Chapter 5

Hunt for Self Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own this series or any other series. I am just floating an idea. I am making no money, nor plan to, off this venture. If you think of suing me over this, then grow up.

I would like to first personally thank all of those reviewing my stories. I enjoy reading your comments, and try to correct the grammatical errors I miss with my final read-through as well as my spell checkers. The suggestions you all make will help make this story better for everyone to enjoy, as well as allow my to fix some plot holes I may unintentionally leave. If you find any, let me know, and I will correct them and repost the chapters.

I find that if I let thinks sit for a while in my head; I can play them out farther. Plus by trying and keeping my chapters between 2500 and 3000+ words, it helps keep me from making the story slide out of control, turning a diamond to a pile of shit.

Please feel free to review, and make comments. If you find a spelling or wordage mistake, feel free to let me know. Thank you.

Also, please check out my other stories. I try to keep a constant level of dedication to all of them.

Ranma's attacks:

Due to his doubly cursed nature, Ranma is unable to utilize such chi based moves as the Möko Takabisha. Instead, Cologne has taught him to utilize pure ki attacks. There are as follows:

HEAVEN'S LIGHT CANNON: a continuous shot of pure positive ki.

HEAVEN'S LIGHT CHARGE: a quick shot of positive ki

HELL'S FURY CANNON: a continuous shot of negative ki

HELL'S FURY CHARGE: a quick shot of negative ki

BIPOLAR SHOT: a quick shot combining positive and negative ki, each generated by a different hand

BIPLOAR CANNON: a continuous shot combining positive and negative ki, each generated by a different hand

This is due to both the dual nature of Ranma's Jusenkyo curses as well as the personality of Ranko disrupting his ability to try and channel emotion based chi attacks. However, such moves as the Hiryü Shöten Ha and the Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken work as they require ki to enhance as well as perform; pure ki to enhance the speed as well as the conflict between hot and cold ki. The next chapter will go into more detail about this subject.

Dreamscape: a false world created by Ranma in his mind with the help of Cologne. Its purpose is to both provide a training ground for Ranma where time is not an option (weeks of dreaming can be fit into a single night's sleep), as well as a place for Ranko to exist without being alone or locked away in Ranma's mind. Though he may perfect training methods in the dreamscape, he will only acquire the ki aspects of them. He will need to practice in reality to gain the physical aspects of this training. As a result, dreamscape training in the Bakusai Tenketsu will only help Ranma see the breaking points, but will not help him earn the toughness also acquired with the training for this technique

Okay folks, the new numbers are:

Akane - 5

Hotaru - 26

Setsuna - 21

Nabiki - 11

Kasumi - 12

Ami - 9

Minako - 8

Ukyo - 3

Ranko - 4

Makato - 6

Rei - 2

Artimis/Luna (reincarnated child) - 1

Natsune or Kurumi - 2

All Senshi - 1

Anyone but Akane - 1

Sailor Past - 3

No past - 4

Love Triangle - 7

Well, Ranko has settled down and hopes of being Ranma's new sister. Ukyo has stopped crying about no one loving her, but Makato seems to think she is her old sempai, so there is a story there the other Senshi are looking forward to hearing. Akane is just upset that a good bit of people want Ranma to have more than one love interest, usually including two Senshi and one of her sisters, but everyone believes she is just pissed because she isn't mentioned as an option in those. Unfortunately, this has resulted in her being chased by Kuno, so everyone is happier save her. Uranus and Neptune have pulled Setsuna aside to explain some fun she could have with Ranko since they'll be separate, but seem to insist Ranma be a "one-woman man" for their daughter – even though Uranus is staring at Ranko and Neptune is staring at Ranma.

I won't even bother telling you what Nodoka and Queen Serenity are doing, but safe to say the cat-Saotome's won't like it

Keep voting. I haven't decided how I wish the meeting to go between mother and son, as well as whom and how many loves Ranma will have. But I already have the idea about what Setsuna saw that made her try her hardest to get Ranma to be an ally.

Pluto began to once again pull herself from the misty floor of the dimension where the Gates of Time were located; her constitution being tested at what she was seeing. She had learned from her earlier mistake about not having enough information on Ranma's life to accurately guess what he would do.

A mistake that almost cost Uranus her life.

So she steadied herself, having created a small time warp so that she would be able to observe all of Ranma's life, without too much time passing in the real world. She had decided to do this, because Haruka was now steaming about them needing to try and defeat the demon cat.

But after seeing Ranma's life to this point in her studies, she was quite amazed that Ranma wasn't already killing. She had barely been able to contain her last meal when the Nekoken training played before her. A strong desire to kill Genma then, and even now in the present, was a hard urge to fight back. The tears that followed as she watched the worthless ass sell his son time and again reinforced the idea, making it difficult not to kill him and claim that the man was a threat to Crystal Tokyo.

But she couldn't do that. She could no more change Ranma's past than that of the Silver Millennium. Despite everything, Ranma was a warrior that was needed now, the way he was.

