Mamono Hunter Ukyou Chapter 3
Ikari: Roots of Hatred
Part 1
By Edward A. Simons
Based on characters and situations created by Takahashi Rumiko. Ranma 1/2 and characters copyright Shogakukan, Kitty Animation Circle, and Takahashi Rumiko. Devil Hunter Yohko and characters copyright NCS, Toho Company, LTD., and Mad House. This story revised 2004 by Edward Simons.
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"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."
Mark Twain
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Ryouga slowed from his panic-stricken run and wondered where he could be. Of course, anyone nicknamed 'The Lost Boy' spent a lot of time wondering where he was. Considering he'd just been in Nerima it could be anywhere from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
Trees, lots of them. I wonder what forest. It seems familiar.
But a lot of places seemed familiar to the boy. The moon was full, though only traces of it filtered through the trees, coating everything in bands of silver and black. It was warm, surprisingly so, considering how bitterly cold it had been back in Nerima.
Ryouga shivered at even the memory, then glanced down at the unconscious girl he cradled in his arms. When they had escaped from Haradachi, the Mamono which had absorbed them, neither he nor Akane were wearing any clothing. They still weren't, which is why Ryouga's eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.
And that's why he didn't see the flying squirrel the size of a small airplane soar over their heads.
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Tofu woke with a start and cursed himself for falling asleep. He rushed to the bed where Shampoo lay, but his patient had disappeared. The gravely injured Amazon couldn't have gotten up and walked off. Tofu took a deep breath and attempted to relax. Panic wouldn't solve anything.
He sensed someone behind him and turned to see a sleepy-looking Kasumi.
"I called the hospital once you got Shampoo's condition stabilized. You were asleep when they arrived." Kasumi yawned. "They also took Konatsu and Kuno there for observation. I thought it would be best to let you rest."
"So why did you stay?"
She gave him a faint smile, and for the moment Tofu felt like a foolish child. "It's not a good night to be alone. I didn't want you to wake up to find the place empty with no explanation. Besides..." She glanced down at her bandaged foot.
"You actually followed the Doctor's orders and tried to stay off that injured foot. It's about time someone started doing that." The thought brought the trace of a smile to his face. "I suppose I should go wake Ranma and have him accompany you home."
There was a moment of silence; then Tofu's shoulders sagged. "So much for peace and quiet. Now that I've blabbed it to one person , the rest of Nerima should invade by the weekend."
"Don't worry, I already knew." Kasumi's smile grew larger and somewhat impish...
Tofu felt his brain starting to melt down like it usually did when he saw Kasumi. He fought to maintain control and succeeded for the moment. "Tha...that's...umm...good...yes, good..." He laughed nervously. "So let's...umm...go get...ah...Ranma...and get you...ah...home."
"Ranma's not here."
"What?" Tofu glanced at his watch. "Still? Where are they?"
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Ranma sneezed and hoped he wasn't coming down with anything.
"C'mon, Ucchan. We gotta keep moving. It's not much farther."
But he wasn't sure it was close enough for Ukyou. She couldn't stop shivering and seemed disoriented. Ranma had learned enough from Dr. Tofu to know his fiancée was suffering from hypothermia. In simple terms, she was freezing to death. Ranma didn't feel very good either, but he had been more warmly dressed than Ukyou and hadn't exhausted himself casting spells. He hadn't nearly drowned either.
"Ranchan, your coat..." she mumbled and tried to pull it off again. Ranma had taken a moment to remove it before diving into the icy river after her. That meant it was damp, instead of thoroughly soaked like every other piece of clothing they wore.
"No, Ucchan, keep the coat. I'm okay, really."
She must be really bad off to keep trying to give it to me. After all, Ranma knew he was tough. I'm a guy. Well, I'm usually a guy. It's not my fault I got soaked.
"Wait, not that way." He moved to block the half-frozen girl from wandering down the wrong street again.
I don't wanna do this, Ucchan's probably gonna kill me later, but we gotta get somewhere warm and dry and we gotta do it now.
If Ranma wasn't half frozen himself, he might have been thinking clearly enough to simply use a pay phone.
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"They were doing what!" Dr. Tofu was wide awake now.
"Remember, Konatsu said they were fighting some sort of monster, a Mamono I think he called it. Ranma and Ukyou drew it away from the others so they could escape."
Tofu grabbed his coat and rushed towards the door. He stopped abruptly and the coat fell out of fingers suddenly gone limp.
"Ranma is probably the best of the younger martial artists. I don't know how good Ukyou is. But they haven't come back..." That implied they probably weren't coming back. Dr. Tofu, the man so many people came to with questions, had no answers. He turned and saw that Kasumi shared his fears.
"They may only be injured like Shampoo or Konatsu," she suggested, the winced at her own example.
"Only? After this long, that's the same as if the monster won."
"They're strong," Kasumi insisted. "And Ranma doesn't quit."
"What about Ukyou?"
"She's been chasing Ranma for ten years; I don't think she's the type to give up, either. But even if I'm wrong, we have to find them or at least try." She limped over and grabbed her coat. "Am I going to have to search by myself?"
"You shouldn't go at all. It could be dangerous and you're still injured."
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The contrast is so appropriate. It's warm and beautiful here in my greenhouse. I'm surrounded by life. Outside, it's cold and dark and lonely. This is the only place that matters now. I'll never leave here again.
Kodachi had been a quiet child; the one that everyone ignored and she hated being ignored. She had determined that people would notice her and did whatever it took to get their attention. But no matter what she did, it was never enough.
Father retreats further into the madness that plagues him. Tatewaki is so focused on his desperate search for love; he doesn't seem to realize his only sister is dying for lack of it. Ranma is the only boy who treats me with kindness.
Once Kodachi had deluded herself that she could make the boy love her. Now there were no tears on her face. She was past that. An image repeated itself seductively in her mind. A simple flick of her gymnastics ribbon would smash one of the panes of glass in the greenhouse ceiling and wrap securely around the frame. Then she simply needed to leap and she'd be suspended forever between earth and sky, swinging gently back and forth like a broken angel.
