Of Wolf and Ranma
                             Part 1
			by Kurt Markuson

Ranma characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. All others are created 
by me. You are welcome to archive this fic, provided you give credit 
where credit is due. 

Note: This is my first fanfic. Please be charitable in your evaluations. 
I appreciate any and all C&C.
" "=Japanese
< >=English or another language
[ ]=Thoughts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
				JUSENKYO: 1KM
	Was what the road sign in front of Okami Mishima said. [The Cursed 
Springs,] he thought. [I've heard rumors about this place. I wish I had 
time to take a different route, but I can't risk it.] Okami steeled his 
nerve, picked up his bo staff and duffel bag and continued walking down 
the road. 
	A figure in the bushes watched him do this, and smiled. "I have you 
now, Mishima." he said to himself. He stealthily followed the young man.

	Okami finally arrived in a valley filled with small ponds as far as the 
eye could see. He also saw a small hut a little way ahead. [Must be the 
Guide's hut.] he thought, remembering what he had heard. He walked up to 
the hut and noticed there was a small sign on the door. 

			ON VACATION. BACK IN TWO WEEKS.

	"Great. Just great." Okami said out loud to no one in particular. "I'm 
not going to wait around here for two weeks. as long as I stay clear of 
the pools I should be fine." He carefully began making his way across 
Jusenkyo. A figure detatched itself from the shadows and followed him.
	Okami was about halfway across Jusenko when he heard a voice: "There's 
nowhere for you to hide now, Mishima." Okami turned around quickly to 
see a man with short brown hair dressed in black.
	"You! What are you doing here?"
	"I think you know why I'm here, Mishima."
	"Dammit, why don't you get off my case already!"
	"If you didn't want anyone following you, you should never have left. 
If you come back with me, peacefully, I won't have to kill you."
	"I'm not going back, and not you or anyone else will make me."
	"Very well, we do this the hard way." said the man in black, falling 
into a fighting stance.
	Okami was about to bring his staff to bear, when he was hit by a blast 
of dark purple energy which knocked him into the air. [Damn,] he 
thought. [He's been practicing. He couldn't do that before.] It was at 
this point that he saw where it was he was about to land. Right in the 
middle of one of the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo. 
	"YOU IDIOT!" he yelled at the man in black. "DON'T YOU KNOW THESE 
SPRINGS-"
*SPLASH*

	Okami had an odd sensation throughout his body. Not painful or 
unpleasant, just odd. He felt different. He hoped against hope that it 
was just his imagination, that the rumors were false, or that he had had 
the luck to fall in an uncursed spring. [First things first,] he 
thought. [Get out of the pool and pound that moron into the ground.] He 
emerged from the spring with the intent of doing his assailant bodily 
harm. When he got out, however, he noticed that he was closer to the 
ground than he should have been. Looking down, he saw that he had two 
more legs than usual, and that his feet looked like a dog's paws. 
Noticing the sign next to the spring, he read it:
			SPRING OF DROWNED WOLF
	Okami attempted to express his rage at this development, but it came 
out as an angry growl. The man in black, meanwhile, was just getting up 
from facefaulting at Okami's transformation. Not quite willing to deal 
with this perdicament, the man in black decided to run, reasoning that 
if Okami was a wolf, he wouldn't be able to interfere.
	Okami let him go, more worried about his present condition than revenge 
at this point. [OK, Okami, think. Remember what you know about the 
Jusenkyo curses. A cursed person assumes their cursed form with cold 
water, and requires hot water to change back. All right, I need to find 
some hot water. I think there was a hot springs a few miles beyond 
here.] He picked up his Bo and duffel bag in his mouth and awkwardly 
made his way out of Jusenkyo. 
				***
	"Is it done?" said the voice at the other end of the phone.
	"It is done." said the man in black. "Mishima is no longer a problem."
	"Excellent."
				***
	Okami relaxed and sighed, enjoying his bath in the hot spring. He had 
been thinking about his situation and decided the best thing to do was 
settle down for a while. Much as he liked wandering the Earth and seeing 
the world, he needed to get things in order, and that would be easier if 
he stayed in one place. [Might as well get back to my roots,] he 
thought. [Time to go back to Tokyo.] He got dressed and headed for the 
nearest town. As he walked down the road, a strange thought occurred to 
him. [I've never had to deal with a real estate agent before.]
	A few days later, Okami was in Hong Kong, looking through the real 
estate section of a Tokyo newspaper. There was a housing shortage in 
Japan, he knew, and most of the lodgings in Tokyo were far beyond his 
price range. The only thing he could afford was a small house in the 
Nerima district, where the property values were surprisingly low. He 
wondered why.

