Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ What Lies Within ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

[Author’s note: The characters and setting herein- with the exception of one or two O.C.’s of my own design- are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I apologize for the slight delay in posting; life caught up to me for a bit. And now…]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 12: What Lies Within

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The late afternoon skies over Nerima were beginning to mirror the mood that was creeping over the Tendo dojo- bleak, with a touch of foreboding. Gray clouds had been gathering since noon, gradually taking on a darkish hue, and a chill wind picked up every once in a while. The local news predicted it would rain before the sun was down, something that might have interested the dojo residents any other day but this. Some wondered what they were really in for. Others wondered if they were ready to deal with anything that was about to happen.

The front gates to the Tendo estate were shut tight, a paper ward scribed with a pentagram running vertically over both doors. Shingen was making a circle of the perimeter wall, stopping every few feet to retrieve a throwing knife and fling it into the earth at the base of the wall. When he reached the center of each wall, he stopped and placed another paper ward perpendicular to the ground. “This is for everyone’s safety,” he had said when Nabiki had asked him what the hell he was doing. “In case something unexpected happens, the wards should keep things from spiraling out of control, especially once the Purge is completed.”

“I can understand the wards, but what’s the deal with the throwing knives?” she had asked.

“Those are focus wards; the paper wards are shields,” he had replied. “The knives aren’t just weapons, Nabiki-chan. They’re one of my more versatile tools, especially when it comes to creating a warding circle. Believe me, for what I’m about to do, I’ll need all the focus I can get.”

“Well, however you pull this off, I only hope it’s not going to blow the roof off the dojo or anything else; we’ve had more of our fair share of repair bills as it is. No offense, Shin-kun, but you better not bust up the place too much, or I’ll be sticking you with the tab.” With a little extra tacked on as ‘sundry expenses’ for myself, she had thought. This guy’s gotta be loaded, considering what he shelled out to rent the spare room!

“I’m well aware of that possibility, and I also know things are going to get a little rough once I’ve isolated the infestation in Ranma’s body,” the taller man had said coolly. “That said, anyone not involved in this process is going to have to stay indoors until I give the word; I’m in no mood for innocents to get caught up in this. That means all doors and windows remain shut, and shut tight.”

Nabiki had nodded. “So, no spectators, huh? Not even a video camera?”

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“Wouldn 217;t even let me put up a video camera…” Nabiki groused from her seat at the table. Through the shoji doors she could just make out Shingen placing a final ward on the wall behind the koi pond. He made a few quick motions with his hands and appeared to be saying something, but it was too far to hear.

The other people gathered in the room were each absorbed in their own thoughts, no one saying a word. Soun and Genma sat on one side of the room, still playing shogi but neither one really paying attention. “I never thought this sort of thing might happen under my own roof, least of all to my baby’s future husband… dear gods, if the worst does happen our houses may never be joined…” “I hope that boy of mine pulls through this in one piece. Who would’ve thought, demons behind the curses… That Shingen boy better be good to his word and get my boy back to normal, or there’ll be hell to pay. And once they’re sure he’s okay, that the treatment works… I’ll be home free, too! No more Mr. Panda!”

Ranma sat cross-legged by the table with his eyes closed, breathing slowly and methodically, trying to calm his nerves. “To hell and back again for a cure… sure feels like I’ve done that about a million times already. Geez, I dunno if this is even gonna work; didn’t he say somethin’ about possibly bein’ cursed even after it’s over? No, that was in case something goes wrong… well, to hell with it. This is all I got at the moment, an’ I’m not backing out now. Not after what I just did earlier. My mind is my own, an’ I’m not gonna let some ‘infection’ or whatever tell me what to do! I don’t wanna deal with this Jusenkyo crap any longer, an’ I don’t want Akane to hafta deal with it either!” He glanced sideways at her and smiled softly. “Definitely not backing out now. I don’t wanna hurt ya like that again…”

Akane noticed Ranma’s gaze fall on her; she looked up and smiled briefly before looking away with worry in her eyes. “I wonder what he’s thinking… probably the same thing as me, whether this is going to work or not. Kami, I hope it does, if only to get his mind at ease over the whole mess once and for all.. He looks really tense- like he’s about to go to war or something.” She shifted uncomfortably. “If it wasn’t for that pendant he might really be at war- with himself. And maybe Mr. Saotome, too, or the Amazons… or… or…” She glanced up again with a guilty look. “You’re right, Ranma. Even with what Ryoga did to me, and to you, he does need our help, if we can find him. I… I guess I flew off the handle a bit when you mentioned him earlier. I just felt so angry, I forgot how serious this all is… and maybe some of what he did wasn’t his fault, but his curse’s fault, like you said… geez, now I’m starting to ramble. What’s taking Shingen so long? I wish he’d just wrap things up, get in here and get that thing out of you!”

Nodoka sat on Ranma’s other side, glancing at him every once in a while with a concerned air. “I wish I could say or do something to make this easier on you, Ranma… heavens know it hasn’t been easy for you up to this point. Great Kami, eleven whole years… I watched you leave me as a child and you came back to me a grown man. And we might have met face to face so much sooner if it hadn’t been for that accursed contract, or the fact that Genma impressed it upon you to the point that you felt you had to hide from me!” She wiped absently at a corner of her eye. “Even with that curse, you’re still the man you’ve always been on the inside… a man I never got a chance to raise, or really call my son… my only son… I’ve never even truly seen some of your struggles, but had to hear about them after the fact. I wish I could have been there for you… and I know now it’s long past time I stopped questioning your manhood.”

