Retro's thoughts: O.K. so the boys and ghouls crack was a little cheesy, so to calm the thriving masses I bare a new chapter.
Chapter 10
"Hey now, what's this?" Reijiro Kato stood in the van peering through a pair of binoculars observing several helicopters drop soldiers onto the docks that he was to watch. A detective in the police force, Kato was a middle-aged man with a wife and two lovely children. He took his job very seriously and always followed his orders to the letter. He and a partner had been assigned to keep an eye out for a certain Ranma Saotome, but so far, they had seen neither hide nor hair of him. He had been chosen because he knew Nerima like the back of his hand, but this mission gave him an eerie feeling.
"What is it?" His partner, a huge quiet German from some agency, said in a thick accent as he stood up looking through the binoculars himself. Stepping back and relaxing back in his seat he took a sip of his coffee and said, "They don't matter. Just keep your eye open for Saotome."
"What do you guys want with him anyway?" Kato sat in his chair, placed his hands behind his head, and began to rock back and forth.
"That's classified." The German set his cup down and stared intently back at his partner. He scanned the monitors and noticed two flashes on the heat sensors. "Stay alert. They're here."
Kato turned around and began flipping on all the surveillance cameras, and then he put earphones on his head allowing him to here all of Ranma's conversation. Kato waited until the fight broke out and an all out war began on the docks. He gasped and turned around picking up his radio and calling for reinforcements.
"Stop. Your not cleared to do that. You will not exceed your objectives." The German stole the radio away from him and proceeded back to his seat continuing to listen and watch the events unfold before him. Reijiro panicked looking back to the screen to see an illuminating glow form around Ranma's body. Kato turned back to the German and then back to the screen.
"He's slaughtering them. What should we do, just sit here? Well I can't do that," Kato said as he opened the door to the van and began to proceed outside before his partner stopped him.
"Okay. We'll call for backup, just calm down. I don't want him spotting us." The German moved to the back of the van and brought Reijiro the radio. Kato sighed in relief and pulled the radio up to his lips. He was about to speak when an automatic handgun materialized under his nose. The German had pulled a Glock 35. It wasn't the newest model, but certainly a reliable one. Reijiro had to admire the German for using a Glock. The gun was very reliable and its over all simplicity made it the gun of many law enforcement organizations around the world. He looked up to see his "partner's" face one last time before his life flashed before his eyes.
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(The Tendo Residence)
Ranma knelt before them bound tightly with rope and his head hung low like a criminal being tried for his crimes, or like an animal that had slaughtered their flock of sheep. His hands were tied tightly behind his back pinching his skin, but he didn't care. Like that would help, he thought. Before him, everyone sat present none noticing that the warmth of the growing sun had replaced the accusing darkness of the moon. They had been talking and discussing what to do with him taking up much time in doing so.
Their discussion had just ended and they all fixed their gaze on him boring into both his body and his soul. He looked up and smiled at them. The reactions from several of them turned to disgust.
Ranma's mother had journeyed to the unexpected meeting after hearing the shocking news. She stood now in the back, behind the harsh gazes like a beam of light being blocked. Her body was rigid, but her eyes told a story of sadness and remorse. Ranma looked to each person individually before returning his head to its original position. His body had been fighting Tofu's jab and was now in his full control. He formed a ball of chi energy in his hand and started to burn the ropes slow enough to not draw attention.
"Ranma, please just say that you never meant any of the things you did," Akane said as she looked pleadingly into Ranma's eyes, hoping beyond all hope that a sliver of the cocky sixteen year old, who had stepped through the front door and forever changed her life, was still there.
He looked back into her eyes showing that he too was pleading, but with someone else. Or himself. He closed his eyes and the next few moments seemed to pass slowly for Akane, but she was later told that it only had been a couple seconds.
Ranma brought his hands, palms spread outward, in front of him sending two blasts of raw chi to his right side and his left. The one to his left blasted Mousse squarely in the shoulder sending knives of pain into his arm. Letting out a small yelp of pain, he flew back knocking into a stunned Shampoo and Ryouga. Ryouga, who was leaning against the wall remaining quiet the whole time except when it came to condemning Ranma for his actions, tore through the paper thin wall behind him throwing him head first into a table in the next room. Shampoo who had been close to Ryouga, but closer still to Mousse got a mouthful of his shoulder as it nailed her in the jaw sending her sprawling backwards.
The right fared no better as it nearly missed Kasumi's face landing behind her burning a good portion of the wall in its wake. The sheer force of the shot, although not hitting anyone directly, blew Kasumi, Akane, and Nabiki, who were all clustered together, apart sending them crashing to the ground.
