Subject: [FFML] [permanent re post5][dark]
From: catbert25@juno.com
Date: 7/15/1998, 10:37 AM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

In wasn't satisfied with this so I updated it a little. I guess it seemed
bigger when I wrote it before. I also added a few scenes and cleared up a
few things a little.

Permanent 5: A China tale
V1.1

	Ranma Saotome followed the guide with a dead look on her face.
"Here sirs we find village of Amazon." said the guide as he pointed at
village they were about to enter. 
	"Amazons?" said Genma's sign. Ranma stood staring at nothing.
Sitting on her pack was Mr.P he looked at the village and squealed
approvingly. The group walked on and into the village.

	"Very lucky today sirs They show their strength today." said the
guide. Ranma snorted as they sat by a large table with a sign on it, she
pulled out one of the many books she had 'borrowed' from the guides home
and began reading. He watched her nervously. He did not ever read them
himself but felt very uncomfortable with her taking them like she did.
There were thousands of them, collected over the centuries by former
guides and unfortunate visitors. The girl had only taken about fifty
volumes on specific topics, so he let it go. She had emptied her pack of
all but the most essential items to make room and had around fifteen
books strapped on the outside of her bag. "Very strange young one." he
muttered as she ignored the show.
	Genma happily chowed down on the food on the table. Until a
bonbori smashed it into splinters. Ranma looked up from her reading and
frowned as a young Chinese girl yelled angrily at them in Chinese. "You
there panda girl. Why you steal my prize she say." said the guide
translating the girls ranting. 
	Ranma looked at the panda and sighed. She calmly placed her book
back into the bag and lifted it over her shoulder. "Keep him." she said
to the girl, with that she began to walk away.
	"Son?" said the panda with a sign.
	The girl called after him and followed Ranma with an angry stare.
"Where you think you going? she say" translated the guide.
	"Tell her the animal is not mine." said Ranma. "I'm not
responsible for him." The guide did. Shampoo stared at the girl hard. She
said something in Chinese.
	"Only if you give pig as well." said the guide.
	"No." Replied Ranma never breaking stride as she walked out of
the village.
	Shampoo growled and charged at Ranma. Ranma ducked under the blow
and rolled away removing her bag as she went. She stood facing Shampoo
with a neutral expression. Shampoo charged again. Ranma sidestepped and
kicked under her arms catching her in the chin. Shampoo fell back and
landed on the ground hard. Ranma stood ready for another attack. Shampoo
slowly got to her feet and shook her head. She stared at Ranma hard.
Ranma watched as the villagers gasped and the guide looked at him in
terror. "He is won!" he cried. Shampoo walked over to Ranma and kissed
her on the cheek. The guide grabbed Ranma's arm and ran from the village.

	Cologne looked at her Great grand daughter and sighed. "So a
foreign girl defeated you and you gave her the kiss of death." she said
looking at the young girl. Shampoo nodded. "Go then and be quick in your
return." she said to her. Shampoo bowed and turned away. 
	As she emerged from her Great Grandmother's home Mousse ran up to
her. "Shampoo promise you'll marry me when you return." he cried hugging
a nearby bush.
	 "Stupid Mousse, I'll never marry you. Not until you defeat me."
Said Shampoo giving him a half hearted blow to the head. Mousse slumped
to the ground. 
	"That wasn't near as hard as she used to hit...I think I'm
wearing her down!" he thought happily.
	"Maybe marrying him wouldn't be so bad." thought Shampoo as she
walked away. She turned and watched him grinning and drooling in his
fantasies on the ground. "Right, it would be worse." she muttered as she
walked on.

