The Demoness Within (Rewrite #1)
Zenki aka Michael Chen
michael.h.chen@yale.edu
Prologue:
I've always wondered why Kuno Kodachi is such a psychotic, violent person,
who has a fascination for black roses, and martial arts rhythmic
gymnastics. Here's a fanfic story which illustrates how effective Math
115a can be for generating story ideas.
Chapter 1: Flash back...
There is a beautiful woman in bed. All around her are her life's
treasures, a bouquet of black roses, a lot of rhythmic gymnastics
equipment, a picture of her mother, a picture of Ranma. This women is
Kodachi. She is calmly sleeping in bed, dreaming about her childhood...
"Nah nah!!!! I bet you can't catch me!!!" Kodachi jovially punched
her older brother and took off at a respectable pace.
"Foolish girl!!!! I'll get you!" Both started giggling helplessly,
as Kuno slowly caught up. His hands reached forward to tag her, but he
never reaches her... Kodachi openned her cute little purse, and threw
handfuls of red rose petals at him, blinding him. Kuno accidentally
tripped on a stray root and lands, skinning his knee. Tears begin to well
up in his eyes, as he gingerly holds his knee. Kodachi is there, and
crying.
"Kuno, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to skin your knee!" She kept on
crying.
Kuno pretended not to be in pain. "Never mind, it doesn't hurt." He
used all of his willpower to suppress his desire to start bawling crazily.
Taking her hand, he slowly got up and both walked home.
They slowly walked through the major streets of Nerima, pausing here
and there to watch amusing things. They passed numerous houses, the Tendo
Dojo... Kuno heard the laughter of some other girl. He looked in through
the gate, and saw Nabiki and Kasumi playing with Akane.
He shouted, "How are these lovely ladies faring today, it is I
Kuno..." Nabiki and Kasumi looked at each other, and each made a wicked
smile.
"Kasumi, shall we chase him? I bet 100 yen I'll catch him..." Both
girls took off after Kuno. He smiled and started to run haphazardly down
the street, dodging grownups and waving his plastic sword about, with two
girls behind him. Kodachi was left behind.
"Kuno!! Don't leave me!!!" cried Kodachi who began to cry. More
scared than enraged, she ran off in some random direction. She was
completely lost. She fought the urge to cry and to help comfort herself,
she played with her old ribbon while she ran. With a flick of her hand,
the ribbon zoomed and latched itself to a pole. With another flick of her
wrist, she used the ribbon to cut down some beautiful roses from a thorny
bush. Pausing, she placed the roses into her hair like a garland.
Whirling the ribbon around made her more secure: She loved to whirl the
ribbon around, and let the thing flutter as if it had it's own life as if
it was her best friend.
After an hour of wandering, Kodachi saw the family mansion and began
to run there, however a glint of light stopped her. She stopped running,
and walked up to the source of the light. It was a golden ribbon! Kodachi
found herself slowly drawn to it, and despite her instincts which told her
to continue towards home, she picked up the ribbon and played with it.
She ran about, letting the golden ribbon flutter behind her in a
helical path. She expertly flicked her wrist and caused the golden ribbon
to wind itself firmly to a telephone pole. She gave it a tug, and the
ribbon wouldn't come back! Trying with all her might, it seemed that the
ribbon would not untangle from the telephone pole. She tried harder and
harder, and finally the ribbon sliced right through the pole bringing it
down.
Amid the sparks of electricity, Kodachi thought that something was
wrong with that ribbon and decided to leave. However, all of the sudden,
golden ribben wrapped her body up and dissolved into her!!!! She tried to
scream, but she couldn't. She felt a painful force like a giant needle
entering her head. Crying, she held her head, stumbled a little, and
finally landed on the street as blackness filled her mind.
"Kodachi, Kodachi!!! Wake up" Kodachi gradually became aware of her
annoying older brother shaking him. She looked at him coldly in the face,
and began to laugh evilly.
"Ha-ha-ha-hahahahahahaha. Dumb brother!" She pushes him off
forcefully. "Think that I'm too weak??? Ii'm going home" She makes a
tremendous leap, leaving Kuno, who was crying, with Nabiki and Kasumi.
The dream begins to speed up. Images began to flash within Kodachi's
mind as she twist and turns in bed. The discovery of her mother's suicide.
Her father who never paid attention. Her brother who started to spend
more time on kendo. His increasing affections for Akane. Her increasing
fascination with poisons.
Suddenly, a pain richochets through Kodachi's head, waking her from
her dreams. Stumbling out of bed, and she looked quickly into the mirror.
For some reason, she could see something like some other person....
Shaking her head, Kodachi quickly washed her face over the wash basin and
takes another look in the mirror
"Nope. Nothing strange. I thought I was going insane.
Hahahahahahahahaha."
Meanwhile, downstairs Kuno is reprimanding a maidl for fouling up
Kodachi's breakfast, and as soon as he hears her evil laugh, his eyes begin
to water, and he quickly walks to his study and locks his door.
Chapter 2: Crimes...
Ranma and Akane are running off to school. Ranma, as usual, is
practicing his balancing technique on the fence, and Akane is far ahead
worrying about being late for class.
"Ranma! Hurry up! We're going to be late again!" Akane hurries up her
pace.
"So what if we're late, nothing's going to happen." Ranma continues at
his normal pace. Akane looks back, and gets angry.
"Ranma! Do you want to be the world's only 24 year old high school
freshman?" Not waiting for an answer, Akane runs up to Ranma, picks him
up, and starts to run like crazy.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing! I'm a man, and I shouldn't be
carried by a..." For some reason, the route they picked today passes right
by the water-woman's house. A splash of cold water lands on Ranma, Akane
doesn't care. She continues running, when she trips on a ribbon!
