they had been so close to it. Ryoga looked away; his gaze resting on Akane's sleeping face.
"Did I have time? I didn't want to sneak away in case Akane got suspicious. Besides, I wasn't about to let her go off alone with you. What if you had gotten turned into a girl on your way here?" Ryoga fell silent, and Ranma felt bad for asking.
"Oh. Well, we can go there again before we leave for Japan," He said uncomfortably. Ryoga only nodded, and then stood up to look for some water to make tea. Ranma left the hut and Detangler led him to the Council Hall. It was the same building He, Ryoga, and Akane had been taken to when they had first arrived.
Only the golden robed woman sat inside, Ranma saw as he and Detangler were led inside the larger building. She was as crone-like as Cologne, but she somehow had a softer appearance to her. Ranma didn't think she looked like a fighter, but then, neither had Cologne when he first saw her.
"We have studied upon your problem, young.?" She waited for him to provide his name.
"Ranma," He said, eagerly waiting for her information.
"Ranma then; I am afraid you will not be happy at our findings." Ranma swallowed, and he saw Detangler cast him a sympathetic glance, but he ignored it.
"What do I have to do to fix this, or better yet, get rid of my curse altogether?" He asked her, fists clenched in anticipation.
"That is the key to it; we must get rid of your cursed form. This will not be easy however, and it will only be temporary," Seeing Ranma's confused face, she sighed, clarifying it for him.
"There is a potion that must be made. Once you have drunk it, the spirit of the drowned girl will separate from your body, appearing in your cursed form." She spoke slowly, trying to make her meaning as easily understood as possible. "This will be painful, but it is necessary. We must then banish the spirit somehow; if we are lucky, she will merely leave of her own free will. If we are not." Her voice trailed off. "Then more extreme measures will have to be taken." Comprehension dawned on Ranma, and he felt sick. This didn't sound pleasant at all; but he was determined to solve this so they could get home as soon as possible.
"When can we do this?" He asked her grimly. She nodded, glad that he was not afraid.
"The potion is already being made." She told him. "It shall be ready in a few hours," Ranma wasn't sure whether to take this as good news or bad news. He just hoped that Akane was awake before he had to do this, it would be easier with her at his side. Except that then she would be in danger. 'No,' he thought bleakly 'its better if she stays away until it's settled, one way or another.'
Ranma hoped that, as the woman had said, they would be lucky.
End of Part 5
That took a lot longer than the other chapters, although I don't think it's much longer. Anyway, hopefully it was better than the previous ones. I apologize for taking liberty with Shampoo's dad, but my friend has been begging me to add that little, "de, not the, tangler" bit. And I know that usually it's 'Hibiki Ryoga, and Saotome Ranma' but if this bothers you, then consider it a translated fanfic, k? Cause in the manga they do it the English way, and since I'm not writing in Japanese, that's how I'm doing things too. Thanks again, please let me know what you think.
-Luna Sealeaf Runicprincess@aol.com
Disclaimer: I (obviously) do not own any of these characters, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and maybe some sort of anime company, I don't know, but I'm not making any profit off of this.
The Cure to Ranma's Curse: Part 5
Silence enveloped the three travelers as the guard's words echoed in their minds. In a strangely detached way, Ranma noticed that there were few people walking around the village, and vaguely wondered if it had something to do with their arrival. Then he noticed Akane; she was shaking, although with anger or fear he could not tell.
"Akane, please, don't do this! We'll find some other way! Perhaps the answer is simply to turn back into a man at Jusenkyo-" He tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it away, turning to look him in the eye.
"Why don't you believe in me Ranma?" She sounded hurt, her tired brown eyes questioning him.
"I do believe in you Akane, but you can't win! Even if you defeat the warrior, they'll make you kill her! Don't you understand? Either way, you'll have lost," He replied softly, staring back at her eyes to make sure she understood. She did; he could see the realization in her eyes.
"What are we going to do?" Akane said softly, the question hanging in the cool breeze. How could birds sing, how could the sun shine so brightly in a clear sky when they were faced with such problems? It was Ryoga who finally broke their thoughtful reverie.
"Why are they making her do this anyway? Why can't we fight? What's the point of having a challenge anyway?" He said the words bitterly, his fists clenched at his side. Ranma watched him for a moment, turning away to observe the few Amazons who were nearby, ignoring the strange visitors.
"It's a matriarchal society, to them Akane is probably our leader, or at least the best fighter. That's why if my cursed form wasn't going crazy I'd fight instead; though if it weren't distorted, we wouldn't be here would we?" His words made him laugh but neither Akane nor Ryoga joined him. "Why make us face a challenge for their help? Who knows?" These last words were said with bitterness equal to Ryoga's.
