Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or
concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that i claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
The Annals of the Heroine Akane, and the Dreaded Demon King. A Tale of the Mirrorverse.
Chapter 9: Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, lest you come to be under that watchful eye. (Part 2)
Ranma had watched and observed his opponent, had seen how she fought and had a good grasp of what she was probably capable of. She was far more of a threat than the last hero that had come for his head, of that he was sure. Still, until he could find some way to end this pointless war that the Goddesses had chosen to wage with mortal proxies, there was little he could do but swat down each of the hapless fools who heeded the call of the Divine. Yes, some of the rage and hatred he saw in those eyes was almost certainly justified. Both sides had done horrendous things to the other, things that were unforgivable. Regardless, he would fight. He would win, because he had no other choice.
With any luck, his companions would have taken care of the rest of her party, and he could close the page on the Hero Akane and her sisters. That would be best for everyone, in the end. No more loose ends, no cries of vengeance and justice to deal with. At least, none from any of these three. It was what was best, after all. He was the Demon Lord, he needed to bury his human heart deep, deep in the hidden spot that was Ranko. It was the only way, the best way.
If that was true, why did it nag at him, the possibility of there being another way? Bah, he had obviously listened to Ryoga too much as of late. He should learn to take joy in the battle, in the game, like Xian Pu did. It would be best, after all.
He shook his massive head as the Heroine moved ever closer, until she and he were face to face. He listened, as she proclaimed another divine quest for vengeance and justice. Always the same thing, over and over. It was tiresome, the rampant hate and desire for vengeance that both races had towards the other. He shifted a bit, as he beat down the thoughts of what-if, and why-not that strained at the edges of his psyche. Clearly, some fault of his human blood.
"Welcome, little hero. We shall settle this, you and I. It is the only way there can be peace, if one of us falls this day. Come, let us play out the game of the Goddesses, so that they can sake their boredom in our blood, shall we?" He said, as he nobly tried to convey the truth that he had come across in his studies of the history of the war between the two races. A game, a play in blood and death for the amusement of the last two Goddesses in the Heavenly Realms.
With a mighty roar from him, matched by a cry of bloodthirsty rage from her, the two rushed towards battle, towards destiny. The earth churned and split under his powerful legs, his claws tore great furrows in the earth as his teeth, as long as sword blades, gleamed brilliantly. This was one of his favorite forms for battle, the thick scales gave him protection from almost all attacks, and his massive reserves of magic allowed him to fend off the arcane with ease. Still, it would be best not to underestimate his opponent. He had best be careful to not let the draconic arrogance that came with this form overtake his own skills and tactical sense.
Best to end this quickly, he thought to himself as he halted his charge to unleash a great, roaring blast of shadows and night. The almost solid beam of nothingness rushed towards the heroine, as she planted her feet and swung her shield into position. The tide of nothingness splashed against her divine shield, and flowed around her like she was some great rock as it weathered rushing rapids.
Ranma growled and started to advance more cautiously, as did his foe. He was hardly surprised that his breath hadn't taken her out, but it would have been convenient. Better for both of them, to be honest. Now, it would be a matter of blood and rent flesh.
Ranma lashed out a massive forelimb, his claws whistled through the air like scimitars. Akane waited till the last moment to duck under them, and delivered a drawing stroke from her sword in return.
Ranma pulled his injured limb back and tested it as he watched her. "You're not bad. Better than the last so-called hero who came for my head."
Akane glared at him as she moved back into a ready position and watched him intently. "This time, I will be taking your head. Your purposeless aggression ends here!" Akane proclaimed as she pointed her holy sword at him.
"And there it is. The self-righteous proclamations that all of you love so much. Always blaming others for what you have chosen to do. Fine! If that is how you want it, then come and die hero, so that I can have at least some peace before the next idiot answers the call of your Goddess!" Ranma said with a reptilian snarl.
Akane could barely believe the effrontery of the foul beast she faced, acting like it was the Goddess's fault that he needed to be put down! She would show him, and the rest of the world! She would vanquish him in the name of her Goddess!
As Akane started to come to a slow boil, she advanced on Ranma with anger in her eyes. She gripped her sword tighter, as she angled her shield a bit more aggressively than she had before. She clearly had decided that it was time to go on the offensive.
Ranma snarled and roared at her as he swiped at her again. His massive claws were deflected just enough by her shield to miss her, but she couldn't move fast enough to avoid the tail that lashed in while she was busy dealing with the strike. Ranma had to admit, as he watched her go flying back and slam into a tree on the edge of the clearing that payback did feel a bit nice.
Akane shook her head as she staggered away from the tree and quickly regained her footing as her power flowed through her body, and mended the damage that had been done by the Demon Lord's rather sneaky and underhanded attack. Akane dropped into a low guard, and started to advance a bit more cautiously towards her reptilian opponent, the blow having knocked some sense back into the hot headed heroine.
Ranma started to circle again, as they once again started to probe the defenses of the other. He had an advantage in power and reach, but her size and speed were actually advantageous for her in this fight. Ranma knew that he had a number of tricks up his sleeve, but he preferred to not have to use them if possible. You never did know when your allies would decide they were better off with you dead, after all. You should never let them know all of what you were capable of, after all.
Akane narrowed her eyes as she gauged his reach, the speed that he could move at and worked on reading the subtle motions of his draconic form before each strike. She was pretty sure that she knew the tells now for when he would strike with his tail, so she didn't think he would be able to catch her unaware again. In a fight like this, the might of her Goddess flowed through her, and gave her superhuman levels of stamina and endurance, making a war of attrition even possible against a foe such as this. If her sisters had been present, then she knew that the fight would be over much faster with their support. But this was her battle, and she would win it on her own. After all, she had justice and righteousness on her side.