Taking the initiative, Ukyou brandished her spatula and heard the "shink" of metal being unsheathed behind her. Nodoka and Ukyou, together, rushed forward to meet Ranma but were stopped when he kicked the table over providing a quick barrier to stop the girls. Both Genma and Soun were also stopped by the table and quickly, together, chopped it in half. In that short amount of time, Ranma had leaped back to a standing position on top of the Dojo wall that surrounded the perimeter. Everyone, except Ryouga, Shampoo, Kasumi, and Nabiki quickly recovered and rushed out to meet him.
"And so it ends here," Ranma said as he gave off the demeanor which was, to say the least, that of a god. An angry God. The Nerima crew, although ready to dish out a quick rebuttal, still had a look of sorrow in their eyes. Akane looked on Ranma with sorrow. She now knew there was no other way than to face Ranma. Then it started.
Mousse started the whole precession by shooting several chains with various spikes, knives, and objects high on the hurt scale towards Ranma. The pig-tailed boy deflected all of them easily except the last chain, which he grabbed in his hands and pulled hard yanking Mousse with him. Mousse disconnected the chain a second too late flying smack into the wall below Ranma.
Nodoka and Ukyou leaped into the air a second after Mousse hit the wall matching Ranma for his height advantage on them. Ranma swung towards them swinging the chain with him to attach itself to Ukyo's spatula. He yanked hard hoping for the same result he had with Mousse, but Ukyou, realizing Ranma's move, let go of the spatula. He paused for a second and then brought it up against his mother who was now charging him, katana drawn and in full strike position. Ukyou began to pull miniature spatulas out of her assorted pockets and threw them at Ranma forcing him to fight both Nodoka's sword and her onslaught of projectiles.
Down on the ground Tofu, Soun, and Genma stood watching hoping for the best from the two. The three hand to hand martial artists would only get in the way of the weapon wielders: Nodoka and Ukyou.
Ranma, a little sloppy with the spatula, traded blow for blow with Nodoka and her blade. He was doing amazingly well for someone blocking projectiles and a katana at the same time. Ranma saw a quick opening and jabbed the spatula forward, the flat side parallel to the ground. Nodoka dashed to the side avoiding the blade that could have gutted her and started to Ranma. Ranma saw the move and, turning the blade 180 degrees, smacked Nodoka off with the flat side.
The kitchen utensil hit her hard and she grimaced at the pain. Nodoka started to fall but regained her position on the wall at the expense of losing her sword. Ranma took control and grabbed the blade mid-air twirling it above his head to dodge two more mini-spatulas. He chose the sleek katana over the bulky spatula and hurled Ukyo's weapon into the air losing sight of it quickly.
Nodoka saw the disadvantage and thanked god for a now conscious Mousse, as he pulled an extra from his robe and heaved it to her. Nodoka grabbed it successfully and charged Ranma, sword held high. He met her in a clash of strength, their swords grinding inches from each other's faces. Nodoka's face was twisted with strain trying to keep her blade steady. Ranma's face, which was the complete opposite, was calm and devoid of emotion showing no signs of weakness. Nodoka's swordsman-ship was perfection. Ranma could tell that she had given a large portion of her life to the art which, as he could see, she was a master.
He broke the lock and swept his blade down and to the left motioning to cut her feet off. She matched his move and leapt into the air seeing an opening on his upper body. So this is it, she thought, my only son has chosen this path himself. It is his destiny. She raised her katana above her head in a motion to cut down his body slicing him in half.
With surprising speed he jumped several inches off the ground and, twirling diagonally to the right, brought his left foot up to crash into her body. It connected hard and must have broken several ribs as Nodoka dropped her weapon and landed on the hard gravel outside the perimeter.
Ranma was now facing the rest of the group which, he noticed smugly, was now lacking of Nabiki and Kasumi, but now swelled with Ryouga and Shampoo. All of them had their attack stances, and their anger, ready for Ranma.
He assessed the situation, carefully planning his next moves, something he would not have done a couple weeks ago. With his mind set he dropped his sword on the soft grass, and charged downward but cut abruptly left to take on Ukyou who was now standing on the wall.
"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN," Ranma screamed sailing along the wall with lightning speed nailing Ukyou in the body countless times. With nowhere to go she finally blacked out from the brutal onslaught and fell to the grass to be caught by Ryouga who brought her away from Ranma. Ignoring him Ranma leapt down and began to attack Soun and Genma together. For a freeloader and a crybaby, Ranma finally realized why these two were masters of the "Art." Happosai had obviously trained them well. Both made up for each other with their strengths and weaknesses. Soun was speed and Genma strength. Where one ended the other began, and they flowed perfectly with the process.
Ranma was having a hard time finding a weakness between the two so he devised a clever plan. Ranma rose his arms to a high V in the air with his palms out like before and his fingers spread. The wind started to pick up in the tight confines of the yard. The grass started to move and the trees started to sway. "KASZE KEKKAI," Ranma bellowed. The winds were now ferocious literally moving people off the ground. Ranma began to make hand movements and as he did so, everyone moved with him.
