#jusenkyocursed

[witchoftrinity]

"If I knew someone else was out here I would've came around to seeing them a lot sooner."

Of course Mika knew that probably wasn't the complete truth in today's case. It might've been a gut feeling or a false flag but for someone that checked their phone so compulsively every morning Mika felt she would've noticed at least one familiar name through the contact list. Still it was only something small, especially considering she was already passing the hot cup of liquid right over to the individual sitting across from them.

"So you have to tell me about yourself Ranma!" Mika said, almost as if she was completely oblivious to the mere idea they weren't an actual student to begin with. "Do you have any hobbies? Oh, what clubs are you part of?! Anyone you have some secrets about?"

@jusenkyocursed

[isolaradiale]

on prior reserve, here is my application for ranma saotome from ranma 1/2! you can find his application under the third sidebar link!

Welcome to scenic Isola Radiale, Ranma!

You will be housed in HOUSE 105.

You will retain your curse that will be able to be activated up to five times daily.

– mod pleiades.

[deathreversed]

"Nice..." A small smile plays on Nier's lips when she hears it. Ranma may not be able to understand just how much even these small gestures mean to Nier, but for some reason, she has a good feeling about her. Maybe she reminds her of the Captain to a degree; brave, kind-hearted, generous- or is she just imagining what she'd like to see?

She accepts the offer with another smile, nodding her head. She'd got more than enough dust, but if she insists, Nier won't say no. To be looked at, thought of, treated like this, is all a dream come true. Already, the seed of something is germinating in Nier's chest.

Trotting alongside Ranma, Nier's smile widens. Helping someone like this, having them look at you, having them acknowledge you, having them rely on you is...

"Don't worry, Ranma. If you need help, I'll do what I can. I promise. Anything you need, you can just ask me..."

Ranma couldn't understand what she really meant by that, of course. Very few people did. But Nier's heart swells all the same; what bliss it is to be known, to be seen, to be loved. She'll make as many promises as she needs to to keep it that way.

🔴 "Sky-Strewn... Oh, so it's probably that place, huh?" Ranma nodded up at the land that was floating above the city. She'd been wondering about it. Guess it was a place she could go if she wanted to, then. Upon mentioning what was clearly referencing the cellphone, she fished around in her pocket for a moment before pulling it out.

The case was half blue and half red. Someone had a sense of humour. "You're talking about this thing, right? We had phones back where I came from, but they weren't this flat and had to be plugged into a wall. No idea how it works, though." Ranma was an 80s and early 90s kid. Phones weren't that advanced.

She was surprised by Nier's reaction to her invitation though. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be sure? You seem nice enough to me." Aside from her reaction in the beginning, but Ranma had dealt with worse. "C'mon." It didn't take long for Nier to catch up though.

"I'll even treat. I gotta figure out how to earn more money though, or it's gonna be a little rough in the long run..."

[kleinstar]

" Mm. I'm not talking about friendly matches here... " Eiden sighs.

" But eh, don't get me wrong I' m not running after anyone to stop fighting or anything. I have bunch of friends that enjoy sparring and all that stuff. "

He's more concerned over his own peace rather than playing peacekeeping.

" You arrived here pretty recently anyway I gather ? So I think the place will show what I mean eventually. "

🔵 "I guess you have a point, but at the same time there's probably more people out there that don't care about hurting someone over nothing, too." He liked to believe that he'd learned his martial arts for the good of others. If the weak needed protecting then he'd protect them. That was just how Ranma's mind worked.

"If you don't keep that in mind, then one day someone like that is gonna do some damage before you even know what hits ya."

Ranma shrugged. Was he being too dismissive? He wasn't the kind of guy that worried about that kind of stuff. Much to his dismay when he'd eventually lose. "Not like I'm gonna live in fear or whatever. If someone challenges me then I'm not gonna run away."

