Part One, Chapter One: The Pink-Haired Girl
Kasumi was the first to notice Ranma approaching the Tendo household. She smiled, glad that he was home safely – he was quite late, she had been worried. As he drew closer, she could see that part of the reason for his delay was slumped unconscious in his arms. Kasumi couldn’t see any details other than an unfamiliar shock of bright fuchsia hair, and she frowned slightly, almost unnoticeably. Ranma got into far too many fights, far too casually, for her taste.
Then, as he came even closer, she noticed that Ranma’s expression wasn’t the one he typically wore after winning a battle. Rather than arrogant, suffusing smugness, it was almost blank, rather befuddled, and with a faint wash of worry that was not entirely alien to him but certainly rare, at least.
Then he was standing on the doorstep, where she had been waiting, and Kasumi looked down at the body he held. If her suspicions were true, then he – she, Kasumi corrected herself with no little amount of surprise – would be in need of some medical attention.
Ranma waited, feeling rather more tired than usual for this time of day but determined to find out what was going on, as Kasumi inspected the girl he had carried home. It was only for a moment, though, before the eldest Tendo daughter stepped out of the doorway and let him come inside. As they walked to the nearest couch, Kasumi’s brow furrowed in confusion as she began to recognize bits and pieces – the bandanna holding pink hair out of closed eyes, the weatherbeaten traveling pack that Ranma now carried – and it weighed a ton, too – with the red bamboo umbrella strapped unto the top of it.
“Who…?” she asked, her eyes still cataloguing the cuts and bruises old and new but mostly old that her new patient bore, as they walked the short distance.
“Ryouga… I think.” Ranma dubiously tacked on the qualifier. He wasn’t positive, after all, but…
Kasumi nodded, registering only the most fleeting moment of surprise. All the clues fit that person, and, after all, it wouldn’t have been the first time that someone showed up to her house with the wrong gender. “Oh my,” she murmured to herself, more in reaction to the girl’s condition then her identity.
Besides, it seemed appropriate.
---
Ranma rubbed his shoulders and glared balefully at the pack lying innocuously in one corner, leaning against the wall. He glanced curiously at Ryouga as Kasumi rushed upstairs for whatever it was her nursing instincts told her was necessary to bring the battered-looking pseudo-girl back to some semblance of health. Ranma slumped into a chair nearby.
Heh, so Ryouga found Jusenkyou again. Wonder why he didn’t jump into Nannichuan… guess he couldn’t find it. A girl’s better than a pig, at least… Akane won’t kill him when she finds out… then Kasumi returned, but only for long enough to toss a pile of supplies on Ranma’s lap before disappearing again, this time into the kitchen. It was only for a second, though, and she soon returned with a bowl of water and some ice and set to work.
Ryouga was practically covered with bandages by the time Kasumi was done. None of it, Ranma noticed, was very bad, though… just a lot of cuts and bruises, no broken bones or even pulled muscles that Kasumi could detect. Ranma remembered that he had seemed in perfect form earlier. He was just… battered.
And female. Ranma reminded himself of that, although it wasn’t terribly difficult. Wise to the subtle differences between forms and reasonably familiar with Ryouga’s personality, Ranma wondered exactly how much of her male-half’s endurance the pink-haired girl had lost and how much of her previous ‘strength’ had been bravado and determination rather than actual power.
There was a whistle from the kitchen, and after a glance from Kasumi Ranma stood to fetch the kettle of hot water. At least one of these problems could be solved relatively easily.
---
Ryouga gradually woke to a world of pain and darkness. Not terrible pain, he’d felt worse, but rather an aching, deep hurt that had been with him for longer than he cared to think about. He panicked slightly at the darkness, but as he came to coherency he realized a very simple reason for this and calmed down. His eyes were closed. He opened them to see the face of Kasumi Tendo, and relaxed. Kasumi had that sort of effect on people. He flicked a few strands of dark pink – he winced at the color – hair out of his eyes and shifted a little into a more comfortable position, smiling briefly in gratitude. Kasumi responded in kind, brilliantly.
