Insertion: Reflux
Part 3
Adventures in China.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Wonder how our little project is going?" said Carrot lazily. He, Dan, and Ranma just had a wonderful time bringing about the end of a few worlds. Xianfu was mostly indifferent about the whole affair. Carrot and Ranma both destroyed worlds when they discovered reality television. They were actually pretty forgiving about it and gave them a few years to snap out of it. If they didn't stop they were destroyed mercilessly.
"I dunno. We should check up on him!" cried Pissant a little too cheerfully. The group had to force their arms down to their sides again.
"I thought we told you about doing that!" snapped Xianfu irritably. "Oh look! How cute! The Amazons are all chasing them across China."
"Wow! He pissed all of them off at once?" Ranma actually sounded quite pleased to hear this.
"Looks like it," commented Dan. "Even we never got all of them after us."
"I know, but let's liven it up a bit!" said Carrot.
"Huh? How? Alien invasion?" asked Dan.
"Don't be silly. We save that for the Moroboshi kid remember? Man, that still hasn't gotten old. Remember when we engaged him to a Klingon?"
"Well, I suppose that was a bit funny, sometimes," admitted Pissant. "Still wasn't very nice."
"I thought his face was priceless when she went into heat and took him forcefully. I was amazed he could still walk after that," said Dan.
"It's not like he hated it," muttered Carrot.
"As I recall, he never was really sure how he felt about those encounters," commented Xianfu.
"Whatever. On to the current problem," said Carrot as he forced them to focus on what was going on in that particular Universe. "Let's set Greg after them. He's in the area."
"I dunno. I kind of like Greg," said Ranma.
"Yeah. He's getting old though," pointed out Carrot. "He is rather nasty, and we don't want him to become too powerful. They can't handle something like that right now."
"Guess you've got a point," admitted the original occupant of their former body.
"Gregory it is!" said Carrot.
"Hey. Lost Universe is starting again," said Dan as he noticed something going on in another Universe.
"Yeah. Let's not put Sailor Moon in there this time. I don't think it worked out too well last time. A guy can only take so much posing and glitzy action shots."
"Let's make Popcorn!" cried Pissant.
"What?" snapped Xianfu. "I don't want to end up eating it for seven centuries again! Last time you idiots decided to continuously eat popcorn for Happosai's entire life span!"
"It ain't like you got any fatter," snorted Dan.
"Nah. I was just seeing how long it would take you guys to snap," commented Carrot as a large tub appeared in his arms along with an 'Endless Gulp' (tm). He calmly started munching as he focused his attention on Lost Universe. "We sure watch a lot of Anime up here."
+++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma Saotome was not having a good day. He hadn't had one for quite some time. Currently he was standing in the middle of a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere. It was all he'd been able to find so far, for almost four months straight. Having most of a village hunting you down was not exactly something most people could handle. As a group it was worse. "What the hell did we ever do to them?"
"We gotta get out of here!" snapped Gai angrily. There was an arrow sticking through the shoulder of the boy's shirt, it had come close, but he had managed to avoid it. They wouldn't raid villages to get to him, but he had to figure out a way out of there before their snipers could take positions. They were deadly accurate with their bows. Sesshoumaru was invaluable to them for his extra senses.
"They are trying to take positions on the rooftops of the north side of town. We should head south, I think we'll find the least resistance there."
"What about that old one?" asked Faye.
"She is still far away, awaiting to hear how they fare against us. If we remain unharmed her fear will keep her away. She is strong, but cowardly when it comes to my kind. If she discovers we are powerless, she will come for us. Not even your skill will be enough boy. Not yet anyway."
Amelia was a little frustrated with her new world as well. "If only we had my magic. This wouldn't be much of a problem."
"I really wish you'd quit saying that," growled Faye.
"She is correct. We must discover what is blocking my power. I know it can be done, I can still feel all of my strength. I do not know how to unlock it. It is as if I was a child again." He seemed disgusted with the very idea.
"Well we can't! We don't have time to waste worrying about it either!" snapped Ranma. "We gotta get out of here! You people are going to get me killed!"
"The snipers are in position," commented Sesshoumaru as he calmly plucked an arrow out of the air. The villagers froze in shock for a moment and quickly vacated the scene. He calmly turned to stare down the dumbstruck woman as she gaped at him in shock. "We should leave now."
They turned away and started running towards the edge of town away from the snipers. The boy calmly shifted sideways as another planted itself in his path as he rushed around a nearby corner. He continued to run towards the surrounding fields.
"Damn it! I hate running!" growled Gai.
"Sometimes you have too!" muttered Amelia nervously.
"Turn here!" snapped Faye as she forced them to avoid rushing into a wall.
"Where the hell are we going?" growled Ranma.
Sesshoumaru suddenly spoke up. "Keep running. As fast as you can. We have to get out of here immediately. Don't stop for anything, not even the Amazons." He forced them to level a sword carrying woman from the side as they burst into a street and blindsided her. The group of women surrounding her froze in surprise for a moment as the target ran by them at high speed.
"After him!" cried one of them as she pointed a spear in his direction.
"Are you crazy? You're gonna get us killed!" cried Gai.
"Better to die at their hands than in the hands of what is coming for us now. You will soon wish we had taken that sword from its resting-place. Now, we can only hope to run fast enough."
"What?" gasped Ranma in horror.
"Another monster!?" cried Amelia.
"It has already sensed us," snorted Sesshoumaru.
"Shit," grumbled Faye.
A jet of red flame and magma shot up from the ground in the center of the village. The creature tore up through the ground and roared angrily as its flaming palms slammed into the earth surrounding the spire of flames. It was a beastly looking creature, almost ape like with horns. It appeared as if its entire body was nothing but flames around a charred looking body. It towered almost fifteen feet in height and snorted as it scraped the ground with its ape like clawed hands in the dirt and shook its horns.
"What the fuck!?" screamed Ranma in shock as he glanced back over his shoulder at it.
The thing roared as the armed women scouring the village fled away from it in terror. It raked its claws across a trio of them particularly close to it and the pieces of their bodies that fell away became engulfed in fire.
"I told you we should have taken that sword," commented Sesshoumaru calmly as he continued to run out of the village. No one was trying to stop him anymore as the rampaging demon tore through homes and anything else in front of it as it made a bee line for them while snapping its jaws impatiently.
Ranma and nearly everyone else was terrified beyond speech as the heat from the beast began to make their back feel rather cooked as they rushed across open field.
The village behind them was decimated in flames and smoke rose high into the air behind the thing.
"This really sucks!" cried Faye out loud.
"No kidding!" snapped everyone but Sesshoumaru.
"We have to do something! It's gaining on us!"
"What?" snorted Sesshoumaru coldly. "There is no cover to hide in. You are correct though. He will overtake us shortly."
"I don't want to die like this! Do something! It's all your fault anyway!" cried Ranma.
"I do not wish to die as a coward," agreed Sesshoumaru as he made them fall flat on their faces from the sudden stop he performed.
"What the hell are you doing!?" cried Amelia and Faye.
Gai had given up hope and simply waited for the end to come.
They had now rolled over on their back and glared up at the demon hatefully. "Take me if you can then!" The monster raised its claw as it loomed over them. The puny thing rolled just out of the way, and ignored the small flames that ran up his shirt sleeve as he stood and turned to face it.
"What are we gonna do now?" asked Ranma impatiently. He was in full alert mode and fear was a distant memory as he concentrated everything he had on his problem and possible solutions to it.
"What can we do? Without my powers he is too powerful for us to stand against."
The creature was simply looking at them now with its palm planted firmly in the ground still. "I am Gregorius. Who are you demon? I wish to know the name of my victim today."
"You will not learn my name so easily fool," snorted the boy in front of it calmly.
"I see. You should be much stronger. Your power is sealed away by something. I never imagined I'd be so lucky."
"I know," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. He appeared to be standing and holding a simple conversation with the beast. The others were simply happy that the idiot pompous jerk was keeping the thing occupied.
"Do you not fear death? Or have you simply realized the futility of your situation."
"I fear nothing. I accept that which I cannot change. Without my power I cannot fight you, and you could chase me to the ends of the planet. Soon this body would tire, and I would be destroyed."
"I thank you for your consideration," replied the thing coldly.
"I was concerned only with myself. I need not suffer that much running from you." He paused for a moment. "I come from a different world than this one. Answer me this one question."
"What?" asked the creature coldly. "Why do you allow those humans to survive above you? How is it they are allowed near you at all? My kind does not allow such filth so close to us. Why do you not make them suffer for daring to defile your home? I see very little in the way of suffering beyond their poverty."
The thing growled at him for a moment. "You really don't know do you?"
"I would not have asked if I had." The boy seemed as steely calm as before.
"My, you are a brave one. I do not harm their bodies to make them suffer. No my friend, I tempt them. I make them my own, strip them of their very wills. I send them to a horror beyond agony and reap the rewards of their power."
"It is sad that I am killed by a mere leech."
"Now, it is your turn to suffer," snarled the beast coldly.
"Why did you insult him!?" snapped Faye. "I almost thought of a way out of this!"
"Yeah, right," muttered Gai hopelessly.
The demon roared as it dove for them with its fangs bared and claws forward.
"NO!" cried Ranma as he jumped into the air.
Sesshoumaru sighed. They were over the thing's back looking down at it. "It's a shame really. It would be so simple, all I'd have to do was this." He made a swipe with their hand, but an unexpected force was behind it.
"I'll try anything now!" cried Ranma as he joined the motion.
A wide blue arc of energy shot from the open air and slammed into the monster's back side. It roared in anger as it was flattened into the ground by the force of the blow.
"What?" it snarled angrily. The boy landed behind it and slowly turned with a widening grin forming on his face.
"Can we do that again?" cried Gai hopefully.
"I see. So you are the key, for now," commented Sesshoumaru with a sort of thoughtful sounding tone.
"It worked?" muttered Ranma dumbly.
"Yes. It did. I must teach you how to perform some of my skills. We should still acquire a weapon of some sort. Enchanted or not."
"What just happened?" cried Amelia dumbly.
"I think I get it. You two can both still use your powers. Ranma just has to help you do it for some reason."
"Makes sense to me!" said the boy happily. Finally he could control something again.
"It will not last," replied the demon coldly. "It is simply a matter of time before I discover how to unseal them completely."
"What about me and Faye?" asked Gai. "We don't have powers. I don't think so anyway."
"I'm not sure about you, but I'm here because I'm smart," said Faye cheerfully.
"I beg to differ," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. "Only a fool would tease a demon of my power so carelessly. Someday I'll find a way out of here, and then I'll make you all suffer for what you've forced me to endure."
"Um? The monster?" asked Amelia.
"Oh yes. Him," commented Sesshoumaru calmly.
The beast was sitting and watching them closely. The pair was simply staring each other down. "Just how strong is he? Am I the one being led into a trap here? Perhaps I should leave." It was only one strike, but it was a powerful blow. The creature was carefully weighing its options, and it was running out of time if it needed to run.
"Shall we end this game then?" asked Sesshoumaru calmly. "Gregorius?"
"Very well then," snorted the beast as he stepped back.
"You think I'll let you escape?" asked the boy calmly.
"I do not intend to run," it snarled. It was an obvious lie.
"Do as I do again," said the dog demon calmly.
Ranma already had his attention focused on exactly that.
"This is simple, but it should be enough," said Sesshoumaru coolly. The demon charged them suddenly and roared. The boy merely thrust his hand forward. Some invisible energy carved a path through the grass and sent a strong gust of wind in either direction on both sides as it passed. The demon lurched back as the flames covering its body went out suddenly. The charred flesh was pulled back and began to flake away as it suddenly shot backwards and carved a deep gouge in the earth as it ripped through three fields in its wake.
Sesshoumaru calmly walked over to the thing's smoking body as it lay there breathing heavily.
"Is it dead yet?" asked Gai nervously.
"I don't think so," muttered Amelia as they grew nearer.
"It lives, and it must be destroyed. If it survives it will tell others of us before they destroy it. I doubt if this battle went unnoticed, and others will soon arrive to begin searching us out. By killing it we may buy ourselves a few weeks time to prepare for them."
Ranma came dangerously close to passing out at that announcement.
"Stay firm boy. This is not over yet," snorted the demon. "I'd prefer to have you awake for this." They stood directly over the whimpering demon. It said nothing, but was in far too much pain to attack again. "A strong creature indeed," chuckled Sesshoumaru. He bent down next to the arm and touched it. Before anyone could react he slashed their wrist with one of the monster's claws.
The others quickly made him jump back. "What the hell are you doing?" cried Faye angrily.
"Gaaaaaahhhhhh! We're bleeding!" screamed Gai girlishly.
"No," muttered Ranma in horror.
"If we do not finish, we will die," said Sesshoumaru calmly.
"What about her? You said you can do magic?" cried Ranma.
"I'm not sure if it will work. This thing is a high level monster. I'm amazed we beat it so easily. My magic wouldn't be strong enough to heal damage from something like that well."
"She is correct. If you don't mind, we are starting to feel a bit lightheaded. We will survive, if you let me do this now."
The others all reluctantly relaxed their hold.
The boy smirked as stood next to the thing's arm again. "I'll need you for this boy."
He reared his arm back in a spear handed strike and plunged his arm deep into the creature's arm. After that, he simply relaxed and held it there. "Now we wait."
"How long?" muttered Faye nervously. "Those women aren't far behind us."
"After this thing appeared before them?" snorted Sesshoumaru. "Don't be so foolish. They will not return for several days at least. Then we can destroy them at our leisure."
"I ain't destroying nobody!" cried Ranma.
