Permanent
Part 31
Ryoga's night out...
+++++++++++++
Akane stood on the rooftops of Nerima and sighed. Standing next to
her was her newest companion, one severely annoyed Ryoga Hibiki.
"Akane, why don't you just stay home? That would solve a lot of
your problems you know."
"Who asked you? Besides, I don't sleep anymore, I'd keep everyone
else up if I stayed home," replied the girl sharply.
"Whatever, lets get this over with," muttered the boy as he pushed
off the edge of the roof and jumped into the city.
They paused above a small clothing store and Akane leaned against
a wall. She relaxed slightly as the sounds of the late-night city
occasionally broke the silence around them. "It's peaceful tonight. Maybe
nothing will happen?"
"Somehow I doubt that," grumbled Ryoga. He was certain Ranma knew
something was going on. Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered to send him
out with her. Naturally she neglected to mention what it was he was
guarding her against. Most magical girls he knew he could probably handle,
but something Akane couldn't handle on her own in her present state was
something Ryoga Hibiki didn't want to meet.
"Is this your normal route?" he turned to her and raised his
eyebrow slightly.
"No, I change it every night," replied the girl.
Ryoga's face fell slightly, that would have explained why the
demon hunters were still tormenting Akane. This was a bit more
complicated, with an amulet of protection on her she should have been able
to hide from them. Her movements alone wouldn't give her away, her demonic
half was naturally stealthy, he almost lost her in the shadows several
times already. "What the hell is going on here?" He paused when Akane's
left eye started to glow slightly.
"Keiko," said the girl quietly. "I can feel her, she's close to
me."
"You getting that signal?" asked Auska from the headset Keiko
wore.
"You bet, loud and clear," replied the magical girl as she jumped
onto another rooftop. "I'm right on top of her."
"Go get that evil bitch!" cheered the other girl.
"Akane Tendo! Prepare to...oof."
Keiko blinked as she fell flat on her butt after running into a
rather handsome looking man. The look he was giving her was anything but
friendly.
"So, you're Keiko?" Ryoga stood with his arms crossed as he stared
the girl down with Akane standing directly behind him. She was in a
defensive stance and growling to herself in an almost inhuman tone.
"Who the hell are you?" cried the demon hunter as she stood up and
dusted herself off. "Get out of the way or you'll get hurt!"
Ryoga extended his arm as if feeling for something and smiled at
the girl coolly. "Somehow I doubt that."
"Idiot boy! She's a demon!" screamed the girl in a rage as she
jumped back and pulled out her sword... or rather tried too. It wasn't
there.
"What the? What have you done? Who are you?" she hissed through
her teeth and stepped back. "Another demon?"
Ryoga sighed and turned away waving Akane to follow. "You don't
even know do you?"
Keiko looked down at herself in horror and screamed. She was
dressed in her civilian clothes. "What's going on?"
Ryoga paused and looked back at her with a pitying stare. "Fool,
don't you know you've lost your powers? You don't have any magical
energy."
Keiko fell to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. She held
her shoulders and shook with fear and confusion. "You did this to me?" She
looked directly at Akane as she said this; her voice was laced with venom.
"Go ahead and kill me then!"
Akane walked up to her with her cowl covering her head and her
eyes glowing a maddening shade of gold. Keiko looked directly into her
eyes and saw the smirk on her face as the girl gave a snort of laughter
before turning away to follow Ryoga off the roof. "Goodbye Keiko."
"You! I'll get you for this! I swear it!" she rushed up to the
edge of the roof and peered down the side, only to find them long gone.
For several minutes she simply watched the street below with nothing but
numb hatred coursing through her body. She paused when she felt a
comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You don't realize," Ukyo stood watching her with concern written
across his features.
"Ukyo..." gasped the girl. She suddenly felt embarrassed and very
vulnerable. Another familiar figure walked up behind the boy and smiled at
them.
"You again..." said the girl as confusion set in.
"My child, do you not yet realize that Akane Tendo has not stolen
your powers away from you?" His golden hair fell into his face from behind
the pure white cloak.
"What?" Keiko blinked and stared at the pair in confusion.
Ukyo sighed. "Keiko, your hatred of Akane Tendo has slowly eroded
your powers away to nothing. Your own weakness is at fault."
