Martial Artists and Mayhem: Third Edition
Part 7: The Hunter
By Thrythlind
�� "A wild boar!" the shout rang out through the small village nestled in the forest as a loud bull was rung again and again.� "On a rampage!"
�� The animal in question was much more than just another boar.� It was a huge creature more than twice as tall as a man and larger than most carriages.� Its huge eyes squinted angrily as it smashed through a wall, scattering villagers before it.
�� Everywhere people were running for whatever high ground they could find as the dire monster wreaked havoc through their village.
�� "We're doomed," an old woman muttered sadly as another house was destroyed.� "It'll find its way up here soon."
�� "Skuld's blood," someone swore.� "We had such a good harvest, too."
�� "Hey!� Look at that fool!" somebody shouted, pointing at a young traveller that was walking calmy down the road.� "Run you idiot!! Run!"
�� The traveller continued walking as the thundering sound of a charging boar grew ever closer to him.� He turned around reaching up for the bamboo umbrella at his back, staring at the approaching beast in boredom.
�� In a simple movement he held the umbrella out in front of him and stopped the boar cold.� The stranger's feet didn't even shift position from the impact.� The boar exhaled angrily and pushed against the stranger, gouging the floor with its hooves.
�� "He stopped it one-handed!" somebody shouted.
�� The boar continued to push against the unmoving umbrella.� Then the young man shifted slightly and the boar suddenly felt what it was like to fly.� At least it flew for about twenty seconds, then it landed behind the young man as he was sheathing his umbrella again.� A small crowd immediately began to gather around him.
�� "Are you one of them rangers from Ryugenzawa?" somebody asked.
�� "Where'd that monster boar come from?" another asked.� The young man didn't answer them at first then he held up a map.
�� "Where is Furinkan Hall?" he asked simply.
�� "Furinkan Hall?" somebody asked.
�� "Oh he has a map," another commented.
�� "Let me see that," the man looked at the map and blinked.� "Ain't this a map of North Tokyo?"
�� "That's hundreds of leagues away from here!" the man next to him shouted.
�� "I see," the young man said, taking back his map. "Forgive the commotion."� He turned and started walking.
�� "Figger he's lost?" someone asked as a wind blew through the scene.
�� "Hey, ain't he going southeast?" someone else asked.
�� ~Ranma Saotome!� Prepare to meet me!~ the stranger thought.� ~You can hide from me no longer.~
�� In Nerima a storm of savage was raging outside the Tendo Monastary.� Inside a storm of another nature was brewing.
�� "Okay, I understand that your clothes are..." Akane started.
�� "Burnt to a crisp?" Ranma said dryly.� ~Stupid panda, what was he doing with a fire breath potion.~
�� "Right...but why do you have to borrow my clothes?" Akane asked.� Ranma muttered something.� "What did you say?"
�� "Akane, you have noticed Ranma's height, haven't you?" Nabiki asked.� "And I use the term height loosely."� Ranma twitched.
�� "Wait a minute, are you saying that I'm short?" Akane demanded.
�� "Nope," Nabiki said straightening.�
�� "Then what..." Akane started as Nabiki turned around.� "Oh...I didn't know I still had that." Akane's voice sounded a little disgusted.� Ranma stood up and turned to see what they were talking about.�
�� Ranma was expecting something rather practical, like an old training outfit, or some breeches and a blouse.� What she got was something out of one of her nightmares.�
�� It was red at least, but there all things Ranma liked about it ended.� The item in question was a dress, which made her acrobatic method of fighting potentially embarrassing.� It had long sleeves, if Ranma had to take her natural form it would fall
apart.� But most importantly, it had BOWS.� Big bows. Big YELLOW bows.� It was something her mother and Uncle Xellos might dress her up in.� The thought of Uncle Xellos brought him to look at Nabiki again and sigh expressively.
�� "Oh no," Ranma shook her head.� "Not that!"
�� "Oh, but you'd look so cute in it!" Nabiki insisted.
�� "Yeah, terminally cute," Akane agreed.
�� "There is no way I am go..."
�� "Consider it one of my favors," Nabiki suggested. Ranma stared at her.� There was dead silence for a long second.
�� "Oh yay," Ranma dead-panned.� "It is such a wonderful dress, please let me wear it."
�� "I thought you might see it my way," Nabiki smirked.
�� ~She's got something on him already?~ Akane wondered.
�� Soon Ranma was standing in Akane's chamber wearing the red and yellow garment.� Strangely enough the irritated red head actually managed to pull the look off.� Ranma investigated the dress as the Tendo sisters looked on.
�� "He actually looks nice," Akane said quietly impressed.� "Perfect even."
�� "Ah, can't wear this," Ranma said cheerfully.� "It doesn't fit."
�� "Oh," Nabiki crossed her arms.� "How so?"
�� "The chest is too tight," Ranma said.� "And there's way to much room in the waists.� Not surprising considering whose it..."
�� "RAAAANNNNMA!!!!"
�� "Where is Furinkan Hall?" the wandering stranger asked the farmer in front of him.
�� "If its Tokyo," the farmer said.� "Then it's about a ways south of here."
�� One week later it was a clear day on the grounds of Furinkan Hall.� A pair of guards stood wearily at the gates to the fortress wishing for some shade.
�� "Skuld's blood but it's hot today," one guard said.
�� "Who's that?" one of the guards asked, pointing at the cloaked stranger standing before the looming monument to strangeness that was Furinkan Hall.� He seemed more than a little travel worn, his clothes caked in dirt from the road.
�� "I don't know," the first said.� "Never seen him before."
�� The guards started toward him to investigate.� As one of them came in range, the stranger casually reached out and snagged him.� A field of angry menace seemed to radiate out from him.� The other guard moved forward and found himself also grabbed and slammed against a wall.
�� "Where's Furinkan Hall?" he demanded of the first guard.
�� "Huh?" The guards looked at each other blankly, and then back at the stranger before pointing at the fortress.� Covered in an abundance of flags proudly displaying Furinkan's coat of arms.� The stranger set the guards down and growled irritably as the sound of
the wind filled the scene.
�� "Where is Ranma Saotome!" he demanded, the sound of foot falls approached from behind him.
�� "Saotome?" the guard repeated blankly.
�� "RANMA!! STOP!!"� Akane yelled.� The priestess followed angrily behind Ranma who was almost gliding across the ground.
�� "Come and get me!" Ranma yelled back as he effortlessly leaped into the air.
�� "You!� You!" Akane growled from the ground.� Both of them stopped as something new filled the air. Looking up Ranma and Akane saw the stranger descending on Ranma in mid leap, umbrella ready for a strike.
�� "RANMA!!" The stranger yelled.� "Prepare to die!!" Ranma watched with an expression that moved from mute disbelief straight to irritation.� He flipped around
in the air and dodged the downward strike as he and the stranger landed.
�� The sudden crater caused by the umbrella's blow sent Ranma temporarily reeling.� The guards scattered backwards shocked at the force of the blow.
�� "You," Ranma said coldly.
�� "You haven't changed Ranma," the stranger smirked grimmly.� "You're still good at running away."
�� "Someone you know?" Akane asked.
�� "Yeah," Ranma said.� "He's...he's..." Ranma pointed dismissively.� ~Shit, I can't say how I know him.~ The stranger watched the irritation flow over Ranma's
face with a slight look of disbelief on his face.
�� "Don't strain your brain remembering, Ranma," Akane said dryly.
�� "Just tell me one thing, Ranma," the stranger demanded cooly.� "Why did you run out our fight!!"
�� ~Oh, that's right,~ Ranam slammed his fist into his hand, and then pointed at Ryouga.� "Ryouga Hibiki! You stood me up!" ~Again!!~
�� "Stood you..." Ryouga blinked and then narrowed his eyes angrily.� "It wasn't a date!! It was a duel!! You set the challenge!"
�� "I waited three days," Ranma snapped.� "Three days waiting to pound your face in."
�� "Three days?!" Akane said in disbelief.
�� "Yes!� And when I came on the fourth day," Ryouga started.� "You had already run away!!"
