You know, there can never be too many mean people.

---------------------

Chapter 9

Accidental Pain

---------------------

"It was an accident."

"How stupid you think Shampoo is?"

Silence.

"How highly I would rank your intelligence is beside the point. I don't remember doing it, so it is not my fault."

"What's that suppose to mean? You forget going super butch-girl on Shampoo, so it okay?"

"I am NOT butch you dumb bimbo. But it was an accident."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was. You jealous of Shampoo!"

Ranma was actually contemplating suicide. Seriously, he was counting the different ways he could do it in this very room. A brief estimation left him with fourteen. However, if he could gather enough ki, he was sure he could bump that number up to around twenty.

Akane snorted, "What would I possibly have to be jealous of YOU for? Surely not your amazing communicational skills, heck, you still speak in third person!"

The purple and green blankets covering the injured Shampoo fell to the floor as the Amazon continued to yell from her position on the cot. She shouted something in Chinese at Akane.

Ranma could only assume that they weren't pleasant words. Cologne had run to the store to gather some bandages and herbs. Of course, Ranma now second guessed the reliability of her claims. The old ghoul knew Shampoo would be a bitch when she woke up, thus provoking the "inner" bitch in Akane.

Ranma looked up, surprised, when Akane rattled off some words back at Shampoo, also in Chinese. They probably weren't that pleasant either.

"And I didn't have to use third person either!"

"Violent Girl need to shut mouth before Shampoo shut it for her! You still jealous." Shampoo was sitting on her knees on the cot.

Akane matched her point for point and stood at the foot of the bed so that she could look the Amazon in the eye. "Just what do you think I need to be jealous about?"

Ranma, at first, thought it was going to be the insane shrieking sound of Akane's voice that was going to do him in.

"Of course, you know the way Ranma want my body." Shampoo rubbed one hand through her hair and one down the curves of her hip and thigh before striking a pose. "It too too much better than Akane's man body."

But now he realized that it was going to be the direction this conversation was going that was going to do him in.

Akane shrieked. "I do NOT have a man body! Do I Ranma?"

Immediately he began looking around the room for that butter knife he had seen earlier. Hey, he was a martial artist, seppuku with a child-safe knife wasn't impossible.

"Ranma!"

"Ranma!"

A few moments of complete silence went by. Ranma had just opened his mouth when the door opened.

"How are my children feeling?" Cologne bounced in the room with a paper bag full of various supplies.

"Oh thank god! Thank you so much!" Ranma latched himself around Cologne before making an odd guttural sound and leaving the room.

"Oh my, what was that about?"

Akane and Shampoo huffed at the same time before resuming their proper positions from across the room.

"Not my fault."

"Is too."

-----------------------------

"Hey Nabiki, how are you feeling?" Kasumi made her way into the living room with a tray of tea. "Does your head still hurt?"

Nabiki sat up and reached for a cup. "Yeah, I guess. I don't talk about it much, but ever since I was little I have always been," she hesitated, "aware of things. Like when I am missing something it sticks out like a puzzle piece."

Kasumi nodded before sipping her own glass of black tea. "Do you think you are missing something now?"

Nabiki locked her green eyes into her sisters, "The biggest piece ever and I don't even know where to look."

Kasumi smiled before setting her cup down on the tray. "Biki-chan, it is going to be okay. Oh my, Biki-chan… I haven't called you that in forever…"

"You haven't… since before mother died." Nabiki leaned back against the grainy texture of the couch. "Do you think she would be proud of us? If she were to walk back into our lives… do you think she would call me selfish?"

"I know she would never do that. We are all grateful to you Nabiki, you save the dojo just as often as Ranma. Somewhere she watches us and I know she smiles every time she sees you."

Nabiki moved her shoulder so that it rested on Kasumi's. "How do you know? What makes you so sure?"

"Because I am also aware Biki-chan. I can tell about things like that. Besides, about your puzzle… I think the pieces will be falling together anytime now."

A loud crash came from the kitchen was heard and both sisters leapt from the couch.

