Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Cat Scratch Fever ( Chapter 24 )

[ 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’m merely borrowing them for the time being, and I will be the first to admit I’m NOT an expert on the manga or the anime. Hope you find the latest installment entertaining. And now…]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 24: Cat Scratch Fever

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Cologne sat on the kitchen counter, one hand stirring the ramen pot while the other was occupied turning pages in a well-worn and ancient book. Her eyes darted over the pages, pausing once in a while to attend the pot and add another pinch of spice. It still boggles the mind how something like this could possibly have slipped our records, she thought as she perused another page. So many years of tribal records, preserved over time by word and by the pen… how could we not have thought to look into the cursed springs?

As she turned the pages of the tribal records, her eyes narrowed the further back she went. Gradually, passages from long, long before her time drew her attention. Writings of elders long dead, from the days when the Amazons had first begun to delve into early tribal magic and enchantments. As she pored over the faded characters, it became clear that at one point the elders had investigated the valley of Jusenkyo, but their findings were apparently less than enlightening. “…eldritch energies encompassing the valley…” “…spirit power in abundance, seeming to react to those immersed within…” “…it is this humble Elder’s view that the spirits of the valley retain the springs for a purpose beyond our grasp…” “…those who submerge, seem to re-emerge in forms reflecting inner nature; possibly, this is a lesson from the gods in disguise…” “…the strain of seeking further insight being too great, it is so decreed…” “…seek not that which tempts to overwhelm; to do so will risk expulsion from the tribe…”

Cologne stared as she re-read the words. They were afraid to look any deeper! The ancient Elders, the ones who took our tribe’s first tentative steps into the use of magic… they were scared of what they might find, so they just wrote it off and decreed that we let well enough alone? She shook her head in amazement, wondering at the same time if this same stubbornness- or was it xenophobia?- had lent itself to other tribal traditions. The Kisses of Death and Marriage certainly seemed to fit the bill of avoidance of that which was different, either by destroying outside influence or engulfing it and molding it to their worldview. For the first time in her many years, Cologne suddenly felt very uneasy about their several-thousand-years-traditions. Taking a moment to stir the ramen, she flipped forward in the book, pausing every once in a while to take note of something that seemed to happen with startling regularity- and which had occurred at least twice in her own lifetime, now that she thought about it. There were records of outsiders appearing every once in a while, reportedly trespassers on tribal grounds who were usually driven off, or- very rarely- captured and executed by sizeable hunting parties. Trespassers of reportedly great strength but who refused to fight them, preaching instead of a need to protect their fellow man… their bodies adorned with occasional tattoos, notably five-pointed stars… up until the last such occurrence, listed in the tribal records from seventy-seven years ago. There was even a rough sketch of such a five-pointed star, set in a circle pattern… exactly like…

“Yamashira’s gloves.“ A gasp escaped her mouth. “Good gods… all those trespassers that were driven off or killed… could they have been Chinese Hunters?”

Just then the sound of footsteps in the restaurant could be heard. “Shampoo, are you feeling okay? I heard you cry out from upstairs, I was afraid you’d hit your head on something.” A pause. “Shampoo?”

“Hm? Oh, no worries, Mousse, Shampoo just fine right now.”

“Are you sure? Can I get you a glass of water or something?”

“No, no thirsty. But…” Another pause. “There is one thing could do, would be too, too helpful.”

“Really? Well, you name it and I’ll be happy to do it!” Cologne shook herself out of her reverie and closed the tome of history before shuffling towards the order window. She was about to round the corner and get a clear view when a sudden chill washed over her; her senses, refined leaps and bounds beyond those of the first Amazon Elders, suddenly locked onto a wickedly familiar sensation.

“Uh… Shampoo? What’s wrong with your eyes, they look…”

Cologne scampered to the order window just as a bone-jarring WHACK echoed through the Neko Hanten. Shampoo’s right leg was thrust straight up, giving the appearance that she was doing a vertical split. Mousse had caught the full force of her heel on his chin and arched backwards through the air, collapsing on his back with more than a few metallic clunks and chinks echoing from his robes. Shampoo looked up slowly, her leg still in the air, and Cologne caught a flash of red scintillating in her eyes, which were set in a cruel sneer.

“You sleep now, stupid Mousse. Shampoo go now; find airen and kill pervert girl Akane once and for all.” Her leg snapped down; quicker than the eye could see, she snatched up her bonbori from beneath a booth and sprang towards the door.

“Child! What in the Nine Hells is the matter with you? Get back here this instant!” Cologne shouted, seizing her staff and practically flying across the room- but Shampoo was gone, out of the building and sprinting down the sidewalk at breakneck speed. Cologne swallowed hard as the chilling sensation faded from the room. She said she was going to… and that feeling, reminiscent of a possessing spirit… good gods, she’s succumbed already! She spun around and pogoed over to the groaning Mousse, giving him a firm poke in the abdomen with her cane.

“Agh!” Mousse flinched and sat bolt upright, clutching his stomach. “What was that for, you old mummy?” Cologne promptly bonked him on the head with her cane- though compared to the other times she had hit him, it felt like a mild tap.

“This is no time for laying about, boy, Shampoo’s in trouble… and we will be, too, if we don’t catch her!”

“What are you talking about?” Mousse stammered, sobering at the mention of her name. “Why’s she in trouble? And what did I do to make her hit me so hard?”

“It’s the curse, Mousse,” Cologne replied. “Remember young Yamashira mentioning their ties to demons? It would seem my great-granddaughter has succumbed to hers and is about to do something incredibly rash.”

“WHAT?” In the blink of an eye, Mousse was on his feet. “How? When? Why? And what was that about something rash?”

“Calm down, boy; how or why, I can’t explain, but if we don’t do something and catch her, our truce with Ranma may come to an untimely end- especially if Shampoo manages to do as she promised and kill the Tendo girl!”

Mousse’s face froze for a moment, then became a mask of determination. “Which way was she heading?”

“Follow me,” Cologne answered, already at the door. Mousse took a half-second to adjust his glasses and the two of them barreled out of the Neko Hanten, the doors slamming shut in the wake of their hasty departure. Turning left, they glimpsed a head of purple hair disappearing down a side street; Cologne shot forward like an arrow with Mousse hot on her heels. Seconds later their roles had switched and suddenly Cologne found herself trailing behind the duck-boy as his feet pounded the pavement with a resolute aura he only displayed when Shampoo was involved.

Cologne concentrated for a moment to try and locate Shampoo’s aura, and after a moment was able to briefly focus on it. She was moving quickly, but also with occasional pauses followed by sudden changes in direction. Why would she be moving in a zig-zag pattern? the elder Amazon mused. Perhaps she’s trying to throw us off her trail… She shook off her ponderings long enough to grab Mousse’s sleeve and redirect him down another main road. He turned on a dime, rounding the corner so fast he nearly collided with a concrete wall. Regaining his balance, he glanced down the road and spotted a head of long, dark hair directly in front of him. His battle instinct kicked in and before Cologne had a chance to stop him, he had bounded forward and seized his quarry in a tight embrace.