Everyone was thrown everywhere. Akane knocked into Shampoo and Mousse all three hitting the wall on the other side. Genma and Soun flew into the house walls incapacitating Soun. Ryouga, who was tending Ukyou and throwing bandanas at Ranma with close to no accuracy, slid along the ground until finding a hold on a tree. Ukyou was blown into the koi pond, and rested gently on the rocks, her upper torso still out of the flailing water.
Going against the wind Ryouga dashed for his umbrella. He grabbed it and used it as a shield to block the wind making careful sure it didn't oppose him and become a parachute. He was close to Ranma when he threw a bandana that connected sharply with Ranma's left calf ceasing the fury of winds.
He saw Ranma about to turn around so he countered by jumping forward. Now with Ranma's back to him he jabbed his now folded umbrella into his back.
Ranma grunted from the attack and turned to meet his assailant. Ryouga. The whelp obviously hadn't learned his lesson yet. Ranma looked at the sword at his feet and picked it up. He brought it up and began to duel Ryouga like he did Nodoka. Nodoka's form had been sleek and cunning. She had carefully planned her moves out and executed them with finesse. Ryouga however had none, but that didn't deter him from swinging the heavy umbrella around wildly. He had strength and power with his swings. They had dueled until Ranma saw the rest of his attackers begin to catch their bearings from being jostled around. He decided to finish it.
He let Ryouga take a wild swing and, using Ryouga's clumsiness inertia, knocked the umbrella out of his hand. Ranma then positioned his katana like a spear and sent it sailing toward Ryouga's heart. Nevertheless, Ryouga was quicker as he anticipated the death strike, and leaned slightly to the left and let the sword sail right past him.
And into the body of Genma Saotome.
The battle, everyone, and even time stopped as all eyes fell on Ranma and Genma. Ranma had the look of abject horror in his eyes. The unthinkable had happened. Ranma and all his carefree days had always had the golden rule; that none of it would ever end. Now he saw his father, pierced with a blade of his hatred, lying before him with a gi embroidered with blood and sweat, both of which should have never been there.
Dr. Tofu had rushed to Genma's side. Kneeling down next to him, he cradled his head. The sword had pierced directly in the middle of his body, a couple inches down from the heart. Ranma ran with lightning speed to his father's vacant side and looked him in the eye.
Genma was still breathing, but shallow. He took his son's hand and gripped it hard looking into his only son's eyes. They stayed like that, their eyes focused on each other, and each passing back and forth a conversation that only they knew. Feeling the grip loosen on his hand, Ranma brought both his hands into his fathers and began to squeeze tighter hoping for a reaction. Ranma was not crying; that had been a sign of weakness. His father always told him that when he was young he would grow up to be the greatest martial artist ever, and to start on that road he would leave behind all symbols of childhood. Next to him Tofu took the other hand of Genma's, placed it on his limp body, and closed the dead eyes with his two fingers. He stood up and moved back several steps to the group that had formed around the father and his son.
He didn't want this. Not this. None of this was ever supposed to happen. They were all supposed to live together with the fights, crashes, loudness, and overall chaos that had been their normal lives. Although Death had always knocked at Ranma's door and peeked through his windows, he never figured it would come to this. Someone had invited Death inside and it had been him.
No. It wasn't him. It was everyone else. No one had believed HIM, and everyone allied against HIM and fought HIM. It was their fault for the dead man lying before everyone. Ranma placed his father's hand over his other, stood, and turned to everyone.
He began by shooting a Moko Takabisha into the group.
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Ranma walked through the living room that he had once been tied like an animal in. He picked up a futon that had rudely been in his way and threw it against the wall hard.
"Come out Akane or I'll blow your house down," he said laughing at his joke. "You can't hide forever."
Ranma reached the staircase and began to pull the wood railing off of it, ripping up wood from the stairs as he did so, trying to make as much threatening noise as he could.
The rest were all outside. That's where he had left them last, each one either dead or unconscious. Mostly unconscious, he thought, those excuses for human beings put up a good fight.
In Ranma's hand was the katana that had impaled his father. He had pulled it out of the dead man himself, and was now banging it loudly on the wall as he walked up the stairs. It angered him that Kasumi and Nabiki had both departed out the front door anticipating his wrath. He didn't have much time if they went to the police.
"Come on Akane. Is this any way to treat your fiancé?" Ranma had reached the top and tried to turn Akane's doorknob but found it locked. He let out a loud guffaw and kicked the door across the room. He peered inside and found it empty. With the window open.
He leapt across the room and out the window land softly and silently on the grass. He had caught up to Akane who had probably tried to get out the window as quietly as possible.
Akane looked back at him and his wry smile. She brought up an attack stance to fight Ranma one last time.
