It took two weeks, but here it is. Chapter Fifteen.
My prereader tells me to slow down on how much of the fics I'm doing
lately-- what with finals coming up and all. Atfirst, I wasn't really
listening. I mean, I started False Identity sixteen weeks-- four
months-- ago. During final exams. The fact that I only had one exam to
take then, didn't penetrate until last night. I have three finals this
semester-- Math, Social/History (French Revolution to World War I +
Global Diveristy/Disparity), and English.
Not to mention Karate practise, guitar practise, reviewing websites,
updating Legions (my sprite comic) every monday, my little brother's
fifteenth birthday is nine days away (the nineteenth), mother's day is
way to soon, etc, etc.
So, the chapters may be a little slow in coming.
False Identity
Chapter Fifteen: Battles
Li Xiang
She had managed to drag herself out of bed after the fight outside
awoken her. Jei's lips curled in a silent snarl of disgust as he paced
down the stairs behind her. She had, on multiple occasions, hurt his
kitty. She would pay.
The knife handle in his palm was cool and familiar, as his hand
clenched spasmodically around it. He didn't even utter his war cry as
he descended upon her, blade positioned for the kill.
She must have heard something, because she turned slightly, and the
blade tore into her skin, scraping along the upper edge of her shoulder
blade. Even as her brain just barely made the connection, a scream of
pain leapt from her lips. Tendou Akane whirled around to face her
attacker.
Pale hair framed a man's face, dark scars patterning his skin. A single
cold amber eye glared down at her, a confusing melee of insanity, rage,
desperation, and calculating intelligence within.
Her eyes shifted past him, desperately searching for someone--
anyone!-- to save her from this madman. Then, out of the shadows, came
the one who always rescued her. Always saved her.
"Ranma!"
The fact that two more men, and Nabiki came in from the kitchen blew
past her. Her fiancee was here! He'd save her, like always, and she'd
beat on him, and everything would go back to normal.
Her world shattered as Ranma's icy voice came to her, "You missed."
Jei pulled back, scowling, "I know that." his eyes shifted to behind
her, and he smirked. Akane whirled, terrified that another attack had
came up from behind her.
Her blood splattered as Jei reached out and yanked his blade free. She
gave a yelp of pain; spinning around to face her pale-haired tormentor
once more. Despite her exhaustion from the day's "training", she was
ready to battle. Adrenaline began pumping, and her anger starts to boil
over.
She ignored Nabiki's attempt to grab her arm and pull her to safety.
Even with her blood spilling out of her shoulder, Akane was confident
she could take this one eyed freak out.
Raising her hands, ignoring the sharp sting from the motion, and the
warm liquid dripping down her back, she summoned Mallet-sama. Behind
Jei, Ranma flinched instinctually upon seeing the weapon. Farfello may
not have seen his Kitty's reaction to it, but he'd been told of it
before.
His lips curled back, as the mallet swept through where his head had
been. His blood-slicked knife was clenched in his fist, and he, in
turn, lunged at his target.
Akane had closed her eyes on the swing, being so used to having Ranma
under the mallet's head. When the expected resistance of wood meeting
flesh did _not_ happen, she paused. She blinked, her eyes open, just in
time to see Jei's lunge. Her shriek pierced the air one again, and she
stumbled backwards. The knife tore through her shirt, ripping upwards
as it sunk into her left breast. Another scream rent the air as Akane
tried to pull away, as Farfello attempted to drive the knife through
his victim's heart.
"Ranma!" Nabiki was trying to get past Yohji and Omi to free her
sister, "Ranma! Stop him!"
"Why should I?" Ranma's voice was airy as he watched Jei tear into his
former fiancee, "She's tried to kill _me_ since I met her!"
Yohji grit his teeth. He was finding new reasons to hate Ranma every
moment. His own Farfello-given wound throbbed, as did the rest of his
body from the beating Ranma had given him. Still, he'd worked through
worse, and so he left Nabiki in Omi's care.
