5author's note: I'm discontinuing this one, but since I'm posting everything I uploaded when I first uploaded anything to this account….
Take it, anyway. I'll post what I have.
#15.
One
Ranma Saotome's transition to full womanhood was completed before he even hit the ground in this strange, new place. He turned upwards to better glare at the rain, which was responsible for this catastrophe, as he tried to figure out what had happened, and just how he had come to fall from the sky.
No answers were forthcoming, so he looked around him at his surroundings, in the hopes that it would give him some ideas as to what to do. What he saw all around him were trees, and of course, plenty of rain. He may have been hearing a river running nearby, or maybe that was the rain, too. He hit the ground, hard, but the fall was muffled by the spongy turf beneath, which was more than could usually be said about his experiences falling from the sky.
He immediately sprang to his feet, wary and uncertain in an unfamiliar environment, and paused to think over his limited knowledge of what was going on. He remembered appearing, quite suddenly, in the middle of the sky, and that he had seen Akane there as well, and, strangely enough, Mousse. He paused a moment to envy Mousse, who turned into a flying creature when hit with cold water. He had never envied Mousse's curse to turn into a white duck before, and the thought was a bit unsettling, but it remained that Mousse had the least to fear from an experience of falling from a height of—what? Several hundred feet?
But, importantly, if Mousse was here, it was possible to figure out that there were a number of other people who would be here as well. His childhood friend, Ukyo, one of the few important people in his life not cursed by Jusenkyo, who had recently reunited with him in Nerima. Shampoo, the amazon warrior-princess, who had twice followed him to Nerima from China. Ryoga Hibiki, who had chased him all over the world. If they had managed to follow his trail, with such persistence, to Nerima, it somehow seemed inevitable that they would be here, too. Logic had no place in such proceedings.
And where was here, exactly? He didn't know, but he did know that it was best to regroup as soon as possible. In an unfamiliar place, it was always good to have a familiar face, especially one that you had worked with successfully in the past. They might not all like or trust each other, but it was better than trusting a complete stranger. Not to mention, it was raining, and half of the others were Jusenkyo-cursed. And none of those forms could exactly fight well.
Well, then, he thought, as he wandered off in what he hoped was the direction of running water. Whom was it a priority for him to rescue?
His first thought was Akane, but, as he admitted to himself, although not to anyone else, especially not to her, that was just because he loved her. And with that admission came the decision to use something more like logic to make the decision of whom to seek out first. For Akane, stubborn tomboy that she was, was not a half-bad fighter, and could probably hold her own almost the longest of anyone else other than Ranma, with the exception of Ukyo. So those two were in the least danger, as they were the two among those he most expected to follow him here who were in the least amount of danger, being uncursed. He hoped that the Kunos, or worse, Happosai, weren't here. He wasn't sure it was even possible to team up with them.
After Ukyo and Akane (and the Kunos and Happosai), the least vulnerable would be Shampoo, who turned into a cat when wet. Cats, after all, had claws and fangs, and were small and agile. Goodness knows, she'd defended herself well enough in cat form before. Mousse kept his ability to use projectile weapons, although it was greatly diminished, even as a duck. This left only one person. Ryoga. Who turned into the little black piglet whom Akane called P-Chan. For the first time, it began to occur to Ranma just how vulnerable Ryoga was.
Thanks to you, Ranma, I've seen Hell! And Ranma felt suddenly just the slightest bit uneasy, which might have been unease at the unknown danger his friend might be facing, or which might have been something like…pity?
There was no way that Ryoga could defend himself as a pig. He had been hit by the worst that P-Chan could offer, and it wasn't at all intimidating.
Well, that settled that. Although, of course, there was really no way to control whom he came across first. Still, if he actually came across a village, or somewhere else filled with bystanders, and they didn't seem hostile, he thought he'd focus his enquiries on Ryoga's whereabouts. He had promised he'd look out for Ryoga, after all, and Ranma was, for all his faults, a man of his word.