�� "Let me ask you something," Ranma said.� "The place we were supposed to fight was that clearing in front of your cabin.� So why did I have to wait three days for you to show?"
�� "Why you!?" Ryouga growled.� "Do you think I was on a casual stroll for four days?!"� Images of a chibi-Ryouga flashed by asking directions, often in the aftermath of some kind of battle.� "I suffered to meet with you."
�� "Bad sense of direction," one of the guards whispered, his compatriot whole-heartedly agreed.
�� "Breaking a vow between men!" Ryouga snapped.� "And running to Qinghai with your father!"� Ryouga swung out at Ranma with the umbrella.
�� "I gave you lots of chances, Ryouga," Ranma shrugged cooly as he landed.� "And NOW you want to finish your fight?� Well I could care less about that now."
�� "'Finish our fight'?!" Ryouga snapped.� "How feeble.� I have a mission, Saotome."� The umbrella in his hand was snapped open.� "And YOU seem to be standing in my way!"� The umbrella flew from Ryouga's hand whirling towards Ranma on a current of magic.
�� Ranma dodged the umbrella casually, never taking his eyes off of Ryouga.� The umbrella curved around to a return path, nearly bisecting an incautious
courtier, and Ranma and Akane half-consciously dodged it again.� Ryouga caught it smoothly.
�� "No matter what it takes," Ryouga said.� "I shall destroy your happiness!"
�� "My happiness," Ranma repeated.� He turned to Akane.� "Am I happy?"
�� "Why are you asking me?" Akane asked dryly.� Then Ryouga lunged forward in an attack.� Ranma leaped up and over the charging young man, and Ryouga lost track
of him as a slight push from the passing Ranma sent him teetering forward.
�� "You can't hide from me forever Ranma!"� Ryouga shouted angrilly, rushing full tilt in a Random direction.� In a few moments his yells faded to nothing as he turned a corner.
�� "What was that about?" Akane asked.� Ranma shrugged non-commitally.
�� "Skuld's blood," one of a group of farmers said looking over the huge boar that was now something of a benefit to village rather than a threat.� "I wonder what happened to..."
�� "WHERE ARE YOU RANMA!!?!"
�� The farmer and boar turned to face the speaker along with everybody else and blinked in surprise.
�� "Oh...excuse me," Ryouga said, embarrassed before disappearing down the road again.
�� Deep in the mountains Ryouga strode through the trees bitterly recalling how Ranma had escaped him again.
�� ~Ranma, I shall remove you,~ Ryouga growled.� ~I have failed so far because of you.� I know you're hiding something from me, demon.~� Ryouga picked up a pair of walnuts.� ~I shall find what it is, and then I shall crush you.� Just like this walnut.� Your time
has come Ranma.
�� "RANMA!! PREPARE TO DIE!!!" Ryouga shouted angrily.
�� The sound of a rumbling behind him brought to his attention the oncoming landslide created by his shout. Ryouga leaped into the air and great white and black feathered wings extended from his shoulder blades as his clothes seemed to magical change to accomdate the new body parts.� A white glow seemed to emanate from the young man as he caught his breath and surveyed the near disaster.
�� "That could have hurt a damn..." Ryouga was interrupted by a lightning bolt striking down out of the clear sky.� Ryouga, slightly crispy was plastered to the rocks.� "Sorry mom."� The young celestial said weakly.
�� "Well Ranma," Akane asked impatiently.� "What did you do to this Ryouga?"
�� "Not as much as I'd like to have," Ranma-chan muttered.
�� "Okay, so what did he do to you?" Akane demanded.
�� "He..." Ranma stopped in mid sentence. "I...uh...don't really remember."� Nabiki and Akane looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
�� "Ranma, a message just came for you," Kasumi said, she walked in with a kettle of hot water.� "From a man named 'Ryouga Hibiki'?"
�� Ranma took the scroll and unrolled it, revealing the word "challenge" almost immediately.
�� "You must have done something," Akane said.� "This is more than your everyday annoyance."� Ranma leaned forward and growled.� Then she straightened up and
sighed resignedly.� "I knew it."
�� "This out to be good," Nabiki smirked.
�� "Well we were in this militia or somethin together and there was...uhh...this girl," Ranma said.
�� "You were fighting over a girl?" Akane asked, eyes narrowed.
�� "She was a relative!" Ranma said quickly. "A...uh...cousin!"� Nabiki arched an amused eyebrow.
�� "Okay so what was going on with this girl?" Akane demanded.
�� "Well, she..." he glanced at Nabiki and angrily noted the start of a twitter of laughter.� "Was sorta interested in Ryouga."
�� "He didn't do anything to her, did he?" Akane asked cautiously.
�� "No," Ranma said angrily.� "He didn't do anything to her.� He completely ignored her, over and over AND over again.� Actually he seemed to think it was funny
to completely miss meetings all the time.� I heard he claimed to be lost once."� Ranma rolled her eyes.�
�� "How terrible," Kasumi said.� "It must have been terrible to be treated so callously."� Ranma and Nabiki stared at the eldest Tendo sister and wondered just how much she knew.� Kasumi stared back at them innocently.
�� "What does that have to do with you?" Akane asked irritably.
�� "Well I got a little angry at the way he treated my...uh...cousin," Ranma said hesitantly.� "So I sort of kept stealing his rations and picking on him.� I finally set up that duel after she had waited through a thunderstorm for him.� Maybe I forgot to say I knew the girl."
�� "Why didn't she ever say anything?" Kasumi asked, which was something Nabiki was wondering too.
�� "I guess she never thought to mention me," Ranma shrugged, embarrassed.
�� "And Ryouga never saw the two of you together?" Akane asked in disbelief.
�� "She had to sneak around a lot," Ranma said.� "We weren't supposed to have female visitors even family." The sisters stared at him in surprise, especially Nabiki.� "I didn't always change with a splash of water you know!"
�� "I don't know, Ranma," Nabiki said.� "This didn't sound like a lover's spat."� Ranma bridled over the term as Nabiki snickered.
�� "Yeah," Akane agreed.� "He said something about a mission, remember.� Something about you being in the way."
�� "I have no idea what THAT was about," Ranma shrugged as Kasumi poured the hot water over her. Akane unrolled the scroll a little further.
�� "Ranma, the date for this showdown was yesterday," Akane said.
�� "So? He's late for EVERYTHING!" Ranma reminded her. "He'll show up when its inconvenient, like in a week or so.� He can't do anything when he says he's going to."
�� "Then it's this way to Tokyo?" Ryouga asked pointing down a road.� The man he was talking to almost pulled his hair out in frustration.
�� "It's this way!� THIS way!"� he shouted pointing down the main road.� "Why are you going THAT way?"
�� In another week, as Ranma predicted, he and Ryouga were standing across from each other on Furinkan's tournament ground.� A large audience was gathering as a strong breeze sounded through the scene.
�� "We can't do this properly with all them here," Ranma said, gesturing at the people watching the fight.
�� "Just as well, Ranma," Ryouga smirked.� "It's at least fair to give you the chance to die like a man rather than the fiend you are."
�� "It's been a year, can we just skip this," Ranma snapped.� "So I was a jerk, so were you.� Besides the girl moved on."
�� "Umm...what girl are you talking about, Ranma?" Ryouga asked.� Ranma twitched.� "The only one I can remember was that little redhead that used to like to hang around me.� What was she, eight?"� Ranma twitched again.
�� "I KNOW I'M SHORT!!� You don't have to rub it in!" Ranma shouted, then stopped.�� ~Wait a minute, he still didn't know what kind of demon you were...oh shit.~� Ryouga stared at him for a moment then snarled.
�� "You won't trick me so easily, Ranma," Ryouga snapped.� "You're not getting out of this fight by changing the subject.� What are you hiding!!"
�� ~He hasn't figured out I am that girl yet?~ Ranma thought as Ryouga launched forward, his umbrella leading in a vicious barrage of stabs and swipes. Ranma effortlessly backed away from the swinging umbrella.�
�� Nabiki and Akane both nodded as they felt magic swirling strongly around both combatants.� Personal enhancement spells, powerful personal enhancement spells.� There was something odd about both fighter's power though.� Nabiki knew in Ranma's case it was the inherited fiendish nature, but Ryouga's power completely baffled her.
