Okay here is the second section of part III (I swear I need to cut down the 
sizes of these for the next few sections. Any bets, I'll give you 20 to 1 odds if 
you bet I can do it.) If any one wants  full copy of the Legacy so far, e-mail me 
personally, with what format of WP programming is best for you, I use Worperfect 6.1 
or 6.0a and I will send it to you as an attachment, just too dangerous to send it 
that way
to a ML.

	Enjoy

	The Legacy
	Part III For What Ails Thee

	All charcters property of Rumiko Takahashi

	Ranma nodded, holding Akane close to him, and picked up his tale
again, "As I said I had no clue what the cure for my curse was. Oh I had
the answer, but I did not understand it. So I left the village at the foot of the 
mountain and slowly began to make my way back towards China,
hoping I might find the answer there."
     "As I traveled, I thought about what the old man had said. I sort of
understood the idea of the soul of Hui-cheng becoming part of mine.
There is always a slight difference when I am a girl, but it was still me. I
was the dominate inhabitant of my body. Therefore it made sense that
Hui-cheng needed a body of her own, a life for her to inhabit, but I did not
know how to do that. Was I supposed to kidnap someone, have a magician
remove the soul and place Hui-cheng's soul in the body? I did not think so,
but I could not think of any other answer."
     "I wandered for about a month before I found the answer. I had
stopped in a small village in northern China close to Jusenkyo. As I was
eating in a small inn, I heard a commotion from outside. Suddenly a man
rushed in shouting, �Rejoice, my daughter and her husband have brought a
new life into this world. A son has been born to carry on my line.'"
     "My mind clicked two things together instantly, and the puzzle was
solved. Everything made sense in that instant, and at the same time I
became suddenly terrified."
      "When the man said new life I  thought about what the old
man had told me, and then when he mentioned a son born to carry on his
line, everything fit. A new life created for her that embodies both our
essences. I was not to put her soul into a new body, I had to bear a child
that would hold her soul. But I could not just father a child on anyone. I
had to be the father and she the mother. I had to impregnate my cursed
form."
     "The thought alone terrified and sickened me. I had never come to grips with my 
female form. Having always hated it, I have tried to spend as little time in it as 
possible. But to have a child, I would need to remain female for the whole nine 
months, not to mention the time I would have to stay a girl to get pregnant in the 
first place."
     "Then there was the idea of pregnancy itself. Ever since I had
been cursed the thought of becoming pregnant had given me nightmares.
Many nights I would wake up from some dream where I was having
someone's child. I did not want to find out what it would do to me. I was afraid of 
the labor, I was terrified that it would change me, make me less of a man. How would 
everyone look at me? These were thoughts that had always been with me. And now I had 
to go through with it just to be cure." 	"Plus I did not want the 
responsibility of a child. I was still a young man, I had not even finished my 
schooling or training. I child would hold me down. But to be free of the curse I had 
to face this."
     "I thought about this predicament for a few days, while I stayed in
the village. None of the courses of actions I came up with were entirely to
my liking. I knew I could not return home while pregnant, my mother
would kill me, and you probably would have too along with half of Nerima.
On top of that I could not face anyone I knew and have them snicker at me
thinking how much I liked being a girl, that I had gotten pregnant."
     "Plus I could not let other people know that I was both the father
and the mother of the child. They would look at me as some kind of freak.
I did not want to be a hentai in truth. It took  me a long time to accept the
fact that I would be the mother and father myself. I still have trouble with it to 
this day."
     "Finally I decided, that I would take the chance. I would try and
cure myself. My plan was simple actually. I would return to Japan and pose
as a married couple, playing both the husband and wife, I would meet with
a fertility specialist. I would have him artificially inseminate me in my
