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An Artist Among Monsters	By : ClanCrusher Category: +M to R > Ranma ½ Views: 21240 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fanfiction. Ranma 1/2 and Monster Girl Quest are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Torotoro Resistance respectively.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
“Breathe. Gently now.”
The soft, feminine voice pierced the edge of Ranma's consciousness. Her senses that had been smothered in the water came flooding back, and with a start she jerked awake. The water was still around her with the surface nowhere to be seen. Reflexively, she held her breath and prepared to swim upward, only for a hand on her shoulder to give her pause.
“Relax, you're okay now.”
Contrary to what the voice said, Ranma didn't feel okay. For one, she was still submerged in water, and yet as she breathed in, the water faded, and left only air in her lungs. Slowly, Ranma tried a deep breath through her nose. Despite smelling potently of the sea, it was as natural as taking a breath of air.
“See? You're going to be just fine.”
“Thank…thank you,” said Ranma, speaking slowly. Her voice was distorted, but it still managed to reach her ears like normal speech. Confident that she was no longer going to drown, Ranma began to move. Whatever was allowing sound and oxygen to travel to her didn't stop her from swimming, and she faced her rescuer.
There were many monsters Ranma didn't have a name for, but the one floating in front of her now was unquestionably a mermaid. With a purple fish tail and the upper body of a human, her species was unmistakable. This one in particular held a motherly beauty to her, reflected in a shapely figure, long silvery hair, and a near see-through top that swayed in the currents of the water.
“How am I breathing?”
The mermaid smiled and reached a hand forward, lightly grasping something fastened around Ranma’s neck. “This is a mystical item among my kind called the Ball of Guidance. With it, anyone can breathe underwater. I'd brought it with me for my husband to use, but sadly he couldn't make it.”
“I'm...sorry to hear.”
“Oh don't be,” said the mermaid with a laugh like rushing water. “It's rather fortunate I decided to travel anyways. How did you manage to end up so far below the sea?”
“Got attacked by a giant sea serpent. Leviathan, I think. It threw me overboard and tried to run me through. What about you?”
“Oh, I was just traveling to the Southern Sea Palace to get married,” the mermaid explained. “Or at least deliver our pledge of marriage. In truth, I'm a bit nervous to be doing this alone, but I'm happy I did. We should get you back to the surface as soon as possible.”
Ranma frowned at that. Her reflexive desire to repay the favor was nagging at the corner of her mind. Maybe she could help out here, and it wasn’t as though Alice needed her around. “Hey um...look, what's your name?”
“Meia.”
“That’s a nice name… err... maybe I can come with you and help? Least I could do for you after you saved me,” offered Ranma. “I'm not really injured or anything.”
Meia's eyes lit up. “Oh! Are you one of those adventurers I've heard so much about? I'd thought I'd pay one to help me, but I didn't have much to offer and most of them don't like working for monsters.”
Ranma sighed internally. Well, if the world was going to conspire to put her into this niche, she might as well own it. “Yeah...I'm an adventurer and I don't mind taking jobs from monsters. Honest.”
Meia's smile seemed to brighten the ocean itself. “That's wonderful! But will you be alright down here? We could be attacked by monsters along the way.”
In response, Ranma stretched out her arm and channeled her ki. The technique she'd come up with on the fly earlier came to her a lot easier now. The resulting blast illuminated the dark ocean and detonated with enough force to create a brief bubble of air.
“I'm still thinking of a name for it. What do you think of Shark Fist or Water Bullet?”
Meia giggled. “I think I'm feeling safer already. Thank you, miss…?”
“Ranma Saotome. So, where are we headed?”
“Near the bottom of the sea to meet with Queen Kraken,” Meia explained.
“You need a queen's permission to get married?”
“Well it's more tradition than necessity, but there's just something comforting about your marriage getting a powerful queen's blessing,” Meia admitted bashfully. With a flick of her tail, she led the way further into the depths of the sea and Ranma followed close behind.
“Is your husband from port Natalia?”
Meia nodded. “He is.”
“Isn't he going to get in trouble with the Church of Ilias for this?”
“Well...the church won't officially recognize us, but mermaids are all over Natalia. We're too vital to their economy, so even those who don't like us at least tolerate our presence. Other monsters...not as much.”
That probably made it all the more important that at least someone recognized their marriage, concluded Ranma silently. “Well, hope it works out for you.”
Meia graced him with another bright smile. “Thank you Ranma, I'm certain it will.”
The journey continued in a companionable silence. Around them, Ranma could sense a few monsters taking a mild interest in them, but none seemed bold enough to approach. Maybe they didn't like the idea of attacking a pair, or perhaps they could sense her strength. Either way, Ranma was grateful for the reprieve. Her energy was recovering at a steady rate, but dealing with Alice, Alma, and Leviathan in succession had been draining.
