Chapter 3
*SLAM! * Ranma was knocked through the floor.
*SLAM! * Ranma was knocked through the wall.
*SLAM! * Ranma was knocked into the back yard.
*SLA…Catch? *
Ranma held the mallet above his head and tore it from the attackers hands. He then threw it to the side of the room.
"Quit it, ya stupid tomboy! I can't believe your still hitting me with that stupid mallet!" Ranma yelled, a little on edge due to the events that have been going on around him.
"What did you just call me?" The would-be attacker asked. Mostly out of habit.
"Listen Akane! Would ya stop? I don't even know why you're hitting me anymore!"
"Don't say it like you don't know!" Akane yelled back.
"Don't know what? I was just sitting here!"
"Fine! Be that way!" Akane walked away in a huff, and Ranma was left to his thoughts. A few minutes later Ranma heard the front door slide open.
"Hello Auntie Saotome! What a surprise!" Came the kind voice of the eldest Tendo sister.
"Hello Kasumi. Is Ranma in? I would like to have a word with him."
'This memory…it happened a few days ago.'
"Yes, Auntie! He's in the back next to the koi pond."
"Thank you, dear."
'This is when mom asked me how I felt about living with her for a while.'
Ranma heard his mother's footsteps enter the back yard. She then sat down next to him for a few minutes before saying a word.
"Nice day isn't it?"
"It's okay I guess." Ranma said, still mad due to current events.
"What's wrong? Another fight with Akane, or was it that Hibiki boy again?"
"Akane…" Ranma said, letting the sentence hang there. There was really nothing to say.
"…Ranma. I have a question for you." Nodoka said, not sure on how to talk to her son when he's in a bad mood.
"What is it?" Ranma asked, resting his chin on his hand.
"How would you feel about moving away from the Tendo dojo and living with me? Just the two of us."
"What about pops?" Ranma asked, looking up. The question seemed to upset Nodoka.
"He will be staying at the Tendo dojo. He has had you for ten years. It's my turn to be a part in your life. How about it?"
"I…" Ranma hesitated, not sure on how to answer.
"I…would love to come live with you." Ranma said, standing up from his position on the ground.
"Really?"
"Yeah…that would be great." Ranma said, staring at seemingly nothing.
"Great! I'll inform the Tendo's. Your father and I already talked about it."
'With your sword I'm sure. He wouldn't just give up on me that easily. I know him.'
The scene changes and Ranma is seen, falling through the wardrobe. And a startled Kaede enters her home. Some time passes and crash is heard. Ranma runs out side to see a snake like creature with a woman in its arms.
'That's not how it happened.'
The snake like creature turns around and looks at Ranma, revealing that the woman in his arms is Nodoka Saotome. The demon wraps its tail around her and starts to squeeze. Ranma watches helplessly as his mother is being squeezed to death. He tries to run to help her, but he can't move.
"MOM!"
'This can't be happening!'
"Let her go!"
'Yes! Let her go!'
The creature smiles and tightens its tail around the woman one last time, and a sickening crunching sound is heard.
"NO!"
'No! This can't be! This isn't what happened! Moms back at my own time! What's going on? No…No…'
"NOOOOOOO!" Ranma screamed, sitting up from where he was resting. Then quickly shut his eyes as the suns rays beat down on them.
'Just a dream?'
"You're finally up." Kikyou said walking over to where Ranma was.
"Huh?" Ranma said, wondering what was going on. Then the memories of last night filled his head. He had traveled with Kikyou until coming to this town. They would be aloud to rest there as long as they liked as long as Ranma and Kikyou helped take care of the ill. There was a sickness going around the area and many of the children were bedridden.
"It is almost noon Ranma. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up." Kikyou said, in a superior tone.
"You could have woken me up." Ranma said, not liking the fact that he was getting yelled at…almost yelled at…talked to harshly. Yeah. That would describe the way Kikyou was talking to him.
"I tried."
"Oh."
"You can watch over the children, right? I need to find some herbs for making medicine." Kikyou asked, skeptically.
"Yeah! I'll just tell them about the time I beat Toma, the prince of the Illusionary Island Togenkyo."
"Who?" Kikyou asked, not remembering an Island called Togenkyo.
"He's a…never mind. It happened in the future."
"I see." Kikyou said, while walking away, stopping to pick up a basket that was sitting next to where Ranma was sleeping.
"May I use this?"
"Sure."
"Thank you." Kikyou said, then walked away once again.
"I almost had a real conversation with her…almost." Ranma said, drooping his head a little.
'But what about that dream? Best not to think about it.'
