Cursed

CHAPTER 3


Nodoka Saotome stood at the entrance of the practice hall, a grim expression on her normally serene features. She ignored her startled and and to cross the floor and kneel at the side of her son. “Oh my poor Ranma,” she murmured, brushing the boy’s hair back from his forehead. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

She turned to look at Akane, who was still unconscious, her head pillowed in Nabiki’s lap. “Is she seriously injured?”

Nabiki shook her head. “I don’t think so, Mrs. Saotome. She’s just out cold. She’s lucky, he hit her so hard I thought he might have broken her neck.”

Nodoka sighed sadly. “She is very lucky, Nabiki. He could have easily killed her. I’m so sorry for the trouble this has caused.” She looked around at her husband and smiled faintly. “I guess an explanation is in order. But first things first, do you have any strong rope handy? If he wakes up with the rage still in him, we’ll have difficult time subduing him again.”

Kasumi left the room briefly and returned with the requested rope. “That should do for now,” Nodoka said. She started to bind Ranma’s arms and legs. “I’m hoping that when he does wake up he’ll be able to talk. These ropes won’t hold him for long if he decides he wants free.”

“When he wakes up will he still be that…thing?” Kasumi asked. She had also brought a first aid kit and was starting to clean the deep gashes that Ranma had left on his father’s back. “You need to go to the hospital, Mr. Saotome. I think you have some broken bones.”

Genma’s face was stoic, although the scratches were deep and had to hurt. He ignored Kasumi’s comment. “Nodoka,” he said. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”

Nodoka had finished binding her son and sat down to hold his head in her lap. She blushed slightly. “I’m actually not sure where to begin,” she said in her mild voice. “As far as I know, he’s the first one in generations to be born into the family curse.”

“Another curse?” Soun was holding an ice pack to the side of his head. Ranma’s kick had sent him face first into the wall and his eyes were already bruising. “My god, doesn’t the boy have enough curses already?”
She gave Akane’s father a stern look. “This is nothing like that,” she said firmly. “I’m not exactly sure how or why it began, but according to my grandfather, there is supposed to be some kind of demon blood in our family. When I was younger than Ranma is now, my father and grandfather performed some kind of test just to make sure that I wasn’t carrying the curse myself. All I remember is that we went to a very old shrine in the middle of a forest and an elderly priestess gave me some sweet tea to drink. When I woke, my father was taking me home. I asked him what the visit was about, but he told me I was much too young to worry about such things.”

“Years later, after I had grown up and married Genma, my father told me the rest of the story. I had called him to tell him the good news that I was pregnant, he asked if I would come and see him, without my husband.”

“Your father never liked me,” Genma put in. She waved her hand at him. “That’s not true, dear. He liked you as a person, he just thought you were stupid and dishonest.”

She continued, ignoring the baffled looks the Tendo family exchanged. “Anyway, he liked the fact that I had married a martial artist. He thought it was important that our children have training, just in case the demon blood ever surfaced. That was one of the reasons I agreed to let you take Ranma. It broke my heart, but I knew that my son might someday need that kind of discipline.”

Akane moaned, drawing their attention. She sat up, holding her head gingerly. “What happened? I feel awful.” She looked around her, seeing her father and Genma sitting bandaged and Nodoka holding a tightly trussed Ranma. Her eyes filled with tears. “He attacked me,” she whispered, then started to sob into her hands.

Nodoka reached over and stroked the girl’s arm. “I’m so sorry, Akane. I know Ranma would never want to hurt you, he didn’t have any control over what was happening. Please believe me.”

She turned back to Genma and Soun. “My father told me the family history, that somewhere in our bloodline we have an ancestor or two that wasn’t quite human. Quite a bit more than human is the way he put it. He also told me that the curse had been dormant for generations, I had thought we were lucky until now.”

Akane had stopped crying and was peering into Ranma’s sleeping face. He looked the same as always, only now his ears were pointed. The marks on his face weren’t disfiguring. She reached out and timidly opened his mouth. She shivered, sharp fangs and all.
“I don’t understand,” she said, looking up at Nodoka. “If he’s still Ranma, why did he attack Dad and Mr. Saotome? He seemed so cruel and angry, I almost couldn’t recognize him.”

“He didn’t know who he was,” Kagome said sadly. She was suddenly aware that all eyes had turned to her. She flushed, feeling very uncomfortable. If I hadn’t brought that damn Shikon fragment with me, this wouldn’t have happened, she thought miserably. Nodoka gazed at her with a thoughtful expression. “I don’t believe I know you, my dear.”

“I, I’m Kagome,” she stammered, looking down at her toes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause anyone trouble.”

Kasumi sensed the girl was feeling hideously embarrassed to be caught in the middle of the family crisis. She put a gentle arm around Kagome’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault, Kagome. How did you know how to stop him?”

Nodoka looked surprised. She had come into the room just after Ranma had been rendered unconscious. “This girl stopped my Ranma?”

