Insertion Reflux
Part 2
A Chinese demon story!
++++++++++++++++
Ranma was frustrated and angry, the strange voices in his head had
been wandering across China, for almost two weeks now. There was
little he could do to stop the kidnapping either, and he was forced
along for the ride. "Where the hell are we goin?" demanded the boy.
"We told you already, we're going to find a city and get some
cash," replied Faye calmly.
"God I could use a beer," grumbled Gai irritably.
"Yes, we should find a place to rest inside, we need a bath,"
commented Amelia.
"It will still not remove the insufferable stench of this human
body," growled Sesshoumaru.
They were walking down a mountain pass in their female form, they
were still damp from the last rain shower, but the sky was sunny and
only a few clouds remained above them.
"We gotta find Pop!" growled Ranma.
"Why?" replied Sesshoumaru and Faye at the same time.
"I..." Ranma couldn't think of a good answer. "Because! I can't
just leave him there!"
"Why not? He's a big boy," commented Faye.
Amelia wrung their hands pensively, but remained silent.
"Stop that worm!" growled Sesshoumaru as he jerked their hands
apart violently.
"Sorry," muttered the girl quietly.
"Where the heck are we anyway?" grumbled Gai. They suddenly found
themselves standing in a clearing. The forest was silent and not even
the rustle of the wind disturbed the scene.
"Whoa, creepy," said Gai dumbly.
Sesshoumaru froze them suddenly. "I sense magic."
"I feel something too," agreed Amelia. She didn't sound very
comfortable with the feeling though.
"What?" said Faye in confusion. "I don't feel anything."
"A force...from that way," said Sesshoumaru as he pointed and
turned them towards it.
"Maybe we shouldn't," said Amelia nervously.
"Silence worm! This magic...it feels familiar too me," said the
demon coldly as he tried to force them to continue.
"Now I know we shouldn't go," said Gai flatly.
"What? What magic?"
"You have Youkai in this world?" asked Sesshoumaru calmly as he
stopped struggling for a moment.
"How the heck would I know?" grumbled Ranma irritably.
"Youkai?" asked Faye as she looked in the direction they were
heading. "No freaking way! Come on, we're going this way!"
Sesshoumaru snorted. "Fool. Do you think I would willingly seek
out another Youkai in this position?! This is Youkai magic, not Youkai
life force. It could aid us."
"You mean aid you," commented Gai, he was getting tired of all
this wandering around, and had been growing more edgy as of late.
"Humph. Another of my kind would not hesitate to strike us down in
order to gain my power. We need protection," said Sesshoumaru coldly.
"This body alone, will not be enough."
"Hey!" snapped Ranma angrily.
"Don't be a fool human," said the demon coldly. "I have powers you
cannot begin to comprehend, until we find a way to cure ourselves of
this condition, we must be prepared to fight. Do not take my warning
lightly, we will need magic to protect this pathetic frame until I can
find a suitable body of my own."
Amelia shuddered at the implications of that. She'd been
relatively quiet so far, but didn't feel like arguing with a monster
if she could help it. The truth of the matter was, that she could see
his point. Her magic hadn't been working since they had arrived on
this plane, and she suspected that Sesshoumaru was having similar
difficulties. She hadn't dared voice this concern about the monster.
"So? What are we going to do?" asked Gai with a sort of tired
sounding sigh.
"Keep going and ignore Fluffy that's what," replied Faye.
"Go find Pop!" snapped Ranma.
"Sesshoumaru is right," said Amelia suddenly.
"What?" said the demon as he blinked suddenly.
"My magic doesn't work, I'll bet his doesn't either. We need
something to protect ourselves from monsters."
"Hey, they're ain't no stupid monsters around here!" snapped
Ranma.
"Then where did that power I feel come from?" replied Sesshoumaru
with a sort of dead finality to his voice. "The Youkai do exist here,
I can feel the life force of my people, although, it is weaker than in
my own world. That does not mean that your power will be enough to
face it human. They will destroy us, if we are not prepared."
"Why would they care?" grumbled Gai. "I mean, you're one of them
and stuff."
"My kind would not hesitate to strike down one as strong as myself
in such a weak condition," replied Sesshoumaru flatly. "I would do the
same."
"Oh! You must be so lonely!" exclaimed Amelia.
Sesshoumaru slapped himself calmly.
"Thank you," said Faye as she turned their gaze in the direction
they were originally heading. "In any case, I guess it wouldn't hurt
to go and see. I know I'm wrong about that though."
Sesshoumaru chuckled at this response. Once he had the power in
his grasp, he would use it to destroy the meddlesome rodents and take
the body as his own. He had been purposely leading them in this
direction for several days now. Edging and prodding slightly, but they
were about to veer off at the last moment, their human instincts
telling them to avoid this place like all the animals that were absent
from the area.
++++++++++++++++++
"The boy went this way, I'm sure of it," grumbled Genma as he
followed his son's trail. He'd run off after Jusenkyo. He could
understand the boy being upset with him after that episode, even if it
wasn't his fault in any way. Surely he would explain things to his
son, and then beat him into going back to Japan with him.
Originally, he had intended to return home to his wife after the
journey ended. Unfortunately, the curse kind of ruled that out for the
moment. At least for a time anyway. Still, an old promise rang in his
mind, Soun Tendo and his three daughters, and the engagement to his
son. That would make for a nice place to lay low until he figured this
mess out. His son's attitude about women, his arrogance, and the man's
three daughters would provide for a good excuse to drag things out.
The girls would no doubt be fighting over which one his son married.
The boy did take after him a little after all. He was certainly glad
he hadn't specified which daughter his son would marry. Any of the
other engagements wouldn't allow the time he needed to smooth things
over and find a cure. His son would be married within a few weeks.
That wouldn't be in his best interest, especially if Nodoka found out
she had missed her son's wedding. Soun was the only man with whom the
engagement was between multiple daughters.
If things started to go too smoothly, well, he still had that
Kuonji kid's address. That would certainly help stir things up if he
got in trouble. With a little fast talk, that could all be pinned on
his son anyway, just a little pain on his part in the beginning. "Oh!
We were starving! I couldn't afford the both of you! Besides, it was
Ranma's decision!" He smirked too himself as he trudged onward,
careful not to lose the trail as he went.
Why, he could probably even help Soun with the wedding plans! His
son would fight any attempt to force him into anything tooth and nail!
The poor sap, it would be like old times anyway. He did like the man
after all, and really did consider him his best friend.
+++++++++++++++++++++
"What is this place?" muttered Ranma in awe as he glanced around
the small cavern. Inside was an altar of some kind.
"A grave," said Sesshoumaru calmly.
"A grave?" muttered Amelia nervously.
"Cool," said Gai despite himself. The room was small, but the
carvings were ornate and it was very impressive.