Besides, it wasn't the father that was the biggest threat to Crystal Tokyo. And they were hardly in the position to fight a threat even bigger than their new enemy should Ranma move against them as well.

She steadied herself and turned towards a video camera. She had talked Ami into letting her borrow it—for making a montage of Ranma's life—hoping to make Haruka understand that Ranma wasn't the enemy. The future she had seen when Ranma became involved demanded that they become friends, allies at the least. And with a new darkness approaching, attacking the innocent, could they really afford not to?

Strange, though, that this darkness could come up with monsters that could easily defeat the Senshi and who had no interest in life force energy. In fact, the last one seemed more intent on eliminating Ranma than the Senshi.

Why?

If they send more monsters like that, even with Ranma's help the Senshi will be killed.

We need Ranma's assistance and help if we are to survive.

If Crystal Tokyo is to survive.

But she had just reached the point in Ranma's life at which he had fallen into the second spring. So far, there had been no indication as to show why he had reacted that way after defeating the monster. In all appearances, Ranma should have been cocky and calm even after facing death like that.

'For hurting my Ranma, you must now DIE!'

The words that Ranma had yelled out made little sense. It was almost like there was someone else speaking for him. But who? And why haven't I seen anything about them? I scanned his whole stay inside the Amazon Village, and with the exception of a meditation accident with the Elder Khu Lon, there was nothing to suggest anything like this had happened before.

But Ranma knew! And when he took control again, he fled.

Ranma Saotome, we will have a discussion about this at school tomorrow—assuming Kuno can keep clothed for that length of time and no monsters interfere.

So she just stood back, watching those events play themselves out, hoping to find an answer to take to the others before they decided to seek these answers on their own; facing a Ranma who might very well kill them before the monsters and new enemy did.

"Is you okay, Honored Sir?"

The guide had just fished Ranma out of the second pool; being careful not to touch the near victim for fear that he would be cursed as well. Ranma was on the ground, clothes soaked, in cat-female body, coughing up water. Her body had been severely weakened from the second pool, her mind assaulted with immense pain of the second transformation. The magic of Jusenkyo allowed for a person to survive one transformation curse. Though the guide had heard rumors of others mixing new curses, it was always done later, with no previous water from the first spring anywhere near them.

But two curses in under a minute would put unbelievable stress on the body, changing it in ways the curses were never meant to. Jusenkyo ensured that those cursed could survive such transformations, its chaotic magic negating the laws of nature as need be. But to tamper with such magic as the boy had been forced into, even the guide knew that magic used for purposes other than what was intended could be disastrous.

The cat-woman before him was proof of that.

"Honored Sir, you still live, yes?" He took off his coat, placing it over the cat-girl.

"I…I think so." Ranma coughed again, forcing more water out of his—or rather her—lungs. She remembered climbing out of the first pool after opening her gi and seeing that she now had breasts. When she had stood up again, she had sworn she would chase her father and rip him apart for this betrayal—for destroying her manhood over a stupid training exercise—only to be met with a cheap shot from her new panda/father.

The worthless panda hadn't even stayed to help his son/daughter. The moment Ranma had been knocked into the second spring, he had run, despite Ranma's screaming for help; that the pain was too much.

Her father had abandoned her to die.

Truth be told, the pain was intense enough for Ranma to desire death—to eliminate the pain, the suffering, of losing his very identity.

For what Genma has done now…

There would be vengeance.

But for the life of her, she couldn't understand why he had run away.

"AAAHHH!"

Ranma looked up to see someone falling off the cliff above the pools. No, if he falls in, he'll be cursed! Not caring about her own safety, she removed the coat, placing it in front of herself, and launched towards the boy, colliding in mid-air with the coat between them and hoping that her momentum would carry over the pool.

It worked, though the landing was rough.

"Um, thank you, ma'am!"

Ranma looked over, seeing the guide coming up beside her and the boy in front of her. "Ryoga, is that you?"

"Huh, you know me?" He was confused; he had never recalled seeing a cat girl before.

"Sorry Ryoga. Even if you are a pain sometimes, you don't deserve to get cursed. Sorry I missed you at the fight, but I waited three days before pops dragged me to China. You should have let me lead you to that lot behind your house. It would have been easier."

The words came too clear for the Lost Boy. "RANMA?"

"Sorry, man. Guess I changed a little." It was the last thing she said before she passed out.

"Honored Sir is very lucky. This Honored Sir kept you from falling into Spring of Drowned Piglet. Very tragic tale of little piglet who drowned in it twelve hundred years ago. Now every time someone fall in…"

"Would you be quiet? What happened to Ranma?" Ryoga was beginning to become frantic.

"No worry, sir. Effects of springs reversed with hot water, but change back when hit with cold water."

"It better!" Ryoga picked up his friend, now much lighter than he would have thought and now covered once again in the guide's coat, and followed the guide to his hut, forcing his mind not to wander to anything else except following the man in front of him. No matter what he thought of Ranma, he didn't deserve this.