She was scared, angry, and sad at the events that had happened earlier this morning. She was tired from no sleep and whipped from that wind of his, but she would fight to the last.
He started to laugh aloud and soon took a knee on the grass and clutched his stomach he was laughing so hard. Akane got even angrier but kept it in check until Ranma was done.
Ranma finished, stood up, and in the blink of an eye was charging at Akane full-bore. Akane managed to hold her own, but soon noticed that Ranma wasn't giving it his all.
She tired down quickly under his superb assault, which was probably no more than a simple spar for him. She could find neither weaknesses nor any faults. She had known the outcome before Ranma had even started the fight. He had backed her up against a wall. Exhausted, Akane fell to the ground resting on her knees. She stared at a patch of grass in front of her smiling at the simplicity of life. You live and you die she thought, It's only a matter of time. The sun's light that had once beat down on her emotionally crushed face was now blocked by a figure that loomed menacingly above her.
He leaned over and gently picked Akane up and propped her against the wall. She struggled to lift her eyes to him, and saw his face. She was surprised to not see Ranma.
Not the Ranma she knew anyway. Before her was a monster who merely had his face. Ranma's eyes had deep bags under them and his face was lined and beginning to wrinkle. His red Chinese shirt which he always wore was tattered and ripped in places and was lined with his bulging muscles.
Ranma reluctantly raised the katana in his hand up and brought it to rest in a position that if thrusted would puncture Akane's chest and pierce her heart.
His eyes met Akane's and shot quickly away. He reluctantly looked back to them and didn't look away. He closed his eyes slowly realizing a tear that streamed down his right cheek. With his left hand on Akane's right shoulder and his right hand holding the Katana menacingly he put all his strength into his hand and pushed the Katana forward...
And a bright light ensued from Akane's chest. Ranma fumbled back pulling the sword with him. As he did a searing pain shot up and down his body quickly forcing him to collapse on the ground.
Akane looked down at her chest and found her pendant, which Ranma had given to her as a birthday present several days ago, glowing a bright scarlet. The light seemed to fill every corner of the yard banishing all shadows from the area.
Ranma looked at her, the pain now gone, with the same amazement, which she had when she first saw it. Their eyes met and held as Ranma dropped the katana to the grass. He stood up and clenching and unclenching his fists. The voice, which had reassured him since he found the ring that everything would be alright, was faltering and in its place was a brave light which had been buried beneath layer and layer of hate.
The insides of him were churning deeply like a simmering cauldron being stirred. He could feel them both. The falsity that had promised him so much and the reality which had been rewritten each waging war against each other. His body felt clean again and he breathed real air again for once.
Akane had looked at the amazing transformation before her. Ranma, the same Ranma who had scared, threatened, and murdered, was now back to normal. Akane did not know how she knew, but looking into those lonesome deep gray eyes, she could tell he was back to normal.
He smiled and started toward Akane but was stopped short. His head, which had been tickling for a second, now felt like it was in a vice being squeezed tighter and tighter. He let a scream escape his lips as he collapsed to the ground throwing his hands to his head.
Akane was next to him in an instant asking what was wrong, but Ranma continued to flail around screaming at the terrible pain his head. Blood had started to stream from his nostrils. He reluctantly opened his eyes to see if he was being attacked and then he saw him.
The figure that had haunted his dreams stood before him wielding his mace at his side. The dark spiked helmet that rested atop his head loomed over him like a black hole ready to take him in. Ranma now heard a voice. It held a distaste and anger in it; like everything that you ever feared now mixed into an audible sentence. Ranma could not directly understand the words as they were spoken, as much as he could see them. He did not quite understand any of it, but he didn't dwell on it for his head still felt pierced with an apprehensive pain.
"Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!"
As if the words were sharp knives that punctured Ranma when they were spoken, he writhed with pain from each one. The voice was louder now screaming at him. Ranma chanced one more look to find the dark warrior's hand reaching for him.
Akane had been trying to calm him down, but was failing pitifully. Akane watched Ranma motion for his hand, and stop as another shot of pain hit his head. Akane looked down to find smoke coming from the finger, which had the ring on it. As she tried to rip it off his hand Akane could smell burned flesh.
The ring seemed to cling to his finger like a mother would, her child. Akane finally, after much sweat and screams from Ranma, pulled it off and looked down to see strange writing on it. She took one last glance at Ranma and heaved it with all her might into the air. In the distance, she heard a faint "sploosh" as it landed in the canal.
Ranma opened his eyes to a great flood of relief that soared through his body. He looked down at his numb body, and realized his vision was starting to fade. He looked back up at Akane and saw that she was yelling something that he couldn't quite catch; in fact, he couldn't here at all. He felt like a million bucks when he finally blacked out.
