Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Spring of Drowned Vampire Girl ❯ Chapter Five Extended Family ( Chapter 6 )

Vampire Chapter Five Hong Kong

 

“He did WHAT??…No, that won't be necessary, I just can't believe that somebody would be that…that…Well, I wouldn't have put it that way, but yeah…. I see, would you please fax me that information?…I can do that for you…Pleasure doing business with you.” Akira hung up his phone and waited for the fax machine to start printing pages. It was ugly, but it was what Eve had asked for, and she was going to get it.

 

**

 

Ranma's head was still a little tender from the hit that he had taken a few days ago during Ryoga's nocturnal visit. Considering what he had been hit with, he thought himself lucky to be breathing. He wasn't about to waste that breath in a complaint about his aching head when he had more important things to complain about.

 

“What did you do that for?” Akane had gotten into the habit of being exceedingly careless when it came to cold water during the daylight hours around Ranma. The worst part was that she feigned ignorance whenever confronted with it.

 

“I don't know why you're so worked up over a few accidents, it's not like it can kill you.” Akane's innocent looking expression was infuriating to the young martial artist. He knew that she was doing this on purpose, but when pressed, he couldn't come up with a believable argument for his story.

 

“No, it merely hurts like hell!” Shouting hadn't worked yet, but Ranma was hopeful that if he pumped the volume loud enough, it would reach the brain of the youngest Tendo. Akane merely acted as if she hadn't heard him as she made her way to school.

 

“Let it go, Saotome.” Nabiki had been an ever-present presence with a handy thermos on hand whenever Akane had gotten splashy. “Akane's can't be reasoned with right now, believe me, I tried. The best we can do right now is ride it out.”

 

Sighing, Ranma joined his fiancé as they made their way to school. By the time that they got there, Ranma was only damp instead of soggy. Akane hadn't managed to splash Ranma during the school day yet. This was mostly due to Ranma being exceptionally paranoid during that time and sitting as far away from her as possible during school.

 

Akane would disappear after school and wouldn't come home until Kasumi had finished making dinner. Considering her new hobby, this suited Ranma just fine. Akane would rush in, rush through dinner, then rush upstairs, spending as little time as possible around Ranma during the night.

 

Ranma and Nabiki were going to be leaving for Hong Kong later that afternoon; he couldn't say that he was ready for it. Nabiki had only just told him what the true purpose of the trip was going to be that morning on the way to school, for him to learn about his curse from others.

 

He was having mixed feelings about that, on one hand, he wanted to have as little to do with his curse as possible, something that Akane was not making easy for him to do. On the other hand, it would be nice to talk to somebody about it that knew what he was going through. Maybe they would know of a cure.

 

Ranma had packed his meager wardrobe to go with him for the trip and was patiently waiting for Nabiki to finish her packing. He was suspicious that Nabiki might be packing everything that she owned for the next few days. So he was passing his time by sparring with his pops.

 

“You've been slacking off, boy.” The least of Genma's barbs and insults that have been a part of Ranma's training since he could remember and such they didn't have much affect on him anymore. Except a few insults that had taken a new more personal meaning for Ranma. “You're fighting like a girl!” Insults like that one.

 

Their sparring sessions were usually held in the dojo during the day, away from any water, like the koi pond. While the dojo was built for martial arts, it wasn't built for the type of martial arts that the Saotome's used. The first few times they had sparred, it was cut off early when one of them would bounce of the ceiling with their head.

 

If it weren't for his curse, and the effects of sunlight on his cursed form, Ranma and Genma would be outside fighting over the koi pond. Not for the threat of water, but for the open air. The Saotome School of martial arts specialized in mid air combat and both Ranma and Genma could get some serious air.

 

They weren't in the dojo this time; they were trying out the roof, flying about as if the sky was their battleground. Genma's comments did have their desired result in making the mid air pigtailed martial artist angry, thus sloppy, and open for his attack. Once Ranma picked himself up from where he had landed, he noted that he had only just missed the koi pond.

 

Genma's respite wasn't long lived as Ranma jumped back into the fray. The sounds of renewed fighting, just a level above sparring, filtered into the house from above. Nabiki was busy trying to figure out what outfits she wanted to bring with her.

 

Fifteen minutes later, she was done packing and was waiting for Ranma to get done changing out of his now dirty clothes. The family was gathered at the door to see the pair off, even Akane. The cab that Nabiki had called for pulled up just as Ranma was walking down the stairs.