Besides, he prevented me from becoming a piglet after that damn panda knocked me off the cliff.

Ranma felt a wave of pain and nausea pass through his body as he tried to sit up, questioning why he couldn't see, let alone what had happened to him.

"Ranma, I'd keep the blindfold on if I were you."

The man in question lay back down, trying to once again ignore the pain. That sounded like Ryoga! It was then that the experiences at the Cursed Springs began to play out through his mind. "Damn! Man, I was hoping that cursed spring shit was a bad dream. Ryoga, I take it my worthless Pops is still missing and presumed stupid?"

He could hear his friend chuckling; a strange sound to hear from someone who constantly said he would pound your ass into the ground. "Yeah, the bastard knocked me off that cliff and you saved me. I suppose I can forgive you for half the bread you took for that. I'd prefer not to be a little piglet."

It was Ranma's turn to chuckle. "Good thing, man. Judging by my voice, I assume I ain't a female anymore?"

The Guide finally decided to speak. "No, sir. Curse of Spring of Drowned Girl reversed with hot water, but return with cold water. Other curse not so lucky."

Ranma's mouth lost its laugh, turning to a deep scowl. "I take it that's the reason I can't take off the blindfold?"

"Yeah, man. Not unless you want to freak out and probably kill us." Ryoga tried to make the statement sound humorous, but doubted that Ranma would accept that truth without a full story. "Before you ask what it is, I should fill you in. You're lucky I speak Mandarin so the guide could tell me everything. So let me tell you before you ask any questions, okay?"

Ranma could only nod, before returning his head back to the pillow.

"Okay. It seems that when your dumbass father knocked you into the second spring; it must have warped the Jusenkyo magic that creates the curses—painfully from what I was told. The result of this warping is that the second curse was overlaid on your normal and cursed forms. So you should be thankful that the Drowned Girl Spring was the first stop and not the second."

Ranma could only agree to that. He could only guess what that would have been like, to be part man/part woman in his usual form. Claiming to be the best male fighter out there wouldn't mean much if he had both an innie and an outie. But what could the second spring have been that would be worse…than… "Ryoga, it's what I think it is, isn't it? The second spring, I mean."

"Afraid so, man. But if it's any help, you won't have to worry about them anymore, since you're now the biggest, baddest one of them out there."

Ryoga moved back as Ranma got up from the bed, removing the blindfold. "Mirror! I wanna see what that bastard did to me, NOW!" The guide pointed to a small mirror on the wall and Ranma quickly went to it. He was happy to see his face didn't protrude out any farther than it had before, and no whiskers were present. But his ears had shifted to the top of his head, and he now had a tail flapping behind his naked body—a body that was now covered with a layer of black fur.

Even if the Nekoken didn't exist in him, Ranma did the only sane and rational thing his mind would allow him to do in such a situation: he fainted.

"Well, that went well."

Ryoga turned towards the guide. "You have no idea how lucky we are right now. Let's get him back to the bed and start cooking. I doubt he'll be up to taking care of himself for the next few days." Ranma, please don't slip into it.

A small campfire lit the campsite. While Ryoga was upset that Ranma had tied a piece of rope around both their waists, he had to admit he couldn't afford to have them separated. If he got lost, it could be weeks before he found his cursed friend again; and by that time, Genma; would be dead. "So, Ranma, are you feelings a little calmer?"

The cat-man poked the fire; stirring the embers and sending sparks into the night sky. A small smile appeared on his face, spreading wider and nearly causing Ryoga to lose his own control over the fear coursing through him at the changes Ranma had mentally gone through. "Yes, you could say that. I've thought of a few more things I can do to Pops for his recent actions. I gotta be careful though; hate for him to bleed to death before I can get my payback."

Ryoga was beginning to become worried. This new Ranma was nothing like the old one, most likely the result of the Nekoken messing with his mind. "Man, you gotta calm down. I know he totally screwed you over; and you have every right to make his life hell, but killing him ain't it. How's he gonna learn anything if he's dead?" He was putting his last chance of talking some sense into Ranma tonight with that quote, something he remembered seeing some redhead in a bright green suit say when he wandered into a movie theater a few years ago. Truth be told, he didn't want his friend to kill anyone, as it would just force Ranma deeper into this mindset.

"I don't care, Ryoga." The evil smile on Ranma's face stayed as he continued to poke the fire. "Pops has done nothing but make my life a living hell. He abandoned me at Jusenkyo because he knew, the moment I found out what the second spring did to me, I would kill him. I would so hate to disappoint him."

Ryoga shyed away when Ranma began to laugh.

"Don't worry, Ryoga, I ain't gonna hurt you. Pops is all I care about. I won't rest until that bastard panda is six feet under for what he did to me. I lost everything because the bastard couldn't read Mandarin; couldn't learn about what he was dragging me into. I ain't letting him get away with it no more. Now he pays for everything."

Ryoga gulped loudly, feeling the anger pouring off Ranma. "Then what?"

