Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ One-Half a Wing and a Prayer ❯ Home Again (without Bob Villa) ( Chapter 23 )

Author’s Note: The NWC and the situations they found themselves in were the work of Rumiko Takahashi and were distributed by Kitty and Viz. I use them without permission, but with humble respect for those before me, and I write this with no intent to profit from the efforts of others. There is sex, there is violence, and some foul language. If any of these offend or you are a minor, be gone with ye, tis not for you.
P.S.: by now you know I do this for Janice.


“Now this is how to finish a vacation,” Ranma exclaimed as she lay back on the deck of the small junk traveling across the Sea of Japan. She was enjoying a moment of sunbathing on the foredeck of the small ship clad in a simple bathing suit she had bought in Beijing before her party began its trek back to Tokyo and Nerima.

She looked around her for a moment, taking in the small crew as they minded their duties while trying to catch glimpses of the bikini clad teenagers at the bow, and she understood their dilemma.

She wore her blue one piece, and it was fairly modest, sure, but it was cut to show off considerable leg and cleavage. To her right, Nabiki reclined in a black bikini with a strapless top. Her sunglasses gave her an untouchable air that made her seem above it all. On Ranma’s left, Shampoo was on her front, napping in the sunlight in her red thong. Her bikini top had been removed to avoid tan lines, and Ranma was enjoying the sight of her almost completely uncovered bottom.

What was keeping the crew at bay were two things. Ranma had made it clear to the first seadog that had made a pass at them that she would allow no such thing. The crewman’s hand was still bandaged after it had been forcibly removed from Nabiki’s posterior. The other thing was that Cologne was with them, and the idea of the Amazon Elder in a swimsuit was enough to turn even the toughest swab off his food for the remainder of the trip.

Turning her own mind away from such things, Ranma simply enjoyed the sun soaking into her body. She knew that tomorrow they would be entering Tokyo harbor, and then a short train ride later they would be home. Cologne had tagged along to make the trip easier with her many connections, and to experience the chaotic nature of Nerima for herself after all Ranma had spoken of.


One Half a Wing and a Prayer
By Seth

Chapter 23
Home Again (without Bob Villa)


Nabiki was in heaven, no doubt about it. She lay on the bed that the three girls were using on the trip back to Japan and felt another shudder pass along her spine as Shampoo’s cat like tongue danced along her lower lips, encouraging the emergence of her hooded clitoris. Lying beside her, Ranma licked, sucked, and nibbled away at her breasts, savoring the taste of Nabiki’s skin, and energy.

The demoness growled as another small spasm passed along Nabiki, and reached down to pull Shampoo up from between the girl’s legs.

“I want a taste too,” Ranma moaned deeply to the cat girl and took a deep kiss from the hot feline as Shampoo drove her fingers into the redhead’s own sex. Ranma moaned into the Amazon’s mouth and raised her hands to take light grips on Shampoo’s nipples as Nabiki rolled over to slide her head between the cat girl’s legs. She only managed a few licks before she felt Ranma pull Shampoo off her.

Ranma’s eyes were an intense blue, and she guided Shampoo to lie next to Nabiki. As the two girls watched, Ranma kneeled between them and ran her hands up along the inside of their thighs, resting lightly on their sex when she came to them. The demoness slid two fingers across the slits of both girls, and they reacted instantly as a tiny mote of demon energy radiated off Ranma’s fingertips.

Bucking their hips wildly, both girls felt the pressure build up within them, but Ranma exerted her control over their sex and held them just before the peak. Slowly her fingers entered the two slits, lubricated by Shampoo and Nabiki’s excitement. Ranma began a slow rhythm that countered the girl’s thrusting hips as they moaned into the darkness of the cabin.

The girls gasped deeply as Ranma pumped deeply into them, but they could not find relief so they desperately began flailing about in pleasure. Their hands came into contact, and Nabiki allowed her hand to be grabbed by Shampoo’s slightly larger fingers and their free hands moved to grope each others breasts as the psychic and the cat girl kissed one another.

Suddenly, Ranma’s fingers inside them released a jolt of energy along their inner walls, and both girls felt the spastic contractions of a massive orgasm rush through them. They silently screamed into each other’s mouths as their vision went white.

