R1/2 -- Chris Collins (1clc0772@unixstew.tstc.edu)
Sorry about saying chapter 8 was the last chapter when I'm now clearly
making another because.... (OLD VOICE: *whispering harshly* Just be quiet
so we can finish this thing before Ukyou and Shampoo get back.) Oh...
yeah... right....
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| An Iron Dagger Production |
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| Written and Directed by: |
| Christopher Lee Collins |
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| Based on Characters Created by: |
| Rumiko Takahashi |
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| Ranma Saotome and Miko Lee |
| in: |
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| NYANNIICHUAN: |
| Very Tragic Story |
| Part IX |
| "As Fate Would Have It" |
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"Let me go! Let go! They're gonna kill him! Can't you see that he needs
my help?!" Miko struggled against the samurai's hold with every ounce of
strength she had, but she simply wasn't strong enough to break free, and
her captor had pinned her arms to the sides so she couldn't use her needle
to sew anything--and something about his aura wouldn't allow her to stab
him. All she could do was yell and scream and watch her guardian get
thrown around by the Emperor's jester.
Reikiba wasn't even paying attention to her. He was too busy yelling at
Miss Cat and Mister Bird for fussing at each other. "Hey you two! Cut
that out! You're upsetting Miss Lee!" The crow was flying around
Twilight's head, cawwing bitterly as she swiped at it with her paws; in
return, it tactically beat its wings at her face when it came in range.
"Oh?" Miko raised her eyebrows and eased up her struggle when, a few
seconds later, her guardian drove the jester into the ground. Then she
gasped and pushed against the samurai again when one of the Emperor's
masked guards came at him from the side, but she settled down again when
her guardian avoided him and slammed him into the ground; she even flinched
and muttered, "ouch" in sympathy of the guard. Then she gasped once again,
albeit minorly, when the other guard tried to skewer her champion, who just
kicked him back for his trouble; then, regaining his footing, the warrior
brought his swords up only to have her guardian reduce them to dust.
Miko turned away and pouted innocently, almost ashamed to have
underestimated her guardian. After a few seconds delay, she muttered to no
one, "Oh," at a loss for anything else to say. Then, after another few
seconds, she smiled and giggled, content with thinking about what an
impressive (and agile) husband he wound make, and crooned into her
shoulder, blushing.
A sudden sonic boom tore her from her introspection and made her look
everywhere at once. Then she gasped and turned away when she finally
noticed the heated aerial fight between the Emperor and the dark-robed man.
Then her eyes flew wide in surprise when she brought her attention to what
Twilight and the crow were doing. _Ack! What's going on???_
The shimmercat was sitting on her haunches, a bright, irridescent aura of
orange flame coating her body, as she flailed at the crow with what almost
appeared like two torches. The bird, emanating an aura of darkness that
made it seem three times its original size, was zipping around in front of
the cat like quicksilver, screaming and slapping back with its spindly,
ghostlike talons. (Neither animal seemed to have noticed the loud boom.)
Furthermore, the small area to which they confined their skirmish was
scorched as if by a campfire left ablaze too long before it was put
out--the grass wasn't actually on fire, just sizzling.
Miko bit her lower lip in consternation and leaned more toward the
samurai. She had never seen Twilight do anything like that before, and
never expected to--aside from Twilight's odd color, Miko always thought the
cat was just a different species of tiger.
Reikiba scolded, "Stop it! You two are acting like children! (OLD VOICE:
>From what planet?) (NOTE: Shhh!) Further aggression won't solve anything!"
Still maintaining his hold on Miko, he took a threatening step toward the
two and snapped, "Don't make me come over there!"
Miko blinked her eyes several times to make sure she was seeing things
correctly--to make sure she was actually seeing a flaming cat chasing a
shadow of a bird. And even when she confirmed that her eyes were working
properly, she had to shake her head. It was too confusing to understand.
She started to call out to Twilight, to make sure that it still was
Twilight, but she wasn't particularly sure that she wanted the shimmercat
near her right now, so her voice refused to even form a syllable.
She squinted her eyes shut and shivered. What was going on? Everything
was happening so fast! She didn't want to be in the middle of all of this!
With the possibility of her own death so near, she didn't know how much
more she could take! After several hesitant seconds, with the noises of
fighting hovering in the air, she opened her eyes and glanced back at her
guardian. Then she actually felt her heart stop, and her throat
constricted too much to release a gasp.
He was down on one knee, and he looked hurt! _By the gods, what
happened?_ The Emperor's jester was standing in front of him, laughing!
She wished she could tell what they were saying!
Too panicked to move, she held her breath when they suddenly charged at
each other, something inside her telling the battle would be decided in
this blow. So she gasped painfully in surprise (and relief) when the
jester was hurled into a nearby tree with seeming ease. And he dropped
something--it must have been the phoenix statue. And her guardian picked
it up! And he was hurrying back!
Miko closed her eyes to fight off a sudden flood of joyous tears and let
out the deep sigh she was holding; she leaned into the samurai, her limbs
suddenly feeling like putty, her head feeling terribly light, as tension
escaped her body in a rush. The fighting sounds around her became as
insubstantial as running water--because none of it mattered.
He'd done it. Her guardian had saved her again. And he was alright. Now
they could be together again, and this time she wouldn't let him go. She
could see it now:
He's rushing back to her, calling her name, holding the statue high to
herald his victory. While the samurai is turning to see what's going on,
she'd find the strength to break free, then she'd rush down the hill to
meet him, her arms outstretched in anticipation and her face streaked with
tears.
Her guardian would meet her halfway up, embrace her furiously, and kiss
her passionately, and aggressively, just like she'd wanted him to do before
he left her side. And she'd wrap her arms around him and respond with like
fervor.
Then, still lip-locked, her guardian would lower her to the grass, not too
roughly but not too gently, falling atop her, nestling his body erotically
between her legs. Then, she'd tilt her head upward and pull his face down
upon her throat, moaning, "Never leave me again." He'd glide hot breath
across her neck, then breathe into her ear, "You got it, Miko."
Then he'd kiss her expose flesh, sending shivers down her spine, and he'd
reach under her blouse and cup her breast. Ooh, that felt good. Then,
slowly inching her blouse up, he'd....
"Miss Lee? Are you alright?"
"!" Miko started and opened her eyes to see the samurai looking down at
her, worry marked across his face. She flinched at his nearness, then
turned to see Twilight and the crow sitting side-by-side, both looking at
her curiously, almost dumbly.
The samurai brought one hand up to scratch his head, leaving the other to
hold her up, explaining, "You must have fainted when I wasn't looking.
When I noticed that your body had gone limp, I turned to find you slumped
and drooling a bit. *short nervous laugh* I guess I must have been holding
you too tightly. Sorry."
Blushing, Miko got one arm free and brought it up to wipe her mouth, then
said while turning back to see why her guardian was being delayed, "Uh,
that's... o-kay...."
"Hn!!" Her eyes flew wide when she saw her guardian kneeling on the
ground with his hand on another girl's shoulder. A NAKED girl.... Then
her eyes flashed in fear and anger and jealousy as, just a second later,
the girl jumped forward into his embrace and buried her head in his chest!
"NO!" Miko's aura instantly flared and she threw herself forward,
shouting, "He's mine!" Reikiba gasped in surprise to see her glowing and
just barely regained an his previous hold before she could get away from him.
"Wha...! Ack! M-Miss Lee?! Calm down!" Miko pushed forward, flailing
her free arm forward and kicking her heels against his shins (to no avail),
crying, "No! She can't have him! He's mine!"
* * * * *
Fang rolled out of the way just as the dark wizard descended with
razor-sharp, metal talons on his feet. As the talons sunk into the earth
in the spot fang was just a split-second ago, the dark man clasped his
wrists and gasped, "Thank the heavens that you are alright. I was worried
that you may have had a concussion (brain injury)." (NOTE: He didn't say
"after I hit you".)
Fang wiped a thin stream of blood from the side of his mouth with his
forearm and growled, "You are still mocking me! Will you not take me more
seriously?!"
The dark man stroked his beard in amusement and stepped off of his metal
talons. "Was I not serious enough? I have drawn first blood." The dark
man studied Fang's angry, determined expression and sighed, "You are a very
brave and skilled opponent. Why not leave things at that?"
Fang spat, "NO! I WILL prove myself better than ANY man, even if I die
trying!"
