C&C wanted dearly.
Ryoga woke up and looked around groggily. He was sleeping in an unfamiliar
room. Where on earth am I no- oh yeah. He sat up and shook his head to clear
the cobwebs. He stretched and stood up. He was about to open the door
when...
*SPLASH* "YAAAAH!!!!"
He jumped in surprise, blinked, then dashed across the hall and opened the
door. Kijo was standing in the middle of the room, breathing heavily. He was
soaking wet. "What happened?" Ryoga asked, confusion clear on his face. Kijo
placed his hand on his chest and took a deep breath.
"That's my alarm clock," he explained. "You gotta admit, it really wakes you
up! I'm gonna take a bath. Make yourself some breakfast. Remember! Whatever
you do, do NOT step outside!" He walked into the hallway. "I'd never find
you again."
Ryoga shrugged and walked down the stairs. He wandered all over and finally
found a door. He opened it and almost stepped through, then saw it was the
back door. Don't go outside! He reminded himself sharply and continued
searching. He found the living room, the pantry, (he shuddered violently
when he saw the can of Pork 'n Beans) the basement (That's funny, I don't
remember walking down any stairs...) and the living room again. He sighed in
despair and kept looking. Finally, he found the kitchen.
Relieved, he opened the refrigerator, and pulled out some rice. He made up a
standard breakfast, and walked out the door to the dining room. Wait, that
was the pantry. No, that's the closet. No, that's the living room. No, that'
s the closet again. Ah! There it was!
He sat down at the table and looked up to see Kijo sitting down with a
bowl. ---It was filled with rice, noodles, meat, vegetables, and other
assorted foods. He set it down on the table in front of him. "G'mornin',"
Ryoga yawned.
Kijo took a bite and asked, "Did you find the kitchen all right?"
Ryoga shrugged. "Sort of. By the way, is it possible to get into your
basement without walking down the stairs?" he asked, his chopsticks poised
in front of his mouth.
Kijo stared at him. "I don't think so..."
Ryoga shrugged. "That's odd then."
Kijo shook his head in slight amazement and went back to his breakfast.
Ryoga looked at the clock as he set his bowl down. "What time do we have to
be at school?"
"Nine o' clock," Kijo grunted, finishing his meal.
Ryoga groaned. "Aw, we're gonna be late! We have to be there in five
minutes!"
Kijo shrugged. "So? We're not gonna be late, trust me."
Ryoga glared at him. "How?"
Kijo stood up and picked up his backpack. "I'll show you. Get your pack."
Ryoga dashed over to his pack, strapped it on, and dashed out the front door
where Kijo was waiting. He smiled and gestured to two loops on the back of
his pack. "Grab on to those, and hold on tight."
Ryoga did as he was told, and looked confused. "Now what?"
Kijo concentrated, then bent his knees a little. "Hold on," he muttered.
"YAH!" he shouted as he suddenly rocketed into the air. Ryoga's eyes widened
and he held on for dear life. "Jeezus, you're flying!" Kijo nodded, a huge
grin on his face. "I love doing this! Do you have any idea how much fun it
is?" Ryoga shook his head and looked down. He gripped the loops tighter.
Kijo looked down at Furinkan, and dive-bombed. Ryoga used all his willpower
to keep from screaming. He stopped suddenly, and turned upwards, landing
softly in front of the school.
Ryoga was still clutching the straps, his eyes wide as dinner plates.
"L-l-l-let's g-g-get t-to c-c-class." Kijo nodded and dashed inside. He ran
to the principal's office with Ryoga still holding the straps. He quickly
explained to the principal's aide that Ryoga was joining the school, and
gestured to the boy still holding the backpack in a white-knuckled grip.
The aide turned to Kijo and asked, "Is he alright?"
Kijo nodded, grinning. "He just had a bit of a scare, but he's fine. Ahem,
let go of the backpack, Ryoga."
"My name is Ryoga Hibiki. Nice to meet you."
Miss Hinako nodded. "You may be seated."
