Mamono Hunter Ukyou
Shinrou: Shadow of Fear
Part 4
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 2005 by Edward Simons.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
In the silence of the night
How we shiver with affright
At the melancholy menace of their tone!
For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats,
Is a groan:
Edgar Allen Poe, "The Bells"
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kasumi stared out the rain-spattered window. The gathering storm and falling temperature meant it would soon turn to sleet, and that meant the streets would soon be too icy to travel safely. Tears meandered down the girl's cheeks, a slow reflection of the plunging rain. Her strength had faded like the pale beams of the failing sun, buried behind the gathered clouds.
Tofu put his arm around her, and she leaned against him.
"I called Hinako and got Miyo's phone number," he said. "From what little I found, she claims to be psychic, with the ability to predict the future. Unfortunately, I don't see how that will help with banishing Mamonos. Still, you shouldn't worry, I'm sure we'll find Ukyou and save your sister."
"Will we?" Kasumi whispered. "Miyo can't help...Cologne is gone...none of the other Amazons know anything helpful...and the monster got Gosunkugi. What makes you think it hasn't gotten Ukyou, too?"
"I..." He paused, searching for words. "Your sister is going to be alright, you have to believe it."
He prayed he wasn't lying to Kasumi. His words were almost exactly what Miyo had told him over the phone. The self-proclaimed psychic had claimed that they would find Akane and that Ukyou would defeat the Mamono. Tofu couldn't see the future, but he could see some things.
"You didn't get much sleep last night, did you, Kasumi?"
She nodded faintly.
"Let's get you to bed, then. I'm sure the hospital has a spare after sending all the Furinkan students home and you need the rest. You deserve it." Tofu ignored the girl's murmured protests and led her away from the window.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ranma hesitated, unwilling to knock on the door. His hand was outstretched, but he paused, sensing the distance between himself and the woman on the other side of the door. For a few moments, he was as frozen as the sleet pelting from the afternoon sky.
"Ranchan?
His fiancée was clearly nervous, too. He took a deep breath and his hand arced forward, rapping sharply on the wood. He was sure he could hear it echo inside. The house sounded empty. He rapped a second time, hearing a second hollow echo.
Mom spent ten years, no, more than that, in an empty house.
The door opened before Ranma could dwell on those thoughts. Nodoka stared in wonder at a pair of damp teenage girls.
"Son?" It had to be a dream. She had so few chances to see her only child.
"Hi, Mom," he replied. "I'm real glad you're home. Can me and Ucchan come in and stay for a bit? It's getting kinda wet out here."
She pulled him into a hug, nearly squeezing Ranma's breath away, then yanked him inside.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
She fell through the darkness, plunging into the void. She expected to hear the wind rushing by, to feel it tug at her tattered clothing, but she felt nothing, she heard nothing, she saw nothing.
So, this is what death feels like. It doesn't feel like anything at all.
She wanted to be brave, to pretend she had courage even in the face of the final enemy, but she didn't. Life was cruel and arbitrary; even the best and bravest could be brought low in a moment, going from triumph to a cold and ignominious end. And that end was always faced alone; without friends, allies, or family. No one could reach her and pull her back. No one could help her in the hopeless battle against the final enemy.
The girl's soul plunged downwards into the depths. A heaviness pressed against her spirit, threatening to crush the essential spark that was her, and she didn't have the strength to resist it.
If her sister had been there to share her strength, it might have ended differently, but Lin-Lin was alone.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
This isn't a bedroom; it's a monument.
It felt like a moment frozen in time, like nothing in the room had changed in all the years that Ranma had been gone. The pictures on the wall and the cheerily painted toy chest in the corner were relics of those days. The few books on the shelf were children's books.
Ukyou kicked off her shoes and tugged off the sodden blue Chinese shirt. The air was cold on her exposed torso.
Great, I was too exhausted to think of putting on my breast bindings when we went by my place. Good thing Ranchan didn't notice, who knows what he'd think of me. Not that there's that much to notice anyway. At least I remembered to grab a pair of panties.
She shucked the borrowed black slacks as well and stood shivering. Cautiously, she opened the closet door, half expecting to see children's garments hanging there. The very normalcy of its contents seemed strange. Everything looked like it was Ranma's size, though the closet held a wider variety of clothing than her fiancé normally wore. There were a lot of the colorful Chinese shirts and corresponding slacks, many in shades her fiancé had never worn. There were martial arts uniforms, from several functional gis to an elaborate kendo outfit. There was traditional Japanese clothing from simple white yukatas, the short robe she favored for sleepwear, to fine kimonos appropriate for even formal ceremonies. There was western garb as well; athletic wear, casual shirts and jeans, and even a tuxedo.
Ranchan would look really sharp in that.
Unsurprisingly, there was no matching white gown, nor any female clothing at all. Ukyou shivered and hoped no one would burst in before she found some clothes.
Well, I wouldn't mind if Ranchan did.
She selected a lavender shirt and a pair of gray slacks and tugged them on.
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"Akane!"
The monster had showed him his fears, wrapped and ensnared him in them. He'd seen the cook pot, struggled frantically and uselessly, as he'd plunged into the seething cauldron while hungry grinning faces had smiled.
He'd seen Akane with Ranma, with Shinnouke, seen her smiling and happy with a man who could always be there for her, who was always strong enough to protect her; not a lost helpless little pig.
The Mamono had shown him her icy form, still clad in her skating dress, floating facedown in the water. He'd seen his chi-infused belt slice more than hair, seen spurting blood as a headless body collapsed. He'd heard her final scream, heard the snap of the Orochi's jaws, endured the hideous chewing noises that followed. He'd seen her hurled from the chi-fueled whirlwind, heard the heavy smack of flesh striking the fence around the athletic field, heard it drop heavily to the ground, never to rise again.
But now those visions were past, now the monster had pulled him into the shadows. He called her name again, but he couldn't hear his own scream. He couldn't hear or feel anything and all he saw was darkness. He tried to reach the girl he loved, but all he could do was thrash helplessly and blindly in the dark. He'd been helpless before, but never this helpless. He'd spent most of his life being lost, but he'd never felt as lost as he was now.
I'm Akane's only hope, and that's no hope at all.
But he had to try. Stubbornly, uselessly, Ryouga struggled against the enfolding web of fears, against the sightless horror that hungered to devour him. He didn't care about that; he cared about the one he was too weak, too helpless to save.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"What are we going to do now?" Soun whimpered.
"Wait. What else can we do?" proclaimed a sign held by a panda that wasn't really a panda. Genma was much more concerned about his missing breakfast and if Kasumi didn't return soon his missing and rather belated lunch.
He stared out at the koi pond, glad for his fur coat. The rain had started at noonday and rapidly turned to sleet and then snow as the temperature plunged sharply. The trees and electrical wires were coated in a crystal web of ice and the still falling snow blanketed house and yard in white. The beauty would have taken most people's breath away, but Genma had slightly less poetry and romance in his soul than a dirt clod did.
Obviously, this weather's taken down the phone lines wherever Kasumi and Akane are and they aren't stupid enough to try to travel in it. He glanced briefly at Soun. If he's really that worried, he should do something himself. Maybe it's because the boy isn't around to browbeat into doing something for him.
