We hope?

Ranma 1/2
                        Anijza
                      Part Two:
              'In Hell as In Forever'

                 Nicholas Stone
 

                     The End
       
The silence in the dojo could not dampen the tension from the seven
people staring at the inert forms lying on the floor between them.  No
one dared to speak for fear that is they did something terrible would
happen to break the spell cast earlier in the night.
       From her position, Cologne's gnarled fingers gripped and flexed
around her staff as her worries grew.  Each minute passed brought more
and more concern to her mind, wondering if any of these brave children
would return from their fateful journey.
       Suddenly, Happosai's head snapped up.  "They are coming," he
announced.
       A split second later, Tatewaki's body jerked, followed by
Shampoo, and then Ukyo.  Sharp coughs followed, and they all began to
spit up the residue of the monsters blood that ran down the sides of
their mouths onto the floor.
       "I better get a sponge," said Kasumi, starting to rise.
       "No!" exclaimed Cologne, "Stay where you are!  Their returns are
not yet complete."
       For the next few minutes, they watched as their unconscious
friends and kin heaved beneath heavy spasms until finally, Tatewaki let
out a great plume of froth and foam sending Cologne and Soun scurrying
for cover.  Another harsh cough and then Shampoo did the same.  Soon the
entire group lay sprawled about on their stomachs gasping for breath as
they awoke.
       "Uhhhh... are, are we back... yet?" Mousse said in a low voice.
       Ukyo pulled her matted hair aside and looked up.  The
surroundings were blurred but as her vision returned she made out
Cologne's face.
       "Ooo, if we aren't, then something is terribly wrong," she said.
       "Now can I get some towels?" asked Kasumi. Cologne gave her a nod
and she scurried off for the pantry.
       Akane opened her eyes letting out a low moan as a wave of
dizziness came over her.  She tried to sit up, but the effort only
increased the feeling and she stopped.  "Daddy?" she called out.
       "Just a moment, Akane," Soun answered back.
       Akane relaxed then a towel landed on her face.  "AHHH, what are
trying to do?" she cried, flailing her arms about.
       Another pair of hands pulled the towel down.  Kasumi helped Akane
sit up as she wiped the wet residue from her face.
       "Sorry, but you need to be cleaned up first," she said.
       "To hell with a towel," commented Nabiki, "get me some
Listerine!"
       As the nine recovered, Cologne hopped over to Akane.  "Since you
have returned I assume you were successful?" she said to the girl.
       "More ways than one," Konatsu said.  "Akane kicked Anijza's ass."
       "Ah, I would have like to have seen that," said Genma.
       "And it was very refreshing too," Kodachi added.  "Although I
still disagree upon whose husband Ranma is."
       The mention of Ranma's name brought a sudden hush to them all.
       "Ranma," gasped Akane, looking around.
       He was not there and that sent the fire straight to her head.
       "He lied!" she exclaimed.
       "Who?  Who lied?" asked Cologne.
       "The CEO of Hell, that's who," answered Ryoga.
       Ukyo shot him a dark look.  "CEO of Hell... will you shut up!"
       "Who are you talking about?" shouted Cologne.
       "There was a demon," explained Akane, "and he promised to return
Ranma to me if I could defeat Anijza."
       "Which she did, but now it seems he's reneged on the agreement,"
Nabiki said.
       "But he said he couldn't do that," said Mousse.
       "So then where is my Son?" asked Genma.
       No one could answer him.  It appeared that their efforts were all
for nothing.  Ranma could very well be still in the hands of Anijza
suffering untold fates.  