His wire looped around Farfello's throat, and he yanked back. While
Farfello couldn't register the pain of the attack, he could recognize
that he couldn't breath, as any other man would. Jei released the knife
to claw at the wire cutting off his air passage.
Akane was pulling the blade out, unheeding of anything but the
desperate panic of getting the blade away from her. Ranma only tossed
her a cursory glance as he leapt at Yohji. The ki claws slipped into
the two inch length he could summon when angered-- and not fully lost
to the madness. They tore through the wire, and Jei stumbled forwards,
with a heavy rasping gasp of air.
Snarling, Ranma once again turned on Yohji. The older man cursed in his
mind, as he attempted, painfully, to dodge the martial artist's attack.
Nabiki had rushed to her sister's side when Yohji attacked Jei. She
had, with an extreme lack of modesty, ripped her robe off, to cover
Akane's gushing wounds. The young mercenary had _not_ seen Ranma's own
response. The first inkling she had of it was when she was forcibly
thrown out of the way-- landing on Omi.
Farfello snatched his knife up again, bringing it down in what would be
a fatal blow-- right through the stunned and bleeding girl's exposed
throat. Unfortunately, something got in the way-- Nabiki's leg. The
brunette gave a shrill scream, as the blade pierced her leg, having
swung it in the way, from where she'd sat on Omi.
The knife blade scraped the bone before Jei yanked it free. A feral
grin crossed his face, "If you want to die _now_ fine with me..."
"Leave my sister alone!" Despite practically bleeding to death, Akane
slammed her knee up and into Farfello's gut. As usual, the pain didn't
register, and he merely growled in response to the attack. Again, the
blade leapt forwards, Akane dragging her arms up to block the attack.
It ripped through the skin of her arms and he slashed again, and again.
Omi and Nabiki pounded on him, trying to drag him away form the
youngest Tendou.
After a few dozen bleeding tracks appeared in Akane's arms, Jei pulled
back. Wearily, she dropped her arms, ready to put them back up if he
came at her again. However, Jei was faster. Even _with_ Nabiki and Omi
on each arm, the blade glinted darkly as it flashed through the air,
and sliced through her face.
Her right eye would be forever useless, should she survive the massive
blood loss from her wounds combined. The blade had scraped the bone of
her skull-- had, in fact, left a craved track _in_ the bone-- and the
slash ran from scalp to jaw bone on an angle.
With a satisfied grin, Farfello savored the sound of her tortured
scream. Bounding to his feet, the madman threw Omi off-- Nabiki having
let go to race to tend to her sister's wounds again. He licked the
blood off his blade, turning on his heel to pad outside. The second
battle between Yohji and Ranma had come to an end out there.
Yohji lay, face first and unconscious, on the ground. Ranma had broken
Yohji's arm with a throw-- the one that had sent the playboy outside--
and most likely cracked a few ribs when he'd been body-slammed into the
ground.
Ranma hauled Yohji up by the back of his jacket, bearing his claws. He
was ready to finish the man off.
... when the man vanished.
Both men spun around, searching for whoever took the unconscious
playboy. It was Ranma who spotted the savior. Khu Lon set the man down
on the Tendou roof, having originally thought the man was a woman, with
his hair; it was the only reason she'd bothered to save him. Xian Phu
dropped into a defensive crouch in front of Farfello. She could still
feel his kick from earlier that night.
"What do you want, Shampoo?"
Jei's eyes narrowed at Ranma's words. So _this_ was Xian Phu's human
form. _This_ was the girl who wanted to steal Farfello's property. The
knife, of which had been held loosely in his fingers, was suddenly held
in a white knuckled grip. He was growling.
"Airen come to Shampoo, yes? Airen let Shampoo take care of Bad
One-Eye, yes?"
