BUT THAT WAY LIES...
			By Scott K. Jamison
(Ranma 1/2 and its associated characters created by Rumiko Takahashi, and 
no infringement is intended.)


	The rickety bus stopped in the middle of nowhere.  But then it 
had stopped in the middle of nowhere several times before, and people had 
gotten on or off, so Nodoka presumed there must be habitations somewhere 
about. 
	It took her a moment to realize the bus driver's shouting was 
aimed at herself.  Apparently, this was her stop.  Once again, she 
regretted never learning Chinese.  The phrasebook she'd bought at the 
airport was almost useless. 
        [Get off!]  Okay, that she recognized.  She gathered her travel 
bag, and her other, more vital parcel, and forced her way past the other 
passengers, none of whom seemed inclined to move.  In fact, some of them 
looked downright hostile.
	She'd been getting that kind of look ever since she arrived in 
China and first told an official where she was going.  Apparently this 
Joketsuzoku place (she could never remember the correct Chinese phrase) 
was considered either a legend or a menace by most of the government.  
And as she got closer to it, the regular citizens recognized the name 
too, and not usually favorably.
	Nodoka looked around.  There seemed to be no sign of civilization 
save the bus itself and the rutted track it had followed.  The driver 
gestured off into the mountains and spat.  The bus door slammed, and the 
vehicle sputtered off.
	Well, that direction would do as well as any other.  To her 
surprise, after about two hundred meters, she found a well-kept dirt 
road, much better than the one she'd just left.  She followed it.  
	Nodoka shifted her luggage.  The long cloth bundle reminded her 
of her purpose in coming.  Soon, the decade-long wait would be over, one 
way or the other.  She contemplated the katana swaddled within, her 
constant companion these ten lonely years.  She had taken it up as part 
of her husband's pledge.  True, she was no master of the sword.  But she 
knew one stroke to perfection.  The beheading stroke.
	It was like those nuclear missiles the superpowers had.  It was 
important to possess, but one hoped never to use it.  She hoped against 
hope that her husband had not failed her, but if he had, he and Ranma 
would not suffer undue pain. 
	A sentry stood ahead, a woman who looked like she had grown in 
the spot where she was planted.  She was like something out an ancient 
tale, bright silk clothing and armor, carrying a curiously-fashioned 
polearm.  As Nodoka drew closer, she noticed the woman also had a modern 
military rifle slung over her shoulder.
	When Nodoka came just outside good rushing distance, the sentry 
shouted what was probably a command to stop, so Nodoka did.  Then the 
sentry made a motion that she interpreted as telling her to lay down her 
luggage.  She did this as well, carefully laying the katana bundle in 
easy reach.
	The sentry approached, and barked questions in Chinese.  Nodoka 
tried to reply in Japanese, but evidently the sentry didn't know any.  
Finally she resorted to pulling out the telegram.
	"I'm here to see Cologne.  You see, Cologne?"
        [Kuh Lon] replied the sentry firmly.  She pulled out a 
walkie-talkie and spoke rapidly into it.  She made a hand gesture and 
gave an order that evidently meant "stay here."  She then resumed her 
previous position, eyeing Nodoka suspiciously.
	As she waited in the mid-afternoon heat, Nodoka almost dozed.  It 
had been a long and tiring journey from Japan.
	"Wait up, Mr. Panda!" came a girlish voice from somewhere in the 
nearby forest.  Someone else here spoke Japanese?  But the speaker did 
not appear.
	Instead, a curiously hopping little figure came down the road.  
As it came closer, Nodoka realized it was a woman, incredibly gnarled and 
wrinkled with age.  Incredibly, she seemed to be using her walking stick 
to pogo along, fast enough that her long white hair did not touch the 
ground. 
	The sentry gave a curious salute to what was obviously a village 
elder, and motioned Nodoka to come closer.
        [Nihao, elder, me am Saotome Nodoka.]  She couldn't shake the 
impression that the sentry was amused by her carefully learned phrase. 
	"Greetings.  I am Kuh Lon, matriarch of this village.  For your 
convenience, shall we speak Japanese?"  The old woman's Japanese was 
excellent, with a trace of a British accent.  She seemed to be examining 
Nodoka's face even more closely than one might expect.
	"Yes, I would be most grateful."
	"Good.  You may leave your luggage here.  It will be taken to the 
guest quarters."
	"I apologize for my rudeness, but may I see my husband and son 
now?  I have come a long way, and am most anxious." 
