Torn Chapter 7 A Waking Nightmare, a ranma fanfic

Notes: This was hard for me to get through, but get through it I did fixing things where I could find them.

As promised chapter:7 the same day as 5 and 6 I am on a roll! Now I believe I will take a small break chapter:8 will launch sometimes tonight or tomorrow no promises but it will be out definitely by tomorrow. -Zeltronica

Ranma 1/2: Torn

Chapter 7: A Waking Nightmare

By Kit'ari

(Warning: This chapter is a little dark. )

Dark moods were matched by the nearly black sky. Rain puddles and chilly air offered only slight distractions to regretful thoughts. A short cut through the park offered solace from traffic and promised hedges and trees to cut the wind; however, broken pedestrian lamps gave way to long dark shadows and even deeper brooding.

Ranma-chan uttered a harsh curse under her breath and slipped into a defensive stance. The three girls stopped to see what had gotten to her now. "Ran-" Yuka started.

"Get ready to run," Ranma hissed back.

Nabiki swore silently to herself. She recognized the trap they had just haplessly walked right into. While Tokyo was far from the most dangerous place to walk about at night, she more than anyone knew the increasing dangers that had been mounting in Nerima ever since Ranma first arrived. Shampoo and Ukyo had only added to the mix.

"Howdy, girls. Out looking for a good time?" an almost polite voice called from one side.

Ranma shifted to face the spokesman while Yuka and Shiori moved closer to Nabiki and Ranma.

Nabiki had tried to keep up-to-date on most of the gang activity in the area, especially after one of her friends, and assistant had been accosted.

"Not in particular. We're not in a real festive mood right now," Nabiki answered neutrally. Ranma tensed as she interrupted, but seemed willing to let her take the lead for now.

While they had mostly been into small-time stuff, with the sudden increase of martial artists and their sense of honor, it seems they had started having worse luck than Ranma. Almost every time enough of the punks got together to attempt anything, one of the local martial artists would wander by and give them the thrashing they deserved.

"Bet 'teen all of us, we could cheer you all right up."

Nabiki could hear the smirk in his voice. "Tempting, but I don't think so, Jiro-kun," Nabiki responded.

Unfortunately, she recognized that voice, but she wasn't too surprised. With their pride continuously kicked into the dirt, many of the local clicks had started to band together. Jiro had been gathering the largest of the male following. Last she had heard, he had somewhere between ten to twenty in his camp. She had guessed that there were at least that many around them, but it was too dark here to get a better guess.

"Nabiki, Nabiki, Nabiki," Jiro responded. Times like this, she deeply regretted her reputation. "I don't think you or your red-headed friend there really appreciate your problematic situation yet."

'This is a problem,' Nabiki thought to herself. Not only did they know who she was, but knew Ranma was with them. Since most of them were drop-outs or from other schools, they didn't know or believe in the curses. Thus they thought male and female Ranma where two different people. The problem there was that Ranma, being the water magnet he was, was usually a girl when he interrupted their little parties.

Ryoga wasn't around enough to really be noticed. And Mouse was usually too busy looking for Shampoo or Ranma. So, while the guys had contributed their share, it was mostly the girls that had been sweeping the floors with them. And, as if to prove that Kuno wasn't the biggest idiot in Nerima, they apparently thought that the girls were all part of the same gang.

They even thought they all took their orders from Akane, who was trying to muscle her way into everyone else's territory. This meant they had planned this out. For the chance to get at one of Akane's lackeys as well as her sister there were definitely going to be a lot more than just ten to twenty.

"Naw, I don't think you understand your problem here," Ranma-chan called out all of a sudden. Ranma shifted her head and cracked her knuckles. An unconscious signal Nabiki had been waiting for; Ranma had a plan or was at least as ready as she was going to get. From all around them, soft laughter was heard.

'A lot more than ten or twenty,' Nabiki thought absently.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Jiro fake-quivered. "We just got a little something for you to take back to that whore, Nabi-chan calls a sister."

