R1/2 -- Chris Collins (1clc0772@unixstew.tstc.edu)
Okay, now! THIS is TRULY the final chapter. (AUDIENCE: *applause*)
(CHEF'S NOTE: It's about damn time! If I have to endure that little bitch
much longer, I'm gonna vomit myself to death!) (AUDIENCE: Hahahahaha!)
(CUTE VOICE: Aiya! Why you be so jealous of stupid, emotional girl?
*chuckle slyly* You afraid you not good enough for Ranma anymore? Hehe.
You afraid, compare to Miko, that you look like something cat cough up?)
(AUDIENCE: Hahahahahaha!) (CUTE VOICE: You afraid that Miko more
seductive--that compare to her, you have ar-tic-u-lation of three-toed
sloth?) (AUDIENCE: Hahahahahahahaha!) (CUTE VOICE: You afraid that....)
(AUDIENCE: Hahahahaha!)
(OLD VOICE: *lowering sign* Hey, Chris! These applause signs are pretty
nifty! They don't even require an actual audience!) (CUTE VOICE AND CHEF'S
NOTE: *evil stare of death*) (OLD VOICE: *sweat* What?!) (CUTE VOICE: No
make fun of Shampoo! Go away or I kill!) (OLD VOICE: *sob* Why is everyone
so mean to me?)
(CHEF'S NOTE: *growl* Okay, Shampoo... just WHY aren't YOU jealous? Hmmm?
Ranchan has undressed the slut, taken a bath with her, taken her out on
lunch dates, STARED AT HER BODY!, slept WRAPPED IN HER ARMS!!!! And, last
chapter, he was even going to KISS her! What has he done for YOU lately?!)
(CUTE VOICE: .... Oh.) (AUDIENCE: *roaring applause*)
(CUTE VOICE: *roar* She not take husband from Amazon warrior! I give
Stupid Girl kiss of death, then I KILL!!!) (AUDIENCE: Hahahahahaha!)
!WHAPWHAPWHAP! (OLD VOICE: Look at all the beau... ti... ful.... !) !THUD!
(CHEF'S NOTE: There's no need for that, Shampoo.) (CUTE VOICE: What you
mean?) (CHEF'S NOTE: This is a 'Very Tragic Story', so the little brat dies
in the end.) (CUTE VOICE: Hehehehe.) (CHEF'S NOTE: She is going to die,
right Chief? .... Chief?) ....
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| An Iron Dagger Production |
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On a large rock in the middle of the remains of the palace he was once
employed, Lon sulked. He sat hunched over, supporting his heavy,
downturned head with his left hand, elbow on knee, while he endlessly
picked up stones and crushed them to dust with his right. His brow was
furrowed in aggitation as well as dispair. He was having the worst day of
his life.
He had no job, his clothes were gone, totally shredded, his mask was long
smashed and he had nothing else to cover his face, despite his amazing
endurance, he was scratched and beaten, and his hand still stung like hell
from countless tiny puncture wounds--although he refused to let the pain
inconvenience him. And, as strong and menacing as he knew he was, he felt
pitiful.
He sighed deeply as he remembered everything that idiot swordsman
(Reikiba) tried to tell him. He was a freak--an oddity (NOTE: He's talkin
about himself.)--as well as a fool for listening to that... idiot. He
picked up a handful of rocks and began tightening his grip as he would
around that idiot's head, but he paused when he heard someone walking up
behind him. Without turning, he asked harshly, "What do you want?!"
He heard the individual take a step back and stand nervously. Then, a
sweet, feminine voice heralded, "Um... Master Lon,... Mistress Salon
request you do something."
Lon dropped the rocks and groaned, "Go away. I'm tired." When, after a
while, he didn't hear retreating footsteps, he swiveled around and yelled,
"Didn't you hear me?! I said go!"
Before him stood one of the Emperor's (taller) harem girls, delicate and
beautiful, long, bluish hair floating in the breeze; she was cringing back,
as he expected. She shrieked, "Your face! What happened?!" Lon winced as
he felt rage building up--she asked for it!
But to his surprise, the girl stepped closer and compassionately cupped
his cheek, almost crying, "Poor thing. Master Lon get beat up bad." She
glided her hand from his face to his powerful shoulder to his bare chest,
which was slashed dozens of times as if by a large jungle cat, and repeated
distantly, "What happened?" His stomach was in similar condition.
When her eyes had wandered down even futher, she quickly retracted her
hand and gasped enthusiastically, "Oh my!" She giggled and tried to hide
her deep smile.
(CHEF'S NOTE AND CUTE VOICE: Ewwwww!) (OLD VOICE: That's one for the
genepool, eh Shampoo? I never knew you had such STRONG blood in your
family.) (CHEF'S NOTE: Ew..ew..ew..ew..evil thought...must suppress...
ew..ew..ew....) (CUTE VOICE: *gag* Shampoo... throw up... now.... *run to
bathroom*)
-----------===================------------
| Written and Directed by: |
| Christopher Lee Collins |
-----------===================------------
Liu-Sing lay in the shade of one of the few trees on the hill, resting
soundly on his back with one hand clasped behind his head and one hand
clutching the wooden phoenix statue sitting on his chest. He had earlier
wiped away most of his mime-ish facepaint because the heat was making it
run--it was ruined anyway--and he had removed the shirt of his costume for
better ventilation. He was going to have to be fully prepared when
(whoever) tried to take the statue from him as Lord Fang promised someone
would. He understood what was at stake--the statue was more than just a
wooden icon--and he wasn't going to underestimate his opponent (who would
have to be very skilled or insane if he knew who he was dealing with).
A fly buzzed around the tree and landed on his pants, but finding nothing
interesting, it took off and headed for his chest. But before it could
land, Liu-Sing's hand darted like lightning, ensnared the pest, and slammed
it into the ground. Without looking or raising his head, he wiped his hand
off in the grass, then rested it back on the statue.
Over a dozen yards away, a harem girl peeked around the trunk of another,
less-shady tree and sighed dreamily--it was the first time she had ever
seen his bare chest... and he was so muscular (toned)! The other girls
would be envious of her vantage point. He was better-looking and better
built than Lord Fang!
"Hn?" She turned her head when she suddenly felt two cold shadows fall
across her back. She cowered down against the tree when she saw the two
masked and robed guards staring at her with their arms crossed.
Sitting in a fetal position, she clasped her hands before her and
whimpered pitiously. But after a few seconds thought, she smiled up at
them, biting her lower lip, stretched out her legs, and submissively put
her arms behind her back.
The two robed guards glanced at each other.
(OLD VOICE: Hah! Chalk up two more for the genepool!) (CHEF'S NOTE: *gag*
Geez. You'd think they're havin' some sort of contest or somethin... to
see who can boink the empire first.) (OLD VOICE: Hahaha... it's a worthy
goal!) (CUTE VOICE: *footsteps* Okay... *cough* *sniff* Shampoo... back.
*dizzy* I miss anything?) (OLD VOICE: Not at all.)
-----------===================------------
| Based on Characters Created by: |
| Rumiko Takahashi |
-----------===================------------
"*sigh* Them make cute pair, no?"
"*sigh* I wish I was in his arms instead of her. He looks so strong!"
Where the hill started leveling off into grassland, two harem girls,
brunettes, lay side-by-side on their stomachs, arms folded in front of each
other, sunbathing nude as they watched, several yards away, Ranma and Miko
sleeping--Ranma was holding Miko from behind, resting his head on her
shoulders, his entire body nearly on top of her, leaving Miko pinned
snuggly underneath him, her face showing nothing but satisfaction. Both
girls sighed in unison.
The one on the left tilted her head to the other and stated playfully,
"Red haired girl mine."
