Permanent part 4: An angry attack.

Ranma sat uncomfortably in the back of the group of girls. They
were sitting in the back of an icecream store gossiping among themselves. "What's wrong Ranma?" asked one of Akane's friends noticing how
reclusive she was acting.

"I'm not comfortable around other girls my age," said Ranma
flatly.

The group looked at her with surprise, "Why?" asked the one on
Ranma's right.

"Sayuri!" said Akane glaring at her.

"Sorry, you don't have to tell us," said the other girl.

Akane gave Ranma an apologetic look and sighed. "It's okay Akane."
She looked at the girls and frowned. "The last girl I knew spent seven
months trying to kill me, she hunted me like an animal, until I finally
defeated her." Ranma looked out the window with a far away gaze as she
said this.

Sayuri gulped hard. "Defeated?" she said quietly.

"I think we should change the subject. Sayuri, Yuka?" said Akane
calmly. The two girls looked at her with frightened eyes and nodded.

++++++++++

Akane walked behind Ranma a few feet on the way home with Yuka and
Sayuri walking even further back. They walked silently through the light
rain. Ranma finally broke it after about ten minutes. "I'm surprised you
got them to come along after what they saw the other day, you don't have
to try to cheer me up ya know."

Akane smiled a little. "I like you Ranma, despite all you've been
through your still a good person, even if you can't see it." She looked up
at the clouds as they walked wistfully.

Ranma smirked a little. "You don't know me that well Akane."

The girls edged closer to Akane. "Why do you try to push others
away Ranma?" thought Akane in frustration.

A whirling noise came softly at first and grew ever louder. Ranma
stopped and looked around. Akane and her friends walked up to her.
"Ranma? What's Wrong?" asked Akane with a confused expression. Ranma
shushed her and crouched low. "What's wro-" started Akane but she never
finished.

Ranma screamed and her arm exploded in pain. She turned to see a
horrified Akane staring at her, the girl's face was covered in blood. In
the wall next to them something that looked like a yo-yo with spikes
protruded from the concrete with specks of blood all over it, a thin metal
wire protruded from it to some bushes nearby. Ranma reached up to clutch
her arm and stopped as she her fingers touched bone, her nerves exploded
again almost caused her to black out; she screamed in anguish.

"Ranma Saotome, for what you did to Shampoo you die!" cried a
distinctly male voice from all around them. Ranma frowned and grabbed the
wire, only to have the assailant pull it tight and force deep cuts into
her hand forcing her to release it.

A robed figure leapt into the air from
a nearby bush and spun in mid air. Ranma's eyes went wide as she leapt
into the frightened girls shoving them to the ground and covering them
with her own body. She yelled in pain yet again as seven metal spikes
embedded themselves in her legs, back and arms. Ranma stood shakily and
faced her opponent muttering something strange under her breath.

"Who are you?" she demanded standing in front of the girls with
her hand hidden behind her back.

"I am Mousse; I am the man who was to be Shampoo's groom, until
you came." said the boy with his back turned to them. He had long flowing
robes and long brown hair, he also wore a small traveling pack on his
back. He turned his head slightly letting Ranma see his face. His glasses
shone with even the minimal light coming through the rain clouds.

"Shampoo," growled Ranma bending low to the ground in an attempt
to right herself despite her injuries. "So this is how it ends, looks like
you win after all you Chinese bitch," she thought bitterly. "I'll not go
out alone though." thought Ranma as she lifted her hand and sent a strange
ball of clear energy at the boy while he was watching Akane and her
friends. After he was certain they posed no threat he side stepped the
slow moving projectile and smiled. "Damn," Ranma wasn't sure if he had
seen it or if he was just lucky, probably the latter.

"What was that?" thought Akane as she watched, she was in too much
shock to move at the moment.

Mousse's face quickly became a snarl swept his arm up releasing a
large spinning blade at Ranma. Her eyes went side as she registered the
size of the weapon; it had to be three feet long. She braced herself for
the blow.

Suddenly, a small black blur appeared from over a wall and slammed
into the blade from above it. Ranma wasted no time, she shot her own arm
forward and pointed her hand at Mousse.

