Disclaimer: I am in no way trying to make a profit by
using the characters of Ranma 1/2, which I in no way,
shape, or form claim ownership of. Any other references
are property of their respective owners, no infringement
intended.
AN: After thinking about it, I decided just call the overall story posted a chapter and just break it into parts, so I can just give each one it's own appropriate title.
The Inner Demon Chapter 7
Genma felt some remorse over leaving the boy with his old friend, but could not bear to watch Ranma destroy this community as had undoubtably, in retrospect, happened in several of the places they had visited. What if the boy killed them before he returned!? Genma could feel the pressure of the yen he'd borrowed against him within his ill fitting gi. Soun could fend for himself for a month or two...
Part 1: Kasumi Goes Nuts; Ranma Takes a Nap
A very angry looking Kasumi grimaced at Ranma. Well, she smiled less than usual, anyway, "You hurt that man!"
"He broke inta yer house!" Ranma took a defensive step backwards. He hated this kind of thing. Magic... ugh!
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Sailing for a whaling!
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Kasumi's magical girl uniform was a very grey sailor schoolgirl outfit. Not intimidating in the least. The glowing shield with the spikes was a different thing altogether. Ranma seemed to be more fazed by the accusation than by the magical forces at work. That would change quickly.
Sailor Kasumi charged straight at Ranma, her unarmed fist too fast to even be a blur before it struck, sending Ranma tearing across the dojo, through a wall, and into the Tendo garden. She then leapt through the roof as though it weren't even there and landed a punishing dive kick in Ranma's chest, tearing open a crater around him.
This was probably about as painful as taking a "Futai no Wami" from Ryoga at optimal range. Ranma wasn't sure before he passed out.
Just because her opponent was clearly down didn't mean that Sailor Kasumi saw any reason not to pummel him. A series of punches followed by an Akane worthy uppercut sent him quite a ways above her. She readied her shield to impale him on landing.
Akane had caught the end of the fight. The painfully short fight. She realized that her older sister was going to kill Ranma. Something seemed very wrong about this. This something led Akane to do the unthinkable. She ran through the garden from the house and blind sided Kasumi with an upward swinging mallet.
Kasumi flew through the air with a shocked expression on her face. Akane felt remorse and stepped forward, dropping her mallet. She looked off into the night sky. She was wearing her pajamas, having been preparing for bed. It was unlikely that she would be able to get enough sleep for school tomorrow.
Ranma landed with a heavy thud behind her.
Elsewhere, a bus was on it's way south. It was a tour bus. It's destination was for a slower paced, scenic city. Probably a tourist hotspot or something. The four nuns and the sleeping panda (who had had exact change) took no notice of the suddenly appearing dent in the roof. Neither did the two vagabonds or the, perhaps drugged, driver.
Slightly before this, a frenzied P-Chan seized the opportunity to run from his captor. As fast as his stubby little legs could, anyway. He'd found his traveling gear during one of the few times he'd been human that day. Ranma apparently thought it would be funny to put it in Akane's room. It was sort of strange that he always managed to find his stuff after becoming human again.
P-Chan cautiously approached the kitchen. He didn't need to get lost when he was so close to escape. He also didn't need that Nabiki girl or Mr. Tendo to find him. There was a warm kettle on the stove. Apparently Kasumi had been making tea. It would have to do. He torpedoed himself into the kettle from the floor and promptly changed. Ryoga now found himself sitting on the very hot surface of the stove. Needless to say, he ran top speed away and managed to find himself still within the house. A shriek caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. That Nabiki had somehow gotten behind him. And he was a naked stranger, "DAMN YOU RANMA!"
Nabiki didn't know what to do when she saw a nude boy's back. She was sure she'd locked her door. So she did the only natural thing. She screamed.
Ryoga was crying in frustration at the thought of being re-captured and humiliated. He punched through a nearby wall and found himself, somehow, in Akane's room. How could he have missed an open door?
Nabiki started momentarily when she saw the boy punch a wall down and enter Akane's room. Then she became angry. No one was gonna break in on Akane on her watch. She picked up a baseball bat that she had purchased after witnessing Ranma take out so many of Akane's would-be assailants those days ago. She ran up behind the jerk and broke the (quite solid) bat over his head.
Ryoga thought he'd felt something on the back of his head, but realized that if he turned around, he risked getting lost again. He kept on task and began re-equipping himself.
Nabiki stared at the broken bat, slightly dazed. The boy took the blow as though it were nothing. Then she watched him don some clothing Ranma had oddly asked Akane to hold on to. That clothing was quite familiar for some reason. A normal person might have run at this point, but Nabiki was resolved to watch this rather oblivious boy's movements until her father made his (likely belated), entrance.
Ryoga tied on his boots and strapped his pack on. He needed to train some more before facing Ranma again.
Nabiki looked with horror when the boy turned so that she could see his profile as he headed towards Akane's window. This was none other that the Humanoid Earthquake, Ryoga the Stampede. Destroyer of whole villages in China and Japan. Infamous for the Hokkaido incident. She dropped to her knees as the boy leapt through the (closed) window.
Part 2: And Then There Was Soun
Soun Tendo had snuck out of the house to a bar he had frequented for some time. He had been quite intoxicated when he stumbled back towards his home, but definitely not to the point that he would hallucinate his eldest daughter's form flying across the sky. Soun stood (swaying a bit) and considered this for a moment, "Someoonee hit myy Kaasuumi!" With surprising speed (and directness of course) he sprinted towards his home.
Ryoga had made his way onto the sidewalk. The last obstacle before he was home free was to manage not to walk back towards the house. Where was the house again?
Mr. Tendo could tell that something had damaged his residence. Aside from the broken bits of wood and plaster, there was a gaping hole where Akane's window should have been. A logical (albeit incorrect) assumption at this point might be that Genma was right about Ranma. Due to Mr. Tendo's pride in his own judge of character, the agitated pacing of a teenage boy on the sidewalk in front of his house, and his heavy intoxication, Mr. Tendo decided it was likely the bandanna sporting boy.
Ryoga couldn't understand why it was that his every attempt at escaping Ranma's clutches was challenged by some jerk. Now it was a disheveled man in a brown gi. The man had stumbled quickly up to him and began to speak in very slurred speech. When the man realized that Ryoga had no idea what he was saying, his head morphed into an oversized, demonic version of his normal head. The head was probably supposed to be frightening, but Ryoga couldn't help but laugh out loud before the man took extreme offense and began to cry uncontrollably. Ryoga turned his back on the man in disgust.