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Retro's thoughts: Confessions are made and secrets revealed when raw human emotion is released in the next and final chapter of The One Ring.
Chapter 10
"Hey now, what's this?" Reijiro Kato stood in the van peering through a pair of binoculars observing several helicopters drop soldiers onto the docks that he was to watch. A detective in the police force, Kato was a middle-aged man with a wife and two lovely children. He took his job very seriously and always followed his orders to the letter. He and a partner had been assigned to keep an eye out for a certain Ranma Saotome, but so far, they had seen neither hide nor hair of him. He had been chosen because he knew Nerima like the back of his hand, but this mission gave him an eerie feeling.
"What is it?" His partner, a huge quiet German from some agency, said in a thick accent as he stood up looking through the binoculars himself. Stepping back and relaxing back in his seat he took a sip of his coffee and said, "They don't matter. Just keep your eye open for Saotome."
"What do you guys want with him anyway?" Kato sat in his chair, placed his hands behind his head, and began to rock back and forth.
"That's classified." The German set his cup down and stared intently back at his partner. He scanned the monitors and noticed two flashes on the heat sensors. "Stay alert. They're here."
Kato turned around and began flipping on all the surveillance cameras, and then he put earphones on his head allowing him to here all of Ranma's conversation. Kato waited until the fight broke out and an all out war began on the docks. He gasped and turned around picking up his radio and calling for reinforcements.
"Stop. Your not cleared to do that. You will not exceed your objectives." The German stole the radio away from him and proceeded back to his seat continuing to listen and watch the events unfold before him. Reijiro panicked looking back to the screen to see an illuminating glow form around Ranma's body. Kato turned back to the German and then back to the screen.
"He's slaughtering them. What should we do, just sit here? Well I can't do that," Kato said as he opened the door to the van and began to proceed outside before his partner stopped him.
"Okay. We'll call for backup, just calm down. I don't want him spotting us." The German moved to the back of the van and brought Reijiro the radio. Kato sighed in relief and pulled the radio up to his lips. He was about to speak when an automatic handgun materialized under his nose. The German had pulled a Glock 35. It wasn't the newest model, but certainly a reliable one. Reijiro had to admire the German for using a Glock. The gun was very reliable and its over all simplicity made it the gun of many law enforcement organizations around the world. He looked up to see his "partner's" face one last time before his life flashed before his eyes.
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(The Tendo Residence)
Ranma knelt before them bound tightly with rope and his head hung low like a criminal being tried for his crimes, or like an animal that had slaughtered their flock of sheep. His hands were tied tightly behind his back pinching his skin, but he didn't care. Like that would help, he thought. Before him, everyone sat present none noticing that the warmth of the growing sun had replaced the accusing darkness of the moon. They had been talking and discussing what to do with him taking up much time in doing so.
Their discussion had just ended and they all fixed their gaze on him boring into both his body and his soul. He looked up and smiled at them. The reactions from several of them turned to disgust.
Ranma's mother had journeyed to the unexpected meeting after hearing the shocking news. She stood now in the back, behind the harsh gazes like a beam of light being blocked. Her body was rigid, but her eyes told a story of sadness and remorse. Ranma looked to each person individually before returning his head to its original position. His body had been fighting Tofu's jab and was now in his full control. He formed a ball of chi energy in his hand and started to burn the ropes slow enough to not draw attention.
"Ranma, please just say that you never meant any of the things you did," Akane said as she looked pleadingly into Ranma's eyes, hoping beyond all hope that a sliver of the cocky sixteen year old, who had stepped through the front door and forever changed her life, was still there.
He looked back into her eyes showing that he too was pleading, but with someone else. Or himself. He closed his eyes and the next few moments seemed to pass slowly for Akane, but she was later told that it only had been a couple seconds.
Ranma brought his hands, palms spread outward, in front of him sending two blasts of raw chi to his right side and his left. The one to his left blasted Mousse squarely in the shoulder sending knives of pain into his arm. Letting out a small yelp of pain, he flew back knocking into a stunned Shampoo and Ryouga. Ryouga, who was leaning against the wall remaining quiet the whole time except when it came to condemning Ranma for his actions, tore through the paper thin wall behind him throwing him head first into a table in the next room. Shampoo who had been close to Ryouga, but closer still to Mousse got a mouthful of his shoulder as it nailed her in the jaw sending her sprawling backwards.
The right fared no better as it nearly missed Kasumi's face landing behind her burning a good portion of the wall in its wake. The sheer force of the shot, although not hitting anyone directly, blew Kasumi, Akane, and Nabiki, who were all clustered together, apart sending them crashing to the ground.
