Chapter One: Just Magic Ink.
"RANMA SAOTOME PREPARE TO DIE!" The cry rang out. Of course no one paid attention. The cry was the most common thing in Nerima, save for the cry "Ranma no Baka".
Even Ranma himself didn't pay much attention to it. After all, three punches later and Ryoga was out like a brick.
Ranma had been walking through the Nerima public park at the time of this incident. Fortunantly there had been no water nearby during this incident. It would have undoubtedly found its way to him even in the very much likely event that he would defeat Ryoga. Which he did.
Ever since the battle with Saffron things had basicly gone like this daily. Ranma no longer held himself to the level of his opponants. He went all out if someone attacked him. The decreasing number of attacks from Mousse was testiment to that. Ryoga was still going at it, as he had the endurance to keep getting back up after every fall for years to come.
Unfortunantly for Ranma whether there is water around or not it always seems to find him. A young boy rode by on a bicycle and, having disliked the idea of drinking more water given to him by his mother, tossed a half full water bottle over his head as he passed Ranma.
"Huh... Kami hates me..." Ranma thought. Lately his months were getting even more depressing. His thoughts always strayed to Akane. He had saved her life so many times but simply couldn't allow himself to say ANYTHING to her. Every time he tried he would foul it up. Then she would get mad, and he would call her kawaiikune or some other rude name. He didn't want that. He wanted to tell her what he had felt ever since the day he had met her. Well, actually that was a lie. He hadn't loved her since the day he met her but her first words to him... "I'm Akane want to be friends?" Thos ment a whole lot at the time. They still did.
But couldn't...
Reaching the exit of the park he spotted the Nekohaunten.
"I know I shouldn't even go near there, but I need... no... want some hot water really bad." He thought. He pondered for a while on whether it would be so horrible to just go in quick ask for some water and leave.
Unfortunantly Murphy's law wouldn't accept that, he knew. So he opted against it and kept on walking.
Meanwhile.
"Shampoo... Shampoo..." A voice sounded from the room.
"No.. Shampoo sleep now..." She yawned back.
She lay on her bed inside her bedroom at the Nekohaunten. She didn't know who was talking to her and was currently too tired to care. She had been sent on an hour long break after working thirty two and a half hours straight. Ranma hadn't come into the store like she had hoped.
"Shampoo... wake up Shampoo... I need you..." The voice cried out.
"No..! Shampoo sleep now!" Shampoo cried with her eyes closed.
The door cracked open and the light from the outside hallway shone into Shampoo's room. The crack had been aligned direcly with her eyes to inflict the most possible annoyance.
The voice continued on, "Shampoo I need your help with... something important..."
"SHAMPOO NO WAKE UP!" She cried. She shot out of her bed angrily.
"Involving Ranma..." The voice finished.
Shampoo had forgotten her sleep.
"Hey! Who you? How you get back here without Great-Grandmother see you!?" She cried as she walked toward the door. "... What about Airen!?"
Shampoo had recently been the object of many very harsh glares from her airen. She wanted only for him to love her and to see that that stupid "Violent Girl" would NEVER fit him! But he didn't. He never had.
"I have a preposition for you..." The voice said.
The door creeked open slightly more revealing what appeared to be the persons arm. The most definantly male voice was low and would have been very creepy if Shampoo hadn't been subjected to her great-grandmother's training. That mixed with her own amazon pride of being fearless made this seem not out of the ordinary.
"Come to the door..." The voice ordered.
Shampoo did as comanded without comment.
"Open the door and I will show you..." It said.
She opened the door... and then all went black.
CRASH!!!
As Ranma slowly walked away from the Nekohaunten he heard the unmistakable sound of busting glass. Looking back at the Cat Cafe he saw that it was a chair that had busted through the window.
Ranma rushed to the restaraunt.
"SHAMPOO!?" He cried. Yes he was angry with her but he also knew that whatever had thrown the chair through the window couldn't have been the Amazons. They cared too much about their store to do something like that.
As he neared the Nekohaunten more chairs came flying out windows until every single window had been broken.
He dashed into the building.
Only to find that the entire room was full of people. Chatting as if nothing had happened. On second glance he realized that none of the windows were broken at all! On third glance none of the chairs were gone.
"Son-in-" Cologne tried to say. But Ranma had allready dashed out of the building.
He looked where the wooden chair had been and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Checking the other windows around the restaraunt he found everything in order. None of the windows even had a fingerprint.
"What the?" He thought.
Cologne pogoed outside a few moments later to find Ranma thourghly inspecting the windows.
"Son-in-law what is the matter?" She asked.
"Uh... You.. didn't see these windows just bust open by chance did you?" He asked.
"No... no son-in-law." She replied. Her normal curious smirk adorned her face.
"Perhaps you could come in and get some water? To drink possibly? How would these windows shatter son-in-law? They are as strong as steel!" Cologne cried.
"I... I must've imagined it... I suppose... Only A quick drink and I'm gone, ghoul." Ranma resigned himself.
They walked inside the restaraunt. Inside there were about twelve people seated and all but two groups were eating happily. Cologne hopped over the counter and got the food Mousse had prepared and laid out on the counter to the remaining customers. Ranma, meanwhile walked into the kitchen, directly by Mousse and to the sink where she returned herself to her normal form.
