Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Ultimate Challenge ❯ Chapter 6

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

TITLE: Morning Light

BY: Jessi

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters, they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi or whoever else owns them.

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Dr. Tofu sat in the Tendo living room explaining what he had found in regards to Ranma's condition.

"I know that it is a spell that is causing Ranma to behave the way he is. The spell affects Ranma's ki, making him behave differently than he normally would, most spells work in this manner. However, there is something else in the spell that is not common in most. Commonly, spells affect the ki, but do not damage it in any way. But this particular spell is threatening to take over Ranma's ki completely," Dr. Tofu said. His audience was wide-eyed, and because nobody asked any questions, he proceeded with his analysis.

"I found that the spell is called "Shun Cong De", which roughly translates into "Obedience"," Dr. Tofu said tentatively. Akane gasped, Ukyo choked, and Ryoga looked worried because even though they were rivals, they were still friends. Nabiki was stone faced and Genma and Soun were also speechless.

"I read up some more on this particular spell, the Amazons are the only known race that use it, and the one on whom the spell is cast is completely controlled by the spell casters. Of course, the only people who could possibly know how to cast a spell this difficult, and of this nature, would be an Amazon herself. Shampoo and Cologne," Dr. Tofu concluded.

He took a deep breath, unsure of how to continue. *They will not take this next part well, I'm afraid. How am I supposed to tell them.. that there is no known cure for this spell?* Nabiki observed Dr. Tofu's expression. Obviously this next part would not be a good one.

"Doc, Dr. Tofu, what can we do about it?" Nabiki asked.

Tofu took another deep breath and closed his eyes for what seemed like hours, but was in actuality only several seconds.

Before he began, he met the eyes of each person in the room, trying to read their faces. Ryoga looked anxious. *What if there is no cure for this spell? Nahh... there's always a way to fix spells. Besides, Dr. Tofu will fix everything, he always does.* Ryoga thought.

Ukyo looked worried and scared. *I hope Ran-chan is all right. That stupid Chinese bimbo and her old witch of a grandmother! As soon as the doctor tells us what the cure is.. we'll find him and kill those damn Amazons!!* She thought vehemently.

Nabiki looked thoughtful, but there was also a tinge of anger towards the Amazons mixed in with the thoughtfulness. And sometimes, when Nabiki let her barriers down, there was worry in her eyes, but nobody noticed it.

Soun and Genma both had anger and hope in their eyes, they believed in the doctor and his skills. The doctor's stare lingered the longest with Akane's. Her eyes had hope and worry in them. *Akane, I hate to say this..*

"I searched for hours for information on Shun Cong De, and in each of the books I read, it told me," Tofu paused, and closed his eyes before he continued. "It said that, there is no cure for Shun Cong De. That we know of," he added quickly.

The congregation gasped, all except for Akane, who was looking at the doctor with a look of pleading on her face.

"Dr. Tofu, please, isn't there anything you can do for my son?" Genma asked.

The doctor slowly shook his head, "I'm sorry, but everywhere I've looked, I've read that there is no cure for this spell. I'll look some more, contact a few of my acquaintances. I'll do everything I can, but I can't promise anything," Tofu said sadly.

Akane's eyes were filled with tears.

"Please, Dr. Tofu, you can fix it. You always do! There must be something that we can do.. Please.. help us. Help Ranma. Help me," Akane sobbed.

Kasumi walked into the room with a tray of tea. Dr. Tofu looked up, but he remained calm.

"Hello Kasumi, please sit down, there's something we need to tell you," he said. Kasumi looked confused, but set the tea tray down before seating herself. She looked about the people in the room, they all looked either scared, worried, sad, angry, or a mixture of all four. "Oh my.." Kasumi whispered.

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When Shampoo and Cologne returned to the Amazon village, they were met with much celebration and grandeur. The plans had been made that they would be married in three days. There was a great party that night, and afterwards the entire village went to bed to sleep till morning. All except Shampoo.

Shampoo sat outside on a small boulder that had been her secret place as a child, and watched the land around her. The many mountains that surrounded the Amazon village were snowcapped and had the cloak of mystery wrapped tightly around them. No Amazon had ever climbed the mountains and lived to tell about their exploration. Shampoo absently wondered what secrets the mountains held, but her gaze soon wandered higher, to the stars in the night sky.

*What beautiful stars. Never see stars like this in Japan.* She thought.

A star flickered, as though it were dying. Shampoo watched the star for a while, hoping it would fall so she could make a wish. The star kept flickering, but never fell, and Shampoo's eyes moved away from it. The beginnings of sunbeams were beginning to show on the horizon, and Shampoo yawned. She leaned back on the rock, her elbows propping her up, and closed her eyes, dozing. When she opened her eyes again, ten minutes had passed, and the stars were fading from sight. But the flickering star was still visible. Shampoo watched it, and the star glowed and shined for the last time before it fell. It shot across the sky like a bullet, leaving a streak of silver and gold behind it. Shampoo closed her eyes, and wished. With a smile on her face, Shampoo turned and left for the hut she now shared with only Ranma, Cologne having moved into a different one that evening.

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Kasumi sat with her hand over her mouth, looking quite disturbed.

"So you see, Kasumi, the reality of the matter is, unless we can find a cure for Ranma, he will remain in the Amazon village for the rest of his life," Dr. Tofu said slowly.

"Kasumi, we're going to look very hard for a cure for this spell. Everything's going to be all right, don't worry, just go about your everyday business and we will sort this mess out," Ryoga said comfortingly.