Ranma mentally panicks. And he reacts by flipping out of Akane's
arms, landing in front of her, and catching her before she hits the ground.
Ranma's mind begins to fume at the person who put Akane at risk...
She shouts, "Coward!! Show yourself..." He hears a spine-tingling
laugh. Kodachi! Out of nowhere, 6 black roses dart towards Ranma.
Ranma-chan, encumbered by Akane, manages to dodge them... but a seventh
rose scratches his neck. He feels his head begin to spin.
Akane shouts into Ranma's ears "What's wrong? ...Oh!" A rose launched
from the bushes gets Akane on her knee. She falls asleep on the ground.
Amazingly, Ranma manages to hold off the effects of the drug, and walks
like drunk person towards the bush. He feels his brain growing more and
more light headed as he took every step...
His eys began to flutter uncontrollably, the world in front of him slowing
down into flashes of random images.. Kodachi appears in front of him with a
wicked smile, her face slowly coming in and out of focus...
Ranma-chan faints into Kodachi's waiting arms.
Few hours later, some cold water is splashed onto Ranma-chan's face.
Gradually his eyes focus, and he sees Kodachi in front of him. Ranma's
mind attempts to replay his last memories, but he has a major headache and
can't remember clearly what happened. He groans. Kodachi has a wicked
smile, and she is only wearing a very, very tight suit that shows off her
curves rather nicely.
"Oh Ranma, will you marry me?" She tightly embraces Ranma-chan, and
plants a sloppy kiss on his cheek. Ranma tries to resist, but he finds his
hands bound behind him.
Ranma also realizes something else. "Whoa, Kodachi! I thought you
always wanted to kill me!" Kodachi laughs evily, sending a chill down
Ranma's spine.
Placing a finger feeling the Ranma's lips, she purposely paused to
build suspense. "Ranma, you shouldn't try to trick Kodachi like that, even
though she knows about your curse with water..." She begins to play with
Ranma-chan's hair. Ranma mind does a flip: She knew!?! He gasps. "Yes
you, the most handsome boy in the world also turns into a beautiful
girl....that ought to be very interesting."
She begins to intensely kiss Ranma, her arms around him in a tight
bond, and says "Marry me." Ranma thinks about Akane, and is worried about
her. Some how, Ranma manages to throw her off.
"Are you crazy? I'd rather marry Ukyou than you. I'd consider
Shampoo before considering you. Heck, if I had to, I would marry Ryoga
before I'd ever think of marrying you!" Ranma explodes into her face.
Kodachi's face turns grim and cold.
"Hmph Ranma, there's no denying that we're meant for each other... But
yes, there are certain obstacles in our path of destiny that need to be
'cleared' Well, if that's what you feel, I think I'll need to `convince
you'..." She pickes up a rose, and gently scratches Ranma with it. " I
think I can fix that...." Ranma falls asleep, again...
Much later, Ranma wakes up. His head hurts, he feels his body ache for
rest. Ranma tries to rub his head, but he can't. His eyes snap open and
he finds everything upside-down! After a few seconds of contemplation,
Ranma realizes that he is wrapped up tight in a gymnastics ribbon, hanging
upside-down from a tree in the middle of the Tendo yard.
Genma-panda walks out, and flashes a sign: "What happened to you?"
"I got ambushed by Kodachi! Get me down from here!!!!"
Genma looks at the tree, signs, "Wait a bit." He takes a few steps
back, and them makes a leap at the Ranma. His left paw swings forwards,
and slices right through the ribbon. Since nothing is holding him up,
Ranma falls, but is caught by Genma. Ranma silently appreciates how well
his father can control his cursed body.
Ranma, after dinner and a quick hot shower, is beginning to feel
worried. His sixth sense is constantly warning him, and Ranma thinks
something is wrong in his mind he constantly replays his conversation with
Kodachi, especially her last words "I think I can fix that..." Suddenly,
all of the pieces come together. He realizes that Kodachi is going to do
something dastardly to force him to surrender to her... His mind rushes
over the possible targets.
To himself. "Shampoo, she and Akane are probably the best protected
right now. Ryoga, he's probably lost somewhere, nothing should happen to
him. Ukyou, she's alone right now..."
Meanwhile, Ukyou is closing shop, when all of a sudden, the lights
cut out. Ukyou shout's out, "Who's there?" A black rose zooms past her,
and imbeds itself into the wall. Feeling her sixth sense tingling, Ukyou
ducks below the counter and grabs her spatulas. A couple whooshes later,
six more black roses are left in the wall where Ukyou's head was moments
ago.
Ukyou's normally cheerful face is now filled with rage and doubt. She
thinks, `Kodachi! She must be out to eliminate her competition! Oh,
Ranma, help me.' Ukyou firms herself, and gathering her courage, she leaps
up from behind the counter, launching a spread of throwing spatulas. She
hears an exclamation from her attacker, and follows her attack with a
experienced swing from her spatula. Her attacker is knocked backwards into
some tables. She runs out the door with no intent of fighting under a
disadvantage..
Ranma leaps from the dining table, saying "Sorry, nice dinner Kasumi,
I'm going to check up on Ukyou." His mind tingles with fear, fear for his
friend's life. He says to himself, "If Ukyou were to die, I'd never
forgive myself for betraying my friend." He bursts out of the dojo in the
direction of Ukyou's restaurant. Akane shouts, "You idiot, wait for me!!!"
Her mind fills with anger. `How dare Ranma think of meeting Ukyou without
me!' She runs after Ranma into the night.
Ukyou makes ten paces, when she feels one rose prick her shoulder.
She's almost surprised, since her sharpened spatula gave her back adequate
protection. Look backwards over her shoulder, she is horrified to see a
black rose that had penetrated her under the spatula! She almost curses.