Taking the initiative, Ukyou brandished her spatula and heard the "shink" of metal being unsheathed behind her. Nodoka and Ukyou, together, rushed forward to meet Ranma but were stopped when he kicked the table over providing a quick barrier to stop the girls. Both Genma and Soun were also stopped by the table and quickly, together, chopped it in half. In that short amount of time, Ranma had leaped back to a standing position on top of the Dojo wall that surrounded the perimeter. Everyone, except Ryouga, Shampoo, Kasumi, and Nabiki quickly recovered and rushed out to meet him.
"And so it ends here," Ranma said as he gave off the demeanor which was, to say the least, that of a god. An angry God. The Nerima crew, although ready to dish out a quick rebuttal, still had a look of sorrow in their eyes. Akane looked on Ranma with sorrow. She now knew there was no other way than to face Ranma. Then it started.
Mousse started the whole precession by shooting several chains with various spikes, knives, and objects high on the hurt scale towards Ranma. The pig-tailed boy deflected all of them easily except the last chain, which he grabbed in his hands and pulled hard yanking Mousse with him. Mousse disconnected the chain a second too late flying smack into the wall below Ranma.
Nodoka and Ukyou leaped into the air a second after Mousse hit the wall matching Ranma for his height advantage on them. Ranma swung towards them swinging the chain with him to attach itself to Ukyo's spatula. He yanked hard hoping for the same result he had with Mousse, but Ukyou, realizing Ranma's move, let go of the spatula. He paused for a second and then brought it up against his mother who was now charging him, katana drawn and in full strike position. Ukyou began to pull miniature spatulas out of her assorted pockets and threw them at Ranma forcing him to fight both Nodoka's sword and her onslaught of projectiles.
Down on the ground Tofu, Soun, and Genma stood watching hoping for the best from the two. The three hand to hand martial artists would only get in the way of the weapon wielders: Nodoka and Ukyou.
Ranma, a little sloppy with the spatula, traded blow for blow with Nodoka and her blade. He was doing amazingly well for someone blocking projectiles and a katana at the same time. Ranma saw a quick opening and jabbed the spatula forward, the flat side parallel to the ground. Nodoka dashed to the side avoiding the blade that could have gutted her and started to Ranma. Ranma saw the move and, turning the blade 180 degrees, smacked Nodoka off with the flat side.
The kitchen utensil hit her hard and she grimaced at the pain. Nodoka started to fall but regained her position on the wall at the expense of losing her sword. Ranma took control and grabbed the blade mid-air twirling it above his head to dodge two more mini-spatulas. He chose the sleek katana over the bulky spatula and hurled Ukyo's weapon into the air losing sight of it quickly.
Nodoka saw the disadvantage and thanked god for a now conscious Mousse, as he pulled an extra from his robe and heaved it to her. Nodoka grabbed it successfully and charged Ranma, sword held high. He met her in a clash of strength, their swords grinding inches from each other's faces. Nodoka's face was twisted with strain trying to keep her blade steady. Ranma's face, which was the complete opposite, was calm and devoid of emotion showing no signs of weakness. Nodoka's swordsman-ship was perfection. Ranma could tell that she had given a large portion of her life to the art which, as he could see, she was a master.
He broke the lock and swept his blade down and to the left motioning to cut her feet off. She matched his move and leapt into the air seeing an opening on his upper body. So this is it, she thought, my only son has chosen this path himself. It is his destiny. She raised her katana above her head in a motion to cut down his body slicing him in half.
With surprising speed he jumped several inches off the ground and, twirling diagonally to the right, brought his left foot up to crash into her body. It connected hard and must have broken several ribs as Nodoka dropped her weapon and landed on the hard gravel outside the perimeter.
Ranma was now facing the rest of the group which, he noticed smugly, was now lacking of Nabiki and Kasumi, but now swelled with Ryouga and Shampoo. All of them had their attack stances, and their anger, ready for Ranma.
He assessed the situation, carefully planning his next moves, something he would not have done a couple weeks ago. With his mind set he dropped his sword on the soft grass, and charged downward but cut abruptly left to take on Ukyou who was now standing on the wall.
"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN," Ranma screamed sailing along the wall with lightning speed nailing Ukyou in the body countless times. With nowhere to go she finally blacked out from the brutal onslaught and fell to the grass to be caught by Ryouga who brought her away from Ranma. Ignoring him Ranma leapt down and began to attack Soun and Genma together. For a freeloader and a crybaby, Ranma finally realized why these two were masters of the "Art." Happosai had obviously trained them well. Both made up for each other with their strengths and weaknesses. Soun was speed and Genma strength. Where one ended the other began, and they flowed perfectly with the process.
Ranma was having a hard time finding a weakness between the two so he devised a clever plan. Ranma rose his arms to a high V in the air with his palms out like before and his fingers spread. The wind started to pick up in the tight confines of the yard. The grass started to move and the trees started to sway. "KASZE KEKKAI," Ranma bellowed. The winds were now ferocious literally moving people off the ground. Ranma began to make hand movements and as he did so, everyone moved with him.