"I can't believe how scarce the shards have become," said Kagome Higurashi, staring at Kaede's cooking fire with dismay. "I mean, I knew Naraku was powerful, but this?"
"He has almost completed the Shikon Jewel," Miroku reminded her. "And his ability to birth new minions has doubtless helped him greatly in acquiring the shards."
Yep, Naraku might well end up with the entire Shikon Jewel, and it was all Kagome's fault. If she hadn't shot that arrow…
Well, if she hadn't shot that arrow, the crow-demon would have acquired the Jewel's power, and eaten that poor child it had abducted, and done who-knew-what else. And it wasn't really her fault that she had known nothing about archery. She was just a modern-day schoolgirl, after all. Travelling back in time to the Warring States era had definitely taken her by surprise. Then add onto that the fact that demons and monsters were real, and that some of the stories her Grandpa had used to tell her were actually true… Who could blame her for being unprepared?
And they were trying their hardest to atone for their mistake. But, when she thought about it sometimes, Kagome had the added fear that any little mistake they made would change the future she knew and loved. Still, it had been weeks, if not months, since they made any progress.
Kagome's unhappy thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of a villager into the hut, exclaiming that a strange intruder—a mysterious girl with red hair in a tight braid, and odd-looking clothes, had just walked into town. Kagome smiled nostalgically, thinking of her first entrance, when they had all thought that she was a demon. Then, almost too quickly to process, they had decided that she was instead the reincarnation of their revered heroine, the priestess Kikyo! Indeed, a sort of awe was coming off the messenger even now.
Kaede nodded and thanked him for the message, reaching for the bow and arrows that she had started keeping nearby just in case. Of course, not every demon was vulnerable to Kaede's arrows; she hadn't been able to stop Urasue from robbing Kikyo's grave, but, better something than nothing. The others in the house immediately prepared themselves, as well. Kagome pulled out her own bow-and-arrows, and Inu-Yasha reached for Tetsusaiga, his father's posthumous gift to him. Miroku stood, and waited in a wary stance. Sango reached for her boomerang bone, and Shippo simply waited. He didn't know how he could help if there was a fight until he knew what sort of opponent they were up against.
Kaede went to the entrance to her house, and the others followed cautiously. Probably the stranger was no threat, but who really knew? Red hair was not exactly common in Feudal Japan. Kagome didn't even know that many people with red-hair in modern Japan.
She caught a glimpse of the girl, whose innocent wide blue eyes seemed to be drooping with fatigue, but the girl in question stopped before Kaede, and when she spoke, she sounded near tears.
"Please, my friends and I got separated, and I was wondering if you could help me—" she began in a helpless, damsel-in-distress sort of voice, and then paused, as if realising something, and continued in a different sort of voice altogether. "What's with the costumes? Are you role-playing or something?"
Role-playing? Did they have that in Feudal Japan? Kagome wasn't sure, but she didn't think that they did. Her heart might have skipped a beat. Could this person be from the future, like her?
"Old woman?" asked the girl, who seemed to have used up the amount of respect she could use at a time.
"I have never heard of this role-playing," began Kaede, but the girl interrupted.
"Oh, are you making a movie?" she continued, unperturbed. That settled it.
"This isn't a movie," Kagome called, and the others stood aside to let her come forwards. "You've gone back in time to Feudal Japan." She ignored the looks the others gave her, focusing on the incredulous one of the girl before her.
The girl in question was about her own height, if a bit shorter, with bright red hair like fresh blood, and a long shirt, so long it could almost be a dress, with long, gold buttons, of about the same colour as her hair, and beneath that, loose black trousers. She had rolled the legs of these up so far that Kagome could see that she went barefoot.
"'Feudal Japan'?" she repeated sceptically. "I ain't stupid, you know."
"Why don't we talk about this inside?" suggested Kaede, gesturing towards the house. The mystery girl peered at it mistrustfully, as if doubting its structural integrity.
"Fine by me," she said, brushing past Kaede, but only taking a few more steps before pausing to stare at Inu-Yasha.
