The Echo of the Early Maiden Chapter 3: Idiot, a ranma fanfic

The light of a new day was rising in the horizon once again, clear skies promised a nice and relaxing day, no clouds could be seen anywhere and a gentle breeze passed through, a stark contrast to the gloomy mood surrounding the odd group of six travelers.

"What happened to you? Why are we traveling with those guys and why are you two so silent?" Mousse asked his two companions but was completely ignored.

'Idiot'

"Doesn't she look out of it? Maybe we can ask her to show us her breasts."

'Idiot'

"Yeah, and the idiot at her side doesn't look much better, I don't understand why Herb doesn't want us to beat them."

'Idiot'

"We could kill them right here and not worry about them trying to get funny ideas once we find the Kaisuifuu"

"Don't you dare do anything stupid, Lime, Mint, I don't care for those two insects," Herb pointed with his head to a confused Mousse and a completely flustered and scared looking Ryoga. "But I promised Saotome that we would get the Kaisuifuu together and I don't break my promises." He gave both Lime and Mind a glare that terrified both Musk warriors who could only nod and keep following their leader in silence.

Herb turned his head back one more time, watching the stunning redhead that was following them and who hadn't spoken more than 2 words since they reunited to go look for the kettle but who seemed to be constantly mumbling something no one could understand under her breath. He didn't know why he was helping her but he hadn't experienced that kind of connection with anyone before. 'She would definitely make a good wife, if I can convince her to keep her curse locked…' Herb wouldn't push the issue too much, he understood that giving up something so important was not a decision that could be taken so easily, and he had promised to share the kettle with her.

'Idiot'

Ryoga was confused, after all that happened with Ranma on this trip he had wanted to talk with him but it had been impossible. After the kiss the redhead just looked as if his whole world was over and didn't even say one word after they broke their hug, staring blindly at nowhere and going through the motions as if in auto-pilot.

Ryoga didn't know what to do, he kissed Ranma back and enjoyed it! They both had betrayed Akane and her trust, and now the memories of Tendou girl that flashed through Ryoga's mind felt like hot nails piercing his heart and burning it without compassion. He would never forgive himself, and looking at the pain and terror that was evident on Ranma's face wasn't helping, he wanted to blame his rival, to put it all on him, but he couldn't, it wasn't fair, he had kissed Ranma back and after having a heartfelt conversation where they both opened to each other, he couldn't put all the weight of his own action on Ranma once again, they both participated, they both were to blame, they both needed to fix this together.

Ryoga sighed, his depressed aura growing heavier by the minute when suddenly, he felt a small hand grab his, breaking him out of his own thoughts. He turned his head to see a tiny redhead taking his hand while looking away and mumbling something under his breath. He had been starting to walk the opposite way everyone else was heading to. He couldn't help but smile and relax a little at the touch, her hand was so small…

They both looked at each other for one second before Ranma suddenly pulled Ryoga and moved to his right, sandwiching him between Mousse and herself who released his hand and went back to looking sour and mumbling under her breath.

'Idiot'

Mousse was bewildered, for some reason it looks like Ranma was able to somehow talk… TALK… with the arrogant prince and they had decided to not fight and go together as a group to get the kettle.

It also looked as if Ryoga had completely forgotten their true objective, steal the Chiisuiton, and lock themselves in their birth form while leaving Ranma as a woman so that he could get Shampoo all for himself.

However, it looked as if something had happened between Ranma and Ryoga, the redhead looked mortified and sad at one moment, the next he looked angry, and all the time he could hear him saying "idiot" over and over again, it was barely understandable but he had always had a better hearing than your average person, probably due to his body compensating for his awful vision.

He fixed his glasses and noticed Ranma taking Ryoga's hand and preventing the lost boy from living up to his nickname, but that wasn't what caught Mousse's attention, the look Ryoga had given Ranma for a few seconds once he noticed the redhead taking his own hand was… the same look he gave Akane every time. A love-struck look.

His bad eyesight must be playing a trick on him for sure, yes, he joked about those two being in a relationship before but… It couldn't be true, right? Ryoga liked Akane and Ranma was a womanizer obsessed with his Shampoo, there was no way those two idiots could fall for each other.

He shook his head and took off his glasses. It was better to ignore those two and the weird atmosphere around them and just focus on his true goal.

'Idiot'

'You're such an idiot, stupid, a disappointment.' Ranma was despairing, the voice inside his head kept on repeating how much of an idiot HE was, he had never felt more lost in all of his life, not only had he sobbed in the arms of a boy, but then, he had kissed said boy, his rival, who had helped him clean himself after having his first period and on top of all that, he had even accepted that he liked men and that maybe… he liked being a woman.