	The old woman made her face neutral.  "There is something else 
you must see first.  It will be easier to show you than to tell you." 
	"I--very well.  Lead on."  She picked up the katana. 
	"You may leave your luggage here.  It is an hour's walk." 
	"This I never leave behind."
	"Ah."  Kuh Lon led on in silence, along a well-worn path. 
	After a few minutes, they passed a sign with red lettering.  
	"Danger ahead.  Do not enter." translated the old woman without 
prompting. 
	They entered a pass.  There was another sign.  "Forbidden Area.  
Authorized Personnel only."
	"But--"  
	"I am an Authorized Person.  You are my responsibility.  I will 
not allow you to come to harm."  Somehow this did not comfort Nodoka. 
	The path began to wind down, towards a valley covered in mist.  
The air had a chill to it.  Nodoka fancied it was not all due to the 
moisture.  There was another sign.
	"`Turn Back Now.  This is your final warning.'  Your husband, 
does he know how to read Chinese?"
	"No, I don't think so.  What *is* this place?"
	As they penetrated the mists, Nodoka saw that the floor of the 
valley was covered in small pools, most of which had bamboo poles 
sticking out of them.
	"This is Jyuusenkyo, the Valley of Accursed Springs."
	They kept walking until they were within a stone's throw of the 
nearest pool.
	"It is not safe to approach any closer.  Now, we need--aha!"  Kuh 
Lon bent for a moment, and her hand moved faster than seemed humanly 
possible.  When she straightened (as much as it was possible for her to 
do), she held a small field mouse.
	"This will do nicely.  Now, I must warn you that what you are 
about to see is difficult to believe.  But there is no illusion or 
trickery here.  It is very real."  Nodoka shivered at just the tone in 
the old woman's voice. 
	Kuh Lon flicked her wrist, and the mouse was propelled into the 
nearest pool with a tiny splash.  The water began boiling, and something 
came out of it.  A magnificent stag.  One any hunter would be proud to 
bag.  It looked about, obviously confused, then stumbled off. 
	"But that's--"
	"Impossible.  Yes, I know.  But it is true.  Each of the 
Jyuusenkyo springs has a different curse, but they all work the same 
way.  Someone or something drowned in the pool, and now whoever falls in 
permanently takes on the form of whatever drowned there.  Worse, their 
mind is taken from them, so they become as their new form dictates.  The 
mouse now has the body and mind of a deer, though without the memories 
of a deer.  If it survives, it will become as any other deer."
	Nodoka nearly staggered.  True magic, like a fairy tale gone 
horribly wrong.  And her husband had come to this place, had brought 
their *son* here....
	"Then Genma and Ranma..."
	"Came here, yes.  The Guide tried to warn them, but his Japanese 
was very poor, and your husband was most stubborn, or so the Guide tells 
me." 
	"If this place is so dangerous, why didn't you guard it better?"  
Trying not to think of what must have happened. 
	"We have tried.  Walls, electrified fences, dynamite to seal the 
flow of water forever.  All failed due to `coincidence'.  We have come to 
the conclusion that the spirits of this place are hungry, that they need, 
no, *demand* that a few victims each year fall sacrifice to the curses.  At 
one time, it was the custom to throw criminals into the springs to 
propitiate the spirits.  But eventually, we ran out of criminals." 
	"My husband, my son--"
	"Your husband is dead, Mrs. Saotome.  You must believe that.  It 
will be better all around."  The old woman bowed her head as if in 
prayer. 
	"And Ranma?  What happened to Ranma?!"  Nodoka felt almost 
hysterical. 
	"Ranma has...changed.  You will see.  But you had to see the 
curse first, so you would know that I speak truth."
	"Y-yes.  I would not have believed it if I had not seen with my 
own eyes."
	"Then it is time we return to the village.  Know that I grieve 
with you for your loss.  I too have lost a loved one to the springs, long 
ago." 
	The trip back passed in silence.  Nodoka shed silent tears for 
her husband.  Oh, Genma, how *could* you?  She regretted again their 
parting, that she had not delayed him a moment more, that she had not 
made him stay.  She had not told him enough that she loved him.  Now he 
was gone forever.
	The shadows had grown long by the time they returned.  This high 
in the mountains, the nights were cold even in mid-spring.  Kuh Lon led 
Nodoka to a small hut, where a stern-faced Amazon had laid her luggage.  
	"Rest now.  I will show you Ranma soon, at my home."
	Nodoka was too tired to sleep, but the Amazon offered a backrub 
by gestures, and that relaxed her a bit.  After about an hour, she was 
