Disclaimer

Ranma 1/2 was created by Takahashi Rumiko, and anyone who doesn't already know this won't understand this story anyway. Bleach was created by Tite Kubo; you don't really need to have seen Bleach to understand this fic, but just so you know, anything not Ranma related in here was created by him.

- - -

Ranko frowned. "When I killed that evil ghost last night, it was like...like I was meant to be doin' it."

- - -

The boy appeared to be a martial artist; his double's obvious skill in battle led her to believe that he was a Master of his art. No doubt an appeal to his vanity would be the best course.

- - -

Something fell back from Ryouga, a form of cloud and mist. Ranko jumped back in panic, staring incredibly as it started to coalesce.

- - -

The pavement directly beneath Ranko exploded, knocking her leap off-course. Fragments of ashphalt peppered her, one cutting her cheek. She rode the shockwave, turning it into a high-angle leap, and dropped blade-first straight for the creature's mask.

- - -

"It's been a long time since I've smelled your kind..."

Ranko scowled. "Gonna be a really long time before you smell anything ever again!" But bravado aside, she realized that she was good and trapped.

Tail Kinker Presents

Pale Horse

Chapter 3: Curses Have Claws

Retsukawa Masami knelt before Captain Ukitake.

"Retsukawa. I have a mission for you. One of some sensitivity."

"I am ready to serve, my Captain."

"A rogue agent has appeared in Tokyo; we need more information before deciding to proceed."

"I understand. What actions am I permitted to take?"

Ukitake considered. "It would be best to observe, at first. If you can convince the rogue to accept you as an equal, you may attempt to assess her knowledge of the Society." He glanced down. "You are probably the best equipped of our agents to deal with this issue; I feel I can trust you to follow your instincts." He pulled a scroll from his tunic. "These records could assist you; the agent in question appears to be Shaolan, who died in the Middle Kingdom during the Zhou Dynasty."

Masami took the scroll with some reverence; the name Shaolan was still spoken with respect. "I shall report daily."

- - - - -

Kuno would have mocked Ranko's grip on the shinai, for she was holding it precisely backward. However, for training with the nagimaki, the shinai was a decent substitute.

Across from her, Ranma stood, in a ready position. Akane watched from the side lines.

"Ready when you are, kid."

Akane raised a hand. "Begin."

Ranko leaped forward, aiming a strike for the head. Ranma dodged the shot by a millimeter, countered with a foot sweeShe frowned. "When I killed that evil ghost last night, it was like...like I was meant to be doin' it."p. Ranko jumped over his foot, and struck again. The two sparred for almost five minutes, before Ranma's fist grazed Ranko's cheek.

"Hold."

The two broke apart, panting slightly.

"Not bad." Ranma wiped a trail of perspiration from his cheek. "You make for a pretty good workout."

"You too."

Akane snorted. "Much good it does you two to spar against each other. You both already know everything the other does."

"Not quite." Ranko held up the shinai. "I've got some skill with this, above what I knew as Ranma. The drowned girl's skill with the nagimaki seems to have carried over."

"Well, I can tell you something else." Akane frowned. "Neither of you two are as good alone as you are when you're fused."

Ranma blinked. "Yeah, I think you're right."

"Probably because I've got a fair portion of his energy," added Ranko. "It's hard to tell when we're fighting each other, though."

"I guess that makes sense." Akane stepped into the dojo. "Ranma. Wanna spar?"

"Sure." Ranma stepped back. "Same rules?"

"Except that I'm unarmed. Ranko, ref?"

"Sure." Ranko stepped to the sidelines, and raised a hand. "Begin."

The battle was not as lop-sided as was traditional between the two; Ranko noted that Akane's shots were more often parried than simply dodged. Ranma was definitely working up a sweat; it was almost ten minutes of constant exchanges of blows before a fist worked past Akane's defense and caught her across the ribs.

"Stop." Ranko stepped forwards, and laid a hand on Akane's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She sucked in a breath. "Damn, you hit like a tank, Ranma."

"Sorry 'bout that...I had to take the opening when I saw it." He looked down at his fist. "I guess you're right, Akane...I'm not nearly as fast as I was, nor as tough. The technique is still there, but..."