He knew he had no option, he had to get his curse unlocked and then go and try to find a cure. He knew his mother would make him fulfill that stupid contract if she knew what had happened with Ryoga, and he had promised Akane that he would come back to her as a man…

The world felt like a bleak and dark place, he had been so happy kissing Ryoga, felt so alive and free… But he knew it wasn't something that could happen again, no matter how much he wanted to run, to kiss the stupid pig boy until they both lost any sense of time and became one, and never get his curse unlocked; he just couldn't go back on his word, he had already betrayed Akane once…

'Idiot'

He was such an idiot, he didn't know how to face anyone, he had noticed that Ryoga kept glancing at him, trying to talk with him, even Mousse and even Herb seemed to be giving him some looks and he didn't know what to do. He was scared… He was still bleeding down there and the pain wasn't getting much better, he felt like his emotions were all over the place, he normally could keep them in check, not allowing them to take control, but it had been impossible lately, he felt weak.

A few tears started going down Ranma's cheeks, which only increased the volume of the voice inside his head telling him how much of an idiot, a weak girl he was, he wanted it to stop, but he couldn't stop his tears or the voice that sounded way to familiar to his father's from growing louder.

Ranma was so distracted that he didn't notice Herb had stopped on his tracks and the redhead hit the Musk prince's back, stumbling. Fortunately, before he could fall on his ass, Herb's hand grabbed his waist, preventing the fall.

The musk warrior leaned closely to the redhead while still holding her and proceeded to draw his mouth near to her, whispering something only she was able to hear.

Ranma's eyes went wide and cheeks flushed a dark red, she didn't need this right now. She stood there, frozen, looking at Herb's back in complete disbelief, who after helping her had gone ahead to meet back with his guards, leaving Ranma in shock and both Mousse and Ryoga confused.

"Don't fall behind, we are getting closer" said Herb without a hint of hesitation in his voice shaking the redhead out of her shock who started walking without paying attention to the curious look Mousse was giving her and the concerned one of Ryoga.

"It looks like the kettle is hidden in that mountain."

"That's a near vertical climb!" Exclaimed Mousse.

"Let's go, Mint, Herb"

The Musk trio launched themselves up the mountain, climbing it with such an ease that the jaws of the 3 martial artists left behind almost touched the ground.

Ranma recovered first, going back to her weirdly terrified but determined look she had after she had crashed with Herb.

She started climbing the mountain as well, leaving the two other Nerima residents behind; she wasn't nearly as fast as the three Musk warriors but still was showing her immense physical prowess and natural grace.

"Hey, Ryoga, I don't know what's your problem but don't forget the reason why we're here, we need that ladle no matter what, I want to be a full man again and I won't let Saotome get away with pursuing Shampoo any longer" Mousse glared at Ryoga who seemed shocked. "Don't tell me you don't want to stop being a pig"

"Of course I want to get cured!" Ryoga yelled. "It's just…" he sighed and glanced towards the redhead who had started climbing, he blushed when his eyes couldn't help but focus on Ranma's bottom and immediately looked away "I don't want it to be at the cost of Ranma's happiness anymore."

Mousse didn't notice Ryoga's blush, or any other telling sign of Ryoga's feeling since he was talking to a tree at the foot of the mountain.

"Whatever, we can help your girlfriend after we get the ladle. You should talk with her, she seems to be buddy buddy with that annoying Musk idiot prince, maybe they can give it to us without a fight."

'My… girlfriend' Ryoga's blush deepened at that. The idea that had disgusted him just a few weeks ago with the entire Koi Rod incident, now seemed weirdly enticing.

"Let's go, they are leaving us behind"

"Monkeys" Herb spit with disgust. "Just watching them makes me want to puke."

The Musk prince sighed and looked back, he could see a red haired head starting to appear on the mountain. He still couldn't believe what he had told her, they were enemies not too long ago, but now he couldn't help but want to help the annoying redhead that looked so similar to that damn monkey that threw him in the Nyannichuan and locked his curse.

Herb stopped and looked at the clear skies, the day was still beautiful, even in such a gloomy and dark place like this Horai mountain.

"Lime, Mint! I will take a break, keep looking for the kettle, and let me know when you find it."

"Don't you want us to build your tent?"

"It's fine. I need… to… I want to…" Herb stammered and looked unusually shy. "Forget it, just keep looking for it, I will be fine"

"Okay" Both Lime and Mint exclaimed in unison but kept staring at Herb's face without moving, entranced by his beauty.

Herb's veins started to pop at the obvious lewd stares his retainers were giving him.

"I thought I told you idiots to go look for the kettle!" Herb yelled, sending a beam of ki out of his hand and sending the two beast boys flying.

Herb sighed deeply and leaned back against a tree, thinking about his choices and how weird his life had become after getting cursed. He was now in a girl's body, relating to another cursed individual about the hardships of menstruation and bonding over it.

