Embracing Curse
Chapter five:
Words could not describe what was going through the minds of the four teenagers. To find out that your opponents are monsters is, well, slightly expected, but having that same revelation come from an ally is too much to take.
"I don't believe it, I don't believe it, I don't believe it!" Ukyo shouted, "Aelfred-san is a vampire!? How? Since when?"
"Shampoo think he always be one," the purple-haired amazon answered. She checked out the brawl. The silver-haired fighter grew razor sharp claws and started slashing away. In spite of moving and growling like an animal, his attacks were quite controlled and skillful. But the five neonates overwhelmed him through superiority in numbers, piling upon him like stray dogs over a thrown piece of meat. "Good, they all too busy, we better make run for it."
"We can't just leave him!" Ryoga protested, "You don't abandon a fellow combatant under such conditions, it does not become a martial artist."
"Ryoga-kun, get serious!" The brunette chef snapped, "He's a vampire! He was probably waiting for the perfect opportunity to sink his fangs and suck us dry."
"Can you blame him for keeping such a thing in secret? You wouldn't understand how that feels, but I do!" the lost boy growled, "But you have a point, we have to consider a lot of things now." He tried to come up with something, but his aching shoulder kept distracting him. "What do you think, Ranma?" The pigtailed martial-artist remained silent. He was really beginning to trust Aelfred, and because of personal experience, was expecting some sort of surprise, but never something like this. Oddly enough, the words of his father came to mind.
"Remember, Ranma, when doubt becomes too much to bear, a martial-artist recurs to his primal knowledge. Follow your instinct, my son, and you shall never go wrong."
Of course, Oyaji's instincts are always to either to run or beg. The black-haired teen cracked his knuckles. I'm a little different. "Kachu tenshin amaguriken!"
"Nani!?" The green-haired guy was given no time to react, Ranma bolted and hit him with a flurry of punches.
"Arigato," Aelfred said as he saw the others follow suit and spread out. He repelled his remaining assailant with a fierce roundhouse kick. "Listen, I know you won't like it, but we have to slay them."
"You mean kill them!?" an appalled Ukyo asked as she swatted one of the girls with her spatula, "Are you serious? They're your own kind."
"Believe me, I wish someone had done the same for me all those years ago." Each of them started taking care of his or her opponent. "Don't think, just do it!"
"I agree!" Ryoga yelled, "It's either them or us!" He was really upset because of that bite, and went against the one who did it. It was quite obvious he wasn't going to win by use of brute force, but he already had an idea. The black-haired boy lured his adversary towards the nearby woods.
"What the matter though guy, too scared?" the undead one taunted, "I've seen you around, you're the nutcase who reads love letters to figurines and statues." That comment struck a chord.
"I can't help it If I'm too shy to express my feelings directly! Don't you dare mock me for it!" Ryoga sprinted and placed a tree between the vampire and himself. "Bakusai Tenketsu!"
"ARRGH!" The wooden projectiles skewered his body, defeating him utterly.
"Den-chan!" The girl fighting Ukyo roared and headed towards her boyfriend's slayer.
"Ie, you're not getting away that easily!" The longhaired chef challenged. She leapt into the air, intending to bring down her weapon upon the beast. But she caught it, spun and tossed Ukyo towards the cliff!
"Ucchan!"
"I'll get her!" Aelfred called. He finished off his opponent with a slash to her neck then jumped to the rescue. Ranma took care of the one that had thrown his dear friend.
In the meantime, Shampoo was having a bit of trouble battling the third girl.
"You no can win, amazons much stronger than you ever imagine."
"Yeah? Well I've been in thousands of street fights, and have never lost a single one. And I'm not planning to lose now!" They charged at each other, the purple-haired girl thought it would be quick and easy, but this vampire seemed to be the strongest of the bunch. She stepped back and tried to smash her with her bonbori, a miss. The dark-haired creature rushed forward, took down, and held Shampoo by the neck, squeezing with all of her might. Only the results of Cologne's rigorous training kept her from being choked to death instantly, but the young amazon was still in danger. In her desperation, Shampoo realized the handle of her weapon has made out of wood. She broke it against the ground and stabbed her enemy in the back. The vampire gave a shocked gaze and collapsed on top of her. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, Shampoo pushed the inert body off and got to her feet. She saw that Ranma and Ryoga had taken care of the rest.
