Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Roast Pork and Revelations ( Chapter 17 )

[ 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 hope everyone had a pleasant Easter weekend and now that I’ve had a little time to rest, back to the story. Enjoy!]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 17: Roast Pork and Revelations

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A pair of ruby eyes cast a bemused glance over the three martial artists before them and the elderly Amazon who huddled near the collapsed body of Ryoga. “I suppose I’m indebted to you, in a way,” the owner of the eyes laughed haughtily. “You really have no idea how annoying it is being trapped in the body of someone who gets lost in a one-room cabin, regardless of how fun it is to toy with his mind. Oh, and it was fun indeed…” The giant boar’s-head ogre grinned, running his tongue over numerous razor-sharp teeth. “It was so easy to drop his inhibitions a notch, especially when you agree with his own viewpoints or desires… or even distort them a teeny bit.”

“Ya mean you used him like a puppet,” Ranma growled. The demon glanced in his direction and snorted derisively.

“I wouldn’t say that… I just gave him the odd prod in a certain direction,” he sneered. “Such a lonely boy, too… shares two great passions with me. The fight, and the hunt… and now that I don’t have to put up with him, I can pursue those passions no end.” The beast looked at Akane’s shocked face and grinned, flexing his gargantuan arms and eying her lustily. “Ah, little Akane… take a good long look. Your P-chan’s all grown up.” Another flex of the beast’s prodigious muscles, and Akane’s shock drained away, replaced by anger and no small amount of disgust.

“Don’t you dare remind me of that, you… you… whatever it is you are!” she snapped, clenching her fists. “That pig is dead to me now! And where the hell do you get off saying you can ‘pursue your passions no end’? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Akane, calm down,” Ranma hissed. “Remember what I told you about losing yer cool?”

The boar-man chuckled. “Such a feisty temper, too. Just like I remember… and as for my passions, it’s really quite simple.” His expression became darker, more menacing. “I want what I want when I want it, and what I want is battle… and pleasure. The former I got through the boy’s need for revenge, which was quite easy to nurse… not so for the pleasure. He’d accept the odd nudge, but anything more than that… just a waste of time. But now it would appear I’ll have my fill of both before this night is through, once I’ve gotten the boys out of the way,” he glowered, staring at Ranma and the unconscious Ryoga. His gaxe then traveled just over his shoulder, towards the now-terrified Akari. “Yes… this will be so much fun, won’t it, dear Akari-chan?”

“Typical trail of thought for you, Spirit of Avarice,” said Shingen in a low voice as he lowered his naginata into a ready stance. “You seem to forget that you haven’t won the fight yet.”

“Spirit of Avarice?” Akane asked.

“A Greed Demon,” Shingen replied with a nod. “Always wanting more, never satisfied. Of course, what it wants varies from one demon to another.”

The beast made a mocking bow. “Guilty as charged,” he said with a smirk. “Now, Hunter dogs, shall we cut the chatter and have ourselves some fun?”

Shingen nodded sharply. “Somebody get Hibiki out of the lot; with his ki at rock bottom he’ll just be a liability to us,” he said to the others in a low voice. Before them, the demon began cracking his knuckles. “Akane, maybe you and Elder Cologne should both take him and…”

“I know what you’re about to say, Shingen, and you can forget it; I’m staying,” Akane interrupted. “And don’t tell me otherwise, I’m going to fight and that’s that!”

Ranma blinked. “Akane…”

“I know what I’m doing,” she said in a low tone, her eyes steely. Ranma, don’t you dare tell me to leave; I know I can’t really do much to beat this thing, but I’ve got to do something! I can’t just let you and Shingen take all the risks and possibly get killed in the process. I told you I want to help out for a change… and besides, I want my own pound of flesh out of this thing. It’s personal now. She glanced at Ranma, almost daring him to make one of his usual cracks about being a klutz, or a slowpoke, or a macho uncute tomboy.

Surprisingly, he didn’t say anything. He just stared at her for a moment, blinked once, then smiled slightly and gave her a minute nod.

“Whatever you say,” Shingen said with a shrug of his shoulders… and a slight smile of his own. “Elder, if you can, get Hibiki to a safe place before…”

“Enough of this banter, LET’S RUMBLE!!!” the demon bellowed, yanking his left fist high in the air and driving it into the earth. A ripple of ki blasted through the ground, tearing soil and rock to pieces and expelling them into the air in exorbitant quantities. Shingen, Akane and Ranma were all knocked backwards as the earth was literally torn out from under their feet, while Cologne bounded across the airborne clods of earth like a flea on a griddle, somehow managing to drag Ryoga with her in the process. Akari screamed and huddled next to her faithful sumo pig, just outside the perimeter of the demon-induced explosion. In seconds, Cologne and the near-lifeless Ryoga were by her side.

“Oh, YEAH!” the pig-man shouted, lifting both fists to the sky. “Now THAT’S the way to cut loose!” The beast spun around, grinned and stomped towards Akari and the others, thrusting his left hand forward to try and seixe her. As he came to the edge of the lot, there was a sudden flaring of ki and he growled in pain as his hand impacted the barrier Shingen had placed. “Hm. That’s annoying. Damn barrier wards,” he grunted. “Oh well, ain’t no barrier I can’t break, ‘specially if it means I can have you all to myself, Akari-chan,” he added with a leer as he began to punch the barrier… then stopped abruptly as a series of throwing knives embedded themselves across his shoulders and smoke began to pour from the wounds. Two knives jammed themselves into one of the straps holding his breastplate up, shearing the fabric partially.