"If you were to try Ryouga right now, you'd get smeared." Ranko scowled. "I ain't sure that I like this, pal."

"-You- don't like it? I nearly lost to the Tomboy."

"Yeah, I can see that buggin' ya." Ranko grinned. "At this point, though, you could train Akane without fear of causing her permanent harm. I don't think any of your ki attacks will function right now."

"Or yours. Right now, you gotta rely on that stick."

"I know." She set the shinai back on the rack, drew her nagimaki. She twirled it a few times. "It just seems more natural."

Akane frowned. "You aren't planning to go out again tonight, are you?"

"I dunno." She frowned. "When I killed that evil ghost last night, it was like...like I was meant to be doin' it."

"Ranko..." She stepped forward and grabbed the smaller girl's shoulders. "I'm a bit worried about you. If you die fighting one of those things, what happens to Ranma?"

Ranko shrugged. "Guess I'll just have to win every time, so we don't have to find out."

- - - - -

She had waited for nightfall this time; she'd not encountered the creature until well after dusk last night. Now, the streets were clear of both the living and the dead.

"There must be something great on TV. Do ghosts have TV?" Ranko glanced around. "I figured that I'd at least see a few friendly ghosts, but no..."

She leaped to the top of a nearby house.

"Guess I've still got the energy for roofhopping..." She glanced around, and spotted a familiar figure three blocks away. "Ryouga..."

She grinned, and leaped down into the street.

- - - - -

Ranko was not the only one stalking the Lost Boy.

Her mission was of paramount importance, but until she encountered the rogue, Masami had little else to do. So when she'd spotted this boy, and realized what he harboured, she'd decided to tail him. She'd leaped from rooftop to rooftop, keeping out of his sight; according to the scroll, the Cursed would be able to see her, if only faintly.

-If he's one of those cursed by Jushenkyou, he'll need my assistance sooner or later.-

So it was with some surprise that she saw the rogue drop down in front of the boy.

Ranko smirked. "Hey, bacon breath. Can ya see me?"

Ryouga paused. "Who's there?"

"It's me, pig-boy. Don'tcha see me?"

Ryouga stared right through her.

"Oh, man, he's just like Kasumi. One of those medium-rares." Ranko pulled her nagimaki off of her back, and walked up to the Lost Boy.

Ryouga took a step back. "Stay back."

She scowled, and gave him a poke with the butt-end of her glaive.

Something fell back from Ryouga, a form of cloud and mist. Ranko jumped back in panic, staring incredibly as it started to coalesce.

"What did I do?"

Atop the roof, Masami cursed, and grabbed the hilt of her katana.

The form solidified, taking on a vaguely humanoid shape. It was quite massive, easily six hundred kilograms, and the bone-white mask seemed to form the skull of a wild boar. Ranko blinked.

"That's his curse! I just knocked his curse right outta him!"

The creature didn't seem to take kindly to being expelled. It roared in anger, and kicked Ryouga across the street. He slammed into the far wall and collapsed in a heap.

"Oh, man. If it's strong enough to knock Ryouga out, I might be in trouble." She readied the glaive, and leaped towards the boar.

It backhanded her, knocking her back the way she'd come. She rolled, regaining her feet, and winced.

The creature raised itself to a more upright posture, bringing its hands together in a familiar cup. Ranko's eyes widened, and she leaped aside as the Shi Shi Houkodan smashed into the wall behind her.

"Okay, it's stronger than Ryouga, faster than Ryouga, and it knows his moves. I'm in trouble." She considered her own arsenal; the revised Amaguriken might be of use, but last time it had bounced off one of these demons with no effect. She lacked the ki to generate a Mouko Takabisha, and she doubted that a Hiryuu Shouten Ha would work.

"Guess I'll have to rely on the blade again."

She ran in, dodging a claw attack, and slashed the beast's arm in passing. A spray of blood followed her path, but the boar didn't seem to notice the injury. She backflipped over its counterattack, and rammed the nagimaki's blade straight into its arm.

That, it noticed. An earsplitting howl filled the night, and the creature slapped her aside. She slammed into a parked car, setting off its alarm, and slumped to the ground.