"Then I leave." The smile faded from his face, as if the reminder that when he was done was enough to show what little hope he had left at a normal life. "Maybe there's someone around here that'll take me in. That guide said there was a tribe of bird people and some other animal-people like me. I can join them for a while. But I still need to kill Pops first and worry about the rest later."

He turned to his Eternally Lost companion. "Maybe we can stick together, Ryoga. That Musk tribe—I think was what he called them—would take the both of us in. Your fangs would be enough proof that you have a little wolf in you."

Ryoga turned away from Ranma and back to the fire, trying to figure a way out of his friend's plan. But it seemed Ranma's only focus that kept him from slipping completely into the Nekoken was his burning desire to kill Genma Saotome.

Kami-sama help the panda, because Hell is riding after him.

Xian Pu slowly pulled herself from the seat in front of the outside table, still reeling from the victory feast last night. I should never have trusted Baa Bur and her "special" victory punch. I swear that woman could make water into liquor. She started rubbing her head and pouring herself a glass of warm water that had been left out last night.

As she sipped the water, trying to ease her hangover, she turned towards the village to see many of the other Amazons awakening from the festivities last night. It would seem this tournament will end like the others, people hoping they didn't make any new co-wives or co-husbands. She had to smile at that. She had remembered when one of her friends met her after the last tournament, telling her how she now had two new mothers and a new daddy.

"COME BACK HERE, OLD MAN, AND DIE LIKE THE BASTARD ANIMAL YOU ARE!"

She turned towards the entrance path of the village, understanding that she had heard Japanese, but not understanding what was said. She spit out the water thinking it more of Baa Bur's special mix, as a panda came running into the village on its back paws. Following behind was what looked like a cross between a male – a well-built male in her mind – and a cat, who was carrying two backpacks and another male with fangs? Aiyah, I will never drink anything other than water and juice as long as I live!

The panda ran to the tournament log, placing its back against it, fear etched on its face. The cat-man set the backpacks down, as well as the fanged-boy, before cutting a rope that held the two together. By this time, Khu Lon had made her way near her great-granddaughter. "Xian Pu, what is going on?"

Xian Pu shook her head. "Elder, you see them as well? Thank the gods, I thought I was hallucinating."

"Ranma, don't kill him, man! You ain't a murderer!"

"Forget it, Ryoga. He dies today!"

Khu Lon stared at the two, now having names to go with them. The cat-man obviously has been to Jusenkyo, even the Musk do not retain such animal qualities with their breeding – though I have never seen a curse like this before. Perhaps I haven't been kept as up-to-date on the new springs as possible. The panda must be responsible for the one known as Ranma for being the way he is now. "Child, instruct the other Amazons to avoid this fight. I wish to see this play out more before we interfere."

"Yes great-grandmother." Xian Pu ran off to inform the others, who were already gathering weapons to face the demon.

The panda, meanwhile, had pulled a kettle of water from nowhere – something he had been preparing when Ranma found him – and poured it over his head, changing him back to his human form. "Stupid boy, you should be prepared to sacrifice anything for the art. Now, you don't have to fear cats and slipping into the Nekoken!"

Nekoken! Khu Lon was beginning to understand how bad this could get. It meant, not only had the child been afraid of cats before his transformation, he may have been sent into madness afterwards. And if he killed the man with the Shonmaoniichuan curse, what would stop him afterwards? She knew of too many failed cases of where Nekoken survivors had simply become mindless killing machines, and it appeared that only the cat-man's thoughts of revenge were keeping his mind focused enough to avoid that. I'll have to wait for an opportunity to render him immobile or unconscious. It would be folly to let him leave untrained. Maybe Happi didn't take what we know of the technique so we can help the poor child.

Who knows? Depending on what he does to his friend, maybe we can keep him as an ally.

"Old man, you took my humanity and my manhood away a few days ago. I at least owe it to you to take your life in exchange! Besides, I ain't seen you sacrifice anything for the art except what belonged to me!" By now, Ranma had a near feral grin on his face, his hands at his side, a deep animalistic growl coming from his throat. But everyone was staring at what was coming out of those hands: easily two-feet-long, red ki claws. "I am going to cut you apart, bit by pathetic bit, and leave you for the birds to peck apart."

Genma by now was quite frantic. Even his wife had never had that look on her face. He really wants to kill me! That ungrateful little girl, I'll have to make him respect me! Unleashing his forbidden techniques was the only way Genma knew he had a chance to win. "Kijin Raishü Dan!" Genma leapt up, releasing a vacuum blade at Ranma, hoping to show the boy how useless his attempts at killing his father would be.

All were amazed when Ranma simply stood there smiling, giving the others the appearance he wanted to die. Before the blade could hit, Ranma brought up his claws, blocking the blade and being pushed back a few inches. All continued to stare in awe as Ranma held the attack at bay until it dissipated. "Is that the only attack you've kept hidden from me, old man? Well, let me see what I can do with it. Nekoken Kijin Raishü Dan!" Ranma flung his blades forward, releasing them from his hands and watching as the spun towards Genma.