“How likely is it to be attacked down here?” asked Ranma.
“It's not particularly risky. The monsters here vastly prefer human males, but some of the less-intelligent predators might try to eat a mermaid.”
Ranma's eyes narrowed, focusing on a point down in the depths. “Any in particular we should watch out for?”
“Well, the sea anemones can be aggressive, but the only real dangers here are-”
“Jellyfish?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
Ranma's body tensed as she gathered her energy. “Cause I think one of those girls is attacking someone right now.”
With a surge of ki, Ranma cut through the water. Faint cries for help rapidly grew louder as the distance shortened. A mermaid, younger than Meia, was wrapped up in a jellyfish monster girl's tendrils.
“Shark Fist!”
The water infused blast hit the jellyfish girl hard and Ranma followed with a quick, decisive flurry of ki-infused water-blows.
The tentacles around the younger mermaid hurriedly withdrew and crossed in an effort to defend against Ranma's onslaught. Another well-timed ki-blast struck the jellyfish’s head and sent her spinning into the depths of the sea.
Once she was certain the jellyfish girl wasn't coming back, Ranma allowed herself to relax. “Ehh...I think I'll stick with Moko Takabisha.”
“S-stay back! I'm warning you!”
Compared to Meia, this new mermaid was clearly a child. Much like the other child monsters Ranma had encountered they still had a certain beauty, with an eye-catching purple and blue tail that matched her short, two-toned hair and the fins on either side of her head.
All of this was complemented with fair, flawless skin that seemed to be the norm for monsters rather than the exception, and the mermaid’s bright blue eyes uniquely contrasted the softer colors of her hair and tail.
“The heck's wrong with you? Did you want to get eaten or something?” snapped Ranma.
“You're a human! You'll just eat me instead!” insisted the young mermaid.
“You haven't met a lot of humans, have you?”
“Well...no, but I've heard the stories!”
“Well they're wrong. I don't eat mermaids. Or anything that can talk to me for that matter.”
“Then you're here to kidnap and ransom me!”
Ranma fought the urge to groan. “No, I'm not. I have no idea who you are. I saw you were in trouble so I came to help. That's it.”
The mermaid sniffed and looked as though she were on the verge of tears. “You...you promise?”
“I promise. Martial artist's honor. Heck, you're only the second mermaid I've ever seen.”
“The second?”
“Oh my, who’s this adorable girl?” Meia had finally caught up. “These parts of the seas are dangerous for children. Why are you so far away from the village?”
“Uwahh! We're not supposed to talk about that in front of humans!”
“It's okay sweetie, Ranma here is very trustworthy. She's my bodyguard.” Meia winked in Ranma's direction.
“But… mom also said that you couldn't trust mermaids from Port Natalia either...” There was clear hesitance in the young mermaid's voice when she said that.
Understanding dawned on Meia's face. “I see. You're Laura's daughter, Elle, aren't you?”
Elle looked surprised for a brief moment but quickly masked it. “That's right! And if you do anything to me, my mom will-”
“Why don't we take you back to your mother then?” suggested Meia.
“I...I can't. I need to go see Kraken. I can't go home until I do.”
Meia smiled. “Oh, are you getting married and don't want your mom to find out? How romantic!”
“No! Why would you...I'm not! It's a personal reason!” protested Elle, vehemently.
“Why don't you come with us then?” offered Ranma. “We're headed that way ourselves.”
“But...if mom saw you she might get the wrong idea.”
“You just let me worry about Laura,” said Meia gently. “And Ranma here will take care of anything else that tries to attack us.”
Elle still seemed hesitant. “Are you sure the human’s not going to try and eat us?”
Ranma's eye twitched but Meia answered before she could. “Absolutely. I trust her with my life.”
Finally the tension in Elle's body deflated. “Okay, I'll trust you then.”
“Glad to have you along, Elle,” said Meia, happily.
Despite her declaration of trust, Elle still swam some distance back from Meia and Ranma. Fortunately, their small group seemed to deter the remaining predators in the area.
“Guessing her mom ain't a big fan of humans, is she?” asked Ranma after a bit of silence.
Meia's mood wilted. “The current mermaid queen was alive back when relations with Port Natalia weren't so friendly.”
Ranma quickly put the pieces together. “Elle's a princess?”
Meia nodded. “Long ago, Laura found a sickly man on the beaches near Port Natalia. Taking pity on him, she nursed him back to health using her blood.”
“Her what?!”
“Her blood,” continued Meia calmly. “A powerful mermaid's blood can cure almost any disease or injury when willingly given. He recovered, and over time the two fell in love. However, when the people of Port Natalia found out, he was imprisoned and they formed a group to hunt Laura down.”
“So she was forced to leave him to his disease?” asked Ranma.