Just what's with Tendo anyway? I worked my tail off for ten years training the boy. In fact, I spend more time training Ranma in any morning's sparring than Soun's spent with all three of his kids the whole time I've been here. Why did he teach only one of them? Why did he stop? What happened to our promise of uniting the schools when there is no Tendo School?
The panda made a grumbling noise.
The Hibiki boy's done more to carry on the Tendo School than Soun's ever managed. He actually tried to train Akane in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics. Even though my boy still did most of the work, Ryouga actually got the girl to where she was useful in the rematch against Natsume and Kurumi. It's too bad those two can't carry on the Tendo legacy. They're real martial artists, the type who'd make any father proud.
But even that didn't get Soun to train his daughter. He just expected my son to do all the work again. Maybe she realizes it; maybe that's why she quit trying. Or maybe she never really wanted to be a martial artist in the first place.
She faced up to the Dojo Destroyer, but she had to be talked into the Rhythmic Gymnastics and Martial Arts Takeout competitions. She went on the Hot Springs Race, but from what Ranma told me, Akane was just along for the ride. Everyone else, including his other fiancées, was eager to fight.
It was easy to get his son to talk about his victories, a chance to assess his progress and skill.
Or the time Pantyhose Tarou kidnapped Akane. Everyone else - Mousse, Ryouga, Shampoo, and my boy - was willing to go toe to toe with Tarou's monstrous cursed form. But Akane, the only one who could have still fought just as well if she'd been splashed, hung back out of harm's way even when she wasn't being a hostage. Not that grabbing kettles wasn't useful, but she got so focused on that she ran right off a cliff.
Didn't Tendo teach his daughter anything about combat?
The panda made a deep sighing noise.
Apparently not. It's sure not the only time she nearly got herself hurt by paying attention to one thing and ignoring the rest of the battle. My boy took the hits for her against Kurumi and Natsume. When Ryouga's bandanas were flying, even the students with no martial arts training knew to dodge or seek cover. Akane's lucky she didn't lose a lot more than her hair. Or the Weakness Moxibustion disaster, she didn't pay attention there, either, and almost got Ranma's last chance at a cure destroyed.
The panda growled.
Her heart was in the right place, but still...
Genma sighed again. Well, Tendo may have failed to keep up his school, but at least he's got the dojo and the house to cover his side of the engagement. That's better than nothing. Though the only reason he even has the dojo is my boy won it back from the Gambler King for him.
That's another time my son saved things for Tendo while all Akane did was watch.
Genma looked back out at the storm. He's been gone too long, though. I know he can take care of himself, but how long is he going to sulk at his mother's place? He should be here, with the fiancée that really matters.
The panda growled grumpily and shambled back towards the refrigerator, vainly hoping that the hundred and fourth examination would cause the appearance of something he could devour.
The boy's definitely been gone too long. I'm going to have to act soon and I can't count on Soun any more than his kids can.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
After providing a kettle of hot water for Ranma, Nodoka bustled around the kitchen, preparing a late lunch for her son and his companion.
"You know, you really should go peep at her while she's changing, son."
"Umm." There was a hint of color in the boy's cheeks.
"Not that you aren't manly, but it never hurts to be more manly."
"Ranchan's plenty manly," the girl called as she entered the kitchen. The borrowed shirt and slacks clung to her still-damp form in interesting ways, and now there was more than a hint of color in Ranma's cheeks. Ukyou slumped in a chair opposite him and smiled wearily.
"Something wrong, Ranchan?"
"Gah," he spluttered. "I wasn't looking, really I wasn't."
"See, I knew you were manly," his mother stated.
Ukyou blinked in surprise. "Of course he's manly," she insisted, "but what does his not looking at something have to do with that?"
Nodoka stared at the girl for a moment, stunned at how she could have missed that. "I apologize. If I'd known you didn't have a bra, I'd have offered to loan you one."
"It's okay," the girl replied, barely suppressing a yawn. "I haven't had any clothes at all since, um, last night, except for what Ranchan let me borrow." She frowned in puzzlement. Her fiancé was spluttering helplessly and looked like he was suppressing a coronary, while his mother seemed to be dancing about waving victory fans.
"Are you okay, Ranchan?"
"Um...uh...um...uh..."
"Oh, and thanks for everything," the girl added.
Her fiancé made a brief strangling noise.
"Ranchan? Just what's wrong?"
"Nothing," he squeaked, "I gotta go change now."
"Hurry, then," Nodoka stated. "We'll be eating shortly."
Red-faced, Ranma nodded and retreated down the hallway.
"Thank you for saying my son is manly."
"Um, sure," the girl replied wearily. "I'm not sure I could handle it if he was any more manly." She tried and failed to suppress a yawn.
Nodoka started another victory dance, but stopped when her son returned, clad in a dry set of garments. He still looked like he'd been hit a few too many times with a battle spatula and seemed to have lost all power of speech. By the end of the meal, it still hadn't returned, though he'd devoured the food enthusiastically, just like his mother remembered. She was so eager to learn more about this near-stranger who was her son, but she willed herself to wait until he finished the meal.
Soon the boy was bombarded by questions about his life on the road. It was quite a while before she really noticed the girl with him again. She appeared nervous and Nodoka realized the girl hadn't spoken since the beginning of the meal, either.
"So, where did you meet my son, dear?"
"Kansai." That was obvious from the girl's accent. "Dad and I ran an okonomiyaki cart."
"It was real soon after me and Pops left here," Ranma chimed in.
From there the pair's words developed their own momentum, disintegrating the awkward silence. Stories, events, and impressions came rushing out of them, a jumbled tale of childhood adventure. Smiles and laughter told Nodoka of the carefree pleasure of those simpler times. She smiled in sympathy and ignored the threat of tears in her eyes.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Saotome?"
She smiled, "I'm fine, dear," denying the ache in her soul. All these precious moments of her son growing up were lost to her forever. She'd given them all up for the sake of the Saotome family heritage, for the school of Anything Goes Martial Arts and she would never retrieve a single one.
"You're a lot like Ranchan." The girl's words broke into her thoughts.
Nodoka blinked in confusion.
"He doesn't like people to know when he's hurting either." Ukyou had spent years hiding her own pains; sometimes she was good at noticing other people doing the same thing. Nodoka almost scolded the girl for being rude, but long years of loneliness left her aching for the chance to experience her son's life, if only through the memories of others.
"You're fortunate, dear. You got to see my little boy grow up."
Her son blushed at his mother's words and Ukyou was quiet for a moment.
"He's not a little boy anymore, Mrs. Saotome."
"I know, dear. He's a handsome young man and I hope he gives me grandchildren soon."
Both teens blushed and the girl tried to change the subject. "I didn't get much time with Ranchan, either, Mrs. Saotome. Before I knew it he and his father were gone."
"Pops decided we oughta move on."
Nodoka sensed something deeper in her son's statement. Ukyou's eyes were downcast and Ranma looked embarrassed, but neither seemed eager to explain.
"Son, what happened?"