Ranma felt her hands suddenly covered in warm fluid as pulses of sexual bliss radiated off the two girls. The demoness rolled her head back and let out a low groan of fulfillment as the energy flowed into her arms. She withdrew her fingers with wet pops after a moment of reveling in the feeding and leaned back as she watched her lovers continue to ride out the high she had induced in them. Bringing her fingers up, she slurped off the juices from Nabiki and Shampoo as the girls cuddled closer together, grinding their hips against each other as they continued to let out high pitched sounds of climax.

The spectacle lasted for almost five minutes, and Ranma soon found her hand drifting back down to slide three fingers into her own dripping sex as the girls moaned out her name. Ranma hissed as the digits entered her, still warm from their previous penetration. She fanned them out inside her and sent the fingers exploring, searching for the points of greatest sensitivity.

Closing her eyes, Ranma rolled her head back as one finger brushed against a wonderful point, and all three fingers came together to lightly rub. As she began to lose herself in the feeling, she felt a shift at her feet.

Looking down, she saw Shampoo lightly open her lower lips further and slide one digit along the inner folds of her sex, coming to rest on the nub of her clitoris. Nabiki soon joined Shampoo in a sitting position and kissed the hard point of Ranma’s nipple, taking the erect nub into her mouth to suckle. Shampoo’s rough tongue joined Nabiki’s soft one by latching on to Ranma’s other breast and almost hungrily sucking on the tit.

Feeling pressure inside and outside her sex, and the voracious ministrations on her swollen nipples, Ranma was soon riding high in sexual bliss as her hand began to pump her own sex even harder and Shampoo pinched lightly on her clit. Finally, the two girls sucking on Ranma’s chest simultaneously bit lightly on her nipples, and that triggered the built up bubble in Ranma’s core to burst.

The redhead’s fingers were forced out of her tunnel as a fountain of juice gushed from between her legs. She fell backwards with a silent scream, pulling the still feeding Nabiki and Shampoo with her back onto the large bed. The two girls, still dazed from their own sexual high, let go of Ranma’s nipples and moved down into the sweet smelling area between her legs. They took turns licking her mound, collecting every drop of essence that came from the downed succubus as she lay on the bed, gasping for air.

After a time, Nabiki and Shampoo were satisfied with their meal and rested their heads lightly on Ranma’s thighs, worn out from the activities as a pale blue light bathed the room. Ranma reached down her body, guiding the two into a more comfortable position as her eyes burned in the dark.

Silently the girls slept, but sleep did not come quickly for Ranma. She lay awake, almost humming with the power she had gained through their coupling. She looked down at the sleeping girls in her arms and thought that her life could not be better.

The warm thoughts and feelings enabled her to guide her mind once more to the land of dreams, but a subtle pressure was at the back of her mind. In the haze of post coitus and half dreaming, she dismissed it, but the warning was clear. Something was bothering her demon blood, and it threatened to spoil the ease she had found at last.

In the morning, as she ran through her kata’s on the deck of the ship with an energetic Shampoo and a still sleepy Nabiki, she dismissed the feeling as nerves on her return to her island homeland. It had been over a month since the teens had departed Nerima, and Nabiki had told her that she would be surprised if the ward was still there after all that time.

As they practiced, the Tokyo harbor entrance slowly became visible on the horizon, and seeing it seemed to revitalize Ranma and Nabiki. Even the Elder Cologne had a smile on her face as they passed the marker buoys to enter the heavy traffic of the port.

“This will truly be a first,” she told the teens, “An Elder has not traveled to a foreign land for almost two hundred years. It will be interesting to see the lives of those in such a bustling place.” As she spoke Cologne gestured out to the city skyline and chuckled, “Such an unbelievable sight. It’s no wonder you say the rest of the world would consider us primitive.”

Nabiki smirked, “Maybe, but you have no idea how much a lot of people pay to go back to the simple ways every now and then. In the end, everyone seems to want the fast and new, but it’s the comfortable and time tested that wind up making people relaxed and happy.”

Cologne chuckled, “Simple is best.”

After a time, the group set foot on Japanese soil, and after a brief stay in the port’s customs office headed out once more. Nabiki led the group back to Nerima, this time on the inside of a passenger train as opposed to the outside as they had traveled across China. The trip was uneventful, and culminated with the four of them standing outside the gates of the Tendo family compound. As the troupe passed through the gates they found Kodachi sweeping the walkway.