The other kept her gaze forward and smiled. "*chuckle* Good, cause I want
th' strong one... and I'm takin im as soon as he wakes." (CHEF'S NOTE AND
CUTE VOICE: *gasp* .... *gulp*)
"No." Both girls looked back to a third girl who was dutiously massaging
their legs and thighs; she had long, purple hair tied into a ponytail, and
she was still wearing her (bikini). She said sternly, not meeting their
questioning stares, "We no come between couple without permission. Is
unsaid rule. And they look like they want be alone."
The first two girls sighed in ageement and laid their heads on the ground
facing each other.
The one on the left reached over and wiped a bead of sweat from the
other's forehead, then said, "Sun feel good on back, but is starting get
too hot." The other nodded in agreement.
The purple-haired girl wiped her own brow and sat up; her skin was turning
alittle red with sunburn. "Is too hot stay out here. We find cute boy and
girl for Salon, so now we go do what WE want." The first two girls looked
back, and the third smiled; she pulled off her top, which was half-soaked
in perspiration as it was, and jiggled her breasts, giggling, "We go find
someplace cool and I show you new use for bracelets. Okay?" She lept up
and pranced down the hillside back toward the jungle.
The two brunettes glanced back at Ranma and Miko; the redhead, now
waking, groaned as she sleepily rolled onto her back, pulling her companion
on top of her like a blanket; the boy unresistingly resituated himself and
rested his head on her chest, but remained asleep. The two brunettes
sighed, then shrugged and darted after their companion.
(OLD VOICE: Hmmm... that won't do much for the genepool, now will it?)
(CUTE VOICE: *gag*) (OLD VOICE: So, Shampoo... y'think that purple-haired
pretty is an ancestor of yours?) (CUTE VOICE: *bloated cheeks* *run to
bathroom*) (CHEF'S NOTE: *eeegh* I don't feel that good myself.)
-----------===================------------
| Ranma Saotome and Miko Lee |
| in: |
-----------===================------------
Pae-Kau, still in wolf/boar form, sat somewhat impatiently as he watched
Salon, who was sitting nearby, quietly meditating in a lotus position, her
lips moving slowly in some form of chant. She had promised to find him a
cure, and she said she had spies out searching for the things that he would
need; although he didn't really trust her, he wouldn't dismiss the
posibility that she WAS actually doing something that might help him. So,
to satisfy his curiosity, he waited impatiently to see if her augury would
provide the information he needed.
After a few, long minutes, the witchwoman smirked and, without opening her
eyes, said, "*chuckle* Perhaps I have underestimated those girls. It seems
that one of them has already found a place for the others to live... and...
oooh.... So that pigtailed guardian really is a man! It seems, Pae-Kau,
that you are not the only shapeshifter around here...."
The wolf/boar/swordsman sneered and tried to appear uninterested--to
himself, because no one was looking--but he couldn't help but feel a
perverse pleasure in knowing that someone else knew what it felt like to
have his dignity and manhood taken away. He didn't know what was
worse--turning into a beast or turning into a woman--although the latter
idea nearly made him laugh. (CHEF'S NOTE: Boooo! Hisss! Sexist... pig/dog!)
Salon chuckled again, "And another has found the statue, and there's dear
Liu-Sing. I'm... *gasp*"
Her face contorted in utter disgust and she spat, "I knew those girls
couldn't keep their legs closed for long. I wonder if anyone's found
Doshin's brat and her... BY THE GODS!" She drew a sharp breath and stuck
her tongue out in even greater disgust; she leaned forward and rubbed her
hands over her face, chanting, "*gag* I didn't need to see that I didn't
need to see that I didn't need to see that get the image out of my
head...." When she calmed down, she mumbled, trying to keep the bile from
rising in her throat, "But I am almost certain they have found the two....
"Now, if the last one has found Lon, then I can... *major gag*" The shock
snapped Salon out of her trance and she fell over sideways with her hands
clamped over her mouth. Her chest heaved twice and her eyes snapped to
fill size as her hands clamped tighter over her mouth. Her face turned a
deep green. Quickly, she sprang to her feet and ducked behind a thick
clump of bushes.
Pae-Kau flinched and retreated as he listened to her violently retching.
(CHEF'S NOTE: Ick! *dizzy* I think I'll go join Shampoo in the bathroom.)
-----------===================------------
| NYANNIICHUAN: |
| Very Tragic Story |
| Part VIII |
| "Showdown at High Noon" |
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Down in the valley where the rice field rested, a shadow rose from the
ground on a patch of slightly damp earth by the edge of the field. The
shadow--as if you hadn't expected it already--billowed like a sheet being
aired out to dry and became the midnight-robed man that you love to hate.
Since it was such a bright and sunny day, darkness clung protectively to
his face inside his cowl.
A small patch of darkness appeared over his head; a crow flew out and
perched on his shoulder. The dark man reached up and generously stroked
the bird's head with his boney fingers while he surveyed the surrounding
landscape.
The area between the hills was wide and open grassland with scant few
trees or other obstacles that would interfere with the upcoming duel;
although the ground surrounding the rice field was damp enough to possibly
make walking and running difficult if not hazardous--but he didn't think
that he and the self-proclaimed emperor would be doing too much fighting on
the ground. The field itself, which covered over a third of the valley,
was partially-flooded and took on the appearance of a marsh; reeds and tall
grass seemed to grow in amazingly-healthy clumps along its borders, as well
as a few random spots in the field itself. In fact, most of the grass that
carpeted the valley seemed healthier than in surrounding areas, even
despite the openness to the sun's weathering rays.
He stared at the rice field for a while, pondering the curious phenomenon,
then he reached down and pulled up several blades of tall, green grass that
were growing by his feet. Lifting the darkness inside his cowl just enough
to see clearly, he inspected the vegetation and noted an unusual aura
radiating from them--strong for a plant but still too weak to be seen with
normal vision. He held the grass up to his familiar and asked, "What do
you make of this?"
The crow turned his head from side to side, puzzled by the strange FEEL of
the plants; it looked at its master and squawked questioningly, but the
dark man just smiled. The crow shrugged, the ventured to bite off the tip
of one of the blades. At first, it chewed slowly with a disgusted look on
his face, like a child being forced to take his medicine, but then its eyes
flew wide in wonderment and its dark feathers started glowing with an even
darker sheen. It ruffled its feathers and twittered excitedly, then
greedily snatched a couple of whole blades to gobble down.
The dark man held the remaining grass in front of his face and studied it
more closely. "Hmmm.... It's that potent, is it?" He slipped a blade
into his mouth and chewed, but he quickly spit it out when the energy
stored in its fibers spread sourly across his tongue. Smacking his lips in
bitterness, he glanced at his familiar and commented, "It must be an
acquired tasted." The crow, its cheeks bulging as he chewed, nodded
whole-heartedly.
The dark man wiped his mouth, then dropped all the blades but one; he
carefully ripped it lengthwise as many times as he could, using magic when
his fingers proved too big, and held the remaining fiber in front of him
with both hands. After sending a few pulses of chi energy through the
strand with no effect, he smiled and chuckled, "So this is the thread that
Miko uses. Impressive. No wonder she bested me." The fiber had a high
resistance to chi energy--so chi attacks would be nearly ineffective
against it.
When his mind ran across Miko's name, he felt her presence nearby. He
glanced over his shoulder and zoomed in on her and her 'guardian' sleeping
atop the hill. They looked so peaceful and happy together. A pity they
couldn't stay like that. But he didn't want to wake them just yet. There
was still some time before the sun reached its apex in the sky--when he had
forseen Fang meeting him. Until then, they should be together and dream
whatever dreams they can while they have time.
