Okeydokey! I'm going to start the New Year right! I finally got off my butt
and finished the third chapter to Huntress, and resolved that I would
finish and get it reviewed in time for New Years. Mission is accompilshed,
as this message bears testimony to my success! (Okay, it's a little early,
but I finished early and was impatient! :)
C&C is very welcome. Hell, even do an MST thing if you're so inclined. I
need ego food! :)
Enough chatter. Let's get this turkey started!
------------------------------ CUT HERE ------------------------------
wyrm@mail.utexas.edu <<<<No other address. Write here!
<<o-<o>-================-<o>-o>>
Nodoka awoke with a pounding headache. Groaning, she slowly sat
up, all the while resisting the pain that exploded in her head from
rising too fast. She shifted, but found herself bound. "Hello!" she
called.
She heard a clanking of metal on metal, and then a screech. She
winced at the bright light that flooded the room. "Ah, awake at last,
I see..." said a voice that could be nothing but pure evil. Nodoka's
eyes adjusted to the light, and found herself facing a man with a
self-satisfied smile on his lips. "Good evening, Saotome-san," he
greeted her, but the voice didn't reassure her one bit.
At once screwing up her courage, Nodoka's face hardened into a
defiant scowl and snapped, "Who are you!? What do you want with me?!"
The man, dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans, slipped off
his shades and examined Nodoka. His prisoner repressed an involuntary
shutter, as she gazed into those evil, evil eyes. "I am Demo, Tzimisce
elder. You, on the other hand, are going to help me capture your son,
Saotome Ranma."
"I'll never help you!" Nodoka spat.
Demo's smile got wider, but was no less menacing. It was so
menacing that it made Nodoka gasp with fright. This was probably
because his fangs gleamed in the light.
"Yes," he sighed. "That's what they all say..."
Tj/Wyrm presents
A GAC Production
<<o-<o>-================-<o>-o>>
H U N T R E S S
By Thomas R Jefferys
<<o-<o>-================-<o>-o>>
Is it really necessary I go through this again? :)
Takahashi-san possesseth the rights and lefts to ye old series and players
Ranma 1/2. White Wolf Game Studios owneth the World of Darkness and their
various critters, but ye is warned that I shall useth my own
interpretation. The following fic is my godden-dammen ficken. :)=
Note to ye of the Red Neck and thy pals... This ficken is dark, dark, dark,
goddamn it's dark! If ye trully not wishen thee to read this, hit ye olde
Delete key.
Oh, with Jon D. Farber as Arcady LaRouche
<<o-<o>-================-<o>-o>>
CHAPTER 3: Reunion
A trenchcoated man strutted through the streets, whistling an
unidentified and possibly nonexistent tune. An early-morning paper was
tucked underneath his arm. He figured that he had just enough time to
read it before sunrise, as his apartment was only a block away.
The man froze suddenly as he spotted a figure strolling down the
street his way. He narrowed his eyes and frowned, then approached the
other figure cautiously. At one sword-length from each other, the two
halted their progress. The figure, a tall man in a blazer seemed to
stare from behind those Shades of Utter Cool +3.
The one in the trenchcoat stated in grim tones, "In the end,
there can be only one!"
The other man frowned. "Shut up, Arcady!" he snapped. "This
ain't 'Highlander: the Series', y'know!" The trenchcoated man, Arcady
LaRouche, grinned as he had gotten Palmer yet again with a coined
phrase from one movie that he was partial to. After all, he had the
trenchcoat for it.
Palmer sighed. His good friend and fellow vampire certainly had
his moments, but other times he was just plain corny. Like at this
moment. But he snapped out of it; this was not the time rebuke Arcady
for making succotash. "I have urgent business to discuss with you."
"Can't this wait until evening?" Arcady asked.
Palmer shook his head.
"Okay, okay...You're place or mine?"
"Would you stop that? That joke is as old as Caine's booties!"
-- ---- --
"Okay, whatcha got?" asked Arcady as he threw his trenchcoat on
the coat hanger. He crossed to his comfy chair ("Don't even think
about it, Wyrm-sama...") and settled in as Palmer set himself on his
couch.
Flipping open his briefcase, he produced several documents.
"First, there's your pet project, if it were." Arcady took the papers
and started leafing through them. "Apparently the Huntress has
returned to Japan, moving into the home of one Saotome Ranma, and a
few hours later we get intelligence that the Sabbat plan to Embrace
Saotome-san."