The gymnast bowed and greeted them, “Welcome home Lady Ranma, Lady Nabiki. Mistress Kasumi is making a light lunch at the moment and will be glad of your return.”

Nabiki boggled and asked, “Um…What are you doing here, Kodachi?”

“In payment for my continued instruction with your sister I have agreed to do a portion of the household chores. She calls this part of my…sensitivity training. Mistress says that if I understand the work that people around me do everyday, I can understand the people better. She calls it the human condition.”

Ranma put her hands behind her head and smiled, “That sounds like Kasumi. Maybe I should pitch in too, ya know. As payment for all the trouble around here.”

“I may hold you to that, lover mine,” Nabiki chuckled and headed inside, “We’re back!”

Kasumi quickly came into view and rushed to give her sister a hug, “Nabiki, everyone, welcome home.” She released Nabiki and held her at arms length, “Wow, Nabiki. You look so different.”

Nabiki blinked, “What do you mean. I’ve only been gone a month, I can’t look that different.”

Kasumi smiled, “You do, though. I see it in your eyes. You picked up some new confidence in China, didn’t you?”

Nabiki blinked again, wondering at her sister as she moved to greet Ranma and Shampoo back into the house. Kasumi had always been observant, and if she said something like that she truly meant it. Nabiki considered the past month when she had gone from being scared of solders in the back country to fighting Mousse for her pride and for Shampoo’s sake.

I guess I have changed a little, Sis, she thought to herself. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here today.

Ranma separated from the group as Shampoo introduced her grandmother to Kasumi. Heading upstairs, she ducked into the bathroom and quickly doused herself with hot water, changing back into male form. As he walked back out into the hall, Ranma almost ran into Akane, although it took him a moment to realize that it was her.

“Wa…What happened to your hair,” he stammered out. Akane did have a new look, the hair that had grown to a length that reached her waist was gone and in its place she had cut it to a length even shorter then Nabiki’s pageboy style.

For a moment, Akane reeled back at seeing the boy, and she fought down a knee jerk reaction to insult him. Instead she calmed herself with the techniques she had been learning and answered.

“Dad started training me again, so I felt like I needed a change. Since you’re back, I assume that everything went well and my sister is alright?”

Ranma could tell that Akane was forcing down her emotions to be civil and responded softly, “Better then alright. She really helped out in China. If not for her, we would have had a real rough time. She’s pretty excited about being home, so I’d go say hi to her before Kasumi smothers her.”

The teens both gave a soft chuckle, and Akane headed for the stairs, a smile on her face. Ranma turned away and headed up the hall to the room he had shared with his father after their arrival at the Tendo’s. Opening the door, he saw that the room had not changed since his departure for China.

“I sorry, my boy,” Ranma turned and saw that Mister Tendo had come up behind him, “It seems I underestimated your father. I’ve not heard from him since his departure, and I’m starting to wonder if he’s up to something.”

Ranma shrugged, “He’s always up to something. I only hope that…I wish…” Ranma stopped talking, and Soun placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.

“He was the only parent you knew for so long, and being rejected like that hurts. Add in the fact that he has hurt you so often, and you are wondering about how to perceive him.” Ranma gave the man a questioning look and laughed lightly, “After my daughters reprimanded me so harshly, I decided that Akane would not be the only one to visit my old friend.”

Ranma nodded, and then looked back into the empty room, “So what do we do about this?”

“We wait, and hope that your father can see the excellent young man that you have become.”

Ranma fought for control over his emotions at that statement. He found the complement from the older man to be a great comfort. And even though he had received many from Nabiki and Shampoo he found that Soun’s simple words had a deep impact on him. Soun Tendo tried to be a father first to his daughters, and Ranma found himself wishing that his own father could take lessons from the gentle, if somewhat emotional, man.

Downstairs, Cologne leaned on her staff as the girls chatted away in the sitting room of the Tendo house. When Akane had joined them, the old woman saw Nabiki’s eyes light up just a tiny bit more, and the girl launched into a condensed and edited, story of the trip into China. The Matriarch chuckled as the girls hung on her words, and even Shampoo helped by adding her own perspective to the story.

When Ranma returned with the Tendo patriarch, introductions were made. As Cologne took the man’s hand and looked into his eyes, she saw a haunted stare behind the brightness of a father welcoming home his daughter. She had seen the look far too often and instantly knew that the man was only just beginning to recover from past tragedy. As she had spoken at length with Nabiki during the stay at the village, she knew that Soun Tendo was an emotional man who fell apart after the death of his wife. She was glad to see that the male was beginning to pull himself together now, for himself and his daughters.