�� "Wait a minute," Ranma leaped backward into the air and Ryouga followed.� Akane was again struck at how they both seemed born to maneuver in the air, though Ranma was mildly more manueverable.� "What are you talking about!� Hiding what!"
�� "I have been told," Ryouga snapped.� "My mission here lies through you!� I have seen hell since my failure to deal with you!"
�� "Seen hell?" Ranma said dryly.� "Really.� How'd you get there?"
�� "I didn't mean literally you idiot!" Ryouga shouted, snapping open his umbrella.� "Words can not begin to convey my suffering and all you're running does is prolong it!"�
�� The umbrella flew out again narrowly missing Ranma. Ryouga ripped a bandana off of his head, and whipped out.� The bandana wrapped around Ranma's hand.� Ryouga
smiled grimmly.
�� "This'll keep you from running away!" Ryouga shouted as he lashed out with an open handed strike. Ranma blocked it to the side.
�� "Tell me something..." Ranma started as he kicked out at nearly the same time as Ryouga.� Neither of the kicks connected, being blocked inches from the other's face.� "How many bandannas are you wearing?"
�� "You'd better take me seriously Ranma," Ryouga growled.� "I'll find out what I'm here for eventually, you can't stop me."
�� As the martial artists continued to duel the launched umbrella finally breezed downward to an easy stop.� It closed itself up as it rolled across the ground and finally came to a rest.� After it nearly tore a few of the audience into pieces.� The fight
continued fast and furious, heedless of what was going on in the sidelines.
�� Akane was watching, concern growing as the fight continued.� Behind her people were talking about how this Ryouga could be an even match for Ranma.
�� "What's with this thing!" somebody shouted to the side, attracting Akane's attention.� She looked over to see a pair of guardsmen struggling to lift the discarded weapon.
�� "What's the trouble," she asked.
�� "This umbrella weighs a ton!" the man returned desperately.� Akane narrowed her eyes curiously and moved to investigate.� She picked up the umbrella, with effort.� She certainly wasn't strong enough to use it one-handed.
�� ~Ryouga,~ Akane thought.� ~Swings this with one hand!~� She glanced out at the fight and gasped. ~This is no even match!~� She dropped the umbrella and
turned full towards the fight.
�� "RANMA!!" She shouted.� "Don't stay in close with him!!� Stay out of his reach!"� As she shouted Ryouga launched another open-handed attack.� Again Ranma dodged, but this time a line opened up on his face. Ryouga laughed once as the blood started to trickle.
�� "You CUT me!" Ranma snapped angrily.� "That DOES it!� You want a fight you got it!"
Martial Artists and Mayhem: Third Edition
Part 8: Hair Cut
By Thrythlind
�� "Ranma!� Get away from him fast!" Akane shouted. "He must be stronger than an ogre!!"� On the tournament ground both fighters shifted there stance slightly.� Ranma's feet seeming to float off the ground as he leaned back.
� "Looks like you found out..." Ryouga said with a laugh.� "...a little too..."� Ryouga slashed his hand seemingly through Ranma's head, it was only a moment before Ryouga realized that he had just struck an afterimage.
�� Ranma fell back to the ground and lifted upward with his legs.� The half-demon's leg connected between the celestial's legs and pushed him up and over the now prone Ranma.
�� "EEEP!!!" Ryouga yelped in a suddenly higher voice, shortly before being planted into the ground, letting go of the bandana holding Ranma to him.
�� "What did I find out too late?" Ranma demanded, rolling to his feet, an afterimage blurring behind him as he moved.� "That you're a rude, insensitive..."
�� "YOU are calling ME rude!!" Ryouga snapped, his voice hitting normal range.� The celestial kippuped and moved immediately to a round kick, only a little sloppy from the pain, Ranma dodged it adroitly and tossed the celestial towards the edge of the tournament ground.
�� "He's coming this way!!" someone shouted, pointing up at the now descending fighter.� Ryouga twisted around in the air and hit the ground rolling easily. He swept upward into an uppercut, forcing the already attacking Ranma into a dodge.� Then the wanderer dodged towards his discard umbrella.
�� "You think THROWING me is going to accomplish anything?" Ryouga asked as jabbed upward.�
�� The umbrella swept past Ranma's chest, almost connecting, as Ranma's leaping kick connected squarely with Ryouga's jaw.� As Ranma landed his tunic, purchased recently to replace the one his father had burned, ripped open across the upper chest.
�� "AAHH!!!"� Ranma looked down at his ruined shirt in dismay.� "This wasn't even a month old!!"
�� "This is war!" Ryouga snapped back, rubbing his jaw.� "Stop acting like a wo..." Ryouga hesitated at the sound of rolling thunder.� "...a wimp!!"
�� "At least I show up on time!!" Ranma shouted, leaping forward and attacking the celestial.� Ryouga leaped back as the attack came, though he wasn't really surprised.� Ranma had been incredibly vicious since Ryouga first managed to cut him.
�� The celestial's leap took him clear over the tournament ground's wall, and he was quickly followed by Ranma.� The half-fiend was still being followed by an afterimage of his motion, making it hard to keep an effective track of him.
�� "They're over the wall!" someone shouted.� "After them!!"� The crowd followed quickly, and then saw both fighters take a leap over the outer wall.
�� "Not the cliff again!" Akane sighed, changing course along with most of the audience.� Nabiki, watched her sister and shrugged moving for the wall. Somehow she thought the wall would afford a better view of the fight.� And she could always take a slow fall if she had to.
�� Nabiki hit the wall in time to see the aura around Ranma shift as he took natural form.� Nabiki cursed the idiot as she cast out hectic array of painfully contrasting colors towards the pair of fighters, incidentally catching the curious guards and knocking them unconscious.� The spell did not quite get out to Ranma and Ryouga though.
�� "Oops, I missed," Nabiki said striding to the wall. She chanted quietly a moment, and thick fog with a soft violet tint seemed to drift from her to cover all views from the fortress to the fighters.� "You owe me Saotome."
�� Nabiki faded into a purple shadow before vanishing completely.� As all trace of her was lost the first guards started coming too.
�� "What hit me?" the man moaned irritably.
�� "Who are you to call me a wimp!" Ranma demanded as he shed his human form and took wing on his great leathern wings.
�� Ranma's nails blackened and extended to claws, his canines grew and he grew to not quite a six foot height.� Normally even Ranma's male form could be called cute, but he was enraged.� Insulted first as a woman, then as a man and in general just as a living thing he was more than a little beyond his usual frame of control.� At the moment he was frightening, imposing, and handsome, but not cute.
�� "I actually showed up to the fight!"� Ranma snapped.� "I'm more of a man than you'll ever be!"
�� Ryouga let his breath out as Ranma hit him.� Then he smirked as he let the half-demon tire himself out carrying the both of them into the cloud line and away from human eyes.� As they came under cover Ryouga dropped his own human disguise.
�� If Ranma was frightening, Ryouga's natural form, with great feathered wings patterened black and white, was awe-inspiring.� He would have stood head and shoulders over Ranma had they been on ground.� Had Ranma been in a condition to notice, he would have been somewhat envious over the way Ryouga's clothes molded around him rather than tearing apart.� Ryouga easily broke Ranma's hold on him and moved to initiate his own grapple.�
�� Ranma finally recovered his cool and his wits and pulled away well before Ryouga could catch him.� Both winged martial artists growled at each other wordlessly.� Then both unleashed other powers that they possessed.� A coruscating burst of random color surrounded both of them along with a terribly bright, white radiance.
�� The power merely washed over both of them, eliciting confusion and more growls from the warriors. Ranma and Ryouga circled each other, gaining a sense of the other's style.� It quickly became obvious that Ranma was the more manuverable and speedy of the two. The smaller warrior smirked slightly at the advantage.
�� Ranma dived inward preparing to strike as he passed, his fists closed.� Ranma always preferred not to use open hand techniques, especially when the claws were out.� There really was no one that he wished to kill.� Ryouga watched him come in with a smirk.
