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Ranma 1/2 "The Nature of the Curse"
Hard Battle Story by Douglas MacDougall <dougmacd@thecia.net>
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Ranma 1/2 (c) Rumiko Takahashi / Shogakukan * Kitty Film * Fuji TV.
Exclusively licensed throughout the United States and Canada by Viz
Communications, Inc. This fan fiction is for private home use only.
Not Rated. Parental Guidance Suggested.
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Part 1 Aftermath of a Wedding: Akane Gets Wet!
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The front yard of Furinkan High School was littered with groups of
students chatting with their friends before homeroom. Typically they would
talk about homework, or television, or their significant others (anything to
prolong the time before they had to enter the building), but the topic of
conversation today was on one thing only.
"So. What do you think?"
"About the wedding?"
"Yeah."
"It's a tragedy."
"I'll say. Ranma'll still be hogging four girls to himself!"
The day before there had been a wedding in the Tendo dojo to join Ranma
Saotome and Akane Tendo in wedded bliss. Not all of the students had been
invited to the affair, so everyone wanted to know what had happened.
Truth be told, many of the students who HAD been there wanted to know
what had happened.
The people in the know were Hiroshi and Daisuke. They had actually seen
the end of the affair, and it didn't involve any exchange of vows. (There
were some oaths thrown about, however.) The pair had been grilled by a small
horde of people, and now more efficient gossip mongers were spreading the
word through the school.
Meanwhile, Hiroshi and Daisuke, Ranma's "Fan Club", sat along the ridge
around the playing field and commiserated.
"Why won't that jerk just admit he loves Akane and marry her?"
"Uh, Daisuke, isn't that what they just tried to do? Get married?"
"He was bribed."
"What?"
"With a barrel of water from the Spring of Drowned Man."
Hiroshi got to his feet. "No way! You mean we'll never be able to see
that hot girl-body of his again!?!"
Daisuke looked up. "Don't worry. They smashed it up or something."
Hiroshi sat down again, relieved. "Thank goodness!"
"Yeah. It happened before we got there. The other girls heard about it
and that's why they were blowing everything up. They figured he was being
tricked into it. Which, of course, he was. Now, if Mr. Harem had actually
TOLD Akane that he loved her, they might have let it lie, and there would
be three more eligible babes."
"Two babes and a Kuno."
"Dude, haven't you seen her in that leotard! The way her body--"
Hiroshi interrupted his friend, and pointed towards the front gates of
the school. "Hey look, here comes Ranma, now!"
The dark-haired boy turned around and saw the new arrivals coming through
the front gates of the school. "And Akane." The two were just arriving at
the gates, and for once, Ranma wasn't perched on top of something. Actually,
he was walking pretty close to Akane.
Hiroshi wiped the sweat from his brow, having narrowly avoided listening
to Daisuke rant about Kodachi.
"Who are they?" a new voice chimed in.
Hiroshi and Daisuke looked up at the new arrival. He was about as tall
as Kuno, with fair colored hair and large glasses. In addition to the
typical boy's school uniform and bookbag, he had something around his neck.
Hiroshi spoke up first, "Uh, can I ask you a question, first?"
The boy blinked. "Yes?"
"What's with the lei?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"The necklace of tropical flowers around your neck?"
He blinked again. "It's a token of welcome, right?"
Hiroshi scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess." He rolled his
eyes, "In Hawaii."
"Ah! The island of which the principal was speaking." The boy nodded to
himself.
Hirsohi and Daisuke glanced at each other with a predatory look in their
eyes. Before them was one the rarest of creatures at Furinkan High School.
A person without a clue. And better still, judging from his mode of speech,
he was a card-carrying nerd. The glasses cinched it.
The pair could see their grades rising before their eyes.
"Hi! I'm Hiroshi!" Said the fair-haired boy enthusiastically.
"And I'm Daisuke," said the dark-haired boy cooly.
The nerd put his bookbag bown and bowed deeply. "I'm Akira. Pleased to
make your aquaintance."
Hiroshi motioned for the new guy to sit down and join them. "I take it
you're new around here?"
"Ah, yes. I'm from mainland China. My parents just moved back to Japan
this week."
"You know, we'd be happy to show you around the school, introduce you
to people..." You could help us on the tests, do our homework...
