Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Blood on the Battlefield ( Chapter 30 )

[ 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. You know the drill by now. With that out of the way, we resume where we were last time in…]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 30: Blood on the Battlefield

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“You mind explaining just what in the name of stir-fried rice is going on here, or am I gonna have to guess my way through it?” Ryoga drawled in an irked tone. “First the two of us get blindsided by those things, they herd us all the way to Furinkan and then all hell breaks loose… WHAT was that all about?”

“Gee, good to see you too, Ryoga,” Ranma replied with a roll of his eyes. “You’re askin’ the wrong guy, we were just having lunch when you guys busted on to the scene with the Doomsday Pack on your heels. And before you say it, no, it wasn’t my fault.”

“That’s NOT what I was going to say!” Ryoga shot back through gritted teeth.

“Sure it wasn’t, bacon brains.”

“Would you STOP calling me that?”

“Oh lighten up a little, man, I’m just yankin’ your chain a bit!”

“Something tells me those two are never gonna change,” Ukyo muttered, heaving a sigh and stretching her arms behind her head. “Five minutes out of the fight and they’re at it again.” Akane didn’t say anything in response, but shrugged and snickered as the two went back and forth at each other.

They were walking through downtown Nerima, being trailed closely by Akari’s faithful porcine steed- who was drawing a considerable amount of attention by himself. Akari walked just a little ahead of him, bringing up the rear of the group just behind Ryoga and the others. Ordinarily several of them would’ve been back in class back at Furinkan, but the chaos that had only recently engulfed the school grounds had shocked the faculty sufficiently to warrant sending the students home early. The carnage wrought by the wild dog-demons had not only busted the wall but had also ripped a gash in an underground gas line, requiring extensive repairs; that aside, a number of students had been rattled so badly that the teachers had felt it best not to add to the stress by resuming classes. It may not have been the first time something abnormal had happened at Furinkan, but this was perhaps one of the most terrifying of the lot.

“Not exactly the day back to school I had in mind,” Akane sighed. “Though I have to admit, it felt good to not be on the sidelines for once.”

“Boy, tell me about it,” Ukyo replied. “I dunno what Shin-kun and Ran-chan did to hone you, Akane, but damned if you weren’t sharp out there.”

“Thanks, Ukyo… I think,” Akane said with a smirk, then quirked an eyebrow. Shin-kun? Sounds a tad familiar way to address him only a few days after she met him… She blinked, her eyes darting between Ukyo on her right and Shingen just in front. To her left, Ranma and Ryoga were still bear-baiting each other.

“Look, all I’m saying is I wanna know where those things came from and why they started shredding things outta the blue!” Ryoga groaned. “And another thing… since when do you stand aside and let your own fiancée jump into something like that? Didn’t you care if she got hurt?”

“In case you weren’t paying attention, dumbass, I had one eye on her at all times; besides, we’ve been doing a little training over the weekend an’ we needed a good workout. Think I’d deny her a chance to test her ability a bit?” Ranma shot back with a smug look.

Ryoga stared blankly at him for a moment. “Training? Over the weekend?” He paused, and then his eyes widened as he suddenly recalled something he’d only barely glimpsed during the fight- a vision of Akane and Ranma in perfect synchronicity, blades in hand, cutting through the black beasts with a form and precision he’d never seen in them before. The sudden recollection of Akane’s newfound grace didn’t stun him quite so much as something else, though. Think I’d deny her a chance to test her ability… did he really say that? Ranma? Mr. Macho who always insulted her ability before? HIM?

A second later, Ryoga recovered and snapped an arm around Ranma’s neck, locking him in place as he ground the knuckles of his other hand into the pig-tailed one’s head. “Okay, who are you and what’d you do with Ranma?” he growled… or tried to, throwing in an involuntary laugh.

“Hey, take it easy, man!” Ranma snapped, twisting around in an attempt to escape Ryoga’s ‘secret’ noogie attack. “Geez, what’s your problem… dammit, lemme go, you musclebound moron!” His own serious composure didn’t last long, though, and he started to laugh as well.

“Honey, could you tone it down a little bit?” Akari piped up. “I know you probably want to catch up with him, but it’ll be easier if you don’t have him in a headlock.” Ryoga paused, turning towards her slightly. She gave him a disarming smile, and a moment later he heaved a resigned sigh and released Ranma from his grip.

“Thanks, Akari,” said Akane. “You saved me having to break his hold my way,” she added, throwing a meaningful glance in Ryoga’s direction. Ryoga gulped.