Fighting the urge to stop moving her legs, she continues running down the
street, towards the Tendo Dojo. She begins to feel the effect of the
paralytic poison coursing through her blood. She stumbles, her body
betraying her to the effects of the poison. She thinks, "Ranma, where are
you?" Ukyou manages to struggle a few more steps, but her legs eventually
refuse to respond, and she suddenly feels a sharp ribbon penetrate her
shoulder. She tries to scream, but she can't... She feels the pain, but
can't react since she is paralysed.
A moment later, she feels another stabbing pain in her left thigh.
Ukyou's mind rushes. "Ranma..." A person, wearing very heavy robes and a
dark hood, enters Ukyou's field of vision. Ukyou is completely scared of
the mysterious person in front of her and despite her paralysis and pain,
manages to let her body fall backwards, away from her attacker, whose eyes
are burning red with hatred. Ukyou's eyes show fear, and her mind begins
to churn like an mouse cornered like a cat, but she can not scream. The
person makes a final strike with her ribbon when.....
"Unerring Dragon Claws!!!!!!!" (* See Endnotes) Blades of Ki energy
protrude from Ranma's hands. Ranma is 10 feet away from Ukyou. Screaming
loudly, he charges. The hooded person looks at Ranma, as the metal edged
ribbon arced in a slow weaving/fluttering motion over towards Ukyou's neck.
Ranma images a small smile within the dark hood followed by shock as he
leaps between the ribbon and Ukyou. Ranma's hands make rapid slicing
motions reducing the ribbon into shreads. The mysterious attacker silently
eminates rage and anger. It disappears.
Ranma curses when he sees Ukyou. Blood from her shoulder wound had
soaked her entire back, and her pants had a slight reddish hue to them.
"Ran-chan...." Ukyou passes out from blood loss. Silently cursing
himself for allowing his friend to suffer, he hastily scoops up Ukyou.
Akane catches up, and jumps to the wrong conclusion.
Anger explodes into Akane's mind. "How could he! How could he leave
me to be with some other lady." Blinded by anger her arm cocks backwards,
ready to beat Ranma senseless, when she noticed the blood soaking Ukyou's
shirt.
"RANMA NO..... Oh my god, what happened to Ukyou?" Ranma fights back
his tears, and he runs off, carrying Ukyou's limp, bloody body. As he runs
off, he looks at Ukyou's face, unnaturally calm... His mind races, and he
pushes himself to go faster...
"Hmmmm. There should be no permanent damage done." Dr. Tofu is
carefully probing Ukyou's pressure spots. An hour ago, Ranma bursted into
the clinic with Ukyou. Dr. Tofu was completely shocked by Uykou's
position, and started to diligently work on Ukyou. Ranma had looked as if
he wanted to cry, but instead, his hand, covered with dried blood,
immediately sought out Akane's hand. Each provided support for each other.
Dr. Tofu gives Ranma an enthusiastic smile. "Aside from some deep
penetration wounds, Ukyou should be alright."
Ranma does not cheer up. His mind goes down the list of people that
Kodachi might attack. His mind immediately jumps to Shampoo and Akane.
Gently holding both of Akane's hands, he looks into her eyes and says,
"Stay here with Dr. Tofu, I have a feeling this night's not over, yet." He
runs out the door.
Ryoga is wandering around aimlessly in the streets of Nerima. "Where
am I? Everywhere looks the same!" He walks about a little more, when
something pierces his back. It's a rose. His face becomes a mixture of
outrage and shock. Ryoga's mind quickly jumped from gloom to violent
madness. Screaming in pure anger, he reaches behind and tears the rose
out. His eyes quickly scans back and forth, trying to locate his enemy...
A hooded figure leaps from the shadows, and lands in front of him. The
person launches another rose at Ryoga.
Ryoga is upset. He charges the figure, and makes his attack with his
umbrella. The hooded figure ducks out of his way. He's surprised to find
his reflexes slower. His mind quickly processes this event and thinks to
himself: "What's this?" His mind slowly connects the puzzle together:
"This person must be .... " The person's hands become a big blur swinging
metal clubs, as Ryoga feels his ribs fracture and crack from multiple
impacts. Stumbling, he steadies himself to make his counterattack...
"Kodachi! Prepare to die! Shishi Hokodan!!!!!!!!" His depression,
anger, and seemingly hopeless impending doom create an immense ball of ki,
which he propels at his attacker. The attack drains Ryoga of all his
power, and he feels pain in every part of his body. The person is
surprised and takes full impact from the blast. The robes are blown off,
and Ryoga's guess was verified. He sees a twisted image of Kodachi. Her
hair is wild. Her normally evil eyes glowing red. Her face twisted into a
pain-evoking glare. In short, Ryoga is shocked by how evil looking Kodachi
is. Kodachi swings her ribbon around, and readies it...
Ranma was a block away, when he saw Kodachi about to kill Ryoga.
Feeling sorry for Ryoga, Ranma screams out.
"Stop......" Kodachi looks up and laughs so evilly that Ranma again
feels a wave of despair wash over his body.
Kodachi's voice is completely fake and discordant. "But my dear
Ranma, how will I ever teach you not to disagree with me again?" She lets
out an evil laugh, and swings. Feeling the adrenaline surge through him,
he covers the block as Kodachi started to swing. Ranma's mind makes a
quick calculation and he curses silently. "I will not be able to stop the
attack!!!" Ryoga, feeling the end of his miserable life coming, is not
glad, for some reason instead of welcoming death, he really wants to live.
His eyes meet Ranma's for and instant, and Ranma is surprised by the fear
in Ryoga's eyes.