Genma may be slow witted, but even he knew enough to dodge the ten vacuum blades coming at him. As he leapt aside, he saw the blades cut into the tournament log and its supporting poles, slicing them like butter. Damn, how did the boy get powerful enough to do that? "Umisen-Ken!" Genma cloaked himself in the shadows, hoping to be able to sneak around Ranma and attack him.

However, he forgot exactly whom and what he was fighting.

Ranma, after seeing his father disappear, closed his eyes and tried to locate him by sense of smell and sound. He could hear Genma's near-silent foot steps, his heart beating fast to try and cope with the stress of being hunted by his own cursed son. He could smell the stink of sweat pouring off the man. Nice trick at being able to hide your form and ki, old man, but it won't help you against an animal! "Another good trick. Let me try. Umisen-Ken!" Ranma began to fade from the view of the others.

Ryoga was standing there stunned. He knew Ranma could pick up tricks by seeing them a few times, but now he was seeing a trick once and repeating it. Damn, if I use my Iron Cloth technique to stop him, he'll copy it and use it right against me. How the hell can I stop him?

Khu Lon and the rest of the Amazons had similar thoughts. These outsider males were fierce combatants, and if they weren't cursed – or in Genma's case severely obese and obviously stupid – they would grab them up. But for now, they stood back and waited until the elder told them to interfere.

They only had a few seconds each to contemplate what they could do to stop the rampaging cat-man before they witnessed Genma appear out of thin air, flying towards the remains of the tournament log. Ranma soon appeared a few feet away from where Genma had first returned. "Old man, if that's all you got, then I should kill you now; you ain't anymore use to me." Ranma cracked his knuckles, the evil grin returning to his face, before flinging his arms down and allowing the ki claws to quickly return to his hand.

By now, Genma was sweating bullets, and not just from the recent battle with Ranma they had while hidden with the Umisen-Ken. Now his son was marching towards him, claws extended ready to end his life. Genma began launching as many vacuum blades as he could, hope to at least injure his son and run away. But Ranma used his claws and batted them away, leaving several cuts in the ground beside him. Finally, in an act of desperation, Genma launched a quick kick at his son, hoping that when Ranma would duck, it would give Genma enough time to run for his life.

Ranma merely stepped aside from the kick and quickly countered with a punch to Genma's forehead, sending the overweight man back into the cut up logs and knocking him out.

"That's it, old man. So much for the great skills of Genma Saotome. Say hello to Mom on the other side." Ranma raised his fists, ready to send his ten Nekoken Kijin Raishü Dan to finish off his father, when he felt a tap on his neck. He tried to turn around to attack the person who dared interrupt his vengeance, but noticed his world growing dark.

The Elder quickly turned towards Ryoga, slowing her breath after sedating the poor cat-boy with a shiatsu point. "Now, child, I expect you to tell me everything that has happened to this boy. NOW!"

Ranma slowly awoke, his hand quickly going to his forehead, a large headache screaming at him trying to collapse his skull.

"Oh, I see you have finally awaked, young one."

Ranma bolted upright, an action later made painful as his blood surged forth and made the headache that much worse. "What the hell happened?"

"I prevented you from killing the worthless male who raised you. Though after hearing your friend's story, I might not repeat that if given the option."

Ranma turned to see a small old woman sitting on a stool across the room, a large wooden stick beside her. "He deserves to die; he cost me my manhood and humanity and left me for dead. Give me one single reason why he shouldn't die by my hands?"

The woman smiled. "Normally I would approve of you becoming a blooded warrior, but your eyes do not show the soul of a killer. And that is what you would be if you did such a thing."

Ranma turned away, his eyes downcast. He knew he wasn't a killer. He also knew how close he came to being one, to using the Art to take a life for the sole purpose of revenge. It made him feel a little sick—something he was not used to—as he tried to never abuse the Art like his father. The only exception was stealing—which he only did for survival when hunting wasn't an option. And he never stole from those who couldn't afford to lose the food; only food and never money or possessions. "I'm not human anymore, killing is accepted for animals."

"Jusenkyo may have made you part cat, child, but it does not strip away your humanity. Only you can do that with your actions." She hopped over to his bed, standing beside him and placing her small hand on his shoulder. "Though I openly admit I am having a hard time not ordering your father's immediate death, I know it would serve no purpose other than to make your soul grow cold and allow the madness of the Nekoken to take your mind once again. So I am here to offer you another option."

Ranma turned towards the old woman. In his mind, he could hear Genma's voice him that women had nothing to teach him; that they were weak. He could hear it telling him that he couldn't learn anything useful from this woman. It could also be heard saying to him that he should quickly take any offer. "What's this offer and what's the price? I don't want to end up selling my soul or becoming a slave."

She smiled. Good. The child at least has more common sense and intelligence than that worthless male. "I offer to train both your mind and body in the ways of the Amazons, including our fighting styles. The cost is that you become an ally of the village, willing to assist us when we need it against our enemies. We will teach you skills of the mind, body, and soul you cannot find anywhere outside this valley."

