The Mystic Hot Spring Resort

Ranma ½ is not mine and belongs to the respective copyright holders. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Chapter 3: Dinner Time

"WHAT! RYOUGA AND I AIN'T NO COUPLE!" Ranma shouted defiantly.

"Honestly Shampoo, where do you get these ideas?" Akane asked.

Ryouga stood too embarrassed to say anything. The idea of him with Ranma pleased him to no end but he was much too shy to ever say anything. "Ryouga, let me ask ya somethin'." Ranma let out unexpectedly. "How did we first meet?"

Ryouga stood perplexed. "Uumm… Let me think… I think I got lost once and you helped me on the way home back when we were both in middle school. I went to an all boys school so I didn't know too much about you. It wasn't until recently that we met again." Ryouga explained.

"I'm sorry, that Jusenkyou dream was really weird. Are you all sure that it was a dream?" Ranma asked.

"Ranma, what has gotten into you?" Akane asked.

"Wait, I've got an idea." Ranma said as she ran back into the women's changing room. A few seconds later, Ranma emerged with a bucket full of cold water. "HA!" Ranma said as he threw the water at Mousse.

"AAHH! COLD! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!" Mousse screamed out.

"Maybe… Maybe it really was a dream…" Ranma said.

"And I just took a bath too…" Mousse said.

"Quit complaining." Shampoo ordered him.

"Are you satisfied now?" Akane asked.

"I guess so…" Ranma answered.

"Good, time for dinner." Ukyo said.

As Mousse had gone on to take another bath, the rest of the group approached the clerk. "Where exactly do we eat?" Akane asked. "Right this way, follow me." The clerk responded as he led the group into the dining hall. "And when our other companion shows, can you make sure he gets here?" Akane asked the clerk. "Of course." The clerk responded.

The dining hall was rather spacious. A traditional Japanese dining hall. "Why does this place look so much better on the inside than it does on the out? When we were outside, this place looked like it was falling apart." Ranma wondered aloud.

"I thought the outside looked rather quaint." Kasumi said.

The group sat in front of their own little tables as another young man appeared to serve the group some sushi. Ranma couldn't help but wonder what the deal was with this place. Everyone had forgotten about Jusenkyou and nobody was changing shapes even with the correct type of water. It wasn't long before Mousse appeared and sat next to Ryouga.

Ranma was sitting with Akane to his left and Shampoo to his right. Not able to shake the feeling that something was up, Ranma felt extremely nervous. Especially after the bath with all the girls. "If you would all excuse me for a second, I want to ask the clerk something." Ranma said.

"Huh? What is it?" Akane asked.

"Just a quick question. It won't be long." Ranma answered and left.

Rushing over to the clerk, Ranma immediately ran into him. "Can I help you, miss?" The clerk asked.

"Okay, what the hell's the deal with this place?" Ranma asked.

"Deal? Whatever do you mean?" The clerk wondered.

"My friends have lost some of their memories." Ranma said.

"Memories? Memories of what?" The clerk wondered.

"Of Jusenkyou and the curses." Ranma said.

The clerk's eyes opened wide. "But you…" The clerk responded.

"So tell me, pal, what the hell is the deal with this place?" Ranma asked.

"I'm afraid I've said too much…" The clerk said.

Ranma reached over to grab the clerk. "RANMA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Akane's voice shouted.

"A… Aka… Akane!" Ranma said surprised.

"Why were you about to attack that clerk?" Akane asked.

"You don't understand… He knows about Jusenkyou. My dream… It's real… This place is the lie." Ranma responded.

"Honestly, Ranma, what are we gonna do with you?" Akane wondered as she grabbed Ranma's arm and dragged her back to the dining hall.

"Sorry everyone, Ranma was acting strange out there." Akane explained as she sat down.

The group had already begun eating their meal. Ranma was extremely hesitant to start eating. "I could lose my memories just like the others if I eat this stuff." Ranma thought to herself.

"I'm not really hungry." Ranma said.

"Oh, just eat something, will you?" Nabiki said. "I'd hate to see you starving to death in the middle of the night."

With the others staring at her, Ranma found herself in another no win situation. Either go hungry and have the others complain or risk losing her memories.

Ranma took a deep breath and decided to try some of the food. It actually wasn't bad. Much to Ranma's surprise, she didn't lose any of her memories. So whatever had caused the others to lose their memories wasn't in the food.

"I think I need a nap…" Ranma announced.

"Okay, I'm going with you." Akane said.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"We can't have you doing anything to that clerk." Akane announced.

Passing the clerk by, Ranma gave him a dirty look before she and Akane arrived in the girls room. A traditional Japanese room with many sleeping mats on the floor. "Well, did you bring your pajamas?" Akane asked.

"I uumm… think I did…" Ranma said.

Akane pulled out her bag and rummaged through her stuff until she found her pajamas. Ranma pulled out her own bag and discovered the men's underwear and t-shirt that she normally slept in. "Honestly, Ranma, I can't believe you sleep in that." Akane told her friend.

Ranma slipped off her kimono but felt strange. Turning around, Ranma saw Akane had just slipped off her own kimono and was standing naked, her backside facing Ranma. Ranma quickly turned around and put her usual sleeping outfit on. After a few moments, Ranma once again turned around and saw that Akane had finished putting on her outfit. "So, where do we put these?" Ranma asked as she grabbed her kimono. "I'll take that." Akane said as she grabbed her own and then grabbed Ranma's and left the room. A moment later, Akane returned.

"So, where do I sleep?" Ranma asked.

"Hhmm… You can have this bedding near the end and I'll take that one right next to you." Akane responded.

The two slipped into their beddings and Ranma quickly fell asleep. Ranma awoke a few hours later and noticed all the other girls were asleep in their own beds. Quickly and stealthily slipping out of the room, Ranma went to the clerk's desk but was shocked that nobody was there. Ranma went further and explored the dining room only to discover that nobody was there. "Damn, what's going on around here?" Ranma wondered to herself aloud. Slowly walking back to the girls room, Ranma noticed something on the clerk's desk. Moving ever closer, Ranma discovered it was a note. It simply said "Girls bath".

Without any other ideas, Ranma went to the women's bathing area but discovered nobody was there. "Hello?" Ranma said as she entered the changing room. There was no answer. "The note said girls bath. Maybe I'm supposed to actually get into the hot spring." Ranma reasoned aloud.

Approaching the hot spring, Ranma removed her top and underwear and placed them by the rocks near the spring's entrance. Taking a deep breath, Ranma slowly climbed into the water. "Hello…" Ranma said.

"Ranma…" Ranma heard a feminine voice say.

Ranma quickly turned around and saw Shampoo standing there naked. Ranma quickly turned around as Shampoo slowly entered the spring and positioned herself next to Ranma. "Shampoo?" Ranma asked nervously.

"Ranma, me know something fishy going on here." Shampoo whispered into Ranma's ear.

To Be Continued…