female form with my male sperm. Once this was done, I would leave Japan,
and return to the valley I had occupied in the Himalayan mountains and wait for the 
child to be born."
     "The plan was perfect. I would be able to have the child, cure my
curse, and not have anyone find out how I had done it. I would be home
inside of a year.  knew it could not fail, but then I remembered that a baby
does not just get up and walk out into the world after a birth.  Having been so 
worried and preoccupied with the idea of being pregnant in the first place, I had 
not even considered what would happen to the child. I had forgotten the  purpose of 
pregnancy. I really did not know what to do."
     "�I knew what my choices were. I could keep the child and raise it,
or I could  give it up for adoption. I really did not consider myself ready to
be a parent. I knew nothing about raising a child. Who would be my
role-model? My father? That's a joke. My father was the worst parent you
could possibly have. I mean I guess I could have done everything opposite
of him and I might have done an okay job, but did I really want the
responsibility?"
     "Besides, what would I tell you? How could I explain a child of
mine and still keep your love? It was looking like I would allow the child to
be adopted, yet even that made me unhappy. Throughout the whole
pregnancy the dilemma would plague me. Should I give up the child, and
make it easier for myself and the others, or should I raise it, trusting in love
and just hope everything turned out right."
     "Undecided about this, I returned to Japan, and went to
a fertility doctor. I set up separate meetings. Once as the husband and then
as the wife. It took a bit of work, but I finally managed to get him to go
along with my story. He believed we were doing this because our
schedules were so incompatible that to get me pregnant was almost
impossible."
     "Though he warned me that it would probably take a while to get
pregnant through artificial insemination, I was pregnant after the first
month back. I stayed in Japan only long enough to make sure things were going as 
planned, and then I disappeared back to my valley." 
     "One of the reason's I returned to the valley was that I did not want
to accidentally turn back into a man, and inadvertently kill the fetus. I
choose the valley because there was less chance of hot water being flung at
me than anywhere else. There were hot springs in the valley, but they were
secluded, and I could avoid them easily. Unfortunately, or fortunately as
you might see it, I did not need to worry about this."
     "I discovered that I was actually stuck in my female form, no matter
what happened. I found this out while at a restaurant in Hong Kong. Some
one bumped a waiter carry a tray of tea kettles as he passed my table.
Three kettles of hot water splashed all over me. Screaming in pain and
fright I jumped up, expecting to see my male form, expecting the loss of
the baby, but I did not change. I remained a woman."
     "Somehow the curse had been negated slightly by my pregnancy.
Hot water would not change me back into a man. You can imagine I was
somewhat  relieved and more than a little terrified. For a while I thought I would 
be a woman forever and that the old man had tricked me into finding the wrong cure."
     "It took me a few weeks to realize that if this was a cure, then
maybe Hui-cheng was doing something to make me stay as a woman so
that the child would not be lost. It made sense, sort of, but I still stayed
away from hot water and mopped around a lot once I got to the valley.
     "Actually my pregnancy had me going crazy most of the time. I
kept having these mood swings. One moment I'd be happy as a pig in the
mud, the next I would be crying my eyes out. At times I knew I was ugly.
At others, I was filled with wonder as I felt Ranko moving in my womb. I
never realized how much women went through to bear children, and I am
not talking about just the labor part. I would never do that again, even if I
could." His voice lacked conviction as he said this, and Akane heard it, and smiled.
     "I could not really tell you when it happened, but I started to fall in
love with the child I was carrying. At night I would lie awake, feeling
Ranko move within me, feeling her heart beat against my hands. I don't
really know when I started thinking of the child as a her. I do remember
when I first called her Ranko though. I was sitting outside thinking about
