Chapter 10: No Turning Back
Ranma returned to the cabin where he would spend one last night in Jusenkyo before he headed back to Nerima. His tears had dried by the time he arrived to the cabin, and his heart had stopped trying to pound its way out of his chest. The emotions he had felt when kissing her were dissipating, and the heat of the moment was turning cold. It had been good while it lasted, and he had wished he could do it again, but with the actual person who held his heart.
A smile reached his face when he imagined what it would be to be with her, like this, every day. He imagined walking hand-in-hand to school, and attempting throughout the day to find a hidden location to kiss just as he had kissed her just now. He imagined himself breaking his head trying to find reasons to make her smile, to make her want to hug him, to hold his face between her hands.
He imagined all the things he could have had, but never would. Imagining was all he had; imagining and the memory of this kiss with a person as close to Akane, as he would ever get close to her again. He stopped in front of the door and looked back to where he had come from, one last time. The Captain would never speak to him again, and she did not have to. In a few hours Jusenkyo would be just another of his memories, and he would be able to close this chapter of this life.
He finally opened the door to his home and walked in. He grabbed the book he was reading before as he walked next to the table on the way to his bed. He sat on the bed, rested his back on the headboard of the bed, and crossed his legs to get comfortable. He opened the book back to where he had stopped reading it just a few hours ago and continued reading. He finished the page and realized he had finally finished the long section of introduction to Jusenkyo history.
"I hope there ain't a quiz about this."
Ranma flipped the page and chuckled when he read the title of the next section.
The Phoenix Tribe
"Are you fucking kidding me? Are you going to explain to me why I just kissed a Phoenix and she seemed like she liked it, but then pretended she didn't?"
Ranma closed the book for a moment, keeping his thumb inside the page he was next in line to read. Did he truly expect an ancient book to answer his modern questions? He thought he had left the kiss topic behind when he sat to read this book, but it seemed the book wanted to explore the topic just a bit more than he thought he would have. What was he to do, but comply?
He closed his eyes and allowed himself to be lost in the feeling of her lips. They had been so soft and receiving as much as giving. Her hands had reacted as his and her touch around him had pushed him to the edge. This kiss was nothing like he had imaged it would be. He could not imagine enjoying it so much if it had been any other of his crazy fiancées.
"Ex-fiancées," he corrected himself.
Why had he kissed her, anyway?
Because he had nothing to tell Akane anymore?
Not really.
Because it seemed like a good idea at the time?
"Definitely not a good idea."
No, it had been as simple as he just had wanted to. She had told him to imagine she was Akane, and if Akane had been in front of him, he would have kissed her, everyone else be damned. What else did she think he wanted to do with the woman he loved?
He would have skipped over the formalities of telling her how he felt, and would have jumped straight into showing her. He would have skipped the small steps of holding hands, or slurping a malt from the same glass, and would have proceed to securely pinning her between him and the closest wall and made out with her. He was not a kid anymore. He had abandoned his childhood when he had been forced to wake up one day to realize he was an adult. If he had to deal with the responsibilities of an adult, he was damn well sure going to enjoy the perks of adulthood as well.
He sighed when felt his lips still tingling from the kiss. He knew she had enjoyed it too, perhaps until she felt used by him. "Nothing I can do 'bout it, now."
He was surprised Saffron had not showed up at his doorstep already to avenge his Captain and Advisor. He supposed it made sense for him to leave tonight after all, to avoid a fight with the leader of the Phoenix people. However, he had never run from a fight before and he was not going to start now. Besides, he would prefer to have a good night's sleep before he went to the closest train station and paid his way back to Nerima.
"That's right! I can PAY my way back!"
The tour guide had not been joking around when he said the pay was good for this job. Ranma held a bag with the money he had earned in his months here. There was enough money in this bag to pay his way back to Japan, pay back his debts to Nabiki, and have some left over to live comfortable for a few months. However, he planned to use it to help rebuild the dojo as soon as he returned. Perhaps having a part-time job while he rebuilt the dojo would help even more. It had been a long time since he had earned a living via normal means.
Then again, what job could he possibly hold? He had not finished high school, and finding a job without the basic level of education was difficult. "I could be a waitress," he joked.
He opened his eyes again and returned his attention to the book in hand, choosing not to continue making any plans for the future until he was on Nipponese soil. He opened the book to the page he had left off and began reading.
