Ki Cutters: 30
The Prophecy IV
"…Bow before me…Urk!"
Something hit him in the back from above. There was the sound of rapid impacts and a figure flipped over his back. As it did, it stripped the vest from the birdman, jerking away the Taochinpang in the same movement. The weapon clattered on the pavement seconds after the figure touched down. Short with feminine curves and red hair, it could only be…
"Ranma!" Akane plunged for a quick hug. Her fiancée's long unconscious state had begun to worry her.
"Hey! Couldn't let my favorite tomboy face that thing alone." She turned and glared at the birdman as he landed just beyond the staff. "You've got a lot to answer for!" she scolded.
He sneered back. "Since when does a god answer to anyone?" He reached for the staff.
"No! Don't!" Ranma yelled, realizing this baka had begun to believe his own hype. Desperately, she threw the vest at him. "Don't touch it without…"
Bigmouth brushed the vest aside and snatched at Taochinpang, shouting, "I will be known as—!"
"Jackass!" bellowed Ranma. The birdman vanished and Ranma looked sick. There was no Jusendo here to bring the fool back. Walking over, she picked up the vest and used it like a potholder to lift the staff. Then she reached into the loose clothing and withdrew a tiny winged form, about 20 centimeters across. "Jackass," she repeated dismally. She turned to the others. "Maybe the go—!" She glanced at Nuku-Nuku and finished more quietly, "…Mrs. Morisato or her sister can do somethin'."
A sudden explosion of violence drove them to take cover in an alley, as Mousse, Shampoo, Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung surged past battling Lime, Mint and Herb. They would have been doing fine except there were also more spider-mecha and what looked like some kappa with clubs and about a dozen fox-faced men armed with butterfly swords who were attacking everyone else indiscriminately.
"Man, it bites not bein' able ta help 'em," Ranma growled. She staggered and barely kept Akane at arm's length. "Watch it! I don't want ya getting hit by this thing!"
"Ranma, you're still weak," she said in sudden understanding. Even he needed the protection of the dragonscale vest at this point
"Well, duh!" Ranma huffed. "Now we gotta figure out how we're gonna get outa here." .She slumped against a wall and regarded the fight in the street. Then she got a thoughtful look as she turned her eyes to Nuku-Nuku. "Hey, cat girl. You're pretty fast - faster 'n me in a straight line. Ya even sound like me. How about we trade clothes. We pigtail yer hair and…"
"Instant distraction," Nuku grinned. She skinned down swiftly, even less disturbed than Ranma by nudity. Akane thumped Ranma gently as she gawked and stood guard as Ranma turned her back to disrobe.
Moments later a pigtailed girl ran out of the alley. "Try ta catch me, suckers!" she yelled before speeding away. With a roar, the mass of struggling bodies decamped and pursued.
Mousse and Shampoo remained behind. Shampoo looked upset. She had not dared yell after her sisters to warn them it was a diversion. "Come on! Let's go! Ryoga and Ukyo waiting," Shampoo growled. "We take Nuku-Nuku's bike."
Ranma was quite willing to ride in the back, as the master of demon-cycling, Shampoo, adjusted the seat and mounted up. "Hurry up. What do you guys have planned anyway?" she asked wearily. "We gotta end this before more people get hurt." She held a winged doll to her chest, while encasing Taochinpang in a shield to avoid accidental contact.
"Excuse me?" came a voice like water flowing through mud. Its Japanese though, was surprisingly good. "We're looking for a man or woman named Ranma Saotome. We're pretty sure he or she is here somewhere…"
The trio boggled at the trolls that accosted them. The trolls didn't seem to notice that they had found their target.
"Really, you have a nice city and all, but we prefer the upper deeps. Sunlight is a bit painful…"
"Go! Go!" Akane shouted, pushing the trailer to help accelerate the bike. Shampoo pedaled like mad and tried to work out the special gearing. They developed 70 kph in time respectable for a sports car.
One of the trolls pulled out an oddly shaped amulet and growled at their spokesman. He looked at the amulet, at his fellow troll, then after the disappearing teenagers. "Well, bloody hell!" he declared in his own language. He shrugged. Trolls were patient as mountains and just as tireless. They'd run them down eventually.
oOo
The crew after Nuku-Nuku traveled east and north, the android's speed easily keeping her out of trouble. From time to time, she let one of her opponents catch up with her. It was fun, the mecha were interesting and she hadn't had a challenging playmate in a while. She burst ahead so she could extend her uplink without observation.
"Ryunosuke," she transmitted.
"Yes, Nuku?" Her brother was immediately on the channel.
"The mecha involved in this attack seem of alien origin — very interesting substitutes for circuit boards. Perhaps Mishima would like to become involved?" She briefly summarized the action to date.
"I hear you, daughter," cut in Mama-san's voice. Trust her to listen in on the private line. "Can you give me more detailed information?"
"Not without stopping and capturing one, and that would betray Ranma," Nuku frowned and hoped Mama-san would not ask her to do that.
"No, don't do that," Mama-san said. Nuku-Nuku practically glowed. She was always happy when Mama-san was considerate of others. "If you can, though, disable a few. I'll have the girls pick them up. We'll also mobilize the Defense Force. When they realize they can't catch you with the spider-types, they may take stronger measures. Be careful, dear."
Nuku-Nuku grinned. It was perfect! Papa-san would be so proud of Mama-san and the whole family would grow closer and more loving. Added to her present play, she was in heaven.
oOo
Further back, Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung leaped and struck, attacking the various pursuers as they tried to gain on what they thought was Ranma. They used a bonbori in one hand and a sword in the other, working, as always, as a team. From time to time they came in contact with the Musk group and clashed. Lime was rather easily tricked if not easily damaged, and insanely strong. Mint was fast, possibly faster than Ranma was the last time they fought. Herb was just plain dangerous with his flying and his damn ki tricks. At their present skill level, though, they might be able to take him if there was no interference and if they were lucky and stuck together.
"Where Shampoo and Mousse?" yelled Lung-Lung as they took a short cut, seeing 'Ranma' turn east again.
"Where Akane?" retorted Ling-Ling. She groaned. 'Ranma's' move had been a feint, now they'd have to really run, to catch up. "How Ranma do this? He dead tired when wake up! Now, Ling-Ling dead tired." She frowned at the figure racing ahead. "Hair not look right..."
"You right!" her sister decided. "Ranma not supposed to go here. What going on?"