you, Akane. I was thinking about how nice it would be to see you again,
when I said, �Wait till you meet her, Ranko. I know you'll love her as much
as I do.'"
     "It was at that point that I decided I could not give up Ranko. Over the 
pregnancy I had fallen in love with my unborn child. But there was more to it than 
simple motherly love. There was a connection between me and Ranko. I mentioned that 
to you earlier. Probably because of the nature of her conception and the curse 
itself. I cannot really explain it, since I do not understand it myself. It just 
seems that we share a piece of each other's soul."
     "Even today that connection still exists. I know that she is sleeping
peacefully right now, dreaming, safe and content, in your bed. I am not just
guessing either. A part of my mind just informs me whenever I think about
it. I can also tell exactly where she is at any given moment. I know when
she is sad, happy, hurt, angry, lonely, or anything else. She is much more
than a daughter to me, she is a part of me. I slowly came to realizer this
during my pregnancy as I felt emotions and experiences that I was not having. This 
just strengthened my resolve to keep her no matter what the consequences would be."
     "The pregnancy went as normal, I assume. About eight and a half
months after becoming pregnant, I went into labor," Ranma winced
remembering the pain, "Somehow I made it down to that small village and
was able to get a villager to help deliver the child.  After a day long labor, 
I gave birth to Ranko."
     "Completely exhausted from my ordeal, I held her in my arms
gazing into her perfect face. She looked more like me than anything else.
She had black hair at that time, not the red hair she has now. Gazing quietly at me 
she cooed softly and touched my face. What could I do, my heart melted. The last 
doubts disappeared I could never give her up. I gave into my love completely and 
hugged my new daughter tightly to my chest promising to never leave her, to always 
protect her."
     "It was a few days before I could go back to the valley. The birth
had taken a lot out of me. When I returned, I instantly rushed for the hot
springs, carrying Ranko with me. I emersed myself in them, waiting to
change back, but nothing happened. I could not believe it. I was still stuck
as a woman, even though I had borne a child for Hui-cheng's soul."
     "Well to make it simple to understand and to shorten this story, I did not 
figure this out for several months, I had to remain a female to care for
Ranko that first year. This was because she needed a mother to feed her
and care for her, not a father to love and play with her."
     "As the fifth year I had been away came to an end, I had
stopped nursing  Ranko and started weaning her onto solid foods. One day
we were down by the hot springs, and I decided it would be nice to relax in
the water. Picking up Ranko who was stumbling about the grass, trying to
walk, I walked into the pool and emersed myself in the hot water."
     "Suddenly I felt that tingling sensation that comes with my
change, but it was slow. Ranko suddenly started laughing, and I knew she
could feel it. The sensation continued for a few seconds before ending abruptly, but 
my body did not change. Then the pain hit me."  
     "I screamed as I felt something ripping from my body. It was
excruciating. Dimly I remember hearing Ranko screaming in my arms. I
knew she was feeling the same pain as me. For an eternity I screamed as
the pain built. I could feel and hear something tearing in me."
     "Suddenly the pain stopped, and images began flashing before my eyes. I saw a 
heavy-set muscular man bringing a sword down on a battered figure. I ran towards the 
fallen figure, crying in grief. Then I was feeling the water close over me, and 
darkness taking me. Suddenly light surrounded me as I exited the water and sat 
facing  a panda and an old Chinese man. I was so confused. Someone was moving my 
arms looking at my breasts and shouting at the panda."
     "Then I saw you that first time we met. This was followed by many
more images. Some from Hui-cheng's life, some from my own. All of them
jumping around in no apparent order. Then finally it came back to the
brutal man, and the sword swinging down towards me this time. I
screamed and then blackness took me."
     "When I woke, I was lying next to the pool. My face was stiff and
aching. Ranko was in my arms. Remembering her screams, I looked at her first, fear 