"You don't have much of a choice. They're trying to kill us," pointed out Gai. "I just wish we could find some guns or something. Maybe a rocket launcher, few grenades, possibly a tank or something... God, it would be great to find a Gekkiganger..."
"I wish I could just get my hands on my old ship," grumbled Faye. "A gun would be nice too though."
"Look, can we go now? This is disgusting," grumbled Ranma.
"If you pull your arm out of there now boy, you'll die," commented Sesshoumaru calmly. "Remain still, and we will survive. Our arm will be healed in a few moments."
"What are we doing anyway?" grumbled Faye irritably. "There are easier and less painful ways to do a blood transfusion you know.
"I am aware of that. I'd prefer to use the jugular. I knew you would stop me once I cut ourselves if only for a moment though. This method is slightly provided more time for you to collect your wits. It is slower however, and we'll need to stay for a few moments."
"Say. What the heck are we doin anyway?" asked Ranma.
"It's his body. He should know after all," pointed out Gai.
"As you say," snorted the demon. "I'm trading our blood for his. It will make us stronger, and you'll be able to access my abilities easier."
"What about my powers?" asked Amelia nervously.
"What about them? What possible use would we have for such weak magic?" snorted the demon.
The boy's face flushed with anger at this for a moment. Still, Amelia backed off and didn't respond.
"You are positively evil!" cried Faye.
"Yes. I am aware of that," replied the demon as he pulled their unharmed hand out of the creature's now drained carcass. He flexed their fingers and frowned at them for a moment. "Even my weakling of a half brother could defeat Yokai with a body similar to this one. It will still not be as easily done as I could manage with my own body."
"Yeah, yeah. Quit complaining about your stupid body. We all had bodies once too you know!" snapped Gai irritably.
"In time, you will grow to appreciate the upgrade."
"You're saying what we did to this thing wasn't easy?"
"He was weakened by another battle already. We would not have survived otherwise. If we had not discovered a way to unlock some of my power, we would still have been destroyed. The humans had apparently settled over him while he was recovering and thrived. His power was far too weak for him to remove them. Soul Taker or not, he would not allow them to remain so close to him otherwise."
"Great. So demons don't like to let humans hang around," said Gai. "Learn something new every day."
"You piteous fool. You don't understand. We stumbled across this creature's lair. A demon would never allow a human village so close to his home. His purpose on this world may indeed be the collecting of human souls, but I imagine he would rise on occasion to destroy a particularly bothersome group. Humans are not as warlike as you might imagine. You are however easily manipulated."
"Really? Why don't we have that sword then?"
"This was a backup plan," replied the demon coldly. "I simply misread you at first. I had planned on doing this later on anyway."
"Ouch," grumbled Faye. She wasn't looking forward to the future. She needed to figure this guy out and fast. He needed to be controlled badly. "Everyone listen up. It's obvious that it's going to take all of us to keep this guy under control. He's going to get us all killed or worse if we keep letting him do this to us."
The demon ignored this as he continued to walk away from the scene calmly.
"Um? Aren't you going to say something?" asked Amelia nervously.
"No. I wasn't planning on it," was the simple reply.
"I'm part demon aren't I?" asked Ranma suddenly.
"What? Don't be silly!" cried Faye.
"He is correct," replied Sesshoumaru. "We now possess some of a demons power. We will eventually become a full demon, but that will take careful planning if we are to survive long enough."
"I don't wanna be a demon!" cried Ranma in horror.
"Me either!" cried Amelia.
"We'll just get the stuff sucked out somewhere. I'm sure we can find some way for another transfusion," said Faye nervously.
"It would not matter. You cannot remove what we have now taken. It is, forever."
"We don't have to be a demon you know," said Amelia suddenly. "He just wants you to think it will happen anyway. So you don't try and stop him from doing it."
"What?" muttered Ranma hopefully.
"You'll keep silent if you know what's good for you," said Sesshoumaru coolly.
"I won't let you turn me into a demon!" she snapped angrily. "You go and find your own body and do what you want with it! Leave me out of it!"
"What do we have to do?" cried Ranma hopefully.
"Well, we'll always be part demon," she admitted lamely. "Nothing can be done about that part. It's just... we're still part human too. As long as we don't grow too evil and powerful we'll be fine."
"What do we do then?" asked Gai.
"I think he means what don't we do," commented Faye.
"Simple. We keep Fluffy on a leash."
"WHAT?!!"
"I can handle that," commented Ranma. "You're a real dick."
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Genma Saotome was looking at the long hallways of the black palace with a sort of shocked awe. "What is this place?" It was positively evil looking. Long hallways of ebony and red. Dragonheads curled up from the sides of pillars with ruby eyes. Blood red carpets and torch lit walls gave the place a dark forbidding tone.
"It is your home master," replied one of the hooded men. "It is yours and all of the treasures within belong to you and you alone. It is our offering to you. We even have several virgins lined up to be sacrificed in your honor later this evening."
"Sacrificed?" muttered the man dumbly. "Wait. All of this is mine?"
"Yes," replied the man simply as he waved his arm.
"The master seems most impressed," commented one of the men with a dark smile on his face.
"Indeed," commented one of the men. "Definitely not what I was expecting him to be at all," whispered the man next to him. "He has hardly spoken a command since his arrival."
"Have you had the young virgin boys delivered to his room yet? I don't want to see him get angry if they aren't there when he decides to retire."
"He seems pensive, perhaps he is unaware that he is the chosen one? This could be caution on his part as well. To make sure we are loyal to him and his prophecy."
"A test?" asked the man in whispered tone as Genma continued on his tour a little ahead of them.
"I do not know," replied the man calmly.
The burly man in the dirty dogi simply walked quietly along as the men gave him a tour of what he considered to be the tenth level of hell itself. He'd seen horrors that would haunt his dreams for years. He simply couldn't figure out a way out of his current situation. It hadn't been all bad at first, now it was all he could do to keep his composure. They'd kill him for sure if he started looking frightened by the things he was seeing. He needed to escape badly, but his brain was too busy fending off the trip.
It boggled the mind really. A wealth Genma Saotome wanted no part of. He stomped his feet firmly down and glared at them all. "What the hell is all this anyway?"
"We are in preparation for you to use your dark magic to vanquish the world and make..."
"You think this is how you conquer the world?" said the man as his jaw dropped. "This stuff makes people hate you!"
"They should hate us, we're evil," replied the large lead robed man. He pulled his hood back revealing his clean-shaven head and frowned down at the man. "I live for the suffering of others."
"So start a business." Genma had no idea why he had said that. "You think raining down hell fire and summoning demons make people suffer? Imagine the ways we can abuse employees! What about shafting millions out of all their money!? Turn them into dirty drug abusing hippies! Create recession! Turn order into misery!"
"That takes so long though," commented one of the men. The others all nodded in agreement.
"We'll be old before we can enjoy the fruits of our evil," said the leader calmly.
"Oh," replied Genma dumbly. "Puppet governments?"
"We tend to scare voters away. No way to get real power that way."
Genma was perplexed. These were the stupidest evil people he'd ever met. "Don't you have any long term plans at all?"
"New batch of virgins from the neighboring village next week," said one of the men as he raised his hand.
"Well. You need something a bit more long term than that I'm afraid. Genma promptly plopped himself on the ground. Take me for example. I'm planning on taking my son to an old friend of mine's home and freeload off of him for the rest of my life. You see, he's engaged to Soun's daughters. Once I have him married off, I'll sit and live fat and happy while he runs the dojo. I'll spend my golden years playing shogi on the porch with my old friend. Ah, such a beautiful vision. I had it two weeks before the boy was born." He nodded at himself proudly. "Still haven't figured out how to keep the wife out of the way though."
"We can kill her for you if it would please you master!" cried one of the robed men.
"Remember that room about five doors back?" asked Genma.
"At once master," replied the others as the man was carted off.
Genma wasn't totally cruel though. "Only about an hour though. Try not to leave too many marks."
"Thank you master!" cried the man as the group shoved him through the door.
The tall bald man appeared at his side once again a moment later as he sat on the floor of the hallway. "I begin to see your wisdom master. Perhaps we can look a bit farther into the future, and follow your example."
"Yes. Do that," said the man with a small sigh. "How do I leave? I've still got to find the boy."
"We shall leave at once!" cried the man. He called down to the group that was overseeing the torture. "Go! Call the others! We must find the master's spawn!"
Genma glanced at the man briefly. Maybe it wasn't all that bad. Having loyal minions probably had perks. It seemed they were so stupid that they'd follow him no matter what he did.
"If you're coming along, you're paying your own way," snorted Genma. "I won't have a bunch of freeloaders messing up my lifelong dream."
"We shall ensure that all your dreams become reality!" said the tall man firmly.
"How can you guys afford this anyway?" asked Genma.
"We invest in all sorts of nasty things. Child porn, sweatshops, hard drugs, guns, that sort of thing." He smiled at the man broadly. "Business is booming."
The perplexed looking martial artist simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk. They had a nice little racket going here for themselves, except for the torture and murder stuff.
"What about the virgins?" asked one of the men in the back. Genma was kind of dumbstruck. There were about thirty men following him now. Each one was dressed in long black robes and had no hair. Most of them had a slim build about them, but there were a few with a little weight. All of them were tall.
"What?" he asked dumbly.
"The virgins for the sacrifice tonight! Should we do it now, or tie them up for later?"
"No! No more virgins! You'll go out and rent whores like normal people!"
The men collectively hung their heads in instant defeat.
+++++++++++++++++
"It was an ambush I tell you," snorted Douche angrily. "That vile thing tricked us!"
"I have heard reports of that battle as well. Three have fallen, seven more injured," said Cologne. "It was a trap, but not for us, and it failed. I fear our problem may have worsened."
"We'll show that arrogant brat," snapped Douche angrily.
"Really. It's probably older than we are," replied Cologne with a small snort.
The other women sitting around the room all nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with Douche," said one of the older ones calmly. It was easy to see she was well respected as everyone looked quite surprised to hear it. She puffed on a long pipe and narrowed her eyes at Cologne. "You may be correct Cologne. I think it is more likely he was trying to kill two birds with one stone. Also, besides his extraordinary reflexes, and of course Jusenkyo's taint, we have yet to see any real power from him. I suspect he is using finely tuned senses beyond that of human capabilities almost exclusively for some reason. We have seen a taste of his power, but the creature has yet to strike one of us down. Today it showed us that it could have done so quite easily. I would like to find out why that is."
Cologne merely nodded. "As you say. Why, is a very important question in this case. I think I should lead the next attack. I think perhaps we should test the waters a bit more before we give up on him. He seems to be moving out of the danger zone."
"Perhaps we should allow him to flee then?" asked one of the women in the back. "We have no real crimes committed against us with this one. He may be a dark one, but his business may lie elsewhere."
Cologne shook her head slowly. "I cannot allow that. There is still one very important place he has not yet passed by. Perhaps the most dangerous of all."
"Jusendo!" cried Douche.
Cologne hung her head. "You've been smoking again haven't you? He's heading to the east, away from those mountains. It's probably where he came from. You already know that."
"Where then?" she snapped irritably.
"Here." She pointed her finger at the map and everyone gasped.
"Hong Kong?" asked one of the women dumbly.
Cologne glanced over her shoulder. Douche had shifted the map while she wasn't looking. The old woman was horrible at hiding things and it was written all over her face as she glanced around the room busily.
"No, the dark mountain. We know only that it is an evil place. We do not know the legend that surrounds it. Perhaps, we might learn it in time to stop him? I fear that is his objective, he's heading right for it." She drew a line with her finger indicating his path.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
"Where the hell are we anyway?" grumbled Gai as he surveyed his surroundings. Ranma was currently squatting on a tree branch dozens of feet above the ground in a large forest. He was scanning the area near the top of a large hill.
"In China, still," replied Faye lamely.
"Pipe down, I think I see somethin," said Ranma.
"No one can hear us but you, Ranma," said Faye flatly.
"No, but you are a distraction. I see what he is looking at, be silent for a moment," said Sesshoumaru calmly. "You want to go there don't you?"
"What?" muttered Ranma as he tore his eyes away from the black mountain looming in the distance. They were on the edge of another range of mountains, and they could see the peak in the distance, far in the distance. "Why the heck would I want to go to that place? Looks like a rough trip."
"It probably would be, very difficult terrain," said the dog demon calmly. He seemed to be getting bored with the conversation.
"Guess we're goin then," said the boy as he hopped down from his perch.
"What?!" cried Amelia and Faye.
"Why are we going there again?" asked Gai.
"I'm in training buddy. If I see a difficult path like that one, I just gotta take it," replied the boy with a small shrug as he hefted his pack over his shoulder.
"Man. I hate exercise," grumbled Gai.
"You seem awfully agreeable about this," snorted Faye.
"We are not strong enough to face what is coming. The blood we have taken makes us stronger, but we are easier to detect as well, by humans and demons alike. We'll need to be on guard, and train hard to become stronger. If we do not, we will die. I have not lived like this in centuries, but I survived it before. I do not plan on failing this time either. I highly suggest you consider our position the next time I tell you to do something. Without me, not even one of you would survive more than a few months. In my weakened state, I am a prime target for elimination. If we become strong enough, they will leave us alone. That's how my half-wit of a brother survived so long. He was forced by his weakness to strengthen his body and became dull witted."
"That sounds familiar," commented Faye lazily. "I know quite a few people like that. I wonder how everyone is doing back home?"
"I don't have to worry about that," replied Sesshoumaru.
"What about that little girl?" asked Amelia softly.
"I am still with her," he replied calmly. "She amuses me. Occasionally, I'll take on a human child as a pet. When I'm through with her, I'll dispose of her. I have no room for kindness in my heart."
