Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Challenge ❯ Chapter 5

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

TITLE: The Time Has Come

BY: Jessi

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters, they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and whoever else owns them.

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Dr. Tofu sat, hunched over numerous books, in his office. The books contained information about various spells that could effect ki. The weary doctor leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Dr. Tofu had been searching his library for information on Ranma's strange looking ki swirls and about spells that could make it so that Ranma would not awake from his sleep.

*There has to be a reason Ranma's body is acting like this. I'm SURE it has something to do with those silver strands in his ki. And I know that it must be some sort of spell, but who could have cast it on him?* Dr. Tofu asked himself. There were so many questions, but no answers.

He stood, stretched, and went back to his work; he WOULD find a cure for Ranma.

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Cologne hopped away from the Tendos' in the direction of the Nekohanten. Ranma was experiencing one of the side effects of the spell, and it would soon be time to leave for China.

*I must let Shampoo know, we MUST be ready to leave as soon as Ranma wakes.* the Chinese elder thought to herself.

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Akane kneeled over Ranma's prostrate figure, watching his chest barely rise and fall with his miniscule breaths. She peered closely at Ranma, trying to see what Dr. Tofu had seen. But Akane could not see Ranma's ki, or the streaks of silver that seemed to be slowly overpowering his natural ki.

Akane's stomach rumbled. It was well past lunchtime. She had stayed home from school, determined to be with Ranma until he pulled out of his stupor. Nabiki had left for school soon after the doctor had left, apparently she had a fee to collect from Kuno and handful of others.

Once again, Akane's belly rumbled a protest against the day's eating schedule. She paid it no heed; she was going to spend day and night by Ranma's side. He WOULD wake, eventually, or Dr. Tofu would come with a cure.

Akane lay down on her side next to Ranma; her head propped up by her hand. She watched Ranma's features with worry written all across her face.

*Why won't he wake up? Could someone have really cast a spell on Ranma?* Akane wondered to herself. Suddenly, Akane pulled herself into an upright position. Ranma's eyelids had shuddered and his lips had parted, almost as if he were about to speak. Akane watched him closely; he might be waking up!

As quickly as Ranma had stirred, he stopped. His features once again became lax, and Akane's mouth drooped a bit at the corners. Her eyes filled with tears and she smacked him lightly.

"Ranma you dummy.. how could you let another person cast a spell on you? Why can't you just be more careful???" Akane asked softly. Akane laid her head on Ranma's chest and began to cry.

"Will you ever pull out of this? I know that Dr. Tofu is working very hard to find a way to wake you up, but.. if you don't.. I never told you.... that I lo-," Akane cut her words short because Ranma's breathing had just deepened.

She sat up and watched Ranma, again his eyes twitched and his lips parted, but this time his breathing was deep and he really WAS saying something.

Ranma's voice was very soft; it sounded quite urgent, "Akane.. where are you, Akane?" Akane looked startled, and quickly answered, "I'm right here Ranma.. we need to go to school, come on."

"Akane? I need you... I'm in trouble.. Help me Akane.. Cologne... Shampoo... They're after me. I'm in pain, red liquid, curse... AAHHH!!! It hurts! Akane!! Make it stop!!" Ranma cried, his voice louder than before.

Akane watched with stunned eyes, what on earth was he talking about?

"Akane!!! The bad feeling! Do you remember? The bad feeling, it happened, it's too late. I know what the feeling meant.. I'm sorry Akane, I was stupid. Help me Akane, I'm going away," Ranma was making sense with his words now, and Akane looked on with fear apparent in her eyes.

Suddenly, Ranma's body stiffened, and he started rambling about his curse, the red liquid, Shampoo and Cologne. His eyes snapped open, but there was a vacant, empty look about them. A lot like the time he and his girl form had been separated, but this time, there was no female Ranma, just him.

"Ranma! You're awake, come on, we need to get to school," Akane began, grabbing Ranma's wrist. Ranma stood up, and so did Akane. Akane squeezed Ranma's wrist slightly, motioning for him to follow her downstairs. Ranma looked at Akane with those vacant eyes, and rammed her into the wall. He jumped through the open window, and sprinted through the town, headed in one obvious direction.

Akane sat against the wall where Ranma had rammed her into it, pain and worry in her eyes. But more than anything else, Akane had terror and understanding written all over her features.

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Shampoo sat at one of the dining tables in the restaurant. The shop was "closed until further notice". Cologne had told Shampoo that the spell was working, and that she should watch for Ranma at any spare moment.

So she did, she looked out the window, patiently waiting to see her dear Ranma running up the sidewalk. Shampoo began to daydream, and didn't notice when Ranma DID come up the sidewalk and entered the Nekohanten.

