This is my first try at following through on an idea for a fanfic. I had a hard time deciding
whether to try some of it. What made it even harder is the threats I recieved. Seems
Ranma, Akane, Ukyou, and Shampoo have threated to exact revenge if I try writing
further on it. Trouble is Ryouga has threated the same revenge if I don't. So if I get
enough interest and decent C&C then I will risk Ranma's wrath and work some more
on it. Again, this is my first try and this is only a small teaser to see if I have anyone's
interest and the ability to even write. This is a very rough first draft. So without further ado.
Bonded
First Draft
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ryouga and Ranma entered the altar room of the shrine together followed
by Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyou. Inside the room was a square platform
surrounding a small fire pit with a red and black sheet laid on the
floor. Placed on the sheet was a series of bowls and jars of what the
group could not see from their vantage point. A few feet from the sheet
drawn with chalk was two incomplete circles with arcane symbols. In
front of the steps to the platform was the head priest with several of
his acolytes. All wore white robes with the black and red circle over
the left breast. A low wooden railing encircled the platform with only
one entrance to go through. The entire interior of the shrine was black
and red.
"So this is the one you spoke of?" the priest asked as Ryouga knelt
before him.
"It is. He suffers from the Jusenkyo curse," Ryouga stated as he raised
to his feet again.
"Then let us begin the ceremony. You, Ryouga, enter the left circle and
you ... uhhh ...," the priest faltered looking at Ranma.
"Ranma," he replied excitedly.
"You, Ranma, enter the right circle."
Ranma and Ryouga both entered the circles through the unfinished portion
and knelt. Two of the priest's assistants then finished off the circles
and walked backed to knelt off to the side of the railing gate. The girls
all knelt on pillows outside of the railing. They were quite with
expectation. Each girl thinking that their fiance was about to be cured
and could then take her as his wife.
"Ryouga during the ceremony you must enter a state of meditation. Do you
think you can do that?" asked the priest as he knelt in front of the
ceremonials implements laid out on the sheet.
"Hai," he answered and closed his eyes and started to enter a meditation
trance.
"Ranma, you too must enter a meditative trance. Think you have the
patience for that?" the priest asked as he turned to look at the boys.
"That idiot having patience? Ha, that's a laugh," snorted Akane without
thinking. Ukyou elbows her in the ribs as the priest glances sternly at
Akane. Akane feeling embarrassed by her sudden outburst looks down.
Hearing this Ranma only half turns and glares momentarily at her then
turns back to the priest and nods his head, "part of Martial Arts training
is learning patience. I have no difficulty with meditating."
Soon Ranma and Ryouga at both deep in meditation and the priest is busy
preparing the ceremony. He is muttering an ancient prayer in a language
none of them can quite hear well enough to make out. He water from a
sacred urn into two bowls. One he sets to the side; the other he places
in the fire pit. He then starts mixing into two more bowls, one black
and one red, various liquids and powders while still uttering an
incomprehensible prayer. Shampoo is watching with interest as he continues
his ceremony. She notices though that each bowl is being made with
different ingredients. She has a bad feeling about this but can't quite
figure out the reason.
Shampoo whispers to Akane, "Akane, Shampoo have bad feeling."
"What's wrong Shampoo?" Akane asked with concern in her voice.
"Shampoo not sure, something not right about ceremony."
Akane was about to question further until one of the acolytes looks
sharply at both girls hushing them.
Finally finishing his prayer the priest removes the bowl from the fire
and pours the mixture from the black bowl into the hot water bowl.
He turns and walks to up to Ryouga still speaking in a language none of
them can fully understand. Shampoo picks out a few words like 'one,'
'cure,' and 'curse' from the priest but little else. The priest stops
in front of Ryouga and pours the hot liquid over the markings of the
circle. The priest returns to the preparation area and grabs the
second bowl of water. He retrieves the red bowl and pours the contents
into the second bowl. He grabs the new mixture and thin red and black
cord. He lays the cord out between Ranma and Ryouga.
Shampoo is still trying to put a finger on her intuition. Looking around
the temple with its various symbols of Yin and Yang, the predominant red
and black colors. The use of the colors and symbols in the ceremony's
preparations. Things started to fall into to place. Phrases started to
become clearer. She started hearing the phrase 'one cured, one cursed,
both bonded together' in the prayer. She stood up suddenly, "Ranma,
no go through spell. Cure not for you!"
Akane and Ukyou hearing this sudden outburst follow Shampoo as she
rushes towards Ranma. The acolytes hearing Shampoo's exclamation step
forward to block the girls from interfering. Ranma deep in his trance
hears nothing as the priest pours the water around Ranma and steps back
from the two.
Shampoo upon seeing the younger priests moving to intercept her approach
whips out her bonbori hidden somewhere in her outfit. Ukyou grabs her
battle spatula from her back and flips the first priest to reach her.
Shampoo blocks an attack from one of the young men with her bonbori
while planting a foot to the face of another knocking him backwards.
Akane spin kicks an attacker and dodges a fist from another. With a few
more dodges Akane found an opening and struck him squarely on the jaw
crumpling him to the floor. She spun to see Ukyou's spatula crash down
on the head of her last attacker while Shampoo bops the remaining
acolyte on the head. All three girls turn to stop the ceremony.
The priest raised his arms as his prayer ended and shouted, "One will be
cured, One will be cursed, Both will be bonded together forever." There
was a flash of light was the red and black cord flared brightly.