The boy cried out in rage and pain as he clutched his face, blood poured from between his fingers. He pulled the small metal knife from his shattered glasses and what was left of his left eye. He uttered a single curse, staggered into the shadows, and disappeared.

Ranma looked at the blade Mousse had thrown, it was sitting upright from the ground and an apparently unharmed Mr.P was sitting up near by. She hobbledo ver and retrieved her knife from the ground and flipped it over in her hands. "Shampoo," she said again and returned it to her sleeve; with that she collapsed.

++++++++++++

Ranma woke a few moments later being carried into a building. She
looked around and saw Akane and her friends were carrying her. Yuka was
beating on the door of a small clinic. "Dr.Tofu open up please!" she cried
with desperation in her voice, she was leaving handprints on the door from
the blood Ranma had lost. Ranma smiled at this as she wavered in and out
of consciousness.

A tall kindly looking man finally opened the door with a concerned
face. "Akane what happened?" he said looking at Ranma in shock. The three
girls were covered in blood and crying in the light evening rain.

++++++++++

Tofu lay Ranma on the examining table and sighed. "Akane we have
to get this girl to a hospital, these wounds are very serious. Sayuri
could you turn on the lights please?" he said after a quick glance at the
various wounds. Ranma smiled again.

She gently but forcefully pushed Dr. Tofu away. Her right hand
began to glow bright pink. Sayuri stopped and stared at her in wonder.
Ranma placed her hand firmly over the wound on her arm, she felt the bone
and screamed in pain as the burning started. The light erupted from her
eyes, mouth, nose, stomach and every other hole in her body including her
wounds. She screamed an almost inhuman cry and writhed in pain. A moment
later she stopped and passed out on the examining table with a tired and
painful expression on her face.

Dr. Tofu stared at her in disbelief. "Sayuri, lights please," he
said softly, the girl complied and walked up to the doctor.

"Dr. Tofu...what was that?" she asked.

"I have no Idea," said the Dr. with an unreadable expression.

Ranma awoke once again, "Magic." The four people looked at her
oddly.

Akane gasped "You really are a witch?" she whispered looking at
the girl on the table.

"Not exactly, it's kind of hard to explain. I've helped a lot of
people over the past year, but I can't help myself," she gave a small
laugh as she said this and looked away from them.

Dr. Tofu looked carefully at her wounds. "Completely healed," he
said quietly. Accept for a small red mark where Ranma had placed her hands
there was no evidence she had ever been hurt.

Small scratching noises came from the doorway. "Somebody go let
Mr.P in," said Ranma as she drifted off again.

"Healed or not she lost a lot of blood, she needs her rest. Let's
get you girls all cleaned up." Dr. Tofu turned to Yuka and Sayuri and led
them to a small washroom. Akane walked into the room with Mr.P in her
arms. She placed him on the bed and giggled as he lay across Ranma's
stomach.

"She sleeps like a boy," said Yuka as she returned with a giggle
after noting Ranma's position; in her hands was a now red stained rag.

Akane and Sayuri glared at her. "I have brothers, remember?" Yuka
snapped returning the glare. Akane and Sayuri blushed and turned back to
watching Ranma.

"I'll walk you two girls home and Akane can stay with Ranma until
I get back," said Dr. Tofu as he took the two girls by the shoulder and
led them away.

++++++++++++

Ranma woke the next day groggily. She sat up and turned to see
Akane sleeping peacefully beside her in a chair. She smiled and then
frowned at this.

An hour later Ranma sat with Dr. Tofu and Akane at a small table
eating breakfast. "Well, I guess I had better explain things," sighed the
red head as she looked at the both of them dejectedly. "It's a long story
and it doesn't have a happy ending, well I don't consider it to be one
anyway; It will help you understand who that guy was even though he is not
directly involved with it." Ranma poked at her half eaten breakfast lazily
as she spoke.

"He's not in it?" asked Akane sounding a little surprised.
"You two seemed to know each other."

Ranma smiled humorlessly. "Actually I don't remember ever meeting
him, Remember what he said when we saw him?"

Akane looked puzzled.

"I am the man who was to be Shampoo's groom," quoted Ranma.

Akane now looked at Ranma with a look of recognition.

"Well this is the story about her....." said Ranma and she began
her tale.

TbC...