The crow pouted because its master dropped the rest of his meal. But...
before it dove to the ground to get more.... It hopped down the length or
his master's arm and plucked the empowered fiber from his hand and slurped
it down like a worm (or a noodle, depending on what you're diet consists of.)
* * * * *
Ranma knew that he was dreaming. He knew the situation could possibly
happen if he wanted it to, and although he wouldn't admit it in words, he
wished it would happen, but there was an underlying FEEL to the scene, like
an inner voice, almost mocking, that told him that what he saw was merely a
hopeless fantasy and could never be.
Miko, wearing a soft red and black, leaf-patterned Japanese kimono, sat on
a tree stump in the field behind her cottage, her hands resting gently in
her lap. Her scarlet hair was unbound, as it was when he first met her,
and flowed down her back and across her shoulders like silk; it swayed
gently in the breeze, and individual strands floated enticingly across her
face. Her head was tilted slightly downward as she smiled assuredly,
almost slyly.
Down on one knee in front of her, Ranma gazed longingly into her
crystal-blue eyes as he feather-touched her delicate hands with his
fingers, initially unsure of whether he SHOULD be touching her--or whether
he deserved to. He was comletely aware that he was was showing much more
intimacy than he would allow himself to show in real life, feeling much
more passionate than normal, but his dreamself was ignorant of those
real-world self-inhibitions; even though it was his body, he felt more like
a spectator watching himself do what he never felt he could do. A part of
him tried to explain that he shouldn't touch her because he'd be betraying
someone else, but he couldn't recall who, and the thought quickly faded--it
must not have been very important.
Miko slipped her hands over his and moved them up to her face until they
were carressing her cheeks. Half-smiling and half-pouting, she leaned into
his right hand and shed a tear of joy. Head upright again, gaze forward,
she started gliding her hands up the length of his arms; he, in turn, slid
his hands down to her slender neck to inside the collar of her robe.
Miko rested her arms in her lap once more as he slowly brushed her collar
open and slipped it over her shoulders; the robe slid down her back and
arms, exposing her supple breasts. The sleeves of the kimono still hanging
loosely around her wrists and forearms, she reached up and cupped her hands
behind his head. After gazing into each other's eyes one last time, she
pulled his head against her chest.
Even though it was just a dream, he could have sworn that he could taste
the saltiness of her skin on his tongue, hear her light moan in his ear, in
the half-second before he heard a cold, raspy voice state, "It's time."
* * * * *
Ranma's eyes snapped open as he was suddenly jolted out of his dream--the
situation made him feel awkward anyway. He was lying on his stomach, his
head resting sideways on an unusually firm, red and black pillow.
Everything was inordinantly bright, as well as warm, and he had to blink
his eyes a few times before his environment came into focus. A spacious
field of grass stretched out before his eyes, and he could hear the
chirping of birds nearby; a light breeze wafted across his face and blew
his hair back.
As he tried to get his sleeply head to remember what he had been doing
before he went to sleep--his whole life seemed like a wierd sequence of
dreams--he brought his right hand up to see if he could soften his pillow.
Just as he rested his hand on one extraordiary lump under his chin, he
heard something else that momentary drowned out the birds' song--a
heartbeat. Startled into awareness, he pushed himself up on his left hand
and looked down at what he was laying on.
Miko tilted her head away, blushing furiously. She was flat on her back,
pinned underneath him, with her arms stretched over her head. Following
her arms to her hands, Ranma could see that she was sewing something out of
the sheer, black material from one of the veils he gave her earlier. Then,
he looked down and noticed that his hand was cupping her....
"Gaaa!" Ranma immediately jumped off of her and backed away a few feet,
raising his thumbs, index, and pinky fingers in traditional warding,
sputtering, "I'm sorry I won't do it again!"
Miko, her face completely flushed, fluttered her eyelashes and giggled,
"Oh, you can do it again if you really want to." Stunned and dumbstruck,
Ranma's pupils dialated and his mouth gaped.
"Oh?" Miko, worried that she had startled him too much with her
statement, quickly changed topics. "I made this for you." She brought her
hands down in front of her and held up her latest sewing creation.
Ranma shook his head and looked down. In her outstretched hands lay a
perfect, fully-bloomed rose; each petal seemed painstakingly crafted from
the sheer, black, delicate cheesecloth and was virtually indistinguishable
for an actual rose petal--although this creation appeared more fragile and
airy than the real thing. Ranma, mezmorized by its eligance, muttered
distantly, "It's... beautiful...."
Miko giggled, "I'm glad you like it. I didn't know how it'd turn out.
I've... never sewn anything with someone lying on top of me before."
Smiling, she sat up and held it out to her guardian, waiting for him to
take it. When he didn't move, her face dropped in worry and she whined,
"Don't you want it?"
For several seconds, Ranma was unable to respond as images of his
conversation with the dark guy tugged at his mind, trying to pull his
attention in another direction. A cold, raspy voice echoed in his head:
"Hurry up! You haven't got all day!"
Ranma blinked his eyes and shook his head, the voice still reverberating
through his skull. When his eyes returned to the artificial rose, he could
see that Miko had a very worried look on her face. He hesitated, then held
up his hand. "Uhh... look, Miko, I really like it and all, but you're
gonna have to hold it for me for now. I hafta go do something... really
important...." He trailed off as he turned his head away and peered down
the hill.
Miko gasped, suddenly feeling her heart fall. _More important than me???_
Panicked and feeling tears rush to her eyes, she dropped the rose and
grabbed her guardian by the shoulders. When he didn't look at her, she
shook him and cried, "What do you mean? What could possibly be more
important than staying with me?!"
When Ranma still didn't look at her--he wasn't even paying attention!--she
glanced over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. She gasped when
she saw the dark-robed man standing in the ricefield, looking directly at
them with his fists on hips, noticeably impatient; he turned away and
looked up at the farthest hill, where two other figures soon came into view.
Miko threw her hands aside Ranma's head and forced him to look at her.
She gasped harshly, "You made a deal with him--didn't you?! Why?!"
Ranma winced at the question--he didn't want to answer it, especially to
her. After stumbling with words to an answer he couldn't give, he clasped
her by the shoulders and stood up, making her rise with him. They stared
at each other at arms' length for a moment, then Ranma shook his head and
sighed, "I hafta go now."
Miko grabbed his arm as he was turning, her face tearstreaked. "No! I
won't let you leave me! I'll never...."
Ranma tried to gently brush her off and interrupted, almost shouting,
"I'll be back, okay! I promise!"
Miko cringed back but did not let his arm go. Ranma flinched and rested
his free hand on her shoulder. He said softly, "I'm sorry. But what I
hafta do IS really important. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"
Miko tightened her grip and shook her head. "I'm not letting you go that
easily!"
Ranma closed his eyes and sighed, "Miko...."
Miko jumped back, her brow furrowed and needle ready, and hissed through
her teeth, "No! I don't care what you have to do! If you try to leave,
I'll...."
Ranma folded his arms, narrowed his eyes, and smirked, "You'll what?!
Attack me?!"
Miko was taken aback by his tone as well as his words. Eyes wide, mouth
agape, throat constricted, she stared at her needle in disbelief--would she
really have attacked him? After letting the thorn slip from her fingers,
she squeaked, "Then please tell me... why...."
Ranma raised his eyebrows in deep regret--he always hated making girls
cry. He took a step forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, then
pleaded, "Don't cry, Miko." He slowly blinked his eyes and sighed, "Look.
The dark guy said that if I don't get this phoenix statue back... *sigh*
you're gonna... die."