But when they find me, they'll bury me in the cold wet ground instead of leaving me alone and by then my plants would have died from the winter's chill.
She couldn't bear to do that to the only things that were still her friends.
What?
Kodachi stared at a needle-like thorn sticking from the back of her hand.
I didn't feel a thing. I still don't. Her thoughts felt fuzzy, almost dreamlike. Odd that I don't recognize it, I know every plant in the greenhouse.
They were her friends, the ones who helped her make the powders and potions that gave her the confidence she needed. She felt tired, so very tired. Time seemed to slow and she smiled.
Perhaps the thorn made my decision for me.
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A gnarled hand yanked the frantically struggling duck free of the cage. Hot water poured over the bird and a slender longhaired boy stood in the main room of the Neko Hanten.
"Mousse, get your clothes on and go find Shampoo. She should have returned hours ago."
Cologne displayed no signs of worry on her face or in her voice, but sending Mousse was ample proof of her concern for her great-granddaughter. The white-robed boy ran into the winter night, leaving her alone in the restaurant. Something was wrong, Cologne could feel it in her ancient bones. A tired old woman sat down to brew some tea and wait.
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Ryugenzawa, that's where we have to be. Akane ducked behind a tree as a two-story-tall fringed lizard thundered past. Soon the sun would rise and burn away the fog. Then it would be a lot easier to find her way around.
She didn't know how she and Ryouga ended up in the forest of Ryugenzawa or what had happened to their clothing.
This must be some perverted joke by that idiot Ranma. At least some weirdo isn't kidnapping me again.
Akane hefted Ryouga's unconscious body and prepared to move to the next clump of trees. Not getting trampled by the local wildlife was challenging and Ryouga's well-muscled body was extremely heavy.
Akane's expression softened for a moment. Ryouga was the strongest person she knew, but something seemed to be seriously wrong. Every time he regained consciousness, he stammered her name and fainted.
It wouldn't be long now and she'd get the poor guy to one of the springs that held the Water of Life. She just needed to splash him with some of that water, then he'd be alright.
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It took a moment for Ukyou's eyes to adjust to the darkness. The room's furnishings looked expensive, but somewhat garish. She let out a hiss as she realized she lay on a bed in what people euphemistically called a love hotel. Ranma's and her damp clothing hung in the corner drying.
Ukyou relaxed a little when she realized she was wrapped in Ranma's coat as well as most of the bedding, though she did blush. The Mamono Hunter outfit consisted of shoes, a dress, ankle and wristbands, and underpants. The only item on the list that she still wore was the last.
Soft sounds of breathing came from the bed beside her, where the again male Ranma lay wrapped in the sole remaining blanket. Ukyou smiled and reached out to softly touch his cheek with the back of her hand.
The cliche would be 'cold as ice', but she knew from recent experience Ranma wasn't quite that cold. She snuggled against his back and wrapped the covers over both of them. He was too cold for it to be comfortable, but somehow it felt right. It didn't take long for the exhausted girl to slip back into sleep.
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A slender form lay groaning on the hospital. Konatsu rolled to the side and tried to throw up again, but there was nothing left to expel, and the pain was even greater now because of that. Konatsu gulped and tried to reassure the nurses it was unrelated to the ninja's head injury, but they acted skeptical and very worried.
A completely different injury had caused the stomach problems.
It's my fault Shampoo was maimed. It's my fault if she dies.
Another spasm of dry heaves shook the ninja's body.
It felt like a different person, the way the anger came come bubbling out in that fight. Maybe the Mamono did something to me. I hope it was an accident, the way Shampoo got skewered on my sword.
But Konatsu wasn't sure anymore.
I could...it would be easy to blame the Mamono, but even if it did influence my emotions, it's still my fault. The monster didn't create the anger, it was already there, burning inside.
The world stole my parents and I was so angry. Then my step-mother and step-sisters manipulated and controlled me and I hid that anger behind a mask of girlish cheerfulness.
Even I thought the anger was gone, that the mask had become my true face, but it was still there smoldering, waiting to burst back into flame. Now I've done something terrible and I don't know which is worse, that I might do it again or that I might come to enjoy the power it brings.
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The first rays of the sun had started to peer over the horizon as a taxi approached the Tendo home, then pulled to a stop. The door opened and a man rushed around to the other side and opened the door for his companion. She reached out a hand and he pulled her to her feet. The woman leaned against him briefly as she retrieved a pair for crutches from the back of the taxi, then turned to face him.
"Thank you, Tofu."
"I suppose I'll go back to my clinic, then."
"No, you're going to stay," Kasumi insisted. "You need something to eat, and I...I need you there when I tell father what happened...what happened tonight."
He protested briefly, but none too vigorously. They paid the cabbie and moved slowly towards the house.
No one greeted them at the door. They dropped their shoes in the entryway and Kasumi advanced toward the kitchen, her place of refuge. Tofu stepped into the hallway, intending to follow, but he was tired, so very tired. He leaned against the wall, then slid down to sit on the floor. Through the kitchen doorway, he saw Kasumi bustling about as best she could. To his left was an end table with a telephone on it and wooden sign leaning against it.
After a few moments, he was startled by Kasumi calling his name. Tofu blinked. He'd been staring blankly at the things in front of him. Stress and sleep deprivation didn't make for very clear thinking.
Tofu glanced at the sign. "Tendo and I have gone searching for the girls." It meant nothing to him at the moment. He picked up the telephone receiver.
No one answered at his clinic. Ranma hadn't returned.
No one answered at Ukyou's restaurant.
He called the hospital. Miss Hinako seemed about the same. They were still concerned about Konatsu and especially Shampoo. Kuno seemed fine. He was awake, complaining loudly about the loss of his sword and his clothing. They sounded eager to release the boy.
"Do you know a Mr. Tendo?"
Tofu stared at the phone in confusion.
"Hello? Are you still there, Doctor?"
"Yes."
"Do you know a Mr. Tendo?"
"Yes. Why? Is he alright?"
