DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

Hell's Favorite Demon
Chapter 7

He gestured at the tea table in a silent request to take a seat and he took a seat across from her. He leaned forward with a small smile, "Let's begin shall we?"

"First thing's first," Nabiki started, "What were you doing at that warehouse."

"Easy enough to answer," Ranma replied, "We were conducting a meeting with Nerima's local yakuza. In the end we had a disagreement with them and had to…exterminate them. That would be the simplest way to put it."

"You're joking," Nabiki couldn't- wouldn't, believe it. What man in their right mind would freely admit to a mass murder?

"Believe what you want," Ranma stood, "Regardless, I'm sure you'll hear all about it on the news later today," The cat that had been hiding in his shirt climbed onto his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek, "Yes, little one, we'll be leaving in a moment."

Nabiki blinked, "You're leaving already?"

"Yep, only came to visit Ryoga after all, though it was a pleasure meeting you and your sisters," Ranma smiled and stood just as Kasumi walked out with a tray of tea.

"Oh, you're leaving, Ranma-kun?" Ranma nodded, "Won't you at least stay for tea?"

"Ah-" Ranma moved to turn her offer down, but his cat jumped from his shoulder and rubbed against Kasumi's legs, "I guess I'll be staying for tea then."

Kasumi smiled radiantly, "What a pleasant cat she is," She said as she placed the tray on the table and began passing out cups as she filled them.

"Thank you, and it's a male," Ranma said, placing the tea on the table in front of him.

Nabiki reached out to pet him, "What's his name?"

"Amun, named after the Egyptian god of creation," Ranma smiled and stroked Amun's head, idly running a finger down the side of his head and playfully poking the kanji on his chest, "Though Amun mostly creates trouble."

Amun bat a clawed paw at the offending finger, drawing a bit of blood, and Ranma chuckled. Nabiki looked at Amun, watched the way the light glinted off his green eyes, and then to Ranma's bleeding finger. Kasumi had already stood to retrieve the first aid kit she kept in the kitchen.

Ranma noticed and shook his head, "I wouldn't bother with the first aid kit, Kasumi."

"But you're bleeding-"

"And it's healing as we speak, look," He put the digit in his mouth to remove the blood and then held it up, "Not a scratch is left behind."

"Magic?" Nabiki asked.

"Some. Mostly just a natural talent," Ranma replied, his other hand pet Amun's head as the cat slinked back towards him and curled into a ball on his lap, purring all the while. He smiled affectionately at the cat, "Suck up."

"How long will you be staying?" Kasumi asked.

"I probably would have left a few minutes ago, but Amun deemed it necessary to stay for tea," He glowered at the feline in his lap, said feline yawned in response and Ranma rolled his eyes.

"But you haven't touched your tea," Nabiki pointed out.

"Hm," He glanced at the cup, "I'm not a fan of tea, as any of my friends will tell you, I would rather have something with more flavor, something sweeter. Like hot chocolate."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "But you agreed to stay for tea, I was under the assumption that you enjoyed tea."

"Well, first of all, Amun decided we'd be staying for tea. Second of all, never assume," Ranma smirked before glancing at the clock, "And it seems my time is up."

"Your time is up?" Kasumi questioned.

"Mmhmm," He nodded, "Sun's coming up. That's my cue to haul ass, ladies," He smiled his lady-killer smile, "Thank you for talking with me and taking such good care of my friend," He bowed, "I hope to see you both when I visit again."

And, with Amun curled around his neck, he waved and walked out of the house and into the shadow of a tree where he promptly disappeared. Kasumi and Nabiki looked to each other.

"That was abrupt," Nabiki mused.

"It was a fascinating young man and his cat," Kasumi replied with a smile. Nabiki blinked in response as Kasumi cleared the table. She thought on it for a few moments, but was broken from her contemplation by Kasumi as she was urged onwards to bed. The rest of the night Nabiki laid in bed, she thought on Kasumi's response and could garner nothing for her efforts.