"So Shampoo beat us to the punch again, eh?" Arcady asked with
no small amusement.
"So it seems. The woman's uncanny," Palmer frowned.
Arcady let out a chuckle. When Shampoo, dubbed "the Huntress,"
had successfully pulled off a raid of a Tremere stronghold fifteen
years ago and made off with fifty of their most treasured
thaumaturgical books, to say that Arcady was impressed is a serious
understatement, as is to say that the Tremere were displeased.
"Anyway, what's so special about this Saotome fellow?" Arcady
asked.
Palmer looked at him strangely, then answered, "You know how
powerful the Huntress is." Arcady nodded. "Well, Saotome-san is of the
same ilk. A few of our Verbena foresee that if Saotome-san is
Embraced..." He trailed off, looking a little afraid as he glanced up
at Arcady.
"That we would have another 'Hunter' on our hands?" Arcady
finished.
"Worse. Much worse. Whole worlds worse!" Palmer alluded darkly.
"Palmer..."
Palmer glanced back at the page, then back at Arcady. The
Lasombra blinked; Palmer, being a vampire like himself, always looked
pale, but Palmer had shifted past pale and had gone to sheet-white.
"Saotome-san would be at least, and I _do_ hope that this Verbena is
wrong, several hundred times more powerful than Ms. Shampoo."
A dragonfly made its way lazily across the room.
Arcady was shock still. If he had been smoking a cigarette, it
would've long fallen out of his numb lips and set his comfy chair on
fire, consuming him in a roaring inferno. As he wasn't, he didn't.
This didn't prevent Arcady's jaw from nearly dislocating as it
dropped.
"You're kidding, right?" Palmer shook his head. "Shit! Ms.
Shampoo's power has already exceeded that of many of the small-fry
elders and her power hasn't stopped growing yet! And in only,
what...twenty years!" The Lasombra shuddered at the thought, "This
Saotome Ranma could easily become as powerful as a Methuselah!"
"Or more..." Palmer added ominously.
Another dragonfly made it's way lazily across the room.
"I did _not_ need to know that!" Arcady murmured. /*What the
hell makes her so goddamn powerful?*/ "No wonder that the Sabbat's
after him."
"Yeah. One thing's for sure, pawns or no, we _cannot_ allow the
Sabbat to have such a powerful member."
"A-fucking-men!" Arcady agreed. He normally didn't swear like
that, but considering his stress, it was perfectly understandable.
"I'll get my stuff together first thing in the evening and book the
next flight to Japan."
"Agreed," Palmer nodded.
A third dragonfly buzzed across the room...before Arcady swatted
it to oblivion. "Damn dragonflies! The place is infested with them.
The things get in my clothes, chew up my books, crap on my rugs and
get into the potato chips! They also make their nests in my shoes; if
I'm not careful, things can get pretty disgusting in the evening. I'm
sure they're not normal dragonflies either, seeing how they're here in
_my_ apartment and not buzzing around some swamp. Musta pissed off a
Verbena somewhere.
"Other tenants get to have a nice, normal infestation of
roaches. Do you have any idea how hard it is getting an exterminator
down to get rid of an infestation of dragonflies? They either laugh,
or give you the number of a good psychologist! I mean, do I even look
*remotely* like a Malkavian?!"
Palmer smirked at Arcady's rant. "Not touching that one."
Arcady ignored him. "I'm near broke because I have to replace
everything every few months. No less than fifty important documents
have been *eaten* in past year alone, and now I'm in the Del'Roh's
doghouse, getting chicken-shit missions. And it's all because of these
FUCKING DRAGONFLIES!"
A few minutes of silence dragged by. Then Palmer interrupted the
silence by saying, "So you don't like them?" Arcady facefaulted.
Glancing at the clock, Palmer asked, "Can I crash here today? I'll
never make it back to my haven before sunrise."
"Sure. You can take the couch. ...Oh, and watch out for the
dragonfly turds."
"GROSS!"
-====||====-
NERIMA DISTRICT
---------------
The lock made a satisfying click as its key turned in its
cylinder. Ukyou removed the key and dropped it into her fanny-pack
along with the rest of her key collection. "There, all locked up!
Ready to go, Hikaru-kun?"