"Mr. Tendo and his pet panda arrived at the hospital a couple hours ago. We informed him about his daughter and he fainted. When he woke up, he was, well he was hysterical, yelling and crying at the same time and blaming it all on someone named Ranma. It took quite a bit of effort to restrain Mr. Tendo, but we've got him under heavy sedation now."
"I see. What about his panda?"
"It curled up next to his bed and seems to be taking a nap."
"I don't think you want to disturb it."
"I'm sure we don't.
"Tofu?" Kasumi was kneeling beside him.
"Sorry, just checking on what's left of my patients." It took him a moment to realize how that might sound to Kasumi. He looked up to see tears forming and expected her to order him out of the house, but instead she buried her head against his chest and began sobbing.
Breakfast was a blackened ruin by the time either remembered it.
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Mousse hadn't slept. He'd spent hours tracing a path that led nowhere, at least nowhere he wanted to go. His face held the empty expression of a porcelain doll, but he was as churned and broken inside emotionally as Shampoo was physically. After visiting Ukyou's empty restaurant, the Tendo's empty house, and Tofu's empty clinic, worry had finally led him to the hospital.
I will find the person who did this to Shampoo.
He hoped he would maintain enough self-control that Shampoo's attacker would live to regret it. The master of hidden weapons smiled sadistically. The dead could no longer suffer and he intended to ensure that whoever had hurt Shampoo suffered for a long, long time.
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"You...you...you...animal!"
A very damp P-chan stared forlornly at the ground.
"I trusted you! I thought you were a nice guy!"
The little pig appeared to be crying. Akane uttered a shriek of rage and summoned her hammer. It curved downward towards the helpless P-chan.
He made absolutely no attempt to dodge. Akane buried the hammer in the ground up to the hilt, then fell to her knees sobbing.
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"It took you long enough to return, Mousse, yet you haven't found my great-granddaughter."
The boy shook his head sullenly.
"Have you found Ranma? Ukyou? Kodachi?"
Three more times Mousse shook his head without speaking a word.
"So you've gone mute as well as blind. You really are useless."
The boy nodded. He was obviously concealing something, but in this mood, Cologne would be unlikely to find out what without permanently damaging him. She was tempted to risk it.
"No matter, Shampoo can take care of herself. No doubt she and her Airen are keeping each other entertained."
Mousse smiled but there was no trace of joy in it.
"Then Ranma is still with Ukyou?"
Mousse shrugged. He neither knew nor cared.
"She was supposed to be meeting Kodachi. The girl is a treacherous one, but even a fool like you should be able to deal with her. You will go to her house and find out if she knows anything."
Mousse nodded reluctantly and left.
Cologne resolved to beat some manners into the insolent male once he was no longer useful.
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"Ooh, little Azusa's head hurts."
That wasn't very surprising considering she'd involuntarily headbutted a concrete wall the previous night. Of course, none of the cute things in her collection answered, but Azusa enjoyed talking to them.
"Lookie what came in the mail. We have a present from Auntie Madoka." It wasn't as frilly as Azusa liked, but she enjoyed naming the bow and the wrapping paper and adding them to her collection.
The strange metallic bracelet inside the box was quickly dubbed Babette.
"Oh, look everyone, there's something else in here."
Azusa didn't know what a 'Mamono Hunter Starter Kit' was, but it didn't look very cute.
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Ranma woke to the protestations of stiff and sore muscles. Blearily, he noticed a set of arms wrapped around him and a warm body pressed against his back.
Guess Ucchan ain't gonna kill me over this.
Ranma brought two fingers to his lips in an unconscious echo of Ukyou's gesture the night before. Her hand had been trembling and her words were a feeble whisper, but there was something in her eyes.
Why didn't I see that before?
The boy sighed as he recalled their stumbling trip to the love hotel. He wasn't sure anyone would let them in. Most love hotels wouldn't let a pair of girls in. And they probably thought Ukyou was drunk so this wasn't the most high class of places. At least a place like this was anonymous.
Wait a minute!
Ranma's eyes snapped fully open and his heart began pounding as he truly realized his situation. The coat he'd given to Ukyou was only wrapped around her, never buttoned, and it certainly wasn't closed now. Suddenly his mouth was dry, yet he was sweating, as he felt her warm body pressed tightly against his bare back. Her arms were wrapped across his chest and any movement might wake her.
"Ucch..."
No, do not wake her up. Bad idea, bad idea, he cursed himself.
Slowly, gingerly, Ranma lifted Ukyou's arm and eased out of her grasp. She moaned his name once, but she didn't wake. He risked a glance back, ensuring the blankets covered the girl. Ranma bowed his head and exhaled deeply.
I ain't gonna let my body decide.
He glanced back at the bed.
"Sorry, Ucchan, you weren't trying to..." His voice faded and slowly his pulse and breathing returned to normal.
Standing near the foot of the bed, he began a series of katas. It didn't take long to work the stiffness out of his muscles and then he started pushing himself, going through the complex movements as rapidly as possible.
After a brief pause to catch his breath, Ranma switched his pace completely. Now he began a series of high kicks, moving almost in slow motion. With one foot planted firmly on the floor, Ranma inched his other leg upwards till it was well over his head. In this exercise, his goals were balance and endurance and, most of all, control.
Eventually Ranma finished his morning warm-up and sat down. For once, he had time to think and he wasn't used to that. He seldom had free time and he usually saved his thinking for combat.
Ranma gazed at his sleeping fiancée again.
She really is cute. Of course, all the girls after me are cute. Even Akane when she isn't angry.
But it seemed like Akane was always angry and sometimes it was actually his fault.
I don't know why. Maybe she hates me.
He wasn't sure about that, but Akane was the hardest one of the bunch to understand. Kodachi's intentions were clear, if more than a little frightening. Ukyou's feelings were also clear, one of the few certainties in his life. Shampoo...
Aw, no.
He'd been trying not to think of Shampoo, of a torn body and a spreading stain of red on the ice. To him death was something that only happened to old people and his mind flinched away from the idea that someone he liked, someone he cared about, might be gone. He told himself that he couldn't change anything that had happened. He told himself that it wasn't his fault.