"No," Ranma snorted, "I won;'t. But I _will_ let Jei-sama deal with
_you_"
Farfello lunged, blade searing the air as it ripped through where the
young Nyucheuzu girl _had_ been. She was a better martial artist--
faster, too-- than Akane, and wasn't injured. She darted between
thrusts of the knife. No matter how many times her bonbori hit him, he
didn't stop. Khu Lon frowned, and Omi came running out from the
kitchen. The seventeen year old cursed, then shouted, "Get away from
him! He _can't_ feel pain!"
The amazon matriarch froze, then repeated Omi's warning to her
great-granddaughter. This time, the female warrior didn't ignore it, as
it wasn't just something a mere male shouted at her. She backed off,
bouncing to the roof, beside her great-grandmother, "Why Shampoo stop,
Hibaa-chan?"
"The man is unable to feel pain. You can't just hurt him-- you must
_kill_ him."
"Yes, Hibaa-chan!"
However, by this time the blare of sirens was drawing closer. Neither
Ranma nor Farfello were up for being arrested, they quickly hightailed
it out of the Tendou-ke. Farfello left the amazons with a warning,
"Next time, you die."
---
Rache collapsed into the futon in her apartment with a sigh. The young
woman scrubbed her forehead irritably. She had gotten next to no sleep
over the past few days-- since _before_ Ken's "kidnaping". She was
tired and cranky, and her mind just _wouldn't_ shut off.
"Damn," she growled, "It's times like this I wish I had Schu's
telepathy. I could just annoy some kid on the street, then."
Hauling herself back up, the redhead paced her floor for a few minutes.
At about five minutes into her pointless pacing, Rache's face broke
into a grin, "I can _still_ annoy someone!"
With a gleeful cackle, Rache picked through her belongings. Her
landlord-- Kino-- was about to get a nasty surprise.
---
The boy sat there, calmly licking one hand as he balanced on his
haunches. There were small scratches decorating his throat, about the
collar. The leather was scratched and almost broken through by the time
Jei returned to Kitty's "cage".
Kitty's hackles rose, and he hissed at the reason behind his captivity.
The amber-eyed Irish boy stared into his pet's eyes, before dropping a
bird carcass into the cage. Cautiously, the eight-year-old padded
closer, sniffing at the meat. When he found nothing amiss, the boy sunk
his teeth into the still warm body, pulling back.
"Kitty's been good," Jei declared suddenly, watching the feral child
crunching the bird in his jaws. He stepped forwards, pulling the boards
apart, and grabbing Kitty's chain. Once the bird had been eaten, Jei
dragged Kitty out of his cage.
"Have to get you a new collar," Jei muttered, looking down at the once
brand new leather collar. It looked ready to fall apart.
---
Ranma was leaning against the outer wall of the Kunou mansion as the
sun rose. He was asleep, dozing with his ankles and arms crossed, head
bent. Farfello was no where in sight, as Reiji's limousine pulled out
of the mansion. For a moment, the car paused, as though wondering if it
should stop to pick the boy up, before driving away.
Ranma didn't notice, as entrapped in his sleep as he was. An hour and a
half later, he jerked awake to the _lovely_ sound of Schuldich's mental
voice.
/Morning Bishoujo./
"Don't call me that," Ranma grunted, prying his eyes open, "Huh? I'm
still at the mansion."
/Reiji left you and Farf behind,/ Ranma could _feel_ the smirk,
/Something about causing problems...?/
The martial artist snorted, tucking his hands into his pockets, after
swinging his pack on his back, and wandered off in search of his best
friend/master, /Kunou deserved it./
/He'll never be able to use that arm properly, again, Bishoujo.
Crippled for life./
/Like I said,/ Ranma huffed, /He deserved it./ Where _is_ Jei-sama? He
hadn't seen the man since he'd decided he was going to search Nerima.
Ranma had figured he'd just go back to the Kunou mansion and be
prepared to leave.
/You two get into anymore trouble after _that_ mess?/ While it was
getting easier to read Kitty's mind, it was still tougher than a normal
human's. Ranma chuckled.
