Chapter Five

"You're a scared little man, Ryoga," Oro Hiroshi, or rather the demon that now possessed him, said. "You're just like your father, weak-minded and easily manipulated. Like father, like son." He laughed.

Ryoga attacked him, but the demon raised a hand, and a sudden, tremendous gust of wind came up out of nowhere and threw him to the back of the Hiroshi Dojo. He landed with a hard thud against the wall.

This was not going to be like any fighter Ryoga had faced before, he was up again a demon with supernatural powers, and he had no defense against that. Or did he? He could use his Lion Roar Shot against him. But it was powered by negative ki, and did he have enough? Did he have a enough negative ki? That was a laugh. Of course he did. His whole life was a sad story, and he could use that to his advantage. All he had to do to was recollect all the times he lost to Ranma and the missed opportunities with Akane, and all his negativity and anger would began to build. Then he could use it against the demon.

"You've done it now, demon," Ryoga said, as he rose from the floor. "To insult me is one thing, but to insult my father is another. Prepare for a martial arts move like none you've ever seen before: The Lion Roar Shot!"

But if he could, he would try not to hurt Mr. Hiroshi. That was his body the demon possessed. So he decided to start off with a less powerful burst and hope that will send the demon packing.

The negative ki grew and a dark arora surrounded Ryoga. Darkness penetrated his heart and his entire body was engulfed in its dark abyss. He had learned to control the Lion Roar Shot while training and now he was its master instead of it mastering him. It did have one weakness, but Ranma was the only one who managed to beat him with it, and that was with a positive ki. This demon did not have a positive ki.

"This should be interesting," the demon said, and crossed his arms in amusement, as if knowing something Ryoga did not know.

Ryoga launched his attack with the Lion Roar Shot, firing off a huge ball of negative ki, blowing off the roof of the dojo. His face was blank, all the emotion drained out of him - he was like a zombie. The demon looked at Ryoga, both curious and bewildered at his face. A martial arts move that drained all the ki out of the user?

Then the demon saw the huge ball of ki above him, and it dropped with a thunderous clap upon them both. The demon hit the ground hard, while Ryoga remained standing, without any damage. The demon could not believe it, he had never before witnessed such power in its existence.

Ryoga came out of his daze and looked at the demon laying face first on the floor, and smiled with a sinister enjoyment. "And that was merely a small taste of my power," he said. "Now leave Oro Hiroshi's body!"

"Impressive!" the demon spoke. "I may've underestimated you. You're nothing like your father, you may even be more powerful than he. But I also have powers the likes you've never seen, and they're far more devastating than your Lion Roar Shot, I assure you."

"Like I said, defeating me won't be easy!" Ryoga said. "If need be I'll destroy Oro Hiroshi to kill you."

"You're bluffing, Ryoga, I can see it in your eyes. You care for Oro Hiroshi despite the short time you've spent with him. And I've seen inside your heart. Even though you use the Lion Roar Shot, you care too much for life to destroy it. That makes you weak, and easy to conquer. There's only one person you'd kill to satisfy your thirst for revenge and that's that martial artist you despise so much. And I can use that."

"Use it, how?" Ryoga wondered.

The demon rose its hands and it too generated a ball of negative ki. Terrible winds rose with this energy and Ryoga could feel its evil. It grew as large as his Lion Roar Shot had, even bigger, until it eclipsed the moon that shone brightly in the sky. But it was not the Lion Roar Shot, it looked like it, but it was something else entirely. The energy was different. But if it came down in the same manner, it's power would be equally devastating. But if it used the same method, it could be beaten, and he began to calm his mind and push away any emotion that it could use against him. The ball of ki came down, and did nothing. It dissipated around them, and both Ryoga and the demon were unharmed.

The demon was awe-struck at what had just happened. He stuttered out a few words: "H-how did you do that?" And Ryoga merely replied by folding his arms over his chest, and with a smirk. "Smug little bastard, aren't you? But no matter, that was nothing compared to the rest of my powers."

"You were mistaken trying to use a cheap imitation of the Lion Roar Shot on me," Ryoga said. "I've mastered it and know its weakness. And now you'll learn what it means to make me angry. There's nothing on earth that'll save you now. I'm gonna destroy you for good!" Then the demon laughed. Ryoga eyed him curiously. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You can't defeat me," the demon said. "I can not be killed, I'm already dead." He laughed again. "And over the centuries I've learned to harness the power of the netherworld and use it to my advantage."

"What do you mean?"

The demon sent out a sudden thrust of demonic energy at Ryoga and it threw him across the dojo and through the back wall, or what was left of it after Ryoga had demolished the roof with his Lion Roar Shot. And due to the super structure of the wall being unsound it collapsed onto Ryoga, burying him under its rubble.

"Pathetic," the demon said. "You were never a match for me."