The sound of a foot on the back porch interrupted everyone’s thoughts. Everybody except Kasumi- who was still in the kitchen- looked up to see Shingen place a ward on each of the shoji doors, then one on the porch itself.

“That should do it,” he said with a nod of his head.

Ranma opened his eyes and took a deep breath. “So this is really it, huh?” he said, standing up. “Time to face the music an’ go for broke, huh?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Shingen straightened his jacket and adjusted the straps on his fingerless gloves; the pentagram runes on the backs of his gloves seemed to be shimmering with an inner light. “You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good.” He cast an eye over the rest of the room. “All right, now far be it for me to dictate things in your home, Tendo-san, but anyone not directly involved in the Purge is to stay in here until I say so. Any interruptions during the casting or immediately afterwards could be catastrophic.” Soun nodded in agreement, as did most of the rest of the room.

“Anything else?” Akane asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” said Shingen. “I’ll need at least one person, maybe two, to stand by and hold Ranma down if necessary.”

“Wait a sec, hold me down? What’re ya talking about?”

“I told you earlier, the Purge is going to be channeling ki through your body at an extremely high rate. The pain could cause you to try and get out of the casting circle, even if you don’t mean to. And if you do fall out of the circle, gods know what might happen,” Shingen finished, a severe look in his eyes.

“I don’t need ta be held, I can deal with the pain myself,” Ranma replied, an equally severe look on his face.

“From what I can tell, you barely managed to deal with the infection taking over your mind less than an hour ago.”

“That’s not the same thing! Physical pain I can handle; I already told ya I’ve gone through more than enough of that in the past year alone!”

“Be that as it may, my friend, I’m not going to take that kind of a risk,” said Shingen in a firm tone. “If something happens and you start moving out of alignment, I won’t be able to stop the Purge to help you back into position. Yes, you’re tough, I could sense that when we first fought, but nobody is indestructible. We’re either doing this the right way, which is my way, or not at all.”

Ranma stared off to the side for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, whatever you say… but I’ll hold myself down no problem, you’ll see.” Akane smirked slightly.

“So who gets stuck playing babysitter?” Nabiki asked. “Maybe his dad ought to, might be a good prep experience for him.”

“No, that would be a bad idea, Nabiki-chan,” said Shingen. “I’m not going to risk having two infested individuals in close proximity of the same casting circle; I don’t know what the results might be, and I’m not in any mood to find out.”

At his words, Genma breathed a barely noticeable(he hoped) sigh of relief. He straightened up, clearing his throat. “Well… that’s a terrible shame. Ordinarily I’d eagerly step in to offer a hand for the boy, but if it’s not possible…”

“You’re off the hook by default, Pops, ya don’t have to make excuses to get out of it like ya probably would have anyway,” Ranma groaned. Genma shrunk back, a sheepish grin on his face as he noticed Nodoka giving him a withering glare.

“I’ll do it.”

Ranma blinked as Akane got up from her spot at the table. “Huh?”

“I said I’ll do it,” she said with a faint smile. “If someone’s going to have to keep you in line out there, I guess it might as well be me, right?” Soun stared at his youngest daughter, a joyous grin beginning to appear on his face.

“A… Akane, are ya sure about this? I mean, what if somethin’ goes wrong out there an’…”

“If something goes wrong then at least I’ll be there to help you, right?”

“But… but you could get…”

“I KNOW that, Ranma, and so could you!!! You think after all we just went through that I’d turn tail and run because of something like this? And don’t even try to say I can’t handle myself; I’m the one who brought you back to your senses when you lost it at our front gate!” She sighed, letting her expression soften. “I’d rather make sure you get out of this okay than just sit and wait for it to happen, baka. Remember what I said about both of us facing this sort of thing? Rivals, magic, doesn’t matter. Like it or not, I’m going to help you out with this.”

“As am I,” said a calm female voice that caused half the room to stare and sweatdrop.

Genma blinked hard. “No… No-chan? What did you say?” he stammered as Nodoka stood up slowly, her katana gripped tight in her left hand.

Ranma finally found his own voice. “Mom?”

“I want to help, son. It’s bad enough that I missed seeing you grow up, bad enough that I couldn’t be there in times when you might have needed me most. I know you’ve endured a great deal of hardship… possibly greater than I could imagine right now… and now that we’re back together I don’t plan on sitting off to one side. And before any of you begin to object, remember this is my decision and I am not one who is swayed lightly.” She cast a steely glance over the room before turning back to Ranma, her expression softer. “I know I cannot take back the years we were apart, or any misgivings that caused us to stay apart, my son. But I can be here for you now. Even if you don’t need me, I want to be involved in some way.”

Ranma stood still for a moment before smiling very faintly and nodding his head. He knew for a fact that arguing with his mother would be an exercise in futility. “Mom… you know if anything does happen to you or to ‘kane out there…”

“Do not worry about me, son,” she replied, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about either of us. I know full well this may be a great risk, but it’s one I’m willing to take. And I know Akane is prepared as well.”

“You’re right, Auntie Nodoka,” Akane said with a nod. “We can handle this.”

Shingen coughed. “Very well then. If that matter is settled, let’s get this over with.”

“Um… just out of curiosity, aren’t you a little casual for a ritual?” Nabiki asked offhand. “I mean, that whole jacket and gloves thing; shouldn’t you have some sort of ceremonial robe or fancy kimono for this Spirit Purge of yours?” Maybe an outfit decked out in gold thread? He’s gotta have something like that for rituals and special occasions…

Shingen cast a tired look at Nabiki. “Robes are for priests and exorcists, Nabiki-chan. I’m a Hunter. No use for flashy clothes if they don’t do anything.” He turned and walked out onto the porch, slipping his hiking boots on as he did so.