"No!" gasped the girl as she realized he was right. Her power was
based on love and justice. When her negative emotions started to override
those feelings inside her, she grew weaker.
The cloaked figure frowned slightly and watched the city. "Do not
worry my dear. Akane Tendo will be dealt with, severely. Her threat cannot
be ignored."
The girl whirled around angrily and glared at the pair. "No! She
belongs to me! Her life is mine!" She jumped off the edge of the roof into
the street below performing a complex assortment of flips of walls and
fire escapes until she hit the ground.
Ukyo tensed up and prepared to follow, but the cloaked figure
placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Let her go, we cannot force her back on the correct path. She is
lost to us."
The former Okonomiyaki chef stared at him and growled slightly, he
did not speak. "I refuse to believe that, she was the strongest of all.
She can be saved still." Her thoughts wandered slightly as he remembered
how happy she looked when he met her on the street.
"Do not worry, others are dealing with the Tendo demon," said the
mysterious figure as he walked away and vanished into the shadows leaving
Ukyo alone.
++++++++++++=
Akane smirked as Ryoga struggled to keep up with her. He was
strong and fast, but her powers kept him slightly below her class. "Stop
slouching and keep up! How are you supposed to protect me if you can't
stay with me?"
Ryoga snorted distastefully and suddenly stopped cold in his
tracks. "Energy? From... there!" he jumped up into the air and came down
on top of a dumpster right next to Akane. His face scrunched up in anger
as he looked around.
"What's up?" said Akane in confusion.
"We're surrounded," replied Ryoga coolly.
+++++++++++++
The Tendo dojo was quiet and peaceful in the late night. No sounds
save for the crickets and the occasional bark of a nearby dog broke the
serenity. A lone figure stood across the street staring at the gates to
the home. It spoke a single word, very softly before moving along
silently. "Ranma." In it's hand was a postcard. Written on it where only a
few words...
"You will find Ranma Saotome at the Tendo Dojo."
+++++++++++
Ranma sat up in her bed and screamed. She glanced around the room
and found herself covered in a cold sweat. Talcum lay next to her nuzzled
up comfortably to her chest. She blinked and realized neither of them was
wearing any clothing. "What have I..." she started to say.
The Amazon's eyes slowly fluttered open and she slid up her
lover's body and kissed her. "Sister is having bad dream?"
Ranma shook her head slowly and hung her head down as she
remembered the reason she had woken from her comfortable sleep. "I don't
remember what it was about..."
"Ranma say 'I no want die!' then wake up," said the girl as she
pulled the sheet up over the both of them.
The ponytailed sorceress shook her head and found only fog.
"Someone was going to kill me, and I was going to let them...it's all I
can remember. I don't even know why."
"Is ok darling, go sleep now," comforted the young Amazon as she
pushed Ranma back down on the futon.
++++++++++++
Cologne sat in the restaurant with Ko li drinking tea. The younger
Amazon smirked and looked at the stairs wistfully. "So, your little plan
worked out well didn't it?"
"Of course, it was only a matter of time," snorted the old woman
playfully.
"The Tendo girl could still cause problems..." noted the younger
girl.
"Maybe, but I don't believe she would ever have a relationship
like that with another woman. She is strong, but..."
"She might surprise you," retorted Ko li.
"Ranma is honorable, the fact that Talcum has bed her will be
enough to keep her in line," snorted the old woman indignantly.
"Matters of the heart cannot be judged by honor," was the simple
reply.
"You are certainly too wise for your age," said Cologne
indignantly.
"She still has much to do before we can return to Joketsuko," said
Ko li carefully.
"I am aware that it will be some time before we can coax her back
to our home, but the commitment is now in place. She will return with us."
Cologne sipped her tea delicately and sighed in contentment. All of her
plans where coming together quite nicely. "Yes. She will return with
us...eventually."
+++++++++++
The beach, the soft murmur of the waves as they gently broke
against the sand; the shine of the moonlight against the water, the cool
breeze that washed across the open sand. The perfect spot for a romantic
date. Such was the idea that Soichiro had. He had not expected what he
found when he brought Ayane here for a late night picnic and perhaps a
little privacy, and intimacy.