"Who is there? Can I help you?" It was Nabiki who took charge and headed towards the noise. To say the loud crash startled the two girls would have been an understatement.

When Nabiki rounded the corner and saw Ryouga from behind, she felt at ease and lowered her guard. "Hey Ryouga, don't do that! You know better than to barge into… Ryouga… you ok?" Kasumi placed her hand on her sister's shoulder to let her know she wasn't alone.

Nabiki immediately registered the way Ryouga was standing to be… not right. He was facing away from them towards the corner with his neck angled oddly. His entire stance was not what she was used to. It didn't … feel… like that was her friend at all. His presence felt more like a stranger's.

"Kasumi… why don't you go get Mr. Tendo? Tell him to get here quick."

"Why? It is only Ryouga."

"I didn't ask who it was, I said go." She hated to snap at her sister, but she had a bad hunch about this.

Nabiki listened until she couldn't hear the sounds of her sister's bare feet against the wood anymore.

"Hey Ryouga, how is it going?" She approached cautiously and attempted to sound as pleasant and friendly as possible.

His head turned slightly towards her but his dark hair kept his face and eyes obscured from view. He inhaled deeply and let the air out slowly, as if getting a taste for the air around him. "I do not believe you are the sister I am looking for."

Nabiki decided she was standing too close to Ryouga so she took several steps back. "Is everything okay, Ryouga?"

"My name is not Ryouga. You may call me Annika."

"Is that right? Who is that?"

"I am Ryouga's guide and he is my link to the world. He has given me power over his body for a while." His back straightened as he popped his neck to the side. The unhealthy cracking sound echoed around the kitchen.

"Oh well, thanks for clearing that up. Now, which sister are you looking for? Kasumi?"

He hesitated, as if listening to someone whisper in his ear. "I don't think so."

"Say, you aren't looking for Akane are you?"

He breathed and the entire kitchen shook with his speed.

In a second he had her pinned flat on her back on the dinner table. Both his legs were on the outside of hers and her hands were held captive by one of his, high above her head.

She was about to scream when she remembered, hell, Nabiki Tendo doesn't DO scream.

She does witty sarcasm.

"Can I help you?" She froze as Ryouga's skin grazed her cheek as he leaned his nose into her hair and inhaled, deep. She couldn't help but feel his stubble rub against her face as his silky dark hair trailed down her neck like droplets of water.

She had to admit, it was not a totally unpleasant experience being held against a hard wooden surface by a hard muscled guy.

"You smell like the mountains. Do people tell you that often?" His voice sounded monotone, so unlike the life she usually heard reverberate through him.

'Holy crap, he went crazy.'

"No, Ryouga, I got to admit I don't get that too often. Is Annika making you act this way or is it you that is behaving like a loon?"

He breathed in her hair again, this time running his free hand down the length of her arm. Nabiki's thoughts almost ceased function as it trailed lower, without hesitation, across her breast and down her stomach towards the dip of her hip.

"I think I am going to have to go with a little of both of us. Where is the girl?" His hands tightened painfully on her wrists. His hair still obscured his eyes from her, but she did catch a ghost of a smile on his lips.

'Remember girl, I do not DO scream. You can do this.'

She struggled to rein in her breathing. "What do you want Ryouga? I will give you nothing until you tell me what the hell is going on."

She felt Ryouga move his weight to his arm and lift his body so that he could stare down at her. After only a moment, she was able to gather the wits necessary to look him in the eyes for the first time that day.

A mistake she would later regret, because her screams were heard for miles.

Ryouga had no eyes.

But she would later swear to having heard a child's laughter.

--------------------------

"Not my fault."

"Is too."

"No it isn't—"

"Quiet! I have had enough; I am the Queen Matriarch of the Grand Amazons of China! I will not stand for this insufferable argument any further. Shampoo, do you not understand that Akane would not try and kill you?"

"Shampoo make no such—"

"Xian Pu!"

"Yes grandmother, Shamp—I am aware that she would not."