The boy wriggled on the hook, trying to think of a way to avoid answering. Ukyou attempted to rescue him. "My dad arranged a marriage for me." She smiled in remembrance. "He and the boy's father worked it out. Our okonomiyaki cart was the dowry."
"You loved the boy." It wasn't a question.
"I still do."
Nodoka's eyes drilled into the girl, probing for the rest of the truth, but her son spoke next.
"Ucchan's dad told her about the whole thing, but the other guy didn't tell his kid. He just grabbed me and the okonomiyaki cart and took off."
The silence seemed to last for a few eternities as Nodoka digested the information. She saw the way the girl reacted to her son and his final words gave her a clue to what they were hiding.
"Your father engaged you to Ukyou and he never told you?"
She knew the truth before anyone replied.
"Pops didn't say nothing about engaging me to Akane till we were minutes away from the Tendo place, either." He was tired of lying to his mother, tired of protecting his father. "Pops never told me nothing about Kaori, either. And if he hadn't been thinking with his stomach, Shampoo never woulda ended up thinking she's gotta marry me." The boy fell silent for a moment. "Well, it's mainly Pops fault. I suppose you could blame him for Lin-Lin and Ran-Ran, too. There's probably others I don't know about and I think I'm forgetting someone."
Of course, Nodoka wanted details. She got more than she expected.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ran-Ran stared out the restaurant window into the darkness. The sun hadn't set, but the cloud-covered skies made it almost as dark as the night before. She'd never felt so alone.
I miss sister Lin-Lin. I miss stupid Airen. I miss home.
The Neko Hanten was a familiar place, but it didn't feel that way anymore. The bustle of customers was a memory. The only other person in the building was Mousse. Ran-Ran knew he was upstairs somewhere, but there was a haunted look in his eyes like she'd seen in her sister Lin-Lin.
It felt better to be alone than near the boy. His magic always made her uncomfortable, but this was worse. Hairs seemed to rise along the back of her neck and arms and she felt a faint tingling in her spine. Ran-Ran rubbed her hands together nervously, trying to work away the disturbing sensation the place gave her.
There was a tearing noise and the whistle of the wind. Ran-Ran's heart tried to exit through her ribcage as she looked into the empty darkness. The rising wind had torn temporary patch over the hole Ryouga had smashed in the wall the night before. She told herself that she only shivered because of the cold. And she told herself that it must be only the wind as she tacked the tarp back into place.
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"Genma!" The name was a curse.
"Mom, please. It's alright."
"No, it is not! That idiot tried to engage you to a man. He tried to marry off my son to that Picollette Chardin." Nodoka growled the words as she began to suspect why her husband still lived at the Tendo home.
"Please, Mom. Pops didn't mean it that way. It was just to keep the guy from marrying one of the Tendo girls. We knew I was good enough at martial arts to get outta it."
"What does that matter? Soun Tendo promised one of his daughters to this Frenchman's son; yet he had no intention of keeping his word. Worse, Genma aided him in abandoning his solemn promise."
"Yeah, I kinda wish Pops and he'd done the same about the promise they made to each other. None of the Tendo girls seemed too happy about the whole thing, especially Akane, but she got stuck with it."
"That's not the point, son. If Soun Tendo were an honorable man, he would keep his promise to the Chardin family, regardless of the consequences. It seems neither he or my husband are honorable at all, keeping their solemn word only when they find it profitable."
Her son didn't have an answer for that.
Nodoka turned to Ukyou. "Your father told you."
The girl nodded, afraid to speak.
"And my husband accepted the dowry."
A second nod.
"You still want to marry my son."
"More than anything, Mrs. Saotome."
"What if you couldn't?"
The girl's eyes grew wide and pleading.
"Would you be willing to be his mistress, Ukyou?"
"Yes."
Nodoka blinked at how quickly and firmly the girl replied. "Ukyou dear, you need to think about it. It would be difficult. People would treat you..."
"Yes," the girl interrupted. "Yes. It's alright. I don't care." Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. "If...if I could be with Ranchan, it would be alright." The girl bowed her head. "It would be alright," she repeated in a faint whisper. "Please...just please...let me have that much."
Ukyou's head snapped upwards when Ranma placed his hands on her shoulders. He looked down at her and tried to wish away her pain. "Listen, I don't wanna do nothing to hurt you. I done too much of that already."
"Ranchan, you big dummy, that would hurt less than not being with you at all." She pressed her face against his chest, no longer trying to hold back her tears. Ranma glared at his mother.
"Would you be willing to marry her, son?"
"I never really thought about it, Mom." He'd spent a lot of time trying not to think of any of the engagements. He still hadn't found a way to sort the whole mess out and all he got out of the exercise was another headache. "I mean, I guess I did some, but a cute girl like Ucchan could probably have any guy she wants."
"Son, I think it's obvious who she wants."
Ukyou looked yearningly up at him and nodded. He wanted to run, to tell his mother he wasn't old enough, that he wasn't ready for marriage. He looked deeply into his fiancée's eyes and remembered the silent promise he'd made the day before.
I don't wanna hurt her no more.
"Yes." There was only a faint quaver in his voice. He was tired of running. "Yes, I'm willing, but I ain't ready yet."
"No one ever is," she replied. "Would you be willing to accept Ukyou as your mistress?"
"Why are you even asking something like that?" the boy asked, and there was an edge to his tone.
"Because I'm trying to salvage whatever shreds of family honor I can. There's only one of you; the promises should never have been made. But I can't just unmake the promises, either, that would be no more honorable than what that man or Mr. Tendo have done. The traditional way of atoning for the dishonor done to the Daikoku, Kuonji, and Tendo families would be for Genma and yourself to commit seppuku."
"No," Ukyou whispered hoarsely, "you can't ask Ranchan to do that."
Nodoka stared at the floor, unwilling to meet the girl's gaze. "No, I can't. I lost him before, I can't bear to lose him again."
She looked her son in the eyes and her voice was firm. "Would you be willing to accept Ukyou as you mistress?"
"Mom, that ain't gonna be fair to her."
"She knows that."
He felt a tightness in his chest and it wasn't because Ukyou was holding him too tightly. Just the fact she was holding him seemed to make it hard to breathe. He gave up the attempt at speech and nodded his reply. Only later did he wonder why this question was harder to answer than the first.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
She woke to the sound of squabbling. She hadn't expected that. Her thoughts were slow and fuzzy, and she had trouble focusing on the person framed in the doorway. He was tall and slender and wore the martial arts clothing like it was everyday wear. She knew who he was, if only she could just remember. Eventually the quarrel died and he approached the bed she lay in. She didn't remember coming to the hospital, but she knew she didn't being there. Too many bad things happened in hospitals. She'd lost a mother and a sister at places like this.
The girl opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was dry and her lips were parched. Still she managed to hiss a single word.
"You."
"Aye, sister, tis I, your older brother Tatewaki. It required a fair passage of time in order to persuade the beef-witted, clot-brained fools who claim to run this meager establishment and the pestilential oafs whom they employ that I possessed the full and proper legal documents to carry my blade. It is well for them that my superior intellect availed me to persuade them thus, or else they would needs have yielded to my unsurpassed martial prowess."