Miko looked up at him and whimpered, "And you believe him?" As soon as
she uttered the words, she remembered her dream-like conversation with the
dark-robed wizard--of his foreboding of death and the choice he'd given
her, and of the answer she gave in return.
She took a step back and clasped her own shoulders, trying to remember the
pressure of her guardian's touch, as if she might never feel it again.
Half-glancing at him, her face solemn, she muttered, "It's too dangerous.
You've done enough for me already. Please don't go. Not for me."
Ranma, trying to maintain composure for both of them, smirked, "Now what
kind of a guardian spirit would I be if it didn't?"
Miko started to launch a protest, to demand that he not go, but when she
realized what he had just said, she froze. She stared at him with
shimmering eyes, then lept forward, threw her arms around his neck, and
threw her lips over his. In the several seconds that she explored his
mouth, Ranma was paralyzed, his pigtail sharply angling upward, his fingers
only partially forming his usual warding gesture--he wasn't so sure that
what was happening was anything he really felt sorry about. When Miko
finally pushed away, Ranma stood dumbstruck for a few more seconds, his
eyes wide and his mouth gaping, then fell to his knees, breathless.
Miko walked a few paces away from him, her head hung low, hands clasped
before her. Without turning, she groaned, "Please hurry back." When she
did look back several seconds later, he was gone. Lifting her hand to her
lips, feeling the residual tingling, she tried to smile but found that she
couldn't.
* * * * *
The dark man clasped his wrists under his sleeves, monk-style, and smiled
as he watched former emperor Xi Fang descend (levitate) from the steep hill
and land in the rice field over a dozen yards away. Soon, the dark man
told himself, his plan would be complete and he could go home--and one way
or another, he wasn't going home empty-handed.
As soon as Fang set foot on the marshy soil, he spread his arms as if
greeting and old friend and heralded, "Ah, Dark One. I had a strong
feeling that we would cross paths again." The crow, which was heartily
chewing at the grass by its master's feet, went rigid at the sound of
Fang's voice, then bolted up to its master's shoulder, where it half-hid
behind his head.
The dark man chuckled lightly and shook his head, then replied mockingly,
"You have something I need, so I have little choice but to come to you. A
technicality that could not be avoided, I assure you."
Fang, trying to ignore the insult, bowed with an open flourish and said
humbly, "Nevertheless, I am deeply honored to once again stand in the
presence of my future tutor."
The dark man sighed and rolled his eyes. "Not this again. As I have said
before, I have already chosen an apprentice."
Fang stood up, clasped his hands, and smirked. "Well then, I shall just
have to prove myself more impressive to you than this other man."
The dark man smiled again--he could see that his opponent wasn't open to
equal opportunities. "I sincerely doubt it, but you are welcome to try.
You have already impressed my familiar with this particular valley." He
nodded toward the bird on his shoulder, who bobbed his head a little
hesitantly, unsure of whether he should answer. "He considers the grass
around here fine cuisine. It has an... exotic flavor." The bird nodded
more confidently.
Fang's grin widened and he chuckled, "Your little friend should try the
rice...."
The dark man raised a hand. "No, thank you. I have heard that rice has a
sort of explosive effect on birds, and although that supposedly only
pertains to dry rice, I would rather him not eat any just to be safe." The
crow looked at its master wide-eyed, startled, as if he had never heard
that before. Fang shook his head in his hand and groaned. The dark man
smiled and added, "But I am sure that the grass in the area is enough to
satisfy his tastes." The crow nodded furiously.
Fang, composing himself, spread his arms to encompass the whole valley and
asked, "And do you know what it is that your familiar tastes in the grass
that is so appealing?"
The dark man folded his arms and muttered, "I'm sure you're just dying to
tell me."
Fang took a deep breath and bellowed, "Power." He started walking across
the field in a prolonged semicircle toward the dark man, his feet treading
unsoiled across the mud and water as if he were walking on solid ground, as
he explained, "A long time ago, in my search for a means to boost my own
energies, I had discovered that the magical water supplied by Phoenix
Mountain has more uses than just cursing a spring. By irrigating this
field with uncursed spring water, the rice, as well as the plants growing
around it, can absorb the very magical essense of the water into their
roots, instilling within them certain restorative properties. The power
stored in the rice at harvest is very potent, and one bowl a day is ample
enough to more than triple my strength!" (NOTE: Wouldn't Kirin like to get
his hands on that little secret.) Fang stopped just on the edge of the
field, still over a few yards from his audience, and bowed slightly,
asking, "Does that not impress you?"
The dark man rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm.... It is an
interesting discovery. But what impresses me more is that you can actually
stand eating that stuff--if that horrid aftertaste that blade of grass left
is any indication." He made a sour face and spat. "I commend you on your
strong stomach. Which reminds me...," He turned to his familiar,
scratched its head, and requested, "Would you please go find someone else
to bother for a while. I don't want you sitting on my shoulder for several
hours after dining on all that vegetation." The crow shrunk back and
nodded regretfully. The dark man then put his hand in front of his mouth
and whispered, "And I don't want you getting hurt when his anger really
starts to flare." The crow's eyes widened in shock, then it nodded and
took wing.
Fang clenched his fists behind his back and muttered curses under his
breath. The Dark One was mocking him again--what would he have to do to
make the wizard take him seriously? He turned his head to watch the crow
fly away and considered shooting it down. Maybe then....
"I really wouldn't do that if I were you." Fang turned to see the Dark
One glaring at him, sternly but still smiling, with his hands out before
him, palms outward, thumbs together; he was surprised that the dark man had
heard his thoughts and tried to appear confused, as if he didn't know what
the other was talking about.
The dark man shook his head and sighed--surely the former-emperor didn't
think him that dull-minded. He furrowed his brow and said wryly, "Why
don't we get to the point of this meeting? I know you didn't lure me here
to discuss better gardening or exchange recipes. I do have a fairly good
idea of what you do want, but why don't you enlighten me--just for the
records of history."
Fang folded his arms and frowned. "Very well." He narrowed his eyes and
hissed, "I have spent too much of my life preparing for this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to let it slip through my fingers so easily.
I DEMAND that I be granted the duel, and the apprenticeship, I deserve! I
WILL prove myself a better candidate than ANY MAN!" The dark man chuckled
and started to decline, but Fang added slyly, "To turn down such an
honorable request would be an act of cowardess."
The dark man clasped his wrists and smiled. "If you think that you can
taunt me with such prideful coercions...," He bowed respectfully.
"...then you have succeeded." He then jumped back several yards and folded
his arms. "Shall we begin?"
* * * * *
Liu-Sing stood atop the hill with his arms folded, the phoenix statue in
his right hand, and sighed as he watched his former highness practically
beg--in his own way, of course--for a chance to become the "Dark One"'s
apprentice. It almost seemed comical, like the climactic scene of a
farcical play where the hero and villian simply must engage in a
rediculously long-winded conversation, except this particular conversation
seemed rather unusual for an epic performance. Liu-Sing chuckled and
glanced upward as if he'd see some great playright peeking down from the
clouds--indeed, the playright (god) of this particular chapter in history
must have had a penchant for using every cliche known to man to write such
pointless dialog. (NOTE: Hey, he's making fun of me! ;p ) It was a
humorous thought.
When he looked back down, nearly bored, he gasped in mock-surprise as it
appeared the two were actually going to begin the fight. His former
highness had snapped back into a phoenix stance (facing his opponent
sideways with his right knee drawn high in front of his waist and his left
fist raised high) and the dark man... well, he was just standing there with
his arms folded (a stance he sometimes used himself). It appeared as
though they were attempting to stare each other down--another ploy which he
thought was practically useless before a fight.