The dark man chuckled softly, "Very well. That is you're decision. But
can you prove yourself better than the fourteen-year-old girl who defeated
me?"
"WHAT!?!" Fang's eyes flew psychotically wide and his aura flared wildly,
almost tripled in intensity. The dark man looked slightly embarrassed,
then sidestepped in time to miss a concentrated bolt of fire aimed at his
stomach.
!Whoosh! "Whoa!" The dark man jumped into the air as his opponent
released another concentrated bolt in his direction, laughing, "Was it
something I said?!"
When the dark man reached his previous height of forty feet, he glanced
back in the distance and noticed that the bolts his adversary had fired
were turning up and around, tranforming into miniature phoenixes. "Eh?"
He raised his eyebrows and looked down to see the Emperor soaring up toward
him in a blaze of fire, roaring his battle charge (which went alot like:
"RRRRROOOOAAARRRR!!!!!!).
The dark man quickly shot upward with the Emperor in hot pursuit (no pun
intended), and the two phoenixes swooped upward alongside their creator
like fighter jets, leaving a trail of flame behind them.
When the dark man rose another hundred feet, looking more like a black
wisp than a man, he U-turned and rocketed downward to his previous height.
The phoenixes broke formation, looping outward, and rocketed straight for
the wizard. Fang just kept ascending, although slowing.
The dark man, seeing that they wouldn't leave him alone, threw up an air
shield and braced for impact. A split-second later--!!BOOM!!--the
phoenixes collided from either direction with a thunderous explosion, but
instead of discipating, they melded with his shield and turned it into a
swirling prison of liquid fire.
Fang descended to his prisoner's level, laughing sinisterly. But he just
as soon cursed and threw his arms forward when the fiery bubble suddenly
inverted and hurled itself at him, leaving the dark man hovering in its
place, unscathed.
Instead of dodging, the Emperor let the sphere strike him--he seemed to
partially absorb, making his aura flare out like the wings of a bird. Then
he swung his arms outward, smashing the sphere into dozens and dozens of
tiny fireballs and scattering them back at his adversary like guided missiles.
The dark man simultaneously releasing his own wisps of chi energy, like
fist-sized soap bubbles, to intercept and destroy the fireballs, bellowing
enthusiastically, "This is the most entertainment I've had in five hundred
years! You are indeed a worthy opponent!"
"SILENCE!" Fang swooped his arms upward and the remaining fireballs shot
upward and rained down on the wizard like a meteor shower.
The dark man fanned his arms out over his head, creating an umbrella of
air, on which the fireballs merely fizzled out on contact. Then, his arms
still outstretched, he tilted the dome forward just as Fang released two
jets of fire from his fists. The air shield quickly became visible--a
thin, convex wall that swirled like molten glass being blown--as the dark
man rushed forward, slamming it into the Emperor.
Fang was knocked back--AGAIN!--still clutching the undamaged shield of
air, which seemed to now have the consistency of LEAD. He stared forward,
brow furrowed, and sneered at the dark wizard. And in his usual
condescending manner, the dark man claped his wrists under his robe and
chuckled, "That was a very cleaver attack. I did not think you had it in
you."
Fang growled and heaved the invisible shield at the dark mockingbird, who
just held up a hand and stopped it in mid-air; then, with a flick of the
wrist, it dissolved back into the air. The dark man rolled his eyes and
sighed sarcastically, "Now that was mature."
"Shut up! (very informal)" Fang clenched his fists, each glowing with a
reddish aura.
The dark man slowly shook his head and clicked his tongue in
disappointment. "What childish behavior. After such a rigorous workout
(duel), you let your temper get the better of you. From Miko that I can
escuse, but from the so-called leader of an empire...."
Fang looked very surprised, and confused, to hear Miko's name. But when
he came to the simple conclusion that Miko must have been the refered young
girl who had defeated him, he laughed, "You were defeated by the daughter
of a lowly rice farmer!"
The dark man seemed slightly annoyed. He raised an eybrow and grumbled,
"Five hundred years ago, that RICE FARMER would have eviscerated you for
making such a statement." Fang suddenly stopped laughing and raised his
own eyebrows.
The dark man smiled and shrugged, then sighed, "But that is in the past
now." He unhooked his hands, brought one up to stroke his beard, and mused
aloud, more to himself, "I should have known that someone of his
descendence would prove a match for me. *chuckle* She certainly has great
potential." (The last statement was said in such a way that suggested Fang
didn't.)
Fang glanced contemptably over his shoulder at the hill Miko was on; the
redhead was leaning into the embrace of a tall man wearing a dark brown
samurai robe, and she seemed to be dazed or unconscious (and drooling?).
Fang spat sourly, "THAT insignificant whelp is to be your new apprentice?!"
He turned and thrust his arms in her direction, ready to permanently take
her off the dark man's short list of candidates, but a pair of chains
quickly snaked around his arms and directed them upward before he could
charge his blast.
The dark man narrowed his eyes and almost hissed, "I cannot allow you to
do that. She is not to die by your hand." He blinked wearily and sighed,
"It was careless of me to mention her in the first place."
Fang narrowed his eyes as well. "I see you have made your final decision."
The dark man raised his eyebrows. "I already had." Then, before Fang
could react, he yanked the chains and sent his adversary over his head.
Fang melted the chains and caught his balance on the opposite side, his
fiery aura blazing. He growled, "Then if I cannot have the honor of
studying under you...," He threw his fists at his enemy and launched a
massive stream of fire, concluding, "...then I will gain the glory of
destroying you!"
The dark man quickly erected a large air shield--a hollow half-sphere
nearly twice his size in which he stood. The flames pounded into the
shield head-on, quickly washing over the shield's entire surface with
searing heat and force, but the dark-robed man didn't seem to mind. As
long as he concentrated, the shield would hold, and he didn't have to
endure the rising heat any longer than it took for Ranma to retrieve the
phoenix statue. So, while the Emperor popped a blood vessel, the dark
wizard just folded his arms and waited.
And he didn't have long to wait, just a few seconds, before he heard that
familiar voice calling, "Yo! Dark Guy!" He glanced over his shoulder and
smiled to see Ranma toss the statue into the air. It was heading straight
for him. Impatiently, the dark man lashed out a chain and grabbed the
statue, then pulled it to his hand.
Then the shield dissolved and the flames overran him.
* * * * *
"Look out!" Ranma shielded the terrified harem girl, rushing in front of
her and clutching her head low aginst his chest, as the Emperor's blazing
attack passed high overhead, unhindered by the dark wizard's barrier. Even
though the fire was far above his head, he could feel a rush of scorching
air crash into his back like a rush of boiling water.
He clenched his teeth at the sudden raw tingling of his skin and listened
to the panicked cries of the girl he was protecting and pictured the
dark-robed guy vanishing into the flames and wondered, "What have I done?"
* * * * *
"Kya!" Miko ducked behind Reikiba when the dark man was overtaken by the
fire. She looked toward her guardian for answers as to what was going on,
but he was busy protecting the girl he was with (which she partially
understood since protecting was what a guardian did).
Reikiba shaded his eyes and watched the event curiously.
Twilight sat with her head high and her tail twitching, somewhat pleased.
The crow's eyes flew wide at it's master's apparent demise, then it passed
out.
* * * * *
Fang laughed aloud as he held his blast for a couple of more seconds,
reveling in his victory. He'd won! He'd defeated the Dark One!
But he soon realized that his hopes were gravely misplaced when he stopped
firing and the flames passed into the distant sky like a dragon's tail...
and the dark-robed wizard was STILL hovering in the air where he was
before, unharmed, his arms folded defiantly and his face showing such smug
boredom that one would think he were just being made to listen to a
long-winded lecture on something he already knew about.
"WHAT????" Fang clenched his fists and glared at his opponent in
surprise. "But how is this possible?!"
Dismissing the query, the dark man smiled and held up the phoenix statue.
"I have what I came for. Now why don't we get this fight over with? I
need to get home to my bed." He threw his hands into the air and bellowed,
"Midnight Storm!"
With a crack of thunder, black stormclouds suddenly rolled across the sky,
swiftly surrounding and totally blotting out the previous clear blue. And
with the storm came a sudden rain, falling swiftly but only moderately, and
flashes of lightning, which danced in threatening patches behind the clouds
but seemed to promise nothing more.