He sat down next to Kijo. He wasn't given much more than a second glance,
but Ranma looked at him oddly. The question was evident on his face.
('School? Ryoga?')
At lunchtime, Ryoga and Kijo began walking towards an empty table, chatting.
Kijo looked over to the gate, and saw a boy dressed in kendo garb stumble
through the gate. He quickly dashed over to them. "You! Strangers! Tell me
quickly, hath either of thou seen the fair Akane Tendo or my pig-tailed
goddess? Oh, how thine heart aches for their sweet presence! Tell me, where
are my loves?" Ryoga and Kijo stared at him, mouths gaping.
"Um, they went that way," Kijo said, pointing vaguely.
Kuno dashed off in that direction. "I come for my loves!" he called out.
Kijo shook his head. "Now THAT'S a screwball if I ever saw one. Wonder who
the 'pig-tailed goddess' is?"
Ryoga grinned. "I think I have an idea..."
Ranma jumped up when he heard the familiar shouting. "Oh man, he's back
already?" he groaned. "I thought he'd be gone longer..."
Kuno charged over to him.
"Saotome! What have you done with my pig-tailed goddess? You must have
captured her before she arrived at the beach, and prevented her from wearing
her swim wear! I will not tolerate this!" He punctuated his words with a
downward slash.
Ranma dodged it with boredom clear on his face. Kuno attacked savagely, but
Ranma easily dodged every blow. The coward! He must be using sorcery! And to
top it off, he was still eating his lunch! He would see him burn in hell!
Ranma finally finished his lunch and booted Kuno onto the other side of the
school. He leaned back against the tree and sighed. He still wanted to see
that Kijo guy fight...
After school, a brief Nerima Specialty Rain Shower? (the kind that strikes
without warning, lasts about 5 seconds, just enough to soak any cursed
martial artists in the open) left a grumbling female Ranma walking from the
school. Kijo saw her walking with Akane and dashed over, followed by Ryoga.
"Hey Akane! Who's your friend?" Ranma looked up and almost said something,
but suddenly remembered that Kijo didn't know about his curse.
"Um, I'm, Ranko Saotome, Ranma's cousin."
Kijo bowed slightly. "Kijo Kuraki. How come you don't go to school?"
Ranma sweated. "Um, I...."
Kijo waved her off. "It's OK. Do you live at the Tendo Dojo?"
She nodded.
"Mind If I walk with you guys? Er, girls?"
Ranma looked at Akane, who shrugged. "I guess so."
Kijo chatted with both of them good-naturedly, never making any sort of
advances to Ranma, much to her immense relief. Suddenly, a small form
appeared out of nowhere and latched on to Ranma's chest. "Ranma! How I've
longed to snuggle between your sweet bosoms!"
Ranma screamed and tried to rip Happosai off.
Kijo's eyes widened in shock and terror, before he reacted.
"HYAH!" He yelled as he leapt toward Ranma, and booted Happosai from the
bottom. While he was in the air, Kijo let loose an blast that put both the
shishi hokodan and the moko takabisha to shame. It caught Happosai square
and sent him shooting into the sky.
He lowered his hands slowly. Everyone stared at him in amazement. He turned
to the other three sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I could read his ki slightly, and
saw that he was incredibly powerful, and incredibly evil. I also noticed he
was obviously a pervert. I reacted the way I saw fit."
Ranma looked up at the sky and watched Happosai's tiny form. "That was
pretty good. You know, he's gonna hate you now."
Kijo sweated. "I don't really think I want to get in a fight with him. I can
tell he's extremely powerful. Has anyone defeated him before?" he asked
hopefully.
Ranma almost said 'I did', but stopped herself. "Ranma has. He used the
Hiryu Shoten Ha." Kijo looked surprised.
"The Hiryu Shoten Ha! I thought that was one of the most closely guarded
secrets of the Amazons?"
Ranma cocked his head to the side. "How'd you know that?"
Kijo looked very nervous. "Uh, well, I ran into the Amazons while passing
through China..."