/Akane probably didn't survive the night, once Jei-sama was done with
her, Nabiki will never be able to walk without a limp, and Kudou got
his ass handed to him./
/Weiss?/ Schuldich frowned to himself, /What was Weiss doing there?/
/Nabiki and Tsukiyono know each other,/ Ranma shrugged, /Can you find
Jei-sama for me?/
A laugh came across the mental link, /And turn _myself_ into a raving
lunatic? Danke, but nien. You're on your own, Bishoujo./ The man began
to pull away from the teen's mind, when he stopped, /Bradley says
you'll find Farfie outside the Nekohanton./
/Tell Crawford thanks,/ Ranma's voice was a bit hurried. He should have
known Jei would go after his so-called "wife". With a burst of speed,
Ranma shot forwards, bounding to the roofs in the direction of the
Nekohanton.
Xian Phu wasn't all that bad, actually. If she'd get over the stupid
kiss-of-death/kiss-of-marriage thing, and got away from Khu Lon, she'd
probably be pretty nice. It wasn't that Khu Lon was evil, per say,
merely old fashioned.
Although, the same could be said about Genma-- if you switched old
fashioned with "greedy bastard." In any case, Ranma didn't want Xian
Phu _dead_... maybe a little _maimed_ to get those stupid laws out of
her head though.
Maimed was okay.
He dropped down off the roofs in time to see Jei get blasted through
the front window of the restaurant. Khu Lon pogoed out, followed by
Xian Phu. The younger amazon was limping, and bleeding from various
wounds, although none were as bad as Akane's had been. Khu Lon must
have interfered.
Khu Lon's staff lashed out to slamm Farfello again; and this time, it
was Ranma who interfered. The staff was clapped between both hands
before it got close to his Jei-sama.
The pale-haired assassin pulled free a new knife -- the other having
been lost somewhere within the Nekohanton. He drew himself up, and
threw himself in Khu Lon's direction. Xian Phu's bonbori rammed into
his gut, and he whirled to face her. Red eyes[1] met amber, and the
pair shot into motion. No matter how many times she slammed her bonbori
into his body, he kept coming. While the majority of his wild slashes
were turned aside.
Khu Lon threw Ranma away from her, but he flipped in mid-air, pushing
off the front window of the building across the street, and raced
forwards. The matriarch swung her staff like a baseball bat, but Ranma
was a master of mid-air combat.
He twisted, dropping low enough to the ground to brace himself with one
hand, and swung his legs around-- his left knee caught her in the
chest, the right in her face.
Jei's blade slashed out, once, twice, three times, the early morning
light flashing across it. Another slash blocked by the bonbori-- but
this time, Farfello kicked out, catching her in the gut. Xian Phu
stumbled back with a grunt, barely getting to her feet before Jei was
on her.
This time his attacks hit home-- digging rivers of blood across arms
and chest. He was trying for what would mean death for her-- her neck.
Khu Lon hooked Ranma's leg with her staff, sweeping his feet out from
under him. Before his hands could touch and send him into a back flip,
Khu Lon's staff flashed again, sending him careening into Farfello.
As this was happening, Jei had found the perfect opportunity. He
started to stab the amazon, when Ranma hit. The two men went down in a
tangle of limbs, and the stab became a slash. Again, Xian Phu stumbled
backwards, this time holding her throat in shock. Blood was pooling
between her fingers.
The eldest of the elders looked over to her great-granddaughter, and
cursed. At a speed only ki-empowered, ancient martial artists on
adrenaline, could achieve, Khu Lon lifted the girl into her arms, and
ran in the direction of the Nerima District hospital, cradling her
bleeding descendant.
Ranma and Farfello untangled themselves, although Jei kept a possessive
hand on Kitty's shoulder. The ebony-haired martial artist sighed, "I
should go back to the Koneko, Jei-sama..."
End
[1]Are Shampoo's eyes red? I can't remember, and the only picture I
have of her on my hard drive isn't clear enough, but they look red.
