Genkai's Students; Kurama Confesses
Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
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After the worst of the damage to the Minamino home was, at least temporary, repaired the various parties began clearing out to give them a little piece and quiet.
"Bad Ling-Ling! Bad Lung-Lung!" Shampoo scolded as she marched the two younger Amazon Warriors back to the Nekohauten.
/But Xian-/ Ling-Ling whined.
/-You already have a husband! Great Grandmother passed your claim on Ranma-Airen down to one of us/ Lung-Lung finished.
"In Japanese," Shampoo ordered.
"He outsider male who defeat Amazon Warrior. Law say he must marry into tribe!" Ling-Ling continued.
"And we want good husband!"
"Ranma Shampoo's friend!" Shampoo frowned at the younger girls. "Is more than friend! Is - is like sister-warrior. Even if he is a male. Ranma no like being chased; too many girl-problems already. Shampoo no like you pestering her friend."
"But Elder Cologne say-"
"I told you the hag wasn't trustworthy," Hiei interjected.
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Ryu and Ukyo followed Genma to the Tendo Dojo so that Ryu could have it out with him.
"I gave your father a technique which he misused to his own detriment; I hardly see how that entitles you to a second of my techniques!" Genma told Ryu in a superior tone once Ryu had explained who he was to the elder Saotome.
Several hours later.
"I'm home!" Nabiki called as she took off her shoes.
"Welcome home," Kasumi responded from the engawa.
"What's wrong with Ukyo?" Nabiki asked. "She's just sitting outside by the gate."
"Uncle Saotome was in the right, I think the shock was a bit hard on Ukyo-chan," Kasumi replied. "But she was nice enough to ask her new friend to leave without a fight."
"Sucks to be her," Nabiki said. "So how's Akane?"
"Unhappy; we discussed things; she is aware that she may have done irreparable harm to her relationship with Ranma. I hope she will listen to Genkai-Sensei now that her temper has broken something not easily fixed."
"Come on Kasumi, aren't you making a big deal out of nothing?" Nabiki asked. "It's nothing Akane hasn't said before and it was no worse than the last time Ranma called her an uncute tomboy."
"That's just it Nabiki; it's been almost two months since the last time Ranma called Akane uncute or macho. And if Akane doesn't want to be called a tomboy she should stop acting like one. Although; given Ranma's admiration for his new sensei; he may actually like Akane's tomboyish tendencies," Kasumi said. "Now that I think back on it I realize that Ranma's name-calling has generally been about Akane's behavior, unless he was deliberately trying to get her mad: He says that she's cute when she smiles and uncute when she hits him. Today Shizuru manipulated Akane into saying that she considers Ranma a pervert because of his curse."
"Give me a break; Akane thinks he's a pervert because, at first glance, half the stuff he does makes him look like a pervert," Nabiki said. "I should know; I've set him up more than once. Akane's guilty of jumping to conclusions; that's it."
Kasumi frowned at Nabiki's admission then sighed. "It's not just that; I wish it were. We both know Akane's strongly predisposed to think Ranma's a pervert simply because he's a boy. And the curse does bother her; maybe it bothers her because she doesn't know how to feel about a fiancee, especially one who's a girl half the time, but the whole thing does bothers her. It bothers her so much that she had a fit over a kiss that was; first and foremost; a life-saving measure. Shizuru made everything worse but in the end she asked Akane to say what she cared more about: Ranma or his curse and Akane said the curse."
"And Akane was lying," Nabiki said. "She just can't admit that she actually likes Ranma."
"I don't think it matters anymore," Kasumi said. "Ranma is tired of the game. He found new friends who accept him; curse and all and who have no stake in whom he marries. And Suichi thinks that he's always taken being called a pervert to heart because of the curse. The curse does not change Ranma's sexuality and Suichi thinks it's unhealthy for him to worry about who he's attracted to based on his physical form of the moment. Suichi won't put up with Akane declaring that there was something wrong with Shizuru kissing Ranma while he was in his girl-form."
"Sis, I hate to break this to you, but your boyfriend's bisexual. Minamino wouldn't care if Ranma decided to kiss Ryoga while he was in his boy-form."