       Akane rose up to her knees. "Cologne, you've got to send us
back!"
       A flurry of protest and disagreements flooded the air upon her
request from the others.  They were not willing to make another trip
through Hell after this last excursion, Ranma or no Ranma.
       "Fine!" shouted Akane.  "Then stay here!  I'll go back by
myself!"
       "You need them with you, Akane," Cologne told her.  "It was their
added wills that allowed you to endure Hell's very nature."
       "Really?" said Ryoga.  "Wondered why we all need to go with her."
       But Akane was not about to relent.  "Anijza still has Ranma!
You've got to send us back!"
       "Shampoo not drinking anymore monster blood!"
       "Here, here," agreed Nabiki.
       Happosai spoke up.  "Ranma should return to us," he said to them.
       "Is that coming from your demented side, or is it just a guess?"
asked Tatewaki.
       The sage pulled out his pipe, lit it and sat back on his side.
"An agreement made by a demon must be followed.  Those are the rules."
       Just then a moan carried up from the hallway.  It was weak and
filled with deep pain, but clearly recognized by all.  Akane shot to her
feet and rushed to the doorway.  The moan called again and she ran down
the hallway straight to the furo.  In it half submerged lay Ranma, the
steam from the hot water clouding his nakedness from view.  Akane
literally let out a squeal and plunged fully clothed into the water.
       "Ranma!" she said repeatedly, pulling him up in a tight embrace.
His head tipped back, eyelids fluttering for a second, and then slowly
opened up.
       "...where... where am I?" he managed to say.
       "You're back, Ranma," replied Akane, tears of joy streaking down
her cheeks.  Ranma looked down at her and they stared deeply into each
others eyes.  He sighed, wrapping his arms about Akane unable to believe
that he was home again.
       "I missed you," he whispered to her.
       "I missed you too," she replied, hugging him closer to her body.
       "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Ukyo suddenly shouted, snapping her fingers
at the two.  "Share some of that man there, missy!" she said and wading
into the water.
       "You both let go of Shampoo's husband!" cried Shampoo, charging
right after her.  "I only one to have pleasure with Ranma!"
       "No, he is my man!" said Kodachi, joining the crowd.
       A battle of words ensued as the four women argued and tugged
trying to get as close to Ranma as possible.  The rest of the group
stared in wonder at them, not sure what to do next.
       "Well, at least things are back to normal," said Konatsu.
       "Too bad," Ryoga said, "I was kind'a hoping Ranma did get left
behind in-."
       A sharp slap on the head from Soun stopped him.  "And you call
yourself his friend?" he said.
       "I made no such comments."
       Mousse smirked.  "And Shampoo is still lusting after Ranma too...
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE HER SEE REASON?"
       "What are you complaining about?" asked Konatsu.  "Didn't you get
an eye-full of her up close and personal while we were MMMRRRPHH!"
       "Ix-nay, my friend," Mousse quickly said, clasping a hand across
Konatsu's mouth before Cologne could hear.
       "And what about the pigtailed girl?" Tatewaki suddenly said.
"Where did Ranma put my future wife to be?"
       "Oh you are so hopeless," commented Nabiki.  She heard muted sobs
and found Genma staring silently at the furo with tears in his eyes.
Gently, Nabiki placed a hand on his shoulder.
       "There, there, Mister Saotome, Ranma is back with us now so you
don't have to cry."
       Genma made a slight sniffle, his bottom lip quivering lightly.
"It's not that, Nabiki," he said.
       "Then why are you crying?"
       He hesitated a moment.
       "I hope they stop soon, I'm starving!"
       Nabiki just shook her head...
 