They closed once more, as Akane kept a wary eye for the tail strike as Ranma relied exclusively on claw strikes. He seemed hesitant to put those sharp fangs to use. The bloodied state of his forelimbs bore testament to the power and skill of Akane. That was not to say that she had not sustained injuries of her own. No matter how skilled an opponent, it was almost impossible to not take some hits against a foe with such a reach advantage on you.
Ranma knew that he had to do something soon, the wellspring of divine might that filled the heroine at this moment made a prolonged battle swing in her favor, instead of his. Perhaps it was time to play one of the cards that he had kept hidden tight against his chest? Yes, better to use it now instead of letting her slowly wear him down and force his hand when he was not ready for it himself. That said, it was not exactly without risk, but one did not fight a divinely appointed hero without placing yourself at risk.
Ranma reared back, and let loose another gout of blackness, knowing full well that she would have to block it with her shield, and that would give him his one opening. He could feel his reserves of magic draining as he blasted her with the full force of his draconic breath. As the blast ended, he lunged in, jaws wide open. This was the moment he had to take, the opening that would hopefully win him this battle. Maybe he would be lucky and she would not be able to dodge his bite, and would instead reside in his belly this night?
Alas, as he lunged forward he could see her eyes widen, then a grin split her lips as she started to turn, barely letting his strike miss her as she shifted her grip on her sword, both hands on the hilt as she pushed the full force of her divinely augmented strength into a blow that would surely sever his head from his neck, and give her the victory.
Akane let out a triumphant shout as her holy blade cleaved through the neck of the shadow dragon like it was cutting mist or smoke. For a moment, she lost her balance because there was nothing there, she had in fact cut through something insubstantial, as the dragon dispersed like it was the morning mist being burned away by the first rays of the sun.
That was when she locked eyes with the actual demon lord for the first time, when the heroine AKane and the Demon Lord Ranma met for the first time, face to face. She took in his dark hair, the pair of horns that sprouted from his forehead, and the reptilian eyes that were an unnatural shade of blue. He wore a suit of armor as black as night, and wielded a long, single edged blade with practiced ease. With a jolt, Akane realized she knew that blade, at least by reputation. It was the lost princesses blade, the one entrusted to her by right of succession from mother to daughter, back to time immemorial.
Akane pulled herself back just in time to avoid the slash that would have severed her own head from her neck, instead taking a deep cut to her right shoulder. As Akane fell back, she tightened her grip on the sword clutched tightly in her left hand and shifted her stance to compensate for her not being able to use her shield at the moment. A moment of panic settled into her chest as she felt the wound fighting the magical healing she tried to pour into the wound.
"It's a nice sword, isn't it? Your goddess made it so that wounds it inflicted lingered. Neither divine magic nor infernal regeneration will heal the wounds this weapon creates. I imagine that your holy companion could overcome it, given time. But, for now, lets see how long you can hold out. You could always flee, and save your skin." Ranma said as he taunted her, knowing that he could match her speed in this form, even if she might very well be stronger than him now.
The two combatants set back to their grim work with renewed purpose. Each wielded blades that the other could hardly endure blows from, but that is what they had to do. Each exchange became faster, as the two learned from each other. Slowly, more and more of their blood spilled out onto the thirsty ground as the two armies watched in almost mute horror as their leaders laid into each other.
Surely, one or both of them was likely to die on this field today, if something didn't happen to change the wheels of fate from grinding two bright lights into nothing but legends and memories.
That moment came when Ranma staggered backwards with a burning slash across his chest as a great roar came from the human army arrayed behind Akane. Who can say if it was by the order of one of the local lords, or if it was just the energy of the two armies became overwhelming, but a surge started and swept over the forces of mankind as the rushed forward, running past Akane to come to grips with the demon lord's host.
Soon, the two forces were engaged in a bloody battle, far more vicious than what had been happening before. Akane cast about, but her foe had vanished in the tide of bloody carnage that swept over them both. As the demon's army withdrew, Akane made her way slowly back towards the field hospital, as she looked for Kasumi. She walked until darkness overcame her, and the hero fell slowly to the ground, as her blazing sword slipped from her fingers.
It would be three days until she regained consciousness in the keep, with her sisters at her side once more. Of the demon lord, there was no sign of him. His army had once more withdrawn beyond the border.
"I… Can't believe I passed out… I.. I need to find out what happened to the demon lord, and who gave the order to charge…" Akane said as she tried to rise, only to be gently pressed back into her bed by Kasumi.
"Rest, little sister. Your wounds haven't healed completely yet, and I don't really want to have to stitch you back together again." Kasumi said gently, but with a hint of something in her eyes, something unspoken and hidden.
Akane sighed and sunk back into her bed, then looked at the other two. "Well…. We all know how I did, did you two have any more luck?"
The two sisters share a look then Nabiki shook her head. "I managed to give the Demon Lord's shadow the slip, but it was a close thing." Nabiki said as she stretched and winced a little.
"I.. Was carried away in the battle, and I was not able to return right away. Luckily, I was able to make it back to take care of you." Kasumi said, then looked at Akane. "So, he had the Princesses blade, truly?"
Akane nodded and slowly flexed her hand. "And next time, I will take it back. Along with his head, and break the back of that blighted hord of his." Akane vowed, unaware of the troubled look that had crossed Kasumi's face.
Nabiki had to wonder once again just what had happened with her sister, and how she ended up on the other side of the army from where she was last seen. She was sure that in time everything would be revealed. After all, that was her job.