Herb couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, which quickly became a deep belly laugh. It had definitely been annoying, but he had learned so much and now that he knew he wasn't alone, he had to admit that being a girl had been fun at some moments. Maybe if Ranma accepted his proposition his fun could last a bit more time…

Calming down he closed his eyes, he knew this was something Ranma had to decide on her own, he would just wait and hope for the best.

'I'm sorry Akane-san' Ryoga shed a tear while looking at the clear skies, he felt so, so guilty. And the feeling wasn't helped by the constant reminder of the true reason he had come to this trip.

They had just reached the top of the mountain but had lost sight of everyone else, including Ranma, so he had just been doing his best of following Mousse who was looking more irritated with every step they took (Can't blame him since there were several occasions in which Ryoga lost his patience and used his breaking point on the mountain trying to get up faster which scared the chinese martial artist to no end) while trying to not get lost and still find a way to fix this whole mess they had put themselves into.

He was violently shaken off his thoughts by the blind boy yanking his arm and screaming something about ladles, mints, and limes.

Clearing the cobwebs out of his mind, he turned his head to the opposite side Mousse was pointing at and saw Herb's guards with the ladle, the object that could help him never become a piglet again.

"Hey!, you two." Yelled Mousse. "The ladle, give it to us, I don't know why Ranma and your boss are all buddy-buddy but I don't care about that, neither of them are here right now, I just came here for that item and I will get it even if I have to take it by force."

"By force?" Lime snorted. "You wimps can never beat us, but you're welcome to try"

Ryoga was still recovering from his daydreaming but he wouldn't say no to a chance to beat the guy who humiliated him in front of Akane and it might also help to stop thinking about Ranma and those cute blue eyes of hers, and how delicious it felt to have her lips pressed against his own and..

Ryoga blushed and tried to return to the situation at hand, however, this distraction was enough for Mint to land a punch that could split boulders directly into Ryoga's jaw.

"RYOGA!"

The lost boy could hear two voices screaming his name, one deep and close and the other one high pitched and angelical running towards him. He tried to see who these people were but his whole world seemed to be fading rapidly. Soon, he was unable to keep his eyes open and with a loud thunk, fell on the ground, unconscious.

"Where am I?"

Ryoga looked around, trying to remember where he was or what he was doing but he could only see flowers all around him, extending as far as the horizon, not wanting to stay put and feeling an odd sense of fear and discomfort he decided to walk in any direction, he was used to wandering after all.

After a long time of walking aimlessly Ryoga was able to see a big tree with a river flowing beside it, and on the other side he could barely see two figures calling his name. The lost boy started heading towards it, feeling an odd pull that guided his steps there. It was an odd sensation, for the first time he knew what it felt to not be lost, to know where you're going and properly head in that direction.

He finally got close enough to be able to identify the faces of the figures calling him and understand what they were saying:

"Go back Ryoga, it's not your time yet" An elderly couple screamed, trying their best to get notices and drive the teen away from the river.

'Grandma and Grandpa? They should be dead…What… What is going on?'

Ryoga stopped, the pull immediately felt stronger, it felt as if it was calling his soul, trying to reclaim it.

'Am I… Dead?'

An image of both Akane and Ranma together filled the blue skies, mocking his predicament and looking happier than he'd ever seen either of them… And… he didn't know what made him feel worse, the thought of never seeing Akane again or… seeing Ranma smile like that to someone else and not being able to caress her face ever again.

"NO! I CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!"

Red… Her hands were red, the blood didn't stop flowing out of Ryoga's mouth.

She had seen the moment it happened, she had come back trying to find someone else and regroup, but could only watch in horror as Lime killed Ryoga in front of her eyes.

"Don't go, Ryoga, don't leave me, please, I'm sorry, Ryoga!" The redhead kept pleading, tears flowing down her cheeks, unable to keep herself composed, sobbing uncontrollably while hugging the body of her rival… friend… love...

Too much had happened in just 3 days, she had never experienced such strong emotions so close to each other, she was an idiot, she could've handled all of this so much better but Ryoga's kindness had been a light in the dark, keeping her from getting lost in the sea of fear and despair she had been in the for past week. And now… he was… he was… he wasn't breathing.

Ranma screamed, not wanting to accept this, she had kissed him and accepted her feelings towards the stupid boy last night, she had wanted to run away from those thoughts, to ignore them and pretend nothing ever happened, but having him in her arms, bleeding and not moving destroyed her, he had helped her so much and she couldn't even protect him when he needed her the most.

Ranma was still sobbing uncontrollably, so much in fact, that she didn't notice the movements of the boy being held in her arms.

She didn't notice said boy sitting and putting his hands on her cheeks either; it was only after she felt a pleasant warmth in her lips that she noticed what was happening… Ryoga was alive… And kissing her, with such passion and love that she couldn't bring herself to care about the surprised faces watching them press their lips together.