Shampoo's tough, she's gonna make it. Please Kami-sama, she's gonna make it.
Ukyou rolled over in her sleep, accidentally tossing away most of the covers, revealing quite a bit of leg. The embarrassed boy carefully tucked the bedcovers back around his fiancée and gazed down at her face.
She looks kinda peaceful now, but I almost lost Ucchan last night, too. The Mamono tried to kill her, the river tried to drown her, and the weather tried to freeze her.
A chill ran down his spine as Ranma realized how much he took Ukyou for granted.
Ucchan's tough, too, but she's not indestructible. She needs my help against these Mamonos.
And she loved him. She had said it with an intensity and a certainty that scared him. Ranma knew he cared about Ukyou, maybe more than had really realized before.
She's important to me. But is it love? Do I love any of them? Or am I such a jerk that the only one I really care about is myself?
I can't ask Pops. That idiot promised me to three girls that I know of. Talking to him is only gonna make it worse. I can't ask Mom, either. I hardly know her. She seems obsessed with honor, but the only person whose honor she seems to care about in this whole fiancée mess is Akane. She doesn't seem to care about Shampoo's honor. Or Ukyou's. Or Kaori's. Or anybody else's and Kami-sama knows how many more girls Pops promised me to. Or how many boys.
Ranma shivered, but then he heard someone rap on the door.
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Tofu stayed till Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome returned home in the evening. By then, he and Kasumi knew that Akane was missing, and they'd had no more luck locating her than they had finding Ranma and Ukyou.
Strain and sleeplessness marked their faces. Genma appeared unfazed by the tragedy, though it was a bit difficult to read a panda's expression. Soun looked haggard, at least ten years older than he had the day before. His reactions were oddly subdued, probably from the effects of the sedatives.
"Akane still hasn't returned, Father." Though Kasumi omitted mentioning the Mamono or that Ranma and Ukyou were also missing.
"Oh, that's really too bad. I had hoped to see Akane. I hoped..." Soun shook his head like a man trying to wake up. "Sorry. She'll turn up, she always does."
It took the man visible effort to focus. "Probably out looking for her fiancé. That's good...bring them closer together." Soun took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Need to sleep...sorry...don't worry, Kasumi...Akane will be fine...just fine...fine..."
At last he ran out of words and Genma helped him to his room.
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"Who are you?"
It was a representative of the love hotel, the first person Ranma had actually seen, everything else had been automated.
"You only paid for the night, not for this long," the woman insisted.
"Okay, okay." Ranma hurried to his clothing, rummaging through the pockets. "Just be quiet. I don't wanna wake Ucchan." He hurried back to the door, then pressed a bunch of yen into the woman's hand.
She counted the bills slowly, the smiled. "Thanks for the tip." The woman turned, then glanced back over her shoulder. "But I would have thought you were the type for briefs, not boxers."
Ranma stood frozen in the doorway, his face a deep crimson as he realized that was all he was wearing.
"At least I didn't wake Ucchan," he whispered.
Arms wrapped around him, and a body pressed against his back. "Ranchan, what time is it?" she murmured drowsily, her mouth was so close to his ear he could feel her breath.
"I, um, the lady said it was seven."
"Morning?" Ukyou yawned.
"Evening. Um..." Even though the hall was dimly lit, he clearly saw an embarrassed couple standing there. They could also see Ranma and Ukyou quite well. Ranma opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say.
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Tatewaki Kuno was talking to himself, but that was not unusual.
"I weary of being pushed and prodded about by these oafs who claim themselves doctors. There be no more wrong with me than there was the first time and much of this talk of Mamonos is rank nonsense. 'Tis plain for any fool to see that this is the work of that foul sorcerer Ranma Saotome."
He stood outside the hospital waiting for Sasuke to arrive with the Kuno family limousine. Passersby circled wide around the teen, sometimes sadly shaking their heads.
"By robbing me of my raiment, he has robbed me of my dignity. By robbing me of my weapon, he has robbed me of my pride. But this pales to insignificance when one considers what he has stolen from the beautiful and virtuous Akane Tendo. A delicate flower of womanhood has been plucked by the brute hand of a senseless beast, and for this he shall most assuredly pay."
"Saotome, beware! Though you have bested me for the moment I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, shall regain my strength and return again to destroy both you and these foul minions of yours known as Mamonos. Now I am forewarned and they shall no longer have hold over me."
Sasuke's arrival interrupted Kuno. The boy climbed into the back of the automobile, surprised to see his sister already sitting there.
Odd, her eyes appear to be bright green. No doubt she is wearing colored contact lenses in another misguided attempt at gaining attention.
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Akane had finally stopped crying. Her eyes seemed to have lost their focus and she was staring at nothing. She barely blinked and she hadn't moved in what seemed like forever.
P-chan focused on one bare knee doing his best not to look any higher. He trotted over and nuzzled Akane's leg. Akane snatched the little pig up and hugged him to her chest. P-chan struggled frantically to stay conscious, not the easiest of tasks considering that Akane was squashing him so hard he couldn't breathe. The part of her anatomy she held him against wasn't helping either.
Suddenly, the pressure eased and P-chan inhaled sharply in a sort of whooping snort that might have been funny under other circumstances.
"Oh, Ryouga, I'm sorry. I'm so very, very sorry."
The pig looked bewildered though his eyes stayed tightly shut.
"I could have killed you. I...I know I wanted to. I'm scared Ryouga, scared of myself. Is that all I have left after momma died, just the anger?"
She broke into weeping again.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone. I never meant to hurt anyone."
Ryouga finally had enough breath to bwee in agreement.
"I wondered why P-chan acted so shy, why he looked away or shut his eyes when I changed clothes. You couldn't tell me as P-chan, but why didn't you tell me as Ryouga?"
P-chan hung his head in bitterness and shame. He had no excuse and he hadn't always looked away.
"Oh, but how could you? How could you dare tell me? I...I...my anger...I nearly killed you...I...what am I? You're the only one besides Kasumi that's ever nice to me. You're the only one that even tried to help me get better at martial arts."
