Chapter 55 The Road to Treasure Mountain
After the first day of travel toward Treasure Mountain, Ranma had to admit to himself that Akane was right. Taking Mint and Lime on the train would have been a nightmare. Every time Akane said anything at all to either of them, they launched into a litany of "She spoke to me, a woman actually spoke to me!" reminiscent of Gosunkugi at his worst. The only fortunate thing about traveling this way was that the path they had taken managed to avoid meeting people, or at least allowed Ranma to keep the two of them under wraps. Prince Herb was silent throughout most of the day, obviously thinking of something.
"Ranma," Akane said, interrupting his musings, or rather her musings courtesy of a brief rainfall an hour or so before.
"What?" Ranma replied, rousing herself from her reverie, though she had as always been perfectly aware of the things around her.
"It is getting late, shouldn't we be looking for a place to stay for the night?" her wife asked.
Ranma looked at the sun, noticing how close it was to the far horizon and replied, "Yeah, it is. There's a small glade up ahead, if I remember correctly, that we can set up the tents in. That'll be okay with you, won't it, Prince Herb?"
Herb replied softly, "That will be fine, Ranma." She grimaced unseen under her hood and added, "Besides, I'd rather not have to deal with people. Or more accurately, I suppose, try to keep Mint and Lime from making fools of themselves."
Ranma giggled, surprising Herb, and said, "I'm not sure how you managed to survive dragging them around on your trip here in the first place."
Herb snorted in amusement and said, with a noticeable shudder, "I don't want to remember how bad it was. Constantly having to chase after them, every time they saw a woman. And the questions, oh the questions! It nearly drove me crazy. And to think I have had to put up with it for almost three weeks."
Ranma raised an elegant eyebrow at that and asked, softly, "How long has it been since you received your curse?"
"I'm starting my fourth week, why?" Herb replied.
Ranma and Akane blanched. Akane replied, "I suspect we'll have a long talk tonight after we send your servants to bed."
"What about?" Herb asked.
Ranma replied, softly so she couldn't be overheard, "About being a woman and what that means." She snickered for a moment.
Akane asked a question with her eyes.
"Just that payback is a bitch. I was remembering how I ducked out of telling Ryoga and dumped him on Ukyo. And I was really hoping I wouldn't have to give the 'Talk' until we had children of that age," Ranma replied, with a wry grin.
Akane giggled prettily and replied, "That was kind of sneaky of you. I didn't realize that you stuck Ukyo with that."
"I figured that he's rather hear about it from her. Of course, I made sure that he didn't find out about it until after he changed curses," Ranma said, with an evil grin. She looked around as they entered the small glade. It turned out to be a bit larger than she had remembered, with a small spring-fed pool surrounded by high rocks on three sides off to one side of the glade. The steam coming off of the water, as well as the slight scent of sulfur, indicated that it was a hot spring.
"Hm, I don't remember that being here," Ranma said, pointing to the spring, "But it'll sure come in handy."
"We didn't know if you had any tents, so we brought three of them," Akane said, as she dropped her backpack on the ground and stretched.
"Actually, they have a pavilion for me and a small tent for them," Herb said.
There was a moment of silence and then Herb added, "But thank you for thinking about it anyway."
"All right then, let's get the campsite put together. We'll need a pit dug for the fire, and some firewood for later, and the tents set up," Ranma said. He turned to Akane and asked, "Which do you want to do?"
"Why don't you put up the tent?" Akane said softly, "Then you can go change if you want. I'll take care of the fire."
"Mint and Lime will put up our lodging," Herb said, "I'll help you get the firewood."
Ranma thought for a moment and replied, "That's sounds like a workable plan." She shrugged out of her pack and set it on the ground. She took a roll of canvas out and looked around the glade for a moment until she found a relatively flat spot upwind of the pool. She unrolled the canvas and took out the poles and started snapping the poles together.