A part of her mind was screaming at her to stop, to think about Akane, to think about her mother and father, but it grew more and more quiet with every second spent kissing Ryoga, she had wanted to run, but seeing him, not breathing, not moving, had scared her like nothing else had.

They parted their lips and looked each other in the eye, love clearly seething out of both their bodies.

"I love you P-Chan. I'm so happy you're alive" Said Ranma while trying to clean her eyes and nose after a good sobbing session. "Don't ever scare me like that again, jerk." She punched him in the arm, with strength that would seriously damage any normal human being, but Ryoga barely felt it at all.

She smiled, once again melting the Lost Boy's heart, they embraced until Mousse finally recovered from the biggest shock in his life and broke the peaceful and beautiful moment the two ex-rivals were sharing.

"Uh…" Mousse stammered "Umm, so… the ladle?"

Both Lime and Mint completely ignored Mousse, too entranced about what they had just seen and having some blood running down their nostrils, while the newly found… couple? Started to be aware of their surroundings and blushed hard, but still smiling to each other.

Then what Mousse said clicked in Ranma's mind.

"Wait, the ladle? Why do you want it?" her eyes went wide looking at Ryoga with surprise and a bit of pain. "Wait, you… you thought the ladle would lock your human forms?"

Ryoga's face paled, remembering that just a few days ago he had been thinking about betraying Ranma while now the only thing he wanted was to keep kissing her and making her feel happy and loved.

"I… amm… Yes?" He answered shyly, almost begging for Ranma to not get mad at him.

The redhead looked at Ryoga's face, and saw the genuine anguish and remorse in there and just sighed.

"Look, the ladle-"

"It wouldn't have worked, it only locks you in your cursed form even if you are in your birth mode" Herb interrupted, then paused and glared at his guards, his dragon eyes shining yellow and his aura almost burning the skin of those present. "And I don't appreciate you almost killing someone I specifically told you not to attack"

Both Mint and Lime got paralyzed before Herb's dragon aura, and started apologizing as best as they could.

"It's okay, you both will be punished later, for now, let's find the damn kettle once and for all and end this as soon as possible".

The Musk trio started walking away, determined to find the kettle and unlock Herb's curse.

"I can't believe we came all the way here all for nothing" Mousse pouted, clearly bitter at the end result of this journey.

Ranma could only glare, she was about to retort when suddenly the mount started shaking and a huge chasm started to form, everyone was able to react quickly but Herb was just a second too late and started falling directly to his death. Ranma, without thinking about it twice, jumped in and carried the prince princess style to safety.

Herb poured the hot water of the kettle on his head and sighed in relief, finally a man again, he hadn't hated everything about being a woman and did have fun with some stuff he experienced in these weeks living as a woman but this definitely felt more natural.

After basking in the happiness of regaining his manhood he turned his head towards Ranma, who was looking very conflicted.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I promised Akane I would return as a man… I have to do it" Ranma looked somber, and stole a quick glance at Ryoga who looked understanding of Ranma's decision. "I can't go back on my word now".

She then proceeded and poured the hot water on herself, feeling again the same wrong feeling her birth body had caused her all her life, now worse after a month whole of only having her female body and reluctantly accepting that she did, in fact, prefer to be a woman.,

Being back wasn't a good experience at all, she wanted to get cold water immediately, but the thought of the promise she made to Akane steeled her resolve. She had to do this, she would deal with the consequences later but she would never break a promise like that.

Herb looked at Ranma with resignation: "Hey… I know we didn't start on the best of terms" He chuckled, "But if you ever need my help, take this dragon scale, it will allow you to communicate with me and I will see what I can do for you." The prince smiled kindly at Ranma. "And thank you for saving me." He proceeded to get closer to Ranma so that only she would hear "Don't forget about my offer, it still stands, I'll be waiting." He started walking away but then stopped, turned back and gave Ranma a quick peck on the lips. "Good luck".

"Let's go back, Lime, Mint".

Ranma looked at the Musk prince going away speechless.

"Looks like it's not only women you're after, Saotome," Mousse smirked. "Let's go, Kuno will be waiting for you with his arms open."

The pigtail girl blushed a deep shade of red, matching the color of Ryoga's cheeks who was looking nervously at Ranma.

"Shut up you asshole" Ranma huffed and started walking in the opposite direction of the Musk warriors.

The three martial artists started their long journey back home, full of new experiences and awkward interactions. Two of them were dreading the moment they reached Nerima again, knowing full well that nothing would be the same.

Notes:

This was SO HARD to write. I did my best but I'm still a newbie with conversations and I had to cover too much. Still hope you enjoy it.

Also, pronouns are a mess, they depend on how each character perceives Ranma at that point. Including Ranma herself.