A man, about a foot taller than her and bulging of an almost
inhuman mass of muscles, smiled and nodded. "Yep, I'm ready." He held
an arm out to Ukyou. "Shall I escort you to the Tendou Residence,
m'lady?"
Ukyou giggled. "Hikaru-kun, you're hopeless romantic!" she
teased as she accepted the arm, looping her own around the elbow.
Ukyou grinned internally; Akane and the rest of the female population
of Furinkan made a big mistake in discounting Gosunkugi Hikaru so
quickly. Not only was the shy boy now a major hunk of beefcake, he was
sweet and fun to be around.
/*Not to mention his performance in bed,*/ Ukyou added mentally
with an evil chuckle.
--]|--======--|[--
The door slammed smartly as Ranma threw it shut.
"God-fucking-dammit!" Ranma growled, roughly kicking his shoes off and
stopped down the hallway from the foyer. He collapsed onto the floor,
pulling himself to the table. Ranma sighed with frustration and worry.
Across the table, Akane gazed sadly at her husband. "No luck,
huh," she asked softly. Ranma shook his head negative. Akane scooted
around the table, moving behind her husband and began massaging his
shoulders.
"*mmmm* That feels good..." Ranma murmured as he basked in the
attention Akane was giving him. Akane gently kneaded his tired
muscles, massaging the tense feeling away. Ranma started nodding
off...
Then the doorbell rang, and Ranma was suddenly without support.
"Woah!" he yelped, falling onto his back. "Hey!"
"That must be Ukyou and her fiance!" Akane declared as she ran
for the door.
"Ucchan?" Ranma asked to thin air, then flipped up onto his
feet, and made his own rush for the door. "Hey, Akane. Who is Ucchan's
fiance?" he asked.
Akane smiled. "Gosunkugi Hikaru!" she declared brightly.
Ranma looked at Akane for a long minute, then burst out in
laughed. "GOSUNKUGI!?!" Ranma guffawed. "You gotta be kidding me! No
way is Ucchan gonna be going out with that geek!" Akane smile changed
into one of her 'o/~ I know something you don't! o/~' smiles as her
husband pulled the door open...
...and found himself staring at the most massively muscled torso
he'd ever seen. Ranma stood with shock for a second, then slowly
tilted his head back to try to take a look at this guy's face. By the
time he acquired Gosunkugi Hikaru's face, he felt a crick manifest in
his neck.
"Holy shit!" Ranma declared as Hikaru grinned at him.
Ukyou peeked out behind Hikaru and gave Ranma a bright grin.
"Hi, Ranchan! Like my choice in fiances?"
Ranma's brain restarted, and he looked at his long-time friend.
A very large sweatdrop collected on his scalp and dripped down. "Jeez,
Ucchan. You sure you can handle him?"
Ukyou blushed. "That's a rather personal question, Ranchan."
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
"I think I know what he's talking about," Hikaru interrupted.
"And for your information, Saotome, she can wipe the floor with me."
Ukyou elbowed him.
/*Ah*/
Akane lead Hikaru and Ukyou to the main room. Tashimi's eyes
were glued to the TV, and didn't notice the two new guests enter, at
least at first.
"Tashimi-chan..." Akane called to her daughter, "...say hello to
our guests."
"Hello to our guests," Tashimi deadpanned, eyes still glued to
the TV.
Akane frowned as Ukyou and Hikaru snickered. "You know what I
mean, young lady..."
"Okay, okay..." Tashimi sighed. As she turned, she began
introducing herself, but the greeting died as she got a look at
Ukyou's fiance. "Oh, wow! What a stud..." Tashimi breathed.
Hikaru smiled and introduced himself. "Hi. I'm Hikaru. Gosunkugi
Hikaru. And you are..."
"...all yours..." Tashimi sighed.
Hikaru blinked. /*Uh oh. I know that look...*/
"Hands off, honey! He's _my_ boyfriend," Ukyou interrupted with
her voice possessing a bit of menace. Immediately, Tashimi's hopes for
a romance were promptly quashed with an "Awww..." If there was one
thing her parents taught her, it was that others' fiances were
strictly off-limits.
Composing herself, she stood and introduced herself. "I'm
Saotome Tashimi."
"Kuonji Ukyou..."
"Othousan's childhood friend? Best okonomiyaki cook in Japan?"