After thirty minutes or so, the campsite was established. Akane soon had a roaring fire going using the wood that Herb had dragged in from the surrounding trees. To her surprise, Ranma had opted to stay female. When Akane looked at her in surprise, she just smiled and said, "I'll explain a bit later."
Mint volunteered to fix dinner. While he was cutting up the various vegetables and meats that he had pulled from his large backpack, Herb, Akane and Ranma made their way over to the hot spring for some privacy. Lime kept Mint company.
"I'm not sure how long you'll be able to hide your curse from those two," Akane said with a frown, "You can't keep walking around in that hooded cape forever. You'll need to bathe, if for no other reason."
Herb sighed heavily and said, "I know that Akane. But this is so hard."
"I can relate to that," Ranma said softly, "It took me a long time to get used to changing, but now it's just a part of my life. You have it rough right now because your curse is locked."
"But that could also be good. Because you've had to be a girl now for a while, it might help you adjust," Akane suggested, "But I have to admit, I don't really know how you feel about all of this. I can't imagine how I'd react if the situation was reversed."
"Why are you helping me?" Herb asked.
Ranma shrugged and replied, "A couple of reasons I guess. One, I've gone through at least some of what is happening to you. Two, I always want to learn more techniques that I can integrate into martial arts. According to Cologne, you should have several things that you can teach me, and there might be one or two things I can teach you."
"Ah, enlightened self-interest then," Herb mused, "That's a motive that I can understand."
Ranma grinned and said, "Spoken like a true prince. Just like, oh what was his name Akane, that Italian guy we had to read about, Machia-something,"
"You mean you actually were paying attention in class. The name was Machiavelli," Akane said with a smile.
"Yeah, him," Ranma said.
Mint sat next to the fire, absent-mindedly stirring the meal he was preparing, while he gazed across the clearing at his prince. Something was troubling him, down in the dim recesses of his brain, but it just wouldn't surface. He knew something was off, but he couldn't put a finger to it. Prince Herb had been acting strange ever since he had returned from his brief sojourn to the valley far below their mountain, and ordered them to be ready to travel the next morning. He had never seen him unless he was dressed in that hooded cloak, and the prince had refused to allow either of his retainers too close to him. And all of his orders had been given in that harsh whisper, in a voice barely recognizable as his own.
"Mint," Lime said suddenly, "Does something about Prince Herb strike you as odd?"
"I was just thinking that very thing," Mint replied, "Ever since he came back from his training trip and then dragged us off to this place filled with people, something's different."
They watched in surprise as Ranma and Prince Herb began to spar. Neither of them were going full blast, though it was obvious that Ranma was hardpressed to counter each of their prince's blows. Then suddenly, one of Ranma's strikes got through, but all she managed to do was slash the prince's clothing and then as she fell backwards, she ripped the cloak off. Prince Herb stood there in shock, one breast exposed. Quickly, she redid the tunic that she was wearing.
"Prince Herb!" Mint exclaimed.
Lime asked, "Those objects on your chest, may we touch them?"
"No you fools," Herb said coldly.
"Sorry, Prince Herb," Ranma said softly.
Herb sighed and said, "I suppose I should be angry, but it was my idea to do some sparring. You're pretty good for a mere mortal, I'll grant you that." She turned to her retainers, and said, "Yes, I fell into the cursed spring at Jusenkyo, and was doused with the water from the Chiisuiton, the sacred Pail of Preservation so I am stuck in this form. That is why I came to this land, to find the Kai-sui-fu, the teakettle of liberation, and restore my manhood."
"But why did you not tell us, or tell your father, the king?" Lime asked, his eyes wide.
Herb stared at the ground for a moment and then with a sudden jerk, exposed herself. "Because you would have tried to look at these," she said, pointing to her pink-tipped breasts. "I've seen how you've behaved since we left our homeland. Every time you met a woman, these are the only things you paid attention to," she growled.
"I think you've made your point," Akane said dryly, as the two men began to bleed from their noses.