The reason for his return came back with a rather painful start. Ranma… his eyes narrowed with revitalizing determination, and he sat up and looked around for the other teenager. He couldn’t see the bastard, but he did start to feel a little dizzy…
Something very wet, and very hot, was unceremoniously poured on his head before he found who he was looking for. He whirled as best he could, making him even dizzier, but he didn’t care as he looked into the face of his rival, just as it was in the middle of changing from a confident smirk to surprise.
“Don’t you think I’ve tried that, you moron?!” he yelled shrilly, wincing even as he did so at the soprano tone that emanated from his throat.
“You… you were supposed to change back!” It was a rare treat to see Ranma so flabbergasted, but Ryouga just ignored him and looked around. At least only Kasumi and Ranma were there… then he noticed Akane watching, a confused expression on her face, from halfway down the stairs, and wilted. He – she – curled unconsciously into a slightly fetal position, face angled downward so that all she could see were Kasumi’s knees and feet.
Before Ryouga had a chance to fall totally into despair, Kasumi suddenly vanished from Ryouga’s vision. She looked up almost involuntarily after the one person whom she had thought would help her, surprised. She didn’t realize exactly how much of her pain was visible on her face; she was much too tired to even attempt to hide it anymore.
Just as suddenly as she had left, though, she came back, walking down the stairs rather more quickly than usual and carrying a bundle.
“It’s a change of clothing that should fit you. Do you think you can walk?”
For a moment Ryouga didn’t respond, then she nodded, causing more pink strands of newly-freed hair to fall over her eyes and completely block them from view. “I think so…” her voice came out in a raspy whisper. She cleared her throat. “Yes, I can.” There. That was better…
“Good. I’ll help you upstairs, so you can change.”
---
Ryouga slept through the rest of the day and the night, awakening late the next morning convinced, more or less, that she felt better. She blinked at the ceiling for a few minutes before sitting up and stretching arms that still felt too small, too light, even after months of having to get used to them. She absently noted that she was in the room that Ranma and his father slept in, and they weren’t there, their futons rolled up and stowed against the wall. A quick glance at the clock revealed the simple reason. Of course – it was well into the morning. Ranma and Akane had probably left for school already. She sighed, clutching her knees close to her chest and refusing to give in to the tears that threatened to come. Her plan had failed, and she felt even more lost than she usually did, even when wandering through some unknown region of Japan. She was considering sneaking away when her stomach growled loudly, making her laugh for the first time in a while, boy or girl. Kasumi should still be home, and there should be no problem procuring food, she remembered. Idly Ryouga wondered when she had last eaten. Mind made up, she began to change into her old clothes that were sitting in a clean pile next to her, and then stopped. The ones she was wearing fit her much better, if still a bit loosely. She recognized them, with a bit of embarrassment as to why she recognized them, as a set of Akane’s pajamas. One of the least feminine – she sighed in relief - white with a random pattern of small blue spirals.
Summoning up what was left of her will, she opened the door and started downstairs.
She tried to be as quiet as possible, but was noticed anyway. “Oh, I hear you’re awake, Ryouga-chan!” came a cheerful voice from the kitchen. “I saved you some breakfast; you must be very hungry!”
Ryouga heard her stomach growl in response to that remark and she smiled slightly despite herself. It was impossible to be entirely gloomy around Kasumi.
Kasumi politely restrained herself to small talk, not asking anything or bringing up any topics of conversation that could aggravate her guest as Ryouga ravenously cleared a well-laden plate.
“So, what brings you to Nerima?” she asked cheerfully, coming back from the kitchen with a tray on which a small steaming and pleasant-smelling pot and two small porcelain cups sat.
Ryouga tried to evade the question at first. “Oh, nothing really, just, you know, wandering through…” She put her hand to the back of her head and laughed, but it came out even weaker than usual.