"Yep! That's me!" Ukyou grinned at the compliment. Apparently,
Ranma had told her daughter about her chosen profession.
Tashimi gained a smirk eerily like Nabiki's. "And the cute
fiancee."
Ukyou blinked as Ranma tried to look innocent. "You know about
that?"
Still smiling like her aunt, Tashimi raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't
everyone?" she asked rhetorically. "The exploits of you and the other
suitors trying to win my dad's hand are legend." Ukyou shifted
uncomfortably as her former fiance's kid scrutinized her.
The chef hemmed and hawed, grinning sheepishly, "Well... You
must understand... your father was so sweet, so strong, and so
handsome, every girl's dream back then--"
"--until, that is, you poured cold water on him," Tashimi
snarked. "Whereupon he became every man's dream!"
Ukyou and Hikaru erupted into laughter, as Tashimi won an
indignant glare from her father. "That's enough out of you, young
lady," Ranma ground out. "Go fetch Shampoo. I think she'll want to see
you again." Tashimi sighed and trotted out to find the guest room.
Ukyou raised her eyebrow. "Shampoo's here?" Ranma nodded. Ukyou
grinned. "How jolly! It'll be good to see her again!"
"Again?"
"Well, not long after Shampoo disappeared, we discovered each
other on this newsgroup, alt.swedish.chef.bork.bork.bork. We've been
in regular contact ever since, but I only met her once since she left.
She's aged well, but then that's only to be expected, if Cologne was
any indicator." Ukyou shrugged. "It's amazing how easily we connected
once she pulled out of the Great Ranma's Best Babe Contest."
Ranma nodded.
--]|--======--|[--
Tashimi knocked on the guest room door. "Shampoo-san? Can I come
in?" she called.
She was answered by a grunt of acknowledgement. Tashimi slid
open the door, and was greeted by the sound of tackity-tacking.
Approaching Shampoo, who was sitting crosslegged on her futon, she
noticed that Shampoo was typing on a portable computer with an intense
look of concentration on her face.
She looked over Shampoo's shoulder and saw lines of terse,
braced code flow out of the cruising insertion point. Tashimi blinked.
"Shampoo-san?"
"Hang on a sec while I swap this out," Shampoo responded
automatically, her intense look never breaking. Finally, Shampoo typed
the last closing brace and, with a fluidity borne of years of
practice, keyed the escape sequence that saved her file to the
microdrive. She then put the portable into sleep mode and closed the
lid down as she set it on the floor.
She turned to Tashimi and asked her, "What is it, Tashimi-chan?"
"Ukyou and her fiance are here," Tashimi sighed when she said
'fiance'. "They'd like to see you again, and Mom is about to serve
dinner."
/*Hoooboy! Another meeting of the funny farm,*/ Shampoo thought
wryly, /*and I don't think I'm going to get away with the "I'm already
full" excuse again. Now I'll see if I can successfully fake eating.*/
--]|--======--|[--
"Hey, Chinese Hussy," Ukyou's words were on the surface
insulting, but an undercurrent of good-natured ribbing. It was all in
good natured jest, of course, a subtlety that the Amazon finally
learned to recognize and appreciate.
"Hello yourself, Stupid Spatula Girl," Shampoo smirked,
returning the favor.
"How's life been treating you?"
"Shitty. And you?" Shampoo said in her most cheerful voice. /*If
you can call it 'life'.*/ Ukyou laughed, snatched the startled Amazon
into a tight bear-hug. Shampoo hesitated, and then returned the hug.
"It's good to see you again..." she whispered into Ukyou's ear.
"The feeling is mutual, sugar!" replied the okonomiyaki chef.
Despite their previous rivalry, or maybe because of it, Shampoo
and Ukyou became fast friends when their paths crossed again. Without
the Ranma Factor, the two former rivals had no reason to fight, and
found that they had many things in common. Ie, other than the fact
that they were in direct competition for the hand of their mutual
love, they actually (*gasp*) _liked_ each other.
Ukyou released the hug and pulled back. Her bright smile had
faded into a face of sympathy, with a similar change in her voice.
"Mousse's death still has you broken up, huh?" Shampoo nodded. "You
never did tell me how he died, though..."
Shampoo gave her a hard look. "And you'll never find out, if I
have any say in it!"