Kodachi groaned and tried to ignore her brother, something she'd attempted semi-successfully for years. All she needed to do was treat him like other people treated her. Like her parents had after her little sister Sagegami was born. Like Ranma had when he kissed Ukyou back on the ice so many empty eternities ago.
No, that's a lie. He tried to ignore me long before that; I just didn't admit it until that day. I haven't felt warm since then.
She was thirsty, though. Kodachi glanced at the bedside table. The water pitcher was plastic, as was the cup.
No doubt to keep me from trying again.
She resisted the urge to laugh.
Kodachi sipped at the water, waiting for her brother's words to grind to a halt. In spite of the drugs they'd given her, in spite of all their precautions, she'd already spotted four ways she could commit suicide.
It's what Mother did when she lost her favorite child. Sagegami. Little Sageo-chan. It would be easy to hate my sister, but she was too nice for even me to hate. She wouldn't have wanted mother to do that. If only there was someone who cared that much, someone who couldn't bear to live without me.
She chuckled quietly. It was quite unlike her usual laughter, but it still wasn't very pleasant.
"You mock me." Tatewaki was not amused. He was so busy trying to be dignified he never allowed himself to be amused.
No, I mock myself, was her unuttered reply.
"But hold, sister, I have news of great import. Tis a grievous thing to relate, but I have learned that in truth the pigtailed girl is no girl at all."
"What?"
"She is but a magical guise of that foul sorcerer, Ranma Saotome, an illusion made flesh, a vile and mocking deception."
"You really expect me to believe that."
"It is the very truth, sister. I know not what vile sorceries might have caused the transformation, but at last I see the truth about that fiend in human form. His lies, his deceptions, have at the last been laid bare..."
Kodachi ignored her brother babbling on, she was too busy thinking. If what my idiot brother says is true, if such magic really exists, I've only given Ranma more reasons to hate me.
She glanced back at Tatewaki, who continued his rant against the other boy.
Brother might be a fool, but never a liar. He believes this. I can't...I don't want to. I don't want to believe Ranma doesn't love me either, but that won't change the facts. I knew he didn't love me. I knew it, but I couldn't accept that, and now he hates me. He has to after everything I did.
Kodachi wiped away the moisture in her eyes. Her brother gestured dramatically to illustrate some point of his pointless speech and completely missed his sister's actions.
I'm the only one who never had any chance.
She sighed, though the sound was lost in the noise of her brother's continued tirade. He rambled on for several minutes before he finally said something worthy of her attention.
"What was that, Brother?"
"I spoke of mine own true love, the bold and beauteous Ukyou Kuonji."
Kodachi blinked and then began to laugh. It lacked the edge of her usual laugh. It seemed strangely normal. She chuckled until her sides ached, amused at the absurdity of Tatewaki abandoning one hopeless love only to cling to another, then with a satisfied smile she curled up on the bed and went to sleep.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Mom, this is a really bad idea."
Nodoka had her coat on and clearly intended to find and confront Genma that very moment. It was barely after dark, though it already seemed darker than midnight, and ice-sheathed streets and sidewalks seemed slicker than the frozen surface of the canal, but all that was irrelevant to her.
"That man has fled from honor for long enough. It is time he paid the price for his greed and his cowardice and I refuse to let his lies shield him any longer. I trusted him. So did others. He betrayed them. He betrayed you. He...he betrayed me. He took my little boy away from me, and...and it was all a lie. All his promises were lies."
She wrapped her arms around Ranma, crushing him to herself as if he'd disappear from her life for another ten years.
"Mom, please. Pops may be a jerk, but didn't mean to cause this much trouble. It's just the way he is." His mother still hadn't grabbed her katana yet. He wasn't sure if she was so upset that she'd forgotten it or if this was actually a good sign. Regardless, his words didn't seem to be blunting his mother's rage. He looked over at Ukyou, hoping for advice or encouragement. His fiancée leaned wearily against the doorframe, struggling to keep her eyes open.
She's had it pretty rough these last couple days.
"Mom, if you gotta do this, I'm going with you, but we gotta get Ucchan to bed first."
"M'fine," the girl mumbled. "Gonna stay 'wake. 'Ll go with y'guys. S'okay."
Nodoka hesitated. "Perhaps it would be best if you did rest, Ukyou dear."
"S'okay. I wanna go with Ranchan. Wanna be w'Ranchan. 'S'all I ever want'd." Ukyou almost stifled a yawn.
"He could stay with you, dear. Tonight, I mean."
"I'm not letting you go out alone on a night like this, Mom. It ain't safe." Something in his subconscious hinted that more than just the weather made this night dangerous.
Nodoka hesitated a second time. She frowned and then something gleamed in her eyes.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Before Ranma came to Nerima, Akane had been a fighter, but she'd never truly enjoyed it. Originally, she did it to please her father, to prove to him that she'd be able to carry on the dojo. The engagement proved that all of her time and effort meant nothing to Soun. After that she fought less and less. Her classmates persuaded her to fight Kodachi, but that was an exception.
She'd wasted too much of her life in pointless battles against clueless morons who wanted to date her and it accomplished nothing. The fools continued pursuing her and her father continued ignoring her abilities. Nothing was ever resolved. She was tired of fighting, her main reason had become a lie, but one thing could still get her to fight.
She always tried to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. That's why she'd faced the Orochi to save Shinnosuke. That's why she got so angry with Ranma when he picked on P-chan. That's why she tried to protect her fiancé when Happosai made him weak. She knew she wasn't the best or the strongest, but she still felt a sense of duty towards those weaker than herself. Like Ranma, she had absorbed the lesson from her father that he had usually ignored.
"It's a martial artist's duty to help others."
She knew there was someone that needed her help; someone that wouldn't survive without her strength; yet she couldn't even prove they existed.
I know I've got a kid inside me. If I quit fighting, he'll die. I can't let that happen.
She was afraid of the child, of the consequences he'd bring to her life, but now she had someone to protect, someone who truly needed her. In so many ways she was still alone, but she had a reason to fight and she wasn't going to quit.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
How did I let Mom talk me into this?
He already knew the answer; he'd been so relieved his mom wasn't rushing off into a storm to carve his dad into panda steaks that he'd been very easy to persuade. His fiancée had been too exhausted to complain about Nodoka's plan.
Ucchan probably woulda liked most of it anyways.
The teens were sharing not only Ranma's room, but also his futon. His fiancée had fallen asleep almost instantly, but he couldn't. His mother had provided Ukyou with sleepwear and the exhausted girl hadn't murmured a single protest.
The so-called nightgown looked like someone had begun painting crystallized crimson smoke across Ukyou's body, but been interrupted well before finishing the job. As soon as his mother had left the room, he'd grabbed the nearest shirt out of the closet and given it to Ukyou, but he couldn't erase the vision from his mind. As if the sleeping girl could sense his thoughts, she snuggled against his side and smiled.
Ranma stared back at the ceiling. He wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
She woke with a start.
Where? Oh, Ranchan's room.
Her arm lay across his chest; she felt it rise and fall with his breath, felt the steady beat of his heart. A feeble light glowed in the stones of her Yoma ring, glittering in the darkness like mocking crimson goblin eyes.