My prereader tells me to slow down on how much of the fics I'm doing
lately-- what with finals coming up and all. Atfirst, I wasn't really
listening. I mean, I started False Identity sixteen weeks-- four
months-- ago. During final exams. The fact that I only had one exam to
take then, didn't penetrate until last night. I have three finals this
semester-- Math, Social/History (French Revolution to World War I +
Global Diveristy/Disparity), and English.
Not to mention Karate practise, guitar practise, reviewing websites,
updating Legions (my sprite comic) every monday, my little brother's
fifteenth birthday is nine days away (the nineteenth), mother's day is
way to soon, etc, etc.
So, the chapters may be a little slow in coming.
False Identity
Chapter Fifteen: Battles
Li Xiang
She had managed to drag herself out of bed after the fight outside
awoken her. Jei's lips curled in a silent snarl of disgust as he paced
down the stairs behind her. She had, on multiple occasions, hurt his
kitty. She would pay.
The knife handle in his palm was cool and familiar, as his hand
clenched spasmodically around it. He didn't even utter his war cry as
he descended upon her, blade positioned for the kill.
She must have heard something, because she turned slightly, and the
blade tore into her skin, scraping along the upper edge of her shoulder
blade. Even as her brain just barely made the connection, a scream of
pain leapt from her lips. Tendou Akane whirled around to face her
attacker.
Pale hair framed a man's face, dark scars patterning his skin. A single
cold amber eye glared down at her, a confusing melee of insanity, rage,
desperation, and calculating intelligence within.
Her eyes shifted past him, desperately searching for someone--
anyone!-- to save her from this madman. Then, out of the shadows, came
the one who always rescued her. Always saved her.
"Ranma!"
The fact that two more men, and Nabiki came in from the kitchen blew
past her. Her fiancee was here! He'd save her, like always, and she'd
beat on him, and everything would go back to normal.
Her world shattered as Ranma's icy voice came to her, "You missed."
Jei pulled back, scowling, "I know that." his eyes shifted to behind
her, and he smirked. Akane whirled, terrified that another attack had
came up from behind her.
Her blood splattered as Jei reached out and yanked his blade free. She
gave a yelp of pain; spinning around to face her pale-haired tormentor
once more. Despite her exhaustion from the day's "training", she was
ready to battle. Adrenaline began pumping, and her anger starts to boil
over.
She ignored Nabiki's attempt to grab her arm and pull her to safety.
Even with her blood spilling out of her shoulder, Akane was confident
she could take this one eyed freak out.
Raising her hands, ignoring the sharp sting from the motion, and the
warm liquid dripping down her back, she summoned Mallet-sama. Behind
Jei, Ranma flinched instinctually upon seeing the weapon. Farfello may
not have seen his Kitty's reaction to it, but he'd been told of it
before.
His lips curled back, as the mallet swept through where his head had
been. His blood-slicked knife was clenched in his fist, and he, in
turn, lunged at his target.
Akane had closed her eyes on the swing, being so used to having Ranma
under the mallet's head. When the expected resistance of wood meeting
flesh did _not_ happen, she paused. She blinked, her eyes open, just in
time to see Jei's lunge. Her shriek pierced the air one again, and she
stumbled backwards. The knife tore through her shirt, ripping upwards
as it sunk into her left breast. Another scream rent the air as Akane
tried to pull away, as Farfello attempted to drive the knife through
his victim's heart.
"Ranma!" Nabiki was trying to get past Yohji and Omi to free her
sister, "Ranma! Stop him!"
"Why should I?" Ranma's voice was airy as he watched Jei tear into his
former fiancee, "She's tried to kill _me_ since I met her!"
Yohji grit his teeth. He was finding new reasons to hate Ranma every
moment. His own Farfello-given wound throbbed, as did the rest of his
body from the beating Ranma had given him. Still, he'd worked through
worse, and so he left Nabiki in Omi's care.