“Not quite. She intended to surrender herself to the church and be executed in the most bloody way possible so her lover could have enough blood to last the rest of his life.”
Ranma glanced sidelong at Elle. It was subtle, but Elle had moved closer as Meia was speaking. The younger mermaid was trying to listen in while trying very hard to make it seem like she wasn't listening in.
“Guessing they didn't succeed,” remarked Ranma dryly.
“When Laura's lover learned of what was to be done, he took his own life instead. Since that day, Laura's hatred for humans has only festered and grown, even though nowadays mermaids are everywhere in Port Natalia.”
“How long ago was this?”
Meia sighed. “Almost three generations past now. The mermaids living in Natalia hope that someday the queen might make peace with what happened, but it doesn't seem likely.”
Another bloody generational mess it seemed, and Ranma had doubts that many of the humans bothered listening to the 'willingly given' part of the mermaid blood thing. Still, it seemed some progress was being made despite the tragedy and Ilias' laws.
Something Meia had said nagged at Ranma. “Wait, you said this was three generations ago? Do mermaids age super slow or something?” She took a speculative glance at Elle.
Meia's gaze followed Ranma's and she smiled. “Very slow. Elle is probably two-hundred years old now.”
“What? Am not! I just reached adulthood!” Remembering too late that she had been pretending not to hear, Elle fell silent, flustered.
“I jest,” said Meia playfully. “Powerful monsters like the queen mermaid can preserve the essence of their lovers for long stretches of time inside their bodies.”
Ranma took a moment to digest that tidbit of information. “Yeah, that's even weirder.”
Elle's expression had become more melancholy after her outburst and Ranma slowed down to swim shoulder to shoulder with her.
“That the first time you heard that story?” asked Ranma.
“Mom never talked about dad. Or any of the other humans up above. She just said it was a mistake to ever trust them,” she murmured.
“You don't sound like you really believe that,” said Ranma.
“Well...you don't seem like the worst person ever.”
Ranma's eyes narrowed. “And you don't seem like an adult.”
“I told you, I'm an adult—”
“-by monster standards. Yeah, I've heard that line before. Doesn't make it true.”
“You're not that much bigger than me!”
“I'm bigger where it counts.”
“Grrr! Why you—”
“We're here!” interrupted Meia cheerfully. She gestured towards an underwater castle. It was oddly ‘human’ in design, but much of the structure had been carved out of the natural formations in the sea, with carefully cultivated coral giving the place a bright, colorful look.
“So, do we just go inside?” asked Ranma while she looked about for some sort of guard or sentry.
“The mermaids told me that we can drop in whenever is convenient for us,” assured Meia. “Truthfully, I think the queen of the sea gets lonely.”
That would explain the oddity of a queen performing marriages. “What sorts of things does she usually handle?” Ranma asked.
“Disputes between other queens, mostly, but conflicts between the sea races are somewhat rare. There's a lot of space in the ocean and plentiful amounts of food. The Church of Ilias doesn't bother us much, given how difficult it is for a human to get here.”
Ranma frowned and turned to Elle. The young mermaid had fallen silent as they'd approached the coral gardens around the castle. “You're here to talk about your mom, aren't you? Nah, don't say anything, it's your business. You're not in danger, are you?”
Meekly, Elle shook her head.
“But Port Natalia is?” ventured Meia softly.
A nod this time.
Ranma chuckled. “Maybe you're more of an adult than I thought.”
The rest of the journey was taken in silence while the trio navigated softly illuminated hallways. The design of the castle was open and spacious, allowing for creatures easily three or four times their size to travel from room to room, and no closed doors stood in their way.
Ranma sensed the queen's presence long before she saw her, a powerful aura encompassing most of the castle. When they finally entered the throne room, the sight of her didn't disappoint.
Even counting the enormous sea serpent that had attacked Ranma on the Cuttlefish, the squid-like woman in front of her was the largest monster Ranma had ever seen. A legion of suckered tentacles were spread around the throne room, steadily growing in thickness until they met at the base of the queen's body and transitioned into a naked, humanoid figure. In place of hair was a squid head and several more sucker lined tentacles that fell down around her neck and shoulders like prehensile braids.
“Travelers, I bid thee welcome to the castle of the Southern Sea,” greeted the queen.
Meia took the lead and Ranma followed, approaching to a certain point and bowing respectfully. “We thank you for giving us your time and attention. I am here today to deliver a pledge of marriage.”
“How wonderful to hear. And what are your names?” asked Kraken.
“I am Meia, hailing from Port Natalia.”
“Princess Elle, from Tempest.”
“Ranma Saotome...from Port Ilias, I guess.”
One of Kraken's many tentacles approached Meia and took the offered pledge from her. There was a momentary pause as she read it through. “Very well then. By my authority as ruler of the Southern Seas, I hereby declare that Elle the mermaid and Ranma Saotome the human shall be married from this day forward.”