********************


“Strip to the waist,” Shingen said a short while later as he closed the shoji doors and placed one final ward across them. Just beyond the porch, a small circular diagram about 1 foot in diameter had been etched into the ground by a short blade of some sort. Shingen’s jade inlaid tanto rested on the porch, and had obviously been used to create the diagram. A rolled piece of parchment lay next to the tanto, and Shingen’s naginata next to that. Nodoka sat on the porch with her katana unwrapped at her left side. Ranma and Akane stood nearby, Akane in her yellow gi and Ranma still in his blue vest and black pants. Shingen turned around and looked at Ranma, who seemed a bit confused. “You heard me, Ranma. Shirt off, now.” Ranma paused for a moment, then shrugged and undid the clasps of his vest, letting it fall to the ground where it was soon joined by his tank top. Akane’s face flushed a little as she watched him; it wasn’t anything new to her, she’d seen him bare-chested before, but for some reason couldn’t help but feel somewhat self-conscious looking at him. I guess I’d never really paid attention to him before… he really does look good with his shirt off, she thought absently as her eyes roamed over his chest and arms.

“So what happens now?” Ranma asked, fingering the pendant still tied around his neck. A breeze picked up, and he glanced at the sky; the clouds seemed to be getting darker by the minute.

“Lie down on the glyph,” Shingen replied as he retrieved the roll of parchment. Ranma nodded in response, kneeling down and prostrating his body across the diagram carved into the earth. “A little further up; you need to cover it completely with your upper body.” A shift in his position and the glyph was no longer visible. Shingen turned to face him, extending his hands forward with the scroll clasped tightly in his grip. He pulled his hands slowly apart, unrolling the scroll to reveal an ornate ward about a foot long and three inches across. The pentagram sigils on his gloves began to glow a soft blue.

“What do you want me to do?” Akane asked, her voice shaking slightly.

“You stay near his feet, Akane-chan. Nodoka-san, if you could move a little closer to his head.” Shingen slammed his eyes shut while the others moved to sit where he had indicated. He began to utter eldritch words which escaped everyone else’s understanding completely, no small surprise considering none of them had studied Aramaic. Before they knew it, Shingen stopped speaking and opened his eyes again. Kneeling next to Ranma, he quickly pressed the ward across his chest, then brought his hands back a short distance before muttering a few more arcane phrases. He leaned forward and struck a series of pressure points across Ranma’s collarbone and lower sternum, causing him to wince.

“So it begins.”

The wind seemed to pick up a notch as Shingen stood upright. The sigils on his gloves shifted from soft blue to white; Akane glanced up in awe as individual runes became illuminated across the ward on Ranma’s chest. Suddenly, Shingen’s hands darted into his jacket, pulling six throwing knives from within; a quick motion and two darts had embedded themselves on either side of Ranma’s head, eliciting a gasp from both Nodoka and Akane. Two more darts landed further out on either side of his waist, and the last two drove into the ground near his knees. Ranma had not flinched even once, but remained stock-still and breathing steady.

Shingen thrust his hands out, extending the index and little finger on each hand. He made several sharp gestures in the air over Ranma’s body, and seconds later blue light began to issue forth from the throwing knives surrounding him. The light shot forth in a criss-cross pattern, forming a perfect six-pointed star on the ground beneath him.

The ward on his chest began to glow with a gold luminescence. His eyes squeezed shut tighter, and a grunt of discomfort escaped his throat. Shingen pulled his hands closer to himself, extending all except his ring fingers and thumbs as he began to chant.

“By the spirits of this world and by the power bound in my blood, I invoke the Circle of Purity.” The light around Ranma began to intensify, and Akane couldn’t help but bite her lip as another groan reached her ears. Ranma’s brow was furrowing, sweat starting to run down his temples.

“Light to darkness, darkness to light, order and chaos in balance. That which is soiled shall be cleansed, that which is sealed shall be released.” Shingen’s hands cut through the air, tracing circular patterns in the air followed by sharp motions that resembled a complicated kata. A dull whine began to echo through the backyard as the light intensified; Ranma’s irritation rapidly gave way to genuine discomfort. He clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists, fighting back the urge to cry out. Damn it… I knew he said it was gonna hurt, but this… geez… feels like my insides are on fire!!! His head lifted off the ground then fell back again, a pained growl escaping his clenched jaw.

“In accordance with our bloodline contract, I banish thee and cast thee out…”

“Aarrrrrgghhh…..” Ranma gasped, raising his right fist up and slamming it to the ground again. His legs began to tense up, knees rising up as if preparing to kick out to one side; Akane saw the motion and clamped her hands down on Ranma’s ankles, locking him in place. Nodoka blinked, then quickly moved to cradle his head which was starting to rock from side to side. Both women shuddered briefly as an overwhelming wave of ki pulsed through the ground and the air directly between them.

“In the name of the elements and the clan Yamashira, I command you!!” The incantation was reaching a fever pitch, the light from the hexagram beneath Ranma’s body was almost blinding, as were the gold wards on his chest. A strangled groan passed his lips, and Akane gasped as she barely made out a drop of blood escape his clenched fist. Shingen’s hands flashed forward and his eyes snapped open, gold light shining in his irises. Both hands thrust downward, then upward as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, first and fourth fingers extended.