"Aren't they supposed to turn into dust or something?" the lost boy wondered, "And I had no idea you can actually knock a vampire out."
"Hai, the one I fought first had a glass jaw," the pigtailed martial-artist replied, "Let's just hope they don't wake up too soon and surprise us." There was no need to worry about that, because it dawned at that precise moment. They all watched in amazement as the bodies burst into flames. It was a good thing all five were unconscious, otherwise the screaming would've been terrible.
"Okay, that was gruesome," Ryoga said once they all became ash, "And I'm sure the redhead will be a lot tougher than these guys."
"No doubt about it," Ranma agreed, "But I'm sure Aelfred-san will come up with… Chikuso, Ucchan!!"
Ukyo Kuonji's diary, August 31st (continued):
When I saw myself miles above the ground I thought: "This is it!", and it would've if it hadn't been for that branch. Both seeing and grabbing it was a million to one shot; I saw it, but wasn't fast enough to take hold, it ended up grabbing me by the belt though. I guess someone's looking out for me. I was in a very unfavorable situation, I'd fallen a great distance and the climb was much too steep for me. (Personal note: ask Ran-chan to train me in rock-climbing once we get home.) But my friends needed my help, so I hurried towards them. As I explained earlier, my ascension was quite slow. Lucky for me, Aelfred-san came down to help me up. Naturally, I wasn't ready to trust him just yet, and those sharp, one-inch nails didn't inspire much confidence either. Nonetheless, I am a woman of firm priorities, the first of which is being there for Ran-chan. So I took Aelfred-san's hand and held on to his back. He started climbing, driving his claws into the rock. He had a firm grip and was quite strong, so the way up was quite fast. I don't recall what was going through my mind at that moment, probably doesn't matter. The important thing is that we were too busy to notice the sun! All of a sudden smoke started to come out of him, and that pain-ridden growl frightened me so much my grip loosened! Aelfred-san saved me from falling again, he caught my hand in the knick of time.
"Hold on, we'll get there!" he assured me. I could see it in his face, he was in a lot of pain, but was determined not to let me go. At that precise moment, I knew I could trust him completely. To make a long story short, we got to the top and he threw me into Ryoga-kun's arms. Then he rushed past us and literally sunk into the ground, as if it were some sort of pudding.
"Okay, what now?" Ran-chan asked.
"We hurry to Mousse!" Shampoo shouted, "Or he become vampire too!"
"I don't think the redhead will do anything to him before the deadline," Ryoga-kun replied, "at least I trust she won't."
"Hai," Ran-chan agreed, "At least she can't do anything during the day, so we better hurry while we have the chance."
"But what about Aelfred-san?" I questioned, "We can't just leave him, suppose he's hurt." We started arguing about what to do next until Ran-chan piped up, saying that we were wasting valuable time. We split into two groups, Ryoga-kun and I stayed while Ran-chan and Shampoo hurried off to rescue Mousse (I wonder if that floozy tried anything). This happened yesterday morning, by the way.
I made a quick breakfast, gave Ran-chan and Shampoo a little something to eat on the run, and sat down to tend to Ryoga-kun after they left.
"Do you think a little iodine will be enough?" he asked me, "That is a vampire bite."
"I don't think we should believe everything we see in the movies," I responded, "Neither Aelfred-san nor those creeps came to us with a cape saying 'good evening' in a weird accent. Although, some of Aelfred-san's expressions are rather old." We started listing all those obvious details, how he never showed up during the day and such. Ryoga-kun commented on how quickly I'd changed my mind about Aelfred-san, which was true, for I was determined to wait until he rose again. Ryoga-kun wasn't quite sure about whether he trusted Aelfred-san, even while he knew him to be an honorable fighter. Besides, we both wanted answers, so wait we did.
There wasn't much for us to do, we chatted, ate, sparred a little and took a little nap. Aelfred-san woke up shortly after we did, the sun had barely set and there was still plenty of light about. And even though it looked like he had come out of a mud pile, there wasn't a stain on him. The first thing he did, right after stretching, was scold us.
"What are you still doing here? You should be on your way to aid Mousse!"