The members of the Phoenix tribe are not so different from normal human beings. In fact, just as the innocent victims of the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo, they too struggle with the consequences of a curse. The two main differences between human beings and Phoenix people is that for them, their cursed form is their normal form. For them, their curse is losing either their wings, fangs, and claws, or perhaps acquiring another cursed form they choose to take instead of losing their bird-like traits. Their natural form is their winged version of humans, and they are very proud of this fact.
Phoenix tribe members are also affected by the effects of being poured cold or hot water on them. For instance, if a Phoenix member in their natural form is poured with cold water, they would turn into their non-Phoenix form (wingless or other curse forms), while pouring hot water on them would change their shape back to their natural forms (with wings, claws and fangs).
Ranma stopped his reading and read the section again, paying special attention to the details about how cold water affected the Phoenix people. He could not believe he had forgotten that small fact about Phoenix members. He had witnessed it himself when Kiima pretended to be Akane around him. He remembered how she had made him believe that Akane had been cursed, just like him. He remembered the awkward, naked position they have been caught in at the bathroom, and how when they were hit with cold water he had turned to his girl form, and Akane had not changed.
"That's because she had been Kiima pretending to be Akane, all that time."
He realized he preferred the new version of Kiima than the old one. At least this one had some level of decency, and was not constantly trying to end his landling life. If she had been the old Kiima when they had been trapped in the cave, she would have probably teased him before she used her claws to make a hole in his stomach. "She had the chance too, using the cold water in the cave to…"
Ranma stopped in mid-thought.
He stared at the page again, focusing on a particular portion of the reading: For instance, if a Phoenix member in their natural form is poured with cold water, they would turn into their non-Phoenix form (wingless or other curse forms), while pouring hot water on them would change their shape back to their natural forms (with wings, claws and fangs).
"Phoenix member…natural form…cold water…non-Phoenix form…"
Ranma repeated the keywords of the paragraph, several times until he was reciting them aloud. The Captain had been in Akane form inside the cave, which was supposed to be her cursed form. The water he had seen dripping from the walls inside the cave had been cold. He had not touched it because it had been cold. He knew he had not finished high school, but he knew that cavern water tended to be cold.
"Extremely cold."
Ranma dropped the book he was reading and sat on the edge of the bed. His head was beginning to hurt, and his hands began to shake. Was he misinterpreting the knowledge of the book? His mind reminded him of the moment he learned about her curse.
"Did you love her?"
Ranma could not say it anymore. Everyone knew he loved her, everyone except her. He could not express it anymore, and he had not expressed it when she was alive. He could not keep going on circles like this anymore.
"I answered your question. Care to answer mine?"
"I'm cursed, as well."
"No! This doesn't make any sense!" he told himself. "She said she was cursed! Akane had to be her cursed form! She said she was cursed!"
"But she never said what her curse was. You assumed it was Akane's form. You. Assumed," Ranma's inner voice made its appearance again before his mind finished replaying the memory he was focusing on.
Ranma did not need to hear more. His hope shattered. "This is the real Kiima, and her cursed form is that of…"
"I was the last Phoenix to ever use cursed waters before our Lord sealed and purified the springs. I'm sorry Ranma, but the cure you are looking for is gone."
"She was the last person to ever use cursed waters," he repeated to himself. "The cursed springs…The Cursed Spring of the Drowned Akane…"
Ranma lifted the book and threw it across the room. He could not believe what his logic was telling him. Why did he never test his theory? He should have tested it before he went ahead and made an ass out of himself in front of her.
"So, when she touched the cold water in the cave…she should have turned into…"
However, she had not. The cold water of the mountains had transformed her, as it would him, into her cursed form.
Her Phoenix cursed form.
"Her fake form."
Meaning, that if her fake form was the Kiima form, then her true form was…
"RANMA!"
Ranma jumped in surprised when he heard his name said by a voice he did not immediately recognize, followed by a loud pounding on the door. He picked up the book and placed it on the table before heading to the door.
"Who is it and what do you want?" he asked without opening the door.
"Ranma! Thank God you haven't left yet! Let me in!"
"Who are you?"
"Masara! It's Masara," he said as he pounded the window next to the door, trying to see inside the cabin. "You have to come with me!"
