Test of Love: Trial of the Slave Pill: Ch 10
Note: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or its characters...and it's a good thing I don't or you'd be waiting forever...
The sun had just started creeping through the window as Ranma awoke the next morning. He laid silently in his futon, taking it in for a bit and enjoying an uncharacteristically peaceful moment to himself. As he let out a yawn, however, he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss…Looking downward, the young martial artist was shocked to see a dainty arm wrapped around his waist. Reacting as he would to any unknown assailant, he swiftly pivoted around to his other side…only to find that the arm belonged to his fiancé…Akane. The youngest Tendo was still fast asleep. The solar rays had obviously not penetrated her shut eyes, most likely having been blocked by her pillow…and by the body of her oblivious bedmate.
Ranma turned a bright shade of red. The youth ignored his gut-reaction, to freak out…and instead decided to go with a different tactic to combat this unexpected turn of evets.
"Akane…" he whispered, trying to rouse the sleeping girl. "Psst…Akane….wake up…"
"Mmmm…" Akane groaned. Slowly, her eyelids began to flutter as her body stretched out. She opened her eyes and glanced around the room. It was obvious that she was momentarily confused about her current accommodations, the previous night's events forgotten. Then her gaze met that of her black-haired fiancé. The two stared at each other for a moment, wordlessly.
Downstairs, Soun Tendo and Genma Soatome were locked in an epic Shogi struggle. Nodoka Saotome brought the fighting pair each a cup of tea then took a seat near her husband.
"I've got you this time, old man!" Soun chuckled as he moved one of his pieces on the board.
"Yeah, yeah. The game's still young, Tendo." Genma was about to retaliate…when a piercing scream rang out through the entire house. Nodoka shot a glance towards the stairwell, where the blood-curdling sound had emanated.
"Oh my…I wonder what's wrong? I hope everyone's ok…" she said as she took a sip from her own teacup. The two men merely kept staring intently at their game board.
"We're better off not knowing…" Genma said. "Take that, Tendo!" The man-Panda slammed his piece down on the board. Soun shook his head in despair, pulling at his hair from both sides of his head. Tears streamed from the grown man's eyes.
"Damn you, Soatome!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing you pervert?!" Akane jumped to her feet, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her face was as crimson as Ranma's had been earlier. Books, shoes, and various other objects were being lobbed in Ranma's direction, who pulled up his futon to act as a protective shield. The master martial-artist dodged nearly every blow from behind his padded barrier.
"Damn it, Akane!" he yelled, as he ducked to avoid a flying alarm-clock. "You were the one who had your arm around me!"
"Ughhh…" the Tendo girl retorted. "Don't even say it! I shudder to even think about it!" Another shoe was sent flying towards the hidden boy.
"Look," Ranma spat, dodging the incoming shoe and several more random objects as they came rushing past his head. "You know you're still under the effects of that stupid pill…Somehow it musta made you crawl into…er…uh…well, had you wake up where you…woke up!" Akane scowled so hard that Ranma thought he could feel her eyes burn a hole through his futon.
"Arghhh that pill! Don't even get me started! How do I know you didn't order me to do that while I was sleeping, huh?!"
"What?! That's insane! Why the hell would I do that?!" Akane crossed her arms.
"How the hell should I know? You're the pervert here, not me!"
"Oh yeah?" Ranma raised his head from behind his hiding place. "You sure about that…Cuddles?" That last insult made him blush almost as much as it did her, but it sounded biting all the same.
"How…how dare you?!" Akane grabbed her mallet, her battle aura rising to new heights. She swung with murderous intent, but Ranma nimbly leapt out of the way. She swung again, this time only missing him by a hair as he landed to safety on a bookshelf. He stuck out his tongue at his furious fiancé.
"Swing, batter batter, swing!"
"You, jerk!" Akane mustered all the energy she could. "The least you could do..." She readied her weapon for a massive blow. Ranma made a move to dodge the oncoming attack, but accidentally got tangled up in his bedsheets in the process.
"Agghh…Akane…"
"…is APPOLOGISE!" Her hammer came down hard, right onto Ranma's hard head. The impact of the blow left a crater around his body imprinted into the futon. Akane took a second to breathe then slowly started to return to her senses. She dropped her weapon and brought her hands to her gaping mouth.
"Ranma…" The young martial-artist struggled to pick himself up from the crater. His right hand clutched the enormous lump now forming on the back of his damaged cranium.