Meanwhile in Tokyo:
	Ranma and Akane walked in the front door of the Tendo residence, having 
just got home from school. "Hey did you know someone bought the house 
next door?" Ranma asked Kasumi.
	"Why yes, I saw them putting up the "SOLD" sign earlier today." replied 
Kasumi. "We'll have to welcome them when they arrive."
	"You're right. I should cook something for them." said Akane.
	"We wanna welcome them, not kill 'em, Akane." said Ranma.
*POW*
	"RANMA YOU JERK!" Akane yelled at the rapidly dwindling speck on the 
horizon that was Ranma.

				***
	Okami was on the outskirts of Nerima, looking at a map of Tokyo. He 
hadn't been to Tokyo for a while, and he was unfamiliar with this 
particular district. "Alright let's see, If I take a right at the next 
intersection..." 
	A few minutes later, Okami became aware that a rapidly growing shadow 
was being cast over him. Looking up to see what was causing it, he saw a 
guy about his age dressed in a red chinese style shirt and black pants 
falling out of the sky toward him at high velcocity.
	"What the-"
*WHAM*
	[Whoah, that landing was softer than I thought it would be.] thought 
Ranma. It was then that he heard a voice come from underneath him.
	"Arrrgghhh," it said weakly.
	Quickly getting up, Ranma saw that his fall had been broken by a young 
man about his age with slightly wild black hair pulled back in a 
ponytail wearing blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a faded jean jacket. 
	"Uh oh. Sorry about that. Are you OK?" he asked.
	The black-haired youth did not respond, and the glazed look in his eyes 
suggested that he was unconscious. Slinging Okami over one shoulder, and 
Okami's duffel bag and staff over the other, Ranma said, "We'd better 
get you to Dr. Tofu's."
	All Okami said was "Ohhhhh."
				***
	"No, nothing serious. Just a few bruises and that blow to the head that 
knocked him out." Said Dr. Tofu.
	"When will he wake up?" asked Ranma.
	"He should be up and around in a few minutes."
	Sure enough, a few minutes later, Okami came to. The first thing he saw 
was a man dressed in black standing over him.
	"NO!" he screamed. "GET AWAY FROM M-" he took a closer look at the man. 
He was dressed in black, all right, but his hair was longer and this guy 
had glasses. Okami sighed inwardly. They hadn't found him again.
	Seeing his patient's distress and sudden stop, Tofu asked, "Are you 
alright?"
	"Yes, I'm fine thanks." Replied Okami. He looked around the room and 
noticed the guy who had fallen on him was there. "Hey, you, what's the 
big idea, falling out of the sky on top of people! You could kill 
somebody like that!'
	"Hey, I said I was sorry," Replied the boy, "Besides, it wasn't my 
fault!"
	"What do you mean it wasn't your fault?! Somebody push you out of a 
plane or something?"
	"No, it was that stupid uncute tomboy!" Ranma said, obviously angry 
with the person to whom he was referring.
	"Ah, a domestic situation. Girlfriend's a bit of a powerhouse is she?" 
Okami said jokingly.
	"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" yelled Ranma. He instantly regretted it.
	"I'll say one thing for her, she's got one hell of an uppercut." Said 
Okami. "I've only seen a few guys with enough power to send people 
flying, and never that far."
	"You know martial arts?"
	Okami hefted his Bo. "I don't use this for a walking stick all the 
time."
	"Hm. So what brings you to Nerima?"
	"I'm moving here. I was trying to find my new house when you fell on 
me. Hey, maybe you can help me. Do you know where this address is?" 
Okami pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket and showed it to Ranma.
	"Yeah, that's right next door to where I'm stayin'. So you're the one 
who bought the house. I can take you there if you want."
	"Sure. Thanks for bringing me here, by the way. I don't think I've 
heard your name yet."
	"Don't mention it. I'm Saotome Ranma. You?"
	"Mishima Okami."
	"Nice to meet you."
	"Likewise."
				***
	"So, what's it like, here in Nerima?" asked Okami.
	"Well..." Ranma said, unsure of how to describe his unusual home. He 
didn't need to go any further, as Okami was given a demonstration when 
Shampoo appeared a few seconds later.
	"Nihao, Ranma!" she called enthusiastically, glomping him. "You go on 
date with Shampoo, yes?" Suddenly seeing Okami, she asked, "Who you?"
	"This is Mishima Okami, Shampoo. He just moved here. He'll be living 
next door to the dojo."
	Shampoo looked at Okami, said "Nihao." and turned her attentions back 
to Ranma. 
	"So, this is your girlfriend, Saotome?" Okami asked.
	Shampoo turned to face him. "Shampoo not girlfriend. Shampoo wife!" She 
said indignantly.
	"Fiancee, actually." ammended Ranma.
	"Seems pretty affectionate for someone who knocked you halfway across 
town a while ago."
	"That wasn't Shampoo." said Ranma, somewhat timidly.
	"Huh? Then who was that?"
	Before Ranma could answer, Okami noticed a girl dressed in a gymnast's 
leotard and wielding a gymnast's ribbon arrive on the scene. She 
accosted Shampoo.
	"Release my Ranma-sama, peasant!"
	"Psycho girl no get husband!" Shampoo yelled defiantly, pulling out her 
bonbori.
	"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get! 
OHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"
	As the two girls clashed, Ranma quietly said, "C'mon, let's get outta 
here."
	Okami shuddered and said, "Good idea."
	As they were sneaking away, Okami asked, "So, is the other one the one 
who sent you flying?"
	"Ehhhh, heh heh heh, no." said Ranma, looking somewhat embarrassed.
	"What!?"
	"It's a long story...."
	"I'm not going anywhere."
				***
	"OK, let me get this straight," said Okami. "You have four girls 
chasing after you, and you've managed to get yourself engaged to three 
of them? How on Earth did that happen?"
	"It wasn't my fault. My dad engaged me to Akane and Ukyo, and some 
sorta dumb law in Shampoo's village got me engaged to her. And 
Kodachi..."
	They both shuddered. "Enough about me. Why did you come to Nerima?"
	"Well, for the past year, I've been travelling around the world, sort 
of aimlessly, but recent events in my life have made me decide to settle 
down for a while, until I get everything back in order, at least."
	"Wandering the world eh? You wouldn't happen to know a guy named Hibiki 
Ryoga, would ya?"
	Okami smiled. "I've never actually met him, but every well travelled 
person knows at least one story about the Hibiki family."
				***
Meanwhile, Far from Nerima....