Walking out of the kitchen she saw that the old ghoul was sitting behind the counter reading a book. She waved goodbye as Ranma came to the door of the building without even looking up.
Suddenly Shampoo appeared.
"Ranma..." She said in a voice that was not her usual and bouncy tone. Also odd was that she called him Ranma instead of Airen.
"Shampoo?" Cologne asked curious at her odd tone change.
"Ranma follow me..." She said plainly completely ignoring her great-grandmother.
Shampoo walked back into the hallway.
To Cologne's amazement Ranma followed her immediatly upon her departure. His eyes were blank and his expression was unreadable. He walked like a zombie around the counter and into the hallway.
Cologne followed.
Looking into the hallway she saw Ranma enter Shampoo's room.
"Shampoo you are a clever one... I never thought you could use a spell like THAT!" Cologne thought and went back out to the front counter not even thinking that her great-grandaughter may not be in perfect control.
When Ranma entered the room he saw Shampoo.. completely naked.
"Ranma... you want me..?" Shampoo asked still in a voice that had never been heard from her before.
"Shampoo! Your... uh..." Ranma trailed off. Shampoo had him under a spell. He knew that he had never been so tempted in his life. And especially not by her.
"Shampoo I... I wan.." He mouthed.
Shampoo lay on the bed and motioned for Ranma to come and sit beside her.
He did.
"Shampoo... this isn't... funny!" Ranma cried.
"Shampoo no think is funny. Ranma want Shampoo... he can have...If want.." She said.
In one fluid motion she pulled him on top of herself and quickly began unbuttoning his shirt.
Ranma stared into her eyes. They were not her eyes. She licked her lips in a lustful fasion. Rubbed her legs around trying to arouse him. Unbuttoned his shirt with an anxious rush about her. But her eyes were not lustful. They were pleading... straining at something completely unknown to Ranma.
"Shampoo.. I... NO!" He cried and jumped off her.
The temptation to lay back down beside her increased ten fold.
"What did you... do?" He asked angrily.
"Shampoo do nothing... just want Ranma have what he wants... not as Airen even.." Shampoo said in a seductive voice slightly resembling her normal tone.
"Shampoo... I don't want... you..." Ranma said in an icy voice and began walking to the door.
"Ranma does want Shampoo.."
The words rolled off her tongue and began to entrance him even more. The more further he walked from her the more difficult the next step was.
His mind told him to go back to her. His unmentionable parts demanded he return to the bed.
His heart told him get the hell outta there before you do something you regret for the rest of your life.
"Ranma... Shampoo just want to give Ranma what know he want!" She cried.
He paid her no attention and exited the room. The temptation was gone.
Somewhere non-existant to mortals... the voice that had tricked Shampoo into this plot rang out.
"Test Passed."
Ranma quickly went to the bathroom and collected his dignity, rebuttoned the top two buttons Shampoo had managed to reach, and walked out to the counter where Cologne sat reading again.
"Goodbye Son-in-law." she called, once again not looking up.
"Never call me that again Old Ghoul." Ranma replied in the same icy tone he had used on Shampoo.
Cologne acted nonchalaunt. Inside her organs froze with fear at the power within the words.
He exited the shop. Cologne thought she noticed something on the back of his neck but disregarded it.
"I should've known whatever Shampoo tried wouldn't work." She thought.
She put down the book and pogoed up to Shampoo's room where she found her on her bed asleep. Naked, but asleep.
Taking a second look at her she noticed something. Engraved in her forehead in what appeared to be normal black ink was the English word, "Failed."
"What in the world..?" She thought.
"Damn Shampoo!! Why won't she just give up! I want Akane!" Ranma thought angrily as he walked home. Suddenly a slight pain erupted on the back of his neck. At first it was just a tingle.
And it stayed that way until he had come within twenty yards of the Tendo dojo. Then it erupted into a pain type of pain which even Ranma had never felt before.
He collapsed as the pain washed over him.
"What did... she.. DO!" He cried as he lay on his stomach cluching the back of his neck.
And just as it had started the pain stopped.
Ranma stood and after getting over the scrutiny of a few passerbys quickly ran home.
"I'm home!" He called.
When no one awnsered he quickly ran up to the bathroom. Once there he turned his back to a mirror and glanced with his perifial vision at what was there.
Engraved in what appeared to be normal black ink was the English word. "Passed."
Ranma, however, didn't know English and simply thought of it as odd hieroglyphics from some spell that Shampoo had used. After cursing Shampoo some more he went to find someone who could tell him what it means.
He found Nabiki walking toward the Staircase in the upper hallway.
"What'cha need Ranma?" She asked when he questioned her.
"I need ya to tell me what this means." He replied quickly.
He turned around and pointed at the back of his neck.
"Passed? Passed what?" Nabiki thought.
"5,000 yen." She said casually.
Ranma handed her the money and mumbled something uninteligable under his breath.
"It means Passed." She said.
"Passed? Passed what?" Ranma asked.
"Don't ask me... passed any tests lately?" She asked.
"No... well.. I got out of Shampoo drugging me again.. but that don't count..." He replied. "I do that all the time."
'Though it was REALLY hard this time.' He added as an after thought.
"Well, I can't help you there. All I know is the translation." She replied. She walked on down the hallway and went down the stairs recounting the 5,000 yen, not caring in the slightest about the word on Ranma's back.