"Oh. I see. Did you see the chestnut fist?"
"I think so. It's really rapid punches, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I learned that."
"Neat. Are you a pretty good martial artist?"
Ranma smirked. "Only the best."
Akane bopped him. "Watch your ego, Ranm-..ko."
Kijo didn't notice the slip. "Would you mind if I had a look at you? Using
my ki abilities, I mean," he added hastily at Ranma's expression.
Ranma looked at him for a minute, then said, "Go ahead. I'm warning you, try
anything funny..."
Kijo quickly said, "I won't. Trust me." He wrapped his arms around Ranma's
neck and placed his forehead against hers. An orange aura formed around him,
and enveloped Ranma. It swirled around them, changing color slightly, and
pulsed. After a few minutes, Kijo
stepped back. He let out a breath.
"Man! That was... exhilarating!" he breathed.
Ranma looked a little shaken. He looked nervously at Kijo. Kijo saw this and
smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I didn't look into your mind, or change
anything. I don't do that kind of stuff." Ranma looked very relieved at
this.
Kijo walked over to Ranma and whispered in his ear, "Do they know about your
curse?" Ranma looked at him, shocked. Kijo grinned. "Do they?" he asked
again. Ranma nodded, eyes wide. "Well, Ranma," he said, stepping back,
"thank you. You seem to be able to use your ki pretty well, and you seem to
be an excellent martial artist. Your curse took a bit of digging to figure
out."
Everyone stared at him. "That was a ki-reading technique," he explained. "It
tells you about someone's aura, their body, how well they use their ki, and
other things. The curse was just barely noticeably in your aura. Um, you can
all close your mouths, now."
They all shut their jaws, which had been hanging open. "Wow," they breathed
in unison.
"It's a Kuraki thing," Kijo said with a wave of his hand.
They all face-faulted.
Kijo waved goodbye as they reached the Tendo home. He turned around,
followed by Ryoga. "Do you wanna take a look around town?" Kijo asked. Ryoga
grinned.
"Sure. I've never really had a good look, you know."
"Yes, I do know," Kijo said knowingly.
Pretty soon, they were at the mall, looking for any interesting shops. They
walked into every store, not bothering to read the signs.
"Hmm, this looks like a caf�," Kijo remarked.
"Yeah. You hungry?"
"No."
"OK, Next one." And they would walk into the next one.
"Music store," Kijo deadpanned.
"Definitely. This band sucks."
"You take that back! Oh wait, they do suck."
"Told you. Next store." Quick dash to the next store.
"Radios?" Ryoga said, confused.
"Some other stuff."
"Weird. Next one."
"Ahhhh......" They both tugged on their collars nervously.
"Ahem. Lingerie store."
"R-r-right. N-next one."
They rampaged all over the mall, bought a couple of things, and grabbed some
ice cream (quintuple scoop). "Know any other interesting joints?" Kijo
asked, licking his third flavor.Ryoga nodded.
"There's Ucchan's and the Nekohanten."
"What's the Nekohanten?"
"A Restaurant."
"Ah. Let's go to Ucchan's, I told Ukyo I'd drop by there. You know
where it is? Wait, never mind."
"Shut up. Just shut up."
"No, I meant I.... never mind," he mumbled as he pulled Ukyo's card out of
his pocket.
An hour later, they finally found Ucchan's. "Hey!" Kijo greeted as he walked
in. Ukyo waved and put the money she had just got from a customer in the
cash register.
"Hi Kijo! Hi Ryoga! How are you guys doing?"
"Just fine. Could I have a pork okonamiyaki?" Kijo asked, sitting down at
the counter. Ryoga gagged and shuddered.
Kijo looked confused, then realization struck and he quickly said,"Make that
shrimp. Two." Ukyo looked at him funny, then went to work.
"Sorry man, I forgot," Kijo said, patting Ryoga on the shoulder. "Say, haven
't you found a cure?" Ryoga shook his head sadly.
"Every time we come close, it turns out to be a fake. And, I can't afford to
go back to Jusenkyo, much less find it." He sighed dejectedly, pushing the
saltshaker around.