"I can't imagine why you Amazons are involved in this," came a smooth, deep regal voice. Herb stepped out of the shadows. Mint stepped out from behind him. Lime was nowhere to be seen. "None of you have the equipment to take advantage of the situation." Ki bloomed threateningly. "We are becoming weary of your interference in our business."
Herb had definitely taken some damage in the fighting. The circles under his eyes might mean he was low on ki. Away from his native ground he was much slower recovering and cold water should change him into a girl. His ki techniques were weaker when he was female…
Their eyes narrowed and their heads came forward like cats sensing prey. "Who hurt who?" they smirked in unison. They came to a ready stance back to back. Deep within they began to focus their ki. Unseen, bright points of light coalesced in their hidden hands.
"For evil done Amazon…" Ling-Ling intoned. Their forward hands came to their collars.
"For evil past, and evil offered…" added Lung-Lung. In unison, they popped buttons, revealing cleavage, then the rounding swell of their breasts. More buttons popped loose.
"For bad manners, stupid names and fleas, we, the Amazon princesses of love will punish you!" They finished in unison, shrugging wide the fabric to flash pert bosoms at their foes.
Mint was stupefied. "B-b-b-breasts!"
"W-What do you think y-you're d-d-doing?" stuttered Herb. He had obviously never seen animé and apparently hadn't learned how to deal with nudity in his original battle with Ranma. The twins attacked their more dangerous foe, first. The flash was visible for blocks.
oOo
Shampoo and her passengers screeched to a halt outside the Nekohanten. Cologne waved her cane in greeting. "Ranma, your mother is fine and is going to the Temple for sanctuary," were the first words out of her mouth. Ranma's face brightened. She handed off the vest, Taochinpang and the 'doll' to the old woman who grunted disapprovingly. "I see we need to contact Phoenix Mountain again." She added, more quietly, "Also, you were right, Senbei did cause all of this, somehow inserting this prophecy into our weave of reality, allowing him the opportunity to steal power not rightfully his and, at the same time, attack you where he thought you most vulnerable."
Ranma nodded and smacked her fist in anticipation as Ryoga, in girl form, adjusted the fit of her red silk shirt. She was obviously dressed to imitate Ranma with a fake pigtail hanging from the back of her red-dyed hair. "What are you doin' Ryoga?" asked Ranma puzzled.
"Pretending to be you, baka," she said smirking. "We'll lead them off while you take care of the problem." She shrugged toward Ukyo and the people with her. Nagasameru with her wicked sword, and her fiancé, Shinzoo, stood alongside Gosunkugi and Mio.
"Okay," Ranma said doubtfully. Maybe this had to do with what they had learned. "What are they doing here?"
"Shinzoo has a license to drive the truck," Sama said. "I'll be cover to keep the demon crowd off Ryoga in the back."
"The demons can sense your ki, Ranma," Gos said. "Or at least that's what Ms. Kamiko said over the phone. I…I can use my voodoo to create a ki image for them to sense. Ms. Kamiko gave me very explicit instructions on how to do it."
"I'm going because Rychan is," Ukyo said. She brandished her mega-spatula, symbols inimical to demons etched in its surface. "It's not Sama's sword, but I think it'll do."
"And I'm going with my cards," Mio said. "I can search ahead and find the best path."
"You guys are gonna get creamed!" Ranma protested. "How is this gonna help anyone?"
"Look, jackass," Ukyo glowered, "We're doin' this so you and Akane have time to do it!"
"Huh?" Ranma looked blank.
"Have instant Nanniichuan, Ranma," Shampoo said testily. "Akane get equipment, do deed, get done and demon go home. Okay?"
"What!" Ranma whined on a higher note, blanching. She looked at Akane who blushed and looked away. "Me and…and… You're kiddin'! Right?"
"Come along, son-in-law," Cologne grated from the door. "I can sense two forces converging on us. If you don't get under cover, all our preparations will be for nothing."
"But...?" Ranma squeaked. Akane grabbed her arm.
"Ranma! Umisen! Now!" she commanded. "Wish us luck, guys!" she called as they faded from sight. Akane activated the Tao-shield they had used to negate Taochinpang and faded from ki sight, as well.
"Let's do it, people," Cologne commanded. Gosunkugi held up a doll made of beeswax. Attached to it were a strip of cloth from Ranma's shirt and a lock of his hair. Lighting his candles, Gosunkugi knelt and placed the doll on a painted spell diagram on the truck bed. He chanted:
"Be like unto him whose image you are,
To deceive enemies both near and far,
By fire, by earth, by water and steel,
By the wood of the tree, let his enemies feel,
That his spirit is nigh."
"Not bad, Hikaru," Cologne said. "Very nice. Now up on the truck everyone; they're coming."
"Go southwest," Mio ordered.
"But that's toward the center of town!" Nagasameru objected.
"Let's go!" Shinzoo yelled, piling into the driver's seat. He wasn't going to argue. They jumped on and roared off, just as a horde of scaly snake-men with some kind of jet backpacks roared in pursuit.
Cologne stared after them. "Naga, for heaven's sake." She shook her head and went inside. She carefully disassembled Taochinpang and placed Kinjakan and Gekkaja in separate concealed spaces in the concrete walls of their storeroom. Satisfied for the moment she returned to the Nekohanten's kitchen. "The room is warded as I described?" she asked Mousse as she hopped up.
"Yes, matriarch," he replied. "Now we act as the outer guard, I guess. Hopefully, we won't have to fight. I mean, how long can it take?"
Shampoo sniffed, "Stupid Mousse."
"What?" the bespectacled man exclaimed.
oOo
"We can let it drop now, Akane," Ranma's voice whispered. They had closed the door to Shampoo's room in the Nekohanten, sealing the wards that would hopefully insure their privacy till they were finished.
"You never told me Umisen was that hard," Akane complained, looking at Ranma's sweating face.
"It wouldn't be if I wasn't so damn drained." Ranma yawned crackingly. Then she turned a serious look at her fiancée. "Now, what's this about us usin' instant boy-water to solve my problem?"
"You have a better idea? How long can they fool the demons, do you think?" Akane retorted, glaring. She noted the hipbath full of the promised instant Nanniichuan, and the bucket of regular water for Ranma's transformation had he needed it.
"I don't know, Akane, but they better give it up before the demons actually catch them. This is my problem. I don't want anyone else hurt."