"Nobody insults my Akane or her sister," Ranma-chan growled. Nabiki sighed. 'Does he even realize that he's a girl right now?'

"Ya know, I had heard the rumors," Jiro laughed out. "What a shame, I always thought. But I bet me and the boys here can show you what it really means to be a woman."

"Close your eyes," Nabiki hissed to Yuka and Shiori as Ranma's hands flew up before her. "Moko Takabisha!" Ranma roared. Jiro fell to the ground screaming out in pain. His pants singed. "Now!" Ranma signaled for the girls to run.

Even before Ranma's shout, Nabiki had grabbed both Yuka and Shiori's hands. She took off dragging the two behind her. Ranma leaped high into the air and spun in the direction the girls ran off in. Already figures were moving to grab the girls. "Moko Takabisha!" Ranma pounded one in the back. Several more, unable to stop, tripped over him. Gravity began to reassert its hold over the defiant martial artist.

She didn't even bother to shout her second attack. Something hit her left leg, wrapped itself around and bit into her flesh as energy raced toward the group approaching them on the other side. A quick glance revealed the barbed and weighted chain now entangled her leg. While the chain cast off her balance enough to make her second attack miss its mark, it still succeeded in drawing attention her way.

The dark mass of would-be assailants blocked her view just before she touched the ground. Two were already bearing down on her. She hopped up as they reached for her and planted a foot into the temple of the first. Rolling over in mid-air, the dark ground rushed toward her face. At the last second, she thrust out, catching herself. Feet and arms lashed out violently, launching the second into a third.

Acting on instinct, she jerked her right leg in just as the tormenting chain bit deeply into her flesh, barely missing her left foot. The affronted leg was yanked away, throwing her onto her side before she had a chance to recover. A primal growl tore itself from her rage as she yanked her foot back. Anchored on the other end of the chain, a boy with one arm in a sling was yanked off his feet.

The barbs dug even deeper but she didn't allow herself time to worry about that. Another two more were moving in. She dropped below a high punch aimed for her head. Pain sang throughout her leg as she swept the shorter one off his feet. They shrieked as the barbs dragged across their legs. Clutching at the other figure, both tumbled to the ground.

Ranma rolled backward into another high jump.

The girls had made it through the ring surrounding her but several were still trailing right behind. She launched two more chi blasts at the girl's pursuers. This time both hit home. One took a direct shot and hit the ground with a thud Ranma could hear from where she was. Pain lanced through the neo-girl's right side just after she got the second blast off.

Almost everyone now had their attention directed at Ranma. She only made out two continuing after the girls as gravity and the faceless mob once again conspired to cut off her vision. The ground hit hard, causing a scream to rip itself out of her lungs. The hilt of a small throwing knife stuck out just above her hip. She didn't know or care how, but she was still standing.

All that mattered was that she could still fight. Grabbing the knife, she pulled it out and flung it as far away as she could. While normally, it might have been better to leave the knife in place to help control the bleeding, with the mobility she would be needing, leaving it in would cause more harm than good. Several shapes moved in to take advantage of her distraction.

Shifting her weight onto her injured leg, her right leg lashed out in a devastating axe kick. Pain flooded her senses, but she wasn't about to give up. Quickly analyzing her available targets, she selected the next biggest threat and moved in.

XXXXXXX

"Why does he always have to be such a jerk," Akane cried out in frustration. She pulled her gaze from the small lake back to her pet.

For his part, P-chan sat on the bench and bwee'd his assessment. "Everything's such a mess because of him. I mean Yuka's mom, Yuka not talking to me. The jerk ignoring me." Akane shook her head.

She felt P-chan put a hoof on her leg as if in sympathy. Akane sighed. "I mean, what's so bad about being a girl? I bet there are much worse curses than that. Just imagine the trouble Shampoo or Mouse must have." She really just wanted him to understand her better.