"Why have a pet then?" asked Gai.
"Having a pretty young servant is an excellent way to get humans to bow to your demands easily. Fear is not the only method of persuasion. The best way to be rid of them is to give them away to someone. They usually don't survive long after I abandon them. Besides, I have no pity for a human fool who wishes to deal with the likes of me. They are usually executed once they murder the man who took them away from me. Occasionally they do manage to sleep their way out of it, but they are soon destroyed one way or another."
"That's disgusting!" cried Faye.
"Monster!" cried Amelia. She paused. "Oh. Right."
"How could you do that!" lamented the woman angrily.
"I think our young friend has acquired an understanding of this already. Why is it taking you so long?" replied the demon calmly.
"As much fun as hearing this is," said Ranma irritably. "Could you please pipe down? Time will go by faster if I meditate on the way there."
"That's great for you, but what about us?" snapped Faye.
"I think it's an excellent idea actually. I should be concentrating on keeping an eye out for surprises," replied Sesshoumaru calmly.
"I was learning how to cast Ra-tilt for my next exam. If I think about it long enough, I should be able to cast it," said Amelia. "That could take a while though," she added with a slightly nervous laugh.
"Obviously," commented Sesshoumaru.
"I think I've sat next to you every time I've ever flown commercial," commented Gai.
"Ouch," said Faye. "I give up. I guess I'll just be bored for a while." She didn't sound like she cared much for the idea.
++++++++++++++++++++
"Master. I am sorry to report that your son is not working in one of our many sweatshops. He also hasn't been forced into illegal experiments. Most regrettable indeed."
"I know that. I probably would have remembered by now if I had done something like that. It's not like me to forget for more than a few weeks." Genma pondered where his son had gone for a very long time. He was coming up completely blank, and his son wasn't around to solve the problem. Which was the whole problem.
The men around Genma began to pick up rocks and throw them back to the ground in frustration. They jumped up and down excitedly as they all tried their best to garner a collective thought.
The theme to two thousand and one began to play spontaneously.
It stopped suddenly as one of the smaller robed men spoke. "Have we checked the jails yet?"
Genma frowned at him for a moment. Ranma wasn't slow enough to get caught. "I have it! He'll go back to Japan!" Genma jumped up and pointed his finger in the air as tears streaked down his cheeks. "Come my loyal disciples!"
"Please, call us minions master," said one of the men.
"Right. Come my loyal minions!"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Three days later...
Ranma Saotome was covered in dirt and grime. With a somewhat lazy stroll he walked through the center of a small village. People gave him a wide berth as he simply passed through silently. Not so much because he was a stranger, or that his form was particularly scary. No, it was the fact that he was on fire.
"This is starting to suck," said Ranma irritably.
"At least they have enough sense to stay out of our way now," said Sesshoumaru calmly.
"If we keep wandering through villages like this we'll get attacked," said Amelia.
"So?" replied Sesshoumaru.
"She's right," agreed Faye.
"I just hope there's a way to turn it off," commented Ranma. "Any luck with that by the way?"
"It will probably take us a few months to fully understand this new blood. Incidents like this will probably be well under control within a week."
A lone figure stood in front of them firmly. She was a young Chinese girl with long straight black hair. A delicate looking tai chi sword was gripped in her hand as she simply waited for them to stop in front of her.
The flaming boy merely shifted his step and continued walking around the girl. She looked quite clean compared to her surroundings and was wearing an expensive looking red silk jumpsuit. A large white bandanna was tied around her forehead and she turned her head to watch them walk by her.
"Why have you come here?"
"To challenge that mountain," he replied calmly as he continued walking.
"I think not, demon," she hissed coolly. She spun around and thrust the sword towards them as she prepared herself for a fight.
"This one is dangerous, she must be destroyed," warned the demon dog.
"What?" cried Faye and Amelia.
"Devil hunter," said Ranma as he watched the girl for a moment.
"Yes boy. I imagine you've heard legends of such people. Magical ability, and martial arts can be a dangerous combination in a human. As we grow in power, they too will learn it is best not to meddle with us. Like other demons, they must be trained not to bother us. Wiping out a family or two usually does it."
"I'm sure we can explain things to her if..." started Faye.
Gai wasn't touching this one with a pole if he could help it. He was along for the ride and hoped they didn't get hit too much. "Can we just get this over with?"
"I ain't killin nobody anyway!"
"That is unwise in this case. She will not be so merciful with us. We are a demon as far as she is concerned, that is reason enough to see us destroyed at any cost in her mind. We will not be able to persuade her otherwise. If she is a real demon hunter, she has been trained not to trust our kind. Wisely so, I might add."
"You sure are talkative all of a sudden," said Faye. "We need to move no matter what, she's still staring us down. I think she's gonna get impatient real soon though."
"You're the one who passed through Jokezuko aren't you?" asked the girl as she lowered her blade again and relaxed her stance a bit.
"A trap!" snarled the dog demon.
The flaming boy jumped back as twin arrows planted themselves into the ground on either side of him. The girl in front of him growled and twirled her sword around her hand. "Damn!"
"Come boy. I'll be needing you again," said the demon coolly.
"I'll take care of this," replied Ranma calmly. Amazons began bouncing down from the rooftops all around him. He didn't seem worried in the slightest. He'd had the powers for three days now. The trip he'd taken could have been done in about a day had he not taken so much time adjusting himself to his newfound strength and speed. He'd also accidentally picked up a trick or two. "There's some stuff I wanna try out. These chicks are starting to piss me off anyway." He cracked his knuckles and crouched low as seven amazon women came charging out of the alleyways.
The sword-carrying girl rushed forward as well. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she thrust her sword forward at him. He bent over backwards to dodge and she curved the blade's path down. The boy was too fast for that though and he snaked his torso to the side around the blade and locked up her arm across his knee forcing the point into the ground. Her arm appeared unharmed by the flames surrounding him and the girl cried out in pain as she was lifted into the air by her arm as the boy jumped up to avoid two arrow strikes. He spun around in the air and tossed her into three of the charging amazons. He landed in a crouched stance and the other four warriors came to a complete halt. They circled around him, all of them armed with long handled spears.
He simply stood and watched them surround him. The girl he had thrown was jerking violently as the flames started to build around her body. She was unharmed by the fire physically, but it was very obvious whatever was happening to her was very painful. Even her clothes remained unscathed inside the inferno. Slowly, they started to die down as the amazon women watched the events carefully.
She groaned painfully and sat upright. "Hellfire! Don't let him touch you!" She was nursing a dislocated shoulder and picked her sword up from the dust. She hadn't dropped it until she landed. She gritted her teeth firmly and slipped it back into place as she staggered to her feet. Her face scrunched up painfully and a bit of drool slipped out from behind her teeth as she did it. "He's mine," she said as she relaxed her body and took up another stance. The sword was in her other hand now, with her injured shoulder behind her.
The burning boy simply watched her calmly and noticed that the women surrounding him backed off slightly.
"She's challenging us directly," said Ranma calmly.
"Fool. She doesn't stand a chance without their numbers to help her," commented Sesshoumaru.
The girl rushed forward and screamed as she charged him. She raised her sword over her head to slash down just as he tipped back and shot his arm at her chest.
"Strike now!" cried Sesshoumaru.
"No!" gasped the boy as his eyes went wide. He had already started punching.
The girl's eyes went wide and she spit blood into his face as his arm went through her abdomen. She jerked forward and grabbed his shoulders as her sword fell into the dust.
"Holy shit! Our arm went through her!" cried Gai.
"Yes," snarled Sesshoumaru coldly.
"She ain't dead!" cried Ranma as he struggled with her arms as he removed his arm along with parts of her entrails.
"She will be shortly. I'm surprised she hasn't bled to death yet. Perhaps the flames are keeping her blood in? She'll die once they extinguish."
"Ranma! Help me!" cried Amelia.
"Huh?" he said dumbly.
"Shut up and do it. I've got a hunch," she said firmly.
The amazon women were still standing around in shock as the boy thrust both his hands down while kneeling next to her body. A soft blue glow formed in his palms as he focused on what he was doing.
One of the amazon women pulled her bow back as she aimed for the creature's head. She gasped as a withered looking hand appeared in front of her face. She turned her head and saw the elder Cologne holding her back.
"Why do you stop me?" she asked calmly as she lowered the weapon. The woman appeared quite interested in what was happening.
"Wait. If only for a moment," said the elder calmly. "I am feeling something that should not be." She shook her head at the absurdity of it all. "Impossible."
The boy slowly stood up and started walking away from the burning form of the girl behind him. She was obviously in incredible pain, but alive none the less, and the wound was nothing but a light scar on her belly and back.
"Unless you'd like to end up like her, I suggest you move. She'll survive, but it was a very painful experience I assure you," he said to the women in front of him calmly.
They all stepped back away from him fearfully.
However there was now a new obstacle in their path. A tiny withered old crone, balanced precariously on the end of a long staff.
"Don't tell me, we should destroy her right?" muttered Faye.
"That should be obvious," snorted the demon calmly.
"What the heck does she want?" snorted Ranma.
"Hey. Wadda ya want?" said the boy as he simply looked at the old woman in front of him.
"The question is, what do you want here?"
"To pass," he replied in his cool tone again. "If you don't move, I will go through you."
"Tell me boy. What do you want with this mountain? You're no demon, at least not completely."
The boy's grin became cocky suddenly. "Ta climb it. I gotta take the hardest road."
The old woman arched her eyebrows at this. "I see. Tell me boy, what if I offered you another path?"
"What?" said the boy as he frowned at her a little.
"I'm offering to train you boy. I can assure you that you'll be much stronger than you will if you take this road. Anything to keep you away from that cursed place. If what you tell me is true, I assure you that you do not want what lies in wait for you."
"I knew it. Dog boy was trying to trick us into going somewhere again!" snapped Faye angrily.
"Actually, I was being quite honest. This is a very difficult and dangerous path. Just taking it would probably make us stronger. Even I can't lie all the time."
"I'll bet there's something you're not telling us about," commented Gai lazily. "I say we go with the old woman. Some of those tricks are pretty neat."
"We cannot trust her. It is doubtful she trusts us at all. Human or not, we do have a demons power," commented Sesshoumaru.
"I hate to say it, but he is right," agreed Faye.
"Maybe we should trust her?" commented Amelia.
Cologne coughed into her hand. "Oh yes. There is the other matter of the one hundred and twenty seven wives you've managed to collect."
"What?" said the boy as he glared at her.
"As you are human, I am certain of that much at least now, you are subject to our laws," replied the old woman calmly. "You are quite strong, and though you seemed to have acquired some very interesting demonic traits. Would you mind at least hinting at how you have done this?" She seemed to be quite cheerful.
The boy was still guarded, and kept his eyes on everyone at once. The old woman's guards had yet to move once they positioned themselves between him and her on either side of him. None of them dared to try and sneak behind him at the moment.
"My dear boy. You have a demon sealed away inside of you, don't you?" she asked after several moments of silence.
"Yeah. How did ya know?" he asked her dumbly. "He got into my head somehow."
The old woman simply stared at the boy for a long moment. "Well boy?"
"Think I'm better off on my own, thanks," he said simply. "You're not strong enough to make me marry someone anyway." He simply continued his forward path and ignored her.
"Ranma! What the hell are you doing?" cried Faye angrily. "We can't go in there!"
"Why are we still going to the mountain!?" cried Amelia in confusion.
"Because he's right. We need a weapon," replied the boy honestly. "That last demon thing was too close a call. I'm not so sure I want to let him out too much after what just happened."
Gai spoke up quietly. "Ranma is right. The blowhard was saying that his little brother..."
"Half brother," replied the demon in an even tone.
"Whatever. Anyway, his half brother got along fine right? He just got strong enough to fight back."
"His enchanted blade had something to do with it as well," replied the demon coolly. "Even if you do manage to stop me, how are you going to defend yourselves against demons without me? The boy is right. You weaklings need a weapon."
"We could have gone with Cologne. She might not have killed us if we listened to her," said Amelia. "She could probably teach us some neat things too. Like that super fast punching thing, or the tornado thingy."
"No. I still don't trust her," said Faye. "I think it was something in her voice when she was talking too us. I think she was trying to lead us into a trap. We should have gone another way, and not with her."
"I don't know," muttered the girl with a small sigh. "I'm not so sure about this place. I'm getting a bad feeling. Trees were starting to become black and twisted, and a sort of haze floated in the air around them. "Maybe we should go back?"
"I won't allow that," snorted the demon calmly.
"Watch us," snarled Faye.
"That's right!" agreed Amelia firmly.
"Is this gonna hurt much? This trip has sucked so far," grumbled Gai.
"We do not tire easily now," replied Sesshoumaru. "We should be able to climb the mountain to the peak by evening without putting out much effort."
"We should be there by this afternoon then," replied Ranma calmly.
Everyone went strangely silent as he said this.
The demon didn't respond as they started up the path unhindered for the moment.
"What should we do elder?" asked one of the women. The devil hunter glanced around at the women.
"Nothing," she replied quietly. "We can do nothing to stop this. I dare not send such inexperienced warriors onto that cursed mountain. All of you are strong, but do not have enough knowledge to face what awaits him.
"He'll die anyway then," said the same woman with a smirk forming on her face.
"No. He will not," replied the devil hunter calmly as she started after him. "I'm going after him."
"If you feel it is your duty," said Cologne as she nodded her head towards the girl. "I cannot place my people in such danger. I am sorry. We will move to the other side of the mountain, and await his return."
"You won't catch him that way," replied the girl calmly.
"If he escapes you, we will find his trail again. I'm afraid he'll never be rid of us now. It is obvious which path he has chosen, and he must be destroyed, for all of our sakes."