Akane's gaze softened. "Then we better get this over with. I mean… How hard can it be?" 'We love each other,' Akane thought; 'We can get through this.'
oOo
On the flatbed truck, Ryoga plucked at the Chinese silk shirt she was wearing. "Damn, this thing is tight!" She may not have Ranma's mammary development, but her ribcage was significantly larger around.
"Stop complaining," Ukyo said. "Kami! They're nasty looking!" She pointed at the pursuing naga. Ryoga fortunately was too involved in her current discomfort to consider them as more than opponents to fight.
"Make the next left!" Mio shouted to Shinzoo.
"But it's one way!"
"Do it!" she screamed. They did. Seconds later the naga started the turn only to be countered by a near equal number of trolls. The two forces locked in combat. The truckload of martial artists breathed a sigh of relief.
A huge muscular body covered in scales punched through a wall of stone like it was made of paper and charged after them, roaring. Needles like spikes rose from its head and shoulders and talons as long as a man's finger dug up the pavement as it pursued.
"Take the next two rights, then the main highway," Mio said shakily. Another horror, a dull red color, rumbled out of a side street, colliding with the first demon, which objected to this invasion of its space. The two rolled in a striking, biting ball of fury. Above them, on leprous bat-wings, a thing with a human face and saber-fangs wailed a hideous sound. Soon it was joined by others, similar but each unique in individual appearance. Humanoid figures riding giant wolves galloped in pursuit, weapons gleaming black in their hands. Spider-mecha darted out of an alleyway, jittering along walls and street. Soon the Hell-spawn parade was strung out on the main highway north out of Tokyo.
oOo
"Told ya ta strip first," observed Ranma as Akane went pop-eyed in the cool water of the hipbath. The bra was stretched across a broad flat muscular chest and the panties pinched in places previously unimaginable to the girl-turned-boy. "It's not like I haven't seen it before."
Akane growled, a startlingly deep sound, and ripped the panties off before they cut off circulation altogether. Another wrench disposed of the offending bra. Then he searched around the bottom of the hipbath. "Oh, no!" the brawny male form complained.
"What's wrong?"
"My ring!" Akane held up the ring Ranma had given her at Christmas. One side had popped free, breaking the band. "Oh, Ranma!"
"Don't worry," Akane's fiancé said gently. "It's repairable. I'll get it fixed."
Akane nodded, but put it aside as tenderly as if it were a wounded bird. After taking a couple of deep breathes to center, he asked, "How do I look?"
"Pretty good, I guess," Ranma said quietly. "You got all the equipment, and so have I," she finished with a slight quaver in her voice.
Akane looked down at himself. The distraction was a relief. "Eeuw, gross!" he exclaimed. "It's not bad on you, but me?"
"I'm glad to hear it," Ranma replied with more humor than she'd been showing. "Now let's get this over with." Akane was still looking down. "What?"
"Isn't this supposed to… do something?" Akane asked pointing. "It's… limp."
"Well, duh-uh! Ya hafta wanna do it!" Akane's eyes came up and met Ranma's, even as Ranma was in the middle of skinning down her boxers. "Uhhh…"
"I'm not a pervert!" Akane said firmly with tight lips and narrowed eyes.
"Well, don't look at me!" snapped Ranma, finishing disrobing but coming up holding the shorts between Akane and herself, an unconscious shield. "If I'd gone and done something before this, I wouldn't be in this mess!"
Akane opened her mouth to retort and reconsidered. They had gone way past any possibility of his accusing Ranma of being a pervert himself… herself… whatever. Now they had to figure out just how they were going to manage this.
Akane gulped. "Maybe we should… cuddle. I mean you always seem to get interested when we do…"
"But that's when I'm a guy and you're a girl, dammit!" Ranma snapped. She looked Akane in the eyes. "Thank kami, you still look mostly like yourself."
"I do?"
"Yeah. You're damn big though."
Akane looked down. "How can you tell?"
"Not that," Ranma screeched. She took a couple of deep breaths and glanced sidelong at the futon waiting for them. "I mean you're big. You're taller than your dad – as tall as Ryoga is these days, and even broader across the shoulders."
"So?" Akane wasn't certain at first, where this was going. Ranma glared at him and twitched. "It's not like I'm going to attack you!" Then he got it. His eyes softened and he took first one step, then another and reached out gently to caress Ranma's shoulders with his fingertips. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I really wish things were reversed." He felt the shiver of the soft flesh as Ranma restrained a withdrawal. Akane came closer and very, very gently hugged Ranma. "It's easier for me to come to you. I mean…I've known you and your curse for the last two years. You only had the last two days to consider this."
"More like the last two minutes," Ranma snorted against Akane's chest. "And even then, it wasn't real till ya stepped outa that tub." Ranma felt very good here, nestled in the embrace of Akane's arms. She knew it was still Akane. Blinking back tears that threatened unexpectedly, she pushed away far enough to look up into the brown eyes above. Yes, very definitely Akane, no matter how distorted. "Let's get this over with."
"I'd love to," Akane remarked dryly. "Waiting for a demon to barge in here is making the skin on my back itch." He pointed down. "Unfortunately, I'm lacking in inspiration."
Ranma looked down, then up. "Well… Do something."
"Excuse me? What do you mean by that?" Akane retorted. "This is all new to me! Why don't you do something?"
Ranma swallowed dryly. Hiro and Dai's magazines had several suggestions, which, from a male perspective, had ranged from titillating to downright wrong. Now that she was on the other side of the equation, they all seemed just… wrong. "I ain't touchin' that!"
"You expect me to touch th…those… and… and that!" she exclaimed, pointing.
"It ain't the same for a—!"
"Don't you dare finish that!"
They glared at one another, huffing.
"What's all the shouting about?" Cologne called in through the door. "Do you need help?"
"Do demons come?" asked Shampoo breathless and prepared to burst in, bonbori at ready. Mousse, whose hearing was far sharper and knew they weren't yet in danger, grinned at the idea. The Amazons had just dealt with Lime who had somehow stumbled on them. Mousse had him tied up in the storeroom, placed appropriately with the spices.
"No!" the two teenagers yelled, blushing. They glared into each other's eyes. The moment grew longer, and they began to snicker at the nature of the situation. Not only were they planning on doing this switched-gender, but Cologne, long time fierce opponent of their relationship, was going to burst in and 'help' them?
"Ummm… Let's start over," suggested Akane quietly.
"Where? At the point where ya ripped your panties to pieces, or where we were trying to decide who was gonna be the pervert?" Ranma asked, eyebrow going up. "By the way, watcha gonna do about traipsin' back home, in a dress, no less, that way?"