Ranma feels completely sorry for Ryoga, and he says to himself, "I'm
going to be sorry for this..." He puts all his energy into running. Just
when the ribbon is two feet away from Ryoga, Ranma summons all of his
courage, and leaps forward. Using his body as a shield, he lands in front
of Ryoga, his body taking the impact of the metal edged ribbon. Kodachi is
shocked at what she has done. Ranma feels splitting pain in his left
shoulder, and he notices that the metal gynmastics ribbon passed completely
through his bone and flesh. His black shirt is wet with his blood.
Kodachi screams in outrage, and fades away. Ryoga looks up at Ranma...
"Ranma, I'm forever in your debt..." He coughs up some blood. Ranma,
still on his adrenaline rush, some how ignores his own nasty wound, which
was leaking blood really badly. He picks up Ryoga and runs to Dr. Tofu's
clinic.
Akane is pacing back and forth in Dr. Tofu's clinic. She looks up at
the clock, and realizes an entire hour has passed. She whispers faintly,
"Oh Ranma, why do you have to be a hero?" Dr. Tofu is still working on
Ukyou, when Ranma staggers into the room, carrying Ryoga. Akane's eyes
light up.
"Ranma! What took you so long?" Ranma does not respond to Akane.
Akane fights the urge to run up and hug Ranma. Ranma, his eyes glazed
over, walks deliberately towards the nearest bed, where he carefully lays
out Ryoga. Ranma looks over at Akane and smiles weakly.
"I had a little run in with Kodachi. I think she has wounded me."
Ranma's adrenaline rush fades away, leaving him weak. This weakness is
further intensified by his blood loss. Ranma collapses. Akane feels her
heart stop for a moment, and she rushes up to Ranma.
"Ranma, don't die!" She hugs Ranma fiercely, who manages to smile.
Dr. Tofu hurries over, and looks at Ranma. He smiles encouragingly at
Akane.
"Not to worry, it's only some blood loss. Ranma should be back to
normal tomorrow." Dr. Tofu takes off Ranma's shirt. Akane is shocked by
the amount of blood. Very carefully, Dr. Tofu bandages Ranma, and lays him
on a bed to rest for awhile. Dr. Tofu, returns to tend to his two
unconscious patients. Ranma's eyes begin to flutter, as his willpower
forces himself to consciousness. He drags himself out of bed, and tries to
get up. Akane pushes him down.
With dogged determination, Ranma shruggs off Akane's concerns and
tries to walk out the door. Ranma murmurs,
"I...must...help....Shampoo....Kodachi....will...kill...her." Akane looks
at Ranma rather angrily. Suddenly, Ranma's legs give out, and he pitches
forward, unconscious before he hits the ground.
Akane really worried, hides her anxiety with blame. "Hmph, trying to
be Mr. Hero again? You dumb...." Ranma's eyes open and again and look up
at Akane. She could almost read his emotions. She felt Ranma frustrated
at his own ineptness, his own inability to help Shampoo. Akane finds
herself unable to continue her tirade. "If you go out again, you might
die..." Tears begin to well up in Akane's eyes, and for some unknown
reason, she cradle's Ranma's head.
"Don't worry, Cologne and Mousse will try to take care of Shampoo."
At the Neko Haten, all is quiet. Shampoo is in the kitchen, cleaning
after a pretty heavy day. She is carefree, humming a Chinese song, and
thinking about Ranma. Out in front, Mousse is cleaning the floor. He is
thinking about Shampoo, and is dreaming about marriage. He stops working,
and a smile creeps into his normally serious face.
Back in the kitchen, Shampoo has just finished her job. Suddenly, a
ribbon shoots in through the wall, and swings around in a perfect circle.
Shampoo is taken by surprise, and her mind is momentarily blank. The wall
falls inwards, revealing a person outside. Shampoo instinctively grabs her
bonbori.
"How dare that person ruin the wall!" Shampoo shouts in anger, and
lashes out with her bonbori "Shampoo kill you now!!" As she readies to
swing here bonbori, Shampoo is horrified to see the heads of her weapons
sliced off by a ribbon. She almost feels fear grip her heart, for only one
person she knew used a ribbon and was mad enough to murder someone.
"Kodachi?" Shampoo realizes that it is indeed Kodachi. She continues
charging and readies for an attack, when three black roses pierce her arm,
stomach, and leg. The paralysis poison sets in. Shampoo, fighting against
the urge to give up, manages to make a few steps and make a loud scream.
She collapses onto the floor, her body refusing to move. Kodachi lets out
a laugh.
Shampoo's screams wake Mouse from his reverie. "Die evil person!!!"
Mousse charges and he launches a storm of flying weaponry. Chains, spears,
swords, daggers, knives, and other stuff. Momentarily, Kodachi is stunned,
as several knives nick and cut. She lets out another evil laugh, and
teleports to behind Mousse. She makes an attack, snapping both of
Mousses's arms. Mousse lets out a cry of pain and falls to his knees.
Kodachi takes out her ribbon, to finish off Shampoo. As she swings her
ribbon, Mousse, concentrating to ignore the pain, rams her legs with his
body. He lands, jarring both broken arms. He screams in agony, and faints
after 5 seconds.
Kodachi tries to attack Shampoo again, when Cologne appears. Cologne
pales, when she sees Kodachi about to deliver a death blow to Shampoo.
Cologne made her attack. She charged Kodachi, ducking under her spread of
roses, and punched her viciously in the stomach. Kodachi merely takes a
step backwards. While Kodachi was still moving backwards, Cologne manages
to lift up Shampoo, and move her away from Kodachi.
Cologne's eyes squints, as her scanned Kodachi's aura. Her eyes snap
wide open. Cologne, in a loud angry voice, "What gives you the right to
possess Kodachi's body!"
