Ranma slumped over the arrow protruding from her stomach; her eyes dulled and fell closed as her head lolled over her chest. The shield over her demonic attributes visibly faded and a deathly calm came over her. She could have been asleep, but for the unnatural slack in her ears and her limbs. The wind blew by with a ghostly howl, tossing Ranma's hair and making an eerie portrait of the scene.
Akane's eyes closed tightly, warding off the surreal vision as if it would disappear if she willed it to. She found that it would not when her eyes snapped open and her mind whispered, Ranma, you idiot…Her tears flew from her cheeks as she turned her head to face Kho Lon. The old miko had another arrow knocked and she watched Akane with only loathing.
"I…" Akane looked into her lap and clenched her fist, swallowing convulsively. When she looked up again her eyes were burning with cold fire, her muscles were tensed, her face was grim, and all that was Akane became ashes blown by the wind because she had been purged by the flames of her eyes. "I'll kill you!" and she meant to.
"Feh! You can't even stand," Kho Lon smirked and raised her bow. "Now hold still." Before she could shoot, Akane lunged forward and her hand shot out to grab Kho Lon's bow. She swung the old woman around with the weapon and planted her flat on her back. Kho Lon didn't pause before leaving the bow with Akane and leaping into the air to avoid the blade that would have sliced through her neck. Akane looked up at Nodoka who had her katana out and was watching Kho Lon as she landed a short distance from them.
The bow in Akane's hands snapped in two and Akane sent the pieces at Kho Lon, pegging the old miko to the wall of the house with the splintered ends. Kho Lon stared blankly at the fragments of smooth wood that bound both her arms for a moment, before a mixture of shock, disgust, and pain crept over her face. Her left arm was pinned only by a billowing sleeve, but the right one was gushing blood as a result of the bow having gone right through it.
The dark stain that spread across her clothing screamed at Akane's instincts, but her legs were a mass of dead weight beneath her and as she tried to push herself forward, she found Nodoka's blade barring her way. Her furious gaze locked with Nodoka's….
"Oh my!"
And then it was Kasumi who was the focus of their attention. Taking advantage of Nodoka's distraction, Akane pulled the sword from her hand by the blade, hardly aware as it sunk into her skin. She hefted the katana like a spear, and threw it at Kho Lon. Instead of piercing the miko's skull, and sating her bloodlust, the sword halted just short of its goal and clattered to the ground, awash in Akane's blood.
"Akane, I can't have you killing people in our backyard," said Kasumi, her tone was slightly scolding as she bent to pick up Nodoka's katana and began to clean it with a dishtowel from her apron. A low growl rose in Akane's throat.
"Akane!" Nodoka snapped, command clear in her voice as she stepped in front of her. Akane glared at Ranma's mother, and her growl rose as she bared her fangs. Fangs? She blinked in surprise and ran a tongue over them, twitching her ears. But Kasumi… Her eyes flew to her oldest sister who was handing the sword back to Nodoka.
"It's a good thing that's a demonic blade," she said, smiling, "or I would have had a larger mess to clean up." Nodoka took her katana, but did not sheath it.
"Would the Soatome honor blade be anything less?"
"Oh, no! I wasn't implying – "
"Kasumi!" Akane interrupted. "You're a miko?!" Kasumi's smile grew brighter.
"In training!" she chirped, and leant a hand to her sister. Instead of accepting the help, Akane just glowered.
"I don't need your help! Just let me kill her!" she snarled. A worried frown grew on Kasumi's face, and she looked from Kho Lon to Ranma and back to Akane.
"Do you really want to do that, Akane?" she asked gently. Akane bit her lip hard and knew the answer was yes. She wanted to kill Kho Lon. But the more important question is will that make me happy? And she knew the answer was no. I want happiness… her eyes turned to Ranma. For Ranma and myself. She took a deep breath, and struggled for control.
"If Ranma is unsealed, I won't kill her," she said stonily.
Kasumi looked to Kho Lon, who stopped trying to free herself and spat at her feet in abhorrence. With a thoughtful sigh, Kasumi moved to the shrine gate and crouched next to Ranma's still form.
"Nodoka," she called over her shoulder, "why don't you go and call doctor Tofu." Nodoka nodded as if she had expected nothing else and left, casting an unreadable glance at Kasumi. Or maybe it was directed at Ranma. Since they were both in the same area, Akane couldn't tell.
She watched Kasumi studying Ranma and she guiltily suppressed a twinge of mistrust. I can trust Kasumi, she told herself firmly and began making an effort to get to Ranma without the use of her legs. They were starting to feel a little bit less numb… well, maybe that was just her imagination. She couldn't tell if there was any change, and she didn't care. Ranma was at the shrine, and she would get there.
"Oh! Akane, would you like some help?" asked Kasumi, momentarily turning her attention from Ranma. Akane felt that twinge again.
"S-sure, Kasumi."