Herb pulled her top back on, covering herself.
"Is dinner about done?" Ranma asked.
Mint started in surprise and then replied, "Yes, it is Master Ranma."
After dinner was over and Mint and Lime had cleaned up, Herb ordered them to go to bed. She turned to Ranma and said, "I know I'm going to regret saying this, but I really need that hot spring. I haven't had a decent bath since I got this curse. Sponge baths just don't cut it."
"Why would you regret saying that?" Akane asked, "I know I wouldn't mind a good soak right now."
"Mrs. Saotome, I am a guy, no matter what I look like right now," Herb said, blushing, "I don't think it would be proper for me to see you like that."
Akane giggled and said, "I've got a swim suit I can wear. That will protect most of my modesty."
"I've seen that suit," Ranma said, "I think it's more like some of your modesty. Come on, Prince, we can get started. I'll get the soap and rinse buckets if you want to head to the spring."
Herb looked at them and then longingly at the spring. With a heartfelt sigh, she said, "I really do want to get clean. Fine, I'll meet you there." She headed for her pavilion, and ducked inside the large tent.
Ranma quickly kissed her wife and the two of them went to their tent. Akane rummaged around in her backpack for her suit while Ranma found the bathing supplies, a couple of towels and a bathrobe. Ranma took her clothes off and put the robe on. She also found a couple of the supplies that she thought might be required that evening.
Akane quickly changed into her suit, and pulled a short robe on over it. The two of them made their way to the spring, where they found Herb sitting on one of the large rocks, already rinsing herself off.
Akane shucked off her robe and entered the pool, finding it to be nicely hot. Ranma wandered around until she found where a small cold water stream was entering the pool. She pulled off her robe and began rinsing her body off.
"Ranma, why didn't you get into the hotter water and change?" Akane asked.
"A couple of reasons," Ranma replied. She looked at the prince or rather princess sitting on the rock and said, softly, "She's one of them." Ranma watched as Herb continued scrubbing her body. Ranma sighed and walked over to Herb and took the sponge out of her hand. She gently began to scrub Herb's back. "Akane was right, you know, earlier, when she said what happened to you could be a good thing," Ranma said softly, "Not that getting cursed was good, don't get me wrong about that. But, getting locked as a girl for a while might not be too bad. I know when I changed, I felt so awkward each time for the longest time. Nothing felt right, my balance was always off, especially with these on my chest, and my hips just moved differently. It took me a long time to get this body trained to be a good martial artist."
Herb froze for a moment and then shuddered. "I hadn't really thought of that, Ranma. It was tough the first few days, but having to stay this way has allowed me to become used to this body."
"There's no cure for the curse, at least that I'm aware of, so I finally decided to accept it as a part of who I am," Ranma said.
"How come you didn't change back?" Herb asked.
"Well, it really doesn't bother me anymore. Plus, it wouldn't be a good idea for the next few days anyway," Ranma said. She hesitated and then said, "Since your people have used the Spring of Drowned Girl in the past, you know that the change is complete, right?"
Herb turned slightly to look back over her shoulder. "I guess I know that. So?"
"Uh, that means the change isn't exactly skin deep. We really are female, completely female," Ranma said.
"Okay, I follow that, so?" Herb asked.
Ranma sighed and said, "That means that we have all of the things that it takes to allow us to become pregnant and everything that goes along with that."
Herb stared at Ranma aghast as all the color from her face disappeared.
"And one of the things that goes with that is something called a period," Ranma continued relentlessly, "It happens every four weeks, when the body gets rid of its egg and the blood lining the womb. And lucky us, we get to experience it. Made me realize how stupid my father was calling women the weaker sex."
"So all I have to do is stay male, and it won't bother me," Herb said, "Right?"
Ranma chuckled grimly and replied, "Wrong. For whatever reason, the curse doesn't care. It happens and if you try to skip it, eventually it gets very painful. I've found that it's easier to just let it occur. And guess what, since you've been a girl for almost four weeks, it's about time for your first one. Welcome to the club."