 

Soun and Genma wasted no time in cornering the boy before he left.

 

“You won't let anything happen to my little girl, won't you?” Soun pleaded with Ranma, on the verge of a real cry.

 

“Don't worry Tendo, my boy will take real good care your daughter.” The leer implied in that statement left Ranma a little uncomfortable. That and the nudges and winks that his father was giving him were going completely over his head.

 

“Ranma, we have to get to get going!” Nabiki called from the front door.

 

“Gottagoseeya!” Ranma wasted no time in disentangling himself from the fathers and joining Nabiki by the cab. Nabiki was busy giving her sisters some final goodbyes and hugs before climbing into the cab. Ranma did the same for Kasumi, and gave Akane a wide berth while she glared daggers at him.

 

The ride to the airport was uneventful, if long. Once they arrived at the Tokyo International, they went through check in and security with little hassle, and sat in the waiting area of the gate for the next half hour.

 

They didn't talk much while they sat. Ranma was sprawled out with his arms out over the backs of the seats while Nabiki was sitting beside him, not as comfortably as Ranma, and not leaning against him. They were comfortably silent.

 

Nabiki was nudged awake by Ranma as he started to gather their bags as they were called to board the plane.

 

They soon got seated on the plane; Ranma in the window seat and Nabiki took the seat next to him, leaving the aisle seat open. A few minutes pass while more passengers filtered into the passenger cabin and Ranma and Nabiki settle in.

 

“Hi, guys.” Akira slumped into the uncomfortable aisle seat, his wiry frame finding plenty of room in the seat.

 

Both Ranma and Nabiki looked at Akira like they had never seen him before, before the light of recognition came shown in Nabiki's eyes.

 

“You know, I really shouldn't be surprised that you're here” Nabiki sighed.

 

“Who's this?” Ranma asked cluelessly.

 

“If I didn't know how smart you could actually be, I would be afraid for your survival in the future.” Akira said in a serious tone and giving Ranma hooded stare.

 

“What do ya mean by that?”

 

“I mean, Ranma, that after having watching you for the past few weeks, I know that you are an incredibly smart young man that is totally focused on martial arts. But for what you are about to encounter, you're going to have to bend your intellect to something a bit broader than just martial arts. Say, like being able to remember somebody that you met two weeks ago.”

 

“As much as I will enjoy listening to you two bicker, settle.” Nabiki cut Ranma off before he could get started. “Now, what are you doing here, Akira? I doubt it's to wish us a fair trip.”

 

“You're right. Sorry Ranma, I didn't mean to insult you. I'm here as an escort.”

 

“An escort? Why would we need that?” Nabiki placed her hand on Ranma's and gave him a look that said to let her do the talking.

 

“Because I have the schedule for your weekend in Hong Kong, would you like to hear it?”

 

“Suuuuure.” Nabiki said carefully.

 

“Okay, first of all, I work with Eve, remember. We do this every time somebody with your condition pops up, Ranma. You are going to be meeting with the extended family and they are going to share with you their experiences of dealing with it. It's something of a tradition among us. We'll be doing that after we land.”

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

“If you don't mind, wake me up when we land. I haven't gotten a good sleep since I got to Tokyo.” Akira yawned and got settled into his seat for a nap.

 

Ranma and Nabiki looked at each other before shrugging and getting back to their own devices. Ranma couldn't be pulled away from the window as the airplane taxied out to the airstrip and waited its turn to accelerate and fly.

 

It was roughly a two hour flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong, most of it saw Ranma looking out the window and down on the faraway land and clouds. Nabiki, for her part, did her best to follow Akira's example and get what little rest she could.

 

Akira's attitude did not reflect accurately upon his appearance, while he acted as if he were forty, his appearance often got him carded when he wanted to smoke or drink.

 

After landing and getting what luggage Nabiki had, Akira took them to his car, which was parked in the long-term parking. It was a nice car, just one step short of being a sports car, but it wasn't an expensive vehicle.

 

It wasn't late in the day, probably around six in the afternoon. Traffic wasn't heavy while Akira drove them to their destination. For Ranma, this was a day of firsts, he had never been in an airplane, and he had never been in a car either. During the ten-year training trip, Genma and Ranma had either walked, ran, or swam wherever they were going. All in the name of training.

