Title: A Legend Reborn sidestory

Author name: Trugeta

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ as well as Akira Toriyama and many others. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Note further that I don't own any of the trademarks mentioned in this story.

Also, the OCs used in this story are a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is not intended and purely coincidental.

This story takes place after Movie 10 of Dragonball Z and at the beginning of the Ranma series. It's an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.

--

Chapter 04

It had been an eternity, or so it seemed to one Ryoga Hibiki. But now he had finally, finally found familiar surroundings, even if they consisted of the damaged school-building of Furinkan High, and he was glad. The only thing putting him off for a moment was the fact that the sun had already risen in Nerima in contrast to from whence he'd just crossed over, but his frown disappeared quickly as his joy won out.

"Hah, I made it back." he grinned to himself. "Now I just gotta to find the Tendo Dojo. Heh, hot bath and meal, here I come!"

The lost boy had rued his decision to take another, unscheduled day of training in his birthform dearly, for it seemed as if the kami had it in for him and liked to fool around with his family curse. As soon as he'd wanted to take a break from training to get something to drink his curse had kicked in and he'd found himself in an unfamiliar place, far, far away.

The worst was, he hadn't even had the option to change to his cursed form, for A) he had no idea where he was which meant he needed to stay in his birthform in order to have a chance that his curse led him back to Nerima, and B) he hadn't learned how to fly yet in either form. It had approximately taken six days, but now he was back. And boy, was he tired and hungry!

"AAAAAAHHHH!" a female voice exclaimed, shooting his plans of getting back to the dojo out of the window, seeing that the girl sounded extremely distressed.

Ryoga rounded the corner, and for once his curse led him true, and what he saw made his blood boil. "You!" he yelled at the strange looking man, who was happily fondling a struggling young brunette, "Let go of her or else!"

"This is the first time I see a woman. You are a woman, no?" the tiger-striped boy asked the girl he was fondling, causing her to scream in indignance. Then he looked at Ryoga. "You're no woman. You're interrupting!" he exclaimed and dropped the baffled girl to the ground before leaping at Ryoga with surprising speed.

Ryoga barely had the time to raise his arms in an x-block as he was already hit by an earth-shattering blow. 'Damn, that guy is strong! Even stronger than I am! Gotta change somehow...'

He had barely finished the thought when his opponent managed to connect a blow to the stomach, and Ryoga saw stars from the punch he hadn't even seen. The lost boy had no chance to block the next attack, a crushing double-fisted blow to the back; this one sent him face-first into the pavement, and the bandanna-clad martial artist had no way to resist the darkness that encompassed him, and soon he knew no more.

-.-

Ryoga awoke to a screaming headache an indeterminate amount of time later, and he barely managed to count his blessings. One, he was conscious again. Two, he was alive. Three... well, he couldn't really think beyond two at the moment, seeing that someone seemed to have filled his head with cotton. He had just sat up when a sudden downpour occurred, changing him into a her. "Why not ten minutes earlier?" the raven-haired girl complained with a roll of her eyes as she adjusted her bandanna.

"Meh, better late than never." she muttered with a scowl as she set herself in motion with destination Tendo dojo, now greatly aided by her perfect sense of direction.

She completely ignored the lewd looks of the local boys as she ran towards the dojo at high speed, and due to the fact that she added more and more ki to her speed she didn't even need five minutes to reach her destination. Jumping over the wall she entered the compound, and stopped dead at hearing unfamiliar female voices.

"I know the Amazons are hiding something, mom. Betcha this is their way of paying me back, the petty bitches." a girl grumbled.

"Dear, what have I told you about speaking properly?" another woman asked.

The younger female sighed. "That even a young man has to speak properly. And normally I do, but it's true, mom. I bet they have a lead to the Kaisufu, but they want to see me suffer for standing up to them. Sore losers, the bitchy bunch of them."

Something about the speech patterns of the younger woman made the hairs on Ryo-chan's neck stand up. They were so eerily familiar...

