Embracing Curse
Chapter four:
Ukyo Kuonji's diary, August 31st:
Here I am, late at night, in the middle of the woods, sitting by the fire and writing a new entry on my diary. So many things have happened since we left Tokyo that my head feels like a jigsaw puzzle. It occurred to me that if I write, everything will gradually settle into place. I should start at the beginning, and I believe that'll be night Shampoo gave us that message…
Hibiki's travel log:
Being held within Akane-chan's arms is pure bliss, but there's only so much time I can spend as P-Chan. If I keep that piglet's shape and stay with Akane-chan for too long, I actually start forgetting which parts are dreams and which are reality. Imagine, one of these days I'll go careless and allow myself to get soaked with warm water in front of her. By the kami, she'd feel so cheated and betrayed! She'll head straight for Ranma and nothing will ever get them apart.
I better change the subject before I become more depressed. Akane-chan came home late last night, I was in the yard looking for the front door when I saw her go in. There was a lot of concern in her face, so I tried to follow her and find out what was wrong, but I couldn't find the entrance. Lucky for me, Nabiki-san arrived a few minutes later and took me inside. That was quite unusual, in fact, so was her entire attitude. Picking me up and hugging me as she laughed and twirled, her date with Fideto-san must've been a huge success. He's okay, a little creepy maybe, but gives great gifts, Akane-chan treated me to some of the cookies she got.
I mustn't digress, my beloved Akane-chan is troubled. She took me to her room and, as she changed into her nightgown (I was looking away of course), told me about her suspicions of how this redhead was planning to challenge the dojo. That's another advantage to being Akane-chan's pet, becoming her confidant.
I cannot let my Akane-chan face this ordeal alone, therefore, this morning, when she stepped out into the yard for her morning exercise, I went into the furo to change then hurried outside to offer my assistance. Before I knew it, I was at some other street miles away.
I spent the entire day wandering about, trying to get back to the dojo, but apparently, my luck has run out on me for the time being. The sun had set about an hour ago, so I decided to call off the search and get some sleep. I only hope Akane-chan
"Hello there."
"Nani?" The lost boy interrupted his writing and looked up, there were Aelfred and Isabella. The girl had to retrace her steps, she'd been too busy prancing around that she hadn't noticed her companion had stopped.
"Camping gear and a yellow bandanna," the silver-haired teen noted, "you must be Hibiki Ryoga. Ranma-san told me about you."
"Hai, and you are Aelfred-san and Isabella-chan, I saw you at the match the other day."
"Pleased to meet you, Ryoga," the Italian girl said. "What are you doing out here?"
"Trying to find my way towards the Tendo dojo," he answered as he got up, "You wouldn't happen to know the way, would you?"
"We're heading there right know," the Scotsman told him, "you can come with us if you like."
"Sure. You're welcome to camp with me, we'll get an early start tomorrow." The newcomers raised an eyebrow.
"Why wait at all?"
"By how late it is, it'll be dawn by the time we get there."
"What are you talking about?" Aelfred insisted, "The Tendo home's three blocks ahead."
"Nani?" The dark-haired teen looked to his left and confirmed what he had heard. "Eto… let me pack and I'll be right with you."
"Okay, just hurry up," Isabella said, "I want to see Catherine, and the nights are still too short."
(Bag of chips opening)
Nabiki's voice journal, August 29th:
(crunch) Che, lucky me, that little nut Isabella came for a visit tonight. And boy did she surprise us! We were all sitting at the engawa, it had been a warm day and we were enjoying the nightly breeze. She called from the door and Kasumi-chan let her in. Isabella rushed through the house, I turned to greet her and was tackled with a tight hug.
"Hmm, Catherine, it's so good to see you again!" I hugged her back as I put on my best smile, I need to keep her close if I want to find out what she's up to. (Chuckle) You won't believe what Isabella did. She dyed her hair purple and fixed it so it would look like Shampoo's! Well, it wasn't an exact copy, she only had long loops at the sides, held by tubular odangos (crunch).
"You look very kawaii," Kasumi-chan praised.
"Much better looking than the original," Akane-chan quipped. I was about to say something myself when we heard a loud noise and a shriek coming from the kitchen. The next thing we saw was a soaked Ranma-chan.
"Damn pipes! No sooner you fix one another one's busted," she cursed. "Gomen, Kasumi-san, but your stew got the worst part." Kasumi-chan didn't show it, but I know she was upset. "I'll go get take-out if you like," Ranma-chan offered (crunch), "pay for it out of my own pocket even."
"Don't worry yourself, Ranma-kun," Kasumi-chan replied, "But if you insist, I'd like you to go to Ucchan's and bring some specials." (Giggle) Poor Ranma-chan, she must've though she was going to get a full pardon from onee-chan. Don't fool yourself, she's very strict.