The tinkling of the bell attached to the door brought Shampoo back to reality, and when she saw Ranma standing in front of her, she was overwhelmed. For a while, Shampoo just stared at Ranma, who said nothing, and then she called Cologne.

"Great-grandmudder!!! He is here!" Shampoo yelled, "What we do now?"

Cologne came hopping into the dining room as quickly as her staff would allow. When she saw Ranma, Cologne nearly fell off her staff. According to the scroll where she found the spell, the one on whom the spell was cast, would fall asleep for an undetermined period of time, nothing would be able him or her from their slumber. When they awoke, they would be completely under the control of the ones who had cast the spell. However, Cologne was not prepared for the dead look that occupied what had once been vibrant, blue eyes.

Cologne felt a twinge of guilt when she saw Ranma's eyes, was this what she had wanted to accomplish? Turning her granddaughter's love into a lifeless zombie? She quickly rid her mind of any such thoughts, and concentrated on the situation at hand.

Indeed, she had not expected the spell to be completed so soon, she expected Ranma to put up more of a fight against the magic working in his ki.

"Well, Shampoo, here he is. Completely under our control, we can return to China now, if you wish. Of course, the fact remains that Mousse is still here, he's in the back in a cage. As a duck of course. You may now choose what course of action we will take against Mousse. Shall we release him as a duck, and escape to China?" Cologne asked.

Shampoo looked dumbfounded, she had never expected things to be like this. Ranma had not said a word, he just stood near her, his vacant eyes staring at her, not with love, not with hate, they just stared.

*Shampoo, you get what you want now. It up to you to decide what to do next.* Shampoo told herself firmly.

"I think we release Mousse as duck. But first we knock him out. Then we leave for China," Shampoo decided. Cologne nodded and retrieved their belongings from upstairs.

"Well, Shampoo," Cologne addressed her granddaughter when she came back downstairs, "We must leave now, as soon as possible. Go knock Mousse on the head and then throw him outside."

Shampoo did as she was told and then looked around the Nekohanten for what could possibly be the last time.

"Come, Ranma. We go now," Shampoo told Ranma. During the entire discussion of what course of action to take, Ranma had stood silent, and still he said nothing. He just followed the two Amazons out the door.

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Ryoga, Ukyo, Genma, Soun, Nabiki, and Kasumi sat quietly in the Tendo living room, listening to Akane tell her story.

"And then, he threw me into the wall," Akane looked away, as if it were painful to think about, "And he jumped out the window. He was headed in the direction of the Nekohanten."

Nobody knew what to say Ranma was gone, he just up and left.
"Akane, don't you think we should alert Dr. Tofu?" Kasumi asked, even though she was smiling, it was a pained sort of grin.

Akane's head snapped up, "Of course! I forgot about Dr. Tofu!!" Akane bounded over to the phone and dialed the clinic.

Nabiki looked thoughtful. *Today's been one heck of a day.. What with Ranma and everything. First Ranma wouldn't wake, and then he up and leaves for no reason?! And the way Akane described his eyes, dark and lifeless. That couldn't be sleepiness! Dr. Tofu had said that it was a spell that was affecting Ranma. Then Ranma talks about spells and the Chinese bimbo in his sleep, and then he wakes up, punches Akane, and runs off in the direction of the Nekohanten..*

Enlightment dawned on Nabiki's face, and she stood up. "Cologne. Shampoo. Akane said that Ranma mentioned Cologne and Shampoo in his sleep. And then he runs off in the direction of the Nekohanten. Plus, Dr. Tofu said that he was probably under the influence of a spell. Do you know what this means!?" Nabiki looked around, proud of her deduction.

Apparently, however, nobody followed her train of thought.

"Don't any of you realize what's going on?? Are you all uncharacteristically stupid today!? SHAMPOO AND COLOGNE CAST A SPELL ON RANMA!" She yelled. The group stared at her; nobody said a word during the uncomfortable silence that followed Nabiki's outburst. Nabiki glared at her family and acquaintances, and continued.

"You heard what Akane said, Dr. Tofu said that Ranma was probably under the influence of a spell. It could have been pressure point activation, but Happosai is out of the country, and Cologne just returned! Everything fits into place! Shampoo and Cologne cast the spell, whatever it's supposed to do, on Ranma, that explains why he ran off and slept so long," Nabiki explained.

During Nabiki's short and to-the-point explanation, Akane walked into the room. She stood in the doorway, her face unreadable.

"You think that's what happened, Nabiki?" She asked. Nabiki turned, startled, and faced her sister. She looked uncomfortable for a moment; this would effect Akane more than anyone else.

"Um... yeah, I think that is what happened," Nabiki said. The people in the room watched the two sisters carry on their uncomfortable conversation.

