Disclaimer: Same as chapter one. I promise that I have not even attempted to buy or steal, in some fashion, the rights to these characters since chapter one.

The Inner Demon

Heh heh. It's gotta be a joke. The beast known as Ranma Saotome is living with three girls and their father, who happens to own a dojo. They are sleeping in the same house as evil incarnate. Innocent people attaching themselves to a monster... of their own free will! I must do something about this!

Chapter 4: The Demon Cometh! Run Now!

Yesterday reached an entertaining climax. Too bad it ended with such a whimper. My new favorite toy, Akane Tendo, had her hair fixed, Nabiki Tendo has apparently vegged out, Pops isn't going anywhere, Kasumi is boring, and Mr. Tendo is too busy crying to realize who "poisoned his daughter." My only hope is that something interesting will happen with the pig.

A softly whimpering piglet could be heard, at least by Ranma, from Akane's room.

I suppose that won't be happening tonight. "G'night Pops!" Ranma exclaimed cheerfully to Genma, who was securely bound and gagged. Ranma splashed himself with some warm water from the kettle he'd brought to the guestroom and then made himself comfortable in his futon.

Genma watched his son's breathing carefully. It would be bad to make any sudden moves if Ranma were still aware. When he was sure that his son was indeed sleeping, he began to analyze the situation.

Ok, he remembered seeing Ranma chained and sleeping. Then he had checked Ranma's chains. They seemed to give a little, but were otherwise effective. Wait... the boy must have been holding them!

In retrospect, it was a little foolish to drink with Soun after what had happened the last time. Judging from the crying and the howling, Ranma had done something. At least it seemed that no one was dead yet. This scenario had inflicted itself on Genma before. Once during the "Nekoken incident," and again during the "Hong Kong Incident." Both had left several innocents and policemen injured or dead. Genma realized that Ranma was possibly just as bad as the Master. He knew that he had to end this before Ranma could completely surpass him. Before Ranma's last vestiges of decency were lost. There was simply no way to contain him short of sealing him away.

When he emerged from his thoughts, Genma saw the kettle as if for the first time. The chains around him were tight. Perfect for a human, but a panda...

The slightly overweight man moved like a caterpillar towards the kettle by Ranma's futon. He managed after a few minutes to knock it over, onto his head. He soon realized that it wasn't cool enough and that some had splashed onto a now wide awake Ranma.

"Stupid old man," Ranma snarled as he stood up, "Now I'm all wet!"

Genma's eyes widened when he realized that Ranma had an extreme dislike for getting wet. Normally this would end with Ranma subdued, but normally Genma was not tied up.

Ranma was loudly thrashing his father when he heard water splash somewhere. That could be bad.

Ryoga grimaced when he realized he was nude. He then dug into a nearby laundry hamper. He found a nasty brown gi. It was better than nothing. He swiftly donned it, then decided that as much as he wanted to run from Ranma, he would have to save this household from him first.

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We're gonna have bacon tomorrow!

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Ryoga had awakened earlier in cursed form and had "explored" the house while he was looking for hot water (that he could reach). He could only come to the conclusion that everyone in the house was insane.

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I can see you, but you can't see me!

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Ryoga glanced into the bathroom mirror as he was looking for an exit, when he noticed a disturbance in the air behind him. It was as if the light behind him was warping...

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Umisenken! Umisenken! Time to roast, piglet!

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He then realized he wasn't alone. He threw his ever present volley of bandannas in every direction, hoping to decapitate his would be assailant. To no avail.

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Forbidden technique of Anything Goes! Ironic, huh?

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"Descending Blade Blast!" Ranma shouted as he countered from midair. Ryoga only narrowly dodged. The wall behind him wasn't so lucky. A spray of water hit Ranma and the ceiling light, shorting it out and leaving Ryoga in the dark.

No no no! It's just like my nightmare!

"yes. i Suppose it iS like YOUR nightmare."

"What!?" Ryoga punched what turned out to be a wall.

"hah Child's Play. i Suppose you wanT to kill the KamaItachi???"

Ryoga's eyes widened in fear. He was reliving every unpleasant memory he'd every had. Perhaps for the first time in years, his direction sense lead him where he wanted to go: Away from the evil voice. He wasn't sure what route he took, but he soon found himself in the middle of nowhere. He breathed a sigh of relief. Then he realized that his stuff was on some street corner somewhere in Nerima. He couldn't travel without his supplies. Damn that Ranma!

"Ranma Saotome! I'll kill you yet!" He roared, either forgetting his fear or thinking he was safe.

"Will you now?" a female voice asked before everything went black.