"An opportunity!" Soun thought with glee. He pulled out an oversized hammer and swung it hard into the boy's back, sending him far away.
Ryoga sighed as he found himself high above Tokyo. As long as he didn't fall into water, he had no real complaints. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved or deeply unhappy about taking such a route. Eh, could be worse. It was probably Ranma's fault.
Soun ran into the house, finding Akane tending to an extremely battered and bleeding Ranma. This scene sobered Soun up instantly. This was simultaneously (in his eyes) a confirmation of his belief that Ranma was innocent and that there was a possibility still of joining the schools. "My little Akane's growing up!" he cried pathetically.
"Daddy!" Akane looked up from Ranma's side,
"We have to get Ranma to the hospital!"
"Who did this?" Soun asked through his tears.
"There's no ti-" Akane began.
"Who!?" Soun demanded firmly.
"... Kasumi," Akane said, looking down at Ranma.
"Kasumi?" Soun seemed dazed. Was he this drunk?
"Yes..." Akane said with a fresh pang of remorse.
"We must hurry!" Soun stated as he hefted Ranma. He would have to figure this out later, "Where are your sisters now?"
"I don't think Nabiki left her room..." Akane said distractedly.
"And Kasumi..." Soun felt dread as he remembered all of Genma's warnings again.
"Kasumi... she-she... was going to kill..." Akane choked down a sob.
Soun gathered what had happened. The bad side was clear, but he could see a silver lining in the fact that Akane had taken a liking to Ranma. How to get them married before Genma returned? "Go find Nabiki, Akane," Soun said with a supportive look on his face.
"Yes, father," Akane agreed before running upstairs.
Elsewhere in Japan, a girl on a vespa barrelled down the night streets. She wore a red coat, black pants, white boots, and yellow gloves. She would find him if she had to destroy everyone in the way. Her custom made, one of a kind, electric powered spatula was in it's special cover on her back. Her head was mostly covered by her helmet and goggles. She had a mischevious smirk on her face as her magical detecter on her wrist registered a Jusenkyo victim coming in fast from dead ahead. She was certain it was Rankun.
Nabiki followed Akane and Soun dazedly as they moved at a steady walking pace to Nerima General, the nearest hospital. It was times like this that made Akane wish that Soun had a driver's license.
A car zoomed down the road, splashing rainwater on them. Ranma and Nabiki changed. It became clear to Soun that Nabiki-wolf would have to remain home, "Akane, Nabiki."
"Rfff?" Nabiki looked up at her father.
"You need to head home now," Soun stated firmly.
"But daddy!" Akane started up defiantly.
"No buts, Akane," Soun stood, "You and Nabiki mustn't miss school Monday. I don't like the thought of leaving you in the house alone after this, but I see no other choice."
Akane reluctantly agreed, but Nabiki realized that it was because of herself that Akane was really being sent back with her. It was because she was defenseless, and Akane was easily the best fighter in the area that was still conscious. That and the fact that both Akane and her father could move significantly faster than her. She thought about her physical inadequacy seriously as they walked back. Maybe she wouldn't have this curse if she had been stronger?
Soun walked normally until the girls were out of sight, then he channelled his ki into a fantastic jump that took him within sight of Nerima General. It would be a long night.
Part 3: Enter Haruko.
The girl ploughed right into the descending boy on her vespa moped. This might have nearly killed a normal human, but this boy flew back two yards and landed on his back, uninjured. Her moped had been stopped completely by the collision. She flew off of it and narrowly saved herself with a flip. "Oh god! I killed him!" She cried dramatically, "Bang! Blammo! Dead!"
"What?" The boy asked as he stood and dusted himself off.
"You're not Rankun!" She shouted in surprise.
Ryoga was all question marks as he responded, "Uh, no, I'm Ryoga Hibiki."
"Ryoga the Stampede!?" She asked loudly, smiling with glee.
"What?" Ryoga raised an eyebrow. He realized that if he'd been attacking people and objects while hallucinating... The thought of having possibly killed someone made him feel ill.
"Alright!" She grinned widely, "Round two!" she threw off her headgear, exposing long red hair, and swung an oversized spatula at the boy's head.
"..." Ryoga stood there and took it. The spatula bounced off harmlessly. The girl lowered the spatula and began clearing earwax from one ear with one of her gloved hands.
"I just don't get it," She seemed less confused and more interested, "You must be the one." The one that would lead her to Rankun.
"What?" Ryoga was the one that was confused. They were in the middle of a street at night. This was just bizaare.
"My name's Haruko Haruhara," the girl grinned.
"What do you want?" Ryoga asked.
"I want to travel with you," 'Haruko' reduced her grin to an amused smirk.
"What if I refuse?" Ryoga asked.
"Heh," The girl's smirk appeared sinister for a moment, then returned to normal, "Nuthin'"
Ryoga snorted as he turned away.
"But you'll miss out on my famous Okonomiyaki"
Ryoga's stomach growled. It was going to be a long night.
Back in Nerima, Tofu was treating a badly injured patient, "You were lucky I recognized you."
"... Ono..." Hotsuma coughed. He was in unbelievable pain. He had been hard pressed to crawl out of the Tendo dojo. Every part of his body had been injured to some extent. His spine had been likely broken in two or three places, "... the... boy..." Tofu then ceased his work and looked into the man's eye's seriously.
"Did anyone see you?" Tofu had found Hotsuma crawling in a back alley. The man's endurance was amazing. Tofu dreaded what his old friend's future answer might mean.
"... n-no..." Hotsuma was weeping from his agony.
Tofu breathed a sigh of relief. He let go of the revolver in his pocket and resumed his work. If it had been daylight, then there would have been no question of what he would have to do. Tofu knew that it was time to make his move. Nerima was his district. It was his duty to safeguard it's occupants against the occult.
"... t-the b-b-oy..." Hotsuma's frame shook as he spoke. He was an expert in five styles of martial arts. Tofu had seven arts mastered, but was quite aware that Hotsuma exceeded him in skill in their common arts. This was awful.
"Shh, don't talk," Tofu worked intently. As long as the girl never became involved, this would not get worse.