"And why the hell would I do something like that?" Ranma asked as he opened the door to show the Phoenix man drenched in sweat and holding his weight on the frame of the door, and blood dripping from his left shoulder. Ranma immediately changed into fighting mode as he scanned the area behind the Phoenix man. He could not sense any other presences around, but he was still wary of any Phoenix person who almost knocked down his door in the middle of the night while bleeding on his recently mopped floor.
"It's her! She's in danger! The Captain, she is in danger!"
Ranma's senses kicked into high gear. He bent over and grabbed Masara by his collar, pulling him closer to his face as humanly possible between two males. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"The Captain –Akane, she is going to fight Saffron. You gotta come with me. She won't make it!"
Ranma pulled Masara inside the cabin, closing the door behind him with Masara's back. He then raised Masara has high as he could, making his feet dangle at least two feet above the floor. "Look, punk. If you came all the way over here to trick me into seeing your Lord to have his revenge on me, you'll be paying for it. I killed that son of a bitch before, and I can and will do it again. But, this time, I won't kill him until after I pull the feathers off you, one by one, for daring to set me up. Now, what the fuck do you mean she is taking on Saffron?"
Masara began crying, uncertain that he would be able to make it back on time before his Lord found out where he was. "Ranma, please! There's no time. If we don't haul ass back to Mount Phoenix, she is going to die, this time for real. She found out what we did to her, and she is pissed."
"What they did to her?" Ranma's mind filled with terrible possibilities. He then remembered the scars and bruises he had seen on her today. What could they have possibly done to her that was worse than beating her up? "Are you telling me the Captain is not really Kiima?"
Masara nodded. "She's your fiancée, Akane. I can explain it to you as we head there. But, please, let's go now. I don't know how long she can hold her own."
Ranma dropped Masara on the floor and allowed him to gather his bearings while he turned off the lights of the cabin. Masara took deep breaths while still on the floor and looked at Ranma as he turned off the last light.
"You know, you and Lord Saffron are not really that different from each other."
"What?"
Masara saw Ranma approaching him with his closed fist ready to pound a hole in his head for his comment, but he stopped when Masara raised his hands as a sign of peace.
"I didn't mean to insult you. I just meant that you're both very strong; especially when it comes to defending the woman you love."
Ranma stared at Masara, not sure what he could say to that, and he did not dare to ask what he meant by it. He resorted to lifting Masara by his shirt and dragging him outside the cabin with him on their way to the Phoenix castle.
xxxXXXxxx
"We are almost there, birdbrain, so start talking. What did you do to her?"
Masara had a difficult time keeping up with Ranma but he tried the best he could, for Akane's sake. When he had left, he had seen Lord Saffron and Akane destroying the castle with their fight, but she had looked very tired by then. Masara's attention was caught for a brief second by a bolt of lightning closing down on them. The last thing they needed today was rain.
"Masara! I'm talking to you!"
"Yes, I'm sorry," he cleared his throat. How would he start?
"After you killed Lord Saffron, Kiima went crazy on us, screaming that she was not going to go through another birthing to wait to be Queen of the Phoenix people. She said she could not take it anymore, and that she would avenge her brothers and sisters. She said that no landling would be allowed to live with the privilege of saying they had taken down the Crowned Prince of the Phoenix tribe, and started screaming to us to take the girl."
"What do you mean, take the girl?"
"These stupid landlings have not seen my true power. He dared to take away from me the man I loved! I will show him pain! I will make him feel how I feel!"
"But, Captain! All we have to do is wait for Lord Saffron to be reborn again."
"No! I cannot do this again! Centuries I've waited for him to look at me the way I look at him. This human will spend the rest of his life regretting what he did!"
Kiima began gathering all the energy she had inside her. She ordered Koruma and Masara to take advantage of the distraction she was going to cause and to take the girl with them and kill her if she dared to wake up from the slumber of the doll. She then poured cold water on herself and turned into Akane's form. She knew she was not going to make it out alive from her final attack, and even if Ranma did, he would be either severely hurt and just die sooner, or live long enough to suffer the loss of his loved one.
"Kiima, you don't have to do this. This is not the way."
