Curse and Realm (Based on Ideas from Ranma 1/2, and IZUMO) (PG-16)

[Miyu-chan]

Nozomi blinked her eyes, stirring from her unconciousness.

"Where am I?" she squeaked, looking arond to discover sea of greeness, as well as trees that seemed to touch the sky. As she tried to get up, she discovered that she was lying on a leaf the size of a boat.

"What the-" now she discovered that she was covered with fur. Thank Heavens that it was white fur, not that horrendous color of- Wait, why am I in a hamster's body? she thought, spotting her reflection in a nearby drop of water.

She let out a high-pitched screech that could be heard miles away.

"WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME????!!"

 

[Mari]

Lime grunted irately as she flashed a fleeting look at the building she was about to enter. Water testing? Why on Earth did I even?ugh, that's right. Money. She rolled her eyes and briefly entered, knowing fully that she would regret it any moment later. She tooj a quick glance around; nothing seemed muddled, not one thing. "I guess it's okay then." She muttered to herself in slight exasperated manner, "Wow. Lucky me."

Before she could whine any longer, a lady with jet black hair moved towards her and greeted her. "Good day, how may I be of service?" The lady took a quick peek at the notebook she held, and then smoothen out the creases of her skirt, waiting patiently for Lime to respond..

"Erm?Name's Lime, and I'm here for the water testing thing." She stated, hesitance hinting in the demeanor of her voice. She gave her a smile, nonetheless.

"Oh, another tester," She said as she picked up her feet and whirled around, approaching the elevator nearby. "Please follow me and I will lead you the 15th floor. The others have already arrived, and are beginning their testing."

Without a sound, Lime followed her to the elevator. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the elevator's door to open, then immediately marched out. She merely wanted the whole testing thing to be over.

The lady whom accompanied her left shortly and was then greeted by another woman whom held a glass. "Here," The woman said briskly, pushing the glass on her hand, "Just drink it and you're all done." With that, she hurriedly left, leaving Lime a tad doubtful.

She stared at the glass of water for who knows how long, before gulping the entire content in one drink. It tasted bizarre, yucky seemed more like it. The drink had made her really lightheaded. Her world was continuously spinning and her vision was starting to fade. It simply took her three seconds before she collapsed on the ground; darkness as her only sight.

 

[Shadowfaith]

Kiara tilted her head as the girl ran off towards the tree ?what does she think, I?m gonna eat her or something? She snorted ?I?m a vegetarian!? she thought making her way towards the tree the girl had managed to back her self up upon.

At that moment a light shone down upon her. It was warm and gave a relaxing touch to her fur, but as soon as it had begun, it faded once again. She opened her eyes, which managed to slip closed in the moment of relaxation and raised a paw in front of her face, examining it to see if the light had had any effect on her current form. Unfortunately the spotted skin was still intact.

She sighed and looked at the girl once again ?I?m not going to eat you y?know? She thought ?I?m a Vegetarian for a start and I?m not a real Cheetah!? She growled frantically ?That water, it had to be that water, it did this to me, you wait in till I get m real form back, that company is so going down the drain, just you wait!?

In her time of rage she had practically forgotten about the girl standing just in front of her and tilted her head once again ?So who are you, girl? I cant exactly call you that now can I, and what are you doing?.well, that are you doing here, wherever hear is. What am I thinking, humans cant understand Cheetah' Kiara sighed ?No point in trying to calm you if you don?t know what?s being said is there??

 

[Kurosaki]

"W... water?" I asked the Cheetah in a softer voice. For some strange reason I could hear her thoughts in my head. "W... were you at that water testing earlier?" I continued. I climbed down the tree, but lost my grip about halfway down, and fell onto my back. I grunted slightly as I attempted to get back up. "And what do you mean girl... I'm no girl..." I said, once again in a soft voice.

 

[Trainer Ben]

"What the..." Davis moaned, though his voice had an odd echoe to it. In fact, he didn't even recall his mouth matching the words. Actually, he didn't have a mouth anymore. He had a beak. He stood up and found that he felt four legs instead of two. Looking down, he saw claws. His tail twitched with excitement...

"Wait. My TAIL?!" Davis yelled. Looking behind him, he saw he had a giant scorpion tail.

"Pretty shocking, isn't it?" he heard someone say. Davis turned around and saw the pack of wolves, the leader in front. There were about 5 of them, including the leader.

"We were all transformed by the same thing; the Jusenkyo water. Then we were thrown here, to erase evidence or something," the leader explained. Davis looked down at a puddle of water. He could see...