Akane whistled, "So your real name shuts you up huh? I need to remember that. Comes in handy, right Xian Pu?"

"And Akane, for you to not take responsibility for what you attempted to do, is a debauchery in of itself. You are the heiress to the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. You are not allowed, if I am to understand your school's teachings, to kill."

"But I didn't kill! She is right there!"

"But you tried to," the last sentence came from Ranma, "same difference."

Akane grew silent.

"We see what shuts up Akane as well," Shampoo mimicked.

Cologne stared between the two girls, "I think both of you need to be beaten."

Shampoo snorted, "Tomboy do enough of that already."

Akane growled, "Want me to do it again?"

"Bring it, man girl!"

Ranma was getting ready to find the butter knife again when the Cat Café's phone rang. "I will get it, anything to get me away from those two." With that he stormed down the stairs to the corded phone.

"Alright girls, I did some research on what Ranma told me was happening to Akane's eyes."

The girl in question shook her head, "What's wrong with my eyes? They work fine for me."

"Both Ranma and Shampoo said they saw your eyes shift colors, change from the deep brown they are right now." Cologne rested on the cot next to her great-grand daughter.

"What … what color are they changing to?"

"They are changing into every color, my dear, or more precisely all the different colors of all the different ki. There are teachings in our tribe that speak of such occurrences but they are not usually accompanied by mood swings as well."

Akane held her hands in her lap, "So what does that mean?"

Before Cologne could move to speak, Ranma could be heard taking the steps three at a time. He tripped on the last one and it was pretty clear to everyone in the room it was an emergency.

"It was Kasumi. Ryouga went crazy and attacked Nabiki! Pop and Mr. Tendo are doing their best, but she says I need to get home quick."

This time Cologne saw it. Akane's eyes shifted immediately into a deep green color. "What's wrong? I am coming too."

"It's too dangerous, stay here with Cologne. I mean it Akane! Stay here." Then with that, Ranma was back down the stairs and, more than likely, half way across Nerima.

Both Shampoo and Cologne knew what was going to be said next.

"It is my dojo Ranma! You couldn't keep me from it if you tried." Akane was up from her spot in a heartbeat.

"Are you too stupid to hear Airen's instructions? He said stay here." Shampoo sat up again, her bandages around her ribs constricted her movements and she winced in pain.

Akane did not spare her a second glance, "Would you listen if the situation was reversed?"

"Of course not, Shamp—I is wondering why you still here."

Cologne watched as Akane practically disappeared with speed found only in the highest ranking Amazonian Warriors.

--------------------------

Ranma had taken the high road to get back to the dojo. Without even thinking he was leaping over houses two at a time in a mad dash. It was night time, extremely late and he didn't even have the right shoes on for this type of thing. But none of that mattered.

Kasumi had sounded terrified on the phone.

The highly trained martial artist grinded his teeth in frustration, hell, he had trusted Ryouga! That bastard was attacking them like strangers and hurt Nabiki! Sure, their relationship was love/hate. Nabiki loved money and Ranma hated always giving it to her.

But that changes nothing, Nabiki was part of his family and that bastard was going to pay for hurting her.

It was moments later when Ranma arrived at the Tendo Dojo and before he even landed on the cool grass, he saw his father and Soun tossed out the side door and land several meters away.

The moonlight caught their blood as it arched high and splattered on the foliage around them.

Genma was sporting bruises all over his face and body and Soun was bleeding from the side of his neck, the blood had caked on his white collar.

Ranma grew somber as he approached the two men. "He did that to the both of you?"

Soun buried his hands in his oily black hair, it was slick with sweat. "He was too much; I think something is wrong with him. He says he wants the other sister and he wasn't talking about Kasumi!"

Ranma paled as his fists shook with anger. "That bastard won't get anywhere near Akane, not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Ryouga, what are you doing to my sister!" Akane's voice shrieked from the entrance to the house.

The three men exchanged glances. It was all Ranma could do not to scream.

-------------------------------

In was an instant transformation in the room as the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees. It felt as if an ice cube were being trailed down Nabiki's spine.