Kodachi stops her advance momentarily, and speaks in a completely
different voice. "I have every right to take this body. For ten years, I
have been trapped in this body, hidden in some corner of this pitiful
person's mind... At for the first time in 100 years, I finally have the
chance to freely roam this world, and ravage it with a path of
destruction." After that mini-speech, Kodachi lets out a laugh that drips
and permeates with evil.
The possessed Kodachi continues. "Well, I'd better get ready for
tomorrow. When Ranma marries me, the enchantment will be broken and Hai
Chi will be free again to rule this world!" She cackles evilly again. A
breeze picks up and her body blows away like dust. Concerned for Shampoo,
Cologne plucks a rose, and takes a tiny taste. Pondering for a moment, she
began to push various pressure points over Shampoo's body.
"Owww!!!! Shampoo's arms numb!!!" Shampoo winces with pain as the
feeling returns to her arms and legs, very quickly. Cologne turns to
Mousse and looks him over.
"Hmph, typical. Do you call yourself a warrior?" Cologne looked at
Mousse. "Shampoo, we'll take him to Dr. Tofu and talk with your
future-husband."
Shampoo and Cologne enter the clinic carrying Mousse. Shampoo
practically drops Mousse when she sees all of the wounded.
"Ukyou? Ryoga? Ranma????" Shampoo plasters herself over Ranma's
resting body. She sees the bloody bandages around his shoulder, and gasps.
"Oh Ranma, you hurt. Shampoo give you kiss to make you better."
Shampoo gets ready to inhale Ranma's lips, when Akane intervenes.
"Over my dead body!"
Chapter 3: Counterstrike?
The next morning Ranma, Genma, Soun, Akane, Shampoo, and Cologne meet
at the Dojo. Cologne is explaining to them what is happening.
"According to legends, a long time ago, a powerful martial artist
succeeded in banishing an evil demoness Hai Chi. The problem was that Hai
Chi had already foresaw her banishment, and prepared a mechanism through
which she could return, a golden ribbon. When the ribbon is used by the
hands of a young rhythmic gymnest, a gateway to the netherworlds is
created, and Hai Chi will escape into that gymnest's mind, to lay dormant
for 10 years. Apparently, Kodachi found such a ribbon in her childhood,
and is now the carrier of the demoness."
"No wonder she's so insane!" exclaimed Ranma, "The demoness inside her
head must have influenced her!" There is a knock on the door. Kasumi
calmly opens the door. Kuno walks in, crying.
"It is all my fault!! It is all my fault!! How could I have been so
mean to my sister!! I shall repent for my evil doings..." He pauses and
gives Akane a passionate kiss, and starts to lament... "Oh, I wish my lips
could grace my pig-tailed goddess's lush lips, but this can not
wait.....farewell to all." He pulls out a tanto blade.
Ranma jumps onto Kuno, and yanks the blade out of his hand.
"Kuno, are you mad?" Kuno looks at Ranma, his eyes a cold black on
pale white segmented by blood red lines. Kuno no longer feared death.
"I am mad! It was I who made my sister insane! Give me that!" He
reaches for the blade. Ranma dodges him and breaks the blade. He grabs
Kuno by the collars and shouts at him.
"Listen, get a grip! Kodachi's insane because she's possessed!"
Kuno starts crying again. "Then why couldn't I have protected
her!!!!"
Akane, who is tired of Kuno's deprecations, nails him on the head with
her fist, completely knocking Kuno out senseless. Ranma ties up Kuno, and
puts him in his room. Ranma turns back to Cologne.
"Cologne, so how do I get rid of the demon?"
"Son-in-law, that might not be wise. The advised way is to kill
Kodachi..."
Ranma is horrified. He stares Cologne in the eyes. "I will not kill
her." Cologne flinches when she hears the steel in Ranma's voice, and she
sighs.
"Alright, you need to make a barrier with this and apply positive ki
energy to flush out the demon. The demon will be stuck in the barrier, and
you can then kill it with this sword." She gives Ranma a pouch of dust and
a wooden sword made out of sanctified wood. Ranma almost laughs.
"You mean that these simple things can be used to defeat a demon!!"
Ranma almost starts to laugh.
Cologne remains serious. "No, you must plunge the blade within the
demon before the barrier breaks... If you penetrate the barrier with
anything that is not living, it will break. Therefore, it is impossible to
kill this demon."
Ranma realizes that this might be a problem...
Ranma is alone on the driveway to the Kuno mansion. He leaps over the
fence and continues towards the huge building. Barely breaking his pace,
Ranma kicks down the door and enters. He is in a huge entryway. Marble
tiles floors, gold trimmed . Mahogany stairs and panelling. Ranma lets
his breath out. This is definitely a home for an opulent person.
His eyes rapidly pan and scan until they land on the scantly dressed
form of Kodachi at the top of the stairs. She leaps down landing in front
of Ranma. Ranma takes out his sword, Kodachi's eyes betray fear. But she
lets out that evil laugh yet again! She grabs a bouquet of roses from the
vase next to her, and flings them at Ranma.
Instinctively, Ranma grabs the roses, and on instinct tries to throw
them away. But he's too late. The rose's naturally soporific fragrance
wafts into Ranma's nose. Ranma walks about struggling to stay awake.
"I...must........" Ranma falls into Kodachi's arms.
"It's going to be fun to corrupt you..." And she carrys Ranma off.
Eventually, Ranma awakens. "Hey let me go!" He tries to struggle,
twisting about and pulling on his hands, but his arms are bound with metal
cable!
Kodachi kneels in front of Ranma. "Only before our wedding. But I
have some unfinished business, primarily Akane..." She lets out an evil
laugh, and Ranma starts to struggle even more. She walks out.