“You’re forgetting something, demon filth,” Shingen said icily as Akane and Ranma stood up behind him, brushing themselves off. “A little earthquake never stopped a Hunter before. Now, let’s dance.”

The beast growled and charged forward, his eyes glowing deep crimson. He jabbed forward with his right fist, which Shingen easily avoided as he ducked in and spun in a circle, swinging his naginata. The blade screeched across the demon’s breastplate, sending sparks flying but accomplishing little else. Shingen quickly twirled the polearm in his hands and slammed it upward, cracking the demon across the jaw. Pulling back for a second, he shoved his left hand into his jacket and retrieved four more daggers, but suddenly had to go on the defensive as the beast lunged at him again. Massive fists collided with a rapidly spinning naginata for about five seconds before the beast reached in, grabbed the naginata just below the blade and slammed Shingen across the face with his free hand. The Hunter flew back several feet while the beast shook his hand vigorously, smoke rising from the spot where he had grabbed the polearm.

Pig-man spun around just in time to see Ranma darting into the fray. “Ya think you’re so tough, huh? You talk big, ya bastard, but I don’t see you backing it up with any real skill!” With a fierce battle cry, Pig-man responded with a swift punch to Ranma’s face- then blinked as the fist passed right over his now red-tinted hair; Ranma had shifted to his smaller girl form at the last possible second, and began to press the advantage. With blinding speed, she executed a series of punches and kicks that Pig-man was barely able to block, until, with a grunt of exasperation, he launched another straight punch at the redhead’s body. Ranma-chan promptly jumped on top of the demon’s wrist and ran up his arm, pausing just long enough to drive a roundhouse kick across his jaw line. “Ya got no real skill, yer just a puncher, aintcha? Well, try a few dozen for yourself; KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!” The redhead began slamming her right fist into the top of the demon’s head so fast one would think a jackhammer was being used, but seconds later Pig-man had reached up and grabbed Ranma-chan around the waist, flinging her off his shoulders and to the ground. The demon shook his head in agony, and then glared as Ranma shifted back to his normal body and Shingen sprang to his feet. With a bestial cry, twin bursts of energy shot forth from his eyes, catching Shingen across the shoulder and knocking the breath out of Ranma’s body. Both warriors flew backwards several feet and hit the ground hard.

“Looks like you two know how to put up a fight,” Pig-man sneered. “But how long you think you can hold out before I beat you both into a bloody mess?” he added, licking his fangs.

“HEY! I think you’re forgetting someone!”

The demon raised an eyebrow and began to snicker, turning towards a now-furious Akane. “You think I’d forget about you, Akane-chan?” he chuckled. “Please, don’t make me laugh; what could a helpless girl like you possibly do to me?”

Akane took a deep breath as a bright blue aura enveloped her body- blue tinged with flecks of gold. “You really think I’m helpless? What do you know, you haven’t tried me yet! How do you know what I can and can’t do if you don’t even bother to fight this ‘helpless girl’?”

“Akane… don’t…” Ranma gasped as he struggled to his feet. Pig-man had begun laughing.

“Very well, if you really want to prove yourself so damn much,” he guffawed. “Fine, then. Take a shot, if you really want. I’ll even pull my punches a bit.” He had barely finished speaking before Akane broke into a dead run, winding back in preparation to attack.

“No… what’re you doing, you crazy tomboy!” Ranma shouted, straightening out and pushing the pain away. You dummy, Akane, you’re telegraphing your moves again! That thing’s gonna clobber you! Didn’t you listen to anything I taught you? Ranma clenched his teeth and started to run.

“That’s it, come to papa…” the demon purred, punching forward…

Akane shifted and dropped into a modified baseball slide…

Pig-man blinked as his fist passed right over her head…

Ranma stared as Akane’s mallet came into view, shining brilliant gold… and grinned from ear to ear as she swung the mallet upwards, catching the beast directly in the crotch as she continued to slide past his legs. The demon screamed in agony, doubling over for a brief moment before spinning around and glaring at a smirking Akane with fire in his eyes. “YOU… LITTLE… BITCH!!!” With a roar, he slammed his right fist forward again, but this time Akane dodged to one side and flung both her arms around his wrist, spinning and yanking at the same time, pulling the demon off balance and causing him to fall on his face. In the blink of an eye Akane was airborne; she flipped once in the air and snapped her right foot out, kicking Pig-man in the back of the head as hard as she possibly could. A strangled groan erupted from the beast’s throat, causing her to grin triumphantly, then pull back and slam her knuckles in between his shoulder blades for good measure.

The punch, however, seemed to incite the beast’s rage more than it reduced his fighting capacity. With a roar, he scrambled upright, throwing Akane into the air in the process. Her smile evaporated quickly as she caught a glimpse of flames literally oozing from his eyes; gritting her teeth, she spun herself in midair and smashed her left foot across Pig-man’s face. He flinched, but only slightly, before swinging his right hand in an arc and slapping Akane across the midsection with an open palm strike. Her eyes snapped open wide as the breath was knocked out of her lungs, and her entire body went limp as she fell to the ground, only impeded by Ranma’s arms breaking her fall.