Shaking her head Ryo-chan knocked on the door. It would be too rude to just barge into the garden to satisfy her curiosity, even if a part of her would have preferred this solution; Kasumi opened the door a few seconds later, and the older girl smiled at seeing her. "Why hello Ryo-chan! Come right in, you look hungry."

Ryo-chan smiled sheepishly, seeing that her stomach had just grumbled very audibly. "Yes, I am. Could you do me a favour and fetch Ranma? I just had a very strange encounter."

"Of course. There's some beef stroganoff, rice and miso soup on the oven. Help yourself, you know your way around here." Kasumi said with a smile as she walked out of the room.

Ryo-chan nodded and hid her surprise as she walked towards the kitchen; something had changed in Kasumi during her absence, this young woman was much more outgoing and confident than the Kasumi she remembered. All in all a good thing in her opinion, yet she wondered what exactly had happened during her absence.

Coming to a stop in front of the oven she helped herself to a generous helping, putting the questions she had into the back of her mind in favour of food. Ryo-chan walked into the living room, placed her plate on the table and plopped down onto one of the low cushions with a satisfied grin on her face courtesy of the heavenly smelling food. She had just begun an exercise in speed-eating when an unfamiliar redheaded young woman walked in, followed by an older woman with auburn hair who bore a strong resemblance to the younger redhead.

Kasumi smiled at the two women. "I'll return to training with my sisters. Until later." she said and winked at the younger redhead.

"Yes, till later, Kasumi." replied the unfamiliar girl with a smile and a wink of her own, and the older woman bowed towards the oldest Tendo daughter.

"Mom, this is Ryoga, or Ryo-chan how we call her in this form." the redhead said to the older woman once Kasumi had departed, totally baffling the raven-haired girl. "Hey buddy."

"Hello, Miss Hibiki. It's a pleasure to meet you. Oh my, how rude of me, I'm Nodoka Saotome, Ranma's mother. Yoo don't mind me calling you Miss Hibiki, do you? I find it more proper to use the correct gender-suffix."

Ryo-chan stared at the Saotome-matriarch in incomprehension. "W-What?"

"Mooom!" the redhead exclaimed, tapping her foot. "Do you mind not bowling my friends over verbally?"

That threw Ryo-chan even more for a loop. "M-Mom?" she asked, her eyes wide. "Ranma was an only child, unless..."

"No, I didn't have any children after Ranma." Nodoka clarified, and Ryo-chan could have sworn she'd seen sadness flicker up in the older woman's eyes. "My husband's long absence made this a sad fact."

"Then..." Ryo-chan began, "That... That means... no, it can't be! But your eyes... I'd recognise them everywhere! Ranma?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes. Thought I'd join the club." the redhead replied dryly.

Ryo-chan looked at her in utter astonishment. Shaking her head in disbelief the bandanna-clad girl got up and surveyed Ranma from every possible angle. "Damn, you clean up good as a girl, Ranma. Betcha the boys got on your nerves but good, eh?"

"You've got no idea, pal. Or maybe you do." Ranma conceded with a lop-sided grin.

"Oh yeah, I do indeed." Ryo-chan growled darkly, muttering about perverted boys and their ecchi fantasies. "But how did that," she pointed at Ranma-chan, "happen?"

Now it was Ranma's turn to growl. The redhead walked over to what she considered her cushion and plopped down, Ryo-chan and Nodoka doing the same as she reclaimed her seat. Once comfortably seated Ranma launched herself into the story how Happosai, the grandmaster and founder of the Anything Goes had appeared, how she, albeit a he at that time had defeated him and how he'd taken his revenge.

Ryo-chan was baffled when Ranma had concluded her summary of the happenings. "He did that to you? I hope you've good plans for revenge, Ranma!" she growled, a dark look in her eyes.

The redhead smirked evilly. "Believe me, I do. Merely beating the old lech within an inch of his worthless life isn't enough. He shall pay, and he will." she said, the maniacal gleam in her eyes increasing to an almost insane glint.