"A...gryphon," Davis said sadly. All his life he was a monster, and now...

"Well, we can't let good meat go to waste, can we?" the leader said, drooling. He and the other four wolves closed in on Davis.

"We're supposed to be looking for a way out of here!" Davis yelled.

"We will, once we get the competition out of the way. Besides, we're terribly hungry. We've had alot of animals, but a Gryphon will surely be the best of all fowls," the leader said. They pounced on Davis, sinking their teeth into his flesh. Davis cringed at the pain, but then thought of something.

"Hope I can fly!" Davis said. He started flapping his wings and then flew upwards. Once he was high enough, he flew down like a torpedo and slammed against the ground, knocking out three of the wolves. He swatted the wolve away, knocking it against a tree. He then turned and faced the Leader.

"Impressive. However, I'm alot stronger than you think..." the leader said. He jumped into the air and flew at Davis. Davis, purely out of instinct, stabbed his scorpion tail into the leader's stomach. He threw him a few feet away. The leader stood up.

"You think a little poke will kill me?" the leader laughed. He tried walking over, stumbling along the way.

"I'm...more...than...enough..." the leader of the wolves tried saying. His eyes rolled into his head and he fell to the ground.

"Whoa..." Davis said.

 

[Shadowfaith]

Kiara rushed forward and used her snout to give the girl aid as she fell half way down the tree. Fortunately for her the girl didn?t seem to have taken much damage from the fall and was speaking in no time.

?You can understand me?? Kiara gasped mentally, sitting back on her haunches after aiding the girl into a sitting position ?but you?re a human, I could never understand animal talk when I was in human form, and what you mean you?re not a girl, of course you are, how the heck to you explain the hair! Believe me I should know, I was one before that stinking water did all this to me? She motioned with her eyes to the cat like body that she had acquired not to long ago.

She titled her head to the side and grinned somewhat ?Yeah I was at the water testing in the fancy building in Tokyo, right? You were there to huh? So what were you to begin with, a Hamster, a Wolf, what? Because you obviously weren?t a girl from the way you?re acting all snappish at me, or did someone just wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?or the wrong side of the world if you want to use that?

 

[Kurosaki]

"I'm not a girl! I've been a male human my whole life and that's what I am!" I whined at the Cheetah. "I don't know about the hair, but do you have any other proof!?"

 

[Shadowfaith]

Kiara looked at the ?girl? with confusion in here eyes ?Huh? Proof, what do you mean proof, you have breasts you have feminine features, what else do you want me to give as proof, you have the whole lot love, get over it, that?s waters done some bad things to you mate, and we need to find a way to get rid of it?s effects, now stop winging and arguing with me and help me find a way out of this mess!?

She had literally growled her response out and was quite afraid that she had frightened the?.whatever it was. But then again, the lad was being selfish and unbelieving, what did he want Kiara to give him as proof, weren?t the features enough! Kiara rolled her eyes and got up from the sitting position she was in.

?Now are you gonna be a good little girl and help or are you gonna keep on whining and not believe me? Because if that?s the case I?m off on my own? She nudged a thumb over her shoulder to indicate that she was leaving any second ?because truth be told, I? not one for walking on four legs and never have been unless you count my infant years?

She turned around and looked over her shoulder at the ?girl? who was still sitting on the floor looking at her with an aggravated look ?You can stop giving me that look now, I believe you have been a boy your whole life?..in till up to this moment, and the only way you are going to return to normal is to help me find a way to help us both, now lets get going, eh??

She made to go ?Oh and when I get use to running on four legs, you can hop on my back, we should be able to cover more land that way, because I have a feeling your not going to be corporative with me for a great deal of this journey?

 

[Kurosaki]

"Features...?" I asked. "Breasts...?" My breathing had become extremely heavy now. I hadn't looked at my body since we got here. I had been more worried about running away from the various threats. After gathering enough confidence that it was just some sort of joke, I glanced downwards at myself, the chest in particular. What followed that was a shriek, and me pulling the vest and shirt that I was wearing off, to see if it was real.

"No... way..." I whined, a tear forming in my right eye as I glanced down out my bare skin. It really was true... It took me stripping down to just skin everywhere to believe it, but it was true...


"Fine..." I said after I put my clothes back on, "But don't expect any miracles from me. How can you talk anyways?"

 

[Shadowfaith]

Kiara?s eyes widened as the ?girl? began to strip and she lowered her head, shaking it thoroughly ?Oh man, what the hell s she doing?? she slapped a paw to her face ?This is going to be the longest journey ever, I can see it, with one of the most annoying brats this world has to offer. Great? She raised her head and saw that the ?girl? had redressed and had a pout upon her face.