“Ouch…” she gasped, clutching her stomach as Ranma lowered her to the ground gently. “Guess… I’m still a… bit of a klutz…”

“Stupid tomboy, why’d you have to try and take him on solo like that?” There was a definite harshness in his words that made her wince, but she could also hear the genuine concern in his voice. “That was a hell of a nice cheap shot, I‘ll give ya that, but you didn’t have to try and follow up by taking him head-on by yourself!“ Looking up, Akane was shocked to see a haunted look in his eyes, which quickly turned to fury as he shot a wicked glare at the demon, who had started laughing again.

“You think I was just going to stand off to the side and not do anything, baka?” she coughed. “I thought the reason we were training was so I could help you out…”

“Yeah, I know, but…”

“But nothing! This isn’t just your fight, it’s our fight, and…”

“Yeah, OUR fight, which means ya shouldn’t have jumped in by yourself; dammit, that’s exactly why we lost to Natsume and Kurumi the first time! You think I wanna go through that again? Huh?”

“Aw, look at the little lovebirds, all wrapped up in each other; isn’t it cute?” Pig-man snorted derisively. “You know, I was going to claim you as mine once this was over, girl, but now I think I’ll have to punish you instead. You and your pig-tailed knight over there can both choke on your own blood for all I care!”

“Like I’m gonna let you near her again, ya bastard!” Ranma snarled, jumping to his feet as reddish ki flared around his body, gathering between his hands until it pulsed and throbbed with power. “Time for a little barbecued pork, if ya ask me! MOKO TAKABISHA!!!”

A torrent of energy burst from his outstretched palms, blazing over the ground and smashing into the demon. Light exploded in all directions as Pig-man became engulfed by the fiery-hot ki; Ranma could barely make out the beast’s silhouette cringing and grunting with pain, dropping to one knee. Sweat poured down Ranma’s temples as he sustained the blast a few seconds longer, then dropped his hands and fell into his loose fighting stance once more. Pig-man was down to one knee, and there were several charred patches visible on his shoulders and breastplate.

The demon’s head snapped up, and Ranma’s eyes went wide as he saw his opponent’s porcine grin.

“Nice shot, boy… but I’m not done yet. Take THIS!” Pig-man snapped upright, thrusting his left arm forward. A quick flash suddenly became an ear-shattering scream as a bolt of dark purple energy erupted from the beast’s palm… power Ranma had seldom seen, much less felt before. He barely had time to jump in front of Akane’s body, arms outstretched in a desperate block, before the beam of ki was upon them both. He could feel his own aura flaring, focusing in his arms, extending outward into a protective shield; he only prayed it would be enough. Then suddenly the dark energy was slamming him backward, impeded by his own ki but still impacting his body with force that rivaled Ryoga’s own imperfect Shishi Hokodan. It tore at him relentlessly, over and over until his aura faltered and gave way… then there was incredible, searing pain… until finally both he and Akane were knocked backwards once more and collapsed in a stunned heap.

Almost immediately, Ranma tried to sit back up, but could only manage so much before falling back onto his elbows. A soft groan and several coughs at his side told him Akane wasn’t faring much better. Dammit, this isn’t good, he thought angrily to himself. I thought we had that guy beat… that was one helluva blast he pulled off, but it probably coulda been worse. Ranma gritted his teeth against the pain and pulled himself upright, rolling Akane up as well. Guy’s just a hard puncher, is all… gotta hit him faster and harder at the same time, before the freak winds up pounding us into the ground! He hugged Akane to him, trying to scrabble up into a defensible position. He didn’t realize it, but his aura had extended from his body once more and was beginning to mingle with hers… and was glowing bright gold.

“It’s really not gonna do you any good to keep running,” Pig-man chortled. “Guess I might as well finish you off before you can bug me again,” he added, lifting his right arm up in the air. Violet energy began to boil around his outstretched fist…

“SEKKAI KATTO SUTORAIKI!!!”

The demon’s eyes widened as the sound of metal shearing through metal reached everyone’s ears; the next second, Shingen bounded high into the air from behind the demon, his naginata blade glowing brilliant gold as he flipped twice in the air, turned and descended in front of Pig-man’s face. The blade slashed downward and another screech ripped through the air as the Hunter cleaved a second vertical cut through the demon’s breastplate, which promptly split and fell apart in several massive chunks.

“You’re obviously very forgetful, hellspawn,” Shingen mused before glancing at the two teens behind him. “You both fought well, my friends; now let me finish him off.”

Without waiting for a reply, Shingen flipped his right hand forward. Four silver slivers flashed across the lot and embedded themselves in Pig-man’s face, causing him to roar in pain and claw at the offending items. The next second, Shingen literally became a blur as he darted low and swung upwards with his polearm, scoring a wicked gouge across the now-unarmored belly of the beast. Again and again he swung his weapon in a a figure 8 pattern, carving chunks out of Pig-man’s chest, stomach and both forearms, while all the beast could do was block and dodge. White ichors began to spill across the earth, dripping from the demon’s newest wounds while the old ones slowly attempted to seal themselves. Ranma stared in amazement as he pushed himself to his feet, Akane following him quickly; oddly enough, neither of them seemed to notice any lingering pain from the demon’s previous attack.