Akane watched with fear as the cord seemed to burn with a magical fire
that raced towards Ranma and Ryouga. The circles blaze with light.
Akane could not see Ranma through the red light surrounding him or the
black light around Ryouga.
"You know, Akane, I don't think I have ever seen a black light before,"
Ukyou whispered in awe. "It is just a little more than spooky."
Suddenly the lights vanished leaving those in the room blinking to
regain their vision. Sitting on the floor was Ryouga to the left and
to the right Ranma-chan. Ukyou was the first to reach the platform
and grabbed Ryouga by the collar yanking him to his feet.
"You jack-ass, what did you do to Ranchan?"
"The two entered willingly young lady. You have no cause to attack
Ryouga for Ranma's sacrifice," the priest calmly stated.
"Sacrifice, what sacrifice?" Ranma asked looking up suddenly as
Shampoo glomped onto her arm. "We are suppose to be cured right?"
"Ryouga was the cured, you are the cursed," the priest started. He
looking at the red-head with Shampoo burying her head into Ranma's
arm, "you did know of your sacrifice of remaining in your cursed
form so that Ryouga can be cured did you not?"
"No I didn't!" Ranma shouted as she stood up and leapt at Ryouga.
She whipped Ryouga from Ukyou's grip and slammed him into the floor.
"What did you do to me Ryouga? We have to reverse this now or I
will tear you apart," she growled into the dazed face of Ryouga.
"There is no way to reverse it, miss. The ceremony appeals to the
spirits of Jusenkyo to balance Yin and Yang between within the two
of you."
"What do you mean, Miss? I am guy. There has to be a way to
reverse it. I can't stay a girl ... I just can't," Ranma pleaded
as she sank to her knees head buried in her hands.
"I am sorry you did not understand the full impact of the
cure-curse ceremony but you will always be a girl," the priest
replied with sympathy.
Akane looking with sad eyes at Ranma thinks about what the priest
said. 'Why did Ryouga need a cure? How was he cursed?' Then it
came to her. "Ryouga, you were cured of your curse of being lost.
Why did you have to curse Ranma for it though?"
"His curse? Ryouga you had two curses on you?" the priest suddenly
looked to Ryouga who was pulling himself off of the floor.
"I wouldn't call it a curse, it is just that everyone in my family
gets lost easily," Ryouga sheepishly answered while placing his
hands behind his head.
"Multiply curses, hmmm, I have no idea how much that will affect
Ranma. We will have to watch her closely for some time to see how
she acts," the priest muttered to himself, "This will be
interesting to see."
"Quit treating me like a girl, I am guy, got that, a guy," Ranma
retorted suddenly looking up.
"Shampoo have question, if Ryouga cured and Ranma cursed, what is
bond?" Shampoo asked.
"That we will have to wait to see. Most times the cursed one is
in an animal form and becomes the pet of the cured, but since Ranma
is female and Ryouga is male the relationship could be anything."
"You mean like Ranma becoming my girlfriend? No way would I have
anything to do with him... er her," Ryouga sputtered.
"Well, the feeling is mutual. Why would I want to have anything to
do with the guy that stuck me as a girl," Ranma yelled back.
"It is a magic bond. Whatever form it takes you both will learn
to accept it," the priest stated. "Now it is time for you to leave
I must clean up the shrine."
"Ranma, Shampoo take you to great-grandmother. Great-grandmother
will know cure then Ranma and Shampoo become husband and wife."
"If you think I am going to let you have Ranma without a fight
you are mistaken," Ukyou stepped between Ranma and Shampoo. "But
I agree, we should ask her about a cure."
With that they all walked out of the temple heading towards
Nekohaten. Halfway there Ryouga looked around as if seeing the
city for the first time. "I will meet all of you there later. I
need to go home first."
"We won't see him for weeks from now," commented Ranma as they
continued on. Ryouga turned away from them and walked down a
different road.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Future son-in-law, what possessed you to go to the cure-curse
shrine? I could have warned you it was no cure," Cologne chided
the group sitting around the table.
"Ryouga didn't tell me about the curse part. I thought it was a
cure. There has to be some way to reverse it," Ranma pleaded
looking at the short old woman balanced on top a staff for help.
"I'm sorry, to my knowledge there is no way to reverse it that I
know. I will look for a possible solution though. Where is
Ryouga now?"
"Knowing him, he is half-way to the north pole by now," Ukyou
said as she leaned back in her chair. She wasn't sure how to
handle Ranma becoming a full-time girl. She just didn't want to
think about it yet.
The door opened suddenly and Ryouga came traipsing in and sat down
at the table next to Ranma and smiled. "Hi everyone," he grinned.
"I went home and found out that my family now never suffered from
being lost and now I have a sister my mother told me to bring
home."
"Ryouga, you don't have a sister," Ranma looked suspiciously at
Ryouga.
"That was before, now I have a younger sister. A real flirt with
the boys from what I hear," Ryouga said grinning even broader.
"Where is your sister then."
"Oh, she is right here at this table," Ryouga laughed.
"Ryouga, what are you talking about? First you trick Ranchan
then you come in here with some joke about an invisible girl.
Now who is your supposed sister?" Ukyou snapped at Ryouga.
Ryouga quietly looked around the table and finally let his eyes
rest on Ranma. "Why let me introduce my sister, Yoiko," he said
as he introduced Ranma.
Akane looked blankly at the two for a minute then finally found the
words. "Ra-Ra-Ranma is your sister?!?!?!?!"