"Well we couldn't just leave you," I retorted angrily, "you were seriously hurt after helping me." His face did look a bit red.
"Ranma and Shampoo went ahead of us," Ryoga-kun told Aelfred-san, "Even if that redhead is a vampire, she won't win if she faces both of them."
"Don't be so sure, Ryoga-san," Aelfred-san countered, "By logic, she must be a lot stronger than the five we just faced." My heart was filled with fear the moment I heard that. "We better hurry if we want to help Ranma-san and Shampoo." His voice was firm but he looked quite tired.
"Are you all right?" I asked.
"Just a little weak," he answered, "nothing a squirrel or two can't fix." I realized right away that all that running, fighting, climbing and burning had taken their toll, and the only way for him to recover was through feeding. My sense of gratefulness must be very powerful, because the next thing I said was:
"We better not chance it. Here, you can drink out of me."
"Are you insane!?" Ryoga-kun hollered. Aelfred-san was surprised as well.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked me.
"Not really," I answered, "but you're our trump card against that redhead." I told Ryoga-kun to please turn around as I uncovered my neck.
What happened next is really worth writing about, as morbid as it may seem. Aelfred-san held me firmly by the arms and told me to relax, a feat by itself. I tried to calm myself down by thinking: "It's just like a big mosquito bite". Thank the kami I didn't say it out loud, I would've died of embarrassment. His bite didn't hurt that much, it was just a little sting, and while hearing him drink my blood made me feel weird, it didn't disturb me. I was actually quite at ease during the whole process. Now that I've thought about it, it must have had a lot to do with the fact that I was a willing participant, if Aelfred-san had imposed himself upon me, I would've felt very much violated. That must be the way poor Mousse is feeling right now after being in the hands of that redhead.
I'm getting ahead of the story. Aelfred-san finished drinking (he licked me, by the way, I guess he didn't want to waste a drop) and announced that we were leaving. I always thought vampires could only turn into bats, but Aelfred-san changed himself into a horse! With silver pelt and a black mane. You know, I really shouldn't have been that impressed considering the sort of people I hang out with. I got on Aelfred-san's back, he obviously wanted me to, and although he was reluctant, Ryoga-kun sat behind me. Aelfred-san galloped away at top speed and without warning, we had to hold on for dear life. I only wish Ryoga-kun had held on to me from somewhere else.
Ranma and Shampoo ran restlessly through the woods, pausing only a few minutes for lunch. They came to another halt when they reached a wide river.
"Che, looks like I will be fighting my twin after all." He checked it out. "Doesn't seem too deep, and the current's slow. I'll get in and carry you overhead." The dark-haired teen braced himself, the young amazon was likely to tackle him, saying how kind and considerate he was towards her. But Shampoo simply nodded, it was then that Ranma noted something amiss in his imposed fiancée, but now wasn't the time to think about that. The pigtailed martial-artist got into the water and held up her hands so that the purple-haired girl could sit on them. When they reached the other side, Ranma took a deep breath, the thought of holding a cat had been an effective, yet terrifying incentive to be careful.
"Now we in trouble," Shampoo complained, "Ranma-airen lost half of strength, and it very close to night."
"Hai, but we're also close to our destination. With luck, we should be there way before dusk." Ranma rinsed herself quickly and started running again. "And in case you've forgotten, this form is strong enough to beat you."
The pair met a lot more obstacles, but no more ambushes. Finally they reached a clearing, where they found who they were coming for.
"Mousse!" The longhaired boy was on his knees, chained to a pair of rocks; he looked awfully pale, but had no doubt been left out in the sun all day. He raised his head when he heard his beloved's voice and smiled weakly. Shampoo rushed towards him and was hit by an awesome force. The redheaded vampire came out of nowhere and tackled her away, Ranma caught her.
"Shampoo!" Roaring, Mousse got up and struggled against his bonds. "Touch one hair on her head and I'll-"
"Save it, four-eyes, I'll deal with you later." She turned her attention to the longhaired amazon, who gave a fierce glare.
"What you do to Mousse, you monster!?"