filling my heart and was completely surprised by what I saw. No longer was she a 
black haired infant. She looked exactly as she does now. She looked like my cursed 
form. Although she had sort of looked like that ordinally, now it was easy to see. 
She had red hair and the more delicate face. But the worst thing was that she was at 
least two years older,
maybe three. She was a toddler now. I grabbed her in shock and
looked at her closely."
     "At the sudden movement she opened her eyes at looked at me,
smiling she said, �You changed back, Otoosan.' I stopped and starred at
her. When had she learned to talk? What had happened? Then what she had
said entered my mind.  Looking down at myself, I realized I was a man
again. I had turned back. And with the change in Ranko's appearance, I thought that 
I had been cured!"
     "Laughing in joy, I swung her around and around, almost forgetting
about what had happened. Slowly the celebration ended though, as I
realized what had happened, and things began to take on shape."
     "I was a man gain, Ranko was nearly three years older, around me
the valley was giving up winter. When I had gone down to the pools, it had
been early summer. Strange things were happening, and I did not
understand anything."
     "Shocked, I stood uncomprehending for several minutes, until
Ranko touched my face.  �Why are you hurt, Otoosan?' she asked. Not
comprehending I touched my face and felt these parallel scars on my cheek.
As I touched them. The entire episode came back to me. I remembered all
the things I had seen before falling unconscious. Slowly understanding
began to dawn on me."
     "What had happened was that Hui-cheng's soul had found itself in
mine, and it had broke free to join with and become who Ranko was
supposed to be."
     "But it was not complete, I found that out several days latter as
Ranko and I left the valley, and a drenching rain turned me back into my
female form until I dried off, but that is for later."
     "I quickly took Ranko back to the cabin I had built, and packed our
things. I was exhilarated, I had been cured, and I was looking forward to
returning to you. We left the valley the next day, and journeyed towards
Japan. But it was not just missing you that made me return. Too much had happened. I 
needed someone to help me. I could not take it anymore."
     "After we left, I learned that Ranko and I had been unconscious, or
trapped in the separation for more than half a year. Though surprised by
this, and rather confused, I still have not figured out why it took so long, or
why there was so much pain involved." <Sometimes the cure is more of a
curse,> the thought ran through Ranma's mind again. He felt Ranko stir
restlessly, disturbed by a dream. He cleared his mind and felt her settle back
down. <No we are not cured yet, but what else must we do?>
     "Many things are still questions in my head. I don't understand
much of what has happened. I came home wanting to be with you, since
my curse is disappearing slowly as time goes by. I now can only become a
woman if I soak in water, and I turn back once dry."
     "I came back as soon as I could Akane-chan, you have to
understand that. I did not wan to be gone for so long, but things do happen
in their own time. As I said, right now I just need someone to help me understand 
everything. I can trust you. I know you will help me. I love you, Akane-chan," Ranma 
finished, looking down at her. She was cradled in his arm, her head resting against 
his chest. At first Ranma thought she had fallen asleep. 
     "Akane?" he asked silently.
     "Thank you for telling me, Ranma," Akane murmured, "I want to
help you. I want us to be together again. So much has happened to both of us. I just 
don't know where to begin. There are things that I need to tell you. I know you need 
to tell me more. But right now is not the time, I just want to get some sleep. We'll 
talk in the morning." With that she curled tightly against Ranma and soon fell 
asleep in his arms.
     Ranma was surprised. He had not expected this reaction. His mind
was reeling with new questions and doubts after retelling his story, but
Akane had put even more into his mind, and then she had gone to sleep. <It's 
probably just the after-effect of so much emotional change for a single day,> he 
thought. Besides he liked the feel of her in his arms. Questions could wait for 
tomorrow.
     Smiling softly he pulled her closer to him and closed his eyes letting
sleep overtake him.