Akane had gotten to her feet. Kagome felt even worse, looking at her friend’s bruised face. “How did you do it, Kagome?”

Kagome took a deep breath. “I just guessed, I was pretty sure that what worked on one demon might work on another. I just hoped I wouldn’t hurt him too much.”

“Hey, what’s going on? Why am I all tied up?” Ranma had woken looking confused and a little upset to find himself tied down. He started to struggle against the ropes, but his mother laid a comforting hand on his head. “Mom? When did you get here?”

She smiled down at him. “I came back early. I’m so glad to see you,” she said. A few tears suddenly shone in her eyes. “I was scared that when you woke up, you wouldn’t by my son anymore.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” He stared up at his mother and then saw Akane’s face. His eyes darkened. “Who hit you?” he demanded, trying to tear the ropes off.

Nodoka gently held her son down. “You hit her, Ranma,” she said, starting to work on the knots. “You hit Soun and your father too, don’t you remember?”

“I what?” Ranma was incredulous. “I did not! I’d never hurt Akane. Pops probably deserved it but I don’t beat up girls!” He felt deeply insulted that his own mother thought he’d sink so low.

Nodoka and Akane looked questioningly at Kagome. “He really doesn’t remember,” she told them, thinking of Inuyasha’s rages. He said he didn’t have any conscious memory of slaughtering those bandits. On the other hand, he’d also said he didn’t feel bad about it, but she knew he’d been sickened by his uncontrollable violence.

“Remember what?” Ranma sat up, shoving the last of the ropes away from him. He got to his feet and looked around. They were all looking at him like he was a sideshow freak about to do a trick. “What are you staring at?” he demanded.

“Maybe you should look in a mirror,” Nabiki said in dry voice.

*****

Ranma sat at the table, holding a cup of hot tea in his hands and scowling. “Another curse. Just my fucking luck.”

“Ranma!” his mother looked disapproving at his choice of words. He ducked his head. “Sorry,” he muttered, feeling abused. “Oh man, just look at me, I look like a freak!”

“Typical,” Nabiki said, grinning. “Just like Ranma to worry about his looks first.” He glared at her and to his surprise the normally implacable Nabiki flinched away from him. For that matter, so did everyone at the table except Kagome.

“You’re scaring them,” Kagome murmured softly. “Teeth, remember.” He realized he had bared his fangs at them and covered his mouth with his hand. “I’m not going back to school looking like this. People will run away screaming.”

The girl put her chin in her hand and looked at him. “It’s not that bad, Ranma, I’ve seen worse. Oh, don’t glare at me like that,” she said, irritated.

“Am I stuck like this forever?” he demanded. For some reason, Kagome wasn’t even the least bit intimidated by his appearance.

“How should I know?” she shot back at him. “It’s not my family curse.”

“Yeah, but you sure seem to know a lot about demons,” he growled.
Kagome flushed. “It’s complicated,” she said. Ranma bounced to his feet, waving his clawed hands. “And this isn’t complicated? What did that damn Shikon whatever do to me? I’ve got fangs and claws for crying out loud. Am I going to sprout a tail or something next?”

She swallowed nervously. “Maybe. I don’t know what kind of demon you are.” He turned pale and sank back down, putting his face in his hands. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

Kagome felt sorry for him, she honestly did. Very quietly, she decided to tell him the truth. “Ranma, you shouldn’t be worried about what you look like. You should be worried about what you could do. Nobody died today, but I don’t know if you’ll be that lucky again. Next time it could be much worse, even I might not be able to stop you from doing something you’ll regret.”

Akane caught her breath. “You mean he could go crazy again?”

Kagome nodded. “I don’t know what could set it off. It can be very dangerous, some demons are awful.” She thought of Naraku and shuddered. If the rage came upon him again, Ranma could easily kill everyone in the house and then start in on the whole neighborhood. I need to get him out of here somehow, she decided.

“I know some people who might be able to help you,” she said softly, looking at her hands. Sango and Miroku both knew a lot more about demons than she did, even Kaede might have some knowledge about how to help Ranma control himself. The Sengoku Jidai would be safer for everyone, she thought, and he won’t stick out like a sore thumb either.

Ranma sat and stared at his claws. “I guess I don’t have a choice,” he muttered. “Where are these people, is it far away?”

“I guess you could say it is,” she said, looking around the table. The Tendo daughters and Ranma’s mother were watching her carefully. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything more,” she said, embarrassed.

She forced herself to face Nodoka. “If Ranma comes with me, I can’t tell you where we’re going. I can’t tell you when we’ll be back either.” Kagome looked down at her hands, ashamed for what the Shikon no Tama had done to this family. Her eyes burned and she blinked back a few tears.

“Hey,” Akane said gently, putting her arm around the girl. “Kagome, don’t cry. This isn’t your fault, you’re trying to help. If you hadn’t been here, we don’t know what could have happened.”