Ranma starts tugging his hands, and eventually his wrists are rubbed
raw. He shouts "I must stop Kodachi!" He continues his fruitless
struggles for a few more minutes, his mind ignoring his wrists. He feels
energy welling into his body, as soon as he thinks of Akane....
"Unerring Dragon Claws!!!!!" Once again, blades of ki grow from his
hands, slicing his bindings asunder. He runs out, pausing to grab his
sword. He runs out of the mansion, and down the driveway. He makes a
spectacular leap over the fence, and continues down the road to the Dojo.
He bursts into the door, and sees damage. Kasumi on the floor.
Nabiki face down on the floor. Genma stunned on the floor. Ranma quickly
goes from person to person, checking them. He is relieved that it's only a
sleeping gas. Only Soun is moving.
"Akane," continuously moans Soun. Ranma grabs Soun and slaps him a
couple times.
"Wake up!!! Wake up!! Where's Akane?" Soun momentarily wakes up from
his delirium.
"High school..." Soun enters his delirium again. Ranma cries out a
curse, and leaps out of the window hoping that he isn't too late.
Chapter 4: Kodachi's ploy...
While Ranma was struggling in captivity, Kodachi paid a visit to the
Tendo Dojo. She kicks down the door, and enters slowly. Genma charges
Kodachi, his fist moving into a powerful punch. Kodachi calmly sidesteps
the attack, grabs Genma's fist and uses his strength to propel him into the
wall. Shampoo tries to attack, but Kodachi punches her so viciously that
Shampoo falls to her knees gasping for air. Cologne tries to attack, but
she is blasted backwards by a mind blast.
Kodachi slowly looks around the room, until her eyes rest on Akane.
Akane, who is visible scared, charges and attacks Kodachi. A ribbon shoots
out, entangling Akane.
"Ahhhh! Let me go!!" Akane starts to struggle, and feels the ribbon
getting tighter.
Kodachi lets out a laugh. "Keep struggling, eventually I would not
need to expend the insignificant amount of energy required to kill you."
Akane reluctantly gives up. Suddenly the door to Ranma's bedroom bursts
off its hinges. Kuno managed to escape his bonds!
"Kodachi!!! I will no longer take this insanity!!!" He charges her
with a sword. Kodachi calmly ducks the sword and grips him by the throat,
lifting him off the ground. Kuno struggles for air.
"Listen to me. Before I would have hesitated to kill one of my own
blood, but recently I've been getting different thoughts..." She tightens
her grip on Kuno. He starts to gasp, his tongue shaking, his eyes bulging,
his face turning a sickly bluish-red color... "but I won't, dear brother."
Her voice was laced with so much sarcasm. She threw him on the floor.
Nabiki and Kasumi try to stop Kodachi, but she manages to throw a
bouquet laced with sleeping gas. Akane starts to cry.
Kodachi taunts her. "Oh don't cry Akane. I won't kill you here.
I'll kill you at the high school." She runs off to the high school
carrying Akane.
Ranma, panting really hard, eventually reaches the high school. The
entire courtyard is empty.
"Kodachi! Hai Chi! You evil bitch!" Ranma shouted. He breaths
heavily, a single drop of sweat runs down the side of his face, and falls
to the ground.
Behind him. "You called?" Ranma whirls around to see Kodachi. Ranma
draws his sword...
"No no no Ranma, watch!" She points to her side, where he sees Akane
all tied up. Kodachi teleports right next to Akane.
"The instant you attempt to threaten me, I cut Akane's throat.... And
you get to see her die painfully. But I might be willing to let Akane live
if you marry me...." Ranma's mind begins to play the scenario. Akane
gasping for air, to no avail since her brain can never get the oxygen. Her
face shaking as her brain goes into shock, her body twitching violently....
Ranma gets tears into his eyes, and almost looses his will to fight.
However, a plan begins to develop in his mind.
Ranma is angry. "If you are the almightly Hai Chi, why must you
resort to trickery to get me to marry you!!!!!"
Kodachi teleports back to Ranma. "Because once I marry you, I am free
to completely leave the netherworld. That ancient hag forgot the part
that my carrier must marry the man she trulys loves without using magic
before I can be released..."
Ranma seems to be torn between two positions. He looks at Akane, who
despite her fear shakes her head in a "No!" Akane's eyes filled with
tears, her beautifully fit and slim body wrapped up in a tight fitting
ribbon. Ranma almost feels that he is finally able to express his love.
Ranma turns his head back to Kodachi, and quietly says, "Ok Kodachi,
you win. I'll marry you..." Kodachi overjoyed, lifted up Ranma, and
passionately kisses Ranma. Unknown to Kodachi, Ranma begins to put his
last ditch plan into effect. Ranma's left hand slowly goes into his pocket
and extracts the pouch of dust. Struggling hard, he manages to open the
pouch, and he throws the bag into the air, effective dusting a large circle
around himself and Kodachi. In seconds the demon barrier is finished...
"Virtuous Lightning Fist!!!!!!!"(*See Endnote) Ranma's hand begins to
glow with positive ki energy. Ranma breaks free of Kodachi's grasp, and
quickly places his hand onto Kodachi's forehead, allowing his ki to purge
Kodachi.
Tendrils of blue ki arc across Kodachi's head. It arcs all over her
body. Her aura starts to flicker, and the negative ki begins to accumulate
and disappear. Kodachi starts to shake wildly as the demoness within began
to break free of her confinement. Kodachi's body enters a spasms, her
entire body down to her core being completely flushed of the evil that had
been a part of Kodachi for so long. She totters about uncontrollably, but
Ranma manages to keep her from falling.
