Disclaimer: I do not own Rama ½ (as if you didn't know you silly children). Y'know FLCL is a great anime (nods enthusiastically). Another warning, I'm writing this while hyper from a sugar rush. Hang on gang! This is gonna be a bumpy ride!

Author's Notes: No, FLCL will not be in this chapter.

Demon's Crossing

Chapter 4

Ranma truly was trying to run away from his (er..her) problems, but no matter how fast she ran they seemed to dog her steps. A nice therapeutic fight was what she needed. Apparently, the Kami decided to grant her request in the form of a massive youma. It was actually over eight feet tall and was vaguely tiger-like. The beast was easily hurling cars around as if they were toys and people were running scared. The pigtailed girl cracked her knuckles in anticipation of the fight ahead of her. Something seemed to be of about the giant youma and she couldn't figure it out for the life of her, but when it attacked, all she could concentrate on was the fight. It had the advantage in reach and strength, but she had speed and was using it mercilessly. It pissed the creature off as it began to speed up even more. Ranma was proud of herself for dodging so easily, even with a heavy pack on her back, but her pride turned to shock as a massive clawed hand blasted her into an armored truck. The pain was too intense for her more fragile frame and she felt something crack. Her eyes filled with pain as the pack she was wearing jammed into he back painfully. She struggled to get out of the straps, but the beast was upon her in seconds. A hasty Mouko Takabisha hurled her attacker off of her, giving her the breathing room to finish dropping her pack. The creature twisted in mid-air to land on its feet, snarling viciously. The redhead felt herself descending into the mindset for the Neko-ken. It was during the battle against Saffron that she had tapped into the unstoppable technique. Too bad the fear of cats remained. The tiger beast growled in confusion as its prey crouched down, hissing spitefully. The look that passed between them let the other know that one of them wouldn't be walking away from this.

Nabiki and Kyoko searched frantically for the young man, but couldn't seem to find him anywhere. The two young women were growing more frustrated by the minute until a loud explosion from the restaurant district gave them a clue to where the neo-girl was. The green-eyed girl was carrying the Ice Queen since she was faster and had more stamina. Upon arriving at the scene, however, she almost dropped Nabiki at the sight before her. Ranma was in full Neko-ken fighting a massive tiger beast. The neo-girl had seen better days, cuts and slashes adorned her body, her clothing in ruins, but the feral glint in her eyes never wavered. Kyoko set down her precious cargo and whipped out her Aura Sword, the blade flaring to life before leaping into the fray. Nabiki wasn't sure what she should do and needed a plan. The armored car, however, was giving her ideas.

Neko Ranma smelled the presence of another cat just before the brown-haired figure touched down next to her. The neko's heart was warmed by the presence of her sister. She meowed to welcome her, the startled girl mewing in return. The tiger roared something obscene and the battle was on once again. Yellow ki claws hurtled at their enemy, but it dodged just in time to avoid becoming tiger salami, then had to dodge again as the Aura Sword came down and slashed the pavement. With its powerful arms it slashed, creating air blades that gouged the ground and forced it to erupt in a hail of shrapnel. The two cats hissed as the debris sliced their flesh. Kyoko couldn't control it anymore, her ears popped out of her head and her eyes changed once again. Neko Ranma seemed to resonate with the hanyou's energy. The Aura Sword grew in length and power just before she released a wave of white energy at the beast, actually smiling when it suddenly dodged left, directly into Ranma's attack range. The beast howled in pain as claws shredded its back, but the wounds healed over almost as soon as they were delivered. Neko Ranma felt something she rarely felt before, fear. Kyoko made a sharp hissing sound at her sister, the signal to attack. The tiger leapt at them as they leapt at him, meeting in the middle of the jump, followed by a flurry of actions too fast to see. White and yellow ki flared around the tiger in a furious swirl until with a mighty swing sent the two girls flying in two separate directions. Neko Ranma hit the far wall violently, coughing blood as something inside burst. Kyoko was tossed into the lip of an open dumpster before falling in with the lid banging shut on her. The tiger began striding over to its prey, fangs bared in an evil caricature of a grin. The wounded warrior looked up at the beast, her blue eyes clearly seeing death approach.

