Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma 1/2: The Truth and the Tempest ❯ Out of the Frying Pan... ( Chapter 34 )

[ 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. This story is written for fun, not profit. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Please extinguish all flames, and ensure your seat belt is fastened at all times.]

Ranma ½: The Truth and the Tempest

Chapter 34: Out of the Frying Pan…

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By the time second period was over and the lunch bell had rung, the entire school was buzzing. Some could hardly believe the news, while others were thanking the Kami for answering their private wishes. A number of people were ignoring the news altogether and focusing on the fight itself, in particular the chemistry and teamwork between Furinkan’s most famous couple. But, inevitably, the discussion of the fight would lead back to the predominant news spreading across the campus. Faculty and student alike were either stunned by its suddenness, or secretly relieved at what it might mean.

Both Tatewaki Kuno and his deranged father had been arrested shortly after the conclusion of the fight. The former had been too badly beaten to attempt any resistance, and his broken jaw prevented him from saying anything other than a few gasps and screams of anguish- though whether it was directed at the policemen or the pain in his mouth, no one could tell. Principal Kuno, on the other hand, had been quite the talker as the officers escorted him and his ukulele from the schoolyard. “Ey, bruddah, you best not be treatin’ the Big Kahuna dis way! You boys goin’ be real sorry!” he had bellowed in his grating Hawaiian accent. “I’s one pillar o’ dis community! I done nothin’ wrong, an’ you boys be knowin’ dat too! An’ why you go an’ bus’ up my little Tatchi over there? It’s dat long-hair Saotome who be all de time messin’ with him, go get dat kid instead! Why you gotta…”

Further arguments were lost on the increasingly frustrated Nerima Ward police as they shoved both Kunos into the back of a squad car and began rattling off charges: multiple incidents of assault and battery, assault with intent to kill, bribery and misuse of school facilities and funding(a set of charges that applied, in some instances, to both Kunos), documented incidents of sexual harassment(Tatewaki) and public humiliation(the Principal’s hair clippers). To make matters worse, an anonymous tip had directed the P.D. to a server containing logged correspondence between the elder Kuno and a number of suspected crooked political figures, detailing transactions designed to hush up any local investigations into the Principal’s bizarre interests and school policies. That, plus the videotape documenting Tatewaki Kuno’s ambush at the school gate, left little doubt in the cops’ minds that the Kuno clan- or at least, its dominant male members- were finished in Nerima.

Nabiki had remained at the front gate long enough to give a statement on what she knew about Kuno, as well as deliver the tape of the fight. She thanked both the officers who took her statement, then turned and delivered a sub-zero glare at the wounded younger Kuno in the squad car. I always knew you were unbalanced, Kuno-baby… just didn’t know how much, she had pondered with a shake of her head. Guess I should’ve dug a little deeper back then; I never would’ve sold you those pictures of my sister or Ranma if I’d known it’d push you this far. Damn, I had my suspicions… I’d heard stuff whispered about you and your old man… guess that’ll teach me to classify a moron like you as little more than a pest.

Somehow, she’d managed to arrive at class without the teacher putting her on bucket duty. Nobody else really seemed to mind or care.

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“Did you see the look on the Principal’s face when they dragged him out the door?” “See it? How could anyone miss it, Daisuke? Talk about livid, I thought his face was gonna turn permanently purple!” “I always thought Kuno-sempai was a little strange, but I didn’t think he could turn that psychotic…” “Eh, it was a matter of time, Sayuri, you knew it and so did everyone else.” “I heard they got hit with a rap sheet a mile long; how long you think they’re gonna be put away for?” “I’ll bet you anything this whole matter gets swept under the rug and they’ll just be back again, worse than ever.” “Are you joking? I’ll bet those two get sent off to the loony bin instead of jail, it’ll never get to trial…”

Akane sighed and shook her head. The local lunchtime rumor horde was out in full force; she had yet to find a single person that hadn’t been talking about the front gate scene. I knew Nabiki said she’d taken care of things, but I didn’t think she’d be able to do something like that, she mused as she took another bite of her lunch. She’s pulled some pretty elaborate stunts before, but calling in the police on those creeps? Not that I mind, but still…

“Remind me never to underestimate the pull your sister has,” Ranma murmured emotionlessly as he took a slow bite of his own lunch. He sat to her right beneath one of the campus trees and had been staring at his bento for the better part of lunch.

Akane nodded slowly. “That’s putting it mildly. Whatever it was she said she found online, it must’ve been pretty big to get the cops’ attention.”

Ranma sighed. “Hope that’s the last we hear of those morons,” he said before setting his half-eaten lunch aside and pulling his knees to his chest. Akane blinked, then shifted and turned towards him.

“I hope so too,” she said before putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey… at the very least we did manage to give him a pretty painful send-off, right?” Ranma grunted, but didn’t say anything. Akane’s smile dimmed and she leaned forward, trying to look in his eyes. “Ranma… are you going to be like that all day?”

“Be like what? I’m not doin’ nothing.”

“Then what do you call moping under the tree with a half-eaten bento next to you? I know you’re never one to waste food, Ranma” she shot back. “Is this about those stupid ninja? I thought I told you already, you couldn’t have known he was going to do that! And besides, we got out of that mess just fine and you didn’t lapse into Neko once, so why are you still…”

“That’s not the point, Acchan,” Ranma replied in a pained tone. “We got out of it, but we should’ve got outta it a lot faster. Maybe I didn’t expect it, but damn it if I still don’t get tripped up by that STUPID phobia at the wrong time every time!” he continued, punching the ground beside him. “Wound up exposin’ myself to a couple cheap shots… not to mention that bastard’s katana…” He reached up and traced the gash under his eye, held closed by a butterfly tape. “Shingen was right. I gotta get some sorta handle on this damn fear of c-c-c-cats… like he said, what if we gotta fight another spirit like that yamaneko and I freeze up again? What if ya can’t shout me outta it, or I don’t have a blindfold or…”

“Ranma, that’s a lot of ‘what if’s’ you’re throwing out,” said Akane gently. “What if this, what if that… what happened to the whole ‘don’t think, just do’ philosophy? I thought we talked about this at the warehouse once already, didn’t we?”

