"So," Ranma asked, grabbing his share of the chow Logan had just fished out of the saddlebags, "What exactly do these cursed springs do then, Dad?"
"Good question." Genma told him. The tubby man cast around for a bit, then pounced on something in a bush. He came up with his hand full of rat; he glared fixedly at the rat.
"Nod your head if you understand me, rat." he told it. The rat just squealed and struggled; Genma grinned, examined the rat and selected a spring, standing at a safe distance.
"Okay, rat. Welcome to the human race." He hurled the unfortunate rodent overarm; it hit the water with a rat-sized splash. Something quite a bit bigger than a rat erupted from the spring, squealing in terror.
A naked teenage girl with buck teeth, a pinched, slightly ratty face and slightly pointed, slightly furry ears.
"Neat." Ranma remarked as Genma easily caught the terrified former rat. "Transformation curse, right? I think I see where this is headin', huh Logan?"
Logan nodded thoughtfully. "Yah, so do I. So these curses work much the same way as onea you guys shapeshifting, right? I can see where that's gonna be useful. As many alt forms as you like."
"Not quite." Genma told him, restraining the terrified ex-rat. "Ya try for more'n one, ya mix curses. That's why we ain't sparrin', son. Yer gonna go practise on them poles until ya take a fall inta th' drink. I'm gonna be bungin' rocks at ya. Dodge 'em. Ya know th' deal, huh?"
"Sure, Dad. But ya wanna gimme a chance ta rest up first? We been ridin' fer eight hours, I'm shagged out."
"Fine by me." Genma grunted. "I could use some chow an' some shuteye right now meself. We'll roll a half mile down th' valley, it ain't a good move crashin' out so close ta th' springs. Gissahand wiv our former rat."
Ranma looked confused. "What're ya gonna do wiv her, Dad? Why not just let her leg it?"
"Not gonna happen, son. I humanified her, it's my responsibility ta look after her." Genma grinned. "An' besides, I always wanted a daughter. Right now I'm gonna tie her ta me fuel tank until we gotten someplace ta park up fer th' night, she's small enough ta fit layin' across it."
"So this is why you took that chain tether off those slavers we trashed back in Hong Kong." Logan remarked. "Yer a pretty good planner, bub."
"Bingo, an' that's why I grabbed onea th' padded ones. Don't wanna hurt her. Anyway, rats are right smart little bastards, she'll get th' hang a' things soon enough. C'mon Ranma, don't just stand there gawpin'."
"Oh, right. Yeah, sure Dad." Ranma pulled the coil of rope off the back of his bike. He had it to help him get the machine up any slopes too steep for it, but it would do the job.
"Wrigglesome little bugger ain't ya?" Genma said to his handfull of squirming female.
It was two years since Ranma had First Changed, learning of his Amerai heritage. Two very eventful years. When Genma had decided to extend their training trip into the latter part of 1999, he'd been of the opinion that to hell with his Lord, Ranma just plain wasn't ready for the Tendo arrangement. Soun would probably be pissed for about five minutes when they eventually showed up, but Genma could handle that just as easily as he could handle a rat turned human or his bike. Soun Tendo was so predictable it wasn't funny. The other man's three daughters would be what - eighteen, ninteen and twenty-one by now.
Ranma had done a lot of growing up in those two years. Since Lord Akira Saotome's instructions ran out in 1998, Genma had been granted a lot of leeway by his trip-extension. Ranma had made several very useful friends in those two years, and had made even more very useful advances in the Art and the skill of motorcycle mechanics. The young man - he could no longer be called a boy - was outright frightening in both.
Genma grinned up at the stars, ignoring his new pet humanized rat shifting in the background.
Life was good.
Unknown to any of the four of them, someone was watching the three bikers and the transformed rat. After the three men had blown past Juusenkyo, the Guide had skedaddled off to tell someone he knew, respected and feared all about it.
Elder Kou Loun of the Joketsuzoku.
Although dumpy, balding and apparently slow-witted, the Guide was a lot more knowledgeable about supernature than observers would expect, in part to his being a supernat - a Clanless Amerai ronin - himself. He took about five seconds to figure out who and what had just blown into Juusenkyo, and another five to make himself very scarce. Clan Saotome was still pissed with him after all.
Using one of his many talents, he'd hidden until the three bikers left with their rat, then he'd made a beeline for the Amazon Village. That was why three Amazon scouts were now watching the three men and one former rat around their campfire.
One of the trio was Elder Kou Loun's apprentice and heir, Champoin Xian Pu, two years reigning champion of the Joketsuzoku's annual Youth Tournament. A short, slightly stocky semialbino with starkly pale skin, peculiar-looking purple eyes and naturally sandy white hair (which she routinely dyed lavender purple) Xian Pu was one of the absolute finest warriors the Amazon people had ever produced. Right now she didn't think either her elderly AK47 or her katana would do much good.
"Two of them are Saotome clanners." her sometimes rival, always best friend Wu Chii hissed. "I dunno what the third guy is, but he looks about as safe as a napalm bomb. The girl's gotta be that rat the Guide was talking about."
Xian Pu nodded. "I think you're right. Whatcha figure Fire?"
The third Amazon - one of the few Amazon magi under three centuaries old - frowned. "Not much magic about the fat guy or the oddball. The girl's got a Juusenkyo curse right enough. The young guy... fuck me."
"What?" Wu Chii hissed.
"He's a fucking mage-engineer." Fire hissed. "And a damn good one. I thought I felt one hell of a thaumatic presence coming into the valley earlier today... I'd say there's about as much magic in his bike as there is in every enchanted weapon in the Armoury."
"No shit?" Xian Pu hissed, shocked.
"No shit. What do we do now?"
Xian Pu considered that for a moment. "I know. We...
(Posted Mon, 26 Apr 2004 13:56)
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