* * * * *
 
       The smell of Kasumi's excellent cooking was a pleasure Ranma
enjoyed as he stood before the bathroom sink drying his hair.  After the
girls finally were pulled off him, it was decided to throw Ranma a
lavish welcome home party complete with a banquet fit for the emperor
himself.  He was not about to complain, although Akane's mentioning that
she would personally prepare his dish did send chills through him.
       Anything would be good right now, he thought.  It had been over a
week since he'd eaten real food, Anijza's world hardly a place to offer
full course meals of anything palatable for human consumption.  Nothing
in hell would be fit for a human, and he shuddered as brief flashes of
his ordeal came to mind.
       "I am so grateful that Akane loves me so," said Ranma to his
reflection in the mirror.  "I need to do something for her... maybe...
maybe I should stop pretending and admit I love her."
       There was something Ranma never could admit even to himself.
Akane's selfless act, standing up to Anijza and the very beings that
ruled Hell more than declaring how she really felt about him.  This
girl, his woman was more than a passing notion.  She meant the world to
him and he was determined more now than before to end the rivalry from
the others and make her his permanently.
       In a way, he would have to thank Anijza for bringing this
decision about.  Ranma abruptly shook his head sharply, not believing
what just passed in his mind.  Thank Anijza?  That heartless bitch had
nothing to do with his love for Akane.  If there was anyway to drive the
thoughts of her out of his mind he'd do it without regard for any
consequences.
       "Have to get her out of my mind," he muttered, turning the hot
water on in the sink.
       Ranma allowed the steady stream to run, clouding the air with a
light mist of steam.  Something caught his ears, sounding like laughter
from a woman.  He shut off the water and listened intently for a second
but there was nothing but silence.
       "Must have been one of the girls down stairs," he said,
continuing to dry his hair.  A knock on the door startled him.
       "Ranma?"  It was Akane.
       "Yo."
       "We're about to set the table.  Are you coming down?"
       "Yeah, yeah I'll be there in a moment.  I just have to retie my
hair, okay?"
       "Okay, but hurry it up... dear."
       He grinned, "Okay."
       Akane's steps faded down the hall leaving Ranma feeling cheerful.
"See, that wasn't so bad," he said.  "Anijza could never-."
       Again, Ranma stopped and shook his head.  "Stop thinking about
her!" he growled at his reflection.  "Anijza is gone!  She can't hurt me
anymore.  She can't!"
       Ha hah ha hah ha hah ha hah ha hah ha...
       There it was again, a laugh that brought chills running through
Ranma's spine.  No, it had to be coming through the vents.  Kodachi, or,
or Shampoo laughing about something downstairs.  Yeah, that's it, that's
all.
       Ranma threw his hair forward, forming two groups.  Carefully, he
began twisting them together when the laughter sounded again.
       "Stop it!" he shouted, looking up at the ceiling.  More silence
followed but this time he could not clam himself down.
       Frantically, Ranma turned the water back on.  He splashed his
face allowing the warmth to soothe him.  "It's just my imagination," he
told himself, grabbing the towel from the sink.
       As he patted his face dry, the laughter returned this time much
clearer than before.  He stopped, trembling and then lowered the towel
looking fearfully around.
       "Ranma," called a voice.
       It came from in front of him and Ranma thought this was
impossible until he turned and gazed into the mirror.  What he saw was
not his reflection, but one that brought terror to his eyes.
       There stood Anijza, just as young and pretty as the first day he
laid eyes on her.
       "No, oh no," he gasped, spinning around.
       "I'm not there, Ranma-darling," said Anijza's reflection.
       Ranma turned, gripping the sides of the sink and stared close at
the mirror.
       "It can't be.  Y-y-you-."
       "Lost?  Hah ha hah ha hah... yes, I did lose to your trollop."
       "Then, then how... who... why?"
       Anijza casually gazed up for a moment before answering.  "Well,
too tell you the truth, much of it is because of you, darling."
       "Me?  There is no way I would help you ever, Anijza!"
       "OH, but you did, my darling.  It was because of your selfless
act that the Master allowed me a second chance."
       "What selfless act?"  The knuckles of Ranma's hands creaked as
his grip tightened.  "Anijza, you deserved to rot like those poor souls
you've sucked the life out of.  You hurt my friends.  You hurt me, and
you say I allowed you a second chance?"
       "Well you did."
       Ranma drew back glowering at the mirror.  "Never!"
       Anijza chuckled.  "Don't believe me, eh?  Well, I'll give you
someone else you might believe."
       Reaching down out of the mirror's plain of view, Anijza pulled up
the one other person Ranma did not expect to see.  It was Ranko,
bare-chested like him, trembling in her tight grip and looking very,
very much afraid.
       "Let her go, Anijza!" cried Ranma.
       "Let her go?"  Anijza frowned questioning his demand, and then
realized what the problem was.  She burst out laughing again much to
Ranma's annoyance.
       "You stupid, stupid fool," she said.  "After all that has