"I…s-should…apologize…?" Now it was Ranma's aura that Akane could feel rapidly rising. He whipped around to face her. "I should apologize?!"He screamed at her. "Why is it that I always have to be the one doing the apologizing? It's not like you're Saint Tendo over here! Why can you never apologize to me, huh? What, you think I don't have feelings, too?" Akane was taken a bit aback by her fiancé's raging comment.
"Ranma….please calm…"
"Well you know what…." Ranma's eyes lit aflame. "I can make you say it!" Akane grew concerned.
"Ranma, what are you...If you're thinking what I think you're thinking…"
"I'm tired of it!" He shut his eyes and clenched his fists. "Apologize, Akane! Apologize to me, right now!" the young fighter screamed at the top of his lungs. Ranma stood there a moment, his eyes still closed, catching his breath.
"I'm sorry…Master…" Ranma opened his eyes and let out a sight, his aura and anger both dwindling.
"There…was that so much to…wait…" Ranma turned his gaze to his fiancé. "What did you just say?" Akane was no longer standing, instead she was now kneeling down on one knee, her head lowered. There was no longer anger on her face, but a complacent, docile smile.
"I said, I'm sorry, Master, as you commanded." Ranma could do nothing but blink, dumbfounded.
"Yeah…but what's with the whole 'Master' business?" Ranma scratched his still sore head.
"Well you are my master, aren't you?" She kept the same strange look on her face, her eyes seeming somewhat distant. "As long as I am under the effects of the Slave Pill…I am but your humble servant."
"Uh…I mean I guess…if you put it that way…but why do you seem so…calm about it? You were blowing your top over it a minute ago…" Akane raised her head and looked up at her fiancé. She smiled brightly as she let out an airy laugh.
"Oh, Master, what is there to be angry about?"
"What is there to be angry about?! How bout the fact that you're forced to do whatever I tell ya to?" Akane looked legitimately confused.
"Why would I be angry about that, Master? I am devoted to you. It is my pleasure to obey you. The Pill merely insures that I better cater to your every whim." Ranma looked equally puzzled.
"C'mon Akane, cut the crap…snap out of it!" Suddenly, Akane's face became one of extreme sadness. She looked like she was a pin-drop away from bursting into tears.
"I'm so sorry, Master. I don't understand your command….I…I can't obey you…" The youngest Tendo buried her head in her hands and began rocking back and forth. "Please forgive me!"
"What?! O-okay, okay…I forgive you…Forget I gave you an order, don't worry about it, sheesh…" Akane stopped rocking almost instantly and raised her head, once more smiling brightly.
"Forget what order, Master?" Ranma face palmed.
"Sigh…Cologne had better have a good explanation for this…I don't know how much more I can take…"
"Son-in-law?" the elder Amazon exclaimed as she noticed Ranma and Akane enter the Cat Café. "You're very early…" The crone glanced at the cat-shaped clock on the wall. She pogoed over to the couple, who had barely made it past the welcome mat. A grave look was on her face. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Oh gee, I don't know…maybe you could explain this?!" It was then that the elder noticed that Akane was unusually close to her reluctant fiancé. In fact, she was hanging off of his arm. Her head nuzzled into his shoulder. The crone's eyes narrowed as she saw the complacent, distant expression on the girl's face. Cologne lifted her cane and pointed it at her would be son-in-law.
"Akane, who is this?" The young girl let out a soft sigh.
"Well he's my master, of course, Elder Cologne…you know that." The ancient Amazon brought a hand to her chin and slowly shook her wrinkled head.
"This…is not good," she said.
"Oh wow, really? I hadn't noticed…What the hell is going on, Old Ghoul?!" But the elder was still rubbing her chin, mumbling to herself. It was the first time Ranma had ever seen her genuinely worried.
"No, no…this can't be…it's much too soon…"
"Too soon?" Ranma shot, surprised. "Wait, a sec, you mean to tell me you knew this was gonna happen? What the hell is your prob-" The pig-tailed boy was cut short as Cologne whacked him on the head with edge of her cane. "Oww…"
"Come, Son-in-law…bring Akane to my study…Now!" The Amazon hopped off down the hallway. Ranma rubbed his doubly sore head. He'd had enough blows to the noggin this morning. He grumbled, then motioned for Akane.
"C'mon Akane, let's go."
"As you command, Master." She replied, vacantly.
"Will you knock that off?" Ranma sighed.