"Sweeto!"
"AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!"
It was the last thing he heard after he attacked the evil little
troll who had attached itself to his girlfriend's chest, right before he
hit the sand on his way down from the sky.
Happosai rubbed the sore spot on top of his head where the woman
had hit him. He felt much better after the long voyage back to Japan, but
still nowhere near where he needed to be. The girl Ranma was cunning and
strong; he needed much more power than he had just to be sure. What better
place to recover than the beach? He cackled evilly to himself as he rubbed
his hands in anticipation of the daylight. Soon the bikini-clad women
would come to him in droves; he would have ample time to recuperate the
energy he used during his cold slumber. In a few weeks time he could
return to Nerima and have his revenge. Of course he would then make up
with the girl and she'd let him have her most frilly pair of
undergarments, but that would just have to wait. The sound of evil
laughter overtook the crash of the waves suddenly causing all the young
couples along the beach to shudder in unexplainable fear.
+++++++++++++
Hikaru Gosunkugi studied diligently over an aged tome. He blinked
and realized he had only gone over two pages since the evening started and
it was almost three o'clock in the morning. "What the? How could it take
that long?" He looked over to the window and out at the night sky. After a
moment he paused and realized something was wrong. "How did that get open?
The air conditioner is on, my parents will kill me if they find out I've
left this open."
TBC...
Next time: Akane and Ryoga run into trouble, Ranma discovers a new
surprise, [and I know you will be too!] and Kuno philosophizes some more.
P.S. just so you know now, this is not the end of Keiko.
Before anyone tries to tell me about it: Ranma does not sleep with
the girls for three basic reasons.
1. Honor: He isn't married to them, and it would dishonor the other
fiancee's if he did sleep with one of them. 2. Akane: Her simply because
of stubbornness, and the others because she would kill him. 3. Multiple
fiancee's: simply because he has so many, sleeping with any one of them
would basically mean he would have to marry them.
These are problems this Ranma doesn't have. She doesn't have any
fiancee's, she's a lesbian and can't get married, and as far as she is
concerned Akane is straight and a friend.
Part 31
Ryoga's night out...
+++++++++++++
Akane stood on the rooftops of Nerima and sighed. Standing next to
her was her newest companion, one severely annoyed Ryoga Hibiki.
"Akane, why don't you just stay home? That would solve a lot of
your problems you know."
"Who asked you? Besides, I don't sleep anymore, I'd keep everyone
else up if I stayed home," replied the girl sharply.
"Whatever, lets get this over with," muttered the boy as he pushed
off the edge of the roof and jumped into the city.
They paused above a small clothing store and Akane leaned against
a wall. She relaxed slightly as the sounds of the late-night city
occasionally broke the silence around them. "It's peaceful tonight. Maybe
nothing will happen?"
"Somehow I doubt that," grumbled Ryoga. He was certain Ranma knew
something was going on. Otherwise she wouldn't have bothered to send him
out with her. Naturally she neglected to mention what it was he was
guarding her against. Most magical girls he knew he could probably handle,
but something Akane couldn't handle on her own in her present state was
something Ryoga Hibiki didn't want to meet.
"Is this your normal route?" he turned to her and raised his
eyebrow slightly.
"No, I change it every night," replied the girl.
Ryoga's face fell slightly, that would have explained why the
demon hunters were still tormenting Akane. This was a bit more
complicated, with an amulet of protection on her she should have been able
to hide from them. Her movements alone wouldn't give her away, her demonic
half was naturally stealthy, he almost lost her in the shadows several
times already. "What the hell is going on here?" He paused when Akane's
left eye started to glow slightly.
"Keiko," said the girl quietly. "I can feel her, she's close to
me."
"You getting that signal?" asked Auska from the headset Keiko
wore.
"You bet, loud and clear," replied the magical girl as she jumped
onto another rooftop. "I'm right on top of her."
"Go get that evil bitch!" cheered the other girl.
"Akane Tendo! Prepare to...oof."
Keiko blinked as she fell flat on her butt after running into a
rather handsome looking man. The look he was giving her was anything but
friendly.
"So, you're Keiko?" Ryoga stood with his arms crossed as he stared
the girl down with Akane standing directly behind him. She was in a
defensive stance and growling to herself in an almost inhuman tone.