“Shampoo, please,” he pleaded with the girl in his arms, “don’t do this! You’re not thinking right, you know this will only cause trouble with Saotome! I won’t let you…”

CLANG. “YOU JACKASS!! Watch where yer putting those hands of yours next time!!!” Ukyo screamed, her face flushed and hands tight on the grip of her combat spatula. Mousse lay sprawled on the ground before her, sporting a baseball-sized lump on the top of his head. “And while you’re at it, why dontcha take a closer look before you go grabbin’ at girls in the street!”

“Oww…”

I have GOT to do something about that boy’s eyes, Cologne fumed as she skidded to a halt. “Excuse him, dear, we’re under a little bit of stress at the moment and he’s not thinking clearly.”

“Not seeing clearly is more like it, old crone,” Ukyo grumbled under her breath. “So what’s got him so fired up anyway? He get jilted by Shampoo again? I just saw her bouncing away from here, she seemed kinda pissed.”

“I’m afraid it’s worse than that,” said Cologne in a hurried tone. “My great-granddaughter is in serious trouble right now; unless we catch her fast Ranma and Akane could be receiving a very unpleasant surprise soon.”

Ukyo blanched. “She’s going after Ran-chan again?” she asked incredulously.

It took less than thirty seconds for Cologne to relate the salient points of what had happened, and once she had done so Ukyo decided she’d made the right decision to leave Konatsu in charge of Ucchan’s while she went for a walk. Guess I better wait a little longer to try an’ clear my head, she thought to herself as she slung her spatula and helped Mousse back to his feet.

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“How long do you think Shingen’s gonna be cooped up in there?” Akane pondered, flexing her fingers. She was standing on top of a blue plastic barrel in the middle of the open yard behind the warehouse, attempting to focus her aura in the palm of her hand. She fought off a yawn as the tennis ball-sized orb of reddish-orange ki flickered in her grasp; exhaustion was written all over her face, a natural result of the day’s relentless training exercises. The blindfold exercise had done its work of sharpening her other senses to a point, but the subsequent exercises of that afternoon- intense calisthenics, a lecture on the basics of the Hunter Code, another dodge exercise with the paintball guns and an hour-long freestyle threeway sparring session- had left her wondering whether she could keep her aura up much longer. And now that we finally get around to practicing ki attacks, he bolts back inside for some sort of Astral conference call, Akane groused, taking a deep breath and letting her ki flow readily, becoming a softball-sized orb in her hand.

“Beats me, Akane,” came the reply. “Could be a while if he’s talkin’ to more than one person like he said he was going to. Geez, all I asked was whether Jusenkyo curse victims normally lost it the way me an’ Ryoga did, and he darts off and starts muttering about consultations, somethin’ about clan records an’ ‘unprecedented strength’…”

“Well, we did tell him about the other cursees outside of Nerima, Ranma,” said Akane, holding the wavering ball of ki in both hands. “You know… like Taro, or Herb. Remember, we talked about it briefly with him once, right after you got Purged.”

“Oh, yeah… I’d kinda forgotten about that.” Ranma took a deep breath and resumed what he- or rather, she, for the moment- was doing. Ranma hung upside down by his ankles from an outdoor chin-up bar, in his girl form, doing a form of vertical sit-ups and grunting under the strain of the wrist weights.

“I don’t know how you could’ve forgotten something like that, baka,” Akane replied with a smirk. “My guess is he’s probably trying to find out if your condition or Ryoga’s were special cases; your dad never really seemed to have any problem with his curse after all. And if it‘s not a special case, then as far as the others go…” She took a deep breath and pushed the ball of ki away from her, towards a cinder block wall erected a few feet from the outer chain link fence. The ball flashed through the air, then dribbled apart as it flattened against the wall; a few blocks got chipped by the burst but not much else. “Dammit! I‘m never gonna get this to work…”

“Akane, will ya stop getting down on yourself?” said Ranma-chan as she flipped down from the bar into an upright position and straightened out her red Chinese vest. “That was only the second time you’ve tried to throw a ki ball, ya know- remember how long it took me to figure it out myself?”

“I thought that since we’ve been doing those other exercises, maybe…”

“You’re pushing yourself too fast again,” the redhead admonished. “Just go with the flow, don’t think about it so much, okay?” She took a deep breath and walked over to the barrel Akane stood on. “Look… your form so far is good, but you’re letting your aura waver right when you let the ball go. You gotta stay with it all the way, otherwise your energy fizzles out.”

Akane sighed. “I know… it’s just, I’ve seen you and Ryoga do this sort of thing before, I thought maybe it wouldn’t be this big a hassle. Wishful thinking, huh.” She shook her arms out and took another deep breath. “So you’re saying I need to keep my focus on it all the way until it meets the target.”

“Well, that and don’t think about it too much. Let your ki- and if need be, an emotion or two- do the work for you. Like this.” Ranma-chan’s hand snapped up as she quickly produced a baseball-sized orb of orange ki. Flinging her hand forward, she pushed the ball away and upward, sending it to the upper corner of the cinder block wall. The ball smacked a chunk of the upper corner off with a resounding crack.

“See? Keep yer aura steady and your focus tight, an’ you shouldn’t have much trouble.”

Akane nodded slowly. “Okay, I’ll give it another shot.” She straightened up on the barrel, then blinked and glanced at Ranma again. “Hey… why are you still in your girl’s body anyway? You did that right before that sparring session and haven’t changed back since.”

Ranma shrugged before glowing a bright yellow and shifting back to his normal body. “Eh, just got to thinkin’ earlier that I still got a few weaknesses in that form that needed some ironing out. Thought I’d try to build up my strength a bit, in case I gotta use that body for some reason an’ still need to pack a punch.”

“When would you need to do that?”

“I dunno- but I am a lot faster in that body, and judging how much these damn weights cut me back while I was a girl, I could use a little more balancing out.” He tested his arm, flexing the elbow a few times. “Think these things are gettin’ heavier again,” he muttered before looking back up at Akane. “Okay, are ya just gonna stand there or are ya gonna throw a ki ball?”

“Gimme a second,” Akane shot back, trying to look peeved but failing due to the smirk Ranma’s facial expression provoked. “Alright… I can do this, I’m gonna do it… focus…” She breathed deeply, slowly bringing her hands up. It took little more than a flicker of concentration to get her aura moving again, something she was still amazed at. Only one week ago she hadn’t thought of progressing anywhere near Ranma’s level of mastery, yet here she was, manifesting her aura under her own will while at the same time becoming physically faster and tougher than she’d ever been before. Her elation at that simple fact spread through her body like wildfire, with the end result that seconds later, she was blinking in surprise at the now basketball-sized orb of reddish ki between her palms.

“That’s it, Acchan, you’re doin’ fantastic… now keep concentrating and give that ball a good shove, NOW!”