"Fine..." she said "But don't expect any miracles from me. How can you talk anyways?"

?Man, I told you that I was affected by that water, so it must still mean that I can make contact with you through thought, but how you can understand me is beyond anything I know. But please, just stop whining and follow me before I just leave you here to be eaten by wolves? That should get him, she though wickedly.

She turned around once again and began to walk away, she mumbled under her breath ?I doubt you could perform any miracles anyway, apart from nagging me to death maybe? She grinned at her own joke and padded forward further into the forest ?Perhaps I?ll find some nice wolves and leave him there? She snikered.

 

[Kurosaki]

"I heard that..." I muttered as I followed her, not knowing where we were going. We only got a short ways before running into an old lady along the side of the road. She was dressed in some rag-like blue robes, and posessed a staff in her right hand.

"Girl..." The lady said as she looked at me. "Take this, it will give you the power to fight..." She handed me a small wooden bracelet, that had a pattern of beads that resembled a tree embedded in it. "There are many monsters and demons here. That will help you protect yourself. Also, consider the communication between yourself and the others a gift. There are many others like you, and you can only hear each others thoughts..."

I turned my back to look at the Cheetah for a sec, but when I glanced back she was gone. "Okay then..."

 

[Shadowfaith]

?You were suppose to here it you little brat, I wouldn?t have thought it otherwise? Kiara stated, grinning over her shoulder ?And besides, it?s not like I can think without you hearing my thoughts anyway, which is a bit annoying if you think about it because that means every thought that I think you will be able to hear it? She stated, poking a paw at the supposedly boy that walked behind her.

It was then the boy?s attention turned from herself onto something ahead of her; she turned her gaze in the direction of what the boy was looking at and spotted an old woman standing on the side. Kiara growled out of instinct and crouched low ?Come anywhere near me, Lady and I swear I won?t hesitate to pounce?

But it was not Kiara she had taken interest in, the woman turned her glace upon the girl who followed her "Girl..." The lady said. "Take this; it will give you the power to fight..." She handed the girl a small wooden bracelet. "There are many monsters and demons here. That will help you protect yourself. Also, consider the communication between yourself and the others a gift. There are many others like you, and you can only hear each others thoughts..."

The girl accepted it and looked it over at Kiara, the Cheetah shrugged carelessly and before anyone knew, the old woman had gone without a trace. Kiara frowned ?Pfft, whatever, that old hag was creepy, lets get a move on, I don?t want her to show up again, she gave me the creeps, something not right about her you know, and how in the hang did she know we were going to be passing here?

 

[Kurosaki]

"Don't you think we should look for the others she mentioned?" I asked her as followed, hough this time my attention was drawn to the weird bracelet I had recieved. "And I don't know. At this point, nothing would surprise me... Hey, doesn't that look like a village up there!?" I had spotted a village on the edge of the forest in the distance. Maybe we could locate some info there!

OOC: If possible, I'd like us to all meet up in that village before proceeding.

 

[Shadowfaith]

Kiara sighed ?If you really want to but, their just gonna get in the way, maybe even more so than you do at the moment, but whatever you say, if it will get you off of my back, why not? The girl then spotted a village up ahead and Kiara straightened up to get a better view ?Hey your right, and I?m more than certain some one is bound to be there?.duh it?s a village?

She dodged behind the girl and lifted her onto her back ?Hold on to the bandana, just don?t choke me otherwise you will find yourself thrown off in no time. Don?t let go, as far as I can tell, Cheetah?s run faster than what I first anticipated? When the girl had tightened her grip on the bandana some what, Kiara dashed off unexpectedly towards the village at top speed.

?Now the only thing we have to worry about when we arrive at the village is stopping, because I aint exactly sure how to do that without skidding or me tripping over my own feet, but we will worry about that time when it comes, eh, good news is, we found somewhere to rest and get some water?

The village was getting closer and closer by the second and as It did, Kiara worried more of how she was going to handle a stop she had never performed before in her life, she clenched here yes shut in pure concentration.

 

[Kurosaki]

"And you're no picnic to be around either..." I muttered as I did as I was told, and I found myself holding on for dear life. "I thought Cheetah's could only run so fast before so long before they got tired..."

"When we getthere, act natural, and letme do the talking." I told her as we drew closer. "Who the heck am I kidding, I'm the one who needs to be concerned! I have no clue how a girl acts, and I need to ue the washroom!"

 

[Trainer Ben]

Davis had spent a great deal of time walking through the forest. He finally saw something at a far distance. It was...