"Whoa! That looks like bad news," muttered Faye.
A gigantic fanged goat's head was carved in the stone above their
heads. Various burnt out candles lined the walls, and two claws seemed
to melt out of the stone and onto sides of the small flat altar. There
was dried blood caked onto the surface and the bones of various
offerings were scattered around. Animals mostly, but there were a few
questionable remains as well.
Sesshoumaru snorted in disgust. "Someone has been worshiping this
carcass. Foolish humans, to stupid to realize your master has been
dead for thousands of years?" He kicked one of the larger bones aside.
"Feh, cows. Pathetic offerings at best."
"There's nothing here!" grumbled Faye in irritation. She was
slightly relieved though, even though it was well hidden in her voice.
"I don't like this place! Can we go now?" said Amelia nervously as
she made them glance around.
"Yeah, you said it," agreed Ranma with his nervousness well hidden
away. Something didn't feel right in the place, he couldn't put his
finger on it, but it was making him feel very weird.
"Hmmm, this magic is for a specific Youkai to open. No matter, it
is easily dismissed," said the demon as he waved his palm. Nothing
happened. "Curse this body!" he growled as he looked at his hand
again.
"What are you doing?" asked Ranma in confusion.
"I am blocked from my power by this accursed form!" snarled the demon.
"A moment if you will..."
Everyone stood in silent confusion as Fluffy closed their eyes.
"Hey! I was lookin at that!" said Gai as he forced them open again
and continued to peer at a carving of a nude woman.
Both females promptly slapped him and their eyes closed again.
Sesshoumaru growled in irritation, but continued to concentrate.
"I must feel the flow of this spell, and find the words. Be silent at
once!"
"Whatever," grumbled Ranma as he rolled their eyes. It wasn't
quite as effective with their eyes closed at the same time.
"I have it! " growled the demon in triumph. He muttered something
unintelligible, which didn't sound like any human could make such
noises. Ranma found himself blinking from the weird feeling of the so-
called 'words' that came out of their mouth.
"Oh! Excuse us!" exclaimed Amelia as she blushed.
Waves of evil power poured from the opening, the young redhead
staggered back from the sheer force of the released energy, even
though it left no visible wake or sound.
"What the?" gasped Ranma.
"No! What have we done?!" cried Amelia in horror.
"Stop simpering! You have nothing to fear here! This Youkai has
been dead for thousands of years," snorted Sesshoumaru as he walked
towards the altar. The stone carving split open to accommodate him and
he strolled into the opening.
"No way!" gasped Ranma in shock. A skeletal image of the carving
on the front was sitting on a throne inside a huge hole dug out in the
stone. It was the same size as the statue outside, and its head was
easily as big as they were.
Sesshoumaru frowned as he glared at the thing for a moment and
moved them forward boldly. "Ah, this is it."
It was a sword, long worn and ratted with time. The hilt was
frayed and rusted, but the blade was hidden in a rather decrepit
looking hilt It was a Tai-chi long sword, but it had a sort of
ethereal glow to it.
"What is that?" grumbled Faye. "What a piece of junk."
"I doubt it," said Gai calmly.
"How the heck did such a big monster use such a little sword?"
muttered Amelia dumbly.
Everyone ignored her as they stared at the blade.
"That thing...it feels wrong," said Ranma as he forced them to
step back.
"Even I can feel that thing is bad," said Gai as he nodded their
head in agreement.
"What did you expect? It is a Youkai blade after all," snorted
Sesshoumaru. "It should suffice for now." He reached for it and his
hand froze.
"Don't touch that thing! I don't want it on us!" snapped Faye.
"What? You dare?!" growled the demon angrily as he struggled to
move forward. All three of the other occupants forced him back though,
slowly moving out of the cavern. The walls closed in front of them and
they staggered outside.
Fluffy had gone deathly silent. "You will regret this." His voice
was pure venom as he said this. "I will make you suffer for defying
me."
"Yeah, blow it out yer ass," commented Gai lazily. "I didn't feel
like becoming some lame ass bishonen villain anyway. We're destined to
become the hero! Right Ranma?" He put his fist up in front of his face
and smirked.
"That's the spirit Mr. Yamada!" squealed Amelia happily. "We'll
stand for justice!"
"I thought I told you to call me 'Gai'!" snapped the man angrily.
"Idiots," grumbled Faye as they started to move again.
"Can we go find my Pop now?" asked Ranma.
None of them noticed the door inside the cavern open slowly behind
them. The area of silence around the place had just tripled in size.
Animals moved further away, and humans in nearby villages shuddered as
a chill ran down their collective spines.
++++++++++++++++++
Two days later....
Genma frowned as he peered into the cave where his son's trail
lead. "What the?" He glanced around the room and blinked dumbly. It
was empty and quiet, without a single trace of the boy inside. He had
noticed his son's tracks moving away from the small cave, but
curiosity got the better of him in the end. Staring at the split
altar he peered into the shadows for a long moment. "What is this
place? Where am I?" The area indicated on his map was unmarked,
uncharted territory so to speak, probably only known by the locals. He
turned towards the door and paused.
Several men in long black cloaks were standing there staring at
him.
"Um, hello," said Genma dumbly. "Shit! Who the hell?" his mind
screamed. The looks of the altar told him these people were not very
friendly.
"The door! It has opened!" gasped one of the men.
"You did this?" gasped another man in shock.
"I...uh...gotta go now..." said Genma with a fake nervousness as
he tensed his body to spring. The men didn't look like much, he'd
probably easily overpower them.
"The chosen one! He has come!" gasped another one of the men.
All of them promptly bowed deeply to him.
Genma stared at this for a long moment and blinked. "Pardon?"
"He who will lead us into a new age of darkness, where only the
loyal shall remain all powerful! We await your command master!"
"I dared not believe the legends true! Our dark master has
returned! Reborn into this world once again!"
"Master?" prodded Genma.
"He does not possess the sword," said a tall dark man as he walked
into the room He was shrouded in a hood like his comrades, but the
effect was much more as it had been intended with him. He leveled his
eyes on Genma and gave him a piercing glare. "He is not the one."
Genma stepped back and looked over his shoulder. Without a
moment's thought he grasped the sword from the big ugly skeleton
without even realizing what had been holding it. It flashed for a
brief moment in his hand and he grinned at the man sheepishly. "This
sword?"
The man's eyes went wide and he immediately fell to his knees.
"Master!"
Genma had sweat pouring from his brow at this. The others would
have been pushovers, but this man was undoubtedly strong.
"After all this time! It has come to pass! Tell us, what has
brought you here, Master?" said the tall man. Much of his menace was
gone now.
"Um, well...I was looking for the boy..."
"Fetch the Master some young boys! His hungers must be sated!"
cried the tall man as he jerked his head back to his companions.