"What the hell is—?"
"Ah, yes," Kagome interrupted before Inu-Yasha could become offended. "That's Inu-Yasha. He's a dog demon. There are actually demons here."
The girl rubbed her head uncertainly. "Maybe I hit my head…?" she muttered to herself. But she brushed past Inu-Yasha without a second glance, and sat down comfortably on the wooden floor, as if this were an everyday occurrence. The companions looked at one another, and followed her inside.
Ranma had walked for several hours on end before reaching the village, and was suddenly glad of his old man's demanding training. He took in the sights all around him, noticing where everyone was, and how they glanced up at him as he passed, warily, before returning to their work. Most of them were working in rice paddies, which was definitely an educational experience to watch. He followed a path through the village that seemed to be leading to one specific house, bigger and less rundown than the others, and kept his guard up, in case someone was willing to take advantage of a helpless girl, travelling all alone. All the same, he took a moment to appreciate the beauty of a packed dirt trail, after walking through tree branches and rocks barefoot. He was used to walking through sharp rocks and tree branches, of course, but not for so long. Nerima was a modern city, but this seemed to be one of the backwards, old-fashioned villages Ryoga stumbled into occasionally. Or maybe it was the backwards village Ryoga stumbled into occasionally: P-Chan's sense of direction wasn't very good.
Just as he was almost to the house, an old woman emerged, with grey hair tied back in a long ponytail, and an eyepatch over her left eye. She wore a priestess's attire, and carried something in her hand. Behind her, a number of other people were coming out of the same house.
He decided to play the helpless damsel card, which was usually safest when he was a girl.
He began to explain, in the vaguest possible way, about his predicament, but his thoughts were sidetracked when he saw the bow. I mean, what little old lady carried a bow for protection in this day and age? Maybe she was some sort of strange martial artist. But a much younger girl—the old woman's daughter?—was carrying a giant boomerang, and dressed in old-fashioned armour. Okay. Now this had gotten weird. Which he should have expected, but still.
"What's with the costumes?" he interrupted himself to ask. "Are you role-playing or something?"
There was a pause. The strange group seemed all to be staring at him in confusion. Maybe he'd wandered onto a movie set?
"Old woman?" Maybe she was one of those old people with short attention spans?
"I have never heard of this 'role-playing'," the old woman began, sounding a bit uncertain, but Ranma's thoughts had moved on.
"Or, are you making a movie?" he asked. That was an exciting idea. He didn't think he'd ever ruined a movie before.
Suddenly, a girl in a green sailor schoolgirl outfit pushed her way towards the front. She had long, thick black hair worn loose, and a bright, friendly looking face, and grey eyes, but what Ranma noticed first was the schoolgirl outfit, all in green trim, with long sleeves. A spot of the modern world in an otherwise old-fashioned setting. Surely she wouldn't have been wearing that if they were in the middle of production, or of role-playing.
"This isn't a movie," she said. "You've gone back in time to Feudal Japan."
He considered the possibility that they were all crazy, which would be a shame; he was really hoping to find help here. But, then again, he had once gone back in time to the China of his quasi-mentor figure, Cologne's, youth. She was such a wrinkled old woman that it was hard to believe that she'd even ever had a youth. Compared to her, the old woman with the eyepatch was in her prime. How old was Cologne again? 300 years? Still…
"'Feudal Japan'?" he repeated. The only Japanese schoolgirls there in the China incident had been the ones pulled along for the ride. "I ain't stupid, you know."
He watched their reactions. They seemed, if anything, slightly sympathetic, as if something like this had happened before. Maybe this wasn't all a waste…
"Why don't we talk about this inside?" asked the old woman, interrupting his thoughts. The house sure looked old -fashioned. It was sort of old and rundown, but he'd been in worse. Still, he didn't like being alone, on his own against a group of strangers. Oh, well. What could it hurt? He was sure that he could take them, if it came to it. No one beat Ranma Saotome.