Ranma faltered and stared at the ground again. “Yeah, we did, but still… this is something I can’t run away from, Akane. You know it just as well as I do.” He heaved a heavy sigh and looked up into her eyes. “I have to figure out some way to control the Neko-ken. That blindfold only works so well, and I can’t rely on seeing via aura sense alone. And besides… I’d rather you didn’t have to shake or snap me outta it each time; that’s kinda what let some of those goons snare ya earlier.”

Akane paused a moment, then sighed as well. She knew his phobia was still a big sticking point with him, even with the blindfold buffer. She also knew there might be times he wouldn’t be able to rely on it or the apparent calming effect of his clan sword, but she had no clue as to how to approach the issue. “You’re right, Ranma. You’re absolutely right… if only your father hadn’t put you through that in the first place, this wouldn’t be such a big deal.” I can’t suggest some sort of psychotherapy right now, he’d never take it well… and I doubt Neko-ken is something a psychiatrist could treat easily, if at all, she thought to herself as she wrung her hands and looked up into his eyes. “I wish I could give you some sort of easy answer, but I can’t… all I know how to do is bring you out of it, and even then I don’t really know how that works.”

Ranma allowed himself a small smile. “It’s ‘cause you’re you, Acchan. That’s all it takes.” He paused another moment, then sighed and stood up. “But as far as getting control over the damn urges… that’s something I think I gotta work out for myself.” Not just for myself, either… I don’t wanna put you through any more of this c-cat fear than you’ve already been through, he thought quietly to himself.

“Ranma, where are you going?”

“Just a couple laps around the track. I gotta blow off some steam,” he replied as he started towards the athletic field, pausing only long enough to send the Astral equivalent of a hug and a kiss in Akane’s direction. I’ll see you back in class in a few, Akane. Love you.

Akane sat back and sighed, a small smile creeping onto her face. Love you too… you big dummy, she replied in his mind’s ear with an Astral embrace of her own. She watched him jog towards the track for a moment, then sighed and retrieved an envelope from her book bag. She flipped it through the fingers of her left hand idly for a moment before extracting the letter inside and shaking her head. She’d read it twice already, but was still unsure what to make of it.

She felt someone on the periphery of her senses and turned to her left, then relaxed slightly. “Oh, hey there Ukyo.”

“What, you getting eyes in the back of your head now, Akane?” Ukyo replied as she approached the tree and sat down next to her former rival. Her hair was loose again, and while she was still wearing men’s uniform pants, Akane could recognize the Furinkan High girl’s uniform blouse Ukyo was sporting.

“Not exactly. You were walking so softly I almost didn’t hear you,” said Akane.

“Must be all that training you and Ran-chan got up to lately,” Ukyo quipped as she brushed off her pants leg and looked up and across the field. “What’s he doing, anyhow? I saw you two talking and then he just up and…”

“It’s that bastard Kuno,” Akane sighed. “That ambush at the front gate really got to him, he’s just coping with it the way he knows best.” She looked up and watched Ranma chugging his way around the track; she could tell he wasn’t breaking a sweat despite a pace that put several school track members to shame. “Never thought Kuno’d be anything more than a big nuisance…”

“Yeah, I heard something about that from Hiroshi when I got here, something about that jackass bringing in two dozen ninja in cat masks. Didn’t Kuno realize that could’ve been suicide?” Ukyo mused.

“I think he thought it through this time, though- those guys only pushed him so far, then pulled back again. Banged him up more than usual,” Akane groused. “The thing I don’t think he was expecting was what Ranma can do when he gets really angry.” She paused. “And none of us was expecting his sister, either.”

Ukyo blinked. “Kodachi? What about that psycho snob?”

Akane turned to look directly at Ukyo. “That’s what I’m still trying to figure out myself. For once she wasn’t trying to attack me or Ranma… she was attacking Kuno and his lackeys.” She paused, then flicked the letter in her hand open. “And she left these behind just before she got the hell out of there.”

“What is it?”

“An apology to me,” said Akane. “Probably the first time in her life she ever addressed me as anything other than a ‘peasant girl’. But even weirder, about the only time I’ve ever heard of the ‘Black Rose’ admitting to any sort of a fault… even if it is covered up by a lot of fancy words. Ranma got one of these, too.”

“You’re kidding… that girl said she was sorry about something?” Ukyo’s face was a mask of disbelief. “Sorry for what?”

Akane shrugged. “Everything, pretty much. Attacking me, attacking my family, ‘imposing mine own desperate desires upon one man whom I am not worthy of and who has so wisely refused my more violent advances’, which I guess means she’s sorry for trying to steal Ranma…”

“Bit of a wordy way of saying it, sugar,” Ukyo said with a smirk.

“Pretty much. Something here about an attempt to ‘escape the madness of my family, resulting only in a madness of my own design’…” Akane sighed and shoved the letter back into the envelope. “Somehow, I get the feeling Nabiki was right. There’s something about that family of hers that isn’t pretty, and I’m not so sure I want to know what it is.”

“Wonder what made her change her attitude so sudden,” said Ukyo.

“I’m not really sure. Might’ve been Ranma pushing the truth about his curse into their faces last week.”

Ukyo nodded slowly. “Maybe… though with that family, you never can tell. I‘m just glad they hauled that samurai wannabe out of this dump- and his old man, too.”

“You, me and about the entire student body, Ukyo.”

“And at least half the faculty,” Ukyo snickered. Akane nodded and chuckled lightly in agreement. A brief moment of silence passed between them before Ukyo sighed and took out a box lunch of her own.