Do I know how this thing works? Do I really understand it? Is it safe?
She'd had a dream; no, a nightmare, and now she wondered if this weapon had two edges.
I think he loves me, at least I hope he does. He said he was willing to marry me, even if he didn't say he would. Is that because he feels like I do... or is it just out of pity, or a sense of obligation?
Or is it because of this thing? I don't wanna be like Shampoo. I don't wanna use magic to make him love me.
It sure isn't because of my looks; I'm too much of a tomboy for that. Besides, Ranchan isn't the type to make decisions with that part of his anatomy or else Shampoo or Kodachi could have carted him off long ago. She considered her own figure. It's not like I'm ever going to stack up against that.
Ranchan's the only one who ever, ever called me cute, who made me feel cute. Kami-sama, please let that mean something. He said it before I ever heard of Mamono Hunters.
She stared at the Yoma ring.
Or is it because of this thing? I don't wanna be like Shampoo. I don't wanna use magic to make him love me.
Ukyou sighed, and the sound was lost in the stillness of the night.
But part of me does want him, regardless of how. I asked him to share the Umbrella of Love with me. And if I'd found the Red Thread of Fate instead of Shampoo, I'm not sure I wouldn't have tried it, too. I don't want to be like that, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to resist. I don't think the ring can be used that way.
But she was afraid of how the Yoma ring could be misused. Something darker than the night had planted the seed of that fear and if that seed bloomed she would discard the Yoma ring.
And then Shinrou would destroy her.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"No, I don't know what time it is, Grandma," Ukyou whispered into the telephone. "Please stop yelling, you're going to wake my fiancé and his mom."
"What? Yes, I'm sharing his room. How did you know? What! No, we are not doing that. Or that! What do you mean why not? Grandma, please." The room seemed suddenly warm as Ukyou turned the same color as the borrowed negligee and shirt that she wore.
"How did you know about the love hotel? What do you mean you guessed? No, we didn't do anything there, either. What? No, I do not need to be more aggressive!"
She forced her voice back to a whisper, while subconsciously tugging at the collar of the borrowed shirt.
"Grandma, I didn't call to talk about that. You're worse than Ranchan's mom." Ukyou sighed in frustration and covered her eyes with her hand. "It...it is about me and Ranchan. No, I don't need to know about that, Dr. Tofu explained it in great detail to both of us."
She groaned, realizing how her grandmother would misinterpret that last statement.
"No, Grandma, this is about love, not that other stuff. I've always loved him, ever since I met him. If he wasn't here, I wouldn't want to go on, I don't think I could, but I have to know if he feels the same way about me."
"No, Grandma, it's more than just that. I have to know if it's really him or if it's something else making him act that way. I have to know if it's real."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Sorry, Ranchan."
Dawn was hours away, and the sky remained overcast. Ranma stood staring out the window at the snow-filled skies, but he didn't see them. What sleep he'd managed had been restless, filled with dreams of her and most of the fantasies embarrassed the boy. Not that he hadn't enjoyed the way they started, but most of the dreams also ended badly as fate or his own stupidity and carelessness tore her away from him. His fiancée had to repeat herself before he realized she was speaking to him.
"It's alright, Ucchan." He didn't turn to face her.
"No, it isn't." Her voice was quiet, less than a whisper, and full of pain. "I know you hate being forced, even if people think it's for good reasons, maybe even if it is what you want to do." She closed her eyes and her lower lip began to tremble. "I...it's my fault. I don't know if your mom was trying to help me or hurt your Dad and Mr. Tendo, but I went along with it."
"Mom probably wanted to do some of both. Don't worry about it. You may have put on that, um, nightgown like she asked, but you also put the shirt on over it like I asked." His eyes remained locked on the skies outside, but his cheeks colored as he remembered her long graceful legs, legs covered by nothing but his gaze.
"But I do worry about it," she replied. "Trying to force you would just drive you away and I don't want that. I don't ever want to lose you again. I don't think I could..."
Faint noises behind him made him turn from the window. His fiancée sat huddled on the futon, her face down against her knees.
"Aw, c'mon, Ucchan. Please don't cry. It's always gonna be like this." Resignation was plain in his voice as he knelt in front of her. "There's always gonna be someone trying to get me to do what they want. Some of them are even like Mom, trying to do what she thinks is best for me."
"That still doesn't mean you like it."
She lifted her eyes and he nodded silently.
Still, it's good to have someone to talk to. It's good to have someone like Ucchan who listens.
"Ranchan?"
"Sorry, um, thanks. Thanks for...for...oh, I dunno...for being you, I guess." He smiled faintly, hoping the words he couldn't express would be enough. He didn't expect her to glomp him and as he felt her body against his, he was reminded of how very little she wore beneath the borrowed shirt. Memories of his dreams returned, dreams that could become real. All he needed to do was break the promise he'd made to himself about waiting, about doing what he believed was best for his fiancée.
"Umm, I was doing some more thinking, Ucchan." He swallowed, trying not to think too much about her. "Um, anyways, I got an idea that I hope is gonna solve some of this mess, but I'm gonna need your help."
He glanced back out the window and frowned.
"If this weather would just clear up."
Fate couldn't be against him all the time, but the storm showed no signs of abating.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Shinrou had never heard of indigestion, but the sensations it was experiencing were remarkably similar. Once it absorbed a person their body became a puppet to play with as the Mamono slowly eroded their soul. They weren't supposed to keep struggling, certainly not to fight more fiercely as time passed.
It wished it hadn't left the restaurant, either. The other Chinese girl had been so close to the edge and it would have only needed to push her a little more. But it had sensed strange dark magics being worked by the boy upstairs; the one who was past fear because he'd already lost everything that mattered to him.
Shinrou had no desire to be compelled or controlled by whatever unwholesome sorceries the boy might be concocting. The girl might only be bait, and the Mamono intended to be the puppeteer, not the puppet. There were several other potential victims available. It could have absorbed half-a-hundred ordinary people, but Shinrou enjoyed destroying the strong, and soon it would have another chance.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
He felt weak, helpless, and he didn't like that at all.
I'm the strong one. The one who never quits. The one who never stops for death, who never admits defeat.
But he might have to this time. Happosai cursed the day he'd baptized that ungrateful wretch at Jusenkyou.
Pantyhose Tarou is a wonderful name, one he should be proud of. It reminds me of the pleasures of life and I'm old enough to realize how important it is to enjoy yourself. Who knows how long we might have left?
He knew he probably didn't have much longer. He licked dried and cracked lips, but it didn't help.
The ungrateful bastard gave me just enough to kill me slowly.
Hunger and thirst had taken their toll on the shriveled lecher. His eyes were sunken in his face and his whole form seemed be collapsing in on itself. Happosai finally looked his age, though he stubbornly refused to act it. Of course, he didn't blame himself for the acts that lead to his current problem. He was much like his students Genma and Soun in that.
It had began those many weeks ago, when he'd realized that there was a whole new generation of silky darlings that needed to be liberated from a whole new generation of Amazons. He'd almost reached their village when he'd spotted the girl.
With that low-cut top how was I to know she would be so cruel, leading an old man on and then denying him of one of the few pleasures left to him.