Fang growled and glanced around through narrowed eyes at the new change of
atmosphere, but he seemed undaunted. The dark man wouldn't frighten him
with tricks. The Emperor was steamed, mostly because the rainwater was
evaporating on contact with his aura, and he spat harshly, "What kind of a
demon are you?"
The dark man lightly folded his arms and laughed, "I am only a demon to
those who are weak and ignorant enough to believe so."
"HOW DARE YOU!!!" Fang pulled back his fists and called forth two balls
of fire. He may have already spent a great deal of energy, but he was far
from finished with the fight.
The dark man wagged a finger in front of his face and grumbled, "Temper,
temper." then brought his fist before him and shouted, "Flying Dragon..."
Fang momentarily looked shocked, remembering the technique the wizard had
used before--the dark man had somehow utilized his burning aura while
projecting a cool aura to create the whirlwind. So, just as the dark man
finished with "...Ascension Defeat!", Fang calmed his flames and projected
an aura as cool as his opponent's, hoping to nullify his technique.
But just as the Emperor dropped his aura, so did the dark man, twice as
cold as before. Fang simultaneously dropped his aura even more to match,
then proceededed to force his aura colder so that he might use the move
against his enemy. They glared at each other, determination chiseled in
their brows, as they both steadily projected their auras colder and colder.
* * * * *
Ranma blinked one eye open and glanced over his shoulder when he heard the
Emperor make his surprised exclamation, then he gasped, in shock as well as
relief, when he saw that the dark wizard had survived the flame attack.
Clutching Ranma as tightly as she could, almost digging her fingers into
his back, the harem girl peeked up from her hiding place, her eyes
shimmering with panic.
"Gaa!" Ranma jumped and the girl ducked back down when the wizard threw
his arms up and the sky suddenly went dark with thunderclouds. The girl
was now whimpering and weak-kneed and would have fallen to the ground if
Ranma wasn't holding her up.
Then, when nothing immediate happened, Ranma glanced over his shoulder
again. The Emperor was clenching his fists, which were each glowing hot,
while the dark guy (whose back was mostly turned) seemed to taunt him.
Ranma, remembering the innkeeper say something about a whirlwind, instantly
recognized the feel of the situation--the familiar imbalance of warm and
cool chi energies.
Just as he heard the wizard speak the first word of the maneuver's name,
he pushed away from the harem girl and took a few running steps toward the
hill Miko occupied, flailing his arms and yelling, "Get down! Both of ya!
Get down!" Neither Miko nor the samurai seemed to understand what he was
saying; Miko was still shouting at him while the samurai tried to hold her
back.
Before Ranma knew it, the dark guy had completed saying, "Flying Dragon
Killer Strike!" but there was no immediate whirlwind. Ranma froze and
glanced at the two combatants, a little fearful. It seened like the wizard
was delaying the final punch rather than cancelling the move. Why? Then,
when he realized that they were constantly projecting colder and colder
auras, his eyes flew wide and he gasped, "Oh no!" If he was guessing
right, then they were all in worse danger than he thought.
He started to run forward, yelling anew, but his ears instantly focused on
the choked whimpering behind him, reminding him that there was an even more
fragile girl he needed to worry about--and what was worse was that she had
no protective clothing at all.
With one more panicked wave and plea in Miko's direction, he turned and
ran back to the harem girl, who had fallen to her knees and was once again
clutching the orange and blue robe for dear life.
"GET DOWN!" He tackled the girl, wrapping his arm around her shoulders,
and pulled her face-down to the ground. Hopefully, if Miko saw that he was
ducking for cover, she'd do the same--he prayed to whatever god that had
brought him to her side that she would.
* * * * *
The bile that rose in Miko's throat left a horribly bitter taste in her
mouth. She didn't know what was more frightening: seeing the Emperor
hovering in the air, blazing like a demon from one of her worst nightmares,
or seeing the dark-robed wizard stand up against the demon's hellfire
without so much as a singed hair. Were these people human???
She clamped her eyes shut and tried to disbelieve everything she saw as
part of a dream. She'd defeated the wizard earlier--or at least she
thought she did--but there was no way she could have gotten the better of
that THING out there. It couldn't be real--none of it could. She must
still be sleeping in her guardian's arms on this very hilltop, letting her
imagination get the better of her--concocting a horrible nightmare about
losing her newfound love or creating an out-of-control fantasy in which her
love would save her. But then why was he over on the next hill with
another girl? She wanted the fantasy to stop.
When the wizard's two-word chant suddenly brought chaos to the sky,
filling the air with thunder and darkness and rain, she couldn't take it
anymore. She screamed and bolted around the samurai, crying aloud,
"Guardian Spirit! Help me! Tell me what's going on!"
Reikiba was momentarily distracted by the change in weather, his hand
still rubbing the back of his head in concern, when he realized that Miko
had suddenly moved. "?" He tightened the grip of the arm he still had
around her, but she had managed to slip out and take a large step away
before he was able to grab her wrist. "Miss Lee! It's too dangerous here!
You mustn't go!"
He threw his other arm forward to grab her shoulder, but, as fast as
quicksilver, she ducked under his extended arm, shrieking, "No! I have to
go to him!" He crossed his arms to make an awkward grab for her, but she
just dodged and ducked back to the other side. He made several more
lightning-quick attempts to restrain her, but they proved futile; the only
thing keeping her from getting away was the hold he had on her wrist.
However, when Miko saw her guardian suddenly start running towards her,
shouting something and gesturing like he wanted her to stay back, she
hesitated just long enough for the samurai to throw his arm around her
shoulder. Miko pushed forward as hard as she could, tears rushing to her
eyes. "What're you saying?! Who is that girl you're with?!" Why did he
want her to stay back? She needed him--she needed to know that he was real.
"Please, Miss Lee! I have a bad feeling...." Reikiba very briefly
loosened his hold on her wrist so he could grab her other shoulder when
suddenly, she dropped down through his arms, leaving him holding a ring of
air. She started running down the hill before he could reach out again.
He cursed and tried to catch up to her.
Miko's eyes flew wide and she choked when she saw her guardian pull the
girl to the ground and, as far as she could see, fall on top of her. She
reached through the air and started to cry out to him, to beg him to come
back to her, but she didn't get the chance.
* * * * *
The Emperor was clenching his teeth, shivering furiously. He was
projecting his aura too cold! Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he
continued to freeze his spirit, stubbornly trying to beat the wizard at his
own game. But it had gone too far. In a moment, he'd turn to ice. He
should have just let the wizard create his whirlwind, for now he had a
feeling the result would be far worse.
In the scant few seconds that they were engaged in this battle of wills,
Fang's expression had altered from bold determination to extreme doubt,
while the dark man's face remained placid, if not a little amused. The
Dark One seemed to be a creature of the cold with an unnaturally chilled
spirit, but Fang had realized that a few seconds too late. As he shrunk
back, limbs becoming numb, the only thing that kept him in match with the
other was childish spite and recklessness.
Then, while the Emperor could still see and hear clearly, the dark man
chimed, equally childishly, "You win!" Suddenly warming his aura to its
normal temperature, he raised his fist high over his head in completion of
the maneuver and laughed aloud as he was sucked upward by his own cyclone.
* * * * *
!BOOM! The valley turned white as it suddenly became the center of a
vicious blizzard. A flurry of snow and frozen rainwater rose in a spiral
over a mile high and wailed outward with such force that several trees were
uprooted. The rice field turned into a sheet of ice and the rest of the
valley was quickly buried in several inches of snow. And for nearly a mile
radius, the provence of Xinghai experienced the first and only summer snow-
and hailstorm.
"HANG ON!" Ranma pulled the screaming harem girl close to him as the wind
pushed them backwards across the frosty ground. The girl hid her face in
his chest and hugged him with all her strength, terrified that this was
going to be her final day alive--and Ranma wasn't sure he could argue at
this point. He grabbed the robe she was lying on just as she rolled off of
it; it struggled to be whisked upward by the wind and acted a makeshift
sail, turning them lengthwize against the gail and sending them rolling
together to the opposite side of the hill.
"Waaaaaaa!" Miko suddenly found herself flying through the harsh, powdery
air, away from the valley, before she knew what had happened. Biting wind,
as well as small shards of ice, almost seemed to rush through her, batting
and scratching her at tender flesh and stinging her like a swarm of biting
flies.
At some point while in the air, she slammed into something big and heavy,
which she guessed was either Twilight or the samurai--but who or whatever
it was, she felt something in her left shoulder crack on impact.