"Ranma!" Akane growled. He flushed. "I'll borrow your boxers."
"You sure?" Ranma asked, a hint of a smile on her face. "What'll I use?"
"How about borrowing some of Shampoo's, then?" Akane replied a bit acidly.
"For me or you?" Ranma turned away and gazed at the door of the room. Perhaps she was using ki-vision, or perhaps merely wishing there was a way out of this.
Akane impulsively reached out and hugged the redhead again, feeling the instant, instinctive tension in the small frame fade away to a reluctant acceptance of the offered comfort. "Oh, Ranma! It always happens to you, doesn't it? I wish we could just ignore all this, but I suppose we'll be fighting overpowered idiots to our dying days."
"This is one I don't know if I can win, tomboy," Ranma admitted quietly. "I… I just don't know that I can do this. Even with you."
Akane laughed bitterly. "I know what you mean. Unfortunately, before we can find out if you can do it, we have to figure out how I can… do it." He pointed down again. "Nothing's happening. Is there something you guys do?"
"Yer askin' me?" Ranma snorted and eyed him up and down. "Ya just… I don't know. Think about the other person's body, I guess. I spent the last two years here doin' my best not ta think 'bout that. Look what it got me." Ranma glanced down and paled. With a swallow she took a step back out of Akane's arms. "Uhhh… Watcha doin', Akane? I mean, um…"
"I'm thinking of you," Akane said with his eyes closed. "The way you normally are."
"Oh, kami!" Ranma took another step back. "Yer freakin' me out, tomboy! Oh, man! I don't know if that's perverted or not, you bein' a guy right now, thinkin' about me bein' a guy, so you can do it with my girl side… Brrr!"
"You're not helping!" Akane snapped. Disgusted he looked down. "See what you did?" Ranma did, in fact, look relieved. "How are we going to get this done? Our friends are risking their lives out there and we're standing here squabbling and making wisecracks at each other!"
Ranma jerked as if slapped. Her shoulders slumped. She nodded. "Yer right. I'm bein' stupid." She looked up into Akane's eyes, blue gazing into brown. "I can do this. I have to! I'll be dead before I let that creep, Senbei, or any of his crowd, win. I can do this!" Her shoulders came up. "Just hold onta me fer a minute, Akane. I gotta set myself — find my center. Maybe soul-of-ice will help. I can do this…"
Ranma closed her eyes and frowned, concentrating, muttering a mantra of "I can, I can, I can"… As soon as she had set herself, she would let Akane visualize again, and then they'd just do it and get it over with. Yeah! That's what they'd do!
oOo
Senbei howled like an animal in a trap, which in a sense he was. The ward had sliced into his forehead and was bone deep. He couldn't touch it, nor could any other demon. Urami and Urayami stood off to one side debating their course of action. "I guess we have to do this," Urami admitted, frowning.
"Do we have to?" Urayami asked. Her sister shuddered.
"Yes!" Urami said. She stepped forward and threw her superior up against the wall. "This is for your benefit, Senbei." The eyes in the face were wide in horror and the open mouth let loose a hissing croak of acceptance. Urami nodded.
Then she pulled out a pistol with a bore ten centimeters in diameter, and shot him in the head.
oOo
Nagasameru swung, and a demon howled, its clawed hand flipping end for end in the air, as its attachment to its owner came to an end. The nodachi swung back and intercepted a bolt of energy launched from the fingers of an armored form, its swarthy face marked with the double slash of a demon first class. It wasn't Senbei, by description, though, and she wondered where that individual was.
On the other side, Ukyo, her mega-spat inscribed with the wards anathema to demon-kind, parried and chopped at a dark sword that probed through Ryoga's shields at Gosunkugi. Her blow deflected the blade back at the oddly shaped horse its wielder rode, which collapsed screaming as the blade touched it. It turned on its rider and they faded as carnivore teeth flashed in the near equine jaws.
Ryoga stood in the center of the truck bed, wishing she had her umbrella and making do with a 4-centimeter thick, two-meter staff instead. With the red dye job, she made a passable Ranma in cursed form, even if her eyes were the wrong color. Their pursuers were certainly convinced that they had found the right target. She squinted, hoping to avoid apprising these creatures of their mistake until it was too late for them to seek out her friends.
'Just hurry up, dammit!' she thought, her situation finally sinking in. 'I don't want to be the substitute at the bottom of a dog-pile!'
oOo
Akane stood there, his arms around the slight feminine form. Akane didn't like this one bit. Between the manipulative kami and the violent and perverted demons, this solution had seemed the best of a bad lot. Ranma deserved better than to be raped or used like some streetwalker. Akane, more than anyone, wanted Ranma to know that he/she was loved. An impersonal act of sex was repulsive. The six-year old memories of a near rape made it more so. A possible solution presented itself, courtesy of her romance novels, shojo manga and her reading of Barry's journal for Ranma... especially the part about the sensitivity of sex-linked ki.
Akane let one hand stroke lightly down Ranma's shoulder. The shiver was unconscious and reflexive. He stroked again using the softer skin on the back of his hand along the soft side of a rounded breast. Akane nodded and took note how Ranma's mouth opened and the slight hiss of air betrayed the reaction. He reached down and turned the face of the redhead up, noting the blank gaze and the rigid introspective look. He stroked again, more firmly, and lowered his head to kiss the upturned lips. In reaction Ranma's body unlocked its knees and collapsed, only being caught by Akane's quick grasp. He lowered the redhead and himself onto the futon.
Men and women have certain instinctive reactions to certain stimulation. Part of a man's reaction is derived through dominance and control. Never a particularly submissive person, Akane recognized the control Ranma's responses gave him. This, in turn, stimulated a very male response. He stroked and experimented some more.
Ranma's soul-of-ice was almost achieved when a hot flash streaked across her consciousness like lightning in a dark sky. Blinding, it surprised and left a sense of after-image that confused and tricked the mind. Focus utterly shattered, she felt the blinding flash of another sensory bolt shimmering across the canvas. Familiar with the very personal and focused sense of desire that a man possesses, she was totally unprepared for the way a woman's body could be stimulated. She now possessed far more sensitive and generalized erogenous zones than a man and Akane's touch was paralyzing, enervating. "A-akane!" she managed to gasp. Belatedly, she realized she had mumbled through an obstruction — Akane's mouth.
Akane's hands stroked and caressed the way she would have wanted to be stroked and caressed, had their positions been reversed. If Ranma had to give up his dignity for this stupid prophecy, Akane Tendo was going to make sure it was one to remember.