 

As a result, Ranma was having the time of his life.

 

Nabiki, however, was a little more focused on the matter at hand. Questions ran through her mind on the nature of the curse and how they would affect Ranma in the long run, and consequently, affect her. Nabiki was also excited because she was in Hong Kong, one of the biggest financial cities in the world.

 

Hong Kong was an entire island city of financial opportunities. Whether it was big corporation businesses or under city back alley deals, there was very little that didn't involve money. Nabiki had enough self-control not to drool at the thought of making a name for herself in this world.

 

They drove for over an hour, going past the harbor on the freeway and through the center of the sprawling metropolis until they pulled off and started to drive away from the tall buildings. They didn't stop until they arrived a gated community.

 

The house they finally stopped at was a large one. It was easily twice the size of the Tendo Dojo and in better condition. Several vehicles were already parked out front, rental logos apparent on many of them.

 

“Looks like a few have already arrived, hopefully somebody has started dinner.” Akira said as he parked the car. “Before we go in, a couple of things that you should know, everybody here is your friend. You won't have to worry about your safety. Also, they are here for your benefit, Ranma. Please don't insult any of them.”

 

“Don't worry, I'll keep him in line.” Nabiki squeezed Ranma's hand.

 

“Okay guys, let's not keep them waiting.”

 

The interior of the house was nice in a western theme with dark wood highlights. Sounds of conversation could be heard deeper into the house.

 

“Just set your bags down here, I'll take care of them later. I'll see that dinner is ready, go ahead and join the group.” Akira gestured towards the sounds of conversation, while he headed off into another direction.

 

Ranma and Nabiki headed down the hallway and into a large study area. The sounds of conversation quickly silenced as the two entered the room.

 

Ranma and Nabiki found themselves the center of attention of a small crowd of men and women in the study. Ranma's analytical mind counted eight people, three men and five women, and had determined that at least two of the men had some training in the Art in the few seconds before one of the women stepped forward and said to both of them…

 

“Welcome to the family.”

 

**

 

Ranma was dumbfounded, he never thought that so many people could have fallen into the vampire spring; most of the people there were only just older than he was. After the introductions were out of the way, Ranma was seated and handed a drink while started to talk to him.

 

“It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?” The only American in the group, Alex, said as he took a seat next to Ranma. His Japanese accented slightly as he spoke, but was better than many natives. “I remember the time that I fell into that damn pool. I think I speak for all of us when I say that the most painful thing is the sun on our cursed forms.”

 

“You mean everybody here is cursed like me?”

 

“No, not every one. Some of us brought our wives or husbands, those that know of the curse, and at least one of us got lucky, and wasn't cursed with a vampire pool.” Alex said, giving a meaningful look at Akira.

 

“What pool did he fall into?”

 

“Spring of drowned cat.” Alex didn't notice Ranma tense up, so he continued on. “Damn fool started working for Eve and found out about Jusenkyo, he went there in search of the vampire pool and ended up falling into another one. Why anyone would want any curse is beyond me.”

 

“Y.Yeah…” Ranma said nervously, giving Akira a wary glance.

 

“Enough about him, I'm sure that you have a few questions for us before we get started telling you what we know.”

 

“Uhm…is there a cure?”

 

“No, at least not one that we found that works the way you want it too.” Alex said in a serious tone.

 

“There are several ways to `cure' the curse, but each one is almost as bad or worse than the curse as it is. For example, we've seen at least three different ways to lock the curse, to where we didn't change forms with hot or cold water, but it only locked the cursed form into place.” Alex noted the look of horror on Ranma's face before moving on.

 

“We've also found ways to split the body into cursed and uncursed forms, creating two beings. These were the most dangerous of the cures, you see, they didn't create two unique individuals in two unique bodies, but rather, the same individual in two unique bodies. The one trapped in the vampire form would usually go mad with rage or grief and either end up killing her twin or herself, either way both would die. Soon after the death of one, the other would quickly follow.”

 

“So there is no hope for me.”

 

“I didn't say that! Look around you. People that have led full and happy lives surround you; some of them have led several. As with any Jusenkyo curse, you have to strike a balance with your self and your curse. Here, let us tell you our stories, and you can decide for yourself.”