"Of course, Master, whatever you desire!" Akane said. She waived out her arm towards the menu stand to their right, causing all of the menus and guides to get knocked off into the floor. Ranma rolled his eyes.
"I'll, uh…I'll pick those up, later…"
"Don't concern yourself, Son-in-law…There are far more pressing matters at hand," the elder shouted down the hall. " Now hurry up and come along!"
After the trio had entered the study, Cologne shut off the lights and swiftly lit her many candles. She then turned to the other two.
"Akane, if you would lie down on the floor, please." Akane then looked up at Ranma, who she was still clinging to.
"May I, Master?" Ranma shrugged.
"Look you don't have to ask me permission…Yes, yes, okay?!"
"As you command, Mas-"
"Just get on the floor…"Ranma sighed again. After Akane had done so, Cologne made a quick motion with her hands, which then began to almost glow with energy. She then moved them up and down the length of the young Tendo's body, hovering just slightly above it. Akane's eyes fluttered, then closed. Ranma swore he could actually see her aura appear wherever the crone moved her hands. He wondered if this was the same technique that she had used on him two days ago, when she was trying to detect the presence of the Pill. A few moments passed, then, when she had finished, she turned to Ranma.
"It is indeed as I had feared…or worse…"
"Old Ghoul…you are gonna tell me, right now, what is going on!"
"Son-in-law…it's best you have a seat." Reluctantly, Ranma sat down on the carpeted floor, crossed his arms, and furrowed his brow.
"It would appear that…" Cologne glanced at Akane, who was still lying on the floor but had returned to once again airily looking at her 'Master.' "No, there can be no doubt that Akane has entered the second phase of her trail with the Slave Pill…"
"Second phase?" The young martial artist felt just as surprised as he was angry.
"Before you ask…Yes, I did purposefully omit this information from you before…for very good reason." Ranma rolled his eyes.
"Yea, I'll bet…"
"The reason I kept this from you, simply, is that I wasn't entirely sure it would happen…at least not for quite some time…" Ranma raised an eyebrow. "You see, the Pill, like any other form of medicine, affects every individual a bit differently. Theoretically, it could take years for it to progress to the second stage of its development…if it does so at all. However," Cologne once again narrowed her gaze. "Akane's level of progression in this ordeal has been extremely troubling…this rapid pace is unheard of… Had I known, I would've spoken of this before. I just thought the two of you had enough on your plate for the time being."
"I get it, I get it…Just move on to the part where you tell me what this 'Second Phase' actually is…." Ranma said, shaking his pig-tailed head. He made eye contact with his blue-haired fiancé. As he did so, her smile widened. "Though I think I got a good guess, already…"he mumbled.
"Akane has truly entered the "slave" phase of the Pill. Her mindset has been completely altered by its effects."
"Yeah…no kidding…" Ranma continued to stare at Akane, who beamed back at him in return.
"Her sense of self, while still present, has greatly diminished. Not only is she bound to any order you give…she now craves them!"
"Craves them?" Ranma replied, taken aback. Cologne nodded.
"In her mind, she is no longer Akane Tendo…not in the sense that she once was…She is merely Slave to your Master, more than pleased and willing to serve. Doing so is now as important a function as breathing…" Ranma continued to shake his head. "Her emotions and overall happiness are linked to her ability to do so." Ranma thought back to this morning, when Akane had about doubled-over when she felt unable to obey a command.
"In addition…as you may have, ahem…noticed…her proximity limit towards you has decreased further. Now, should she be more than a few feet away from you at any time, she will panic and be unable to function."
"Oh great…cuz that's not gonna be difficult to work around," Ranma uttered sarcastically. Then a thought came to him. "Wait…what if I ordered her to be?"
"Well…I suppose in that case her need to obey and her need to be near you would conflict…which one would win out may likely depend upon the situation in question…" Ranma buried his face in his hands.
"I can't believe this…" Cologne grabbed the youth's shoulder.
"Son-in-law…You need to be extremely careful with what you say in this stage…" Ranma met her stern gaze. "Not only will she follow your orders, but now she will be actively searching for any way to please you…The slightest question, suggestion, insinuation…or off-handed comment…could have dire consequences…" The elder stood up and turned her back to the boy. "As much as I wish to expedite you training now…Shampoo could be returning at any moment, and I DO NOT want her to know any more about this situation than she has to…I will do my best to send her back out upon her arrival, then send for you when I am ready….Until then…" she returned her gaze back upon the youth. "Don't do anything stupid…"
"Will you stop squirming, Ryoga?" Mousse said, as he kicked the Pig-boy's shin.