"What?" said Genma as he did a double take.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"We still ain't found no stupid city," grumbled Ranma as he looked
out over the valley before them.
"This is getting frustrating," agreed Faye as she glared out
across the village below them.
"I'm tired, and we're hungry," said Amelia as she turned their
head down to their stomach.
Sesshoumaru snorted and snapped his hand out, a small bird was
fluttering in his hand, snatched from the sky in an instant. "We
should eat then." It squawked loudly as he pulled it towards his mouth
and continued to walk as if the conversation never started.
"GAAAHH!" cried Gai.
"What the hell are you doing?!" agreed Faye in equal revulsion as
she and Amelia threw the bird on the ground.
"Was he gonna do what I think he was gonna do?" asked Ranma
nervously.
"You spoke of hunger, and now you reject perfectly good food?"
snorted Sesshoumaru as he watched the bird flutter away.
"Idiot! We can't eat it raw!" snapped Faye angrily.
"Why?" was the somewhat puzzled reply.
"Because! We could get sick! Who knows what kind of terrible
diseases that poor innocent bird might have had!" cried Amelia.
"Bah, this pathetic body annoys me more with each passing day,"
growled Sesshoumaru as he looked down at himself for a moment.
"What kind of nutcase are you?" exclaimed Gai.
"Well...he is a Youkai..." muttered Amelia. "Mr. Fluffy, we can't
eat live animals that way. I'm sorry if that's what you're used
too..." said Amelia.
Ranma felt his eye twitch at the demons reaction to the name.
Thinking quickly he pressed forward. "Maybe we can get some food from
this village?"
"I don't see how, we don't have any money," said Faye. She smirked
slightly as she thought about it. "I'm sure we can work something
out."
+++++++++++++++++++++
Shampoo, the reigning champion of Joketzuko village, was defending
her title of the strongest warrior once again. It was a great
tournament, held every year at this time. She had reigned supreme for
almost four years now. There was that one incident, but she had the
flu that year. Dowel had paid dearly for the insult in the end though.
Now, she simply crushed any and all of her opponents with her sheer
power.
A large ugly Amazon woman with a spiked mace stood off against her
on the other side of the log. "We meet again Shampoo. I hope you're
not as gentle with me as you were the others."
The purple haired amazon merely smirked. She always enjoyed
beating Lotion.
++++++++++++++++++
"What the heck is going on?" asked Ranma as he glanced around.
"There is food there," said Sesshoumaru as he nodded towards a
nearby table.
"Hey, you know what happens if we eat that don't you?" said Gai.
"Bah, so what? Like that weak creature could defeat Sesshoumaru,"
snorted the demon casually.
"Stealing is wrong!" snapped Amelia.
"You humans and your morals, we are the strongest. Why should we
not choose what we want and take it?" replied the voice casually.
"Because it's more trouble than it's worth," said Faye as she
stopped Sesshoumaru's actions cold.
"What the heck are you talkin about? Why shouldn't we eat? It's
just sittin there," said Ranma dumbly.
"Because that's the first prize of this tournament," said Faye.
"Great!" said Ranma as he got a cheerful smile on his face. He
started to step forward.
Amelia was the one who halted him this time. "That's an even worse
idea Mr. Ranma!"
"Huh? I could beat that chick no problem!" replied the boy's
voice.
A few of the villagers were giving the redhead odd stares, she was
moving around among them rather oddly, but hadn't spoken yet.
Faye quickly recounted her knowledge of the amazon marriage laws.
The redhead went pale, and a few of the villagers started to worry
about some illness she might be carrying. They edged away from her
nervously.
After a moment, she simply calmed down and stood there, watching
the battle. The villagers calmed, no one seemed to care who she was or
what she wanted. She was a rather small girl, and wasn't armed. She
was hardly a threat in the crowd of women, and her dogi told them she
wasn't even trying to disguise that she was an outsider. Let her watch
and be amazed by the skills of the Amazon women, she had no hope of
matching such strength anyway.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Cologne sat in her hut, a hot cup of tea in her hands as the
tournament went on outside. It was a day of celebration and
relaxation. She would have gone to watch the battles, but the outcome
was clear again this year. None of the other village girls would stand
much of a chance against Shampoo. Few of the elders even went to watch
the fights these days.
She sighed and closed her eyes in contentment. Things were going
well, and the village was prosperous. More so than it had been in
centuries. She had a feeling something interesting would start today,
but perhaps not involve her just yet. It was a time for the youth of
the village anyway.
A flood of something poured into her mind, she dropped her tea and
sat upright with her eyes wide with horror. "What? How!?"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma was growing nervous in the crowd of women. A few of them had
slapped her on the back roughly and said things to her she didn't
understand. The purple haired girl had won the fights and had carted
off her prize, and now women were mulling about talking. Wasn't much
of a party really.
The redhead kept her eyes open for a shop or stand of some kind.
Not that she had any money. Faye said she'd take care of that anyway.
Ranma wasn't sure what she was up too.
After several minutes, they spotted a small cart that was selling
food.
"Now what?" asked Ranma.
"Just watch!" said Faye cheerfully.
+++++++++++++++++++
"Step right up! Take your best shot! Find the bean, win the pot!
Come on!" The redhead had set up a small box that had been discarded
and had a few small cups set out on the table. A small bean was being
shuffled around skillfully as she worked her hands quickly. A small
pile of cash was present on the table, and she now had a wad in her
pocket.
None of the Amazon women spoke Japanese so far, but they quickly
caught on to the game. The redhead's face was an unreadable smirk as
she worked her hands skillfully.
"Man, I never thought I'd be reduced to this again. I haven't done
this since I was a kid!" lamented Faye mentally.
"This is kinda cool," said Gai as he watched the woman work. Even
though it was as if his own hands were doing the work, he still
couldn't quite figure out what he was doing.
Ranma simply gave a small grunt as he studied the woman's hands
carefully. "It's not very fair if they can't win."
"Huh?" said Gai dumbly.
"We're cheating?!" cried Amelia in horror. "Miss Faye! I cannot
allow..."
"We aren't cheating," said Faye sourly. "I leave the ball in there
sometimes, it's luck of the draw, that's all." She didn't explain that
she was letting some of the women win small pots to keep the others
coming. Or that the few she had let win, were watching her closely,
and had sharp enough eyes to see what she was doing. They seemed
satisfied after collecting a small amount of cash and wandered off. It
kind of bugged her a little, especially since no less than four
different women had done that too her. "I must be getting out of
practice..."
"Halt!" cried an aged voice.
Sesshoumaru's presence suddenly became very clear to them as his
head jerked up suddenly. "What is this?" A cold smirk formed on their
face as they looked at the old woman before them. She was barely able
to stand on her own two feet, but the young girls parted easily in her
wake. She had a gnarled staff in her grasp with several animal bones
dangling from the top of it. They clattered as she hobbled over to
them and narrowed her nearly blind eyes at them. "This one! I smell
the taint of demons upon her!"