"Relax, your darling boyfriend is still human, and I didn't take much from him, he'll recover soon." The undead villainess looked over her shoulder and licked her lips, making sure that the Chinese boy took notice. "You know, I think I'll keep him as part of my herd, blood as tasty as his is hard to find nowadays." She looked back at her potential captives. "Wait a sec, aren't there supposed to be more of you? And where is Ranma Saotome?"
"I am Ranma," the aforementioned girl answered, "You want me, here I am." The vampire blinked in confusion and then snarled.
"Is this a joke? Ranma is a guy, he told me so!"
That means she's never seen me before. "Hey, don't blame me, your note should've been more specific." The other redhead sweat-dropped.
"Ah, who the hell cares? I'm getting paid anyway." She took a fighting stance. "You want the geek back? You'll have to fight." The blue-eyed martial artist readied herself.
"Bring it on. Nani?" The Chinese girl stood up and held her hand.
"Shampoo's duty to fight, Ranma-airen no interfere." She headed forward and they met at the middle. Wordlessly, Shampoo took hold of the vampire's face and kissed her.
"What was that about!?"
"Foreign woman who beat amazon get kiss of death, then be killed. Shampoo like sticking to protocol."
"Whatever," the redhead replied with a shrug. She taunted Shampoo, "Come on, Tarzan-chick, take your best shot." The purple-haired girl swung her smashing weapon fiercely and missed, she kept trying to score a hit but the vampire evaded with too much ease. At the tenth attempt, the undead combatant caught the bonbori with her bare hand. She gave an evil sneer and cocked her arm. Shampoo was punched with so much force she felt her guts churn, growling, she responded with a kick to the face. The fight was on.
"What's wrong with you, Shampoo?" Ranma murmured. She watched the battle closely, looking for weaknesses in the vampire's technique. Just as Akane had said, her lookalike was quite fast and strong, but unskilled. The longhaired amazon should've been able to defeat her quickly. "Quit clowning around! Hit her hard, now!"
"If you insist," the undead girl responded. She ducked and threw an uppercut that made Shampoo go high into the air. The Chinese girl fell and couldn't get up anymore.
"Shampoo!!" Mousse felt completely helpless.
"Don't worry, she's not dead yet," the redhead told him, "I've tasted her blood before, also quite rare, so I'll keep her along with you for a while." She leered at the pigtailed martial artist. "Why don't you join them? You kine have no chance against me, and I'll bet your blood is quite tasty as well." Ranma ignored this taunt and charged.
"Kachu tenshin amaguriken!" The vampire wasn't expecting such an attack, over fifty punches to the stomach, followed by a straight kick to the jaw. "I am heir to the Saotome school of anything-goes martial arts, you'll find me the strongest opponent you've ever met." Coughing, the undead girl stood up.
"Well I am from clan Brujah, born to wage war. And you," she made a tight fist, "will now learn the meaning of power." She threw a punch from her position several feet away. Ranma sidestepped instinctively, she glimpsed at a boulder behind her and saw it crack, as if it had been struck by a powerful hammer.
By the kami, that was done by the air pressure from her blow! She zigzagged through the attacks and countered, going all out with her next move. Loosing this confrontation was out of the question, otherwise the results would be fatal, or worse. As they fought, however, it became apparent who would come out the winner.
"What's wrong, honey? I hardly felt that one." Ranma was breathing heavily and could hardly keep her eyes open. "You came running all the way, didn't you? And now you're too tired to fight properly."
"Heh, this is nothing, you should see me square it off with Oyaji when there's only one cup of noodles left. Besides, you're not the only one who can attack at a distance." A smirk of sure victory appeared on her lips as she put her arms forward. "Mouko Takabisha!"
"KYAA!" The redheaded vampire was barely able to avoid the chi-powered beam, but it still managed to graze her arm, burning the skin severely. "You, you…" Her panting went from frightened to furious. "You almost killed me!!" She gave a terrifying roar and threw herself at Ranma, who could hardly keep up her defense against the sudden barrage. The undead girl's strength had increased dramatically.
"Note to self, never anger a vampire," Ranma grunted as she held her ground, "but this also works in my advantage." She started moving around her foe until enough speed had been gathered, and then. "Hiryu Shoten Ha! …Nani?" There was supposed to be a huge tornado, but not even a light breeze showed up. "Oomph!" This distraction cost Ranma a kick to the stomach that sent her away, she landed painfully and pounded the ground as she swore. "Kuso, I'm fighting a dead person. She doesn't have any chi!" The pigtailed girl tried to get up but slipped. Good thing the other redhead had recovered some of her senses and calmed down.