Ukyou retreated a step, her hands held up in surrender. "Okay,
Okay! No need to get hissy about it!" Lowering her hands and taking
time to think, Ukyou asked her next question. "Anyway, I take it you
haven't looked for a boyfriend yet."
"No."
Ukyou threw a reproachful look at her. "Listen, girl. You gotta
just put Mousse behind you and move on. While you're letting Mousse's
death drag you down, the best years of your life are passing you buy,"
Ukyou said. "I mean, I would have thought you wanted the guy dead, the
way you treated him."
Shampoo twitched, a fury of rage bursting forth. "DAMMIT,
UKYOU!" she snarled, "I DIDN'T HATE HIM! I JUST DIDN'T LOVE HIM THAT
WAY!! THE LOVE-BLIND FOOL COULDN'T SEE THAT!!!" Shampoo stopped,
shaking and struggling to control herself. "He was my best friend
through childhood, one of the few friends I had. My best friend..."
Recovering the composure lost during Shampoo's outburst, Ukyou
replied, "You baka, don't you see I'm trying to help you? Why won't
you tell me what's wrong?"
("...What's wrong?")
"Even for a former friend, don't you think that twenty years is
a little long?" Ukyou asked. "Jeez, you act like *you* killed Mousse."
Shampoo cringed. Ukyou noticed, and suddenly she gagged on her
heart as all the pieces fell into place. "You *did* kill Mousse,
didn't you." It was not a question. Shampoo looked up, her eyes
shimmering, and dispelled all of Ukyou's doubt. "Yelping 'yaki, no
wonder you're so fucked up!" Ukyou sighed.
("Shampoo? What's wrong?")
("NO!!!")
The Amazon clapped her hands over her ears, trying to silence
her memories. A false Hunger, an artifact of remembering when she
almost...
(/*I will not give in...*/)
"Yes, that's why I'm so fucked up, Ukyou!" shouted Shampoo, as
Ukyou started from its abruptness.
("NO!!!")
Shampoo tore out of the room, as Ukyou gathered her wits again.
"Shampoo!" Ukyou shouted after the Amazon, but that mane of purple
hair and its owner had disappeared.
Shampoo rushed out from the Saotome home at a dead run, bouncing
off the veranda and over the koi pond. She slowed as she approached a
tree on the other side of the backyard. Her flight ended as her hand
made contact with the tree's rough bark, and Shampoo leaned upon her
braced arm. For a moment she seemed like a statue, then she bent her
arm so that her forearm formed a cushion on which she rested her
head...
("Shampoo...")
NERIMA DISTRICT, 1991 AD
------------------------
"...Shampoo."
Shampoo turned to the voice, then smiled with the first real joy
in days. "Ranma! Airen, Nihao!" she squealed, rushing up to her love
hugging her tightly to herself. "Shampoo miss you! Ranma miss me too,
yes?"
"Oh, for the love of..." Ranma grumbled, struggling in Shampoo's
strong embrace, "Shampoo, giddoffa me, will ya?"
Shampoo ignored him. She had been in a funk ever since recalling
the details of her first frenzied hunt for blood, especially the
memory of killing Mousse. Now she just wanted to hold her Airen.
A chilling shiver ran through Ranma, icing his bones. "BRRR!
You're cold, Shampoo! What did you do? Play in the refrigerator?" In
the back of his mind, he noted that it wasn't just Shampoo's frigid
flesh that giving him the creeps.
"Ranma, you prostituting Casanova unfaithful sexchanging freak!
What are you doing with your arms around that girl?!" snapped Akane.
"My arms AREN'T around her, you blind, violent tomboy!" Ranma
countered, even as his subconscious continued to warn him that
something was very wrong with Shampoo.
Absorbing the comforting warmth of his skin, Shampoo nuzzled
without thinking into Ranma's neck. /*He is so strong...*/ she thought
wistfully, listening intently to the flow of blood through his veins.
/*Oh Ranma, you smell so nice...*/ Shampoo sighed as she sniffed at
his skin. The still-alien Hunger stirred and grew from being so close
to a vibrant vessel, full of life and blood.
"What was that?! Would you care to repeat that?!" Akane growled,
bringing forth Bakadring.
"C'mon, Akane! Do I have to repeat every little thing?" Ranma
taunted. Even as he acted as a human electric blanket for Shampoo, his
danger sense screamed at him to GET THE HELL AWAY FROM SHAMPOO!!