“What?!” Ranma and Elle spoke in unison, but Kraken was already moving ahead, heedless to their surprise.
“Whether on sea or on land, you shall forever be as one. Now take this ring as a symbol of your lasting bond.”
Wordlessly, Elle let her palm get turned upward by a tentacle before a bright coral ring was dropped into her her hand.
Ranma, however, had plenty of words. “Now hold on a sec, you can't just marry us like that!”
“Why not? This contract clearly states the formalized union between a human and a mermaid.”
“Yeah, but not this human!” said Ranma, pointing a thumb at herself.
Kraken gave Ranma a confused look. “But there aren't any other humans here.”
Ranma's was ready for an argument, but Meia's voice cut through to diffuse her annoyance. “Um, miss Kraken? Could you please read the contract again? Carefully this time?”
Frowning, Kraken returned to the scroll, but didn't get far before a new voice cut through the water like an icy knife. “What poisoned words have you been feeding my daughter, human?!”
Even before Ranma could turn and put a face to the voice, she knew exactly who it was. The very laws of the universe dictated that the worst possible being would always catch her in the most embarrassing and 'problematic' situations. A voice filled with that much rage could only belong to a disapproving mother.
Taking a deep breath, Ranma slowly turned and tried for the long-shot that never seemed to work in these situations. “Would you believe that this is all just a misunderstanding?”
It was striking how different Laura looked compared to Elle and Meia. Her skin was pale blue, and light, while almost colorless hair framed her cold blue eyes and murderous stare. Side by side, it seemed like Elle had taken all the energy from the older mermaid, and the only similarity between them were their matching dolphin tails.
“Are you implying that you did not just marry my daughter?”
Kraken answered before Ranma could. “No, that most certainly did happen. I gave her the pledge ring and accepted their certificate of marriage.”
“Um...Meia? Little help please?” asked Ranma, shivering as she felt the water temperature drop.
“My queen, it's true that she married them but—”
That was all Laura needed to hear. “Die, human.”
The cooling temperatures hadn't been Ranma’s imagination. Solid spikes of ice began to crystallize around Laura, and with a gesture of her hand, they were sent shooting towards her.
The ice spikes were not impeded by the water and the sheer force behind them cut straight through the stone pillars and walls of the castle. The smallest nicks by those lethally sharp points effortlessly tore Ranma’s clothing, but it was only the start of the mermaid queen's assault.
Ice grew across Laura's arm and a wicked blade formed out of it. A moment later her powerful tail churned the water and she closed the distance in an instant..
“Mom, stop!” Ellie’s shout went unheard as Laura slashed.
Cuts started to open up in Ranma’s Enrikan shirt as her frantic dodging worked only so well underwater. Laura's bloodlust was plain and her attacks were blatantly telegraphed, but her better mobility was a powerful advantage, and much like how Alma had used the wind, Laura was directing the water to push her in the directions she wanted to move.
Well, perhaps Ranma could play that game too. Connecting to the 'flow' was easier than ever down here, even more so when someone else was using it right next to her.
The world around Ranma faded, and her senses cut out all the distractions save for the queen mermaid and the currents around her. When the blade came in again, Ranma moved, her limbs pushing through the water almost easier than air, fingers extending and pressing against specific points when the blade passed by. When the queen stabbed in again, Ranma met it with her palm, and shattered it.
If the queen was surprised she didn't show it. Her tail immediately came around to strike. Ranma's push off the ground sent her much further back than she'd been expecting, but it was just the right distance for her to unleash a Moko Takabisha and break apart the ice spikes the queen sent after her.
“You think you can challenge me in the depths of the sea? Your life hangs at the mercy of a mere trinket!”
The Ball of Guidance, Ranma realized. Her hand wrapped tight around it, a swell of her own energy reinforcing it right before the queen's power battered the magic around her, and collapsed the air bubble into nothingness. For a moment it felt like the entire weight of the sea was bearing down on her, but she pushed back, relieving the pressure bit by bit.
“Laura, enough!” The shout from the Kraken Queen vibrated the water around her. Blue lines formed on the ground, and joined into a pentagram shape. The moment the diagram finished, the mermaid's power cut off abruptly, leaving Ranma free of its influence. All at once, Ranma could tell that she was being shielded by an immensely powerful barrier. Another had formed around Laura, and kept her from attacking further.
“Queen Laura, you are entitled to your family disputes, but you are in my castle attacking my guests on their wedding day no less!”
Ranma didn't see a visible change in the mermaid queen, but when Laura answered her tone was forcibly polite. “My sincere apologies, Kraken, but may I at least offer an objection to this union?”
“I feel like you've made your objections pretty damn clear,” snapped Ranma, but she was stopped from speaking further by a silvery tentacle thrust towards her face.
