DISCLAIMER: I don't own it, damn it. I don't even own the spring's spirit...she belongs to my friend Theo.

Thoughts
(-) Scene Change
"Japanese"
"/Chinese/"

Confusion - Chapter 2
Thousand Mile Wish

Ranma stood on the beach, listening to the waves beat upon the shore and watching the sun slowly rise over the horizon.

"To start over I have to be whole. To be whole I need to be rid of this curse..." He muttered to himself. On his trip to the dock he'd stuck to the side roads in order to practice Mousse's Hidden Weapons technique. He had mastered it shortly before arriving and was simply waiting for daybreak to start his journey to China.

Now that all his possessions, however few they were, were guaranteed to stay dry, he took a few more minutes to stretch out before jogging into the cold ocean water. He shivered as the cold water splashed against his legs and made the fabric of his pants stick to him like a second skin.

As the familiar tingle of his curse being triggered ran through his body he automatically adjusted his clothes so they wouldn't fall off during his swim.

When she felt she was far enough from the shore she pushed the best she could from the sand beneath her and dived into the water. She emerged shortly afterwards and shook her head to get rid of the water near her eyes. And so began her two-day journey to China.

(-)

When she arrived on land two and a half days later, a brief shark encounter stalled her, the first thing she did was retrieve some hot water and find a hotel to stay in for the rest of the day. Once that was arranged she grabbed a fresh change of clothes from her pack and made her way to the bathroom for a refreshing shower and then a hot bath.

A sigh of relief escaped Ranma's mouth as he felt his tense muscles begin to relax, "Kami, how I needed this..."

While he relaxed he planned out the rest of his trip to Jusenkyo. Well, first thing's first, when this bath stops being hot and relaxing I'm going to catch up on three days worth of missed sleep. Then I'm going to pay for this room and grab my "Chinese for Dummies" book out of my pack so I read up while I travel...

That's about as far as Ranma got before he felt himself nodding off. He shook his head quickly and got out of the furo, stumbling slightly at the head rush he received. After drying himself off quickly he threw on a pair of fresh boxers and his black pants before flopping onto the bed and falling asleep moments after his head hit the pillow.

(-)

The next morning found Ranma on the dirt road towards Jusenkyo doing something that most who knew him would think was a sign of the end. He had his nose in a book as he walked.

"/Hello, my name is Ranma. Can you show me.../"

(-)

"Welcome, honored sir to Springs of Jusenkyo!" The guide paused, "I have seen honored sir before, yes?"

Ranma smiled at the guide and nodded, "/Yes, I was here with my father.../" He paused as he search for the needed word, "/...previously./"

The guide smiled, "/It's good to see at least one of my guests has decided to learn Chinese first./"

"/Well, I would not exactly say that.../" Ranma trailed off while scratching the base of his neck below his pigtail, "/Anyway, have any of the springs returned since Saffron's re...rebir...death?/"

The guide chuckled at Ranma, At least he's trying, "/Yes, many of the springs have returned. I assume you are looking for a cure for the one you already have?/"

Ranma nodded, "/The spring of drowned boy./"

The guide shook his head in the negative, "/The only thing that will do is mix your curses./"

Ranma started, "/Mi-mix the curses?/" He looked at the many pools that had been refilled, "/So there is no cure?/"

"/I never said that. I simply said that using the spring of drowned boy would mix with the curse you already possess,/" The guide said, "/If you wish for a cure you must be willing to take a chance./"

Ranma muttered, "Of course. When has my life ever been easy?" He shook his head, "/What chance?/"

The guide led Ranma to a pool that was situated off to the side, a little bit away from the rest, "/This is the spring of Cursed Cure. A bit of a contradiction, but it suits the spring well,/" At Ranma's confused look he explained, "/This spring will cure you of your curse, but at a price. Many of those who have used this pool have emerged...changed./"

"/Changed?/"

"/Changed. Sometimes they emerge with a trait or two from their previous curse, like a monkey's tail or dog-ears. Sometimes they gain personalities, such as a strange need for raw meat or an explosive temper. Other times the change is not noticeable until an event occurs that somehow awakens the change,/" The guide elaborated, "/If you choose to use this spring you will resurface a full man, but you will most likely have a personality trait. Not many people have emerged with, as I like to call it, the "sleeping" change./"

Ranma stood in thought; he wanted to be cured. But he didn't necessarily want the additional curse. If he was lucky he would gain the "sleeping" change, of course with his luck he'd end up a hermaphrodite or something...

But the guide did say that I was more than likely going to have a personality trait instead of a physical change... Ranma sighed, What the hell, it isn't like I'm not already cursed with an interesting life...

"/Will you use the spring?/" The guide asked.

Ranma nodded, "/Yes./" And then he jumped in. The guide watched as the spring glowed brightly for the briefest of moments before Ranma emerged from the water still a man.

Ranma looked down at himself and, seeing no feminine bits, sighed in relief, "Thank the Kami for small favors," he turned to the guide and bowed, "/Thank you for your help./"

The guide smiled and returned the bow, "/It was a pleasure to help a polite young man such as you./"

Ranma chuckled and scratched the back of his head but remained silent. He then took up the guide's offer to join him for tea.