After all, it was just ink. Shampoo probably wrote it on his neck as another spell to catch him. Or maybe Happosai made him weak again. It was just magic ink. Nothing more.
After searching the house for a person who could give him information without making his back pocket lighter and finding no one, he remembered that most the family members were gone.
Akane was out with her friends more than likely shopping or something like that.
Kasumi was with Tofu, due to Ranma's matchmaking capabilities. Or what normal people would call dumb luck. Ranma hit Tofu over the head when Kasumi walked into his clinic.
After she walked in Tofu began to twist Ranma's bones into unorthadox shapes as usual. Ranma, being fed up with it, hit the love struck doctor over the head. For some reason something clicked in his brain and he stopped being nervous around Kasumi.
Ranma felt happy that day, although his neck was twisted half off.
Soun was out with his father drunk, as usual, on sake. Who knows which bar he could find them in. Also... why would he WANT to find them?
And Nabiki remained in her room, having given him all the information she could allready.
'Hmph... whatever it is I'll beat it like I always do...' Ranma thought.
Ranma went to the bathroom and got out some soap and water. Of course, he didn't expect the word to wash off the back of his neck as it couldn't POSSIBLY be normal ink. But he tried anyway. To his amazement the ink came right off. His neck looked completely normal when he was finished with it.
It was about a quarter till One O'Clock and Ranma decided it would be the best time for a nap.
Nothing else happened the entire day.
When spoken in tales of other people this would be a good sign. However, for Ranma, this sentence would cast a horrible forboding upon the entire town. Nothing happened... "nothing happened" would always lead to "something really big is happening".
Something like this happened before the battle with Saffron. Silence in the town. Silent enough that the birds had a chance to start singing without the cry of "Ranma Saotome Prepare to Die!" interupting their melody.
And it happened again. Something was going to happen and it was going to be something big.
...Ranma slept through it...
-Ranma no baka-
Around six O'Clock Ranma awoke to the aroma of teriyaki chicken meaning Kasumi was home. Definantly not his favorite but it was cooked by Kasumi and therefore the best of it's type.
Ranma inhaled the smell of the chicken and it roused him from the hazy feeling he usually had when he woke up on his own. As soon as he had collected his balance and reclothed himself, he flew down the stairs at speeds bullets would be envious of.
He was in he seat before anyone even saw him.
"Hi... Kasumi what's for dinner?" He asked allready knowing the awnser. Somehow hearing what it was always made it taste better.
"Teriyaki chicken and rice, Ranma. Don't you have a smell for this yet? I've cooked it quite often." Kasumi replied cheerfully.
Ranma nodded. "I'm never sure Kasumi."
Kasumi went back to the Kitchen as Nabiki walked into the Dining Room.
"He Nabiki? Is Akane here?" He asked.
"No she's still out... why?" She asked. Her eyes narrowed making them look the splitting image of a sparrows beak.
"Oh just... figured she may be in the kitchen killing the food." Ranma replied casually, still unable to admit his real reasons.
Nabiki shrugged and took a seat in her favorite place in the world. The couch.
After almost two agonizing minutes of Ranma drumming his fingers on the table waiting Kasumi came out. At exactly that moment Soun and Genma walked in the front door, laughing about something involving the mating rituals of the Saotome clan.
"But Tendo! That could never happen with a Tendo as a wife!" Genma shouted loudly purposly so Ranma could hear it.
They swaggared into view around the corner and collapsed into their seats. Soun falling asleep immediatly. Genma sobering instantly at the thought of Kasumi's food.
"Daddy..." Kasumi said as she laid out the pan with the chicken on it.
She moved to drag him away from his seat and get him to the couch, but Ranma offered to move him himself.
Three seconds later everyone present save Soun was digging into the meal. Ranma and Genma dueling for their own food, not to mention the food on the two girl's plates without them ever noticing.
About half an hour after dinner Akane called on the phone and asked if she could stay over at Sayuri's house for that night. Soun agreed after about ten minutes of Akane bending him to her every whim.
Also after diner Ranma decided to go to the dojo and simply stayed there.
Once again nothing happened during this entire time. Ranma was not even splashed. Now Ranma was begining to notice something was off.
A few too few shouts had occured that day. But he disregaurded it.
Around 10:00 that night he went to bed.
Flashback...
When Shampoo awoke she lay on her bed fully clothed in something she knew she hadn't been in when she'd awnsered the door earlier.
"Wha! Who...! What are you!!!!" Shampoo cried when she noticed a figure standing adjacent to her bed. She was almost afraid of the dark being in at her lower left bedside. It was a man most definantly. But it had a dark aura that was enticing her mind to accept his proposition before he even stated it.
"Shampoo... I need you... to take a test..." It said, trailing the ends of its words.
"Test... Shampoo not want test!" She cried.
"You'll have to take it. Drink this potion... and it will make your dear Airen unable to resist you!" It said.
The aura once again began to antagonize her. Yet she resisted. She didnt' know why she resisted. She wanted her airen to not be able to resist her advances but... something was off.
"Drink...!" It drolled on.
"No! Shampoo never win Ranma that way! He too strong for stupid potion! Win normal way! No more cheating! Shampoo swear not to cheat! Shampoo swear... swear too... Airen..."