* * * * *
When the world finally stopped spinning and the sky brightened, Miko
plummeted to the cold ground on the other side of the hill, landing in a
small drift of snow, crumpling like a sack of potatoes. Almost immediately
after, Reikiba and Twilight splashed down about fifty feet to either side
of her.
"*gurgle* Ow...." Miko blinked her eyes open, but only a squint--they
were, for the moment, half sealed shut with frozen tears. She couldn't
immediately move--her limbs ached and her skin was burning. And when she
finally could coax a movement, it was very painful, like hundreds of
needles piercing her all over. And she was shivering fiercely, as much
from the cold as from the trauma of the flight. But at least it felt like
the sun was out again, so she didn't think she'd freeze to death.
Ironically, her first coherent thought upon gaining consciousness was
whether or not her guardian had survived--because if he wasn't alive, she
didn't care if she was either. As much as she was in pain now, she knew
that the tragedy of losing him would be far worse. No. He HAD survived.
He was too strong not to.
It was this hope that allowed her to push herself to her trembling
hands--she had to get up to see if he was alright (then she could curl up
and die beside him). No. She wasn't going to die either. She just hurt
all over.
Clenching her eyes tight, she could feel the water condensing on her
eyelashes, so she'd soon be able to see more than just blurred colors. She
faultered a bit, her left shoulder pulsing with pain when she put too much
weight on it, so she shifted most of her weight to her right arm, which
felt like she as trying to hold up a rock with a dry twig. It was still
better than collapsing for good.
She lowered her head and blinked a few times until her eyes could open
freely and without too much effort, then looked forward to see a pair of
massive legs rooted before her. "!" Startled, she looked up to see Lon
standing grimly with his massive arms folded, and as far as she could tell,
he wasn't wearing anything. But he was still just a fuzzy blurr of shaded
flesh tones, and she was somewhat thankful of that. The mere thought of
his appearance was enough to make her want to be sick.
"Gaaa!" She threw herself back when the giant started to reach for her,
but when she tried to catch herself with her arms, throbbing pain jarred
her left shoulder and she spun to the ground, crying. She came to a stop
flat on her back and looking skyward in time to see a giant foot thrusting
down in her direction.
An adrenelin rush allowed her to throw herself out of the way just as the
foot pounded a few inches INTO the ground. She managed to roll to her
knees and pull out her needle, but then she realized two things: she needed
two hands to sew with, and one wasn't responding, and neither of her arms
would be able to tolerate her lightning reflexes.
So all she could do was watch helplessly, her bottom lip quivering and her
eyes misting, as Lon stepped foward and backhanded her hard, jarring her
teeth, rattling her skull, and making lights flash extremely bright in
front of her eyes. When she was able to think about anything but the thick
saltiness that had entered her mouth, she was lying on the ground with one
eye clamped shut and blood welling from the side of her mouth.
Lon reached down to grab her collar when a voice from behind yelled,
"Wait!" Lon casually looked back to see Pae-Kau, who was only wearing a
wolf-fur loincloth, kick the stupid samurai upside the head to knock him
out (again). He then turned to Lon and said, "Bait is more useful when it
is alive."
Lon groaned but nodded in agreement, then grabbed one of Miko's arms and
started dragging her. Miko winced and tried to scream, but all she could
do was cry.
* * * * *
"C-c-c-cold.... C-c-can't f-f-feel my l-legs...."
"Oh man." Ranma brushed away as much snow as he could before gently
rolling the harem girl onto her back. His arms still in contact with her
shoulders, he sat up and looked down at her in panicked hesitation. She
was trembling wildly, her face was completely flushed, and her skin had
taken a bluish tint, more prominently in the legs--apparently she had never
developed much of a tolerence for cold weather. He was certain that her
back was at least slightly frostbitten. And to make matters worse, her
body seemed to be in a state of shock--he wasn't a doctor, but it was a
safe bet.
When she started to close her eyes, Ranma gasped and pulled the robe over
her. "Nononono, you can't fall asleep now, you gotta stay awake!" He
shook her and she opened her eyes a bit; then he grabbed her legs under the
robe and started rigorously rubbing her up and down, trying to get the
circulation back into her limbs.
She moaned lightly--in pleasure, he imagined uncomfortably--but she was
still steadily closing her eyes. "Ack! Whad'r'ya doin? Don't fall
asleep!" He took her hand and patted it, then rubbed it hard, but he got
little reaction.
Then, desperate, he hugged her tightly to his chest and pressed his mouth
against hers. Within seconds, she responded by tensing her facial muscles
and meeting his kiss; he could feel her drawing from his body heat to warm
her lips and mouth, and her whole face was brightening. But when she
slipped her tongue into his mouth, he backed off, and would have been
sweating if it wasn't so cold. He considered what he had just done a
necessary tactic, but if Miko found out, he'd almost surely get pounded for
it--no wait, that was someone else....
He turned his attention back to the girl, who was now sleepily smiling up
at him, eyes more than half open. He blushed a little, then said, "C'mon.
I got to get you someplace warmer." He slipped one arm under her
shoulders, one under her legs, and stood up, hefting her against his chest.
Then, making sure the robe was securely protecting her, he ran down the
hill and headed back in Miko's direction, worrying.
* * * * *
Ranma ran up the next hill calling, "Miko!" But when he reached the top,
he found no one around, just mounds of rapidly-melting snow which were
patched too irregularly to hide anyone underneath. He ran a little further
and repeated his call, but was left unanswered. The girl in his arms
mumbled uncomfortably with her lazy head on his shoulder, her left leg
spasming a bit--she was still shivering. Ranma glanced down at her and
groaned. He'd have to hurry so he could get her to someplace warm.
Fearing that she had been blown off the hill--and trying not to think of
worse--he ran to the side opposite the rice field. Looking downward, he
saw a lone shape curled up several dozen yards from the base of the hill.
He tried to call out her name again, but the word choked in his throat.
Instead, he just ran.
When he reached the spot where the shape lay, he gasped and started to run
back when he realized that the SHAPE was a blue and orange striped cat--a
BIG blue and orange striped cat (somewhat damp with melted snow). But he
calmed himself somewhat when he further realized that it was unconscious.
He was ready to bolt just the same.
Ranma took a step away, and paused curiously when his right foot found the
ground a few inches lower than his left. He took a step back to see what
he had stepped in. It was a small crater roughly the shape of a basketball
player's foot.
He gasped when further inspection--from standing since he didn't think
about putting the girl down--revealed that there was dried blood on some of
the grass. He panicked when he followed the trail to a large patch of
red-coated grass nearby. He turned his head in all directions, hoping he
had somehow missed the young, redheaded girl lying (safely) in the area,
but he still saw nothing but the oddly-colored cat (which he tried not to
look at).
Something was terribly wrong. He needed to find Miko fast. His instincts
told him that that was her blood. But where was she? If she was bleeding
and she moved, or was moved, then there had to be a trail. But he had
never had the patience of a tracker. He glanced at the big cat, whom he
remembered being a companion of Miko's, and cats had pretty good smell....
No. His fear of cats was too great. He wouldn't be able to concentrate
on anything--including what he would do when he found her. There had....
"Very tragic legend of girl who drown in spring one thousand five hundred
year ago." The voice rang like a memory unbidden. It could have been the
Jusenkyo guide, or it could the dark guy, or it could have been his voice
who spoke in the back of his mind--he wasn't sure. It didn't matter. But
with that statement in mind, he knew exactly where she was. And he wished
he was wrong. Without another thought, he started running again.
Similar to the one before, another voice invaded the back of his mind:
"Hurry."
* * * * *
A short time later, following the direction of the obviously out-of-place
storm, Doshin found Twilight's body crumpled on the damp ground. At first
he thought she was dead, but when he knelt down beside her, he could see
that she was only unconscious, very minor injury otherwise.
He laid his hand on the cat's shoulder and shook her a bit roughly,
asking, "Twilight! Are you alright?"
The shimmercat slowly blinked her eyes open and looked up at her master,
then clamored to her feet.
Doshin stood up and took a step back to give her room, then continued his
inquiries. "What happened? Did you find Miko? Do you know where she is?
Twilight?"
The shimmercat shook her head violently, but only to shake off her
weariness and discomfort as she tried to think of how to answer his
questions. Then she raised her head curiously, her ears perking in
alertness, when she smelled something unusual in the air. Doshin looked
around, worried, asking, "What is it?"
