Spirit Hunter

Chapter Three

Beauty Sleep

Revised 10th July 2006

Revised 9th September 2006 by Hiryo

Pre-read by Hiryo.

Disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi any other strange reference to books, movies, magazines, comics, songs, or folk dance does not belong to me. Please I am small and insignificant so don't sue me.

Enjoy!

The therapist's office felt calming and soothing. Gentle country prints lined the walls with cute pictures of kittens and horses. The walls were painted butter yellow and radiated a warm comforting atmosphere. A large tropical fern took up one corner and opposite it was a large pine bookcase filled with physiological textbooks and other texts with titles like, 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' and 'How to be a Loving Partner.'

Sitting in a leather swivel chair sat a woman, young or old, her face was hard to describe, in some lights she could be twenty, but in others, she looked fifty. The light grey business shirt she wore underneath the jacket highlighted the cream color of the modern women's suit. A long skirt ended in a small throw rug sitting over her feet. With her hair of a hard to place color pulled back in a professional looking bun, she is the epitome of calming therapist. In her right hand, she clutched a small notepad and was writing into it as she looked on the woman sitting opposite her.

Settled back in a large soft recliner a young woman sat. Her dark brown hair cut short in a sharp bob that framed her face. Holding a handful of used tissues in her hands, her face would have been quite pretty but what makeup she had worn now was smeared and she bore a passing resemblance to a clown. In comparison to the therapists collected calm, this girl wears a pair of dirty blue jeans and crumpled red button up shirt.

"Now, how do you feel about what he said?" The therapist had a questioning look on her face.

"I just want him to understand that I need some time. I can't always be looking after him."

Leaning over the therapist offered the box of tissue sitting beside her to the girl. "Do you think he knows how you feel?"

Sniffling, the girl shook her head. "No, I think he's an insensitive jerk. He should know what I mean when I said I wanted to go out."

"So you think he doesn't listen to you?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to get out of the house, go see a movie or have a meal but he wanted to stay at home and watch television."

"When was the last time you went out together?"

"We went to the park together a couple of weeks ago but he called me a 'fetid piece of human scum' and tried to bite me."

"Why do you think he said that?"

"Well he says that an evil force is seeking to drain the life energy from all humans, and it possessed him, but I know what he really meant. He's just hiding behind the possession because he doesn't want to tell me the truth."

"Do you think he deserves you?"

Bursting into hiccupping tears the girl put her face in her hands. "NO."

The crying girl completely missed the smug grin that has slithered over the therapists face. After the girl had been calmed down and sent home with another appointment and a feeling of righteous rage at her partner, the therapist settled back in her office chair kicking the blanket off that hid the fact she had no feet and pushed herself off into a spin. "Weeee . . . ." It was so much fun to be a couple therapists; she had broken up more relationships this way than she had had been ever able to manage as a normal ghost.

During her human life, she had been in love with a young man whose family lived across the street. She had thought they were a true Romeo and Juliet couple fighting the hate that sat between the two families. They exchanged love letters and she thought they were in love. One night they had both agreed to be together for always they had exchanged commitment rings. The week after, she had seen him making out at school behind the chemistry building with one of the most popular girls in school, not thinking clearly that she had committed suicide by taking painkillers with a chaser of whisky and then discovered her fate too late to change it.

She was now a ghost doomed forever to attempt to break happy couples up. Spending decades around her old high school, she spread whispers and pain but it only had a small affect. A couple of years ago an old friend had pointed her in the direction of couple's therapy. People come to her to have their relationships fixed they don't expect her to be breaking them up.

Happy couples with no problems arrived through her door and left questioning each other commitment. Looking down at her appointment book, she was pleased to see that she was booked solid for the rest of the day. Suddenly the phone next to her rang and she picked it up,

"Hello, Teresa Holmes, I'm here to help you.

"What?"

"How?"

"Do you know if anyone else has been taken?"

"You're sure?"

"He's not going to like this."