“…and so Nabiki threw this monster haymaker that put him into next Tuesday,” Ranma had just added his own view to the story of the stay in the Amazon village, and the Tendo sisters were laughing at his dynamic storytelling style. Ranma pantomimed action as he spoke, and even if Mister Tendo had a frown on his face that his middle daughter was in such dangers, he had a twinkle in his eye that said he was proud of her.

“Ranma right,” Shampoo added, “Sister Nabiki stand as proud Amazon that day. She not only beat stupid Mousse, but find cure for Shampoo as well. I very grateful.”

“I must say that I’m very proud of these children,” Cologne said from her place at the table. Kodachi had just served her tea, and the old woman sipped lightly, nodding her appreciation. “And it is in no small part their influence that has gotten me out of the village to see the world for myself once more.”

Kasumi also took a cup of tea, nodding to a blushing Kodachi, “So you have been to Japan before?”

“In my youth I gave into a short bout of wanderlust and traveled to many lands. But I can see that the world outside our mountains has changed more then we realized.” Kasumi was about to ask another question, but the old Amazon waved it off, “Today is what is important to me now. Today and tomorrow. It is quite crowded in here, and I do not wish to impose any more then Shampoo already has.” The old woman chuckled at that and continued, “My tomorrow is filled with looking for a home, temporary at least, for my old bones.”

She stood, and made her way out on to the porch. As she passed Soun, she whispered low, “You have a spy along your east wall.” She sat on the porch, pulling out her pipe, lighting it and taking a long drag, then spoke a few words in mandarin. Soun sat still at her words, careful not to react.

Finally he spoke, “Well, it seems like you acquitted yourself well, Nabiki. If Ranma won’t take this as an insult to his training, I’d like to evaluate you out in the dojo.”

“Daddy, I just got home. Right now I need to stretch out and take a long dip in the tub to get the road out of my pores. I think I’ll pass for the moment.”

Soun gave her a stern look, “Right now, young lady. You will have more then enough time to relax in a short while. I need to know what my daughter has done with herself for the last month.”

Nabiki sighed, and stood. Akane also stood to follow, but Shampoo placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, shaking her head. As Nabiki moved into the yard, her head whipped to the side, and a wave lashed out at the east wall. There was a yelp, and instantly Ranma and Shampoo were on the move.

The pair vaulted out of the house and bounced over the wall. Akane bolted out behind them, confused as to what was going on, and stopped suddenly as a long string of curses echoed over the wall. After a few moments, Ranma and Shampoo came back over the wall, the Amazon helping the boy.

Ranma was still grousing under his breath, and for a good reason, a large metal spike was driven into his shoulder. Nabiki went to his side, cupping water from the koi pond in her hands and splashing him on her way. The change turned Ranma female once again, and Shampoo sharply pulled the protruding spike out. In seconds, Ranma’s demonic power healed the wound, but that did nothing to stop the string of muttered curses coming from the redhead.

Akane gasped, “What was all that about?”

Shampoo shrugged, helping Ranma back to the porch, “Pale boy taking pictures of home. Grandmother spot and tell Shampoo and Tendo father.”

“I thought to distract out guest by taking Nabiki out,” Soun added, “but it seems she had other ideas.” The gaze he leveled on his middle daughter was not missed by anyone.

Ranma, however, continued, “When we jumped the fence, this skinny kid that looked like he hadn’t seen daylight, or a good meal in years pulled out these spike and hammer set. Next thing I know I’m a pin cushion and he’s bailing. Little git can run like nuts too.”

“All well and good,” Soun said, “And I’m glad that your…abilities have allowed you to heal Ranma. Now then, what I wish to know is why my daughter had developed a rather unusual ability of her own.”

The authority in Soun’s voice made Nabiki lower her head slightly, and she turned to the others, “I’ll talk to him. You see if you can pick up our new friend’s trail.”

Shampoo nodded, and leaving Ranma to regain her strength, jumped back over the wall, scouting for traces of the fleeing observer. On the porch, the redhead sat next to Cologne, folding her legs and focusing inward to make sure that the damage was truly healed. Cologne nodded at the actions, and took another long pull on her pipe.