“Well, like I was trying to say,” said Ranma as he straightened his neck out, “was that as far as those things went, I got no idea. I never even saw anything like a Hell Hound till today… well, ‘xepting maybe some dreams I’d rather not remember…”

“Hell Hound?” said Ryoga, blinking once. “Is that what that thing was called?” He shook his head, trying to get the image of two red eyes and a fang-filled mouth, reeking of dark energies, out of his mind.

“Godforsaken animals, the whole lot of them,” Shingen snapped in a voice filled with ice, not bothering to turn around.

A moment of silence passed, during which time all eyes promptly fixed on the back of his head. Ranma blinked once, then turned to look at Akane; she was looking back at him with an identical expression of concern. Both of them had been aware that he hadn’t said anything since the fight had terminated, and neither of them had missed the rage in his eyes as he had punched the last hound into oblivion. The others just looked at him in bewilderment, though Ukyo’s eyes held a shred of concern as well.

Ranma cleared his throat. “Um… Shin? You okay, man?”

A long sigh was his reply before Shingen stopped walking and turned to face them. “Sorry,” he said in a dull tone. “I had a bad run-in with those things a long time ago… about the only subspecies of demonkind that can make me lose my cool.” His right hand idly traced a pattern up his shirt- tracing, both Ranma and Akane realized, the triple scar across his chest. “Those things thrive on carnage; they’re drawn to conflict and battle like moths to a flame. Torn through more than their fair share of wars as well, feeding off the dead and dying, or anything else they could do to spread chaos… up to and including acting as Hunter killers,” he finished, his words laced with venom.

Ranma’s eyes narrowed. “Hunter killers?”

“Sometimes, when the opportunity presents itself,” Shingen replied. “I doubt they ever set out for that purpose, but Kami knows I’ve seen at least two cut down because they underestimated their ferocity. For the most part, Hell Hounds don’t appear to have any other purpose than inflicting pain on whatever happens to be in their way.”

Ukyo paled. “So… why pop up right in the middle of Furinkan? Why a friggin’ schoolyard of all places?”

“He did say they were drawn to battles,” Akane murmured. “And you’ve got to admit, we’ve had more than enough crazy fights at the schoolyard to qualify it as a battlefield.” She paused, then glanced at Ryoga again. “Sometimes for entirely the wrong reasons.”

Geez, I said I was sorry, Ryoga thought silently as he flinched at the look she was giving him. How much longer am I gonna have to apologize before we’re friends again? He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground for a moment before something clicked in his head. Wait a minute… how did Ranma know those things were called… “There’s something fishy going on here.”

“Okay, Ryoga, what’d we leave out this time?” Ranma replied in a bored tone.

“Ranma, you said you never saw these things before today, right?” At his nod, Ryoga continued. “And this guy never corrected you on calling it a Hell Hound, so that might be its legit ‘name’…”

“It is its name, Hibiki, what are you getting at?” Shingen groaned.

“Well, if you never saw these before, Ranma, how’d you know what it was called?”

“That’s easy, pork butt; Shingen told me an’ Akane what ta call ‘em.”

“He did?” Ryoga glanced at Shingen, who nodded, then back to Ranma. “Wait, I didn’t see you two talking to him that much after that fight was over… what’s going on here?” He paused, then blinked at something Ranma had slung over his shoulder. “And another thing… since when did you two start using swords in combat? I thought you preferred being weaponless! And where’d you get those, anyhow?”

“Huh? Oh… about that, that’s, uh… that’s kind of a long story…” said Ranma, fidgetting slightly. Geez, I was kinda hoping we’d be able to keep this under wraps for a while; he’s gonna flip if we tell him about the bloodline thing…

You’re telling me, Akane mentally replied. Better stall him till we’re someplace we can sit down and relax first. “Yeah, um… it’s kind of complicated, why don’t we help you and Akari finish your errand first and then we can talk about it.”

“Wha… oh damn, I almost forgot about that!” Ryoga spun around to face Akari. “Have you still got that paper with the address on it, dear? Maybe they can help us find that store.”

Ranma blinked, then started to snicker. He called her dear? And here he used to get nosebleeds if a girl even smiled at him! His snicker promptly halted when Akane bopped him lightly on the back of the head.

“Sure, that won’t be too much of a problem,” Akane said before giving Ranma a mildly annoyed look. You don’t have to laugh at him; I thought what he said was kind of sweet!