“You damn Hunter dog, you were holding back!” the demon sneered, attempting a series of quick punches which Shingen dodged and blocked with blinding speed. Suddenly he darted in and jammed his elbow into Pig-man’s abdomen, followed by the butt of his naginata cracking across the fang-filled jaw and breaking at least two teeth. The beast staggered and failed to see Shingen fling his polearm to one side and leap high into the air; he snapped his gloved hands in front of his face, making several sharp gestures as he ascended. The pentagram sigils on the backs of his gloves glowed white-hot as he extended the first three fingers on his right hand.

“Never play all your cards early on, filth,” Shingen shouted as white-gold ki enveloped his right hand. “Now, let’s see how well you deal with this! KONPAKU KAKI BAKUHA!!!”

His right hand snapped forward, unleashing a tremendous beam of gold energy that cut through the air and slammed into the demon’s body like a heavenly lance before engulfing him in an explosion of white light. The demon bellowed as the ki attack seared his body with a force at least twice that of Ranma’s own attack, while all Ranma and Akane could do was stare. With one last squeal of anguish, Pig-man fell to his knees just as the attack stopped and Shingen’s feet hit the ground behind him. The Hunter spun around and grabbed his naginata, then raised an eyebrow as the beast roared angrily and scrambled to his feet once more. The eight foot monster was obviously in a great deal of pain, but his inner rage seemed to be compensating as he flexed his burned arms and clenched his fists. His head whipped around to glare at Shingen, when he noticed a sudden blur of movement on the periphery of his vision. Seconds later, the beast lay sprawled on his back, gasping from the pain induced by a fierce double attack- Akane’s ubiquitous mallet to his gut, followed up by Ranma‘s right foot crushing his jaw with a powerful high kick. Off to the side of the lot, Akari trembled and hugged a still-unconscious Ryoga to herself.

“You little bastards,” the demon groaned. “This wasn’t supposed to happen… this fight, these girls, the glory was MINE!!! IT WAS MEANT FOR ME TO TAKE!”

“Always wanting more, eh?” said Shingen coldly as he jammed his boot heels into the demon’s chest, eliciting a snarl of pain as he raised his naginata high. “Go fight all you want back in Hell, pigface. TENBATSU!!!”

The blade struck home in the chest, turning night to day as white light exploded across the lot. Unearthly shrieks rent the air as the boar’s head ogre was consumed by positive ki, burning him from the inside out and tearing his body to shreds. Akane and Ranma both shielded their eyes and ears against the tidal wave of energy; Cologne did likewise as Akari shrieked and spun around, turning her back to the lot and pulling Ryoga with her. The shriek grew in intensity until Ranma thought his ears were going to bleed, then abruptly faded and was replaced by a rushing of wind. In seconds, all that remained of the beast was a cloud of silver-white dust that whirled and danced in a madcap fashion before bursting in all directions. A quick swipe of Shingen’s naginata and the particles flung themselves far and wide, vanishing into the night sky.

There was no remaining trace of Pig-man left anywhere in the lot.

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“Will he be okay? He sounded like he was in so much pain…” Who’s there? Is… is that Akari? Or am I just dreaming…

“Ah, don’t worry ‘bout him. He’ll come out of it soon enough, he’s prob’ly just really drained at the moment. I know… I’ve been there.” Wait a second… was that Ranma? Where the hell did…

“That thing you fought… was that really what was causing his nightmares?” That is Akari, I’m sure of it… but why? Why would she be… and what’s with her voice? She sounds scared…

“Among other things.” What the… wait, whose voice is that? He sounds familiar… what’s going on? “He’ll be okay, Miss Unryuu. His ki just needs a little time to recover now that the infection is gone.”

Dammit, what is all this? Where am I?

Ryoga moaned, tossing his head from one side to another. His eyes fluttered briefly, then closed again. One hand flexed, bunching his fingers into a fist and then relaxing again.

“I think he’s coming out of it.”

“Ryoga? Sweetie, are you okay?”

“Ugghh… whrr… hunh…” was all the lost boy could manage before rolling his head back again, eyes vacant. Someone sighed testily.

“C’mon, man, quit lyin’ around an’ snap out of it already!” Ryoga stirred, trying to make sense of Ranma’s outburst, but was promptly interrupted by a glass of cold water to the face. His eyes promptly snapped open and zeroed in on the holder of the offending glass, who was standing over him with a strange look on his face. Had Ryoga been in a better frame of mind, he might have seen it as a concerned smile. As it was, all he saw was a smirk.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR???” Ryoga bellowed, lurching off the floor and grabbing Ranma by the collar. “Trying to have a little more fun at my expense, Ranma? Haven’t you done enough already?!?”

Ranma shot him a half-lidded look of exasperation. “Maybe I just figured you needed to cool down a little bit… get it yet, ya dummy?” he groaned, banging the lost boy on the head with an open palm.

“Cool down?!? What’re you…” Ryoga trailed off. He blinked twice, noticing for the first time that he was lying on the Dojo floor, then touched the side of his face which was still dripping. That… that was cool water… and… and I’m not… His eyes widened, traveling back up to meet Ranma’s. “How… I mean, I didn’t… I’m still…” He paused, then narrowed his eyes. “What’d you do, beat me up and then give me a bath in waterproof soap or something?” he asked, noting for the first time his complete lack of a shirt.