[AN: Chapters four and five will be shorter than six]

Chapter 5: The Amazon Huntress

The Tendo household was in complete disarray the following morning. No one had slept well the previous night. Possibly due to the explosion that blasted a large chunk of wall away where the bathroom sink used to be. Ranma had disappeared and the door to the guest room was locked. Maybe Nabiki could have gotten in, if she weren't such a wreck at the moment. She just kept muttering "He's coming."

Kasumi was looking better though. Maybe whatever had spooked her a few days ago was no longer a big deal.

Soun, however, was an absolute mess. He'd slept on the couch and was wearing a stained gi. He spent most of his time crying. Kasumi politely cleaned around him and Akane decided it would be best not to get too close.

Nabiki had awakened, but she seemed dazed. There were a few form switches during the day, but she didn't seem to care. Akane suspected that Nabiki was having a break down. Maybe she'd forget about everyone's tabs?

P-Chan was missing, which probably related to Ranma's absence, but Akane could only guess. She didn't remember much about yesterday after her hair was mutilated. It hadn't been that hard to get fixed, at least. Everything that had happened was connected somehow, but Akane just couldn't figure it out. Maybe the dojo was possessed? Maybe Mr. Saotome was behind it. The Legendary Mad Martial Artist was known to do all sorts of things. Maybe he was into magic? He did turn into a panda after all. His misterious absence just as things got worse seemed awfully fishy. The bald, mildly overweight man in the dirty gi must have caused it. Yeah, that's it!

Things just weren't going well for Genma Saotome. Oh sure, he'd fought monsters and Kung-Fu demigods before, but Ranma had a nasty habit of blind siding him. Currently, he was suspended from the ceiling in panda form. The previous chains had been replaced with a much stronger variety. As if life couldn't be worse, the floor below him taunted him with his favorite foods. The boy would pay for this.

Ranma-chan, on the other hand, was having a great time on the other side of Nerima. She was busy conning the unsuspecting out of money and food. Truly, nothing could ruin this-

"Why if it is not Kama-chan!" Kuno entered dramatically into her path as she walked away from the last sucker, "What fortuitous happenstance! Tis truly my pleasure to escort thee to thy abode."

Ranma-chan grabbed a convenient bucket of water, emptied it on Kuno, and then unleashed her patented uppercut.

"Perhaps she would prefer to be carried?" Kuno pondered as she reached the apex of the upward climb.

Ranma-chan continued on her merry way, completely oblivious of the eyes following her. This wouldn't matter, except for the existance of one pair in the background.

"Kama girl die soon."

It had been hell for Genma to dislocate his right arm and unbind his ankles. His freedom came at a price, because pandas do not always land on their feet. Now his (currently) tight fitting gi was stained with a rainbow of colors. It pained him to ruin all that delicious food, but it was either that or await the fate that the boy had planned for him. Now he just had to get out of the room without springing a trademark Saotome booby trap. Genma-panda tiptoed towards the door. He was easily close enough to unlock and open it when he heard a suspicious sounding click. The boy would pay for this.

Akane thought she'd heard a loud thump from the main house as she was smashing various objects in the dojo in lieu of the bricks Soun usually stocked. She passed it off as her imagination and turned to her next lawn gnome. She was feeling a lot of anger at the moment and couldn't help but hate the smiling, two-foot jerks.

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I wonder if the fat man has tripped my razor dart trap yet?

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That was a close call. About ten shuriken-like darts had passed within centimeters of his body. he had saved himself by flying into a reverse somersault, which ended with him lying face flat on Ranma's futon. He rose and brushed himself off. Then he heard a creaking above him.

Kasumi liked to clean. She could just forget all of the worrisome little details of life and concentrate on ironing, cooking, or fixing the bathroom! There was nothing that scrubbing a floor couldn't cure.

Genma had managed to dodge the oversized Tanuki statue that had fallen onto the floor he'd been lying on a moment ago by pressing against the wall. Said wall was apparently coated with a thermal bond adhesive. This fic would be NC-17 if Pandas could talk.

Meanwhile, Ranma-chan was finding her way back to the Tendo's to stash some of her winnings. If Nabiki was still out of it, it was unlikely that the money would be disturbed.

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Any who dare touch the loot of the Kamaitachi will be beaten and tossed into a pit of cats.

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But first, she'd have to deal with the one that followed her. She ducked into a dark alley and pretended to be unaware of the one that silently pursued her.

Said pursuer landed neatly in front of her. An Amazon. So damn persistant.

"So you followed me all the way from Joketsuko?" Ranma-chan smirked darkly.