Kasumi didn’t accept or reject the non-answer. “Do you think you could get me your old clothing? Maybe I could alter them to fit you…”
Surprised at the change of topic, Ryouga nodded and went upstairs, fetched the bundle, and came back, handing it to Kasumi, who didn’t accept them.
“You didn’t get lost.”
Ryouga’s heart sank. “Oh, um, really? Must’ve been just luck…” I’ve gotta get out of here!
“No, it’s more than that, I think. You have a sense of direction in that body, don’t you?”
The pink haired girl crumbled even more. “I… I think so. I haven’t really gotten lost since the…” she trailed off.
“The what, Ryouga-chan?”
The name did it. “I… I can’t… damn it!” she punched at the table in frustration, cracking it, but not breaking through to the floor like she would have before. “I’m sorry, Kasumi…” She stood, bowed, and took off out into the back yard and was over the fence before Kasumi could blink.
“Oh, poor dear…”
---
By the time Furinkin High let out for lunch, the cool weather had warmed up; this made it quite pleasant outside, so the population of the school quickly dispersed around the grounds. Ranma leaned against a tree holding the lunch Akane had cooked for him cautiously. Looking around to make sure that she wasn’t watching, he furtively buried it at the base of the tree and hoped that he wasn’t poisoning the grass. He then leaned back again, wondering if maybe Ukyou would cook him something… he really was very hungry.
He wasn’t expecting to be used as a landing cushion before he could stand up to go ask her, however. What the… then he saw the distinctive pink hair and rolled his eyes. A slight snore emanated from the girl.
Somehow, falling from a tree didn’t wake Ryouga up, but being pushed off of Ranma did. “Wha…” she mumbled, and yawned. Blearily she looked up, blinking to clear her vision. When she saw Ranma sitting next to her, a blank expression on his face, she growled, “Ranma…”
She spoke the last loud enough to attract the attention of the other students sitting nearby. They all knew that anyone saying his name in that tone of voice was either another fiancée of his, out to kill him, or both. The fact that the girl was wearing pajamas – even very modest pajamas – only made them more interested. Several people rushed to Nabiki, intent on making bets as to who this newcomer was. Nabiki took them gladly, grinning broadly at the profit that was almost too easy.
Ranma jumped up. “What’re you doing here?”
Ryouga reached back for her umbrella then cursed, realizing that she had left it back at the Tendo’s in her hurry to leave. “I forgot to do something yesterday,” she said quietly.
Ranma didn’t even catch the threatening tone that was slipping into his rival’s voice. “Yeah? What?”
“Kill you! Ranma, prepare to die!” This surprised no one in the least, save perhaps Ranma.
Akane sighed and ran towards the two as Ryouga launched herself at Ranma, who dodged, but barely. Her mallet appearing in her hand, she conked the girl on the head, not hard enough to hurt her but enough to get her attention.
She turned. “What was that for?” she asked, rubbing her head where a small bump was forming.
“Ryouga, stop that! This can’t possibly be Ranma’s fault!” She was a little startled to find herself saying that.
The entire school froze for a moment - in surprise from both the name and Akane's actions - then recovered. More than a few cursed as they handed Nabiki the money they had lost. How were they supposed to know that someone else had fallen into the Nyannichuan?
“I don’t care!” Ryouga screamed, startling Akane into stumbling a few steps back. A red aura sizzled into life around her. “Stay out of this, Akane!” She launched herself at Ranma again. Ranma jumped, landing behind Ryouga just as her punch failed to connect, and kicked her in the back, hard, forgetting for a moment that Ryouga was no longer a boy with skin like inch-think steel. She collapsed with a grunt of pain, while Ranma took a confused defensive posture.
“That’s not good enough…” Ryouga slowly pulled herself up to her feet. Blood trickled from a nasty-looking gash on her forehead and into her eyes, but she hardly seemed to notice. “Fight me for real, Ranma!”