Sorry, ‘kane, I’m just not used to hearin’ that stuff from him, Ranma replied with a shrug. Akane just rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Well, if we’re ever gonna get around to doing anything,” Ukyo groaned, “then we might as well make the most of this afternoon and get moving, everybody.”

“Yeah, you’re right; gimme that address and let’s go find…”

Ranma suddenly stopped in mid-sentence as another chill washed over his body. It didn’t feel like an icicle down his spine this time, it was more like a sudden fog appearing in the midst of nowhere, buffeting over him in thicker and thicker sheets. His eyes went wide and his head jerked in Akane’s direction; he could see a similar reaction plastered on her face as she returned his gaze with worried eyes. Ryoga and Akari looked at the two of them confusedly, as did Ukyo. Shingen’s back was to them and his eyes on the street ahead, and they could see he was standing stock-still.

“Ranma…” Akane began in a small voice. Ryoga blinked and glanced back at Akari, whose face now bore a look of concern.

“Yeah, I know,” Ranma replied, iron seeping into his voice. “Hey, Shin…”

“I felt it too,” said the taller man, flipping his naginata off his shoulder.

“Felt what?” Ukyo asked. “What’s the big deal now?”

Shingen stared down the street, eyes scanning over each storefront individually. “There’s something very wrong happening, and it feels like it’s getting stronger,” he said in a clipped tone. “It’s some sort of energy buildup… definitely occult. It feels like…” He paused, eyes narrowing. “It’s not the same as a Purge, not quite a Summoning from what I can feel… more like something trying to…” His gaze locked on a particular storefront and his eyes widened in shock. “Oh, KUSO!”

“What?” Ryoga jumped at the sudden outburst. “Would someone just explain to me what…”

“It’s coming from the Neko Hanten,” Shingen snapped as he started to run. “Getting even stronger; dear gods, I just hope I’m wrong…” Akane and Ranma suddenly gasped as an inkling of Shingen’s assessment entered their minds, and both began to run as well. Ukyo blinked and followed suit with Ryoga, Akari and a huge pig hot on her heels.

“Ran-chan, what’s all this about?” Ukyo hollered.

“I’m still waiting on that explanation, Ranma!” added Ryoga.

“No time for that right now, guys!” Ranma shot back. “I got a feeling that we’re gonna have some more trouble on our hands in a moment!”

At that moment, while all of them were a mere two blocks away from the Neko Hanten, trouble took that moment to rear its head. A sudden scream of agony was quickly followed by an explosion of white light tinged with violet that shook the windows all along the street and blew the front doors off the aforementioned Chinese restaurant. Everyone, including Katsunishiki, screeched to a halt and slammed their hands over their ears as the explosion’s high-pitched whine rattled their ears and cracked several neighboring windows. Seconds later, eyes cracked open- and then snapped fully open at the sight of a dark figure emerging from the wave of light.

The light congealed, softening as the figure planted its feet on the ground- a pair of clawed feet adorned with old-style wooden clogs. The owner of the clogs stood some seven feet in height, clad in what appeared to be a blue hakama and a white gi top with the sleeves torn off. The figure’s arms were tinged a bluish-black shade and powerfully muscled, each arm wrapped elbow to wrist in lengths of silvery chain; one hand appeared to be clenched around a scintillating blob of blue light. At its shoulders were set a pair of massive black-feathered wings, and its head was that of a long-beaked ebony bird with piercing crimson eyes. Akari gasped. Ryoga and Ukyo did likewise.

Shingen stared at the beast in a state of minor shock. “Great Kami…” he breathed before snapping to attention and jamming his left hand into his jacket, retrieving a fistful of throwing knives and a paper ward.

The bird-headed giant unleashed a deep, throaty laugh and launched itself into the sky with unexpected speed and grace; in two seconds it had disappeared behind a cloud well beyond the reach of Shingen’s darts. A brief flicker of movement through the cloud cover, and it was gone.

“Gods, what the hell was that?” Ukyo asked frantically. “And what was it doing bustin’ out of the Neko Hanten like that?”

“Was that… was that a Tengu?” Akane stammered in a rushed tone, trying to remember some of the minimal demon lore they had gone over at the warehouse. Another scream erupted from the restaurant, breaking everyone’s eyes away from the clouds.

“Help!” came a distinctly female voice laced with an unprecedented tone of panic and worry. “ANYONE! PLEASE HELP!”