Akane looked over and blinked. “Hey, you’re not making your lunch on the spot today?”

Ukyo shrugged, a neutral look on her face. “I didn’t really feel like bringing the grill this time.”

“Didn’t feel like…” Akane shifted her position and stared. “Ukyo, I almost never see you without that grill at lunchtime, it’s practically part of your body.” She paused, and her expression turned concerned. “Is something wrong?”

Ukyo picked at her bento in silence for a moment, her face an emotionless mask, before sighing and looking at Akane again. “I don’t know. Maybe. I guess. It’s just been kinda…” She set the bento off to one side. “There’s something I wanted to talk to ya about.”

Akane frowned. I knew it. She wasn’t acting like herself yesterday before that whole Hell Hound thing, and now she’s even more so… “Does this have something to do with yesterday? I didn’t want to say anything, but you looked like you had something on your mind.”

“Well, kinda…” Ukyo fidgeted. “Actually… I was sorta hoping to talk with you alone, but I couldn’t find you till lunch, and Ran-chan was already sitting here…”

“Is this about Ranma again?” Akane asked, her frown beginning to deepen. “Or about you, me and him?”

Ukyo blinked, then waved her hands in denial. “No, Akane, that’s not it at all, I didn’t mean it like that! I told ya, I’ve already accepted that he wants you and you want him…” She shook her head and looked at her hands, not noticing the blush her words had elicited from Akane. “It’s just… well…”

“Well, what?”

She sighed heavily. “I just wanted to talk to another girl about this… before I brought it up with him.” She paused again, then looked up. “I… well… you know I’ve always felt pretty strongly about Ranma.”

“Well, you did point that out whenever you had the chance,” Akane replied with a wry smirk.

“Yeah, I know,” said Ukyo, looking at her hands again. “But… now that I’ve had time to think about it… I… I’m not sure if what I felt for him was anything other than old friendships mixed with my old man’s orders. I don’t think what I felt really was love, if you get my drift.”

“Huh? Wait, what makes you say that all of a sudden?” Akane asked, slightly confused. First Kodachi says she was chasing a false dream, now you’re saying you weren’t in love with him? “Ucchan…” she said gently, hoping the pet name didn’t sound odd coming from her. “What do you mean by saying you don’t think you…”

“Because,” Ukyo interrupted, “there’s someone I think… that I think…” She paused again, then pulled her knees to her chest and hugged herself. “I think there’s someone that I feel something for… that I didn’t feel with Ranma…” she finished quietly.

Akane’s eyes widened. Did… did she just say… is she… is THAT what was on her mind yesterday? “Ukyo? Are you serious?”

The chef said nothing, but shrugged her shoulders haltingly. “I didn’t wanna say anything in front of Ranma,” she murmured. “Not right now, anyway… I don’t even know what’s really going on myself.” She reached up and wiped her eyes. “Then everything went to hell yesterday with those dog-things, then that thing at the Neko Hanten… then after that…”

“After that, what?”

Ukyo turned to look at Akane again. “It wasn’t a very good night at my place last night. Konatsu…”

“Huh? Konatsu? What about him?” Akane asked. Ukyo started to say something, then turned away again. Akane felt a subtle shift in the air around them, and started when she felt a strange tingling coming from Ukyo- there was no visible aura, but Akane remembered feeling a similar tingling when sitting on the sidelines of one of Ranma’s fights with Ryoga. A tingling she had felt when Ryoga unleashed his Shishi Hokodan. “Did something happen to him?” she asked, concern etched on her face. “Is… is he the one you’re…”

Ukyo shook her head. “No, Akane. Konatsu left last night.” She hugged her legs tighter to her chest. “Must’ve thought I was ignoring him again… and I never even got a chance to thank him for… for helping me out with that s-snake thing,” she mumbled into her knees. Gods, I feel like such a jerk… he never even gave me a chance to explain things, he just packed his things, wished me happiness even while he was crying… “I knew he had some sorta infatuation with me… I just didn’t know it ran that deep…”

Akane shook her head. “You mean he just up and left?”

“I tried to stop him, try and talk it out… he just brushed it off and said he was ‘leaving me to my happiness’, and the worst part of it is he was so DAMNED polite about it!” Ukyo shook herself, then wiped her eyes again. “I didn’t want to hurt the poor guy; Kami, I still don’t even know what I want right now…” She leaned back and thumped her head against the tree behind them. “I don’t know if he thought I was still after Ranma, or someone else, or… maybe I just took him for granted so often I drove him away…”

“Ukyo, don’t say that,” said Akane gently. “It’s probably just some misunderstanding. I don’t exactly know Konatsu that well, but I’ve seen the looks he’s given you. Maybe he just needs some time to think,” she added, forcing a smile on her face.

“Maybe,” Ukyo replied glumly. “I hope so… he was a little over-the-top sometimes, but he was a nice guy.” She paused, then heaved another sigh. “I probably should’ve told him we were only ever going to be friends a lot sooner… last thing I wanted to see last night was that look on his face.” Akane said nothing, but nodded sympathetically for a moment.

A moment later the silence grew awkward, and Akane fidgeted. “Did… did Konatsu say something about you liking someone else?” she asked hesitantly. Ukyo looked up, then shook her head.

“Nah. Didn’t really say it, but I could almost see it in his eyes,” she mumbled. “And the stupid thing is, like I told ya, I don’t even know if I know what I’m feeling. That’s another reason I didn’t wanna tell you when Ranma was around- he’d probably think I was fallin’ for someone on a rebound, maybe blame himself in the process. And I’d rather not tell him till I’m sure this isn’t just a rebound thing.”

“You think it might be?”

Ukyo paused, resting her forehead on the heel of her hand. “I don’t know.”