"A villaige? I can finally find out what's going on!" Davis exclaimed. Then he looked at his claws.

"But... They won't give a **** about someone like me..." he said. No one would consider helping a Gryphon... He walked onwards anyway.

 

[Mari]

With a slight grunt, Lime blinked back her drowsiness and slowly raised herself up. She rubbed her eyes to get a clearer inspection on her environment. Being half a sleep, she really didn't bother about her location, and instead remained on her position, running her hand through her hair.

Her cerulean optics widened. She felt a pair of furry ears and pulled on it, causing her to wince a little. She blinked in confusion and stood up, her head spinning. "Dog ears?" She asked herself, familiar with the structure lying on top of her head. She just then noticed that she was in what seemed like a forest.

"Okay now, Lime," She muttered anxiously, eyes darting around, "hurry and wake up from your dream."

Abruptly, she felt her ears perk up, picking up a vague sound nearby. It sounded like a girl's voice. She immediately grinned, comforted at the thought of seeing another person, and allowed her tail to wag. "?tail?!" She was really freaking out now. Sure, she liked it, but if she wasn't dreaming, she didn't know what to do.

Breathing in deeply, Lime silently assured herself and decided it was best to find the person she heard, rather than stay in one place, vulnerable. Her nose was proving itself valuable, as well, as it picked up the scent of, what hopefully is, the girl.

After a few miles of walking around, she stopped her tracks. Whomever it was she sniffed was really close, like a foot away. Instinctively, she leaped on a short tree and furtively peeked at the two beings nearby. One was a girl, and the other, a cheetah. It seemed like they were?talking?

Gah, who cares? At least I found someone else.

"Oi, you there," She called firmly, with the slightest hint of hesitation, "where am I?" She guessed the girl would most likely have no idea, but who knows?

 

[Kurosaki]

"What was that?" I asked as I glanced around, looking for what had contacted me. It must of been really small, or really good at hiding, but it was definately one of us. "Where ever you are, come out!" I called, still looking around for it, and occassionally glancing down at my bracelet, and then my body. What was this weird feeling I was getting?

 

[Shadowfaith]

Kiara came to a sudden halt causing the girl upon her back to jerk forward, in danger of falling from her back, Kiara hurried to regain her balance and managed to hold the girl on just enough for her to adjust again and shift the girl back on. She grinned and gave an apologetic look to the girl riding on her back ?Eheh, Sorry, I told you we would have some difficulty stopping at such a fast speed, but anyway, did you say something??

?Where ever you are, come out!" the girl yelled to no one in particular causing the Cheetah to flinch in pain as it was called into her delicate ears ?Hey, Hey! Watch where you point that mouth of yours, it isn?t small you know and my ears have enhanced greatly since the change, I?m not quite use to them yet, y?know, now keep it down?

She looked around her and spotted a small figure not far off ?Look? She raised a paw and pointed off just ahead ?That must have been what you heard? She stated, causing the girl to look in her direction ?It?s a girl? She chipped up happily, but soon took a double take as something wagged behind the girl ?No wait?.it?s?it?s a dog? She frowned and looked at the girl on her back who had a rather confused look on her face ?Is it? What the hell is that??

She padded forward towards the unknown being and soon spotted the peculiar thing ?Yipes!? She jumped back, causing the girl to fall from her back onto the hard ground below ?It?s a monster!? She shuddered and crouched down low behind the girl ?You go and greet it, I dun wanna go anywhere near that thing? She nudged the girl?s back ?Go on, when you give me the all clear, Ill come follow you?

 

[Mari]

?It?s a monster!?

Although she was high up the tree, her ears had picked up every single word the girl had uttered. She perfectly heard what she had called her and pouted childishly. "Monster?!" She huffed as she skipped off the tree, revealing herself to the girl and the cheetah. "Who are you calling a monster? You're a talking?" She just realized it; the girl wasn't speaking, so it could only be the?"?cheetah?"

Curiosity brimming, Lime cautiously treaded towards the girl and the?talking Cheetah, thoroughly examining them. She stared at them momentarily then breathed out a sigh. She had deemed that the girl didn't appear like someone who would hurt another being, that comforted her, and the girl seemed to be friends with cheetah so she bet that the cheetah wouldn't harm her.

As accustomed, she flashed the two a wide grin and ecstatically waved a greeting to them. It seemed as though she just forgot about the cheetah being able to talk and instead greeted the two enthusiastically.

"Hi!" She chirped, her tail wagging in bliss and ears perked up. "I'm Lime!" She was also oblivious of why anyone would even think of calling her a monster.