“Worry about what it was later!” Shingen snapped, bolting for the remains of the restaurant’s front door with Ranma and Akane close behind him. That was more… that was a Greater Tengu, of all things… how the hell could I have missed something like that before, he thought grimly as he barreled inside.

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Cologne’s head jerked upright. A slight gasp escaped her throat and she fumbled slightly with her cup of tea. “Oh, my…”

“Hm?” Nodoka blinked and set her own cup down. “Is something wrong, Elder?”

“I felt something,” the elder Amazon replied in low tones. “I’m not quite sure what it is, but for a moment… something didn’t feel right. Didn’t feel right at all.” She stroked her chin, focusing her aura for a brief moment before her eyes narrowed. “I fear something is happening back at the Neko Hanten. Somebody is in great pain.”

“You can feel that from here?”

“Indeed, my dear; I know that place well enough to know when something is amiss, especially something like this.” She grabbed her cane and stood up. “I’m afraid I may have to cut our afternoon chat short.”

“Oh dear,” Nodoka murmured in a worried tone. “You don’t suppose it could be another curse incident, could it?”

“It may very well be,” Cologne replied with a deathly serious look. “I only pray it will not come to blows before I can get there.” She gave Nodoka a quick nod before turning and pogo-sticking her way across the rooftops of the neighborhood. Nodoka bit her lip and watched her diminutive guest depart before getting up to check on the progress of her husband’s slumber.

My word, that is troubling, she thought as the walked down the hall to the bedroom door. Just one thing after another these days, it seems. Curses, demons, lies, heaven knows what kind of power emerging in my son and daughter-in… well, future daughter-in-law… She sighed and sat down by the door, listening to Genma moaning in his sleep. And now more trouble rearing its head… I guess, assuming she’s right about there being trouble.

Nodoka let her head tilt back to rest against the wall just as Genma’s mumbles took on a pleading tone. She could hear him begging for something… peace, solitude, occasionally forgiveness. It sounded like he was tossing and turning on the futon and his voice was cracking at times. She closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath as she heard him crying out her name… and then Ranma’s.

“I’m sorry, Genma,” she whispered. “But we have to let it take its course. I only hope you understand now what you apparently couldn’t before.” She reached up and wiped her eyes. And I hope whatever was bothering the Elder turns out to be easily rectified. I didn’t much like that look in her eyes…

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Akane and Ukyo both gasped and Akari screamed at the sight inside the restaurant. Tables and chairs had been blown across the floor, creating a path from the doorway to a spot in the middle of the dining room where Mousse was lying on his back in a crumpled heap. His face and arms had gone slack, eyes shut tight and his abdomen appeared to be covered in blood. Shampoo was kneeling shakily next to him with an uncharacteristically frightened look in her eyes; she had grabbed a handful of cloth napkins and was frantically pressing them against a spot on his stomach where his tunic appeared to have been torn away. Blood was spreading slowly through the napkins as Shampoo glanced up.

“Oh my GOD!” Ukyo nearly shouted. “What happened in here?”

“Hell’s bells, looks like somethin’ tried to tear him inside out!” Ranma said in a clipped tone as he scrambled over to Mousse’s side and batted Shampoo’s hands away. Lifting the cloth, he winced as he and the others caught sight of the deep gash in his right side.

“It… it awful!” Shampoo was rambling. “Mousse come in, look like in pain, then all at once he fall over and start groaning and then… and then Shampoo see he bleeding, then he cry out, then restaurant fill with light and… and… giant bird-thing appear from… please, help! Shampoo no expect this, no know what to do, why this happen to Mousse all at once, why… why…”

“Shampoo, calm down,” said Akane. “Get a hold of yourself, you can’t help him if you’re in a panic!” She spun around and knelt by Ranma’s side. “How bad is it?”

“He’s got a hole in his gut big enough to fit a jumbo rice ball,” Ranma replied grimly as he continued to apply pressure to the wound. “Dammit, what the hell’s going on here?”

“That’s what I want to know!” Ryoga shouted, a tad nervously. “What is this, a full-on all-day freak fest or something?”

“Ryoga, either shut up or make yourself useful,” Akane said through gritted teeth. “There’s a phone on the counter; call Dr. Tofu or an ambulance and tell them we’ve got an emergency here!”

“I don’t believe this,” said Shingen as he scoured Mousse’s aura from head to toe while a startled Ryoga darted to the counter and began dialing. “Something interfered from the outside. His curse spirit found a way to escape from him… the hard way.”

“WHAT?” Ranma shouted. “Escape? You sayin’ his ‘curse spirit’ ripped itself out of his body?”