Ryo-chan nodded her head in satisfaction. Revenge was a dish best served cold, and taking Ranma's mood towards this Happosai and the threat he posed to her as well into account it it couldn't be cold enough. "Good. Say, and when did your mother appear?"

Nodoka placed the cup of tea she'd been sipping from on the table. "Tell her the whole story. There's no need to spare my feelings considering how foolish I've been."

Ranma nodded at her mother and gave her a small smile. The long and intense talk they'd had last night after their initial talk-if it could be called that-had done wonders, for both of them. Turning her head towards her friend she pasted a neutral expression on her face and launched herself into an explanation how her mother had appeared at the Tendo home, how her father – who'd yet to return from his excursio perpotationis – had explained the consequences of Ranma having been turned into a her due to Happosai, and what it meant in context to the seppuku-pledge.

Ryo-chan's eyes nearly bugged out when Ranma had finished telling her story. "Damn, your life never gets boring, huh?"

Ranma nodded, a lopsided and somewhat tired grin playing on her face. "No shit, buddy." she agreed, and her mother sent her a disapproving look which the redhead commented with a shrug. "You've no idea how glad I was that the girls stood by me, especially Kasumi and Nabiki."

Nodoka smiled. "A pair of very brave fiancées you've got there, dear. They've managed to impress me verily. But had it not been for the talk you subjected me to, I might still follow the wrong path."

"F-Fiancées? As in... plural?" a baffled Ryo-chan asked disbelievingly, her eyes wide. "How in the world did that happen?"

"Just a sec, Ryo," Ranma said somewhat distractedly as she focussed her attention on her mother, her face completely serious, "mom, you know what I'd have done had you insisted on that blasted contract. I meant what I said."

Nodoka sighed and bowed her head. "I know, dear. I could see it in your eyes.

"That was what woke me up. I hadn't seen you in ten years and the contract became a surrogate for you, one to which I clung with all my might. I forgot that you are more important than anything else, but that is, as we both agreed upon, water under the bridge. Regardless if you find this Kaisufu in time or not, you'll always be my child, and I love you. Something like that stupid contract will never stand between us again. Nothing will."

Ranma smiled, glad that her reading her mother the riot act had woken her up to reality. "I love you too, mom. You know what, I know I'd have taken this turning into a girl much harder had I still been human. It would've been hell had you steadily harped on me about being manly, and I thank Kami-sama for my short fuse. Hadn't I gained a Saiyan's temper things might have gone very differently." she mused introspectively, to which both Ryo-chan and her mother gave thoughtful nods.

"Though I wonder, did it take you long to get used to the curse, Ryoga?" Ranma queried, looking back at her friend.

"Excuse me if I interrupt, Ranma, I'd like to watch the girls train. Maybe it's possible to include Kendo into the training schedule. Unarmed combat is important, yet next to no one expects a weapons-user to be proficient at it, which can be a huge advantage. Until later, you two." Nodoka said and walked out of the room.

"Later, mom." the redhead replied and gave Nodoka a small smile. "Anyway, did it take you long to get used to the curse?"

"First you tell me what that was about fiancées, Ranma." Ryo-chan said, crossing her arms under her chest. "Spill. Now."

Ranma smiled and folded her hands behind her head as she leant back. "Sure. You see, Kasumi became engaged to me after the fight with the old perv 'cause she asked to, and I agreed 'cause I like her. Very much so.

"Yet I also like Nabiki just as much, and thus she became my fiancée as well. To be honest, I've no idea whom to choose, and I'm glad that I've round about a year to do so." the redhead said with a sigh.

The bandanna-clad girl whistled lowly. "Damn, I don't wanna be in your shoes. Regardless whom you choose, there'll always be a broken heart. This shucks."

"Yeah. I really wish I didn't have to choose between two such great girls, but it'll come to that, eventually." Ranma replied with an even deeper sigh.

"You know, I'm really glad that I have to focus on other problems at the moment, like getting the Kaisufu. The curse itself wouldn't be so bad, I mean there're curses a lot worse, but I dunno how the girls would cope with it. It would be better to get the lock off before the deadline."