Kijo looked thoughtful, then slowly said, "You know, I bet I could get us
there." Ryoga looked up so suddenly he nearly got whiplash. There was a fire
in his eyes brighter than any Kijo had ever seen.
"Really?!? You mean it? You're not joking are you?"
Kijo laughed at Ryoga's eagerness. "Sure man, I mean it. I think I can get
some money from my dad." Ryoga nearly danced in excitement. He settled for
leaping around happily. Ukyo brought them their okonamiyaki and looked
curiously at Ryoga.
"What's up with him?" she asked. Kijo grinned.
"He just got some happy news, that's all." Ukyo shrugged and went back
behind the counter. "Ryoga! Eat your food," Kijo commanded. "We need to
plan."
"I have enough for two tickets to China. We won't have much left for
supplies, so I'll have to get some money from my dad," Kijo announced.
Ryoga patted his pack. "I've got enough stuff in here for just about any
trip. I have to, you know."
Kijo nodded. "Yep. But I don't. I'm not as strong as you, either, So I can't
carry my camp on my back."
"Can't you use your ki abilities to be stronger?" Ryoga asked.
"Yes, but not all day long. I do have limits, you know," he said, as if it
should be obvious.
"Oh. Well, I could carry some of it," Ryoga offered.
"Thanks. Well, I'll need an extra set of clothes, some food, some...."
Planning went on for another couple of hours. Kijo finished with a call to
his dad, who was in Korea. "Dad, I need money. No, not as much as last time,
just 200,000 yen. Calm down! You have plenty, and you know it. OK, great.
Thanks, dad!" He hung up and turned to Ryoga excitedly.
"He's gonna put the money in my account. I just need to check it out
tomorrow. Then, we need to buy the tickets, and we're ready!"
Ryoga could hardly believe his good luck. Ever since Kijo showed up, his
life had taken a drastic turn for the better. He quickly compared his life,
before and after. Before, he was always lost, alone, and cursed. Now, he had
a friend who kept him from being lost, and a cure for his curse! The only
thing that was not perfect was Ranma's defeat and Akane's heart. Oh well,
first things first.
Kijo was on the phone with the airlines, getting the tickets. "OK, my credit
card number is.... Yeah... Yes.... No....." He eventually hung up and
grinned. "We leave late tomorrow. They had the perfect tickets! Kami-sama
smiles upon us."
Ryoga couldn't contain his joy anymore. He danced around the room, laughing
merrily. Kijo grinned contentedly. It was great to see people this happy, by
his doing. It was such a wonderful feeling.
"Come on Ryoga, we could both use a bath."
Ryoga woke up to Kijo's scream again. He jumped out of bed and stopped,
remembering the bucket of water. He walked into the hallway and blinked. The
walls were covered with signs. A huge one said FURO with an arrow pointing
down the hall. He walked in the direction and saw the words FURO painted in
huge lettering on the door. He opened the door and walked in.
Kijo was already splashing himself with cold water. He grinned at Ryoga. "I
did that all over the house. I think you'll find it much harder to get lost,
now."
Ryoga shook his head. How did he come up with these things?
They flew to school, noticing for the first time just how long those classes
really were, then dashed home when it was out. They grabbed their stuff and
rode a taxi to the airport. They walked in to get their tickets. An hour
later, they were sitting on a bench, checking the clock. "How much longer?"
Ryoga asked.
"Two hours," Kijo replied.
"Oh."
Later....
"How much longer?"
"An hour and 10 minutes."
"Oh."
Even later....
"How much longer?"
"45 minutes."
"Oh."
Much later...
"How... *yawn* much.... longer?"
"Ten minutes."
Ryoga sat up. "Really? It's about time."
A half hour later, they were still sitting. "I thought you said...." Ryoga
began, irritated.
"Airports are like this. Never, ever on time. I just forgot," Kijo
explained, sheepishly.
"My god...."
An hour later...