“HIYAA!!” Akane’s hands shot forward, allowing the ki ball to rocket towards the cinder blocks almost twice as fast as her previous attempt. The sudden rush of energy through her arms was almost enough to fry a few synapses, mainly because of the sheer surprise of it all. Her balance faltered and Akane very nearly fell off the barrel just as the ki blast impacted the wall, crushing its way halfway into the blocks before her surprise caused her to lose focus and the ball dispersed.

Akane righted herself, blinked, and looked at the dent she had made in the wall. “Looks like I got a little ways to go still,” she said with a shrug, then beamed. “But I did it.”

“Damn straight you did!” Ranma replied, pride etched into every corner on his face. “I toldja you had potential, didn’t I? C’mon, give it another shot before Shingen gets back.”

“Another shot?”

“Yeah, practice makes perfect, remember? Now that you’ve done it once, ya oughta be able to do it better the second time!”

“Okay, if you say so,” said Akane with a giggle. She took another breath and raised her hands yet again. Hmm… now that I think about it, Ranma’s right, these weights do feel like they’re getting heavier again… She shook her head and brought her mind back to the ki exercise. Her aura began to flow again, coalescing between her hands as she focused, grinning, on the cinder blocks before her…

Just as she was about to let loose another battle cry and release a new blast, something flashed on the periphery of her senses. A shadow of sorts, just beyond the chain link fence around the warehouse, moving incredibly fast and reeking of anger and malice. What… what is that? I can feel… it’s going to…

Ranma‘s eyes narrowed. “Akane, get down, something’s about to…”

A violent screech of ripping metal tore at her ears and Ranma’s a mere half-second before the cinder block pile exploded in a hailstorm of dust and debris. Akane yelped, losing the ki orb as she jumped off the barrel and brought her hands up to shield her eyes; out of the corner of one eye she saw Ranma doing the same. A rush of air brought the dust cloud into their faces, causing them both to choke and gag for a few scant seconds before the cloud dissipated and a shadow could be seen standing before them. Akane wiped at her eyes furiously, then froze stock-still on top of the barrel. The shadowed figure was still partially obscured by dust, but several factors suddenly became abundantly clear. The figure’s stance, height and the distinctive heft and shape of the weapons in either hand, combined with the light crunch of the figure’s feet stepping slowly but nimbly towards them, told Akane all too well who it was.

“Time to end this, Akane. You die now!”

The fiery Amazon took her time advancing through the dust cloud, her violet hair whipping about her head, bonboris held loosely by her sides. A cruel smirk curved the corner of her mouth upwards as her eyes flared a deep crimson. Ranma’s initial reaction to her arrival was shock, followed quickly by outrage and unbridled fury as her words impacted his ears. Dammit, I warned her! I told her what was what, and now THIS!!! His hands balled into fists and he might very well have broken his self-imposed vow not to hit girls right then and there, when he felt Akane’s hand grip his left wrist and give it a firm squeeze. He flinched for a second- then blinked and stared at Shampoo’s eyes.

“What the…” was all he could say before another sensation hit him. As Shampoo took another step forward, he didn’t just see her aura, he felt it… and the inherent difference that was pulsing through it every second. It wasn‘t hard for him to notice her distinctive lack of a warding pendant, either. “Oh geez… this doesn’t feel right.”

“You feel it too, huh,” said Akane in a low voice. “I know, I’ve never felt her give off anything like that, not even in some of our worst fights.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t get it, I thought she’d been warded against this…”

“Warded nothin’, I don’t see any damn ward pendant on her neck!” Ranma muttered, shaking his head. “This is just what we needed- one outta control cursed Amazon on a rampage. I think we‘d better…”

“You drop Ranma’s hand NOW!!!” Shampoo snarled, swinging her bonbori downward in a wide arc and prompting them to jump apart in opposite directions. Shampoo rounded on Akane, eyes blazing. “You ruin Shampoo’s dream for last time, pervert girl! Now I do what should have done long ago, then take airen back to China!” She crouched for a split second, then lunged forward, swinging and thrusting each bonbori at Akane’s head, chest or limbs. “No more games! Run all over town to find Akane, now you do self quick favor and DIE!” She continued her relentless assault, barely noticing through her rage that Akane was bobbing and weaving around her attacks with some semblance of ease, pausing only long enough to pry something off her wrists and ankles. The training weights landed on the ground with a loud thunk, but failed to draw the irate Amazon’s attention. Gritting her teeth, she swiped with the right-hand weapon, jabbed with the left and followed with a reverse roundhouse kick, none of which connected; following the motion of the kick, she whipped her right hand out in a backhand strike… and gasped in surprise as Akane stepped in and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into a close grapple.

“Shampoo, I know you’re not thinking straight right now,” Akane said in a low, deathly serious tone. “You’re letting something else rule you, and once you shake it off you’re going to regret what you just said… or maybe not, I don’t know and don’t really care. But I will tell you this much- if you think I’m gonna just let you walk all over me, curse or no curse, you got another thing coming, sister.” She glanced up, noting Ranma was already in a ready position, and subtly sent a single thought in his direction. Let me handle this for now, Ranma… I need to know if I’m ready for something like this.

“Shampoo think YOU got other thing coming, ‘sister’!” Her left hand flashed upwards; Akane’s grip faltered slightly as she leaned back to avoid the incoming weapon, allowing Shampoo to break the grapple and backflip two yards away. Akane spun to face her, falling into a looser stance than she normally did, closely duplicating one of Ranma’s ready stances. A few seconds passed before, at a hidden signal, the two sprang forward again, trading punches, kicks and weapon swings at blinding speed. Akane blocked one kick and dodged a bonbori swing, countering with two quick jabs, a roundhouse kick and a spinning backfist, all of which came dangerously close to the crazed Amazon. Six bonbori strikes followed in rapid succession, with only one strike coming close to doing any damage when it grazed Akane’s left thigh. Akane promptly knocked both weapons away from her face, feinted twice- up, then low- and slammed her shin into Shampoo’s left side. Both warriors sprang apart again, catching their breath, and Akane was struck by a sudden thought… as fast as Shampoo was, or had been in their previous fights, it felt almost like she was moving slower than usual. Even her breaking the grapple had seemed slow, so slow Akane realized she could have stopped it if she had wanted to… and then it hit her.

She isn’t moving slower, I’m getting faster… and I can almost see her movements before they even happen! Akane’s eyes widened. Good gods, I really AM getting better!

“So… pervert kitchen wrecker… been working out,” Shampoo gasped. “Means nothing! Just take longer to finish!” She pulled her arms back in preparation to lunge… then froze as something unexpected happened. That something being several lengths of steel chain shooting through the air and snaking around her wrists and elbows, effectively putting her on a ‘leash’ and causing her to drop her weapons. She yanked her left arm forward, but the chain had very little slack and she did little more than create a petulant rattle.