	Ranma entered a village after a long day of hiking and  was
attracted to a large gathering of people. She entered a home where most
of the village waited outside. <What going on?> she asked one of the
young men.
	The boy blushed at the attention she had placed on him, he winced
as his splint hit the wall jarring his broken arm. <A birth.> he said. 
	Ranma smiled at the boy and he sighed. "What a loser." she
thought amused.
	Ranma heard cries of pain from the hut and then the cry of a
baby. She started to walk away when one of the men cried out in anguish.
She turned to see a man was being carried out of the hut. She turned back
to the boy again. <What happen?" she asked. The boy who was now pale
turned to her. <She will not live.> he said sadly, now oblivious to her
charms.
Ranma frowned and pushed her way into the hut. <You can't go in there!>
called the boy chasing after her.
	<Let her go boy, and forget any ideas you had about her.> said
one of the elders standing at the door. 
	<She spoke to you?> asked the boy.
	<No but I recognize some of the books she has on that bag of
hers. You do not want to anger someone like her. She will not harm
anyone, quite the opposite.> said the elder.
	<What?> said the confused boy, just then a bright pink light
emanated from the hut. The woman inside began screaming again in pain,
only this time it was far worse than before. A few moments past and some
of the men ran from the hut in terror. The boy looked to see the old man
was laughing heartily.
	The girl emerged from the hut and started to walk away. <My
village is grateful to you great mage.> said the elder to her.
	<Not great...not yet.> said Ranma without turning.
	<What did you do to my sister?> said the boy angrily as he walked
over to Ranma. The elder stiffened. 
	<Quiet boy! Show some respect, she is the reason your sister
lives now!> he snapped. <Do you wish to anger her?> 
	Ranma turned and stared at the boy with her piercing blue eyes.
The boy faltered. <Is OK. I Show.> she said to the elder. She turned to
the boy and smiled <This really hurt.> she said and grabbed his arm with
blinding speed. He yelped in suprise and pain as her hands glowed pink
again. He felt his arm burn in pain as if his bones were on fire inside.
He began to scream in agony and fell to his knees as she let go clutching
his arm. He stayed that way for a moment and tried to catch his breath.
<That what do to sister.> she said with a smile. The boy didn't know what
to say he simply stared at his arm in disbelief. Ranma walked out of the
village with her animals following.

	Ryoga sat in the corner of the abandoned hut. He glared as Ranma
sat sleeping into a corner. Genma watched her with an angry stare. He was
still quite upset about what Ranma had done at the amazon village. The
guide had abandoned them a few days ago because of the so called 'Kiss of
death'. Ranma had neither seen nor heard anything about the amazons
since. That had been a week ago. Ryoga walked over to the pack and
rummaged around for a moment. He emerged with a small curved knife in his
teeth. 
	"Ranma, girl or not you die for what you've done to me!" he
thought angrily. Then he saw a shadow loom over him, he turned to see a
small delicate looking foot come towards his face. He squealed in fear
and pain as it stepped on him.

	Shampoo cursed as she felt her foot hit something soft and round.
It squealed loudly. Ranma woke with a start and charged at her. Shampoo
jumped up barely avoiding Ranma. She flipped over her and came down
slashing at Ranma's back with her sword. Ranma cried out as made a long
shallow cut along her back. She rolled and scooped up the pig and her bag
before leaping out the window and disappearing into the night. The panda
watched this wide eyed from the corner and did not move. Shampoo snorted
and walked out angrily chasing after Ranma.

	It was almost five a.m. before Ranma finally lost her. He had
retreated into the woods and found refuge in a tree. Her clothes were
slashed and she bled from several small wounds. She held the pig in her
arms and drifted off into sleep. 
	Ryoga squirmed out of Ranma's arms and glared at her. He had not
liked the ride she had given him last night. Snorting angrily he moved
into the small space between her and the tree. He began to push her as
hard as he could off the branch. After a few moments she budged. Ryoga
snorted and moved over to her side. He put his head against her and
shoved as hard. Ranma's eyes shot open and she scooped him up. He
squealed in terror as she jumped up to the next branch. He looked down to
see that the space he had been in was covered in shruken. He shook in
fright as the adrenaline rushed through his veins. Ranma dropped through
the branches occasionally dodging another projectile from the ground.
Finally she landed on the ground facing a furious Shampoo. Ranma decided
she had enough of the amazon. 
	"Ranma I kill." Shampoo spat holding a spear against her side.
She pointed it at Ranma and stabbed, Ranma dodged and did a hooking
crescent kick at the young amazons head, Shampoo blocked and slashed
Ranma across the stomach ripping a long gash across it and tearing her
shirt. Ranma fell to her knees and rolled as Shampoo attempted to stab
her while she was down.  Ranma took the opportunity to uppercut her and
send her flying into a nearby tree. Shampoo cried out as she felt her
back slam into the tree. She slumped unconscious. Ranma looked at her a
moment and walked away.