motioned out, and shown to a washroom, where she did a quick removal of 
the worst of the road dust.
	Kuh Lon's house was grander than the others in the village only 
in terms of scale, but it had electric light and running water.  A 
purple-haired teenage girl smiled widely at her approach.
	"Nihao!  Shampoo happy to see guest!"
	"Xian Pu, go fetch Ranma.  Do not say why."
	"Yes, Great-Grandmother."
	Kuh Lon turned to Nodoka.  "Remember, the curse has affected 
Ranma's mind.  The poor child has no memory before coming out of the 
pool.  Ranma will not recognize you, and does not remember having a 
different body before.  It would probably not be wise to remark on the 
change."
	"I...I understand.  I hope."
	Nodoka tried to prepare herself for the worst, not knowing what 
the worst could be.  Her hand tightened around the katana.  Its solidity 
reassured her.
	"Evening, Great-Gramma!" came a girl's voice.  Xian Pu was back 
already? 
	No, it was another girl, who looked a bit younger than Xian Pu.  
She was pretty, with hair tied back in a ponytail, and had curves that 
made even the Amazon pantsuit she was wearing look feminine.  Her wide 
eyes darted from side to side, seeming to delight in everything she saw.  
She was carrying a small black piglet in her arms.
	"Child, did you have to bring that...thing...in with you?" asked 
Kuh Lon. 
	"Piggy-wiggy got lost again, and Maybe threatened to cook it for 
dinner!" 
	"You know Mei Bi only says that to tease you.  You're way too 
attached to your pets.  Now say hello to our guest."
	"Hi!"  She bowed very prettily.  Nodoka found her heart warming 
towards this girl, who reminded her of herself at that age. 
	"Ranma, this is Nodoka Saotome, your mother."  Ranma?  This girl 
was *Ranma*? 
	"You're my mommy?  Really and truly?" asked the girl 
breathlessly. 
	Nodoka looked into the girl's eerily familiar eyes, and suddenly 
she *knew*.
	"Yes, Ranma.  I am your mother."
	Ranma dropped her pig, which squealed in protest.  "Mommy!" She 
rushed forward and embraced Nodoka.  Soon they were both crying tears of 
joy, though mixed with sorrow in the mother's case.
	Supper was a happier affair than Nodoka could have believed.  
Xian Pu had cooked up a ramen feast, and joined them.  Ranma babbled 
about life in the Amazon village.  Nodoka noted that she acted much 
younger than she looked, possibly because her lack of memory made her 
childlike. 
	"Xian Pu is my best friend!  She's the strongest girl in the 
whole village, and she can beat anyone, even the biggest fighter!" 
	"Ranma too too nice!  She help Shampoo learn Japanese!" 
	After they ate, they played some traditional board games.  Ranma 
played remarkably well, Nodoka noticed.
	Eventually, Kuh Lon sent Xian Pu home, and Ranma grew sleepy.  
Nodoka sang her to sleep with a lullaby she'd sung for her son oh so long 
ago.  Her son...
	"We have not told Ranma she used to be a boy.  There may be some 
trouble with the records."
	Nodoka hadn't thought of that.  In fact, she hadn't considered 
anything past this night.  
	"It has been ten years since I saw Ranma last.  I did not expect 
this much change, but there is little at home that would say that things 
were ever otherwise..."
	"This will be difficult for you, I know.  It may even be too much 
to bear.  If you decide it would be best, we would adopt Ranma into our 
tribe.  Amazon ways may seem harsh to outsiders, but it is not the worst 
life available.  I know this for a fact."
	"But to be abandoned by her mother--"
	"For centuries, our village has taken in women outcast from or 
fleeing their homes.  Many of them had gone through much trauma, 
sometimes too much to allow them to function.  Our healers have developed 
ways to...ease memories.  For Ranma, it would be as if you had never met 
her."
	"Never...met her."  The sweet oblivion of forgetfulness.  But at 
what cost to her honor? 
	"These are hard decisions.  You do not have to make them 
immediately.  Stay with us a while, get to know your daughter." 
	"There is no reason to hurry back to Japan, true." 
	Nodoka stared at the fire.  Genma was dead, as surely as if a 
sword had cut off his head.  Ranma was no man among men, nor would ever 
be.  But the boy who'd playfully put his handprints on a contract was 
gone, as surely as his father.  Honor would have to be satisfied with 
that. 
	She drew a piece of paper from her kimono and tossed it into the 
flames.  
	"May I ask?"
	"A broken promise, nothing more."


				THE END



	After "Twilight Existence" and "Worst Case Scenario" (these will show 
up on RAAC sometime soon...) you had to know this one was coming.


SKJAM!
"Send comments, please, to majks@cyberx.com"	

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