Everyone had known that Akane would be the one to have the most trouble swallowing reality, but they, including Akane, had been quite worried about how Kasumi would take it. Kasumi never let on about her own feelings, and according to the doctor, that was not healthy and any traumatic incidents could dangerously scar her fragile mental health.

Akane, getting a grip on herself, walked to Kasumi's side and knelt in front of her.

"Kasumi," Akane said, looking into her sister's eyes. "This is tough for all of us, but we need you to remain your usual cheery self to help us through this time. Everything will be all right, but we, especially me, NEED you to be there for us. You are going to be the corner stone in this entire incident. Please, Kasumi, please, don't worry, Ryoga, Dr. Tofu, Ukyo, Mr. Saotome, Dad, and me, are going to fix things," Akane told her.

Nabiki looked at Akane; her name had not been mentioned among those that were going to help get Ranma back. Akane must have felt eyes on her, because she turned and looked Nabiki in the eye.

"Nabiki, may I have a word with you?" Akane asked formally. Nabiki nodded, and they went into the kitchen.

"Nabiki, I know I didn't mention you when I said we were going to bring Ranma back. But you are going to be the most important of the lot. I need you to make sure Kasumi doesn't lose her senses. You know as well as I do that it is so easy to just let go of reality in times like these. I did just a while ago, when I found out that Ranma was under the influence of that Shun Cong De thing. But then I realized that if I didn't DO anything about it, I'd never see Ranma again. Kasumi is so fragile; you need to make sure she doesn't lose her grip on sanity. Promise me you'll try, Nabiki," Akane said.

The older Tendo looked at Akane with pity in her eyes, "Of course, I'll do my best," she said.

Akane wrapped her arms around Nabiki in a bear hug, and without another word, the two returned to the living room.

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Mousse had spent quite a while as a duck, but quite fortunately, found hot water two blocks away from the Nekohanten and returned to his human state. He was racing down the allies to the Chinese restaurant. When Mousse reached the front door, he read the sign on it. Well, Mousse did his best to read it. He made out the words, "closed" "until" and "notice" and put two and two together to realize that the restaurant was shut down.

He tried the doorknob, but it was locked and so Mousse put his fist through the glass, forming several dangerous looking cuts on his hand. Mousse washed his wound up in the kitchen, and dashed upstairs to the living quarters. He found that all of Shampoo's belongings were gone, and Cologne's were gone as well.

"Shampoo!!! Where have you gone?!?!?!?" He cried pitifully.

Understanding dawned on his face, and he cried, "Saotome!!! You have taken my darling Shampoo, AND her grandmother!!!!!!!"

Mousse ran out the door, intent on ridding the earth of the god forsaken Ranma Saotome.
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"So, we're supposed to stick around here and look up information on Shun Cong De, while Shampoo marries Ranma?!" Akane asked incredulously.

"Well, Akane, it seems to me there is nothing else that we can do. We have no way to find this Amazon village, as I am quite sure Genma does not remember, and there would be no point in traveling to China without a cure. We will remain in Japan, and we will search for potential cures for the spell," Dr. Tofu repeated for the third time.

"You know, Akane, Dr. Tofu has a point; there would be nothing we could do even if we did find Ran-chan. He would obey Shampoo's orders, and if they were to kill us, he would do it, according to what the doctor said about this spell," Ukyo spoke up gently.

She looked at Akane with understanding in her eyes; she too loved Ranma, but unlike Akane, was not afraid to show it. Ryoga spoke up.

"Ukyo and the doctor are right, Akane. I know that this is hard for you, but there is nothing we can do to assist Ranma, but staying here to look for a cure. I will remain in Nerima and help, if you'd like me to," Ryoga offered.

"Young man, that would be most appreciated," Soun said.

"You can stay with me, sugar," Ukyo said. Ryoga nodded.

Dr. Tofu stood up to leave, "It's morning now, and I must get home to sleep. I suggest meeting tomorrow to discuss how we should go about researching the spell. Would it be possible for us to meet here?" Dr. Tofu asked Soun.

Soun nodded, and Dr. Tofu bade them goodnight. Moments after the door had closed; they heard a yelp from outside. Kasumi rushed to the window and looked out.

"Hehehee!" Kasumi giggled.

The rest of the group hopped up and opened the door. Apparently, Mousse had run right into the kind doctor on his way to the door.

Mousse was now helping the doctor to his feet while the doctor looked at Mousse as though all his dreams had come true.

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Ranma rolled over in his sleep, he was dreaming, really dreaming, because the spell could not interfere with subconscious thoughts. Visions of a beautiful girl with short navy hair danced across Ranma's dreams. Ranma whispered Akane's name in his sleep.

Shampoo opened her eyes, she thought she had heard voices. She looked at Ranma, and heard him say Akane. Panic-stricken that Ranma would realize, in his dreams, what had happened to him, she shook Ranma awake.

"Airen, is time to wake. We get early start this day," Shampoo whispered. Ranma's eyes opened, and he smiled at his wife and quickly got dressed.

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To be continued...

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: Whelp, here it is, Chapter 6. I'm starting to think I'm crazy, making my first fic into a series. Woah. I'm trying to give the "extra" characters (such as Genma and Soun) a more aggressive role in the conversations, even though they will probably not play a very large part in the outcome of the story. I'm not sure yet, but we'll see where things go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter of the story!

C&C welcome

jfossmeyer@hotmail.com