[deathreversed]

Friends. Friends. When was the last time she had friends before coming to Spirale? It feels like it was so long ago. A world apart, literally. "I've kind of already guessed that... It must be nice to just do what you want. I'm not used to that kind of freedom, there were always so many... rules." Here, she falters. There are more words that threaten to spill out, but they would be... incriminating, perhaps? Nier opens her mouth, but her eyes dart from side to side, and she ends up with nothing to say.

"U-um, anyways... It's a bit of a walk, but if you really don't mind I'd be glad for the company. I don't really like being alone, but this kind of thing is... embarrassing, I guess."

Their destination is one of the lower levels of Fibonacci- Nier leads the way without additional fanfare. Their journey takes them to the dizzying towers; the inside of the elevator is clean and elegant, and descending floor numbers reflect off Nier's visor as they continue to go down. When it finally slides to a halt at floor 82 and the doors open, Nier steps into the dingy lower levels without hesitation. It stands in stark contrast to the ward's shining upper stories, with cracked concrete walls and flickering lighting. A group of inhabitants warily eye the two girls as they exit the elevator, but soon return to their own business.

"This won't take too much longer," says Nier. "It's not far from here..." Her guts seem to twist in anticipation, and she fidgets with her hands as she walks, feeling each segment of her fingers as her feet move towards her destination.

Finally, they arrive at a fenced-off area: the sign announces it as Paulie's Scrapyard, though half of the letters have rusted away. "It's really just a dumping ground," says Nier, not stopping at the padlocked entrance gate. "People just leave garbage here... Or at least, scrap metal and things like that..."

She finally comes to a stop towards the far corner of the fence, and one can already see the chain links beginning to rust through. Her hands shaking slightly- in anticipation?- Nier easily folds the fencing back, creating a space large enough for her to crouch under. "I-I won't be long," she says, stepping into the scrapyard. "I-if you don't mind, you can just-"

>HEAT WARNING! INTERNAL TEMPERATURE RAISING!

A warning symbol flashes on Nier's visor, and she scrambles to cover it with her hands. "I-I'll be right back!" Without any further explanation, she dashes into the junkyard.

🔴 Ranma just nodded along as Nier mentioned other people "having their memories affected" like she was somehow the victim and not the drone that was saying at. She held back saying what she was thinking there, because while she could be stupid she could at least tell when there wasn't a chance of getting through to someone. "Of course I'd remember you. We're friends after all."

She smiled goofily, but crouched down into a cross-legged posture on the ground. Some habits seemed to carry over between lives, like just plopping down on the ground wherever. She even blep-ed out her tongue when she was told not to tease her. Would it ever occur to Ranma that she had copied some of Akane's habits? Probably not.

What she hadn't expected was to be asked to spend time together beyond this. Though she guessed it mirrored her first encounter with Nier, where she'd treated her to a meal after.

"Sure, what's up? Not like I'm gonna do anything else looking like this." Aside from practice her swordplay. Why was this version of her a blade user? Surely it didn't have something to do with being an erune. "Something you'll learn about me pretty quick is I just do what I wanna. I'm a pretty free spirit." A shrug.

[ostentumm]

Oliver grins, he begins bouncing at the balls of his feet, warming up as he begins stretching out his limbs. "Keh, I was gonna say the exact same to you! I don't want you crying to me about how I beat ya," he says with a smirk. Ranma is confident. Oliver can tell his confidence isn't misplaced. This guy really knows how to fight!

"Oh, we should make some rules huh?" DAMMIT, dar'khol! Whatever, Oliver gladly tosses his twin daggers off to the side, "No weapons! We can fight however way we want, but no weapons and we can't hit the face!"

🔵 "Huh, really?" Ranma rubbed at the back of his head. Anything Goes Martial Arts was kind of like that. His style was just whatever style was necessary to win even if it meant fighting dirty. It was also possible that Oliver wasn't trained. He could be self taught.

"Well, don't complain when I beat ya. Name's Ranma Saotome, of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts! I'll let you make the first move, Oliver!" He was talking big for someone with physical capabilities that were limited to what was essentially normal human physical condition.