"Ryouga, what are you doing to my sister!" Nabiki looked towards the doorway at Akane and watched as her hair whipped around her face in a mad tangle. She had to admit that her sister did look pretty menacing, even barefoot in a short ripped little black dress.

One of Ryouga's hands tightened on her wrists and the other gripped firmly into her hip forcing Nabiki to arch painfully into the much larger boy. "Girl, did I say you could look away from me?"

He looked to Akane, "I hate to disappoint you princess, but Ryouga has little to nothing to do with this particular situation. But we both do agree that we find your big sister to be quite appealing."

Ranma approached just in time to see his rival lean deep into Nabiki's hair and breathe in. "You sick bastard, let her go," Ranma barked.

Ryouga cocked his head to the side before extracting himself from Nabiki. She rolled off the table and practically scrambled to the hallway, where Kasumi was hiding from Ryouga's wrath.

"I am not a bastard, little man." Ryouga popped his neck to the side, his hair once again obstructing clear view to his eyes.

It was Akane who spoke next, "You sure about that?" The lights in the room were not on, but even in the dark Ranma could tell that her eyes were more of a deep purple than brown. He still didn't know what that meant.

Ryouga spoke, "Absolutely. The correct term would be 'bitch,' but I wouldn't call me that princess, especially since I came a long way to talk to you."

"What do you mean by correct term?" Ranma clearly didn't understand.

Nabiki choked from the hallway, "He means that he has been possessed by a woman, granted, a woman who kicked the shit out of Genma and Dad, but a woman none the less."

Ranma looked between Ryouga and Nabiki, "Come again?"

Ryouga stepped between Ranma and the hallway, his eyes caught the light from outside and a ghost of a smile crossed his features, "My name is Annika and I have a message to deliver to the princess."

Ranma gasped as the hollow sockets of his rival became visible. "Dude, what happened to your eyes?" A second went by, "What do you mean princes? Who the hell is Annika?"

Ryouga let out a chuckle. It made everyone in the vicinity shudder, give or take Akane. There was something raw and emotionless about the sound. "Ryouga was chosen by the higher powers to accomplish a certain task. His Hibiki blood made him an ideal candidate to communicate with me."

"And your name is Annika, right? What exactly are you suppose to be, some undead bimbo with a thing for girls?" Ranma lost his patience some time ago.

Annika smiled with Ryouga's fangs, "You could sort of say that. But it is more than that. I am not from around here. In order for me to communicate with someone they have to be completely focused. I have to be able to take over their thoughts and what they see and feel. So I did what I had to do to deliver my message to the princess."

Akane spoke, "So you took our friends eyes away?"

Ryouga visibly shuddered, "Oh how I love the rumble of your voice! They told me the Tendo sisters were exquisite but I was sorely unprepared! Yes, princess, I took his eyes. He can't see me if he can see. Get it?"

Ranma lunged for his throat in a flash, "You sick bitch! Fix my friend!"

Annika rolled with the boy and used a fraction of her strength to toss him completely out the door and into his father. He landed somewhat unnaturally and Genma and Soun rushed to his side.

"Ranma!" Akane made to run after her fiancée but choked on her collar as strong arms slammed her against the open door. The door banged against the cabinet behind her and "thwapped" against the back of her head, hard. Her eyes went fuzzy with the impact.

Ryouga inhaled against the side of her neck as if inspecting her smell. "I must apologize for my behavior chosen one, but I have not inhabited a human body in quite some time. Our kind never ventures to earth unless it is an emergency. We tend to get … overwhelmed by the emotions of the bodies we inhabit. This one is surprisingly lustful. But, I need to deliver a message so pucker up." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Touch her and die." Ranma pulled Ryouga off and kicked him in the neck, sending the fanged boy reeling, choking and gagging into the backyard. "You okay Akane?"

She nodded as his deep blue eyes inspected hers. She wanted to ask what color they were right now, because he looked so sad to see them, "I gotta handle this. Stay here." He left her body cold and ran to where the possessed boy was.