"So what were you doin' flyin' from the sky?" Haruko asked Ryoga at their camp site in the (now vacant) bear cave that they had found during Ryoga's meandering. She was cooking her okonomiyaki on a portable grill built into her Vespa. (Ryoga thought that it might be uncomfortable to sit on top of a ,thinly covered, grill, but the girl never made mention of it.)
"I don't wanna talk about it," Ryoga replied. He hadn't wanted to camp, but Haruko lead him into it, so he decided to comply with her.
"Hmm, suit yerself," She began flipping okonomiyaki onto paper plates (Ryoga assumed that the plates came from the Vespa, but, truthfully, had never seen her open any compartment.) "Hope ya like it spicy."
Ryoga had tossed an entire okonomiyaki into his mouth before hearing this. Smoke poured out of his ears, his face turned red and he began coughing violently.
"Oooo, ish it too hot for da baby?" Haruko giggled.
"I hate you," Ryoga growled while coughing. Then his eyes widened again and he doubled over in pain.
"Hmm, if one way doesn't work, ya just try another," Haruko grinned, eyes closed. She was very pleased with herself.
Ryoga stood and stumbled backwards, clutching his head in pain. Then he screamed as something large pulled itself out of his head. This was, as you may expect, accompanied by crazed giggling from Haruko. His eyes had blurred for a moment when he'd seen the shape. It was a humanoid robot. It was red and had a TV screen for a face. Another robot had latched onto that one, apparently. The red robot kicked the other (which was considerably smaller) off of him and into the cave wall. It bounced and flew at the red one again. At first, Ryoga had thought it was a spider creature, but he now realized it was a large hand. It was clear that the robot that it had belonged to had had it severed.
The red one kicked the small one through the cave ceiling. Then it jumped upward after the hand at a great speed. Ryoga followed it, intent on the fight. The red and the hand were battling fiercely, each one using acrobatics and martial arts to deal out damage. Then the red one's screen flashed a strange symbol and punched the ground, sending a torrent of debris into the hand, crushing it. It then turned, without any clear hostile intent, toward Ryoga. Ryoga clenched his teeth, knowing that this thing was just as dangerous as Ranma to him. Before it could make another move, Haruko leapt out of nowhere and brought her spatula down hard on the red one's head, smashing bits off of it. It was a display of unbelievable power and grace.
The Red bot turned bluish gray and stumbled in confusion. Haruko gave a triumphant laugh, " Red is sooo two years ago, anyway,"
Ryoga's pupils had dialated, "Ranma." He was in shock.
"Ranma?" Haruko looked puzzled. Surely he wasn't calling out Rankun's proper name without spoken, written, or expressly implied consent. That could get an amateur killed.
Ryoga fainted from shock for the second time in his life.
Part 4: The Morning After
Ranma awoke on a hospital bed. He felt like a train had hit him. He was in a body cast. He could tell from the quality of light in the room that it was day. While he did not remember what had happened after he'd mused on his father's departure. Maybe he'd fallen asleep and Ryoga put the whammy (or the Futai no Wami) on him?
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Prince Pork was a nasty fellow.
His spirit was weak, His belly was yellow.
One day, he went a little crazy,
gathered his guts and signed a death warrant with the Kamaitachi
He will be thrown into the pit of the feline And now on him they will dine.
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"That jerk!" He shouted. Judging by his voice, he realized that the path to the hospital must have still been wet from the rain.
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Rain for me means for them pain.
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Having nothing better at the moment, Ranma-chan slept.
Imagine Genma's surprise to find, after a thirteen hour bus ride, that he had not escaped Soun. At least, not his name. Apparently, Kasumi Tendo had donned a sailor uniform and jumped from a tall building and into the bus. "Um, Mr. Saotome," a red faced Kasumi began, "could you help me up?"
Kasumi had hit the bus hard enough to force a Kasumi-shaped depression in it. This was so closely fitting that she was wedged in, "Growf!" Genma-Panda helped her out carefully.
"What happened?" Genma's sign read.
"Umm...," Kasumi reddened further, embarrassed by her behavior last night. She was unaware of her lack of injury.
"The boy," Genma-panda narrowed his eyes as he wrote this.
"We've... got to go back," Kasumi stated hesitantly.
"No," The panda wrote, "Let Soun lie in the grave he dug for himself." Genma didn't really mean this, but he was sure that if the whole Tendo family was as durable as Kasumi, there would be few problems.
"But-" Kasumi began.
"Slasher Soun will just have to awaken for awhile to deal with my son," The panda wrote on sign after sign, "I'm on vacation," and with that the panda donned sunglasses and began to walk in a random direction.
Kasumi walked up beside him, "Slasher Soun?"
"Slasher Soun, Terrifying Tendo, B-" Genma-panda was interrupted while writing his third sign.
"Oh," Kasumi became serene again, "Never mind."
Onlookers dazedly rubbed their eyes. They couldn't possibly have just seen a panda and a girl that hit a bus converse. They simultaneously and independantly decided to pretend it never happened.
Akane was listening to the teacher, really! She had just been momentarily occupied by thoughts of an injured Ranma in Nerima General, lonely and in pain. So what if she hadn't been listening when the teacher asked what events brought an end to the Warring States period! She had an injured guest, a cursed sister and a lethally crazy sister. She had reason to be preoccupied.
"Ah!" a strange voice called from behind her, "Tis fair maiden Akane! What misjudgement from thy teacher brings thee to serve punishment in the halls?"
Akane nearly dropped her buckets of water when
Kuno-chan ran beside her. He/she still refused to believe in the Jusenkyo curse he had, and was apparently only wearing the chest binder underneath her kendo uniform just in case.
"Dost the beautaceous Akane Tendo wish not to speak with me this morn?" Kuno-chan pushed. Akane had realized that Kuno had lost her ability to rally the boys except when he remained ready to discipline them with her bokken (which made a flashy entrance impossible).
"Kuno, " Akane tried to appeal, "I'm having some problems r-"
"I shall smite the villains that have done this, verily!" Kuno-chan smiled, "And then won will be the heart of my love! Verily, I am off!" With that, Kuno-chan ran down the hall in the direction of the school entrance. Without the names of Akane's presumed "villains."
Akane sighed. Things had gotten out of hand ever since that damned Genma Saotome arrived. That ill-mannered jerk. She'd mallet him when he returned.
