Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any characters and/or symbolism in this fic. I think. Unless this is all a part of an elaborate conspiracy. Which... it isn't.

The Inner Demon

Chapter 3: Enter Ryoga

Ryoga was in the middle of an expansive forest. He found it impossible to sleep regularly at night because of the horrible visions of the monster that had ruined his life. The one that haunted his every step.

He could feel the thing's eyes on him, even though he knew in his mind that it could not really be there.

In retrospect, maybe he should have just let the snarling beast have the damned bread.

"RANMA!" Ryoga shouted, "BECAUSE OF YOU I'M IN HELL!" This quite startled the squirrel in the tree Ryoga was facing

In the Tendo household, though, it was peaceful... relatively speaking.

"I shall sleep in the boarded up guest room with the boy," Genma spoke gravely, "I shall wake every four hours to report. Should I fail to report, then you must evacuate immediately!"

"Is this not somewhat extreme?" Soun asked his friend, who was carrying a hammer, plywood, and a bucket of nails. " And will it not be somewhat difficult to get back out?"

"Tendo, you are my most valued friend, but you have not the slightest idea how dangerous he really is," Genma frowned.

"I can't believe it, Saotome," Soun frowned in return, "There is no way that he could be that dangerous."

All chains have weak links. It is weakness that founds strength.

Chains are also quite tasty.

"Tendo," Genma furrowed his brow in agitation, "Ranma is easily the most dangerous person one could engage in hand-to-hand combat. I daresay that even the Mas-"

"Don't say that Genma!" Soun's heart skipped a bit, "What if he's listening?"

The jesters were holding court in the dragon's den.

How fun. Now I shall have revenge!

Nabiki slept peacefully, completely unaware of the string that was lowered from a small, fist shaped hole in the ceiling to the tips of her lips.

Then, a few drops of clear liquid slid down the string and onto her lips.

A low chuckle sounded as Ranma crawled back to the trapdoor that led down to his "domain".

"Very well, Saotome," Tendo slumped, " But on one

condition!"

"Condition?" Genma was not pleased with where this was going.

"Give my daughters a chance to reform him," Soun requested seriously.

Muwahahahahaha!

"Tendo?" Genma felt a little dizzy, "Are you deaf? Ranma is the devil himself!"

"Saotome, if this is in fact the truth, then I will have no one to blame but myself," Soun pushed.

"God have mercy on us all for your stupidity," Genma sighed, "I hope I am able to see you in the morning, Soun. Good night." And with that, Genma proceeded out of the living room, and to the guest bedroom, where he found Ranma still chained and sleeping.

What evil could that child dream?

Ryoga had escaped the forest, but now he was in an even more unfamiliar setting, "Where the hell am I now?"

A nearby clothed ape loudly proclaimed to his/it's date, "It's time to go home, Alice, the riff-raff has come out."

"DAMN YOU RANMA!" Ryoga shouted, dropping to his knees in Ape Town.

The next morning, Ranma got up early and tied up his still sleeping father with what remained of his chewed up chains, gagging him for good measure.

Then he looked down at the girl's uniform he was wearing and shuddered.

He rummaged around in the dirty gi of his that had been left on the floor, and somehow managed to find a red chinese shirt and black slacks, "This ought to do," he muttered as he changed.

Ranma left the guest room and sauntered down the hall to knock on Akane's door.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Akane groggily informed the person that had knocked on her door. When she reached the door, she met a strange boy that looked very much like...

"Umm... I'm here to return this uniform, " Ranma said politely. He waited a few minutes for a response, then he just lifted one of Akane's arms and draped the uniform over it, "House full of loonies."

On cue, the sound of a wolf howling mournfully filled the air.

"Showtime!" Ranma smiled.

A strange scene unfolded in Nabiki's room. Soun was shaking a whimpering wolf violently. And questioning it as to the whereabouts of his middle daughter.

"Speak! Speak damn you!" Soun demon headed, "Where is Nabiki?"

"Rooooo!" the wolf in girl's pajamas responded.

"I think I know where she is," Ranma chuckled evilly before splashing the wolf with water from a heated kettle.

"Rooo-augh!" Nabiki uncontrollably vomited on Soun's gi. Soun dropped his daughter in surprise, then began crying profusely.

"My work is done here," Ranma stated proudly before leaving to gather his stuff for school. With a chuckle, he pocketted another vial from his old gi, which he had hidden in a compartment he had made the last night.

Let their forms match their souls, I say.

"Mmm mmm mphmph mph mmm-mph mph mph (You will never get away with this)!" Genma exclaimed.