As the two sat at the small wooden table that was placed within the hut, the guide and Ranma conversed in Chinese, consequently improving his speech and slowly removing his heavy accent.

"/So, where do you plan on going from here?/" The guide asked.

Ranma shrugged, "/I was thinking of heading up into the mountains for some solitude. Perhaps find an empty cave to stay in for some time./"

The guide nodded, "/And what would you do once you get there?/"

"/Meditate. Lots and lots of meditation./"

"/Ah, self-searching. The mountains in this region are very good for that./"

Ranma had a slightly bewildered look on his face, "/How did you know?/"

The guide laughed, "/I did the same when I was younger. I know of a cave that might help you as well,/" He trailed off, waiting to see if Ranma would want the directions.

"/You do? I could use a...a.../" Ranma stayed silent as he thought over which word he need to use.

"/A head start?/" The guide offered.

"/Yes, a head start. I could use a head start on my journey,/" Ranma smiled his thanks.

"/Well, I'll tell you how to get there from here. You remember how to get to the Amazon village from here, right? Right, well, you have to head north from the village for 5 miles then half a mile east to avoid and Amazon patrol. Once you've done that walk 8 miles north.../"

(-)

5 hours later, Ranma was almost to his destination. He sighed, "Who knew that this cave would be this secluded...I guess it's what I need though. It's very far from the Musk and Amazon territories...although it's a bit close to Phoenix territory than the others..."

"Oh, well. Can't exactly pick and choose can I? And I'd rather deal with the Phoenix again than the Musk or the Amazons."

His thoughts were cut off as he saw the sky darken and lightening streak through the clouds in the distance. He picked up his pace and broke into a slight run when he caught sight of what he assumed was his destination. Either way he'd stay there until the rain passed, as it was he barely got inside before the downpour began.

He leaned against the cold stonewall and watched the rain pour down heavier by the minute. He turned to the wall opposite him and saw a faint glimmer. When lightening streaked across the sky, illuminating the cave walls for Ranma, he saw symbols on the wall.

He moved forward and moved his hand towards one of the symbols. When his hand made contact with the stone, the runes lit up and revealed it to be more of a cavern than an actual cave.

He turned back to the symbol and allowed his fingers to trace the pattern. The carving was smooth, as if it was somehow burnt into the stone, and the light it gave off was warm.

He grabbed the walking stick he'd picked up halfway to the cave and slowly made his way into the cavern, wary of any traps. Several minutes of smooth traveling brought him to a large, circular, crevice.

As he walked into the crevice he idly made note of the torches that were hung on the walls on either side of the entrance. In front of his sat a spring that was roughly two times the size of the Tendo's koi pond.

A statue of an angel stood at the very back of the spring, carved out of the wall. Her hands were held out at either side of her as if she was holding something when she was being carved. Her dress was smooth and the wings that were folded behind her looked like real feathers, such was the detail and care taken into the creation of the angel.

Ranma propped his walking stick against the wall as he set his pack down and then moved to kneel before the spring. It was then he noticed a small plaque beneath the angel's feet.

"A wish is all it takes," He read aloud, "Hmph, is that so? You're very cryptic aren't you?" He asked, peering into the stony eyes of the statue.

He closed his eyes and moved to sit beside his pack, "I wish I was someplace where I could find out what I want in life, or find someone that could help me figure out who I am..."

Opening his eyes he decided it was time to sleep. Meditating could wait until the morning, for now he was tired.

Retrieving a blanket from his pack, he laid it over himself and then slowly drifted off to sleep.

(-)

Unbeknownst to Ranma, a spirit resided within the spring. As soon as he'd fallen asleep an exact ghost-like replica of the angel statue appeared on the hand of the statue. She had long brown hair that flowed over her white feathery wings and the green dress that hugged her every curve was pure silk with golden embroidery.

The spirit's job was to grant the wish of whoever came upon her spring. This hyperactive angel, however, was usually bitter. Several hundred centuries spent attached to a spring can do that to you.

As she sat upon her statue's hand she sifted through the young man's memories, reviewing his life and ultimately deciding upon how she would interpret and grant his wish. She was also quite curious as to why he didn't wish for eternal life or even to "strike it rich".

Once she'd finished watching his life through his eyes, she decided she'd grant both aspects of his wish the best she could. As she thought upon how she would go about doing this three wishes reached her ears. One from this dimension and two from different dimensions.

"I wish I could find someone for myself..."

"Please...if anyone's listening...send our people saviors..."

"(Sigh) I wish this job wasn't so damned boring!"

The spirit dwelled over these wishes and decided to kill two figurative birds with one figurative stone. But first, she decided, I must do something about this Jusenkyo magic.

After tweaking the Jusenkyo magic that surrounded Ranma she sat back and admired her handy work. It was times like these she was happy she granted that woman her wish for a spring to cure her Jusenkyo curse, of course that was after the second century of her job, so that would also explain the cursed part of the cure.

But we digress.

The spirit nodded as she cast some of the angelic magic that she controlled and smiled when Ranma stopped glowing.

She stood and gave a victory sign, "Theo, angel of wishes, does it again!" And then released a wicked laugh that would've scared the begeezus out of Ranma had he been awake to hear it.

To Be Continued...

Reviews welcome, flames will be used to fend off lawyers.

-Lov3the3vil