Once more she jumped, this time with one foot extended in a kick. Now she did connect, a glancing blow to his arm, but Ranma barely felt it. The fight continued like this for a few more minutes – Ryouga attacking, always physically and recklessly, while Ranma dodged – as he wondered what the hell was going on. Ryouga wasn’t as strong or as tough as a female, but she was fighting as if she were, not using any special attacks that might actually give her a chance. He remembered when he had actually countered. Ryouga hadn’t cared, even though it had hurt her and slowed her down. Then Ranma finally realized what was happening, and stopped dodging, blocking Ryouga’s next punch to his gut with one forearm. It didn’t even hurt. He did the same for the next few attacks, noticing as he did so how drastically weaker Ryouga was as a girl. She was several times faster, he knew, but wasn’t really using the speed to her advantage. I should’ve expected this from bacon-breath, but I didn’t think it was this bad…
Noticing that Ranma wasn’t doing anything, Ryouga stopped. Her battle aura was gone, and tears streamed down her face. “Stop that and fight me, damnit!” she screamed, almost choking on the words.
“Not a chance.” Ryouga, why do you want me to kill you?
“Fine then!” She glared at Ranma and closed her eyes. He was the closest on to her… she began to gather her energy, finding it laughably easy to summon the appropriate emotion.
“Perfect Shishihoukodan!” she screamed, her aura flaring into existence once again, black this time and infinitely more powerful. The day seemed to darken, as if all of the light was being banished by it.
“Shit! Stop it, Ryouga!” shouted Ranma as he rushed forward, trying to stop her.
Time slowed down for the girl who called herself Ryouga Hibiki. Ranma inched through the air towards her, unstoppable, but it was fitting that he be caught in it as well; kill or be killed, that would be his final lesson, a bad one indeed to be learnt the hard way. In a great burst of concentrated energy Ryouga released her emotions that been building up for so long… it was so simple, all she had to do was remember. It was different this time from her suicidal depression, yet related to those easily recalled emotions; it was outrage at the world, and unfairness; at cruelty, and at cosmic jokes of which she was the sole target; at people who couldn’t and at people who wouldn’t understand; at those who pretended to care, and at those who truly did. Even before she released the Shishihoukodan she felt dead – but that was the trick, and she avoided it. As the first wave of incredible crushing force began to press down, she looked up at the horrified face of the girl that she – no, he – had loved, and smiled joylessly, eyes so full of painful emotion that they looked totally blank.
“Akane… I love you…” he whispered the words in such a low tone that it shouldn’t have carried more than an inch past his lips, but somehow in the eerie silence before the massive destruction that followed not a split second afterward, it carried to at least two sets of ears.
And that glimmer of positive emotion, the only one that Ryouga could imagine existing at that moment, gave him enough willpower to refuse to slump into the near-dead state that had protected him from the power of his own attack in the past, but not this time. He felt the crushing force and welcomed the oblivion it promised, not seeing anymore for the total darkness that surrounded him now, darkness that seemed to siphon all the light out of the day and turn the bright noontime into midnight.
Akane heard, and her eyes widened in astonishment as the pillar flared into existence.
Ranma heard, the words pinging through his brain like a bolt of lightening, a spark of electricity that opened new pathways of thought and subsequent action. Without quite knowing how, he accelerated, ramming headfirst into Ryouga. For an instant, he felt the immense crushing force and every part of his body screamed in pain. Then suddenly it was gone in a burst of white light and Ryouga’s eyes widened in surprise as he tumbled down… down… then stopped, and all was water and earth and confusion and then nothing to their senses.
Above them, the Shishihoukodan exploded noiselessly, dissolving into a few tendrils of black smoke that quickly vanished into the once again bright day.
---
Akane heard the sound of rushing water. The shallow, two-foot diameter pit that was the result of the chi-pillar quickly filled up with water before someone had the presence of mind to run inside and get the broken main turned off.
Ranma-chan pulled herself out of the makeshift pool and coughed up water that she had inhaled while Akane pulled Ryouga out. The pink-haired girl started to stir, instinct rising to make her cough up the water that spilled, red-tinted, out of her lungs.