Nabiki sighed, "I don't think I'll ever completely understand you, Onee-chan."

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


Ranma stepped out of a shadow in the district of Juuban and walked down the sidewalk, silently conversing with himself.

"It's two houses down," He mumbled, "Yes, I'll make us sushi."

The rest of his words were incoherent muttering that made the occasional passerby either give him a strange look or a wide berth. The mutterings didn't stop until he reached a nice two-story house with a black rout-iron gate. There was a Japanese maple on the left side of the small front lawn that overshadowed the brick property wall and the walkway leading to the backyard. On the right side of the front yard, further back near a small "Zen" garden (Ranma likes to call it a sand box with an awning), was an aged weeping willow.

Amun hopped from his shoulder to the top of the brick wall and then onto the walkway as Ranma continued towards the house. The door opened as he stepped in front of the "Welcome" mat. He stared at it, and then up at the woman who'd opened the door.

"Fo' shizzle welcome to our hizzle…Why are you here and why did you buy this for my house?"

"Because the house needed a feminine touch," The woman replied. She had curly platinum blonde hair and looked comfortably casual in her tight jeans and equally tight, white shirt.

"Because "fo' shizzle" proves how feminine you can be, Mara," Ranma said, rolling his eyes and stepping inside.

"Is that sarcasm I detect?" Mara said, closing the door behind him.

"Not at all," He rolled his eyes again, "You never answered my question either, Mara. Did Mom send you here to baby-sit me?"

Mara sat on the couch in the living room, "Not really. I was hoping you'd given up on Belldandy and finally give me my benefits."

Ranma shook his head as he sat next to her on the couch, "Yeah, because I want to have sex with my sister-figure in life," She swiveled so she could lay her head on his lap and have her legs curl over the couch's armrest. He chuckled, "You should've been born a succubus, Mara."

"And you should've been born an incubus so I can make sweet lovin' to you," The smile on her face was positively devilish.

Ranma couldn't help it, he laughed. He'd had this argument with Mara since he'd turned 16 two years ago. And they'd yet to make any headway on either side of the argument. Mara hasn't gotten Ranma to have sex with her yet, but she often shared his bed at night

"So, you gonna stay with me tonight even though you're not gonna get any?" Ranma asked.

Mara snorted, "Why do you insist on sharing a bed with me without any action?"

Ranma smiled innocently, "Your boobies are soft and make good pillows."

It was Mara's turn to laugh, "Alright, alright. You know, you could use my breasts as a pillow after sex too."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed, "But it's no fun when you're not suffering from sexual frustration."

"You truly are the devil's son, Ranma," Mara replied evenly.

"Thank you, I know."

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


Ranma awoke the next morning with his "pillows" missing and the smell of eggs wafting up from the kitchen downstairs. He shoved the sheets to the end of the bed and followed his nose downstairs in a pair of loose pants and a black tank top.

He groaned when the smell suddenly turned sour, "Mara! Are you ruining another set of my kitchen tools?"

"Um, uh, no!" Her reply was a tad frantic and didn't soothe Ranma's suddenly frayed nerves, "Stay where you are! Everything's fine, nothing's wrong, nothing wrong at all!" There was mumbled, "How did that eat through the pan…?" That Ranma barely caught.

"Oh, dear lord…" Ranma slapped his hand to his forehead and stared at the ceiling, "I don't ask anything of you, you know that, but please let my kitchen be safe from Mara's cooking attempts from now on. Please?" He sighed and walked into the kitchen, his eyes scrunched closed.

Meanwhile, up in Asgard, Kami-sama sat at his desk and chuckled, giving the request a quick glance before pressing "occasional admittance" under the window with Ranma's request. Ranma wasn't his son, but he proved entertaining. To keep Mara from his kitchen all the time would damper that entertainment; and he would manage to get away with it as long Belldandy knew nothing of the request.