“Daichu… Tenkuu… Mizu… Kaji… Kurayami… Hikari…”

Shingen’s hands snapped outwards as a deep crimson light began to bleed from the runes on Ranma’s chest. His groans were far more frequent now, sweat running down his temples like water; he felt like he was being torn apart piece by piece. The cord holding the runic pendant around his neck snapped, letting the piece of hematite fall to the ground.

“TSUIHOU!!!”

An unearthly scream burst forth from the ward on his chest as the light from the hexagram shot through his body; pushing him to the brink of pain and beyond. Akane and Nodoka both winced as ki exploded from his chest in a tornado of pulsating blue light, then stared as a dark red miasma boiled out of the ward, writhing and twisting as the cyclone wrenched it further, further, further still… until something within gave way. With a final shriek, the glowing miasma tore loose from Ranma’s body and, caught by the whirlwind of energy, went careening across the back lawn before colliding with the stone wall.

Shingen’s hands dropped. The cyclone of ki dissipated, and Ranma collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap.

For a moment, everything stood still.

Akane gulped. “Is… is that it? Is it over now?”

A haughty, feminine laugh pierced the air around them. Akane’s eyes went wide, as did Nodoka’s. As they turned to face the source of the laughter, Shingen stepped around Ranma’s limp form, brandishing his naginata as he did so.

“I knew it. This has only just begun,” he muttered in an ice-cold tone. Before them, the miasma slowly ceased roiling and lurched upward, its form solidifying and taking on recognizable contours. A humanoid shape emerged… androgynous at first… then molding itself into a clearly female silhouette. Shingen’s eyes widened. “No… oh, hell no. Not one of those… not here!”

“Well, well, well… I never would have expected this to happen, and right when things had just gotten so much fun.”

Akane’s head snapped up. That voice! It… It can’t be!!!

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“You really are being terribly rude, you know. Forcing me out of such a wonderfully delicious host like that. So much fun to play with, you know. Such a boisterous attitude, not to mention his real need to be manly and prove the old man wrong.” The silhouette grew brighter, and brighter still, until all at once its inner light faded away to reveal the figure standing before them. A short girl with a very sexy, voluptuous figure and impossibly bright red hair that fell loosely about her shoulders. The spitting image of Ranma’s cursed form, except for the short jet-black horns that jutted from her forehead, not to mention that she was clad head to toe in skin-tight, black sleeveless ninja attire that looked akin to something out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog. “Of course, I suppose such an arrangement did limit my freedom somewhat… I did taste freedom briefly once, though only barely aware of it…”

Shingen stared at the girl in a mixture of shock and anger. “Don’t even think of going anywhere, succubus; this little game of yours ends right here and now!”

Akane blinked, staggering to her feet. “Succubus?”

“A Western term for a seducer demon,” Shingen growled. “They just love to mess with people’s minds and drag them into what seem to be pleasant situations, but in reality lead to nothing but pain. I wasn’t expecting one of those beasts to be behind his curse.”

“You wound me, sir,” the redhead purred. “I merely wished to enjoy myself, and some of his antics were so delightful I couldn’t help but prod him in that direction again and again when the opportunity arose.” She opened her eyes for the first time, revealing a pair of blood-red irises that seemed to bore daggers into Akane’s heart. “Especially if it helped keep him apart from that obnoxious, sexless tomboy over there… as it should be… it really started to become so difficult to prod him that way lately, he’s become so obsessed with not hurting that uncute bitch.” Akane felt her anger rising at the girl’s words, but at the same time the shock and fear at the girl’s appearance prevented her from saying anything.

“ENOUGH!!!” Shingen bellowed, raising his naginata in his right hand and beginning to spin it slowly. “I’m not interested in listening to your stories, demon. Time to send you back to the hell you were spawned in!”

“If you’re going to address me, boy, you might at least refer to me by a name,” the redhead replied in dulcet tones. “You know, I do rather like the name he used on occasion… Ranko-chan, wasn’t it? Why don’t you just address me as that?”

“Doesn’t matter what I call you, Ranko-chan or whatever your real name is, I’m taking you out.” His eyes darted to the left and right. “Nodoka-san, Akane-chan, stay back and keep Ranma off to the side.”

‘Ranko’ stretched her arms upward and yawned before leveling a thoroughly sadistic smile at Shingen. “Try if you will, boy, you and the others are still going to die. I will fulfill my purpose.” She flexed her hands seductively as her fingernails lengthened, extending into six-inch razorlike talons. “Shall we dance?”

“Bring it.” This is going to be tougher than I thought…

It started almost faster than the eye could follow. A flicker of motion and Shingen sprang forward, spinning his polearm in a massive arc. The blade smashed into the redhead’s claws with a metallic clash before he spun in the opposide direction, driving the butt of the staff against her right forearm. ‘Ranko’ responded by grabbing the staff and pulling forward as she tried to drive her left hand into his face; Shingen twisted his body to the side, grabbed her wrist and pulled, bringing them both around in a circle and separating once again. This time, both moved at once, and for a few seconds there was a frenzy of motion as her claws and his naginata became a blur. Each time one struck, the other parried; neither seemed capable of getting a clear hit in. Suddenly Shingen thrust forward, driving the straight double-edged blade directly at Ranko’s throat. The girl bent backwards effortlessly, allowing the blade to pass millimeters above her body before planting her hands and flipping back, trapping the staff of the naginata between her legs. The staff was yanked out of Shingen’s hands as the girl continued her rotation, coming back to a standing position with her newly purloined weapon in her hand.