“More like ‘or something’, ol’ buddy,” Ranma sighed. “Guess it was too much to expect ya to be grateful or anything.”

“Grateful?”

“That damn curse of yers was goin’ out of control, man. Just like mine might’ve done…”

“W-wait a minute,” Ryoga stammered, pulling himself up a short distance. “What do you mean the curse was going out of control?”

“Sweetie, please, don’t push yourself; you need to get your strength back.” A gentle pressure on his shoulder reminded him that Akari was sitting right next to him, concern and tenderness written all over her face. Ryoga blinked and what remained of his anger rapidly left his face.

“What he means, Hibiki, is the energies that caused you to be cursed were trying to take over your spirit,” said the third voice. Ryoga turned to his right and blanched at the sight of Shingen kneeling next to him. “To make a long story short, the curses are a lot more than they first appear- each one is connected to a demon. Looks like we got you just in time; if we hadn’t gotten it out of you, you might’ve become permanently trapped in curse-induced dementia.”

Ryoga was silent for a few moments. “Induced dementia… you mean…”

“You were going over the edge, Ryoga,” Ranma said. “Like he said, we took care of it. Got it out of ya before it killed ya or something. Now don’t say I never did nuthin’ for ya, man.”

“So all those dreams, and those fits he was in, they won’t come back?” Akari asked.

“Not likely,” Shingen said. “We brought down the beast that was in him; you saw it yourself.”

“The beast…” Ryoga mumbled. “You mean all this time, there was some kind of thing inside of me? Trying to take over my mind? Is that why I kept having dreams about things laughing at me? Or why…” He gulped, not daring to look at Akari. “Why I… I did some of the things I…”

“Hey, I dunno what that thing tried ta do to you,” Ranma replied, folding his arms. “Maybe it made ya do some stupid junk, or maybe it was yer own idea, I can’t tell ya because I ain’t you.” He bent down and picked up another glass of water. “All I do know is, with that thing outta yer system, you won’t hafta worry about things like this anymore,” he continued, pointing to the glass and splashing some more water on Ryoga before pouring some on his own head. Ryoga’s eyes nearly popped out as both he and Ranma refused to transform. “Fact is, I knocked ya in by accident. Least I could do was help get it outta you. Congratulations, Ryoga, yer cured.”

Ryoga shook his head. He did this? He actually cured his curse and then mine as well? This is too much… even after everything that happened between him and me, all the times I tried to bash his head in or… or push him and Akane apart… or especially when I said what I did to that Shingen guy and almost got him killed, he still went and helped me out? Great Kami, have I been wrong about you all this time? After all the trouble I’ve been… you help cure me? He coughed. “I… I can’t believe it… I don’t deserve this sort of kindness… not after what I did, or the things I said… I don’t know what to say…”

“Well, I would say a thank-you would be a good start, Hibiki,” said Shingen. “It wasn’t very easy fighting and dispelling the demon once the three of us got it out; he really put himself on the line out there.”

“He did?” Ryoga glanced at Ranma again, then did a double-take. “Wait, the three of you?”

Ranma nodded. “Me, Shingen an’ Akane. Took all of us to do it.”

Ryoga froze. “A-Akane?”

“Ya needed help, man, all of us could tell. An’ to be honest, she did a lot more than I expected. But I ain’t gonna lie, she’s still pretty upset with ya.”

“She’s not the only one,” Shingen added with a hint of ice. “I still haven’t forgotten our little misunderstanding, Hibiki… admittedly I was mostly to blame, but it was your words that prompted me to draw steel on Ranma here.”

Ryoga nodded, a shameful look on his face. “Yeah… I know,” he muttered. “I wish I’d never said any of it now… or a bunch of other things, either.” He shifted on the floor and hunched over his knees, not talking to any one person in particular.. “All this time I accused Ranma of being honorless, and there I was pulling crap behind his back… lying to people who deserved better… all because I wanted something I didn’t have. I mean, I knew I was making a mistake with some of what I was doing, but I felt so validated at the same time… and I’d hear little words of encouragement sometimes, telling me I was doing the right thing, I thought for sure that was my conscience speaking to me…” He looked up, a tear rolling down his cheek. “But it wasn’t, was it? Was it this… this demon-thing you were talking about? Was that what led me to think it was okay to… to…” His words stuck in his throat as he hunched over further and began to cry. “What have I done?”

“Ryoga… it’s okay. It’s going to be alright,” Akari whispered to him, gently rubbing his back. “You made a mistake, that’s all. We will still have to talk about it, but please, don’t keep beating yourself up in your sleep. Or when you’re awake, either. It’s over. You can start over.”

Ranma knelt down next to him, giving Ryoga’s shoulder a friendly pat or two. “Just remember, buddy… we’re even now.”

Ryoga heaved a long breath, then looked up again. “You really mean that?” he asked. “You’re not just saying it? You really think I’m… I’m a buddy?”

“Best sparring partner I ever had. I’d hate ta lose that, bacon breath,” he replied with a chuckle. Ryoga shot him a dirty look, but chuckled a bit himself. “Just try ta keep that temper under control a bit, ok? And don‘t forget, ya got someone else ya need to apologize to.”

“I know,” Ryoga said with a flinch. “Believe me, I know that all too well.” He looked over at Akari. “Several someones, actually,” he added, shaking his head. Akari looked back at him with warm eyes and brushed a tear off his cheek.