�� Ranma blinked as Ryouga's wings flipped in distinctive pattern.� He reluctantly pulled off from his charge, but sighed in relief as Ryouga growled in irritation.� He had been right about the trap, it was odd that Ryouga knew that technique though.
�� ~Magic is out,~ Ranma said.� ~He just ignored my best stuff.~�
�� Ranma didn't have time to think further as Ryouga began tossing a hail of twirling bandannas towards him.� The magically charged bandannas sought Ranma out with almost unerring accuracy.� The half-fiend shouted a harsh collection of Abyssal words and cringed as a shield of darkness quickly formed in front of him.
�� The shield moved quickly to stop the majority of the magical projectiles.� Ranma felt more than a few scrape along his sides, arms, wings, and his face once more.� The other wounds didn't bother him too greatly, but the scrape across his face nearly sent him into another idiotic rage.
�� Ranma snarled and dived in shouting a loud battle cry, a slight twinge of darkness enveloping him as he attacked.� Ryouga moved to block, but it was almost like Ranma had some foreknowledge of how he was going to move.� The half-demon struck him solidly in the chest, and Ryouga dropped his umbrella in shock at the impact.
�� Ranma snapped back, ready for Ryouga's counter attack and then caught sight of Ryouga's umbrella passing through the cloud cover.� Ranma hesitated, the chance that the umbrella would actually hit someone was slim, but it couldn't be risked.� Ranma dived down into the clouds after the heavy weapon.
�� Ryouga recovered control of his flight in time to see Ranma propel himself on leathern wings down through the clouds.
�� "Still running Ranma?" Ryouga sniped as he followed his enemy.
�� "Where the hell did they go?" Akane wondered as she poked around the woods at the base of the cliff with the rest of the former audience.� She would have expected the area to show signs of extremely violent battle by now.
�� "They have to be around here somewhere," someone shouted.� Akane glanced around irritably and looked up as the clouds above seemed to flash with lightning and thunder.� "Great, he'll be a girl next time I see him."�
�� Akane was investigating the clouds a little further, watching to see further signs of an oncoming storm, when she picked out a flash of descending red. She stopped and stared closer, trying to make out some sort of form.
�� "It couldn't be him," Akane said before moving towards where the falling slash of red seemed to be heading.
�� Ryoko granted many of her priestesses the secrets to speedy travel in addition to raw strength.� The better to enable them to strike fast, hard, and virtually anywhere that could be reached.� Akane had not yet been initiated into many of the secrets, but she could run inhumanly fast when she needed to.
�� Another form broke the clouds above, falling down after the flash of red.� Akane could also make out a much smaller form slightly ahead of what was definitely a humanoid creature falling.
�� "Ranma you idiot!" she shouted.� "How'd you get up there!"
�� Ranma snapped his wings back one more time before he returned to human form, and losing the extra drag of the wings.� He was almost to the umbrella, he could almost reach it.� Ranma snapped out a hand and tried to grasp the umbrella with a small spell.� The celestial weapon repelled his attempt before he could even slow it down.
�� Ryouga hesitated a moment as Ranma returned to his human form.� The celestial wondered briefly what the half-fiend thought he was doing, and then noticed his umbrella.� Enraged, Ryouga dived.
�� "You think to steal my weapon, eh, Ranma?"� Ryouga shouted.� Ranma glanced up, but didn't bother to answer.� Looking down, the half-demon was irritated as he watched the umbrella snap open and caught the air. It slowed down tremendously, and Ranma had to move to avoid striking it.
�� Ranma caught a brief glimpse of someone running beneath them, and cursed under his breath.� He glanced down and noted that at least he was heading for the river, forgetting certain spells he had on himself.
�� Akane caught glimpses through the trees of Ranma descending after Ryouga's umbrella.� She was almost through the tangle of trees when a small geyser of water erupted from Ranma's impact.
�� "Uh oh.." Akane said, suddenly glad that she had not called anybody else's attention to the falling Ranma.
�� Ryouga landed lightly on the ground, shielding himself from the spray of water with his recovered umbrella.� He whirled about to look over his shoulder and saw a small form leaping at him, surrounded by water, out of a small black gate.� He ducked under the furiously attacking form, and watched in confusion as the new attacker landed.�
�� "Well, Ryouga?" the redhead before him demanded as she entered stance.� Ryouga fortunately missed the fact that the girl's tunic was ripped open, revealing her flesh for all the world to see.� He was beginning to recognize things about her, but was still in a state of mostly confused shock.
�� "W..w..wait a sec..." Ryouga stuttered.� "Who are...YOU??!"� The girl almost floated to his head's level, though he didn't feel any magic.
�� "What's the matter, feather-head?" the girl demanded, shifting forward in a kick.�
�� As the redhead attacked did so her shirt ripped further open, giving Ryouga a full view of her chest. Ryouga's eyes bulged as the girl sent an almost straight up kick through the space his head occupied.
�� "R...R...Ranma?" Ryouga asked after stumbling backwards from the force of the blow.� He readied his umbrella before seeing the motion in the woods beyond. Ryouga followed Ranma's example and returned to his human disguise as Akane burst into the scene.
�� "Who do I LOOK like?" Ranma demanded.� "You blind, stupid, sadistic, JERK!"
�� "Ranma!" Akane shouted.� "Your...your...your torso!"
�� "My," Ranma glanced down and saw that his shirt was open.� She glanced up at Ryouga, then Akane, and then at Ryouga again.� Akane blinked at the stricken look the supposedly cursed boy had.� Then Ranma crossed his arms over his chest and screamed before jumping back into the river and mostly submerging herself.
�� "Didn't you even know you had become a woman again?" Akane asked in disbelief.� Ranma's head peaked out from the water and glared up at Ryouga silently.
�� "Ranma...you..." Ryouga's eyes started to narrow as he worked out why the red head in front of him was familiar, other than the fact that she was apparently Ranma.� "...YOU!
�� "Did ya get a good look?" Ranma demanded angrily, ignoring Akane and not waiting for Ryouga.� "Are you going to laugh at me again?"� Ryouga stared at her as she continued.� Ranma glanced back at Akane and tried to think about how to continue what she was saying without letting anything slip to Akane.� "I don't know anything about any mission or anything, I just going on with my life as best I can!"
�� Ryouga stared at her neutrally a little while longer before smirking and giving a brief laugh that quickly erupted into a full-fledged gale of laughter.
�� "It is to laugh!" Ryouga shouted, ripping a collection of bandannas from his head.� "That...you think THIS would convince me to stop.� Feigning ignorance while proving yourself even further a fiend than I thought you to be!"� He lifted his hand and started whirling the bandannas at an incredible speed, gripping his umbrella under his arm.� "HA! Such a jest!"� Ryouga leaped and launched the spinning bandannas at Ranma.
�� "Idiot!" Ranma shouted, leaping out of the water as the bandannas sliced into her former position.� She landed next to Akane, placing herself between Ryouga and the priestess.� The celestial ignored him and launched another volley.� "They're mo...err...bystanders around!"
�� "There they are," somebody in the woods beyond shouted.� "This way, this way!"� The approaching crowd was soon delayed as they dived for cover away from the oncoming projectiles.
�� "I'll be right back Ranma!" Akane shouted, turning to leave and find a metal container she could use to heat some water.
�� "No!" Ranma snapped.� "It's not safe!� Don't move!"
�� "I'll make it!" Akane shouted confidently, the dark-haired girl easily avoided the bandannas, but unfortunately did not do so well with the tree roots. Akane cried out as she tripped and a pair of bandannas passed over her.
�� "No!" Ranma snapped as he rushed to aid her fallen fiancee, unwanted or no.
�� "An opening!" Ryouga snapped, launching his umbrella at his opponent's back.� "It's over!� Even if you dodge my umbrella my bandannas will strike you from every...direction?"
�� Ryouga blinked in confusion as Ranma and Akane were suddenly just not there.� His weapons came to a natural rest almost harmlessly as he cast about for his opponent.
�� "Hey," one of the audience asked.� "Where'd they go?"
�� "AAAAAA!!"� The sound of Akane's surprised screech came to everybody's ears and they saw Ranma carrying Akane and landing in a tree some distance away.