(crunch) Ryoga-kun and Aelfred-san appeared at that moment. I guess that in her hurry, Isabella didn't wait for them. Poor Ryoga-kun, he showed up just when Ranma-chan had taken of her shirt to rinse it, he had a nosebleed and fainted on the spot. Isabella was also startled, she yelped and ran towards Ranma-chan, forcing her to turn away. Aelfred-san, on the other hand, kept his cool, which means he's quite used to the female body. I wonder how he became so accustomed…Ecchi Nabiki, get rid of those thoughts.
"Konbanwa, minna-san," Aelfred-san said with a bow, "Is Ranma-san here?"
"He's running some late errands," Ranma-chan answered. An unnecessary lie in my opinion. So what if two more people know about the curse? "If you've got something important to say, you can tell me and I'll let him know," she offered. Aelfred-san thought about it and nodded. Ranma-chan slapped Ryoga-kun back to consciousness and the three of them left.
(crunch) "Well, I better go pick up the kitchen," Kasumi-chan announced.
"We'll help," I offered.
"Me too," Isabella said.
"Ie, please," Akane-chan countered, "you're our guest, it's not something you should bother yourself with." But Isabella shook her head.
"I couldn't live with myself if I let you three do everything while I loaf around. So please, let me help."
We all went into the kitchen and got to work. There wasn't that much of a mess, all we had to do was dry up the floor and throw away the ruined stew. (crunch)
"So, Catherine," Isabella said to me, "Ranma told me you went out on a date last night. How'd it go?" (sigh) Again she used that motherly tone that irks me so much. She sounds sincere, but I know plenty about false appearances. Besides, what I do with Guiseppe-kun is none of her business. I was just going to give a short answer, but Akane-chan started questioning me as well. (crunch, foil crumbling) Okay, that's the last chip.
"I'm also curious," she said, "Don't think I didn't see you dancing on your way up the stairs." I had no way out, so I started talking about last night.
"Well, if you must know," I started, "it was a dreamy evening. Guiseppe-kun acted like the perfect gentleman, the places he took me to were lovely. He held my hand and looked into my eyes almost all through the night." My sisters were looking at me with wide eyes, I too was quite surprised at myself. Normally, I rate my dates by the amount of bounty gained, I hardly keep track of anything else.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Catherine," Isabella told me. "But don't let your guard down, pretty wrappings often hide ugly intentions."
"You don't have to worry, Isabella-chan," Kasumi-chan said, "Nabiki-chan is very smart, and quite proud, she won't let herself be manipulated."
"To be honest," Akane-chan added, "the poor guy she's dating is the one who should be wary. Otherwise his wallet will be bone-dry by the end of the week."
I know she was kidding, but that comment still bothered me. I'm not going out with Guiseppe-kun because of his money. I admit I thought about it at first, but not anymore. (sad chuckle) The irony is, I'm still going to get a lot of that, because I'm not turning over a new leaf. I'm still going to snoop around, keeping my eyes and ears open for anything exploitable. I'm very fond of my Italian lover, but that's no reason to change the way I am. (sigh)
We were done at the kitchen so we went back outside. Kasumi-chan picked up her embroider and started working on it as we started talking about the weather. Isabella's a crafty one, all right; each time we asked something about her, she gave us half an answer then skillfully changed the subject. I'm going to find out what she's up to, if it's the last thing I do.
Isabella did another weird thing, at least I'm sure she was involved somehow.
"Is something wrong, Isabella-chan?" Akane-chan asked. Onee-chan noticed that she was looking away.
"Not at all, the one I was waiting for just showed up. I'll be right back." She got up and went to the other side of the yard. It's the spot where Happosai arrives after his daily raids, but I didn't say anything. Hey, if Isabella insists on getting near that hentai, it's her choice…
Happosai hummed a merry tune as he bounded over the fence. A ballet company was in town, so he'd obtained a good number of stockings.
"Hey, Gramps! Got anything for me this time?" The ancient martial artist opened his eyes to see Isabella standing there.
"Oh, konbanwa, little one," he greeted. "I hope you're not bitter because of how I acted the other day, you see, I tend to be overprotective when it comes to my collection." After thinking about it, Happosai came to the conclusion that a girl with such free-spirited behavior would prove to be very good company, especially after a little growing up.
"I understand, I should've been more respectful myself." The purple-haired girl leaned forward. "I want to make it up to you," she offered with a cute smile and a snap of her fingers, "wait here."
(Nabiki's journal, continued)
…She came back with a very wide grin on her face, spun around and called for Happosai.
"Okay, Gramps, get over here." Happosai appeared from around the corner, came to a sudden halt with his eyes opening widely, then shot himself towards us. Akane-chan got ready to send him away with a kick, but just like that he stopped, shrieked and ran away from there as if he'd seen something terrifying. Naturally, we were all quite puzzled.