	"WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW!?"
	<Whoah. Relax, man. Calm down.>
	Ryoga turned around to face the man who had addressed him. He was a 
tall, thin, gaijin with blond hair and glasses. Actually, now that he 
looked around, he noticed there were an awful lot of gaijins around 
here. He also noticed the gaijin had addressed him in english. 
	<Where am I?> he asked. His english wasn't great, but he knew enough to 
ask directions.
	<You're in Lethbridge.>
	<Lethbridge?>
	<Yeah. Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.>
	<Where is Tokyo?>
	<Tokyo? You're a long way from home, man. Tokyo is a few thousand miles 
that way.> Replied the gaijin, pointing in the general direction of 
Japan.
	<Thank you.> said Ryoga, and headed off once again.
	<Ummm...> said the gaijin as Ryoga walked off in the wrong direction. 
<Hmmmm....> The gaijin shrugged and continued down the street.
(Note: OK, so I wrote a gratuitous cameo with no bearing on the actual 
plot. I couldn't help myself! No more self-insertion, I promise!)
				***
Back in Nerima.....
	"Hey, why did you freak out when you woke up in Dr. Tofu's clinic?" 
Ranma asked.
	Okami scratched the back of his head. "Well, when I woke up I wasn't in 
the same place as when I was knocked out. I panicked. Waking up in a 
strange place tends to make me paranoid." he answered, hoping Ranma 
wouldn't press the issue. Fortunately, he didn't. Okami decided to 
change the subject. "So what style of martial arts do you practice, 
Saotome?"
	"Kenpo, Anything-Goes Style. How 'bout you?"
	"Anything-Goes, huh? Don't think I've heard of it. As for myself, I 
practice a mainly self-taught style, using blunt weapons. I take a bit 
from most schools I've seen."
	"You any good?" Ranma asked.
	"I like to think so." Okami answered.
	"Maybe we could spar sometime."
	"That'd be good. I could use the practice."
	They continued walking, discussing various things, until they reached 
the Tendo house, and the much smaller house next to it.
	"Well, this is it." Ranma told Okami.
	"Thanks. I'll see you around." Okami said.
	"Hang on. We were gonna welcome you when ya got here, ya might as well 
come in. Dinner should be ready soon."
	Okami realized he hadn't eaten for a while, and that he had no food 
with him. Besides, if he was going to live here, he should be familiar 
with his neighbors. "Alright," he said.
	Soun looked up as Ranma and Okami entered the house. "Hello, Ranma. 
Who's this with you?"
	"Mr. Tendo, this is Mishima Okami. He bought the house next door." 
Ranma said.
	"Hello, Mr. Tendo." Said Okami, bowing as was proper.
	"Hello, Okami. Allow me to indroduce you to everyone. This is Ranma's 
father, Genma." Soun said, gesturing towards Genma.
	"Hello, Mr. Saotome."
	"And these," Soun said, gesturing, "Are my daughters, Nabiki and 
Kasumi. My youngest daughter, Akane, is in the kitchen right now."
	Okami bowed and greeted Nabiki and Kasumi, all the while wondering why 
Ranma had paled when he heard that Akane was in the kitchen. Ranma 
turned to his father. "Pop, is Akane..."
	"I'm afraid so, son." said Genma. 
	A large drop of sweat formed on the back of Ranma's head, which only 
confused Okami even more. He was about to ask Ranma what was wrong, but 
Akane came through the door to the kitchen.
	"Dinner's ready!" she said. Seeing Okami, she asked, "Who are you?"
	Okami bowed. "Hello, Akane-san. I'm Mishima Okami. I bought the house 
next door."
	"Oh, hello, Okami-kun." Akane said. "I was hoping I'd be able to cook 
for you."
	It was at this point that Okami sensed Something was Wrong, but he had 
no idea what it was. Dissmissing it as nervousness about meeting new 
people, he sat down at the table to what he hoped would be a good, 