But Kiima did not care. Centuries of empty promises and hard work had made her lose all sense. Before the Phoenix people could knock some sense into her, she threw her body to the location of Lord Saffron's death, her energy exploding on impact. Her two loyal servants ran inside the cloud of dust, taking advantage of the confusion of the humans due to the unexpected attack as they had been told to do. They quickly grabbed the human and disappeared inside the depths of the mountains with her, leaving behind the dead body of their leader.
From the distance, they saw the humans eventually woke up and dug up Ranma and their leader in Akane's form. Her clothes had incinerated in the attack, and the landling who was always lost took off his shirt to cover her. The panda man lifted Ranma on his shoulder and before they knew it, they had all departed to mourn their loss.
Ranma did not say a word to Masara, but had a look of one who had one too many emotions building up inside. All this time, he had been mourning a woman who was not his woman. Akane's family had been honoring and visiting their enemy they helped bury. It was such a disgrace to her family and her memory, a final laugh Kiima had in the hell he knew she was burning in for the rest of her afterlife.
When Ranma did not comment on Masara's story, he decided to finish it up for him.
"When we took Akane back to our mountain, we spend a few days thinking how we were going to kill her. On the third day after the end of your fight, Lord Saffron's egg hatched, and he cried for two days, non-stop. We were all males in the tribe at that time, so we did not have a clue as how to take care of a newborn, so we decided to force Akane to take care of Lord Saffron while we couldn't, and we would dispose of her when we didn't need her anymore."
"But you couldn't."
"No, we couldn't. She did not remember who she was, so we inducted her as Phoenix. Lord Saffron's royal family was one of the reasons we exist, so we were able to use Phoenix magic and the cursed springs to curse Akane to make her one of our own. We gave her the Kiima curse, so she could look like us –like Kiima, to blend in with us. She eventually started learning Phoenix magic, and recovering her strength and fighting skills. She quickly became close to our Lord, and she found a way to speed up the growth of our Master by draining the water from the springs. When Lord Saffron first hatched, he ordered the springs to be purified so that his new rebirth would be more successful to have enough strength to kill you."
"Why didn't Saffron kill her?"
"He told us he respected her, because she had stood up to him for you. Especially after he saw her in battle, with the combination of what she already knew, and the skills she acquired with our people, she became very strong. He kept her close and she became his right hand."
"How did she not figure out she was different. With her curse?"
"Lord Saffron told her that you had played tricks on her and had messed with her curses as vengeance. We told her you had killed our Lord, and that everything we did since she returned to us after her accident with you was to kill you. Everything we did was to be able to eliminate you. He was planning on using some sort of new magic he had just learned and we were going to use it against you in Nerima. He wanted to kill you, and everyone and anyone you knew."
He then realized that Masara was not joking. His explanations made too much sense, and the way he spoke about Akane and what he said, he knew that this Phoenix member was here on his own accord. He had seen that look before, it was the same look of infatuation he had seen on many men who attempted to court her.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Masara looked away. He knew it was going to come to this. He knew his Lord had feelings for the Captain, and he knew this landling had them too. What was he to do with his feelings for her when two powerful beings already wanted her for themselves?
"She is very special to me. She was very kind to us –all of us; she was nothing like the Captain Kiima we knew. Our people learned a lot from her, they learned to fear her as well."
"Fear her?"
Masara nodded. "She trained with our Lord. She is very powerful, not as powerful as you or him, but she could take on us, all of us Phoenix members, if she wanted to."
Ranma could not help to smile. After all those years when Shampoo, Ukyo or even Kodachi would mock her for being the weakest woman of them all, and here she was, fighting and defeating creatures the three ladies mentioned before could not think of defeating on their own. Yes, Shampoo had fought them before, and they were physically not very strong, but their magic was an advantage she now had over them. His Akane had grown and developed in her own way. He could not help to feel proud of her.
"So, you want her to live?"
"Don't you?"
A loud roar of thunder interrupted the moment, making Ranma and Masara speed up their arrival to Mount Phoenix. Ranma prayed that no rain would fall, as he knew his male strength was going to be needed if he was going to defeat Lord Saffron again. This time, he would make sure he stayed dead, by any means possible. This time, he would make sure to bring Akane back with him, alive.
"When is Saffron planning to go to Nerima?"
"After Akane got him what he needed from you."
"What did she need?"
"I don't know. Only she and Saffron know."