happened, after all that you have been exposed too, you still do not
understand, do you?"
       "Understand what?"
       Anijza smiled.  She slowly moved her head down getting cheek to
cheek with Ranko.  "Take a look, Ranma Saotome.  Take a good hard look.
Then you might understand."
       Ranma stared at the two trying to see what Anijza was referring
too.  Nothing stood out at first, his eyes darting from Anijza's
features to Ranko's and back.  Their chins, their cheeks, to their
lips... then to the eyes.
       Their eyes...
       Exactly the same in all regards except for the color, otherwise
same shape same angles.  A shift to their chins and they also matched as
well as the way the peak of the hair formed on their foreheads.  The
only thing differentiating them was the way Anijza curled her hair.
       Ranma's chest felt tight, breaths shallow as he realized his
worst fears.
       "Yes, Ranma, it was I who fell into that spring those many
centuries ago," Anijza said.  "Mine was the first spring to be cursed.
I am surprised you didn't make the match when I first arrived.  That
buffoon Tatewaki Kuno almost blew my cover when he first saw me.
Fortunately, none of you take what he says seriously."
       "no..." Ranma said lightly, eyes growing wider.
       "I wasn't exactly a good person back then, and when my soul
drifted into the realms of Hell, the Master gave me a choice.  Oversee
the curse of the springs, or allow myself to become his consort for all
of eternity.  You can guess which choice I made."
       "...oh no..."
       "And so I have been doing just that, paying my penance of a soul
to keep mine out of torment.  That was all to change, my love."
       "It was?"
       "Yes."  Anijza pointed to Ranko.  "I was going to give her to the
Master in return for your everlasting existence, unmarred, a perfectly
resplendent specimen.  Mine forever... all gone now, all gone."
       "So Ranko-."
       "My essence.  And you, showing mercy on her, retook it into
yourself, sparing me from the agony of eons past."
       "I-I saved you?"
       "Yes, Ranma.  Oh I found another soul to give the Master, so
don't worry; I will be around for another eon to come."
       Cold sweat broke out on Ranma's forehead.   His knees started
knocking together uncontrollably, vision beginning to swirl.
       "No, this can't be.  This can't be!"
       "It is Ranma-darling, and you know what the best part of all this
is?"
       Ranma could barely stand now, shaking his head.  Anijza leaned
closer to the glass.
       "I will never leave you, ever.  Your curse is my enjoyment.
Every shift, every time that little toad changes you, it will be us
standing there, together as it should be!"
       Ranko was crying now, mirroring Ranma's emotions.  He could not
move terror holding him ridged, unable to speak or do anything.  Anijza
laughter filled the air and she backed away from the glass pulling Ranko
along.
       "And now I must leave you, my dear, to ponder what could have
been a long and amorous relationship.  I could have given you everything
you wanted, Ranma, but you chose a toad over me.  (Sigh) such a loss;
however I will leave you with a gift, something to remind you that my
love is still yours... always."
       Anijza's left hand slipped up around Ranko's waist, her fingers
working their ways around her exposed breast.  Ranma could feel them too
and it made his skin crawl.
       "Stop it, Anijza!" he blurted out.
       She continued, Ranko's whines rising as they began caressing her
nipples.  A gentle kiss to the cheek warmed Ranma's skin.
       "Stop it, Anijza!" he said again.
       Anijza turned and gave him a seductive wink.  She took Rank's
chin in her free hand, turned her face towards hers, and gave Ranko a
deep long passionate kiss.  Ranma gagged feeling her tongue slip down
his throat.  He waved his arms trying to brush Anijza's aside from her
violation, and then clenched a fist, drawing back.
       KEEE-RASHHH!!!
       AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
       In the kitchen, Akane paused from her work startled by the loud
scream coming from above.  She placed the bowl in her hands down;
Kasumi, Ukyo, and Shampoo also looking up, and they ran out into the
living room.  Everyone there had stopped what they were doing; wondering
what was going on as well.
       "Ranma," said Akane, and a surge of bodies rushed up the stairs
towards the bathroom.  They burst in and found a trail of blood running
from the sink, the mirror shattered glass strewn everywhere.  The trail
lead over to the narrow side of the wash tub, and huddled in the corner
sat Ranma.
       A look of terror covered his face, his right hand resembling
shredded meat, bloodied with shards from the mirror lodged deep in his
skin.
       "Ranma!" cried Akane rushing over.
       She pulled him out, cradling him close while doctor Tofu snatched
a towel from the wall to stop the bleeding.
       "Call an ambulance!" he shouted, Ukyo quickly running for the
nearest phone.
       Ranma sobbed pressing his face into Akane's shoulder.
       "Ranma, what happened?" she asked him.  "What made you do such a
thing?"
       He looked up and started to speak when Anijza's evil laugh
sounded lightly in his ears.  He was not sure anyone heard it, but the
fear in him held him silent.  Ranma grit his teeth together and then
broke down again sobbing like he'd never done before, leaving everyone
lost and confused...
 



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