They decided to rest for the next three hours, mayhap they could figure out a plan of some sort. No good ideas came to them while they waited, and no one offered any help. So they sat in a small circle where they were, flanked by two small houses of wood and straw. Villagers passed by; still ignoring them. It was almost like watching TV; no interaction seemed possible with the people they 'watched'. Conversation was stilted among them too, and despite the problems ahead of them, boredom set in.
After a while, it had occurred to them that Akane would have difficulty fighting in the clothes she wore; so Ranma unpacked his white training pants and shirt and gave them to Akane. While he and Ryoga had turned their backs, Akane had quickly changed in a nearby patch of trees. The outfit was too large on her, but she would be able to move better in it than in her previous pants and sweater.
"I wonder where the fight will be." Akane said as the last hour ticked by.
"I'm guessing they'll tell us," Ranma answered her as he pointed to the three small women who had been in the tent. He had surmised that they were Elders, but he didn't really know much about the local government. Still, he rose to his feet as they approached. All three were taller than Cologne, yet he still thought they looked as though they could use a staff.
Akane and Ryoga followed his lead and stood up to wait for the women to approach; the golden-robed one walked in front, the green and blue walking a step behind her side by side. When they came close enough, the three of them bowed; it never hurt to be polite when in a strange place surrounded by extremely good fighters. The women seemed not to notice their bow, and the leader, perhaps the chief Elder, said in a stately voice,
"The challenge accepted by the strangers shall commence. The three best warriors of our village shall test the challenger one by one. If she can defeat all three and thus prove herself a true and deserving person, her request shall be granted. The fight shall be to the death, the challenger killed if she cannot defeat her opponent." As she spoke, Akane's gaze had firmed and her face betrayed no fear. Ranma felt admiration, love, and frustration for her. How could he convince her to not do this without wounding her pride? What words of his could convince her that he would rather die a thousand times than watch her die for him? He wanted to say something; to somehow stop this, but then they were following the elders to an open space in the village and he still hadn't thought of a way to stop it.
"This is the field. To step outside of it-" Ranma saw there were dark lines around the edge of the rectangular space, "Is to forfeit the match and lose." She finished. Akane nodded her understanding and walked to the center; Ranma felt ill suddenly. As he watched, frozen with horror and indecision, a young woman who reminded him of Shampoo, approached Akane. The woman had long, flowing black hair that was tied in back. Her loose yet form fitting clothes were exactly like the ones Shampoo had worn when Ranma had first seen her. Somewhere a drum was hit loudly, and in the time it took Ranma to blink, the young woman had lunged at Akane.
His breath caught in his throat as she managed to block and then roll away from the Amazon. The crowd watching was silent; no words of encouragement and warning were shouted. Ranma glanced at Ryoga, who stood next to him. His arms were crossed tightly and he watched the match with a frown on his face. Almost too afraid to look, Ranma turned back to Akane. She was on defense, not having a chance to strike at the warrior.
'That girl's moving faster than Shampoo!' Ranma realized with horror; Akane would never be able to defeat her, unless she managed to wait until the Amazon tired out. 'Yes!' Ranma thought happily; Akane was strong and she had good endurance. She had a chance to win this. His brief euphoria ended quickly when he realized that even if she was able to outlast this warrior; there were two more after her. There was no chance she would be able to fight them all off. Ryoga must have come to a similar conclusion for he elbowed Ranma in the side, trying not to attract attention from the elder Amazons, who were standing a few yards away to their right.
"So how are we going to get her out of this without all of us getting killed?"
Ryoga whispered, not quite turning his head. Ranma's brow furrowed; how indeed? If they tried to simply put an end to the fight, it seemed likely the Amazons would kill them all for cheating. He would never admit to limitations in his ability, and Ryoga was almost as good as him, but even he doubted they could take on a full village of fighters as good as Mousse and Shampoo or better.
"I don't know," Ranma said back. They watched in silence, each trying to find a way to end this without offending the Amazons or getting them all killed.
Minutes passed, Ranma could tell Akane was tiring. Sweat ran down her red face as she dodged the blows and kicks of the woman. In contrast, the Amazon didn't look the least bit fazed; her hair was barely out of its tie and she wasn't breathing as heavily as Akane. 'What to do? What can I do?' the words ran around in Ranma's head like a circle. It was a maddening spectacle; he had never felt so helpless before in his life. It was his duty as a martial artist to protect others. While that included Akane beyond all doubt, he didn't want to fight the Amazons. He knew he could defeat at least some of them, perhaps most. He also knew that there were children in the village and the odds were that if he killed even one person, there would be innocent people left to grieve.