She shook off the stun, and shakily rose to her feet. The boar was lumbering towards her, its skull-like mask grinning obscenely.

"Okay, I hurt it somewhat." She tighened her grip on the glaive. "How did I kill the last one?"

"Aim for the mask."

She glanced behind, to see a tall, black-haired woman standing on top of the car. "Who the heck are you?"

The stranger's garb was identical to her own; a black kimono, straw zuri sandals, and tabi socks. She had a katana in one hand, resting across her shoulders.

"Introductions can wait. To dispatch the Hollow, you need to smash its mask with your blade."

"Yeah, I remember now. I told me that once." She turned back, and leaped for the creature.

The boar tapped the ground at its feet with one taloned finger. The pavement directly beneath Ranko exploded, knocking her leap off-course. She touched down, and immediately jumped away, as the pavement exploded again. Fragments of ashphalt peppered her, one cutting her cheek. She rode the shockwave of the Bakusai Tenketsu, turning it into a high-angle leap, and dropped blade-first straight for the creature's mask.

The boar slapped her out of the sky, pinning her to the groud beneath its massive paw. It leaned in over her, vapour condensing from its breath.

"It's been a long time since I've smelled your kind..."

Ranko scowled. "Gonna be a really long time before you smell anything ever again!" But bravado aside, she realized that she was good and trapped.

A black and silver blur passed by; Masami's katana neatly severed one tendon, weakening the beast's grasp. The boar roared, and lifted its paw. Ranko rolled backward, feet over head, and leaped again into the air.

The creature sucked in a breath, and Ranko's eyes widened as she realized its intent.

"Perfect Shi Shi Houkodan!"

The crushing weight of massive ki caught her, forcing her down to the ground. She rolled again, turned it into a lunge, and her blade struck home, right through the eyeslot of the beast's mask. She recovered, and watched with satisfaction as it dissolved into black mist.

"One more beastie down."

She turned back to the car, but the girl was gone.

"Wonder who the heck that was?"

The silent streets offered no reply. She shrugged, and walked over to the crumpled Ryouga.

- - - - -

"Looks like you did all right this time." Ranma looked his double up and down. "Only one little scratch."

"With this kimono, you can't see the bruises. I ran into Ryouga."

"Oh, yeah?"

Ranko scowled. "He was carryin' one of those monsters inside of him. Nasty one, too. I knocked it outta him, and killed it. With a bit of help."

"Help?"

"Look, I'll just merge with you, okay? That way, you'll know as much as me." She stepped into him.

And found herself again in the dojo. Not the Tendo dojo, but the same one she'd seen the first time she'd fought one of the demons.

Her duplicate was there.

"Okay...what's going on?"

The redhead smiled. "You do our work naturally, without inhibition."

"You mean killin' those monsters?"

"Yes. But you lack the link to your weapon."

Ranko shrugged. "I seem to be doin' okay with it."

"You must listen to her."

"Who?"

Again, she heard the purring, and stiffened. She glanced to the right, to see a small white kitten sitting on her shoulder.

"Yaaahh!!"

Ranma jerked upright, and brushed his shoulder.

"Cat..." He shivered, and glanced around.

He was back in the Tendo dojo, with no sign of Ranko. He glanced again at his shoulder with a final shiver, and walked off in search of his bed.

- - - - -

Masami looked herself over in the mirror. Her features had been called attractive before, but she knew them to be too sharp for true beauty. Her hair, which she normally kept in a bun, was loose and reached past her ass; she picked a scarlet ribbon off the dresser and tied it back in a ponytail.

She preferred the stern garb of her office, but knew it would be out of place in modern Japan. The long black skirt and loose shirt looked reasonably decent on her. Her apparent age of nineteen put her outside the range of the uniformed schoolgirl, which suited her just dandy.

The scroll's information on Jushenkyou, combined with the re-integration she had witnessed the previous night, gave her a good idea on how to proceed. The boy appeared to be a martial artist; his double's obvious skill in battle led her to believe that he was a Master of his art. Her bravado in battle told her of the girl's desire to be the best.