Ranma just watched while Akane helped Ryouga up, occasionally patting her on the back to help bring up the bloody water. The bedraggled girl looked up miserably. Damn it… why’d he have to save me… Ranma Saotome… interfering jerk…
“Let’s get you to the nurse, ok?” Akane asked with a small smile.
Startled, Ryouga looked up and nodded, feeling a little better despite everything. She was just too drained now to feel much else than exhaustion. “Th… thanks Akane…” she shivered.
“It’s alright.”
Ranma-chan watched, not making any motion to follow. Noticing this, Akane turned and shouted. “Hey, slowpoke, are you coming or not?”
Ranma ran to catch up with them. Ow… ow… ow… owowowow… She slowed down to a walk.
---
The nurse on duty looked up to see a rather battered-looking Ranma Saotome enter with a cross expression. “Mr. Saotome, in a fight again…” She shook her head disapprovingly, all the while making bets in her head as to who it had been. Not many could put the pig-tailed boy – currently girl – into that kind of a state.
She was only mildly surprised to see a total stranger follow, being helped along by Akane. It also wasn’t much of a surprise that the stranger looked to be in even worse shape than Ranma. What did surprise her was the fact that the pink haired girl seemed strangely familiar, and that she was dressed in a pair of exceedingly battered and muddy pajamas.
Neither of them were too badly hurt despite everything – at least no broken bones or internal bleeding, there were a lot of pretty nasty bruises and aching limbs - so it wasn’t long before they were kicked out of the nurse’s office, both dressed in the school uniform since their other clothing was unsalvageable. Ranma felt distinctly uncomfortable in his, but Ryouga was practically fuming. Naturally, she had been given the girl’s uniform… the fact that it was a perfect fit, while Ranma’s was too large, was of negative consolation.
Ranma experienced a rare moment of wisdom while he and Ryouga were walking home. He didn’t tease Ryouga about the dress. Of course, the evil looks that telegraphed the thought ‘open your mouth and I’ll rip it off’ that Ryouga was giving him might have had something to do with that, but it was still quite amazing. Akane had had to stay to finish her classes, but he had been dismissed as soon as he was proclaimed fit to walk. It figured. The one time she would’ve been welcome – as a distraction for Ryouga – she wasn’t there. The two walked the first stretch in silence.
Ryouga seemed introspective. Hey, I guess that’s natural, considering that she – he – just tried to… Ranma couldn’t get himself to complete the thought. It was too disturbing. Ranma tried to start up a conversation instead.
“So, um, Ryouga… what happened to you?”
Ryouga’s expression was disturbingly blank. “It was the Musk.”
“The what?”
Ryouga sighed, too tired to argue. “I guess I might as well tell you… since I’m stuck here for a while…” she made no attempt to explain that statement, just launched into her story.
---
A small black piglet stood on the edge of a rocky ledge overlooking a large valley of a description that was etched permanently into the minds of every person who visited it; hundreds of small to large pools of perfectly clear water with bamboo poles scattered randomly through them. More of the poles were knocked down or broken than had been before, he noted, or would have had he really been paying attention to such sundries. He stared for several minutes in some shock, not quite believing that it was real. Finally it hit him and he started to cry as best he could in pig form from the joy of it all.
An interruption startled him out of it.
He felt himself being lifted up by the bandanna around his neck. “Hey, Herb! I found one!”
Ryouga recovered from his surprise and started to struggle furiously. But it was no good; the hand that held him was too strong. He twisted around and saw that it was a… boy holding him. A boy with dog-ears – no, just a hat of some sort, Ryouga could see human ears in the normal place - and oddly shaped features. What the hell?
A tall man with tri-colored hair snatched him out of the grasp of the dog-boy. Ryouga didn’t bother to inspect this one for unusual qualities; he just struggled as much as he could, bwee’ing loudly. If only I could twist around to bite him! The man got treated to many of the more as well as less exotic curses that the pig-language had to offer, but unfortunately he seemed unaware or uncaring of this fact.