Ryoga's cry of "NO!" broke through his thoughts and he looked back up at the fighters. Almost in slow motion, he saw the Amazon warrior's high kick catch Akane in the head and she was thrown to the ground. She did not get back up. His sense of honor and duty had disappeared; Ranma broke through the small line of people watching in front of him and ran towards Akane. He sensed Ryoga right behind him, but he didn't really care. His only thoughts were of reaching Akane before her opponent. The woman was preparing for a move to kill; he could see it. He ran until he was close enough to jump the rest of the way, which he did, landing in front of Akane. Quickly he picked her up and out of the way of the woman's fists.
"Stop!" He shouted, and to his surprise, she did. Looking uncertainly towards the elders, she simply stood there and watched him.
"Is she alright?" Ryoga asked breathlessly as Ranma laid Akane back on the ground, kneeling in front of her. Ryoga was still standing; watching the crowd to make sure no one would try and attack them.
"Yeah, I think she just got hit pretty hard; she's unconscious," Ranma answered him as he checked Akane's pulse. It was steady, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he picked her up again and turned to study the crowd.
The three old women had entered the fighting area. The one in green robes said something to the warrior in Chinese; she bowed to the elders and left. Ranma hoped that was a good sign.
"I'm sorry we asked for your help, but this fight is over," Ranma said to them coldly.
"Ah, but you shall receive our help, if you still want it," The leader of the three replied. Her gold robes shimmered in the sun, making it hard to see, but Ranma was pretty sure she was smiling.
"What do you mean? Akane lost," Ryoga answered angrily, taking a step toward them.
"But you have still proven yourselves to be deserving people. It is obvious you our desperate for our help, and yet you would not allow your friend," Seeing the protective way Ranma was holding Akane to him, she rephrased her words, "Your love, to die. You may think our ways hard, but we recognize what it means to be a good person as well as a good fighter, and we know that they are equally important traits,"
Ranma was stunned, even Ryoga looked unsure of what to say.
"Well, that's certainly a nicer sentiment than what Cologne would say," Ryoga said in a relieved voice, a small smile on his face. Ranma couldn't have agreed more. Before they could answer the woman, a man darted onto the ground. He was wearing a dark shirt outlined with white cuffs on the sleeves, with dark glasses and pants, and a small mustache adorned his face. Ranma stared at him; he looked vaguely familiar some how.
In halting Japanese the man said, slowly but with a sense of eagerness,
"You know Cologne?" Taken aback by the question, Ranma and Ryoga nodded.
"Uh yeah, I know her and Shampoo, and Mousse," Ranma replied. The man broke into a smile.
"You know daughter, Shampoo?" He asked them. Ranma and Ryoga stared at each other in surprise; Shampoo had a father?
"Yeah, we know her. He was engaged to her for awhile," Ryoga answered him, jabbing a thumb in Ranma's direction and his smile growing as he ignored Ranma's angered protest.
"Ah! Daughter has written of you!" He didn't quite get the word for written write, but he mimed the act and Ranma and Ryoga understood it. The man then turned to the women, bowing deeply. They talked in quick Chinese for a few minutes, the boys wondering what was going on. For the moment, at least, things seemed to be looking up for them. Shampoo's father turned back to them, and smiled.
"Please, accept my hospitality while you here. Friends of daughter is friends of mine. Village Elders will give all help needed," He told them happily. Ranma broke into a smile himself. This was certainly an unexpected change in the Amazon's attitudes, but it was most certainly a welcome one. Still, Ryoga and Ranma were a little wary; they bowed their thanks but exchanged skeptical glances.
"Thank you, I'm Ranma Saotome," He added almost as an afterthought, wondering if Shampoo had written to her father at all and if she had, what had she told him?
"I'm Ryoga Hibiki," Ryoga said as Shampoo's father ushered them away from the fighting field. Ranma was still carrying Akane's limp form, but he barely noticed her weight. A quick examination had told him that she was only unconscious and would wake up soon, although he would have like someone with more medical knowledge to confirm that. For the moment, he said nothing and merely followed the man, Ryoga at his side, through the small streets of the village.
"I am Detangler, welcome to our village," He said pleasantly, hands folded in his robes as they walked along the street. Villagers whispered as they passed, but Ranma ignored them. Instead, he met Ryoga's puzzled look with one of his own. In a questioning voice, he asked,
"Uh-, pleased to meet you, Tangler?" He said, sounding confused. Shampoo's father sighed audibly, stopped walking and turned to face the two young men.