Twilight trotted across the grass, limping for a few steps until she was
sure her bones were holding up, and pressed her nose to the ground like a
bloodhound. Doshin followed her until she reached a small patch of
dark-colored grass--drying blood, he realized.
He immediately knelt over the spot and rubbed some of the coloring onto
his fingers--it wasn't dry yet, so the owner was only recently injured,
although the moisture from the snow was no doubt slowing the drying
process. Doshin whipped his head in Twilight's direction and growled, "Is
this Miko's blood?!" Twilight lowered her head and whined, giving an
affirmative.
Doshin closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. He should have stopped
this when he had the chance. Now he feared that, even if he hurried, he
was too late. But he had to try.
He opened his eyes and looked around a few seconds longer, then glanced
back at the cat and spat, "Let's go! There're signs that she's being
dragged away! Help me follow the trail!
* * * * *
Just before the Jusenkyo springs were within sight, Ranma stopped off at a
clear, sunny spot just inside the jungle. He didn't want to have to stop,
but he didn't know what to expect when he found Miko (or he wished he
didn't), and he wouldn't be able to do much with both arms full. Anyway,
the girl had tightened her grip around his neck and he could feel her
brushing her nose against his shirt, so he concluded that she was probably
well enough to go unsupervised, at least for a little while. She was still
cold and restless.
He gently set her down on the grass despite her mewling protest--she was
still too weak to put up a physical protest. She clasped her elbows and
started shaking as he pulled away from her, whatever warmth he had provided
her seeming to leave with him. She stared up at him piteously, almost
insanely, begging him not to go, threatening to die of insecurity if he left.
When it seemed that she was going to panic, Ranma quickly knelt down
beside her, laid a restaining hand on her shoulder, and felt her forehead
with the other, whispering, "Please. Don't move. Just lie here and get
some rest." He readjusted the robe across her body like tucking in a child.
Rapidly eyeing the area, he continued, "The storm should have scared off
all th' animals, so you'll be safe here. And the sun should get ya warm
real quick." He looked back at her and said sternly, "Now please... I
hafta go now, okay. I'll be back as soon as I can, hopefully with help."
The girl started to say something, but then nodded and rested her head to
the side.
As Ranma sprang up and sprinted off, he pointed a finger and called back,
"Just stay there." Then he turned away and ran faster.
* * * * *
"Shit! MIKO!!!" He practically flew through the forest, dodging trees
that appeared devistated by some high-powered battle (Miko's duel with the
dark man), when he caught a glimpse of a colorful figure, crimson-haired
head hung low, bound to a bamboo pole poking out of the pool he would one
day be cursed in. He broke through the treeline calling her name over and
over, his heart racing at a dangerously fast pace. But he came to a dead
stop, even his heart seeming to fail, totally unprepared when she looked up
at him.
She raised her head in tired jerks, as if she were just interrupted from a
long sleep, and when she managed to get her head up to its full height, it
wobbled on her flimsy neck as if she were severely drunk. Her face was
scratched and scraped--not nearly enough to majorly mar her beauty, but
more than enough to make every inch of skin painful to touch for weeks.
Blood trickled freshly from her nose and the side of her mouth; it was easy
to tell that someone had hit her very hard. Her eyes were squinted, her
left eye bruised and nearly unopenable, but he was sure that she could see
him; she managing a weak, lopsided grin in greeting. It looked like she
had been crying.
Like a sadist's sick fantasy, her body was bound to the pole so tightly
that the vines binding her seemed to cut into the skin, and her arms were
tied behind her back so forcefully that her chest was thrown forward, as if
her captor had tried to wrap her around the pole instead of merely holding
her. Her clothes were ripped and he could see that she was slightly
windburned and bleeding from numerous tiny cuts.
Ranma almost fell to his knees, mouth gaping and eyes wide in disbelief.
He tried several times to say something, but the words slipped out in mere
gasps for air. In the meantime, Miko drew a short breath and muttered
cheerfully, almost euphorically and somewhat unsteadily, as if she were
really very drunk, "Gardian Spirit... I knew you'd come t' save me again...."
Hearing her voice had reminded him what words sounded like, so he was able
to formulate his own: "W-w-what... happened?"
"Sorry about your girlfriend...." Ranma looked away from Miko to see who
had addressed him, anger welled in his eyes. A few pools away and to his
left, the samurai was bound to a pole in a similar manner; although he was
missing his shirt and he seemed to be in much better condition than Miko.
But it wasn't he who spoke--he was still unconscious.
From out of the brush beside the pool stepped a dark-haired,
sinister-looking man--the swordsman who had helped the clown back at the
inn, but he was wearing nothing more than a pelt of wolf's fur around his
waist. He folded his arms and walked over to stand beside the samurai
while finishing his thought, "But it would appear that your young love has
really gotten on Lon's bad side, and that's a dangerous position to be in.
I would not have been able to stop him if I wanted to."
Ranma growled and took a threatening step forward before the swordsman
suddenly reached behind his back and pulled forth a gleaming butterfly
knife, point aimed at the samurai. Hesitating, Ranma clenched his fists,
quivering with furious energy, and yelled, "Coward! Why'd ya hafta beat
Miko halfta death!?!"
Pae-Kau shook his head, a bit annoyed. "I didn't even touch her. I would
not be so sadistic. Anyway, she's not the one I wanted. She was merely
convenient bate to lure you here...."
"BAIT!!! I'll KILL you for what you've done!" Ranma couldn't help but
take another step forward, but then he found the swordsman's weapon resting
up against the samurai's chest.
The swordsman sighed and hissed a bit harshly, insult rustling under his
breath, "As I told you, I did not touch her!"
"I did." Ranma turned his head to see Lon, the hulking neanderthal
himself, standing off to his left in front of the treeline--he just seemed
to appear out of nowhere. And he looked as ugly as hell without his mask
and only wearing the samurai's robe around his waist. He folded his arms
and grinned a frightening grin, then spat, "The runt had it coming for what
she did to my hand." He held up the hand he was referring to long enough
for Ranma to see the multitude of black dots decorating the skin, as if
that was all the justification he needed.
"Bastard!" Ranma lept at him with foot extended; Lon didn't even attempt
to move. Just as the foot landed, Lon slapped his leg to the side and
grabbed one of his arms. Then, jerking him around, he quickly threw his
other arm around Ranma's torso, pinning his other arm to his side.
Disappointed, Lon muttered to himself, "Hmph. You fought alot more
impressively as a girl."
Ranma coughed a few times, then pushed himself up on his hands and yelled,
hopelesssness beginning to seep into his voice, "You got me here, okay!
Now let Miko go! You're killing her!"
Pae-Kau folded his arms, shook his head, and sighed, "Alas, my friend
wants to do just that; and HE wanted YOU here to kill you as well.
However..." The swordsman lowered his head a bit and smirked slyly. "I
may be able to convince him otherwise." Ranma just growled, his eyes
starting to water, feeling further talk on his part to be futile.
The swordsman turned the blade over and over in his hands and sighed anew,
"I sincerely pity you. I can't imagine what it could be like to be cursed
with the body of a woman." Ranma widened his eyes in surprise. The
swordsman continued, ignoring him, "For such a warrior to be hindered by
such an inferior frame. I can think of no worse fate." He looked up and
gleamed proudly. "That is why I am prepared to do you a favor. You see, I
have a curse as well--much more ferocious than yours I can assure you."
Ranma growled darkly as he looked for some opening to make a rescue, "Just
shut up and get to th' point!"
Pae-Kau bowed his head and became more serious. "I am prepared to share
the cure with you."
Ranma's eyes widened and he held his breath. "C-cure? Y-you have a cure?"
Pae-Kau tapped the point of his blade against Reikiba's chest and laughed,
"Not yet. But I will just as soon as I create the Spring of Drowned Man."
Ranma gasped in shock. Pae-Kau pointed the blade downward, indicating the
spring in front of him, and said, "This one is uncursed, or so I am told.
Just waiting for someone to fall into it. Think about it--you'll be fully
restored to manhood again."
Ranma knew he shouldn't have, but he hesitated. How could he even
consider letting someone drown for his own personal gain?
The swordsman added temptingly, "I'll tell you what. I really can't let
you just throw away this offer, so I'll make you a deal. If you kill the
samurai personally, I will convince Lon to spare your girlfriend." He
glanced harshly at Lon and growled, "I think he's done enough to her already."