Herb looked at her with horror-filled eyes, and then to all of their surprise, she began to cry. Ranma looked helplessly at Akane and then gingerly held Herb in her arms, while the poor boy turned girl cried against her shoulder.
Herb finally calmed down and said, "Sorry, Ranma, I don't normally fall apart like this. Not very manly of me." She smiled a bit wryly and added, "Though I guess there's not much about me that's manly right now."
Ranma began to giggle, shocking Herb. Ranma waved at her for a moment and then said, "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you. Don't tell me you were fed that man among men crap too?"
"Well of course I was. Remember the way I was raised. I'm the first female I've seen since I was taken away from my mother," Herb said, "I was taught to be a proud warrior prince."
Ranma said, "Just like I was raised by my father to be a proud martial artist, to be the most manly person around. Instead looks like we get to be the punch line of a particularly bad joke. I just wish I knew which of the kami Pop pissed off that got my life so screwed up."
Herb gazed at her for a moment and then replied, "You and me both, Ranma, you and me both." She thought for a moment and then said, "I'm glad I ran into you. At least now I know that I'm not the only person going through this. It helps in some odd way." She held out her hand and asked, "Friends?"
Ranma smiled prettily and said, "Sure." She clasped Herb's hand and shook it. "I need to finish my bath, so why don't you rinse off. Akane and I still have a few more things to go over with you about all of this." She stood up and walked back over to where her rinse bucket was and began to soap herself up.
Herb rinsed off and slid into the hot water. Ranma finished cleaning herself and slid into the cool water by the small stream.
"Okay, what else do I need to know about?" Herb asked. She listened intently as Akane began to describe her new monthly visitor, her face paling at the description. She couldn't turn away, she couldn't stop listening. It was almost like watching a disaster that you know you can't prevent occur. Finally, Akane stopped talking, and put away the supplies she had described.
"Every month?" Herb asked.
"Yep, at least until we get too old," Ranma said.
Herb shuddered and looked at Akane with new respect. Then a thought struck her and she asked, "Does my personality change? Will this cause me to like men?"
Ranma chuckled and replied, "How come that's always the first question that gets asked. As far as we can tell, I don't change much. I'm a little more open with my emotions, but that might be because of how I was raised. Pop always taught me that men don't show their emotions, not that he obeys that rule, so it's easier for me like this still."
"And as far as liking guys, probably not. Granted, physically you are female, but your mind still is male. So while your body may want to react, your mind won't let it. At least that's what we think," Akane said.
"That's how it's been for me at any rate, even when I had guys chasing after me, that didn't do anything for me. Well, except for making me sick. I'm only attracted to women, no matter which gender I am," Ranma added.
Herb still looked troubled as she pulled herself out of the hot water. As she dried off, and dressed, she said, "I see this is much worse of a curse than I thought it was. Thank you for sharing with me what you have. Once again, I am in your debt."
Ranma said sharply, "Herb, don't think of it as a curse. Seriously, that could be one of the worst things that you could do. This is still new to you, so I don't expect you to be as comfortable with this as I am. It took me long enough. We'll help you as best we can, but most of this will have to be you."
"I think I'll turn in for the evening. You've given me a lot to think about. I'll talk more in the morning. Of course, we'll have Mint and Lime to deal with," Herb said. She waved and headed toward her pavilion as the sun began to sink behind the high mountains surrounding them.
The next morning, the sky was promising a gorgeous day, as the puffy white clouds floated across the azure sky. Ranma and Akane made their way to the fire, after striking their tent and putting everything back in their packs.
Herb watched as the two girls approached her, and said, "Good morning, Ranma, Akane. Did you sleep well? I seem to recall some loud noises last night."
Akane blushed and replied, "Once we got to sleep, I was out like a light."