Kikyou walked down the dirt path looking for herbs, sometimes stopping to put a few in her basket. Usually when she picked herbs or anything work related, she would think of Inuyasha. The one she loved with all her heart, yet hated with every inch of her being. Today, however, was different. She tried to think of Inuyasha. She really did. It was what kept her going, that and the souls that her soul collectors found for her. And hatred…pain…sorrow, but mostly Inuyasha.
But for some reason, she could not think of Inuyasha. Today her mind was now on Ranma. She didn't know what to make of him. In her honest opinion, she thought he was quite annoying. He kept talking to her, trying to get a conversation going, even though she ignored him the whole time. Yet they still traveled together. Well, more like she walked and he followed her around and talked at her. That's one of the reasons she stopped in the village. She thought that he might shut up if he fell asleep. She was right, of course. She sometimes even contemplated on whether or not she should just kill him. But that wouldn't be right, and there was just something about the boy that she couldn't place her finger on.
'He came from Kagome's time. I wonder if she's around as well.'
She picked up one last herb and started to walk back to the village, but stopped. She sat down and stretched a little bit, then looked off into the distance.
'I haven't done this in a while. Not since before I …died.'
She lied down in the grass and closed her eyes. She could feel the slight wind blow, and could hear the grass move around her.
'I am getting tired. I will need more souls soon. I'll call the soul collectors to gather more after we leave the village.'
"*Sigh* Time to get going." She said to herself, before beginning to walk off.
"Stop right there!" A man with a sword yelled, causing Kikyou to stop mid step. She turned to see that there were at least eight armed men all together circling around her.
"Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" Kikyou asked. Mostly to humor them.
"Well yes, there is actually." The leader of the group said with a grin.
"And what is it that I can do for you?" Kikyou said, while bowing.
"Well, you see, I am quite insane, and I can't stand pretty girls, due to a trauma I had when I was little." The man said, his grin turning more vicious every second.
"And…"
"I want to kill you. No offense or anything, nothing-personal…wait, it is personal. Oh well, who cares? It was very nice meeting you."
The men rushed towards Kikyou, swords raised. Then a light erupted from her body and killed all eight men. All that was left were the clouds of ashes that fell to her feet.
"It was very nice meeting you too." Kikyou said, before heading off to the town with her basket full of herbs.
In the cabin where they quarantined the sick.
"…So Toma lived! That blows! What kind of story is that?" Screamed one of the children who have been listening to Ranma's story intently.
"Well. He really wasn't all that bad. He gave up on all the girls after I completely beat him in every way possible."
"But still! What kind of ending is that? You're supposed to kill the bad guy!"
"Shut up, Yasaburo! It's romantic." One of the village girls yelled at the boy.
"Not really. Akane elbowed me in the gut when I tried telling him it was a wise choice to give up on her." Ranma said, remembering the experience.
Kikyou chose this time to walk into the cabin. Which caused all the kids (that weren't too sick) to jump up and rush towards her. Which caused her to trip and drop the basket…fling the basket actually. However, Ranma caught her with one arm and caught the basket in the other.
"Thank you…" Kikyou wasn't used to tripping. She would have blushed if she didn't have tight control over her emotions.
"Your welcome." Ranma said, smiling.
"Kikyou, your back! Do you have any stories for us? His started out really good, but he had a weak finish." Yasaburo said, jerking his thumb at Ranma, who was _so_ close to strangling that kid.
"Yes, I do. They will have to wait until after you get some rest though. The medicine that I have made will make you sleepy." Kikyou said, in a tired tone. This did not go unnoticed by Ranma.
"You okay Kikyou? You don't look so good." Ranma said, with a hint of worry in his voice.
"I'm fine. I just need to rest for a while that's all."
"If you say so…" Ranma said, not exactly sure on how to respond to what she had just said. It's not like he could tell her what to do, and Ranma was sure that Kikyou was a little older than him anyway, and wouldn't listen to him.
"Okay. Line up children. You all need to take this if you are going to get any better."
"Ack! Do we have to? It smells horrible!" one of the children complained
"Sasuke, if you don't take it you might never get better." Kikyou said in a kind tone.
"Aw, okay." Sasuke said, kicking at the ground.
"You know all their names?" Ranma asked.
"Yes. Don't you?" Kikyou asked, wondering why she wouldn't know all of their names.
"No…not all of them." Ranma said, slightly embarrassed.
'She seems emotionless, yet she's nice to the children and memorizes their names. Maybe she just doesn't like me…' Ranma thought, as he suddenly found the floor interesting.
"What is wrong?" Kikyou asked.
"Nothing…just thinking." Ranma said, snapping back to reality.