[rosaictus]

poor child, he seemed so confused about everything. not that nero can blame him, her first few weeks on spirale weren't any better. "that might be because everyone is from different timelines or worlds." she is just going to ignore that comment about her leotard.

"you just met me and you want to fight? what a barbaric child you are! first, you need to introduce yourself...now go on give me your name!" it's like she scolding a small child who doesn't understand anything.

"i wouldn't mind to spare with, that is if you know how to use a weapon. i fear my blade would hurt you, are you sure?"

🔵 The way she was talking was already kind of rubbing him the wrong way. He wasn't very good at dealing with the smug types, but it was partially because of his own ego that this was the case. "It's not really just you. A lot of people dress weird to me, but that still feels like something you'd wear in a gym." He'd worn similar things for gymnastics with his curse active.

"Oh yeah? A fighter? Now you're speaking my language!" Ranma kept his hands behind his head, but leaned in a little closer. "Are you strong? I like fighting strong opponents, y'know? They weakened me a lot, but are you down for a spar?"

[punisheye]

Just his luck after everything else that's been going on in his damn life lately. All he was doing was trying to head home from the shooting range, taking the usual shortcuts to get home faster, when he had taken notice of someone trying to follow him.

It was easy to pretend he didn't see them, and he had other things to worry about.

Until they appeared from hiding and tried cornering him in an attempt to rob him. Wolfwood had remained completely unperturbed as he had a gun waved around in his face, letting the would-be robber put on his tough guy act even when he realized Wolfwood was a lot bigger up close.

He was just about to wind his fist back and knock the fucker out after about a minute of being bored when someone falls out of the damn sky and right on top of the robber's head. Wolfwood blinks. The gun clatters to the ground and Wolfwood crouches down to pick it up.

"Nope. Never seen him before," he replies as he goes about flipping the safety on and detaching the mag. He sets the now-empty gun back on the ground. The guy is still conscious, but looks a little dazed. "Was actually just about to leave. You might wanna get outta here, too."

@punisheye

🔴 The cloud was still overcast from a freshly fallen autumn rain, and while the rain had stopped, Ranma had unfortunately gotten caught up in it. Which meant her curse had activated, fortunately not in front of anyone. Whatever she'd been planning to do beforehand, those plans had changed as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Thankfully the buildings around here were pretty low.

She'd gotten a little too cocky and had leaped without looking at one point, and ended up landing on the top of someone's head with enough force to slam them down onto their knees.

"Uh..." Whoops. Ranma looked concerned, but she was still balancing on the stranger's head while looking dead on at another man. One with sunglasses and a big cross. Her landing had knocked a gun out of the hand of the man she'd landed on too. "This isn't your buddy, is it?"

[cerruleanmonarch]

Lucia had mostly been considering whether the weather would stay nice enough today for her to get a flight in. She must have looked rather strange, standing still and staring up at the sky as she had been. She takes to the boy's commentary in good nature.

"Oh, I do see the rabbit, yes. But..." She purses her lips. "An onigiri?"

She glances over at him, interrupting her own pondering silence with a snap of her fingers. "Ah! That's a kind of rice ball, yes? I'm still rather unfamiliar with them, but a few of the friends I've met here have mentioned enjoying them."

@cerruleanmonarch

🔵 Ranma could be brash and seem uncaring at times, but he was genuinely the kind of person that took an interest in others when he felt like something might be wrong. Did a woman staring up at the clouds count? He didn't know her, so he didn't know if something was wrong. Still, it wouldn't hurt to talk to her, right?

He walked up beside her with his hands crossed and looked up.

"See that one cloud on the left? Looks kinda like a rabbit, doesn't it? And that one above it looks like onigiri."

[deathreversed]

"It's called the Sky-Strewn Isles," she says, finishing her thoughts from earlier. "If you do end up wanting to go, then..."