"Sorry," Ranma mumbled, her face equally red, "I thought we were quiet."
Herb giggled and said, "Well, don't forget, I am a descendent of dragons, and we do have good hearing."
Ranma shook her head in disbelief and then asked, "What other abilities did you pick up? I mean, that you wouldn't mind telling me. I already know that you're pretty fast, probably even faster than I am as a guy, and plenty strong. Some of those blows yesterday would have hurt if they had landed."
Herb looked thoughtfully at Ranma for a few minutes, the silence stretching out between them. Finally she sighed and said, "Well, when I'm a guy, I can do ki attacks."
"What's being a guy have to do with that?" Akane asked, "I can do that and I'm a girl. Ranma can do it when he is a she. So gender shouldn't have anything to do with it."
Herb's eyes widened as she listened. She stammered, "I tried once and it didn't work. I just assumed that I couldn't after that."
"Do you use confidence as the basic emotion?" Ranma asked softly, "If so, you didn't have faith in your ability and therefore you failed."
Akane smirked at her husband and said, "As someone once told me, don't think, just do."
Ranma smirked back at her and said sweetly, "A very wise person as I remember."
Akane looked around and asked, "Where are Mint and Lime?"
Herb looked murderous and replied, "A long way from here. I woke up this morning feeling kind of twitchy. They wanted to see my breasts and touch them, the perverts. I sort of overreacted, and well, they went flying."
Ranma arched an eyebrow at her wife and said, "That sounds familiar."
"And well, you were right about how long I've been a girl. It started," Herb added.
Ranma looked at the neo-girl with sympathy. "With any luck, we'll be at the mountain in another day or so. Then we'll find that artifact and get you unlocked. You'll still have to turn back to being a girl until things have run their course," she said.
"And since you sent your servants to who knows where, now you'll have to pack up all of your things and carry them yourself," Akane teased.
"I doubt it. Those two will be here soon, they never want to miss a meal," Herb replied. Sure enough, they soon heard the sounds of the two retainers as they bickered on their way to the campsite.
"Master Ranma, were you in pain last night?" Mint asked as he neared the three girls.
Ranma shook her head and said, "No, neither of us was in pain."
"That's odd, I distinctly heard someone moaning and I thought it was from your tent," Lime said.
Akane and Ranma traded looks, as their faces turned red.
"Er yes, why don't we finish eating," Ranma said quickly, "We have a long way to go today."
"Can we see your boobies?" Mint asked.
Ranma closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Granted, I haven't been the poster child for modesty since I got this curse, but that's not something you ask a girl. Or in our case, a guy cursed to turn into a girl," she said in a completely flat voice, void of any emotion, "And don't even think of asking Akane. If she doesn't kill you, I will."
"But why should you care? It's not your real body," Lime asked, "Are you embarrassed by them?"
"Lime," Ranma growled, her anger becoming apparent, "It IS my body. Whether I like it or not, it is something that I will live with the rest of my life."
Mint pouted and said, "We never get to have any fun."
"Tell you what, if you want to see breasts so badly, why don't you go to Jusenkyo and jump in the spring of drowned girl. Then you can see them to your hearts content. All you have to do is add cold water!" Herb said angrily.
"Why don't you two make yourself useful and pack up the rest of the campsite," Ranma suggested, her tone making it clear that it wasn't a suggestion.
Mint and Lime took one look at her and paled. They could almost hear the power rolling off of her, it was so intense. Their skin tingled with electricity from her battle ki as it glowed around her body.
"I think that's a good idea. What do you think Lime?" Mint said as he stood up.
"Excellent plan, let's go, we don't really need to eat," Lime replied in agreement. The two ran to the large pavilion and quickly started striking the campsite.
Author's Notes: Thank for all of the reviews. Sorry for the length of time between updates, I was having too much fun writing my other story I guess, and let this one slip away. I'll try to do better. As always, constructive comments are encouraged, they help make me a better writer.