Instead of speaking to Kraken, Laura turned towards Elle. “Are you certain of this, daughter? This human female cannot give you children nor can you properly feed from her essence.”
Elle seemed shocked that the conversation had turned towards her. For a moment, she looked indecisive, her eyes darting between Laura and Ranma. Then her face set into a firm expression. Elle's fist opened, her hand took the coral ring, and the band was slipped onto her finger. “I am. Ranma saved my life.”
Ranma admired her acting. Elle sold her declaration with very believable intent. At least...Ranma hoped it was just good acting.
“Queen Laura,” began Meia, “I know you have no reason to trust her, but Ranma is a good human. In fact, she was escorting me so I could fulfill my own marriage vows.”
Kraken looked surprised as she overheard. “You mean to say you're marrying this human as well?”
“No! My husband is still on land. He couldn't make the journey here.”
Laura was still angry, but she seemed to realize the tide was against her now. “Very well. I will keep my own counsel, but we will be talking about this at length.” The thinly veiled threat seemed to be directed at both Elle and Ranma.
“I only kept it from you because I knew you'd react like this!” protested Elle
“Judging from your wife's combat prowess, I daresay she was expecting it as well. Now if you're quite finished—”
“I'm not. I want to spend some time with Ranma. Alone.”
Laura met her daughter's pout with a cold gaze before swishing her tail and swimming towards the exit. “Do not keep me waiting long.”
The aqua pentagram faded as the queen left. Elle's expression turned to one of relief, though it turned to a blush once she looked Ranma's way.
Meia was the first to break the silence. “Queen Kraken, if I may, could we discuss my own marriage proposal?”
“Of course. Do you have your written vows?”
“Well...about that...”
Leaving Meia and Kraken to their conversation, Ranma swam to Elle. “Hey um...not that I'm ungrateful for the save, but what's the plan here? I've played at this fake marriage thing before and it always blows up in the end.”
Elle flustered. “I don't know! I just had to do something.”
“I appreciate it, honest. What if we just called it off? Said something like...it's too soon for both of us, then you can make up a story about how I left you?”
“That might make things worse with Port Natalia,” sighed Elle. “Mom was already making plans to attack. That's why I came here in the first place.”
“Can mermaids even fight on land?”
“I don't know, but you saw how powerful mom was.”
“Hmm. Random question. Would it make things better or worse if I showed up as a male the next time I talked to her?”
“What? How would that even—”
“Water based curse. When I get splashed with warm water, I turn male. Cold water turns me female like this. Long story. I'd show you, but there's no way to make hot water down here.”
Elle took a moment to process that. “Maybe it'll be a little better? I don't think your gender matters so much as the human thing.”
“Worth a shot. Do you think this whole pretend marriage thing is going to stop her from attacking the port?”
“Hopefully. For a little while at least.”
“What if I tell the current monster lord Alice about her?”
Elle's eyes widened. “You know the monster lord?!”
“She fell out of the sky and attacked me. Now we're traveling together. It's another long story. Well?”
Elle hesitated for a moment before she shook her head. “Alice might kill her though.”
Behind them, Kraken's voice suddenly grew louder. “So what you're saying is, you had two vows of marriage, but along the way a jellyfish girl ate one so you want me to use the same vow here, but for you and your husband?”
Meia breathed out a sigh of relief. “Yes, that is precisely what I was saying.”
“Then I declare you and your husband Emil to be wed.” Just like Elle before her, Kraken produced another red coral ring for Meia to wear.
“Do you want me to distract your mom while you talk to Kraken?” offered Ranma.
Elle let out a defeated sigh. “I'm not sure how much help she's going to be anymore.” Still, she gave Ranma a nod.
Laura was waiting right outside the throne room. Ranma wasn't entirely sure if she'd been trying to listen in, but it was clear she had the queen's full attention now. The first question she asked, however, caught Ranma off guard. “What sort of water based magic are you infused with?”
“It's a curse,” replied Ranma, guessing at what she'd sensed. She continued, deciding there was no point in hiding it. “When I'm in cold water, I look like this, and in warm water I change to a guy.”
Reading the mermaid queen was impossible, but it wasn't hard to guess at her disbelief. “Have you had sex with my daughter?”
The flat, matter-of-fact way in which Laura delivered the question made Ranma choke a bit, a few bubbles getting expelled from her mouth. “No, nothing like that.”
“And how much do you know about the way mermaids mate and feed?”
“Erm...not much?”
Laura's eyes narrowed. Ranma suddenly felt nervous. “Is it too late to go back to fighting?”
It took some time for Elle to get out of her meeting with Kraken, and by the time she swam back into the entrance hall, Ranma had learned far more about mermaids than she had ever wanted to.