Inside, the Tendo’s sat down for a family meeting. Soun sat with Akane and Kasumi across from him. Nabiki sat at the end of the table and spoke softly.

“I’m guessing that you noticed when I was using my powers to express my dislike of Genma Saotome.” A short nod from Soun confirmed her statement and she continued, “What you saw out there was the effort of almost two months of training.” She then spoke about her abilities, leaving out some abilities such as mind control. Soun simply sat and listened. When he asked if the other two sisters knew about these powers, Kasumi nodded.

“Nabiki confided in me shortly after developing her telepathy,” Kasumi said, “Ranma had helped her through the first parts, and she needed some advice. I was glad to be able to help her.”

Akane shrugged, “I thought it was more weird stuff that happened because of Ranma showing up.”

Soun closed his eyes and turned to Nabiki, taking a deep breath. Then he opened them and looked into the eyes of his middle daughter.

“I hope that you have not abused this ability,” he stated plainly.

“No, Daddy.”

“Then I have nothing to worry about. I know that we live in interesting times now, and I guessed that sooner or later my daughters would be affected.” Soun paused, tears welling up in his eyes, “I will have to adapt to all the strangeness as well I suppose.”

Nabiki took note of the poorly hidden concern on her father’s face and leaned over to whisper at Kasumi, “I thought he said he was going to therapy too?”

Akane leaned in as well, “Looks like he’ll need another group session Monday.”

Several blocks away, Hikaru Gosuinkugi had made his way back to his secret lair…er, his parent’s basement. When the mental blast had hit him, he knew he had less then seconds to react, and had done what came naturally.

Spiking Ranma with a voodoo curse may not have been the best choice at the time, but it bought him the seconds he needed to start running, and that was what he was really good at. Being picked on by bullies, local thugs and gang initiates had shown him that he was less then useless in a fight, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t outrun trouble.

He was honestly thinking about joining the track team if the whole demon sorcerer thing didn’t pan out.

The price of his retreat was one spike, easily replaced, and a little dignity, no worries there. In the end though, it had been worth it. In his hand he held the key to his master plan, a single tiny scrap of red fabric he had managed to tear off after striking Ranma in the shoulder.

“A personal belonging,” he whispered. In excitement, he danced a little jig as he worked his way over to the locked chest where he kept his supplies hidden. Drawing out a notebook, a small jar of bluish powder, and a simple piece of chalk, he began his work.

Checking against his notebook, Hikaru began to outline a circle on the floor with the chalk. A ring of odd characters made up the inner most ring and lines crossed it to form a pentacle star. In the center, he drew the character for ‘Ranma’. As he worked, time seemed to flow, and when he looked up it was already late at night.

For a moment, he was worried about Ranma or the girls attached to him finding him before he was ready, but Gosuinkugi believed that they would have difficulty tracking him across Nerima in the hap-hazard manner in which he came to his house. He had seen the blue haired girl stalking along one of his paths, but had made sure that path led to the school, where any track would blend into the hundreds that came and went from the building. In addition he had also doubled back along one of his earlier trips to the Kuno estate, and hoped that that would also throw off the Amazon.

Besides, he thought, Kuno will have to deal with that bunch soon enough. If they think he’s involved with spying on the Tendo Dojo they’ll brush it off as him being loony.

Satisfied with both his preparations and his work now, Gosuinkugi stood and inspected the circle on the basement floor. Taking the bluish powder, he made a small pile over Ranma’s name, and lit a match.

Holding it up he asked himself, “Do I really want to risk myself like this? If I’m wrong, Ranma will beat the shit out of me. And even if I’m right she may still consume my soul. For power, for knowledge, and for my own lusts, do I dare risk everything I am?”

He considered this for a moment as the match burned, then answered, “I’m a loser anyway, so fuck yes.”

Dropping the match, and careful not to disturb the circle, he lit the powder. As it ignited, he opened his notebook once more and began to chant in a guttural language. Dark words passed his lips, and as the smoke rose from the small fire in the circle it turned from a light yellow to a dark blue, then a deep black. His chanting came to a crescendo, and he withdrew the red cloth he had obtained as well as a small knife. With a swift motion, he drew blood from his fingertip, only a few drops that landed on the cloth.

Dropping the stained cloth into the fire, Hikaru once more resumed his chant, and as the scrap burst into flame, the smoke began to change its appearance, taking humanoid form.