She knew she was losing this battle. She had sworn not to try anymore potions or magics. She ever so deeply wanted to win Ranma's trust... and this would be the last straw... but... He told her her Airen couldn't resist. Her airen... couldn't... resist.
She grabbed the potion and drank it.
Suddenly she felt drowsy... lay her head back on her bed. Nothing happened for about five minutes as she regained her composure. The taste of the potion was not so different from alcohol spiked tea except for the fact that it practically knocked her out for five minutes. During those five minutes she could've sworn she'd felt a burning on her forehead but it didn't matter. It stopped hurting quickly enough.
When she reorienated herself she noticed the being was gone. She walked outside. Expecting to have to go get Ranma at the dojo she was mildly surprised to find him downstairs talking with... who was that woman again? Great-mother or something? The old one? Oh well it didn't matter.
"Ranma..." She said with a silk tongue and was once again surprised at the smooth tone she had aquired. Not to mention the grace, that was unatural even for her.
"Shampoo?" The old woman asked. Shampoo simply ignored her as she wasn't important.
"Ranma follow Shampoo..." She said in the same tone. She walked back down the hallway to her room and quickly glaced back noticing Ranma following her. When she entered the room her clothes simply disappeared and she lay on the bed not even thinking about it.
Suddenly her brain began to wake from whatever was happening to it.
"No... no what Shampoo do! NO!" she thought. She soon realized that she was trapped inside her own mind only capable of doing as the potion wanted. She watched as Ranma entered the room.
She watched as she pulled him onto herself unable to do anything. She pleaded with him to forgive her for her mistake. She should have tried harder... She screamed and kicked and squirmed trying to force him off herself, trying to make her body move. For just a second she regained control... all she did was move her eyes... she tured her eyes for the entire time he looked into them into the most pleading look she could possibly give... but it was all in vain.
He backed away. And he glared at her. An awful fiendish glare... Shampooo then knew that she had lost him forever... all because of that "thing" that had given her the potion.
When he exited the room she found herself in complete control again.
She got onto the floor, placed her head on the bed and wept.
It was midnight. Ranma lay sleeping on his futon. His father was not presant as he had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, to Nabiki's personal dismay.
Suddenly light erupted from the back of Ranma's neck where the word Passed had been. The word was spelled in the bright white light lines that burst from the back of his neck like a bunch of small volcanoes lined up to form a word. Ranma was oblivious.
Meanwhile...
Shampoo screamed.
A black light erupted from her forehead making the word "failed" appeared in a luminous black light.
Every nearby person in every nearby house that wasn't soundproofed, woke with a start. The scream was that of pure terror and pain. However... when they entered Shampoo's room all the found was a girl sleeping on a pillow that appeared to have been thrown in a bucket of water. A girl who had nothing whatsoever on the forehead she cluched so violently. A few burn marks were on the ceiling but no one noticed them.
Shampoo's dreams were as horrible as what happened in real life.
Dream...
Shampoo stood looking out through an enourmous circular window at a room. She soon realized it was her own room! But everything was huge! She was so very small. She wondered what in the world she was standing on. Looking down she saw a white floor. When she turned around she screamed again. A gigantic eye... looking, not at her, but at the door in the room.
The door opened and her Airen appeared. She ran toward the end of the window and ran straight into what felt like nine mile thick clear glass. She banged on the invisible barrier as she watched the events that had happened earlier that day occur from the left eye of her own body. And she screamed again.
Somewhere in the great city of Rome, a man stood looking up at a wrecked colesseum.
He wore a red overcoat that was water resistant to protect him from the rain that was just begining to fall. Under that he had a black pair of jeans and a white A-Shirt. He had a normal blue eye on the right side but his right eye was a magnificent yellow that made his blonde hair seem dull. He looked to be about eighteen with a decent height of 5'10". His face was clear of acne or any such other ailments some teenagers suffer to an almost abnormal extent. There was a lon
The man, however, seemed the perfect fit with the girl his arm was slung around.
The woman also wore a white A-shirt which was only visible at the small upper part of her chest where her matching red overcoat wasn't zipped. Her jeans were cover by the overcoat completely unlike the man who still had his unzipped. She stood about 5'6" with long, black, flowing hair. Her face was as clear as his was to an even more unreal extent. The odd thing was she also had two colored eyes. Only her normal blue eye was on the left side and her yellow eye was on the right. They were almost the same shade exactly.
"Syn...?" The girl asked. "Do you feel it?"
"Of course... Of course I feel it. It's happened again... only... she failed. I never thought it would choose someone who would fail. It doesn't matter though... it found a replacement quickly enough." Syn replied. "Kry.. don't worry I have everything under control. We need to get to Japan within the next two hours.
"Ok... I'll go to Res Tepo and you go to Japan. I'll meet you in Tokyo." Kry replied. "We with both of us, we'll surely be able to prevent the destruction from happening again. Maybe then.. maybe then we'll be able to go on..." She told him. A hint of longing was on the tip of her voice.
Syn tripped over his tongue for a reply but found only the word... "Certainly."
Kry dissappeared.
"Certainly... we can't possibly fail THIS time.." Syn mumbled before dissapearing himself.
Yeah I know you guys are all thinking... oh my god he did NOT just come out with ANOTHER fic... but yeah... sorry. I did. I know you wanted The Blessing. Well you can't have it cuz it's NOT DONE!
Don't worry this fic doesn't feature Shampoo! Lata!