Suddenly, breaking the monotonous calm (inactivity), the dark man threw
his hands forward and several chains flew from his sleeves. Fang quickly
swung his arms and raised leg in a wide arc and managed to gather all the
chains to his hands, then sent a fiery blue pulse of energy along the
lengths. The dark man threw the chains to the side just as they melted
into the ground, then countered by releasing a volley of long, metal
spikes. Fang swung his leg again and a trail of yellow flame from his foot
melted the projectiles; then he put his foot down, thrust his hands
forward, and sent a massive ball of similar fire in his opponent's
direction. The dark man raised an air shield in time to block the blast,
but the force of impact and resultant explosion knocked him back several
feet, somewhat singed.
Liu-Sing raised an eyebrow. This fight could prove interesting after all.
He hoped he could watch more of it before his own guest arrived.
* * * * *
On the other side of the hill, Ranma peeked around a tree just long enough
to see Liu-Sing standing a few dozen yards and two trees away with his back
turned; Ranma's eyes widened when he spied the phoenix statue dangling from
his right hand. Ducking back behind the tree, he half-smiled. Soon it
would all be over.
He wanted to just step out and directly challenge the clown to a fight.
It was the manly thing to do. Anyway, he was still steamed about their
last fight--for scaring Miko and for playing so rough while he was in girl
form--and he wanted a formal rematch. But, given the skill the clown had
shown earlier, a direct confrontation would take too long for his liking.
Ranma let out a deep breath and lowered his head. Honor and vengence
aside, it was more impotant, to Miko as well as himself, that he retrieve
the statue and get back to her as soon as possible. Since he had left her
just a few minutes ago, his worry for her had only grown with every step.
If it weren't for the fact that he was so close to the object that would
supposedly save her life, he would have run back to her in an instant.
Ranma clenched his teeth and winced. What was he doing? He SHOULD be
back with her! He shouldn't have left when she tried to stop him--the hurt
look on her face was almost unbearable! He should have stayed and
protected her himself like he had since they met. He should.... No.
Second-guessing would only waste time, and he'd only make himself mad with
worry. He should get the statue while he had the opportunity. He had come
this far, so the sooner he claimed his boon, the sooner he could get back.
So, after taking a deep breath and clearing his mind of all worries, he
crept from behind his cover and began tip-toeing toward his target, not
even crunching one blade of grass as he moved. The clown was still
standing with his back turned, occupied with the fight that he heard was
starting below.
But when he passed by the next tree, less than half-way to his destination
and several feet to the right, he froze in mid-step and held his breath as
he heard a soft, feminine groan.
Sleeping under the tree, on the side that he was unable to see from his
previous vantage point, was a brown-haired girl with an empirial blue and
orange robe pulled to her shoulders like a blanket. She grumbled softly
and blinked her eyes open, squinting at first as her eyes adjusted to the
direct sunlight shining down on her. But when she realized that there was
an incredibly handsom man standing before her, her face lit up and she
excitedly sat up with her hands clasped in front of her chest, allowing the
robe to fall from her body.
Ranma's eyes flew wide and he clenched his teeth to contain a nervous gasp
when he realized that she was completely naked (except for a bracelet
around her left wrist). Luckily retaining his wits, he frantically waved
his arms in front of him when it appeared as though the girl were going to
call out to him. She tilted her head in curiousity and furrowed her brow
questionably. When Ranma pointed toward Liu-Sing with one hand and made a
shushing gesture with the other, the girl nodded in understanding, somewhat
worried.
Ranma wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, then continued creeping toward
the clown--he didn't seem to have heard anything (hopefully not). The girl
carefully gathered the robe around her to protect her from the sun, as well
as a sudden chill she felt, and followed the gorgeous hunk with her eyes as
he stalked the other gorgeous hunk. There was going to be a fight--she
knew it--and she was going to be able to watch; the thought both frightened
her and filled her with awe.
When Ranma had crept another dozen yards, and passed another tree over a
dozen yards to his left, Liu-Sing, his back still turned, chuckled, "Don't
tell me you were planning on just sneaking up behind me and taking the
statue from my hand."
Ranma froze in mid-step again, then stood up straight and nervously
twiddled his thumbs. "Well... um... yeah...." Liu-Sing drooped his head
and groaned.
"Hm?" Ranma glanced over his shoulder as a masked imperial guard dropped
from each of the two trees he passed--the one by the first tree was only
wearing a pair of baggy blue and orange trousers, and the girl clutching
his robe shrieked and cringed when he suddenly appeared in front of her.
Each began sidestepping in a wide circle away from each other, attempting
to block off Ranma's escape, and each held a pair of butterfly swords ready
to attack.
Ranma sighed and slumped his shoulders in regret. Getting the statue was
going to be harder than he thought. He hoped that Miko would be alright.
* * * * *
Miko sat with her legs crossed and her head down and sighed heavily as she
slowly and carefully tended to the petals of the delicate rose she created.
She had almost stepped on it after she dropped it--but luckily, she had
only hit it with her heel. The damage was minor; with a little
rearranging, she'd have it perfect when her guardian spirit returned.
She hardly even noticed what the former emperor and the midnight-robed
wizard were saying below--or if they were talking anymore. She really
didn't care. Her gaze remained focused on the fragile flower in her hands,
everything else tuned out, as she tried to recall happy memories of the
time she spent with her guardian--in either form.
But every time she did, she would hear voices in the back of her mind,
mocking statements of her last conversation with the dark wizard, of how he
said she was meant to die; and the harder she tried to coax soothing
thoughts into her head, the more prominent the voices became, and the more
she ended up depressing herself. So, to keep herself from breaking down in
tears or going out of her mind, she had quickly settled into a half-aware
trance, devoting all of her thoughts to repairing the rose, and assured
herself that they would be together again.
She didn't notice the crow hopping around in the grass in front of her,
turning its head this way and that as it peered up into her face, which
despite her efforts, was still damp and somewhat puffy around the eyes. It
whined pitifully, mourning the dilemma it knew she must have been going
through. However, it cheered up when it shifted its gaze to the black rose
in her hands; but it just as quickly cocked its head in confusion when it
noticed that the flower was made of cheesecloth.
And she didn't notice the whimpering, orange and blue striped jungle cat
approaching from behind until it had trotted up to her and started licking
the side of her face. Even then, Miko did little more than glance in its
direction, curling her lips into a faint smile, as though her long-time
companion were just a figment in a dream.
"Miss Cat? Where are you going? I think I found Miss Lee's tracks over
that way...." When Reikiba had ascended the hill enough to see the redhead
sitting beside his feline searching partner, he paused and his eyes
brightened in surprised confusion, then he sprinted the rest of the way up
the hill until he was standing but a dozen feet from her. He scratched the
back of his head and toned, "Miss Lee?"--surprised to finally find her, but
not sure if it was her or her twin, and also embarrassed that he would have
passed her by if it weren't for the oddly-colored cat.
Again, Miko distantly glanced in his direction, but this time, something
clicked. "Hn?" Her eyebrows raised in curiosity, she turned and looked at
the jungle cat beside her, this time with sudden familiarity. "Twilight?"
She threw her arms around the shimmercat's neck and pulled her close, happy
to have SOMETHING familiar to hold onto. She glanced at Reikiba again and
asked, "What are you two doing here?"
But Reikiba wasn't paying attention to her question. Instead, he was
scratching his head and glancing around, blinking questioningly, at the two
battles going on: one just on the next hill and one STRANGE one over the
valley. Miko's question completely forgotten, he asked, "What's going on?
Is this some sort of training excercise?"
Miko sighed and rested her head on Twilight's neck, droning, "I really
don't care."
Reikiba raised his eyebrows, further puzzled by her disinterest. He
pointed in the direction of the battle on the next hill and asked, "But
isn't that one of your guardians?"