His wire looped around Farfello's throat, and he yanked back. While
Farfello couldn't register the pain of the attack, he could recognize
that he couldn't breath, as any other man would. Jei released the knife
to claw at the wire cutting off his air passage.
Akane was pulling the blade out, unheeding of anything but the
desperate panic of getting the blade away from her. Ranma only tossed
her a cursory glance as he leapt at Yohji. The ki claws slipped into
the two inch length he could summon when angered-- and not fully lost
to the madness. They tore through the wire, and Jei stumbled forwards,
with a heavy rasping gasp of air.
Snarling, Ranma once again turned on Yohji. The older man cursed in his
mind, as he attempted, painfully, to dodge the martial artist's attack.
Nabiki had rushed to her sister's side when Yohji attacked Jei. She
had, with an extreme lack of modesty, ripped her robe off, to cover
Akane's gushing wounds. The young mercenary had _not_ seen Ranma's own
response. The first inkling she had of it was when she was forcibly
thrown out of the way-- landing on Omi.
Farfello snatched his knife up again, bringing it down in what would be
a fatal blow-- right through the stunned and bleeding girl's exposed
throat. Unfortunately, something got in the way-- Nabiki's leg. The
brunette gave a shrill scream, as the blade pierced her leg, having
swung it in the way, from where she'd sat on Omi.
The knife blade scraped the bone before Jei yanked it free. A feral
grin crossed his face, "If you want to die _now_ fine with me..."
"Leave my sister alone!" Despite practically bleeding to death, Akane
slammed her knee up and into Farfello's gut. As usual, the pain didn't
register, and he merely growled in response to the attack. Again, the
blade leapt forwards, Akane dragging her arms up to block the attack.
It ripped through the skin of her arms and he slashed again, and again.
Omi and Nabiki pounded on him, trying to drag him away form the
youngest Tendou.
After a few dozen bleeding tracks appeared in Akane's arms, Jei pulled
back. Wearily, she dropped her arms, ready to put them back up if he
came at her again. However, Jei was faster. Even _with_ Nabiki and Omi
on each arm, the blade glinted darkly as it flashed through the air,
and sliced through her face.
Her right eye would be forever useless, should she survive the massive
blood loss from her wounds combined. The blade had scraped the bone of
her skull-- had, in fact, left a craved track _in_ the bone-- and the
slash ran from scalp to jaw bone on an angle.
With a satisfied grin, Farfello savored the sound of her tortured
scream. Bounding to his feet, the madman threw Omi off-- Nabiki having
let go to race to tend to her sister's wounds again. He licked the
blood off his blade, turning on his heel to pad outside. The second
battle between Yohji and Ranma had come to an end out there.
Yohji lay, face first and unconscious, on the ground. Ranma had broken
Yohji's arm with a throw-- the one that had sent the playboy outside--
and most likely cracked a few ribs when he'd been body-slammed into the
ground.
Ranma hauled Yohji up by the back of his jacket, bearing his claws. He
was ready to finish the man off.
... when the man vanished.
Both men spun around, searching for whoever took the unconscious
playboy. It was Ranma who spotted the savior. Khu Lon set the man down
on the Tendou roof, having originally thought the man was a woman, with
his hair; it was the only reason she'd bothered to save him. Xian Phu
dropped into a defensive crouch in front of Farfello. She could still
feel his kick from earlier that night.
"What do you want, Shampoo?"
Jei's eyes narrowed at Ranma's words. So _this_ was Xian Phu's human
form. _This_ was the girl who wanted to steal Farfello's property. The
knife, of which had been held loosely in his fingers, was suddenly held
in a white knuckled grip. He was growling.
"Airen come to Shampoo, yes? Airen let Shampoo take care of Bad
One-Eye, yes?"
