Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sealed Past ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Nabiki watched with curiosity well honed by her mercenary tendencies as Ranma left the school after the final bell had rung. Making his way not towards her family dojo as was customary but somewhere else in the city.

 

Last night he'd returned home at an unusually late hour and even refused the meal that Kasumi had saved for him, saying that he'd take it for his lunch tomorrow instead. Something was up. The Ranma she knew would never refuse food, especially not food that Kasumi had made.

 

There'd also been his personality last night. He'd seemed distant and preoccupied. He hadn't even gotten into a fight with Akane like usual. Although he'd been just as rowdy and annoying as ever this morning, using Kuno as his usual spring-board, somehow he also seemed tense with anticipation, like he couldn't wait for something to happen.

 

Had Ranma perhaps found a new opponent? It was the only thing at the moment that she could think of to explain his excitement. For it was only during a fight that he was as tense and excited as he'd been throughout the day.

 

***

 

Ranma knocked upon the entrance to the Higurashi house with a mixture of excitement and dread bubbling in his blood. He didn't know whether to be relieved or even more worried when Kagome opened the door wearing the traditional scarlet and white garments of a Shinto shrine maiden.

 

Kagome smiled reassuringly, “Don't worry about a thing, you won't feel anything. Come on,” she said as she made her way past him to the shrine to perform the reading.

 

He hesitated in the shrine's entrance, a sense of power itching across his skin. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he entered the shrine, like the Tendo Dojo the floor was polished wood but there the similarity ended. There was an aura of hushed reverence about him and ancient style wick lanterns rested on their bamboo stands along the walls. Against the far wall was a traditional Shinto altar with sticks of incense already burning.

 

Kagome had seated herself with her back to the altar, facing the doorway and thus him. “It's alright just take a seat in front of me and relax. All you have to do is breathe, I'll have to do the work.”

 

Stepping forward he did as she bid, settling in a comfortable position. He watched curiously as she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then exhaled. She seemed almost to freeze suddenly as she breathed out, as if she had simply turned into a statue.

 

***

 

Using her third eye Kagome studied the young man's jumble of auras with growing disgust. What the hell had he done to himself? This wasn't simply a Jusenkyo Curse as her Chinese informant had told her when she'd contacted her about it. The woman had been very specific about what it looked like and how best to exorcise it. This was a cluttered mass of… something else.

 

She read deeper. Now, that was the Jusenkyo Curse, definitely feminine and ill-fitting. That had to be his natural aura, masculine and natural feeling and these others…. Was that the taint of cat demons? And there, almost so faint it was only a hair of magic, the touch of a dragon demon.

 

What in the gods' names had he been doing? What's more, although they were separate things, they'd been in him so long that they'd started to weave themselves together. It was a good thing that she'd found him now. Who knew what condition he would have been in a few years from now? It would have probably taken a purification and not an exorcism to undo all the damage.

 

***

 

Ranma was startled out of his wits when Kagome's eyes flew open and she glared at him.

 

“What in bloody hell have you done to yourself?” She demanded angrily. “You don't just simply have a Jusenkyo Curse, but the cursed touch of a cat and dragon demon.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Everything's mixed up, like a cake for baking. If I'm going to get rid of one thing, I'm going to have to get rid of everything.”

 

“You can?” He asked eagerly.

 

“Aye, but I have to know what I'm dealing with first.” Kagome admitted with another glare, thoroughly disgusted with him. Didn't people know that even the best can't work properly if they don't know what they have to work with?

 

“Well… the cat demon you mentioned might it be the Neko-ken[1] training I received when I was a child?”

 

“You received training meant for demons when you were a child?!”

 

“Yes, my old man instructed me in it.”

 

Kagome's eyes narrowed, “Tell me. Are you afraid of cats?”

 

“Yes,” he admitted.

 

Her eyes were almost completely slitted in outrage. “So not only did you receive training meant only for demons but it is incomplete! Good god, what was your father thinking?! No don't answer that,” she held up a hand to forestall his reply, “Something tells me I don't want to know.”

 

“What do you mean demon training?” Ranma asked inquisitively.

 

“The Neko-ken was designed by and for cat demons. It is not meant to be learned by humans, I suspect the only reason you did survive is because you were unfortunately a child at that time, meaning that your mind and body were able to adapt to the demonic energy the technique produces.”

 

“How do you know so much about demons?”

 

“They're a specialty of mine. Now tell me about the faint touch of dragon demon I can sense in you.”

 

“I accidentally ate the whisker from a dragon.”

 

“Oh…” she sighed, pressing a fist to her forehead, “And what does it do?”

 

Ranma pulled his pigtail to the side, “It makes my hair grow really long, really fast and the only reason it's not growing right now is because its magic is being countered by another dragon whisker I'm using to tie it.”[2]

 

Kagome let lose a long, aggravated groan as her head slumped forward into her hands and moaned. “This is going to take longer than I thought. Give me demons to purify any day, they're less demanding.”

 

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Footnotes:

[1] Neko-ken: lit. “Cat-Fist,” is the result of Genma's insensitive training when Ranma was a child. Ranma has an extreme fear of cats. If he is around cats long enough, he begins to act just like one as a way to cope. Ranma is very powerful while in this state and is able to shred objects with his bare hands. He can also be quite playful. This resulted in his and Akane's first kiss. [Cited from “Ranma 1/2: Perfect Edition.”]

[2] Oops. Apparently I haven't done enough research as a reader pointed out that this particular affliction expired. Thank you to Omniscientearl for brining this to my attention and I'll have to deal with it in the revision, “Sealed Memories” which is coming Fall 2007.