No doubt an appeal to his vanity would be the best course.

- - - - -

Ranma's breakfasts had become heartier since he'd taken up ghostbusting. He was on his third helping when there was a knock at the back door.

Kasumi rose from the table. "I'll answer that."

"Thank you, Kasumi." Soun rustled his newspaper. "So, Ranma. Akane tells me you've finally started treating her like a proper student."

"Yeah...She's a lot closer to my level recently, so I figured I can give her some real trainin'."

"The bond between a student and master is a strong one, boy." Soun looked over the top of his paper. "Perhaps in a few weeks' time, we can call for the priest again, hmm?"

"Dad!" Akane scowled.

"Look, Tendo..." He set down the bowl. "Me and Akane will decide when we're ready to get married, an' it ain't yet. We're still only seventeen."

Kasumi walked back into the family room. "Ranma...there's a girl here who says she wants to train under you."

There was a pause.

Ranma scratched his head. "Anyone we know?"

"I don't think so." Kasumi looked puzzled. "She doesn't look familiar. And she's not dressed like any kind of martial artist."

Ranma shrugged. "So where is she?"

"I sent her to the dojo. Should I make some more tea?"

"Yeah, good idea. I'll take a pot out there with me."

- - - - -

Ranma walked into the dojo, and nearly dropped the pot.

"You!"

The girl smiled. "I see that you remember me."

"Yeah." Ranma scowled. "But I thought you were a ghost, like when I was walkin' around in my ghost form."

"I took on a faux body, so that I can visit you." She bowed. "My name is Retsukawa Masami. I am attached to the Thirteenth Division of Soul Society, under the command of Captain Ukitake Jushiro."

"Saotome Ranma, of the Satome Ryuu Musabetsa Kakotou." He returned the bow. "I assume that the story you gave Kasumi was just a way of gettin' to see me privately?"

"Not entirely; I think that there is much we can teach each other." Masami gestured towards the teapot. "May I have some tea?"

"Uh? Oh, sure." He knelt, placed the teacups on the floor of the dojo, and poured them full. "So what exactly are you doin' here?"

"I was ordered to investigate reports of a rogue Shinigami."

"Shinigami...you mean that literally?" He blinked. "Wait...you mean that that girl who drowned in the pool was a Death Goddess?"

"Oh, yes." She knelt before him, and picked up a teacup. "The Shinigami have two roles: To guide the dead to Soul Society - you might call it Heaven - and to fight the Hollows."

"You mentioned them before. That thing I fought last night...that was a Hollow, then?"

"Yes. They are spirits of the dead who remain on Earth, tied to things left undone. They start out as ghosts - we call them Pluses, as their karmic energy is still in the positive - but eventually, their souls degrade and erode, until they become nothing more than the Anima. The life-force, driven by an emotional need that they can no longer control."

"And what's Soul Society?"

Masami sipped her tea, and stared into the distance. "Soul Society is home to many spirits, mostly good. It is also the home of the Shinigami."

"Makes sense."

"It is a peaceful place, for the most part." She looked down again. "As far as I have been able to tell, you harbour the soul of a fallen Shinigami. She died in China, fifteen hundred years ago, trying to undo a dangerous spell."

"Jushenkyo."

"Yes. The cursed springs were created by Hollows, and anyone who falls into a pool ends up picking up a Hollow and carrying it with them until the day they die." She looked up at Ranma. "All but you."

"Why me?"

"I'm not entirely certain. But for whatever reason, you instead picked up the soul of Shaolan, formerly a Lieutenant of the Fourth Division. We could not free her from the pool in which she drowned, and feared that she would become a Hollow. But I can see that she has not."

"Lucky for me."

"Yes, and no. You retain none of her knowledge; her Id washed away many years ago. But the traits you picked up lead you to fight the Hollows, and allow you your link to your zampakto."

"You mean the glaive."

"Yes." She grinned. "I can help you master your skills, and allow Shaolan to return to Soul Society."

Ranma considered this.

"Assumin' for the moment that I want to go to this Soul Society place...what do I have to do in return?"

"You can train me, to begin with." Masami smiled. "I'm always willing to learn more of the combat arts."