Everyone was thrown everywhere. Akane knocked into Shampoo and Mousse all three hitting the wall on the other side. Genma and Soun flew into the house walls incapacitating Soun. Ryouga, who was tending Ukyou and throwing bandanas at Ranma with close to no accuracy, slid along the ground until finding a hold on a tree. Ukyou was blown into the koi pond, and rested gently on the rocks, her upper torso still out of the flailing water.
Going against the wind Ryouga dashed for his umbrella. He grabbed it and used it as a shield to block the wind making careful sure it didn't oppose him and become a parachute. He was close to Ranma when he threw a bandana that connected sharply with Ranma's left calf ceasing the fury of winds.
He saw Ranma about to turn around so he countered by jumping forward. Now with Ranma's back to him he jabbed his now folded umbrella into his back.
Ranma grunted from the attack and turned to meet his assailant. Ryouga. The whelp obviously hadn't learned his lesson yet. Ranma looked at the sword at his feet and picked it up. He brought it up and began to duel Ryouga like he did Nodoka. Nodoka's form had been sleek and cunning. She had carefully planned her moves out and executed them with finesse. Ryouga however had none, but that didn't deter him from swinging the heavy umbrella around wildly. He had strength and power with his swings. They had dueled until Ranma saw the rest of his attackers begin to catch their bearings from being jostled around. He decided to finish it.
He let Ryouga take a wild swing and, using Ryouga's clumsiness inertia, knocked the umbrella out of his hand. Ranma then positioned his katana like a spear and sent it sailing toward Ryouga's heart. Nevertheless, Ryouga was quicker as he anticipated the death strike, and leaned slightly to the left and let the sword sail right past him.
And into the body of Genma Saotome.
The battle, everyone, and even time stopped as all eyes fell on Ranma and Genma. Ranma had the look of abject horror in his eyes. The unthinkable had happened. Ranma and all his carefree days had always had the golden rule; that none of it would ever end. Now he saw his father, pierced with a blade of his hatred, lying before him with a gi embroidered with blood and sweat, both of which should have never been there.
Dr. Tofu had rushed to Genma's side. Kneeling down next to him, he cradled his head. The sword had pierced directly in the middle of his body, a couple inches down from the heart. Ranma ran with lightning speed to his father's vacant side and looked him in the eye.
Genma was still breathing, but shallow. He took his son's hand and gripped it hard looking into his only son's eyes. They stayed like that, their eyes focused on each other, and each passing back and forth a conversation that only they knew. Feeling the grip loosen on his hand, Ranma brought both his hands into his fathers and began to squeeze tighter hoping for a reaction. Ranma was not crying; that had been a sign of weakness. His father always told him that when he was young he would grow up to be the greatest martial artist ever, and to start on that road he would leave behind all symbols of childhood. Next to him Tofu took the other hand of Genma's, placed it on his limp body, and closed the dead eyes with his two fingers. He stood up and moved back several steps to the group that had formed around the father and his son.
He didn't want this. Not this. None of this was ever supposed to happen. They were all supposed to live together with the fights, crashes, loudness, and overall chaos that had been their normal lives. Although Death had always knocked at Ranma's door and peeked through his windows, he never figured it would come to this. Someone had invited Death inside and it had been him.
No. It wasn't him. It was everyone else. No one had believed HIM, and everyone allied against HIM and fought HIM. It was their fault for the dead man lying before everyone. Ranma placed his father's hand over his other, stood, and turned to everyone.
He began by shooting a Moko Takabisha into the group.
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Ranma walked through the living room that he had once been tied like an animal in. He picked up a futon that had rudely been in his way and threw it against the wall hard.
"Come out Akane or I'll blow your house down," he said laughing at his joke. "You can't hide forever."
Ranma reached the staircase and began to pull the wood railing off of it, ripping up wood from the stairs as he did so, trying to make as much threatening noise as he could.
The rest were all outside. That's where he had left them last, each one either dead or unconscious. Mostly unconscious, he thought, those excuses for human beings put up a good fight.
In Ranma's hand was the katana that had impaled his father. He had pulled it out of the dead man himself, and was now banging it loudly on the wall as he walked up the stairs. It angered him that Kasumi and Nabiki had both departed out the front door anticipating his wrath. He didn't have much time if they went to the police.
"Come on Akane. Is this any way to treat your fiancé?" Ranma had reached the top and tried to turn Akane's doorknob but found it locked. He let out a loud guffaw and kicked the door across the room. He peered inside and found it empty. With the window open.
He leapt across the room and out the window land softly and silently on the grass. He had caught up to Akane who had probably tried to get out the window as quietly as possible.
Akane looked back at him and his wry smile. She brought up an attack stance to fight Ranma one last time.