Putting the phone down Teresa Holmes couples therapist vengeful ghost sunk back in her chair and wished she had lungs so she could have a cigarette.

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In the usually chaotic Tendo household, a moment of peace had settled over the home. Every one was asleep, and the only thing, which stirred, was an ominous figure leaning over a sleeping Ranma with a mysterious liquid coated knife. Peace doesn't last long in this house.

The figure was dressed in a shabby dark grey long coat and loose pants. The color unlike black faded into the shadows of the night. With a lithe build, the coat hung lightly off its shoulders. Bumps and mounds under the back of the coat may indicate that the watcher had weapons hidden but then again maybe it wasn't weapons. A tight grey hood was pulled over its head and the only things visible were its eyes and mouth. The eyes of the figure were a dark brown almost black, hard, and sharp; they were not worried over what they were about to do. The look implied that what it was about to do it had done before and would do again and quite happily eat a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs afterwards.

Leaning carefully over the sleeping boy with the syringe posed to take his life, the watcher was thrown violently across the room when a bolt of bright ki appeared in the boys' hands. The man then traveled through the closed door of the room's inbuilt cupboard, smacking the back of its head against a pile of cinder blocks.

'So that's where she keeps them,' Ranma settled back into a deeper sleep, in his dreams Ryoga had been trying to eat the giant mountain sized chocolate swirl mud cake he had found, and he had had to take defensive action to keep it.

In the dream, Ryoga had been successfully repelled after Ranma shot a Moko Takabisha, shooting the dream Ryoga away from the cloud he had been sitting on. It was his cake all his Ha, Ha, ha, ha, ha. Sounds of sleepy chewing could be heard from Ranma as he started munching on his bed sheet.

No one noticed this noise after being woken numerous times by people challenging Ranma they had learnt to sleep through any noises of fighting and found it easier just ignoring them all.

Ranma himself treasured his sleep and after being woken up by flights into the koi pond, buckets of ice water and Ryoga attacking, it would take more than a mysterious death threat.

Groggily the misadventures murderer slowly stood up and walked back over to the still deeply sleeping boy. 'It looks like I have to take the fight elsewhere.' The grey figure pulled a small bottle and eyedropper out of his coat. It would only take a few drops and the boy would be unconscious until he got some answers. After he had been hunting monsters for years and through hard work he hadn't often been touched, but that energy bolt had caught him off guard. This brought new problems, which he was going to have to ask this kid about.

Picking up the corners of the sleeping mat Ranma was resting on the grey figure scoped the bed up in a hammock like roll, and carefully he inched his way out of the room and down the hallway.

Suddenly a door opened further down the hall and a small piglet with a black and gold bandana and a strange aura emerged and trotted towards him then past him turning into what the grey figure assumed was the bathroom.

Freezing the attempted murderer could have sworn he heard a toilet flush.

The piglet remerged from the bathroom and walked back into the room it had come out of.

There were other creatures in this house that he was going to have to come back and investigate.

Passing through the streets no one stopped him; those people left in Nerima didn't ask questions of strange people that hung around with suspicious packages late at night. Those that had any curiosity were long dead; this process is called selective evolution.

Luckily, the watcher had noticed a park not far from the house. It's filled with trees. On reaching it, he found it no trouble to find a hidden spot and he made sure the boy was held securely with a light rope he always carried. Standing he leaned back against a tree hands crossed over his chest and waited the sleeping solution should not last more than an hour.

Waking up in strange places unfortunately wasn't unusual for Ranma; even being tied up when he woke up wasn't what he would consider strange. Without looking around he could see it was still night and he was in the local park. "Okay, Shampoo, you know I talked to you about not trying to kidnap me do we have to have another little talk."

The grey figure stays leaning against the tree, waiting for the boy's attention.

"Shampoo, Shampoo, untie me you crazy cow." Ranma shouted this until he noticed Shampoo wasn't coming and that a grey man was standing against a tree with a huge teardrop.