P-chan nodded enthusiastically. Suddenly they both heard screams coming from deep within the park. Akane jumped up and ran toward the source of the screams without even a pause for thought. P-chan followed along, trying his best not to lose sight of her. Ahead, she saw three figures running together, with two others giving chase. She was surprised when she heard Yuka shout, "There's Akane!"

She didn't slow as she ran past Yuka, Shiori, and her sister. Instead, she took her earlier frustrations and new anger directly to the people that dared attack her friends and family. Scant moments later, two boys were laid unconscious and Akane turned to the girls, all of whom were bent over heaving.

"What's going on, why were these 'boys' after you?" As always, the word boys rolled off Akane's tongue as the worst curse she could imagine.

"Ranma... after... they... attack..." Shiori and Yuka huffed confusingly.

"Ranma might have known." Akane's expression tightened. "Where is he, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!" Akane's anger returned full force. 'Imagine, getting my sister and friends into this type of trouble.' she inwardly thought to herself.

"Akane," Nabiki started, having attempted to get better control over her breathing before trying to explain to her hot-headed little sister. "They attacked us... he... he's taking on the others... so we could get away."

"There's more of these perverts?" Akane practically growled.

Yuka nodded and pointed back the way they came. "Ranma's... taking care... them," Yuka painted out as Akane started back the way they came. Nabiki sighed and started to follow, although at a slower pace.

Yuka and Shiori looked at each other. Neither wanted to go back, but they didn't want to be alone right now either. With a quick nod, they ran to catch up with Nabiki.

XXXXXX

It was Akane's nightmare all over again. As she ran toward the black mass of fighters, she couldn't help but be reminded of her earlier Furinkan ordeal. Slowing as she approached, old insecurities played in her mind. She was nowhere near as good as Ranma or the others. She could guess how Ranma would react to her 'coming to the rescue.'

Her eyes narrowed and she frowned at that thought. He was always quick to come to her rescue. Besides she was a martial artist too. They had attacked her family and friends. With a final burst of speed, Akane was once again in the thick of things. A grin, not unlike her iinazuke's typical smirk grew on her face as she found the familiar rush returning.

XXXXX

"Wish I could tell what was going on," Yuka whispered as if anything louder might bring unwanted attention their way. The three non-combatants had stopped much further back. Each tensed, if not quite fully ready, to run again should any break off to come their way. "It looks like Akane has attracted almost as much attention as Ranma. That blob over there is where I would guess Ranma is right now."

A figure flew out of the mass as if to confirm Nabiki's assessment. Getting her first good glimpse of the fight from the outside, Nabiki realized things were much worse than she originally thought. The moon was now peeking out from behind the cloud cover, but still, it was little better than blind fighting on the field. She started to get a really bad feeling about the fight but didn't understand what was gnawing on her mind.

"Hmmm. Akane may actually have the upper hand here," Nabiki said after a pause. "Why do you say that? Doesn't Ranma dance circles around Akane?" Yuka asked. "One on one, yes. But I don't know that I have seen Ranma take on more than three of four opponents before. Akane practiced for several months straight against a large group."

"Well yea, but Ranma's rivals and Akane's fights are in different leagues," Yuka responded.

"Maybe, but she fought the combined Kendo Club, Male Martial Gymnasts, Sumo Club, etc. as well as several of the boy's martial sports teams. All of whom are trained and ranked fighters. They may not be in Ranma's range, but there is one important difference," Nabiki responded, more thinking aloud than trying to answer Yuka's question.

"Yes?" Shiori prompted.

"Five-hundred yen," Nabiki replied out of habit.

"Nabiki!" Yuka hissed.

Nabiki continued to watch the fight. Her eyes narrowed as her mind analyzed the situation. After a few seconds, Yuka sighed and handed over the yen. Nabiki blinked as the five-hundred yen coin appeared in her hand then grinned. Making money was definitely becoming second nature to her.