In a city, somewhere far away, Ryoga and Haruko were on the Vespa, heading wherever Ryoga directed. The now-blue robot from last night flew directly above them.
"I'm not ready to face him again, yet!" Ryoga protested, a bit green in the face from the speed of their transportation. Cars, trucks, bicyclists, pedestrians, whatever was as close as the sidewalk was thrown clear of them as they zoomed down the middle of the street.
"Ya'd better be!" Haruko laughed, "Cuz we're gonna find 'im!"
"Left here," Ryoga pointed to the right. Haruko followed his finger. It couldn't be coincidence that this boy ran into Rankun.
Ryoga was trying to deliberately lead the girl away from Ranma until he knew what was going on. If it mattered, he wasn't really sure where he was. At least he'd been able to see things as they really were and not as if they were Ranma.
"It's not that simple!" Ryoga shouted in agitation, "You said you knew Ranma, he's a walking devil!"
"So?" Haruko grinned that frustrating grin.
"Rah!" Ryoga shouted in frustration, raising his arms. This caused him to fall off of the Vespa. At the same time that Haruko saw fit to ramp up the back of a car. Ryoga's life flashed before his eyes. Then he found himself in the arms of his blue-grey friend. It looked at him as supportively as a robot can. As supportive as a robot with a blank TV for a head can, anyway. Haruko had stopped a ways ahead to wait for them, with an especially irritating smirk. Ryoga was red. To any observer that stayed in the area it would not be clear as to whether he was angry or embarrassed. Probably a mixture of the two.
It was then that Ryoga noticed an intoxicated panda in a gi exit a nearby building. He instantly knew who it was from his time at the Tendo's home. He tried to look away quickly, but it was too late. Haruko laughed out loud and jumped towards the panda, easily clearing the four yards to it. Ryoga slapped himself on the face.
"Do you know who Ranma Saotome is!?" Haruko demanded.
"..."
"Answer me!"
"Pandas don't talk," was sloppily written on a sign that the panda produced. A 19 or so year old girl with a serene smile and a grey sailor uniform exited the building after the panda, then raised a hand to her mouth.
"Oh my!" Kasumi was surprised to see such destruction. Vehicles were everywhere, some were lodged in buildings. It was very dirty. Kasumi wanted to clean it, but didn't know where to begin.
"Do you know where Ranma Saotome is!?" Haruko demanded of Kasumi.
"Why, I suppose he might be in the hospital," Kasumi said pleasantly.
"Hospital?" Haruko was very confused by this. Surely Rankun wouldn't kill defenseless patients! Then again... "Where is this hospital?"
"Oh, excuse me!" Kasumi realized she'd been vague. It was such a new experience to be outside of Nerima. "Nerima General, in Tokyo!"
"That's bold," Haruko muttered.
"What?" Kasumi's smile nearly wavered.
"Nothin'!" Haruko smiled widely ran back to her Vespa, where Ryoga and the robot waited. "Get on," Haruko ordered as she mounted the moped. Ryoga reluctantly complied. The robot took to the air and the trio sped off. "I can't believe how efficient your route is, Ryoga! We might have saved a week of travelling." Ryoga sweatdropped at this.
"What a nice bunch of people," Kasumi smiled vacantly.
"..." It had just registered in Genma-panda's mind that Kasumi had said that Ranma might be in the hospital. It worried him a bit. Nothing that lots more alcohol couldn't cure. He pulled a list from his gi and checked off the place he had just exited.
Ranma-chan was itching. It was that damned body cast. Death would be a welcome release from the itching.
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Maybe I'll visit some other patients later. I've been short on IV drips lately.
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Nabiki had gone to school, unaware of a Jusenkyo victim's tendency to attract water. She had been splashed three times just trying to get to the school. She pulled some strings when she arrived. Some chump named Hikaru Gosunkugi was her new water bodyguard. He was very good at bodily intercepting splashing water, as it turns out. He didn't seem to mind. All he wanted was to keep his little hobby of taking pictures of Akane. As revolting as the idea was of allowing ANYONE to pick up this kind of stuff for free, she decided it was a fair bargain provided he never sold them. That would be unpardonable.
Then there was business with Kuno, or Kuno-chan. Apparently Kuno-chan was chasing some villains or another for Akane. Nabiki didn't really care, so she just sold him Ranma's hospital room number. She even sold him a letter that would allow him to enter any section of the hospital. It was big stuff, but Kuno had big bucks. She had decided to reward herself for going through all that she had since Ranma showed up.
Ranma-chan was crying softly because of the terrible itching. If it didn't hurt so much to move, she would probably break the cast and scratch to her content. It was then that Kuno, in uncursed form, burst into the room,
"Villain! Show thyself!"
"Ergh!" Ranma-chan felt like vomiting when she saw Kuno. Just what she needed.
"Oh!" Kuno hopped in surprise, "Kama-chan! I percieve your tears! No doubt you are captive of the knave that has taken residence in this hospital! Truly this man is a defiler of all that is innocent and pure!"
"Ugh!" Ranma-chan was too disgusted for words.
"I take your silence to mean that you confirm that you have indeed been kidnapped!" Kuno hefted Ranma over his shoulder and moved towards the window, "We shall escape!"
"Aaah!" Ranma-chan's eyes bugged when Kuno leapt through the closed window and down the four stories, into a timely mattress truck.
"Such is the luck of Tatewaki Kuno!" He exclaimed with a laugh.
Ranma-chan's heart was beating frantically. She had never felt fear like this before.
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Death is too good for this scum sucking, hot aired, delusional,...
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AN 8/15/03: I didn't get around to everything I wanted to, but I enjoyed writing about "Haruko." I suppose I made it clear enough who she really is. She was supposed to come later, and her meeting with Ranma will, but I felt a need to write something about her. Anyone that saw episode 6 of FLCL might have an idea about "Haruko's" intentions, but she will not deviate too much from her Ranma 1/2 counterpart's role. There's really a lot I have to say about this chapter, but I can't hope to remember everything I wanted to say. I know Kuno's formal language has lapses. It probably has something to so with his curse. Anything that seems wrong or innacurate might be so accidentally, but it might also be part of the plot. By the way, I was going to call Soun the Battousai as his third title, but I thought better of it. I've got enough on my plate as it is. Expect people to chase after both Ryoga the Stampede and Haruko Haruhara.