"RANMA SAOTOME PREPARE TO DIE!" The cry rang out. Of course no one paid attention. The cry was the most common thing in Nerima, save for the cry "Ranma no Baka".
Even Ranma himself didn't pay much attention to it. After all, three punches later and Ryoga was out like a brick.
Ranma had been walking through the Nerima public park at the time of this incident. Fortunantly there had been no water nearby during this incident. It would have undoubtedly found its way to him even in the very much likely event that he would defeat Ryoga. Which he did.
Ever since the battle with Saffron things had basicly gone like this daily. Ranma no longer held himself to the level of his opponants. He went all out if someone attacked him. The decreasing number of attacks from Mousse was testiment to that. Ryoga was still going at it, as he had the endurance to keep getting back up after every fall for years to come.
Unfortunantly for Ranma whether there is water around or not it always seems to find him. A young boy rode by on a bicycle and, having disliked the idea of drinking more water given to him by his mother, tossed a half full water bottle over his head as he passed Ranma.
"Huh... Kami hates me..." Ranma thought. Lately his months were getting even more depressing. His thoughts always strayed to Akane. He had saved her life so many times but simply couldn't allow himself to say ANYTHING to her. Every time he tried he would foul it up. Then she would get mad, and he would call her kawaiikune or some other rude name. He didn't want that. He wanted to tell her what he had felt ever since the day he had met her. Well, actually that was a lie. He hadn't loved her since the day he met her but her first words to him... "I'm Akane want to be friends?" Thos ment a whole lot at the time. They still did.
But couldn't...
Reaching the exit of the park he spotted the Nekohaunten.
"I know I shouldn't even go near there, but I need... no... want some hot water really bad." He thought. He pondered for a while on whether it would be so horrible to just go in quick ask for some water and leave.
Unfortunantly Murphy's law wouldn't accept that, he knew. So he opted against it and kept on walking.
Meanwhile.
"Shampoo... Shampoo..." A voice sounded from the room.
"No.. Shampoo sleep now..." She yawned back.
She lay on her bed inside her bedroom at the Nekohaunten. She didn't know who was talking to her and was currently too tired to care. She had been sent on an hour long break after working thirty two and a half hours straight. Ranma hadn't come into the store like she had hoped.
"Shampoo... wake up Shampoo... I need you..." The voice cried out.
"No..! Shampoo sleep now!" Shampoo cried with her eyes closed.
The door cracked open and the light from the outside hallway shone into Shampoo's room. The crack had been aligned direcly with her eyes to inflict the most possible annoyance.
The voice continued on, "Shampoo I need your help with... something important..."
"SHAMPOO NO WAKE UP!" She cried. She shot out of her bed angrily.
"Involving Ranma..." The voice finished.
Shampoo had forgotten her sleep.
"Hey! Who you? How you get back here without Great-Grandmother see you!?" She cried as she walked toward the door. "... What about Airen!?"
Shampoo had recently been the object of many very harsh glares from her airen. She wanted only for him to love her and to see that that stupid "Violent Girl" would NEVER fit him! But he didn't. He never had.
"I have a preposition for you..." The voice said.
The door creeked open slightly more revealing what appeared to be the persons arm. The most definantly male voice was low and would have been very creepy if Shampoo hadn't been subjected to her great-grandmother's training. That mixed with her own amazon pride of being fearless made this seem not out of the ordinary.
"Come to the door..." The voice ordered.
Shampoo did as comanded without comment.
"Open the door and I will show you..." It said.
She opened the door... and then all went black.
CRASH!!!
As Ranma slowly walked away from the Nekohaunten he heard the unmistakable sound of busting glass. Looking back at the Cat Cafe he saw that it was a chair that had busted through the window.
Ranma rushed to the restaraunt.
"SHAMPOO!?" He cried. Yes he was angry with her but he also knew that whatever had thrown the chair through the window couldn't have been the Amazons. They cared too much about their store to do something like that.
As he neared the Nekohaunten more chairs came flying out windows until every single window had been broken.
He dashed into the building.
Only to find that the entire room was full of people. Chatting as if nothing had happened. On second glance he realized that none of the windows were broken at all! On third glance none of the chairs were gone.
"Son-in-" Cologne tried to say. But Ranma had allready dashed out of the building.
He looked where the wooden chair had been and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Checking the other windows around the restaraunt he found everything in order. None of the windows even had a fingerprint.
"What the?" He thought.
Cologne pogoed outside a few moments later to find Ranma thourghly inspecting the windows.
"Son-in-law what is the matter?" She asked.
"Uh... You.. didn't see these windows just bust open by chance did you?" He asked.
"No... no son-in-law." She replied. Her normal curious smirk adorned her face.
"Perhaps you could come in and get some water? To drink possibly? How would these windows shatter son-in-law? They are as strong as steel!" Cologne cried.
"I... I must've imagined it... I suppose... Only A quick drink and I'm gone, ghoul." Ranma resigned himself.
They walked inside the restaraunt. Inside there were about twelve people seated and all but two groups were eating happily. Cologne hopped over the counter and got the food Mousse had prepared and laid out on the counter to the remaining customers. Ranma, meanwhile walked into the kitchen, directly by Mousse and to the sink where she returned herself to her normal form.