�� "Running AWAY, coward!?"� Ryouga demanded angrily.
�� "Hold your horses!" Ranma answered back, completely missing the pun she had just made on her own name. Ranma relaxed a little leaning on Akane who was still holding him tightly.� As that fact came to Ranma's mind her relaxation ended, and her face started trying to match her hair color.
�� "Mm?" Akane, recovering from the surprise of the teleport, blinked and took stock of her position.� She zipped away from Ranma further out on the tree branch as the red-head was relaxing enough for a shy, quiet smile.� By the time Akane actually looked at Ranma's face the beginnings of the smile were gone and only embarrasment remained mixed with a little hurt.
�� "You!" They both shouted after a moment of silence. They glared for another moment and then turned away from each other.� "What?!"
�� "If you had stayed still, like I..." Ranma started.
�� "You can't win if you're too worried about covering yourself!" Akane answered back, pointing at Ranma's chest in demonstration.� Ranma blushed bright red and angrily placed her arms over her chest again.
�� As they argued Ryouga silently walked up to the tree they were in and glanced around at the surrounding crowd before unloosening his belt.
�� "Stay out of my fight!" Ranma snapped back.� "I don't need help from a hu...err..." Ranma growled as he swallowed the word he was planning to use.
�� "What?" Akane snapped before Ranma could continue. "You don't need help from a woman?"
�� "That's not wh..." Ranma started.
�� "Take a look at yourself Ranma," Akane interuppted. "You're a girl!"
�� "What!?" Ranma snapped angrily.� He'd been expecting woman, not "girl."� That was as bad as the old man always calling him "boy."
�� "A short, whiny, little girl," Akane snapped ignoring Ranma flinching.� "With a freakish figure!" Ranma was shaking angrily and clenching her fists.
�� At the base of the tree Ryouga snapped his hand and his belt straightened and stayed into a hard, sharp sword.
�� "The belt!" someone shouted "It's like a sword!"
�� "What would you know!?" Ranma demanded, not noticing as the tree started to shift.� "You...you..." She was cut off as the tree gave way, falling to the ground.�
�� Ranma grabbed Akane again and leaped into the air away from the falling debris.� Before they even reached the peak of her small jump, Ryouga was above them and whipping forward with his sword belt.� Ranma wished for some object to block with, but had to make do with what she had available.�
� Ranma reached out quickly and formed another shield of darkness between him and the Celestial.� Ryouga's whip-sword curled around the construct and, when the hunter pulled back, tore it to pieces.� The small spell did buy her the time to land, however, and that was all she was hoping for.
�� "Let me go!" Akane demanded.
�� "What?" Ranma asked in disbelief.� "Do you think I'm holding you because I WANT to?"� Akane glared at the redhead, and, as they landed among the tree limbs, whipped out and slapped Ranma hard.� The red-head looked in shock at Akane.
�� "Well, if I'm such a nuisance then..." Akane growled.� She had wanted to try to help with the battle, rather hard when she was restrained, not implying anything else.� "...then..."� She silenced herself and tramped off.
�� "Uh..." Ranma held still for a moment trying to decide what to do.� ~She called me a girl, and a freak!� What do I care, if...if...she's one of the few people that treats me like a person.~� Ranma turned away from Ryouga, forgetting the fight. "...Akane...?"
�� "Ignore me will you!" Ryouga yelled, attacking with his whip-sword again.�
�� "Stay out of it!" Ranma snapped angrily.� Ryouga's target dropped into a one-handed handstand, kicking into Ryouga's wrist, knocking away the weapon, and ruining the temporary repairs Ranma had made to her tunic while arguing.� The deadly blade whirled into the sky as Ranma ran foreward.
�� "Akane!" Ranma shouted.� "A...Akane, I..."
�� "Don't bother with it," Akane said quietly, her back still turned.� "Because starting now, you and I are STRANGERS!!" Akane growled as she whirled to face Ranma.
�� As she turned Ryouga's blade descended, cutting through Akane's long hair on its way to the ground. Ranma and Akane both stared in shock as the bulk of Akane's hair came free and drifted to the ground.
�� ~Oh my goodness!~ Ryouga thought staring foreward. ~I almost killed a bystander!! DAMN!! DAMN!!~� Thunder started gathering.� ~Can't I even have my thoughts to myself, mom?~
� � Ranma was aware of another layer of meaning to the situation.� After all, it had taken her years to find a hairstyle that he was happy with as both a guy and a girl.� A hairstyle she had been forced to change do to one unfortunate meal, though the pigtail was nice too. Not to mention that most of Ryoko's priestesses were exceptionally proud of their hair.
�� The crowd that had been gathering as soon as it had been discovered where Ranma and Ryouga had moved to released their breaths in a collective "ohhh" as Akane's pony tail hit the ground and the silent priestess examined the roughly cut ends.
�� "A...Akane?" one of the women asked.
�� "I...I..." Ranma stuttered.
�� "I don't see what's to worry about," Ryouga said. "She's not hurt."
�� "Look at her hair!" Ranma snapped angrily.
�� "Caught in public with a haircut like that!" one of the women supported the red-head.� "She's lucky she didn't just die!"
�� "Don't you know anything?!" Ranma finally added.
�� "Say," of the ladies turned to Ranma.� "Who are you anyway?"
�� "And where'd Ranma go?" somebody else asked.
�� "I don't care who she is," a guardsman muttered, staring at Ranma's chest.� "As long as she keeps wearing that."� Ranma immediately covered her breasts with her arms again, and angrily glared at Ryouga.
�� "That's not important!" Ranma yelled at the crowd. "What matters is...Akane."� Ranma placed herself in front of Akane and leaned forward.� "Okay Akane.� If it'll cheer you up...hit me!"� Ryouga stepped up beside Ranma adding his attempt to make amends, and compete with Ranma all at once.
�� "You may hit me too," Ryouga said neutrally.� Akane looked up at the two of them, almost on the verge of tears.
�� "Go ahead," Ranma said, cringing.
�� "Smite me down," Ryouga added.� Akane looked between the two of them for a moment.� In the skies a new cloud was added as a flock of ravens took flight.
�� "Agreeable girl," Ryouga spoke around a swollen cheek.� He hadn't been expecting a magically enhanced strike.� "Isn't she?"� Ranma just stared forward silently as Akane shuffled away.
�� Akane strolled along, the sun moving closer to the horizon behind her, and then paused to glare at a thin tree.� Suddenly she lunged forward and slammed her fist into the tree, denting it and sending the whole tree shaking.
�� Akane started walking again and gasped as a twinge of pain came from her ankle.� She paused to look down, her eyes covered by the bangs that were no longer tied back into a pony-tail.
�� ~I must have twisted it when I tripped,~ Akane thought clinically.� ~Kasumi can fix it, or maybe Master Tofu.~
�� "I get the feeling she's still mad," Ranma thought, hanging from the shaking tree.
�� Akane sat at her table thinking over the past, and her hair.
�� ~It was finally longer than Kasumi's,~ Akane sighed.� The sound of a light tapping on the wood of her window brought her attention up, where Ranma was hanging upside down like a bat at her window.
�� "Say...um..." Ranma started.
�� "What?" Akane asked.� "Did you think I was crying my eyes out?"
�� "I can uh...fix..." Ranma's arms were crossed in front of his chest, but she was fiddling with her fingers none the less.
�� "I don't care about my hair!" Akane informed him, grabbing a statue from her table.� "So leave me alone!!"
�� "If I'm such a nuissance then...then...starting now...you and I are STRANGERS!!"�
�� Ranma sighed as he recalled Akane's angry words. He, changed in body and clothes, looked down at the lock of hair in his hands.� A small voice was reminding him that she had insulted him too, but she didn't know that, and if he wanted an apology he'd have to explain things he'd rather not explain.
�� ~I've gotta apologize,~ Ranma thought.
�� "She went to see Master Tofu about her ankle," Kasumi told Ranma.� "I offered to heal it, but she was insistent.� Did something happen at court?"