Akane looked in the hallway at her sisters, "Are you two okay? Nabiki is everything alright, he didn't do anything to you did he?" She hugged them both.

"Besides round second base? Nah, nothing I can't handle sis. Hey there is something I think you should know. I think that you should list-" Whatever she was going to say was interrupted as a loud crash signaled that one of the boys was in trouble.

Akane was outside before she realized what was happening. At first the two fighters were impossible to see but she found them on the roof. They were squared off and talking about something she couldn't quite hear. Her father and Genma were trying to sneak up on Ryouga in a surprise attack.

It appeared as if they were going to actually get him, but the fanged boy moved too fast to see and was able to knock both men off the roof and into the koi pond. Using his momentum he dodged and blocked every punch and kick from her fiancé. Even Akane knew Annika was toying with Ranma at this point.

Both boys blurred as Ranma accessed his inner Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken speed and Ryouga simply… dodged. Akane pulled her father out of the pond and heard him gasp at the battle ensuing on top of their home. The water coming off of him drenched her figure in water, making the already small dress shrink and cling.

She turned and looked at the roof in time to see Ranma's body sickeningly twist in the air as it arched towards the heavens. A normal human would never have made it in time to catch his body from hitting the ground.

Her bare feet slapped on the earth as the anger and panic in her heart took over. She crossed the entire massive Tendo compound in two seconds from a dead stop.

She caught her fiancé high above the heads of the viewers and landed with more grace than any had ever given her credit for. He was bleeding and the only thing she would later remember is that she literally saw red.

The wind picked up speed again as she gently deposited Ranma on the ground. As her head slowly turned to face the cause of her problems her eyes sparked yellow and crackled with unshed fury and electricity.

Annika smiled with Ryouga's fangs and leapt towards the diminutive but hell-bent girl. Before he had a chance to strategize with his immense strength and speed and power, he was on the ground with her shin in his throat.

A wicked smile was on her lips as she popped her knee to the side in an attempt to send his throat through the back of his head. Her dress billowed in the dark electric winds around her.

He kicked her legs off of him and watched bemused as she back flipped off of him to land several feet away in a crouching position. "Good to see you Kalian. I knew you were in the girl, even if it's you in your most primitive form—bloodlust. You learned to control this part of you in your past life, but hell, guess that training didn't stick with you. How many people have you killed so far? Without my help you might even kill your boyfriend over there."

The two fighters lunged toward each other before Ryouga leapt high into the air to attack from above. Akane stayed firmly planted to the ground as she successfully blocked every attack at her from the air.

Ranma shook his head from his position on the sidelines. He had been hit by his rival before, but never had it hurt this bad before. Maybe there was some merit to this whole "possession" thing.

He had to look twice. There Akane was, in her dress that he had to admit that he liked, doing a better job at defeating HIS rival than he did. She was holding her ground against Annika. But even he knew that that wasn't his fiancée fighting out there. Her yellow eyes were more than a giveaway.

It was the same part of her that throttled Shampoo earlier. That would kill if she wasn't stopped. This chick inside of Ryouga said she had a message to deliver. Maybe she wasn't lying.

Either way, one of two things was about to happen. Ryouga would win and deliver the message anyway, or Akane would win and then she would attack the family if he couldn't stop her.

Oddly enough, there was a part of him that wanted to fight her. That little voice had been with him since she had asked him to train her weeks ago. Of course now, he thought to himself, it didn't appear like the girl needed too much training.

This piece of him wanted to cause her pain, and he hated it. It was there when they went running in the woods for school. The few moments they lost together only to wake and find themselves… kissing, as girls.

In his dream where she fought all those demons and he found her in her room, covered in their blood, he felt moved and scared for her. But the more he thought about it, a part of him sympathized with the demons whose blood, if only temporarily, layered her body and room.

He was angry at her, and for what he had no idea. But he knew there was a seed of bitterness that screamed for contact with her. Hell, she wouldn't even let him touch her! He was her fiancé. She was his property.