Lon shifted his weight and grumbled, "I suppose I do feel better now. I
can part with one of them."
Ranma glanced over in Miko's direction, still not believing he was
actually considering the proposal--but he had to help Miko fast. As if
hearing his thought, Miko lethargically lifted her head in his direction
and glared at him questionably. But her eyes, however squinted, didn't
betray the fear and concern in her expession as she shook her head
slightly, warning him that she would never forgive him under those terms.
Ranma winced and shook his head, deeply ashamed to have even thought of
it. He threw his eyes in the direction of the swordsman, then tried to
throw himself forward, shouting, "You're sick!" But even Lon's relaxed
hold was too strong for him to break.
Pae-Kau sighed, "Very well. I should have known that would be your
decision. I just hope Lon is quick with your death."
"Ack!" Ranma clenched his teeth as Lon lifted him into the air and
tightened his grip in a bear hug, aiming to crush the life out of him. A
bead of sweat escaped Ranma's brow as he quickly found it hard to breath.
"No! Leave Gardian Spirit alone!" Miko cried furiously at Lon, her blue
aura glowing brightly. She had to help him! She simply wouldn't let him
die! He deserved to live more than she did! She called upon any strength
still remaining in her broken body and struggled against her bindings,
allowing the excruciating pain her movements caused to further her
determination. "Let him go!" Her rage burned hot and her aura started
slowly searing away at the vines.
Lon glared at her and spat, "Shut up! At least you're goin to die
together!" Ranma, noticing what the redhead was doing, gasped shrilly
through his teeth, "Miko... stop... stop...." If she snapped her bindings,
then she would fall into the pool--and he was doubtful that she was in any
condition to swim out.
Pae-Kau watched the drama and groaned, then sighed in aggitation, "I had
better hurry and get this over with." He turned away, held out his weapon
arm, then slashed twice at the base of the pole, only two thin streaks in
the air; he stood up with his weapon still out in the completion of the
strike and muttered contemptably, "Then I can leave Lon to his petty
butchery." A second later, a wedge started slipping from the pole and the
samurai started to topple forward.
"Murderer!" Two lassos of jungle vines shot out from the jungle, one
looping around the top of the bamboo pole and one finding its way around
Pae-Kau's neck; with a hard yank, they were both pulled towards into treeline.
At the same time, there was a tremendous roar and a large orange and blue
striped jungle cat pounced out of the trees and landed on Lon's head. With
a cry of pain as the cat latched on and started boxing his face, he
stumbled forward and cast Ranma to the ground.
Ranma fell hard to the ground coughing and wheezing as he watched Miko
continue to struggle against her bonds, slowly burning through them with
her aura. Ranma flailed a hand in front of him while clutching his stomach
with the other, desperately gasping the words "calm down" over and over.
But Miko didn't seem to hear him. When he heard one of Miko's binding
crackle and snap, he gathered enough strength to shout, "No!"
Miko gasped hard when she heard the snap and her body shifted forward, her
blind rage suddenly replaced by mortal fear, her aura suddenly running
cold. Her eyes flew as wide as they could and her heart jumped. But she
only fell forward a little bit before her bindings caught her--the vine had
broked from around her shoulders and had loosened around her upper arms,
but it was still tight around her legs (for now). Beads of sweat sprouted
on her forehead and she was afraid to even breath.
Quickly leaning forward, Lon was able to throw the shimmercat off balance.
He then grabbed the massive beast around her belly, turned, and threw her
into the air over the jungle. She yowled as she fell into the treetops
several trees away. Lon then turned back to Ranma, his eyes narrowed, and
growled.
"Miko! Are you okay?" Ranma pushed himself up on his arms and divided
his attention between Lon and Miko. Lon had just tossed the cat
away--which Ranma was half-glad for--and for now, the giant was just
watching him like a preditor, just waiting for him to look away. Ranma was
ready to spring over to Miko in an instant, but he knew he'd never be able
to untie her and jump away before the giant got them--he was too close as
it was.
With shimmering eyes and wavering voice, Miko whispered, "G-Guardian
Spirit.... Help me...."
His vision still divided between the two, Ranma held out a finger toward
Miko and muttered, "Just stay calm. I need to take care of this bastard
first." Miko grew twice as fearful as her guardian slowly got to his feet
and faced his hideous adversary. She whined shrilly, "But he's a monster...."
Ranma raised his hands in a standard attack pose and half-smiled. "Don't
worry. I've got it covered." Lon narrowed his eyes and crouched down,
growling, making him appear much more brutish and demonic. (Hey, he was
ugly to begin with.)
Miko gasped and bit her lower lip. Ranma didn't take his eyes off the
giant, but he acknowledge Miko's worry by smiling even more (slyly); he
assured her, "We'll be going home soon."
Miko felt choked with tears. She whispered, "Guardian spirit, I...." But
she didn't want to finish her declaration--it might have made him lose his
concentration. She hoped she had spoken too quietly to be heard.
Ranma taunted, "Okay Ugly, come and get me." Lon clenched his fists and
snorted like a bull, making Miko wince. They stared at each other a few
seconds longer, making Miko sweat nervously, and then the giant charged.
But no sooner had Lon taken a step, Ranma thrust his hands forward, palms
outward, and yelled, "Mouko Takabashiya!" A large, bright blue ball of
concentrated chi energy flashed between the two fighters, making Miko flinch.
However, instead of being knocked back by the force of the chi blast, Lon
lowered his shoulders and raised his arms and slammed into the blast
head-on. !BOOM! The blast exploded outward and backfired on Ranma,
throwing him back several yards; of course it didn't help when Lon burst
through the explosion and continued running forward.
"Ack!" Miko was whipped back against the pole by the explosion, hitting
the back of her head hard, and the vines snapped in several more places
when she bounced forward again. She was barely conscious when she plunged
headfirst into the pool.
* * * * *
Pae-Kau continued rolling across the ground, clutching at the vine around
his throat, until he hit the trunk of a tree. Then, Doshin dropped down
from a limb like a jungle cat and pounced at the swordsman. Pae-Kau kicked
upward, catching Doshin in the jaw and knocking him back.
Pae-Kau quickly rolled to his knees, still coughing and trying to loosen
the vine from his neck. He glanced to the side and saw Doshin scrambling
toward the samurai, who was laying, bound to the pole, several yards back
the way they had come.
"Oh no you don't!" Pae-Kau instantly darted after Doshin. Half-way to
the samurai, Pae-Kau threw his arms around Doshin's waist and yanked him
away along the ground, shouting, "He's mine!"
Reikiba blinked his eyes open, then winced at the terrible headache he
had. He looked up to see Mr. Lee wrestling on the ground with some kind of
savage (wearing nothing but a pelt of fur). "Mr. Lee! Do you need some
help?" He tried to move, but discovered that he was tied up. Perhaps he
was the one who needed the help. He groaned as he struggled against his
bindings.
Doshin sent his elbow back and tried to smash it into Pae-Kau's skull, but
the swordsman just backed out of the way. However, reaching out, Doshin
was able to grab the vine tied around the other's neck. With a yank,
Pae-Kau was thrown to the side.
Pae-Kau grabbed the vine himself and pulled, then kicked Doshin in the
shoulder, forcing him to lose his grip; he then kicked the old man in the
stomach with his other foot, forcing him to double over.
Coughing, the swordsman rolled to his knees, and with a hard pull, snapped
the vine from around his neck. Meanwhile, Doshin was pushing himself up on
an arm, holding the other one across his mid-section. Pae-Kau lept
forward, arm raised, and delivered a sharp blow to the old man's head.
Doshin collapsed.
Reikiba rolled onto his stomach, still wrestling against his bonds, and
looked around for something to help him get free. He had to get out and
help Mr. Lee--he seemed to be caught in a brawl rather than an honorable duel.
A few feet to his left, he spotted a sword lying on the ground. He rolled
over onto his back, directly over the blade, and in a few seconds, the
vines loosened around his shoulders.
Pae-Kau rolled Doshin onto his back to make sure if he was unconscious
when he noticed that the samurai had freed himself--and he was getting up,
and he had the sword. Pae-Kau groaned. His little venture was getting to
be more trouble than it was worth. He muttered to no one in particular,
"Perhaps another time." then sprang to his feet and ran farther into the
jungle.
"Hey!" Reikiba watched the savage go as he cut the vines at his feet.