"What?" Miko jerked her head up, the mention of her guardian rending her
fully alert, and looked in the direction the samurai indicated. Her eyes
flew wide when her eyes zoomed in on her protector, who was trapped in the
company of three other men: two masked warriors, each armed with a pair of
swords, one robed and the other topless, who slowly circled him like
sharks; and another wearing only harlequin-ish pants.... Oh no. It was
the same clown that she met in the dungeon of the palace, the one who was
about to kill Salon and the Empress--and she was almost positive that it
was the same clown who grabbed her in the inn! Her heart beat twice as
fast as she suddenly worried herself into a state of panic; she gasped,
"No! He's surrounded!"
"I've got to help him!" Miko jumped up, dropping the rose once again, and
lept forward with the intent of running to the next hill, but Reikiba
quickly grabbed and restrained her, shouting, "No, Miss Lee, it's too
dangerous!"
"You don't understand! He needs my help!" Miko squirmed in his grasp as
hard as she could, but he was just too strong--or she was too weak--and she
was only exhausting herself.
Reikiba just held her in place, as if her struggling took no effort on his
part to contain, and calmly repremanded, a hint of his samurai nobility
showing, "I'm sure that your guardian is a sturdy warrior and knew what he
was getting himself into. But whether this is a training excersise or not,
this is no place for a young girl to be running around. Miss Cat and I are
here to protect you and we can't do that if.... Miss Cat?"
Since Miko moved out of the way, Twilight had a clear view of the dark
wizard's crow, which was standing over the fallen cheesecloth rose, eyeing
from as many different angles as possible. The shimmercat's eyes instantly
flared with an inner, red fire, and she bared her teeth at the black
nemesis from her past (NOTE: Since Doshin and the dark-robed man were once
friends in their old Order, their familiars would know each other as well.
And when the two colleagues became enemies, so did their familiars.
Anyway, cats eat birds.).
The crow froze stiff, its blood running cold, when it heard the large cat
snarl. It cheeped quizzically and ruffled its feathers a bit (shivering),
then looked up, its eyes twin saucers of fear, just as the shimmercat
pounced. The bird brought its wings up like a shield just as the
quarter-ton monster dropped and snared it with her powerful forepaws.
Twilight, her mouth wide, sank her head down to claim her prize, but
quickly snapped her head back and winced as if slapped. Then a much
larger, two-dimensional, shadowy representation of the crow (almost three
times as big) flustered from beneath the shimmercat and hovered in the
air--like a crow-shaped hole in the air.
Undaunted by her opponent's new size, Twilight extened her claws and
swiped at the black mass several times, but nothing seemed to connect. The
shadowy bird, in turn, beat its long wings against the cat's face and paws,
which seemed to hit, yet only served to annoy her.
Backing away, the bird let out a deep, hollow, angry twitter and returned
to its prefered solid size and form, then glared at the jungle cat through
narrowed, fiery eyes. Twilight crouched down, ready to pounce.
Miko, startled by Twilight's ferocity and the crow's supernatural display,
shied back into Reikiba's arms. The samurai, allowing the redhead to use
him as a shield, spat at the two, "Don't play so rough! You might hurt
someone! You're already scaring Miss Lee!"
* * * * *
The dark-robed wizard calmly got so his feet, apparently unshaken by the
Emperor's surprising opening attack, and dusted his robe off, which was
slightly smoking, and chided, "Naughty, naughty. You were holding back
last time."
The Emperor steadily retook his phoenix stance and growled, "Now will you
take me seriously?"
The dark man bowed slightly. "It seems that I must." When he rose, he
thrust his hands forward, palms outward, releasing an enormous ball of blue
chi energy.
The Emperor just watched, expressionless, not even flinching, as the
energy rapidly neared him, steadily decreasing in intensity until it was
only a warm gust of wind hitting its target. The dark man looked downcast
at the chi-dampening grass and muttered, "Oops. Silly me."
Then, laughing at the practical joke happenstance had played on him, he
jumped high into the air. The Emperor, looking a bit disappointed (in the
dark man's performance), immediately followed.
They collided about forty feet over the valley and exchanged a quick
volley of a few hundred rapid punches, which were all countered
successfully by the other, before descending in their own individual arcs.
Then, only falling about ten feet, they jumped back towards each other to
exchange another few hundred punches, which were equally unsuccessful.
Then, after passing each other one more time, the dark man spun around,
threw his arms out, and a few dozen small, spherical eggs spread out in his
opponent's direction. The Emperor instantly put up a fire shield,
uncertain what the eggs would do. They exploded against his shield with
little force, but she sky around around him was suddenly blackened by a
thick powder. (endama smoke bombs)
The Emperor shielded his eyes with his arm and coughed violently, the
firewall being insufficient to stop to smoke from billowing on his flanks.
The firewall discipated and the Emperor tried to rise above the dark cloud,
but not before he was slammed in the back and thrown forward for a few
dozen yards.
The dark man lectured, "You should watch your back more often. It's a
tempting target." Fang turned in time to see the dark man flying toward
him with a long quarterstaff aimed forward. A hard slap with the left
deflected the butt of the staff, and he caught the other end when the dark
man swung it around. The Emperor thrust his knee forward, but the dark
man, still holding the staff, backed out of range; the Emperor then thrust
his foot out at the wizard's chest, and was surprized when the dark man
dodged, broke his staff into two parts seperated by a long chain, and
ensnared his leg. With a hard yank, the Emperor was thrown over the dark
man's head.
Fang's fiery aura flared as he reoriented himself a few dozen yards away.
He turned with a roar to see the wizard, in one quick movent, snap the
staff into four more parts, then hurl it like a bola. When the six-part
staff spun within range, Fang swung his arms high, hands blazing, and
sliced the weapon into three smoldering parts, which he tossed aside
impatiently.
Laughing, the dark man threw a dozen metal spikes, which Fang melted in
mid-air. After doing the same to a volley of chains, Fang shouted, "What's
wrong, Dark One?! Running out of things to toss at me?!"
The dark man flourished and answered jovially, "Not at all!" He thrust
his hands forward and the sky exploded with thousands of bright flowers.
Fang flinched as shriveling lillies rained against his face.
"Oops. Wrong one. How about this?" Fang brought his hands up just as he
was assaulted by dozens of REAL eggs. His fiery aura hard-boiled the first
barrage, and it felt as though he were being stoned. Dropping his aura,
the second barrage of eggs covered him in a gooey mess that plastered
flowers all over his body.
"And this, and this." Fang started to fry the egg off his body just as a
large sack of flour exploded against his chest. The Emperor coughed and
flailed his arms to clear his vision, shouting, "What is this?!"
Fang was answered by a silver hand mirror between the eyes. The dark man
sighed, "Oh darn. And I was looking for that. Ooh! This looks nice!"
Fang looked forward and shouted, "Just what the hell...!" and dodged as he
almost got a handbrush in the jaw. In the split second he took his eyes
off the wizard to watch the brush go by, a decorated vase shattered over
his head. Fang raised his hands in typical Takahashi warding just as a
porcelin duck training potty smashed into his face. With a muffled gurgle,
he fell groundward.
The dark man looked downward in confusion, then looked inside his billowy
sleeves, muttering, "Now how did that get in there?"
* * * * *
Ranma grudgingly took up a swooping defensive stance facing the clown--his
body turned sideways, his right leg forward and his left leg sightly bent,
his right arm extended before him and his left held over his head, palm
outward--and groaned as he tried to keep his narrowed eyes on all three
adversaries at once. The clown was just smugly standing in front of him,
sizing him up like Nabiki sizes up a business oportunity, while his goons
just... circled, probably waiting for the clown's orders to charge.