The girl merely nodded and rushed after the demon boy.
"Shu ho, be cautious. This one is more than he seems I think."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Why? Why do you continue forward?" growled Shu as she rushed through the mist and brush after the boy. "Why did Cologne give so much damn exposition anyway? I'm all rattled now." It wasn't a good thing to hear right after the boy put his hand through her body. Her wound still hurt, but it was little more than a bad bruise now. "Why? Why did he save me?"
"I thought it might send the message more clearly. If I just kill you, you'll just pop back up in a few centuries or so. It becomes a rather annoying cycle."
She gasped and whirled around.
"Why are you following me? You should know by now that I can kill you easily."
"Why? Tell me why you healed me!" she screamed at him angrily. "Who are you?"
"Ranma Saotome. Sorry about him, he's kinda evil," the boy's face was rather flush as he looked towards the ground.
Her jaw dropped quite suddenly. Her grip faltered on her weapon and she stared at him. It was true. She had seen it in his eyes when he nearly killed her. He hadn't been expecting it either. "What?"
"I ain't crazy or nuthin. I got this guy in my head somehow. He's attracting all sorts of trouble too. A demon tried to kill me earlier. I have to use his power to fight them off now."
"No one knows the legend surrounding this mountain. All we know is that it is an evil place. You should not continue forward. This place could be waiting for someone like you to come along."
"I guess I shouldn't disappoint then. I need a weapon to fight them with, and my demon is telling me I'll find one up there. He's very interested in keeping us alive. He dies if I do."
"Then I shall see that you have a quick death," she replied coldly as her blade was drawn once again.
"Damn it. Cut that out!" snapped the boy as he dodged around her strikes. "If I hit you again he might kill you."
"I know," she replied as she tore her shirt off and tossed it aside. Some of the fire surrounding his body had caught onto her clothing.
"What the?" muttered the boy as he found himself facing the combined might of a healthy twenty year old pair of breasts. He froze for a moment and she slashed down at him with her sword at his neck.
His grin turned cocky as he glanced up at her halfway through her strike. "I've seen better." Her blade hit nothing but the ground and a hand slapped across her rear as she fell forward face down in the dirt. "See you around." He started walking as she squeaked in pain as she realized some of his flame had gotten onto her rear. She quickly rolled over and smothered it in the dirt. She was very thankful that magic or not, fire was fire.
He had already vanished into the mist. Not an easy thing to do when you glow like a moving campfire. "That little bastard!" she snarled angrily as she stood up and picked up her sword. "Get back here you little pervert!" She picked up her shirt again and put it back on as it had also gone out. After a moment of silent huffing she glared into the woods.
"Ranma Saotome! Prepare to die!"
++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma was looking at his hand with a kind of bewildered look on his face. "You jerks almost got us killed. You're lucky Amelia and I were here!"
"I believe I assisted as well," commented Sesshoumaru calmly.
"Whatever, you're up to something," snapped Faye.
"Why did you do that Mr. Yammada? It was mean!" scolded the little girl.
"I couldn't help myself," muttered the man pathetically, "and it's Gai."
"Yeah. Why did we do that?" asked Ranma dumbly.
Gai was astounded. "Y...you're kidding?!"
The boy shook his head negative. He was honestly curious about the answer.
"He is still a pup after all."
"No! This is abnormal!" snapped Gai. "There could be something wrong! We need to find a doctor!"
"It is rather odd," admitted Faye.
"What are you talking about?" asked Amelia. "Ranma? You don't know why Mr. Yammada slapped that woman on the rear?"
The boy growled in annoyance as he felt his cheeks flush. "Why would I? She was already out of the way, and the strike didn't do anything."
"That sounds like my little half brother," growled the demon irritably.
"What?" snapped Ranma angrily. "What the hell is the damn problem?"
"We gotta get you laid kid," replied Gai calmly.
"What?" said the boy as he halted suddenly.
"I could use a little release myself," commented Faye.
"You shouldn't say things like that out loud!" gasped Amelia. "I don't know if I'm ready for that!"
"What's the big deal? It'll be another girl, so it's not all that bad."
The little girl passed out at that.
"Hey. I think we lost her," said Gai.
Ranma started walking quickly, but he could not escape this conversation. It was a horrible realization on his part.
"What about our demon friend?" asked Gai.
"I have no need of such things. Do as you will to satisfy your human desires. It does not matter to me."
"It's settled then," said Gai cheerfully.
"Where are we gonna find a woman?" grumbled Faye. "Listen buddy. I'm doing you a favor here, a big one. I expect some return on this investment, if you catch my drift?"
"Oh man. You're kidding!" cried Gai in horror.
Ranma had no idea what was going on. He noticed that the fire surrounding his body died down a bit after Amelia left them.
"I'm gonna have to think about this," grumbled the man.
"We might be stuck with each other for the rest of our lives. Besides, when was the last time you got laid anyway?"
"Three years ago," grumbled the man sourly. "That's not the point."
"Well. I suppose you're in great need of release then," replied the woman smoothly.
Ranma was forced to pull his hand out of the front of his pants. "Hey! What the hell are you doin?!"
"Wait a minute. There's no one out here. Let's go with this," said Gai.
"Hell no!" cried Ranma out loud. "Don't touch that! It's mine!"
"All right. How about a deal then? We can change bodies right? I mean, we can be a girl sometimes."
Ranma paused for a moment. "What?"
"If I leave that alone, you give me control of that other body. Girls get the girl side, boys get the boy side. How about it? It's only fair."
The boy growled under his breath as he walked in silence for a long time.
"Well?"
"I'm thinkin about it," he replied coolly.
"Ouch," said Gai.
"I could get to really like a kid like you," she replied sweetly as his hand slid down the front of his pants again.
"All right! All right! Fine! Just cut that out!" he screamed at the top of his lungs angrily.
"You would have made a good pet," commented Sesshoumaru.
Faye growled at him, but didn't respond.
"Good idea kid. Let them deal with that feminine stuff," said Gai.
"You do realize I basically just gave them an excuse to sit back and do nothing while we're like this," said Ranma flatly.
"Don't worry! We'll leave all the rough stuff to you boys!" said Faye cheerfully.
"She'd better not get fat," growled Ranma irritably.
"Don't worry. I've always had a good figure," replied Faye cheerfully.
"That was obvious," commented the demon. "You wouldn't have tried to manipulate him that way if you weren't attractive. It's a common trait among attractive human females. A pity it gets them killed so often."
By this point in the conversation they were bouncing across jagged and narrow edges up the side of the mountain. He grabbed the wall and started climbing.
"Boy, you sure know how to kill the mood don't you," grumbled Faye irritably. "How long is she going to be out?"
"What happened?" chimed Amelia as if given a cue. "Oh. Not a dream, darn."
"Sorry kid," commented Gai. "What's that?"
"Our destination," replied Sesshoumaru.
Looming over them was what appeared to be a black temple. Green flames burned in the torches that surrounded the walls and a large heavy wooden door appeared to be the only entrance.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Shu ho was perched on the rocks far below the boy. She looked up at him and frowned. "Damn. This isn't going to be an easy fight."
She had heard him scream his submission to the demon in the woods. It was a pity that he was not strong enough to contain it. She had to release him from his suffering, even if he was a pompous little shit."
"I'm not going to make it in time to stop him. I hope I can manage something. I don't wanna die!" She didn't seem very confident as she sniffled and started climbing up the rocks with tears in her eyes.
++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma looked around the room casually as he strolled in. "Where the heck is this place?" Large chunks of lumber and pieces of wood littered the ground at his feet.
"It is the resting place of a powerful weapon. More Yokai magic to aid us, of a different sort than that sword though."
"What kind of 'sort'?" growled Faye.
They simply continued walking forward moving out of the shattered remains of the heavy wooden door.
"Hey. Who's the babe?" asked Faye.
Everyone's attention focused on the handsome man standing in the middle of the room. He was simply watching them with what appeared to be a black staff in his hand. He had short cut slicked back black hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. "I've been waiting for you."
"Damn!" growled Sesshoumaru.
"I thought you said..." started Amelia.
"I'm disappointed in you really. After all, it was an obvious trap. Finding two such weapons so easily is a bit too fortuitous. Yet, here you are, standing in front of me. Showing what a fool you truly are." The man casually walked towards the middle of the room in front of them and stopped to face him again once he'd reached it.
"Boy. Listen carefully. I must fight this battle, but I will need your help. This is a situation where my full Yokai power must be brought to bare. The slightest mistake from you will destroy us."
"Well. For once I trust him," commented Faye.
"Oh no. This is going to be really bad isn't it?" cried Amelia.
"I'm afraid so kid," commented Gai as he braced himself. "Try to be gentle would you?"
"I do not indent to suffer a single blow from this fight. I could be mistaken though," commented the demon coolly. "Come boy. It is time to get this over with."
"Still want to fight? Such a weak half blood like yourself destroy me? I think not," snarled the man angrily.
"It's too bad. He was cute too," commented Faye.
The creature before them jumped into the air and a pair of black wings sprouted from his back as two long horns ripped through the flesh of his forehead. His hands became clawed as well as his feet, but his torso remained human, with the tattered remains of his suit and tie still hanging from him.
"I'm afraid you'll find I'm much more than a mere half blood."
"Is that so?" snarled the creature as it stomped towards them.
"Yes. I'm afraid it is," replied the boy as he jumped over the creature's shoulder and landed on the ground on the other side of it. Four gashes began to spray blood from its shoulder as pieces of the leathery wings fell to the ground.
The creature roared in pain and spun around. Its teeth had become sharpened and its eyes had grown yellow. Flames began to erupt all around them, giving the room a sickly green glow. They emitted no smoke, and didn't harm the boy.
"So. You are what happened to Gregorius," said the thing in a loud hissing screech.
"This one is not weakened by another battle. We will be busy for quite some time boy. Keep up as best you can, and I will instruct you when I need you."
++++++++++++++++++
Shu ho was losing her nerve. Green flames erupted from the windows of the temple periodically, along with chunks of stone and wood that sailed past her occasionally. She was watching a particularly large section of wall that had come within three inches of her head crash on the ground below with a horrified expression on her face. Tears continued to flow from her cheeks as she slowly crawled onto the flat surface of the summit and got a good look at the remains of the heavy wooden doors. "Grama will kill me if I run." She hung her head and dragged her feet as she walked towards the door with the point of her sword held low, along with her head.
"This sucks. I hate honor and duty."
+++++++++++++++++++
The two combatants landed across from each other and immediately went to their knees. Neither one looked particularly winded, but there were a few new gashes on the demonic creature.
"You are stronger than I expected."
"You face the power of a full demon, not a halfling," replied the boy calmly. "I do not wish to be bothered with such triviality as assassins. Especially ones as weak as you."
The thing screamed in rage as it rushed forward.
"This could end it boy. Be ready," said Sesshoumaru coolly.
The boy's head nodded slowly as the creature charged.
"Ranma! Help me!" said Amelia.
"Now boy! Now!"
Both of the boy's hands shot out as he blinked in confusion. "What? Hey! One at a time!" He had almost instinctively tried to follow both commands.
"Ra-Tilt!"
"What?" gasped Sesshoumaru as he completed his own attack.
A ball of white energy formed directly in front of them.
"Wait! It's still not right?" muttered the girl in horror.
"No! You fool!" snarled the demon dog angrily as he started to shift in a dodge. "What have you..."
The ball erupted and blasted forward in a huge beam of power from their outstretched hands. The monster in front of them was engulfed in a white light that vaporized him.
"Holy shit!" gasped Gai. "That was cool!"
Ranma clutched at his chest as he fell to the ground. He felt tight and tired, but in a way he'd never felt before. "What was that?"
"The combined might of a demons power coupled with a sorceress. So, we are to become demon hunters are we? So be it." Sesshoumaru glanced down at the discarded staff. It was the only thing that survived the blast. He picked it up and a green light burned around it like flames. "This should do for now. Mixing magic that way is dangerous. We should look into it a bit more, but not with so much power behind it. This could become a useful tool."
"I feel like I just ran a hundred mile sprint," grumbled Ranma.
"Your fragile human frame cannot handle too much magic at once. It could have destroyed us all, and it was a very stupid thing to do," said the demon calmly. They turned and saw a familiar face staring at them from the doorway.
"What do you want?" he asked her calmly.
"..." said the girl.
"She won't bother us again," said the demon dog as he started them towards her.
She didn't move and simply stared at him. "Who are you?"
"Ranma Saotome," he replied simply. "I told you already."
She punched him dead in the face. "What the hell is a punk like you doing running around grabbing women that way?!"
He glanced down at her with a genuinely surprised frown. "Huh?"
"You heard me!" she snapped. "Why didn't you just say you were a devil hunter anyway? No demon can produce that kind of magic, especially not so much of it."
He narrowed his eyes at her and his frown deepened. "Get out of my way." He paused as he realized she had punched him. The flames that surrounded him were gone now. "Hey. Neat! It went away!" He smiled to himself cheerfully and walked out the broken remains of the door.
"Hey! I'm not through chewing you out!" she snapped as she chased after him.
He was looking down the opposite side of the mountain he'd come from. "Yeah you are." He simply stepped off the side and bounced his way down the side of the mountain skillfully.
The girl growled down at him angrily with rage in her eyes. "I'd better not see you again jerk!"
The boy was long gone by then though, and the Amazons were waiting for him. "Let him sweat it out for a few days. I was going to tell him about them when I was finished chewing him out." She rolled over onto her back and put her hands behind her head so she could look at the clouds.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Next Time: Grand Theft Auto: Hong Kong.