"It's Detangler, not the Tangler. Don't worry, it's a common mistake," He said, and he did sound used to correcting people. Ranma and Ryoga blushed slightly, but Detangler ignored them and kept walking. Presently they reached a small house; really more of a hut, although it looked more comfortable than the word implied. They followed Detangler inside, and he motioned for Ranma to set Akane down on a mat on the floor.
The room was dark, with a few windows, but not dank or unclean. It smelled of straw, which Ranma saw the roof was made of, and a small wooden table and a few stools, with cushions on the floor, with a bed in the back, gave it a cozy feeling. After gently laying Akane onto the mat, Detangler told them to sit down, which they did.
"So, what is the reason you have come seeking aid from us?" Detangler asked curiously. Ranma explained his curse and the reason they had come.
"When can we see the Elders?" Ranma asked him hesitantly, not sure they were really called that. Detangler didn't seem to notice though.
"They await us in the Council Hall, would one of you like to remain with the girl? If not, I can ask a neighbor to watch her while we are gone," Again, Ranma hesitated. He didn't want to leave Akane by herself, but he didn't know how long it would take her to wake up.
"I'll stay with her," Ryoga volunteered. "Don't worry about her Ranma. Just go find your cure so we can go home," He said calmly as Ranma and Detangler stood up. Ranma nodded to him, but turned once Detangler had gone to wait for him outside. Lowering his voice, Ranma inquired,
"Why didn't you look for the Spring of Drowned Man while we were at Jusenkyo?" He asked, for he had been wondering why Ryoga hadn't looked for the cure while they had been so close to it. Ryoga looked away; his gaze resting on Akane's sleeping face.
"Did I have time? I didn't want to sneak away in case Akane got suspicious. Besides, I wasn't about to let her go off alone with you. What if you had gotten turned into a girl on your way here?" Ryoga fell silent, and Ranma felt bad for asking.
"Oh. Well, we can go there again before we leave for Japan," He said uncomfortably. Ryoga only nodded, and then stood up to look for some water to make tea. Ranma left the hut and Detangler led him to the Council Hall. It was the same building He, Ryoga, and Akane had been taken to when they had first arrived.
Only the golden robed woman sat inside, Ranma saw as he and Detangler were led inside the larger building. She was as crone-like as Cologne, but she somehow had a softer appearance to her. Ranma didn't think she looked like a fighter, but then, neither had Cologne when he first saw her.
"We have studied upon your problem, young.?" She waited for him to provide his name.
"Ranma," He said, eagerly waiting for her information.
"Ranma then; I am afraid you will not be happy at our findings." Ranma swallowed, and he saw Detangler cast him a sympathetic glance, but he ignored it.
"What do I have to do to fix this, or better yet, get rid of my curse altogether?" He asked her, fists clenched in anticipation.
"That is the key to it; we must get rid of your cursed form. This will not be easy however, and it will only be temporary," Seeing Ranma's confused face, she sighed, clarifying it for him.
"There is a potion that must be made. Once you have drunk it, the spirit of the drowned girl will separate from your body, appearing in your cursed form." She spoke slowly, trying to make her meaning as easily understood as possible. "This will be painful, but it is necessary. We must then banish the spirit somehow; if we are lucky, she will merely leave of her own free will. If we are not." Her voice trailed off. "Then more extreme measures will have to be taken." Comprehension dawned on Ranma, and he felt sick. This didn't sound pleasant at all; but he was determined to solve this so they could get home as soon as possible.
"When can we do this?" He asked her grimly. She nodded, glad that he was not afraid.
"The potion is already being made." She told him. "It shall be ready in a few hours," Ranma wasn't sure whether to take this as good news or bad news. He just hoped that Akane was awake before he had to do this, it would be easier with her at his side. Except that then she would be in danger. 'No,' he thought bleakly 'its better if she stays away until it's settled, one way or another.'
Ranma hoped that, as the woman had said, they would be lucky.
End of Part 5
That took a lot longer than the other chapters, although I don't think it's much longer. Anyway, hopefully it was better than the previous ones. I apologize for taking liberty with Shampoo's dad, but my friend has been begging me to add that little, "de, not the, tangler" bit. And I know that usually it's 'Hibiki Ryoga, and Saotome Ranma' but if this bothers you, then consider it a translated fanfic, k? Cause in the manga they do it the English way, and since I'm not writing in Japanese, that's how I'm doing things too. Thanks again, please let me know what you think.
-Luna Sealeaf Runicprincess@aol.com