After a minute her spasms starts to die down, but suddenly, her head
snaps backwards, and her spasms start anew. She coughs and gags and seems
to go through an extended "throwing up." Finally, as if a seal is broken,
a red smoky mist escapes from Kodachi's mouth. The mist begins to coelesce
into a roughly humanoid shape. After thirty seconds, Kodachi falls limp
into Ranma's arms.
Kodachi, as if she woke up. "What happened?" Ranma looks at her, and
already sees something different in Kodachi. He pushes her out of the
barrier.
"Kodachi!! Untie Akane!!" Kodachi nods, and goes to help Akane. She
ties Akane and holds her. "Akane! I'm scared." Both women look helplessly
at Ranma and the demoness in front of him.
The demoness is absolutely ravishing. She looks at Ranma in the eye.
Her clothing vanishs, and Ranma turns a nice shade of pink.
She smiles wickedly at Ranma, "I want to get out of here. If you help
me out, I'm make it worth your while." She wriggles her body seductively.
Ranma gulps, and steels his will.
"NO!" The demoness is completely surprised, and allows her self to
make a grim smile.
"Remember I offered you a better solution." The demoness's beautiful
face twists into a face of horror. Her body slowly twists into her true
form, a hideous monster, that does not even resemble something humanoid.
She rushes forwards really fast. Ranma attempts to attack...
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!!!" His fists flash back and forth 500
times. The demoness blocks every punch without problem. She jeers Ranma.
"Such a weak attack. I never knew why Kodachi was infatuated with you."
She gives such an evil smile. "Now, it's my turn." She punches Ranma
straight into his chest, teaching Ranma a new definition of pain. He feels
his upper ribs fracture longitudinally, and his left lung filling with
blood. Ranma screams in pain, blood droplets spewing from his mouth.
Both Kodachi and Akane are terrified.
Not willing to concede defeat, Ranma attacks again. He brings his
hand back, preparing for a massive punch.
"Virtuous Lightning Fist!!!" His punch lands on the demoness, but no
effect. The demoness gloats.
"Ha ha ha hahahahahahaha, you're mortal attacks can't effect me!!!"
She punches Ranma. At the last minute, he raises his left forearm to
block. But his arm is not strong enough to completely block the punch. He
feels the bones in his left arm get pulverized. Again he screams in pain,
again Kodachi cries.
Akane screams, "Ranma!"
Ranma's head turns towards Akane. She is shocked by the amount of
pain that Ranma has on his face. For a moment, Ranma seems to forget his
pain and smiles back at Akane. He looks at Kodachi, whose eyes are red,
and he too smiles at her... She manages to smile back, but starts crying
again. Ranma hears his own breathing, almost drowning in his own blood.
He turns his gaze back up to the demoness, and his energy rises again. He
realizes the importance of his victory, and he tries again.
"Unerring Dragon Claws! Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!" He leaps up and
from his good hand, 2 feet long blades of ki spring from his hand. He then
rapidly punches the demoness. Ranma almost lets out a cry of joy, as he
sees his claws puncture the demoness's upper torso numerous times. But his
joy is quickly damped, when the demoness shows no response to the attack.
She smiles grimly as her wounds instantly heal, evoking gasps from Ranma,
and sweeps Ranma with such force, that he feels his left leg break right
above the kneecaps. She punches him in the stomach, warm scarlet blood
spews forth from Ranma's mouth, as his stomach begins to hemorrhage. She
lands her fist into Ranma's shoulder, splitting his shoulder blades,
resulting in a nasty compound fracture. Falling to his knees only
intensifies his pain. He screams again, blood dripping from his lips and
nose. Ranma fights to maintain consciousness.
Both Akane and Kodachi try to comfort each other.
The demoness leads down and lifts up Ranma by the neck. As her hand
tightens, Ranma begins to see grey spots appear in his vision. The spots
begin to blur his vision completely. "The pain can end Ranma! All you
need to do is release me!" Fighting against the haze, and oxygen
depravation to the brain, Ranma starts thinking. And he remembers the
sword. With his right arm and his last bit of energy, he draws the sword,
and quickly plunges it into the demonesses black heart. She drops Ranma,
her eyes open in shock, she screams in pain. Ranma lands on all fours,
screaming just as loud from the pain in his leg and arm. Agony fills
Ranma's mind, when a huge explosion shatters his mind.
The demoness and the sword exploded, but the explosion was confined to
the anti-spirit barrier. Ranma wasn't. The blast throws Ranma 40 feet
away, his body burnt, and his cloths almost nonexistant. The demoness is
stone dead. Ranma is mostly dead. He lies in a pool of his own blood,
barely breathing, barely moving. Akane and Kodachi rush to Ranma, each
hold one hand...
Miraculously, Ranma was still conscious when they reached him. On
seeing Akane, Ranma experiences no fear. He feels that he is going to die,
and he finally finds the strength to admit the truth.He looks upwards into
Akane's eyes, "I love you Akane." Akane starts to cry uncontrollablely.
Ranma looks to Kodachi and manages to smile, "You are healed...Goodbye..."
To Ranma, the world gradually fades from view.
Kodachi starts to cry uncontrollable, and buries her face into his
chest. "I love you..." She detects a slight murmur from Ranma's heart.
Thinking that she is delirious, she ignores it, until she hears it again,
and again.
"Akane! He's still alive!" Both girls pick him up and run off to Dr.
Tofu.
Chapter 5: Hospital
Both Kodachi and Akane stay up the entire night while Dr. Tofu worked
on Ranma. After a total of 20 hours of working, Dr. Tofu walks out
exhausted.
Both Kodachi and Akane rush the doctor with questions.
"Is Ranma alright?"
"Is will he live?"