“You’re quite an accomplished warrior, boy,” she murmured, “but you really shouldn’t hit a lady with something like thiiIIISSSS!!!” Her words became a scream as the hand clasped around the polearm began to smoke, forcing her to drop it and shake her fingers in anguish. A second later, Shingen lunged forward and delivered a massive side kick to her midsection, driving her into the stone wall around the house. He retrieved his weapon and circled back around.

“First lesson, demon,” he said quietly. “Never try to use a Hunter’s weapon. You’ll find it a bit too hot to handle.”

“You’re quite sure of yourself, young Hunter,” Ranko growled, revealing pearly white fangs as she did so. “And I believe I’ll be the one to judge what’s hot to handle. BURN!!!” The girl’s hands shot forth and a flaming blast of ki erupted from her palms.

“MAKOTO TOKU!” Shingen shouted in response, jabbing his left fist forward as the runes on his glove shone brilliant gold. Ranko’s fiery attack was inches away from immolating him when the flames hit a massive golden energy barrier centered on his hand. The jets of fire curved away, shooting out to either side and licking dangerously close to the Tendo household. Nodoka stared in shock while Akane flinched and pulled Ranma’s limp body closer to the porch. Ranma groaned softly and twitched; his left eye opened slightly, then closed again.

“Great heavens above, is that what was inside my child?” Nodoka said, casting a disbelieving look at the redheaded hellion who was beginning to pulse with a dark red aura. “Is that what has caused him all this trouble?” Her hand flew to the grip of her katana.

Shingen glanced back briefly. “Don’t get involved! Whatever happens, stay back and make sure she doesn’t reach his body!” The two combatants lunged forward again, and a primal scream erupted from Ranko as she began to attack Shingen with a ferocity that had previously been absent. His naginata swept through the air in wide arcs, which she easily ducked and jumped over before striking repeatedly at his hands, chest and face. Her claws clashed several times against his weapon’s staff and blade, then twice against smaller circular ki shields that erupted from the backs of his gloves. The two eventually sprang apart; Shingen drew his polearm back and bellowed as he unleashed the Sekkai Katto Sutoraiki technique, swinging the blade in an arc that sent a scythe of white light tearing across the ground. The girl ducked to the side at the last second, only losing a few hairs as the ki blade ripped a horrific gash through the back wall of the estate, causing the top few tiers of stone to drop several inches.

“You’re pretty good, Hunter dog,” Ranko sneered. “But I wonder how easy it will be to strike more than one opponent?” She grinned, her form blurring briefly; the next second, seven identical redheads appeared in front of Shingen and encircled him, each one extending her claws.

“Clever, demon. A maboroshi technique; you might want to stick to straight fighting.” He jabbed his left hand in front of his face, extending his first and fourth fingers as his eyes took on a white glow. “KAMI NO SHISEN!” His hand swept outward and an energy wave burst forth from his eyes, causing seven Rankos to shudder and evaporate, leaving only the original. The redhead blinked in surprise, just as Shingen burst forward in a blur, shifting his naginata to his left hand and punching with his right. “JINRAI TEKKEN!” Ranko gasped as his ki-coated knuckles collided with her left hand, crushing her claws to pieces and generating a vibration that caused Akane and Nodoka to wince and hold their ears. The succubus staggered, then glared venomously at Shingen before blazing into him with a series of punches and kicks that topped any of her previous speed. The taller man dodged and blocked with wild abandon, until finally Ranko spotted an opening and drove her fist into Shingen’s solar plexus. As he staggered, she delivered a front snap kick that sent his naginata flying end over end until it landed, blade-down, not two feet from where Nodoka was sitting.

Shingen staggered up, catching his breath. “So you were holding back, demon.”

“Just like my host- sorry, former host would do when he didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Ranko said quietly. “Which was more or less all the time, that pitiful fool. He didn’t want to hurt anyone… me, I just enjoy playing.” Fire leaped across her eyes as she strode towards the Hunter. “But now the gloves are off, boy! You BROKE my NAILS!!!”

With a horrific battle cry, Ranko tore into Shingen. Akane stared in shock as the taller man started to give ground, becoming more of a defensive fighter and landing fewer punches or kicks. Ranko, for her part, had turned into a raging harpy, her fists flying at incredible speeds, almost a blur… Akane gasped as she realized Ranko was executing a perfect Amaguriken technique. Oh gods! That… that thing is using one of Ranma’s… and if she knows how to do that, then she might also be able to… she might have his entire repertoire at her fingertips! Her thoughts were interrupted as a cry of pain rent the air; Ranko had extended her right claws for a fleeting second and ripped three gouges below Shingen’s left eye. He staggered back, glared at the redhead and unleashed a barrage of throwing knives from the recesses of his jacket. The girl quickly parried the majority of them, but winced as three errant blades struck her above her breasts and in her left bicep, sending wisps of smoke into the air as the rune-engraved steel burned her flesh. She angrily swiped the offending items away, returning her attention to Shingen who had just thrust at her face with his right fist. She dodged easily, then quickly noticed it for the feint it was as his left leg snapped forward. Grappling both arms around his left shin, Ranko swung in a wide circle and lifted a startled Shingen off the ground for a brief second before releasing him; he collided with the back wall, producing an impressive indentation before sliding down to his knees. Desperately he staggered up, but before he could act Ranko grabbed him by the face and slammed the back of his head into the wall once more, knocking him half-senseless.

Turning around, the redhead gazed at the trio by the porch with a hungry eye. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes… I was just about to enjoy completing my task.” She licked her lips and began to sashay forward, unhurried.