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This is trickier than I thought it would be, Shingen mused as he pressed the palms of his hands together, eyes shut tight. There’s a lot of astral static around here, probably because of all the fights in the schoolyard. But… there’s something else, something I can’t quite put my finger on.

An errant gust of wind whipped across the roof of Furinkan High, where he had been for ten solid minutes on bended knee, giving the appearance of a man at prayer. He gritted his teeth and raised his index and little fingers into warding positions before sweeping his hands forward, exhaling as he did so. “Earth spirits, guide my eyes… show me that which remains hidden, sleeping in the depths below,” he intoned in a low voice. “Clear mind… clear heart… clear spirit… cast off the mantle of shadow and come forth into the light.” His eyes snapped open; quickly he pulled his hands in, jerked his right hand up and slammed it, palm first, onto the tiles beneath him. The pentagram sigil on his glove flared blue-white as his eyes changed from blue-green to golden. “Kami no shisen!”

Ki flared up around his hand for several seconds, a roiling swirl of blue-green light that gradually settled into a complex circular pattern. Intricate Nordic runes imprinted themselves around the outer circles as a blaze of kanji sprung up within the inner circles. The entire pattern pulsed once, then twice, and finally a third time before fading into a pale blue that cast shadows on his face. His eyes narrowed, peering into the circle as the kanji faded and changed, seeming to see something beyond the pattern.

“There’s something there, alright,” Shingen said to himself. “But… feels like it’s in flux, there one moment, gone the next. Definitely not a ley line.” His brow furrowed. “There’s a distinct chaotic nature about it… yes… feels familiar, but only to a point.” I’ve felt this kind of energy from both Portals and Chaos Attractors, but this doesn’t feel like either one of them. He scratched his chin thoughtfully and let the light fade from his eyes. Moments later, the circular pattern around his right hand faded as well.

“An energy of this sort couldn’t be the only source of this place’s chaos patterns,” he muttered. “It’s too imperfect… too incomplete…” He stopped for a moment and looked up. “Incomplete… was something started here and never finished?” He bit his lip absently and glanced from one side of the roof to the other. “And some of that astral static… normal schoolyard brawls couldn’t generate feedback that powerful, not to mention a few of the energy whorls scattered across the campus.”

He paused, then chuckled. Then again, I’d hardly call what I saw earlier a ‘normal’ schoolyard brawl. Ranma, my friend, you do seem to lead an interesting life… even without any Hunter obligations up to this point.

Something prodded at the back of his mind- a rather sharp and sudden prod. What was that? Shingen stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes, his muscles beginning to tense.

Something’s moving. I can feel it, there’s definitely a strong ki presence moving through the school. He stood up quickly and grabbed his naginata from where it lay at his feet. Yes, I felt it earlier today, too… it flared once, then fell again. Feels like it’s coming this way… His eyes drifted to the left, towards the access stairway almost directly behind him. It doesn’t feel demonic, but there’s something not right about it… doesn’t feel like a regular human aura, but there do seem to be a number of ‘irregular’ humans around here… what is it? He gritted his teeth, reaching out with his aura as far as he could.

It’s decreasing now, but still coming this direction. Up the stairs now… He paused. Wait a moment. That ki may not be demonic, but I’ve definitely felt those sort of patterns before… it can’t be a… Just then the door flung open.

“I heard people talking about someone unusual walking around the campus!” came a shrill, childish voice. “Now who are you? And WHAT are you doing up here, for that matter? We’ve had enough troubles here just this morning without strange new students just sneaking in! Or are you even supposed to be a student? Heh, not likely, considering that jacket you’re wearing, or that bladed stick in your hand! I’ll bet you’re some kind of delinquent, aren’t you, mister?”

Shingen turned and stared at the childlike form of Hinako Ninomiya standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a juvenile scowl on her face. “Excuse me?”

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“I know it might not sound like much,” said Akane at length, “but I’m pretty sure things’ll work out one way or another, Ukyo. And, well… if you need anything…”

Ukyo sniffed, then let out a quick breath. “Thanks, Akane,” she said, looking up and flashing one of her trademark smiles. “I figured you’d say something like that. Truth is, I kinda feel better already; guess I just needed to blow off some steam. Kinda like Ranma runnin’ laps out there, ya know. I’ll be okay.” She reached over and took Akane’s hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “Just hope you’re right about Konatsu coming back sooner or later. I gotta at least talk to him.”

Akane squeezed Ukyo’s hand in return. “You sure you’re gonna be okay?”

“Hey, I ran my own restaurant for over half a year by myself,” Ukyo chuckled. “I think I can manage a rough patch or two, sugar.”

“I hope so,” Akane replied, putting her empty bento box off to one side. “And… what about this someone you were talking about, does he know?”

“I doubt it. Right now, I think I’d rather not mention anything till I’m sure this isn’t some passing fancy, if ya know what I mean. I kinda jumbled things up when I jumped at Ran-chan way back, I’d rather not take a plunge again if it turns out to be shallow waters.” Ukyo paused, then shrugged. “Or something like that.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.” A little too well, actually… except in my case, I almost waited too long before I said anything, Akane thought silently. “Well… if something does happen with this ‘somebody’, I hope you don’t let his earliest memories of you involve hitting him over the head with a table,” she added with a wan smile.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just… something I wish I could take back, that’s all.”

Ukyo paused for a moment, then smiled knowingly. “No need to explain, ‘kane. And I don’t think I’ll have that particular problem myself- I prefer spatulas over tables, anyway.” Akane gave her a startled look before smirking, then giggling. Ukyo started chuckling herself, and the two of them lapsed into a short fit of laughter that ended just as Ranma finished his last lap and jogged back to the tree.

“Hey there ‘kane, Ucchan, what’s the big joke? I miss something?” he asked, wiping sweat off his brow.

“It’s no big deal, Ranma,” Akane replied, motioning him to sit down next to her. “Girl stuff.”