"Well, only one way to find out."
Masara's flight became more intense when he saw the castle up ahead. "I will get ahead of you, before the rain falls and I lose my wings. Don't take long!"
"Wait! Don't go in by yourself!"
However, Ranma's attempts to stop him were in vain. Masara disappeared ahead of him, and Ranma could only intensify his jumps on the trees. The castle was very close, and from here, he could see the two dots of energy fighting each other.
"That must be Akane and Saffron."
He saw, as he got closer that one of the people fighting in the air grabbed the other by its neck. He knew right away that Saffron had the advantage at this point. His legs carried him as fast as he could, especially when he saw Saffron using one of his tools and pointing it at Akane's face.
"No, Akane! I just found you again! You can't leave me again!"
He began throwing balls of energy against the pair attempting to at least distract the Phoenix Lord away from her. However, Lord Saffron's shield protected them from being interrupted. He was now just a few feet away from them and he could see Akane's eyes closing as her body limping to unconsciousness. "NO! Akane!"
His cries were deafened by the noise of the other tool of the taps sliding through the air, breaking Saffron's barrier and sticking him in his back. Lord Saffron cried in pain and dropped Akane from high up in the air.
"NO!"
Ranma ran as fast as he could, cutting the distance between him and the location Akane would fall on. He jumped in the air and caught her midway down to the ground. He carefully fell to the ground with Akane in his arms. He examined her to make sure that she was all right. He did not see any major damage other than what he expected to get from a fight with Saffron.
He laid her on the ground and rested her head on his lap. He placed his ear on her nose and mouth and felt relieved that she was still breathing normal. "Akane, wake up! I need you to get out of here!"
Akane responded by mumbling something he could not understand. "Akane? Can you hear me? I need you to…"
CRASH!
Ranma turned around and saw dirt lifted from the ground. After the dust settled, he saw an image that would stay with him for the rest of his life.
Masara's body was skewered by the Gekkaja tool as it stuck to the ground like a lightning rod.
"Masara threw the tool. He saved her from Saffron's Kinjakan."
Ranma could no longer watch the scene, so he closed his eyes and did not witness Lord Saffron using the Kinjakan to burn the Phoenix's body to ash. "Masara…I'm sorry."
"Masara?"
Ranma opened his eyes and turned around to see Akane standing up behind him, witnessing the end of her friend. "NO! MASARA!"
"Akane!"
Akane looked down and realized for the first time that Ranma was there. Her face turned from shocked to happy to angry, all in the span of a second. She unsheathed her swords and pointed them at him, pushing his back against the wall that covered them from Saffron's sight.
"Landling, I thought I told you to go back to your country!"
Ranma was not going to let her pretend anymore. "Akane! Cut the fucking crap! I know who you are! Masara told me everything! He went to the cabin and brought me here!"
Akane's eyes widened before she looked up and saw Saffron fighting his own men. Everyone had agreed that the Lord's plans were not in the best interest of the tribe, so as soon as she had scared some Phoenix with her attacks, they quickly turned around and began assisting her. Even though they were also Phoenix members like Saffron, they could not defeat their Lord. They had still attempted to help her in any way they could, but so far, they had only helped her in distracting the Lord, and not really causing any harm.
"I don't know what you're talking about! Stop your nonsense and go home! This does not concern you!"
"The hell it ain't! That spoiled brat up there is trying to kill MY GIRLFRIEND! He's going to have to go through me, first!"
"Landling…"
"Enough with the landling bullshit! I know it's you, Akane! I know it's you! Why won't you let me protect you?"
Akane's tears spoke for her. She was afraid. She was terrified of what Lord Saffron had in his plans. She could not let Ranma get involved. She could not risk everyone they both knew because of her mistakes.
"Ranma, please. Please go home. You don't understand!"
"No, I don't understand! Tell me! Tell me why you won't let me help you?"
Both heard Lord Saffron roar as he skewered more Phoenix people before aiming his tool and burning others alive. Akane's tears did not subside and she seemed she was about to fall on her knees any moment now.
"Akane, please…"
"No! Ranma! I can't! Saffron, he wants you. He. Wants. You! And if I let him have what he wants from you, not only will you and I die! They will all die, Ranma! Your mom, your dad, my dad! Kasumi, Nabiki…everyone we know will be gone!"