Akane’s face went white. “Is that possible?” she breathed.

“Theoretically, but only if some other demon synched with his spirit infection and drew it out,” Shingen replied. “I’ll explain later; give me some room here.” He stood up and brought his fingers together in a triangle pattern. “Naosu Kousen!” he snapped as he focused the ray of gold light on Mousse’s gut. Ranma maintained pressure on the wound; Akane thought back to her Health classes and began checking his pulse at the wrist. Shampoo remained kneeling by his head, shivering.

“Mousse going to be okay, right?” the Amazon asked softly. “He get fixed up?”

“That’s what we’re trying to do, Shampoo,” Ranma answered. “I hope so.”

Akane gulped. “I’m no expert, but his pulse feels pretty weak,” she said. “He’s breathing kinda harshly, too.”

“C’mon man, hang in there,” Ranma muttered. Dammit, this isn’t funny…

Shingen’s brow knitted and he clenched his teeth. “This doesn’t feel right.”

“What? What doesn’t feel right?” asked Akane. Beyond her, Ryoga was babbling into the phone.

“I’m not synching up with his aura as well as I should,” Shingen replied tersely. “Naosu Kousen should be accelerating his healing through the roof by now, but it’s not nearly as strong as it‘s supposed to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ranma snapped.

“His aura’s very weak right now, so it’s not responding well.” The taller man shook his head. “I’m only guessing, but based on appearances he may have been Soul Ripped.”

Shampoo stared. “What you saying? Soul Ripped? What with you and weird words?”

“That Tengu that just busted out of here probably took some of his spirit energy with it,” Shingen shot back as he began pumping more of his ki into the beam of light. “That’s what’s making it harder to close that wound.” Beads of sweat were beginning to roll down his temple. The light danced over and around the impromptu bandage in Ranma’s hands, worming into the gash and sealing it at a maddeningly slow pace.

Ryoga slammed the phone down. “I got a hold of Dr. Tofu, he’s on his way over now,” he said. “Oh geez, is he gonna be okay?”

Ranma stared down at the unconscious Chinese weapon master. “Don’t ask me; I’ve been in a lot of scrapes with this guy and I never saw him get gashed like that.”

Shampoo swallowed hard. “Shampoo never thank Mousse for… for what he do… when Shampoo lose control and listen to voice in head…” Her features wavered, then firmed somewhat. “Mousse is Amazon… come back from fights before and no die then… so…”

Ryoga said nothing, but stared in wonder at Shampoo for a moment- then noticed Akari on one side of the room, sitting on the floor and hugging her knees as she tried to fight back a flood of fear-induced tears. Something inside him snapped to attention and an instant later he was next to Akari, gathering her into his arms and whispering calming words in her ear.

“Pulse doesn’t feel good, you guys,” said Akane nervously.

“I know, I can feel it from here,” Shingen replied in an emotionless voice. Damn it all, how could this have happened? How in the Nine Hells did something give his infection the strength to do this? And that infection… if that Greater Tengu was inside him, why didn’t I SEE it when I scanned him the first time? Was it hiding itself in a maboroshi technique? Just then he felt a shift in Mousse’s breathing patterns. No… you’re not going to do this to me, not while I’ve still got a lock on what’s left of your aura…

Mousse let out a long, sobbing breath and slumped down on the floor. Akane blinked and knitted her brow as she focused her fledgling aura senses on him. Shortly afterward, she gasped and looked up.

Shampoo inched closer. “What is happening?”

“I can’t feel his pulse,” said Akane in a panic.

Shampoo gasped. “W-what? What you say?”

“Aura’s getting weaker,” Shingen growled, his own aura flaring bright gold as he began pouring all his reserves into his healing technique. “Response is still low; he‘s going into cardiac arrest.”

Ryoga’s head snapped up. “You saying he’s gonna die?”

“No!” Shampoo cried, reaching over and cradling Mousse’s head. “Mousse, no do this, please! Stupid Mousse, please… no die…”

Ranma’s eyes flashed with a look of iron. “He ain’t gonna die if I got anything to say about it.” He sprang up and moved into a position further up on Mousse’s body. “We’re just gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way. Akane, move down and keep your hands on his wound; don’t let up the pressure. Shampoo, you’re gonna have to help me out with this and give Mousse here mouth-to-mouth.”

Shampoo almost froze up when she realized what was happening and what she’d just been asked, but shook herself out of her state and nodded hesitantly. “What you going to do, Ranma?”