"Deadline? Oh, you mean the... what? Four days now? Not much time." Ryo-chan commented. "As for the curse, it ain't so bad. You said it, there're curses much worse, and after a time you really get used to it.

"And I can assure you, I'm all man in my birthform, though with the cursed form the lines begin to blur. You don't strictly think of yourself as a man anymore when you're in it, cause you're undeniably female. You're both, you know. But had it not been for the powers this body offers, I'd have had a much harder time getting used to it."

Ranma nodded. "I know what you mean, pal. Had this curse turned me into a human female I'd have screamed bloody murder. One really gets used to these powers, this feeling of strength. And it isn't a cheap power-up or cheating, for we still gotta train to improve."

Suddenly she grinned. "I'm really looking forward to a rematch with Vegeta. I'm sure you remember him." she said dryly, and Ryo-chan nodded darkly; she still didn't like the arrogant prince. "Well, we had a fight some time back, right after you disappeared on us, and he whooped my ass pretty bad. But now that I'm a SSJ too..."

Ryo-chan nodded. "Kick his ass but good. Arrogant bastich needs to be taken down a peg or two."

"True. He ain't too bad, pretty darn good fighter and all, but you got it, he's too damn arrogant. Dunno if I could beat him yet, but once I reach the level Gohan is at..." Ranma said speculatively, a small upturning the corners of her mouth.

"There're more SSJ-levels?" Ryo-chan asked excited, her dark eyes glinting.

Ranma could tell from the gleam in the other girls eyes that she'd found a very serious sparring partner. "Oh yes. Gohan is able to reach a second level, and he used it to kick my ass pretty badly. It's a lot more powerful than the first and doesn't just look really impressive." she explained, rubbing the back of her head as she remembered the trashing she'd gotten.

One could practically see Ryo-chan drool. 'Hook, line and sinker. But first things first. I gotta get my hands on the Kaisufu so that I can return to my birthform, after that I can train and spar all I want...'

"Ryo, you said you had a strange encounter. So what did happen?" Ranma inquired curiously as she leant forward and placed her hands on her thighs, giving her friend her full attention.

The raven-haired girl slapped her head. "Damn, what with being hungry and the other things I completely forgot. I got beat down, Ranma, or at least my birthform did. I had just returned to Nerima after seemingly endless days, and first thing I heard was a girl screaming for help. So I charged in and confronted the guy who molested the girl, like any good martial artist would. But the attacker... he was not normal, Ranma.

"His eyes, I've never seen something so... strange." she said after taking a breath. "Ours are strange when we transform, but his... they were like an animals, like a tiger's eyes. And I swear he was just as strong. He pounced on me for interrupting, and swiped away my defences like nothing. I tried to find a way to change, but he got me with two blows. When I came to, he and the girl were gone. His strength... it wasn't human, Ranma."

"Damn." commented Ranma-chan. "This guy has gotta be monstrously strong if he can take you out like that. Your birthform is nothing to laugh at after all. Meh, I bet all trails will lead us to the Cat Cafe, cause the old ghoul has behaved mysteriously lately; as if she's expecting someone or something. Oh, you don't know, the Cat Cafe is the Amazon hideout which they conjured up out of nothing in a day." she explained at seeing her friends' look. "Come, we'll go investigate."

-.-

Ten minutes earlier

Warrior Xian-Pu of the Joketsozoku was elated. Her great-grandmother had given her the afternoon off, even if the reasons were a bit strange; ever since when did they fear men? It didn't make sense. But it meant that she didn't have to serve those fat and repulsive outsiders who leered at her like she was a piece of meat any more, and that was always good.

How she, an Amazon warrior with 3,000 years of proud history, had ended up as a waitress and bike courier she still couldn't reciprocate. Her hibachan had tried to explain the situation, had said that the stupid Japanese bureaus didn't have any folders 'Won Japanese husband, requesting immediate shipment to China' which meant they'd to make allowances.