Kasumi flushed, "Well, yes. The end result is the same; Suichi is becoming strongly opposed to Ranma and Akane's relationship and Ranma respects his opinion."
Nabiki winced, "You're not wrong about that. I don't think Uncle Genma and Daddy harping on about family honor won't do much good anymore either, it's not like Ranma's really looking at Uncle Saotome as family these days. So what do we do for damage control?"
"We don't," Kasumi replied. "I'm going to talk to Suichi. I wish it were as simple as him not understanding where Akane's coming from, but he thinks Ranma would be better off without her and he doesn't really care much about what's good for Akane. I need to remind him that both Ranma and I do care about Akane's happiness even if he doesn't. The rest, Akane has to do herself. She needs to decide if Ranma is worth fighting for. I know she's never had to before but you're right; Daddy and Uncle Saotome don't have enough of a say in Ranma's life for their opinions to matter anymore. However; I would like to speak with you about certain things you've done that don't fall under the category of 'damage control'."
"Oneesan! I didn't tell anyone where Minamino lived! That wasn't my fault," Nabiki protested.
"Nabiki, you make a practice of instigating trouble so that you can profit off it," Kasumi said.
Nabiki's ice-queen mask dropped over her expression. "And just how do you think I balance our budget every month?"
Kasumi sighed. "I'll speak with Father. He and Uncle Saotome can't sit back and wait for Ranma to take over the Dojo. If they can't get students they're just going to have to go out and get jobs. I won't have you being the one to make ends meet around here, it should never have been your responsibility in the first place."
"You're really serious about this," Nabiki said with surprise.
Kasumi slid a thin folder out from between several cookbooks and sat it in front of Nabiki.
Nabiki gave her a curious look then opened it and looked inside. "You're filling out college applications? Good for you Kasumi!"
"Suichi and his mother have been helping me apply for financial aid," Kasumi said. "I think I can manage it but I won't have time to do all the cooking and grocery shopping anymore and you won't be able to keep the budget balanced if you're ordering take-out every night and still dealing with the rest of the expenses."
"Wow, you've really thought this out."
"Ranma's not the only one who's tired Nabiki."
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"I'm sorry about all the trouble Ma'am," Tofu said as Shiori escorted him, Kaito and Kuno to the door. "I'll see to it that Kuno-san here doesn't come back to bother you any further."
"Thank you," Shiori said.
Kaito nodded politely to her. "Please tell Minamino, er - Suichi to phone me when things settle down."
Kuno merely looked down his nose at everyone else.
Shiori shut the door behind them with a sigh. She sadly noted the plywood that had been nailed over the broken window beside the door.
"The house is still structurally sound," Kurama told her as he came in from the back yard.
"I'll have to thank everyone for the repairs and clean up," Shiori said.
"Don't bother," Kurama said. "If not for them repairs wouldn't have been needed."
"Not all of them caused this," Shiori said, there was a slight reprimand in her tone. Then she changed the subject. "I think Shizuru and Kazuma stayed to tell Ranma what happened while he was out but everyone else has left."
Kurama closed his eyes as if in pain then squared his shoulders and faced the music. "I suppose it's time," he said. "Please sit down; feel free to interrupt me if you like. You don't have to listen to the whole story; once you've heard enough to make up your mind just tell me to go."
"I'm never going to do that Suichi," Shiori insisted. "You are my son, you will always be welcome here."
"I-" Kurama started to tell Shiori that he wasn't her child, that he was a demon who had stolen the life of the child she should have born but he found he couldn't do it. "I'm nothing you would want for a son," he said quietly. "I've done so many thing you should despise me for. I'm not a good person."
"That's not what your friends tell me," Shiori said. "I think you are being too hard on yourself."
"Mot - Minamino-sama, they might know the secret I've kept from you but none of them truly know what I've done. Hiei is the only one who even knows Youko Kurama's reputation and Hiei has never been human."
"Suichi, please stop trying to make up my mind for me and just tell me what you've done," Shiori requested.
"That could take years," Kurama warned darkly. "But as an example: I had an ally once; he might have even looked on me as a friend. He was reckless, he became a liability so I paid someone to kill him. I didn't kill him myself because even though he was reckless, he was strong; strong enough that I couldn't be certain I'd beat him in a one-on-one fight."