Part 3
Adventures in China.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Wonder how our little project is going?" said Carrot lazily. He, Dan, and Ranma just had a wonderful time bringing about the end of a few worlds. Xianfu was mostly indifferent about the whole affair. Carrot and Ranma both destroyed worlds when they discovered reality television. They were actually pretty forgiving about it and gave them a few years to snap out of it. If they didn't stop they were destroyed mercilessly.
"I dunno. We should check up on him!" cried Pissant a little too cheerfully. The group had to force their arms down to their sides again.
"I thought we told you about doing that!" snapped Xianfu irritably. "Oh look! How cute! The Amazons are all chasing them across China."
"Wow! He pissed all of them off at once?" Ranma actually sounded quite pleased to hear this.
"Looks like it," commented Dan. "Even we never got all of them after us."
"I know, but let's liven it up a bit!" said Carrot.
"Huh? How? Alien invasion?" asked Dan.
"Don't be silly. We save that for the Moroboshi kid remember? Man, that still hasn't gotten old. Remember when we engaged him to a Klingon?"
"Well, I suppose that was a bit funny, sometimes," admitted Pissant. "Still wasn't very nice."
"I thought his face was priceless when she went into heat and took him forcefully. I was amazed he could still walk after that," said Dan.
"It's not like he hated it," muttered Carrot.
"As I recall, he never was really sure how he felt about those encounters," commented Xianfu.
"Whatever. On to the current problem," said Carrot as he forced them to focus on what was going on in that particular Universe. "Let's set Greg after them. He's in the area."
"I dunno. I kind of like Greg," said Ranma.
"Yeah. He's getting old though," pointed out Carrot. "He is rather nasty, and we don't want him to become too powerful. They can't handle something like that right now."
"Guess you've got a point," admitted the original occupant of their former body.
"Gregory it is!" said Carrot.
"Hey. Lost Universe is starting again," said Dan as he noticed something going on in another Universe.
"Yeah. Let's not put Sailor Moon in there this time. I don't think it worked out too well last time. A guy can only take so much posing and glitzy action shots."
"Let's make Popcorn!" cried Pissant.
"What?" snapped Xianfu. "I don't want to end up eating it for seven centuries again! Last time you idiots decided to continuously eat popcorn for Happosai's entire life span!"
"It ain't like you got any fatter," snorted Dan.
"Nah. I was just seeing how long it would take you guys to snap," commented Carrot as a large tub appeared in his arms along with an 'Endless Gulp' (tm). He calmly started munching as he focused his attention on Lost Universe. "We sure watch a lot of Anime up here."
+++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma Saotome was not having a good day. He hadn't had one for quite some time. Currently he was standing in the middle of a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere. It was all he'd been able to find so far, for almost four months straight. Having most of a village hunting you down was not exactly something most people could handle. As a group it was worse. "What the hell did we ever do to them?"
"We gotta get out of here!" snapped Gai angrily. There was an arrow sticking through the shoulder of the boy's shirt, it had come close, but he had managed to avoid it. They wouldn't raid villages to get to him, but he had to figure out a way out of there before their snipers could take positions. They were deadly accurate with their bows. Sesshoumaru was invaluable to them for his extra senses.
"They are trying to take positions on the rooftops of the north side of town. We should head south, I think we'll find the least resistance there."
"What about that old one?" asked Faye.
"She is still far away, awaiting to hear how they fare against us. If we remain unharmed her fear will keep her away. She is strong, but cowardly when it comes to my kind. If she discovers we are powerless, she will come for us. Not even your skill will be enough boy. Not yet anyway."
Amelia was a little frustrated with her new world as well. "If only we had my magic. This wouldn't be much of a problem."
"I really wish you'd quit saying that," growled Faye.
"She is correct. We must discover what is blocking my power. I know it can be done, I can still feel all of my strength. I do not know how to unlock it. It is as if I was a child again." He seemed disgusted with the very idea.
"Well we can't! We don't have time to waste worrying about it either!" snapped Ranma. "We gotta get out of here! You people are going to get me killed!"
"The snipers are in position," commented Sesshoumaru as he calmly plucked an arrow out of the air. The villagers froze in shock for a moment and quickly vacated the scene. He calmly turned to stare down the dumbstruck woman as she gaped at him in shock. "We should leave now."
They turned away and started running towards the edge of town away from the snipers. The boy calmly shifted sideways as another planted itself in his path as he rushed around a nearby corner. He continued to run towards the surrounding fields.
"Damn it! I hate running!" growled Gai.
"Sometimes you have too!" muttered Amelia nervously.
"Turn here!" snapped Faye as she forced them to avoid rushing into a wall.
"Where the hell are we going?" growled Ranma.
Sesshoumaru suddenly spoke up. "Keep running. As fast as you can. We have to get out of here immediately. Don't stop for anything, not even the Amazons." He forced them to level a sword carrying woman from the side as they burst into a street and blindsided her. The group of women surrounding her froze in surprise for a moment as the target ran by them at high speed.
"After him!" cried one of them as she pointed a spear in his direction.
"Are you crazy? You're gonna get us killed!" cried Gai.
"Better to die at their hands than in the hands of what is coming for us now. You will soon wish we had taken that sword from its resting-place. Now, we can only hope to run fast enough."
"What?" gasped Ranma in horror.
"Another monster!?" cried Amelia.
"It has already sensed us," snorted Sesshoumaru.
"Shit," grumbled Faye.
A jet of red flame and magma shot up from the ground in the center of the village. The creature tore up through the ground and roared angrily as its flaming palms slammed into the earth surrounding the spire of flames. It was a beastly looking creature, almost ape like with horns. It appeared as if its entire body was nothing but flames around a charred looking body. It towered almost fifteen feet in height and snorted as it scraped the ground with its ape like clawed hands in the dirt and shook its horns.
"What the fuck!?" screamed Ranma in shock as he glanced back over his shoulder at it.
The thing roared as the armed women scouring the village fled away from it in terror. It raked its claws across a trio of them particularly close to it and the pieces of their bodies that fell away became engulfed in fire.
"I told you we should have taken that sword," commented Sesshoumaru calmly as he continued to run out of the village. No one was trying to stop him anymore as the rampaging demon tore through homes and anything else in front of it as it made a bee line for them while snapping its jaws impatiently.
Ranma and nearly everyone else was terrified beyond speech as the heat from the beast began to make their back feel rather cooked as they rushed across open field.
The village behind them was decimated in flames and smoke rose high into the air behind the thing.
"This really sucks!" cried Faye out loud.
"No kidding!" snapped everyone but Sesshoumaru.
"We have to do something! It's gaining on us!"
"What?" snorted Sesshoumaru coldly. "There is no cover to hide in. You are correct though. He will overtake us shortly."
"I don't want to die like this! Do something! It's all your fault anyway!" cried Ranma.
"I do not wish to die as a coward," agreed Sesshoumaru as he made them fall flat on their faces from the sudden stop he performed.
"What the hell are you doing!?" cried Amelia and Faye.
Gai had given up hope and simply waited for the end to come.
They had now rolled over on their back and glared up at the demon hatefully. "Take me if you can then!" The monster raised its claw as it loomed over them. The puny thing rolled just out of the way, and ignored the small flames that ran up his shirt sleeve as he stood and turned to face it.
"What are we gonna do now?" asked Ranma impatiently. He was in full alert mode and fear was a distant memory as he concentrated everything he had on his problem and possible solutions to it.
"What can we do? Without my powers he is too powerful for us to stand against."
The creature was simply looking at them now with its palm planted firmly in the ground still. "I am Gregorius. Who are you demon? I wish to know the name of my victim today."
"You will not learn my name so easily fool," snorted the boy in front of it calmly.
"I see. You should be much stronger. Your power is sealed away by something. I never imagined I'd be so lucky."
"I know," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. He appeared to be standing and holding a simple conversation with the beast. The others were simply happy that the idiot pompous jerk was keeping the thing occupied.
"Do you not fear death? Or have you simply realized the futility of your situation."
"I fear nothing. I accept that which I cannot change. Without my power I cannot fight you, and you could chase me to the ends of the planet. Soon this body would tire, and I would be destroyed."
"I thank you for your consideration," replied the thing coldly.
"I was concerned only with myself. I need not suffer that much running from you." He paused for a moment. "I come from a different world than this one. Answer me this one question."
"What?" asked the creature coldly. "Why do you allow those humans to survive above you? How is it they are allowed near you at all? My kind does not allow such filth so close to us. Why do you not make them suffer for daring to defile your home? I see very little in the way of suffering beyond their poverty."
The thing growled at him for a moment. "You really don't know do you?"
"I would not have asked if I had." The boy seemed as steely calm as before.
"My, you are a brave one. I do not harm their bodies to make them suffer. No my friend, I tempt them. I make them my own, strip them of their very wills. I send them to a horror beyond agony and reap the rewards of their power."
"It is sad that I am killed by a mere leech."
"Now, it is your turn to suffer," snarled the beast coldly.
"Why did you insult him!?" snapped Faye. "I almost thought of a way out of this!"
"Yeah, right," muttered Gai hopelessly.
The demon roared as it dove for them with its fangs bared and claws forward.
"NO!" cried Ranma as he jumped into the air.
Sesshoumaru sighed. They were over the thing's back looking down at it. "It's a shame really. It would be so simple, all I'd have to do was this." He made a swipe with their hand, but an unexpected force was behind it.
"I'll try anything now!" cried Ranma as he joined the motion.
A wide blue arc of energy shot from the open air and slammed into the monster's back side. It roared in anger as it was flattened into the ground by the force of the blow.
"What?" it snarled angrily. The boy landed behind it and slowly turned with a widening grin forming on his face.
"Can we do that again?" cried Gai hopefully.
"I see. So you are the key, for now," commented Sesshoumaru with a sort of thoughtful sounding tone.
"It worked?" muttered Ranma dumbly.
"Yes. It did. I must teach you how to perform some of my skills. We should still acquire a weapon of some sort. Enchanted or not."
"What just happened?" cried Amelia dumbly.
"I think I get it. You two can both still use your powers. Ranma just has to help you do it for some reason."
"Makes sense to me!" said the boy happily. Finally he could control something again.
"It will not last," replied the demon coldly. "It is simply a matter of time before I discover how to unseal them completely."
"What about me and Faye?" asked Gai. "We don't have powers. I don't think so anyway."
"I'm not sure about you, but I'm here because I'm smart," said Faye cheerfully.
"I beg to differ," replied Sesshoumaru calmly. "Only a fool would tease a demon of my power so carelessly. Someday I'll find a way out of here, and then I'll make you all suffer for what you've forced me to endure."
"Um? The monster?" asked Amelia.
"Oh yes. Him," commented Sesshoumaru calmly.
The beast was sitting and watching them closely. The pair was simply staring each other down. "Just how strong is he? Am I the one being led into a trap here? Perhaps I should leave." It was only one strike, but it was a powerful blow. The creature was carefully weighing its options, and it was running out of time if it needed to run.
"Shall we end this game then?" asked Sesshoumaru calmly. "Gregorius?"
"Very well then," snorted the beast as he stepped back.
"You think I'll let you escape?" asked the boy calmly.
"I do not intend to run," it snarled. It was an obvious lie.
"Do as I do again," said the dog demon calmly.
Ranma already had his attention focused on exactly that.
"This is simple, but it should be enough," said Sesshoumaru coolly. The demon charged them suddenly and roared. The boy merely thrust his hand forward. Some invisible energy carved a path through the grass and sent a strong gust of wind in either direction on both sides as it passed. The demon lurched back as the flames covering its body went out suddenly. The charred flesh was pulled back and began to flake away as it suddenly shot backwards and carved a deep gouge in the earth as it ripped through three fields in its wake.
Sesshoumaru calmly walked over to the thing's smoking body as it lay there breathing heavily.
"Is it dead yet?" asked Gai nervously.
"I don't think so," muttered Amelia as they grew nearer.
"It lives, and it must be destroyed. If it survives it will tell others of us before they destroy it. I doubt if this battle went unnoticed, and others will soon arrive to begin searching us out. By killing it we may buy ourselves a few weeks time to prepare for them."
Ranma came dangerously close to passing out at that announcement.
"Stay firm boy. This is not over yet," snorted the demon. "I'd prefer to have you awake for this." They stood directly over the whimpering demon. It said nothing, but was in far too much pain to attack again. "A strong creature indeed," chuckled Sesshoumaru. He bent down next to the arm and touched it. Before anyone could react he slashed their wrist with one of the monster's claws.
The others quickly made him jump back. "What the hell are you doing?" cried Faye angrily.
"Gaaaaaahhhhhh! We're bleeding!" screamed Gai girlishly.
"No," muttered Ranma in horror.
"If we do not finish, we will die," said Sesshoumaru calmly.
"What about her? You said you can do magic?" cried Ranma.
"I'm not sure if it will work. This thing is a high level monster. I'm amazed we beat it so easily. My magic wouldn't be strong enough to heal damage from something like that well."
"She is correct. If you don't mind, we are starting to feel a bit lightheaded. We will survive, if you let me do this now."
The others all reluctantly relaxed their hold.
The boy smirked as stood next to the thing's arm again. "I'll need you for this boy."
He reared his arm back in a spear handed strike and plunged his arm deep into the creature's arm. After that, he simply relaxed and held it there. "Now we wait."
"How long?" muttered Faye nervously. "Those women aren't far behind us."
"After this thing appeared before them?" snorted Sesshoumaru. "Don't be so foolish. They will not return for several days at least. Then we can destroy them at our leisure."
"I ain't destroying nobody!" cried Ranma.
"You don't have much of a choice. They're trying to kill us," pointed out Gai. "I just wish we could find some guns or something. Maybe a rocket launcher, few grenades, possibly a tank or something... God, it would be great to find a Gekkiganger..."