Ranma rolled his eyes. “Which, I’m guessing, means I don’t get to hear about it. I read ya loud and clear, none of my business,” he said as he sat down again.

“Gee, Ran-chan, sounds like you’re finally learning a few things,” Ukyo snickered. “Keep it up, you’ll be ten times better than yer old man in no time.”

“Keh. I think I reached that point already, if you ask me.”

Akane smirked. “Still have to work on that ego of his, obviously, but this time I’m inclined to agree with him,” she said to Ukyo in a stage whisper. Ukyo said nothing, but couldn’t help grinning.

“Geez, I thought you were on my side now, Akane!”

“I am, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get to joke around about you anymore, does it, baka?”

“Tomboy,” Ranma shot back with a resigned smile. “Okay, I guess I’ll let you get away with it for now.”

“Good answer, Ran-chan,” Ukyo snickered. “Always give the lady what she wants.”

Ranma didn’t say anything, but nodded and gave Akane a warm look. I hope ya know I plan to do exactly that someday soon, Acchan, he whispered in her mind’s ear. Once mid-August comes around…

Akane perked up and returned an equally warm look. I’m looking forward to that… assuming I can wait that long, she answered in his Astral ear before shaking herself and trying to rid her face of a sudden slight flush. “Anyway… I was just telling Ukyo about those letters we got earlier today.”

“Oh yeah, that envelope Nabiki found on the ground after the fight, right? She gave me mine between first and second period- but I gotta admit, she said something right after she gave me the letter, kinda surprised me more than that actual letter.” Ranma shook his head. “I mean, it’s one thing for Kodachi to tell me she’s sorry about this whole mess, but it’s another thing for…”

“For Nabiki to say she’s sorry about the whole candid camera sales? Selling Kuno photos of each of us, and the fact that she might’ve contributed to part of what happened out there?” At Ranma’s surprised nod, Akane continued, looking at the grass. “Yeah, she said the same thing to me when she gave me my letter. She was kind of in a hurry, but I could see the look in her eyes, and I know that’s one of her ‘I’m serious’ looks. Whatever it was she found online last night, something tells me it wasn’t something she’d been expecting.”

Ranma nodded slowly. “She said something to the effect of she wouldn’t have done it if she’d known…”

“I’m not blaming her for what Kuno did, you know,” Akane continued. “He’s always been off the deep end- I guess we just got so used to it that it didn’t seem as bad as it was, that’s all. He probably would’ve found a way to get those photos even if she didn’t sell them to him.” She heaved a sigh. “She does make information her business, though… I think she was starting to think she screwed up.”

“Hey, I thought he was just a pest myself, ya know,” Ukyo piped up. “I doubt anyone coulda predicted he’d go off the deep end like that. Still wish I’d seen the fight, though, I’ll bet you two put on a hell of a show.”

Ranma paused, then shrugged and flashed a cocky smile. “Eh, wasn’t that big a deal… one or two little distractions aside…” Suddenly his smile faded and his shoulders tensed up. “Wait a second.”

A sudden rush of ki washed over Akane’s senses at that instant and caused her to snap to attention mere seconds after Ranma. Prickling sensations began to creep up her neck, causing her hands to involuntarily clench. It wasn’t the same as the Neko Hanten incident from the previous day, where it felt like ice was enveloping her- it was a mix of heat and cold, radiating in pulses from above. She gritted her teeth and glanced up at the school at the same time as Ranma. “What in the world is that?” she said softly.

“I don’t know,” Ranma replied in equally soft tones. “Doesn’t feel as cold as some of what we faced lately, but there’s something going on up there. More than one something, maybe.” He blinked, a look of revelation creeping onto his face. “Hang on… I know what one o’ those things is! For Kami’s sake, I’ve been…”

Any further words were cut off as a sudden burst of gold-white light erupted from the roof of Furinkan High, sending light tremors through the school walls that startled more than a few students, but was not strong enough to break anything more than three coffee cups in the teacher’s lounge. Ranma sprang to his feet instantly, as did Akane, shock etched in her face. Ukyo’s eyes had grown to the size of rice bowls. “What… in… the… HELL… was that?” the chef blurted out as she staggered to her feet.

“I’m not sure, but something tells me there’s a school disciplinarian who’s on the rampage right now!” Ranma snapped as he broke into a run towards the nearest part of the school- which happened to be an outside stairwell. He was a few steps away from the stairs when he crouched down and propelled himself skyward, grabbing onto the second floor landing’s handrail and flipping up.

“Disciplinarian? Ranma, you don’t mean…” Akane shouted as she followed suit, springing into the air with a minimal amount of difficulty. She grabbed the railing and pulled herself up quickly, hoping desperately that no one was looking up her uniform skirt.

“I dunno, but I think we’re gonna find out real soon,” Ranma called from above, having already reached the third floor. Akane followed him, and within seconds executed a move that most Furinkan students would consider suicidal. Ranma flipped off of the third floor landing and onto the ledge just outside the nearest classroom window, then sprang directly up, grabbed the railing that ran the length of the roof and landed in a crouch on the tiles of said roof. Akane hesitated at first before shrugging her shoulders and following Ranma’s old axiom of ‘don’t think, just do’. She kept her eyes firmly glued to the roof railing as she employed almost everything she had learned at the warehouse, with the result that she landed beside Ranma on the roof a few seconds later, a little shaky and more than a little curious as to why she had followed him so readily. She filed the thought away for later reference as she glanced up and took in the sight before them.

Shingen was sprawled on the rooftop as if he had just been knocked backward, and was leaning on his naginata as he pulled up into a seated position. There were singes all over his face and jacket, and a highly exasperated look on said face. Directly in front of him was a blackened section of rooftop tile that suggested a bomb had gone off; on the other side of the blackened area lay Ms. Hinako in her adult body, eyes spinning in their sockets.