AN: After thinking about it, I decided just call the overall story posted a chapter and just break it into parts, so I can just give each one it's own appropriate title.
The Inner Demon Chapter 7
Genma felt some remorse over leaving the boy with his old friend, but could not bear to watch Ranma destroy this community as had undoubtably, in retrospect, happened in several of the places they had visited. What if the boy killed them before he returned!? Genma could feel the pressure of the yen he'd borrowed against him within his ill fitting gi. Soun could fend for himself for a month or two...
Part 1: Kasumi Goes Nuts; Ranma Takes a Nap
A very angry looking Kasumi grimaced at Ranma. Well, she smiled less than usual, anyway, "You hurt that man!"
"He broke inta yer house!" Ranma took a defensive step backwards. He hated this kind of thing. Magic... ugh!
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Sailing for a whaling!
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Kasumi's magical girl uniform was a very grey sailor schoolgirl outfit. Not intimidating in the least. The glowing shield with the spikes was a different thing altogether. Ranma seemed to be more fazed by the accusation than by the magical forces at work. That would change quickly.
Sailor Kasumi charged straight at Ranma, her unarmed fist too fast to even be a blur before it struck, sending Ranma tearing across the dojo, through a wall, and into the Tendo garden. She then leapt through the roof as though it weren't even there and landed a punishing dive kick in Ranma's chest, tearing open a crater around him.
This was probably about as painful as taking a "Futai no Wami" from Ryoga at optimal range. Ranma wasn't sure before he passed out.
Just because her opponent was clearly down didn't mean that Sailor Kasumi saw any reason not to pummel him. A series of punches followed by an Akane worthy uppercut sent him quite a ways above her. She readied her shield to impale him on landing.
Akane had caught the end of the fight. The painfully short fight. She realized that her older sister was going to kill Ranma. Something seemed very wrong about this. This something led Akane to do the unthinkable. She ran through the garden from the house and blind sided Kasumi with an upward swinging mallet.
Kasumi flew through the air with a shocked expression on her face. Akane felt remorse and stepped forward, dropping her mallet. She looked off into the night sky. She was wearing her pajamas, having been preparing for bed. It was unlikely that she would be able to get enough sleep for school tomorrow.
Ranma landed with a heavy thud behind her.
Elsewhere, a bus was on it's way south. It was a tour bus. It's destination was for a slower paced, scenic city. Probably a tourist hotspot or something. The four nuns and the sleeping panda (who had had exact change) took no notice of the suddenly appearing dent in the roof. Neither did the two vagabonds or the, perhaps drugged, driver.
Slightly before this, a frenzied P-Chan seized the opportunity to run from his captor. As fast as his stubby little legs could, anyway. He'd found his traveling gear during one of the few times he'd been human that day. Ranma apparently thought it would be funny to put it in Akane's room. It was sort of strange that he always managed to find his stuff after becoming human again.
P-Chan cautiously approached the kitchen. He didn't need to get lost when he was so close to escape. He also didn't need that Nabiki girl or Mr. Tendo to find him. There was a warm kettle on the stove. Apparently Kasumi had been making tea. It would have to do. He torpedoed himself into the kettle from the floor and promptly changed. Ryoga now found himself sitting on the very hot surface of the stove. Needless to say, he ran top speed away and managed to find himself still within the house. A shriek caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. That Nabiki had somehow gotten behind him. And he was a naked stranger, "DAMN YOU RANMA!"
Nabiki didn't know what to do when she saw a nude boy's back. She was sure she'd locked her door. So she did the only natural thing. She screamed.
Ryoga was crying in frustration at the thought of being re-captured and humiliated. He punched through a nearby wall and found himself, somehow, in Akane's room. How could he have missed an open door?
Nabiki started momentarily when she saw the boy punch a wall down and enter Akane's room. Then she became angry. No one was gonna break in on Akane on her watch. She picked up a baseball bat that she had purchased after witnessing Ranma take out so many of Akane's would-be assailants those days ago. She ran up behind the jerk and broke the (quite solid) bat over his head.
Ryoga thought he'd felt something on the back of his head, but realized that if he turned around, he risked getting lost again. He kept on task and began re-equipping himself.
Nabiki stared at the broken bat, slightly dazed. The boy took the blow as though it were nothing. Then she watched him don some clothing Ranma had oddly asked Akane to hold on to. That clothing was quite familiar for some reason. A normal person might have run at this point, but Nabiki was resolved to watch this rather oblivious boy's movements until her father made his (likely belated), entrance.
Ryoga tied on his boots and strapped his pack on. He needed to train some more before facing Ranma again.
Nabiki looked with horror when the boy turned so that she could see his profile as he headed towards Akane's window. This was none other that the Humanoid Earthquake, Ryoga the Stampede. Destroyer of whole villages in China and Japan. Infamous for the Hokkaido incident. She dropped to her knees as the boy leapt through the (closed) window.
Part 2: And Then There Was Soun
Soun Tendo had snuck out of the house to a bar he had frequented for some time. He had been quite intoxicated when he stumbled back towards his home, but definitely not to the point that he would hallucinate his eldest daughter's form flying across the sky. Soun stood (swaying a bit) and considered this for a moment, "Someoonee hit myy Kaasuumi!" With surprising speed (and directness of course) he sprinted towards his home.
Ryoga had made his way onto the sidewalk. The last obstacle before he was home free was to manage not to walk back towards the house. Where was the house again?
Mr. Tendo could tell that something had damaged his residence. Aside from the broken bits of wood and plaster, there was a gaping hole where Akane's window should have been. A logical (albeit incorrect) assumption at this point might be that Genma was right about Ranma. Due to Mr. Tendo's pride in his own judge of character, the agitated pacing of a teenage boy on the sidewalk in front of his house, and his heavy intoxication, Mr. Tendo decided it was likely the bandanna sporting boy.
Ryoga couldn't understand why it was that his every attempt at escaping Ranma's clutches was challenged by some jerk. Now it was a disheveled man in a brown gi. The man had stumbled quickly up to him and began to speak in very slurred speech. When the man realized that Ryoga had no idea what he was saying, his head morphed into an oversized, demonic version of his normal head. The head was probably supposed to be frightening, but Ryoga couldn't help but laugh out loud before the man took extreme offense and began to cry uncontrollably. Ryoga turned his back on the man in disgust.