“I’m sorry, my love, but I can’t let you do this… not when you’re not in control of yourself!” Shampoo’s head snapped around, catching a glimpse of an exhausted Mousse directly behind her, the ends of the chains in his hands. “Please, listen to reason… you don’t really want to do this! There’s no reason for it anymore, you know that! It’s just something else telling you something you want to hear! I’m begging you… please, calm down. I just want to help you, Shampoo…”

“You want help Shampoo? Then GET OUT OF WAY, STUPID MOUSSE!!” With a feline growl, Shampoo twisted her body around, snared the chains on her arms in a modified grip and yanked as hard as she could. A sudden wave of energy flared up in her eyes and before he knew it, Mousse found himself being yanked headlong across the back lot in a wide arc. She would have flung him in a circle had his head not connected violently with a nearby door- the steel door which led back into the warehouse weight training area- and knocked it open so hard it nearly came off its hinges.

“Now… where Shampoo at again? Oh yes, finishing off Akane.” Quick as a wink, she retrieved her weapons and sprinted back towards Akane- but stopped dead in her tracks as another interruption occurred in the form of five throwing spatulas impacting the ground directly between them.

“Sorry, sugar, but I gotta agree with the blind boy over there- even if I don’t get half of what’s going on. Nobody’s killin’ anyone today!” Shampoo’s eyes widened and she spun around just in time to lock weapons with an extremely pissed okonomiyaki chef.

Ranma blinked, startled. “Ukyo! What the hell are you and Mousse doing here? Get back; she’s too damn dangerous the way she is!”

“Just call this another part of my apology, Ran-chan!” Ukyo shot back, slamming Shampoo’s left-hand weapon away with her combat spatula. “I heard what happened from the old crone an’ I’m not about to let this moron wreck things for ya!” She bit back a tear and circled the Amazon, trading several blows in succession. Talk about karma comin’ back to bite ya… I spend all my time tryin’ to split Ran-chan and Akane up, now I’m fighting to keep this bimbo from doin’ the same damn thing…

“So spatula girl want play too, eh?” Shampoo growled. “Fine, then we play!” Abruptly she dropped her remaining bonbori and swung forward with a massive backhand swipe; Ukyo moved to block and shuddered as Shampoo’s hand impacted the head of the combat spatula. The Amazon backflipped away… and everybody else stared as the spatula fell apart in pieces, the metal gouged and burned as though seared by a cutting torch.

Ranma stared at Shampoo long and hard. Not a cutting torch. Claws… ki claws.

“WHADJA DO THAT FOR? YOU BITCH, THAT WAS MY BEST SPATULA!!!”

“Oh? Maybe Ukyo prefer I rip something else… like throat?” Shampoo flexed her hand menacingly- and a second later gasped and stared, bug-eyed, as the arms of her original target locked around her waist and squeezed so hard that there was NO wiggle room, no avenue of escape. Panic crossed her face and she struggled, but to no avail. She felt a sudden surge of power, felt her feet leave the ground as Akane pulled her into a perfect German suplex, slamming Shampoo’s head and shoulders onto the cold earth just beyond. Akane flipped back into a standing position, then blinked at the sight before her; she had flung Shampoo so hard that her head and upper body left a perfect indentation in the ground.

“Damn… guess I did that harder than I thought…”

“Man oh man, I knew you were getting better, Akane, but I didn’t think you’d knock her out that easily!” Ranma murmured, scratching his head. “Guess we can step your training up a notch or two, tomboy.”

“We can worry about that later, baka,” Akane replied with a giggle. “Let’s just get her inside and see if we can’t…”

“THIS NOT FINISHED YET!!!”

Shampoo’s head snapped up, glaring at the teens before her. She pulled her legs back and kicked up to her feet, then shot her hands forward with blinding speed and grabbed the top of Akane’s gi. “Now not hold back any longer! YOU DIE!”

Seconds later the two girls crashed through the open door, violently trading punches as they skirted around the handweights and the PVC balance poles. Shampoo’s fists were becoming a near blur, pushing Akane’s blocking and dodging to its limit; for every punch Akane threw at her attacker, two more came back at her. On the edge of her senses she could just make out Ranma following them, with Ukyo not far behind; Mousse was only just beginning to come to his senses. The punches kept coming, accompanied by growls of frustration, and all at once Akane saw a shift in her style. Shampoo’s attacks were getting stronger, but far more chaotic and unfocused. It was getting far easier to dodge the incoming fists, and Ranma’s third lesson popped into her mind- ‘lose your cool and you lose the fight.’

Shingen, who had been kneeling on the rune circle on the sparring floor in the midst of an Astral Link, was already on his feet and staring. “What the hell is going on here?” he bellowed before narrowing his eyes and shifting his perception, focusing on Shampoo.

“Curse gone haywire, that’s what’s going on here!” Ranma replied just as Shampoo tried a sweep kick at Akane’s feet, which Akane avoided at the last second.

Shingen sucked in a breath through his teeth, his eyes turning cold and severe. “Geez, no kidding haywire, she’s spiking worse than Hibiki was. What in the blue blazes happened to her warding pendant?”

“Don’t look at me, man! All I know is she’s hell bent on smashin’ Akane’s face in right now!”

“Looks like she’s not succeeding very much,” Shingen remarked as Shampoo tried to claw at Akane’s face. A slight lapse in defense allowed her hand to pass dangerously close to Akane, scoring two shallow gashes across her left cheek. Akane flinched, then reached up just in time to counter the second attack, grabbing Shampoo by the wrist and flinging her into a nearby wall. The impact knocked the wind out of the Amazon and a few wooden swords off the wall racks.

Akane backed up, wiping the blood off her face with the back of her wrist, then blinked as she felt a voice in her mind.

Finish this fast, Akane, Shingen said through the Link. That girl’s aura is spiking worse than any I’ve seen yet; you’ve got to either calm her down or knock her out while I get the ward ready!

I think calming her down’s pretty much out, she thought back at him before directing her attention back to the fight. Shampoo scrambled to her feet and seized up two bokkens that had fallen beside her, then charged back into the fray swinging the weapons like a human buzzsaw. Under past circumstances, such an action would have made Akane back away, but having faced Shingen under the same conditions the previous evening, all it did was make her smirk. Flicking her hand behind her, she was about to snag her preferred weapon, then paused, deciding to forego the mallet this time around.

“Sorry, Shampoo, but it’s time to end this right now!” Yanking an identical bokken out of thin air, Akane sprang directly into Shampoo’s line of attack. The Amazon blinked in shock- then gasped as Akane struck at her right-hand sword just above her knuckles, following through without once letting the bokken recoil or raise up, the end result being Shampoo’s bokken snapped in half. For a brief second the redness left her eyes and her face contorted in panic, causing her to stumble and drop the other sword. Akane tossed her own sword to the side as she stepped further in, a sudden flash of inspiration crossing her face.

Time to put some of this ki training to the test- I just hope to Kami this works! “RYOUKO TSUME KEN!!!” Akane shouted as her fists suddenly became engulfed in blazing red ki. Her left fist caught Shampoo in the gut as she was falling forward, knocking what air was left in her lungs out of her. Shampoo lurched forward, eyes wide, just in time to be caught by Akane’s right fist swinging up and striking her in the gut, sternum and chin all in one fluid motion. The sudden outpouring of ki from her knuckles flashed through the air and literally tore her Chinese blouse to shreds as she flew backwards, collapsing face up on the wooden floor.