	A few minutes later Shampoo woke with a start. "Why didn't she
kill me?" she wondered as she inspected herself. A smile formed on her
lips, "Maybe she can't." she thought with a smile.
	Ranma walked on and met her father on the outside of the town
they had stayed in before Shampoo had attacked. Genma ran up to her with
a sign that said. "Son I'm so glad your safe." 
	Ranma glared at him and turned her back. She walked away with
Genma following. She neither acknowledged his presence or tried to turn
him away. She just walked on. She had a long way to go to reach the
pacific. 
	It would be almost three days before Shampoo attacked again.

	Ranma walked into a pitiful looking village where people sat and
watched her and her companions go by. Children scurried away from her as
she passed through. They watched her as she walked by from around corners
and hidden in shadows. One boy just sat in the middle of the street and
stared off into the distance. She walked up to him and looked down. He
was pitiful, he just sat and stared at nothing. <Hey boy, you get hurt
you stay in road.> she said in bad Mandarin. The boy was startled and
cowered in fear. A woman in one of the homes started to move towards
Ranma but was stopped by someone inside. She let out a soft pained cry.
She was obviously this child�s mother. The boy was blind. Ranma felt her
chest become tight.
	<Stand boy be man.> she said pulling the boy to his feet. She
wiped his face and he placed his hands on her face, memorizing it.  <Not
how see, I show.> said Ranma and she clutched the boy's head. The boy
cried out again in suprise and fear, he twisted in a vain attempt to
break Ranma�s firm grip on his head. The mother finally freed herself
from the home and ran towards Ranma. Ranma's hands glowed bright blue and
the boy fell to the ground unconscious.
	<You killed my baby!> cried the woman as she held the seemingly
deceased boy in her arms. <I curse you traveler.> she cried.
	<I simply gave him what he deserved.> said Ranma as she walked
out of the village with a wry smile on her face. "Now I know that spell
works." she thought. Genma and Ryoga just followed blindly, they had seen
this many times before in other villages.
	"Your going soft boy." said Genma's sign.
	"Kindness is not a weakness." said Ranma.

	The boy woke in her arms as the woman wept clutching him tightly.
The village looked on in anger. <Mom, there is something wrong with my
eyes.> said the boy.
	<Yes I know.> The woman pulled away. <What?> she said.
	The boy began crying. <She did something to my eyes mom!> he said
with tears in his eyes, he was crying in fear.
	<You are alive!> cried the woman and she bent down to kiss her
son in joy. He pulled away reflexively.
	The woman stopped and stared at him. One of the villagers waved
his hand in front of the boy's face and he shied away. The villagers all
looked at the figures that were disappearing over the horizon.

	Shampoo stood and watched her prey for a moment as she bought a
small meal from a local restaurant. She smiled as Ranma began to eat. "I
won't give you the pleasure of a meal." she sneered and charged at her.
	Ranma looked up from her beef fried rice as the wall of the small
restaurant crashed in revealing an angry Shampoo. "Ranma I kill!" cried
the Amazon. Ranma uttered a single curse in frustration at the suprise
attack. She quickly backflipped over the counter and landed next to the
grill as Shampoo dove after her. Ranma ducked causing the bonbori to slam
into the grill completely demolishing it. She rolled between the Amazon's
legs and kicked her in the back as she flipped back to her feet. Shampoo
was thrown against the hot grill and she screamed and jumped off. She
dropped the bonbori and pulled out a nasty looking sword. She slashed at
Ranma who ducked and rolled  away again causing Shampoo to take a large
section of the counter off. Ranma lept over the counter and rolled yet
again barely avoiding an attempt to catch her in mid air. She dashed out
of the restaurant�s front door. Ranma turned toward the restaurant only
to see it explode in a ball of fire. 
	Ranma looked around the remains of the restaurant an hour later. 
None of the customers had survived the attack. She looked at the remains
of the grill again. When Shampoo had hit it with her bonbori she had
damaged the tank which held the fuel. The owner had been using one much
to large for the grill and it had exploded the moment the gas came in
contact with the pilot flame. "She isn't here." muttered Ranma after
searching the rubble. Shampoo had escaped.