"Suichi, excuse me, but I don't see how this is even possible," Shiori interrupted. "I don't want you to think I'm saying you're lying, but you're eighteen; a high school student, not some - some Yakuza boss."
Kurama stared through a plastic covered window; he didn't want to see his mother's reaction. "It happened hundreds of years ago," he said. "I told you that Hiei wasn't human; I'm not human either."
"But you're my son!"
Kurama shook his head. "Humans call things like me changelings," he said.
Shiori bit her lip to hold back a gasp.
"I was hunted by the forces of the Spirit World; wounded; desperate," Kurama continued distantly. "To survive I took the place of your unborn child's soul. I let you think I was your own so that you would protect and shelter me until I could reclaim my powers."
"THEY DID WHAT!" Ranma's shout shattered the tense silence left in the wake of Kurama's confession.
Kurama ignored the shout. "Minamino-sama, I am not your child. I'm a demon and a thief and a murder." Kurama's breath hitched. "And I'm sorry," he finished in a whisper. "I'm sorry I took away the child you should have had. I'm sorry I wronged you."
Shiori sat on her couch; frozen, not knowing how to respond; what to say or even what to think. Several minutes passed, the silence filling the room became increasingly heavy. Kurama's posture shifted from tense to absolutely rigid as he waited to be judged.
A terrified yowl split the air.
Shiori and Kurama exchanged a worried look. "It's Ranma," Kurama confirmed then dashed upstairs.
Shiori couldn't help by feel relieved that she would have a chance to sort out her feelings before responding to what she'd learned as she followed Kurama up the stairs to learn what had befallen the pig-tailed martial artist this time.
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A few minutes earlier
"THEY DID WHAT!" Ranma shouted when Shizuru and Kuwabara told her about rescuing her body from the two Musk Warriors. "Those- those-"
"Perverts," Shizuru supplied. "Akane was right about them."
"I'm gonna show them a thing or two about picking on people who can't fight back," Ranma muttered darkly. "Just as soon as I change back into a guy. That water-proof soap must've worn off by now."
The little red-head stomped off to the bathroom and turned the hot water on. When she dumped a glass of it over her head Ranma felt something odd; without him willing it his ki flared and triggered a cascade of changes.
"Wow," Ranma breathed. He'd never had such a clear sense of his ki before but he had a good idea of what it had to be doing. Ranma turned on the cold water and switched back to a girl. Hot - boy; cold - girl; hot - boy... each time Ranma paid careful attention to his ki as he changed. "I could change without water," he whispered.
It wasn't a cure. He'd still have the curse; he'd still change whenever he got splashed, but he'd have control; he wouldn't be held hostage by the lack of a kettle of hot water, he wouldn't have to stay a girl if he didn't want to.
Cold - girl; hot - boy; cold - girl...
There was something funny about part of his ki; some of it was different from the rest. Ranma prodded the 'different' ki. Hot... Ranma felt the change over-take him, it felt weird; he felt weird; not quite himself. He glanced in the mirror and saw two triangular ears poking up through his black hair. He gulped. "Dog ears; they're dog ears," he told himself. His pupils had turned into slits. "Like a snake," Ranma insisted. A furry, black tail curled behind him. Ranma shivered.
When the Jusenkyo Guide declared that Ranma had fallen into the 'drowned girl spring' he had thought he couldn't possibly have fallen into a worse spring. For his entire life Genma's harshest criticism had always been to accuse Ranma of acting like a girl and then Ranma had looked down at his chest and realized that now he was a girl; he was everything his father looked down on. Only this... This was much worse.
Thanks to the Nekoken training Ranma's fear of cats was a primal thing; it had taken the six-year-old he'd been's fear of death, pain, abandonment and betrayal and rolled them into one all consuming fear and given that fear shape... and claws and teeth.
Ranma noticed the needle like teeth that filled his mouth and whimpered.
There was a cat in the mirror. A cat he could never, ever escape. It was inside him; he couldn't run, couldn't fight, couldn't escape.
Ranma threw his head back and yowled as the terror took him over.