Trailing off, she looks away. She wouldn't refuse an invitation, but she probably wouldn't offer one herself. Perhaps going with someone else might make it a little easier.

It seems as though this initial meeting is winding down, and Nier can't help but feel a little proud of herself. Nobody got weirded out or hurt, and even though there was that confusion about curses, surely the Captain would be happy that she managed to help someone. "O-of course, if you ever need anything else I'll do my best," she says with a small smile. "They have some technology that lets you contact people, I don't really understand it, but-"

She blinks in surprise, staring-wide eyed at Ranma. Had she misheard? No, this was real, this was an invitation.

"A-are you sure? If you really don't mind, then I suppose I..."

She racks her brain; she's certainly had food in the area, but why is it suddenly so hard to remember it? "W-well, um... There's a market not too far from here, I think... They've got a lot of stalls there so we can probably find something for both of us..."

Stepping closer to Ranma, her smile widens. "Ah, that's all to say... I-I'd really like that, thank you."

🔴 That was basically the long and short of it. Opinions would vary on pretty much anything, and Ranma had always seen her curse as just that. At first there hadn't been any benefit to being smaller and weaker, but she'd learned to understand its advantages with time. Little by little she'd been figuring out what it mean to be a "girl" all on her own, she just didn't realize that the world wasn't so black and white when it came to gender yet.

Ranma listened to what Nier had to explain patiently, though she did hope onto a nearby fence and stand on it crouched. She was just more comfortable in higher places, but she was still only a couple of feet away from Nier. She followed the girl's finger when she pointed to the supposed arena. "That so...? Well, maybe I'll head out there one day."

The mention of melancholy had her curious. Ranma could be insensitive, but she could also tell when someone was trying their best. Nier didn't seem like the type of person that would immediately bounce back if she accidentally said something insensitive like Akane or Shampoo, so she was being extra careful with her words.

She hopped off the fence and stood up straight with her arms behind her back. "Yeah! Good for you! I don't know a single thing about this place, so good thing I bumped into you. Thanks!" She turned to walk away, but stopped after a few steps and looked over her shoulder. "Know anywhere to eat that's closer? You wanna get a bite with me?"

[deathreversed]

"Now that I think about it... Maybe there are some things that some would consider a blessing that others would think of as a curse..."

Her mind wanders a bit; would she mind being a man? Would Ranma be concerned if she were shadowed by a beast of death? But Nier doesn't care to engage in such philosophical thoughts, and she tosses them aside with a shake of her head.

But these are questions she knows the answers to, or at least the approximations of answers. "Ah- for food, the Star Trail in Archimedes Ward has lots of nice places to eat. I think they even have foods from different worlds, so no matter where someone comes from, they can find something familiar. Which is... really nice of them, come to think of it..."

She didn't really consider the Island Stars as kind people, but she opts not to dwell on that, either.

"Sparring... Well, there's a place you could try, but..." Nier trails off, a frown forming on her face. She went there once, and it made her terribly homesick. She hasn't been back, hasn't wanted to go back. Perhaps with the right company, but for now...

"It's kind of far, but there's a place outside the city where you get back the things they've taken from you..." She points out towards the horizon; far beyond the city's limits, a few small dots can be seen floating in midair. "I think there's some kind of arena there. I don't know much about it, it... It has a very melancholy feel, for me."

A sigh, and she looks back at Ranma, giving her a small smile. "A-are those the kinds of things you're looking for? I guess I know more about this city than I realized, eheh..."

🔴 "Yeah! You get it!" Ranma shot up a little when Nier confirmed what she had come to believe over the past year of being cursed. It didn't matter what form she took, she was still herself! It was just that when she pondered what that meant relative to how accepting she'd gradually become of her curse where things had begun to get a little complicated for her.

To hear that Nier knew someone who had chosen a girl's form was interesting, though she only seemed to consider it a curse in the sense that Ranma couldn't control it. If she'd had the ability to determine when it happened without getting splashed, then would she feel the same way about it?