He'd forgotten about Rouge and her Jusenkyou curse, but he was smart enough to flee. He'd even dodged most of the energy the girl's three-headed six-armed cursed form flung at him. She destroyed half the forest with fire and lightning before he finally lost her.
Unfortunately, he'd found Pantyhose Tarou, the other monster among the Jusenkyou curse victims. As usual, the Chinese boy proved touchy about his name and took it out on Happosai, the one who gave it and the only one allowed to change it.
The wretched brat obviously planned this for a while. I wonder if the girl was part of it?
Rouge and Tarou hated each other, but Happosai had a talent for getting enemies to band together against him. Whether it was a plan or mere luck that provided the opportunity, Tarou had vented his frustrations on the ancient lecher with his hooves and horns and fists and tentacles.
That's how the semi-mangled old lech ended chained to the bottom of a pit. There was no lock; the chain was welded around his ankle and the opposite end set in the concrete that lined the floor of the pit. The pit was far too deep and the sides far too smooth for him to climb out. Above the mouth of the pit dangled one of the finest collections of sheer undergarments Happosai had seen. Another agony for him to endure.
One touch of those silky darlings and I'd have my strength back. I'd shatter this chain and be free.
He might as well have wished to fly. He'd grown too weak to escape, so weak he almost gave in to the ungrateful brat and changed his name. Yet in the end the old man had proved more stubborn than the young one.
Pantyhose Tarou had raged off in frustration four days ago. Two days later it snowed and that was the last moisture Happosai had tasted. No one would try to rescue him; most people who knew him would just try to fill in the pit. It was dark at the bottom and he only saw the sun for a few hours a day, but the darkness reminded him of something.
It had been this bad before. Soun and Genma had sealed him in the cave. Still, he'd found the strength, the power to survive that time and he knew he would again, no matter what it cost him or anyone else.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Nodoka Saotome stood with her ear pressed against the door of her son's room. He and his fiancée had risen very early for breakfast, gobbled it down, and retreated back to his room. Now they'd been alone in there for almost an hour. Eavesdropping was rather rude, but she needed to hear this, she needed to confirm that her son was a man among men. Those muffled words she could make out brought a smile to her face.
"C'mon, Ucchan, try it again."
"Just wait a minute while I catch my breath," the girl replied "I wasn't expecting you to give me such a workout."
"What's the matter, can't handle it, Ucchan?"
The girl's laugh was crystal clear and full of joy. "I can handle anything you've got, Ranchan."
A series of indistinct noises followed, noises that Nodoka found quite encouraging. She checked her watch, timing until silence came and she smiled even more deeply. She was ready to pull her ear away from the door when she heard Ranma speak softly.
"I wasn't too rough, was I?"
"Hey, I'm not exactly fragile," the girl replied. "I may feel sore for a bit, but that's alright, I think I needed this."
"You sure you wanna try it again."
"Of course," she laughed again, "but this time, you're the one who's gonna end up flat on their butt."
Nodoka practically skipped down the hall her bedroom as cheerful laughter echoed behind her. While she rejoiced, her son and his fiancée continued sparring, honing the edge of their martial arts skills.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
He didn't touch the brittle scroll; he didn't even breathe on it. This fragment of 'A Record of Master Chen's Communications with the Unseen World' was one of the less unwholesome sections of a work banned by several dynasties. The faded spidery writing of the long dead calligrapher was only legible from inches away, even if you had better eyes than Mousse. He held his breath as he scanned it a fifth time, confirming he'd made no errors in copying the information.
Mousse's expression was grim, with good reason. He'd found what he was looking for, but the ritual that could restore Shampoo to life was far from simple, even though he had much of what he needed.
He leaned back and sighed, pushing his glasses up and letting the world fade to a blur again. He was weary to the core of his being, exhausted both mentally and physically. He didn't know how long he'd worked through the ancient books and scrolls; he didn't even know what time of day it was. His stomach gave a muted rumble, but sleep was the stronger seduction.
This ritual hadn't been attempted in fifteen hundred years, for even the cost of success was higher than most were willing to pay. He didn't care, he had hope again, and he would do what was needed to restore Shampoo to life.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Ukyou wiped the condensation from the bathroom mirror and looked at herself. She raised her left hand until the Yoma ring was reflected as well and remembered her Grandmother's words.
"It's alright, Ukyou. It's alright. I don't know where you got that idea, but the Yoma ring can only be used to help, to protect, to heal both you and those you care about and to bind, banish, or destroy the Mamonos. Only those monsters can twist people's emotions like that."
Ukyou had released the breath she hadn't known she was holding.
"Remember the chant you use to summon your powers, Ukyou. Those vile beings who toy with the hearts and souls of men. They can do that, but we can't, even by accident."
Then Madoka Mano had answered the question her granddaughter hadn't asked.
"Even they can only manipulate existing feelings. When Yohko and her friend Osamu were in that love hotel, the Mamono didn't create those feelings between them, it only amplified them. Yes, just like the creatures you're fighting, Ukyou."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tatewaki Kuno had remained awake all night and even as morning approached he still couldn't sleep. Something was wrong and for once he remained silent. He glanced over at the hospital bed his sister slept on. They quarreled more than many siblings, but he knew it was his duty as a samurai to protect his younger sister.
I know you are out there, foul beast summoned by a fouler sorcerer. I shall destroy your creature, Ranma Saotome. I shall protect the last of my family from both it and from the foul spells you used to ensnare both her heart and mine. Truly, a day of vengeance is at hand and you shall rue your treacheries until your final gasping breath of pain.
"I wonder what form you shall take this time," he whispered, not wanting to rouse his sister. "The first two Mamonos struck me in secret, when I was unaware. The third dared not face me at all, no doubt because of my noted martial skills."
"And you shall fare no better, for I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thun..." He paused a moment in thought. "Nay, I have used that appellation for far too long. From this day forward, I shall be known as the Crimson Avenger. And vengeance I shall have, for all the wrongs done to the fair Akane Tendo, the bold Ukyou Kuonji, and to mine own deluded sister."
He fell silent, staring at the form on the bed, the turned, searching the corners of the room, scouring the darkness for any sign of another monster.
"You shall fare no better than your predecessors," the boy repeated, "for I, Tatewaki Kuno, the Crimson Avenger of Furinkan High, fear neither beast nor man nor monster."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"This had better work."
"What was that, Ucchan?"
"I was practicing in the bathroom."
Ranma appeared confused. His fiancée had spent a rather long time there, but girls seemed to do that for their own mysterious reasons. "Practicing what?" he replied.
"Well, I was trying to do something different with my outfit."
"That was quick." Akane seemed to take hours when she did that kind of stuff and he never noticed what she'd changed. Guessing only made things worse. "Sorry, Ucchan, I'm kinda bad at noticing stuff like that. What did you do different?"
"That's what I wanna show you," the girl replied. "I was trying to change the way the Mamono Hunter outfit looks and I think I've got it now."
She rattled off the chant before he could reply. As always, she felt a spinning sensation, then coolness, then warmth, but Ranma's reaction was completely unexpected. He blushed, stammered her name, and took a half-step backwards. His hand rose to his face, drawing attention to the faint trickle of blood coming from his nose.