The women around them gasped.
"What'd she say?" said Ranma dumbly.
"I don't speak Chinese," said Faye flatly.
"This is bad right?" asked Amelia.
"We should leave, this place is about to become very hostile,"
said Sesshoumaru coolly.
"This one," said the old woman as she moved towards Ranma. She
cocked her head at an odd angle and started to sniff the air
delicately. "She is...a fiend of the neither realm!"
"Did any of you understand a word of that?" asked Gai.
"No, but these chicks didn't like whatever she said," commented
Ranma.
"She's a demon sniffer, I've seen humans like her before. She can
sense the presence of my kind," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. The women
around them started to close into a circle.
"That's bad right?" asked Gai.
"Can't we talk about this?" said Faye to the women as she smiled
and backed into a wall with her hands held up in front of her.
The purple haired girl from the tournament appeared out of the
crowd armed with a pair of bonbori. "Bad!" She pointed one of the
weapons at the girl and gave her an evil grin.
"What the hell did we do?" said Ranma nervously.
"Nothing, my mere presence has offended them," replied Sesshoumaru
in what sounded like amusement.
"What do we do?" asked Amelia.
"What else? We kill them," replied Sesshoumaru with a chuckle. He
flexed his hand in front of his face with his fingers curled like
claws.
"Shampoo! No!" cried another aged voice. The amazon women around
the redhead backed away quite suddenly as another old woman landed in
the center of the crowd. She was much spryer than the other hag and
glared at her angrily. "You old fool, this demon might not have even
known that we had detected it if not for you!"
The first hag hissed at her angrily and snarled. "Without my
skills."
"What's going on?" asked Ranma.
"They appear to be having a disagreement," said Gai dumbly.
"Time to go," said Faye as she turned them around and bolted. She
pushed aside several of the warriors in her way. Before she could
simply shove them, a spray of blood obscured her vision as she tore
through the crowd. "What?"
"Come, taste my claws humans!" said Sesshoumaru with an evil
laugh. He had almost yelled this out at the top of his lungs, further
surprising the women as he tore through them.
"Ouch! Our nails!" screamed Faye in pain as she pulled her arms to
her sides as she emerged from the other side of the crowd.
The two old women blinked at the scene. There was a path of
scratched up and rather stupefied looking amazon women standing along
a clear-cut path. A few of them had some nasty cuts, but nothing more
than a flesh wound that would leave rather ugly scabs.
"What the?" muttered Cologne.
"Damn you Cologne!" snarled the withered hag.
"Shut up Douche," snorted Cologne irritably. "There was something
odd about that dark one."
+++++++++++++++++
"What the hell were you thinking you idiot! We don't have claws!"
snapped Faye angrily.
"I dunno, that was kinda cool," muttered Gai in confusion.
"That wasn't very brave of us," commented Amelia with a slightly
whiny tone.
"Damn, now I've got a hangnail!" grumbled Ranma as he looked at
his hand. He ripped it off with a painful frown and tossed it aside.
"Bah! If we had taken that sword like we should have, we wouldn't
have had any trouble with that pathetic human scum!"
"The hell! We would have killed them!" said Ranma in shock.
"Of course, they deserve no better," replied Sesshoumaru.
"I won't allow you to harm innocent people that way!" cried
Amelia.
"Yeah! I don't want to get arrested!" agreed Gai.
"Fools! I, Sesshoumaru..."
Faye pinched their nipple rather sharply.
"Woman! I shall destroy you!" cried Fluffy as he clawed at his
throat.
"Stop that! This is my body you jerks!" cried Ranma as he did his
best to stop the pain on both fronts.
"Innocent people?" grumbled Faye. "You do realize that they were
going to kill us right?"
"Um..." said Amelia in embarrassment. "That's no excuse!" she said
as she tried to sound heroic and pointed at the sky. "Life is precious
and must be nurtured and loved and..."
"Human life amounts to little more than dung to me," replied
Sesshoumaru calmly.
"How can you say such horrible things?!" said Amelia. "Now I see
my path, I must show you the error of your ways, fear not Mr. Fluffy.
I shall show you the truth of love and justice!"
Ranma slapped himself pretty hard, he saw stars for a moment.
"Why did you do that?" cried Amelia.
"I've got a pretty good idea," said Faye.
"You need a new speech writer kid," said Gai with a small sigh.
"Really?" asked the girl quietly.
"Yes, you lack that certain grit that a true hero must hold. A
dark and brooding presence that says that you're dangerous, but with a
tenderness that allows you to hold truth and love within, cleverly
disguised with a false mask of indifference! Only then will you become
a true hero!"
"Wow Mr. Yamada! You're so smart!" cried Amelia.
"I said call me Gai damn it!"
"Is he for real?" said Ranma dumbly.
"Probably," grumbled Faye.
"Why does our head hurt?" said Amelia as she found their arm
rubbing at their temple.
"God, I need a drink," muttered Faye miserably.
"Feh," said Sesshoumaru as he ignored this and began to plot his
next move. He would torment these fools for years after he escaped,
killing them slowly over the course of centuries until his thirst for
revenge was satisfied. Now, if only he could figure out a way out of
the damnable body.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Our course of action is clear," said Cologne as she sat in a
small room surrounded by other Amazon women near to her own age. "We
must find this demon."
"Agreed, it must be destroyed," said another of the old women.
Douche snorted in disgust. "It is as I have said from the
beginning."
The other old women ignored her ranting, with a disturbing
practiced ease.
Cologne was the next to speak. "So, it is as we said. A hunting
party will be formed, and we will destroy this monster."
The other elders nodded.
"We must also find out why it was here. What purpose did it
serve?"
"Tempting our youth with the sin of gambling! Attempting to warp
their young minds into laziness and debauchery!" cried Douche.
"That seems unlikely," commented Cologne as she spared the woman a
half glance.
"Perhaps she intended to take all their money, and then convince
them to bet their very souls?" offered Douche again. "Or worse, their
very purity!?"
Cologne rolled her eyes at this and turned back to the other
elders. "In any case, we need to find out what the demon was doing
here. There are any number of things close to this village that would
interest their kind. Most of them would spell disaster if they fell
into such hands."
The other elders nodded in agreement with this and the meeting
ended.
Douche didn't seem to notice the others leaving and continued to
rant in the dark. "Perhaps she was a succubus? Hoping to defile our
pure maidens and steal their love pearls? Or swallow our unborn
children, and then sell them into prostitution in the demon realm when
they were reborn as her own spawn?!!..."
+++++++++++++++++++
TBC...
Due to popular request, I have continued.
And there was much rejoicing.