She filed that thought away for later. Nier didn't linger on the topic for long, which was pretty surprising based on past experiences.

"Hm... Guess I need to know the best place to get grub? And spar with people when I'm feeling it. I wish I had my strength back though." She probably would have ended up in a fight by now if she hadn't been completely sapped.

[deathreversed]

It takes Nier a few moments to adjust to this sudden... shift in Ranma's appearance, but at the end of the day, it's the same person. And maybe she hasn't seen something like this, but she's witnessed plenty of odd things in her time aboard the Grandcypher.

Like the Tyrannosauruses. Or the flying oysters. Or the chocolate island.

"Weird? I suppose it isn't normal, but..." She trails off, trying to think of the right way to phrase how she feels. "I guess I don't really care. N-no, I mean, it doesn't bother me, or something like that... Boy or girl, you're still Ranma, right?"

Her ears flick again as she recalls something she's heard from the crew. "One of the people I travel with created a body with alchemy because she wanted to be a cute girl... If magic did this to you, I guess it makes sense. I don't understand, but..."

There's no real end to the thought, and Nier simply shrugs. "Not having control over it seems inconvenient, but I guess it is a curse."

Another pause as this curse becomes simply another fact of life. Nier has much more important things to worry about than someone else's body. "U-um, as I was saying, if you have any questions I'd be happy to help..."

🔴 Ranma moved out of the sprinkler's line of fire with a groan. It took a little bit of twisting to get some of the water out of her clothes, but she was used to it at this point. Nier seemed a little shocked. Of course she would. What she'd just witnessed wasn't something that people saw every day, or at the very least she didn't think it would happen like that if it did. For now, she'd have to put the follow up from their earlier conversation on hold.

"Right, so... Remember how I was talking about curses? I was going off of firsthand experience." Suffice to say, that was probably confirmation enough for the erune that the girl she was talking to was the boy from a few seconds ago. At least her clothes and hair were the same! Ranma looked around to make sure no one else had seen her. Didn't look like it.

"Whenever I'm doused with cold water, I turn into a girl. Hot water turns me back into a guy. Not exactly the most convenient curse in the world, especially when I have to adjust my clothes every time." She actually hated it way less now than she used to. She'd basically gotten used to it.

Showing how used to it she was, she was quick to roll up her sleeves and adjust her waistband. "Sorry. You probably think this is weird, huh?"

[witchoftrinity]

"...Ahaha I might've gotten involved with a few shady schemes. Real not fun stuff looking back at it now. Thankfully I was bailed out before more damage was done but I couldn't imagine where I'd be without them."

Definitely not here. Or anywhere where Mika could be smiling with her "second chance" on life itself. It was terrifying to think about but most people thankfully didn't ever have to go through anything remotely what Mika dealt with...

"It was like knowing something was wrong and every part of you screaming to fix it. Like if someone got injured during a race. But in the heat of the moment you just keep going because you don't want to accept the reality of "stopping.". Like she said moments ago "not fun stuff", to the point that she tried to laugh it off as best she could.

"Really it was all a selfish reason. It's hard to say after everything I did but now all I want is to just be accepted for who I am."

🔴 It was a little troubling to Ranma just how easy it was to get lost talking about memories that didn't technically apply to her. She was getting a little confused separating who she was and who she was in this other world, sometimes forgetting for a brief moment. "Right! Unless you've got a shotgun, CQC is the best way to deal with someone getting in your face!" Like that! Ranma had never had an interest in guns before!

"But suspended, huh? That's rough. What'd ya do? Punch someone in the face for talking to you funny? Prank your sensei by setting up a bucket of water above the door?" She didn't have the most imaginative sense of "things that would get you suspended".

[kleinstar]

" I don't want trouble if I can avoid it, I said that already... -- wait you're saying you'd help me? " "

He's a little surprised. Helpful guy huh?

" Normally people don't want to get hurt.... "

He's just going to say he would dodge them or something, won't he...? Admittedly that's more or less what Eiden does too -- training with certain edroid had gotten him pretty good reflexes.