Akane’s eyes widened slightly as she staggered to her feet; on the periphery of her vision she saw Nodoka doing the same thing, slowly drawing her katana. “I… I don’t know what kind of a task you’re trying to complete, you… you beast, but I’m not gonna let you do to Ranma what you just did to Shingen!” She spun around and grabbed the tanto off the porch, brandishing it shakily as she moved in front of Ranma‘s prone form. “Why? What the hell are you? And what were you trying to do with him, what do you want?”

Ranko stopped moving forward and regarded Akane with pure contempt. “You need not know more than this, whelp. I will not allow you to be with him. Whether that be achieved through your mutual hatred- and Satan knows that didn’t work- or by the death of one or both of you, I will fulfill my task.” Red energy began to crackle around her right forearm.

“Why??? What’s so important about him and me that…”

“You need not know, you disgusting tomboy.” She raised her glowing hand, a playful smirk on her face. “And will never know. Burn.”

Akane saw the ball of ki gather in the redhead’s hand. She felt the air rushing away as the power surged forward, could almost taste the heat from ten feet away. She knew it was going to strike. It was going to strike her and Ranma at the same time, there was no time to avoid it. Tears started to flow down her face; without thinking, she whipped her forearms in front of her body and braced herself. Great Kami, don’t let it end like this! I don’t want us to die before… before we‘ve even had a chance to… we finally started opening up to each other, and now this! DON’T LET HER TAKE HIM FROM ME!!!

The ki blast was practically on top of Akane… and was suddenly met by a brilliant wall of light.

Shingen shook his head, lifting his hand and staring bleary-eyed from where he had been pushed into the wall. Ranko stared, too, frozen in shock as her energy attack slammed against a wavering ki shield. The burning red energy thrashed against the barrier time and again, each time accomplishing little more than lessening its own power. It seemed almost as if the two were trying to cancel one another out… and finally succeeded. Just as the energy beat at the barrier one last time, the orange-gold wall broke and what remained of the redhead’s attack collided with Akane. The short-haired girl gasped audibly as she was thrown backwards against the porch, where she collapsed in a coughing fit.

“That was… unexpected,” Ranko muttered. A movement on the edge of her vision caught her attention, and she ducked to one side just as Nodoka cleaved the air between them with her katana. “I may not be capable of much, but I am a warrior’s mother and will not stand idly by and let you do as you please with my son and his beloved!” she said in a stern voice, brandishing her sword with the stance of a skilled kendoist..

“You will stay out of this if you know what is good for you… Auntie Saotome,” the demon laughed before backhanding Nodoka across the face and knocking her to the ground. That accomplished, she continued her advance on Akane and grabbed her by the top of her gi.

Shingen gritted his teeth as he struggled to get up. Dammit… I completely underestimated that succubus’ abilities. I didn’t want to have to use my stronger ki attacks in a residential zone like this, even with my shield wards, but if we’re gonna pull through this in one piece I guess I’ve got no choice… Just then his train of thought froze and he stared. “Masaka…”

Akane struggled weakly against Ranko’s grip. The redhead glared malevolently as she brought her right arm back, extending her remaining claws. “Looks like the tigress has lost her bite,” she giggled.

A sudden flash of silver passed her field of vision; her giggle rapidly became a scream as a blade impacted her left forearm, cutting through flesh and bone until the limb was severed and glowing white ichors spouted from the remaining stump of arm. Akane fell backwards, the hand on her gi falling away and crumbling into ash. Ranko, for her part, staggered backward gripping her bleeding arm in shock.

“So this is what you look like… what you really look like.”

The redhead blinked. Nodoka shook her head and pushed herself into a sitting position, then gasped as she saw Ranma standing unsteadily between the succubus and Akane, with Shingen’s naginata clutched in his right hand. His breathing was ragged but even, and she could almost see his aura flaring around him- wavering, yet growing stronger every second. His face was a mask of determination. “Yer the one, ain’t ya? The one that was inside of me, the one that turned me into a puppet an’ tried to make me punch ‘kane? Well I dunno what the hell is going on here, or what your deal is, but I do know that I am NOT gonna let ya hurt the two most important people in my life!!!” he snapped, glaring at the redhead before him.

Akane coughed, glancing up in surprise. “Ranma…”

Ranko’s eyes widened slightly, then she shook herself and pressed a spot on what remained of her left arm; white light coalesced and congealed around the wound, gradually assuming a solid state. A second later, her arm had been restored. Glancing up at Ranma, she regarded him with puppy-dog eyes. “Why… why, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ran-chan!” she said in a sickly sweet voice. “I’d never use you or try to hurt you, not when you and I are one and the same!” She twirled on a heel and suddenly she was the perfect image of his female form, pigtail, Chinese clothes and all. Even the horns on her head had disappeared. “Don’t you recognize me? I’m just another part of you… your other half, brought out against my will. I’m just as much a part of you as you’re a part of me, I could never hurt you!”

Ranma paused. “Just… just a part of me?”

“Absolutely. It’s me, Ranma… Ranko, not a demon or a fiend. You’re just delirious right now.”

His face softened slightly, and she stepped closer, eyes narrowing. “And I know you didn’t really mean to hurt me, now did you? Besides, I know you’d never hurt a girl…”

Ranma stiffened. “That voice.”

“Huh?”

“Dontcha dare try and trick me, I know what I sound like when I turn into a girl an’ that voice ain’t it!” Angrily he threw the naginata to one side and clenched his fists. “I know where I’ve heard that voice… I heard ya tell me to tease Akane an’ make her mad at me, an’ not just once, but a whole bunch o’ times over last night an’ this morning! An’ I heard you again when that pendant fell off; you were the one screaming in my mind, forcing me ta do something I swore I’d never do! That’s not part of me, an’ it’s nothing I’d wanna be… an‘ I sure as hell wouldn‘t call you a girl, either! I’m not fallin’ for any of your mind games anymore, you… you uncute lying TRAMP!!!”