"Akane, you aren't making any sense! What does he want from me?"
Akane dropped one of her swords to the ground, tired of holding it up against him. He took the opportunity and walked to her, causing her to drop the other sword. He was now standing in front of her just in time to catch her when she fell to the ground.
"Akane…" he held her in his arms and lifted her head by her chin. "What does he want?"
Akane nodded, telling him she was going to tell him what he wanted to know. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that as soon as I tell you, you will leave."
"What? You know there is no way in hell I'm promising you that! How do you even think I will leave you to be killed by that freak?"
"Because, if I don't make it, you'll have to warn the others. You'll have to go back to Nerima and hide them, make a plan to stop Saffron, because he will follow you and kill you all."
"Akane, please, listen to me. You know I won't leave you. I just won't. I will, we will, follow his ass back to Nerima if we have to, but I will not leave you. Don't you understand? I need you, Akane. I need you."
Akane wrapped her arms around his neck and began sobbing. "Ranma, I know. I need you too! But I can't make you pay for my mistakes! I caused this, and I will fix it. You don't have to fight anymore."
Ranma opted to hug and pull her closer to him. He could smell the blood and sweat on her, but instead of disgusting him, it intoxicated him even more. Not one, not ONE of the women who claimed to love him had ever done what she was trying to do for him. He had dreamt about being with her, having her all for himself, and now that he held the chance in his arms to make it a reality, he was not going to let it go.
"Ranma, don't let him throw you in the springs."
"What? I thought you said the springs were gone?"
"They are! They are! But Saffron created new springs. He and I…dammit!"
Ranma freaked. Nothing good would ever come after an introduction of "he and I," or "she and I," for that matter. He had only heard that phrase used when someone confessed to their significant other they had cheated on them.
"You and he, what?"
"He and I practiced magic together…"
"If that is not what you Phoenix people call sex, then I think we're good."
Akane blinked at this comment before promptly pushing him away. "No, you idiot! MAGIC! We practiced very powerful magic. He created a new type of springs. These springs not only take on the form of the person that falls in them when newly created, but their abilities and thoughts are transferred to the person who falls in them."
"So, what does that gotta do with me?"
"Ugh! Ranma! Think! If Saffron is able to use you to create one of these springs, he will know everything about you. He will use the entire Phoenix army against you, me and everyone in Nerima and anywhere in the world, if he wants."
"Oh," he began, finally understanding the situation as he scratched the back of his neck. "That does sound bad."
"YOU THINK?"
Ranma walked up to Akane again and laid his right hand on her cheek. Akane did not flinch but the look in her face showed she was confused at his action. She could not see why arguing like they did before could bring such joy to Ranma in a moment of such grief. "I've missed you, Akane. You've got no idea. It hurt –it hurt so much."
"It hurt so much that you went around kissing other girls?"
Ranma slapped his face. "Akane, I can explain…I thought, well…she, you, looked like you, you looked, or she…when I thought she was a she but not you, not that I didn't want you…I just…"
"Ranma?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Ranma nodded. Akane picked up her swords and used one to point away from the battle. "'Ranma, get out."
"WHAT? Didn't we just go over this? I'm not leaving you!"
"I can take him."
"The hell you are gonna try! I'm coming with you!"
"Ranma, we don't have time for this."
Ranma crossed his arms in front of his chest and stuck his nose up in the air. "I guess you're right."
Akane smiled, believing she had finally gotten through to him. She turned around to return to battle when Ranma jumped on her head and pushed himself towards battle. Akane was left to lift herself from the ground, on her own.
"DAMMIT, RANMA! YOU STUBBORN BRUTE!"
Ranma smiled at her from his position below Saffron before he spoke. "Your brute, Akane. Don't forget that."
Akane held back her tongue and took a moment to admire the changed man in front of her. Two years had gone by since she had last seen him, and here he was, displaying a strange combination of his old childishness and his newfound maturity. She was sure she could live with it.
"Problem is I won't."
Akane shook her head, knowing in her heart what she needed to do. They would not have much time to warn the others after Saffron killed her. Ranma would be in Nerima, whether it was his choice or not. She walked from behind the walls and stood next to Ranma, ready to fight. Saffron had just finished tearing a Phoenix member in half and throwing the pieces at other Phoenix members waiting their turn to die.