Ukyo’s jaw was practically at her feet. “What the… when did that girl get so… GOOD?”

Ranma shot her a quick smirk. “That’s what a little training’ll do; I always knew she had it in her!” He gave Ukyo a shrug and jogged across the floor to join Akane. “That was incredible, Acchan! You see what I told you about… potential…” He slowed down and came to an awkward stop, noticing a major flush on Akane’s face, and something he suddenly wished he hadn’t noticed. Shampoo’s blouse was little more than ribbons because of Akane’s improvised attack- and she wasn’t wearing a bra, either.

His eyes widened a second before slamming shut and flinching. “Oh… oh geez, oh man, I… I wasn’t tryin’ to look, I mean it, I didn’t think you’d… or that she’d… I…”

Akane shook herself out of it and bopped him lightly. “I know you weren’t trying to look, baka, I wasn’t either… guess I hit harder than I thought I did,” she blurted out, embarrassed. “Come on, we better help get her ready, and fast… just, uh, keep your eyes shut, got it?”

“I got it, I got it! I toldja I wasn’t tryin’ to look, you’re the one that ripped her clothes up!”

“Would you both shut up?” came a third voice, near where Shampoo was lying. Akane and Ranma both blinked and glanced over; Mousse had roused himself and limped over to her, sporting a baseball-sized lump on his head. He reached into his sleeve and deftly produced a bolt of blue cloth, then kneeled by her side and gently lifted her up. A flick of the wrist and the cloth was wrapped around her breasts and her rapidly bruising stomach; Mousse knotted it loosely in a few places, ensuring it wasn’t too tight yet still preserved some modesty. “It’s okay, my dear one,” he was whispering to her. “Everything’s going to be alright.”

Akane swallowed hard. “Mousse, I didn’t really want to hurt her, but…”

“I know, I know,” he replied in a soft voice. “But it wasn’t really her inside, after all… she wasn’t in control. Couldn‘t tame the beast, and if you hadn‘t, who knows what could have happened.” He brushed a few stray hairs out of her eyes; Shampoo moaned and stirred in his arms. “Sometimes… to help someone, I suppose it becomes necessary to hurt them. That doesn’t make it any less painful, I know… but what must be done, must be done.”

“Well put, boy,” muttered Cologne, appearing at Shampoo’s side almost out of nowhere and placing a gnarled claw to the girl’s head. “Hmm. It would appear her aura has calmed somewhat; I think we’d best see if we can treat her in a more permanent fashion.”

“Hey, when did you get here, ol’ ghoul… I mean, Cologne?” Ranma asked, surprised.

“I was right behind the others, lad,” she replied. “I would have stepped in, had this fight taken a turn for the worse… but I could feel your auras just as I arrived and had to see for myself just how far you had progressed.” She eyed Akane appreciatively. “It would seem you, young lady, are more full of surprises than I expected. You’d make a fine tribal sister, I dare say!”

Akane flushed slightly. “I- I just got lucky, that’s all…”

“Luck nothing, I toldja again and again you had potential and I was right, wasn’t I?” said Ranma, giving her hand a quick squeeze. Ukyo noticed the squeeze and looked away, a hint of regret in her eyes that it wasn’t her on the receiving end of that squeeze. She took a deep breath and shook it off after a second, reminding herself that what was done was done, and at the very least her friendship with them was still intact.

Shampoo stirred, then gasped, crying out in pain and holding the sides of her head. Mousse pulled her close, running a hand over her temple and biting his lower lip, hoping she wasn’t going to go berserk again. After a few seconds, though, she opened her eyes and everyone present was relieved to see a complete lack of crimson in her irises. She looked up at the bespectacled man holding her, and a single tear ran down her cheek.

“Mousse…” she whispered.

“Yes? I’m right here, what’s wrong?”

“…Help me…” she managed to get out before groaning in pain once more; she started to thrash about in his arms and would have broken his grip were it not for Cologne, who shuffled to Shampoo’s head and touched a point on the side of her head. Immediately her limbs relaxed and she fell into a deep sleep.

“We haven’t got much time; get her over here to the ward circle,” Shingen said in an authoritative voice. “I’ve got one ward primed and ready to go; I just hope it’s had a chance to dry enough.” He grabbed a piece of parchment off the table and snatched up his naginata from where it rested nearby. Ranma and the others nodded and quickly brought the limp Shampoo over to the runic circle etched into the wood floor.

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Ukyo shook her head in disbelief. Talk about your weird afternoons… definitely not what I was expecting, she thought as she tightened her grip on Shampoo’s right wrist. Just decided to go for a walk and wind up smack in the middle of an exorcism… Akane’s skills going through the roof, and on top of that I run into this Shingen guy again… Shampoo’s arm flailed and Ukyo strained to hold her down as blue-white ki blazed around her body. Through the haze she could just make out Akane pinning Shampoo’s feet down while Ranma had her left wrist clamped in place. She glanced over at Shingen who was nearing the end of his incantations, and was surprised to find herself flush ever so slightly. That’s right… he saved me and Konatsu the other day… and I don’t think I even thanked him properly…

“TSUIHOU!!!” Shingen hollered at the top of his lungs, breaking her train of thought… and if the shout didn’t get her attention, what happened next did. Shampoo screamed like a banshee as the ki cyclone erupted from the ward plastered across her bare chest, pulling and thrashing harder than she had previously. Ukyo gritted her teeth, as did Ranma and Akane as they strained to hold her down, until finally a glowing violet mass wrenched free of Shampoo’s body and careened across the length of the warehouse, rebounding off the far wall and the rafters before skidding back across the sparring floor. Shampoo twitched once, exhaled a long, sobbing breath, and fell unconscious.

“Great Kami… now I think I’ve seen everything…” Ukyo breathed.

“We’re not done yet,” Ranma muttered, grabbing the nearby blue cloth and throwing it over Shampoo.

“Is she going to be alright?” Mousse asked frantically, sprinting over to the others followed by Cologne; she had pulled him off to the side, near the bunk room, per Shingen’s instructions to prevent his curse from interacting with the Purge circle.

“We’ll find out soon enough; just get her over to a safe area and make sure she doesn’t get hurt,” Shingen replied.

“Hurt? Hurt by what?”

“I think you’ll find out soon enough, Ukyo,” said Akane in an unsteady voice, her eyes locked on the scintillating figure emerging from the violet miasma on the floor. It was rapidly becoming far less blob-like, taking on a humanoid form and pulling up into a standing position. White sparks suddenly leaped from it, prompting a quick flinch from those looking at it. Shingen’s eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing the veil that was dissipating from the creature.

Then it did something that made Akane’s and Cologne’s eyes widen, and caused Ranma to freeze up in shock. It meowed.