The concept that Ranma might not want to remember… never crossed Akane's mind.
oOo
Senbei crouched mouth gaped wide, a hole, really a deep groove, running through his skull from front to back. As the demonesses watched, the hole filled in rapidly and grew hair. Moments later he stood, dusting himself off. Without a word of thanks, he teleported to his office in Nifelheim. There he checked on the latest information on Ranma. With a snarl he called Urami and Urayami to him. "Back to Nerima! Everyone's after him now!"
Senbei followed the truck on the back of Urami in crow form, his diminutive size allowing him to watch the running battle. Something was not right here. He tried to decide just what it was… Ah! Where was the Tendo girl who was so protective of the boy/girl? Where was her companion, the purple-haired girl who so often fought at her side? They had been very active foiling the demons' attempts to waylay Ranma and had even tried to fight that idiot kami, Tyr. If they weren't here, they were somewhere else. If they were somewhere else, then possibly Ranma was not really on the truck. Though the figure there was red-haired and bore the curse of Jusenkyo in her blood, Ranma was not the only cursed being in Nerima.
He cast a spell and sought for Ranma Saotome and determined that the truck was the correct location. He cast a spell to locate Akane… and found nothing! Surprised, he cast another spell to locate Shampoo.
What? She was far behind them, at some static location. His spell let him sense tension and anticipation of battle. He commanded Urami to fly lower. He was distracted briefly by a stupid but powerful demon's attempt to discourage pursuit. It hit the ground smoking from a hell-blast and sank shuddering into the earth. They closed on the truck, his rank and status as regional manager of the hell-crew now recognized, if grudgingly. He looked not at Ukyo or Nagasameru, but at the tall skinny boy kneeling uncomfortably on the flatbed's boards. He saw the wax doll decorated with cloth and hair. His jaw dropped.
The crow soared up with a searing cry, almost stalling as Senbei's commands demanded far more than the frame could comfortably give. They gained altitude while Senbei searched for a signal. In a flash of brimstone, they vanished.
The pursuing demons gave a howl of joy and redoubled their efforts to close with the truck.
oOo
Cologne stiffened. "Someone's figured it out! We should have had you in the room with them, Shampoo!"
"I no think they appreciate that very much, Great-grandmother," Shampoo retorted. "We fight?"
"Of course!"
"I'm with you, Shampoo," Mousse said quietly.
oOo
In the air above the Nekohanten, fire blossomed and a stench-filled cloud banged into existence like a dirty fireworks. A form dropped toward the building, growing larger by the second. Behind it, power expended, a crow struggled and fluttered as it sank toward the uncaring street below.
The first figure was larger than man-sized as it struck the pavement, and its weight and the shock of the impact shattered the windows of the Nekohanten. Seconds later, fire surged forward in a wave to burn away the protective ofuda. It screamed as it hit the inner wards, which were non-physical in nature. Snarling inhumanly, it moved in an odd manner against these barriers, its dance a hacker's probe into an unfamiliar system. Ten heartbeats later, it roared and the inner wards went down. Senbei bore little resemblance to the smug, overdressed boy-toy he so often presented as his public face. Nearly seven feet tall, scaly and muscled, he strode into the restaurant itself, prepared to overwhelm any resistance.
"S-s-so strong," Cologne gasped. Her wards had backfired on her, leaving her nearly helpless. "Shampoo, get away! Too strong!" She gasped and cursed ineffectively. She knew Shampoo wouldn't listen to a command like that.
Shampoo faced the hideous apparition unflinching. "You go, demon! Shampoo kill!"
Senbei laughed. In reply, he opened his mouth. A ball of flame roared out at the Amazon. Senbei bathed her raised ki shields in hell-fire and advanced behind this assault with mocking ease. The fire seemed to eat at the shields, shrinking them and bringing a look of fear and quiet determination to Shampoo's countenance.
Chains streaked from the shadows to envelope the hideous form. Senbei's jaws snapped shut as he regarded his next attacker. "Yo goose is cooked, duck-boy," he said plainly.
"Not yet, it isn't," said Mousse calmly, with disdain. "Aikiharaken!" he screamed, and vivid power arced down the chains like lightning to leap and crackle over Senbei's body. Both seemed equally distressed as Mousse twitched and danced, crying out against the pain within his soul. Senbei screamed but forced his hands up to clutch the punishing chains.
Suddenly, from the base of the demon's spine, ruddy flames roared up, enveloping his body. They advanced up his arms to eat their way back the chain. Senbei wasn't some unranked, no-name imp or oni, and he had prepared long to counter this move.
Mousse was sweating and straining, the backlash of his technique tearing him to pieces. His eyes widened behind his coke-bottle lenses. The pain was becoming overwhelming, yet he fought on, suspecting that Shampoo's life and his own depended on the result of his attack. Mousse struggled and watched the dark flame advance up the demon's arms to begin to dance along the chains between them. He sounded a wordless snarl as the huge scaly form shivered, and Senbei stood almost negligently among the metal loops. With the Aikiharaken technique forced back, the chains seemed to unwrap themselves from Senbei's hideous form. The demon no longer seemed affected by his technique. In fact, the Aikiharaken was all that was holding back the flames that danced about the form before him.
"Ha, ha, ha, ah, hah…" Senbei gloated. "I think I'm in the mood for chain-roasted duck." Fire surged back up the chains, and Mousse struggled to release his now ineffective weaponry. His mouth opened wide in anticipation of endless pain.
Metal sang as it parted. Shampoo had darted in to break the line between them, Chinese broadsword humming in response to her blow. Unrestrained, the demon's counterattack blew up like a grenade.
(FOOOM!)
Senbei took a single step toward the Amazon teenagers, before controlling himself. "Ah come back fo' you two afta the prize be won. Fo' now, yo can live a little longa. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ah hah!" He searched for the place that he couldn't see, and then ran up the steps to Shampoo's room.
Akane had heard the sounds of combat. "Ranma! Ranma, wake up!"
Properly speaking, Ranma was not asleep. Ranma was locked in a muscle-straining arc, gasping every time Akane so much as twitched, eyelids fluttering rapidly, the white gleam visible under the lashes betraying the fact that her eyes were rolled up in their sockets. Her legs were locked across the backs of Akane's thighs, but neko-claws on her fingertips were busy shredding the futon on either side of them.
