Chapter 4:

The Face of Fear

Ranma awoke to a rather pleasent sight as the warm water from a busted pipe splashed him into existence. Being dragged by his property, his toy, to an unknown location, this could prove rather amusing. As the memories of his girl half slowly filled his mind he smirked and said nothing, Akane still hadn't seemed to notice the change. Slowly as Akane ran, Ranma could see the school coming into view, a veritable playground with plenty of unsuspecting fools.

As Akane reached the gate, she released Ranma's hand as several members of the male student body charged at her. She landed a swift side-kick to the first in the charge followed by an uppercut to the second, and as she spun to avoid the third's attack she spotted Ranma, the demon prince that had broken her the night before. The third student wrapped his arms around Akane as she froze at the sight of Ranma, who flickered briefly, appeared at her side, and implanted his fist in the poor young man's face. Had he not been cursed, he'd have pulled the punch a bit, and the boy would have simply hit the ground in pain. As it stood, his face visibly caved as he hit the ground completely motionless.

The remainder of the male population froze in thier tracks as they saw this, and Akane dropped to her knees. To fight Akane each day, there was honor in that, even if they did suffer bruises, and the occasional broken bone, or missing tooth. But that new boy. One of the students shouted out in terror. "H-he killed him. K-Kouda's dead!" His words weren't true, the boy in question hadn't been killed, Ranma's punch was only slightly off it's mark, but he'd never look the same again, and there was still a chance he could have died from the injury.

Ranma placed his hand on the back of Akane's collar and lifted her to her feet, she complied without hesitation as her eyes became a blur of vacancy. Ranma spun her to face the students and indignantly shouted. "This is my fiance, anyone who touches her from this moment on will die."

Having seen a demonstration first hand, most of the students shivered with fear, and turned to retreat into the school. It was obvious Akane was off limits from that point on.

All but one student fled that is, the one remaining wore a blue topped Kimono with black Hakama leggings and drew a bokkan. "What foul form of devil dare lay claim to the fair Akane Tendo?"

Ranma stepped forward and coldly glared at the other boy, he said nothing only dropped into a fighting stance. Akane watched from behind him. She wanted to call out to her upper-classman to run, but she couldn't find her voice, she feared what Ranma might do to her after his demonstration that she was merely his property. She wanted to find cold water, do anything to bring back the sweet, innocent young woman who had warned her of the Black Prince who stood before her. However, she could do nothing but watch.

"What's the matter, can the devil not speak? Very well, I shall introduce myself first. I am the rising star of the High school Kendo..." He never got a chance to finish as he had to duck a kick that might have taken his head off, as well as side-step a pair of well aimed punches, he could feel the pressure of the air as each narrowly missed him.

Finally seeing an opening the Bokkan wielder began his counter-attack. He unleashed a flurry of stabs and slashes that would have taken out most normal people rather quickly, and might have even dropped Ranma had they connected. He took his attack to complete his introduction. "I, known as Blue Thunder of Furinken High, am Tatewaki Kuno."

His name was the last sound he made. Ranma had ducked under a stab attempt, planted his left hand upon the ground, then drove a sharp kick into Kuno's gut. The force of the blow seemed muted as Kuno only shifted into the air six inches, then dropped to his hands and knees as Ranma rolled to his feet. Kuno coughed once, as a small flow of blood seemed to be vomited from his mouth. Ranma, being cold, heartless, arrogant, spun around on the pivot of his left foot, and ficked Kuno once more across the face, shattering his cheek bone, and sending him across the courtyard into a wall where he too lay motionless. Ranma scoffed, then spat at Kuno before making his own introduction. "I'm Ranma Saotome, Akane's master, get in my way again, and next time I'll kill you."

Akane dropped to her knees almost in tears. She never liked Kuno much, but even he deserved better then that. She'd seen Ranma's true face in detail, he was a monster, the very embodiment of fear. When he was free, she realized she would be powerless, he absolutely terrified her, to the point she'd answer to his every beck and call.

Something cold hit her face, followed by another, then another, and eventually a downpour of the cold. The spell of the evil demon seemed to wash away as a cold rain began to fall from the sky and Ranma fell to her face as if unconscious. Akane shook her head, snapping out of the demon's spell and ran to Ranma, then lifted her and drug her to a secluded store room on campus.

Ranma slowly came too and looked at Akane almost as if in a daze. "What happened? Where am I?"

"W-we're at school, that demon, h-he almost killed two people. I... I couldn't even move to stop him." Akane trembled as she held her knees to her chest watching Ranma.

Ranma grabbed her head as the memories slowly blurred into her mind then slammed her hand into a wall. "Dammit! Those poor boys..." Tears were streaming down from the corners of her eyes. She was powerless against the male half of her personality, as much as he was powerless against her, however, he would feel no remorse, no guilt for her actions, as she would suffer every detail of his crimes over and over, as it would torment her very soul. "You have to fight him Akane, you have to stop him when he's like that. I, I can't stand hurting all these people. What if he kills someone, or worse, you?"

Akane looked at Ranma, and almost joined the other woman in tears, she was touched that this Ranma seemed to care so much for her, and she felt that the other might, on some level, care as deeply. That almost froze her with fear again, a demon like that would completely destroy her with his kind of love. "I.. I don't know if I can Ranma, h-he's so powerful, so terrifying. I couldn't even breath watching him."

"If you don't, no one will."