	Ranma took her things and walked towards where she had left Mr.P
and her father on the outskirts of town. She had learned the other day
that bringing animals into villages where people were starving was
dangerous, especially for the animals.	
	Shampoo smiled as she watched Ranma walk on from her perch in the
tree's. She would kill her yet. She knew where she was going and that was
enough for now.
	About a day later Ranma walked along a path that led through some
woods. She walked silently with the pig on her back who secretly plotted
her death, and a panda behind her who sulked from being ignored. 
	Ryoga had managed to get a good sized rock onto the top of the
bag. He laughed his little pig laugh as he pushed it towards the edge
towards Ranma's head. The top of the bag was about two feet above Ranma's
head and she would definitely feel the blow. Ranma stopped and ducked
suddenly and Ryoga looked over the edge of the stone to see a branch
swinging towards him. He squealed and jumped into the air leaping over
it. It knocked the rock neatly off the pack and it rolled into the bush. 
He landed back on the pack. and looked at the branch as it swayed from
its momentum.

	Ranma walked until she felt something against her shin. She
looked down and saw a thin line that stretched across the path. She
ducked and felt something go over her head. She also felt something fall
of her back. "Mr.P!" she cried and turned to see the branch swinging in
the air. It was covered in spikes. She tensed up and looked to the ground
and hoped she didn't see what she thought was there. She heard a soft
squeal from behind her and saw the pig hyperventilating on her back as he
stared at the spiked branch. She sighed in relief and cautiously
continued on her path. She considered going back but she couldn't be sure
how many traps she had missed. She pressed on and uncovered several other
lethal traps including one who had caught an unfortunate traveler. She
looked down the pit and saw a bag that had red spikes protruding from it
with arms and legs also impaled on spikes jutting from the sides. A few
minutes later Ranma nearly killed herself by walking into some nearly
transparent wire that cut her cheek and arms when she walked into it.
	A few hours later Shampoo attacked again. Ranma narrowly escaped
again barely avoiding the girls blades by getting on a small boat and
floating away in piranha ridden waters. And so it went for seven months.
Shampoo setting traps when she could and ambushing Ranma at every turn,
night and day. Ranma resting only when she had to and most of the time
only barely surviving the attacks and traps. Until one day...
	
	Ranma desperately ran up the side of the mountain and weaved
between the tree's. She didn't know how far the Amazon was behind her.
"Doesn't she ever give up?" she thought as she ran. She felt something in
the air around her and jumped straight up in the air. As soon as she was
clear two logs slammed into each other beneath her. She landed on them as
they collided and jumped off to the side as a third log came down from
above. She continued running until she reached the top. She stopped and
stared at her precarious situation.  She had come to a cliff. She looked
down and saw fog below her about four hundred feet down. The ground was
who knows how far below that. She turned to see a battle scarred and
tired looking Shampoo standing below her about twenty yards away.
Shampoo's body was covered in almost as many scars as Ranma's was, she
looked crazed and angry as ever.
	"Why you no die?!!!" she cried as she charged Ranma.
	Ranma dodged and weaved from Shampoo's blows. She tried
desperately to find a way to escape.  Ranma realized that she was
trapped, there was no where for her to run to this time. She had to fight
or die. She glanced around desperately hoping she missed something any
escape she might try, there was none. She turned and stared down the
Amazon who stared at her with cold eyes, the vacant eyes that only the
insane could posses. It was obvious that Shampoo could see the fear in
Ranma's eyes. "No where run now coward, I kill now." said Shampoo with
and evil grin.  Ranma punched at the Amazon who grunted and slammed her
in the face with her bonbori.  
	Ranma fell to her knees...and something happened to her. She felt
something snap. She cried out an inhuman battle cry and tuned on Shampoo.