A low, seductive but ultimately menacing meow. Ranma’s pupils shrank in fear as age-old nightmares started rearing up in his head; he clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists so tight that he almost began to bleed from his palms. No… can’t lose it, not here, get a hold of yourself you idiot, it’s not one of those, it’s a demon, not a c-c-ca… not one of those, NOT one of those, can’t lose it… Over and over he chanted to himself, not noticing the rivers of sweat beginning to run down his temples. Akane, however, saw it immediately and quickstepped over to him, grabbing one of his wrists and telling him to calm down. Then all at once, there was a bright flash- and the figure before them was revealed.

Ranma blinked, his eyes dilating slightly as a fraction of his fear faded. “Wha… what the… what is…” No… it’s not a cat… but… something LIKE a cat…

Shingen let out a sigh and glared at the new arrival. “Lovely. A yamaneko.”

It, she, whatever it was, stood seven feet tall, with white-furred skin bearing prominent violet tiger stripes and features that seemed to combine humanoid and feline into a form that was unmistakably intimidating… but incredibly alluring. Her features were sharp and angular, almost elfin, with two distinct cat ears set on either side of her head, which was covered with a short-cropped mane of dark purple hair. Red cat’s eyes gazed back at the group of people before her, and her lithe arms brushed limply over a pale pink Chinese warrior’s dress that was slightly more indecent than some of Shampoo’s clothes. Indeed, the dress appeared to be a size too small for the demon, causing it to stretch suggestively over the cat-woman’s athletic and quite voluptuous figure.

Akane blinked, turning her attention back to the others slightly. “Yamaneko? What’s that supposed to be?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

“A distant cousin to the raiju, or lightning spirit,” Shingen replied grimly. “It’s just what its name suggests- a wildcat. Not a tactician, but fast, proud, covetous and incredibly reckless.” He swung his naginata off the floor and over his shoulder. “They also have a tendency towards narcissism- one of the vainest demons around.”

The cat-woman raised an eyebrow at the lot of them, then raised her right arm ever so slowly. A cruel sneer that looked very familiar crossed her lips as she pointed a clawed finger in Akane’s direction.

“Time for you to die, Huntress. You‘ll pay for bruising my host.”

The demon’s form blurred as she launched herself across the floor, clawed hands flashing in a downward strike that Akane just barely managed to avoid. The force of the attack smashed a section of the training floor to splinters as the demon gouged several half-inch furrows into the wood. Ranma snapped out of his combination of fear and surprise, one thought settling first and foremost in his mind. This is no time to lose focus; whatever the hell this creep is, I’m not gonna let it get anybody!

A second later, the room exploded in a flurry of motion. The demon’s claws screeched through the air as she tried to turn Akane into ramen noodles on the spot; Akane countered by dodging and tumbling to the other side of the room and circling back around again. Shingen burst forward and slashed at the yamaneko’s legs several times, each time impacting against her claws instead and showering the floor with sparks. Suddenly the demon blurred and seemed to kick into a higher gear, rounding on Shingen and blazing into him with dozens of claw strikes and a kick attack; Shingen’s left fist shot up and produced a blue ki shield to ward off the claws while he parried the kick with the staff section of his weapon. Sensing an opening, Akane darted forward and was practically on top of the cat-woman when all at once, the demon turned her head around and glared directly at her. The red eyes flashed and twin beams of crimson light burst forth, breaking Akane’s stride and tearing two wicked furrows across her left shoulder. Akane stumbled and fell to one knee, clutching at the burned flesh and gasping in pain.

The demon snickered and swung back towards Shingen, one claw moving fast enough to just break his defense and open-palm smash him across the face. He staggered back a few steps, and the cat-woman began to advance… but was suddenly cut off by the outraged scream of a certain pig-tailed martial artist whose anger was now overriding part of his fear. She blinked and turned in the direction of the scream, just in time to feel the impact of Ranma’s foot across the bridge of her nose. “Think it’s funny, do ya? Hurtin‘ Akane like that?” he snapped, flipping over the demon and landing behind her. “Well, why dontcha see how funny THIS is!” A quick step and his hands barreled into the small of her back, striking the base of the demon’s spine over and over courtesy of the Amaguriken. The force of the impact threw her halfway to the nearest wall as Ranma turned to his fiancée. “Akane, you okay?”

“I’ll manage,” she replied, jumping to her feet and cracking her knuckles. “That thing just caught me by surprise, that’s all… fast, too.”

“Yeah, well she may be fast,” Ranma said as he quickly yanked his own training weights off; they hit the floor with a sound akin to a bowling ball being dropped. “But I’m faster.” Just gotta remember this ain’t a cat, it’s a demon that kinda looks like a cat, it’s not a cat… NOT a cat… He took a deep breath and nodded to Akane. “Pincer attack, NOW!” Akane nodded and the two of them sprang forward on a prearranged count, something else they’d devised in their earlier sparring session. Just as the demon struggled to its feet, the two of them split apart in opposite directions, swung out, then back in again and began pummeling the cat-woman from either side with a frenetic series of punches, kicks and spinning backfists. The demon’s clawed hands flew into a frenzy, blocking and deflecting as fast as possible, but with the training weights removed Ranma’s fists had suddenly jumped to near-supersonic speeds. The crack of fist on flesh and bone echoed through the training hall for what seemed like a full minute; at one point the cat-woman staggered and began to fall forward because of two perfectly timed heel kicks to the back of her knees, one kick from each of her attackers. She howled in desperation and glared at both her opponents, her face suddenly becoming much more angular and cat-like as fire blazed in her eyes.

That was what suddenly turned the fight in her favor as Ranma caught sight of the fully feline face and froze in shock. His fists ground to a halt and he began to shake- and a second later, found himself sprawled across the training floor as the cat-woman applied her own version of the Amaguriken to his solar plexus.

“Ranma!” Akane gasped, eyes wide as Ranma crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath. Her own rapid-fire pace faltered just as the cat-woman twirled around to face her again, her face once again elfin. The demon promptly reached in and grabbed Akane’s right wrist, then pulled upwards, yanking her off the ground and into the air in an attempt to throw her to the floor. Akane twisted in mid-air and just barely managed to plant her feet, but staggered on the landing and looked up just in time to see a lightning-fast fist headed for her face. She instinctively threw her arms in front of her in an X formation, desperately trying to channel her aura into her arms just as the demon slammed into her- and punched her in the gut instead. The impact sent her skidding across the floor, clutching her stomach in agony.

The cat-woman straightened up and laughed- a perverse, purring laughter. “This is all you have to offer?” she chortled… and then gasped as a metallic object imbedded itself in her left shoulder. Her red eyes widened and she spun around just as Shingen unleashed a fusillade of over a dozen runic throwing knives from less than two yards away. At least seven darts caught the demon in the chest and abdomen, knocking her backwards and prompting her to screech and knock the darts away like unwanted fleas.