"Fine by me," he said confidently. Show no fear, after all. Keep them from seeing that he might be just the slightest bit intimidated by the odds against him. Keep them guessing at his strength, and abilities, so at least he had that knowledge to use in an emergency. Keep—What the hell? Did that boy in the red kimono have long, silver hair, dog ears, and yellow eyes?
"What the hell is-?" he began nervously, pretences temporarily set aside. But the girl in the schoolgirl uniform brushed him off.
"Ah, yes. That's Inu-Yasha. He's a dog demon. There are actually demons here." And she said this so casually that Ranma wondered if someone weren't playing an elaborate prank on him, but that still left the question of how he had fallen from the sky.
"Maybe I hit my head…?" he theorised aloud, considering the options. What made the most sense? He resolved not to look at anything but the destination. He wasn't sure he was ready to face the idea of demons yet.
He knelt on the floor as if on a mat, looking around himself with incredulous eyes. The walls were all bare wood, and there was a fire in the middle of the room. Surely that was a fire hazard? It was sparsely furnished, and nothing looked even slightly modern. No phone, no smoke detector, not even a chair. Could it possibly be true?
He realised that he hadn't been paying attention when he felt something grab his butt, and he reacted almost instinctively. The only thing that could be was a hand, and he swung a punch, without even looking, in the direction he guessed the owner to be in. With great satisfaction, he felt his hand connect with something, and the hand retreat.
"Don't touch me, pervert," he hissed. This was one of the reasons he hated being a girl. He whirled around, standing up, to see a man several years older than him, if he could guess—perhaps Dr. Tofu's age—dressed all in black, with a violet cloth and what looked like a string of beads covering his right hand. This hand was currently at his nose, which was bleeding, and possibly broken. Ranma almost felt guilty. He was, after all, used to dealing with experienced martial artists. But the keyword was "almost". Any pervert deserved what he got. And Akane called him a pervert! He wished that she could meet this man, and then immediately retracted the wish. Things were bad enough with Happosai.
"Miroku," said the girl with the boomerang strapped to her back. "What have we said about keeping your hand to yourself?"
She was frightening in a very Akane way, so that Ranma half-expected her to pull out a mallet and slam it down on the man's head. He resolved to stay on her good side, if at all possible, which didn't seem likely, what with how he'd already decided to try and trick them into thinking he was a girl to gain their sympathy. Although, that might have backfired, just a little.
"I can't help it. My hands have a mind of their own!" the man protested, holding the aforementioned appendages up in a placating manner.
"Sorry about him," said the schoolgirl. "I'm Kagome Higurashi. What's your name?"
It was a bit disturbing how casual she sounded, as if the man's antics were nothing short of commonplace. Still, at least she had apologised, although how it was her fault, he wasn't sure.
"Ranma Saotome," he said immediately. It didn't matter whether or not she might have heard of him or not. He already had had a reputation in Nerima as a boy when they hadn't made the connection when he had introduced himself as a girl with the same name during the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics challenge. "Is this really Feudal Japan?"
Kagome nodded. "I found it hard to believe, too, at first."
The argument between Miroku and the girl with the boomerang ended, and they turned their attention to him.
"Still, you have to believe me," Kagome continued. "I know if I told anyone back home, they'd think I was crazy, so it's so nice to finally have someone from the present to talk to. I mean, I can go back to my own time anytime I want to, but I can't talk about the Feudal Era with anyone but my family, and none of them are exactly my age. Anyway, these are my friends. Miroku," she gestured at the offending man, who looked a bit the worse for wear, especially with the darkening hand-shaped bruise on his cheek. "Sango," she said, with a motion towards the girl with the boomerang on her back, who waved at him in a friendly sort of way. "Shippo," she said gesturing to what looked initially like an ordinary little kid, if with orange hair, before Ranma saw the tail, and the animal paws that were his feet. "He's a kitsune," she hastily explained. "Lady Kaede is our hostess, and will probably know how to help you if anyone does. Oh, and Inu-Yasha."