Back with our favorite pig-tailed demon, he had opened his eyes and gave a depressed sigh. The stove was trashed, whatever Mara had done to the eggs had made them melt straight through the stainless steel oven and farther than he was willing to observe. The pan was ruined and the remnants of Mara's mixture were bubbling in the ceramic bowl while expelling small tendrils of smoke.

Ranma closed his eyes again and counted to ten while taking deep breathes. Amun walked into kitchen, between Ranma's legs, and, somehow, whistled.

"Damn, who the fuck let you in the kitchen, Mara?" Amun said.

Mara stopped looking sheepish and glared at the cat daemon, "Shut up, you flea-bitten fur ball, or I'll use you as an ingredient next time I cook."

Amun cringed and quickly scampered out of the kitchen. Ranma opened his eyes and sighed again, "There won't be a next time, Mara," He waved his hand at the stove and it repaired itself. The pan and bowls, however, remained as they were, "Figures they'd be immune to any kind of magic…" He mumbled to himself.

"Aw, I'm banned from the kitchen again?" Mara pouted.

"Your cooking is lethal," He replied, gathering the pan and bowls and dumping them in the stainless steel garbage next to the matching fridge, "And that's not always a good thing."

Mara grumbled to herself as Ranma melted the pans and bowls with his ki, "The least you could do is order some food or something."

Ranma opened a cabinet next to the fridge and revealed several bottles of sake contained within it, "I made sure I was stocked for my next stay."

"But you don't need sake," Mara replied.

"I don't, but where I go, you're sure to follow," He said, "Anyway, I'm gonna shower and then wander around town and reacquaint myself with the area. You're free to stay here as long as you don't touch anything in the kitchen outside of the sake cabinet."

"You're too good to me, Ranma," Mara wore a soft smile before it turned sultry, "Of course, you could be even better to me and let me take your virginity."

"I was waiting for that," Ranma waved his hand dismissively as he walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs, "I'll pass. No peeking either, Amun will be watching the door for me and I already gave him his daily dose of catnip this time."

Mara grumbled, "Damned boy is too clever for his own good sometimes…"

Amun snickered as he raced up the stairs after Ranma, "Better luck next time, Sweet cheeks!"

"Don't call me that!" Mara shouted after the cat, "I hate that nickname."

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


It was twenty minutes later that Ranma had managed to leave the house, he'd had to make sure that Amun would be alright after Mara gave him extra catnip and basically got the poor creature drunk. He shook his head and smiled a bit, he had to admit, living with Mara was nothing if not entertaining.

He stood in front of the gate to his property and let the wind play with his hair for a few moments. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt that was only slightly loose and read, "What part of MOOOAHAHAHA Don't you understand?" in green lettering. A denim jacket was worn over that, for it was November and the weather was beginning to turn cold.

As it was, the weather was only a bit colder than it was the day before. Ranma debated on which direction he would start his journey, but shrugged in the end and walked whichever way the wind blew. Which was to the right.

He hummed a random tune as he walked down the streets, enjoying the fresh air and the fact that he could walk down streets and have no one recognize him. He wandered around for several minutes, turning down a street lined with various shops. He paused in front of the window for one particular shop, staring at one of the displays a few moments before moving on. His symbols flashed blue for a split-second before fading from the view of mortal eyes once more.

As he continued to put distance between himself and the shop, the shop window glinted ominously in the morning light. Ranma suddenly got the feeling that his stay in Juuban would be far more entertaining than he'd previously thought.

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


It was a relatively uneventful start to Ranma's day, and remained that way until his stomach growled, demanding either lunch or his usual. Ranma stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, forcing people to walk around him as they continued on their way, and looked around, searching for a café, ramen stand, or park.

It was the park he spotted first, followed by a ramen stand just outside the entrance into the park. Ranma nodded, it was ideally the perfect spot for a food stand, he walked over and ordered a beef ramen before paying and walking into the park.