Walking out of the kitchen she saw that the old ghoul was sitting behind the counter reading a book. She waved goodbye as Ranma came to the door of the building without even looking up.
Suddenly Shampoo appeared.
"Ranma..." She said in a voice that was not her usual and bouncy tone. Also odd was that she called him Ranma instead of Airen.
"Shampoo?" Cologne asked curious at her odd tone change.
"Ranma follow me..." She said plainly completely ignoring her great-grandmother.
Shampoo walked back into the hallway.
To Cologne's amazement Ranma followed her immediatly upon her departure. His eyes were blank and his expression was unreadable. He walked like a zombie around the counter and into the hallway.
Cologne followed.
Looking into the hallway she saw Ranma enter Shampoo's room.
"Shampoo you are a clever one... I never thought you could use a spell like THAT!" Cologne thought and went back out to the front counter not even thinking that her great-grandaughter may not be in perfect control.
When Ranma entered the room he saw Shampoo.. completely naked.
"Ranma... you want me..?" Shampoo asked still in a voice that had never been heard from her before.
"Shampoo! Your... uh..." Ranma trailed off. Shampoo had him under a spell. He knew that he had never been so tempted in his life. And especially not by her.
"Shampoo I... I wan.." He mouthed.
Shampoo lay on the bed and motioned for Ranma to come and sit beside her.
He did.
"Shampoo... this isn't... funny!" Ranma cried.
"Shampoo no think is funny. Ranma want Shampoo... he can have...If want.." She said.
In one fluid motion she pulled him on top of herself and quickly began unbuttoning his shirt.
Ranma stared into her eyes. They were not her eyes. She licked her lips in a lustful fasion. Rubbed her legs around trying to arouse him. Unbuttoned his shirt with an anxious rush about her. But her eyes were not lustful. They were pleading... straining at something completely unknown to Ranma.
"Shampoo.. I... NO!" He cried and jumped off her.
The temptation to lay back down beside her increased ten fold.
"What did you... do?" He asked angrily.
"Shampoo do nothing... just want Ranma have what he wants... not as Airen even.." Shampoo said in a seductive voice slightly resembling her normal tone.
"Shampoo... I don't want... you..." Ranma said in an icy voice and began walking to the door.
"Ranma does want Shampoo.."
The words rolled off her tongue and began to entrance him even more. The more further he walked from her the more difficult the next step was.
His mind told him to go back to her. His unmentionable parts demanded he return to the bed.
His heart told him get the hell outta there before you do something you regret for the rest of your life.
"Ranma... Shampoo just want to give Ranma what know he want!" She cried.
He paid her no attention and exited the room. The temptation was gone.
Somewhere non-existant to mortals... the voice that had tricked Shampoo into this plot rang out.
"Test Passed."
Ranma quickly went to the bathroom and collected his dignity, rebuttoned the top two buttons Shampoo had managed to reach, and walked out to the counter where Cologne sat reading again.
"Goodbye Son-in-law." she called, once again not looking up.
"Never call me that again Old Ghoul." Ranma replied in the same icy tone he had used on Shampoo.
Cologne acted nonchalaunt. Inside her organs froze with fear at the power within the words.
He exited the shop. Cologne thought she noticed something on the back of his neck but disregarded it.
"I should've known whatever Shampoo tried wouldn't work." She thought.
She put down the book and pogoed up to Shampoo's room where she found her on her bed asleep. Naked, but asleep.
Taking a second look at her she noticed something. Engraved in her forehead in what appeared to be normal black ink was the English word, "Failed."
"What in the world..?" She thought.
"Damn Shampoo!! Why won't she just give up! I want Akane!" Ranma thought angrily as he walked home. Suddenly a slight pain erupted on the back of his neck. At first it was just a tingle.
And it stayed that way until he had come within twenty yards of the Tendo dojo. Then it erupted into a pain type of pain which even Ranma had never felt before.
He collapsed as the pain washed over him.
"What did... she.. DO!" He cried as he lay on his stomach cluching the back of his neck.
And just as it had started the pain stopped.
Ranma stood and after getting over the scrutiny of a few passerbys quickly ran home.
"I'm home!" He called.
When no one awnsered he quickly ran up to the bathroom. Once there he turned his back to a mirror and glanced with his perifial vision at what was there.
Engraved in what appeared to be normal black ink was the English word. "Passed."
Ranma, however, didn't know English and simply thought of it as odd hieroglyphics from some spell that Shampoo had used. After cursing Shampoo some more he went to find someone who could tell him what it means.
He found Nabiki walking toward the Staircase in the upper hallway.
"What'cha need Ranma?" She asked when he questioned her.
"I need ya to tell me what this means." He replied quickly.
He turned around and pointed at the back of his neck.
"Passed? Passed what?" Nabiki thought.
"5,000 yen." She said casually.
Ranma handed her the money and mumbled something uninteligable under his breath.
"It means Passed." She said.
"Passed? Passed what?" Ranma asked.
"Don't ask me... passed any tests lately?" She asked.
"No... well.. I got out of Shampoo drugging me again.. but that don't count..." He replied. "I do that all the time."
'Though it was REALLY hard this time.' He added as an after thought.
"Well, I can't help you there. All I know is the translation." She replied. She walked on down the hallway and went down the stairs recounting the 5,000 yen, not caring in the slightest about the word on Ranma's back.