Akane heard Mousse's scream and the explosion. Cursing over the entire situation and fearful for Shampoo and their friends, he struggled to escape the clutches of his fiancé. He made it to his feet just as the door burst to splinters, revealing Senbei. The demon stood, hand out-stretched, his look of anticipation rapidly draining away to shock and rage. The tableau held for three long gasping breaths and Akane glanced down at his lover. Ranma was only just beginning to stir; still unaware of the danger, only seeking the lost contact they had shared. Her helplessness ignited something inside Akane and the girl-turned-boy turned a hot angry glare on the intruder, any remaining doubts dissolving into a rage so pure and focused that it felt transcendent. This was the creature that had started it all.
"Who the hells are you?" Senbei shouted, face contorted. "That was mine! MINE! My power!" The first-class demon raged and pointed at the tall muscular form of Akane's male figure. "Do you know what you've done?"
"You should ask what I'm going to do, pervert!" growled Akane. He took a single step forward and realized, in the heat of joining, that he and Ranma had also merged auras. In a real sense, Ranma glided forward with him as they attacked in a three-step form.
A mallet nearly two meters across and three long, with a handle the size of a car-axle suddenly slammed down on the startled Senbei. The stroke came so swiftly that his arm remained outstretched from the humanoid pancake, which rebounded from the floor. As the demon-cake bounced up to waist level, the mallet swept around from the follow through and fielded Senbei, sending him on a long trip through the ceiling of the restaurant.
Then Akane hurled the mallet aside and let their auras flare into a coruscating ball about his body. "Aikiharaken revised! Aiki Saishuseigi!" Within, they felt their joint cry as Ranma's latest ki technique combined with Akane's raw power channeled their righteous anger and boundless confidence to create a new technique unlike any ever seen before. Huge sparks of ball lightning seemed to peel away from their aura to pursue the hurtling form of their foe. The entire Nekohanten thundered and shuddered as if a locomotive was running full throttle through its structure. Nerima was treated to a light show that resembled a laser gone organic. Glowing trails of light wove a multi-strand braid across the sky.
Senbei shuddered all over as his body bloomed out again to three dimensionality. So fast and so hard! No human could move like that naturally. His inserted hardware/program prophecy had worked just as designed. He had, for a short time, invoked the System Force as if he owned Yggdrasil. He growled in anticipation. No reason he couldn't do it again. This time, he'd have the good sense to avoid involving any second parties, either as the key to the prophecy or in its inception. Then he'd come back and deal with his enemies. All the earth would come to realize the power and advantages of following the Hell-path.
He grinned in anticipation. In fact, why stop there? Heaven and Hell might tremble before him! Maybe he could even give himself a little 'promotion'. He laughed openly. His happiness levels would be so high…
He regained control of his flight and slowed down. Akane's lightshow caught him totally by surprise.
oOo
Onlookers saw a sight that might have rivaled the light above Hiroshima or Nagasaki in those first fateful seconds after atoms were smashed in the deadly dance a half-century ago. Hundreds called in, certain Japan was being attacked with nuclear weapons. Yet the instruments of the Civil Defense Force did not register anything. There was no electronic pulse, no shock of explosion. The calls dropped off as people began to wonder why they felt oddly relieved as the glow faded from the sky, sparks of light swirling away on the wind.
oOo
Akane felt Ranma's aura suddenly snap away and sagged, oddly relieved and strangely saddened to be merely human once more. He turned and saw the redhead groggily rolling onto her side. Stepping back to the futon, he let his large callused hand gently caress a soft shoulder, wondering at the huge difference and focus of the male body. He felt the shudder and twitch, a withdrawing. "Are you all right?" Akane asked, suddenly concerned that he had hurt Ranma, either in their union or the ki-techniques that had followed.
"I… Yeah, I'm okay," Ranma assured him. "Let's change back now." She didn't meet Akane's eyes.
Akane blinked but nodded. This had been too strange. "Omigod! Shampoo!" Akane abruptly remembered the fight just before Senbei had invaded their room. He burst down the steps, unconcerned about changing… or dressing.
"Akane!" Ranma yelled. She shook her head and picked up a kettle from the other side of the room. Warm water poured and Ranma shook himself all over. His hand felt his chest and his groin as if afraid of what he might find. Then, dressing swiftly, he followed Akane down the steps.
Shampoo boggled at the nude man that stood over them. "What you do here? Pervert going to be very sorry, when…"
"It's me, Shampoo," Akane said testily. "Are you guys okay?"
Cologne staggered over and boggled as well. "Hmmm… Interesting. I gather things worked out?" At Akane's blush and nod she gave the temporary male a wink. "If you ever get a true Nanniichuan curse, dear, you could easily moonlight with Chippendale's."
Akane gulped and grabbed a napkin, holding it before him.
Shampoo groaned as she rose to her feet. She grinned stiffly at her friend and teased in a sing-song voice, "That not big enough to hide behind, Akane." She had been sprawled across Mousse; their clothing was blackened as if by fire. Mousse's glasses were still missing and he was only now becoming aware of his surroundings again.
"Do we have a customer?" he muttered, squinting and blinking.
There was a roar as an engine raced for a moment, before shutting off outside. Then Ukyo poked her head through the doors. "Oh, no! Did they find him, after all?"
"We're fine, Ucchan," Ranma said easily, descending the steps. "I don't think Senbei is, though. Akane trashed him good, I think." Ranma made a face as if he had said something he regretted.
"Who's the naked guy?" Ryoga asked, coming in behind Ukyo. "Is he one of those kami?" She turned to Akane. "I thought you bozos agreed to leave Ranma alone." The aggressive growl was not nearly as impressive as it would have been from his male form.
"I'm Akane, Ryoga."
Nagasameru and Shindoo, coming in behind the others, stopped and stared. Ryoga's hand twitched upward, stopped and dithered as if something in Ryoga were unsure whether or not to be threatened by Akane's present condition. Mousse found an unbroken pair of his glasses and slipped them on. Akane's ki-signature was clear, but the visual impression was… something else.
"Ummm… Are you auditioning for Chippendale's, Akane?" Ukyo asked blushing. Akane cursed and retreated back up the stairs. Ranma's oldest friend turned to him. "Are you okay, Ranchan?"
Ranma shrugged. "It was… different. But the prophecy was taken care of." He winced and twitched at some memory. "Senbei was stupid enough to object to what we… Anyway, the light-show was Akane malleting the creep then hitting him with an Aiki Saishuseigi." At that statement, Ranma looked strangely satisfied. "If there's enough of him left to scrape up and put on a plate, I'll eat him."