The shrine was a cold place at night. And the steps were not extremely comfortable to sit on. They had stopped being comfortable after the first few hours, but the thought of being in a warm bed or on the sofa in front of the TV was just as cheerless. This was the best – the only – place for Akane. At the shrine, next to Ranma. She looked at Ranma's face for a minute. It doesn't matter where we are, as long as I'm with him…er, her…
Akane watched the sky absently. She didn't like to look at Ranma like this. She was so still. She didn't even draw breath and the comforting drumming if her heart was inaudible. She was dead, and yet not dead. Either way, Ranma was not herself. Not the invincible, cocky, arrogant, lively half-demon that attracted both enemies and allies inexorably. That had attracted her the same way.
The hushed voices of Kasumi and Doctor Tofu drifted to her ears from the house. The light glaring from the windows and the whispers the wind brought her made a haunting impression, and she took Ranma's limp hand. The fingers were warm, but there was no answering grip – only the slight weight of Ranma's hand across her palm. Akane squeezed it tighter to make up for the slack on the other side.
When Doctor Tofu arrived he had fixed her legs first thing. Kho Lon had used some sort of pressure point on her, and it wasn't too hard to reverse. As soon as that was done he and Kasumi had studied Ranma for a while and come to the conclusion that they might be able to unseal him, although Akane didn't know the logistics behind their reasoning.
Kho Lon was long gone. Kasumi and Doctor Tofu had subdued her temporarily, so the claimed she would not attack for a time. Nodoka had gone home, asking to be updated as soon as anything happened. She seemed worried – the way a shopkeeper worries over his merchandise. Her father was out drinking with Genma. Kasumi had bandaged the cuts in her hands – they were almost healed – but… she almost hadn't trusted her sister to do the job.
Kasumi had been trained by Doctor Tofu in the ways of a miko. She had been born with the talent, and Tofu recognized it in her. She hadn't admitted why she never told anyone about it, but Akane could guess. Because she had done the same thing herself.
Maybe the consequences for being what she was weren't as harsh for Kasumi, but she would still be treated differently. Akane was treating her differently already, as hard as she was trying not to. There weren't many real mikos anymore, and most of them were like Shampoo or Kho Lon. Trusting a miko, even if it was her sister, wasn't something any demon was prone to do. And she had known Kasumi all her life – sweet, innocent Kasumi who was always trustworthy. She was the mother of the household, but Akane could feel herself drifting from her sister, and she wasn't sure if it was such a bad thing. Mikos were farther from demons than normal humans, and now she had to entrust the most important thing to the miko that was her sister.
Akane rubbed her thumb across Ranma's callused hand and felt helpless. There's nothing I can do for you, is there, Ranma? The young hanyou at the shrine gates lifted her head to the sky and let out a pitiful, wordless cry – too low pitched for human ears. The stars winked at her, but revealed no secrets. And then she leaned heavily against the gate and realized she was weeping, and that she had started long before. I can't do a thing right now, but I'll do whatever it takes…to make him live again.
Kasumi watched as Doctor Tofu stirred his tea, and took a sip.
"Do you like it?" she asked. Tofu looked at her concernedly.
"Kasumi…"
She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. We have more important things to discuss."
Her eyes drifted to the window for a moment, and then back to the table. She studied the patterns of the wood carefully, refusing to meet Tofu's eyes. She heard him draw a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
"Akane will learn to trust you again. Just give her some time," he said, reaching across the table to take her hand. The contact was perfectly chaste, but there was something about the warmth of his hand that made her blush.
"I know…" And she did know. She only found it hard to believe.
"So. The arrow did not belong to Kho Lon," said Tofu, and Kasumi was glad for the change in subject. "Shampoo originally made it, and so it worked because they are of the same bloodline, but the magic is not as strong." Kasumi nodded in confirmation, and continued where he left off.
"It doesn't matter who removes it now, as long as it is a powerful miko. Neither of us would be capable." Tofu frowned, but Kasumi answered his question before he could voice it. "I tried already. And you have less power than I do."
"So we just need to find someone with enough power," he said thoughtfully.
"And someone who is willing to do it. Easier said than done," Kasumi sighed. Tofu looked up at her and smiled, earning him a questioning look from Kasumi.
"I think I know where we might find someone… Have you heard of the Higurashi shrine?"
A/N: Tofu doesn't go crazy around Kasumi in this fic (It wouldn't make sense with the story) but there is something going on… Originally, I was going to have Kasumi unseal him, but Nimbus Rey suggested that I have Kagome do it (Thanks!) and I thought it would be a good way to put her in, but not in such a big way. About the arrow, remember in the last chapter when Shampoo turned into a cat and Ranma snapped Kho Lon's bow because she was trying to shoot Nodoka? She took the arrow then. Akane didn't go full demon, she just lost control. There is a reason behind that, I promise. Also for Cheng Gwia: I WON'T turn Nodoka, Ranma, or Akane human. I hate that too. Okay, PLEASE REVIEW! I want SUGGESTIONS! Alright, I'll go now.