"And what do you get out of this?"

"We get a powerful ally who has unlimited potential and an innate ability to contribute more to our life than anything or anyone before. For me personally, I think it would be quite fun to teach you, child. It isn't often a woman my age finds a new task that piques her interest. It is my hope that you will not give up your humanity simply because one idiot saw fit to ruin your life. You should know that I have been granted approval by our ruling counsel to deal with you as I see fit. If you don't wish for my training and tutelage, I will let you go. With or without your father is completely up to you."

Ranma thought her offer over. "How long would I need to stay here? I was hoping to return to Japan in a few months. It's my home, even if the idiot never let me have one."

"A month or two for some of the techniques. As for returning to your home, I was planning on taking my great-granddaughter out to explore the world as part of her training. We will be able to continue your training there. Be warned that I will also be teaching you to also accept your female body as well as your male. It would be folly to consider it worthless, seeing as how cold water is much more available than hot water."

Ranma closed his eyes, forcing away the headache and trying to comprehend what was offered to him. He had, once too often, jumped into things head first – the curse the most recent example of what his father had saddled him with. Now, he needed to consider things carefully. "I need ta ask for few things. I decide my father's punishment when it comes time for me to leave, and you have to help my friend find a cure for his family curse. He doesn't deserve to be constantly wandering around without a home."

Cologne smiled. So, he does have a heart for others. I knew I made the right decision. "Very well, I consent to your conditions. Do we have a deal?"

Ranma turned towards her again. "It looks like you have a new student."

Pluto finished the tape with a few scenes of Chinese devil hunters attacking Ranma, trying to "purify his soul". It struck Sailor Pluto as weird since devil hunters normally didn't attack unless they sensed demonic energy. Great, so he ran into every wannabe from Mongolia to Vietnam. No wonder he is pissed at them in general. It also explained his early uneasiness around them, as it was their job to fight such things as he was too often accused of being.

Removing the tape, Pluto prepared to head home, knowing that the other Senshi will be there waiting for her. She didn't find many references to explain what had happened when Ranma attacked Haruka, but knew enough that she would have to call him tonight and find out. Waiting until tomorrow's classes was no longer an option; Ranma was too dangerous to not understand, and the Senshi were much too weak to stop him, should he go rogue. The others would need to see the tape first, before she could bring him to a meeting to explain as to why his female form had attacked Uranus for making fun of "her Ranma".

There is too much going on here. We have a new enemy that can make powerful demons that can absorb magic, a powerful ally that may have mental problems, and I have to make this alliance work if Crystal Tokyo is to survive. I know Ranma isn't from the past, but I can only hope he can help us secure the future.

With that, the Guardian of Time teleported home, her mind now much more confused about what would lie in store for all of them.

The gate however, had finished showing images of Ranma's past, and started at the beginning. It showed one peace of information that Sailor Pluto didn't have, as it had nothing to do with Ranma's training.

"I am sorry, Mrs. Saotome, but the other child didn't survive."

The group was now in the furo, Ranma having finished restoring his friends back to human form and letting them dress, figuring it was better for them to not be seen by the Tendo's yet.

"Aiyah! Is too too better to not be wet cat." The bubbly Amazon girl was back in dry clothes, fresh from Ryoga's backpack.

"Man, I am so glad you found us. What the hell were you doing in that park anyway?"

Ranma looked over at the two, a little surprised at how close they had gotten…and if his nose was telling the truth, how close they were. "I was fighting a demon over in Juuban and had to walk home. I had another episode."

Both his friends paled, knowing what that meant. "Aiyah, you is okay, yes?"

"Yeah, we had another talk. To be honest, Shampoo, I'll be glad when we can separate. I think the strain is starting to get to her. But enough about me, what the hell are you two doing here and why are you cursed?"

"Is stupid Mousse's fault. Him challenge Ryoga for Shampoo and drag fight near Jusenkyo. Idiot boy knock us both into springs."

Ryoga raised his fist. "When I find his worthless ass, I swear I'm gonna kill him."

"Shampoo really happy her airen will make dead meat of duckboy."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Okay, the duckboy comment, I assume, means Mousse fell into a spring."

Both Ryoga and Shampoo nodded their heads.

"So what does the airen thing come from? Ryoga, did you get married without me? And here I thought you'd have at least invited your best friend to celebrate with you."

Ryoga was blushing while Shampoo was rubbing against and holding his arm. "Well, Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung saw one of our practices and told the other elders that I had defeated Shampoo, so we ended up married."

Ranma stood up, placing a hand on both their shoulders. "Do you two want this?"

The both nodded. "To be honest, man, after Cologne fixed my sense of direction, I thought about what I wanted, and, well, I can't say I'm too upset at being married to Shampoo."

Shampoo got a serious look on her face. "Except airen too too nervous and passes out every time we try having honeymoon."