“Forget about somebody?” Shingen asked humorlessly, twirling his naginata. “This dance isn’t finished yet, demon!” The cat-woman snarled and leaped towards him just as he did likewise, spinning his weapon above his head like a helicopter blade. Claw began to clash against blade as the two danced across the floor, each one trying to get the upper hand. Shingen spun his weapon in tight arcs, his eyes narrowed on her defenses, while all the while the cat-woman bobbed and weaved in circles around him, striking so fast that even Cologne, who was tending to a still-unconscious Shampoo, was having a hard time tracking the strikes. As time wore on, Shingen began to scowl; he was keeping her attacks from hitting but couldn’t actually hit her himself.

“You’re looking a tad vexed, Hunter,” the she-beast sneered. “Can’t bring yourself to hit a beauty such as me?”

“Bite me, demon,” Shingen shot back, thrusting forward suddenly and locking up with her claws. The two struggled briefly, then sprang apart again. Not far away, Akane slowly rolled to her knees, still holding her stomach and coughing. Ranma was in much the same condition, but shaking as well.

“That can be arranged,” she replied with a giggle, licking one of her clawed fingers suggestively. She crouched as if preparing to lunge, when suddenly a rattle of metal echoed through the air and no less than six lengths of chain flashed around the demon, wrapping around her elbows and knees before pulling taut. She stared and swung her head around at the same moment that Shingen got a good look at the responsible party and Akane staggered to her feet.

“You’re making a lot of trouble, running around like that,” said Mousse with ice in his voice. “And when you have an animal that’s misbehaving, you need to rein it in!”

“Mousse, have you gone crazy?” Shingen shouted. “Don’t interfere! You’re just going to make it worse if you try and fight!”

“This is my fight too, I’ll have you know!” Mousse shot back. “Maybe I don’t know the things you do, and maybe I’m not as good a fighter as some, but what kind of a man would I be if I just sat off on the sidelines and did nothing? This… this THING tried to use the girl I love, and I’m not going to let her get away with it!”

The demon gave the chains a good swift yank; Mousse dug his heels in and skidded a few inches forward, but refused to let up the slack. The cat-woman yanked again to no effect; Shingen shook his head and pulled his weapon back in preparation for an overhead strike. Just then, she leveled her eyes at Mousse and smiled cruelly- and then unleashed the crimson eyebeams once again. Mousse’s head snapped back as he caught the full force of the beams with his glasses, which promptly cracked and fell off his nose as he toppled backward, losing his grip on his chains and clutching his face.

“Heh. So much for the blind fool,” the cat-woman purred before swinging her right hand in a wide arc, countering Shingen’s strikes once more. She began to strike back, but before she could work herself up into a frenzy she felt another stabbing pain in her back. And another… and another. She wheeled around just in time to see a certain brown-haired chef unleash another flurry of her own throwing weapons, half of which cut into the demon’s flesh before her claws stopped the rest.

“Don’t count me out either, sugar,” said Ukyo in a shaky voice. “Hell if I know what this is all about, but if I let you guys do all the work… well… hell, these are my friends, too; I gotta do something!” She reached for her primary weapon- then blinked and went wide-eyed as she remembered it had just recently been ripped to bits by Shampoo. “Uh… uh-oh.” She scrambled frantically for another throwing spatula, just as the cat-woman growled and pulled back both arms in preparation for… something. Oh geez… I am so freakin’ screwed it’s not even funny… Ukyo’s eyes widened even more so as violet ki began gathering in the demon’s hands.

Shingen gritted his teeth and sprang forward just as the cat-woman shoved the orb forward. This is insane… that girl’s got guts, I’ll say that much, but if any more outsiders get hurt because of this… dammit, I can’t even use my real trump card attacks with them around!!! He shook off his line of thought and executed a diving roll, landing right in front of Ukyo just as the energy blast was about to strike. “MAKOTO TOKU!!!” His right fist shot forward and a massive golden ki shield blazed into existence, buckling slightly but holding against the impact of the purple orb that exploded millimeters away from his fingertips.

Ukyo had flinched away, but as the energy dispersed on either side around her, she tentatively relaxed and cracked her eyes open.

“Are you okay?” the taller man in front of her asked in a clipped tone.

“Uh… yeah… yeah, I think so…” That’s two times this Shingen guy’s saved my ass now…

“Then get down and keep out of the line of fire,” Shingen finished, lowering his hand and charging back into the fray, swinging his naginata. Ukyo blinked, then did exactly that, scrambling towards the table and knocking something off it as she pressed herself back into a corner. The something she knocked- a particular black plastic weapon case- hit the floor and its lid snapped open, very nearly throwing the two clan swords within onto the floor.

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Ranma? Are you alright?

Ranma was still on his knees, breathing slowly as he tried to flush the pain from his system- the pain in his gut, and the mental mallet he was whacking himself with. He blinked once as he felt the Link open between him and Akane, and took a moment to reach back to her through it. He could feel pain that mirrored his own, but more than that, he felt a sort of panicked concern.

I’ll live, Acchan, he thought to her with a quick glance in her direction; he could see her wobbling as she stood up. What about you?

I’ve had worse… what are we gonna do about this? The two of them winced as an ear-splitting crash echoed through the room; the demon’s claws impacting Shingen’s blade had a slightly less appealing sound than, say, nails on a chalkboard. Can you still fight?

Ranma swallowed hard, visions of the demon’s fully neko face coming back to haunt him. I’m sorry, Akane… I didn’t mean to lose it like that, that face of hers just… just… gods, I’m pathetic, can’t even look at a friggin’ cat without getting… can’t even… can’t… look… hey, wait a minute…

Ranma’s eyes widened and he glanced up at the demon, who was currently twirling like a top, delivering multiple roundhouse kicks to Shingen’s weapon, but failing to knock it out of his hands.

Akane blinked. Ranma… are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?

He looked back and shot her one of his cockiest grins ever. Just remembering part of today’s training; I’m gonna need your help on this, Akane. Ya trust me?

She paused for a moment, then nodded. You know I do!

Then let’s put this bitch to sleep! Ranma jumped to his feet, pain washing out of his system as his aura flared about him like a bonfire- and then he did something that most people would find incredibly stupid. Digging a hand into his vest pocket, he produced the black blindfold he wore in their kendo exercise and tied it tight over his eyes. Can’t freak out if I can’t see her face, he thought to himself, repeating it again several times like a mantra. Akane shook her head at the sight and focused on the cat-woman, keeping her attention away from its face as she continued to maintain her Link with her fiancé.

“Why don’t you just roll over and die already, Hunter?” the cat-woman sneered as she grabbed hold of Shingen’s naginata, locking up with him in a sudden contest of strength; smoke began to pour from her hands as the weapon seared her flesh, but she refused to let go.

Shingen stared at her emotionlessly. “Simple, really,” he said… and then smiled. “A Hunter never abandons a mission, least of all when he’s got good backup.”

The cat-woman blinked… and stared as Ranma leaped towards her from behind Shingen, right foot extending at the last second to catch her right on the side of the head. The impact broke her concentration and she let go of the naginata, staggered away and glared at the two men before her. Ranma was still twitching nervously, but from the way his jaw was set the fear wasn’t nearly as crippling as it had been before; the demon’s eyes widened as she noticed the blindfold.