Thus her hibachan had to open up a Chinese restaurant as cover, so that they could accomplish their mission of snatching her airen. For the time being her hibachan let her airen stew in his own juice; her great-grandmother knew how her airen had been turned into a woman, and also knew how to undo it. But she wouldn't tell him until he begged, and this time would arrive soon, she was sure. In hibachan's estimation Ranma had four days left to find the Kaisufu, and time was getting scarce. Excellent blackmail material, that.

She was just thinking about the wedding night she would have with her strong, sexy airen after he had given in to their demands and restored his manhood, when a sound behind her let her whirl around.

"Shampoo!" exclaimed an annoying voice from behind her.

"Mousse..." she growled, her mood darkening more and more from second to second.

"If you were free go on a date with me I'd be the happiest man alive." Mousse stated hopefully.

Shampoo looked at Mousse, and was not amused by his antics. The vain fool refused to wear his glasses (again!), and was talking to her bike. "Where are you looking?" she inquired scornfully.

Mousse continued in his actions unabated, and fondled the wheel of her bike lovingly. "Perfectly shaped..." he sighed dreamily.

"How long are you going to be feeble-minded, stupid Mousse? All your life?" Shampoo asked with a shake of her head.

Suddenly a sound from another direction placed her on high alert. Her trained warrior-reflexes let her look up onto the wall, and her gaze fell upon a young boy. Or that was what he seemed to be at first look, but her senses told her that he was much more. Something powerful, something animalistic, but not in the positive sense. "Who are you?" she inquired cautiously, switching into a defensive stance.

The mysterious figure, a boy of about thirteen, looked intently at Shampoo. "You're a woman, aren't you?"

Shampoo just stared at him incredulously. What was that for a question? Wasn't it obvious that she was the most womanly warrior maiden far and wide?

The boy took her silence as confirmation. "This is the first time I've ever had a conversation with a woman." he enthused.

"Huh?" Mousse asked, confused.

Shampoo eyed the boy critically. "Young, aren't you."

The boy whipped out a mallet. "Um, if it's all right, please go on a date with me." he said with a silly grin.

The Amazon girl raised a delicate brow. "What you're doing doesn't match what you're saying."

Mousse on his part had seen enough. No one asked his Shampoo out, and no one threatened her. "Hey, you." he snarled.

The boy switched his attention to Mousse. "Who are you?"

Mousse glared at him. "You're a hundred years too young to try going after Shampoo."

The strange boy glared right back. "Those who interfere..." he growled, and disappeared from sight, while Mousse had time to gasp "He disappeared!!" before the boy reappeared, shouting "Dog-Tooth Shooting-Star Bullets!!"

The projectiles flew at Mousse at a blinding speed, and the Amazon cursed that he had no chance to switch into his cursed form on such short a notice. He heard Shampoo exclaim "Mousse!" before he was hit by the projectiles and nailed to a convenient wall, and Shampoo's shout warmed his heart despite his misfortune of ending up like an oversized butterfly.

Sadly his raised spirits didn't help his physical situation any, seeing as he hung nailed to a wall, utterly beaten and without a way to transform. And what happened next confused the hell out of him. Instead of beginning a fight to the death Shampoo and this boy were... talking? It didn't make sense! Mousse thought frustrated as he had to watch them leave, perfectly casual and at ease. If only he could free himself, he would break the hold this upstart had on his Shampoo!

-.-

Ranma and Ryo-chan were walking towards their destination with looks of grim determination on their faces; both boy-turned-girls were so focussed that they even ignored the wolf-whistles they received from the local boys, something said boys would've been punished for severely under normal circumstances. All of a sudden Ranma came to a grinding stop, and Ryo-chan nearly collided with her.

"Huh? What?"

"Look at that over there. Ain't that someone we know?" Ranma asked with a smirk.

Ryo-chan followed Ranma's outstretched arm and smirked too. "If that ain't Mousse. Hey Mousse, fancy meeting you hanging around."

Mousse growled, and Ranma snickered. "Do you think he likes hanging from walls like an oversized butterfly?"

"Seems so. Must be an Amazon thing." Ryo-chan mused with a mock-contemplating expression on her face.