"I wish I could just get my hands on my old ship," grumbled Faye. "A gun would be nice too though."
"Look, can we go now? This is disgusting," grumbled Ranma.
"If you pull your arm out of there now boy, you'll die," commented Sesshoumaru calmly. "Remain still, and we will survive. Our arm will be healed in a few moments."
"What are we doing anyway?" grumbled Faye irritably. "There are easier and less painful ways to do a blood transfusion you know.
"I am aware of that. I'd prefer to use the jugular. I knew you would stop me once I cut ourselves if only for a moment though. This method is slightly provided more time for you to collect your wits. It is slower however, and we'll need to stay for a few moments."
"Say. What the heck are we doin anyway?" asked Ranma.
"It's his body. He should know after all," pointed out Gai.
"As you say," snorted the demon. "I'm trading our blood for his. It will make us stronger, and you'll be able to access my abilities easier."
"What about my powers?" asked Amelia nervously.
"What about them? What possible use would we have for such weak magic?" snorted the demon.
The boy's face flushed with anger at this for a moment. Still, Amelia backed off and didn't respond.
"You are positively evil!" cried Faye.
"Yes. I am aware of that," replied the demon as he pulled their unharmed hand out of the creature's now drained carcass. He flexed their fingers and frowned at them for a moment. "Even my weakling of a half brother could defeat Yokai with a body similar to this one. It will still not be as easily done as I could manage with my own body."
"Yeah, yeah. Quit complaining about your stupid body. We all had bodies once too you know!" snapped Gai irritably.
"In time, you will grow to appreciate the upgrade."
"You're saying what we did to this thing wasn't easy?"
"He was weakened by another battle already. We would not have survived otherwise. If we had not discovered a way to unlock some of my power, we would still have been destroyed. The humans had apparently settled over him while he was recovering and thrived. His power was far too weak for him to remove them. Soul Taker or not, he would not allow them to remain so close to him otherwise."
"Great. So demons don't like to let humans hang around," said Gai. "Learn something new every day."
"You piteous fool. You don't understand. We stumbled across this creature's lair. A demon would never allow a human village so close to his home. His purpose on this world may indeed be the collecting of human souls, but I imagine he would rise on occasion to destroy a particularly bothersome group. Humans are not as warlike as you might imagine. You are however easily manipulated."
"Really? Why don't we have that sword then?"
"This was a backup plan," replied the demon coldly. "I simply misread you at first. I had planned on doing this later on anyway."
"Ouch," grumbled Faye. She wasn't looking forward to the future. She needed to figure this guy out and fast. He needed to be controlled badly. "Everyone listen up. It's obvious that it's going to take all of us to keep this guy under control. He's going to get us all killed or worse if we keep letting him do this to us."
The demon ignored this as he continued to walk away from the scene calmly.
"Um? Aren't you going to say something?" asked Amelia nervously.
"No. I wasn't planning on it," was the simple reply.
"I'm part demon aren't I?" asked Ranma suddenly.
"What? Don't be silly!" cried Faye.
"He is correct," replied Sesshoumaru. "We now possess some of a demons power. We will eventually become a full demon, but that will take careful planning if we are to survive long enough."
"I don't wanna be a demon!" cried Ranma in horror.
"Me either!" cried Amelia.
"We'll just get the stuff sucked out somewhere. I'm sure we can find some way for another transfusion," said Faye nervously.
"It would not matter. You cannot remove what we have now taken. It is, forever."
"We don't have to be a demon you know," said Amelia suddenly. "He just wants you to think it will happen anyway. So you don't try and stop him from doing it."
"What?" muttered Ranma hopefully.
"You'll keep silent if you know what's good for you," said Sesshoumaru coolly.
"I won't let you turn me into a demon!" she snapped angrily. "You go and find your own body and do what you want with it! Leave me out of it!"
"What do we have to do?" cried Ranma hopefully.
"Well, we'll always be part demon," she admitted lamely. "Nothing can be done about that part. It's just... we're still part human too. As long as we don't grow too evil and powerful we'll be fine."
"What do we do then?" asked Gai.
"I think he means what don't we do," commented Faye.
"Simple. We keep Fluffy on a leash."
"WHAT?!!"
"I can handle that," commented Ranma. "You're a real dick."
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Genma Saotome was looking at the long hallways of the black palace with a sort of shocked awe. "What is this place?" It was positively evil looking. Long hallways of ebony and red. Dragonheads curled up from the sides of pillars with ruby eyes. Blood red carpets and torch lit walls gave the place a dark forbidding tone.
"It is your home master," replied one of the hooded men. "It is yours and all of the treasures within belong to you and you alone. It is our offering to you. We even have several virgins lined up to be sacrificed in your honor later this evening."
"Sacrificed?" muttered the man dumbly. "Wait. All of this is mine?"
"Yes," replied the man simply as he waved his arm.
"The master seems most impressed," commented one of the men with a dark smile on his face.
"Indeed," commented one of the men. "Definitely not what I was expecting him to be at all," whispered the man next to him. "He has hardly spoken a command since his arrival."
"Have you had the young virgin boys delivered to his room yet? I don't want to see him get angry if they aren't there when he decides to retire."
"He seems pensive, perhaps he is unaware that he is the chosen one? This could be caution on his part as well. To make sure we are loyal to him and his prophecy."
"A test?" asked the man in whispered tone as Genma continued on his tour a little ahead of them.
"I do not know," replied the man calmly.
The burly man in the dirty dogi simply walked quietly along as the men gave him a tour of what he considered to be the tenth level of hell itself. He'd seen horrors that would haunt his dreams for years. He simply couldn't figure out a way out of his current situation. It hadn't been all bad at first, now it was all he could do to keep his composure. They'd kill him for sure if he started looking frightened by the things he was seeing. He needed to escape badly, but his brain was too busy fending off the trip.
It boggled the mind really. A wealth Genma Saotome wanted no part of. He stomped his feet firmly down and glared at them all. "What the hell is all this anyway?"
"We are in preparation for you to use your dark magic to vanquish the world and make..."
"You think this is how you conquer the world?" said the man as his jaw dropped. "This stuff makes people hate you!"
"They should hate us, we're evil," replied the large lead robed man. He pulled his hood back revealing his clean-shaven head and frowned down at the man. "I live for the suffering of others."
"So start a business." Genma had no idea why he had said that. "You think raining down hell fire and summoning demons make people suffer? Imagine the ways we can abuse employees! What about shafting millions out of all their money!? Turn them into dirty drug abusing hippies! Create recession! Turn order into misery!"
"That takes so long though," commented one of the men. The others all nodded in agreement.
"We'll be old before we can enjoy the fruits of our evil," said the leader calmly.
"Oh," replied Genma dumbly. "Puppet governments?"
"We tend to scare voters away. No way to get real power that way."
Genma was perplexed. These were the stupidest evil people he'd ever met. "Don't you have any long term plans at all?"
"New batch of virgins from the neighboring village next week," said one of the men as he raised his hand.
"Well. You need something a bit more long term than that I'm afraid. Genma promptly plopped himself on the ground. Take me for example. I'm planning on taking my son to an old friend of mine's home and freeload off of him for the rest of my life. You see, he's engaged to Soun's daughters. Once I have him married off, I'll sit and live fat and happy while he runs the dojo. I'll spend my golden years playing shogi on the porch with my old friend. Ah, such a beautiful vision. I had it two weeks before the boy was born." He nodded at himself proudly. "Still haven't figured out how to keep the wife out of the way though."
"We can kill her for you if it would please you master!" cried one of the robed men.
"Remember that room about five doors back?" asked Genma.
"At once master," replied the others as the man was carted off.
Genma wasn't totally cruel though. "Only about an hour though. Try not to leave too many marks."
"Thank you master!" cried the man as the group shoved him through the door.
The tall bald man appeared at his side once again a moment later as he sat on the floor of the hallway. "I begin to see your wisdom master. Perhaps we can look a bit farther into the future, and follow your example."
"Yes. Do that," said the man with a small sigh. "How do I leave? I've still got to find the boy."
"We shall leave at once!" cried the man. He called down to the group that was overseeing the torture. "Go! Call the others! We must find the master's spawn!"
Genma glanced at the man briefly. Maybe it wasn't all that bad. Having loyal minions probably had perks. It seemed they were so stupid that they'd follow him no matter what he did.
"If you're coming along, you're paying your own way," snorted Genma. "I won't have a bunch of freeloaders messing up my lifelong dream."
"We shall ensure that all your dreams become reality!" said the tall man firmly.
"How can you guys afford this anyway?" asked Genma.
"We invest in all sorts of nasty things. Child porn, sweatshops, hard drugs, guns, that sort of thing." He smiled at the man broadly. "Business is booming."
The perplexed looking martial artist simply shrugged his shoulders and continued to walk. They had a nice little racket going here for themselves, except for the torture and murder stuff.
"What about the virgins?" asked one of the men in the back. Genma was kind of dumbstruck. There were about thirty men following him now. Each one was dressed in long black robes and had no hair. Most of them had a slim build about them, but there were a few with a little weight. All of them were tall.
"What?" he asked dumbly.
"The virgins for the sacrifice tonight! Should we do it now, or tie them up for later?"
"No! No more virgins! You'll go out and rent whores like normal people!"
The men collectively hung their heads in instant defeat.
+++++++++++++++++
"It was an ambush I tell you," snorted Douche angrily. "That vile thing tricked us!"
"I have heard reports of that battle as well. Three have fallen, seven more injured," said Cologne. "It was a trap, but not for us, and it failed. I fear our problem may have worsened."
"We'll show that arrogant brat," snapped Douche angrily.
"Really. It's probably older than we are," replied Cologne with a small snort.
The other women sitting around the room all nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with Douche," said one of the older ones calmly. It was easy to see she was well respected as everyone looked quite surprised to hear it. She puffed on a long pipe and narrowed her eyes at Cologne. "You may be correct Cologne. I think it is more likely he was trying to kill two birds with one stone. Also, besides his extraordinary reflexes, and of course Jusenkyo's taint, we have yet to see any real power from him. I suspect he is using finely tuned senses beyond that of human capabilities almost exclusively for some reason. We have seen a taste of his power, but the creature has yet to strike one of us down. Today it showed us that it could have done so quite easily. I would like to find out why that is."
Cologne merely nodded. "As you say. Why, is a very important question in this case. I think I should lead the next attack. I think perhaps we should test the waters a bit more before we give up on him. He seems to be moving out of the danger zone."
"Perhaps we should allow him to flee then?" asked one of the women in the back. "We have no real crimes committed against us with this one. He may be a dark one, but his business may lie elsewhere."
Cologne shook her head slowly. "I cannot allow that. There is still one very important place he has not yet passed by. Perhaps the most dangerous of all."
"Jusendo!" cried Douche.
Cologne hung her head. "You've been smoking again haven't you? He's heading to the east, away from those mountains. It's probably where he came from. You already know that."
"Where then?" she snapped irritably.
"Here." She pointed her finger at the map and everyone gasped.
"Hong Kong?" asked one of the women dumbly.
Cologne glanced over her shoulder. Douche had shifted the map while she wasn't looking. The old woman was horrible at hiding things and it was written all over her face as she glanced around the room busily.
"No, the dark mountain. We know only that it is an evil place. We do not know the legend that surrounds it. Perhaps, we might learn it in time to stop him? I fear that is his objective, he's heading right for it." She drew a line with her finger indicating his path.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
"Where the hell are we anyway?" grumbled Gai as he surveyed his surroundings. Ranma was currently squatting on a tree branch dozens of feet above the ground in a large forest. He was scanning the area near the top of a large hill.
"In China, still," replied Faye lamely.
"Pipe down, I think I see somethin," said Ranma.
"No one can hear us but you, Ranma," said Faye flatly.
"No, but you are a distraction. I see what he is looking at, be silent for a moment," said Sesshoumaru calmly. "You want to go there don't you?"
"What?" muttered Ranma as he tore his eyes away from the black mountain looming in the distance. They were on the edge of another range of mountains, and they could see the peak in the distance, far in the distance. "Why the heck would I want to go to that place? Looks like a rough trip."
"It probably would be, very difficult terrain," said the dog demon calmly. He seemed to be getting bored with the conversation.
"Guess we're goin then," said the boy as he hopped down from his perch.
"What?!" cried Amelia and Faye.
"Why are we going there again?" asked Gai.
"I'm in training buddy. If I see a difficult path like that one, I just gotta take it," replied the boy with a small shrug as he hefted his pack over his shoulder.
"Man. I hate exercise," grumbled Gai.
"You seem awfully agreeable about this," snorted Faye.
"We are not strong enough to face what is coming. The blood we have taken makes us stronger, but we are easier to detect as well, by humans and demons alike. We'll need to be on guard, and train hard to become stronger. If we do not, we will die. I have not lived like this in centuries, but I survived it before. I do not plan on failing this time either. I highly suggest you consider our position the next time I tell you to do something. Without me, not even one of you would survive more than a few months. In my weakened state, I am a prime target for elimination. If we become strong enough, they will leave us alone. That's how my half-wit of a brother survived so long. He was forced by his weakness to strengthen his body and became dull witted."
"That sounds familiar," commented Faye lazily. "I know quite a few people like that. I wonder how everyone is doing back home?"
"I don't have to worry about that," replied Sesshoumaru.
"What about that little girl?" asked Amelia softly.
"I am still with her," he replied calmly. "She amuses me. Occasionally, I'll take on a human child as a pet. When I'm through with her, I'll dispose of her. I have no room for kindness in my heart."
"Why have a pet then?" asked Gai.