\*So tender...so easy to bite into...*\ she thought, unaware of
the shift in the flavor of her desire. Instinctively, Shampoo's fangs
extended. She was heedless to the Hunger rising within her, unaware
that she was seeking the sonorous throbbing of Ranma's carotid artery.
\*There... Strike... Feed...*\ Shampoo's now primal thoughts
whispered. The Kindred opened her mouth wide and moved in to strike.
"NO!!!" Shampoo shrieked and threw herself back, her humanitas
wresting control from the Beast before she could strike. Her hand
clamped over her mouth, so that Ranma and Akane couldn't see her
extended fangs. Everything stilled for a moment, Shampoo in
abhorrence, Ranma and Akane in puzzled startlement.
"Shampoo? What's wrong?" Ranma asked, stepping closer. Shampoo
retreated a step to match. \*No! I MUST feed! I have no choice but to
feed from this human!*\ Shampoo's fearful stare switched momentarily
to a predatory gaze. /*NO! I will not give in...I must remain in
control! I will not feed from Ranma!*/ A pair of eyelids squeezed
shut, hiding the predator in Shampoo's eyes.
Shampoo finally overcame her urge, and retracted her fangs. Eyes
blinked open, revealing undisguised horror that actually made Ranma
retreat a step. "Sh-Shampoo sorry..." the Amazon girl managed to get
out before racing at a dead run out the door.
-=<oo>=-
Shampoo's eyes opened, dispelling her reminiscence. Someone else
was here, here in the yard. Who? Whoever it was, he was very good at
covering up her presence. Now who...?
Ranma. It had to be Ranma. His ki had a characteristic quality,
and if one knew how to read them, she could easily tell who it was. He
was standing a few yards behind her, halfway to the pond, she guessed.
"Why are you here, Ranma?" Shampoo asked suddenly.
Ranma was indeed standing exactly where Shampoo felt him. "I'm
here for the cure," he declared, "And I'm not going to leave until I
get it."
Shampoo slowly turned her head to look him in the eye. Ranma
shuddered at that look, completely cold. It was like the incident with
the reversal jewel, except a thousand times more intense. She held the
glare at him for a moment, and then turned back around. "You're not
going to get it from me, Ranma," Shampoo stated matter-of-factly. "I
told you...the cure is much worse than the curse."
"Well, that's just fine and dandy with you, isn't it?" Ranma
asked, prodding. "After all, you've already been cured of being a cat.
Face it, Shampoo, you're being petty because you lost me twenty years
ago."
Shampoo let out a small chuckle. "Don't flatter yourself, Ranma.
I'm the one that sent you the congratulations card." Shampoo shook her
head, still smiling to herself. "Still as egotistical as ever...thinks
he's freaking sliced bread. And in the end, still the child that I
left behind twenty years ago. I wonder why I ever fell for you."
Ignoring the barb, Ranma stepped closer to Shampoo. "Listen,
I've been living with this curse for twenty years. I've searched long
and hard for a cure. I even went back to Jyusenkyo. Nothing worked,
Shampoo. Nothing. I still change into a woman every time I get wet.
And here you've found a cure, and you're not willing to share it?"
Shampoo let out a full laugh. "Cure? CURE?! Ranma, I did NOT get
_cured_. I just exchanged one curse for another. Frankly, I would
rather turn into a cat." Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shampoo
continued, "I found, much to my misfortune, that there are much, MUCH
worse curses than Jyusenkyo. Including this one."
"And that is?"
"I can't tell you, Ranma. And believe me, you _don't_ want to
know."
"Shampoo, I'LL decide whether or not the cure is right for me,"
Ranma stated. Then he turned his back on her, crossing his arms and
waiting for her response.
Shampoo stared at his back. She opened her mouth to try
reasoning with him again, but realizing the futility, stopped and hung
her head defeated. /*Damn it, he's not going to let up until I tell
him, will he? Okay...*/ "Ranma?" Shampoo whispered.
Ranma turned back to her, grunting an acknowledgement.
"Do you truly want to know the cure for Jyusenkyo? No matter
what it may be?" she asked in a whisper.
Ranma's heart soared. Finally, Shampoo would tell him how to
remove the curse that had plagued him for two decades. "Yes," he
answered, eagerly.