"Why thank you, that would be most helpful. In fact, you can help me now.
"That couple over there," he pointed back to Ranma and Akane. "They look
somewhat... familiar. Do you know who they are?"
"Oh. That's Ranma and--" started Hiroshi.
"--his would-be fiancee--" interjected Daisuke.
"--Akane."
Akira looked a little upset. "Akane? Wait. Fiancee?"
"Yep. They just got back from China a couple days ago, actually. Hey,
haybe you've heard of the place." He raised up his hands and wiggled his
fingers. In his best ominous voice, he said, "The Legendary Accursed
Springs, Jusenkyo?"
Akira dry-swallowed, looking incredibly pale. "E- Excuse me..." He
got up, and backed away. Leaving his bookbag behind, he turned and ran
towards the school.
Hiroshi blinked at the retreating form. "I wonder what that was about?"
Daisuke had a knowing smirk on his face. "I'm sure we'll find out soon
enough..."
Noting the smirk, Hirsohi asked, "Does this have something to with why
you introduced Akane as "Ranma's fiancee"?"
"Mmmaybe. Let's just say that things always seem to get more interesting
around Ranma when financees are mentioned. Or people from China. Or
childhood friends..."
"You think Akira knows him?"
"Well, he did say his parents just came BACK to Japan."
"Hey, lookit Ranma and Akane now!"
Daisuke looked at where his friend was pointing, and noticed the couple
close together, facing each other. Ranma was gazing down into Akane's
upturned face. He was saying something, but from the distance they were
sitting, they couldn't hear a word.
"They seem to be a lot closer."
"Perhaps something came of the wedding, afterall."
Hiroshi blinked.
"Wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean?"
Hiroshi blinked harder. "Are you kidding? Ranma? That guy turns into a
girl, and has three finacees hanging off him, but he's STILL clueless about
women."
"Says the man who doesn't think Kodachi is hot."
"Would you shut UP! Sicko."
Daisuke had an amused smile as he looked at his friend Hiroshi. He was a
really nice guy, but still a little naive when it came to women.
Hiroshi continued to rant. "I still think he'd have to be dragged into
the nuptial bed after the wedding and explained everything with diagrams
before he'd get a clue. If the guy can ignore the sweet attentions--"
"--And bodily proportions--"
"--Of Shampoo, then he's barely a man."
"Although we won't say a thing like that to his face, now will we?"
"I'm not quite THAT stupid, thank you very much." Hirsohi watched as
Ranma and Akane got even closer. He couldn't be sure from this distance, but
Akane's eyes appeared to be watery. At least the sunlight was sparkling off
of them. Tears?
"So what's going on?!? Since when did Mr. Macho get so touchy-feely?
And Akane's not even whacking him!"
"It's possible..."
"What. You know something? Spill it!"
"Well, apparently, Akane was kidnapped just before the wedding"
Hiroshi rolled his eyes. "Surprise, surprise."
"Ah, yes, but this time it's different. Instead of Ranma going to rescue
her, she was brought along as bait for him!"
"You know, that almost shows some signs of intelligence."
"Indeed. This was a pretty cunning group. Or maybe ruthless. Akane was
almost killed."
"Let me guess..."
"...Ranma saved her. A very touching moment, I'm sure. Two people who
have experienced such a range of extreme emotions are sure to get closer
together. Being so close to death, perhaps they would wish to more fully
experience life?"
"Since when are you the philosopher?"
"Whoa, they're going to kiss!" Indeed, Ranma had placed one hand under
Akane's chin and his other brushed her cheek.
"It's about time!" Hiroshi's tears of joys mingled with the leering look
on his face. Public Displays of Affection were not often seen at school, and
this was a PDA from the two most sought-after bodies on campus.
Daisuke was overjoyed, too. Ranma had started all of this, and Akane
appeared to be willing, too. Once this event got out... "Three babes are
coming back into the market!"
"..."
"..."
"I want Ukyou."
"I'm all over Kodachi."
Hiroshi glanced at his friend with a queasy look on his face. "Man, I
wish you wouldn't say that."
Any further talk between them was interrupted as Akira came hobbling back
out of the school, clumsily holding a heavy bucket which dangled between his
knees. His face turned sickly blue as he saw the closeness of the couple,
and he started to dash towards them, large amounts of water sloshing around,
spilling onto the ground, himself, and anyone nearby. "I won't allow it!!!"