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Kasumi showed Genkai up to Akane's room. For a long moment Genkai just watched the girl who lay curled up on her bed clutching her pet so tightly that P-Chan had turned blue. Then Genkai sighed and sat down at Akane's desk.
"Are you ready to try again or are you going to continue disregarding everything I say?" Genkai asked quietly.
"What's wrong with me?" Akane asked.
"Put the animal outside. I want to speak with you privately," Genkai said.
P-Chan squirmed out of Akane's grasp and trotted out the door. Ryoga winced at the disapproving look Genkai gave him as she shut the door behind him.
Akane barely noticed the exchange. "I see Ranma's expression or Ryoga's when I hit him or Minamino-san falling over the banister or Ukyo flying across the kitchen and I feel awful but even while I'm remembering I can feel the anger churning up inside me," she continued as if she hadn't been interrupted.
"I told you that using a single emotion to amplify your ki like that would warp your personality," Genkai said without ranker. "I imagine you're familiar with that lecherous old fart who turned up?"
Akane sat up and frowned. "What does Happosai have to do with anything?" she practically snarled. Just the mention of the perverted old master caused her temper to spike.
"That's you several decades down the road," Genkai stated bluntly. "I've never been one for kid-gloves; I don't have much patience, I won't do the work for you, I won't spoon-feed you things, I won't waste my time trying to save someone who doesn't want to be saved, but I would like to help you." Genkai paused to give Akane a long look. "Happosai uses lust just like you use rage only he's been doing it for so long that lust-based ki is the only kind he's capable of generating anymore. We all need ki to live; that means he would literally die if he stopped perving after every halfway attractive girl he comes across."
Akane looked revolted at the comparison.
"You're not that far gone, yet. You can still stop if you want to badly enough, if you can give up the easy power it gives you. Like I said, I am trying to help you but if you won't work with me you cripple my ability to do anything for you."
Akane gritted her teeth. "I don't want to be angry all the time, but everyone keeps doing things to make me mad. It's like they're all conspiring against me. And I have to be able to protect myself."
Genkai leaned back in her chair and sighed. "You're right; there's been plenty to be angry about in these last few days, I've got a whole list of people I intend to give a piece of my mind to."
Akane gave Genkai a puzzled, frustrated look.
Genkai grinned wryly. "Sometimes anger is the appropriate response. Oh I don't approve of your flying off the handle over minor offenses but I don't want you repressing your emotions either; I have enough trouble with my original dimwit apprentice on account of that. Getting angry; within reason; is fine and healthy. It's what you do with the anger that is a problem."
"What's wrong with breaking bricks?" Akane demanded defensively.
"Do you feel less angry when you finish smashing them? Or more?" Genkai asked.
Akane hesitated. "It - I feel focused," she said.
Genkai nodded. "It puts you in the mind-set to use your ki as a weapon. That is the whole point of the exercise after all; only you also use it as an outlet when you're in a temper. The anger becomes interwoven with the act of focusing your ki. That has to stop, imediately. When you're angry throw rocks at a pond, kick the ground, beat your head against a wall; I don't care; just don't focus your ki."
Akane bit her lip then nodded.
"And don't forget about practicing your meditation techniques; I didn't teach tem to you because I was bored," Genkai said. She grimaced as she saw confusion and resentment building in Akane's eyes again. "I want you to learn a method of focusing that hasn't been corrupted by rage, understand?
Genkai shook her head then continued. "There's a reason for the things I ask you to do, but I'm not always going to explain it to you; you have to get in the practice of thinking these things through for yourself. And before you ask, I don't just give the answers to Ranma, Yusuke or Ryoga either."
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Kurama, Kuwabara, Shizuru and Shiori crowded around the bathroom door and stared. Ranma was perched on the sink. He was on all fours; his back arched and his hair and tail standing on end as he hissed threateningly at his reflection in the mirror.
"Yusuke revived him with demon ki," Kurama said hesitantly. "Most low level demons are little more than animals. But I don't understand why it didn't manifest immediately."
"Maybe it doesn't affect his cursed form," Shizuru theorized.
Ranma took a swipe at the mirror and even though his hand didn't touch it, the mirror shattered and deep grooves appeared in the wall behind it.