"Oww! Hey, it's not like there's a lot of room up here…" Ryoga brushed a twig from his face. "Remind me, exactly, why we're up in a freakin' tree!" Mousse pressed his glasses up into his face.
"Because, idiot, if Cologne had found me at home this morning, she would've sent me out on a delivery route or stuck me in the kitchen. Either way, we would've missed our chance to nail Saotome."
"Oh…right…well you could've picked a more comfortable hiding spot…" Ryoga snorted.
"Well YOU could've stayed a pig…then we'd both have more room."
"Oh how good would I be in a fight then, huh?! What would I do, bite him?" Mousse ignored the concerns of the eternally lost boy.
"Anyway, we needed a good vantage point to scout for Soatome and Tendo."
"Vantage point, my ass! You said you saw a pair of figures go into the café this morning but couldn't make out who they were because YOU weren't wearing your stupid glasses!"
"Well at least I was awake! By the way…you snore…loudly!" The weapons master scoffed. "I don't see how Akane stands it." Ryoga gave Mousse a sideways glance.
"Yeah…well, you haven't heard her…"
Suddenly, Mousse shushed his hiding partner. Just below them, the pair was able to make out two people leaving the Cat Café. Squinting his eyes, Ryoga was indeed able to tell who the figures were.
"Ranma…" Ryoga began.
"Soatome…" Mousse chucked.
"Hiyahhh!" The duo leapt from their arboreal perch, both aiming a swift drop kick at Ranma. The pig-tailed martial-artist rolled out of the way, leaving the two in a pile on the ground.
"C'mon guys…again?! Really?! Didn't we do this song and dance, yesterday?" The pair picked themselves back up onto their feet.
"Sorry, Ranma," Ryoga said. "It's no hard feelings, but we just can't miss this chance!"
"With you out of the way," Mousse added. " We can finally have what we both want!"
"What the hell are you two talking about?!" Ranma rolled his eyes, but nonetheless attempted to get into a fighting stance. He was unable to, however, as Akane was still tightly wrapped around his arm.
"Miss Tendo," the water-fowl quacked. "I must ask you to move out of the way." Akane shook her head.
"I can't let you hurt my master!" she exclaimed. Ranma slapped his face with his free hand. Ryoga and Mousse both stood still for a moment, the chocolate-eyed girl's comment taking time to sink in.
"M-master…"Ryoga said, perplexed…"But that means…" His mouth fell agape.
"That means that Akane is the one under the effects of the Slave Pill…" Mousse looked equally surprised. Ryoga angrily turned towards the near-sighted duck, his fists balled.
"I thought you said it HAD to be Akane!"
"It appears that I was unusually incorrect."
"Unusually incorrect?! I am gonna kick your downy-" Ryoga was cut short as the weapons master let out a flurry of flying blades, not at Ryoga, but in the direction of Ranma. While the two were bickering, he had attempted to sneak away. The black-haired boy narrowly ducked to avoid the onslaught.
"Don't think you're off the hook, Soatome!" Mousse yelled. "Look Ryoga, regardless of who took the pill, our enemy here is still Soatome. If Akane is ever to be free from the pill's effects…and if I am ever to win Shampoo's heart," he added under his breath. "Ranma must still be eliminated!" Ryoga looked from Mousse back to Ranma, then nodded.
"Right…Sorry Ranma, I hate to do this, but Mousse's right, I have no choice!" Ryoga bent down into fighting position. Ranma sighed, but felt Akane's grip tighten.
"I don't want them to hurt you, Master. Can I help you? What do you want me to do?"
"Look Akane, I need you to let go of me and stay right here, okay? That's an order." Reluctantly, but obediently, Akane released her grip on the sometimes boy.
"Yes, Master…" she replied. Ranma turned to face his attackers.
"It's just these goofballs…I'll be fine."
"You make her call you Master? Ranma, you're sick!" Ryoga yelled as he launched a punch in Ranma's direction. Ranma leapt out of the way, bounding across the street.
"It's not what you think, idiot!" He was about to counter-attack but had to dodge another flurry of objects from Mousse.
"Forgive us if we don't believe you!" Mousse decided to go further on the offensive, lashing out with a swirl of chains.
Akane watched the three martial artists fight from a distance.