Part 2
A Chinese demon story!
++++++++++++++++
Ranma was frustrated and angry, the strange voices in his head had
been wandering across China, for almost two weeks now. There was
little he could do to stop the kidnapping either, and he was forced
along for the ride. "Where the hell are we goin?" demanded the boy.
"We told you already, we're going to find a city and get some
cash," replied Faye calmly.
"God I could use a beer," grumbled Gai irritably.
"Yes, we should find a place to rest inside, we need a bath,"
commented Amelia.
"It will still not remove the insufferable stench of this human
body," growled Sesshoumaru.
They were walking down a mountain pass in their female form, they
were still damp from the last rain shower, but the sky was sunny and
only a few clouds remained above them.
"We gotta find Pop!" growled Ranma.
"Why?" replied Sesshoumaru and Faye at the same time.
"I..." Ranma couldn't think of a good answer. "Because! I can't
just leave him there!"
"Why not? He's a big boy," commented Faye.
Amelia wrung their hands pensively, but remained silent.
"Stop that worm!" growled Sesshoumaru as he jerked their hands
apart violently.
"Sorry," muttered the girl quietly.
"Where the heck are we anyway?" grumbled Gai. They suddenly found
themselves standing in a clearing. The forest was silent and not even
the rustle of the wind disturbed the scene.
"Whoa, creepy," said Gai dumbly.
Sesshoumaru froze them suddenly. "I sense magic."
"I feel something too," agreed Amelia. She didn't sound very
comfortable with the feeling though.
"What?" said Faye in confusion. "I don't feel anything."
"A force...from that way," said Sesshoumaru as he pointed and
turned them towards it.
"Maybe we shouldn't," said Amelia nervously.
"Silence worm! This magic...it feels familiar too me," said the
demon coldly as he tried to force them to continue.
"Now I know we shouldn't go," said Gai flatly.
"What? What magic?"
"You have Youkai in this world?" asked Sesshoumaru calmly as he
stopped struggling for a moment.
"How the heck would I know?" grumbled Ranma irritably.
"Youkai?" asked Faye as she looked in the direction they were
heading. "No freaking way! Come on, we're going this way!"
Sesshoumaru snorted. "Fool. Do you think I would willingly seek
out another Youkai in this position?! This is Youkai magic, not Youkai
life force. It could aid us."
"You mean aid you," commented Gai, he was getting tired of all
this wandering around, and had been growing more edgy as of late.
"Humph. Another of my kind would not hesitate to strike us down in
order to gain my power. We need protection," said Sesshoumaru coldly.
"This body alone, will not be enough."
"Hey!" snapped Ranma angrily.
"Don't be a fool human," said the demon coldly. "I have powers you
cannot begin to comprehend, until we find a way to cure ourselves of
this condition, we must be prepared to fight. Do not take my warning
lightly, we will need magic to protect this pathetic frame until I can
find a suitable body of my own."
Amelia shuddered at the implications of that. She'd been
relatively quiet so far, but didn't feel like arguing with a monster
if she could help it. The truth of the matter was, that she could see
his point. Her magic hadn't been working since they had arrived on
this plane, and she suspected that Sesshoumaru was having similar
difficulties. She hadn't dared voice this concern about the monster.
"So? What are we going to do?" asked Gai with a sort of tired
sounding sigh.
"Keep going and ignore Fluffy that's what," replied Faye.
"Go find Pop!" snapped Ranma.
"Sesshoumaru is right," said Amelia suddenly.
"What?" said the demon as he blinked suddenly.
"My magic doesn't work, I'll bet his doesn't either. We need
something to protect ourselves from monsters."
"Hey, they're ain't no stupid monsters around here!" snapped
Ranma.
"Then where did that power I feel come from?" replied Sesshoumaru
with a sort of dead finality to his voice. "The Youkai do exist here,
I can feel the life force of my people, although, it is weaker than in
my own world. That does not mean that your power will be enough to
face it human. They will destroy us, if we are not prepared."
"Why would they care?" grumbled Gai. "I mean, you're one of them
and stuff."
"My kind would not hesitate to strike down one as strong as myself
in such a weak condition," replied Sesshoumaru flatly. "I would do the
same."
"Oh! You must be so lonely!" exclaimed Amelia.
Sesshoumaru slapped himself calmly.
"Thank you," said Faye as she turned their gaze in the direction
they were originally heading. "In any case, I guess it wouldn't hurt
to go and see. I know I'm wrong about that though."
Sesshoumaru chuckled at this response. Once he had the power in
his grasp, he would use it to destroy the meddlesome rodents and take
the body as his own. He had been purposely leading them in this
direction for several days now. Edging and prodding slightly, but they
were about to veer off at the last moment, their human instincts
telling them to avoid this place like all the animals that were absent
from the area.
++++++++++++++++++
"The boy went this way, I'm sure of it," grumbled Genma as he
followed his son's trail. He'd run off after Jusenkyo. He could
understand the boy being upset with him after that episode, even if it
wasn't his fault in any way. Surely he would explain things to his
son, and then beat him into going back to Japan with him.
Originally, he had intended to return home to his wife after the
journey ended. Unfortunately, the curse kind of ruled that out for the
moment. At least for a time anyway. Still, an old promise rang in his
mind, Soun Tendo and his three daughters, and the engagement to his
son. That would make for a nice place to lay low until he figured this
mess out. His son's attitude about women, his arrogance, and the man's
three daughters would provide for a good excuse to drag things out.
The girls would no doubt be fighting over which one his son married.
The boy did take after him a little after all. He was certainly glad
he hadn't specified which daughter his son would marry. Any of the
other engagements wouldn't allow the time he needed to smooth things
over and find a cure. His son would be married within a few weeks.
That wouldn't be in his best interest, especially if Nodoka found out
she had missed her son's wedding. Soun was the only man with whom the
engagement was between multiple daughters.
If things started to go too smoothly, well, he still had that
Kuonji kid's address. That would certainly help stir things up if he
got in trouble. With a little fast talk, that could all be pinned on
his son anyway, just a little pain on his part in the beginning. "Oh!
We were starving! I couldn't afford the both of you! Besides, it was
Ranma's decision!" He smirked too himself as he trudged onward,
careful not to lose the trail as he went.
Why, he could probably even help Soun with the wedding plans! His
son would fight any attempt to force him into anything tooth and nail!
The poor sap, it would be like old times anyway. He did like the man
after all, and really did consider him his best friend.
+++++++++++++++++++++
"What is this place?" muttered Ranma in awe as he glanced around
the small cavern. Inside was an altar of some kind.
"A grave," said Sesshoumaru calmly.
"A grave?" muttered Amelia nervously.
"Cool," said Gai despite himself. The room was small, but the
carvings were ornate and it was very impressive.