Ryouga wasn’t really aware of what his abductor did from that point on, at least not until he heard a familiar voice.
“Honored customer, this is Nyannichuan, spring of drowned girl.”
The badly accented voice making that announcement made him stop for a moment in his frantic attempts to free himself from the grasp of the person apparently named Herb.
Then he was unceremoniously dunked into the pool. He came up sputtering, upset that he was female and even moreso about being a naked female - he did his best to ignore that fact - but glad enough to be human, at least. Herb still had a firm grip on his bandanna, which was now tied correctly around his head. He was dragged out unto dry land and splashed again with cold water by someone standing off to the side who he hadn’t noticed before, an older man who, like the other two, seemed vaguely inhuman.
“There. Now she’s yours, Herb-sama,” announced the man who had just splashed him.
“Excuse me?!” Ryouga protested. Twisting easily out of the stunned Herb’s grip – Is he ogling me?! – he angrily tossed him into the spring as well. While the now-female Herb sat dumbly in the water, staring at her newly-acquired breasts, Ryouga snatched away the odd bucket from the other man and splashed her like had been done to him, just for good measure. There. An eye for an eye… Though, that seemed pretty stupid.
The old man was frozen in horror. The guide, suddenly realizing who the pig must have been, hightailed it out of there as fast as he could.
Herb snapped out of it as soon as she realized what had happened and climbed out of the pool. “I will kill you for that, pig-woman…”
“Pig-woman?” Ryouga screamed in anger. “I’ve been called a lot of things… but if you ever call me ‘woman’ again you will be the one to die!”
Herb stumbled back a little in surprise. “You… you can speak?”
Now it was Ryouga’s turn to not understand. “Of course I can. I’m human, you idiot. And male, too… get me some hot water and I’ll prove it.”
The other man was the first one to speak. He did so in a soft, strained tone. “Are you saying that you are human, and the pig was your cursed form?”
“Yes, are you deaf or something?”
He closed his eyes and muttered under his breath. “I’m sorry for the confusion.”
“Hey!” Herb protested. “I’m a girl here!”
She seemed to have gotten over ogling herself, Ryouga noted. It was the wrong thing to think about, however. Kami… so am I… he shook his head violently. Not for long. I just have to find the Nannichuan. She – temporarily! – said as much, but the old man only shook his head.
“No, I’m afraid that won’t cure you. You see, the Chiisuiton Ladle,” he said, gesturing toward the object that Ryouga had uncaringly tossed on the ground, “is magic, with the power to lock anyone into their cursed form. Its magic is stronger than that of Jusenkyou.”
Herb seemed to have already known this, and had lapsed into a stream of vulgarity. When she ran out of words in Japanese, she continued in Chinese and several others. Then she suddenly stopped and stood, adjusting her clothing as was necessary. “Parsley,” she commanded before the old man could say anything else, “We are leaving.” She sounded somewhat ridiculous, trying to speak in a low man’s voice with female vocal cords.
“Wha… hey! Are you just going to leave me here? Is there a cure for this?” Ryouga demanded.
Herb glanced at her over her shoulder. “There is,” she said simply, before lifting up the old man and flying – flying? – off. Ryouga blinked. Yes, she was flying, or at least floating, she realized as the two quickly vanished from sight.
Curses in more languages than Herb could ever hope to learn rang periodically through the valley for the rest of the day and well into the night.
---
Ryouga ground her teeth together and clenched a fist uselessly at her side at the memory. “When I find that bastard, she’s dead… leaving me there like that… All I could find out from the guide was that Herb was some sort of royalty of something called the ‘Musk Dynasty’. He didn’t even know where they came from, just that they visited Jusenkyou sometimes to turn animals into people.”
Ranma struggled for some sort of answer. “Hey, at least there’s a cure, right?” he said in an attempt to cheer Ryouga up. “If we can find it, we can get’cha back to normal, right?”
Ryouga was silent the rest of the way.***
~Mordain
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