Ranma Saotome, man cursed to change into a girl with cold water, wrestled his way back to consciousness.
He vaguely remembered some type of conflict and Akane hitting him into orbit.
Ah, there it was, Ranma's memories trickled back to him. They seemed strangely distant and blurry, but he could still make out exactly what had happened. In the mean time, it seemed it would be best for him to avoid Nerima and any more hits from Akane's mallet.
It started with Ukyo. It could have been anyone or rather any girl who cared enough about Ranma Saotome, but in this case, it was his childhood friend.
Ever since the failed wedding, Ukyo had been feeling guilty. She wanted, no, needed, to make amends. She started by using her okonomiyaki contacts to look for a cure for Ranma's curse. The wedding fiasco wasn't fully her fault—heck, it probably would have happened even without her—but she felt she played a large enough role that Ranchan might otherwise have been cured.
So a couple months later, after a profound apology to Ranma, Ukyo left Nerima in a search of the Jusenkyo cure. She had sworn to herself not to meet Ranma again until she had the cure or at least its exact location.
Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Ukyo to find the necessary information.
While seeking shelter, she had stopped by a run-down shrine in Kyoto and offered some Okonomiyaki to a hungry girl in a tattered miko outfit. After the girl scarfed down her meal and licked her fingers clean, she asked what wisdom Ukyo sought at her shrine.
Years ago, Ukyo would have asked for Ranma's location so that she could kill him; month ago, Ukyo would have asked for the best way to make Ranchan love her; but at that time, Ukyo just wanted to know the cure for Jusenkyo. Luckily, the scruffy shrine maiden knew exactly that, not because of anything fancy like divine inspiration, but rather because the miko had recently cured herself of a Jusenkyo Good Samaritan affliction. The miko hadn't minded her 'curse' so much, but the modern world was a harsh harsh place. She needed to pay taxes on her family shrine; apparently, Good Samaritans didn't understand the subtleties of sustainable financing.
According to the miko, Jusenkyo had reformed a year after its destruction, something to do with the dragon lines and water spirits. For someone like Ranma, total submersion in water from the Spring of Drowned Man seemed to be the one and only true cure. Even that so-call true cure wouldn't get rid of the mental protections and water magnet parts of the curse. As the raggedy miko explained this, the roof broke apart and a dozen gallons of water splashed down on her as if to accentuate her point.
After the poor miko dried off, she warned that anything less than full submersion would mix the curses, and the chaotic magic of Jusnekyo itself would mess up or twist any attempts at an alternative cure. In addition, curses could not be immediately cured, instead, a one year wait was needed for the magic of the water spirits to weaken and be appease.
On the other hand, a wish granted by a benevolent deity could defeat Jusenkyo at any time, but honestly, a wish that would never backfire was too great a boon to waste on a measly curse. At that point, the miko trailed off and spent the rest of the evening babbling about all the things she might ask for if she were ever offered a wish.
The next day, after a tearful thank you and goodbye to the miko in frayed cloth, Ukyo decided to head back to Nerima.
She had kept a decent profit margin selling Okonomiyaki on the road, but only Ucchan's truly felt like home. Konatsu and Kasumi were running Ucchan's at the moment, but she worried if she didn't head back soon, they'd expand the menu.
Her store selling something other than Okonomiyaki, that would be nightmare!
Unfortunately, nothing is ever that simple for a member of the Nerima Wrecking Crew. While selling Okonomiyaki on the road, she accidentally angered the Food Yakuza. Ukyo still couldn't believe there was such a thing as Food Yakuza. She knew the Martial Arts Food-users In Alliance (MAFuIA) existed, but they were a friendly organization. The Food Yakuza were less friendly, and used actual swords and guns.
When Ranma saw Ukyo chased into town by real gunfire, he immediately rushed to help. There was no way, he could ignore his best friend when she was in danger. Ucchan wasn't bullet proof like him or Ryogi after all. Even for Ranma, bullet wounds left nasty bruises and abrasions.
It took weeks and almost the every available member of the NWC, but the food Yakuza were finally driven out. It was a miracle that there were no casualties on either side.
After the whole affair, Ukyo told Ranma about the cured miko that she met and how there was only one true cure. Ranma immediately hugged her in glee. The cure was finally at hand. It was just a short trip to Jusenkyo and he'd be fine again. He was motivated enough to swim to China, it wouldn't take all that long.
Akane was twitching away nearby as she watched Ranma willingly hug a girl.
Ranma then bemoaned the fact that Shampoo had left. The Chinese Amazons had returned home after Ranma accepted their offer of formal alliance. As an ally, Ranma was exempt from the Kisses of Death and Marriage. Shampoo wanted to stay but her duties as village champion meant she could only visit Ranma once a year. If Shampoo were around, he might have found out that Jusenkyo reformed sooner, and maybe mooched some free Ramen. The Food Yakuza fight would have been easier too if Shampoo and Cologne had been there.
It was at that point, Akane hit him: "Pervert! Flirting and even groping the chef in public! Talking about chasing that Chinese hussy! Fine! If you want to chase other girls that badly, I don't ever want to see you again!"
The angry aura flared. The mallet manifested. Ranma flew off into the distance.
Looking around now, Ranma realized someone had moved him while he was unconscious. He was apparently in a crematorium, and it looked like he was in line to be burnt.
Well, looked like it was time to get out of here. Ranma decides to...
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(Posted Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:27)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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