"An opportunity!" Soun thought with glee. He pulled out an oversized hammer and swung it hard into the boy's back, sending him far away.
Ryoga sighed as he found himself high above Tokyo. As long as he didn't fall into water, he had no real complaints. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved or deeply unhappy about taking such a route. Eh, could be worse. It was probably Ranma's fault.
Soun ran into the house, finding Akane tending to an extremely battered and bleeding Ranma. This scene sobered Soun up instantly. This was simultaneously (in his eyes) a confirmation of his belief that Ranma was innocent and that there was a possibility still of joining the schools. "My little Akane's growing up!" he cried pathetically.
"Daddy!" Akane looked up from Ranma's side,
"We have to get Ranma to the hospital!"
"Who did this?" Soun asked through his tears.
"There's no ti-" Akane began.
"Who!?" Soun demanded firmly.
"... Kasumi," Akane said, looking down at Ranma.
"Kasumi?" Soun seemed dazed. Was he this drunk?
"Yes..." Akane said with a fresh pang of remorse.
"We must hurry!" Soun stated as he hefted Ranma. He would have to figure this out later, "Where are your sisters now?"
"I don't think Nabiki left her room..." Akane said distractedly.
"And Kasumi..." Soun felt dread as he remembered all of Genma's warnings again.
"Kasumi... she-she... was going to kill..." Akane choked down a sob.
Soun gathered what had happened. The bad side was clear, but he could see a silver lining in the fact that Akane had taken a liking to Ranma. How to get them married before Genma returned? "Go find Nabiki, Akane," Soun said with a supportive look on his face.
"Yes, father," Akane agreed before running upstairs.
Elsewhere in Japan, a girl on a vespa barrelled down the night streets. She wore a red coat, black pants, white boots, and yellow gloves. She would find him if she had to destroy everyone in the way. Her custom made, one of a kind, electric powered spatula was in it's special cover on her back. Her head was mostly covered by her helmet and goggles. She had a mischevious smirk on her face as her magical detecter on her wrist registered a Jusenkyo victim coming in fast from dead ahead. She was certain it was Rankun.
Nabiki followed Akane and Soun dazedly as they moved at a steady walking pace to Nerima General, the nearest hospital. It was times like this that made Akane wish that Soun had a driver's license.
A car zoomed down the road, splashing rainwater on them. Ranma and Nabiki changed. It became clear to Soun that Nabiki-wolf would have to remain home, "Akane, Nabiki."
"Rfff?" Nabiki looked up at her father.
"You need to head home now," Soun stated firmly.
"But daddy!" Akane started up defiantly.
"No buts, Akane," Soun stood, "You and Nabiki mustn't miss school Monday. I don't like the thought of leaving you in the house alone after this, but I see no other choice."
Akane reluctantly agreed, but Nabiki realized that it was because of herself that Akane was really being sent back with her. It was because she was defenseless, and Akane was easily the best fighter in the area that was still conscious. That and the fact that both Akane and her father could move significantly faster than her. She thought about her physical inadequacy seriously as they walked back. Maybe she wouldn't have this curse if she had been stronger?
Soun walked normally until the girls were out of sight, then he channelled his ki into a fantastic jump that took him within sight of Nerima General. It would be a long night.
Part 3: Enter Haruko.
The girl ploughed right into the descending boy on her vespa moped. This might have nearly killed a normal human, but this boy flew back two yards and landed on his back, uninjured. Her moped had been stopped completely by the collision. She flew off of it and narrowly saved herself with a flip. "Oh god! I killed him!" She cried dramatically, "Bang! Blammo! Dead!"
"What?" The boy asked as he stood and dusted himself off.
"You're not Rankun!" She shouted in surprise.
Ryoga was all question marks as he responded, "Uh, no, I'm Ryoga Hibiki."
"Ryoga the Stampede!?" She asked loudly, smiling with glee.
"What?" Ryoga raised an eyebrow. He realized that if he'd been attacking people and objects while hallucinating... The thought of having possibly killed someone made him feel ill.
"Alright!" She grinned widely, "Round two!" she threw off her headgear, exposing long red hair, and swung an oversized spatula at the boy's head.
"..." Ryoga stood there and took it. The spatula bounced off harmlessly. The girl lowered the spatula and began clearing earwax from one ear with one of her gloved hands.
"I just don't get it," She seemed less confused and more interested, "You must be the one." The one that would lead her to Rankun.
"What?" Ryoga was the one that was confused. They were in the middle of a street at night. This was just bizaare.
"My name's Haruko Haruhara," the girl grinned.
"What do you want?" Ryoga asked.
"I want to travel with you," 'Haruko' reduced her grin to an amused smirk.
"What if I refuse?" Ryoga asked.
"Heh," The girl's smirk appeared sinister for a moment, then returned to normal, "Nuthin'"
Ryoga snorted as he turned away.
"But you'll miss out on my famous Okonomiyaki"
Ryoga's stomach growled. It was going to be a long night.
Back in Nerima, Tofu was treating a badly injured patient, "You were lucky I recognized you."
"... Ono..." Hotsuma coughed. He was in unbelievable pain. He had been hard pressed to crawl out of the Tendo dojo. Every part of his body had been injured to some extent. His spine had been likely broken in two or three places, "... the... boy..." Tofu then ceased his work and looked into the man's eye's seriously.
"Did anyone see you?" Tofu had found Hotsuma crawling in a back alley. The man's endurance was amazing. Tofu dreaded what his old friend's future answer might mean.
"... n-no..." Hotsuma was weeping from his agony.
Tofu breathed a sigh of relief. He let go of the revolver in his pocket and resumed his work. If it had been daylight, then there would have been no question of what he would have to do. Tofu knew that it was time to make his move. Nerima was his district. It was his duty to safeguard it's occupants against the occult.
"... t-the b-b-oy..." Hotsuma's frame shook as he spoke. He was an expert in five styles of martial arts. Tofu had seven arts mastered, but was quite aware that Hotsuma exceeded him in skill in their common arts. This was awful.
"Shh, don't talk," Tofu worked intently. As long as the girl never became involved, this would not get worse.