home-cooked meal. For some reason, that Bad Feeling didn't go away.
	"So how did you meet Ranma, Okami-kun?" asked Nabiki.
	"Well," said Okami, not liking the look she was giving him. He felt 
like she was analyzing him. "I suppose I have Akane to thank." Okami 
replied.
	"What do you mean?" asked Nabiki, frowning slightly.
	"He landed on me." Okami said, smiling slightly. He noticed Akane 
redden slightly. That being said, Okami picked up a mushroom with his 
chopsticks and was about to raise it to his mouth when he noticed that 
everyone was looking at him. In fact, they were staring at him as if he 
were about to die. Except for Akane and Kasumi, who were smiling at him, 
and Soun, who was crying for some reason. Had Okami known Soun better he 
would have recognized this as Soun's 
"My-youngest-daughter-is-about-to-poison-a-houseguest" sob. As it was, 
Okami unknowingly popped the mushroom into his mouth, chewed, and 
swallowed.
	Okami's eyes widened. He suddenly remembered that time he was with that 
tribe in The Amazon River Basin, and had eaten barbecued tarantula. 
[Wish I had some tarantulas now.] he thought. He looked at Akane, who 
was practically beaming, and said, "Thank you Akane. It's very good."
	Everyone else in the room seemed to release their breath 
simultaneously. Okami ate the rest of his dinner in silence, and when he 
was finished, asked, "Where is your bathroom?"
	"Out that door, first door on the left." Said Kasumi.
	"Thank you. Excuse me please." Okami said, getting up. The minute he 
was out the door, Okami broke into a run. He reached the bathroom 
and....
	We will now cut to the outside of the Tendo Dojo, several minutes 
later, where we find Okami talking to Ranma.
	"Man, I gotta hand it to you, you handled Akane's cookin' pretty well." 
said Ranma.
	"I have to admit, it wasn't easy. Akane's nice, but her cooking is 
murder on the digestive system. Does she always cook?"
	"No. Usually Kasumi does it. She's better at it."
	"Well, she couldn't be worse, that's for sure."
	The both laughed at this for a little while, until they turned around 
and saw Akane standing behind them. She was glaring angrily at both of 
them. Okami couldn't help but notice the large mallet she was holding. 
Both he and Ranma sweatdropped.
*WHAM*
*WHACK*
	The next thing Okami knew, he was sailing through the air. [Damn,] he 
thought. [She really is a powerhouse.] It was then that he became aware 
of his trajectory, which would land him and Ranma in.... the Tendo's koi 
pond.
	"Oh no, not the pond NOT THE-"
*SPLOOSH*
	Once again, Okami had an odd sensation throughout his body. [Oh boy, 
How am I going to explain this?] he thought. As he surfaced, he noticed 
that there was a redheaded girl in the pond where Ranma should've been. 
The girl looked at Okami, and her eyes widened. Instead of screaming and 
running away, though, the girl looked at him and said, "Jusenkyo?"
	Okami nodded. Or at least he tried to.
				***
	A few minutes and some hot water later, Okami was relating to the 
Tendos and Saotomes how he had come to be cursed.
	"I was going through Jusenkyo on a journey, and halfway across, I 
tripped and fell into the Spring of Drowned Wolf. I guess I should've 
waited for the Guide to come back from vacation. So how come you guys 
are so familiar with the Jusenkyo curses?"
	"Well, as you've seen, I'm cursed. So is my dad, and a few other people 
around here." said Ranma.
	"Hm. I had no idea so many people had been to Jusenkyo."
	"I take it you didn't know about the Spring of Drowned man?" asked 
Nabiki.
	Okami looked at her, a strange look on his face. "Nani?" he said, very 
quietly.
	"The Spring of Drowned Man," Nabiki repeated. "You obviously didn't 