_*groan* Oh man. This is gonna take too long._
With Miko's well-being in mind, he had a juttery feeling of anticipation
that threatened to make him lose his nerve, to make a mistake, to move when
he shouldn't move. And for that same reason, he refused to flinch or take
his eyes off the impending fight, even if he could easily look over to the
next hill and see her standing there--for the time being, he was of more
use to her concentrating on what he was doing.
Liu-Sing thoughtfully rubbed his chin with his right hand while he
tauntingly pitched the phoenix statue in the air with the other. With an
all-too-amused smile, he said, "Mind you, I'm not in the habit of
conversing with all my opponents before a fight...," He rolled his eyes at
the irony--his Great Playright must be laughing in his revenge. "But I am
curious as to what part you play in this grand scheme. I do not recall
meeting you, yet I have this strange sense of familiarity."
Ranma, tightening several muscles in his forearm and fist, growled,
"Y'mind hurryin up and makin your move. I'm kinda in a hurry."
Liu-Sing raised his eyebrows, then shrugged and motioned for the masked
men to advance. My. He rarely met such eager opponents.
The swordsmen rushed at him from more or less either side (to his left and
right). The robed one, who came within range first, cross-slashed at
Ranma's chest with one sword, which Ranma easily avoided by ducking
backward; but just as the other sword was descending in a vertical cut for
his shoulder, Ranma shifted forward with unanticipated speed, grabbed the
man's arm, and continued the arc with more of a thrusting force.
A fraction of a second later, the shirtless warrior thrust a blade for
Ranma's left kidney, but Ranma, twisting around to face the new attacker,
pulled the first warrior's weapon across (warrior still connected) in time
to deflect the blow. Then, before either could get another swing at him,
Ranma ducked, yanked his ensnared attacker over his back, and heaved him
into his comrade. They were both hurled several yards back, but the
shirtless one somehow maintained his footing, only staggering back to his
knees; the other rolled to the ground in a daze.
Ranma turned forward again, slightly miffed, ready to pounce on the clown
and wrest the statue away while he had the chance, when somebody grabbed
him from behind, quickly applying a half-nelson. _How'd HE get back there
so fast!_ Ranma growled as his opponent tightened his grip.
Liu-Sing chuckled, "Not bad. Are you sure we've never met?" Not waiting
for an answer, the clown drove his knee into Ranma's back and cartwheeled
toward his masked companions. Upun landing, he jerked Ranma around so that
he was facing the shirtless warrior, who was already on his feet.
The swordman slashed diagonally with one blade and horizontally with the
other; Ranma snapped both feet up and kicked the man's wrists, forcing him
to lose his grip on one sword while completely dropping the other. Then,
while the warrior was momentary stunned, Ranma smashed both feet into his
face, shattering his mask and sending him back several more yards.
Liu-Sing took advatage of his opponent's lack of footing and, firmly
maintaining his wrestling lock, arched his back to send Ranma's head
crashing into the ground (sort of a reverse piledriver, I think).
Ranma clenched his teeth as stars danced before his eyes and felt as
though his neck should have been broken. He had to get that psychotic
clown off! Still standing on his head, he bent his back and knees down in
an attempt to kick his assailant in the chest or stomach, but the clown, in
an amazing feat of strength, threw Ranma's weight forward and jumped to his
feet. When Ranma succeeded in bringing his feet down on solid ground, the
clown tripped him and rolled to the side, sending his head once again
crashing into the ground.
Ranma seethed with anger--not to mention head and neck pain. He wasn't
about to let that clown throw him around another time. If he wanted to
play things that way....
When Liu-Sing rolled to his feet, still carrying his victim in his torture
hold, Ranma made sure to plant both feet on the ground and crouch as low as
his opponent would allow. Then he feinted to jump upward, and as expected,
the clown started to jump with him, no doubt ready to turn his movements
into another slam. Then, quickly changing his jump into a fall, Ranma let
his feet go out from under him and slipped between the clown's legs like a
snake, pulling the clown with him and ramming his head into the ground.
Fortunately, the clown loosened his grip enough for Ranma to roll away.
Ranma got to his feet and rubbed the back of his neck, wishing Dr. Tofu
had come back in time with him, then brought his arm up in time to parry a
kick from the side. Quickly sidestepping and raising his arms defensively,
he just had enough time to see the robed warrior begin a powerful
cross-slice. After ducking back as far as his back would bend and allowing
the robed warrior to complete his unsuccessful, outward swing, Ranma
grabbed the man's torso with his legs, backflipped, and hammered him
headfirst into the ground.
After rolling to his feet once more, Ranma let out a deep breath and wiped
a bead of sweat from his brow, then rubbed the back of his neck again.
"Gaaa!" He raised his arms in warding and drew back as a sword thrust
almost pierced his side, then dodged sideways as another sword glided past
his other side. A quick kick sent the shirtless attacker staggering back.
The shirtless warrior regained his footing after a few feet and crossed
his blades defensively, ready for an attack. "Amaguriken!" Ranma punched
at the blades in a blur of fists, fingers extended, shattering the blades
and leaving the shirtless warrior holding two sword handles.
Surprised, the sturdy warrior looked from his useless weapons to Ranma and
back. Ranma relaxed his posture and folded his arms showoff-ishly.
Suddenly feeling as though he were outclassed, the man dropped the sword
hilts, bowed respectfully, and ran away.
Ranma half-smiled watching the warrior disappear down the side of the
hill, feeling his confidence rise, when suddenly, someone grabbed him from
behind. This time it was the robed warrior, trying to execute the same
lock the clown had him in; but the man was too unskillful in that
particular art, and Ranma had no problem throwing him over his back and
down the hill in the direction his partner had fled.
A thundering boom made him glance everywhere at once until he realized
that it was only the Emperor and the dark guy fighting OVER the rice
field--they seemed to be exchanging multiple ki blasts at the time. As
impressive as it was, he dismissed their aerial combat as quickly as he
became aware of it and returned his attention to the task he had come to
do; he started to look around for the clown and the statue.
The harem girl was still sitting under the second tree, her eyes wide as
saucers with shock; she held her robe/blanket close to her chest like a
shield, hoping she could create a barrier between her and the furious
fighting (she'd probably never seen fighting before). Ranma looked at her
questionably as if to ask, "Are you alright?" And the girl, as if hearing
his thoughts, nodded slowly. Then, as if also divining what he was looking
for, nodded her head once in a direction off to his left.
Ranma turned and was surprised to see the phoenix statue just sitting on
the ground several yards away, unprotected and open for the taking. Even
though he knew that it had to be a trap, the temptation to end his mission
was too great, and he found himself scrambling toward it before he could
worry about being careful.
But just as he was about to close his outstretched hand on the statue, the
clown jumped onto his back from an indeterminate direction, slapped his
hands over Ranma's ears, and jumped away again. Ranma's world suddenly
became unstable and muted except for a high-pitched whine--like a
television channel experiencing technical difficulty. He crashed to the
ground where he thought the statue was resting--although he had veered more
to the right than he anticipated--then clamped his hands over his ears and
continued running forward--or reasonably forward.
As he was beginning to regain his sense of stability and hearing, he was
mercilessly struck about a dozen times from seemingly all directions, and
when he finally did regain his senses, he dropped to one knee, clentching
his teeth and holding his side, pain throbbing all over his body, a thin
stream of blood trickling from the side of his mouth. When his eyes
focused forward, he saw the clown standing a stone's throw away, once again
juggling the statue with one hand like he had everything under control from
the beginning.