He finished his ramen before he found a suitable spot to sit with a lot of shade. Sighing, he leaned against a tree inside of a grove that was shady enough that only tiny beams of sunlight made it through the leaves.

As he crossed his legs in front of him, he rested his hands on his thighs and closed his eyes. He visualized the subtle lines of power in the shadows, just like he was taught to find when he was young, and slowly manipulated them, drawing them towards him and absorbing them.

As he absorbed his source of power, both demonic and godly, he unknowingly drew the shadows to him, obscuring him from view. If one were to look hard enough, you would see a vague and slightly blurred form, but nothing detailed.

It was this fact that kept him from being found when a youma appeared in the park and began draining people of their energy. The Senshi showed up a few minutes later to fight and dispose of the youma.

Ranma observed and remained unnoticed throughout the entire ordeal, watching the senshi fight and gauging their abilities. He almost snorted, their stances and fighting abilities were horrible, but, he had to admit, they packed a punch with their magical attacks. The downside was that it took entirely too long for them to say the attack names, or incantations, whichever you prefer.

The senshi with the lightening possesses some martial arts training, though her experience is somewhat laughable at this point. With some formal training she could be a force to reckon with, Ranma mused to himself.

He wasn't too impressed until the next four senshi showed up. The blonde and the young woman with the teal hair had some skill in teamwork, so did the woman with the dark green hair. He paused, She looks familiar… He didn't know what it was, but she was striking a chord somewhere in his memory, it wasn't until she attacked that he knew who she was.

"Dead Scream!"

Ranma's eyes widened a bit before a large smile appeared on his face, Well, well, wouldn't you know it. It seems we meet again, Pluto, my dear. Of course, he knew well that if he called her "dear" she'd Dead Scream his ass, but hey, the danger was half the fun.

Another of the senshi stood back, looking slightly awkward with her dark purple fuku and bad ass looking scythe. He mentally whistled, not wanting to draw attention to himself just yet, and admired her from afar. She was cute, a bit frail looking, but she looked like she could quickly become a stunning beauty once that was fixed. He looked closer at her aura, finding her planetary connection to Saturn and the strings of the spell that was keeping her as frail and sickly as she was.

He checked the auras of the other senshi and found that the spell on Saturn was similar to the lunar magic the klutzy blonde held, but the magic was older. Far older.

Hm, I'll have to consult with Dad if I want to get rid of that spell, He thought. It was mostly pure magic combined with the lunar spell. Pure magic was mid-level Order magic. Ranma smiled, And Order magic is on par with Chaos magic, magic I live by.

He couldn't help it; he rubbed his hands together in anticipation of the chaos he was bound to cause by releasing that spell on Saturn. His smile widened further as the youma was dusted by a well-placed attack from Moon before gathering around her.

"That would be my cue."

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


Setsuna let out a small smile, this youma had been more powerful than many of the others so far, and the girls had overcome it with little help from the outers. Everyday she became more proud of these girls, working hard towards their goal of Crystal Tokyo while managing to hold a semblance of normal lives.

Her thoughts were cut short as she looked back at Hotaru, the poor thing looked lost, standing as she was on her own when Haruka and Michiru had already moved to join the inners. She gave a small, almost imperceptible sigh and walked over to Hotaru, offering her hand.

"Why don't we join the others, Hotaru-chan?" Setsuna asked.

Hotaru glanced at the dark grove several yards away before nodding and taking her hand, "Okay, Setsuna-momma."

Setsuna sometimes forgot how quickly Hotaru could feel lonely when left out of things. It was an after-effect of the whole Mistress Nine incident. Michiru and Haruka felt guilty about having tried to kill the poor girl the first time, but they'd done their best to make it up to her while they were raising her. There was still very little the two lovers wouldn't do for Hotaru. Setsuna had felt her own share of guilt for what they'd done to Hotaru, but she'd justified it with "It was for the good of Crystal Tokyo" and hadn't felt half as much guilt as before.

It's funny how, when you tell yourself something often enough, you begin to believe it.