Ranma scooted around the table to sit next to her. “Hey, it’s my stupid curse, you shouldn’t blame yourself. If you think you know someone who can help, that’s good enough for me. I’ll take any help I can get.”

Kagome smiled in spite of herself. “Does that mean that you want to come with me? It won’t be easy, I’m warning you right now.”

He snorted and shook his head. “Nothing in my life is ever easy, I’m used to it.” He reached up and fingered one of his pointed ears. “So you’re sure your friends aren’t going to freak out when they see me?”

“I’m going too,” Akane said firmly.

Ranma turned to glare at her. “Oh no, you’re not! Didn’t you hear Kagome? It’s dangerous, the last thing I need is a girl following me around.”

“I don’t care.” She folded her arms over her chest and looked around at them. “Someone’s got to keep an eye on you, it might as well be me. I’m not scared of anything either.”

“Akane,” her father had appeared in the doorway. He and Kasumi had returned from taking Genma to the hospital. “Akane, I cannot permit you to accompany Ranma, it’s just too dangerous for you.”

She stood up and faced her father. “Not this time, Dad. I’m going with Ranma. All my life you’ve trained me to take care of myself and you know I can do it. I know this is dangerous, look at what just happened. But I’m not going to let Ranma face this alone, even if he doesn’t want me around, I’m going to do this.”

Ranma flushed. “It’s not that I don’t want you around,” he mutt. “. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“I know that. But I’m still willing to take my chances, give me credit at least for that. You wouldn’t let me go off alone to face something like this, would you?”

He didn’t answer, just sat and looked at his claws. It was weird, they felt natural somehow, like he’d always known there were there on the inside. The fangs hurt, his mouth ached and he’d already bit his tongue twice. “I guess not,” he said finally. “Just promise that you’ll get out of the way if I freak out or anything. I don’t think I could stand it if this happens again.”

Akane smiled, her face lighting up. “You got it.”

*****

Sango was lying on the ground, her face hidden in the thick leaves that covered this part of the forest. She poked the kitsune. “What’s he doing now?” she whispered.

Shippo wiggled backward. “He’s just walking around in a circle, muttering to himself. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but I bet it’s really rude.”

“Count on it,” Miroku said, kneeling beside them. Sango jumped, the monk could move so quietly when he wanted to. “I thought you weren’t coming,” she said.

He grinned at her, lying down on his belly between her and Shippo. “I couldn’t stand it, I’m just as bad as you two.”

“Shhhh, he’ll hear you,” Shippo warned. They crept closer so that everyone could get a good view of the well.

The last week had been difficult. Inuyasha had been keeping to himself pretty much ever since Miroku had let him have it for annoying the villagers. When he did show his face, he was sullen and withdrawn, growling at the most innocent questions. Shippo had even begun to feel sorry for the hanyou and tried teasing him out of his foul temper. This had been a successful tactic for the most part, Inuyasha definitely seemed to perk up after a good chase. Shippo ended up paying the price and was sporting some new bruises for his trouble. Kagome would be furious if she saw them, he thought, but the hanyou could have certainly dealt him more damage.

“He’s going to wear a rut in the ground if he keeps this up,” Miroku muttered. Inuyasha continued to circle the well, peering into its depths occasionally and swearing to himself.

He stopped suddenly and glared into the well. “Bitch,” he shouted. “This time I’m not coming for you, I’m not going to wait around any longer. I don’t care if you fucking ever come back, you can stay the hell over there!”

“Oh no you don’t,” Miroku said, bursting out of the forest. Inuyasha jumped, the monk was advancing on him with a determined expression. Shippo and Sango followed him and he fixed them all with a furious glare. “You three have been spying on me again!”

“So what?” Sango said angrily. “It’s about time you quit acting like a big baby and just go after Kagome.”

“Make me,” he sneered, turning his back to them defiantly. “I’d like to see you try it, you bunch of cowards.”

WHACK! Miroku hit the hanyou with his staff at the same time Sango swung her boomerang at his legs. Inuyasha was bowled over by the attack and stumbled against the side of the well. Sango and Miroku rushed him and flipped the startled half-demon over the side.

“Say hello to Kagome-chan for me!” Shippo called out in delight.

Sango bent over the side of the well. She found it fascinating that there was a whole different world on the other side, one that only Kagome and Inuyasha seemed to be able to cross into. She leaned on her elbows and grinned, the cranky hanyou was long gone. “Do you think we should wait here for them?”

Miroku smiled, Sango was oblivious of the view that she was affording him. He leaned over the side next to her and casually put his hand on her bottom and squeezed. “I can think of something else for us to do if you don’t want to wait here.”

The girl grabbed the monk by his robes and heaved him into the well. Shippo heard a thud and a yelp when Miroku landed hard. “Here, you can wait for Inuyasha,” she said with a satisfied smirk. “Shippo and I are going back to the village.”

Miroku started to climb out of the well. “You know, I just may have overstepped the limits of good taste.” The monk grinned. “And it was worth it as usual, dear Sango.”

END CHAPTER 3