Strangely, for Laura it wasn’t so much the sex that was the issue as much as worry over Elle having a selfish or controlling partner. The hostility between Ranma and Laura remained, but she'd refrained from openly attacking her.
“If you have further adventures planned for the day, cancel them,” said Laura sharply.
Meekly, Elle nodded and swam over to embrace Ranma. “When will I see you again?”
“Erm...soon, hopefully. I'll be traveling for a bit though.”
Elle nodded and her grip tightened before she pushed forward and placed a kiss on Ranma's mouth. Short, sweet, and endearingly affectionate. “Thank you. I'll figure a way out of this,” she murmured before releasing Ranma and swimming to her mother's side. The two soon vanished into the depths of the sea.
“I think you two make a wonderful couple. She'll grow to be as beautiful as her mother, I'm sure.”
Ranma only barely resisted the urge to groan. “Meia, she's a kid. The only reason this isn't going to blow up in my face later is because I'm giving this part of the sea a wide berth from now on.”
“Defying her mother like that seems like the exact opposite of childish to me,” chided Meia.
Ranma didn't have a good answer to that, so she shifted the subject. “It's not like I can visit her again anyways. Unless they just sell these balls to anyone.”
“You can keep mine,” said Meia sweetly. “Consider it a reward for assisting me. And if you'd like a further reward, you can always visit my home in Port Natalia.”
It took Ranma several seconds to realize exactly what Meia was implying. “But...you're married! And so am I! Kind of...”
“My husband likes to watch. It's the most adorable thing, really.”
Perverts. Damn perverts all of them. Every single one.
Aloud, Ranma said, “Er...thanks, but I have somewhere to be.”
Meia smiled, taking the refusal in stride. “Well my door is open if you'd ever like to visit.”
Mercifully, any further talk of rewards was absent as the two of them swam back to the surface. Occasionally, Meia would glance down at her new ring and smile. Ranma kept an eye out for sea creatures, but the depths faded and soon she could see the shapes of docks and boats above.
“Thank you again, Ranma. It was a lot more exciting than I was expecting, but my husband will be delighted. I should be okay from here.”
“Thanks for the save, too. Far as I'm concerned, I'm the one who still owes you,” countered Ranma.
“We'll just call it even then,” she said, extending her hand for a final shake before swishing her tail and rising to the surface.
Instead of following her though, Ranma pushed away from the city until a beach came into view. Only then did she surface with a gasp and a groan. “Almost like I never left home,” she grumbled as she made her way to the shore. She had no interest in appearing in town with cut up and drenched clothing. As good as the Enrikan cloth had been, razor sharp icicle spires had been beyond its durability.
Short of getting a fire going, she needed to figure out what to do. Hopefully Alice would be waiting in Port Natalia. She had seen Alma attack Leviathan before she'd passed out, but who knew where she had en—
SPLASH!
Shaking his head a couple times, Ranma whirled around to see Alma Elma, a smile on her face and an empty steaming bucket in her hands.
“And here I thought Beri-chan was pulling my tail. You really do change into a cute little boy,” Alma said with a giggle.
Ranma bristled at the comment. “Can you at least let me dry off before we start fighting again?”
“Oh, the fight? No, we're done with that,” said Alma, tossing the wooden bucket aside. “I'm supposed to find you and bring you back to Port Natalia even...” Alma took a moment to clear her throat and imitate Alice's voice, “...'if you have to search the whole damn sea to do it'. Honestly, you'd think she'd forgotten she even had a water knight.”
Ranma frowned slightly, a memory coming back to him. “The slime with the red eyes?”
“Erubetie, that's the one. I wouldn't recommend getting within ten feet of her if you're a human. It would be a shame to lose a cutie like you.”
He could feel Alma's eyes roaming up and down his body as he wrung out his shirt. Even though her words were mostly innocent, it was hard not to feel like prey in her presence. Everything he’d felt during their fight on the boat was amplified as a male. Seeking a distraction from his thoughts, Ranma fielded a question. “Why did you accept my challenge if you don't like fighting?”
Alma was ready with her answer. “Don't be silly Ranma-chan, I love fighting. I just don't feel the need to beat someone to a bloody stump to defeat them. Sex doesn't mix well with broken bones.”
“But you can break bones. Easily.”
“But why would I?” asked Alma sweetly. “Pain only makes someone fight harder. Pleasure and pleasant distractions make it harder to fight.”
Ranma couldn't deny that her tactics had been effective, but he had a feeling she wasn't telling him everything. Still, it wasn't as though he could get her to admit it.
“Besides, I gave you a chance to look good in front of Beri-chan. You should thank me.”
“There's nothing going on between us,” deflected Ranma immediately.
“Alice then?”
“Not even.”
“So that means I have an opening,” teased Alma. “Maybe next time we can skip the fight entirely.”
