Ranma the Forever Man
Ranma almost casually blocked the crescent kick, and then pulled away from the follow up snap kick. He almost haphazardly threw a punch into the face of the purpled cloaked man he was facing, and then twisted to the side away from the horizontal sword swipe. Ranma glanced towards his companion, and grunted in slight agitation.
The Heresy Stalker saw his opponent's attention turned away, and committed a wild horizontal slash to the midsection that would have cut the atrocity down. The sword cut cleanly through the air, while eight right fists from eight different Ranmas standing around him connected heavily.
The Forever Man walked turned unconcernadly from the unconcious fanatic, and strode over to Akane, to observe the fight she was in with another Heresy Stalker. She was holding her own admirably with the short sword she was using to defend herself against the serrated sword she was opposing, but she was still giving a great deal of effort. Her concentration faltered, and she didn't pull her hand back fast enough to avoid the nick in the top of her hand.
"AH!" Akane cried out, as she dropped her weapon, and fell to the ground. Ranma decided that it was time to step in. He caught the descending blade between his index and forefinger, while standing between the zealot and Akane. With his thumb, he slowly and purposely began to break the sword down, piece by piece, and when he got halfway, sent the man flying away with a push kick.
After dealing with the final opponent, Ranma turned and kneeled before the sobbing and cowering Akane, as she kept herself curled up in a tight fetal position. The Forever Man was not sure how to deal with this; Akane was breaking down. He knew she didn't realize he was there, once again retreating into memories of past for protection. It hurt him like nothing ever had before, to see the one he selfishly condemned to his helled existance slowly crumbling.
As he sat there, softly petting Akane's long hair, he thought, not for the first time, and not for the last time, that he should have left her to rest.
_________________________
"What did you do to him *this* time?" Akane growled, glaring at Keiko accusingly while all the while trying to ignore the gut-wrenching screams from the girl curled up in the shallow pool of red.
"Nothing! I didn't do anything to her!" K-chan placated, "She just freaked out again!"
Akane sighed, and went to jostle Kodachi by the shoulder, which earned her an even louder, horrendous, soul-breaking wail. Akane jolted back, and if Keiko hadn't imagined it, her older sister almost looked... shaken.
"Now, Spot..." Akane started, softly rubbing her 'pet's' arm, "Can you smile for me? Come on, cheer up! It's not that bad!" The raven haired immortal rolled her eyes and walk away a bit, "Now Spot, if you laugh, the world laughs with you. But if you cry I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO CRY ABOUT YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!!!"
Keiko barely managed to catch her sister in time before she vented on the distraught girl, "Hey, hey! This is sacred ground! Even you wouldn't dare show violence in this area!"
Akane shook her sister off of her, though Keiko would have complied after seeing her sister visibly calm down, "What's so special here, anyhow? There's nothing left in this place but blood."
And lots of it. Kodachi had realized it as soon as they arrived. The acrid copper tang in the air had quickly brought the gymnast to gagging. And when she looked down to find the liquid she was standing ankle-deep in...
"You know?" Keiko started, looking around the Plains of the blood springs, "Aside from your irritatingly screaming pet, "It's actually pretty peaceful here."
"It should be, nothing with a spark of mortal life and sentience would set foot near this area." Akane stomped in a puddle, like a little kid playing after the rain, "The curse here they cast was pretty proficient, I'd say."
"Well, they were kind of desperate to stop you from your 'little' temper tantrum," K-chan chastised in a teasing and wry manner.
"That was a pretty radical solution, though, don't you think?" Akane turned to look into the distance, "Still, they should not have taken what was mine..."
"And what was that?" Keiko asked, curiously. as she slowly walked about, taking the view in or searching out something.
Akane sheepishly scratched the back of her head, trying to recall what she had slaughtered a whole sect of her Lillin trying to recover, "Well, it's no longer important anymore," She replied with a chagrinned chuckle.
"Whatever it was, you expanded enough energy here preserve the blood of the dead here. Novel effect."
"That wasn't my doing," Akane said absently, "Wanna go skinny dipping? I hear these pools are high in mineral content!"
"If you don't mind me for asking, who did you hear this from... Kodachi's voice is starting to get strained."
Akane shrugged, while removing her tunic, "Well... from people. And let him scream, best thing to do with coniption fits."
"That is till they turn blue and die."
Akane didn't answer that, as she dove head first into one of the warm crimson pools, and resurfaced with a refreshed expression, "Heavenly..."
"Ew..." Keiko stated with disgust, "I wouldn't swim nude in these pools! You don't know where they've been!" K-chan's smirk relaxed when her sister finally completely tuned her out, and then whispered under her breath with an amused tone, "Spot? Bitch?" The older looking girl suddenly considered something, "Oh! About the curse here, shouldn't we get Kodachi out of here?"
"HIS NAME'S SPOT!" Keiko imagined Akane saying that with a slight frown.
