Ranma sat by the front of the temple as he waited for the old woman to finish her duties. This village that he had arrived at was homey certainly, and the villagers weren't much more suspicious of the outsider than most of the other small rural communities that he had gone through on his training trip... at least not before his dumb Pop did something stupid. Of course, with the lush vegetation, the mildly obscure dialect (and having trekked through most of Japan on said training trip, he knew quite a few dialects), and the telling lack of technology here, something told him that this wasn't something as simple as a portal throwing him into the countryside. He'd have to find out where he was for certain. On the other hand, it'd be awkward to explain to other people about himself, his curse, and his past, so he'd have to try and talk about himself as little as possible. One never knew how a stranger could take the amount of oddness in his life.
At that moment, the old woman walked slowly out of the temple, her head stooped and her hands behind her back. As he stood up, the old woman swept her gaze up and down his form, looking him over closely as if to estimate his threat potential. Being by no means unfamiliar with that sort of treatment, Ranma waited patiently for her to finish her analysis.
At length, the priestess finished her observations, and lifted her eyes up to his. "Thank you for waiting young man," she said. "I hope that you did not mind doing so."
Ranma shrugged, not showing much concern over the matter. "It's alright, doesn't bother me at all. You said that you had some things ta tell me?"
Kaede nodded solemnly. "Indeed. Ranma is it not? My name is Kaede, and I serve this village as its spiritual leader. Now, you say that you appeared here after going through a well, correct?" She gestured to Ranma to walk with her, and the two proceeded slowly away from the temple towards Kaede's house. As they walked, villagers made way for the priestess and her guest, some bowing in respect as they passed.
"Yeah, that's right. I... fell into a well while I was at a shrine, and then when I climbed out again, here I was. I gotta say this sure don't look like Tokyo though." There, that'll do the job, not too much but enough not to make someone suspicious.
If Kaede noticed the small pause in Ranma's words, or the vagueness of his response, she didn't show it. "Indeed, this is not the Tokyo you speak of. Tell me, the shrine that you spoke of, was it by chance called the 'Higure Jinja'? Tended by the Higurashi family?"
Ranma though about that one. "I dunno about the family, but I think that's the name of the shrine." 'Of course,' he thought, 'it wasn't like I really cared about which shrine it was, I just picked the first one I came across.'
Kaede nodded to herself. "Then it is certain." When she spoke towards Ranma again, it was with a much more severe tone.
"Now child, what I shall tell you will come as a shock, but you are no longer in your time. When you fell through the Hone Kui no Ido, the Bone Eater's Well, you fell through a door in time. I believe that to those in Japan's future, this time is known as 'Sengoku Jidai', a period of rampant civil war. This is, for me and my people, the present. But for you... this is the past."
Kaede was expecting a reasonably strong reaction from the boy in front of her. She was disappointed. Ranma simply blinked once, then responded with:
"Well, I s'ppose that answers that."
That certainly was not the response Kaede was expecting. "Eh? What do you mean by that?"
Ranma shrugged a little; this was something that he had experience in after all. "Oh, nothin' much. I'm not really surprised or anything. This kinda thing happens ta me all the time. I mostly figured from how there ain't any big buildings or nothin' in this village that either I got sent back in time or I'm in China again. Some of the farming villages there looked a lot like this one. Since everyone here speaks Japanese, I figured it was probably a trip through time."
Kaede was quite astonished by the nonchalance of the boy. 'He says that he has experience traveling through time? Is this something happens often in the future? If he is truly Inu-Yasha's reincarnation as Kagome is Kikyo's...' "Well, boy-"she started...
Ranma interrupted forcefully, turning towards her with restrained fury.
"Hey, look lady, I ain't no boy, alright? I'm Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome School of Anything Goes. I sure as hell ain't no 'boy'. Just call me Ranma if ya gotta, but don't call me boy or kid or anything like that. Got it?"
Kaede had thought that Inu-Yasha and this Ranma were similar in attitude after hearing him introduce himself in the temple; now she was completely convinced. He was... a little more polite though, if not by much. At least he didn't seem to have that look of contempt that Inu-Yasha always seemed to have in his eyes whenever he spoke to her. Was it simply because he didn't know her as Inu-Yasha did? Or perhaps, this is what Inu-Yasha as a human would have been like?