After all, it was just ink. Shampoo probably wrote it on his neck as another spell to catch him. Or maybe Happosai made him weak again. It was just magic ink. Nothing more.
After searching the house for a person who could give him information without making his back pocket lighter and finding no one, he remembered that most the family members were gone.
Akane was out with her friends more than likely shopping or something like that.
Kasumi was with Tofu, due to Ranma's matchmaking capabilities. Or what normal people would call dumb luck. Ranma hit Tofu over the head when Kasumi walked into his clinic.
After she walked in Tofu began to twist Ranma's bones into unorthadox shapes as usual. Ranma, being fed up with it, hit the love struck doctor over the head. For some reason something clicked in his brain and he stopped being nervous around Kasumi.
Ranma felt happy that day, although his neck was twisted half off.
Soun was out with his father drunk, as usual, on sake. Who knows which bar he could find them in. Also... why would he WANT to find them?
And Nabiki remained in her room, having given him all the information she could allready.
'Hmph... whatever it is I'll beat it like I always do...' Ranma thought.
Ranma went to the bathroom and got out some soap and water. Of course, he didn't expect the word to wash off the back of his neck as it couldn't POSSIBLY be normal ink. But he tried anyway. To his amazement the ink came right off. His neck looked completely normal when he was finished with it.
It was about a quarter till One O'Clock and Ranma decided it would be the best time for a nap.
Nothing else happened the entire day.
When spoken in tales of other people this would be a good sign. However, for Ranma, this sentence would cast a horrible forboding upon the entire town. Nothing happened... "nothing happened" would always lead to "something really big is happening".
Something like this happened before the battle with Saffron. Silence in the town. Silent enough that the birds had a chance to start singing without the cry of "Ranma Saotome Prepare to Die!" interupting their melody.
And it happened again. Something was going to happen and it was going to be something big.
...Ranma slept through it...
-Ranma no baka-
Around six O'Clock Ranma awoke to the aroma of teriyaki chicken meaning Kasumi was home. Definantly not his favorite but it was cooked by Kasumi and therefore the best of it's type.
Ranma inhaled the smell of the chicken and it roused him from the hazy feeling he usually had when he woke up on his own. As soon as he had collected his balance and reclothed himself, he flew down the stairs at speeds bullets would be envious of.
He was in he seat before anyone even saw him.
"Hi... Kasumi what's for dinner?" He asked allready knowing the awnser. Somehow hearing what it was always made it taste better.
"Teriyaki chicken and rice, Ranma. Don't you have a smell for this yet? I've cooked it quite often." Kasumi replied cheerfully.
Ranma nodded. "I'm never sure Kasumi."
Kasumi went back to the Kitchen as Nabiki walked into the Dining Room.
"He Nabiki? Is Akane here?" He asked.
"No she's still out... why?" She asked. Her eyes narrowed making them look the splitting image of a sparrows beak.
"Oh just... figured she may be in the kitchen killing the food." Ranma replied casually, still unable to admit his real reasons.
Nabiki shrugged and took a seat in her favorite place in the world. The couch.
After almost two agonizing minutes of Ranma drumming his fingers on the table waiting Kasumi came out. At exactly that moment Soun and Genma walked in the front door, laughing about something involving the mating rituals of the Saotome clan.
"But Tendo! That could never happen with a Tendo as a wife!" Genma shouted loudly purposly so Ranma could hear it.
They swaggared into view around the corner and collapsed into their seats. Soun falling asleep immediatly. Genma sobering instantly at the thought of Kasumi's food.
"Daddy..." Kasumi said as she laid out the pan with the chicken on it.
She moved to drag him away from his seat and get him to the couch, but Ranma offered to move him himself.
Three seconds later everyone present save Soun was digging into the meal. Ranma and Genma dueling for their own food, not to mention the food on the two girl's plates without them ever noticing.
About half an hour after dinner Akane called on the phone and asked if she could stay over at Sayuri's house for that night. Soun agreed after about ten minutes of Akane bending him to her every whim.
Also after diner Ranma decided to go to the dojo and simply stayed there.
Once again nothing happened during this entire time. Ranma was not even splashed. Now Ranma was begining to notice something was off.
A few too few shouts had occured that day. But he disregaurded it.
Around 10:00 that night he went to bed.
Flashback...
When Shampoo awoke she lay on her bed fully clothed in something she knew she hadn't been in when she'd awnsered the door earlier.
"Wha! Who...! What are you!!!!" Shampoo cried when she noticed a figure standing adjacent to her bed. She was almost afraid of the dark being in at her lower left bedside. It was a man most definantly. But it had a dark aura that was enticing her mind to accept his proposition before he even stated it.
"Shampoo... I need you... to take a test..." It said, trailing the ends of its words.
"Test... Shampoo not want test!" She cried.
"You'll have to take it. Drink this potion... and it will make your dear Airen unable to resist you!" It said.
The aura once again began to antagonize her. Yet she resisted. She didnt' know why she resisted. She wanted her airen to not be able to resist her advances but... something was off.
"Drink...!" It drolled on.
"No! Shampoo never win Ranma that way! He too strong for stupid potion! Win normal way! No more cheating! Shampoo swear not to cheat! Shampoo swear... swear too... Airen..."
She knew she was losing this battle. She had sworn not to try anymore potions or magics. She ever so deeply wanted to win Ranma's trust... and this would be the last straw... but... He told her her Airen couldn't resist. Her airen... couldn't... resist.