 

“I was born in 1850, I came into contact of the spring waters by accident. I was one of several workers that were assigned to the Chinese workers in California, to make sure they got off the boats okay and everything else. One of the immigrants had a bunch of different Jusenkyo waters on him, and true to form for the waters, one of his casks of water had an accident and doused me in the water.

 

I guess I was lucky that it was night, and I was working alone. The old man gave me an address to mail to explaining my situation, while waiting for a reply, he taught me what he knew of Jusenkyo curses then disappeared.”

 

Ranma looked at Alex in disbelief. “Just how old are you? You don't look much older than me.”

 

“One of the side effects of the curse. As Vampires we don't age, that trait is passed to our mortal forms through the blood. I'm around one hundred and fifty, but I stopped counting at one hundred. Xian Ling can tell you more about the blood and its properties.”

 

Xian Ling was a beautiful china girl who looked roughly the same age as Alex.

 

“I, unlike Alex, was training at the pools when I fell in.” Her voice was singsong like and easily listened too. “I have been able to explore my curse and chart how it acts ever since then, roughly 75 years ago, discussions with our peers have confirmed for me that it acts similar in all of us.”

 

“I'm not going to like this, am I?” Ranma said uneasily.

 

“I'm afraid not. The curse of Jusenkyo has corrupted the curse of the vampire to a point to where a normal life is not possible for you or anybody else afflicted with it. As you can see our lives have become unnaturally extended, but this is only the most beneficial of the vampiric gifts.”

 

“I don't have to drink blood, do I? I don't think I can handle killing to survive, I would rather die.”

 

“A good attitude to have, young one, but I warn you. Blood is additive to you now. After you taste it for the first time, you may find your resolve slipping.” Xian Ling drained her glass of warm tea before continuing.

 

“Right now, you are in a state of flux. Your body can change from mortal to immortal with the temperature of the water. I'm sure that you have noticed that you are not hungry when you are a vampire.” She waited for Ranma's nod. “This is because your body is full of blood when you change, and that is what your vampiric body feeds on. You could be starving as a mortal but feel full when you change to your vampire form. This does not work both ways.”

 

“Your body changes any blood that you ingest into something else, we call it Vitae.

Vitae is vampiric blood, but your body does not change what is already in your body when you change, that blood remains as it is. This has several effects; it allows you to survive sunlight instead of being killed by it. It weakens your beast, what we've termed the urges that make you less human when a vampire, and inhibits your vampiric abilities.”

 

“Vitae has several properties that are both beneficial to you and a hindrance. As you age, your Vitae will become more potent, allowing you greater feats of vampiric abilities, but Vitae will only become more potent if you remain a vampire for extended periods of time, such as fifty or more years. No, we are not suggesting that you do anything of the sort.” Xian quickly interjected the last part before Ranma could voice his protests of never wanting to do that.

 

“Vitae has some potent affects on your mortal form, when you change from vampire to mortal, the blood remains the same, and this remains true for any Vitae you might have. What this means is that if you are hungry as a vampire when you change to mortal, you may just be killing yourself. Your vampire body can perform without any blood, your mortal one can't. Vitae will extend your life and give you a small taste of your vampiric abilities, but it won't save your life if you don't have enough blood for your heart to pump.” The serious tone of her voice and the piercing look she was pinning Ranma with drove that point home.

 

“What about a family, how will this curse affect any children he might have?” Nabiki interjected suddenly, breaking the moment.

 

“Vitae has an adverse affect on the mortal reproductive system, there are several ghouls, mortals who habitually drink Vampiric Vitae, that are unable to conceive a child. There was one ghoul who was pregnant when she took vitae the first time, she had a miscarriage soon after.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“That doesn't mean he cannot sire a child, he just cannot have any Vitae in his system when he tries. I have a daughter that is only five years old at home; I've lived as a vampire for several years before I started to live as a mortal again. Vitae doesn't destroy the ability to have children, only inhibits it.” Alex spoke up.

 

“Dinner is ready.” Akira announced. The group decided to hold off on any more discussion until after dinner. Ranma's appetite was notably subdued in Nabiki's eyes.

 

 

 

Author's notes.

 

I originally wanted for there to be more to this chapter, but I quickly realized that I had taken enough time with it and I had another half to go that was just as long.

 

I'm pulling the Vitae stuff out of the books and out of my head. Let me know if it makes sense or if you need me to try again on that part.

 

Jleonard