"Whoa! That looks like bad news," muttered Faye.
A gigantic fanged goat's head was carved in the stone above their
heads. Various burnt out candles lined the walls, and two claws seemed
to melt out of the stone and onto sides of the small flat altar. There
was dried blood caked onto the surface and the bones of various
offerings were scattered around. Animals mostly, but there were a few
questionable remains as well.
Sesshoumaru snorted in disgust. "Someone has been worshiping this
carcass. Foolish humans, to stupid to realize your master has been
dead for thousands of years?" He kicked one of the larger bones aside.
"Feh, cows. Pathetic offerings at best."
"There's nothing here!" grumbled Faye in irritation. She was
slightly relieved though, even though it was well hidden in her voice.
"I don't like this place! Can we go now?" said Amelia nervously as
she made them glance around.
"Yeah, you said it," agreed Ranma with his nervousness well hidden
away. Something didn't feel right in the place, he couldn't put his
finger on it, but it was making him feel very weird.
"Hmmm, this magic is for a specific Youkai to open. No matter, it
is easily dismissed," said the demon as he waved his palm. Nothing
happened. "Curse this body!" he growled as he looked at his hand
again.
"What are you doing?" asked Ranma in confusion.
"I am blocked from my power by this accursed form!" snarled the demon.
"A moment if you will..."
Everyone stood in silent confusion as Fluffy closed their eyes.
"Hey! I was lookin at that!" said Gai as he forced them open again
and continued to peer at a carving of a nude woman.
Both females promptly slapped him and their eyes closed again.
Sesshoumaru growled in irritation, but continued to concentrate.
"I must feel the flow of this spell, and find the words. Be silent at
once!"
"Whatever," grumbled Ranma as he rolled their eyes. It wasn't
quite as effective with their eyes closed at the same time.
"I have it! " growled the demon in triumph. He muttered something
unintelligible, which didn't sound like any human could make such
noises. Ranma found himself blinking from the weird feeling of the so-
called 'words' that came out of their mouth.
"Oh! Excuse us!" exclaimed Amelia as she blushed.
Waves of evil power poured from the opening, the young redhead
staggered back from the sheer force of the released energy, even
though it left no visible wake or sound.
"What the?" gasped Ranma.
"No! What have we done?!" cried Amelia in horror.
"Stop simpering! You have nothing to fear here! This Youkai has
been dead for thousands of years," snorted Sesshoumaru as he walked
towards the altar. The stone carving split open to accommodate him and
he strolled into the opening.
"No way!" gasped Ranma in shock. A skeletal image of the carving
on the front was sitting on a throne inside a huge hole dug out in the
stone. It was the same size as the statue outside, and its head was
easily as big as they were.
Sesshoumaru frowned as he glared at the thing for a moment and
moved them forward boldly. "Ah, this is it."
It was a sword, long worn and ratted with time. The hilt was
frayed and rusted, but the blade was hidden in a rather decrepit
looking hilt It was a Tai-chi long sword, but it had a sort of
ethereal glow to it.
"What is that?" grumbled Faye. "What a piece of junk."
"I doubt it," said Gai calmly.
"How the heck did such a big monster use such a little sword?"
muttered Amelia dumbly.
Everyone ignored her as they stared at the blade.
"That thing...it feels wrong," said Ranma as he forced them to
step back.
"Even I can feel that thing is bad," said Gai as he nodded their
head in agreement.
"What did you expect? It is a Youkai blade after all," snorted
Sesshoumaru. "It should suffice for now." He reached for it and his
hand froze.
"Don't touch that thing! I don't want it on us!" snapped Faye.
"What? You dare?!" growled the demon angrily as he struggled to
move forward. All three of the other occupants forced him back though,
slowly moving out of the cavern. The walls closed in front of them and
they staggered outside.
Fluffy had gone deathly silent. "You will regret this." His voice
was pure venom as he said this. "I will make you suffer for defying
me."
"Yeah, blow it out yer ass," commented Gai lazily. "I didn't feel
like becoming some lame ass bishonen villain anyway. We're destined to
become the hero! Right Ranma?" He put his fist up in front of his face
and smirked.
"That's the spirit Mr. Yamada!" squealed Amelia happily. "We'll
stand for justice!"
"I thought I told you to call me 'Gai'!" snapped the man angrily.
"Idiots," grumbled Faye as they started to move again.
"Can we go find my Pop now?" asked Ranma.
None of them noticed the door inside the cavern open slowly behind
them. The area of silence around the place had just tripled in size.
Animals moved further away, and humans in nearby villages shuddered as
a chill ran down their collective spines.
++++++++++++++++++
Two days later....
Genma frowned as he peered into the cave where his son's trail
lead. "What the?" He glanced around the room and blinked dumbly. It
was empty and quiet, without a single trace of the boy inside. He had
noticed his son's tracks moving away from the small cave, but
curiosity got the better of him in the end. Staring at the split
altar he peered into the shadows for a long moment. "What is this
place? Where am I?" The area indicated on his map was unmarked,
uncharted territory so to speak, probably only known by the locals. He
turned towards the door and paused.
Several men in long black cloaks were standing there staring at
him.
"Um, hello," said Genma dumbly. "Shit! Who the hell?" his mind
screamed. The looks of the altar told him these people were not very
friendly.
"The door! It has opened!" gasped one of the men.
"You did this?" gasped another man in shock.
"I...uh...gotta go now..." said Genma with a fake nervousness as
he tensed his body to spring. The men didn't look like much, he'd
probably easily overpower them.
"The chosen one! He has come!" gasped another one of the men.
All of them promptly bowed deeply to him.
Genma stared at this for a long moment and blinked. "Pardon?"
"He who will lead us into a new age of darkness, where only the
loyal shall remain all powerful! We await your command master!"
"I dared not believe the legends true! Our dark master has
returned! Reborn into this world once again!"
"Master?" prodded Genma.
"He does not possess the sword," said a tall dark man as he walked
into the room He was shrouded in a hood like his comrades, but the
effect was much more as it had been intended with him. He leveled his
eyes on Genma and gave him a piercing glare. "He is not the one."
Genma stepped back and looked over his shoulder. Without a
moment's thought he grasped the sword from the big ugly skeleton
without even realizing what had been holding it. It flashed for a
brief moment in his hand and he grinned at the man sheepishly. "This
sword?"
The man's eyes went wide and he immediately fell to his knees.
"Master!"
Genma had sweat pouring from his brow at this. The others would
have been pushovers, but this man was undoubtedly strong.
"After all this time! It has come to pass! Tell us, what has
brought you here, Master?" said the tall man. Much of his menace was
gone now.
"Um, well...I was looking for the boy..."
"Fetch the Master some young boys! His hungers must be sated!"
cried the tall man as he jerked his head back to his companions.