“And ya might think of laying off on the ‘Ranma, prepare to die’ speech,” Ranma added. Ryoga glanced back and gave him a wry look.

“We’ll see about that, Ranma…” He paused, then smiled weakly. “Um… Ranma?”

“Yeah?”

“…Thank you.”

“No prob.”

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“You feeling okay?” Ranma asked as he closed the door.

“Yeah, I guess so,” said Akane, sitting up on her bed. “He’s doing alright, I take it.”

“Last I saw him, Shingen was lookin’ over his aura and he was talking with Akari.” He paused, then padded across the room to sit at her desk. “He was angry at first, when he woke up, but once I told him what happened he calmed down pretty quick.”

“Good,” Akane replied, toying idly with the sheets. She glanced away, staring at a spot on the wall.

“Um… you wanna go see him now?”

“Not tonight, no. I… I don’t really know what I’d say yet.”

A moment passed where neither of them said anything.

“He sounded pretty upset with himself, Akane…”

“After what he did, I hope so.”

“Look, you have every right ta be mad at the guy, but I hope you’re not gonna keep holdin’ it over him; it wasn’t all his fault, anyway.”

“I know that, Ranma, you think I haven’t been thinking about that ever since Akari and I had our talk? It’s just… I can’t help but think of all the things he pulled over both of us! Gods, he could’ve wound up pushing us apart for good through that curse of his!”

“Yeah, I know… I know. But he did just about admit the curse mighta told him he was doing the right thing. Now that his own ‘infection’ is out of him, I think he’ll be lucky if he doesn’t go around berating himself fer the next week and a half. Ya didn‘t see the look on his face when he realized what was in his head.”

Akane looked up. “Was it that bad?”

“Yeah… I think ye’ll be getting one hell of an apology from him tomorrow. Assuming he can find his way out of the dojo, that is.”

Akane sighed. “And what about things between the two of you?”

“That I dunno… hopefully he ain’t gonna keep trying to beat me up anymore. Sure, I don’t like what he did, but there’s been a time or two he was a stand-up guy… an’ he has helped both of us, even if his reasons why were a little off.”

“So you’re forgiving him?”

“Well… maybe later. Right now I just wanna bury the hatchet. I‘m sick of fighting him if there‘s no reason.”

Akane sighed, then gave Ranma a wan smile. “Well, if he does apologize… and not just to me, either… maybe I can try to bury the hatchet, too.” Her features hardened for a moment as she continued. “It’ll still take me a bit longer to fully forgive him, I hope you know.”

Ranma moved to sit on the bed beside her, putting one arm around her back and giving her a gentle squeeze. “I know, Acchan. I know it’ll take a while… and believe me, he knows what I’ll do if he tries pullin’ that crap on us again.”

Akane blinked and glanced up into his eyes. “Acchan?”

Ranma blinked himself, then turned beet-red and looked away, removing his arm from her back as he did so. “Uh… sorry, that just kinda came outta nowhere… if ya don’t like it, I won’t…” His voice stopped working as Akane giggled and took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together.

“Baka,” she murmured tenderly. “You don’t have to act like I’m going to hit you or anything.” He looked up at her, noticing a faint sparkle in her eyes. “I like it.”

“R-really?”

“Uh-huh.” She paused, then smirked. “Does this mean I get to call you Ran-chan?”

Ranma rolled his eyes, then smiled. “Only if ya really want to.” Akane giggled, then leaned up and gave him a peck on the lips. He returned it readily, brushing a hand across her cheek and drawing her in for a deeper kiss, which she accepted with a soft sigh. His left arm tightened around her shoulders after a moment and she winced, breaking the kiss off with a gasp.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Ranma… sorry, it just felt a little tight…”

He frowned. “Still sore, aren’t ya?” Akane looked up and nodded slightly. “Yeah, I was afraid ya might be… especially after the way that eight-foot freak slapped you around.”

“I know, that… that thing hit pretty hard. Guess I should’ve moved a bit faster.” She looked off to one side and sighed, then glanced up at the sound of knuckles rapping on the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me. I need to talk to you.”

“Just a moment.” Akane straightened up and eased reluctantly out of Ranma’s loose embrace before padding to the door and opening it. Shingen stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“More or less. Hibiki’s aura looks pretty stable right now, but I think he nearly fainted when I told him about one lingering side effect.”

“Side effect?” Ranma asked. “Whaddya mean?”

Shingen folded his arms and sighed. “Transformational aspect. Looks like it’s stuck in his aura just like yours is, my friend.”

Akane stared. “What? Don’t tell me that means…”

“That he could still transform? Possibly. I’m not sure; all I know is what I saw. I hope it isn’t going to be like this with every single Purge…”

“Maybe it was one of those imps that did it?”

“I doubt it, Akane. I wasn’t stopped in the middle of the Purge, thanks to you two and the Elder. Either there’s something amiss with the procedure altogether, or something bound the transformation to their auras beforehand. I’m hoping it’s the latter… but it would have to be something both of you were afflicted with; the pattern bind looked almost identical to Ranma’s.”

Ranma shook his head and groaned. “It’s gotta be that stinkin’ Chisuitton; he got hit with it just like I did, back when Herb showed up.” He paused. “Come to think of it, I think Mousse got hit too…”

Shingen nodded. “I may have to find out some more about this Chisuitton, then… but that’s not important right now.” He walked over to Akane’s desk and leaned against it. “First off, I have to tell you that I was pretty impressed with how you handled that avarice demon this evening- especially you, Akane.”