Ranko bristled; the illusion broke and she reappeared in her tight black clothes. “Un… Un… UNCUTE?!? ME?!?”

Hmph. Reacts the same way I did when Tsubasa said my girl form was ugly, Ranma thought to himself. “Damn right yer uncute. And now you’re gonna pay.” He shook out his arms and assumed a loose stance.

“How dare you! And how dare you presume to think you can try and face me! I know you, Saotome, I know all your tricks; I’ll have you drawn and quartered in the blink of an eye!”

“Nice thought, hentai freak,” he retorted, shutting all emotion out of his voice and pulling his hands into a crouching position. “But one blink is all it takes.” A quick flicker and his ki was completely suppressed, erasing his presence.

“Umisen-ken, eh? Nice try, boy, but I know how that works, so I should strike… NOW!!!” The redhead spun on her heel, kicking out with a reverse crescent kick through the air behind her. She grinned in expectation of her heel cracking against flesh and bone… and suddenly stared as her foot continued through meeting no resistance at all. She blinked, then suddenly gasped as Ranma’s fists smashed into her ribs and shoulder blades hundreds of times in rapid succession; he had reappeared exactly where he had been before, rather than circling around.

“Looks like ya don’t know what you were talkin’ about, ya airheaded moron!” Ranma laughed, wobbling on his feet slightly.

What the hell is he doing? Shingen thought to himself as he pulled upward into a standing position and began to circle around the wall perimeter.

Ranko shrieked in anger and sprang forward, just as Ranma did. The two grappled briefly before pulling apart and unleashing a series of violent kicks, punches and spinning backfists. Each strike met a perfectly timed counterstrike; a punch from Ranko was quickly deflected by Ranma’s forearm, who subsequently whipped around and attempted a jumping spin kick that came close to cracking Ranko’s own forearm. Landing, the redhead thrust her claws out once more and tried to gouge Ranma’s eyes out, but he grabbed her arm, ducked in and punched upwards, flinging her at the same moment his fist ground into her solar plexus. A wave of pain shot through the redhead’s gut as his fist connected, accompanied by a loud cracking sound akin to thunder. Ranko landed hard, spat angrily and lunged forward again, this time using the Amaguriken. Ranma countered, hands flying through the air in a blur, palms colliding with knuckles at breakneck speed. Suddenly Ranko’s hair distended, snaking through the air as if it was alive and wrapping itself around Ranma’s wrists before pulling taut. Ranko sneered, extending her claws once more as Ranma yanked at his bound hands, trying to free himself. The hair was bound fast, so thinking quickly he did the next best thing; he leaped up and thrust his legs out at the same time he pulled his arms back. The end result caused Ranko to be yanked forward into a standing dropkick that crushed the bridge of her nose and prompted her to stagger back in pain, releasing Ranma’s wrists in the process.

“You… you bastard!” she bellowed, pressing on her nose and snapping the bone back into place. “How dare you insult me and mar my gorgeous face! That’s it, I’m going to rip you apart right here and now!!!” Flames licked outward from her body as she stood up and charged.

“Yeah, just try it! I’ll bet you couldn’t even beat up my old man the way you bounce around, you weakling!”

“WHO’S a weakling?!? I’ll show you!!!” Ranko’s fury reached a crescendo as she flung herself wildly at Ranma, who had started backing up and dodging with the expertise gained from all his previous fights. Fists on fire passed dangerously close to his head and chest, but he hardly flinched, paying more attention to the pattern he was drawing the demon into.

Akane saw it first and pulled Nodoka as close to the house as possible. “Keep your head down, Auntie, this is going to get really rough!”

“What? What’s going on?”

“He was insulting her for a reason… Ranma’s got her trapped!” Gods help me, you better not kill yourself to pull this off, Ranma…

“You think I’m WEAK? HA! I‘m just as strong and a whole lot faster than you, Saotome!” Ranko hollered, punching and kicking recklessly, not even bothering to notice that in her rage, her form had become sloppy. Nor the fact that the longer she chased him, the more the wind picked up. Thunder cracked across the darkening sky as Ranma evaded more and more of Ranko’s attacks, narrowing the spiral with every step. Shingen stumbled to the ground, noting Akane’s and Nodoka’s position and fully feeling the buildup of ki that was happening before him. In seconds, only one step remained; Ranko flung herself directly at Ranma… and as she realized his ki had become ice cold, whereas she was generating pure hellfire from her fingertips, her eyes widened in pure terror. “Oh… KUSO!!!”

“HIRYU SHOTEN HA!!!” His fist jabbed upward as the ki cyclone exploded around him, snaring the redheaded demon and tearing into her body viciously. The raging wind pulled at the tree next to the koi pond, it flung loose rocks far and wide, it buffeted the ears and eyes of Akane, Nodoka and Shingen. Screams of agony rent the air above them as Ranko was slammed back and forth between opposing walls of the cyclone, the fire along her arms burning out of control and turning on its wielder. It seemed like it was going to last for an eternity… and as suddenly as it occurred, the tornado dispersed and vanished with one final wrench at the falling demon’s physical form. She plummeted to the ground and collapsed in a broken heap.

Ranma lowered his extended right hand, letting out a long sigh.