She was scared, angry, and sad at the events that had happened earlier this morning. She was tired from no sleep and whipped from that wind of his, but she would fight to the last.
He started to laugh aloud and soon took a knee on the grass and clutched his stomach he was laughing so hard. Akane got even angrier but kept it in check until Ranma was done.
Ranma finished, stood up, and in the blink of an eye was charging at Akane full-bore. Akane managed to hold her own, but soon noticed that Ranma wasn't giving it his all.
She tired down quickly under his superb assault, which was probably no more than a simple spar for him. She could find neither weaknesses nor any faults. She had known the outcome before Ranma had even started the fight. He had backed her up against a wall. Exhausted, Akane fell to the ground resting on her knees. She stared at a patch of grass in front of her smiling at the simplicity of life. You live and you die she thought, It's only a matter of time. The sun's light that had once beat down on her emotionally crushed face was now blocked by a figure that loomed menacingly above her.
He leaned over and gently picked Akane up and propped her against the wall. She struggled to lift her eyes to him, and saw his face. She was surprised to not see Ranma.
Not the Ranma she knew anyway. Before her was a monster who merely had his face. Ranma's eyes had deep bags under them and his face was lined and beginning to wrinkle. His red Chinese shirt which he always wore was tattered and ripped in places and was lined with his bulging muscles.
Ranma reluctantly raised the katana in his hand up and brought it to rest in a position that if thrusted would puncture Akane's chest and pierce her heart.
His eyes met Akane's and shot quickly away. He reluctantly looked back to them and didn't look away. He closed his eyes slowly realizing a tear that streamed down his right cheek. With his left hand on Akane's right shoulder and his right hand holding the Katana menacingly he put all his strength into his hand and pushed the Katana forward...
And a bright light ensued from Akane's chest. Ranma fumbled back pulling the sword with him. As he did a searing pain shot up and down his body quickly forcing him to collapse on the ground.
Akane looked down at her chest and found her pendant, which Ranma had given to her as a birthday present several days ago, glowing a bright scarlet. The light seemed to fill every corner of the yard banishing all shadows from the area.
Ranma looked at her, the pain now gone, with the same amazement, which she had when she first saw it. Their eyes met and held as Ranma dropped the katana to the grass. He stood up and clenching and unclenching his fists. The voice, which had reassured him since he found the ring that everything would be alright, was faltering and in its place was a brave light which had been buried beneath layer and layer of hate.
The insides of him were churning deeply like a simmering cauldron being stirred. He could feel them both. The falsity that had promised him so much and the reality which had been rewritten each waging war against each other. His body felt clean again and he breathed real air again for once.
Akane had looked at the amazing transformation before her. Ranma, the same Ranma who had scared, threatened, and murdered, was now back to normal. Akane did not know how she knew, but looking into those lonesome deep gray eyes, she could tell he was back to normal.
He smiled and started toward Akane but was stopped short. His head, which had been tickling for a second, now felt like it was in a vice being squeezed tighter and tighter. He let a scream escape his lips as he collapsed to the ground throwing his hands to his head.
Akane was next to him in an instant asking what was wrong, but Ranma continued to flail around screaming at the terrible pain his head. Blood had started to stream from his nostrils. He reluctantly opened his eyes to see if he was being attacked and then he saw him.
The figure that had haunted his dreams stood before him wielding his mace at his side. The dark spiked helmet that rested atop his head loomed over him like a black hole ready to take him in. Ranma now heard a voice. It held a distaste and anger in it; like everything that you ever feared now mixed into an audible sentence. Ranma could not directly understand the words as they were spoken, as much as he could see them. He did not quite understand any of it, but he didn't dwell on it for his head still felt pierced with an apprehensive pain.
"Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!"
As if the words were sharp knives that punctured Ranma when they were spoken, he writhed with pain from each one. The voice was louder now screaming at him. Ranma chanced one more look to find the dark warrior's hand reaching for him.
Akane had been trying to calm him down, but was failing pitifully. Akane watched Ranma motion for his hand, and stop as another shot of pain hit his head. Akane looked down to find smoke coming from the finger, which had the ring on it. As she tried to rip it off his hand Akane could smell burned flesh.
The ring seemed to cling to his finger like a mother would, her child. Akane finally, after much sweat and screams from Ranma, pulled it off and looked down to see strange writing on it. She took one last glance at Ranma and heaved it with all her might into the air. In the distance, she heard a faint "sploosh" as it landed in the canal.
Ranma opened his eyes to a great flood of relief that soared through his body. He looked down at his numb body, and realized his vision was starting to fade. He looked back up at Akane and saw that she was yelling something that he couldn't quite catch; in fact, he couldn't here at all. He felt like a million bucks when he finally blacked out.
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Retro's thoughts: Confessions are made and secrets revealed when raw human emotion is released in the next and final chapter of The One Ring.