"I'm hungry." The vampire made her way towards Shampoo and pulled her up by the hair. "Just a few sips and I'll be right back with you." Her fangs extended as the amazon's neck was exposed. "Urk!"
"I said you're not hurting Shampoo!" Mousse had snapped his chains and was now using them to strangle the beast. She spun and tossed him away.
"Impossible! How can you still move after all I've put you through!?"
"I hate to sound corny," the black-haired boy chuckled, "but the power of love can do anything." He leapt into the air and threw the chain, which had a little addition at the tip. The Brujah had made the mistake of throwing him to where his weapons had been left, and among them was a wooden stake. Why wouldn't he have one? After all he carries yo-yos.
"Aaugh!" The villainess was hit right in her chest and fell. The nearsighted boy landed and took some deep breaths to recover.
"Shampoo!" He rushed towards his love. For a minute, it seemed as though she was running to embrace him, but the longhaired girl just passed him by.
"Ranma-airen! You no hurt? All okay?"
"Hai, but I won't be so for long if you don't let me breathe." Mousse shook his head and cursed his luck.
"Sometimes I wonder why I even-Whoa!" He was yanked by his shackles and grabbed by the neck.
"News-flash, jerk, doesn't work if you don't get the heart!" Mousse was swung and slammed into Ranma and Shampoo; the fanged girl then stomped the ground, sending a shockwave towards the three. The heroes were hit and buried under a pile of rubble. "That's it," the redhead roared as she yanked the stake away, "if you're going to give me this much trouble, then I'll drain you all bone-dry!" But she could only give one stride before being hit in the face by a hoof. Aelfred and the others had arrived! Ukyo and Ryoga dismounted immediately.
"Move it, Ryoga-kun! We gotta get Ran-chan and the others out of here!"
"Hai, Bakusai Tenketsu!" The trio was freed in an instant.
"(cough) Arigato, Ryoga, but next time, try not to be so damn efficient."
"Where'd you get that mule?" Mousse asked as the lost boy helped him up.
"That's a horse, baka," Ukyo answered as she slapped the thick glasses onto its owner's face, "And it's Aelfred-san, he changed into one in order to bring us here as quickly as possible."
"A Jusenkyo curse?"
"Umm, not quite. Shampoo explain everything when fight over."
The undead girl was unable to defend herself against all that wild kicking and trampling, but she guessed her attacker's identity right away.
"Who else but a flea-bitten Gangrel would fight in such a form," she huffed in old English, "Have some dignity and make yourself human." The silver-pelted stallion snorted and complied.
"I'd appreciate it if you referred to my clan's name with the proper respect," the undead Scotsman demanded. The Brujah leered at him, then her eyes went wide open.
"Unbelievable," she started cackling, "After all this time, finally!"
"Finally? Do we know each other?"
"You never saw me, but each of your faces was burned into my memory." She held an accusing finger. "Eire, 700 years ago! You were part of the goddamned group that incited the rebellion against one of the richest noblemen in the land. Because of that, my life was ruined!"
"Yes, I do recall an Irish tyrant, but that man had no children. How could his death affect you?"
"I was betrothed to him, that marriage was going to earn me nobility and fortune!" The redhead clenched her fists tightly. "When I grew old enough, I set out to hunt you, but I got careless and was embraced, not uncommon." She smiled wickedly. "The thirst for vengeance kept me going all these years. Had I known that I'd find one of you tonight, I wouldn't have haggled my reward." She gave a war-cry and attacked with the stake, Aelfred made her drop it with a chop to the arm and punched her in the gut.
"Don't get so cocky, Gangrel are as good in combat as Brujah. And my abilities give me an advantage." He grew claws and slashed at her chest, she reeled back in pain.
"You forget, the power of transformation is not exclusive to your mangy clan." Her hair went from red to brown, and her body grew large and stout. Now Aelfred was the one fighting an animal, the largest grizzly he'd ever seen.