"No," Ranma snorted, "I won;'t. But I _will_ let Jei-sama deal with
_you_"
Farfello lunged, blade searing the air as it ripped through where the
young Nyucheuzu girl _had_ been. She was a better martial artist--
faster, too-- than Akane, and wasn't injured. She darted between
thrusts of the knife. No matter how many times her bonbori hit him, he
didn't stop. Khu Lon frowned, and Omi came running out from the
kitchen. The seventeen year old cursed, then shouted, "Get away from
him! He _can't_ feel pain!"
The amazon matriarch froze, then repeated Omi's warning to her
great-granddaughter. This time, the female warrior didn't ignore it, as
it wasn't just something a mere male shouted at her. She backed off,
bouncing to the roof, beside her great-grandmother, "Why Shampoo stop,
Hibaa-chan?"
"The man is unable to feel pain. You can't just hurt him-- you must
_kill_ him."
"Yes, Hibaa-chan!"
However, by this time the blare of sirens was drawing closer. Neither
Ranma nor Farfello were up for being arrested, they quickly hightailed
it out of the Tendou-ke. Farfello left the amazons with a warning,
"Next time, you die."
---
Rache collapsed into the futon in her apartment with a sigh. The young
woman scrubbed her forehead irritably. She had gotten next to no sleep
over the past few days-- since _before_ Ken's "kidnaping". She was
tired and cranky, and her mind just _wouldn't_ shut off.
"Damn," she growled, "It's times like this I wish I had Schu's
telepathy. I could just annoy some kid on the street, then."
Hauling herself back up, the redhead paced her floor for a few minutes.
At about five minutes into her pointless pacing, Rache's face broke
into a grin, "I can _still_ annoy someone!"
With a gleeful cackle, Rache picked through her belongings. Her
landlord-- Kino-- was about to get a nasty surprise.
---
The boy sat there, calmly licking one hand as he balanced on his
haunches. There were small scratches decorating his throat, about the
collar. The leather was scratched and almost broken through by the time
Jei returned to Kitty's "cage".
Kitty's hackles rose, and he hissed at the reason behind his captivity.
The amber-eyed Irish boy stared into his pet's eyes, before dropping a
bird carcass into the cage. Cautiously, the eight-year-old padded
closer, sniffing at the meat. When he found nothing amiss, the boy sunk
his teeth into the still warm body, pulling back.
"Kitty's been good," Jei declared suddenly, watching the feral child
crunching the bird in his jaws. He stepped forwards, pulling the boards
apart, and grabbing Kitty's chain. Once the bird had been eaten, Jei
dragged Kitty out of his cage.
"Have to get you a new collar," Jei muttered, looking down at the once
brand new leather collar. It looked ready to fall apart.
---
Ranma was leaning against the outer wall of the Kunou mansion as the
sun rose. He was asleep, dozing with his ankles and arms crossed, head
bent. Farfello was no where in sight, as Reiji's limousine pulled out
of the mansion. For a moment, the car paused, as though wondering if it
should stop to pick the boy up, before driving away.
Ranma didn't notice, as entrapped in his sleep as he was. An hour and a
half later, he jerked awake to the _lovely_ sound of Schuldich's mental
voice.
/Morning Bishoujo./
"Don't call me that," Ranma grunted, prying his eyes open, "Huh? I'm
still at the mansion."
/Reiji left you and Farf behind,/ Ranma could _feel_ the smirk,
/Something about causing problems...?/
The martial artist snorted, tucking his hands into his pockets, after
swinging his pack on his back, and wandered off in search of his best
friend/master, /Kunou deserved it./
/He'll never be able to use that arm properly, again, Bishoujo.
Crippled for life./
/Like I said,/ Ranma huffed, /He deserved it./ Where _is_ Jei-sama? He
hadn't seen the man since he'd decided he was going to search Nerima.
Ranma had figured he'd just go back to the Kunou mansion and be
prepared to leave.
/You two get into anymore trouble after _that_ mess?/ While it was
getting easier to read Kitty's mind, it was still tougher than a normal
human's. Ranma chuckled.