“Why, you… how did you…”

“Don’t always need eyes to see, freak.” And with that, Ranma exploded in a flurry of motion, his fists shooting forward so fast they began to create low-grade sonic booms just before they hit. The cat-woman tried to give as good as she got, but before long she was giving ground and being herded by her opponent instead of the other way around. Suddenly his body blurred and darted beneath her; she barely had time to spin around before he stood up again and whipped his left leg out in a reverse roundhouse. A cracking sound echoed in the training hall- the sound of some of the demon’s ribs breaking.

Shingen shook his head in amazement, noting the tell-tale signs of Aura Sight in Ranma’s ki as he lunged in with his own weapon, swinging in a figure eight pattern. White ichors spilt from the demon’s arms as the naginata flayed her flesh; with a desperate scream she flung her arms out to the sides and knocked Shingen to one side. She tried to do the same with Ranma but failed as he backflipped out of her reach, landing in a crouch not far from the wooden table. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and realign with Akane’s Astral Link, when he noticed something nearby. He couldn’t actually ‘see’ it, but the suddenness and strength of the aura it was emitting was enough for his own aura to react in kind.

Reaching out, he felt his hand close around a smooth wooden scabbard and felt a rush of energy envelop him. For a second, he almost thought he heard the whinny of a warhorse in the back of his mind… and suddenly what remained of his fears subsided. His right hand reached around, gripping the hilt of the Sagara clan wakizashi in a ready position.

“You Hunters just don’t give up, do you?” the demon screamed, pushing Shingen away with a sudden blast of violet ki that scorched a section of his jacket, but otherwise left him unharmed. She flexed her claws and dropped into a crouch, preparing to lunge at Shingen once more. “Stop putting up a worthless effort so I can kill you and take that purrfect pig-tailed one away… he’ll make such a nice chew toy!” Her leg muscles flexed, seconds from jumping… when two things happened at once.

“CHEW TOY? Oh, don’t you even think about it, girl! You keep away from my man!!!” Akane’s aura flared up brighter than before, and seconds later a basketball-sized ki orb exploded from her palms, smashing into the demon’s back and scorching her shoulders. The cat-woman howled and staggered back up, but just before she could turn around to face Akane, the second thing happened. Two throwing knives flashed through the air and sank into the flesh directly under her eyes; the scream prompted by the darts was bloodcurdling.

Akane blinked in shock- but not because of the scream. Keep away from my man? Where’d THAT come from… damn, guess I’m more possessive of Ranma than I thought… She blinked and shook her head in time to be shocked by something else. The knives in the demon’s face didn’t belong to Shingen.

“No effort is worthless… if the cause is just.”

The voice and knives belonged to Mousse, who was struggling to his feet and prompting stares from more than a few people. His face was seared and his eyes were so bloodshot they were almost completely red, but his jaw was set in iron determination. A flick of the wrist and a weighted chain appeared in his hand; with a grunt, he sent the chain flying, catching the she-beast right on the nose and making her stagger backwards five steps. He flicked the chain, withdrawing it back into the depths of his robe and turned to face Ranma- an act which dropped the jaws of several non-combatants nearby. “Saotome, enough is enough! Finish it now!!!”

“Right!” Ranma ducked into a low crouch, reaching out with his aura and locking onto the spirit energies of the demon. A hint of a smile crossed his face as he began to suppress his ki… lower and lower… and just as the demon finished swiping the knives out of her face, he suppressed it completely and disappeared.

“Umisen-ken revised attack! HITOSHIREZU-KEN!!!”

The demon barely had time to blink before a loud, wet cutting noise echoed through the hall, followed by Ranma re-emerging from the Umisen-ken six feet behind her, sword drawn and held upward as if at the apex of a quick-drawn side swing.

There was dead silence for a few moments.

A line of white cut across the demon’s torso, starting from the right hip and terminating at the left shoulder. A low gurgle escaped her throat and she dropped to her knees on the wooden floor. White ichors burst from the wound… and seconds later, the yamaneko screamed and exploded into a cloud of scintillating white particles. They danced and dipped through the air in a madcap rhythm of their own… and then with a flash, they and the demon were gone.

Ranma let out a long breath as he re-sheathed the wakizashi and pulled the bandanna off his face.

“Bet she didn’t see that one coming,” he quipped before collapsing to his knees. Akane was at his side in seconds, pulling his arm over her shoulder and helping him up.

To Be Continued.

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Author’s note 7/24/05: Well, this turned out to be the longest chapter yet. I apologize for the delay, but as mentioned previously expect a delay of 2-3 weeks between posts nowadays. I just endured a hellish week at work in the middle of writing this, not to mention a heat wave that fried my imagination a bit. And now, a few comments.

For those who still wonder why it is the Springs of Jusenkyo weren’t explored further, it can be rather easy to subtly dissuade people from getting too curious- demons do have their ways, especially if they tap into, in the words of Douglas Adams, “people’s natural predisposition not to see anything they don’t want to, weren’t expecting or can’t explain”. A little xenophobia here, plain ignorance there- there’s dozens of reasons why the Joketsuzoku or the Musk wouldn’t look too deeply at the springs. After all, the greatest trick the Devil played was convincing the world he didn’t exist…

As for Akane’s rising skill level in this chapter, keep in mind her Hunter blood and power is starting to awaken, and training in an area set aside and magically enchanted for such a purpose is only going to boost that- in short, she’s catching up to the level she reached in the Battle Dogi arc, but isn’t relying on something to do it, except maybe the training weights. Also, if you’re wondering ‘why didn’t Ranma go berserk when fighting the cat-woman?’, one, she didn’t look entirely feline most of the time- only a few features here and there. Two, during the point where Ranma would have lost it, he got the wind knocked out of him before it could happen.

The act of striking your opponent’s weapon without letting the sword rise even slightly- which Akane did to break Shampoo’s bokken- is also known as the Fire and Stones Cut; you can find it in Musashi’s Book of Five Rings. And now for the new stuff:

Ryouko Tsume Ken: Akane’s improvised ki-enhanced jab-uppercut technique, can translate as Dragon and Tiger Claw Strike, Two Tigers’ Claw or Hero’s Claw Strike. Personally I prefer the Two Tigers’ Claw; it seems to fit her.

yamaneko: Not necessarily a bona fide Japanese demon, although the raiju(a catlike lightning demon) is part of Japanese lore. Literally translates as ‘wildcat’ or ‘lynx’.

Makoto Toku: Mentioned in a previous chapter, Shingen’s Faith Shield defensive ki maneuver.

Hitoshirezu-ken: Literally, Hidden Strike or Unseen Strike- Ranma giving the Umisen-ken a more lethal angle by addition of a blade.

That’s all for now. It’ll still be another 2-3 weeks until the next installment, so please bear with me. Thanks for your reviews; keep ‘em coming. Until next time.

-Neon Ronin