Ukyou glanced down at herself. The dress looked perfectly normal, the only change being its color was now purple, exactly as she'd intended. Some of her private attempts at modifying the dress had been downright scandalous, but none of her clothing was missing or transparent this time. Her fiancé's response made no sense.
At least it made no sense until he explained just how revealing the transformation itself was. Ukyou sighed and bowed her head. "Sorry, Ranchan. I..."
"You don't gotta apologize," he replied. "I mean, you weren't trying to give me a free show. It was...I dunno, you looked real, um, I don't think cute is the right word."
"So you like what you saw." Her heart was a furnace blazing inside her, making the whole room feel like an inferno, and boldness triumphed over fear. "Um, I guess I could do it again."
"Ahh," her fiancé replied.
"That is if you want me to," she winked.
He wanted it, but he knew she trusted him and he didn't want to take advantage of one of the few people who did that. Though thinking about it, she probably wouldn't see it that way. She was willing to trust him with everything, including herself, and she wouldn't ask him to make or keep any promises.
He looked into her eyes, eyes deep as the sea. An anxious smile began to curve her mouth and her lips began to open. He didn't know that she only intended a little nervous teasing; he just knew he had to stop her chant before he saw her like that again, before he lost control. He sealed her lips with his, realizing too late that this plan wasn't the cleverest way of trying to keep a clear head.
Ukyou didn't need to speak to change her clothing back and her skin felt warm against his touch.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
I'm not ready.
A lie.
We've only gone out a few times. We hardly know each other. I haven't had time to think it through.
More lies. She'd thought about this for years, hoping and fearing this day long before he mastered himself enough to ask her out. She knew she was lying, lying to herself, stalling for more time. She was afraid. Afraid of change. Afraid of being unable to change. Now she balanced on a knife-edge of decision. Now she had to decide. One simple answer and her life would never be the same. A second different answer and her life might never change again. Everything would continue as it always had, blurring into a gray empty sameness until hope and life had ended.
"I...," the girl stammered, afraid to meet his gaze, yet afraid not to. She didn't want to take this long before she answered. She didn't want to seem rude. Her tongue seemed to stick to the roof of her mouth, a mouth that felt so very dry.
"I...I...," Kasumi looked into Tofu's patient eyes. She knew she needed to answer, he'd just asked her to marry him, but she remained frozen, babbling like a fool.
Then the lights flickered out.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"How long has it been?"
"Hush, Airen. You needed the sleep."
"It's dark," Konatsu murmured.
"Of course it is. You slept all afternoon and all night."
"No, Shampoo. It's something else, I can feel it."
The girl's face clouded in puzzlement.
"It's out there searching," the boy insisted. "I can feel it. Maybe it's because of the way I was affected by Haradachi and Ikari. Some thing is out there looking for people...people it can do things to."
"Don't worry, Airen, I'll protect you."
At first Konatsu thought the Amazon was making some sort of grim joke, but he decided she was serious. She'd been raised as a warrior, and even her injuries couldn't change that attitude. The ninja pushed aside the worries that raised about his own ability to change and replied. "This will take magic, Shampoo. Do you know any?"
"Not much. Not really. Nothing that will help. Can you tell where it is, Airen?
"It's close, but it's getting harder to sense it. It feels like the thing is waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"I wish I knew." Konatsu wobbled to his feet and moved between Shampoo and the doorway. He frowned and peered into the shadows. He was a ninja, he felt at home in the shadows, but this darkness made him uneasy.
Something was approaching, an inky effigy in the darkened hallway, something vaguely manlike shambling towards them. He could barely see it. He couldn't sense it at all. Either it was masking its chi or it wasn't alive in a way that anything of this earth was.
"What is it?" the Chinese girl whispered. She wheeled forward almost silently, but she still saw nothing and she wished for the vision of her cursed form. She was ready, even eager for a fight, but the waiting, the uncertainty, were agonizing.
"I think it's the Mamono," the ninja whispered back. "We should leave while we can."
"I'm not afrai..." her reply trailed away. "That's right, you're in no shape to fight this, Airen."
He knew that neither of them were, but the girl's words allowed her to salvage her pride, so he didn't object. Shampoo edged slowly forward and down the hallway to the right, her movements silent as the night, except to an expert like Konatsu.
He risked another glance back, then followed the Amazon.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Gone, she's gone, echoed through Tofu's mind. He knew his timing was poor at best, but he'd needed to snap her out of her sorrow and he'd needed to ask that question while he could still maintain control instead of reverting to the babbling idiot he far too often became in her presence. Even then it had seemed an eternity, an eternity balanced between hope and fear, waiting for Kasumi to answer his stammered question.
Then suddenly she was gone, pulled into the darkness like her sister Akane, erased from his life. Tofu stretched his hands into emptiness, knowing how empty his life would be without her, but there was nothing left to grasp. He collapsed to his knees as tendrils of darkness flowed across the floor, circling, edging near, yet dodging away before they touched him. He didn't notice when they faded away leaving him alone.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"We're being herded," Shampoo whispered. Something advanced relentlessly down the hall behind them. From other corridors to the side, more noises told of other things approaching. Konatsu was used to working in the dark, but this was more than natural darkness, and all he saw were vague outlines. One had to be Akane, another Lin-Lin, and the last was probably Ryouga, unless the monster had absorbed others they hadn't heard of.
Two forms approached from opposite sides. Their motions seemed jerky, perhaps hesitant, and they moved slowly. Perhaps they were still fighting for control. It was easier to see the one in the middle, the ink-black effigy with blank white staring eyes, advancing towards them with no hesitation at all.
"All that's left is the elevator," Konatsu stated.
"It's a trap. It wouldn't be forcing us that way if it wasn't a trap."
"So what do we do?"
"Surprise it. We take the elevator, but we don't touch the floor. I think it's in the floor, like Ryouga and Ran-Ran told us, like what happened to Lin-Lin."
"What? How?" Shadows masked the ninja's face, but couldn't hide the puzzlement in his voice.
"We climb, Airen."
"But you can't."
"Of course I can. I'm quite strong enough to climb using just my arms."
He flinched at the reminder of her injuries. "I didn't mean strength. We have to get through the elevator as quickly as we can."
Shampoo didn't reply. She'd spent enough time the hospital to notice the clear plastic pitchers in every room. Pitchers full of cold water.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Mousse stretched slowly, he'd needed the sleep badly to clear his head and erase his fatigue after the long hours he'd spent researching a way to save Shampoo. Now he needed to act quickly; the longer he waited, the harder it would be to recall the girl's spirit from the afterlife.
It would have been much easier if he'd her body, but he was certain Cologne was returning Shampoo's ashes to the Amazon village. He was forced to improvise, to find a replacement to house the girl's spirit. It might not be possible; the ritual wasn't designed to work that way. Still, he needed to try, whatever the cost.
Mousse double-checked his list. If it would work as a substitute, the body would be the easy part. Because of her Jusenkyou curse, Shampoo would be forever linked symbolically with the cat. Overcrowded animal shelters put down cats every week; all he needed to do was collect one.