Ukyo Kuonji's diary, August 31st (continued):
Bears are some of my favorite animals, so I got very mad at the redhead for turning into one. Hai, it's silly, but that's the way I felt. Aelfred-san kept his human shape, and this was a serious disadvantage. I know how sharp his claws are, but the vampire girl had a thicker hide now, and was too large to be stopped by a few scratches. I wondered why Aelfred-san didn't change into something stronger, surely he can manage more than a horse. Then I felt an itch on my neck and realized I didn't feel as weak as someone is supposed to after giving blood. Aelfred-san hadn't fed properly! He only took enough from me to reach the rendezvous point, and whatever quantity it was wore out along the way. I knew we were going much too fast. "Don't fill the tank, just need 'nough to get there," baka. Then again, if he had filled up I wouldn't be here writing this, would I?
Aelfred-san had a difficult match. The vampire girl swiped him from one part of the clearing to the other, and when he tried to hold onto her from behind, she rolled over and crushed him. It really looked like Aelfred-san was on the ropes when the bear grabbed and started squeezing him, but then he roared and bit her hard. She gave one of her own and tried to shake him off, but he held on like a stubborn tick (gomen Aelfred-san, I know it's an improper analogy). He must've taken some blood at that moment, because he broke free and delivered an awesome blow. I couldn't see it clearly because of the bear standing in the way; however, I'm almost certain he hit her with an elbow, a punch, a kick and an uppercut. It was a very effective attack that made her revert to human form. Aelfred-san took the opportunity and tackled her, assuring his victory. He walked up and said something to her. None of us understood a word, but I could tell from his tone that it was something insightful and reassuring. Sadly, his words rung hollow. As Aelfred-san came to us, the redhead took a sword that was lying there and charged. I shouted out a warning and Aelfred-san tripped her, taking the weapon away in the process; then he took a swing and chopped off her head. It was horrible. Aelfred-san took a deep breath and threw away the sword, as hard as it was for us to see that, it'd been harder for him to do it.
We made a stretcher for Mousse and hurried away from that awful place. He didn't take the news of Aelfred-san being a vampire very well, but was in no condition to protest. We walked a fair distance then stopped so that Ran-chan, Shampoo and Mousse could get some much needed rest. Meanwhile, Aelfred-san went into the woods to find himself a little supper. We had built a small fire by the time he came back, he sat down and we started talking.
"I'm curious, Aelfred-san," Ryoga-kun started, "What did you tell the redhead back there?"
"I told her how I didn't believe the desire for revenge had helped her survive all these centuries," he answered, "it's too feeble an emotion for such an accomplishment. She was a very capable Brujah, an example for her clan, so I gave her a second chance."
"A second chance? After all she'd done!?" Ran-chan raised an eyebrow, "Aelfred-san, I think you were too soft on her." Our Scottish friend frowned.
"Have any of you ever been in a fight to the death?" he asked us, we all nodded. "In 800 years, I have participated in countless battles, and have been forced to end too many lives. I am neither proud, nor fond of what I had to do to that girl."
Silence surrounded us, we understood Aelfred-san's sentiment all too well, at least I know I do. This is something I keep in the greatest of secrecy, I killed someone once. It was during my training years before coming to Nerima, I got involved with this person and was forced into a duel. I didn't want to, but if I hadn't made that fatal wound, he would've killed me. As Ryoga-kun told me, in such situations we all value our own life more than the opponent's. Aelfred-san, ie, make that all of us, as fighters we'll have to face that choice at some point in our life, maybe more than once, perhaps already. Ran-chan and Ryoga-kun, they must have been in many life-or-death battles, though I can't say if they had to go through with it; Shampoo and Mousse, it's almost certain they had to in order to obey their laws. The point is, the only way we can truly learn the importance of life, is the hard way.
We slept a few hours that night, with Aelfred-san keeping watch, and got up shortly before dawn today. He told us to go ahead, assuring that he would catch up with us eventually, so we walked all day. It's evening right now and everyone's asleep. I wasn't tired at all, so I took the opportunity to write this entry. At the rate we're going, I'm guessing we'll get back home the day after tomorrow, but it could be earlier if Mousse recovers. I'm very eager to arrive, because Aelfred-san has a lot of explaining to do.