"Unlike all of Ranma's rivals, they were all trained to work as a team. Over the weeks that stupid show went on, Akane wasn't the only one that got better. They learned each other's moves and worked somewhat together as a team. Even when Ranma's rivals try to work together, they fall apart because they are all too full of themselves to work effectively together. And even then, Ryoga, Mousse, and Kuno together can get the drop on Ranma."

"Oh," Yuka and Shiori said together.

"That's not what's really bothering me, I think."

"Oh?" Yuka said before she could stop herself. She wasn't sure she wanted or could afford to know. Nabiki started trying to put numbers to what she knew of the different gangs.

Yuka jumped and looked around for Kasumi as she heard someone exclaim, "Oh my!"

XXXXX

Ranma ignored the stinging sweat that dripped into her eyes. She was getting tired and she knew it. Far too much energy was spent dodging. She was ignoring her right side as much as she could, but the chain digging into her left leg continued to throw off her balance. Both her arms and back ached from the blows she had taken and her head was still ringing from a hit she took to her right eye.

She needed more time to make sure the girls made it out of the park, or at least to safety. If she took off now, they might catch up with them. With the loss of blood and ki energy, which she had been using like there was no tomorrow, she knew she was close to collapse. She had tried to lead them into the spiral, but there were too many.

Rather than follow, they fell back to let others surround her. She had tried to lead them away from the direction the girls had run, but they had started to break off. She knew the girls should be able to lose the few that she hadn't been able to stop, but any more and they would be in trouble. Kicking off the chest of one assailant she performed a handspring, launching herself into the next directly across.

Leaping to her feet, she spun for the next challenge. A large man suddenly appeared before her, begging to be taken down. She had thought she had put him down several times before. With a cry of "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken" Ranma lade into him with forty-two punches before the man was thrown back.

'Far too slow,' Ranma thought, not realizing that the attack had taken less than a tenth of a second, and therefore much faster than she had ever managed before. Again, she spun to face what she now considered the biggest threat. This one was very fast. Usually launching the knives that had struck her side. While she hadn't taken another knife hit, the concentration to dodge or knock them out of the air was weighing on her.

The constant threat of those knives limited her ability to take to the air, where she had more mobility and her side hurt less. The pull from the chain kept her from launching herself at her target. She reached down and grabbed the chain with her left hand. With a nearly feral yell, she yanked the limp figure, who was tied to the other end, over to her.

He landed with a thud at her feet. Spinning just in time to dodge and weave out of the way, another set of knives passed by. 'He could give Ryouga a run for his money,' Ranma dizzily thought. Seeing the figure ready another volley, and that a leap now would put her almost in the hands of three others, she opted for one more ranged attack.

Calling forth from her energy reserves the tale-tale ball of light began to form between her hands. Her eyes suddenly opened wide.

XXXXX

Akane was having the time of her life. A full strength forward jab to the stomach took care of that pervert. Akane grabbed the next one, who dared to try to punch her. Pulling his reach further, he took the next hit that would have landed on her chest. Akane's eyes narrowed. 'These guys are worse than perverts.' She snap kicked that one, launching him into two others.

They sprawled on the ground for a few seconds while Akane jumped over a poor attempt at a leg sweep. She reached out and caught the pipe someone was using to try to take her head off with. Then, using that gorilla strength that Ranma so liked to make fun of, she swung the poor sap into several others before he let go.

She flung the pipe in the opposite direction. Ducking a high kick, she grabbed hold of this one's leg and brought up her free arm, dislocating the knee. A step backward and Akane watched with a smirk as two idiots slammed into each other. She helped their heads along, sending them both swiftly into unconsciousness. Someone jumped onto her back.

She allowed their momentum to carry her forward into a roll while smashing her elbow into their sides as her weight shoved them into the ground. Continuing in the roll, she pulled herself into a stomach crunch. Between her attacker's legs, trapped momentarily under her, and the pull on their arms, as she pulled up, they were forced to let go rather than be pulled apart.