�� "Aha!" Ranma said as he caught sight of a slowly walking figure.� "Akane!"� He quickly caught up with her and landed in front of the girl.� "Whoops!� Sorry! Wrong girl!"� He turned to continue seeking Akane.
�� "Who were you looking for?" the girl asked.
�� "Huh?" Ranma turned around, recognizing the voice.
�� "Why are you looking at me like that?" Akane asked curiously, playing with her hair.
�� "Akane?" Ranma blinked in surprise at the change, the battle priestess looked a lot different.
�� "Looks better now, doesn't it?" Akane asked.
�� "Um...Akane..." Ranma paused and then bowed.� "I'm sorry."
�� "Well," Akane said.� "I've never seen you so meek."
�� "It's just...I..." Ranma paused uncertain how to continue.
�� "It's all right," Akane said wearily.� "I mean, after all...I was thinking of getting it cut."� Ranma winced at the obviously hollow reassurance.
�� "How's...how's your ankle?" Ranma asked, following behind her.� "Can I...carry you?"
�� "Stop being so polite," Akane said irritably.� "It makes me nervous."
�� Tofu and Genma turned as the door to his shop admitted Ranma and Akane.
�� "A..Akane?" Tofu said in surpise at the short hair cut, and noted the way Ranma was nervously hovering about her.� The more he saw of the young...person, the more he was certain that Ranma meant no harm.� He'd have to speak to the young man..err..whatever...about his feeding practices though.
�� "Hello, Master Tofu!" Akane said cheerfully.� Tofu decided that Ranma could wait until later, right now, something was obviously wrong with Akane, despite her cheerful exterior.
�� "What's wrong," Akane asked over her shoulder. "Ranma?"
�� "He said you looked cute," Ranma said, perched on a wall over looking the river.� "I thought you'd be happy."
�� "It doesn't matter anymore," Akane said.
�� "Yeah, doesn't matter, right," Ranma said.
�� "Master Tofu already loves someone else," Akane said shrugging.� "I think I've finally gotten over him, though."� She sighed.� Ranma leaped off the wall and landed in front of her.
�� "He's right, you know," Ranma said.� "Your hair does look good like that."� Akane's eyes bugged as she stared at Ranma in shock.
�� "Why are you looking at me like that?" Ranma asked, sweating.
�� "Do you feel well?" Akane asked, glaring at Ranma and leaning forward.
�� "Hey!" Ranma snapped.� "Listen, jerk--"
�� "Don't worry about it," Akane shrugged, continuing to walk down the road.� "You don't have to cheer me up."
�� "You think that's what I'm doing!" Ranma snapped. "I was just trying to compliment you an'...who says you're cute?!� I just meant I like your hair better--" Akane stopped walking and stared forward in honset surprise.� She turned around and saw Ranma back on the wall, crouched with his back to her.� "I mean...that is...not that my taste makes any difference...I'm just a freak, right...what do I kn--?"
�� "Ranma?"� Akane said softly, causing Ranma to look back cautiously.� "Thank you.� That's nice to hear."
�� "Mmm?" Ranma turned to face her, he felt his heart lurch as she smiled at him.
�� "Even if you don't mean it," Akane confirmed. "It's nice."
�� ~C..c..can it be?~ Ranma thought.� ~Akane might actually like...me?~� He stared into her cheerfully smiling face, perched on the wall.� Ranma was lost enough that he missed her raising her hand up.
�� "On guard," Akane said simply, and poked him. Ranma found himself leaning back, and falling into river.� "Ha Ha.� Gotcha!"
�� "Why you!!"� Ranma snapped.� ~It was a trick, just like Ryouga getting "lost".� Damn it!!~
�� "Now you don't have to feel guilty anymore," Akane laughed down at him.
�� "Who says you're cute!?" Ranma demanded.� Akane merely stuck her tongue out at the red-head in the water.
�� Meanwhile the relentless Ryouga was walking across a sandy beach with no civilization in view.
�� "Just wait, Ranma Saotome," Ryouga growled to himself.� "I'll find you're training hall--and fight you to the death!!"
�� Ranma stared down at her reflection in the water under the bridge and considered it.� Akane had already gone on home after Ranma leaving Ranma to pout.
�� Ryouga had cut her twice on the face.� Not that she hadn't received facial injuries before, but Ryouga was a celestial.� Ranma didn't know how they'd heal.� That wasn't what concerned her, however.
�� Ranma in female form would have been considered short had she been an elf.� The fact that most succubi were six feet tall in either form made the distinction even greater.� Even as a guy she wasn't really tall, not overly short either, but not really tall.� Even in his true forms he was small, though he hit about average height as a male demon.
�� The curves which many had told Ranma were incredibly desirable, were odd for such a short person.� If she were a few inches taller, or maybe as slender as an elf.� Ranma sighed in resignation, she didn't look real at all.
�� "I am a freak," Ranma muttered dipping her hands into the water and distorting the reflection.� "A tiny little freak."
�� "Akane doesn't mean that you know," a voice said. Ranma looked up to see Nabiki fading into view next to her.
�� "How do you-?"� Ranma started to ask.
�� "You're not hiding your thoughts very well," Nabiki wiggled a finger in admonition.� Ranma growled and looked back down at her feet.
�� "Why do you care?" Ranma asked bitterly.
�� "I can't get any favors from you if you leave," Nabiki explained simply, winking in attempt to show she was kidding.
�� "If I paid you enough could you answer me a question?" Ranma asked.
�� "Depends on the question," Nabiki said shrugging.
�� "How come nobody wants me outside of what they can get from me?" Ranma asked.
�� "I don't think I can answer that one," Nabiki said. Ranma slumped trying to keep from crying, though Nabiki had already seen that once if she wanted to use it against her.
Martial Artists and Mayhem: Third Edition
Part 9: It Looks Cute On You
By Thrythlind
"I'm heading for home, Ranma," Nabiki said, standing up and stretching. "Are you coming?"
"I'll get there," Ranma muttered. Nabiki shrugged and strode away. As soon as Ranma was certain she was gone, all trace of her on all his senses, he glanced down into the water again and traced the crisscrossed cuts on her cheek. "JERK!!" Ranma yelled tossing a rock into the water. She splashed the water into her face and cleaned the cuts before standing up.
Nabiki glided into the Tendo estate almost unseen, plopping back on the loung seat in front of the fire place. In another few minutes or so she would go to her room and cast a simple spell to catch the local theatre performance. It was so much more comfortable to "attend" in that manner, cheaper also. But she had some time to kill before that.
"Where'd you vanish to?" Akane asked as she leaned over the couch. Nabiki glanced up at Akane and smirked.
"Nice hair cut, sis," she said with a smile. "Just which side of Ranma are you trying for?"
"W..what do you mean by THAT?!" Akane demanded.
"Let's see, haircut just boyish enough without actually making you look like a boy," Nabiki noted humming. Akane sputtered angrily and impotently.
"I'm not trying to attract his girl side," Akane snapped finally.
"Well, I'm certain a practical girl appeals to someone like Ranma," Nabiki continued. "And that looks so much easier to take care of than you're previous style." Akane sputtered some more.
"Nabiki," Kasumi chided as she walked in on the scene. "Try not to tease your sister."
"Okay, Kasumi," Nabiki gave a long suffering sigh and shook her head.
"Hey Kasumi, do you need help with dinner?" Akane asked hopefully. Nabiki winced and Kasumi turned to look at her, smiling.
"No, thank you," Kasumi said. "I am almost finished anyway."
"If you say so," Akane said reluctantly. She glanced at the door Nabiki had entered and growled. "Where is that idiot?"
"He's over at the river," Nabiki said. "Was a little upset too."
"What, he's worried about those cuts?" Akane said in disbelief. "I can't believe that jerk. As if a couple small scars would make him any less handsome or beautiful or whatever."
"Actually, I'd say he was a little more upset about some things that were said to him," Nabiki said, yawning. "Almost time for my show. I'll be in my room if you need me." The Metallium stood up and stretched walking towards the living quarters.