" But right my bad. Just everyday things right? Try not to underestimate them though. There's lots of other things too... "

🔵 "Huh? You beat them all up then? Seems pretty simple to me..." Says the guy who could probably beat up numerous guys all at once. "I can always beat them up for you if you need me to. Well, if they threaten you anyways." Even Ranma didn't have the bad manners to just throw fists at people who hadn't challenged him or expressed a desire to harm others.

"Am I supposed to be scared of fireballs and magic? Just seems like new challenges to overcome, and I've more or less fought against things that use powers like that in the past anyways."

[deathreversed]

Nier gives a small laugh, having almost fully forgotten her earlier fear. "If you come from a world of only humans, I imagine there would be lots of things in mine that would surprise you. Actually, I guess this island is like that too... Like those boxes that broadcast pictures on them, I've never seen technology like that before..."

They gave her a phone when she arrived, but Nier rarely used it, as she found it necessary. Perhaps if the Captain showed up, she could use it to contact them, but such a dream feels so far off right now. For now, she can focus on helping this young man; surely the Captain would be proud of her for something like that.

But as she waits for the man to speak, Nier feels a spray of cold water at her back, and she gives a small yelp. Her cloak protects her from the worst of it, and she flicks the water from her ears. "A-are you okay, Ranma? That's what you said, right? I didn't think... we'd..."

This is not the same person as before. Blinking her eyes, Nier rubs them with her hands to clear the water out. It's still not the same person.

There's no one else nearby. Stranger things have happened, surely. Not to Nier, but to someone.

She tilts her head, ears flicking. "Ah... Ranma...?"

🟣 Ranma felt like he'd just been spared from something awful by walking back his comment somehow. There was something a little unsettling about this one. Was she possessed or something like that? Was that why she was so worried about being cursed? At the time he'd just wished she'd let go of him, because unlike Akane or Shampoo she hadn't shown any aggression that would have prompted to force her off.

It had just been a very firm grab. But the more she spoke, the more he felt like he could relate a little bit

He took a step back when he was finally let go. "So people are just like that where you come from? Huh. They really do bring all types here." She'd even offered to assist him, which helped lower his guard. When you encountered strange people and monsters as often as Ranma did, you tended to assume the worst sometime. He was also still only sixteen, so he had a lot of maturing to do.

"Well, you don't seem so bad. If you wouldn't mind helping me out, my name is Ran..." Ranma always had awful luck. Why had a nearby sprinkler come on at that moment? And close enough to splash him too.

"...ma." Well, she was going to have to explain her curse to someone here sooner or later.

[witchoftrinity]

"Ahaha I guess that's true. I never really thought of it that way with how quickly battles can go." And training really wasn't something Mika ever considered in the first place. Especially when her strength typically surpassed whatever it is she needed to deal with. Still she couldn't argue having a good schedule to keep in shape when there was nothing major going on around the city.

"Well before I got here I suppose. Even then I think my house ar- I mean suspension might still be going on. I really can't talk with anyone until that finally ends, so the most I can do is text people when no one is looking. Not that I think they really care who I'm texting either but just to be sure..."

🔴 Ranma had full memories of living life as a girl. They weren't bad by any means, but it was jarring for her to have this part of her heart that just accepted it as the norm when she had been fighting against her curse and what she defined as "normal" for so long. It didn't help that she was behaving differently, likely because of these memories and how they had shaped this alternate version of herself in this city full of girls with guns.

"Oh, thanks!" Hearing her fitness praised, she smiled and offered thanks politely like it was the most normal thing in the world. "I'm the gymnist club leader at Hyakkiyako, actually. You must be from Trinity?" These were things she just knew now apparently.

"I've been training since I was little. A gun isn't going to solve all my problems on the battlefield, right? If an enemy gets close then my martial arts skills really come in handy." It was weird that she'd sooner use a firearm, but that just seemed to be what Mika's world was like.