Back at the Tendo’s, Ranma was shook out of her meditation next to Cologne by a sudden pulling sensation. Once more, the tickle in the back of her mind that she had come to notice as her demonic instincts demanded attention.

Nabiki looked over from where she was in deep discussion with her father and saw Ranma’s face contort suddenly as a wave of nausea swept over the redhead. The middle Tendo daughter was about to inquire as to what was bothering Ranma, but with a flash of light the demoness was replaced by a rapidly dissipating cloud of sulfur smoke.

“What the hell?”

Akane had asked a very pointed question, and as Nabiki franticly did a mental search for her lover, she had to wonder if this was yet another of Ranma’s otherworldly powers manifesting itself. She sent out a psychic call to Shampoo, letting the huntress know what had happened, and the Amazon doubled back to meet with her future sister-wife.

In the occult laboratory of Hikaru Gosuinkugi, the smoke that was slowly taking human form suddenly erupted in flame, and as the fire died, a confused looking Ranma Saotome stood.

“What the hell was that,” she wondered aloud.

An answer quickly came from a shadowed corner of the room, “Not quite hell yet, but then again you really don’t know that much about what you are, do you?”

Ranma’s eyes swirled to red as she growled out, “Who are you?”

“A simple sorcerer that decided to test your power,” the unusually timid voice said from the darkness, “I summoned you. As long as you are in that circle, and until I release you, you have to do exactly as I tell you. Do you understand?”

“Bullshit.”

With that Ranma began marching to confront her summoner, but was stopped short with a painful jolt as her foot rammed into a wall of power extending upward from a chalk circle on the floor. Stepping back, she evaluated her position and punched the invisible barrier and took another jolt as a reward.

For almost two minutes she unloaded almost everything she had into the wall, but it did not give a millimeter, and after her assault she was forced to stop for fear of burning her knuckles worse then her healing ability could cope with.

Glaring into the shadows where her captor stood, Ranma spoke, “Alright, asshole, what do you want?”

At the edge of her hearing Ranma heard a sigh of relief, then a low chuckle. The shadowed form stepped into the light, and the redhead was greatly unimpressed. He was short, gangly, and pasty and had the look of someone who hadn’t seen daylight or food in a great while. He had a notebook under one arm, and the other held a simple prayer strip that Ranma eyed warily.

Hikaru stopped a short distance away and said, “I know who you are and what you are, Ranma Saotome. That’s something you don’t have. I’d like to offer you a deal. In exchange for a few simple tasks and your guarantee of my safety, I’ll show you the depth of your power.”

“And if I refuse?”

Hikaru grinned, “Then you stay a prisoner there until your hunger drives you mad, at which point you will swear yourself to me for all time. I’m offering you a much better deal, I think.”

Ranma snorted, “So temporary servitude or permanent slavery. Great choices there buddy.” Ranma sat down on the small patch of floor inside her prison and closed her eyes, “Let’s see if you’ll last that long.”

“I don’t understand why you’re reluctant, Saotome,” the mage said, “You know how much, maybe a hundredth of what you are capable off? As a warrior, don’t you want to know what you can do?”

Ranma winced at that. When she had first discovered her mind controlling powers Nabiki had said much the same thing. Now here was someone claiming to be a sorcerer that could tell her what she needed to know. All the power she had found so far was done by accident, and in the middle of a fight she could not rely on accidents to see her through a tough situation.

Wait a sec, she thought, my mind control power!

She hated the ability because of the feelings that almost consumed her when she used it, but now was a situation that Nabiki had also warned her about, a situation where using such a tool could lead to her freedom.

Calming herself, she allowed the dark power within her to rise up once more, and slowly she stood, facing her captor. Opening her eyes, she let the soft blue of her power extend outward as she adopted a smoky tone.

“Why don’t you let me out so we can talk about this?”

Gosuinkugi stumbled back as the words caressed his ears. Instantly he felt himself harden at the sensation and gulped deeply as his teenage, and underused, hormones raged for him to act. He reached out and braced himself against the wall as Ranma continued to give him a sultry look that sent shudders up and down his spine.

The demoness saw that she was having an effect on him, and repeated her order for him to release her. She also upped the potency of her attack by reaching up and undoing the top two ties on her red shirt. Her cleavage became readily visible, and she bent forward slightly to give the hapless boy a good look at the tops of her creamy breasts.