"Wait a minute," Akane snapped. "What things that were said?" She paused a moment and thought about their conversations the past day. She sweated a little when she realized that while Ranma had apologized, she hadn't. ~Great, now I have to apologize to him again.~
Ranma glanced around from under the hood she had "acquired" from somewhere. The red-head moved cautiously and warily, in an exaggerated manner. She was virtually screaming innocent little waif with her attitude. She skittered, apparently nervously, up to one of the tables in a dark corner, sat down and let her senses free.
The situation became uncomfortably nostalgic of the days before certain scars had finally been healed. It seemed like every guy was skipping her table and hanging about some sorceress, another red-head, closer to the center of the tavern. To make matters worse she was a somewhat scrawny looking girl.
Ranma wondered if the patrons could see her cuts through the cloak and the shadows she was hiding in. She didn't stop to consider that it was the fact that she was skulking that was causing people to avoid her.
~The shy one in the corner,~ Ranma's ears perked as the thought came to her over the crowd of others. Listening to a conversation as a series of surface thoughts always made her feel funny, but it was a useful ability anyway. ~When she leaves let's snag her.~
~That little ragamuffin?~ another voice added. Ranma bridled at the uncomplimentary reference, but otherwise she smirked. The evening wasn't going to be a total loss. With one exaggerated sigh she glanced at the sorceress's table once and worked her way out of the tavern. Walking down the darkening street, she smirked as a pair of footsteps sounded behind her. Perhaps she could be done with this in time to make it back to the Tendo compound for Kasumi's dinner.
As Ranma was passing an alley the footsteps behind her grew suddenly loud. She whirled around feigning surprise as two men nearly tackled her and carried her into the alleyway. They slammed her into the wall and one of them brought a sap down over her head. Internally, Ranma smirked as she faked unconsciousness.
"Ah she's marked up!" one of them whined. Ranma almost growled. "That'll reduce the price."
"We can get a cleric to heal those," the other said. "They'll barely be noticeable, and everything else seems to be in working order."
"Think we should try her out first?" the first one asked in a leering tone. Ranma released an invisible weave of suggestion and started to drop her human disguise as one of them men started to grab at her shirt. Then there was a flash of heat and a pair of screams. Ranma opened her eyes to see the walls of the alley blackened and a fine mist of soot drifting down, he failed to see any of the wood that had been in the alley.
"That'll teach you to show a lady some respect!" a voice snapped. Ranma snapped to her feet and took in the scene, noting the sorceress from earlier. The woman looked at Ranma and the wings growing from her back and blinked. "What the...a demon! Wait a minute..." The sorceress narrowed her eyes and leaned forward investigating Ranma.
"You had plenty of guys hanging on in that tavern!" Ranma snapped. "You think you could at least spare a couple of morsels for me! And now look at me, I'm even MORE of a mess than before!!" The sorceress blinked and then scowled back.
"Hey, I thought I was saving some poor girl from slavery and rape," she snapped. "How was I to know you were playing with them?"
"Do you know how hard it is to get a meal when I look like this?" Ranma snapped, pulling her hood up over her face again.
"It looked like you were hiding in the corner to me," the sorceress retorted. "Besides, you can always just eat a lot more to make up for it."
"Wait a minute," Ranma snapped. "How would you know that?"
"Stupid bit..." a grumbling voice said, cut off by a kick from Ranma.
"Shut up!" Ranma snapped. "This isn't your business."
"I don't have time for this," the sorceress snapped. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go collect whatever bounty there is on these pukes. Sorry if I ruined your dinner, but you should know better than to operate without some sign to other hunters."
"Whatever," Ranma growled, the wings formed into her back. Then she shifted into her male form, tired of being humiliated for the day.
"You, you you're a GUY!!" the other bandit started. The ground erupted under the second criminal
. "SHUT UP!!" the sorceress yelled.
"Do you have to blow everything up?" Ranma asked. "There are less destructive spells."
"Where's the fun in that," the sorceress asked. The temporarily flying criminal finally landed. Ranma shook his head and started walking away irritably as the sorceress started collecting the unconscious thugs. "Oh, Ranma, your aunt is planning on paying a visit." Ranma turned around to look at her curiously as the sorceress winced and turned around waving her hands. "Wait! Wait! I didn't just say that!" Ranma took a closer look at the sorceress and blinked.
"Inverse!" he snapped.
"Errr....no," the revealed goddess said, scratching her head.
"What are you doing hunting bounties and stealing food out of my mouth down here on the prime!?" Ranma demanded.
"Hey, I'm not Lina Inverse," she said stubbornly. "I'm just a random bandit killer that goes insane from time to time."
"Everybody knows THAT part," Ranma said.
"What was that?" Lina snapped. "Don't you know that I'm the brilliant and eternal...umm...no I'm not Lina Inverse."
"Whatever," Ranma said. "Not my business, I'm going home now. So you can have all the fun you want without me in your way."
"When I get better I'm gonna..." Ranma and Lina collectively rolled their eyes and turned to face the muttering criminal.
"SHUT UP!!" Ranma and Lina yelled in unison.
"Why are you following me!?"
"Noting better to do," some woman's voice said. "I'm on vacation after all."
"Ahh, sounds like Ranma's made it in time for dinner," Nabiki said dryly.
"Oh, it seems we have company," Kasumi said. "I suppose I have to make more food." Akane strode to the gates and glared as Ranma came in followed by a red-headed woman, she seethed.
"RANMA!!" she growled. Ranma whirled to face her.
"What!?" he asked. "Want to dump me in another river?"
"Here I am feeling guilty and YOU'RE out picking up tramps!" Akane snapped.
"Excuse me," the woman crossed her arms. "Ranma did not 'pick me up' and I am not a 'tramp.'" Akane and Ranma ignored her.
"She FOLLOWED me!" Ranma snapped. "After she ruined my meal."
"So you went out to eat with her?!" Akane growled. "And NOW you come running her for Kasumi's food."
"What do you care!" Ranma snapped. "Its not like you actually like me or anything!"
The woman scratched her head in annoyance and walked past the arguing pair.
"Are they always like this?" she asked Nabiki.
"Mostly yes," Nabiki said. "But this is worse than normal."
"That girl needs to learn to recognize competition," the woman said shaking her head.
"Yes she does," Nabiki agreed, thinking of Ryouga. "Now, who are you?"
"Ummmm....I'm just a random bandit killer enjoying a little vacation," she said.
"Lina Inverse?" Nabiki asked after a moment.
"How did you..." she stopped herself.
"That..." Nabiki said, waggling a finger. "Is a secret." Lina growled at her quietly.
"I hate that phrase, and no," she insisted. "I'm not the beautiful, intelligent, unbeatable and brilliant Goddess of Magic and Fire."
"You do realize that this is the tenth time you've been to Nerima in my lifetime," Nabiki added.
"I don't know what you're talking about...I'm just here out of...." she stopped. "Is that a VERDANDI's cooking I smell?" Nabiki regarded the line of drool descending from the goddesses mouth with a little trepidation. "Hey Kid! I think dinner's ready!" The goddess vanished into the house, an anxious Nabiki following her.
"Who invited you!?" Ranma snapped as she and Akane reluctantly cut off their argument to head for dinner. Ranma stopped and realized just who was heading for dinner. "Damn it! Hurry up or she'll eat it all!"
"What, is she a relative of yours?" Akane asked, hurrying along with Ranma.
"Not this one, no, she does know my..." Ranma's answer cut short as they entered the feast hall and stopped, stunned, next to Nabiki and a rapt Lina. Soun and Genma came up behind the "younger" set and gazed in equal awe at the sheer amount of food that Kasumi had prepared. They hadn't even thought the larders had that much food.
"Well, I think everything is ready," Kasumi said sweetly. "Shall we all get started?" Everybody nodded mutely, whether their voice was stolen by shock or rapture.
"Mmmmm," Lina sighed, rubbing her stomach. Everybody was staring at her in shock, aside from Kasumi who smiling sweetly as she finished her food. Lina had eaten fully twice as much as Ranma and Genma put together, and those two had eaten nearly four times as much as everybody else put together. "That was good, thank's Kasumi-san. Now, I'd better be going, I can't stay on vacation too long you know. And....I did say you're aunt is going to be visiting, right Ranma?"
