Chapter 9


Ranma's life couldn't possibly be more hectic then it was now.

'That damn name...I can't get it out of my friggin' mind!' Ranma cursed at himself as he sat outside on the high school's roof. Today was a good day to play "hooky," and it was healthy once and awhile….and it was healthy to escape Akane's beatings once and a while, as well.

Ranma could only imagine the beating she was going to give him after school….the teachers were probably scolding her for "skipping" yesterday, right at this very moment. I bet a million ways to kill him were running through her mind right now.

Ranma sighed as a cool breeze danced through his hair and his school uniform. It was another beautiful day out, and what other way to enjoy it but on a roof? A high school's roof, no doubt!

No matter what Ranma did, though, he couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. He tried so hard to erase it….he tried so hard to forget….but the memory hit him on the head like a huge battling sword, constantly continuing to give him extreme pain and agony as it sliced at his brain, over and over again.

Ranma looked at his right arm and rubbed it a bit. There were no burnt marks there….his arm was completely well and unharmed. The only good thing about these visions was that, even though he gets hurt (very painfully so), there were no wounds after.

Ranma sighed as he watched the sky, the birds, and the sway of the trees. It was so peaceful there, and he was more then happy to just get away from it all, even if it was just for a little while.

A sudden pain stung Ranma through his shirt. He took of his shirt to notice that the scar Kuno inflicted upon him with his sword yesterday was bleeding. He touched it and was immediately taken aback when the wound burnt his fingertips.

'What the?' Ranma looked at the scar more closely, and a wash of déjà vu once again engulfed him.

An arrow protruded from his chest….and he knew who put it there, this time. Fire surrounded him, and he knew why, again. But Ranma fought all of it back with all the force he could muster. His heart, for unknown reasons, was shattering in to a million pieces….

Ranma abruptly stood up, wanting to rid himself of the vision...and all of this, together. He had to figure this out and stop this hell. It was driving him insane. He was not this….person with claws and weird red robes….he did not know a Kikyou or a Kagome….and he certainly did not want to know anything more about all of this, at all! But in order to stop this madness, Ranma would have to.

But he'd probably need some help first….


Ranma tried to see Mr. Tanaka after school, but Akane hounded his door, awaiting Ranma's arrival. Seeing there was no way through Akane, he bolted for it, out the window. Her mallet missed him only by inches….

Ranma ran for a bit, and then jumped up on the town's roofs when the streets got a little too crowded. He didn't stop until he reached Dr. Tofu's place.

"Dr. Tofu!?" Ranma yelled, a little too hastily. He ran in to the doctor's place and was relieved no one else was there. He needed to talk to Dr. Tofu in private. If anyone else were to hear what Ranma was going to say right at this very moment, they'd put him in a mental hospital, for sure!

"Ranma?" Dr. Tofu asked as he walked out from his personal back office. "Is everything alright?" He eyed the small blood spot on Ranma's school shirt worriedly.

"Do you mind if I talk to you for a bit, Doc? This is important." Ranma stated, a little too hastily yet again.

Dr. Tofu raised an eyebrow at Ranma and chuckled. "Strange you want to talk to me about something important, because I have two other guests here that need to do the same….and it's about you."

This time, Ranma raised an eyebrow and followed Dr. Tofu in to his back office when he motioned Ranma to follow. When Ranma saw who was sitting in the chairs across from the Doc's desk, his jaw almost literally hit the floor.

A woman he had never seen before sat there, with a strange instrument on her back. She was pretty and well-built, and had a stern grim on her face. Her hair was long and brown, and up in a high ponytail. She wore weird looking clothing, almost like black armor, and the strange instrument on her back seemed to be a giant boomerang….

The man next to her was not a man at all. His eyes were a piercing blue, and he wore strange brown fur around his chest and legs….and his hair was long and black, up in a high ponytail, as well. Some kind of scent hit Ranma's nose, instantly making him recoil in distaste. The smell of….wolf….?

It took a few moments for Ranma to register who the two complete "strangers" really were….

"Ukyou!? Ryouga!?"