Shampoo stood, turning toward Ranma. Her face was in shadows.
Ranma watched her intently, aching to know the cure. A bolt of
lightning cracked through the night sky, highlighting her face.
*CRACK-BOOM*
"Nice touch..." Shampoo commented to the sky. Ranma facefaulted.
Shampoo waited for Ranma to recover with a smile on her face,
then continued, suddenly somber again, "The secret cure..."
"Yes?"
"...for the Jyusenkyo curse..."
"Yes?"
*CRACK-AK-BOOM*
"...is death," Shampoo finished almost in a whisper. She turned
her back on him as she waited for what she said to sink in.
Ranma stared at Shampoo for a minute. "What...?" he whispered in
disbelief.
"You heard me."
Ranma swallowed. "Uh...Doncha mean 'near death'?"
"No," Shampoo replied. "Literal death."
Ranma felt his blood pressure rise. "Why you..." Clenching his
fists in anger, Ranma growled, "You bitch..."
Shampoo stiffened. Her voice was tight with carefully restrained
anger. "What?!"
"You said you'd tell me the cure!" Ranma exclaimed, almost
shouting. "Of all the selfish, petty things you've done, this is the
worst!"
Shampoo turned to face him, her face held in a light scowl.
"This is for your own good, Ranma. I--"
"BULLSHIT!" Ranma snapped. "I think you know what you want. You
want me to come with you, steal me away from Akane and marry you!"
"That's not--"
"It won't work, Shampoo. I'm not going with you, so you might as
well tell me," Ranma said sternly, almost shouting. "Don't feed me
that bull about death being the cure. I know for a fact it ain't
death, 'cuz you're still alive!"
Shampoo winced.
"Tell me, Shampoo!"
Shampoo twisted away.
"Tell me!"
Shampoo cringed.
"Why did Jyusenkyo release you?!"
"Because I'm a *VAMPIRE*!!!" Shampoo shrieked, causing Ranma to
start a step from startlement. Shampoo's face turned from fury to that
of anguish, on the verge of tears. "You don't know what it's
like...the constant hunger for blood, replacing every human desire...a
beast inside you urging you to commit unspeakable evil...not knowing
when you'll lose control and frenzy...waking up with the empty husk of
someone you once cared for in your mouth...feeling your humanity
slipping away day by day..."
Shampoo's voice quivered, her eyes shimmering. She tried to
squeeze the tears back, but a drop of dark liquid crawled down her
cheek despite her efforts. "...the knowledge that you are no longer
human -- no longer even living -- but a creature damned, and a mockery
to all that is natural and right...your body a corpse, your lungs
unbreathing, your heart unbeating, your flesh cold and pale as
death...no pulse, no breath, no warmth of flesh, no food, no drink, no
sex, no children...not even the escape of eternal rest...no true life,
only this twisted perversion of life...
"Oh, Ranma. I am in hell!" Shampoo whimpered wretchingly. Her
legs buckled under her as she buried her face in her hands, sobbing.
Ranma regained his balance, and looked down at the pitiful
figure beneath him, his mind raging. "You know Shampoo, this is low,
even for you. Now you're gonna tell me that the only way for you to
get cured of this vampirism," Ranma said caustically, "is for me to
marry you. Only my undying love can restore you, right?" Shampoo
stopped crying, but did not look up. "Come on, Shampoo. Prove to me
you're a vampire. Turn into a bat or something."
Shampoo stood slowly, her head still hanging down. When she
spoke, her voice wasn't it's normal lilting musical self. Rather,
there was hard steel, and barely controlled anger. "Proof? You want
proof, Ranma? Here's proof." She attacked.
Ranma was the best martial artist in the world, bar none. He has
been practicing for over thirty-three years, and is a nationally
recognized Grandmaster of Kempo-Karate, Aikido, and Musabetsu Kakuto
Saotome-ryu.
He was beaten in less then a minute.
Ranma opened his eyes to see someone standing over and looking
down at him. As he realized his paralysis, his mind jolted at the
memory of what just happened. Shampoo knelt down and cradled his chest
to her, leaning his head on her shoulder. She turned to look at him,
lightning illuminating her fangs as she spoke. "Ranma, korosu." And
the Beast began to feed.
<<o-<o>-================-<o>-o>>
Definitely _not_ the end!