Ranma was the first to recover and jogged over to the Hunter’s side. “Shin? Hey, what the hell just happened up here?”

“Bit of a misunderstanding,” Shingen growled as he slowly rose up to one knee. “I think she figured me for either a roughneck student or a thug, then all hell broke loose.” A second later, Ukyo finished making her way up to the rooftop herself, whereupon she audibly gasped and jogged over to Shingen’s side just as Akane reached him as well. “Had to do a little defensive redirection of ki to cancel out that trick of hers… I wasn’t counting on the result being quite that spectacular.”

“You can say that again, Shingen,” said Akane as she stared at the scorched section of roof. “Are you okay?”

“Lemme give you a hand there, Shin-kun,” Ukyo piped up, slinging his right arm over her shoulders and pulling him up. “She didn’t zap you too bad, did she? Can ya still walk?”

“I’ll be fine,” he replied with a tired smile. “Though I think she’ll probably be a little shook up when she comes to.” He took a breath, then turned to Ranma and Akane with a raised eyebrow. “Now, then… I don’t suppose there’s a reason you guys forgot to mention that there was a ki vampire on this campus?”

Ranma scratched the back of his head and looked away. “That’s, uh… kind of a long story…”

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

A pair of hands drew the curtains of the upstairs bedroom open, letting the afternoon light in and temporarily causing the hands’ owner to wince slightly. I think I’ve been asleep a little too long, the long-haired man mused to himself. Afternoon already. The lunch rush is probably long gone by now, and I spent the whole morning lying in bed. He rubbed his eyes and blinked twice, one hand reflexively reaching up for his glasses before he remembered they weren’t on his forehead any longer. A long sigh escaped his lips, followed by a sharp intake of breath as he reached down and pressed a spot on his stomach still covered by a bandage.

“Well, I suppose I had a reason to stay in bed,” Mousse muttered to himself as he sat back down on the bed. “Still… I could’ve helped out a little bit, I don’t see why the old crone had to put me to sleep for half the day.”

He sat still for a moment and prodded the spot on his stomach. Then again, I guess it’s not every day you come within a hair’s breadth of dying. If what they all told me was true, anyway… and I don’t really have much reason to distrust Saotome and the others… He took another long breath and stood up again, stretching out his arms and trying to ignore the pinpricks of pain all along the scar. I don’t even know how this all started… was it that boy who ran into me yesterday? Or was it the curse acting on its own?

“Mousse, what you think you doing?”

The tall Amazon paused in his stretches and turned towards the door. “Oh, Shampoo… I was just stretching out a little bit, that’s all,” he said, scratching the back of his head nervously. “I was feeling a lot better, and, well… can’t stay in bed all day, you know…”

Shampoo shook her head, trying to focus on something besides the fact that Mousse was standing in front of her in a pair of blue pants and little else. “Mousse, great-grandmother told you no work until all better, remember?”

“I know she said that, but I’m feeling fine now! My wound’s already closed over- how, I still don’t know completely- and there’s not much pain, so why shouldn’t I at least get up and…”

“Because you do this too, too often, stupid Mousse,” Shampoo retorted, stepping up to him and pressing her index finger against his sternum. “Get hurt, then stand right back up and maybe hurt self again! Maybe Ranma’s friend Shingen close wound once, but act stupid and wound be open all over again; you think Shampoo want that?”

“No, but I thought that you might need help with the restaurant, so…”

“Mousse,” Shampoo sighed, her expression softening, “when you going to learn to think of self?” She rested her palm on his chest and lightly pushed him back towards the bed. “Is very nice you want help out, but warrior who fight when badly injured is not only very brave, but very stupid. No try so hard, please.” She reached up and took hold of his shoulders before pushing him down to sit on the edge of the bed. “I know you heal quick, but better safe than sorry. Just rest for while longer, please.”

Mousse tried to say something in objection, but at the sight of her eyes, said objection quickly fell apart. “I… well… Shampoo, I just…”

“You just being stubborn,” she chided playfully. “Shampoo know stubborn when she see it, Mousse.” She paused, then looked down at the floor. “I stubborn, too… for too, too long…”

Mousse blinked. “What was that?”

Shampoo took a deep breath and lifted her eyes up to meet his. “Nothing… it not important right now, Mousse. Just get more rest.” She paused, then hesitantly reached up and tousled his hair. “Maybe after dinner rush great-grandmother let you up and about.”

“I’d appreciate that,” said the taller man. “But what about the dinner crowd, are you sure you can handle it by yourself?”

Shampoo sighed. “I tell you once already, no worry. Great-grandmother take care of all, so no worry.” She paused, then leaned over to give him a quick hug. “I check on you again later,” she whispered before smiling and bouncing out the door, leaving a slightly shocked Mousse to fall back onto the bed with a small grin on his face.

He more stubborn than I thought, Shampoo said to herself as she descended the stairs. But his heart in right place. She paused, her cheeks turning a mild pink. I no think I look too closely at Mousse before… he look good without shirt on… She shook her head and continued downstairs, her thoughts shifting from the boy upstairs to having to train the new temporary member of the wait-staff downstairs.

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

“So did ya find something or didn’t ya?”

“Well I did find something, but not quite what I was expecting. There’s an awful lot of Astral static around that school, albeit without any sort of node or ley line attracting it. Although there did appear to be something beneath the school with energies similar to a focus point, but it wasn’t complete.”

“Wasn’t complete? So what does that mean, there’s been a half-finished ward underneath the school all this time?”

“I’m not entirely sure, Akane; the energies it emitted were so sporadic, I couldn’t get a good lock on it. And that was after over an hour of trying.”