"What?" said Genma as he did a double take.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"We still ain't found no stupid city," grumbled Ranma as he looked
out over the valley before them.
"This is getting frustrating," agreed Faye as she glared out
across the village below them.
"I'm tired, and we're hungry," said Amelia as she turned their
head down to their stomach.
Sesshoumaru snorted and snapped his hand out, a small bird was
fluttering in his hand, snatched from the sky in an instant. "We
should eat then." It squawked loudly as he pulled it towards his mouth
and continued to walk as if the conversation never started.
"GAAAHH!" cried Gai.
"What the hell are you doing?!" agreed Faye in equal revulsion as
she and Amelia threw the bird on the ground.
"Was he gonna do what I think he was gonna do?" asked Ranma
nervously.
"You spoke of hunger, and now you reject perfectly good food?"
snorted Sesshoumaru as he watched the bird flutter away.
"Idiot! We can't eat it raw!" snapped Faye angrily.
"Why?" was the somewhat puzzled reply.
"Because! We could get sick! Who knows what kind of terrible
diseases that poor innocent bird might have had!" cried Amelia.
"Bah, this pathetic body annoys me more with each passing day,"
growled Sesshoumaru as he looked down at himself for a moment.
"What kind of nutcase are you?" exclaimed Gai.
"Well...he is a Youkai..." muttered Amelia. "Mr. Fluffy, we can't
eat live animals that way. I'm sorry if that's what you're used
too..." said Amelia.
Ranma felt his eye twitch at the demons reaction to the name.
Thinking quickly he pressed forward. "Maybe we can get some food from
this village?"
"I don't see how, we don't have any money," said Faye. She smirked
slightly as she thought about it. "I'm sure we can work something
out."
+++++++++++++++++++++
Shampoo, the reigning champion of Joketzuko village, was defending
her title of the strongest warrior once again. It was a great
tournament, held every year at this time. She had reigned supreme for
almost four years now. There was that one incident, but she had the
flu that year. Dowel had paid dearly for the insult in the end though.
Now, she simply crushed any and all of her opponents with her sheer
power.
A large ugly Amazon woman with a spiked mace stood off against her
on the other side of the log. "We meet again Shampoo. I hope you're
not as gentle with me as you were the others."
The purple haired amazon merely smirked. She always enjoyed
beating Lotion.
++++++++++++++++++
"What the heck is going on?" asked Ranma as he glanced around.
"There is food there," said Sesshoumaru as he nodded towards a
nearby table.
"Hey, you know what happens if we eat that don't you?" said Gai.
"Bah, so what? Like that weak creature could defeat Sesshoumaru,"
snorted the demon casually.
"Stealing is wrong!" snapped Amelia.
"You humans and your morals, we are the strongest. Why should we
not choose what we want and take it?" replied the voice casually.
"Because it's more trouble than it's worth," said Faye as she
stopped Sesshoumaru's actions cold.
"What the heck are you talkin about? Why shouldn't we eat? It's
just sittin there," said Ranma dumbly.
"Because that's the first prize of this tournament," said Faye.
"Great!" said Ranma as he got a cheerful smile on his face. He
started to step forward.
Amelia was the one who halted him this time. "That's an even worse
idea Mr. Ranma!"
"Huh? I could beat that chick no problem!" replied the boy's
voice.
A few of the villagers were giving the redhead odd stares, she was
moving around among them rather oddly, but hadn't spoken yet.
Faye quickly recounted her knowledge of the amazon marriage laws.
The redhead went pale, and a few of the villagers started to worry
about some illness she might be carrying. They edged away from her
nervously.
After a moment, she simply calmed down and stood there, watching
the battle. The villagers calmed, no one seemed to care who she was or
what she wanted. She was a rather small girl, and wasn't armed. She
was hardly a threat in the crowd of women, and her dogi told them she
wasn't even trying to disguise that she was an outsider. Let her watch
and be amazed by the skills of the Amazon women, she had no hope of
matching such strength anyway.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Cologne sat in her hut, a hot cup of tea in her hands as the
tournament went on outside. It was a day of celebration and
relaxation. She would have gone to watch the battles, but the outcome
was clear again this year. None of the other village girls would stand
much of a chance against Shampoo. Few of the elders even went to watch
the fights these days.
She sighed and closed her eyes in contentment. Things were going
well, and the village was prosperous. More so than it had been in
centuries. She had a feeling something interesting would start today,
but perhaps not involve her just yet. It was a time for the youth of
the village anyway.
A flood of something poured into her mind, she dropped her tea and
sat upright with her eyes wide with horror. "What? How!?"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma was growing nervous in the crowd of women. A few of them had
slapped her on the back roughly and said things to her she didn't
understand. The purple haired girl had won the fights and had carted
off her prize, and now women were mulling about talking. Wasn't much
of a party really.
The redhead kept her eyes open for a shop or stand of some kind.
Not that she had any money. Faye said she'd take care of that anyway.
Ranma wasn't sure what she was up too.
After several minutes, they spotted a small cart that was selling
food.
"Now what?" asked Ranma.
"Just watch!" said Faye cheerfully.
+++++++++++++++++++
"Step right up! Take your best shot! Find the bean, win the pot!
Come on!" The redhead had set up a small box that had been discarded
and had a few small cups set out on the table. A small bean was being
shuffled around skillfully as she worked her hands quickly. A small
pile of cash was present on the table, and she now had a wad in her
pocket.
None of the Amazon women spoke Japanese so far, but they quickly
caught on to the game. The redhead's face was an unreadable smirk as
she worked her hands skillfully.
"Man, I never thought I'd be reduced to this again. I haven't done
this since I was a kid!" lamented Faye mentally.
"This is kinda cool," said Gai as he watched the woman work. Even
though it was as if his own hands were doing the work, he still
couldn't quite figure out what he was doing.
Ranma simply gave a small grunt as he studied the woman's hands
carefully. "It's not very fair if they can't win."
"Huh?" said Gai dumbly.
"We're cheating?!" cried Amelia in horror. "Miss Faye! I cannot
allow..."
"We aren't cheating," said Faye sourly. "I leave the ball in there
sometimes, it's luck of the draw, that's all." She didn't explain that
she was letting some of the women win small pots to keep the others
coming. Or that the few she had let win, were watching her closely,
and had sharp enough eyes to see what she was doing. They seemed
satisfied after collecting a small amount of cash and wandered off. It
kind of bugged her a little, especially since no less than four
different women had done that too her. "I must be getting out of
practice..."
"Halt!" cried an aged voice.
Sesshoumaru's presence suddenly became very clear to them as his
head jerked up suddenly. "What is this?" A cold smirk formed on their
face as they looked at the old woman before them. She was barely able
to stand on her own two feet, but the young girls parted easily in her
wake. She had a gnarled staff in her grasp with several animal bones
dangling from the top of it. They clattered as she hobbled over to
them and narrowed her nearly blind eyes at them. "This one! I smell
the taint of demons upon her!"