	Shampoo didn't even get a chance to react. She fought as best she
could but was easily over come by the enraged Ranma. Shampoo fell to her
knees after a devastating blow to her face. She felt the bonbori slip
from her hands. Ranma looked at her and turned away she began walking
along the edge of the cliff towards the river where Shampoo had ambushed
her and her animal companions. Shampoo looked at her hands and screamed,
she had lost. She rose to her feet and pulled a small knife from her
robes. She looked at it and then Ranma. She cried out and charged at
Ranma. She would win or die.
	Ranma turned towards Shampoo's anguished yell and sidestepped as
the young girl charged her. She suddenly remembered where she was and
grabbed Shampoo's arm as the Amazon tumbled off the edge of the cliff.
	Ranma clung to Shampoo and felt herself being drug off the edge
as well. She looked into Shampoo's eyes and saw fear. Shampoo's nails dug
into Ranma's arm as she clung desperately to her arm with her hand. The
other arm flailed about trying to find some perchase. Tears fell from her
eyes. "Give me your other hand." said Ranma as she reached for the other
arm. Shampoo's expression changed in a matter of a second. She smiled
evilly as Ranma reached lower in order to save the young Amazon. Just low
enough.
	"Die!!!" screamed Shampoo as she slashed at Ranma's throat with
the knife she had in her other arm. Ranma backed her head away and
Shampoo's slash missed by a hair. Shampoo flailed and stabbed Ranma's arm
angrily. Ranma cried out and felt her hand go. Shampoo fell from her
grip. "Dieeeeeee!" screamed Shampoo as she fell. The look of rage never
leaving her face.
	"Noooooooo!" cried Ranma. As she reached for the amazon's fading
figure. Shampoo's last words were a curse to Ranma. Ranma watched as she
fell seemingly hanging in the air for hours before she finally vanished
into the fog below. Ranma lay on the ground and wept for a moment. She
looked at the knife in her arm for a moment before she pulled it out
slowly and screamed in pain. She flipped it over in her hands and looked
at it before placing it in her shirt and standing shakily.
	
	Ranma staggered into the small makeshift camp. The animals looked
at her as she walked up and sat down tired and weak. "Its over...she is
gone." said Ranma. With that she collapsed against he father's fur coat
in tears. Ryoga walked over and sat on her lap, he looked into her eyes
and sighed as best as he could. She settled and went to sleep there.
	Ryoga never tried to kill Ranma again after that day. 

	"...and that is the story of Shampoo." finished Ranma as she
sighed deeply in an effort to control her emotions. "After that I found
my way back to Japan without much incident."  Ranma flipped the knife
over in her hands playing with it idly as she spoke.
	Akane stared at Ranma with tears in her eyes. She said nothing.
	"Ya, know it's funny.  Even after every thing she did to me I
still felt terrible about her death. I never knew how hard it was to kill
someone." said Ranma as she lay back in her chair and closed her eyes.
	"You didn't kill her. She died because she stabbed you." said Dr.
Tofu still a bit shocked about the whole thing.
	Ranma rubbed the scar on her arm absently. "No...I could have
held on to her and pulled her up, the reflex I got from the stab was to
squeeze tighter. Sure my arm would have been cut a little from that
Psycho. I made a conscious decision to let her go." said Ranma
reflectively. "I remember that decision more clearly than anything else."
she finished.
	"Ranma...If it helps...you did the right thing." said Akane. 
	"I admire your strength to keep from doing it for so long." said
Dr. Tofu, "Even if I don't agree with your decision." 
	"Dr. Tofu?" said Akane shocked.
	"I am a doctor Akane. I value all life. Even though I admit I
would not have been that strong myself." said Dr. Tofu deep in his own
thoughts.
	"What am I going to do about Mousse?" thought Ranma as she
drifted off into sleep.

   Well, that�s chapter 5.  I hope it shed some light on Ranma�s trip and
why she is the way she is now. 
Please send C&C.
Send to Catbert25@juno.com


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