The boy with the silver hair was sitting in a butterfly position, with his head leaning against one hand, but when he was introduced, he dropped his arm, and snorted, turning away. "Don't mind him. He's always like that. Inu-Yasha," she yelled at him. "Would it kill you to be more polite?"
"Feh," was the only response.
"So, I think that's everyone," said Kagome. "So, what's the story? How are you here? Did you happen to… um… fall into any old wells recently?"
She hesitated, and then rushed through the end of her sentence, as if he were less likely to realise how strange her question was if she spoke fast enough. He wondered what wells had to do with anything.
"Um… no," he said. There was no point in not being honest on this front. "Honestly, I ain't got a clue how I came to be here. One minute I was asleep in my guest room, and the next I was falling through the sky. And I ain't alone, either. A bunch of my friends were there, too, so I gotta find them, before something bad happens. Then we can figure out how to get outta here. Hell, give me directions and I'll be on my way. You maybe didn't notice, but I can look after myself." ("Yes, I can see that," Miroku said, his hand still at his nose.) "Although I would appreciate some company, seeing as how I don't know the area, and you do."
"It really isn't safe to go about, not with Naraku on the loose. And I suppose you can't be one of his minions, if you know about the modern world. And you don't smell like Naraku, does she?" she finished with a glance in Inu-Yasha's direction.
"Don't you think I would have done something before now, if she did?"
Ranma considered asking what they were talking about, and then remembered that this "Inu-Yasha" was a dog demon. Probably it made sense that he had a dog's sense of smell. But Ranma took a moment to worry about just what he did smell like. Did something give him away? Did he smell like a boy? And if so, what conclusions would they come to about him?
He pretended not to be in the slightest bit concerned, simply shooting quizzical looks in the direction of Kagome and Inu-Yasha, figuring that Inu-Yasha wouldn't answer, but Kagome probably would.
"Um, because he's a dog demon, he has a dog's sense of smell." Bingo!
"And who's this 'Naraku' person?"
The group exchanged uneasy glances. They seemed to silently agree that Miroku should do the honours.
"Naraku is a demon—"—of course—"—who seeks the power of an ancient jewel in order to become even more powerful than he already is. He has a habit of ruining people's lives, and pitting people against each other, and especially pitting people we know against us. He seems to have spies everywhere, so it may be best to assume that he already knows of the existence of you and your friends."
"Don't tell me we have to look after another little kid!" said Inu-Yasha, suddenly paying close attention to the goings on. "We have enough to worry about with the little twerp here," he said jabbing his thumb at Shippo, who bristled, "without worrying about some girl from the future. I mean, at least Kagome can use a bow. What can you do?"
He stood up as he was speaking, and glared at Ranma, whose patience finally snapped.
"Just a helpless girl, eh?" he asked dangerously. "I'll make you regret that. Surely if I'm just a helpless little girl, you wouldn't mind a little match, one-on-one?"
Ranma always tried to be intelligent, but somehow his ego always managed to get in the way.
"Fine by me," Inu-Yasha said, with a snort, his hand already on the hilt of his sword.
"Wait, Inu-Yasha! You can't just go picking fights!" Kagome cried. "Oh, this is just like with Koga. Men are so impulsive," she muttered. And then: "Sit, Inu-Yasha!"
And for some reason the dog demon threw himself facedown into the wooden boards. That looked painful.
"Ow," Inu-Yasha muttered, while Ranma looked on curiously. "What was that for?"
Okay, it seemed he hadn't had any choice in the matter. Interesting…
"Ranma is our guest. I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it."
"Actually, I did," Ranma began, but Kagome cut him off, too.
"She's just worried and confused, and probably tired, too. She's not used to this time travel stuff, like I am, so give her a chance to get used to it, okay? Come on, I know you're a good person beneath that grumpy exterior. Give her a chance. Please? Can you try? For me?"
Well, that was unexpected. It sounded as if she and the dog demon were involved, somehow.