Then he scrambled over to Doshin to make sure he was alive. Feeling a
steady pulse, the samurai jumped to his feet and ran in the (general)
direction of the savage, shouting, "Hey! Wait! You've got to apologize
for fighting so unfairly!"
* * * * *
"Whoa!" Ranma rolled to the side just as the monster's open right hand
came down toward his face. !SMASH! Ranma gasped, sweating wildly, as the
hand pounded INTO the ground, making a massive handprint several inches
deep. !SMASH! Ranma rolled the other way just as the monster's left hand
plunged into the earth.
Ranma was pinned. He thrust his knee up into the giant's chest, but it
was like hitting solid stone. !RUMBLE! He looked around wildly when the
ground started to shake. Lon just glared at him and smiled wickedly.
With a roar of anger, Lon scooped up Ranma, along with the slab of earth
he was laying on, and held it over his head. Ranma gasped and tried to
jump away, but he was having trouble keeping himself from sliding forward.
Twilight jumped out of the jungle and roared, her fiery aura blazing red,
her eyes replaced by two furnaces. But then her eyes widened curiously
when she saw the boy and the big rock flying toward her. She yelped and
made an effort to leap aside.
!CRASH! Ranma and the shimmercat collided in a cloud of dirt, and each
rolled across the ground until he/she rebounded of of a nearby tree.
Twilight immediately got to he feet, but she staggered and had to shake her
heard to stop the world from spinning. "Ow." Ranma lay on his side and
rubbed his head, wondering what it was that he had crashed into--it almost
looked like a cat. He immediately sat up, snapped his eyes open, and
turned toward Twilight. It was a cat!
"Gaa!" He instantly jumped away, his wide eyes fixed on the cat, just as
Lon crashed down on that spot feet-first. !BOOM! The impact kicked up an
enormous amount of dust, totally obscuring Ranma's vision. Ranma shielded
his eyes and started coughing.
A second later, a massive hand reached out through the smoke and grabbed
him by the collar. Ranma grabbed the wrist attached to attempt a throw,
but he was quickly jerked into the air, leaving him without any leverage.
A second later, the smoke cleared enough for him to see the Lon's
disgusting face grinning darkly at him.
Twilight cringed back and shut her eyes when the giant plummeted to the
ground. She shook her head and sneezed a few times, then opened her eyes
to see the giant holding up Miko's guardian by the neck. She had to stop
that monster! She reared up and pounched onto the giant's back.
"AAAAARRRGGHHH!!!" Lon stumbled forward, tossing Ranma to the ground, as
Twilight landed on his back and started clawing at his shoulders. He
tossed his body forward and back to get the cat off, but she had also dug
her fangs into his shoulder and wouldn't let go.
Twilight couldn't let a thing like this live. The giant had already tried
to kill her master, and now it was going to kill Miko. Miko! Still
clasped onto the giant's shoulder, the shimmercat glanced over toward the
ponds. But she didn't see her friend! Her eyes widened in panic; she
scratched even more furiously for a second, then jumped away from him.
Lon howled even louder when Twilight dislodged her fangs from his
shoulder, but the pain only served to enrage him even more. As soon as the
shimmercat jumped off of him, Lon flailed his arms out and caught her by
her tail.
Twilight's eyes widened in shock when she was suddenly jerked to a stop by
a sharp pain in her rear. In the next second, her eyes narrowed and a
steady growl like a chainsaw rose in the back of her throat. When she
glanced back to take a final look at the idiot who was pulling her tail,
her eyes were once again replaced by twin blazing flames. Lon almost
looked regretful before he disappeared in the fighting dustcloud.
Ranma watched the fight with a mixture of fear, relief, and amusement:
frightened because he was way too close to an angry cat as big as he was;
releaved that the cat was otherwise occupied; and amused because... well
who wouldn't find the situation at least alittle amusing. He watched the
fight for several seconds until he remembered about Miko. He looked over
at the pool she was being held captive over and raised his eyebrows in
worry. "Miko?"
Forgetting about the fight--and the cat--he spang forward and ran,
yelling, "Miko!" Twilight, hearing Ranma's cry, jumped away from the giant
and followed. Lon immediately fell flat on his face.
Ranma stumbled a bit and sucked in a breath when he saw the redhead
floating lifelessly about an inch UNDER the water. "No!" His face drew up
in pain as he jumped into the pool. Twilight jumped in without hesitation.
* * * * *
Doshin hurredly staggered out of the jungle with a hand held on the back
of his head, his eyes squinting when they met the bright sunlight. When he
regained consciousness, he found that the samurai and the swordsman were
gone. He didn't know how long he had been out. He had to check on Miko.
Surely Ranma and Twilight had saved her by now.
When his eyes could once again process the sunlight correctly, he froze
stiff, his eyes flying open, when he saw two red-haired girls dragging a
third from one of the pools.
* * * * *
"C'mon Miko! Don't scare me like this! You're alright, right? You have
to be alright!" His left arm around her shoulder and his right hand
holding her head close to his, Ranma-onna dragged Miko's limp body to the
shore. He was too distraught at this point to notice the third, naked
redhead with Miko's other arm looped around her shoulder.
The two redheads pulled Miko out of the water and laid her flat on the
ground. Frantically, Ranma-onna tore Miko's blouse open at the collar and
laid her hand aside her neck; she clenched her teeth, her eyes shimmering
with tears, when she could feel no pulse. The other redhead just watched
helplessly, already crying. Miko's head fell to the side and water poured
out of her mouth, as if that was the only thing she had left in her lungs.
"Miko?" Ranma and the other redhead turned to see Doshin standing several
yards away, his face gone white. He stared at the new girl for a few
seconds, then muttered faintly, "Twilight?"
Ranma and Twilight simultaneously stared at each other, both with fear and
dispare in their eyes. Ranma, just noticing the other girl, and noting how
perfectly her features mirrored Miko's, gasped distantly, "Then... that
means... she's...."
Twilight held out her hands and looked down at herself, her lips quivering
and tears pouring down her face like a fountain. Her body was much
slimmer, and more shapely, and practically hairless. She had five slender,
delicate fingers on each hand. She brought her hands up and touched her
face. Why did it have to be THIS face?
Twilight spun her head around to face her master, this time showing anger,
and a bit of hatred, through her watery countenence. She was blaming him,
in part anyway, and he couldn't say that she shouldn't. Doshin just
stared, mouth gaping, as Twilight covered her face and ran into the jungle
mewling like a kitten.
Ranma watched Twilight go, then looked down at Miko. Then, after a long
moment of silence, she looked up and shouted, "You bastard! You did this,
didn't you?!" Doshin cringed back as if the words had sliced him like a
sword, as if he was recieving full blame, but then he felt a cold, familiar
aura approaching.
The midnight-robed wizard materialized from the jungle as if he himself
had only been a shadow until he stepped into the light. His steps were
casual, and his smile was whimsicle, as if he had just seen the ending of a
classic play unfold before his eyes. And now he wanted to meet the actors.
"Why?" Ranma hissed through her teeth as if that was the most important
question in the universe. Her hands trembled as they cradled Miko's head
on the ground.
As the dark man strode forward, he gently swept his arms out and chuckled,
"You should know the answer to that already. You carry her curse in the
future, so it was her fate to drown in the past."
Doshin clenched his fists as the dark man passed him, ignoring him.
Doshin wanted to strike out at his 'old friend', but he knew that doing so
would be as useless as hitting a shadow. All he could do was watch the
other pass.
And neither did Ranma move from Miko's side. Even when the dark man
walked right to Ranma's side, she did nothing more than stare up at him
with piercing eyes. The wizard seemed to completely ignore her.
He held a hand over the pool and said, "Young Saotome, since you are a
friend of the family--so to speak--I have prepared a parting gift for you."
With a flick of the wrist, he was suddenly holding the phoenix statue,
which he just as quickly let fall from his hand. When the statue hit the
water, it scattered and dissolved like salt. "There. That should do it.
By diving into the spring with Miko with my binding spell in effect, your
destiny shall forever be linked to hers--you will always be a part of her,
and she to you." He turned to Doshin and cupped his chin. "And the same
goes for your familiar, it would seem." He clasped his wrists under his
robe and waited for a reponse. When he got none, he pouted, "Well, don't
thank me all at once. I wouldn't do this for just anyone."
Ranma clenched her teeth tightly and hissed, "Why you... you... you...."