It was late afternoon and Furinkan had let out for the day. After the initial shock of that morning and subsequent events during lunchtime, a relative peace had managed to settle over the school. Several school officials were scrambling like mad to find a qualified interim principal, and Miss Hinako reportedly spent some time in the infirmary recovering from a case of shock that she flat-out refused to discuss with anyone, but for the most part the day had progressed well. Shingen had departed the school grounds shortly after the Hinako incident; once the last bell rang, Akane and Ranma had found him a block away from the school, sitting on a bench.

“So basically what yer saying is that you don’t know if there’s something major on school grounds or not,” said Ranma as he stretched his arms out behind his head.

“In a nutshell,” the taller man replied with a nod. “For all I know, whatever I saw could have been an ancient consecration that’s degraded over time. Or it could be the work of another Hunter from centuries ago that never got finished.”

“And you think it might be what’s been bringing all the fights into the schoolyard, all the crazies, everything?” Akane asked.

“Dunno. If I’d had a little longer to examine it, I’d have a better idea.” Shingen paused, then shrugged. “Then again, it could just be simple coincidence, and all the Astral static might just be built-up background count from all the fights. It’s a pretty hefty level of static to be the product of normal fights, but then again…”

“Well, Kami knows there’s been enough ki thrown around that place to light up Shinjuku for a month,” Ranma quipped. “’Specially when you’re dealing with Miss Hinako… and like I said, man, sorry I didn’t tell ya about that. Kinda slipped my mind,” he added with an embarrassed grimace.

“I just hope she doesn’t wind up holding another grudge because of what happened up there,” said Akane in a low tone. “She can get more than a little nasty if you cross her.” She paused, then looked up. “Shingen… you said something about her being a ki vampire… does… does that mean…”

Shingen shook his head. “Actually, that’s a term used for any being, demonic or not, who can drain life energy from another,” he said. “I could tell from her aura patterns that she doesn’t have demonic essence in her, I’m just not entirely sure how her patterns were altered to create that effect.”

“Happosai,” the two teens beside him groaned in unison.

Shingen raised an eyebrow. “You mean that little twerp who taught your fathers?”

“I dunno how much you know about that little twerp,” said Ranma, suddenly looking very tired, “but he’s got more tricks up his sleeve than you might imagine. Always finds some sorta cheap trick to get his way…”

“He runs around stealing women’s underwear and gorging himself on everything in the house,” Akane fumed.

“Not to mention twistin’ yer arm and makin’ you into an accomplice in whatever he wants to do…”

“Or doing something that’ll humiliate you in front of everybody…”

“Okay, I think I get the picture,” Shingen chuckled. “All I know is he tried to bust in on me when I was preparing my equipment for my first Spirit Purge; if those shield wards hadn’t been in place he would’ve ruined a day’s work.” He reached up and loosened his bandanna slightly. “And you’re saying he’s the one who made your Miss Hinako into…”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Ranma replied. “And it’s been a bit of a headache for all of us… especially when he went an’ goaded me into trying to seal her powers for his sake.” He shook his head and made a disgusted face.

“Personally, I think he just wanted to see you groping her, Ranma,” said Akane with a wry smirk.

“Hey, it’s not like I wanted to, ya know…”

“I know that, but this is Happosai we’re talking about, after all…” Akane blinked. “Hey, speaking of which… what do you suppose happened to him? I haven’t seen him since you booted him last week.”

“Beats the hell outta me, ‘kane,” Ranma replied. “But I’ll bet you anything that little son of a bitch is gonna show up sooner than you think; he always pops up right when things get nice and quiet. And I think it goes without saying, it’s making me sick. I HATE that old lech!”

“You and me, both,” Akane sighed.

“Well, I for one would like to know how he learned to alter someone’s ki patterns like that,” said Shingen as he shifted the weight of his naginata. “That’s not an easy thing to do; techniques like that’re usually kept well sealed and out of sight.”

“Eh, don’t hold your breath. Little runt never gives up anything he doesn’t want to,” Ranma groused before crossing his arms behind his back and focusing on the ground in front of him.

“Hey… now that I think of it,” said Akane, “how exactly did you manage to break Miss Hinako’s attack in the first place? I remember Ranma countered it once with a basketball hoop somehow, but…”

“It wasn’t actually terribly hard. I’ve dealt with ki vampires before, both demonic and human; all I had to do was force a ki surge at the appropriate moment. Flare the aura, focus it on a single precise point, and it creates a sort of reflective resonance that disrupts the drain process.”

“Ah… kinda like stopping up a vacuum cleaner with a clump of hair or somethin’,” said Ranma offhand with a slight nod.

“More or less; if I hadn’t been distracted by the disparity in her aura and her physical appearance, I might’ve had better control over the surge. I don’t usually let it get that… explosive…” Shingen shrugged. “Probably a good thing I got out of there when I did. No sense rocking the boat after something like that, eh?”

“I think it was pretty well rocked before you even showed up,” Akane giggled. “Frankly, I’m just glad we had a reasonably peaceful afternoon for once. And after what happened this morning, I’m hoping we don’t see Kuno again for a long time. I’ll bet he’s kicking and screaming all the way to the psych ward this very minute; what do you think, Ranma?” She looked over and blinked, noting that his face was stony again and his attention seemed to be directed at a random spot on the pavement. “Uh… Ranma?” She reached over hesitantly and squeezed his hand. “Hey, Earth to Saotome. Are you okay?”

Ranma started slightly at her touch. “Huh? Oh, uh… sorry ‘bout that,” he mumbled awkwardly as he gripped her hand in his, giving it a return squeeze. “Kinda got lost in thought there for a moment.”

“Well don’t let your mind wander too far, it might not come back,” Akane replied with a lighthearted giggle. Ranma answered by sticking his tongue out at her, which she quickly returned, causing the two of them to smirk and eventually laugh at one another. Shingen merely shook his head and rolled his eyes in pretend irritation.