“Let me out…”

Nodding dumbly, Hikaru stepped forward, his foot scuffing the chalk circle as he cupped the succubus’ offered bosom. She pushed forward against him, breathing lightly across his ear as they moved out of the trap. As soon as they were clear of the circle, Ranma lightly took hold of the mage’s hand that was slowly groping her front and twisted it hard, almost breaking the wrist.

Gosuinkugi went from lust to agony in less then a second and fell to his knees as a silent scream escaped his lips. Reacting instantly, he tried to slap his last ditch weapon, the prayer strip, onto the demon holding him. Ranma’s reflexes were far faster however, and the paper was caught in her hand and burst into black flames.

“I’ll give you credit, little boy,” Ranma said, an echo of power still in her voice, “It took a lot of guts to try a stunt like this. If you ever do it again I’ll rip your nuts off.” With that she let go of his hand and moved to leave.

“Wait,” the downed mage managed to get out, “I can still tell you about your powers. Do you really want to walk away from that?”

The redhead paused at the basement door and turned back, “I don’t like the price you’d have me pay. I’m no one’s property, and I can smell your lust from here. If you know so much about me, you know that I want nothing to do with that.”

“Then you will continue on in ignorance,” said the boy, but Ranma paid him no heed and headed out to rejoin her friends. After she left, Hikaru made his way over to the circle, cradling his bruised hand. Looking into the circle he saw that the kanji for ‘Ranma’ had changed during the encounter.

“I knew it wouldn’t be as easy as that,” he told the empty room, “That’s why I made plans within plans.” He quickly scribbled down the new symbol with his left hand and let out a low snicker, then reached for his phone.

“Master Kuno? This is Gosuinkugi. I have received word that she has returned…Yes she is still in the company of the vile sorcerer, Ranma Saotome…Yes, my divination worked, and she was most eager to help your cause…I’ll leave the arrangements to you then, just remember that I need Ranma alive to undo his spell…Two days? Excellent, I’ll be ready. Good day.”

The smile blooming on Hikaru’s face widened, and he looked down at the word burnt into his basement floor as he hung up, his snicker soon became his wheezing laugh.

His spell had summoned Ranma, and the spell within it had made contact with the demon, diving into her mystic aura and divining his true weakness.

Checking the circle again, Hikaru muttered to himself, “Who would have thought that the mighty Ranma Saotome could be brought low by such a thing.” He turned back to the phone and dialed again, “Tomako’s Pets? I’d like to order some cats for a special event at my school. Every one you have in stock.”

Outside, Ranma had taken to the air and quickly returned to the Tendo compound where a relived Shampoo and Nabiki gave the redhead welcome hugs. Ranma told of her encounter with Gosuinkugi, and asked Cologne a simple question.

“Can any nut do that? Summon me, I mean.”

The Amazon Elder sighed, “It is part of your nature. If he had some kind of link to you, a personal item of yours for example, any mage worth their salt would be able to call you. You should be able to resist the summons once you grow strong enough, but you will have to figure out how on your own.”

“Unless we get him to tell us what he knows,” Nabiki said. When Ranma shot an accusing glance at her she put up her hands defensively and explained, “I don’t mean for you to take him up on his offer. I was thinking my specialty would be appropriate here. After all, if there’s dirt to be dug up in Furinkan, Nabiki Tendo can find it.”

The mercenary glint in Nabiki’s eye, coupled with her own brand of evil chuckle made the other Tendo sisters sweat, and Ranma and Shampoo slowly inched away from the girl as shivers ran up and down their spines.

Ranma was almost sorry for the boy.

Almost.


To be continued.

Endnote: Sorry this took so long. Picture a nice apartment on the third floor in New England. Now picture no AC or central air. Throw in a busy hair dresser on the first floor, and a heat wave that sends the apartment over 110 degrees on a daily basis. I have simply been so sapped of energy that this thing came out about a paragraph a day for a while. Anyway, I’m done bitching. This was pretty much an in between chapter to establish things to come. Next we deal with Kuno and Gos’ plan, and then we may touch on where Genma went. Until then, no rest for the wicked, and the good work overtime anyway.

Advertisement: Check out Mercury 2.0 (T) in the Sailor Moon section. It’s a five part story that is going to be updated at a slightly slower pace, but like this one, I’m having fun writing it.