'I must obey…' she thought to herself. However, as the fight went on and Ranma had to dodge blow after blow, the three began to get farther and farther away from the patiently waiting Tendo. Her breathing began to quicken.
'I must obey…' She felt a sharp pain in her chest as she saw her master begin to almost go out of sight range. Sweat started to drop from her brow. A gnawing in her stomach nearly caused her to keel over.
'I…must…'….she must be near her master.
Ryoga was knocked back by a powerful kick from Ranma. The porcine fighter fell to the ground, tripping Mousse in the process.
"Ooff…." They both toppled down on top of one another. Ranma grinned and took the brief moment to catch his breath. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming up behind him.
"Master!" Ranma sharply glanced towards the sound of the voice to see Akane swiftly running towards the trio.
"Akane! I told you to-" While he was distracted, Ryoga and Mousse each landed a cross to Ranma's chin. This time, it was he who fell to the ground.
"Master?!" Akane gasped, hovering over his body. "Are you alright?" Ranma angrily leapt to his feet and grabbed his fiancé by the shoulders.
"No, Akane, I'm not alright, ok?! I can't take this…I can't take YOU anymore!" Tears began to form in Akane's chocolate eyes from Ranma's outburst. "I told you…I need you out of the way…understand?!" Akane was quiet for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, Master…I understand." She turned and walked away from the youthful fighter. Ranma wiped the sweat from his face, then returned to his adversaries once more.
"Now, where were we?" he asked. Mousse was about to retort, when he felt a strange feeling…like someone was digging around in his cloak.
"What the-" he exclaimed. It was Akane. The youngest Tendo was pulling out weapon after weapon as she frisked the duck-boy's garments. "What are you doing, Tendo?!" Mousse blushed.
"I have displeased my master." The young girl wiped tears from her eyes. Then…she pulled out long blade out from within the folds of Mousse's tunic. She fell to her knees, gripped the blade with both hands…and turned the sharp edge towards her stomach. Mousse gasped.
"What are you-Tendo!"
"My master wishes me out of the way…." She inched the blade closer to her. "I must obey my master…" Ranma's eyes grew as large as saucers.
"Akane, no! That's not what I meant! Stop…stop, stop, stop, stop, STOP!" he screamed as all eyes turned to the suddenly suicidal girl.
"Yes Master, as you wish…." The blade fell to the ground at her feet. Ranma and Mousse let out a sigh of relief. Ranma couldn't believe what she had almost done…what he had almost made her do…Cologne was right…he had to be care….
Suddenly, Ranma felt a massive force of energy build up behind him.
"Ranma..You Monster! How could you do that to Akane?!" Ranma could feel it…The incident had given Ryoga the power he needed to fuel his signature move…the Shishi Hokodan! Ranma knew there was no reasoning with Ryoga when he started powering up for it. Once he had reached that level of sadness and angst, it had to be unleashed. All he could really do was prepare himself to dodge the blow.
"RAN…MA…I'M…GONNA…KILL…YOU!" Ryoga was close to reaching his peak energy level. Ranma shifted his feet, focused on dodging the oncoming blow.
Seeing his chance, Mousse unleashed a slew of chains and ropes at the distracted Ranma.
"Argh!" Ranma suddenly found himself completely wrapped up by Mousse's surprise attack…he couldn't move! He glanced up in fear at Ryoga.
"There's no dodging this, Saotome!" Mousse quacked, holding the chains tightly. "Do it Ryoga!"Akane shot a glance at her immobile master.
"Shishi…" Ryoga screamed.
"Master!" Akane shot off towards Ranma.
"HOKODAN!" Ryoga's massive attack launched from his hands. The great ball of energy rocketed towards the pig-tailed martial-artist. All three men looked on in horror, however, as they saw Akane leap between the attack and its intended victim.
"AKANE!" Ranma shouted. A blinding flash and explosion surrounded the area, knocking all three to their feet and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Aghhhhh!..." Akane screamed as the blast hit her, dead on. Her body fell to the ground in a heap. As Mousse toppled over, the chains around Ranma loosened. Freeing himself, he rushed toward his injured fiancé.
'No.'
He grabbed her barely breathing body in his arms.
'No….no, no, no…'
Her eyes, still open, were almost completely glossed over.
'Not again…'
Her mouth was slightly agape. Ranma embraced her body tighter…
'Akane…'
It was limp…
"AKANE!"
Just like a doll.
A/N: Thank you all so much for waiting so patiently for updates...It's not dead, I promise...in fact, we're just getting to the good part :)