Suddenly the ground shook violently and the floor of the dojo erupted in an explosive blast of debris and masonry. And in earthquake like fashion the ground cracked apart, sending a force like no other towards the demon. It was Ryoga's Breaking Point technique.

The ground exploded from underneath the demon, sending massive debris into his face, and created a massive sinkhole that dropped the demon deep into the earth, and buried him with dirt and debris. Ryoga crawled out of from underneath the north wall that had fallen on top of him, and stood as overseer of what he had done. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hiroshi, but the demon inside you gave me no choice. Rest In Peace." He said, feeling remorse for what he had done.

But a second after he said that he sensed that the demon had not perished, and it emerged from the debris, climbing out of the sinkhole. It looked at him with a fire burning in its eyes. It had made the demon angry, but it gave Ryoga no choice. The Breaking Point technique was not his best move, but it was a devastating one, especially to someone who did not know about it. Still, it did not do the job.

He knew now that his belief earlier in defeating the demon without harming Mr. Hiroshi was a false one. He would have to implement everything he had into killing this thing before it could complete its scheme, whatever it was. He still did not know why it possessed Mr. Hiroshi. What did he have that the demon wanted? Was it because he was a martial artist? Or was it because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Regardless of how, the demon had to be stopped.

"Your reign of controlling Mr. Hiroshi ends here, demon!" Ryoga said.

The demon was kneeing on one knee, cupping its right kneecap, injured by the fall down the sinkhole. It's cheek was cut open on the left side, and blood streamed down his face from the wound. The wound was deep, but the demon did not seem to care. Ryoga also had a few cuts and bruises, but his adrenaline was negating any pain.

The demon laughed. "I've never encountered anyone with your determination before, Ryoga, you're quite a martial artist," the demon said, confusing Ryoga with the compliment. The demon had just been severely battered by Ryoga and now he was offering his congratulations? At least it was not a sore loser. But it was not over yet. "But you're still nowhere in my league. Time to be crushed!"

The demon then rose to his feet, the pain in his knee no longer a factor, and extended his arms out in front of him. He cupped his hands together and then pulled them apart, generating a ball of dark ki between his palms, separating them no more than a foot apart. It was nothing like the Lion Roar Shot he had attempted to copy earlier, this was something new, and far more deadly. It was small, but its power would more than make up for its size. Ryoga began to generate a ball of ki to counteract the attack, but the demon knew it was going to be impossible for the kid to stop this one. This power was five centuries in the making, and no one can stop a demon's power.

The demon fired it at Ryoga and Ryoga fired his ball of ki at the demon. The two hit with a thunderous bang, but almost immediately Ryoga's ball of ki was swallowed up by the demon's and the demon's attack soared towards Ryoga hitting him square in the chest, throwing him through the brick enclosure of Oro Hiroshi's property.

The demon went over to the wall and saw Ryoga laying face down, partially covered with debris. He could hear Ryoga's faint heart beating, and knew the kid was still alive. He reached down and grabbed Ryoga's hair, lifting his head up, and said, "You're a strong one, but like everyone else who has crossed my path, you too fell to my power. But I can use you. You'd make the perfect general to lead my army. And as I train my troops, you can seek out the one I desire to kill."

He picked up Ryoga and carried him inside the house, and down into the basement where he strapped Ryoga to a table, binding his arms, legs, wrist and neck to a wooden table, and brought it erect. Ryoga moaned, and opened his eyes, his vision blurred. He could not move.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "Let me go!"

"You're in no position to be making demands, my future general."

"Future general? Wha--?"

"You've been chosen to lead my army of evil minions, and with you at my side, there will be no one to stop us."

"I'll never serve you."

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice, Ryoga." The demon smiled, displaying a large grin that frightened Ryoga.

Ryoga struggled to free himself from his binds, but to no avail. He was trapped and at the whim of this demon. The demon grabbed Ryoga's head and through whatever method, the demon attempted to bend his will, some sort of brainwashing. Ryoga screamed to make him stop and fought for hours against the power. But in the end the demon won and Ryoga was his.

The demon freed Ryoga, and he knelt before the demon. His eyes without emotion, without life, without care or desire. Whatever the demon told him, Ryoga would obey. Even if it meant his own sacrifice. The demon smiled. "Now my minion, you will forget everything you have seen and heard about my using this body as a vessel," the demon said. "And as for the destruction of Oro Hiroshi's dojo, you will explain to him that you did it as you practiced late last night. You will say you used the Lion Roar Shot, which will not be a lie. You will offer to help rebuild it."

"Yes," Ryoga said.

"Now go to bed."

Ryoga rose to his feet and returned to his room on the second floor, and went back to sleep. The demon also returned upstairs, but before getting into bed, used its powers to heal Oro Hiroshi's injures, so the story it told Ryoga would ring true, and any evidence of the demon using his body during the night would not be evident. It then returned to the deep recesses of Oro Hiroshi's mind.

To be continued...