"Okay…"
Ranma left the cabin because he didn't want to get in Kikyou's way. That was one of the things Ranma hated actually. He hated being in people's way. When he was little, he used to think that he was in his father's way. That's why he trained so hard to become strong, so that he could help his father set up camp, and cut the firewood. If he was in some ones way, if he was useless at a certain situation, he felt weak. If Ranma was weak, then all of his training was for nothing. He would have wasted his life for nothing. He would be worthless. If he ever got beaten by anyone, and couldn't win afterwards at all, he would be worthless. Ranma remembered back to the time when his rival Ryoga, first learned the sister attack of the Mouko-takabisha, the Shishi-hokodan.
"So… Learned a New Technique, eh?" Ranma asked, still waiting for him to show up for a duel for ten days.
"Well, I can't be certain yet… would you mind if I test it on you?" Ryoga asked, dropping his backpack and umbrella too the side.
"Well if you must…lets see it!" Ranma yelled as he rushed Ryoga.
"Shishi-hokodan!" Ryoga yelled as a green blast was sent towards Ranma, imbedding him into a concrete fence. Ranma got up and dusted himself off.
"Not half bad. You got lucky that time!" Ranma yelled, rushing forward again.
"If you insist. I'll use you for practice!" Ryoga said getting into a stance.
"Oh yeah?!" Ranma yelled, closing in on Ryoga.
"Shishi-hokodan!" Ryoga yelled, Sending Ranma flying once more. Causing Ranma to fall in defeat for the very first time against Ryoga.
'I was so weak…I hated my self and Ryoga. My self for being weak, and Ryoga for making me weak…I beat him though!'
"Its over." Ryoga said at the battle they had a few weeks later.
"We're…just getting started…" Ranma said while he picked his battered body off the ground. "Go ahead. Try that again…"
"Don't give up do you?" Ryoga asked. It was more of a statement than it was a question.
'If I'm right about this…I can still win. Here goes nothing!'
"Shishi-hokodan!" Ryoga yelled as a pillar of ki erupted from Ryoga's body, then started to fall.
'Now!'
"Hey, I can see Akane's underwear!" Ranma yelled, while pointing in Akane's direction.
This snapped Ryoga out of the trance caused by the Shishi-hokodan, and they were both hit by the heavy ki blast.
'After I found his weakness it was easy to take him down…though it did hurt a lot.'
By the time Kikyou was done treating everyone who was sick, it was late out, so she and Ranma decided to go to bed. Ranma fell asleep like a log. Kikyou stayed up thinking about what she was going to do with the extra baggage that she had acquired. She came to the conclusion that letting Ranma tag along wouldn't be so bad if he helped her out when she needed it. Of course, she would most likely do all the fighting, but it was nice taking her time gathering the herbs, and the children seemed to like Ranma. It couldn't hurt letting him tag along.
She was broken out of her thoughts however, when she heard a crashing sound out side. That, and some people screaming in terror lead her to believe that there was a demon outside. She would have to take care of that. She just hoped that she had enough souls left in her to win the fight. She looked over to Ranma who was still sleeping like a baby.
"*Sigh* should have known." Kikyou said, shaking her head.
She got up and left the cabin she and Ranma were using for the night. The demon was very large. Taller then the cabins, and was very muscular…big teeth too. It then looked at her with murderous intent.
'This…is bad.'
The demon charged at her at full speed. Not having arrows ready because her bow broke a month back she had to use her body to channel her energy. This drains her faster. She shot her hands forward and a white blast erupted from her hands. It struck the demon and pushed it back, but was not able to kill the beast. It stopped for a moment and scratched itself where the blast had hit. It laughed for a few seconds then charged again. Again Kikyou shot off another blast of energy at the demon. Again the demon was pushed back, just not as far as last time. Again and again she tried, then she lost all energy and fell.
'Oh no.'
Ranma then woke from his slumber and his eyes snapped open. He bolted strait up from where he lay.
"Kikyou!"
To be continued
AN: CLIFF HANGER
The fight between Ryoga and Ranma is from volume 18 of the graphic novel series Produced by Viz Comics©
I am responding to this review.
"From: Jace()
Hey, Kagome is a Chuugakusanensei, or third year middle school student during the Inuyasha series, so she is not in high school (School in Japan has a 3 year junior high and a three year high school)."
In the first chapter before the fanfic, I said that it takes place a year or so after Inuyasha starts. In the first issue of Inuyasha, Kagome turns 15. A year or so later she is 16. Ranma is 16 going on 17. So they would be in the same class...
Just thought I'd clear up the confusion.
Preread ViciousViperius
(ViciousViperius@Hotmail.com)(duh)