"All passengers for flight 54, please go to gate 6A. All passengers for
flight 54, please go to gate 6A."
"That's us!" Ryoga cried and jumped up. Kijo stood up unsteadily and walked
over to the gate. "Finally, we're on the airplane!" Ryoga exclaimed. The
clerk looked over at him and was slightly surprised to see such enthusiasm
in such an old boy.. *Oh well*, she mused, *I've seen odder.*
When they sat down in their seats, Ryoga asked, "So now what do we do?"
Kijo nervously smiled. "Well, you're not going to believe this, but...."
"WE WAIT?!?!?" Ryoga yelled.
Kijo sighed. "Do you have any sleeping pills?"
Ryoga shook his head and fumed.
Six hours later...
"The captain has turned on the fasten seat-belts sign, and we will be
landing in Wuhan shortly," spoke a voice over the cabin speakers.
Kijo stirred, and sat up groggily. "Hey Ryoga, we're almost there." Ryoga
groaned and sat up.
"Really?"
"Yep, Really."
Two weeks later found them hiking along a road somewhere in China. Kijo was
panting, and sweating heavily. Ryoga was hardly breathing hard, and setting
a brisk pace. "Wait.... a...minute," Kijo called. Ryoga stopped and turned
around.
Kijo took his pack off and set it down. He tilted his head back a little,
then surged with power. His hair and clothing blew about, as if a wind was
blowing them upwards. He relaxed and picked up the pack again. "God, how I
love that." Ryoga just smiled and kept walking. Kijo had done that
frequently, he had to recharge himself to keep up with Ryoga.
They soon saw a farm, and ran up. Kijo knocked on the door, and fidgeted
while he waited for the footsteps to reach it. A middle-aged man opened it.
"Do you speak Japanese?" Kijo asked hopefully. The man stared at him. Kijo
sighed. "<We travelers, look Jusenkyo. Where is?>"
The man thought for a minute, then shook his head. "<I'm sorry, I don't
know.>"
Kijo frowned. "<Where Joketsuzoku?>"
The man's eyes widened. "<You are looking for the village of the Amazons? I
advise you not to mess with them.>"
Kijo said insistently, "<But where is?>"
The man sighed, and gave them directions to the approximate location.
"<Thank you, ma'am,>" Kijo said, bowing. He stopped, looked embarrassed,
then quickly said, "<Sir.>"
He quickly turned and left with Ryoga. "We're about a three days hike away.
Unless..." he said, rubbing his chin. He waited until they were out of
sight, then sat down and took his pack off.
"Ryoga, you might want to set up camp. This could take some time. I'll hit
your shiatsu sleep spot if you want," he offered.
Ryoga looked confused, but pulled the tent out anyway. Kijo helped him get
everything set up, and sat down in the tent. Ryoga crawled in with their
bags.
"Go ahead, Kijo, I'm not tired." Kijo jabbed his neck, and he crumpled. He
sat cross legged and closed his eyes. A faint glow appeared around him. He
began to concentrate....
Ryoga woke up and saw that the entire tent was moving. He sat up quickly and
stared at Kijo. He was glowing a brilliant pink, and the aura was swirling
all over. He dashed out of the tent. Everything in a 20-foot radius was
touched by the pink aura. The tent seemed to be floating just above the
ground, and the area inside the aura was warm. He didn't dare disturb Kijo,
so he took the packs out and took the tent down around him. Kijo sat on the
ground for a few minutes, then his eyes opened.
He jumped to his feet, quite literally filled with energy, and glanced
around to see that the camp was packed, and looked at Ryoga. "You ready?" he
asked, his voice straining to keep his energy in. Ryoga nodded. "Then grab
on!" he cried as he crouched slightly. Ryoga quickly latched on to the
straps on Kijo's pack. The instant his fingers wrapped around the
hand-holds, they shot into the air so fast Ryoga felt like his arms had
been torn off.
Kijo soared over the treetops, way over the treetops, streaking along at
speeds that made Ryoga rather uncomfortable, considering he was holding on
for dear life. He did relax slightly and begin to appreciate the view. The
breeze was a little chilly, but Kijo's aura made up for that.