"Kama-chan is to be dead!" The young woman narrowed her eyes at Ranma as she stepped into a ray of light. It was a tall, purple haired woman in revealing Chinese clothing, "It order of Amazon nation. You die!"

"Hah!" Ranma-chan chuckled derisively, "You are in over your head."

"Maybe so, but there be more after Shampoo!" the young woman frowned angrily.

"So then," Ranma-chan narrowed her eyes, "Shampoo. Have you made peace with your diety!?" With that, Ranma-chan blurred and Shampoo took a vicious elbow from behind before she could even take a stance. Ranma-chan was gone before Shampoo stood, which was an exercise in futility after Ranma-chan descended into a dive kick into Shampoo's shoulder.

"Coward!" Shampoo shouted as she struggled to her feet once more, "Fight Shampoo in open!"

"As you wish," Ranma-chan stated as she stepped into a beam of light. The look on her otherwise pretty face was a smile reflecting extreme malice.

Shampoo charged but was cut short as Ranma-chan unleashed a volley of punches almost too fast to be seen. She stumbled backwards a few feet, "Chestnuts roasting on open fire!?"

"Makin' me laugh won't save ya now," Ranma-chan said with a phonily cheerful tone as she dashed forward with a killing blow at the ready.

Shampoo's entire life flashed before her eyes. Her only regret was willing her property to Lotion. She was saved at the last minute, though, when the wall to her left exploded. The bricks and dust deterred Ranma-chan's advance.

"Knock-knock," a bruised, bleeding, and otherwise torn up Ryoga muttered as he punched the wall in, "I'll bet you thought the cement mixer would be the end of me, huh, Ranma?"

"Well, yes actually," Ranma-chan admitted with clear sincerity.

"Heh," Ryoga's face twisted into a snarl, "Let me introduce you to the move I perfected to escape... I call it the Futai no Wami [AN: Unsure of spelling...]"

"Beast man know blasting point hole!?" Shampoo's eyes widened in disbelief.

Ryoga punched at Ranma-chan, who easily dodged backwards. The punch created a small crater and collapsed another wall. Ryoga had been powerful before, but this crater was the largest ever. He didn't even notice that his hand was bleeding profusely. It was clear to Shampoo that the boy was superhumanly strong, but not a true user of the bakusai tenketsu.

"Hmm... You are strong, but I'm outta both of your leagues," Ranma-chan grinned, "Maybe I'll keep you alive a little longer."

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Bet Akane'd like a stuffed piglet.

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Ranma-chan sighed and entered the Tendo residence. At least there would be some entertainment during her stay. If only she could have anticipated that Genma could pull a chunk of wall plaster off. Imagine Ranma-chan's surprise when Genma pounced her the moment the door opened and cuffed her wrists and ankles. Talk about deja vu.

[AN: There's a good reason why Shampoo and Ryoga aren't giving Ranma as hard a time as Kuno, it'll be explained eventually.]

Chapter 6: The Demon Slayer.

Ranma was in his normal form, tied to a chair in the living room. They'd confiscated his "winnings" and were now deciding his fate. Right in front of his face.

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How unfortunate. I suppose I should start digging holes in the garden at the earliest chance.

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"The boy is a danger to all who live!" Genma shouted, his back still covered in plaster.

"Maybe it's all just a mistake?" Akane suggested.

"I have been travelling with Ranma for ten years," Genma stated seriously, "This is easily the closest he has ever come to complete and permanent lawlessness!"

"Genma," Soun waggled a finger, "Surely you haven't forgotten the good old days when you were tossing dragon corpses around in the streets of Tokyo?"

"I never maimed anyone before laughing in the person's face!" Genma defended.

"What about Tsurusennin?" Soun countered.

"That was because of the damned statue!" Genma's face reddened.

"Excuses, excuses," Soun laughed triumphantly.

Nabiki seemed to completely recover at this point and decided it would be best to excuse herself. Kasumi had done so a few minutes ago, under the pretense of picking something up from Dr. Tofu.

"Hey, this rope's cuttin' off my circulation, could you loosen it?" Ranma asked with a smile.

"Sure..." Akane moved towards Ranma, but was intercepted by Genma, who lifted the chair out of Akane's reach.

"Never, EVER do what the boy tells you to do!" Genma shouted before setting the chair down a few feet away from Akane roughly and gagging his son.

"Saotome," Soun's expression was very serious, "This is ridiculous! Ranma has done nothing wrong."

"Why were you crying when I found you!?" Genma became hysterical from frustration. Couldn't they see that the boy was rapidly destroying everything, " Where do you think I was during my absence!?"

