It is, perhaps, the most well known ancient Chinese curse, possibly even
older than I am.  Modified for Jusenkyo, of course, but that allows me
an "on" and "off" switch.  I just wish I had more control over it.

When Ranma landed in *that* spring, all those years ago, I sensed it
immediately.  Perks of my position, and all that.  I knew that such a
force over Destiny could cause great evil or great good, and I could
trust no one else - not even the Princess - with it.  Besides, the body
remained unchanged, and it is far from unpleasant to look at...or more,
when I am in the mood.  Certainly, his conditioning has left him always
in heat - though the distraction he would provide, if he were at the
Time Gate, gives me an excuse to keep him in some isolated penthouse
apartment.  And, I will admit, it is an excuse: the nature of his curse
requires him to actually live in the time I would have him affect.

I am not entirely to blame for his mental state.  His father started it.
I just tweaked a few things, placing subtle cues around the environment
he is now confined to, to make sure he always acts like a cat.  I don't
mean one of those anime stereotype catboys or catgirls, either: balls of
yarn, catnip, and the occasional actual small bird or mouse provide him
constant diversions, while he has not yet figured to turn the door
handle to open the door.  Not that it would do him much good - just in
case, I have added a lock that requires my palmprint to open.  He could
theoretically smash it, but he has no reason to do so deliberately, and
I have mounted it high enough that his play activities should stay clear
of it.

I have been extremely careful in supplying his food to not give him
enough water to splash himself, even by accident.  But it does still
happen, from time to time.  I suspect he has found a way to undo the
miser on the pipe that refills his water dish when empty, and a
malfunctioning miser can give warm water.  This is why, for instance,
the dotcom boom stopped when it did.  I tried to restart it, but alas,
that I-word takes on a different meaning each time...and now we have
crashing economies all over the world.  At least he has learned to use
the ultrasonic shower I installed for him, since he can not actually
clean himself in the manner of a cat.  I may actually transfer him to
the body of a cat, eventually; a few words in the right ears, and
humanity is on course to invent the necessary technology well before
this new century is out, so at least I will have the option.

His family was easily dealt with.  When the curse happened, he had only
his father for company, and Jusenkyo is near a highly female
chauvanistic warrior clan.  They headed in that direction anyway, so I
merely dressed up like one of the clan, gassed the child, and made off
with him.  I believe the father is now the slave of one of the warriors;
he will not leave the village for the rest of his life.  An anonymous
phone message to his mother, saying that father and son gave their lives
in the defense of something greater and begging her not to investigate
for her own sake, secured one of the only two others who might possibly
care.  The other one, a traveller, I directed into the Dark Kingdom; he
fought a good, honorable fight against the evil that was there, dying in
the end but weakening Beryl's forces enough that I believe the Inners
can now defeat them, even if they are just reawakening and only know how
to tap the barest fraction of their powers.

Now, if only I could figure out how to make his curse invoke the
guaranteed path leading to Crystal Tokyo...then, once it is achieved,
shut the curse off forever.  Peace, love, goodness everywhere - these
are the antithesis of "interesting times".


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