"Eto, Isabella, what was that about?" I asked.
"How should I know?" she answered with a shrug. I insist, she played a big part in this incident.
During the five minutes Isabella was away, the rest of us noticed Ranma-chan was taking too long. We talked about it after recovering from Happosai's weird behavior.
"Do you think something happened to him?" Kasumi-chan asked worriedly.
"Ie," Akane-chan answered, "He was probably distracted by something, it's typical of him." She decided to go look for him anyway, Isabella went along. As for me, I came upstairs to make this entry. I hope Akane-chan and Ranma-kun don't take too long, I'm getting really hungry. (Recorder stops)
"You didn't see me there," Ranma said as they walked down the street, "but I saw your match with Ranma-kun. Had I known about the ring, I would've stayed to help you look." A few steps behind, Ryoga rolled his eyes. Did the pigtailed martial artist really need to give both his identities a good image?
"No need to apologize, Ranko-san," the Scotsman replied, "The ring was recovered and already I have a new chain. It's too bad the fight had to be cancelled, though. I noticed Ranma-san was biding his true potential, and I didn't get the chance to use some of my best moves either."
"You're right," the girl agreed, "you two should have a rematch."
"Hey, what about me?" the lost boy demanded, "I'm a very capable fighter myself."
"Well yeah, I'd say you are within decent levels," Ranma quipped, she got a nasty knock on the head for that.
"We'll see," Aelfred said, "but before that happens, I have to let Ranma-san know about something very important. A few family secrets, so to speak."
"Is that the thing you wanted to talk to Ranma about?" Ryoga asked.
"Ie, it's something else. Have you two heard about a redhead girl causing trouble around Nerima? She resembles you somewhat, Ranko-san."
"Hai," she answered, "Akane-chan thinks she might want something from the Tendo dojo." The silver-haired teen rubbed his chin upon hearing this.
"I ignore what her intentions are, but if she invades your home, then you must defend yourselves. Just do me two favors: don't go looking for her, and if you do meet her, fight with all of your might." Ranma and Ryoga gave no reply, the tone in Aelfred's voice punctuated the seriousness of his warning. They made it to Ukyo's place eventually.
"Ran-chan, welcome!" the brunette greeted joyfully, "Are you here for dinner?"
"Take out actually. Seven specials, please, and don't be skimpy with the shrimp." No sooner the redhead finished ordering, hard rubber smashed her from behind and her face was slammed into the hot pan.
"Quick, follow Shampoo! Big trouble going on!"
"Cool bike," Ukyo praised, "I really like the color."
"No time for talk," the amazon snapped, "Must hurry, Mousse in trouble!"
"Xian Pu, calm down," Aelfred ordered, "Take a deep breath and tell us what happened." The longhaired girl jumped off her bicycle and took out a piece of paper.
"Mousse go make delivery in afternoon. A few minutes ago, Shampoo get note, but no can read." Ryoga took the piece of paper from her hands.
"That's because it's in English." As he read it, his eyes went wide. "Kuso, it's from that redhead! She's holding Mousse captive and wants us to meet her at the point shown on the map. By no reason must Ranma be absent, and we have very little time, but won't say how much." He flipped the note over, "I know where this is, we should be there in a few hours."
"Give me that, I know about your travelling habits," the fanged Scotsman huffed as he snatched the map. "It's far, even if we run nonstop starting now, it'll take a while getting there."
"Okay, you guys go ahead," a sizzling-faced Ranma ordered, "I'll get in touch with Ranma-kun." Aelfred, Ryoga and Shampoo nodded and hurried outside. Using warm water from the tap, she became a he while Ukyo wrote a note for Akane. They knew his fiancée would come looking for him. "I just hope Akane-chan doesn't worry herself too much," he muttered.
Akane Tendo's diary, August 29th:
Ranma no baka, that sudden business of yours better be very important. When Isabella-chan and I got to Ucchan's, we found a note on the okonomiyaki, it read: "Ran-chan, Ryoga-kun, Aelfred-san, Shampoo and I had to take care of something serious and sudden. It'll be kind of a long trip. We'll tell you everything when we get back. Don't forget to lock." Isabella-chan found the use of sauce to write as amusing and fun, so I was upset for only a few moments, but I'm still going to give Ranma-kun a piece of my mind.
When we got home, Isabella-chan got the fright of her life.
"A talking prune!" she shrieked. Poor girl, that whack to head sounded painful. That's how her first encounter with Shampoo's great-grandmother went.
"Konbanwa, Granny," I greeted, "What brings you here at this hour?"
"I came here looking for Shampoo," she responded, "I thought that maybe she'd come to pay my son-in-law a visit." I nodded and told her about the note.
"Ara," Kasumi-chan gasped, "They left just like that? Then it must be something serious."
"I don't mean to scare you, Akane," Isabella-chan said, "but Aelfred's involvement often means that it is."