"At least I'm still a man, girlies. Bought any fancy dresses lately?" Mousse countered with a sneer.

Ranma sneered right back. "Nice try. But using jabs to my manhood or the present lack thereof won't work. I can still fight in this form, and that nearly as well as in my birthform; that's all that counts. I can still hand you your ass, monster-boy, even as a girl."

"The same goes for me. And now tell us what happened here or we'll leave you hanging." Ryo-chan said impatiently.

Mousse glared, but the Amazon boy knew all too well that he had no choice in the matter. Very reluctantly he described the happenings that had led up to his impromptu siesta at the wall, and both Saiyan girls couldn't hide their astonishment.

"You were beaten by a kid, you say?" Ranma asked incredulously.

Ryo-chan shook her head. "You're a pitiful wretch, aren't you."

Mousse glared. "What did you say?" he demanded angrily.

Ryo-chan glared right back. "You heard me."

The Amazon boy sighed. "You have no idea. The rascal's speed... wasn't human speed!! He defeated me in the blink of an eye, I literally hadn't even time to blink!"

"Being you sucks, monster-boy." Ranma commented snidely.

Mousse bristled. "Arrogant jerk! If I were free..."

"First of, it takes one to know one. Second, you let yourself be turned into an ugly monster out of blind, unrequited love. If that doesn't suck then I don't know what." Ranma retorted.

"How dare you, Saotome! You're just saying these things to steal my Shampoo! I..."

"We've got no time for this kindergarten. I have to pay a certain boy back, and I intend to pay with interest." Ryo-chan stated dangerously, cracking her knuckles.

Ranma looked sheepish and nodded. "You're right, buddy. Let's free that sorry excuse for a martial artist and be off."

"How dare you!" Mousse began to protest, only to swallow his words when yellow-green ki began to glow in Ranma's hand.

Instead of using it on Mousse how the Amazon had worried the redhead used it to flash-incinerate the teeth holding Mousse captive, and moments later the boy was free.

"No need to thank me. Come on." the redhead said and resumed her walk.

Mousse scowled. "That form suits you, Saotome, you arrogant bitch!"

Ranma glared over her shoulder, but Ryo-chan pushed her forward, shaking her head. "Just ignore him, harming him ain't a good idea as he might be able to help. Maybe Shampoo is really a captive, and Mousse can free her while we deal with whatever we find at the Cat Cafe."

Ranma nodded, catching on to Ryo-chan's plan. She'd wanted to present Mousse with an incentive to cooperate, and it seemed to work. Mousse literally ran ahead. "Shampoo my love, I'll free you!"

"Figure he's gonna see the wall?" Ryo-chan asked with an arched brow.

"2.000 Yen say he doesn't." Ranma smirked.

Ryo-chan shook her head. "Not a chance. The guy is hopeless."

THUNK!

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt." commented Ranma, grimacing slightly at the sight of the dishevelled and battered Mousse.

"Yea. Let's put him back on his feet. We've wasted enough time." Ryo-chan replied and set out to do so.

-.-

Nekohanten, present time

Shampoo and the strange young boy had reached the Nekohanten in the meantime, and the boy, who had introduced himself as Mint had just told her that he belonged to the group of guests her great-grandmother was expecting.

Shampoo smiled. "So you were our guests."

Mint nodded sheepishly, awed that a woman had smiled at him. "Eh, heh, heh, I and my friend... ah, Lime."

"Oh, Mint. I touched a woman." Lime enthused, grinning.

Cologne, who was currently perched on her staff inside the restaurant looked at a cloaked figure, a thoughtful expression on her face. "The Musk Dynasty... I thought it was destroyed a long time ago, but there were still survivors? Intriguing."

"I'm home, Great-Grandma." Shampoo exclaimed.

Mint on his part bowed towards the cloaked figure. "Herb."

"Let me go!" screamed the girl, that was still held by Lime.

Lime on his part just grinned. "Ahh, this time I want to try drinking tea with a woman!!"