Akane lifted her head up. “R-Ranma?” she stammered, before getting up and running towards him. “RANMA!” She grabbed him around the waist and hugged him tight. “You did it! You… you really did it! You stopped her…”

Ranma smirked. “Eh, wasn’t that hard,” he quipped, just before groaning and dropping to his knees. “Just now I gotta splitting headache…”

Akane shook her head, letting an errant tear slip down her cheek. “Still the same old Ranma, though… cocky as ever.” She lowered him gently to the ground and onto her lap.

“This… isn’t… over yet…”

Ranma and Akane’s eyes went wide. Glancing up, they stared as the redheaded demon tried to claw herself into a standing position. “I will fulfill my purpose… I will NOT fail… I kept you apart this long, and I will keep you apart if it means everyone in this house has to die!!!”

She rose as far as her knees before a gloved fist impacted her back, grinding her into the ground once more. Staring upward, she caught sight of Shingen standing over her, his naginata held in both hands. “Sorry, demon, but your little game ende here and now,” he said coolly, flipping the polearm over his head, hands clasped just below the blade. The blade shone white-gold as he lunged forward, plunging all 16 inches of sharpened steel into the demon’s back. “TENBATSU!!!” An unearthly shriek ripped through the air, rivaling Ranko’s earlier cries as white light exploded from her body.

My lord… I… I have failed youuuaaaAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

A torrent of light and sound filled the Tendo’s backyard as the redheaded demon’s body became amorphous, dissolving into a cloud of iridescent white particles that spun and danced in a madcap, meaningless pattern. Shingen yanked his weapon out of the ground and spun it once; the particles drew closer to each other. Another flick of the polearm and the cloud of particles burst, scattering through the air and hurtling themselves far and wide. In a matter of seconds, every last speck had vanished. There was no trace of the redhead who had been there before.

********************





Shingen took a long breath, letting it out gratefully. “It’s over.”

Akane looked up. “You mean it? That… that thing is gone for good?”

The taller man nodded. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting the one being Purged to take an active role,” he said with a chuckle. “There’s a lot more to this guy than I thought… a lot more.”

“Yeah, well that’s something ya gotta know,” said Ranma, sitting up a bit too fast. “Never underestimate me; I’ve pulled through tougher than this an’ I’m still alright. Told ya I could handle… the… pain…” His eyes crossed and he collapsed into Akane’s lap again, dizziness written all over his face.

Akane giggled. “Baka,” she whispered, brushing a hand over his forehead. “Stop pushing yourself and just rest.” She looked up. “Is he really going to be okay now?”

“We’ll have to wait and find out, Akane-chan. I’ll have to examine his aura, but I have a feeling he won’t be hearing that voice in his head anymore.”

“Thank the kami for that,” said Nodoka as she joined them. She gazed down at Ranma’s exhausted face and smiled. My son… my handsome son, I had no idea how strong you’ve truly become!

“We should probably get him inside the house and get him to bed,” said Shingen. He leaned down and grasped one of Ranma’s shoulders; Akane grasped the other and they began to lead him back towards the shoji doors. Unbelievable, Shingen was thinking to himself. I had expected his ki to be at rock bottom once the Purge was completed; he shouldn’t have been able to stand, much less fight that thing as effectively as he did. And that ki cyclone technique he used… definitely not something I remember from our training scrolls. But that one punch of his, when he threw that demon over his head… I can’t be sure, but it looked almost exactly like the Jinrai Tekken… but that doesn’t make any sense, how could a man learn a technique just from being struck once by it himself? And for that matter, that technique is…

He frowned, glancing at Ranma‘s limp body and Akane‘s face just beyond. I may have to examine his aura a little closer once we’re indoors. And Akane’s aura as well; there’s something about it I can’t quite place yet. It might have something to do with the way that demon kept talking about them; why would it be so crucial that these two be kept apart? I don’t like the way that sounded…

None of them really noticed the light rain that had started as they approached the house, much less the fact that Ranma remained male despite the rainfall.

To Be Continued…

********************

Author’s note: Good gravy, this turned into my longest chapter ever. I thought briefly about splitting it into two chapters but couldn’t see myself doing that. As it is, I was mulling the entire scenario over in my head since I began writing this, but actually writing it turned into a big headache. I only hope it isn’t too disorganized. And now, the new moves.

Makoto Toku: Faith Shield. Essentially a ki shield that can either be generated from within or bound to worn objects. The pentagram wards on Shingen’s gloves contain minor versions of the Faith Shield; by consciously focusing on the technique a much stronger and larger shield is produced.

Kami no Shisen: Eyes of God(or literally, Eyes of the Kami). A Hunter illusion-breaker ability that exposes that which is not real, or brings out that which does not wish to be seen.

Tenbatsu: Heaven’s Punishment. A weapon strike that channels positive energy into a negatively focused opponent(such as a demon), burning it from the inside out and typically destroying it.

If you’d like a translation of the words used in the Purge or some of the other Japanese words used herein, they will be posted at the beginning of the next installment.

Some of you might have noticed Nodoka didn’t say she was a warrior’s wife as she has said before in the manga. Yes, that was deliberate on my part, and no, don’t expect a panda-skin rug in the next chapter. Nodoka may care for Genma very deeply, but after events in the earlier chapters of this story and in the manga, if she wasn’t upset with the way he has behaved then hell has frozen over. What she said was merely a slight jab at the old man, as well as a suggestion as to who the real warrior in the Saotome family is.

Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews this; I thrive on your reviews. Next chapter: the aftermath. The demon that was purged is gone, but is Ranma fully cured of his curse or not? What’s the big deal about keeping him and Akane apart? And just what have Ukyo or Ryoga been up to all this time? Stay tuned.

Neon Ronin
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