"Hey, sir, do you think you could untie me I think this crazy girl I know has tied me and put me here so she can have her wicked way with me. Do ya think you could untie me?"

Walking up to the bound Ranma the man looks down. "What are you?"

"Oh sorry I didn't introduce myself. I am Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome School of Indiscriminate Grappling. Do you think you could untie me?"

"No, what are you?"

Ranma blinked, "You're the one who tied me up aren't you?" Ranma started to speak as if reading from a script. "If at some time in the past, Pop, has engaged you or some family member to me please come back during working hours and your claim will be dealt with then."

"My name is Nos," he paused as if expected recognition, "and boy I won't say this again what are you?"

"Ahhh, you must be a challenger if you'd just untie me I will more than happy to fight." Pulling on the ropes Ranma finds them to be quite secure and yes, there were no handy sharp rocks or broken bottles behind him.

Reaching down the grey figure backhanded the tied up Ranma.

"You know after Ryoga that didn't really hurt, so if you're gonna torture me you might want to try some thing harder."

Taking a dagger from a hidden pocket the stranger drew it in front of Ranma's face.

"Okay, what was that question again?"

"What are you?"

"Human last time I checked, but don't hold me to it."

"Your not human boy, tell the truth."

"No pretty sure I'm a human."

"No human should have the power you have, where did you come from?"

"Well if you really want to know. When a mummy and daddy love each other very much and get very drunk at a Christmas party . . . ." Ranma received another backhand stopping his explanation.

"You know you're a very annoying boy. Why were you at the Rokurokubi?"

"You mean Ger; well he has the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted . . . mmmm chocolate."

Another backhand breaks Ranma out of his daydream. "I felt him use his power when you were there; you had dealings with the unnatural creature haven't you."

"Hey, no one who has cake that good is unnatural. And I know humans that are way weirder than Ger."

"So; you are not one of them."

"Them, who?"

"A spirit."

"Nope, just you're average everyday expert Martial Artist. I would pinkie swear but, you know the rope?"

"Why were you dealing with the Rokurokubi?"

"Well, if you really want to know, you'll have to untie me first."

Nos was under the theory that the one who is armed with weapons always beat the one without, rolled Ranma onto his front and cut the ropes. 'If the boy fled, I know where he lives.'

Stretching Ranma rolled over and lifted his legs up kicked out catching the guy in grey in the gut pushing off from him and springing up with his hands in a somersault.

Flying backwards the hunter was caught unaware, the kid had done it again, and he traveled through a few bushes before a tree trunk stops him.

Storming back to the clearing, Ranma had launched him from, the man found no sign of the boy then he heard a laugh from above.

"You know it's not very nice to tie people up especially when they are having the best dream ever." Ranma was sitting in a branch of a tree leaning back into the trunk.

"You little punk, just tell me what you were doing with the Rokurokubi."

"Oh I don't know why I should, Ger's a nice bloke, and you look like the kind of guy that doesn't really appreciate chocolate."

"Get down here you . . . ." Nos pulled a short sword from out of the top of his coat. The two-foot long blade was dark and did not shine in the moonlight, bringing the blade round in a circle.

Ranma suddenly found his world tilting and he was falling. Hopping out of his tree, he moved to the one next to him. "Fine if you're going to be grumpy, Ger's worried about some thing that's attacking and killing people we think it has to do with the spirits. Okay, I told ya, so can ya just bug off?"

Then at that moment sky decided to open and a cloud free evening turned into a storm.

Ranma cursed his luck and pulled the drawstring on his PJ-pants tight.

"You lied," Nos screamed in fury, "you're a spirit, a shape changing creature!"

Ranma looked up to see Nos descend from above after he had launched himself into the air. Jumping out of the tree Ranma watched the sword slice through the branch he had been sitting on. "What is with you sword guys and chopping up trees? Are you a lumberjack?"