Herb however looked sternly at the two young Musk. "Get ready, Lime, Mint. I've found out where the secret treasure is."

"Ehh, we're leaving already?" Mint complained, decidedly dejected.

"At least, tea..." Lime complained.

"It's an urgent journey. This kind of thing..." the cloaked figure indicated the young woman Lime was holding, "Throw it away and let us go!!" Herb exclaimed, looking at the girl in disgust.

"Aaaaaahhhh!" screamed the girl as she was thrown towards the entrance.

However, before she could get hurt she was unexpectedly caught by a tall redhead...

-.-

The girl, Yuka, how Ranma realised, looked at her with big, thankful eyes. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, whoever you are!"

Ranma let her to the ground with a smile, then she turned her head and focussed her cold blue eyes on Cologne. "So that's the reason for your nervousness, old ghoul." she stated, crossing her arms under her chest. "Didn't think the oh so brave and mighty Joketsozoku would be afraid of kids, and 'mere males' to boot." she mocked.

Cologne didn't say a thing, but her look spoke volumes. The cloaked figure just surveyed her with a cold, bored look. "We're going, Lime, Mint." it said in a genderless voice.

Ranma focussed her attention on him, or rather her, how her senses told her. "Wait." she commanded.

Herb glanced at her like one would regard a bug. "What do you want?" she asked with contempt.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave. You see, how you treated this girl, a good friend of a very good friend of mine is abominable. And one of your stooges attacked my friend here." she said with a nod to Ryo-chan.

Lime looked baffled. "I attacked a woman?"

"So you see, we have some things to settle." Ranma said, cracking her knuckles.

Herb grinned under her hood. "Heh..."

"No, bridegroom, just that one, don't put a hand on!" Cologne exclaimed. "We don't want damaged goods."

Ranma turned to look at the Elder and favoured her with a burning glare. "Get this straight, old ghoul, I am not Shampoo's husband! Leave this path, or you won't like the results. And if you don't tell me soon where I can find the Kaisufu I'll have to get unpleasant." she promised, anger flashing in her eyes.

"Interesting..." Herb muttered, drawing her conclusions.

"Now back to you. I don't know what your fucking problem is, be it that you're on your monthlies or something else, but no one treats my friends this way!" Ranma stated coldly.

One could literally see how Herbs' face turned red from fury under the hood of her cloak. "Lowly commoner, how dare you! I would've spared you, but no one insults the Prince of the Musk and gets away with it!"

"What's it, Princess, can't take the truth? Is that why you run around in a cloak, so that no one realises you're a girl?" Ranma taunted.

"Goddess, no! What is the youngling doing?" Cologne lamented, sending prayers to her ancestors. ° Mu-Tzu, Xian-Pu, retrieve your sisters from the training grounds in case we need to defend ourselves! Not even Mu Tzu's cursed form might be enough to ensure our safety, we need backup. Go! ° she commanded in a dialect she was sure Herb would not understand.

Mousse looked sour, for he'd loved to see Saotome get beaten into the ground. But the old mummy had the upper hand, and he knew it. ° Yes, Elder. ° he answered in the same dialect.

Shampoo threw one last look at her airen. ° This one obeys, honoured Elder. ° she stated, and moments later the two teens were gone.

-.-

Mint and Lime on their parts were confused by what they were hearing. "M-Master?"

One look at said Master conveyed that she was angry beyond reason. "I… didn't want to use this… as it is very strenuous… but you deserve punishment. Secret Art… Supreme Dragon Ascension!" Herb bellowed.

Immediately swirls of power appeared around the cloaked figure, and her cloak couldn't withstand the forces the Musk leader was exuding; mere seconds after the strange display had started it came off, and everyone stared.

"She was right!" Yuka exclaimed, "This cloaked figure really is a woman!"

"Herb…" Mint exclaimed, unsure of what else to say. Their master was a woman??

If she heard it, it only spurred her on further to complete the transformation into whatever she was becoming. Red waves of power rolled off of Herb, and Ranma was too spellbound by the spectacle to even think about transforming into a SSJ. Which turned out to be a costly mistake.