He looked towards the fight in time to see her leap into the air. The wind played with her dress and her hair. It sent the bright blue hue of it twisting behind her in waves as her tiny frame was engulfed in the bright blood red moon behind her.

Wait, blood red?

Her body turned and her leg snapped towards Ryouga in an attempt to take his head off. He blocked it with extreme effort. She was not playing around and Annika was paying the price. Ranma watched as her long tan legs locked from behind around Ryouga's neck and squeezed.

Ranma, fed up with the entire situation, decided to take the battle away from Ryouga and give Akane what she wanted. He had full intention to beat the hell out of her. Hell, she was his property; he could do what he wanted.

He didn't even notice as his body shifted into his other half without water.

Ranma's red braid thumped against her back as the wind blew wildly around her much smaller form.

Her eyes flashed sickly green as a dormant part of him breathed.

----------------------------

Nabiki watched the battle ensue from her position on the porch with calculating eyes. Kasumi and she were huddled together trying to not be seen but unable to look away.

"Kasumi, do you see Ranma?"

She felt her sister nod, "Yes. He appears to be readying himself to rejoin the fight."

"Yeah but do you see him? He looks pissed at Akane! Hey, did you hear what Ryouga, or Annika, or whoever the hell said about Kalian? Do you know who that is?"

"It sounds familiar, but no. Why would this Kalian person be in our sister? I don't understand."

"Kasumi, why don't' you go call Cologne and tell her we need her here, get a hold of Dr. Tofu if you can, too. We may need a doctor before this is all over."

Kasumi disappeared inside the house and Nabiki continued to stare at Ranma, she had to look twice, but she was positive that his eyes were glowing… green.

"Now what the hell does this have to do with anything?"

Her throat went dry as she witnessed something that she had never prepared herself for. Ranma shrank before her eyes and rounded in the familiar curves of Ranma-chan.

"Oh my, the plot thickens."

------------------------------

She sensed her as she approached. Hell, she smelled her as soon as she turned. Tired of her current toy she knocked him in the back of the neck with the heel of her bare foot. He went down fairly fast.

Akane dropped down and rounded her body in an attempt to catch the redhead off guard. The motion was so fast that it almost worked.

The redhead jumped over her leg and proceeded to access her inner speed and slam her fists into the cheek of the taller girl.

If it hurt, she gave no sign, and began dodging and blocking the punches sent at her, despite the speed at which they were coming. Akane rounded her leg into Ranma's stomach and failed to flinch when it was caught and snapped away from her.

The smaller girl with the translucent glowing green eyes smiled as Akane was wickedly tossed on the ground next to the still form of Ryouga.

"I always thought you looked your best wallowing on the ground, Kalian. I like a man that grovels." Ranma's foot rested on her chest and pressed down hard on her lungs. "Of course, in that dress you hardly resemble the man you used to be."

"Is that so Malamarie? Well even born as a man you still resemble the blood sucking bitch you used to be. Oh, and for the record," Akane grabbed the ankles of the towering redhead and jerked her down so that she would fall flat on her back on the ground. Akane straddled her, "I always thought you looked your best when you were flat on your back."

"You always were a goody goody."

"You always were impossible to please."

"Bastard."

"Bitch."

It was that moment when Ryouga nailed Akane in the chest and kissed her full on the lips. A flash and a spark fizzled between the two.

In that single moment both the anomalies Malamarie and Kalian rescinded back into Ranma and Akane and they were left in the moment.

Ranma stared in shock as he came to, only to see his fiancé and his rival locking lips. "What the hell?"

When they separated both Akane and Ryouga fell to the earth, completely asleep and exhausted.

The message had been delivered.

---------------------------

Chapter 9

Complete

----------------------------

Sorry it took so long guys, this chapter was so hard to write.

I would like to give a …shout out … to KyLewin for his awesome reviews. You so rock and I appreciate it.

So this story got inducted to a C2 and I had no idea. I thought they would at least send me an email but hey. So I think this chapter sucks.

Like royally blows ass. What do yall think?

Ceya – Lady Mo.