Springing to her feet, she thought of something very peculiar about that last attacker. Akane's eyes flashed wide open as the full meaning settled in. Her attention was jerked to one side as a chill went through every cell of her body.

XXXXX

"What's wrong?" Shiori asked after Nabiki had started into a string of obscenities. "We need help fast!" Nabiki broke out of her cursing the idiotic jocks. Then almost slapped herself as she remembered that she carries a cell phone.

"They look like their doing okay," Yuka stated with uncertainty.

"That's not just Jiro's gang. Aoi's are out there too," Nabiki replied while hitting the speed dial for the first number.

"And that's bad?" Shiori asked.

"Yea, Boss?" the voice of her trusted second came over the line.

"Jiro and Aoi are together and in front of me right now. Call the police and tell them there's trouble in Sakura Park," Nabiki replied into the phone.

"Also, this is very important. That address you got me?"

"The temple west of the school?"

"Yea that one. Get word to Dr. Tofu to get to the park ASAP."

"Are things really as bad as we thought?" The only answer, as Nabiki dropped her phone, was an almost inhuman scream that seemed to reverberate off of everything.

XXXXXX

To hesitate in battle is to lose. Ranma Saotome hesitated.

The glow of her chi ball allowed for only a slight illumination, light not really being its purpose, but it was enough. It allowed her to see her intended target. The girl wasn't particularly pretty, especially compared to all the girls Ranma had chasing after her. All in all, not someone Ranma would have noticed in any other place in any other circumstance.

She was about to all-out attack a girl of all people. A girl that was trying to kill her, but a girl none-the-less. Idly, she wondered how many of the others she had hit, full force, were really girls. She knew she had little choice at the moment. It came down to her or her honor. There really was no choice.

XXXXX

Ken couldn't believe his luck. He had got the little red-headed dyke at the beginning of the fight with his chain and thought it was over. Then his world turned upside down. That was no girl; she had to be an oni or something. The entire fight, he had been thrown around by this girl like some kind of rag doll. Now, here she was delivered to his feet. Well actually he had been delivered to her feet, but she was now standing directly over him while completely ignoring him. He knew he had only one chance. Slowly, he slipped out his trusty taser.

Then, with a quick jab straight up, he snarled "Take this, you..." His last words were lost, as Ranma loosed a scream to wake the dead. Her concentration completely lost from the unexpected vicious attack released her un-directed chi in a backlash.

XXXXX

Dr. Tofu arrived just after the first police car pulled up. Being much faster than any of the police, he bound past them, hurrying into the park. Bodies were everywhere, and there was the distinctive feel of chi being recently expended permeating the are.

Quickly looking around, it looked as if whoever had gone full out, holding nothing back. No one was dead, but most of them looked as if they would be in the hospital for a long time. Finally, he caught sight of three figures standing off to the side.

"What happened here, Nabiki?" he inquired.

The seriousness of the situation colored his expression.

Not trusting her voice just yet, Nabiki turned toward a pair sitting on the ground a little ways off.

Walking over, he found Akane sitting down murmuring softly to a female Ranma who was curled up in her lap. Akane didn't even look up as he approached. One hand held Ranma to her, the other clutched over a dark spot on Ranma's hip.

Akane continued to attempt to comfort Ranma-chan clutching her tightly while the poor neo-girl was babbling incoherently.

"N. o... p. l. e. a. s. e.. s. t. o. p.. M. a. k. e.. t. h. e. m.. s. t. o. p.. I. t.. h. u. r. t. s... P. l. e. a. s. e... I.. t. r. i. e. d.. t. o.. s. t. o. p.. t. h. e. m.. I. m.. s. o.. s. o. r. r. y.. I. t.. h. u. r. t. s.. s. o.. m. u. c. h... I.. t. r. i. e. d.. b. u. t... I.. c. o. u. l. d. n. t... N. o... S. t. o. p.. i. t... P. l. e. a. s. e.."