* * * * * *
"Is that better, Akane?"
She turned he head slightly and blinked, and awkward smile on her face.
She wiped tears off her cheek with a finger. "Y- Yes."
Ranma couldn't figure out why she was blushing. "What's wrong?"
She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Sometimes she wished
Ranma wasn't such a complete idiot. The halfway-man didn't understand women
at all. Didn't want to, really. It was probably just as well, though, or
more... forward girls might have turned his eye. Not that she cared.
Really.
"It's nothing."
"Why're you acting so..." he waved his waved about, "Helpless, anyway?
You should have been able to get that dirt out of your eye, yourself."
Akane didn't say anything, instead looking intently at the ground. Why
didn't she just take care of it herself?
Ranma noted her expression and folded his arms behind his head. "What,
trying to act more like a lady now that your wedding flopped? Gonna try and
catch a man after all?" He grinned at her, knowing it would set her off.
As usual, it was too late to move when he realised the water was flying
towards him. He really hated his curse.
Splash.
A tall guy shouted in Chinese.
Ranma blinked.
"What did you do THAT for?!?"
The new guy looked striken, and started pulling at Akane's wet clothes.
He started to speak in Japanese. "Y- You're not changing! Why aren't you
changing?"
Akane might have ignored the bucket of water being splashed all over her
(being a forgiving person at heart), but being poked in the chest was enough
for her. She didn't know who this guy was, but he was clearly a pervert.
She wound up, and with a mighty kick, punted the boy over the school. "Hands
OFF!!!"
"Aiyyaaaaah...." A barely audible splash indicated that he had landed in
the pool behind the school. Jerk. Akane flipped her hair back, and flicked
her arms. She turned angrily to Ranma.
"Why didn't you DO anything?"
"That guy. He threw water on YOU!"
Akane fumed for a second, arms and legs bowed outward, warm water
dripping off of everything. The damp blouse and skirt against her skin were
heavy and quickly beginning to cool, and didn't feel particularly pleasant.
She didn't want to move, lest the fabric rub against her.
"I am aware of that Ranma," she said in an unusually sweet voice, "And
why didn't you DO anything about it?"
"But, he threw the water on you, not me."
"Oh?"
Akane sounded calm. Dangerously so. The other students knew the warning
signs, and discretely made for the school. Class was going to start soon,
anyway.
"That's never happened before. You're the one who got wet, not me!"
Ranma started laughing. "That's so cool!"
"Are you even paying attention?" She stomped a foot closer to him.
"That guy threw a bucket of water on me, and then started pulling at my
blouse! He wanted me to take my clothes off!"
Ranma blinked. "What?"
Why was it that Ranma could save her from monsters and martial artists,
but otherwise made her life as difficult as possible? She contemplated
beating the crap out of him to relieve her frustration, but had a better idea
that would get rid of her stress and allieviate another problem at the same
time.
"Kyaa!"
"Hey! Quit it! You'll get me--"
Ranma's last words went up an octive or three, as Akane finished her 'wet
dog' impression, shaking the water out of her hair and giving him a cool
spray.
"--Wet."
* * * * * *
Ranma eyed the food warily. He was really hungry, but wasn't so sure he
wanted to eat what his fiancee had given him.
"You're sure this won't explode, or nothin', right?"
"Just EAT it!"
Reluctantly he bit into the food. He chewed it carefully for a while,
trying to detect any trace of gunpowder or other combustables, but it was
clean, so he scarfed the rest of it down.
"Got any more?"
"Sure thing, Ranma honey."
"Thanks, Ucchan!"
As Ukyo finished grilling up okonomiaki on her protable grill, she put
them aside for Ranma, who quickly snarfed them up. "Say," she asked demurely,
"Why aren't you eating with Akane? Is she upset about the... uh... Well,
what happened yesterday?"
Ranma didn't stop to swallow his food before answering. "Why would she
be upset? SHE didn't get caught in your little food fight."
Ukyou put on one of her best pouts, leaning forward ever so slightly. "I
said I'm sorry!" Years of dealing with male customers only augmented her
natural cuteness.
Ranma looked at her and had the grace to look guilty. "Geez, you know I
didn't mean it like that, Ucchan!"