Suddenly, with a yell Herb finished the transformation, and in the next instant she had already buried her fist in Ranma's stomach. The force from the blow expelled the air from her lungs, making her gasp and sink to one knee. 'Damn, I didn't even see her move!'

The next she felt was a sharp pain in the chin as the dragon-Princess caught her with a vicious hook that sent her crashing through several walls.

Inside the Nekohanten Ryo-chan was not faring much better, or rather Ryoga. Mint and Lime had executed what Herb had ordered, and a convenient pot of tea had changed her back into her birthform. The Musk duo kept him masterfully away from any cold fluids, and slowly but surely it began to look really bleak for him.

He had just dodged Mint's projectile-attack when Lime caught him with a vicious punch that sent him reeling; his disorientation cost him, for this time Mint's projectile attack hit its mark, nailing him to a wall. Ryoga had just the time to blink to clear his vision before a grinning Lime punched his lights out, sending him into the realm of unconsciousness for a second time this day.

The battle was not going much better for Ranma either. Herb hat not let up in the slightest and was pounding on her with a vengeance. The dragon-Princess' appearance had changed, and her increased height and more muscular built attributed to her increased strength; the green scales that shimmered on her skin gave her an even more exotic look than her slit pupils already had, but Ranma was in no position to appreciate the changes Herb had undergone.

Every time she wanted to transform Herb hit another vital spot, stealing away the concentration to do so; and she knew that she had to transform, for her normal form was just no match for this changed Herb. Whatever she had done, it had transformed Herb into something very powerful; each hit the Princess scored felt like a twenty-ton hammer, and Ranma's endurance was running thin. In a desperate movement she tried to transform in mid-flight as she was sailing backwards for yet another wall after yet another crushing blow, but Herb overtook her, waited in front of the wall and hammered her into the ground with a double-fisted axe-blow.

Ranma saw stars, and a part of her knew that she was helpless, at least for a few seconds. In these moments she felt something arise within her, something wild, uncontrolled and violent. Something immensely powerful. However, before she could unleash it she felt another blow, this time to the temple, and this one stole her consciousness completely.

-.-

Herb stood over the defeated and half-unconscious Ranma, a sneer on her face. "Now to end this..."

"Master Herb! Don't!" Lime exclaimed as he rushed in front of his master-turned-mistress.

"Snap out of it, Master!" Mint added, following Lime on his heels. "Think about the mission! You said we had to leave now!"

"The Kaisufu..." Herb muttered, the scales disappearing, "oh yes, this would be perfect. Leaving the boy as a girl forever..." she said with a nasty grin.

"What do you mean, master?" Mint asked. "Isn't that a woman?"

"No, my faithful servant, this is a Jusenkyo cursed person. The flavour of the curse is different, but this is no original woman." Herb said, her grin growing bigger. "Wouldn't it be poetic justice if I got the Kaisufu, returning it to our rightful possession and me to my male form, leaving this annoying commoner as a woman forever? It would be a fitting punishment indeed. Yes, I'll make it so."

"Goddamn, what hit me?" groaned Ranma, who slowly came around.

Herb glared at her, crossing her arms under her breast in an arrogant demeanour. "Consider yourself lucky I spared your life."

She then swivelled her head to look at her subordinates, ignoring the angry muttering of Ranma. "Let's go, Lime, Mint. The Kaisufu is waiting." she said with a cruel smirk.

"Yes, master." both Musk boys answered in unison and followed their leader on the heel.

Ranma groaned and propped herself up on her elbows. "W-Wait, the duel's still not..."

Herb simply laughed and walked away, not even bothering to look at the defeated Ranma. "I'll think of you when I hold the Kaisufu in my hands, you little pest. You'll be a woman forever..."

to be continued…

Following canon to quite an extent here, but it couldn't be helped. Herb's transformation is pretty believeable if one factors in his/her heritage, and I simply liked the image of a dragonlady Herbie-chan. Not much to add, so cheerio.