It was best just not to respond. Everything he said only seemed to give her another opening to tease him. Giving the Enrikan shirt a few more shakes, Ranma slid it back on. Even with all the tears, it held together surprisingly well, and the water had all but dried out. Hopefully he could get another.
“Oh, almost forgot to tell you,” said Alma suddenly. “You might want to change back to female before you go into town.”
“What? Why?”
In response, Alma reached between her breasts, pulled out a scroll, and flicked it open in front of his face. “This is you, right?”
The drawing of his face was near perfect, almost as though he'd posed for a portrait. Of course, the uncanny image was of secondary interest compared to the words that ran along the top and bottom of the parchment. “I'm...wanted by the Church of Ilias? Why?”
“Welcome to Port Natalia, home to the famous Mermaid Pub—”
“Excuse me miss, but have you seen this man? By order of the Church—”
“Ilias dammit Stan, I told you that I go first with my greeting, and then you can pester them about your stupid business!”
“This business isn't stupid! These are direct ordered from the Church of Ilias!”
“Yeah well the church doesn't pay my wage, the mermaids do, so shove off!”
Ranma, once again in female form, ignored the town greeter and the arguing guard as she looked over the wanted poster again. “It doesn't even say what I'm wanted for.”
“Well you are consorting with monsters,” teased Alma. Unlike Alice, the succubus hadn't even bothered to put on a disguise, a fact that quickly attracted the attention of the guards...at first.
“Excuse me, would you happen to—”
“Be a succubus? Don't be silly, I'm just dressed up like one. It's good for business.”
“Oh, my apologies. Carry on then.”
Ranma frowned as the guard moved on, but not at Alma's flagrant abuse of charm magic. “I don't get it. You've been stopping ships from coming over and I've never been on this continent. How do they even know who I am?”
“Do they know who you are? I don't see a name on that poster,” Alma pointed out. “And they clearly don't know about this side of you.”
Ranma realized Alma’s point. The poster was pretty bare bones despite the accurate drawing that accompanied it, and they didn't seem to know about the curse.
“Maybe you did something to annoy the goddess herself,” suggested Alma. “She's always been the vindictive type.”
Ranma stopped suddenly, her eyes rising to look at a sign stretched across the top of a tavern. “I'm gonna get some answers. Just let Alice know I'm here.”
“The mermaid pub? So you have a type after all. Don't worry, I won't tell Alice. Go on and have your fun.”
Ranma choked. “That’s not even close to what I…” But Alma had already walked off before she could finish. Ranma closed her eyes and took a breath, composing herself before she pushed open the door to the pub.
Beyond the novelty of seeing mermaids intermingling with the humans, the pub was a fairly unremarkable place. Patrons were at the bar, people were being served at a number of tables, and conversation was flowing as freely as the alcohol. It was clear that the mermaid waitresses were the main draw of the place, with clothing that barely clung to their upper bodies, while a soothing singer's voice rose above the din and carried a relaxing feeling into the air. The only truly strange thing about the place was the primary serving area that had several inches of water flowing through it, likely to keep the mermaids comfortable.
Ranma made a beeline to the bar, scroll in hand. It only took a moment to catch the female bartender's attention. “So what's the deal with this guy?” she asked.
“Couldn't tell you,” answered the mermaid immediately. It sounded like she’d been asked the question several times already. “A couple of days ago, soldiers came from the church and just started putting them up everywhere. Wouldn’t say what his crimes were and they don't even have a name. Pretty big reward though.”
“Does the church do this a lot?” asked Ranma.
“For humans? Almost never. Sorry, I don't know much more than that. Can I get you anything?”
“Water to start.” Hopefully Alma and Alice would be back before Ranma had to start paying for anything. There were always limits to how long you could get away with ordering nothing from a bar, and she doubted this world would buy the 'my friend has my money' excuse any more than her world did.
Taking her mug, Ranma turned on her stool and looked at the crowd being served. The majority of the patrons were human men and other mermaids, the latter more than happy to show off for the former. Looking at them interacting made it seem like all the talk of the church and Ilias was exaggerated, though mermaids were the only 'monsters' around. What made them the exception? Clearly they hadn't had a smooth relationship from the start, given Laura's history, but how had they gotten past it?
Maybe it was as simple as a willingness to try. The harpies had come to an agreement with the humans when both sides were willing to put forth the effort. Although, how comfortable could someone really be around a monster like the mimic who made no secret about her carnivorous tendencies?
That wasn't even counting the truly powerful sorts like Alma, who tickled Ranma’s danger sense with a simple look, and Alice who could probably wipe this port off the map with a light cough. It was fortunate that they seemed to be (mostly) responsible with their power, but it wasn't hard to imagine what would happen if some idiot like Ryoga was capable of such things.
Ranma frowned. Come to think of it, was Ryoga in this world with her? With her luck, he’d already vanished from this world.