The dark man looked down compassionately and sighed, "Forgive me. You
have had a very rough day. Perhaps you should get some rest." He opened
his hand in Ranma's direction and she immediately started feeling drowzy;
her head swirled in the air for a moment, then she fell to the side,
alongside Miko.
The dark man crouched down, reached over Ranma, and scooped Miko into his
arms. Doshin took a step forward and asked nervously, "What are you doing?"
The dark man stood up and looked up, somewhat surprised. "I still need an
apprentice, as well as a wife."
Doshin's face brightened. "You mean... she's still alive?"
The dark man looked down at Miko and smiled, almost affectionately. "Her
spirit and mind are much too strong to let her body wither so easily. I am
sure that I can bring her back to health." He lifted her higher in his
arms, lowered his head, and kissed her on the lips. In response, her body
glowed a soft white with cracklin wisps of blue, then she weakly turned her
head to the side and moaned, about two mouthfuls of water falling from the
side of her lips. The dark man smiled. "See. Better already."
Doshin reached out a hand, unsure whether he should step any closer.
"C-can you save her?"
The wizard nodded, then his face became serious and his voice darkened.
"But you know the deal. She is under my care now. She stays with me now.
She probably wouldn't stay with you anyway, not after you...."
"Just go." Doshin turned away, shamefaced. "Just make sure she is well."
The dark man turned to leave, but then turned back, suddenly remembering
something. "Oh. I want you to know that I never performed the binding
ceremony the Fates sent me here to do. The future now lies in the hands of
mortal man, to reap and foul as they wish, just as you always wanted." He
closed his eyes in contemplation, yet he smiled as if amused. "I cannot
yet imagine how much trouble I will get into for this, so you should be
very grateful for the favor. I was getting bored, anyway--always knowing
what will happen next (well, almost always)."
Doshin frowned, then bowed, expressing his thanks. "Now, please, go." He
turned away and closed his eyes, not wanting to look at the wizard
anymore--or ever again.
When he turned back, the wizard was gone, along with his daughter. He
looked down at the redheaded girl sleeping nearby. She... HE had done his
best, and for that he couldn't fault him. He closed his eyes and shed a
tear as he whispered the hero's name: "Saotome. (rice planting girl)"
* * * * *
Salon peered through the trees and frowned. The statue was no more and
the Dark One had departed with Doshin's little brat. Her opportunity was
gone. With a sigh of regret, she got to her feet and vanished into the
foliage.
* * * * *
The injured harem girl, curled up on her side like a baby, moaned fitfully
in her half-asleep state as yet another image of the handsom harlequin
passed through her head. _Why did Master Liu-Sing threaten me like that?_
She was feeling better, warmer. But she needed to be close to someone
right now. She wouldn't feel safe without someone next to her. But she
still felt too weak, or to frightened, to make her way through the jungle.
"!" Her eyes widened in panic when someone slipped his/her
arms--definitely a her--under her back and knees and hefted her into the
air. The girl turned her head and was surprised to see Salon's face
smirking back at her.
She stated, to herself and the girl, "Perhaps it is time for a change.
Perhaps it is time I start making my own destiny, instead of following the
path others ask of me. No, let me get you home. I have an empire to build."
They vanished like ghosts, leaving little trace of passage but an orange
and blue jumpsuit and robe hanging from a tall bush. The witchwoman's
voice floated through the clearing like a ghost: "These are no longer my
colors. And neither should they be yours."
A shadowy figure that had been peeking from around a shaded tree slowly
ducked back behind the trunk.
* * * * *
Twilight, still wearing Miko's visage, cowered against a cropping of large
rocks somewhere far into the jungle. She was frightened and shivering.
She didn't want Miko's body. Not only did the body feel almost completely
alien to her, but now she was forever going to be reminded that she was
unable to save one of her greatest friends. And her master.... Right now,
she just wanted to curl up and die.
"If it's of any consolation, I know how you feel." Twilight gasped when
she heard the voice, but then, recognizing the voice, she turned and hissed
fiercely. Standing two trees away was the evil swordsman called Pae-Kau,
this time wearing an emperial striped robe. His arms were crossed as he
solemnly studied her.
When Twilight turned and got ready to pounce, he raised a hand and said
tonelessly, "Please. I do not want to fight anymore. I now have no lord
to follow and no orders to carry out, which may be just as well. My
lifestyle was becoming to cruel to befit an honorable warrior."
Twilight bent her fingers into claws and glared at the swordman with a
what-do-I-look-like-a-fool look. She bared her teeth, her eyes flashing
red. But then she drew back in surprise, her eyes widening, when the
swordsman tossed a pair of striped overalls (Salon's jumpsuit) onto the
grass in front of her.
Pae-Kau leaned against the tree and smiled. "A majestic creature such as
yourself should always wear her own colors proudly."
Twilight hesitanty reached out and stroked the fabric, then carefully
pulled it close and compared it to the texture of her own skin.
* * * * *
Early morning sunlight filtered through the windows of the Tendo guest
room, casting the room in a semi-bright mist that even reached the farthest
corners of the room beside the windows. Ranma and Genma-panda each slept
on their respective futon.
The panda was the first to wake, suddenly breaking into a wide panda yawn.
He was starting to raise his tiny arms roll onto his back to have a nice
morning panda stretch when suddenly, his panda senses started tingling.
"!" He paused with a curious look on his panda face, then turned his head
and looked down at himself. Resting atop his massive furry belly was a
pretty-looking black rose, it's petals so thin that sunlight seemed to
filter through it.
What was this? Did he have a secret admirer? How did it get there? Was
it edible? Even if it was from Kodachi, a psychotic worth avoiding, to
think that she could take an interest in him was very flattering. _Hehehe.
This old man's still got some of that good ol' Saotome charm left in him
after all._ Feeling the morning was off to a good start, Mr. Panda
instantly lept to his feet, carefully caught the flower in his tiny claws,
and skipped out the door like a scoolgirl--making sure to duck that low
doorway.
Akane hesitantly stepped into the doorway carrying a full breakfast tray
as she glanced over her shoulder, curiously watching the panda prance down
the hall. A second later, she shrugged and stepped into the room.
Stopping a few feet from where Ranma lay, she bent forward and chimed
playfully, "Hey Dummy. Wake up. I brought you breakfast."
Ranma's eyes blinked open at the sound of her voice, but they quickly
settled into sadness as he remembered everything that had happened in the
last two-and-a-half days--or was it all just a vivid dream? Forgetting his
sleepiness, he steadily and noiselessly sat up and crossed his legs facing
to the sunlit windows. He was back in his room again. And he was a man
again. It was just a dream--a dream he'd like to forget at the moment.
Akane started to look alittle worried, but then she half-smiled in
determination. She smirked, "Please. Are you still pouting because of
what happenened yesterday? Grow up, Ranma." She set the tray on the floor
beside him and backed away. "Here. You'll feel better after you eat
something. I made it myself."
Ranma slowly and distantly glanced over his shoulder at what was on the
tray. A bowl of noodles sprinkled with... something. A larger bowl of
kelp, beans, and something dark and soupy. And a glass of water. It
looked relatively safe--or at least the water did. But he was in no mood
to eat anything. For once, his appetite was gone. He closed his eyes and
muttered, "I'm not hungry."
Akane folded her arms and furrowed her brow in aggitation. Why did he
always have to reject her cooking? He could at least try it! "What do you
mean...." Then she stopped and her face lit up in worry when she noticed
something: a tear running down his cheek.
_Ranma, have you been crying?_ Had what she'd done really been THAT
terrible? She gasped, "Ranma! Are you alright? What's wrong?" She
faultered, then turned to leave, muttering, "I'm sorry."
Ranma turned back to the window and called back, "Akane, wait." Akane
stopped in the doorway and glanced back at him, worried. Ranma sighed and
got to his feet, then asked, "Can we go for a walk? There's something I
want to tell you." He had to talk to someone about it, to sort through
everything that happened and to tell Miko's tale, even if it was just a dream.
Akane looked alittle scared as Ranma turned and approached her. When he
took he by the arm and led her out the door, she stammered, "W-what is it?
W-w-what do you want to tell me?"
He sighed, "A very tragic story."
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(CHEF'S NOTE: Well, we're back. We miss anything important?) (CUTE VOICE:
Is Stupid Girl dead yet?) .... (CHEF'S NOTE: you alright, Chief?) ....
(CUTE VOICE: Is someting we said?) ....