"Hey, asshole!"
Lord Saffron looked down and saw Akane and Ranma staring up at him. He smiled widely as he lowered himself a few feet away from them, opening his arms as if he was welcoming them.
"Saotome, I can't believe you're here. Have you come here to surrender yourself to me, or to defend the honor of your whore?"
Ranma growled and jumped in front of Akane as if Saffron's words could hurt her. Akane noticed Ranma's reaction to Saffron's name-calling, but it did not bother her as much as it seemed to have bothered Ranma.
"Don't listen to him, Ranma. They're just words."
Ranma did not listen to her. "I'm gonna make you choke on your own words with that weapon of yours," he told Saffron pointing at him. "Do you want to eat them up like a normal person, or would you rather me shove them up your ass?"
"What makes you think you can accomplish that feat?"
"The fact that you're so fucking afraid of me, you want to clone me or some shit like that."
Saffron's smile fell and he directed his eyes at Akane. She knew he was mad Ranma knew what his plans were. However, she was not afraid of him. She had raised the man in front of them, and she knew things about him he did not even know about himself.
"I see the tramp told you everything? What was she trying to accomplish? I will take what I need, one way or the other, and you'll just have to make your peace with it."
"I want to see you try."
"Very well."
Lord Saffron called on his other weapon and held one in each of his hands. Ranma pushed Akane behind him again, causing her to scoff at him.
"Let me take him, Akane. I'll bust his heart just like I did before."
"I can help you, Ranma."
"I know you can, but I'd rather keep you safe."
Lord Saffron took a few steps towards them, causing Ranma to tense up. "Don't get any closer!"
"Or what?"
"Or I will…"
RUMBLE.
All three of them looked up to the dark skies, following the source of the noise. Lord Saffron smiled when he recognized the sound. "Mother nature is not on your side, today."
"No." Ranma thought as the first droplets of water fell on the ground. In a matter of seconds, water poured down on him, changing Ranma to his girl side. He turned behind him just in time to see Akane turned into her own cursed form: Captain Kiima of the Phoenix tribe.
"Son of a bitch," Ranma cursed loudly.
"Are you still going to make me eat my words, landling?"
"SHUT UP! I don't need to be a man to beat you!"
Akane rested her hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look back at her. "Yes, you do, Ranma."
"Yeah, I know," he mumbled.
"Leave it up to me, OK?" Akane began. "At this moment, I have the advantage of the two of us. I've been holding my own as myself; I have a much better chance as Kiima."
Ranma knew she was correct. Ranma could probably lay a few punches on him, trick him with a few of her techniques, but her strength was significantly diminished as a girl. "I'll stay close behind, OK? Hopefully, this water will pass soon, and I can kick his ass in no time."
"I'm sure you will…oh, no!"
"What?"
"RANMA, MOVE!"
Akane pushed Ranma out of the way and they were both thrown on opposite sides. Ranma stood up and looked at Saffron, wondering what the hell he had just done that made Akane jump as she did. All she saw was Saffron with a smile on his face and a bucket in his hands.
"I don't understand."
However, Akane did. Saffron had been thinking the same thing she had regarding giving the Lord some grief in her Phoenix form. Now that Ranma's strength was reduced by the curse, Akane's was increased by her own curse. She knew what that bucket contained. Saffron was attempting to cure Akane's curse by splashing her with water of the Drowned Akane.
"I can't let him touch me. If he does, we will never stop him."
Ranma looked between Akane and Saffron. She was very confused as to what had just occurred. "Akane, what the hell?"
"Ranma," she screamed from where she was. "Don't let him pour that water on you, it's cursed."
"What? What do you mean cursed?"
Ranma thought about what she had just explained regarding the magic they had learned, and figured out Saffron was trying to test his ability to clone him.
"What an idiot! If he clones me now, he will take the weaker side of me."
Saffron did not wait any longer and began flying towards Akane. She avoided him by flying away herself and throwing him a Shi Shi Hokodan.
"Will you look at that? Landling has taught you some tricks."
Akane smiled. "You've got no idea."