know about it, or you wouldn't be cursed right now."
	Okami's right eye twitched involuntarily. "Excuse me for one minute." 
He said calmly, getting up and going outside. A few seconds later, 
everyone heard Okami yell and saw a flash of light. A moment later, 
Okami walked back in, completely composed, and sat down again.
	"I'll have to remember that the next time I'm in China." he said.
	"When will that be?" asked Ranma.
	Okami sighed. "Not any time soon, that's for sure." he said. "I spent 
the last of my money to get here and buy that house. Guess I'll just 
have to live with turning into a wolf for a while. Ah well, there are 
worse things to turn into, I guess."
	"Yeah, you could turn into a girl." Ranma said.
	"I can see how that would have it's disadvantages," Okami said, "but 
look on the upside; at least you're still human. Well, I should be 
going. It's getting late and I need to get settled into my new house. 
Thank you for having me." With that, Okami got up, bowed, and left.
	"I'd stay in tonight, if I were you." Ranma called after him.
	"Why?"
	"It's going to rain tonight."
	"Why should that-" Okami started, then remembered himself. "Oh yeah. 
Thanks." He walked the short distance down the street to his own house, 
and went inside.
	[Well, this is my new home.] Okami thought, looking around. [It's, 
it's, it's........ it's really a hole.] It was basically a single room 
with a small stove and sink in one corner, a futon in another, and a 
smaller room connected to it which obviously housed the bathroom. It 
wasn't much, but Okami decided it was all he needed. He unpacked his 
meager belongings, lay down on the futon, and thought until he fell 
asleep.
	Okami awoke the next morning, and began to plan what he would do with 
his day. He decided he would go out and look for a job, and familiarize 
himself with Nerima while he was doing it.
	[Definitely need a job,] thought Okami, [so I can eat.] He walked 
outside, and just stood in front of his house, enjoying the morning 
tranquility. Said tranquility was broken a few minutes later, by sounds 
emanating from next door.
	"BAKA!"
*THUD*
*CRASH*
	"Hi Saotome!" said Okami, waving as his neighbor sailed overhead.
	"Hey Okamiiiiiiiiii...." said Ranma as he flew towards the horzion.
	Okami, who was trying to see if he could pinpoint where Ranma would 
land, failed to notice the oncoming car which splashed him with water 
from a puddle left from last night's rain.
	[Oh boy,] thought Okami as he went inside to get some hot water, [this 
is gonna take some getting used to.]

			THE BEGINNING

Stay tuned for our next chapter, in which Okami goes job hunting, meets 
the rest of the gang, and we find out more about who Okami is hiding 
from.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
	Like I said before, this is my first fic. I want you, the readers, to 
mail me at kaldar87@hotmail.com and tell me what you think. C&C, MST, 
RSVP, DOA, SOS, all are welcome. Just remeber, if you have nothing nice 
to say, at least say it politely. I want your input, both good and bad. 
Is someone OOC? Am I a no-talent hack? Do you have any tips for a novice 
writer? How does Okami rate, in your opinion? Have you figured out the 
meaning of Okami's name? It will be up to you, really, to decide if I 
continue writing this fic or if I just go back to reading other people's 
fics. I need to ask you though, to send your feedback to me as well as 
the FFML, as I am not a subscriber at the moment.

P.S. Don't send me mail about how there isn't supposed to be an "S" 
after gaijin. I already know that. I kept it there because I like the 
way it read.

If my sanity asks, I was never here.
Kurt Markuson
kaldar87@hotmail.com

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