"Having a pretty young servant is an excellent way to get humans to bow to your demands easily. Fear is not the only method of persuasion. The best way to be rid of them is to give them away to someone. They usually don't survive long after I abandon them. Besides, I have no pity for a human fool who wishes to deal with the likes of me. They are usually executed once they murder the man who took them away from me. Occasionally they do manage to sleep their way out of it, but they are soon destroyed one way or another."
"That's disgusting!" cried Faye.
"Monster!" cried Amelia. She paused. "Oh. Right."
"How could you do that!" lamented the woman angrily.
"I think our young friend has acquired an understanding of this already. Why is it taking you so long?" replied the demon calmly.
"As much fun as hearing this is," said Ranma irritably. "Could you please pipe down? Time will go by faster if I meditate on the way there."
"That's great for you, but what about us?" snapped Faye.
"I think it's an excellent idea actually. I should be concentrating on keeping an eye out for surprises," replied Sesshoumaru calmly.
"I was learning how to cast Ra-tilt for my next exam. If I think about it long enough, I should be able to cast it," said Amelia. "That could take a while though," she added with a slightly nervous laugh.
"Obviously," commented Sesshoumaru.
"I think I've sat next to you every time I've ever flown commercial," commented Gai.
"Ouch," said Faye. "I give up. I guess I'll just be bored for a while." She didn't sound like she cared much for the idea.
++++++++++++++++++++
"Master. I am sorry to report that your son is not working in one of our many sweatshops. He also hasn't been forced into illegal experiments. Most regrettable indeed."
"I know that. I probably would have remembered by now if I had done something like that. It's not like me to forget for more than a few weeks." Genma pondered where his son had gone for a very long time. He was coming up completely blank, and his son wasn't around to solve the problem. Which was the whole problem.
The men around Genma began to pick up rocks and throw them back to the ground in frustration. They jumped up and down excitedly as they all tried their best to garner a collective thought.
The theme to two thousand and one began to play spontaneously.
It stopped suddenly as one of the smaller robed men spoke. "Have we checked the jails yet?"
Genma frowned at him for a moment. Ranma wasn't slow enough to get caught. "I have it! He'll go back to Japan!" Genma jumped up and pointed his finger in the air as tears streaked down his cheeks. "Come my loyal disciples!"
"Please, call us minions master," said one of the men.
"Right. Come my loyal minions!"
+++++++++++++++++++++
Three days later...
Ranma Saotome was covered in dirt and grime. With a somewhat lazy stroll he walked through the center of a small village. People gave him a wide berth as he simply passed through silently. Not so much because he was a stranger, or that his form was particularly scary. No, it was the fact that he was on fire.
"This is starting to suck," said Ranma irritably.
"At least they have enough sense to stay out of our way now," said Sesshoumaru calmly.
"If we keep wandering through villages like this we'll get attacked," said Amelia.
"So?" replied Sesshoumaru.
"She's right," agreed Faye.
"I just hope there's a way to turn it off," commented Ranma. "Any luck with that by the way?"
"It will probably take us a few months to fully understand this new blood. Incidents like this will probably be well under control within a week."
A lone figure stood in front of them firmly. She was a young Chinese girl with long straight black hair. A delicate looking tai chi sword was gripped in her hand as she simply waited for them to stop in front of her.
The flaming boy merely shifted his step and continued walking around the girl. She looked quite clean compared to her surroundings and was wearing an expensive looking red silk jumpsuit. A large white bandanna was tied around her forehead and she turned her head to watch them walk by her.
"Why have you come here?"
"To challenge that mountain," he replied calmly as he continued walking.
"I think not, demon," she hissed coolly. She spun around and thrust the sword towards them as she prepared herself for a fight.
"This one is dangerous, she must be destroyed," warned the demon dog.
"What?" cried Faye and Amelia.
"Devil hunter," said Ranma as he watched the girl for a moment.
"Yes boy. I imagine you've heard legends of such people. Magical ability, and martial arts can be a dangerous combination in a human. As we grow in power, they too will learn it is best not to meddle with us. Like other demons, they must be trained not to bother us. Wiping out a family or two usually does it."
"I'm sure we can explain things to her if..." started Faye.
Gai wasn't touching this one with a pole if he could help it. He was along for the ride and hoped they didn't get hit too much. "Can we just get this over with?"
"I ain't killin nobody anyway!"
"That is unwise in this case. She will not be so merciful with us. We are a demon as far as she is concerned, that is reason enough to see us destroyed at any cost in her mind. We will not be able to persuade her otherwise. If she is a real demon hunter, she has been trained not to trust our kind. Wisely so, I might add."
"You sure are talkative all of a sudden," said Faye. "We need to move no matter what, she's still staring us down. I think she's gonna get impatient real soon though."
"You're the one who passed through Jokezuko aren't you?" asked the girl as she lowered her blade again and relaxed her stance a bit.
"A trap!" snarled the dog demon.
The flaming boy jumped back as twin arrows planted themselves into the ground on either side of him. The girl in front of him growled and twirled her sword around her hand. "Damn!"
"Come boy. I'll be needing you again," said the demon coolly.
"I'll take care of this," replied Ranma calmly. Amazons began bouncing down from the rooftops all around him. He didn't seem worried in the slightest. He'd had the powers for three days now. The trip he'd taken could have been done in about a day had he not taken so much time adjusting himself to his newfound strength and speed. He'd also accidentally picked up a trick or two. "There's some stuff I wanna try out. These chicks are starting to piss me off anyway." He cracked his knuckles and crouched low as seven amazon women came charging out of the alleyways.
The sword-carrying girl rushed forward as well. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she thrust her sword forward at him. He bent over backwards to dodge and she curved the blade's path down. The boy was too fast for that though and he snaked his torso to the side around the blade and locked up her arm across his knee forcing the point into the ground. Her arm appeared unharmed by the flames surrounding him and the girl cried out in pain as she was lifted into the air by her arm as the boy jumped up to avoid two arrow strikes. He spun around in the air and tossed her into three of the charging amazons. He landed in a crouched stance and the other four warriors came to a complete halt. They circled around him, all of them armed with long handled spears.
He simply stood and watched them surround him. The girl he had thrown was jerking violently as the flames started to build around her body. She was unharmed by the fire physically, but it was very obvious whatever was happening to her was very painful. Even her clothes remained unscathed inside the inferno. Slowly, they started to die down as the amazon women watched the events carefully.
She groaned painfully and sat upright. "Hellfire! Don't let him touch you!" She was nursing a dislocated shoulder and picked her sword up from the dust. She hadn't dropped it until she landed. She gritted her teeth firmly and slipped it back into place as she staggered to her feet. Her face scrunched up painfully and a bit of drool slipped out from behind her teeth as she did it. "He's mine," she said as she relaxed her body and took up another stance. The sword was in her other hand now, with her injured shoulder behind her.
The burning boy simply watched her calmly and noticed that the women surrounding him backed off slightly.
"She's challenging us directly," said Ranma calmly.
"Fool. She doesn't stand a chance without their numbers to help her," commented Sesshoumaru.
The girl rushed forward and screamed as she charged him. She raised her sword over her head to slash down just as he tipped back and shot his arm at her chest.
"Strike now!" cried Sesshoumaru.
"No!" gasped the boy as his eyes went wide. He had already started punching.
The girl's eyes went wide and she spit blood into his face as his arm went through her abdomen. She jerked forward and grabbed his shoulders as her sword fell into the dust.
"Holy shit! Our arm went through her!" cried Gai.
"Yes," snarled Sesshoumaru coldly.
"She ain't dead!" cried Ranma as he struggled with her arms as he removed his arm along with parts of her entrails.
"She will be shortly. I'm surprised she hasn't bled to death yet. Perhaps the flames are keeping her blood in? She'll die once they extinguish."
"Ranma! Help me!" cried Amelia.
"Huh?" he said dumbly.
"Shut up and do it. I've got a hunch," she said firmly.
The amazon women were still standing around in shock as the boy thrust both his hands down while kneeling next to her body. A soft blue glow formed in his palms as he focused on what he was doing.
One of the amazon women pulled her bow back as she aimed for the creature's head. She gasped as a withered looking hand appeared in front of her face. She turned her head and saw the elder Cologne holding her back.
"Why do you stop me?" she asked calmly as she lowered the weapon. The woman appeared quite interested in what was happening.
"Wait. If only for a moment," said the elder calmly. "I am feeling something that should not be." She shook her head at the absurdity of it all. "Impossible."
The boy slowly stood up and started walking away from the burning form of the girl behind him. She was obviously in incredible pain, but alive none the less, and the wound was nothing but a light scar on her belly and back.
"Unless you'd like to end up like her, I suggest you move. She'll survive, but it was a very painful experience I assure you," he said to the women in front of him calmly.
They all stepped back away from him fearfully.
However there was now a new obstacle in their path. A tiny withered old crone, balanced precariously on the end of a long staff.
"Don't tell me, we should destroy her right?" muttered Faye.
"That should be obvious," snorted the demon calmly.
"What the heck does she want?" snorted Ranma.
"Hey. Wadda ya want?" said the boy as he simply looked at the old woman in front of him.
"The question is, what do you want here?"
"To pass," he replied in his cool tone again. "If you don't move, I will go through you."
"Tell me boy. What do you want with this mountain? You're no demon, at least not completely."
The boy's grin became cocky suddenly. "Ta climb it. I gotta take the hardest road."
The old woman arched her eyebrows at this. "I see. Tell me boy, what if I offered you another path?"
"What?" said the boy as he frowned at her a little.
"I'm offering to train you boy. I can assure you that you'll be much stronger than you will if you take this road. Anything to keep you away from that cursed place. If what you tell me is true, I assure you that you do not want what lies in wait for you."
"I knew it. Dog boy was trying to trick us into going somewhere again!" snapped Faye angrily.
"Actually, I was being quite honest. This is a very difficult and dangerous path. Just taking it would probably make us stronger. Even I can't lie all the time."
"I'll bet there's something you're not telling us about," commented Gai lazily. "I say we go with the old woman. Some of those tricks are pretty neat."
"We cannot trust her. It is doubtful she trusts us at all. Human or not, we do have a demons power," commented Sesshoumaru.
"I hate to say it, but he is right," agreed Faye.
"Maybe we should trust her?" commented Amelia.
Cologne coughed into her hand. "Oh yes. There is the other matter of the one hundred and twenty seven wives you've managed to collect."
"What?" said the boy as he glared at her.
"As you are human, I am certain of that much at least now, you are subject to our laws," replied the old woman calmly. "You are quite strong, and though you seemed to have acquired some very interesting demonic traits. Would you mind at least hinting at how you have done this?" She seemed to be quite cheerful.
The boy was still guarded, and kept his eyes on everyone at once. The old woman's guards had yet to move once they positioned themselves between him and her on either side of him. None of them dared to try and sneak behind him at the moment.
"My dear boy. You have a demon sealed away inside of you, don't you?" she asked after several moments of silence.
"Yeah. How did ya know?" he asked her dumbly. "He got into my head somehow."
The old woman simply stared at the boy for a long moment. "Well boy?"
"Think I'm better off on my own, thanks," he said simply. "You're not strong enough to make me marry someone anyway." He simply continued his forward path and ignored her.
"Ranma! What the hell are you doing?" cried Faye angrily. "We can't go in there!"
"Why are we still going to the mountain!?" cried Amelia in confusion.
"Because he's right. We need a weapon," replied the boy honestly. "That last demon thing was too close a call. I'm not so sure I want to let him out too much after what just happened."
Gai spoke up quietly. "Ranma is right. The blowhard was saying that his little brother..."
"Half brother," replied the demon in an even tone.
"Whatever. Anyway, his half brother got along fine right? He just got strong enough to fight back."
"His enchanted blade had something to do with it as well," replied the demon coolly. "Even if you do manage to stop me, how are you going to defend yourselves against demons without me? The boy is right. You weaklings need a weapon."
"We could have gone with Cologne. She might not have killed us if we listened to her," said Amelia. "She could probably teach us some neat things too. Like that super fast punching thing, or the tornado thingy."
"No. I still don't trust her," said Faye. "I think it was something in her voice when she was talking too us. I think she was trying to lead us into a trap. We should have gone another way, and not with her."
"I don't know," muttered the girl with a small sigh. "I'm not so sure about this place. I'm getting a bad feeling. Trees were starting to become black and twisted, and a sort of haze floated in the air around them. "Maybe we should go back?"
"I won't allow that," snorted the demon calmly.
"Watch us," snarled Faye.
"That's right!" agreed Amelia firmly.
"Is this gonna hurt much? This trip has sucked so far," grumbled Gai.
"We do not tire easily now," replied Sesshoumaru. "We should be able to climb the mountain to the peak by evening without putting out much effort."
"We should be there by this afternoon then," replied Ranma calmly.
Everyone went strangely silent as he said this.
The demon didn't respond as they started up the path unhindered for the moment.
"What should we do elder?" asked one of the women. The devil hunter glanced around at the women.
"Nothing," she replied quietly. "We can do nothing to stop this. I dare not send such inexperienced warriors onto that cursed mountain. All of you are strong, but do not have enough knowledge to face what awaits him.
"He'll die anyway then," said the same woman with a smirk forming on her face.
"No. He will not," replied the devil hunter calmly as she started after him. "I'm going after him."
"If you feel it is your duty," said Cologne as she nodded her head towards the girl. "I cannot place my people in such danger. I am sorry. We will move to the other side of the mountain, and await his return."
"You won't catch him that way," replied the girl calmly.
"If he escapes you, we will find his trail again. I'm afraid he'll never be rid of us now. It is obvious which path he has chosen, and he must be destroyed, for all of our sakes."