"heh heh ha hahahahaha! Muwahahahahahahaaaa!" Ranma laughed, smiling like a crazed beast, then

suddenly sobered and bowed, "Excuse me!" and left for school without breakfast.

Upon arrival, he noticed that many boys were having a strategy meeting on the front grounds.

"Hiro! You use the bat."

"Yes!"

"Yusuke! Try not to trip over Goemon when he is inevitably thrown at Ken."

"Ah-hem!" Ranma cleared his throat, "Do you know where Tatewaki Kuno is?"

"I believe he is preparing some roses for his ultimate attack in the Kendo hall."

"Thank you," Ranma smirked as he headed in that direction.

"Hey! Wait! Are you new?"

The boy's question never made it into Ranma's mind.

Now I shall recieve recompense for my dishonor yesterday!

No flesh shall be spared!

No flesh shall be spared!

NO FLESH SHALL BE... is that a 10 yen coin?

Upon entering the hall (Vacant except for Kuno), Ranma called out, "Kunooo!"

The Kendoist stood and eyed Ranma seriously, "A new student that has undoubtably heard of my famous personage! The Blue-"

"I am here to avenge a dishonor!" Ranma said, smirking evilly, "You have mistrea-"

"I shall have the name of the one who would be trounced by my awesome power," Kuno demanded seriously as he blusteringly approached the pig-tailed lunatic.

"Ranma Saotome, master of the Kamaitachi substyle of the style of the Saotome School of Anything Goes," Ranma frowned.

"Ranma... Saotome?" Kuno's eyes bugged, "The Famed Shinobi responsible for the dastardly happenings at..."

"Enough!" Ranma narrowed his eyes, "You have mistreated... a... disciple of my school. For this the punishment will fit the crime."

"Please!" Kuno dropped to his knees in tears, "Please do not strike me down in such dishonorable style as secret assassination! For Kuno is the name of one who seeks only glorious death on the field of battle, having vanquished many foes! Lo, and having destroyed the rank and file, a samurai of the stature of a Kuno could only then fall and fall only to the blade of the noblest..."

Ranma deadpanned.

The hall darkened and all of the exits locked as a strange laughter began to echo throughout.

A sharp blow to the back of Kuno's head sent him spiraling into a purple haze of unconsciousness.

"heh tHat Should do iT"

Kuno felt he was falling...falling...falling... was that a 10 yen piece?

"Sir!" A boy awakened Kuno.

"Uhhhh-ooowww," Kuno blinked groggily. He was lying face first on the floor. Apparently he had fallen asleep in his meditation. And then flown two yards. And developed an odd bump on the back of his head. And concentrated himself to the point of being disconcerted. Kuno felt his prowess was simply amazing.

"Akane has reached the perimeter!" The boy exclaimed.

Kuno rose with a second wind, " Verily! I shall strike forth to claim the beauteous Akane as my wife!"

He completely missed the shocked and redfaced look on the boy's face as he headed forth.

He felt cramped for some reason. "Surely the Blue Thunder has not been seized by a lowly cold prior to such momentous occurance!" He shouted as he walked by a pair of now-frightened pidgeons, "Mayhaps my unbelievable ability to enter Zen trance has surpassed my body's own unbelievable fortitude?"

He made his way to the front of the school. "Damnation! I have been so soft minded as to forget my carefully prepared roses!" He felt strangely inclined to either cry or beat someone senseless,"This! This is clearly my own fault! But they don't need to know! No... no... Akane shall reject me! I know it!"

Akane made her way through the usual crowd of boys. It was such a chore.

Then there was Ranma.

She'd had a terrible nightmare last night that Ranma was really the boy she had found in the bathroom that first night.

No way.

Then there was Nabiki.

Nabiki now turned into a wolf in the way that Mr. Saotome turned into a Panda.

She didn't know what was going on, but suspected the worst.

Their house must be demonically possessed!

Akane had finished off the last of the boys and had turned to Kuno, just before the swordsman could decide that the roses would have to be destroyed just so that Akane need never know that he had imperfectly forgotted such a thing, but surely... surely she would forgive him when she beheld his masculinity!

He began his speech, "Fair Akane! I meet thee this morn to d-" Kuno found himself disrupted by his very body in the middle of his speech by his first period.

Wait.

There was something very wrong about that statement.

The last thing he remembered before passing out was seeing Ranma Saotome wave at him from the fencepost in the background.

Akane decided it would be best to just step over the fainted Kendoist and head to class. Akane would reserve his punishment for when she figured out what that display was supposed to mean.

Ranma followed suit, but was splashed by water from a spontaneously malfunctioning water fountain.