“I’m gonna beat the daylights into him,” he replied hurriedly before rolling up his sleeves and giving Mousse a hard thump in the sternum. His hands quickly snapped into position and he began administering chest compressions, silently thanking the Kami for keeping him awake during Furinkan’s Health class when they had discussed CPR. Akane’s hands locked the napkins in place over the wound; after five compressions Ranma gave Shampoo the signal to breathe. She hesitated for a microsecond, one or two old and bad memories prodding the back of her mind- but these were quickly overshadowed by a string of better memories, memories of him giving it all to save her. The hesitation vanished and she planted her lips on his, sending air rushing into his lungs. Shingen nodded to himself and continued to pour ki into his technique.

Seconds began to tick by. “C’mon, Mousse, don’t do this to me; I’m not gonna lose a damn good sparring partner today!” Ranma began to sweat, his own aura ebbing outward from his fingertips. I dunno if this is gonna work; I’ve never tried that Healing Light thing except on Acchan’s bruises…

“Aura’s still wavering,” Shingen muttered. “Can’t feel him responding much.”

“This can’t be happening,” Ukyo whispered from the sidelines, clutching her combat spatula with white-knuckled hands.

“Mousse, no go yet,” Shampoo whimpered. “I never say I sorry for pushing you around all time…”

“Dammit, man, BREATHE already!” Ranma snapped. “Shampoo, don’t stop, you gotta give him some more air!” Shampoo nodded before taking a breath and ventilating Mousse once again.

Akane began to chew her lip. Why? Why did this have to happen? Who cares how, WHY? We’d just started fixing things between all of us, he helped us out in that fight with the yamaneko and this is the thanks he gets? This isn’t right! Come on, Mousse, you’ve got to fight this! You can’t just go… we’re not gonna let you! She squeezed her eyes shut and spread her hands so that they completely covered the wound, took a deep breath and began to reach out with her own aura. Great Kami, I don’t even know if I’m doing this right…

Seconds ticked away in silence, save for the thump-thump sound of Ranma’s chest compressions and Shampoo’s rescue breathing. Shingen’s eyes cracked open, bloodshot from the strain of his ki exertion which was bathing the entire restaurant in pale gold light.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of the wound in Mousse’s side. The blood had stopped oozing out of it…

…and seemed to be reversing direction. A flicker in the ki patterns of the room attracted his attention, just as the gash slowly began to seal. “I’m getting something.”

Shampoo’s head snapped up. “What? What is it?”

“I think he’s starting to respond.”

“Still not breathing,” said Ranma.

“Keep focusing your ki, you and Akane both,” Shingen replied. “Don’t let up on the CPR, I think it’s stabilizing him.”

Ranma blinked, then smiled as he resumed. “See man, I knew you weren’t out yet; now come on and breathe on your own, for Kami’s sake!” Akane said nothing, but smiled weakly and kept reaching out with her own aura, trying to direct its flow into and around the slowly closing hole under her fingers.

Three chest compressions later, Mousse’s eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath; Ranma pulled back as Mousse lapsed into a coughing fit, arms crossed over his ribcage in obvious pain. Akane flinched at his sudden movement but didn’t let go of the blood-soaked napkins on his gut.

Shingen gritted his teeth, continuing to direct the flow of the Naosu Kousen until Mousse’s coughs faded and he began to breathe more regularly, the color slowly creeping back into his face. A moment later, the beam of light faded and Shingen dropped to one knee, letting out a year of a sigh and wiping sweat away from his eyes.

Akari glanced up, still in a mild state of shock. “What… what’s happening? Is he alright?”

Ranma swallowed hard. “Mousse… if you can hear me, say something.”

Mousse coughed again and one eye cracked open. “Something,” he croaked.

Ranma slumped backwards and heaved a sigh of relief; Akane did likewise, reaching over and giving Ranma’s hand a quick squeeze. “Hope I don’t have to go through that again,” the pig-tailed one said at length, eliciting a nod and groan of agreement from Akane.

“I don’t think any of us need to go through that again,” Ryoga muttered softly. Geez, I wasn’t even in the thick of it and my heart’s goin’ a mile a minute…

“What… what happened to me…” Mousse started to mumble before turning his head and locking eyes with a shaking Shampoo, an unreadable mishmash of emotion swirling in her eyes. He blinked and shifted up slightly, trying to prop himself on his elbows. “Sha… Shampoo? What’s the mat…”

He didn’t get any further as Shampoo suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him till his eyes rattled. “STUPID MOUSSE!” she wailed. “No scare Shampoo like that again! Never, ever, EVER AGAIN!” Two tears escaped her eyes and she yanked him into one of her fiercer glomps. “Please, not do that again… I no can take it if Mousse do stupid thing like that again!”