"There's no need to worry," Nabiki-chan assured, "Don't forget who we're talking about, those five can take care of anything that gets in their way." She put her arms behind her head and leaned back. "So relax and look at the bright side, it's going to be just us girls for a while."
"That should be fun," Kasumi-chan said, "Isabella-chan, would you like to stay with us?"
"Of course I'm staying! I'm not going to leave you three on your own." I noticed something strange in Isabella-chan's voice, it didn't carry that usual cheerful tone. It sounded tense, ie, make that frightened.
"What's wrong, Isabella-chan?" I asked her.
"If that trip does take a long time, Aelfred will have to tell them," she answered as she clutched her rosary, "and that means I'm going to have to tell you." Her eyes went wide and she started shaking. Granny tapped on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll give you a hand when the time comes." Isabella-chan raised an eyebrow just before her eyes went wide open. "Indeed, child, I know about you two."
I have no idea what's going on. Apparently, Aelfred-san and Isabella-chan are keeping something from us, and Granny seems to know what it is. What could Isabella-chan's secret be? Despite her behavior, it can't be that bad, she's too young to have experienced anything awfully terrible. Nonetheless, she was too upset to eat dinner, and she stayed up talking with Granny after the rest of us turned in. I think they're still down there.
Let's analyze the situation bit by bit, starting with Aelfred-san. He bears some similarity to Ryoga-kun, in the sense that they're both trail-worn travelers. So the secret could be something Aelfred-san discovered during one of his trips. He does know about the amazons, could it be that he's also been to Jusenkyo!? That's why the matter of a long trip worries Isabella-chan so much, it increases the chances of getting wet. And I mustn't forget what she said: if Aelfred-san tells them, she will have to tell us. Isabella-chan is the sedentary type, but that doesn't mean she never goes anywhere, so it's logical to assume that she is cursed as well. Ara, it must be an awful transformation if it scares her that much, and it may be the reason she acts so strangely.
As soon as Ranma-tachi get back, I'm getting us all together so that we can let everything out in the open. I've grown fond of Isabella-chan, I don't want her to feel bad.
Ukyo Kuonji's diary, August 31st (continued):
…Ran-chan and I caught up with the others quickly, Aelfred-san had left very clear markings for us to follow. Miraculously, Ryoga-kun was still with them. We ran for hours, all through Tokyo, into the woods and up a mountain range; over a hundred miles covered and still there was a long way to go.
I glimpsed at Shampoo, there was a look of concern in her eye, but only at a 'friend in danger' level, not lover. Poor Mousse, at least there's a place in her heart for him. Aelfred-san was also being troubled by something, we would find out what it was soon enough, but I wasn't aware of it. What I did notice was how at home he seemed in the wild, he could move through the trees and rocks as if he was one with them. There were instants when he actually ran on all fours. We were beside a ravine when everything started going weird.
"How soon we get there?" Shampoo asked.
"It's going to take a while," Ran-chan answered, "at this speed we won't make it until tomorrow at sunset."
"Way after sunset," Aelfred-san added, "And if this girl is who I think she is, you better have some strength left, so take at least a couple of hours to sleep."
"You sound as though you're not coming along," Ryoga-kun said. "You're not bailing out on us, are you?"
"Of course not!" Aelfred-san answered, "Look, I'll have to disappear for some time, but I will be there." He was going to say something else but was kicked in the face, in fact, all of us were attacked. We fell into an ambush!
They were five, two guys and three girls. They were very strong, even the smallest one, and we were tired from all that running. The redhead had planned it in such a way, no doubt.
"Nothing personal, babe," my opponent said, "we're only following orders."
"From that gaijin tramp, ne?" I replied.
"Why of course, after all, she's the one who made us what we are."
"You mean she's your sensei?" Ryoga-kun asked. The guy he was fighting sneered and went around him, he grabbed Ryoga-kun and bit his shoulder hard. Ryoga-kun yelled and threw him away; we regrouped and I checked his wound, there was an awful lot of blood. "What sort of creep recurs to biting?" he demanded.
"Creeps like us," one of the girls answered. They started cackling and we saw their canines extend into sharp fangs. "That's right, honey, we vampires and you dinner." I was frozen, I think all of us were, even Ran-chan. I had thought that redhead was just another bimbo going after Ran-chan. Now, it turned out she was a blood-sucking monster! I was too scared to think straight, even now, two days later, it's not clear what went through my head.
The only one who could move was Aelfred-san, he stepped up to them and stood defiantly.
" Let us go on way before you get hurt. Childer like you don't stand a chance against us." He said this with calm authority. One of the guys sneered.
"And who do you think you are to order us around, baka?" Snarling, they started coming towards us, but then stopped, with a more frightened look than ours. Aelfred-san gave a guttural growl, took a crouching stance and charged. That's how we discovered who he is.