"I assumed you had found some good sake," Soun responded before turning to Akane, "Sake is largely the reason that Genma Saotome is known as the Legendary Mad Martial Artist."

"That's about enough of this, Tendo!" Genma ground his teeth, "I will bet you five bottles of good sake that the boy did to you whatever made you tear up!"

"I probably did," Ranma conceded, grinning, having somehow gotten his gag off.

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What would YOU do for a klondike bar?

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Everyone looked at Ranma in surprise, "What?"

"Never mind," Soun dismissed.

"We must seal him away!" Genma made hand motions to that effect as he spoke, "Possibly in a Mayan temple."

"Wait!" Akane broke in, " I've seen him do nothing wrong!"

"My daughter is right, Saotome!" Soun supported.

"Fine!" Genma stomped a small crater into the floor, "I will be going on a training trip. The both of you can be responsible for the monster while I'm away! I hope you still have hair when I get back!" With that, Genma stamped out of the house, grumbling.

"That was rude," Ranma smiled.

"Hmph!" Soun folded his arms, "He'll be back."

"Daddy, why did Mr.Saotome wear that bandanna?" Akane asked her father.

"Umm..." Soun turned his head back to the smiling Ranma, who had somehow freed himself and was playing with broken handcuffs. He must have picked up some escape tricks while on the road. Yeah, that's it.

"Don't you have a shape changing daughter to deal with?" Ranma asked Soun, who responded by dropping to his knees melodramatically and crying.

"I hope Pops'll be okay by himself," Ranma looked thoughtful.

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3...2...1...

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A rainstorm started up as Ranma snickered.

"Raining again?" Ryoga looked upwards before shape changing into the piglet. Now he was a piglet in the middle of Nerima. Things were not looking up.

After the fight, Ryoga and the gramatically challenged girl parted ways. Actually, they had agreed to partner up to eliminate Ranma. This, of course, meant that Ryoga would invariably be separated from her. This was doubly ironic, as he had spent the better part of his young life trying to escape Ranma, whom he had somehow managed to run into no matter where he went. His combat skills were built around destroying any obstacle that could possibly prevent him from getting away from Ranma. Now he had taken it upon himself to destroy the demon. He had no doubt that he did not have the skills to win. Now he had lost all of his gear and might never find it. Except for his bandannas, of course. He always had plenty of them. That wasn't an issue, though. What was an issue was...

"Why, P-Chan!" a familiar looking young woman with an umbrella turned to him, "What are you doing here in the rain?" She scooped him up and cradled him like a baby, "Akane was looking all over for you, you naughty piggy." She then proceeded back into Dr. Tofu's clinic to dry off the piglet to prevent it from catching cold.

"K-Kasumi!" Tofu nearly fell over himself as she entered, "How strange to see you here again so soon!"

"I just came back to dry off Akane's lost piggy,"

Kasumi smiled.

"The s-same one that R-Ranma gave her?" Tofu seemed to sober slightly. Not that his current patient looked any more relieved.

"The very same," Kasumi's smile wavered.

Tofu nodded and went into the back, returning to the room with a towel. He proceeded to dry off the piglet. The part of his mind that was still rational considered the importance of Ranma Saotome's attachment to the Tendo household. Soun Tendo's relationship with Genma Saotome and the demonic human Happosai had been the entire reason he had set up shop in Nerima. He had had hell following the three before. He probably would have retired from his job if they had not caused so much havoc. It was surprising that Hotsuma had not approached Tofu when Genma came into town. It was just inconcievable that Saotome could have given him the slip.

It was at this point in his thoughts that he realized that Kasumi had left and that he had started acupuncture on a patient that had come in for a routine chiropractering session.

"I wonder if Hotsuma has freaked anyone out at the Tendo dojo?" Tofu thought aloud, hardly reassuring his patient.

Ranma was meditating in the dojo when Akane entered, "So, you really are a guy. "

"Yep, sorry if that disappoints you," Ranma smiled, without moving.

"You..." Akane hesitated as she sat beside Ranma, "...aren't some kind of pervert, are you?"

"What's perverse to you?" Ranma asked, still perfectly still.

"... A guy that comes onto every girl he meets," She had been surprised by this question, "or someone that..."

"I see..." Ranma chuckled, "I'd have to say no, then. I'm a guy and I like girls, and I ain't a pervert by your definition."

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I like blood. A lot.

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Akane seemed to sigh in relief. She wanted to believe him so badly for some reason, that she did. Maybe not in her heart of hearts, but she certainly believed it outwardly.

Ranma then stood and chuckled, "So pig boy has returned?"

Akane was puzzled by this statement, "Who's pig boy?"