"So what were you doin' flyin' from the sky?" Haruko asked Ryoga at their camp site in the (now vacant) bear cave that they had found during Ryoga's meandering. She was cooking her okonomiyaki on a portable grill built into her Vespa. (Ryoga thought that it might be uncomfortable to sit on top of a ,thinly covered, grill, but the girl never made mention of it.)
"I don't wanna talk about it," Ryoga replied. He hadn't wanted to camp, but Haruko lead him into it, so he decided to comply with her.
"Hmm, suit yerself," She began flipping okonomiyaki onto paper plates (Ryoga assumed that the plates came from the Vespa, but, truthfully, had never seen her open any compartment.) "Hope ya like it spicy."
Ryoga had tossed an entire okonomiyaki into his mouth before hearing this. Smoke poured out of his ears, his face turned red and he began coughing violently.
"Oooo, ish it too hot for da baby?" Haruko giggled.
"I hate you," Ryoga growled while coughing. Then his eyes widened again and he doubled over in pain.
"Hmm, if one way doesn't work, ya just try another," Haruko grinned, eyes closed. She was very pleased with herself.
Ryoga stood and stumbled backwards, clutching his head in pain. Then he screamed as something large pulled itself out of his head. This was, as you may expect, accompanied by crazed giggling from Haruko. His eyes had blurred for a moment when he'd seen the shape. It was a humanoid robot. It was red and had a TV screen for a face. Another robot had latched onto that one, apparently. The red robot kicked the other (which was considerably smaller) off of him and into the cave wall. It bounced and flew at the red one again. At first, Ryoga had thought it was a spider creature, but he now realized it was a large hand. It was clear that the robot that it had belonged to had had it severed.
The red one kicked the small one through the cave ceiling. Then it jumped upward after the hand at a great speed. Ryoga followed it, intent on the fight. The red and the hand were battling fiercely, each one using acrobatics and martial arts to deal out damage. Then the red one's screen flashed a strange symbol and punched the ground, sending a torrent of debris into the hand, crushing it. It then turned, without any clear hostile intent, toward Ryoga. Ryoga clenched his teeth, knowing that this thing was just as dangerous as Ranma to him. Before it could make another move, Haruko leapt out of nowhere and brought her spatula down hard on the red one's head, smashing bits off of it. It was a display of unbelievable power and grace.
The Red bot turned bluish gray and stumbled in confusion. Haruko gave a triumphant laugh, " Red is sooo two years ago, anyway,"
Ryoga's pupils had dialated, "Ranma." He was in shock.
"Ranma?" Haruko looked puzzled. Surely he wasn't calling out Rankun's proper name without spoken, written, or expressly implied consent. That could get an amateur killed.
Ryoga fainted from shock for the second time in his life.
Part 4: The Morning After
Ranma awoke on a hospital bed. He felt like a train had hit him. He was in a body cast. He could tell from the quality of light in the room that it was day. While he did not remember what had happened after he'd mused on his father's departure. Maybe he'd fallen asleep and Ryoga put the whammy (or the Futai no Wami) on him?
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Prince Pork was a nasty fellow.
His spirit was weak, His belly was yellow.
One day, he went a little crazy,
gathered his guts and signed a death warrant with the Kamaitachi
He will be thrown into the pit of the feline And now on him they will dine.
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"That jerk!" He shouted. Judging by his voice, he realized that the path to the hospital must have still been wet from the rain.
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Rain for me means for them pain.
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Having nothing better at the moment, Ranma-chan slept.
Imagine Genma's surprise to find, after a thirteen hour bus ride, that he had not escaped Soun. At least, not his name. Apparently, Kasumi Tendo had donned a sailor uniform and jumped from a tall building and into the bus. "Um, Mr. Saotome," a red faced Kasumi began, "could you help me up?"
Kasumi had hit the bus hard enough to force a Kasumi-shaped depression in it. This was so closely fitting that she was wedged in, "Growf!" Genma-Panda helped her out carefully.
"What happened?" Genma's sign read.
"Umm...," Kasumi reddened further, embarrassed by her behavior last night. She was unaware of her lack of injury.
"The boy," Genma-panda narrowed his eyes as he wrote this.
"We've... got to go back," Kasumi stated hesitantly.
"No," The panda wrote, "Let Soun lie in the grave he dug for himself." Genma didn't really mean this, but he was sure that if the whole Tendo family was as durable as Kasumi, there would be few problems.
"But-" Kasumi began.
"Slasher Soun will just have to awaken for awhile to deal with my son," The panda wrote on sign after sign, "I'm on vacation," and with that the panda donned sunglasses and began to walk in a random direction.
Kasumi walked up beside him, "Slasher Soun?"
"Slasher Soun, Terrifying Tendo, B-" Genma-panda was interrupted while writing his third sign.
"Oh," Kasumi became serene again, "Never mind."
Onlookers dazedly rubbed their eyes. They couldn't possibly have just seen a panda and a girl that hit a bus converse. They simultaneously and independantly decided to pretend it never happened.
Akane was listening to the teacher, really! She had just been momentarily occupied by thoughts of an injured Ranma in Nerima General, lonely and in pain. So what if she hadn't been listening when the teacher asked what events brought an end to the Warring States period! She had an injured guest, a cursed sister and a lethally crazy sister. She had reason to be preoccupied.
"Ah!" a strange voice called from behind her, "Tis fair maiden Akane! What misjudgement from thy teacher brings thee to serve punishment in the halls?"
Akane nearly dropped her buckets of water when
Kuno-chan ran beside her. He/she still refused to believe in the Jusenkyo curse he had, and was apparently only wearing the chest binder underneath her kendo uniform just in case.
"Dost the beautaceous Akane Tendo wish not to speak with me this morn?" Kuno-chan pushed. Akane had realized that Kuno had lost her ability to rally the boys except when he remained ready to discipline them with her bokken (which made a flashy entrance impossible).
"Kuno, " Akane tried to appeal, "I'm having some problems r-"
"I shall smite the villains that have done this, verily!" Kuno-chan smiled, "And then won will be the heart of my love! Verily, I am off!" With that, Kuno-chan ran down the hall in the direction of the school entrance. Without the names of Akane's presumed "villains."
Akane sighed. Things had gotten out of hand ever since that damned Genma Saotome arrived. That ill-mannered jerk. She'd mallet him when he returned.