“Yeah, those were some nice hits ya got in, even if ya had to scare me to death in the process an’ almost got clobbered when ya let your guard down.”

Akane glared at Ranma. You don’t have to rub it in, you know… she thought. “Well, excuse me for not being on guard; I didn’t expect it to be as fast as it was!”

“Just because something’s big don’t mean it ain’t fast and tough, too; remember when I first fought Taro in his beast body? Guy practically wiped the grass with all of us!”

“Okay, so I made a mistake and didn’t get away fast enough; it’s not like I fight these things as often as you do, Ranma!”

“Just…” Ranma paused, taking a deep breath and exhaling it in a heavy sigh. “Look, I wasn’t expecting ya to have to deal with something like this, that’s all. Kami, we only just started your training a few days ago an’ then you go and join in on a demon beatdown. I wasn’t expecting that… I didn’t know if I’d taught ya anything useful yet… I dunno, I just…” He looked away, and Akane could see the haunted look in his eyes again.

Her face softened. “Never mind, baka,” she said gently. “I know what you’re trying to say.”

Ranma looked up again. “Still… ya did do a good job out there, Acchan. Might need to work on your defense some… but for what we were dealin’ with… ya did okay.”

“I agree,” said Shingen with a nod. “Though it would have helped if you were more capable of tapping into ki techniques than you currently are. I’m actually not too surprised that you can use the Zaimoku-ken, even if it is somewhat undeveloped.”

Both Ranma and Akane blinked and stared at him.

“Zaimoku-ken?” Akane asked. “Timber strike? What are you talking about? And what was that about ki attacks, I… I can‘t do those… well, not yet.”

“That weapon you produced,” Shingen replied. “The mallet. I probably should have realized you were using that technique when you pounded Hibiki with it on Monday.”

“Her mallet?”

Shingen nodded. “Zaimoku-ken, like I said. It’s an old martial art designed to ensure availability of a weapon at all times; it doesn’t register as a ki technique, but it can only procure wooden weapons- primarily due to wood’s affinity to nature and life force, and subsequently ki energy. I understand several schools in Japan and China have variants on the technique.” He promptly thrust his right arm behind his back; a quick movement, and Shingen had drawn a nondescript bokken from thin air. He let go of the bokken, and it clattered to the floor before disappearing once more. Both teens in front of him stared. “Personally, I prefer not to use it.”

“So that’s how she hid that damn thing… I thought that was just some sort of hidden weapon skill! Where the hell didja learn something like that, ‘kane?”

Akane looked at the floor, her face flushed. “Uh… well, actually, there’s this really old scroll in the dojo. It’s just about the only secret technique scroll of the Tendo school I was ever able to find. It talked about something called the Loyal Hammer, it never said Zaimoku-ken… I was just twelve, I was curious… fact is, I thought it was a hidden weapons maneuver, too. I never actually thought about it much… I just always seemed to be able to find it if I needed to beat someone over the head, that’s all.” She looked at Shingen, eyes wide. “So all this time I’ve been using a ki attack and didn’t even know about it?”

“In a word, yes… but as I said, unrefined. With a little more focus, you could probably have access to just about any weapon you wanted- within limits, of course.” Akane’s eyes practically sparkled as she started to envision the possibilities.

“Of course, that wasn’t the only thing I noticed about you.”

Akane snapped out of her reverie. “Huh? What, there’s more?”

“I’ve actually been curious about one or two things for the past few days, ever since I met you both,” Shingen continued. “Once my aura sight returned to normal, I noticed something about you… each of you,” he added, nodding to Ranma.

“Ya mean something besides that stupid curse?”

“This isn’t about the curse, Ranma. But it does concern your energy patterns.”

“Oh gods…” Akane whispered. “Don’t tell me there’s something else wrong with…”

“Now, hold on. This isn’t anything like demon possession, or any sort of astral contamination or sickness,” Shingen interrupted. “It’s something I needed to make sure of, and after watching both of you go up against that demon tonight, I’m fairly certain of what it was I saw.”

“Watching us go up against… wait a sec, is that why you pulled yer punches against that demon?” Ranma asked, anger creeping into his voice. “You held back because you were TESTING us? You let that thing slap Acchan an’ me around just to get an idea of what we could do? Is THAT why ya didn’t just tear the snot outta him in the first place?”

“Only partially,” Shingen replied coolly. “I was trying to gauge his abilities just as much as I was trying to gauge yours.”

“Gauge our abilities? But why? What’s so special about me and Ranma, aside from the fact that we never seem to get any peace and quiet?” said Akane.

Shingen sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I think you’d better sit down.”

--------------------

“Do you think they’ll be okay for the night?”

“Kasumi, this is ‘Broken Compass Ryoga’ we’re talking about here. The guy’s probably slept in the wild so often, sleeping in the dojo must seem like luxury to him. He’ll be fine.”

Kasumi wrung her hands slightly. “It’s not just that, Nabiki. What if he throws another fit, like earlier?”

“Then the giant pig in there will probably sit on him till he calms down,” Nabiki replied dryly.