"Kuonji said something about some messed up martial arts technique; the Nekoken," Kuwabara recalled, "but she never mentioned him growing cat ears and a tail."
"Ranma? Ranma-sweetie?" Shiori called softly. "What's wrong?"
At her voice Ranma left off preening triumphantly over the defeated mirror, his tail relaxed into a happy curl. He hopped off the sink then rubbed up against Shiori's legs. Tentatively; with a bewildered, worried expression on her face; Shiori rubbed behind the velvety, cat-like ears that had appeared on Ranma's head. He purred appreciatively.
Normally, upon finding someone he trusted, Neko-Ranma would promptly curl up in their lap and go to sleep but his limbs felt stiff with disuse; he wanted to play! Ranma rubbed up against Shiori's legs one last time then leapt on top of Kurama. Neko-Ranma perched precariously on the older boy's head then leaned over no that he was nose to nose with Kurama and grinned.
"Hello to you too," Kurama sighed. "Shizuru, could you call the Tendos? Offer to pay Nabiki for the whole story if you have to; she'll have the most complete information on this 'Nekoken' and it's effects on Ranma. Minamino-sama; I apologize but..."
"Suichi; stop that!" Shiori exclaimed. "I'm your mother for Ka-" she trailed off uncertainly as it hit her anew that her son claimed to be a demon centuries older than herself. "Suichi; take care of Ranma, we can finish talking later."
Kurama's head snapped around, unseating Ranma, a reluctant look of hope sparked to life in his eyes. He'd told his mother the worst of it and she still wanted to talk to him.
Ranma landed neatly on all fours then spun around and charged back to butt Kurama's legs. He darted a few feet away then sat down and glanced back at Kurama; daring the older boy to chase after him. When Kurama failed to oblige him Neko-Ranma mewled plaintively.
Kuwabara looked torn, then he crinkled up a piece of paper and tossed it in front of Ranma. The nekofied boy's eyes lit up and he pounced on the ball. "I guess I'll keep cat-boy entertained," Kuwabara sighed.
"Thank you," Kurama replied. "I'll contact Genkai; even if Ranma has been transformed into a demon his power level should have translated to a B-Class demon at the very least; well above the level where we become self-aware."
"What - what sort of demon are you?" Shiori asked impulsively.
"A fox, a four-tailed kitsune," Kurama replied then left.
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When Genkai finished reading the information Nabiki had provided; free of charge despite expectations; about the Nekoken training, she had a grim expression on her face.
Ranma was asleep in Shiori's lap; his ears twitched as he dreamed. Kuwabara lay sprawled in a battle scarred armchair, after several hours of 'playing' with Neko-Ranma he was decidedly worse for wear.
Kurama took the sheet from Genkai.
"When he wakes up will his mind come back?" Shiori asked. "Nabiki said he's never physically gained feline traits before."
"The cat who scared him into this state was probably the one he saw in the mirror," Genkai remarked. "Even if he wakes up as his normal nitwit self the trick will be keeping him that way long enough for him to figure out how to revert to one of his human forms."
Shiori nodded.
"The youki Yusuke used to revive him must have needed someway of expressing itself," Genkai said. "Ranma doesn't have the demonic genetic markers Yusuke did..."
"But he had the scars from the Nekoken training," Kurama interrupted darkly.
Genkai nodded. "Not physical scars, but his psyche and his ki were scared.
Shiori's hand settled protectively on Ranma's back; hugging him to her. "How could anyone do that to a child? His own child for Kami's sake?"
Kurama scowled. "The sick thing is I think Saotome Genma actually loves Ranma but he still put him through 'training' that could pass for torture."
Ranma stirred groggily. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he realized where he was he blushed and quickly scooted away from Shiori. "What happened - Oh." Ranma's hand crept up to feel the ears on top of his head. His eyes widened in fear. "C-c-cat!"
Shiori hugged him. "Ranma! You're safe Ranma!"
"B-but.." Ranma reached up to feel the ears again.
Kurama caught Ranma's wrist and pulled his hand away from his head. "There is no cat," he said firmly.
"It's - c-cat!" Ranma began.
"Ranma. Look at me," Kurama insisted. "There is no cat. There is NO cat."