"Who the hell are you?" cried the demon hunter as she stood up and
dusted herself off. "Get out of the way or you'll get hurt!"
Ryoga extended his arm as if feeling for something and smiled at
the girl coolly. "Somehow I doubt that."
"Idiot boy! She's a demon!" screamed the girl in a rage as she
jumped back and pulled out her sword... or rather tried too. It wasn't
there.
"What the? What have you done? Who are you?" she hissed through
her teeth and stepped back. "Another demon?"
Ryoga sighed and turned away waving Akane to follow. "You don't
even know do you?"
Keiko looked down at herself in horror and screamed. She was
dressed in her civilian clothes. "What's going on?"
Ryoga paused and looked back at her with a pitying stare. "Fool,
don't you know you've lost your powers? You don't have any magical
energy."
Keiko fell to her knees and began to sob uncontrollably. She held
her shoulders and shook with fear and confusion. "You did this to me?" She
looked directly at Akane as she said this; her voice was laced with venom.
"Go ahead and kill me then!"
Akane walked up to her with her cowl covering her head and her
eyes glowing a maddening shade of gold. Keiko looked directly into her
eyes and saw the smirk on her face as the girl gave a snort of laughter
before turning away to follow Ryoga off the roof. "Goodbye Keiko."
"You! I'll get you for this! I swear it!" she rushed up to the
edge of the roof and peered down the side, only to find them long gone.
For several minutes she simply watched the street below with nothing but
numb hatred coursing through her body. She paused when she felt a
comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You don't realize," Ukyo stood watching her with concern written
across his features.
"Ukyo..." gasped the girl. She suddenly felt embarrassed and very
vulnerable. Another familiar figure walked up behind the boy and smiled at
them.
"You again..." said the girl as confusion set in.
"My child, do you not yet realize that Akane Tendo has not stolen
your powers away from you?" His golden hair fell into his face from behind
the pure white cloak.
"What?" Keiko blinked and stared at the pair in confusion.
Ukyo sighed. "Keiko, your hatred of Akane Tendo has slowly eroded
your powers away to nothing. Your own weakness is at fault."
"No!" gasped the girl as she realized he was right. Her power was
based on love and justice. When her negative emotions started to override
those feelings inside her, she grew weaker.
The cloaked figure frowned slightly and watched the city. "Do not
worry my dear. Akane Tendo will be dealt with, severely. Her threat cannot
be ignored."
The girl whirled around angrily and glared at the pair. "No! She
belongs to me! Her life is mine!" She jumped off the edge of the roof into
the street below performing a complex assortment of flips of walls and
fire escapes until she hit the ground.
Ukyo tensed up and prepared to follow, but the cloaked figure
placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"Let her go, we cannot force her back on the correct path. She is
lost to us."
The former Okonomiyaki chef stared at him and growled slightly, he
did not speak. "I refuse to believe that, she was the strongest of all.
She can be saved still." Her thoughts wandered slightly as he remembered
how happy she looked when he met her on the street.
"Do not worry, others are dealing with the Tendo demon," said the
mysterious figure as he walked away and vanished into the shadows leaving
Ukyo alone.
++++++++++++=
Akane smirked as Ryoga struggled to keep up with her. He was
strong and fast, but her powers kept him slightly below her class. "Stop
slouching and keep up! How are you supposed to protect me if you can't
stay with me?"
Ryoga snorted distastefully and suddenly stopped cold in his
tracks. "Energy? From... there!" he jumped up into the air and came down
on top of a dumpster right next to Akane. His face scrunched up in anger
as he looked around.
"What's up?" said Akane in confusion.
"We're surrounded," replied Ryoga coolly.
+++++++++++++
The Tendo dojo was quiet and peaceful in the late night. No sounds
save for the crickets and the occasional bark of a nearby dog broke the
serenity. A lone figure stood across the street staring at the gates to
the home. It spoke a single word, very softly before moving along
silently. "Ranma." In it's hand was a postcard. Written on it where only a
few words...
"You will find Ranma Saotome at the Tendo Dojo."