Setsuna let Hotaru's hand go as Hotaru walked to stand in between her adopted parents and Setsuna stood just outside the gathering. She glanced around at the still unconscious people who had been drained and decided the gathering would have to be continued elsewhere.

"I think we should relocate our little gathering elsewhere, girls," Setsuna said, "Perhaps to Rei's shrine?"

Rei was about to protest about the constant use of her shrine as a meeting place when an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind Setsuna, "Aw, leaving already? And here I'd thought to join the fun."

They turned to find a young man standing a little ways from Setsuna with a smirk on his handsome face. He tilted his head and glanced at Setsuna, "Ah, Pluto-chan, long time no see."

Setsuna growled, "Ranma…"

"Aw, I'm flattered, you remember me. I wouldn't have recognized you myself if I hadn't seen you throw that Dead Scream, my dear."

"Don't call me that!" Setsuna yelled at him, leaving the rest of the senshi with half-confused, half-scared looks.

Ranma put his hands out in a sign of peace and to show he held no weapons, "Look, I didn't come here to fight. I came here to relax and you guys happened to dust the youma that showed up while I was here. I recognized Pluto and became a bit intrigued," He shrugged, "So sue a man for being attracted to pretty girls."

"You're no man, Ranma," Setsuna shot back, regaining her calm.

"Technically, I'm a quarter human, a quarter kami, and half demon," He smiled, "But can't a demon keep relatively human relations?"

"Only for a few days, then they usually turn on us," Minako said. The senshi turned to her, "What? He asked a question!"

Ranma directed his lady-killer smile at Minako, "Thank you…Venus."

"Hey, how'd you know she was Venus?" Moon asked.

"The same way I know you're Moon. I can read your auras and I can see which planet you're drawing power from."

Setsuna narrowed her eyes at him, "Why did you approach us?"

"To talk," He shrugged, "And to ask you about the little one," He pointed to Hotaru.

Unconsciously, the senshi tightened their circle around Hotaru, despite the fact that she could blow up worlds with her power.

"What about her?" Haruka snapped.

"She's sickly and frail looking," Ranma started, "While I was watching you fight the youma I noticed how she stood back and I scanned her aura. Saturn has immense power, but her aura is wrapped up in a few spells that are causing her frail state. I want the chance to look at them closer, consult with my mentor, and then fix them."

"Why would you help us, demon?" Michiru asked. Hotaru stood amongst the senshi, partially confused by what was going on.

"The name's Ranma, use it," Ranma replied, then said, "Like I said, I was intrigued, by Pluto's presence and Saturn's aura. And, personally, I don't like the fact that her aura is being suffocated. She's only using a fraction of her power at the moment, which is part of the reason she's so frail, I know what it's like to have your power constricted," He ran his finger down the two hoops and two studs on his left ear then over the barbell, stud, and hoop on his other ear, "Look, all I'm asking is for a chance to look at her aura more closely. Maybe ask a few questions. What could it hurt?"

"It could hurt Hotaru," Haruka replied with a glare.

Ranma shook his head, "I'm not going to tamper with the spells until I'm sure I know what I'm working with, and even then I'm going to check in with my mentor first."

"I don't know…" Michiru said. Haruka continued to glare at him, trying to find a loophole in his story or find some evidence of a lie in his words. The inners remained quiet…kind of. Minako and Makoto were discussing how the "evil" guys were always cute. Ami was trying to get a read on his power. Usagi was paying attention to the outers' reactions and, for once, just observing. Rei was readying a ward to use on Ranma in case the situation called for it.

Setsuna was trying to either read Ranma's thoughts or burn his face off with her glare, could've gone either way. She caught everyone but Ranma, who just smirked, off guard with her answer. Hotaru, however, was the most surprised.

"It's up to Hotaru."

To Be Continued…

Review welcome, flames will be used to heat my room in the mornings because it's too goddamned cold in the winter.

-Lov3the3vil