“Hm. Well, you do have a point there… still, I’m just not sure how proper this is, regardless of his condition. Infection or no, he did take advantage of his curse and our baby sister; who’s to say what Akane might do when she sees him next?” Nabiki gulped as a distinctly un-Kasumi-like edge crept into her voice.

“Oneesan, that’s not for us to worry about right now; from what I picked up, it sounds like the poor bastard’s slipped into a state of major-league contrition. My guess is he won’t even be able to look sis straight in the eye when he says he’s sorry.” A feral grin crept onto Nabiki’s face. “Though if he doesn’t say he’s sorry, I think I can come up with some ways to properly punish him. No one cops a feel on my baby sister and gets away with it, even if he was a piglet at the time.”

Kasumi put a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. “You know, Nabiki, for once in my life, I agree with you.” Over Nabiki’s shoulder, Kasumi could just make out Nodoka nod in agreement before turning her attention back to her tea. Genma sat nearby, toying idly with the warding pendant around his neck and keeping a nervous eye on his wife’s katana.

“I wonder how proper it is that Akari-chan decided to sleep in the dojo with him…”

“Separate futons, Kasumi. And there is the big pig, don’t forget. I think she’ll be okay.” Nabiki shook her head. “Dunno what it is she sees in that dimwit, though.”

--------------------

There was a prolonged silence in Akane’s room. Akane was staring at her hands. Ranma was shaking his head.

“I don’t believe it…” Akane breathed.

“I know, it’s a lot to take in all at once,” Shingen replied. “But it is the truth.”

“How… how could we not have known ‘bout this?”

“There isn’t any one answer to that question, Ranma. I can’t explain why.”

“So… so this just now happened because of everything we’ve been exposed to?” Akane asked, her voice shaky.

“Possibly,” Shingen replied. “I already told you why it is it sometimes goes into hiding… sometimes it’s by accident, other times on purpose. A powerful encounter or ordeal is one thing that can trigger its emergence.”

There was another pause. Akane shifted nervously.

“Like what happened in China…” she wsaid softly.

“Or any of the psycho-arcane crap we put up with this past year…” Ranma added.

“So what happens now?” Akane asked. “Do… do we…”

“What happens now is something I can’t dictate to either of you. This is something you both deserved to know about, especially now that it has begun to manifest. What you decide to do with it, that I leave in your hands. Accept or deny, it‘s your call.”

“Ya mean we could ignore it if we wanted to?”

“You could, Ranma. That would repress it; bring you back to the way you were before I met any of you. Or you could accept it…”

“And possibly learn more?” Akane asked, her voice slightly stronger. “Learn to deal with it?”

“You realize there would be consequences, Akane. Responsibility.”

She paused, then looked away. “Yeah…”

Ranma stared at his hands. “This… this is heavy, man… I’m startin’ to feel like I’m losin’ control again. I just get over one fiasco, now ya go and dump another one in both our laps… how do ya expect us to cope with all this?”

“I’m not forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do, Ranma,” Shingen replied levelly. “I know this is hard, especially since it’s hitting you both simultaneously- and that’s a coincidence in and of itself. I know I’m giving you a lot to think about, but I also know that you would’ve started asking me sooner or later.”

Akane shook her head. “I… I think I’m going to have to sleep on this. I don’t know about you, Ranma, but I’ll deal with it a little better once I’ve had some rest.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Ranma, stifling a yawn.

“You don’t have to answer right away, either of you. This decision impacts you both equally; take whatever time you need.” Shingen straightened his jacket and turned to go.

“Um… Shingen?”

“Yeah, Akane?”

Akane took a deep breath. “Thanks for being honest.”

He nodded. “My pleasure, both of you.” He opened the door, pausing and taking one last look in before leaving. “If you have any other questions, you know where to find me.” Both Ranma and Akane nodded, turning to each other as he closed the door.

Under the circumstances, I’d say the two of them took that pretty well, Shingen thought to himself as he descended the stairs and made his way back to his rented room. They didn’t seem quite as shocked as I would have expected- but then again, with all the supernatural encounters they talked about having, perhaps they had just gotten used to something like this. Closing his door, he shrugged his leather jacket off, which landed on the floor with an unusually loud thunk.

At least now they have a better understanding of some of what’s going on. Why he was able to execute the Jinrai Tekken without any real training, or why their injuries faded at the speed they did. Still… I don’t doubt that I won’t get an answer from them very soon. Even for them, this is a lot to cope with.

It’s not every day you find out you’ve got Hunter blood in you.

Much less two awakening Hunters under the same roof…

To Be Continued.

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Author’s note 4/4/05: I apologize for the delay in posting, but my brain needed a break and work began to heap things on me in a big hurry. I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Hopefully this installment was enjoyable; things will definitely be getting a bit hotter for our favorite duo in future chapters, though how soon is yet to be seen. And now, the new move of the day.

Konpaku kaki bakuha: Loosely translates as Spirit Fire Blast or Spirit Fire Explosion. A ki attack not unlike Ranma’s own Moko Takabisha, but more powerful; fueled both by emotion and raw positive energy.

Whew. Another marathon chapter complete. Next installment won’t be quite as long; I had a lot of things to put in this chapter and didn’t want to break it into smaller pieces. Stay tuned for the next chapter. It’s time for Ranma and Akane to make a new decision regarding their latest revelation. Please review if you have the chance.

Until next time.

Neon Ronin
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