_________________________
The Lillin stood victorious over the modest village that put up little resistance. The area was now secure, as their cherished mother requested of them. They had combed the village for the item that was requested. They found it in the mattress that a modest farmer's ancestors had procured several generations ago. The seeking Lillin children found such an obviously older, yet well maintained bedding suspicious, and after much effort put into destroying it, the crisp scroll that was hidden within was brought back out into daylight after several millinia.
_________________________
Ranma growled, as Akane turned her lips away from him, "What the Hell's a matter with you now?"
Akane didn't answer, instead pulling her arms around her naked body, while staring at the fire listlessly. Ranma got up and pounded the ground with his fist in fustration. Animals in a fifteen mild radius ran away from the tremors that suddenly were produced in their area.
"Dammit, I this is really bothering you!" He accused.
Akane didn't even attempt to disguise the tear that trailed from her cheek. She opened her mouth to reply, but her voice wouldn't come.
"Akane, just let it go, we didn't know what would come of it. It was for the best."
"FOR THE BEST?!?" Akane stood up in her full youthful appearing naked glory, "YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!"
"WRONG!" Ranma shot back with just as much fury, "A REALIST BASTARD!" He narrowed his eyes, and approached his wife, "What did you think you were going to do? Raise it? Care for it? Come on, we'll outlast the damn brat; it'll be nothing more than a 'distration' to you, a hobby."
"But a... but..." Akane almost crumbled again, feeling the power of Ranma's argument pelting her like megaton blows. She took a deep breath to gather her will, "We, we could have found a way. We could ask Death to do..."
Akane didn't even know her husband had moved, as Ranma's backhand sent Akane skidding on the ground, skinning her back. The pain didn't even register to his wife, as she gingerly touched her busted lip in shock, "Ra... Ranma?"
"Don't you even fucking dare consider something like that," Ranma commanded with cold menace, "Would you dare condemn another innocent life to our own personal Hell?"
"So..." Akane replied with a surreal calm, "It's not a problem to FUCK me over, huh? Take me along for the sheer hell of it?" Akane pulled herself off the ground, and brought her face just inches away from her unflinching husband's, "Well, thanks, you selfish bastard, I know how much your 'love' is truly worth now. And to think, it only took a century or so." With that, Akane turned on her heel, gathered a blanket, and stalked into the woods while wrapping herself with one hand and checking her lip with the other
Ranma stood breathing shallowly in fury, and then fury gave way to despair. To him, the most unfathomable had just happened. Something that he could never consider himself doing before, even after so many years...
He struck Akane.
Ranma almost casually blocked the crescent kick, and then pulled away from the follow up snap kick. He almost haphazardly threw a punch into the face of the purpled cloaked man he was facing, and then twisted to the side away from the horizontal sword swipe. Ranma glanced towards his companion, and grunted in slight agitation.
The Heresy Stalker saw his opponent's attention turned away, and committed a wild horizontal slash to the midsection that would have cut the atrocity down. The sword cut cleanly through the air, while eight right fists from eight different Ranmas standing around him connected heavily.
The Forever Man walked turned unconcernadly from the unconcious fanatic, and strode over to Akane, to observe the fight she was in with another Heresy Stalker. She was holding her own admirably with the short sword she was using to defend herself against the serrated sword she was opposing, but she was still giving a great deal of effort. Her concentration faltered, and she didn't pull her hand back fast enough to avoid the nick in the top of her hand.
"AH!" Akane cried out, as she dropped her weapon, and fell to the ground. Ranma decided that it was time to step in. He caught the descending blade between his index and forefinger, while standing between the zealot and Akane. With his thumb, he slowly and purposely began to break the sword down, piece by piece, and when he got halfway, sent the man flying away with a push kick.
After dealing with the final opponent, Ranma turned and kneeled before the sobbing and cowering Akane, as she kept herself curled up in a tight fetal position. The Forever Man was not sure how to deal with this; Akane was breaking down. He knew she didn't realize he was there, once again retreating into memories of past for protection. It hurt him like nothing ever had before, to see the one he selfishly condemned to his helled existance slowly crumbling.
As he sat there, softly petting Akane's long hair, he thought, not for the first time, and not for the last time, that he should have left her to rest.
_________________________
"What did you do to him *this* time?" Akane growled, glaring at Keiko accusingly while all the while trying to ignore the gut-wrenching screams from the girl curled up in the shallow pool of red.
"Nothing! I didn't do anything to her!" K-chan placated, "She just freaked out again!"
Akane sighed, and went to jostle Kodachi by the shoulder, which earned her an even louder, horrendous, soul-breaking wail. Akane jolted back, and if Keiko hadn't imagined it, her older sister almost looked... shaken.
"Now, Spot..." Akane started, softly rubbing her 'pet's' arm, "Can you smile for me? Come on, cheer up! It's not that bad!" The raven haired immortal rolled her eyes and walk away a bit, "Now Spot, if you laugh, the world laughs with you. But if you cry I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO CRY ABOUT YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!!!"