"Gee… Where's Ryoga 'n Mousse when ya really need 'em?" she thought, but knew it was stupid to hope for. She suddenly heard a car approaching at high speed, her gaze traveled to the rapidly approaching armored car. Her eyes widened in shock at who was behind the wheel just before the tiger turned to see what the noise was. It couldn't move, the headlights had blinded it and the fear of the unknown made it freeze up. The beast didn't even scream as the vehicle slammed into it and drove it into the wall with a deafening crunch. Kyoko pulled herself out of the dumpster, wrinkling her nose, but vaulting out to check on her brother turned sister. As she rushed over to the fallen form slumped against the wall, another figure rushed to the redhead as well. To say Ranma was surprised would be an understatement.

"N-Nabiki?" she asked weakly. Her whole body was on fire, but she knew she would live. After all, she had fought a god and won with worse injuries then this. The shorthaired girl smiled and gripped the smaller girl's hand just as the demon hunter girl held the other one. What drew the blue-eyed girl's attention were the cute brown cat ears on her sister's head. Surprisingly enough, even to her, she wasn't afraid. After all, this was her big sister, right? The two girls hugged the smaller girl gently, Kyoko's eyes narrowing slightly.

"Back up Nabiki. I can heal her, but I need room." she told the mercenary girl as she mentally prepped herself. Her hands began glowing a soft white as she lowered them to her sister's chest. Her eyes were closed, but her face seemed to slowly grow more confused.

"What is it?" Nabiki asked quietly. Ranma was writhing slightly from the pain of accelerated healing, but still managing not to crush Nabiki's hand into pulp. The neko hanyou's frown deepened.

"There's…something else here… Something not natural. It's unbalancing her chi." Her hands running along her sister's chest and stomach, fingers tracing the body's ley lines.

"Can you fix it?" Ranma asked with a gasp. Her back arching from pain. The girl smiled gently at her hurting sister.

"Of course I can." She replied as she traced where the block was located and sent her power to clear the block. She was pleasantly surprised when it gave way so easily to her power, but frowned at the sudden power buildup. "This shouldn't be happening." She thought frantically as a burst of energy suddenly blew her and Nabiki away from Ranma. As her eyes adjusted from the sudden flash of light, she noticed that where her sister had been laying was an older girl. Her red hair was longer and she seemed to be taller, red cat ears were on her head. Yeah, this was going to be interesting. Nabiki was also staring in shock at the sight before her. The redhead sat up, rubbing her head in confusion, but stopped when they reached her ears. She knew she should be screaming, but just couldn't seem to work up to it. Before she could freak out, however, her sensitive ears twitched and she could hear crying coming from where the tiger was smashed. She got to her feet smoothly and almost fell over from the differences in this body. She noticed that she was as tall as Nabiki, who had decided to hold her arm to steady her. Her green-eyed sister was looking her over, but that wasn't important. Something was telling her to get over to the wreck and quickly. The three girls made it over, as they approached the sound of someone crying grew with each step. In shock, they saw Shampoo crushed between the armored car and the wall. Her legs would occasionally spasm, blood running down to the ground from an unseen injury. The rain chilling her body and washing the blood away. How she was still human and not a cat would have to wait, thought Ranma.

"Nabiki! Move the car!" the redhead cried out, but didn't need to bother since the girl was already moving. The vehicle's gears ground, but it wouldn't start. Panic was setting in, as Shampoo's crying grew weaker; Ranma gripped the front end of the vehicle as Kyoko prepped for healing. Another healing so soon would drain her, but this was an emergency. "Put it in neutral!" she called to the frantic girl behind the wheel who did as she was told. The vehicle moved easily with just a push. Ranma's body felt so much stronger, but this wasn't the time to analyze it. The quick demon hunter cradled her body cushioned Shampoo's fall, her aura extending to encompass the critically injured girl. Ranma and Nabiki gathered around her, the purple-haired girl's eyes were filled with pain as she weakly clutched the one healing her. Ranma found herself stroking the poor girl's hair, feeling a strange, almost nurturing instinct. The mercenary girl had never been so angry in her life. What could have done this? It was too ridiculous to understand! It couldn't have been the old ghoul because she loved her granddaughter. When the healing was complete, the girl lay in Kyoko's arms, utterly drained.

"Who did this to you, Shampoo?" Nabiki asked. The girl opened her eyes weakly and fixed her with a stare before murmuring:

"Perfume."

End Chapter 4

Author's Notes: Whee, I am an evil person I know. It's not quite a cliffhanger but it still adds suspense! Next chapter tells what happened with Ranma after Kyoko's healing and what Shampoo's problem has to do with Perfume. Until next time my friends, Ja ne!