Saffron threw one of this ki attacks and she avoided it. She responded by throwing two Shi Shi Hokodan at him, flying behind him, and throwing a Thousand Wings of the Seabird Attack at him. Saffron covered his face with his spinning Gekkaja, but the twirling caused mud to be thrown all over the place. Akane felt the mud hit her face clouding her vision. She did not see the ki attack hit her, so she began falling down after it hit her stomach. Ranma, feeling useless from the sidelines, ran towards her to catch her before she fell. She made it just in time, shaking Akane awake to move away from their sitting ducks location.
"Ranma, go hide."
"If I did you would have busted your ass falling."
Akane pushed him away. "You're getting in my way!"
"Hey! I can still help!"
"Not now! Go do what I told you. Go to Nerima."
"Feh! You're still bitching about that! I'm staying, get over it…Akane, MOVE!"
Akane felt Ranma use a lighter version of her Shi Shi Hokodan to push Akane out of the way. On her propelling path, Akane looked in front of her to see what Ranma was screaming about. She saw with terror as Saffron threw the contents of another bucket at Ranma. She tried to get out of the path of the water, but the mud made her slip. She fell on her face, mud accumulating in her eyes. The water Saffron threw at her cleaned her eyes, allowing her to get up and search for Akane.
Akane did not move from where she fell, but her eyes were wide in shock. Ranma looked at Saffron and he was smiling like he had killed them both. Ranma looked back at Akane and her look of shock had not changed. Lord Saffron began laughing hysterically before speaking again.
"Well, my job here is done. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I can still go to your city in Japan and kill you and your friends."
Ranma growled. What were they all looking at? She pointed at him and screamed at the top of her lungs. "What the fuck are you laughing at?"
Then she realized what was so hilarious to Saffron, and devastating to Akane. Ranma took her hand to her mouth and then her throat.
The worst had happened.
"My voice…it changed…"
Ranma turned to face Akane and saw her approaching her. She stood in front of her and shook her head.
"Ranma! No!" she began. "There is no cure! I told you to leave it up to me!"
"Akane," she said, hearing the familiar voice emanating from herself, again.
"You will never be a man again!"
Ranma's heart beat faster, and she felt the adrenaline that had taken over her to save Akane, quickly leaving her.
"Ranma, you have to go."
"I can't…" he hated her voice. She loved it when it came from the woman in front of her, but it was unnatural to come from her.
"There's nothing else you can do here. Your manhood…is gone."
"NO! AKANE, you're all I have!" she screamed and held on to Akane, but she knew that she was done. There was nothing else she could do to help her, or anyone, even herself. She had been reduced from a man, to a half man, to now…a full woman. A woman that was half a red pigtailed girl, and half…
Akane grabbed Ranma's hand and held it close to her heart. "Warn the others, warn them of Saffron's plan."
"Akane, please."
"Ryoko…"
"What?"
"…Homu…"
"Akane, what are you doing?"
"…Pasu."
Akane finished her chant, which caused Ranma to begin feeling warmth around her. She looked at Akane and then at Saffron, who still had a smug smile on his face. She looked down and saw her body was disappearing. She felt the pull of something, far away from her and she panicked. She tried to hold on to Akane but her hands would just go right through her.
"Akane, what did you do to me?"
"Sending you home. Warn them all, Ranma. It's up to you now."
"NO! AKANE! DON'T SEND ME HOME! LET ME STAY!"
"Ranma, I can hold my own. Don't worry. I had a great sensei."
Ranma tried desperately to hold on to anything, but her form was almost gone from sight.
"AAAKKAAANEEEE, I BEG YOUUUU!"
"Bye, Ranma."
And with that, Ranma felt her innards burn as she was taken back to Nerima. The magic that Akane had been practicing had been very powerful indeed. She had intended on sending Ranma back to Nerima all along. She really had no say at all. Once her body materialized again, she fell on the ground in a puddle recently formed by the rain falling in Nerima. She hit the ground with her fists, attempting to release her anger. "STUPID Akane! Why did you go and do this to me? I could've saved you! I could have…"
Done absolutely nothing. Ranma stopped hitting the puddle and allowed it to settle to use as a mirror. A mocking mirror that showed her the image of her new cursed form. From now on, she would be Ranma Saotome, redheaded girl with her cursed form, the blue-haired tomboy who was once her fiancée: the Tendo Girl.
THE END
A/N: Before you flame me or track my IP to come and kill me, please read the Epilogue.