Ranma fought hard not to laugh out loud as Ryoga got redder. "Its okay Shampoo, I'm certain you'll get him over his shyness in time. He's probably just waiting until you guys get married here in Japan. Anyway, congratulations, you two. I'm glad you found each other."

"Yeah, that's the reason." Thanks Ranma, I owe you one.

After a few more silent moments, Ranma decided to take the initiative again. "So, do you two plan to tell me why you came back to Japan?"

"Oh, Shampoo's great grandmother coming in week. She say she know how to separate Ranma and Ranko. Soon, you be two too too cute cats!"

The two watched as Ranma's eyes went back into his head and the cat man fell backwards. "Um, Shampoo, I think we should have waited until he was sitting down."

"AIYAH! Shampoo no think news would do this!"

After securing her cart inside the storeroom of her new shop, Ukyo began to finish the rest of her preparations. It was strange for her; she was so close to finding Genma Saotome and "explaining" his errors to him about what he had done to the Kuonji family, and yet it was by simple blind luck that the answer came to her.

When she had first come across Ranma, she was ready to make his life hell, beat him within an inch of his life, and make him sorry he had betrayed her trust.

But now, what could she do to him that some demented kami had not? Not only did his father torture him enough to make him afraid of cats – something Ukyo had to be glad that she had missed – his father also got him a gender switching curse as well as another one that tore away Ranma's humanity.

Stepping out of the shower, she turned towards a mirror to look at her body, no longer hidden behind the guise of being male. She tried to imagine if it had happened to her, if she had lost both her womanhood and humanity in one fail swoop. Being male might not be so bad – since it would be reversible – and truth be told, she knew her father had always wanted a male heir. Why else would the bastard try to get rid of me at the first chance he saw I liked a guy, let alone trust Genma to raise me! But to lose your humanity, to become the very thing you feared most in life…

She shuddered, quickly beginning to dress in her fighting outfit. It was a thought she preferred not to think about.

Grabbing her battle spatula, she headed out, smiling at the thought of tearing Genma apart. She knew her father would let Ranma go, as one could hardly be expected to blame him now; even he couldn't do that. Her father had blamed both, but she knew the truth, and explaining what happened to Ranma by Genma's own hands, she would ensure that her father's edict for Ranma's death would be cancelled. He had suffered enough and her father would have to not only assume the blame for thinking that Genma would have raised her well, but also assuming that Ranma had any part in it. If not – well, the loss of her father was no big deal. The man had barely raised her as it was, and even then he blamed her somewhat for being left behind.

Of course, she would "explain" his folly as well in this situation. Stupidity such as his could not go unpunished.

She had become so engrossed in her thoughts of what to do to the panda-man when she arrived at the Tendo Dojo – as well as her own father's punishment – that she failed to notice a woman and ran into her, knocking them both to the ground. "I'm so sorry, ma'am, I wasn't paying attention."

"Quite all right, Ms. Kuonji." The woman with red hair stood up, checking the silk wrapped silk bundle at her side before offering a hand. "I do hope you will tell me what has gotten my favorite young lady so distracted."

Ukyo smiled. When she had first set up shop here, this woman had been her first customer, and the only one to openly admit that she knew Ukyo was a woman. However to Ukyo's surprise, she had failed to notice that Konatsu and Tsubasa were males. Then again, it was easier to hide an Adam's apple than to openly show you didn't have one. This woman, who would only say her name was Nodoka and asked to be called Auntie, had helped Ukyo run her business for a while. Quickly, she became the mother figure Ukyo had lacked when she heard Ukyo's tale. Strangely, she asked Ukyo not to reveal the names of those who dishonored her, as Nodoka did not want to have the temptation to hunt them down herself. "I'm sorry, Auntie, but earlier today I ran into one of the two I have been hunting, and learned that the story is much more complicated than I thought."

"What do you mean, dear? I thought they ran out and left you?"

"Well, Auntie, I learned that the boy didn't even know I was a girl, let alone that we were engaged to each other. His worthless father had told him I was waving goodbye instead of crying about being left behind."

"My, his parents were certainly delinquent in their responsibilities, then."

"Parent, Auntie. He only had his father. Back then, he told me that his father had informed him that his mother died shortly after they left."

"My, how sad that a man would allow his child's knowledge to be so small about the basic differences between genders, let alone failing to inform him of the engagement of honor. It certainly wasn't very manly of the father. How a woman fell for such a poor excuse for a male is beyond me."

My, how the kami have a wicked sense of humor.

Ukyo shook her head. The only fault she had with this woman was her obsession with manliness, especially when it came to trying to set Ukyo up on dates while she was looking out for her revenge. "Actually, Auntie, from what the boy told me his father had done to him, I doubt very much that the father is manly at all. How my father ever thought that this worthless asshole could have raised me with his son is beyond my understanding. Hell, I'm surprised the son actually is even still sane."

"Please watch your mouth, dear."

"Sorry about that, Auntie." Ukyo bowed her head, admonishing herself for forgetting how much this woman despised curse words.