     Ukyou was walking up the steps to Akane's apartment. She had
lost track of the time. Some friends had taken her out for a celebration of
their last final, and things had just gotten out of hand. When she had
noticed how late it was, she had rushed out of the bar, suddenly remembering
that she had wanted to make sure Akane was doing better.
     Running down the street, she had berated herself for forgetting like
this. She had a duty to her friend. If anything had happened to Akane, she
would never forgive herself. She just hoped Akane had not slipped into one
of her depressed moods again. What if she was going to kill herself? Ukyou
had run faster.
     Now she was climbing the last step and entering Akane's hallway.
The lights were dim, but light shone from underneath Akane's door.
Walking up to the door, Ukyou knocked, "Akane-chan?" she called. There
was no answer.
     Worried she knocked again, a little louder. There was still no
answer. A horrid suspicion rose inside of her. <She wouldn't have, would
she?> Desperately, Ukyou pushed open Akane's door and rushed in,
shouting Akane's name. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. Akane
was cuddled against a man on her couch. It was not just any man though
she recognized him. 
     <It can't be. He died.> But the evidence was there in front of her. It was him! 
Ukyou ran forward with a glad shout waking the two and starting a huge commotion.
      "Ran-chan!"

     Ryoga walked quietly over the barren rocks. He was lost again as
usual. He had been wandering since he had proposed to Akane. Though she had not said 
no, her inability to give him an answer had made him doubt himself. <Did she really 
love me, or was it simply because she was
grieving? It's all my fault. I should never have told them Ranma died. I was
just so sure. The people described him perfectly. They said he was most
likely dead, but I had no right to say something that had no substance. I
twisted the truth just so I could have a chance at her love. I don't think I
deserve it. I cannot not even tell her about P-chan. She deserves a true
man.>
	Ryoga was not paying attention to where he was going, which was usual for 
him. Because of this he missed his next step and tumbled down a rocky slope, 
scraping his face and hands on the sharp rocks. Sliding to a rest he cursed his bad 
luck and got up looking around. He recognized the place instantly, how could he 
forget it. The bamboo shafts sticking up from the hundreds of pools. 
	The memory of being knocked into a pool by Ranma only to find himself a pig 
afterwards. The rage and anger surged through his body. He suddenly hoped Ranma was 
not dead so he could kill him. He wanted his revenge. It was all Ranma's fault. His 
entire life had been lived in Ranma's shadow. He could not have Akane because of 
Ranma. Even dead he held her back. Because of Ranma he had had to lie to and trick 
Akane to be with he in his cursed form. All because of Ranma.
	The dark rage was seething deeply in Ryoga's soul now. Despair filling his 
heart and soul. He wanted to destroy something. He wanted Ranma in his hands at that 
instant, but maybe he could do something just as good.
	He was at Jusenkyo. He could cure himself. The pool itself was no more than 
twenty feet from him. He might have a bad sense of direction, but his memory was 
very good. Never in his life had he forgotten what anything looked like, and now he 
recognized nannichuan, right across from the pool Ranma had fallen into.
	"Saotome!" the name was a poisonous curse as it rolled of his tongue. He 
would be alive. Ryoga knew it. Saotome would always come back to destroy his life. 
<I will just have to win Akane before he can do it again. I will be a whole man and 
have Akane as my own.>
	Laughing as he understood the perfect revenge on Saotome, Ryoga walked 
toward the nannichuan. He did not stop at the edge of the pool, he walked into it, 
the water slowly covering his whole body until nothing remained above the water.
	As the water enclosed him, the tingle of the change filled his body and then 
was replaced as fire scorched through his soul. He screamed underneath the water, 
the water entering his lungs, slowly choking him, taking him to darkness. Clawing at 
the water, Ryoga tried to swim to the surface, but he was sucked down into 
blackness. He heard laughing, dark and sinister, it sounded like his own. Maybe he 
was dreaming, then the darkness enclosed him.
	
	He awoke on the rocks next to the pool. Rain was pouring down soaking his 
body to the skin. It took him a moment to realize that he was a man, not a pig and 
it was raining. He was cured. He started laughing in joy and anticipation. He would 
now have his revenge on Saotome. He was a whole man again.
	"Saotome, you will die! I will have my love," he shouted, <Yes I will have 
my love,> a dark voice echoed in Ryoga's mind, and then began chuckling before going 
quiet.
	Unnerved, Ryoga looked around, finding no one, he shrugged, and left the 
pools, not noticing the light dying from the pool he had just exited from. He was 
thinking about what he would do to Ranma.

	There ir is part III
	PArt IV, V and VI will be coming sometime this weekend or next week.
	I think there will be about ten parts total.

	Thanks for your time and sorry about the format.

	Joseph "Ashira" Kohle

	Thanks again for all the helpfull comments on my works.