Gradually Ranma's breathing slowed and deepened; the panic faded from his eyes. "Th-there's really no c-cat?" Ranma asked in a shaky voice. "It's n-not in me?"
"There is no cat," Kurama assured him. "Do you remember what happened to make your ears and tail grow?"
Ranma's slitted pupils dilated at the reminder of the horror he'd seen in the bathroom mirror but Shiori was rubbing his arms reassuringly and Kurama was kneeling in front of him holding his hands and the fear receded. They would keep him safe. "I - I felt my ki while it was activating the curse."
Kurama nodded. "Yusuke also became more sensitive to his ki after his first death."
Ranma smiled as he remembered his discovery. "I think I'll be able to change without water." Then his expression shifted to fear. "I noticed some of my ki felt different."
"The youki Yusuke infused you with," Kurama explained.
"Then I changed and - and there was a c-cat!" Ranma exclaimed sounding both fearful and betrayed at the though of a cat in his safe-haven.
Genkai frowned and peered closely at Ranma. "Flare your ki," she instructed. "Both the normal ki and the 'different' ki; if you're able."
Ranma shrugged then complied.
"Well I'll be damned," Genkai said. "You've got both Reiki and Youki."
"Do you think my ki capacity doubled?" Ranma asked hopefully.
"Doubt it," Genkai said. "But you might get some interesting effect using them together."
Ranma's eyes lit-up. "I bet I could do my own Hiryu Shoten Ha, without worrying about the other person not being mad enough to power it."
"Let's worry about you back to normal first," Genkai said. "Minamino-san, you might want to move. I'm going to dump a cup of water on the nitwit. Ranma, flare your Reiki when the water hits."
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"Ranma's still in the kitchen?" Shiori asked several hours later.
"He's determined to learn to activate the curse without water," Kurama replied. "Do you... do you still want me here?"
"Of course I do Suichi," Shiori said immediately.
"But I'm not your child; not really," Kurama protested.
"I've been thinking about that," Shiori said quietly. "You are my son. I was there when you were born; I remember that quite clearly."
Kurama looked bewildered.
"You know; I've never really thought much about reincarnation before; but that is what happened isn't it? You died as Youko Kurama then you were reincarnated as my son. Just because you remember your past life doesn't make you any less my son," Shiori stated firmly.
"I wasn't the child you were supposed to have," Kurama said, grimly determined to make his mother understand how he'd wronged her; he'd stolen the life of the only child she and her husband would ever have.
"You are the only child I've ever known," Shiori insisted. That other child was only a possibility, her child was standing in front of her looking more uncertain and insecure than she'd ever seen him. "You are my child Suichi; and you always will be."
Kurama smiled hesitantly. "Alright Mother, it's hardly my place to argue with you."
Shiori suddenly looked uncertain. "Should I call you Kurama now, like the others?"
"No," Kurama said. "Please call me Suichi, it's the name you gave me after all."
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Genkai glanced at the small, remorseful looking pig she'd left tied to her porch when Kurama came to fetch her. She walked inside and came back with a steaming cup of water and Yukina.
P-Chan glanced from the water to Yukina then blushed and backed away from Genkai until the leash cut off his retreat. P-Chan gave Genkai a helpless, pleading look.
Genkai shrugged and lifted up the cup of water. "I had assumed that you were going to stop that particular bit of nonsense since you seemed to be getting your head screwed on right. That doesn't seem to be the case, so let's deal with it right here and now."
P-Chan squealed in protest.
"You use that form to invade Akane's privacy," Genkai said coldly. "I fail to see how this is any different; except you're the one who is going to be naked."
P-Chan squealed again and shook his head violently.
"Yukina, go inside." Genkai said then dumped the water over P-Chan.
Ryoga quickly pulled his knees up to this chest to hide himself. "I don't look!" he exclaimed. "I never look; if I even think about looking I get a nosebleed and pass out! She was so upset; I didn't know how to comfort her as me so I turned into P-Chan. He makes her feel better, I swear."
"All right, I believe you that; in this instant; your intentions were good. But I wonder; how do you justify becoming her pet in the fist place? I thought the leash embarrassed you," Genkai finished drily.