Moments later, Kasumi showed up smiling at the entrance to the dojo, with P-Chan in her arms. The little piglet was fidgeting nervously, which Akane took to be the effect of cold weather.

Ryoga was very frightened at the moment. He had had a hard enough time fighting Ranma as a human. As a pig? He recognized a very terrifying look in Ranma's eyes. This was the true Kamaitachi that he had been living in fear of all these years.

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Pork chops.

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Ryoga prayed that Ranma would say something to give away his true identity. He didn't care if these people knew that he, Ryoga Hibiki, turned into P-Chan, if it meant not being killed and eaten by the monster in front of him.

"P-Chan!" Akane smiled as she stood and recieved the shivering piglet. She had the cutest pink bow in her room, which she HAD to try on her little piggy.

Ranma looked directly at the pig, having decided to let Akane torture him as he stewed over his eventual fate.

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Need something to trap him in his cursed form first. I wonder why they haven't found me out yet?

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"Life turn bad for Shampoo," Shampoo muttered as she limped around in Tokyo, looking for a place to rest, "Shampoo no want die. Shampoo no can find beast man." It was then that Shampoo spotted a brown gi. She made her way towards it as quickly as possible under the circumstances. She examined it. It was every bit as ragged as it had been on the beast man. There was no way anyone would discard clothing this ragged on the sidewalk. It then occurred to her how bizarre that statement was.

As she pondered this, a bespectacled man in a brown gi (of a different material that the one she was holding) ran over to her, "Are you alright?" He was carrying a bag of groceries in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

She almost laughed when she realized that she hadn't noticed the pouring rain. She must be worse than she thought. "Shampoo no need man help," she stated weakly before passing out.

She awoke bandaged, with splints and braces on appropriate limbs. "Who do this!?" she shouted in outrage.

"I did," Dr. Tofu came into her field of vision. She was on a bed. Much too soft, "You looked like you fell off of a building."

"Glasses man have no right!" Shampoo reddened. The room she was in was smallish, it smelled of medicine there were chairs and a box with glass on it. She was hooked up to some machine that made strange sounds. "Where is Shampoo?"

"Pardon?" Tofu raised an eyebrow

"Where you take Shampoo!?" Shampoo shouted in frustration, "Shampoo outside, now where Shampoo!?"

"Ah," Tofu realized the girl's meaning, "You're in a hospital. I didn't have the resources to treat your injuries."

"You doctor?"

"Pardon me, I am Dr. Tofu," He introduced himself, " Now, Shampoo, what happened to you?"

"It all Ranma's fault!" Shampoo answered, "She too strong for Shampoo."

"Is this Ranma a bully at your school?" Tofu asked, knowing full well that this was probably Ranma Saotome.

"School?" Shampoo seemed genuinely confused, "Shampoo no go to school! Great Grandmother send Shampoo kill Ranma. Ranma demon who attack Joketsuko!"

"I see," Tofu said as another doctor entered the room. So a demon had assumed the identity of Genma Saotome's progeny. Things were turning out really badly. Tofu turned to the incoming physician and told her, "Her name is Shampoo, I think she's a bit delerious from the pain."

The other doctor nodded and approached Shampoo to explain her present condition. It was then that Tofu exitted, certain that he had made the correct assessment earlier. It was time to deal with things.

The rain did not let up for the remainder of the day. Ranma sat in the dojo. This was the third time in ten years that he had ended a day believing that he would never see Genma again.

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Now is the time for you to die.

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A dark shape landed softly behind Ranma and rushed stealthily towards him. Just as he came within attack range of the man's flashing ninja-to, he instantly rose and somersaulted behind the man and punched his back repeatedly at an inhuman speed. He ended with a back cracking palm strike that sent the man into the wall.

Kasumi had entered the dojo just before the palm strike. The look on Ranma's face terrified Kasumi. She had a sneaking suspicion that the man in black was protecting them from Ranma before. She held up a pen and shouted, "Innocence!"

Ranma turned his head in shock. How could he have missed Kasumi? There was a flash of light and Kasumi was suddenly wearing a sailor girl uniform, brandishing a spiked shield, "Crap."

AN 8/9/03 : A little violent? It had to come eventually. It's not just my writing style, the end is supposed to be a little vague. By the way, I did not forget Tofu in the beginning. I've been waiting awhile to introduce him because I had an idea of how I wanted him to be in this story, but was not sure how to get him to do it. He was going to be a grizzled demon slayer originally, but I thought of a better role for him. Anyway, next time: Kasumi Vs. Ranma and Ranma makes two friends (and two more enemies).