“Stupid teleporting idiot,” she murmured, shifting on her stool to face the lounge. Taking a closer look at the patrons, she realized why her mind had jumped to Ryoga.
Off in the corner was a dark-haired man, scarred, and with one arm hanging at his side, motionless. He looked like a traveler, with scuffed, ratty clothing bearing the dust of the road, but the thing that grabbed her attention most was the sheer aura of depression he was giving off. Depressed drunks in bars weren’t unusual, but he seemed far too focused to be drunk.
A large sack lay beneath the table, his foot occasionally nudging it as he shifted and nursed his drink. Something was off about him, that much was plain, but she couldn't tell exactly what. Finally, it seemed like he reached a decision and drowned his drink before he threw some coins on the table and walked out.
The door to the bar opened and the air pushed in. A scent drifted past her nose, and then he was gone. The bag had been left behind. Ranma sniffed the air. “Sulfur?” she said aloud. Her eyes moved to the sack. Had he really left that behind on accident?
She was on her feet in an instant, weaving past the mermaids and the drunks. Her hand grasped the neck of the bag and pulled it open onto the table. Glass, chemicals, sulfur...something in the mixture was bubbling. Something else had just caught fire. Ranma didn't fully understand the contraption she was looking at, but she didn't have to. Patrons were pushed aside as she dashed back through the bar, hoping over tables and knocking over a pair of drunks on her way out. “Move it, move it, move it!”
The shoreline. She needed to get away from the buildings. The docks, they weren't too far away, and with a leap she was running across the roofs, jumping from house to house towards the longest pier she could see. The wind was at her back and pushed her along, as if responding to the urgency of the situation.
Her feet hit the wood of the docks, her mind racing just as much as her legs. Could she kick it without detonating the chemicals? Wait, throwing it in the water could harm the mermaids, she realized a bit too late. She needed to get this thing as high and far away as possible.
The Cuttlefish was at the pier. Her eyes moved to the crow's nest. Maybe that was high enough. Surprised shouts followed her from the sailors as she came aboard, but she ignored them and leaped up the mast in a blur of red and green. The second her foot touched the nest, Ranma threw open the gates and called on every bit of wind energy that had been at her back, letting it swirl around her like a mini-tornado. The bag flew from her hands. Her strength propelled it up into the sky and the wind caught it, sending it spiraling skyward until it was little more than a speck.
BOOM!
The shock-wave from the explosion rippled through the air with enough force to nearly knock her over. A firestorm followed the noise and lit up the sky, prompting panicked shouts from below...and then it was gone, only a faint hint of ash left on the air.
It was tempting to breathe a sigh of relief and relax, but she'd only dealt with the immediate threat. For all she knew, that scarred, black haired man had more targets.
“Ranma? That you lass? What in the hells is going on?”
Ranma grabbed the rope near the mast, jumped from the nest, and slid down to land next to the captain. “Someone tried to bomb the mermaid's pub. Gonna go find him.”
She didn't wait for a response before she took off, letting the wind propel her once more. Ranma wasn't sure why, but it seemed easier than ever to call on the power here and coax it to her will. She wasn't about to question her fortune though, there would be time for that later.
That man was likely running or hiding, but she had a distinct impression of his aura in her mind. If she was lucky, he might not have made it far, or he was starting to wonder why the mermaid pub was still standing. Maybe if she really tried, she could catch the scent of sulfur on the air and track him down—
It happened right as she landed back on the roof of the mermaid pub. The wind, which had been at her back all this time, suddenly shifted and battered her right in the face.
“There you are! You can't hide from the wind!”
Ranma's head turned rapidly, trying to find the source of the voice, but the wind was distorting the sound all around her. Finally she noticed something. A mug, floating in the air. No, it wasn't just a mug, something had grabbed onto it. Something a few inches tall with green hair and a matching green dress.
“Take this!” The mug was thrown and the water sailed out, hitting her square in the face and triggering her transformation.
Sputtering, the now male Ranma wiped his eyes. “The heck was that for?”
The fairy-like creature grinned and pointed at him in dramatic fashion. “I knew it! You're the one whose been using my powers without permission!”
“Permission? Wait, you're the wind spirit?”
“You bet! And now that I have your secret figured out, you can't escape repaying me!”
“Repay...look, can we talk about this later? I'm trying to find someone. They just—”
The small fairy creature darted forward, nearly knocking Ranma off his feet with another rush of wind. “Oh no you don't, you're not getting away that easy. In fact, we're making a contract right here and now!”
“But—”
“No butts! Super Sylph contract powers activate!”
As fast as the wind she controlled, Sylph darted straight towards him, her tiny arm outstretched. His hand came up reflexively to shield himself, making contact with her fist.
And then the world went white.
- 6
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An Artist Among Monsters