Ryoga blushed even more hotly. "I - well - It just happened!" he exclaimed. "I wanted to fight Ranma, only I got wet then I got lost and somehow I ended up in her room and she thought I was cute and I couldn't exactly tell her right then, since I couldn't talk! Then I found out it was Ranma's fault I got cursed- "
Genkai cleared her throat.
"Okay, okay. It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't decided to follow him and it's not like he purposefully shoved me in." Ryoga sighed. "But Akane was nice to me; no one had been nice to me in so long. And it made Ranma jealous; it was stupid but I was mad at him okay? And Akane didn't like me as me back then; I'd just chopped off her hair by accident." Ryoga looked pitiful. "Nobody cared about me as Ryoga; but Akane was so kind to P-Chan. Then she started liking me as me and I worship the ground she walks on . And after a while I just couldn't tell her the truth. She'd go back to disliking me! She'd dislike me in both my forms!"
"Right now; if I were in your shoes; I'd worry more about her killing me than disliking me," Genkai remarked. "And she'd be more than halfway justified in wanting to do it."
Ryoga sighed piteously. "I just can't tell her," he said.
"You better figure a way around that disability," Genkai said. "Because I'm going to tell her once she's gotten some sort of handle on her temper."
"You can't!" Ryoga pled. "It's - it's - You can't! It's not honorable to tell someone another martial artist's weaknesses!"
Genkai snorted. "That's the most idiotic bit of self-serving reasoning I have ever had the misfortune to hear," she said. "I will tell Akane anything I think she deserves to know, and that certainly includes telling her how she's being taken advantage of by someone she trusts."
Genkai tossed Ryoga his clothes. "I can't tell her right now; she's too unstable. If you behave yourself until she's capable of dealing with that sort of anger without destroying herself I'll give you the chance to tell her yourself," Genkai offered. "If you tell her she might forgive you after a few years; if she finds out from someone else..."
Ryoga paled as he scrambled into his clothes.
"After all, Akane will need a test case once she learns to control her temper. I think coming up with acceptable ways of expressing her anger at how you abused her trust, her kindness and her friendship will be a good exercise for her."
Ryoga gulped. "You wouldn't really," he begged.
"Of course I would," Genkai said.
Ryoga went to pick up his pack. "I'll just camp out tonight," he said tiredly. "I expect you don't want me around anymore."
"The ki markers are still up to let you know if you leave the property," Genkai said. "See that you don't. Lessons will be at the same time as always."
Ryoga nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
After Ryoga had wandered off Genkai turned and called out. "Are you planning on lurking in the shadows all night or are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"
Slowly Yusuke walked into the light spilling out of the temple. "Do you hate me now?"
"I know I call you a dimwit, but I never thought you were a moron until now," Genkai said.
"I turned into a demon; just like Toguro," Yusuke said.
Genkai sighed. "Toguro chose to give up a future with me because he was afraid of getting old. You; you're just what you were born to be, apparently. If you weren't a demon you'd be dead now; so I think it's a damn good thing that you are. I know you've been determined to protect us at all costs ever since the end of the Tournament but remember; we want you to stay alive just as badly as you want us to."
Yusuke smiled briefly and sat down beside Genkai. "Met some guys; demons; they said they were my demon ancestor's flunkies. Said I'm the sort of demon who eats people. I think they were telling the truth 'cause thinking about it doesn't bug me near as much as it ought to."
"You planning on going out and snacking on someone?" Genkai asked.
"No!" Yusuke exclaimed. "I'm not going to eat anyone!"
"It bothers you enough," Genkai said.
"Maybe that'll change when I get more hungry," Yusuke said. "That's what he was hinting at. He said I didn't belong here anymore; said I should go to Demon World with him 'cause I'm Raizen's heir. He's hanging around somewhere giving me time to 'realize the truth.'"
"This Raizen eats people?"
"Not anymore; he's been starving himself for a thousand years according to those guys."
"You might want to go talk to him about why he stopped," Genkai said. "With the Kakkai barrier weakening we might need some allies in Demon World."
"Guess it couldn't hurt and I wanna pop him one for messin' with my fight against Sensui anyway."