She pulled back a bit, raising her eyebrows questioningly. "Are you
sure? I don't want you to hate me."
Ranma rubbed the back of his head, "C'mon, I already said I forgive you,
right? Don't worry about it. Look, I'm more upset about the Nannichaun then
the wedding. And that was Happosai's fault. Akane's not upset at all.
She's just ticked off about this morning. Y'know. That guy that threw water
on her."
Ukyo sat down next to Ranma, leaning into him. "Well I'm glad YOU didn't
get wet, Ranma." She looked over at him, closed her eyes and smiled. She
knew there was no way Ranma would marry a tomboy like Akane, but that little
farce yesterday had come entirely too close to...
She caught herself as she started to fall over. Opening her eyes and
looking around she saw that Ranma had pulled away from her to grab another
'yaki from the grill.
Ranma. Always the romantic.
* * * * * *
"He just stood there?"
"And didn't to anything?"
"What a jerk!"
Akake agreed whole-heartedly with her friends. The three were sitting
together outside for lunch on the ridge around the fields, enjoying a warm
summer day. The sky was clear except for some small, drifting clouds, and
a light breeze kept the heat down.
"He said it was 'cool'. 'Cool'!"
Sayuri tried to put the best spin on it. "Well, you know how much he
hates his curse; maybe he was just glad it was someone else besides him?"
Akane wouldn't have any of it. "Then why didn't he do anything when that
guy started grabbing at me and telling me to 'change'? What, did he want a
strip show in front of the whole school?"
Sayuri giggled, while Yuka managed to restrain herself to a smile. It
changed to a mischievous grin as she said, "Maybe that's what Ranma was
hoping for."
"What?!?"
Sayuri rolled over, laughing her head off.
Yuka kept a straight face. "I'll bet that's exactly what he wanted. He
thought you looked SO good doing your wet t-shirt impression, that he wanted
a peek underneath. Of course, he couldn't very well go ruining his rep
drooling over the 'sexless tomboy', now could he?"
Akane stared at Yuka in horror.
Sayuri tugged at Yuka's dress from her position on the ground. "She's
falling for it!" Yuka couldn't hold off the laughter anymore herself and
crasked up.
"Geez, don't scare me like that!" Ranma was enough of a pervert already.
The first day they met was bad enough. She didn't want to end up bumping
into him everytime she came out of the furo...
Sayuri finally pulled herself up. "But you cooled him down good! Too
bad you couldn't have gotten him wetter."
"How? Ask him to stand still while I wring my clothes out over his
head? Or should I have just grabbed him and rubbed my wet clothes over him?"
Sayuri grinned, "Then you'd REALLY know what kind of a pervert he is!"
"And what kind of a pervert Akane is," added Yuka. "If she was rubbing
herself all over Ranma in his girl body."
Akane started blushing rather badly. "Can we DROP it?" She didn't like
it when the topic of conversation became what she thought of girl-type Ranma.
"He wouldn't have changed, anyway. The water was too warm."
"Warm?" Usually the water being thrown about was cold. Yuka was about
to comment further when she noticed someone walking towards them from the
school. He wasn't coming right towards them; rather, he was scanning the
ground, as if looking for something.
"And here comes the pervert, now."
Akane turned around, "Who, Ranma?"
"The other pervert."
"He's come back for more, eh? Well I'll give him something he won't soon
forget." Akane got up and stomped over to the boy, getting ready for a
mighty swing of her arm. "What do you want, now?" she asked menacingly.
The boy looked up, started, and made something of a half bow. "Excuse me,
but have you seen a bookbag outside? I think I left it here this morning.
I-- You!" His eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw who he was
talking to.
"Yeah, the girl you drenched this morning. You even think of touching me
or any of the other girls, here, and you'll regret it. I've faced bigger
perverts then you in my time!"
The boy started talking in Chinese.
"Huh? What are you saying?"
He frowned and switched back to Japanese. "Can we please stop playing
this game, Rei?"
"Rei?"
"I mean, for YOU, of all people, to call ME perverted..."
"What does THAT mean?!?" Akane's hair was starting to rise. Yuka and
Sayuri backed off a bit, but not too far from their potential protector.
"And who's Rei?"