After the laughs had died down, Akane looked up again with a more serious expression. Ranma… what’s wrong? she asked wordlessly as a Link opened between them. I’m still getting used to this whole ‘aura sensing’ thing, but it feels like you shifted gears a moment ago. I thought you were edging into the Soul of Ice for a moment… was it something I said?

Ranma paused, then lifted his head up to look more directly at the road. It’s not that big a deal, ‘kane, came his answer. Just that little thing I’ve been thinkin’ about since lunch… and… well, when ya mentioned Kuno, it kinda brought it all back again. You know… that thing I need to figure out.

Akane paused, then nodded slowly. Yeah, I remember… and I still wish there was some way I could help you with that; I know you said you wanted to work it out yourself, but…

Ranma nodded, a crooked smile on his face. Hey, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, you know that. But I think this really is something I gotta do on my own. And I ain’t sure, but I might have an idea or two on how to get started.

Are you two going to spend the rest of the trek home chatting via a Link, or would you like to exercise your MOUTHS once in a while? came a third voice, breaking into their conversation not unlike a certain Chinese delivery girl’s bicycle had once interrupted their daily trek to school. The two teens whipped around, shooting a pair of dirty looks in Shingen’s direction.

“Hey, give us a break, man, we were having a private conversation!” said Ranma indignantly.

“And besides, didn’t you say we could use the practice so that we don’t Link by accident?” Akane added in a miffed tone.

“Be that as it may,” Shingen drawled as he straightened his lapels, “the quiet was getting a little too quiet for my taste; a little regular conversation is something I find infinitely preferable, Link or no Link.” He flipped his weapon off his shoulder and quickly bound it into its silk wrapping, which he then slung on his back. “Incidentally, getting back to those energy patterns around the school, is there anything or anyone besides Miss Hinako that I should be aware of?”

Akane scratched her head. “Well, there is that one creepy little guy, Hikaru Gosunkugi, he’s obsessed with Shinto magic and…”

“Wait a minute. Skinny kid, no chin, has a penchant for voodoo dolls?”

“Um… yeah, that’s him…”

The taller man snorted. “Saw him earlier in the day, banging on about seventeen dolls that looked a lot like you, Ranma. The kid’s nothing. Doesn’t have any real ki to speak of, let alone any sort of power over it.”

Ranma snickered. “That goes without saying,” he said between guffaws, stopping only when Akane gave him a half-hearted swat on the arm.

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

As the sun gradually disappeared behind the hillsides West of Nerima, making shadows long and dark, few if anyone could make out the faintest flicker of movement atop one of the more modest hills. It sat right at the edge of the timberline, a sort of cresting hill that peaked, then slowly dropped away towards the smaller hills below, affording a magnificent view of Nerima Ward.

The shadows stirred again, revealing three figures at the top of the hill. One of them was slight of build, only a few inches shy of five feet, walking with an unsteady gait as if unaccustomed to how to use its limbs. The second moved more assuredly of itself, a hulking brute of seven foot plus with a decidedly avian head and winglike protrusions from its shoulder blades. The two of them moved to flank the third figure, a man of six feet with long white hair that cascaded past his shoulders.

A light breeze wafted across the hill, letting the ivory-haired man’s long white tunic billow out about him. His violet eyes narrowed and he smiled, smoothing out the long sleeves of his tunic with slow, even strokes of his hands. His left hand dropped to his waist, coming to rest on the smooth black cane tucked into the purple sash that served as a belt.

“Quite decorative, the way that idiot kendoist was betrayed,” he sneered. “As well it should be. He had his uses, but ultimately would have been insufficiently powerful to be a true threat in our employ.” He turned and nodded to the large figure. “Don’t you agree, Kurowashi?”

The great black Tengu nodded, red eyes glinting in the fading light. “Perhaps if my Lord were to offer him a modicum of power,” he mused in a rumbling basso, “he would be of use yet.”

“A creditable thought, but no,” said the white-haired man. “I have no patience for a cretin who continually fails to challenge the heir to Sagara, and who had the audacity to let a Gate Key escape his grasp. No, that man is of no use to me any longer.” He let his gaze wander across the Nerima skyline. “Not now that the Accursed One is almost within my grasp.”

“When shall we claim the Accursed One, Lord Astaroth?” the shorter figure piped up in an eager feminine alto, sidling up to the man in white and gazing at him with glittering violet eyes. “Will it be soon? It has been sooooo long, many moons since I first set your plans in motion; how soon may I bear witness to his fate?”

“Patience, loyal viceroy… my dear Yoko,” the tall man purred, reaching down and stroking a head of ebony hair. “All things in due time. You waited long and worked hard to be elevated from a mere imp… and you did your work so well, child. Surely now that you have been rewarded, you would be able to wait a moment or two more.”

The smaller figure nodded. “Indeed, my Lord.”

Astaroth paused, then looked up and smiled an evil-looking leer. “As it is… I feel you may not have to wait long after all. All is in readiness. Our allies are gathering. The Accursed One is approaching.” He patted the black cane at his side as a master would a loyal dog.

“It has been many years, and Zangyaku is hungry. It will soon be time to feed.”

To Be Continued.

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Author’s Note 1/19/06: First of all, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. Second, I’m afraid I missed my self-imposed 2 to 3 week deadline, but I have a reasonable excuse. I caught the bug that’s going around and have been trying to cope via lots of Vitamin C and Dayquil. Plus, my imagination’s been acting up again and I needed to give it a few kick-starts to get this chapter completed. I’m not entirely sure I put everything I wanted to in this chapter, and I only hope my writing hasn’t suffered any because of the combination of work, outside interests and this stupid cold.

I will have more information on Kodachi and other members of the NWC in the next few installments, but suffice to say things are probably going to heat up in the next chapter. I won’t tell exactly how, but there have been hints here and there. Thank you all for your continued support and keep those reviews coming, I could use the advice and/or encouragement. Not sure when my next chapter will be, but I’ll try to be quick. Until next time.

-Neon Ronin