"Yes," Ranma said, wincing. How in the world was he going to hide himself if Celestials and dieties kept popping out of nowhere to visit him.
"Okay, good," she stood up and sauntered towards the exit. "Well I was curious about this place, maybe I'll come back for another visit later." She stopped and turned back towards the stunned family. "Oh yeah, your uncle is passing out some interesting illusions of you in a red dress..."
"Oh no," Ranma said staring a suddenly innocent seeming Nabiki. "Did Mom see that?"
"I don't know, but you're aunt got a laugh out of it," she said. Ranma paled considerably. "Well see later maybe!" Then she was gone out the door and away from the compound.
"Your family has interesting friends," Kasumi said politely. Ranma coughed in embarrassment.
"Ranma," Akane started as she found him practicing forms in the training hall later that night.
"Look she invited herself," Ranma said. "She's like that."
"What?" Akane blinked. "Look I don't care about that freeloader you dragged home with you."
"I already apologized to you about the hair didn't I?" Ranma asked irritably.
"I'm here to apologize to you, IDIOT!!" Akane yelled in frustration.
"Ehh, oh," he smiled then "Than..."
"I mean a curse doesn't make you a freak," she said. "If you'd been born that way it would have been different, but I shouldn't have called you a freak for some stupid spell you have on you." Akane didn't notice Ranma wincing as she continued, but when she finished she did notice that he seemed a lot more depressed. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah," Ranma said quietly. "I'm just fine. So I'm not a freak because its just a curse."
"Right," Akane said nervously.
"Well, thanks for the apology," Ranma said morosely, he turned away from her and walked out of the training hall.
"What's with him?" Akane asked in confusion, she shrugged and looked about the empty training hall. "Well, I might as well practice if he's not."
Kasumi stared up at the night sky in relief. It had been a long day, but now it was over. Perhaps tomorrow would be better. She was about to turn back into the building when the sound of a soft crying reached her ears. She followed the sound until she found Ranma-chan curled up in the bushes about the cultivated landscape. Ranma looked up as the bushes russled with Kasumi's passage.
"Hey Kasumi," Ranma said, drying her eyes and trying to pretend like she hadn't been crying. "Its not what it looks like."
"Ranma," Kasumi shook her head exasperatedly. "Could you follow me for a moment." She looked around and found a fair-sized rock that could fit them both. She strode over and sat down patting the rock next to her. "Now come over and sit down for a moment."
"Why?" Ranma asked cautiously. Kasumi smiled and patted the rock again. Ranma narrowed her eyes and warily complied.
"No need to be afraid of me," Kasumi said as Ranma settled down next to her.
"I ain't afraid," Ranma said defiantly, almost standing up again before Kasumi wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gently directed her to sit back down.
"Now first things first," Kasumi said. "I do know what you are, Ranma." Ranma tensed again. "You gave yourself away casting that spell the first day." Ranma stared at her in surprise. "You didn't think I used so much magic making that meal merely on a whim, did you?"
"Then why didn't..." Ranma started to ask.
"Well," Kasumi said. "It isn't very often that a fiend uses magic to fix something someone else did."
"You know, Nabiki knows," Ranma sighed. "Kuno knows, sort of, who DOESN'T know about me?"
"Quite a few people, Ranma," Kasumi said. "And I shall have to talk to Nabiki, unless you don't mind her selling images of you to Sir Kuno."
"I made a deal," Ranma said firmly. Kasumi sighed but left the matter alone.
"And why are you crying out here by yourself," Kasumi asked softly. Ranma muttered a something under her breath. "I did not understand that Ranma."
"You couldn't possibly understand," Ranma said. "You're normal. YOU fit in. I'm just a half-breed freak."
"Try to tell me anyway," Kasumi said sweetly hugging Ranma. The red-head stared at her for a moment, it had been years since he had last seen his mother and been held like this.
"Nobody wants me," Ranma said quietly.
"That's not true," Kasumi said. "You have family." Ranma laughed bitterly.
"Pop wants me to be the best fighter ever," she said. "Never mind the price." She touched the crisscrossed cuts on her face. Some of the fingers seemed to trace lines that Kasumi couldn't see, and she wondered if perhaps Ranma always had such uncommonly clean skin. "Mom can't hang around cause we'd be fighting demons everyday. Auntie and my uncle can't be down here all the time either."
"That doesn't mean they doesn't want you," Kasumi said comfortingly.
"Akane hates me, Ryouga hates me," Ranma said, ignoring that. "And they were nice, before they found out about me. Akane still doesn't know about me. She thinks I'm a freak..." The red-head continued before Kasumi could say anything, starting to sniffle again. "When she learns...she's going to want to kill me too, just like Ryouga...I'll have to fight her too...and...and....I'm going to scar, like last time...and he won't heal it this time...he'll just cut me more...even if I win...I'll...I'll be ugly...a..gn.....like aftr the c.c..cats...and LITTLE-GIRL LINA looks better than me...stupid things keep happnin...I..I ain't...right...I...don't belong..anywhere!! Except..there."
Kasumi held the now sobbing girl tightly and rocked her gently. She sang a soft soothing song, covering one hand over Ranma's small injury a brief white light suffusing and closing the cuts. She glanced at the cheek and noted that it would leave a faint scar, like all but the most powerful magical healings did, but it was only a small scar. Ranma didn't even notice the spell as she continued crying into Kasumi's shoulder. As the red-head started to calm down Kasumi started to speak again.
"Now you listen to me," Kasumi said comfortingly, but firmly. "You do belong here, understand?"
"I ain't natural," Ranma muttered.
"All things are natural, little sister," Kasumi said, Ranma looked up at her in surprise. "Some things are beneficient to us, and some are not, but they are all natural. They all have a purpose. Even and especially the unique."
"Little sister?" Ranma repeated.
"Or little brother," Kasumi said. "Whichever you prefer. I said you had family, Ranma. Now, it is getting late, and I think you should get some rest after today."
"Yeah, sleep helps when I can't hunt," Ranma said quietly as Kasumi stood up. "Umm...Kasumi?"
"I shall not tell anybody about this, Ranma," she said. "Oh, and Ranma." The red-head glanced at Kasumi as she too reached her feet. "Don't compare yourself to goddesses, it is not a healthy thing to do."
"Yeah, Lina can get a little vindictive," Ranma muttered.
"One other thing," Kasumi said. "Who's your aunt?"
"Umm..." Ranma sweated a little nervously. "Ryoko."
"Oh my," Kasumi said.
"Eh heh," Ranma scratched the back of his head nervously. "Definitely don't tell Akane."
"Damn it," Ranma snapped the next morning. He was looking in the small mirror the Tendo's kept in with the hot water springs. "I knew it would scar." He noticed a motion in the background of the mirror just before someone spoke.
"You're worried about that little thing?" Akane asked. She walked forward and grabbed his chin to turn him to face her.
"What are you doing?" Ranma asked irritably.
"Oh please," Akane snapped. "You can barely tell its there unless you're in fighting range."
"What does a berserk like you know anyway?" Ranma demanded turning away from her and looking through some of the powders on the stone counter.
"Hey if its any consolation," Akane said. "I think it looks cute on you." Ranma stopped and turned to face her confused.
"You think this is cute?" he asked pointing at the faded white "x" on his cheek.
"Yeah," Akane said nervously. "You don't look so much like a fake any more."
"I actually look BETTER with it?" he asked again. "Even as a girl?"
"What!? Why the hell would you care about that?" Akane asked, she sighed irritably. She had woken up still feeling guilty for some reason, she didn't know why, but she still felt like she owed Ranma a little consideration for some reason. "You're a handsome man, and a beautiful woman. No little scar is going to change that."
"Really?" Ranma asked again watching her intently.
"Yes, really," Akane said tightly. "Are you happy now?"
"A little I guess," Ranma said.
"Good, now can you get out of here so I can have a bath?" Akane demanded.
"Uh sure," Ranma said before skipping out of the carved out cavern. Akane watched him go.
"Sometimes he's a macho jerk," Akane said in confusion. "And sometimes he's more effeminate than I am. Weird."