Ryoga started. "An Aiki – what?"
"Don't worry about it, P-chan," Ranma said airily. "I don't think it's gonna be a real common technique. Ya need… special circumstances ta make it work right." Ranma had carefully schooled his expression, but with a poker face like his, he might as well have told them straight out.
Cologne cackled madly in the shocked silence that followed that statement. "A ki technique powered by afterglow! That's one for the books, all right!"
"Old ghoul!" Ranma snapped upset. "Just… Shut up…!" he added in a mutter.
Akane came back down the steps, female and hesitant, to view the upset Ranma with some alarm. "What's wrong now?" She brushed nervously at her dress. She had forgotten Shampoo was into thongs!
"Oh, I'll think it, son-in-law," Cologne cackled. "It's not like it's something anyone will soon forget. Hello, dear," she added, turning to Akane. "Don't mind Ranma. He's just being a prude. So what do you think?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Akane. They had no idea what Cologne was talking about and quickly saw that Akane didn't either. "What do I think of what?" Akane asked.
"You could make some good money with that male form at Chippendales, as a male model, or a model for those romances you girls are so fond of. I'd gladly put in a bid to be your agent, but I understand if you'd prefer to cut your sister in on the action first."
Akane gave a nervous laugh and glanced at Ranma. Ranma, for his part, paled and almost stepped away. In his mind's eye, he saw Akane's male face, soft and flushed with passion, dipping close. He remembered the intense almost painful pleasure that, instead of being strictly focused as it was in his male body, had consumed his female body, making thought impossible. The image of his girl-form and Akane's male-form posing for a painting or pictures shuddered through his consciousness, disturbing and confusing him. Then the image of Akane's boy-type posing with Shampoo, or some other luscious model, flared and he flushed in rage. Further confused, he finally found a chair and sat down, trying to figure out what he was feeling and what the hell he was going to do about it. He heard Akane refuse the offer, following it with an admonition not to tease her about the appearance of her Nanniichuan cursed form. The muscle clench of disappointment when Akane said she had no intention of ever doing that again finally crystallized what he was feeling.
Fear. He had enjoyed what Akane had done to him… her. He was jealous of Akane giving that attention to anyone else. He was, he decided, reacting much like a woman would when a relationship with her husband or lover was threatened. His heartbeat began to pick up. "I'm a guy, dammit!" he whispered. "A guy!" Yet nerves remembered the sensation. His mind replayed, instant by instant, the assault on his senses. He remembered, now, Akane whispering "I'll make sure it's special, Ranma."
He hadn't wanted special! He had simply wanted it over! Why couldn't she have understood that? And the aura thing... Their auras had merged and he… A memory, not his, floated up. He experienced, in shocking detail, Akane's attack by high school age thugs when she was hardly more than a child; her rescue by Tofu; her determination to never be helpless again and her disgust of boys in general. He saw through her eyes a dark-haired blue-eyed boy across a table and felt the shock as her sisters volunteered her to be his fiancée. He understood so much more about how they had come to this point...
He shrank slightly from the hand that touched his shoulder. "Are you really okay?" Akane gently asked.
"Hey!" he replied, almost belligerently. "Who do ya think yer talkin to?"
He looked into her eyes and his voice wavered at the end. The shared memories held the warmth she felt when he held her, as if he were holding himself. He had a new perspective on that first night when Nekoken raged in her blood. He didn't feel he was worthy of her regard, for he knew how close he had been to…
…to doing what they had just done. He gulped. It had been so… so…
"My, what an expression," Cologne teased. "You really haven't explored your curse very much, have you, son-in-law?"
Ranma jerked and glared at the old woman, but couldn't read her expression.
"Well, of course he hasn't," said Ukyo crossly. "He's a guy." She shot a glance at Ryoga who was frowning. "Right?" she asked with a nudge.
"Don't look at me," Ryoga replied. "I have trouble looking at myself in the mirror when I'm like this." He was simply relieved it was Ranma and not him!
Ukyo suddenly smirked. Watching Ranma and Akane the last few moments, she had concluded they were taking this much too seriously. Something was needed to break the tension. Ryoga had offered her a good starting point to distract them and change their attitudes.
"Oh? You look at your girl side in the mirror?" she asked her lover.
"Huh? What? No-no-no-no! I don't look! It's just that when I do…"
"You don't like your girl-side? What's wrong with it?" Ukyo pressed.
"My girl-side is fine!" Ryoga protested. "Lot's better than the pig!"
"Oh! So you do like your girl-side!" The lilt in her voice should have warned him.
"Better than the pig, yes!" he replied exasperated. They had Ranma and Akane's full attention, now.
"You consider girls only slightly better than pigs?" Ukyo shot back.
"Aaagh! That's not what I said!"
Ukyo continued to harass Ryoga as they all began to clean up the mess Senbei had left behind.
oOo
Senbei found himself, with jarring breathlessness, standing in a vast dark space. He was shocked. What had happened? He had been flying after the terrific impact of a hammer that rivaled that Thor-jerk's, when the entire sky lit up. He had been twisted, compressed and felt real pain; worse, if that was possible, than when the ward had been etched in his skull. These martial artists were getting too good with their ki techniques. When he set up the Yggdrasil scam again, he would…
"Senbei!"
Senbei blinked. "What?" Somehow, unnoticed, a spiky, rather unbalanced looking desk with a clerk at a computer terminal had appeared beside him.
"You're next. Don't hold up the line. We may have all eternity, but managing traffic for all the universes still takes finite time. Let's see." The clerkish looking fellow clattered away on a translucent keyboard. "Ah, yes. Senbei, so called kami of Poverty and Disaster, upgraded to demon-first class. Terminated…"
"Terminated?" Senbei exclaimed. He wasn't familiar with all the legal jargon these days, but terminated sounded a bit more serious than he liked. It was obvious his earthly form had been destroyed. He expected that it might take a month or so to regenerate. 'Terminated', though? He suddenly shook in rage. If he had to wait generations to go after the Saotome and his acquaintances, he'd show them how their children could pay for the deeds of their parents.
"Terminated!" the clerk confirmed in wonder. He seemed puzzled. "Boy, oh boy! What did you do?" He turned to the computer and punched in a code. Seconds later, he blanched and almost backed away from his screen. "Ultimate hard-lock! Class N security… Do you realize I'm going to be investigated for a human generation, simply because I inquired into your file?"