She now decided just to ignore this and head onward. It would likely be less of a nuisance this way, anyway.

Akane noted Ranma's entrance, and was relieved to see that Ranma was still female, if soaked.

The teacher demanded an explanation for the breach of uniform out of Ranma, who blushed and said, "I-I just don't have a clean uniform for today."

The teacher was softened by the girl's nervousness. She decided to let it slip today, "Just don't let it happen tomorrow."

Cutesy, cutesy. You will bleed for this. I shall wear what I want, fool! But, I suppose it would not do to expose my power just yet to you.

Kuno had gone through most of the day ignoring the change and the red stain.

She simply refused to believe the current state of affairs.

The all-mighty Tatewaki Kuno could not possibly have... changed in her sleep.

It was unheard of! Even among the peasants.

Unless... "Unholy sorceror! I shall destroy thee!"

Ranma had just exited the bathroom in his normal form when Kuno-chan charged him, bokken raised high. Kuno-chan was way faster than Ranma had thought possible.

In girl-form, Kuno was like a lightning bolt. It was impossible to simply dodge.

Ranma decided to run.

There would be time enough for fighting later. It was then that Ranma found himself on the other side of a window, with Kuno in pursuit. They landed in the school pool.

When they emerged, Kuno-chan immediately glomped onto Kama-chan, who uppercutted her into the sky, "Womanizer."

Yes! Suffer for my indignity!

The students that had gathered clapped and cheered, but almost none had any idea where that perverted swordswoman had come from.

Ranma made her way, grumbling, into the school proper, wringing her clothing

When school was over, Ranma and Akane headed back home.

"So, where were you this morning?" Akane asked as they walked.

"I left for school early," Ranma smirked, strutting with an awful lot of masculinity.

"I see," Akane felt troubled for some reason, probably partially under the fear that Ranma was some kind of pervert, "So... you didn't come by my room?"

"Of course I did, to return your uniform," Ranma smiled.

"My eyes must have been playing tricks on me," Akane muttered, even more confused.

"Say, do you know where I could find some hot-"

"RAAANMAAA! Prepare to die!" a boy in a yellow shirt and a tiger striped bandanna yelled as he

waved a bamboo umbrella threateningly. He was raging at a tree.

"Uhh, who are you again?" Ranma-chan asked the boy with a puzzled expression.

"Don't you remember?" Ryoga shouted at Akane, "I can't sleep at night because of you!"

"I'm over here," Ranma-chan tapped the boy on the shoulder.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" The boy shouted as he feinted back and threw a bunch of razor sharp bandannas in various directions.

Ranma-chan casually dodged the few that were heading anywhere near her.

Then the boy punched down a tree, then turned around and hopped in fright before foward kicking a fire hydrant into someone's house. The water from the hydrant drenched the boy, leaving behind a small black piglet.

"Heh, not so tough," Ranma smirked before turning to

see that Akane's hair was now a much shorter size.

"My... hair..." Akane looked as though she had been

slapped.

She must've been in shock since it was cut.

Ranma-chan ran over to the piglet, scooped it up and handed it to Akane, "Hey, hey! Don't cry! You've got a new pet!"

Can't blow my cover... can't let this pest get away...

Akane sniffled as she held the cute, nervous little piglet. "Thanks Ranma..."

"Hey, c'mon! I bet your hair'll be nice with a little sprucin'" Ranma encouraged.

Yeah! We could just separate it at the scalp when we get to a nice, private place.

"You're such a nice girl, Ranma," Akane sniffled as she and the double shuddering Ranma headed home.

I'm gonna puke! Hmmm... I wonder if the others'll appreciate it's subtle flavoring in their breakfast?

The piglet passed out from being held so close to Ranma Akane. It slept for the first time in over a week.

AN 8/2/03 : If you think things are bad now, wait until

the other central characters are introduced. Like Shampoo.

Also: What happens when Ryoga becomes suddenly able to

correctly decide whether Ranma is the tree he's looking

at or the pig tailed havoc reveler?

AN 7/11/04 : Wow, the first post broken into three different chapters and revised! Well, I think I tied Ranma's thought balloons in a little bit more and added some more comic foils for the dramatic/horror portions.

I'll bet this is a real disappointment, though, if you

wanted a new chapter. At least I'm not letting the fic die.

AN 4/27/05: I somehow remember the first three chapters being a little less... Anyway, you could probably skip them and not be more confused about the later ones. Of course, it's too late at this point. You can't unread what you have just read. I promise that most of the story is better. This is like the pilot episode. Y'know, it's not so great but it gives you a general idea about the series.