He wasn't sure if he could kill a cat anyway, it would feel too much like killing Shampoo, but he could let somebody else do it for him. If everything else went according to plan, the girl he loved could return to Jusenkyou and seek out the Spring of Drowned Girl. Of course, if everything went according to plan, he wouldn't be able to help her anymore.
How did that saying go? A life for a life?
Mousse wasn't afraid of that. His only concern was that the ritual might fail.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Three dark forms stood outside the elevator. They were too late, the ninja had disappeared. Shinrou's puppets didn't care, they weren't even conscious of the way the Mamono manipulated their bodies.
Shinrou did care. It could barely sense the ninja, which was worrisome. Its clever trap had failed.
Konatsu was well trained. He could mask his chi, concealing his presence on a mystic as well as a physical level. The monster had covered the bottom of the elevator, but the ninja never touched the creature. He leapt, bounced off the elevator walls and through the emergency escape in its roof before the Mamono knew the boy had entered. By the time the creature began flowing up the sides, Konatsu was several stories up the elevator cable.
Shinrou didn't sigh in frustration, but only because it couldn't. Yet it was more than frustrated by its failure. The creature could no longer sense the Amazon girl at all. It was almost as if she'd ceased to exist. That meant magic, and magic was one of the few things that could destroy a Mamono.
The creature gave mental commands to its puppets, sending them to search. While they did that, it would finish gaining control of the tall girl and then go seek the doctor who'd been with her.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Konatsu paused, listening, which wasn't the easiest task. Clinging to an elevator cable wasn't the best position for it, especially when a conscientious maintenance man had recently regreased the cable.
"Mrew?" A pale purple cat clung to the front of his clothing, firmly gripping the cloth with the two sets of claws that still worked. Konatsu shook his head. If the Mamono was following he couldn't hear it and if Shampoo saw something with her cat's eyes, she couldn't tell him.
"Mrew?" Shampoo repeated gently.
Konatsu stretched upwards, but hesitated. He'd barely heard it. Something shuffling into the elevator below. The boy began climbing again. It was too dark for anyone but Shampoo to see the determined look on his face.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"This is inconvenient." Mousse wasn't speaking to anyone and the snow filled skies absorbed his words. He glanced back into the restaurant. Every light in the main room blazed, trying to erase the shadows and the monster that haunted them. Ran-Ran slept fitfully in the corner, partly concealed behind a barricade of tables and chairs that wouldn't have stopped the Mamono. Mousse considered and rejected waking her.
I'll show them what a mere male can do without any of their help.
Besides, the girl might try to stop him.
Mousse read the list again. A surprisingly large number of the needed ingredients were common, even ordinary, and could be easily obtained at the local apothecary's. He'd found most of the exceptions among the things Cologne had collected over the decades, and by the time she discovered his theft he would be far beyond the reach of her retribution. Like many alchemical potions, this one boasted an extravagant name, but this potion actually deserved it. The Sapphire Essence Resurrection Elixir used no actual sapphires, but it could restore the dead to life. At least that is what it was supposed to do. If he made one mistake with the formula, or if the ancient scroll had lied, nothing would happen, at least nothing good.
Mousse chuckled darkly at that thought, certain his ancestors were smiling on his quest. There were only three ingredients that weren't among Cologne's things, that none of the local stores would possibly have. Two were rare plant extracts, one an exotic wood. Yet he knew where to find all three. There was one place in Nerima, perhaps in all of Japan where he could find them. Ironically, his possession by Ikari had provided the solution.
Kodachi's greenhouse. I wonder how she'd feel, knowing her obsession would save Shampoo.
Mousse wouldn't ask. He couldn't risk the gymnast saying no. He'd take what he needed. He was even less worried about her wrath than Cologne's.
It will be harder with more snow coming down, but even as a duck, I can do this.
He had to, he couldn't afford the price of failure.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It would be easy to let go, just let go and fall into the darkness.
The idea was very seductive.
No more struggles, no more worries, just let go and plunge into the darkness, the peaceful, unchanging darkness.
It would have been the easy path, but it felt wrong. She'd endured too much to take the easy path.
I can't let go. Not till I've told him, not till I've answered his question.
Kasumi's resistance to the Mamono lacked the ferocity, but not the determination her sister Akane had displayed.
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Konatsu's head throbbed, his arms ached, but he'd almost reached the top of the cable. He paused to catch his breath and decide what to do next, but he wasn't given a chance. The hum of the motor was quiet even in the confinement of the narrow shaft. The elevator was approaching rapidly and whoever built this shaft had neglected to provide a convenient air duct for escape like they always did in the movies.
The ninja glanced down, gauging distance and speed, then up estimating the available space. He didn't like the answer. "Shampoo, I'm going to drop you on the roof of the elevator, you're small enough now. I'll jump through the open hatch on the roof."
"Mrow," she disagreed loudly.
"I don't think the Mamono is still in there. I'll be fine."
"Mrow," she replied skeptically. The boy's lie was anything but convincing. Why else would the elevator be rising? Shampoo released the grip of one front paw and swung herself till she faced away from the boy. The cable hung inches in front of her.
Shampoo had regularly demonstrated the ability to shatter concrete walls. She couldn't do that by raw strength, otherwise she could have pulped any of her rivals. It was another application of the Bakusai Tenketsu, the Breaking Point Technique. Snapping the elevator cable would be more difficult and there was only time for one attempt.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tofu Ono stood just outside the lobby of the hospital. Gentle flakes of snow drifted slowly from the darkened sky, their peace mocking the turmoil in his soul. He didn't remember how he'd gotten here and he didn't want to remember what had happened to Kasumi. He didn't feel the cold which brought him to his senses, but he knew he needed magical help if he was going to free the girl he loved.
Enough snow had fallen to cover the dangerous layer of ice beneath, so he had little difficulty reaching the pay phone. Finding Ukyou was proving to be much harder.
The phone rang for the seventeenth time as Tofu's hopes began to die. It was the third time he'd called Ukyou's restaurant and still no one replied. He'd already called his clinic twice, getting only the answering machine. Ran-Ran had answered at the Neko Hanten. She was alone and clearly frightened, but Tofu could do nothing for the girl. At least she was more coherent than the sobbing wreck named Soun who answered at the Tendo dojo.
Think, man, think. They have to be somewhere.
He needed to find Ukyou, without her magic Kasumi was doomed. Tofu slammed his fist against the side of the phone booth, never noticing the way he cracked the plexiglas.
If only there were someone else.
His breath escaped in a groan of frustration. A moment passed and then hope reappeared in Tofu's eyes. Ukyou would be with Ranma, and there was one likely place left where the boy could be. Tofu snatched up the phone again, but before he could dial both phone and phone booth detonated in a spray of metal and plastic and the Doctor's body was flung backward into the snow.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Kodachi's name means shortsword, rather like a wakizashi. Tatewaki's name means 'bringing a sword', but his father usually calls him Tachi, which is a sword about the size of a katana, though it can be larger. Following this theme, the little sister's name Sagegami doesn't refer to swords, it actually means ponytail. But her nickname, Sageo, means sword knot, a cord that was bound to make sure the sword was never drawn.