Senbei blinked. That seemed a bit harsh. They must have discovered the method he used to insert the prophecy. His lips twisted. This could be a problem. Dammit! He'd find some way…
The clerk turned to one side, blanched and crashed to the floor in what Ranma would have called a superb 'Crouch of the Wounded Tiger'. Senbei, startled out of his introspection turned to look.
A darker shadow approached out of the darkness, its stiletto heels clicking an unhurried and oddly alluring tempo against the hard stony floor. A feminine form seemed to congeal out of the dark mists, a form of smoke and dark fire that tempted and terrorized all at once. Silver hair, mussed from unnamable passions – skin, dark bronze and perfect, barely covered in a silk gown of deep red and evil green – a form somehow lush and experienced yet young and seductive with forbidden promise. Lips that quirked in a naughty, knowing smirk.
Eyes of amber-tinted hellfire centered below a crimson six-pointed star.
"HILD-SAMA!" The first-class demon crashed to the floor in his own 'Crouching Tiger'. Senbei knew on which side his bread was buttered and knew that, even if he might think to supplant her, she was – here and now, the Ruler of Nifelheim – and his superior.
"Babycakes…" Hild's little 'nickname' made him flinch. "Whatever are we going to do with you?" She stopped just out of arms reach. Her voice was like liquid honey and her words were as carefully enunciated and projected as if she were on stage. "You've been an unusually naughty boy, even for our crowd, don't you know."
Senbei groveled some more. This was bad. She hadn't approached close enough to let him kiss her feet. She was not in a forgiving mood, no matter how pleasant her words.
"My goodness, you've been busy!" she drawled throatily. "Not content with chasing the Norns all over Tokyo like your predecessor, you've been focusing all your efforts on this one mortal." She languidly turned and let herself lounge on empty air as if draped over some invisible chaise. She considered him in much the same way a cat would contemplate a mouse or an injured bird. "While I admit he's rather cute in either form, I would think that investing an entire department's resources in his corruption seems a bit much, don't you?"
Senbei gulped but felt relieved. If this was about his management style…
"And really, dear boy," she said lightly, "coming up with such a sneaky, invasive use of the Nidhugg Operating System and then wasting it on furthering your rather limited target of the Saotome boy… Why, I might think you had plans that didn't include little old me? Or perhaps they did?" added Hild softly, almost… gently.
Senbei shuddered in almost mind-numbing terror. She knew everything. Hild had not held onto the title of Demon-Boss for millennia by forgiving such lapses or threats.
"A pity, really," Hild slowly seemed to fade away in wisps of smoke. "You showed real innovation, babycakes." Her form stretched in an artfully coquettish way as it dematerialized. "If it had just been me, I would have taught you a lesson and then set you to working something similar for me." The ghostly form sighed dramatically. "But…"
Another figure loomed massive and dreadful out of the darkness. Senbei looked up as the shadow fell across him. It was difficult to assess its form, as if the universe's standards for proportion and mechanics were inadequate to define this being's physique or movement. Weapons of all types hung from its harness, and its arms, legs and neck were adorned with gold and silver chains, torcs and devices. It sought and found a small clipboard hanging on a chain around its neck. It handed this to Hild's shadowy silhouette.
After a moment, the clipboard was returned. It tapped on the tablet and said in a deep quiet voice that somehow shook everything around it, "The Doublet System Protocols have been deactivated. Authorizations from Kami-prime and Oni-Prime confirmed." It pulled the tablet's chain back over its head and turned to the pale and quivering Senbei.
Though it looked capable of rending the smaller being limb from limb, the scaly creature next pulled a triangular jeweled box from around its neck and scanned the cowering demon. "Identity confirmed." It pressed jewels as if punching buttons on the device then pointed it at the cringing demon. Instantly, Senbei seemed to stretch, then unravel like a loose seam. Seconds later, he was gone.
"Idiot," muttered the being known by some as the Assassin of the Gods. "There are some lines you don't ever cross."
oOo
"Nice lightshow," Thor grinned as he peered into the semi-destroyed shop. "So it's all over?"
"Yep!" Ranma replied, eyeing the big kami.
"Did it with Akane, using Jusenkyo, right?"
"Yep." Akane winced. Her concern over mechanics had made it very bizarre.
"I bet Sif that would happen." He turned and looked over his shoulder. "Ho! Looks like more warriors dragging themselves in." Everyone paused to observe Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung stumbling up the hill to the restaurant. Over their shoulders, they carried bodies. Lung-Lung dumped her load on the ground. A female Herb sprawled gracelessly at her feet. Ling-Ling laid her burden down more carefully against the wall and sighed, brushing hair out of his face.
"What's going on, Granddaughters?" asked Cologne, hopping over. "Is he dead?" she asked, prodding Herb.
"No," said Lung-Lung huffing. "But there big-big trouble! That one…" she pointed a shaking finger at the dark-haired youth her sister was caring for. "That one… he…"
"Airen…" murmured Ling-Ling. 'Mint was actually pretty handsome,' she thought; 'a good catch.'
"Oh, gods!" exclaimed Cologne, smacking her face with her hand. Solve one problem; find three more. "Ling-Ling, he is not a potential mate! He is Musk Dynasty."
"He beat Ling-Ling!" the girl protested. "Is Airen!"
"He's Musk Dynasty and part wolf!" protested the old woman.
"Cute! Like ears." She snuggled and rubbed her cheek against his. Slowly he began to wake up. "Airen," she sighed soulfully.
"Why not beat Lung-Lung, too! Not fair!" shouted her sister, pouting with disappointment.
"Don't you start," Cologne snapped. "Why do I have the feeling this is going to be a huge problem?" Mint came awake with a start, started to move, then saw that he was surrounded. On top of that, Ling-Ling was purring into his ear. He eyed her in a worried fashion.
"Is stupid law," Shampoo said, deadpan, to Cologne, "Yes?"
"Which one?" sniped Ling-Ling, not looking away from her young man. "Law about 'kiss of marriage'? Or law about Musk?"
The others sighed and looked at Ranma. He boggled and froze. "Ranma, it's your fault!" they all said with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Except Akane. She threw her arms around his shoulders from behind, pressing herself against his hard male back. She felt the flinch and cringe of withdrawal like a slap, and closed her eyes in pain. Something had changed. Something that, in all the strangeness, she'd missed. She didn't think it was her treatment of Senbei. But she could feel that a wedge had been driven between them. She just hoped they were up to the challenge of overcoming it.