"I just called Dr. Tofu. He said he knows what kind of spell Ranma is under. He's spent the entire day looking for information about Ranma's side effects and all kinds of other things that might help us cure him... when we find him. He said he's on his way to tell us about it. He should be here soon," Akane said.

She sat down where she was standing and once again assumed the unreadable expression she had worn a few minutes before.

*Ranma...* Akane sat on her knees, reflecting on the past two days. *Shampoo.. yesterday morning, when she showed up, she said she had a cure for Ranma's curse. Then Ranma forgot that I was even there. I got to school on time, for a change, but Ranma came in at LEAST ten minutes late. So he stands in the hall, and then he just disappears, obviously as a girl. Damn! Why didn't I ask him where he went!? Well... it's too late for that now...* Akane's head snapped up.

"Wait! Nabiki! Ranma left school yesterday, I don't know where he went, and I forgot to ask him.. but he left while he was standing in the hall. And that morning, Shampoo ran up to us and told Ranma that she had a cure for his curse!" Akane exclaimed.

"A cure!? For the curse!?" Genma asked. "That foolish boy! He should've come back to get me!"

Akane looked exasperated. "Please, Mr. Saotome, let me finish. Okay... so Shampoo tells Ranma she has a cure, and then he leaves that day during school. And I KNOW I heard Shampoo's voice outside in the hall, and then I saw that Ranma was gone!" Akane said. Nabiki listened to Akane and the pieces of the puzzle fell into place once again.

"Is that what you were so upset about yesterday when you came home from school?" Nabiki asked Akane. "Because Ranma ran off with Shampoo?"

Soun and Genma looked up, hopeful that maybe their children had finally fallen in love. Akane shot Nabiki a venomous glare, and ignored her comment.

"Listen! Shampoo could have cast the spell on him then! Under the guise that it was a cure for his girl side!" Akane cried.

"Hello!" Dr. Tofu's voice rang from the front entrance. Nabiki freaked out for a moment; she wouldn't have Dr. Tofu flipping out over her older sister when they needed him to be sane and under control so badly.

"Kasumi! Um... I think we're out of tea. How bout you make some more?" Nabiki asked.

"We're out of tea? Already?" Kasumi asked. "Yeah... I kinda had a tea craving earlier..." Nabiki said lamely.

"Well, I suppose I'll make some more then," She said. *My.. Nabiki has been acting quite excitable lately... Maybe she's having a tough time in school.* Kasumi thought as she left the room.

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Mousse squawked as he realized that he'd been knocked out by Shampoo earlier. He was now outside in the backyard of the Nekohanten.

"Squawk! Squawk!" Mousse cried. *I must find hot water!!!! My darling Shampoo might need my protection, and I cannot assist her in this condition!*

Mousse was as blind to Shampoo's true feelings toward him as he was physically blind. He didn't realize that Shampoo had run off with Ranma, and had knocked him out for a reason. Mousse had come to the conclusion that, because Shampoo needed a way to vent her anger, she used him as that vent, and he would do anything to please his darling Shampoo.

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Shampoo and Cologne, accompanied by Ranma, traveled to China, once again using that Chinese Amazon technique. The technique itself couldn't really be called a "technique" at all. In fact, all it was, was finding a cargo ship traveling from China to Japan, and attacking the security guards, and being stowaways on the ship. But, as Amazon honor requires, it must be called a technique.

The trio marched through the Chinese wilderness, Cologne leading.

"Ranma, as soon as we reach village, we marry, yes?" Shampoo asked as she held onto Ranma's arm. Ranma was now speaking intelligently to people. The spell would, when first cast, temporarily impair one's communication skills, however, Ranma's eyes still carried that vacant look.

"Of course, my darling, we will be married as soon as possible," Ranma replied.

Shampoo smiled contentedly, and squeezed Ranma's arm, happy at last that she finally had what, according to Amazon law, was rightfully hers.

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To be continued...

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: Alright, I'm trying to write this as quickly as possible now, but still make it a good story. I'm so happy that people are actually enjoying this fic. It is my first fanfic, and I really did expect it to be a dud, but I suppose it is turning out pretty well :P
Please, continue reading, and review it! Yes, yes, I know, I've been leaving out some of the characters when it comes to conversation scenes. For example, in the scene when Nabiki realizes that Shampoo and Cologne cast the spell on Ranma, Ryoga and Ukyo don't have anything to say at all. I'm not very good at conversations, but hey, this is my first fic, and all I can say is that I'll get better at it as I go. Writing fics is by no means easy, so those of you who have never written one, but insist on nitpicking others, need to be a little more sensitive. WRITING IS NOT EASY. Oh yeah, sorry about the lame "squawks" that Mousse made, I couldn't think of anything else to write down.

C&C welcome:
jfossmeyer@hotmail.com