Standing on another tree branch Ranma glanced down and saw that Nos short sword had caught the material of his baggy pants and it was sliced clean through, he hadn't felt it happen. Ranma would have really liked to fight this loon but his sleep had been bad lately and to be able to face the multiple attacks from challengers he received every day he really needed his beauty sleep.

Forming the confidence needed to launch it; Ranma stepped up to Nos and tapped him on the shoulder. "Missed me. Moko Takabisha! Got ya."

Nos was again finding himself launched into the air it really was becoming tiring.

While he flew upwards, Ranma jumped up and as he descended, slammed his fists into Nos' chest repeatedly. The crater formed by Nos wasn't that big well not compared by those normally produced by Ranma's fights and in the centre lays a groaning body. Ranma stared down at Nos and grinned. "You're coming home with me."

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That morning as Kasumi opened the linen cupboard to put away clean sheets she had put in the dryer last night she found a violently angry bound and gagged Nos.

Ranma had forced the gag in when Nos had stared screaming about unholy creatures, 'maybe he's related to Kuno.'

Kasumi stared at the bound man who was bright red and rocking backwards and forwards and put the sheets away. 'Really,' she thought, 'if Ranma was going to have friends over he could have at least have given him a blanket.' Giggling she lifted a blanket from a shelf and placed it over the struggling Nos' head. 'There that's better.'

That morning at breakfast as a female Ranma stuffed her face as quickly as she could.

Kasumi spoke up. "Ranma why is there a strange man dressed in grey tied up in my linen closet?"

Ranma swallowed. "Oh, he's this loony guy that thinks I'm an evil creature of the night, I think he got me confused with vampires. If you could just water him when I'm at school I just need to get Nabiki to interrogate him."

Kasumi the perfect hostess agreed and quietly hoped Ranma won't kidnap any more people; they had had so much trouble last year with the Girl Scout cookies.

That night in Nabiki's room after Nos had been tagged and released back into the wild. Nabiki told Ranma what she had been able to get out of him. "First off, I was able to kind of convince him you are not an evil spirit merely a misguided human with a curse and too much power with not enough brains."

"Hey!"

"Be quiet I'm talking. Your guess was right he does have some thing to do with killings, just not the ones we know of. He's a hunter. Primarily he targets evil spirits that are harming humans. Once he stopped issuing death threats Nos was pretty coherent and told me that he had only arrived in Tokyo a month ago when a friend invited him. It turns out human's with magic have been repeatedly attacked in the city."

"Are these same attacks and killings we know of?"

"I don't know yet, I haven't talked to any of the people that survived an attack. But if it is, then Nos can be a friend, we just need to keep him away from Ger."

Ranma sat cross-legged on the ground and looked up at Nabiki who sat at her desk. "You know this is looking bigger than just a little hit and run killing."

"I know. I may have to ask for another cake, I saw this recipe for orange liquor and dark chocolate one the other day."

"Are you going to go and get anymore information about the attacks?"

Nabiki pulled out a business card she had on her desk. "Nos was almost cordial by the end, I think he merely wants to kill you, he doesn't want to skin you and rub chili powder into your open wounds anymore. He gave me this card. It's the number of one of the people attacked. Apparently, they own a shop only a couple of blocks over from Ger. Tomorrow after school I'll head over. Do you have a plan?"

"Well this has all to do with magic and I was thinking who do we know who knows that stuff so I'm going to head over and talk to Cologne. Ger said he was going to go home and talk to his parents about what they may know."

"What would Ger's parents would they know about Spirits?"

Ranma jumped up and went to the door. "Oh I don't know, I think the whole family knows lots about spirits."

Authors Note:

Revised 10th July 2006

And on that, I will end. It is a short chapter but I think the meetings will take up a chapter in itself. I'm sorry that my action moment wasn't very good I just don't know how to write them. I have no real knowledge of fighting.

Thank you for reviewing:

Pale Wolf: Thanks for telling me about the website!

No foods in this one but next time watch for when Ger visits his parents.