The girl merely nodded and rushed after the demon boy.
"Shu ho, be cautious. This one is more than he seems I think."
++++++++++++++++++++++
"Why? Why do you continue forward?" growled Shu as she rushed through the mist and brush after the boy. "Why did Cologne give so much damn exposition anyway? I'm all rattled now." It wasn't a good thing to hear right after the boy put his hand through her body. Her wound still hurt, but it was little more than a bad bruise now. "Why? Why did he save me?"
"I thought it might send the message more clearly. If I just kill you, you'll just pop back up in a few centuries or so. It becomes a rather annoying cycle."
She gasped and whirled around.
"Why are you following me? You should know by now that I can kill you easily."
"Why? Tell me why you healed me!" she screamed at him angrily. "Who are you?"
"Ranma Saotome. Sorry about him, he's kinda evil," the boy's face was rather flush as he looked towards the ground.
Her jaw dropped quite suddenly. Her grip faltered on her weapon and she stared at him. It was true. She had seen it in his eyes when he nearly killed her. He hadn't been expecting it either. "What?"
"I ain't crazy or nuthin. I got this guy in my head somehow. He's attracting all sorts of trouble too. A demon tried to kill me earlier. I have to use his power to fight them off now."
"No one knows the legend surrounding this mountain. All we know is that it is an evil place. You should not continue forward. This place could be waiting for someone like you to come along."
"I guess I shouldn't disappoint then. I need a weapon to fight them with, and my demon is telling me I'll find one up there. He's very interested in keeping us alive. He dies if I do."
"Then I shall see that you have a quick death," she replied coldly as her blade was drawn once again.
"Damn it. Cut that out!" snapped the boy as he dodged around her strikes. "If I hit you again he might kill you."
"I know," she replied as she tore her shirt off and tossed it aside. Some of the fire surrounding his body had caught onto her clothing.
"What the?" muttered the boy as he found himself facing the combined might of a healthy twenty year old pair of breasts. He froze for a moment and she slashed down at him with her sword at his neck.
His grin turned cocky as he glanced up at her halfway through her strike. "I've seen better." Her blade hit nothing but the ground and a hand slapped across her rear as she fell forward face down in the dirt. "See you around." He started walking as she squeaked in pain as she realized some of his flame had gotten onto her rear. She quickly rolled over and smothered it in the dirt. She was very thankful that magic or not, fire was fire.
He had already vanished into the mist. Not an easy thing to do when you glow like a moving campfire. "That little bastard!" she snarled angrily as she stood up and picked up her sword. "Get back here you little pervert!" She picked up her shirt again and put it back on as it had also gone out. After a moment of silent huffing she glared into the woods.
"Ranma Saotome! Prepare to die!"
++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma was looking at his hand with a kind of bewildered look on his face. "You jerks almost got us killed. You're lucky Amelia and I were here!"
"I believe I assisted as well," commented Sesshoumaru calmly.
"Whatever, you're up to something," snapped Faye.
"Why did you do that Mr. Yammada? It was mean!" scolded the little girl.
"I couldn't help myself," muttered the man pathetically, "and it's Gai."
"Yeah. Why did we do that?" asked Ranma dumbly.
Gai was astounded. "Y...you're kidding?!"
The boy shook his head negative. He was honestly curious about the answer.
"He is still a pup after all."
"No! This is abnormal!" snapped Gai. "There could be something wrong! We need to find a doctor!"
"It is rather odd," admitted Faye.
"What are you talking about?" asked Amelia. "Ranma? You don't know why Mr. Yammada slapped that woman on the rear?"
The boy growled in annoyance as he felt his cheeks flush. "Why would I? She was already out of the way, and the strike didn't do anything."
"That sounds like my little half brother," growled the demon irritably.
"What?" snapped Ranma angrily. "What the hell is the damn problem?"
"We gotta get you laid kid," replied Gai calmly.
"What?" said the boy as he halted suddenly.
"I could use a little release myself," commented Faye.
"You shouldn't say things like that out loud!" gasped Amelia. "I don't know if I'm ready for that!"
"What's the big deal? It'll be another girl, so it's not all that bad."
The little girl passed out at that.
"Hey. I think we lost her," said Gai.
Ranma started walking quickly, but he could not escape this conversation. It was a horrible realization on his part.
"What about our demon friend?" asked Gai.
"I have no need of such things. Do as you will to satisfy your human desires. It does not matter to me."
"It's settled then," said Gai cheerfully.
"Where are we gonna find a woman?" grumbled Faye. "Listen buddy. I'm doing you a favor here, a big one. I expect some return on this investment, if you catch my drift?"
"Oh man. You're kidding!" cried Gai in horror.
Ranma had no idea what was going on. He noticed that the fire surrounding his body died down a bit after Amelia left them.
"I'm gonna have to think about this," grumbled the man.
"We might be stuck with each other for the rest of our lives. Besides, when was the last time you got laid anyway?"
"Three years ago," grumbled the man sourly. "That's not the point."
"Well. I suppose you're in great need of release then," replied the woman smoothly.
Ranma was forced to pull his hand out of the front of his pants. "Hey! What the hell are you doin?!"
"Wait a minute. There's no one out here. Let's go with this," said Gai.
"Hell no!" cried Ranma out loud. "Don't touch that! It's mine!"
"All right. How about a deal then? We can change bodies right? I mean, we can be a girl sometimes."
Ranma paused for a moment. "What?"
"If I leave that alone, you give me control of that other body. Girls get the girl side, boys get the boy side. How about it? It's only fair."
The boy growled under his breath as he walked in silence for a long time.
"Well?"
"I'm thinkin about it," he replied coolly.
"Ouch," said Gai.
"I could get to really like a kid like you," she replied sweetly as his hand slid down the front of his pants again.
"All right! All right! Fine! Just cut that out!" he screamed at the top of his lungs angrily.
"You would have made a good pet," commented Sesshoumaru.
Faye growled at him, but didn't respond.
"Good idea kid. Let them deal with that feminine stuff," said Gai.
"You do realize I basically just gave them an excuse to sit back and do nothing while we're like this," said Ranma flatly.
"Don't worry! We'll leave all the rough stuff to you boys!" said Faye cheerfully.
"She'd better not get fat," growled Ranma irritably.
"Don't worry. I've always had a good figure," replied Faye cheerfully.
"That was obvious," commented the demon. "You wouldn't have tried to manipulate him that way if you weren't attractive. It's a common trait among attractive human females. A pity it gets them killed so often."
By this point in the conversation they were bouncing across jagged and narrow edges up the side of the mountain. He grabbed the wall and started climbing.
"Boy, you sure know how to kill the mood don't you," grumbled Faye irritably. "How long is she going to be out?"
"What happened?" chimed Amelia as if given a cue. "Oh. Not a dream, darn."
"Sorry kid," commented Gai. "What's that?"
"Our destination," replied Sesshoumaru.
Looming over them was what appeared to be a black temple. Green flames burned in the torches that surrounded the walls and a large heavy wooden door appeared to be the only entrance.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Shu ho was perched on the rocks far below the boy. She looked up at him and frowned. "Damn. This isn't going to be an easy fight."
She had heard him scream his submission to the demon in the woods. It was a pity that he was not strong enough to contain it. She had to release him from his suffering, even if he was a pompous little shit."
"I'm not going to make it in time to stop him. I hope I can manage something. I don't wanna die!" She didn't seem very confident as she sniffled and started climbing up the rocks with tears in her eyes.
++++++++++++++++++++
Ranma looked around the room casually as he strolled in. "Where the heck is this place?" Large chunks of lumber and pieces of wood littered the ground at his feet.
"It is the resting place of a powerful weapon. More Yokai magic to aid us, of a different sort than that sword though."
"What kind of 'sort'?" growled Faye.
They simply continued walking forward moving out of the shattered remains of the heavy wooden door.
"Hey. Who's the babe?" asked Faye.
Everyone's attention focused on the handsome man standing in the middle of the room. He was simply watching them with what appeared to be a black staff in his hand. He had short cut slicked back black hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. "I've been waiting for you."
"Damn!" growled Sesshoumaru.
"I thought you said..." started Amelia.
"I'm disappointed in you really. After all, it was an obvious trap. Finding two such weapons so easily is a bit too fortuitous. Yet, here you are, standing in front of me. Showing what a fool you truly are." The man casually walked towards the middle of the room in front of them and stopped to face him again once he'd reached it.
"Boy. Listen carefully. I must fight this battle, but I will need your help. This is a situation where my full Yokai power must be brought to bare. The slightest mistake from you will destroy us."
"Well. For once I trust him," commented Faye.
"Oh no. This is going to be really bad isn't it?" cried Amelia.
"I'm afraid so kid," commented Gai as he braced himself. "Try to be gentle would you?"
"I do not indent to suffer a single blow from this fight. I could be mistaken though," commented the demon coolly. "Come boy. It is time to get this over with."
"Still want to fight? Such a weak half blood like yourself destroy me? I think not," snarled the man angrily.
"It's too bad. He was cute too," commented Faye.
The creature before them jumped into the air and a pair of black wings sprouted from his back as two long horns ripped through the flesh of his forehead. His hands became clawed as well as his feet, but his torso remained human, with the tattered remains of his suit and tie still hanging from him.
"I'm afraid you'll find I'm much more than a mere half blood."
"Is that so?" snarled the creature as it stomped towards them.
"Yes. I'm afraid it is," replied the boy as he jumped over the creature's shoulder and landed on the ground on the other side of it. Four gashes began to spray blood from its shoulder as pieces of the leathery wings fell to the ground.
The creature roared in pain and spun around. Its teeth had become sharpened and its eyes had grown yellow. Flames began to erupt all around them, giving the room a sickly green glow. They emitted no smoke, and didn't harm the boy.
"So. You are what happened to Gregorius," said the thing in a loud hissing screech.
"This one is not weakened by another battle. We will be busy for quite some time boy. Keep up as best you can, and I will instruct you when I need you."
++++++++++++++++++
Shu ho was losing her nerve. Green flames erupted from the windows of the temple periodically, along with chunks of stone and wood that sailed past her occasionally. She was watching a particularly large section of wall that had come within three inches of her head crash on the ground below with a horrified expression on her face. Tears continued to flow from her cheeks as she slowly crawled onto the flat surface of the summit and got a good look at the remains of the heavy wooden doors. "Grama will kill me if I run." She hung her head and dragged her feet as she walked towards the door with the point of her sword held low, along with her head.
"This sucks. I hate honor and duty."
+++++++++++++++++++
The two combatants landed across from each other and immediately went to their knees. Neither one looked particularly winded, but there were a few new gashes on the demonic creature.
"You are stronger than I expected."
"You face the power of a full demon, not a halfling," replied the boy calmly. "I do not wish to be bothered with such triviality as assassins. Especially ones as weak as you."
The thing screamed in rage as it rushed forward.
"This could end it boy. Be ready," said Sesshoumaru coolly.
The boy's head nodded slowly as the creature charged.
"Ranma! Help me!" said Amelia.
"Now boy! Now!"
Both of the boy's hands shot out as he blinked in confusion. "What? Hey! One at a time!" He had almost instinctively tried to follow both commands.
"Ra-Tilt!"
"What?" gasped Sesshoumaru as he completed his own attack.
A ball of white energy formed directly in front of them.
"Wait! It's still not right?" muttered the girl in horror.
"No! You fool!" snarled the demon dog angrily as he started to shift in a dodge. "What have you..."
The ball erupted and blasted forward in a huge beam of power from their outstretched hands. The monster in front of them was engulfed in a white light that vaporized him.
"Holy shit!" gasped Gai. "That was cool!"
Ranma clutched at his chest as he fell to the ground. He felt tight and tired, but in a way he'd never felt before. "What was that?"
"The combined might of a demons power coupled with a sorceress. So, we are to become demon hunters are we? So be it." Sesshoumaru glanced down at the discarded staff. It was the only thing that survived the blast. He picked it up and a green light burned around it like flames. "This should do for now. Mixing magic that way is dangerous. We should look into it a bit more, but not with so much power behind it. This could become a useful tool."
"I feel like I just ran a hundred mile sprint," grumbled Ranma.
"Your fragile human frame cannot handle too much magic at once. It could have destroyed us all, and it was a very stupid thing to do," said the demon calmly. They turned and saw a familiar face staring at them from the doorway.
"What do you want?" he asked her calmly.
"..." said the girl.
"She won't bother us again," said the demon dog as he started them towards her.
She didn't move and simply stared at him. "Who are you?"
"Ranma Saotome," he replied simply. "I told you already."
She punched him dead in the face. "What the hell is a punk like you doing running around grabbing women that way?!"
He glanced down at her with a genuinely surprised frown. "Huh?"
"You heard me!" she snapped. "Why didn't you just say you were a devil hunter anyway? No demon can produce that kind of magic, especially not so much of it."
He narrowed his eyes at her and his frown deepened. "Get out of my way." He paused as he realized she had punched him. The flames that surrounded him were gone now. "Hey. Neat! It went away!" He smiled to himself cheerfully and walked out the broken remains of the door.
"Hey! I'm not through chewing you out!" she snapped as she chased after him.
He was looking down the opposite side of the mountain he'd come from. "Yeah you are." He simply stepped off the side and bounced his way down the side of the mountain skillfully.
The girl growled down at him angrily with rage in her eyes. "I'd better not see you again jerk!"
The boy was long gone by then though, and the Amazons were waiting for him. "Let him sweat it out for a few days. I was going to tell him about them when I was finished chewing him out." She rolled over onto her back and put her hands behind her head so she could look at the clouds.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Next Time: Grand Theft Auto: Hong Kong.