Keiko barely managed to catch her sister in time before she vented on the distraught girl, "Hey, hey! This is sacred ground! Even you wouldn't dare show violence in this area!"
Akane shook her sister off of her, though Keiko would have complied after seeing her sister visibly calm down, "What's so special here, anyhow? There's nothing left in this place but blood."
And lots of it. Kodachi had realized it as soon as they arrived. The acrid copper tang in the air had quickly brought the gymnast to gagging. And when she looked down to find the liquid she was standing ankle-deep in...
"You know?" Keiko started, looking around the Plains of the blood springs, "Aside from your irritatingly screaming pet, "It's actually pretty peaceful here."
"It should be, nothing with a spark of mortal life and sentience would set foot near this area." Akane stomped in a puddle, like a little kid playing after the rain, "The curse here they cast was pretty proficient, I'd say."
"Well, they were kind of desperate to stop you from your 'little' temper tantrum," K-chan chastised in a teasing and wry manner.
"That was a pretty radical solution, though, don't you think?" Akane turned to look into the distance, "Still, they should not have taken what was mine..."
"And what was that?" Keiko asked, curiously. as she slowly walked about, taking the view in or searching out something.
Akane sheepishly scratched the back of her head, trying to recall what she had slaughtered a whole sect of her Lillin trying to recover, "Well, it's no longer important anymore," She replied with a chagrinned chuckle.
"Whatever it was, you expanded enough energy here preserve the blood of the dead here. Novel effect."
"That wasn't my doing," Akane said absently, "Wanna go skinny dipping? I hear these pools are high in mineral content!"
"If you don't mind me for asking, who did you hear this from... Kodachi's voice is starting to get strained."
Akane shrugged, while removing her tunic, "Well... from people. And let him scream, best thing to do with coniption fits."
"That is till they turn blue and die."
Akane didn't answer that, as she dove head first into one of the warm crimson pools, and resurfaced with a refreshed expression, "Heavenly..."
"Ew..." Keiko stated with disgust, "I wouldn't swim nude in these pools! You don't know where they've been!" K-chan's smirk relaxed when her sister finally completely tuned her out, and then whispered under her breath with an amused tone, "Spot? Bitch?" The older looking girl suddenly considered something, "Oh! About the curse here, shouldn't we get Kodachi out of here?"
"HIS NAME'S SPOT!" Keiko imagined Akane saying that with a slight frown.
_________________________
The Lillin stood victorious over the modest village that put up little resistance. The area was now secure, as their cherished mother requested of them. They had combed the village for the item that was requested. They found it in the mattress that a modest farmer's ancestors had procured several generations ago. The seeking Lillin children found such an obviously older, yet well maintained bedding suspicious, and after much effort put into destroying it, the crisp scroll that was hidden within was brought back out into daylight after several millinia.
_________________________
Ranma growled, as Akane turned her lips away from him, "What the Hell's a matter with you now?"
Akane didn't answer, instead pulling her arms around her naked body, while staring at the fire listlessly. Ranma got up and pounded the ground with his fist in fustration. Animals in a fifteen mild radius ran away from the tremors that suddenly were produced in their area.
"Dammit, I this is really bothering you!" He accused.
Akane didn't even attempt to disguise the tear that trailed from her cheek. She opened her mouth to reply, but her voice wouldn't come.
"Akane, just let it go, we didn't know what would come of it. It was for the best."
"FOR THE BEST?!?" Akane stood up in her full youthful appearing naked glory, "YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!"
"WRONG!" Ranma shot back with just as much fury, "A REALIST BASTARD!" He narrowed his eyes, and approached his wife, "What did you think you were going to do? Raise it? Care for it? Come on, we'll outlast the damn brat; it'll be nothing more than a 'distration' to you, a hobby."
"But a... but..." Akane almost crumbled again, feeling the power of Ranma's argument pelting her like megaton blows. She took a deep breath to gather her will, "We, we could have found a way. We could ask Death to do..."
Akane didn't even know her husband had moved, as Ranma's backhand sent Akane skidding on the ground, skinning her back. The pain didn't even register to his wife, as she gingerly touched her busted lip in shock, "Ra... Ranma?"
"Don't you even fucking dare consider something like that," Ranma commanded with cold menace, "Would you dare condemn another innocent life to our own personal Hell?"
"So..." Akane replied with a surreal calm, "It's not a problem to FUCK me over, huh? Take me along for the sheer hell of it?" Akane pulled herself off the ground, and brought her face just inches away from her unflinching husband's, "Well, thanks, you selfish bastard, I know how much your 'love' is truly worth now. And to think, it only took a century or so." With that, Akane turned on her heel, gathered a blanket, and stalked into the woods while wrapping herself with one hand and checking her lip with the other
Ranma stood breathing shallowly in fury, and then fury gave way to despair. To him, the most unfathomable had just happened. Something that he could never consider himself doing before, even after so many years...
He struck Akane.