"That's alright, please continue."

"Well, it seems that his father trained him in a technique that made the child deathly afraid of cats. And recently I found out that his father dragged him to China and cost him his humanity and his manhood thanks to two curses."

Nodoka gasped. "Oh my, what do you mean, dear?"

"Well, the idiot took him to a cursed training ground where, if you fall into a spring, you become whatever died in that spring when hit with cold water, to which hot water reverses the curse. But I have no intention of telling my father that, he would fly me there in a heartbeat and throw me into the spring to turn me into a boy.

"Anyway, his idiot father got knocked into a spring and now turns into a panda. Then his now-panda father knocked him into the Spring of Drowned Girl. When he got out of there, his father used a cheap shot and knocked his child into the Spring of Drowned Cat."

"So he turns into a cat and a girl?"

"No, Auntie. Apparently, the first curse became the water based one, so he still can be a man. The second curse however altered both his forms, and made him permanently part cat."

"And since his father made him afraid of cats… Oh my!"

"Yep. After hearing all of this and seeing it for myself, I forgave him. And to be honest, Auntie, I was actually glad I was left behind if that's what had happened to him."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, the boy offered to adopt me into his clan, but first we are both going to beat the hell out of his father. Apparently they are now staying at the Tendo Dojo. After we do that, I plan to call my father and let him know that I am officially a Saotome and tell him I will live as a girl from now on?"

"Excuse me, dear, did you say Saotome?"

Ukyo's hand flew to her mouth. "I'm sorry, Auntie, I know you didn't want to know their names, but yes, his father's name is Genma Saotome. Ranchan said he'd tell me about the other stuff his father put him through, so I may just decide to make panda okonomiyaki."

"I see." Ukyo looked on as the woman closed her eyes for a minute, appearing to try and judge her words. "Dear, do you still wish to marry this boy?"

"I'm afraid I can't, Auntie. I looked in his eyes and saw terrible loneliness. If I tried to force him to honor his worthless father's agreement, then I'd be taking advantage of him. If we are meant to be together; then it'll happen on its own. If not, than I'll be his best friend once again. Besides, my Ranchan always did like my okonomiyaki the best. I can win him easily if I try. But now he needs a friend, not someone trying to judge him or someone trying to control him. I'll be damned if I hold him to any agreement his worthless father had a part in. If he hid something like a marriage betrothal from Ranchan, imagine what else he may have hidden from him."

The woman smiled, but Ukyo could see a sense of deep concern and fear in her eyes. "That is very wise of you, child. May I join you? I also have some business to tend to with Genma Saotome, but I believe I may need to inform him of my feelings about how he has treated his son."

"Is that why you never talk about your family, Auntie?"

"In a way, dear. Genma is responsible for what has happened to me, and I do wish to show you my gratitude if you will allow me to join you in your revenge. You see, he also had a contract with me, and I intend to see that he pays the price for violating it." Nodoka emphasized her point by fingering her bundle.

Ukyo looked at the woman, fear in her eyes. "Auntie, you better not be holding Ranchan to that contract. No matter what it is, it wouldn't be right to judge him for what that panda did to him. I won't let you hurt him after finally getting my friend back in my life."

Nodoka looked at the girl. "Even if it was a matter of honor?"

Ukyo stood toe-to-toe with the woman, staring as deeply into her eyes as possible to convey how serious she was. "Auntie, any contract that Genma Saotome signs has no honor in it. If you can't accept that and still plan to make Ranchan suffer, then you never really cared for the boy either, you're just using him like that fat bastard did, in my opinion. And I, for one, will not let anyone use my best friend like that."

Nodoka closed her eyes, obviously trying to fight back tears. Ukyo could tell that whatever the contract was, it had some clause that must have had a penalty to Ranma; it had to for this woman to be acting so. The bastard probably sold him to her or promised him as a fiancé. Why else would she be fighting it so and trying to justify it like I was – as a matter of honor?

"Child, I will not harm Ranma; of that you have my word. If what you say is true, then Genma Saotome has destroyed his family's honor, which negates any deals he has made on his own behalf or that of his son. But I ask you to allow me to hold Genma to his own failures to uphold it."

Ukyo smiled, gladdened to see that her friend was not planning on upholding the son for the sins of the father. "Auntie, you're like family to me. How could I not? Just wait until you meet Ranchan, he may look rough, but once you look into his eyes, you'll love him. You won't want to harm him in the slightest. Hell, you'll want to grab him up and cuddle with him till he purrs you to sleep."

With that, the two woman left towards a certain dojo in Nerima, ready to deliver some divine justice on a certain overweight panda.

Sometimes, bad things do happen to bad people. But even Ukyo did not know how much good she had done just then for her best friend.

If I messed anything up, then let me know including typos.

Any suggestions on how I should continue the story or improve it would also be accepted.

Also, if you have any suggestions for how this should go, let me know. My own imagination, while vast, always enjoys a new thought. Also, catch me if you don't think I am making the characters true to form, or a way to make them better.