Liu-Sing casually crossed his ankles and tapped his chin, pondering
Ranma's familiarity once more. After a few second's thought, his face
brightened in recognition and laughed, "Now I'm positive I've seen you
before! The way you fight, the way you move--and the way you dress--are
unmistakeable! I don't know why I didn't see it before, and I don't know
how it's possible, but you're the same girl I fought in town yesterday!"
Ranma clenched his teeth and fists at the clown's revelation, making the
clown smile even more.
Liu-Sing unhooked his ankles and crouched down a bit to get a better look
at his face. He shook his head a bit and chuckled, "There's even a
similarity in your features. If you hadn't have just confirmed my theory
with your reaction, I would have dismissed you as her twin brother."
Liu-Sing stood up and bowed mockingly. "Well now, if I knew you were that
girl, then I wouldn't have...."
Ranma growled harshly, "Who're you callin a girl!?!" then lept forward to
pound his face into the ground. Liu-Sing, leaving his sentence forever
unfinished, began staggering like a drunk to meet his opponent, laughing as
he went.
"Oh no you don't!" Ranma, watching the clown come toward him almost
falling to his right, leaned more to the left before they collided. Then,
Ranma threw himself to the right, and the clown, as predicted, suddenly
shifted to the left without even being touched, but Ranma wasn't trying to
grab the clown's body. Instead, he reached down and grabbed the clown's
ankle; with all his strength, he whipped the clown around and sent him
flying into the nearest tree, making him drop the statue between him and
the tree.
Ranma rejoiced as he quickly retrieved the statue and started toward the
rice field, ready to release it into the dark wizard's care and fulfill his
part of the bargain--the dark guy was in the middle of another impressive,
close-quarter firefight, but Ranma had the feeling that he was holding back
and biding his time, so one more distraction wouldn't hurt. But after a
dozen steps, when he glanced back to make sure the clown wasn't up and
following him, he raised his eyebrows and slowed to a halt.
The harem girl, clutching her robe securely against her chest, was slowly,
almost hesitantly, creeping around the tree toward the fallen, unmoving
harlequin, worry plainly dominating her face. When she reached his side,
she knelt down and held out a cautious hand, gasping, "Master Liu-Sing, are
you alright?"
Ranma, suddenly sensing that something was wrong, turned around and
started running back, waving his arms and shouting, "Wait! What're you
doin?! Get away...!"
"Hn?" The girl looked up to see what was goin on, and Liu-Sing, suddenly
animated, grabbed her extended arm, pulled her down, and wrapped his other
arm around her neck before she could draw the breath to scream--the most
she managed to get out was a horrible gagging sound. Then, winding his,
and her, arm tightly around her waist, he yanked her to standing, almost
crushing her windpipe.
Ranma, panicked, started to run forward to rescue her, but stopped when
the clown tightened his grip, this time allowing her cry to be audible--a
warning to keep his distance. Ranma, his weight shifted nervously forward
in the begining of movement, growled through his teeth, "Let'r go, man!
She ain't got nothin to do with this!"
Liu-Sing chuckled, his vioce showing a darker, more psychotic mirth, "Sure
she does. She plays the role of the innocent. And if the Great Playright
is true to his form, then you are the hero and I am the villian--since my
actions thus far have been far from heroic."
Ranma narrowed his eyes. "What the heck are you talking about?"
Liu-Sing rolled his eyes and sighed, "Let's just say that it is another
theory I wish to test. If you truly are a hero of this game, then you will
be prone to save innocent lives. Correct?"
Ranma waved his hand in impatient dismissal and shouted, "Whatever! Now
what'd ya want?!" Ranma knew the answer to that before the clown even
began to answer.
Liu-Sing smiled evilly and said, "I want the statue, of course. If you
don't toss it over here, I'll snap her neck. It's that simple."
Ranma started to agree, but then he remembered his bargain with the dark
guy to save Miko and clenched his eyes and mouth shut. He couldn't just
let the statue go like that, let Miko's life go like that, but the clown
was right in guessing that he wouldn't let an innocent person get hurt--and
he knew he'd never forgive himself if he let either die. There had to be a
way to save both. Ranma groaned, then opened his eyes onto the girl's
tearstreaked face and spat, "Fine! But you have to promise to let her go!"
Liu-Sing pulled the girl up so that her feet were dangling off the ground
and laughed, "I promise to kill her if you don't give me the statue."
Ranma gasped and waved his arms. "Okayokayokay... take it." He pitched
the statue to him at a somewhat high angle, then prepared to rush forward
when the clown averted his eyes to catch it. But the clown just unwrapped
his arm from the girl's waist and held his hand out. When the statue fell
directly into his hand, Ranma started cursing furiously under his breath
and the clown started laughing anew.
Then, unexpectedly, the harem girl, using every bit of strength she had
left, reached over and drove her fingers into a few key pressure points
along Liu-Sing's extended forearm. "Aaaaarrrggh!" Liu-Sing instantly
dropped her and the statue and stumbled back in intense pain, clutching his
outstretched arm as if it were on fire. Ranma, taking advantage of the new
situation, ran forward, grabbed him by the arm, and threw him over the side
of the hill--the way the others had gone.
After a deep sigh of relief, he scooped up the statue, then quickly knelt
down to the girl's side; she was squirming on the ground, crying, coughing,
and clutching her throat as if he really did crush it. Ranma laid a hand
on the girls shoulder and gasped frantically, "Oh no! Are you alright?
Did he...."
The girl responded by grabbing onto his waist and burying her face into
his chest, shrieking, "Don't let him get me don't let him get me...."
His initial reaction was one of shock, and he froze in the standard
girl-gloming-onto-Ranma pose (use your imagination). But then, realizing
that the girl was herself in a state of shock, he somewhat-hesitantly put
his arms around her shoulders and tried to be consoling. "P-please don't
cry. He's gone now. Are you alright?"
The girl looked up, her eyes shimmering with tears, her lips quivering
with anxiety, and tried to speak. When she realized that her throat was
too consticted to speak, she threw her arms around his neck and cried her
thanks into his shoulder. Again, Ranma's initial reaction was one of
girl-gloming-onto-Ranma shock.
And his shock turned to terror when he glanced over to the hill Miko was
on for the first time since he left her side. The redhead was struggling
like mad to get away from that samurai he saw earlier (whom now he'd come
to realize bore a striking resemblance to Ryouga), and she was screaming
and crying something in his direction, although he couldn't make out
what--but considering the naked girl latched onto him, he had a pretty good
idea. And in the scant eternity that his eyes focused on her, he could
almost make out the faint glow of her subdued battle aura. Maybe it
wouldn't be such a good idea to rush back to her side so soon.
Ranma gasped and mechanically pried the harem girl from his chest, more
frightened of Miko's misunderstanding than his own embarrassment, and stood
up. The girl, although still crying, looked up at him in puzzlement.
Ranma gathered the robe that she dropped and handed it to her, trying not
to look directly at her. "H-h-here. Put this on... please. I have to
finish something." The girl continued her puzzled stare.
The dark-robed man seemed to be busy, hovering in the air, shielded behind
a large, concave wall of fire complements of the Emperor, who looked alot
like a fiery pheonix at the time. Ranma gasped and started sweating (and
he felt the girl pull herself closer to him), and he wasn't sure if this
was something he ought to be interrupting. However, Ranma saw no signs of
exerted effort on his part, as though such an attack were an everyday
occurance. In fact, Ranma got the impression that the dark man would have
gotten bored and left if he weren't waiting for something.
After a moment of awed hesitation, he stepped forward and yelled, "Yo!
Dark Guy!" When the said man glanced back, Ranma wound up and tossed the
statue at him.
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Well, I guess I was wrong. There's still one more chapter to go. I hate
it when I do that.