"When the...the Mamono tried to squash me you stopped it, even though you...you were in such pain. You said you'd die for me. You said you loved me. Why? Why? What did I do to make you risk your life for me? You tried to save me when I nearly drowned at the Charlotte Cup and again against the Orochi here in Ryugenzawa. You were only a tiny black pig. It was a huge eight-headed dragon. You had no chance, but you dived into the water to rescue me. Why?"
Now her voice was barely a whisper. "Why did I waste all this time being angry at that jerk Ranma, when I could have asked you why did all that for me."
Ryouga wished once again that he turned into something useful like a cat or a dog or almost anything but a small black pig. 'Bwee' was far too small of a vocabulary to deal with this.
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A dark-haired boy and a girl with long brown hair stared at a dark-haired boy and a girl with long brown hair. It felt like looking in a strange warped mirror. Ukyou blushed and tried to hide behind Ranma. Yuka blushed and tried to hide behind Daisuke. The two boys looked like a demented pair of fish; their mouths moved uselessly, but no words emerged.
Yuka finally broke the silence. "We, uh, didn't expect to see you here."
"Uh, yeah," Ukyou stammered, "It's our first time here," and winced at how that sounded. "Uh, we got here late last night." That didn't sound any better.
Daisuke laughed nervously. "We, ah, recommend, um, this is a good place. Been here before and, um..."
Yuka stepped in verbally. "We've been together since the school year started. Could you please not tell anyone." She clasped her hands together and bowed. "You know what the gossips at school are like. It could get ugly."
Ranma figured if he could keep Ryouga's secret, this would be no problem. Ukyou echoed Ranma while doing her best to stay hidden behind him.
The other couple relaxed and an awkward silence followed till Daisuke nervously mumbled, "Hey Ranma, how about sharing those techniques you mentioned."
Ukyou whispered to Ranma "What did he say?"
"He's asking about that fight with the first Mamono, the new techniques we tried," Ranma whispered back.
Neither of the martial artists noticed the way Yuka glared at a suddenly even more nervous Daisuke. The other couple also missed Ranma and Ukyou's exchange, though Ukyou got their attention back with the next words she spoke.
"But Ranchan, I'm way too tired now."
Daisuke looked jealous. Yuka looked envious.
"Aw, c'mon Ucchan. You know, the one with the paired spatulas?
"Sp...Spatulas?" Yuka stammered.
"But, Ranchan, that's not new. I used to try it on you all the time when we were kids."
Ranma smiled and blushed. "Oh yeah, that's right."
Yuka and Daisuke now shared wide-eyed expressions of shock and their arms were raised in nearly identical warding gestures.
"I guess I could them my new technique, Ucchan."
"Sh...Show," Daisuke stammered while Yuka blushed bright red.
"Sure," Ranma smiled. "You guys got any spoons?
The door slammed shut as the other couple fled. Ranma stared at the door in confusion. "I thought they wanted to talk martial arts?"
"Well, that's not why they came here..." Ukyou trailed off in embarrassment as she realized what Daisuke had really asked. Ranma blushed too after she explained it.
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P-chan nosed at the satchel, one of several he had stashed across Japan. Akane opened it to find a set of Ryouga's trademark yellow tunic and dark pants and a pair of shoes. It also held a dome tent, a sleeping bag, a small camp stove, some pans, a lot of instant ramen, and a set of waterproof matches. Akane donned the tunic and set about heating some water. Even she could get that right.
Before long, a damp and embarrassed Ryouga returned to his normal form. Akane giggled as he almost leaped into the pants. The Lost Boy sat down, crossed his arms over his face and rested his elbows on his knees.
"You should have done it, Akane. You'd be better off without me. I'm a pathetic jerk who can't find his own house and turns into a small tasty-looking piglet. You call Ranma a pervert, but I'm the one who deserves to be called that."
Ryouga wasn't crying, but his voice sounded hollow and empty of everything including hope. Akane wasn't over being mad at Ryouga, but he sounded more depressed than she'd ever heard him.
"Hey, it's not that bad. It's not like anybody else knows."
The boy's silence spoke loudly.
"Who else knows you're P-chan?"
"Ranma."
Akane made a mental note to hammer her fiancé the next time she saw him. "But he's the only one," she asked.
"Genma and the Jusenkyou guide have to know. They nearly ate me for lunch the day Ranma knocked me into the Spring of Drowned Black Pig."
Akane added another hammering to Ranma's list. No make that, two. One for doing that to Ryouga and a second for abandoning him to be eaten. "Genma knew all this time and he never said anything?"
"Maybe he hoped Ranma would get jealous and fight over you. Maybe he didn't care. He's a strange man."
"Maybe he hoped you'd try to take advantage of me and reduce the number of fiancées he'd promised Ranma to," she offered hesitantly.
"I don't think so. Besides, your dad would just try to push Nabiki or Kasumi into it."
"And you're not the kind of guy to act like that, Ryouga." Akane smiled. It was a beautiful if slightly sad smile. Ryouga didn't see it; his face remained buried in his arms.
"No, I only betrayed your trust. I've been alone for most of my life and I deserve it."
Now Ryouga was making Akane mad for a completely different reason. "Listen, you dummy, I'm mad about what you did, but you're better than that jerk Ranma. He and Ukyou start sleeping together and he doesn't even have the guts to tell me, let alone call off our engagement. My dad refuses to believe it and insists we'll still end up together."
Her next words were spoken much more softly. "We might have if our fathers hadn't pushed so hard. We didn't have any real chance to learn to like each other, let alone love."
"You still care about him."
"I...I..." Akane stammered, "I think I did, but he's made his choice. Only an idiot would want him after that."
Ryouga didn't know what to say. Unlike Ranma, he knew enough to shut up in cases like this.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The silence lagged on. Ukyou sat on the bed staring down at her interlaced fingers. Ranma stood in the middle of the room, his hands clasped behind his head, staring at one of the few bits of ceiling that wasn't mirrored. Neither knew what to say or do and knowledge of where they were and how little they wore merely reinforced their nervousness.