In a city, somewhere far away, Ryoga and Haruko were on the Vespa, heading wherever Ryoga directed. The now-blue robot from last night flew directly above them.
"I'm not ready to face him again, yet!" Ryoga protested, a bit green in the face from the speed of their transportation. Cars, trucks, bicyclists, pedestrians, whatever was as close as the sidewalk was thrown clear of them as they zoomed down the middle of the street.
"Ya'd better be!" Haruko laughed, "Cuz we're gonna find 'im!"
"Left here," Ryoga pointed to the right. Haruko followed his finger. It couldn't be coincidence that this boy ran into Rankun.
Ryoga was trying to deliberately lead the girl away from Ranma until he knew what was going on. If it mattered, he wasn't really sure where he was. At least he'd been able to see things as they really were and not as if they were Ranma.
"It's not that simple!" Ryoga shouted in agitation, "You said you knew Ranma, he's a walking devil!"
"So?" Haruko grinned that frustrating grin.
"Rah!" Ryoga shouted in frustration, raising his arms. This caused him to fall off of the Vespa. At the same time that Haruko saw fit to ramp up the back of a car. Ryoga's life flashed before his eyes. Then he found himself in the arms of his blue-grey friend. It looked at him as supportively as a robot can. As supportive as a robot with a blank TV for a head can, anyway. Haruko had stopped a ways ahead to wait for them, with an especially irritating smirk. Ryoga was red. To any observer that stayed in the area it would not be clear as to whether he was angry or embarrassed. Probably a mixture of the two.
It was then that Ryoga noticed an intoxicated panda in a gi exit a nearby building. He instantly knew who it was from his time at the Tendo's home. He tried to look away quickly, but it was too late. Haruko laughed out loud and jumped towards the panda, easily clearing the four yards to it. Ryoga slapped himself on the face.
"Do you know who Ranma Saotome is!?" Haruko demanded.
"..."
"Answer me!"
"Pandas don't talk," was sloppily written on a sign that the panda produced. A 19 or so year old girl with a serene smile and a grey sailor uniform exited the building after the panda, then raised a hand to her mouth.
"Oh my!" Kasumi was surprised to see such destruction. Vehicles were everywhere, some were lodged in buildings. It was very dirty. Kasumi wanted to clean it, but didn't know where to begin.
"Do you know where Ranma Saotome is!?" Haruko demanded of Kasumi.
"Why, I suppose he might be in the hospital," Kasumi said pleasantly.
"Hospital?" Haruko was very confused by this. Surely Rankun wouldn't kill defenseless patients! Then again... "Where is this hospital?"
"Oh, excuse me!" Kasumi realized she'd been vague. It was such a new experience to be outside of Nerima. "Nerima General, in Tokyo!"
"That's bold," Haruko muttered.
"What?" Kasumi's smile nearly wavered.
"Nothin'!" Haruko smiled widely ran back to her Vespa, where Ryoga and the robot waited. "Get on," Haruko ordered as she mounted the moped. Ryoga reluctantly complied. The robot took to the air and the trio sped off. "I can't believe how efficient your route is, Ryoga! We might have saved a week of travelling." Ryoga sweatdropped at this.
"What a nice bunch of people," Kasumi smiled vacantly.
"..." It had just registered in Genma-panda's mind that Kasumi had said that Ranma might be in the hospital. It worried him a bit. Nothing that lots more alcohol couldn't cure. He pulled a list from his gi and checked off the place he had just exited.
Ranma-chan was itching. It was that damned body cast. Death would be a welcome release from the itching.
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Maybe I'll visit some other patients later. I've been short on IV drips lately.
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Nabiki had gone to school, unaware of a Jusenkyo victim's tendency to attract water. She had been splashed three times just trying to get to the school. She pulled some strings when she arrived. Some chump named Hikaru Gosunkugi was her new water bodyguard. He was very good at bodily intercepting splashing water, as it turns out. He didn't seem to mind. All he wanted was to keep his little hobby of taking pictures of Akane. As revolting as the idea was of allowing ANYONE to pick up this kind of stuff for free, she decided it was a fair bargain provided he never sold them. That would be unpardonable.
Then there was business with Kuno, or Kuno-chan. Apparently Kuno-chan was chasing some villains or another for Akane. Nabiki didn't really care, so she just sold him Ranma's hospital room number. She even sold him a letter that would allow him to enter any section of the hospital. It was big stuff, but Kuno had big bucks. She had decided to reward herself for going through all that she had since Ranma showed up.
Ranma-chan was crying softly because of the terrible itching. If it didn't hurt so much to move, she would probably break the cast and scratch to her content. It was then that Kuno, in uncursed form, burst into the room,
"Villain! Show thyself!"
"Ergh!" Ranma-chan felt like vomiting when she saw Kuno. Just what she needed.
"Oh!" Kuno hopped in surprise, "Kama-chan! I percieve your tears! No doubt you are captive of the knave that has taken residence in this hospital! Truly this man is a defiler of all that is innocent and pure!"
"Ugh!" Ranma-chan was too disgusted for words.
"I take your silence to mean that you confirm that you have indeed been kidnapped!" Kuno hefted Ranma over his shoulder and moved towards the window, "We shall escape!"
"Aaah!" Ranma-chan's eyes bugged when Kuno leapt through the closed window and down the four stories, into a timely mattress truck.
"Such is the luck of Tatewaki Kuno!" He exclaimed with a laugh.
Ranma-chan's heart was beating frantically. She had never felt fear like this before.
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Death is too good for this scum sucking, hot aired, delusional,...
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AN 8/15/03: I didn't get around to everything I wanted to, but I enjoyed writing about "Haruko." I suppose I made it clear enough who she really is. She was supposed to come later, and her meeting with Ranma will, but I felt a need to write something about her. Anyone that saw episode 6 of FLCL might have an idea about "Haruko's" intentions, but she will not deviate too much from her Ranma 1/2 counterpart's role. There's really a lot I have to say about this chapter, but I can't hope to remember everything I wanted to say. I know Kuno's formal language has lapses. It probably has something to so with his curse. Anything that seems wrong or innacurate might be so accidentally, but it might also be part of the plot. By the way, I was going to call Soun the Battousai as his third title, but I thought better of it. I've got enough on my plate as it is. Expect people to chase after both Ryoga the Stampede and Haruko Haruhara.