+++++++++++
Ranma sat up in her bed and screamed. She glanced around the room
and found herself covered in a cold sweat. Talcum lay next to her nuzzled
up comfortably to her chest. She blinked and realized neither of them was
wearing any clothing. "What have I..." she started to say.
The Amazon's eyes slowly fluttered open and she slid up her
lover's body and kissed her. "Sister is having bad dream?"
Ranma shook her head slowly and hung her head down as she
remembered the reason she had woken from her comfortable sleep. "I don't
remember what it was about..."
"Ranma say 'I no want die!' then wake up," said the girl as she
pulled the sheet up over the both of them.
The ponytailed sorceress shook her head and found only fog.
"Someone was going to kill me, and I was going to let them...it's all I
can remember. I don't even know why."
"Is ok darling, go sleep now," comforted the young Amazon as she
pushed Ranma back down on the futon.
++++++++++++
Cologne sat in the restaurant with Ko li drinking tea. The younger
Amazon smirked and looked at the stairs wistfully. "So, your little plan
worked out well didn't it?"
"Of course, it was only a matter of time," snorted the old woman
playfully.
"The Tendo girl could still cause problems..." noted the younger
girl.
"Maybe, but I don't believe she would ever have a relationship
like that with another woman. She is strong, but..."
"She might surprise you," retorted Ko li.
"Ranma is honorable, the fact that Talcum has bed her will be
enough to keep her in line," snorted the old woman indignantly.
"Matters of the heart cannot be judged by honor," was the simple
reply.
"You are certainly too wise for your age," said Cologne
indignantly.
"She still has much to do before we can return to Joketsuko," said
Ko li carefully.
"I am aware that it will be some time before we can coax her back
to our home, but the commitment is now in place. She will return with us."
Cologne sipped her tea delicately and sighed in contentment. All of her
plans where coming together quite nicely. "Yes. She will return with
us...eventually."
+++++++++++
The beach, the soft murmur of the waves as they gently broke
against the sand; the shine of the moonlight against the water, the cool
breeze that washed across the open sand. The perfect spot for a romantic
date. Such was the idea that Soichiro had. He had not expected what he
found when he brought Ayane here for a late night picnic and perhaps a
little privacy, and intimacy.
"Sweeto!"
"AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH!"
It was the last thing he heard after he attacked the evil little
troll who had attached itself to his girlfriend's chest, right before he
hit the sand on his way down from the sky.
Happosai rubbed the sore spot on top of his head where the woman
had hit him. He felt much better after the long voyage back to Japan, but
still nowhere near where he needed to be. The girl Ranma was cunning and
strong; he needed much more power than he had just to be sure. What better
place to recover than the beach? He cackled evilly to himself as he rubbed
his hands in anticipation of the daylight. Soon the bikini-clad women
would come to him in droves; he would have ample time to recuperate the
energy he used during his cold slumber. In a few weeks time he could
return to Nerima and have his revenge. Of course he would then make up
with the girl and she'd let him have her most frilly pair of
undergarments, but that would just have to wait. The sound of evil
laughter overtook the crash of the waves suddenly causing all the young
couples along the beach to shudder in unexplainable fear.
+++++++++++++
Hikaru Gosunkugi studied diligently over an aged tome. He blinked
and realized he had only gone over two pages since the evening started and
it was almost three o'clock in the morning. "What the? How could it take
that long?" He looked over to the window and out at the night sky. After a
moment he paused and realized something was wrong. "How did that get open?
The air conditioner is on, my parents will kill me if they find out I've
left this open."
TBC...
Next time: Akane and Ryoga run into trouble, Ranma discovers a new
surprise, [and I know you will be too!] and Kuno philosophizes some more.
P.S. just so you know now, this is not the end of Keiko.
Before anyone tries to tell me about it: Ranma does not sleep with
the girls for three basic reasons.
1. Honor: He isn't married to them, and it would dishonor the other
fiancee's if he did sleep with one of them. 2. Akane: Her simply because
of stubbornness, and the others because she would kill him. 3. Multiple
fiancee's: simply because he has so many, sleeping with any one of them
would basically mean he would have to marry them.
These are problems this Ranma doesn't have. She doesn't have any
fiancee's, she's a lesbian and can't get married, and as far as she is
concerned Akane is straight and a friend.
