Author: Bloody Mary
{oOo}
It was hard to tell what exactly had happened, but it involved a red-haired girl fighting with a panda. There was a large splash, as Mortarion fell into the spring face first. Suddenly, parts of his armor were floating up and a very confused nine-year-old girl rose from the water.
The girl and the panda did not seem to notice, until an enormous shoulder-pad struck the side of the girl's head, knocking her out. The panda froze, staring in confusion as the little girl hefted an enormous scythe. Wet hair still clinging to her face (and covering her up to the knees), she nevertheless managed to radiate killing intent of amazing proportions.
"You should watch where you're going," she said.
{oOo}
Saotome Ranma was a man (though currently his body was in the other, cursed form) and was not easily frightened. However, the little girl and her older companion had managed to terrify him badly simply by staring. He had been stared into handing over his shirt to the little girl, who needed clothes badly. Then he had been forced to carry parts of an enormous suit of armor, alongside with his father. Now, finally, he and his father were providing food for the two.
Admittedly, he could see why the two insisted they help them, as the little girl was another victim of the cursed springs, but he had expected his father to weasel out of it somehow. Genma tried, he really did, but the older girl looked at him sadly and the little one held up that enormous scythe to his neck, and then they somehow thwarted all escape attempts Genma had made.
"All the springs here cause those who fall into them to change into whatever drowned in them?" the little girl asked her voice quiet.
"Yes," Genma replied.
"No cure is known?" the girl asked again.
"No," both Genma and Ranma said.
The girl nodded to herself and looked up at them, her expression worryingly serious. "Both of you are cursed, are you not?"
Ranma nodded.
"Then you will help me find the cure," the girl said and started eating lychee in soy sauce.
{oOo}