“Shampoo…” he gasped, taken aback both by her behavior and by the fact that she was threatening to crack his already-abused ribcage. “I can’t breathe… what… what happened? What’d I do now?”

Her grip softened slightly as she rested her head- somewhat roughly- on his shoulder. “I know I say it many times in past when I angry… but I… I not r-really mean it… Shampoo not really want Mousse to… to die…”

Mousse stiffened. “What… what did you say…” he said in an incredulous tone before lapsing into another coughing fit.

“I think we’d better get you to lie down someplace better,” said Shingen, frowning as he peered at what remained of Mousse’s wound. That gash went pretty deep, too deep for the Healing Light to seal without scarring. And I’m pretty sure his body’s not the only thing scarred by now, either. He shifted and tried to struggle to his feet, suddenly feeling the effects of pushing his aura to the limit- and then felt a hand on his right arm.

“You alright there, Shingen-kun?” Ukyo asked softly. “Need a hand up?”

Shingen blinked, then shrugged and smiled. “Yeah, I could use a hand, now that you mention it,” he said. “Think I pushed it a bit too hard.” Ukyo smiled and took hold of his elbow, helping the taller man get back to his feet.

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Not long afterward, Cologne made her appearance, followed closely by Dr. Tofu, whereupon the others gave them a rushed but rather detailed description of what had happened. Mousse had attempted to stand up but failed miserably, and had to settle for being carried to his room on Ranma and Ryoga’s shoulders. Shingen had filled them in on the details of his aura’s diminished strength, then left the room to let the Doctor and Elder examine Mousse themselves. For some reason that she refused to divulge, Shampoo stayed in the room as well, sitting off to one side with a faint flush on her face.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it in my life,” said Dr. Tofu as he and Cologne stepped out of Mousse’s bedroom, closing the door behind them. “Whatever happened, demonic or not, it’s left him very weak for the time being, and under any other circumstances, I’d be insisting he be transferred to the hospital right now.” He paused, then glanced back at the door. “But then again, these are hardly normal circumstances if you ask me.”

“Hardly normal indeed,” the old crone murmured, looking at the door with an air that combined worry and regret at the same time. Great heavens above… I can’t believe that boy almost died today… “Seems I owe Ranma and the others a debt of my own now; our tribe takes a matter such as this quite seriously.”

“Are you talking about the injuries he sustained, or the manner in which he was treated?”

“Neither, Doctor,” Cologne replied. “The fact that his life was saved by three who are tribal outsiders. You see…”

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Downstairs, the remaining six sat wearily at a corner table.

“You see the look on her face?” Ukyo said quietly. “I’ve never seen her look that way before- at least not when he was involved.”

“Me neither,” Akane replied. “But then again, I don’t think I’ve been this close to seeing… well… you know.” She heaved a sigh and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “Sorry I snapped at you earlier, Ryoga- stress of the moment, you know.” Ryoga shrugged and gave her a light nod.

“I hope I never see anything like that again,” said Akari with a shiver.

“Me neither,” Ryoga muttered. “That hit a little too damn close to home if you ask me.”

“You can say that again, Ryoga,” said Ranma as he folded his arms and let out a long sigh. Thank Kami we got him out of that mess; after the schoolyard this was one thing I did NOT wanna let happen.

You and me both, Ranma, Akane replied in his mind’s ear. She paused a moment in thought, then smirked. Though… I was a little surprised at first when you told Shampoo to help you out, since I know CPR, too… at least till I saw what you had in mind.

Ranma mentally shrugged and turned to look at her. I know those two had some bad moments, but I dunno… somethin’ told me she had at least a bit of a soft spot for the guy. He helped her the other day at the warehouse; now she got a chance to help him. An’ besides… I wasn’t too hot on seein’ your lips on his at the moment.

Akane snickered. Baka.

“Hey, why so quiet, you two?” Ukyo piped up, breaking the silence.

“Sorry, just lost in thought,” Akane replied with an awkward smile.

“Yeah, me too,” Ranma added with an identical smile. “Bit much to digest at the moment, ya know.”