She grabbed the potion and drank it.
Suddenly she felt drowsy... lay her head back on her bed. Nothing happened for about five minutes as she regained her composure. The taste of the potion was not so different from alcohol spiked tea except for the fact that it practically knocked her out for five minutes. During those five minutes she could've sworn she'd felt a burning on her forehead but it didn't matter. It stopped hurting quickly enough.
When she reorienated herself she noticed the being was gone. She walked outside. Expecting to have to go get Ranma at the dojo she was mildly surprised to find him downstairs talking with... who was that woman again? Great-mother or something? The old one? Oh well it didn't matter.
"Ranma..." She said with a silk tongue and was once again surprised at the smooth tone she had aquired. Not to mention the grace, that was unatural even for her.
"Shampoo?" The old woman asked. Shampoo simply ignored her as she wasn't important.
"Ranma follow Shampoo..." She said in the same tone. She walked back down the hallway to her room and quickly glaced back noticing Ranma following her. When she entered the room her clothes simply disappeared and she lay on the bed not even thinking about it.
Suddenly her brain began to wake from whatever was happening to it.
"No... no what Shampoo do! NO!" she thought. She soon realized that she was trapped inside her own mind only capable of doing as the potion wanted. She watched as Ranma entered the room.
She watched as she pulled him onto herself unable to do anything. She pleaded with him to forgive her for her mistake. She should have tried harder... She screamed and kicked and squirmed trying to force him off herself, trying to make her body move. For just a second she regained control... all she did was move her eyes... she tured her eyes for the entire time he looked into them into the most pleading look she could possibly give... but it was all in vain.
He backed away. And he glared at her. An awful fiendish glare... Shampooo then knew that she had lost him forever... all because of that "thing" that had given her the potion.
When he exited the room she found herself in complete control again.
She got onto the floor, placed her head on the bed and wept.
It was midnight. Ranma lay sleeping on his futon. His father was not presant as he had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room, to Nabiki's personal dismay.
Suddenly light erupted from the back of Ranma's neck where the word Passed had been. The word was spelled in the bright white light lines that burst from the back of his neck like a bunch of small volcanoes lined up to form a word. Ranma was oblivious.
Meanwhile...
Shampoo screamed.
A black light erupted from her forehead making the word "failed" appeared in a luminous black light.
Every nearby person in every nearby house that wasn't soundproofed, woke with a start. The scream was that of pure terror and pain. However... when they entered Shampoo's room all the found was a girl sleeping on a pillow that appeared to have been thrown in a bucket of water. A girl who had nothing whatsoever on the forehead she cluched so violently. A few burn marks were on the ceiling but no one noticed them.
Shampoo's dreams were as horrible as what happened in real life.
Dream...
Shampoo stood looking out through an enourmous circular window at a room. She soon realized it was her own room! But everything was huge! She was so very small. She wondered what in the world she was standing on. Looking down she saw a white floor. When she turned around she screamed again. A gigantic eye... looking, not at her, but at the door in the room.
The door opened and her Airen appeared. She ran toward the end of the window and ran straight into what felt like nine mile thick clear glass. She banged on the invisible barrier as she watched the events that had happened earlier that day occur from the left eye of her own body. And she screamed again.
Somewhere in the great city of Rome, a man stood looking up at a wrecked colesseum.
He wore a red overcoat that was water resistant to protect him from the rain that was just begining to fall. Under that he had a black pair of jeans and a white A-Shirt. He had a normal blue eye on the right side but his right eye was a magnificent yellow that made his blonde hair seem dull. He looked to be about eighteen with a decent height of 5'10". His face was clear of acne or any such other ailments some teenagers suffer to an almost abnormal extent. There was a lon
The man, however, seemed the perfect fit with the girl his arm was slung around.
The woman also wore a white A-shirt which was only visible at the small upper part of her chest where her matching red overcoat wasn't zipped. Her jeans were cover by the overcoat completely unlike the man who still had his unzipped. She stood about 5'6" with long, black, flowing hair. Her face was as clear as his was to an even more unreal extent. The odd thing was she also had two colored eyes. Only her normal blue eye was on the left side and her yellow eye was on the right. They were almost the same shade exactly.
"Syn...?" The girl asked. "Do you feel it?"
"Of course... Of course I feel it. It's happened again... only... she failed. I never thought it would choose someone who would fail. It doesn't matter though... it found a replacement quickly enough." Syn replied. "Kry.. don't worry I have everything under control. We need to get to Japan within the next two hours.
"Ok... I'll go to Res Tepo and you go to Japan. I'll meet you in Tokyo." Kry replied. "We with both of us, we'll surely be able to prevent the destruction from happening again. Maybe then.. maybe then we'll be able to go on..." She told him. A hint of longing was on the tip of her voice.
Syn tripped over his tongue for a reply but found only the word... "Certainly."
Kry dissappeared.
"Certainly... we can't possibly fail THIS time.." Syn mumbled before dissapearing himself.
Yeah I know you guys are all thinking... oh my god he did NOT just come out with ANOTHER fic... but yeah... sorry. I did. I know you wanted The Blessing. Well you can't have it cuz it's NOT DONE!
Don't worry this fic doesn't feature Shampoo! Lata!