The women around them gasped.
"What'd she say?" said Ranma dumbly.
"I don't speak Chinese," said Faye flatly.
"This is bad right?" asked Amelia.
"We should leave, this place is about to become very hostile,"
said Sesshoumaru coolly.
"This one," said the old woman as she moved towards Ranma. She
cocked her head at an odd angle and started to sniff the air
delicately. "She is...a fiend of the neither realm!"
"Did any of you understand a word of that?" asked Gai.
"No, but these chicks didn't like whatever she said," commented
Ranma.
"She's a demon sniffer, I've seen humans like her before. She can
sense the presence of my kind," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. The women
around them started to close into a circle.
"That's bad right?" asked Gai.
"Can't we talk about this?" said Faye to the women as she smiled
and backed into a wall with her hands held up in front of her.
The purple haired girl from the tournament appeared out of the
crowd armed with a pair of bonbori. "Bad!" She pointed one of the
weapons at the girl and gave her an evil grin.
"What the hell did we do?" said Ranma nervously.
"Nothing, my mere presence has offended them," replied Sesshoumaru
in what sounded like amusement.
"What do we do?" asked Amelia.
"What else? We kill them," replied Sesshoumaru with a chuckle. He
flexed his hand in front of his face with his fingers curled like
claws.
"Shampoo! No!" cried another aged voice. The amazon women around
the redhead backed away quite suddenly as another old woman landed in
the center of the crowd. She was much spryer than the other hag and
glared at her angrily. "You old fool, this demon might not have even
known that we had detected it if not for you!"
The first hag hissed at her angrily and snarled. "Without my
skills."
"What's going on?" asked Ranma.
"They appear to be having a disagreement," said Gai dumbly.
"Time to go," said Faye as she turned them around and bolted. She
pushed aside several of the warriors in her way. Before she could
simply shove them, a spray of blood obscured her vision as she tore
through the crowd. "What?"
"Come, taste my claws humans!" said Sesshoumaru with an evil
laugh. He had almost yelled this out at the top of his lungs, further
surprising the women as he tore through them.
"Ouch! Our nails!" screamed Faye in pain as she pulled her arms to
her sides as she emerged from the other side of the crowd.
The two old women blinked at the scene. There was a path of
scratched up and rather stupefied looking amazon women standing along
a clear-cut path. A few of them had some nasty cuts, but nothing more
than a flesh wound that would leave rather ugly scabs.
"What the?" muttered Cologne.
"Damn you Cologne!" snarled the withered hag.
"Shut up Douche," snorted Cologne irritably. "There was something
odd about that dark one."
+++++++++++++++++
"What the hell were you thinking you idiot! We don't have claws!"
snapped Faye angrily.
"I dunno, that was kinda cool," muttered Gai in confusion.
"That wasn't very brave of us," commented Amelia with a slightly
whiny tone.
"Damn, now I've got a hangnail!" grumbled Ranma as he looked at
his hand. He ripped it off with a painful frown and tossed it aside.
"Bah! If we had taken that sword like we should have, we wouldn't
have had any trouble with that pathetic human scum!"
"The hell! We would have killed them!" said Ranma in shock.
"Of course, they deserve no better," replied Sesshoumaru.
"I won't allow you to harm innocent people that way!" cried
Amelia.
"Yeah! I don't want to get arrested!" agreed Gai.
"Fools! I, Sesshoumaru..."
Faye pinched their nipple rather sharply.
"Woman! I shall destroy you!" cried Fluffy as he clawed at his
throat.
"Stop that! This is my body you jerks!" cried Ranma as he did his
best to stop the pain on both fronts.
"Innocent people?" grumbled Faye. "You do realize that they were
going to kill us right?"
"Um..." said Amelia in embarrassment. "That's no excuse!" she said
as she tried to sound heroic and pointed at the sky. "Life is precious
and must be nurtured and loved and..."
"Human life amounts to little more than dung to me," replied
Sesshoumaru calmly.
"How can you say such horrible things?!" said Amelia. "Now I see
my path, I must show you the error of your ways, fear not Mr. Fluffy.
I shall show you the truth of love and justice!"
Ranma slapped himself pretty hard, he saw stars for a moment.
"Why did you do that?" cried Amelia.
"I've got a pretty good idea," said Faye.
"You need a new speech writer kid," said Gai with a small sigh.
"Really?" asked the girl quietly.
"Yes, you lack that certain grit that a true hero must hold. A
dark and brooding presence that says that you're dangerous, but with a
tenderness that allows you to hold truth and love within, cleverly
disguised with a false mask of indifference! Only then will you become
a true hero!"
"Wow Mr. Yamada! You're so smart!" cried Amelia.
"I said call me Gai damn it!"
"Is he for real?" said Ranma dumbly.
"Probably," grumbled Faye.
"Why does our head hurt?" said Amelia as she found their arm
rubbing at their temple.
"God, I need a drink," muttered Faye miserably.
"Feh," said Sesshoumaru as he ignored this and began to plot his
next move. He would torment these fools for years after he escaped,
killing them slowly over the course of centuries until his thirst for
revenge was satisfied. Now, if only he could figure out a way out of
the damnable body.
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Our course of action is clear," said Cologne as she sat in a
small room surrounded by other Amazon women near to her own age. "We
must find this demon."
"Agreed, it must be destroyed," said another of the old women.
Douche snorted in disgust. "It is as I have said from the
beginning."
The other old women ignored her ranting, with a disturbing
practiced ease.
Cologne was the next to speak. "So, it is as we said. A hunting
party will be formed, and we will destroy this monster."
The other elders nodded.
"We must also find out why it was here. What purpose did it
serve?"
"Tempting our youth with the sin of gambling! Attempting to warp
their young minds into laziness and debauchery!" cried Douche.
"That seems unlikely," commented Cologne as she spared the woman a
half glance.
"Perhaps she intended to take all their money, and then convince
them to bet their very souls?" offered Douche again. "Or worse, their
very purity!?"
Cologne rolled her eyes at this and turned back to the other
elders. "In any case, we need to find out what the demon was doing
here. There are any number of things close to this village that would
interest their kind. Most of them would spell disaster if they fell
into such hands."
The other elders nodded in agreement with this and the meeting
ended.
Douche didn't seem to notice the others leaving and continued to
rant in the dark. "Perhaps she was a succubus? Hoping to defile our
pure maidens and steal their love pearls? Or swallow our unborn
children, and then sell them into prostitution in the demon realm when
they were reborn as her own spawn?!!..."
+++++++++++++++++++
TBC...
Due to popular request, I have continued.
And there was much rejoicing.