Finally, Ukyou stood and moved to examine their outer clothing. Ranma's shirt and pants were nearly dry, but her dress still felt somewhat damp. She nervously ran her fingers through her hair, finally noticing how tangled it was.
Great, I probably look like a wreck.
Ranma glanced over when he sensed movement. He quickly whipped his head back around. He had a nice view of Ukyou bent over looking at the clothes, but he didn't want her to think he was trying to peep at her, regardless of how manly his mom might claim that was.
"Umm, Ucchan, you wanna use the shower first?" Ranma voice almost cracked in nervousness. He hoped what he said didn't sound like some sleazy way of suggesting they share the shower. Ranma blushed at the thought.
To Ukyou, it sounded like Ranma was saying she looked like a disaster area. Ranma watched in confusion as she trudged forlornly into the bathroom.
Ucchan looks so sad. I musta said something wrong again. Did she actually want me to suggest we shower together? Maybe she thinks I did? Maybe she thinks I'm just another pervert? Ranma suspected he'd never understand girls.
When did I start caring what girls thought? Is this why Pops kept me away from them, so I wouldn't get so confused?
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The forest of Ryugenzawa was a strange place even by day, but the mists that covered it by night hid the trees' forms and made the noises of the wildlife muted and eerie. That wasn't why Akane couldn't sleep.
The ground felt a lot harder than the bed she normally slept on, and though it was far warmer than it should have been, Akane felt chilly even in the borrowed sleeping bag. That wasn't why she couldn't sleep, either.
She'd seen how dark and ugly her anger could get.
Ryouga would be dead now if I didn't stop myself. I barely kept myself from killing him, what will I do the next time I get angry? With the way I feel about Ranma and Ukyou, the way they betrayed me, will I hurt them next? That was her way, strike back at the blind, unfeeling world, ever since...ever since her mother died.
And Ryouga had showed her another thing she didn't like and he did it with only five words.
"You still care about him."
She had claimed she didn't want Ranma or the engagement so many times, had even claimed she hated him. She kept pushing him away verbally. Sometimes, far too often, she even used her hammer or a bokken or the nearest piece of furniture when words were not enough.
"You still care about him."
She couldn't drive the words away; she couldn't hammer them into silence. As they echoed in her memory, she felt tears forming, hidden tears that might have broken the barrier of anger and insults between her and Ranma, that might have ended the pattern of pain. But Akane hid those tears out of pride, like Ukyou and Shampoo and even Kodachi. All Ranma saw was her anger, anger that proved she cared even as it drove him away.
I told Ryouga only an idiot would still want Ranma. I'm an idiot. I was lying to myself and to him. If I really didn't care about Ranma, it wouldn't matter what he did with who. If I didn't think of Ukyou as a friend, I wouldn't hate her for what happened either.
She still wanted to hurt them both like they hurt her, but now she was terrified of herself and what she might do. She shuddered, visualizing P-chan's broken body in a spreading pool of blood, realizing how close she'd come to it.
"Now it's too late." There was anger even in that whisper. "It's just like with Tofu and Kasumi. I was afraid to let him know how I felt. If I cared again, if I admitted it, I could end up alone anyway, just like I did before."
"Why doesn't anybody want me?" Akane whispered sadly. An inner voice mocked her, pointing out how the other girls excelled her in looks, in martial arts, in athletic ability, in cooking, in everything that mattered to her. "Why can't I ever be good enough? She dresses like a guy and she's more feminine than I am. Even he's more feminine than I am."
She barely heard the low moan outside the tent.
"Ryouga?" she whispered.
The moan came again, only louder this time. Akane unzipped the tent door and peered into the darkness. Ryouga lay huddled on the ground, shivering even in his sleep. Akane's expression softened. Ryouga had given up his shirt, his tent, and his sleeping bag for her sake.
Akane stepped out of the tent and knelt by Ryouga's side.
He thinks I'm good enough. He wants me. He cares about me, even with all his faults. Even with all my faults. He cares, he listens, he encourages, he tries to protect me and I know it's not because of some stupid duty forced on him. I know he loves me, that somebody really loves me.
She reached a trembling hand forward, not daring to touch him.
I wish I was that sure about anything. How does Ryouga know what he feels? How can I trust how anyone else feels when I don't know what I feel?
Hints of moonlight caressed the boy's face and Akane hesitated.
He's handsome. Why didn't I notice that either? And he's kind and gentle and patient and brave. He can't find his own house, but he's always there when I need him.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The hot water cascading down felt wonderful. Ukyou wanted to stay in the shower for two or three weeks. Of course, if she waited too long Ranma would get more than a little impatient.
Half the time it seems like he doesn't even think of me as a girl. He might just forget and burst in.
Ukyou stepped out of the shower and began to towel herself off. There was a mirror across the whole wall in front of her. And to the left of her. And the right. And on the ceiling. Ukyou blushed at the view.
No wonder Ranchan thinks of me as a guy. Shampoo is so stacked even a blind boy like Mousse can see it. Kodachi wears those skintight leotards that don't hide any of her figure. And what do I wear? I don't have much, but I hide even that sometimes. She'd gone to a boy's middle school. She knew how important size was to most of them.
Ukyou stared at her reflection. Her long hair was the one feminine thing she couldn't part with during the years she pretended to be a boy. It amazed her that only that jerk Tsubasa ever saw through the disguise.
"I guess Ranchan's not the only one who thinks I look like a guy."
But he was the only one that really made her feel like a girl. The only one to see past the mask she wore and dare to call her cute. She'd tried to discard her femininity when she was six, because all it brought her was grief, but those few words of Ranma's gave her the strength to try and perhaps regain it, even though it cost her still more pain.
I just wish I knew how. I always was a tomboy. I don't care about flowers or lace or shoujo manga or fancy dresses or any of that stuff.
She stared into the mirror, trying to will confidence into the reflected eyes. Ukyou smiled sadly at herself, noting her hair was still a tangled mass and she had no comb. It had disappeared along with the clothing she had worn when she summoned her Mamono Hunter outfit.