Kijo was laughing.
"It's wonderful, isn't it?" he shouted. Ryoga looked down at the ground. WAY
down at the ground.
"Wonderful. Right," he squeaked as he tightened his grip. He closed his eyes
and felt the wind blow his hair, and in his ears. It isn't that bad.... he
thought contentedly.
After flying for several hours, Ryoga's arms started to ache. He shifted his
arms, and groaned. He was getting a little tired, too.... Kijo, however,
showed no sign of slowing down.
"You getting tired?" Kijo yelled.
Ryoga blinked, then shouted back, "Not really!"
"I think we're almost there!" Kijo shouted, grinning.
"How come we couldn't travel like this earlier?" Ryoga asked.
"We had no idea which way to go!" Kijo replied.
Ryoga furrowed his brow, then shrugged. Or tried to.
A few minutes later, Kijo slowed down. He began to slowly drop, then dipped
suddenly. Ryoga clenched the straps tighter as Kijo landed softly. Kjo sat
down and let out a long breath. "Woah! Now THAT is tiring."
Ryoga was stretching his sore arms. He looked around. "Where's Jusenkyo?"
Kijo looked up at him.
"It's close, I'm sure. I saw a bunch of pools before we landed. They were
right about... there," he said, pointing.
Ryoga nodded. "Well, let's go!" He started walking.
"Wait, lemme.... catch..... my breath..." Kijo said, in between heaving
breaths. Ryoga leaned against a tree, impatiently. They were so close! Why
shouldn't he be impatient?
"You ready?" he snapped.
"Calm down, man," Kijo said, waving a finger. "And yeah, I think so." Ryoga
looked sheepish, then turned and began walking.
Kijo stood up and yelled. "No, Ryoga! THIS way!" Ryoga stopped and started
walking the way Kijo was pointing, before veering off again. "Listen," Kijo
said, digging in his pocket, "let's do the string thing." Ryoga looked
sheepish as he tied one end of the string to his wrist.
A short while later, Ryoga and Kijo stood on a cliff overlooking the valley
of Jusenkyo. Ryoga looked in wonder at the pools, and his heart soared at
the prospect of no longer being cursed. I can be free of the pig! I'll never
be a pig, ever, again! He started to dash off, but a jerk from the string
stopped him. "Come on, Ryoga, just grab onto my pack," Kijo said tiredly.
Ryoga did so, and Kijo jumped off the cliff to soar over to the guide's hut.
After landing, he knocked on the door. The guide came opened it. "Yes?
Greetings, customer! You come to train in Valley of Cursed Springs? I advise
you not to, for there many tragic, tragic lege-" Kijo cut him off.
"We want to know which spring is the spring of drowned man."
The guide stopped and nodded grimly. "Fine. Follow me, Mr. Customer!"
"This spring of drowned man," the guide said as they approached the spring.
"There tragic legend of man who drown in spring.... That odd...." he trailed
off.
Kijo and Ryoga stared into the spring. It was dry. It was empty, and dry.
Nothing more than a pit in the ground.
"The spring fine just few days ago. I have no idea how this tragedy occur."
Ryoga ignored the guide and shook in anger. Anger, and depression. I can't
be cured. My cure is gone. Gone, as soon as I get to it. He jabbed his
finger at the ground in frustration.
"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" Kijo watched in confusion as Ryoga thrust his finger
into the soil. Then, the ground exploded.
"AAAAAHHH!" he screamed as he flew backwards. The guide was knocked into the
empty spring. Kijo was not so lucky. He felt the water swallow his body, and
groaned inside his head. This wasn't supposed to happen! Not to me! Oh, NO!
He surfaced, and gasped for air. He dragged himself out of the pool, not
daring to look at himself. What had he turned into? He didn't want to know.
He looked up and saw Ryoga staring at him, open mouthed. Kijo still hadn't
looked at himself yet. He passed out from shock, instead.
__________________________________________________
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