"That is fine... Ranma. You should know, if you wish to return to your time all it would take is another journey down the Well again, and you would be back to where you began. These are dangerous times, and this is a dangerous place as well. Perhaps it would be best for you if you returned home instead of staying here." 'Whether he was Inu-Yasha reborn or not, this boy shouldn't be thrown into our problems against his will. Better to give him the chance to choose than to force him into it, even if he could be helpful...' she thought to herself.
Ranma thought on that for only a second.
"Keh," he replied, "there ain't nothin for me back where I came from. There sure ain't nothin' there that makes it a better place ta be than here, or any other place for that matter. Besides, I can take care of myself just fine. If ya really don't want me ta be here, then I ain't gonna make trouble or anything, but frankly I'd rather stay on this side of the Well than go back ta the crap I had ta deal with before."
Kaede frowned. What could be so bad about this Ranma's life that he'd rather be here than to go back?
"I would not force you to leave if you wish to stay. Certainly the village can use another helping hand around the place, so if you do not wish to go, we can find some way to accommodate you. But are you certain you wish to stay? This is a harsh world you have come to. There are none of the... modern conveniences that you are most likely dependant upon. Battles between the provinces break out every day. And then there are the... other... problems we have had lately..."
'What kind of 'other problems' could a little old village like this one have? Bandits? I can take care of that easy.'
"It's alright. I've spent plenty of time on the road, I don't need no modern conveniences ta get by. Besides, I'm a martial artist. Battles ain't nothin' I haven't seen or been in before. If you guys need someone ta help you with these problems of yours then I'm your man. I don't need no pay or nothin', if you guys can afford ta feed me then that's all I need."
Kaede looked at the boy thoughtfully. He certainly didn't look like he was joking. Or exaggerating. Kaede could tell by the look of his body and by the way he moved that Ranma was indeed a strong and skilled lad, though exactly how much so, she couldn't tell from what she saw so far.
There was a long moment of silence between the two, as Kaede considered the possibilities of having this boy around the village. If he was a reincarnation of Inu-Yasha, then having his aid available would certainly be useful if Kagome and the rest of those children needed another strong fighter, but... well, if he agrees, then that would be that. Simply tell the story and let him make the decision. 'No need to worry too much old woman, one step at a time will do.'
"Ranma... if you will be staying here in this village, there are certain matters that you must become familiar with. The 'other problems' I referred to before are not mundane issues that plague the people here..."
When Ranma didn't respond, Kaede forged ahead.
"The Bone Eater's Well is so named because the people of the village use it as a place to dispose of the bones of slain demons, youkai, that have attacked the village. That is the most dangerous part of staying here, for if you do, you may be called upon to defend the townsfolk from those youkai if they should attack. Even if you are a skilled martial artist as you say, that would not be enough to save you from the kinds of monsters that may come here. Knowing this, do you still wish to stay?"
Ranma made a thoughtful face. "Youkai huh? Well, that'd be interesting at least. Can't say that I've fought too many demons, but that ain't nothin' I'm afraid of. If that's all ya got problems with then I'll be fine. Anyway, it's the duty of a martial artist ta defend people from demons too, so now that I know about it, I ought'a stay here and help you all." With that, Ranma turned a cocky grin towards the old priestess walking at his side.
Kaede was shocked again at how sure Ranma was of himself. Either he was a complete fool and his arrogance was beyond belief, or he was in some class far above normal humans. Or perhaps, both. "Just like Inu-Yasha."
Ranma frowned. "There you go with that name again." he muttered crossly, "Who's this Inu-Yasha that you're always going on about anyway? What's so similar about him and me?"
"Inu-Yasha is..." Kaede came to a halt, both in her speech and her walking. She knew that she had to choose her response carefully. Certainly this Ranma seemed to take time travel and fighting youkai well, but what is to say that he would accept possibly being the reincarnation of someone else the same way? Kagome meeting Kikyo had caused all sorts of problems after all... but if she didn't tell him, how would he react to meeting with Inu-Yasha for the first time? Both of them have such strong wills and such strong arrogance. If they clash...
(Posted Wed, 29 Oct 2003 16:15)
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