“I know,” Ryoga said with a nod. “Now, I know I’ve said it already, but would you all mind telling me what the Sam Hill is going on today? I’ve been hearing nothing but talk about demons, auras, Hell Hounds, a Tengu, someone almost dying and something called a Soul Rip for the better part of the last hour- geez, I knew nothing is ever normal in this ward, but this is starting to get a little nuts!”

“Sweetie, there’s no need to press them,” said Akari in a calm voice as she took Ryoga’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Maybe this should wait until we can all just take a deep breath and…”

“No, we might as well air it now,” said Shingen with a look of self-recrimination on his face that caused the others to blink. “You’re not the only one thinking this day’s been a little nuts. I can’t believe it myself…” He rested his forehead on the heel of his hand and groaned. “Damn it all, I had a ward drying back at my room, I was getting set to Purge his curse in a safe manner this evening, and then something pulls this shit on us.” He slapped the table with his other hand and cursed under his breath. “His aura looked stable before; how was something like a Greater Tengu able to hide itself like that!” Not to mention doing what I think it did… I’ve never seen a spirit eject itself from a host body in that manner before, but to execute a Soul Rip and steal part of his life force at the same time… but why?

“Shingen…” Ukyo murmured, biting her lip and giving him a look that Akane and Ranma both failed to miss. The two of them blinked and looked at each other oddly.

Ryoga drummed his fingers on the table. “So wait a sec… okay, now it’s coming back to me, you said the whole Jusenkyo thing was related to demons before, right?” Shingen nodded. “And the ones behind Ranma’s curse and mine got bumped off, right?” Another nod. “Then… that thing we saw bust down the door of the Neko Hanten really was what was inside Mousse?”

“Most likely,” said Ranma.

“Damn…” Ryoga breathed. He looked at the table a moment, then looked back up again. “Then what about those dogs that attacked us? And the two of you fighting so well together? And those swords? Think you can tell me what that’s all about now?”

A moment of silence fell over the lot of them.

Akane sighed. “Should we tell them?”

Ranma nodded slowly. “I guess we’re gonna have to,” he replied.

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High above the skies of Japan, a dark figure danced lightly over the surface of the clouds. Its black wings beat slowly but with great power, propelling the beast forward at an ever-increasing velocity. Its red eyes glinted as its left hand clenched around the vacillating orb of blue ki therein. With a shriek akin to an eagle, it beat its wings harder and shifted course, bearing due West.

Not more than five feet away, an ugly gray imp materialized and cackled with glee, matching the Tengu’s pace easily.

Not long now, my Master, it mused, gazing fondly at the indigo sigils etched into its right hand. The final key is in our grasp. Soon you shall be free… and soon shall I be rewarded. It was a great honor to become your chosen eye and hand… not like my stupider brethren, only concerned with trickery and casual torment… soon you shall rise again and allow me to transcend my existence and become your true Right Hand. And then…

Then you shall have your revenge.

The imp’s maniacal laughter echoed through the clouds as it and its massive companion flew onward.

To Be Continued.

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Author’s Note 11/3/05: First off, I’m not a Mousse hater; when I first developed these chronicles I hadn’t envisioned what happened herein, it just happened to write itself that way. Remember, in a previous chapter there had been an allusion to a seal falling by demonic or human blood- whether it resulted in the death of the one concerned was not completely at issue, nor was it mentioned directly. The release of spirit energy lies at the heart of it all… and now things may be taking a turn for the worse.

But that’s to be seen. Whether any immediate harm comes to the NWC or not, that’ll have to wait. As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. There’s still much I have planned for the others- how will Ryoga react when the truth comes out? What did Ukyo want to ask Akane about in the previous chapter? Did Nabiki ever pitch a fit when she found out Ranma disabled her surveillance gear? These answers and more will have to wait until another day.

I forgot to mention in the previous chapter- the two pigs Akari mentioned, Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo. Their names are borrowed directly from Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Katsushiro was the young samurai eager to learn from the veteran Kambei; Kikuchiyo(played by Toshiro Mifune) was a boisterous warrior who claimed to be samurai but was more a brawler than a skilled swordsman, a sort of comic figure.

A Tengu, for those who don’t know, was a long-nosed goblin popular in Japanese folklore. If memory serves me, early artistic versions depicted them with bird’s heads; some could be benefactors to humans, others could be cruel.

And to everyone, again I thank you for reading this haphazard production. Please review if you have the time; I’ll keep on writing, though it might take a few weeks to get my notes and ideas in order. Until next time.

-Neon Ronin