Well, there should be a way to reverse the spell. I can't imagine 108 generations of Mamono Hunters being able to afford that much replacement clothing.
Ukyou dropped the towel. It might complicate summoning her regular clothes. She blushed at her reflection again and stepped back into the shower stall.
"Just in case Ranchan does blunder in," she whispered.
The girl concentrated and began weaving patterns in the air as the gems of the Yoma ring pulsed. Again, she felt a spinning sensation and there was a flash of light.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
He was afraid she would order him away, afraid she would hate him for everything he had done. Instead, Akane insisted he join her in the tent, then collapsed into his arms crying, pouring out her pain to him just like she did when she thought he was only her pet P-chan.
He didn't know what to say, he just held her close as shuddering sobs racked her body. One lone star peered though the canopy of trees and the door of the tent. Ryouga stared at it even as he held Akane, never wanting to let her go.
He'd heard about making wishes on a star.
Please, Kami-sama, let her be happy. I'll do anything if I could make her smile again.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The Mamono Hunter starter kit was more fun than Azusa had expected. It was fun summoning the dress, even though it wasn't frilly enough. The toy ghosts and other things were fun to name, too. There was one book, 'All You Really Need To Know About Hyper-Space and Pan-Dimensional Travel', but reading it made her head hurt more than headbutting the concrete wall so she put it aside.
Auntie Madoka's letter told Azusa that she was now a Mamono Hunter in training and that she needed to assist somebody named Ukyou Kuonji in fighting the monsters. Azusa didn't think that sounded very fun until she saw a few pictures of Mamonos.
Her look grew serious and she spoke to her collection again. "I will destroy these icky monsters and keep the world safe for cuteness." The little skater flashed victory signs, but her audience of inanimate objects remained silent.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The pants were dry. Only their black color hid the scorch marks from his ride on the back of Haradachi. Ranma picked up his shirt. It seemed dry enough. Then a red light flared around Ukyou's Mamono Hunter dress. It spun into the air and shredded apart, but nothing fell to the floor. Nothing.
"Kami, no!"
Ranma's fist shattered the bathroom door. Wooden shrapnel ricocheted across the room, fracturing the mirrored walls and cracking the shower door. Through the damaged glass, he saw Ukyou. Ranma threw the door open and pulled her into his arms.
"Ucchan...oh kami...I thought you were dead."
For a moment, she couldn't breathe, and then he eased his grip. Her fear gave way to anger, which gave way to concern as she saw Ranma's eyes were moist.
"Oh, Uch...I...I thought...the dress...it just...it was gone...and I thought..."
Ranma turned pale, finally noticing the damage he'd inflicted on the room. He gave a gulping sob and pulled away from Ukyou. Broken glass crunched under his bare feet as he spun, taking in all he'd done. He crouched into a ball and wrapped his arms around himself.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." he babbled.
Ukyou knelt and wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay, Ranchan, it's okay." She didn't understand. Ranma never looked scared unless it involved cats.
"Akane's right, I'm such an idiot, what would I have done to you if you were standing..." He gestured with a trembling hand at wood splinters embedded in the wall.
"I'm fine, Ranchan."
At her words, the tension and fear began draining from him and he took a closer look at Ukyou. "Hey, what were you doing in the shower with your clothes on? Wait, that's the stuff you were wearing last night. What happened?"
"I tried reversing the spell to summon back my regular clothes." If the spell had failed, she'd have been wearing nothing. Ranma wasn't wearing much more than that anyway and Ukyou felt a warmth spread across her face and chest.
"Sorry, Ucchan, this has gotta be one of the dumbest things I've done."
"It's okay. You were just worried."
"Tha...thanks."
"Next time you want to see me in the shower, knock a little more softly. It's not an emergency."
Ukyou clapped a hand to her mouth, wanting to call back the impulsive words and erase the wink that left Ranma stammering. The pair knelt in speechless silence, their faces matching the color of the missing dress.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
It wasn't enough. Ryouga's words, his arms around her, weren't enough to erase the pain. Akane bowed her head, resting it on the boy's shoulder, as thoughts and feelings swirled in a maelstrom. Maybe it was the need to overwhelm the pain. Maybe she just needed to take control of one part of the confusing mess her life had become since Ranma arrived. Anger and pity and love and self-hatred and desire and sorrow and fear warred within her and even she was never sure which of those emotions won out.
Akane crossed her arms in front of her and grabbed the lower edge of the yellow tunic she wore. Ryouga's eyes grew wide and he couldn't speak or even breathe. Akane smiled briefly. Yellow always was her favorite color. She took a slow, deep breath and paused for a moment that seemed like an eternity. Ryouga still hadn't moved and her eyes traced the muscles of his chest and arms.
A look of decision crossed her face. In one smooth movement, she pulled the borrowed garment up and over her head. She tossed it behind her, paying no attention to where it landed. Literally as well as figuratively, she didn't want to look back. If she had, through the still open door of the tent, she might have seen a tall slender boy with a broom slung on his back and eyes that weren't supposed to be green.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Nothing left to straighten. No more chores to occupy her mind. Kasumi was no longer the calm center in the hurricane of chaos. There was nothing for her to do, no one to help or advise. She felt useless and helpless and for the first time in her life regretted not studying martial arts. Then she could at least release her frustrations on the practice dummies like Akane did.
The house had been unbearably quiet since Dr. Tofu left. Once, Kasumi had yearned for peace. Now every noise echoed in the empty silence. It was so hard to believe one of her sisters was gone.
At least she hoped it was only one. The silence reminded her that Akane had disappeared at about the same time as Ranma and Ukyou. Kasumi picked up the cross her mother left her. It might be only a symbol, but it felt comforting. Perhaps the only thing she could do was pray.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
No one burst in to demand an explanation after Ranma destroyed most of the bathroom. Even if the place was soundproofed, it was still amazing. The boy had several cuts on his feet from the broken glass, but insisted he was fine. He'd probably say the same thing if something had torn his arm off, so Ukyou was more than a little worried. She insisted he sit in the shower while she tossed the glass shards into the wastebasket.