Dr. Tofu, overwhelmed, raises his hands. "Ranma is going to be
perfectly find. He is such a resiliant boy!" Both Kodachi and Akane
breath a sign of belief. Dr. Tofu lets them both enter. They see Ranma
sleeping restfully, although he is covered with casts, and bandages.
Kodachi looks about at the other sleeping patients: Ryoga, Mousse, and
Ukyou. Kodachi finally realizes that she is responsible for these people's
suffering. Her newly regained personality reels as guilt overwhelms her.
She starts to cry, and runs out of the clinic.
Akane shouts, "Stop!"
Kodachi runs from the clinic, down the street, all the way back to the
mansion. She kicks open the gate. Dashes up the driveway, the whole time
crying uncontrollably. She rushes up the marble staircase, down the
familiar hallway, and runs into her room. Pain and anger is mixed in her
face. She looks at the tools of destruction she once loved. Her mind
overflows with pictures of her evil deeds. With a cry of anger, she starts
to destroy everything. She pauses to look into the mirror. She sees
herself.... Anger builds up in herself, and with a cry of disgust, she
punches the mirror with her unprotected fist. Ignoring the red blood
dripping from the nasty gash on her hand, Kodachi focuses her destruction
on other items.
"I'm such a monster." She breaks into tears, momentarily exhausted,
and collapses onto her knees. She looks at her vase of black roses. She
stands up, and runs back downstairs to her greenhouse. With her bare
hands, she destroys pots and vases. Stomping on her own creations,
attempting to kill and destroy her past 10 years.
"Kodachi! Stop!" She stops and sees her brother. He looks at her
with genuine concern. He gently holds her hands, and is surprised by the
nasty cut. Kuno grabs his handkerchief, and carefully wraps her bleeding
hand. He then leads her out of the greenhouse.
"Kodachi, it's not your fault. You were possessed by an evil
demon...It's my fault." She sees tears begin to well up in her older
brother's eyes. "I shouldn't have abandoned you 10 years ago." A tear
falls from him and lands on the floor. Kodachi starts to feel terrible,
realizing the self-torture that Kuno inflicted on himself... Suddenly,
Kuno stops crying...
His face brightens a little. "But you're back to normal, and that's
what's important, not the past." He gives Kodachi a hug.
"Why don't you give Ryoga, Ukyou, and Mousse a gift? Perhaps a nice
arrangement of roses..." Kodachi's eyes begin to glow, and her mind fills
with the possibilities. She runs off, her depression completely replaced
with happiness. But before leaving, she turns around
"Thank you for having faith in me these 10 years." She makes a laugh,
not unlike a laugh that Kuno last heard 10 years ago. And as she runs off,
he becomes drunk with joy, and all he can do is sit down into a couch and
laugh...
"Mousse...Mousse" Kodachi is looking at Mousse in the face. His eyes
open. Kodachi puts his glasses on. Mousse almost screams....
"No! No! NO! Not Again!!!!" Akane knocks him on the head.
"Be quiet, she's sorry and she wants to give you a gift." Kodachi
presents an elegent arrangement of beautiful lavander, red, and pink roses
to Mousse.
Mousse is speechless. Kodachi smiles and happily walks off to Ukyou,
then Ryoga, who had a similar reaction to Mousse, and finally Ranma. She
gives Ranma a quick kiss, and runs off before she can hear Akane scream.
"Ranma! Kodachi!" Kodachi runs off, laughing as she went. Not an
insane laugh, but rather a joking, fun loving laugh. Akane semi-seriously
attempts to hunt down Kodachi, who's playing with a ribbon...
Back at the clinic, Shampoo quietly sneaks in. She looks around and
satisfied that Dr. Tofu is in a deep sleep. She quickly gives Mousse a
kiss.
Mousse begins to turn red, and starts to stammer. His mind going
insane with love, and the fact that it was the first time he had ever been
kissed. His mind whirls trying to savor the moment.
Shampoo looks at him, "Shampoo thank Mousse for saving Shampoo's
life." She smiles at him. "But Ranma is still Shampoo's man!" She
plasters herself on top of Ranma. Ranma begins to stir. He looks up and
sees Shampoo. He tries to struggle, but he's in casts and such, and is
completely restricted.
Shampoo looks at Ranma, "Shampoo likes Ranma this way..." She
covers him with a barrage of kisses...
And as if the situation could get any more worse, Ukyou wakes up from
her rest, and the first thing she sees is Shampoo kissing the hell out of
Ranma. Ukyou gets mad, "Shampoo!!! Get off of MY fiancee..." She
struggles out of bed.
Ranma moans, "Oh no!"
Notes on text.
(1) Yes, I have added two more ki-based attacts to Ranma's already
formidable arsenal. They first appeared in a rather poorly constructed
story that appeared right before this one. Unerring Dragon Claws - Ranma
summons a set of hand razors to appear formed of pure ki energy.
Consequently, these razors are extremely sharp and can cut through almost
anything. The blades range from any length up to 2 feet.
Virtuous Lightning Fist - I got this one off a cheesy kung-fu movie
somewhere. With this attack, Ranma encases his hand with ki energy, that
serves to intensify his attack. This energy is "Virtuous," implying the
energy used is positive energy.
(2) For practical purposes, I have torn out the epilogue. <Polygamy is not
good! Polygamy is evil! Monogamy is your best friend!>
(3) People who responded: (The list is a bit slim!)
Raphael See
Terry "The Human Mello-tron" Marks
Shannon Richmeyer.
and others... (Sorry if I forgot...)
Thanks! It's hard to get attention when you're a starting writer, with
a history of poor topics and writing style.
(4) I know the verb tense usage is still a bit unusal. The next rewrite
will completely recast story into past tense.
(5) No more...
BTW, This story will probably never be finished so C&C will still be
appreciated.