/Akane probably didn't survive the night, once Jei-sama was done with
her, Nabiki will never be able to walk without a limp, and Kudou got
his ass handed to him./
/Weiss?/ Schuldich frowned to himself, /What was Weiss doing there?/
/Nabiki and Tsukiyono know each other,/ Ranma shrugged, /Can you find
Jei-sama for me?/
A laugh came across the mental link, /And turn _myself_ into a raving
lunatic? Danke, but nien. You're on your own, Bishoujo./ The man began
to pull away from the teen's mind, when he stopped, /Bradley says
you'll find Farfie outside the Nekohanton./
/Tell Crawford thanks,/ Ranma's voice was a bit hurried. He should have
known Jei would go after his so-called "wife". With a burst of speed,
Ranma shot forwards, bounding to the roofs in the direction of the
Nekohanton.
Xian Phu wasn't all that bad, actually. If she'd get over the stupid
kiss-of-death/kiss-of-marriage thing, and got away from Khu Lon, she'd
probably be pretty nice. It wasn't that Khu Lon was evil, per say,
merely old fashioned.
Although, the same could be said about Genma-- if you switched old
fashioned with "greedy bastard." In any case, Ranma didn't want Xian
Phu _dead_... maybe a little _maimed_ to get those stupid laws out of
her head though.
Maimed was okay.
He dropped down off the roofs in time to see Jei get blasted through
the front window of the restaurant. Khu Lon pogoed out, followed by
Xian Phu. The younger amazon was limping, and bleeding from various
wounds, although none were as bad as Akane's had been. Khu Lon must
have interfered.
Khu Lon's staff lashed out to slamm Farfello again; and this time, it
was Ranma who interfered. The staff was clapped between both hands
before it got close to his Jei-sama.
The pale-haired assassin pulled free a new knife -- the other having
been lost somewhere within the Nekohanton. He drew himself up, and
threw himself in Khu Lon's direction. Xian Phu's bonbori rammed into
his gut, and he whirled to face her. Red eyes[1] met amber, and the
pair shot into motion. No matter how many times she slammed her bonbori
into his body, he kept coming. While the majority of his wild slashes
were turned aside.
Khu Lon threw Ranma away from her, but he flipped in mid-air, pushing
off the front window of the building across the street, and raced
forwards. The matriarch swung her staff like a baseball bat, but Ranma
was a master of mid-air combat.
He twisted, dropping low enough to the ground to brace himself with one
hand, and swung his legs around-- his left knee caught her in the
chest, the right in her face.
Jei's blade slashed out, once, twice, three times, the early morning
light flashing across it. Another slash blocked by the bonbori-- but
this time, Farfello kicked out, catching her in the gut. Xian Phu
stumbled back with a grunt, barely getting to her feet before Jei was
on her.
This time his attacks hit home-- digging rivers of blood across arms
and chest. He was trying for what would mean death for her-- her neck.
Khu Lon hooked Ranma's leg with her staff, sweeping his feet out from
under him. Before his hands could touch and send him into a back flip,
Khu Lon's staff flashed again, sending him careening into Farfello.
As this was happening, Jei had found the perfect opportunity. He
started to stab the amazon, when Ranma hit. The two men went down in a
tangle of limbs, and the stab became a slash. Again, Xian Phu stumbled
backwards, this time holding her throat in shock. Blood was pooling
between her fingers.
The eldest of the elders looked over to her great-granddaughter, and
cursed. At a speed only ki-empowered, ancient martial artists on
adrenaline, could achieve, Khu Lon lifted the girl into her arms, and
ran in the direction of the Nerima District hospital, cradling her
bleeding descendant.
Ranma and Farfello untangled themselves, although Jei kept a possessive
hand on Kitty's shoulder. The ebony-haired martial artist sighed, "I
should go back to the Koneko, Jei-sama..."
End
[1]Are Shampoo's eyes red? I can't remember, and the only picture I
have of her on my hard drive isn't clear enough, but they look red.