She had a good view of her partly clothed fiancé through the cracked glass of the shower door, which made her blush. She didn't want to stare and make Ranma feel like they both did during lunch at school recently. Like the fish in Miss Hinako's fishbowl.
"Like the fish..." she murmured.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
An incessant banging noise woke Dr. Tofu. He shuffled to the door of his clinic and fumbled it open. To his surprise and relief, Ukyou stood there carrying a female Ranma on her back. The shorter girl's feet were wrapped in bloodstained strips of cloth.
"I told ya, Ucchan. I coulda walked."
"On your hands?"
"Sure, it woulda been good balance training."
Ukyou put her fiancé down and turned to Dr. Tofu. "I think he's got glass splinters in his feet. When he changed so I could carry him easier, his feet started bleeding again."
"How did that happen, are you alright, and where have you two been?"
Both teens blushed, but neither volunteered an answer.
"Never mind, let me take a look." The wounds were minor. Certainly nothing comparable to the injuries Shampoo or even Konatsu had suffered. It didn't take long to clean and bandage the cuts. Ranma didn't wince or cry out when Tofu pulled the last bits of glass out of his feet. The Doctor couldn't tell whether that was an attempt to impress Ukyou or the effects of Genma pushing his version of manliness on the boy.
"That should do it. Stay off your feet as much as possible."
"Right, Doc. Let's go, Ucchan."
"Where do you two think you're going?"
They answered at the same time and the only word that Tofu clearly understood was 'hospital'.
"What?"
"Ucchan's got an idea on how to help Miss Hinako."
"Ranchan told me that she tried to absorb energy from Akane when Akane was controlled by the first Mamono. Normally Miss Hinako absorbs positive chi but that must have been negative chi. So if we put her near a source of positive energy like those fighting fish she keeps in a fishbowl..."
"I already tried that." Tofu shook his head. "Studying pressure points allows me to determine patterns in the flow of chi through the body. In her current physical state, only a real combat would produce high enough positive chi levels and even then she can't absorb them while she stays unconscious."
"Ranchan used revealing photos to get a different kind of hot chi reaction out of Happosai so he could use the Hiryu Shouten Ha whirlwind against the old pervert. Would that kind of chi work?" Ukyou got misty eyed as she imagined practicing the Crimson Attack with Ranma again.
Tofu raised an eyebrow. "Well, that would require rather high chi levels as well, so high that..." He looked closely at Ukyou.
"Oh my. You mean Ranchan and I would have to..." She stared at the floor, her cheeks red with color.
"To do what?" the boy interrupted.
"But Miss Ninomiya still couldn't absorb the energy while she was unconscious," Tofu explained.
"I was hoping me and Ucchan could at least try," Ranma grumbled. "So much for that idea."
Ukyou stared at him a moment, then shook her head and laughed softly. "You big dummy," she muttered.
"What if I used my Moko Takabisha? That's positive chi and I can project it."
"That might work," Tofu replied.
"Alright!"
"I said it might work."
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
The sound of footsteps in the hallway outside distracted Konatsu from more pointless contemplation of the ceiling.
There's three. Lady Ukyou. Maybe she's come to see me.
The ninja's hope vanished as the footsteps passed the door and continued down the hall.
I'm fairly sure the second is Lord Ranma, though there's something wrong, like he's hurt his feet. I don't know who the third is.
It wasn't any of the nurses; Konatsu had already memorized the sounds of their movements. The ninja glided silently to the door and peered out before following the trio.
They moved quietly, but purposefully down the hall, then entered a room on the right. Konatsu glanced at the name plate outside.
Hinako Ninomiya. I wonder who that is?
The door was still open. Ranma was already seated near the unconscious form on the bed; Ukyou stood behind him, one arm on the chair back; and a tall man wearing glasses stood by the foot of the bed.
Ranma reached forward, gingerly taking the hand of the dark-haired girl on the bed. "I sure hope this works." Chi energy began to glow in his hand, and he sat there quietly for a minute.
"Nothing," he sighed. "And if I use any more power I'm probably gonna hurt her."
"Remember the coin she used, Ranchan." She handed her fiancé a five yen piece. "Try this." Konatsu suspected there was more than symbolic significance to the ring-shaped coin.
Ranma placed the coin in his teacher's palm and clasped his hand over hers. Again, his hand was limned with a faint glow, but then it burst into a glowing ball of light as the chi energy in Ranma's glowing hand streamed into Hinako. Ukyou and the doctor shielded their eyes, while Ranma gasped and slumped forward.
"Ranchan, are you okay?"
"Didn't expect this much. Draining me." But he didn't let go.
Hinako's body started shifting from her childlike form to her full adult appearance, but not in the smooth even transition that normally occurred when she absorbed someone's chi energy. It began with the hand, then traveled down the arm, which bulged to adult size. The energy continued, flowing across her chest. Irreverently, Konatsu was reminded of balloons inflating. The body on the bed began writhing as the machines set up to monitor heart and brain activity went wild. Hinako convulsed and then lay still, the only sign of life the faint but steady beeping of the heart monitor.
Ranma dropped the woman's hand and leaned back, obviously exhausted. Tofu stepped forward to examine Hinako.
"You gonna be okay?" Ukyou whispered.
"Yeah, but it was tougher than I thought."
Tofu motioned for silence and then smiled. "Vital signs appear normal. She's sleeping, but she's no longer dreaming, and that's a very good sign. We'll know for sure after I do some tests, but I think she's going to make it."
Then Konatsu spoke, ended the moment of joy. "I wish we could say that about Shampoo." The ninja slumped against doorframe, too tired to keep up the cute girlish facade. "Shampoo...it's all my fault...what happened."
"What are you doing out of bed?" Tofu replied. "And what happened to Shampoo is no more your fault than what happened to Nabiki is Ranma's. If it's anybody's fault, it's mine," he added mournfully. "I'm the doctor, I'm supposed to be able to help people."
"What did happen to them?" Ukyou asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer. Ranma slumped further into the chair; drawing into himself physically as his heart began sliding into the abyss.