"Fine," grumbled Inu-Yasha, in a tone that clearly stated that he was only doing this because she asked him to. "But you got off easy, you hear?" he said, directly to Ranma. Then, back to the rest of the room: "I'm going outside."
He would've protested that he could have taken him, but, for a fleeting moment, Ranma was reminded of himself, and Akane. He had done some pretty ridiculous things—things he would never have even considered in the ordinary way of things—just because Akane was upset. "Ranma, don't do this. Ranma don't do that. Please, Ranma?" She was so bossy. She'd better be alright. Or if he found whoever was responsible for her being not alright, they would receive a one-way ticket to Hell, courtesy Ranma Saotome.
"You okay?" asked Kagome. "I know it's a lot to take in."
"It's like Lady Kagome said: Inu-Yasha may bluster a bit, but he really is a decent fellow."
"He really is," Sango chimed in, as if worried about Ranma's opinions, or the fact that he hadn't said anything yet. "He saved my life after I tried to kill him."
Okay, Ranma was just a bit curious about that last statement. His head lifted to glance at her.
"It's nothing, really," he said. "I'm just worried about my friends."
"I think it's probably safest for everyone if we help you look for them," said Miroku, who seemed to be a decent guy, when he wasn't harassing women. "But I daresay Inu-Yasha is afraid you'll slow us down in our quest, or otherwise be a liability. Just give him some time."
"What's this quest you mentioned?" asked Ranma curiously. When he reflected, he didn't think he'd ever met someone like this Naraku figure. The closest things came may have been Happosai, but that old thief was too busy stealing women's underwear to be much of a threat, in the ordinary way of things. Really, only someone who got on his bad side would incur his wrath. It was just that Ranma did that on a regular basis, by trying to stop his thefts.
Another round of glances was exchanged.
"Naraku is after the shards of a powerful magical object known as the Shikon Jewel, hoping to gather the entire thing. The Shikon Jewel has the ability to grant the wishes of whomever possesses it, and even a small shard of it increases a demon's powers phenomenally. And, as it's… sort of my fault that the jewel is in pieces to begin with, it's my responsibility to gather the entire jewel before Naraku does, and defeat him."
"And how much do you have so far?" asked Ranma.
"Well—" began Kagome, and Ranma understood.
"That much, eh? Look, just give me directions to the next village or something, and I'll be gone. It's obvious I'd only cause tension in your group."
"I did too, at first," said Miroku. "But Inu-Yasha got used to me. As long as you can actually pull your own weight. Just what can you do, anyway?"
Miroku was a lot friendlier about asking. Ranma wondered if it was just because he was a pretty face at the moment. Man, he would have to be careful to avoid hot water. He did not want to see this group angry.
"I'm one of the best martial artists there is," he said. It stung to have to admit it, but Cologne, and maybe even Happosai, was better than he was.
"Martial arts?" asked Kagome sceptically, and Ranma remembered that most non-martial artists didn't know about the weird specialty schools to be found all over Japan.
"Don't look like that. I'm good. I've beat swordsmen and magicians and full-fledged warriors. I've fought monsters and ogres and—look, I'm not just some helpless little girl, alright?"
"You've never met Naraku. It doesn't matter how good of a warrior you are," said Sango, a faraway look in her eyes. "He doesn't fight fair." Neither did Mousse, Shampoo, Cologne, or Happosai. "He blackmails and threatens, and he finds whatever your weakness is and uses it against you. Given the chance, he'll kidnap you, or something, and brainwash you, and then pit you against us, knowing that we won't fight as well because you're someone we know."
A strange cold numbness seemed to filling his veins. Akane. If this Naraku got to her… could he even bring himself to fight her—for real?
"Okay, okay, I get it," he said, standing up. "Let's hurry up and find my friends, so that we can get out of here."
"About that," said Kagome, in a disturbingly sympathetic voice. "Since we don't know how you got here to begin with, it might be difficult finding out how to send you back. I mean, if you'd come through the well, then it would've been easy. But, like this… maybe you can't go back."
"Well, I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it," he said. And he'd worry about it then, if need be, also.