The boy frowned. "I'd forgotten that you're calling yourself 'Akane',
now. Look, this isn't funny Rei. Please, just come with me and I can make
you your old self again."
"My name IS Akane!"
"Yes. As in Akanenichuan. I already figured it out."
The answer startled Akane. "You know about the Akanenichuan?"
The boy stepped up and grabbed Akane's arms. "Rei, this isn't funny
anymore. The spring has clearly affected your mind. I don't know why you're
not changing back, but I think I know another way to turn you back into a
boy."
He was starting intently into her eyes, as if looking through open
windows to her soul. She quickly closed the blinds.
"I am NOT a boy!!! And my NAME is AKANE!" She easily broke his grip,
throwing him back.
The young man blinked at this, and shook his head, sadly. "I was afraid
of this. But I've never heard of the Springs affecting anyone's personality
so greatly. Do you really think you are the same girl that drowned in the
Akanenichuan?"
"Yes, I'm the same girl that drowned there. Why do you think it's called
AKANEnichuan?"
Yuka gasped. Akane had drowned?
Sayuri wasn't concerned, however, "Cool! You got a Cursed Spring named
after you?" Akane rolled her eyes at the remark, but stayed focussed on the
misguided pervert in front of her.
"Very well, R-- Ak-- Miss. I am sorry to have bothered you." He bowed
slightly, and turned around, starting to walk towards the school. He turned
around for a moment to glance back at Akane suspiciously.
"What a weirdo!" Akane humphed, and ploped back down next to her
friends, her skirt billowing out as she do so.
"You really fell into one of the pools?" asked Yuka.
"I didn't fall, I was drowned!"
Yuka blinked. "You... drowned?"
"Well, not quite. The bitch that did it wanted me as a prisoner. She
just wanted my body to get close to Ranma, not to kill me."
"Get..." Yuka looked at Sayuri.
"...Close?" Sayuri looked at Yuka.
"Fortunately, even that idiot Ranma figured it out."
"Before or after he made passionate love to her?" wondered Yuka.
"He must have been SO happy that you finally wanted to get close to
him..." Hearts formed in Sayuri's eyes.
"Will you shut UP!?!" The pair rolled over giggling again at the
flustered Akane.
"Ranma's so lucky," gasped Yuka. "He's got three fiancees, and now he's
got three Akanes!"
"And one of them's a BOY!" wheezed Sayuri.
Akane just sat there fuming, waiting for her friends to get it out of
their systems. Then she frowned, thinking about the undesireable
possibility that there were more doubles of her running around. There was
already Kima, the girl that drowned her, and now this Rei person. What, was
hers the most popular spring in Jusenkyo?
Actually, now that she thought about it, maybe that boy hadn't been such
a pervert, afterall. He had just tried to turn her "back into a guy" before
his friend did anything he might regret with Ranma. The boy didn't realize
that he had nothing to worry about. Jusenkyo curses don't affect people's
minds. Well, except for a few personality pools.
Akane mentally noted that if Ranma ever made a crack about Spring of
Drowned Tomboy, he wouldn't live to see another day.
The next time Akane saw the boy, she'd have to apologise, and then calm
any fears he had that his friend would start acting like a girl. Unbidden,
a vision of Konatsu, the male kunoichi came to mind.
Unless, of course, this Rei already had those tendencies...
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End Part 1 Author's Notes
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If you hadn't guessed, this is continuation fic, starting the day
after Ranma and Akane were almost married. I'm using the anime continuity
because I'll be using some of the events and artifacts that appear in it,
but not the the manga.
The anime ended before the fight with Saffron and the wedding, but you
can assume they happened in this continuity, as well as any other "blanks".
However, some cursed chaarcters may not exist in this world.
Shamed though I am to admit it, this is also a new character fic. I
don't like most such fics myself, so I'll tell you why I think think one
won't suck:
(*) The new boy isn't a martial artist.
(*) He won't solve Ranma's romantic problems.
(*) He won't fall in love with any of Ranma's fiancees.
Or Nabiki.
Or vice-versa.
(*) He is not the central character, and I will
never write the story from his perspective.
Having clarified all that, you won't really see much of the new guy
until around chapter four, where his relationship to the existing cast (and
the title of the story) will become clear.
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Next Time I Knew You Were A Tomboy, But...
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----
Douglas MacDougall
dougmacd@thecia.net